"Modcan and Cyndustries four panel Serge/Banana modular synth owned by Rich Costey, used on albums by Muse, Deathcab For Cutie, many others. contains the following modules:
"Having a little fun with the Q960 sequencers and the Moog Matriarch.
The Q960 pair are set up for index sequencing on the bass line. This is a fun way to mangle the bass line but keep it steady in time with the drum pattern. The gate duty was handed to the Dotcom Q172 quantizer for only sending gates when there is a change of pitch voltage. This helped to avoid the typical pulse rhythm.
The bass voice is a pair of Synthetic Sound Labs TZ-VC Oscillators in FM coupling. There is a third VCO from SSL for a sine wave sub-oscillator. These are mixed through the Corsynth C114 transistor drive mixer to the Oakley Voltage Controlled State Variable Filter in low pass mode. The signal is split and sent through the Modcan 73B stereo echo delay and also a dry signal is driven by a second Corsynth T-Mixer for added saturation.
The drum sounds are from the Delptronics LDB-2E and the TipTop SD808 snare. There is a Mutable Instruments Grids and the Moon Modular 563 trigger sequencer coupled to trigger the modules. The snare is sent through the MakeNoise Echophon delay and produces the raspy pulse voice heard throughout.
A hollow wood/metal block percussive sound is generated by a pair of Dotcom Q106's, a Mega Ohm Audio CdS LPG and an SSL Digital Delay. This is triggered by the STG Trigger Mini Store and reset by the Moon 554 Octal Clock Divider.
The IN-YER-FACE lead line is the Moog Matriarch through a T.C.Electronics D-Two delay unit.
Clock source was from Cubase through the STG Time Divider.
A pair of Dotcom Q962 Sequential Switches were used to route the various step gates from the lower Q960 Sequencer to the upper Q960. Routing and pitch values were pre-determined after hours of rehearsal to set up a particular scale or mode that determined what I should play on the Matriarch.
It should be noted that certain happenstance values of the sequence pattern produced passing tones that lead to the typical blues scale in C. I just had to go with it."
"Now available as a double CD with an 8-page booklet & download
Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, concludes it’s exploration of the world of modular synth music.
Since the first volume in the Tone Science series was released in 2018, seventy-two musicians in total have joined in with this celebration of the musical possibilities of modular synthesis. These artists have been from a huge range of backgrounds but have all shared the unifying purpose of showcasing the incredible variety of sonic possibilities these instruments can offer.
Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, concludes its exploration of the world of modular synth music.
Since the first volume in the Tone Science series was released in 2018, seventy-two musicians in total have joined in with this celebration of the musical possibilities of modular synthesis. These artists have been from a huge range of backgrounds but have all shared the unifying purpose of showcasing the incredible variety of sonic possibilities these instruments can offer.
The intervening seven years have seen the modular synth world expanding at an exponential rate and whilst one wouldn’t go so far as to say these synths are mainstream, they are certainly far more prevalent than in the past. It’s especially gratifying to see so many musicians now either play solo sets with them or to include them in their onstage arsenal.
Thus we come to this, the final instalment in the Tone Science series. Nothing lasts forever and certainly stopping at this nice round number of ten seems like a good way to not only end the series but to release the Final Patch, a real celebration of what has gone before and perhaps to hint at what is possible for the future. A beautifully packaged double CD featuring twenty artists who have appeared on previous iterations of the series, it really is a who’s who of modular synth musicians. The release is accompanied by an eight-page booklet with an essay by Neil Mason and some final words from the guiding force behind the whole project, Ian Boddy, label boss at DiN. And as Boddy so succinctly puts it in his liner notes, “for me, despite the technological nature of the equipment, the emotional quality of the music is the single most important factor”. The Final Patch certainly delivers on that ethos.
"A two part piece. Both are pitch voltage quantization controlled from the ACL Sinfonion. I switch presets through the first part from preset 1 - 4 and in the second half I leave it on preset 5.
The Sinfonion chord section is sending pitch quantization to the Doepfer A-111-4 quad VCO and A-105-4 quad SSI filter. The mixer is the Corsynth T-Mixer. The Empress reverb in Ambient Swell green mode is used.
The opening voice is Channel 2 of the Sinfonion and is sent to the Dotcom Q206 with the Dove D502 in BP mode P1, then an SSL Serge Resonant EQ and finally the Strymon Blue Sky.
A counter voice is the Channel 3 quantizer to a pair of Synthetic Sound Labs TZ-VC Oscillators to the Oakley VC-SVF in BP mode. The audio is routed through a Moon 517S high pass filter to roll of the lower mid tones. I used an instance of Relab Development's LX480 classic Lexicon reverb. This same voice is used for the main melodic part in the second section.
The Channel 1 of the Sinfonion is to the bass voice which is the Dotcom Q169 Oscillator++ and Grove Audio G294A ladder filter.
The Sinfonion arpeggiator part is to the STG oscillator duet and the Dove D501 2069 filter. The signal is sent through the Modcan 73B dual delay. In the first section this voice is solo, but in the second section I added in a duplicated run of the MosLab 901/904A through a different envelope which is timed a bit more sparse and sent through the second section of the 73B delay.
Most of my time was spent mixing levels and changing the timing of the SSL Hagiwo Geo-Gruvn euclidean sequencer. The clock timing was controlled by row 3 of the Moon 563 trigger seq. I used two different memory presets on the Geo-Gruvn for each section. These timings were used for the gate controls to the SSL Octal VCA, CV-8 Breakout and AD/AR Expander. The eight channel vca handled four of the voices. Very cool array of modules.
I also sent and effort to control the timing of the STG Voltage Mini Store's timing with row 2 of the 563. The right VMS is used for the Root control to the Sinfonion. The faster moving left VMS is to the arpeggiator of the Sinfonion.
The Sinfonion is using various cv's from the Q960 step sequencers to affect the chord spread and note selections. Also an LFO is used to affect the pre-transpose of the chord section.
A convoluted patch using the Lower West Side Studios CGS88 triple switch, the Dove D900 sequencer and three voltage sources to send control voltage to the transpose on the Sinfonion. I used the Moon 564 trigger stage 1 to turn this on and off by hand when needed.
The final clangorous opening and ending patch voice was the Mutable Instruments Rings through the Behringer Bode Frequency Shifter clone and the Encore Frequency Shifter, and on through the Tip Top Z-DSP signal processor running Halls of Valhalla reverb (Niflheim preset). It was also the midway noise rush background sound where the sections changed. These were added later in Cubase and triggered by hand.
The sections were performed at once live to Cubase and video edited in Final Cut Pro."
"Instruo Harmonaig and MI Marbles with Acid Rain Technology Ripsaw and Doepfer A-111-4 and A-105-4. These quad vcos and filter setups were used along with some 5U large format modules from Synthetic Sound Labs, synthesizers.com, Grove Audio, Oakley Sound Systems and Moon Modular to present various sound sketches of the Harmonaig's chord outputs.
The percussive opening part trigger pattern was taken from the 4MS Quad Clock Distributor, RCD, and a switch module. The Modcan dual delay was time shifted using a triple switch module in the 5U.
Additional transpose sequences were mixed from the dotcom Q960 and Marbles to the Harmonaig.
All sounds were recorded in real-time to Cubase and video edited in Final Cut Pro."
"Large format modular synthesizer recording live in the studio.
The opening noise burst is the Dove WTF in noise mode along with the Sputnik WCRS to an Oakley SVF in band pass mode to the Modcan 73B dual Delay and Z-DSP with Halls of Valhalla reverb. Modulation to the 73B is from the STG Voltage Mini Stores for delay cv.
Noise cacophony part is a pair of STG Soundlabs Oscillators to the Oakley Sound Systems Ring Modulator to a Grove Audio LPF and a MegaOhm Audio MA20 in highpass mode. The signal is sent to a tape echo then compressor.
The echo drone bass is the dotcom Q169 vco to a Moon 517S LPF. The echo delay is a stereo Lexicon MX200.
The lower bass tone is the Woven Spirits (MI Plaits) from Synthetic Sound Labs. Straight in, no filter or envelope.
The chords are a pair of dotcom Q206 vcos and a pair of Q106 vcos for four part harmony. The cv source is the dual Matrix from SSL in dorian modes. A pair of dotcom Q171 and Q172 Quantizers were used with gates from the Geo-Gruvn to time the S&H pitch voltages. Toward the latter half of the piece I was playing the quantizers to change modes from augmented to diminished and back again. The audio signals are sent through a LWSS Yusynth panning mixer then a pair of filters. The Dove D502 in low pass four pole and the Frequency Central System X in 24dB low pass mode. They are sent to the Empress Reverb pedal in blue sparkle mode.
All gate timings were provided by the SSL Hagiwo Geo-Gruvn sequencer and the STG Time Divider. Additional divider s are the Moon 564, Moon 563 and STG Trigger Mini Store.
The theme here was the well known stories of the femme-fatale-gone-awry roles Shelly Winters played in many famous movies. She was drowned a few times and it became an urban legend of sorts. A great actress that rarely was rewarded with much favor but did finally reach a celebrated status."
"Large format 5U modular synthesizer with the Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave.
Two passes. The first was the modular synth, and the second was the played lines on the keyboard. All sounds except the melodic part was recorded in real time from the modular.
Two Matrix Algorithmic Composer modules from Synthetic Sound Labs were used for the moving lines throughout. These were fed to a pair of SSL/Ian Fritz Thru-Zero oscillators. The outputs were mixed straight and also split to an Encore Electronics Frequency Shifter, MOTM 440 Filter and heavily modulated 73B Modcan Dual Delay. Further processing with the Empress reverb and the Dove Audio D501 filter.
The bass notes were generated by the STG Soundlabs Voltage Mini Store to a pair of STG Oscillators and a Dove Audio WF. The filters included the MegaOhmAudio MA20 and the Frequency Central System X LPF.
A Q960 sent the arpeggio sweep voltage to an SSL VCO through a Behringer DD400 digital delay.
A Ring Modulator patch on the Q169 Qxcillator ++ from Synthesizers.com was directed through an Oakley Sound Diode Super Ladder filter then through an SSL Digital Delay.
The S&H sounding patch was not a sample & hold at all. It was a combination of a Q960, West Coast Random Source, MosLab 901/904A and a MegaOhmAudio CdS through an Oakley VC State Variable Filter."
"This basis of this project was between the new Synthetic Sound Labs 1655 Geo-Gruvn euclidean sequencer and a few different Low Pass Filter modules. The new SSL 1015 LPG with the cadmium sulfide CdS element, the Mega Ohm Audio CdS VCF/A module and the Cyndustries Quad Low Pass Gates module. The Cyndustries module was enhanced by Phil from Mega Ohm Audio to be much more responsive. A big change and very useful.
The Geo-Gruvn module from SSL is an adaption of the Hagiwo board and was also enhanced to provide a more efficient response all the way to audio rate clocking.
The main orchestration automation module in this piece was with the synthesizers.com Q170 Midi Gates module. The use of eight channels of midi gate streams from Cubase were the way each section were enabled on and off. My hands-on modulation was simplified to allow me to change timbre, filter settings and delay rates with ease.
The center section featured the Dove Mu-Seq D900 sequencer for a pattern which began by me running the sequencer in reverse and recording the track to Cubase, then reversing it back into the mix. I started with the Woven Spirits (MI Plaits) at a higher octave and drew it down until it matched the timbre for the rest of the midsection.
The last part was the dual Matrix run into a pair of quantizer modules in which I timed the pitch voltage outputs with the Geo-Gruvn gate outs. These voices were the Dotcom Q206 and Q206A modules through the Frequency Central X Series Low Pass Filter and an Empress Reverb pedal.
Other delays included the Modcan 73B dual delay with loads of modulation, and the SSL 1310 Digital Delay.
The opening drone is a feedback from the TipTop Audio Z-DSP VC-Digital Signal Processor with the Halls of Valhalla chipset in Plate Reverb mode. This drone also arose in the center section.
A pair of frequency shifter modules (Encore Electronics and Behringer Bode Clone) were used for the Snare and Hi Hats enhancement. The kit drums were the LDB-2E Analog Drums from Delptronics and the TipTop SD808. They were sequenced from the Mutable Instruments Grids module and a pair of Turing Machines and an MI Marbles module."
"Record CV or audio between 4s to 6min. Lovely lo-fi audio recorder at lower sampling rates (I've mainly used it as a lo-fi audio looper).
You can set start and end point before recording to have multiple chunks of stuff in the playback buffer.
One small issue: the CH1 Record button needs to be pushed upwards with the red cap taken out in order to arm the channel. I've kept the cap but when you use it you need to remove it. Otherwise the module works perfectly."
It has come to my attention that Paul Schreiber has passed away.
Pictured: Paul Schreiber at the 2006 NAMM show. Top from this previous post (pic by fr1zz), and bottom from this post (pic by Synthtopia) - this is the first image of Paul on the site. There is one comment in that post: "He's a good guy." Indeed.
Readers of the site should be familiar with his work. He was the man behind MOTM and Synthesis Technology.
To say Paul was one of the greats to influence the synth community would be an understatement. He was pivital to the rebirth of modular synthesizers. He started when modular as we know it today was in its infancy, as one of a very small group of large format DIY modular manufacturers along with Blacet, Modcan, Cynthia, Wiard, Oakley, STG, Catgirl/CGS, Tellun/Lower West Side StudioYuSynth, Jurgen Haible, and of course DIY staples like Thomas Henry/ MFOS, Ray Wilson and PAiA (see this post for some modular formats back in 2007). I focused mainly on those offering DIY. There were other manufacturers including Synthesizers.com, Club of the Knobs, MOS-LAB, Moon Modular, MacBeth, CMS, and more. Feel free to mention others in the comments. This post is about Paul, but I think it's important to reflect on some of the large format modular manufactures he was amongst at the time.
Paul created the MOTM format of 5U modules in 1998. MOTM stood for Module of the Month offering monthly DIY kits. From Wikipedia: "MOTM was created by Paul Schreiber in 1998. The system was created in part due to the renewed interest in large-format analog modular systems that occurred in the late 1990s. Between 1998 and 2021, over 8000 modules were sold. The company, Synthesis Technology, also offered a limited number of modules in Eurorack[2] and Frac[3] format."
He was also helped design the Moog/Realistic MG-1. From Wikipedia: "In 1980, Moog Music was seeking to contract manufacture a mass-marketable synthesizer which could be sold via a large retailer. Moog representatives secured an appointment at the Radio Shack corporate offices for a 5-minute demonstration. Radio Shack approved the concept, and Paul Schreiber (then employed by Tandy Systems Development) worked together with Moog on the synthesizer's design to achieve Radio Shack's price requirements.[2][3]"
He later joined the eurorack scene with Synthesis Technology branded modules. FYI, his site for MOTM was always http://www.synthtech.com/, short for Synthesis Technology. The first post to mention Paul and MOTM was posted just under twenty years ago here on MATRIXSYNTH back on August 26, 2005. If you click through you will see it was a post announcing the MOTM/synthtech.com site was going down for the weekend. He announced he was retiring from the synthesizer business in August of 2023.
It's worth repeating, Paul Schreiber was one of the key figures that brought modular back to the masses. He was both respected and loved by the synth community. It's impossible to overstate his influence. He will be missed.
The following are the first the last video interviews with Paul to be featured on the site:
The SynthSummitShow Episode 2: Paul Schreiber (Synthesis Technology) and A.Dapt (music producer) ...
SysEx Dumpster - Episode 44 - a conversation with Paul Schreiber
video upload by Sysex Dumpster on Jul 30, 2023. Details previously posted here.
The first videos to feature Paul presenting a module was back on January 3, 2010, and the first interview on SoundCloud in 2013, and he was of course featured in the modular documentary film I Dream of Wires.
00:00 Opening Titles
00:17 Introduction
01:26 Switched On 80s
13:36 Little Black Boxes
16:07 Commercial Break
18:42 Synthesiser Club
21:40 Patching Today
33:44 Video Lab
40:06 Outro
"Episode two of the third series of the TV program from Benge, made at his Memetune Electronic Music Studio
The series explores his passion for vintage synthesiser instruments and studio gear and how he uses them in his productions and collaborations"
"In THIS episode:
SWITCHED ON 80s - A detailed presentation on the Arp / Rhodes Chroma, the mega-poly-synth that nearly took over the world
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - A look at the Korg M3R, a slimmed down version of the biggest selling synth of all time
SYNTHESISER CLUB - a picturesque study made on the Sequential Six-track, the Drumtracks, the Prophet VS and the mighty T8
COMMERCIAL BREAK - Some adverts for Memetune-related goodies, including the new Memetune Annual 2024, the range of Memetune merchandise and Benge's seminal 13 Systems album
PATCHING TODAY - on the vintage Emu Modular, with some help from a big Modcan A-Series
VIDEO LAB - In this episode we try and use the video mixers without any external inputs - its all about self-generating feedback imagery - with a soundtrack made on classic vintage modular synths
The MemeTune Programme Credits:
Everything in this video was created by B D Edwards (Benge)
All music, design, writing, filming and production completed at Memetune Studios, UK, 2025"
"This is my eleventh video breakdown/rundown, this time for one of my smaller Eurorack systems, multiple 4ms Pod cases and a Haken ContinuuMini mounted on a Pedaltrain pedalboard.
Index: 0:00 Beginning 0:20 Introduction 1:45 Module Rundown 4:15 Modifications 6:30 Final Words 6:53 Demo: "Counting Past Missteps As I Stumble Towards The Future" 10:08 End
List of the modules in this system Kilpatrick Audio: K2579, KMIDI (both modified) Noise Engineering: Horologic Solum, Bin Seq, Clep Diaz Rebel Technology: Chronos mkII WMD/Steady State Fate: S.P.O., MMF, ADSRVCA Modcan: Triple VCO Meng Qi Music: DPLPG Synthesis Technology: E950, E951 Division 6: Mix VI Mutable Instruments: Kinks Erica Synths: Black Hole DSP 4ms Company: Listen Four 1/4, Pod26 (x2), Pod32 (x2)
As always, thank you for watching, rating, following, subscribing, and commenting! 🥳 If you found the content of this video helpful, interesting, or entertaining, please consider showing your support so I can stay stocked up on coffee and cookies. 😋 https://buymeacoffee.com/johnlrice"
"This is my tenth video breakdown/rundown, this time for one of my smallest 5U systems built into a repurposed GRP R24 sequencer case.
Index:
0:00 Beginning
0:20 Introduction
1:00 Module Rundown
2:12 Modifications
6:28 Final Words
7:00 Demo 1: 'Echo Drone'
9:51 Demo 1: 'Tongue-Pan Processing'
12:04 End
List of the 5 modules in this system
Corsynth: C103 Frequency Divider Multiplier
Modcan: Digital Delay 59B
Encore Electronics: Universal Event Generator
Modcan: Envelope Follower 45B
Free State FX: Supra Resonator (MI Rings clone)
The percussion instrument used is a steel tongue drum/tongue pan and made by EOX DRUM. If you are interested in this sort of instrument check them out and other manufacturers like RAV Vast and Yudin Workshop."
"If you found the content of this video helpful, interesting, or entertaining, please consider showing your support so I can stay stocked up on coffee and cookies. 😋 https://buymeacoffee.com/johnlrice"
"Something just for fun. All first takes and some minimal editing.
Solo Synth: Expressive E Osmose
Modular Synth Sequence: Moon Modular - 569 sequencer, 591 switcher, 517 VCFs Synth Tech - MOTM-300 VCOs Oakley - Dual VCAs Krisp1 - Octo LFO Club Of the Knobs - C911p poly EG
Modular Synth Drone: Modcan - 58B VCDO, 66B Control Club Of the Knobs - C998B Spectral Modulator, C1660 VC Phase Processor Marienberg Devices - Sine Phase VCO Synthetic Sound Labs - 1250 Quad LFO Oakley - Flanger/Chorus
Effects and Mixing For The Modular: Strymon - BigSky and Timeline pedals Lexicon - MX400 rack Allen & Heath - MW3 20s mixer
Hand Percussion: Generic - small Tabla, small doumbek, goat hooves Zildjian - finger cymbals PANArt - Hang Gede
Thank you for watching, rating, and commenting! :-) If you'd like to "tip your server" I would be most grateful and you can do so at the link below: https://buymeacoffee.com/johnlrice"
