Average White Band's Linn Drum LM-2

images via this auction

"Original LinnDrum (originally owned by Alan Gorrie from the Average White Band). This is an immaculate LinnDrum with the original box, manual, padding, power cord, etc. Also includes two E-Prom sound cartridges. It was never gigged and lived a quiet, comfortable smoke-free life in Alan's home-studio here in CT.

The LinnDrum was the second machine from Linn Electronics. It's basically an upgraded version of the original LM-1 with added crash and ride cymbals to the kit. The LinnDrum uses samples of acoustic drum sounds. At the time, they sounded great and much more realistic and they were a fresh alternative to the analog drum sounds of the '80's drum machines. The LinnDrum also had a handy upgrade option, a well designed layout and interface, and live drum trigger inputs.

The LinnDrum had beefed up the sampled sounds from 28 to a 35kHz sample rate. It features 15 sounds including bass, snare, rimshot, hihat, crash, ride, three toms, cabasa, tambourine, high and low congas, cowbell, and clap. Up to 12 sounds are available simultaneously. Individual controls are available to tune, pan, and mix each drum sound via dedicated knobs and sliders. An Accent is available for the kick, snare and hats. The handy upgrade options involve inserting new chips containing new sets of sampled drum sounds created by many session drummers of the time.

The sequencer had some innovative features (for the time) such as swing, quantizing and memory storage! Two-bar patterns can be recorded in real or step time, with or without quantizing. There are 56 user patterns for storing your drum patterns. There are also 42 preset drum patterns. Patterns can be arranged into Songs for which there are 49 memory locations. Old songs and patterns can be off-loaded to cassette tape for storage. Designed for the studio, there are 15 individual outputs for each sound around the back as well as external sync and trigger but no MIDI (unless modified by a 3rd party). The LinnDrum's features made it the most professional drum machine of its time. It was widely used throughout the 1980s and there are about 5,000 of them which have been used by professionals (such as Sting, Prince, Jean-Michel Jarre, Sheila E., Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Edgar, Jan Hammer, Peter Gabriel), hobbyists, and educators alike!

Polyphony - 12 sampled sounds
Samples - 35kHz Sample rate: bass, snare, rimshot, hihat, 3 toms, crash, ride, cabasa, tambourine, high and low congas, cowbell, claps.
Patterns - 42 preset, 56 user patterns
Songs - 49
Functions - Quantizing (96 ppqn), real-time programming and digital metronome
Control - Tape, Sync, and Clock
Date Produced - 1982 - 1985"

New MOOG Product Coming Tomorrow

Press Release
"ASHEVILLE, N.C. (April 1, 2008) – It has become a rite of spring. Just like April showers bringing
May flowers, the conclusion of March brings April 1, and April 1 brings a new product from Moog
Music.

This year is no different, as Moog today is introducing a new instrument that promises to delight
all musicians – from the hardcore, lifelong Moog enthusiast to the young, beginning student. The
only difference from years past is that this year, Moog’s new product is being unveiled online via a
video news bulletin.

The video news bulletin, or VNB for short, is available for download or viewing on Moog’s Web
site, www.moogmusic.com.

About Moog Music
Moog Music and its customers carry on the legacy of Bob Moog, the inventor of the synthesizer. Moog designs and manufactures electronic musical instruments, including Little Phatty® and Minimoog® Voyager® synthesizers, Moogerfooger® effects modules and Etherwave® theremins. Founded by Bob Moog, Moog Music designs and manufactures its products in Asheville, N.C.

Additional information is available at www.moogmusic.com"

Anyware Instruments InSEQt Sequencer 2

follow-up to this post.

"The new Anyware Instruments Sequencer controls itselve(Seq A modulate Seq B and Seq B modulate Seq A).Noises and Sounds are from the Anyware Instuments Semtex XL Modular and the TMSS/Theis Modular. More experimentel then the other Video. have fun"

DELFY Creations through Mini Kaoss Pad

YouTube via robodelfy
"This video shows a few of my creations being put through a Korg Mini Kaoss Pad. Go to www.myspace.com/delfycreations for more info on my stuff! Send me a message, delfycreations at hotmail.co.uk if you would like to get on the mailing list."

Marjan's Synthesizer Schematics

Click here for the following:

01. EML-101 Multimode VCF Familiar SEM style State Variable Filter LP/BP/HP
with discrete components instead OTAs.

02. SERGE Triple Waveshaper Module Triple WS and one part of Serge Waveform Multiplier
use this scheme, just one opamp from LM3900,
it takes saw VCO input and rectify it to triangle/sine
output, but can also be timbre modulator for any signal.

03. BUCHLA #194 Fixed Bandpass Filter Not very exotic module, but it might come handy.
Splits input signal into four bands 200/200-900/
900-4000/4000 Hz, using just few transistors.

04. KORG Polysix Ensemble LFO Dual fixed three phase LFO used for modulating triple
BBD delay lines in Ensemble effects. Uses single CD4069
and has CV control of Intensity (amplitude).

05. MINIMOOG VCA Simple discrete VCA with 9 transistors. Crucial part of the
Mini's sound, together with it's VCOs, VCF and fast EGs.

06. BUCHLA #291 Dual Bandpass VCF VCBPF with Vactrols and lots of control/process power.
VC center freq (30Hz-15kHz) with offset, VC bandwidth
(1 semitone-4 octaves) with offset, resonance, FM,
input level, could be trimmed for selfosc.
Low noise and high dynamic range.

07. SERGE Sequential Pulse Source 10-step gate/trigger sequencer with CD4017. (updated)


08. OBERHEIM Matrix-6 White Noise Simple but nice sounding noise generator from polysynth.


09. R0LAND D-Beam IR Light Controller with CV (thanks to D.F.) (partial schem)


10. KORG MS-20 LFO Superb LFO with waveshape and range controls.
UpSaw/Triangle/DownSaw and Pulse waveforms. (updated)

11. SERGE Lin/Log VCA Standard CA3080 based design. (updated)


12. ROLAND SH-09 Noise and S/H My favourite! Simple transistor white/pink noise generator
and S/H with two FETs. Add it to your boring LFO section!


13. EMS VCS3 Type Ring Modulator Neat RM based on famous VCS Synthi. Very low parts count,
but distinctive sound. Looks like discrete MC1496 chip!


14. MOOG Source VC LFO Modification of standard tri/square LFO, with additional VCA.
VC and manual controls of speed and level parameters.

15. SERGE Ring Modulator OTA design, based on VCA, reliable stuff. (updated)


16. EML 101 Schematics Scans of (in)famous EML 101 schematics. Expo convertors, Oscillators
1,2 & 3 and VCF are here. Interesting "lo-end" approach.
Contact me if you have the rest of the schematics for this beast.

17. ROLAND/KORG Transistor VCA Based on Roland JX-3P and Korg MS10/20/Polysix VCAs.
Transistor and opamp, simple, noisy, strange, but works after all!

Yamaha CS-15 Video Demo Part 1

YouTube via stenophonic. See this post for two prior demos from stenophonic.
"Yamaha CS-15 demo Part 1- sorry the sound quality is low."
A little Daft Punk comes in at 6:00.

Aragon RS Pin Matrix 10x10

via this auction

"Sort of fits in a Euro-rack (1/8" too big) but 2 screws hold it fine."

KORG MS20

via this auction

Not the best shot, but it does look interesting with the MOOG style knobs.

SEIKO DS-310 Digital Synthesizer

images via this auction

Note the lack of jacks in the back and the ribbon connector. According to the auction it's an "add on to the 1980's Seiko Digital Sound System Keyboards." See this post for more details on that synth.

Update via Qwave in the comments: "Right, this is only an add-on for those Seiko Keyboards.
I used to have a Seiko DS202 with this DS310 additive synthesis add-on. You could store 4 sounds only. Each Sound consisting of three user programmable static 16 harmonic waves. The unit got 4 different envelopes to get the various possible crossfades of the spectrums over time and the over all volume envelope. Soundwise it was the pure man's ynclavier or PPG wave ;-)

Well not bad. But no detuning, just static one and a chorus from the DS202 keyboard. There was also a keyboard without the chorus. And the real time sequencer add on was named DS320. See a picture of mine (sorry, long gone) here. The most famous user were J.M. Jarre (see Rendez-Vous) and Robert Schroeder. He also did the demoing (by playing The Beatles "Eleanor Rigby") the year it was first shown in the Frankfurt Musik Messe."

The beamz Music Performance System

Get your laser harp action on. No MIDI - USB Only. Not sure if you can use/mod it to control external gear.

"The beamz system has a "W" shape, with six laser beams spanning the two sections; connect via USB to your PC or laptop, and hook up some speakers. The simple, intuitive computer interface makes it easy to choose any of 30 included songs in 19 musical genres for laying down a complementary rhythm track. The beamz library includes original works in jazz, bluegrass, classical, hip-hop, reggae, heavy metal and more.

Breaking the laser beams with your hands automatically generates pre-authored pulses, streams, riffs or loops of musical notes or sounds from an incredible variety of instruments from around the world — guitars, steel guitar, strings of all types, percussion, keyboards, winds.even cowbell. Sophisticated high-fidelity sounds seem to pour from your fingertips like magic!

# Extraordinary invention fuses the interaction of your hands with laser beams to create the sounds of hundreds of different instruments.
# Breaking the laser beams with your hands automatically generates pre-authored pulses, streams, riffs or loops of musical notes or sounds from a variety of instruments — all kinds of strings, keyboards, winds, percussion. Sophisticated high-fidelity sounds seem to pour off your fingertips like magic!
# Choose a complementary rhythm track from 30 original songs in 19 music genres, including jazz, bluegrass, classical, hip-hop, reggae, heavy metal and more.
# The beamz system has a "W" shape, with six laser beams spanning the two sections; connect via USB to your PC or laptop, then hook up some speakers and you're ready to perform great-sounding music.
# Includes software CDs and USB cable for connecting directly to USB port of your PC or laptop."

more info including pdf at The Sharper Image. Or you can build this. You can find all posts mentioning laser harp here (scroll when you get there).