Metasonix TX1SE, TM6 & Frostwave Sonic Alienator Demos

Metasonix TX1SE TEST

Published on Jan 14, 2014 Brian Comnes·3 videos

Metasonix TM6 test

Published on Jan 14, 2014 Brian Comnes·3 videos

Sonic Alienator Test


Three demos via Brian Comnes.

Audio Damage Dr. Device and Replicant Demos via Brian Comnes

Audio Damage Dr. Device demos via brian comnes:
"this is one Ableton clip processed 5 ways

organ is Kjaerhaus Spectra pre-set
drums are microtonic
all clips run thru kjaerhaus MPL master limiter

clips are
clean - organ and drums no plugs
dr device on organ only
dr device on drums only
dr device on both drum and organ

last but not least I put Audiu Damages other plug in Replicant on the organ and dr device on drums and let it run for 64 bars so you could hear replicant pusnhing the organ clip around

have fun

Peace
Brian "

CLICK FOR MORE »

Lady Ada Original Run x0xb0x #150

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Feb 5, 2014 Brian Comnes·7 videos

via this auction

Note this is Brian Comnes x0xb0x previously featured on the site here.

"Lady Ada original run x0xb0x #150 TB303 clone with power supply.
This is the original run with brass medallion serial number 150. I built this as a kit using good solder and soldering iron, everything is functional , no issues - see video

The kit came with the presoldered USB board which is surface mount so there are no issues with soldering those close connections. The OS is the original.

This has CV pitch (Octave/volt) and gate out so you can sequence other analog gear, it also has MIDI out for the same purpose, it even has audio in so you can run your other tracks through the x0xb0x filters.

The x0xb0x is not just another MIDI-controlled TB-303 clone. x0xb0x is a full reproduction of the original Roland synthesizer, with fully functional sequencer. The sequencer can be programmed just like the original 303 (ok its actually a little easier, we think) and can be used to control other synthesizers via any of its various output formats. 128 banks of track memory and 64 banks of pattern memory are stored in onboard EEPROM, no battery-backup is needed! blinky! No less than 40 LEDs adorn the x0xb0x. Computer Controlled Plug this baby into your computer, using a standard USB port. Our Java software will control the x0xb0x, or let you save/edit stored patterns and tracks in the onboard memory. Input/Output x0xb0x has all the I/O you could ever need: MIDI in, out, and thru DIN Sync (in or out, selectable) CV and Gate (1/8" jacks) Audio: headphone, mix-in and line-level out (1/4" jacks) USB for computer interface & control

Random mode: fill a pattern bank with random notes, or have it just play random notes
Keyboard mode: just like those casios you had as a kid. Press the keys and sound comes out!
Rotary encoder tempo knob: for finer control over the tempo, or you can set the tempo via computer control mode

Firmware upgradable: the C code is written for AVR-gcc, any Mac/Linux/Windows computer can be used to recompile new code for the x0xb0x. Reprogram using the x0xb0x software with USB. Mess something up? You can always revert back to the original firmware."

Ambitron

"Ambitron is an experimental electronic synthesizer that employs granular synthesis in two separate and programmable layers each with extensive FX and Modulation Matrix modules which provide the user with maximum control over unique sound creation.

Ambitron comes with scores of samples built in but can also support the import of user samples in .wav format for sound creation that can be customized to user preferences and musical styles. As an experimental synthesizer it radically departs from standard "bread and butter" type instruments and is meant to be used as a laboratory for the exploration of new sonic and timbral creations that would be difficult to achieve any other way.

The nature of Ambitron is that it allows for sonic evolution over time and with the use of the various granular controls allows the user to create sounds that have a life of their own and do not repeat in any kind of expected or predictable manner. It is ideal for ambient soundscapes or virtually any type of experimental genres. When used with a midi controller or host these various controls can be manipulated in real time thus further enhancing the sonic possibilities.

Ambitron is meant to be played with and as the user becomes more familiar with its various controls and parameters the possibilities for sounds that are surprising and unexpected are greatly enhanced.

The sonic permutations possible with Ambitron are limited only to the user's imagination and creativity."

Two demos via brian comnes:



via brian comnes: "The second shorter MP3 has the same sample played against itself. It's a dry verbal sample but it gives you a feel for what the instrument does. If you plug in nicer audio samples, well you get even better results. It ships with 212 presets so you can go all week and never get bored."

NAMM: Metasonix TX-3 iCunt

YouTube via plague1715 | January 14, 2011 |
http://metasonix.com/
"Running a Hertz Donut through the iCunt prototype at NAMM 2011. Twat different."

Update:

Two pics via brian comnes via Muff's



Update via brian comnes in the comments:

"I think it is cool that someone actually made a video at NAMM! Thank you Klopfgeist!
But for anyone thinking that this video above is all that it is capable of, please watch this before making your final opinion that this thing is total shit. It's all in the hands of the player that make it."

tx3fuq.m4v

YouTube via ZerosumInertia | January 15, 2011 |

"Metasonix TX3 being sequenced by Blacet Binary Zone. no audio is being fed into the TX3."

q106sinetx3

ZerosumInertia | January 15, 2011

Todd Barton and Bruce Bayard Buchla Music Easel Pics

Update: audio of the performance added above.

"Here's today's live recording of our Spatial Frontiers gig at the Schneider Museum of Art
at the SOU Campus. With a rippin' (maiden voyage) Easel solo by Bruce Bayard.
I Waterphone solo (barton)
II Easel Solo (bayard)
III Easel Duet
IV Shakuhachi solo (barton)
V Easel Duet"

Some pics in via brian comnes at their Schneider Museum Quadraphonic Concert in Orgegon this afternoon.

http://toddbarton.com

Update: two more pics of the performance including one with Todd on the waterphone in via brian comnes below.

CLICK FOR MORE »

External CV On Easel with Frostwave SpaceBeam

Published on Aug 18, 2014 Brian Comnes

Details via Brian Comnes:

"Its not the best audio, but hey it gets the point across.

The SpaceBeam has CV out on a TS jack, so the tip (+voltsgr) goes to the the CV IN and the ring goes to the ground plug on the side of the Easel /

The Space bean puts out 0.12 volts to 10.6 volts depending on distance - when the green LED goes on it is operating. The closer the hand the higher the voltage.

You were going to check on the risk to the Easel from using the ground jack as a voltage reference base for outside CV tools.

Apart fron the SPace Beam I want to use a Moog MP201 which has 4 cv channels - LFO based CV outs ranging from o to +5 volts or -5 to + 5 . "

WTPA2 - Where's the Party At 2 Demos by Brian Comnes

Published on Mar 6, 2015 Brian Comnes

Playlist:
Wtpa2 midi demo
Wtpa2 demo 1
Wtpa2 demo 2

http://grillz.narrat1ve.com/collections/wtpa2

Novation BassStation Rack - MIDI to CV and CV to MIDI Convertor

No title link, Just an awesome tip from Brian Comnes:

"I was re-working my rack this weekend and I looked at the back side of my Novation BassStation Rack (haven't looke back there for 2 years) and I noticed MID/CV ports on the back so I got out the manual and sure as shit this thing is a switch hitter, it goes MIDI to CV and CV to MIDI and it supports HZ/Volt and Volt/Oct to boot

given that these things can be had for $100 or so on eBay , they are a bargain if you consider that you also get a 2 osc monosynth in the package"

Note this does not apply to the Novation BassStation keyboard.

Update via Bill in the comments:
"You can do this with a Pulse Plus as well. I think they go for about 250$ + you get real analog oscillators and filters."

Update via Brian Comnes:
"the relevant sections in the bass station manual are on page 18 of this link."

AH Bay Area Gathering 2006 via Electronic Musician

The synth gathering made the Electronic Musician blog. Our own Brian Comnes got a mention as well. Pretty cool. : )

"List member Brian Comnes, who coordinated the gathering, set up a raffle to raise money for the Bob Moog Memorial Foundation. The donated prizes included hats and shirts from RobotSpeak, a Metasonix TM-6, a gift certificate to Analogue Haven, and a vintage Korg MonoPoly synth (donated by sound-designer and EM author Nick Peck).

Personally, the most interesting aspect of an AHCali meeting is hearing what people have to say about their instruments, finding out what they like most about them, and hearing how they use them. I was particularly interested in learning more about the Buchla 200e, and Chris Muir was patient enough to explain some its deep feature-set to me."

Update: I realized I didn't give the celebrity list for the event. Here it is:

"Instrument designers visiting the show included Don Buchla, Dave Smith, Mike Brown (LiveWire), and Eric Barbour of Metasonix. Composer/performer Robert Rich was kind enough to bring along his large MOTM system. And San Francisco-based retailer Robot Speak was also present with plenty of Moog-related hardware and software items on display."

Norcal NoiseFest via Brian Comnes

Some shots and notes from this year's Norcal NoiseFest via Brian Comnes. Title link takes you to a couple more shots. "OK here is a beat up SH-09 , kinda sad actually .. I guess .those noise boys are tough on their gear. I will say that the acts that had the best "quality" sound had a strong analog presence in their mix , Stimbox (pic also attached) was using a lot of Metasonix gear and a Frostwave Resonator (your favorite)[indeed]. The harmonic variations and sound artifacts he was able to coax out of the din were exceptionally better than the rest of the crowd relying pretty much on gobs of 9VDC guitar pedals. The other act that got a strong rise from the crowd was using an old HP tube-based oscillator for sound sweeps that were "sweet" in a noise fest kind of way. Best visuals goes to the guy in the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestler mask with a piezo contact pickup glued on a number 10 can that he then pushed into a carborundum grinder - hearing that through a large PA with a pair of cranked Mackie 1801 subs in a small room is an earful for sure. Noise fest will definitely push your boundaries for what really is synthesis and sound, I enjoyed it overall in part because it also puts the stuff I do into a clearer context. Hey the show is now 10 years old so it has some legs. Also because they are a city-funded arts event, they are exempt from noise ordinances, I'm sure the neighbors next to the event loved that." Click images for a bigger shot. Check out IDX1274's Lucha Libre mask.

Elogoxa's Elottronix XL

Note this is not a new VSTi. According to the download page the latest version was out on 5/11/04. That said, I've been playing with this for the last hour and I must say it is quite addictive. You can make some crazy loops with it by just adding layer after layer. I currently have it running a whacked out loop with Audio Damage's Reverence. Amazing stuff. The reviews on KVR for Elottronix also seem to be favorable. BTW, word of warning: on the top right of the plug-in UI there is a Stop/Start switch with REC to it's left. This is not what you switch to start recording loops, it's what you switch to start saving the audio looping to your hard drive. Don't turn it on unless you want to record and don't leave it on or it will eat up hard drive space with the file it saves. Also, you need to rename the file in the input box under "file" before hitting record otherwise you will probably overwrite the previous file. Overall, it takes a little experimentation to get used but once you do it's a pretty amazing tool. I need to check out the rest of Eogoxa's stuff next. Big thanks to brian comnes for sending this one in.

"Emulation of Robert Fripp's tape delay effect 'Frippertronics': two Revox B-77 in continuous loop. This XL version supposes a complete rewrite of the old Elottronix, and adds a ton of new possibilities"

- Two independent routable delay lines, with a maximum delay time of 80 seconds.
- Tempo can be synced to host BPM.
- LFO controlled Pan per delay line, with definable Bar Divisions, Pitch and Waveform.
- Two global Pan modes: normal and inverted.
- Rehearsal option: when switched ON, the incoming signal doesn't pass through the delay lines, so you can try different things before inserting them into the loop.
- Biquad-X multimode filter per delay line. This advanced filter has 9 different modes: Low Pass, High Pass, Low Shelf, High Shelf, All Pass, Band Reject, Band Pass CSG, Band PassC0PK and Peak. Optional parameters to control are Gain, Cutoff and Q.
- Tape machine: this module generates tape hiss, which can be pitched up and down.
Completely automatable via MIDI CC.
- Moderate CPU use (-8% Athlon XP 2400+).
- Includes 8 Presets to give an idea of the effect (4 for sends, 4 for inserts). But what Elottronix XL does can't be covered with presets as you'll discover.

Via Brian Comnes.

Sanfrancisco Electronic Music Festival via Brian Comnes

Remember the SFEM? The following are Brian Comnes' notes on the last Friday of the event.

act 1 - Barbara Golden, a big Bay Area name in alternative music came out and read a piece of prose about getting lusty with some now dead poet, allegedly Lenoard Cohen's mentor, and there was a home slide show of her in the 70's with canned bouzuki music - a nice prose spoken word piece, but wierd for the SFEMF is you think about it

Act 2 was Steven Roden, his rig is in the picture I attached and as far as I can tell it is a few guitar delay boxes and some sound sources, harmonicas, slide guitar, and including the wooden peach crate which is apparently rooted in some electronica history , very nicely done piece but it put me to sleep, hardly synth porn..... here is another shot from the sfemf press photos site, hey he's playin a harmonica, not biting his nails.

Act 3 part 1 was a 12 minute set of Risset Tones (Risset tones are based on the work of Roger Shepard in the 1960's and the further developments made later by Jean-Claude Risset, RissetTones is designed to create an acoustical illusion. Perhaps best explained as the aural equivalent of the barber pole, the product of the RissetTones is a gliding tone which seems always to be moving either up or down in pitch while staying in the same general position.) Bottom line is that it was about 9 minutes too long, heck I could have done that with a copy of AudioMulch and 2 mouse clicks, a lot of people were looking at their watched at the 5 minute mark, to top it off I think it was from CD and not genrated live.

Act 3 part 2 piece by Toronto-based James Tenney whose piece which was played back from CD with a live percussion overlay by percussionist William Winant. He showed up with about 80 pieces of kit, including tuned Bundt cake pans, assorted pan lids in addition to a gong, tympani and other more traditional drum stuff but look at that other attched picture and you will see a door bell buzzer (!) in a box that was fileterd by opening and closing the lid, the canned track part seemed to be random synth burps and gee if I had 80 things to bang on I'd like to think I could keep it going, he had some great techniques though with the gong and tympany by rubbing on them with a mic'ed stick of some sort

the best of the evening was before the show .....a multimedia installation at Recombinant Media Labs by Semiconductor....the venue is superb, you are surrrouned by ten 15 foot wide by 8 foot high video screens in a 30X45 foot room and it has 16 channel surround, the video was NASA video and still shots of the sun using the solar energy patterns worked down to audible levels and added harmonics, i.e. the whiter the screen the louder the music, ...its a really cool way to experience solar flares to say the least

also I didn't see it but on Thursday night Brenda Hutchinson was playing this rig"

PAIA Strings & Things

Title link takes you to two big shots of this PAIA Strings & Things pulled from this cl post. I wonder how these compared to the other string synthesizers out there.

via brian comnes.

BTW, condolensces to brian comnes who lost his 14 year old cat recently. May he be living it up in kitty heaven with all the other synth cats.

cheers,
matrix

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. ; )

AH Bay Area Gathering 2006 Gathers $565 for the Moog Foundation

Brian Comnes, host of this year's AHBA set up a raffle for the gathering in which proceeds would go the Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic Music. They raised $565. Pretty cool.




"Here's the list of goodies some lucky folks walked away with yesterday. Not bad for a $5 ticket
** Korg Mono/Poly in a flight case (donated by Nick Peck)
** Metasonix TM-6 tube filter (from Eric Barbour of Metasonix)
** $100 gift certificate to Analogue Haven (from Shawn Cleary and Chuck Oken, owners of the store)
** Moog DVD from Moog Foundation
** Several Moog Hats from Moog Foundation and RobotSpeak (Steve Taormina and Alan Stewart, owners of the store)
** Hooded sweatshirt from Livewire Electronics (from Mike Brown of Livewire)
** Moog Tshirts from Moog Foundation and RobotSpeak
** Studio Electronics T shirts from Robot Speak

Please go to www.moogfoundation.org. You can find out about the group's work. You can also contribute online. Their goal is to get to $5mm and to date they only have $30k, plus our $565, so they have a ways to go and could definitely use help from the synth enthusiast community.

The goal of this Foundation honoring this unique and special (Bob Moog) is to foster innovation and curiosity in electronic music.

In my humble opinion, I think the AH local groups should adopt the Bob Moog Foundation for at least all of 2007 and maybe in perpetuity if all goes well.....and beside a raffle adds an element of excitement, tension and anxiety to an otherwise blissful day ...and if they can't get any prizes they can just set out a coffee can and collect.

Peace
Brian"

Great idea Brian.
If you haven't checked out the Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic Music, please do.

Update: Brian suggested I put up a permanent link to The Moog Foundation. Great idea. I'll be adding the below image shortly.

Music Genesis

This one sent my wave via Brian Comnes. Music Genesis is basicaly a windows based random music generator that can export to WAV, MP3, or MIDI for playing other instruments.



"MusiGenesis works by adding randomly-generated notes to a song and letting you decide whether to keep or delete each one. By keeping what you like and deleting what you don't like, you will quickly create a unique piece of music ( more ).

Once your MusiGenesis song is finished, you can export it as a WAV file (for CDs), as an MP3, or as a MIDI file for use in other sequencing software like ACID, Cakewalk or FL Studio (Fruityloops)." Title link takes you there.

Here's a short WAV from Brian.

Details:
"this is a musigenesis file exported to midi
then into ableton in 2 tracks
drums are SonicCharge Mictrotonic with Toby Bear Candy Box
bass synth is Operator preset
4 bars
time to create less than 2 minutes
like maybe I can compete with Britney's boyfriend ??
all I need is a Brazilian singer loop
byeeeeeeeeeeee
Brian "

(see this for his Britney Brazillian reference. Apologies ahead of time).

Thanks Brian.

WAV2Evolver Waveform Generator for the DSI Evolver Line

I was chatting with Brian Comnes about waveform editors for the DSI Evolver. There are the SoundTower and Vyzor editors that give you access to the full parameters of the Evolvers, but if you just want to create and upload waveforms, Brian let me know about WAV2Evolver, a free online editor that does just that. Thank you Brian!

See if you can make out my lame attempt at a waveform to the left. Note you can have only one point along the horizontal plane. I actually never thought about that before.

Update: the output is a .wav file so this could be useful for other synths and applications.


Some details from http://wav2evolver.beigemaze.com:

"WAV2Evolver is an online waveform conversion application for users of the Dave Smith Instruments Evolver family of synthesizers.

It allows you to upload WAV files containing single-cycle waveforms, and then download them as system exclusive files that the Evolver can understand. You may also download waveforms as RAW PCM files or new WAV files. The RAW and WAV files downloaded from this application use Evolver-friendly 128-sample, 16-bit PCM.

WAV2Evolver is also a waveform sharing application. You may view and download waveforms that others have generated, and you may share waveforms that you have generated. I encourage you to share your waveforms, although this is completely optional.

WAV2Evolver is an HTML5 application. If it's not working for you, please try using an up-to-date web browser. WAV2Evolver was written with the following technologies: jQuery and Bootstrap were used to construct the interface; PHP was used for the web services that transfer data to and from the application; the waveform conversion tools are written in C. The icons are by Glyphicons.

All of the code for this project is open-source, and can be found on GitHub.

Special thanks to forum user Razmo for his invaluable help in proving out the conversion code, long before I had an Evolver of my own."

MATRIXSYNTH-T at Cove Palisades State Park in Central Oregon

Two pics in via Brian Comnes aka Baghead.

Thank you Brian!

Click here for some previous posts contributed by Baghead.

Anyone note the difference between the Ts?

Don't read the following if you want to guess.

Aside from one being long sleeve and one being short, if you look closely you will see that the print is different. The bottom T is from Cafe Press when I first tried making Ts. The color and font size weren't quite to my liking so I switched to Gorilla Screen Printing which got them perfect. I believe Brian was the first person to ever order a MATRIXSYNTH T-Shirt. I'm pretty sure what's in the picture is actually the third and last try from Cafe Press before giving up with them. The first had small print and the green was off, the second was larger and the green was a bit aqua. The third, pictured, had more of a Full Sail green. The final with the correct green on top is from Gorilla.

MATRIXSYNTH T-shirt Sighting at Oregon Fringe Festival 2016

Brian Comnes sporting a MATRIXSYNTH T at the Oregon Fringe Festival 2016. That's a Doepfer Pocket Dial MIDI controller in front of him.  Side note: the pic was taken by none other than Todd Barton.  Todd has also been known to sport a MATRIXSYNTH T.

Also according to Brian "I think Ashland with 3 Easels in 22000 people probably has the highest per capita Easel density of any where. The easel performance that night was by Bruce Bayard who has the third Easel in town. I was using Ableton Live to deliver a soundscape to back up my video piece."


Thank you Brian and Todd!