Ensoniq FIZMO

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction. This one almost went up on Matrixsynth-b, but I really like this shot. I remember when the FIZMO came out. It bombed because people were expecting it to sound like an agressive analog style synth, because of all the knobs. It doesn't emulate analog well at all. Why? Because it's a transwave synth which was Ensoniq's rendition of wavetable synthesis. The oscillator sources were what they called transwaves which you could sweep through in time. It made for some interesting textures. FIZMO was an appropriate name as it was definitely capable of some fizzy sounds. For an example of an oddball FIZMO sound, check out this post. When I first ran across it, it reminded me a bit of a drawn out pad in the same vein of COIL's After the Snow. If you ever plan to own a FIZMO, be sure to read this. If you don't you might find yourself with a dead FIZMO.

Previous FIZMO posts

Solaris Interview at the Messe with Samples

Title link takes you to a podcast on delamar.de. Scroll to get to the player when you get there. Midway John plays a few sounds followed by talking about the synthesis engine.

Via fat eric in the comments of this post. fat eric babblefished the following off of delemar.de. Thanks fat eric! These are the first samples of the Solaris I'm aware of.

"One of the few highlights on the music fair 2007 for me is surely the Solaris, a Synthesizer, which was developed of nobody smaller than John Bowen. The Solaris began as semimodular software Synth for the Scope DSP maps of CreamWare, where it gained fast a good reputation as versatile applicable Synth. Marc and I had the large pleasure the symphatischen and still inspired Synth veterans to interviewen - the result can hear you as Podcast at the end of the article. With the Solaris it acts around a Synthesizer based on SHARC DSPs with 5 oktaven a keyboard, which with a 96kHz audio engine works. Under that about 40 buttons are 5 LCDs, which represent the button parameters. Additionally there is a graphic display, whose use us is not yet completely clear. The algorithms used in the Solaris are to be waited and improved occasionally over software updates. Also extensions are technically feasible and planned according to John Bowen. Perhaps it will also give at a later time some the Scope algorithms for the Solaris. However - John Bowen recommends to switch on and straight on play the equipment simply. The secrets reveal themselves then allegedly automatically. Who cannot allude the hippen Synth with a music shop, should absolutely clean-hear in the Podcast, because it enters or other hearing sample of the master there himself. An inspiring Synth, which by play joy and great sounds from the mass out-stings. The price will lie around the EUR3000. -. Thank you at John Bowen for the interview!"

Modular Cube

Via sequencer.de.

Arturia Jupiter-8V Demo Available

Title link takes you to the download.

More Info on the Nord Wave

Via Yoozer on this VSE thread:

"It's got an USB connection on the back. From what I understood, it should be able to act as a simple MIDI controller using that, but the main reason is of course to hook it up to transfer the waveforms.

Someone at the VintageSynth.org forums tried to make an argument on how every VA wasn't modeled but used samples (yeah - long story). I can happily say that this is not the case . The guy I spoke with was one of the engineers (as opposed to someone who does just demos. He was surprised (and delighted) that someone asked this question - as the Wave handles samples not like you'd think. One of the advantages is that you can play whatever you sample over the full range, without artifacts - and this is because the sample file is resynthesized for use in the machine. Everything's generated, no lookup tables!

The memory's about 2 megabytes, non-volatile. Maximum number of waveforms is limited by the display; 99 choices. I said he could expand it by using hexadecimal . The machine's quite ready for release, albeit that there was only one at the stand. In terms of sound it's between the Nord 2 and the 3. On-board effects include EQ, tube simulation, and delay and reverb.

There's no endless rotaries, because several users wanted to know "when they reached the bottom" so to say - that the physical knob would tell them when to stop - so they chose for regular pots."

Hataken

Click here for more synth shots on Hataken's home page. You can find music made with these synths here.

Shane, the manager of Don Juan Dracula let me know Hataken is working on a remix of "Take Me Home" by DJD. Listening to his music, I'm really curious what it will end up like.

BTW, Hataken has an Ultimate Sound DS-1 analogue drum brain, like the one posted with Mimi here.

Reac Table

YouTube via clan232323. Sent my way via josh. Note the title of the video has a space between Reac and Table to emphasize the table control surface rather than just the concept of being "reactable."

Previous Reactable Posts

MG-1 Advert

Cool MG-1 Advert via this Craigslist post.

via brian comnes

Oberheim Mini-Sequencer w/ ARP 2600 and ARP Sequencer

video upload by 123synthland.

Note this is the sequencer for sale in this post.

"Here's a quick patch we made demonstrating the Oberheim Mini Sequencer we recently put on the market. It's triggering an ARP 2600. This particular Oberheim Sequencer has been modified. One of the mods is a CV input to transpose the sequencer CV output - a very useful feature. Here we show pitch transposition occuring every 32 steps. We achieved this by using clock division and an ARP Sequencer's quantized sequence output. You can transpose the sequence using other external CVs, like the CV out from a 1 volt per octave MIDI to CV converter, a 1 volt per octave output from a vintage synth, etc. The cute little yellow and green box is the legendary Tone Tweakers Mojax 3x4 - only the most complicated and awesome electronic musical device ever made!!! ;) This short sequence reminds us of something off Depeche Mode Violator. You may or may not agree, but we hope you enjoy it anyway. And yeah, those are latex gloves. We wear gloves cause our gear's so smokin' hot it would otherwise burn us. :) Email us anytime at minime123@onebox.com"

Musicmesse Phot Set via dreikelvin

Title link takes you there. MacBeth M5N pictured.

via Rob.