"A loving recreation of the classic OB era poly synths, the OB-X8 is an 8-voice analogue poly synth with the core functionality of the OB-8, with two Oscillators per voice, CEM3320 based 2-pole filter (with OB-X, OB-8, OBXa and SEM configurations), X-Mod , two Envelopes and LFO.
Its intended to be a modern - eg useable without continual servicing required.
Its also the first return for Tom Oberheim to make an instrument under his own name, and in collaboration with Sequential was one of the last projects Dave Smith was involved in.
So it has a lot of legacy. We take a look...."
Launchpad X is our essential 64-pad MIDI grid controller for Ableton Live. It gives you everything you need to make music. Launch, play and perform your sounds and build your tracks using the large, super-sensitive RGB pads, dynamic note and scale modes, and mixer controls. That’s not all, Launchpad X includes sounds, instruments and effects from AAS, Softube, XLN Addictive Keys, and Klevgrand R0Verb and DAW Cassette- plus membership to Novation Sound Collective.
With Launchpad X, you’re only limited by your own imagination.
"Music Technology Discussion with Rob Puricelli, Ben Simpson, Kent Spong and our very special guest, Bob Coover of Groove Synthesis!
This week we're delighted to welcome Bob Coover of Groove Synthesis, a new synth company that launched this year with their debut product, the utterly fascinating, gorgeous sounding and award winning '3rd Wave', an unashamed and unabashed homage to the late, great PPG Wave but with so much more besides. We'll be digging into the the inspiration for this machine, the credentials of those behind it and why wavetable synthesis is currently enjoying a long overdue renaissance!"
"Our Pal Wes takes us for a ride down memory lane with the Volca Sample 2 !
Check out an in-depth look on the blog : https://bit.ly/3LTdSZq
This wonderfully fun little sample sequencing box has been the backbone of many fun jams over the years so today we're shining a spotlight on what Wes claims is
'the best sampler under 200 bones'"
"An excellent Italo dance anthem, composed by Raffaele Riefoli (RAF), Giancarlo Bigazzi and Steve Piccolo, covered here with the arrangements featured on Laura Branigan's version (which includes a lot of DX7 on it). The electric guitar doesn't fit much as on the original song; sounds a bit dimmed on the intro. I should have post produced it a bit more, but just did this on a hurry :)
Gear used:
Roland JP8000 (Slow attack filtered intro chords).
Kurzweil PC1x (Sampled guitar, fill chords, fast attack distorted sound)
Roland JX8P (filtered pad).
Emu Emax 1 (Programmed bell type sound, directly sampled from my DX7, including a second layer for the extra verse).
Backtrack previously recorded, track by track, on Pro Tools. Including Roland TR808 (intro drums with some random miliseconds delay) and a Yamaha DX7 for the bassline.
Peformed here by DX5 Jose Maria Bara."
"This video comes directly from a subscriber comment. I used the Steady State Fate Quantum Rainbow to let you hear & see the different colors (white, pink, red, grey, blue, & purple) of analog noise.
Intro - 0:00
White Noise - 1:33
Pink Noise - 2:10
Red Noise - 2:35
Grey Noise - 3:07
Blue Noise - 3:34
Purple Noise - 3:54"
Modular Gang teams up with KOMA Elektronik to bring you a limited edition Dual Discrete VCA module. Modular Gang Founder Rachel Lyn was inspired by the aesthetics of vintage appliances and early electronic test equipment like the old control room tucked away in Berlin's Kraftwerk building. There is something nostalgic, electric and timeless about analog circuit design and murky pea mint. Big dials, old control room feel and lines to function played a major part in Rachel's inspiration.
For the final touch, Rachel adds a flower LED which will be an individual colour for each module. The flower represents her connection to nature and is a porthole to influence your music making. The flower does not only capture this concept but also that of Flower Power. The belief that war is wrong and that people should love and care for one another. A symbol to promote peace and love as a means of changing the world.
"With the new Firmware V2, COBALT8 is set to unleash even more creativity for musicians, producers and sound designers indulging in classic and contemporary synth sounds in their creative process."
Modal Electronics COBALT8 Firmware v2 Now Available
– Modal Electronics COBALT8 Firmware v2 boosts extended virtual-analogue synthesis with new features and workflow improvements –
Bristol, UK - 30.September 2022. Modal Electronics, a leading global synthesiser manufacturer, has just released an all-new firmware update for their feature-packed COBALT8-Series synthesisers. COBALT8-Series firmware v2 redefines the sound and functionality of Modal Electronics’ extended virtual-analogue synths by adding various new forward-thinking features to inspire the creativity of musicians, producers and sound designers.
New in Firmware v2 With the brand-new Vintage parameter and Oscillator Free Run, COBALT8 adds more vintage and classic synth capabilities. The Vintage setting alters the organic fabric of the advanced virtual-analogue algorithms by emulating the behaviour of vintage synths’ technical imperfections, where certain tuning and other variations were introduced into the sound generation. Oscillator Free Run is a feature known from analogue synthesisers and, when activated, adds to the sonic flexibility of COBALT8. ‘Classic’ Synth sounds are so much more alive with the vintage, and free run parameters ensuring every key press is slightly different than the one before.
A whopping 27 new filter types increase the already impressive arsenal for creative sound design with COBALT8 Firmware v2. The list includes 2-Pole State Variable Filters, various Lowpass, Bandpass and Highpass Ladder Filters with drive, combinations of traditional filter types with Notch characteristics, and much more. The new filters unlock even more classic synth tones and expand COBALT8’s experimental capabilities with the more complex filter outputs to create sounds that no one could imagine before. For all new filter types featuring Drive, the Morph control allows for dialling in the right filter drive amount to taste.
The new Cutoff Scaling patch parameter unlocks improved filter cutoff behaviour with three distinctive modes to increase creative performance and sound design options.
Note-to-Cutoff Scaling can now track with full accuracy in one of two new modes; Relative, and Bipolar. These modes can be tailored to match your preferences on a per-patch basis. The original note-to-cutoff characteristics remain available in Legacy mode.
Additionally, COBALT8 Firmware v2 includes 14 powerful new effects. Harnessing our flexible processing distribution system, some of the new additions harness the power of two effects slots for more sonic power and depth. The V2 Reverb is great for adding a little bit of space to a sound, huge near-infinite reverbs, and everything in-between. Creative sound gourmets will also enjoy the new Phaser v2, Compressor, Three-Band EQ, Unisoniser, Utility and additional Drive effects, giving enough options to give custom patch creations a final, production-ready touch
With the new firmware, the programmable Arpeggiator receives new Arp Directions to inspire musicians and producers. Firmware v3 also improves the capabilities of the OLED display, the Audio In quality, the gain staging of the audio output and much more. For a full list of new Features and Improvements, we recommend the Release Notes, available on the product’s web page.
Firmware v2 is available as a free update via our MODALapp software.
"I made this set for Clownfest 9 online music festival. It took about 2 weeks of solid work to build. There are 4 tracks in total, with completely different hardware being used on each track. Here's a breakdown of the hardware I used:
TRACK 1 Polyend Play (main sequencer) Polyend Tracker Elektron Syntakt ASM Hydrasynth Roland SPD SX Drum Pad 1010 Music Bluebox Mixer
TRACK 2 AKAI Force (main sequencer) Huge, custom Eurorack system
TRACK 3 Elektron Digtakt x2
TRACK 4 Another large, custom Eurorack setup, this one built around the Erica Synths Techno System
(The DJ mixer for tracks 3 & 4 is an Allen and Heath XONE:DB2)
"Vintage 1970s EML Electrocomp 101 Semi-Modular Analog Synth Synthesizer. This one is in average used shape cosmetically - study all pics closely for details. The stickers should be easily removable. Functionally it's in good working order, having been serviced by a qualified tech a few years ago. Since then the main issue is that the calibration has drifted, so that will have to be scaled in order to play standard in 12-tone equal temperament. This should be a relatively straightforward process for a qualified tech. The keys all play smoothly and trigger cleanly/correctly. Note that this is the earlier version without the "SEQ" (aka CV) input, and it doesn't otherwise have any mods to accept standard CV. I'm not aware of any other mods to this unit either. I'm not the original owner, so I don't know the full history of it.
The demo video features some simple demo tracks I produced with this synth awhile back when it was still mostly scaled well. All sounds except drums and police scanner noises are from the EML. I used the trigger input for rhythmic sync with my sequencer, and played the notes manually on the EML keyboard as the sequence ran. After that is a bunch of noodling, some of which I recorded when I created this listing in Sept 2022. It's not very "musical" but will give you a sense of the range of sounds this synth can make. I did very little/basic manual patching for this demo- the range of sounds you can get with manual patching is even more varied."
"ELKA Synthex excellent condition. All original, with original rare stand and super-rare original Elka Synthex road case (wood/steel). Carefully kept at home, no-smoking, first owner, minor signs on wood, perfect panel. 100% working, some years ago was overhauled by Eng. Mario Maggi in person, who also replaced the battery and did an improvement in the final output stage! Local pick-up preferred, in Napoli (Italy).
It has original MIDI."
"Words from the manual. Manual not included. Can be easily downloaded.
Upgradable Sounds: Halo contains a new collection of presets designed for music composition in a wide variety of styles.These sounds are rich in harmonic texture and a perfect complement to the Z-plane filters. Halo contains three additional, user-upgradable sound SIMM sockets, allowing you to mix and match sound sets according to your needs. New sounds can be added as easily as plugging in a new 16MB or 32MB SIMM module. Each sound set has been meticulously crafted to be the finest of its kind. Samples are expertly matched across the keyboard and perfectly looped to create realistic instruments which form the exceptionally playable presets.
1024 Presets & more: Halo contains 512 user presets and 512 factory ROM presets, but it can be expanded with literally thousands of ROM presets. (ROM presets are automatically added when sound SIMMs are installed. As an example, a 32 MB SIMM may contain up to 1024 ROM presets.) Halo’s Sound Navigator makes it easy to find the exact sound you want. It’s powerful, yet simple to use.
"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world's most hated audio tools. Today we are going to talk about the Roland Aira Compact T-8. Is the tiny groovebox a worthy competitor to Korg's iconic Volca range and can it be that Roland is a little late to the party?"
Chapters: 00:00 Intro tune 01:06 Overview Roland Aira Compact T-8 01:19 Drum Sounds, Hidden Sounds 01:54 Mono Synth (TB-303 Emulation) 02:09 FX (Reverb, Delay) 02:24 Sequencer Basics, Accents 02:59 Button Combinations, Menu Diving 03:08 Probability, Sub-Steps (Ratchet), Step Loop 03:31 Hidden Sound Parameters (Snare Snap,...) 03:50 Overdrive (straight from Rotterdam;) 03:59 Sidechain Effect 04:19 Manual 04:27 Limitations 04:52 Portability (Size, Battery, Mix In,...) 05:26 Hate 05:47 Jam 1 06:42 Jam 2 07:45 Finale 08:11 Verdict 09:14 Patreon Vocoder Shoutout
"In this video about Schlappi Engineering's ANGLE GRINDER I demonstrate the different aspects of the module seperately, before throwing it all together in a gritty mayhem of waveshaping and feedback.
ANGLE GRINDER is a versatile piece of gear that can be used to create, shape and mangle audio as well as CV signals. The filter sounds really nice and clean if you back off all the feedback and modulation, but once you start adding the GRIND section to the mix it can produce rich CV controllable distortion. If you use ANGLE GRINDER as a VCO or LFO the linear and exponential FM inputs provide plenty of modulation options. The quadrature LFO outputs can bring life to patches and by adding feedback you can change the shape of the generated sine waves drastically. You can even use ANGLE GRINDER as a make-shift sequencer."
"Playing some piano sequences using #roliblocks #lightpad loaded with #pressurecafe script which sends notes to the iPad loaded with #purepiano and #decentsampler and a few fx. The same midi notes are used to trigger the visuals made with #visualsynthesizer @Imaginando using my preset 'Blinds' that comes with the recent Retina Refill preset pack."
"Between his improvised live performances, sharing his passion and knowledge on modular gear, and his stunning collaborations with the likes of Jon Hopkins, Brian Eno, and Kelly Lee Owens, Cherif Hashizume is a sound explorer in every sense of the phrase. In this interview, we discover his approach to inspiration, his favourite sounds, and his take on V Collection’s reimagined Prophets."
"Finally found some time to create.... its been awhile. Ive been exploring the MPC live drum probabilities (which Ive been asking about for a million years) and the results found their way into a track. I call this Post Ambient Spa Music, enjoy."
