MATRIXSYNTH

Sunday, July 31, 2005

JX-3P Soft Synth

Found this in the Vintage Synth forums. Looks good. Will need to compare it to the real deal when I get a chance.

http://www.kvraudio.com/get/1592.html

Saturday, July 30, 2005

Synthtopia

Just discovered this site. It's amazingly good. Extremely rich in content. Definitely worth checking out.

Dotcom Moog 960 Sequencer Clone

http://www.unisynth.com/user/Q960%20Short%20demo%201.wmv

Link takes you to a wmv of the sequencer. Definitely a good piece of synth porn and worth watching.

EAR - Electro Acoustic Research

In via AH:

July 29 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact: Steve Rightnour
EAR
323 988 9677
877 300 2228 (US)
steve@steverightnour.net
http://www.ear-group.com

Announcing Electro Acoustic Research

LOS ANGELES -

Electro-Acoustic Research (EAR) is a consortium of modular synth
designers based in southern California.
EAR will be the distributor and customer service arm for modular synth
product manufacturers including Plan B, Livewire and Oakley Sound.

EAR is excited to re-release Legacy modules by Tony Allgood and
Synthasystem designs by Nyle Steiner.
Future plans include releasing all product in both Eurorack and MOTM
format and a full line of cabinets and custom enclosures both live
performance and studio installations.

To mark this occasion, each manufacturer is announcing the release of
the following modules:

Livewire -

Dual Cyclotron
FrequenSteiner (authorized exclusive re-release of the SYNTHASYSTEM
multimode filter)

Oakley Sound -

Wavefolder
ADSR/VCA
Octal Resonator
State Variable Filter

(EAR is the the exclusive licensed manfacturer for Oakley Sound in
Eurorack and MOTM formats)

Plan B -

Model 12 State Variable Vactrol Filter
Model 13 Dual Timbral Gates
Model 17 Event Timer

Estimated availability for the EAR line of products is Fall 2005.

Visit the EAR website for details!
http://www.ear-group.net

*models available in MOTM format with components too large for
adaptation will not be available in Eurorack format

Polymoog w/ Blue LEDs

Some pics of a super clean Polymoog with blue LEDs in via AH. I can hear the lead synth string to Numan's Cars in my head now. I've never seen a Polymoog that clean before. Beatiful synth.

http://www.minimoog.plus.com/polymoog.htm

Ministry for sale...

Via Music Thing. Ministry is selling off a couple of Fairlights. You can see some Revolting Cocks and Ministry scribblings on the gear with plenty-o duct tape. I'm usually a gear purist meaning the defacing of gear is sacrelidge to me, but something about that gear pumping out Ministry and RevCock seems appropriate. Although the Fairlights were basically samplers meaning they can sound like whatever you want, they have always been shrouded in elegance. These have the look of coming out of that shroud and being able to produce some major damage. Would have been great to see these in the studio back then. I remember seeing Ministry and Revolting Cocks a few times live. I wonder if I saw these on stage as well.

Friday, July 29, 2005

I want these LEDs for my Modular I want these LEDs for my Modular I want these LEDs for my Modular I want these LEDs for my Modular

Note the two huge LED looking things. Click here to go to a site on the dismantling of the largest crane in the world in Sweden, to be moved to South Korea. No relation to synths, but when I saw those two big red led looking things, you know what went through my mind. Get that synced to an LFO... : )

New MacBeth M5 and Metasonix 4-voice Photos

Some new photos of the MacBeth M5 and Metasonix 4-voice sent my way via Analogue Haven. I also heard really good things about Analog Haven. Man that M5 is a beauty. And that Metasonix 4-voice. I've never seen one before. Great design on the interface. It looks as fat as it probably sounds.

MacBeth M5

Metasonix 4 Voice

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Club of the Knobs - performance art

Saw this up on Music Thing. I've linked to Club of the Knobs for quite some time on matrixsynth.com but kind of forgot about it. The site is dedicated to the art in analog modular synthesis. There is some interesting performance art videos with plenty of modular action. Definitely check it and the site out; it's well worth it if you want to see some a giant modular in action.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

The Who Synth Porn

Great video on The Who and synths. Gear porn galore! : ) In via AH.

TimewARP 2600 Goes Native!

This in via Harmony Central. The TimewARP 2600 was hailed as the best ARP 2600 soft synth by many, but it was only available in RTAS format. It will soon be released in VST and AudioUnit format as well as stand alone. I can't wait to check it out.

The Ultimate Analog

Via Music Thing. I actually saw this a bit earlier but didn't have my blog going. Better late than never. : )

http://www.whitwell.ndo.co.uk/musicthing/images/cassini.jpg

Dewanatron - Exotic Performing Electronic Instruments

Some interesting instruments. Samples on site.

Dewanatron

VA Cowbell

This in via Boing Boing. Kind of reminds me of my "It's not a piano!" post.

Cowbell

Link to Rad Monkey.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005

Alesis Andromeda A6 resource site

http://www.wohmart.com/a6/
Link to great A6 resource site with user tips and demos. If you haven't checked it out yet, it's worth the click.

Yamaha Tenori-On music box

This in via Music Thing, via Cikira. Designed by Toshio Iwai. Looks groovy... Me want one. This reminds me that I still want to pick up a Korg Kaoss pad one of these days.

Yamaha Tenori-On

Monday, July 25, 2005

More Polyevolver madness

http://www.trippler.net/files/poly/anapoly.mp3

More from Mr. Trippler. Think I'm going to need to open up a Samples section just for him. This one showcases the Polyevolver as a standard analog poly. Sounds like Mr. Trippler may be the first to tame the beast. : )

Looper's Delight

http://www.loopers-delight.com/loop.html

This just in via AH. Description from the site:

"Looper's Delight is a cultural and informational resource for musicians creating with audio loops of every sort. Loop based music essentially involves the repetition of audio samples, or loops. From that basic premise looping moves off in numerous directions, encompassing a wide range of techniques for building, manipulating, and using loops. The technique crosses many musical boundaries and appears in a wide range of musical styles and genres. "

It's not a piano!

The following is a great post on the AKAI EWV-2000 that came in via AH. The author gave me the ok to post it. This post made me think about how much more a synthesiser is than a piano with other sounds. When I bought my first synth, an Oberheim Matrix-6, the first thing I did was start programming my own instruments. I say instruments instead of sounds because that's what they were to me. I was simply blown away by the possibilities. The great thing about the Matrix-6 was that it had all these control features like release velocity, key velocity, pressure aftertouch, the pitch bends, tracking generator, ramps, etc. So I sat there litterally creating hundreds of instruments never heard before. Most required different techniques in playing style. One of my favorite things to do was to create a sound and then let the sound play me. I'd find that a particular sound I created required a specific technique to get the most out of it just like a saxaphone, flute, guitar or any other unique instrument would require. But... It was all via a piano style keyboard. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you think of it, a synthesiser is not a piano. It's a means of creating musical instruments that in many cases have never been heard before. It's amazing to think that in probably 99% of the time these instruments are accessed and possibly limited via the interface of a piano keyboard.

Back to the AKAI EMV-2000. The EMV-2000 is an analog rack mount synthesizer that is meant to be played with a wind controllor similar to a sax or clarinet. AKAI made a line of synthesizer wind instruments under the product name of EWI for Electronic Wind Instrument. Click here for a great site on these amazing instruments. I haven't gotten my hands on one yet, but definitely plan to. It would be amazing to see what these controllers open up. I think I'll skip the midi sofa I posted earlier though; not sure what that would open up. : )

Now for the great post on AH:
------------------------------------------------
Akai EWV-2000 Analog Wind Synth Module:

2 VCO, 2 VCF, 2 HPF, 2 VCA, 4 EG, + 2 other Filters.

It is basically a 2 voice, played in unison (not duophonic):

VOICE 1:
VCO1 feeds into a VCF1, then HPF1, then VCA1.
EG1 is shared between VCO1 and VCF1. EG2 for VCA1.

VOICE 2:
VCO2 feeds into a VCF2, then HPF2, then VCA2.
EG3 is shared between VCO2 and VCF2. EG4 for VCA2.

VCO1 can sync to the VCO 2.
Voice 1 has External Input mixed in before VCF1.
VCO 1 can be modulated (FM) by VCO2+VCF2+EG3 after the output of VCF2.
All 4 VCO waveforms have width/shape control (not just the pulse).
There is no LFO.

Output from Voice 1 and Voice 2 is mixed to one of:
Direct Output
String Filter to Output
Basoon/Oboe Filter to Output
String Filter + Basoon/Oboe Filter in Parallel to Output

In addition to a few unique unique things listed above and numerous
parameters for control input from several sources, all the typical
parameters you find on other analog synths are available.

You don't often rely on EG in the usual way. Your Breath pressure and Bite
strength on the mouthpiece both act as envelop controllers with real time
variability. You mix those with the ADSR style EG for total envelop.

There is no LFO. You control vibrato or other LFO type of effects directly
in real time from your breath, bite, or a wiggle controller (kind of like
the pitch bender on Nord lead). This results in much more natural vibrato or
tremolo than you get from an LFO.

Portamento can be assigned to the bite controller. This allows you to easily
play lines with portamento controlled on each note transition. This can be
very musical, like it is when programmed on a TB-303.

All this real time control of parameters (that are usually controlled by EG
or LFO on other synths) makes the EVW-2000 very musical.

It's a pretty good module, with a wider range of sounds than an average
monosynths (so many filters). Raw sound quality is reasonably good. The
total output is extremely musical. The high musicality certainly benefits
greatly from the fact it is controlled by a wind controller instead of a
keyboard.

It can sound like a keyboard based monosynth and it would hold its own in
that type application. But you might not use it that way very often; under
breath control it can sound so different from any keyboard based instrument.

There is no MIDI input or CV/gate input. MIDI out only. I think CV/gate
input could be added by a tech that knows analog synths. Core of each voice
is CEM3394. Also some SSM chips in the design.

------------------------------------------------

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Live 5

Live 5 is out. Check it out. I have Live 4 and it absolutely rocks as an intuitive DAW. You can play the dang thing like a live instrument if you want.

Extreme Synth Weirdness Project

Site dedicated to archiving "sound bites of synthesizer whackiness." You can send them samples of your synth whackiness. Very cool idea. I can't wait to see what comes in. From the site:

"We have all heard the typical synth demos. A milky pad, a cutting lead, a bass sound. What do we really learn about the potential of the synthesizer itself?

This archive represents real live demos of people like you turning knobs and tweaking the boards hard. Show everyone just how messed up your otherwise ordinary synth can be and take us to tweak heaven. If you have a giant modular system, or a homegrown mouse-powered keyboard, we wanna hear it get strange. No size or length restrictions (within reason) so just let fly for as long as you need to."

Aerosol Grey Machine: vintage analog keyboard museum

http://www.dougwyatt.net/news/2005/07/AGM1/

This came in via AH. Ga...ga...ga...ga...ga... Talk about analog gear porn. If I ever make it to Sweden... A trip to the Clavia factory and this will be on the top of my list. And he has a blog! Cool!

Saturday, July 23, 2005

History of the 303

http://nkhstudio.com/pages/popup_bassline.html

Thought I posted this already, but realized I sent it to AH before setting up this blog! Oh well, bettter late than never...

Friday, July 22, 2005

M5 Samples

Some great M5 samples via AH.

Macbeth Studio Systems for more info on the M5.

Summer NAMM

NAMM news is trickling in. My two favorite sources:

Sonic State
Harmony Central

Both have RSS feeds if you prefer the convenience of your reader.

For those without a reader, check out http://www.bloglines.com.

A Misunderstood Synth...

http://www.tapeop.com/magazine/bonus/fizmo.html

There is a thread on the-gas-station.com, on the Voyager which evolved to comparisons to the soft synth Minis (Arturia's Minimoog V and GMedia's Minimonsta) as being even better. The thread like most goes off into tangents and the notorious OB-Mx comes up. But the theme is all the same. Synths that disappoint, which the OB-Mx is notorious for. So far I've only heard neutral to negative comments on the synth. Neutral is bad when something as anticipated as an uber all analog Oberheim with Don Buchla on helm comes out. But this particular post was *not* another bad one, it was an actual "hands off to Don Buchla." I remember being in awe when the OB-Mx came out (heck, matrixsynth and matrix comes from my first synth the Matrix-6 and my love for it and my "ultimate" synth, the Matrix-12). As the saying goes, there's nothing like the first... : )

I am curious as to what the poster, Giant Robot, has discovered that so few if anyone else has with the OB-Mx. What is the hidden treasure in there? Does it exist? This reminded me of another little flop in the synth world. A little magical synth that was killed before it was ever allowed to shine, the FIZMO. See the link above to read the interview. It's worth reading.

From my post:
"I remember being intrigued by the FIZMO when it came out. Not on the synth legend level but pretty intrigued nonetheless. Then it got horrid reviews and I finally got my hands on one. I wasn't too impressed, but again... only a "2 second" trial and I was in the VA mode digging the Nord Lead and JP8000; so like everyone else, when it couldn't make "those sounds," I dismissed it. Just recently I was more intrigued and out of my everything analog and VA stage. So many beautiful synths out there and just a few methods of synthesis. Transwave being something missing in my gear I thought I'd try it again. One came up locally pretty cheap. I read up on it again and found an article by the maker who stated how sad the whole thing was. The FIZMO was supposed to be anything but VA. It was supposed to be a new take on transwave synthesis with more motion and immediate control. It was supposed to be a beautiful evolving synth, and a synthesist's synth not some sample playback preset synth. And sadly it flopped because of the power supply issue and people just couldn't see past the knobs, thinking knobs = analog/VA.

I picked it up and man... I was and still am blown away. It's an ethereal synth. Just beautiful; in motion. It actually reminds me of a softer version of the Evolver. It kind of sounds like the FS1R, but different - almost more delicate for lack of a better description. It's a beautiful synth that was misunderstood and mistakenly given a bad wrap. I think all synths have something to offer. I keep wondering what the OB-Mx has. Even if Oberheim cut it short, it did have some of that Buchla magic didn't it?"

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Lucky Kid...

This one came in on Engaget. I can't remember if I've seen this exact pic before, but I swear I've seen other pics via AH before.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005

Yamaha VL1 samples

http://www.kbspace.com/vl1m/audio/index.html

This one came in from a thread in the friendly Gas station pump on sonicstate.com. Link to the thread below. The link above will take you to a dedicated site with some samples. The VL1 is a physical modeling synth that reproduces the physics of real world, and not so real world instruments. It's different than sample based digital synths that play back recordings of real world instruments. The Korg Prophecy was another notable physical modeling synth that came out around the same time as the VL1. Needless to say, the VL1 sounds amazing.

Link to gas station thread: http://www.the-gas-station.com/messages.cfm?Type=normal&thread_id=61217&lastdays=999

Ninjam

Not really sound synthesis, but interesting nonetheless. Ninjam lets you jam with others on the net. Latency sucks on the net, so Ninjam works by increasing that latency. Seems bizarre, but very interesting in that what you are playing to has that extra bit of unpredictability. More, including some samples after the hop.

Polyevolver Demos from Stefan Trippler

Midi Sofa

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/07/musical_midi_so.html

Talk about an A/D converter...

Moog Delay Pedals...

Wonder how these will compare sonically to the limitted edition 104s fetching insane markups on the bay. The original 104 was limitted to a run of 1000 units due to a part (Panasonic MN300x BBDs) that was discontinued when the units were ready for production.

via http://namm.harmony-central.com/SNAMM05/Content/Moog/PR/MF-104Z-Analog-Delay.html

Polyevolver Demo

Came in via AH: evolver deomo 10loop.mp3.

The Rebirth of Computer Music by Analog Signal Processing

Click here for a paper by Adrian Feed on the advantages of analog signal processing.

"The goal of this paper is to encourage a re-examination of analog signal processing techniques for computer music applications in the context of mixed signal VLSI technology and new results in nonlinear models of musical instruments. "