Commodore 64 for iPhone

YouTube via manomiodotcom
"The first official demonstration of the Commodore 64 computer running on the iPhone from Manomio and Kiloo"

Happy Father's Day!!!

Oh the toys you get to play with when you become a father...

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

BOSS BR-600 Quick Review on Cafe 80

"The BR-600 features good quality effects to process the input, even while recording. Realistic distortion and other classic chorus or flanger effects for the guitar, more adventurous processing for the line input (bit reduction, etc…). These are really useful, as you can just plug in a guitar and record a decent electric guitar track, and so on… There’s also a whole mastering section, which I didn’t have the time to test, along with some facilities like tuner, phrase trainer, pitch correction or loop."

full review on Cafe 80.

Clavia Nord Lead 3 Trance Presets Audio Demo

YouTube via alanmarcero
"http://www.alanmarcero.com for free patches for your synthesizers. Demo was done with a Nord Lead and external FX. Comprised partly of clips from my own tunes."

Roland 80017a

via this auction
"Problems Typically Solved by Replacing the Failed 80017a Chip Include:

* Erratic or sudden loud noise from synthesizer output, particularly after 10 minutes of powering up.
* Note hang-ups or long sustain.
* One synth voice will not respond to filter or amplifier changes.
* Unstable operation.
* Juno-106 or MKS-30: Notes will not play, most typically every 6th note will not play due to failed 80017a chip.
* GR-700: One particular voice or string will not sound, "D" string, "A" string etc.

Sound Clip of 80017a Failure in a GR-700 Guitar Synthesizer

The sound of the failure will change depending on which part of the circuit is not working: the VCF or VCA for example. The above example is provided to illustrate one type of failure. Your synth may have different symptoms as listed above.

An easy way to determine if you cable is working correctly on the GR-700 is to press the EDIT foot pedal, followed by 4 and 8. This puts the GR-700 in tuning mode. Play each string on the GR-700, and you should see the display change for each string. The displays shows "1" for the high E string, "2" for the B string, down to "6" for the low E string. If the GR-700 responds to all six strings, then your cable is good, and most likely you have a failed 80017a chip.

About the 80017a VCA/VCF chip:

The 80017a chip was a real workhorse for Roland synthesizer engineers in the early 1980s. This one chip contained both the classic, driving -24 dB voltage controlled low-pass filter with a smooth voltage controlled amplifier. By placing all the components on one chip, Roland was able to keep the classic sound of their analog synthesizers across various products, with low production costs. However, Roland did experience some probelms with the early production techniques. With reports of chip failures, Roland knew they had a problem on their hands, and changed production methods.

When these chips fail, sometimes a voice will stop working completely. On a keyboard synth, this shows up as every sixth voice not working. On a GR-700 guitar synthesizer, this shows up as one string’s synthesizer voice failing. But the chip may not fail completely, resulting in a lack of control over the filter quality for one voice, or by sudden, loud erratic sounds from the synthesizer. The only solution to these problems is to replace the existing 80017a with a new chip.

At least 20 years after the original production date, this chip is still working well without failure." There's more info on the specific chip for sale including samples at the auction.

Be sure to see this post for a fix to existing chips as well. I had the procedure done and it did work.

EML Poly Box Screenprint

via this auction

"poly-box synthesizer screenprint. printed on red mr. french paper using black and white plastisol inks. also has a small pink screenprinted "stamp" saying "non stop" (kraftwerk reference). edition of 20. measure 12.5 x 19. looks better in person, pics don't do it justice."

NON STOP!

The Squarewave Parade Updates

bleak atten
bleak mlltipl (pictured)
teaspoonCAS auctions

Astral Blofeld

Astral Blofeld by gsixtyfour

"Single Blofeld track recorded in Logic thru a mackie mixer with bass mildly turned up a notch. I used an MPC to sequence the blofeld and did all the filter play live (and a lil synth improv, I apologize for not being the best keyboardist lol). A Kaoss pad kicks in at 6:30 with the Mod.3 effect for alil atmosphere. other than that the sound is 100% blofeld. not sure as to what the time signature is on this, i recorded it 4/4 at 90 bpm, but the echo is 1/4 120 BPM and the sequence is only 3 measures. Please excuse the audio burp at 4:11, idk what was up with that"

Additional notes via the Waldorf list:
"the first sound is just scanning the wavetrip wavetable
the second is just 2 saws with +1 detune
the third sound is a fast attack Kstrong+ i think
and the last sound is unison pulse waves"

spooloops operates the MC-505

YouTube via spooloops
"This is a live recording of me landing my spaceship using an MC-505. I record the audio to my PC then add a bit of compression. This jam has a few bits, (an extra hi-hat, ride cymbal and the big wheezy pad) courtesy of a Korg ESX-1. I'm also using an outboard reverb as well as the 505's. I use the d-beam here to add drum chaos, usually while cranking the aux return on my mixer to add a quick reverb hit. You'll notice how the required flight suit rubber gloves like to trip the d-beam, unintentionally adding more 'liveness'."

Roland CR-68 Preset Rhythm Pattern Demo

YouTube via zibbybone
"Little brother to the famous CR-78. The 68 has the same preset rhythms as the 78, but lacks programmability, fade in/out, voice cancel and the additional "constant" percussion (Metallic Beat, Tambourine & Guiro). I have the pattern variation set to automatically change from the A pattern to the B pattern every 2 measures. Later I demonstrate the other fill in patterns and lastly combine rhythms. Be sure to subscribe to my Channel for future videos of vintage electronic instruments. I plan to make a CR-78 video after I take it to Audio Electronics in Dallas for some TLC. Special thanks to my son, SuperSane101, for making the edits at the end. (Someday, I'll learn to edit)"