Bring Back Vactrols! | Eugene F. Vactrolman was right

I am sure you haven't heard of Eugene F. Vactrolman because he's completely ignored and silenced. But his demands are clear. Vactrols must return because the future of the Buchla Bongo depends on it. I don't have an opinion, but I do agree the world needs a few more alternatives.
In this video I'll do a triple blind test with the DXG and the LXD.
For science. So I recorded six videos in the dark and edited on instinct.
Then I realized a blind test doesn't work for audio. Regardless, I think you can spot the vactrols with your eyes closed. Eugene F. is right. We need to bring back vactrols. But we can't. Period.
Sure, the DXG is nice, but it doesn't 'bonggg' like a real vactrol, it's more like a 'blip'. The DXG is acceptable as a vegan EU compliant alternative and it helps to save the world. Still, the mysterious Natural Gate proves the world can be saved AND ensure a bright future of the Buchla LPG. Personally, I think it's better than any vactrol LPG, so there's a reason why it's so hard to get.
There's probably a patent protecting the tech, otherwise it would be all over the place.
Even though DXG is a bit 'inferior' to its vintage optical predecessors, it's stereo and offers six audio inputs shared between two dynamic gates. It's an amazing module on its own. Maybe it deserves to be accepted as it is. But not today. Today we're going to honor Eugene, listen to his demands, firmly agree, and then forget about him.

[@flightofsound2497]

oh wow man, that is beyond sublime!!

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Wow, that's too much credit :).

[@robert-wr6md]

Thank you for trying Eugene .

[@valdir7426]

ok but can I use true vactrols as a stereo pair? the argument is they're too unpredictible to function in stereo.

[@Nanotopia]

Could you make a vactrol using a solar cell with UV LED? The decay would be loooong Ok I’m gonna try this!

[@Probbie]

Oh wow... 😊

[@PantherModern_la]

the video ive been waiting for 💎 rev 2 on the way.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Rev 2 of what? The NG? Is there going to be a new one?

[@kenschestok9515]

but are those "I ❤ vactrol" t-shirts available? eventually I'll get a dxg but I'll still stand by my optomix v2, lxd, and meng qi dplpg as well as the vactrol response on mutes. regardless at the end of the day if it sounds right to me it's right.

[@CinematicLaboratory]

According to MakeNoise, it was an old design and they aren't made anymore. But I'll be happy to share the PNG I made for this video. Thiinking of printing one myself.

[@kenschestok9515]

@@CinematicLaboratory thanks but I’ll probably never print it out and it’ll die on my hard drive

[@willswitchcraft]

what an original upload................................

[@CinematicLaboratory]

I think the credit goes to MakeNoise. They relied on vactrols for a long time, but had to make something new. So they made the DXG, which is a great achievement. And then they introduced Eugene (played by a team member) who openly demands the vactrol to return. It looks and feels like a hoax, but I bet its their way to say they're not happy with the vactrol shortage/ban. We can still buy vactrol gear in the EU when it's in stock or 2nd hand, but manufacturers can't import new stock.

[@arpmoog]

Vactrol bongo fury!

[@tru7hhimself]

i don't know the dxg, lxd or natural gate (the demos i've heard of all of them sound good), but my meng qi dplpg surely blows the vactrol-less low pass gate of the 0-coast out of the water.

[@Probbie]

Basking in beautiful Vactrol goodness... 😊

[@Farabeats70]

Big like👍👍👍

[@SkeletonJacket]

The Doepfer A-101-2 Vactrol Low Pass Gate is in my opinion the best LPG for eurorack

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Respect! I am not familiar with the Doepfer, but if Doepfer makes one, I am sure it's excellent. If I ever do a LPG compare again, I'll check my local supplier if I can borrow one. However, I heard a ghost story saying the old A-101-2 is better than the more recent ones. I suspect they still had access to true Vactec supplies, but this is all speculation and hear-say. I'd say, always let your ears make the decision. I try to remain unbiased and objective, but that's not easy. The SSF SSG sucks as a dual LPG, but is a GREAT module on its own and much more fun than a classic LPG. Also heard a lot of good stories about the Meng-Qi, but I don't know it. These compares are never meant to be exhaustive and complete, they're more a guide to figure out the sound YOU'd like most. Not me. I simply use the Buchla 292 as a reference. The Tiptop version is developed with the Buchla team to make sure it sounds right. And for me, it does.

[@SkeletonJacket]

@@CinematicLaboratory You made me wonder which version my A-101-2 is, so I went and opened my system to check. To my surprise, it's version 1 manufactured in 2004. So if the ghost stories are true, I have nothing to worry about, haha. I still love my Optomix a lot, and it's fun to have different behaviors. Thanks for your videos, by the way, they are always very inspiring and entertaining. Cheers!!

[@WhileWeWereSleeping]

I am so happily confused 🫤 do I want a Vactrol or a low pass gate? Maybe I want a Vactrol inside a low pass gate or a low pass gate that is a Vactrol. Thanks so much for confusing me and sounding good in process. And I am pretty sure you can make your own Vactrol using vegan ingredients

[@CinematicLaboratory]

As far as my research goes (wiki), the cadmium LED cell is responsible for the lagged response. Emilie Gillet modelled it in Streams, which sounds super nice once you realize it's a LPG. Natural Gate proves that you can make a truly excellent 'green' LPG that may be even better than the Buchla 292 inspired vactrol designs. TipTop Audio is far in the prototyping process to make that EU compliant 292T without vactrols. And the MakeNoise DXG sounds amazing if you finetune new sweetspots. I believe we are on a crossroad here, and I am confident mr. Eugene F. Vactrolman has nothing to worry about. But I do believe these new 'green' modules should at least sound like a 292 to qualify as a LPG. I like the Steady State Gate a lot, but it's a mono design and a Bongo has two toms. If it's not dual, you can't make a bongo. The 292 is quad for a good reason. There are a lot of modules with home made 'vactrols', but quality will differ and some sound like a 'blurp' instead of a 'bong'. But it's 1960's tech and we should be able to make a clean one in 2024, even when it's on a chip. You can also come very close with a low pass filter and a snappy exponential envelope that handles both decay and a 6 dB mild cut-off. In the Serge world, you can patch one up with slews. To put a long story short, get a used Optomix if you can and you're working in dual mono. If you're working in stereo or complex sources, DXG is wonderful. If you ever find am affordable Natural Gate (you should decide), take the shot.

[@WhileWeWereSleeping]

@@CinematicLaboratory Wow, that is amazing information. Especially interested in Streams I did not realise it used Vactrol modelling. I was thinking of using Vactrols in a future project that will be microcontroller-based. As streams is open source and Emilie did an amazing job at organising the code so the Vactrol part has its own files. This will make it easy and fun to integrate. Thanks so much for the info and hopefully one day I'll get to play with a few of the more exotic LPGs out there.

[@Space_pulse]

@@CinematicLaboratoryI love the clarity of the NG amp circuit. The lack of bleed is great. It drives really nice, and it has some really nice sweet spots, but I found the envelopes kind of hokey sounding at times. I’ve owned it twice and it was always kind of my second-favorite and I sold it when I down-sized. My experience was if you pre-order, the wait really isn’t that long. No reason to overpay for a second-hand one. My favorite LPG so far is the m13 mini vactrol LPG from Electro-Acoustic Research. They may not make any more of them, though!

[@CinematicLaboratory]

@@Space_pulse Thanks for sharing your experience and I'll check out that M13. I am very curious! EDIT: I saw Stujay's compare, and I found the M13 too resonant and the NG too 'fake' compared to the Optomix. I would have picked the optomix here. I think it's super important to realize results may vary from sequence to sequence, depending on intensity of events and the range of frequencies. In the end, your ears must decide....

[@Space_pulse]

@@CinematicLaboratoryOptomix can be really rubbery and natural sounding for sure. M13 is a bit slow. Not the best at the more percussive end of the spectrum. But if you want that slow, ringing decay after a nice pluck, it sounds really good. I think it tames bright, harsh harmonics well. Not the most versatile. We all will have our opinions! I would agree about the darkness of the NG, and that’s what I mean by hokey. It is a bit exaggerated, not quite a naturalistic decay. Can be fixed by modulating with your envelope of choice, though. Maths and a VCA to control dynamics is nice. It is a brilliant module, for sure.

[@walrtbstudios5430]

I probably have too many vactrols already, and I have a NG on the way. I would still kill* for a LxD. (* perhaps not kill. Maim, certainly)

[@geraldgoodiii6993]

FALSE BUCHLA quad dynamics manager (200e one).. is the best LPG

[@CinematicLaboratory]

I also consider the 292 as a reference because it's the archetype LPG. The Original. The One and Only. It's the Way.

[@geraldgoodiii6993]

VACTOLS ARE GOOD