Doepfer Musikelektronik has upgraded their tabletop, monophonic analog synth, Dark Energy, to version III. The revamped synthesizer, with wide- reaching CV/Gate, MIDI, and USB connectivity, features a 100% analog sound generation and modulation signal path.
Like previous versions, the Dark Energy 3 packs all that analog deliciousness into a small black metal case with wooden side plates. Doepfer loves to tout their high-quality potentiometers with metal shafts that are mounted firmly to the chassis. A triangle Shape waveform is now central to the VCO (Voltage-Controlled Oscillator) core, and boasts a 10-octave frequency range (with 1V/Oct tracking over at least eight octaves). Another update is that the unit no longer requires a warmup period for optimal operation
In addition, there are now separate Reset LFO1 and Reset LFO 2 Inputs for the two resettable LFOs (Low Frequency Oscillators). These sockets synchronize both LFOs to external gate signals, so when a gate signal of +5V (or higher) is applied at a socket then its positive ramp sets the corresponding LFO wave shape to zero and the LFO restarts with a rising ramp. Doepfer’s Dark Energy III design differs from the previous version in that its VCA having a linear control scale, so lends itself to scaling control voltages.
Several signal routings and functions are additionally available to anyone who wants to get under the hood and modify Dark Energy III’s front panel sockets by removing jumpers and rewiring the pin-headers for the VCO PW, Reset LFO1, Reset LFO2, and VCA Inputs. For example, the VCO PW input can be converted into a linear FM input, or LFO/ADSR signals can be used as outputs instead of one of the resettable LFO inputs. Other tweaks include various VCO outputs (triangle, sawtooth, rectangle); VCO hard sync input; VCO soft sync input; various VCF outputs (lowpass, highpass, bandpass); various LFO outputs (triangle, rectangle); ADSR output; and two inverters with input/output (to invert any signal, such as ADSR or LFO).
The filter found in Dark Energy II remains unchanged with the same 12dB multimode filter, containing lowpass, notch, highpass, and bandpass settings, together with a filter Mode control for continuous transition from lowpass via notch and highpass around to bandpass; its XFM (Exponential Frequency Modulation) control also has a polarization function, whereby the modulation source (LFO2 or ADSR) selected by the Source switch can affect the filter frequency with a positive or negative behavior.
Doepfer’s Dark Energy III can be ordered online from Doepfer Musikelektronic GmbH for €479.
Doepfer
