How the TRON Music was made

video upload by Alex Ball

"Back by popular demand, another filmscore breakown. This time we look at Wendy Carlos' 1982 score to Tron.

0:00 Intro
0:49 Wendy Carlos
2:04 Tron - The Instruments
4:44 The Recording Rig
6:39 Cue Breakdown - Tron Theme
9:10 Cue Breakdown - Tron Scherzo
10:22 Cue Breakdown - We've Got Company
11:40 Use of Choir
12:49 Other Music
13:46 Summary & Thanks

Wendy Carlos official page: https://www.wendycarlos.com/+tron.html

D.A Wilson: https://hideawaystudio.net/
Synergenesis: https://hideawaystudio.net/2014/09/26..."

Bontempi Master HB 404 - Full Review

video upload by Vykaar Tones

[Update: moved this up as the embed was broken. Sorry about that. It should be good now. BTW, if you ever notice a broken video, leave a comment at the bottom of the post (comment link if coming off the main page) and I'll look into it. No login is required.]

"The HB 404 is the smallest model of the Master series from 1984 and the successor of the Minstrel Alfa. It has 40 mid-sized keys, 8 note polyphony, 6 sounds with sustain and single finger orchestra, 6 hythms, arpeggio and 2 chord modes.

Support this channel and buy a song or album on Bandcamp: https://keenonkeys.bandcamp.com

0:00 Intro
2:29 History
13:57 A Look Inside
18:11 Sounds
23:57 Rhythms
31:31 Conclusion
32:02 Successors
35:16 Final Performance

Listen to some tracks on Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/user-229361059"

GEM WS2 WS400 video manuale utente

video upload by VSMI - Vintage Synths Made in Italy

A history of synthesizers with Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio | Art Works

video upload by ABC Arts

"Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio (MESS) holds the largest collection of electronic instruments in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s home to 1400 synthesizers, drum machines and other electronic making equipment.

We zeroed in on two synthesizers in particular, the ARP 2600, which provided the iconic voice of R2-D2 in Star Wars, and the Fairlight CMI, which was made in Australia and changed synthesizer history."

You can find additional posts featuring the Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio here.

Norman McLaren's hand-drawn sounds

video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"Scottish-Canadian animator Norman McLaren developed a technique of painting onto the optical soundtrack area of the film negatives of his animations.

The shapes would then make drones and buzzes when played through a special type of projector. He used the technique to create experimental soundtracks to his animations.

It's similar to Daphne Oram's technique of turning shapes into sound – though hers, which she called Oramics, was more complex, with dedicated machines that read shapes on the entire area of the 35mm film, rather than just the little strip that contains the soundtrack.

You can see the results in the third video above, an extract from McLaren's film 'Dots', which employs the technique.

McLaren – born in Scotland in 1914 – worked for the British Post Office's film unit until around 1939, when he moved to New York, then to Canada in 1941, where he produced animations for the National Film Board, before setting up an animation studio at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal and the Ontario College of Art.

There he produced around 70 films, much of it highly experimental and strange. He died in 1987 aged 72."

This also reminds me of the Optigan.

Norman McLaren is mentioned in this book: Vector Synthesis: a Media Archaeological Investigation into Sound-Modulated Light

Punchcard synths at the Seimens studio in 1967

video upload by

Click the CC in the player controls on the bottom right for subtitles.

"The electronic music studio of the Siemens company in Munich in 1967, one of the first private electronic music studios in the world. Programming electronic music back then was a complex process that involved punch cards and maths. On the plus side, there were lots of gorgeous dials to turn and Bakelite switches to play with.

The Seimens studio was set up in 1958 and used until 1968. The studio initially created “musique concrète” but later explored purely electronic works, with engineers building equipment specifically for this task. I’ve seen it said that vocoders – which were invented during World War II to encrypt voice messages – were first used in music production at this lab.

The first major work produced here was the soundtrack to a documentary called 'Impulse of our Time' ('Impuls Unserer Zeit') directed by Otto Martini. After this, the studio was rented out to radio stations for compositions and sound effects, and composers were also invited to use the equipment. Karlheinz Stockhausen was one prestigious guest who used the studio, but there were many others. But really, the studio was a showpiece for Siemens and a chance for them to test out new ideas and equipment

The studio was placed in storage and forgotten from around 1968 to 1992, when it was rediscovered. It is now permanently installed at the Deutsche Museum von Meisterwerken der Naturwissenschaft und Technik in Munich.

I took this from a 13 minute video that’s available in full on the YouTube channel freeartslab. I added the subtitles so they are not very accurate, but they give you an idea of what’s going on if you don’t speak German."

Dewanatron machines and the Swarmatron

video upload by Robotussin Vintage Synths

"Here's the Swarmatron and its creators Brian and Leon Dewan, talking to Detroit Public TV about 10 years ago.

I posted about the Swarmatron about a year ago. It's an analogue synth that creates a tone using eight oscillators all playing slightly different frequencies. The pitch is controlled with a ribbon at the front. The difference between the 8 oscillators is controlled with a span control, from tightly aligned to woozily detuned. It's designed to produce a sort of cacophony, almost like multiple voices singing at once.

It's best known for its use by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor on their soundtrack to "The Social Network", which won an Oscar and changed a lot of minds about the sort of movies that could use electronic scores.

Leon and Brian Dewan are cousins and together they run Dewanatron, which makes a family of instruments like the Swarmatron, the Novitiate – a one-off they made for the Bob Moog Foundation. Their instruments are unique, expensive, beautiful and very unusual. In the video you see another of their machines, which has two keyboards that face each other so two people play it at the same time.

I also found some great footage of the Novitiate they made for the Bob Moog Foundation on the YouTube channel AutomaticGainsay, which is a great resource for synth reviews and videos. I've posted more videos of the Swarmatron, the Novitiate and other Dewanatron instruments on my YouTube and on the subscriber section of this channel.

The Dewans, whose family is originally from Syria, spoke to a Detroit Public TV show about Arab Americans."

See the Dewanatron label below for more.

INSIDE THE MIX: Richard Wright

video upload by EMEAPP

"Are you a fan of early Pink Floyd and their keyboardist, Richard Wright? We are too! Enjoy this deep look into instruments and techniques used by Rick in the early days of the band leading up to the time of their live-performance film release, Live At Pompeii. This includes the type of instruments he used on Obscured By Clouds, Atom Heart Mother, A Saucerful of Secrets and Meddle. We faithfully recreated his early setup and had musician Mike Kiker deliver a killer performance of their beloved song, Echoes."

The Elusive French Legend, Introducing the KOBOL EXPANDER (Part One) by Behringer

video upload by Behringer

"Vive La France & Vive Le Synthétiseur! Introducing The Behringer KOBOL Expander.

Chapter:
00:00 Intro
00:33 Intro Tune
01:21 KOBOL Prologue
03:43 Demo Epilogue

Video & Music created by Patrick using the Behringer KOBOL Expander & Behringer SWING."

Pics posted here.

Instruō Superbooth23: THE MOVIE

video upload by Instruō

WARNING: This video contains flashing lights which may not be suitable for people with photosensitive epilepsy (There's also a wee bit of swearing!)

This is a movie that follows the creative crew that is Instruō.
In 2023 the company travelled to Berlin to present at the Superbooth trade show/festival.
At the time of these captured events, the expanded team at Instruō numbers 20+ personnel.
Pretty much the entire crew goes to Berlin as we show off who we are and what we make.
This is a look behind the scenes of a Eurorack modular synthesiser manufacturer as they present at the world's best Synth-show!

Directed by Mathew Pieraccini
Edited by Jasōn H. J. Lim

"This 'documentary' is the beginning of a new form of content that I'm (Jasōn) working on in parallel to the endless stream of new instruments that we're developing.
It's a long time since it was just myself working solo back in the early days of Instruō
(~2016).
I now have the privilege of working with some of the most fun and creative people I've ever met.
We collaborate now as a creative coop. My hope is to showcase more who we are, what we're doing and how things work at the workshop here in Glasgow.
I've always been a fan of behind the scenes content so my plan is to open thing up a bit to showcase my collaborators and what they do inside and outside of roles at Instruō"
~Jasōn

00:00:00 prologue
00:01:22 Instruōduction
00:02:05 THE TEAM ASSEMBLES, Glasgow 2023-05-08
00:03:02 BUS
00:03:40 Road Trip (UK)

CLICK FOR MORE »

Instruō Superbooth23: THE MOVIE (TRAILER)

video upload by Instruō

"This is a movie that follows the creative crew that is Instruō.
In 2023 the company travelled to Berlin to present at the Superbooth trade show/festival.
At the time of these captured events, the expanded team at Instruō numbers 20+ personnel.
Pretty much the entire crew goes to Berlin as we show off who we are and what we make.
This is a look behind the scenes of a Eurorack modular synthesiser manufacturer as they present at the world's best Synth-show!

Directed by Mathew Pieraccini
Edited by Jasōn H. J. Lim

"This 'documentary' is the beginning of a new form of content that I'm working on in parallel to the endless stream of new instruments that we're developing.
It's a long time since it was just myself working solo back in the early days of Instruō
(~2016).
I now have the privilege of working with some of the most fun and creative people I've ever met.
We collaborate now as a creative coop. My hope is to showcase more who we are, what we're doing and how things work at the workshop here in Glasgow.
I've always been a fan of behind the scenes content so my plan is to open thing up a bit to showcase my collaborators and what they do inside and outside of roles at Instruō"
~Jasōn"

The Story of SSM and Curtis Electromusic. The soul within the sound of the 80s

video upload by Johnny Morgan Synth Dreams

"A mini-doc on two companies that changed the way synthesizers were designed in the 80s. Both had a incredible impact on the electronic music industry and the sound of music created during that time."

The Akai AX60: A Vintage 80's Oddball and Sleeper Synth!

video upload by Ghostfeeder

"A quick, fun look at the Akai AX60, a vintage analog synthesizer that was outshined by its peers at the time but has a great sound and some unique features that sets it apart from the retro competition!"

FB-01 Vs MT-32 | History and Combat

video upload by Espen Kraft

"Yamaha FB-01 from 1986 and Roland MT-32 from 1987. Two modules that over time has gained a cult classic status. For different reasons. Before any of them became that, they were 2 multi timbral sound modules that fought for the money of the happy amateur musician in the mid-to late 80s.

00:00 Intro
00:34 Rumours about the MT-32
01:00 The D-50 is released
01:26 The MT-32
02:24 The FB-01
04:40 Sound comparison
10:42 Gaming
11:45 Outro/Conclusion

The MT-32 had 32 voices of polyphony and had a simplified D-50 sound, effects and drums. The Polyphony came with one "downside", if the voices were made up of the maximum of 4 partials, the total polyphony was only 8 voices. The voices/partials were dynamically allocated so you didn't have to keep track of the numbers though.
The FB-01 has a total polyphony of 8 voices, but you can distribute those as you wish in a quite flexible way. 8 mono voices over 8 different midi channels was very new in 1986.
None of the modules made it possible to edit sounds on the front panel, so you needed a sysex editor for that."

The Kawai K3 - A story of a very 80's Synthesizer

video upload by Johnny Morgan Synth Dreams

"A min-doc detailing the release of Kawai's unique K3 Synthesizer in 1986."

Museum Of Synthesizer Technology , Analog Heaven Featuring Bob Moog

video uploads by wutierson

Also see Museum Of Synthesizer Technology DVD B-Roll footage

Mr. Martin Newcomb's Museum of Synthesizer Technology mid-1990's.

Note the plaque in the opening reads: "This Museum Was Opened By DR R.A. Moog On 29th July 1994" [4th video in the playlist above]

There was also a book dedicated to the museum you can find in previous posts here.

The Best Modular Synth Of The Year // Erica Synths SYNTRX II?

video upload by Miles Away

"Review, sound demo and tutorial/walkthrough of the Erica Synths SYNTRX 2, a modern modular synthesizer inspired by the EMS Synthi. Learn synth history and listen to how versatile SYNTRX is, from heavy noise techno to beautiful ambient jams!

Stream my new song:
https://stream.milesawayofficial.com/...


Buy my custom synth patches:
https://shop.milesawayofficial.com/co...

0:00 - intro jam and what is SYNTRX 2?
1:15 - synth history of the EMS Synthi
4:22 - jam 1: heavy midtempo techno
5:59 - experimental noise sound demos
7:55 - jam 2: lush analog retrowave
9:24 - patching tutorial and how it works
18:26 - review with pros and cons
20:02 - jam 3: ambient tape outro"

The GIANT Korg MS-20!

video upload by Alex Ball

"The story of the giant Korg MS-20 including photos and information never seen before!

Huge thank you to those who helped solve the riddle!"

A search on KORG MS20 Eductional and Giant MS-20 will bring up additional posts. A few were listed for sale on eBay at one point.

A Unique Vintage FX Box

video upload by

"A look at the unique MXR M-129 Pitch Transposer from 1979.

Thanks to Tom for the loan!

Patreon for the music from my videos, the stems of the music from my videos, sample packs and monthly Q&As: https://www.patreon.com/AlexBallMusic

One thing I neglected to mention was the MXR brand was later aquired by Jim Dunlop who have kept it going since the late 80s.
https://www.jimdunlop.com/products/el...

Tony Gambacurta's perspective on inventing the M-129 Pitch Transposer: http://digitonylab.com/Documents/The-...

Big Country discuss their use of it: http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/cou...

0:00 Intro Jam
0:48 Quick History
2:22 Demo 1: Foxxy Music
3:17 What is the MXR M-129?
6:11 Demo 2: Large Nation
7:16 What else?
7:55 Demo 3: Syn-Pitch
8:46 Famous Users
10:19 Possessor of a friendless ticker
11:07 What became of MXR?
12:25 Outro"

Behringer Introduce BODE FREQUENCY SHIFTER 1630 in Eurorack Format

video upload by Behringer

"Expand your setup with an authentic recreation of the famous module from the ‘70s made with state-of-the-art circuitry including a voltage-controlled beat frequency quadrature oscillator.

List Price: $149 (in stock and immediately shipping from our factory)"

BODE FREQUENCY SHIFTER 1630

"Shift into high gear and get ready for that drop because the BODE FREQUENCY SHIFTER 1630 from Behringer is here! Expand your setup with an authentic recreation of the famous module from the ‘70s made with state-of-the-art circuitry including a voltage-controlled beat frequency quadrature oscillator. The BODE FREQUENCY SHIFTER just might be the piece you need to fill out that empty slot in your setup.

Ready for Any Signal

The BODE FREQUENCY SHIFTER accurately shifts the entire frequency spectrum of any input signal from -5 to +5 kHz. Simply plug in any audio source and start turning the giant knob to lower or raise the frequency. The amount of shift can also be varied with the Scale knob which lets you switch between linear or exponential control.

Controls

Additional controls on the BODE FREQUENCY SHIFTER include a variable threshold squelch which minimizes carrier bleed-through and can be used to creatively alter the input signal’s characteristics. Up to three control voltages can also plugged in, as well as up to four output signals.