MATRIXSYNTH

EZ-VZ and The Casio VZ-1

Title link takes you to EZ-VZ, a resource site for the Casio VZ line of synths. You'll find the user and service manuals, the Powerplay VZ Book (picutured) and more. I actually have a VZ-1. I got frustrated with it today and went searching for the manual, which I almost never do. That's how I found this site. The VZ-1 is a Phase Distortion synth, similar to Yamaha's FM synthesis. It has eight source oscillators (sine, saw, and noise - multiple types of saw and noise) that you can have either act as a modulator for one of the other oscillators or a sound source, but not both. I had some spare time today and decided to just experiment with it. I rarely programmed the VZ-1 as I did not have a manual and every time I picked it up the interface held me back. Today I finally decided to give it a try and found it has one of the most horrendous design implementations in a synth. If you know of a worse one than this, feel free to comment.

So... It has up down value buttons and up down cursor buttons. Makes sense. You know how in most menu driven synths you select the group or page you want to edit followed by the cursor button to get to the desired parameter you want to edit followed by the value buttons to change the value? Well for some bizarre reason, on the VZ1 when you select the menu for the page you want to edit the value buttons let you flip through pages, and the cursor button does... nothing. Well it skips from page 1 to page 9, but what's the point of that? There is no way to get to the parameters to edit at this point. I spent about 30 minutes frustratingly trying to intuitively figure it out and finally gave up. I actually thought I might have corrupted the memory when I tried to us a PC editor with it. I finally went online and searched for the manual. It turns out, if you really, really want to edit the parameters, you have to select the menu again. WTF? The way it works is you select it once and at that point you can flip through the pages. When you get to the page you want to edit, you hit the same Menu button again and then you can use the cursor to move about the parameters for that page. To flip to the next page you have to back out of cursor mode by clicking on the same Menu button. When you get to the next page you want to edit, you have to click the Menu button again. Absolutely horrid and the most unintuitive design I have ever come across on a synth.

Once you get past this it does get a little better. There are buttons you can select to turn on and off the individual oscillators - one for each and there are buttons to select each osc for editing - figuring this out was a little tricky as well, but once I learned this it actually was easy and intuitive. Like any synth you just have to learn the interface, and unfortunately in some cases you actually have to crack open the manual. BTW, the VZ1, hands down, makes one of the most beautiful sine wave electric piano sounds. It's a bit more like a muted electric piano than a typical one. There's a certain depth to it that I have not heard on other synths. The eight oscillators running at the same time probably has something to do with it. The funny thing is this sound is actually the init patch sound on the VZ-1. Just add a little release and you are good to go. I'll be keeping my VZ1. For now...

Sequential Circuits Prophet 600

Title link takes you to more shots.

via this auction.

Drumfire DF500

Click here for shots pulled via this auction.

Details:
"The Drumfire DF-500 is a 5 channel drum synth module. The 5 channels are identical, with their own Trigger-In and Audio Out sockets. Each channel is a mini analogue synth drum module, capable of producing a wide range of electronic drum sounds, and since every parameter is defined by a knob, it's highly tweakable. The 5 drum channels also have their own level and pan pots, and the signals are mixed to a pair of stereo outputs with Left/Right volume control.

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Sequential Circuits Pr Fx Reverb

Title link takes you to more shots via this auction.
"This is a rare bird indeed. This is part of a modular effects system that Sequential Circuits developed in the 80's. This is a real reverb tank with springs inside."

via brian comnes.

Update via the comments:
"thats just the reverb tank.. you need the 518 MODULE to drive it... otherwise you just have a paperweight"

Update2:link
"The Model 518 Reverb includes a compact, rackmount six spring delay line, and a three-band equalizer which filters the input to and output from the reverb unit. The LP (lowpass) filter limits frequencies above its setting from 200Hz to 20 kHz. The HP (highpass) filter limits frequencies below its setting from 20Hz to 2 kHz. The MID (midrange) band filter has separate frequency (50 Hz to 5 kHz) and EQ boost/cut controls. For example a typical use would be to use the HP filter to prevent a bass drum from dominating the reverb. The module also features automatic limiting which reduces undesirable spring colorations. It contains a PEAK LED indicator for optimizing signal levels."

Arturia Origin Video on Gearwire

Title link takes you to the video. It's modular in design, in that you can build your synth by selecting filters, oscillators and other components from their various software. You can mix and match as you like.

The Best Thing at the Messe

Title link takes you to the video on Sonic State. This is pretty cool.

Ableton and Cycling '74 Partner

Cycling '74 and Ableton to Codevelop New Products

The world of creative media software tools is about to get a lot more interesting. A new strategic partnership between Ableton and Cycling '74 promises exciting developments on the horizon for digital media creators, producers, and performers. Ableton CEO and cofounder Gerhard Behles and Cycling '74 CEO David Zicarelli are pleased to announce this unique alliance between the two dynamic and innovative audio/video software companies.

"We've been excited by the idea of bringing the worlds of Ableton and Cycling '74 together for a long time," says Behles, who has been a fan of Zicarelli's company for many years. "In our own musical work," Behles says, "we have been avid users of Cycling '74's products since long before Ableton existed."

Behles and the rest of the Ableton team have long been inspired by Cycling '74's commitment to empowering creative people. "Cycling '74 represents the idea that artists should be free to create the tools to match their unique creative vision—that the making of the tools can become part of the creative process," says Behles. "That's an inspiring thought, and we admire the Cycling '74 team for delivering on this fascinating promise."

Zicarelli was first introduced to Ableton through musician, composer and conceptualist Robert Henke. "Robert was a big Max user," says Zicarelli, referring to Cycling '74's graphical development tool for music and multimedia. "He introduced us to the people at Ableton, and he suggested almost immediately after Live was released that he would love a way for the companies' products to work together." Zicarelli found Henke's suggestions hard to resist. "Robert can be very persuasive when he talks about what he would love to see."

Zicarelli expresses admiration for the care and sheer effort that has gone into the creation of Ableton's flagship product, Live. "One of the things we've come to appreciate about Live," says Zicarelli, "is that its ease of use comes out of incredible attention to detail. Ableton works very hard to make it seem as if the software just works. That has been very inspiring to try to apply to our own product development."

Behles describes the creative vision and hopeful spirit behind the collaboration: "We feel the Cycling '74 approach to designing software for the creative community perfectly complements Ableton's. By integrating the technologies in a meaningful way, both companies can stay focused on their key strengths, avoid diluting their product philosophies, and bring the best of both worlds to the creative user."