via BugBrand (For those in the US: check on availability with Noisebug per below)
"The 5FW design stems from ideas I used way back in the Old Blue days when I had the CTL1 Touch Panel - that design went through a few iterations during its 4 years of life, moving from just a control/preset device to incorporating some basic sequencing. Now I have taken it several steps further - expanding it out to 8 steps and increasing the control & sequencing options. The result is a powerful little hands-on sequencing hub!
It can link up with other clocking devices, especially the Sequence - indeed, I'm just beginning to investigate a joiner/expander for the pair that would allow the Control link to be easily switched on/off and also incorporate a handful of other useful functions.
In the meantime, the first modules are starting to ship - they can either fit in a larger system or sit in a 5FW case - perhaps an interesting addition to other banana systems!
US shipping & Tariffs:
There has been a fair bit of uncertainty because of new tariffs on shipments into the US (10% from UK vs 20% or more from most other places), alongside the ending of the De Minimis exemption for shipments under $800. Given that I send a fair amount to people in the States, these changes have proved worrying!
Thankfully I've been able to jiggle things around and have found that I can still send things easily & affordably - indeed, often including pre-payment of tariffs while not raising the overall shipping cost, and sticking with Royal Mail who have proved so reliable over many years of use.
Noisebug:
But, alongside these changes, I'm rekindling my prior work with the wonderful Noisebug store of Pomona, California. Just today I've sent a reasonable initial load - a couple of 1Frame systems, several mini-systems and a handful of red designs.
As you know, I've tended to work directly with people worldwide, but have kept in with a very few small & specific stores - Noisebug really fit the bill here for me! So if you've got requests, feel free to get in contact with them - or continue to nudge me direct ;)"
This music was created without the use of sequencers; all of the background music was recorded in real-time on reel-to-reel tapes. I used a Kawai K1 synthesizer, a Siel DK-80 synthesizer, and a Roland TR-505 drum machine. A Peavey AddVerb II was also used for effects. For this show, I was loaned a portable Casio Midi Controller, which I connected to the Kawaii synth to use for the song "Destiny's Flight."
Notes from Craig Padilla: This was my first public performance on June 8, 1990. It was at the Shasta College Theatre in Redding, CA, and it was my college final project for my Creative Sound Design class. Many people involved with the theater department helped out with this project.
I came from a theatrical background, and I had been used to facing the audience, which is why I performed while facing the audience during this show. My Uncle Joe saw this video and suggested that I should perform sideways so that the audience can see what I'm playing. Thanks to that advice, I've been performing that way ever since. This concert is the only time that I've performed while facing the audience.
This music was created without the use of sequencers; all of the background music was recorded in real-time on reel-to-reel tapes. I used a Kawaii K1 synthesizer, a Siel DK-80 synthesizer, and a Roland TR-505 drum machine. A Peavey AddVerb II was also used for effects. For this show, I was loaned a portable Casio Midi Controller, which I connected to the Kawaii synth to use for the song "Destiny's Flight."
Please be mindful of the visual quality of this video. It has been remastered from standard definition and upscaled to 1080p HD with audio remastered from a chrome stereo cassette tape. I am fortunate that it looks and sounds as good as it does.
The original broadcast video aired on Redding Community Access TV in 1990 and 1991. It was shot on VHS tapes from two camera angles and edited on a Super VHS tape. Unfortunately, the audio on the broadcast video was recorded from the main onboard camera microphone, which had a muddy sound. (At the time, I thought that it was better to use that audio than to have no publicity for my music.) 35 years later, thanks to current technology, the stereo audio from the master cassette tape has replaced the original audio track. It has been pitch-corrected to sync up with the video, which is something I never thought would be possible! The video was also enhanced to brighten some of the shots.
There is a small black bar on the second camera angle, and that was to cover up a graphic date that was imbedded in the video of that camera. I had decided that the black bar was less distracting than a graphic on the screen whenever I switched to that camera.
I am fortunate that I knew people who would loan me their cameras for this performance, and equally thankful to my friends who offered their time to operate the cameras!
Matt Denton, a long time friend from high school, was the main camera operator. I met Bryan Arnold while attending college. Bryan loaned me his Kawaii synthesizer for the music, and was the second cameraman who had to briefly step away to perform a song. T. Owen Smith designed the light show, and he suggested that I throw a flame out of my hand at the end of the last song. I had known Dwight Husted since high school, and he was the lighting operator who ran the light-show. My college friends, Jeff Yarnell, Karen Wodsack, and Dale Gipp, were the stage crew who also contributed the idea to use actors in body bags and dress as aliens for a song. And Dale Kilpatric helped me produce the show, and he performed with his amazing classical guitar for a song. (More people helped, and their names are listed in the end-credits of the video.)
Over 100 people attended the performance which was a benefit for the Shasta Summer Theatre Festival. I give many thanks to DJ Ron Dare for hugely promoting my music on his radio show, "KCHO's Music for A New Age" in 1989 and 1990 (and years beyond that). Also, thanks to Robert Soffian, the head of the theater department, for allowing me to not only act in his plays, but to also have me record many songs for the various theatrical productions during that time. And many thanks to everybody who helped to make this concert possible so many years ago.
Extra big thanks to everybody who supported my music then and continues to support it now.
Song list: 00:00 - KCHO DJ Ron Dare Announcement 02:30 - Shanda's Song 08:05 - Waltz of the Planets (dedicated to my friend Derrick Guderian) 14:15 - Spanish Journey (featuring Dale Kilpatric on guitar) 19:50 - Destiny's Flight (dedicated to my Grandmother) 30:43 - Path of the Falling Stars (featuring Bryan Arnold) 36:00 - UFO Theme 42:05 - Other Beings (featuring many theater friends) 47:45 - Journeys through Space
A 24-bit download of this performance will be available at www.CraigPadilla.com [https://craigpadilla.bandcamp.com] in November 2025."
Presented by: Liam Duggan Lucky Winner of an ARP Pro Soloist Signed by Tony Banks
Liam has been active in the UK music scene since the late 80’s. From playing in punk bands in his teens, djing in Bristol’s early acid house scene to working in the studio with Mr Scruff and DJ Krust, touring as keyboard player for the reknowned Bristol band Breakbeat Era, and working as a synth programmer for Bryan Ferry.
Liam has a deep love of music and synthesizers. ARP Synthesizers in particular. His email address ends in 2600.
This raffle was made possible by: Andrew Ward, Tony Banks and Machina Bristronica
Thanks also to: Alex Ball, Alison Cassidy, Bell Tone Synth Works, the Board of the Alan R Pearlman Foundation, Cherry Audio, Gino Wong, Korg UK, Mike M. Martin, Moog Music, Nick Carlisle, Robbie Puricelli, Robert Saint John, Rupert Greenall, Sweet Discrete and Vito Nando"
Click the auction link on top when you get there for additional listings.
"Here is my CS70-M, owned for over 20 years. recently fully serviced by renowned tech Benoit Guivarch in Paris. included rare 'voice library' preset book, working card reader ! magnificent beast. Probably a bad idea to ship via transporter, local pickup would be best, open to discussing options."
"POB takes us on a distortion journey into ruin with this dark and cinematic performance with Noise Engineering modules. Patch inspired by my recent firmware video for Librae Legio. Librae is mostly a set-and-forget module for me, and I hardly ever use the CV inputs. I showed an example on the short video by throwing a gate signal into the Ceiling input, and the result was this pumping effect that occurs throughout the whole mix. Just left it activated. I'm really glad that CV input put the hook I needed.
Notes:
0:00 BIA into Ruina Versio
1:29 Introducing Debel Iteritas Alia with wide open attack, using Quantus Trajecta to create a more vocally shaped envelope in place of its own envelope.
2:13 Introducing Sinc Legio, pitched by Opp Ned's arepeggios, then distorting it through Roucha Legio.
3:07 Introducing Virt Iter Legio as the wobbly bassline using Mimetic Digitwolis' randomizing melody, being switched at times by Muta Jovis.
5:07 Switching the bypass on Roucha's filter while adjusting its frequency.
9:35 Using Desmodus Versio's built-in LFO to affect its reverb tail.
12:55 MOAR Distortion on the BIA using Ruina Versio, toggling in and out of gated Smoosh.
14:08 Using Desmodus Versio's Tone controls to filter the reverb tail.
Clocked by Horologic Solum. Mixed on Xer Dualis, then sent through Librae Legio with its Ceiling being CV-controlled by an LFO from Pons Asinorum.
This one was spotted and sent in via M Me.
"This is the Superlative SB01, a clone of Roland's SH101 80's mono synth. I backed this on Kickstarter many years ago, it has just arrived and I no longer have a need for it. it comes in original packaging, it's just the Synth, no cables as it does not come with any. Use any charging USB C cable to power/charge as it has a built in battery."
Not a proper song, it's a single pattern first exploration to test the new sound design and manipulation possibilities of the Elektron Machinedrum unofficial Firmware ver. X.12.
It's unbelievably good.
I'm totally shocked/in awe and I think I will go MD X.12 only for a while.
It really feels like that Monomachine/Machinedrum hybrid I have been dreaming about for such a long time.
Next thing I want to do is a pure data midi2CC script that allows me to input notes and chords with a midi keyboard.
A special thank you goes to the developers, you really did an incredible job.
If I could make a little wish for a future addition: I would love to have tonal mode for the ROM machines as well, I have a huge sample library from the Amiga era that is waiting to be loaded in the UW :)
In this exploration I mainly used GND-PU and GND-SW for the melodies, all synthesis, no samples.
The pulse bass/pad thing is sidechained with a NFX-CO machine and the main pads use a NFX-EV to achieve long attack/release and double stage filtering.
All the audio is coming from the main AB out, no additional audio outputs were used.
You can find my music on buromaschinen.bandcamp.com
Buromaschinen is part of the Distant Future association, distantfuture.org"
"Here we have Ferry Island Modular's first release 'Four Seas', which is designed, engineered and manufactured in Finland. It's a real power house of a sound source, suiting to quickly grabbing some waves to patch with or for deep sound design tweaking. Everything is knob/button per function with no menus, making complex behaviours, modulations and sounds simple to access. There's LOTS of examples in this video, see the timing index below for all that's covered ... yet I'm sure there's lots left to uncover with all the options this presents."
"RARE! New England Digital Synclavier 9600 Polyphonic Sampling System Brochure
Yes, this is the 9600, and yes, this is in English.
This is THE RAREST and MOST SOUGHT AFTER of the 1989 new system brochures that that fake foreign website scanned the photos from 25+ years ago to show fake systems on the website (instead of real ones like Synclav com has shown for 20+ years). This is the original source of the scan, at least for the Synclavier 9600 model. Those photos show empty boxes. Uhm, what's holding that beige door closed (no locks)? And exactly what software generates that screen image?
This incredibly rare brochure gives all the information, and shows all the specs of the Synclavier 9600. And surprise! The maximum polyphonic sampling memory is not "1.5GB", lulz.
And, lastly, Synhouse has the Synclavier 9600 in stock (two kinds, actually). Nobody else does."
New England Digital Synclavier Brochure VPK Sample-to-Disk VT640
"This is an incredibly rare brochure from the summer of 1984 (when NED was working on polyphonic sampling Synclavier to be shown October 1984 and there was no actual system in production, the few shipped were hybrids of the Synclavier V/PK retrofitted to a Synclavier II Control Unit) that shows things that NED didn't exactly make, ever.
This was their first---and last---mention of "The Tapeless Studio" meaning the sequencer (later that meant the Direct-to-Disk system). It describes the SMPTE Reader Option without using that term because it wasn't yet available and they hadn't figured out how it would be done yet (similar to the 1987 discussion of the not-yet-released 3rd party SMPTE reader for the Linn 9000, saying they weren't sure whether or not it would require additional hardware to be added to the Linn 9000....that's the sound of someone who hasn't ever used SMPTE and doesn't know what it is), and it shows a graphical flow chart showing polyphonic sampling and multi-channel outputs (neither available then as building blocks), and is intentionally vague about the "floppy disk system" and "Winchester disks", as they didn't really have the set offering for that (high density Superfloppy, not out until 1985, and 5mb and 10mb IMI MFM Winchester drives being common, neither with SCSI until 9/1985).
It describes the Stereo Option, Sample-to-Disk, SCRIPT/MAX, and different Control Unit enclosures.
Most strangely, it shows a V/PK that never existed, with a back panel that wasn't made, with Synclavier II connectors that were never used and, sadly, an on/off power switch that they never put on this $11,000 machine.
Auction to be held at Musician's Hall of Fame & Museum, Nashville, on November 19
An incredible collection of more than 450 artifacts from the life and career of Florian Schneider, co-founder of the pioneer electronic band Kraftwerk."
Pics and videos featuring some of the gear below, and his Lederhosen for good measure (thanks greg!).
Update: the post has been fully updated with all the synth related gear. This may just well be the longest post to be featured on the site. I wanted to capture all the pics for all of the details including notes, scuffs, and of course serial numbers. It's an interesting look into what he used, the condition he keped his gear, in some cases, how he actually used his gear. Note the phonetics on the keys of the Casio CZ-101 and DX-100. Note the Midi Switch Box with a built-in speaker? What's that about? Note the camouflage key strap on the Korg RK-100 Remote Keyboard. Did he pick it out himself or did the keytar just come with it? Note the repeat midi controllers and the MIDI saxaphones. Wind was his primary instrument. You'll find a ton of the acoustic gear he used in the other listings. This is a fascinating insight into both what and how he used his gear.
Side note: there is no affiliate compensation for this post. The note at the top automatically shows for all posts with the Auction label.
Rack Mount Sennheiser VSM-201 Vocoder
Starting Bid
$5,000
Estimate
$20,000 - $40,000 USD
A late 1970s Sennheiser VSM 201 Vocoder with no serial number from the personal studio and collection of Florian Schneider of Kraftwerk (see images). While it’s said that only a few dozen of these Vocoders were produced, a few examples made it into the hands of forward-thinking musical artists including Herbie Hancock, Daft Punk, and of course, Kraftwerk, who used a VSM-201 like this on their albums Man Machine (1978) and Computerworld (1981). The VSM-201 has an intelligible sound that has not yet been bested by modern gear. Includes power cable. This VSM-201 has been removed from its wooden enclosure (which bears the serial number plate) and modified with a metal rack mount casing, presumably for live use. Requires 240v, IEC power cable not included.
Dimensions: 19 x 9 x 9 inches
Category: Kraftwerk, Equipment
Provenance: PROVENANCE From the Estate of Florian Schneider
"Stunning 1969 Moog IIIc modular synth: two cabinets, two keyboards for sale in original condition on behalf of the owner.
In very good original/ex-factory condition with no modifications. The owner says "I'm the 2nd owner since it left NYC in the early 70's - all modules signed and dated - might need a service on the Filter Coupler but she is very tidy for 50 years old."
While it is in good working order for a 50+ year old synth, we would advise that a sympathetic service be carried out for future reliability."
A few of the visibal SNs:
Model 904C SN 533-11-69
Model 901 B SN 634-070
Model 901 B 596-12-69
"I built a case for a demo of the Bohm kick module (video out soon), and took the opportunity to test out some live case ideas and modules I wanted to try. This video is like a hangout where I talking you through it, explain new modules I tried which you might be interested in, and what I plan to change, and other relevant ideas besides. 👉 / mylarmelodies 🙌"
"CHAPTERS:
00:00 I'm going to talk about this case
01:46 What is this system?
02:36 What's good about this? Disting NT Turingathon
07:09 Erica Synth Sample Drum + Euclidean Circles
11:37 Iris 1 Probabilistic Trigger Sequencer
15:15 LPZW Elster 909 Hihat Module
17:12 Bohm Kick & Performer
20:44 Doepfer A-111-6 & Braids
22:40 Knobula Monumatic
27:04 Little Jam
28:16 Disting NT
31:11 So what will I do next?"
"Today I'm very happy to show you Time Slice, a four channel audio buffer manipulator that I had a lot of fun trying out.
This thing is a beast, it's as much a sampler / looper that it is a sample player and a real time effect processor, but even better it can several of these things at the same time!
All this was done on beta firmware so the sound got cleaner in the release version ;-)
"Spectrasonics Omnisphere 3 is here, and I'm taking a deep dive into the architecture of the latest version of this legendary synth! Join me for a talky takly exploration of the sound, features, and origin of Omnisphere, and details on the newest capabilities that other synth-tubers ignore. If you're unsure if Omnisphere 3 is "worth it in 2025", I hope you'll learn something from my deep (or at least as deep as I can get in 90 minutes) dive! And, if you're an old hand at Omnisphere, I might remind you about some of the deep features that make Omnisphere a classic... So grab your rusty spoke and get ready for a POWER-SYNTH-A-GO-GO episode of your favorite talky synthesizer content show!"
"I'm not very good at patch creation, but here are the first five patches I've created on the new Hybrid 8 synth. The organ patch is using wavetables, but the rest are just sawtooth VCOs."
"The 5FW design stems from ideas I used way back in the Old Blue days when I had the CTL1 Touch Panel - that design went through a few iterations during its 4 years of life, moving from just a control/preset device to incorporating some basic sequencing. Now I have taken it several steps further - expanding it out to 8 steps and increasing the control & sequencing options. The result is a powerful little hands-on sequencing hub!
It can link up with other clocking devices, especially the Sequence - indeed, I'm just beginning to investigate a joiner/expander for the pair that would allow the Control link to be easily switched on/off and also incorporate a handful of other useful functions.
