Introducing the Nodular Desktop Synthesizer - Two Sided Analog Monophonic Semi-Modular Synthesizer

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via this auction

Update: the maker/brand name for this synth is ndlr.synths. I created a new channel label for them. We have a new synthesizer manufacturer in town.  See second "Update" at the bottom of this post for additional notes on the design.

via the auction:
"Up for sale: one monophonic analog synthesizer. I've been making analog synthesizers for about 15 years now, but this is the first I am offering up for sale to the 'general public'. I am hoping to make a business out of selling this particular model, and you could be my very first customer.

The pictures show the same unit that is up for sale. The cabinet is made from 3/4" natural cherry boards, except for the base, which is made of 3/4" MDF. Both instrument panels are made of 1/8" thick anodized aluminum. The panels have been mechanically engraved and the engravings filled with chemically hardened black enamel paint. The whole unit measures about 18" wide by 18" deep by 12" tall. It weighs about 40 pounds. This is a very well made unit, with sturdy instrument panels that'll last a lifetime.

This synthesizer has its own +15/+10/GND/-10/-15 volt power supply and will only run on 120VAC 60Hz. It consumes about 45 watts of power at full bore.

All the modules in this synthesizer have been designed to work together seamlessly, and all use the same standards: 1 volt per octave, 10 volt peak-to-peak signal voltages, and 5 volt peak-to-peak gate, trigger, and control voltages. All patches are made among the modules via banana jacks. And a few different ways of interfacing to external modules or instruments are offered via 1/4" phone jacks.

A description of the different modules follows:

(1) ring modulator

(1) white and pink noise and random voltage source

(1) sample/track & hold

(1) voltage comparator

(2) low frequency oscillators (LFOs):

(1) headphone amplifier

Both offer voltage controlled frequency, variable offset and symmetry, and sinusoidal, triangular, and pulse wave outputs. By adjusting the speed knob, the frequency can be changed from about 20Hz down to really, really, slow. This range can be extended through voltage control.

(3) voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs):

All three offer 1 volt per octave frequency control, voltage controlled pulse width modulation, ac-coupled linear frequency control, hard sync, and sine, triangle, sawtooth, and pulse wave outputs. They'll track to within .2% over at least 8 octaves with basically negligible temperature drift once the enclosure is warmed up. And they'll operate from below audio to above audio frequencies.

In addition, the first VCO offers a frequency range switch and fine tuning.

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DOEPFER A-189-1 VBM // Voltage Controlled Bit Modifier // + A-110 VCO

Published on Dec 16, 2014 LESINDES

"New module in town! Doepfer Voltage Controlled Bit Modifier is doing well with the VCO."

1972 Moog Minimoog D Synthesizer - RA Boards & Clear Wheels

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via this auction

"This auction is for one vintage minimoog model d synthesizer, it has clear wheels, old oscillator board/filter and the early graphics, older metal faceplate. It doesn't have a serial number printed on the back but the boards say right around 1300 number on both of them which makes sense..."

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Moog Sub 37 Sounds

Published on Dec 16, 2014 gstormelectro

"All audio and video content c.2014 G-Storm Electro

All original patches. Mostly bass, arpeggio and some sound FX stuff. The only sound is the Sub37 and sometimes the Volca Beats (off camera) mixed on an Alesis Multimix8. No effects added to the synth recording."

Pics of The ARP Centaur VI Polyphonic Guitar Synthesizer System

This is a follow-up to this post from earlier today. See that post for another possible one-off ARP guitar synth (not the Avatar).

Vincent found the following two pics of the ARP Centaur VI.

Left via the VSE forums: "I think there was 2 ARP Centaur VI built. It would have cost about $20K had it hit the markets, but it was hopelessly unreliable. This is the only photo I know of: a former employee of there custom engineering dept. Has anyone seen a better picture?"

Below via gearslutz:

"Just scanned this pic out of an old guitar book my brother had - the prototype ARP Centaur VI polyphonic guitar system. Two prototypes were built but the second one is unaccounted for.

The Centaur never went to production for two reasons. One, the technology of the mid 70s wasn't advanced enough to realize a reliable pitch-to-voltage converter and they couldn't get consistent tracking from a guitar. Two, they used a brute force approach for a polyphonic system - they crammed 115 circuit boards into the thing. Very expensive approach and it ultimately proved to be unreliable - Al Pearlman did a failure analysis and concluded that the mean time between failures was two hours. It was impossible to keep it running.

The project was dropped in favor of a simpler monophonic guitar synth - the Avatar was simply an Odyssey with the keyboard system replaced by a monophonic pitch-to-voltage converter. But they still couldn't perfect the converter, the tracking from a guitar was extremely glitchy, and you had to use a extremely clean picking technique. Between the Centaur and the pitch-to-voltage converter problems, ARP sank a HUGE amount of R&D revenue into these systems.

The not-ready-for-prime-time Avatar was rushed into production. Guitar players balked at the $3000 price tag and unreliable tracking. Avatars sold poorly, dealers blew out unsold units at bargain prices, and Avatars were discontinued after one year of production. ARP never recovered the R&D investment, they dug a very deep hole in which they only recovered $1m sales revenue from a $7m R&D investment."

Two additional pics sent my way via Jimmersound. These come from Mark Vail's Vintage Synthesizers, page 53.

First Look at the Jano-Xk Keyboard Synthesizer & Jano-X Eurorack Module

Published on Dec 16, 2014 Jan Ostman

"Not the best quality but you can at least hear the SuperSAW waveform with Glide and ARP. Only the SAW waves turned up in the mixer, no SQR/SUB. And just the DCO, no filter added."

To the left is SN 0001 of the Jano-X Eurorack Module. Below and in the video above is the Jano-Xk Keyboard Synthesizer. These are based on the Roland Juno-106 DCO featured in the Jupiter-X & Ju-X synths by DSP Synthesizers previously posted here.

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Introducing the SoundForce SFC-101

Published on Dec 16, 2014 SoundForce

"A custom MIDI controller for the excellent TAL-BassLine-101, a software synthetizer modelling the legendary Roland SH-101.

More about SoundForce : http://sound-force.nl/controllers/
More about TAL : http://kunz.corrupt.ch/"

Korg Z1 Polyphonic Synthesizer SN 006275 with Original Box ZSC-01 Preset Card + Memory Card

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via this auction

"Unique opportunity to own a Korg Z1 in perfect working order and in amazing cosmetic condition along with
- Korg ZSC-01 much sought after sound collection preset card [According to this post most of the presets are available for free at Z1 Yahoo Group.]
- Kingston memory card (9 banks)
- all manuals and leaflets
- original box + shipping box"

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JEN SX1000 Mono Synth SN 04975 with Patch Sheet Overlays

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via this auction

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Antique Style Steampunk Synth Case with Keys & Knobs

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via this auction

"Synthesiser case made from MDF and a whole lot of body filler, speakers work and all knob are connected to pots but no other electronics are inside. Made as a prop, hopefully can find a new home/use."

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