SynthMania studio - December 19, 2008

YouTube via SynthManiaDotCom. Mother... Fuck..e...r... Posting this one for the images and the memories. Anastasia's T99? was the track from my Rave memories. Marley is always good. Who is that at 2:50? Good memories.. OK... I go now...
"SynthMania.com's studio - December 19, 2008
A video fly-by of some classic and modern synthesizers. "

ARP Omni-2 Demo

YouTube via officialmikethompson
"Recently-acquired ARP Omni-2 (mk2 version of the original Omni). There didn't seem to be any decent demos on YouTube so I figured I'd post this. This unit works well with the exception of the release section (foot pedal or slider) where it continues to hold random, stuck-on notes. Time for capacitor replacement! This is a common problem for the Omni anyway."

ARP Omni-2 Strings

YouTube via officialmikethompson. "ARP Omni-2 string section"

ARP Omni-2 Synthesizer Section

Moog MicroMoog

YouTube via officialmikethompson
"Just a brief run on my Moog; some lead sounds and bass"

Oberheim OB-8 Demo #1

YouTube via officialmikethompson
"Oberheim OB-8 - playing a quick run of one of my songs, "One For The Road" which the original can be heard on my SoundClick page: www.soundclick.com/mikethompson"

Oberheim OB-8 Demo #2

A.S. rs510e EMS Synthi Trapezoid Generator Short Demo

YouTube via bigcitymusic
"Here's the fully capable Analogue Systems rs510e. It's the only licensed version of the Trapezoid Generator from the legendary EMS synths. The rs510e basically has an envelope generator and a VCA built into one module. You can trigger the EG with a gate from a keyboard, sequencer, or the trigger button on the face plate.

The Trapezoid Generator works a lot like a traditional envelope generator but only has three stages. There is Attack, On, and Decay. On a graph, depending on the settings, this forms a trapezoid shape. The rs510e also has an Off knob. Setting this knob fully clockwise results in a more typical EG. Turn it to the left and you have something special. The off knob controls the auto repeat function. The more you turn counterclockwise, the faster it goes. You still have all the other knobs to manipulate as well. Depending on the settings, the rs510e can repeat rather quickly.

The audio in and outs sport level controls, you can distort the input a bit too. You can also use the rs510e as a modulation source, sending the trapezoid out two different outputs. There's also a level knob for the trapezoid which allows you to attenuate the output or invert it."

Alphabet Soup #1: The Dual Universal Slope Generator

via Carbon111 on SYNTHWIRE

"This is first in a series of introductory articles, each focusing on a specific Function Block of the Serge Modular synthesizer."

"The Page can be reached directly:

http://www.carbon111.com/alphabet1.html

...or through my Index of Serge Pages:

http://www.carbon111.com/serge_index.html"

Moog Memorymoog

via this auction
"The six-voice MemoryMoog was, in my opinion, potentially the finest analogue polysynth ever made.

It was the last synth ever made by Moog but was very late in coming to a market that had been dominated by the Prophet 5, the Oberheim OB series and the Roland Jupiter 8 for several years, a market that was soon to be turned on its head with the arrival of MIDI, FM synthesis and sampling.

Tthe MemoryMoog had an exemplary spec: per voice, it had three audio oscillators each with simultaneous (i.e. not switched) waveforms, it had the famous Moog filter and two ADSR envelopes (one for filter and other duties, one for amplitude). It also had a versatile, multi-waveform LFO, a comprehensive modulation (and cross modulation) matrix, memories and more...

It had PWM, oscillator sync, a super-fat Unison mode where all 18 oscillators were played from one key, various monophonic and polyphonic playing and triggering options - a later model even had a sequencer! On paper it was like six super-charged MiniMoogs in one polyphonic box

Wonderful - big, fat and brash but also capable of subtlety. It could do everything from truly fat basses, cutting leadlines, warm pads, lush strings, punchy brass, spiky clavs and more. Its versatile cross-modulation facilities also allowed sounds that would normally only be possible on a modular system as Oscillator 3 modulated Oscillators 1 and/or 2 and/or the filter in a variety of different ways."

shot x shot

flickr set by alex tyson
(click for more)

"live at the historic Powell House | December 5 2008
with guest Charles Cohen"

Buchla Music Easel

Be sure to see this video.

The MMM Arrives

See the full post on Box of Textures

"My Mattson Mini Modular arrived today. An entire year since I ordered it, taking a lot on faith, trading emails with George and getting pretty regular updates. And now it’s sitting in my living room with blinkenlights and a spaghetti of patch cords. It’s hard to even think of it as finished. It’s been a process for so long that it’s hard to think of it as a product. I’m not criticizing or anything, far from it. Some things simply take time to design, build and test."