Off-the-record: Sonic Charge [ENG]

"This time our special guest is Magnus Lidström, the mind behind Propellerhead Reason 2's Malström synth and our beloved µTonic (or MicroTonic), released under its own Sonic Charge brand. Magnus is taking a little vacation in the deep forests of Småland (Sweden, of course!), where he's meditating on his next software...

hardware device? And what do you think of new interfaces/technologies like multi-touch screen, etc.?

I'd love to go hardware some day. There is just something magic about turning a real knob as opposed to using a mouse. One thing that bothers me about software is the way it quickly decomposes if it isn’t kept up-to-date by the manufacturer. Give it a few years without updates and you risk not being able to load it up anymore on your latest computer with the latest OS. Software loses value quickly this way, as opposed to hardware, which if kept in good condition can hold for decades, and actually increase in value. About future interface technologies I am really intrigued by the multi-touch interfaces you mention. The physical qwerty keyboard is for keeps (and physical MIDI-keys and knobs for that matter), but I’ll happily throw out the mouse any day."

click here for the full interview on AudioNewsRoom. via brian c.

AnalogLive! Day 1 Rehearsals

Some images of the gear sets and people of Analog Live!, day 1 of rehearsals. You can find more info on the upcoming event this Friday on the Redcat website.

Images of sets in order:
-The rehearsal room
-Alessandro
-Richard Devine/Alessandro
-Grenader
-Chas Smith (guitarzilla)
-Thighpaulsandra

CLICK FOR MORE »

prophet64

YouTube via 7jen.

P64 sync'd to mc909 via MIDI

"FirestARTer's DIY midi interface v1, synced via midi clock to mc909. MC909 set as Master."

PAiA 9710K VCA/LFO/Envelope Walkthrough - Part 1

"To the uninitiated PAiA is a US based Electronics kit manufacturer that specializes in audio kits including synths, theremins, a vocoder, various guitar effects, and Preamps. The 9700s is a powerful modular synthesizer that they carry that has 4 sections or modules. I’ve already built the 9700K MIDI2CV8 Midi to control voltage converter (Converts regular midi data into control voltages suitable for manipulating analog synthesizers) and found it really fun and much easier to build than I had initially thought. I learned a lot about electronics and I think I picked up a new hobby!

The 9710 is the VCA (voltage controlled amplifier) module. This module shapes the sound of the synth with an envelope. The PAiA VCA module comes with a noise source and can be used as an LFO (low frequency oscillator) to modulate other aspects of the audio that you are processing with it."

click here for the walkthrough on Electricity & Adrenaline. via Mike.

Flaming Lips - W.A.N.D.

From "At War with the Mystics" Spot the synth. posted here

Modern Android Cybernaut

YouTube via robotmakers. See the first video here.
"2nd in a series of films created in the mysterious superterranean lair of the Robotmakers. Original music and film. Questions left unanswered."

Update:
"it features:
- Zeroscillators in a Moogerfooger Freqbox mode modifying guitar (during initial laser sequence)
- Zeroscillators in an FM brass patch, heavily EQ'ed in an attempt at imitative synthesis (at the end of the tune)
- closeup of Gerd Schulte Audio Electronik Compact Phasing A, with its "Feedback" and "Osc.-Period" knobs going to 11
- interesting visual effect with laser projected through steam to form a "tunnel" through which the protagonist walks (ala "Won't Get
Fooled Again" from "The Kids are Alright")
- rhyming of the words "karate" and "tall soy latte"
- dancing Moog / dotcom / Cyndustries / MOTM / Blacet / homebrew CEM modular synth racks (stop motion animation and casters)
- Citizen Kane allusions
- robot
- shot on location in the mysterious superterranean lair of the Robotmakers and the Hamptons"

Seiko DS 310 Synthesizer Programmer's Guide

via this auction

"This Original vintage 1970`s Seiko Programmers Guide is just what you are looking for! For the DS-310 Synthesizer. 21 pages that tell you how to get the sound you want. Was part of the inventory of Des Moines Music House and has been carefully stored for 30 years."

Again this seller has a ton of vintage documentation up for auction. Too much for me to grab all the shots from, so I will only be putting up the stuff that I find, really, really interesating. A synth by Seiko, the watch company, for example.

Update via Till "Qwave" Kopper in the comments:
"The Seiko DS310 additive synthesis add-on module (son on the pic as the left unitbehind the main keyboard) for the DS202 was the most affordable way to use additive synthesis in the mid eighties (released 1983?).
It had only 4 memory slots for sounds. You had 16 harmonic and three specrums per sound. A kind of preselection envelope with only 2 or three parameters was used as volume envelope. And at the same time it cross fades the three spectrums at staic point in the envelope. A typical ADSR envelope shpae would use one spectrum for the attack, would cross fade in the decay time to the sustain specrum and would crossfade to the third spectrum in the release section. At least, this is my memory.

I sold it to gain money for my first PPG wave 2.2 in 1987.

The other unit shown here is the sequencer add-on module on the right. Not seen to often."

1983 Korg Catalog

via this auction

"Vol. 10. 31 pages of all your favorite models. Keyboards, Effect Pedals, Mixers, Tuners and much more"

Circuit Bent Electronic Drums by 3Xfx

images via this auction

"It is fully loaded with 4 drum pads, 2 cymbal pads, and a foot pedal. Each pad, with the exception of one of the cymbals and the foot pedal, is assignable to quite a few different sounds (i.e. 4 different snare sounds, 6 different tom sounds, handclaps, etc.). The bass and cymbal sounds that are not changeable are able to be affected by the various bends.

There are 8 different styles of preprogrammed beats each with 2 different main beats. You can also play only the beat, only the backing music, or both together.

The other functions of this instrument are the keyboard scratchpad and headset mic. These features are affected by the distortion bends, including the mic input! There are several different selectable scratchpad sounds, and 4 different keyboard sounds.

The bends include 4 distortion switches, which can be used individually or in various combinations for nice distortion sounds. In combinations they also affect the tone of the sounds. There is also a knob for pitch adjustment, with on/off switch, which affects most of the units sounds, from demonic lows to chipmunk highs. One thing to note is that the pitch control does only affects the bass drum and crash cymbal of the electronic drumset sounds. Luckily there are enough sounds to assign to the other drum pads that actually sound pretty good, plus the distortion switches affect all the units sounds. There is also a 1/4 inch output that switches the speaker off.

The sound clips below were recorded from the ouyput directly into the mixer without any additional effects. The first track is me playing the electronic drums and the next 2 are having fun with the preprogrammed beats. Enjoy!

Bent drums
Beats 1
Beats 2"

KAWAI K3M with Dolittle B25 Turbo

via this auction

"Here is a Kawai K3M sound module that uses digital recreated analog waveforms as well as additive synth architecture,but the real deal is the SSM analog filter chips that were the original chips in the glorious rev 1 and 2 prophet 5 and also in the voyetra 8... This auction also includes the Dolittle B25 Turbo ram cart which adds another 2 banks and levels"


Update via Chuck in the comments: "lame/deceptive ad. The K3 uses SSM2044 chips the Prophet and Voyetra use the SSM2040--a very different design, doesn't even sound similar"

It does sound good though.