Ambient House Hardware Jam w/ Novation Circuit Tracks & Modular Synth

video upload by S E C O N D • S U N

"Some minimalist beats to go with your morning coffee. Sit back, dive in, and chill out.

Website: https://www.secondsuncph.live
Instagram: / second__sun__
Bandcamp: https://secondsuncph.bandcamp.com
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Q1w9..
.

Second Sun is an ambient artist from Copenhagen, Denmark. Thank you for listening. If you like what you hear, please share it with someone you love.

All rights reserved."

DeaR Sun 🖤 (Moog Minitaur / Waldorf Streichfett / Roland S1 / Korg Volca Beats / Novation Mininova)

video upload by 2-Minute Warning

"This is one of my most personal jams, hope you'll enjoy it 🖤

The NDLR is sequencing with:
Track 1: the Moog Minitaur (BASS)
Track 2: the Waldorf Streichfett (STRINGS)
Track 3: the Waldorf Streichfett (PLUCKS)
Track 4: the Roland S1 (ARP)

The DRUMS are coming from the Korg Volca Beats and the LEAD is being played in real-time on the Novation Mininova.

A couple of tricks I used here:
The Waldorf Streichfett has 2 engines (STRINGS + SOLO), which can be played independently if needed. This is what I did here, where Track 3 of the NDLR is sequencing the SOLO engine, and Track 2 the STRINGS engine.

I'm using one of the NDLR's LFO (Random wave) to modulate (by sending CC) the TONE parameter of the Waldorf Streichfett SOLO engine.

I've used a second LFO on the NDLR to modulate of the parameter the octave parameter of Track 1 (called the DRONE track on the NDLR) which is sequencing the Minitaur, hence playing from time to time a note with an octave higher 😉"

Introducing The Make Noise ReSynthesizer

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:

https://freesound.org/people/makenois...

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

https://dropofsun.com/
https://elisafaires.com/
https://xambuca.com/bio"

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!

https://www.makenoisemusic.com/synthe..."

The first recording with Minimoog synthesizer - Sun Ra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ (1970)

video upload by George Greene

"The first recording with Minimoog synthesizer (Model B prototype) - Sun Ra And His Astro Infinity Arkestra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ (1970)

In 1969, Sun Ra had recorded on Moog Modular synthesizer at the New York midtown studio of Gershon Kingsley. Those recordings were issued on My Brother the Wind, Vol. 1 (although it was not titled 'Vol. 1'— it only achieved that reference after 'Vol. 2' appeared). The following year, drummer Tommy Hunter arranged a meeting between Sun Ra and synth pioneer Robert Moog in upstate Trumansburg, New York. Bob and his crew were testing prototypes of the Minimoog at that time, inviting Sun Ra to explore its sounds. A recording of this test session was made and, although not originally intended for commercial release, partly released many years later in 1992 (My Brother the Wind, Vol. 2, CD tracks 7-11: The Wind Speaks, Sun Thoughts, Journey to the Stars, World of the Myth 'I', The Design - Cosmos II). But more significantly, it was during this visit that Moog loaned Sun Ra a prototype Minimoog (Model B), several months before the commercial instrument (Model D) was introduced in March 1970. Ra immediately added the instrument to his repertoire of keyboards, later acquired a second, and featured the Minimoog prominently on many of his recordings of the early 1970s. Sun Ra sometimes played two Minimoogs at the same time to achieve a duophonic synthesizer sound.

#ElectronicMusic #SunRa #Minimoog #MyBrotherTheWind #BobMoog #Synthesizer

All rights belong to their respective owners."

You can find dditional posts mentioning Sun Ra and the Minimoog here.

You can find Sun Ra – ‘My Brother The Wind’ on Amazon here.

Found this one updating this old post, after posting AutomaticGainsay's The History of the Minimoog Prototypes. Down the rabbit hole I went...

Eowave ORAGE | VCO with thru-zero FM

video upload by Cinematic Laboratory

"Eowave sent me an Orage to check it out. It means 'Storm' in French and refers to magnetic storms. I have no idea how they sound, but they're coming from the Sun and they can cause black-outs and lots of electronic trouble. It really triggered my imagination. It's a small analog VCO with loads of outputs and PWM, but the best part is the thru-zero FM. I patched it up with the Fluctuations Magnetiques and I was recording a video before I knew it. I don't think I'd got one based on the specs, but this is a hidden Eurorack gem. Obviously you'll need a second (simple) oscillator to get the most from it."

UVI Introduces PX SunBox - Galactic Analog/Digital Jomox Sunsyn Based Hybrid Synth

Inspired by the Jomox Sunsyn.

Playlist:
UVI PX SunBox | Preset Showcase
UVI PX SunBox | Trailer
UVI PX SunBox | Overview

https://www.uvi.net/px-sunbox

UVI · PX SunBox - Showcase by Theo G

via UVI

The Best of Both Worlds

A feat of instrument design, the SunSyn is a fantastically complex-in-all-the-right-places labor of love from German synthmaker JoMoX. Released in 1999, it can be considered in simple terms as an 8-voice polyphonic analog/digital hybrid, or in a more adventurous way as 8 discrete modular mono synths. Each voice is outfitted with 2 true analog oscillators capable of saw, square, or pulse with PWM, and 2 guided digital oscillators with hundreds of waveforms and custom sample support.

Shape-Shifter

The filter section is equally impressive, with a morphable 4-pole true analog filter with discrete control over each pole's cutoff frequency. But maybe the most groundbreaking aspect is the modulation matrix. In spirit it's much closer to that of larger modular analog systems, allowing 4096 possible routings per element, 4 elements per voice, all done in the analog domain. But unlike fully analog systems the modulation routings here can be quickly made through an interactive matrix and saved in patch memory for instant recall.

Resurrecting a Sun

Working with such a complicated instrument has its challenges, especially given its age and limited production. Many parts for the SunSyn are extremely rare and almost impossible to source. In our case, to complete the servicing and refurbishment our tech had to purge parts from a second unit. An expensive and somewhat painful process but worth it in the end, as our sound designers headed off to work on a fully-restored and perfectly calibrated instrument with factory-spec parts.

Deep Sound Design

Sound design possibilities on the SunSyn are nearly endless, and the results of our process with it are evident. From massive, rich, and evolving polysynth sounds created in multi-mode, to devastating and aggressive monosynth sounds utilizing modulations of both analog oscillators, the digital RCOs, and filter morphing. We designed and recorded hundreds of multisampled soundsets, ending with a curated selection of 420 layers, delivering what we think represent the most unique, charactered, and sometimes epic, sounds possible on this machine.

Professional Presets

Bass, Bells, Brass, FX, Keys, Leads, Native Sequences, Organ, Pads, Percussive, Plucks, Polysynth, Strings, Sweeps, Voices, Waveform Analog, Waveform Digital, over 450 all-new + custom designed presets are available, built from a library of 30,660 authentic hardware samples. All presets are fully-editable, meaning you can deeply customize them or even create your own. And the dual-layer architecture of PX SunBox allows you to easily create incredible layered tones from any combination of the included sounds.

Fully-Editable Architecture

PX SunBox gives you a deep and capable toolset for creating and editing patches. From the dual-layer architecture with ADSR amp envelopes, multimode filters with envelope, poly or mono modes with glide, pitch shifting and advanced stereo modes, and handy modwheel mappings, to LFO and step modulators, two feature-rich arpeggiators, and a generous selection of high-quality effects including 3-band EQ with sweepable crossover, drive, Thorus, ensemble, Phasor, digital delay, and Sparkverb.

https://www.uvi.net/px-sunbox

Solar powered Volcas

Published on May 1, 2020 myVolts

"Solar powered volca anyone? 😎

Spring sunshine, time to ⚡USB solar power ⚡some beats!

We've hooked up our 🌟 9v #ripcordusb 🌟to a couple of #korgvolca #synths 😍.
.
No problem powering two from one port, but the 🌞#solarpanel 🌞 couldn't go 3 volcas. I'm sure using the second port would have got us there, or maybe just wait for the summer sun! ☀️
.
🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️🌅🌄🏖️🏖️🏖️
.
Ripcord allows you to convert any usb output to the voltage you want. 6v, 7.5v,9v, 12v, 18v.
.
. ⚡☀️😎☀️⚡"

EMS SYNTHI HI-FLI PROTOTYPE 1 of 10 *Serviced* David Gilmour Guitar Synth

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

via this auction

"A very rare prototype Synthi Hi-Fli, dating from 1972, in excellent condition following a full overhaul by EMS earlier this year.
One of only ten pre-production units made in 1972. David Gilmour reputedly still owns two of them…

Ultra-rare prototype EMS Synthi Hi-Fli – this is a knob-twiddler’s dream of an effect and the ultimate in hens’ teeth: your guitar will never sound the same again.

Different sound and spec to a standard Hi-Fli – this is the second such unit we’ve had and it broke my heart to sell the last one (I’ve been a committed HiFli nut since I bought my first one many years ago and have always had at least one in the studio ever since).

The prototypes don’t have the growl function, which was introduced about 18 months later. Production Hi-Flis all have the Buzz switch, but only the first ten prototypes had the Fuzz switch, which adds some interesting colouration to the up and down-octave sounds.

Ten production prototype Hi-Flis were made in 1972 but a redesign quickly followed the launch at the Frankfurt Fair to try to reduce the factory cost (the prototype design is not especially ergonomic for a guitar player to use – you have to lean back somewhat to access the pedals underneath the main unit). This original design features a removable aluminium pole which plugs into the underside of the main console and the top of the base unit, acting both as a stand and a conduit for power and signal connections (pole not included with this unit). The heavy-duty nylon-dipped base houses the power supply and sturdy twin pedals.

Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd is reputed to still have two of these original units, which, according to Phil Taylor were first used for the Dark Side of The Moon tour that started in May 1973 at Earls Court. Opinion is divided as to whether a Hi-Fli featured on the DSOTM recordings: I can only say that it certainly sounds like it did.
Number one in Analogman Tom’s list of rare guitar effects from his excellent book.
Used by David Gilmour – see this Gilmourish blog for further details – he bought a prototype in 1972 and from what he recalls it was “very, very expensive”; Gilmourish also suggest it was used during the recording of Dark Side Of The Moon

CLICK FOR MORE »

Earth's Magnetic Field Producing Sine Waves

This one is in via MATRIXSYNTH reader Gerard, spotted on SpaceWeather.com:

"A RARE WAVE IN EARTH'S MAGNETIC FIELD: When a stream of solar wind hits Earth, magnetometers around the Arctic Circle normally go haywire, their needles swinging chaotically as local magnetic fields react to the buffeting of the solar wind. On Nov. 18th, however, something quite different happened. Solar wind hit Earth and produced ... a pure, almost-musical sine wave.

Rob Stammes recorded the event from the Polarlightcenter, a magnetic observatory in the Lofoten Islands of Norway. "A very stable ~15 second magnetic oscillation commenced and persisted for several hours," he says. "The magnetic field was swinging back and forth by 0.06 degrees, peak to peak, with the regularity of a metronome."

Imagine blowing across a piece of paper, making it flutter with your breath. The solar wind can have a similar effect on magnetic fields. The waves Stammes recorded are essentially flutters propagating down the flanks of Earth's magnetosphere excited by the breath of the sun. Researchers call them 'pulsations continuous' -- or 'Pc' for short.

'A very sensitive magnetometer is required to record these delicate waves,' says Stammes. 'I use a mechanical magnetometer with bar magnets suspended from a special wire. LEDs and light detectors in an isolated dark box record the motion of the magnets, while vanes in oil damp out non-magnetic interference.'"

X1L3 - NIHIL + X-CORE + WRECKAGE + SHARD - Power electronics and harsh noise

Published on Nov 3, 2018 X1L3

"Powerelectronix session and a couple of beers in a proving ground for the Nihil CB microphone input module and the X-Core nux guitar pedal conversion kit i've been working on. Shit camera positioning means the lower 3U is mostly out of shot, along with nihil. But the sun will still rise in the morning and you get the general idea of what's going on. I'm basically doing spoken word in various styles from a lyric sheet i put together and looping the sum of it with timecore, ending with some feedback by holding the mic up to the cabs at the end for some violent scene conclusion. Time core is particularly good for this as a delay as it can be set to infinite repeats while still allowing you to overdub into the loop and gradually force it to morph and evolve. Vaguely where and what are listed below.

Wreckage is generating the drone that kicks off the track and is later hit with atrophy and modulated with a sound machines LP1.
Shard is generating the rhythmic noise element which is fed through a filter and into the output mixer, it's also being modulated by an LP1. Nihil is routed to the audio input of the second shard in the rig to distort the spoken word which is then routed to the timecore and out to the mixer.

Nihil is a cheap CB mic solution for eurorack rigs to eliminate the hassle of always having to butcher the cables on these things to use them in your set up. It's compatible with passive microphones which utilise the cobra 4 pin standard. CB mic wiring standards can be looked up online and found on most ham radio enthusiasts forums and pages. Like a CB mic itself, the module is cheap, dirty and looks great.

X-Core is a conversion kit for nux time core and mod core guitar p[edals. It provides a neat wrapper and easy build and hands over stomp switching to manual finger press or gate automation. This doubles up as a tap tempo sync on the time core for syncing the delay to sequencing and clock signals."

Moby's Drum Machines For Sale

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

You can find them on Reverb here.

Don't miss the video here.

Update: some pics and details captured. I made the mistake of trying to capture them all and then realized how many were listed. :) I ended up switching to the more esoteric models. Quite a few have never been featured here on MATRIXSYNTH before. What's a little bit interesting, is only two new labels were needed, one for Domino and one for Side-Kick-Er. All other brands have been featured before. See the labels at the bottom of this post. Side note: Blogger limits the number of characters to 200 for labels, so I wasn't able to capture them all for this post. You can always search for the brand names featured for more. I assume most do this anyway. The labels are more for maintenance and for finding posts that may not feature brand names in descriptions.

Pictured:

Realistic Concertmate Electronic Accompanist-Metronome

"Fully analog rhythmic companion utilizing 5 beat buttons to combine how you wish. Features metronome, speaker and line out, and tempo control.

Serial: 42-2103. Works with no issue."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Moog's First New Poly Synth Coming in August/September?

Update: some pis of the PCB and patent here.

First a quick note on leaks: I don't enjoy posting them as I admit they make me feel a bit shady. Manufacturers work hard to make sure a product release goes smoothly. Leaks throw a wrench in that. On the other hand I feel obligated to you my readers. If the news is out there, I feel like it is my job to post it and let you all know. My policy on the site has always been not to leak unless the info is already out there and already leaked. Once it is, it's just a matter of time before all sites pick it up. That said, manufacturers need to do a better job at not leaking info out there. All info ultimately comes from the source. I sometimes wonder if manufacturers actually allow carefully placed leaks to get out. Who knows...

Second: This is still in the rumor stage. Read below and decide for yourself.

So... remember that rumor about a new poly Moog coming to Moogfest?

It might actually be real. Not the render, but a new poly from Moog. Rumor is it will be the "Moog One", currently trademarked by Moog. Note August/September would correspond with a Knobcon release. Update: Soviet Space Child mentioned, "Summer NAMM starts this week, maybe the reveal was scheduled for later in the week? That would make more sense for a potential August release." That is a good point. You rarely see major synth product announcements during Summer NAMM, but that would make for a surprise with little competition to steal the limelight. It would also be a little closer to Moogfest, which would explain the previous rumor. Often product announcements get pushed out, as you know.

The synth could be based on the tech presented here: Geert Bevin, Amos Gaynes - Designing and Implementing Embedded Synthesizer UIs.

Details follow, spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child. I will admit I sat on it for a bit as the original source post was pulled, however, it went up elsewhere, so here it goes:

[Disclaimer: the following seems a bit shady to me. Why would this guy post it w/o mentioning the dealer? How could any dealer think it's OK to announce it w/o Moog announcing it first?]

"Ok this is copied directly from my personal email from my rep who is a senior rep, and personal friend of mine:

Oh, it's cooler than that! So glad I can actually spill some details for you now.

It's polyphonic, and comes in 8- and 16-voice versions. (Moog has not only set us up as the earliest dealer with stock (around mid-August), but we'll have an exclusive until they launch with other retailers in September. And they've also promised us a number of low-serial-number units (2-10) on each unit, though this does run an extra $500 (and also gets you a letter from Mike Adams, and a signed photo by the techs who built it). Sounds incredible, and check this out!

• 3 VCOs per voice
• 3 part multitimbral - 3 synths in 1
• Knob per function
• 4 LFOs per synth with easily assignable modulation
• Arp and sequencer (per synth)
• Clock sync
• Assignable CV ins and outs
• Lots of i/o for routing synths and effects
• Eventide reverbs built in
• Unrestricted number of presets

Oscillators
create complex waveforms

Noise
• Dedicated envelope for transient shaping

Filter
• Stave variable filter AND Moog Ladder Filter
• HP, LP, BP or notch
• link filters together for ganged sweeps
• assign sources to SVF ladder or both in the mixer

Envelope
• 3 envelopes (amp, filter, and assignable)
• easily assignable mod matrix

Sequencer and Arp

Effects
• True bypass effects
• effects per synth and a master effects bus
• 2 assignable macro controls - customizable per patch
• Vocoder
Modulation
• Easily repeatable mod mattrix routings
• 4 LFOs - 1 button destination routing
• Fine tune and ccreate complex modulation via transforms
• Easy assign performance controllers
• XY pad for expressive control

Not too shabby, eh? Admittedly, I'm always pretty impressed when Moog comes by, but this was probably the biggest shock I've ever had at seeing their products early under an NDA…and the toughest to keep private until we could talk about them! I figured you'd appreciate knowing about it as much as anyone, since you've been involved in MI retail for so long, and have probably seen most things under the sun to date.

Still not sure when we'll have it up on the website, but we are taking orders, if you're interested. 8-voice version is $5999.00, and the 16-voice version is $7999.00. I've got a little wiggle room for you, but a bit less than usual…they really don't want us deep-discounting these due to anticipated demand, obviously.

Whew…glad I could finally talk about this!"

Elektron Digitone - Garden Ambience (plus bonus dog footage)

Published on Mar 21, 2018 0F.digital

"It was a nice day today, so I decided to take my setup outside and record a video in the front garden of our house. I was aiming to make this video a lot longer (~2 hours), but the sun started warming up my gear, and my GoPro battery ran out, so I edited together what I had. There are two main "pieces" in this video; the second part starts at around 20:40.

100% Digitone; lightly mastered and edited for clarity. KMI QuNexus for live note input and jamming.

In this video I am drinking a South West Sour by Colonial Brewing Co., Margaret River. Not sponsored, I just like it and thought I'd mention it.

Not intended for your full attention (ie. feel free to put it on in the background!), but I've included some footage of the garden and our dogs as bonus material if you keep watching :D

Garden design by my partner Erin.

If you like this and would like to download the audio, it is available at my Bandcamp page:
https://0f-digital.bandcamp.com/album..."

Awanto 3 - Against The Clock

Published on Jun 21, 2017 FACTmagazine

Constructing a track with an Akai MPC 2000 XL. It's interesting seeing it all come together in the end.

"Steven van Hulle aka Awanto 3 is an integral part of Amsterdam's music scene. He's a regular on the city's Rush Hour and Dekmantel labels, using his background in hip-hop, soul and disco to craft sun-drenched house music.

Following the release of his second album, Gargamel, we visited the producer at his studio in Amsterdam to see what he could make in 10 minutes. As we discovered, he's an MPC wizard, using it to sample vinyl, synths and even his own voice."

Winter - BEMI Buchla Music Easel

Published on Jun 4, 2016 100 Things I Do

"Winter has truly arrived in Melbourne Australia. After months of heat and sun, now icy rain and clouds have taken over. Using ideas from Todd Barton's Orange noise study as a jumping off point the easel is enveloped in 2 reverb's! First, Space Designer with a 15 second synthesized 'verb tail. Then to add some warmth a little trip into the Eventide Black Hole. :D"

An Interview with Barry Schrader

Hi everyone! As you know Barry Schrader will be giving his farewell concert at CalArts on September 26. The following is the beginning of my interview with him. I opted to post the questions and answers as they come in.  New QAs will get a new post so you do not miss them and they will be added to this post so we have one central post for the full interview. This should make it easier for all of us to consume in our busy lives, and it will allow you to send in any questions that may come to mind during the interview process.  If you have anything you'd like to ask Barry, feel free to send it in to matrixsynth@gmail.com.  This is a rare opportunity for us to get insight on a significant bit of synthesizer history, specifically with early Buchla systems, and I'd like to thank Barry for this opportunity. Thank you Barry!

CLICK FOR MORE »

New MoonBox SunVox Powered Raspberry Pi Synthesizer - Videos, Details & Pics

Raspberry Pi Synthesizer - "My Stry Sulfat" jam Published on Aug 23, 2015 cube48

This is the MoonBox posted here. Two videos of it in action. Info and pics further below.

"One pattern twiddle on MoonBox - SunVox powered DIY Raspberry Pi 2 synth.

More info about the MoonBox can be found on official SunVox forum:
http://www.warmplace.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=3733"

MoonBox - DIY Raspberry Pi 2 Synthesizer powered by SunVox Virtual Modular Music Studio

Published on Aug 6, 2015

"No music to listen here. Just my low or no playing skills. This is rather about demoing some of the Analog Generator patches of SunVox. First part shows some of the default template sounds, second shows a bit of knob twiddling and a few quick patches I made from the simple 'analog' template I prepared and mapped to 16 knobs of the MoonBox. But SunVox can do a lot more!"

via the forum:

"Let me introduce you the SunVox powered Raspberry Pi 2 standalone synthesizer. The idea was to have dedicated machine/box with SunVox including some knobs. Like a real synth. This vision was maturing in my head for some time but the trigger were NightRadio's comments about upcoming MIDI CC support in 1.9 before the beta was released. I've collected all the building blocks but I was still missing the enclosure. For some time I was designing a custom made 'ponoko' box to be laser-cut. But then I got too impatient and searched through available stuff at home. Wine box for the win :-D

The synth is so far consisting of these bits:

Raspberry Pi 2 B
IQ Audio PiDAC+
5.0" 40-pin TFT Display - 800x480 with Touchscreen
TFP401 HDMI/DVI Decoder to 40-Pin TTL Breakout - With Touch
40-pin FPC Extension Board + 200mm Cable
Guts of the old Evolution UC16 USB MIDI controller (only the main and pot control board)
A bunch of nuts, bolts, spacers and wooden wine box.

Further improvements are still on the todo list:
* jack outputs for L, R and headphones mounted to the rear side of the box
* 5-DIN MIDI I/O connectors on the rear side - realized via USB<>MIDI cable
* some USB ports exposed on the rear side - mounting small USB hub
* power switch + connector on the rear side
* HW volume encoder for PiDAC+ on the top side
* main out GPIO LED volume indicators (this is optional)
* final paint and design tuning

A few notes to the design. RasPi needs to be powered with 2000 mAh adapter to feed all the peripherals. PiDAC+ gives you really powerful and clean sound, also for hungrier headphones. RasPi 2 with stock Raspian OS with ALSA (no realtime kernel, no JACKD, no performance tweaks except disabled CPU power-saving) is able to play decent SunVox synths with 11ms latency without compromising the sound - not ideal but already playable. Lowering the buffer to 5ms introduces occasional noise cracks. I'll try to play with the OS tweaks later but I might stick to ALSA as it is supported by PiDAC+ volume encoder routine. Display is connected via HDMI and USB cables (I'm waiting for shorter and flat HDMI cable). HDMI delivers the image, USB powers the display and touch board. UC16 MIDI controller is connected also via USB (not on the photos above). The only connection hack will be soldering wires to PiDAC+ so I get the normal jack connectors. Current cinch connectors are fine but the placement is not ideal. I want to keep all the 'internal' connections inside the box and expose only the stuff that has to interface outer world and if I would expose the cinch through the rear side, also the HDMI cable would stick out and then coming back which is not desired. The front panel will need some locking or support mechanism, ideally in various angles. The whole thing reminds the Roland's 'Plug-Out' system. You prepare the synth/composition/patch on PC/tablet/phone and then load it to the box if you don't want to mess around with the small screen. But it's actually nicely usable in the box as well as you all know from your own SunVox-on-phone experience. Sun bless Alex for his perfect and scalable UI. RasPi is configured to boot and load up the SunVox automatically, opening the last session. Like a real synth :)

Do you guys have any cool name ideas for the synth? Right now I call it simply SunSynth but that's too obvious. Some link to the SunVox would be cool but maybe something more esoteric :)

Alex, THANK YOU for such a great piece of software! Btw, I hope you don't mind if I put the SunVox logo on the box when it's finished?.."

The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger | Devil You Know | MOOG SOUND LAB

Published on May 13, 2015 Moog Music Inc

"The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger (The GOASTT) re-imagine 'The Devil You Know' from the album Midnight Sun. Upon entering the Moog Sound Lab, the band traded in their guitars and acoustic instruments for an array of analog synthesizers. Sean Lennon commands a Sub 37 while Charlotte Kemp Muhl carries the bass on a Sub Phatty. Both singers' voices are affected with a pair of Moog 500 Series Analog Delays. Tim Kuhl drives the rhythm section via electronic drum triggers controlling 6x Minimoog Voyager RMEs. Robbie Mangano performs with an Electric Blue Minimoog Voyager and Jared Samuel rounds out the track with a second Sub 37."

Happy New Year From MATRIXSYNTH! - A Look Back at 2014

Happy New Year everyone!

I want to start by thanking everyone that comes to MATRIXSYNTH and helps make it what it is - the readers, the supporters, and of course all the sponsors on the right.

THANK YOU and have a GREAT 2015!!!

This site is a labor of love and a ton of work. This site is ultimately meant to be an testament to everything synth in the making. We have over nine years of daily synth history captured here, 119,983 published posts. I can't wait to see what the future brings us in 2015!

That said, here are a few interesting bits from 2014 in the longest post of the year. ;)

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Taide'n Borg - So much fun in the light

Published on Jun 26, 2014 Sun's May Flower (Official)·8 videos

"Equipment:

Bass - Korg Mono-Poly
Polysynth (first) - Korg Mono-Poly
Polysynth (second) - Roland Jupiter 6
Synth Lead - Korg MS 20
Strings - Eminent Solina String Ensemble
Vocoder - Korg DVP-1
Drones and Lasers - Roland Jx3p
Drums - Akai S900
Drums add - Roland TR 626 (sequencing the S900)"