Studio Electronics Midimini V30 Monophonic Analog Synthesizer

Many can recall dialing up Studio Electronics Midimini patches that fit a song so perfectly that they inspired even greater creativity. Was there another sensible, MIDI-driven rackmount choice for immaculate synth bass and lead lines? December 2019 brings Midimini V30 to the table and nothing has been lost in the translation of this end-of-decade analog essential. A raft of brand-new hardware features, extensive software sweetening and modular connections open the window even wider to an already stunning analog view.

• Through-hole build
  
• Classic 4-pole 24dB/octave low pass ladder filter with voltage-controlled cutoff
  
• 14 1/8" outs-to-outs compatible patch points including CV and gate
  
• Color section with oscillator sync, ring modulator and noise
  
• Oscillator 2 sync: modulate (sweep) both OSC1 and OSC2 via ENV1>OSC2
  
• Amp Drive: saturation and overdrive derived from Boomstar Modular AMP module
  
• Output feedback loop and gain control interacts expressively with Amp Drive
  
• MIDI-syncable, audio frequency modulation-capable multi-waveform LFO, routable to VCO and VCF
  
• LFO CV output with level control for deep modulation or oscillation creation
  
• LFO Gate: LFO gate trigger of ENV1 and ENV2, derived from SE-02
  
• OSC 1 triangle wave routable to amplifier for high resonance low frequency compensation
  
• Envelope 2 master mode: ENV2 (VCA) assumes control of filter envelope
  
• Independent release controls for filter and amplifier
  
• Flexible linear and exponential glide
  
• Front panel-mounted external audio input with level control
  
• Drone function for eternal sustain and easy tuning
  
• Selectable low/last/high note priority, ENV1 invert, VCF/VCA dynamics and VCF (ENV1) multi-trigger
  
• MIDI learn function for MIDI, aftertouch and mod wheel
  

CON section

• GLIDE: portamento (pitch slide between notes) attenuator
  
• LIN/EPX: linear/exponential glide switch
  
• P. BEND: MIDI pitch bend attenuator
  
• VCF DYN: voltage-controlled filter dynamics attenuator
  
• MODMIX/LFO: LFO/OSC 3/noise modulation mix attenuator
  
• NOISE/OSC3: noise and OSC3 MODMIX interaction switch
  
• CV OUT: 1/8" pitch control voltage output patch point
  

LFO section

• VCO: voltage-controlled Oscillator 1-3 modulation attenuator
  
• VCF: voltage-controlled filter cutoff frequency attenuator
  
• WAVEFORM: LFO waveform shape switch
  
• RATE: modulation speed attenuator
  
• SYNC: LFO MIDI sync switch
  
• LFO OUT: 1/8" LFO control voltage output patch point with attenuator

OSCILLATORS section

• RANGE (1): oscillator 1 octave switch
  
• MASTER TUNE: master tuning attenuator
  
• WAVEFORM (1): oscillator 1 waveform selection switch
  
• RANGE (2): oscillator 2 octave switch
  
• OSC2 FINE: oscillator 2 fine tune attenuator
  
• WAVEFORM (2): oscillator 2 waveform selection switch
  
• RANGE (3): oscillator 3 octave switch
  
• OSC3 FINE: oscillator 3 fine tune attenuator
  
• WAVEFORM (3): oscillator 3 waveform selection switch
  
• TRANSPOSE LO/MED/HI: master octave selection switch
  
• OSC3 CONT KEY/PNL: oscillator 3 keyboard/panel control switch
  
• OSC MOD: MODMIX modulation amplifier switch, MIDI mod wheel-controlled
  
• OSC2 SYNC: oscillator 2 to oscillator 1 hard sync switch
  
• MAIN CV IN: 1/8" master pitch control voltage input patch point
  
• OSC1 CV: 1/8" oscillator 1 pitch control voltage input patch point (additive)
  
• OSC2 CV: 1/8" oscillator 2 pitch control voltage input patch point (additive)
  
• OSC3 CV: 1/8" oscillator 3 pitch control voltage input patch point (additive)

COLOR section

• ENV1 > OSC2: envelope 1 to oscillator 2 sync attenuator (labeled SWEEP on original Midimini)
  
• OSC3 > OSC2: cross-modulation of oscillator 2 by oscillator 3 attenuator
  
• RING MOD: ring modulation attenuator
  
• NOISE: noise generator attenuator
  
• WHT/PNK: white/pink noise selection switch
  
• NOISE: 1/8" noise output patch point
  
• OSC1: 1/8" oscillator 1 pitch control voltage output patch point

MIXER section

• OSC1: oscillator 1 volume attenuator
  
• ON: oscillator 1 mixer input on/off switch
  
• OSC2: oscillator 2 volume attenuator
  
• ON: oscillator 2 mixer input on/off switch
  
• OSC3: oscillator 3 volume attenuator
  
• ON: oscillator 3 mixer input on/off switch
  
• AMP DRIVE: amplifier saturation & overdrive circuit
  
• ON: Amp Drive on/off switch
  
• ^1 NO VCF: triangle to VCA switch, bypasses VCF
  
• FBK GAIN: feedback level control (shares EXT IN pot)
  
• EXT IN: external audio input with attenuator
  

FILTER/MODIFIERS section

• MOD: on/off switch for routing modulation from the MODMIX amplifier to filter cutoff
  
• CUTOFF: filter cutoff frequency attenuator
  
• EMPHASIS: resonance or Q attenuator
  
• CONTOUR: envelope 1 modulation to filter cutoff attenuator
  
• 1/3: 1/3 total amount of filter key tracking switch
  
• 2/3: 2/3 total amount of filter key tracking switch
  
• ATTACK: VCF envelope attack stage control
  
• DECAY: VCF envelope decay stage control
  
• SUSTAIN: VCF envelope sustain stage control
  
• LEARN: under-the-hood hub for MIDI channel, aftertouch and mod wheel
  
• GATE: gate signal indicator LED
  
• ATTACK: VCA envelope attack stage control
  
• DECAY: VCA envelope decay stage control
  
• SUSTAIN: VCA envelope sustain stage control
  
• PRIORITY LO/LAST/HI: note trigger priority switch
  
• ENV1 INV: VCF envelope invert switch
  
• MULT TRIG: VCF envelope multi-trigger switch
  
• LFO GATE: VCF/VCA LFO gate switch
  
• ENV2 MSTR: VCA envelope override of VCF envelope switch
  
• VCF CV: 1/8" VCF cutoff frequency control voltage input patch point
  
• ENV2 OUT: 1/8" envelope 2 control voltage output patch point with attenuator
  
• GATE IN: 1/8" gate input patch point
  
• GATE OUT: 1/8" 8.2V gate output patch point

OUT section

• VOLUME: main audio output level attenuation
  
• FEEDBACK: synth output to external input feedback loop level control
  
• REL1: VCF key/external gate release switch
  
• DRONE: indefinite VCA sustain switch
  
• REL2: VCA key/external gate release switch
  
• VCA DYN: amplifier envelope dynamics switch
  
• POWER: lighted main power on/off switch
  
• VCA CV: 1/8" VCA level control voltage input patch point

Back panel

• AC INPUT: 500 mA 100 Volts to 240 Volts AC, 50/60 Hz input
  
• VOLTAGE: 115/220 voltage switch
  
• MIDI THRU: 5-pin DIN MIDI thru output
  
• MIDI IN: 5-pin DIN MIDI input
  
• AUDIO: 1/4" TS mono main audio output

Root level geekery

• Metal shafted pots throughout: where Studio Electronics needed mil-spec audio tapers, because PC Mount tapers underperform in critical areas, they hand-wired in PEC Cantina pots (a commercial mil-spec variant) for the attacks and decays – resonance, too. The balance of the pots (PC Mount linear taper) are made by Alpha, a very good quality offering with heavy grease. Strangely, the higher-quality hand-wired pots use a lighter grease, making them feel 'scrapey' by comparison, but they are almost 10× as expensive, pushing up the V30 build cost a bit.
  
• Sturdy and reliable Mountain Switch toggle switches