Waldorf Protein in the hands of a beginner makes "Bang!"

video upload by Nicolai

"I just bought the Waldorf Protein. They said it is their entry level, so I unboxed it, did a test drive, created some own patches and guess what: "Bang!" a tight techno track was born.

🎧 Original "Bang!" track (the one born from frustration): [below]


It is a lovely wavetable synth: portable (fits my setup perfectly), flexible and most importantly: accessible! Sure, there are menus and a shift button for deeper tweaks, but most of the time you just coast on the sound, dialing it in directly with the tons of hands-on knobs. How cool is that?

Watch the full video: unboxing, preset demos and evolution, honest critique, Nicolai patch building which lead to the 'Bang!' track."

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Soundplant v.59 Released for Windows & Mac - Soft Sampler Adds MIDI CC, Infinite Undo, & More

Soundplant 59 beat demo: Only2x video upload by Marcel Blum

"Making a beat from a chopped up spy theme with Soundplant, the computer keyboard sample triggering software for Windows & Mac. Version 59 now available for free download at: https://soundplant.org/"



Press release follows:

Caldwell, NJ, USA - Independent developer Marcel Blum has released Soundplant® 59 for Windows and Mac, a major update to the long running sample triggering software for QWERTY keyboards and MIDI devices. Version 59 brings MIDI CC support for customizable control of Soundplant knobs, infinite undo for editing convenience and a/b testing between different effect settings, a master output limiter-compressor for fine tuning dynamics processing, increased sound loading speed with improved multithreading, and other optimizations and fixes.

Soundplant is a standalone software sampler prioritizing low latency and stability for live use, enabling instant playback of any format sound files from standard computer keyboard keys or MIDI. An invaluable tool for sound designers, theater techs, DJs, producers, podcasters, gamers, and streamers, it can mix tons of sounds at once, queue playlists, trigger in the background with global hotkeys while using other apps, record its own output or any input (or both at the same time), and more, all with a powerfully simple drag and drop interface allowing users to create professional soundboards with the ease of dropping sound files onto onscreen keys.

Discussing his Oscar-nominated work on acclaimed biopic A Complete Unknown, sound mixer Terence McCormack Maitland said, "On set when possible, we create a realistic soundscape for the cast. In order to do this we used Soundplant, a deceptively capable app which helped a ton."

Availability & Pricing

Soundplant is available as a free download at https://soundplant.org/ with a 25-launch trial of the paid features. It is free for non-commercial use. A Single User License costs USD $69. Version 59 is a free upgrade for existing license holders who bought in 2023 or later, or a $34.50 upgrade for older license owners. The registered version unlocks professional features including output device selection, expanded sound file format support, output sample rates up to 384 kHz, recording, MIDI, and 'background key input' for global hotkey triggering. Soundplant 59 requires minimum Windows 10 or macOS 10.14.

A New Audience For An Antique Synth - LudoWic and the Trautonium

video upload by HAINBACH

"When I saw LudoWic for the first time live at Noodlebar in Rotterdam, he already had a beautiful Volkstrautonium with him, from which he brought forth cello-like resonances. Fast forward a few years and I see him exploding across social media playing the full blown Mixturtrautonium. The Trautonium is 1930s German proto-synth by Trautwein and Oscar Sala, recreated by Jürgen Hiller of Trautoniks. It made me so happy to see this 90 year old instrument revitalized for a new audience, so when he came by to play the wonderful Funkhaus in Berlin, I asked LudoWic a few questions.
Check out his music: https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/arti..."

You can find additional posts featuring LudoWic here.

Oxford Synthesizer Co. OSCar w/ Dust Cover

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Vemia listing

Click the auction link on top when you get there for additional listings.

Thoroughly checked for this auction, a classic OSCar with MIDI. Packing 15GBP.

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Oxford Synthesizer Co. OSCar w/ MIDI

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Vemia listing

Click the auction link on top when you get there for additional listings.

"Very nice OSCar with factory-fitted MIDI. Some wear - especially aorund the volume knob - but generally very good indeed. It is working very well but will have a final test and servicing after the auction."

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The Florian Schneider Collection to Be Auctioned at JULIEN*S November 19

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via JULIEN*S

"THE FLORIAN SCHNEIDER COLLECTION

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

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Iconic British OSCar Synth is Reborn

video upload by Starsky Carr

Guestimate price (just after 6:50) of £2.5k GBP which comes to $3371 USD.

"The legendary OSCar synthesizer is back! In this video, I'm joined by Paul from PWM Instruments, who recently acquired the rights to the Oxford Synth Company. In this he talks us through their new synth - a modern recreation of the iconic OSCar - a secret weapon for artists like Jean-Michel Jarre, Ultravox, Stevie Wonder, Orbital, and Underworld - and explains how the new OSCar stays true to the original’s gritty charm while adding modern upgrades for today’s producers.

Its currently at prototype stage - but the proof of concept has been demonstrated, so the next stage is to mould it into a commercial product.

Whether you’re a synth enthusiast, a producer hunting for that British synth grit, or just curious about iconic electronic instruments, this deep-dive demo will show you why the OSCar still inspires decades later.

Hear a short demo of the unmistakable OSCar growl, discover its quirks, and see why this rebirth matters for synth lovers everywhere."

Machina Bristronica 25 Gear

video uploads by Sound On Sound magazine

Playlist:

1. Machina Bristronica 25: Sequential Fourm
2. Machina Bristronica 25: Enjoy Electronics ELFO
3. Machina Bristronica 25: UDO Audio DMNO
4. Machina Bristronica 25: PWM OSCar Rebirth
5. Machina Bristronica: Rides in the Storm New Modules
6. Machina Bristronica 25: AM Synths Diode-01

Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar 37-Key Analog Monophonic Programmable Music Synthesizer SN 0115

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

"Serial number 0115 (written in blue Biro pen on the wooden underside of the instrument).

This is one of the first OSCar synthesizers made and it has great provenance. On 26 April 1984, I visited the designer of the instrument, Chris Huggett, at his apartment in Headington, Oxford. He demonstrated the synth and said, “Take it home and, if you like it, send me some money”. So I did … and this is the instrument that is being sold now. I took it back to him a few months later and he fitted the MIDI board.

The instrument has recently been restored by Andrew Jury (Synth Prof). All electrolytic capacitors have been replaced, ribbon cables and headers have been replaced, the battery is new, mains switch has been replaced, keyboard busbar and spring contacts cleaned and polished and much, much more. Consequently, the instrument is in full working order."

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OSCar Repair

video upload by Really Nice Audio

"Join me a quest to bring this Oscar synth. Its has mainly cosmetic issues and there are a couple of surprises hidden inside!

Many thanks to
https://www.vintagesynthparts.com
for replacement keys. Well worth a look as they have many obscure parts for many synths.

Music from my forthcoming ATMOS album 'Height Supremacy'. I used this because the main synth line is my OSCar!"

Performance Techniques - PT208 - Granular Cinematic Ambience

video upload by A Work In Progress

"A Work In Progress⁠
⁠
---⁠
⁠
Performance Techniques PT208

Granular Cinematic Ambience
⁠
---⁠

Programming notes & gear list available on the AWIP Blog

https://aworkinprogress.uk/blog
⁠
---⁠
⁠
Performers:⁠
AWIP TC - Tom Cane
AWIP OF - Oscar Farrell"

Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

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Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar w/ Tauntek MIDI

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

"FRESHLY SERVICED! keybed cleaned, all pots cleaned, new battery, Tauntek MIDI added.

This is hands down my favorite mono synth of all time, such a unique instrument! Designed by Chris Hughes who also designed the WASP and several products for Novation among other things, IMO OSCar was his greatest product. I am only selling as I have two otherwise I'd never let it go! Hands down the best analog dual multi-mode filter in existence! There's additive synthesis in the way of building waveforms by adding harmonics, there's presets, there's an amazing sequencer and arppegiater, there's duophonic functionality. You can get all kinds of crazy vowel/vocal sounds."

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OSCar vs PEAK

video upload by Alex Ball

Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar w/ Original Manuals & Keyboard Report

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

"Rare synth alert! 80s Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar Analog Monophonic Synthesizer with MIDI In/Out/Thru and a new battery. Recently serviced.

The Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar with factory MIDI is a rare British monophonic/duophonic synthesizer, produced in the early to mid-1980s, celebrated for its hybrid digital-oscillator/analog-filter design and aggressive, cutting tone."

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Performance Techniques - PT204 - Novation Peak Arpeggios, Sub 37 & Granular

video upload by A Work In Progress

"A Work In Progress⁠ ⁠
---⁠ ⁠
Performance Techniques PT204

Novation Peak Arpeggios, Sub 37 & Granular ⁠
---⁠
Programming notes & gear list available on the AWIP Blog

https://aworkinprogress.uk/blog ⁠
---⁠ ⁠
Performers:⁠
AWIP OF - Oscar Farrell"

Oxford Synthesizer Company, OSCar - Handmade miniature 1/6 scale.

video upload by Ronaldo Lopes Teixeira ROLT

OSCar Wavetables for PWM Mantis.. A 9 Course Sonic Meal | THAT SYNTH SHOW LIVE

video upload by SYNTH SAMURAI

Raw demos start after 8:32. You can use the player controls to skip around.

00:00 intro music
01:00 show starts chat with renegades
08:32 dry oscar wavetables demo
23:30 modulating the wavetables demo
30:23 wavetables with effects demo patch making
59:14 velvet ketchup patch created
1:10:15 Live dawless jam with all the gear

Fixing up a 1985 Oscar clone

video upload by Craig Barnes

"This is the repairs to my 1985/86 hand made Osc Oscar clone, the famous Moog Oscar from Sound on Sound June 2004. I finally received it back after around 38 years apart. It's had some refurbs and mods and travelled extensively. Europe and the states and eventually wound up in Berlin. I received it dead with no boot. MIDI board was loose, but it couldn't be that simple. No sound from the synth and after getting it to the panel mode and tweaking a few knobs I eventually got it to make a weak sawtooth sound. Lower half of the keybed was dead so I replaced the 5x 4051 chips that read the keyboard and the 7 that read the front panel. Then I removed the aux input mod and upgraded to the Tauntek midi board. A little scratchy in places but nothing that can't be fixed."

Oxford Synthesizer Company OSCar 37-Key Analog Monophonic Programmable Music Synthesizer

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

"A rare synthesizer an iconic powerhouse for true connoisseurs from the Oxford Synthesizer Company.

This is not your average monophonic synth, and if you know your stuff, you already know exactly what this is.

🔔 This is your chance to own a piece of history and a truly unique instrument in the world of synthesizers.

Artists like Underworld, Orbital, Simon Posford, and Shpongle have used and still use this absolutely stunning machine.

If you’re looking for a versatile and inspiring sound design tool, this is the one for you.

The OSCar is renowned for its unique and powerful sound, and features:

✳️ 2 DCOs + Additive Synthesis options
✳️ 1 LFO (triangle/sawtooth/square/sample & hold)
✳️ 1 Resonant Analog Multimode Filter
✳️ 2 ADSRs
✳️ Arpeggiator and Step Sequencer
✳️ 24 Patch Memory
✳️ MIDI Compatibility
✅ The synth is in mint condition works perfectly"

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