Sound Design Pt.1: Surf/Sea/Waves

Published on Jul 16, 2018 Kris Lennox

"Quick introduction RE how to create the sound of surf/sea. Take note the principles can be applied to any decent programmable synth. This should prove useful to synth users/sound designers in general, and also those working in Foley etc. I'm very much of the opinion that seeing - and hearing - the process of sculpting a sound is far more useful than reading a book/article on patch settings. The article/patch approach - whist useful - is imitative, and more often than not doesn't really lead to an understanding of the 'how'. Hence I never upload patch settings for sounds I make. The 'how' is of more value, and is the freeing part of the process. And also allows for personal variation/input.

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Hataken Interview

Back on March 31, I put up a post on Hataken, a Japanese DJ artist who primarily uses analog synths. At the time, Shane Chisolm, the manager of Don Juan Dracula mentioned Hataken was working on a remix version of DJD's "Take Me Home". Shane asked me if I'd be interested in doing an interview with Hataken, and I thought why not. It would be interesting to hear his perspective on the world of synths as a live DJ artist. The following is the result of that interview. Note, this is a long one. You will want to use page down to scroll through. If it is too long for you, I recommend reading one or two questions each time you visit the site. Each DIY item below would typically have been a separate post. There is a lot of interesting stuff here. That said, I start with an introduction followed by asking Hataken how it all started for him. Note the focus is primarily on synths as this site is about everything synth, and Hataken delivers. The gear he has both worked with and designed to meet his specific needs is overwhelming. There's also an interesting interlude on experimenting with frequency counters to produce specific frequencies of sound known to have healing properties, and of course there is a bit of the age old discussion of digital and analog.

Before we start the interview, I want to thank Hataken for taking the time out for this, and I want to thank Shane for suggesting it. It's a fascinating history of a DJ synth artist with interesting perspectives that I'm sure I will come back to over time. Be sure to check out the video and link to more at the end. And of course be sure to check out Hataken's website.

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

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Casio VZ-1 keyboard synthesizer

via this auction
"Velocity and aftertouch sensitive - quite a nice keyboard to play
3 mod wheels - 1 for pitch, 1 for LFO pitch mod, 1 freely assignable but to a limited range of options, e.g. portamento time etc
Comes with original owners manual (which is a little dog-eared on the front cover)
Also comes with an external ROM card (extra 64 presets, plus 64 Op Mem presets)
Also comes with Casio dust cover and standard power cable kettle lead
64 internal user patches
64 internal Operation Memory user patches (combinations, splittable keyboard, stacked, stereo layered patches etc)
64 card ROM presets
64 card ROM Op Mem presets
8 oscillators per voice, each with their own envelopes, pitches, mods and choice of waveforms, can be used individually or set into 4 lots of pairs for ring / phase / external phase modulation
16 voices
4 part multi-timbral / splittable / stackable either internally or over MIDI
Capable of enormously 'phat' sounds that evolve - very digital sounding, but in a good way
In numerous respects it is technically more capable than a DX-7, but although Casio targeted their VZ range at the DX market, the two are quite different sounding in practice. I have both and love both, neither is a pale imitation of the other.
Note that there is no filter in the conventional analogue style sense, but you can create excellent sounding digital filter effects using careful oscillator programming.
Neither is there an arpeggiator or in-built multi-effects - this is an old school, serious 'pure' synth...

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An Interview with Denis Cazajeux of OTO Machines

Denis Cazajeux is the man behind OTO Machines. His first product was the OTO Biscuit, a bit crushing effects unit with a multi-mode analog filter, waveshaper, delay, pitch shifter, step filter, vibrato, envelope filter, "tube" clipper, and 2 octaves down rectification. He later released DER OTO, a free monosynth with 16 step sequencer upgrade to the Biscuit. The following is my interview with Denis. You'll find some insight into what influences this unique maker of electronic gear along with his work with Olivier Gillet of Mutable Instruments (Shruthi-1). uCApps MIDIBox gets a mention as well. You'll find a pic of Denis' workplace below. The interview:

1) How did the world of synths start for you?

"When I was 15 (in 1986), I started to listen to every electronic music I could find in my country (near the french Alps, in the south east of France): Kraftwerk, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Space, Wendy Carlos, Laurie Spiegel, White Noise, Klaus Schulze, etc. At that time, everybody was using a Yamaha DX7 but I was more interested in the Oberheim Matrix 6, Jupiter 8 or Memorymoog, even if I did not have enough money to buy any of these synths. It was a good time for vintage analog synth lovers, they were outdated and cost almost nothing! So I bought a Minimoog, ARP Odyssey, and Korg MS-10. I really love hybrid synths, like the Roland JX series, the Korg Poly-800, Oberheim Matrix-6 or the early 8/12-bits samplers (Ensoniq, E-mu). The sound is generated by a digital counter chip (called a DCO) or a DAC, and then passed through an analog filter.

In 2002, I wanted to build my first little synth and I tried the MIDIBOX SID, based on the MOS 6581 chip, which is also a hybrid synth built in a chip. It was fun but the sound was too '80's video games' (for good reasons!) for me, and the SID chip had a permanent hiss on its output. By the way, Ucapps (home of Midibox) is a very fascinating website for DIYers. I particularly love their FM synth based on the Yamaha OPL3 chip. If you mix this chip with an analog filter, you'll end up with a warm sounding and powerful synth. When I designed the first Biscuit prototype in 2006, I played with the assembly code to generate sounds through the 8-bit DA converters. It was a very simple synth: only 2 waveforms (square and sawtooth) with digital VCA, and the Biscuit filter controlled by an ADS envelope generator. The sound was surprisingly good, halfway between a SID chip and an analog monosynth. The sample frequency was 30 kHz and because waveforms were not band-limited, I got a lot of aliasing with notes above C3. So I raised the sampling frequency up to 156 kHz to solve this aliasing problem, but then I did not have enough processing power to finish the synth with all the required features (LFO, pitch modulations,...). I gave up and I went back to work on the Biscuit. But I kept in mind that the Biscuit could be a synth one day."

2. Regarding the synthesis work that you initially worked on for the Biscuit, is this what's going into the Der OTO update? How did you manage to work around the processing power?

"I didn't keep anything from the initial work on the Biscuit prototype. My first synth needed a 156 kHz sampling frequency in order to play waveforms without aliasing (I think the SID 6581 also used a very high frequency to solve this aliasing problem). With a standard 40 kHz sampling rate, the sound was good on bass notes, but too dirty for the medium notes and nearly unusable for the high notes. 40 kHz was the upper sampling limit for Biscuit. Biscuit uses a simple 8-Bit PIC microcontroller, clocked at 10 Mhz. This processor has many things to do each second: scanning and computing switches & pots, digitizing audio, receiving and sending MIDI, lighting the LEDs, doing some signal processing (bit manipulation, waveshaper, pitch shifter,...), sending information to the 8-bit DACs, digital pots and analog filter, etc…. So, for the synth upgrade, I had no other choice than to use band-limited waveforms, with interpolation and octave crossfading between wavetables. It was quite complex for me, I'm a self taught guy and I don't have the knowledge to do that kind of stuff. Then I remembered that 2 years ago, I was in touch with Olivier Gillet, creator of the Shruthi-1 monosynth (http://mutable-instruments.net/). I listened to the Shruthi demos and found that the sound was very impressive for a simple 8-bit monosynth. It was, like Biscuit, 8-bit processing, conversion to analog and an analog filter. Olivier helped me to include band-limited waveforms (Saw and Square) with octave crossfading, FM synthesis and pitch modulation into Biscuit's hardware. He's a brilliant guy, and has a strong knowledge of synthesis and microcontroller programming. It's funny anyway because in the end I added the first raw waveforms to the band-limited ones, to give the choice between a full spectrum playability and a bassy and dirty sound. Dirtiness is useful sometimes!"

3. How much overlap is there with the Shruthi-1?

"Not much. The 2 synths are very different in many points: user interface, number of parameters available, audio path... Der OTO uses 8-bit DAC and Shruthi use a 1-bit 10 MHz PWM. Der OTO got the special 12db/Octave filter that gives Biscuit its particular sound. Shruthi has a 24dB/Oct filter with several choices, Der OTO has a digital VCA instead of its analog counterpart in the Shruthi,... I think that these 2 synths are complementary. Some of our users have both."


4. What made you decide to offer the synth upgrade for the Bicuit for free?

"We wanted to be kind with our customers! It's an anti-capitalist way of doing business, and we love that. Der OTO users can buy the 'Der Mask' overlay, that helps us to fund the development of Der OTO."

5. What is your take on the current world of synthesis and how do you see Der OTO in that world? What inspires you?

"I dream of a simple-low cost-good sounding-polyphonic analog or hybrid synthesizer, that I didn't see yet! OTO is not really in the world of synthesis yet, and Der OTO is maybe just a start, who knows... I think synthesis is like cooking, you need several ingredients to make a good meal. Nowadays, you create loops with a computer, you treat them with analog processors, mix them with an old synth, and then you edit everything in your computer using plugins. It's fusion cuisine, it's very powerful and exciting. I think that 'Der OTO' is a new ingredient for your music. It's not a digital synth, it's not an analog synth, it's between these 2 worlds. When I listen to 'Der OTO', I think it's really musical, wild and its defects are touching!"

6. Anything else you'd like to share with the readers of MATRIXSYNTH?

"I'm just an electronic luthier, I'm waiting to listen what Biscuit users will do with that upgrade!"

7. Speaking of an electronic luthier, Bob Moog always stated he built tools for musicians and wasn't a musician himself. I remember reading he claimed to be first and foremost an engineer. Where do you see yourself? Do you get time to play with your creations and other synths for that matter? When you do, what is a typical session like? Some explore sound and create music in the process, and some pursue music directly.

"It's a very interesting question. I'm not sure if it's possible to be a good engineer and a good musician at the same time. Making (good) music, or designing new musical products takes a lot of time and energy. It's a passion which occupies most of your thoughts. It's the same thing in the world of classical music: the luthiers are not musicians and vice versa. Very few musicians have built their electronic instruments (Raymond Scott, Oskar Sala,...), but their creations were unique and mainly designed for their own use. I used to make music but unfortunately I don't have enough time for that. By the way, I'm not a very good musician! So I see myself more as an engineer, even if I don't have any diplomas in electronics."

I'd like to end this with a big thank you to Denis Cazajeux of OTO Machines for taking the time out for this interview, and for making the Biscuit. I own one and I can wholeheartedly say it is a fantastic machine.

Oxygene Part 2 (re-recorded with freeware VSTi's)

YouTube via SplitTheBeam
"This was an experiment to find out if I could re-create Jarre's Oxygene Part 2 using only freeware VSTi plugins (this is a recording I made using Cakewalk Sonar 4). None of the sounds I have used come from commercial applications, they are all freeware and cost me nothing. My respect and admiration goes out to the people who created these plugins. There are NO samples taken from the original recording. This recording runs about 5 bpm faster than the original.

For the general Pad sound I used the J M Jarre Pad setting on the SuperwaveP8 VST.

The string sound is also a SuperwaveP8 preset called (not surprisingly) J M Jarre Strings. The trick with the Jarre string sounds is the phaser effect you apply to them. Jarre used an Electroharmonix Small Stone phaser, I found a pretty good emulator called the Classic Phaser* (see TECH UPDATE at bottom of page). There is also a short mixed back delay to give a feeling of openess to the sound.

The Wind sound was generated by the NK1001 VST analogue synth emulator.

All the laser shot FX were generated by using the retrofex setting on the NK 1001 then adjusting the LFO frequency pot manually to create the desired effect. Using this method you can recreate the short pings as well as the long descending tones you hear prominently in the intro. To complete the effect I passed it through a stereo delay, dry sound 100% to the left, delay feedback 100% to the right. This makes the laser sound skip across the speakers like the original.

The bass sound was created using a VST called Transcender with a short delay so the bass notes bounce back. This underpins the rhythm.

The intro sequence was created using the KaoS VST sine-pad. However, three notes from the sequence are picked out and played on the Transcender bass set up only in a high octave, this sound is run through a delay to give it the spacey beep you can hear mixed in with the main KaoS sequence. The advantage of this is you can keep the beep going after the intro sequence has faded out.

The pizzicato (or 'pluck') style sound used for the main melody in the first half is an Eminant 310 sound font played through a sound font player. The font came from a thread on BlahBlah café, a discussion forum dedicated to Jarre and his music. The font player I used was the Fontaminator.

BlahBlah Café was also the source for the Korg Minipops 7 wave files. This came as a complete set of individual sounds that I loaded into the SR 202 drum machine VST.

The flute sound used for the main theme in the second half is created by the Synth1 VST. This uses a similar delay to the bass sound only slightly longer causing the main sound to hang back off the rhythm. The effect of this is a more organic feel to my performance. The real genius of Jarre is his ability to make electronic music sound so expressive.

The french horn type sound under the flute in the second half of the track is made by the Crystal1 VST.

The Mellotron choir at the end is made by the MellowSound VST, an excellent Mellotron emulator.

The sea-shore effect under the second half of the track is the General MIDI standard sound preset 122, any number of freeware synths will give you this effect. I simply used the MIDI voice on my sound card.

The key to creating Jarre sounds is in the work you do to the finished track. Once you have got the sounds close enough you can add effects and EQ, also the final mix will change how they interact and behave sonically. Dont be afraid to experiment and try things out but most of all, enjoy.

*TECH UPDATE: If you are looking for the Jarre string sound I've found some great resources. The Nomad Factory have ceased support of their 'Warmer Phaser' and have made it available as freeware. It has an adjustable valve simulator which creates fantastic warm tones just like the Electroharmonix Small Stone phaser. Used in conjunction with an Eminent 310 string sound font or the Stringer VST (also freeware) it's possible to create an exact sonic replica of the sound Jarre used on Oxygene.

Eminent 310 soundfonts can be found at www.perkristian.net/Eminent_310_Unique_S oundfonts.htm

(the Oxygene pt. 2 'pluck' soundfont can also be found here).

A BIG thank you to the wonderful people involved with this project for keeping the 310 sounds alive, I strongly recommend you check out the rest of the website dedicated to the E 310!"

Quanalog Instruments Intoduces Boubou Eurorack Drum Module

via Quanalog

"Quanalog Boubou its a combination of 5 voices filter based analog drum synth that cover the basics drum set from Kick, low and hi tom – rimshot, snare and hi hats that can become a base for Eurorack drums setup. Each voice has a lot of necessary control which can reach to a wide range of possibility. On the base every drum engine can become a signal processor with the core made by analog filter so it can process sound of each other and from other modules.

Each sound has been carefully made with specific analog filter structure to be able to create real percussion feel cover from low-end to hi-end frequency. We carefully tweak every single component to make a very classic sound quality with hi-end built with all metal pot, jack and switch to make sure its the last module that break on your setup.

5 voices Eurorack filter based analog drum synthesizer
Each voice has a wide range of sound that can reach to all drums
Pure sine resonance excited analog filter make warm thick and powerful sound that can cover very low-end frequency
Real independence analog noise engine for snare and hats pass thru analog decay vca and bandpass filter with cv control for decay amount and filter resonance point
Cv control for pitch, tune and decay make it more groovy
Hi-end sound quality
Minimal futuristic panel design in black and golden finish, still looks good when you got your grandkids!
Tank built quality – minimal futuristic panel design in black and golden finish with all metal pot, jack and switch. Can tweak it with passionate! Designed with love!
Complete your eurorack drums setup with 5 analog drum sound for just 28hp. Space saving!"

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Roland Juno 6 versus Roland System 8 Juno 60 plug out | In-depth comparison

video upload by MIDERA

"High-level take:
1) Sound: System 8 sounds VERY close to the Juno 6. Fairly equivalent, but differences can be heard.
2) Feel: No contest. The Juno 6 has the feel of a luxury synth, the sliders are lovely, the keys are lovely. The System 8 feels like an M-Audio midi controller from the mid 2000's.
3) Look: No contest. The Juno 6 looks incredible. The design is just up there. It is iconic. The System 8? It would not look out of place in a gamer's den with an Alienware computer and Mountain Dew strewn about.

Overall experience:
Based on the above, I can't help but just FEEL differently about the two instruments. Roland did an excellent job on the System 8, there's no doubt about it. It sounds very good and does a LOT more than the Juno 6, that is clear. The sound IS there. The problem isn't how it sounds, but how it is experienced.

Sure, I can 'play' a Juno 60, or Juno 106, or JX3P, Jupiter 8, System 8, or any number of other plug-outs. They sound very good (although my experience with the JX3P is that the Plug out is not quite there). I believe the Juno 60 plug out sounds better either because it is newer, or because it is simpler than the JX3P. This makes me suspect the Jupiter 8 plug out might not really get there either (as it is a 2 oscillator synth). There only exists one comparison out there on Reddit, and I don't think the person owned both.

The biggest difference in the sound to me was when I threw the resonance to max and the cutoff to zero with envelope amount and decay and sustain to max. The Juno 6 was much darker (i.e., more closed filter) than the System 8. I would have close down the envelope amount on the System 8 to match. You hear that in the demo. The chorus 1+2 is pretty different too.

Where the sound ends, you are met with a blast of the rest of the experience. The look could not be any further from the Juno 6. We go from classic to garrish. That is a hard pill to swallow. Some seem to like it - and that's great. There's nothing wrong with liking how it looks. I personally do not like how it looks (although if I change the green to mint green on my videos, it does look cooler).

I don't really like the fact that the upper chassis is made up of one plastic mould. I prefer the upper part of the panel to be separated from the mod wheel area. On the System 8, you just see this long panel reaching down from the top to the bottom by the mod wheel and I personally don't like how that looks. It looks cheap.

The FEEL or experience is so largely different. The System 8 just feels cheap to me. The keys don't have a nice feel, sometimes sort of sticking too. I want to open mine up and use white lithium grease on the keys, maybe that would help. The Juno 6 feels like playing a nice instrument. The metal panel, the sliders, the keys - oh the keys feel so nice. Apparently they're the same as the JX3P and D50 based on that "Ultimate Keybed Thread" but I have all three and the Juno 6 feels MUCH nicer.

Conclusion: I know I'm complaining a lot about the System 8. The truth is it does in fact sound very good. When I first got the Juno 6 I said to myself that it was a huge mistake because the System 8 sounds identical. The differences are not big enough for me to prefer the Juno (unlike the JX3P, which DOES sound better than the plug out). The Juno has a much better 'sweet spot' but only because it's range does not go as wide/far as the System 8. Is that a good thing that the Juno 6 has more sweet spots because it limits its ranges more? I don't know.

One intangible thing. I cannot explain this, but when I play a System 8, even if it sounds good, I wonder "Is this really how the real thing sounds/feels?" My brain just doesn't accept the System 8 as the proper surrogate. I think I'd have the same thought regarding the Jupiter X. Or with a VST for something that I care about. It's probably like chasing goblins in my head. There is no answer. If you want a Juno or a Jupiter, you will likely never be satisfied with the System 8 or Jupiter X...

The answer is likely something greater than your desires. It is probably related to mindfulness and acceptance that we can't have everything. I'm still working through these thoughts myself.

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New Roland SOUND Canvas for iOS

Published on Dec 19, 2014 Roland ｜ ローランド

Playlist:
SOUND Canvas for iOS　PV
SOUND Canvas for iOS Sound Catalog #1
SOUND Canvas for iOS Sound Catalog #2
SOUND Canvas for iOS Sound Catalog #3

I'm not seeing any deep parameter editing for this one. If anyone knows if the app or the original had full access to it's synthesis parameters like the JV line, let us know.

iTunes: SOUND Canvas for iOS - Roland Corporation

"* * * Launch celebration sale! - Limited-time special price on SOUND Canvas for iOS. ( until Feb 10, 2015 ) * * *

The good old sound module "SOUND Canvas" has come back for iPhone and iPad!

SOUND Canvas for iOS is the software synthesizer built-in SMF *1 player.
It is based on Roland GS standard that has been de fact standard sound source,
"SOUND Canvas" of Roland Desk Top Music (DTM).

It is compatible with the sound for "GS","GM2", and "GM".
It includes Reverb, Chorus, Delay, and 2 Band EQ, plus 64 types of insertion effects *2.

In addition, it plays SMF for "SC-88Pro" and "SC-8820". *3

You can enjoy the old data created by SOUND Canvas series and a variety of GS
data on the market from Roland with high quality sound.

*1: SMF:Standard MIDI File with extension ".mid".
*2: This utility canNOT edit the tone nor insertion effect.
*3: Subtle nuance of Tone color, Volume balance, trigger timing of note on may vary depending on the data.

[ Features ]
-Two types of graphical user interface: “Sound Canvas skin” for music data creation and “Player skin” for practicing with instruments or karaoke application.

- High quality MIDI file sounds by its 1,600 tones and 63 factory drum presets.

- Convenient functions:"LOOP" mode to repeat your specifying region, "SONG LIST PLAY" to play sequentially plural songs, and more multifunction.

- MIDI interface (separately sold) connection enables to receive MIDI data from the external devices to play sounds.

- Available with a music application compatible for the Core MIDI.

[Compatibility]
- Requires iOS : 8.1 or later
- Works on : iPhone5s, iPhone6, iPhone6 Plus, iPad Air or later, iPad mini2 or later"

Introducing String Studio VS-3 string oscillator synthesizer plug-in—VST AU AAX NKS

Published on Dec 6, 2018 Applied Acoustics Systems

Update: two new videos added above: Working with layers and MIDI-controlled sound variations. Also see the sound pack from Adam Pietruszko of KNOBZ.NET further below.

"String Studio VS-3 is a synthesizer in which a collection of unique string oscillators replaces the traditional VCOs, DCOs, and operators as the main sound source in VST2, VST3, Audio Units (AU), and AAX formats for Reason, Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Cubase, Reaper, Cakewalk, Sonar, FL Studio, and many more. Try String Studio VS-3 for free.

Applied Acoustics Systems (AAS) was founded in 1998 and is based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. As a privately-held company, it specializes in software-based synthesis tools for professional musicians and sound designers. Since releasing Tassman, the first virtual instrument based on physical modeling, AAS has come to be recognized as the industry leader in this exciting new field of synthesis.

§ WHAT’S NEW §
We have streamlined String Studio and brought it to a whole new level.

NEW Two-Voice Multitimbral
String Studio VS-3 combines two independent timbres—either stacked or split—to create performance-friendly, texture-full, and spacious sounds that are sure to make a good impression.

NEW Modulators
String Studio VS-3 now boasts two performance modulators per layer that respond to user-defined MIDI controls. Each and every sound features effect and morphing assignments that can be played in real time for enhanced expressivity and sonic dimension.

PEPPED Factory Library​
A long and fastidious process of fine-tuning went down in the AAS quarters. Each and every sounds went under the eyes of all team members to exit with a consistent gain-stage, unity-gain effects, better dynamics, and compelling real-time sound transformation assignments. This is our most perfected sound library to date.

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spunkytoofers antithesizer circuit bent casio sk-1

via this auction
"circuit bent by spunky toofers.
here are the modifications
1. 11 switches- controls freeze/holds, pitch related effects, bizarre filters, odd synthesis, self composing random melodies, rhythmic drum varations and much more. use alone or in combination.
2. 5 switches located on the far right which cuts out all 4 voices the instrument can play at once and the drum sound kill switch
3. one reset button
4. one vintage pilot glass lens with a bright white led underneath
5. master pitch switch enable indicated in black (with this switch you can activate a extremely stable precision oscillator circuit which replaces the original clock signal for extremely stable pitch control)
6. one overall pitch knob (approximately 3 plus octave pitch range with knob)
7. lfo rate knob (lfo activated by pulling up on this knob. activates a lfo to modulate sounds from subtle to extreme)
8. lfo depth knob
9. lfo indicator light- indicates depth and rate activity. vintage new stock soft glow dialco red LED
10. light theremin switch
11. light theremin photo cell (light sensitive wafer that responds to light, shadow, and movements from hand, body, etc)
12. 2 chrome dome body contacts (super expressive control of pitch via body contact
13. 16 point patch bay to make various connections in the patch bay via rca cables for experimenting new bends
14. 1/8" trs input for expression pedal or spunkytoofers mm1 midi module.
15. master power switch on/off indicated in red
16. intuitive and through interface with as much spacing as possible for all controls
17. manual and bend diagram emailed to winning bidder

finished in white/black paint job with plenty of clear coat to seal

a few things i'd like to address that have been asked previously. regardless of who bent your instrument every bend on an sk-1 will most likely respond differently in different settings.. for example you will get different results in sample mode then in a preset.. and from one preset to another.. i have bent the instrument to be as stable as possible in all modes of the instruments.

the pitch and lfo is fine tuned. if a pitch is allowed to go too high it will glitch and will otherwise interrupt a good sound, loop, or bent function of the instrument. where this glitch occurs is different between sk-1's..the range therfore of the pitch control will sweep approximately up to 3 octaves down and approximately an octave or so above normal pitch of the note.

the right side of the instrument is the functional side of the instrument featuring mixing, reset and power indication... the casio is capable of 4 notes/sounds at a time along with drums.. the switches on this side allow you to mix on the fly or isolate certain sounds. this is especially useful when the instrument is locked in a particular bent function or loop and doesn't respond to key information. this way you can isolate a particular sound in the lock or loop and sample that particular sound or have only that sound running.

the patch bay is setup to be as stable as possible. these are not ins or outs to other devices.. they are meant to be patched within the patchbay only and will allow you to create new bends on your own.. since it's experimental it's not as stable for live use but great for studio work. with a little planning the patch bay can also be used in live use with good stability.. they will offer new bends not available on switches along with variations to bends that are located on the switches. for example if there is a filter on a switch it is most likely you will get a variation of the filter on the patch bay.. a vocoder like sound can shift in harmonics with a little experimentation on the patch bay.

and the sk-1 will function as normal provided that all bends are not activated.. it is highly recommended that you understand how the instrument works and experiment with bends in all modes to make the best and widest use of your instrument. there are plenty of good resources on the web with manuals to download.

outputs to external amplifying, mixing or recording devices via 1/8" on back"




previously posted


previously posted

circuit bent casio sk-1

via this auction
"circuit bent by spunky toofers

here are the modifications

1. 11 switches- controls freeze/holds, pitch related effects, bizarre filters, odd synthesis, self composing random melodies, rhythmic drum varations and much more. use alone or in combination.

2. 5 switches located on the far right which cuts out all 4 voices the instrument can play at once and the drum sound kill switch

3. one reset button

4. one vintage pilot glass lens with a bright blue led underneath

5. master pitch switch enable indicated in black (with this switch you can activate a extremely stable precision oscillator circuit which replaces the original clock signal for extremely stable pitch control)

6. one overall pitch knob (approximately 3 plus octave pitch range with knob)

7. lfo rate knob (lfo activated by pulling up on this knob. activates a lfo to modulate sounds from subtle to extreme)

8. lfo depth knob

9. lfo indicator light- indicates depth and rate activity. vintage new stock soft glow dialco green LED

10. light theremin switch

11. light theremin photo cell (light sensitive wafer that responds to light, shadow, and movements from hand, body, etc)

12. 2 gold dome body contacts (super expressive control of pitch via body contact

13. 16 point patch bay to make various connections in the patch bay via rca cables for experimenting new bends

14. master power switch on/off indicated in red

15. intuitive and through interface with as much spacing as possible for all controls

16. manual and bend diagram emailed to winning bidder

a few things i'd like to address that have been asked previously. regardless of who bent your instrument every bend on an sk-1 will most likely respond differently in different settings.. for example you will get different results in sample mode then in a preset.. and from one preset to another.. i have bent the instrument to be as stable as possible in all modes of the instruments.

the pitch and lfo is fine tuned. if a pitch is allowed to go too high it will glitch and will otherwise interrupt a good sound, loop, or bent function of the instrument. where this glitch occurs is different between sk-1's..the range therfore of the pitch control will sweep approximately up to 3 octaves down and approximately an octave or so above normal pitch of the note.

the right side of the instrument is the functional side of the instrument featuring mixing, reset and power indication... the casio is capable of 4 notes/sounds at a time along with drums.. the switches on this side allow you to mix on the fly or isolate certain sounds. this is especially useful when the instrument is locked in a particular bent function or loop and doesn't respond to key information. this way you can isolate a particular sound in the lock or loop and sample that particular sound or have only that sound running.

the patch bay is setup to be as stable as possible. these are not ins or outs to other devices.. they are meant to be patched within the patchbay only and will allow you to create new bends on your own.. since it's experimental it's not as stable for live use but great for studio work. with a little planning the patch bay can also be used in live use with good stability.. they will offer new bends not available on switches along with variations to bends that are located on the switches. for example if there is a filter on a switch it is most likely you will get a variation of the filter on the patch bay.. a vocoder like sound can shift in harmonics with a little experimentation on the patch bay.

and the sk-1 will function as normal provided that all bends are not activated.. it is highly recommended that you understand how the instrument works and experiment with bends in all modes to make the best and widest use of your instrument. there are plenty of good resources on the web with manuals to download.

outputs to external amplifying, mixing or recording devices via 1/8" on back"

Be sure to see the seller's other items.

Technos Acxel Resynthesizer

Technos Acxel Resynthesizer up on the bay. Title link takes you to the shots and I grabbed the text below, before it goes to *bay limbo. In via reader Rasmus. Thanks Rasmus!

"Only 39 Axcels [sic] were ever made - and those who own an Acxel (ACoustic + X + ELement) hold on to them - proved by the fact that it is very, very rare that an Acxel is for sale. The last, and probably the only, time an Acxel was offered on Ebay were 2003. If I remember correctly, the starting bid was USD10,000 that time.

Imagine drawing waveforms, 128-stage envelopes, base pitches and amplitudes (the user interface allows editing of 32 base pitches/amplitudes at the same time, like an 32 track pitch and audio mixer, with a discreet “page” for each group of 32 oscillators, or ISC’s – Intelligent Synthesis Cells, as they are called in the Technos terminology), and other sound parameters with your finger - and have 256 intelligent, digital oscillators follow your every creative move in real-time. Imagine creating a monophonic sound with 256 oscillators, 8 multitibral voices with 32 oscillators each or any combination in sections of 32 oscillators.

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Schmidt Eight Voice - TRUE ANALOG 4 Oscillator per voice Discrete component Polyphonic Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

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Interview with Mutable Instrument's Olivier Gillet

The following interview is by Juan Vílchez Gómez for Hispasonic. Juan sent it my way via The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge. You can find a Spanish version on Hispasonic here. The following interview is posted here in English with permission from Juan. MATRIXSYNTH gets a mention! Thank you to Juan and Hispasonic!

"Hispasonic: This time we are talking with Olivier Gillet, the man behind Mutable Instruments and creator of the famous synth Shruthi-1. He reveals exciting information about his next projects and throws light upon synth design.

JuanVilchez is the interviewer.

Hispasonic: Well... Taking into account that the key questions about the Shruthi-1 have been already answered in the forums, or in the comprehensive documentation of your webpage, I propose that you could speak us about the future of Mutable Instruments... as it seems that some exciting new machines are in the making right now.

Mutable: The exciting new projects:

Next project (september/october): the MIDIpal, a small, inexpensive, MIDI processing
unit, running algorithmic transformation on the MIDI notes (arpeggiation, harmonization, delays) along with more traditional filter/splitter/monitoring things. Something you'll want to stick between anything with a keyboard and anything with an audio out in your studio :) This is the first project that will be industrially manufactured - though the first batch will be available as a SMT kit.

A revision of the Shruthi-1 hardware for the next batches of kits - in particular I've spent quite some time cutting the part count on the filter board.

A new Shruthi-1 filter board (MS-20 clone).

A variant of the Shruthi-1 digital board that will replace all the digital oscillators by 12-
bits sample playback from a SD card (and will probably do sampling too). This will add a new dimension to the "Shruthi-system" = 3 "controller boards" (Shruthi, Sidekick, Sampler) x 7 "filter boards".

Something that will replace, in the long run, the Shruthi-1 - and in which I'm trying to address most of the shortcomings and design decisions of the Shruthi-1. This is a more ambitious, risky, project as I'm trying to squeeze in a lot of very new features, and design it in such a way that some parts of the project can be interchanged, with both a SMT version for industrial manufacturing and still a through- hole variant for DIYers. While avoiding reinventing too much and keeping it close to the Shruthi sound. Ready in 6 months? 1 year? I don't know.

Least sexy but most important thing: establishing an actual company -- at the moment what I do is registered as a "side-business" and while it is very simple paperwork-wise, it adds many constraints to what I can and cannot do, and exposes me to many risks in case of bankruptcy.

Hispasonic: I think that it could be interesting not only promoting Mutable Instruments but you as well, as I find that you're a really talented guy and that you've the most valuable opinions and tastes. Just saying... I perceive that you're a shy person (am I wrong?), but maybe it could be interesting to know more about "the creator".

Olivier: I wouldn't see the point of promoting myself - I don't sell myself, I sell synths, and they can "speak" or rather "sound" for themselves!
Many interesting synthesizer businesses are small, quite often run by one single person, who has to wear both an engineering and marketing hat. Personally, I try to keep my engineering hat as much as possible because this is what I am good at, and because I quite like the values that goes with engineering. Chips datasheets don't cheat, at least not on the first page... I see too much people overhyping stuff in my daily job to want to do anything like that when I am working on my synth projects.

Hispasonic: In Hispasonic we are really proud of our community of synth enthusiasts. Here is a little "window" that is going to be seen by a lot of people. Taking a look into your resumé, we know that we can confidently trust you in regard to software and electronic musical instruments. So... what do you want to say to them?

Olivier: If there had something I had to say to the synth public is that they should try to keep a critical eye and ear when looking at synths - there are so many misconceptions (that I used to have too, until recently!) about synths. Things like:
- "UIs with LCD displays / pages [as opposed to 'one knob per function'] suck" Most people having used the Shruthi-1 agree that the interface is very easy to understand. The ESQ-1 looks horrible with only one data entry slider but it's surprisingly very fast to program. While some knob-laden VAs are horrible to use because everything not directly in the front panel might be hidden behind half a dozen of keypresses.
- "8-bits => chiptune sounds!"
Just because something uses 8-bit resolution somewhere in the signal chain doesn't make it sound like a Nintendo. It's not all black and white: The Fairlight had 8-bit converters ; the Dark Energy uses a sound chip that found its way in some 80s arcade machines. And plenty of other weird combinations inbetween.
- "Vintage synths got their good sound from the vintage VCF chips"
I was fooled by this too, and this is why I invested time in getting some of those chips and building filters with them. My conclusion is that those chips were very convenient because they concentrated many useful functions in a small area (and thus made reliable, smaller polysynths possible), but there's nothing magical in them - gain cells and linear/exponential voltage->current converters in one small package. I won't bother with those things from the past in new designs, because the magic is outside of the chip.
- "Stuff designed by amateurs will always be one step behind commercial products"
I hang around a few DIY online communities (for example the SDIY mailing list) and I am amazed by the expertise and knowledge of the people here. And then it struck me that to the most talented electrical engineers it would be a weird career move to actually work full-time on synths, because there are many other fun things to do with their skills. Somehow I think the most difficult thing for a trained EE to go into making synths would not be the challenge of the work, but the challenge of only applying a very small fraction of their knowledge of the field.

Hispasonic: There is a growing community of people that decide to take direct control and create their own synths from the electronic parts (DIY). Any advice for them?

Olivier: A last thing, and this takes the form of a question: "what makes a good synth/DIY project?". To me, three things:

Understanding the difference between a "project" and a "product"
It took 2 to 3 months to design something like the Shruthi from A to Z.
At this stage you'll have something awesome that you can put in a box, use yourself, post a video to Matrixsynth and be very proud of. But then it will take maybe 5 or 6 months to turn it into a "product", to sort unsexy things like documentation, sound banks, testing on a variety of setups, parts sourcing and validation, more field testing, feature requests from beta testers, etc.
I had changing opinions about whether oscillators, filters, modulations, etc. were the most important element to define the "sound of the synth". In the end, my view on that is that what makes a synth good is the presence, or not, of a "vision" or "plot" about how it should sound like, and then the effort made to ensure that every module contributes to this vision and goes in the right direction.
This is why I believe "design by committees" efforts like the Tyrell from Amazona are a bad idea - "just making the majority happy" is not the sort of vision to build something upon. At least not in arts.
When the designer of a synth has never taken the time to actually listen to its creation, it shows!

Hispasonic: Thank you very much Olivier for some of your time - we know that you are really busy these days - and for really getting involved in the topics treated. We do know that you are not very enthusiastic about being interviewed or talking about your products, as you completely trust on their sound as their best marketing campaign. We can’t wait to hear and play with your last creations. They will give us plenty to talk about, for sure."

Useful links:
Mutable Instruments
Shruthi-1 on Youtube
Shruthi-1 audio demos on Soundcloud
Contact the interviewer:
me@juanvilchez.com http://www.juanvilchez.com

sonicPlanet - First Experiment with StarWaves

video uploads by sonicPlanet


video upload by Richard Devine

"StarWaves is an audiovisual sound architect, the embodiment of sound, space and visual design rolled into one. Presented by sonicPlanet www.sonicplanet.com, it is a move towards the next generation of sound design apps.

Available for OSX and iPad (Windows version later), minimum hardware requirements : for iOS an 2019 iPAD (8th gen or pro) or newer, for OSX a recent Mac (2019 i7 or M1)"

via the user manual on SonicPlanet:
StarWaves is an audiovisual scene architect, the embodiment of sound, space and visual design rolled into one.

StarWaves gives the sound designer the architect’s role by creating possibilities of dialogue between these multiple elements.

IN THE MAKING OF SONIC ARCHITECTURES
StarWaves can import the sonic material in its concrete form as recorded files. Then this digital data is being represented as 3D rigid physical forms in space. We name them “the platform blocks” distributed spatially, a structure which stems from the sonic material being imported. There can be 100s of them, reaching the granular levels of sonic material. The layout of the platforms can be designed with 3D tools like positioning, rotation; they can be stretched, bent, scattered along their physical dimensions in continuous transformations.

As Goethe wisely stated : the architecture itself is 'frozen music'. How do we interact with this architecture to create the sonic textures ?

We know that sound travels as waves in an environment. It originates from a source and travels towards a distance, then interacts with the surface material of the environmental objects, gets

SONICPLANETTM
reflected, refracted, and absorbed within all the physical reality of its nature, granting a flexible relation to spatiality.

Sound remains as a hidden existence until it reaches our body. StarWaves uses on its scene the transmitters which send particles and beams of light to the space ( reminiscent to particle behavior of light or sound ) They hit the platform blocks ( representing the sonic material ) get reflected and collide with further objects, travel in distance until they die.

The time they collide with these rigid bodies they trigger sonic events and start a flow of synthesis processes. It is this continuous kinematic interaction, this physical realm which composes the sonic being and applies continuous transformations on its texture.

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Interview with Hexfix93 of VAC

The following is an interview I just wrapped up with hexfix93 of Velvet Acid Christ. As you know, this site is about the gear, namely synths, and the gear that helps drive and enhance synths, but ultimately the focus is on synths.

I was chatting a bit with hexfix93 and asked him if he would be interested in a slightly different take on an interview, one focused on synths and their impact to his world. We all have our story regarding how our obsession with synths first started, how we see and approach synths and what they mean to us. I thought it would be interesting to hear his story. The following is the interview.

Before it begins, I want to thank hexfix93 for taking the time out for this. We all have a different approach and a different story when it comes to our synths. This is his. For more of his music check out VAC and don't miss Toxic Coma. Cheers, matrix.


1. What was your first synthesizer, how old were you when you picked it up, and why did you pick it up?

"It was some kind of old yamaha cheap thing. i got it for my atari st, so when i played games like leisure suit larry that the music wouldn't come from the wimpy fm built in sound, but a general midi synth instead. it really didn't sound all that great. i wasn’t really a keyboard player at this point.

The first synth i got as a keyboard player was a roland w30 sampler workstation. And we made like 3 records with that keyboard. i remember gary slaughter an x vac member, spilled orange vodka drink on it. and i had to take it apart and clean every part of it by hand slowly, it took weeks. it was a pure nightmare.

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Roland's Single Knob Synth for Cars

ZZ_FOS2015 from GLM on Vimeo.
ZZ First Glance - Goodwood Festival of Speed 2015

What you are looking at is an actual synthesizer for cars, specifically for the GLM Model ZZ electric sports car in the video above and pictured below. Electric cars do not have traditional engines that produce the rumble you translate into raw power so the audio has to come from somewhere. In this case it will be coming from Roland's SuperNATURAL synthesizer engine. Hopefully they'll make an iPad editor for it so you can program in your own sounds. :) Map the pedals, wipers, windows, turn signals, etc. to different MIDI CC values and you are good to go, freaking this shit out of people. Imagine that? No wobble bass please...

The official press release:

"Japanese Auto Maker and Musical Instrument Manufacturer Partner to Co-Develop Electric Sports Car Driving Sound

Roland and GLM creating neo-futuristic driving sound system using world-leading synthesizer technology

Hamamatsu, Japan, August 18, 2015 — Roland Corporation and GLM Co., Ltd., have announced an agreement to co-develop a neo-futuristic driving sound generation system for GLM’s electric sports car. In this unprecedented collaboration between the world’s leading electronic musical instrument maker and the manufacturer of Japan’s first mass-marketed electric sports car, the driving sound system will be designed using Roland’s renowned SuperNATURAL® synthesizer technology.

Herbie Hancock, Jimmy Page, George Duke and many more of the world’s most talented musicians have relied on Roland synthesizers to create music. The new driving sound system for GLM’s ZZ model will use this same professional synthesizer technology to produce sonically rich, studio-quality sounds. In addition to refined sound quality, the system will have the ability to change with each driver’s real-time driving experiences. GLM and Roland are committed to creating a driving sound generation system that provides a one-of-a-kind driving experience that rivals anything currently on the market.

Roland’s innovative SuperNATURAL* synthesizer technology will power the ZZ model’s sound generation system with dynamic and dramatic sounds that seamlessly change depending on real-time driving situations like acceleration, deceleration, and motor load variances on sloping roads. This exclusive technology is based on responsiveness, which is especially important when recreating the subtleties of acoustic musical instruments electronically. That same technology will be used to create ingenious neo-futuristic sounds that will give sports car enthusiasts the experience of driving a space ship on the road. Electric sports cars are more popular now than ever, and as environmental concerns escalate, some drivers are learning to appreciate quieter electric engines. Driving sounds are still crucial for many, however ­– especially drivers of high-performance vehicles and those who want to have a fun and fulfilling driving experience.

For decades, the industry standard for reproducing the sound of traditional musical instruments was PCM sampling. The challenge with sampling is that most acoustic instruments respond differently to how hard they are struck, blown or bowed – most acoustic instruments grow brighter as they get louder, for example. By meticulously modeling the subtle characteristics and responsiveness of acoustic instrument sounds, Roland was able to create the most realistic electronic music sounds. Roland’s SuperNATURAL technology makes it possible to recreate these nuances electronically, and will be used to create the best driving sounds possible in the electric sports car.

Main features of the Roland sound generation system:

Generates driving sounds depending on the driving situation (e.g. acceleration, deceleration, and motor load variances)
Roland’s acclaimed SuperNATURAL synthesizer technology is used to synthesize dynamic, neo-futuristic sounds, then reproduce them through the car’s stereo speakers
Driving situations are detected by the system in real time through a car-mounted network that measures the car’s speed, pressure on the accelerator pedal, and load to the power system
Drivers can select from several driving sound types based on their personal preference, including neo-futuristic options
The driving sound system option for GLM’s ZZ model featuring Roland’s sound-making technology will be available this fall.

*Adapted sound engine of Roland’s flagship digital synthesizer."

Crazy Synth Dreams and a Real Waldorf Blofeld Keyboard (Review)

I had another synth dream last night. This time I was out in LA making a trip to Noisebug with my wife. When I get there it turned into me just happening to drive by and noticing it was there. Hey, there's Noisebug, can I check it out!? Followed by a reluctant yes from my wife. :) Odd how dreams work that way. Note I've never actually been to Noisebug, so this was just my imagination. When we get there a guy comes out to our car and while I'm sitting there, I ask him what he has that might be interesting. Drive-up service! He says he has a Waldorf Pulse for $249 and some other things. I ask about the Pulse and he brings it out to me. I decide I must have it even though I already have a Pulse Plus. You can chain them for polyphony. I then convince my wife that I should go in and have a look around. I do and the place is probably a 4500 square foot warehouse, high ceilings like Costco, filled with synths and other electronics. Kind of like a massive or rather mini JRR World in New York but in an industrial flea market type setting. There are a number of shops in the open space. Tons of used synths. I start walking the aisles and see a few Oberheim DXs, OB-Xas and a few interesting Waldorfs. There's an orange XT with custom writing on it and coloring. If I remember correctly there's some 80s digital and DCO based analogs, a DX7, KORG DW8000 and some other random synths. I go to buy my Pulse Plus at one of the counters closest to the entrance and I notice a Yellow Waldorf Q with some red writing on it. It says something about Waldorf and it's in Spanish. Apparently Waldorf made it for one of the hispanic guys in the shop. The guy behind the counter points at him and rolls his eyes. Anyway, I pay for the Pulse Plus and I ask him if he has anything else for such a good deal. He says he has a Roland D50 for $150. I always wanted one so I ask him if I could check it out. I do and it's in fantastic shape. It has a green led type display with operator algorithms. Note the D50 isn't an FM synth. In my dream I wonder what that might be. The pitch benders on it are actually long thin pull tabs but you don't pull them, you press down on them. Kind of like the proportional pitch control on some of the ARP Odysseys but more like thin extended keys that you press down. It was actually pretty nice feeling but somewhat cheap. I tell him I'll take it and he takes it away to prep it for me. I head to another section and there's a Prophet-5 hiding under a card table for $554! My wife is going to kill me. I turn it on and all voices are working but they are out of tune and the keys have graffiti on them from Sharpies. It's also physically shorter than a full size Prophet-5 - about three octaves. I debate on whether I should get it and I think I could really use Stephen of Synthwood.com's help as he definitely knows his Prophets (in real life too!). He says probably not since I have one already. I ask him if he plans to pick it up. :) He says nooooo. The sales guy lets me know the D50 is ready, so I leave Stephen playing the Prophet-5. When I'm walking over to the counter to purchase the D50 the guy says with the additional $50 off, the D50 will come out to $100 and the Pulse is $200. Both are pristine! What a deal! While I'm purchasing them I realize my wife is still in the car!!! She's going to kill me!!! But if I explain the good deal I got, I'm sure she'll understand even though I've been in there for a good 30 to 40 minutes. :)

And that's it! I haven't had a good synth dream in a while. What caused it and why Noisebug? Well... I'm sure it has something to do with that Waldorf Blofeld Keyboard you see here. It just arrived yesterday from Noisebug! My initial impressions? Absolutely fantastic synth. Note, I've only had a little over a few hours with it, so the following impressions are initial. I'm still in the honeymoon phase, but I have spent time with quite a few synths, analog and digital. I'm a bit of a Waldorf fanboy, but not because it's Waldorf. They just make fantastic sounding synths with impeccable design. I do love most if not all synths though. I have a tendancy to look for the good in synths and what each individual synth has to offer vs. looking for what's wrong and/or negatively comparing a given synth to another with obviously more power. That said, here are my initial impressions:

On the physical design:
Extremely classy looking, superb keyboard and knobs. Solid metal construction. The mod and pitch wheels are light, thin and have little pointers poking out at the mid points. At first I thought they might be a little flimsy, and I wasn't sure how the I'd like them, but so far they feel good. I like them.

On the interface:
Extremely well laid out. I wasn't sure if it would be difficult to navigate, as if you look at the top right you will see that the matrix there only has the most common parameters you might want to edit for each section. How do you dig deeper? Well, with any section selected (indicated by the led on the left of the matrix), you turn the top left knob (photo above) by the display to get to deeper settings. You then use the two knobs under the display to edit. The display BTW, is pretty nice. Anything you edit shows up graphically and changes in real time. Overall the synth is super easy to navigate. The endless knobs are smooth and solid.

On the sound:
Definitely Waldorf but more. Like I said above, I have an XT, Q and Pulse Plus. The XT is a wavetable synth, which means you select a wavetable as a sound source. Think of a wavetable as a spreadsheet holding a single cycle waveform in each cell. Once a wavetable is selected you can then set the cell reference point for each oscillator. You can then apply modulation to that reference point to sweep through the wavetable. You can do this with an LFO, Envelops, aftertouch, the mod wheel, etc. With the XT note that all oscillators share the same wavetable, so there is only one shared across oscillators in a single patch. With the Blofeld you can have a different wavetable for each OSC 1 and OSC 2. With the XT however, if you change wavetables while holding a note down, you will hear the wavetable change. You can get some really cool effects going this way. With the Blofeld the wavetable does not change until the next note is played. Note if you have an arpeggio going on the Blofeld the sound will change. OSC 3 is your standard virtual analog oscillator. Note OSCs 1 and 2 do have virtual analog waveshapes. The Blofeld has the XT wavetables and the Alt 1 and Alt 2 wavetables from the Q. In addition to wavetable and virtual analog synthesis, the Blofeld also has sample based synthesis! The samples act as oscillators to be used as sound sources in the synth engine - think synthesis as the focus vs. sampling. What it does is bring a whole new sound palette to the Waldorf line of synthesis. When I think Waldorf, I think wavetables and VA, now sample based oscillators have been added to the mix. How does it sound? Fantastic! There are some nice organic samples on board including a really nice Nylon guitar patch A014. I did notice a small quirk with this patch though. If you hold down C2 or a couple of notes around it the loop repeats at the end point much like old samplers. It doesn't do this for the rest of the keyboard range and I didn't notice it on other patches. Update: this problem went away after updating the OS. I went from 1.10 incrementally up to 1.13.

As for audio quality, presence and hi fidelity, the synth sounds absolutely amazing. One of my biggest gripes with some virtual analog synths out there is that they can sound somewhat muffled and weak. They are missing that certain boldness and presence you find in many analogs. A bit watered down so to speak. I was curious how the Blofeld would sound in this regard. To my ears it is very, very bold. Possibly more so than the Q rack - almost more "analog" sounding. It's on par with the Pulse and either as bold if not bolder than the XTk. It really has presence.

Summary
Overall, I am in love with this synth. For the price, $999 from Noisebug, it is an absolute steel. It is super compact, more so than the Nord Lead, it's built like a tank, has a fantastic interface and the sound is bold and broad. You have virtual analog, wavetable and now sample based synthesis. If this synth came out at the same time as the original Q I could see it going for twice as much. I'd recommend this synth to anyone. It is a great starter synth to learn the basics of subtractive synthesis and you can dig real deep. The interface is a breeze to navigate and the synth engine is extremely powerful in spite of it's price. Highly, highly recommended. Note there have been some bugs reported on the Waldorf list. Waldorf is working on updates, however the current bugs may or may not matter to you.

And.. that's all for now. Synth dreams and a real synth dream come true for me. I love my Blofeld!

I want to give a special thanks to Antonio at Noisebug. He was a pleasure to deal with. I ordered my Blofeld on Tuesday, it was shipped that day, and it arrived on schedule Friday. I was given a tracking number on Tuesday without having to ask and I was able to plan accordingly. I had absolutely fantastic service from Noisebug and can highly recommend them. Note they currently have the Blofeld Keyboard on sale from now until the end of July for $999 which is what I paid for mine. It's one heck of a birthday present. :)

You can find more pics including box shots here.

Update: soon after I wrote this mini review, I later hooked up the MIDI out on my Blofeld Keyboard and to my dismay it was not working. I had OS 1.10 loaded. Upgrading to 1.11 fixed the problem. I then upgraded to 1.12 followed by 1.13 and the fix stayed in tack. MIDI out is working. I just wanted to note this in the post in case anyone else ran into the problem. You can find the latest updates here. Note, one other person on the Waldorf user forum also had the problem on 1.10 and upgrading took care of it.

Circuit bent mechanical Furby sequencer linked to Korg SQ-10

YouTube via thenervoussquirrel.

Up for auction here.

"One of a new batch of four Furby Gurdies. This model allows you to program your own rhythms by rearranging screws inserted into the four wheels.

There is also a 'trigger out' socket, which has been used in the last section of the video to operate an old sequencer and synthesiser.

More details here"

via nervoussquirrel on the forum.
"Sometime prior to the 11th century A.D. a strange hand-cranked instrument called the hurdy gurdy appeared on the scene in Western Europe, drifting in and out of fashion but remaining in production to this day. In 1998 Tiger Electronics produced a scary children's toy called the Furby, and sold over 40 million of them in three years.

This auction is for the strange and terrible result of combining both of these phenomena - this is a rare chance to own your own Furby Gurdy!

This instrument involves four modified Furby toys that can be made to produce sound in a sequence by winding a handle. Each Furby has been 'circuit bent', which is a process that involves adding connections to the original electronic circuit board to create interesting new sounds.

When the handwheel is turned, four wheels operate four switches in a sequence. The sequence pattern is created by adding or removing screws from the 12 holes around the circumference of the wheels. Each of the four switches operated by turning the handwheel correspond to a Furby, causing it to make a sound as the screwheads pass.

Each Furby has six controls on the panel underneath it:

(1) Mute - turns off an individual Furby's sound
(2) Loop hold - captures a short loop of audio while a Furby is speaking
(3) Loop momentarily - useful for searching for a good sound before using 'Loop hold' to keep the sound
(4) Microswitch mode select - Switches between audio being produced by either the screwheads on the wheels or the gaps between the screwheads
(5) Crash - creates a stream of glitches and garbled Furby speech, random bleeps, crunches and hisses
(6) Reset - used to restore good health after the crash function

There is a main audio output socket on the front (1/4 inch jack), as well as four individual outputs on the rear of the unit.

There is also a socket on the rear of the unit that allows the switch under the fourth wheel to be used by an external device. Plugging a jack lead into this socket disconnects the fourth Furby and allows other devices to be triggered in time to the winding of the handwheel. In the video I have connected this socket to the step input of a Korg SQ-10 sequencer, so that the sequencer advances by one note every time a screwhead passes the switch.

There were four of these Furby Gurdies made - this auction is for one of the last two, serial number 00075.

High-quality switches and components have been used throughout, and build quality/soldering etc. is all very good. The casing is made of folded aluminium sheet and painted MDF, and the handwheel is solid machined aluminium. The rotating shaft has been mounted on bearings to ensure many years of lasting Gurdy goodness."

Introducing Roland AIRA Compact P-6 Creative Sampler

video upload by RolandChannel

"The P-6 Creative Sampler joins the AIRA Compact gang, packing legendary Roland sampling technology into a compact, user-friendly gadget. Seamlessly blending classic sampling techniques with granular sound design, the instrument features a built-in mic and advanced sequencer in a lightweight, rechargeable package. With a versatile stash of hands-on FX and intuitive controls, the P-6 delivers unparalleled portable sampling power.

Watch Dustin Good dive into the depth of features and connectivity within this mini roving recorder:
00:00 Intro
01:43 Layout
02:05 Sampling Settings
02:41 Sampling Examples
03:46 Chop
04:05 Step Sampling
04:46 Granular
05:39 Pattern Sequencer
06:47 FX
07:24 Resampling
07:56 Connectivity/AIRA Compact Series"

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