MATRIXSYNTH: Tuesday, October 9, 2007

RIP Philip Dodds

I just heard the sad news that Philip Dodds has passed away this weekend. Philip Dodds was the head engineer of ARP. That's him behind the ARP 2500 (third from the left) in Close Encounters of The Third Kind. You can find previous posts featuring Philip Dodds, including some ARP history, here.

Recent pictures of the modular

via felix inferious. More info after the hop.

Livewire Chaos Computer (not yet released)
Livewire Vulcan Expansion selector thingy (not yet released)
Plan B Model 14 Voltage Processor
Livewire Audio Frequency Generator (aka 'AFG', not yet released)
Plan B Model 15 Complex VCO (ordered and in transit)

Gp2x Little GP Tracker Midi Output LGPT

YouTube via drwolfer.

"This is Little GP Tracker [LGPT] running on a Gamepark Holdings Gp2x handheld, outputting midi using a custom serial to midi interface designed & coded by FirestARTer, board & assembly by IDMCLASSICS.NET.

In this clip, LGPT is driving a Clavia Nord Micromodular [3 seperate mono patterns into a polyphonic patch] and has an Alesis HR-16 drum machine slaved via Midi Sync.

FiresARTer: http://www.firestarter-music.de
Little GP Tracker: http://www.10pm.org/nostromo/lgpt/
IDMCLASSICS.NET: http://idmclassics.net"

Hammond A100 vs. VB3

YouTube via zioguido. I'd love to see this kind of comparison with VAs.
"In this video I'm showing you a short test of my Hammond A100 vs. its digital "alter ego", a VST plugin called VB3 (please visit www.soundfonts.it for more info).

VB3 was modeled after this A100 and they almost sound identically. Plus, VB3 has a function that no other software (also hardware?!) organ clone can give you: the "9 key contacts" simulation.

This is version 1.1 of VB3 which, at the moment I'm uploading this video to YouTube, is still in a beta testing phase and isn't available to the public."

Memorymoog

YouTube via Sharpblue.
"Mark Shrieve gives a little demo on the Moog Memorymoog."

TR-909 tap write demo

YouTube via pac209.
"Built in the 80s this machine later became the foundation of dance music."

Waldorf Microwave 2 Synthesizer "retro-sounds" by RetroSound

YouTube via retrosound72.
"some self-made retro patches by RetroSound. sounds: Tears (Wavetable Pad), SlowMini, Vangelis CS-80 Emulation 1 and Vangelis 2. more info and sounds: www.retrosound.de"

syntezatory.prv.pl - Roland Alpha Juno-2

YouTube via Jexus.

"1985 Roland Alpha Juno 2. Brought to you by WC Olo Garb. The sounds have been programmed by WC Olo Garb./// Syntezatory.prv.pl Videos: showing you not what a synthesizer can do, but what a man can do with a synthesizer."

mfos sequencer

click here for a flickr set via Jan.

Music From Outer Space

MOS-LAB Cabinet

click here for a flickr set via Jan.

MOS-LAB

MOTM CEM3379 VCF

image via this auction. via jan.

You can find more images in this flickr set.

"limited edition CEM3379 VCF/VCA/PAN Module for the MOTM Synthesizer. Powered with +/- 15V and completely functional."

New Synth Ts via Gear Addict

Remember this post? Well it looks like your feedback resulted in new Synth T shirt designs including this beauty. :)

click here for more and be sure to check out the others sections as well. If you have any suggestions for Ts feel free to comment.

JP-8080 with Wood Sides

via this auction. Note the Radikal Technologies Spectralis in the background. via Zam.

Oberheim Modular System? Update: OB-Xa Modular

via this auction

Details Google translated:

"To the instrument: This instrument is an absolute rare piece and a sole specimen/single copy. Here one can buy a Synthesizer, which otherwise nobody has. The complete prehistory of the instrument is not to be clarified any longer completely, it acts however obviously around the prototypes of a similar modular system of upper home from the year 1982. Construction units from the famous OB-X and Whether-Xa Synthesizern of Tom upper home are used. The sound reminded very much of the looked for OB-1 Synthesizer, is however substantially fatter and more pressureful and because of the modular structure many more flexibly due to the 3 VCO´s.
Everything is to be out-gotten by ultrafetten basses, alive Leadsounds, elektonischer Percussion, (poly) rhythmic sequences, noises and the most driven off sounds of effect from this “crate” with something trouble and consideration. The basic sound is fat, warmly, alive, sometimes somewhat dirtily, thus 100% genuine similar to! The filter sounds upper home typical see industrial union warm.

3 VCO with the waveform-shaping saw tooth, triangle and rectangle (+ PWM, FM, Sync).

1 MIXER with 5 entrances and 1 exit

1 VCF Lowpass with 24 DB/Oktave and 3 modulation entrances (Env., cut off, Resonance). Self oscillation is possible.

2 LFO with the waveform-shaping saw tooth, triangle and rectangle. The range of control of the LFO´s is quite far, for completely fast modulations takes one the VCO anyway.

2 ADSR with good reason fast Attack. Not completely as fast as Minimoog and ARP-2600, but faster than all digital Synthesizer envelopes. For electronic Perkussion of all play ways it is fast enough.

To those it to say, thus execution of kind of condition gives 2 VCA to few.

Here power pack and power switches are accommodated power module and as characteristic per quadruple a fragment for in or outgoing CV and gate signals, which offers very various Verbindungsmöglichkeiten with external analog equipment from in former times or today.

MIDI INTERFACE, a previous owner inserted to kind of condition the Midiinterface of Döpfer. Beside the normal spielbarkeit over a Midikeyboard still two additional control voltages are spent, which can steer arbitrary modules of the instrument. With the correct attitude and wiring one has even notice dynamics, etc.

1 NOISE, for wind, Snares and other noise-clung sounds is to be used this Noise module.

1 RING MODULATOR to use for disharmonische and metallic sounds. This ring modulator belonged however to the brachialen sort and provides for very distorted and bad sounds. A noble ring modulation A la Vermona RM-1 is not to be expected here; here gehts correctly to the thing.

2*4 MULTIPLE, this module serves for mixing and distributes from control voltages and also as adapters between the banana plugs of the instrument and the generally common jack plugs (6,3mm).

In addition an extensive assortment of the banana plugs belonging to this system is contained."

Update via Feinstrom in the comments:
"I am the former owner, sold it to him some years ago.
It is an OB-Xa voiceboard with jacks and some DIY. Not Oberheim-made, no prototype, built in the 90s or so. And the guy knows all that.
The sound is nice, though."

Granular Synthesis on the Clavia G2?

click here for the full article (Google translated from French) and a sample on Making Sound.

Note the the G2 does not actually have granular synthesis.
"To carry out this example, I used a microphone on one of the audio entries of G2 to sample a sentence with the stolen one. Once the audio source captured by the modules delay (it is enough to press on a key to launch the capture), it any more but does not remain to be played with the other parameters of the patch, associated the various interfaces of G2. Most important are associated the keyboard (height of the sample), the pitch stick (reading rate of the sample) and the serrated roller of modulation (position of “the read head”). Consequently, by choosing a null speed and by moving “the read head”, it is possible to traverse in real time the form of wave at the speed which one wishes. I let to you imagine the astronomical quantity of textures which it is possible to create by multiplying the audio sources…"

DalekInvasion

"This track is more interesting as far as the patch goes than it actually sounds, but I wanted to share anyway...

The main sound source is one square wave oscillator from the Dalek Modulator. It's pitch modulation comes from two sources"

click here for the track and more detail on felix inferious.

Livewire Dual Cyclotron+Dalek+Doepfer A-100

Livewire Dual Cyclotron+Dalek+ Doepfer A-100P2

YouTube via DavideModu. Follow up to this post.

Forat Linn 9000

images via this auction. via Must!
"It is a fully loaded Forat9000, and, as you may know, it is really hard to find a Forat with all the sampling upgrades. I sent the machine to Bruce Forat's place for him to go through. You will be buying a totally updated, upgraded, refurbished, very clean, fully functional, Forat Linn 9000.
You can see many of the upgrades from the shot of the rear exterior.

There is a mystery upgrade all the way to left - the unmarked 1/4" input. I called Bruce to see what it is, and he says it is an unmarked SMPTE upgrade."

Roland SH-2

images via this auction
ROLAND SH-2 SPECIFICATIONS
Keyboard 37 keys, 3 octaves
VCO AUTO BEND
MOD (modulation depth)
PULSE WIDTH (50% - MIN)
PWM MODE SWITCH (ENV/MAN/LFO)
TOTAL TUNE
* VCO-1 RANGE (32', 16', 8', 4', 2')
WAVEFORM (sine, sawtooth, square, pulse)PULSE WIDTH (50% - MIN)
BENDER ON/OFF SWITCH
* VCO-2 RANGE (32', 16', 8', 4', 2')
WAVEFORM (noise, sawtooth, square, pulse)
VCO-2 TUNE
TUNE RANGE (WIDE/NARROW)
* AUDIO MIXER VCO-1 SUB
VCO-1
VCO-2
* VCF CUTOFF FREQUENCY (10Hz - 20kHz)
RESONANCE (0 - self oscillation)
ENVELOPE SWITCH
ENVELOPE CONTROL
MODULATION CONTROL
KYBD CV CONTROL
* VCA MODULATION SWITCH (HOLD, ENV KYBD, GATE)
* ENVELOPE ATTACK TIME (1ms - 2.5s) RELEASE TIME (2ms - 10s)
GENERATOR DECAY TIME (2ms - 10s) GATE SELECTOR SWITCH
SUSTAIN LEVEL (0 - 100%) (GATE-TRIG/GATE/LFO)
* POWER SWITCH (with LED indicator)
* VOLUME CONTROL
* PORTAMENTO (0 - 5s)
* BENDER LEVER
* INPUTS/OUTPUTS OUTPUT jack (-10dBm) CV OUTPUT lack (1V/oct)
HEADPHONE jack (stereo, 8Ω) GATE OUPTUT jack (OFF = OV; ON=14V)
CV INPUT jack (1V/oct) EXT AUDIO IN jack (0.5V p-p, max)
GATE INPUT JACK (+ 7.5V min)
* POWER CONSUMPTION 11W
* DIMENSIONS 670(w) x 305(d) x 100(h) mm
* WEIGHT 6.9 kg