Random SourceSerge Paperface 50 Modular Synthesizer (Helios + TKB)

Random Source Serge Paperface 50

Pairing their new Helios panel with the classic TKB controller, Random Source commemorates fifty years of Serge Modular with this Serge Paperface 50 Modular Synthesizer. Updating classic circuits from the first generation of Paperface panels, Serge Tcherepnin himself has touched up the original designs with modern features like 1V/oct inputs, improved precision, and more. Random Source has also gone the extra mile in refreshing the Paperface aesthetic with these special silver on enamel panels, still boasting the classic graphics. And of course, though the TKB was introduced as a later Serge design, it has been dressed up in matching Paperface-style graphics.

Helios is the first voice panel to be produced in the 50th-anniversary catalog of Serge panels, containing many of the classic audio circuits from the earliest systems. Updated Oscillators with six octaves of precise 1V/Oct tracking make it easier than ever to craft tonal music, yet the raw character of these early sound generators is maintained. Both oscillators feature sine and sawtooth outputs, while the expander Oscillator+ features a pulse output with variable pulse-width modulation.

Next is an essential member of any Serge instrument: the Smooth & Stepped Generator, or SSG for short. The SSG is the quintessential patch-programmable module, with a myriad of functions and purposes available to it all depending on how it is patched. LFOs, filters, sample and hold, random voltage generation—using the tandem noise generator circuit—and more are all possible. The adjacent Dual CV Processor is a handy bipolar mixer and offset generator, allowing you to scale, invert, and shift voltages coming into and out of the modules within Helios.

Contrasting with the filters of Moog and wave folders of Buchla, Serge synthesizers have long offered both as ways to shape the harmonic content of audio signals. With this in mind, Helios contains both the classic Triple Waveshaper and a 1973VCF. The TWS was originally designed to convert the ramp waveforms produced by slew limiters into sine waves, however, cascading these channels together and patching in other signals creates a highly nuanced tool for wave shaping and nuanced feedback patching. The 1973VCF, while an earlier version of later Serge filters such as the VCFQ, is a handy module for filtering and pinging both audio and control signals. The balanced output available at the top is also a convenient way to prepare your patches to be heard on a mixer and PA or captured into an audio interface or another recording device.

A special inclusion for this system is the Paperface-dressed Touch Activated Keyboard Sequencer, or TKB for short. Evolving from the consolidation of the earlier Serge programmers and sequencers, the TKB is a classic touch-based controller and sequencer module with a number of possible uses. Traverse its matrix of stored knob values to create dynamic sequences, play notes directly into the oscillators, and apply pressure sensitivity to key parameters in your patch.

Both the Helios and TKB are housed in slim boats and joined together by wooden side panels, and the included external power supply offers plenty of juice to power up your patch anywhere. Explore a bit of both the classic and modern flavors of Serge Modular with this TKB-edition of the Paperface 50 system.

Serge Paperface 50 Features

• Modular synthesizer system in traditional 4U Serge format
• 50th Anniversary of Paperface Serge Systems
• Updated first generation Serge modules with modern features
• Helios panel: Oscillator, Oscillator+, Smooth & Stepped Generator + Noise, Dual CV-Pro, Triple Waveshaper
• 1973VCF with Balanced Output
• TKB panel with Paperface graphics