Roland RS-202

images via this auction
"take a simple organ 'divide down' sawtooth oscillator as the basic sound source for unrestricted polyphony and throw the whole thing through a chorus unit. Add simple vibrato, a choice of registers and and a simple attack/release envelope shaper and you have the perfect recipe for rich strings. That the Roland RS202 could deliver silky string sounds is undisputed - it sounded gorgeous and I remember being full of envy when a friend of mine bought one and let me play it (and I borrowed it whenever I could!). It was simple to operate, a joy to use and as soon as you played it, a unique sound just dribbled out through those rear panel jacks! The RS202 wan't quite as 'mushy' as other, competing string synths of the time and it had its own sonic identity. The RS202 came in its own flight case... It had controls for tuning and master volume and various large rocker switches that allowed you to select different string sounds: Strings I and Strings II (an octave up from Strings I). Like other string synths of the era, there was also a brass sound that could be selected and, like other string synths of the era, it was next to useless! No.... it was the string sound(s) that defined the RS202. At the heart of the RS202's string sound was Roland's 'ensemble' or chorus effect. For whatever reason, Roland got this just right not only on the RS202 but also in the chorus effects pedals that they (and their subsequent subsidiary company, Boss) were to release. This rich ensemble effect was enough to guarantee the RS202's success. However, unlike the competition of the time, each key also had its own envelope shaper so that each note articulated properly. This was a huge improvement on other such string synths at the time and made the RS202 far more playable and expressive - it's just a shame that the sound's attack was limited to just two preset values determined by the setting of a single grey rocker switch labelled 'SOFT ATTACK'. By way of compensation, there was at least a totally variable 'SUSTAIN' (i.e. release) control so all was not lost. The other grey 'TONE' rocker switch allowed you to select two different timbres for the string or brass sound. The RS202 was also 'bi-timbral' with different sounds for the bottom two and top three octaves respectively and flexibility was enhanced by the fact that the lower and upper sections were (almost) completely independent of each other thus you could have solo 'cello in the bottom half of the keyboard and a lush string ensemble in the upper half of the keyboard. Or you could have combinations of lower and upper brass and strings and so on according to the settings of the five identical rocker switches for each lower / upper section. Two sliders allowed you to balance the two sections."

KORG Poly-Ensemble PE-2000

images via this auction
"STRINGS, CHORUS (choir), PIPE ORGAN. But the BRASS settings are acting up. You can play them with the BASS knob turned all the way down, but they sound a little distorted and when you turn up the BASS knob, they sound like a self-oscillating resonant filter."

Situationist

Situationist

Access Virus Ti Polar

3Xfx Circuit Bent Drums

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 mic input. 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 5 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 all of the units sounds, from demonic lows to chipmunk highs. There is also a 1/4 inch output.

The sound clips below were recorded from the output 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. In the last one I got it to glitch out by playing with the pitch control and random buttons. It is not easy to get this thing to start glitching, but when it does it produces some awesome sounds, enjoy!

Clip 1
Clip 2
Clip 3
Clip 4"

Blacet Time Machine

via this auction. One more image here.

Voice of Saturn Sequencer - Endif Style

"My build of the VoS sequencer.
Bought the PCB, had most of the parts already.

They also sell varying levels of kits, or prebuilt, so whatever your skill/interest level, a VoS is within reach.
http://www.curiousinventor.com/kits/v...

Instead of pots and knobs I used some sliders I had lying around. Upgraded the LEDs to some big fat obnoxious blue ones I'd been using for throwies and such. Case used to house the firing controls to an MX missile.

Face plate is 1/8 inch aluminum stock from some Amazon seller. Small Parts I think. Anyway. Laid it out on the back side, drilled out the pilot holes with a 2mm bit, then went larger as needed. Filed down all the rough edges, then sanded it all down til it was 1200 grit smooth and gave it 3 coats of glossy clear coat. Looks nice.

Used a router attachment on my Dremel to do the slider holes. They're rough, but they work. Cleaned them up with some files. Next time I do it on a sub-plate and just cut one big hole. Pots and knobs are soo much easier. =P

Mounted the PCB to the face plate with 1 inch standoffs. Battery holder wound up on the plate too. I went so far as to drill holes for them on the bottom of the case, then realized that this would *suck* when it came time to change out the batteries, or whatever. Bad idea. Definitely mount to faceplate.

The build went smooth, everything worked correctly except, predictably, the sliders. I had never worked with sliders before, and didnt have any docs on these, so I winged it. First try was wrong. Second try was closer. Third try was correct. Sliders are much more intuitive than knobs. Linear.

Next step is to label this thing. I can't keep referring to my chart. =/ Maybe I'll hand paint it.

So, the video.

Sawtooth is from the Blacet VCO. Meaty little bastard. Filter is the Harvestman Polivoks clone. Nasty, unpredictable, awesome. Envelope generator is another Blacet. Rest is explained in the vid.

Anyway, here's 2 minutes of me messing around with it.
Enjoy. =]

Oh, and if you want to hear the project this will be used with, check out my work at http://www.myspace.com/endif

Thanks,

~!J!"

Funkytown Remixed with Old Computer Equipment

YouTube via bd594

"This is a shamless ripoff of James Houston's remix of Radiohead's Nude but I decided to try it for Funkytown by Lipps Inc. I choose Funkytown and only used computers from the early 1980's that were destined for the Junk Yard. This is how I got the idea for Junkytown. I also used a modem but DTMF tones are lousy for musical notes (no harmonics) but I was very lucky to find two notes that did sound good. On your phone punch in 3 3 2 3 and you got the beginning part of the solo and the rest is history. Please note no synthesizer or audio effects were used and all the audio was recorded from either a microphone or direct line. Some of the audio was amplified when it was mixed down because the levels were unusable ie. the printer and modem. The Commodore 64 was used for the main Bass and Guitar. The Ti-99/4A was used for the second part of the solo because of the limitation of DTMF tones. It was tempting to just sample the modem but I did not in order to keep it 100% original. Finally it was difficult to video tape the printer because it kept shaking the table so I looped the printer video in the begining of the video. The printer sometimes caused the harddrive head to shake out of sync so I inserted a screw into the mechinism and this some what helped."

Custom Panel Graphics

You might remember the Buchla 281 clone project from this post, or if you frequent electro-music.com you'd of course remember it from there. I came across an update to the thread by josh, aka topp. I thought it was a good insight into how he created panel graphic for his module.

"so i just wrote someone alot about how i labeled my most recent panel and i thought maybe someone here may find it helpful too. it involves laser transparency paper and spray adhesive... very durable!

1. print the art in reverse [so that the toner will contact the panel and stay protected]

2. cut it to where you have a bit of excess on all sides, maybe 1 1/2" orso

3. tape your painted, drilled and otherwise finished panel down with double-sided tape

4. position your 'decal' properly over the panel

5. tape the top-edge [you could do the side edge too] of it down to your work surface with masking tape while keeping it in position [remember you left some excess]

6. make sure your tape is stuck well, fold the decal back on the tape 'hinge' make sure when you pull it back over the panel, it stays in perfect position [ i learned this simple technique while working in a sign-shop applying vinyl decals to things, i think it is called the 'hinge' technique if you want to look it up]

7. pull it back again, and give the panel and the decal an even coat of spray-adhesive [i used 3M general purp.] let it dry for 10-15 seconds, as the instructions say for a stronger bond

8. then carefully!! fold it back over, keeping the 'hinge' pulled taut, with your thumb,start to 'apply' the transparency like a sticker, use alot of pressure and consistent coverge, side-to-side, continue to lower the decal onto the panel while and keep smoothing it down, don't push too hard where you have holes drilled right now.

9. get it all down, then press hard around all the edges, this is probably the most important part- work FAST! that stuff dries super fast

10. remove the masking tape hinge carefully so that your sheet is all flat, you don't want any resistance.. press the sheet down all over, then press around the holes, keep doing it for like a minute or two-i suppose a rubber mallet might be good to use here if you have one. i don't, i just pressed as hard as i could till i was confident that i could do no more.

11. ok, so it is down and all flat, now let it dry for a while, maybe over night.

12. flip it over and trim the excess off with an exacto knife

13. with fine sandpaper, carefully sand the edges to where there is no transparency protruding over the edges. it might be easiest to tape the sandpaper down flat, and move the panel instead.

14.ok so it is looking nice now right?? remove ALL the gunk from the transparency with denatured alcohol, then with the finest steel-wool you can get, ruff up the surface of the plastic, it will take the glare off it.

15. all that is left is to cut out your holes with an exacto knife. try your hardest not to lift the decal around the holes [use a narrow blade]

ok that's it! maybe a print-shop could do light print with a color-laser printer, or make long prints for rack-panels..

here is a photo of the panel::

josh"

Inside a Ensoniq DP/4+

Not technically a synth, but here you go.

Inside an Ensoniq DP/4+ via firegroove

MD sps1- Hand of KoG by PaPyKoG (Brainz in JaRz)

YouTube via aPyKoG. In response to this video.
"A Quirky little numba performed live by PaPyKoG from BrAiNz iN JaRz on a Machinedrum Sps1."