Bastl Instruments 1983 Demo: MIDI to CV Interface & More

Published on Feb 1, 2019 Bastl Instruments

"The 1983 is a polyphonic MIDI to CV interface with creative voice allocation and automatic tuning capabilities. There are four channels of CV and GATE outputs that can be configured in various Layouts, such as hybrid splits between monophonic and polyphonic voices or velocity, Control Change, aftertouch, triggers, clock or reset.¶"

And the Press Release:

We are really happy to finally announce the 1983 four channel MIDI to CV interface for eurorack with automatic tuning, creative voice manipulation and micro tuning. It took more than three years since first prototypes for it solves the unsolved problems in the modular world.

Polyphony and painless tuning might have partly been solved by some modular users thru elaborate hacks and expensive modules before but now the 1983 can simply listen to almost any analog (or digital) oscillator and even correct its tuning with simple press of one button and that is a huge deal!

On top of that it brings creative CV inputs to work with harmony, voicing, glissandos and arpeggios. It can also be used in quad performance quantizer mode in which voltages could be interpreted as and processed as defined tones. This could either be used just to correct tuning between sequencers and oscillators (no MIDI needed) or even more creatively, because the MIDI input can directly set the quantizer mask = the notes that will or won't be used.

Because equal temperament with A tuned to 440 Hz does not suit all kinds of music and synthesis techniques, the 1983 is equipped with micro tuning feature to fine tune each semitone in the octave.

As a designer of this module I have this personal note to add:

“Modular synthesizers use precise voltages to communicate pitch information (volt per octave) and such standard puts high demands on both oscillator and voltage source design and calibration while in most instances it leaves the final bit of calibration up to the user. Automatic tuning technical solutions were always used in polysynths and it was somewhat “easy” to do since they were closed systems. The open end architecture of eurorack system allows variation of the standard interpretation when it comes to in impedances or something else. I believe that in this century we should be implementing microcontrollers and create hybrid systems that solve these technical issues. This is also why we chose to use ironically retro-futuristic design and name the module 1983 after the year when MIDI was born. I hope the LISTEN feature inspires other maker to implement tuning corrections into any module that aims to work with tonality from now on.”

https://www.bastl-instruments.com/modular/1983-2/