i have just seen the proposed touch keyboard on the doepfer website.
it seems to be on track to become a winner. here a few suggestions
that could useful. i will leave pictures data in the files sections
so you can see and relate to some these ideas
1- if the keyboard comes with two sets of cv/gates as standard. it
would be good to add the option to have an extra one or more sets to
the unit just like the Drehbank. so that if someone wants to extend
the polyphony of the unit they could do so and add the add-on
cv/gates for an extra fee. therefore you could have up eight voices
polyphony coming from the unit.
Don Buchla designed his Series 200 Multipule Arbitrary Function
Generator this way, you had the 248-1602 which was the basic version
that gave two outputs. that unit had connectors inside built into the
PCB so you could add the 248-004 and get 6 outputs , add another one
and you had ten outputs. you could also extend the range to 32
stages because the main Pcb had the options there to do so. so the
maximum configuration was the 248-3210 which had 32 stages and 10
outputs, pretty heady stuff when released in 1977. there has been no
equivalent since then in analog terms.on top of that, there was no
cheap memory back then, he used shift registers like the ones found
in the EMS Synthi AKS sequencer to memorize all the info. this i
believe will create a buzz around the modular world and tempt people
even further to get one.
2- you could use 1/8" phone on the back to condense the area to allow
for more sets of cv/gates to be there.
3- you could build sometype of connector into the unit so that 2 or
more of them could be linked together. this i don't have to say would
be the ultimate controller around.
4- it would be great if you added a 3-way toggle or pot style switch
so you could have the keys play in a chromatic way only when it is in
the top or left position. then you could have the unit output only
the values on the pots when it is in the bottom or right position .
now switch to the middle position and you would have both summed
together for microtunings based on the initial key and then you have
the pot to offset that key's initial voltage up or down. again, this
will attract a slew of new users from other camps, simply because
there is no such unit available in the marketplace period.
5- an octave up or down pot with 5 settings with the middle position
set to middle c, so that if midi is available you cover greater range.
6- a frequency modulation input with pot.
7- a cv input and pot to offset the keyboard voltage by voltage
control or the pot whichis zero centered with a negative offset to
left and a positive offset to the right.
8- it would be good to have one or more channels of a step style
sequencer like the one found in the SH-101 with tie and rest
functions. a minimum of 4 bars or more per channel.
9- a second row of pots for the chaser sequencer like the A155.the
being used for the keyboard voltages
10- a combination of both the A155 style and a 4 track SH-101 style
sequencers would be devastating.
maybe it would best to have 2 versions of this keyboard. the version
you have on your web site and the pro version which include all of
these features. i would definitely buy of the pro version.