Korg Polysix, Window, Cat - New Flickr Shot

flickr by
H O L L Y W O O D S T E V E.

Korg MS20 - New Flickr Shot

flickr by Ian Tindale.

MIDIsense

"MIDIsense is a simple, yet extensible sensor interface system for artists, musicians and others interested in experimenting with sensors. The MIDIsense boards provide a simple way to integrate various common sensors with existing software such as Max/MSP, Ableton Live, etc. or directly to a synthesizer/sequencer with a MIDI in jack. Interface boards are available as kits and (possibly) assembled. Graphical configuration/calibration software is written in wx/Python and is available as a MacOS X executable or source for Linux (& will be available as Windows exe very soon - its too sluggish right now to release)."

Title link takes you there. Via Synthtopia.

Update:
More on CDM.
"I’ve been working with Limor’s board since March, when she tested out the board on a group of us at Eyebeam here in New York. It’s just the thing for building your own flex sensor glove or light sensor Theremin. Here’s a quick look at why it’s cool: link"

Update:
Flickr set sent my way via Sameli: link.

Akai AX80 Get's Down And Dirty

Title link takes you to a post on HC with one gritty sample of the AX80 by Awake77. Also saved off here for posterity.

Moog Announces 2nd Annual Ether Music Festival

"Moog Music has announced the 2nd annual Ether Music Festival and Conference.

Ether Music 2006 will be held in the home of Moog Music, Asheville, NC, from Thursday, August 3rd through Sunday, August 6th.

The event will include workshops, speakers and performances by incredible thereminists such as Lydia Kavina and Wilco Botermans. Keynote Speakers are Frank Trocco and Trevor Pinch, co-authors of Analog Days: The Invention and Impact of the Moog Synthesizer.

Attendees will also have the opportunity to tour the new Moog Music factory where the theremin and other legendary Moog products are made."

Via Synthtopia.

Fijuu2

Update: Looks like the video has been pulled from YouTube. You can get it here.

Title link takes you to more on CDM.

"a rotating three-dimensional world in which visitors can sculpt glitchy and resonating sounds, represented by fluid 3D models, all using a standard PlayStation2 controller."

Synthi AVS to Synthi AKS Compared

Title link takes you to a post on Des choses et d'autres with two videos. One of the Synthi AVS and one of the Synthi AKS. The AVS sounds pretty good to me; note the mods on the Synthi AKS below.








Via deb7680 in the comments of this post:
"Matrix, this a new post on comparison between Ems Avs and Ems Synthi Aks by ores303.
Here are the modifications of the Ems :
It possesses all the modifications proposed by EMS in the 70s: - modif. on the reverb - modif. on the envellope cad that we can activate(start) a sequence by pressing on the red button - inversion of tensions: with 4 reversers, the sound is to play has to, exellent for news(short stories) sound creations –
- Synchronization 3 oscillateurs which allows to controler chaqun of them independently, this modif. allows to create sounds very complex impossible with a normal aks - modif. on the forms of waves in particular on the third to oscillateur which allows to explode the sound - finally, great pleasure, The aks is entirement CV and Gate, cad that it is completely midi via a kenton kit kind(genre) pro solo or pro on 2000."

Tidal Quad Filter

This one just popped up on AH, pictured here, next to the MFB. I can't seem to get to tidalmusic.com, so title link takes you to info on filters.muziq.be. Details pulled below. Also on sequencer.de.








Update via elmacaco on AH:
"The specs up on Matrix synth seem like they include most of the info, but
I'll add a few bits that I like.

It's a quad filter, and each filter has 4 jacks associated with it, In, Out,
CV and ENV (Gate). The ENV input is obviously for triggering the associated
AR envelope with a gate instead of using the envelope follower or audio
triggering. The input jack is actually A TRS jack, with in /out/ and
ground, which I think lets you use it on some insert jacks with just a
stereo cable. Also, with nothing plugged into filter 2's audio in jack the
signal from filter 1's in gets routed to filter 2's input. This is mirrored
for filter 3 and 4 as well.

While there are 4 filters, there are 2 LFO's, so two filters share one LFO,
and each filter has a bi polar mod amount pot. Waves are Tri, Square and
Saw.

All filters self oscillate in all modes, although BP mode has a narrower
range of self oscillation.

The filters sound great, I use them quite a lot as they have pretty much
everything you need right there. The two modes of waveshaping are great,
I've mostly used them on percussion sounds, but they have a wide range and
what I find to be a big sweet spot.

One of my favorite things on this unit is the 'punch' switch. It makes the
envelope hit harder somehow. Now this unit is optimized for fast response
since using it with a 'drumcomputer' was understood to be a common
application, but the punch switch just adds a great smack to the sound. Add
that with the waveshaper engaged and it's just bananas.

The website formerly had some pics of 2 Quad units racked side by side,
giving you 8 filters in about 5 rack units, it was a pretty sight.

Build quality is very good, the unit is solid, the pots are firmly attached
and not the wobbly kind you see more and more.

Theo Hogers is the man behind Tidal, and I ordered my unit directly from
him, his contact info is here :

Tidal Music Piksenbrink 186 NL-7544 BK Enschede tidal@home.nl FAX
+31/534765321 Phone +31/534765321 Theo Hogers"

--------------------
Details:
4x Cutoff
Controls the cutoff frequency of the filter
4x Reso
Controls the filter resonance
4x Shaper
?
4x VCF (LP/BP/HP)
Selects the filter: low-pass, band-pass or high-pass
4x Shape (1/2)
?
4x ?
?
4x Punch
?
4x Env Sense
Controls the envelope follower sensitivity
4x Env Mode
Selects an envelope mode
4x Env Attack
Controls the envelope attack time
4x Env Release
Controls the envelope release time
4x Env Depth
Controls the depth of the envelope sweeps
4x LFO Depth
Controls the depth of the LFO sweeps
2x LFO Rate
Controls the rate of the LFO
2x LFO Wave
Selects the wave-form of the LFO Various
SchneidersBuero about the Tidal Quad:
The Tidal Quad is a 4-channel filterbank with extensive control and modulation possibilities. The filter can be used in High-/ Low-/ or Bandpass with an Envelope follower for each mode. There is also an LFO for each set of 2 Channels which allows complex modulations. Additionally it offers a Waveshaper for each channel. For friends of analog distortion this unit leaves no wish open.
4x HP/BP/LP - Filtermodule
LFO Channel 1+2 (Cutoff)
LFO Channel 3+4 (Cutoff)
LFO each channel positive or negative switch
1 Waveshaper per Channel
4x Sidechain Input with Envelope Follower for Cutoff-Modulation
the Tidal Music homepage about the Tidal Quad:
The resonant filter might be the most important effect in popular music these days. However if you want to insert a filter on multiple channels of your mixer and also would like to have a lot of knobs and modulation possibilities, there was no real solution. That's why Tidal Music Electronics announces it's four channel desktop multimode filter. You can switch the four individual resonant filters between Lowpass, Bandpass and Highpass modus. Each filter can be modulated by an envelope follower, a LFO and an external CV. The envelope follower is specially designed to track percussive sounds without false triggering, a key feature when used with drumcomputers, grooveboxes or guitar.

Maximum Modulation
Each filterbank has 4 VCFs, 4 Waveshapers, 4 Envelopefollowers and 2 Low Frequency Oscillators (LFOs).
The filters are switchable between 3 modes, Lowpass, Bandpass and Highpass. The Low- and Bandpass are 24 dB and the Highpass is 12 dB/Oct.
The cutoff of each channel can be modulated by it's own Envelope follower which can be fed by a sidechain input or by the audiosignal itself. This option gives you the possibilities to create very funky filter-effects.
Each LFO modulates 2 channels and every channel has it's own depth controller which can be set positive or negative. This can be used to generate cool stereo effects.
The Waveshaper
The waveshaper is one of the components which give the filterbank it's unique sound. It actually is a wavefolder which "folds" the tops of the waveform back instead of clipping. This sounds a bit like an overdrive but also has some characteristics of Frequency Modulation.

To give you a better idea what the waveshaper actually does we'll illustrate what happens with a simple sine wave using different ratio settings for each of the two shaper modes.

EMS Synthi 100 on the Bay

That's one heck of a mod matrix.

Title link takes you to shots pulled from this auction.

Details:
Electronic Music Studios (EMS) Synthi 100 Analogue Synthesizer in pristine condition. The Synthi 100 is fitted with two patch panels with two 60x60 matrix boards, one for the signals and one for the voltages.
This is a list with the modules:

12 x Voltage Controlled Oscillator.
x Noise Generator.
3 x Ring Modulator.
4 x Voltage Controlled Low Pass Filter.
4 x Voltage Controlled High Pass Filter.
3 x Trapezoid Envelope Generator.
2 x Voltage Controlled Reverberation.
Octave Filter Bank
Slew limiter.
Envelope Follower.
Pitch to Voltage Converter.
8 x Input Amplifier.
9 x Stereo Output Amplifier.
2 x Joysticks.
2 x5 Octave Dynamic Keyboards.
3 256 Step Digital Sequencer.
Oscilloscope (not on the picture).
Frequency meter counter.

Starting Bid of 60k.

This one via Michael Tritter.

Moogprints

flickr by brian siskind.