Sonic LAB Doepfer Dark Energy Synthesizer

A new desktop synthesizer from German modular synth manufacturers Doepfer. Single voice, fully analog.
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[@sonicstate]

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[@CandlegravityStudio]

I own this synth and can say it's my favorite synth right now. Just an amazing little piece of kit.

[@sonicstate]

its pretty straight forward, you just setup a MIDI track and then select the Doepfer USB output as the MIDI output, or if you have a MIDI output device plug the MIDI out from that into the Doepfer MIDI in. There may be an additional setup step in the Doepfer to accept MIDI from the MIDI in rather than the USB in, bit that will be in the manual

[@charleshoppner4111]

Just found out about this one! The Six-Trak was my first synth and I still love it - very cool to hear the chip implemented in a monophonic synth, sounds really nice and fat!

[@metabog]

We have it at our University. We also have a Mopho, and I have to say the Dark Energy blows the Mopho completely out of the water. It's got one of the nicest, juiciest, squishiest filters I've ever heard.

[@verbenamusic]

Nick, I'm watching this from 2017 and I love the informal, vlog-style format

[@sonicstate]

No, it doesnt send out MIDI CC only recieves which can be mapped to two of the CV outs

[@sonicstate]

Yes but you cannot tweak the scale either. Most older analogs need some kind of scale calibration to ensure that they have consistant octave scaling. I was using this to iillustrate the shortcomings of the interface for playing other synthesizers

[@lonelywolfy]

im thinkin about getting one of these. i just wanna say your videos are great! youre always very knowledgeable and clear and concise with what youre showing us and i really wanna thank you for that.

[@Zinfidel1]

It's always great when KZbin decides to recommend old sonic state clips. That ending track went on for a few more years, at least. What desktop modular synths will be around in 12 years? ...... In 09, Doepfer had only been around for what, 14 years? I've been watching sonic state for 8 years!

[@AdamTheAd-vanc3d]

love the multitrack demo at 3.50 it really shows of this synths depth to an extent .

[@dep1001]

I really miss these Sonic LAB reviews!!!

[@daftendz]

@sonicstate your a great dude...almost everything in my studio was inspired by your reviews...top job, keep doin what your doin!

[@sonicstate]

Yes if you just output the actual audio signal into the Korgs pitch to CV/gate correct

[@sonicstate]

The answer should be yes, but it depends on whether the Freqbox will respond to the same CV sacling as the DE. The MIDI-CV scaling is fixed to work with the DE so you can play it, in the demo, I demonstrate this by hooking up the MS20 and showing it doesnt talk to it right - this is because of the scaling issue. You should check the Moog CV spec against the DE to see.

[@screendrem]

Wow. Great demo. If only I had a friend that understood synths like this guy. I want one.

[@moatl6945]

As far as I know Doepfer printed the false voltage on the first samples. Actually it should be AC 12 V, 400 mA.

[@sonicstate]

@sonicstate oh, and btw, I do show how to setup the Doepfer in the video

[@sonicstate]

The CV outs can be patched into itself for additional control or external modular gear, the audio is out it also on 8th inch jack

[@iNuchalHead]

4:09 LOL, Nick is cool.

[@edjwise]

Hi from 2021 I have followed sonic state since 2000.

[@qwikfikz]

Doepfer - THE MOST underrated, underappreciated synths in history

[@NuisanceMan]

Underrated: THE MOST overrated word in history

[@russdaren]

another great in depth review. good job!

[@CoburnNeptune]

Thanks Nick! Always a good overview! I kind of like this sit down style better than the stand up ones...

[@jasonbailey7126]

stop making me buy stuff....

[@bboymac84]

Jason Bailey 4real!!

[@hairychris444]

Had one of these for years due to reviews like this one. It's an absolutely fantastic little unit...

[@sokotta14]

i know right lol=

[@modulosonoro221]

They should bring out an analog reverb/delay unit and call it Dark Room.

[@sonicstate]

yes, but its at least three times the price possibly more.

[@schepler2]

"And that's your lot!" (We'd never say that in America, so I think it's cool.)

[@berniesanders5419]

I was thinking the same thing, love British mannerisms

[@brianrodman1033]

One thing I love about KZbin is getting to hear different phrases and slang from England and other countries in Europe.

[@vladimirussachevsky1315]

I can’t believe this is more than 10 years ago time flies... now the Mark III is out and it’s almost $600

[@chidamole]

This. Keep it up nick. Whenever I want to know about some gear your channels the first place I look as you give the info exactly as it should be done.

[@metabog]

This is awesome. I'm gonna have a play with this on monday, and if I like it, I might buy it.

[@kolakube123]

Nick, your a very good presenter. Far better than half them on TV.

[@rg7120]

It does only have one main oscillator, but pulse width modulation will give you the detuned sound most people want from two oscillators. You modulate stuff with the LFO. But you don't modulate the phase of a sine wave with a square wave "with 10 times larger frequency" (not sure what you're trying to say), the LFO can modulate filter cutoff, pitch, or pulse width. The LFO would be at a much lower frequency than the audio oscillator, that's why it's called a low frequency oscillator.

[@sonicstate]

@livininTBSkliniek maybe so , I do know that the texture in that is from a sample CD that they also found a use for. Heck, we may have even used it first!

[@NullStaticVoid]

I owned mine for a 3 or 4 years before I understood what all the knobs do. You really need to get 2 so you have 2 ENVs and 2 OSCs. But you can still have a lot of fun self patching just one. Also, IIRC all the important bits are Curtis. OSC, Filter and VCA.

[@TheInnocentSynth]

Thanks to you Nick i've just bought one of these beauties - brilliant review and reviewer, keep 'em coming!

[@mrr2816]

13 years ago.. Wow

[@carbonatedbrainsauce]

It is funny that a Korg was used as an example for interfacing external gear. It is one of the few companies that use a different scale for the control voltage, most other analog synths use the 1v/oct scale.

[@elliotdavidson7137]

Nick ... i cant believe i missed this review ! Love the hand shapes .. legend

[@Synthiefrau]

I love my dark Energie. In summer comes "dark time", dark time is in the same design the sequenzer for the dark Energie.

[@urukai95]

no, you can use one of these: thomann.de/gb/doepfer_a110_standardvco.htm you can add every module from döpfer to the dark energy via CV. if you do i recommend you also their mixer: thomann.de/gb/doepfer_a138b_mixer_logarithm.htm so you can use all 4 waves from one A-110VCO at the same time, because the mixer has 4 inputs and one master output. the output should be routed back to the dark energy audio input. its like you have 4 more VCO's.

[@MauricioJara]

Isn’t that synth loop at 0:00 in Radiohead’s Backdrifts?

[@sonicstate]

no not really, its not the size its the quality, as any young lady will tell you... ;-)

[@weaponEX]

I clearly have a lot to learn ;) Thanks Nick

[@sonicstate]

I would say yes, if you have a budget, this will give you at least a start, although it is prewired - true modular synths are not so they wont make a note until you have patched the vco->vcf->vca. There's always software of course, plenty out there, some of it's free too

[@cesarvidelac]

It would be nice to hear the Dr. Who theme on it, or a Gary Numan song also :) Very nice!

[@albedoshader]

@albedoshader: I forgot to say: don't pronounce the "r" part of the "ur", of course. Just the vocal part. :) A better rendition would be: D-ur(the r not pronounced)-pfuh or D-u(r)-pfair.

[@narki86]

That is one filter with an attitude! Doepfer really is about quality!

[@alexandrasings]

I love all of your reviews! Thanks so much!

[@bytex666]

You can hook it up to ANY synth that has a midi output. Your D-50 too.

[@sonicstate]

Nah, we've had it for ages, just hevent used it all that much

[@edudzzaj]

Love your reviews and enthusiasm, thanks.

[@sonicstate]

@r5t6y12 I dont have it in front of me, but it is possible to just output the raw oscilator wave without running it through the ADSR for a constant tone, its often called the INITIAL LEVEL, but I dont recall what on the DE.

[@DiegoStocco]

Great demo Nick!

[@livininTBSkliniek]

maybe someone else noticed it, but in the intro you can hear Radioheads ''Backdrifts''. (intro)

[@Jimmy_Sandwiches]

"you can drive this from a midi interface or your door" - now thats unusual ;)

[@VincentsVideoVisions]

This looks like an awesome little box. The only thing that i don't like is the fact that the jacks are in front... you'd be reaching over your patch leads to tweak knobs, which seems silly. But all in all it seems like a hell of a deal for $400, and Doepfer always makes good stuff.

[@bliss000]

@KelMckeown1 The A-100 is the same. The synth will produce a constant tone unless you have an Env hooked up to a vca.

[@drkam6]

Excellent review, 10/10. Many thanks!

[@seanmurray90]

i love sonic lab

[@hawklord2112]

i have an SH-32 - very different from the dark energy but a whole hell of a lot of fun..

[@billytdakid]

You can plug it to a midi keyboard (which has standard midi input jack) and play live music, otherwise you can only synthesize sounds which you can use in a sequencer or PC-DAW as far as I see on the video.

[@yoda101]

I guess it looks like a fun lil thing to toy around with, but its hard to call it a synthesizer considering it only has 1 oscillator.

[@albedoshader]

@albedoshader: For all language Geeks: The IPA phonetic transription of "Doepfer" is [ˈdœpfɐ]. ;)

[@albedoshader]

@joystickmusic: A little tip from a German: The "oe" in Doepfer is pronounced the same way as the German "ö". An "ö" sounds very similar to the "ea" in "search" or the "ur" in "curse" or in "surge". It's NOT an "oo"-sound!

[@TheATMOSPHERIA]

really very very great and INTERESTING!!!

[@mattsynth]

Great demo, Thanks

[@Thundercube_Music]

This thing must be a dream to program...no menu diving!

[@gvp999999]

Any chance of a review for the Dark Energy 2? Wouldn't mind seeing a Waldorf Rocket review either! Cheers.

[@weaponEX]

Pardon my ignorance, but are voltage control outputs only used for interaction with further modular gear or is that eight inch jack the only audio out? Thank you Nick

[@mrserdy]

Awesome play

[@Subtronik]

Great demo.

[@gygusian]

4:11 win!

[@spoddie]

The MFB Kraftzwerg is similar but with 3 osc. I read an interesting comment, two Dark Energys is fairly close to an A-100 Basic System 1. You do miss out on quite a few modules but it's also half the price.

[@elfwing5400]

Nice atmosphere. .

[@r5t6y12]

Ok, I have a question about the ADSR. As KelMckeown1 states his unit plays a tone constantly even when there's no midi plugged into it. If that's the case then why have ADSR at all?

[@qishmish]

@vstbull hey! dark energy is much more than 1vco. monotron..has nice filter..but monotron's oscillator cut ur ears without posteffects in middle and high pitches. monotron is dirty screamer...Dark Energy is good start to began ur modular system. u can do much things with DE - oldschool leads, great sounding bass, crazy glitches, linear fm..

[@JohnLRice]

Nice demo!

[@Outdoorshuntingshooting]

I have two of these mark 1 bad boys, would not sell ever, so easy to start a session with them, I have a small rack of ancillary modules if I want to get fancy, 147-2, 110-2, 12db filter, precision adder, adsr and a linear vca.

[@lesscunning9651]

great informative demo.

[@Synthiefrau]

sweet Synth from Bavaria Germany

[@Beatprisoner]

Nick rules! Great review, thanks.

[@YannGuillermou]

i don't get how you set the amount of modulation for example if you want a slight vibrato

[@analogue71]

Just got mine. Very sweet little synth indeed, sounds great, looks great. A bit disappointed by the very wobbly power-connection at the back though, this is certainly not solid enough for use on stage, this clearly is my indoor synth ;-) Great demo by the way, you convinced me to actually buy it.

[@bertg5294]

what country in America....?

[@DEEECKED]

This is probably a stupid quesiton, but how did you get the notes to stop playing? I have had the dark energy for about a month or so (it's my first analog synth) and I'm fairly familiar with the controls, but how do you get the notes to stop once you take your finger off the keyboard.

[@miru021]

I find it difficult to understand it's been 10 years already ... Time goes by. = (

[@malungtvnews]

great review cheers

[@CFConor6]

Sorry, I'm gonna ask a stupid question: When you're plugging in the jack at 4:23, is that just one cable? Are there any possibilities to run that line through effects or any other units? Great review...

[@WakemanFan90]

Is this a great way to start out with modular synthesizers? (i have only studied in books, not actually used one)

[@eddy_sonik]

I LOVE ! 💙

[@yamex5]

I'm not familiar with mopho, but between the Dark Energy and a MS2000, I would take the MS2000. Some of the modulation options on the Dark Energy look nice, but to get the most variation in sound, the MS2000 gives your more options for about the same price, IMHO. I would go to a music store and try out instruments you're thinking of getting.

[@trooperx666]

could i hook a guitar into this then hook it into my amp head, or will it not work

[@treetrouble]

you could use it with the MS-20 by using the MS-20's frequency-voltage converter (in the bottom row of inputs), no?

[@narkolapin2662]

Hello, I need to open one of these engine for a friend of me to remplace a switch. Do you know how hard is it ? thank.

[@joystickmusic]

Funny you say dopefur and Moog with a oo as in poop. They are both the names of their designers, and pronounced the other way around. Moog rhymes with vogue, and doepfer is pronounced as doopfur, Thanks for the clear video though, I enjoyed it.

[@ropeburn6684]

DOPE FER

[@Letryk]

Hi there! Is there a way to control or better to macro control and sync the Lfo speed?

[@thecryptkicker5]

soooo, I was on the fence about getting a Slim Phatty because it can't really get beautiful arps, or at least that I have heard? Finding this though, it does arp and leads wonderfully. But I'm wondering if that's because it's only one voice and I keep hearing the two voices of the SP's? I already have a bass station ii which for me kicks the crap out of the SP for bass anyways. But what are anyone's thoughts about getting beautiful arp sounds from this simply because of the one voice or is it because it has more minute modulation, such as two LFO's, to dial in those specific sounds?

[@bytex666]

Funny, in the start it sounds like he's saying "You can drive this thing from a MIDI keyboard or your door"