MATRIXSYNTH

Tuesday, April 03, 2012

Circuit Bent Yamaha RX-15 Tutorial

YouTube Uploaded by anode8 on Apr 3, 2012

"In this video I show you how to circuit bend your Yamaha RX-15 drum machine. You can visit my blog for more details of this mod at :

http://anode8.blogspot.com/

To open up the Yamaha RX-15, first remove the five screws holding on the plastic rear panel. Next, turn the machine face down, and remove the eight screws along the top and bottom. To have clear access to the circuit board, you should disconnect the white wire harness located by the output jacks.

We'll start with IC 10 on the circuit, which is a large chip with alternating small and large pins which reads YM 2154 on top. This is the CPU of the drum machine, and handles most of the functions. In the picture below, I have marked 4 pins with a sharpie. If you connect pin 59(with the solitary mark) to either of the other pins I have marked, you will get a harsh sounding distorted synth effect to varying degrees depending on the pin choice. It is imperative that you DO NOT experiment with the pins on the other side of this chip or you will do PERMANENT DAMAGE to this machine. Trust me; I've learned the hard way.

Next, we'll move on to IC 15, the YM2190 chip. I believe these are the ROM chips which contain the sounds for this model and the RX-21 models. By connecting pin 7 to pin 12, a decent distortion is created. Other connections on this chip result in muting of sounds, and clicking variations. There are not any negative consequences to experimenting here, but not much else to be found either.

Next, we'll move on to IC11, the YM 3012 chip. This is the D/A converter for this machine. By connecting pin 4 to pin 11, some digital signal is fed into the analog output, resulting in noisy distortion. This connection works best when filtered by a capacitor. Experiment with values, I chose a 1.5 picofarad (102) metal film capacitor to suit my tastes.

Finally, we will work on IC 16, labeled YM4556D. This chip is one of the output opamps. Connect pin 3 to pin 7 for an overdrive type of distortion. I used a 10K potentiometer for variable results.

After these mods are completed to your satisfaction, you may drill the housing for the RX-15 near the top for the switches and potentiometer. Solder all of your connections, test, and reassemble the machine. You have now made a crappy drum machine slightly less crappy, or more if you see it that way."

Monday, April 02, 2012

FreqBeat - with the Moog FreqBox, MIDI MuRF, Ring Mod, Voyager, Slim Phatty & Korg iElectribe

YouTube Uploaded by experimentalsynth on Apr 2, 2012

"An exploration of Moogerfooger analog beat processing and some interesting Control Voltage tricks that sync filter modulations with the beat.

More at www.experimentalsynth.com"

KORG iELECTRIBE - KORG INC.

Stylophone Trio

YouTube Uploaded by peahix on Mar 28, 2012

"Hear a fancy recording of this piece here: http://soundcloud.com/peahix/stylophone-trio [embed below]

This is a live performance of a trio I wrote for stylophones. The stylophonists are myself, Scott Paulson and Christian Hertzog. This was performed at the UCLA library as part of an all-stylophone concert organized by Scott Paulson. There are a few mistakes here and there, and the mix isn't great, but you get the idea!"

"I was commissioned to write a piece for Stylophone by Scott Paulson of UCSD to be performed as part of the Stylophone Festival he put on at the library there. I decided to write a Stylophone trio, and exploit all the various features of the instrument. The performance wasn't perfect (see video link), but I put together this recording that gets the piece across pretty clearly. The only thing I had to cheat on was the palm mutes, because I wanted to record direct instead of sticking a mic on the speaker. So I used a low pass filter in Cubase instead."

Yamaha TX81Z FM Synth Sounds Demo 1

YouTube Uploaded by gstormelectro on Apr 2, 2012

"http://gstormelectronica.blogspot.com

Behold. This is the TX81Z FM rack mount synthesizer. Truly an undervalued piece of gear, and a powerful secret weapon for the most adventuresome tweakers. I've been going full-on honey badger w/ FM synthesis programming my own sounds into this little gem. And I absolutely love it!

Some patches are going through a Lexicon MPX550 (offscreen) set on "Gothic Hall" reverb preset. And some are just bone dry.

List of patches:
0:17 DrtySecret. Very unique FM pitch interval sound.
0:44 Rhodes. Delicate electric piano tones.
1:01 81Z State. Old school acid house bass. 808 State.
1:27 Wowocaster. Notes played fast legato (upper) it sounds like a fake strat. Held notes (bass) swell and growl. Wow, man.
1:47 Filthy FM. Raunchy, dirty, crunchy lead sound.
2:03 Harder FM. Old school hardcore rave sound.
2:27 DrkMachine. Brooding Sci-fi horrorshow sound.
2:49 AttackBass. Conventional bass w/ quick attack transient.
3:14 WhurlyEP. Electric Piano. Queen, and Supertramp.
3:44 AuroraBlue. Gorgeous atmospheric pad.
4:10 PaddedEdge. Digital, Edge-y pad."

Noize Beatz RADARHEAD vs iKAOSSILATOR Jam

YouTube Uploaded by VJFranzK on Apr 2, 2012

"A different way to think of beats - a circle of icons. Here, we sync iKaossilator by KORG using "tap tempo" to make a glitchy hybrid, which sounds a kinda like Electro House or Hip Hop."

RADARHEAD 19 - Franz Keller Designs
KORG iKaossilator - KORG INC.
iPads on eBay
iPod Touch on eBay

iPad, BS-16i, Genome MIDI Sequencer, Microkorg and iRig MIDI

YouTube Uploaded by mvpadrini on Apr 2, 2012

"A little video to show how you can use the new version of the BS-16i (iOS app) controlled by another app (in this case Genome MIDI Sequencer). With the iRig MIDI I was able to play the BS-16i instruments using the Microkorg.

More about Music Apps: http://musicapps.com.br"

bs-16i - bismark
Genome MIDI Sequencer - White Noise Audio Software
iPads on eBay

Yamaha CS-80

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via this auction

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TB MIDI Stuff iPad Editor for the Yamaha FS1R

TBStuff ported several pages of my Touch OSC editor for the Yamaha FS1R. That editor was mapped for The Missing Link. This TB MIDI Stuff port works with CoreMIDI over USB so you do not need The Missing Link for it to work, although it will work with it over wifi as well.

A cool thing about this editor is that communication via USB is two-way, meaning if you change a parameter on the FS1R, it will also show up on the editor. Also, this editor shows you the value as you edit so you can dial in edits more precisely. Currently there are templates for the following pages: fseq, Cmn, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and EQ. More may follow as TB MIDI Stuff has time, but I thought any of you with an FS1R wouldn't mind giving these templates a try. You can find them here.

TB MIDI Stuff on iTunes:

iPads on eBay

Update: you can find other user templates on the TBStuff forums here. And, of course, if you create any yourself, feel free to join and share.

SONICA SN 595 of 650

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

via this auction
"Only 650 of these strange instruments were made since their they began manufacturing them in 1979. Shaped like small lute with a guitar like neck and speaker inside that was the voice. They player could sound notes by touching the frets on the neck that produce at between sitar and violin. Comes with case and original user manual/warranty certificate.

After Mattel had used the concept for the "Magical Music Thing," Frank Evantoff developed a more precise keyboard and incorporated it into this new instrument, which he called The Sonica. In 1979, the first Sonicas were produced, a collaboration with Larry Heller. There were 650 eventually built, but very few are seen nowadays. Serge Tcherepnin of Serge synthesizers (analog modular) did the oscillator design, and the oscillator inside the Sonica is indeed a Serge oscillator! ( LOOK FOR SERGE TCHEREPNIN'S NAME ON THE HAND PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD!!! ) The bodies have an interesting gourd/phallic shape, and were carved wood. The neck is incredibly comfortable, and easily fits into the hand, facilitating the sliding action used for playing the Sonica.

The sound of the Sonica can best be described as somewhere between a sitar and violin. When run through a simple delay, an amazing array of soundscapes are derived. The front panel features a Key/Pitch Knob, and an On/Off Volume Knob. It boasts 15 keys with additional half step notes. It also features three buttons. Analog “Slider” which is a tremolo type effect, Analog “Tone” which is actually a tonal boost, and “Half-Step” which raises the note an octave. It features a built-in speaker, with an 1/8 inch output to connect to an amplifier or recording device. It runs on one 9-volt battery which is installed by accessing a plate on the backside of the device. The Sonica really shines when sent through a tube amplifier, producing a crystalline sound unlike anything I’ve heard before."