Commodore 64 plays Huey Lewis (1985-86)

Published on Feb 9, 2020 Jma Mitch

"As a teenager in 1985 and 1986, I used my trusty Commodore 64 and the "Music Construction Set" program to create computer versions of a slew of songs by the greatest musical artist of all time: Huey Lewis and The News. Only Huey songs, that was the only artist I did. I recently (Feb 2020) was able to access my 35 year old C64 disks, many of which survived, including the ones with the songs I'm uploading to this channel. Some of the songs sound better than others, but these are the original unedited files."

via bÖsch @fabmass

Playlist:
Huey Lewis - Hip to be Square - Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis Doing It All For My Baby Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis Jacob's Ladder Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis Stuck With You Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis - Hope You Love Me Like You Say You Do - Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis I Want A New Drug Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis I Know What I Like Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis - Bad Is Bad - Music Construction Set - c64 1985
Huey Lewis Simple as That Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis - Forest for the Trees - Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis - Trouble in Paradise - Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis - Giving It All Up for Love - Music Construction Set - c64 1985
Huey Lewis - Change of Heart - Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis Tell Me A Little Lie Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis - Workin' for a Livin' - Music Construction Set - c64 1985
Huey Lewis I Never Walk Alone Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis - Some of My Lies Are True (Sooner or Later) - Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis - Do You Believe In Love - Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis - Whatever Happened To True Love - Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis Whole Lotta Lovin Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis - Don't Make Me Do It - Music Construction Set c64 (1985)
Huey Lewis - Don't Ever Tell Me That You Love Me - Music Construction Set c64 1985
Huey Lewis Naturally Music Construction Set c64 1986
Huey Lewis - Who Cares? - Music Construction Set c64 1985

Novation Celebrates 30 Years with Giveaways and More

video upload by NovationTV

"It’s been 30 years of Novation and music made with bass, beats and synthesisers.

From early beginnings in 1992, Novation has been a pioneer in developing music technology, allowing artists to create decade-defining sounds. Starting as Novation Electronic Music Systems, we built a small but innovative device, the MM10, which let you control a MIDI sequencer, the Yamaha QY10, for the very first time from a keyboard.

Since then, our synths, MIDI controllers, grooveboxes and more have helped people create, play and perform at all stages of their music-making journey.

From all of us at team Novation – we want to wish a huge thank you to our whole community for keeping us inspired. We can't wait to hear what you make next, and we look forward to another 30 years.

- Discover more about Novation’s 30 Years of Making Music
https://novationmusic.com/en/30-years..."

novation · Novation Legacy Sample Pack

"Crafted from old-school Novation gear and adapting Trance to a modern time, The Novation Legacy Soundpack looks back on the history of electronic music and the gear that helped shape it. Made with Bass Station, BS Rack, AFX Mode, K-Station, A-Station, Mininova, Peak and Summit.

--- Sign up to our mailing list to receive your Novation Legacy Soundpack:
novationmusic.com/en/sign-novation-emails

"Novation looks back on three decades of bass, beats and synthesizers.

Since 1992, Novation’s synths, MIDI controllers, grooveboxes and more have helped people create, play and perform at all stages of their music-making journey.

In 1992, Novation developed the MM10, an innovative MIDI sequencer that controlled the Yamaha QY10 from a keyboard, revolutionising the way we make music as the first MIDI controller of its kind. Bass Station’s arrival in 1993 pushed them further into the spotlight as a standout synth of the ‘90s. Developed by none other than synth designer Chris Huggett, his expertise with analogue and digital synth design influenced many of their iconic synths including Supernova, Bass Station II, Summit and Peak.

Over the years, Novation’s instruments have brought new life to music-making, including the Launchpad range which changed the game for grid-based music production and DIY performance, Circuit’s much-loved intuitive approach to beatmaking and sampling, and the award-winning Launchkey range of MIDI controllers used by artists in many genres.

In 2022, they’re celebrating 30 years of music, pioneering music technology and people that made Novation what it is today.

With Novation, anything is possible
Over the past three decades, countless artists have brought their musical ideas to life with Novation instruments. From October until Christmas, they’re bringing their community together to celebrate the made music with their instruments over the years with videos from artists across the globe, huge prizes up for grabs in their 30th anniversary competition and exclusive curated soundpack giveaways.

Giving back to the global community of fans
Novation will be giving away their biggest prize bundle yet to encourage their worldwide music-making community to share the love for their instruments. One lucky winner can own a full studio’s worth of gear, as well as three years of upcoming products.

The prize bundle includes:
1. A suite of Novation products, including Circuit Rhythm, Circuit Tracks, FLkey Mini, Launchkey 37, Summit, Peak, Bass Station II, Launchpad Pro.
2. Three years of future Novation products.
3. A feature on the Novation website spotlighting their entry/music and a short interview with accompanying social media promotion.
4. A 1:1 Product Demo Session with a Novation product specialist.
5. A Novation Logo T-Shirt.

The giveaways continue with 30 exclusive soundpacks covering countless genres. All users can get their hands on samples made for the Circuit Rhythm, and perfect for all of the Launch range – regardless of what DAW they choose. Newsletter subscribers can also get their hands on the Novation Legacy Sample Pack – add moods, textures and unique sounds from the Bass Station, AFX Station, and plenty of classic instruments.

Novation is also going backstage with creators in their community to see just how they make their music. Learn how to make songs and build beats in Ableton, Logic, Cubase and FL Studio from long-time Novation users including Lex Luger, Trishes, Bad Snacks, Seids and Venus Theory.

Join Novation in celebrating their story so far and become a part of their future as they continue to encourage creativity and make music production a rewarding experience for all."

Explore Novation's 30 Years

Akai Introduces MPK mini play Keyboard & MIDI Controller

video upload by AkaiProVideo

MPK mini play mk3 | Play Music Anywhere


How To Setup Your MPK mini play


Billie Eilish 'Bad Guy' Cover on MPK mini Play


"Whether you're a good girl or a bad guy, MPK mini play is the battery-powered mini keyboard that lets you play all your favorite songs anywhere."

MSRP of $149.99

And the press release followed by hi-res pics:

AKAI PROFESSIONAL® ANNOUNCES THE MPK MINI PLAY MK3

WITH IMPROVED BATTERY LIFE, A LOUDER SPEAKER AND SUPERIOR GEN 2 KEYBED

MPK mini Play mk3 keyboard controller combines playing mobility with serious production tools for music creation anywhere

Ft Lauderdale, FL USA (22nd March, 2022) — Akai Professional, a leading manufacturer of music equipment for performers and producers, is proud to announce MPK mini Play mk3 keyboard controller. The MPK mini Play mk3 combines incredible portability with powerful music making features and software for beginners, pros, and all music fans.

Play Music Anywhere
Musical inspiration can happen anywhere and MPK mini Play mk3 is the perfect portable companion to capture those melodies and harmonies, anytime and anywhere. With battery-operated performance of over 14+ hours, MPK mini Play mk3 users do not have to worry about power adapters, chargers, or cables when it is time to play music. The upgraded built-in speaker delivers increased output and added low-end response, making for more enjoyable jamming and playing. With an improved listening experience, users can dive into the 128 onboard instruments and drum kits including acoustic and electric pianos, synth leads and pads, and more. When using the speaker is not practical, MPK mini Play also houses a 1/8-inch headphone output jack for quiet practicing or songwriting without disturbing others.
Professional Performance

At the heart of the MPK mini Play mk3 is the new Gen 2 keybed delivering a dynamic performance and accurate velocity response, with a feel users will certainly appreciate. While it maintains its sleek, compact footprint, MPK mini Play mk3 is more playable and comfortable than ever and ready for hours of playing. The 8 drum pads have been upgraded to real, velocity sensitive MPC drum pads, offering optimal feel and response for even the most percussive drum parts. With Class Compliant, plug-and-play capability, MPK mini Play mk3 doubles as a powerful MIDI controller and instantly connects to your favorite DAW for immediate music production duties. 4 assignable rotary encoder knobs offer versatile control of MIDI parameters like Pan or Automation for super-precise editing. With its sturdy construction and build, MPK mini Play mk3 is ready to travel securely alongside any favorite music production items in backpacks or bags.

Limitless Creativity with MPC Beats Software DAW - Effects and Instruments Included
The MPK mini Play mk3 comes bundled with MPC Beats, the powerful music-making and recording desktop software DAW for Mac and PC based on iconic MPC hardware. Featuring a full array of musical instrument plugins, effect plugins, and audio and drum samples, MPC Beats is the best way to start making great-sounding music quickly. In addition to MPC Beats Desktop Software DAW, MPK mini Play mk3 also includes multiple world-class plugin instruments from award-winning sound design company AIR Music Technology. Available in both AU and VST are Hybrid 3 — a powerful polyphonic analog synth, Mini Grand – an acoustic piano instrument, and Velvet – a vintage electric piano instrument.
All information subject to change akaipro.com

Educational Software Included
MPK mini Play mk3 comes with a Melodics educational package. Available as both a desktop and iPad app, Melodics features instruction for MIDI keyboard, pad controllers, and e-drums, offering tailored cross-genre lessons and real- time feedback designed to help refine necessary music creation skills. The free Melodics download includes 60 lessons to get started and with plug and play support, no extensive set-up is required.

MPK mini Play mk3 Key Features
• Battery powered mini keyboard instrument
• Over 100 internal drum and instrument sounds
• New, larger built-in speaker with increased volume and low-end response
• Premium 25-key Gen 2 dynamic keybed
• (8) real MPC drum pads for durable performance
• (4) assignable knobs to control MIDI parameters
• Assignable Joystick
• OLED display for visual feedback
• 1/8-inch headphone output jack
• USB port for Class Compliant MIDI controller functionality

“MPK mini has come to define how a generation makes music, and the MPK mini Play mk3 embodies every experience Akai Professional has amassed over the years into a single product anyone can enjoy.” Said Dan Gill, Senior Product Manager of Akai Professional. “A beginner has the gratification of instant music creation with access to dozens of built- in sounds. The aspiring music producer has a versatile battery-powered musical Swiss-army Knife to capture creativity at a moment’s notice, whether in a production studio or a public park. Even the professional can count on the reliability of real MPC drum pads. Every detail has been thought of to ensure users will always enjoy a truly exceptional and inspired music-making process.”

The MPK mini Play mk3 will ship with an MSRP of $149.99
For more information on MPK mini Play mk3, visit akaipro.com.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Interview w/ Michael Tyson: Creator of Audiobus, Loopy, TAAE, Samplebot, and more

Published on Dec 23, 2018 MATTHEW FECHER

"Michael Tyson is one of the single most important people in the iOS Music world. He changed history. Before Audiobus, music apps could not communicate with each other. Audiobus was the precursor to technologies such as Inter-app Audio (IAA) and the Plugin format AUv3.

Musicians including Robert Plant (Led Zepplin) and Billy Joel have used his apps on national Television. He reveals how he was traveling around Europe in an RV. Then, how he had an #1 app virtually overnight and he was able to buy house. And, other crazy stories...

0:00 Awesome Intro to Michael & Audiobus
0:57 Your apps have been featured on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. And, played by some of the most iconic musicians in history. How does it feel to see musical icons use your apps?
2:30 Did you see an increase in sales when Loopy was played on Television?
3:41 Was that a one time thing? Or, has it happened again?
4:04 Origin of SampleBot
5:06 How did The Amazing Audio Engine (TAAE) come about?
6:52 Audiobus, what was your motivation to create something that had never been done?
9:41 Will Apple even allow what you were working on... What if you wasted a year of your life?
11:58 Audiobus vs Loopy, which has been downloaded more/most successful?
13:13 You meet people in the street who know what Loopy is?
13:53 What tips do you have for people who want to get started making Audio Apps?
15:18 Of all the things you've made, what are you most proud of?
15:45 The Audiobus forum has become the central hub for all things iOS music-making. What draws everyone to the Audiobus Forum?
16:50 As a pioneer of iOS music, you have unique insight. Where is iOS Music going in 2 years?
18:14 What would you like to see in iOS development tools in 2 years?
19:49 Were your music apps inspired by your own music-making goals?
20:47 What would you build if someone gave you $1 million dollars and said you could work on anything that you wanted?
23:34 Were you born an audio programmer? How did you get to this point?
24:35 Audiobus shows continued evolution. In what areas would you like to see Apple help improve iOS music making development and how would this help AB evolve further?
25:44 How do you switch off? What activities do you do besides iOS Development?
26:19 Will we ever see an app like Sunflower on iOS?
26:46 Do you think iOS Music-making has a longterm future, specifically 5 years from now?
27:05 Would you continue making music apps if iOS no longer becomes viable?
27:49 What do you want to be doing 20 years from now?
28:46 What are some of your musical influences?
29:55 Have you seen any of your influences/music inspirations use your apps? (Imogen Heap)
31:38 What apps did you make before Loopy & Audiobus?
33:54 Did you have a day job before you left for your RV trip / app-making adventure?
35:16 What was the inspiration for The Amazing Audio Engine?
36:19 Advice for developers for dealing with bad reviews in the app store?
38:04 Michael's Final thoughts for everyone

Hosted by Matthew Fecher from AudioKit:
http://audiokitpro.com"

Bob Moog Foundation Objects to Archives Moving to Cornell, New York

via Mountain Xpress where you'll find the full article (you'll find my notes at the bottom of this post):

"A move to ship Bob Moog's archives from Asheville to New York is creating family discord over the best way to preserve the late inventor's legacy.

An electronic music titan, Bob Moog founded Moog Music, the world's leading manufacturer of analog synthesizers. His widow, Ileana Grams-Moog, announced July 18 that she's planning to donate his personal archive of notes, plans, drawings and recordings to the Cornell University Library's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections in Ithaca, N.Y.

'It was Bob‘s wish that his archives be preserved and made accessible to other scientists, inventors, engineers and innovators,' Asheville resident Grams-Moog said in a press release. 'The Cornell Library makes its extensive rare collections accessible to students and scholars all over the world.'

Noting that Moog earned his Ph.D. in engineering physics from Cornell in 1965, she added: 'It has been eight years since my husband’s death and I am happy that my gift to Cornell will finally make this rich collection available. Bob would be pleased to know his life’s work is finally being properly preserved and made available to current and future generations to advance upon his work.'

However, Grams-Moog makes no mention of the Bob Moog Foundation in her announcement, which has overseen the preservation of those archives for the last seven years in Asheville, where Moog lived from 1979 until his death in 2005. The foundation is a nonprofit organization run by Michelle Moog-Koussa, the inventor's daughter, who says that she and other family members are surprised and disappointed by the decision to ship the archives out of town..."

...

"Upon hearing of Grams-Moog's intentions to move the archives out of town, Moog-Koussa says the foundation is now 'considering our options.'

She adds: "No matter what happens, the Bob Moog Foundation will continue to carry on Bob Moog's legacy, and that his legacy is alive and well in our educational projects, which are thriving in this area.'"

----

My notes:

What is your opinion on this?  Personally, the number one priority in my opinion is keeping the documents safe.  I think they would be safe at either Cornell or The Bob Moog Foundation, so that imo is not an issue. The issue then is where would they be of the most value to the community and how do you define that? Exposure to the public or access to researchers? I don't see Cornell being as pro-active in spreading the works of Bob Moog as The Bob Moog Foundation. I think the archives may be safe in Cornell but my fear is that they will be all but forgotten aside from those that take the time to research them and then share that research with us. In other words, they will essentially disappear into the ether, unless someone makes the effort otherwise. The BMF was doing that. With the Bob Moog Foundation, his research would be at the forefront and present in everything they do. Your opinion? Click on the comments link below. Note although it currently reads 0, Facebook comments are there. Blogger only counts blogger comments in the count. It might take a sec for the Facebook comments to load after clicking the link.

Update: The following is the official press release on the move.  I received it from Moog Music and Hummingbird Media a separate press outlet:

"Bob Moog's Archives Donated To World-Class Facility at Cornell University
Inventor’s Alma Mater to Receive Rich Collection

Yesterday Cornell University announced the archives of Dr. Robert A. Moog have found a home at their Sidney Cox Library of Music & Dance, thanks to a generous donation from his widow, Dr. Ileana Grams-Moog.

Dr. Robert A. Moog is the founder of Moog Music, the world’s leading manufacturer of analog synthesizers, and the inventor of the legendary Moog synthesizer. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell in engineering physics in 1965 and was a longtime resident of Trumansburg, N.Y. His personal archive of notes, plans, drawings, recordings and more will be housed in the Library’s Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections.

“It was Bob‘s wish that his archives be preserved and made accessible to other scientists, inventors, engineers and innovators,” Grams-Moog said. “It has been eight years since my husband’s death and I am happy that my gift to Cornell will finally make this rich collection available. Bob would be pleased to know his life’s work is finally being properly preserved so that current and future generations may advance upon his work.”

Cornell has flourished as a center for research in music since the Sidney Cox Library of Music & Dance was founded in 1929, and its extensive holdings include a special focus on historical keyboard instruments. It collects heavily in 20th- and 21st-century music of Europe and the United States, including electronic music and music by Cornell composition alumnae.

“We’re thrilled to welcome this donation to Cornell, and we look forward to welcoming researchers from all over the world who hope to learn more about Dr. Moog’s life and work, ” said Anne R. Kenney, Carl A. Kroch University Librarian. “We pride ourselves on not only preserving valuable historical knowledge, but providing access to one-of-a-kind, original materials to as many people as possible.”

Dr. Grams-Moog continued, “Cornell is a 150-year-old institution with a long history of stewardship and dissemination of rare and valuable collections for education and research. Donating Bob’s archives to the university is the best opportunity to preserve and protect them so they will finally be accessible to students and scholars worldwide. In addition, they will be available to future generations long after we’re all gone.”

About Cornell University Library
Cornell University Library’s rich collections, expert librarians, responsive services and welcoming spaces inspire and nourish scholarship and learning throughout the university. Its world-class collection — nearly 8 million print volumes, nearly a million e-books and 5 million journal article downloads per year — covers incredibly diverse fields. The Sidney Cox Library of Music & Dance provides extensive holdings of printed materials and recordings to support the study of music."

--------------------


Update2: Michelle Moog-Koussa of The Bob Moog Foundation issues statement:

"Dear Friend,

The Bob Moog Foundation takes seriously its role as the only non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, protecting and promoting my father’s work for future generations. In was in this capacity that the Foundation made significant investments over the past seven years to rescue the majority of my father’s archives, and to protect and preserve them to prevent further deterioration from occurring.

Our efforts have included re-housing the collection in archival quality storage materials, securing climate controlled storage, cataloging thousands of items, cleaning and restoring a breadth of materials including almost 100 reel-to-reel tapes in the collection, and most recently securing state-of-the-art archival storage and processing facilities where researchers from around the world could acess the archives.

We have also worked to share the archives through many exhibits from California to our local region, exposing tens of thousands of people to the unique information and insights that the archives contain.

We did this based on a verbal understanding that these documents would eventually be donated to the Foundation.

Yesterday, an annoucement was made that Cornell University will be receiving Bob's archives. The announcement was made by Bob's widow, Ileana Grams-Moog, with whom we have been working closely for the past seven years, up until as recently as February 18, 2013.

The decision to abandon a pending agreement, which ignores the Foundation’s stewardship of my father’s archives, and move them out of Western North Carolina is disappointing and, we believe, not in keeping with my father’s intent. Asheville was my father’s home for 25 years and, in the end, his spiritual home. It is important that his archives remain in Asheville and that they are administered by the Bob Moog Foundation, where they can be considered within a wide musical and technological context and where they will benefit from being interpreted by the unified network of experts that surround the Foundation’s work.

The Moog Family is saddened and surprised not to be part of the discussion to move our father’s archives away from the organization where they would receive the most well-rounded care, and away from the area where the Bob Moog Foundation, Moog Music, and Moogfest are located.

Over the years, you have been witness to all of the dedicated work we have done for the archives. Many of you have visited our exhibits and complimented our efforts. At this time, we ask that you support us on Facebook and other outlets by reposting and commenting in ways that are reflective of our work.

With or without Bob's archives, the Bob Moog Foundation Archives remains a robust collection of historic materials that we have obtained, or that have been donated to us. We remain a repsitory of materials that represent the evolution of electronic music history. We are excited to be sharing some of the incredible material that we have obtained with you over the coming months. Please keep your eyes open for that.

I may be reaching out soon with other ways that you can help. Until then, I remain

Devotedly yours,

Michelle

Michelle Moog-Koussa
Executive Director
Bob Moog Foundation

P.S. Should you have any concerns about this topic, please be in touch at info@moogfoundation.org."

Update3 (also posted here):

Online Petition to Keep Bob Moog's Archives in Asheville with the BMF

You'll find the petition here.

The petition was setup up via Michael Koehler who sent in the following:

"I am not involved with the BMF, but am friends with Michelle. She knows that I am doing this.

I am very passionate about it because I was fortunate to knew Bob for a short while and know that he would not want things to go the way that they are going right now. I am not trying discredit Cornell or say anything bad about them. They are a fine institution. I am just trying to help them see what moving the archives would mean.

There is so much more to this material. It is not simply 'Bob's stuff'. In Bob's work, he always included colleagues and musicians in the development of his works. If we send these notes off to some storage facility where only scholars can reference them, most of this is lost. The BMF is connected with many of the musicians that worked with Bob. They have the ability to connect the information that Bob wrote down from the engineering standpoint and re-connect it with the musicians that worked with Bob to create it. I have witnessed this first hand. I am telling you, this type of documentation and interpretation would be impossible with the items at Cornell. Think of all of the nuggets that have come out of the BMF. Stories, video clips, etc. Remember all of those insights? It is almost as if Bob were still here. Cornell will most definitely have a totally different output. It will be much more sterilized and scholastic.

I saw first hand the work that Michelle and her team have done. There were literally rooms of material laying in in total disarray. One piece of gear that was salvaged by her team was the very last minimoog made from the original factory. The synth was barely salvageable at the time. That was in 2006. Had it laid there, out in the shed, exposed to the elements, do you think it would even be salvageable today? And, even if it were, do you honestly believe that Cornell would even restore it? In the list of items, it most likely would not be on the top of the list. But the reason that this synth was so iconic to save was that back in the day, Bob had the fore-site to know that something like this should be preserved. Remember, this was at a time when you couldn't give analog synths away! Bob was like that, he knew to save things not for himself or his own legacy, but because some day, these things will be important to someone.

Another example, the BMF has restored 100 recordings. I have heard some of these. Amongst them is a recording where Bob sent a minimoog prototype to Sun Ra to play with and asked Sun Ra to let him know what he thought of the synth. Sun Ra used it in a performance the night that they received it. They did not have a user manual or any instructions, they just went with it. Sun Ra recorded this performance and sent the tape to Bob. This was the first recording of the minimoog and it was also an iconic recording of a concert as well. I can tell you that if this recording goes to Cornell, no one will be able to hear it. The licensing rights will never be able to be cleared by them for public consumption. No way a record label will give that away easily. Way too broad of a license. Where as the BMF would be allowed to play these recording during their exhibits and seminars because they would be able to keep custody of the recording preventing broad public dissemination.

I could go on, but I have probably typed your eyes out! :)"

You'll find the petition here.

Update4:

BMF Board President Bryan Bell Responds to Ileana Grams-Moog

"On July 26th, Ileana Grams-Moog issued an online statement regarding her decision to transfer Bob's archives to Cornell University. After much consideration, President of the BMF Board of Directors, Bryan Bell, has decided to issue an open letter to address the misinformation in that statement.

An Open Letter from Bryan Bell, President of the Board of Directors, The Bob Moog Foundation

The past three weeks have been hard ones for the children of Bob Moog and the staff, board, and friends of the Bob Moog Foundation (BMF). As President of the BMF Board of Directors, I am profoundly disappointed in Dr. Ileana Grams-Moog’s decision to withdraw her support for the BMF, a not-for-profit organization devoted to perpetuating Bob’s love of music and innovation, the manner in which she chose to do it, and her exclusion of key facts.

I knew Bob well. We were colleagues and friends for more than 30 years. During that time, we collaborated on projects and solved problems that changed the way music is made. I serve on the BMF board because it is the truest representation of Bob’s legacy. That is why I also know how sad it would make him to see what is happening in his name, and why we should all be asking Ileana a few questions.

What’s behind the sudden decision to take the archives away from the BMF?

On Feb. 14, 2013, after 18 months of personally and directly negotiating with Ileana, we agreed upon the BMF’s temporary custody of the archives and management of Bob’s Rights of Publicity (his name, image, signature, and voice). This was the first step towards a much larger agreement between us. In the words of the interim agreement, we were working “together in good faith to define and execute a mutually satisfactory [larger] Agreement as rapidly as possible,” or so I thought.

Suddenly, on February 25, Ileana notified me that she would not sign the interim agreement, based on information she had received from Moog Music President Mike Adams. (Note: Mr. Adams was a BMF board member at the time these discussions took place.) The BMF quickly addressed Ileana’s concerns in writing, concerns that she never voiced to me as the BMF board president and concerns that were later proven to have no basis in fact.

Why was there no consultation with Bob’s children about the future of their father’s archives and his Rights of Publicity?

What about money?

We all agree that Bob’s legacy is priceless, but his share of Moog Music and his Rights of Publicity have price tags. Because Ileana has chosen to publically disclose the BMF’s offer to purchase the archives, I challenge her to disclose the detailed terms, both financially and legally, of her sale of Bob’s share of Moog Music and her sale of Bob’s Rights of Publicity to Mike Adams.

Was there a financial contribution to Cornell from Moog Music regarding the archives? Will Moog Music, for example, have access to the Cornell Archives for their commercial purposes? Will the Bob Moog Foundation and Bob’s children have access to the archives for their own use?
Has The BMF been a good steward of Bob’s archives?

The answer is an unequivocal YES. For seven years The BMF has consistently acted in the best interest of Bob's legacy, rescuing his archives from moisture, dirt and mildew; storing the archives in secure climate controlled storage; entering into a lease with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources to secure state-of-the-art archival facilities in Western N.C.; and making the difficult but prudent decision to defer a capital campaign to fund building of the Moogseum.

Ileana has said that her decision to move the archives was based, in part, on the fact that construction has not started on The Moogseum, the eventual Asheville home for Bob’s archives. At no time did she ever communicate that requirement to the BMF Board or me. Furthermore, during her tenure as president of the BMF Board, Ileana personally oversaw the decision to postpone the Moogseum’s capital campaign until the economy recovered from the nation’s worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The economy aside, great museums take a long time to build. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for example, took 16 years to plan before breaking ground.

The BMF’s leadership, board and staff have intentionally stayed above the fray, and we encourage our supporters to do the same. Ileana’s decision to move the archives, which was announced in a press release written and distributed by Moog Music’s public relations firm and posted on Moog Music’s website, has unleashed negative comments, many of which raise questions about the role Mike Adams and Moog Music played in Ileana’s sudden change of heart. The BMF has chosen to take the high road, and we will continue to do so, despite many inaccurate comments from Ileana and Mike Adams. That’s what Bob would expect of us. But Ileana’s decision and its timing, the wording of the announcement and the secrecy surrounding its release raise troubling questions about whose interests are really being served by Ileana’s actions.

As for The BMF, we will continue to do what we do best – inspiring and igniting creativity through historic preservation of the Bob Moog Foundation Archives and creating programs like Dr. Bob’s SoundSchool, that introduce children to the power of music, science, and innovation. Nothing would have made Bob happier or prouder.

(Trademarks referred to in this letter are the property of their respective owners)

Sincerely,

Bryan Bell, President

Bob Moog Foundation Board of Directors

Bryan Bell is President and Founder of Synth-Bank Consulting, LLC (Synth-Bank®) a technology practice focusing on using technology to enhance business and creative processes. Bryan spent 20 years consulting and pioneering technology innovation for high-profile corporations and entertainers, including Apple, Domain Chandon, NBC, GEIS, Herbie Hancock, Carlos Santana, Neil Young, Branford Marsalis and INXS. He has served continuously for over 20 years on the board of directors of The Bridge School. Bryan holds a DIS from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business Administration and has been a speaker at conferences around the world. Bryan Bell’s latest music production project, “Duality”, by Nestler and Hawtin was recently released on iTunes."

"Dr. Bob's Modular" Benefit Sample Library for Bob Moog Foundation

"Acclaimed Sound Designers Drew Neumann and Kevin Lamb Create Dr. Bob's Modular Sample Library to Benefit the Bob Moog Foundation

December 1, 2010 – Asheville, NC/Los Angeles, CA – California-based sound designers Drew Neumann and Kevin Lamb have joined forces to create a sound library entitled Dr. Bob's Modular as a benefit for the Bob Moog Foundation. Sounds from Dr. Bob's Modular were sampled from a vintage modular Moog System 15 belonging to collector Dr. Howie Shen. The sample library of unique modular synthesizer sounds is available in the Native Instruments Kontakt 3.1 format at http://www.droomusic.com/dn_prodbundles.php.

The complete library of over 120 sounds is available for $50, while smaller bundles of 13 sounds each are available for $10 apiece. Purchase of the entire library offers significant savings. All bundles come with a special BMF electronic drum kit. Two compositions made with sounds from the library, “Bad Monkeys” and “BMF Carol of the Bells,” can be heard at www.droomusic.com and SoundCloud:


[Bad Monkeys get loose in the house. A short demo...

This was done entirely with one analog synth, a vintage Moog System 15 Modular loaned to me by Dr. Howie Shen. All sounds were generated on the synth, sampled using Redmatica software and loaded into Kontakt. Sequence written using Digital Performer. No monkeys were harmed.]


[Another one--this was also done entirely with the vintage Moog System 15 Modular loaned to me by Dr. Howie Shen. All sounds were generated on the synth, sampled using Redmatica software and loaded into Kontakt. Sequence written using Digital Performer. This showcases a sound set that will be sold at www.droomusic.com starting December 1, 2010 as a fundraiser for the Bob Moog Foundation. 50% of all proceeds go directly to the foundation. Happy Holidays!]

Fifty percent of all proceeds from the purchase of the library and bundles go to benefit the Bob Moog Foundation.

Dr. Bob's Modular is a downloadable-only sample library created to honor synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog's memory and to support the Foundation's mission of igniting creativity at the intersection of music, history, science, and innovation. Kontakt was chosen because it is a widely supported platform with powerful synthesis capabilities of its own. Kontakt supports monolithic file formats that make Web downloads and installations easy. There is a free downloadable Kontakt Player available at Native Instruments' website.

The full version of Kontakt is recommended for users who would like to dig deeper and want to edit and create their own new sounds using the raw waveforms.

Droomusic.com is a work of collaboration between award-winning and renowned composers/sound designers Drew Neumann and Kevin Lamb, who have nearly 70 years of combined experience working with analog synthesizers, both as builders and as players. The website offers extremely affordable sounds ready for immediate download.

Neumann and Lamb state, “Both of us became interested in electronic music through Dr. Moog's wonderful instruments—a passionate interest that led to our careers. We feel that this is one way we can give something back, to help a new generation discover music technologies, and to honor Dr. Moog's highly influential work.”

Drew Neumann (www.drewneumann.com) is an L.A.-based musician and composer of film and television scores for Disney, Paramount, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Cartoon Network. He created the soundtrack of the science fiction animated series Æon Flux and has composed music for many other shows including The Wild Thornberrys, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. He studied film, animation, and composition at the California Institute of the Arts. In addition, Neumann has contributed sound design and music composition for a variety of synthesizers, sound libraries, and software and computer products.

Kevin Lamb (www.premeditatedmusic.com) has worked as a keyboardist, synthesizer programmer, keyboard tech, and engineer for a number of notable international acts such as the Temptations, Chad Hugo (Neptunes), Guitar Legends, the BBC, John Wetton, Phil Manzanera, Tam White, Boz Burrell, Heitor Pereria, Steve Goodman, Simply Red, Thompson Twins, Icehouse, Vitamin Z, Take 6, The End, The Doors, Al Jarreau, Device, Tavares, and the Four Tops. He is an Ivor Novello-nominated composer for UK/European television. Kevin also creates sounds for synthesizer manufacturers and libraries, including Moog, Arturia, and Native Instruments. He is the designer of v4 firmware for C-Thru Music's AXiS-64 MIDI controller.

The Bob Moog Foundation (www.moogfoundation.org) honors the legacy of synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog through its mission of educating and inspiring people with the intersection of music, history, science, and innovation. Its projects include its MoogLab Student Outreach Program, which brings electronic musical instruments into the schools to teach children science through music; the Archive Preservation Initiative, an effort to preserve and protect the inventor's extensive and historic archive; and the future Moogseum, an innovative educational, historic, and cultural facility to be located in Asheville within the next five years.

The Bob Moog Foundation is an independent, donor-driven 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is not formally affiliated with Moog Music, Inc."

Retro Music Software with Audio Wanderer

Published on Mar 2, 2020 Audio Wanderer

Playlist:

1. AW RETRO MUSIC SOFTWARE JAM: HAMMERHEAD RHYTHM STATION V0.96

Messing around with this humble piece of software. Nothing too much spectacular or technically amazing, just a simple but efective classic drum machine style but with samples, free to download and with the size of a diskette. Click install and no need to be a rocket scientist to play with it. Ideal for a n00b on the electronic music back in 1998.

2. AW RETRO MUSIC SOFTWARE JAM: REBIRTH RB-338

Another jam in my old dusty PC now with another life changing piece of software, the Propellerhead Rebirth. Good memories, bad computer

3. AW RETRO MUSIC SOFTWARE JAM: TS 404

Jamming with one of the first software I used when I started making electronic music back in the 1998. The program was a .exe file called TS404 and was great for learning basic principles of electronic music synthesis

4. AW RETRO MUSIC SOFTWARE JAM: RUBBERDUCK [previously posted]

The acclaimed Freeware from D-lusion. Probably the first proper clone of the TB-303 on a PC Windows in the history (Developed in 1996) Enjoy the retro vibes!
Download this program for free now from D-lusion website: http://www.d-lusion.com/DownloadRubbe...

Remembering Bob Moog

[ Note: This post stays on top for the day. Tons going up below. Originally posted at 8:36 AM PST. ]

Today marks the fourth year of Bob Moog's passing. Play a little something for him today.

Be sure to visit The Bob Moog Foundation, and Moog Music where you'll find this wallpaper free of charge.

Don't forget, the "Waves of Inspiration: The Legacy of Moog Museum Exhibit" runs from August 29 - April 30. Keith Emerson and others will be there opening weekend.

Thank you for everything Bob. The synths, the inspiration, the humor, positive vibes and the magic.

Update: Mark Pulver's Moog tattoo. Mark was good friends with Bob Moog. I remember him getting this tattoo after his passing.

BTW, if you have anything Moog specific you'd like to send in, feel free. You can reach me at matrixsynth at gmail. Of course feel free to comment.

Also, I don't ask for a dime to run this site. I've had people suggest I put up a Paypal Donate Here button. I don't because I do have ads on the site and I believe in offering the site for free. But if you do want to donate, even just a few bucks, donate something to The Bob Moog Foundation. Little donations can add up. They are keeping not only Bob Moog's memory alive, but the magic and history of synths.




Update: On the technical side of things, here is a list of patents (creations) from Bob Moog via Jerry on the SDIY list: "well to name a few, "Voltage-Controlled Electronic Music Modules" (R.A. Moog, Journal of the Audio Engineering Society , Vol.13, No. 3, pp 200-206, July 1965...

Update on the Patents via ASSI:
Here's the fulllist of patents where he is named an inventor:
EP000000157821A4 PEPPER WILLIAM JR MOOG ROBERT A [DE] LEITFÄHIGE
ELEKTRODENMATRIX UND MATRIX VON WIDERSTANDSELEMENTEN ... no
EP000000157821A1 PEPPER WILLIAM JR, US MOOG ROBERT A, US [DE] LEITFÄHIGE
ELEKTRODENMATRIX UND MATRIX VON WIDERSTANDSELEMENTEN ... yes
US000004778951A PEPPER JR WILLIAM, US MOOG ROBERT A, US [EN] Arrays of resistive
elements for use in touch panels and for producing ... yes
US000004280387A MOOG ROBERT A [EN] Frequency following circuit yes
US000004213367A MOOG ROBERT A, US [EN] Monophonic touch sensitive keyboard
yes
US000004202238A MOOG ROBERT A, US [EN] Compressor-expander for a musical
instrument yes
US000004180707A MOOG ROBERT A, US [EN] Distortion sound effects circuit yes
US000004166197A MOOG ROBERT A, US WALBORN RICHARD M, US [EN] PARAMETRIC ADJUSTMENT
CIRCUIT yes
US000004117413A MOOG ROBERT A [EN] AMPLIFIER WITH MULTIFILTER yes
US000004108041A MOOG ROBERT A COX ROGER FLAVIUS [EN] Phase shifting sound effects
circuit yes
US000004050343A MOOG ROBERT A [EN] Electronic music synthesizer yes
US000003475623A MOOG ROBERT A [EN] ELECTRONIC HIGH-PASS AND LOW-PASS FILTERS
EMPLOYING THE BASE TO ... yes
WO001985001375A1 PEPPER WILLIAM JR, US MOOG ROBERT A, US [EN] CONDUCTIVE
ELECTRODE ARRAYS AND ARRAYS OF RESISTIVE ELEMENTS FOR ... yes

Other patents listed at the site of Don Tillman are either from employees of Moog
Music or related to some inventions that have been used in Moog products (like the
Bode frequency shifter). This is not to take away from Bob, but I'm sure he would
have been the first to point out that some other guy had invented something. The
patent family he's got together with Mr. Pepper is of course for the touch panel
for the Voyager.
Polyphonic Modes
US 4,778,951: Arrays of Resistive Elements for use in Touch Panels and for Producing Electric Fields"

Update via The Bob Moog Foundation:
"August 21, 2009 -- A Moog Day of Rememberance and Celebration
When August 21st comes around each year, we pause to remember Bob and the remarkable legacy that he left for us all to enjoy. His impact is so widespread that people remember him in all kinds of ways that are meaningful to their particular connection with him. Take a moment today to pay tribute to Bob by:

* Connecting with Bob through your instrument. Lay down a killer lead on your synth or play an ethereal melody on your theremin.

* Listening to some of your favorite Moog tunes. Bob loved working with musicians and fed off their creative drive. He was often astonished at what they could do with his instruments.

* Going out and hear some live music tonight. Bob believed deeply in live music as a force that brings people together in community.

* Reading about Bob's life, work, and legacy. Visit the CaringBridge site and read Ileana Grams-Moog's reflection on today's significance.

* Supporting the Bob Moog Foundation. We carry Bob's legacy forward by inspiring and educating people through electronic music. Donate here so that we can continue our important work.


Today we also celebrate the Bob Moog Foundation's third anniversary of making waves. Next week we head to the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad, CA for the opening of the first exhibit featuring Bob's archives. The exhibit, Waves of Inspiration. The Legacy of Moog, pays tribute to Bob's impact and celebrates his legacy, just as we are doing at the foundation today.


The Bob Moog Foundation

Make Waves by donating to the Bob Moog Foundation"

Update via Richard Lainhart in the comments:
"Here's a link to Part 1 of Jordan Rudess and Richard Lainhart's Moog Birthday Space Jam, from May 23, 2004, featuring an introduction by Bob Moog:

http://www.otownmedia.com/Polaris_Part_1.mp3 [link updated]

"50 years ago, American maverick inventor Robert Moog began developing electronic instruments that altered the course of modern music for all time and have since become an integral part of our musical culture. Jordan Rudess, keyboard virtuoso, and Richard Lainhart, synthesist extraordinaire, will be performing live online on Sunday, May 23, at 1 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time, to honor Bob Moog on his 70th birthday, and on the 50th anniversary of his company Moog Music. We'll be using old and new Moog instruments exclusively, including a vintage Mini-Moog, a modern Moog Voyager Mini-Moog, Arturia's Moog Modular V software, and a Moog Etherwave Theremin, in a classic electronic space improvisation streaming live on the Internet from O-Town Live."

Bob was a great man, and a good friend, and we still miss him."

Update: new flickr images in today

Vintage analog synthesizer - Moog

flickr by nra24

Below: moog hockey
Hmm...
flickr by theres no way home

Update: the Moog hockey table has been verified as real. You might remember the Moog phone. Note these were made by Moog in the 80s long after Bob Moog left the company.

Update via NOISECOLLECTIVE
Saint image below with Moog and Roland and: "Here are some pictures of my moog prodigy exposed @the past 'TORINO SYNTH CLINIC'"

Update on the hockey game via brian in the comments: "It's not called Moog hockey, but "Super Chexx" hockey. Sadly, the Super Chexx game has ALWAYS been collectible in the arcade world anyway, due to it's clear plastic bubble look and the sound effects.

With "sound by Moog" written up there at the top as I recall. It sounds REALLY bad, but grainy as hell in a good way. I'd be surprised if it was 8-bit. More like 4..."

G-Sonique Swede Trap Bass - VST plug-in synthesizer instrument for Trap / Hip-hop kick & bass

video upload by G-Sonique



"Made in cooperation with Swede from 808 Mafia, music producer for biggest stars Lil Wayne, Dj Khaled, Gucci Mane, Nas, Farruko, Dalex...
Made music for soundtracks like Bad Boys for Life with Will Smith, TV Show kidding with Jim Carrey, music for commercials with NBA Star Paul George and more!!"

DOWNLOAD HERE: https://www.g-sonique.com/swede-trap-...

"Swede Trap Bass is a plug-in synthesizer designed for creating heavy Trap / Hip-Hop Kicks and fat Basslines. Cooperation between G-Sonique X Swede, plug-in developer more than 14 years on the market and famous hip-hop RIAA platinum producer Swede.

Swede made music for world-class rappers and singers like Lil Wayne, DJ Khaled, Gucci Mane, Nas, Farruko, Dalex etc. his music was used in Hollywood movies / Soundtracks like Bad Boys for Life with Will Smith, etc.

Trap Bass is instrument designed to create kicks and basslines easy and fast without the need of difficult post-production and fine-tunning with additional effects, everything is included. With trap bass you can create massive kicks and basses in seconds, from classic to progressive new kind of basslines. The synthesizer combines the best of digital and analog/vintage, from warm analog filters and oscillators, to vintage style exponential envelopes coded after real hardware drum boxes. 20 kick oscillators, 8 filters, oscillator waveshaping, analog distortion circuits, parametric saturation and much more. Thanks to emulation of various vintage analog circuits/modules plug-in sounds very smooth, round and fat comparing to basic digital synths.

The synthesizer is designed for heavy Trap and Hip-Hop kick drums and basslines but it can be used in various music styles like Techno, House, Acid, Rave, Underground tekno, Hardcore, Gabber, Psytrance, Deep Drum and Bass, Bigroom, Minimal, Uk garage, Downtempo, Electro and others.

CLICK FOR MORE »

RIP David Alan Luce - Former President of Moog Music & Creator of the Polymoog

News is in that Dave Luce passed away yesterday, April 15, at the age of 80.  That's him working on the Polymoog back in the day.   I spotted the image and news in this tweet by @casadistortion.

"RIP David Luce, designer of the groundbreaking Polymoog."

You can find a video interview with Dave Luce in NAMM's Oral Histories site here.

See here for a polymoog promotional film featuring David Luce.

via The Buffalo News:

"After a brief stint at Sperry Rand, where he worked on high-speed digital circuitry, Mr. Luce joined Moog Music in 1972 and invented the first commercial polyphonic synthesizer, the Polymoog.

He became head of engineering, was promoted to president of Moog in 1981, and became a co-owner in 1984. He oversaw and contributed directly to the development of Moog synthesizers and other products.

In developing those instruments, he worked with Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake & Palmer and many other artists on whose music his innovations had a significant impact.

After Moog closed in 1987, Mr. Luce embarked on a new career, helping to develop and refine ophthalmic diagnostic instruments at Reichert Technologies. In 2000 he made an important discovery relating to properties of the cornea, and in 2005 he published a now widely cited paper that earned him recognition as the 'Father of Corneal Biomechanics.'"

And via Marc Doty, aka Automatic Gainsay:

"Dave Luce has passed away.

Bill Waytena, the guy who bought R.A. Moog and turned it into Moog Music in the early part of the 70s, hired Dave to create a polyphonic synthesizer. The synthesizer he created was the Polymoog.

The Polymoog was a complicated design that tried to cope with the issues involved in creating an articulated polyphonic design. Polyphonic electronic keyboards had been created for years, going back to 1937, when Harald Bode created the Warbo Formant Organ. But the problem with applying Bob Moog's synthesis concept to polyphony was that the user was probably going to want each voice to be fully articulated... and that was complex and expensive.

Dave's design essentially addressed the challenge by creating an IC chip for each key that gave each key a synthesizer.

The Polymoog was riddled with challenges and failings, but overall, it was a huge success... being the first, and most effective, application of voltage control to polyphony.

Of course, it couldn't have a ladder filter per key, which meant that the Polymoog had great presets, but fell short when it came to polyphonic synthesis.

Bob described Dave as pursuing overly-complicated designs. Anyone who has ever owned or repaired a Polymoog, should probably agree.

But still... the Polymoog got us started in the modern age, and it was a popular and useful design. Dave Luce worked hard for Moog Music, and is responsible for a lot in regard to that which was created by that company in the 1970s.

Thank you, Dave, for all of your great work.

http://buffalonews.com/…/david-alan-luce-moog-president-pi…/

P.S. We should also thank Keith Emerson... because his input on the Apollo design led to the improved Polymoog."

You can check out the Moog Apollo in the Bob Moog Foundation Archives videos posted here.

Update via Ben Luce in the comments:

"This is Ben Luce, Dave Luce's son. I appreciate the commentary above very much.
Thank you for posting it. I would like to comment though that I have never agreed
with Bob Moog's characterization of my father as pursuing overly-complicated designs.
As your good commentary above notes, my Dad was struggling with very complicated design issues
with the polymoog, and was doing so in era where integrated circuits and instruments of the complexity
of the polymoog were quite new and unexplored.

But perhaps more to the point, to my understanding the primary failing of the poly was that the individual
circuit cards for each key were not soldered down: They were intentionally left removable because
there was some well grounded concern that voltage spikes from bad power on the grid
could cause the special chips that each carried to fail occasionally, necessitating
occasional replacements. As it turned out, these chips almost never failed, which I think is a testament to
the careful design of the chips in terms of component tolerances and such, and of the circuitry
that supported them. So in fact, the failure was really an engineering problem, not
a failure of my Dad's design work per se. Moreover, my Dad worked on all sorts of synthesizers for
Moog Music after that, and created some before that, and in no way were these generally plagued by some
tendency towards over complicated design. The same holds for his subsequent work on
ophthalmic instruments, which led to him finally to be recognized widely as "The Father
of Corneal Biomechanics".

In truth, my father actually loved and sought simplicity in
his work wherever it could be found. He was a true physicist, and physicists are steeped in the
virtues of simplicity and symmetry and mathematical beauty from the get-go.

Finally, it should be mentioned in this context that Bog Moog only worked directly with my
father for a few years, and I don't believe he worked very directly with him on
detailed circuit design issues, except perhaps when my Dad was first involved with improving
some of Bob's older designs. Bog also made those comments long after having left the company for
reasons that had little to do with my father, and that these may reflect some overall bitterness
about that not related to my Dad. For my Dad's part, I never heard him say an ill word about Bog.
He greatly admired Bob's work, and was proud to worked for him and for Moog Music in general."

Update: see this post for a recent restoration of David Alan Laces Polymoog.

Salamander Music Systems

via Wavedeform in the comments of this post. I actually posted about the SMS website back on 7/12/2006. You can find all SMS posts I've put up here. Note there are three SMSes: Synthetic Music Systems, makers of the SMS MARS analog synth, Salamander Music Systems, and of course the fake SMS 2000. That said, here is the following via Wavedeform. Be sure to check out the site.

"My rather sparse Salamander site can be found here.

Salamander Music Systems (SMS) was started by Dennis Saputelli, an amazing designer. For its entire history SMS also manufactured lighting consoles, which was a much more lucrative business. Pretty much everyone involved with SMS was into it for synth-geek reasons, though, and saw the lighting stuff as the necessary evil that needed to be done to finance the synth stuff.

I worked at Salamander from roughly 1977-1985. The goal was to build the no-compromise synthesizer we all wanted. This meant that we were somewhat more expensive than a lot of systems of that era. At one point we had some pens made up that read: "SMS - When you don't care _how_ much it costs." There were a handful of (mostly large) modular systems shipped, and somewhere between 30-50 Voice 400s. Quite a lot of custom work was done also. For example, Mike Cotten of "The Tubes" had a bunch of SMS stuff, including a cool custom sequencer.

The modular was really amazing for its time. It used high quality sub-modules for all of its core functions. We started out using EMu sub-modules for the 97 Dual Oscillator, 147 UAF, and maybe one other module (I seem to remember a four pole LPF, too). The EMu modules were really expensive, and hard to get, so early on we designed our own sub-modules, some discrete, some based on SSM and Curtis chips.

The power distribution was perhaps overkill, but it also had significant advantages. Basically, there is a system wide, loosely regulated, +/- 18 VDC, and +9 VDC power supply. Each module has it's own local regulators to bring that down to +/- 15 VDC and +5 VDC. Because a module has its own power supply, it can be swapped around from system to system without the need for re-calibration. It also spread the heat around more evenly. The 1" modules didn't really have room for regulators, so they had their own regulated distribution scheme.

The Voice 400 was also really nice, but came out a little after the Prophet V, and a little before the DX-7; polyphony was the order of the day. A great sounding programmable monosynth, even with a programmable analog delay, was not what people wanted. I had one music store salesman tell me, flat out, that effects in a synthesizer were a bad idea, and that no one would want them. It turns out that they may, in reality, be a bad idea, but everyone wants them, anyway :-).

After SMS had been selling systems for a few years, Serge Systems relocated from Hollywood to San Francisco, just across town. There was a good natured rivalry between Darrell Johansen, Paul Young and the crew from Serge, and the SMS crew. If the respective companies were bigger, and we weren't all pasty-skinned synth-geeks, we would have had rival baseball teams or something. I had been a Serge user, as had Salamander user Naut Humon, currently of Asphodel/Recombinant Media Lab, and his bandmate at that time in "Rhythm & Noise", Rex Probe. Rex was also affiliated with SMS, doing assembly mostly, but a little design, too. Somehow illustrating the cycles of life is the fact that Rex is currently running Serge Modular.

Dennis Saputelli is still doing some lighting stuff, but mostly he does custom design and assembly, on an OEM basis. His company is called Integrated Controls http://integratedcontrolsinc.com/ , and is still in the same warehouse as the Salamander of old. Since I worked there, he has expanded into all the available space on the first floor of the building, and seems to be doing well."

Bad Gear - He might be BIASED

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. There are these unfounded rumors that this show is not actually about Bad Gear, that I just pick random stuff I want to make music with and let clueless online trolls do their magic.

This is - of course - a steaming pile of horse dung and I just recently failed to find enough hate on, for example, the Access Virus B, Novation Drumstation and Dreadbox Typhon.

However, today we are going to talk about Digitakt II and as this particular unit was sent over by Elektron as a long term loan even they must be aware of the fact that late 80s polyphony, partial physics workflow and a lack of essential hipster features make for some juicy online controversy.

Bad Gear - I might be BIASED

This Digitakt II was sent over by Elektron as a long term loan.

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
01:02 Overview Digitakt 2
01:36 More New Stuff (Slicing, Time Stretch,...)
02:09 Kits, Stereo Sampling, Polyphony
02:32 New Filter Models
02:45 Sequencing, Euclidean Sequencer
03:11 Buttons, New Trigger Modes
03:37 Sequence Handling, More Sequencer Stuff
04:07 Prepare Mutes
04:13 FX Page, Bus Compressor, Saturation
04:43 LFO 3, Control All, Glissando,
05:18 Midi Sequencing, Midi Learn, Name CCs
05:27 Overbridge (or lack thereof)
05:34 Pricing
05:45 Hate
06:09 Jam 1 ( Nordic Techno )
07:04 Jam 2 ( Breaks & Stuff )
08:10 Finale ( Best of Bad Gear Sound Library )
08:40 Verdict"

Yamaha to Host Rare Vintage Synth Exhibit at NAMM

Pictured: Yamaha's first synth, the SY-1.

"Yamaha to Exhibit Rare Vintage Synthesizers From 40‐Year History at the 2015 NAMM Show

BUENA PARK, Calif. (January 6, 2015)—Yamaha today announced that it will exhibit around a dozen rare vintage synthesizers at the 2015 NAMM Show, the largest musical instrument trade show in North America, to be held January 22‐25, 2015 in Anaheim, California. This showcase, which celebrates Yamaha’s 40th anniversary of manufacturing synthesizers—a milestone reached this year— plans to include analog synthesizers like the SY‐2, CS30 and a special guest or two, the gorgeous GS1, the DX7, which was one of the most commercially successful synths of its day, and the rare VP1—a polyphonic physical modeling synthesizer. Some of the models will be playable. Yamaha introduced its first synthesizer, the SY‐1, in 1974 after decades of research and development and established a high technological benchmark when it released the CS80 polyphonic synthesizer in 1976. The company made musical history in 1983 when the DX7 debuted as the most commercially successful electronic keyboard of its time. This keyboard, which helped shape the sound of popular music in the 1980s, relied on frequency modulation—the leading‐edge technology of the time. By the end of the decade, Yamaha synths evolved from performance instruments to full‐fledged music workstations. The rise of music production synthesizers helped spur the home recording revolution by providing arrangers with a single tool to orchestrate almost any combination of musical instruments with ever‐more realistic tone generation. Yamaha helped develop the use of

sampled—or recorded—tones, along with physical modeling that went beyond sound by recreating instrument behavior as a mathematical model. Building on years of experience and distilling all of Yamaha’s technical innovations into one synth, the Motif series, introduced in 2001, evolved into an industry leader by offering great sound, computer integration and the ability to create sophisticated musical performances with ease. To celebrate the anniversary, Yamaha released the latest iteration of this series, the Motif XF, with a special edition white finish—the only Music Production Synthesizer on the market available in this color. The model offers an exclusive 40th Anniversary Premium Contents Pack that includes FL512M flash memory expansion, a USB drive with content from vintage Yamaha synthesizers and more than $1,000 in rebate offers on Yamaha products and third party soft synths, editors and sound libraries. Beyond hardware, Yamaha became an early adopter of digital technology. Earlier this year, the company launched www.yamahasynth.com, a new community for Yamaha synthesizer users. The site features a forum where members can interact with Yamaha’s product experts including the legendary Phil “Bad Mister” Clendeninn, Yamaha Synthesizer artists and other enthusiasts, along with resources to help all players get the most out of their instrument and download sounds directly into their synthesizers. 'Yamaha has long mastered the art of drawing on past technologies to improve on future synthesizer models,' said Nate Tschetter, marketing manager, Music Production, Yamaha Corporation of America. 'We continue to make high‐quality synthesizers for every stage of one’s musical career from the bedroom studio to the sold‐out stadium.' For more information, visit the Yamaha Booth at the 2015 NAMM Show in the Anaheim Marriott Hotel, Marquis Ballroom, January 22‐25, 2015, or http://4wrd.it/yamahasynth."

Bad Gear - Microkorg the 2nd

video upload by AudioPilz

"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. Sequel to iconic movies tend to have a bad reputation - which is not always fair. Who doesn’t like stone cold classic like Jaws II or Space Jam - A New Legacy and Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem is a guilty pleasure of mine for a reason.

Today we are going to talk about Microkorg II . This direct-to-Bad Gear synthesizer and successor to the OG hipster keyboard comes with all the features that made the original so great like minikeys and a front panel real estate-hogging genre selector and combines them with the blessings of gamification . Masterpiece!

Bad Gear - I'll stick to the OLD ONE!!!
synth keyboard

Chapters:
00:00 Intro tune
00:58 Overview Korg Microkorg 2
01:49 Synth Engine, Oscillators
02:22 Filter
02:36 Envelopes, LFOs, Mod Matrix
02:50 Timbres
03:09 Effects Section (Modulation FX, Reverb, Delay)
03:16 Arpeggiator, Looper, Vocoder
03:48 What else??? (Trophies, Presets, Pricing)
04:35 Hate
04:55 Jam 1 ( Techno )
05:46 Jam 2 ( 90s Beats )
06:45 Finale ( 2000s Bass Music )
07:17 Verdict
08:22 Patreon Vocoder Shoutout"

Rob Papen’s Punch-BD

RP Punch-BD Introduction Published on Sep 19, 2014 Rob Papen

"Based around the BD module of the multi award winning Punch virtual drum synth, Rob Papen delivers a creative module to help you to produce the fattest sounding bass drums for your music.

Stacking bass drums is a popular technique used by today's music producers and Punch-BD gives you the ability to stack up to 6 in total. Divide the 6 BD pads over the keyboard or use them 'stacked' in tuned mode to produce creative new BD sounds for all styles of contemporary music.

Punch-BD delivers synthesized drums in the finest audio quality or you can choose to load in your own samples for complete flexibility. Each pad has its own distortion module with several distortion types as well as its own 3 band graphic EQ. What's more, each individual pad also has its own preset section next to the overall 'BD kit'.

Like its big brother, Punch-BD features four FX units each with many 31 types of top quality FX plus further filters, envelopes, modulation routings and more for crafting your own unique sound.

From Electronic Dance and Hip Hop to Soundtrack projects, Punch-BD provides a solid speaker-busting sound for your productions."

Update: and the official press release:

"Get your kicks with Rob Papen’s Punch-BD bangin’ bass drum virtual instrument

ECHT, THE NETHERLANDS: virtual instrument and effects plug-in developer Rob Papen Soundware is proud to announce availability of Punch-BD, a powerful kick-ass bass drum virtual instrument for Mac (OS X 10.6 or higher) and PC (Windows Vista, 7, and 8) — based around the BD module of its award- winning speaker-busting, body-rattling Punch drum synthesis/sampler software instrument — to enable users to comfortably create the biggest-sounding bass drums around, as of September 19...

Stacking bass drums is a popular technique used by today’s power-seeking music producers to give their tracks the kind of kick that will literally move dancefloors — and even mountains... maybe! By introducing Punch-BD, Rob Papen provides its users with an attractive ability to stack up to six bass drums in total to comfortably create cutting-edge bass drums that will clearly cut through any musical mix. Moreover, its six sequentially-numbered BD pads can be divided across an external controller keyboard for performance purposes — in 6 Notes PLAY MODE (with the six ‘notes’ repeated over the whole keyboard range) — or ‘simply’ stacked — in Stack or Tuned Stack PLAY MODE (which follows the pitch of the keyboard) — to creatively construct brand new bad-ass bass drum sounds suited to any style of contemporary music production. When selecting Seq, the fourth PLAY MODE, the bass drums that are active play in sequential order — perfect for more experimental applications, while Tune Seq PLAY MODE is essentially the same as Seq but follows the keyboard pitch. Each BD pad can be played solo or muted and has its own command menu with some speedy Copy and Swap functions for friendlier workflow.

Predictably, perhaps, Punch-BD features the same high-quality algorithms attributed to the ever-popular Punch’s punchy sound. In Drum MODE users can choose from four synthesis Models, together with a familiar-sounding range of Classic electronic bass drum samples, and also, according to Rob Papen himself, “...a nice range of built-in acoustic and fantasy bass drum samples.” Elsewhere, each BD pad includes its own distortion module offering no fewer than 19 distortion types, together with a three-band parametric EQ. Each BD pad also features a preset section next to the overall ‘BD kit’ to speed up bass drum sound selection for contributing to the resultant stacked sound. Sample MODE allows adventurous users to combine two samples per pad in several ways with many samples already installed from Punch to make percussive life easier. Enterprising and adventurous users can even choose to load in their own samples for full flexibility with drag-and-drop support, though those pressed for time will appreciate added quick edit parameters for adjusting the most important parts of any given drum sound.

Like its knockout bigger brother, Punch-BD packs four FX processors with no fewer than 31 high-quality FX types with several routing options into its feature-heavy hit list, lifted higher still with further filters, envelopes, and modulation routings with which to delve deeper via various editing pages — EASY, PADS, MIXER, MOD/FX, and MANAGER — when crafting and storing signature sounds that are alive and kicking while packing a whole lot of low-end punch for not a whole lot of financial outlay.

Of course, Punch-BD provides perfect speaker-busting, body-rattling bass drum sounds to die for, though this is to be expected with Rob Papen at the sound designing helm: “There are plenty of great presets onboard Punch-BD. Enjoy!” We will, indeed, Rob!

From EDM and hip-hop to soundtrack projects, Punch-BD is a production powerhouse par excellence. As a 64- or 32-bit (AAX-, AU-, and VST-compatible) plug-in, add it to your DAW and you, too, could soon be moving musical mountains! Simply stack those bass drums high and give your tracks the driving kick to take them wherever it is that they need to go.

Punch-BD can be purchased as a boxed version from authorised Rob Papen dealers worldwide for €49.00 EUR (including VAT/tax)/$59.00 USD or purchased and downloaded directly from Rob Papen here: http://www.robpapen.com/Punch-bd-buy.html (Note: Punch-BD is available for free to EDM Bundle, eXplorer-III, Punch, and Urban Bundle owners... simply login via the Rob Papen homepage, go to My Products, and download the latest installer and installer guide.)"

Electronic Music Laboratories ElectroComp EML-200

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Sean Rubin



via this listing

"If you are considering buying this synth, I imagine you already know a bit about it. But for those stumbling onto this listing and are intrigued, there is a video link for one example of the one for sale in use....

Allow me to offer that all I know about it.

This is a FULLY FUNCTIONAL EML Electrocomp 200. I had it restored over at Main Drag Music in Brooklyn, NY a few years back. The Power Cord is original, and I’ll include the original capacitors with the unit in a bag.

This is an exceptionally rare synth, built in Vernon CT in likely the late 60’s or mid 70’s. It was initially made to be an educational synthesizer for science classrooms to teach kids the physics of how sounds are created.

On its own, it is a modular synth island with one master oscillator that serves as an LFO and/or ring mod source & two saw tooth waves. The synth also has a spring reverb, a ring mod, and a mic amp along with a 6 channel stereo mixer (3 per side).

While it does offer keyboard control in the back, it is for a specific keyboard that I do not have, but the synth CAN be controlled via CV with an atypical 1.2V/Hz output. I have successfully controlled the sawtooth waves with an Elektron Analog Four, as they are the only wave shapes that have an input section.

This synthesizer sounds like it’s history. You can smell the capacitors in the sound. You can also actually smell the synthesizer a little bit when it’s turned on (not a bad thing, it really works perfectly). All of the wave shapes are very stable and have their own vibes that are unique from any other synthesizer you’ve heard.

This synthesizer is a weird little beast on its own, and controlled with CV it offers some beautiful sounds. As a piece of outboard gear, the spring reverb, ring mod & mic amp are awesome on drums, guitars, other keyboards, and of course the synth its-self.

For those who do experimental music, ambient music, electronic music in general or are looking for a vintage happy mistake machine to sample that also looks as good as it sounds, you’re gonna love playing with this synth.

I have taken excellent care of this synth and am sad to see it go, but it’s time for it to be enjoyed by someone else who appreciates and loves it as much as I have. I’d love to hear what you make with it and how you carry on its legacy."

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