Roland MKS-70

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Rack version of the JX-10/JX-8P.

CASIO KX-101

via this auction

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Yamaha CS01

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Details:
"This is a Yamaha CS01 Analog Synth. This is a monophonic synth(only 1 note at a time). These were only manufactured from 1982-1984.
This was the last analog synth Yamaha synth made according to most websites before moving to all digital with the DX-7. A very cool little synth with lots of sliders to play with. It has pitch bend and modulation wheels, breath control(if you can find one of those rare breath controllers). There are 5 waves to choose from as well as resonance. Everything works great and it's totally fun to play with. This may look like a toy, but it's got a lot of neat sounds to work with. By the way there is no memory to store sounds, so you have to move sliders to change the sounds, but it is easy to make up new sounds.It can use a DC9-12 power adapter with center pin postive, but it does not come with one, even though i tested to make sure it works. It also has a 1/4 inch headphone jack and a 1/4 output jack on the right side."

Don't forget MATRIXSYNTH-B for the b-sides.

John Arnold and Jeremy Ellis Live!!!

YouTube via defusionist. Title link takes you to more.

Features a Waldorf Micro Q Keyboard, Akai MPC, and Godin Guitar with MIDI.

FuzzyWuzzyModo

And the Chinchilla won.

If you are wondering why the heck I'm posting this. Click here.

They removed the number of votes, so who knows how much Moogy lost by.

Little Phatty with a littler not-so-fatty.

flickr by Maggie Osterberg.

Casio Vl-1
Moog Little Phatty

DIY Ribbon Controller in 15 Minutes via Muff Wiggler

Title link takes you to the post.

D.A.M.I.A.N. DIY Modular

Remember the Damian wooden modular? Here's another shot of it via sequencer.de I love the colors on it.

Korg MS-20 SQ-10 Set-up

flickr by micromoogman.

KORG MiniKP

"The family has expanded with its newest and smallest member, the mini-KP. It offers the same interface and realtime fingertip effects as other KAOSS models, plus many features taken from the new KP3, along with a compact body and battery operation for shirt pocket portability. Mini-KP is ideal for DJ club performances, home studio applications, as well as outdoor live events or for use with a portable audio player."

On Nova Musik's website. Via SIGHUP.

Arturia Origin Synthesizer

BE ORIGINAL

Origin is the first Arturia Hardware synthesizer. It is a modular system of a new generation opening innovative avenues in sound design.
Loaded with modules extracted from the best synthesizers of all time (Moog Modular, ARP 2600, CS-80, minimoog and Prophet VS) Origin lets you combine these modules and benefit from the additional possibilities put onboard. The result: a new type of sound accessible through an extremely intuitive interface.

MAIN FEATURES:

* More than 500 presets created by talented musicians and synthesizer specialists
* Up to 32 voices of polyphony for a typical patch
* Create your own patch or use an existing audio structures: an Origin patch made by connecting independent modules, or the minimoog V, the ARP 2600, the CS-80, the Moog Modular.
* Superb audio quality with TAE® engine. 24 bits/96 kHz supported.
* Compatibility with most of the presets from the Arturia Classic virtual Analog synthesizers.
* Origin lets you open dedicated software on your Mac and PC and use it as an AU or VST plug-in. All the sounds are calculated on the machine while you work on your computer as you would do with a native application.
* Analog: 2 audio ins, 10 audio outs. Digital: SPDIF out, USB 2.0
* Large selection of effects: Phaser, Chorus, Delay, FX Reverbs, Distortion, Param Eq, Compressor, Bitcrusher
* 16/32 step sequencer
* Innovative Macro, Advanced LFO, modulation modes, Advanced Joystick modes.
* MIDI : In, Out, Thru or USB 2

Title link takes you there.

via diablo quapo

Arturia Does Roland

Introducing the Jupiter-8V

CRYSTAL CLEAR PHATNESS
Arturia announces Jupiter 8V, the software recreation of Roland’s famous Jupiter 8 which was in production from 1981 to 1984. The Jupiter 8 was a synth that not only inspired a generation of musicians ranging from Prince to Howard Jones, from Depeche Mode to Moby, it was also a unique machine that offered a sharp and crystalline sound while being uniquely phat.

The Jupiter-8V is the latest born in the Arturia family of analog synthesizer recreations. Offering the unique sound palette of the Roland Jupiter 8 with a bass that can bring down the house.

Based on the latest version of TAE®, the Jupiter 8 V also brings to you an advanced step sequencer, a new line of dynamic effects and a module combining LFO’s called Galaxy. All in one, the Jupiter 8 V comes with a perfect blend of classicism and modernity.

MAIN FEATURES:

* More than 400 high quality and innovative sounding presets
* Up to 32 voices of polyphony, and a Unison mode
* A unique audio structure featuring 2 oscillators per voice (16 oscillators in total), 2 LFO’s, 2 filters and 2 envelopes.
* Keyboard split and layer
* A set of Analog Sounding Effects: Dual Delay, Phaser, Flanger, all three being largely modulable by any audio source in the synth.
* 2 digital effects, X and Y.
* Additional Live-oriented Step-sequencer, additional Galaxy module for advanced modulations
* Set to Control with your external MIDI keyboard in just a few clicks.
* Full compatibility with major formats and hosts on Mac OS X and Windows XP (VST, AU, RTAS)

Title link takes you there.

via diablo guapo

Nord C3 Combo Organ

Title link takes you to a couple more shots.

The dual manual Nord C3 Combo Organ emulates three types of vintage organs carefully modeled from B3, Vox* Continental and Farfisa* Compact Deluxe originals.





Features ...
- Dual 61-note manuals, same keybeds as Electro 61
- New 2nd generation tonewheel organ model
- Two transistor organ models
- 3x vibrato, 3x chorus, unison function
- Tube-style overdrive
- Three types of amplifier simulations (including rotating speaker)
- Delay with tap-tempo
- Reverb (5 algorithms)
- 3-band EQ
- Louder outputs
- Dedicated bass pedalboard MIDI input
- Trek II String Bass emulation, with controls to activate sustained & "pluck" bass

Really cool features ...
11-pin rotary speaker connector - connect a Leslie, Motion Sound, or other rotary speaker with an 11-pin connection, and control it using the C3's rotary speaker controls; includes a high-level output & options for sending just the B3 to the external rotary speaker, and the transistor organs to an amp connected to the L & R 1/4" outputs

Half-Moon Switch accessory (optional) - a physical switch that takes the place of the panel controls for rotary speaker; controls external rotary speaker or internal emulation

33 pounds - yep, 33 pounds ...

Other:
Availability - shipping in the United States in April 2007 (subject to change)
Pricing - List $3,600
Accessories - Half-Moon Switch, Legs (same as Stage), music stand (same as stage), gig bag
"C3" - C = "combo", 3 = three organ models

via Katzenjammer

Jam: "It's a small world" for machines (mini-tour of studio)

And one more sent my way via shagghie.

"A rare mini tour of Shagghie's studio. Kind of like "it's a small world" for machines. I'm just letting them talk here...haven't done much to tame them or get them all to speak the same language, even if at the least they are all on the same clock. :)"

SunSyn meets Magneto-Tube Random Noise Gen!

Another sent my way via shagghie.

"Went by the surplus store today and scored a gem of a module...a vintage HH Scott model 811-B Random Noise Generator... This thing is sick. So of course I ran it through my SunSyn and let the noise modulate the LPF Cutoff Freq. Here's the lofi version..hifi version up shortly after. Thing has ASA, RF, AF, and LF noise modes...anyone know what those stand for?"

Update: Shagghie's MySpace Page

Post War Jam (Cyndustries Entry #1)

YouTube via shagghie.

"This mini performance came in 3rd place in the cyndustries.com 'War and Peace' bug music competition. Tries to capture the sorrow and distortion of life after WWIII, yet the need to still express no matter what the world's circumstance. All live, no samples, no loops. Wish camera mic picked up bass freqs better...the mp3 on Cynthia's site has 'proper' audio, fwiw.
Gear used:
MachineDrum fed through Micromoog filters.
MEK (2 seqences internal, 2 send via midi to SunSyn)
SunSyn - Pad sequence.
KP3- Used for grain delay treatment on treated MachineDrum beat through Micromoog.
Spectralis- Backbeat and light bass synth line
MEK - Dischorded bass line intro"

"For the curious: Ran some of the machinedrum through the micromoog's filter, while the MEK takes care of sequencing itself and one of the SunSyn voices. The Spectralis handles some backbeat and basic bass accents. I don't think a lot of folks realize just how powerful that micromoog can be in the hands of a noise freak. There's a 'pure' audio .mp3 on the Cyndustri's site, too: link"

Roland Jupiter 8 Resource Center

Title link takes you to the archived site on web.archive.org. The site itself is gone. Makes you wonder how many other synth resource sites have gone to limbo. Fortunately web archives saves some of it for us.

One of the reasons why I chose Blogger for Matrixsynth was because it is owned by Google and it runs on the Blogger servers, not my server. I don't have to deal with performance issues, costs (it's free!), and most importantly, the site will live on long after I'm gone.

BugBrand Drone Machine

Click here for images pulled via this auction.

Details:
"Input - Audio Input Preamp with Vari-decay Envelope Follower
The modular works at high signal levels so external audio signals must be brought up to suitable levels. Suitable for line or mic level signals (low or high gain settings respectively). The EnvFlw generates a smoothed CV representing the amplitude of the input signal.

RingMod - Multiplier / Modulator
Ring-modulation of oscillators or audio input results in some great klang-tones and you've got the modular scope to make the input waveforms do some interesting things. This module also allows amplitude modulation, so can be used for basic VCA applications in AM mode.

Inverters - CV / Audio inverters x 2
Two simple inverters that work with CV or audio signals. Useful for changing the polarity of modulation waves.

VCOs - 3 x Thomas Henry XR2206 VC(LF)Oscillator
These VCOs have some great power and with three of them you can reach some really extreme sonic areas by cross modulation and/or chaotic feedback. The concise design is from Thomas Henry (used with permission) - there are details online here and I've published a compact PCB for you to DIY here. I've added a switch to allow Oscillator or LFO ranges from about 1cycle a minute up to super-high frequencies (10+ kHz) and the oscillators are roughly scaled to 1v/oct (though I wasn't aiming for a typical keyboard driven synth system! You'll get at least four octaves of decent tracking).
The oscillator generates Sin/Tri waves (switchable) and squarewaves, has diverse modulation inputs, sync input and a strange/wonderful VC-waveshaping control that inverts half of the Sin/Tri waveform resulting in rich harmonics (the waveshaping doesn't change the squarewave)
The controls are (from top): Range Switch (Osc / LFO), Coarse Tune, Indicator LED, Fine Tune, Sin/Tri Switch, Waveshape, Exponential Modulation with depth control (use this input for 1v/oct response), Linear Modulation with depth control, Waveshape modulation with depth control, Sync input, Sin/Tri output, Square output.

VCF - State Variable VC Filter
A standard but powerful VC Filter design (12dB/Oct) with two audio inputs and three response outputs (Low / Band / High pass). There are controls for Cutoff and Resonance and two cutoff modulation inputs with depth controls. The two audio inputs (with level controls) are mixed together before the filter.

Delay - PT2399 digi-delay module (not voltage controlled).
The PT2399 is a good sounding digital delay chip - it is only specified to generate delays up to about half a second, but when you slow it down further you get some noisy, crunky, wonder sonics (hear the audio demos). You get two (switchable) time ranges - long or short, with long generating the crunchy sounds. Then there are controls for delay time, feedback (into overload) and dry/wet balance.

Output Mixer - 3 channel output mixer
A simple output mixer with level controls and master output level control.

The Rear Panel - Ins / Outs / Power / Decoration!
On the back of the unit you've got the input and output 1/4" mono unbalanced jack sockets, power input / on-off switch / LED indicators (bright blue!) and common ground connection (if you want to hook the unit to other modular devices). Pretty looking, no?

Connections - all internal connections use 4mm banana connections. These are great because they're colourful, reliable and, best of all, stackable - so you can take an output to many different inputs at the same time for modulationary overload.

Power - the box runs off a bipolar (+/- 12v) supply so you can only use it with the supplied AC (not DC!) power adaptor. I have a range of AC adaptors suitable for your global location and will supply your choice of UK, Euro or US.

Case - the box is a compact 12 x 6 x 6 inches and has a carrying handle on top. Damn, you can travel in style with this box - it looks kind of like a vanity case!

Sound Demos - an important factor! Here are some mp3 demos (320 kbps) - they are all recorded straight in with zero effects - what you hear is what you get! And do try to listen on decent speakers to hear the extreme low-frequencies possible. These sounds, of course, give only a brief overview of the sonic possibilities."

Demo1 - starts with slowly modulated oscillations, moves through some delay sounds and down into clickety bubbles.
Demo2 - some synthy sounds (not played with keyboard! purely square-wave modulation depth), more delay and then into a chaotic scream section. Finishes with some hyper-high-freq slow moves to cleanse your ears.
Demo3 - audio processing with a drum beat. Highlights the VCF with modulation from the EnvFlw and oscillators. Moves into ringmod sounds and the end has some subtle sync'ing rhythmics.
Demo4 - Low-end sine modulations - you need to hear the lows. Shows some waveshaping and modulation inversion."

You can find the demo links in the auction and mirrored here for when the auction goes away.

Previous BugBrand posts including video.
BugBrand on YouTube
BugBrand website

Update: The video:

BugBrand Drone Machine - Overview & Audio Processing Demo

JoMoX Sunsyn

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Casio PT-10

Another "made you look" auction image. This one features what looks like a Quad Sherman Filterbank. The auction is for the Casio PT-10. Title link takes you to the shots pulled via this auction. I have a feeling these are going to get old pretty fast, but it's interesting seeing this technique for the first time. This is via the same seller as the last post.

Details:
"HARDCORE PUNK CIRCUIT BENT CASIO PT-10. FOUR BLACK MOMENTARY BUTTONS UNDER YOUR FINGERS & ONE TOUCH SENSITIVE STUD THAT INDUCES PITCH SWOOPING FOR LEFT HAND MANIPULATION. THESE BUTTONS ARE SUPER HIGH QUALITY FOR CLEAN ENGAGEMENT OF BENDS AND FEATURE A SMOOTH SPRINGY REBOUND. THE STUD IS UNSHARPENED APPAREL QUALITY AND IS SOLIDLY MOUNTED AND RE-ENFORCED SO YOU CAN WAIL ON IT. ADDED 1/8 INCH OUTPUT FOR MIXERS, EFFECTS... I HAVE BEEN PLUGGING STRAIGHT INTO MY MODULAR SYNTH AND USING IT AS A SOUND SOURCE OR FURTHER BLASTING WITH THE SHERMAN FILTERBANKS I USE SO OBSESSIVELY... GOOD SOLID MODIFIED DEVICE WITH LOADS OF ATTITUDE AND AGGRESSIVE SOUNDS AND RHYTHMS AS WELL AS THE STOCK PIANO, FANTASY, VIOLIN & FLUTE PRESETS. ALL THE BENDS WORK INDEPENDENTLY AND IN COMBINATION WITH ONE ANOTHER FOR VARIOUS RESULTS WITH VARIOUS VOICE, RHYTHM, AND OTHER SETTINGS ON THIS KEYBOARD. PORTABLE; THE PT-10 WORKS WITH 4 AA BATTERIES & THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT IS CLEAN, UNOBSTRUCTED; THE COVER INTACT... ...& IT WILL RUN OFF OF THE 6v DC ON THE MULTI-VOLTAGE MULTI-ADAPTOR I AM INCLUDING IN THIS AUCTION ! THE SPEAKER IS INTACT AND PRODUCES LOUD CLEAR SOUND THAT IS NOT SIMPLY OVERDRIVEN INTO DISTORTION BY THE BENDS."

That's not me shouting, btw...

Magical Musical Thing

File this one under one of the best "made you look" Ebay auctions. I'm going through the newly listed stuff and I see a thumbnail of this image listed as "Magic Musical Thing." You can barely make out the image in the thumbnail but I see lots of colors and lights, so of course I click. And... It's a Hartmann Neuron! Only the Neuron of course is not up for auction, but rather... the "Magical Musical Thing"

No title link. Just the two shots and some details pulled via this auction.

Details:
"RARE MATTEL 1978 MAGICAL MUSICAL THING. THIS SYNTH WAS MARKETED AROUND THE TIME OF THE HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL MOTION PICTURE 'CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND' & MAY HAVE BEEN AN ATTEMPT TO CAPITALIZE ON THE MARRIAGE OF COLOR AND SOUND THAT COMPRISED COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE HUMAN AND TERRESTRIAL IN THAT FAMOUS FILM'S FINALE SEQUENCE... VERY GOOD FULY FUNCTIONING CONDITION DESPITE THE LOSS OF THE MATTEL LOGO AND OTHER ADORNMENTS. COMES WITH BOX AND BOOKLET OF INSTRUCTIONS AND SONGS. STRANGE BEAUTY AND PROBABLY A WONDERFUL CANDIDATE FOR A CIRCUIT BENDING PROJECT... WILL BE ABOUT 5lbs. PACKAGED"

Apologies for the all caps, but I'm not about to convert that to lower case.

Roland SH-1000

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Details:
" This is a Roland SH-1000 synth. It is the first synth Roland produced and possibly one of the first commercial Japanese synths, which makes it quite a collectible.

It has 10 preset sounds and a synth section for creating your own sounds. On the synth section there are 9 synth selectors giving a range from 32' to 2' each of which can be combined for generating more complex waveforms. It also has a VCF and VCA. Effects include Vibrato, Tremelo, Portamento, Glide, Growl, Waw and Random Note which plays "accidental" random notes, interesting effect. There is also White and Pink noise. It's got pretty much everything. Spend a little time with it and you will be soon producing some very cool and unique basses, leads and weird sounds.

It has a nice rich analog sound and has some very interesting modulation features not found on the later SH models."

Don't forget to check out MATRIXSYNTH-B for more.