DØS: the ultimate polysynth by DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

00:00 Overview and patch demos
12:10 System Architecture
15:30 New Oscillator updates
19:42 Filters improvements, types, cascading
25:20 Sequencer modulation

'The Moog One was released in 2018 to much fanfare and high expectations. By all accounts, it was the greatest analog polysynth ever made; 16 voices, 3 oscillators, dual filters, knob-per-function, and Eventide effects. On paper at least, it was unbelievable. In person, it was astounding to play. Sounds were unlike anything ever made, and it lived up to the hype. But there were problems underneath. The volume knob was an unfamiliar taper. The filters didn't really drive much. There was very little distortion because of so much headroom in the mixer. The effects were underwhelming. And the fan noise to cool all that analog circuitry was loud and omnipresent. I know all this, because I beta tested it for over a year. All told, I entered 119 bugs and feature requests. To Moog's credit, they fixed about 89 of them.

When we set out to make this the ultimate homage version, we wanted everything possible, including improvements. But that wasn't enough; it had to play my original patches, offer all the improvements we could think of, and sound exactly like the original, but better.

TL;DR: it does.

The oscillators now include all the familiar analog shapes-- with sharpening, digital wavetables (including your own if you're bold enough), drawable shapes, and much more. The filters include the originals, modelled to within a dB at all ranges, plus most classic analog synth cart type additions, learned from all our other synth models. Plus, we added patch jacks for fast modulation routes. Plus, DRIVE and analog feedback loop lifted from Minimoog circuitry. CP3 mixer technology for even more vintage clarity. Instability along the way that isn't intrusive. Freely routable better snappy envelopes. A sequencer that outputs multiple lanes that you can drag anywhere. Effects that start with what should've shipped in the original, enhanced with legendary features. And if that's not enough, you can use your own VST3 effects inside it-- a world's first! All of this wrapped up in our EZ button. Randomize your way to your next sound and get there faster than you would've guessed.
And best of all--- a cooling fan that is near dead silent, measured to within .001 dB of the original, then completely cancelled out!

All new factory patches, plus my original 161 patches for your enjoyment.

Now available: https://store.denversynth.com/dos.html"

Syntheus 1001: a double-suitcase full of vintage modular synthesis

video upload by manmade madman

"If you could pack everything you ever wanted into a modular synth, and then put it in a suitcase, chances are it would reference the EMS Synthi AKS/VCS from the 1970's. Recently companies have released hardware editions that sound glorious. There's even a monster ultimate reissue called Analogue Solutions Colossus which I'm sure sounds incredible. The original was notorious not only for its clean look and capabilities but weird sounds even Brian Eno said "...great for bug noises" but he used it for decades as an effects processor as well. We've taken issue with this... it CAN be musical!

Here we have the ultimate version: 6 free range oscillators, dual patch panels, vintage spring reverb, a joystick that lets you record motion and play it back, and a snapshot sequencer that gives you your sound-per-step, or bug noises if you'd rather! Vintage circuitry all along the way, down to the opamp modelling. You'll hear the crunch and occasional bleeding of the original 70's wiring. Thanks to our db-cell technology, you'll hear a vintage drift everywhere, but well under control. It's not static-- in fact its always surprising and always different, just like the originals.

Best of all, its actually FUN to use. Drop a pin and watch the patch cable show you the connection! Modulate where you couldn't before. EZ rolls in different sections, including the patch matrix. Make sounds, snap them to the clocked sequencer, and get going.

Make vintage inspired sounds from the future that surprise you. Make something musical.

Prove Eno wrong!

https://store.denversynth.com/syntheu..."

SYNTHEUS 1001

An unobtainable synth that’s a double-briefcase full of awesome.

Famously used by a ’70s producer who called it “great for bug noises.” Prove him wrong!

Two EMS Synthi-style synths strapped together in one case: six oscillators, two 16×16 pin matrices, two diode-ladder filter/oscillators, two envelope shapers, a random voltage generator, ring mods, a spring reverb and an octave filter bank. There are no menus to patch. Push a pin into a hole, and the sound goes there. Pull it out, and it stops.

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Dr.Øne: a 4-voice drone machine by DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

"Dr.Øne is a fun to play drone machine with 4 independent voices that can rotate, or instantly transpose, to get you someplace fresh and exciting. Instantly, you're taken somewhere new and musical, gently, or even abruptly. It's half concrete, half metal, all luscious tones.

Or, you can just play it.

The voices barely interact, but feed through an all-new spring reverb algorithm and delay, which then feed a micro-cassette that you can freeze, rewind, and half-speed all at the push of a button. You'll find millions of sounds driving into the effects. This will quickly be a center for inspiration, as you discover new paths to strange sounds and chords.

Or, you can just play it.

You can map this to your favorite hardware controller (like a Novation Launch Control XL) and sit back and make chords out of sounds, progressions out of tones. Tying it to hardware is revealing. Suddenly it becomes an instrument that doesn't exist. Don't think for a second that you can save this game and resume, because you cannot. Just like life, there is no going back, only forward.

Or, you can just play it.

Throb button gives you spikes of the voices at their shape-- from sine to pulse and everywhere in between-- that you can use to bounce off the walls, or climb them, if that's your thing.

Melt your past. Forge your future. Make something new without boundaries. Or, you can just play it.

Available now: https://store.denversynth.com/drone.html"

DenverSynthLabs’ easiest synth to lose hours to.

Half of Dr.Øne is concrete. Musique concrète began when people cut, slowed, reversed and looped recorded sound until it stopped being a recording and became an instrument. Dr.Øne is the other half: four voices that hold a chord forever, then rotate or instantly transpose to take you somewhere fresh. Play it by hand, with a hardware controller or the mouse, and don’t be surprised when it’s three hours later.

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OCTAL: sequencable effects by DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

"Imagine being able to sequence different effects blocks as you wish. Imagine being able to send to a delay only on steps 5 and 9. Imagine being able to slew between effects slowly. Imagine if these effects blocks had LFO's for parameters to modulate them automatically. Imagine if you could choose from 34 effects blocks of different types. Imagine if you could quickly randomize everything to spit out a new sound. Imagine if you could change opamps, diodes, capacitors, and component age without a screwdriver and popping open something vintage.

Imagine no more!

Here's OCTAL. An 8-block sequence-able effects rack that lets you lightly touch or completely mangle your audio input into something fresh. An effects playground, if you will. Chain things in any order, then re-order them freely, just to hear how it sounds. Cascade blocks into each other, stacking sounds that build and grow. Or simply hit the EZ button and let it choose for you. Then sequence all that for certain steps only. Assign LFO's to automatically swell, dip, crunch, or delay sounds so that its just how you like it. Or, do that all at once, times 8.

Available now: https://store.denversynth.com/octal.html"

"Imagine sending audio to a delay only on steps 5 and 9. Imagine slewing a filter between steps. OCTAL is eight effect boxes in series with a 16-step sequencer underneath: pick what's in each box, then program which boxes switch on at each step and where their knobs sit. Every box is its own little pedal, with its own paint, lettering, and wear.

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MICROPHONIC: put the tube voltage back in your synths!

video upload by manmade madman

"MICROPHONIC: in the early days of electronics, analog devices were made with vacuum tubes and performed everything from logic to output amplification. The first Theremins were made with vacuum tube technology-- it was all that was available. Vacuum tubes were everywhere and in everything. But they had a flaw: they were inconsistent to manufacture, expensive to maintain, took time to warm up, generated heat, and could burn out like a lightbulb. Eventually, the world went solid state. It was cheaper, easy to maintain, and lasted longer.

But something got lost. Inside of tube mechanics were red hot voltages. As it turned out, these voltages were also somehow musical to our ears. Once the world transitioned to solid state, people started to miss the "tube sound" which was simply imperfect in a perfect way.

Meet MICROPHONIC.

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TRASHBYTE: 8-bit vectoring synthesizer from DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

"The 80's were a great time. Computer and Arcade games were everywhere, and their brand-new graphics and enticing chirping sounds filled shopping malls with excited kids armed only with quarters to play. Eventually Ataris, Commodores, TRS-80's, Apple's, and eventually NES sold systems that allowed people to play video games at home with a console. It was an engineering marvel; how to write mostly monophonic music while still allowing sound effects-- like PLAYER JUMP-- and make it as realistic as possible on severely limited hardware.

We unleashed all of that 8-bit fury here.

TRASHBYTE is a flashback to SID technology, joysticks, and arcade soundtracks. Watch and listen as you move the green '3D' joystick between 4 oscillators to make brand new retro sounds, let it randomly move itself, or make trills to make fake drums. The oscillators are all bit accurate models, left with all the imperfections 8-bit would emphasize, and their sound is instantly familiar. If that's not enough, you can lower the fidelity to 1977 and crunch them through the entire circuit (cheap opamps included) wrestling for that tiny speaker's attention. Attach that to our 16-step sequencer and you can modulate the sound step by step or let it play along with you in sync. EZ button zaps you back with arcade sounds that are byte-accurate-- but you can play it polyphonically if you like. Let it wander while you hold a note and be transported right back to your childhood.

Don't worry, it won't cost you another quarter to power up!"

Norand Mono v3 from DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

"Here's a quick demo of the new VST from DenverSynthLabs. Showing its wide capabilities as a dual oscillator bass synth, but also much much more. Using MOD notes-- single sounds-- you can even program drum tracks monophonically."

via DenverSynthLabs

"The Norand Mono mk1 and mk2 were left unfinished — firmware issues that never got solved, a company that went insolvent before it could fix them. MONOv³ finishes the job: updated firmware for your real hardware, plus a full digital twin with infinite patch storage, easier workflow, and near bit-perfect sound. Own a mk2? Load the firmware, run the hardware as a controller sending MIDI CC to the plugin, and pair it with the software for a NORAND DUAL."

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Technos Acxel VST3 from DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

"I always lusted after a Technos Acxel from 1984, but they didn't really exist. There were only about 4 ever made and those barely made it into public view. But there were pictures of them, and I had my imagination. So, 30 years later, I made it myself, and then I made it better.

Now available at: store.denversynth.com"

"AXCEL

Every partial, hand-drawn.
Modeled after the Technos Acxel — a Quebec-built additive synthesizer from 1986-1992, with somewhere between 30 and 40 units ever made. Two engine slots share one wave bank, one Grapher, and one mod bus: Slot A is the Acxel's additive and sinusoidal resynthesis engine, Slot B is a wavetable machine, and you can run either or both at once.

AXCEL plugin GUI

- Acxel-accurate additive engine: up to 32 partials per voice, each independently addressable on the Grapher for amplitude, phase, and detune

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Avalon TB-303 VST by Denver Synth

video upload by manmade madman

"The Abstrakt Avalon was made to perfectly replicate everything in a vintage Roland TB-303, and add features like an additional mod envelope, more knobs for greater control, and excellent metal build quality. But they were rare, expensive on the secondary market, and hard to find. Some people have waited half a decade for delivery.

Until now.

Made by a complete 303 madman deep in a laboratory under strictest of top-secrecy and tightest guarded listening chambers, this digital version gives you everything you could ever want, then goes a little further with more programming modes, tweakable settings for slide/glide and resonance, Devil Fish mods, adds all the filter cartridges (even your own!) new colored skins, and the should-be-patentable EZ buttons. Also included for analog authenticity is the db-cell technology, adding pure analog noise modulation for non-repeatability where it counts; in vintage circuits. Best of all: it matches the hardware through rigorous test harnesses, and countless hours of listening. If it didn't sound authentic, it wouldn't get released.

Thank goodness, it does.

Available now: store.denversynth.com

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Ober-Moog Prototype from DenverSynth

video upload by manmade madman

"The bassline from @nineinchnails The Becoming has always haunted me. Originally done on a borrowed 'OberMoog' prototype [matrix note: see prior posts here], the original synth underwent massive engineering changes, management, and versioning until it finally became the OB-Mx, which was a "better" synth, but didn't quite sound the same. I know this, because I owned an OB-Mx. Anyways, our Ober-Moog VST gets pretty close, and goes beyond. Plus, it's got 500+ presets, an EZ button for randomization, and Hand Of God for impossible automated modulation. Available now at store.denversynth.com

How close does this get?
I guess only TR can say for sure.

#nineinchnails #vst #denversynth #obermoog #obmx"

OBERMOOG

The synth that wasn't.
A 1:1 recreation of the Oberheim OB-Mx panel, voiced as the ‘Ober-Moog’ — the pre-production prototype Trent Reznor borrowed from Richard Bugg and used for the bassline of Nine Inch Nails’ The Becoming. Never officially released, barely documented, and rebuilt here from every source that exists, contested claims included.

- Full OB-Mx architecture: dual VCO per voice, MM-VCF and SEM-VCF in series or parallel, four-stage envelopes with free-run and repeat

- Voiced specifically as the Ober-Moog prototype, not a stock OB-Mx — the one unit with its own name, its own history, and no official spec sheet


- Unison/spread/detune matching the OB-Mx's card-based voice architecture, mono or up to full polyphony

- Modulation matrix covering breath, pressure, velocity, note number, wheel, and pedal across twelve assignable destinations

- Built from every documented source on the instrument, with the honest gaps left as gaps rather than guessed at EZ button gets you into a usable patch in seconds; the panel underneath goes as deep as the original hardware did

ElectroComp EML-101 VST from DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

"Heres a short demo showing how analog this thing sounds.

Now available at store.denversynth.com"

ELECTROCOMP 101

A faithful emulation of a machine older than your dad's synth collection.
Four oscillators, a full patch bay, and a state-variable filter with an INPUT DRIVE stage that distorts inside its own resonant loop — the original's signature scream, modeled all the way down to the resonance itself breaking up under drive. Duophonic voice architecture, a MODULATOR that goes OFF → AM → RING, a sample & hold SAMPLER clocked off OSC 1, and enough patch points to make questionable routing decisions like it's still the Nixon administration. Patch it by hand for hours, or hit EZ to find something you wouldn't have thought of in a million years.

- Four oscillators — OSC 1 steps through triangle/saw/square/pulse/sine across HI/LO range, OSC 2–4 morph continuously via COLOR — feeding a duophonic voice architecture (KB1/KB2)

CLICK FOR MORE »

ZEROBOY: a Zero-input mixer demo. This time with a beat!

video upload by manmade madman

"Sometimes, you just have to have a play!

Available now at store.denversynth.com"

ZEROBOY

Zero-input mixer. DIY noise artist's playground.
A digital no-input mixer: four channels, two effect returns that are full mixer channels in their own right, db-cell running as the board's own noise floor, and a live patch bay — everything you hear starts as the board's own hiss going round a feedback loop until it finds a mode. CASCADE feeds each channel into the next, wrapping channel four back to channel one; CHEAP/SOLID decides how hard the shared power rail sags and lets every channel modulate every other one through it.

ZEROBOY plugin GUI
Four mixer channels, each with seven selectable circuit topologies and Mackie-style 3-band EQ, plus a CASCADE that feeds straight into the next channel — channel four wraps back to channel one

Reverb and delay aren't send effects — they're two more full mixer channels with their own gain, EQ, and aux sends, already wired into a two-node feedback loop with each other

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INFIDEL low fidelity DIY modular synth from DenverSynthLabs

video upload by manmade madman

"INFIDEL shown here put through its paces.
This is an intentionally non-musical demo to show the power and sound of INFIDEL. It gets loud. If you don't like it, good.
The point is, you've never heard a VST sound like this, ever.
What we make hasn't existed before.
So, stop chasing other people's sound, and make something that's your very own for a change.
With roughly 1/3rd of the available modules shown here, you can tweak until morning.
Just make sure you get some sleep sometimes!

store.denversynth.com"



"INFIDEL is a full modular synth built around one idea: every module runs its own cheap sign-magnitude DAC, at its own sample rate and bit depth, so the whole rack can sound exactly as broken as you want it to — on purpose. You don't have to earn that sound with a soldering iron or a twenty-minute boot sequence. Hit INIT FULL and you've got a working 47-module, 81-cable patch across four buses — lead, drone, texture, drums — before you've turned a single knob. Hit EZ on any module and it rolls a new setting that's checked to never go silent. Cables snap to the nearest free jack, drop onto an existing cable to insert a module inline, or swap one module for another while keeping every cable that matches by name. It's fast to get a sound out of, and it stays deep — a 53-module library and KEY-locked lo-fi clocking mean there's always one more place to take it.

- 53 user modules across Sources, Filters, Effects, Drums, Utilities and Logic — including an 8-model VCF BANK (CS-80, IR3109, SSM2044, CEM3320, SSM2040, STEINER, EMS DIODE, WASP) and effects ported from SpringBoy, BucketBoy, Thermion and Ironwall

- Every module runs its own cheap lo-fi DAC — RATE 1–32 kHz, BITS 2–16 — and KEY locks a module's clock to the last note played, so the grit tracks pitch instead of just buzzing underneath it

CLICK FOR MORE »

Oberheim OB-X8 version 2.0 firmware update features

video upload by manmade madman

"Oberheim have release new 2.0 firmware which adds several great new features to an already amazing synthesizer. I'm going to cover my favorite additions and hopefully clear up some misconceptions about them.
All audio (except voice) is unprocessed and raw from the synth.

00:00 Introduction and Overview
00:01 Binaural mode
08:08 Aftertouch to Volume
09:30 New 7th Filter Type: 4 pole resonance compensated
12:29 Oscillator Shape Combinator"

Abstrakt Avalon Filter Cartridge Demo: R:OTA, 2044, and SEM filters.

video upload by manmade madman

"This is a quick demonstration of 3 of the available filter cartridges you can purchase and plug into an Avalon. These work alongside the internal 303 filter via a toggle switch. With this button pushed, it engages the filter cartridge. It expands upon the original TB-303 design and allows more tonal range and effects.

R:OTA = the Roland JP and SH series filters
2044 = The SSM filters from classic synths like the Prophet and Polysix
SEM = Oberheim SEM multimode filter

Ladder filter = based on the Moog filter (not shown) is also available

Lastly in the video, I show the FR button which toggles between a 6db filter at 70Hz and 30Hz."

Abstrakt Avalon MOD ENV sidechain tips and tricks

video upload by manmade madman

"The MOD ENV on the Avalon can be super useful as a sidechain for 4 on the floor music. In this use, it will duck the audio on the steps that its triggers.
The MOD ENV is a simple Attack/Decay envelope which you can use on the filter or VCA. You need to adjust the Attack/Decay according to the tempo, and you can get syncopated things going on which aren't possible on a standard Roland TB-303.
Near the end of the video, it can also become a "reverse" sound as it sweeps in slower than the normal attack."

What is The Vanilla Synthesizer? It's Ready, That's What

via the STG Soundlabs/muSonics Electronic Newsletter:

Is it The Vanilla Synthesizer or the muSonics TVS?

I started working on this project a year and a half ago.

Originally my thought process was to make a new American format synthesiser that could be sold as modules, kits, and bare boards. I was concerned about the future of the format, and I felt a new line of basic modules and infrastructure at a variety of price points was important. I still do.

STG Soundlabs was a failure because I made things that ultimately the eurorack market simply did not want. Yes, I sold some, and will continue to maintain the line as best as I can, but it's very hard to find photos of eurorack installations with STG Soundlabs modules in them, but rare to find a nice big man-sized synthesiser without my modules in it.

Another thing I wanted to do was teach myself how to do my own engineering. It didn't start that way, but it became that way. I'd been a hardware product developer since 2005 but never actually laid out a circuit board. That is no longer true, and I've done things beyond this project that I haven't even talked about.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Korg SDD-1200 Dual Digital Delay from 1986

video upload by manmade madman

"Can delays have "a sound"? I'm not sure!

This is a rare beast: the Korg SDD-1200 was one of the last Digital Delay units in the Korg lineup from the 80's. It's a true "dual" architecture in that you can use each unit (A/B) as a totally independent delay. Or you can use them together, like I am here, to make some awesome sounding stereo effects from flange, chorus, vibrato, and typical delays.
There are multiple inputs/outputs on the back that let you wire it in unique ways. I have this setup in cross-modulation, where the A output is feeding the B feedback input for some great ping-pong like delays.
Here I made a little pattern on the MC-101, turning off built in effects so that all you hear is the effects from the SDD-1200

Pros:
•True independent signal paths for use as two mono delays
•12-bit processing and reduced fidelity, sits nicely in the frequency spectrum.
•Easy to get stereo effects with 2 LFO's that can be sync'd, or not.
•No presets = you have to dial in the sound!
•100% feedback sounds great, and better slowed down.
•Cheap (until this video!)

Cons:
•Changing delay times clears the buffer at each increment.
•Difficult to use dual-concentric knobs in tandem with each other.
•No presets for weak minded individuals!
•Somewhat rare."

New muSonics VANILLA 5U Modular Synthesizer Based on the Oberheim SEM w/ KORG MS20 LFO

Overview video upload by manmade madman

"This is an introduction to the Vanilla modular synthesizer by muSonics.
The Vanilla synthesizer is a wholly contained modular synthesizer in 5u/Moog Unit and is inspired by the original Oberheim SEM and Two Voice models. As shown, it has normalled CV/Gate, two oscillators, a multimode SEM filter, two Attack/Decay/Sustain envelopes each with built in VCA's, and an output mixer. There are many points of overdrive and distortion in the signal path, which I think is a great thing.

You can think of this as a modular 'best of' modular Oberheim SEM!

Come see it LIVE and in person at #KnobCon2023

#musonics #modularsynth #oberheim #analogsynth"

Ursa Major Space Station SST-206 overview demo ((Worlds first??))

video upload by manmade madman

"This is a demo of the amazing Ursa Major Space Station SST-206, an exact replica of the 3 rack unit Space Station SST-282 from 1978. It was released in back in 2004 with the exact same algorithms, features, and functionality, but with an upgraded 140MHz Motorola DSP as a passion project from Chris Moore at his company named Seven Woods Audio. He also included modern versions of the algorithms, as well as a new Room algorithm that is incredibly realistic.
This demo includes a few sets of drums and then a random saxophone running thru the Ursa Major. I tried to show all the algorithms and 'audition delay patterns' along with knob movements and dialing in craziness.

To my ears, this is exactly what it says it is: a 1:1 Ursa Major Space Station in a modern convenient size with tons of hands-on control."