Oberheim OB 12 Synth Hunter Episode 50

video upload by Synth Hunter

Audio demo at the end. You can use the player controls on bottom to slide forward and to enable CC subtitles.

"The Oberheim OB-12 is a virtual analog synthesizer introduced in the late 1990s by Oberheim, then under the management of Viscount International. It was intended to transfer the iconic analog sound of the earlier Oberheim synthesizers such as the OB-Xa or the OB-8 into the world of digital signal processing.

The OB-12 has been praised for its wide tonal palette, ranging from gentle pads and bell-like tones to aggressive leads and basses. However, purists did not always regard it as a worthy successor to the analogue Oberheim synthesizers, as the digital sound character was sometimes perceived as less authentic.

Nevertheless, the OB-12 remains an interesting and versatile synthesizer that will be appreciated in both studios and live performances thanks to its distinctive sound and flexible programming options."

Nord Lead 4 Program Library

"Sound demos of the Performances and Programs available for download in the Nord Lead 4 Program Library: www.nordkeyboards.com/main.asp?tm=So…ib=Nord_Lead_4"

Nord Leads on eBay  Details on each bank:

ASL SoundLab Bank #1 NEW

ASL SoundLab is UK sound designer Rob Jevons. His client lists includes sound design / synth programming for Elektron (Octatrack) , Access (Virus TI2) and content supplier for Native Instruments (Massive, Maschine). He's been working closely with UK band Hounds on production duties for their debut album which will be released later this year.

50 Performances and 99 Programs in total.

Kristofer Ulfves Bank NEW

The Nord Lead 4 program library of Clavia employee Kristofer Ulfves is much inspired by classic analogue synthesisers, electric pianos and string machines. In this 99 programs he has tried to capture the vintage sound sweetspots in the Nord Lead 4.

99 Single Programs in total.

Federico Solazzo Bank NEW

Federico tells us "my aim in designing these sounds was to make this synth react and interact with the users, "forcing" them to listen and react as well! Like a massive synth in a real acoustic instrument behavior box! It will never sound the same, and it will take time to learn how to play with its reactions".

Federico Solazzo is a sophisticated and eclectic pianist of funk-soul origins. At the moment, he’s playing along (as keyboardist, musical director and programmer) with Italian pop-star Alexia on her world tour and with the band of the amazing Jamal Thomas (Maceo Parker’s drummer). He’s been endorsed by Nord Keyboards since 2008.

33 Performances and 68 Single Programs in total.

Ulf "Vinyl" Stenberg NEW

Ulf "Vinyl" Stenberg is a Swedish keyboard player/musician with over 30 years of experience playing synthesizers. He played with synth band Strasse in the 80's and has also worked ith big swedish names like Ted Gärdestad, Carola, Sanne Salomonsen, Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, Dan Reed, Mats Ronander and Stefan Andersson. He also writes regularly for Musikermagasinet.

8 Performances and 41 Single Programs in total.

Åke Danielson NEW

With a career spanning more than 35 years, Åke Danielson is no newcomer in the Dutch music business. The Meteors, Time Bandits, Boudewijn de Groot, producing, composing and teaching at Codarts, Rotterdam. The moment (1997) he bought his first Nord (Modular), started a long-lasting friendship with Clavia. Åke is responsible for many factory presets in the Nord family of instruments and a large portion of the demos on the Clavia website.

18 Performances and 79 Single Programs in total.

Palle Dahlstedt NEW

All of Palle Dahlstedts sounds were created using the Mutator feature.

Palle Dahlstedt is a Swedish composer, improviser and researcher.As an artist, he collaborates with Japanese Noh theatres, Swedish choreographers, leading San Francisco improvisers, and Tibetan lamas. Right now, he's composing a new work to be performed in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in 2014. Palle has worked with Clavia since 1998, in many different ways. For example, he designed the Patch Mutators of the Nord Modular G2 and the Nord Lead 4.

6 Performances and 70 Single Programs in total.

The Freemasons Bank

The Freemasons' sounds range from raging thick distorted pads and leads to Lush FM pianos and killer bass sounds. The Performance sounds are rich in texture and have plenty of goodies assigned to the Impulse Morph buttons too.

Over the last 8 years the Freemasons have become known as one of the finest remix and production teams in Club music. They've been Grammy nominated for their remixes of Beyonce and worked with a wide range of international artists including Depeche Mode, Katy Perry, Kylie, Kelly Rowland and Faith Evans.

Hataken Interview

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

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

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

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Kawai K1m Retro Digital Synth Euphoria Desktop Module

video upload by gstormelectro

"Audio + Video by G-Storm Electro c. 2024

Today I'm auditioning my original patches made for the Kawai K1m. A very limited digital synth from the 90s. And yet after digging into the architecture was able to harness some very powerful and unique features that are really, I mean, REALLY surprising. You'll hear some cheesy things, some pads, basses. And then there's fat poly action, swirling digital synth soundscapes. And alive motion things that are frankly astounding for such an unassuming little black box. Try to keep in mind when you hear the Mesmerized patch - the K1m has no sequencer nor arpeggiator. No freely assignable LFOs, just a fixed vibrato and that's it. And NO filter ha! Be sure to watch the whole video, lots of my favorites are on the 2nd half starting @3:19. My favorites are Head East, LA Sunset, Liquide and Mesmerized...which ones did you like?

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Nancy's Secret Synthesizer

video upload by Light In The Attic Records

"Video by Hunter Lea"

"In this incredible BTS video from Nancy Sinatra archival producer, Hunter Lea, we go inside keyboard wizard Clare Fischer’s innovative deployment of the Yamaha EX-42 synthesizer on this truly classic release reborn anew. The clip breaks down how the EX-42 was used on songs like 'Arkansas Coal (Suite),' 'Paris Summer,' 'Tippy Toes,' and 'Friendship Train' by way of giving us a closer listen to some of those synth tracks via accessing of the original multitracks. 'It looks like some of the organs of its time, but this keyboard is a complicated analog proto synthesizer,' as co-producer Hunter Lea explains."

MOOGFEST 2017 UNVEILS FULL SCHEDULE OF 100 WORKSHOPS & MASTERCLASSES

via Moogfest

"- Moogfest attendees engage in an ecosystem of ideas, experiments, and specialized skills

Durham, North Carolina (April 5, 2017) – Today Moogfest unveils the full schedule for the expansive four-day festival. Exploring the future of technology, art, and music, the festival includes more than 300 musical performances, daytime workshops, conversations, masterclasses, film screenings, live scores, durational sound installations, and interactive art experiences.

The full schedule can be found online at http://moogfest2017.sched.com

*Please note, the full schedule can be viewed on Sched; however, registration and adding sessions to your personal schedule won't be available until sign-up opens Friday, April 7, at 12:00 noon ET for Engineer ticket holders; Tuesday, April 11, at 12:00 noon ET for VIP ticket holders; and Tuesday, April 18, at 12:00 noon ET for all ticket holders.

Moogfest celebrates the legacy of Bob Moog, a visionary engineer who pioneered the analog synthesizer and other technology tools used by artists like Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, and Kraftwerk. This year’s program will feature over 260 innovators in music, art, and technology -- from Flying Lotus, Animal Collective, Suzanne Ciani, Gotye and Princess Nokia to Dr. Kate Shaw, an experimental particle physicist working on the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and Joe Davis, a pioneer in creating art with genes and bacteria at MIT Media Lab. Moogfest takes place in Durham, North Carolina, a fast-growing capital of technology, culture and entrepreneurship.

Happening Thursday, May 18 - Sunday, May 21, with hundreds of artists, speakers, and sessions across downtown Durham, Moogfest contains a vast galaxy of discovery. Workshops are an essential part of the Moogfest program, as the platform prioritizes intimate spaces for collaboration and creativity. In these open learning environments, participants interact with technology tools that allow humans to creatively express themselves in new ways, so that we can design the future we want to see and hear.

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QUINTRON DRUM BUDDY ANALOG SYNTHESIZER DRUM MACHINE

via this auction

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Tangent Project Synth Setup

Some synth spotting in via Jeffrey Coulter:

"Special note: The KS from the Synthi has been recently repaired by Robin Wood at EMS in Cornwall UK, but I didn't use it for this particular gig - it WILL be utilized in the near future.

Tangent Project keyboard rig
The Gatherings Concert Series
Saturday April 21 2012

Photo courtesy Mike Hunter [www.ombient.com / www.musicwithspace.com]. He provided our graphics, which, unfortunately, do not appear in any of the pics [and the substitute lighting crew made the mistake of using mostly red lights during the show]. We opened for Wave World. For more pics from the show, see: http://thegatherings.org/93gather.html"

EMS Synthi, Quasimidi Polymorph and more.

Demo :: Eventide H3000 Presets using SH101+ Aphex Twin Riff - Reverb, Chorus, Delay, FX

Published on Apr 28, 2018 SOLON Music

This one was spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.

"Demo of Eventide H3000 D/SE presets using Roland SH101 synth playing Aphex Twin riff from 'Tha' (Selected Ambient Works 85-92). 12 presets demo'ed:

211 CANYON
642 CRYSTAL ECHOES
231 MICROPITCHSHIFT
227 HUMP-VERB
635 BAND PAN
630 ALIENS
265 USEFUL VERB
197 SON OF KAMIKAZE
527 RICH CHORUS
181 HUNTER DELAY
243 RICH PLATE
396 HUGE SYNTH SPACE

Chose these presets because they worked well with the riff used and demonstrate a wide variety of the sounds that the unit can produce.

In Richard D James' own words: 'the Eventide H3000 d/se are absolutely mental lush devices, those ones in particular really envelop the sound rather than tack it on, special blessed bits of equipment. 3000 has something amazing though that few things can touch, i mean just the digital filters on it are insane, engineers must have been on fire when they made that thing.' (from the Syrobonkers interview)

SH101was recorded through Tube Tech MP2A preamp and Antelope Audio Eclipse converter into Ableton.

Audio from H3000 was recorded through Antelope Audio Eclipse converter into Ableton

www.solonmusic.com"

Andrew Hunter - Eurorack Modular Synthesizer Improvisation. (May, 26 2015)

Published on May 26, 2015 Andrew Hunter Music

"The synth is a eurorack system based on 2 tip top happy ending kits, a pittsburgh foundation2 monorocket case and a modified Super37 eurorack keyboard, all housed in connecting oak cases that I built.

Drone/lead is a pittsburgh osc sine wave going into a ufold and a pitts delay.

sequenced bassline is a dixie saw going into a megawave and a boogie filter, sequenced by pitt sequencer and quantized by disting, clocked by a ustep.

drums are tiptop. 808 snare going to a doepfer bit modifier.

modulations from peg. clocks from 4ms.

signal path: modular into a GAP pre73 pre amp and an FMR PBC-6A into an apogee duet. recorded in logic.

audio sync is slightly off."

Moog Halloween Theremin Videos

You might remember Moog's Halloween Theremin Video Contest. The following are the entries. Enjoy.

Dyster Allhelgona - Happy Halloween

YouTube via simonthejedi

"A quite swedish halloween movie, made with the latest in swedish film technology. Guitar and Theremin soundtrack. Enjoy! Lagom seriös Halloweenfilm för Moogtävling... Av Simon och Filip" Pure analog sound on the night of halloween.

Update: Unfortunately some of the videos below have been pulled from YouTube. I'll keep the descriptions here for synth history.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Soviet - Breakdown

YouTube Uploaded by monosynthluv on Oct 5, 2006
synth spotting...

"Video for the song "Breakdown by the New York/LA synthpop group Soviet. From the album 'We Are Eyes, We Are Builders'."

via S.O.T.R where you'll find an interview and tracks. via Hunter John Skowron on Facebook.

The first recording with Minimoog synthesizer - Sun Ra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ (1970)

video upload by George Greene

"The first recording with Minimoog synthesizer (Model B prototype) - Sun Ra And His Astro Infinity Arkestra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ (1970)

In 1969, Sun Ra had recorded on Moog Modular synthesizer at the New York midtown studio of Gershon Kingsley. Those recordings were issued on My Brother the Wind, Vol. 1 (although it was not titled 'Vol. 1'— it only achieved that reference after 'Vol. 2' appeared). The following year, drummer Tommy Hunter arranged a meeting between Sun Ra and synth pioneer Robert Moog in upstate Trumansburg, New York. Bob and his crew were testing prototypes of the Minimoog at that time, inviting Sun Ra to explore its sounds. A recording of this test session was made and, although not originally intended for commercial release, partly released many years later in 1992 (My Brother the Wind, Vol. 2, CD tracks 7-11: The Wind Speaks, Sun Thoughts, Journey to the Stars, World of the Myth 'I', The Design - Cosmos II). But more significantly, it was during this visit that Moog loaned Sun Ra a prototype Minimoog (Model B), several months before the commercial instrument (Model D) was introduced in March 1970. Ra immediately added the instrument to his repertoire of keyboards, later acquired a second, and featured the Minimoog prominently on many of his recordings of the early 1970s. Sun Ra sometimes played two Minimoogs at the same time to achieve a duophonic synthesizer sound.

#ElectronicMusic #SunRa #Minimoog #MyBrotherTheWind #BobMoog #Synthesizer

All rights belong to their respective owners."

You can find dditional posts mentioning Sun Ra and the Minimoog here.

You can find Sun Ra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ on Amazon here.

Found this one updating this old post, after posting AutomaticGainsay's The History of the Minimoog Prototypes. Down the rabbit hole I went...

Eduard Artemyev, Coil, and the ANS Synthesizer

Mr. Array wrote in after coming across this gem. "I think the original score was written in the 70's, so the photos of the Emulator and such are a bit anachronistic. Cool track. This theme was later remixed in 2001 by the group PPK"

Eduard Artemyev - Siberiade theme

YouTube via gobodrodiont

"Эдуард Артемьев - музыка к фильму Сибириада"
"Eduard Artemiev - music for the film Sibiriada"

After a little digging Mr. Array found an interesting bit of history regarding Eduard Artemyev. He was one of the few composers that used the ANS Synthesizer.

Regarding the ANS via Wikipedia [per GNU Free Documentation License]: "The ANS synthesizer is a photoelectronic musical instrument created by Russian engineer Evgeny Murzin from 1937 to 1957. The technological basis of his invention was the method of photo-optic sound recording used in cinematography (developed in Russia concurrently with America), which made it possible to obtain a visible image of a sound wave, as well as to realize the opposite goal - synthesizing a sound from an artificially drawn sound wave.

In this case the sine waves generated by the ANS are printed onto five glass discs using a process which Murzin (an optical engineer) had to develop himself. Each disc has 144 individual tracks printed onto it, producing a total of 720 microtones (discrete pitches) available to the user. These are arranged vertically from low frequencies at the bottom to high frequencies at the top. The convolved light is then projected onto the back of the synthesizer's interface.

This consists of a glass plate covered in opaque black "mastic" which constitutes a drawing surface upon which the user makes marks by scratching through the mastic, and therefore allowing light to pass through at that point. In front of the glass plate sits a vertical bank of photocells which send signals to band-pass amplifiers, each with dB trim switches.

The glass plate can then be scanned left or right in front of the photocell bank in order to transcribe the drawing directly into pitches. In other words, it plays what you draw. This process can be aided with a step geared motor drive (strangely similar to an engineering lathe) or can be performed manually. The speed at which the score scans has no relation to pitch, but serves only as a means of controlling duration. The ANS is completely polyphonic and will generate up to all 720 of its pitches simultaneously if required.

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RIP Mike Brown of Livewire Electronics

Via an Interview with Mike Brown on Vicmod
(Be sure to click through for the full interview):

"Mike tell us a little about yourself.

This is the one I usually dread... (I'm not one for talking about myself much) but how about this: Played in a few bands during the '80s & '90s... if anyone remembers Cafe'Noire, Aura Circuit, or my solo project, Electronium (probably not... haha) Studied electronic music at Cal State University San Bernardino under Dr.Raymond Torre-Santos (now at Hunter College in New York). At the time they did not have an electronic music program, so when I showed up for recitals with my reels of tape music... the jury of music dept. administrators threw me out... haha...2 years later they had a full blown electronic music major program. figures.

I had always wanted a modular synth... but being married with small kids,had no hope of justifying the expense. Then around 1994, I discovered a book in the local library... 'build your own synthesizer' by Thomas Henry. I thought "I can do *this*!" so I set about gathering parts from local surplus stores and schematics from anywhere I could get them... library books mostly... I was on the internet, but this was pre-web days I think... So then I went about starting small fires for the next six years or so... ;) Eventually, the circuits began to actually work... and then I was thoroughly hooked."

And we were too. Thank you for everything Mike, we are going to miss you.

http://www.livewire-synthesizers.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Livewire-Electronics/301279517212 - Livewire
https://www.facebook.com/L1V3W1R3 - Mike Brown


Image of Mike Brown and Gur Milstein of Tiptop Audio at NAMM 2011.

I met Mike at NAMM 2010. I was pretty humbled. He was one of the kindest and most genuine people I have ever met. He just made you feel comfortable and happy to be around. Like a beacon of peace in chaos. A great soul of a man.

For a look at the influence of his work: 510 posts and counting. His work, memory, and legacy will live on forever.

electro-music 2012

"The electro-music festival, known as the "Woodstock of electronic music," is the world's premiere event for experimental electronic music. Now in it's eighth year, this year's gathering features three mind-bending days of innovative electronic music concerts, seminars, workshops, demonstrations, jam sessions, video art, a laptop battle, and a swap-meet. Action starts at 1pm on Friday, September 7 and runs until midnight on September 9. Musical activities will be running continuously throughout the three days of the festival.

electro-music 2012 takes place at the Greenkill Retreat Center in Huguenot, New York. On-site lodging and meals are available. Tickets range from $35 for a single day to $385 for a 3-day pass including meals and lodging.

More information, including a complete schedule of events can be found on the web site at: http://event.electro-music.com/ You may also contact us at event@electro-music.com

A wide variety of instruments and musical styles will be represented, ranging from theremin to analog modular synthesizers to home made devices, from classic space music and ambient to abstract electronica, glitch, electro-pop and beat-oriented music.

The following artists will be performing:

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::vtol:: sheep hunter

YouTube via Vtolus | December 26, 2010 | 0 likes, 0 dislikes

"DIY noise synth/optical theremin

more shots - http://samoletuvvp.narod.ru/​vto/​diy/​sheep.html"

Dave Smith Instruments In The Spotlight With the Prophet-6 and Computer Magic

You can find the full interview on DSI's website here.

"Computer Magic is the spacy, sci-fi-influenced synth pop project of singer/songwriter/producer Danielle 'Danz' Johnson. A native of New York, she began collecting vinyl at age 14 and started her own music blog a year later. By the time she was 18, she was DJ’ing in New York City while studying at Hunter College. Three years later, Johnson moved to Florida and began making her own music and began posting her atmospheric electropop songs online in 2010, adopting the Computer Magic moniker as an homage to This Is Spinal Tap.

After releasing a few free EPs, she re-recorded some of her songs for the White Iris label, which issued the Electronic Fences EP in 2011. The following year, the Orion EP arrived on Kitsuné, which led to the release of a Japanese compilation via Tugboat Records.

Computer Magic became so popular in Japan that Johnson made several albums just for her fans there, including 2013’s Phonetics and 2015’s Mindstate. During this time, she also issued the EPs A Million Years/Another Science and Extra Stuff.

In 2015, Johnson launched her Channel 9 Records label, which released her official debut album, Davos, a set of songs she recorded with producer Claudius Mittendorfer. After two more EPs (2016’s Obscure But Visible and the following year’s Cody & Danz, a collaboration with Cody Crump), Johnson released Computer Magic’s more personal second album, DANZ, in 2018."

---
You can find previous posts featuring DSI's Spotlight series here.

"TOTAL RESCORE" Excerpt (Live) With Roland JD-Xi Synthesizer

video upload by Assembler 2084 Assembler 2084

"A custom program I made for my Roland JD-Xi synth. I also used this program in my song 'Hunter Killer' from 2020: https://assembleraudio.bandcamp.com/a..."

Unique Soviet Synth ANS (BBC The Soundhunter 4)

YouTube Uploaded by toitoitoy on Oct 27, 2011

See Eduard Artemyev, Coil, and the ANS Synthesizer for quite a bit more.

"The Soundhunter
4 March 2006
Saturday 4 March 2006 5:45-6:00 (Radio 4 FM)

Isobel Clouter goes on an epic quest around the globe in search of disappearing sounds. 4/5.

Isobel is in Russia hearing about painted sound experiments and learning about early musical inventors.

More info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANS_synthesizer"

Previously:
BBC Radio's The Sound Hunter and the ANS Machine