"A while ago a group of enthausiasts set out to create a clone of the Zyklus MPS-1 that was made famous by Vangelis for its use on Direct (this was also the inspiration for the actual 'Direct' system he used until ca 1994). The original creators of this machine, Pete Kellock and Bill Marshall graciously allowed us to use the schematics and software to create this clone and have given us their permission to set it free for everyone who wants to make their own. So here goes:
In this GIT repo is everything you need to create your own machine. You will have to source your own parts, but there is a list for that. The parts are basic components, nothing custom, but some items may become slightly rare (like small EPROMs).
Its basically just a Z80 based computer. There are also files to have the circuit boards and panels created (we used jlcpcb for that), and some 3d printing files for various panel work. A lot of the buttons etc you can get cheaply from Aliexpress and the like. Bin files for the EPROMs are also avialable. I've been also given permission to open source the actual source code, and I will do that too, at some point, but I'm still working on a few small issues before I can do that.
There is a discord server you can join where you can chat with other builders.
The clone as we made it, is a dedicated to the memory of Vangelis and it's noted as such on the main circuit board."
See this previous post for a Demo tape on the original Zyklus. See the Zyklus label at the bottom of this post for additional posts including a documentary with Vangelis.
Pictured: Paul's white ReZyklus in the making.
Original grey Zyklus below from this post. Only 40 were made.
"Oberheim DMX Drum Machine w/ MIDI, Upgraded OS, MRAM Upgrade, External CV Tuning Box, Walnut Side Panels, New Thumbscrews, Serviced By Electrongate January 2023
"Legendary Drum Machine with multiple big upgrades installed by Electrongate
Overall fantastic condition with some cosmetic wear as shown in photos
Includes an External CV Tuning Box, custom built by Electrongate which grants the user easy, real-time control of the pitch of each instrument without having to open up the unit. Big thumbs up!
This DMX has the DMX MIDI Expansion with upgraded Walnut Side Panels which boasts an updated, and much more capable Operating System. Printed Manual included for this new operating system.
Another big upgrade performed to this DMX is the MRAM Upgrade which doubles the memory and eliminates the need for a battery. No need to replace a battery ever again!
Please refer to the Electrongate website for more details about these upgrades
New Thumbscrews were installed at the time of service
Installations and repairs performed by DMX guru Paul White at Electrongate January 2023. Paul upgraded this DMX to the max, replaced some parts, cleaned the unit, and got everything running great."
"Tides and music have a lot in common. Hydrographers decompose tides into their “harmonic” constituents and investigate how ocean basins 'resonate' with certain oscillations, while anthropologists and historians explore how tides have shaped the “rhythms” of social existence (Ancient Hawaiians, for instance, synchronized their daily lives to the tides by singing chants to the moon).
In this video, I recreate some of the complex forces behind the tides, by using precisely-calibrated oscillators, adders, and other modules. I then use this 'bio-model' to drive two musical patches – the first in VCV Rack, the second in Eurorack.
0:00 Patch 1: Harmony of the Tides (VCV Rack)
4:10 Patch 2: Lunisolar voices (VCV Rack + Eurorack)
A few books were useful (and inspiring) for this project:
Jonathan White, Tides: The Science and Spirit of the Ocean (2017); Rachel Carson’s classics, The Sea Around Us (1951) and The Edge of the Sea (1955); and Paul Schureman, Manual of Harmonic Analysis and Prediction of Tides (1958)
Credits for photos of Bosham at low tide: Alan Markham amnd "diamond geezer" on Flickr."
The Seventh Wave Festival of Electronic Music: Number Sixteen
Music festival delivers one of its best line-ups yet!
Edition 16 of an Electronic Music Festival established in 2016 takes place in Birmingham in October of this year.
In October 2025 the sixteenth ‘The Seventh Wave Festival of Electronic Music’ takes place across three days at The Castle and Falcon.
For a relatively small festival The Seventh Wave continues to get some of the biggest names in electronic and progressive music.
The stellar line-up for #16 includes Plaid, Ultramarine, Richard Norris (The Grid), Mark Van Hoen/Locust, White Noise (featuring the legendary David Vorhaus) & much more.
Tickets can be purchased for individual events at Skiddle and SEE tickets.
"For sale is a 1984 Oberheim DMX with memory expansion running 3.2. I got this from the original owner where it had been collecting dust for almost 30 years. I addressed the cosmetic issues including refinishing the walnut sides with a Tung oil and varnish mixture and cleaned every nook and cranny of dust. I recapped all of the main electrolytic capacitors on the the main board and control board. Removed any components exhibiting corrosion from battery leakage including several IC sockets and chips. Any faulty chips were replaced by examples identical to the original equipment down to the manufacturer and year (not that it makes any difference). The screen was replaced preemptively to ensure years of use. After completing all the service steps in my abilities, I sent it to Electrongate/Paul White for the final debugging. He supplied some new buttons, battery, lid thumbscrews and sorted the last of the gremlins. It's now about as good as they come. The perfect platform for someone looking to add MIDI."
"Spitfire Audio announces update to significant SPITFIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA release recorded at AIR, adding three stunning-sounding soloists
LONDON, UK: Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of an update to its significant SPITFIRE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA release — relatively recently relaunched with reviewed content and an updated UI (User Interface) in a single more user-friendly package that became last year’s bestseller as a set of flagship virtual instruments featuring full SYMPHONIC STRINGS, SYMPHONIC BRASS, and SYMPHONIC WOODWINDS sections (including solo instruments, plus harp, piano, and all core elements of percussion needed to complete the band), beautifully performed by top-tier musicians who have featured on some of the top film scores of the last decade, duly captured in Lyndhurst Hall’s hallowed acoustic at London’s legendary AIR Studios as some of the leading sounds and sample libraries creator’s best, most classic recordings, readily realised as a definitive selection of blockbuster sounds that have already made their musical mark in hundreds of AAA film, game, and TV score productions by the world’s top composers and music- makers — with the welcomed addition of SOLO STRINGS, featuring three stunning-sounding soloists, as of February 6…
"This DMX was upgraded by Paul White of Electrongate. He used to work at Oberheim back when DMX’s were being made, and he installed the MIDI in and out, which is based on the original design, and he changed the memory from the battery-backup to a longer lasting flash memory. A couple of buttons double trigger, and this can be addressed by just cleaning the contacts using Paul’s method, which could be found on his website. Aside from that, there’s a small mark on a wood corner and the front left edge has a small area where the paint is missing. Other than that, it is in fine shape. I have tried my best to show any imperfections in the photos. If you need more details, let me know. Even the original screen works perfectly.
Tom personally signed the DMX for my brother a few years ago, and it has been so important to them to keep it. There is also no known record of any other DMX having been signed by Tom himself. Like I said, my brother just got all they could out of it, and it would be best for it to go to someone who can keep it in good shape and enjoy it.
Since my brother produced a lot of work for clients with it, all patterns, songs, and sequences will be deleted, except for a couple that they’re leaving on to allow the next owner to understand how it works and to practice. The rest of the memories are blank and available for your own work, of course."
Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Paul White
"Running through some basics of operation for the Oberheim DX drum machine. Programming a sequence, changing tempo, tuning the voices and testing the various audio output jacks."
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"This was a custom-built RE-303 by Raf Wlodarczyk at Michigan Synth works. I had him use custom blue and white LEDs, that are nice and diffused and not too bright, so they are easy on the eyes and look very classy. I had Raf do some other custom mods like add the ruggedized pots, so they feel really great and will last a long time. All NOS rare parts sourced. This is essentially identical to a vintage 303 minus the CPU/Midi. This unit has the rare hard to find Quick Silver CPU upgrade, not the pixie. This unit also has the designer, Paul’s, ‘dice roll mod’ which overdrives the resonance just a bit making it sound a tad sweeter to my (and others) ears. I used this one on my last album. I will miss it but already have 3 303's so need to make room for more gear."
"Super excited to be part of Dutch Modular Fest @dutchmodularfest4609 today - a super nice one day modular meet in Utrecht NL with workshops, lots of great synth makers and concerts. We will be showing our #Stolperbeats drum trigger sequencer and a handful of rare unreleased prototypes.
If you've been eyeing one of our Eurorack DIY kits and you want to build it together with us, today is the perfect opportunity! Hang out with us and build a Farbfolder, Farbshaper, Farbhighpass or TausenddB and Multiplikand with us.
Our friends Stijn and Priscilla from TiNRS @thisisnotrocketscience3942 will be showing their awesome new collaborations with Paul Error Instruments@paultasbeeb: Brinta, a lovely granular module for live recording and processing audio, and White Rabbit, a fantastic reverb and delay ranging from etheral to glitchy.
Lauri @vaski will show off his beautiful new 2HP Lights Stereo Visualizer audio visualisation module and a handful of other incredibly clever utilities like the ECS-4 Triggered Switch and his AM-3/3 Triple Attenuverter Matrix.
We've been playing with prototypes of these modules for a while and it's super exciting to see them being released now!
Today's video is a little jam that happened when packing for Dutch Modular Fest. Stolperbeats is seen here sequencing Mutable Instruments awesome physical modelling synths #Elements as well as #Rings through their Streams dual dynamics gate with percussion from our own secret modular drum prototype.
The reverb in this sketch is @Befacosynth Lich, a great programmable multi-function module based on the @RebelTechnologies OWL platform. If you are into PureData, Max or Faust, you should give this one a whirl!
Dutch Modular Fest Pieter Baan Centrum Gansstraat 164 Utrecht (NL)
Market and Workshops from 11:00 Music program from 15:00 - 23:00
Circle of sound – spilling the Brinta – follow the white dot – banged grain.
Samples three-and-a-half seconds of audio (one moment) cuts it into thousands of pieces. Little grains of sound. You can mix the sound grains in speed and order. You re-arrangement it.
When the red dot is running around the circle it is recording. Your sample becomes the circle. Blue for high frequency, green for mid and red for low. Colours mix accordingly and when they all come together in white-light, you have white-noise. Once your sample is recorded the white dot can run around the circle, spawning little golden heads playing your sample. The size of the grain is how long your play head exists.
The Cabinet of curiosities. sestem 4 his full system is designed to help you explore and discover new sounds, with a unique combination of noisy and crunchy tones that are perfect for experimental setups. Please note that the systems are limited, but you'll find it to be a beautiful addition to your studio or living room, with its stunning wood finish.
What can you find in system ? Broken tape tracker [ gold ] LUCIFER VCO /DRUM LOLITA,s DANCE . trigger sqwens RAW SPRING ERROR DRUM BALARINA CLOCKWORK ORANGE WHITE RABBIT SOUNDSCAPER VACTROL MIXER BANANA TO EURO INDIAN RESANATOR TROPICAL NOISE NEO IMAGINARY FRIEND cloudbusting orgone drum TASSEL
The Cabinet of Dreams. sestem 5 his full system is designed to help you explore and discover new sounds, with a unique combination of noisy and crunchy tones that are perfect for experimental setups. Please note that the systems are limited, but you'll find it to be a beautiful addition to your studio or living room, with its stunning wood finish.
What can you find in system ? Broken tape tracker [ gold ] LUCIFER VCO /DRUM LOLITA,s DANCE . trigger sqwens RAW SPRING ERROR DRUM TELE BLENDER CLOCKWORK ORANGE WHITE RABBIT SOUNDSCAPER VACTROL MIXER BANANA TO EURO INDIAN RESANATOR TROPICAL NOISE NEO IMAGINARY FRIEND cloudbusting TASSEL
"I noticed a White Rabbit PCB when I visited TiNRS HQ in Amsterdam (and space orbit) a few months ago and found out it was an Error Instruments FX module with a TiNRS engine. A week later, I saw Paul Tas (Error) perform with it at a SAW performance. (SAW is a brand new modular channel dedicated to modular artists performing in an industrial setting - opening soon - and the Lab is a 'sponsor'). He was playing a powertool, processed by the Rabbit. In short, it's a Delay/Reverb FX unit in 8 HP, and it has some nice algorithms that will blow a fresh hurricane through your rack - or add a beautiful glow to your ambient fluffy bunny patch.
This video features imaginary quotes by A.I. generated US presidents. They are not real. They're just proof we're going down the rabbit hole very fast. I can't show you what the Matrix is. You'll have to see it for yourself."
Playlist:
White rabbit experimental, effects processor in eurorack
White rabbit and ballerina eurorack
White rabbit and drums
Testing white rabbit, and soundscaper eurorack
EXPERIMENTAL MULTI-EFFECTS
White Rabbit has REVERB and DELAY sound effects. Fall down a rabbit hole with deep sounding spatial effects. You can send your White Rabbit down different paths or take the ERROR door into other spaces. All effected by Y and the big X holding onto time.
White Rabbit is a collaboration between ERROR and TiNRS; connecting their physical and virtual spaces with crazy creativity in object and DSP.
The first switch sends the rabbit down to REVERB or DELAY holes – or sitting in the middle doing nothing.
The second switch choses Standard, Pingpong or Error DELAYS and Hall, Experimental or Error REVERBS.
DELAY
Standard –Shouting down the rabbit hole. X changes time to echo and Y the amount of feedback
Pingpong – Stereo hopping between channels. X determines the airtime of the bounce and Y keeps stacking the signal.
ERROR – Karplus-Strong algorithm plucking your signal. X is the length of the string and Y is the dampening. Set X all the way to the right and connect the output to the input to create a self-oscillating sound that you can control.
REVERB
Hall – Unexpected big space. X is the size and Y the brightness of the space.
Experimental – Cinematic shimmer. Y is pitch bending and X is the size of the space
ERROR – Like sticking your head in a metal bucket. X is the size of the bucket and Y is granular. Set X all the way to the right and connect the output to the input to create a self-oscillating sound that you can control.
The third knob is the Wet / Dry mix. To the left is dry and to the right is wet. Soaking White Rabbit.
"Circa 1975: A photo from the Frankfurt Music Fair
Peter Zinovieff in the EMS synthesizer booth.
They are featuring the rare SYNTHI P model, just announced on the left side and stand. Underneath the board listing EMS musical artists is a SYNTHI HI-FLI effects unit is barely seen. Another unusual/prototype model is next to the Hi-Fli."
Peter Zinovieff and Electronic Music Studios video upload by JeffreyPlaide
Peter Zinovieff: Synth Pioneer video upload by Sound On Sound magazine Jul 21, 2016
Peter Zinovieff talks about modern musical interfaces video upload by Expressive E Jan 6, 2016
Peter Zinovieff feature uploaded by Erica Synths on Nov 23, 2020. This was the latest video to feature Peter Zinovieff that I am aware of.
Peter Zinovieff interview 2015 video upload by 香港電子音樂社 Hong Kong Electronic Music Society Jun 30, 2015
Dr Peter Zinovieff intro & performance excerpt - Deliaphonic 2017 video upload by Deliaphonic Aug 29, 2018
And a few perspectives from others:
Bright Sparks Behind The Scenes - The Brits video by GForce Software published Feb 16, 2021
Cosmic Tape Music Club Podcast hosted by The Galaxy Electric - E1 Peter Zinovieff
video by The Galaxy Electric published Jan 27, 2021
"Peter Zinovieff, a hugely influential figure in British music whose early synthesisers helped to change the sound of pop, has died aged 88. He had suffered a fall at home earlier this month.
With its marketing slogan 'think of a sound – now make it', his company Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was one of the first to bring synthesisers out of studios and to the public. With products such as the portable VCS3 and Synthi A, EMS customers – including David Bowie, Kraftwerk, the Who, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd – were often taught to use the instruments by Zinovieff.
In 1967 he collaborated with Paul McCartney on Carnival of Light, a performance of a 14-minute avant garde composition created between Beatles sessions for Penny Lane that has never been released.
He was also a respected composer of his own work, including early experiments with AI composition and sampling – he claimed to have invented the latter technique." You can read the full post here.
"Peter Zinovieff (26 January 1933 – 23 June 2021) was a British engineer and composer, whose EMS company made the VCS3 synthesizer in the late 1960s. The synthesizer was used by many early progressive rock bands such as Pink Floyd[3] and White Noise, and Krautrock groups[4] as well as more pop-oriented artists, including Todd Rundgren and David Bowie. In later life he worked primarily as a composer of electronic music.
Zinovieff was born on 26 January 1933;[5] his parents, Leo Zinovieff and Sofka, née Princess Sophia Dolgorouky, were both Russian aristocrats, who met in London after their families had emigrated to escape the Russian Revolution and soon divorced.[6] During World War II he and his brother Ian lived with their grandparents in Guildford and then with their father in Sussex. He attended Guildford Royal Grammar School, Gordonstoun School and Oxford University, where he earned a doctorate in geology.[7][8]
Zinovieff's work followed research at Bell Labs by Max Mathews and Jean-Claude Risset, and an MIT thesis (1963) by David Alan Luce.[9] In 1966–67, Zinovieff, Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson ran Unit Delta Plus, an organisation to create and promote electronic music. It was based in the studio Zinovieff had built, in a shed at his house in Putney. (The house is near the Thames, and the studio was later partially destroyed by a flood).[10][11] EMS grew out of MUSYS, which was a performance controller operating as an analogue-digital hybrid.[12] It was a synthesiser system which Zinovieff developed with the help of David Cockerell and Peter Grogono, and used two DEC PDP-8 minicomputers and a piano keyboard.[13] Unit Delta Plus ran a concert of electronic music at the Watermill Theatre in 1966, with a light show. In early 1967 they performed in concerts at The Roundhouse, at which the Carnival of Light was also played; they split up later in 1967.[11] Paul McCartney had visited the studio, but Zinovieff had little interest in popular music.[14]
In 1968, part of the studio was recreated at Connaught Hall, for a performance of pieces by Justin Connolly and David Lumsdaine.[15] At the IFIP congress that year, the composition ZASP by Zinovieff with Alan Sutcliffe took second prize in a contest, behind a piece by Iannis Xenakis.[16]
In 1969, Zinovieff sought financing through an ad in The Times but received only one response, £50 on the mistaken premise it was the price of a synthesiser. Instead he formed EMS with Cockerell and Tristram Cary.[17] At the end of the 1960s, EMS Ltd. was one of four companies offering commercial synthesizers, the others being ARP, Buchla, and Moog.[18] In the 1970s Zinovieff became interested in the video synthesizer developed by Robert Monkhouse, and EMS produced it as the Spectron.[19]
Jon Lord of Deep Purple described Zinovieff as "a mad professor type": "I was ushered into his workshop and he was in there talking to a computer, trying to get it to answer back".[20] Trevor Pinch and Frank Trocco, in their history of the synthesizer revolution, see him rather as aristocratically averse to "trade".[21]
Zinovieff wrote the libretto for Harrison Birtwistle's opera The Mask of Orpheus,[22] and also the words for Nenia: The Death of Orpheus (1970).[23] The section Tristan's Folly in Tristan (1975) by Hans Werner Henze included a tape by Zinovieff."
Update:
Peter Zinovieff: A Tribute by CatSynth TV
video upload by CatSynth TV
"We look back at the life and work of Peter Zinovieff, who passed away last week at the age of 88. His work at Electronic Music Studios (EMS) was a major influence on musicians of the 1970s and beyond. At EMS, he co-created the well-known and coveted VCS3 and Synthi series. But he was also a composer in his own right, working on pioneering electronic music in the 1960s and returning to active composition in the 2010s with several collaborations with artists in other media and exploring massive sound spatialization.
Additional background music provided via the Arturia Synthi V as a tribute."
"A while ago a group of enthausiasts set out to create a clone of the Zyklus MPS-1 that was made famous by Vangelis for its use on Direct (this was also the inspiration for the actual 'Direct' system he used until ca 1994). The original creators of this machine, Pete Kellock and Bill Marshall graciously allowed us to use the schematics and software to create this clone and have given us their permission to set it free for everyone who wants to make their own. So here goes:
