MATRIXSYNTH


Monday, August 15, 2011

Yamaha EZ-EG MIDI Guitar Keytar Ztar

via this auction

"Marketed as "Learning Guitars", the Yamaha EZ-EG and EZ-AG are secretly a powerful instrument for controlling softsynths!
Besides their normal MIDI messages, these guitars also send out SysEx for each fret pressed and released. This allows us to create our own performance modes not originally found in the EZ-EG instruments.For those of you interested in pursuing alternate midi controllers...

Last year Yamaha released their "EZ" series of "learning guitars" -- guitar shaped devices with a fretboard full of backlit keys (to aid in learning chords) instead of strings. While these are marketed as learning guitars, their midi controller capabilies have been generally overlooked (even by Yamaha's own marketing dept). To the best of my ability, I will try to clear that up here.

First off, the good news. This thing sends out a reliable and relatively expressive stream of midi data! Your host sequencer will recieve exactly what you played, with accurate velocity, no extraneous pitch-bends and no tracking delay. Hallelujah!

There are 72 very light action "keys", laid out in a fretboard pattern (12 frets x 6 rows). They depress very easily and light when pressed (handy for cleaning up your playing technique). All keys send midi note-ons ( 28-88 ) and are triggered by both fretting the notes and strumming the triggers (a set of bars on the body, laid out in six-string pattern).

Hidden gem #1: fretting notes (no strum) sends out a very low velocity (vel=14) note-on. This sounds remarkably realistic using the onboard guitar patches, but is worth far more when used with synths or VSTi's. By varying your synths' velocity sensitivity you can add some expressive elements to your performances. Best of all, by lowering or eliminating velocity sensitivity you can play synths simply by fretting notes (no strum necessary). This greatly reduces stray notes, and is a feature found on Starr Labs midi controllers.

MOOG PORDIGY VINTAGE SYNTH

via this auction

SN 2959

Astronauta Pinguim

New videos added to this post.

Yamaha DD-50::_ Glitchy.Drums


YouTube Uploaded by ONhardwarehacking on Aug 15, 2011

"Yamaha DD-50::_ Glitchy.Drums

features_

Hardly Modified Midi Electronic Drummer + 28 Matrix Patchbay + Embedded Echo & Delay + Indicator LED´s

_On!

Rare Vintage Yamaha DD-50. Electronic Drummer with MIDI I/O, 4 Large and 3 Small Touch Sensitive Drum Pads. Sincronize glitchs & many inusual effects with external midi clock (hardware&software). Extremely glitchy!

Photo::
http://www.flickr.com/photos/onelectronics/sets/72157627312909735/"

Summer Chill - doctorvague ft. Peter D.B.


YouTube Uploaded by doctorvague on Aug 15, 2011

"This was a lot of fun! It was patched up very quickly and improvised in one take. My good friend Peter Dahl-Bredine is triggering samples in NI's Battery which I'm then filtering with a Megaohm Delta filter and a Rob Hordijk Dual Phaser. Everything: loops, samples, Korg Monopoly etc were all routed into and through the modular and mixed in real time to stereo track. Loops came from Stylus RMX and and were mixed at the modular with a custom MIDI controller I built (middle row far left with the 6 red buttons). Sync pulses were sent from MOTU's Volta and divided by a Moon Modular trigger sequencer. As usual, echo is from Modcan's fabulous stereo digital delay. Hope you all enjoy this. We want to do a lot more collaborating with real hand drums, guitar and... well, we have a lot of ideas.
© 2011 Phil Brown & Peter Dahl-Bredine."

x0xb0x


flickr By zthee

1977 ARP Proportional Pitch Control Ad


via Retro Synth Ads wehre you'll find the write-up.

Cat and Modular


via CatSynth

And a Moog Voyager Old School.

IanniX graphical open-source sequencer


A sneak preview… from IanniX on Vimeo.


"A sneak preview of the new version of IanniX…

IanniX is a graphical open-source sequencer, based on Iannis Xenakis works, for digital art. IanniX syncs via Open Sound Control (OSC) events and curves to your real-time environment.

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Un petit aperçu de la nouvelle version de IanniX…

IanniX est un séquenceur graphique open-source, inspiré des travaux de Iannis Xenakis, destiné à la création numérique. IanniX synchronise via Open Sound Control (OSC) des événements et courbes vers votre environnement temps-réel.

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iannix.org

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Project manager : Thierry Coduys (thierry@iannix.org)
Development : Guillaume Jacquemin (guillaume@iannix.org)
Web & identity : Matthieu Ranc (matthieu@iannix.org)"

x0xb0x Build

x0xb0x Build from Jon Nensén on Vimeo.


"A time-lapse video of me building my second x0xb0x. Got this kit from x0xsh0p.de (First one was #762 of the Ladyada run!).

I ended up flipping the cables for the +12V and +5.333V so I toasted the BA6110 - no good!"
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