Knobcon 2023 Walk-Through

video upload by The Breathalyzer (Shawn Johnson Music)

Modular Noise Lunchbox Synth - Low-Gain Electronics | 4U Modular Synthesizer

video upload by LowGainElectronics

"Prepping for knobcon getting some demo modules together. Didn’t think I’d have as much fun with this as I did! :) add some reverb we I could drone for days!"

Lunchbox Sequencer self patch - Low-Gain Electronics | 4U Modular

video upload by LowGainElectronics

"Quick self patching of the Lunchbox Sequencer before packing it up for KnobCon 2023!!"

Sequence of Events - Low-Gain Electronics | 4U Modular Sequencer

video upload by LowGainElectronics

"Sequence of Events is just about ready for #knobcon2023 !!"

New muSonics VANILLA 5U Modular Synthesizer Based on the Oberheim SEM w/ KORG MS20 LFO

Overview video upload by manmade madman

"This is an introduction to the Vanilla modular synthesizer by muSonics.
The Vanilla synthesizer is a wholly contained modular synthesizer in 5u/Moog Unit and is inspired by the original Oberheim SEM and Two Voice models. As shown, it has normalled CV/Gate, two oscillators, a multimode SEM filter, two Attack/Decay/Sustain envelopes each with built in VCA's, and an output mixer. There are many points of overdrive and distortion in the signal path, which I think is a great thing.

You can think of this as a modular 'best of' modular Oberheim SEM!

Come see it LIVE and in person at #KnobCon2023

#musonics #modularsynth #oberheim #analogsynth"

John Burdick of Grove Audio has Passed Away

Some sad news in via John L Rice.

We have lost John Burdick of Grove Audio.

via legacy.com

John "Jack" Charles Burdick

Dec. 1, 1948 - March 22, 2023

RACINE - John "Jack" Charles Burdick, 74, passed away on March 22, 2023, at his residence.

Jack was born on December 1, 1948, in Racine to Milton and Frances (nee: Ferguson). After serving in the United States Army, he earned his BA in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin. Jack was a member of the Racine Astronomical Society. He owned and operated Grove Audio in Cottage Grove. In his free time, Jack enjoyed astronomy, computer technology, photography, and music - he worked as a roadie for Jackson Browne and Chick Corea.

He is survived by his brother, Paul (Jeni) Burdick; sisters: Carol (Thomas) Rudey and Susan (Michael) Lambert; nephews: David (Casey) Rudey and Scott Rudey; aunt and uncle, John and Donna Ferguson; and other cousins, family members, and friends.

Jack is preceded in death by his parents, Milton and Frances Burdick.

A public celebration of life will be held in the summer.

In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to the Modine-Benstead Observatory in care of the Racine Astronomical Society.

Some pics of Grove Audio at Knobcon last year via their last post on Facebook on September 21, 2022 with the following:

"Knobcon Ten was a great event, once again. Thanks to all the people who made it the largest show in Knobcon history. Several friends dropped by the Grove Audio booth to see what we have new for this year. We emphasized new modules for 5U as part of a renewed effort to build the popular format. This effort also includes accessories to support new systems such as power supplies, cables, and cabinet options."


And a video with John from Synthtopia at Knobcon in 2018:

Grove Audio Expands Its 5U & Eurorack Modular Lines
video upload by Synthtopia

"At Knobcon 2018, we talked with John Burdick of Grove Audio, who makes a range of MOTM-compatible, Dotcom-compatible and Eurorack synth modules."

See teh Grove Audio label for additional posts.

Jim Coker of Numerology - Live Rig/Compositional Process

video upload by Under the Big Tree

"Jim Coker, founder of Five12 and the inventor of the Numerology and Vector sequencers, is also a performing electronic musician. We catch up with Jim at Knobcon 22, and talk about his latest work, "Meridian Alpha From the Distant Shores of Cygnus X1". We gain insight into both his compositional process and his elaborate live rig, which uses both Numerology and Vector.

This video is best seen after seeing Jim's piece [video below]

• Meridian Alpha --...

And for more information about Jim's fine products, please go to: http://five12.net

Under the Big Tree is Nicolas Peck's YouTube channel, focused on esoteric electronic music, modular and vintage synthesizers, sound design equipment and techniques, and the composition, production and performance of music.

http://www.underthebigtree.com"

Meridian Alpha -- From The Distant Shores of Cygnus X-1

video upload by

Knobcon 2022 Videos by Under the Big Tree

video uploads by Under the Big Tree
Looks like I missed these when they initially went up.

Playlist:
1. 1010 Music Fireball and Lemondrop Nanoboxes | Knobcon 2022

Steve Joslin of 1010 Music takes us on a test drive of the amazing Fireball and Lemondrop Nanobox synthesizers. Small but mighty, these synths take up very little room while delivering a lot of bang for the buck.

2. New Buchla Music Easel | Knobcon 2022

Nick Kwas of Buchla shows us the brand new and improved Music Easel, slated for release by the end of the year.

3. Knobcon 2022 Walkthrough

I'm in Chicago for Knobcon 2022, one of the finest synth conventions in North America. For those who are interested but could not attend, I did a simple walkthrough of the exhibit hall.

4. Therevox ET-5 | Knobcon 2022

We talk to Mike Beauchamp of Therevox about their new model ET-5.

Based on the Ondes Martenot, the ET-5 is an exotic and beautiful instrument, capable of vocal-sounding melody lines, as well as ambient drones and even noisy sounds. Truly fascinating.

5. Five12 QV-L Quad Variable LFO | Knobcon 2022

We talk to Five12 founder Jim Coker at Knobcon 2022 about his upcoming Eurorack quad LFO. The QV-L is an incredibly feature-rich module with four LFO's. Two OLED displays and in-depth configurability with a streamlined user interface make this module a true LFO powerhouse.

Quincas Moreira Live at Knobcon X

video upload by Synth Diy Guy

"I opened Knobcon 2022 with this short modular performance.
(Thanks STG!)"

Knobcon 22: Artisan Electronics Iliad Four Voice Or More

video upload by sonicstate

"Based on the Nucelus voice card - 3 osc, 8pole multimode filter, 4 LFOs 4 Envelopes, the Iliad is a four voice poly (expandable up to 16).
Each voice has a single analog, plus two digital Osc with wavefolding and many other modulation points.
Its still in development and we weren't able to hear much of it today. There are demos of the Nucleus available (and you can buy it) on the @Mike @ Artisan channel
The Iliad is going to be built to order (he thinks around 20 units a year).
The four voice base setup will be around $3400 with and extra $400 a voice."

See the Artisan and Knobcon labels below for more.

Knobcon 22: Catalyst Audio Tube VCO, Noise, Mixer, VCF and VCA

video upload by sonicstate

"Catalyst Audio have a couple of tube based modules: VCO, Noise Source, Mixer, Filter and VCA.
The VCO and noise source actually use tubes to create the sound rather than 'warm them up'.
The VCO has a pair of tubes, one for each side of the wave which gives some interesting configurations of waveforms, with wave folding and PWM, plus a feedback path that adds some unique resonant shapes.

The noise source has a number of noise sources, with the option to tune the noise to sound a little like a fiilterbank (to my ears).

The Mixer uses a tube to add drive at the output stage.
They are aiming to be ready to ship by Jan/Feb 2023 - price tbc.
https://www.catalystaudio.com/"

Knobcon 22: Kanawha Divide Down Organ in Eurorack

video upload by sonicstate

"Kanawha music build pipe organs but the market ain't what it used to be (apparently) so now they are turning their attention to poly Eurorack modules. Using divide down technology from transistor organs. Its called the Long Division Tone Module

This means they have complete polyphony., if you want a regular pure organ sound then this is the module for you. they also have a module called 48 gates that will give you 48 separate gate outputs for triggering solenoids, or drum triggers or whatnot.
Yeah its niche, but its interesting.

http://kanawhamusic.com/"

This is the first post to feature Kanawha Music.



Playlist: KM&A Long Division Module introduction

The "formal" introduction of the new Long Division organ/piano Eurorack module.

Xenakis- Evryali (excerpt)

This is a MIDI file from the internet played back on the Long Division tone module in Piano mode. This demonstrates how the module can deal with large clumps of notes- since there's no limit on the number of notes in can play at once no notes drop out. (They DO drop out at some points because the score goes beyond the 61 notes of an organ/synth keyboard- the original music was written for piano.) The sound from the module was sent straight into the camera with to processing or effects.

Long Division Module- Organ and piano tones

Here we have the Long Division module busting a move with some Hammond-ish sounds and piano tones. The sound from the module is going straight in to the camera with no processing of any kind.

Introducing the Long Division Tone Module: the first completely polyphonic Eurorack module using 100% analog divide-down tone generation.

The Long Division tone module has features not found elsewhere:

12 independent and free running oscillators, one for each note of the scale

Built in vibrato with speed and depth controls

Choice or organ or piano sustain

Tone Control

Variable release time

Tone and tuning CV inputs

100% analog tone generation

Plug and play operation

All 61 notes available all the time!

48 Gates Demo- KM & A

video upload by cnagorka

"A brief demonstration of our second module, 48 Gates. It's just a big bunch of gates."

48 GATES- 48 heavy duty 12V outputs to run solenoids, relays, LEDs, whatever you like.

48 GATES- it’s nothing but a big bunch of outputs, 48 of ’em, ready to activate anything you like, with standard heavy duty 12V outputs, logic level 5V available as a no cost option.

So…what do you with this thing? Here are a few ideas:

Run a looped 48 note chromatic sequence, and have 48 individual time slots for drum machines or other pattern making sounds. Don’t like the timing on one position? Move it over one for slight timing adjustments.

Make some LED plugs and create a fantastic dot matrix display which an easily be read across a room.

Activate solenoids, relays, small motors, whatever you like, and “play” them from any MIDI source.

Knobcon 22: Madisynths Frequency Central Acropoli

video upload by sonicstate

"Madisynths is a Reverb store and has a couple of new Frequency Central Modules:
Acropoli Sequencer with clock division used in a performative way, changing division on the fly, dropping in CV melody tracks.
Gate mode, scale mode are both CV controllable too, leading to a lot of creative options. There's only a couple in stock for now, but in the next 4-6weeks they will be coming in in larger numbers priced at $299.

https://reverb.com/shop/madisynths"

Knobcon 22: Circuit Happy Missing Link News

video upload by sonicstate

"Its true that the part shortage has made the original Missing Link Ableton Live Link to Modular Clock device difficult to make but, Ed has been working on some new designs to ensure the next desktop device - the Missing Link Jr. will be coming soon - however the Eurorack ML-2 is available and can still interface with your modular clock wirelessly from your Ableton session.

https://circuithappy.com/"

Not to be confused with Jabrudian Industries The Missing Link

Knobcon 22: STG Soundlabs muSonics and MooSonics and 902 VCA

video upload by sonicstate

"STG Soundlabs make 5U modular amongst other things, they are also behind the Knobcon event itself.
We spoke to Moot Booxle about the the muSonics modules - starting with a VCA based on the Moog 902, and also the MooSonics - which is a budget more DIY range with PCB panels available as DIY kits first, then prebuilt later."

Knobcon 22: Therevox ET-5 new Features

video upload by sonicstate

"Therevox has had some changes since we last spoke to them at knobcon 6, the ET5 is based on the Ondes Martinot, which is an expressive early electronic instrument.
Therevox have been finessing the design, adding a patch bay, a longer keybed, and keyboard pressure. There's also a great new way to play the 2 oscillators in a more duophonic style, and the sliders can be assigned to most front panel controls

These are hand built and there is a waiting list. priced at $2950"

Knobcon 22: Polyend Play

video upload by sonicstate

"Introduced this year at Superbooth, Polyend Play is a 64 step MIDI/Sample sequencer with some features borrowed from the Polyend Tracker. As well as grid based sequencing, you can edit repeats, chance as well as many other sample parameters, or put a different sample on each step within a track if you prefer.

Its available now at most music retailers priced at £699, $799"

Check with the dealers on the right.

Knobcon 22: Nifty Modular Widgets from Tidbit Audio

video upload by sonicstate

"Tidbit Audio make passive utilities, attenuators, mult-switches, switches and other nifty things to use in your modular setup. And the cool thing is that they don't take up any HP. Some can be fed with CV to power in built electronics to provide a variety of widgets, doodads and sound generators.
Really cool. And they make some cool specialist microphones as well.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/TidbitAudio"

Knobcon 22: Buchla Music Easel - Nearly Ready!

video upload by sonicstate

"The new Buchla Easel has taken a while to come to fruition but its now in production and will be available to purchase real soon, says Marc Doty.

Extra functions have been added while keeping with the Buchla tradition. The case is now more suitcase shaped, but includes the Music Box Input Output module and made it more accessible. They added mixer, slew generator, voltage control, CV and gate and USB connections too.

We also looked at the Program Manager which allows for some recall of presets with a screen for preset names.

The 218 keyboard is also updated, better grounding, clean power for better control, a new strip with CV output for additional control, pulse output, reset button to set the capacitance.

All in all its a more powerful instrument, without a significant change in price.

Release date and price TBC. (around $4k)"

Knobcon 22: PWM Malevolent Now in US Stores

video upload by sonicstate

"We've looked at the PWM Malevolent synth here for Sonic LAB and enjoyed the character and grime of this new instrument.

Now PWM is officially launched in the US with distributors and are currently on the water, and will be in the stores in a week or so.

Malevolent is a two oscillator analog synth with some heavy drive circuitry made in conjunction with Finlay Shakespeare of Future Sound Systems, using a Sallen-Key filter.

Available soon at good US synthesizer retailers priced at $549"