Hawkeye - SID Love (C64 8580 Stereo, Mutable Instruments Anushri)

Published on Nov 30, 2016 Maelstroem3

"Hola,
as recently requested by my YouTube friend KATOD_music (also a C64 SID nut :-)), here is a track that focuses again on the sound of the Commodore C64 SIDs. The synth in the upper left (red backlit knobs) houses eight 8580 SIDs in a DIY MB6582 synthesizer in four separate engines/channels, only a single stereo channel with two SIDs is used (lead stereo sweep starting at around 00:30).

Also featuring a Mutable Instruments Anushri (percussive arpeggio, right at the beginning), the Moog Little Phatty (dirty bassline, made with the LP through a DIY Polivoks filter and a Strymon Timeline delay) and an Elektron Machinedrum for percussion.

The session was recorded live, directly from the bare metal (Mackie 1604 mixer into Tascam WAV recorder) and was only slightly compressed in post-production and aligned to the video, no DAW necessary because of the fantastic MIDIbox MBSEQ V4 sequencer :-).

Hope you enjoyed it!
Thanks for watching and listening!
Hawkeye/Maelstroem"

Metropolis (intro)

Published on Nov 18, 2016 Andrew Scheidler

"Working on another Kraftwerk cover. This is the Ambika (3 voices) and the modular ('plonk') sequenced by the MIDIBOX."

Hawkeye - Fuel (dawless live Kawai K5000, Roland V-Synth, Alesis A6)

Published on Oct 18, 2016 Maelstroem3

"Hey, had a little fun with some samples from an old car information system - 1980s era - this reminds me of childhood and i especially love the modulation on the "door is *open*" sample. Man, you forgot to close it! Bad driver! :-)

All was recorded live directly to a 2-channel tascam .wav recorder, just added a little bit of compression after recording. No DAW was abused!

Gear in use:
* Roland V-Synth for sample and slight sample manipulation
* overexcessive use of a Strymon Big Sky
* Kawai K5000r for additive pad stuff in the middle section, modulating the harmonic spectrum with the K5000 datawheel :)
* Alesis A6 with a slightly over-time-detuned (yes, this was intentional) lead
* FS1r for the first FM-bassline
* Little Phatty through DIY Polivoks for the second bassline
* E-MU Ultra and Elektron Machinedrum for drums
* all sequenced by the almighty MIDIbox SEQ v4, thanks to Thorsten Klose, this sequencer allows so many people to go completely DAWless and have fun without pushing a mouse :-)

Thanks for watching and listening, hope you had some fun!
Hawkeye/Maelstroem Records"

Hawkeye - DAWless (first person synth perspective)

Published on Jul 26, 2016 Maelstroem3

"...presenting a completely DAW-less jam :-), only using the left hand to control patterns and synths - the right hand is holding the cam, so you see some first person synth perspective ;-).

I will try to put in some Youtube video text overlays to tell you what is going on... :-)

Gear used:
Alesis Andromeda - Lead Sequence #1
Commodore 64 SIDs in a MB6582 - Lead Sequence #2
Yamaha FS1r - Bass Sequence #1
Moog Little Phatty through Polivoks VCF - Bass Sequence #2
E-MU Ultra - Drums (unfiltered)
E-MU ESI 2000 through Schippmann Ebbe und Flut (drums - filtered)
HAMEG 80s Oscilloscope (Ebbe und Flut filtered drums view)
MIDIbox Sequencer V4 - patterns, unmuting/muting action

Hope you liked it and thanks for watching and listening!
Hawkeye/Maelstroem Records"

PRINZTRONIX - Pressing Buttons Released on VHS & Digital Download

PRINZTRONIX - Pressing Buttons (poached resistor mix)

Published on Jun 23, 2016 prinztronix

via supporting MATRIXSYNTH member, PRINZTRONIX.

"First single from the forthcoming album. [details here: http://prinztronix.com/new-single-out-now-2/]

Released as a VHS Video Single on TIEP http://tiep.biz/011-2/

Sample: Interview with Thor Heyerdahl by Ulrike Arnold, Tenerife 1996. Used with permission.

The Norwegian government has decided that as the first country in the world, they will close the FM radio broadcast in 2017. As a tribute, this single is composed on a FM synthesizer transmitted and recorded over the FM radio band.

The FM synth is a MIDIbox FM, the sequencer is a MIDIbox SEQ V4"

MIDIBOX Sequencer V4 - Note Track Basics #5 - Arpeggiator Intro

Published on Jul 13, 2016 Andrew Scheidler

"More demo/tutorial on the MIDIBox Sequencer I built.
Basics of using the arpeggiator in a note track.
Huge thanks to Thorsten Klose for designing the greatest sequencer ever :-)"

All parts here.

MIDIBox Sammich Sid Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"It is in MINT like new shape, barely ever used it. Still has protective plastic over the screen. Includes two of the famous MOS 8580 SID chips. 100% fully functional. Sounds awesome but I have decided to let go of some synths since I don't have much time for the studio these days. It includes power supply. This is an amazing chiptune style synth, and in my opinion sounds better with more option controls than the Elektron Sidstation. Hard to find one in such nice shape. Note: Sid synths do have background hums / tones / notes on some patches, this is completely normal and due to the nature of the sid chips. Power supply works worldwide but has 2-prong USA style plug. Don't miss out!"

CLICK FOR MORE »

MIDIBox Sequencer V4 - Part 4 - Note Track Parameters & Triggers

Published on Jul 7, 2016 Andrew Scheidler

"More demo/tutorial on the MIDIBox Sequencer I built.
How to change & use the parameters and triggers available in the tracks.
Huge thanks to Thorsten Klose for designing the greatest sequencer ever :-)"

All parts here.

Hawkeye - 985 Kilohertz (C64 SID vs E-MU E6400 Ultra)

Published on May 15, 2016 Maelstroem3

"This track title was inspired by the CPU frequency of the PAL Commodore 64. And what an awesome machine it is! 35 years later, we have about a million times more processing power, but has the software really become any better? :-) Back then, endless hours of tuning assembly loops, squeezing a few milliseconds out of display routines. Nowadays, we just buy newer hardware, if something is running a bit slow... and after 4K with already nearly invisible pixels 5K already awaits :-). Yes, it has been a great journey, but the beginnings were no less awesome than the current day is.

Regarding the live session: I only had the left hand available for track selection and synth action, because i held the camera in the right hand :-). Therefore, and as i am not left-handed, please forgive any strange timings or mistakes (i once accidentally flipped through the SID filter modes, but it somehow worked out :-))

Filmed with a Panasonic GH-2, the main polysynth jam loop is from an Alesis A6, the main melody is from a pair of 8580 SIDs placed in a MIDIbox SID. Drums by an E-MU E6400 Ultra (that was a bit hardware-hacked to show an oscilloscope view :-)). Secondary leads by the Ensoniq ESQ-M and the Yamaha FS1r. Bassline by a Moog LP through a DIY Polivoks VCF, all sequenced by the fantastic MIDIbox SEQ.

Hope you enjoyed this session and thanks for watching and listening.
Many greets,
Hawkeye / Maelstroem Records"

Pads and Encoders

Published on Mar 5, 2016 latigid on

"Quick demo of an illuminated encoder grid and 4*4 button pad. Several boards (at least four) can be chained together."

Imagine Waldorf/MidiBox semi-translucent knob caps over these. That would be pretty cool. They were suggested for the upcoming MidiBox MBProgramma just posted below.

Quick and dirty BLM demo

Published on Jun 21, 2015

"MIDIbox SEQ V4 with BLM extension. All sounds are produced by a sammichFM."

New Midibox MBProgramma Hardware Synth Patch Programmer in the Works

This one was shared on the excellent Rhodes Chroma list. It's a 64-encoder knob box with LED rings. Each encoder is dynamically labelled using a small but crisp 128*64 OLED display. It is currently in the development phase so no date on when it might be available and of course features & implementation are likely to change over time. MidiBox projects are also usually DIY, so not sure if this will be available as a finished product or only in kit form.

You'll find the project page here. The following is the first intro post via Hawekeye in the MidiBox forums:

"Jojjelito and myself are currently collaborating on a bigger MIDIboxNG project, that should help facilitate patch programming for all those synth users, that are unhappy with the bad/minimalistic user interfaces of their rack and keyboard synths, especially when programming new patches. This project was planned for years and never took shape...

But, thanks to TK., MIDIboxNG came to the rescue!

Its codebase has all of the needed functionality integrated in a very generic way, allowing to do so many things!

So... why this project, additionally?

CLICK FOR MORE »

Midibox MB6582 V2 Wilba analog synth 8 x 6582 SID chips

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

via the seller:

"Midibox MB6582 V2 in fantastic condition. Built by me under the guidance of a much respected member of the Midibox community. This MIdibox was completed around 2011 and works reliably, 100% as intended and has been in my smoke free studio ever since and only used a handful of times.

Contains 4 x Midibox cores and runs up to 8 x SID chips (INCLUDED) to achieve 4 stereo SID pairs that can be run in unison, multitimral & Superpoly modes among others
The 8 6582A SIDs are from the original Wilba NOS group buy and are authentic 6582A ICs
Case is red anodised etched aluminium by Julian 'The Beast' UK with matching rear panel
A super quiet case fan has been installed in the rear for cooling and can be internally disconnected if needed (including the fan was a bit of a joke on Wilba's part and it's not really essential if the noise bothers you)
Control surface parts were sourced via Wilba's original group buy
All build decisions are based on the MB6582 build wiki
Flat top LED for clean faceplate look
Commodore C64 power supply to be shipped with the unit (US or Japan 110v buyers may decide to opt to not have the PSU shipped as it's quite heavy and could be sourced locally).

I am happy to ship internationally but buyer pays exact shipping charge and will be verified after close of bidding. Local inspection is always welcome. Happy bidding!

For more info or detailed specifications: [link]"

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Hawkeye - Mnemonic Mantra (C64 SID vs Ensoniq ESQ-1)

Published on Jan 28, 2016 Maelstroem3

"A late night live session with a pair of C64 SIDs (8580) and their spiritual successor, the Ensoniq ESQ-1/ESQ-m. Both synthesis engines feature three oscillators per voice, the ESQ-1 offers more waveforms, improved envelopes and modulation possibilities and an increased audio quality.

Bob Yannes (the creator of the SID and founder of Ensoniq) once stated, that he (given he would have had the time and resources) would have liked to put the ESQ1 architecture instead of the SID sound architecture into the C64. In a parallel universe, this has probably happened, hehe :-).

Used tech:
* MB6582 - DIY SID synthesizer by midibox.org with 8 SID chips, fully MIDI controlled for the chip arpeggios
* Ensoniq ESQ-m - rack mounted ESQ-1 for the lead
* Moog Little Phatty for the bassline
* Alesis Andromeda for the poly synth pad
* EMU E-SI 2000/4000 for the drums
* MBSEQ V4 - DIY MIDI sequencer for live sequencing this track. Pattern changes, filter sweeps and evelope adjustments are performed in realtime :-)
* no DAW was used or abused, directly recorded to a Tascam WAV recorder, only slight compression added afterwards :)

Thanks for watching and listening, hope you enjoyed it! :-)
Many greets,
Hawkeye/Maelstroem Records"

Hawkeye - Hardware Synthetic (live Alesis Andromeda vs E-MU ESI 4000)

Published on Nov 23, 2015 Maelstroem3

"A new synthpop voyage featuring...

* MBSEQ V4 for live sequencing
* Alesis Andromeda (retro bass)
* Yamaha FS1r (popcorn-style lead)
* Kawai K5000r (secondary lead)
* Moog Little Phatty through Polivoks VCF (deep bass)
* E-MU ESI 4000 (sequenced drums)

...directly recorded live from the bare metal - no DAW was abused! :-)

Hope you enjoyed it!
Many greets and thanks for watching and listening!
Hawkeye/Maelstroem Records"

MIDIbox SEQ V4 and BLM16x16+X New Case Demo

Published on Oct 28, 2015 ucapps

"This video is a tribute to Andy aka. Latigid On who created a sophisticated PCB and Case which finally (after more than 5 years!) allows to build a BLM16x16+X for their MIDIbox SEQ V4.

Further details in the MIDIbox Forum: http://midibox.org/forums/forum/43-mi..."

MIDIBox Sequencer V4 - Part 3 - Note Tracks & Transpose

Published on Oct 23, 2015 Andrew Scheidler

"More demo/tutorial on the MIDIBox sequencer I built.
Creating some tracks with multi-note 'Note' tracks and transposing them. Uses techniques covered in previous videos.
Huge thanks to Thorsten Klose for designing the greatest sequencer ever :-)"

All parts here.

MIDIbox Stereo SID Synth

Published on Oct 15, 2015 prinztronix

"MIDIbox Stereo SID synth with Feedback mod.
2 x MOS 8580R5 'SID chips'
Cased in an old Commodore Plus/4 computer case.

All sounds from this synth.

DIY info at http://ucapps.de/

Thanks to Bob for the SID
Thanks to TK for MIDIbox"

MIDIbox MB6582 SID Synth

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"This has 8 x 8580 Chips installed. It's fully tested and working 100% as it should."

CLICK FOR MORE »

[techdemo] MB6582 test: 8x 6581 C64 SIDs, multiple engines in live use

Published on Aug 17, 2015 Maelstroem3

"Disclaimer: this is not a proper musical track, it is just a quick function test and a highly repetitive demo, with focus on parameter changes - just to see, if all encoders, switches and LEDs work well, and to test, if multiple MBSID engines can be controlled in a live session from the frontpanel.

This MB6582 is for sale (and it is already currently reserved for a MIDIbox forum member). It is my secondary unit, am of course keeping my first MB6582. I just don't have enough space for it... and 16 SIDs in one studio might be considered overkill. :-)

Listen with headphones for optimum SID induction! :-)

This synth has eight classic 6581 SIDs in four MBSID hardware engines with four independent 6.3mm stereo outs. Three of these four engines were tested in parallel in this run:

* Bassline Engine (MBSID engine 1) run through a Strymon Timeline delay, sequenced by the MBSID onboard bassline sequencer (which is awesome!) - it allows for two parallel basslines per engine/SID stereo pair - one running from top to bottom, one running from left to right (see matrix view) - and they are routed to the left/right stereo outputs of that engine.

* Lead engine (MBSID engine 2) sequence externally added via MBSEQ, the rest of the sequences are from the onboard MB6582 sequencers (drums + bassline). You would not need a DAW or external sequencer for this kind of jam session. The Lead engine output is also run through the Strymon Timeline.

* Drum engine (SID engine 4) muted and unmuted via mixer, run through a Schippmann Ebbe & Flut filter/compressor/distortion unit.

All sounds produced only by the 6581s (production years 1983/1984), only 2 external FX units used.

The signal to noise ratio is not super good on the 30+ year old SIDs, but you can add noise gates or filter the higher frequencies via EQ, external lowpass filter or even with the SID inbuilt lowpass filters...

If you listen to this track with headphones, you will notice not-too-bad noise levels, even though only a single noisegate was used on the drum engine outputs (inbuilt in the Ebbe and Flut FX). The still remaining high-frequency noise could be quite easily filtered with a low-pass filter, but i was lazy :-).

Imho, the gritty 6581 SIDs are ideal for dirty 8-bit drums and basslines, enjoy the filtersweep @ 5:15! :-).

Many greets and thanks for watching and listening!
Hawkeye/Maelstroem Records"

MIDIBox Sequencer V4 - Part 2 - Note Track Basics

Part 2 added to this post.