MATRIXSYNTH

Make Noise Records Shared System MNR001 Richard Divine

Richard Devine wrote in to let us know his new EP Shared System Series MNR001 on Make Noise Records was officially released today. It is the first EP composed on the Make Noise "Shared System" Eurorack modular pictured below. Additional releases featuring the system will be coming from Alessandro Cortini, Robert A. A. Lowe, Keith Fullerton Whitman and Surachai.

Some info via Richard:

"I am happy to announced my new EP on MakeNoise is officially released today, 'Creature I & II –7' Clear Vinyl, Limited to 500, Letterpress Cover. Includes downloads to alternate takes & stickers."

And via TRASH_AUDIO on the concept of the Shared System releases: "The Shared System Series compiles the separate recordings of several artists utilizing the same electronic musical instrument, the Shared System. At times it feels as though electronic music has become an overly automated form driven by simplified genre specific apps and software. What happens when the signal path is not pre-defined or optimized for a popular result? The Shared System is a modular synthesizer developed by Make Noise. It has no pre-determined signal path, and is not designed for any particular musical destination. In limiting the artists to this one instrument, we hope the Shared System Series of records will purely illustrate the intentions of the artists.

Mastered for vinyl by Audible Oddities, etched into high quality master lacquers made by SAE Mastering, and shipped to URP for pressing. The result is a high fidelity 7″ record. Like the Shared System instrument, the sleeves for these records are a combination of digital and analog technology. They are designed using computer software and printed using a hand-cranked letterpress called the Vandercook 4."

EMW - Playing with the VCF-M101 self oscillation

Published on Dec 12, 2012

"A simple demonstration of our new 24db/oct self oscillating VCF. No external effects or any other resource was used."

http://www.electronicmusicworks.com/

1st Mattson SQ816 Sequencer & Division 6 Eurorack Panel Layout

via George C Mattson | Mattson Mini Modular on Facebook

"The first SQ816 sequencer and expansion module has left the building on it's way across the US to a customer who has promised to give it a good workout and report back. It's like sending your kid off to his first day of school....."

http://mattsonminimodular.com (SQ816 here)
http://www.division-6.com

Uphase+ Updated with Recording, AudioCopy & More

What's New in Version 1.1.0
Solo Mode Improvements :
-Record a stereo mix and AudioCopy ( choose from Sonoma or general pasteboard)
-4 displays (3 before)
-Pan slider for each display
-Minor improvements and bug fixes(listed on uPhase.wordpress.com)

iTunes:
uPhase+ - Gregorio Zanon

iOS Devices on eBay - Don't miss the Daily Tech Deals

Strange Modes - A Wiard Compilation

"Strange Modes is a Wiard Synthesizer centric release. All sounds were created electronically with Wiard System 300 / 1200 or Malekko/Wiard Modules. All donated funds will go to supporting Muffwiggler.com

credits
released 04 December 2012
VoltageCtrlR, Rico Loverde, Mark Griffiths, Roycie Roller, Ryan McRyhew, Michael Ford, Kuxann-Sum, Dave/Gas Anorex, sandyb, Numan7, Bactene, Zerosum Inertia, Olivier Gerber, Norman Fay, Elektrograd, Levitating, Otoskope, Robert Efroymson, Diffuse."

via ryan

Synth Talk with Richard Burgess of Landscape

LANDSCAPE: 'European Man'

Uploaded on Jan 19, 2008
Landscape's 'European Man', featuring Barbie Wilde.

Pea Hicks who runs Optigan.com and the MC-8 blog, has a great post up on Richard Burgess and the use of the Roland MC-8 Micro-Composer. The following are a couple of excerpts and videos for reference. Along with synth talk there are some interesting historical bits on the time including the origin of the New Romantic label and scene. Richard Burgess worked with Rusty Egan who in turn was in Visage, a band consisting of him Billy Currie and Midge Ure of Ultravox, John McGeoch of Magazine, Siouxsie & PIL (Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols), and others. Lot's of cross collaboration at the time. If interested you can start with Visage on wikipedia and click through the names. The post-punk New Romantic followed by New Wave movement brought synthesis to many. In Pea Hicks' interview you'll find a great audio snip with some geeky synth talk on setting values for the MC-8 - this is in an actual track.

"Pea: I’m sure to you it probably seems like a head-scratcher why anyone in this day and age would voluntarily subject himself to the hassles of dealing with ancient sync dilemmas, but for me that’s part of the fun and also it’s a way of working that inevitably produces some idiosyncratic results that you wouldn’t get by doing things the “easy way.” I’m definitely after that metronomic Human League type groove.

Richard: I think the machine definitely influences the result so I don’t see it as odd to want to use the MC8. I have thought about it myself.The same thing applies to analogue sequencers. Like I said, we synched the MC8 to the CR78 by programming a square wave to come out of the mulitplex outputs and then we adjusted the level through a console until it ran the CR78. Most of those old drum machines run on simple square waves with no flags. Getting them to run in the same time is less of a problem than getting them to start at the right time. I used the MC8 in preference to later machines because of the timing. I found early Cubase to be shaky (it’s fine now) and SMPTE Track from Hybrid Arts was very sensitive to processor load. I always liked the timing of the Linn 9000 and I still have mine. I don’t know about the DMX but the 808 should lock tight – it’s only one machine later than the CR78 if I recall correctly."

And on Shock's Angel Face:

"Richard: Oh yes, that was all me. Rusty Egan brought the group and the song and I programmed everything in my home studio and recorded it at Mayfair Studios in South Moulton St. with John Hudson engineering. It was the System 100Ms with the 10x gate modification on the bass line for sure. I did all their recordings and I wrote the rest of the songs with various members and Rusty."

Shock - ANGEL FACE - Shock

Anyware Instruments SIMPLESIZER Gallery

via Tommy Welsch of Anyware Instruments on Facebook (click through for more pics)

"The SIMPLESIZER. In memory of my old old DIY synth project. The start of some people into the modular world. The name was invented from my daddy (because he don´t know about synth´s)"

One went up for auction here in 2011 and one was featured in a video here.

I Love The 1970s - Documentary on The Stylophone

I Love The 1970s - The Stylophone (BBC2?, 2000)

Uploaded on Aug 6, 2010 by GuildfordGhost

"Not sure what channel this was on, so feel free to correct me. Smashing old Stylophone footage for you techno-geeks!"

Don't miss the recently announced Stylophone S2

And some tracks featuring the original:

David Bowie- Space Oddity Original Video (1969)

Kraftwerk - Pocket Calculator

The White Stripes - 'Icky Thump'

Update: correct videos embedded. Apparently if you embed individual videos from a playlist the embed for the first video shows regardless, so Bowie was embedded three times. Thanks goes to daden in the comments for catching it. Typically when I publish a post, I'm already moving on to the next, so if you see mistakes, let me know! :)

Doepfer Announces A-171-2 Voltage Controlled Slew Limiter II

"Module A-171-2 is a voltage controlled slew limiter with a lot of additional features beyond a simple slew limiter. It's mostly a licensed copy of Ken Stones VCS which is in turn based on the Serge VCS.

These are the most important features:

Manual control of the Slew-Up time
CV control of the Slew-Up time with polarizer
Switch for linear/exponential shape of the rising section of the response curve
Manual control of the Slew-Down time
CV control of the Slew-Down time with polarizer
Switch for linear/exponential shape of the falling section of the response curve
CV Up and CV Down sockets are normalled
Signal input (the "to-be-slewed" signal)
Trigger input
V/Oct input
End output
Cyle on/off (when "on" the End output is internally connected to the Trigger Input)
Output
LED display

A detailed description of the module will follow soon. Until then the explanation on Ken Stone's website Ken Stones VCS can be used as a preliminary information. "