The Sh*t Synth - Walkthrough video upload by CROW HILL XTRAS
Press release follows:
The Crow Hill Company turns to extensive and rare collection to turn out THE SH*T SYNTH as compendium of 48 circuit-, wave- and sample-bent instruments
EDINBURGH, UK: The Crow Hill Company is proud to turn to its own extensive and rare collection of hardware to turn out THE SH*T SYNTH — available as a compendium of 48 circuit-, wave- and sample-bent instruments inspired by some of the Edinburgh-based enterprise’s eclectic musical favourites (spanning the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards Of Canada, Joe Maus, Jon Brion, Laurie Spiegel, Radiohead, Throbbing Gristle, and Yazoo) to create something that they collectively ask: is it just shit or ‘the shit’? — as of April 7…
Whatever way anyone chooses to read into the titling of THE SH*T SYNTH as the latest entry into The Crow Hill’s ongoing ORIGINS series of sample-based virtual instrument plug-ins, one thing is for sure: it readily represents a broad selection of three categories of 16 workhorse instruments each, effectively wrapped up into a single plug-in designed to bring a cohesive approach to making music more edgy, lo-fi, retro, and — swimming against the technological tide of so-called progress — decidedly AI (Artificial Intelligence) slop-free. From pianos to strings, plucks, beeps, bass, and pads, the compendium that is THE SH*T SYNTH has been lovingly sculpted by the Edinburgh-based enterprise’s media composer and ‘samplist-in-residence’ Christian Henson to take the hassle out of making existing sounds less refined, catering to those looking for an entirely new bank of Mellotron-style sounds as well as synths that have been long forgotten — for good reason, too!
Update: looks this one was AI generated. Leaving it up for history's sake. Thanks goes to lfrancis in the comments for catching it.
"In the 1970s, ARP Instruments ruled the electronic music world. Founded by NASA engineer Alan R. Pearlman, ARP captured 40% of the global synthesizer market. Their legendary instruments gave a voice to R2-D2, communicated with aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and fueled hits by Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. Yet, by 1981, this American tech empire was bankrupt. What went wrong?
This video explores the incredible rise and devastating fall of ARP. We uncover how the company was destroyed from the inside out by a single disastrous bet: the Avatar. Pushed through by management over Pearlman's fierce objections, this flawed guitar synthesizer suffered from crippling latency and diverted crucial funds away from keyboard innovation. Discover the tragic story of how poor leadership and a 40-millisecond design flaw silenced a historic factory, leaving behind a musical legacy that outlived the company itself."
"I’m going to keep just making grooves on my groove box lol. I think this is why I’m not really considered part of “gear tube” I keep with the stuff I’ve been using forever and ever. I do like gear peeps, don’t get me wrong, but I think you’d be better off just diving heavily into two instruments. Call them “instruments” too. When you call them “gear” it removes the fact that you’re 'playing' something. Give the instruments their creative intention back lol. Dave Smith Tempest is still the best. Groovebox lord."
"Here we have a custom circuit bent Texas Instruments Speak & Spell.
Operates as a totally normal speak and spell until you flip a glitch switch or turn a dial, etc.
Very fun to play, no right or wrong way to it, this bent talking synth is capable of tons of new sounds for you to record, sample or play live.
The added mods include:
1) Tone Oscillator button-creates a tone when depressed, the tone can then be manipulated with the theremin pitch cell, pitch dial or pitch body contacts.
2) Active Matrix Glitch-This mod opens up the membrane for random glitching dependent on where you touch the pad.
3) Ramble Glitch-Flip this switch and hit go and it will spew constant ramblings on and on and on and on.........
4) Dual voice glitch- causes it so speak In both a high and low voice at the same time.
5) Pitch Changing Body Contact-Touch this to lower the pitch, the harder you touch the further the change.
6) Pitch Changing Knob-Use this pitch control to change the pitch from incredibly high falsetto to super low, 8-Bit crushing growl.
7) Reset Button-Use this when you're ready for a change and the machine is rambling on its own, also serves as an OFF button.
8) Theremin Opto Cell Controller-Simply flip the switch, use the pitch dial to fine tune and you can play any sound emitting from the speak like a theremin, makes for some great effects.
9) Loop Switch with Advance Button-FLip this switch at any time to catch a sound that you can then mold and play with the other controls such as the opto cell and pitch dial.
10) Strobing LED for cool effect
It now features a 1/4" output jack that mutes the onboard speaker, allowing you can output this into your effects, amp, pa, etc.
These mods add tons of versatility and droning textures for your playing, recording and experimenting pleasure."
The ellitone KeyControl_2 is a midi keyboard controller that features 12 velocity-sensitive wooden Touch Bars. Completely redesigned from the ground up, the KeyControl_2 is the exciting sequel to the popular KeyControl midi keyboard. After a year of user feedback and suggestions, the KC2 was created to be a superior performance midi keyboard controller that combines a streamlined user experience with exotic hardwood aesthetics.
The KC2 features 16 selectable musical scales from around the world. Inspired by hand-pan drums, these 16 musical scales each offer a different mood for your playing and exploration. The best thing about these selected musical scales is that it is impossible to hit a “wrong note”, No musical theory or piano playing ability is required to successfully enjoy this device. As seen in the demo video, the KC2 can be played like a piano using single fingers, or like a drum using both hands to trigger groups of multiple notes at once. An improved velocity tracking system allows the KC2 to be played like a digital hand drum that responds to the smallest change in play pressure!
The KC2 offers both USB-C midi output and TRS midi output simultaneously. The TRS midi output can be adapted to a classic 5-pin DIN midi cable using an inexpensive TRS to DIN midi cable adapter (TRS type A)
There are many changes, redesigns, and improvements from the original KeyControl, so lets explore each one:
Overview | What is V Collection 11 Intro? video upload by Arturia
"Join Kari as she introduces V Collection 11 Intro: a streamlined suite of 10 essential instruments distilled from Arturia’s flagship collection. Explore how each one delivers instantly inspiring sounds, from analog classics to modern hybrids, all brought together in a powerful, studio-ready selection.
_CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro
01:19 Analog Lab Intro
02:39 Contemporary Originals
04:25 Classic Synths and Keys
08:37 Cinematic Instruments
10:07 Summary"
"What’s V Collection 11 Intro?
Each instrument is a world of possibility. From analog sounds you can’t go wrong with, to wild modulations and innovative composition textures - discover essential sounds for any genre, and some.
Instruments included:
Prophet-5 V
DX7 V
Jun-6 V
Stage-73 V
Analog Lab Intro
Augmented STRINGS
Augmented GRAND PIANO
MiniFreak V
Mini V
Pure LoFi"
"Join me for another Mini Modular Moments episode as I unveil my brand new studio recording and jamming Eurorack case! In this video, I walk you through every module in my compact modular synth build — from the Frequency Central Product to the Squarp Rample drum sampler — and explain why I chose each one. Then, I power it up for the very first time on camera to see what kind of noise (or magic!) it can make.
Featuring voices, drums, filters, modulation, and a Keystep Pro for control, this case is designed for full jams in a portable format. Expect some happy accidents, a little chaos, and plenty of patching fun.
🎛 Modules Featured:
Frequency Central Product
Knobula Monuatic
Nano Modules ONA
Mutable Instruments Veils
Klavis Quadigy
WMD Carbon Filter
Squarp Instruments Rample
Endorphin.es Cockpit
…and more!
Whether you’re into Eurorack modular synths, studio jam setups, or just curious about how a live performance case can evolve into a studio powerhouse, this one’s for you"
1. Getting started with modular - 4 eurorack systems explained
There are many ways to get started with modular, and many reason to be interested in it. There is no single solution, modular is a journey and you have to discover and experience your own. This video is part of a series where I share some thoughts and ideas I wish I could find when I started out. Take or leave whatever you like :)
Timetable:
00:00 – Introduction
02:17 – The Monosynth
06:32 – The Sonic exploration lab
10:26 – The Performance system
15:34 – The Dedicated tool
2. What modules should you buy when starting with modular?
Getting started with eurorack can be confusing. The number of modules available grows ever week. And on top of that, what you need depends on what you want to do with your modular. In this episode in a longer series, I look at a 4-module starter voice as an option.
Some unfortunate news sent my way vis Swissdoc. Apparently someone has stolen an EMS Synthi from the Swiss synth museum Synthorama. You might recall the video walkthrough just posted here yesterday.
I finally managed to register on the forum. I'm the owner of the Synthorama and, due to a current event, I'd like to give you a brief update on the museum.
The Synthorama has been around for 25 years and serves to introduce synthesizers to a musically interested public. Almost all instruments can be played and tested here.
But you all already know that ;-)
Unfortunately, there are also people who misuse the museum. Since its inception, there have been four thefts, the fourth on August 2, 2025.
The first was about 15 years ago, when someone stole around 10 modules from one of my Moog modular systems while it was unattended and then filled the "holes" with other modules or even front panels. I didn't notice this for a long time because it wasn't that obvious.
Pre-set chord buttons ensure every note fits perfectly in harmony — no more worrying about wrong notes!
Control of chords and rhythm
This electronic instrument's settings allow anyone to play perfectly tuned chords without needing to know music theory.
Ergonomic Tone Keys Layout
Use tone keys in various combinations and rhythmic patterns to enrich chords with layered notes.
The tone keys produce only the notes of your selected chord from low to high. By combining and repeating these chord sounds, you can create rich musical textures.
Neoharp is easier to master and offers the same range of digital samples as keyboard instruments.
Dedicated App Dedicated synthesizer application with visualization and other unique features.
Features Playing 3 or more digital instruments simultaneously 3 Chord buttons modes: Change chord Chord and/or Bass accompaniment Arpeggio 2 Tone keys modes: Chord note Strum simulation in guitar mode 15 chord types available instantly Ergonomic chord buttons arrangement: related chords are close to each other Built-in protection against playing incorrect notes of a chord Settings and visualization via mobile app
Electronic Hand Percussion Instrument and Speaker System for Musical Exploration, Relaxation, and Meditation
Los Angeles, CA, June 24, 2025 — Roland introduces Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that encourages anyone to discover the restorative power of music. Inspired by acoustic handpans, Mood Pan features tranquil tones and a simple design requiring no previous musical skills. Along with providing immersive audio for the onboard sounds, its built-in 2.1 speaker system can also play soothing background music and stream Bluetooth audio from mobile devices.
Mood Pan is made for mindful people and modern musicians seeking a versatile and expressive new instrument. It blends the soulful resonance of acoustic handpans with multiple sound variations and other flexible features made possible with Roland’s advanced percussion technology. While many musical instruments require learning and skill development, Mood Pan can be enjoyed by everyone, with no experience or special technique necessary.
The electronic design of Mood Pan offers many benefits over traditional handpans. Users can explore different instruments and tunings, enhance sounds with onboard effects, and silence the onboard speaker by plugging in headphones for quiet solo sessions.
Mood Pan can be placed on the user’s lap or a tabletop. The instrument is played with finger taps, and its nine pads can be assigned to different musical scales, making it impossible to hit a wrong note. It’s also possible to tap the sides with the palms to create percussive sounds and resonant tonalities, mute sounds with a touch, and use a special control pad to add expressive colors to certain tones.
Selectable sounds include handpan and other acoustic percussion such as tongue drum, gamelan, crystal bowl, and singing bowl. There’s also a sitar voice, orchestral strings, synth pad tones, and four user locations with selectable sound variations.
Mood Pan offers environmental music and nature sounds, along with four modes to play soft soundtracks for mornings, evenings, relaxing, and yoga sessions. It also doubles as a high-quality Bluetooth speaker for streaming music from a smartphone or tablet.
The Mood Pan Plus app is the perfect partner to extend the Mood Pan experience. Users can adjust the onboard sounds, choose different environmental sounds and effects, and fine-tune the pad sensitivity. The app also includes additional sounds for loading into Mood Pan’s four onboard user locations.
"New modules are cool, but old modules are cool too.
Strega Unleashed is not the most descriptive title, but hey, I suck at making my videos easier to find by a wider audience. This is for everyone who wants to get more stereo from a mono semi-modular synth.
My increasing love and diminishing hate relationship with Strega is still going strong. I was under the impression I heard most of what it can do, but I was wrong. This whole idea started when I wondered about the Buchla TTA 264 'polyphonic adapter' which could round robin notes to various destinations. I am not using it in this video, this is more like a proof of concept. Strega is obviously a mono voice, but the delay accepts 'pitch cv'. The same applies to the 'Agitation' LFO. It gets even cooler when you also have a O-Coast because it provides another VCO and the 'Slope' LFO which can run audio rate too. The 264 could send pitch CV to four destinations like a rotating sequential switch and this will probably also work with the WMD sequential switch matrix.
However, in this proof of concept I'll just use stackables to honor the 'dark easel' as it comes, so without any fancy modules you don't own, and only using free VST's from Native Instruments (Replika, Raum). So there are two main takeaways in this video, regardless of owning a Strega or not. Stackables can make your old synth sound brand new, and recording your outputs on as many mono channels in the DAW as you can - so you can mix, pan and add FX later."
"Earlier this month I managed to replace the bone saddle in my 12 string guitar. I guess years of messing with the saddle (as well as expansion contraction in the basement gloom) caused it to deteriorate to a point where the strings wouldn't touch it and it sounded horrible. I've had this guitar since 2001, so somewhere around 14 years. It's felt nice to bring it back to that feeling of new, even though it was never well cared for. I just love the feel and sound of it. These videos where I even mention a guitar usually do distinctly awful. I guess the idea of mixing guitar with synths just rubs people the wrong way. But I liked it.
I've serviced several Wilgamat and I noticed that sometimes you can miss some minor issues in an otherwise working unit, mainly in the bass accompaniement arpeggios: missing notes, wrong pitched notes, double trigger notes...
These issues (as most of the issues in this instruments) are caused by faulty CMOS chipsets. These are cheap and easy to replace. Issue can however be in the AY-1-1313 chipsets (Priority Latching Network chipset) and these are harder to find.
Here you can listen to a fullly working and proper sounding unit and compare it to yours. Pay particular attention to the bass part, especially in "walking bass" mode. If one or more patterns do not sound like these then you have some faulty chipsets somewhere.
There is a non intended use of these unit I like: when playing in "key" start mode with lowest tempo, you can use this unit as a simple bass or synth keyboard.
Depending on the pattern selected you don't get the same result. With a little pratice it can turn as a nice simple bass keyboard.
Also note the bass section only spans over 1 octave whereas the accompanient sections spans over 2."
Batverb is the stereo reverb that dreams are made of: less of a room simulator and more of a tail generating pedal, Batverb is an instrument in its own right.
Taking inspiration from our popular tail-generating modules, Batverb brings reverberation and delay to a whole new level with extensive control of timbre, echoes, and dynamics.
Start by setting a predelay time and adjusting Regen to set the length of the tail, from a short slapback-style echo to an infinite wall of reverberation. A variety of unique controls make Batverb sing in any signal chain:
Doom adds in chaotic suboctaves, and Shimmer brings in haunting overtones. With each on its own control, go wild and have both at the same time!
Low and high damping settings for the reverb tank
Add filtering and harmonics to reverb tails
Built-in saturation can apply to only the wet signal or the whole output Includes onboard dry/wet Blend control and input- and output-gain parameters
Unique Duck switch controls the reverb’s behavior: duck out of the way of an input signal, or match the dynamics of your playing, similar to a gated reverb
Create instant atmospheres with reverb-freezing Hold footswitch Route the expression input can to any parameter on the pedal
Store and recall 16 different presets and recall them in response to MIDI program-change messages.
Exploring and sharing engaging ideas in sound, music, and synthesis • Eurorack, 5U • Guitar Pedals • VST, AU, AAX plugins • Reason Rack Extensions"
Press release follows:
Noise Engineering announces Batverb, an experimental reverb, delay, and infinite-tail generator
Los Angeles, CA — Noise Engineering, known for their expansive selection of synthesizer effects and sound sources, announces Batverb, a distinctive stereo reverb with a twist.
Noise Engineering’s take on reverb has always been innovative, creating effects that are as much instruments as they are processors. Batverb is no exception: parameters allow the resulting effects to morph organically from slapback delays to infinite reverb tails.
“Batverb was inspired by our Desmodus Versio module, but when we tried to bring the Desmodus experience to guitar, we realized quickly that we would need to rethink the approach. Batverb shares concepts with Desmodus but shares zero code: the entire thing was redesigned from the ground up, with the dynamics and tonality of guitar at the forefront,” said Stephen McCaul, Chief Noisemaker at Noise Engineering. Kris Kaiser who is the Doer of Many Things at the small company added, “Working with guitar was key, but what sounds great on guitar also works really well for loads of other instruments.” Indeed, Batverb’s stereo I/O and MIDI integration make it a perfect choice for a multitude of instruments.
Kaiser continued, “I like to say Batverb isn’t your father’s reverb because it has such unique features.” She’s not wrong. Along with predelay/delay Time and Regen controls, Batverb includes a number of parameters for shaping the tone of the reverb itself. The Grit switch adds a unique harmonic distortion to the tail or the whole mix, and the Doom and Shimmer controls add in subharmonics and overtones. Batverb also has onboard adjustable highpass and lowpass filters to shape the tone to taste.
Batverb’s configurable Bypass footswitch can cut the reverb tail immediately, or simply mute the input to the reverb processor, allowing the tail to ring out while you play. The Infinite footswitch mutes the input to the reverb tank while maximizing the feedback for an infinite atmosphere.
The innovative Duck switch uses the dynamics of your playing to shape the reverb tail. Use the right setting to duck the reverb out of the way of your guitar’s tone, or the left setting to make the reverb’s dynamics match your guitar’s.
Batverb also stores/recalls up to 16 presets with MIDI Program Change messages. Batverb features a convenient MIDI thru jack, so it’s easy to patch into your MIDI control chain. In addition, all parameters can also be controlled via MIDI for automation and remote control from a DAW or configurable controllers.
Noise Engineering is a member of 1% for the Planet and has been donating a percentage of all sales to environmental conservation. Proceeds from Batverb will benefit the organization Bat Conservation International.
Batverb is available for preorder with MSRP of $499. It starts shipping March 13 from noiseengineering.us and retailers worldwide.
Batverb was designed and built in sunny Southern California.
"In this video, we dive into the key features introduced in the latest 2.10 update of Hapax OS.
HapaxOS 2.10 January 23, 2025
Features Fine-tune note length (hold a step with a note inside, click encoder, then rotate to edit the length) Pitch of drum events can be transposed (hold a drum event, and transpose it) Mono editing mode (in a POLY track, press 2ND+TRACK and enable MONO) REC hard quantize (in REC settings, enable the quantize and hold+rotate this encoder to select if you want to keep the note OFF position, or keep the note original width) STEP-INPUT REC mode (SH101 style) (press LIVE+STEP to enter this mode) New ALGO: Shuffle (randomly rearrange notes in several ways) FX Arpeggiator : new hard-sync mode FX Randomizer : new parameter "base chance on note velocity" Looper: auto-length can be set to 1 step (in addition to 1 bar) Autom mode: when holding a step to edit its value, you can now reset the value to default by holding the encoder Chord Mode: modifiers saved per track Chord Mode: pressing a modifier retriggers the chord Chord Mode: Relatch mode added New SETTING : pedal = BPM New SETTING : cv out type = HZ/V New SETTING : default PATTERN TRIG mode (FREE or RESTART)
"As is known, the two Roland grooveboxes do not officially support MIDI SysEX messages and there is no documentation relating to their implementation which is hidden
In reality, the MC-101/707 are able to receive and send such messages: they respond with a completely wrong addressing, with duplicate and incorrect data which however can be corrected and used by the software.
The editor-librarian, like the analogous versions for Fantom/0, AX-Edge and Jupiter-X/Xm, communicates in real-time and bidirectionally with the groovebox, using MIDI SysEx messages."
MIDI Messenger is free, but they do accept donations. Details follow:
"This plugin came to life as an answer to the lack of utilitarian MIDI processors and DAW functionality on iOS/iPadOS. Not being able to easily send Program Changes (even that!) didn't feel right when I was trying to prepare my new live set with my iPad being the control center of the rig.
It allows creating lists of ‘messages’ that will be sent after being triggered by incoming MIDI messages or system events.
In the newest version we added expression and advanced trigger filtering, so now you can do some really crazy, almost generative stuff."
The playlist above covers the following three versions:
1. MIDI Messenger v1 basics tutorial
"In this tutorial we cover some basic stuff sending Program Changes from MIDI Messenger loaded in AUM to Empress ZOIA and Red Panda Particle via CME WIDI module as an example."
2. MIDI Messenger — v2 overview
Here's new MIDI Messenger v2!
00:00 Intro
00:05 Big thing #1: values from triggers
00:19 Note On/Off example
00:31 CC example
00:47 Big thing #2: exporting/importing presets
01:00 Minor updates
01:04 New trigger: Program Change
01:08 Passthrough for Transport triggers
01:11 Manual 'Send' trigger/button
01:21 New events at the top of the Log
01:23 Log 'Clear' button
01:27 Responsive UI
01:32 Highlighted selection in long menus
01:39 Outro
3. MIDI Messenger — v3 overview
"The main two new features are expressions and multiple messages per single trigger. Generative workflows FTW!
Improved triggers: you can select multiple channels, and values with the support for ranges and single values.
Small neat things: bypassing messages, humanised log with hex/dec modes, and... in-app donations — no need for Patreon account if you want to support us!"
"The Ellitone KeyControl is a MIDI/CV Keyboard Controller featuring 12 velocity-sensitive wooden Touch Bars and a built-in ‘ambient poly sequencer’ mode.
This device comes in two versions, with or without AAA portable battery power. The version without AAA battery power is 25% slimmer and is powered via the USB-C connection.
"The Hexajam is a musical instrument design for maximizing improvisation and collaboration. It is simple, yet endless fun for musicians of all ages and skill levels. Learn more about it at: Hexajam.org"
KEYBOARD, BASS, DRUMS
The Hexajam is perfect for beginners of any age.
Each instrument is intuitive and requires no prior knowledge or technical skill to start making music.
Three instruments in one unit creates an instantly fun and collaborative musical experience.
EXPLORE SCALES AND TONES
Each instrument module has 6 unique tone settings so players can explore and combine different sounds.
There is a universal switch to select a scale such as major, minor, lydian, and blues. Within the selected scale, there are no "wrong notes," and the keyboard and bass are always synced.
INDIVIDUAL HEADPHONES + AUX
Three headphone outputs allow multiple Hexajams to be in the same room.
This feature is ideal for an education environment because it allows different groups of students to simultaneously explore their own musical worlds.
The Hexajam can also be played from an amp or PA system."
"Hi! Here is v.4, I redesigned the enclosure to be more rugged, we have also a battery and speaker. Most of the errors are solved, the UI is quite cluttered yet and I make a lot of missclicks/wrong shortcuts but after some tweaks everything should go fluent.
The idea is to have a pocket version of Ableton workflow, simplified but easy enough to create sketches for further polishing in DAW. I plan to build several units for testers but is still a lot of work to do and I cannot guarantee anything at the moment. I will try to progress as much as possible to finish this in this year."
"I built a Pocket Operator alternative. It can now record and play internal synths. There are 4 engines:
- Bass (Roland TB-303 mod),
- Lead (8bit style),
- Braids (implementation of Mutable Instruments eurorack module),
- Wavetable (several waves mixed by knobs)
I hope the UI is self explanatory, it is focused on simplicity and uses Ableton-like mini session view to launch clips"
The first prototype was shown 3 years ago on reddit.
It looks like a Dirtywave M8 tracker, but is different in both build layout and function. From the creator:
"M8 is a stunnig device for complex projects, I plan to keep my Vekt operator more like pocket op where you can quickly create sketches/ideas and polish them later on DAW. And the main idea for me personally was to quickly create rhythmic sequences which I can use with my visualization app instead making them in DAW, this will speed up the process."
