Syncing the OP-1 with the Moog Mother and Moog DFAM

OP-1
#1

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere, but a searched revealed nothing. So here goes:


I’ve got an OP-1 that sends sync out through the 1/16 mode (not the PO sync, but the alternative 1/16). It syncs the Moog Mother 32’s tempo just fine, but when I try to get it to sync the Moog DFAM, it does not. The Moog DFAM simply doesn’t respond. The Moog Mother responds just fine, though.

Seeing as I really know very little about this kind of sync (I’m primarily a midi guy), is this expected or at least normal behaviour? That this type of sync could work fine with one kind of instrument, but not fine with another? Or am I just doing something horribly, horribly wrong?

I should add that as a workaround, if I run OP-1 sync into the Moog Mother and then let the Mother sync the DFAM, I get them all to run in tempo. So this is only an issue when I go directly from the OP-1 to the Moog DFAM. A bit of a corner case, I know. But still. It’s my corner, and I wanna try to figure it out :slight_smile:

#2

Hi there, analogue sync can be a bit variable, each device deals with it in a different way depending on the shape (i.e. how “square” the pulses are) or strength (i.e. the voltage) of the clicks. This can mean that some devices recognise the impulses as clock signals while others don’t. Having said that, it is surprising that Moog don’t have the same converters etc for the Mother32 and DFAM.

#3

To @ghostly606’s point, what happens if you turn the volume of the OP-1 all the way up? Does it start to sync? (I actually don’t know whether the sync output mode on the OP-1 varies with volume - could easily test with headphones if you start with them off your head)

#4

Thanks for the replies, guys.

Yep, I’ve cranked it up and you can tell it’s noticing, cause it starts to glitch and jitter. But there’s no consistent signal.

I’m not all that surprised, though. The Mother’s designed to be all kinds of things in a rig, with a fairly complex setup mode and elaborate sequencer. The DFAM got nothing like that going for it, it’s really a more Shut Up And Play piece of kit :slight_smile:

So if this sounds like generally normal behaviour for modular gear, then it kind of makes sense.

#5

Does the glitching result in multiple steps being triggered at once? Because if you are familiar with the BoJack Horseman theme song, that is a Jupiter 8 being triggered by a click track and not a CV pulse. It results in multiple triggers of the clock on the Jup8 because a sound wave has multiple zero crossings, where a pulse is only one.

#6

OP1 pulses are also very low for sync signals, just like the POs. i think around 1V.


u could try amplifying it a bit and seeing if its more stable.

mine does not sync to gameboy. its all glitchy, missing steps etc etc. sometimes no response at all.
until i amped it a bit w/ some ext. gear and it works fine.

could u go from op1 to mother, then mother to DFAM? maybe it would like the moog pulses if it has a sync out too?
#7

Yep, that works. And since I got the DFAM, I’m using it with the Mother all the time anyway, so I’ve spent an hour now setting this up. It works really nice. OP-1 into Mother, and from the Mother into the DFAM. If the Moog sequencers are ready and waiting, they start on cue as I record to tape, which gives me perfectly timed loops straight from sync. Awesome.

Thanks for all your help, guys