Unknown Devices - Sawari

video uploads by Unknown Devices

Playlist:

1. Unknown Devices - Sawari (lauch video)
2. Unknown Devices - Sawari demo #1 - Shamisen
3. Unknown Devices - Sawari demo #2 - PRS Custom 24
4. Unknown Devices - Sawari patch by Erekutoronikku #1 - Hardclipping
5. Unknown Devices - Sawari patch by Erekutoronikku #2 - Dynamics

A Eurorack Instrument preamp

Envelope Follower
3-band EQ
internal microphone

8HP | +/-12V 35mA

Previously available at: https:/unwn.dev

Note these videos are from three years ago.

Unknown Devices Raiju

video uploads by Unknown Devices

Playlist:

1. Unknown Devices Raiju - Early Access Launch
2. Unknown Devices Raiju - Sine modulator demo
3. Unknown Devices Raiju - Self-triggering - demo #001
4. Unknown Devices Raiju - Tone - demo #002 "Raiju is a compact 8HP percussive synth module, with a powerful engine under the hood:
-Analog LPG
-Digital Complex Oscillator
-ADSR Envelope generator.

the music in the video has been recorded straight out of the system, no additional EQ-ing or limiting was applied."

Note these videos are from 2 years ago.

Unknown Devices Eisei - Quad satellite processor | Available for Preorder

video upload by Unknown Devices

Playlist:
1. Eisei - Quad Satellite Processor - Preorder Now!
2. Unknown Devices Eisei - Demo 01 [from one year ago]
3. Making music from space | Unknown Devices Eisei Devlog 01 [from one year ago]


via Unknown Devices

Eisei is our take on spectral processing and polyphonic voicing for eurorack format. It is packed with really unique features, focused on complex timbre shaping and entangled harmonic rhythms, knit upon a smart and playful orbit based UI.

Eisei can filter, process, harmonize, shape and resynthesize anything coming across. Its core are 4 satellites, each equipped with a 20 bands filterbank, a pulse wave oscillator and dedicated IN & OUT.

Eisei is up for preorder now.

For more info visit https://unwn.dev/shop/modules/eisei/

Preorder ends July 8th.

———
SPECS

Dimensions
height – 3U
width – 18HP
depth – 18mm

Connectivity
6x CV inputs
3x trig/gate inputs
3x audio inputs
1x REC input

4x audio outputs
1x audio sum out
i2c port

Features
Unique UI
Datum sampling™
8x spectral presets (datum)
4x 20 bands filterbanks
4x internal oscs
4x Warp modifiers
based on esp32 + daisy 2
127x127px monochrome OLED display
48khz 16bit audio

———

Company
Unknown Devices was founded by Ciro Caputo in 2020 and has ever since
released 2 eurorack modules Sawari (preamp/EF/eq/contact mic/drive) and
Raiju (Envelope/LPG + internal voice). UNWN puts its focus in developing
engaging UI and combining different features into innovative
instruments.

Unknown Devices Ogami Ittō

video uploads by Unknown Devices

Playlist:

1. Unknown Devices Ogami Ittō | Feeedback/saturation patch
2. Unknown Devices Ogami Ittō | Delay patch
3. Unknown Devices Ogami Ittō | Delay patch 2

Note these videos are from four years ago.

Yamaha Half-Rack Series Set: EMT-1 FM Expander Synth, EMT-10 PCM Synth, EMR-1 Digital Rhythm Box

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

via this auction

"welcome to strange, bizarre, obscure and unknown equipment rubric.

today I’ll be introducing you this extremely rare set.

includes all three sound making machines made by Yamaha in the late 80s. (1988 approximately).

it’s a pack with very cool vintage sound and convenient features.

set includes:

• Yamaha EMT-1

8-voice poly synth. based on Yamaha famous FM chip, and using them for sound generation. this is basically like Yamaha DX-21 or something similar, having most of the most famous presets here, and allowing slight variations towards them, and lots of different multi-timbral options. also allows to control some parameters via SysEx.

• Yamaha EMT-10

8-voice polyphonic pcm based sound generation. but in a good way. sounds are multi-sampled, and sound extremely realistic, and very vintage. has slight variation options over the sounds, and few simple multi-timbral options.

• Yamaha EMR-1

digital rhythm box. has fancy preset rhythms, very reminiscent of some great tunes. also can be fully midi controlled, and each sound can be individually sequenced externally via midi.

also has this great led-display showing measures progression, and a display showing bpm and measure counter information.

very nice feature is that all three machines feature power supply in and out sockets, which means that all three can be powered just from one power adapter, and connected together using dc-dc cables.

also all three feature line out, but also Aux In. so all three can be mixed together and their outputs can be daisy chained connected, to have just one stereo pair in the end, which will produce stereo outputs of all of the three devices.

and they also can be daisy chained by midi! each features midi thru socket.

so fully daisy chainable, very well connectable vintage pack.

be special, choose something weird and unknown instead of these other boring famous things everyone else has. choose character."

CLICK FOR MORE »

An Interview with Barry Schrader

Hi everyone! As you know Barry Schrader will be giving his farewell concert at CalArts on September 26. The following is the beginning of my interview with him. I opted to post the questions and answers as they come in.  New QAs will get a new post so you do not miss them and they will be added to this post so we have one central post for the full interview. This should make it easier for all of us to consume in our busy lives, and it will allow you to send in any questions that may come to mind during the interview process.  If you have anything you'd like to ask Barry, feel free to send it in to matrixsynth@gmail.com.  This is a rare opportunity for us to get insight on a significant bit of synthesizer history, specifically with early Buchla systems, and I'd like to thank Barry for this opportunity. Thank you Barry!

CLICK FOR MORE »

Rheyne - Live Jam #89 (live looping, lights controlled by M4L)

Published on Nov 7, 2013 Rheyne·122 videos

"Live looping with USB controllers, iOS devices, and Ableton Live. All loops recorded live, nothing was pre-recorded. Lighting is controlled entirely by the instruments with Max for Live and an Enttec DMXIS.

Camera #2 was intended to provide a better view of what's going on under the table, but the table legs were blocking a couple of the lighting fixtures. Hopefully it still gives a good idea of what's going on underneath, as well as a better view of my monkey pajama pants and socks.

Equipment:
Novation Launchpad S
iPad running Lemur w/ iConnectMIDI (legacy)
iPad running Animoog
KMI QuNeo triggering drums in Battery
KMI QuNexus triggering a piano in Kontakt
DJTechTools MF3D for loopers / metronome
PreSonus 1818VSL (for recording Animoog)
"Early 2011" Macbook Pro running Ableton Live w/ M4L
Generic 7-port USB 2.0 hub (unknown brand)
Ultrasone Pro 650 headphones

Lighting:
3x Chauvet Slim Par 56
Enttec DMXIS

Video:
Canon EOS T3i
iPad 3rd gen

Download or stream the audio at SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/rheyne/live-ja..."

MFB's Manfred Fricke Has Passed Away

Left: Manfred Fricke (via Amazona.de) back in the day with his first creations, the MFB-501 drum machine (right), and MFB-601 digital sequencer (left).

2nd image is Manfred Fricke with the MFB SYNTH II at SUPERBOOTH (unknown source).

We lost another legend in the synth world. Sad news in via STROMKULT: "'On June, 17th around 11am Manfred Fricke from Berlin alias MFB sadly passed away after having had a hard time with cancer for a while already. He left his wife Gloria and his son Jean-Marcel behind, we are all very sad having lost this partner, friend and father.'
HerrSchneider

Manfred Fricke was one of Berlins pioneers of analog synth and drum machine makers. He has been the weapon of choice for many (not only) starting musicians. Let’s be honest, who didn’t have one of his creations early in his or hers journey into electronic musical instruments – or at least thought about getting one – and why shouldn’t you? Manfred Fricke's machines always brought something unique to the table, they were mostly analog, affordable, in small plastic housings and just did the job. Manfred always focused on keeping his products affordable for his clients and the instruments quite often made their way to professional use later on, and the musicians often kept their first units as something almost holy, because it were these machines that paved the way into analog electronic music making.

But it would be too short-sighted to associate MFB only with budget entry-level products. Especially the drum machines Tanzbär and Tanzbär II, or the great Dominion 1 show that Manfred Fricke also built machines that met higher demands. The Tanzbär, in particular, is considered by many to be their favorite drum machine of the last few years, especially in terms of its amazing sound.

We hope that MFB will continue to exist and that it will continue to make it easier for many generations of musicians to enter the world of electronic sound production.

We wish Manfred Fricke's son Jean-Marcel continued success for the future of MFB and extend our condolences to him and his family. And lets hope that Manfred will finally meet up with all the other good guys on the other side.

Rest In Peace."

MFB TANZBAR 2 pic via STROMKULT.


video upload by 7V-STUDIO

MFB's Manfred Fricke's first procuct, the Fricke MFB-501 drum machine.

Description via this video:
"This little analog beatbox was developed in 1980 1979 by Manfred Fricke. It was offered at 380 DM. As a low-cost model on the market for analog rhythm generators the small black and white "Switch Box" quickly found a lot of friends, because its configuration could be compared to its expensive far east competitors: 64 patterns and as many fill-ins switchable via micro switches, speed ​​control via potentiometer, 10 analog percussion instruments (activated by means of micro switches), combined mono/stereo outputs (jack), In & Out (5 Vss) and trigger footswitch inputs (jack) for start and fill-in
(retail price for the switch at 16 DM). An external wall power supply provides 12 volts.

Approx. 5000 units of the MFB-501 had been sold. Not so bad for a one-man company. So this drum machine is one of the top-selling devices in the history of the Berlin engineer offices M. Fricke . If you're lucky, this iconic device can still be found on the relevant internet sales platforms.

Today, maintenance of this tiny noise machine is still easily feasible, because Fricke employed only commercially available components. Therefore, 'presumedly dead 501's' can be reanimated without major problems."

MFB 601 Vintage Digital Sequencer, Teardown, Repair and partial analysis


Published on Feb 2, 2015 FPV Electronics

Note this video is FPV Electronics of course, and not Manfred Fricke.
"This device is exclusively built from 7400 and 4000 series basic logic ICs. Making it must have been so much more difficult than just programming a generic µController as we would do today."

Timeline via http://mfberlin.de/en/about-us/:

1976: MFB was founded by engineer Manfred Fricke. So far there were more than some hundred products constructed and distributed. The first developments and products were primarly video games for industrial playmachines.

1979: A lowcost drummachine was introduced in 1979. (98 DM for the self construction kit). The legendary drumcomputer MFB-501 was finished and sold. Although it was not the most prominent drumcomputer of that time it surely was one of the best selling drum units in Germany. Some shops sold ten times more MFB-501s than Roland TR-808s. More products for the musician followed, such as the Digital-Sequencer MFB-601 and the digital drum machine MFB-512. All of these featured rich products were offered at exceptional low prices.

1984: The E-Drum module series 1000 and 2000 followed with corresponding pads.

1986: A new construction period started in 1986 with product launches of the MIDI-CV converter MFB-201 and the MIDI drummer MFB-SYNTH was finished in 1997, although its development dates back to the eighties. The machine never went into production since 2001, the year of the company´s 25th anniversary because of decreased interest in analogue synthesizer technology especially in the sales channels.

From 1986 Manfred Fricke specialized in products for video applications. Alone 20 different framegrabbers for the Apple II, C-64 und IBM compatible PCs were constructed. A very high percentage of these framegrabbers were and are still in use for special industrial purposes. Custom development is still done here, so these specialized tools are not available for other customers.

1994: MFB introduced the world´s first videomixer below 1.000 DM, the MFB-901. Its successor MFB-902 was available in 1995. Another important development in the video section was the model MFB-912, a digital video memory. This 1998 product was highly acclaimed by the press.

1999: The successor MFB-915 added sound and higher picture resolution. It´s available since October 1999. Another successor is the model MFB-920 with an integrated harddrive offering better options for nonlinear cutting and post processing of the recorded material.

2001: During this year, Manfred Fricke also developed another new MIDI drum-module. MFB-KULT, includes most of the famous sounds of the older machines. Both MFB-SYNTH and MFB-KULT are availabale since December 2001. Because of constant requests for the digital sequencer MFB-601 a successor MFB-602. was introduced in May 2002.

2002: Since August 2002 there´s also a little brother of the MFB-SYNTH, the MFB-SYNTH LITE

And of course the MFB DOMINION series and the MFB SYNTH PRO.

There have been 1747 MFB posts on the site prior to this one. MFB has been a mainstay on the site and Manfred Fricke will be greatly missed.

RAJ MUSICALS SAARANG

images via this auction
"VINTAGE Electronic Tanpura Synthesizer DELUXE SAARANG RAJ Musicals
- Made by: Radel Systems , Bangalore
- Type No. TBR6
-SI. No. 266

Runs on 6 C batteries and for having such a small speaker can get painfully LOUD! Radel Saarang Electronic Tanbura

The 'Saarang' produces the plucked sound of a conventional stringed tambura (tanpura) used for classical Indian music. The sound is produced electronically without the use of any strings. The 'Saarang' plays by itself and does not need a person to play it.

Pitch tunable by more than octave and covers the range of male as well as female voices - from lower A to higher C (lower 6 to higher 1, Karnatic system or lower White 6 to higher White 7, Hindustani System).

The Tanpura
The Tanpura is a four to six stringed fretless instrument made of wood, and usually combined with gourd. It provides the performing artist(s) with a tonic reference and enriches the background with its unique harmonic drone. The strings are tuned in a manner that emphasizes the tonic and the dominant notes of the raag. The bridge is slightly curved to not only provide a buzzing sound (as the strings are plucked), but also to generate various harmonics that enhance the tonal quality of the instrument. The size (gourd and neck) of the instrument may vary depending on whether the artist is an instrumentalist, male vocalist, or a female vocalist. Tanpura was most probably included as a part of a classical music ensemble since the seventeenth century.

The Tanpura player plucks the strings one at a time, in a steady, repetitive, almost orderly manner, using the index and middle fingers.

These days "electronic" tanpuras <../elect/elect.html> have become commonplace, since they do not require a human player, are less expensive, simpler to tune, require minimal maintenance, and are easily portable. Many Indian professional musicians (including world renowned artistes like Pandit Debu Chaudhuri and Pandit Aashish Khan) are now touring without a tanpura player and are using the Riyaz Raagini <../elect/elect.html> sampled electronic tanpura machine as it sounds so very realistic. However, some artists prefer a natural instrument to an electronic one when available, and sometimes combine the two types. Electronic Tanpuras are, naturally, used by many students for practice as in this way the student can practice for long periods of time as and when needed without the need for a person to sit and play tanpura for them.

Electronic musical instruments are defined as instruments that synthesize sound from an electronic source. The origins of electronic music can be traced back to the work of Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand Von Helmholtz the German physicist, mathematician and the year 1860. While many instruments were developed in years to follow it was not till The Vacuum Tube Era (1915-1960) and Integrated Circuits time, that real muscle made it to world of electronic musical instruments. With travelling Indian musicians, good electronic instruments have been of great help both in performances as well as in Riaz (practice sessions).

David Courtney, musician, music theorist, divides these instruments into 3 classes, Shruti Generation, interments that replaced drone instruments like the Surpeti. Electronic "Surpetis" have been in use for about 20 years. In recent times the more refined Electronic Tamburas have become very popular. The 2nd generation are the Lahara Machines that provide repeating melodies to accompany drum solos. The 3rd category is the Theka Generation, or the Drum Machines, devices that provide sound comparable to the Tabla."

Udpate via Loscha in the comments:
"I have one of these, and it sounds like this:
http://www.loscha.com/music/Loscha-Tambura_Test.mp3
Well, almost the same. Mine is the "base" model.
The pcb look like this;
http://www.loscha.com/music/saraang-pcb.jpg
http://www.loscha.com/music/saraang-pcb-marked.jpg

I am adjusting an modulating the notes pitches in real time with this track.

The unit arpeggiates the tones in a 6 note sequence, and the notes are fixed, the root note on my unit has no fine tuning, only coarse.
You have notes on steps 1, 3 4 and 5 of the pattern. You can only turn on and off notes, and each note has a certain range, constrained by traditional patterns.
I think the Deluxe unit has 5 notes in the sequence, my base unit has only 4.

I corresponded with the creator a while ago, and this is the main section of what he wrote

'At the outset, please accept our apologies for this delayed response. For some unknown reason, we were unable to connect to the site referred to in your mail and we were not in a position to figure out which model you possessed. We were able to connect today and now know that you possess an obsolete version of the Saarang that went out of production seven years ago. We seem to have destroyed all the data connected with this model and are not in a position to furnish them to you. Considering that you are an electronics engineer, the following explanation should help you in trying out whatever modifications you may want to perform.

The four strings are synthesized through four oscillators based on 555 Timers. These signals are amplitude modulated through a capacitive charging and discharging circuit comprising two transistors, BC547 (NPN) and BC 557(PNP). Each of the four PNP transistors is triggered on by a
zero going pulse applied to its base, which results in an electrolytic capacitor getting charged to a peak value. This voltage acts as the amplitude modulating voltage for the square wave input. The triggering of the PNP transistors is controlled by a control circuit comprising another 555 timer, a counter and a demultiplexer.

We hope that this explanation is of use to you. With regards,

G. Raj Narayan'

My Tambura is one of my favourite things in the whole world, and it is in my top 5 musical things I'd never part with if I had to sell up everything I owned. "

Update: mp3 sample demo from Loscha here.

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."

Micro Performance Poly-MIDI.1

images via this auction

Details Google Translated:

"I versteigere in this auction, a fairly unknown desktop sequencer from the year 1984. This device is built in France. The company is Micro performance and the sequencer is Poly-MIDI.1.

On the Internet, I learned that the sequencer a 6500 notes memory. Total 5 sequences and recorded with a chain-linked function.

I have recently purchased this device, but it could not only elicit sequenz. Thus versteigere I use this device as expressly DEFECT.

The hardware is very solid. The storage battery was replaced. The running lights shine all. So think that the remedy to the problem experienced by an electrician not really expensive can be.

For his age, the appearance of this part really sehrt well and it is somewhat reminiscent of the old Oberheim optic devices (OB-XA, DMX, etc.).

Unfortunately, there is no service documents or operating manuals. The device will not function as offered by me, because I have no time for me to worry about such things. For collectors, but the part of an enrichment."

New Details and Specifications for the Upcoming Waldorf Quantum

"Waldorf is proud to announce a new chapter in their tradition of designing high-end ground breaking synthesisers. Starting with Waldorf’s famous wavetable technology developed decades ago, it was always a challenge to give our instruments a powerful flexible beating heart. Our digital oscillators coupled to the enormous power and efficient simplicity of our analog filters started the digital revolution back in the 80’s.

Quantum combines the raw power of a classic digital & analog hybrid synthesiser, with futuristic sounds that are only possible with today’s software synthesisers.

Its 3 Oscillators offer four synthesis algorithms each:

Waldorf-style Wavetables with the latest additions from Nave, including speech synthesis and wavetable generation from audio

Classic Synthesizer Waveforms with multiple waves for an ultra fat sounds right out of the oscillators

Granular Sampler with multi sampling plus traditional sampling mode

Resonator for virtual sound sculpting

The flexibility emanating from Quantum’s powerful oscillators and their interaction with one another is simply breath-taking. Never before has it ever been possible to create such a wide sonic bandwidth with one synthesizer. Stretching from classic analog, with precise sample playback, through to harsh or animated digital sounds, escalating all the way up to sound and sequence clusters, that can only be achieved with a modular synthesiser system.

Quantum’s beautiful ergonomic and intuitive user panel supports an artist’s workflow with a previously unknown elegance. The carefully crafted array of aluminium knobs and encoders surround an ultra hi-resolution multi touch display. Waldorf engineers spent many long hours perfecting the interaction between the display and the physical control elements. The stunning display is a highly flexible extension of the tactile experience, and is light-years ahead of any synthesiser currently on the market today.

To help understand functional correlations between one knob and another, each control knob is individually illuminated by a multi colour LED. This makes it instantly obvious when viewing complex settings and modulation settings, where related parameters can be adjusted quickly and efficiently. With the help once again of the gorgeous central display, precise settings can be handled with ease, much the same as the experience when using your cutting edge computer tablet.

When the Waldorf engineers decided to develop Quantum, little did they realise it would take several years of painstaking work. There were areas of Quantum that our years of experience with sound generation were bought to the fore. But Quantum is so powerful it took our team into uncharted territory, involving both sound and the way it was felt the musician would interact with it.

Quantum was designed and developed by our dedicated team in Germany. All essential components have been designed, manufactured and assembled here in Germany. This has allowed us to manufacture Quantum with an unparalleled build quality. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank a world class array of sound designers that have contributed to a multi-facetted factory sound set.

Specifications

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Digelius DIMI Music Instrument, Computer, Synthesizer, Studio, Rabbit

Brochure scan in via Brian Kehew. This is the first time Digelius has been featured here on MATRIXSYNTH. The following is the description from the scan followed by some info on the man behind Digelius, Erkki Kurenniemi.

“DIMI IS A MUSIC INSTRUMENT. DIMI IS A COMPUTER. DIMI IS A SYNTHESIZER. DIMI IS A MINIATURE ELECTRONIC MUSIC STUDIO. DIMI IS A RABBIT.

The essential part of the digital instrument DIMI is an integrated circuit memory which is capable of storing an almost endless variety of musical structures.

The digitally controlled sound generators can be operated either by manual instructions from the keyboard or by instructions stored in the memory.

Any manual instruction can be recorded into the memory by touching the R-key. The selective erase function permits flexible editing of the stored program.

The interplay between manual and stored instructions results in a music instrument with possibilities not surmised earlier.

* MOS integrated circuit content addressable memory, 100 words 16 bits each.
* two sound generators, eight octaves chromatic scale
* vibrato unit, amplitude variable in eight steps and several frequencies
* two external general purpose inputs
* two selectors for eight sound sources
* two attenuators, seven steps six decibels each and off
* two banks of eight octave band pass filters
* three modulators
* rhythm generator, 48 different durations or tempi
* all parameters are digitally controlled and thus programmable
* contains about 250 integrated circuits
* dimentions 40x40x15 cm
* price 15 300 Fmk (about 3750 US$)

Digelius Electronics Finland Oy
Huvilakatu 24
Helsinki 15
Finland”

Some info on Erkki Kurenniemi via Wikipedia:

"Erkki Kurenniemi (born July 10, 1941 in Hämeenlinna, Finland) is a Finnish designer, philosopher and artist, best known for his electronic music compositions and the electronic instruments he has designed. He is considered one of the leading early pioneers of electronic music in Finland. Kurenniemi is also a science populariser, a futurologist, a pioneer of media culture, and an experimental film-maker.

Kurenniemi completed the majority of his instruments, electronic compositions and experimental films in the 1960s and 1970s. Between 1962 and 1974, he designed and constructed ten electronic instruments and studio devices when he was working as a volunteer assistant at the Department of Musicology at the University of Helsinki, and as designer at Digelius Electronics Finland Oy, founded in 1970. In addition to the Musicology Department, Kurenniemi also worked as assistant and senior designer at the Department of Theoretical Physics from 1962 to 1973. Kurenniemi earned a Bachelor of Sciences degree in 1968.

He subsequently worked as a designer of control systems for industrial robots at Oy W. Rosenlew Ab (1976–1978), and as a designer of industrial automation and robotic systems at Nokia’s cable machinery division (1980–1986). He also worked as a specialist consultant and Head of Planning at the Science Centre Heureka in Vantaa, Finland (1987–1998).

Kurenniemi received the Finland Prize of the Ministry of Education and Culture in 2003.[1] In 2004, he was elected honorary fellow of the University of Art and Design Helsinki.[2] 2011 Kurenniemi received Order of the Lion of Finland medal from The President of Finland Mrs. Tarja Halonen."

Update via Unknown in the comments: There's an article on Erkki Kurenniemi in the September 2013 issue of Sound on Sound (available online here). Definitely worth checking out.

Pictured: "Erkki Kurenniemi's first instrument was the Integrated Synthesizer. Completed in 1967, it used pin-matrix programming on a huge scale."

Resonations

Resonations from bar|none on Vimeo.

Soundplane + KYMA playing a model of a resonating string instrument. What instrument? Something unknown but wonderful and expressive.

Imaginary instruments are the world that is KYMA.

The sound is a resonation synth that models initial attack and picking of a string + the resonations and feedback associated with a resonating instrument body. More pressure means more feedback and energy into the resonations.

Spent some time with this sound to make it respond properly with the soundplane.
Faster hits and you hear the picking. Vibrato and you hear the scraping on the strings.

I can't tell you how this feels to play but I can say that you forget this is a controller and it feels like playing something tactile like a real instrument.

This uses the Madronalabs Soundplane to send OSC to KYMA directly via ethernet, no MIDI here. The soundplane client supports zeroconf discovery of OSC capable devices, so KYMA pacarana appears as an OSC destination and that is all required to connect the two. Symbolic Sound helped with the integration.

The result is very high resolution control of the sound that you can feel as you play the Soundplane.

Qu-bit Introduces Mojave Live Granular Processor Eurorack Module

Tutorial 1: Getting Started video upload by Qu - Bit

00:00 Introduction
01:18 Let's get started with Clock modes, Rate, Gen triggers and how to get grains moving.
02:36 Other ways to trigger grains? Hello, Gen Modes!
03:36 SIZE!
04:26 Don't forget to shut the window. Or, maybe open it?
05:04 Speed: Wait, we can pitch-shift grains?
05:39 Zone: Grains from the present and the past. (Too fun.)
06:35 The relationship between Distribute and Structure.
08:02 Take control of quantization with Sky modes.
09:06 I want my grains to jump around! Drift is your friend.
09:37 Whirl creates a universe in stereo. No, really.
10:03 TWO end-of-chain effects - Feedback and Reverb!
11:17 TWO freeze functions!
13:02 Dune: Mojave's unique CV/Gate output
13:38 Oh, we didn't tell you there's a mic on Mojave?
14:33 Patch Example - "Gypsum"
15:00 Patch Example - "Mic-Check"
15:56 Patch Example - "Interstellar Beats"
___________________________________________

https://www.qubitelectronix.com/

Press release follows:



SAN CLEMENTE, CA, USA: Q-Bit Electronix is proud to announce availability of the Mojave module as its latest Daisy platform- based Eurorack entry — effectively kicking up a granular sandstorm as a live granular processor drawing inspiration from vast swathes of its American Southwest desert namesake by using microscopic bits of audio to create beautifully-crafted sonic landscapes while reinventing the way we interact with sound, seriously backing up the self-proclaimed ‘Future Coast’ modular synth-maker’s philosophy of building bespoke devices that push the boundaries of design beyond what is presently possible in the process — as of October 10…

It is fair to say that Mojave is a stereo live granular processor at its creative core, but, in reality, it is capable of so much more — not least when being pressed into play as a stochastic event generator. Mojave makes it possible for explorative users to patch together feedback-driven glitch textures or compose harmonic symphonies from a single droning oscillator. Other possibilities include creating a granular delay or scrubbing a locked audio buffer to create time-stretching effects — and all directly from the front panel of this 14HP-wide module.

Mojave can — in many ways — behave exactly like other granular processors, but what sets it apart in this realm is its ability to take complex granular manipulations and make then accessible to even the most novice of users. “Our first module ever was Nebulae, a granular looper; we've always wanted to do a fully-committed, live granular processor but with a ‘New-Bit’ twist,” confirms Qu-Bit Electronix CEO — and company co-founder — Andrew Ikenberry. Indeed, that ‘New-Bit’ moniker really reflects the company’s collective internal name for its new design philosophy of focusing on hands-on, approachable devices that leave room for users to push their own technique and explore sound design in new ways.

With this in mind, Mojave is no exception to this rule; for its front panel includes the fundamental controls for generating and manipulating grains — themselves the tiny building blocks of granular synthesis. Adjust a grain size, shape, and generation rate while also having control over the grain pitch, the position in time where the grain grabs audio, and the audio playback direction. Though these controls are essentially found in any granular processor, they only scratch the surface of Mojave’s potential.

Put it this way, then: the key to Mojave’s magic resides in the controls at the centre of the module. The two larger knobs there are absolute attention-grabbers — and for good reason, providing aleatoric grain manipulations in exciting, unquestionably ‘Qu-Bity’ ways. Turn the distribute knob to add rhythmic displacement to the grain rate; depending on which Mojave mode is selected, distribute’s displacement can either be asynchronous movements through time or quantised ratchets, repeats, and rolls that liven up the simplest of rhythms. Representing the flip side of the granular coin, as it were, the structure knob adjusts each grain’s pitch within a defined system. structure can — at its smallest setting — provide subtle semitone pitch changes, perfect for thickening up a sound, creating chorus/flanging effects, and more. But by turning up structure beyond halfway, Mojave begins to sing. structure starts to play through a quantised scale, introducing arpeggios and trills as the knob ventures further up; with the grain size large enough for grains to overlap, Mojave effortlessly transforms into a polyphonic sound generator — regardless of input.

Said structure knob and its rate (speed) neighbour are connected to Mojave’s Sky Mode — itself selected using the button in between distribute and structure — that determines what scale Mojave is quantised to. The default modes include major, minor, and chromatic scales, as well as the aptly-named, non-quantised Twilight Mode. Moreover, each mode will be fully customisable — alongside a host of configurable settings — within Narwhal, Q-Bit Electronix’s module web app (https://narwhal.qubitelectronix.com/) for custom settings.

Since Mojave boasts true stereo I/O, it includes a couple of controls that emphasise this characteristic. drift does exactly as its name implies; it drifts the grains through the audio buffer, and the more the knob is turned, the more Mojave begins to slip into the past, grabbing random bits of audio from both signal channels to fill its grains. An adjacent whirl control provides random stereo panning to each generated grain; the more this knob is turned, the more frequent and wider the grains are panned, creating huge stereo sounds from any sound source — stereo or monophonic.

Mojave has more than one way to inject sound into its granular sandstorm, speaking of sound sources. Indeed, it even has an onboard, high-quality MEMS (Micro- Electro-Mechanical System) microphone that is positioned just above its USB port; simply removing any patch cables from Mojave’s audio inputs makes the microphone active, ready to pick up any acoustic audio! Try talking or singing into Mojave — or even play an acoustic instrument in a live setting — to bring granular flair to compositions.

Clearly, then, Mojave is primarily designed for live granular processing, yet users are afforded an ability to not only freeze the grains in place for glitch stutter effects, but they are also able to lock the audio buffer in place, thereby using Mojave as a granular buffer scrub; Mojave — at the right settings — can even mimic the time- stretching effects of its bigger granular sampler and DSP (Digital Signal Processing) platform sibling, Nebulae, now benefitting from v2.1.2 firmware itself. It is worth noting here that future firmware updates and alternative firmware for Mojave are accessible via its USB drive.

Meanwhile, Mojave’s granular engine can generate a plethora of audio effects that will transform any sound. Saying that, Q-Bit Electronix even included one final end-of- chain control to add some sparkle to an already dazzling device — namely, the gust knob. Which way it is turned determines control over either an internal feedback loop designed to tear grains apart in the best way or a lush reverb effect to fill the voids between the audio — alternatively, granular-textures-into-a-wash-of sound-morphing.

“Mojave is the module that’s gotten me excited about patching again,” admits Andrew Ikenberry, alluding to its configurable dune CV/Gate output and more connectivity besides, before enthusiastically continuing towards a natural conclusion: “There is something to be said about designing individual aspects of a module, not fully knowing how each part will interact with another; as such, Mojave has created sounds that I’ve never heard before, and it’s this journey into the unknown that — as a designer — gives me the opportunity to sit down and discover every corner of this amazing device along with everyone else.”

Check with dealers on the right for availability.

The Synths of Jodorowsky's Dune (2014)

Jodorowsky's Dune (2014) - HD Trailer Published on Feb 14, 2014 Giles Thomas·70 videos

Update: please see this post for some unfortunate news regarding Kurt Stenzel.

Many of you I am sure are familiar with Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel Dune as well as the film adaptation by David Lynch in 1984 and the 2000 miniseries by John Harrison.  If you are not, see this article on Wikipedia and then head back.  Unknown to many, there was a planned film adaptation in 1973 by Alejandro Jodorowsky. It was to feature art by H. R. Giger (Aliens) and Jean Giraud, possibly music from Pink Floyd and Magma; the cast of actors was to include Salvador Dalí, Orson Welles, and Gloria Swanson.   The adaptation never made it due to financial reasons.  Jodorowsky's Dune (2014) is a documentary on the undertaking of the film that never was.

The film launches in the US today. You'll find the cities and dates and additional details on the film's website here: http://sonyclassics.com/jodorowskysdune/dates.html

As for the synth connection, the soundtrack was composed by Kurt Stenzel who reached out to me. I asked him if he could give us more info on the synths used in the soundtrack and particularly what we hear in the trailer. The following is what he had to say (scroll down to Specifically for this Trailer in red if you want to jump to what you are hearing in the trailer):

"I did this soundtrack using a rig that I have used for years in Cookin With Kurt, Beyond-o-Matic and SpacEKrafT.  Since I play out at events in San Francisco I go for as much analog goodness as I can carry- so these synths are throughout the movie.

I have an original Novation Bass Station with keys (it has a really unique filter in my opinion), a Dave Smith Tetra (HEAVY!), an Oberheim Matrix 1000 (god-like), and for the sake of portability, I do get into some of the more recent analog modellers that all have some merit- I have a MicroKorg 2, a Novation Xio 25, and a Quasimidi Sirius.

 In the 'digital that's special' I have TWO CZ101s (the synth I learned on when it was new) and a Yamaha TG-33 vector synth.

Larger analogs that are hard to gig with, include a Moog Source (don't cry, I got this for $40 on the street when analog was uncool) and a rather GRITTY MicroMoog, and the 'head' part of a Moog Taurus 2, and a very handy Roland Juno 6. I also used a Korg Poly 61 and a Korg Poly 800, as well as one studio session with a real Rhodes, a real Celeste (no joke it was the one you see Susan Dey play in Partridge Family episodes-- the studio owns THE one) and they also had a Roland String Machine. The Celeste and Rhodes didn't make it to the film though--Director Frank Pavich though they were 'too normal' Ha! .

I also use Casiotones quite a bit--an original MT-60 my Dad bought in Japan when they were really novel, and a Concertmate from Radio Shack. I mention the Conccertmate as I realized that sucker has appeared on EVERY recording I have ever done--some of the low bit string sounds are ethereal and I run that through effects. It's very beat up from 20 years of gigs. God bless Radio Shack.

I also have lots of effects and toys like the Bliptronic, the Buddha Box, old school Kaos pad, and I use my kids Nintendo DS's to sync up 3 programs on 3 DS devices. I also got a Korg Monotribe and the Korg Monotron. Toys are good.

I used some very low fi techniques for sound design too. Oh, and my buddy Dave Miranda recorded me on his Dave Smith Poly Evolver keyboard as a last minute thing in NY and it wound up being a crucial scene-- that required no overdubs or any treatments-- that thing sounds amazing.

Also noteworthy, I am a hardcore user of the Roland SP-808 for sound design. That has been a platform for me since it came out, so my zip discs were flying on this project.

There's about 9 minutes of SpacEKrafT music in this film as well- that is my duo with Edward Dahl here in San Francisco. Ed uses Ableton and plays guitar and we have lots of toys--Alesis Air Synth and Air Effects. I use my aforementioned rig in various settings with SpacEKrafT. I also played a fair amount of guitar on the soundtrack, as well as some vocalizations. Some screaming, which came natural as I am also the singer in NY band "Six and Violence". When I am not tinkling on the keys.

SPECIFICALLY on the TRAILER: Zero to :40 is a relatively rare Yamaha SS-30 which I think has become fetishized since Sigur Ros uses one. That thing is way fun, and I have to thank Peter Fuhry from Beyond-o-Matic for loaning me that and the MicroMoog for many years.

In the trailer, when you hear the arpeggiation kick in at :40, that's one of my favorite synths ever, the Matrix 1000. That thing is my secret weapon. I love it. I am using the arpeggiator on the Quasimidi Sirius (and playing) to drive and alter the pattern. I know Sirius keyboards are rare nowadays, glad I never got rid of it. I mean, it has real Kraftwerk demoss in it straight from Germany!

The loud "blast" at 1:37, no joke, is a 'thunder tube' which is basically a tube with a drum head and a reverb spring--I banged it and slid the whole tube over an omnidirectional mic running through pitch shifting and all kinds of stuff. Don't tell Hollywood!

Next in the trailer, the brass at 1:55 is the Quasimidi Sirius which has an amazing factory patch named 'Shine On' (Floyd was supposed to do the original Dune) so it was a great coincidence, as I feel that patch is very cinematic--I have been using it for years--sounds great in a club (or now a movie theater). I probably ran some analog under it, the Matrix 1000 and the Tetra just via MIDI. 

This whole project was done largely with a MIDI 8x splitter as I improvise and play, so to get the multiple textures and voices at once, I fire the whole rig up and play my mixer faders live to weave textures. I did NOT use any computer based sequencing, almost no overdubs-- the synths sound beautiful as their own voices.

I played and mostly recorded myself. I pulled all-nighters as I had a full time day job, 2 kids, a lovely fiancee and band gigs the whole time this was happening. Frank Pavich essentially typecast me as he knew I was such a fan of Jodorowsky, all things 70's and analog, etc. This was not just a soundtrack, it was already my own personal and spiritual journey with or without the movie.

One last story of gratitude- I was very intent on getting my hands on a REAL Yamaha CS-80 -- granted that was a little later than the 1975 time period of the documentary, but I love Eddie Jobson's 'Alaska' solo, and obviously Vangelis used it so well on Blade Runner. I was very envious that Daft Punk seemed to have one on the Tron soundtrack. I asked all around-I know synth people- I know the guys in Devo a little and their crew is really cool- they almost got me one. NO ONE had a working CS-80, not even in Los Angeles. One night I came on a YouTube Tutorial called 'Vangelis Bladerunner sound JUNO 60' and followed it and dialed up such a great sound from my good old Juno 6. So I want to THANK "magevers" whoever you are on YouTube. That to me is what the synth community is all about-- people who really have a keen interest and are WAY INTO THE SYNTHS. Like you Matrix Synth Jones, THANKS BROTHER- hope you get to see this movie-- Jodorowsky will blow your mind and you will want to go and CREATE ART!"

Can't wait.  Thank you Kurt!

Update: some links via Edward W. Dahl in the comments:

"I am co-captain of SpacEKrafT and you might have seen this video posted here on Matrixsynth a little over a year ago."

Music: www.soundcloud.com/spacekraft
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/myspacekraft

Update 4/13/2014:

Q&A with Dune Composer Kurt Stenzel

Published on Apr 8, 2014 hellspreetube·39 videos

"Q&A with Kurt Stenzel, soundtrack composer for "Jodorowsky's Dune," after a showing at One Embarcadero, San Francisco, CA, April 5, 2014.

http://www.kurtstenzel.com/
http://www.jodorowskysdune.com/"

via David Wilson-Okamura on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

Exploring X1L3 SHARD w/ Elektron Machine Drum

Published on Jan 1, 2019 Nostalgic Ruckus

"This is SHARD. Oh my… I’m using a kick from the Machine Drum and plugging it into Shard’s input. The creator Shane Williams aka X1L3 is known for his rather crazy circuit bent devices. I’m sure a lot of his past circuit bent work has inspired this. You get a very similar vibe when messing around with a circuit bent Casio or opening up some old 80s toy and diving into the unknown’s of it’s circuitry to create a box of wonder or mangled horror. The setup is Elektron’s Machine Drum output into Hexinverter’s Mutant Bassdrum’s distortion input then into Shard. The Machine drum’s kick was used instead of the Hexinverter due to needing a longer decay on the kick. The distortion output from the Mutant Bassdrum is then multiplied 3 times. One clean signal so you can hear the kick clean over Shard, one into Shard’s input, and one into Shard’s Atrophy input. The Atrophy input is more for control voltage but I have found plugging other sound sources into the cv inputs create some very interesting layers. There is some reverb then added at the end of the chain. If you are into noise or beat mangling Shard is one of those hidden gems."

Heavy Horses and the Vactrol Monsters

Published on Oct 29, 2012 by matt davis

"Recently I finished two builds: an LFO designed by me, and the amazing Buchla 292c "Low-Pass Gate" with PCB by Thomas White (panel by Clarke). Both devices feature vactrol inputs for CV control, which makes for some truly magical sounds; I definitely feel like I'm controlling unknown forces of nature when playing on these things."

MELODY ORACLE MUSICAL DIVINATION SYSTEM

video upload by A Magic Pulsewave

"NOW AVAILABLE

HEAR, IT IS: the production version of MELODY ORACLE, the first in a line of musical instruments from A MAGIC PULSEWAVE ESOTERIC ELECTRONICS. HAND-ASSEMBLED IN THE USA.

$333 + $15 shipping. Order via direct message or email a.m.puls@gmail.com.

MELODY ORACLE is a "musical pattern divination system" AKA "spirit organ" with a game board-style interface, and a MELORHYTHMIC pattern generation method not found on any other sequencer.

MELODY ORACLE is rhythmic, logical, and musical, yet is continually surprising and inspiring in its generations. The border of chaos and order. The meeting of known and unknown.

MELODY ORACLE can be used standalone as a COSMIC MUSIC RECEIVER, or interfaced as a melodic or rhythmic source in an existing electronic music setup. Tuning is completely variable.

The box includes a 14 page graphic instruction manual, a power supply, and 30 solid metal MELORHYTHMIC FUNNELS, used to resonate MELODY ORACLE with the MELORHYTHMIC WAVELENGTHS OF THE UNIVERSE.

Two eight-sided dice (included) can be used by any number of players to INVOKE THE ENDLESS SONG OF COSMIC ORDER AND CHAOS.

MELODY ORACLE has 8 multiturn fine tuners, a 1/4" audio line out and an "AMP LINK" port for interfacing with future AMP instruments and third-party synthesizer equipment.

9 units are available now for $333 each, and can be shipped in time for the holiday season. We expect to sell out of those. Preorders (with a $111 deposit) will be accepted after that and will be assembled and shipped within one month of the time of order.

A built-in speaker version (for more $) and kit version (for less $) are also available. Contact for more info.

The next release from AMP ESOTERIC ELECTRONICS will be a breakout box for triggering external/standard synthesizer equipment from MELODY ORACLE. Future harmonic accompaniment, amplification, light, and sound shaping devices are also in the works.

YOU ARE A CONDUIT FOR BRINGING THE METAPHYSICAL INTO THE PHYSICAL. THE FOCUSED MIND CRYSTALIZES MATERIAL.

LOVE, MAGIC, TRUTH, BEAUTY.

Info, user manual, and instructional videos at www.melodyoracle.com"

VirSyn Addictive microSynth Now Available

"Combines the synthesis power of Addictive Synth with an easy to use 4 track loop phrase recorder.

Get it now for the introductory price !

It was never so easy to create beautiful sounds and driving loops. The unique dynamic wavetable synthesis allows you to explore an unprecedented wide range of sonic territory. From acid loops, crystal clear percussions, realistic human choirs to complex musical soundscapes nothing seems impossible with only a handful parameters to tweak.


Together with the intelligent randomizer for both sounds and arpeggios you will loose any sense of time and space while exploring unknown sonic territories. Right from the beginning you'll understand why it's named Addictive.

Features:

4 track Loop recorder

• Live recording/playback of phrases divided in up to 4 tracks with unlimited overdubbing.
• Mute/Solo for each track.
• Paste loops from other music Apps in one of the 4 tracks.
• Loop length can be set from one to eight bars.

Dynamic wavetable synthesizer

• Six dynamic wavetable oscillators per voice, up to 48 total.
• Continous morphing between two oscillator sets.
• Realtime editing of up to 128 partials (overtones).
• Realtime editing of filter structure to create arbitrary body resonances.
• Extensive modulation possibilities using up to 4 LFOs and 4 Envelopes.
• Control matrix allows real time control of five parameters using the X/Y touch pad, the modulation wheel and the tilt sensors.
• MIDI Breath and Footcontroller recognized.
• Monophonic or polyphonic with 4 voices. ( 2 voices on older devices )
• 128 factory presets, unlimited user presets can be shared.
• Up to three effects concurrently usable selected from: equalizer, phaser, flanger, chorus and stereo/cross delay.

Live

• Play melodies live with onscreen keyboard pads. Drag fingers for slides and vibrato.
• Use a CoreMIDI compatible interface to play with a MIDI Keyboard.
• Musical scale setting makes for easy playing.

Full featured programmable Arpeggiator

• Uses programmable sequences with up to 32 steps.
• Can trigger single notes and chords.
• Unique randomizer generates Arpeggios with 100% usability.
• 32 Arpeggios included, unlimited user arpeggios possible.
• For each step you can program tie, accent, transposition and note order

Global

• Export loops as audio and midi files.
• Audio pasteboard for exchange with other Apps
• Exchange user presets with File Sharing in iTunes."

Addictive microSynth - VirSyn
iPod Touch on eBay