Hello. What is the current gen 3 module that replaces bridge?
Welcome to the forum!
There is no direct replacement (at least not yet – who knows what the future might hold). The Bridge was a module that I feel like had four main functions: mult, scaler, voltage-controlled crossfader, and a summing mixer. The SumDist is a gen 3 module that can handle multing and summing mixing. (And the SMX3 will work for mixing too.) I believe the FKG3 can be used like a crossfader when the softness is turned up, but I don’t have one some I’m not 100% on that. Also, I think there might be a way you can patch Factors up to work like a crossfader, though I’m not 100% on that either. That just leaves scaling, and there is currently no gen 3 LZX module that does that the way Bridge did (though many modules have attenuators/attenuverters on the inputs that can scale voltages down).
There are some non-LZX modules that can get you closer to the crossfading and scaling that Bridge could do: the VH.S Channel can do voltage-controlled crossfading and I believe it uses the same power input as LZX gen 3 modules (so it can take eurorack power or a 12V DC barrel jack). The Omiindustriies Curtail can do 5V-to-1V scaling, though I don’t know off hand about any that go the other way (1V-to-5V) like Bridge could. There might also be some other non-LZX modules I’m forgetting that can do some of the things Bridge could.
So the functionality is there more or less, but just nothing combining it all in a single compact module the way Bridge does. But the separate modules are for the most part more powerful than what we had in Bridge, so it’s a tradeoff. And chances are that if you’re building a gen 3 system, you’ll probably be getting at least one of the modules I mentioned anyway, and if so then you’ll already have at least some of the functionality that Bridge offered.
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Thank you very much for the detailed response. I asked because I have been away in a different country for four years so my expedition gear has just sat on my shelf. Now that I’m back i’ve noticed that everything has switched to the new gen 3 series. I’ve noticed that the new gear has hd support so I would like to integrate hd into my setup and I am trying to figure out what to let go and what to keep.
What should I add to the existing list of modules in order to add hd:
Staircase
Color Chords
Bridge
Prismatic Ray
Andor 1 media player
A vidiot
And the Bpmc fluxes duo
thanks again.
I don’t personally do HD myself, so I’m not the most knowledgeable on this, but it’s been discussed in some threads on here before. These ones might be of use: Using ESG3, TBC2, or Chromagnon in HD sync modes: Compatibility with earlier LZX modules and instruments and Incorporating SD and HD systems (but I think it’s also come up in multiple other threads).
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To add to this, as I understand it, non-gen 3 modules will mostly work with HD just fine as they are, though if you have sharp edges in HD they might end up a little softer through non-gen 3 gear. And gear that needs sync may or may not work with HD sync, depending on what the gear is. I think the threads I linked to will probably explain it more, if you read through them.
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Some of your modules are NTSC-only (Vidiot and Fluxus Duo). If you want to keep those, you can run their output into TBC2 and out to ESG3 to upscale to HD. But you won’t be able to achieve synced patching between the NTSC and the HD synced modules in that setup.
For full synced patching in analog HD, you would have to replace your Vidiot with the equivalent setup in Gen3 modules. Something like the Double Vision System would fairly accurately replace Vidiot’s functions.
You can still use your Staircase, Bridge, Color Chords, and Prismatic Ray with Gen3 modules in HD. PR may have mixed results, as it was designed for SD.
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Thanks, this clarifies so much, i really appreciate the help.