North Coast Synthesis MIDDLE PATH VCO / all the features demonstrated / no talking

video upload by BRiES

"In this playthrough I let the MIDDLE PATH VCO speak for itself. The way the normalizations are used in this module is very clever and useful. The center section (aka the Middle Path) is a full blown waveshaper circuit that reminds me a lot of a single circuit of the Serge by Random*Source Triple Waveshaper. You can use it with the internal VCOs or just run external sources through them or use any combination of hard or soft sync and create timbres that are very hard to reproduce using any other single module.

I'm VERY impressed with this module (both for its functionality and build quality).

I realized too late that I didn't demonstrate how to make a pure sine in the video. On page 7 and 8 of the extensive user manual you can read all about it, it involves running the saw output into the waveshaper section (instead of the normalized triangle). Then you get 2 quadrature sines (from 'sin' and 'cos' outputs) and a sine with twice the frequency from the 'both' output. I'll add this note to the description of the video.

The manual can be found here:
https://files.northcoastsynthesis.com...

______________________

0:00 intro
0:15 triangle outputs
0:45 sync
2:53 saw outputs
3:29 sync
4:16 square outputs
4:28 sync
5:14 V/oct inputs
5:44 FM inputs
7:26 PWM outputs
8:27 PWM modulation
12:00 waveshaping internal
15:50 waveshaping external
19:44 waveshaping sync
20:20 middle path mayhem"

North Coast Synthesis MIDDLE PATH VCO / patch #2 / cross FM patch

video upload by BRiES

"Another patch/demonstration with the Middle Path VCO by North Coast Synthesis.

Thanks to Tom ( @ThreetomModular ) who let me borrow this module to explore it a little bit.
This Complex VCO is mentioned by Tom (in part two of the documentary: https://youtu.be/eqYcX3_Ow14 ) as being a very interesting module to DIY, because all the schematics for the circuits are provided in the build manual. This manual is a 60 page long document that shows every aspect of the build, which is very useful if you want to learn about those kind of electronic circuits."

Middle Path complex VCO - Demo, Build and Calibration

video upload by Synth Diy Guy

"This is an amazing complex/Dual VCO by North Coast Synthesis. A unique design featuring a novel stabilization strategy, an unusual folding/spectral section, stereo possibilities and interesting sync features. In this video I demonstrate the kinds of sounds it can make, and also show you how to build the kit and calibrate the module. More info here: https://northcoastsynthesis.com/
Look for Quincas Moreira on Patreon!

Stay Noisy!

Index:
Intro 0:00
Tech Talk 0:30
DEMO: basic waves 3:28
PWM 4:44
SYNC 5:22
Soft Sync 6:37
FM 7:08
Cross FM 7:34
Noise 8:28
Sine shaper section 8:59
FAUX STEREO 12:33
A stereo sequence 21:21
BUILD THE KIT 25:40
CALIBRATION 34:04
Stay Noisy! 44:05"

Gracious Host - A no frills Midi 2 CV, Quantizer and Arpeggiator

video upload by Synth Diy Guy

"Very cool new kit/module from the makers of the Leapfrog Filter!

The North Coast Synthesis Gracious Host powers your USB controller and converts the MIDI into CV, acts as an arpeggiator and quantizer, all depending on what MIDI channel you choose!

My Website: https://www.quincasmoreira.com/
My Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/quincas

Index

Intro 0:00
MIDI ch 2 - Duophonic 0:53
MIDI ch 1 - Monophonic with Velocity 3:35
MIDI CH 3 and 4 - Voltage Quantizers 6:15
MIDI Chs 5, 6 and 7 - Arpeggiators 10:02
MIDI Ch 8 and 9 - Dual monophonic 17:48
MIDI Ch 10 and 11 - Drum Notes 19:35
MIDI Ch 12 - Monophonic + clock 20:35
QWERTY Keyboard control 22:23
Computer Mouse control 27:21
BUILD the Kit 28:52
Stay Noisy! 37:04"

North Coast Sequence Test | R*S Serge Wave Multipliers vs North Coast MSK013 VCO

video upload by ALEQ Modular

"Simple test of North Coast MSK013 VCO and MSK007 Leapfrog filter."

R*S Serge Wave Multipliers vs North Coast MSK013 VCO

video upload by ALEQ Modular

"Both modules are completely different. But the center section of the Serge module should be identical to the middle part of the North Coast module.
Identical ??? In fact, the result sounds (and looks) very similar, so...

Of course, in one hand, you have a module dedicated to wave shaping, with 3 "flavours" . And on the other hand, you have a dual VCO.

In fact, there is a small "trap" : In use, in a more complex patch, who is able to tell the difference between the 2 wave shapers ? (Listen to the second part of the video)"

https://aleqproject.blogspot.com

“IOLabs Flux 28 - Ambient” by Friendly Noise

video by Friendly Noise

"IO Labs Flux, Roland System 500, Strymon Magneto, Noise Engineering Basimilus Iteritas Alter, Native Instruments Plaits, SSF Vortices, ALM Akemie’s Taiko, North Coast Synthesis MKS 007 Leapfrog filter, Mutable Instruments Branches, Intellijel Plonk, WMD Crucible."

North Coast Synthesis - MSK 013 Middle Path VCO

SchneidersLaden

"We were asked several times if we could shoot a video for this module, now it's ready - our video for the Middle Path VCO. We combined this excellent VCO with the Leapfrog Filter and a Natural Gate - to get some classic lowpass gate sounds from this massive dual VCO.

North Coast's complex VCO is comfortable on a journey to the East or the West. It contains two triangle-core VCOs, each with four waveforms and standard V/octave control.

As basic VCOs running independently these can be the heart of a traditional subtractive East Coast synthesizer. But the Middle Path's oscillators can also be used together, with or without sync, to drive its unique multi-output Gilbert-style sine shaper. The shaper, which can also take external input, offers wave shaping, distortion, folding, phase modulation including through-zero, and imitation stereo. These effects take the sound into West Coast territory.

A very nice complex/dual VCO with a massive sound and very solid build quality."

North Coast Synthesis - MSK 009 / 011 / 012

SchneidersLaden

"Behind North Coast Synthesis Ltd. is Matthew Skala, who got into hobby electronics as early as the 1980s. Later he studied later computer science and spent about 15 years in academic research and teaching at universities. In 2017, Matthew abandoned academia and established North Coast Synthesis in Toronto. So, you can expect some thoughtful and creative designs, like the Leap Frog VCF, which provides the steepest filter slope possible: 61 dB/octave – and for quite some time it was the only module North Coast Synthesis offered. Now there are three more modules available, the MSK 009/011/012. While the MSK 009 is another filter, the other two are an ADSR and mixer.

The MSK 009 multi-mode filter and rectifier packs an entire nest of sound-shaping features into compact filter module. It's a two-pole state-variable filter based on a unique integrator design which stores energy in both inductors and capacitors depending on the frequency range. It offers warm sounds with a wide foundation and ever-shifting timbres. This is a somewhat unpredictable filter, it's a lot of bite for the buck, and for the rack space.

The MSK 011 is a nice utility mixer with versatile sound possibilities and a minimalist design featuring just six transistors. The module is suitable for both audio and control voltages, with bonus features like positive and negative offset; simultaneous DC- and AC-coupled outputs; maximum gain a little over unity that extra push. It can also function as a transistor distortion effect, by offsetting the signal until it clips – this also allows for creating some interesting waveforms by mixing and offsetting different input signals – as seen in the video.

The MSK 012 is a traditional ADSR envelope generator module that also covers percussion notes like an AR envelope, organ notes like an ASR -always musical, with lots of.
The video covers only a part of the sonic possibilities but should give a good impression of what you can expet from all three new North Coast Synthesis modules."

MSK 013 MIDDLE PATH VCO -North Coast Synthesis Demo

Dziam Bass

"Today I have the newest PATH VCO module from North Coast Synthesis and a small demo with 10 examples.

There are about 10 examples in a patch and some waves This is a really interesting oscillator on which you will bring out various amazing sounds.🔥😀

North Coast's complex VCO is comfortable on a journey to the East or the West, while providing a stable foundation at home in any Eurorack. The module contains two triangle-core VCOs, each with four waveforms and standard V/octave control. As basic VCOs running independently these can be the heart of a traditional subtractive East Coast synthesizer. But the Middle Path's oscillators can also be used together, with or without sync, to drive its unique multi-output Gilbert-style sine shaper. The shaper, which can also take external input, offers wave shaping, distortion, folding, phase modulation including through-zero, and imitation stereo. These effects take the sound into West Coast territory.

The design emphasis is on harmonious combination of simple principles. The exponential converter uses premium analog multipliers and a transistor array to ensure temperature stability without fiddly adjustments or hard-to-control "tempco" resistors; it should provide consistent tracking, and especially between the two oscillators, without needing to warm up. The triangle cores are intrinsically frequency-accurate without needing extra circuitry to compensate for reset time. The sine shaper includes our own novel quadrature modification which can be used to generate a stereo signal or in combination with other modules to create frequency shift effects. The sync circuit joins the oscillator cores in another way with a selection of soft and firm modes.

You can now find this assembled module or DIY KIT directly here on the official North Coast Synthesis website :
https://northcoastsynthesis.com/"

MSK 007 Leapfrog Filter-North Coast Synthesis/ Primary Oscillator -Pittsburgh Modular/Quadigy-Klavis

Dziam Bass

"Hi All.
I took Leapfrog Filter MSK 007 from North Coast Synthesis again this morning for fun with FM, I also added MSK 008 VC Octave Switch and I used the Lifeforms Primary Oscillator from Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers and attached an interesting module from Klavis this Quad Programmable Envelope Generator for this morphing envelopes therefore they are once shorter and longer set the sequences in a small motion , Leapfrog with Primary VCO they give me a really nice sound but I also like adding FM in the filter, I added Timbres to exponential FM so I wanted to share this sound in this short video.
let me know what you think about this sound, it seems quite smooth but also with a great character that hits my head.
sorry for my tripod, my dog walked a lot today during the recording ;-)"

North Coast Synthesis - MSK 007 Leapfrog Filter

Published on Jul 30, 2019 SchneidersLaden

"The Leapfrog follows its own path - the filter architecture is very unusual and powerful. The slope steepness is always at least -61dB per octave - hardly any other module is able to take such a hard grip on incoming audio signals."

VC Octave Switch MSK008-North Coast Synthesis in techno

Published on Mar 15, 2019 Dziam Bass

"Hi Guys!
Recently, I have two great modules from North Coast Synthesis, one is the Coiler Multimode Filter MSK 009 and the other is the VC Octave Switch MSK008 I have just made a small movie using both in Techno.
I have seen many times how Suzanne Ciani uses octave switch that's what she said about it at the RBMA lecture in Montreal and I think that these are very much needed modules for performance. As the oscillator I used in this movie VCO GR11 from ReBach which gives a really nice analog sound based on SAW Core.
Of course, some fun in the LP and quite high resonance"

North Coast Synthesis-Dual VC Octave Switch MSK 008/Unboxing and first impressions

Published on Feb 22, 2019 Dziam Bass

"Today the next module that came from Canada straight from the North Coast Synthesis is the Dual VC Octave Switch MSK 008.

This module is a multifunction voltage processor. The module has two channels, the integer number of volts from -2 to +2; a three-position toggle switch that shifts the quantizer boundaries up or down by a volt; and a precision adder (with optional subtraction function).possibilities really open up. An LFO into the quantified input.Combining the two channels, with or without other utility modules, allows more complex melody-shifting effects. And it does not have to be just for oscillator pitch control. The "mid-side" encoder or decoder. With other patching it can be a flip-flop or a wavefolder.This module is available in a DIY or assembled version.It is also worth taking a look at the reading section because founder Matthew Skala publishes interesting articles in series on modular and the his environment !!!"

North Coast Synthesis- Coiler VCF MSK 009 filter demo

Published on Jan 25, 2019 Dziam Bass

"Hi Folks.
North Coast Synthesis has developed Coiler VCF MSK 009 and it performs great, especially recognized by me for smooth and subtle resonant sounds during filtering.
It also distinguishes it with strongly aggressive filters, when you need a nice sound, just go to MSK 009.
I recorded 4 parts on other sequences so I invite you to watch.
what the manufacturer says it ; is a two-pole state-variable filter based on a unique integrator design. The OTA-based amplifiers, offer warmth and ever-shifting timbres in the midrange, along with hissing highs and slithering lows. This is a somewhat unpredictable filter."

Coiler VCF

North Coast Synthesis- Coiler VCF-multimode filter unboxnig and first sound

Published on Dec 29, 2018 Dziam Bass

"North Coast Synthesis their Coiler VCF-multimode filter.

After a little bit of fun, it is certain to say that this is a great filter with a very smooth structure that translates into very beautiful sounds. The Coiler multilayer filter and rectifier pack the entire sound shaping nest into a single Eurorack 8HP module. It is a bipolar floating point filter based on a unique integrator design that stores energy in both induction coils and capacitors depending on the frequency range. The transition area between the two components and the saturation characteristics of traditional OTA based amplifiers offer warmth and ever-changing hues in the mid-range range, as well as hissing highs and slimminging lows. This is a slightly unpredictable filter and here we confirm it.

Definitely worth attention when the next filters are only aggressive, here you can get different colors and other saturation in traditional subtractive patches."

via North Coast Synthesis:

"The Coiler Multi-mode Filter and Rectifier packs an entire nest of sound-shaping features into a single 8HP Eurorack module. It's a two-pole state-variable filter based on a unique integrator design which stores energy in both inductors and capacitors depending on the frequency range. The transition region between the two components, and the saturation characteristics of the traditional OTA-based amplifiers, offer warmth and ever-shifting timbres in the midrange, along with hissing highs and slithering lows. This is a somewhat unpredictable filter.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Kit Review # 25 - The Leapfrog Filter

Published on Jul 24, 2018 Synth Diy Guy

"An in depth look at the MSK 007 Leapfrog Filter from North Coast Modular. A unique 5 pole filter with built in VCA, CV control of resonance, 1V/Oct tracking for the sine wave self oscillation, linear FM input and more.

Thanks to Matthew Skala for providing the kit!"

New North Coast Synthesis MSK 012 Transistor ADSR Eurorack Module

via North Coast Synthesis:

"Envelope generator offers full ADSR with minimalist design

TORONTO, Ontario - July 11, 2018 - North Coast Synthesis Ltd., Toronto-based manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, has extended its line of discrete-transistor utility modules with the MSK 012 Transistor ADSR, an envelope generator for Eurorack synthesizers. With only nine transistors it generates a complete four-stage envelope suitable for simulated acoustic instruments and classic synthesizer sounds.

'The fun thing about an ADSR circuit is that there's a lot of scope for creativity,' says North Coast module designer Matthew Skala. 'If you look at schematics on the Web, or the commercial products out there, the front panels may look the same but each one is totally different inside. It's not like a mixer, where everybody uses the same techniques. So the details matter in an ADSR. For me that meant putting in a Schmitt trigger input, so it doesn't need a well-behaved gate signal, and going for conductive plastic on the panel pots.'

CLICK FOR MORE »

New North Coast Synthesis MSK 011 Transistor Mixer Uses Only Six Transistors

via North Coast Synthesis

"New mixer from North Coast uses only six transistors

TORONTO, Ontario - April 3, 2018 - North Coast Synthesis Ltd., Toronto-based manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, today released its Transistor Mixer, a four-channel utility mixer for Eurorack modular synthesizers. At 6HP width, the new module is suitable for both audio and control voltage processing. Its minimalist design features only six transistors, but still includes extra features like offset generation, separate AC and DC outputs, and distortion.

'We're a bit spoiled now that chips are cheap as, well, chips,' says North Coast module designer Matthew Skala. 'People can afford to throw dozens of integrated transistors into even the simplest analog projects. Millions, for digital. With this one I'm trying to get back to the style of classic designs where every speck of silicon was made to really count.'

The term "chips" in an audio mixer usually refers to integrated circuits containing operational amplifiers, or "op amps." An op amp chip would typically contain between ten and one hundred transistors built into a single piece of silicon. Designers use these ready-made building blocks to save time and expense in constructing larger circuits. Circuits made out of so-called discrete transistors, one at a time, require a more manual design approach with attention to every transistor.

"I'm not convinced that discrete transistors really make an audible difference," says Skala. 'There's a lot of mumbo-jumbo on that issue in the audio world. But they certainly made the module fun to design and build. There's something very nice, and you can see it even in the circuit diagram, about having only a few parts and being able to describe exactly what each one of them is for.'

North Coast sells the MSK 011 Transistor Mixer on its Web storefront for $210 Canadian including shipping (assembled module), or $140 for a do-it-yourself kit."

North Coast Synthesis - MSK 007 Leapfrog VCF

Published on Mar 20, 2018 DivKidVideo

"Here's the totally unique MSK007 Leapfrog VCF (voltage controlled filter) from North Coast Synthesis. It's a "near elliptic musical low pass filter". I can't think of any other elliptic filter in the format or other formats but I've linked to some information below. It's basically a very very steep cut off that gives a unique character, saturation, resonance due to this unique curve that isn't from something we're used to. To my ear it's got a rubbery, vocal like character and it takes to modulation really well. Be great to get your take on this in the comments, thanks for watching and reading if you've got this far! :)"

See this post for details on the MSK 007.

Kit Review #15 - Fixed Sine Bank

Published on Dec 2, 2017 Synth Diy Guy

"An in depth review of the North Coast Synthesis Fixed Sine Bank Module kit. Unboxing, Construction and Patching Ideas."

Update: re-titled to #15.