MATRIXSYNTH

Endorphin - Quad SID synth

flickr by fibra.

Title link takes you to more shots.

Plan B Model 15 Rev.2 with 15A Expander

"The Plan B Model 15 Rev.2 will begin shipping on May 6, 2007. The circuit is identical to previous releases with the addition of a new connector to support the 15A Expander. This is the only circuit change. To facilitate this the PCB had to be redesigned and while we were at it we reconfigured that assembly to mount parallel to the faceplate, taking the overall depth of the module from 4.25 inches to just over 1 inch thick (see photo).

The new 15A Expander adds functionality to the M15 and is a direct result of customer requests. It connects to the Rev.2 VCO via a dedicated I/O connector located on the back of the PCB. It can however be retrofitted to any Model 15's regardless of revision, although earlier releases (rev 1 - 1.6) will require point-to point connections. the 15A is only 4 HP wide and adds a PWN attenuation pot, a Soft/Hard Sync crossfade pot (which amplifies the M15 sync function up to x4 it's previous intensity), 3 three way transposition switch (configured octave up/none/octave down) and two additional 1V/oct VC inputs. The 15A will begin shipping at the end of May with a retail price of $70."

Plan b

Roland MKS70 Sample

There's been some discussion on AH on the sonic differences between the Roland JX8P, JX10 and MKS70. The JX10 is claimed to be the equivalent of two JX8Ps and the MKS70 is the rack. Tomislav Babic of babic.com sent the following in.

"iirc its the 5534's on JX8P output stages that changed into somthing cleaner on later models.. MKS70 is ever so slightly brighter, cleaner than JX8P which in turn comes across as slightly warmer. however, MKS70 is substantially less noisy. (afaik even latest JX8P had this change) i prefer the latter. the difference is not night n day, and i like the addedpresence/lack of noise. and for the going price of 300 or so, getting two 6voice analog engines in 2U space is a steal. here's how MKS70 sounds in double mode (4 DCOs, 2 chorus), times two tracks dubbed:

http://www.babic.com/SYN/MKS70-DblPad-Spectrum.mp3

here's another one, its a demo of hi strings, violas and cellos on MKS70,
all layer (dbl tone = 4dco) patches:

http://www.babic.com/SYN/MKS70-Exodus.mp3

unique character. my jup8 has got nothing on this board. and vice versa."

KORG Lamda Formant Samples

via Norman Fay of Vietgrove on AH:

"Chorus" preset on a Korg ES50 "Lambda" string machine, processed through Serge filter bank and Frostwave "Resonator" pedal to bring a bit more vocaliness out. A pleasant alternative to the VP330 sound. .rar compressed, 3.58Mb. It's up for the next 7 days, or 100 downloads, whichever expires first:

http://download.yousendit.com/4E64BA0F511F8657

[Extracted and permanently mirrored ere]

It's a NI Kontakt 2 format set, but the folder has all of the samples in looped .wav format, so they should be importable into any sampler that can deal w/that.

Samples were made by me, programming done by me, it's all my work. You can do whatever you want with them, share all you like, but please don't claim that you made them, or sell them on.

You're welcome ;)"

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

Remember this post on Welsh's Kitchen Kit sample set? Title link takes you to a couple tracks made with them via brian comnes.

"I downloaded welsh's Kitchen sounds. here are two clips. clip one starts with microtonic VST drum synth and then fades in Welsh's sounds in same pattern abd then microtonic fades out. clip 2 is sam but with a little Replicant thrown in on the Welsh sounds."

TAL Vintager

Togu Audio Line

"Vintager is a simple to use monophonic vst instrument with the functional range and sound of classic analog synths. A good sounding non linear modelled 24dB lowpass filter, three bandlimited oscillators and accurate envelopes are the heart of this synth.

* two oscillators with FM and PW (saw, pulse, triangle, sine, noise)
* sub oscillator (rectangle, two octaves deeper)
* 24dB low pass filter with self oscillation
* two precise non linear envelopes (filter, amplitude)
* two lfo's with five different waveforms to modulate filer, pitch, fm and pw
* portamento (three different modes)
* midi learn for all potis
* 20 different presets (bass, leads, effects, percussion)
* all sample rates supported
* low CPU"

Title link takes you to the dowload and samples.

Oakley TM3030 Midi controlled synth

"The TM3030 is a midi controlled bassline clone that is designed to sound good, be easy to build and use no really difficult to get parts. The design features the same controls as the little sliver box we have all come to love: tune, waveshape, cut-off, resonance, envelope sweep, decay time, accent and volume."

Pictured: "The first prototype in a half rack width metal case. The production PCBs are slightly different in that they have a slightly different layout and use 0.1" headers for all the input and output connectors."

Title link takes you to more info including samples on Oakley Sound. Note the prototype is for sale for 220GBP.

Thomas Henry UD-1 Drum Voice

"As the summer of 2006 drew to a close, Thomas Henry returned to his teaching assignment somewhere in greater Mankato, and thus brought to an end a summer of brilliant and inspired synth design on his part. As a parting shot over the bow, warning of things to come, Thomas sent me a design for a drum voice he has chosen to release to all the synth DIYers out there - the UD-1 Drum Voice Module...

Anyone familiar with Thomas' ADV Bass design will recognize the basic architecture of the UD-1 Drum Voice. The UD-1 has an input for pulse, which it uses to 'fire' the drum voice, and, of course an output. Thomas added one more valuable input to the UD-1 - voltage control of the pitch of the drum voice."

Title link takes you there.