Experiments in noise #1

YouTube via hotchk155
"Messing round with a Miduino arduino clone microcontroller board and a LED matrix with bouncing dots.. fires midi trigger messages to reason redrum when dots hit the side or each other.. i was wondering what it would sound like and yeah its a racket... sound is quiet as it was getting late..."

Stylophone as MIDI controller

YouTube via hotchk155. Hoover patch.
"Just for fun... not the most useful synth mod ever made :)
The technicals... Soldered wires to Stylophone PCB to use its keypad / resistor ladder.. put 5V across it and read voltage at stylus by analog input pin on arduino clone (miduino). Found out input value for each note and sent out MIDI note on/off messages thru serial connection when notes are detected. Simple. Used propellerheads reason to make the sounds"

Weird Things in Synth Manuals...

This one came on the AH list via Chris Strellis

"The Emax manual says:
'Bird Run is the function that align's the Emax's internal stabilizers and prevents excessive gyrocosmic relativation.

During this process you need to carefully observe the display for any signs of destabilization (eg. gravitational warps, apparent speeding up or slowing down of time, objects in mirrors appearing closer than they really are). If Emax returns to the Module Identifier after a few seconds, all is well.

Note: Occasionally a small emu will get trapped within the Emax and run across the screen during the stabilization scan process. This does not affect Emax's normal functions.'

Picture of that process here" If you know of others, feel free to share.

Update via Sasa Rasa in the comments: "Also, DX5 posted recently a nice video showing the bird run feature"

Emu Emax curiosities


YouTube via DX5

"Tweaking across some hilarious messages in the Emax.

First, the "Bird Run function"

According to manual:
"This function aligns Emax internal stabilizers and prevents excessive gyrocosmic relativation. (...) Occasionally a small Emu will get trapped within the emax and run across the screen during the stabilizaton scan process. This does not affect the normal Emax fuctions"

Also, the message displayed when you try to play empty sequencies."

Update via Zeroc001:
"Kurzweil k 2000/2500/2600 keyboard Easter Egg - Ping Pong on Your Kurzweil
Press the MASTER button, then the UTIL soft button, then the ( ) empty space soft button and finally, the SETUP button. You will see "Welcome to the K2000 game!" Use your data wheel to move your "paddle" to meet the bouncing ball. When you're done, press the EXIT button several times to quit.

by following the instructions above, you will have the pleasure of seeing your expensive, state-of-the-art music workstation turned into a 1980´s low-tech computergame : ping pong !
the programmers claim this to be the father of all video games.
I tried myself on my own k 2000, as soon as I heard of this. It works."

followed-by:

"oh, and btw: more copy/pasta on Kurtzweil Pong:

If you're stuck with a case of crushing writer's block, Kurzweil Pong actually outputs notes from MIDI channel 16, changing notes depending on the ball's position while you play. Assign any program you want to channel 16 and Pong yourself a new melody. Or try setting Channel #16 as the Drum Channel (on the [MASTER] page) and choose a suitable drum program. This way you can claim to be actually making music!"
See the comments in this post for more.

MOOG PLAYS THE BEATLES

PENNY LANE by Marty Gold from MOOG PLAYS THE BEATLES + Fashion from 1969

YouTube via cosmocorps2000

"Penny Lane from MARTY GOLD's album "MOOG PLAYS THE BEATLES" from 1969.
Clips from old fashion report, 1969."

CLICK FOR MORE »

AcidLab Modded TB-303 Bass Line

images via this auction
"This TB-303 was modded earlier this year by a professional technician.
It was tuned/calibrated, cleaned, DC-in jack replaced, given orange leds (awesome),
the 6 original knobs are slightly risen for easier grip, given rubber feet on bottom and
the Acidlab Mini Modular kit was installed!

Here's the run down on the mods:
- Tough/Resistant black top face plate
- Overdrive knob
- Extra Decay knob (for staccato notes)
- Extra Resonance knob
- ACCent "2-way" toggle (all notes to be accented)
- Slide "2-way" toggle (all notes to slide)
- Bend "3-way" toggle (up bends notes higher, down bends lower, middle is off)
- extra leds for each toggle which light up based on sequence activity type
- X-Mod "3-way" toggle (Cross modulates the pulse wave (down) or the saw wave (up))
- X-Mod knob (adjusts the mod amount)
- 12 1/8" input/output jacks on back:
---- IN: slide, accent, filter, gate, cv, vca
---- OUT: square wave, saw wave, vcf, accent, slide, envelope
---- (I made a color, coated strip for these... it's tacked on with 2 pieces of tape. you can keep it on, or make your own)"

Piano soundboard, contact mic, oscillator, speakers, feedback

YouTube via eddie23a
"more experimenting with a dismantled piano for an installation project I'm working on with Neal Unreal"

LIGHTS

flickr by lightsnoise

"new LIGHTS photo from the recent shoot"

spot the synths

Anyone ID the guitar synth?

http://www.myspace.com/lights

Lights the band

Previous post with vids here.

A sad Mini Moog Synth song for Neda

YouTube via Synthiefrau
"This is my Synthesizersong for Neda, she was killed on the street of Iran. It was terrible and I be teary. I`ve am sad, I play musik on my Synthesizers."
For Neda, a Synthsong from me. On my Minimoog, V-Synth, Dot.com, Jp 8000

Polyrhythms Eins - Pyramid Prism Mix

YouTube via OculoRapido
"Test drive of Pyramid Prism light organ with sequenced Blacet/Metalbox/Wiard/Cynthia synth groove. Produced by Doktor Bob. Copyright 2009 Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D."

Pyramid Prism Groove 2

"Test drive of Pyramid Prism light organ with Blacet/Metalbox/Wiard/Cynthia synth groove. Produced by Doktor Bob. Copyright 2009 Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D."

VCOnet vs the Drone Racks: A Dirge for BC

YouTube via OculoRapido
"A doombient salute to BC, as we approach the first year of unfilled bc16 orders. Is that Buzzy the bc8 lying silent and dead under the marble skull before the Borg Disk? Tune in next time to find out what new disaster awaits our long-suffering, backlogged gear cult as the fabled bcX and XWIND eat all available time and components. Perpetrated on Blacet/Metalbox/Wiard/Cynthia modular synths, VCOnet proto, KAOSS Pad 3. Xacti HD1010 video. Produced by Doktor Bob at Rapid Eye Soundlabs. Copyright 2009 Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D."

En Attendant BC - bc16 Slightly Delayed Mix

" Analog and digital ambient dronefest ode to the theoretical existence of the bc16 synthesizer, though its realization has oft been deferred since 2008. Sonics perpetrated with Blacet/Metalbox/Wiard/Cynthia modules, KAOSS Pad 3, and Chimera Synthesis bc8 ("normal" noisy mode). Tsk Tsk, Visual effects by Borg Disk and Pyramid Prism light organ. Produced by Doktor Bob at Rapid Eye Soundlab. Copyright 2009 Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D. Dedicated to the Disembodied Hand school of knob-twiddling EM videos."