MATRIXSYNTH

Voice Of Saturn Sequencer

flickr by recompas. You can find more images here. Note these could come up for sale. If you are interested, keep reading. Update: more info on the recompas website.

"Hi, I'm an avid reader of Matrixsynth and was curious if you'd be interested in my little analog sequencer project i'm working on currently. I basically want to get some feedback from people to see if its worth my time making these to sell (i've got a few prototypes for myself which i'm having a lot of fun with). There's a lot of components and it takes me quite a while to put one together and I was wondering if there is enough interest out there for something like this for around $250-$300 depending on the case. Its a 10 step analog sequencer (actually, can loop from 1-10 steps) with gate outs for each step, 0-~9v cv output, s-trig or regular trig output, clock output/input, and runs off a 9v battery - and yes, its based more or less off the Baby10 sequencer. I'll have some sound samples up soon on my website, it works great with my Korg MS-10 as well with my Voice of Saturn synth box that I'm also in the process of developing. I'll have more info on everything up soon."

eagleroad - machinedrum uw MDUW

YouTube via eagleroad
"gear used:
elektron machinedrum UW (drums+MIDI sequencers),
nord modular G2 engine (wonky synth+MIDI step sequencers,
juno-106 (bassline)
jx-8P (klang synth)
dx-7 (percussion/bass)
Boss Dr Pad (hand claps)
some analog echo boxes, and distortion.

sorry for the bad image qulaity. the camera was hanging from a mic stand hence the shakes..."

And a little more info directly from eagleroad:
"semi-improv hardware only. used a g2 patch i made emulating the sequencer in an sh101 to trigger a roland juno 106, jx-8P and yamaha dx-7. all triggers and drums from the machinedrum."

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You can thank gerald for this one.

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Plan B Model 23 First Listen

via Peter Grenader on the Plan B list:

"As the Model 23 Analog Shift Register nears design completion, I've posted some sound samples to give you an idea why it's got us sort of excited. Before I do, let me go into a few details on the things about ASR's which I've personally found aggravating:

A) Outputs do not track the input voltage, making driving them with a keyboard problematic.

B) Output taps not tracking one another so that a voltages vary as they are passed down the line of outputs.

C) Incoming clock causing a droop in held voltages at it's falling edge.

I'm glad to say that the Model 23 does none of these things. As the following sound samples indicate, four separate VCOs driven by the (now) four outputs of the ASR track to the quantized input of an envelope generator: asr1.mp3

Same patch, but slower, giving you a clear indication of the uniformity of the voltages as they go down the line of outputs: asr2.mp3

Same patch, at even a slower pace: asr3.mp3

Having a little melodic fun, now with the four VCOs gated through a Model 13: asr4.mp3

Screwing around with the update speed, this time with the M23 sampling quantized random voltages via the Model 24 give the 'classic ASR' effect: asr5.mp3

Design Changes/Improvements:

The M23 now has four independent outputs taps Clock distribution to the four S+H's is now performed by an Atmel 2051 microcontroller. The analog memory (the capacitors) are monolithic laser-trimmed semiconductor junction type. The added expense yields the resolution you're hearing while cutting down on the overall part count.

For more information of the M23, go here.

We will be seeing these along with the other first wave of ELF devices coming in the late Spring/Early Summer."

Dave's Dilema

"Help Dave find a synth for his '80s band, with....

1) awesome sounds both new & vintage, including good organs and pianos
2) budget-minded, bare-bones... like an M3 with no unnecessary features
3) good live gigging interface, ease of patch change and assignable banks, etc.
4) joystick style bender preferred
5) it'd be for live use, it'd be cool if it had architecture set up to make changing sounds quick and easy."

He recently picked up the White VSynth here, but the sound character wasn't what he was looking for. If you have any recommendations, feel free to post in the comments or contact him directly via his site.