MOTM with Marimba Lumina

flickr by Max Lord.

Title link takes you to more info including more shots. Be sure to click on the "All Sizes" link for the full size when you get there.

Salamander Music Systems

via Wavedeform in the comments of this post. I actually posted about the SMS website back on 7/12/2006. You can find all SMS posts I've put up here. Note there are three SMSes: Synthetic Music Systems, makers of the SMS MARS analog synth, Salamander Music Systems, and of course the fake SMS 2000. That said, here is the following via Wavedeform. Be sure to check out the site.

"My rather sparse Salamander site can be found here.

Salamander Music Systems (SMS) was started by Dennis Saputelli, an amazing designer. For its entire history SMS also manufactured lighting consoles, which was a much more lucrative business. Pretty much everyone involved with SMS was into it for synth-geek reasons, though, and saw the lighting stuff as the necessary evil that needed to be done to finance the synth stuff.

I worked at Salamander from roughly 1977-1985. The goal was to build the no-compromise synthesizer we all wanted. This meant that we were somewhat more expensive than a lot of systems of that era. At one point we had some pens made up that read: "SMS - When you don't care _how_ much it costs." There were a handful of (mostly large) modular systems shipped, and somewhere between 30-50 Voice 400s. Quite a lot of custom work was done also. For example, Mike Cotten of "The Tubes" had a bunch of SMS stuff, including a cool custom sequencer.

The modular was really amazing for its time. It used high quality sub-modules for all of its core functions. We started out using EMu sub-modules for the 97 Dual Oscillator, 147 UAF, and maybe one other module (I seem to remember a four pole LPF, too). The EMu modules were really expensive, and hard to get, so early on we designed our own sub-modules, some discrete, some based on SSM and Curtis chips.

The power distribution was perhaps overkill, but it also had significant advantages. Basically, there is a system wide, loosely regulated, +/- 18 VDC, and +9 VDC power supply. Each module has it's own local regulators to bring that down to +/- 15 VDC and +5 VDC. Because a module has its own power supply, it can be swapped around from system to system without the need for re-calibration. It also spread the heat around more evenly. The 1" modules didn't really have room for regulators, so they had their own regulated distribution scheme.

The Voice 400 was also really nice, but came out a little after the Prophet V, and a little before the DX-7; polyphony was the order of the day. A great sounding programmable monosynth, even with a programmable analog delay, was not what people wanted. I had one music store salesman tell me, flat out, that effects in a synthesizer were a bad idea, and that no one would want them. It turns out that they may, in reality, be a bad idea, but everyone wants them, anyway :-).

After SMS had been selling systems for a few years, Serge Systems relocated from Hollywood to San Francisco, just across town. There was a good natured rivalry between Darrell Johansen, Paul Young and the crew from Serge, and the SMS crew. If the respective companies were bigger, and we weren't all pasty-skinned synth-geeks, we would have had rival baseball teams or something. I had been a Serge user, as had Salamander user Naut Humon, currently of Asphodel/Recombinant Media Lab, and his bandmate at that time in "Rhythm & Noise", Rex Probe. Rex was also affiliated with SMS, doing assembly mostly, but a little design, too. Somehow illustrating the cycles of life is the fact that Rex is currently running Serge Modular.

Dennis Saputelli is still doing some lighting stuff, but mostly he does custom design and assembly, on an OEM basis. His company is called Integrated Controls http://integratedcontrolsinc.com/ , and is still in the same warehouse as the Salamander of old. Since I worked there, he has expanded into all the available space on the first floor of the building, and seems to be doing well."

Top 5 Greatest Samplers

Looks like Sonic State has a new Top X coming. This time samplers. BTW, what happened to the Top 20 Weirdest Instruments? Hmm... Maybe they're saving that one for Halloween.

Click here for the trailer for the Top 5 Samplers. Feel free to share your top 5 in the comments. It'll be interesting to see how this one turns out.

via HarriL


A little poll for fun, and no I don't know the answer for this one.


More info on the Amen Break

TRY - experimental mailing list

"there is a new mailing list called TRY for experimental electronics / art. its intended to be sort of an all encompassing mesh of new audio device announcements, idea exchange, bender Q and A, pedal / synth builder announcements, live show announcements, parts trading post...… you get the idea."

Title link takes you to more info and the sign up on Synthwire.

DIY PCB MILL & DRILL (2) drilling

YouTube via cnightwing.

Oberheim Xpander

Title link takes you to shots via this auction.

Seiko DS-250

via this auction

"Very rare synthesizer made by Seiko in 1985. This is a very, very rare synthesizer and don't let the Casio like toy exterior fool you it is capable of making both digital and additive sounds not to mention it was used by famous French synth musician Jean-Michel Jarre on the album Rendez-vous.

This synthesizer is early digital and additive together. It can make PPG like clear sounds with a bit of grit as well as Juno like pads. Yes you read it, its capable of making some nice analog style pads. It has basic editing features on the front panel of the synth.

Now heres what makes this already synth even rarer. It has a SRC-10 voice expander cartridge installed for additional patches. I cannot find anything on the net pertaining to this upgrade. It is a Seiko upgrade as you can see in the picture but nothing is available about it. I can say it is does add additional patches.

The DS-250 has stereo outputs, midi in,out and thru, RCA outputs(stereo), phones and level controls for both channels, You can split the synthesizer for two tones at once making it bi-timbral. Quite alot for a rare synthesizer from 1985."

If you know more about this one, feel free to comment.

Update via Dave in the comments: "I had one of these for a few months... it was suprisingly not 100% horrible. Even came with an external sequencer. Here's my little page on it, with a sound sample."

Update via the comments: "I see a lot of scammers on Ebay trying to sell Seiko 250's, claiming that the power cord has been "lost" like it isn't a big deal.

1-First of all, this keyboard needs a power supply, not just a "power cord".
2-Without the power supply, the keyboard is useless. Why? because the power supply is impossible to find. The power supply has a dual voltage design and the connector is non-standard, which means if you buy a unit without a power supply, you are going to have to pay someone to design and make one from scratch. This is not hard if you know what you are doing, but if you were to pay someone to do it, expect to pay at least a couple of hundred bucks or more.. which is more money than what the keyboard is worth."

Wavemakers Site Updated

via John Loffink on AH:

"Some more Wavemakers Modular Systems photos, and photo of a Table Top 658 Digital Sequencer after clean up and repairs.

Start here

And here

John Loffink
The Microtonal Synthesis Web Site
The Wavemakers Synthesizer Web Site"

Tenori-On Video Overview PT1

Title link takes you to the overview on Sonic State. This is a good one, so don't miss it. via Sonic State in the comments of this post. I captured this shot to show how the surface actually consists of physical "buttons." Part of the appeal (or not) is that it does have this tactile interface rather than a flat screen with leds.

Eminent 310 Unique in Jean Michel Jarre songs

YouTube via RadekTymecki. If you know more about this synth organ, please comment.

Update via hugo in the comments:
"Here there are some resources:
http://www.perkristian.net/Eminent_310_Unique.htm
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jschurer/eminent/index.html
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may07/articles/eminent310.htm
http://www.jarrography.free.fr/details_equipement_audio.php?id_equip=9

As a teaser:) I'm working (it's been 4 months now!) on an Eminent 310 emulation in NI Reaktor 5 with the help of Radek himself. No samples yet because I don't have a website (what a shame!)

But be sure to check NI Reaktor user's library for it. I did a ARP Solina emulation and this is sort the same league. I hope to finish it by the end of the year :-)"