Still feeling the synthesizer love from last month’s California visit to NAMM / Buchla & Friends!
At NAMM:
Anthony Marinelli visited our booth
The Blue Meanie was at our booth for a whole day!
ARP 2600: Drew Schlesinger demonstrated patches using the 2600 software included in the Korg Collection VST 6.
2 Lucky folks won a signed CD and poster from Martin Gore
And Congratulations to Violet Burns who won the Korg Collection 6!
Then it was off to Buchla & Friends – January’s biggest two-day collection of hands-on synths on the West Coast!
Remember: The Most Creative Part of an ARP synthesizer is You!
NAMM 2026 would not have been possible without the help of the following people and companies:
Thank you to Korg, Inc for the Korg Collection Giveaway and helping us make NAMM possible.
Thank you to Sean Weizmann of Arturia for the midi controller
Thank you to Beyer Dynamics for the headphones
Thank you to Ryan Hawkins of Hawkins Restorations for use of his Blue Meanie, Tonus 2600, OMNI and Odyssey, and for being the best Booth volunteer along with his assistant Miles.
Thank you to Julie Lewis for volunteering at the booth and for her donation last year of a rare ARP Soloist that was owned and played wonderful late husband synth legend Don Lewis.
Thank you to our Board Member and booth volunteer Stephen DeJesus for selfless assistance at both NAMM and Buchla & Friends.
Thank you also to Chris Cardone, Joe Castronovo, Tom Cusimano, Deanna DelVino, Rich Formidoni, Martin Gore, Andy Joyce, Brian Kehew, Ruperto Ifil, Mary Lock, Anthony Marinelli, Mark Marshall, Mike Metlay, LaMar Mitchell, Tony Notron, Drew Schlesinger, James Terris and Brianna Tortino,
Playlist of ReSynthesizer patch video uploads by MAKEN0ISE
"In this video we go over the history and concept of this new 7U system, and also visit Drop of Sun Studios here in West Asheville to let the ReSynthesizer encounter the sounds of various musical instruments.
A free pack of Morphagene Reels from the sessions can be found here:
Vocals, Harmonium: Elisa Faires
Electric Sitra: Chandra Shukla
Pedal Steel: Mike Johnson
Piano: Walker
Recording engineer: Mike Johnson
Filming and edit: Peter, Lewis, and Walker
The MSRP for the Make Noise ReSynthesizer System is $4599. Pre Order Now, Shipping in early November. Check with dealers on the right.
"Introducing the ReSynthesizer!
The ReSynthesizer can trace its origins to Spring 2023, with Walker and Rodent putting together a collection of modules to announce and demonstrate the Soundhack Spectraphon at Superbooth ‘23. We knew that these modules would need to complement Spectraphon in a way that would show its true capabilities. As such, this specialized layout comprised a single-system overview of the last 8 years of Make Noise module designs.
After Superbooth Walker and Peter continued to use a similar system configuration in videos for our Youtube and Instagram Channels, prompting some folks to speculate if it was to be our new 7U system. At that time we had no plans for a new system; in fact, this layout had been intended as temporary all along, but we found that it made a useful layout in almost all cases and so we continued using it in videos anyway. (The layout even gained the popular unofficial moniker “System X” thanks to the speculative work of Cinematic Laboratory and others.) Choices like the unusual placement of the Morphagene, adjacent to Spectraphon, which we initially assumed would be mainly for a very specific use-case, quickly became second nature to patch. The Spectraphon and Morphagene work together to ReSynthesize raw materials into lush soundscapes, microsound manipulations, or wherever the path leads.
In early 2024, we announced DXG for the easy mixdown of mono or stereo signals, and PrssPnt to add physical touch interaction. With these pieces in place, the ReSynthesizer is born. Pairing the Spectraphon with the Morphagene and the core Make Noise CV generation suite, and housed in the powerful and portable 4 Zone CV Bus Case, the ReSynthesizer is an open design blackboard ready for experimentation and discovery.
We’ve put this collection through its paces and have found it to hold up to any test we throw at it— we can’t wait to hear what sounds you find with it!"
• Voltage Controlled DSP (Digital Signal Processing)
• Voltage Controlled Spectral Analysis/Resynthesis/Noise Generation: Spectraphon
• Voltage Controlled Stereo Repeats and Halos: Mimeophon
• Voltage Controlled Stereo Granularization: Morphagene
• Complex Random Voltage Generator: Wogglebug
• Dual Analog Control Voltage generator: MATHS (x2!)
• Voltage Controlled Panning, Crossfading, and Mixing: X-PAN
• Polyphonic Time Shifting: TEMPI
• New School Sequencing: René
• Human Expression/Control: PrssPnt
• Stereo Low Pass Gating and Mixing: DXG
• Horizontal Control Signal Distribution and Indication, plus Final Outputs: CV Bus
• Voltage Controlled Multi-Mode Multi-Peak Stereo Filtering: QPAS
• 4 Zone 7U CV Bus case w/ original power supply and AC Adapter, Ready to Play
• Blanking panels as appropriate (selection may vary)
• Ships with 30 patch cables
• Comes with Lid, Highly portable, Meets requirements for carry-on luggage
Special thanks to Drop of Sun Studios, Elisa Faires, and Chandra Shukla for taking part in this recording session!
"The Erbe-Verb is being retired! To celebrate its legacy we have produced one last run of Erbe-
Verbs in Black & Gold faceplates. Contact your favorite Eurorack shop to order yours today!
Special thanks to Lee, Sam, Mike, Lewis, and of course Tony and Tom!
"On the way to the emergency vet, Pivot by my side. I remember the sun on her carrier. I hoped it had warmed her. Or if nothing else, I hoped the sound of my voice or my daughter's kept her company. Today was a hard day. It was time to put Pivot to sleep.
Pivot was very sick. Yesterday, she had thrown up multiple times and afterwards, just laid down and wouldn't move. I couldn't entice her to eat, not yesterday, not today - it's my litmus test for how my cat is doing. She, in fact, would move away from it. I had hoped over night she would feel better, but it just did not happen. She laid by a water bowl in the kitchen and occasionally drink from it (a sign, I thought, that she was improving), but she just seemed not well. I made the call. It had to be done.
Everyone said their goodbye's. My wife would stay home with our 2 year old who would not have handled the mood very well. However, to my surprise, my 6 year old wanted to come. I was glad. Pivot had laid with her for years. She would lay on my wife when she was pregnant with my daughter. She would lay by her carrier when she was asleep in it. She was always with her. Pivot was her fur mama. She loved my daughter.
It was a big gift that my daughter came with. When I cried, she would say "It's ok Papa." She was strong. Of course, she cried too. But the resilience of a 6 year old who, in 6 months, has had to deal with the loss of two of her favorite pets, is impressive. Tonight there was a lot of "I miss Bonnie and Pivot." I do too. We cried a lot.
I got Pivot in August of 2008, a week after I lost my last cat, Winchester. Pivot was best friends with Bonnie. Pivot was nuts. She would fly around my house and body slam cat scratch toys. She would lay down with rugs and kick them. But she would lay next to my face and fall asleep. If I was sad, I could make fake sad meow sounds and she would run to me. She always comforted me.
I did want to try to do an in-home service for putting her down. I thought that would be the kind thing to do, because she hated traveling, but ultimately, I knew it should be done sooner than later, and honestly, those home services are kind of a lot of money ($700+ instead of $400+). I feel a little bad that I chose the cheaper option, because Pivot HATED traveling (like she would pee herself when we'd leave the house). Today - hardly a peep. She did meow, but she had such little strength. I knew sending her off earlier was the better option too. Doing it away from the house at least made it so I didn't need to look at a spot and say "That's where Pivot died." Pivot let go of this life at 1:10PM, in my arms, full of love, all of which I hope she took with her.
So - here I am, alone now, everyone else asleep in the house. I wrote this as I sat here and felt the mood was fitting. I think of myself as the Rhodes Piano voice, a sad depressing tone, mixed in with the voice of Pivot, dancing around my sadness, as she really did so well. It begins and ends without her, the way our lives were entwined. She will be forever missed.|
Rhodes Piano in Strymon DIG Prophet 10 in Strymon El Cap All through Eventide Blackhole VST"
"Mar 13, 2023
This last weekend, on March 11th, I put my dear friend Bonnie (Flame Point Siamese cat) to sleep. She suffered a stroke (or had a growth in her brain) on Tuesday March 7th. We found her walking in circles, I think she was suddenly blinded. She was not well. I thought "if this is a stroke, cats can recover, even if she's blind." I tried to hold on to her, but something changed even further on Thursday night. That was the moment I realized that she had stopped purring when I pet her (she had been purring in the day). I think she may have had seizures, because I remember seeing blood on her paw pads, where her nails would have dug in (which were not there in the afternoon).
I think only one word really describes how I feel about losing her: Devastated.
She lived at least 15 years (with me) and was adopted in 2007, being about 2-4 years old (as a guess), meaning she was about 18-20 years old. That was a good long life for a cat. I had hoped she would have made it to 23 years old... dying in her sleep peacefully, but she (and I) didn't get that. I watched her suffer for a few days, but I think Thursday she stopped eating entirely. On Friday, I found her stuck behind the litter box and I knew that was time.
I don't know why I feel such guilt, but apparently that's a common feeling when you lose a pet. I think I feel guilty that I was kinda mean to her in the first year I had her. I even told people I didn't want her (note, that I could not ever bring myself to get rid of her). I don't know why I felt those things. I even said she was ugly (she did have a really funny weird brown spot on her nose that always made her look like she was snarling). I feel a lot of guilt for feeling and saying these things. I know she didn't understand them, but I wasn't kind.
What's strange is, all the things I found annoying or disliked, just now happen to be all of the things I miss. Like her tenacity to get in my lap and stop at nothing until she won (multiple times I'd get her off my lap, eventually she'd sneak in and win). Or her licking my arms. Or that funny snarl look on her face. These things... they just stick in my mind and I just absolutely devastated that I can't experience them now.
The hardest part for me was after realizing she was going to be put down - telling her what a good kitty she was, how I loved her so much, and that she was one of my best friends. Well, the hardest part was holding on to her as life left her. I knew she was no longer in pain, but I think that feeling will stay with me forever. We drove to the vet in the same car she came home in when I adopted her. I thought she'd like that. I talked to her in the car, telling her how beautiful it was outside with the thick snow falling gently in the grey sky. While she was probably deaf, and now blind, I hoped she could hear me, even just a little.
Now, she is gone. I look at the kitties and puppy I have left and tell myself that I need to be more present for them. I also tell myself, everything that bothers me about my pets will be the very things I will miss when they're gone. I need to be more present in general, for my wife and my kids.
There is the biggest hole in my heart, where apparently Bonnie resided. I had no idea how big that space was until she left me."
"A resonant pad played with a lower cutoff filter. Applied some external shimmer and high frequency gain with my computer. Also, shamelessly stole a chord progression from a favorite band :)
"An airy ambient pad from the Peak that is sent through additional external effect pedals (Fairfield Circuitry Shallow Water and Strymon Bigsky). The patch used is the same patch titled "Ethereal Shores" from my preset pack.
"Some chord improv on a pad I made that has some velocity sourced modulation. Animate button produces a sub oscillator and some subtle frequency modulation.
