Batchas "Hummingbird"

video upload by batchas

"All sounds: Mos-Lab 2500. Higher notes: Oberheim Matrix 1000.
I invite you to watch the original video from where I took the excerpts seen in my short clip:

He created a hummingbird paradise in his backyard

video upload by The Nature of Things

"Window salesman Eric Pittman's life changed forever the day he noticed a Anna's hummingbird buzzing around his backyard in Esquimalt, B.C. in the summer of 2009.

After a flurry of sharp turns caught his eye, the bird came to rest on the branch of a pear tree. It looked around to check for danger and met Pittman's gaze, yet she seemed unbothered by his presence. Pittman looked closer. Then, two pea-sized black orbs began bobbing up and down. It was a pair of newborn hummingbird chicks. He'd discovered Sweetie Bird (as he later named her) returning to her nest to feed her babies. Overcome with curiosity, Pittman stayed under the tree for the rest of the day, binoculars stuck to his face. He bought a video camera and began filming the bird in his backyard. He hasn't stopped in fourteen years.

Today, Pittman is a citizen scientist and hummingbird expert. But he didn't formally study ornithology, or even any biology. His skill at capturing footage of hummingbird behaviour has earned him 50,000 followers on his "Hummingbirds Up Close" Facebook page, where he shares daily updates. The BBC Natural History Unit has even turned to Pittman as a subject matter expert when they’ve needed to film elusive hummingbirds.

The short documentary The Bird in my Backyard follows Eric throughout the spring of 2024 as he documents two mother hummingbirds raising their chicks. It’s a story about the childlike curiosity in all of us, and the doors it can open if we just lean in a bit closer.

Filmed and Directed by Ryan Wilkes."

Background Modulars No.10 Buchla200 & DX5

video upload by Memetune Studio

"Don’t have a real Buchla 200 (cloned) and Yamaha DX5 to hand? No worries! Just put this video on in the background (in full-screen mode), and have the next best thing 😁

Here is 10 minutes of self-playing modular synthesiser randomness. Why not put it on loop - then you can have it bubbling away in the background while you do other things

A note on the patch: The DX5 is being triggered and pitched from the Buchla 200 modules (mostly a 280 in cycle mode and 262 Source of Uncertainty, plus some MARF) using a Kenton CV to MIDI Converter. The DX5 is programmed to make a percussive drum-like sound using six operators. The DX5 audio signal then goes back into Buchla modules - mainly the 277 and 288 Delays, which are being fed back on themselves to create the bowed-string-like sounds. The Dodeca module provides mixing, random panning and reverb. The SOU sends random voltages to the 280 so it cycles irregularly. The whole patch has a cybersynthetic nature because it is always on the edge of going chaotic with the feedback to the delays, but it keeps itself under control by injecting new DX5 sounds into the path just in time to settle it back down before it happens again"

X1L3 - YM 300 - Sanxion 🕹📺 - YM2149F - eurorack module

video upload by X1L3

"Brave attempt at the Sanxion loader music from the C64 by Rob Hubbard.

Chip used - YM2149F.....

Lots of modulator abuse and tracking to get it where it is. I even almost managed to nail the DJ record scratch just before the chill melodic part kicks in 🤣

YM 300, a 4XVCF and a 4XVCA set up for amplitude control, additional filtering and mixing of the three sound channels. The filters give the AY/YM an almost SID character. Especially when you sweep them on a channel with the on chip modulator active.

Very tricky one to cover on the YM due to the limited sound palette of the chip. It's incredibly hard to do anything with a long melodic structure without it sounding square wave basic, as is the vanilla nature of the chip. With the filters and some creative use of the modulator tracking things you can work around this. Without the additional filters this would have been impossible to do without it sounding too cute or like a dogs dinner.

The set up with filters is basically how an Atari ST or ZX spectrum might have sounded back in the day if their sound chips had filters.

Not a bad attempt. Not as neat as the C64 original. As close as i could get for a bit of fun with what i'm using. If only the AY and YM could do PWM 🙂"

X1L3 - YM 300 - Sanxion - oscilloscope view

Behringer Neutron Patches: Lead, Bass, Pluck. Sound Demo

video upload by Anton Anru

"Analog Fury is a collection of 50 patches: 18 Leads, 16 Basses, 16 Plucks.
This is my second sound bank for Behringer Neutron.
The previous one, Modular Setup, focused on experimental tones that showcased the modular nature of the synthesizer. This time, I aimed to find a balance between experimental and more usable sounds.
I didn't want to create simple, classic patches — Neutron's functionality and rich sound palette made it irresistible not to push its limits. At the same time, I tried to keep myself in check and avoid diving too deep into purely experimental territory.

🧲 Get the soundset: https://bit.ly/3M4zAL9

The presets feature various colors: warm, noisy, detuned, distorted, as well as mild, clean, soft, punchy, dark, bright, deep, and airy. Some timbres are great to play the first role in tracks or jams, while others will work perfectly as additional parts.
You may use the patches as they are, but I strongly recommend tweaking the knobs to develop the timbre during your performance and get an exciting experience.

Plucks are excellent for use with arpeggiators or sequencers.
In most examples of this category, I utilize an arpeggiator. Neutron doesn’t have a built in arp/seq, but you may integrate your preferred arpeggiators or sequencers from your DAW or MIDI controller.

ModWheel is set in all patches. It adds brightness, changes the tone, accelerates the LFO, and other modulations depending on the patch.

The presets are suitable for a variety of genres, including: ambient, electronica, IDM, deep, techno, house, progressive, trance, lounge, downtempo, pop, chill out, new age, cinematic, breaks, synthwave, retrowave, dub and others.

The soundset is presented in the form of PDF-Document. Each page contains notes that explain how the patch works, what parameters are worth tweaking during playback, and how to develop the timbre during a performance. If you make all the settings consciously and try the things mentioned in the notes, you will learn a lot about the synth and discover its true depth.

Each patch has an audio example, it helps to understand how the timbre is supposed to sound. In this soundset, I didn’t use the Neutron's built-in delay. All audio examples are dry. You can add internal or external delay to your taste.

To recreate these patches, you will need up to 10 patch cables.

Drums from the demo are not included in the soundset."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Introducing Sound Blocks — A playground for making music

video upload by Nazaray

The Story Behind Sound Blocks — A playground for composing music


Currently on Kickstarter

"What is Sound Blocks?

Sound Blocks is a groundbreaking music composition app for Mac and Windows. You simply place blocks of sound anywhere on the grid, connect them together and play!

It's a beautifully animated experience that really brings out the visual character of sounds — (kind of like synesthesia).

You can add 'Control Blocks' to your sequence that act as modifiers for speed, time, randomization and more. Using these tools, you can create intricate musical machines that loop in interesting ways.

It's a remarkably simple new workflow that removes the obstacles and steep learning curves commonly associated with conventional music production software — and by the nature of its distinct design, lets you do things that you might never think doing of with other music apps.

Who is it for? Can I use it if I'm not a musician?

Sound Blocks is for anyone who wants to dive into music production, whether you're a child, non-musician, gamer or a professional music producer — it has something for everyone. The workflow is super intuitive and playful, and you can learn to use it in about 10 seconds — no prior music experience needed.

What does it offer for skilled musicians and producers?

Sound Blocks will give you a completely new workflow to experiment and create the kind of music you might otherwise never make using a conventional DAW. The non-linear sequencing approach, alongside features like Control Blocks and asynchronous loops will open new creative avenues for some serious artistic exploration. The more funding our Kickstarter project raises, the more advanced features we'll be able to add, such as the ability to add your own samples, crazy effects pedals and much much more. We will be sharing a detailed development roadmap soon."

The Magic World of Analog | Serge Modular | Episode 04

video upload by Cinematic Laboratory

"In this video, I'll dive into the magic world of analog synthesis with a focus on the Serge Wavemultiplier (folder) and Resonant EQ. They sound great, but many of the Serge modules have secret 'magic' worlds, or less dramatic, they can do things you would not expect.

I also took the opportunity to do a compare with the Ohmicide digital distortion, which is ported from a VST. I don't want to compare digital and analog sonically, because I believe digitally modelled analog sounds just as good as real analog. The differences are revealed when unexpected conditions take place. In real analog, mother nature will determine what happens (cause and effect). In digital, you'd encounter an exception. So let's see what happens when Ohmicide has to process its own output :).

Another difference is that digital modules don't have a secret world beyond the code."

Meet MIDINA - 16 Track Polyphonic Midi sequencer and Recorder / Song Arranger

video upload by Meltchya

"Hi all... meet MIDINA :)

She's a 16 track polyphonic midi sequencer and recorder / song arranger that can record pitch bend, MIDI CCs, and aftertouch. She's got 128 songs, 16 blocks per song, and 16 tracks per block.

Each block can be up to 2048 steps, and each track can be up to 2048 steps. Blocks automatically sequence at the end of the previous block, and you can jump freely between any blocks by tapping them in the scroll menu. Each block can have its own set of 48 program change messages to trigger new programs in sync with the block changes. You can change songs with no load times and no hitch. She's got 30 NeoPixel MX switches that can be freely customized or changed, 8 push-switch rotaries, a 5" touch AMOLED screen, and the software is going to be fully open source from day 1. The unit seen here is the first tactile prototype, but I've started production run for the first batch and I'm getting ready to launch it next month.

It's been a year of hard work and this is the first tune I've actually gotten to make, I'm excited to be able to make music again and not have to focus so much on the software and hardware side of things. I'm a little bit out of practice, it's hardly a perfect performance, but it's always fun! Thanks for listening in and checking it out :)

Here's unit #002, with red anodized aluminum, black knobs, pudding keycaps, and smokey black sequencer key caps. All of this is fully customizable to taste, and each unit will be built and tested personally by hand."



Currently on Kickstarter

"What is MIDINA?

Midina is an open-source sequencer born from a passion for electronic music and technology, designed to be powerful and accessible.

Midina stands out with its ability to record pitch bends, aftertouch, and MIDI CCs, providing you with a versatile and expressive sequencer. There are easy ways to trigger program changes automatically or manually. The linear sequencer within each Song provides a clear Block Order, designed to help you make music that moves. It supports extended track and block lengths, enabling different creative methods of song building to be explored. Additionally, for those who enjoy a traditional approach, Midina offers robust step sequencer options that will only get better with time.

One of the core philosophies behind Midina is community engagement, iterative software development, and the support of customization through community contributions to both software and hardware. I believe that anybody who wants to contribute should be welcome to contribute. By opening the code, I hope to see others tailor Midina to their personal needs, enhancing their creative process and the project offerings along the way.

Midina is built on the versatile Raspberry Pi platform, making it an accessible and affordable choice. Its open-source nature means that you have the freedom to explore, modify, and expand its capabilities.

Midina is still young, but it is a project I am committed to developing and improving for the long haul. I set out to build a sequencer which fits my own production needs in a live environment, and I am happy with what it currently offers.. At the same time, I know it can do much more over time, and I am excited to iterate and improve as the days go on.

Thank you for exploring Midina. I look forward to hearing the music you create with it.

CLICK FOR MORE »

The last Eurorack sequencer you might ever buy: DROID Moto Kit Demo

video upload by mylarmelodies

"Imagine you could buy an uber-hands-on 4-track performance sequencer with haptic motorised faders, but you could modify or totally redesign how it works - as your interests change? The "DROID Moto Kit" (running the included Motor Fader Performer Sequencer patch) is that thing. It's 'done', and powerful...AND it can be changed. In this video I'll introduce the DROID system, explain basic track creation 5:41, and then jam from 14:57 onwards.

Thanks for Der Mann mit Der Maschine for hiring me to demo the Moto Kit. Given that this was designed by someone who actually plays live, you might expect that my next step is to try this as my live case sequencer."

00:00 What is Droid & The Moto Kit?!
03:12 Sequencer Intro/Overview
05:41 Let's Make a Track!
14:57 Jams: Meet the Quartet
18:27 Electro Aceed O'Clock
20:41 Electro Variation
23:26 Forlorn Acid
26:49 Stinson Acid
33:54 Endless Noodles
35:02 AFX Bass
36:17 Accumulator Jam
39:33 Arpeggiator Explained
43:06 Compose Mode Jam
45:30 Octave Shifting Melodies
49:04 Divided and Multiplied Melodies
51:33 Reprise Funk
53:36 Kosmiche Arpeggiator Jam

Update: press release and pics follow.

CLICK FOR MORE »

New X1L3 - DRAIL - hacked fx processor - eurorack module

video upload by X1L3

"Hardware hacked fx processor module.
What it is and where to get it - below.......

Available at: https://x1l3.bigcartel.com/product/dr...

A few sections of this vid contain strobing and flashing images. If susceptible to seizures then viewer discretion is advised.

Amiga/P3 W95 demoscene spec run down and demo. Created due to a request to demo the module in a way that wasn't 'just noise'. Initially intended to be one part made from the best track out of three that i came up with. Later deciding to shoe horn the two reject demo tunes into it, which lead to it becoming a ramshackle lesson in polygons and 3d. It also caused the whole thing to end up panning out like some kind of messed up fever dream 💀🤣

Drail is an fx processor module based on a fixed chip set containing 100 preset effects. Reverbs, delays, pitch shifters and modulators of various types, such as flangers and phasers. More details are over on the bigcartel link. Hacked referring to the hardware hacking principles applied in reclocking the cpu and messing with the phase in the signal path to turn it into the somewhat weird thing it is now. Hacked also sounds better than circuit bent, which has been done to death as a term and wouldn't fit on the front panel anyway 💀🐗

A bit of a departure from my usual powerelectronix/sound design outings when it comes to modules. Right now this is the only demo i have complete. I'll upload some stuff soon that's more in line with the roots of where i came from, and which features some other new stuff that got completed in the somewhat hell froze over time it took me to complete this outing 🔥🔥

As always - enjoy - or don't.
The sun rises in the morning either way 😘☀️👌

Cheers for checking it out."



"The module is based on a fixed stereo fx processor chip which contains 100 presets. These presets consist of numerous reverbs, delays, harmonizer/pitch shifters and modulators such as flangers and phasers.

It has a mono input, a summed L/R mix output with dry wet control which covers 0-100% wet,
Two 100% wet stereo outputs give access to the ping pong delays and different phases of panning in the stereo field that some of the effects use,
The combination of summed dry wet and separate stereo fx ouputs offers some variation in how you might hook the module up to achieve different results in a setup.

Patches can be selected manually, or by gate inputs with an input to cycle each way through the patches and an input to select them.

In stock form it's a fairly vanilla and quite unremarkable, all be it useful set of fx. By applying some of the tricks learned in my time in the circuit bending arena the whole thing becomes a Swiss army knife of weirdness and opens up to some bizarre effects and unruly behavior. With the principles of hardware hacking applied and the cpu reclocked, along with some creative phase altering in the signal path, the processor takes on an entirely new life. Still being able to run as a useful set of stock reverbs, delays or modulators, but doubling up as an interesting sound design tool. All sorts of mad sounds and unexpectedly good processing can be achieved. Great for soundscapes, turning basic sounds into things that are bigger than the sum of their parts, making guitars sounds insane, it can even be used to turn a saw into a pseudo supersaw that somehow looks like a kind of mutated pwm square by using the modulator fx. This kind of thing gets fat when you start using both the dry wet mix output and the 100% wet L/R outs. With 100 fx to choose from, there's generally something interesting and at times fascinating to be found when messing around with it.

From experience, different fx chip sets behave in radically different ways when attempts to circuit bend or reclock them are made. Some prove to be pointless and uninteresting, others become prone to crashes and are rendered too unpredictable.and useless beyond extreme noise This one happens to be an excellent target for a bit of creative alteration. When underclocking the cpu, a kind of subtle low pass filtering effect is applied. Not enough to make the effect undesirable, but enough to eliminate the unwanted noise inherent to underclocking. In testing this chip set and discovering it's predictable, but quite abstract nature when abused, it became obvious that it would make a brilliant target for an interesting module. One which i'm finding to be an excellent addition to my own rigs. Given the roots of how it came about and how that ended up sounding, it is i imagine an acquired taste, but a quite unique acquired taste in the scheme of things."

The Crow Hill Company Announces Availability of SMALL STRING GESTURES

The best string sound I have ever heard!! video upload by The Crow Hill Company

Press release follows:

TCHC announces availability of SMALL STRING GESTURES as toolkit to dial up musical personality with intimate interpretative band behind each key

EDINBURGH, UK: having ‘softly’ set out its software stall late last year with a low-key launch of STRING MURMURATIONS that saw decades of award-winning experience in the music tech sector and at the composing coalface distilled into an easy- to-use, intuitive, and comprehensive sample-based virtual instrument plug-in and GUI (Graphical User Interface) introducing the cutting-edge concept of Gestures (whereby an orchestra interpreting its user’s composition and making it into music and art lies behind every key played), music-making community tools-maker The Crow Hill Company is proud to announce availability of SMALL STRING GESTURES as the latest incarnation of that concept — creating a set of tools where individual instruments and the playing style, strengths, and frailties of the intimate interpretative (3, 3, 3, 3) band behind each key are available for the user to dial up the personality of their composition, created from a collection of master recordings that have been mixed and edited into a sample-based virtual instrument plug-in with a GUI and preset browser that are as easy on the eye as they are in use — as of January 26…

An armada of strings can create awe — an epic tidal wave of human emotion, of scale, of wonder. While STRING MURMURATIONS makes it easy and intuitive to make music that sounds human thanks to three distinct palettes of expressions, each designed to feel like the user is collaborating with an orchestra of real musicians, creating endless harmonic possibilities that inspire from the moment a key is touched, sometimes music-makers need it to be intimate, truthful, personal, human — hence The Crow Hill Company creating SMALL STRING GESTURES as a set of tools where individual instruments and the playing style, strengths, and frailties of the instrumentalists involved are available for the user to dial up the personality of their composition. Cue humanity, in other words.

With this in mind, The Crow Hill Company specifically selected a 3, 3, 3, 3 — three Violin 1, three Violin 2, three Violas, and three Cellos — band size that ensured its sampling style brought every individual within that ensemble into beautifully detailed and intimate focus for SMALL STRING GESTURES. This toolset is provided with a different lens and aperture to play through.

The Crow Hill Company collectively likes to keep things moving, so while this latest incarnation of its Gestures concept is very much related to one of those distinct palettes of expression available in STRING MURMURATIONS, it is worth highlighting hysteresis — dictionary-defined as the phenomenon in which the value of a physical property lags behind changes in the effect causing it, such as when magnetic induction lags behind the magnetising force, for instance — in relation to SMALL STRING GESTURES. Getting in on the act of creating sample libraries involves always asking the instrumentalists involved to perform musical material that is incredibly easy to play in order for the end result to always be ‘together’. That is fine for programming or composing simple stuff since that would sound true to real life, but it becomes harder, however, for players to remain totally locked to each other’s tuning or timekeeping when playing more difficult passages. Pure sound becomes more problematic as a result — reduced fundamental meaning more character, which is why a lot of sample-based music used in films, games, and TV sounds ‘characterless’. Clearly the samples involved therein lack hysteresis as they were easy to play, yet playing something difficult with them does not sound natural, real, or human. Indeed, it is fair to say that what makes musicians ‘hysterical’ is speed — faster playing means looser playing that is less in time and also less in tune; reach — the wider the gap between the notes, the further they have to reach, resulting in less perfectly in tune playing; and pitch — the higher a player plays, the harder it becomes as it involves more intense accuracy from string players performing on fretless instruments.

It is for this reason that The Crow Hill Company decided to get its players to perform the hard stuff — not compositions, but mere fragments, which is why anyone working with SMALL STRING GESTURES will not feel like they are playing phrases; instead it is rather like having a string band under their fingertips. For Gestures are the very real sound of reach and performance. But by not giving the musicians behind SMALL STRING GESTURES simple stuff to play prevented them from getting bored. Better still, SMALL STRING GESTURES users are accessing the sound that musicians make when they are smiling... hysterically!

It is also fair to say, therefore, that the effect of hysteresis on a large string section — including that which was involved in the creation of STRING MURMURATIONS, for instance — is a silky, blurry sound. An audible example of this might be the fast string runs in John Williams’ ‘Hedwig’s Theme’ from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone — ditto the closing bars of ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’ from Holst’s The Planets suite. Saying that, though, there are times when music-makers do not need awe, epic, and huge scale in pursuit of their compositional craft, but instead seek something more intimate, more personal, more human. The theory that led to SMALL STRING GESTURES revolved around if The Crow Hill Company could get a string band small enough then the impact of hysteresis would not be a musical blurring, but rather an exposure of each player involved in its creation — their own style of bowing and vibrato, their own fragilities to help the user’s audience connect more with the human nature of their music.

Making that happen meant designing SMALL STRING GESTURES to make its users approach composing and making music from a totally new angle, one where it feels like there are musicians at their fingertips — not samples. SMALL STRING GESTURES is a collection of master recordings — made by world-class producers and engineers at Glasgow’s Clockwork Studios, a new custom-designed scoring stage for the UK comprising of a large hall for full orchestra (up to 80 players) with a balanced and focused sound ideal for modern orchestral recording, as well as a smaller dry space in Studio B (up to 15 players), with the world-class Scottish Session Orchestra playing some of the finest instruments through the finest microphones and mic pre-amps — that have been mixed and edited into a sample-based virtual instrument plug-in with a GUI and a preset browser that are as easy on the eye as they are in use. Ultimately, it works within anyone’s favourite DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) with 25 presets — presented as six Gestures, four Longs, 10 Presets, and five Bonus — and additional hand-crafted Selects designed by The Crow Hill Company team. There are three mix-ready stereo signals — namely, CLOSE, WIDE, and AMBIENT, as well as unique REVERB controls and a granular effects processor.

Duly designed by professional composers with the sonic connoisseur in mind, The Crow Hill Company’s collective conclusion certainly rings true, stating, “We’re a small team and have worked hard to make everything as intuitive as possible.” Put it this way: with SMALL STRING GESTURES it is perfectly possible to make music that sounds intimate, truthful, personal, human! Hysteresis, of course, comes into play here, albeit with the desired effect — exposure of each player involved in its creation.

Clearly, then, big messages come in small packages when it comes to working with the diminutive-sized SMALL STRING GESTURES as another easy-to-use and intuitive virtual instrument plug-in from The Crow Hill Company, one which is also easy on the wallet for those wishing to step into this new world of gesture-based sampling.


SMALL STRING GESTURES is available to purchase — as an AAX-, AU-, VST-, and VST3-format-compatible sample-based virtual instrument plug-in comprising 8 GB of uncompressed material (compressed losslessly to 4.4 GB) that loads directly into a DAW — for £49.00 GBP (including VAT) directly from The Crow Hill Company here: https://thecrowhillcompany.com/small-string-gestures

SMALL STRING GESTURES is available for free until February 29, 2024 when purchasing STRING MURMURATIONS for £199.00 GBP (including VAT) directly from The Crow Hill Company here: https://thecrowhillcompany.com/string-murmurations/ (Note that SMALL STRING GESTURES is also available for free to existing owners of STRING MURMURATIONS until February 29, 2024.)

Watch The Crow Hill Company founder and composer Christian Henson’s must-see SMALL STRING GESTURES walkthrough video here: [video up top]

Free sounds for all are available by simply signing up to become a Crow Hill member here: https://thecrowhillcompany.com/join-crow-hill/

---
Video side note: Analogue Solutions Colossus in the background.

Access Virus Ti - "Meditation" Soundset (55 Presets)

video upload by LFOstore

"There are things that do not lose value over the years - gold, platinum, true feelings and the Virus Ti! This synthesizer remains the best virtual analogue device on the market, despite the fact that its release took place more than 15 years ago. For Otto K. Schwarz, this synthesizer has a fateful significance - his career as a sound designer began in 2011, when he started to collaborate with Access Music regarding creating new presets for Virus Ti.

We decided to create a soundbank for your intention to compose harmonizing music, in which imitation of living ethnic instruments, soft and gentle pads, fantastic arpeggios, bright analog leads and even the effects of nature and the environment will be organically intertwined! This soundset is suitable for both studio work and live performances and could be easily added to your synth in a minute using the Total Integration software.

We are happy to share our more than 15+ years of experience with this device. You will receive presets in which every detail is perfected. Each preset is carefully prepared, with modwheel assigned, as well as 3 modulation knobs to customize sounds deeply to the needs of your musical works. Be prepared to the next-level presets!"

https://lfo.store/

CHAOS WAVES | Make Noise

video upload by MAKEN0ISE

"Let’s make some waves!

The Noise and Chaos modes in Spectraphon are particularly well suited to sounds that are inspired by the natural world. Of course nature does contain tonal or pitched sounds, but many of the things that happen on our planet are not the results of steady oscillation, and for that reason the potentially non-periodic outputs of Noise and Chaos modes can be really useful when making such sounds.

SpectraNoise firmware:
http://www.makenoisemusic.com/modules..."

Behringer Edge: 50 Techno Patches. Sound Demo. No talking

video upload by Anton Anru

"Techno Generator is a collection of 50 patches for the analog semi-modular synthesizer Behringer Edge: 15 Basses, 15 Leads, 15 Percussion and 5 Generative-FX patches.
The soundset also includes 24/41000 WAV samples, accompanied by BPM and scale information. You can use them as they are, or you're free to resample, edit, and apply effects. These samples offer a versatile material for your experimentation.

🗳 Get the soundset: https://antonanru.sellfy.store/p/edge...

Though the title includes «Techno», the patches may be used in a wide variety of genres. Techno is just the first thing comes in my mind when I tweak and listen to EDGE. Analog phatness, experimental sounds, huge basses, vivid leads, freaky sequences, electronic drums, generative-fx patches work nicely not only in techno, they will decorate any track where a decent sound design is welcome.

The soundset is presented in PDF format. Each page contains notes that explain how the patch works, what parameters are worth tweaking during playback, and how to develop the timbre during a performance. If you make all the settings consciously and try the things mentioned in the notes, you will learn a lot about the synth and discover its true depth.

There are audio examples of all patches inside the folder with the soundset. To recreate these patches, you need up to 5 patch cords.

I used an external USB clock from Ableton Live. When external clock is used, TEMPO knob has no effect, so I left its value on some default position. Only tempo division (SCALE) changes the playback. If you use EDGE as a master clock device, change TEMPO to your taste.

Generative patches (45-50) are made with the internal clock.
These patches create highly experimental and non-repetitive sounds with a portion of randomness. Their 'torn' movement prevents synchronization with external tracks. However, rather than a disadvantage, this glitchy and unpredictable nature can enhance any music where sound design is a key element. Experiment with them using reverb or delay.
Please note that these patches are designed for internal clock use only and may not function correctly when connected to an external clock via the ADV/CLOCK input.

You'll now listen to demo tracks featuring these presets. I've added other samples like drums, chords, and pads to create a complete musical context. The EDGE sequences can be quite complex, producing various timbres at once, like bass and percussion. To help you distinguish, I've marked the EDGE and ADDITIONAL SOUNDS with different colors.
These ADDITIONAL SOUNDS are not included in the soundset."

00:00 LD Acid Taste
01:45 BS Life With Kick
02:51 PR Ringtone
04:14 BS Bass'n'Bleep
05:31 PR Craftwork
06:39 BS Unison Acid
07:58 LD Faulty Device
09:27 LD Silky Sine
10:49 PR Sacred Rite
12:09 BS Admixture
13:24 PR Nervous Beat
15:03 BS Overtones
16:06 LD Memories Of S&H
17:25 BS Eccentric Saw
18:12 PR Saucepan
19:15 BS Palette
20:17 GEN Interplanetory
22:14 BS Bees On Bass
23:17 LD Oversaturated
24:27 LD Birth Of Modular
25:30 BS Full Range
26:32 PR Latino
27:54 BS Progressive
29:00 LD Glider
30:03 BS Colossus
31:08 LD Aloof
32:23 PR HiHat, Tom, Snare
33:13 Secret Message

A History of Synthesizers.com by Creator Roger Arrick Himself

Roger Arrick, the founder of Synthesizers.com, wrote a history of his business. It's a fascinating look at the inception of one of the first modular makers of the new gaurd. You can find the full the full article on his website here. The following are just a few excerpts. I included an interesting bit on an almost stolen system.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Designing Joy: an Interview with Korg.Berlin CEO Tatsuya Takahashi

via Perfect Circuit

"Tatsuya Takahashi, widely known as 'Tats', is a name that resonates loudly among sound synthesis enthusiasts and professionals. Over the last decade, his innovative mindset has been instrumental in resurrecting the popularity of analog synthesis, crafting a unique sonic landscape that blends tradition with novelty. Takahashi was been the creative engine behind some of Korg's most celebrated modern instruments, including the Monotron, the Volca series, and the Monologue and Minilogue synthesizers."

You can find the full interview at Perfect Circuit.

The following a few excerpts.

"I do have a guiding philosophy. I need to talk about the values that are present now, and how different they are from when I started. Obviously, I was naturally drawn to music tech, I have always loved circuits, instruments, and synthesizers. So initially, when I started working at Korg, which was my first "real" job after working in restaurants and bars, I was entirely focused on doing my job well.

As you mention, this period coincided with the revival of analog synthesizers, and I like to think that I played a role in that amongst other members of the industry. However, back then, it was more about doing well in my job and fulfilling my passion. The vision or the philosophy wasn't as defined then as it is today.

Now, at 40, I have a different perspective. I look back at the 23 products I worked on while in Tokyo and try to understand what made my job fulfilling. Apart from my affinity for design, art, music, and the very act of creating—of being and doing, I realized that there was also an important external element that stimulated me, and that was the joy that the users derived from my designs." "If you look at the MS-20, there were very few people involved in that project. The people responsible for the specs, the electrical design, the mechanical design, and the manual were probably the same two or three people. They just operated using general design principles.

Such an approach brings a certain consistency and purity to the product. Of course, if you are working on a complex product like a workstation keyboard, you need a large team to cover all the layers. However, I romanticize this early era of hardware design where everything was unified. If you look at an old Siemens mic pre, everything from the latch that takes it out of the rack to a three-dimensional puzzle of transformers and vacuum tubes to electrical, mechanical industrial design—all these considerations combined together. It is the same idea here, we try to break the boundaries between different disciplines and just see it as one thing."

"Korg.Berlin is nearly three years old, and we are a subsidiary of Korg Inc. Our function is to conduct R&D for new musical instruments. We diverge from the main office in that we have a different product planning procedure. We work directly with things, and we try in physical form what ideas might work. By the nature of that, we are a bit more explorative.

Our operation specifically aims to do things differently from the way it is currently done in Tokyo and Asia as a whole, including the manufacturing infrastructure. Having spent a wonderful decade building mainly analog synthesizers, it was important for me personally to do something different here. The team in Tokyo carry on with that work, and they are super good at it. So there is no point in us doing the same thing. That is why we need a different approach, a different technology, a different appeal, and consequently, we need a different branding. That is why we have our own logo, and we identify ourselves as Korg.Berlin. These are some of the things that make us different.

Looking into the future, we feel that some form of this acoustic synthesis that we unveiled at Superbooth this year will be at the core of our forthcoming products, or even multiple product lines."

Electronic Music by Allen Strange

video upload by Cinematic Laboratory

"What you don't know does not exist. Without the efforts of MakeNoise and Jason Nolan most of us would not be aware of Allan's book and I would not be able to hold it in my hands and film it. I had no idea Allen Strange used to work and perform with Don Buchla in the Electronic Weasel Ensemble, where Pat Strange played the violin. Instead of alien sounds, they made 'eastcoast' music. We may need stop thinking in synthesis coasts. The book is a bit academic by nature, simply because the modular could only be found at the manufacturers, the university and a privileged group of musicians. So it's a bit like going back to college, and it may not be an easy book for people like me - who never went to college in the first place. This book is a bit out of my league, but I'll definitely revisit it for a few episodes, maybe learn a few new things and share it. It's a goldmine of electronic music knowledge, but it's only valuable if it can be applied. The book makes frequent mentions of classic Buchla 200 series modules. Thanks to TipTop and Buchla, we can enjoy them as if they were made yesterday.

Animations by Kaiber.ai"

London Synth and Pedal Expo Set for March 18

"The organizers of the Brooklyn and LA Synth Expo are excited to announce the first edition of the London, UK edition of this event.

The London Synth and Pedal Expo is an annual ‘all things with knobs’ event” that features:
A gear expo – where musicians can try pedals and interact with builders
A pop-up market – where exhibitors can sell their products to attendees
Workshops and clinics
Gear giveaways and other promotions (discounts, deals, etc)

Since 2014, the Brooklyn Synth Expo has been attracting large crowds of musicians to NYC's most musical borough; merging in 2018 with sister event the Stompbox Exhibit to become the Synth & Pedal Expo.

Unpretentious, free to the public, and pop-up in nature, this strictly in-the-headphones event was born from an NYC music blog covering local emerging bands called The Deli as a way to entertain the community of musicians it served.

After expanding to several other big North American music scenes like Los Angeles, Toronto, and Portland - the Synth & Pedal Expo will launch its first European edition in London, UK on March 18, 2023.

Organized centrally in the hip neighborhood of Hackney, the first London Synth & Pedal Expo will give gear lovers the opportunity to check out and try the latest devices by big and small builders belonging to two increasingly cross-pollinating niches.

It will also feature an educational component with workshops and clinics, and an assortment of media partners and influencers that will allow it to broaden its relevance beyond the physical constraints of a real-life event.

While vendor registrations are already open, visitors should look out for an RSVP link being promoted on the event's Facebook page around the end of January.

Event Details:
When: March 18, 2023.
Where: Motel Studios, 406-408 Long St, London E2 8HG
Tickets: Free to the public

Please contact paolo.dg@thedelimag.com for any information."

Spitfire Audio Fractured Strings - A New Force Of Nature

video upload by Spitfire Audio

"Award-winning composer Paul Thomson takes you to the edge of the world and beyond with Fractured Strings. Created in collaboration with Hans Zimmer’s prestigious scoring collective Bleeding Fingers Music and London’s finest string players, this small ensemble library features an eight-piece string ensemble and two soloists, brought to life in the unparalleled acoustics of AIR Lyndhurst Hall, complete with 15 signal paths.

Fractured Strings introduces an innovative approach to articulations that delivers inspirational surprises through intervallic performances and new modal colours with unparalleled depth and realism. Introducing our brand new Scale Mode technology, these sophisticated, emotive movements and textures reflect the intricacies, patterns and contrasts found in natural phenomena — as heard in BBC's #FrozenplanetII.

Explore Fractured Strings here - https://bit.ly/3xEL8h1

00:00 - Trailer
1:00 - Interview with Bleeding Fingers Music
7:02 - Walkthrough
7:47 The Scale Mode
10:38 - The Articulations
15:40 - The EVO Grid
19:33 - The Seventh Reach
21:10 - The Solo Instruments"

And the press release:

"Spitfire Audio works with Bleeding Fingers to forge FRACTURED STRINGS as a new kind of chamber string library introducing a novel approach to articulations

“Early on in the process of scoring Frozen Planet II, we looked at the patterns of splintering ice and the individuality of snowflakes; in creating FRACTURED STRINGS, we worked closely with the Spitfire [Audio] team and London’s best players to represent these natural phenomena in musical performances — creating a toolkit that became the foundation of our score for the show.”

- Frozen Planet II composers James Everingham & Adam Lukas, 2022


LONDON, UK: created in close collaboration with Bleeding Fingers Music, the Emmy Award-winning and BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award-nominated composer collective, hand-selected and mentored by Hollywood hotshot Hans Zimmer (as a multi-Academy Award- and GRAMMY® Award-winning film composer of some serious standing), sound-specialising British music technology company Spitfire Audio is proud to announce availability of FRACTURED STRINGS — itself introducing a novel approach to articulations as a new kind of chamber string library featuring a 10-piece ensemble inspired by the Arctic and brought to life in the unparalleled acoustics of Lyndhurst Hall in London’s legendary AIR Studios, served up as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible (NKS-supporting) proprietary plug-in with 15 signal paths and infinite intervallic possibilities, designed to infuse any gestures, leaps, and cellular motif anyone might compose with warmth, colour, and humanity — as of September 22…

Being billed as a journey through Earth’s frozen worlds, home to unique and remarkable wildlife, it is little wonder that Santa Monica, CA, USA-based Bleeding Fingers Music were looking for a library that could not only support scenes of frozen silence but also scenes of action, tension, crisis, and drama when composers Hans Zimmer, James Everingham, and Adam Lukas started scoring the small screen wonder that is Frozen Planet II, the 2022-broadcast British nature documentary series co- produced by the BBC and The Open University as a sequel to 2011’s Frozen Planet. Putting it this way, James Everingham and Adam Lukas collectively comment: “Early on in the process of scoring Frozen Planet II, we looked at the patterns of splintering ice and the individuality of snowflakes; in creating FRACTURED STRINGS, we worked closely with the Spitfire [Audio] team and London’s best players to represent these natural phenomena in musical performances — creating a toolkit that became the foundation of our score for the show.”

Serious demands demand serious solutions, so a small section of London’s finest string players were brought by the Spitfire Audio team tasked with bringing Bleeding Fingers Music’s requirements to life in the unparalleled acoustics of Lyndhurst Hall — home to many a blockbuster film scoring session by Hans Zimmer and many more — in London’s legendary AIR Studios. The ten players concerned closely collaborated with the Bleeding Fingers Music team and Spitfire Audio’s own collective of composers, conductors, and engineers there to create a vast suite of intricate decorations, leaps, and swells.

So who better to formally introduce the finished FRACTURED STRINGS, then, than Spitfire Audio co-founder Paul Thomson — truly no stranger to the wonderful world of music-to-picture scoring himself as an English composer for film, television, and video games, as well as a music technologist to boot: “This is our latest collaboration with Bleeding Fingers [Music], and it is a set of unique and original content made for the BBC show Frozen Planet II. It showcases a huge amount of string articulations and gestures — wispy, ice-y, ethereal fragments that we have never before recorded, and that you can't play very easily with existing string libraries.”

CLICK FOR MORE »

Joranalogue Audio Design COMPARE 2 / Practical User Guide / announcement

video upload by BRiES

"This summer I spent a few weeks compiling interesting things to do with COMPARE 2 (besides extracting triggers for off-kilter drumpatterns) in this Practical User Guide.

You can find the page for COMPARE 2 here: https://joranalogue.com/collections/e...
Here's a direct link to the Practical User Guide: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/159...

I was kind of blown away myself in how many circuits at least some kind of comparator is used. I'm seeing a lot of second hand adds for people getting rid of COMPARE 2, and while there are of course always several reasons to sell a module, I guess for the most part it has to do with people being confused (I know I was, and still sometimes am) by the cryptic nature of this kind of module.

I love making these more technical and practical kind of documents. If anyone would want to commission a similar guide or manual, or if you'd like me to proofread/copywrite your website or existing manuals... you can contact me here to talk about that: briesmodular at gmail dot com

I was not sponsored for making this particular guide, but if you want to support my work you can visit my ko-fi page here: http://www.ko-fi.com/BRiES

Besides written guides I'm offering tailor made lessons as well (customized to your system - both written and through video call). If you're interested or curious it's best to just contact me to work out the details."

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5 things you can make with Cursus Vereor plugin + presets for VST, AU, and AAX

video upload by Noise Engineering

"We're using our synth plugin Cursus Vereor to make a ripped bass, chorus chords, lasers, automatic arps, and subs that cut through a mix!

0:00 Intro
0:13 Ripped Bass
1:00 Chorus Chords
1:27 Lasers
1:47 Automatic Arps
2:18: Subs that Cut

Visit the plugin page on our website, then select the "Presets" dropdown to download the 5 things in this video for free here: https://bit.ly/3sZHFrx

Cursus Vereor is part of our Bundle 1, which includes Basimilus Iteritas and Desmodus. It is available for Mac and PC, in VST3, AU, and AAX formats. Get these plugins and more (including some free ones!) at our shop at noiseengineering.us!

Enjoy Cursus Vereor with powerful modulation controls, extensive MIDI capabilities, and in-the-box ease of automation and sequencing.

Cursus Vereor is a synthesizer that creates its sounds by dynamically generating oscillator waveforms. Use Cursus Vereor for sounds that are gentle, harsh, melodic, distorted, or anything in between. Cursus Vereor features an ADSR envelope with curve shaping and a dynamics section featuring a VCA and a lowpass gate plus a vintage-inspired chorus.

Cursus Vereor excels at chords and pads, as well as gentle leads and hard-hitting basses. It can sound almost acoustic in nature, or harsh and edgy with the help of the wavefolder and oversampling. With simple and intuitive controls, Cursus Vereor makes it easy to design patches for your projects – or quickly find the perfect sound with the included library of presets."