Computers speak digital signal. Analog synths and modulars speak control voltage. (It’s sort of a “men are from Mars, women find these metaphors insulting” kind of situation.)

What if you could bridge the two elegantly and graphically, using a drag-and-drop, modular interface with calibration and control features? MOTU has developed a solution called Volta. It’s a plug-in that turns your audio interface into a control voltage device. It works with all MOTU audio interfaces that have quarter-inch outputs, and MOTU intends to make it work with any 3rd-party audio interface with DC-coupled quarter-inch outs.

In other words, one software plug-in does more than what a similar module would do, more easily, more elegantly, all from your Mac. It makes your computer a powerful tool for analog synths in a way that it hasn’t been before – arguably in a way that even digital synths can’t approximate.

I’m pleased to welcome Matthew Davidson of MOTU in a CDM exclusive on Volta’s launch. He describes in detail what Volta is about, and why MOTU developed it.

All photos courtesy MOTU.

A video demo follows, as well.

What is Volta?

Volta is software; a virtual instrument that turns your audio interface into a voltage control interface. Anything with a control voltage (CV) input can be automated from your DAW with Volta. This includes modulars, analog mono synths and even effects processors like the moogerfoogers.

Volta provides access to the automation system of your DAW through ramps. You can draw in whatever whacky timeline based automation you desire and use this high resolution data to control anything with a CV input. No stair-stepping or zipper noise. You can also route any MIDI controller to control voltages. Volta provides audio-rate rendered software LFOs, step and trigger sequencers.

Each instance of volta supports up to 24 slots of outputs, and you can have as many instances of Volta as your hardware allows. For example, a MOTU PCI-424 system with four 24io interfaces provides 96 channels of output.

Of course, you can also use Volta to send note information. MIDI information goes in, and control voltages go out. All control signals are running at audio rate, and MIDI note playback is pre-buffered. This provides sample accurate timing of your external hardware.

Volta First Look from Matthew Davidson on Vimeo.

(Click through to Vimeo for HD video)

How did Volta come about?

The limitations of hardware CV-MIDI converters are pretty frustrating. Their workflow…these things are programmed though tiny LCD windows and they’re designed to be a ’set up once and forget’ type of affair. So, you spend an evening with the manual in your lap (an abridged version, translated from German) and create what you think will be a good ‘general purpose’ patch. So, as long as you stick to that and nothing else, you’re set. Only… that never turns out to be the case. You want to reassign controllers. You want to turn an envelope into a trigger. You want to move outputs around. Total nightmare.

But usability is only one issue. There are annoying technical limitations to hardware MIDI to CV convertors. Resolution. Why should we be limited to 8-bit controllers? Why can’t we leverage the awesome automation system in our DAW? Latency/lag; it is critical to have events occur at the points you specify in your sequence. If an onset occurs before a massive controller jump, the results are disastrous.

We had a hunch that a software solution could solve all these issues, so we hatched a plan than became Volta…

Tell me about the calibration feature.

The calibration feature came about as a direct result of ensuring Volta would work on non-MOTU interfaces. In our research, we found output levels varied not only from model to model, but interface to interface and even output to output. We were nearly ready to give up by this point until we came up with the idea of a closed-loop calibration system. Most oscillators have multiple outputs, so why not plug one back into the interface and measure the frequencies coming out of it? Then you can create a complete profile that addresses any non-linearities in both the interface and the oscillator. You can even tune self-oscillating filters this way.

I’m curious if some non-tracking oscillators like the livewire Dalek modulator and the Blacet dark star chaos will track with Volta. We will test that out. You can walk away from your modular and come back hours later, hit ‘calibrate’ and you’re back in tune. It is like the tune button on a Prophet 5. Volta not only tunes and scales your oscillators, but when you hit a C4, you get a C4.

Some of my personal impressions of using Volta

It feels like a combination of some of the programming conveniences from MX4, like using multiple host-synced LFOs to create rhythmic effects, combined with everything I like about analog. As I write this, I’m modulating a filter with one Volta LFO, and modulating the waveform morph feature on a Plan B Model 15 VCO with another synced LFO to create a percolating effect. This really wasn’t easy or possible before.

Things I didn’t expect

The chicklets display at a glance what is assigned to what outputs. A hardware MIDI to CV convertor is a black box with no visual indication of what is coming out where. If you’re used to tracing cables with your eyes and fingers, this was an unexpected workflow bonus.

I can’t emphasize enough what a revelation it is to have everything in sync with your project. Syncing an LFO in the analog realm to your DAW usually involves sending a sync trigger to reset the onset of the LFO, then you have to manually tweak the period of the LFO to line up with the sync point. With Volta, you just drag on an LFO, set the metric period and you’re done.

The audio output of your modular gets returned back into the Volta instrument plug-in so you can easily apply host-based effects to the output. This naturally leads to a whole world of host-synced effects processing with delays, things like Automaton, etc. You can put real time MIDI effects on the MIDI input, like an arpeggiator.

So, in a nutshell, complete, accurate, precise digital control of your modular from your DAW via a virtual instrument interface. I would be curious to hear your reaction to what I’m describing.

How much is Volta?

Pricing has not yet been announced.

Do I need a MOTU audio interface?

Volta will work with any audio interface with DC-coupled outputs. All MOTU interfaces (PCI, Firewire and USB) with 1/4″ outputs will work.

Do I need Digital Performer?

No. Volta is an AU plug-in, so it will work in Logic, Live, Garage Band, Digital Performer – anything that supports AU instruments. Some features like sample-accurate timing require a sample-accurate host.

Will Volta work with 1.2v/oct gear?

Volta’s calibration feature supports different oscillator scaling standards.

Where can I buy Volta?

Visit motu.com for further info. You can sign up for an email alert when Volta is available.
http://www.motu.com/other/feedback/volta-information/

By now, you likely already know that Apple came out with new laptops today. I could talk about the new features at the existing price points or about how the new machines are very pretty, but you can easily find that elsewhere. Instead, I want to address some unfortunate details on the new laptops in terms of ports. After all, small details can make a big difference for audio users.

For connecting drives, audio interfaces, MIDI devices, and the like, you get:

• MacBook Pro: Two USB 2.0 port, one FireWire800 port, one ExpressCard/34 slot
• MacBook: Two USB 2.0 ports
• MacBook Air: One USB 2.0 port

Those are Pro specs for laptop ports, really?

So FireWire is gone from non-Pro models. FW400 is gone from the Pros, though that turns out not to be entirely a deal-breaker (you can use FW800). And eSATA is still missing, which I personally think is too bad given the increasing availability of great external drives. (eSATA is an external SATA connector. In the real world, it blows away USB2. In theory, it also blows away FW800, but in practice, they’re typically neck and neck and both pretty great. Problem is, having just one FW800 limits flexibility.)

Note: A holdout from the previous generation, the white polycarbonate MacBook and 17″ MacBook Pro live on — at least for now. The US$999 white MacBook is a good buy if you don’t need the NVIDIA 3D graphics, with a FireWire 400 port and (now) a SuperDrive. The US$2799, 17″ MacBook Pro has a third USB port and a FireWire 400 port the “improved” models lack. I would guess both models will be phased out soon, however.

With Apple leaving their price points more or less in place, that means now could be a great time to snap up some deals on used or refurb models if you’re thinking of upgrading and want to save some cash versus a new model. And it means the MacBook, for at least some users, just got less appealing, not more.

FireWire 800 vs. 400

First off, FireWire 400 is gone entirely. On the MacBook Pro, this doesn’t wind up being as bad as it sounds. The FireWire800 jack is still available, and using an adapter, that means fairly easy backwards-compatibility with FireWire 400 audio devices. Here’s what MOTU has said in the past about using their popular FireWire-400 audio interface with FW800:

Also, you can use a FireWire 800-to-400 adapter to plug a MOTU FireWire interface into a computer with a FireWire 800 port. As our FireWire interfaces are FW 400 devices, there will be no performance increase by connecting them to a FW 800 bus, but there will also be no detriment to MOTU FW performance either. Using a FW 800-to-400 adapter simply provides you with more connectivity options.

In fact, I believe you will still get the benefit of bus power via the FireWire 800 jack. That actually makes this less annoying than using FireWire on PC laptops, as most (though not all) PC laptops use a 4-pin jack that doesn’t use power. (The upside of the 4-pin jack is, because it doesn’t carry power, it’s also not likely to fry gear when hot-plugged. I have heard isolated incidents of that happening, at least with video cameras.)

I’m also really disappointed that Apple hasn’t added eSATA. This is widely available on PC laptops, and allows superb drive performance – ideal for recording – and doesn’t involve squeezing anything else on our overburdened USB ports. Sure, you could use FW800, but many drives include eSATA in place of FW800, and you’ve just taken up your FW800 port with your audio interface. See the problem?

The break for the MacBook Pro is that you can make use of the ExpressCard slot and add functionality you don’t get, though that is an extra investment and you only get one slot.

MacBook Deal Breaker?

But let me be clear: there’s really, really bad news for the MacBook. FireWire 400 is gone. There’s no way to add it back, because the non-Pro models lack ExpressCard. You can’t edit video from a DV camera, you can’t plug in audio interfaces from the likes of MOTU and RME, and you’ll have to do all audio, MIDI, and external storage through two USB 2.0 jacks.

In fact, given this, I think I have to revoke my recommendation of the MacBooks. I’d suggest getting a US$999 plastic MacBook, which is still available, if you’re on a budget. It’ll run software like Ableton Live and Logic Studio quite well, and it offers better connectivity than the new MacBook. Otherwise, if you want a Mac, you should opt for the US$1999 Pro – or, if you want something in between, look for a used or refurbished previous-generation MacBook Pro, which has none of these compromises.

Apple: Stop Killing Our Ports!

I think Apple deserves a lot of the great press they’ve gotten lately. I think there are real reasons people switch to the Mac that aren’t related to marketing or image, which is something Microsoft often fails to recognize. But this does reveal a weakness of the Mac platform, which is that you are constrained to what Apple gives you in hardware choice. It’s worth noting that this is a definite mark in the plus column for standard PCs running Windows and Linux. That might not change your mind on OS choice, but there is still a choice, and each platform choice involves tradeoffs.

And OS choice aside, I hope Apple reconsiders and finds a way to occasionally add a port and not just take them away.

Yes, there is a lot of other news on these models, and I’m sure for some, on balance, this will be great. Go have a look at the specs and decide for yourself. I’m going to pass on this one, though – just my personal call.
MacBook Pro Specs
MacBook Specs

Updated: It’s time to talk to Apple, say fellow Mac users. Eugenia of Eugenia’s Rants and Thoughts is encouraging unhappy Mac users to tell Apple they want FireWire back on the MacBook:

No firewire on new Macbooks
Apple – MacBook – Feedback