"No other DMX is like this. None. It’s a one of a kind, future proofed beast of a drum machine that has been refurbished and modified FULLY for professional studio work. I know the asking price is high, but by the time you read how much work has gone into it you’ll understand why. First of all here is a bullet point breakdown of every enhancement this machine has been bestowed with by a former Oberheim tech:
Slideshow of Richard Lainhart's lecture at the Bellingham Electronic Arts Festival (BEAF), Friday, May 6, 2:PM PST, 2011 (mentioned in this post). Below is a video of the Buchla and Haken Continuum portion of the lecture followed by a performance of Olivier Messiaen's Oraison written for the ondes Martenot at the 48:00 mark (see this post for the original version and this post for another performance by Richard). You will notice Richard makes references to earlier parts of the lecture. These included his training on the CEMS modular synthesizer system and the ondes Martenot (don't miss this post and this post on the CEMS). See the labels at the bottom of this post for more info on each. I will upload those videos at a later date. They were background to Richard's experience with early modular synthesizers and controllers that eventually lead him to the Buchla and Haken Continuum. It was a great lecture and I hope you enjoy it. Be sure to bookmark this one. I also want to thank Richard Lainhart for doing lectures like these. They are a rare treat.
YouTube Uploaded by matrixsynth on May 19, 2011
The following is a full transcript. BTW, if anyone is interested in transcription services, let me know.
"RICHARD LAINHART: BUCHLA AND HAKEN CONTINUUM LECTURE
Speaker: Richard Lainhart
Lecture Date: May 6, 2011
Lecture Time: 2:00 p.m. PST
Location: Western Washington University
Event: Bellingham Electronic Arts Festival 2011 (BEAF)
Length: Digital AVI recording; 57 minutes 32 seconds
[Beginning of recorded material]
Richard Lainhart: Okay. What I want to do now is actually talk a little bit about the system itself here and about the design of the system and explain what's actually happening here and why it's designed this way, and again, my focus on, on expression. So this is, as I mentioned, this is the Buchla 200E. This is a current electronic music instrument that is still being made now by Buchla. Don Buchla again was a contemporary, or is a contemporary of Bob Moog, and he took a very different path than Moog did. And one of the reasons I think that Moog's instruments became so popular, of course the Mini Moog was like the first real break-out electronic music synthesizer, was that Moog's instruments had keyboards on them. They had black and white keyboards. And you could use them to play, you could use them to play rock and roll with them basically because you could plug them into a really loud amplifier and it could be louder than a guitar. And it could be a bass, you know, it could be louder than a bass and all that sort of stuff. And of course a lot of, you know, a lot of wonderful music was made with that instrument.
"Near Mint Condition Casio PT-7 with Original Box, Operation Manual and Brand New Batteries Included (instrument with tiny polyphonic touch sensor keypad & analogue rhythm)
This is clearly one of the most bizarre and innovative instruments created by Casio, because this tiny thing has a detachable keyboard with 29 soft touch foil keys, and this is not just a monophonic toy tablehooter but a real 8 note(!) polyphonic instrument with analogue rhythm and a small but high quality loudspeaker that makes a very respectable organ sound.
This strange Casio invention permits special play techniques with very rapid glissandos and was one of the forgotten milestones in the struggle of overcoming the clumsy piano key relic on electronic consumer instruments.
"A tutorial on how to synthesize bass drum sounds on the DSI Pro 2 synthesizer. Synthesizing a bass/kick drum is relatively simple. The main idea is to simulate the response of a membrane being struck by a mallet. The crude approximation involves a sine wave whose frequency starts off really high but quickly drops down. The sine wave is achieved either via a sine wave oscillator directly or via a resonant low pass filter during self oscillation. In both cases, the sine wave's frequency is modulated via an ADSR envelope generator. In this video I demonstrate both approaches as well as adding effects like distortion or some of the character FX on the Pro 2. Finally I end with a simple demonstration of what the Pro 2's bass drum sounds like along with a Korg Volca Beats which I've synced via MIDI.
Let me know in the comments below if you guys have any other tips with regards to synthesizing kick drums. I'm still learning all this stuff so hopefully we can help each other out!
~~~ TABLE OF CONTENTS ~~~
00:36 - Theory
00:59 - Synthesis
06:44 - Demo"
"Qwong special fx generator ok so whats this you wonder ?Well to be honest i havent clue , i got it of someone who knew even less and said it was found in a auction sale collecting dust .It 'says ' echobox on it but to be frank it does not echo in the slightest......no its a noise generator of the FINEST quality and i really mean that , ive owned loads , used ems synthi , 4ms Tri noise generators and plenty of analogues and this is up there with them - its alive , unpredictable and defies logic , its vintage i think or has some really quality components .Ok so what is it though?
Well from the images you can see the switches.It appears to have 3 x vcd's ( 2 way latchable) ? voltage controled delays or maybe digital oscilators?They seem to be the noise component or switch in variable waveforms but it has pitch knobs and modulation and lfo knobs also and also a matrix of 8 x phone jacks ( for modular patching )It also has 2 flip switches ( one in need of a new toggle ) .Now how this all works i really really dont know and ive experimented with it and its REALLY powerfull and i mean that , this is no circuit bent toy ( with the greatest respect ) and its feel and also use aswell as sound veer towards the experimental electronics of the 1950;s. . . its an odd one , when i switched it on and got some sound going it immediately felt very different from any gadget ive ever used .I sampled this and now i am selling it but i can say without a doubt its creating sounds i cant get out of Any modular synth , freaky radiophonic stuff , at times it sounds like the things picking up satelites or something , very radio like and at times like strange transmissions are being picked up ( seriouisly !) at other times ( depending on the huge patchability and the 3 vcd switches) its more like cross modified oscillators but with very unique and digitized aswell as analogue sound.Its hard to describe but more akin to stockhausen or early electronic experimentalists and modern day benders , its really very good for vocal like fx and strange alien bird sounds and chants and stuff like this but is semi chaotic so just a small tweak or flip of switch and its away again onto something new.It feels at times like there alot of feedback networks going in it and its by far one of the most ' alive ' sound generators ive used .Ive put no reserve but i not 100% convinced i want to sell it !......it is realy cool this one and one from raymond scotts lab or it could be ! it feels like total 1950's electronics to me and its sound tends to suggest its been made with vintage components and possible some old lab gear wired together , ive used enough gear to know toy circuits as opposed to expensive components and this sounds and feels like its older and handmade.I dont think its bent but a diy project and a good one. Heres a demo - just a jam i did in 30 minutes - 36mb so large but i couldnt stop,No overdubs or edits , just a little verb on 1 channel .
the unit also has audio inputs , outputs and a built in speaker .Its full patchable ! anything seems to patch to anything and make weird sounds.It has a psu with it but also can be battery operated it seems."
New system which can synthesize harmonic and inharmonic sounds
Morpher - X/Y controller which morphs 5 user selectable sine resources
Noiser - X/Y controller morphing 3 noise resources and performing modulations on the tonal part
Molder - acts as a digital filter with any imaginable filter sweeps
Two detail editor pages for the Sine resources featuring a 3D display *
Analyser with 6 modes for directly converting your own sounds
Noise separation lets you create own resources for the Noiser
Import WTS and TCS files from WaveGenerator and WaveMapper
Import Phonem utterances and use them in the Infinite PRO Molder
Versatile matrix system - allowing 16 sources to control 40 parameters
10 Envelopes, for control of filter sweeps, waveform, noise and many modulations
4 LFOs which can be freely routed via the matrix
Delay/Reverb effect
Overdrive/Distortion effect
Preset browser with new listing filters
Directly accessible context help for each module
Freely configurable schematic keypads, with extremely expressive modulation options
4 MIDI modes: Omni, Poly, Mono, and Voice-Per-Channel (MPE).
"This has always been my dream. A system which can reproduce all kinds of sounds and transform them into a universal set of parameters. Thus all these sounds are completely morphable." - Wolfgang Palm
"At the end of the 70s Wolfgang Palm developed wavetable synthesis. This was very successful and used by many synthesizer companies in the 80s and 90s. But this technology has its limitations. The main reason is that all sounds are harmonic. In nature this does not happen very often. Many sounds like a piano string have small offsets from the harmonic frequencies. This is even stronger in sounds like bells or percussion.
Infinite PRO overcomes this limitation.
The frequencies of the overtones created by Infinite PRO can be totally freely defined. So the sounds it produces are totally free in the frequencies of their overtones. This means that each partial wave can have an arbitrary frequency.
Moreover it is possible to move these overtones independently during the duration of a note.
Another important part of most natural sounds is noise. Be it a flute or when a drumstick hits the drumhead - and this all can be reproduced in Infinite PRO.
Furthermore the noise source can be used to modulate the tonal part which results in very powerful effects.
Besides these new digital features, we still have the typical 24db Lowpass filter, 2 VCA with stereo out and effects. All this is controlled by 10 envelopes, 4 LFOs and a modulation matrix.
Maybe the greatest innovation in Infinite PRO is the Morpher. It is so easy to create new timbres and real-time effects by morphing the gains and frequencies of sounds with the X/Y controller. To get an impression of the morphing possibilities watch this short video.
Infinite PRO comes with more that 300 tonal resources, which can be loaded into the 5 fields inside the Morpher. But it does not stop there. You can edit these in detail on two extra pages and even analyse your own sounds in a sophisticated analyzer.
On the Sine Parameter panel, you edit the sine tracks with a set of parameters for each track. A track is the time sequence of one sine component over the full length of the sound. A 3D display gives a good impression of the whole resource.
Example of a 3D view showing a vocal resource which features strong pitch moves.
On the Sine Structure panel, you edit the fine structure of a track in a bar graph. A FREQ mode lets you do this for the frequency.
The Main Parameter page edits the program parameters like Oscillator Pitch, the VCF (a 24dB lowpass filter), gain envelopes and LFOs. PPG Infinite PRO is equipped with 10 envelopes. Some are fixed to a certain function, others can be freely connected with the matrix.
A sophisticated analyzer offers six modes to capture all kinds of sounds in the best possible way.
* The 3D display does not run on 32bit Mac hosts and not on all Windows PCs. But there is also a 2D mode which features all the functionality of the 3D mode and even more. If you think the 3D is very important for you, please wait for the DEMO version, and test it there before buying."
Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.
"Here's an interesting one-of-a-kind synth. We bought this from a customer who was into DIY electronics. He always admired the design of the ARP 2500 but couldn't find one, so he built his own! Well, kind of. He bought MFOS Music From Outer Space circuit boards and assembled the circuits. He made his own front panels to look similar to those on the arp2500 and wired them up. They're installed in a nice wooden cabinet he made as well.
This system is a real pleasure to play. If it doesn't sell, we're going to use it in our studio as a secret weapon, as it sounds great and quite different from our other synths.
"At the end of the 70s Wolfgang Palm developed wavetable synthesis. This was very successful and used by many synthesizer companies in the 80s and 90s. But this technology has its limitations. The main reason is that all sounds are harmonic. In nature this does not happen very often. Many sounds like a piano string have small offsets from the harmonic frequencies. This is even stronger in sounds like bells or percussion.
A demo of a effect sound i made, Under the Name The Abyss, its a strange sound. And only the EX5 can achieve this type of sounds, I used no external FX for this and there is almost no layered tracks, mostly one continous recorded track. I used the AWM/FDSP engine for this, Cheers!
Yamaha EX5 Demo The Abyss
2. Public Transport (Yamaha EX5 Demo)
A ambient track, where i mostly use my Yamaha EX5, and most specifically a sound i made under the name Transporter, which kinda sounds like a bowed string instrument, where i used the FDSP synth engine. I also used my Korg M50 and Kawai K5000s for some more layered sounds. All the sounds were made by me.
Remember the Technos Acxel Resynthesizer (pictured)? I just read this post on Music Thing. Apparently the creator of the Acxel, Pierre Guilmette, is working on a new version. Check out Music Thing for a letter from Pierre.
You can find his website, iDarca Audio here. You'll find a bit of info on resynthesis and some audio samples.
Update some more info on the Acxel:
"Don Garbutt writes: Freaky, obsure, expensive, unique, weighs a lot, robust construction (lots of VLSI chips inside). This machine is impossible to find, although I have one. Lucky me!!! Graphical interface is totally intuitive, and tell me if you know of any other machines that are resynthesis- based, as this is , if you care to use it in this fashion. Digital filter emulation (oscillator # filter) is unequaled.
"This is the Korg Sigma KRP-30 Vintage Analog Mono Synth from the famose 1970's MS Series*** This synth is extremely RARE! You will not see it on ebay very soon ! **** This is one of my favorite all time synthesizers because of the unique sounds of the MS series with performing abilities that was very rare in those days - For examplr it has its own AFTER TOUCH and rING MOD and 2 Joysticks and tons of buttons and knobs to change the sound ****** The Korg Sigma does let you play a quarter-tone scale ***** it was Used by Jean Michel Jarre, Rick Wakeman and Keith Emerson ***** I hate to let it go...But- I'm leaving the country soon and I'm selling All the equipment from my smokeless recording studio in the next few weeks and this Korg is one of the nice ones. Everything works on it flawlessly ***** Here is some info from the web: The Sigma is an interesting bi-timbric synthesizer consisting of two sections: a genuine analog "Synthe" and a Preset "Instrument" section. All together, there are 19 presets on it that give a variety of sounds. There are 11 presets for the "Instrument" section which include fuzz guitar, electric bass, clavi, string, flute, double reed, trumpet, hammered percussion, etc. And there are 8 presets for the "Synthe" section that give variable waveforms (square, pulse, sawtooth) in different pitch ranges (from 32' to 4'). Each preset has it's own rotary control to vary it's sounds. The Sigma is also unique for its ability to combine the synth and instrument sections for a nicer, layered synth sound or effect. While the synth section is nice, the instrumental sounds (tuba, trumpet, strings, guitar, etc.) are pretty darn bad, and only get interesting when mixed with the "Synthe" section sounds. **** Cool joysticks add multi-dimensional control. Use one to control pitch, noise and vibrato and use the second joystick to edit the low-pass and hi-pass VCF filters! There is also an "Effect" section which is for Vibrato, Portamento, Sample and Hold, Noise, Key Hold, Multiple Trigger and Ring Modulator (each with it's own rotary control to vary it's sound). Even though it has a switch labelled "Ring Mod," it's actually a cross-mod. It lets you cross modulate between the instrument and Synth sections. ***** o read a review please go here. ***** The Manual can be downloaded here ***** I just found another review of the Korg Sigma *** I found this review too: "Ever since i got my Korg sigma and for all that time i can not stop playing with it. - never got board. First thing to mention is that this synth is purely unique - It does not sound like anything I ever heard before and looks like a cross between organ/synth. Keeping in mind that this synth was designed at the same the time as The KORG MS series Synthesizers. ( same designer) All the Osc ,envelopes and filters are the same as the ones youll find in the MS-20 I do own also the X-911 ( gtr synth) that the synth section is kind of from the same family. There are "18" Oscilators running at the same time.... Plus One noise osc with Attack/release control, and lots of effects... Sigma is really a mono performing synth you can sit down and change the sound again and again just by adding more oscilator to the party. than coloring those Oscilators with diffrent controls such as Attack/Release , Decay, Freq-filter control , Pulse Width , Tone, S/H Clock ( cool LED for timing) But the coolest features are: Ring modulation with control of pitch that makes this synth sound almost like a DX-7 on acid... Imagine these old VCO with digital flavores. ( when you using the LP filter sometimes a flute can sound as if it was fried with eggs...) there are also 2 joysticks. one for VCF and HP/LP the other one for Pitch shift ,Vibrato and the most Weird effect ever "Noise Depth" that sounds like increasing amount of sweet distortion. The effect section covers all the regular known effects - Portamento,vibrato,oct high/low, Multi trig, Hold, Keyboard Sens ( if you push down youll get the effect-After touch ) and a "Quarter note effect" - when you use this one, the notes are runing in 1/4 notes instead of 1/2 notes so the scale of the key will change to major scale almost to a minor scale... for example If you hold down the key of C and also press the key of D the sound is key of C#... I also used it on pitch shift which is really cool. Oh yeah you can also push a button ( ala JUNO 60 Vibrato ) for the portamento in/out effect - on the fly. All and All - this is really one weird mono beast with a rainbow of sounds - from a hollow "CASIO-TONE" to heavy DX7 through MS20 like colored lead. I did use it as bass synth and space effects noise-box but the best use is the screaming distortion like leads. Now, if you have some other old synth with ext input - run the sigma through them (use the CV/Gate ) its amazing I tried it with Minimoog, X911, Arp Axxe and the Roland SH09 its sounded different in every situation but was making the sound much much more interesting"
"I did my very best to remain objective and compared the NTO with simple basic sounds to my favorite VCO - the MakeNoise DPO - and the digital perfection of the Schlappi Three-Body. The NTO has been around since 1976 and represents the origins of modern synthesis. I just learned about it this year, so better late than never. It's surrounded by praise to the level of 'hard to believe'.
I used reverb on the raw sounds, and I found out that a digital effect can easily ruin the analog experience. I used ALM MFX, and it sounds great with NTO. But it sounds terribly aliased with the DPO and I wasn't happy with the Three-body result either. I wouldn't have known with raw sounds and I would not be able to share it. I've patched DPO a thousand times and it sounds clean and woody in the MakeNoise universe, but the raw waveforms are far from perfect and there's a certain bite. In this video, you may also learn that every VCO carries the signature of it's maker. DPO sounds like Tony Rolando. The 259 sounds like Buchla. Cs-L sounds like Jason Lim. Three-Body sounds like Schlappi. The NTO sounds like Serge, and now I have a new personal analog favorite.
The NTO is pure sophistication. I can say this both objectively (backed up by history and other reviews) and subjectively (it melts your heart). In the end it's just a VCO, which is about 10% of your whole patch. In many occasions, any quality VCO will be enough. But if you're looking for something special, this may be it. But your own personal opinion and taste will always be more important than mine!
You will be listening to analog through MFX AD/DA and my DAW's AD/DA. It's impossible to really listen to analog on YouTube but the DAW captures analog very well. There are plenty of raw sound NTO videos on youtube, so if you need to deepen your interest, please do some research. I've linked to an interview with Serge, where he explains a few things. It's a privilege to be able to hear him talk about it."
This is clearly one of the most bizarre and innovative instruments created by Casio, because this tiny thing has a detachable keyboard with 29 soft touch foil keys, and this is not just a monophonic toy tablehooter but a real 8 note(!) polyphonic instrument with analogue rhythm and a small but high quality loudspeaker that makes a very respectable organ sound.
This strange Casio invention permits special play techniques with very rapid glissandos and was one of the forgotten milestones in the struggle of overcoming the clumsy piano key relic on electronic consumer instruments.
main features:
* 29 tiny soft touch foil keys on a detachable slim line keyboard with short cable
* built-in astonishing reasonable sounding small speaker
* 8 notes polyphony
* separate knobs for main and rhythm volume
* tempo knob * 6 preset rhythms {waltz, samba, swing, slow rock, pops, rock} selected by a slide switch
* 8 OBS preset sounds {piano, elec. piano, organ, pipe organ harp, accordion, clarinet, violin} selected by a 4-step slider + switch
* main voice CPU "HD44140, 3G 13" (56 pin SMD) with timbres based on multipulse squarewave tones with different digital envelopes, those are differently low pass filtered through capacitors. It makes very warm and pleasant timbres, but envelope release phase is truncated too soon, which makes piano- like tones less natural.
* rhythm IC "NEC D8048C 316, 8322X7" (40 pin DIL, same like in Casio MT-40) that outputs trigger pulses for analogue drums
* analogue percussion {base, snare, open cymbal, close cymbal, clave}; cymbals and snare use transistor noise.
* jacks for AC adapter & headphone
eastereggs:
* vibrato and sustain switch addable
* up to 8 additional keys addable (makes no sense here)
* holding down multiple sound select buttons during play makes wild cacophonic sounds (likely keyboard matrix mess by missing diodes).
* possibly bass accompaniment (with additional keypad) addable
* rhythm shitshot button addable
notes:
The main voice sound chip of this instrument is the same like in the Casio MT-45. It plays high quality analogue timbres, those although not always natural, reproduce a warm and pleasant sound; it does not sound typically C64- like thin, but resembles rather full- size home organs of that era. Like with Casio VL-1, the release phase of main voice envelopes seems to be linear and thus sounds unrealistic since it fades silent too soon with an audible end click. When sustain is switched off, all sounds stop almost immediately after releasing the key. When sustain is on, sounds with decay envelope (piano, elec. piano, harp) ignore the key press duration and sound always with a fixed duration instead. The "elec. piano" sounds like a banjo, and also the normal piano resembles more a picked string. The "harp" and "organ" sounds seem to add a bit of analogue distortion (or a mixed suboscillator with very short independent envelope??) during attack phase. All sounds include a mild vibrato. The smooth touch sensor keypad responds quite sensitive and permits special play techniques with rapid note clusters and polyphonic glissandos (but no portamento - this is not a theremin!).
Attention: Never play with sharp, spiky or rough objects (like finger nails) on the sensor keyboard surface - the foil may get damaged easily.)."
The Sh*t Synth - Walkthrough video upload by CROW HILL XTRAS
Press release follows:
The Crow Hill Company turns to extensive and rare collection to turn out THE SH*T SYNTH as compendium of 48 circuit-, wave- and sample-bent instruments
EDINBURGH, UK: The Crow Hill Company is proud to turn to its own extensive and rare collection of hardware to turn out THE SH*T SYNTH — available as a compendium of 48 circuit-, wave- and sample-bent instruments inspired by some of the Edinburgh-based enterprise’s eclectic musical favourites (spanning the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards Of Canada, Joe Maus, Jon Brion, Laurie Spiegel, Radiohead, Throbbing Gristle, and Yazoo) to create something that they collectively ask: is it just shit or ‘the shit’? — as of April 7…
Whatever way anyone chooses to read into the titling of THE SH*T SYNTH as the latest entry into The Crow Hill’s ongoing ORIGINS series of sample-based virtual instrument plug-ins, one thing is for sure: it readily represents a broad selection of three categories of 16 workhorse instruments each, effectively wrapped up into a single plug-in designed to bring a cohesive approach to making music more edgy, lo-fi, retro, and — swimming against the technological tide of so-called progress — decidedly AI (Artificial Intelligence) slop-free. From pianos to strings, plucks, beeps, bass, and pads, the compendium that is THE SH*T SYNTH has been lovingly sculpted by the Edinburgh-based enterprise’s media composer and ‘samplist-in-residence’ Christian Henson to take the hassle out of making existing sounds less refined, catering to those looking for an entirely new bank of Mellotron-style sounds as well as synths that have been long forgotten — for good reason, too!
Update 10/4/2013: I heard from Ian Fritz and the controversy is over. Blue Lantern no longer offers the ZTVCO. That said, BL posts will resume.
This one, which seems to be a reoccurring theme with Blue Lantern, comes with a good dose of controversy. You might recall from a few years ago BL got into a bit of heat selling MIDIBox SIDs on eBay. MIDIBox explicitly forbids the commercial resale of MIDIBox SIDs. Blue Lantern stopped and went into producing affordable eurorack based modules and systems.
This latest controversy surrounds the source of design for the new BLUE ZTVCO. You might recall from the comments in this previous post, the design of that prototype module appeared to be a copy of Ian Fritz's Teezer (TZFM Saw VCO debuted Sep'08) design. Ian Fritz's modules are available via The Bride Chamber and Elby Designs.
In short:
1. Is the BLUE ZTVCO based on Ian Fritz's design?
2. If so, to what extent?
3. If so, is it legal?
4. If so, is it fair and does it matter?
The answer to 1 and 2 will not be known until someone gets a hand on the ZTVCO and reverse engineers it. I asked BL if he would be willing to provide the schematics to put the issue to rest and he replied no. He said people can reverse engineer it when it it's available and he is sure someone will. The answer to 3 is quite possibly so. There is currently a good thread on the subject on the electro-music.com forum here. The answer to 4 depends on you. My personal opinion is that it is not fair and it definitely does matter. Whether legal or not, I view it as stealing. These designs do not come out of thin air. They take time and talent and sometimes years to produce. You will see some insight on this in regards to Ian's Teezer design from him directly below. When someone makes their designs available, credit should be given.
The following is a response from Blue Lantern in regards to the claims made against him. The most important thing to read out of his points below is "3. This is not a clone, this vco is a beast in it's own cage."
"Up for sale is a Synth that Toto had during the "Rossana/Africa" days. Apparently I was not clear in my earlier listing that THIS ACTUALLY BELONGED TO TOTO. I can provide evidence of this; call my customer service if you doubt that. There were only 100 of these built- they cost $25,000 and are pretty heavy. This was the immediate predecessor to the Yamaha DX-7 which was also based upon the new FM Synthesis theories developed by Professor John Chowning at Stanford University. (Baldwin & Hammond are STILL kicking themselves for NOT jumping at Prof Channing's formulations).
For the history of this unit, Sound on Sound dot com has a lengthy overview of not only this instrument, but the battle that was waging between the different companies of the time...
The controls are deceptively simple and studio musicians LOVE these machines because of the sounds, and textures that can be coaxed out of them when in the right hands. To the left it has Pitch Control (there is a master pitch conroller underneath to Tune the unit (see last photo)). Next there are TREMELO & VIBRATO- each is Variable and controlled by the left two foot pedals. The Right Foot Pedal is a damper. Next is an ENSEMBLE button to the left of the TOUCH CONTROL button. These two buttons woking together might be called "PSYCHEDELIA", because the combination of the two is Startling. Sometimes Ensemble sounds like a Chorus Effect. When you Really slam a key the effect is HEAVY Distortion. (i.e. THIS is a PLAYER'S EXPRESSION MACHINE).
Three band EQ.
There are 16 SOUND BUTTONS that light up when One is selected. The sounds are loaded from the SOUND STRIPS which are like little tiny plastic bookmarks with magnetic backing. As the photos show, I have both the SOUND LIBRARY & VOLUME ll of the SOUND LIBRARY.
AS MENTIONED ABOVE, THE FIRST SOUND STRIP (A-1) IS MISSING !!!
You place the "A" End of the SOUND STRIP in the mouth of the reader to the right of the keyboard. When you press the designated sound button (1-16) the mechanism pulls the SOUND STRIP inside much like a credit card machine. When it has read the "A" end, the SOUND STRIP is returned to you. You have Now loaded sound onto ONE of the TWO onboard computers in the GS-1. You can now load the "B" end of the sound strip onto the SECOND Computer. UNLESS you want to experiment and load another "A" or "B" end into the second computer (Yamaha actually encouraged "mixing it up".). If you like the new sound you have created, you can record it and store it on a BLANK SOUND STRIP. (there are 8 blank strips provided). Again, THIS is a PLAYER'S EXPRESSION MACHINE!
The Yamaha engineers REALLY "knocked themselves out" on the design of this- the way the sounds can be loaded into the TWO computers, giving the option of 16 sounds YOU HAVE CREATED coupled with the interplay of the Touch-Sensitivity and the Expression functions, coupled (again) with the real-time pedal control of both the Vibrato and Tremelo functions - it's like "The Space Shuttle for Keyboard Players".
If you look at the video of Toto's AFRICA, you will see this machine on stage. Perhaps you are not much of a keyboard player, but a HUGE Toto fan, and turned your dope dealing money into a fortune on Wall Street. Wouldn't it be nice to have this in your living room so your kids could learn the "bum bum bum ba bum bum bum" intro to "Africa"? Or perhaps you are a PLAYER, and want the challenge of the predecessor the the famed DX-7 (which "kicked butt and took names"). Or you have a studio and need THIS to complete your keyboard stable- your clients might feel a tad humbled to be able to sit at Toto's Keyboard. ('let's see shall I up my rates 20, 30, or 40 per cent?')."
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.
"There is something very unique about this MC 202. For one, as you can hear from the recordings, it has a little bit of a harder, edgier sound than other 202's. I don't know if it's due to the modifications or just the fact that no two analog synths are alike, but this particular 202 sounds good! It can go from a total acid box to a bass monster that transcends musical genres.
The sound of the 202 is generated by a Curtis CEM3340 analog Voltage Controlled Oscillator IC. This VCO is the same that is found in the Sequential Circuits Pro One. On offer are a Saw, a Square (with Pulse Width Modulation), and Sub Oscillator wave shapes. What's great about the 202 is that it let's you mix in waveforms so that complex wave shapes are possible without much fuss. Also, since the sliders in the VCO section attenuate the LEVEL of each waveform, the control one has with the 202 is different from other synths (like the Pro One) that only allow you to switch waveforms on and off. This is ideal in a live or recording setting when an individual wishes to seamlessly transform a saw wave into a massive Pulse-Width modulated square or feed in the deep sub-oscillator.
The filter is a genuine Roland IC. This filter has SQUELCH! Many claim that the 202 sounds similar to the 303. I would have to agree but with an amendment: while the 202 will do TB 303 type sounds with little trouble, the filter is much better and more versatile than a 303 filter could ever be. Basically you can go into self resonating sine waves or deep and rumbly sub-bass that rival any other monosynth of this era. If you are looking for a synth that can be as much Roland SH 101 as a Roland TB 303, then this is the box for you. The fact is that since the filter is so versatile, a myriad of sounds are possible. The filter is extremely tweakable and the sweet spots are not hard to dial in as on other filters (meaning that the filter has been calibrated to provide the best response when attenuating from completely open to completely closed and vice versa). Also, the filter takes on a whole different characteristic when combined with the modification for the LFO.
This particular Roland MC 202 has been modified so that a switch on the front panel permits the LFO's frequency to double. What that means is that with this switch, the user is able to set the LFO to oscillate at audible frequency ranges. What's great is that the user is still able to attenuate the LFO speed when the frequency is doubled and when put back into the original position, the stock frequency range is still present. This modification is mental. If you set the filter to self oscillate and then feed some LFO modulation via the MOD slider in the VCF section, the user is able to generate some serious clangs. I have an Arp 2600 and some of the sounds you can get with this mod border on the 2600's territory. Also very cool is that this frequency doubled LFO will go anywhere that the LFO goes to so you can do FM Pulse Width Modulation or modulate the pitch of the Oscillators to get FM sounds that are out of this world. And since the switch is mounted right on the front panel, the user can flip back and forth between the LFO rates on the fly while the synth is being played. With the sequencer running and tweaking some knobs and the mod switch, the sound palette is HUGE!
The envelopes on the 202 are extremely fast. Anything from percussive and tiny clicks to in your face basses are possible. On board is a complete ADSR that can be used to tweak the amp, the filter, and the pulse width of the square oscillator wave-shape. Also great about the amp section of the 202 is the fact that the envelope can be switched off and a gate can be used to open and close the amp instead of the ADSR. This frees up the envelope for filter duties and the sounds are great. Imagine resonant bass sequences that hit hard but still sound even after the filter closes. Because the envelopes are so fast, the 202 is able to produce some very heavy sounds. When combined with the sequencer, the gated VCA response yields the much sought after 303 sound.
The 'brain' of the MC 202 is the onboard sequencer. First of all this sequencer will clock to Din Sync (so use something like a Kenton or Doepfer MIDI to Din Sync Converter) so integrating it into a modern set-up is easy. Second, the sequencer is a two track sequencer meaning that in addition to sequencing the internal synth, the 202 can send a DIFFERENT sequence to another analog synthesizer. This is really a big advantage if you have other synthesizers that have cv and gate inputs. The sequence will also transmit PORTAMENTO (slide) over the cv output so you can get THAT signature Roland slide integrated onto another synth! The sequencer itself is very straightforward to program and once the basics are learned, it becomes second nature. The fact is that this sequencer is much better than the TB 303's sequencer because crazy rhythms are possible. Triplets are a breeze. The user decides whatever subdivisions for each step and also regulates what kind of note a step is (meaning if it's played legato, staccato, or tied to the next note) and if it has accent and slide. Since the accent can be routed to accent the AMP and the FILTER, the infamous 303 sound is possible. Seriously, this sequencer is amazing and is able to replicate the intricacies of a TB 303 without a problem. However, it can do SO MUCH MORE than the humble silver box could ever dream of doing! In any case, enough of my blabbing! Search around on the web and take a look at some youtube videos of this box in action and you will see just how amazing and versatile this box is.
The modification has not hampered on the performance of this synth and electronically the beast in excellent (just listen!). There were other mods performed for this particular MC 202 and mostly they were done for the previous users integration preferences. The CV and Gate inputs have been disabled. This really doesn't matter as the MC 202 would route external CV and Gate data through its ancient microprocessor and there was no real way to play it accurately over these inputs. The user (and I can provide A LOT of resources for this and additional MODS) can open the box up and modify the unit to have PROPER CV and Gate inputs if they so desire. For me, this box was best used with the internal sequencer. Also, the buzzer that clicks when edits are made was bypassed and the Din Sync OUTPUT sends Clock but no start stops. This is INTENTIONAL because when we needed to send DIN from the 202, we used a button switch to start and stop other Din Sync units so that we could, on the fly, start and stop a Roland TR 808 independently of the 202 or anything else. The unit slaves to external Din Sync without a single problem whatsoever. This is a great synth that sounds absolutely mental. Bid with confidence and take this chance to own a totally CUSTOM 202!"
Update via pac in the comments: "The 202 is soundwise a slightly stripped down version of the SH-101 (no noise generator) - it should not be compared to the 303 which has a different architecture. That said many "acid classics" in the 1990s were actually done with 101/202 rather than 303. For all the mod instructions check cykongs mod page http://www.cykong.com/Synths/Roland%20MC-202/RolandMC-202.htm and do a search on the "novamod" for the 101 (similar circuit - similar mods)"
0:00 - 1. Dream Machine - With the Sonicware Liven Evoke, I’ve often been playing songs live, without using the sequencer, which I used for almost all of my songs with the Liven Ambient Ø (the two sequencers are very similar). With this song, I use the hold feature to hold some notes of textural sound in a couple of layers, while playing the piano layer live. The piano sound morphs between an acoustic and electronic sound a little bit after I play each note. Around the halfway point, with the chromatic pitch shifting, everything starts to turn into a granular storm (there are no granular effects prior to this), which is helped by the fact that you can cut the dry signal of each track and have a 100% wet mix of the reverb and/or granular sound. Oh, also, I want to give a thank you/shoutout to this video by @BenLevin because I started messing around with the chords that led to this song after watching it: • The secret to EMOTIONAL chords . His channel is one of my favorite music education channels on YouTube, so do check it out!
"The Yamaha FS1R is a rare bird. This is the successor to the old DX/TX FM synths. It uses 8 operators instead of 4 or 6 like those classics. Yet it can accept a DX7 patch via MIDI. It has Formant Shaping Synthesis to simulate vocal timbres. It sounds like nothing else, from huge evolving pads, to shimmering EPianos, fantastic organs, screaming leads and booming basses.
In 1998, after several years without producing a single FM synthesizer, Yamaha released a new FM powerhouse...the FS1R. These days, more people have discovered what this synth is capable of and it has seen a resurgence in popularity and has reached an almost cult-like status. It is rare to find one for sale these days. It was only produced for one year.
This little beast is far from your average FM synthesizer. Not only is it an eight-Operator variant, as opposed to the six- and four-Operator FM of the DX/TX lines, but it also features a new technology called Formant Shaping Synthesis. Formants are the spectral patterns making up the sounds of human speech. This allows for the creation of vocal like timbres but can also be applied in many different ways to create incredibly unique sounds that you won't find on any other synths.
DX7 aficionados will like the fact that the FS1R has almost complete compatibility with 6-Operator FM synths: you can send, via MIDI, a patch from a DX7, for example, and the FS1R will convert it to an identical-sounding patch in the new synth. A lot of the preset Voices actually come from the DX7's library. It's also possible to program sounds from DX7 sound charts, finding an algorithm that has an equivalent layout to the DX algorithm and turning off the unwanted Operators.
It truly sounds like nothing else out there. From huge evolving pads, to shimmering EPs, fantastic organs, screaming leads and booming basses.. this synth can sound industrial and cold one minute, and then warm and almost analogue the next. With some time dedicated to learning how to edit the patches, or create your own from scratch, there's really no sound that this synth isn't capable of making..."
images at this auction
Infinite PRO overcomes this limitation.
Moreover it is possible to move these overtones independently during the duration of a note.
Remember the Technos Acxel Resynthesizer (pictured)? I just read this post on Music Thing. Apparently the creator of the Acxel, Pierre Guilmette, is working on a new version. Check out Music Thing for a letter from Pierre.
This strange Casio invention permits special play techniques with very rapid glissandos and was one of the forgotten milestones in the struggle of overcoming the clumsy piano key relic on electronic consumer instruments.
* 6 preset rhythms {waltz, samba, swing, slow rock, pops, rock} selected by a slide switch
"Up for sale is a Synth that Toto had during the "Rossana/Africa" days. Apparently I was not clear in my earlier listing that THIS ACTUALLY BELONGED TO TOTO. I can provide evidence of this; call my customer service if you doubt that. There were only 100 of these built- they cost $25,000 and are pretty heavy. This was the immediate predecessor to the Yamaha DX-7 which was also based upon the new FM Synthesis theories developed by Professor John Chowning at Stanford University. (Baldwin & Hammond are STILL kicking themselves for NOT jumping at Prof Channing's formulations).
For the history of this unit, Sound on Sound dot com has a lengthy overview of not only this instrument, but the battle that was waging between the different companies of the time... 
The controls are deceptively simple and studio musicians LOVE these machines because of the sounds, and textures that can be coaxed out of them when in the right hands. To the left it has Pitch Control (there is a master pitch conroller underneath to Tune the unit (see last photo)). Next there are TREMELO & VIBRATO- each is Variable and controlled by the left two foot pedals. The Right Foot Pedal is a damper. Next is an ENSEMBLE button to the left of the TOUCH CONTROL button. These two buttons woking together might be called "PSYCHEDELIA", because the combination of the two is Startling. Sometimes Ensemble sounds like a Chorus Effect. When you Really slam a key the effect is HEAVY Distortion. (i.e. THIS is a PLAYER'S EXPRESSION MACHINE).
You place the "A" End of the SOUND STRIP in the mouth of the reader to the right of the keyboard. When you press the designated sound button (1-16) the mechanism pulls the SOUND STRIP inside much like a credit card machine. When it has read the "A" end, the SOUND STRIP is returned to you. You have Now loaded sound onto ONE of the TWO onboard computers in the GS-1. You can now load the "B" end of the sound strip onto the SECOND Computer. UNLESS you want to experiment and load another "A" or "B" end into the second computer (Yamaha actually encouraged "mixing it up".). If you like the new sound you have created, you can record it and store it on a BLANK SOUND STRIP. (there are 8 blank strips provided). Again, THIS is a PLAYER'S EXPRESSION MACHINE!
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.
The modification has not hampered on the performance of this synth and electronically the beast in excellent (just listen!). There were other mods performed for this particular MC 202 and mostly they were done for the previous users integration preferences. The CV and Gate inputs have been disabled. This really doesn't matter as the MC 202 would route external CV and Gate data through its ancient microprocessor and there was no real way to play it accurately over these inputs. The user (and I can provide A LOT of resources for this and additional MODS) can open the box up and modify the unit to have PROPER CV and Gate inputs if they so desire. For me, this box was best used with the internal sequencer. Also, the buzzer that clicks when edits are made was bypassed and the Din Sync OUTPUT sends Clock but no start stops. This is INTENTIONAL because when we needed to send DIN from the 202, we used a button switch to start and stop other Din Sync units so that we could, on the fly, start and stop a Roland TR 808 independently of the 202 or anything else. The unit slaves to external Din Sync without a single problem whatsoever. This is a great synth that sounds absolutely mental. Bid with confidence and take this chance to own a totally CUSTOM 202!"
In 1998, after several years without producing a single FM synthesizer, Yamaha released a new FM powerhouse...the FS1R. These days, more people have discovered what this synth is capable of and it has seen a resurgence in popularity and has reached an almost cult-like status. It is rare to find one for sale these days. It was only produced for one year.
