Jimmy and the Yamaha FX1

You are looking at the Yamaha FX1. The FX1 was a three manual FM based synthesizer under the Electone organ moniker, similar in look but not synthesis as the coveted analog GX1. GX1, FX1, get it? I have searched for images of the FX1 on the net and have come up empty.

Well.... Jimmy managed to run accross my site and informed me that he actually has one. To give you an idea of how rare the FX1 is, according to this Sound on Sound article there is only one in existence in the UK. The SOS article does not have an image of one. Think about that. This is about as rare as it gets folks. From the SOS article: "Lest you think that (other than the DX1) all FM synthesizers were small, neat affairs, let me tell you about the FX1. This was a huge three-manual beast very much in the mould of the GX1, but based entirely on FM synthesis. If you've never heard of it, I'm not surprised. Costing £36,000 in 1986, there's only one working example in the UK, and not many more elsewhere." Well, we now know there is at least one more working sample out there. Title link takes you to more shots sent my way via Jimmy. I need to stress how thankful I am that Jimmy took the time out to take pictures and share some of his story with me (during our conversations he stated that he would takes some shots and send them to when he had time. To my surprise that ended up being much sooner than later). I decided to include a bit of his story as well, as I found it fascinating. It also gives you a bit of this particular synthesizers' history and gives it context.

The following are excerpts from an email exchange I had with Jimmy:

"I do a single - organ, piano, sing, comedy, etc. One of the last night club entertainers left, I guess. I've been doing essentially the same type of show for the last forty-five years. I'm 65, but I'm going on 30. I definitely don't act my age, on or off stage. I still play a B-3 Hammond with two Leslie speakers. The B-3 I'm playing is the one I started playing in 1960, when I started in the night club business. I only play three nights a week. I really don't want to work more than that. I'm married and have raised two sons. I've met most of the musical stars through the years and have maintained a friendship with most of them."

"Back to the FX1, I tried to get it fixed one time (I spilled a coke into a small section to the left of the lower keyboard). Yamaha company said that they could replace the boards if I sent them to them one at a time. I really didn't know what was wrong with the organ at the time, so I sent one circuit board at a time and Yamaha replaced them, one at a time. Yamaha didn't even have a prototype of the FX1 in their repair facility so that they could compare the one I had with one in their shop. Sending parts to them really didn't solve the problem, because they didn't have a prototype in which to insert my parts to note a problem. I hadn't realized that the spilled drink was the problem. I brought the organ here from Florida and within a week, the repairman had diagnosed the problem and repaired it like new. It really is a workhorse piece of equipment. It will probably be around long after I'm gone."

"I wonder how many of these FX1s are left. I was told that there weren't too many of them to begin with. I'm not sure, but I had been told that there were twelve of them in the USA. I was told that Stevie Wonder owned one when they first came out. He has to have used it in studio. There was a train wreck (I believe) where all but a couple of them were destroyed. It was going from California to New York. Mine was one which survived the wreck. There is a corner of the keyboard where the edge is slightly bent. This supposedly happened in the accident. I don't know if this is true, Matrix, but that is what I was told (after I bought the organ!)"

"You asked how the FX1 plays, etc. It is a wild piece of history. It is the most powerful sound because of the huge external speakers. The speakers can be turned up so loud, that the sound can be deafening. I never really turned it up to max, but it is scary. The speakers are on wheels and they match the organ, which is an off-white. The organ as well as the speakers and the bench are extremely heavy - extremely. I thought that the B-3 Hammond was heavy. The organ itself weighs probably 300 pounds. The bench, alone, has to weigh 80 pounds. In order to get to the guts of the organ, you have to unscrew aload of screws and the whole front lifts up in two sections. The inside looks like the most complicated thing you've ever seen. It has six (I think) large circuit boards which pop out. It was way ahead of its time! When you change registrations, all of the sliders automatically move to the desired preset settings. It is quite amazing."

"You [Matrix] are a pretty crazy person [indeed ; )]. Very interesting that you have that site! I am really a collector of everything, so I guess I just never got rid of keyboards when I used them through the years. I also have a mini-moog that I've had for twenty five years. I'm not a great synthesizer player - I used the mini-moog for effects in my show. I should really use it for effects today. I'm trying to get informed enough to sample it down to my Kurzweil sampler. You see, on the job, there isn't a lot of time to play synthesizers, changing stops to be interesting, plus keep everyone's interest as a singer and comic. I'm a very busy guy on the stage. It's a very little one-man show that relies on personality as well as technical ability. I'm sort of the entertainer's entertainer. Andy Williams, Ray Stevens, Pet Clark, and the like, come out and watch me after their shows. Not much use for them with the type of shows here. They are playing pretty straight stuff. The town used to be known for country, but it is changing by the year. There are Beatles shows and good old Rock and Roll shows. Synthesizers are quite scarce in the shows. A bunch of my friends are into them, though, and have them at home. I am from the school of Earl Grant, Shay Torrent, Buddy Cole, Lenny Dee, Ethel Smith, Jimmy Smith, and the like. Most of them were personal friends. Petula Clark came in to see me on Saturday night. She sat in with me and sang a couple of old standards. It's a gas, because, I'm sort of a retro act. Although I have had some of these keyboards throughout the years, I am really not proficient in using them with any great knowledge of wave lengths, etc. I've been friends with a lot of the great players, and they think I'm a monster in my own way, but I've always been crazed with the way they play. I probably have thirty old keyboards - none of them are the ones mentioned in your blog - they are simple, usable keyboards that I've picked up in pawn shops, etc. I don't know if you knew who they were, but years ago, Joe Mooney, Del Statton, and Jocko Pastorius (and his dad, Jack) were good friends. Jocko was a mega monster on keyboards, as well as the bass. We were friends from the time he was 13. His dad was a good buddy. Jocko was the freak of all freaks. He would sit, as a kid, and watch me kick footpedals, without even looking up at the keyboards. I'm rattling on. I just wanted to fill you in."

Rattle on. : ) Again, I want to thank Jimmy immensely for taking the time out to share this with us. Folks, if you have any questions for Jimmy please feel free to post a comment and I'll make sure he gets it. Thank you more than words can say Jimmy. Wow!

Update: link to the manuals via hugo:
FX1E_1.pdf
FX1E_2.pdf
FX1E_3.pdf
FX1E_4.pdf
FX1E_5.pdf

Update via Jimmy in the comments: "The FX1 I have has a mini-disc recorder/playback unit attached to the underside near the right knee which can replay as though it were live. I think you can see it in the picture. Not bad for the time! I also have a second recorder. - J"

Update via the comments: More shots and info here

Update: be sure to check out the comments for more. The following via Jason:
"Add another FX1 to the list of found. This one was purchased new to be, of all things, a church organ! My father was a Yamaha dealer at the time and he was offered the chance to "test" a new model of the Electone series. It was actually purchased in 1982 (yep, before it was released). The serial number on it was "XXX" and there was nothing on the organ indicating it was an FX1. I always thought it was kind of strange Yamaha would send something like this to such a small town to be tested. Anyway, the organ is now gone after being struck by lightning in 1989. It sat out in an alley exposed to the elements for 7 years before it was finally hauled off to the dump. I tried to stop that, but I was only 15 when it was drug off, so I didn't have a choice.
I'll always remember that organ as being the "Star Trek" organ. The kids of the church would just sit at it and change the settings to make the sliders move on their own. Anyone else think it looked like a console out of Star Trek TNG? haha
btw, here's a link to an MP3 file of a demonstration of the organ playing."

Update via Andrew in the comments: "Yamaha made a promotional album for the FX-1 in 1983, you can grab it here"

Update via Rockstardave in the comments: "I did a write up on my FS-500, very similar to the FX-1, with some pictures and such:

http://freeorgansusa.blogspot.com/2010/03/yamaha-electone-fs-500.html

Come have a look at my "new" baby."

The Weeknd - Blinding Lights (cover)

Published on Apr 26, 2020 Krzychu1995

With a Sequential Prophet REV2 & Roland D-50.

And the original:

The Weeknd - Blinding Lights

Premiered Jan 21, 2020 The Weeknd

Trip to think this came out before the lock downs and social distancing.

Yeah
I been tryna call
I been on my own for long enough
Maybe you can show me how to love, maybe
I'm going through withdrawals
You don't even have to do too much
You can turn me on with just a touch, baby
I look around and Sin City's cold and empty (oh)
No one's around to judge me (oh)
I can't see clearly when you're gone
I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch
I said, ooh, I'm drowning in the night
Oh, when I'm like this, you're the one I trust
Hey, hey, hey
I'm running out of time
'Cause I can see the sun light up the sky
So I hit the road in overdrive, baby
Oh, the city's cold and empty (oh)
No one's around to judge me (oh)
I can't see clearly when you're gone
I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch
I said, ooh, I'm drowning in the night
Oh, when I'm like this, you're the one I trust
I'm just walking by to let you know (by to let you know)
I can never say it on the phone (say it on the phone)
Will never let you go this time (ooh)
I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
I said, ooh, I'm blinded by the lights
No, I can't sleep until I feel your touch

Tracks from The James Newman Groove Orchestra Upcoming Release: 'This side of the curse'

Published on Aug 16, 2018 Audio Illustrator

New tracks from supporting MATRIXSYNTH member, James Newman's upcoming release, 'This side of the curse'. You can find track details including their inspirations for the videos further below.

"This will be the opening piece for a 9 piece album I'm working on inspired from Biblical ideas and truths/passages and in a Pink Floyd/Orchestral mixed style. The Album will be called 'This side of the curse'. Here is the song listings:

1) This side
2) Broken
3) Out of Sync
4) A minor moment of reason
5) Let me out of here
6) And we are not
7) The silence of grasping air
8) Another Floydian Slip
9) Flip side

PS...once again I'm using a lot of the Behringer Model D on this piece but using a variety of other softsynths as well as the Moog DFAM and Mother 32."

Video playlist:

1. This side

"This side" is a song about this side of the curse. We all know that life is not only challenging but also downright hard at times. Even in the best of times we can see that life has a way of working against us.

I believe this life is indeed under a curse and that we all long to be set free from that which we are bound under.

This piece is based from Genesis 3.

I hope you enjoy. :)

Photo courtesy of Stephanie Newman.

James Newman 's music can be purchased at: jamesnewman.bandcamp.com

CLICK FOR MORE »

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.

CLICK FOR MORE »

'The Payback' (Explicit) - Gist

Published on Apr 29, 2017 ngarjuna

A new track from supporting MATRIXSYNTH member, ngarjuna. Enjoy.

"'The Payback' - Gist
Produced by ngarjuna
by James Brown, Fred Wesley, John Starks
© 2017 Acid Coast

Gist is
ngarjuna - bleeps and bloops
Rich Prewett - guitars

Vocals
TransUniversal Vocal Discombobulator
Medic Modules Cranial Saw, AJH Minimod Modules, Zynaptiq Morph, Cytomic The Drop

Acid Voice
Abstrakt Instruments Avalon

Drums
Rayzoon Jamstix

Bass
Abstrakt Instruments Avalon

Horns
Intelliljel Rubicon, SSF Quantum Rainbow, Medic Modules Cranial Saw, Pittsburgh Oscillator, AJH Minimod VCF, Envelopes, VCA

Lyrics:

CLICK FOR MORE »

"Poetry at the core of arts" with a Dedication to Pierre Henry by Marc-Henri Arfeux & the Access Virus

Many of you will be familiar with the Access Virus compositions by Marc-Henri from previous RADIOKLOW posts. Marc-Henri bridges the gap between electronic music and other forms of art. His most recent work is a poem in tribute to Pierre Henry accompanied by the Access Virus. The tribute is hosted on La poésie au cœur des arts : le Blogart which translates to "Poetry at the core of arts". Click through and click on the Access Virus image to get to the piece.

via Marc-Henri:

"This site called 'Poetry at the core of arts' is the net the extension of a book of the same title, an anthology of poetry published by the french publisher : Editions Bruno Doucey. The book contains a poem I wrote about electronic music. The site was conceived to developp an exploration for some of the poets and artists of the book. I am one of them for, poetry , music and painting.

You will find the poem I wrote for the book, three pieces of music composed in january 2014, four poems by other authors of the anthology, three improvisations performed in early february 2014, a former composition called De Haute Vallée you have seen in the form a video in late 2012, an interview in french and some photographs taken at my flat when I was interviewed."

The following is Marc-Henri's poem translated into English:

"Orpheus veil"

Fly down into Orpheus ear,
Where roll clockworks
Of the forbidden stars
And voices shreds seeking vision.

Listen at the well of walls
Echoes of illuminated faces
In their bronze palaces.

Pavings, folds of roses,
The naked heels
Playing the freshness game
With embers
And the childhood kisses.

Travelling back to horizon,
In the limestone of nights,
Is now the prophecy of the spices,
With its tissue gifted with red
And the sobbings of an initiation.

Marc-Henri Arfeux - 2013

----------

Update: the following an English translation of the interview with Marc-Henri Arfeux on "Poetry at the core of arts". It is a fascinating read and reminds me of why I initially got into synths. My first synth was a brand new Oberheim Matrix-6 back in 1986. When I first started exploring the Matrix-6 I had no idea what the parameters did, so I just dived in. For me it was an exploration of sound for the sake of sound and a fascination in creating musical instruments never heard before. The focus was on that exploration rather than the attempt to mimic real world instruments. Much of this spirit is covered in the world of musique concrete and is captured in the interview below. Do not miss the part on the short wave radio. Truly fascinating and an inspiration for sonic exploration.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Eurorack Modular Review by Hefix93 of Velvet Acid Christ

Hefix93 of Velvet Acid Christ sent the following review of his new Eurorack format modular synth featuring Doepfer, Plan b, Livewire and a Kenton Pro Solo for MIDI to CV. You will find samples at the end of the review.

"Kenton pro solo: Amazing midi to cv converter, its tight, real tight with logic sending it midi. i like the portamento and other things i can get out of it.. very good, worth every peny, also can do extra cv modulations with the aux out jack.

Plan b model 15 osc: The saw wav on this is simply mystifying. huh? i mean it is the meanest saw i have ever messed with. PWM is not so great, no attenuator and there is only active pulse on the pwm knob from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock (don't know if this is standard on all modulars, as this is my first) this really irritates me [Update: this is addressed at the end of this review by Peter Grenader of Plan b]. I got neat fm sounds, and sync. the sine is pretty cool. The small frequency knob really kinda irks me, its so hard to dial in any kind of tuning, which makes this a real bummer for live use. I hope i can get the pwm to work how i want in the future, if so, this osc will probably me favorite of all time. Seriously rips. This thing is so mean. I want to have him build me a custom osc based on this model 15 with all the things i want. i hope he will. I want a osc octave switch, pwm attenuator and a bigger freq knob that isn't so overly sensitive and hard to tune (granted, these are the first modular oscillators i have used so). I seriously love this osc.

doepfer a-118 Noise/random: wow, i love the colored noise on this module. and the random voltage thing is kinda neat as a modulator on my filter and other things. nice.

doepfer a-138 mixer: Wow this sounds decent. if you over drive this past 7, it gets pretty aggressive, great for the kind of music i do. nice..

doepfer a-131 VCA: Again decent sounding, and man if you go past 7, it gets real mean. i love it..

doepfer a-143 quad lfo: nice to have 4 lfos, i like the speed switch, this goes real slow and nice and fast. i love it. better than most synth lfos i've had. Can go real fast in the high mode, fm audio. nice...

doepfer a-125: this is the best phaser i've ever had, and i haven't had many, makes the phaser in the virus ti sound like a toy..can sound real thick and heavy, very psychedelic. wow. this will make my psy trance tracks kick major butt..

doepfer a-188-1 1024 bbd: Very cool short delay that does chorus and flange ok, not the best i've heard, the modcan sounds the best so far. but for strange detuned rubber band delay modulation sci fi weird stuff, this thing really rocks, but it makes me wish i had room for the 188-2 instead.. hrmm... still really good for the money.

doepfer a-140 adsr: Very snappy. i mean this thing handled my 160 bpm bass duties at 16th notes very well. better than most stuff i have owned. i have not tried to make kick drums yet or other percussion, so i don't know how well it does there. but for bass and leas, out standing fast poppy envs. i have not messed with the other speed settings other than the m. and that suits my needs so far. i got two of these. and man, i'm loving it.... so fast tho, they can pop, you have to mess with the attack and release a tad, but man. it snaps..

doepfer 1-180 multiples: what can i say, they split the multiply a signal by 3. awesome. does its job well. i get 1 in and 3 out x2 per module, i got 2 of these..

Livewire Frequensteiner multimode filter: i saved the best for last. what can i say, this thing is aggressive, and man, it is simply the best multimode filter i have ever owned. The low pass is very aggressive, as is the bandpass, and the highpass, but man, the high pass is the best on this filter. it hisses and bites and cuts in a mix so well, i cannot explain how much i love it. But honestly i really like all the filter modes a lot. if i push the audio input past 7 or 8, it over drives and gets really mean, i mean super pissed. AMAZING. This thing is worth every penny, i love the knobs, and the nice big frequency knob is much loved here. What other multimode filters have i owned? nordlead, jp8080, virus up to the ti, the jupiter 6, the andromeda. This thing is sick, i mean so great, i cannot rave bout it enough. This is now my favorite synth filter ever. Even beating out my love for the minimoog and jupiter 8 filters.. i'm just into that aggressive exciting sound this thing gives me.

I sold my roland jupiter 8 for this [posted here]: i am not looking back, i love that old vintage lush instruments. but i needed something with more balls and bite and aggression, i got it. What i am able to pull of with this is amazing seriously mean bass and leads, that cut on all frequencies of the spectrum. And all the strange ufo sci blips and beeps that modulars are know for as well. This doesn't sound vintage, it has its own new sound, its stable and alive, but very precise and tight. zippy, and responsive. so much more so than i am used to. the modulations in the andromeda were sluggish and oogy, this is lightning fast and responsive, just how i like it. I am so glad that i took this big step. Sure i have some issues with the implementations on the the plan b model 15 with its pwm strangeness, but other than that, i love it all. I took back my virus ti and vsynths because they just didn't cut into my analog drum machine and monosynth dominated mixes. This thing does. it can get in there with my sh2, and future retro revolution just fine. as to where my virus would sound all faint and wouldn't cut, even with the high pass, it would kinda get lost and not stand out. that is not a problem here with this system. This is why i love analog so much more in the kind of music i make, i need stuff that has presence in the mix. digital doesnt. ANALOG DOES!

Sure after it was all said and done, it cost me about $2750. I bought it all from Analogue Haven .. please if you do buy stuff because of these sound demos, tell them that you heard the clips from velvet acid christ and read this review. I want a hook up for getting him business. I'm addicted to this modular stuff, and i need all the help i can get now.. :) Shawn really is the one who help me build this system. He and i go way back. I'm so glad his store exists now. really helped me out here. i've been lusting after a fat system with a multimode filter for years. I FINALLY HAVE FOUND IT.. i'm so happy..

Oh and by the way, i made a bunch of quick sound demos of the this system doing the typical vac arp lines and basses. Feel free to check em out. I hope this gets you interested in modulars.. They are not just for strange blips and beeps, they can be great musical instruments as well. not just for the weird sci fi. take care.

bryan aka hexfix93 aka phuckhead aka disease factory....."

Samples:
http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/synth/model15frequensteinera-125vcp.mp3
http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/synth/model15frequensteiner2lp125vcp1881bbd.mp3
http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/synth/model15frequensteinerlp3.mp3
http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/synth/model15frequensteinerlp4.mp3
http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/synth/model15frequensteinerlp5.mp3
http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/synth/model15frequensteinerbp6.mp3
http://www.velvetacidchrist.com/synth/model15frequensteinerhp7.mp3

Update via Peter Grenader of Plan b regarding PWM on the Plan b Model 15:"Morning...

The PWM construction is designed that way so that there are more possibilities for the VC input. I played around with this a lot while cooking the VCO, you're going to get some very interesting sounds when the manual offset is positioned to either the far left or right (either into the 'silent' zone) and a VC is applied to pull it back into audio that aren't availible otherwise. My PWM sound is unique, I wanted to keep it that way.

I think there is a misconception that by only having the square audible from 10 to 2 that you're loosing something. You're not - it's all there, it sweeps from full neg, through 0 to 100 duty cycle, then back from 100 to 0 to full positive. it just transverses that from the 10 o' clock pot setting to the 2 o clock pot setting. the balance of the pot regions, when the signal is zero is not wasted, it's there for VC possibilities.

If you own one of these, try it, you'll see what I'm speaking about. Move the pot to silence, apply and VC, then move the pot to so that the square isn't silent and apply the same VC. I didn't want to loose both effects.

hope this helps,

- P "

New Waldorf M Wavetable Synthesizer

video upload by WaldorfMusicChannel

"Here is the brandnew Waldorf M Wavetable Synthesizer with analog filters and stereo VCA and much more to explore..."



"Sound demo for our brandnew Waldorf M Wavetable Synthesizer - no external effects and processing was used."

Waldorf M - Wavetable Synthesizer - Live Looping Ambient Session

video upload by

"This is the Waldorf M - Wavetable Synthesizer. In this track I used Ableton to live-loop four patches.

I will release more videos with the M, if you have any questions or want me to show a feature of the synth please let me know in the comments.

It is an honor to be part of the Waldorf beta testing team, I have been working with the synth for the last months and am very happy to finally show you what I have been doing with it. The factory library contains some of my own sounds, watch out for "MSt" when you test it at a shop or at home!"




Priced at:
1.879,00 € (~2,221.53 USD / ~£1,605.17)

"With M, we are musically returning to our roots by bringing back classic Microwave and ‘modern’ Microwave II tone generation as a new-generation classic hybrid wavetable synthesizer with an analogue lowpass 24 dB/Oct VCF — SSI 2144 Improved Ladder Type — with resonance and analogue saturation feature, true stereo analogue VCA with panning option, and much more to explore in a desktop-friendly form factor featuring a wide range of unique sounds. Plentiful presets — totalling 2,048 sound programs (divided into 16 banks, each with 128 sounds) — professionally programmed by world- renowned sound designers also include all of the classic Microwave sound sets, such as MW1 Factory Sound Set, MW1 Soundpool 1-5, the fat-sounding Analogue and Bassco, as well as PPG Wave 2.3 sounds cleverly converted for the original Microwave. Moreover, it also features freshly-programmed sounds utilising M’s myriad new features — from true hard Sync (when working in its Modern Microwave II/XT mode) to the ARP (arpeggiator) and MIDI-syncable global LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator).

But beating at M’s musical heart as an eight-voice polyphonic, four-part multitimbral WAVETABLE SYNTHESIZER — as boldly blazoned in red across its full-metal blue- coloured casing, itself hinting at its illustrious Microwave heritage — are two wavetable oscillators with independent wavetable-generating Classic Microwave 1 and Modern Microwave II/XT modes, meaning that the wavetable oscillators behave differently in both of those modes (accessible by pressing the Mode button beside the helpful high-resolution graphic display with four endless encoders for yet more hands-on control). Consequently, there is no hard Sync or ring modulation available in the Classic Microwave I mode, where 16-bit wavetables are bit-reduced to 8-bit and a 240 kHz non-anti-aliased sample rate is offered, whereas the Modern Microwave II/XT mode offers a 40 kHz sample rate with band-limited wavetables, although both oscillators — OSC 1 and OSC 2 — offer the same panel parameters.

Two LFOs are generating a periodic waveform with adjustable frequency Rate and Shape that can be used for modulation purposes, are also always at hand. However, unlike other Waldorf synthesizers, there is no modulation matrix in M. Making a conscious design decision to set up M’s modulation facilities directly on the corresponding display page, to paying tribute to the 1989-vintage Microwave.

Back in the here and now, M takes performance to a whole new level, thanks to that advanced ARP with 16 preset patterns, chord mode, and an ability to synchronise to MIDI clock. Furthermore, four programmable ENVELOPES allow adventurous users to manipulate sound parameters via rate or timed modulations.

Musically making a connection to the outside world is important to any synthesizer, so M offers six (rear panel-positioned) stereo analogue outputs — arranged as MAIN OUT (L/Mono and R) and AUX OUT (A, B, C, and D), the latter of which can be used to route each of the four Multi (multitimbral) parts to different outputs, if desired; a stereo headphone output (with an associated Volume knob in addition to the topside Master Volume knob); 5-pin MIDI IN, OUT, and THRU DIN connectors, complimented by a USB 2.0 MIDI port (for computer connection to transmit and receive MIDI data); an SD Card slot (for updating M’s firmware, importing/saving sound patches, and importing/saving M-specific data, such as user wavetables); and — last but not least — a Kensington® compatible security lock slot."

CLICK FOR MORE »

What is The Vanilla Synthesizer? It's Ready, That's What

via the STG Soundlabs/muSonics Electronic Newsletter:

Is it The Vanilla Synthesizer or the muSonics TVS?

I started working on this project a year and a half ago.

Originally my thought process was to make a new American format synthesiser that could be sold as modules, kits, and bare boards. I was concerned about the future of the format, and I felt a new line of basic modules and infrastructure at a variety of price points was important. I still do.

STG Soundlabs was a failure because I made things that ultimately the eurorack market simply did not want. Yes, I sold some, and will continue to maintain the line as best as I can, but it's very hard to find photos of eurorack installations with STG Soundlabs modules in them, but rare to find a nice big man-sized synthesiser without my modules in it.

Another thing I wanted to do was teach myself how to do my own engineering. It didn't start that way, but it became that way. I'd been a hardware product developer since 2005 but never actually laid out a circuit board. That is no longer true, and I've done things beyond this project that I haven't even talked about.

CLICK FOR MORE »

5 Ambient Patchlets with the Basimilus Iteritas Alter

Published on Jun 3, 2020 Omri Cohen

"If you like what I do and want to support my work, consider joining me on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/omricohen

I also created a document full of patching techniques and ideas that I will continue updating - https://www.patreon.com/posts/documen...

Here are some patch notes:
------------------------------------------------
Patch 1 - 00:00
--------
- I'm triggering the Basimilus with the pulse output of the 1U Noise Tools module, and I'm increasing the rate until I get a constant tone.
- I'm sending THIS to Microcell in Granular mode with lots of reverb.
- In VCV Rack I have the Black Octasource from Erica Synths modulating the harmonics, decay time, and morph of the Basimilus.

Patch 2 - 02:07
--------
- I'm sequencing the Basimilus from VCV Rack with a random sequence.
- I'm multing the Basimilus once into the Mimeophon, and once into Microcell in the Oliverb mode.
- The Rate of the Mimeophon is being modulated twice, once with S&H, and once through the micro input with an LFO.
- I've also recorded the Basimilus into the Morphagene a bit, and I'm playing the sample an octave lower and in revers.

Patch 3 - 03:12
--------
- I'm sequencing the Basimilus with Marbles in VCV Rack.
- It's then going into Magneto in shift mode so it creates those additional notes.
- It then goes into the Microcell for some extra reverb, and from there to Freak with a distortion model.
- I'm also modulating the morph control of the Basimilus with S&H, as well as the reverse function on Magneto.

Patch 4 - 05:04
--------
- I'm sending an arpeggio from VCV Rack to sequence the Basimilus, and it's going through LedRover.
- The signal is being multed into 3 different destinations: Once into the Microcell for some reverb, once into Freak with a HP filter and from there to the Mimeophpon, and once into Arbhar, which continuously records the signal and processes it.

Patch 5 - 07:11
-------
- I'm using a burst generator in VCV Rack to sequence the Basimilus.
- I recorded it onto Arbhar, and I have its built-in reverb on wet to it creates this nice pad.
- I also recorded a short sequence onto Magneto, and I'm playing it one octave lower. I'm also triggering its revers function randomly from VCV Rack.
- I'm also modulating the harmonic, fold, and morph functions of the Basimilus with an LFO in VCV Rack, built after Ochd from DivKid and Instruo.
- The Basimilus is then going through the Mimeophon for delay and Microcell for extra reverb.

I'm using DistroKid to distribute my music to Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, and more. By signing up through this link you will get 7% off and will support this channel :) - http://distrokid.com/vip/omri

Here's my latest release on Spotify, iTunes, and more - https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/omr...
Also on Bandcamp - https://omricohencomposer.bandcamp.co..."

Mix Me DJ - Bordello Disco

video uploads by batchas

Playlist: 02 03 24 Mix Me DJ - Bordello Disco (part 1)

"I'm "sending the audio out of Mix DJ to a mixer but also to FM input of external oscillator."

02 03 24 Mix Me DJ - Bordello Disco (part 2)

I'm sending voltages in the Mix DJ and I'm sending the audio out of Mix DJ to a mixer but also to FM input of external oscillator.

02 03 24 Mix Me DJ - Bordello Disco (part 3)

Triggering and sequencing a sample on the Mix DJ.

02 03 24 Mix Me DJ - Excerpts

I'm sending voltages in the Mix DJ and I'm sending the audio out of Mix DJ to a mixer but also to FM input of external oscillator.

George Mattson and The Syntar

I recently engaged in an email discussian with George Mattson, creator of the Syntar. That's him next to Bob Moog who's trying out his Syntar at the 1980 Chicago Summer NAMM Show. The discussion we had was fascinating and private, and I thank him for sharing his story with me. As it was part of synth history I asked George if it would be ok to put up a post here, as I'm sure other synth enthusiasts would enjoy this bit of synth history as well. He gave me the go ahead, so here it is. Note that this was originally private and not meant to be a post - this was just me and George going back and forth. The references to Starship are to Jefferson Starship. Many thanks to George for taking the time to share this with me, and for letting me put this up.

"I was born as a non-Mormon in Salt Lake City, Moved to Anchorage, Alaska in Sept '64 3 weeks before my 10th birthday. Graduated from High School there in 1973. That Fall I moved to Moscow, Idaho where I enrolled in the School of Mines studying Mining and Metallurgy. Bought my first synths at that time-the 101 and 200 when there were only 3 manufacturers. ARP, Moog and EML. I liked the versatility of the EML line and went that route. That was the days that you had to send a certified cashiers check for the full purchase amount and they were made to order. Went to College 5 semesters and stayed a freshman with a 1.18 GPA. My older brother moved down and had a bunch of recording gear so we started a recording studio trying to break into commercials. I had picked up a Poly-box by then and my Yamaha YC-45D. Then bought the EML sequencer and a 300. Couldn't stand the clutter and built the box for the sequencer, Told EML what I was doing. They bought the original cases back from me and credited that against another 416 panel and another 300 just to fill 2 big gaping holes in the box. I had most of the synth panels on one side of my bedroom and all of the keyboards (including a Baldwin upright, a Rhodes and a friends EML 500) including the 101 keyboard on the other side of the room. We'd hire musicians to play the tunes and I ran/programmed the synths. Oct. 04 1978 I was alone in the room running back and forth between the consoles and the keyboards when I said to myself: "what I need is...." and the concept of the Syntar hit me. Then I said "somebody should make one of these" Then I said: "Hey, I could do this!" (I talked to myself a lot.) Jan '79 I moved to Bend, OR. Moved in with my folks and tried to find investors. I built a hand-made prototype using EML circuit modules and went to the 1979 Atlanta NAMM lugging this thing around trying to get a manufacturer to go for it and hire me as a team leader on the project. The only person that had any emotion about it while talking to me was Herb Deutsch from Norlin. He said he'd talk to his Board of Directors and call me. In Jan '80 I went to the NAMM winter market in Anaheim with Michael Garrison (He landed his distribution agreement with Ariola on the way down) and Mike asked if I saw the Moog booth. He took me over and we saw the prototype of the Liberation strapped onto a mannequin. I went home devastated and my folks put up the investment money to get started. They're no slouches; both my Mom and step Dad have electronics degrees. I advertised the Syntar in the mags a month before Moog advertised the Liberation. The thought was if I could beat them to it, at least people couldn't say I copied them. That never worked. They had a little bigger budget than I did. But, anybody researching it will find that I had it first. No big deal now. I had to close shop because we were broke and were facing a takeover. So, I closed it down, called Starship, told them I needed a job and got hired. A year and a half later They wanted me to move to San Francisco rather than flying me back and forth from home. I didn't want my 4.5 and 3 year olds growing up in the California rock and roll scene and moved here in July of 1983. Went out one more time with Starship in Aug/Sept 1983 and told them I was leaving. Been here since doing different things."

"Well, that's the way it went down. Can't change the facts. Of course, I would loved to have made money from all of the work I put into it. The sad part is that I still can't play keyboards. I'm a guitar player since I was 10. Hey, right after I moved to Anchorage."

"That picture was taken in June of 1980 at the Chicago NAMM. That's me next to him- I was 26 YO. Notice that he's playing prototype #3.( The first was the one I hand built from EML circuit modules, the second used forked plasic keys over fluted shafts-that one was later modified and used as a LASER controller by the guy doing the LASER shows for Blue Oyster Cult and Tangerine Dream)) The Syntar hanging in the background is just a panel and cardboard simulated left hand keys. The prototype Bob is playing has curved aluminum keys that dragged a resined string over a pulley. The final (and production)version was much more aesthetic and worked like a charm."

Thanks again George. Fascinating story. I really can't play either. : )
BTW, George also provided the EML Poly-Box Samples in this post.

Update: George later made up the 1.18 GPA with a 3.8 GPA with his AA in Electronics. : )

The living moment | MIDERA

video upload by MIDERA

"It's my birthday. I guess it is a happy day, as I'm here now. I kept my youngest from daycare so we could spend the day together, the whole family. Funny how when I was a kid, I'd get sick to my stomach I was so excited to open presents. Now I get sick to my stomach if I have to talk in front of groups of people. I guess that was a fun transition of excitement.

But here I am, getting to be with my family. Although it's hard not to recognize that the one that brought me here is no longer able to celebrate it with me. My mom didn't get to be with me during my last birthday either. I remember I had planned to visit her last year, but obviously everything happened and she ended up not making it to that point. So odd to think that she would give birth to me and 39.9 years later it would be over.

Well - I am still here - and I am with my kids hoping to give them what my parents gave me - a good upbringing. I suppose it's the only way to truly honor them. Yesterday, I took my kids sledding and we had a great time, until I fell and hurt my wrist. Can't wait for that to come back to haunt me, since everything hurts now.

This is probably also the first video to showcase my bald head. Another gift of aging. I think I have a few videos from 10+ years ago where I look younger and had hair. But again, aging means I'm still here and living in whatever moment is here. To be honest, shaving my head has been pretty liberating. I like not having to think about hair, worrying about whether I'm losing it, dealing with hat hair, all that crap.

Anyway, I'm hoping for a better year traveling around the sun. I hope you all experience the same.

Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2 - Drums, piano, strings, sequencing #spectralis
Access Virus TI - pads, drum FX #accessvirus
Eventide Blackhole VST #eventide"

Piantar demo Feb 1994 - Mark Daum - Blast from the Past

YouTube via markdaum — May 19, 2008 — "I'll be posting some new music in a few months, when I'm finished recording this jazz album I'm currently working on...but until that time I'm going to post some older videos under the series title 'Blast from the Past'.
Here's the first one.
Hope it does something for you.
Mark Daum


** a quick note: The 'Piantar' is strictly speaking a controller instrument, so as such the overall sound will always reflect what it's hooked up to. This video demonstrates some of the playing technique with what I call the 'basic Piantar sound', which is akin to playing an acoustic guitar or piano.

This is the best demo of the piantar that was captured on film from that early time period.
I had invented it a couple years earlier in 1992, but it was just an idea until late 1993. The prototype I'm playing here was designed by myself and constructed by my brother Mike and I,
and the footage is from a cable show where I also met Shawn Brush for the first time.
The music itself is an improvisation based around a song taken from my first album 'Piantarist', (which is no longer in print). I think it's called 'By your Side'.
The performance is a bit primitive and rough around the edges compared to what I had envisioned, but I had just started playing it a few months prior to this taping.
I did manage to improve my playing significantly not long after this, but it was short lived as I dislocated both my shoulders within 8 months.
Flew too close I guess.
As you can imagine it took me a while to recover from this, and it took me the better part of a decade and lots of starts and stops, to figure out how to approach it so that I didn't aggravate what turned out to be a somewhat chronic condition.
So if you ever saw me perform around this time, and then wondered later, whatever happened to that guy... well now you know.
I'm glad to say however that despite this fairly major set back, these years were very fruitful for me musically...just in different ways.

Now I'm poised to start exploring the potential of this instrument with much better sonic tools at my disposal than I had ever had before...it should be a lot of fun.
Stay tuned."

Roland Museum Germany Massive Synthesizer Selloff - Most Gear for Sale in a Single Auction

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

This one in via Marko of Retrosound.de.

26.000,00 Euro gets it all.

via this auction

Someone needs to contact the Guiness Book of World Records. Longest list of gear for sale ever:

CLICK FOR MORE »

Yamaha AN1X Klaus Schulze 4 and Klaus Schulze 8 two Presets with Chorus and Phaser variations

video upload by js-sound

"I often read on music forums 'why are hardware synthesizers stuck in the Stone Age?'. People are often unhappy with many things. People can like something and at the same time a couple of things can irritate people, if, for example, we are talking about hardware synthesizers. For me AN1X is perfect.

There are a lot of new music products available on the market now. But often they are the ones that don’t suit me in many ways. And I love my AN1X, it has never let me down or annoyed me. After modification, which greatly changed the sound for the better, it is a polyphonic analogue for me! On YouTube, crumbs remain from the original sound, but live my AN1X sounds so that it gives me goosebumps. If you look at the synthesis diagram on the case cover, you can understand from it that AN1X is simple! The entire diagram does not show its capabilities even at 20%. AN1X can do a lot better than my Eurorack modular! And and if you want that Eurorack modular to do what the AN1X can do, it must occupy half of the small room.

00:00 JS-Sound Klaus Schulze 4 Preset with a little bit AN1X chorus and panorama by 50%
02:57 JS-Sound Klaus Schulze 8 Preset with a AN1X phaser and wide panorama"

Yamaha AN1X Jean Michel Jarre Magnetic Fields Part2 with 2 Scenes live

video upload by js-sound

"What can a Yamaha AN1X synthesizer that is already 27 years old do? First of all, it can make me happy because it doesn’t show any signs that it will ever break down and stop working. He can also sound completely different and with his creative abilities generate crazy and very musical timbres. AN1X is the most musical synthesizer for my ears.

There is only one preset in this video. It consists of two different timbres (2 scenes or dual mode), which I controlled using DAW via two MIDI channels simultaneously. I recorded the sum of the two timbres into a wave file at one time. I normalized the amplitude to the maximum peak and added audio to my video.

00:00 Start Video
00:15 Jean-Michel Jarre Magnetic Fields Part 2 live Video.
01:00 Info 3
04:29 My YouTube Channel Info.

Yamaha AN1X as drone synthesizer

video upload by js-sound

"If none of you have watched the Vikings series on Netflix, then you should watch it. What is the connection between the Vikings and synthesizers or the actions of people in a certain choice, for example a musical equipment? The connection is actually direct. If you believe the saga about the Vikings, they fought among themselves, but without peace and harmony, they always tried to conquer new unknown lands. How can synthesizers and Vikings be combined? It's simple... people's logic is often not justified. For example, a person has a synthesizer and likes the sound. But some “evil” manufacturer throws a new “musical toy” onto the market. A doubt creeps into this person’s brain: “it’s time to sell the old junk, you need to buy a new synthesizer, it will be better!” Often everything is just the opposite.... People have always been in an eternal search. I'm not looking for anything. Maybe I'm not a Viking! But at the same time, I am happy to have what I have. I'm not interested by any new products, I don't want to be disappointed by them. This happened all the time! Therefore, watch a series about Vikings and perhaps you will find harmony with your musical devices."

Strega Musica by Make Noise Music

"Strega Musica is intended to be a free compilation— a gift from Make Noise and a celebration of Strega. All artists on the collection have already been compensated.

"Strega Musica" is a collection of music created with Strega, an instrument designed in close collaboration between Make Noise founder Tony Rolando and Alessandro Cortini. Thoughts on the collection from Strega's co-designers can be found below:

—

"It’s quite inspiring when people connect with your output and your works, making them theirs, finding their own emotional color in them. It’s truly magic and I will never stop being thankful for it.

Creating an instrument that reflects your idea for a vessel of compositional creativity, and seeing it stimulate other people’s creative output, has to be in a complete different level, and I couldn’t have been caught more off guard by it.

Hearing what people all over the world have made with Strega is invigorating and overwhelming!

If all that wasn’t enough, I’m here to present you a compilation of pieces composed on the Strega by some of our favorite musicians and friends: it’s really great to see how each of them was able to make the instrument their own, and speak their own language through the grammar that is Strega.

May you find your own language through it as well... happy exploring!”

- Alessandro Cortini

—

"As a listener, I am forever seeking music that has the ability to put me into an alternate space. Sounds that let me travel fluidly through time, forward or backward. I'm not usually looking to be in the now while I listen, as I must be in the now for most other parts of my life.

As an instrument designer, it makes me happy when people find a process, a patch program that creates a sound I'd not known was possible with the instrument. If that sound connects on an emotional level and takes me away from the now, the listener in me is also elated.

As a musician, I'm looking for an instrument that wants to connect with me and travel. Searching out a future I wish to know, or a past time I've lived. Maybe a moment I never thought about until I played that instrument on that day.

It doesn't matter if the sound is complex and never before heard, or simple and universally heard for decades.

As a listener, I traveled fluidly through time as Strega Musica played.

As an instrument designer, I was surprised by the sounds these artists achieved.
As a musician, the Strega sparked in me an energy I've not felt in a decade.”

- Tony Rolando, founder Make Noise

—

"Strega Musica" was curated by Alessandro Cortini and mastered by Stephan Mathieu | Schwebung Mastering

Cover art by Lewis Dahm

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.

Justin Owen - DIY Collaborators Wanted

"> I'm looking for people who might be interested in collaborating with me on
> designing, prototyping and building analog musical instruments, modules and
> effects.
>
> I've been doing this as a solo effort since 2008. My 1st Gen designs were
> on homebrew PCBs built into homebrew cases. By 2nd Gen I'd outsourced the
> PCB and case manufacture and by 3rd Gen (my first Eurorack module) I will
> have outsourced assembly.
>
> I would now like to take things up another level. I have a backlog of
> proof-of-concept prototypes and a pile of ideas - but to turn them into
> products I need to get some good people involved.
>
> This is not a formal job offer and there aren't regular hours or pay. I'm
> looking for people who are already secure in their own thing with a skill
> set that compliments or betters my own and who are capable of taking on new
> projects and working to agreed terms.
>
> Remuneration, at this stage, would be a negotiated royalty as a percentage
> of profits - although I'm completely open to considering other realistic
> scenarios. Realistic means I'm a solo operator in a niche market in a tough
> industry in tough times.
>
> There isn't a specific job description but I know what skills I'm lacking
> and my immediate priority is turning ideas into products: concept, design,
> simulating, prototyping, troubleshooting, refining and building - or any
> combination thereof.
>
> I'm based in London, UK but I'm well versed in working with clients and
> suppliers all over the globe.
>
> Currently, my thing is analog, desktop hardware and modules.Size and
> complexity-wise - that's anything between a Monotron and a Virus Desktop. My
> current modular designs (and experience) are for the Eurorack format.
>
> I'm aware I'm casting a wide net. I have no idea how many or what type of
> responses I will get so I make no promises other than I'm genuine.
>
> Interested in taking design ideas and helping turn them into prototypes?
> Got a prototype that you'd like to see turned into a product?
> Got a product that is no longer at market but still has some life in it?
>
> Consider what you're interested in, capable of, able to offer and what you
> want in return for it then drop me an email off list to this address and we
> can have a chat in confidence without obligation.
>
> Please feel free to pass this message on.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Justin Owen"

Justin Owen @ Abstract Data
info @ abstractdata.biz

SynthStar

"I'm writing to let you know that I've launched a new synthesizer database site – yes, another one:

http://www.synthstar.com

Of course I know that there are already several synthesizer database sites out there – but they all lacked one thing, which was a decent search feature. None of them let you search by individual synth specifications, so I've stepped in and created a site with an exhaustive advanced search function. If you check out the advanced search page, you'll see what I mean:

http://www.synthstar.com/advancedSearch.php

Here, you can pretty much go crazy with the search parameters. If you wanted to find a list of all synths made between 1979 and 1995 with a chorus effect, you can do so. Looking for a synth that has an aftertouch-capable keyboard as well as a minimum of three oscillators? Can do.

Apart from that, each synth page has its own comments area, and I've compiled resource links for just about every synth in there. I also tried to keep the design low-key so that pages would load quickly and also to make it easier for visitors to find what they're looking for faster. Almost all of the information entered in the database was culled from product manuals when possible, and from other sites when absolutely necessary. For the record, Sequencer.de has by far the most complete and accurate set of synth information on the web.

All of the data entry for this site was done by myself, for all 641 synthesizers in the database (I did turn up a few which I didn't see on any other synth DB site). Because of this, I'm sure that some errors were introduced, or some synths missed, so I'd ask that visitors use the correction form if they notice something wrong. A reference would be appreciated if something is found, to save me a bit of leg work since I'll need to research it anyway.

One note I should make: right now there are no modular synthesizers in the database. Initially I did start adding these in, but quickly realized that they wouldn't work with the site because their specifications vary so widely and it's difficult to put these in a searchable database alongside "normal" synths and still return accurate results. So for now I'm holding off on that, and may instead launch a sub-site at some point in the future that would list each individual synth module rather than treating all of the modules as one big theoretical machine.

One thing I would definitely appreciate is image submissions – you'll notice that there aren't a lot of synth images on the site right now. It just wasn't feasible for one person to get permission to use images for 641 synths, so instead I'm going to rely on the kindness of visitors to get these up there. I really, really appreciate anyone who is able to take the time to help me out with this part of the site.

This took me a long time to put together, and I'm happy that I've reached the end of this project – I hope people find the site useful! I plan on adding more to the site and continually improving it as time goes on, so anyone is welcome to email me with their comments and suggestions to admin@synthstar.com. :)"