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!
"In today's guide to synthesizer filters I break down filters and show how you can use them to make music. Whether you’re working with eurorack, hardware, software, analog, or digital synths, this guide should help you further understand filters.
We start with the basics, looking at what filters do and how low pass, high pass, and band pass filters shape sound. From there, I move into modulation, showing how to use envelopes and LFOs to add movement, rhythm, and expression to your patches.
I also cover filter self oscillation and how filters can become sound sources in their own right. Towards the end, we get into more advanced techniques like filter banks and stereo filtering to create wider, more complex sounds and mixes.
If you’re into synthesis, sound design, or electronic music production, this will give you techniques you can immediately apply to your own tracks.
Topics covered include synthesizer filters, eurorack and modular synthesis, sound design, envelopes, LFO modulation, filter self oscillation, filter banks, stereo filters, and electronic music production.
Perfect for fans of synthesis, sound design, eurorack, modular systems, and electronic music production.
"Listen the new Radical Frequencies Dual Retro VCO playing an arpeggio , showing all waveforms and making Pulse with modulation and Hard Sync between the vcos . It goes through the RF Mixer and then to Diode Dream Vcf as it suits this oscillator perfectly! #eurorack #modularsynth #radicalfrequenciesmodular #dualretrovco #drvco #diodedreamvcf #analogsynth"
"Handmade Dual VCO of discrete core capable of internal FM cross modulations - Hard sync and Ring Modulator
• Analog discrete saw core oscillators with Saw, Pulse, Triangle and Ring Modulation wave outputs.The sound is warm and fat, emphasizing odd harmonics for this big retro sound. My purpose here is to approach the sound of classic synths from 70s, that we all loved. • The SAW wave produces rich bass frequencies, sweet mids and smooth highs but overall, it is still well balanced across the full frequency range. The Triangle wave is almost perfect in shape with no buzzy hum sound. The pulse wave can produce that chorus-like phasing effect, when using an LFO to modulate the PWM input and does so in a very unique way, as it changes the phase of the signal as well. • Two identical VCOs : VCO ALPHA and VCO BETA, with the ability of hard sync as each VCO syncs internally with the other. Using the attenuator knob for SYNC, you can go from zero to soft sync(11-12 o’clock) to hard sync when the knob is fully CW. For syncing you just need to turn CW, the sync knob of the VCO you want to be the slave. Don’t open both the sync knobs at the same time unless you want to make some weird sounds. • There are external sync inputs for each VCO as well. External oscillators can be used as masters, just feed the output of the oscillator of your preference, into the sync input or either ALPHA or BETA. Just remember to feed a saw or a square wave, into the SYNC input. This is very important in order to sync the oscillator. A ramp wave it will not sync at all! (The RF DPVCO for example is a ramp out VCO and if you want to use it as master you must invert the signal first.) • Both ALPHA and BETA track 5 octaves accurately, tempco resistors are attached to the tuning ICs CA3046 on both VCOs. Separate voltage regulators for each oscillator can achieve the best sounding results without drift or bleed pitch, between VCOs. • Both VCOs go from a relative fast LFO range with the coarse tuning knob fully CCW, up to high frequency oscillation. • Octave Switches of 3 positions: 1 octave down - , zero , 1 octave up +, are available and make patching, fast and intuitive. • There are internal normalisations for exponential as well as linear FM and both have independent EXP FM and LIN FM, attenuators. • You can select the wave for the internal FM buss via the front panel switches .Options are Triangle and SAW. The internal FM wave, is independent per VCO as well. • There are also internal normalisations for PWM, where each VCO modulates the pulse width, of the other and both use the triangle waveform. • There is a PW offset, per VCO - negative phase pulse width at CCW to + positive phase at CW and 50-50 duty cycle square wave, in the middle of the knob. • Ring Modulation section is a separate feature where X and Y inputs are internally connected with the VCOs as well. It has 2 inputs, X and Ψ and one out, RM. The inputs are internally connected to the internal FM buss switch of triangle - saw selector. VCO ALPHA is internally connected into Ψ input and VCO BETA, into X input. You can feed the RM inputs any wave you desire from other VCOs as well . • An external patch cable breaks the normalisation of all internal connections, via input jacks. (EXP FM, LIN FM, PWM, SYNC, X Ψ)
• Important note about tuning : The vcos need at least 30 minutes warm up before using it for good tracking. Also when you have to tune the vcos it’s better the octave switches to be in the middle position and all the fm and sync knobs must be closed (CCW)
• Large range of sounds with countless sweet spots - ultra stable tuning for FM sounds by using the FM and SYNC knobs simultaneously - fat basses, classic leads and drones. Feed the DRVCO into a good filter and you will enjoy it as it was meant to be! The VCF that I suggest is the RF Diode Dream VCF as it is a ladder filter and suits it perfectly! Of course any other filter of your taste can be used with great results."
"Today we are comparing the Roland Jupiter-X and the Roland Juno-X: Two of Roland's flagship ZEN-Core synthesizers that share a LOT of similarities and some important differences.
Both synths share the same core sound engine, thousands of presets, model expansions, and modern features like I-Arpeggio, but they differ significantly in build, feel, controls, and vibe. In this video we compare:
Keyboard feel and aftertouch
Build quality, weight & portability
Control layout and hands-on workflow
Speakers, connectivity, and size
Price and value for money
Who each synth is best for (stage, studio, live performance, etc.)
If you're deciding between the Jupiter-X and Juno-X, this comparison will help you make the right choice."
"Here we have SUMP PUMP from Robots Are Red (with circuit design from Setonix Synth). It's a 6HP stereo Eurorack noise gate that can also invert its behaviour into a compressor and with the 'floor' control it can also be an expander. We've 3 umbrella sections in the video with compression, noise gate and sidechain ducking techniques. Check out the patches and let us know which is your favourite. There's also an exclusive run down of the dirty bass patch on / divkid"
*TIMING INDEX // CHAPTERS*
00:00 Intro & previews
01:00 What are we doing & feature run down
PATCHES // COMPRESSION
03:17 Setting up compression on beats
06:05 Adding excitement to thick distorted bass with expansion
08:17 Reshaping chords with compression
PATCHES // NOISE GATE
10:00 From basic to creative noise gates
13:56 “Beat density” with floor control (thanks to RAR for the idea!)
PATCHES // DUCKING & SIDECHAIN
17:48 Big dumb bass ducking - good fun & how to set it up
19:34 Creatively duck ambient FX - I love this mixing/production trick
It's a noise gate, it's a noise suppressor, it's a compressor, it's an expander, it's stereo.
The Specs and Stats:
Width: 6hp - Attack and Release knob for envelope(s)
- Threshold for suppression/compression (0V - ~8V)
- Floor controls the amount of suppression/compression from -100dB to Unity and even up to +10dB for expanding the louds louder or make the quiets a bit louder.
- Level controls your overall output level
- Gate/Comp switch: When in "Gate" mode, whenever the input falls BELOW the threshold level, the envelope will engage towards the floor setting. When in "Comp" mode, the envelope will trigger when the input rises ABOVE the threshold setting.
-Stereo inputs and outputs. The envelope follower is assigned to the Left input, so the L input can also be used as a sidechain input for a mono signal (into In-R).
- Engage input. This is a gate input for manually engaging the envelope.
- Threshold CV input. This offsets from your knob position.
- Floor CV input. This also offsets from your knob position.
- Duck CV Input. This is an envelope follower input that applies and inverted envelope to the level of the signal. Send a simple pulse or trigger, an actual kick, an envelope, or anything else into this to duck your signal.
-Envelope Output. The envelope Output does not follow the "floor" settings and always outputs a full voltage envelope.
Special thanks to SetonixSynth and many others for really helping make this module a reality.
"What happens when a synthesizer completely breaks the rules? In this video, we explore the Genki KATLA — a truly unique polysynth inspired by Icelandic volcanoes, featuring a rotating voice architecture, hybrid signal path, and some of the most unpredictable sound design possibilities I’ve come across.
This isn’t your typical analog polysynth. Each of the five voices can run independently with different waveforms, octaves, and modulation — creating evolving textures, harmonic movement, and generative-style sounds that feel closer to modular synthesis than traditional keyboards.
🎛️ What makes the KATLA special? • Rotating voice polyphony (round robin-style synthesis) • Independent per-voice oscillators & tuning • Digital oscillators + analog filter signal path • Looping envelopes reaching audio-rate modulation • Phase distortion, wavefolding & multiple distortion types • Tape-style wow, flutter & pitch instability effects • Stereo voice movement & evolving spatial modulation • External inputs for processing other gear
From lush ambient pads to aggressive, evolving sequences — this synth can go places most instruments simply can’t. It’s not about recreating vintage sounds… it’s about discovering entirely new ones.
💸 At around €5000, this is definitely not a beginner synth — but for sound designers, and anyone looking for something truly different, it well worth a look."
Genki Katla Sound Design: Making sounds from scratch and exploring
video upload by MR TUNA Music
Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 0:16 - Init patch 0:44 - Filter sounds 1:26 - Raising 1 voice 1:43 - Creating a basic pluck sound 2:24 - Aftertouch controls 2:45 - Bring in a little reverb 2:56 - LFO to filter cutoff 3:16 - LFO to reverb mix 3:46 - Keyboard cutoff 4:00 - Osc 3 Square wave 4:23 - Sub oscillator 4:54 - KATLA parameters 5:01 - Rústir wavefolder 6:08 - Rökkur stereospreader 6:37 - Skriða envelope randomizer 7:27 - Aska random modulations 7:57 - Glóð tape stops and flutters 8:35 - Skjálfti ??? 9:14 - Kvika slow tape modulations 9:38 - dark pads 10:20 - Móða voice detuning 11:20 - Katla sounds with aftertouch 13:28 - Thanks for watching
"Hey guys! Very very excited to be presenting the Genki Katla to you all... I am truly in awe of the sound of this very unique and powerful instrument.
I thought the best way to get to know the synth is to start from scratch so in this video we'll go full hands-on with the Genki Katla, exploring (almost) every parameter and building sounds from an initialized patch.
From some raw drone layers and gritty textures to evolving pads, rhythmic sequences, and atmospheric beds, we will see just what this instrument can do, discover new sounds, and maybe make some friends along the way 🙏
If you're into sound design, unique synths, or just love discovering new instruments, this one is for you!
HUGE thanks to Genki for letting me a part of this with them and showing off this super cool synth.
No money was paid, no agreements were made... these are my real thoughts on this very premium synthesizer and I will be sharing lots more."
Press release follows:
Genki Instruments announces availability of Katla as Voice Rotating Polyphonic Synthesizer inspired by its natural namesake
REYKJAVIK, ICELAND: having twice blown European musical minds thanks to show-stealing showcases at SUPERBOOTH25, May 8-10, Berlin, Germany and Machina Bristronica 2025, September 27-28, Bristol, UK, before adventuring across the pond for a repeat performance at Buchla & Friends 2026, January 24-25, LA, CA, USA, Reykjavik-based instrument developer Genki Instruments is proud to announce availability of the eagerly-awaited Katla as a Voice Rotating Polyphonic Synthesizer inspired by Iceland’s largest subglacial volcano as its natural namesake — readily representing the company’s first foray into analogue synthesis, albeit one that uniquely utilises a set of wildcard parameters to infuse it with organic, unpredictable behaviour as an instrument that is worthy of that legacy, excelling at generating rich, evolving, multi-layered textures, where each note stirs, swells, and erupts in its own distinct way — as of March 31…
Clearly Katla’s inspiration runs through its ‘volcanic’ veins. After all, it is framed by side panels and knobs forged from authentic Icelandic lava, giving each instrument a tangible connection to the volcanic forces that inspired it. That this synth should surely roar is a given. Genki Instruments inevitably chose, therefore, to kit Katla out with four independent distortion destinations, the most unruly of which is a stereo CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) Drive effect — a characterful saturation stage, pushing tones from warm and rounded to fractured and snarling.
"The Roland Super JX (MKS-70 / JX-10) is one of Roland’s most underrated analogue polysynths. Released in 1986, it was effectively two JX-8P synth engines in one instrument, giving you 12 voices of DCO analogue synthesis, huge pads, powerful basses, and classic mid-80s Roland character.
In this video I take a deep dive into the Roland MKS-70 Super Jupiter rack synth, paired with the Retroaktiv MPG-7X programmer and the Vecoven PWM upgrade, which massively expands the capabilities of the original synth.
We explore how the controller transforms the experience compared with the original menu-driven interface, and look at the additional synthesis power introduced by the Vecoven upgrade including true PWM, additional envelopes, extra LFO, and expanded modulation routing.
Along the way I demonstrate a range of sounds including pads, basses, evolving textures and layered patches, showing why the Super JX became famous for its huge analogue pads and rich detuned sounds.
I also look at some of the performance features of the MPG-7X such as assignable controls, patch generation, chord mode, velocity crossfading and MIDI integration, which make this combination feel like a modern analogue synthesizer despite the vintage hardware.
If you're into vintage Roland synths, analogue polysynths, or classic 80s synthesis, the Super JX is a fascinating instrument sitting right at the transition between the analogue era and the rise of digital synths like the DX7.
In this video Roland MKS-70 Super Jupiter overview Retroaktiv MPG-7X controller deep dive Vecoven PWM upgrade explained Sound design examples and patch demos Dual-layer patches and detuned pad sounds Performance features and MIDI control
Gear used Roland MKS-70 Super Jupiter Retroaktiv MPG-7X controller Vecoven PWM upgrade"
"Meet the DSP6300 crew and 'JE-8086', part their amazing ongoing project to make the firmware in 90's virtual analogue synths run in a modern DAW as a VST plugin. FOR FREE. 🔗 https://dsp56300.wordpress.com/ 👉 / mylarmelodies 🙌 MORE LINKS BELOW
Thanks to those who sent me the lecture - it's really interesting if you'd like to understand how this was achieved!
CHAPTERS:
00:00 This sounds familiar.
00:42 The sound, the feat
02:07 How it was done
03:41 Legal implications of ROMs
04:27 A quick fiddle
06:49 How to install & support it
39C3 - From Silicon to Darude Sand-storm: breaking famous synthesizer DSPs
Have you ever wondered how the chips and algorithms that made all those electronic music hits work? Us too!
At The Usual Suspects we create open source emulations of famous music hardware, synthesizers and effect units. After releasing some emulations of devices around the Motorola 563xx DSP chip, we made further steps into reverse engineering custom silicon chips to achieve what no one has done before: a real low-level emulation of the JP-8000. This famous synthesizer featured a special "SuperSaw" oscillator algorithm, which defined an entire generation of electronic and trance music. The main obstacle was emulating the 4 custom DSP chips the device used, which ran software written with a completely undocumented instruction set. In this talk I will go through the story of how we overcame that obstacle, using a mixture of automated silicon reverse engineering, probing the chip with an Arduino, statistical analysis of the opcodes and fuzzing. Finally, I will talk about how we made the emulator run in real-time using JIT, and what we found by looking at the SuperSaw code.
This talk is a sequel to my last year's talk Proprietary silicon ICs and dubious marketing claims? Let's fight those with a microscope!", where I showed how I reverse engineered a pretty old device (1986) by looking at microscope silicon pics alone, with manual tracing and some custom tools. Back then I claimed that taking a look at a more modern device would be way more challenging, due to the increased complexity.
This time, in fact, I've reverse engineered a much modern chip: the custom Roland/Toshiba TC170C140 ESP chip (1995). Completing this task required a different approach, as doing it manually would have required too much time. We used a guided automated approach that combines clever microscopy with computer vision to automatically classify standard cells in the chip, saving us most of the manual work.
The biggest win though came from directly probing the chip: by exploiting test routines and sending random data to the chip we figured out how the internal registers worked, slowly giving us insights about the encoding of the chip ISA. By combining those two approaches we managed to create a bit-accurate emulator, that also is able to run in real-time using JIT.
In this talk I want to cover the following topics:
What I learned since my previous talk by looking at more complicated chips
Towards automating the silicon reverse engineering process
How to find and exploit test modes to understand how stuff works
How we tricked the chips into spilling its own secrets
How the ESP chip works, compared to existing DSP chips
How the SuperSaw oscillator turned out to work
In this video, I break down my favorite sound design tricks to make a synth sound evil, dark and meaner. From subtle detuning and dissonance to modulation and instability, these techniques can transform any synth into an industrial machine. If you’re into industrial, EBM, Nine Inch Nails–style sound design, or dark cinematic synths, these ideas will help you create heavier and more unsettling sounds in your productions.
"Syntakt levels up. OS 1.40 introduces Twinshot - a dual sample player machine offering a playful and versatile complement to Syntakt’s existing digital and analog possibilities. And that’s not all. This OS also brings a range of features that offer extra fun, more control, deeper sound design, and greater personalisation. Explore Track Layering and Track Choking, Filter Pan, Control All Config, Prepare Mutes, Snap on Parameter Locks, Key Tracking, and lots more."
2. Explore Syntakt 1.40's New Features
Elin Piel takes you through some of the other features that arrive with Syntakt 1.40, on top of the Twinshot sample player machine.
3. Syntakt + Samples: Introducing Twinshot
Twinshot - arriving on OS 1.40 - is a machine that brings sample playback to Syntakt, with 64 global samples and dual-layer blending per track. The excellent Elin Piel explores how you can combine transient and body, reverse your sample, drive, and modulate them, opening up all kinds of new sonic possibilities on Syntakt.
4. How to Add Samples to Syntakt
Elin Piel guides you through upgrading your Syntakt OS and getting it ready for sample fun, courtesy of the new to 1.40 Twinshot machine.
Syntakt 1.40 – 7 Power-Ups That Completely Redefine It
"Syntakt firmware 1.40 just dropped - and yes, it plays samples now. But that's not the real story.
After spending serious time with this firmware, I found 7 power-ups that completely change what this machine is capable of. We're talking new oscillator colors, evolving morph engines, harmonic stacking with real instrument samples, character layering that captures the soul of your synths, track linking with analog filter routing, stereo filter panning, and performance upgrades that make jamming more intuitive than ever.
This isn't about drum one-shots. This is about what sampling unlocks for sound design, harmony, and musicality on a machine that already had serious creative depth.
All sounds in this video come from my own sample library recorded from my synthesizers — including the Novation Peak, Sequential Fourm, and Arturia AstroLab 37. The full sample pack and project files are available on my Patreon.
Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:21 The new machine: SP Twin Shot 0:50 Power-Up 1: Oscillator Mode - Adding new colors to your sound 2:22 Using more traditional oscillators 3:06 How to make a static one-shot sample sound more animated 5:05 Power-Up 2: Morph Engine - Evolving, rich sounds 6:05 Macros make the morphing even more powerful 7:13 Power-Up 3: Harmonic Stacking - Play chords with one voice 9:21 Power-Up 4: Character Layering - Steal the soul of a synth 11:25 How to add sustain to one-shot sounds 12:18 How to fade in the sustained part of the sound 13:09 Power-Up 5: Track Linking - Insanely powerful 14:52 Kick triggering FX Block for lazy side-chaining 15:54 The most amazing part of Track Linking 17:17 How to combine rich digital oscillators with snappy analog filters 18:39 Power-Up 6: Filter Panning - Syntakt can sound WIDE! 20:41 Power-Up 7: Performance Upgrades - Starting with Key Tracking 22:52 Ctrl+All can now be configured 23:54 Choke Groups 24:24 Quick performance demo"
forever changed ... first track with Elektron Syntakt OS 1.40
"Entirely new worlds have opened up for the already great Syntakt.
A performance on the Elektron Syntakt.
Recorded in one take into Zoom M4..
Mastered in post.
As always .. the project file, samples, music and Sound Pack are available for my patrons.
The great support from my patrons makes all of this possible ... thank you so much guys !! / substan
"Pristine to Filthy ... 11 Erica Synths Hexdrums Patterns covering different styles from gabber to Whitney Houston! I wanted to show. range of tones - from dirty fat techno juice to silky 808 style smoothness. With a lot of tweaking in an attemot to show the full range.. those kicks are MASSIVE!
It comes with some preset patch sheets to get you up and running as well as some empty ones to record your own favourite settings. I play most of the 'presets' and make some of my own to show it doesn't have to be a wall of sound. simple and sparse sounds amazing too."
1. 7 Channel Mixer For My Modular Synth.
2. Medusa - Sound Effects for Modular Synths
3. Buffered Multi for Modular Synths. Powered by Arduino
4. Digital Delay Module - Powered by Arduino
5. Bleep - Modular Drum Synth - powered by Arduino
6. Solar - A Modular Synth, Powered by Arduino
7. Groove Box Modular Synth - Arduino Nano
8. Freaq FM Synth. My Take on the Awesome MeeBleeps Synth
9. Mutant Generative Synth - Powered by Arduino
"I haven't done this in a while. No softsynths. No presets. Just raw voltage, evolving sequences, and semi-controlled chaos, captured in real time. Why would I do this? Because I can.
Available on all DSPs Wed, February 4th.
A Celldweller Production.
Patch Notes
I’ve had Intellijel’s Metropolis for a long time and have used it on many songs. A family member bought me Metropolix as a gift and it was time for me to wrap my head around all the upgrades and new features, so that was the impetus for this track and the foundation it was built on.
Intellijel Metropolix to Livewire AFG. Modulating pulse width and harmonic animation with Ornament & Crime. That’s run through one of my fav filters of all time, the Cwejman MMF-2 modulated by the Tip Top Z4000 EG for a bit of snap but mostly as seen in the vid, manual modulation of the cutoff. Hands are handy.
Drums are sequenced by the Erica Synths Drum Sequencer with kick, hats and percussion all in random mode. The Drum Sequencer is controlling the VPME QD & QEX which I loaded up with my own selection of drum samples.
I used Make Noise Pressure Points/Brains for the main played lead, controlling pitch of the XAOC Devices Odessa. Gates fired from PP/Brains trigger another Z4000 EG which mults through a Synthrotek mult to a Pittsburgh Modular VCA and the Roland 521 VCF (The thing I keep looking up at, hoping it would wave or say hi. It never did, but it did an amazing job at filtering the Odessa.)
The little arp I added at the last minute. It lives on another rack which contains all my 5U stuff. Sadly it’s not in the video bc I didn’t know I was going to utilize it when I set up the cameras. Next time. The arp uses all Synthesizers.Com modules, sequenced by the Q119 and filtered by the Q150 Transistor Ladder filter.
Delays and reverbs from multiple Tip Top Z-DSPs. Some EQ & compression and maybe a delay in Cubase which mainly acted as my tape machine to record the performance. As I normally do when I patch, it’s all synced to Cubase clock using Expert Sleepers modules & Silent Way software.
If you read even one sentence from these patch notes, you get a lollipop and if you made it to the end you’re a true legend and clearly as nerdy as I am. 🙌"
The following is in via Sean Graves, who had the following to say:
"The piece, 'The 'Easel' Spirit in 3U: Rebuilding a Buchla Soul in Eurorack,' documents my five-year journey to replicate the specific workflow and 'soul' of the Buchla Music Easel using a curated Eurorack system."
"This post explores the creative power of 5-step sequencing (the 'migrating downbeat'), the 'origami' of wavefolding via the Verbos Complex Oscillator, and the organic harmonic dampening of vactrol-based Low Pass Gates. It’s a technical yet accessible look at why the West Coast workflow remains the 'holy grail' for performance - based synthesis."
The full write-up follows, with a demonstration of the system in the video above.
The “Easel” Spirit in 3U: Rebuilding a Buchla Soul in Eurorack
The Buchla Music Easel is legendary. It isn’t just a synthesizer. It’s a self-contained performance ecosystem. For many of us, the “Easel” workflow is the holy grail of synthesis. However, instead of chasing original hardware, I’ve spent the past five years rebuilding its specific soul within the Eurorack format. Because everyone deserves a hobby, right?
The Chef vs. The Sculptor Most East Coast synthesizers work like a sculptor. You start with a massive block of harmonic noise (Sawtooth or Square waves) and carve it away with a filter. The Buchla workflow is different. It’s like being a chef in your own Hell’s Kitchen. You start with basic, “bland” ingredients (sine waves) and spice them up with Frequency Modulation (FM), Amplitude Modulation (AM), your choice, and then fold until the sound sizzles.
My current rig recreates this spirit by focusing on three pillars: Uncertainty, Complex Oscillation, and the iconic Sequential Voltage Source.
Part One: The Modulators (The Brain) In a true Easel style setup, the Tokyo Tape Music Center 5-Step Sequencer acts as the brain. While most modern sequencers favor 4-8-16-32 steps, the 5-step limitation is actually a creative superpower.
"Hey everybody! There are - at least - three strong contenders for the title “Worst Synth of all Time”: Akai Timbre Wolf, the obscure Red Sound Darkstar and today’s protagonist, M-Audio VENOM.
We are going to talk about how this 2011 instrument turned out to be one of the most epic failures in music tech history, why it is massively underrated and we will try to dial in sounds that are on par with and sometimes even better than those of synths further up the food chain.
I'm not saying it's UNDERRATED but it's...
MAudio VENOM"
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
00:33 Overview M-Audio VENOM
02:00 History of the VENOM
02:23 Software Situation
02:43 Is it a Synth???
05:17 Is it a Groovebox???
05:57 Software Problems
06:14 Prices
06:29 Can we make it sound great?
06:50 Jam
07:25 Outro
"VOLTAGE IN SHADOW is a collection of 50 combo patches and patterns for a semi-modular system by Make Noise: 0-COAST + 0-CTRL + STREGA. It includes textures, basses, leads, drones, chords, percussion, and FXs. 💎 There is a wide range of timbres inside the pack: soft and bright, musical and experimental, harmonic and FX-like, cyclic and generative, slow and fast, analog- and digital-style, dry and atmospheric, clean and distorted.
🦠 This is one of the most complex works I’ve done. It required a lot of time and effort, but I also received huge pleasure and inspiration while working with such interesting and unique devices. The patches turned out to be very fluid, dynamic, and non-static — largely due to the “alive” and sensitive nature of the synths. However, this also creates some difficulty when recreating the patches from images: even small changes in knob positions can affect the final result.
Andrew McGowan, pictured here with Tom Oberheim, wrote in to let us know today is the 10th Anniversary of the Sequential OB-6. Andrew was a product designer at DSI/Sequential and worked with Tom Oberheim on the OB-6.
You can find a write-up on some the development of the OB-6 as well as the Prophet-6 on his website, https://www.smartbombdesign.com.
A couple of excerpts:
"I was sitting in my office at Seer Systems one day in 1997 or thereabouts when the phone on my desk rang. It was Dave Smith calling from his home. 'I’ve been talking to Tom Oberheim. He’s between jobs and wants to learn about software synths, so I asked him if he wanted to write the Reality operation manual. Can you get him set up and manage that?' I knew who Tom was, of course, but I had never met him, and now Dave was asking me to be his manager. I had no reason to believe that Tom was anything other than the warm, bright, and kind person that I now know he is, but the idea that I would be managing him made me deeply uncomfortable.
Seer Systems was in the process of developing Reality, which is generally considered to be the first 'professional' software synthesizer, though I’m not certain what makes one synthesizer professional and another not."
[Side note: Propellerheads Rebirth was also released in 1997, however the demo version was released in October 1996. A bit like The Damned vs. Sex Pistols for those in the know!]
And [thought this was funny]:
"Those Fucking Lines
Tom and I had talked about synths over the years and, on several occasions, he remarked how often people asked him to remake the OB-X, perhaps because not many were made. Or maybe Rush/Tom Sawyer? I don’t know. What little I did know about the OB-X was that it had a (low-pass only) SEM filter, and we had already made a synth with an SEM filter in it. And our hardware engineer Tony Karavidas had worked at Oberheim and owned multiple Oberheim synths. I also felt very strongly that if we were going to make two poly synths that were essentially the same except for the filter, the 2-pole, SEM state-variable filter would be complementary to the Prophet-6’s 4-pole, OTA low-pass filter.
Tom’s wish list was short. He didn’t want the Prophet-6’s analog distortion. And he wanted the OB-Xa’s blue lines."
[P.S. I still own an OB-6 desktop and it's one of my most cherished synths. There is something organic about it. The demos I've heard of Sequential's new FOURM have that about them. I have enough synths as it is but the FOURM is very, very tempting for this particular reason.]
"A musical exploration of Leviasynth, Ashun Sound Machines’ successor to the Hydrasynth. Leviasynth is an 8 oscillator algorithmic synthesizer with analog and digital filters and five types of synthesis.
All the sounds featured in this video were created by me and are included in the Leviasynth factory presets (except Synfluctuate and PD keys which may be released by ASM as part of future banks). If you own or try out a Leviasynth, you can browse patches by sound designer and select Synth Universe to find all my sounds. Here I have often emphasized sounds that make use of the analog filter, showing the ability of Leviasynth to emulate analog synths, as this is one of the first things I want to know when assessing a hybrid synth. I also feature patches that highlight the other types of synthesis including FM and phase distortion.
This is a deep and powerful ‘monster’ of a synth and so far I have really only scratched the surface of its capabilities. There are too many features to list here so go to Ashun Sound Machines website to find out more.
Disclaimer: ASM sent me a pre-production unit for the purposes of sound design, but otherwise they had no input into the making of this video or the opinions expressed within.
No external enhancement or processing was applied to the sounds in this video: you are hearing them as output directly from the synth.
Note: Leviasynth does have a powerful arpeggiator and sequencer, but as they were still being finalized during the time I created these patches they are not featured in this video."
"Latronic Notron MK II (blue) — the iconic, hands-on MIDI step sequencer used by Björk, Peter Gabriel, FSOL, The Orb, and others.
This is the later MK II blue version, produced in very limited numbers (well under 200 units total). Fully working, studio-kept, and tested.
If you know what a Notron is, you already know why it’s special: real-time, performance-driven sequencing with zero screens, zero menus, and immediate tactile control.
Important / Value Add: This unit includes TWO spare, pre-flashed processor ICs at no extra cost.
Early Notrons are known to have a rare failure mode where static discharge or power-supply issues can damage the main processor. My unit was shipped back to England to have the main board swapped out in order to prevent this from happening.
Because I took that precaution, I never ran into any CPU problems in nearly 30 years of ownership, but about 10 years ago I acquired several original, pre-flashed replacement CPUs specifically as long-term insurance.
Two are included free with the sale.
I also have three additional spare processors available separately for $75 each if the buyer wants extra peace of mind.
Condition: – Fully functional – All LEDs, switches, wheels, and MIDI functions working – Non-smoking studio environment
One small area of paint has been rubbed off on upper right side where the unit moved against my rack (pictures included) There are three wide strips of hook-side Velcro on the back. I added these about 15 years ago for live use — it allows the Notron to be held securely at almost any angle (on a stand, case, or surface), which I found extremely practical. (Seriously, this stuff is awesome - I could basically hang the Notron upside down. Highly useful for keeping it on a sketchy stand when in active use.) The Velcro can be removed cleanly without residue if the buyer prefers, or I’m happy to leave it. (I'd recommend leaving it unless you know you're not going to want it.)
Features at a glance: – 4-row / 16-step interactive MIDI sequencer – Per-step velocity grouping, note length, echo, overdrive – Event-based modulation (pitch, CCs, transposition - this is an incredibly powerful feature and lets you make synths sound completely different than any other device out there) – Beatwrap & Beatcreep timing tools – Chord memory, chaining, rebound, Supersteps – Sends & receives MIDI clock, Start/Stop
Includes power supply. Ships safely packed and insured.
This is one of the most expressive MIDI sequencers ever made — and this example comes with rare, practical long-term protection that almost never accompanies these units."
"My Christmas video. Dialog is from the 1948 film noir English movie 'A Woman's Vengeance'. Audio is two DB-01s running left and right into the Erica Synths Nightverb. The Nightverb audio is absolutely as-is with no other processing than what you see. Movie dialog has been processed in Reaper and the Valhalla delay effect has been automated - which is an incredibly tedious process compared with riding the dials on hardware.
The DB-01s are set to different scales and random playback. The melody was randomly generated. I'll make a separate video showing this (simple) process if anyone's interested.
