Yamaha SY2

YouTube via actionbasic. Sent my way via frederic.

Joystick Studer Modules

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction. Anyone know what joystick studer modules are? Note the auction is for 6 Moog knobs, the matrix pictured, 8 pin connectors, and the Joystick Studer Modules.

via Luca.

Buchla Lightning II

Title link takes you to some shots pulled via this auction. They aren't the greatest, but there you have it.

Details:
" LIGHTNING II is a specialized MIDI controller with built in tone generator that senses the position and movement of handheld wands and transforms this information to MIDI signals for expressive control of electronic musical instrumentation. In addition to functioning as a powerful MIDI controller, LIGHTNING II, with its self contained 32 voice synthesizer, comprises a complete, ready to play instrument.

The bulk of LIGHTNING II's electronics is housed in a half rack cabinet.

A remote head, designed to be mounted on a standard mike stand in front of a performer, contains optics and numeric displays.

Based on principles of optical triangulation, LIGHTNING gathers its information by tracking tiny infrared transmitters that are built into baton-like wands. Unencumbered by wires, these wands provide complete freedom of movement within a performance space that can be as large as 12 feet high by 20 feet wide.

Basically, LIGHTNING II senses the horizontal and vertical position of each hand, for a total of four independent coordinates. From this information, LIGHTNING's digital signal processor computes instantaneous velocity and acceleration, and performs detailed analysis of gesture. An easily mastered, musically oriented interface language allows the user to define relationships between various gestures and potential musical responses.

In one sort of implementation, LIGHTNING's coordinates might be mapped to various MIDI controllers on multiple channels. Spatial pitch wheels, pan pots, level sliders and modulation wheels are easily defined and great fun to play. Performance gestures can be analyzed for direction and velocity and can be used to generate a variety of notes as well as other musical events. Multi-dimensional zoning capability can be used to create different musical responses in different regions. Everything you need to create the conceptual ensemble (an invisible, acoustic virtual reality).

User definable scale and tuning tables allow one to determine the range and selection of notes occurring along a horizontal or vertical axis. Pitches can be in any order, and the boundaries can be set where ever desired, facilitating the creation of spatial instruments and imaginary orchestras.

LIGHTNING II features a conducting facility that can analyze a conductor's gestures, display deviations from a preset tempo, and signal errors such as missed beats. Simultaneously, LIGHTNING can transmit a synchronous MIDI clock for controlling external sequencers and output programmed note data to accompany specific beats within a measure.

To facilitate its use in conjunction with other controllers, LIGHTNING possesses intelligent MIDI merging capability. A complete system exclusive implementation enables LIGHTNING presets to be stored and edited via external computers and sequencers."

via robert.

Cynthia Now Available at Analogue Haven

Virus TI Goldfilter

Yep....
"What if you had the chance to own the mother of all Viruses, an object of desire, bling bling enough to get you a record deal with Dr. Dre straight away? What if this one-off, special edition Virus TI Polar called Virus TI Goldfilter would make you as powerful as the keeper of the ring in Lord of the Rings? What if your fellow studio friends would circle around it and whisper "my precious"?

You will never know until you own it.

Dig out your video cams and prepare yourself to celebrate the Virus's 10th birthday. Film yourself reading a poem to your Virus by candlelight. Bungee jump from the Golden Gate Bridge wearing your ABBA revival costume, while toasting the 10th anniversary of the Virus. Put on your rocket-powered Rollerblades and shout out "Sniff my gas - I got infected!" as you blast through the keyboard section of your local music shop. OK - you might not want to do that - but we reckon you get the drift.

Send in a Video which shows you congratulating the Virus on its 10th anniversary, and you might be the lucky one who win's the Virus TI Goldfinger - the only one of it's kind. Yes, it's true - scary but true -"

Title link takes you there. Who ever gets this bling, I want pics!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween folks. Have a fun one. Title link takes you to a few more shots.

TUMOR REFILLED HALO

via brian comnes:

"Well here at last are pictures of my homebrew version of a Metasonix TS-21 Hellfire Modulator based on an Eric Barbour circuit (of Matasonix fame). This thing is definitely a twisted and demented sound shaper. The name TUMOR REFILLED HALO is an anagram of the original's HellFire Modulator. The unit has 5 tubes consisting of a rectifier for DC voltage, a VCA distortion tube, an LFO oscillator tube and two tubes for adding more artifacts to the sound. The chassis is an old bench test unit that I salvaged. Eric's power circuit design uses dual transformers to economically generate the proper voltages for the the tubes at 6VAC and 140VDC and is very innovative. The overall sound is similar to the TM-1 Waveshaper . I'll send sound samples later. I'm sure the Noisefest crowd will get a rise out of this."

Title link takes you to the shots.

Mix - Real Time Audio Looping Software Inspired by Audiopad

"Mix is an experimental graphical real time audio loop mixing app inspired by AudioPad. This is an early prototype and I'd appreciate any feedback on how to improve it."

Title link takes the download. Mac only. Sent my way via s o n i c b r a t:

"basically u can grab audio files (preferably MP3 because wav samples will cause a bit of a hang due to processing) and drop it like how you would drop the "coin-like" controllers in the Audiopad... the out look of it is almost the same with the path of circular rotating stripe turning... and two blue circles that is L/R output... so you drag any other cirles (sound files) with rotating aura close to either one it will be louder left or right... hard to explain it.

I have used it for live improvisations basically to make my sounds travel more organically with control of the mouse. You remove files by doing a ctrl+x; to add files just drag and drop.."

BTW, check out this post on Audiopad for video that will give you an idea of how this works.

String Thing

"String Thing is a cello-like electronic instrument played by stroking or beating metal rods with the hands. The use of bodily gestures, infinitely variable and visible to the audience, avoids the ‘robotic’ and visually uncommunicative quality typical of computer music.

Four roughly parallel metal rods are each divided into a long and a short section by a bridge element. The pressure and position of the fingers on the longer rod section are continuously sensed to control pitch and expression; pressure on the shorter sections controls velocity, attack and volume. MIDI software converts this information into sound and, through magnets under each rod, vibrates the rod according to the pressure it senses, thus returning haptic feedback to the player."

Title link takes you to more info, shots, samples and video. String Thing is a project by benjamin dove.

Star Instruments Synare 01 and 03

James of InnerSpace Recordings & Cherry Sound Studios LLC sent me a link to a MySpace page he set up for the Star Instruments Synare 01 and 03. He has Synare 01 number three. Amazing. You can see the pads at the bottom of the slider box on the 01 in the second shot.

Title link takes you there. Audio demo of the 01 here.