Doepfer MS-404

Last updated
Three Doepfer MS-404 in a rack. Version 1 is in the middle, Version 2 are on top and bottom. Doepfer ms404.jpg
Three Doepfer MS-404 in a rack. Version 1 is in the middle, Version 2 are on top and bottom.

The Doepfer MS-404 is a MIDI analog synthesizer made by the German audio manufacturer Doepfer.

Contents

History

In summer 1994 Dieter Doepfer's main intention was to create an analog synth for his personal pleasure and he created a simple clone of the Roland TB-303. The MS-404 launched in December 1994. It was a monophonic MIDI controlled analog synthesizer with a 24db resonant filter. At first, 50 to 100 items were planned for the market launch, but then they received almost 500 orders in the first two months in 1995. At the end of 1997 Doepfer had sold 3000 items. Also in 1997 approximately 100 limited edition synths (featuring a green faceplate) were sold as a 25th anniversary special for Music Store of Cologne, Germany. The last MS-404 was sold in March 2001, as the amount of inquiries was falling (from 100 items per month to hardly 10 items per month at the end of 2000). Doepfer still offers technical support for the unit.

Further reading


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Analog synthesizer</span> Synthesizer that uses analog circuits

An analog synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minimoog</span> Analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music

The Minimoog is an analog synthesizer first manufactured by Moog Music between 1970 and 1981. Designed as a more affordable, portable version of the modular Moog synthesizer, it was the first synthesizer sold in retail stores. It was first popular with progressive rock and jazz musicians and found wide use in disco, pop, rock and electronic music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modular synthesizer</span> Synthesizer composed of separate modules

Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of separate modules for different functions. The modules can be connected together by the user to create a patch. The outputs from the modules may include audio signals, analog control voltages, or digital signals for logic or timing conditions. Typical modules are voltage-controlled oscillators, voltage-controlled filters, voltage-controlled amplifiers and envelope generators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CV/gate</span> Analogue method of electronic sound production

CV/gate is an analog method of controlling synthesizers, drum machines, and similar equipment with external sequencers. The control voltage typically controls pitch and the gate signal controls note on-off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novation Digital Music Systems</span> British musical equipment manufacturer

Novation Digital Music Systems Ltd. is a British musical equipment manufacturer, founded in 1992 by Ian Jannaway and Mark Thompson as Novation Electronic Music Systems. Today the company specializes in MIDI controllers with and without keyboards, both analog and virtual analog performance synthesizers, grid-based performance controllers, and audio interfaces. At present, Novation products are primarily manufactured in China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ableton Live</span> Digital audio workstation

Ableton Live is a digital audio workstation for macOS and Windows developed by the German company Ableton.

The Nord Lead is a series of virtual analog subtractive synthesizers, manufactured by Clavia.

Sequential is an American synthesizer company founded in 1974 as Sequential Circuits by Dave Smith. In 1978, Sequential released the Prophet-5, the first programmable polyphonic synthesizer, which was widely used in the music industry. In the 1980s, Sequential was important in the development of MIDI, a technical standard for synchronizing electronic instruments.

Doepfer Musikelektronik GmbH is a German manufacturer of audio hardware, mostly synthesizer modules, based in Gräfelfing, Upper Bavaria and founded by Dieter Döpfer. The product range covers analog modular systems, MIDI controllers, MIDI hardware sequencers, MIDI-to-CV/Gate/Sync Interfaces, MIDI master keyboards and special MIDI equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Smith (engineer)</span> American audio engineer and inventor (1950–2022)

David Joseph Smith was an American engineer and founder of the synthesizer company Sequential. Smith created the first polyphonic synthesizer with fully programmable memory, the Prophet-5, which had a major impact on the music industry. He also led the development of MIDI, a standard interface protocol for synchronizing electronic instruments and audio equipment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waldorf Music</span> German synthesizer company

Waldorf Music is a German synthesizer company. They are best known for the Microwave wavetable synthesizer and Blofeld virtual analogue synthesizer.

Arturia is a French electronics company founded in 1999 and based in Grenoble, France. The company designs and manufactures audio interfaces and electronic musical instruments, including software synthesizers, drum machines, analog synthesizers, digital synthesizers, MIDI controllers, sequencers, and mobile apps.

The Korg Polysix(PS-6) is a six-voice polyphonic analog synthesizer released by Korg in 1981. It was one of the first affordable polyphonic synthesizers on the market, and was released as a cheaper alternative to the Sequential Prophet-5 and Oberheim OB-X, priced at approximately a third of the cost of its contemporaries in the polysynth market. It includes one VCO per voice, enhanced by a chorus/ensemble effect for added richness. It also comes equipped with 32 program memories and an integrated arpeggiator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doepfer A-100</span> Modular synthesizer, introduced the Eurorack standard

The Doepfer A-100 is an analog modular synthesizer system introduced by German audio manufacturer Doepfer in 1995. Although there were only 10 module types at time of release, it currently has more than 120 modules plus several different enclosures and accessories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quasimidi</span> Defunct German synthesizer manufacturer

Quasimidi Musikelektronik GmbH was a German synthesizer manufacturer from Hesse. It was founded in 1987 by Friedhelm Haar and Jörg Reichstein. It was originally based in Kirchhain, but moved to Rauschenberg in 1998. The company folded in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synthesizer</span> Electronic musical instrument

A synthesizer is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and frequency modulation synthesis. These sounds may be altered by components such as filters, which cut or boost frequencies; envelopes, which control articulation, or how notes begin and end; and low-frequency oscillators, which modulate parameters such as pitch, volume, or filter characteristics affecting timbre. Synthesizers are typically played with keyboards or controlled by sequencers, software or other instruments, and may be synchronized to other equipment via MIDI.

Casio's SDSynthesizers were a late-1980s line of analog synthesizers featuring a resonant filter. SD synthesis was traditional DCO-analog synthesis, with the main difference being that some of the SD waveforms' harmonic spectrums changed temporally, or dynamically in relation to the amplitude envelope.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurorack</span> Standard that allows for the creation and modification of modular synthesizers

Eurorack is a modular synthesizer format originally specified in 1995 by Doepfer Musikelektronik. It has since grown in popularity, and as of 2022 has become a dominant hardware modular synthesizer format, with over 15,000 modules available from more than 1000 different manufacturers ranging from DIY kits and boutique, cottage-industry designers to well-known, established synth mass-manufacturers like Moog and Roland.