MATRIXSYNTH: exclusive


Showing posts with label exclusive. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exclusive. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Unsung hero: Harald Bode, pioneer and inventor of modular synthesizers


video upload by LektroiD

"Some rare footage of the inventor and pioneer of modular synthesis, Harald Bode, showing off his modular synth which pre-dates the Moog by over half a decade.

Enhanced and restored footage"

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Impro #1 on Ernst Krenek's Buchla 100


video upload by JesterN

"These days I have the honour to play one of the earliest Buchla 100 synthesizer. Dating from 1967 (number 12 in the books) and owned by Austrian composer Ernst Krenek, this beautiful instrument is located in Krems an Donau, Austria. This is an excerpt of an impro working on gamelan repetitions that is going to be released on a future album. Thanks to the Ernst Krenek Institut / AIR Residency program.

Thanks to the Ernst Krenek Institute and AIR Residency.

more info: www.jestern.com"

Impro #2 on Ernst Krenek's Buchla 100

video upload by JesterN

"Alberto Novello playing one of the first produced Buchla Synthesizers (number 12), series 100 purchased by the Austrian composer Ernst Krenek in 1967.

Thanks to Ernst Krenek Institut / AIR residency."

Friday, February 02, 2024

Exploring the 1st Buchla 100 Modular Synthesizer


video upload by Sarah Belle Reid

"This video is a historical, technical, and musical deep dive into the Buchla 100 Series Modular System at the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music. This instrument was the first voltage controllable modular synthesizer built by Don Buchla—it was delivered to the San Francisco Tape Music Center in the mid-1960s.

In this video we’ll start with a brief historical overview of the Buchla 100 Series Modular System and the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Then, we’ll unpack everything that’s inside the instrument module by module. Finally, I’ll share some of the quirks of this particular instrument, and lots of patch examples to illustrate its unique voice and character.

As I was getting to know this instrument, I tried to keep in mind the circumstances surrounding its development—the people who contributed to it, the time in which it emerged, and the state of electronic music at the time of its invention. These thoughts greatly inspired my approach to working with the instrument and are present throughout this video.

It’s a rare opportunity to be able to work with a historical instrument like this one. I have always been super inspired by Buchla’s work in general, but like many people have had few opportunities to work with his original instruments. Instead, much of my experience has been through newer instruments inspired by his designs. Being able to work closely with this instrument was an incredibly inspiring and clarifying experience that allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of Buchla’s own creative and technical development, as well as the multitude of music, modern modules, and instruments that have been inspired by his work.

Special thank you to Mills College for letting us spend a week in the electronic music studio working with the Buchla 100; to The Buchla Archives and Ryan Gaston for helping to put this video together; and also to all of the amazing folks in my Patreon community for your support in helping to bring educational projects like this one to life!

Learn more / join the waitlist for Learning Sound and Synthesis, my online modular synthesis and sound design class: https://www.soundandsynthesis.com

Join my Patreon community for behind-the-scenes content, unreleased music, and extended tutorials: sarahbellereid

Thank you to:
Mills College Center for Contemporary Music https://www.performingarts.mills.edu
The Buchla Archives https://www.buchlaarchives.com
Ryan Gaston (co-producing + filming) https://gastonsounds.com
Hainbach (tape slicing footage)

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Historical Overview: Buchla 100 + the San Francisco Tape Music Center
7:38 Mills Buchla 100 System Overview
14:27 Timbre in the Mills Buchla 100
18:29 Chaos in the Mills Buchla 100
21:52 Voltage Control Quirks
25:00 Sequencing Tactics: Triggered Segments
30:40 Sequencing Tactics: Extended Sequences
32:06 More Patches + Sounds
32:36 Ring Modulated Reverb Patch
34:40 Keyboard Chaos Patch
36:55 Gated Voice Patch
38:29 Wonky Drum Machine Patch
38:57 Triggered Gestures Patch
39:14 Transposed FM Sequence Patch
39:48 Bell Tones Patch
40:27 Touch Controlled Ratchet Patch
41:00 Sequenced Melodic Patch

Sarah Belle Reid is a performer-composer, active in the fields of electroacoustic trumpet performance, intermedia arts, music technology, and improvisation.

www.sarahbellereid.com"



"In the Spring of 2024, Reid spent a week at the Center for Contemporary Music at Mills College, where she worked closely with their original Buchla 100 modular synthesizer system. This specific instrument’s historical significance can’t be overstated. It was the very first voltage controllable modular synthesizer that the now-famous artist, inventor, and electronic musical instrument designer Donald Buchla built in the mid 1960s—indeed, one of the very first modular synthesizers altogether. In its time, this specific system has been used by countless inspiring and influential musicians, such as Pauline Oliveros, Morton Subotnick, Suzanne Ciani, Warner Jepson, and others.

The video begins with a brief historical overview of the Buchla 100 Series Modular System and the San Francisco Tape Music Center. Then, Reid unpacks everything that’s inside the instrument module by module, with sound demos and examples. Finally, she shares some of the unique quirks of the Mills Buchla 100 instrument, and patch examples of how the instrument can be used to create a wide range of music and sounds."

Friday, January 12, 2024

Keith Humble's Optronics Workstation


video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"This is the Optronics Workstation, an Australian synth made for composer Keith Humble around 1970. It could be controlled by brainwaves…

The Optronics Workstation contains an EMS VCS1 – you can see the controls in the bottom right corner. Yes, a VCS1, not the VCS3 that EMS eventually marketed. The VCS1 was the first synth made by British company EMS. Three were created, the original, known as the Don Banks Music Box, can be seen above in the last image. It was made in 1968, predating the VCS3 by 12 months and many say it was the commission from Don Banks that led to the formation of EMS, so perhaps without it, there would be no other EMS synths.

Humble’s Optronics was built by an engineer called Graham Thirkell around the VCS1. It is perhaps the world’s first electronic workstation, containing a mixer, a synth and FX, all of which are inter-patchable.

In the centre is the 'Mindreader' or 'OmniVoila'. Players attach an electrode to their temples and this device read the signals and turned it into voltage to produce sound or modulation. On the left side is a three-channel mixer for three external line inputs, plus a send for a delay. Top right is a patch panel where voltages can be routed to create sound or modulation. Above that you can see two ring modulators. It also has an in-built spring reverb.

Humble was a huge early proponent of electronic music in Australia. He founded the Electronic Music Studio at Melbourne Universities’ Grainger Centre and the music school at La Trobe University, Melbourne.

The Optronics Workstation is now in the collection of MESS, the non-profit Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio. They are fantastic people who preserve and restore vintage instruments and encourage people to come in and play with them. Humble’s Optronics still works, so if you’re in Melbourne or near there, drop them a line and go say hello.

They were going to send me some video of it in action but I think they’re too slammed. I’ve included the only audio I could find that might be the Optronics in action. It might not be, though. But it was made by Keith Humble about a year after he started working with the Optronics and given that it was his only synth at the time, I think there's a good chance the audio was made with the Optronics."

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Various – Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center - Vinyl


video upload by ZacJust3Letters

"Various – Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center

Label: Columbia Masterworks – MS 6566
Format: Vinyl, LP, Stereo
Country: US
Released: Apr 1964
Genre: Electronic
Style: Experimental, Electroacoustic

A1 Bülent Arel– Stereo Electronic Music No. 1
Composed By – Bülent Arel
A2 Halim El-Dabh– Leiyla And The Poet
Composed By – Halim El-Dabh
A3 Vladimir Ussachevsky– Creation - Prologue
Chorus – The Little Chorus Of Macalester College
Chorus Master – Ian Morton
Composed By – Vladimir Ussachevsky
B1 Milton Babbitt– Composition For Synthesizer
Composed By, Synthesizer – Milton Babbitt
B2 Mario Davidovsky– Electronic Study No. 1
Composed By – Mario Davidovsky
B3 Otto Luening– Gargoyles
Composed By – Otto Luening
Violin [Solo] – Max Pollikoff

Copyright © – Columbia Records
Published By – Associated Music Publishers Inc.
Mastered At – Customatrix
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman"

Sunday, January 07, 2024

Percy Grainger's Free Music Machine


video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synth

"A video from the Australian Broadcasting Company about a composer and inventor called Percy Grainger, who made electronic instruments in the 1950s that would follow a curving line to create pitch and music. He physically made the curving line out of thick sheets of card and fed them into the machine, controlling the pitch of an oscillator."

EMS SYNTHI 100 in the beginning.

Saturday, December 30, 2023

Roger Nichols WENDEL JR Drum Sampler

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
EPIC!!! '80s Drums 'n' Echo: Roger Nichols WENDEL/WENDELjr Sequential Drumtraks Lexicon 224XL/LARC video upload by Synclav com



via this auction

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

This one was spotted and sent in via
M Me.

Note this is the first one to be featured on the site. There's mention of a Wendel Sampling Computer here. Roger Nichols, the creator, passed away in 2011.

"Note that there is only one (1) unit (s.n. 140) shown in the photos and seven (7) sound boards, and that is what you get for one money.
Serial number 140 is seen in the video "EPIC!!! '80s Drums 'n' Echo: Roger Nichols WENDEL/WENDELjr Sequential Drumtraks Lexicon 224XL/LARC", it is the unit that is not rack mounted but over on the right side, sitting on top of the two stacked Lexicon 224XLs with the two LARC remotes sitting on top of it, and it is heard to play the Tom-2, Crash cymbal (Crash Cym-1), Ride cymbal (Ride Cym-1), Heart snare, and Heart kick.

If you select quantity two (2), you will get the second identical unit (s.n. 230) and a second set of the same (7) sound boards. I promise you the second one not shown is in equal or better condition. This would be very powerful and convenient setup for a producer to have, then able to do kick and snare at the same time, for example, and also for live sound drum replacement applications.
Serial number 230 is seen in the video "EPIC!!! '80s Drums 'n' Echo: Roger Nichols WENDEL/WENDELjr Sequential Drumtraks Lexicon 224XL/LARC", it is the unit that is in the bottom of the rack, and it is heard to play the two alternating clap sounds (the clap sound is not included in this listing, but always available), which again shows what the WENDELjr can do but none of these drum machines can (alternate claps, they just go clap-clap, same sound, machine-like).

Also if someone wants me to list just the sound kit for some other WENDELjr they bought from a chump and have no sounds for it, it's $799.00 for the seven sounds on seven boards."

Friday, December 15, 2023

Long-lost Moog synthesizer finally makes it to the stage


video upload by Cornell University

"A piece of synthesizer history has been given an unexpected second life and is now a part of Cornell’s instrument collection, after eight months of meticulous and often confounding work by a group of synthesizer builders.

The rebuilt and rewired instrument, designed by theorist David Rothenberg and built by renowned synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog, Ph.D. ’65, is housed in Lincoln Hall and graduate student composers will begin experimenting with its unique tonal range next semester."

Sunday, December 03, 2023

Model 162-8 Mystery Sequencer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.


via this auction

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

GARLAN ELECTRONICS CO?

From East Lansing Michigan.

Looks DIY from the pics of the inside.

If anyone knows more about this one, feeel free to leave a comment.

Sunday, November 26, 2023

Never Released Korg MU-5000 (Japan, 1985) Vintage Music Synthesizer PC Prototype

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.


via this auction

SN ES 850111

"In 1985 Korg decided to challenge the personal computer market creating a competitor for the legendary Commodore 64 (which was born three years earlier, in 1982).

Rumors then began to circulate about a new musical personal computer signed by Korg, called KORG MC-4000.

Along with the Korg MC-4000, Korg had designed 2 units which were extra and integral parts of the personal computer: a music synth expander called Korg MU-5000 and a microdisk unit called Korg MF-1000.

The incredible fact is that the personal computer project signed by Korg (the first “musical” personal computer in history) has remained for many years as a fake, since none of these products has ever been marketed in the western world.

The only historical artifact related to this project is a Japanese advertisement, a printed ad by Ishibashi Gakki released in the April 1985 issue of “Keyboard Magazine”.

In this ad (please, see the original photos), there were showed 3 products: KORG MC-4000, KORG MU-5000 and KORG MF-1000. The KORG MC-4000 music computer was then presented as a "compact computer containing its own music system".

Korg MC-4000, Korg MU-5000 and Korg MF-1000, according to historical information, have never been marketed because then Korg decided not to challenge the personal computer market. We don't know why!

Today, after years of research, we at Re Seller are pleased to present you the only survivor in the world of that super cool project: the original KORG MU-5000 expander synth!

This find of ours is of fundamental importance as it demonstrates that the Korg music personal computer project would have been really close to being commercialized!

This impossible to find Korg MU-5000 has been tested and is still in working order! Cosmetically there are minor signs of wear due to age, but nothing serious. The power supply is compatible and is included in the sale (this unit works with any 9V power supply and center negative polarity).

This small desktop synth contains beautiful sounds at its core! It is a 16-channel midi expander capable of generating some mighty impressive sounds courtesy of the same Digital Waveform Generator System used in the DW6000 and in the best Korg sounds of the 80s!

What we were able to test is very easy: we connected a midi keyboard to the Korg MU-5000 and listened to 128 sounds preset via program change (we changed the program change directly on the MIDI keyboard).

There are probably many more features to discover, but we don't have the capabilities to test it 100%!

An incredible piece of history, for the most demanding collectors in the world. Impossible to find another in all of history!"

Saturday, November 04, 2023

Pulser LIVE BEATS M-35 Rhythm Box


video upload by Rec Gear Demos

The is the first one to be featured on the site.

Monday, October 23, 2023

Peter Theremin tries SOMA FLUX


video upload by Vlad Kreimer

"Peter Theremin is the great-grandson of the famous Leon Theremin
https://theremin.space/en/

FLUX
https://somasynths.com/flux/"

Dave Fredericks - Stinger - The ARP Family of Synthesizers Demo Record


video upload by PJ

"Nice track from an Arp Synthesizer company promo 7"."

Stinger ~ A discussion with Arp Instruments Dave Fredericks.

video upload by David Frederick

"A discussion with Arp Instruments Dave Fredericks on the song Stinger from the 'Red' Arp demo record. This conversation between David Frederick and his father David Frederick Sr. (Dave Fredericks) discusses the origins of this song, recording the iconic song on the Arp "Red" demo record, and using the Arp 2600, Arp Odyssey, and Arp Pro Soloist in the performance. A great conversation on this song, Arp history, synthesizers, and more!

Interview note & correction: "East Meets West" was recollected to being in 5/4 time signature when in fact, it was in 4/4. At the time of recording this interview, East Meets West was recorded 56 years ago!"

David Frederick ~ Stinger Reborn

video upload by David Frederick

"My dad who was one of the original founders of Arp Synthesizer, VP of Global Sales and Marketing, and visionary behind such Arp synths as the Odyssey, Pro Soloist, String Ensemble, Omni, Explorer, Axxe, and Little Brother, wrote this song back in the late sixties around the time I was born. He initially released it on his first album "Mr. Talent - Dave Fredericks" where he played the organ and my uncle Bruce played the drums.

My dad reintroduced Stinger on Arp's "The ARP Family of Synthesizers" record (the red record), using the Eminent Organ, Arp Pro Soloist, Arp Odyssey, and Arp 2600 with Cleve Posar on Drums.

One day I decided for fun and nostalgia to quickly whip up a new 21st-century arrangement of my dad's song and I thought I would share.

Hope you dig it!
David

TRACK NOTES
David Frederick - Keyboards - Arp 2600, Hammond B3, Steinberg Horns, Steinway Grand Piano, Roland Jupiter 8 (pads), Spitfire Audio Drums, and Kontakt Percussion.

Recorded: Direct into Steinberg Cuebase, processed and mastered with Waves Abby Road Mastering Chain."

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Vintage synth featured in 1957 film "Different from You and Me."


video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"The dangers of electronic music, according to a film about the menace of homosexuality from 1957 called 'Different From You and Me'. It features the Trautonium, a synthesizer from the 1930s that was created by Friedrich Trautwein and used by Oskar Sala. The film, which was called 'The Third Sex' or 'Bewildered Youth'(!) when released in the US, is about a prosperous German family whose son is lured into a seedy world of gay men, nude wrestling and avant garde electronic music by an effete friend and a licentious antique dealer.

Terrified that their son is not into women, the teen's parents induce their cleaning lady to seduce him and awaken his more 'natural' desires. This ends in the month's arrest for arranging prostitution!

While the film is based on homophobic ideas, the original version has some nuance and depicts some of its gay characters in a relatively balanced light for the time. Being gay was still a crime in Germany and elsewhere in the 1950s. However, before it could be released in West Germany censors insisted on changes, weaving in more anti-gay rhetoric, making the gay characters more criminal and removing scenes that showed gay men in positions of authority and respectability.

For me, it's remarkable only for the scenes featuring the synthesizer, but it is interesting that even then electronic music was associated with same-sex relationships, given that 20 years later the gay communities would be such a driving force behind the foundation of the electronic music scene.

I have uploaded all the scenes from this film that feature the Trautonium to my YouTube channel, which is also called Robotussin Vintage Synths."

Friday, October 06, 2023

CBS MASTERWORKS Electronic Percussion 1970

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by fritz5139

Vintage Electronic Drums (Percussion/Congas)

video upload by celtusfergus



via this auction

"This exceptionally rare analogue percussion synthesizer was made in Japan in the very early 1970's. It has been most notably used by Anne Peebles in the rare groove song 'I Can't Stand The Rain' which was sampled and used in the 1997 Hiphop track 'The Rain' by Missy Elliot. I have replaced the disintegrated foam which sits under the pads with brand new longer lasting foam. The pads are "velocity sensitive," using a magnetic pickup inside each pad that runs on a 9V battery which powers all voices. The mute switches all work, which essentially control the decay for each instrument by varying degrees based on the circuit design. There's a circuit diagram pasted to the base of the case beneath the top of the synth.

There are trimmers on the circuit board of the synth which I'm assuming control either overall tuning or deacy. I haven't touched these in order to maintain the originality of this instrument. The synth is in amazing original condition despite its age and the fact that it needs to be hit in order to work. :)"

Note this is the first one to be featured on the site.

Wednesday, October 04, 2023

Rare Macbeth Moroco Stereo Filter Bank Processor w/ Patch Points & MIDI

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.


via this auction

Tone Tweakers eBay | Reverb

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

"Spelled Moroco and not Morocco. This is a fantastic dual multimode filter with 4 LFOs and 2 envelope generators and midi control. It seems there may have only been 8 made. The photos show one of 2 units we have - this may or may not be the one we sell, but they are in the same condition (just about perfect). Fully tested and working great. Not sure how to put on a price on such a rare item. Price will definitely be negotiable if it doesn’t sell for a while, though if you miss this one, it’s likely you won’t find another anywhere cause they’re that rare."

There have only been four posts prior to this one mentioning the Moroco. There was a video which is unfortunately gone. You can however see the original announcement post with digital flyer there. Only one other was listed for sale.

Sunday, October 01, 2023

1969: Introducing the MOOG SYNTHESISER | Tomorrow's World | Retro Tech | BBC Archive


video upload by BBC Archive

"Derek Cooper introduces the Moog synthesiser, an instrument that can produce a variety of noises and arrangements, both mimicking real instruments and creating new sounds - all electronically.

This clip is from Tomorrow's World, originally broadcast 30 September 1969."

Also see 1970: WENDY CARLOS and her MOOG SYNTHESISER | Music Now | Retro Tech | BBC Archive

Friday, September 29, 2023

Dianzi Qin (电子琴) Chinese synth from 1978


video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"Look at these strange synths produced by Cold War-era China. This is a Dianzi Qin (电子琴).

The synth came about following a cultural exchange in the early 1970s when composer Bernie Krause visited China to demonstrate a Moog modular system. It was part of Richard Nixon’s attempt to build up relations with China to counterbalance Soviet influence in the region – a program known as “Ping-pong diplomacy”.

Krause demo’ed his Moog to Communist officials who were apparently very impressed, after which the Party declared that electronic music 'had no cultural bias', meaning it was not intrinsically Western and decadent, and so there was no problem for Chinese people to explore it and incorporate it into their compositions.

This led inventor Tian Jin Qin to develop this instrument, as a modern, electronic synthesizer with Chinese characteristics – it’s loosely based on traditional Chinese string instruments such as the Erhu.

The Dian Zi Qin is controlled with four ribbons, which power an additive synth engine. There seem to have been two versions, one that looks like an upright stringed instrument, the other that looks more like a desktop synth but with a vertical neck sticking out of it with the ribbon controls to finger. The second type has additional touch controls on the main unit that have some ability to bend and accent the note.

I’ve read that very few were made and it didn’t get out of the prototype stage, but in this video I see at least three playing in concert, as well as what looks like a more conventional organs. I’ve uploaded the full film to my YouTube channel as it was not available anywhere on the Western internet."

Monday, September 04, 2023

Norman McLaren's hand-drawn sounds


video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"Scottish-Canadian animator Norman McLaren developed a technique of painting onto the optical soundtrack area of the film negatives of his animations.

The shapes would then make drones and buzzes when played through a special type of projector. He used the technique to create experimental soundtracks to his animations.

It's similar to Daphne Oram's technique of turning shapes into sound – though hers, which she called Oramics, was more complex, with dedicated machines that read shapes on the entire area of the 35mm film, rather than just the little strip that contains the soundtrack.

You can see the results in the third video above, an extract from McLaren's film 'Dots', which employs the technique.

McLaren – born in Scotland in 1914 – worked for the British Post Office's film unit until around 1939, when he moved to New York, then to Canada in 1941, where he produced animations for the National Film Board, before setting up an animation studio at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal and the Ontario College of Art.

There he produced around 70 films, much of it highly experimental and strange. He died in 1987 aged 72."

This also reminds me of the Optigan.

Norman McLaren is mentioned in this book: Vector Synthesis: a Media Archaeological Investigation into Sound-Modulated Light

Punchcard synths at the Seimens studio in 1967


video upload by

Click the CC in the player controls on the bottom right for subtitles.

"The electronic music studio of the Siemens company in Munich in 1967, one of the first private electronic music studios in the world. Programming electronic music back then was a complex process that involved punch cards and maths. On the plus side, there were lots of gorgeous dials to turn and Bakelite switches to play with.

The Seimens studio was set up in 1958 and used until 1968. The studio initially created “musique concrète” but later explored purely electronic works, with engineers building equipment specifically for this task. I’ve seen it said that vocoders – which were invented during World War II to encrypt voice messages – were first used in music production at this lab.

The first major work produced here was the soundtrack to a documentary called 'Impulse of our Time' ('Impuls Unserer Zeit') directed by Otto Martini. After this, the studio was rented out to radio stations for compositions and sound effects, and composers were also invited to use the equipment. Karlheinz Stockhausen was one prestigious guest who used the studio, but there were many others. But really, the studio was a showpiece for Siemens and a chance for them to test out new ideas and equipment

The studio was placed in storage and forgotten from around 1968 to 1992, when it was rediscovered. It is now permanently installed at the Deutsche Museum von Meisterwerken der Naturwissenschaft und Technik in Munich.

I took this from a 13 minute video that’s available in full on the YouTube channel freeartslab. I added the subtitles so they are not very accurate, but they give you an idea of what’s going on if you don’t speak German."
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