Thephonoloop announces availability of outlines VI, beautifully blending raw acoustic gestures with tape loops and modular-processed tonal experiments
KATOWICE, POLAND: Thephonoloop is proud to announce availability of outlines as its latest NKS (Native Kontrol Standard) ready VI (virtual instrument) for Native Instruments’ Kontakt Player free sample player — beautifully blending raw acoustic gestures with tape loops and modular-processed tonal experiments to spark musical momentum as the sample-based instruments with character-producing Polish two-person team’s approach to a collection of tonal variations designed to be combined and explored, each preset being an outline of a musical idea ready to be expanded and reshaped into something larger — as of March 12…
"We patch both modules together, sync them via Mother-32, and explore how they interact with DFAM, Labyrinth, and Teenage Engineering Rhythm for a wild semi-modular jam.
The D-Thing+ transforms the Moog DFAM, adding reset, swing, step control, micro-timing, shuffle, reverse, random modes, and MIDI/CV clocking — turning a brilliant but limited sequencer into a powerful performance instrument.
The L-Thing is built to pair with Moog’s Labyrinth, providing dual clocks, polymeter and polyrhythm modes, Euclidean rhythm options, and generative sequencing that pushes Labyrinth far beyond its stock behavior — while still working with any CV-capable synth.
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 — Intro: Serendipity + what we’re testing 0:23 — Why DFAM needs this (no reset, studio workflow) 2:23 — D-Thing+ reset explained (DFAM’s biggest quirk) 2:52 — Step length control (1–8 steps) 3:43 — Multi menu: step loops beyond 8 steps 4:58 — Micro menu: per-step microtiming / swing feel 5:02 — Sequencer modes overview (normal, reverse, bounce, odd/even, shuffle) 6:34 — Random mode + MIDI/CV modes 8:35 — L-Thing intro + what it unlocks on Labyrinth 10:03 — Patching L-Thing to Labyrinth (clock + bit flip) 11:06 — Sync setup: D-Thing+ clocking L-Thing + reset in sync 11:34 — LFOs + using it with other Moog (Grandmother/Matriarch) 12:44 — Polymeter setup: beats/bar + length tricks 13:42 — Polyrhythm mode (firmware note + chaos) 14:59 — Fast performance tweaks / weirdness 17:56 — Wrap-up: who these are for + closing
The D-Thing is a device that adds significant capabilities to the DFAM (or Edge) sequencer, such as:
MIDI integration — clocking and individual step play,
Reset — manual, via CV or via MIDI,
Variations in the step order — Forward, Reverse, Bounce, Odds & Evens, Shuffle, Random and Custom,
Changing the sequence length — 1 to 8 steps (up to 16 steps for a custom step order),
Step repeat — assign a play count of up to 8 times to any step,
Off-grid timing — swing beat as well as arbitrary shifts away from the beat.
"🎵 Welcome to Cheerful Electronics OPL Studio - First Contact! 🎛️ In this sound design experiment, we dive deep into the world of FM synthesis using the powerful OPL Studio, exploring retro sounds inspired by classic OPL3 chips. Whether you're a fan of chip music, vintage FM synths, or curious about pushing the limits of sound design, this video is your perfect starting point.
Get ready for rich, textured tones and quirky sonic explorations as we showcase the raw potential of OPL Studio. This first contact session covers live tweaking, patch creation, and modulation — perfect for anyone diving into retro synth workflows or looking for viral FM synthesis content.
If you're into chiptune, retro game soundtracks, or nostalgic hardware-driven music, you'll feel right at home. Watch now and get inspired to experiment with your own OPL3-based synths and plugins!"
OPL Studio is the ultimate OPL2 / OPL3 synthesizer! It gives you almost limitless control over what you can do with the OPL3 synthesizer chip.
Features of OPL Studio
OPL Studio has a long list of features. To name a bunch of them:
Integrated patch editor to edit predefined instruments and create your own Load and save instrument banks from popular formats such as *.BNK, *.SB, *.O3, ect.
Patch linking to layer up to 4 instrument patches for even more complex sounds Polyphonic sequence editor to create up to 32 drum and 32 melody sequences Quad sequencer to live play up to four sequences
Composer module that lets you create complete songs from your sequences Midi channel mixer
"A piece created with stones, a gong, and a @SequentialLLC Prophet-10. A contact microphone is placed beneath the gong; stones and small bells are moved across its surface to produce sound, which is then blended with synthesizer textures and effects.
Prophet-10: Routed through a blueSky for deep reverb.
Gong setup: A contact mic feeds into @ChaseBlissAudio LOSSY → GENERATION LOSS MK II → @HologramElectronics MICROCOSM.
LOSSY EQs out excess low end.
GENERATION LOSS MK II adds subtle tape coloration.
MICROCOSM supplies reverb and records/plays back micro-loops.
Ableton Live: All parts are recorded, duplicated, and augmented with additional spatial processing via VST effects."
"Phantasmal Force micro midi controller is available here:
https://distropolisgoods.com/
I haven’t posted in a little while … i’ve been working on the beta firmware for the Phantasmal Force for several months. Here is an improvisational demonstration of the new ARP button mode.
I’m triggering the OPL Studio with three different sequences sent from the Phantasmal Force. The OPL studio is multi timbral so it is capable of playing back different FM tones on each midi channel. It is an amazing device for those looking to explore 80s FM sounds within the context of a hypothetical OS developed to control all of the OPL chip parameters. Truly incredible.
The NTS-3 takes a bit of learning, but is slowly becoming a fave of mine for adding reverb, delays and interactive effects.  Such a great deal for what it costs.
I’m hoping to release a version 2.0 of the Phantasmal Force firmware within the next couple weeks … maybe even sooner. With that, I intend to release a kit version for sale as well."
"OPL Studio is the ultimate OPL2 / OPL3 synthesizer! It gives you almost limitless control over what you can do with the OPL3 synthesizer chip.
Features of OPL Studio
OPL Studio has a long list of features. To name a bunch of them:
Integrated patch editor to edit predefined instruments and create your own
Load and save instrument banks from popular formats such as *.BNK, *.SB, *.O3, ect.
Patch linking to layer up to 4 instrument patches for even more complex sounds
Polyphonic sequence editor to create up to 32 drum and 32 melody sequences Quad sequencer to live play up to four sequences
Composer module that lets you create complete songs from your sequences Midi channel mixer
"I present the LOFI uTape Scrubber….. based around modified dictaphone including the same replay and AC record circuits used in the upcoming 1U Taperack system!
The uTape scrubber module is easy to set up, use and maintain so requires no previous experience with tape or tape loops unlike the 1U taperack system which will be best suited to people with experience working with tape.
The Bi-directonal motor driver circuit I have designed is a huge improvement over the standard dictaphone motor driver circuit making it possible to scrub the tape back and forth with a single control knob or a Biploar CV signal.
The Pitch knob is used for fine tune control of tape speed, the range of the speed will depend upon the direction/range control.
The direction / range control knob can be used to choose the direction of the tape movement and the range of the overall pitch.
The Pitch CV control knob is an attenuator for the CV input.
The CV input works well with +/- 5V CV signals but for extreme speeds and scrubbing use +/- 10V.
A beautiful & fascinating African instrument, the Kora is hard to classify. With 21 strings and a cow-hide resonator, it's a type of bridge harp, but with some lute or guitar DNA in the mix.
The kora is made from a gourd, which is cut in half and covered with cow hide. This forms the resonator of the instrument. There are 21 strings, suspended by a double notched bridge - 10 on one side, 11 on the other. This is typical of a double harp and it is classified as such. However, because the strings originate from a 'neck' and cross a bridge into a resonator, this also makes it a lute.
Soniccouture’s VST version is incredibly playable and versatile, featuring a MIDI pattern player for authentic accompaniment.
• 40 VELOCITY LAYERS + MUTE ACCENTS / KEY OFFS • MIC + CONTACT CHANNELS
• MIDI PATTERN PLAYER
• MICRO-TUNING
• 6GB LIBRARY
• KONTAKT PLAYER + NKS
INTRO OFFER
€89 (€129) | $89 ($129)
Until May 15th 2024. Price as marked on website, no code required. Offer excludes other discount codes.
"This is not an in-deep review but a first contact review with this great synthesizer, the OB-XD from discoDSP.
At the end of the video I've played a LIVE PERFORMANCE with Cubase and Novation SL 61 mkIII.
OB-XD overviwe (from offiial website):
OB-Xd is based on the Oberheim OB-X. It attempts to recreate its sound and behavior, but as the original was very limited in some important ways a number of things were added or altered to the original design. OB-Xd was designed to sound as good and as rich as the original. It implements micro random detuning which is a big part of that sound."
This wonderful machine has been serviced by our tech and all contact were cleaned or replaced.
Expanding the Sequential TOM to hold 16 "cartridges"
I bought my TOM a few years ago, and had always intended to make some sort of switch-able cartridge for it. I decided recently that it would be nicer to have everything inside the TOM, if possible, and control it using the TOM user interface. There are two advantages to doing it this way:
1) Cartridges can be selected without unplugging and replacing EPROMs, which can get damaged by ESD or bent pins.
2) Both the internal sounds and the cartridge can be swapped out, so all 15 sounds can be changed, not just the top 7. There are two "slots" - internal and cartridge. Any of the 16 "cartridges" can be placed in either slot. If a cartridge has seven sounds in it, and is placed in the internal slot, button 8 will not make a sound. All of the cartridges I have made have 8 sounds. If they are placed in the internal slot, all 8 are available. If they are placed in the cartridge slot, only the first 7 sounds are available.
The board plugs into one of the internal sound ROM IC sockets, after both chips have been removed. It also needs A15b and A16b which are not available in either socket, so two short wires are used. I use A15b and A16b instead of A15 and A16 to avoid connecting to the Wonder chip signals. Luckily there are eyelets on the TOM board right where I needed them to be for these two signals.
Here is a photo showing the newer version of the pcb, which has a third wire. The original two wires are connected exactly as before, while the third wire attaches to the lower end of the 10K resistor near the battery. I have added a small circuit which should allow inserting a cartridge (for testing) into the TOM while the TOM16 is installed. In this case, the only sounds available would be the ones on the cartridge, as the TOM16 EPROM is disabled.
How does it work? I added code to the TOM V1.6 OS firmware (the final SCI version) to allow selecting cartridges using the std user interface. Once the selection is made, these values are sent using the Wonder chip in a special way to a PIC micro-controller on my board. That chip presents the two cartridge select 4-bit codes to a dual 4:1 mux that feeds the correct one to an 8 Mbit EPROM. I do not plan to release the PIC code, or provide the source for my version of the TOM OS at this time. The only changes that I made to the TOM OS firmware were for TOM16 support. No other changes were made.
I am currently offering fully assembled pcb's for $105 including Priority Mail shipping to USA addresses. If you are outside of the USA, please contact me for the additional shipping cost. In order to install the board in your TOM, you will need to upgrade the (socketed) firmware EPROM with one that I supply. You will also need to remove the two (socketed) sound ROM chips I610 and I611. And finally you will need to carefully solder three wires, (which I will supply) into small holes in the TOM pc board and in my board."
"2018 Folktek Resonant Garden Standalone Synthesizer With Strings, Eurorack Patchable.
The Resonant Garden is an acoustic-electronic hybrid designed to create anything from beats and oddities to dense sound scapes.
The garden essentially utilizes three Alter circuits but each equipped with a mic pre-amp, and 4 garden (stringed) panels for generating acoustics. By plucking, rubbing, tapping or even bowing, those micro-acoustic sounds become amplified and effected by the Alter in any number of ways. In essence, the garden is a large microphone designed to pick up vibrations.
EFFECTS
There are two Alter 1 designs and 1 Alter 2. Each Alter 1 has seven different DSP effects which is selected by touching the copper hexagon:
1; long delay (capable of near infinite feedback looping)
2; tight, notated granular delay
3; huge plate reverb
4; shimmering reverb
5; distortion and multi-filter
6; pitch delay
7; stutter glitch
Alter 2 has the following effects:
1; analog delay
2; reverb with infinite capture and lp + hp filters
3; choral
4; palindrome reverse delay - backward/forward repeat
5; time stretch
6; pitch shift (notated semi-tones
7; time stretch glitch
CONTROL
On each of the Alter sections, the following is present:
- control for the gain of the mic pre-amp or any incoming audio.
- controls for mix, X, Y and filter as well as clock.
- all effects have a variation of a filter which may change effect to effect.
- X and Y control various rates.
- clock control adjusts the rate which controls the DSP which can drastically change the effect. In doing so it does slightly lower the quality of the output signal but the results are fantastic. This clock is not for synchronization.
- mix, X, Y and filter all have CV control inputs.
- Each control level or cv input is visualized on the control panel.
ACOUSTICS
Each garden panel is equipped with a contact mic. A contact mic is designed to pick up vibration. The mic pre-amp is specifically designed to deal with the frequencies of the contact mic by boosting certain frequencies and dulling others in order to optimize the sound quality. The mic pre-amp has a gain control so the level can be adjusted according to how you intend to play."
Gear Used:
32" Paiste Earth gong with AKG C411 contact mic and processed with the following gear:
Hotone A-Station mic pre pedal with effects loop
MXR 10 Band EQ pedal
Electro Harmonix Ravish Sitar pedal
TC Electronic Flashback delay pedal
TC Electronic Hall Of Fame reverb pedal
Mackie 402-VLZ3 mixer
Rav Vast Onoleo B steel tongue drum with AKG C411 contact mic and processed with the following gear:
Mackie 1202-VLZ4 mixer
Walrus Audio Julia tremolo/chorus pedal
MXR Octave Fuzz pedal
Strymon DIG delay pedal
Vermona PerFOURmer MkII quad analog synthesizer processed with the following gear:
Mackie 1202-VLZ4 mixer
Meris Mercury7 reverb pedal
Roland RD-64 piano/synth keyboard processed with the following gear:
Mackie 1202-VLZ4 mixer
Meris Mercury7 reverb pedal
Mellotron Micro keyboard processed with the following gear:
Mackie 1202-VLZ4 mixer
Meris Mercury7 reverb pedal
Synthetic Sound Labs Radio Music module processed with the following gear:
Mackie 1202-VLZ4 mixer
Walrus Audio SLO reverb pedal
"As per my usual, I didn't have any idea of what I was going to perform until the day before the performance, but for what it's worth, here it is! ;-) I had fun none the less and a big thank you to Mollie, Bradley, Chris, Philip, Justin, James, Kevin, everyone else who helped out, all the other great performers , and big hugs to the wonderful members of the audience!
If you want to know more about MOTS (Modular On The Spot) and Modular Nights shows, to either be part of the audience or to perform yourself, contact Modular Seattle: https://www.modularseattle.com/
As per the MOTS tradition, I only used a modular synthesizer, you can get a good look at it at 2:35. I had three stereo patches on the modular, a sequenced background and then two different lead voices I controlled with an Arturia KeyStep keyboard and Mutable Instruments Yarns MIDI to CV/Gate module:
1) The background patch was the most complex, it was a four voice shift registered sequence featuring an Erica Synths Black Clock, a Division6 SQ816 sequencer, a VPME T43 precision adder, a Synth Tech E102 shift register, an Instruo Quad Performance Quantizer with micro keyboard, 4 Synth Tech E330 VCOs, a Modcan Quad LFO, a 2hp clock divider/multiplier, a Doepfer quad envelop generator, a Xaoc Devices stereo mixer, and a Strymon Engineering Magneto delay/reverb.
2) The rich fat typical synth voice was a Modcan Triple VCO into a Synth Tech E440 low pass filter along with an Erica Synths EG and VCA for voicing and an Audio Damage reverb module and then finally to a Circuit Abbey mixer.
3) The plucky voice was simply a Mutable Instruments Rings into Clouds and then to a second Circuit Abbey mixer. I had the patch set up in stereo where the output switched sides every time I played a note but unfortunately there was a problem with one of the cables so only every other note was heard! Whoopsie! ;-)"
"PEEPS is an Axoloti core based synthesizer.
4 voices polyphony
3 oscillators on each voices
2 of them are detunable
He also have a 2 pole lowpass filter
Built-in tape delay with time, feedback and mix
A built-in reverb with time and mix
An LFO apply to the pitch of the 3 oscillators with frequency and mix
He also have a Mutable instrument Braids FM based oscillator doing drone with his own 2 pole lowpass filter, pitch and volume.
Keyboard 13 keys with arpeggiator, octave switch and sustain.
PEEPS can speak with other gear, he have a USB host and you can plug an external controller on him to get access on more features or playing with an extra keyboard.
The arpeggiator can be sync via midi in / gate in (he accept eurorack clock in).
The clock input can also be used as an external input to plug other gear and get access to the tape-delay & reverb.
He can be a controller for another gear by midi or micro USB.
PEEPS is battery powered, works with every external USB battery, but you can use power supply 2.1mm DC socket, accepts 7V to 15V DC input.
Audio output stereo 6,35 mm and headphones stereo 3,5 mm.
This is a fully Handmade synthesizer that I've build in my studio.
I'm able to make another one for you.
For any request, please contact me on my website : www.s8jfou.com"
Note the following is translated via Google Translate. You can find the original Japanese further below.
"Now, popular microcontroller board 'micro: bit'.
By combining this with YAMAHA 's sound board "YMF 825", I found that it is possible to build very creative sounds using the Python language.
The sound is controlled in real time only with the acceleration sensor of the microcomputer board. The point to be aware of is that the YMF 825 is driven by the SPI signal, not the MIDI sound chip. It is control to write parameters (frequency, algorithm, degree of modulation ...) of the FM synthesizer to the registers to the last. In order to control with MIDI signals, you need a driver to convert from MIDI to SPI, but fortunately the sample program has been published, in which the program corresponding to the driver was included.
Basically it’s a full-blown Micro-Q (2x25 oscillators, 25 part multitimbral) with a built-in step sequencer, and all the samples that were in the Roland 808/909 synths (cymbals). [Per Waldorf: "The RackAttack's virtual modeled circuitry synthesis is optimized for drums and percussion."] So it’s capable of emulating all the classic drum machines, (the Simmons is immaculate, plus there are unlikely ones in here like a Casio, some other 8-bits, of course all the old Roland kits..) and also extra capable of producing super far out and excellent modern, custom, wild kits. Plus it functions as a normal analogue modeling synth, not just a drum synth. Making basses, leads, pads, sound effects, whatever.. totally possible and really pretty simple. Same as any other Waldorf Q series.. maybe even easier, especially if you want crazy sounds. You can make it do one random sound, or an entire random program set, then play around and fine tune the results, all without overwriting the program you’re in until you’re ready to, the edit buffer is huge. Copy and paste sounds from any kit into any other kit.. get some FM noise and tweak it with the LFOs.. Oh, baby. Yes.
2 full and separate effects units are present. Includes a bit cruncher that can decimate any patch down to chiptune resolution — that’s really cool. Plus all the normal stuff, reverbs, chorus, flanger, phaser, distortion/overdrive, clock sync delays.. it’s all here in duplicate.
The FM on the oscillators is just sick. Not sure how else to describe it. It’s the key to producing drum sounds using analogue oscillators. The manual explains this in great detail, how they recreated the emulations of drums from the 80s. Crossing FM on 2 oscillators with any of the waveforms produces insane results. Making sounds that scream and cut through a mix is cake. Plus it has the Waldorf randomizer function that you can activate anywhere, any time to get a random patch generated.. it just turns every parameter at random, usually producing some jaw dropping or ear splitting tone. Use with caution! lol
So, yeah. We have 1 stereo input (to run anything through the filters and effects) and 6 programmable outs.. 1/4” of course, this isn’t a toy. Headphone jack on the front panel. MIDI in/out/thru. 12v power supply included. I have both the original German 220v and the original German 110v adapters, depending where it’s going, I’ll ship the appropriate one. I also have the original spiral bound manual (English version) which you’ll also get.
Let’s talk about the knobs on this, because it’s important: they are self-cleaning digital encoders, NOT potentiometers. So if they get janky, NEVER DO ANYTHING BUT TWIST THEM UNTIL THEY WORK SMOOTHLY AGAIN!! I see people buying and selling the Q series encoders on eBay all the time because they got antsy and sprayed contact cleaner in there and killed them. Don’t do that. Just twist them for maybe 30 seconds in each direction until you see a normal movement of the values on the screen. Also.. very sorry.. one of the knobs on this one went missing. But they’re easy to move around, I’ve always kept it clean, I normally leave knob 2 under the LCD screen as the absent one because I rarely touch it anyway. Replacing all the knobs with originals (there are some listed on this site right now) is just as easy as finding alternate knobs to slide on the encoders.. that’s if having one absent really bothers you.. personally, it never bothered me, neither cosmetically nor in programming / playing it. This is the only flaw on this unit, outside of that it looks and functions like the day I opened the box from Waldorf HQ in Germany.
I guess it’s highly coveted because it has the companion Waldorf Attack VST software to make programs in, then use this unit with its 6 outputs to slam the beats in a live or studio rig. Yes, you can completely program it using the interface with no computer. Of course. But people seem to like having that extra VST option (it is really cool). Look around forums, you’ll find people sharing kits for this going back to 2003. Chances are if you’re reading this, you already know exactly what it is and why you want it."
"The Folktek Resonant Garden is an acoustic-electronic hybrid instrument. See/read more on Folktek.com
In these first videos, the cv functions are never used and there is no external processing. Videos to come will cover the use of cv as well."
"The Resonant Garden is an acoustic-electronic hybrid designed to create anything from beats and oddities to dense sound scapes. From its inception in 2006, the original garden has gone through many changes and refinements; micro garden, luminist garden and illuminist garden and finally this latest and likely final version.
The garden essentially utilizes three Alter circuits but each equipped with a mic pre-amp, and 4 garden (stringed) panels for generating acoustics. By plucking, rubbing, tapping or even bowing, those micro-acoustic sounds become amplified and effected by the Alter in any number of ways. In essence, the garden is a large microphone designed to pick up vibrations."
EFFECTS
There are two Alter 1 designs and 1 Alter 2. Each Alter 1 has seven different DSP effects which is selected by touching the copper hexagon:
1; long delay (capable of near infinite feedback looping)
2; tight, notated granular delay
3; huge plate reverb
4; shimmering reverb
5; distortion and multi-filter
6; pitch delay
7; stutter glitch
Alter 2 has the following effects:
1; analog delay
2; reverb with infinite capture and lp + hp filters
CONTROL
On each of the Alter sections, the following is present:
- control for the gain of the mic pre-amp or any incoming audio.
- controls for mix, X, Y and filter as well as clock.
- all effects have a variation of a filter which may change effect to effect.
- X and Y control various rates.
- clock control adjusts the rate which controls the DSP which can drastically change the effect. In doing so it does slightly lower the quality of the output signal but the results are fantastic. This clock is not for synchronization.
- mix, X, Y and filter all have CV control inputs.
- Each control level or cv input is visualized on the control panel.
ACOUSTICS
Each garden panel is equipped with a contact mic. A contact mic is designed to pick up vibration. The mic pre-amp is specifically designed to deal with the frequencies of the contact mic by boosting certain frequencies and dulling others in order to optimize the sound quality. The mic pre-amp has a gain control so the level can be adjusted according to how you intend to play.
