circuit bent yamaha tg33 vector synth

tg33 revision

YouTube via spunkytoofers

via this auction

"- circuit bent yamaha tg33 synth with vector joystick (retains full functionality pre-bent when all bends are deactivated)

-breakout box with 32 banana jack patchbay which effects the awm waveforms

-4 switches activates 8 dedicated banana jacks located on side and back of box for switching

-8 stackable banana cords provided

-getlofi ltc1799 precision oscillator replaces internal clock frequencies for smooth pitch control of approximately 5+ octaves on any given note. (until the sound breaks into sound grains)

-1 switch selects precision oscillator or original fixed frequency clock

-1 fm/awm waveform glitch and resynthesis 4 position rotary switch with one center off-momentary on/lock on switch to activate rotary.

-replaced internal memory battery with a fresh battery.

-db25 connector cable from breakout box to synth

-db25 jacks on tg33 and breakoutbox

-1 vintage blue beehive lens with bright led lighting

-1 vintage milk glass lens with random slow phase lighting

-original owners manual

-bend diagram jpeg and tips and tricks sheet emailed to winner

-cd-r of manual, many great patches, and editor program

-power supply included (north american supply only, international countries will need to supply their own adapters. the tg33 is regulated to handle anything from 9-12 volts dc with a positive tip around 700 ma is best)

(check out video below)

this is probally my secret weapon of choice at the current moment. it's quite unique from other synthesizers and will reward those that take the time to program/tweak this thing.

although this isn't the most difficult synthesizer to program it will require the user to dig in a little bit and study the manual. the editor also accesses some very in depth synthesis options. vector synthesis is pretty straightforward and intuitive to work with but there are elements like assigning midi controls, selecting voices to work together, envelope shaping, indepndant lfos, sending sequences/controllers, and recording vector movements to really make the best of the possibilities. it's pretty simple to work with but has real power shaping sculpture.

if designing from scratch is too much for you to deal with it still would be easy tweak or play many of the included patch banks straight and all patches will respond to circuit bending.. the synth also features a random vector voice create feature!!! the included backed up sound banks are really well designed and have alot of sounds to keep you busy. but. those without a decent midi controller, basic midi knowledge, basic synth design, tweaks, and assigning controls from menus, etc, this may not be a good synth to start with if you are starting out or don't work with midi, otherwise be prepared to meet a truly unique synth!! "nice to meet you" it says..

the synth works with 4 waveforms in the vector per note of polyphony (think 4 oscillators per note). 2 of which are fm, 2 are awm based sampled waveforms. the awm waveforms are bendable. so approximately half of the 300+ available waveforms are circuit bendable. each waveform is independantly circuit bendable with it's own response to the pressures of bending. what makes that interesting is that when you play with the vector you can assign the circuit bent waveforms to the vector and also assign waveforms that aren't circuit bendable to the vector to either stack voices or morph a voice from the strange abstract sounds and aleatoric responses of circuit bent synthesis into a more traditional synthesis by use of the vector joystick or by assigning the x-y grid to two midi controllers. you can also record exact movements in the vector into the voice's program everytime you trigger a note. either way the awm waveforms can be circuit bent or left alone. the circuit bends depending on how you patch the waveform can have subtle tonal results such as stutter, tonal variations to extremes of complete self composing glitches or dense walls of sound. there are too many results to try to describe here.

instrument has an added getlofi precision oscillator which controls the total pitch of the synthesizer. all midi functionality is retained in the tuned frequencies of the oscillator. the oscillator is on a switch with the original clock signal if the user should not want to use overall pitch control. pitch bend internally by midi and pitch bending on the precision oscillator are not unlike each other but they are certainly completely different then each other.

the instrument is completely stable. able to go to completely strange circuit bent sounds and back to normal without any hitches at all in the system or voices!!!

now here is where things get completely chaotic!!!!

4 fm/awm brain scramble bends are allocated on a rotary switch. the rotary switch is activated by a switch is a 3 way switch which can either disconnect the rotary,momentary snap connect or lock into position. each bend interacts with the others to push it different directions sonically. these bends are completely chance orientated but more often then not great new patches are made and mysterious soundscapes occur. a switch activation cycles through complete mutations to the fm sounds, sound patch restructing, auto accompainments, self compositions, bizzare playing responses in reaction to sent control data. each throw of the switch creates a new sound either slightly altered to extremely altered with often mysterious and good results. since these bends are chaotic i've kept them seperate from the awm extention box as the awm bends of this instrument is completely stable and will not alter the sound of the patch when bends are deactivated. the fm bends are chance orienated and often alterations are extreme which make it better for studio work. although with some careful fm waveform assignments to the vector. you can find fm waveforms which aren't quite as extreme and make more subtle alterations and bent sounds. you can then improvise with the circuit bent fm/awm waveforms with some planning in regards to creating your own unique patches or finding the best presets and saving them into internal memory.

when fm waveforms are bent they can still be bent further with another activation from the fm switches but will not return the original patch without a power cycle on/off on the instrument. when the instrument is booted up the patch returns to its original form and nothing is lost in memory.

db 25 connector is in what used to be the cartridge slot with industrial strength adhesive. the connector already fit in the slot pretty nicely but the industrial strength adhesive sets the connector in it permanetely and securely. since the cartridge slot is occupied that closes up the option for using memory cards. this shouldn't be much a problem since the cartridge is proprietary and finding the exact card is extremely difficult since they are extremely rare and if you do find one they're pretty expensive not to mention all the time you'll be spending on ebay trolling for one.

the unit however has internal memory for patch storage as well as the ability to dump and recive patches via sysex. the unit's memory back up battery was replaced with a fresh lithium battery and a battery clip easily located so it would be easy to replace the battery in the future by the user or any tech.. as is, the fresh battery should last from 5-10 plus years depending on the use of this machine. the battery should last much longer than that, the battery i replaced was the original and was working fine before replacing and that battery had lasted nearly 20 years!! also a pdf manual, patch editor and many banks of great professional patches are included on a cd-r with this auction. i can include some patch notes of my own to illustrate how to organize a patch notebook to facilitate bending patches based on this system."

circuit bent yamaha tg33 vector synth and akai ewi 4000s


previously posted

circuit bent yamaha tg33 vector synth


Sold For: US $333.33