| abstract | - Grant's original business, the Wiard Synthesizer Company, produced two lines of modules: the 300 and 1200 series. The 1200 series was a lower-cost series, with more limited functionality. These modules are compatible with the Frac format. The1200 series is no longer in production, although several of the module designs have been licensed to other manufacturers. The 300 series is a high-end series of modules in a unique 6U format that uses a panel one rack unit taller than the conventional 5U formats. Six 300 Series modules mounted in a frame will fit in a standard 19" rack. The 300 series panels have a distinctive blue background with intricate graphics. Owing to the large size of the panels, most modules combine several functions into one module; this produces a need for a lot of I/O. Accordingly, the modules were originally designed to use 3.5mm phone jacks rather than the 1/4-inch jacks that are more typical of large format modules. The 300 series was out of production from about 2005 to 2013, but is once again available, with some modules being stock and others on a made-to-order basis. All offer two connection options, either the standard 3.5 mm phone jack, or Bantam Jacks, which also have a small size, but are a standardized balanced audio connector which is more robust. Richter is the original designer of several popular module designs including the Miniwave, a EPROM-based waveform source which Wiard has licensed to several other manufacturers, and the Wogglebug, a popular source of control voltage randomness. Currently Modcan and Blacet Research are offering their own versions of the Miniwave, and several manufacturers offer the Wogglebug in various formats.
|
