FS1a vs. e560

Published on Oct 17, 2013 Stephen Drake·39 videos

"This is a quick and dirty comparison of the Jurgen Haible FS1a frequency shifter and the Synthesis Technology e560 Deflector Shield frequency shifter. I've been asked a number of times to describe the differences/similarities between these two devices, and thought perhaps a quick video would provide some answers. The FS1a is an all analog device; the e560, all digital. Bruce Duncan of Modcan has said that this is one device that is better suited for a digital implementation, as while the analog version is really complex to design and build, and has numerous compromises, the digital version can be designed around the software code, which is quite easy to implement. However, the Jurgen Haible design is perhaps the best analog version of a frequency shifter yet, and I think it stands up well against its digital brother.

This demo isn't perfect - I didn't spend forever getting all the audio levels right, and matching the way the different effects worked, so you get what you get. I only basically demo three aspects of how one might use these devices. During the stereo panning demo, I may have the settings on the FS1a wrong.

This isn't really a fair comparison, as the Jurgen Haible FS1a isn't actually available as a commercial product, and even as a DIY project it's virtually unobtainium - Jurgen Haible passed away in 2011, and the pcbs for it aren't available currently, and may never be. The e560 is available in eurorack format currently, and sometimes in DIY format, which is how I've built mine behind a 5U panel."