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Showing posts sorted by date for query Jimmersound. Sort by relevance Show all posts

Thursday, December 18, 2014

More Pics of the ARP Centaur VI


Two new pics added to this post in via Jimmersound. They come from Mark Vail's Vintage Synthesizers, page 53.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Pics of The ARP Centaur VI Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer System


This is a follow-up to this post from earlier today. See that post for another possible one-off ARP guitar synth (not the Avatar).

Vincent found the following two pics of the ARP Centaur VI.

Left via the VSE forums: "I think there was 2 ARP Centaur VI built. It would have cost about $20K had it hit the markets, but it was hopelessly unreliable. This is the only photo I know of: a former employee of there custom engineering dept. Has anyone seen a better picture?"

Below via gearslutz:

"Just scanned this pic out of an old guitar book my brother had - the prototype ARP Centaur VI polyphonic guitar system. Two prototypes were built but the second one is unaccounted for.

The Centaur never went to production for two reasons. One, the technology of the mid 70s wasn't advanced enough to realize a reliable pitch-to-voltage converter and they couldn't get consistent tracking from a guitar. Two, they used a brute force approach for a polyphonic system - they crammed 115 circuit boards into the thing. Very expensive approach and it ultimately proved to be unreliable - Al Pearlman did a failure analysis and concluded that the mean time between failures was two hours. It was impossible to keep it running.

The project was dropped in favor of a simpler monophonic guitar synth - the Avatar was simply an Odyssey with the keyboard system replaced by a monophonic pitch-to-voltage converter. But they still couldn't perfect the converter, the tracking from a guitar was extremely glitchy, and you had to use a extremely clean picking technique. Between the Centaur and the pitch-to-voltage converter problems, ARP sank a HUGE amount of R&D revenue into these systems.

The not-ready-for-prime-time Avatar was rushed into production. Guitar players balked at the $3000 price tag and unreliable tracking. Avatars sold poorly, dealers blew out unsold units at bargain prices, and Avatars were discontinued after one year of production. ARP never recovered the R&D investment, they dug a very deep hole in which they only recovered $1m sales revenue from a $7m R&D investment."


Two additional pics sent my way via Jimmersound. These come from Mark Vail's Vintage Synthesizers, page 53.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Synth Rorschach #26


Anyone know what this is?  It kind of reminds me of one of Dan McPharlin's miniatures.

This one in via Jimmersound of PYRAPHONIC

"I saw this crazy cabinet & panel a while back at a local surplus place. I have no idea what its function was. I was tempted to buy it and turn it into some sort of synth, but I already have too many projects and gear!"


Monday, January 16, 2012

Quintrons Singing House

Singing House demo

YouTube Uploaded by spellcasterlodge on Jan 16, 2012

"Demonstration of latest Quintron invention called THE SINGING HOUSE. This is an analog "drone synth" which is completely modulated by the weather."

via Dangerous Minds via Jimmersound. Qintron, brought us the Drum Buddy.

And something else from Quintron:

Quintron and Miss Pussycat: "Face Down In The Gutter"

Uploaded by spellcasterlodge on Apr 27, 2011

"puppet video for this song from the album SUCRE DU SAUVAGE. Video created / edited by Miss Pussycat."

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Silver Tiptop Audio Station 252 Folding Case on PYRAPHONIC

A few pics via PYRAPHONIC a new blog on jimmersound's sonic pursuits. You'll find a few more pics there.  All great shots.  You can get a feel for the size of the Station 252 in the bottom shot with the Coke bottle next to it.

Update: I initially had this posted as a white case.  Although it looks white in some of the pics, it's actually silver. 


Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Tiptop case #1



via Jimmersound:

"I thought you might like these photos. I recently fell into the black hole known as Eurorack in the Modular galaxy. After a lot of research I ordered a batch of modules from Analogue Haven (Thank you, Shawn Cleary!) and I emailed Tiptop about their cases. After emailing back and forth a bit, it turns out Gur Milstein (of Tiptop) & I live about five miles apart, which led to me having the great fortune of being the proud owner of Tiptop case #1 (Thank you, Gur!). I have been happily patching away ever since. I have a few other modules on order and I also have the option of using my Moog theremin (with CV outs), ARP Axxe, Microcon and a few other goodies I have with this rig, but it will be a self-contained instrument."

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Roland 88 Synths - 1973 – 2010


via Das Kraftfuttermischwerk

seizure inducing animated gif below

via Jimmersound and Adam

88 what?



----------------------------- Couldn't find an official video so here you go...



And a Live version - Casio VL-Tone?

Thursday, October 14, 2010

DKNG “Moog” Art Print


More pics at DKNG Studios

"Recently, we’ve had the pleasure of creating a contributing art print for the upcoming show SYNTH. SYNTH is a group art show inspired by Robert Moog, the inventor of the synthesizer. The show will take place at MoogFest 2010.

The print above is part of a limited edition of 100 and is screen printed with four colors. It will be available for purchase after the weekend of the festival (November 1st). Below are some close up shots."

This one in via jimmersound.

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Pantomation (1977-1979)


YouTube via VintageCG | March 02, 2010

"Pantomation was a very early tracking chromakey system from the 1970s. Originally intended for music scoring, the system was adapted to other styles of performance art. While crude by modern standards, the concept was decades ahead of its time; it can reasonably be considered an early forebear of systems like Microsoft's Project Natal."

via Retro Thing, via Jimmersound

Update via Richard Lainhart in the comments:
"Coincidently enough, I was involved in this project - I hard-wired most of the computer interface for the Pantomation system, later called the Electric Pantograph. There's a history of the project here, some of which is used in the narration of the film"

http://www.experimentaltvcenter.org/history/groups/gtext.php3?id=32

I was working as a musician/technician with EBA then, and knew Tom Dewitt, the main designer of the system, from the SUNY Albany Electronic Music Studio, where I studied with Joel Chadabe. You can see a brief shot of the mighty Moog CEMS system in that studio at about 3:35 in the video."

Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Clavitar, The Moog Liberation, and the first Keytars


via this auction

Anyone know when the Clavitar was released? Here's a pic of George Duke in 1980 with one.
BTW, on the last page of the current September issue of Keyboard magazine (with Devo on the cover) is a one page feature on "Keytars Past and Pressent." I was under the impression that George Mattson's Performance Music Systems Syntar (1980) was the first keytar, before the Moog Liberation (1981). It looks like Roger Powell's Probe may have preceded it in 1977. Anyone know if it was just a controller or if it had a built in synth like the Syntar? Jan Hammer apparently also had a newer Probe, which you can see in this video and this video. Before everything was the Orphica from 1795.

Roger Powell image via audioholics

Orphica image via realsamples where you'll find a sample set of it. This might be a newer model though. The image or the Orphica in Keyboard looks much older and more like a mini harpsichord with neck attached.

Update via plaztec in the comments: "The Probe, as invented by Powell (& Jeremy Hill) and refined by Jan Hammer in the area of the pitch & mod wheels (note the left-hand sides of their respective keyboards are quite different, Hammer preferring the Minimoog-style wheels), was a controller and not a self-contained synthesizer. Both had custom rigs; Powell had a bank of Oberheim SEMs, IIRC - and Hammer the same, blending the SEM sound with the Minimoog in order to get his signature lead tone. Jan also experimented with a cruder, squarish remote in order to get the placement and angle of the wheels exactly right for him, prior to the building of his custom Probe. IMHO, those two guys in their heyday were, and remain, the single most credible-looking and compelling rock keyboardists to use remote keyboards on stage, especially considering the musicians they shared the stage with..."

Update via Jimmersound in the comments: "There's also info on the Probe in this Synapse issue."

Wednesday, June 02, 2010

ARP 2500 modular synthesizer

via this auction
"Rare, early ARP 2500 modular synthesizer in very good cosmetic condition and working 100%. A friend of mine bought this one from Phil Cirocco of CMS/Discrete Synthesizers in late 2007 and it's still working solid. As you can see, this is an earlier 2002 cabinet with a 3000 series keyboard.

It includes the following modules-
1002 Power Control
1003 Dual Envelope Generator
1004T VCO
1005 Ring Mod / VCA
1006 Lowpass filter / VCA
1016 Noise / Random Voltage
1023 Dual VCO
1027 3 x 10 Sequencer
1033 Dual EG with delay
1036 Dual S/H, Clock
1047 Multimode Filter"

Cosmetically- The veneer on the cabinet does have some chipping here and there, but overall it still looks very good. Some of the modules have a former owners name and the serial # etched in on the corners.

Internally- According to Phil's description when he sold it, the power supply had been upgraded about 2 years prior to my friend buying it to a 1.5 Amp, low noise high performance unit. The separate 12v lamp power supply had also been rebuilt around that time.

The keyboard works great as well as all of the knobs, switches, matrix sliders, etc. No scratchy pots whatsoever! Phil obviously took care of this thing. I did notice that one of the LEDs on the sequencer has since burned out, but if this is an issue I can have it replaced.

This is not a plug in and play unit like an Arp 2600. Patching is required if you want sound. Please be aware of this."

This one spotted and sent in via Jimmersound.

1995 Lonestar Technologies "The Key" Guitar Synthesizer


via this auction

Product Serial # 100BK01AAU000246C9500

"History of "The Key": The key was developed by Lonestar Technologies, a company based in Hicksville New York. It was marketed as an "Interactive Musical Instrument" and came out in 1994 with an MSRP of $400 and above. For the time, the technology was ground breaking, and included design help from rock & roll guitar legend Randy Jackson. "The Key" has a far out design and in itself is a guitar synthesizer, where the frets are key like and strings are "veins". What made the instrument so appealing was the fact it was MIDI compatible and expansion units called "SONGPAC" catridges could be purchased. "SONGPAC" catridges included licensed songs (i.e. Stone Temple Pilots - Vaseline cartridge included in the auction) which allowed "The Key" user to play along (rather easily) with their favorite songs. You could "CD Sync" the instrument when you had the CD of one of the songs included on the "SONGPAC", playing in sync with your favorite song. There was also an option where you could play along with your favorite music videos that were specially encoded for "The Key" through your VCR or LaserDisc player. Believe it or not, "The Key" also had networking capabilities. Through a 4 wire telephone cord, you could connect two units together and send information. WOW!

Unfortunately, the technology was ahead of its time. "The Key" did not sell many units, maybe due to its hefty price. It went the way of the LaserDisc. However, "The Key" was the predecessor for the ever popular "Guitar Hero", which has now become the medium for interactive musical entertainment.

Using "The Key": Though "The Key" was initially introduced to the public as high tech home entertainment, the capabilites of the instrument were far superior. With the ability of MIDI, you can use "The Key" as 'keytar'. I have personally used the instrument in live performances before, and you will achieve very unique and distinct leads through the instrument. As a synthesizer alone, it has a great sound. The built in speaker does not do the tones you can achieve justice, and you can record some great riffs through the Out line. Something really awesome a friend of mine was able to achieve was using "The Key" as a MIDI controller to a vocoder, creating something similar to a 'talkbox' effect as heard on Daft Punk - Discovery.

The unit runs on a 9V AC adaptor or 6 D Cell batteries. It also includes connectors where you can attach your guitar strap.

These guitar synths rarely appear for sale anywhere. Today it has become a collectors item."

This one spotted and sent in via Jimmersound

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Nicks World of Synthesis - 6 OSC Mini Synth

via this auction

"Hand made 6 oscillator mini synthesizer

I have been making synthesizers for over 10 years but this is the first time I have made anything to sell. To see all my work go to nicksworldofsynthesizers.com

The 6 knobs tune the oscillators and the keys switch them on. In normal mode it can make simple melodies and harmonies.

There is a switch that makes all the oscillators sync to the first oscillator. This has the effect of making the oscillators lock to the nearest harmonics of the first oscillator and makes some very strange harmonies.

The chaos depth knob makes all the oscillators attempt to sync to each other. The result is quite extreme unpredictable noise and sonic convolsions.

The circuit is descrete transistor which give the sound a rich analogue quality. The case has a nice vintage industrial design with engraved lettering and phenolic moog style knobs."

Update via Billy in the comments:

"Dude used to be in Pink Grease... played one of the most insane looking diy synths ever..."

Pink Grease on MySpace

Also see this video.

Update via Jimmersound in the comments: "More here [Nick's World of Synthesizers]" Originally posted back in 2007 when it lived on a different site. And we come full circle. I thought I recognized it.


Friday, July 24, 2009

Circuit Bent PHOTO THEREMIN

via this auction

"- 1 on/off switch with green "on" led.
- 1 waveform select switch....sine wave or square wave.
- 1 Blue LED LIGHT PEN with 3 foot cable, use to play the photosensor in the dark.
- 1 pitch range pot with ball knob sets the range of the sound from low to high pitch.
- 1 1/4" audio output jack.
- Cool white/purple case."

via Jimmersound

Monday, May 18, 2009

EXTREMELY RARE 1960S TUBON ELECTRONIC ORGAN/SYNTHESIZER


SN 00807 via this auction

"It was made in 1966 by joh mustad ab of sweden. It was one of the first synthesyzer/electronic bass organ type instruments of its kind.... It is a very strange looking instrument its long and tube shaped with a keyboard and buttons and knobs on the other end. It measures about 32" long and is about 5" around and comes in its original case and has its original strap. It ran off three batteries and has a place to plug it into a amp or speaker."


Sunday, June 29, 2008

Party Chambers

Party Chambers
Music with the Roland PMA-5. via jimmersound in the comments of this PMA-5 auction post on MATRIXSYNTH-B. This is one of the reasons why I like putting these posts up. You never know what gems you might find.

Update: "all of the sounds on the tracks posted on the Party Chambers MySpace page were recorded straight out of the PMA-5's 1/8" jack. (Even the 'guitar' sounds in the track "Sky Bar"!)

As far as drum sounds go, it has 808 & 909 sounds in it as well as some super cheesy 80's sounding 'power' drums (Which is odd, since the PMA is from '95 or '96 I think)."
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