Analog synthesizers, and analog synth modules such as Eurorack modules, are becoming more popular than ever. These devices are manipulated via electrical control voltages (CV) rather than digital messages carried over USB or MIDI. But what if you want to use your computer or DAW to control your CV-based instrument? Luckily, you have a number of options.
First, several hardware controllers, such as the Arturia BeatStep and BeatStep Pro, the Keith McMillen Instruments QuNexus, and the Akai MAX49 have CV outputs. This allows you to use them to directly play your CV-enabled analog synth, or to send data from your DAW to your synth.
There are also plug-ins, such as MOTU Volta, that don’t make or process sound but rather let you send notes, gate information, triggers, and LFO information directly from a track in your DAW, out your audio interface, and into your CV-controlled instrument. In order to use plug-ins like this, you’ll need to have an audio interface with DC-coupled outputs, such as the MOTU interfaces. This isn’t a spec that every manufacturer publishes, so be sure to check to see if your interface will pass DC current or not. Whichever option you choose, if you run a computer-based system, you’re not left out of the CV party.