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January 03, 2007

Technosaurus Microcon Interfacing

Someone on Analogue Heaven posted that the gate input on their Technosaurus Microcon didn't work correctly and that they had to insert the gate plug only halfway to get the unit to sound. The unit wasn't misbehaving, it was just not acting as the user expected. This is a common issue for folks who don't have the manual. The Microcon jams a lot of functionality into a small package and because of this each jack has dual functions. The units should be used with stereo 1/8" cables unless you specifically want to disable the oscillator. Here's a rundown of the connections:

CV Tip - pitch control voltage

CV Ring - filter control voltage

Gate Tip - gate

Gate Ring - short to ground to mute oscillator (this is what happens when you use a mono 1/8" cable)

Out Tip - audio output

Out Ring - filter input


I use 1/8" stereo to dual 1/4" mono cables when interfacing with other gear. You can normally get away with a stereo 1/8" to stereo 1/8" cable for gate but this doesn't work with all gear combinations.

Posted by cary at January 3, 2007 12:55 AM