Nyle Steiner CONVERTED EVI

via this post on Patchman Music where you will find more wind controllers. via Evan

"Here is a very special item. This is an EXTREMELY RARE hand-converted EVI done by the inventor Nyle Steiner. The controller began life as an EWI and was custom converted by legendary EWI / EVI inventor Nyle Steiner into an EVI brass type controller. Steiner no longer offers this service so this is definitely a collectable EVI as well as an amazingly expressive instrument. Also included with this custom EVI is an Akai EWI3020m sound module in superb condition- it even still has the removable protective plastic sheet on the LCD! Since the EWI3020m module is true analog, it has a super-smooth, fat, and warm sound. This system is in great shape with just a small amount of dings and scratches from normal use. This EWI3020m module has been updated by adding a backup battery clip and a backup battery in the Patchman Music Wind Controller lab (www.patchmanmusic.com). This system has been professionally checked out by wind controller expert Matt Traum. The EWI3020m has excellent chord capabilities. It can trigger four-note user-programmable chords externally via MIDI. Internally, the EWI3020m has 2 REAL ANALOG oscillators, a REAL ANALOG filter with resonance, 2 fabulous FORMANT filters for more realistic solo string and woodwind sounds, a REAL VCA, an LFO, and 2 EGs per patch! The sound of this system is super-smooth and expressive and it is capable of exceptionally fat analog leads and basses. Click here to visit the Patchman Music EWI3020m soundbanks page and hear this module in action! Patchman Music offers two soundbanks for this unit and they are included with this package (a $90 value). 50 patches in the EWI3020m are permanent and 50 are user-editable. The EWI3020m has jacks for Line Out, External In, Headphone Out, Program Up and Down footswitches, MIDI IN, MIDI Out, and MIDI THRU. The External In jack allows you to control ANY synth or sampler with the EWI3020m's REAL ANALOG filter and VCA. This provides SUPER-FAST and SUPER SMOOTH RESPONSE since the modulation is via direct control voltage and not MIDI! There is also a front panel knob for adjusting the Ext In level. This unit responds so fast you can actually hum or growl into the mouthpiece to modulate the sound. The EWI3020m has extensive matrix modulation capabilities. This sale includes the converted EVI brass-style wind controller, the EWI3020m analog sound module with original box!, the special connecting cable, Patchman Music EWI3020m soundbanks Volumes 1 and 2 on floppy disk (a $90 value- specify PC or Mac format), and a copy of the printed EWI3020m manual."

A Bit of ARP History

Link to full story

"Christopher had been introduced to me by Michael Suchoff. Michael was a brilliant engineer who helped program the first computerized electronic music synthesizers at ARP Instruments in the early seventies. ARP founder Alan R. Pearlman called me one day to suggest I work with Michael. Our collaboration included my electronic games for Parker Brothers and the ill-fated iXO Telecomputer. Chris designed the graphics for our prototype Microterminal.

He helped me design special models of our prototype, including a European model that we took to ITT headquarters in Brussels, where it successfully logged in to our computers back in Cambridge.

Christopher introduced me to membrane switches from Chomerics. They had been put into ARP synthesizers like the Chroma and Omni. Chris did graphic designs for the Omni and Axxe. At ARP he worked with Philip Dodds and Paul DeRocco, the project manager and engineer for the main ARP synthesizers. When ARP collapsed in 1981, Phil talked CBS into taking over the Chroma and hiring him as the project manager."

Traxxpad beat2

YouTube via sanhozeezee.

Mouse over the thumbnails for more at the end of the video.

Crumar Performer

images via this auction.

Olivier Grall Wurlitzer Page

This one in via adrien. No, it is not a synth, but for anyone interested feel free to check out Olivier Grall's new Wurlitzer Page.

Roland SH 1000 with Guyatone delay pedal jam

YouTube via filtersweeperVCO. via Nusonica.
"A 16' square wave is emmitted by the roland SH 1000 while being played through a Guyatone delay pedal, and sweeping though the frequencies with the frequency cutoff slider to create a dreamy sound. I love that keyboard!"

Alesis Ion Micron Wiki

click here to get to the Wiki.

elmacaco on the Alesis A6 Andromeda

elmacaco posted the following on AH. I asked him if it would be alright to put this up here and he gave me the a ok. As an A6 owner myself, I have to agree with his assessment. What's interesting is the behavior of the envelopes always stood out to me as being less direct compared to my other synths. I never thought about how the range for each step might be the reason. The A6 is an incredibly deep synth. That said, here are some words from elmacaco.

"I have to say, I love my Andromeda. I didn't like it when I first tried it in the store, but unseen forces brought it to my attention and about a year and a half ago I got one. It's been my main synth since then, never really messed with the presets, always making sounds on it. The first couple of months I would get lost in playing it and not record much, same thing happened with my wurlitzer, which is a good sign. It has such flexibility that it even can fix my modular jones most of the time (and I have a modular for that).

I think what throws a lot of people is that with it, you have to think about more than with the classics. The range of the controls is huge, and that changes a lot for most people. This is particularly true with the envelopes. A pot that goes from zero to 10 seconds has a different feel than one that goes from 2 seconds to 10 minutes, and can make it less imediate. Envelopes are usually an aspect that you don't have to think too much about, but with the Andromeda it becomes more complicated, which is a double edged sword, and one aspect i don't like so much, I wish I could limit those controls to a more usable range for me. Same with the mixer levels, once you get a bit of a handle on it it becomes part of the process, but it is none the less an extended process, which won't be to the liking of many people.

As for the comparion to older polies, well, they all have something, the andromeda is much more broad, so t can be a lot of things, but it wont be breezy to get it like them, but there is more. I remember after a year of having one I would play P5's and memorymoogs at friends houses, which i love in so many ways, but I would be locked into some avenues that used to seem broad but now I see as rather narrow.

The sound of those synths can make you need a variety of synths, to get out of it, but the Andromeda has a way of taking over, other synths will sound better in some places, but head to head, unless that is something you always need, the Andromeda can cover that territory pretty well. Which makes comparisons difficult, because it can more easily cover all your bases than any other synth. I've only recently began to mess with my xpander again, since the A6 can just take over. I have synths I prefer for bass, but I can get something great out of the Andromeda so staying in front of it can be very appealing. I remember thinking the osc tone was better on the roland mono's, then I tried to match them, and I actually matched them closer than i have matched anything else simply by filtering them imperceptively, remember the moog filter on the Andromeda goes up to 40,000Hz, drop it to 20k or 18k, and the high end sheen is gone but is still sounds like a raw waveform, I was pretty astounded at what I didn't know, and that happens a lot.

Realisticly speaking, even if you have a bunch of other synths, the Andromeda can satisfy the needs of a broad range of synthesists regardless of what they are, better than any other analog poly can. Just an andromeda for music means so many more possibilities than just a JP-8, or just a Memory Moog.

Just the multitimbrality coupled with such a deep engine alone puts it into a class of its own. But it will require more thought, it's one of the synths that will make you feel like you are not the bad ass synthesist you think you are, whereas sitting in front of a Jupiter-8, Prophet 5, CS-80, or memorymoog, a good working knowledge of synthesis is enough to explore all the dimentions of it infinitely. Not everybody likes that experience, kinda like how serge and buchla can be like learning a new language and force you out of your comfort zone. The Andromeda can make you feel like a novice again, I still get the sense that I won't ever fully grasp all its features in decades, but what I do grasp gives back in spades."

Ableton Live 7

Click here for the full announcement.

"New Ableton Instruments

The new add-on instruments are the result of Ableton's collaboration with leading industry partners. The palette covers physically modeled electric pianos, analog synthesizers and string instruments as well as multi-mic/multi-layer sampled acoustic drums, drum machines, orchestral strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion. The instruments integrate tightly with Live, both in terms of workflow and resource management.



Tension is a physical modeling string synthesizer that allows you to create incredibly accurate reproductions of real instruments or design otherworldly hybrids.

Electric offers the sounds of classic electric pianos through physical modeling synthesis, allowing you to dive inside and play with the guts of the instrument.

Analog emulates the unique circuitry and irresistible tweakability of vintage analog synthesizers. Able to produce everything from silky pad sweeps to earth-shaking bass."

Billy Corgan joins effort to create Moog museum

"Billy Corgan is lending a hand to preserve the musical legacy of electronic synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog by creating a museum about his life and work.

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman is working with the Bob Moog Foundation to establish the museum and scholarships in his name.

'I believe Bob Moog to be one of the great visionaries of our time," said Corgan in a statement.

'His ideas far transcend use in just music, and to this day continue to have impact in everything from rock to rap to quantum physics. I strongly believe many people all over the world would benefit from being able to interact with the thoughts, ideas, inventions, and life of Dr. Moog.'"

full story on NME

Update via minimi123:
"according to a very reliable source, bon harris of nitzer ebb fame did the synth programming on billy corgan's album thefutureembrace, and they used a lot of doepfer a100 and roland system 100 as well as analog drum machines.
i really like this album, which is quite different from corgans work with the smashing pumpkins. his involvement in this moog museum comes as no surprise to me.

here's an article on bon's work with the smashing pumpkins from back in 98:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug98/articles/bonharris.html"