Newly Remastered Vako Orchestron Disc - SAXOPHONE

"Newly Remastered Vako Orchestron Disc - SAXOPHONE

As soon as we have 15 pre-orders, we'll go to press and start shipping. It's unlikely that there will be sufficient demand to do a second run of 25 of these discs, so your best bet is to buy as many of these as you need while you can! Any future additional copies will most likely be done as one-offs, which are twice as expensive to produce, and thus will cost twice as much.

PLEASE NOTE: This disc WILL NOT play properly in an Optigan! They WILL play, but the sounds will NOT be mapped correctly to the keyboard- they will be mapped mostly haphazardly across the chord buttons. Please don't order this disc expecting to easily use it in an Optigan. In the future we will be porting the Orchestron sounds to the Optigan- please be patient! :)

This is not a simple photocopy of an original vintage Orchestron disc, it's completely re-mastered and re-created from scratch, using the original sounds from the Orchestron master tapes. In other words, this disc won't sound 100% exactly like the original discs in every tiny detail. Specifically:

-Since there's usually no way to precisely identify the exact 2-second excerpt that was originally used from each sustained note on the master tapes (some of which can be 8-10 seconds long), we've simply chosen 2-second excerpts that sounded good in our editing situation.

-Our Saxophone disc has a little less low-end and a bit more high-end than the original. These can both be easily adjusted with EQ if you're trying to precisely duplicate the overall tonality of the original discs.

-The loop joints on our disc are very smooth and for the most part don't pop/thud the way the originals do.

-We've staggered the loop joints evenly across the disc (instead of placing them all at 12 o'clock), so that no two notes hit their loop joint at the same time.

-Some of our discs may have very slight periodic crosstalk on some notes (mostly noticeable on higher notes), owing to miniscule variations in the center hole punching tolerance. Said crosstalk should be well within the acceptable limits that Orchestron users are accustomed to.

So, will our disc satisfy the absolute purist? Probably not, and we won't attempt to argue otherwise. But despite the differences, to the more casual player our disc sounds very much like the original. We're confident that you'll love the sound and quality of this disc, but if you're not totally satisfied, we're happy to offer a 100% money-back guarantee. This is a labor of love for us, and we want to make sure you feel the love too!

Since the original discs came in plain white jackets, so will ours. We will be replicating the original printed paper sleeves- spelling/grammar errors and all.

Soon we will have all eight of the original Orchestron discs remastered, as well as a few brand new titles. Stay tuned!

Also, don't miss our new Optigan disc - MOD ROCK!
http://shoptigan.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=3876420

For more information, please visit http://www.blogtigan.wordpress.com or http://www.optigan.com"

Update:

2009 Remastered Vako Orchestron Disc - SAXOPHONE

2009 Remastered Vako Orchestron Disc - SAXOPHONE from Pea Hicks on Vimeo.

Chain0 - KORG DS10 Track

Chain0 by Ascdi

"Written February 2009 for the RPM Challenge. Korg DS-10."

more details
"Stuff you can listen for in this song are a lot of FM (both filter FM and oscillator FM), a very short delay effect (used kind of like a spatial comb filter), 4 custom percussion sounds (my Nord Lead percussion programming experience pays off big time with DS-10, by the way), and a good amount of filter and FM modulation via the Kaoss sequencer tracks."

You can find another track by Ascdi featuring the DS10 here.

Freeclyde Swag Featuring MOTM

link

via Paul Schreiber on the AH list:
"If you watch the sci-fi series Stargate SG-1 Joel Goldsmith is the composer. He has a pretty nice modular system here"

MOTM Sound Examples

Find the link on the My Synthesis Technology MOTM Analog Modular Synth blog.

LEL' PSR - soviet drum machine with MIDI

be sure to see the update below if you are thinking of bidding on this one.
via this auction via the forum.
"Lel' PSR is the digital drum machine that has a built-in sequencer for 8 songs, 32 patterns of the factory (64 of user), 16 styles, each of them contains 2 variations. Maximum duration of the composition - 255 bars. Minimum tempo value from 40 to 250. It contains 12 internal sounds of percussion instruments: bass drum, bongo, clap, gong, rim, snare, tom1, tom2, tom3.

Functional buttons: song, time, pattern, +/-, copy, clean 4/4, (3), Midi, step mode, metronome, forward, backward, stop, pause, accent, sounds (12 drums).

Display: # song, # pattern, bar, step, duration of step, value.

Back panel: midi input/output, audio output right/left, input for a tape recoder, headphones."

Update via vtol in the comments: "there is no midi!!!!!!!! i have one! the input midi jacks are not connected to the board!! they was made for special expansion board witch was never produced "

TipTop Audio Z3000

Nice TipTop Audio Z300 image via Modular Synthesis From A (100) to Z (3000) on isotopic.

Yamaha CS5 Rainbow

cool little animated gif via cliplead_ here. Also see the Roland TR-909 here.

Update: and a Casio SK-5 here.

Your Music Still Sucks

On that note, Metasonix modules arrive at Big City Music. :)

via the Big City Music blog:
"We just got our first shipment of Metasonix r51 vacuum tube VCA/Distortion modules in! They look great and can sound like a bear who's sat on a sharp stick! Check them out here."

Boss SE-50 Stereo Effects Processor Demo SE50

YouTube via zibbybone
"Quick demo running through the presets of this early 90's fx unit. I have a simple sequence playing on a Roland HS-80 (Alpha Juno 2 with speakers) using an unfiltered saw wave without chorus running into the left channel and a couple of preset patterns from a Roland TR-626 Rhythm Composer in the right channel. There are some algorithms (such as Stereo Mixer and "x" + "y") that have seperate parameters and/or effects for each channel. In Vocoder mode, the HS-80 acts as carrier signal and drum machine as modulator. Using half the width of a single rack space, this compact unit is great for live situations. With a street price of $400 back then, the SE-50 gave a lot of bang for the buck."

Alternative Oscillators -Volume 1

YouTube via bigcitymusic
"Here are a few different modules you wouldn't normally use for oscillators. But, in a pinch, or for effect, they can do the job quite nicely.

As a reference, we start with an Analogue Systems rs95 square wave. The first alternative is the Plan B Model 37 Elf LFO. Yes, it will track one volt per octave. It also offers a few different waveform outputs too.

The next is the Cwejman MMF-1. Lots of Cwejman modules track one volt per octave. This is one of them. This is the lowpass mode, but it will track in the other modes, including the awesome dual bandpass mode.

Next is the Analogue Systems rs120 Comb Filter. It does not track one volt per octave, but the feedback makes for an interesting tone for an oscillator. All modules are being sequenced by the A.S. rs200."

(Fairlight) Enter data to Page R with QWRTY keybard

YouTube via btpro
"Another Fairlight demonstration.
Page R is Real Time Sequencer.
In this tutorial, I enter playing data from QWRTY keyboard (not musical keyboard).

Moving cursor = arrow key
Enter / Delete notes = Set, Delete key
Fill command (hihat part) = F key"

circuit bent coleco talking teacher

YouTube via stylinghead. This is only the second coleco post that's gone up.

Jen P-700 Pedal Bass

via this auction

Details from the auction:
"Jen P-700 Pedal Bass stand alone bass pedals. Please follow this link to find more photos

Essentially they are a simple analogue synthesier producing powerful, analogue bass. You can select 8 foot and 16 foot tones independently with foot switches. This means you can use them on their own or together. You can also select sustain and control the decay time. This sustain feature is great for guitarists or live keyboard playing. You can also adjust the bass tone, volume and tuning.

I understand they are very rare and highly sought after. Looking at the web, it looks like one sold for $345. However, I have put a low reserve and I hope they go to a good home.

I found this website with pictures of this product

The bass pedals are quite heavy so collection prefered."

Waldorf Pulse Rackmount Analog Synthesizer

via this auction

Note this is a three OSC analog mono synth with modulation matrix, not a virtual analog. Click the iamge to read the mod sources and destinations.

HITACHI HMO-5 compact electronic organ

via this auction

Not a synth, but unique and very cool looking, and it's from Hitachi! Click the label below for more from them.

Auctions details:
"HITACHI HMO-5 is extremely rare compact electronic piano/organ
manufactured by HITACHI in 1970's Japan

HITACHI HMO-5 was also sold as EMIX PIACERA EV-06

i'ts very hard to find even in Japan nowadays
difinitely mini-organ and synth collectors gem!

cool futuristic design in silver and black plastic body with full sized 32keys
small and light weight
3 sounds(organ, piano, mandolin),metronome(cute sound),vibrate,volume,on/off
'70s warm analog sounds
it has line out,mic in
good for live performance(small and light weight and looks cool!)
works with 8 size D batteries"

CLICK FOR MORE »

SUIKO-ST50 Japanese Exotic KOTO Synth

via this auction.

Click on the image for a larger shot. Be sure to see the SUIKO label below for other models. The seller also has some others up for auction.

auction details:
"SUIKO-ST50 is extremely rare and most strange japanese electronic musical instruments
it was originally made for japanese traditinal music circa. 1990.
SUIKO-ST50 was a expensive and most full functional product of SUIKO series

SUIKO-ST50 was very expensive and made very limited quantities those days
originaly made for the very small circle of the people who seriously studying japanese traditional music
and never sold at ordinary musical instruments market
so i'ts very hard to find even in Japan nowadays...
this is your first and last chance to get this vintage bizarre gem!

it has 2 rows of button keyboard
this keyboard specially designed for playing glissando easily like koto(japanese harp)
front row of the keyboard is japanese scale,so just playing randomly you can easily get exotic japanese melody!
it has internal stereo speakers and stereo output jack,phone jack,pedal jack,AC jack

there are various switchs for special japanese tuning, sustain,octave shift,vibrate,bend,mono/poly switch etc
trill switch easily simulates unique trill playing on Koto(japanese harp) two bend lever are available,pitch and sound level
most strange function is auto chord button(left below 4 button)
hold one keyboard and touch this button it automaticaly generates special exotic japanese style chord
it's not same as western theory but it from various japanese moods of poetic minds,really exotic!
and it also has auto play/rec function,you can record and play your performance
and play another instruments over your recording sound

many sounds are selectable,mainly japanese traditional instruments like shyakuhachi(japanese bamboo flute),koto(japanese harp) to oboe,strings,chorus etc..
in drums mode it become exotic rhythm section full of japanese traditional drums and percussion
so you can play all these percussion by tapping keyboard

sounds are very realistic,warm and strange!,unique original japanese sounds
even chorus or strings sound has dark vintage sound color like mellotron

I recommends SUIKO-ST50 for the artist who tired of western electronic instruments and seeking for fresh and bizzare sounds
and also recommends those who seriously studying japanese traditional music

Item is MINT condition and fully working.
comes with japanese manual(copy),and simple english guidance(each switch name &function etc) by myself
using 6 batteries or DC9V adaptor(not included)"

KORG MS-2000R

via this auction

Multivox Firstman SQ-01 Mini Music Lab SYNTHESIZER

via this auction

Some interesting shots of the unit showing it's perspective size. Note the warped surface, the jacks on the curved front of the unit. The bottom two knob shots remind of a mix between the KORG ER-1, MOOG The Source and an orange on black ARPs. Also note Multivox made them and it's not just Firstman, but Firstman International. I sometimes forget this.

Details from the auction:

"MULTIVOX SQ-01 Mini Music Lab analog synthesizer circa 1981. It works on 8AA batteries and sounds great.

Here's info from the manual
"The MULTIVOX SQ-01 Mini Music Lab SEQUENCE SYNTHESIZER is a monophonic multi-sound producing source (a synthesizer) and a digital recording device ( a computer memory storage sequencer) in one compact control box. The SQ-01 Mini Music Lab is to music what the calculator is to math. A.C. or 12 Volt D.C. power and memory storage backup help make the SQ-01 mini Music Lab a complete self contained unit, allowing the composer/performer to create sounds and compositions anywhere and record them for immediate musical background to compose and playback compositions flawlessly."

"The SQ-01 Mini Music Lab allows standard musical notation to be transferred to simple graphic notation that instructs the programmer/performer to enter a pitch and the length of time that pitch will be held. The music is recorded and stored into any one or all of sixteen possible channels for a possible 1024 note capacity. The seven octave range oscillator, pulse and sawtooth waveform generator, 24 dB low pass filter and envelope controls interact for the infinite sound creation we have come to expect from the finest and most sophisticated synthesizers. Optional BS-01 Bass Pedal controllers provide a unique automatic controllable bass pedal synthesizer that can transpose complete bass patterns of your creation."

'The SQ-01 Mini Music Lab can be interfaced and synchronized with other labs and synthesizers for full Mini Lab ensembles and infinite creative potential.'"

BEHRINGER's China Factory

YouTube via BEHRINGERCC.
"A video describing BEHRINGER's China factory."
Also see the Electro Harmonix factory tour.

Why I post what I post...

You never know what people will find useful or interesting. You may not be interested in the Philips PCM 100, but this person was.

"I recently found one of those philips pcm 100 composers but couldn't find a manual anywhere untill I crossed your blog via google. I was suprised to find out the foreign language is dutch, and since I'm from the Netherlands I speak and read it pretty well. So I wanted to thank you for posting it and letting you know what the actual language of the manual was. Not so suprisingly maybe since Philips is a dutch company.

Keep up the good work and thanks again!"

I love emails like this. It's also an interesting note about the manual. :)

Renaming the Keytar

Some in the comments of this post think we should rename the mighty keytar. Like it's too geeky or something. If you have anything better to call it, feel free to comment. I'll leave you with these classic keytastic videos while you ponder what could possibly relabel the classic keytar. Update: Polls added.

Brilliant Key Solo!

YouTube via t0asta. Vladima

Keytar - Song For Michael

YouTube via DrRyman. via the worst keytar videos ever on oobject

Songs From The Silver Box

Roger O'Donnell has a new release featuring the Moog Voyager. via Alka who is credited with additional drum and synth programming on the album. You can find the release on Amazon.

http://www.rogerodonnell.com/

Press Release:
"Anyone who fell in love with Roger O'Donnell's 2006 album, The Truth In Me, will most assuredly do the same with Songs From The Silver Box. In some respects, the template established by the earlier album remains in place for the second: the ten electronic songs are again performed almost solely with a single instrument, specifically the producer's beloved Moog Voyager; the album includes a mix of instrumental and vocal pieces (with his partner Erin Lang appearing once again on the new release); and as The Truth In Me ended with an extended composition (the fourteen-minute “...And So I Closed My Eyes”) so too does Songs From The Silver Box close with the thirteen-minute “Musique Pour Irakli.”

A key difference between the albums, however, is the presence of beats on the new album, a change that nudges O'Donnell's material closer to the refined melodic electronica associated with Boltfish artists such as Cheju , Mint, Milieu, and Joseph Auer. Though O'Donnell's material may (as reported) find its inspiration in the music of Autechre and Daedelus (among others), it evidences little of the alien severity of the former and the sample-based mayhem of the latter; O'Donnell's oft-pastoral settings, by comparison, are soothing and serene, and exude a warmth and humanity that sets his music apart from other genre practitioners.

The opening notes of “The Prince of Time” immediately identify the music as O'Donnell's when the Moog Voyager's warm sound is used to generate the song's kinetic bass and treble melodies. A few minutes into the piece, a midtempo funk pattern, the beats courtesy of Alka member Bryan Michael, makes its entrance, setting the stage for an extended synthesizer solo. Michael also programs the locomotive patterns that drive “If You Were Alone” and, interestingly, the pitter-pattering beats that appear in other pieces are likewise suggestive of “Trans-Europe Express” in their propulsive quality. Gentle pastel melodies dance over a repeating bass pattern in “Endlessly,” a song whose surface quietude tends to camouflage the emotion that slowly swells as it advances from one stage to the next, with lovely flourishes emerging ever-so-surreptitiously at the four-minute mark. Elsewhere, a beatific trip-hop lilt underscores the open-air splendour of “Changing” while “Always” brings a refreshing, free-floating spirit to the album.

On the vocal front, Lenka's siren-esque contribution to “In Your Hands Now” bolsters its already rapturous character, with the Australian singer's multi-tracked voice sinuously navigating a path over the rolling hills of the keyboard melodies and lightly skipping beat pattern. The first piece composed for the album, “Musique Pour Irakli,” originated when O'Donnell was commissioned to write and perform the music for an haute couture fashion collection in Paris for the Georgian designer Irakli. Swaying rhythms and intricate keyboard melodies suggest an elegant latticework of patterns and colours, while Lang's layered vocalizing offers intermittent sparkle. Her breathy singing also lends an appealing innocence to the melodically radiant “Tiny Pieces of You.” In its quiet way, the song is perhaps the album's most powerful, due in no small part to the fact that the intensity of feeling Lang and O'Donnell have for one another is so palpable.

O'Donnell's history will always precede him—how many others can say they played keyboards for the Psychedelic Furs and The Thompson Twins, and was a long-standing member of The Cure?—but such background is almost incidental in the case of the solo releases. They signify not just a new chapter in his career but an altogether separate volume, and anyone expecting songs remotely resembling The Cure's should look elsewhere. At this stage, O'Donnell has nothing to prove and could easily rest on his laurels, which makes the pleasures afforded by his wonderful solo material all the more satisfying."

The Casio VL 1 sequencer

YouTube via RothHandle

DX7 Orient Express

DX7 Orient Express from dvamateur on Vimeo.
"An attempt for Jarre's Orient Express on a DX7"

D50 Orinoco Flow

D50 Orinoco Flow from dvamateur on Vimeo.
"Quite a bit too fast, and the hits in right hand are at a wrong time. But that's the best I could do to imitate Enya's Orinoco Flow theme..."

Next video is in HD.

D50 Brass

D50 Brass from dvamateur on Vimeo.

DX7 Frequency Modulatioin

DX7 Frequency Modulatioin from dvamateur on Vimeo.
"Creating some simple tones using frequency modulation synthesis."

DX7 Frequency Modulation Part II

DX7 Frequency Modulation Part II from dvamateur on Vimeo.
"Creating a clarinet sound using frequency modulation."
sent my way via fischek.

Synthesizer Programming - Episode 4 - Trance / Dance gated / polysynth sound

YouTube via Thalassa77
"How to create a Trance / Dance gated / polysynth sound. From a basic patch to a powerful dance sound using supersaw wave . The parameters values are approx. Values are expressed in %. The synthesizer is synth1 a free vst synthesizer but you can get similar sounds using similar parameters with other synts ( hardware or software )"

Something Nice For Your Cat (part 2)

YouTube via JohnLRice. Part 1 here
"More of the same as part 1, just a different take . . .except . . . I turned off the main light! Wow, pretty clever, eh? ;-) Thank you very much for taking the time to listen, comment and rate!

Simple unrehearsed soloing featuring are the wonderful sounds of MOTM-300 sine waves passed through MOTM-440 and MOTM-485 filters. For more information on MOTM synthesizers go to www.synthtech.com/"

MC-8 Programming

YouTube via btpro
"Tutorial of Roland digital sequencer MC-8.
MC-8 released in 1977."

Analogue Bass how to - Casio CZ

YouTube via benanderson88
"Re uploaded the video... seeing as the first one had alot of empty space where nothing happened.

This is a video showing how a Casio CZ can have a similar sound to a vintage Roland Juno Bass-line as well as being a simple "how to" for programming it."

House with the Juno-106 and CZ3000

"My new house song titled "purple haze" using the Roland Juno-106 and the CasioCZ3000 synthesizers. This is a live-mix, no overdubbing.
Enjoy.
(c) Ben Anderson 2008"

Dire Docks Mario 64 Piano

YouTube via benanderson88
"Dire docks level theme from Super Mario 64, a great song! I'm not the best player but I try. :)
Casio FZ1 sampler acting as a MIDI controller, VST is the DSK Virtuoso running in FLStudio8."

Korg NanoKONTROL Overview: Get Out Your Magnifying Glass

YouTube via gearwire
"In this video, Bill Holland takes a look at the Korg nanoKONTROL, one of the most compact controllers on the market today. This is not to be confused with the nunoKONTROL, which subsequently controls Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt.
See more on Gearwire.com."