Yamaha Dx7 II FD Grey Matter E! SN 4950

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yousenditworks

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Roland TB-303

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"* Auction includes: Roland TB-303 with replaced Alps pushbutton switches, dust guard installed and upper six knobs remounted about 1.5mm higher
* Original Roland grey & orange faux leather carry case / gig bag
* Bound copy of the TB-303 manual
* Choice of official Roland/Boss power supply (choice from Boss models PSA-240 (brand new and made in China), PSA-220, ACA-120G and ACA-220 (the latter three being used and all being made in Japan)
* Energizer Ultra C cell batteries x4

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Roland TB-303 Devil Fish w/ MIDI in Aluminum Case

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"Serial #178, Version v.4.0B

In December 2003 I purchased my very first TB-303 via Peter Forrest’s VEMIA auction, it was immaculate and functionality perfect. In the next couple of years I purchased several TB’s, but it was clear that the first was the nicest, and so, in 2005, I sent it off to Robin Whittle to undergo the Devil Fish treatment.

In a stroke of luck, I happened to be lucky enough to acquire one of the revered and totally gorgeous alu cases that Martin Rothlisberger designed in his spare time and sent this to Australia so that Robin could built the Devilfish into it.

The fitment into the case is a very tricky affair, they are carved from solid blocks of aluminium by a computer, and thus super accurate; the problem lies in the TB itself, which hailing from the 80’s is not so accurate! Some of the potentiometer positions can subtly vary, and there are other pitfalls, for example the wires can get pinched in different places. This TB has been fitted to the highest standards possible. There are crazy aspects to it, like 2 by 2 carbon fibre washers, an even larger capacity lithium battery than the one Robin uses as stock for the bank memory back up and the rear of the case attaches via precision machined titanium bolts. It’s a functioning piece of design / art.

Robin strikes me as the classic genius engineer and in implementing the modification, I guess his priority is in making sure everything works, not necessarily whether it looks beautiful. As a result, I have expertly implemented a host of cosmetic amendments myself to make things like the LED’s shine more attractively, the knobs sit at a comfortable height and, perhaps most practically, I have implemented a delightfully simple but important idea that buffers the main PCB board, in the event that the machine ever falls face flat, which due to the design by Roland, does leave the machine quite susceptible to a cracked PCB. Some of the ideas I have shared with Robin (to his interest!), others I have not as yet, but I suspect he and other TB enthusiasts would find them interesting, if not a touch obsessive :-)

As the numerous pedantic personal touches might indicate, I never foresaw parting with this machine, but am contemplating it primarily for two reasons, I have another Devil Fish (non MIDI version) so I wouldn’t miss this one all that much, principally I am interested to acquire something entirely different for my studio, which would entail raising the necessary funds.

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Buchla 250e Easy Sequence Basic Setup.

Published on Jan 27, 2013 genxtargetmarket·49 videos
Left channel audio on this one.

"This video demonstrates how to setup an initial patch that will program the 250e to function as a traditional step sequencer. If you feel lost or that your 250e isn't working correctly, set it up in the following manner:

1) Set all 16 stages to "ADV" Mode. Located near the green and red "Stop" and "Start" Buttons.
2) Set all 16 stages to the same "Time Range". The button just above step 16's outer knob. If the LEDs are off then you are in MIDI clock mode and you MUST send MIDI clock to 225e. You MUST have a 225e in order to translate any MIDI into something that the 200e can use.
3) Set all 16 stages so that the inner ring of smaller blue knobs are pointing in the same direction. It doesn't matter if they are all to the right (like in this video) or all straight up or all to the left. Just set them the same in order to rule out any errors and to make things simple.
4) Make certain that you are in EDIT mode and program at least a few steps so that Pulse 1 fires from time-to-time.
5) Connect the 250e's CV 1 blue output to the black CV input jack on a principal oscillator of your choosing. I'm using a 259e in this video.
6) Turn this oscillator's SMALL blue "CV in" knob all of the way up
7) Turn this oscillator's LARGE blue "Pitch" knob all the way down and to the left.
8) Patch this oscillator's output to a channel on your 292e. This is one of the jacks at the BOTTOM of the 292e panel. The professional studio patchbay standard is Outputs over Inputs and Buchla adhere to this standard.
9) The 250e's Pulse 1 output should go to a channel of your 281e Quad Function Generator. MAKE CERTAIN THAT the 281e channel is in 'triangle' (Attack/Decay) mode. This is the one grey button at the left side of the 281e panel.
10) Set the Attack of the 281e completely to to the left
11) Set the Decay of the 281e to at least .01 or somewhere around 9 o'clock. You may have to play with this setting depending upon how fast you've set the 250e clock. If it is too short (all the way to the left) it is very possible that you won't open the 292e channel and no audio will pass.
12) Patch the BLUE output of this 281e channel to the black input of the 292e channel that you are using in step # 8 of this description.
13) Patch the output of this 292e channel to the input of your 227e, 206e, 207e or monitoring system. The output is either of the 2 audio jacks that correspond to the channel you selected to use in step # 8
14) Set the channel of the 292e to Low Pass Gate (LPG) mode. This is indicated when both green LEDs are 'off' for that channel.

15) Test the signal flow by turning the blue offset knob on the channel that you've selected in step #8. Make sure that you can see signal metering on your 227e, 206e or 207e. If there isn't any, make certain that the input channel on your 227e, 206e or 207e is turned up. If you are using headphones, slowly turn up the level on them once you see signal metering. If you are using speakers and a 227e, you must turn up the Master Volume of A&B outputs or C&D outputs. This depends upon how you've connected the rest of your monitoring chain to the 227e. The 227e's Master Outputs are the larger white knobs above input channel #4's large blue knob.

16) Turn the 292e's blue knob back down. Push the green "Start/Adv" button on the 250e. You should hear your sequence."

Minimoog Change List - Minimoog Versions

via Brian Kehew of The MOOG Cookbook:

"Minimoog MODEL "D" Changes:

At first look, all Minimoogs seem alike. It seems that the Minimoog is something unchanging that we all know and recognize. They are similar to each other, but there are many features that changed over time. You may already be aware of a few differences, but most people will be surprised at how many variations there really are.

One of my main goals for this site was this very page: to show the developments in the main Minimoog design (MODEL D), and give an idea when the changes happened. To my knowledge, this type of listing has not been done for the Minimoog. Once you see it - you should be able to tell what is "original" on a Minimoog. In some cases, you will even be able to guess a Minimoog's serial number quite closely after only a quick glance! Like "trainspotting" (identifying nearly identical trains by small distinguishing features) this is trivial, but fun.
The process was simple - I compiled a database of over 100 Minimoogs. By asking owners detailed questions, I was able to determine the commmon developments. Cross-referencing this data to known dates of production, it becomes easier to see WHEN things might have happened. Note: This is by no means foolproof, and there are individual Mini's that do not fit the pattern. For now, we will assume that they are mutants/modifieds, and simply note the main trends.
The Changes:
Read through these links first, so you will be familiar with the details. Then, I have arranged a timeline of the changes below for clarity. In the future, I will have photos of the changes, a helpful visual reference...

* The Badge
* The Factories
* The Front Panel
* Graphics
* Wheels
* Left-Hand Switches
* Panel Switches
* Oscillators
* Octave Buffer Board
* Rear Cover
* Power Cable
* Pointer Knobs
* The Wood Case


* The Questions used to make the database.
* TIMELINE of Changes

THE BADGE

(This is the "logo plate" above the keyboard that identifies the company)

* R. A. Moog: When the company began making synths (1964/65), this was the name, carried over from Bob's Theremin business. This metal nameplate is only found on the earliest Minimoogs from (late) 1970 through 1971.
* Moog/Musonics: After Waytena bought the R.A.Moog company, it was merged with Musonics (his own company) and the Minimoogs from this brief period (1971) bear this name. A metal plaque.
* Moog Music Inc. After Moog was sold to Norlin/CBS in 1972, this became the name that would remain until the last Minimoogs were made. MOST Minimoogs have this plate, a vinyl material.

THE FACTORIES

(Moog had several plants during Minimoog production, relatively close to each other in upstate New York)

* Trumansburg: The original factory, built Minimoogs from late 1970 through 1971.
* Williamsville: after the Musonics purchase, operated from March 1971 to 1977.
* Buffalo: a much larger plant, made Minimoogs from 1977 to 1981

THE FRONT PANEL

(Construction of the front panel behind the knobs)

* Metal - A thin sheet of smooth aluminum.
* Metal with Plastic - same as above, but with a thin clear sheet of plastic to cover/protect it.
* Plastic - a heavier vinyl/plastic panel, with a textured surface.

GRAPHICS

(This is the silkscreened labelling on the front panel)

* "VOL." - the earliest Minimoogs (metal and metal/plastic panel) have different designs. The time settings are marked in seconds, the Osc.2 & 3 fine tune knobs have cents/100 divisions, and the Volume knobs say "VOL."
* "Volume" - the design used on all vinyl panel Minimoogs: the knobs say "VOLUME", the times are in divisions from 1 to 10, and the Osc. 2 & 3 tunings knobs are incremented from +/-1 to +/-7.

WHEELS

(On the left-hand modulation section, the wheels and switches underwent a few developments)

* Clear Wheels: the earliest design, a beautiful look.
* Solid White Wheels: same shape as before, but in an opaque white plastic.
* Serrated White Wheels: These have ridged, wavy edges for better gripping.

# Clear Lighted Wheels: same shape as early clear wheels, but with internal lights to show them off. Only on the last series of 25 "presentation" Minimoogs.

LEFT-HAND SWITCHES

* Decay/Glide switches are Red Momentary pushbuttons on the earliest R.A.Moog Mini's. This may be to make the instrument more "performance oriented" as the sound can "change" easier with momentary switches.
* White Mini-toggle switches. Some early R.A.Moog instruments have small toggle switches (NOT momentary) for Decay and Glide. On some, this appears to be a retrofit, as it would be more usable than the buttons. On most, this looks like the original factory issue design.
* White Rocker switches; the standard white plastic rocker switches found on almost all Mini's. Begins during the R.A.Moog period and remains until the last.

PANEL SWITCHES

(These are the colored rocker switches used all across the front control panel for modulation, the mixer, etc.)

* Blue and Orange - the most common color scheme - almost all Minimoogs have this setup. In case you never noticed, Blue is for audio routing, Orange is for modulation routing.
* All White - very few Mini's have this, but there are a few known examples, mostly early Mini's. It looks quite good, actually.
* All Black switches - again, another variation that seems to be original. The factory had them around, as the Power Switch is usually Black. This also looks very cool!
* All Blue - there are rumoured Mini's with all-blue switches (makes sense - it would have been EASY to do at the factory). At least one prototype had this.

OSCILLATORS

(This is an important and controversial point for some Minimoog owners. The Oscillators were changed, at least a few times, in order to make the Minimoog more reliable)

* R.A.Moog - these are the Oscillator circuit boards for the earliest Minimoogs. There may be only about 100 made with these boards - they have "RAMOOG" written on the circuit board itself. The do sound different than the later oscillators, but are relatively harder to keep in tune.
* "Old Oscillators" - a term that is somewhat misleading now that we know about the RAMoog boards! However, most people consider these to be the first half of Minimoog production, almost 6,000 of them made, so they are often called "older oscillators". They are relatively stable, except when switching Octave settings.
On the back panel, one can see a set of 7 small calibration holes behind the Oscillators. This is true for most RAMoog and "Older" Oscillators.
* "New Oscillators" - these were specifically designed to keep the Minimoog in tune, a big complaint for the many performers using the older oscillators. The new oscillators have 17 trim holes on the back panel. They allow for especially precise calibration on the high frequencies, and have the Octave Buffer (see below). Moog began these with #10175 to the end, but many earlier ones have had these retrofitted.

OCTAVE BUFFER BOARD

Apparently, not many people know about this. The Octave Buffer Board is a FACTORY modification to correct a design flaw in the original Minimoog: When Oscillators were switched between octaves, they would often go out of tune. This small board was added inside the Minimoog just under the top edge (behind the Oscillator section, and mounted to the metal with two small black screws)

Beginning with serial number #5000, this was done on ALL Minimoogs from the factory. I have seen MANY of the earlier units (before #5000), already retrofitted by the factory or factory-authorized service centers. When the Minimoog was sent in for calibration, new oscillators, repair, etc., it would have been added as a matter of course. It's a very GOOD modification to have done and will not affect the value of your instrument. It will, in fact, increase the value, as your Mini will definitely be better with it. (It is possible that the early RAMoog oscillators do not need this modification - we're looking into it)

REAR COVER

(This is the removable aluminum cover on the back of the Minimoog)

* Bent - on the R.A.Moog Minimoogs, the aluminum is a flat panel bent into a box shape. It has an open seam where the sides join.
* Welded - on all later Minimoogs, this cover was welded at the seams, to prevent dirt from entering the electronics section (a good idea!)

POWER CABLE

(The power cable changed several times during production)

* The R.A.Moog Minimoogs have power cables that enter to the Left of the Accessory jacks (when looking from behind). 2 prongs (no ground) and usually brown.
* When the Minimoog was made with the new "Moog/Musonics" badge, the power cable moves to the Right of the accessory jacks. It was originally brown, 2 prong. This is also true for early "Moog Music" Minimoogs.
* Later, it became 3 prong, in black or gray.

POINTER KNOBS

(An interesting (but rarely noticed) change in the Minimoogs)

* Most Minimoogs have standard pointer knobs - where one end is pointed and the other end is wide.
* There is a specific period in 1974 where Minimoogs have different pointer knobs, where both ends are the same shape. This may be due to a shortage at the factory, or to keep down costs (Note: these same pointer knobs are found later on the Micromoog and Multimoog). However, they ARE original from this period - many people will assume they have been changed.

WOOD CASE

(An obvious difference, very visible. I'm no expert on woods so I'm going to look into this with an expert. There are a LOT of different styles, some just variations on wood stain or color. Here are the basics)

* Early Minimoogs have dark brown walnut casings, rumoured to have been cut from trees on Bob Moog's property. They are not stained or laquered.
* The next series of Minimoogs seem to have a dark Mahogany wood, also unstained.
* Later, the Minimoog came in a "butterscotch" colored stain, over an light-colored unnamed wood.These will be slightly glossy.
* Finally, the Minimoog came in a wood with very dark brown stain, almost as thick as paint. It's not as natural-looking as earlier Minimoogs, but ALL Minimoogs are beautiful!




These are the questions that were asked of Minimoog owners. These are basic changes (mostly external) that help us identify any Minimoog. (I will get into more detail about the internal changes at a later date)

* Serial number ?
* Front plate - RAMoog, Musonics, or Moog Music?
* Casing - unfinished walnut, light maple (butterscotch), or dark stain mahogany?
* Front panel - metal, metal w/ clear plastic coat, smooth plastic, rough plastic?
* Factory - Trumansburg, Williamsville, Buffalo?
* Wheels - clear, smooth white, serrated (rippled) white, lighted clear?
* Panel engraving - "VOL" or "VOLUME"?
* Decay/Glide switches - momentary red buttons, white rocker, (other)?
* Panel switches - orange/blue, all black, or all white?
* On the top edge (behind the wood, just above the Oscillator knobs) are there two small (black) screws?
* Number of calibration holes in back panel? (total)
* Power cable (looking from the REAR) - right or left of Accessory jacks? - brown, grey, or black? - 2 or 3 prong?
* IF there are paper assembly tags inside - what is the date?"

M-Audio Venom Review and Interview with Product Manager Taiho Yamada

A quick note: This review is long. You can jump to sections that interest you vs. reading it straight through if you prefer. This review focuses primarily on the synth engine for one single patch on the Venom. The Venom supports Multi mode with up to four multitimbral parts. Not only can you layer sound programs but you can set global parameters for the set. Be sure to see the Multi mode section of "Tips and Tricks via Taiho Yamada" at the end of this post. Taiho is the Lead Project Manager of the Venom and served as my contact during the review. I want to thank Taiho for his help and enthusiastic generosity. He is a true synthesist and the Venom is his baby.

Synth connections: Taiho previously worked at Alesis on the Andromeda A6. The DSP developer of the Venom worked on Radikal Technologies' Spectralis and the Accelerator. People that contributed to the presets via sound design include Richard Devine, Francis Preve, Mark Ovenden (Avid's AIR Instruments, ProTools VIs), Joerg Huettner (Waldorf, Access, Alesis), and of course Taiho Yamada.

*Don't miss the "Q&A with Taiho" section towards the end of the review. Also keep an eye out for "Taiho's Tips and Tricks" throughout the review in grey. You can find the consolidated list below the Q&A section.

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Waldorf Microwave XT Non-Nextel Orange Desktop Wavetable Synth

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"Whats the difference with the Nextel versions? Most Microwave XT versions have that crappy Nextel paint which decays very naughty (gets sticky, flaky, dirty and grey-ish) over time and this can't be fixed anymore. The surface on the edition listed keeps the strong orange colour, has texture and is non-sticky/grease collecting/decaying/falling apart etc. You will end up with something that will never look good anymore. Its just a matter of time.

You can recognise this rare Non-Nextel Microwave easy: it doesn't have the plastic display cover (but green painted elips around the display instead and best of all: it looks super fresh orange, doesn't feel sticky and doesn't peel off just like that. Just compare this one with the other XT's offered.

Also the (on all units) decaying original knobs are replaced for the beautiful Waldorf Q knobs, they look better and don't fall apart over time. So this XT is ready for the future."

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