Module A-156 is a Dual Control Voltage Quantizer. A quantizer converts a continous control voltage in the range 0...+10V into a stepped output voltage in the same voltage range (i.e. only certain voltages occur). Normally 1/12 V steps are used to obtain semitone steps. Quantizer 2 of the A-156 allows has more sophisticated quantizing modes like major scale (i.e. only voltages corresponding to the major scale), minor scale, major chord, minor chord, fundamental+fifth and addition of seventh or sixth when chords are selected. Only those voltages appear at the CV output which comply with the selection rule (e.g. minor chord with seventh). The mode setting of quantizer 2 is done with 3 switches (1-0-1 type with middle position). From the factory quantizer 1 is working in the semitone mode. But there is a jumper (J1) on the pc board that can be changed so that even quantizer 1 uses the same scale as quantizer 2. If the jumper J1 is in the lower position (factory setting) the positions of the toggle switches affect only the lower quantizer and the upper quantizer is working in the semitone mode. In the upper position of J1 the positions of the three toggle switches are also valid for the upper quantizer.
For each quantizer the following in/outputs are available:
- Control voltage input (CV In): The input for the contiuous voltage to be quantized
- Control voltage output (CV Out): The output of the quantized voltage
- Trigger input (Trig.In): If this jack is left open the quantizer is working permanently. If a rectangle voltage is applied quantisation happens only at the rising edge of the signal (e.g. from an LFO or MIDI-to-Sync interface). Thus the quantizing can be synchronized with other events.
- Trigger output (Trig.Out): Whenever a quantisation happens (i.e. a new voltage is generated at the CV Out) a positive pulse occurs at this output. It may be used to trigger an envelope generator (ADSR) or for triggering other modules (sequential switch A-151, trigger divider/sequencer A-160/161, trigger delay A-162, ...). If none of these functions are used the jack is left open.
On top of that the A-156 is provided with a common transpose CV input having an additive effect on both quantizers. This input is quantized in semitone steps. A typical application is the transposition of a sequence generated by the A-155 by a second control voltage (e.g. coming from the MIDI-CV interface A-190).
Typical applications:
- Quantizing the CV sequence generated by an A-155 (semitone, onyl major scale, only minor scale and so on)
- quantizing the voltage coming from the Trautonium Manual / Ribbon Controller A-198, Theremin A-178 or Light-to-CV module A-179 to get accurate semitones or major/minor scale tones
- arpeggio-like effects with LFO, random, noise, envelope generators as CV sources (for negative or symmetrical voltages an offset must be added, e.g. with the offset/attenuator module A-129-3, to obtain positive voltages for the A-156 input).
Specs:
- Breite/Width: 8 TE / 8 HP / 40.3 mm
- Tiefe/Depth: 55 mm (gemessen ab der Rückseite der Frontplatte / measured from the rear side of the front panel)
- Strombedarf/Current: +50mA (+12V) / -10mA (-12V)
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
Product Overview
Module A-156 is a Dual Control Voltage Quantizer. A quantizer converts a continous control voltage in the range 0...+10V into a stepped output voltage in the same voltage range (i.e. only certain voltages occur). Normally 1/12 V steps are used to obtain semitone steps. Quantizer 2 of the A-156 allows has more sophisticated quantizing modes like major scale (i.e. only voltages corresponding to the major scale), minor scale, major chord, minor chord, fundamental+fifth and addition of seventh or sixth when chords are selected. Only those voltages appear at the CV output which comply with the selection rule (e.g. minor chord with seventh). The mode setting of quantizer 2 is done with 3 switches (1-0-1 type with middle position). From the factory quantizer 1 is working in the semitone mode. But there is a jumper (J1) on the pc board that can be changed so that even quantizer 1 uses the same scale as quantizer 2. If the jumper J1 is in the lower position (factory setting) the positions of the toggle switches affect only the lower quantizer and the upper quantizer is working in the semitone mode. In the upper position of J1 the positions of the three toggle switches are also valid for the upper quantizer.
For each quantizer the following in/outputs are available:
- Control voltage input (CV In): The input for the contiuous voltage to be quantized
- Control voltage output (CV Out): The output of the quantized voltage
- Trigger input (Trig.In): If this jack is left open the quantizer is working permanently. If a rectangle voltage is applied quantisation happens only at the rising edge of the signal (e.g. from an LFO or MIDI-to-Sync interface). Thus the quantizing can be synchronized with other events.
- Trigger output (Trig.Out): Whenever a quantisation happens (i.e. a new voltage is generated at the CV Out) a positive pulse occurs at this output. It may be used to trigger an envelope generator (ADSR) or for triggering other modules (sequential switch A-151, trigger divider/sequencer A-160/161, trigger delay A-162, ...). If none of these functions are used the jack is left open.
On top of that the A-156 is provided with a common transpose CV input having an additive effect on both quantizers. This input is quantized in semitone steps. A typical application is the transposition of a sequence generated by the A-155 by a second control voltage (e.g. coming from the MIDI-CV interface A-190).
Typical applications:
- Quantizing the CV sequence generated by an A-155 (semitone, onyl major scale, only minor scale and so on)
- quantizing the voltage coming from the Trautonium Manual / Ribbon Controller A-198, Theremin A-178 or Light-to-CV module A-179 to get accurate semitones or major/minor scale tones
- arpeggio-like effects with LFO, random, noise, envelope generators as CV sources (for negative or symmetrical voltages an offset must be added, e.g. with the offset/attenuator module A-129-3, to obtain positive voltages for the A-156 input).
Specs:
- Breite/Width: 8 TE / 8 HP / 40.3 mm
- Tiefe/Depth: 55 mm (gemessen ab der Rückseite der Frontplatte / measured from the rear side of the front panel)
- Strombedarf/Current: +50mA (+12V) / -10mA (-12V)
Technical Specs
Shipping Details
How much is my shipping?
Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.
Do you ship to my country?
Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.
Shipping methods
We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.
Dispatch times
For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.
For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.
Shipping times
Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.
There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.
Saturday shipping
If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.
Pre-orders
If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.
If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.
