The Model 13 is an enhanced derivative of the infamous Buchla 292 Low Pass Gate.
Like all LPGs, at the heart of the Dual Timbral Gate is a device known as a Vactrol -- a small electro-optical coupler which opens the filter with it's characteristic ringing qualitiy. As sonically compelling as they are, Vactrols however are not perfect. While some of their anomalies are desirable (ringing for instance), others are not. Long story short - Vactrols leak. Not vactrol juice, but sound passed through them, even when you're telling them to be quiet. While it can't be eliminated without jeopardizing the ring, it can be improved upon and the Model 13 does just that, decreasing the nominal leakage associated with other LPGs by a factor of 10, from 3mv to just a under one third of a mv...barely audible even in at very high volumes.
Each gate is fitted with an offset knob which serves two functions: If no VC is applied, they act as manual level controls. Once a VC is patched they act as low threshold offsets, as the gate will not close below the level set on the pot. A three position switch selects the modes of operation: Amplitude only (no filtering), LowPass (high filtering) or Both (a combination of Amplitude and Lowpass settings). The M13 has been further enhanced by a dedicated crossfading sum output, allowing for a sonic mixtures of the information passed through both. One application for this output being when both gates are set to amplitude mode, your DTG becomes a handy 2 in, 1 out mixer!
> tech specs
Dual Lowpass Gates
Tri-mode response:
Amp, Lowpass, Both
Less than 1/3mv
leakage
Sum out provides
manual crossfading of
Gate 1 and 2 outputs.
Only 8ru wide
Available at launch in Dopefer format
MOTM format to follow
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