EMS SYNTHI AKS

via this auction

via the seller's description: "I've owned it for 11 years & have performed or recorded with: Alien Planetscapes, Analog Synthesizer Ensemble, Cyndee Lee Rule, Doug Walker, Ethereal, Esprit 220, Hal McGee, Dave Fuglewicz, & Scattered Planets. The synth was always been treated with special care & has never been serviced or had any issues. The Synthi A & KS Sequencer keyboard have matching serial numbers which I believe date from the mid-1970's. I'm including a the original power cable, sequencer cable, extra pins & an extra rare vernier oscillator knob which was purchased from EMS."

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Arp Avatar Modded

via this auction

via the seller's description: "As you see in the picture...In the back...theres a modification..the owner before me.. tried to put an extra plug or something like that but i never used it and i don't know what it is...some tek told me once that you could make an external device to control the avatar parameters via this plug."

Inside the Korg Monotron

YouTube via shobley | December 24, 2010 |

"http://www.stephenhobley.com/blog/201...

I recently acquired a Korg Monotron - a tiny monophonic synthesizer featuring the same filter as found on the MS-20 (not the MKS-20 as I said in the video) synth.

I would guess that this is Korg's attempt to capture a share of the lucrative Stylophone market...

In this video I was able to take a look under the hood and tap into some of the control points to see what was going on...

(Apologies for the crappy focus, Flip cameras might be HD but they have no macro mode)"

monotrons on eBay

Can the laser harp be topped...?

YouTube via shobley | January 23, 2011 |

"http://www.stephenhobley.com/store/0111/

I get asked about once a month if I can make a MIDI interface for the Theremin. So after completing the vacuum tube Theremin I thought it was about time I built one.

This device accurately matches Theremin Pitch to MIDI note, along with volume data - using a cunning blend of microprocessor, signal-processing hardware and some clever embedded software.

So far I've tested it with a PAIA Theremax, a Moog Etherwave Plus and my own Keppinger VT Theremin.

Not only does it produce pitch information, it can provide controller data, and realtime arpeggiation using simplified or complex chords - read from a MIDI keyboard connected to the input.

It even blends subtle pitch bend control into the MIDI stream to allow user controlled vibrato to be added. Just like a real Theremin.

Since enough people asked about it - I've put together a complete package here :
http://www.stephenhobley.com/store/0111/"

Chariots of fire - Roland SH-32 and Waldorf MicroQ

YouTube via gzengz | February 08, 2011 |

"A short synth demo with "Vangelis - Chariots of fire" midi
FL Studio was used for MIDI sequencing only
Synths used:
- Roland SH-32 in performance mode ( 3 synth + 1 drum part)
- Waldorf MicroQ in multimode ( 2 synth patches)
- piano comes from standard MS GS wavetable synth"

Beta test - Sequencer Pseudo Synth Voice

YouTube via bchris1776 | February 08, 2011 |

"The idea is to make this as few parts count as possible - while still having a useful synth voice for a 'Baby Ten' type sequencer. It has a 2 Voice VCO (squarish wave) simple VCA, Simple EG and filter.
I eliminated a couple pots - and added a few more passive components from the first test vid. It's a bit tamer now than it was - but still will surprise you with some unruly behavior.

Parts count for the voice/EG/VCA & Filter - 33 passives, 2 IC's & 5 pots.
Controls are Filter resonance, Filter Cutoff, EG Attack, EG Decay, and VCO#2 frequency."

Doepfer Dark Energy + Moog Voyager + Moogerfooger

YouTube via atmosonic | February 08, 2011 |

"MF FreqBox (Osc Out to DE Audio In)
Doepfer Dark Energy (CV1 Out to MF FreqBox Freq In and Audio Out to Voyager Ext Audio In)
Moog Voyager

Still a crappy iPhone vid made worse by me accidentally palming the mic a few times, sorry. I'm too lazy to rerecord, haha"

Synth Spotting with Surachai's Plague Diagram

Some light synth spotting with TRASH_AUDIO's Surachai's Plague Diagram.

Twitvid via Drumcell: "My autographed copy of @Surachai plague diagram 170 gram clear vinyl just came in the mail. Time go cut myself. :)"

And a synth cat to top it all off (pun intended):

Surachai: Plague Diagram is Nina-approved

YouTube via grainbelt01 | January 24, 2011 |

"Out now: http://plaguediagram.com/"

Remember synth spotting goes up on M and music goes up on C.

Sweat Shop Boys - Decay

"The Sweat Shop Boys have just released an album made up entirely of analog synth drones (player with links below).

We use matching Space Cases stuffed with EruroRack and Frac modules by Doepfer, Plan B, Livewire, Harvestman, Makenoise Analog Systems, Analogue Solutions, Synthwerks, Bubblesound, MFB, Cwejman, and Blacet. Also prominently featured are plug-ins by ++Audio (http://plusplusaudio.com)."


http://khalija.bandcamp.com/album/decay

The iPad Turned 1 on January 27

I just realized I missed the anniversary of the iPad. It was announced by Steve Jobs on January 27, 2010. For a fun look back, take a look at this post started on January 26, 2010. Be sure to check out the polls and the comments. Happy belated birthday iPad!

BTW, a new model iPad should be just around the corner. If you are considering one, you might want to hold off. Prices on the second hand market should go down.