Bad Gear - Korg MPC ZERO

video upload by AudioPilz

https://reverb.com/news/video-inside-korg-berlin-home-of-acoustic-electronic-synthesis"Welcome to Bad Gear, the show about the world’s most-hated audio tools. The evolution of electronic musical instruments is mysterious: while we have seen vast improvements in the fields of design, bling bling per square inch and workflow elitism, the spec sheets are oftentimes outclassed by the feature sets of many vintage instruments.

Today we are going to talk about the Electribe 2 Sampler. This most recent installment of the iconic groove machine range was brought to the market in 2015 and not only combines the aforementioned limitations with the product family’s trademark primitivism, Korg also managed to make it look REALLY bad when compared to its predecessor."

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Music For Polybrute 5

video upload by Mysterious Machine

"Music for Polybrute 5 is a single patch created from scratch with the Arturia Polybrute ( 6 voices ) synthesizer demonstrating its expressive capacity. No multitracks. No external effects were used, only Morphee, reverb, delay of the synthesizer. Just, Polybrute.

Images from the retro documentary: Más Allá - Los Mayas. Directed and presentd by: Fernando Jiménez Del Oso. Channel: TVE. Date: 01-06-80.

Vídeo from archives: Moisés Garrido y Claudia M. Moctezuma."

Music For Polybrute 4

video upload by Mysterious Machine

"Music for Polybrute 4 is a single patch created from scratch with the Arturia Polybrute ( 6 voices ) synthesizer demonstrating its expressive capacity. No multitracks. No external effects were used, only Morphee, arpegiator, reverb, delay and the ring modulator of the synthesizer. Just, Polybrute.

Images from the retro documentary: The doctor Fernando Jiménez del Oso and the Mistery of Tiahuanaco."

Music For Polybrute 3

video upload by Mysterious Machine

"Music for Polybrute 3 is a single patch created from scratch with the Arturia Polybrute synthesizer demonstrating its expressive capacity. No multitracks. No external effects were used, only Morphee, delay and the ring modulator of the synthesizer. Just, Polybrute.
The graphic art is thanks to Rodolfo Paulus from cómic Asteroide."

Music For Polybrute

video upload by Mysterious Machine

"Music for Polybrute is a single patch created from scratch with the Arturia Polybrute synthesizer demonstrating its expressive capacity. No external effects were used, only the reverb and the ring modulator of the synthesizer. The graphic art is thanks to Monic De La France."

War of the Worlds 2023 AI by Cinematic Laboratory w/ Cameos from Todd Barton and Walker Farrell

video upload by Cinematic Laboratory

"The Hague, Netherlands, August 25, 2023 — Step into the immersive musical world of modular artist Cinematic Laboratory as it unveils its latest sonic endeavor, 'War of the Worlds 2023 AI.' The album showcases the fusion of an audio comic with music, 3D field recordings, cutting-edge AI text-to-speech dialogs and Chat GPT ghostwriting. By combining handmade sounds, real analog voltage, and digital magic, Cinematic Laboratory stretching the boundaries of 21st century 'home studio' music production.

'War of the Worlds 2023 AI' features eight music tracks that traverse between B-movie clichés and the real challenges of living in an uncertain future. Each track creates a realm where imagination intertwines with reality, taking listeners on a journey where our own fear is a formidable adversary. What sets this album apart is the groundbreaking use of AI voice actors, infusing the characters with artificial ‘overacting’ and bringing the story to life. They seem to have a mind of their own and turned the story into a comic beyond production control. It just shaped itself. While the use of 'deep fake celebrities' remains a topic of debate and controversy, it adds a bit of realism to the album. The album is accompanied by a single release called ‘Elevator Music 2023 WOTW’ which also doubles as a trailer.

Synopsis: The machinery of an extinct alien Krell civilization decides to bring a gift to Earth. The ability to materialize and realize anything you can think of. After receiving a mysterious transmission, a desert festival for open minded thinkers will be the catalyst for a worldwide invasion as our deepest fears and nightmares manifest themselves and turns against us. The Earth turns into a purple jungle infested by huge tripods, drones, zombies and fungi. Meanwhile, scientists Daisy, Brian and Walker patch up a dream machine that helps us to channel our imagination in a more constructive way. They manage to inspire the US President and together they bring this ‘immersive musical audio comic book’ to a ‘happily ever after’.

Starting from H.G. Wells' timeless book and the 1956 classic movie 'Forbidden Planet,' Cinematic Laboratory's interpretation of 'War of the Worlds' takes an unpredictable direction. Instead of an invasion from Mars, the album delves into the internal battle of the human mind, where our fears and nightmares manifest through ancient alien technology. It is a compelling exploration of the power of imagination and its ability to shape, disrupt, damage, and heal our lives. It's a force that cannot be defeated by the common cold. Just imagine growing up in a world where your reality is forged and can’t always be trusted.

As an emerging modular artist, Cinematic Laboratory is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of musical expression and storytelling. The compositions blend various modern genres and influences, creating a sonic landscape that is both alien and strangely familiar. With 'War of the Worlds 2023 AI,' Cinematic Laboratory aims to establish itself as a rogue ambient music pioneer, exploring new frontiers while sharing the experience on YouTube. The Lab currently boasts over 500 videos online and is a highly appreciated channel devoted to modular synthesis. The album features cameos from Todd Barton and Walker Farrell who make a lot of waves in the modular community.

'War of the Worlds 2023 AI' is available on all major streaming platforms on August 25. Bandcamp offers a special download and contains scripts and an instrumental bonus album.

Album:
https://cinematiclaboratory.bandcamp...."

WEIRD GEAR: Pulsar-23 (Andrew Huang Edition)

video upload by ANDREW HUANG

"Honored to be partnering with Soma and Perfect Circuit on the Andrew Huang Edition of Pulsar-23! More info: https://link.perfectcircuit.com/t/v1/..."

Note the Embodme Erae Touch controller.


We're pleased to present the new Pulsar-23 Andrew Huang Edition: a vibrant yellow version of the one-of-a-kind, organismic semi-modular drum machine made in collaboration between SOMA and the producer and YouTuber himself. SOMA's Pulsar-23 has become a go-to instrument for subverting the expectations of what a drum machine can or should do, attracting the interest of curious musicians looking for something a little bit different out of their drum synthesizer. With this version finished in a vibrant yellow personally chosen by Andrew Huang, the Pulsar-23 has become a favorite part of Andrew's studio due to its open-ended patching structure and rejection of standard drum machine tropes. The results may not always be what you expect, but like many other SOMA devices, Pulsar-23 creates a seemingly organic connection between the musician and instrument, tapping into the deeper parts of your subconscious mind to rely on instinct and reaction rather than conscious decision-making.

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New Casio Watch Inspired by John Mayer's Childhood Keyboard

video upload by Hodinkee

"The G-SHOCK Ref. 6900-PT1 By John Mayer features a dusty matte blue case and strap, a more playful color combination that’s an excellent companion to the first two collaborations. Peach, coral, and turquoise from the PT-1 keyboard were brought in to highlight the 'Triple Graph' display, which sits right at home in the soft cream dial. Darker grey was pulled from the sharp and flat keys of the PT-1 keyboard and added to the illuminator button. All four indicators for the buttons share the navy color from the writing on the PT-1, a perfect accent on the lighter blue background. The G-Shock Ref. 6900-PT1 By John Mayer gives you both the toughness you expect from a G-SHOCK with a colorway that will make your inner creative child smile."

"Being musicians and music fans, we here at Reverb know John Mayer for his guitar-playing and his best-selling signature Silver Sky. But he's also deeply invested in a whole other type of gear: watches.

Mayer, the horologist, is as much a figure to fellow watch lovers as he is to Boss BD-2 enthusiasts, sitting down for multiple interviews about his extensive collection and even getting into the watch design game himself.

In recent years, he's collaborated with the premiere watch site Hodinkee and a brand that, like Mayer, straddles the world of music gear and watches: Casio.

The partnership's latest creation is the Casio G-Shock Ref. 6900-PT1, a digital watch inspired by the PT-1 Mini Synthesizer.

Casio first built the PT-1 synth in 1982 and continued production until 1988, meaning it was one of the many affordable synths and samplers the company released during Mayer's early childhood.

The toy-like PT-1 is a monosynth — meaning it can only play one note at a time—but it packs in more features than parents probably expected. While there are just four simple tones (piano, violin, flute, and the mysterious 'fantasy'), there's a built-in drum machine with the same spread of rhythms you'd find on an old Roland or Korg, and—pretty amazingly, especially to a kid—a sequencer.

To really seal the deal for 'home keyboard' playing, it can run on four double-AA batteries, has its own speaker, and a headphone output.

John Mayer's new G-Shock takes cues from his own childhood PT-1, with its blue enclosure, though you can also find the synth in white, pink, black, and red."

"Introducing" the DR BÖHM DIGITAL DRUMS

video upload by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

You can find additional posts featuring the Bohm Digital Drums here.

"Dr. Böhm Digital Drums in action - that's HERR DOCTOR to you thank you very much.

We love these when they work - we hate these when they don't work.
They're notoriously hard to service - this one was no exception.
It could be the most advanced auto accompaniment unit out there - change my mind in the comment section.

We thought Dr. Böhm Digital Drums could use an in-depth video of the auto accompaniment section alone.
The videos out there present this device as a "Italo Disco Machine" - when it's actually so much more.
It has 180 different auto accompaniment arrangements, and the 4 instrument voices have more than 60 individual preset sounds at your disposal.
The variety and range of stuff that comes out of this thing is really not bad - comparing it to other machines of the same era, the Solton Programmer 24 and the CRB Computerband 2000 - Dr. B comes out ridiculously more versatile.

We used almost no effects used in this video, the compositions are improvised one-takes that we came up with on the spot without preparation.

This specific machine was modified - it had six mysterious, extra potentiometers in place already when we bought it - but they weren't hooked up to anything internally - probably a botched project from the previous owner.
So we asked one of our techs to wire them up to modify the Bass, Mono 1 and 2 sections with individual volumes and the internal, on-board cut-off filter.

The result is not bad - for all types of Electro and Electronica obviously, Pop or Ambient textures for sure, even Musique Concrete-leaning experimentations.

Big thanks to Ludus Pinski here in Florence for wiring this up for us, and to Ondrej Pavelka in Prague Czechoslovakia, for sorting out the rest."

Vintage Drum Machine Sample Packs via Samples From Mars

video uploads by Samples From Mars

Playlist:

MPC MPC1 From Mars
Oberheim DMX From Mars
Dr Bohm Factory and Custom Patterns
Art of Bohm
Korg Minipops Snacks From Mars
Yamaha MR10 From Mars
Viscount From Mars

The Rare 'Italian Lindrum' The Viscount R64 is one of the most mysterious drum machines we've ever sampled. There's little to no information about it online, and by some accounts there are less than 10 functional units left in existence 😳

Our pack includes 320 Loops and 240 One Shot samples from the Viscount:
https://samplesfrommars.com/products/...

See https://samplesfrommars.com for the rest.

MIZUNO Supersizer-μ (1970s)

video upload by kotoelectro

The MIZUNO SuperSizerμ featured in Hiromichi Oohashi's Strange Synthesizers of Japan by Hiromichi Oohashi - Synth Book w/ CD

According to Hiromichi Oohashi:

'It's one of the most mysterious synth in Japan.
made by MIZUNO (famous sportswear manufacturer)
I don't know why MIZUNO made such a futuristic noise synthesizer...

MIZUNO Supersizer-μ is introduced in my synth book."

Update: I asked Hiromichi Oohashi if he knew of any other gear they made and he said it was the only musical instrumeht they made. He reached out to MIZUNO and they said based on the logo it was likely manufacturered in the late 1970s to 1980s. They didn't mention any other useful information. 

Update2: TenTen in the comments noted the fonts used in the logo appear to be either Twobit or Bitwise which "were invented in 2011 and 1999, respectfully." However, according to https://www.dafont.com/twobit.font, "This familiar typeface is based on the ‘retro-futuristic’ of computer and technology advertising of the 1960s and early 1970s. Includes full alphabet, punctuation, euro. Includes regular, bold, italic, and bold-italic versions. (Version 1.10)". And Bitwise, "A typeface based on machine readable characters from the 1960s."

Update3: and one spotted for sale by TenTen captured here.

And the YouTube descripton:

"Supersizer-μ (1970s) made by MIZUNO(famous sports company)
Exclusive video of most mysterious synth of Japan.
from 「Strange Synthesizers of Japan」book
「珍電子楽器LOVE」（リットーミュージック刊）"

Update3: An image of the oribinal box via Hiromichi Oohashi:

Demo ONE - Ambient Electronica - Circuit Tracks Sound Pack by A Force Truly Evil

video upload by Isotonik Studios

"A tasty combination of Ambient & Downbeat Electronica designed to create immersive atmospheres, evolving soundscapes and electronic environments.

From the beautiful and ethereal to the dark and mysterious.

This pack works perfect in genres like Ambient, Electronica, Downtempo, Chillout, Drone and IDM.

A collection of 68 velocity-sensitive patches (64+4 bonus) that take advantage of the Circuit synth engine's extensive modulation matrix options.
Including deep and smooth basses, hypnotic and meditative poly-synths, motion pads, sonic landscapes and evolving arpeggios.

AMBIENT ELECTRONICA CONTENTS

16 Basses (also usable as leads)
16 Poly-synths
24 Pads/ Motion Pads/ Textures
8 Arpeggios
Bonus:
2 EFX's
2 Drones
This pack is complete with 64 + 16 bonus samples covering a wide sonic spectrum, from acoustic percussion to contemporary electronic sounds.

8 Kicks
8 Snares
8 Hi hat/cymbals
32 Percussions (world percussion & analog drum machine sounds)
8 EFX's including foley recordings from real-world elements
Bonus BD+SD (16 extra kicks & snares for load on demand)

16 high quality sessions/project covering a wide spectrum of Ambient styles, from the most contemporary and experimental, to the organic and tribal, through Dark Ambient, Psychedelic Ambient, Drones, Analogue Ambient, Chillwave, hypnotic and calm Electronica, etc.
Sessions include several scenes.

# All A Force Truly Evil Sound Packs are fully compatible with OG Circuit including sessions.

GET IT HERE: https://isotonikstudios.com/product/a..."

A Force Truly Evil Novation Circuit/Circuit Tracks

the mysterious Lyra-8 (synth review)

video upload by allmyfriendsaresynths

"For the past couple of months I have been experimenting with the mysterious Lyra-8, an 'orgaismic synthesiszer' from @Vlad Kreimer of Soma Lab - and have been very pleasantly surprised at how engaging and exciting it is to play with and explore. Far more than just a drone machine, this is a beautiful instrument which has encouraged me to approach music a bit differently. Check out the video to see what I make of it.

A huge thank you to Signal Sounds (signalsounds.com) for letting me borrow one of their demo units to test. They stock a wide variety of weird and wonderful electronic instruments, and are well worth checking out for yourself."

VVRONGER | Portable Arcade Synthesizer

video upload by Ventla

"available on https://ventla.bandcamp.com/merch/vvr...

vvronger is an analog-digital hybrid monophonic mini (more mini than minimoog) synthesizer with csg -- complex sound generator -- synthesis

vvronger incorporates legendary pedigree sn76477(n) sound chip manufactured by us of a's finest texas instruments in 1978 which used in various arcade video games, pinball machines and electronic toys released on that era such as space invaders (taito), sheriff (nintendo), space encounters (midway), vanguard (snk), sharpshooter (game plan), locomotion (zaccaria), sound fx machine (remco), muson synthesizer (mego) et cetera

layout designed and assembled by me"



specifications
a. mono output jack, obviously
b. these could maybe work as kinda like an on-off mixer for a sound sources or as an envelope selector
c. seems to related with a duration of one-shot function
d. probably defines an one-shot duration range
e. probably some lfo-related component
f. vco-related component
g. sorta lfo adjustment thingy
h. the component we usually hardly use
i. pitch adjustment thingy
j. a mysterious component. hardly use
k. a switch to convert vco sources (internal <-> external)
l. a switch to convert sound envelopes (constant <-> one-shot)
m. i swear this is an one-shot trigger button. also works as sorta like a mute button sometimes
n. cool slide switch somehow i settled
o. external vco input jack. important component for a decent musical usage. vvronger has no gate input jack just in case
p. noise clock-related component
q. sorta noise filter
r. also a noise filter-esque component. also maybe works as sorta noise gate
s. definitely perhaps decay adjustment component
t. attack adjustment
u. decay adjustment
v. works as some kind of tone colour control section
w. cool 9v batt snap

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The Mysterious Quasimidi Sirius Synthesizer (Presets, drums, songs)

video upload by Dawn R

"The Holy Grail of groove synthesizers and the Crown Jewel of the Electraglide band.
The Sirius is a keyboard "groove-synth," featuring a subtractive hybrid-tone-generation synthesizer referred to as DTE ('Difficult To Explain') synthesis introduced in 1997 by Quasimidi. The unit featured both real-time and step sequencers with pattern- and song-modes, capable of acting basic drum machine, groove-box, or sound-module.

The unit is thus 7x multitimbral and has 28-voice polyphony across its 7 tracks, with track selecting a (track-specific) sound within 96 sounds (per bank) of preset- or user-writeable sounds."

The 1982 Roland SRE 555 / RE 501 Chorus Echo with Emulator II, Jupiter 6 demo

video upload by TONELAB

Synthesizer Video Service Blofeld posts

"The 1982 Chorus Echo from Roland marked the end of the Tape Echo, I find these units make you go “mmmMMM…” which, in this case, means.. magical, mysterious, mesmerising and mechanical! ..this unit provides a ghostly, dream-state-like ambience to just about anything you put into it. Sit back, relax and come on a journey back to 1982 thru to current day with the help of some sounds from the E-mu Emulator II, the Roland Jupiter 6 & the MPC X ..through this mesmerising mechanical machine.

I requested an interview with the engineer of the Chorus Echo, but he declined due to the fact he doesn’t like repeating himself 😂 🤦🏻‍♂️

Index:
0:00 Intro blabbing / About
1:08 How it works
5:05 Chorus effect
6:20 S on S (Sound on Sound)
7:50 Reverb effect
8:40 Direct Switch
9:00 A+B Outputs
9:30 Repeat / Single Switch
9:57 Echo Modes
11:43 Remote Switches
12:40 Emulator II-intro / Loony Garden
14:00: Emulator II-Orchestra Warm Up
16:15 Emulator II-Flute Harp Echo
17:57 Emulator II-By the Lake
21:23 Jupiter 6-intro / AI Retribution
22:36 Jupiter 6-The Chorus Chord Choir
24:06 Jupiter 6-Robot World
27:26 MPC X-intro / Slappers Delight
29:48 MPC X-0.15" crunch"

Infinite Eye and The Orphic Egg. DSI PRO2.

video by Mysterious Machine

"Drawing made by my wife in pastel pencil on paper. The music was recorded live only with the DSI Pro2 synthesizer in paraphonic mode highlighting its virtues. A single patch created from init mode.

Synthesizers:
DSI PRO2
Effects:
Strymon Nightsky"

Quantum Eye

video by Mysterious Machine

"Painting made by my wife in oil on canvas.
All patches created from init mode.

Synthesizers:
Prophet Rev2
Sequential PRO2
Moog Grandmother
Waldorf Blofeld
Korg MS20 Mini

Effects:
Space Echo Boss RE-20
Strymon Nightsky"

Eternal day : Prophet Rev2, Sequential Pro2, Moog Grandmother, Strymon Nightsky, Space Echo RE20.

video by Mysterious Machine

"All patches created from init mode.

Synthesizers:
Prophet Rev2 ( sequencer )
Sequential PRO2 ( pad paraphonic mode )
Moog Grandmother ( bass )

Effects:
Strymon Nightsky
Space Echo RE20"

Mysterious Machine : Prophet Rev2, Sequential Pro2, Moog Grandmother, Strymon Nightsky.
video by Mysterious Machine

Description same as above.

VAI 49 Elgam Carousel - Farfisa Syntorchestra

video by Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"Great fun with the classic Italian Auto-comp machine and mono/poly keyboard.
With some external help from a Binson Echorec 2, a Schulte Compact Phasing A, the mysterious Emthree Pulsatron multi-effect and some delay."

VAI 10 : Böhm Solist 78 / Crumar Multiman S2

Vintage Audio Institute Italia

"The Roland TR77 Drum machine is going through the Emthree Pulsatron Mixer for crunch.
The Dr. Böhm Solist 78 is playing through a mysterious no-brand phaser "Rotor Monster" (that could be some kind of Vermona product) while the seconds short decay chords go through the Roland RE-301 Space Echo.
The short drum fills comes from the Dr. Böhm Solist 78 as well, with Telefunken Echo Mixer spring reverb.
The Elka Solist 505 is a house favorite, an underdog, monophonic synth with a unique timbre.
The drum machines are not midi-or clock synced, just synced manually.
We make these videos as a showcase for our studio and for curious vintage heads - and for fun.
We don't dilly-dally too much with production and mixing but it can sound pretty good with headphones on."