Supporting MATRIXSYNTH, Posting Guidelines & MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS

[Update: Made some minor updates to the support page including a new perk for anyone who donates $10 per month or more.]

Hi everyone! I'll keep this short. If you enjoy the site please consider supporting it. If you are on PayPal and can afford just $1 a month you are good to go. You'll find details here: http://www.matrixsynth.com/p/support-matrixsynth.html. Note a Patreon account is no longer required, and there are some perks for those who sign up, including the ability to list items for free on MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS.  The classifieds site is back open for supporting members of the site!

As for posting guidelines, you'll find them here:

http://www.matrixsynth.com/p/how-to-post-on-matrixsynth.html

I continue to get requests for posts outside of the posting guidelines, so this post will go up on the 1st of the month moving forward as a reminder.

The Packrat Comes to MATRIXSYNTH!

I'm happy to announce that starting with the December issue, The Packrat has found a new home here on MATRIXSYNTH!

The Packrat has been featured on MATRIXSYNTH many times in the past (and of course the MATRIXSYNTH Packrat on the right has been a staple of the site since 2006), but now it will be a bit more official. You'll find some words from Dave, the creator of The Packrat, below.

But first, click the image for the full size comic. You can find previous issues on Dave's Packrat site here, and be sure to check out The Packrat Book! It's a great bit of synth history and it makes a great stocking stuffer. MATRIXSYNTH and a few other names in the synth community are featured in the book.

Regarding the future of The Packrat, Dave has the following to say:

"The Packrat is by all accounts among the smallest, most niche-y comic strips in the entire universe. Nevertheless, it has its fans, and just in case they have any curiosity, they are owed the backstory of the events of the past few months.

I came back from my August, 2014 camping trip through the Canadian back woods with a hot, steaming case of Lyme Disease (I'm fine now!). I was covered in a rash for several weeks and ended up submitting one comic strip too late for print. The following month, specifics too unexciting in which to delve (exclusively involving the publication's administration, going higher than Keyboard Magazine itself) created problematic logistics preventing the print of the next two installments.

I bear the magazine itself no ill will at all, and consider the matter unfortunate only for the fans who had perhaps thought that the Packrat had been retired (by me or the mag). Indeed, those of its followers who are wise enough to follow it on Facebook or my own personal art site umop.com have been able to see monthly synth-tastic adventures at the usual periodic times, so hopefully the notion that the Packrat went to Synth Heaven wasn't too widespread.

Comic strips are trifles in this world, and this one is damn near the, uh... trifliest? So the details about how this strip gets made surely must consist of the silliest orts of minutiae ever to cross anyone's plate. But here they are anyway, every last crumb of them.

Anyway, inasmuch as the break from the magazine was unintentional on the part of everyone directly involved with its creation, I'm using the resultant reality of things as an excuse to move onward with the Packrat. It will now be available online on all the aforementioned sites, and Matrixsynth has agreed to be the exclusive first link to it every month (and possibly, in installments of a more timely fashion!). Neither he nor I are currently making any money at all from any of this; we're both in it for synth-love alone right now (and for me, exceedingly rare book sales). While I was formerly earning enough for a couple of tanks of gas a pop from the magazine (and was lucky to get it in this economy), even that modest honorarium will be gone.

This comic strip has somehow survived ten years of life come February, and I have no plans of slowing down any time soon. In order to help keep it going, I plan on setting up a Patreon page this week. I would consider even $100 per month a major victory, since that would at least cover its own dodeca-annual creation. Details about the page will follow once it's all set up.

Thanks for reading the Packrat comic! Enjoy this first Matrixsynth-exclusive episode, featuring an appropriately green synth to start off the maiden voyage."

The 1st Patreon Supporters of MATRIXSYNTH!

Just wanted to give big out a shout out to the first Patreon supporters of MATRIXSYNTH listed below.  Thank You!  Your support is appreciated!

1. Tim Webb - host of the excellent discchord site for Music App News, Reviews & Tutorials. You'll also find him on Patreon, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and MATRIXSYNTH.

2. Dr Blankenstein - maker of awesome gear: http://www.drblankenstein.com/, YouTube, Twitter, eBay, MATRIXSYNTH.

3. rosynth on eBay

4. Todd Barton - YouTube, Vimeo, SoundCloud, MATRIXSYNTH

5. John Fackler

6. Retro Synth Ads - best resource on the web for scans of vintage synth brochures & adverts.

7. Cody Gratner - YouTube, MATRIXSYNTH: 1,2

8. mckenic - YouTube, MATRIXSYNTH

9. Porter Vance - SoundCloud, Mixlr, eBay

10. Robert Watt

MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS is Back - Site Issues Resolved

In case you had difficulty accessing the classifieds site or MATRIXSYNTH today, everything should be good now.  I was testing some site redirects late last week and apparently messed things up.  I host MATRIXSYNTH on Blogger and the Classifieds site on a separate server.  To have matrixsynth.com go to Blogger and matrixsynth.com/classifieds as well as classifieds.matrixsynth.com go to the classifieds site, there is some trickery involved.  That said, everything should be fixed now.  If not, try clearing your cache and/or reloading your browser.  I actually had to restart my phone to get it to clear.  Apologies for the mishap.  Be sure to check out MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS for the latest listings!

MATRIXSYNTH-B

Update: I decided to not include the Matrixsynth posts on Matrixsynth-B after all. I looks like crap and you end up having to weed between them, so... All auction posts will be different between the two.

In light of me wanting to capture both the jaw droppers and to some, the mundane that comes across the bay, I've decided to create Matrixsynth-B for the "b-sides" of auction posts here. The "B" is also a take on "the Bay." The site will be limited to auction posts only, so if that's not your "schtick," you can skip it. I will continue to put up auction posts here as usual, however, anything I am on the fence with will go up on Matrixsynth-B. Note that the criteria for an auction to go up here are any combination of great shots, interesting details, or the rarest of the rare. So, if you are into the auction posts, do check out the B-sides now and then as some interesting items will come up that might not meet the three criteria. I will not link to auctions here, on Matrixsynth-B just to reduce redundancy.

I'm also going to open B up to submissions, so if you have something listed that you want me to post, send it my way, but.... send it at the start of your auction so it's not too late. The turn around times might be slower as my main focus is MATRIXSYNTH. And the new site... it's B-lue.

Matrixsynth by...

Matrixsynth by underface (original image)


Matrixsynth by Shepitology


Matrixsynth by Frederic - Being and X-Men fan, I was surprised and happy to see this one. : )


Matrixsynth by Javier

Yamaha DX100


Waldorf Microwave XT


Waldorf Microwave PC Editor


Clavia Nord Modular


Kurzweil K2000S


Ensoniq ESQ-m

BTW, I want give a HUGE THANKS to everyone who took the time to create and submit these. There have been a total of 47 shots so far. I know how busy things can get, so the fact that you took the time out to one, create the patch/name, two, take a shot of it, and three, send it in is really flattering. I thank everyone privately in email, but I just wanted to say THANKS again in public. I said it in my one year anniversary post and I'll say it again, the contributions by the readers of this site really do add to it. Running the site by myself can be overwhelming with a day job and a family to take care of, so stuff like this really makes it worth it.

As for any of you that think these Matrixsynth by... posts are a bit too much, I will start putting up one post a day with all Matrixsynth by... shots. I'm also guessing over time the number that come in will naturally go down, but I do welcome people to feel free to send these in whenever they feel like it. It would be cool to see one come in a month after they stop. Thanks again. matrix

1st Shot of the MATRIXSYNTH Baseball Cap In the Wild

You might remember the pic of the MATRIXSYNTH trucker hat. Here's the first of the MATRIXSYNTH baseball cap donned by MATRIXSYNTH Member, Joel Braverman (SoundCloud, YouTube, Twitter), along with a MATRIXSYNTH T-Shirt of course.

via Joel:

"Red vs Blue guitar-synths & MatrixSynth swag (pic), Casio MG-510, Roland G-300 & gr-505, also in pic because I'm running out of room for it all, k5000s and Mininova.

Nothing recorded yet with these two wonderful instruments though, soon.

And of course, thanks for the awesome hat!"

Huge THANK YOU to Joel, and all MATRIXSYNTH Members, for supporting the site! It helps in more ways than you know!

Update: second pic added with the blue Roland G-505 guitar synth controller.

Just Music - Hamburg - MATRIXSYNTH T Sighting!

YouTube Uploaded by MR2201963 on Nov 10, 2011

"While in Germany for my ADR Surgery, my brother and I took the IC Train to Hamburg, and I found Just Music store... huge facility, and lots of great product in store... here's just a quick sample of whats there... Great staff..."

via Mark on Facebook. Thank you Mark!

Update: Link added the the MATRIXSYNTH T Hall of Fame and I created a new MATRIXSYNTH Bling label for these. I went with MATRIXSYNTH Bling instead of MATRIXSYNTH Ts to cover MATRIXSYNTH magnet and cards as well. There's quite a few posts up so be sure to check out the label below.

Hohner Stringvox Repair Notes

This one is in via supporting member, zasm.earth.

"I completed a repair of a Hohner Stringvox (ELEX K2) revision 3 Piano & Strings keyboard, and have posted an extensive, technical, multi-page article on the subject, with pictures and new schematics. If anyone’s interested they can have a look, starting at:

https://zasm.earth/hohner-stringvox-repair-notes-1

Different K2 versions have previously been mentioned at:

https://www.matrixsynth.com/2008/01/hohner-stringvox.html

https://www.matrixsynth.com/2009/03/hohner-roland-string-vox-arp-string.html

https://www.matrixsynth.com/2011/09/1970s-hohner-stringvox-string-vox.html

https://www.matrixsynth.com/2014/07/rare-italian-elex-vintage-analog.html

https://www.matrixsynth.com/2019/09/hohner-string-vox-super-rare-string.html

https://www.matrixsynth.com/2021/06/elex-k2-1970s-rare-italian-vintage.html"

WTB Roland Bag for MC-202 on MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS

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

via MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS

"I am looking for a Roland bag like this one, shown in this matrixsynth post from may 2012"

If you have or know of one, help a fellow MATRIXSYNTHer out!

Note this is the first wanted to by post on MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS and MATRIXSYNTH for that matter. I created a new WTB channel label below for any future posts that come in.

Remember, anything synth related posted there gets a post here on MATRIXSYNTH as well.

Please Consider Supporting the Site

If you enjoy the site and have the means, please consider supporting the site for as little as $2 a month or a one-time donation. You can find details on how to support the site here: https://www.matrixsynth.com/p/support-matrixsynth.html.

Supporting the site currently helps keep it pop-up-ad free. You might notice intrusive pop-up and video ads on other sites. I'd like to keep MATRIXSYNTH free of such ads, however, if not enough support comes in, I may have to enable them at some point. This site is a full-time job, so every bit of support helps.

If you are a manufacturer, maker, or anyone who profits from having your products and videos promoted here on MATRIXSYNTH, please consider supporting the site. Every post that features your content promotes your content.

Supporting members are also able to submit their synth content for posts. Please note not everything goes up, however. I try to keep the site free from politics, hate, and discrimination, and only synth content goes up. No offense to other gear, but this site is exclusively about synths. Also, please do not support the site if your intent is to promote another site. This site is about this site and the content featured on it. It's ideal for people promoting sample packs that demonstrate specific synths, or people making videos showcasing various synths and modules. Just skip through posts to get an idea of what's featured here on MATRIXSYNTH. Finally, supporting the site would allow me to cut back on auction posts by limitting them to suporting member listings, sponsors, and only the rarest of the rare synth items.

That said, thank you to all of my current supporters and sponsors! Running this site takes a ton of work in more ways than one. As the saying goes, it can be impossible to make everyone happy. You are so appreciated and help keep the site going.

Update: Thank you for everyone donating. For the one-off donations, shoot me an email at matrixsynth @ gmail.com, or leave a comment below if you'd like to be added to the support page.  I don't share email aliases w/o permission for privacy reasons, so let me know what alias to list.  If you prefer not to be listed and just want to make a donation, thank you! 

MATRIXSYNTH-P

Update: it looks like there is enough interest for MATRIXSYNTH-P to launch. If anyone is interested in a post, send email to matrixsynthp@gmail.com. Note anyone is welcome to post including dealers and manufacturers. Remember, P is extra and does not change anything on M, B, or C. They will continue on as usual.

Original post:
Quick question: Is anyone interested in a paid listing site? Currently M is about synth spotting, B is auction overflow, and C is music from readers of the site. P would be a paid listings site for private items for sale, upcoming gigs, or for promoting/posting whatever you want for that matter. It would be very similar in format to M, B and C with some key differences. Aside from being a paid listings site, the right would be dedicated to premium listings, and there would be a header section on top to filter by category. You can see an empty template here: MATRIXSYNTH-P. How much would a post cost? $3 per post and $5 for a premium post which would also get placement on the right of the site and go up on MATRIXSYNTH Twitter and Facebook. All posts will go up in a section on the top right of M, B, and C. This could change to premium posts only depending on how much goes up. Why charge for it? I'm busy enough on M, B and C. P would be extra and I think people could find it useful in selling items, putting up want ads, and promoting gigs and other things. And of course it helps support the time it takes to run all sites. Note, M, B and C would remain the same and posts on P could make it to M, B or C if they meet the criteria. Also posts previously featured on M could be re-posted on P if paid for. If you think you might be interested in using the new site's services please vote.




To post on P you would submit the following for review to matrixsynthp@gmail.com:

1. Title: Title you want for your post.
2. Body: Text you want in the body of the post.
3. Media: images or links to video and/or audio (you will need to host them yourself on SoundCloud, YouTube, Vimeo or other). Images can be hosted on P and videos and audio can be embedded using any of the services mentioned.
4. email contact info if necessary (for items for sale). The email alias (not the full address) can be used as a label for the post. This will allow sellers to build a reputation and allow buyers to filter posts by sellers to review feedback left in comments.

Note listings would be similar to Criagslist in that they are 100% between the buyer and seller. MATRIXSYNTH assumes no responsibility and cannot vouch for either the buyer or seller. The site will be a simple paid listings site. However, you will be able to review and leave comments in posts and you will be able to filter by seller alias labels. Of course any bad seller can just create a new alias and email address, but this would be the same on other sites.

Although you can submit anything for a post, there will be a bar including no hate, discrimination, illegal file sharing and the like. The bar will be pretty open to start though, as it would be interesting to see what sort of things come in. The best way to find out if it meets the bar is to send it in. If you have something you want to go up now, by all means, do send it in. It just takes one post to get it started and you could be the first.

"I Dream Of Wires" & MATRIXSYNTH - Modular Pic of the Week Contest

"'I Dream Of Wires: The Modular Synthesizer Documentary' is an upcoming film documenting the history and revival of modular synthesizers. You can read about the project, and view the in-progress trailer, over at the film's IndieGoGo fund raising page, here. From the IDOW Facebook page: 'If you haven't had time to check out our campaign - please do! It's essentially a DVD / soundtrack / T-Shirt / etc pre-order, and your early contributions really help us to move forward and solidify our plans.'

For the next 30 weeks, IDOW and MATRIXSYNTH will be co-presenting a modular synthesizer photo of the week contest. The photos will be judged by Robert Fantinatto (IDOW director), Jason Amm (IDOW producer, Ghostly International recording artist Solvent), and MATRIXSYNTH. Every Sunday night, from Oct 30 to May 20, the latest photo of the week winner will be posted here on MATRIXSYNTH. At the end of the 30 weeks, the Top5 photos will be selected.

What do the 'photo of the week' winners get?:
- Complimentary 'I Dream of Wires' DVD (upon film's release).
- Not only will your photo be posted to MATRIXSYNTH, you will also get an accompanying 50 words + 1 website link, to describe & promote your musical/photographic work.
- The photo + accompanying text/URL will also be included on the 'I Dream Of Wires' DVD release, as part of a bonus-feature photo gallery.
- Top5 winners: One of these photos will be selected as an official IDOW T-shirt design, and all 5 will be printed as a postcard set. T-Shirts and postcard sets are available as part of IDOW's IndieGoGo fund raising packages. Top5 winners will also receive a complimentary T-Shirt + postcard set.

Rules and considerations:
- Maximum 3 submissions per person. 1 photo submission per email. Please note that all submissions will remain in the pool of photos, for consideration throughout the contest.
- All digital files must be 5 megabytes or smaller, must be in JPEG or JPG format, and must be at least 1,600 pixels wide (if a horizontal image) or 1,600 pixels tall (if a vertical image).
- Modular synthesizer hardware only. Semi-modular synth hardware is also acceptable as long as there is evidence of some cross-patching.
- Photos will be judged on artistic/aesthetic merit - not on how large/rare the modular is or who it belong(s)/(ed) to.

People are invited to submit photos, via email to modular@idreamofwires.org. You must include the following information in the body of your email submission:
(1) Your name / photo credit.
(2) Please copy and paste the following text: 'I confirm that I am the photographer or the holder of the copyrights of this property. I am allowing 'I Dream of Wires: The Modular Synthesizer Documentary' and MATRIXSYNTH use of this property.'
(3) Title of the photo (optional).
(4) Brief bio and description of your musical &/or photographic work. 50-words maximum (optional).
(5) URL (optional)."

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope it's a great one! 

Putting this post up between the cross over as I need to sign off for the festivities!

First of all, I'd like to say THANK YOU! for a great 2011! It was a busy one here in MATRIXSYNTH land.  The site had a record breaking 18755 posts (including this one) for the year.  That's an average of 51.38 posts every single day (not a single day missed, BTW).  I'm hoping to actually bring that number down a little. Before anyone freaks out, I'm not planning on changing much.  I plan on keeping MATRIXSYNTH exactly the same with the exception of raising the bar on what goes up just a little.   I think enough change happens in life and it's nice to have some constants you can fall back on.  I'm hoping MATRIXSYNTH continues to be one for you.   It's odd to think it's only been six and a half years!  I hope to keep the site going for many more to come.   As for bringing the number of posts down and a little history on the site...

CLICK FOR MORE »

Become a Member of MATRIXSYNTH! - Free MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS Listings, T-Shirts & More!

How do you become a member? Sign up here. Members of the site get the following benefits:

- Free listings on MATRIXSYNTH CLASSIFIEDS
- Free auction posts on the main site (synths only, 1 post per listing)
- Free music posts on the main site - you can submit and promote your music!
- Free MATRIXSYNTH T-Shirt, cards & magnet for those that sign up for $5 a month or more.
- Knowing you are an active supporter and contributor of the site!

You also get listed on the MATRIXSYNTH Member Page with links. If you prefer to be anonymous you can request not to be listed or use an alias.

If you do not need any of the benefits but want to sign up and contribute anyway, please do!

Remember, MATRIXSYNTH is free and will continue to be free, so please don't see this as a guilt call for contributions. Only contribute if you feel like it and only contribute what you wouldn't mind missing. If, however, you use the site to promote yourself by submitting posts, please consider contributing to a site that supports you in return.

Four Years of MATRIXSYNTH!

Today marks the four year anniversary of MATRIXSYNTH. First off I want to say thank you to everyone that reads and contributes to this site. THANK YOU!!!

I started the blog as a place to track everything synth initially for myself in 2005. Before then, way back in October of 1997, I created MATRIXSYNTH.COM. I created that site to host some light synth content on the synths that I owned. If you click on the nostalgia link there you will see the list. I captured the introductions for each synth in their respective manuals and I captured their editable parameters; how manufacturers write about their synths has always fascinated me. The rest of the site was just my window into the world of synths. On the left frame I had a link list off all my favorite sites. Clicking on them would bring the site up on the right pane. Back then Sonic State and Harmony Central were it on the forum front. VSE didn't come around until 1999.

In 2005, I decided to create MATRIXSYNTH, the blog, to track everything synth. The old format obviously did not make sense anymore as the more interesting nuggets of info were embedded deep in websites, and new formats of media were gaining popularity, such as YouTube, Flicker and so on. The number of links would become unwieldy. As of this post I am currently at 29,162 posts on MATRIXYNTH alone. On MATRIXSYNTH-B I am at 3,086 posts, and the new MATRIXSYNTH-C, I am at 63 posts. The B site is auctions only, the C site is focused on the music, and this site is focused on the gear. The line can be fuzzy, but the idea is if a post gives you a good sense of what a given synth can do, it usually goes up here. I also created SYNTHWIRE back on 10/14/2005 for others to post.

Now for some numbers. I think I'm going to make a tradition out of this. Every year, on the site's anniversary, I will share the overall site's stats since it's inception, and on every New Year's Day I will share the stats for the prior year.

That said, if you look at the map image above you will see that to date the site has had over 5,271,468 visits from 207 countries/territories. I say over because I didn't start using Google Analytics, the stats program the image came from, until April 5, 2006. According to Site Meter which I started earlier I'm at 5,774,890 visits and 11,233,869 pageviews. Below is the traffic chart also from Google Analytics which has the site at 10,456,937 page views. Last year I commented "As for numbers, this is post #17,087, the site has had over 2,958,261 visits, 880,569 visitors and over 5,253,505 pageviews." Over the last year alone the site had 2,319,045 visits, and 5,214,272 page views. Pretty cool when you think about it.

If you click on the map at the top of this post you will see different shades of green. The darker the green the more visits from that country. Note this is from April 5, 2006 until now. Any green means a visit from that country. I think I found a bug in Google Analytics. If you look at last year's map and compare it to this year's, you will see that some countries that were green then, are now white. If you combine the two we are closer to world domination! :)

And... that's it for this post folks. I need to get back to work, the blog and a little break. Thanks again for a great four years. I'll keep marching on as long as I can. I can't wait to look back 20 years from now into a glimpse of what the makers and the users of our synths were doing on a daily basis. Thanks everyone!!!

MATRIXSYNTH SUPPORTERS!

In case you missed this post, MATRIXSYNTH is now on Patreon. I added a Support MATRIXSYNTH link in yellow in the site menu above. It links to a post where you'll be able to see a list of growing Patreon supporters complete with links to their websites and properties (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc). Patreon supporters also get to submit their music and auction items for posts on the site. If you love MATRIXSYNTH and want to support it, please sign up.  You can contribute as little as $1 a month and cancel anytime.  Not bad when you think about it!  MATRIXSYNTH is a daily online magazine that has  been supporting the synth community for over nine years.

I want to send out a huge thank you to all who support MATRIXSYNTH!!!  THANK YOU!!!

New MATRIXSYNTH.COM Domain Coming - Possible Site Outage

Just a heads up. I'm switching over to matrixsynth.com domains for the site. M will be m.matrixsynth.com, B will be b.matrixsynth.com, C will be c.matrixsynth.com and some of my non synth sites will move over if you track them, WATCHMATRIX for example. Note you shouldn't need to do anything on your end. Blogger will redirect you including all old links you might have. However, there might be a short downtime. Don't panic, the site will be back up soon. I just tested one and there was about a five minute downtime. MATRIXSYNTH will switch over last.

Done at 2:32 PM. Zero downtime.

Update: it looks like the Google Search box on the top right stopped working. I'm guessing the site will need to be re-crawled with the new domain name. We'll see how it goes.

MATRIXSYNTH Turns 7!!!

Today marks the seven year anniversary of MATRIXSYNTH! The original matrixsynth.com actually launched way back in October of 1997 as MATRIX SYNTH. I never took it down, BTW. Click here to see it in all it's old school glory. If you thought there was too much green on this site, just check that baby out. BTW, check out the manufacturers list under MFG. I stopped updating it about the time I started this site in 2005. You can see what modular manufactures, and of course others were around back then. It's an interesting look back in time... Kind of why I started this version of the site actually. I'll get to that further below.

Last year I skipped the site stats and kept the anniversary post relatively short. I used to post stats for the site and a general blurb on what makes the site tick, but it began to feel redundant so I skipped it last year. Well, I kind of missed it, and I know some of you enjoy the stats thing, so I'm bringing it back. And CatSynth did it for their six year anniversary post yesterday, so there you have it. Actually I was planning on including stats before I read that post, but I do like CatSynth. The site has grown quite a bit and we have a ton of new readers who don't really know the background of MATRIXSYNTH so I thought I would share some of that as well. I've also had a few people ask me to do personal interviews. I always turn them down as I do my best to keep myself out of the site so I don't ruin it for anyone. It's kind of like the whole Wizard of Oz thing. Enjoy the Oz in MATRIXYSNTH, and don't let the wizard ruin it for you is my only advice. That said, I decided this year to reveal a little more about my synth history than I normally do. Don't worry though after this post that's it. This site is about the gear only. I see it as my job to bring it to you unbiased and get the heck out of the way. Seriously though, I really do my best to present what is out there free of bias for you to consume and form your own opinion. I do this for three reasons; one, out of respect for the person that created the content, two, so I don't accidentally prevent you from getting your own experience out of the post, and three, because of how much goes up on a daily basis - it saves you and me time.

But, in the anniversary and New Years posts I do tend to make up for my lack of words big time, so bear with me or just skip to what you like.

Before I begin with the stats I do want to give a big thanks to everyone that visits, supports and contributes to the site. THANK YOU!!! It really is a tremendous amount of work, so all the kind words and support make a huge difference. Every single post you see here is hand posted. There is no automation. The site takes roughly four to eight hours on average a day (closer to eight) and sometimes up to ten hours. This is every single day, including weekends. Out of the seven years running the site I have only missed one day (by accident - more on that below), and the only day I take off is Christmas day when I put up only one post, which surprisingly can be torture in not posting. The posts you see here are a combination of stuff I find out there on my own and stuff people send in, which is quite a bit. The site started as a hobby and has fortunately grown into a small business with the help of sponsors. Note sponsors are always on the right. In the history of the site there has never been a paid post on the main site, and if there ever is, I will be sure to call it out in the post. That said, THANK YOU SPONSORS! It's one thing if the work only consumed my time, but it in turn consumes my family's time, so every little bit helps. THANK YOU! You make the site possible!


First the stats!

We still haven't reached world domination. Everything you see with a shade of green is a visit to the site. Check out Africa! The few in white mean no visit came in. The top map is for the seven year history of the site and the bottom is for this last year. Click on each for the full size shots. As you can see they are pretty much the same. Still no hits from North Korea.

On the other hand we had 122 visits from Syria within the last year along with traffic from other war torn countries. Incredible! Please keep safe out there! You are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers.

The top 10 visits by country:

1. United States 982,943
2. United Kingdom 258,070
3. Germany 183,138
4. France 168,649
5. Canada 142,553
6. Italy 109,605
7. Japan 84,202
8. Sweden 76,948
9. Australia 73,881
10. Netherlands 72,680

And the overall stats:

Source: Google Analytics for the year (July 20, 2011 - July 20, 2012):

6,364,538 pageviews
2,838,084 visits
972,065 unique visitors.

Source: Site Meter for the life of the site:

32,734,610 pageviews (18,557 average per day)
15,658,114 visits (7,822 average per day)

Google Analytics (started April 5, 2006):
30,795,628 pageviews
14,313,210 visits
4,258,879 unique visitors.

Note unique visitors can be a bit misleading as I believe it's based on the individual browser and cookies vs. IP Address or individual, so for people checking in on multiple devices and even multiple browsers on the same machine, each one counts as a unique visitor. The numbers are likely lower.

Unfortunately I do not see a top posts for the last year in Blogger so we will have to go with the top posts for all time:

New Schmidt Analog Synth Debuts at the Musikmesse
Apr 5, 2011, 22 comments 13,412 Pageviews

RIP Mr. Tsutomu Katoh - Founder of KORG
Mar 15, 2011, 6 comments 12,542 Pageviews

New Tom Oberheim SON OF 4 VOICE
Jan 25, 2011, 10 comments 7,811 Pageviews

M-Audio Venom Review and Interview with Product Manager Taiho Yamada
Mar 23, 2011, 6 comments 7,186 Pageviews

New KORG Monotribe In the Flesh
Apr 4, 2011, 26 comments 7,149 Pageviews

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Mobile Template for MATRIXSYNTH, MATRIXSYNTH-B, and MATRIXSYNTH-C

I enabled blogger's mobile template for the site. If you view the site on your mobile device, it will come up by default. Note it is standard black font on white background which should be easier to read on smaller devices, but at the bottom of the page there is a link to go to the web format if you prefer instead. Feel free to comment on whether you like the new interface or not. I can disable it at any time. I'll enable it for MATRIXSYNTH-B and MATRIXSYNTH-C as well.