PPG
PetroSynth
94k...@chestud.chalmers.se (Lundstrm, Henrik) writes:
I know some about PPG's. What would you like to know?
Petro...@aol.com.
Chris
Eric Hill
AntMan
: What do they do?
--
The PPG's were the first wavetable synthesizers... and these were true
wavetable machines with digital oscillators, and analog filters. They
allow you to take take a list (or table) of waveforms in memory and cycle
through them at proper pitch in a variety of ways. For example, you could
route the output of an ADSR to the table and have the waveforms cycle
according to the level of the ADSR output. Or you could have an LFO
modulate the waves, making them go back and forth. Or the mod-wheel.
Does this make any sense? Sounded unique and very cool for the time. A
true digital/analog hybrid. Tangerine Dream co-designed them in the late
seventies. Credits are given to them from their "Encore" and "Sorcerer"
albums which were released in '77. As far as I know, they were the first
people to use these machines - once again proving how innovative they
really were.
Actually, I still think they sound unique and very cool. :) Other
synths based on this concept (to greater and lesser degrees...) were the
Yamaha SY22, SC's Prophet VS, Ensoniq VFX, and the Korg Wavestation.
However, the only true modern decendant of this machine is the PPG
MicroWave, which is the up-to-date, MIDI-ized, rack-mount concept of the
machine. It sounds wonderful! Also, there were several versions of the
PPG's in the early '80s, as well as an add-on module (the WaveTerm) that
allowed for your own digital sampling and graphical editing of those
wavetables.
If you listen to the track called "No-Man's Land" on the Hyperborea CD by
Tangerine Dream, it was done almost entirely on PPGs. It'll give you a
pretty good idea of what they were capable of. Very dynamic machines -
and an amazing piece of music in general.
Hope this helps. I wish I had one. :(
anthony ant : hydra
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:: finger for Public Key :: ant...@phantom.com OOO[
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Georg Mueller
Actually, I still think they sound unique and very cool. :) Other
synths based on this concept (to greater and lesser degrees...) were the
Yamaha SY22, SC's Prophet VS, Ensoniq VFX, and the Korg Wavestation.
It's more to the lesser degree. The SY22 and VS use Vector Synthesis,
which is realtime mixing of up to four waveforms. Single cycle
waveforms in the VS, samples or FM in the SY22 or SY35.
The Wavestation can do Vector Synthesis too and Wavesequencing.
Samples are played one after each other with fades or without. The
Ensoniq has so calle Transwaves and the newer TS has sort of
Wavesequences. But the PPG Wavetable is unique.
However, the only true modern decendant of this machine is the PPG
MicroWave, which is the up-to-date, MIDI-ized, rack-mount concept of the
machine. It sounds wonderful! Also, there were several versions of the
PPG's in the early '80s, as well as an add-on module (the WaveTerm) that
allowed for your own digital sampling and graphical editing of those
wavetables.
You forgot the Waldorf Wave.
If you listen to the track called "No-Man's Land" on the Hyperborea CD by
Tangerine Dream, it was done almost entirely on PPGs. It'll give you a
pretty good idea of what they were capable of. Very dynamic machines -
and an amazing piece of music in general.
I would suggest to listen to EXIT by TD. Standard PPG record :-)
Here is a brief history of PPG products. I was able to fill in some facts
new to me I got from the ATARI programm Synthdat A and B. I can recommend
this to all of you with ATARIs and the ability to read German. The next
version will probably be a book. The author is Stefan Dargel, distributed
by Pressel Midiware, price is DM 69,-.
MODULSYNTHESIZER 100
Analog Modular Synthesizer
MODULSYNTHESIZER 300
Analog Modular Synthesizer
340/380 SYSTEM Analog/digital Synthesizer consisting of 3 Rack Modules
340 Processor Unit
340 Generator Unit
380 Event Generator 16 Track Sequencer
Computer Terminal
Keyboard
380 DRUM UNIT 3 HE drum sound generator, 8 sounds
1002 Monophonic Synthesizer, 2 VCO, 1 LFO, 1 VCF, 1 ADR env
1 VCA, 49 key keyboard, some 100 sold (1976)
1020 German alternative to the MiniMoog, Successor of the 1002,
2 DCO, digital scanned keyboard, Ring Modulator, (1976)
COMMANDER Remote controller for the HDU
EVU Expansion Voice Unit, 8 voices, Wave 2.2 in Rack Module
HDU Hard Disk Unit, 12 min 16 bit stereo sampling, 4 HE,
85 MB Winchester, FX processor, mass storage for
Waveterm
PRK Processorkeyboard, Masterkeyboard for the PPG system,
99 track sequencer, 50000 events
PRK-FD as PRK, plus 5.25 disk drive
REALIZER Software based emulation of other synthesizers, incl.
16 bit Sampling, sank the company
SONIC CARIER 1003
Digitally controlled Analog Synthesizer, 50 Memory Slots,
first programmable Synthesizer
WAVE 2 successor of the WAVECOMPUTER 360, grandfather of the
MicroWave, 8 voices, 1 Oscillator per voice, filter,
Sequencer
WAVE 2.2 2 Oscillators per voice, editing of wavetables via
WAVETERM A, plays samples from WAVETERM A
WAVE 2.3 from 8 to 12 bit, 2 Samples in ROM, SAX and PIANO, for
use with WAVETERM B and PRK
WAVECOMPUTER 360 A
4 voices Wavteble Synthesizer, no filter
WAVECOMPUTER 360 B
8 voices
WAVETERM A 8 bit Sampling for the WAVE 2.2, 8 inch floppy disk drive,
computer monitor, creation of Wavetables, 6 HE
WAVETERM B 16 bit Sampling, two 5.25 inch floppy disk drives,
WAVE 2.3 plays samples with only 12 bit
Hope that helps,
Georg,
--
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ Georg Mueller, Darmstadt, Germany + ge...@nlp.physik.th-darmstadt.de +
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Batz Goodfortune
: Eric Hill (70400...@CompuServe.COM) wrote:
: : What do they do?
: --
: Actually, I still think they sound unique and very cool. :) Other
: synths based on this concept (to greater and lesser degrees...) were the
: Yamaha SY22, SC's Prophet VS, Ensoniq VFX, and the Korg Wavestation.
: However, the only true modern decendant of this machine is the PPG
: MicroWave, which is the up-to-date, MIDI-ized, rack-mount concept of the
: machine. It sounds wonderful! Also, there were several versions of the
: PPG's in the early '80s, as well as an add-on module (the WaveTerm) that
: allowed for your own digital sampling and graphical editing of those
: wavetables.
Technically speaking the MicroWave and Wave are made by a company called
Waldorf. PPG stands for Palm Products Germany. After the founder and
inventer Wolfgang Palm. Although Waldorf are a difernet company
altogether, Wolfgang Palm still has something to do with them. The PPG
WAVE2.2 does in fact have MIDI on it. Although you'd be pressed to do a
SysEx dump with it. The Wave 2.2 was produced circa 1982. The PPGs that
Tangerine Dream used (Circa 1977) would have been earlyer analogue models
resembling a Moog Series III or a Roland System 700. (IE: Modular) I have a
GIF of one somewhwere. Thomas Dolby uses another one of Palm's creations
which is either a mega digital synth or a lighting controller I can't
decide which. It comprises of several large 19" rack boxes and resembles a
DEC PDP11. It came somwhere betweent he analogue and the Waves. All I
remeber is that Mr. Dolby said he still couldn't do with out it or
something to that effect. I actually caught up with TG circa 1982 with
their brand spanking new PPG WAVE 2.2s. Bloody Amazing.
The WaveTerm is a 19" rack box with monitor and diskdrive. Based on either
a MC6809 or MC68000 depending on which model. There were only 700 Wave
2.2s built and something in the order of 300 WaveTerm Bs. The sampling is
12 bit but the wavetables are only 8bit. Not that you'd notice. One of the
features of the Wave term is that it can do an FFT to produce a wavetable
from your orignal sample. Thus you can change the pitch of a sound with
out changing it's lenght. The PPG WAVE2.2 also has an on-board sequencer
which makes it the grand daddy of all modern workstations.
: If you listen to the track called "No-Man's Land" on the Hyperborea CD by
: Tangerine Dream, it was done almost entirely on PPGs. It'll give you a
: pretty good idea of what they were capable of. Very dynamic machines -
: and an amazing piece of music in general.
: Hope this helps. I wish I had one. :(
: anthony ant : hydra
We Do have one. And A WaveTerm B. We like it. :-)
Batz _____O______
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