MSK 015 Quad VCA SDIY Kit

US$311.34 including shipping

Also available as an assembled module.

Kits are not "USMCA originating" and will probably be subject to a high rate of duty when shipped to the USA. You may wish to consider the assembled version instead.

Never run out of VCAs again

So you're patching your synthesizer, deep into a groove, and you run into a wall: not enough VCAs. We've all been there. Whether adding a voice, bringing in a modulation source, modulating the modulators, or panning signals around in stereo or quadraphonic sound, every new patch idea seems like it calls for just one more voltage-controlled amplifier.

Instead of building new VCA channels one at a time, you can get four at once in this kit - with intelligent ways to use them in combination. The separate inverting and non-inverting control voltages on each channel make it easy to patch stereo panning and cross-fading functions. The global mix output works for combining voices, and there are two sets of two-channel sum and difference outputs, allowing the Quad VCA to serve as a mid-side encoder and decoder. The normally two-quadrant VCA channels can even be combined in pairs as two four-quadrant ("ring mod") multipliers. With so many ways to use it, the Quad VCA could be the only VCA module needed in a small portable rack, or the heart of a complex patch in a large installation.

North Coast's Quad VCA is available as an SDIY kit or a pre-built 20HP Eurorack module. Remove the limits.

Four channels of voltage-controlled amplification, each with an inverting and a non-inverting control input.
Separate offset knobs go a little below zero, so you can cancel the "bleed" effect from small CV offsets introduced by other modules.
Semi-permanently configurable (via DIP switch on the back) for exponential or linear mode, per channel.
Individual channel, four-way master sum, and two two-way sum and difference outputs.
No compromises on build quality: real aluminum panel, not PCB material, with colour printing; long-life conductive plastic potentiometers, fastened to the panel; nickel and gold plating on the circuit boards; close-tolerance metal film fixed resistors.
Through-hole for easy hand construction and maintenance
Fully open design - no lock-in

Specifications

20HP Eurorack synthesizer module, 42mm deep including space for the power cable.
DC-coupled and suitable for audio or control signals.
Adjusted for accurate unity gain at +5V effective control voltage in linear mode. Gain continues above unity to about +8V. In exponential mode, gain is about 12dB/volt with unity at +5V.
Maximum current requirements in normal use: 55mA +12V, 50mA -12V. Reverse-power and missing-rail protected.
Build difficulty: intermediate. 575 solder joints. All through-hole. Multimeter and fixed voltage source recommended for adjustment.