via this auction "Here's a rundown of the various functions/knobs...
AUTOSPEED: This controls the speed of the internal sequencer or "AUTO" mode and was one of the repaired controls. The pot is original but the wiring to the board was replaced. Works as it should.
AUDIO SENSITIVITY: This is the sensitivity for the external trigger input. You adjust the knob according to the type of signal. I.E. a trigger from a drum pad would require higher sensitivity than line level audio like, say, a sound from a drum machine. Works as it should but as you can see the knob itself is not original.
PITCH (CLAP): This controls the pitch of the clap sample. This is one of the pots that was completely replaced. Works as it should.
DECAY (CLAP): This sounds pretty self explanatory but if you've ever played with one of these things you know it's not quite a true "decay" in the traditional sense. Yes, when at it's lowest setting you get a very tight short sample and the sound will increase with length as you turn it up BUT as get to around the 3 o'clock position the it actually starts to loop a part of the sample in a very strange way. You can hear it in the video link below. It's pretty wild sounding and works as it should.
PITCH (NOISE): Another weird one as this knob isn't so much a pitch control for the noise but a filter for the noise. You can here it in the video. This pot is other that was totally replaced and as you can see the knob is not original but it works exactly as it should.
DECAY (NOISE): This controls the decay for the noise. At it's lowest setting you get very tight percussive white noise attacks and at it's highest you get nice long noise crashes. Works as it should.
BALANCE: This is basically a crossfader for the clap sample and the noise. When at 0 all you will hear is the clap and at 10 all you will hear is the white noise. It's worth mentioning that the noise a bit louder than the clap which is to say that with the knob centered, the noise will be louder than the clap. Not sure if this is normal or not and, of course, you can still get a good even balance by turing the knob slightly more towards the clap but, again, thought it was worth mentioning.
LEVEL: This the volume knob and power switch. Pretty self explanatory. Works as it should.
AUTO BUTTON: This engages the internal non programmable sequencer.
HUMANIZER: This is very cool function that when engaged slightly randomizes the clap sample's pitch resulting in a slightly more realistic - or "human" - feel. Sometime it takes the button a few tries to engage as you can see in the video it does work most of the time.
TRIGGER: This is the manual trigger which you can use to play the clap trap by hand without an external trigger/pad."
Update: module details and pic added further below.
"On Friday July 15th at 7pm PST, Make Noise founder Tony Rolando will show off his newest Eurorack module design, alongside long-time modular artist Rodent.
Make Noise has a long history of shaking up the modular synth world with fresh, forward-thinking, and downright fun new modules and standalone instruments.
This marks Make Noise's first new release since 2021's Strega, and their first new Eurorack module since 2019's Mimeophon.
The stream will feature a module overview, Q+A, and live examples of the new design."
Initial post/details:
Make Noise will be presenting a new module at Perfect Circuit tonight at 7 PM. It's my understanding tickets for the event are full, however Perfect Circuit will be live streaming the event. I will be sharing the stream on top of the site at 7PM sharp so tune back in for the event.
Details follow:
Live Event: Make Noise First Look to New Eurorack Module
Where: Perfect Circuit Showroom 2405 Empire Ave Burbank, CA 91504
Event date: July 15th, 2022, 7 PM
About the Friday Make Noise Event
Make Noise is heading to Perfect Circuit for an exclusive first look at their latest creation. On Perfect Circuit's YouTube channel at 7 PM PST this Friday, July 15th, Make Noise founder Tony Rolando is showing off their newest Eurorack module design. Long-time modular artist Rodent will join Tony in the announcement. Tune in live for the first look at what Make Noise has cookin'. The stream will feature a module overview, Q+A, and live examples of the new design.
What Will They Reveal?
Make Noise has a long history of shaking up the modular synth world with fresh, forward-thinking, and downright fun new modules and standalone instruments. Be sure to tune in for Make Noise's first release since 2021's Strega and their first new Eurorack module since 2019's Mimeophon. This new module is top secret, so we can't share any details except we know you will love it.
"Make Noise is proud to announce our newest module, the XPO!
The XPO, or Stereo Prismatic Oscillator, is a Voltage Controlled Analog Oscillator designed for generating Sine waves, Triangle waves, Sawtooth and Spike waves, Sub-Octaves, Stereo Timbre Modulations (including Pulse Width Modulation and Wavefolding), Oscillator SYNC, Linear FM and more in the analog domain.
The XPO is designed to be the Stereo VCO complement to our Stereo Filter, the QPAS. The two modules share the core idea of complex circuits being controlled in multiple dimensions in the stereo field by a few powerful parameters. The Stereo Prismatic Oscillator also makes a particularly useful patch buddy for the STO, Mimeophon, and X-PAN.
The XPO was announced on Friday, July 15th by Make Noise founder Tony Rolando and our Sales Specialist Eric "Rodent" Cheslak at an event at Perfect Circuit."
The XPO or Stereo Prismatic Oscillator is a Voltage Controlled Analog Oscillator designed for generating Sine waves, Triangle waves, Sawtooth and Spike waves, Sub- Octaves, Stereo Timbre Modulations (including Pulse Width Modulation and Wavefolding), Oscillator SYNC, Linear FM and more in the analog domain.
The XPO is designed to be the Stereo VCO complement to our Stereo Filter, the QPAS. The two modules share the core idea of complex circuits being controlled in multiple dimensions in the stereo field by a few powerful parameters. The Stereo Prismatic Oscillator also makes a particularly useful patch buddy for the STO, Mimeophon, and X- PAN.
The Story of the XPO by Tony Rolando
I was lying awake in bed at 3 am thinking about music and synthesizers, on this early morning specifically, the voice panning of the OB8. So simple, so effective. A bank of 8 analog pan-pots is tucked into the side of the instrument to let the musician choose the exact placement of each voice in the stereo field. As you play the instrument, notes may dance around your head. This led me to think about how Oberheim and most other synthesizer designers through the 70s and early 80s primarily used Pulse Width Modulation for waveform animation. Don Buchla's wavefolding techniques had not caught on. PWM has been more or less the same for decades and there is not a whole lot of difference between PWM in one instrument to another. Some allow you to modulate further than others. A few even allow you to go all the way to 0% or 100% Width. PWM was usually generated from a Saw or Triangle core, and while I tend to prefer PWM generated from a Tri-Core, the difference is subtle. The bigger difference is the filter that follows. PWM has a way of tickling the resonance of a filter that can really make the sound come alive.
This led me to think about Stereo filtering. How could a synth sound more stereo? At Make Noise we have voice panning with the XPAN, stereo filtering with the QPAS, and stereo echo verb with the Mimeophon. Surely, this was enough stereo modulation.
Then it occurred to me, why couldn't PWM be stereo? It would be very effective at creating a stereo image since the amplitude of both Left and Right would be almost identical, while still offering dramatic stereo timbral shifts. I thought to myself, surely somebody has done Stereo PWM already. I needed to research this idea. So I wrote about it in the notepad I keep on the nightstand and I eventually fell back asleep.
I woke up the next day and I immediately saw the note, I tried to read it...
"In the mid-1980s, Roland released the now-famous TR-707 and TR-727 Rhythm Composers. Loved deeply by groove-minded musicians the world over, these machines have been the beating heart of a wide range of styles including synth pop, acid house, techno, industrial, electro and experimental. Now the sound of these classic rhythm machines, with every nuance accounted for, can be injected into your TR-8, taking the whole experience to an entirely new level. Every sound of the TR-707 and TR-727 Rhythm Composers, faithfully reproduced using the original PCM wave data and detailed models of the original circuitry. Analog Circuit Behavior captures the unmistakable sound of the original units – a result of lo-fi sampling and the behavior of the analog envelope and VCA circuitry design. Newly modified TR-909 kick and snare sounds with enhanced attack characteristics. Five new TR-808 sounds including Noise Toms, Noise Clap and Finger Snaps. Unique flam and accent behaviors of the TR-909 and TR-707, with adjustable flam intensity and two levels of accent. Upgrades the TR-8 to have all the sounds and articulations of four iconic TR drum machines, plus all new sounds, in one performance-ready instrument.
Adding the 7X7 Drum Machine Expansion takes the experience of playing a TR-8 to a whole new level. All 30 original TR-707 and TR-727 sounds – each with Tune and Decay controls – open up a whole world of sonic possibilities. Aside from the original TR-707 and TR-727 sounds, the 7X7 expansion includes new, never-before-heard sounds inspired by the original TR engineers. New TR-808 “noise” sounds and finger snaps bring ever more tonal variety and newly modified TR-909 kick and snare sounds take the classic combo into new territory with enhanced attack characteristics.
Once expanded with the 7X7, your TR-8 can have all the sounds of a TR-707, 727, 808, 909 and more – newly color-coded by kit for easy selection. And the eight stage flam of the TR-909 and versatile accent behavior of the TR-707 dramatically enhance how you can manipulate the feel of a groove. Any step can have a weak or strong hit, a weak or strong accent, an adjustable flam, step based effects and side chain. All the sounds and behaviors of four iconic TR drum machines, plus the TR-8’s own dynamic swing, rolls, playable faders, and across-the-board tune and decay controls make the TR-8 the most advanced Roland drum machine we’ve ever built.
The TR-707’s predecessor, the TR-909, was developed as an analog-digital hybrid rather than a fully digital device. As memory chips and digital-to-analog converters were very expensive at the time, there was concern that an all-digital design would make the product unaffordable for too many musicians. Also, while PCM sound generation could produce more realistic drum sounds, it offered little in the way of tone editing.
After the TR-909’s release however, digital PCM became the trend for synthesizers and drum machines. We embraced this trend with the TR-707 and TR-727, but expensive memory and lack of high-precision D/A converters resulted in a 25kHz, 8-bit (or 6-bit for some tones) sample playback engine that was primitive by today’s standards. Though the TR-707 and TR-727 were developed primarily for rhythm programming and did not give users the ability to edit their sounds, they were ultimately appreciated for their characteristic lo-fi punch and continue to be sought after to this day.
CAPTURING THE ORIGINALS
Even though the TR-707 and TR-727 were primarily digital devices, it would not have been possible to perfectly replicate their sound using samples. Due to the low bit-rates of the original units, quantization noise became a problem, particularly during the sound’s decay. To reduce quantization noise, a clever design was employed where PCM sound was produced using non-decaying waveforms and decay was then introduced in the analog circuitry after being converted. Also, at the time these units were developed, deviations in the clock that triggered the PCM caused differences in pitch, and deviations in the analog circuitry downstream of the D/A converter caused variances in decay characteristics.
To replicate these sounds for the TR-8, we started with the original PCM wave data found on the classic machines. We then used our ACB process to completely model the PCM output stage, carefully including all of its quirks and instabilities. Modeling the analog envelope and amplifier stages that came after the D/A converter allowed us to implement the “Tune” and “Decay” parameters that are available on the TR-8, but not present on the original units.
A SEVEN IN YOUR EIGHT…AND THEN SOME
Adding the 7X7 Drum Machine Expansion takes the experience of playing a TR-8 to a whole new level. All 30 original TR-707 and TR-727 sounds—each with Tune and Decay controls—open up a whole world of sonic possibilities. Aside from the original TR-707 and TR-727 sounds, the 7X7 expansion includes four new, never-before-heard sounds inspired by the original TR engineers. New TR-808 “noise” sounds and finger snaps bring ever more tonal variety and newly modified TR-909 kick and snare sounds take the classic combo into new territory with enhanced attack characteristics.
Once expanded with the 7X7, your TR-8 can have all the sounds of a TR-707, 727, 808, 909 and more—newly color-coded by kit for easy selection. And the eight stage flam of the TR-909 and versatile accent behavior of the TR-707 dramatically enhance how you can manipulate the feel of a groove. Any step can have a weak or strong hit, a weak or strong accent, an adjustable flam, step based effects and side chain. All the sounds and behaviors of four iconic TR drum machines, plus the TR-8’s own dynamic swing, rolls, playable faders, and across-the-board tune and decay controls make the TR-8 the most advanced Roland drum machine we’ve ever built."
"An electronic rock track using a custom built electric cigar box bass guitar, a Sequential Circuits Pro 1, Roland TR-606, Korg MS-20, a custom eurorack modular synth & intersound spring reverb. Vocals were recorded using a 1995 groove tubes MD1 tube mic, into a focusrite ISA one preamp with digital out. Recorded into ableton live 8, mixed on a Tascam DM4800 with yamaha HS80 monitors.
The track started out as a quick jam to a 77 bpm beat using the box bass & the song developed from there.
The box bass has an oak neck and poplar box. It’s nailed together so it resonates, the string is a spare low string from L&M. The pickups are a pair of dimarzio Twang kings. Their are placed to the side of the string, facing each other and offset. The top pickup is on a hinge.
The bass was plugged into the Focusrite ISA one with the gain all the way up. The ISA can take a lot of drive and sounds great squared off.
Ryan Dahle played the bass string with power, forcing it to hit the non moving coil at times, to great effect. While playing he would also vary the distance of the second coil. During the breakdown he rubs and strikes the moving coil against the string and jumps back into the guitar riff by plucking normally and moving the coil back again.
At mix down the guitar is run through a tube screamer plugin and an ssl vst channel pulling back 350 and pushing 5k up. It is panned hard right and left dry. An effect send from the guitar channel feeds an intersound spring reverb with 1k pulled back about 6db. The dry guitar signal and reverb return are matched back to stereo in a late 60s fashion.
The mechanical noises in the background of the track were created as a modular sequence that had to be restarted until it started on a part of the pattern that sounded right.
For this sequence, The TR 606, MS 20 module, and Modular are all wired together as one system. The 606 receives dinsync from the DAW via a roland SBX10 sync box. From the 606 the high tom output triggers the clock input of the MFB trigger sequencer in the modular which is making a 32 step pattern triggering a clock divider that controls the envelopes used in the system. One of the clock divider trigger outs controls the a105 filter which filters the output of an A117 noise source. The resonance of the A105 is wide open and modulate by the animated pulse out of the Livewire AFG (VCO). The frequency of the AFG is itself modulated by one of the LFOs on the A143-3 (quad lfo).
This is what creates the low volume noise in the track treated to sound like sample distortion artifacts.
Another of the the clock divider outputs feeds the MS 20 trigger input. The pink noise generator on the MS 20 is patched back into it's own external input. This noise runs through the ms 20 filter sections under control by envelope generator 2, and the on board LFO.
This is what creates the tom like sounds and the helicopter warble synth noises when the song picks up at the end.
Yet another output of the clock divider feeds an A140 envelope generator which is triggering the spare VCA on the ms20. The white noise of ms 20 goes into the audio input of this VCA and into the analog input mod of the TR 606. Inside the 606, this rhythmic noise pattern is cross modulated by the high hat pattern and you can hear the result in the track. The swung out effect of the high hats is a direct result of this, as the 606 has no swing function.
The drums are distorted 909 samples, run as a stereo drum mix into a Duende SSL bus compressor. The background vocals are a 5 part harmony, sung in 6 duplicates each mixed down to mono comps, then spread out into a 70s rock opera stereo field. There is a 375ms ping pong delay on the two high vocals and a long reverb on the two low ones. The middle ones are dry. The chorus lead is sung twice and double tracked, shifted by hand in various parts of the song to pull the effect forward and backwards. The front verse and the chorus share the same tempo delay. The delay is slightly bit crushed.
In order to give the idea of the background vocals slowly destroyed under the pressure of the drums, they shift to vocoded versions of themselves losing a bit of pitch tracking in the process and get bit crushed into nothing by the time the last chorus ends. This is done with 5 individual vocoder plugins and 5 bit crushers and automated ramps.
The desperation vocal in the break down and rebuild is mostly dry albeit for a small amount of TC reverb that sits behind the whole mix. The vocal has one effect on it, a boss ds1 plugin with mild gain. An SSL channel is used to shelf the bottom out completely and bring the top end up a bit, giving the vocal a “small” feel.
The pro 1 brings a bit of bass to complement the guitar, but it’s mixed pretty low in the mix, leaving the kick drums to do more work and get to a hard-techno / hard-style sound. The sample at the end is from a loop of the second chorus that just sounded so cool I decided to tag it at the end of the track, taking yet into one more direction before an old school FM radio fade ending.
The track was mixed down on a Tascam DM4800, using the onboard TC reverb and and external intersound reverb unit. Enjoy"
The following is a fascinating look at the man behind ERRORINSTRUMENTS, Paul Tas. Note the questions are not mine, but were sent in with the full interview by inmar lsbtv grtz sleep good.
So how did all start? What was your life before "error instruments"?
- my life before error instruments can be described as a life of an artist in making sculptures and paintings. I was making sculptures from robots, called "the beeb" collection. It is a wooden robot with the concept that in the 50's, we have thought that robots will replace our jobs. However, with the influence of the media, and the medicines we take against emotions, figuratively we can say that we are the robot, and we get programmed by commercials and news. This robot has been a big succes due to the fact that it has been bought by numerous art collectors from different countries such as Japan and the United States. Furthermore, the collections had been sold also at auctions houses Christie's. Later on, I have started to work more in fashion and art and making moveable sculptures with electronics, I made also a traditional Dutch blue sculptures, big horse heads with the intention of giving a controversial thoughts and ideas. Moreover, sculptures about religion, which was a mix between Jesus and the corporate companies in the world with the meaning behind it, that they use the same propaganda to control people's mindset. I was also threatened by religious groups from Germany and Belgium during the time of exposition, not only me, but also the other people in the gallery. This situation has got to a point where i had to go to the court, but in the end I was free to go. Later i have done a project for Damian Hurst and made some installations together with BitMove for the "Love of God" exposition in the "RijksMuseum Amsterdam". As a result, more and more technical and electrical equipments got involved.
When did you have the idea for error instruments and what did the first steps look like?
- First of all, it is important that you know that as a child, i was not able to read, thus it was difficult to go to a normal school, and i have attended a special school, which allowed me to use my creativity, furthermore my writing was always full of mistakes and because in the 80's we used "Commodore 64", and every time i was writing something, a text appeared " Syntax ERROR". Therefore, the kids at my school, gave a nickname to me , called "Error". As a result, i got a fascination about the things that go wrong with machines, such as glitches or accidentally algoritmes and of course the sound of noises. By exploring the art of circuit bending and hardware hacking, i have found out that many people miss this, because the commercial products were created as a mainstream products, with a result for mainstream music. Thus, with the money that i have earned from art, I have started the shop, "ERROR INSTRUMENTS".
Do you have artistic projects beside error instruments?
- Yes, I perform under the name "ERROR EMPIRE", on several festivals. I have also some conceptional sound projects, called "Pink data". The idea of "Pink Data" is that is not controlled by humans, thus all the music is created by accidental algoritmes. I also make sculptures, with acoustic and electronic purposes. Furthermore, I am busy working on the modelar synthesizer and exploring control voltage. design eurorack modules for and special audience
Asteroid Mini Synthesizer
------------------------------
Format: Euro Doepfer compatible, 3U height (5.05")
Power Current Consumption: +108mA, -83mA
Depth: less then 45mm
Circuits involved: VCO, VCA, Envelope Generator, Sub Harmonic Generator, Noise Generator, and trigger striking circuit.
VCO
-------------------------------------------------------------
-VCO type: Triangle core, transistor discrete design.
-VCO waves: Triangle, Sine, Square, Sub Harmonic pulse.
-Noise Generator flavors: White and High Pass White Noise.
-VCO modulation sources: (2) Direct input CV's labeled 'PCV',
(1) Hi spectrum Linear FM input, (1) Variable sync input, (1)
Attenuated CV labeled 'Mod CV'.
-Internal hard wired modulation: Bi-polar Decay source, and 'Pop CV' trigger spike. The Pop gives a small punch to the sound.
Envelope Generator
--------------------
Timings: 1uf Capacitor charge, 9.7uf cap, or middle position is 0.47uf cap timing. These effect the snappy feel of the decay. Middle position of the switch is best for drum and short percussive sounds.
-Trigger Striking System: The internal trigger conditioning circuit allows from 2.5v to 10v input for successful triggering of the envelope generator. The internal trigger voltage is about 12v. This allows for big drum sounds, and strike effect. There is a 'Thru' jack to pass the input signal to another Asteroid Synth for daisy chaining.
Mixer
--------------------
There is a summing mixer with direct output (pre vca and pre booster), this makes the module act like a normal vco for you to patch to a filter, etc. You also have a mixer input jack so that you can mix another vco or two Asteroid Mini Synths together.
VCA and Analog Delay
-----------------------
The vca can be patched directly into, bypassing the internal summing mixer. This is great for send and return. You would patch from the Asteroid Mini synth's 'Sum' to a filter for example, then patch back into 'Ext VCA' to return the processed sound. The booster knob will boost signals also
patched into the Ext VCA jack.
-The Delay has modulation for: Repeat, Time, and level.
-The VCA is a high quatity cool audio v2164 based vca with its own attenuated 'MODV' cv input.
Final Output
-------------------------
You get a Dry post vca synth level output, and a 'PERC'
output. The difference is the 'Perc' output can have the
delay fx mixed in.
There is a line Level 1/4" output jack.
All outputs can be used simultaneous.
***Some odd ball notes about the module
----------------------------------------
In order to use the Square wave as a sound source you have to patch from the jack above the toggle switch and select the Sqaure wave, and patch that into the Mixer input 'Mix'. One interesting patch is to patch the square wave into a CV input to create a Saw wave. I did this because I wanted to give you the option. If you wanted only the square wave sound source after you did the mix in patch, you can turn off the triangle or sine wave as that has no level knob. You can also use this method to make noise bursts with no vco waves mixed in. The noise generator does not have to be patched like the square wave, it is internally routed to the mixer. Just use the Noise Level knob to adjust the noise level. On the Direct Noise ouput, the level knob does not change anything, it is a direct out."
"How to guide with Patch Sheets: An interpretation of the classic lead sound from the intro to Pink Floyd's 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond Part 1', which is believed to have been recorded using the Minimoog synthesizer. The AJH Synth Mini Mod system is a Eurorack modular recreation of this classic analogue synth, and in this video just the modules from the standard Mini Mod system are used to create the lead sound. An additional, simple background drone is created using another system, comprising 3 VCOs, Wave Swarm, Ring SM and Sonic XV Diode Ladder Wave filter.
Check out the AJH Synth playlists for more 'Patch of The Week' videos, which will be either performances or 'how to' guides detailing a range of sounds, some familiar, some less so, and each containing a patch sheet at the end to show you how to construct it for yourself.
Index: 00:00 Intro 00:32 Shine On... Part 1 Intro 02:43 Patch sheet - Lead 02:54 Patch Sheet - Drone
PATCH NOTES: (Download - https://kvisit.com/8AE/z_oG) ------------------------ LEAD SOUND Green dots show approximate pot and switch positions. Pots and switches that do not have green dots are not used in this patch, and should be left at their zero or off positions. This patch uses only the modules contained within a standard MiniMod voice, which is the equivalent of a Minimoog, simply for a little more authenticity, as this is the synth that was believed to be used on the original Pink Floyd recording. The version here is our interpretation of it, and not intended to be an exact match, so opinions will differ as to the setting used, but we feel it's pretty close. For example, it's possible the Minimoog's MOD MIX control was used on the original to mix VCO 3 and Noise modulation to affect the pitch and filter, but here it would require an additional module to mix both signals, and simply adding Noise as audio sounds very similar, whilst allowing greater control of both.
"This is a classic west coast acid breaks track in the vein of old school records like Richard humpty visions’ “The feeling”, Dj Lace’s “The Future”, DJ Czech’s “I’ll bass you”, and the hot box remix of DJ prettyboy’s “Get on up”. It’s dark, moody and heavy. Perfect for a sweaty breaks jam.
It was created with Ableton Live 8, Roland TR 808, Sequential Circuits TOM, Korg DR-55, Xoxbox, Future Retro Revolution, Korg Poly six, Korg Monopoly. It was mixed on a DM4800 using the onboard TC electronics reverb, and a Fuzz factory guitar pedal set up in an effects send/return chain.
The track was originally recorded as a simple filter jam using the TR-808, the Tom, and the Xoxbox. The 808 kick drum was left at ¾ decay for most of the track and slowly closed at the end. Two more runs of the Xoxbox were recorded to create a total of 3 basslines that mix and match based on how each is modulated. There are no mixer moves on the bass lines other than mutes. The 3 volumes and effects send levels change based on filter and envelope settings of each Xoxbox. One bass line is dry, one has bright hall reverb, one has a swung tempo delay. All of them send some signal to the fuzz factory, which is mixed back in on a separate track for a bit of of top end distortion.
The Xoxbox with the TC reverb is the main lead of the track, and was set up with the effects send in pre-fader mode so the reverb setting could be set first and then bring in the dry sound to fill in after. The heavy top end noise near the end is added naturally by the resonance of the xoxbox filter feeding the reverb.
Although the TR-808 is run in sync, The sequential tom sounds are triggered via midi from Ableton. The kick, snare, hats and claps are used. The machine was recorded in mono to one track, and compressed for a bit more bite. The 808 was also recorded in mono to one track but not compressed. The two drum machines are mixed together dry. The tom track was slightly offset back from the 808 so it feels a little sloppy compared to the 808. It also lets the 808 kick drum point take precedence.
The Korg DR-55 has a modification so it can be triggered via midi. It also has a Korg style analog trigger output which was used to trigger the monopoly’s arpeggiator.
The Monopoly has four oscillators that you can trigger to play one after the other with the arpeggiator. It this case it is controlled by two devices. The Korg DR-55 is used to step the arpeggiator forward and the Future retro revolution is sending the note voltages that play the actual melody. Cross modulation is also used & you can clearly hear the resulting effect on the way the notes sound at the end of the track. The Korg Polysix was used for the string line, It was chosen because it sounds great with the monopoly as they share similar filter architectures, gelling the two synths together in the mix.
The vocal sample was recorded on location in Vancouver during a rainstorm using a zoom H2. It was shelved and compressed to bring up the ambient noise and make it sound like a sample taken from a movie. The zoom was chosen over better shotgun mics to help get a “recorded on location” feel. The filter is just the built filter in Ableton. The vocal filtering is not dramatic so the basic filter did the job fine.
The finished product has a true old school sound giving it an authentic vibe that you could imagine Donald Glaude or dj Czech dropping in a set at a classic Vancouver breaks party back in the 90s. Enjoy.
The beta is over! Noise Engineering moves to full release of three free powerful plugins
Los Angeles, CA — Noise Engineering is happy to announce the end of the public beta and move to full release of three free plugins: synths Sinc Vereor and Virt Vereor and distortion Ruina.
Asked why the move from Eurorack to software, the Noise Engineering team said that it was inspired by several things: first, they’d been bombarded with requests for plugins from modular synth users who love the sound but needed portability or repeatability. They were also extremely aware of the barrier to entry to a modular system and really wanted to make their products more widely accessible (which is partly why this release is free, and will remain free). Finally, they have no plans to stop making modules, but a core value for this small team of six self-described nerds is to keep challenging themselves to learn new things, and making plugins fit the bill. They anticipate further plugin releases based on Eurorack favorites (including a VST3/AU release of their currently AAX-only bundle) coming soon.
Sinc Vereor is an intuitive and powerful synthesizer loosely based on Noise Engineering’s beloved Eurorack module Sinc Iter. Sinc Vereor’s wavemorphing/wavefolding Tone control makes sound design a breeze. Blend between familiar waveforms like saw, triangle, and square. Super mode adds 6 phase-offset oscillators. Use Noise mode to generate self-similar noise for percussion, effects, and more.
Virt Vereor is a powerful synthesizer based on a unique set of synthesis algorithms. Bass is a quadrature algorithm described in Bernie Hutchins’ seminal series Electronotes. Sawx is a supersaw-inspired beast. Harm is an additive algorithm with spectral control and distortion of partials. Virt Vereor makes a tremendous amount of unique sounds with an immediate and usable interface.
Some readers will recognize the names of these algorithms, and indeed they come from Noise Engineering’s contribution to Arturia’s Microfreak V3 firmware and the upcoming Virt Iter module.
Both the Sinc and Virt oscillators are paired with Vereor, Noise Engineering’s easily manipulated dynamics section using an ADSR envelope controlling a variable slope and analog-inspired multimode gate/filter. Add to that a vintage-inspired chorus and a over 1000 presets each, and these synths have something for everyone: bridge the gap between traditional subtractive sounds and modern synthesis techniques, or design innovative basses, leads, or whatever your project calls for.
Ruina is a creative stereo distortion plugin built on digital distortion algorithms: no emulations here. Intuitive and fully automatable controls make it easy to get a gentle, nuanced color, to obliviate a signal, or to dial in anything in between. Don’t feel like tweaking the parameters? Ruina comes with over 500 presets to fit any need, a Random button to generate new sounds, and a Nudge option to just give the parameters the tiniest bump. Ruina has a wavefolder, a multiband saturator, a chaotic suboctave generator, octavizer, and phase shifter. It also features a notch or bandpass filter with adjustable tracking, and a control to set the order of the distortions in the signal flow to further customize your sound. Last but not least, Overdrive adds up to 128x gain for maximal destruction.
Run any sound through Ruina for warm, lush distortion, or crank the sliders to unleash complete ruin. With seven distortion types, it’s easy to turn your sounds into something singular with Ruina.
All three plugins are free to download: just make an account at the Noise Engineering Customer Portal (https://portal.noiseengineering.us/) and download the installer from the Plugins tab. And while they will remain free, the NE team has big plans to keep developing these. They have a substantial roadmap for future features, some of which were suggestions from the beta users, including introducing extensive internal modulation, more advanced randomization, MIDI learn, MPE support, and more.
Notable features: • AAX, AU, VST3 • 64-bit Intel + M1 • Mac and Windows • Intuitive interfaces to easily and quickly manipulate sound • Use the Random button to generate new patches in one click • Easy to automate, user-friendly controls. No prior synthesis experience needed, but synth enthusiasts will also be inspired by the simple-yet-powerful interface • Fully MIDI-mappable • Tons of presets included • Three unique synthesis algorithms inspired by little-known synthesis techniques (quadrature, supersaw beast, and additive) • Huge number of distortion possibilities with wavefolding, octavizing, multiband saturation, suboctave generation, phase shifting, and overdrive
via this auction "What is it?? This is a voltage-controlled BBD analog delay module, typically found inside a larger modular synthesizer setup. However the unit can also be used on it's own - but in either case it requires a +/-15v power supply, which is not included in this auction. The module is designed for to handle 10v AC audio signals, and to use up to 10 volts of DC for CV (control voltage) control of it's various parameters.
At its heart, this module is built around a 4096-stage, 1980's analog BBD (bucket-brigade delay) chip. This means analog delay. This means dirty, evolving echos, and haunting flanges & choruses. The famous modulated delays found in dub music are child's play for this module. With analog delay units, the pitch of the repeats changes when the delay time changes, which gives them a very different sound and feel from their digital counterparts, and is the main reason why they remain so popular in the modern, digital age.
Oh, if you are wondering, YES it can easily do the 'infinite wall of feedback building and building into pure insanity' thing, just crank up the 'Regen' knob and cover your ears.
OK then, but what makes it so special?
The Blacet Time Machine is considered one of the most powerful and desirable analog delay units of all time. There were between 200-250 made, and they were discontinued in the fall of 2005. Blacet has stated that they will never return to production. The issue is in the availability of the rare analog BBD chip inside the unit - they have not been manufactured since the 1980's, and the supply has simply become too limited to make building more units feasable. It is truly the end of an era. Time Machines always sell very quickly when they show up on the used market, and the price seems to climb a little bit every few months.
What makes this unit special compared to most analog delay units is the provision of CV (control voltage) inputs for EVERY PARAMETER. This creates a monster which can be fully controlled by other modules and voltage sources (including audio!) within your setup. On top of this, the unit includes a built in modulation LFO (with rate and depth controls - and of course the option to override it - or mix it - with an external modulation signal) and - now this is the special part - Blacet's peerless compander system.
What's a compander system? Well, the main problem with analog delays is NOISE. A bit of noise and grit is desirable in these units, and adds to their character. But extraneous levels of noise - and in particular clock noise, are not desirable effects at all. It is the 'bleeding' of clock noise (the clock is required to manage the timing of the BBD device, which thus controls the delay time) into the output signal that can be heard to some extent in just about every other analog delay unit out there. Clock Noise is the one big downfall to analog delay designs. Blacet has solved this with their wonderful compander system. In a nutshell, the input signal is compressed, sent through the BBD circuitry, and then expanded again, while being gently filtered to remove whatever clock noise still creeps in after the compander system. This also works to solve the other problem with analog delays, which is interfacing the limited signal range of the BBD device with the (typically much larger) signal ranges that are being used in your studio.
As a final, super cool extra bonus (in case there weren't enough features already jammed into this little monster!), both the modulation setting and the delay output have 'cancel' (and 'reset') inputs, which are often overlooked by many Time Machine owners, but are in my opinion a wonderful feature allowing the creation of gated and 'sequenced style' delay patterns in your music.
So what?
The result of all this is a dead quiet, ultra-powerful analog delay unit that makes no compromise in terms of onboard features, manual control or voltage control and automation. It's no wonder they are so famous and desirable.
And it's no wonder why it is breaking my heart to sell it. Believe me, these are truly excellent units, there's nothing out there like them at all. Feature lists can be read and compared all day long, ultimately it is all about the sound - and this is one area where the Time Machine blows away all expectations. No searching for the 'right setting' - no! Within about 5 seconds of plugging something into this module - YOU'LL KNOW. You really will. You'll just know, m'kay?
Details -
This started its life as one of the original units, a Revision 'A', and has subsequently been upgraded to Rev. B by John Blacet himself (see below). The unit was not originally factory built, but was built from kit by a good friend of mine who is a professional electrician, and a radio and amp geek. He is always soldering something, and his work is absolutely top-notch, as good as the Blacet factory. The unit is in EXCELLENT condition, has been kept lovingly under dustcovers in a smoke-free, cat-free, clean studio. The unit is FULLY FUNCTIONAL in every respect, and all pots are smooth and silent.
In the summer of 2007, the module was sent to John Blacet (my electrician friend has sadly moved away, and I have no soldering skills myself) to be upgraded to a Revision 'B' spec. John went over the entire module while it was in his hands, and made sure everything was solid - he commented to me that the quality of work was excellent, and that there was nothing at all to be concerned with. When the module was returned to me it had been upgraded to Rev. B and the one issue with the original design (raretimes crashing of the internal clock) has been successfully resolved.
This is a top-notch unit, and will bring many years of joy to its new owner."
A quick note: This review is long. You can jump to sections that interest you vs. reading it straight through if you prefer. This review focuses primarily on the synth engine for one single patch on the Venom. The Venom supports Multi mode with up to four multitimbral parts. Not only can you layer sound programs but you can set global parameters for the set. Be sure to see the Multi mode section of "Tips and Tricks via Taiho Yamada" at the end of this post. Taiho is the Lead Project Manager of the Venom and served as my contact during the review. I want to thank Taiho for his help and enthusiastic generosity. He is a true synthesist and the Venom is his baby.
Synth connections: Taiho previously worked at Alesis on the Andromeda A6. The DSP developer of the Venom worked on Radikal Technologies' Spectralis and the Accelerator. People that contributed to the presets via sound design include Richard Devine, Francis Preve, Mark Ovenden (Avid's AIR Instruments, ProTools VIs), Joerg Huettner (Waldorf, Access, Alesis), and of course Taiho Yamada.
*Don't miss the "Q&A with Taiho" section towards the end of the review. Also keep an eye out for "Taiho's Tips and Tricks" throughout the review in grey. You can find the consolidated list below the Q&A section.
Use the player controls on bottom to skip around. You can find descriptions for each video below. You can find additional Synthesizers.com contest posts here.
Playlist:
1. O Z Hall: Zebra Synth
Dive into the enthralling world of synthesizers and witness O Z Hall's outstanding entry, "Zebra Synth", in the Synthesizers.com Composition Contest. Crafted with unparalleled precision and technique, this remarkable composition combines an array of captivating sounds that will take you on a breathtaking sonic journey.
Hall masterfully utilizes three distinctive patches in "Zebra Synth" to create an immersive soundscape. The first patch features a drone made using a Q106A oscillator, which is meticulously processed by a wave folder. Another oscillator, intertwined with linear FM from the wavefolder output, results in a fascinating "clang tone" that is beautifully amplified by a digital reverb.
In the second patch, a sequenced voice is artfully produced by employing two re-paneled Q106 oscillators. One output is channeled into the input of the linear FM, which subsequently provides intriguing timbral variations. The Q119A sequencer's 3rd row masterfully controls a Ratchet effect, adding even further depth to the composition. An expertly-applied digital delay effect enriches the output of this patch.
Lastly, the lead voice is ingeniously designed using the Q169 Dual Oscillator with Pulse Width modulation. O Z Hall skillfully manipulates the 24db/oct low pass filter in real-time to deliver an electrifying performance. The extended digital delay effect ties the entire sonic experience together. O Z Hall's "Zebra Synth" draws its arsenal of modular synthesis tools from the Synthesizers.com catalog, including Q106, Q106A, Q119A, Q171, Q148, Q127, Q169, Q168, Q167, Q114, Q174, and Q175A modules. The creative process has been meticulously executed, showcasing how these modules can be combined to engineer a rich and dynamic sound adventure.
"The module is designed for connecting walkmans to eurorak (but it can also do other things, read below)
pre amp
about: The pre amp used is a burr brown OPA2134 in two stages with melf metal film 1% resistors for low noise. Low noise is not realy needed for use with a walkman.. because they are quite noisy, but if you want to use it with other things like piezo elements or a guitar you can also use it to preamplify those.
A: The audio input is a Stereo 3.5mm jack input (all other jacks are mono jacks). It is Capacitor coupled. The tip of the connector goes to the pre amp, The sleeve goes to the 1VOctave tracking system.
If the volume goes above 1.4v PP it will be cut of by clipping diodes, the output can still reach the rails of the opamp on the output stage.
B: The audio output is Capacitor coupled. The output can be 10v PP, depending on the input.
C: CV input for controlling the audio output volume.
It takes 10v PP (adjust it up/down with E).
The circuit uses a vactrol, the curve it makes is anti log.. so it is somewhere between a gate and a pre amp.
D: Attenuation for the audio input signal.
E: Audio output volume. Moves CV input up or down.
317 regulator controller
F: CV input for adjusting L
G: Sets amount of offset from ground for L
H: 1v Octave input (the sleave of conector A is used for tracking information)
Range is 0v to 5v (the actualy octave range depends on the connected device, usualy the range is 2 to about 4 octaves).
M: Adjusts voltage of F.
L: Set voltage of output from I (317 output).
.: (small dot connected to M) 1v octave offset, 1 octave range, from C to C (that is the musical note C. Use a 2mm flat screw driver to adjust).
K: Activate 1v Octave tracking.
Adjustment menu for 1V Octave tracking:
Hold the button while powering up (keep holding it for about 5 seconds.)
The led in the button will blink when you let go of the button, if you push the button it will blink 1 time more, until you reach 7 blinks, then it will reset to 0 blinks, and you can go round again.
If you hold the button for 2 seconds you will enter the next menu.
There are 3 settings you can change. after exiting the last settings menu your changes will be saved and used the next time you powerup the module.
Change the settings for how you feel the device you connected works best.
adjusts the rise in frequency tracking (7 blinks is maximum).
adjusts the fall in frequency tracking (7 blinks is maximum).
adjusts the smoothnes in low voltage range (0 blinks is most stable (if lower then 2 blinks is used here, it can overshoot and get stuck, so its best to use at least 2 blinks here)).
317 regulator
about: This section is optically separated from the rest of the modular. This means the ground is not connected to the eurorack system and the power is also not connected to the eurorack system.
This is designed for driving small DC motors in walkmans, but you can also connect other things to it.. for instance a LED light or power a complete device with it.
I: 317 voltage regulator output. The output voltage is from 0v to above 0v. The actual output voltage depends on the power supply you connect to it. Maximum current draw is 500ma.
J: DC + in the center, maximum 12v DV input. It is advised to keep the input voltage between 6v and 9v, i use 7.5v If the input voltage is 12v the voltage regulator will get hotter then if you connect a lower voltage. the less hot it gets the longer it will fuction. Heat can also cause the output voltage to change (mainly because the vactrol can heat up)"
Update: Booth list added below. 30 booths in one day! It's become tradition for me to come on Saturday only. The site is just too busy leading up to then. Be sure to see the last image in the set It's the NAMM Booth promo for the first showing of the original Minimoog Model D. The Bob Moog Foundation was giving out buttons of the flyer which you can see in the second to last image. You never know what will be your last pic at NAMM. I am glad it was this one. It's more than fitting considering the Minimoog was the birth of modern day synthesizers. Apologies for not calling this out earlier. It was one of those should I not say anything and let people pause at that image and discover what it meant on their own, or should I call it out. I guess I did both. :)
--
So first of all, apologies for the super tall pic to start! For some reason Flickr's slideshow is not resizing it, and a few others, to fit the desired frame size. Mouse over the image and use the controls that come up to move through the slide show. Once you get past the first image, the majority of the rest should fit fine. For what it's worth, the super tall pic to start does give you a feel of what it's like to walk up to the entrance of NAMM. If you prefer you can check out the set on Flickr here. Feel free to grab any pics for your wallpaper but if you'd like to use them professionally (not that any are that good :), please contact me by clicking on the small email icon on the bottom right of the site. This year I took a total of 328 pics.
All that said, enjoy the set! The pics speak for themselves. If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them in the comments.
NAMM was great this year. Lots of familiar faces and lots of new. Modular has grown exponentially. It was on the main floor this year rather than what we like to call the dungeon. As for new synths, the DSI Oberheim OB-6 stole the show. The minilogue looked and sounded great and the KORG Volca FM was a very nice surprise. Roland's booth was great; nice dim lighting to let the blinky synth lights shine, as well as giving you a more intimate experience with their synths. There was also a cool wall sized timeline of Roland synths. Malekko's Roland System 500 synths were in show and I actually was able to help with one that had its envelope switched to loop mode. Moog's Island of Electronicus was an incredible space. The pics don't do it justice. It was literally like an oasis in NAMM. Things get pretty hectic and can feel overwhelming at times. Moog's booth just made you smile and relax. Thank you Moog!
PS, there are a couple of non-synth shots in the set that might make you smile. I took them to show my wife what I was looking at. :)
Including this post, 253 NAMM2016 posts have gone up and more are sure to follow.
Update: The booth list in order of appearance in both the set and in me walking through NAMM. The pics in the set are in the order taken.
1. Entrance to NAMM
2. Dave Smith Instruments
3. Moog Music
4. Schneiders Buero Booth featuring Doepfer, MFB, Birdkids, AJH Synth, Endorphines, soundmachines, and Haken Audio
5. Pittsburgh Modular
6. Modal Electronics
7. Make Noise
8. Moon Modular
9. WMD (4ms, Verbos & Koma pics came prior to Moon Modular as they were across from each other. The WMD modular area was huge): 4ms Pedals, Abstract Data, Audio Damage, BaSTLE, Delptronics, Elite Cases, Rossum Electronics, Expert Sleepers, Foxtone Music/ Black Market Modular, Koma Elektronik, Hexinverter, Macro Machines, Mordax Systems, Noise Engineering, Qu-Bit Electronix, Soulsby, Steady State Fate (SSF), STG Soundlabs / Detachement 3 [check out the Crowbox black SEM eurorack module!], TipTopAudio, Toppobrillo, Verbos Electronics.
10. Studio Electronics, Mode Machines, and D-Tronics (check out the massive DT7 dedicated programmer for the DX7 similar to the old Jellinghaus)
11. Roger Linn's Linnstrument
12. Tom Oberheim
13. Elektron
14. Malekko - complete with Roland banner to promote their new System 500. Check out the glowing case! You can control the color with CV control.
15. Big City Music - Analogue Systems, Critter & Guitari, Cwejman, Dewanatron, Dirty Boy Pedals, Effectrode Tube Effects, EMC, Eowave, Jomox, Livewire, Mellotron, MWFX Pedals, Sherman
16. Schmidt in the Big City Music booth.
17. Radikal Technologies
18. Waldorf
19. Arturia
20. intelligel
21. Social Entropy and Abstrakt Instrument
22. Expressive E
23. John Bowen Synth Design - check out the custom Sonic Six with Sequential Model 700 Programmer & modded Model 800 Sequencer.
24. Roland (the guy with the hat on the right is the drummer for Train - I was taking pics of the timeline and they were standing there. I asked them if they wanted to be in the pic and they said sure! :) Apologies to Ed Diaz! I took his pic right when he saw me. Trust me he was full of smiles after that pic. I was flattered to find out he knew about the site! :)
25. Yamaha
26. Novation
27. KORG
28. Tangible Instruments showing their Arpeggio
29. Industrial Music Electronics (formerly Harvestman) and Sputnik Modular Synthesizers.
30. The Bob Moog Foundation
The interview is currently on Roland's site here. The text is captured below for the archives.
"WHAT WAS THE STARTING POINT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ROLAND BOUTIQUE SERIES?
Tojo:Our starting point was that we wanted to create a full-fledged synth in a compact form factor; something that might look like a gadget at first glance, but was capable of producing amazing sounds. We wanted to create a synth that people could casually enjoy, came with a built-in speaker, and could also run on batteries. Since we had the ACB (Analog Circuit Behavior) modeling technology that was developed for AIRA and a mini keyboard that was first incorporated in the JD-Xi, we thought that we could make something interesting by combining these two. That was around the end of last year, and actual development began in around January this year.
WERE YOU PLAYING WITH THE IDEA OF BASING THIS SERIES ON SYNTH CLASSICS RIGHT FROM THE OUTSET?
Tojo:Yes, we were. We wanted to combine ACB and the mini keyboard to reproduce classics that everyone was familiar with. The JUPITER-8 and JUNO-106 were candidates right from the start, since these synths are still very popular today. We wanted to add another synth to the lineup, so we decided to go with the JX-3P, which produces different types of sounds from either the JUPITER or JUNO. We reached the decision to go with these three synths rather quickly, without much debate.
Follow-up to this post where you'll find the track. Via Hologram:
"The overall inspiration for the 'Skyrunner' single and the upcoming LP were to bring back a sense of melody and the human element that I feel has been lost in a lot of modern electronic music today. A lot of it has become so focused on the technical prowess of the technology itself that the human elements of writing and composing music have become somewhat lost in the fray. It wasn't just about the sound and technical abilities of a certain instrument, it was also about how they were played, and the context in which they were used in an arrangement. I felt that it was a combination of both the sonic quality of those vintage instruments and the human compositional elements that truly allowed the instruments of those days to shine as they did on many of the old recordings of yesterday. This combination is what I set out to portray in the new Hologram material. While there was certainly lots of time put into sound-design and the engineering behind the single and the LP, the primary focus was on writing music and creating a "journey" through the melodies and composition first, with the technology being used as a "tool" to materialize that vision, not the other way around."
Most of 2011 was spent selectively collecting certain analogue and digital synthesizers for the studio that represented the sound and characteristics that have become well known throughout the history of electronic music. Starting with the Roland Jupiter-6, it formed the basis of many of the original ideas that formed into the tracks on this release and the upcoming LP. The leads and various arpeggio sounds were created on the Jupiter-6. The Jupiter-6 while not as quite as coveted as it's larger brother the Jupiter-8, has a rich sonic character of it's own and has a wider palette of colors with it's multi-mode filter section. The Moog Voyager RME, while being a modern-day analogue synth and not an original Minimoog D, I felt captured the sonic quality of the "Moog" sound, but with it's own unique character as well, with the multi-mode filters and pole selection, which can make it sound very "Arp" or even "Oberheim" like when using 1 or 2 pole modes. It's fantastic and has a richness all it's own. It's ability to also wire up feedback through the external input to give it more bite and grit make it another favorite of mine in the studio. It was used for the synth bass lines, as well as layered arpeggios and seq attack type sounds in both tracks on the single and was the main arpeggio line in "Prometheus Rising".
The Ensoniq ESQ also played a major role in "Prometheus Rising" being used for the "wooshing" noise modulated sound and the resonant synth drops towards the end. The ESQ has a wonderful filter that is a favorite of mine based on the CEM3379 4-pole analog resonant filter that is very musical and has lots of character. Even though that filter was used in several other synths during the 80's, the way it was implemented in the ESQ along with slight bit of overdrive in the VCA is what gives that instrument it's unique character. Heavily processed with an Eventide H949 reverse delays and manual feedback, it created a wonderful space and movement to the track and we'll be heard much more throughout the LP.
The Roland System-100m is....a beast and a piece of history in itself. While it was a later addition to the studio after the two initial tracks were for the most part completed, it was used for layered white noise effects on both tracks, and was used to create the "shimmering synth" effect sound in the breakdown in "Skyrunner". This was created using one of the LFO's fed into a Doepfer A-156 Dual quantizer module, which was then routed to modulate the pitch of both VCO's on the System-100m, while staying in key with the bassline. It was then processed heavily through the FOH Sounds of Shadow delay module for the feedback wash. The SY77 and Oberheim Xpander were used for choir and pads on "Prometheus Rising". The Xpander was a recent addition to the studio and expect to hear it much more throughout the LP as it is truly one of the great classics and has a sound that I have always coveted.
The Korg Univox 700s and the Waldorf Microwave XT were not used on this project, but expect to definitely hear the 700s throughout the LP as this is another classic piece I have always admired it's sound used throughout many of the mid-to-late 70's British synth records. It's such a simple instrument, but such a rich sound to it that it's just phenomenal. It's a quirky little synth too, with it's limited front-panel controls and absolutely no MIDI or even CV/Gate! So it's literally a "play live and track it" type instrument, but that's what I love about it most. No over-thinking, no over-producing, just feel it, play it, and move on.
As for software synthesizers, a few were used on this release, as I've always been a fan of software synthesis as well. The current material obviously has a focus towards the old analogue instruments, primarily because of the real-time nature and interaction that they create during the writing process, but software plays a major role in the studio as well, with a few virtual synths being used as well as the entire single and LP being mixed entirely "in the box" making heavy use of UAD analog EQ's, compressors, and tape emulations. A couple of notable virtual synths that were used are the GForce VSM and the OPX-Pro, with the OPX-Pro forming several parts in "Skyrunner" and the GForce VSM used to create the strings at the intro of "Prometheus Rising" processed heavily through the UAD Roland RE-201 Space Echo plugin.
The LP is still in the works and is slated to be completed later this year. Keep an eye out for updates on the official website.
"During Moogfest 2012, Synth Pioneer and collaborator of Bob Moog, Professor Herb Deutsch, visited the Moog Machine Shop to explore Moog's next generation analog synthesizer while in it's research & design phase.
Since the inception of the synthesizer, Bob Moog tested his ideas, instruments, and sounds with musicians and colleagues, most notably Wendy Carlos and Herb Deutsch on the Moog Modular systems.
This spirit of collaboration continues at the Moog factory to this day and is essential to our work. It is a key part of the product development process, as it furthers our ideas and helps us shape better tools for musicians."
Update: Some notes/analysis (I may add to this so check back and of course, feel free to add yours in the comments): It sounds aggressive. Note the Multidrive - pre-filter gain in addition to the overload on the Little Phatty. Also pointed out are the sub oscillator and noise generator.
It looks tiny! It will be interesting to see how it is ultimately packaged. The one Herb is playing in this video has a two octave keyboard and is smaller than the Phatty. A new mini Mini? A new Prodigy?
Note he never touches the left panel. On the right the large knob is obviously the filter cutoff knob. Bottom right of it is the Multidrive. I'm guessing the bottom left would either be resonance or possibly a separate gain knob for the Multidrive? The center knob to the left appears to be the sub oscillator. To the right you can clearly see what looks like two ADSRs and a Volume knob. Possibly a separate headphone volume knob? The bottom left knob on the board is the noise generator and to the right of it (the bottom left of the two adjacent knobs) I'm guessing is Filter Env amount as it adjusts the filter amount as he turns it. What's the knob to its right? A separate Res Env amount? That would interesting.
As for the left board, there are three switch type knobs in the top row. I'm guessing one selects the oscillator for the corresponding knobs, one for oscillator waveform, and one for octave pitch. What's not clear though is if this is a one osc plus sub or multi-osc plus sub synth. I only hear one osc plus sub. You don't hear the typical beating between oscillators, but then Herb mentions "stable oscillators" in the plural. The knob above and below the sub oscillator knobs are likely oscillator levels. The bottom row on the left looks like they could be a pitch envelope. Finally, a knob for audio in and the last two knobs for an LFO?
As for sound, my initial impression was that this sounds aggressive. More so than my Voyager. Similar to the Minitaur (see my review), but drier sounding for some reason. I'm guessing it's just the patch he's playing, but we'll see. To date, I'd say the Voyager, Phatty series, and to a large extent, the Minitaur all have the same tonal quality. They have that creamy analog Minimoog feel to them. It will be interesting to see if this synth can go in another direction. The first obvious thought would be Arturia's Minibrute. Herb doesn't make a point to call out a completely new direction for the Moog sound though. His message is the classic Moog filter sound with new Multidrive and Noise.
"As you can see in the photo, this is the third unit produced. This unit is completely hand wired from point-to-point, and in EXCELLENT condition. This unit has an extra knob in the rear which is not mentioned in the owners manual, leading me to believe that this could possibly be an early prototype. The rear knob has an affect on the frequency of an oscillator, separate than the ones the L1 and L2 knobs control.
Metasonix has put its knowledge of tube circuitry to good use in the design of the TS-21. The unit is made up of three stages, each with its own tube: a preamp with a VCA, a pulse-width modulator (PWM), and an LFO-controlled waveshaper. Vacuum tubes are also used for the LFO and for powering additional circuits, giving you a total of five tubes in the device. Despite the tube count, however, the TS-21 has very low self-noise and gets only slightly warm to the touch.
via this auction
DECAY (CLAP): This sounds pretty self explanatory but if you've ever played with one of these things you know it's not quite a true "decay" in the traditional sense. Yes, when at it's lowest setting you get a very tight short sample and the sound will increase with length as you turn it up BUT as get to around the 3 o'clock position the it actually starts to loop a part of the sample in a very strange way. You can hear it in the video link below. It's pretty wild sounding and works as it should.
PITCH (NOISE): Another weird one as this knob isn't so much a pitch control for the noise but a filter for the noise. You can here it in the video. This pot is other that was totally replaced and as you can see the knob is not original but it works exactly as it should.
Live Event: Make Noise First Look to New Eurorack Module
The XPO or Stereo Prismatic Oscillator is a Voltage Controlled Analog Oscillator designed for generating Sine waves, Triangle waves, Sawtooth and Spike waves, Sub- Octaves, Stereo Timbre Modulations (including Pulse Width Modulation and Wavefolding), Oscillator SYNC, Linear FM and more in the analog domain.
"An electronic rock track using a custom built electric cigar box bass guitar, a Sequential Circuits Pro 1, Roland TR-606, Korg MS-20, a custom eurorack modular synth & intersound spring reverb. Vocals were recorded using a 1995 groove tubes MD1 tube mic, into a focusrite ISA one preamp with digital out. Recorded into ableton live 8, mixed on a Tascam DM4800 with yamaha HS80 monitors.
Ryan Dahle played the bass string with power, forcing it to hit the non moving coil at times, to great effect. While playing he would also vary the distance of the second coil. During the breakdown he rubs and strikes the moving coil against the string and jumps back into the guitar riff by plucking normally and moving the coil back again.
The mechanical noises in the background of the track were created as a modular sequence that had to be restarted until it started on a part of the pattern that sounded right.
For this sequence, The TR 606, MS 20 module, and Modular are all wired together as one system. The 606 receives dinsync from the DAW via a roland SBX10 sync box. From the 606 the high tom output triggers the clock input of the MFB trigger sequencer in the modular which is making a 32 step pattern triggering a clock divider that controls the envelopes used in the system. One of the clock divider trigger outs controls the a105 filter which filters the output of an A117 noise source. The resonance of the A105 is wide open and modulate by the animated pulse out of the Livewire AFG (VCO). The frequency of the AFG is itself modulated by one of the LFOs on the A143-3 (quad lfo).
This is what creates the low volume noise in the track treated to sound like sample distortion artifacts.
Final Output
via this auction
"The overall inspiration for the 'Skyrunner' single and the upcoming LP were to bring back a sense of melody and the human element that I feel has been lost in a lot of modern electronic music today. A lot of it has become so focused on the technical prowess of the technology itself that the human elements of writing and composing music have become somewhat lost in the fray. It wasn't just about the sound and technical abilities of a certain instrument, it was also about how they were played, and the context in which they were used in an arrangement. I felt that it was a combination of both the sonic quality of those vintage instruments and the human compositional elements that truly allowed the instruments of those days to shine as they did on many of the old recordings of yesterday. This combination is what I set out to portray in the new Hologram material. While there was certainly lots of time put into sound-design and the engineering behind the single and the LP, the primary focus was on writing music and creating a "journey" through the melodies and composition first, with the technology being used as a "tool" to materialize that vision, not the other way around."
Most of 2011 was spent selectively collecting certain analogue and digital synthesizers for the studio that represented the sound and characteristics that have become well known throughout the history of electronic music. Starting with the Roland Jupiter-6, it formed the basis of many of the original ideas that formed into the tracks on this release and the upcoming LP. The leads and various arpeggio sounds were created on the Jupiter-6. The Jupiter-6 while not as quite as coveted as it's larger brother the Jupiter-8, has a rich sonic character of it's own and has a wider palette of colors with it's multi-mode filter section. The Moog Voyager RME, while being a modern-day analogue synth and not an original Minimoog D, I felt captured the sonic quality of the "Moog" sound, but with it's own unique character as well, with the multi-mode filters and pole selection, which can make it sound very "Arp" or even "Oberheim" like when using 1 or 2 pole modes. It's fantastic and has a richness all it's own. It's ability to also wire up feedback through the external input to give it more bite and grit make it another favorite of mine in the studio. It was used for the synth bass lines, as well as layered arpeggios and seq attack type sounds in both tracks on the single and was the main arpeggio line in "Prometheus Rising".
images via this auction
"As you can see in the photo, this is the third unit produced. This unit is completely hand wired from point-to-point, and in EXCELLENT condition. This unit has an extra knob in the rear which is not mentioned in the owners manual, leading me to believe that this could possibly be an early prototype. The rear knob has an affect on the frequency of an oscillator, separate than the ones the L1 and L2 knobs control.
