"Today I'll show you some stuff with the new module by Schlappi Engineering, the BTMIX!
Lot's of fun stuff do with this one when it comes to control or loose control of your rhythms and create weird stepped voltages patterns. From gate hub to audio rate mangling."
"BTMX (BitMix) gives hands on control over logic and rhythmic gate signals with a switch for every input and 4 different logic functions.
It is a 4 channel selectable logic function module, with each channel having two inputs. All channels share the same logic function and the gate outs are summed with binary weights to create a stepped voltage to generate melodic or modulation signals from the outputs.
It pairs well with the Nibbler, other 4 bit logic modules, or any modules that generates gates (such as clock dividers and sequencers) and can also be used at audio rates.
Features
8 switched inputs 4 dual input logic functions (AND, OR, ADD, XOR) 4 gate outputs 1 stepped output LED indication for every input and output Works at LFO and audio rate 8 HP Current consumption: +12v 26mA, -12V 10mA"
"Are you looking for something a bit more special to exhibit in your studio space? For sale is a unique, ultra rare analogue Drum Machine from the late 1970's.
I got it from an elderly gentlemen who worked for the BBC as an electronic engineer in the early 1980’s.
Everything as far as I can tell seems to be working including all of the red LEDs.
It recently had been converted from a much older round bacalite power connector in the back to an IEC standard connector.
I have no way of testing the multi-pin connectors on the back, which have been installed st the time to connect the machine with multicore looms!
It has eight trigger inputs and eight separate line outputs on XLRs and also a stereo monitor output on a DIN plug (I will supply the DIN plug adaptor)....
This drum synthesiser looks like it could have been a custom built drum machine for Kraftwerk's own KlingKlang recording studio! ;-)
It is actually a drum synthesiser with eight seperate instruments and controls for the instruments like a more modern drum synthesiser not unlike like a Vermona DRM for example, but obviously in a much larger console shaped enclosure.
This is from the earlier days of electronic music where some engineer tried to combine the preset beat-boxes of the time with eight oscillators, that have basic sawtooth, sinus and triangle waveforms and with white noise generators that were triggered by those preset rhythms or via the trigger inputs in the back. Various rhythm presets which were common at the time and some permutations are selectable. Also several presets can be selected at the same time which make a lot of variations possible.
You can get some basic beat box sounds like many other drum machines from the 60's and 70's, but also disco toms (Ring My Bell) if you tune the oscillators. The oscillators go up into the sonic spectrum so you get some very robotic sounds out of the machine too, but settings need to be selected carefully and with some patience.
LFO, VCO and Noise generators can be individually switched on and off per channel.
I would say that the oscillators and the options remind me a little bit of something like let's say the options of what a Coron DS drum synthesiser from the mid 80's had to offer.
A real focal point in ANY studio setup!
This is piece of memorabilia from a bygone area of early electronic pioneers like Kraftwerk, Cluster, Harmonia, Ashra, Popul Vul, etc.
Cosmetically speaking the drum synthesiser is in excellent condition and hasn’t been moved around much and it shows.
The fourth photo shows the drum synthesiser without any of the knobs.
The dimensions are 55x 47x x29cm and it's about 20kg, so pretty heavy....
Here is a link to a quick sound sample of the RME drum machine that I recorded this afternoon. No EQ or compression was used. [Soundcloud embed above]
This sound sample is taken from the stereo monitor output section which splits instruments 1-4 to the left side and instruments 5-8 to the right side."
The Atlantix is the highly-anticipated successor to the Intellijel Atlantis which was originally inspired by the classic Roland SH-101—one of our all-time favorite synthesizers. Despite the SH-101’s seemingly limited architecture, it produces various creative and musically useful sounds that have inspired generations of artists and countless hits. The Atlantix is just as immediate for dialing in beautifully rich bass and lead sounds. Thoughtful design, numerous additional features, and flexible patching options open up a massive amount of new sonic territory to explore.
In this video, we take a first look at Atlantix and the Atlx Expander. More in-depth feature videos will be available soon."
Full Feature List: • Cascaded 4-Pole multimode filter with LP2, BP2, LP4, BP4, HP4, and Phaser modes • Two Triangle Core VCOs • VCO A: Thru-Zero FM with INDEX and PWM, Hard/Soft Sync, Octave switch • VCO B: Linear FM, LFO/VCO switch, Hard Sync, Octave switch • Suboscillator with three modes spanning two octaves • White and Pink noise sources • Six-channel mixer comprising VCO A Waveforms, Sub, Noise, and two Aux inputs • Aux inputs have switched normals with sources from VCO A and B for quick paraphonic play without patching • Mixer Aux 2 can be routed post-VCF / pre-VCA • Mod X and Y buses allow for quick modulation routing of VCO B, S&H, Noise, and feedback sources without patching • Both Mod X and Y buses have polarity and level-shifting switches • Analog ADSR envelope with three time ranges, manual gate, and level (velocity) input • Patchable Sample and Hold modulation source • Asymmetric and symmetric output distortion modes • 20 Sliders, 4 Knobs, 27 toggles, and 2 Rotary switches for expressive hands-on control • 32 Jacks for creative and complex patching options • 16 additional jacks with the optional Atlx expander
"Here's my first jams with the new SH-101-inspired Eurorack module from Intellijel, the ATLANTIX. I'm working on a full demo, so while u wait, here's me having fun as I learn it. Links to pricing below!"
0:00 Melodic Techno Lead 1:00 7th Pad 2:26 Sweetener Lead 3:51 RingModder Lead 4:26 Hello Precinct 14 5:00 Ring that Bell 5:29 Not really a duophonic lead 6:46 Tech Stack 7:38 PWM Lead 8:33 Trance Lead 9:45 Blip Blop Pulse 10:01 Dirt Bass 10:30 S&H Bandpass Lead 11:06 Sawmple & Hold HP Lead 11:27 Psytrance FX 11:57 Broken Tape 12:34 Kick Variations 13:01 more Kicks (Self Oscillation) 13:07 Metallizer Outro
"The Korg Lambda is a fully polyphonic 48-key preset synthesizer released in 1979. It features two types of sound - Percussive (Electric Piano, Clavi, Piano, Harmonics) and Ensemble (Brass, Organ, Choir, Strings I, Strings II). The Percussive sounds have a simple fast attack and variable decay envelope, and the Ensemble sounds have both preset and variable attack/release envelopes. Each key is articulated independently, so there is no note-stealing as experienced on synths limited to a handful of voices. The downside of this is the relative lack of programmability, but the presets sound good, particularly when layered (they are all available simultaneously).
The Lambda uses divide-down technology from three Top Octave oscillators to provide the basis for its sounds. The three oscillators are mixed and filtered using fixed circuits to create the preset sounds, but there are also controls on the front panel for basic low-pass filtering of the Percussive and Ensemble tones, and each section has its own volume control. There is also a control for "click" (used to add attack to the EP sound) and a filter cut-off control for the Brass sound, which has its own paraphonic filter - tuned to give a slightly resonant peak to the sound, and with its own preset filter envelope. This re-triggers on every keypress, so held notes will also be reshaped when new ones are played. In practice this is not much of a problem.
An Octave switch puts the keyboard in regular or Octave Down mode. The three oscillators can be detuned to thicken the sound further, and there is a separate analog "chorus phase" (really just a chorus) for each of the Percussive and Ensemble sections. These can be switched on/off independently but share the same sweep control, which is via the joystick on the modulation panel to the left of the keyboard. The joystick also acts as a pitch bend control. Vibrato can be switched off the Ensemble sounds. Percussive sounds feature a variable Tremolo and a Sustain switch that turns Decay into a Release.
Round the back, there are plenty of interface jacks for a synth of this type. Aside from the headphone out, the mono mix out, and the stereo outputs, there is a short-to-ground Keyboard Trigger output, a Sustain pedal input, and an Expression input jack, switchable between Percussive, Ensemble, or both.
The Lambda is a solidly-built instrument, and its large top panel is perfect for laying out some effect pedals and/or a mono-synth. Despite its preset nature, the Lambda is a more versatile synth than it might at first appear, partly due to the quality of its sound, but also the simple yet useful modulation and tone-shaping controls. It really shines through a phaser and some reverb, and is eminently playable."
"A 6 note polysynth design that I have been building on and off for about 3 years since i had the idea. I gutted an old Stratus as I got it very cheap and the original idea was to only replace the organ generation circuits with real VCO's or DCO's to feed the Stratus CEM filters etc. But as it developed I ended up replacing more and more of the Stratus with my own designs or interpretations of designs I've found on the web. It switched between CEM3340 VCO's an Electric Druid VCDO1 chips, eventually settling on the VCDO1 chips even though the waves are only 8 bit, its very PPGish.
The specs are as follows.
Dual Electric Druid VCDO1 oscillators with modified firmware for new waveforms and performance. Multipole filters similar to the Shruthi design but using the CEM3320 and pole mixing. 16 states, resonance, key tracking, EG depth & invert and looping. LFO with 16 waveforms, slope and delay, depth and multiple destinations. Electric Druid TAPLFO3. White Noise source based on the Electric Druid Noise 2 3x EG's per voice, Pitch, Filter and Amplifier, switchable velocity on each EG, Electric Druid EnvGEN8c. Bit Crush on the waveforms Poly/Unison modes 999 memory locations MIDI and CV in/outs and can be used to drive CV based equipment"
Full Disclosure: I occasionally take on freelance work at Sonicware on an hourly rate producing synth & sample sound design, beta testing, checking English text, video manuals etc. This video wasn't paid for directly but as a result of my work with Sonicware it is marked as Paid Promotion
*Note: I probably should have pointed out that I have the Left and Right inputs selected as the input from the Sampling menu, that's pretty important* 😅
This is an old school analogue resampling technique you can use on the Lofi-12 to add external effects to your audio. Resampling can also be done digitally if you'd like to just record internal samples without adding effects by changing the source selection to one of the tracks or the master output from the Sampling menu. You can also adapt the method in the video and leave the monitoring switched off if you don't need to hear the results in real-time"
"I have been noodling away on the guitar for quite a while now. Looking for new inspiration and musical insights. Doing this I sort of neglecting the synthesizers. I barely touched them since our last Beyond Berlin concert on E-Day in April 2023. In Januari I bought the Behringer Victor module and came up with this music. Last Thursday I switched the synths on again and the music was still in the Cirklon. I added some bits and recorded the music. What you see is the second take because in the first take the Minimoog solo's were not good enough.
It starts with a sequence on the Behringer Victor. Then the bass from the Synthesizers.com modular comes in. After that sequences from the Rob Hordijk OSC HRM, Oberheim SEM, Verbos Harmonic Oscillator, Korg Opsix and DSI Mopho are added. Strings are from the Waldorf Q Keyboard and the solo's from the Moog Minimoog."
"The left hand of Frédéric Chopin’s “Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, no. 2” is translated into a sequence by the Akai ME20A MIDI sequence arpeggiator and played back on the Roland Jupiter 6 (cross modulation). The Jupiter 6 audio output goes into the Alesis Midiverb II, with the input overloading. Tape echo from the Roland RE-301 is applied on the Mackie Onyx 1640 mixer."
4/26/24 Chopin’s “Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, no. 2” according to Akai ME20A & Roland Jupiter 6
"YLF plays the left hand of Frédéric Chopin’s 'Nocturne in E-flat major, Op. 9, no. 2' again, but this time as chords, which the Akai ME20A translates into a Bach-icized sequence. The Roland Jupiter 6 is in SOLO mode first, until it is switched to POLY-1 at 1:17, with some wiggling of filter cutoff and resonance, and the sustain and release on envelope 2, throughout the video, particularly towards the end.
"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. We can all agree that Roland created a few quite respectable drum machine like the Roland TR-808 , Roland TR-909 , Roland TR-606 and Roland TR-707 . However, since then their target demographic has dwindled: analog enjoyers have joined the Cult of Uli, people willing to RTFM are using next-generation Scandinavian abaci like Elektron Digitakt or Elektron Octatrack and real musicians switched to computers decades ago.
Today we are going to talk about Roland TR-8s. This 2018 flagship rhythm performer not only boasts a design language that clearly focuses on inner beauty - it also combines the played-out sounds of the 80s with the workflow of a 90s ROMpler.
Chapters: 00:00 Intro tune 00:57 Overview Roland TR8s 01:34 Sound Generators ( ACB , PCM Samples , User , FM Drum Synth ) 01:55 Updates ( Roland CR-78 ) 02:05 User Interface , Sound Parameters 02:20 Menu Diving 02:34 Kits, LFO 02:42 Buttons , Akai MPC - Style Pad 02:52 Sequencer , Workflow, Swing, Accents, Fills 03:29 Additional Features (Rolls, Substeps, Microtiming ) 03:41 Motion Recording , Parameter Locks , 03:57 Limitations, Melodies, 808 Bass 04:16 FX ( Roland SP-404 - Style Vinyl Effect ) 04:46 What else? ( SD Card , Computer Integration, Thanks) 05:35 Hate 05:58 Jam 1 (Triple Roland TB-3 Jam) 06:53 Jam 2 ( Elektro ) 07:47 Finale ( Footwork / Juke ) 08:17 Verdict"
"I have a bad habit of cranking the resonance on any machine I touch. It's so ingrained I did it at a friend's studio a little while back on an unfamiliar synth - and after a brief shriek decaying to an air-moving whomp I thanked the gods that the volume was set so low. I've used so many Polivoks-style filters in recent times I'm used to cranking the resonance with impunity.
Which brings me to the delicate love story between the Erica Synths Zen delay and the Behringer Pro-800. My trusty Rev2 is for sale and in its place I bought the Pro-800. Why trade down you may ask? Truth is I'm not a big poly player. The more polyphony you use the more simple the sound needs to be, in which case I wanted a simple yet knobby poly, and that's the Pro-800. Added bonus: no onboard effects. So when the Pro-800 arrived this week I teamed it with the Zen delay immediately.
So the romance is revealed: A brand new Pro-800 teamed with the Zen delay. The 800 is switched on for the first time, the resonance is cranked, the Zen's input drive and overdrive is engaged and almost immediately this gloriously jagged, gritty, and unpredictable darkness pours out.
Five minutes of first-time noodlings is a bit much I admit. And I was going to say all this over the top of the video but that felt wrong, like ads in a funeral service. So instead here it is. It is literally the first time I ever powered it on, to the point where I didn't even know how to save the sound or know whether I'm in tune, on the upside I pretty sure moved every knob and switch so if you want to replicate the sound, there it is.
Even so the 800's resonance is not fully cranked, I had to back off a little just to retain the ability to hold an actual melody.
Whether the 800 is good for anything else, who knows - I haven't got past this sound yet and I must look up how to save it. What's clear though is that the 800's filter teams beautifully with some heavy drive. I can feel more teamings in the air - perhaps another stereo 'Roger That' outing?
One final thing worth mentioning: the Zen delay cost significantly more than the Pro-800. Makes you wonder where your synth dollar is best spent.
00:00 Opening Titles
00:31 Introduction
01:20 Little Black Boxes
04:37 Switched On Cybersynths
17:46 Synthesiser Club
21:23 Commercial Break
23:05 Patching Today
37:53 Video Lab
40:26 Outro
"Episode six of the second series of the TV program from Benge, made at his Memetune Electronic Music Studio, and the final episode of the season
The series explores his passion for vintage synthesiser instruments and studio gear and how he uses it on his productions and collaborations
LITTLE BLACK BOXES - The Kawai k1m was a small desktop version of the K1 layer synth, introduced in 1988. Today I sequence it from an Atari ST running C-Lab Notator
SWITCHED ON CYBERSYNTHS - Patching it all together: after a brief section on quantising both pitch and time, I attempt to patch together all of the Memetune modulars (12 vintage systems!) in a giant Cybersynthesis monster patch
SYNTHESISER CLUB - Today, its more Yamahas, including a QX1 sequencer, RX5 drum machine, TQ5 FM synth module, REX50 multi FX, SY85 layer synth and a MT1X 4-multi-track cassette recorder
COMMERCIAL BREAK - Some adverts for Memetune related goodies, including the new Memetune Annual 2024 (sort of😁)
PATCHING TODAY - Taking the wonky Roland System 100 for a ride
VIDEO LAB - In this episode we take the meme-mobile for a spin!
"Modular & Semi Modular synths can be set to self-generate all kinds of effects, noises, and music. It can be both challenging and fun to program the synths to do this.
Here , the 104 sequencer is running at a very low clock speed and has a sequence of notes that are consistently chiming in on the 101 keyboard, which itself has the VCF & the VCA being slowly modulated by it's LFO.
The 102 expander has the sample & hold switched on to both pulse out a note trigger & slowly modulate its the VCF. My occasional interjections are to change the key of the sequence on the 101 keyboard & the 102's drone note; the 102's pitch is affected by the CV input from the 101's keyboard."
"Join us as we embark on a sonic journey with Replay, a new polyphonic synthesizer and multi-mode arpeggiator from Vongon. First up we test its prowess in the realm of synthwave - spoiler alert: it excels! In the latter half, we delve into the interface and its versatile capabilities complete with an immersive sound exploration, unleashing the arpeggiator and tweaking various parameters for a mesmerizing experience. Video and music production crafted by DeadMidi.
"Replay is a six-voice polyphonic synthesiser and a little window into synth heaven.
Lush pads, tiny plinks, snappy arpeggios, warbling melodies, resonant filters with midi connectivity and a sleek web interface!"
Vongon Replay Virtual Analog Synth | Overview + Exploration
"A demo and walkthrough of the new polysynth Replay, by Vongon. Replay is a 6-voice polyphonic synthesizer with a compact form factor that takes inspiration from classic poly synths from the 1980s, like the Roland Juno series + the Korg Polysix.
This video includes an overview of what Replay is and how it works, along with a number of sound examples demonstrating Replay on its own and in combination with FX pedals, to create a wide range of sounds from classic synth leads, pads, and arpeggios to more experimental textures and noisy sound worlds."
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Intro
02:45 Replay Overview & Tour
17:03 Musical Demo
19:09 Filter Experiments on Replay
23:50 Exploring the Arpeggiator
28:00 Combining Replay with FX
"Today we take the beautiful Replay by Vongon out for a spin and also have a conversation about synthesis basics in honor of my five year synth-a-versary. Vongon really hit it out of the park with this instrument and--whether it's your first synth or your 10th-- there's a lot here to love."
VONGON REPLAY Polyphonic Synth & Arpeggiator | Can I write a synth-pop track with it?!
"Man, I just love gear that makes you approach writing differently. That reminds you how fun it can be to find new sounds and feels, explore new ways of composing. And today, the new Vongon Electronics REPLAY is doing that for me - a super fun, approachable, compact polyphonic synth and arpeggiator."
"The Replay is the first synthesizer offering from boutique pedal designers Vongon, offering a six-voice virtual analog sound engine with multi-mode arpeggiator. Inspired by beloved keyboard synths of the early 80s like the Roland Juno and Korg Polysix, the Replay faithfully delivers warm and lush vintage timbres in a compact package that drips with modern aesthetics and utility. In Replay, Vongon has struck an impressive balance between scope of features, user experience, and overall sound quality. The result is an instrument that sounds wonderfully rich and nostalgia-laden, with an interface that is easy to understand - perfectly approachable for a beginning synthesist, yet deep enough to inspire veteran wigglers to explore the edges of its capabilities.
Replay's front panel is incredibly straightforward, with simple controls for its primary functions conveniently accessible. Additional options are selected via the "secret menu" alt functions. At the heart of Replay's sound engine are multiple selectable waveforms for its primary oscillator, with ramp, square, triangle, and sine modes. Noise amount, pulse width modulation, and LFO pitch modulation offer further timbral manipulations before passing to the four-pole, low-pass filter. Highly resonant and warm, the filter includes modulation depth controls from the primary envelope, keyboard tracking, and the LFO. The VCA features options for maximum amplitude and modulation source. An organic and responsive ADSR envelope and the on-board LFO round out this straightforward voice, with flexible modulation routing options between the main controls and alt functions.
The multimode arpeggiator on the Replay opens up a variety of fun and engaging options for controlling the synthesizer voice. Latch and keyed modes, in addition to the three poly modes available on the alt functions, offer a variety of ways for creating snappy and spiraling arpeggios and fuzzy, morphing pads. Up/Down, order, and random modes provide further ways to organize pitch material. The alt functions allow the LFO to be clocked by the ARP speed, creating rhythmically modulated phrases that are a joy to get lost in.
All in all, the Vongon Replay delivers a premium virtual analog experience that feels streamlined and purpose-built for getting beautiful analog sounds quickly. With plenty of depth in sound color and just the right amount of tricks up its sleeve to keep you immersed in music making rather than menu diving, the Replay is sure to become a go-to instrument for lush pads and other classic synth timbres. Its physical design is beautifully simple, and the responsive feel of its Cherry MX keys invite playful interaction that is hard to put down. Of course, the Replay is a lovely source for running through Vongon pedals, creating an instant synthwave or soundtrack machine paired with an Ultrasheer or Polyphrase. If you're needing a straightforward synth with limitless sonic charm, the Vongon Replay is a wonderful choice.
"Sometimes, one idea can lead to multiple variations on a theme. And many 60s, 70s & 80s Universal Studios t.v. shows utilsed this mindset with motifs created around the title music.
In Part 1, the sequencer was switched live to go from 4 steps to 8 steps. The basic time signature remained the same.
In Part 2, the sequencer's timing was being changed by bank B's pots. Noise was also used to add a drum part
In this third part, we're still hearing the same 8 notes, but the sequencer speed is being constantly changed by the sample & hold output from the 102 expander.
Note that the low drone pad is also being triggered from the same clock output, but without the lag to smooth out the ramp voltages it's firing out to the 104 sequencer; the speed of the melodic sequence ascends & descends accordingly.
"Sometimes, one idea can lead to multiple variations on a theme. And many 60s, 70s & 80s Universal Studios t.v. shows utilsed this mindset with motifs created around the title music.
In this part, the sequencer is switched live to go from 4 steps to 8 steps. The mixer is also played live."
"Mix a synth patch and use Mingles as the VCA.
Blend a signal between two different outputs.
Autopan a mono signal.
Stereoize even more, an already stereo signal.
Mingles is a 12hp Dual 3 Input Mixer with attenuators for each signal, and a large panning knob for each of the two channels. There is a stereo output for each of the two channels, and a mixed stereo output of both channels. There is an internal LFO (Triangle or Pulse) that can be applied to each of the two channel’s panning. The LFO is inverted on channel 2 to allow for mirrored panning between the two channels.
There is also a VCA and external panning CV input in each of the two channels, along with a CV input for control of the LFO rate, and there is an LFO output.
The LFO can be switched between Triangle and Pulse waves with a jumper on the back of the module.
A huge thanks to After Later Audio for helping make this idea I had over 2 years ago a reality!
You can jump to any section of the video here:
00:00 - Opening
00:38 - Introduction and Rundown
02:50 - Stereo Oscillator Synth
04:36 - LFO Rate
05:09 - Back to Stereo Oscillator Synth
05:40 - Modulating the LFO Rate
07:38 - Mixing Drums
09:55 - External Panning CV
10:57 - End of Chain Panning Effect (Pulse LFO)
12:35 - Other Patch Suggestions
13:18 - Some Music"
"We are excited to announce that the Moogseum will be hosting The Sounds of Innovation, the first public broadcast of the Abominatron Tape in its entirety. The event will occur on Friday, March 29, at 7:00 p.m. It will feature an introductory reading by Executive Director Michelle Moog-Koussa from Bob Moog's biography, Switched On: Bob Moog and the Synthesizer Revolution, followed by a listening session of the full iconic 84-minute tape.
Tickets for the event are $15 per person and are now on sale.
The event is limited to 20 people, so do not hesitate to buy your ticket now.
In the summer of 1964, Bob Moog and Herb Deutsch began working on what would eventually become the Moog modular prototype. Deutsch spent three weeks working side by side with Moog in his basement workshop in Trumansburg, New York, where he added crucial input to the design process. Moog spent several months developing the prototype and later that year, he sent Deutsch the now-historic tape explaining the various controls, parameters, and capabilities of the Moog modular prototype.
The Moog modular prototype is widely considered the instrument that marked the genesis of a musical revolution and significantly advanced the development of electronic music. The Abominatron Tape captures the very first recorded sounds of a Moog modular.
The Sounds of Innovation is supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts."
Besides deciding on a scale and having an idea of the notes to play for each instrument, this was improvised. It was also unquantized and played in free time. I switched each sequence into 'Walk' mode, which is semi-random and adds an element of chance in terms of how the 4 sequences will interact."
"This is a dry - very dry - comparison video of the two iterations of the first model of the Crumar Performer - a string and brass machine.
There was also a second model Performer, the Performer 2, with a slightly different look, but I've never played that one - it's quite rare.
What makes the biggest difference between the early and late production run of the first model Crumar Performer is the architecture and components of the Brass filter section.
So we'll focus on that in this video, after a quick String Section comparison.
Crumar initially used the Moog Ladder filter for the Performer, and later modified the brass circuitry and switched to a SSM2040 filter.
Not only the components changed - the sound and behaviour of the Brass section itself changed.
There are quite a few opinions out there regarding the two filter sections so let's do some myth busting right away.
There's no fool proof indicator of what filter version Crumar Performer you have in your hands just looking at it.
We initially thought the octave switch on the front panel was added together with the SSM filter - incorrect- we've had a Performer without octave switch that still mounted the SSM filter.
Some people say B in the serial number on the back indicates later production run units with SSM filters - also incorrect - these are both marked B but one is equipped with the Moog ladder filter.
Very low serial numbers should generally have the Moog Ladder filter but there's no rule of thumb - you just have to plug in your Performer and listen - or open it up and see which components are on board.
These were just serviced and calibrated according to specs - there's an official procedure for this - the SSM filter model had the SSM2040 switched to a new SSM2140 - without it making any difference on the behaviour or sound of the filter - we tried both."
It is a 4 channel selectable logic function module, with each channel having two inputs. All channels share the same logic function and the gate outs are summed with binary weights to create a stepped voltage to generate melodic or modulation signals from the outputs.
