Oakley Modular Deep Equinoxe Phaser (MOTM)

From the manufacturer:

This is an upgrade of our four stage OTA based phaser design, the Oakley Equinoxe. The original Equinoxe is a wonderfully lush and smooth effect and similar in sound to the phaser used by Jean Michel Jarre on the Oxygene and Equinoxe albums. But the Deep Equinoxe goes further. An additional pair of double stages are added, to give a total of six and eight stages respectively, deepening the effect creating a very rich and animated sound.

The unit includes a useful internal low frequency oscillator with accompanying bicolour LED. The centre frequency of the phase shifter can also be controlled by an external control voltage. Thus allowing envelope generators to be used to sweep the phaser to create filter type effects. Four front panel pots, and two 'two position' switches or one 'three position' switch, control the module:

Frequency: This pot controls the frequency of the two notches created by the phase shift network.

Emphasis: This pot accentuates the feedback signal within the phaser to create a deeper effect.

Mod Depth: A simple attenuator to adjust the level of the internal LFO or incoming CV.

LFO rate: This pot adjusts the speed of the LFO.

The number of stages used is determined either by two 'two position' switches as my original design, or by the newer design that uses a single three position switch. For the two switch option the two switches are as follows:

Normal/Deep: The top toggle switch selects between the classic four stage Oakley Equinoxe mode and the Deep modes.

Deep Six/Deep Eight: This lower toggle switch selects between six stage or eight stage phasing when in Deep mode.

For the newer single switch design, the switch simply selects between four, six or eight stage modes directly. The single switch is more intuitive to use, but uses a less common switch and is slightly more complex to wire up.

The internal LFO produces a triangle wave output which is also available from a front panel socket, LFO OUT. This allows you to use the internal LFO for other modulation purposes. The LFO signal is automatically routed to the modulation depth pot when no jack is inserted in the CV IN socket. The module features an on board jumper to select whether the LFO OUT signal is inverted or non inverted compared to the modulating signal.

The unit is designed to work with standard MOTM/Oakley signal levels, although it could be easily converted to be driven from other sources including an electric guitar.

For DIY builders of this module it is possible to purchase the Sock4 circuit board which is available separately. This little board speeds up the wiring of the four 1/4" sockets and reduces the chances of any wiring errors.

The Deep Equinoxe uses a standard Equinoxe PCB (issue 5 or above) with the Deep Equinoxe daughter board installed neatly above it. A simple six way 0.1" interconnect joins the two boards together. Please note that the Deep Equinoxe board cannot be easily retrofitted to older Equinoxe boards.

Power (+/-15V) is provided to the board either by our standard Oakley 4-way header or Synthesizers.com header. Maximum current consumption is approximately 50mA per rail.

The main board size is 143mm (high) x 72mm (deep) and the Deep Equinoxe daughter board is 77mm (high) x 65mm (wide).

Schematics are only available to purchasers of the PCB and will be sent via e-mail when the board(s) are shipped.

Use 'save as...' button to download and view the files. IE users need to right hand mouse click and then choose 'save as'.

Schematics are only available
to purchasers of the PCB and will be sent via e-mail when the
board(s) are shipped.

Use 'save as...' button to
download and view the files. IE users need to right hand mouse
click and then choose 'save as'.

Front Panel database

A Schaeffer front panel can be made for this module. The database can be found by downloading the following link:

5U format (two
switch version) in traditional black

5U format (two
switch version) in natural finish

5U format (one
switch version) in traditional black

5U format (one
switch version) in natural finish

The company are based in Berlin in Germany and will send out panels to anywhere in the world. Delivery to the UK normally takes around ten days. For North American users you can also order your Schaeffer panels from Front Panel Express.