"We say...
A pre-owned Bastl Instruments Kastle ARP in excellent condition. It comes with original packaging and accessories.
Manufacturer's description
Kastle ARP is a unique modular melody generator based on a quantized sine wave oscillator with a digital waveshaper.
The pitch selection employs straightforward concepts to unleash surprising intricacy. The quantized oscillator ensures it is always in tune, and its pitch can be selected using the NOTE and CHORD inputs. The decay envelope adds variation by occasionally skipping pitches before retriggering. The timbre control allows you to blend between noble sine waves and 8-bit chip-tunes.
"Please support my work on Patreon: / jayhosking
Five chip tunes made with the limitations of the original NES.
00:00 - Stage 1
02:41 - Underworld
05:07 - Cutscene into battle
08:07 - Peace and war
09:55 - Overworld
I grew up on video game music, and it's probably a large part of why I love synthesizers today. What impresses me most about those old soundtracks is how much they can achieve with such a limited voice count and, to a lesser extent, sound palette. (I actually adore the sounds, so I don't see them as limiting.) The Nintendo Entertainment System had two mono synth square waves, one extremely chunky triangle wave mono for bass, and then a noise oscillator for percussion. There was also an extremely low-resolution sampler ("Blades of Steel!") but I chose not to reproduce that here.
For a while, I had been thinking about working within the limitations of the original NES. I could do that on any modern groovebox or synth, of course, but I wanted the limitations forced on me, and I wanted something that got me close to the original sound without a lot of work. Thanks to my Patreon community, I was able to pick up the Twisted Electrons hapiNES L, which emulates the old NES chip sounds, right down to the mono (not stereo!) out.
Once I had the sounds in place, I wanted a way to quickly write and structure songs. The Teenage Engineering OP-XY proved a good choice, because it's quick, has two octaves to play on, has a smart and creative transposition tool, and has an excellent song mode for structuring longer compositions. I also wanted to use some other sequencing tools, so I pulled out the Oxi One Mk2 for the final song. I didn't find it was quite as effective for the song-mode sequencing, but its new Chord Palettes mode led me in some extremely interesting musical directions.
I could have kept going, but five days seemed like a good haul of NES music for now, and proof to myself that I could do it again in the future. I know the music here might not be to everyone's tastes, but it satisfies the kid in me and makes me wish I had an 8-bit game to write a soundtrack for.
"Comes with power and original box. This is a multitrack chiptune synthesizer inspired by the RP2A07 sound chip found in the NES games console. The 4 voices allow you to create authentic sounding tunes in real time! The L(arge) version offers the same features as its slimsynth counterpart, with the addition of hardware MIDI (MIDI Type A) and analog sync in and out connectivity and packed in a rugged metal case."
A few sections of this vid contain strobing and flashing images. If susceptible to seizures then viewer discretion is advised.
Amiga/P3 W95 demoscene spec run down and demo. Created due to a request to demo the module in a way that wasn't 'just noise'. Initially intended to be one part made from the best track out of three that i came up with. Later deciding to shoe horn the two reject demo tunes into it, which lead to it becoming a ramshackle lesson in polygons and 3d. It also caused the whole thing to end up panning out like some kind of messed up fever dream 💀🤣
Drail is an fx processor module based on a fixed chip set containing 100 preset effects. Reverbs, delays, pitch shifters and modulators of various types, such as flangers and phasers. More details are over on the bigcartel link. Hacked referring to the hardware hacking principles applied in reclocking the cpu and messing with the phase in the signal path to turn it into the somewhat weird thing it is now. Hacked also sounds better than circuit bent, which has been done to death as a term and wouldn't fit on the front panel anyway 💀🐗
A bit of a departure from my usual powerelectronix/sound design outings when it comes to modules. Right now this is the only demo i have complete. I'll upload some stuff soon that's more in line with the roots of where i came from, and which features some other new stuff that got completed in the somewhat hell froze over time it took me to complete this outing 🔥🔥
As always - enjoy - or don't. The sun rises in the morning either way 😘☀️👌
Cheers for checking it out."
"The module is based on a fixed stereo fx processor chip which contains 100 presets. These presets consist of numerous reverbs, delays, harmonizer/pitch shifters and modulators such as flangers and phasers.
It has a mono input, a summed L/R mix output with dry wet control which covers 0-100% wet, Two 100% wet stereo outputs give access to the ping pong delays and different phases of panning in the stereo field that some of the effects use, The combination of summed dry wet and separate stereo fx ouputs offers some variation in how you might hook the module up to achieve different results in a setup.
Patches can be selected manually, or by gate inputs with an input to cycle each way through the patches and an input to select them.
In stock form it's a fairly vanilla and quite unremarkable, all be it useful set of fx. By applying some of the tricks learned in my time in the circuit bending arena the whole thing becomes a Swiss army knife of weirdness and opens up to some bizarre effects and unruly behavior. With the principles of hardware hacking applied and the cpu reclocked, along with some creative phase altering in the signal path, the processor takes on an entirely new life. Still being able to run as a useful set of stock reverbs, delays or modulators, but doubling up as an interesting sound design tool. All sorts of mad sounds and unexpectedly good processing can be achieved. Great for soundscapes, turning basic sounds into things that are bigger than the sum of their parts, making guitars sounds insane, it can even be used to turn a saw into a pseudo supersaw that somehow looks like a kind of mutated pwm square by using the modulator fx. This kind of thing gets fat when you start using both the dry wet mix output and the 100% wet L/R outs. With 100 fx to choose from, there's generally something interesting and at times fascinating to be found when messing around with it.
From experience, different fx chip sets behave in radically different ways when attempts to circuit bend or reclock them are made. Some prove to be pointless and uninteresting, others become prone to crashes and are rendered too unpredictable.and useless beyond extreme noise This one happens to be an excellent target for a bit of creative alteration. When underclocking the cpu, a kind of subtle low pass filtering effect is applied. Not enough to make the effect undesirable, but enough to eliminate the unwanted noise inherent to underclocking. In testing this chip set and discovering it's predictable, but quite abstract nature when abused, it became obvious that it would make a brilliant target for an interesting module. One which i'm finding to be an excellent addition to my own rigs. Given the roots of how it came about and how that ended up sounding, it is i imagine an acquired taste, but a quite unique acquired taste in the scheme of things."
The following, in via Neil Hetrick, is a more detailed update to this earlier post.
via Neil: "I wanted to post this information regarding use of PCMCIA SRAM cards with the Korg Wavestation SR (and presumably also with the Korg 01/W series) in case it proves helpful for others trying to use custom waveform data with their synth.
It turns out that the synth requires that the PC Card be dual-mode, auto-switching 8-bit/16-bit. Currently-available (in 2023) PCMCIA SRAM cards are all single-mode, 16-bit only or 8-bit only, due to a specific chip no longer being available. After having trouble with a modern, 16-bit-only SRAM card, I received a tip-off from a kind fellow at Voice Crystal (they used to make custom soundware for many vintage Korg synths of that era) suggesting that the auto-switching functionality may be an important factor in getting a card to work with the synth. I subsequently found some forum info online relating a similar issue with PCMCIA cards in the Alesis Andromeda:
About the 8-bit/16-bit dual-mode PCMCIA SRAM cards
"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."
"I recreated the title music of 'Commando', the Commodore 64 game from 1985 - on an Elektron Syntakt. To do this I reverse engineered the 6510 assembly code of Rob Hubbard's driver and analysed the SID chip timings in extreme detail, in order to emulate it as close as possible on the Syntakt.
Just like the SID chip on the C64, I'm only using three monophonic channels.
Some text on the process and inner workings of SID tunes on Commodore 64 is available as well.
Sound is taken directly from the Syntakt’s outputs."
"These devices are not currently available, but you can read about them on the Nanoloop website here.
It's a 4 channel synth/sequencer/drum machine and it works great. The battery holders can be a bit tight for some brands of AAA battery (this is a known issue), but I was able to use my Ikea rechargeables fine.
I find the GUI on this device a bit hard to get used to and I'm having a change around of my gear (selling some stuff so that I can buy other stuff...)"
A collection of classic and reimagined chip sounds inspired by hardware classics like the SID Station, Commodore 64, Game Boy and more, 8-Bit Synth opens the gates to brand new sonic adventures with the genuine sounds of these classic machines!
A fantastic instrument for crafting chip tunes and beyond, 8-Bit Synth digs deep into the capabilities of the hardware and delivers a surprisingly sweet range of sounds covering everything from classic video game favorites to modern genre-style patches. Don't let the arcade-inspired exterior fool you, while definitely packed with fun 8-Bit Synth is a serious and versatile instrument covering a broad sonic palette."
"1978 Prophet 5 Rev. 1 SN#0056. Completely tunes and restored in condition of fully operational by Wine Country Productions, in November, 2016. Only fire up for testing and never use any project since then. Rev. 1 and Rev. 2 use SSM chip, much fatter but issues on power supply going too hot and drifting tunes. This machine added large heat sink to prevent such issues and very stable. Rev. 1 produced only 182 units hand made at Dave Smith’s garage. Comes with Corticate of Restoration. Replaced parts includes 1x SSM2020 dual VCA IC, 2x SSM2030 VCO IC with tempco, 1x SSM2050 ADSR IC meaning core parts are new and no visible damages as well. CV and Gate inputs allows to drive this synth from the external sequencer."
This one was spotted and sent in via xonox who noticed the following: "No mention is made in the auction but there is AFX scratched on the surface of the machine. According to Ed DMX (DMX Krew), Aphex Twin used one on his early tracks. Interview here. It is not my auction, i have no insider knowledge on anything either. Is it possible it's indeed one of AFX's drum machines or is it some classic AFX prank ?"
The following is the full description from the listing saved for the archives:
"Up for sale a unique extremely rare vintage drum machine. impossible to find it in another place. Many years ago I found this diamond and made the service in a professional workshop. Please note - this is an old gear for the collection and synth enthusiasts, this drum machine is in working condition, but I will not accept any returns and no compensation after the sale - please accept it. These are the first innovative electronic music devices and therefore you can see in the pictures the old technology of plastic coatings and touch buttons have traces of use, but all functions and buttons are well work.- It runs on 220 volt AC.The sound of this beast is very unique, the sound structure and flow are capable of creating incredible emotions and creative potency. The sound is incredibly relevant, I give a detailed description below. The package will be sent internationally, I pack the electronics well — a double strong box and a lot of bubble — look at my seller feedback.
"🍟 ON TODAY'S MENU: Marvel as I channel my inner Ross Geller in this music video as I go back to my roots again with another brand new original chiptune, recorded on the Commodore Music Maker Station built in a past video. Every note you hear was recorded on my Commodore 64 (only some echo & percussion added) straight out of the SID chip, using CynthCart, and GarageBand on the other end. This is in line to be my Q4 Theme Tune. Let me know what you think!
"My project to turn Commodore Music Maker into the CMM Station - a sexy music workstation inspired by Fairlight"
Playlist:
1/6: Commodore Music Maker Refurb - The Beginning
2/6: Commodore Music Maker Refurb - Recording An Original Hit Song
3/6: Commodore Music Maker Refurb - The Music Station
4/6: Commodore Music Maker Refurb - Shattered Case Repair
5/6: Commodore Music Maker Refurb - Darth Vader Case | feat. Retro Man Cave
6/6: Commodore Music Maker Refurb - Hammer Repair & Big Finish!
And the video above.
"The Moonwind is a true analog stereo filter with built-in step sequencer, a fantastic sounding digital effects chip, 2 LFOs and envelope modulation.
Everything is storable and controllable via MIDI.
You can control the Moonwind like a synth with midi notes and play tunes on the filters when they whistle in self-resonance.
The sequencer can record the Cutoff, Q and Resonance per step and filter, turning a stereo filter with analogue feedback effects into a creative instrument
This makes the Moonwind to an easy-to-use and high-quality analog sounding sound engine that is playable like a synth and can be seamlessly integrated into a DAW recording system.
"hapiNes is a multitrack chiptune synthesizer inspired by the RP2A07 sound chip found in the NES games console.
The 4 voices allow you to create authentic sounding tunes in real time!
More details and demos coming soon,
first batch expected to ship around August
Features
authentic triangle bass
2 squares with variable pulsewidth
36 synthesized drum sounds (no samples)
16 arpeggiator modes with variable speed
18 Buttons
32 Leds
6 high quality potentiometers
16 pattern memory
Arp Fx with variable depth and decay time
Filter Wobble with variable speed and depth
Crush Fx with variable depth
Audio and Sync input and output chaining (compatible with PO sync modes)
Runs on 2x AAA batteries (auto shutdown for power saving)"
"µAcid8
Acid8 on the go!
µAcid8 is a portable 8Bit bass-line synthesizer borrowing the characterful wavetable engine from acid8 and the essential elements of its highly praised step sequencer.
µAcid8 features some new tricks including transposition automation, filter wobbler, stutter and vinyl spin-down effects.
µAcid8 requires only two AAA batteries and can be synced to external instruments and pocket operators.
More details and demos coming soon,
first batch expected to ship around August
Features
18 Buttons
32 Leds
6 high quality potentiometers
Arp Fx with variable depth and decay time
Filter Wobble with variable speed and depth
Crush Fx with variable depth
Audio and Sync input and output chaining (compatible with PO sync modes)
Runs on 2x AAA batteries (auto shutdown for power saving)"
