MATRIXSYNTH

Yamaha DX7 II-D (Solo mode, custom sound) and Roland JX-8P - sound test only

YouTube via SpacehotelMusic
"Just a sound test of the much maligned DX7 (II-D) in layered mode with a custom sound. FM can sound punchy and sometimes 'almost' analog in nature. Most people think of the DX as a preset machine (with the famous 80s sounds) but these days they are great machines for producing unique textures.

The JX-8P here is for contrast in the video. None of this is a musical statement (nor the music of Spacehotel), it's just a made up on the fly generic funk riff to show the sounds (with mistakes and stuff)... Hopefully will upload more in depth vids of all my synths in time, when I get chance.

Note: Sound quality is vastly compromised by the video compression, the artifacts on the low octaves of the DX7 sound are not present in real life - it also has more bass end. :)

The Top synth is a Roland JX-3P (1983)"

Spacehotel - Working on Album track with Roland JX-8P and Roland JX-3P

"Footage of me working on some ideas for a track on the upcoming SPACEHOTEL DEBUT ALBUM. Sounds quite basic here as it's obviously far from finished and is just in the 'writing' stages."

AANN - Overview by Phillip Stearns (Pixel Form) 2007

YouTube via pixelform
"http://www.art-rash.com/pixelform

This is a short documentation clip of AANN from the 2008 Juried Exhibition at the Torrance Art Museum (City of Torrance, LA, CA, USA).

Dimensions: 4x2x2 hanging installation
Medium: Electronics

AANN is an interactive, handmade electronic sculpture that responds to changes in ambient light and sound. The sculpture itself is 45 interconnected, electronic neurons that are actively responding to environmental stimuli in a display of light and sound. Constructing the sculpture in such a way that function and form are keenly interconnected, borrows from the sculptural, musical electronics works of Peter Vogel. Great care was taken in the design of the electronics to accurately mimic biological neural behavior. The resulting form of the piece was influenced in part by layering models used in neural computing, and by Fibonacci based branching found in natural systems. AANN explores the notion of interactivity with electronics by making physical the abstract processes being used by modern computer scientists to solve complex problems in pattern recognition.

The science of robotics seeks to study, mimic and recreate life through the creation of automatons which are ultimately are designed to complete tasks that serve our desires. Here with the creation of AANN, the desire is to explore the possibility of making a thinking thing, one that is allowed to have its own desires. However, in the end what AANN becomes is a sign of the industrial military complex, signifying not only the possibility of the pursuit of such idealistic techno-fetishistic dreams of machine intelligence, but also their very negation through the terminal exploitation of the very life which it seeks to replicate (and eventually replace).

Questions which arose during the course of researching and developing the work branched outwards from the decade old debate about machine intelligence and its potential impacts on society and environment. What is interactivity? What are the preconditions necessary for such interactivity? Does intelligence play a role or is interactivity a generic feature of reality. What is it to think? Is it possible for a machine to think as we do? If it is not yet possible to understand what it is to think and how we humans do it, what is it that drives us to make machines think? Are we too lazy to think for ourselves? How much does structure factor into the functioning of a network both biological and artificial? What are the implications of accepting a networked model of understanding? What is the total impact of technology on society and on the biosphere which supports it? Is it possible for a technological work to affect enough positive change to offset the potential social and environmental damage wrought in its history of development and application? Can technology exist without economies of scale, and if not, can those economies of scale be maintained in an ecologically sustainable manner?"

MOTM E340 Cloud Generator panel mockup

Voice of Saturn Synth with vactrol cv mod

Voice of Saturn Synth with vactrol cv mod from Travis Thatcher on Vimeo.

"The Voice of Saturn synthesizer with added vactrol based cv-mod for better range of control.

curiousinventor.com/kits/voice_of_saturn
recompas.com"

Synth DIY UK 2009 by Future Image

flickr set by Future Image
"Synth DIY UK meeting 2009 (10th anniversary) at Robinson College, Cambridge.

Many thanks to Neil Johnson and Paul Maddox who have maintained the event for the last decade!!!"
Note Future Image also posted these videos of the event.

SDIY UK 2009 via Sonicsheep

Check out Sonicsheep for the 2008 gallery as well.
Remember to click on the SDIY UK label below for more. Be sure to see the dates of each post to note where 2009 starts and 2008 ends.

QUASIMIDI SIRIUS SYNTH (and VOCODER ANALOG KEYBOARD)

via this auction

OSCar monophonic/duophonic synthesizer

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

SN 0639 via this auction

"OSCar - Best of British vintage monophonic/duophonic synthesizer
* 'As new' condition - 25th anniversary next year but one owner, never gigged, lightly-used, carefully stored
* Incredible sounds - fattest bass, wild leads, amazing special effects
* Instant response tactile knobs, performance wheels and buttons - no hard-to-use menus
* Fully-programmable with 36 User Patch Memories, arpeggiator and step sequencer
* Factory-fitted MIDI In/Out/Thru
* Serial number 0639 one of the last produced after February1985 with final firmware revision 'M2'
* Original Operation Manual included*
* Original factory patch data cassette tape included
* Data CD on which I have included factory presets**, images, and interesting OSCar web addresses
* Stand apart from the crowd with unique sounds - and the look!

OSCar is now regarded as a classic in the synthesizer world. OSCar is a highly-versatile vintage workhorse, suited to many musical genres, but more recently has found particular use in Dance, House, and Electronica. It is an analogue-sound digitally-controlled synth using the classic subtractive but also additive synthesis models to produce its sounds. The OSCar is also a performer's synth, direct and immediate access to its sounds makes playing an intuitive dream

If you've lusted after a vintage MiniMoog synth - don't bother! The OSCar has absolutely stable oscillator tuning, massive programmable dual-oscillator sound with separate modulation LFO, and has been built to take on the road if needed.

This OSCar is 240V 50Hz (but can be internally set to 110V) and doesn't require a separate power supply. The rechargeable internal memory battery may need to be replaced soon (but currently is working OK).

*Operating manual - the cover has come loose from the pages through age (but this is an easy fix), my name is stamped in small font on the front cover, and there is some highlighter on some of the text. Also, my name is written in ink in small discrete font on the OSCar's lacquered wooden base (this can be easily sanded off by the new owner).

**Factory presets - currently not stored in memory. I have put around ten of my own sounds into memory and the rest have been left 'blank'. You can load the factory sounds in if you want to, but I recommend that you make your own sounds and store them in memory, it's very easy to do.

Note that if sounds are 'lost' from memory (through memory battery failure), it is possible on power-up (depending on the random position of the control knobs) to have no apparent sound, or at least a 'nonsense' sound, on key-press. This is not a fault and is resolved by setting the control knobs to appropriate positions and saving patches, or loading-in a set of patches - check the manual for details.

http://www.airburst.co.uk/oscar/ (plenty of detail about OSCar specifications and operation, also sound samples, even hand-drawn schematics)

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep99/articles/oscar.htm (fantastic more recent muso's article "Life of OSCar")"

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Vintage Arp 2600 Synth synthesizer

via this auction
"Vintage mid 70's Arp 2600 in great shape. Although cosmetically average this particular Arp 2600 is a beast; has had a complete overhaul by Phil Cirocco of CMS. Has the added modules: filter and extra oscillator(more details on Phil's website), power supply upgrade, envelope mods, osc sync(this was done prior to Phil's work but was inspected /serviced by him), audio path upgrade etc etc. I have spent over 3K in rehab and upgrades and this Arp as Phil told me "rocks". I agree and I hate to let it go but this economy is...Phil worked on this arp less than 2 years ago and is functioning as it should but with any vintage synth general maintenance is necessary every year or two so it is likely due to have a good internal cleaning/calibration. The 3620 keyboard's electronics were serviced by Phil while the bushings were replaced less than three months ago by EARS in NYC so this keyboard is good to go."

Sequenced Digisound VCDO @ Synth DIY UK 2009

YouTube via futureimage
"Digisound VCDO being sequenced by Paul Darlow's Oakley modular at Synth DIY UK 2009."

Digisound VCDO going nuts @ Synth DIY UK 2009