Best Tiptop Audio VCA Alternatives

Based on 6 reviews

I use this often as a voice source, I love the quality of the sound. From an LFO perspective there are a lot of options and a lot of outputs. Nice LED feedback too. The module is ridiculously stuffed with 2 other things it can do other than oscillate 4 kinds of waves at the same time. The user faceplate side of the thing is up to doepfer quality. The back side of my samples were full of dust and packing crud. The boards look sticky. I guess it's fine, just a cosmetic complaint. I have 3. I will buy more if start to run out of LFOs.

Based on 3 reviews

This is a great VCA in a compact form factor with plenty of useful features. As always the unit oozes Doepfer quality and as always at a very reasonable price. With 2 CV inputs one of which has a level control enable complex controlled modulation of the amplitude of the incoming signal. It can easily end up sounding like a ring modulator. Two audio inputs can be mixed with independent level controls much like a mixer but with CV control. Anyone thinking of buying a VCA should check this out. Thanks Doepfer!

Based on 2 reviews

Firstly the Arp 2500 has always been my most wanted analogue synth, but completely out of my price range, even back in 1990. I bought several modules last year, and although the learning curve is steep i have found so many amazing in depth tutorial on YT that i'm already using these modules and getting excellent results. The possibilities are endless with these modules, and you often get great results / sounds from mistakes, of course there are no presets, so i take a picture when i have created something really special. Build quality is excellent considering the cost of these modules, and the sounds are so pure and rich, the only one negative which has been stated a few times is that the inputs and outputs are not physically connected to the case, so care must be taken when plugging in...

Based on 1 reviews

One of my favourite vintage-style VCA's. Great sound, the overdrive-facility is amazing and the filter doesn't have clicking problems at all. The cons of this VCA is partly what makes it great. It is a vintage-style VCA and so it does not have a ton of features. I would have preferred if the overdrive was selectable from the front panel instead of a jumper on the back. Also be aware that even though this VCA has two CV input and two audio inputs with what seems as separate CV-control over volume, this is not a dual VCA. It can not independently control the volume of two sources.

Based on 1 reviews

This is a basic but very useful dual VCA. It is a linear VCA and so is better suited for CV signals rather that audio signals. It is very much a "what you see, is what you get". So you cannot attenuate signals going in or out with just this module. This is not the best option for the only VCA in your system, it should be an addition to a system with other more fully featured VCAs. Ultimately, this is a cheap module, and a cost effective way adding more VCAs. Additionally its small size is plus as it does not take up to much space and is great for filling up 4 hp of rack space.

Based on 1 reviews

This intellijel vca is very useful for multiple tasks, great for boosting levels up and can be cv'd on both channels using one input so handy as a vca mixer with plenty of audio boost and expandable using a ribbon cable. To link multiple vca's together for bigger mixes, it will also perform many other vca duties including a ring modulator due to its various switches having phase inverting amongst other features, All in all a good quality, good sounding, sturdily built module packed with useful features and also expandable, make this a great choice as an all-rounder vca

Based on 9 reviews

Great if you want a small system, but it gets a bit crowded! Works how it should and has a nice mix output and clever selected mix output with attenuator control for both cv and audio input. Cascading design on the input (input 1 will also appear as input 2-4 unless another input is patched), but the cv input is not, which would have been a nice touch. However it can be set up, by using the jumpers on the circuit board, so that cv 1 is a global cv. Although that means cv inputs 2-4 don't do anything at all.

Based on 7 reviews

Nice vca. Per channel knobs for cv intensity, response curve and signal lvel. Very useful. I use it mainly as a mixer, where if so required I can blend in modulation of amplitude. I love it like this! The curve knob is great, usually in middle position, spikier modulation to the left, compressed modulation to the right. Some knobs are very miniature, but theres just enough room to reach them comfortably, undoubtedly some people will find this cramped. There is some cv and audio bleed but only audible with ridiculous amplification after the module. Same with distortion, it slightly distorts at low vca amplification, but normally completely inaudible. In general very clean sounding. It has a boost knob, it boosts, somewhat, but they should have it made to saturate, which really is TOO...

Based on 9 reviews

As far as I'm concerned, this should be the "default" VCA module for the Doepfer. As there are two VCAs in this single module, you can use them in serial, so one of them can be controlled by the ADSR, and the other by (for instance) the note velocity. You can't do this with the regular A-131 as its CV inputs are in effect added together, whereas this in effect multiplies them. So even though the tradeoff is that it's less featureful in order to have two VCAs in one module, in practice, I find it to be a more useful result. Of course, you can instead use them independently, so patches which don't require velocity sensitivity can use that second VCA in other interesting ways, whether it's attenuating a control voltage in linear mode or an audio signal in exponential mode. If...

Based on 5 reviews

I have two of these next to each other in the middle of my rack. Covers most of my VCA and submixing duties. Not a huge fan of the small trimpots, but I usually don't have to mess with them while playing. Since I have so many vca's I can just run the modulation through another one to use a bigger knob for stuff which needs tweaking live (which again gives more flexibility). Good for both CV and audio. Note that you only get knobs for three of the vca's. That can mean you need to think through the order you use the slots.