MATRIXSYNTH

The Learned Nerd Synth Rig

Trippy shot of exposed synths on racks via The Learned Nerd. See if you can ID them. Hints in the labels.

Ultra Electronic Archive

Not much to say on this one other than explore. Tons of stuff...

via Smoov-E in the last post.

via Smoov-E

"Here are some pictures of my modified Ace Tone Rhythm Ace. The 16 rhythm presets are re-programmed, the 3 instrument cancel buttons function as variations buttons, and all instruments have individual 1/4 inch outs powered by mini op amps. Also attached is the Logic Output Timing Chart I used for the re-programming process.

Thank You Marc Handschuh of Ultra Electronic Active, who I consulted multiple times for this job. His knowledge in the world of vintage gear is truly priceless."

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ESTRADIN-230 3-VCO SOVIET ANALOG SYNTHESIZER

via this auction
"ESTRADIN-230 is a Soviet Minimoog equivalent.
If you are familiar with Soviet synths you might know that ESTRADIN-230 has absolutely identical schematics (all 6 PCBs) with ALTAIR-231.

ESTRADIN-230 is powerful monophonic 3-OSC synthesizer produced by Elektroizmeritel, millitary radio plant in Zhitomir, USSR, 1984. Synth has 4-octave keyboard (F-C) with velocity (sensitivity assign to vibrato effect). For live performance there is a wheel which provides pitch shift. ESTRADIN 230 is based on 3-VCO (OSC-3 can work as the modulator), 1 VCF (lowpass 24dB/oct) with ADSR, 1 VCA, 3 LFO, noise generator (white/pink), glide, memory. It has an EXTERNAL INPUT allowing to use FILTER and GENERATORS with OTHER INSTRUMENTS such as guitars, synths, etc! ESTRADIN-230 consists of 5 main sections - OSC, MIXER, MODULATION, FILTER and AMP.

OSCILLATORS section:
— OSC 1,2,3 registers - 2", 4", 8", 16", 32", LF
— OSC 1,2,3 waveshape select - triangle, saw, square, pulse, sine
— OSC frequency
— freq 1..3, freq 2, freq 3
— linked to keyboard pitch on/off (OSC 3 ONLY as MAIN OSC)

MIXER:
— OSC 1,2,3 on/off, level
— ext input level, on/off
— noise generator level, on/off
— noise mode switch: white/pink MOD section:
— portamento on/off, rate;
— mod mixer knob: balance between modulated by OSC3 and noise, depth amount;
— pitch wheel (glissando)

FILTER:
— mod on/off
— cutoff, resonance, brightness
— attack, decay, sustain
— keytrack on/off

AMPLIFIER:
— attack, decay, sustain
— key hold memory on/off
— global section: main volume, phones volume, phones, A-440Hz tone on/off, power.

Connections: input, output, pedal input, phones.
Power supply: 220V/50Hz, 127V; fuze 0,125A

— Dimensions (mm) 754x466x110 (29.6"x18.3"x4.3")
— Weight: 18 kg (39.68 pounds)

Some examples of how it really sounds you will find here:
http://ruskeys.net/eng/base/estrdn230.php#sn"

Homebuild Synth 5 - Sequencer

YouTube via organfairy. All Hombebuild Synth videos here.
"I still have a way to go but this time I build an 8-step sequencer which means that I can actually start to make something that could resemble music with my little modular synthesizer. I do a short demo with the sequencer and the modules I have build so far at the end of the video.

Again the music is played on the Elka X-1000"

Musikmesse: JazzMutant Lemur at MusikMesse 2010

YouTube via gearjunkies

"Demonstration of the JazzMutant Lemur during the MusikMesse 2010 at Frankfurt. We got a demonstration from the guys from JazzMutant."

Syndrum vintage 80's analog drum synthesizer

via this auction

"Here is the Grand Daddy of all electronic drums, the Syndrum. I love the syndrum because of its quality of sound and it looks like a real drum. It has a great "real" feel that will fit right in with your acoustic drum set and can easily be attached to existing drum hardware.

This vintage made in the USA analog drum synthesizer will rattle your windows with its sub sonic lows, make the famous laser sound that you heard on many disco songs in the 70's, plus much more. These are hard to come across and were used by open minded musicians in the 70's like Frank Zappa, Keith Moon, Queen, etc. I am including a pair of drum sticks so you can get started right out of the box. Everything functions as it should. The syndrum includes its original power supply, box, and a syndrum catalog. THe syndrum catalog has a rip in the front cover, but all pages are intact and it shows all the cool gear that was available from syndrum at the time and the artist that were using it. The original box looks like a thirty year old box but works. And the syndrum is in great condition with a small amount of wear on the drum head from normal use."

Original Roland SH-3a Analog Synth

via this auction
"These monophonic synths came with a collection of new and interesting features, but also retain solid analog synth sound... Think SH-101 in terms of sound. The filter is also somewhat Moog-y, real smooth. The SH3 combines subtractive and additive synthesis, using a 5-octave mixable source oscillator. I've never seen anything quite like it. There is also a pink/white noise generator. This routes into the envelope and amplifier sections, each can be enveloped with the ADSR section, or with preset envelopes. These can also all be modded by 2 LFOs with 3 possible wave forms! And finally, add to this the craziest feature of them all, the "Sampler" Section. I'm still not entirely sure how this works, but it's roughly like an arpeggiator. In any case it can do some craaaazy sounds!"

Update via fanwander in the comments: "This is a long living misinformation:
The SH3 has a diode based ladder filter with five stages.
The SH3a has Ladder Filter with four transistor stages (more moogish than the SH-3).

The rumours that the version change of the SH-3a were caused by a law suit with moog, are wrong. In fact the SH-2000 is the only Roland synth which used a quite complete clone of the moog cascade filter. According to several knwoledged people on Analogue Heaven maillist the SH-2000 was the instrument that caused infringment of Robert Moogs patent.

Btw: I made a webpage with an overview on most of the filters of analogue roland synths including filter schematics. http://fa.utfs.org/diy/roland_filters/index.html"

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[iPhone Beats] Technobox

YouTube via siedgey

"Thanks for watching!

Here's a wee track I made this morning in bed! Ah...the joys of technology. The app is called Technobox and features emulators of a TB-303, and a switchable TR-808 / 909. The latest update also includes various effects.

Of course, this is just a wee noodle but I reckon you could probably make something pretty decent if you put your mind to it! I've used the bit crusher effect on the 303 here, hence why it sounds really crunchy - without any effects the 303 reproduction is none too shabby for a phone!

Cheers,

Simon"

Technobox on iTunes: