MATRIXSYNTH: Wednesday, March 14, 2007

system100-lastthroes

download here
"13-minute dry recording of the system 100 sequenced by the mobius. this should give some an idea of what the system 100 sounds like."
Demo via YouFeel.

Mike Hankinson - The Unusual Classical Synthesizer

"This record is the first L.P. ever recorded using only the Electronic Music Studios "Synthi" VCS-3. This instrument has the capability of producing virtually any sound, but was used purely as a straight musical instrument on this L.P. The only modification - a potentiometer control was added, which gave a sliding octave up or down, by rotating the control, thus extending the keyboard to 5 octaves."

Title link takes you to more info, shots and a stream of the album. Via both J of Schematic Music Company and swissdoc.

Beaterator

Details here. A PSP version is coming as well. Via John of Toho Monster.

Ignition

flickr by vishan.

Title link takes you to more.

Update via Tom Bugs of BugBrand in the comments:

"Hey, that's the Buchla at EMS studio Stockholm (Electroacoustic Music of Sweden studio) - I got to play on it last month and it was really fantastic - total subotnick!

If you check my photos page you'll see a more detailed picture and also the Serge system that sits next to it..."

MOOG Minimoog Model E

Note Model E, not D. This is "The Welsh Minimoog" manufactured by Alex Winter's MOOG Music in the UK, referred to in the previous post. The other "non-MOOG" Minimoog E was Don Martin's Minimoog often referred to as the Donimoog (previous posts). Don Martin owned the rights to the name in the US until Bob Moog won the name back in time for the Voyager, however in the UK the Voyager was released as the Voyager by Bob Moog (more info in the previous post).

Image and details pulled via this auction

Details:
"You're looking at a Minimoog Model 204E Analogue Synthesiser - the 'Welsh' Minimoog!

It is in mint condition - I am the sole owner from new, when I bought it in 1999. It has never left the house. It is also fully functional - all controls, switches and keys work perfectly. It comes with the original manual and power cable.

There are one or two 'gremlins' in the system, which were present when I bought it, but they didn't concern me enough to address. I feel I should mention these so as to make the buyer aware!

- there is a slight 'tick' noise which can be heard periodically whilst playing. The below sound demo shows it at its worst. I've no idea what causes it - I know that Moog Music Ltd. had a number of 'bugs' to iron out, so I suspect this is one of them. It's never really bothered me.

- plugging in a set of headphones and lowering the headphone volume to minimum will result in a humming sound. This sound is only audible in the headphones and does not occur with the main outputs (high or low).

My reason for selling is because I've had it eight years and feel like a change.

So what is a 'Welsh Minimoog' then? Moog Music Ltd., based in Caerphilly, Wales was set up in the 90's to reissue Moog Modular parts before setting out to recreate the classic Minimoog... with a few enhancements! From what I understand, only five Minimoog Model 204Es were made before the company went under. I was lucky enough to acquire one (cost £1500 at the time!).

The improvements are as follows:

- Ultra-stable oscillators - these have yet to go out of tune in eight years.
- Transpose switch - the range of the keyboard has now been increased by +/- 1 octave.
- Digitally-scanned keyboard
- PWM on Oscillators 1 & 2 when they are set to Square/Pulse waves. Osc 3 in LFO duties provides modulation.
- Multiple Triggering - the envelopes can be set to multiple triggering, in addition to the original's single triggering.
- MIDI - the Minimoog Model 204E features MIDI built-in (not a retrofit).

The picture below is of the actual synth and by following the link below to my 'music' page, a set of demos that I recorded can be found at the bottom of the list.

http://www.soundclick.com/greenalsatian

Here are some other demos that I recorded, including the 'tick' - this was from a test in which I taped down a note for half an hour - the 'tick' only occurred once, but the frequency of it can vary.

http://media.putfile.com/Minimoog-Tick
http://media.putfile.com/Camel-esque-Lead-Noise-Filter-Mod
http://media.putfile.com/Minimoog-Stranglers-esque
http://media.putfile.com/Minimoog-Devo-ish-Bass
(if the links go down, they are mirrored here)

Here is a link to the review of a pre-production model on Sound on Sound. The issues mentioned in the review were resolved on the production model.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct98/articles/minimoog204e.html"

MOOG Gets It's Name Back in the UK

Peter Forrest of the A-Z of Analog Synthesizers (see link on the right book section of the site if you want to pick up a copy), and Spheremusic (Vemia), sent the following into AH. I asked him if I could put it up and he gave the thumbs up.

"Just looking through the latest Sound On Sound, I saw a Turnkey store ad for the Little Phatty stage edition and Voyager Fire. The intriguing thing is that the Little Phatty is being sold under the Moog brand, while the Voyager is still 'by Bob Moog'. Did I miss some change in the legal situation? Secondly, the ad claims that the Little Phatty is one of the fastest selling synths in living memory. I wondered how much of that is ad hyperbole (after all, it could be one of the, um, 500 fastest selling synths...). Amos or anyone, can you fill me in?
Little Peter Phorrest (sic)"

And sure enough Amos replied:
"Hi Peter, AH'ers,

I am not 100% informed on this, but I know that Moog Music has regained the right to do business in the UK under their proper name. This means no more "censored" manuals and logo-less synths! :-) However, it may be that the rights to the product name "Minimoog" are still in dispute, which could explain why the Voyager is still Voyager by Bob Moog and not Minimoog Voyager as it is known elsewhere in the world.

Cheers,

Amos"

I wonder what happened to Alex Winter who owned the MOOG name in the UK. (BTW, for those that care an update to the Vemia site is finally in the works and should address the script errors and other issues).

Upated DIY Kraakdoos / Crackle Box Schematic

Title link takes you there.

"UPDATE I have realized that the schematic i originally published here had some errors in it due to misinterpretation of the original i used. While the old version sounds fun too, this is closer to the original. Luckily it is easily fixed if you want to try. Here is the old schematic with changes in green"

Future Music Mag Goes Under?

So, look at what I got in the mail along with a letter stating FutureMusic mag was no longer in production. In place I would be getting Guitar World for the remainder of my subscription. Whoopee! So, anyone know what happened to FutureMusic? I know it wasn't the greatest, but they definitely had tons of synth porn; enough that I ended up subbing to it. Their website is up with the last post on Feb 22, 2007.

Update via the comments: It looks like only the US version was canceled.

Boogie Filter Pumps You UP!

Via Grant Richter of Wiard on the Wiard list:

"I finally got around to writing an Excel spreadsheet to calculate all the gain settings for the Xpander switchable mixer.

link

That is what that mess of resistors does before UX14, a CD4051 eight way selector switch. A little later I will write a note to show how to add a simple switch between C1 and ground which will add in the other 8 modes for a total of 16.

I unitzed the spreadsheet data to use with the Boggie Filter and any 4 input linear mixer. The file is called Multimode.jpg, you will need to view it at the largest size, or download it.

The table assumes all 4 Boogie outputs are connected to all 4 inputs on a mixer with unity gain output and controls calibrated 0 to 100%. The table also assumes the two red option jumpers on the rear of the Boogie Filter are in the down position.

100% means fader is fully on, 0% means fader is fully off. 50% is fader at halfway point and so forth. There are a few 33% settings and a 17% setting. Feel around the suggested starting points for best results.

All of these are only suggested starting points. ANY setting of the mixer faders will produce some kind of filter. As always with music, adjust by ear and personal taste. You may very well discover a setting Oberheim never even knew existed. Consider running the 24, 18, 12 and 6 dB poles through different effects chains. Unlimited sonic possibilities.

Have fun!"

Doepfer Sampler, for parts gate cv?

Click here for some shots pulled via this auction. Anyone know what this is? I took a quick look at the Doepfer site and couldn't find it. Note the panel graphics look off center. Homebrew?

via synth ollie.

Update: synth ollie found some more info: "Doepfer CV/Gate controlled modular sound sampler system that was available about between 1985 and 1990. Up to 8 sampling voices could be controlled by a Commodore C64. Software for sampling, FM synthesis, Wavetable synthesis, Fourier synthesis and Waveshaping synthesis were available for the C64. The complete system was also described in detail (including schematics and boards) in the book called "Sound Sampler" published by Elektor (ISBN 3-921608-44-9) in 1988. At this time memory chips were very expensive. Most of the pc board is covered by the memory chips."

Also via swissdoc in the comments:
"There is a book from 1988 by Dieter Döpfer and Cristian Assall, Sound-Sampler, Elektor Verlag 1988, Aachen, ISBN 3-921608-44-9

http://www.uk-electronic.de/images/sbuch_8.jpg
[Larger pic via Patch Pierre - you'll find some additional info there as well.]

I have a copy by chance.

It is about building a modular sampler, C64 is used for editing. You had a Sound Sampler Input/Interface module and per voice a Sound Sampler Memory-Card.

The picture above shows a 6-Voice system, the Input/Interface module is left, then 6 times the Memory-Card, each with a HS-VCO to get the pitch and a Curtis filter.

Georg."

Xanadu - RUSH - Live 81 / Exit Stage Left

Oberheim solo comes in at 4:26 into it. I'm guessing that's a black FVS with a white programmer. Feel free to comment if you know what it is.
YouTube via Prognoir. Sent my way via Edgar.

Top 20 Greatest Synths - Episode 3

Details:
"More cheese than ever before

In episode 3 of the Top 20 Greatest Synths (chart positions 12-14), Vangelis demos the CS80, TV magician David Nixon describes the Mellotron as a ‘musical computer’ and there’s a gloriously cheesy Juno106S TV ad from Japan! Plus more unhinged surrealism from Presenter Marc Norris and contributions from Dave Spiers (Gmedia Music), Richard Termini (Cyndi Lauper Band) and Andy Davies (Stackridge, Korgis, Tears For Fears).

'Things really hot up as we get into the higher positions on the chart' says the show’s producer Simon Power, “and the best is yet to come!” Episode 4 features the youngest synth on the chart and will be posted at Sonicstate in a fortnights time."

Title link takes you there. You can find previous episodes here.