Muse synthesizer by Triadex Inc., 1972 SN 02164

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via this auction

"The Muse (synthesizer ONLY) by Triadex Inc., 1972
I am the original owner of this Muse model -1. My Dad worked with Ed Fredkin on the rollout of The Muse back in the early 70's. When he brought a set home I made sure it lived in my room - as one of 4 kids that wasn't easy. The other two components, the light show and the external amp are now in the collection of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View. If you haven't been there definitely go -it's an amazing place. The last picture is of the CHM music exhibit, the day we dropped off the other components.

**(this auctions does NOT include the light show and ext amp)

I've had the Muse all these years and now feel it's time to share it with another music/tech lover. Included in the sale is the original box, packing styrofoam and 20 page booklet, 'How to make Muse music.' The Muse is in perfect working order. The only defect is the Step Key sits off-centered, but it functions correctly."

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YAMAHA DX5 FM SYNTHESIZER SN 2554

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"The Yamaha DX5 was a derivative of the DX1, introduced in 1985 with a list price of US$3,495. It has the same synth engine, but lacked the DX1's fully weighted keys, polyphonic aftertouch, aesthetics (rosewood case and wooden keyboard) and user interface features (parameter displays). It included 76 keys with channel aftertouch and slightly improved MIDI features.

Programming instruments on the DX1 is a little easier than on a DX5 because of extensive parameter displays, but both have an advantage against a DX7, because they have dedicated buttons for some programming tasks and bigger display, so programming is not so tedious as on a DX7."

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Futuresonus Parva

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via this auction

"Features 8 voices with 3 DCO's per voice.
It also has 8 stereo outputs - one per voice!
Very powerful, big, lush sounding synth.

There are currently no new models being sold, so the only way to get one is second hand!"

Per Futuresonus: "Parva orders are temporarily suspended while we focus on new development"

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Korg VC-10 Vocoder

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via this auction

"Very beautiful vocoder with an extremely unique sound. You've really never heard anything quite like this -- unless, of course, you've listened to Pink Floyd's Animals [apparently so], or any other number of acclaimed records on which it was utilized as a secret sauce of pure vibes.

This guy plays great but has certainly seen somewhat better days. Everything works just fine, except one key (lowest) -- which I imagine could be easily repaired, though I just never bothered. The pots are a bit scratchy but other than that it's just the same eerie vibe-machine monster that a VC-10 ought to be."

via Wikipedia: "(used in Animals) 'Floyd first used a Vocoder in Animals (recording during 1976) for Roger’s lead vocals in 'Pigs' and for the bastardised psalm on 'Sheep', as well as for the treated barking sounds and other effects in “Dogs”. Rick’s keyboards were also fed through the Vocoder, notably during the middle section of “Dogs”. Although it is not documented which particular model was used in Britannia Row studios for the recording of Animals, it is reported that they used the 'now-classic Korg VC-10 model'"

Anyone know for sure?

It does appear to shoot lasers out of its keys. Be careful!

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Spektro Audio ACDGEN – Hardware Edition MIDI Pattern Generator

Published on Feb 27, 2019 Spektro Audio

"ACDGEN – Hardware Edition is a limited edition hardware version of our ACDGEN Max for Live device. ACDGEN is a MIDI Pattern generator which lets you use different algorithms to create 16th-note, acid-style, basslines and melodies with a push of a button and manipulate them live using the different parameters available. You can use ACDGEN to create anything from acid house basslines to lush synth arpeggios.

Besides including the same parameters available on the software version (Key, Scale, Density, Length, etc), the hardware version also includes additional features such as random MIDI velocity, Keyboard Shift, MIDI CC sequencing, Shift modes, Swing modes and more.

The hardware edition is designed and handcrafted in Brazil by Spektro Audio and Vinicius Brazil, the creator of the Vinicius Electrik Eurorack modules."

Vector Hardware Synthesizer Update - Demos & Some Features

You might remember the upcoming Vector hardware synthesizer from this initial post. Click through for pics and a video. Above are new demos for the synth. Some new details on features follow:

"It’s been a long wait but now we have completed the beta testing of our fourth prototype iteration and we have finally started our first small commercial batch production. Hooray!

While we’re preparing a complete set of information material, there’s a few things we’re confident to share now that Vector features:

Polyphonic additive/subtractive hybrid synthesis engine
Complex warp modulator based on Lissajous curves that defines the composition of the partials and the parameters of the per-voice filters
An extensive arpeggiator with lots of controlled randomization
A tightly integrated set of effects with high synergy
A 7” touchscreen to control and perform the vector motion, among other things
A vast amount of endless rotary encoders

There’s of course a lot more details to share, but then we’d have nothing to write about in our following newsletters :)

Last but not least, we compiled a small set of demo tracks to showcase some of the sounds Vector can do. These are of course not exhaustive, but give a decent insight into what sort of sonic palette one can expect from Vector."

Clavioline repair maybe one of the earliest valve vacuum tube synthesizers

Published on Feb 28, 2019 markusfuller

"Here is a simple repair on the Clavioline. this is one of the earliest ever synthesizers available from 1947. this was a simple fix though theres a lot more work that needs doing to it to bring it back to good health again."

Ritchie DeCarlo Live Buchla Performance on powWow 2-24-19

Published on Feb 28, 2019 Ritchie DeCarlo

Geodesics Modules Series part 5 - Entropia

Published on Feb 28, 2019 Omri Cohen

"Oh boy, a new module in the Geodesics collection, what a treat! Entropia, Thermodynamic Microstate Sequencer, is an amazing tool for adding this special seasoning to a sequence. It's built out of two 8-step sequences, that together create one unique sequence with the possibility to combine control voltage with audio, and even add to your favorite sequencer some random surprises.

In this video, I go through all the different features of Entropia, starting with a quick overview of the module, and building a patch, from scratch, utilizing all of its unique features."

"bird swarms" modular synth ambient live sequencing

Published on Feb 28, 2019 studentsmusic

"live synthesizer improvisation inspired by large bird swarms coming back for spring. Novation Peak, Mutable elements, Plaits, Makenoise Morphagene, Arturia Keystep, Beatstep Pro"