Packrat's Juno-106

Playlist:

Packrat's Juno-106 - Part 1 Published on Mar 27, 2013

"I don't normally do repairs for others, but this is a very special case: In this playlist I service and recondition the actual Juno-106 that was the inspiration for one of my fave Packrat comic strips by the infamous artist David C. Lovelace of UMOP dot COM fame.

Don't worry. This is the only time on the Syntegrator channel that I will read a comic out loud to you complete with character voices. That said, it's nice to know those two years I spent at acting school in my youth finally came in handy for something... ;-)"

Packrat's Juno-106 - Part 2 Published on Mar 27, 2013
"A quick once-over of this fairly pristine unit. The reverence shown by Packrat to his 'True Love' definitely applied to the real synthesizer behind the comic strip!"

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Packrat Comes to MATRIXSYNTH!

I'm happy to announce that starting with the December issue, The Packrat has found a new home here on MATRIXSYNTH!

The Packrat has been featured on MATRIXSYNTH many times in the past (and of course the MATRIXSYNTH Packrat on the right has been a staple of the site since 2006), but now it will be a bit more official. You'll find some words from Dave, the creator of The Packrat, below.

But first, click the image for the full size comic. You can find previous issues on Dave's Packrat site here, and be sure to check out The Packrat Book! It's a great bit of synth history and it makes a great stocking stuffer. MATRIXSYNTH and a few other names in the synth community are featured in the book.

Regarding the future of The Packrat, Dave has the following to say:

"The Packrat is by all accounts among the smallest, most niche-y comic strips in the entire universe. Nevertheless, it has its fans, and just in case they have any curiosity, they are owed the backstory of the events of the past few months.

I came back from my August, 2014 camping trip through the Canadian back woods with a hot, steaming case of Lyme Disease (I'm fine now!). I was covered in a rash for several weeks and ended up submitting one comic strip too late for print. The following month, specifics too unexciting in which to delve (exclusively involving the publication's administration, going higher than Keyboard Magazine itself) created problematic logistics preventing the print of the next two installments.

I bear the magazine itself no ill will at all, and consider the matter unfortunate only for the fans who had perhaps thought that the Packrat had been retired (by me or the mag). Indeed, those of its followers who are wise enough to follow it on Facebook or my own personal art site umop.com have been able to see monthly synth-tastic adventures at the usual periodic times, so hopefully the notion that the Packrat went to Synth Heaven wasn't too widespread.

Comic strips are trifles in this world, and this one is damn near the, uh... trifliest? So the details about how this strip gets made surely must consist of the silliest orts of minutiae ever to cross anyone's plate. But here they are anyway, every last crumb of them.

Anyway, inasmuch as the break from the magazine was unintentional on the part of everyone directly involved with its creation, I'm using the resultant reality of things as an excuse to move onward with the Packrat. It will now be available online on all the aforementioned sites, and Matrixsynth has agreed to be the exclusive first link to it every month (and possibly, in installments of a more timely fashion!). Neither he nor I are currently making any money at all from any of this; we're both in it for synth-love alone right now (and for me, exceedingly rare book sales). While I was formerly earning enough for a couple of tanks of gas a pop from the magazine (and was lucky to get it in this economy), even that modest honorarium will be gone.

This comic strip has somehow survived ten years of life come February, and I have no plans of slowing down any time soon. In order to help keep it going, I plan on setting up a Patreon page this week. I would consider even $100 per month a major victory, since that would at least cover its own dodeca-annual creation. Details about the page will follow once it's all set up.

Thanks for reading the Packrat comic! Enjoy this first Matrixsynth-exclusive episode, featuring an appropriately green synth to start off the maiden voyage."

The Packrat Sampler Arrives

My copy of The Packrat Sampler  has arrived!  I thought I'd post some pics up along with a note on why this book is extremely special to me.  I started MATRIXSYNTH in blog format back on July 20th of 2005. The first post on The Packrat went up on Halloween of that year  (with two prior references here and here).   The Packrat was with me on year one and has been a staple on the site ever since.  The MATRIXSYNTH Packrat image pictured on the right of the site went up on August 2, 2006, and to my surprise and complete honor it graces the cover of the book!

The Packrat pretty much symbolizes the true inner synth obsessed in all of us.  He took a little hiatus in 2006 and came back in 2007 and has been going strong since.  He brought us synth dreams and Buchla Christmas wishes.  He has a significant place in synth history as the longest running, if not the only running, true synthesizer based comic strip.  Because of that, and because of the awesome coolness of the man behind the strip, Mr. Dave C. Lovelace, who brought us much of the artwork behind Metasonix products as well as his other comic strips, and plays ripping keys in his band Parallax, I highly recommend this book.  Check out that Tron keytar (more here)!

In all seriousness, The Packrat, also featured in Keyboard Magazine, is part of synth history.  Not only does the book feature each episode of the comic, you get the history behind each including interesting tidbits you might miss in the comic otherwise, and you get a 12-page adventure never seen anywhere else (which includes another MATRIXSYNTH appearance).

Seriously, get this book now!  It's dirt cheap, it's synth history, and it is AWESOME!

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Final Episode of The Packrat

via Dave

"Hello there,
It is ridiculously weird timing ending the Packrat's run so soon after its transition from print to web-only. But after sketching out no fewer than two dozen ideas for an all-new daily webcomic idea (to be announced next month), it just feels like it's time to call it quits for this monthly comic strip about a synthesizer-collecting rat. This is his ten-year anniversary and it just doesn't feel like the Packrat owes you or me anything more.

I've also decided that ten years was long enough to see if the comic could ever be more than it was. Maybe if it was a daily offering, it would have gained more traction, but I had a hard enough time coming up with monthly keyboard-related comic ideas. So the concept of daily ones seems very unrealistic to me! It would just get stale for everyone on both sides of the screen.

Meanwhile, there's $14 worth of income (and as anyone on Patreon will tell you, this is no small feat) coming from six monthly subscribers on my Patreon page. For those early adopters I do promise that my new webcomic will be entertaining and even somewhat keyboard-related. I'll reveal everything else in March. Until then, anyone possessing great faith can be an early adopter while the page is transitioning from the Packrat to the Next Big Thing. You might want to get in early, because I have a feeling that for once I've actually bottled real lightning.

That's all for now. I wish I had the ability to dedicate to two comic art projects, but there just won't be room for both of them in my brain."

I'm sad to see The Packrat go, but I'm glad it's by Dave's choice. I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next. The Packrat will always have a special place in the annals of MATRIXSYNTH. The first appearance to be featured here on MATRIXSYNTH was back on October 31 (Halloween) of 2005, only three months after the launch of MATRIXSYNTH in blog form. The Packrat brought us some great times. We are going to miss you little buddy.  Rocks instead of synths?!  I guess it would be more affordable.

Synth Dreams

Dave of umop.com and The Packrat sent an email on a synth dream he had, to me and a couple of others. I replied with my own. Dave and Peter Forrest thought they were a good read so I figured I'd put up a post. Dave gave me the go ahead to start with his. If you have any similar stories, feel free to post them in the comments. I thought this particular Packrat Toon held a little bit of truth to the experience behind the dreams. BTW, title link takes you to the rest of The Packrat strip. Hmm... Now that I think of it, all the toons would make for great dreams. : ) Click the image to read it.


Before we start. Question: How many of you realized it was a dream in the middle of it and actually tried to take it back to the other side? I have.

Via Dave:
"Not for nuthin', but after I bought some office furniture at Ikea the
other day, I guess the store invaded & scrambled my thoughts, because
I dreamed I bought a little 2-osc analog synth from them.

I'd supply a picture but it was so nondescript it doesn't really
matter. It was about half a MaxiKorg with similarly colored switches;
plain black cheapo plastic body. Mixer faders all the way over on the
side, embedded in the end cheeks like an OB-Xa retrofit (for only two
VCO's?... there were so many faders...); and of course those cheeks
were Ikea's specialty "birch effect" particle board in composition.

One other detail I remember is the waveform knob was a simple knob
which went from brass (saw) to EP (electric piano [??]). When cranked
all the way left, this thing sounded fatter than the brass from ELP's
"Touch and Go" and I recall remarking to my girlfriend in the dream
(who was naked of course...TMI?) that I planned on bringing this
little $199 beauty out with me to Pong* shows as a dedicated brass
synth.

The name? "Ikeaboard" of course.

Just thought I'd share. It's weird to have dreams with this many
technical details skirting so close to the realistic."

############################################################################

Via Matrix:
"Too funny, I used to have synth dreams all the time. There was a time in
real life, where I was hitting up pawn shop after pawn shop looking for
"that deal." I had major GAS. At that time I'd have dreams about shops in
various cities with crazy analog gear I've never seen before. Bizarre
Roland/Oberheim combo analogs. The shops always seemed to have mini lofts
in the back where they stored a bunch of dusty old analogs. I have
re-occuring dreams about making rounds through pawn shops on Santa Monica
Blvd. in LA between Van Ness and Western, which I just realized there isn't
a single pawn shop in that stretch if I remember correctly, and rounds in a
downtown that's a mix between LA, Venice Beach, and Seattle. The most
memorable synth of all things was a Red SH-101 that was shiny and had curves
which slanted in by the keys. Imagine a shiny red SH-101 designed by
Ferarri and you'll get the idea.

Here's a couple of real life experiences similar to my synth dreams:

1) I used to go up to Vancouver B.C. about twice a year and run through this
routine:

1. Check-in at hotel.
2. Walk out and down one side of Granville Ave hitting every pawn shop on
the way to the liqour store (mostly avoiding eye contact with the porn shop
displays in between - Granville basically has pawn shops, porn shops, clubs,
and convenience stores with .99 pizza by the slice). And then walk back up
the other, hitting all the pawn shops on that side.
3. Buy a synth if I was lucky enough to find one (I bought my JD-800 for
$650 Canadian there)
4. Bring it and the drinks up to the hotel room, and go through my cleaning
ritual while drinking these Canadian berry flavored drinks with MuchTV
(Canadian MTV) in the background (my wife liked that show when we visited).
I'd also watch life go by out on Granville. I always got a second to third
story room with a view of the street. I'd spend about an hour clianing the
synth and then play a bit and head out for the night. Back from the night
I'd stare out the window and watch the craziness that happens when people
start leaving the clubs. The whole time I'd be glowing and thinking about
how cool it was that I actually found something. There was a Kurzweil
K2000S I was eyeing in a shop for a while, but I thought the asking price at
$800 or so Canadian was too much for it to be a deal. Visiting Granville
was my pawnshop dream in real life minus of course the mass cool gear, but I
usually found something interesting too look at if not buy. I'd always go
up for my birthday as well, so finding something on that trip was always
better.

2) I went to Maui once, and made a point to hit the pawn shops at some
point. I didn't get around to it until the last day. To my wife's
reluctance, we hit shop after shop and found nothing. We burned out and
gave up. On the way back to the hotel, my wife spots Taco Bell. We go in
and I see a pawn shop around back. I say just one more. She's says no, but
I pull the what if that's the pawn shop that has the $50 Minimoog?! She
gives in. I walk in and in the back I see what looks like either a TR-707
or 909. I figure of course it's the 707 with my luck. I get closer and
it's pretty dusty, and... It's the 909. I get that sick feeling in the
stomache, that feeling of panic like someone or something is going to go
wrong. I grab it and look at a sticker on it. It says 220, but no $. I
ask the guy working there if that's the price. Turns out he's the owner and
he says a little nervously, "oh..., we can take $30 off of that" A 909 for
$190! I say sold! But... He only takes cash. I have no cash and he is
about to close! He's in a hurry to go see some blockbuster that just came
out. The shop opens again after my plane leaves. I ask if there is an ATM
close by. There is one across a high speed highway. but he says I better
hurry because he needs to make the movie and will not wait. What do I do?
I bolt across the street. I manage to withdraw the money and run back just
as he's locking the shop. I get that sick feeling like I knew it was too
good to happen, but... he has the 909 in hand and I make my purchase. : )
Only... They didn't have any 1/4" cables for me to try it, and as he was in
a rush, I had to buy it hoping it was ok. I almost didn't get it but I
figured I could get it repaired at that price, so I'm hoping it's just not
too bad. I get back and plug it in. I hear it thumping away. Big grin.
; ) I clean it up and it's immaculate, no issues whatsoever."

Happy New Year! The Year in Synths 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!

What a busy year it has been in the world of synths.

This is going to be one doozy of a post, so bear with me. This post is a review of the year in synths for 2013. We begin with Tributes to Those We Lost This Year, followed by New Manufacturers & Makers, Older Manufacturers Added to the Site, New Gear Announcements, Top 10 Posts by Traffic,  My Standout Posts for the Year, and finally This Years' Synth Events. I did my best to keep things as short and concise as possible.

Let's begin with the hardest part of the post.

Tributes to Those We Lost This Year

RIP Bernard Parmegiani - Electronic & Acoustic Composer
Lou Reed RIP
RIP Dick Raaymakers aka Kid Baltan
RIP George Duke - DreamWeaver
RIP Ralph Dyck, Sept 28, 1941 – May 20, 2013
RIP Ray Manzarek

All missed and never to be forgotten. Take a moment to remember them.

------

New Manufacturers & Makers

Starting last January, I decided to keep a running list of every new manufacturer and maker introduced to the site during the year.  This is something I haven't done before and I thought it would be interesting to see how many there were in the year.   It's easy to focus on the big synth announcements throughout the year, but what about all the new makers and brands? I shouln't have to go considerably into the significance of new designers on the scene, so I'll just say two things regarding them.  One, the number of new makers is a direct reflection on the interest in our scene, and two, these are the creators of new gear which directly translate into new designs not previously available to us.  Think about that for a moment.  These are makers and designs that did not exist before.  They are part of our synth history.  So what is the total count of new synth designers for the year? A whopping 113. Think about that a bit. One hundred and thirteen new synth designers and brands this year alone.

Here they are (note a handful date back to 2012, but 2013 marked their momentum and availability):

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Packrat - December - May

Looks like the last Packrat I posted was back in November. Here's December through May. You can find previous episodes going back to Frebruary, 2005 here. BTW, if you scroll down the right side of MATRIXSYNTH you'll find a custom Packrat for the site by Dave.


"Can Packrat learn from his nightmares? Does earwax float? Wait, I don't know the answer to that, either."


"Packrat's new invention ushers in an invention of my own: a continuing plotline!"


"At the 1939 World's Fair, Packrat meets the inventor of the 'Voder.'"


"Packrat appears in 1955, where he gets some scientific advice from a certain learned sage."


"Packrat meets Dr. Hugh LeCaine, inventor of the first voltage-controlled synthesizer."


"Dr. Lecaine helps Packrat complete part of his time-traveling journey home."

The Packrat - June - September 2011

I realize I haven't put up a Packrat post in a while. The last one was back in April covering December - May. Below is June - September. You can find the full archive of The Packrat tunes on Dave C. Lovelace's umop.com here. Be sure to check out the rest of his work as well. There's tons of it, and it's aawllll goooood stuff. BTW, you'll find a MATRIXSYNTH Packrat that has a permanent home on the right this site. Dave made it back in 2006.

June

"Packrat meets Bog Moog in 1964!"


July

"Still stuck in 1964, the Packrat heads to San Francisco to find Don Buchla."

August

"Buchla is forever changed by his first encounter with a keytar..."

September

"Packrat figures he's permanently beach-bound in 1967, until he hears the dulcet tone of a theremin!"

The Packrat - January 2015 & The MATRIXSYNTH Packrat T-Shirt!

And we start 2015 with an episode of The Packrat! :)

You'll find the awesome MATRIXSYNTH Packrat T pictured below and more Packrat schwag at http://umop.com/packrat.htm

You might recognize the image on the T from this post. Support The Packrat on Patreon here!

The Packrat October 2011 - March 2012

"What happens when the keytar's time circuits are amplified by a spherical array of 61 speakers?"


November 2011 - Packrat hits a time-traveling analog speed bump in the 1980s."


December 2011 - "Our hero gets a massive analog boost at a notable 1985 synth concert. Where will he end up next?"


January 2012 - "Welcome to the year 2112!"


February 2012 - "Packrat finally arrives home to realize his whole journey was one big joke on him."


March 2012 - "Packrat's time-traveling days are behind him, but it looks like he's still living in the past."

More episodes and Cool Pacrat shwag here.

A search for The Packrat on MATRIXSYNTH will bring up every post where The Packrat gets a mention.

Matrixsynth on CafePress

Update4: Mine came out horrid! The font is aqua instead of green. So... Don't order one unless you want the "limitted" first edition. Heh. : ) I'm waiting on a couple of orders to go through (which I actually will refund and let them keep the shirt, because I feel so bad), then I'm closing the shop. If you order one after this update, I WILL NOT refund and just assume you actually want one as is. I'll be looking locally at making shirts next, and I'll be doing a quality check on my end before announcing anything. Sorry about this, but do know I will take care of those who stepped out and bought one first. Here is what it looks like; click for a bigger shot.



Update3: Looks like the $5 off coupons are only good on orders of $20. I upped the mark-ups for my two $19.99 items a penny to $20.00 so we can use the coupons. Other option would have been to pick up a mini-button for $1.99 or that thong. : )

Update2: Looks like I received five $5 off coupon codes when I placed my order. If anyone wants one send me an email at matrixsynth[]hotmail.com. Please don't ask unless you are ready to buy though. Also if you do buy something and get five discounts for others, send them to yourself and post a comment here so others can save a little; I'm not sure if you can use them yourself.

Update: I need to stress that the font will NOT be as sharp as the title in this blog. It has more of a retro Outer Limits/X Files blurry look to it from simply blowing up the title. I think it looks pretty cool myself. Here is a link to what it will look like full size.
---
Yep, I did it. I've been wanting a black T with the Matrixsynth title and description above for a while now. I finally got around to checking out CafePress after seeing The Packrat Ts and shwag. I went for the whole shebang for the heck of it. Who am I to judge what others might be interested in. So if you want a Matrixsynth thong, go for it. I also have stamps. I'll be picking up a black T myself. BTW, I just grabbed the title of this blog, so if you do actually buy something please don't come after me if the quality sucks. As the used analog synth market sometimes goes, they are sold AS-IS, buyer beware. I'm honestly just doing this for the fun of it. The markup on each item btw, is one whole dollar. Woohoo! Anyway, I will post back when I get my black T and let you know what I think of it. The one thing I am a bit worried about is how the black border will look on the black shirt (see Update3 below, this might not be an issue after all). Also if I actually do sell more than 10 different items, I'll post back with the top ten sold. P.S. I wonder if I'm making history with the first synth related thong...

Update3: I went with the following printing option for my merchandise, so my concerns on black on black may not be an issue after all. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

"Direct Printing

With Direct Printing, we print direct-to-fabric with no transfers. The result is a matte image that moves with the garment because the ink is actually embedded in the fabric for ultimate wearable comfort. After a few washes, you will notice the great durability of Direct Printing. That means greater image staying power.

The benefits of Direct Printing
Great washability - no fading
No feel of ink on the fabric (the ink is in the fabric)
No cracking
No transfer lines"

The Packrat January 2014

via The Packrat on Facebook

"The Packrat comic strip for the first Keyboard Magazine of 2014! Thanks to Jeff Shea for help with the idea, based loosely on (his) real life. The eyeball didn't pop all the way out. No, it wasn't Jeff's eyeball; he was the Packrat in this scenario!"

Tubes

Dave of http://umop.com/ (The Packrat, Parallax, Retarded Animal Babies, and much more) sent this one (from Toothpaste for Dinner) to me and Eric Barbour of Metasonix. It's a funny comic and the connection to Metasonix and tubes is obvious. Eric replied with the following and gave me the OK to post it, so here it is. It also reminds me of the analog vs. digital debate. In my opinion sound is sound and it's all what you make of it. It's as simple as it gets - everyone likes what they like.

"Okay guys....yeah, it's funny.

Um, do I try to claim 'warmer sweeter tone' or 'vintage sound' for my products? Forgive me for ranting, but I keep having to make these points.

There have been long and often-incoherent lectures on 'tube tone' over the last 40-plus years. Speaking personally, I've long suspected this 'tube tone' crap to be based on people's vague memories of early tube hifi and radio equipment--which usually had poor frequency response and high second- harmonic distortion, either due to poor design or an attempt to keep the item below a certain retail price.

Please let me talk about my personal observations of 'tube tone'. I've heard tube amps that were as accurate as any solid-state amp you can think of (we are talking about high-end home audio, not guitar amps or pro audio, because that's the area where "tube tone" is the biggest hypefest).

And I've heard modern tube amps that were so shrill and ugly sounding, they made me think they were badly-designed transistor amps. I've also seen, used, and repaired a long long list of vintage hifi, radios, and guitar amps. They were all over the place in sound quality, though generally pre-WWII and cheap gear had that soft, indistinct 'vintage-stereotype' sound. Plus, I've heard transistor amps that were so damn good, they made me wonder why so much ink was wasted on blubbering about 'tube tone'.

My considered opinion: people who mumble about 'tube tone' are full of shit, and/or simply regurgitating catch-phrases they've been hearing for years. There are good tube amps and there are bad tube amps. Simply being a tube amp does not guarantee anything except a marketing handle that can be used to wheedle the clueless rabble into paying too much money for it.

At the CES ten years ago, I heard a brand-new, very costly ($8000) stereo tube hifi amp that was claimed to be 'the ultimate in high-end tone'. It was so shrill, lacking in bass, distorted, and otherwise ugly-sounding, it drove people out of the room. Even so, it ended up on the cover of major high-end magazines. (Later I was told by other people in the business that the company founder had severe high-frequency hearing loss, and was literally unable to discern that the amp sounded bad to most people. Nor was he willing to admit as much. He wound up telling the designer what to do, based on his own ears. Because he was an egotistical fool, who refused to acknowledge that his hearing was bad.) I'd tell you his name but it was an embarrassing incident and better forgotten. That firm went bankrupt recently, as his sales 'went off a cliff', and I'm not sure he deserves the extra abuse.

This also goes a long way toward explaining why I don't make tube hifi gear, hopefully. High-end audio is more like a freak show than a 'market'. It's full of arrogant over-50 man-boys who are obsessed with 'accuracy', yet usually have no idea what that means.

Guitar amps are starting to be similar to high-end in the sheer snobbery and idiocy. I've heard tube simulation devices, like the Line 6 products, that are as close to sounding like real vintage tube gear as one could possibly want. There are now quite a few tube amp simulators, made by various firms, that are basically as 'perfect' as can be. I've also heard 'real vintage style' tube amps, usually invented by idiots who wanted to take advantage of the 'tube tone fad', that sounded like broken transistor amps.

Yet guitarists keep demanding tube amps. And nowadays, they are paying extremely stiff prices for real tube amps with major brands like Marshall or Vox or Fender. Have you priced a Marshall JCM2000 amp head lately? Right now, despite a massive global recession, this 'standard for heavy rock' will cost you about $3000, with an 'official' Marshall speaker cab. Marshall and Vox belong to Korg, which is deliberately using these old brandnames to sell high-priced product to people who still think those firms are the same as they were in the 1960s. They aren't......the amps don't even sound like the old ones, mainly due to the poor quality of the tubes being made today. But it doesn't matter. They, like Gibson, Fender, and many other old brandnames that were around at the dawn of rock & roll, are simply trading on nostalgic warm tone feelings for bygone days.

It's why I find people who complain about Metasonix's 'high prices' to be pathetic. Those same people are often willing to pay $4000 for a modern reissue Gibson guitar, or $2500 for a 30-year-old TB303, or $75,000 for a Fairchild 670 limiter, because those things 'have the magic'. Whatever the hell that means.

My 'marketing', such as it is, doesn't focus on 'warm vintage tube tone'. Because it's not a real thing, it's a buzzword. Metasonix sounds different from everything else on the market and that's all I try to claim. It's the most 'real analog' possible--class A tube circuits. They might sound warm and soft, they might sound like a broken vacuum cleaner being shoved up your ass. It's more a question of the circuit design and the user's choices.

No one else had the guts to make tube synthesizer circuits, and to this day, if you ask a mainstream synth builder if they can design a tube synth circuit, they claim it is physically impossible or horribly impractical and costly. (Dieter Doepfer immediately comes to mind, because I've personally seen him tell people exactly that. And based on his marketability standards, he's right. Tubes are hell to deal with--costly, flaky, difficult to source, wasteful of power.)"

Limited Edition "The Packrat Sampler" Book Now Available

Our favorite synth comic, The Packrat, is now available in book format. It includes all episodes of The Packrat plus a few extras.  You can pick up a copy here.  Don't miss out!

"Since 2005, The Packrat has been a favorite of synthesizer and rodent fans alike. This potentially brilliant comic strip has been running in Keyboard Magazine monthly since August, 2010 (as well as for a few months back in 2005 - 2006). Now those comics, along with a few surprises, are all collected in one book which you might just cherish more than your whole keyboard collection.

Why, you ask? Because for a limited time this book will be one of 100 signed "Early Bird Editions." The $11.95 price goes up a buck afterward, with signed copies being $2 extra due to potential fulfillment-related logistics. SO GET IT NOW; SAVING THREE BUCKS LIKE A FREE BEER! And here is what you'll get for your twelve bucks:

• Around 50 comic strips which appeared in Keyboard Magazine.
• A few extra drawings & comics only seen only in a few blogs by an inner circle of cool people including probably yourself.
• A MASSIVE 12-page adventure never seen anywhere else, 'Synthesizer Pugilistic Exposition Goes Nuts.'
• 'Early Bird' editions: A signature of David C. Lovelace, me, the guy writing this. The guy who draws a synth-collecting rat for some occasional grocery money. For an extra donated amount of fundage (your call; choose wisely!), I can add a quick drawing to this signature... of whatever you want... I suppose... provided it isn't hateful or too complicated."

KIWI-106 Upgrade for the Roland Juno-106 Now Available

via Kiwitechnics

"It's been a long two years to keep things quiet, but it's time for Kiwitechnics and Psicraft Designs to let everyone in on the big big secret: Kiwi-106 is now shipping! Guided by such gear luminaries as Dave Lovelace (the creator/author of Keyboard magazine's Packrat comic) and the YouTube channel Juno-106 expert Syntegrator, Kiwitechnics and Psicraft have brought this beloved synth classic out of the 80s and put it where it belongs: The heart of your 21st century studio. An expanded synthesis architecture with dual envelopes and multi-waveform LFOs is only the tip of the creative possibilities that any Juno-106 can now possess. Comprehensive routing of controls, high resolution parameters, and eight groups of 64 patches expand the Juno-106's synthesis capability many times over, but this we're not done yet. Add in a six voice polyphonic 124 step sequencer and a pattern generator to the mix and Juno-106 becomes a new class of instrument. Now design and implement a totally modern MIDI implementation suited for modern stage and studios and provide a free Vyzex professional instrument Mac/Windows editor/librarian along with the price of admission and what do you have? Modern Brains and Vintage Brawn, baby. The Kiwi-106!"

"The Kiwi106 Upgrade features:-
•512 Patches can be stored and edited. 128 Factory Patches are preloaded
•Patches are stored in Flash memory so no battery is required.
•Bend Controls (DCO, VCF Bend, LFO Mod Level & Portamento) are stored with the Patch
•MidiCC & Sysex support for all parameters and Midi Sysex support for Patch Dump & Load
•NRPN & Sysex variable parameter control supports 12 bit for 4096 parameter steps
•Patch Editor Control of Parameters (PE firmware v5.2 or higher). Free PC/MAC editor is available from Kiwi-106.com
•Key Assign Modes are Poly I&II, Unison Legato & Staccato, Mono Legato & Staccato
•Pedal & Front Panel Button Note Hold modes
•Portamento in Unison, Arp & Chord modes
•DCO Key Assign Detune available in all key modes except mono
•Internal Clock that can be used to clock the Arp, Sequence and/or Pattern and can optionally generate a midi clock
•Two independent envelope generators. Each ENV Mod can select from ENV 1 or 2 and be Inverted or Normal
•Two independent Low Frequency Oscillators with 6 waveforms each. LFO2 random2 wave can be clocked from the Internal clock. Each LFO Mod can select from LFO 1 or 2. LFOs can be plus and minus base note or plus base note only. Each LFO Mod can be inverted.
•Aftertouch, Modulation Level and Dynamics via midi. Dynamics can optionally control the VCA and/or VCF. The Dynamics have been modeled on the Juno-2 with both the VCF & VCA mod turned on by default for a more natural and expressive play. This brings new life to every patch in the Kiwi-106.
•Arp/Seq/Pattern Clocks can optionally display on the KeyT LED and LFO 1 and LFO 2 clocks can optionally display on the Group lights
•Key transpose allows transposition to any key with a range of plus 2 or minus 1 octaves. Sequencer key can be shifted while playing
•Compatible midiCC control set for all Kiwitechnics products
•Comes with metal LabelCHORD MODE
•Any chord with up to 6 notes can be set and played from any keyARPEGGIATOR
•The Arpeggiator can be independently clocked from the Internal or External Clocks, LFO2, Pattern Output or midi clock divided by 3,4,6,9,12,18,24,36,48,72,96,128,144,168 or 192.
•Arp modes are Up, Down, Up and Down, Random, 0 to 3 octaves
•Arp can be Started, Stopped & Continued using Midi Commands
•Arp state is saved with a Patch. This allows the Arp to play automatically when a Patch is loaded
•Appeggiator will Output Midi DataSEQUENCER
•8 separate 124 Max step Polyphonic sequences can be created and stored
•Sequences can be edited
•Sequencer can be Started, Stopped & Continued using Midi Commands
•The Sequencer can be independently clocked from the Internal or External clocks, LFO2, Pattern output or midi clock divided by 3,4,6,9,12,18,24,36,48,72,96,128,144,168 or 192.
•Sequence state is saved with a Patch. This allows the Sequencer to load and play automatically when a Patch is loaded
•Sequencer will Output Midi Data and can have an independent midi channelPATTERN GENERATOR
•8 Pattern Generator patterns can be saved and edited. The pattern can be any length between 2 and 16 steps
•The Pattern Generator can be independently clocked from the Internal or External clocks, LFO2 or midi clock divided by 3,4,6,9,12,18,24,36,48,72,96,128,144,168 or 192.
•Pattern Generator can be Started, Stopped & Continued using Midi Commands
•Pattern Effect can be faded from no effect to full effect.
•Pattern state is saved with a Patch. This allows the Pattern Generator to load and play automatically when a Patch is loadedEDITOR
•A comprehensive editor (PC & Mac) is supplied with the upgrade and can be downloaded here. This has been developed by Psicraft under the Vyzex brand

The Packrat: April - July 2012

via David C Lovelace on Facebook

You can find all episodes of The Packrat here. You'll also find The Packrat on Facebook.

Note May and June are combined. Top down: April, May-June, July.

And of course, check out all of Dave's work on http://umop.com/

On the right of MATRIXSYNTH, Check out The MATRIX Packrat made by Dave for the site back in 2006! And just in case you were wondering, the site, name and green came before the movies.

Metasonix and the Agonizer

So I found this image of the Metasonix Agonizer on this VSE post of stuff for sale including a Realistic MG-1, Nord Lead 2, Akai S612, and a couple of other pedals. I don't remember checking out the Agonizer before, so I head over to Metasonix for more info. It's not listed as a current product but I did find the manual in the support section. I take a look and the first thing in the manual is:

"AAAGGGGHHH!!!!!
YOU SLIME!
YOU PERVERTED ANUS-MAGGOT!!
YOU ACTUALLY BOUGHT ONE??!??
WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU???"

Eventually followed by:

"The Agonizer is great for driving the bloody hell out of a tube guitar amp, but don't whine at US if it blows your speaker's cone across the room.... Because of the construction techniques required, the Agonizer cannot be kicked around like a fuzzbox. You WILL BREAK A TUBE if you kick it around. And thereafter, we will kick YOU around, shortly after charging you a large amount of money to fix the damn thing.The Agonizer is for the DISCIPLINED, intelligent, non-risk-averse musician. It is NOT SUITABLE for drunken/stoned bozos who play dude-guitar in Creed cover bands. Dude! MAN! Like, it SUCKS, right? (Getting the damn PICTURE yet??)"

Suddenly it all makes sense...
I have to admit, I found the image of the cone flying accross the room pretty funny. Aah! My eye!

Update via phloem in the comments: "The TX-1 Agonizer art was done by Sarah Combs."

Update via Dave in the comments: "I am happy to say I provided about a dozen custom illustration for the TX-2 Butt Probe manual, and my soul still aches from the process. Easily the filthiest shit I've ever drawn in my life."

Now it really makes sense. Dave did The Packrat series and Retarded Animal Babies. Be sure to check out Retarded Animal Babies for some cute, wholesome toons. You can find more of Dave's work on UMOP.com.

One Year Of Matrixsynth

The short version:

Today marks the one year anniversary of Matrixsynth. It's exactly one year and 3148 posts since I started this site to track everything synth. Thanks to everyone who makes this site great by either sending stuff in, posting in the comments or spreading the word.

The long version:
I started this blog because my old site Matrixsynth.com/old simply wasn't cutting it anymore. I created the original site in October 1997 as my portal into the world of synths. I'd see an interesting site and add a link (BTW, the alias matrix and the green on black color scheme came well before The Matrix movies. My first and favorite synth was an Oberheim Matrix-6, hence matrix. I'm a synth geek not a Matrix movie geek).

As time when on I found it difficult to find stuff I previously came across. So... I figured what better way to store and make all of this available to others than via a blog. The idea is very simple. I sub to a bunch of lists, feeds and forums; people send me stuff, I interact with people and I see things I want to save for posterity. When I see something I think I might want to see again, I post it. No discrimination. BTW, if you haven't noticed, this site is not meant to be a journal or publication. It's just a bunch of stuff about synths. If you enjoy synths, I hope you enjoy what you see here. It's a heartbeat on what others also into synths are doing, or rather what I happen to come across on a daily basis. Nothing more, nothing less.

When I first started the blog I never would have guessed so much stuff was out there. People asked me if I thought I would ever run out of things to post. I actually wondered myself. The answer turned out to be only if others out there run out of things to share themselves. Which leads me to...

THANK YOU

I want to say thank you to everyone out there who supports this blog. Anyone that has sent me something worth posting. Anyone that takes the time out to engage in the comments and of course everyone that reads this site and spreads the word. Thank you. It's actually crazy. I started the blog to track stuff only I came across. It's turned out to be a whole lot more. I never would have thought people would be enriching the site via the comments and letting me know when there was something else worthwhile posting. Thank you. BTW, you should notice that I frequently update my posts with comments and I always give credit when credit is due.

As a side note, at one point I offered to open up Matrixsynth for others to post but I got a resounding NO, so I created SYNTHWIRE for others to sign up and start posting. You can also promote your own stuff there, so use it!

Back on point. So, what next? Another year of posting. Thanks all, it has been one heck of a year.

Special thanks to moogulator of sequencer.de, Tom Whitwell of MusicThing, Peter Kirn of Create Digital Music, James Grahame of Retro Thing, Chris Randall of Analog Industries, Circuitmaster of GetLoFi, Carbon111, George Mattson, Brian Comnes, Dave (The Packrat), Dennis Verschoor, fmasseti, Loscha, Ross Healy, Steve Barbour of Gnostic Rocket, vlada of One Blue Monkey, deb7680 of Chroniques de la Mao, Rick of Electricmusicbox, Heath Finnie, DVDBorn, Mark Pulver, Doktor Future, Cikira, and of course Elhardt. ; ) You all contributed a little extra to the blog in your own way. Thanks for that.

And of course to the late great Bob Moog and all the synth manufacturers out there. Thank you.

And last but definitely not least, a HUGE thanks to my wife and daughter for tolerating the time and effort I put into this site on a daily basis. Thank You!

Update: I also want to thank Fernando Alves for making my favicon way back, and Paul and Brian Comnes for being the only two people that bought my matrixsynth shirt way back.

And of course, every person or site I've put up a post on. Thanks for having something worth posting about. ; )

The Packrat November 2010

http://umop.com/packrat.htm
(click for more episodes)

"Why YouTube isn't always the most reliable resource."

click the pic to read.

vids [penquin was random]:

Update: the last image of YouTube in the browser, is actually Dave's (creator of The Packrat) 80's Medley added below.




YouTube via drewtoothpaste | March 18, 2007

"Hello. I am Doctor Synthesizer. I will teach you to use and interact with any synthesizer. You can find over 1,700 comics I've drawn at http://www.toothpastefordinner.com ." Ronald Jenkees -

Throwing Fire

YouTube via ronaldjenkees | August 05, 2008

"Throwing Fire is on my 2nd CD, Disorganized Fun: https://www.ronaldjenkees.com/mp3-store/ SUPER FUN TIME WITH THIS JAM!!!! Thanks a lot for watching! Hope you liked it. Kindof a rough cut, but it's always fun. This video is dedicated to the band Papa Roach for letting me check out their studio and giving me a place to stay in LA. Those are some hard-working rockers and good guys. I got cold chills listening to the songs they're working on for their new album. I think it's coming out really soon. My friend Sam gave me the hat I'm wearing in this vid. It's made of 100% recycled material. Can't beat that. Here's their site: http://www.livity.org I'm using FL Studio software to make the beat in the background and a Korg Triton Le keyboard on top, Motif XS8 on bottom."

1980s Keyboard Solo Medley

YouTube via hamsterdunce | February 21, 2007

"All (or at least most) of your favorite cheesy keyboard solos wrapped up in one medley. Sorry about the jacket."

David C Lovelace & His Better Half Wanders Into The Moog Sound Lab

via David Lovelace on Facebook:

"We actually wandered into this room off the street accidentally. The door was supposed to be locked (there's video surveillance, so don't try it, Asheville interlopers!), but my connection with this company charged the building itself to become self-aware and allow my entry into its secret, twinkling synthmeats."

Dave of course is the author of The Packrat (August 2012 strip below), and he created the MATRIXSYNTH Packrat on the right of this site way back in 2006. Thank you Dave! Be sure to check out his site http://www.umop.com/ for tons more including music, tron keytar, and his lovely mother-in-law.
He also did the unforgettable artwork for a number of Metasonix products.




Update via Dave in the comments:

"Aw, thanks! Lee-Ann and I had a great time there with Jason Daniello, Moog's AR Manager. She showed us around the factory (more pics of that coming today) and basically let me be a 12-year-old in a music store, making a lot of noise and wondering how much of this stuff I'll get to own when I grow up. While I was there I drew a Packrat comic for them on a big 18x30 pad, mounted on an easel, with Sharpies. They took a video of the process which should end up on their YouTube channel or maybe just their website, not sure... anyway here's the best shot I was able to get of that drawing... as is apparent I got pretty hammered on mai tais at Trader Vics in Atlanta the night before..."