Doepfer A-119 Reviews

Decent solution for external gear

Really enjoy the gate and envelope features, the module gives you modulation / CV sources even in a patch without an external instrument. The amplifier is rather noisy, but can be upgraded cheap.

Audio quality so-so

This is a no-frills but robust module, like everything from Doepfer. Great build quality. Unfortunately the opamp chip in A-119 is of famously poor quality. It starts distorting very quickly and it’s hard to amplify something cleanly. Some people mod it and replace the chip with a better analog.

Having an envelope follower is a nice feature though.

If you want a better preamp module, get a Mutable Instruments Ears instead.

Can I control my rack via my flute?

Yes I can. And with ease. Always wondered if I could record a flute or similar into the rack and run it through filters and loops and delay (you get the drift) and there it was, the solution to my question. It works great. Even with lined synths or guitars. And the envelope follower handles great. So don't hesitate get yours now!

My favorite Input module

This is a great input module for its wide range of uses. I'd prefer it be in a 4hp package, but it offers a lot of versatility in the 8hp. The envelope follower, eurorack or audio input, and the adjustable gate are very versatile. I have 2 of these units. My only request would be that it be shrunk, so I have more room for other performance modules. There's nothing that compares to this in the price & functionality department, if you'd like to use the envelope follower & gate.

Nifty little thing

I always wanted to have some analogue instruments as input to trigger a bunch of stuff on my modular. The A-119 does the trick, and has enough amplification to accomodate various input levels. The envelope follower is great to trigger some effects only when accentuating a note.

Simple and effective

Both for instruments and line level stuff.

Great Module for Processing external Audio

Very useful module for playing your guitar and other external gear through your eurorack system. Very easy to use and well built.

Love these thing

Sockets are good.

Plenty of gain

Works well for getting Hi-Z signals in.

Fun module to have in the case

A great alternative input

Love this module. I have so far only used it to process a large ride cymbal using a microphone but it does what it's supposed to do and has opened windows into new possibilities of sound manipulation.

Great Doepfer build quality too.

Very useful

Very useful to integrate audio into modular system, whenever your need to convert theaudio signal into voltage and gate. Solid and rezistant, as Doepfer uses.

more than just an input

I initially bought this module to bring microphones and guitars up to eurorack levels. But I have now discovered that this module offers so much more.

For starters the mini mult on the audio out is most welcome as I very often want to route the signal to more than one place (saving my multiples for other signals in the patch). The envelope follower is also surprisingly useful routed to an amp, filter or to control an aspect of a wave multiplier or vocoder are my most common choices. I can derive interesting rhythms from an external drum machine and use the gate threshold as a performance control to change the rhythm. The LEDs also offer useful indication of the overdrive, envelope follower and gates (and we all like flashing lights!)

There is only one slight criticism I would have, the module could have fitted into 6HP for this reason only I have knocked off one star in features. (I'm trying to build my system into a small case so every HP counts!)

All in all an excellent, versatile and most useful module. I use it in far more of my patches than I ever expected to.

Solid tracking

Tracks anything, it's a great piece of kit, well made, I used it to generate clock signals from high hats and triggers from piezo pickups.

could be smaller but well worth the money.

Solid & flexible

A flexible module, since you can use it to bring in external signals from mic or line and process them as is or to drive CV or Gate. Gate was fast enough to feed a snare channel off a drum machine and replace it with one from the modular.

Usual high Doepfer build quality.

Let the outside world in

Perfect to bring anything audio wise into the eurorack world and have a little interaction generated by it.

The kind of module that on paper isn't very exciting, but in reality is indispensible

No idea what to do with it until you get one

Great little module for routing audio through to manipulate via your modular, didn't really know why I bought it until I plugged it in and started to play around and I'm so glad I bought it. If your the type of person who has filters/phasers/reverb/delay effects in your modular this is the easiest way of getting your audio crunched up by your modular beast.