3D Model

Please Note: This is not a guitar effect where you can "plug in your guitar and get a sound out". Extra circuity is absolutely essential, either directly wired, or as parts of other equipment. If you need to ask how to use it, then it's not for you, or see the CGS367.

Four quadrant multipliers have more or less replaced ring modulators in synthesizers, even though they still bear the label "ring modulator". The distortion in these is lower than that of a true diode ring modulator, because the diode voltage drops have been eliminated. This leads to better specifications, though in a noise maker, this is not always desirable.

For years, Ken Stone has been building various four quadrant modulators, and have been satisfied with none of them. Not one of them had the raw sonic beauty of the traditional ring modulators he made when he was first starting out in synthesizer building.

For that reason Ken presented the "Real Ring Modulator", a traditional diode and transformer ring modulator.

Carrier suppression is good, but not complete, so a compressor-expander could help if better suppression is required.

Original article, art & design copyright 2003 by Ken Stone