Kesako & Rhythm Ace FR8-L

video upload by batchas

"Modified Ace Tone 'Rhythm Ace FR8-L' coupled with a Kesako 'Player'. Reconnecting my pin matrix and jamming.

I'm using the pin matrix prototype I made for the Mos-lab 2500 with the FR8-L = 10 instruments are connected to the matrix and 30 different clock combinations."

Vintage Drum Synth Demos by You Are The Robots

video uploads by You Are The Robots

Arturia Keystep Pro was used to sequence those w/o built in rhythm sections. Use the player controls to skip around.

Playlist:
Sears Rhythm-Matic vintage analog drum machine with built-in speaker
SYNSONICS ELECTRONIC DRUM MODEL 5300 - A Very Rare Vintage Analog Drum Synthesizer | DEMO
POLLARD SYNDRUM 178 Vintage Analog Drum Synth Triggered By Arturia Beatstep Pro | DEMO
BOSS DR. PAD DRP-1 - Vintage Digital Drum Pad | DEMO
ROLAND CR-68 COMPURHYTHM - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
ACE TONE RHYTHM ACE FR-1 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
NOMAD RHYTM MAKER 12 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
Vintage Analog WHIPPANY ELECTRONICS RHYTHM MASTER RM -10 Drum Machine W/ DIY Mods | DEMO
KEIO DONCA MATIC KORG MINI POPS 5 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
WURLITZER SWINGIN’ RHYTHM 5020 Vintage Analog Drum Machine | DEMO
WELSON SUPER-MATIC S12 Vintage Analog Italian Drum Machine 1971 | Demo
Mattel Synsonics Drums - Vintage Drum Machine
Univox SR-95 Vintage Drum Machine
Nomad Rhythm 12 - Vintage drum machine
Realistic Concertmate - Vintage Drum Machine / Metronome
Oberheim DXa (DX w/ factory midi) - Vintage drum machine
Roland CR 5000 - vintage analog drum machine
Modified Roland TR 606 - Vintage analog drum machine
Tama Techstar TAM500 - Analog Drum Synth
Rhythm Ace FR-2L With Issues - Vintage Drum Machine
Univox SR 55 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
Whippany Rhythm Master - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
Sears Rhythm Matic R1000 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
Simmons Digital Clap Trap - Vintage Clap Machine
Mattel Synsonics Pro - Analog Drum Machine
Univox MR8 Micro Rhythmer - Vintage Analog Drum Machine
MTI Auto-Orchestra Analog Drum Machine Bass & Strings Machine
Wurlitzer Swingin' Rhythm Analog Drum Machine
Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-3 - Vintage Analog Drum Machine For Sale On Ebay

Rhythm Ace FR-6 MIDI (uniPulse Demo)

video upload by Tubbutec

"Midified Rhythm Ace Fr-6 using our uniPulse interface:
https://tubbutec.de/unipulse/
Video and installation by https://www.instagram.com/juicythedj/

Link to the installation guide:
https://tubbutec.de/blog/rhythm-ace-f..."

12 14 23 Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-6

video upload by batchas

'Modded FR-6 triggered by Synton Fenix III sequencer.
I added reverb, delay and overdrive."

Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-8L - Ready!

video upload by batchas

12 12 23 Synton Fenix & Ace Tone FR-6

video upload by batchas

"I like the sound on the phaser on the Fenix II. On the monitors it did sound bombastic, really impressive with some feedback.
New ideas came to mind related to this patch while watching the result on this video, so I'll see once in the studio if I decide to go further with it or not. It will also depend if the Fenix is still in tune. I spent one hour only with tuning and (re)calibration of the quantizers."

The Ace Tone Rhythm Ace family: FR-1 Full Auto

video upload by ohm_studi_ohm

"Here is a glimpse of the analog drum machine range from japanese manufacturer Ace Tone. Quite popular in the late 60s and early 70s, they were probably the leader in those presets rhythm units at the time before Roland came into the game.

Full analog, only transistors and diodes, no integrated circuit yet.

FR1 and FR2 are basically the same unit. They do sound similar (same PCB) and have the same presets. The main difference is the cancel buttons. On the FR1 you can cancel "bass drum", "cowbell", "claves" and "cymbal", whereas on the FR-2L you can cancel "snare", "claves" and "cymbal".

Of course it is very easy to mod these units and add other mutes buttons, individual levels, outputs etc

The FR20 is quite similar soundwise to the previous ones. The patterns are different, they are fewer but you have 3 "customizable" presets with differents variations of snare and cymbal, thus effectively giving it a wider range of possible patterns, and this time you have cancel for "bass drum", "snare" and "cymbal" which make more sense then the previous ones' choices.

But the main feature of the FR-20 is that it has a built in amp powered speaker cabinet. And it sound loud and deep, it's a great combo. Plus ther is an input so you can plug you organ or synthesizer and play along the rhythm (start stop with foot pedal is possible on all units btw).

The FR6 is quite a different beast. It sounds very different to the other 3, soundwise and in terms of patterns. Sound is brighter, crispier even harsher.

Note all the units where fully recapped so difference in sounds isn't due to ageing component but to design. I don't have the schematics for this one but it's definetly not the same layout. It might have been designed or "inspired" by some other model available at the time. (could be the Roland TR-66 with which it shares many features).

So here is a demo of the first one: The FR-1.

Recorded through a Teisco 120 to add some reverb."

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10 25 23 Synton Fenix 2 & Rhythm Ace FR-2L

video upload by batchas

10.23.23 Synton Fenix & Rhythm Ace FR-2L - 01

video upload by batchas

"I'm glad to have finally finished this afternoon the modifications on my Rhythm Ace FR-2L.
TRIG IN for each instrument.
9 different CLOCK OUT (diverse divisions).
External CLOCK IN to synchronize to other gear."

ACE TONE FR-15 RHYTHM PRODUCER SN 571026

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via this auction

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Unique Farfisa Partner analog drum machine / like Roland CR68 Ace Tone FR-2 Korg Mini Pops

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via this auction

video posted here

"One-of-a-kind drum machine. It"s a rhythm unit ripped from a 70s farfisa spinet organ and built in a custom case.

Classic analog drum sounds like the ones you get out of the many boxes of that area (Roland TR77, Ace Tone FR-1 FR-2 FR-8, Hammond Auto Vari etc etc)

10 rhythms that can be combined, controls for tempo and volume. Mono Jack output and running on 12v DC (power supply is not provided. It works with any 12v DC positive center power supply).

Perfectly working. Looks good but since it's a DIY project don't expect perfection. Shipping worlwide, just ask for a quote.

NOTE: The Korg Stage Echo is not included of course :-)"

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Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR8-L with pin matrix

video upload by batchas

"I use the proto of a pin matrix I did for another machine, so the panel is not adapted, but I wanted to test the principle. 30 different rhythms/clocks (vertical lines) and 10 instruments (horizontal lines) to choose from. All combinations possible. I'm happy with the result :)
The additional boards we see at the left side (red board for external trigs + midi board) have nothing to do with the matrix itself. These are different mods that I installed.
Next I'll make the hardware for all the mods that I added."

06 27 23 Synton Fenix 2, 2d, 3 & Ace Tone FR6

video upload by batchas

04 26 23 Synton Fenix

video upload by batchas

"The camera on the smartphone is out of focus, I guess because the room was too dark and I didn't took enough care.
Synton Fenix 2, 2d, 3.
Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-6."

04 08 23 Synton Fenix

video upload by batchas

"Synton Fenix 2, Fenix 2d, Fenix 3 and Rhythm Ace"

02 04 23 Synton Fenix & Rhythm Ace X

video upload by batchas

"Scrotum Lab's Rhythm Ace X synched to Synton Fenix III.
Audio out from Rhythm Ace X goes into Phaser of Synton Fenix IId.
No external effect added."

Modded Rhythm Ace.

Update:

Rhythm Ace X and Synton IId Phaser

"Audio out from Scrotum Lab's Rhythm Ace X goes into Phaser of Synton Fenix IId. No external effect added."

Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-3

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via this auction

"Ace Tone Rhythm Ace FR-3 in excellent aesthetic condition except for the handle that show little aging signs."

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11 21 22 Synton Fenix 2 & 3 + Rhythm Ace X

video upload by batchas

ACE TONE CANARY S-3 One of the few remaining units on the planet

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via this auction

This appears to be the same one listed back in September. You can find a small handful of posts mentioning the Canary here. "One of the very few remaining Ace Tone Canary S-3 on the planet. Despite being a 60 years old machine, this unit works like a charm and it's in spectacular cosmetic conditions -- it looks much better than the unit exhibited at the Roland Museum, actually.

History Designed and built by Ikutaro Kakehashi (founder of Ace Tone, Roland and Boss) in 1962 during the Pre-Roland era, the Ace Tone Canary S-3 is an early monophonic synthesizer inspired by the Clavioline, a forerunner to the analog synthesizer invented in 1947, but implementing several technical improvements and revisions that make it a unique instrument. In 1964, Ikutaro Kakehashi decided to take the Canary S-3 along to the NAMM show in Chicago but, despite receiving interest, he did not receive any distribution deals. So the Canary S-3 ended up being distributed in Japan only and quickly became a rare instrument even at that time.

Sound When you listen to this machine, the reason of that unsuccessful mission at NAMM quickly stands out: the sound of the Canary S-3 had nothing to do with 60's music, it was not a simulation of classical instruments. The Canary S-3 sound was quite agressive, warm and extremely rich in armonics, totally in line with nowadays electronic music standards and so far away from the 60's vibes. It's pure electricity generated by military-grade germanium transistor oscillators and filters, a machine that can easily be used as main/only instrument in modern music productions.

Germanium Instead of using a vacuum tube oscillator as the Clavioline, the Canary S-3 implements a solid state circuitry totally based on germanium transistors. Widely implemented in vintage guitar fuzzboxes and amplification and exceptionally in synthesizer circuitry (such as the VCA section of the EMS VCS3/Synthi A), these transistors have a warmth and a granulity as pleasant as the tube sound, without being the same. The sonic grain of germanium is generally a bit rougher than the tube grain, and radically less flat and plain than classic silicon transistors. -- As far as I know the Canary S-3 is the only synthesizer ever built using germanium transistors as sound generators.

Architecture The Canary S-3 can be organized in 3 main sections: Sound Generator - Tone Color - Controls. The Sound Generator features 4 parallel octave dividers that output super fat saw waveforms in 4 different octaves (Bass - Tenor - Alto - Soprano) ranging from F0 to F4. Then the resulting waveform is passed through a germanium filter bank that separates the input signal into 5 components, each one carrying a frequency sub-band of the original signal. The 5 bands (obtained using HP and LP filters) are controlled by 5 combinable switches under the Tone Control section (1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5). The mix of the 4 Sound Generators and the 5 Tone Colors delivers a total of 496 different settings/sounds ranging from fat basses to rich organ and raw lead sounds. In addition to the main sounds the Canary S-3 features also two noise generators controlled by two unusual momentary push buttons designed to perform abstract rhythms in real time. The sounds can be modified using the knobs and the bizarre knee lever designed to perform volume variations in real time. The Control Section includes also two knobs for (pitch) Vibrato Speed and Depth, the global Tuning knob (+/- 2 semitones) and a master Volume knob used also tu on/off the instrument. Lastly there is the Rhythm Volume knob to set the volume of the two noises.

The Ace Tone Canary S-3 is undoubtedly a one-of-a-kind instrument, an amazing piece of retro tecnology, an avant-garde machine born six decades ago that still has something exclusive and unique to say."

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Incredibly rare Ace Tone CANARY S-3 transistor based vintage analog synthesizer from 1965! SN 28440

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"Extremely rare Ace Tone CANARY S-3 transistor based vintage analog synthesizer produced in few exemplars around 1965.
It come in great conditions and Works! Sound particularly vintage, very hot character, exotic tones with tonic color. Vca is light opto controlled, the large knob ...like car gear ;-)
Funny are the two upper white push buttons (white and coloured noise) made for make manual rhythm, awesome. *This wonderful (ad-hoc) yellow travel case is included in this sale lot, in order to preserve well this beautiful jewel. Please check my others listed vintage stuff"

See this post for additional info on the Ace Tone Canary.

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