Friday, November 30, 2007
ARP QUADRA PART 2
YouTube via stephenteller. Part 1 here.
"Some more fiddling about. This time with hgher quality audio track and some cheesy video FX! I hope you all space properly : )"
Off-the-record: GForce Interview with Dave Spiers
"You were a sort of pioneer in hardware midi controllers with the Phat Boy. Do you see GForce involved in something hardware related in the future?It's possible and there's no denying that hardware can't be pirated, which is what I think makes it attractive to software developers.
What I love about software though is that these are still early days and there's a spirit of adventure that's exciting. I spoke to the boss of a hardware synth company who said "If you're not able to manufacture in China, you won't even get on the playing field" which to me implied that everyone is chasing lowest cost manufacturing over creativity - software isn't like that.....yet!"
click here for the full interview on AudioNewsRoom. via AudioNewsRoom in the comments of this post.
Oberheim Matrix-1000 Analog Synthesizer by RetroSound
YouTube via retrosound72.
"first part: short Matrix-1000 track, the OB-Matrix was triggered by the MFB Step64 step-sequencer, the drums came from the Roland TR-707. second part: some retro-sounds by RetroSound. more info: www.retrosound.de"
Novation Supernova Dirty Organ
YouTube via totaltwit. via Nusonica.
"The Novation Supernova is intended to be a synth to produce synthy sounds but whilst editing and chomping through various sounds I came across a decent dirty Hammond organ sound. It's not 100% but evverytime I switch to it I have to go the the heavy prog rock playing style. Notice the black frilly shirt and goopy rings just to get into the mood."
Woodwinds
YouTube via JimGordon5.
"Jim Gordon plays woodwinds too. Check out Jim's new electronic music synthesizer CD at http://www.jimsjazz.com."
Roland JD-800 Synthesizer by RetroSound (audio)
YouTube via retrosound72.
"some analog- and digital-type pad-sounds from the Roland JD-800 Digital Synthesizer
I love this synth! more info: www.retrosound.de"
More Info on the STG Mankato
You can find some more info and images of the Mankato on this electro-music.com thread.
Servo's silver panel STG Mankato pictured below.
In the Galaxy
YouTube via katafeyka. Sent my way via fabio.
"Dmitriy and Katafeyka studio." Anyone make out the soft synth on the screen?
Update via Monokit: "uses Propellerheads Reason, which you can better see in his other video:"
Music sound.
Sequential Circuits Prophet VS Vector-Synthesizer (audio)
YouTube via retrosound72.
"audio demo of the SCI Prophet VS Vector Synthesizer by RetroSound. more info: www.retrosound.de"
David Rogoff on VCOs
David Rogoff sent the following into the Yamaha CS80 list. I asked him if I could put it up and he gave me the OK.
"This touches on a big, somewhat technical, issue of what kind of VCOs the CS80 uses. The VCO III chip is a linear VCO, sometimes called Hz/Volt, as opposed to the more common exponential (Volts/Octave) VCOs (e.g. MiniMoog, Curtis & SSM chips in SCI and Oberheim polys).
Here's a pretty good explanation: link
Here's a (I hope) quick one:
The most basic VCO is a sawtooth one, which can be a capacitor charged by a current. For non-EE types, here's my modified toilet analog (and you though the Metasonix vacuum-tube VCO was weird) : The capacitor is like the water tank of a toilet. The water filling it up is the current. The height of the water is like the voltage across the capacitor. Now, modify the float valve so that when the tank is full it automatically flushes. Then the cycle starts again. If you double the water filling rate ( = double the current), you double the frequency of the flush cycles.
The is a basic, linear VCO (actually Water-CO). It shows a couple of things. First, it's not actually voltage controlled, but current controlled. Ignore that for now. Also, the filling time is adjustable, but the discharge/flushing time is fixed. This is an issue with all sawtooth VCOs and is why many (e.g. Moog) VCOs have a high-frequency-tracking adjustment, which helps cancel this out. Here's the CS80 VCO: link
Ok, so why don't all synths use linear VCOs? As the above link explains, human ears don't hear frequency linearly. A above middle C is 440Hz. An octave about is 880Hz, or double the frequency. The next octave would be 1760Hz: double that. If you graph this, it's an exponential curve. So, the space (in Hertz) between two notes keeps getting bigger as we get to high pitches. If you had a modular synth with linear VCOs (like that old Paia), the top key might output 5 volts. One octave down would be 2.5volts. The next 1.25volts, followed by 0.625v and 0.3125v. This is a pain to generate. Also, as you get to lower notes, smaller voltage inaccuracies start becoming bigger pitch errors to our ears.
To avoid all this, someone (anyone know who? Dr. Bob? Tom Oberheim? Don Buchla?) came up with exponential VCOs. Basically, they're just a linear VCO with a circuit in front of them called (big surprise) an exponential converter. This is just a circuit that takes a linear input (1volt/octave) and outputs the doubling voltage (actually current...) that the VCO wants. Now, everything is simple.
So, why did Yamaha go for the linear? Two reasons, I'd guess. First, adding the exponential converter to each VCO adds more cost to the chips, since there's more circuitry. A bigger issue is temperature stability. As we've been talking about lately, all circuits are affected (i.e. knocked out of tuning) by temperature changes. The exponential converter, for reasons I won't go into, is really sensitive to this. People have been complaining about the tuning stability of the CS80, but it's rock solid compared to any poly-synth with exponential VCOs (P5, OBX, A6, etc). They all need computer-controlled auto-tuning routines to have any chance of staying in tune.
So, what issues/problems/advantages does the CS80 having linear VCOs create?
Good things:
1) modulation - linear vibrato sounds a bit different than v/oct vibrato, probably closer to acoustic vibrato (e.g. violin). Also, as the modulation speed increases, you start getting into F.M. land, which requires linear modulation (you don't want to know the math!). This is why some modular VCOs have linear FM inputs in addition to the normal v/oct controls.
2) sweep to D.C. - my favorite. If you start a pitch bend at the right end of the ribbon and slide all the way to the left, the pitch of the VCOs all go down to 0Hz / D.C. / flat-line. This is because the input to the VCOs goes to 0 volts and the frequency equals the voltage times a constant. With a exponential VCO this is impossible. Going 1 volt less on the control input goes down one octave. Mathematically, you can't get to zero Hz. You'd need to input -infinity volts! Also, many other limitations in the circuit block the VCO from even getting close. Big win for linear VCOs!
Bad things:
1) Keyboard voltages - as I wrote above, the keyboard has to generate exponential voltages. This is a big pain. In a digitally-controlled analog (like the CS80, P5, etc), the keyboard voltage comes from a DAC (digital-analog-converter). 99.99% of DACs are linear. The CS50/60/80 (and others in the family) have bizarre, custom exponential DACs. This makes interfacing the CS80 to other synths and/or MIDI-CV converters a pain.
2) CV mixing. Finally, we get to the original question of adding a pitch-bend input to the CS80. In the volts/octave world, everything is easy: you just add voltages together. Adding voltages is simple to do - just an op-amp and a few resistors. Let's say you had the following voltages come out of a v/oct keyboard: 1v, 2v, 4v. This could represent a low C (c1), C one octave up (c2), and C two octave above that (c4). To make it simple, let's say we have a pitch wheel or pedal add 1 volt to this (2v, 3v, 5v). This would be c2, c3, c5, so we've just transposed the sequence up an octave.
Ok, what happens if we try this with a linear voltage. For the same c1, c2, c4 notes, we might have 1volt, 2volt, 8volt. Adding one volt gives 2volt, 3volt, 9volt. The first note is correctly up an octave, but the next is only up about a 5th and the third note is only transposed up about a semitone. This, obviously, doesn't work. What we need to do, instead, is multiply the voltages. To transpose up an octave, double the voltages. To transpose down an octave, halve them. This is easy for a fixed transpose, but if you want a variable, like a pitch-bend pedal input, you need to multiply voltages. Just like it's much, much easier for people to add and subtract than multiply and divide, so it is for analog (and digital) circuitry.
If you follow the schematics or block diagram of the CS80, you can see that the voltage to the VCOs comes through a long chain of multiplications. The ribbon is actually the initial voltage source for the whole instrument. If the ribbon isn't pressed it outputs some fixed voltage (not sure the actual value - call it 2 volts). If the ribbon is slid up, all the way, from the left to the right, it would output double this voltage, which corresponds to one octave up. If the ribbon is slid the other way, it outputs zero volts, as mentioned above. Next, the voltage is sent through the concentric pitch knobs. Any normal potentiometer is a voltage multiplier, which can multiply the input by anything from zero to one.
This voltage then becomes the reference input to the exponential DAC on the KAS board, which multiplies it by it's exponential resistor network to create the CVs for each of the either voices. These voltages go to the VCO chips on the M-Boards. Are we done - nope - one more CS80 weirdness. In a v/oct synth, the octave/foot switches would just generate a voltage that would be added to the keyboard CV (e.g. MiniMoog). The CS80 VCO, instead, has a special footage input that needs an exponential current for each feet setting. Because this is difficult to do accurately over a wide range, we end up with the wonderful VR4, VR5, and VR6 trimmers to get the feet switching calibrated separately for each of the 16 VCOs. Yuch!
Getting back to the original question (remember Alice? There's a song about Alice...), a pitch bend input would need to control a voltage multiplier. This could be an added circuit, after the ribbon circuit, or could probably be merged with the ribbon voltage. I haven't figured out the details, but it's not rocket science. However, it is a lot more work than it would be on something like a Prophet 5.
Ok, I guess that wasn't quick, but at least I didn't have an graphs or get into transistor curves or Bessell functions.
David"
"This touches on a big, somewhat technical, issue of what kind of VCOs the CS80 uses. The VCO III chip is a linear VCO, sometimes called Hz/Volt, as opposed to the more common exponential (Volts/Octave) VCOs (e.g. MiniMoog, Curtis & SSM chips in SCI and Oberheim polys).
Here's a pretty good explanation: link
Here's a (I hope) quick one:
The most basic VCO is a sawtooth one, which can be a capacitor charged by a current. For non-EE types, here's my modified toilet analog (and you though the Metasonix vacuum-tube VCO was weird) : The capacitor is like the water tank of a toilet. The water filling it up is the current. The height of the water is like the voltage across the capacitor. Now, modify the float valve so that when the tank is full it automatically flushes. Then the cycle starts again. If you double the water filling rate ( = double the current), you double the frequency of the flush cycles.
The is a basic, linear VCO (actually Water-CO). It shows a couple of things. First, it's not actually voltage controlled, but current controlled. Ignore that for now. Also, the filling time is adjustable, but the discharge/flushing time is fixed. This is an issue with all sawtooth VCOs and is why many (e.g. Moog) VCOs have a high-frequency-tracking adjustment, which helps cancel this out. Here's the CS80 VCO: link
Ok, so why don't all synths use linear VCOs? As the above link explains, human ears don't hear frequency linearly. A above middle C is 440Hz. An octave about is 880Hz, or double the frequency. The next octave would be 1760Hz: double that. If you graph this, it's an exponential curve. So, the space (in Hertz) between two notes keeps getting bigger as we get to high pitches. If you had a modular synth with linear VCOs (like that old Paia), the top key might output 5 volts. One octave down would be 2.5volts. The next 1.25volts, followed by 0.625v and 0.3125v. This is a pain to generate. Also, as you get to lower notes, smaller voltage inaccuracies start becoming bigger pitch errors to our ears.
To avoid all this, someone (anyone know who? Dr. Bob? Tom Oberheim? Don Buchla?) came up with exponential VCOs. Basically, they're just a linear VCO with a circuit in front of them called (big surprise) an exponential converter. This is just a circuit that takes a linear input (1volt/octave) and outputs the doubling voltage (actually current...) that the VCO wants. Now, everything is simple.
So, why did Yamaha go for the linear? Two reasons, I'd guess. First, adding the exponential converter to each VCO adds more cost to the chips, since there's more circuitry. A bigger issue is temperature stability. As we've been talking about lately, all circuits are affected (i.e. knocked out of tuning) by temperature changes. The exponential converter, for reasons I won't go into, is really sensitive to this. People have been complaining about the tuning stability of the CS80, but it's rock solid compared to any poly-synth with exponential VCOs (P5, OBX, A6, etc). They all need computer-controlled auto-tuning routines to have any chance of staying in tune.
So, what issues/problems/advantages does the CS80 having linear VCOs create?
Good things:
1) modulation - linear vibrato sounds a bit different than v/oct vibrato, probably closer to acoustic vibrato (e.g. violin). Also, as the modulation speed increases, you start getting into F.M. land, which requires linear modulation (you don't want to know the math!). This is why some modular VCOs have linear FM inputs in addition to the normal v/oct controls.
2) sweep to D.C. - my favorite. If you start a pitch bend at the right end of the ribbon and slide all the way to the left, the pitch of the VCOs all go down to 0Hz / D.C. / flat-line. This is because the input to the VCOs goes to 0 volts and the frequency equals the voltage times a constant. With a exponential VCO this is impossible. Going 1 volt less on the control input goes down one octave. Mathematically, you can't get to zero Hz. You'd need to input -infinity volts! Also, many other limitations in the circuit block the VCO from even getting close. Big win for linear VCOs!
Bad things:
1) Keyboard voltages - as I wrote above, the keyboard has to generate exponential voltages. This is a big pain. In a digitally-controlled analog (like the CS80, P5, etc), the keyboard voltage comes from a DAC (digital-analog-converter). 99.99% of DACs are linear. The CS50/60/80 (and others in the family) have bizarre, custom exponential DACs. This makes interfacing the CS80 to other synths and/or MIDI-CV converters a pain.
2) CV mixing. Finally, we get to the original question of adding a pitch-bend input to the CS80. In the volts/octave world, everything is easy: you just add voltages together. Adding voltages is simple to do - just an op-amp and a few resistors. Let's say you had the following voltages come out of a v/oct keyboard: 1v, 2v, 4v. This could represent a low C (c1), C one octave up (c2), and C two octave above that (c4). To make it simple, let's say we have a pitch wheel or pedal add 1 volt to this (2v, 3v, 5v). This would be c2, c3, c5, so we've just transposed the sequence up an octave.
Ok, what happens if we try this with a linear voltage. For the same c1, c2, c4 notes, we might have 1volt, 2volt, 8volt. Adding one volt gives 2volt, 3volt, 9volt. The first note is correctly up an octave, but the next is only up about a 5th and the third note is only transposed up about a semitone. This, obviously, doesn't work. What we need to do, instead, is multiply the voltages. To transpose up an octave, double the voltages. To transpose down an octave, halve them. This is easy for a fixed transpose, but if you want a variable, like a pitch-bend pedal input, you need to multiply voltages. Just like it's much, much easier for people to add and subtract than multiply and divide, so it is for analog (and digital) circuitry.
If you follow the schematics or block diagram of the CS80, you can see that the voltage to the VCOs comes through a long chain of multiplications. The ribbon is actually the initial voltage source for the whole instrument. If the ribbon isn't pressed it outputs some fixed voltage (not sure the actual value - call it 2 volts). If the ribbon is slid up, all the way, from the left to the right, it would output double this voltage, which corresponds to one octave up. If the ribbon is slid the other way, it outputs zero volts, as mentioned above. Next, the voltage is sent through the concentric pitch knobs. Any normal potentiometer is a voltage multiplier, which can multiply the input by anything from zero to one.
This voltage then becomes the reference input to the exponential DAC on the KAS board, which multiplies it by it's exponential resistor network to create the CVs for each of the either voices. These voltages go to the VCO chips on the M-Boards. Are we done - nope - one more CS80 weirdness. In a v/oct synth, the octave/foot switches would just generate a voltage that would be added to the keyboard CV (e.g. MiniMoog). The CS80 VCO, instead, has a special footage input that needs an exponential current for each feet setting. Because this is difficult to do accurately over a wide range, we end up with the wonderful VR4, VR5, and VR6 trimmers to get the feet switching calibrated separately for each of the 16 VCOs. Yuch!
Getting back to the original question (remember Alice? There's a song about Alice...), a pitch bend input would need to control a voltage multiplier. This could be an added circuit, after the ribbon circuit, or could probably be merged with the ribbon voltage. I haven't figured out the details, but it's not rocket science. However, it is a lot more work than it would be on something like a Prophet 5.
Ok, I guess that wasn't quick, but at least I didn't have an graphs or get into transistor curves or Bessell functions.
David"
Oberheim Double SEM Modular
images via this auction via Tec."For auction worldwide a pair of Oberheim SEMs in a solid oak box draw with modularised jack connections to the board points.
Powered by an original Four voice supply,set for 230V use.
Many of the 1/4" jacks are normalised such that the MASTER CV will input on all four VCOs and also the MASTER GATE will input both modules.Inserting to individual jacks will break the master connection to that part.
Jacks in for VCO1:CV1 CV2 SYNC ,VCO2: CV1 CV2 SYNC, VCF:CV1 CV2 ,VCO1 : MOD, VCO2: MOD ,VCF:EXT INPUT 1 & 2 ,VCF MOD ,ENV1 GATE,ENV2 GATE and VCA CV.
Jacks out for VCO1 SYNC OUT,VCO2 SYNC OUT,VCO1 SAW PULSE,VCO2 SAW PULSE,VCF HP BP LP,ENV 1 OUT,ENV 2 OUT,VCA OUT.
28 jacks.....per SEM.56 total.The four VCF CVs have attenuation pots with the same production grey knobs.
The jacks are seated on 3mm Perspex acrylic with card paper backing for decals.It would not be hard to replace if you have an aversion to yellow.
The SEMs are in good cosmetic condition...unfortunately one dual pot cap is missing on the right hand module.
I built these into the box before i started on my modular build and as that took over this piece was put in storage for some years.I brought it out to sell and we must consider that the modules are 30 years old.I've tested both modules by the master cv/gate and both VCOs are outputting saws/pulses/syncs.
Some pots could certainly do with a clean.Filter outputs and envelopes are working.I have not checked the alternate inputs but i don't see why they shouldn't be working.
The main niggle is the right hand LFO isn't working(probably a dead 741 or the jfet)but since it was a simple device anyrate and i had plenty of better LFOs offboard i never repaired it."
New & Back In Stock at Analogue Haven
I just got my subscription email from Analogue Haven. In it was a slew of new and re-stocked goodies, some of which I have not seen before, including this Diamond Memory Lane Delay Pedal."As you can probably guess already, this isn't your typical analog delay.
the memory lane has a number of innovations that bridge the feature gap between analog and digital delays while retaining the warmth and unique sound of bucket brigade delay devices in an all analog signal path.
offering up to 550 ms delay time, tempo can be set either by dial or by foot tap switch. when you don't need foot control of tempo, you can use the second foot switch as an on/off switch for the modulation feature simply by switching the small 'feature' toggle switch from 'tap' to 'mod'."
Scroll to the news section on Analogue Haven's main page for the list of new and back in stock items.
Quadrasynth On Autopilot
YouTube via loonytunes1234.
"Just got hold one of these fabulous synths, im still trying to find my way around it but i stumbled upon the onboard demo and it blew me away i love bombastic over the top stuff and this was right up my street. Bit over the top on the reverb but still beats most onboard demos i have heard, but then as i said the more over the top the better for me :-)"
Sequential Circuits Prophet 600 Synthesizer by RetroSound
YouTube via retrosound72.
"audio demo with some self-made retro-sounds by RetroSound. more info: www.retrosound.de"
Sonalog Gypsy Midi Arm
via this auction. via Max."Sonalog Gypsy Midi controller. This is an amazing piece of technology. It’s purpose is to translate your arms movements into controller information for your music. Imagine a world where dance music is being created live in real time by dancers. That’s the potential for this kind of technology.
I had originally purchased it for a group that was based on this concept. The band fell apart and now I have this very awesome piece of music technology that I have no use for. I purchased it new for $1200 and now I am reselling it to try and re-coup some of my expenses.
I can’t really explain exactly what this thing does in this little text window. To get an accurate idea you need to visit http://www.sonalog.com/videos and watch the videos.
This is the right arm of the complete suit. It is in perfect working order. It comes with all of the original software and manuals which can also be downloaded from the sonalog website. I am also throwing in a $50 battery charger which charges up the battery packs in 15 minutes and provides days of use. You can purchase an additional arm in the future if you desire from Sonalog for a discounted rate and attach it to the frame.This is an powerfull, intuitive and easy to use piece of technology.
Serge Modular (A1) 5 MODULES
images via this auction"C/A CONTROL AMP, DUAL UNIVERSAL SLOPE GENERATOR, UNIVERSAL EQUAL POWER AUDIO PROCESSOR, STEREO OUTPUT MIXER, VOLTAGE CONDTROLLED STEREO MIXER."
Serge Modular (A4) 5 MODULES
images via this auction"1- DUAL PROCESSOR
2- KEYBOARD ENVELOPE GENERATOR
3- DUAL UNIVERSAL SLOPE GENERATOR
4- DUAL UNIVERSAL SLOPE GENERATOR
5- UNIVERSAL EQUAL POWER AUDIO PROCESSOR"
Serge Modular (A2) 6 MODULES
images via this auction
"1- PRECISSION VOLTAGE CONTROL OSCILLATOR
2- NEW TIMBRAL OSCILLATOR
3- TRIPLE WAVESHAPER
4- DUAL AUDIO MIXER
5- UNIVERSAL EQUAL POWER AUDIO PROCESSOR (ONE KNOB IS BENT)
6- DUAL PHASER (THREE KNOBS ARE BENT BUT THIS CAN BE FIXED)
Nearly all voltage control functions of the SERGE modules are accurately log-linear. This means that a control voltage will be directly proportional to the logarithm of the effect it produces, whether the effect is a change in amplitude, duration, or frequency. Log-linearity is essential because we perceive differences in these parameters as a function of the ratio of the change, rather than as a function of the difference. We hear an octave (a ratio of 2 to 1 between two frequencies) whether the frequencies are 200 and 100 Hz or 2000 and 1000 Hz.
All Timing and Frequency Ranges Are Wide Range
The minimum range of any module in the SERGE system is at least 10,000 to 1, from the highest to the lowest frequency, or from the longest to the shortest duration. In many modules the ratio is typically 100,000 to one, and in some cases exceeds 1,000,000 to 1.
Input Processing At VC Inputs
This allows a voltage to be scaled at an input with regards to both the depth or intensity of its effect as well as its direction. The response of the module to a control voltage can be set at the processing input, reducing the need for intermediate processors and inverters.
Calibrated Inputs
Experience has shown that it is also desirable to have pre-scaled control voltage inputs at 1 volt per octave, especially when using keyboards or computer controls. All SERGE oscillators, filters, and envelope generators have both calibrated and processing type inputs
These modules are at the heart of the versatility of the SERGE synthesizer. Examples can be seen in such modules as the Smooth & Stepped Function Generator, the Dual Universal Slope Generator, and the Universal Equal-Power Audio Processor
A Unique Packaging System
The SERGE synthesizer owes much of its versatility, portability, and affordability to the way it is packaged. Nearly any configuration of modules can be grouped together into one or more standard Panel/Racks. All holes are pre-punched to accommodate the entire line of SERGE modules. Jacks, switches, and other components are mounted onto the front Panel, and then the printed circuit boards are fitted into the Rack assembly behind the Panel. Since the Rack and its printed circuit boards open away from the Panel like a page in a book, both the initial assembly and its subsequent inspection are simplified.
Compatibility With Other Equipment
SERGE systems are electrically compatible with other synthesizers and audio equipment. When required, interfacing can usually be handled at each module's processing input. Adapters for other types of patchcords can be easily installed on the Panel
Ease of Incorporating Custom Mode/s
This is another benefit of the Panel/Rack package. Custom circuits can be installed into the Panel without drilling a single hole. Using standard Vectorboard, circuits can be fitted into the Rack and wired to front panel components. Custom faceplate graphics are easily applied without any special materials. The end result is a custom module integrated into the SERGE synthesizer with minimum effort."
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Synth Soundtracks
Micke came up with the mother of all lists for films featuring synths in their sound tracks. Click here for the list on VSE. So... the one thing that bugs me about VSE is that posts expire over time to make space on the server. That said, I will put the list in the comments. Hopefully Micke is ok with this. Pictured: Blade Runner featuring Vangelis and the Yamaha CS80. Trailer directly below.YouTube via Mart138.Blade Runner - Vangelis Music Video
Grids - the all monome album
"Of course, the notion of an all monome album is somewhat of a misnomer. The monome is simply an interface - a bunch of LEDs and buttons that may or may not have something to do with each other. There no built-in sound generator like there is on the Tenori-On, (I used a Doepfer modular, Prophet 5 and MachFive 2) and the software that determines the behavior of the device is entirely up to the user/artist. While this fact dilutes the idea of an all monome album, people interested in finding their own voice with an instrument consisting of a grid of buttons should note the lack of predetermined software and sounds is the true strength of the monome."click here for the album on The Stretta Procedure.
Trios lp by Tristram Cary of EMS
TriosComposed 1971. First performed at Cheltenham Festival, 1971, the composer taking the VCS3 part, and Messrs John and Robert Cary (the composer's sons) the turntable parts.
Click here for more info including the audio on EMS SYNTHI.
STG Labs Mankato - FU Edition
Nice edition.Note that STG Labs is available via Analogue Haven although I do not see the Mankato listed as of this post.
STG as in Suit & Tie Guy. I don't see the Mankato listed there yet either.
Udpate via Suit & Tie Guy in the comments:
"yes i've been slacking on the website actually. sorry about that.
there's a stack of mankato PCBs et cetera almost fully stuffed, just waiting on some components that showed up today and a particular VCA IC which should be on its way as well.
the line at analoguehaven.com/stgsoundlabs will within the month be the multiples, the gate delay, the post-lawsuit lowpass filter and the mankato filter.
there's also a wave folder i'm in the middle of testing right now, but i don't know if i can get it out by christmas."
Update: more info on this electro-music.com thread.
5Pulser Waveshaper by frijitz
"The most effective waveshapers are the radical ones that produce multiple peaks per input cycle. There have been a number of these designed over the years, of course, but most are fairly complicated circuits.A while back I discovered that the LM3914 LED bar-graph display driver chip can run at very high frequencies -- crisp square pulses well above the audio range! Operation of this chip is quite simple. It is basically a stack of window comparators, which fire one at a time as the input signal increases. The total span of the comparators is set by an external voltage.
From this I figured out how to make an interesting waveshaper that puts out a variable pulse train. The waveshape control voltage changes the span of the comparators, so an input sawtooth leads to a train of pulses from a single square wave up to a train of five pulses in less than half a period as the control voltage is varied. (The more traditional wavefolders use a VCA on the input signal to vary the waveshape.) The circuit is quite simple for what it does -- a dual opamp for the input signal and CV conditioning, the LM3914 and an output opamp summer to combine the pulses."
Click here for more info including the schematic and a sample.
Roland PH-830 Stereo Phaser
via this auction"Roland PH-830 Stereo Phaser. This rare piece is part of Roland’s RSS line of rackmount effects. It has 3 LFO waveforms, CV and Trig inputs, controls for Intesity, Shift
Frequency, and Resonance. It also has an inverter on Channel 2, and has switches to adjust input and output levels."
West Virginia - Roland Juno-106 Demo
via cornutt in the comments of this post.
"For another example of what you can do with a 106, see one of my tracks here: West Virginia. This was done entirely with a 106 and a Boss DD-20 delay."
This is a really cool track.
"For another example of what you can do with a 106, see one of my tracks here: West Virginia. This was done entirely with a 106 and a Boss DD-20 delay."
This is a really cool track.
Speak&Spell LFO
Click here for "schematics for adding a pitch modulating LFO to your Speak&Spell" on Casper Electronics. Also includes "hold" and "tone" effects.
Electribe-MX & Waldorf-Q : Study1
Piano Calculator
Product page in Japanese. And in Googlish.Unfortunately, I don't think this one is programmable like the Casio VL-Tone.
Arturia Analog Factory Experience on Music Thing
Music Thing has "first review" up on the Arturia Analog Factory Experience. You can find it here.
Inside a JoMoX XBase09
images via this auctionUpdate via Mok in the comments: "that is not normally inside an XBase... i†'s an XRom card. Allows you to load in samples to the Hat section via PC. That's a hacked XBase and might be great to use. Totally unsupported by Jomox though, so... "
BeeGees Rhythm Machine
via this auction
You know you want it.
"This little gem has a 1 1/2 octave keyboard and a diverse selection of 3 rhythms--disco, latin and pop! It even has tempo adjustment for the rhythms and tuning control for the keyboard. Plus you get a box with some really happening pictures of the BeeGees. Runs on a 9 volt battery. This toy is for ages 8 and over. Please do not bid if you are under the age of 8."
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
BME Axiom Modular Synthesizer
Just posted on sequencer.de where you can find more info on the BME/Baumann line of syntheizers. Also see the BME link below.
Cynthia Sawtooth Animators
The Cynthia Sawtooth Animator info is now up on the Cynthia website. "Turn the sound of one lone oscillator into seven!
(Your ear or an oscilloscope simply can't tell the difference between this module and a whole rack of seven VCOs tuned in unison!)
This amazing Bernie Hutchins circuit has been admired by Designers for years as a true electronic engineering marvel, (Of course here at Cyndustries we could not simply leave well enough alone, click here for Mark Barton's "Full Story" on what makes this one superior to previous designs).
It's optimized for a sawtooth input, but any single waveform with a slope going into this thing... comes out as a super fat three-hundred pound gorilla of waveforms!"
Note: Analogue Haven is selling both the EuroRack and Frac Rac versions, and Cynthia is selling the MOTM, Dotcom, and Banana versions direct from their website.
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© Matrixsynth - All posts are presented here for informative, historical and educative purposes as applicable within fair use.
MATRIXSYNTH is supported by affiliate links that use cookies to track clickthroughs and sales. See the privacy policy for details.
MATRIXSYNTH - EVERYTHING SYNTH
