MATRIXSYNTH: Stocking Stuffers

Showing posts with label Stocking Stuffers. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Christmas Alien dancing UFO MR. Bungle Devo Yo Gabba Gabba

YouTube via KasioKristmas www.KasioKristmas.com
"Only Casio instruments were used in this experimental, electronic recording."

Christmas Freakout with circuit bent Aliens Yo Gabba Gabba & Devo

"Kasio Kristmas 5.1 Surround Sound DVD Trailer. Visual Accompaniments that bounce and pulsate to the frequencies within the songs. www.KasioKristmas.com"

Circuit Bending Lo Fi 8-Bit Christmas songs Video Games Yo Gabba Gabba

Monday, November 23, 2009

$49 Bliptronic 5000 LED Synthesizer from ThinkGeek

YouTube via thinkgeek
"Need a quick and dirty sequencer, or a fun and simple instrument with which to noodle? Bliptronic 5000 is here! http://thinkgeek.com/c4e1"

"Retro Musical Droid Arrives... from the Future

If HAL 9000 mated with R2-D2 and their electronic offspring was tutored by Kraftwerk it would probably end up something like the Bliptronic 5000 LED Synthesizer.

At once a minimalist musical plaything and a hardcore old-skool synthesizer, the Bliptronic defies categorization as it belts out 8-Bit style style tunes from its grid of glowing buttons.

You'll notice sound similar to a retro Casiotone with an interface not unlike a simplified Yamaha TENORI-ON... if that makes any sense. Either way, once you start touching the keys of the Bliptronic you'll be hooked by it's simple pattern-based approach to music.
close-up

Bliptronic Philosophy... in Regards to Music
In the world of the Bliptronic, creating a song revolves around an ever evolving 4-beat pattern. Each row of vertical buttons represents the notes in one octave. Push a button to turn on a note, push the button again to turn off a note. Push multiple buttons in one vertical row to make a chord. The Bliptronic plays whatever you have selected in sequence horizontally across the display. When it reaches the end of the pattern, it repeats. The genius comes as you modify the pattern by turning notes on and off while the pattern is still looping to create evolving electronic melodies.
playing in a group

Knobs and Buttons, There are Some
In addition to the grid of glowing LED buttons you'll notice some other controls on the Bliptronic. These allow you to set the tempo (From 60-160 BPM), choose the instrument (From 8 different retro-synth type sounds), adjust the volume and turn looping on or off. A big "play" button at the bottom makes the Bliptronic uh... play. If you hit it again it stops. Yep.
looks stylish

The Bliptronic is a Social Butterfly
One Bliptronic is grand, but more Bliptronics are even grander. An infinite number of Bliptronics can be attached together using the link ports and included cables. When one Bliptronic reaches the end of it's pattern, the next Bliptronic is instantly triggered to start playing. This allows you to make longer songs where each person controls a section of the song. You can even set the tempo and instrument differently on each Bliptronic in the chain to achieve unconventional musical results.
chained together

Product Features
* Unusual retro synthesizer is played with a grid of glowing buttons
* Create looping patterns and change them dynamically while playing
* Chain multiple units together and create more complex melodies
* One octave range. 8 notes can be played simultaneously
* 8 different old-skool synth sounding instruments to choose from
* Sounds created using FM waveform synthesis
* Set the BPM (beats per minute) from 60 to 180 in 20 BPM increments
* Built in speaker with headphone jack and line-out jack
* Front panel is constructed from brushed aluminum
* Includes, manual and 2 link cables for connecting additional Bliptronic units
* Requires 4 x AA batteries (not included)"

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

2010 Bob Moog Foundation Calendar

In case you attempted to purchase a 2010 Bob Moog Foundation Calendar and were unable to, the calendar is now available for purchase on the Bob Moog Foundation online store. Details at my previous post.

Note: you'll find some groovy Ts and other swag at the online store as well. All great stocking stuffers!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Announcing the 2010 Bob Moog Foundation Calendar

via The Bob Moog Foundation.

This would make a great stocking stuffer.

"The Bob Moog Foundation has created a calendar celebrating the rich history of the Moog Legacy through vintage photos, memorabilia, quotes and information taken directly from Bob’s archive. The photos trace pivotal moments in Bob’s early career and highlight many musicians and pioneers who inspired his work. Throughout the calendar, which is laden with images of early Moog instruments, Bob’s thoughts and philosophies about his work are shared in an effort to give greater understanding to his history and path; his was one of collaboration, listening and absolute dedication to musician’s needs.

The calendar is comprised of five photos of Moog himself, taken from 1958-1974. The remaining photos are of:
* Leon Theremin
* Vladimir Ussachevsky
* Herb Deutsch
* Keith Emerson
* Paul Beaver and Bernie Krause
* Isao Tomita
* Joel Chadabe
* Roger Powell

The calendar was designed by graphics artist Rose Hecht in collaboration with the Bob Moog Foundaton. Through her designs, Rose pays hommage to the original Moog modular synthesizer as the instrument that spawned an industry and radically changed the face of popular music. The background of every page touts panels of knobs and patchbays — images taken from photos of an early modular that was used in Moog’s shop in the 60s. That instrument is one of the many priceless items in Moog’s archives.

The calendar is available for purchase on our online store. All proceeds go to fund our ongoing projects, including the preservation of the archives."

"What a beautiful, informative, and intricately detailed document the 2010 Bob Moog Foundation Calendar is! The rarely — if ever before — seen photos are outstanding, so much so that in 2011 I may extract and frame many of them for my studio walls. On second thought, the calendar as a whole will end up in my archives; I promise no scissors will ever touch it. Also extremely cool and drool-worthy are the Moog Modular images in the background. Well done! I can hardly wait for the 2011 edition." -- Mark Vail

Update: In case you attempted to purchase a 2010 Bob Moog Foundation Calendar and were unable to, the calendar is now available for purchase on the Bob Moog Foundation online store.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Synths in TV and Film

Note: some of the videos below have been pulled from YouTube, but I'm keeping mention of them up as a reference that they are out there.

Let the page load before scrolling - it's a long one.
Be sure to see the Synth Movies list and see the Synth Movies and Synth TV and Film labels for more.

1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Synths: ARP 2500 played by Phillip Dodds, head of ARP Engineering, Yamaha CS-?.

2. Fame Synths: ARP 2600, MOOG Minimoog

CLICK FOR MORE »

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Synth Movies

Be sure to see Synths in TV and Film for videos and pics.

Deconstructing Dad - Raymond Scott

OHM: The Early Gurus of Electronic Music (2005)

Moog (2004)

Tangerine Dream Live at Coventry Cathedral 1975 (2007)

Modulations: Cinema for the Ear (1998)

Better Living Through Circuitry (1999)

Oxygene: Live In Your Living Room (3D version here)

Et la tendresse?... Bordel!

Liquid Sky on IMDB
Liquid Sky on Ebay
Liquid Sky on Amazon

via synthetic in the comments of this post: "Neil Diamond's "The Jazz Singer" was on cable a few days ago and the synth player was rockin' an ARP Quadra. I think I saw a String Ensemble in there too. The last concert scene, "Fahhh, we've been travelin' faaahhh..."