Sunday, February 24, 2013

Ambika SVF

Just completed a Mutable Instruments Ambika with 6 SVF Voicecards for someone that contacted me through the Mutable Instruments "Trusted Builders" list on the forum.  This is my second Ambika that I've built.  It's not hard, mainly because it's all "drop in" parts, but it is extremely time consuming.  It's roughly 8-10 total hours.  This includes the time to source the parts, organize them, assemble the unit, test it and troubleshoot any issues.  The other one I build has 6 4P Voicecards.  I must admit that I like the SVF's better.  It seems to fit the raw sound of the synth better than the 4P.  It feels like the 4P is trying to mask the fact that the oscillators are digital with "warm" 4 Pole filters.  The SVF feels like it accentuates and celebrates it's digitalness with its 2 Pole filtering, along with Bandpass & Highpass modes!  If I build me another one for myself, it will definitely be filled with SVF Boards.