Sonic Palette

Looks like we are in an alternative MIDI controller run. Next up, the Sonic Palette. Via this electro-music.com post (there is a sample in the post).

• 84 arrayed (7 by 12) pressure sensitive pads
• Completely portable seven octave range
• 2 pitch bend sensors, 2 pre-set or assignable knobs
• Multi-channel MIDI set-ups
• Custom set-up options
• Hand finished wood body
• Superior ergonomics
• Play standing, moving, or sitting
• Professional quality
• Easy to learn system

Star Labs Custom MIDI Controllers

Never thought I'd put up a shot of one of these on this site. Title link takes you to Star Labs, home to a number of custom midi instruments including this one, the Z6. There are some interesting controllers worth checking out including the Kurzweil EventStation 1.0. "We have released to Kurzweil Musical Systems the beta-run of the EventStation MIDI percussion controller and event-processor. This is a new type of MIDI drum-brain that combines a fast, responsive percussion controller with robust support for Continuous Control functions, two sequencers, and multiple looping and stacking features."



via Awakened_Yeti in the comments of this post.

The VCS4

This one is in via Frédéric.

"A design study for a follow up to the VCS3 case containing the same boards.This was believed lost until it recently appeared in Sound on Sound Oct 97/p190. When this was being considered some engineers from the EMS factory arrived carrying a briefcase which turned out to be the prototype Synthi A. There was no contest."

See http://www.ems-synthi.demon.co.uk/emsprods.html for more.

Update 5/29/21: unfortunately the link no longer works. I'm no longer sure if this design was ever designated as a VCS4. You can find two known models of the VCS4 in additional posts here. If anyone does know, feel free to leave a comment below.

The Shumann PLL

Analog harmonizer that allows you to take an input signal and create square waves based on that input signal for chords and other effects. Similar to the EML Polybox: link 1, link 2.

Title link takes you to more including samples on Sendling.

Keeping the Emulator Alive on DVDBorn

Keeping the Emulator III alive - part 1: Internal Hard Disk
Keeping the Emulator III alive - Part 2: Disabled outputs
Keeping the Emulator III alive - Part 3: The Power Supply



Relay switch pictured

Thingamagoops in love - New Flickr Shot

flickr by john-mike

And another via sequencer.de:

Jason Kramer’s Custom MIDI Control Box

Title link takes you to more on CDM.

The Monolith

I remember seeing this alternate scaling controller in the past. The black and white buttons are the keys. This link takes you to more on Sendling.

Edd Kalehoff -- Schaefer Beer Commerical on YouTube

Looks like the Schaefer Moog Beer commercial is up on YouTube.
Thanks goes to MusicThing for putting this one up.

YouTube by kidsplash

New upload:

Schaefer - Edd Kalehoff (HQ Audio)

YouTube Uploaded by CoastersNSich on Apr 28, 2010

"Composer Edd Kalehoff at the Moog Synthesizer in 1973.

"Schaefer
Is the
One beer to have when you're
Having more than ooonnne!!"

(love how Edd holds the note at the end)"

Wolfgang Düren "Eyeless Dream" LP

"Wolfgang Düren became more widely known to people as the chairman of Waldorf Music. Before founding Waldorf Music he partnered with Wolfgang Palm, the man behind PPG, and distributed his synths in the late seventies till the fall of PPG in the mid eighties. Later Wolfgang distributed the synths of Waldorf, Access and Novation with his company TSI.

While he was distributing or later in charge of building synths, he was also a musician. In the late seventies he recorded the LP "Eyeless Dream". This record featured many sounds of the early PPG wavetable synths that just have had become available to some musicians searching for a new kind of sound beyond the conventional synth sounds using filters and modulations as main building blocks to shape their sound. These very new sounds in electronic music made this LP an insiders favourite over the years. Today this rare LP is of cause not available anymore.

Thanks to some Waldorfian's MP3 encoding of the LP and Wolfgang Düren's kind permission, these tracks are now available for free as 208 kBit/s variable bit rate mp3s."

Click here for more. Thanks goes to Frederic for sending this one in. Thanks Frederic!

Update via the comments: "Thanks for the link to my serer. I am sure it will glow red of the traffic. Thanks to Wolfgang Dueren for allowing us to release his work .

keep on turning these knobs, Till 'qwave' Kopper"