Sebastian - The MIDI crab

video upload by Love Hultén

"Solenoid based MIDI crab combined with a customized Volca FM2 synth"

Waldorf Introduces Iridium Core - Smaller Quantum / Iridium Based Desktop Synthesizer

video upload by WaldorfMusicChannel

"Iridium Core" introduced by Panic Girl

video upload by WaldorfMusicChannel

JakoJako about integrating the new "Iridium Core" into her modular setup

video upload by WaldorfMusicChannel

Iridium Core - Sound Demo

video upload by WaldorfMusicChannel







The Core

Iridium Core provides the core synthesis engine of the Quantum / Iridium platform. It is the heart of Waldorf's most advanced hardware-based synthesis. The essence of forward-looking sound. The Core.

Sonic Explorer

Iridium Core contains 5 synthesis engines: Wavetable, Multi- & Granular-Sampling, Waveform, Kernel FM and Resonator. Combined with a broad selection of digital filter and processing options Iridium Core lets you explore a huge sonic universe of electronic sound. Iridium Core's intuitive and easy graphical interface helps you to keep your flow of creativity.

Wave Traveller

The compact form factor makes Iridium Core an ideal companion to travel with you to all your sonic explorations and performances. It fits well into laptop size bags and in carry on-baggage it leaves enough space to all your other devices you need for your performances.

Driven by Inspiration

Iridium Core comes with a huge collection of more than 1700 factory presets and samples to drive your sonic Wanderlust. Get inspired what the broad and diverse array of sound designers have created to fuel your musical endeavours.

Team Player

Iridium Core integrates into various live performance and studio setups. Its connects with your modular synths, drum machines, sequencers and computers. The compact form factor fits well into your tabletop or space limited setups.

Family Member

Iridium Core shares the same software platform like Quantum, Iridium Desktop & Iridium Keyboard. All instruments are powered by the Waldorf synthesiser OS and will receive joint updates. Thus, the whole family participates from future enhancements and developments.


Press Release follows:

Waldorf genuinely gets right to the heart of its Iridium synthesizer product line by introducing Iridium Core as small form factor variant

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Yamaha Introduces New Montage M - Next Gen Flagship Synthesizer - Overview & Sound Demos

video upload by Yamaha Synths Official

Curious if Yamaha will ever re-introduce their Formant & fseqs synth engine found on the FS1R. The FS1R was crippled by the UI.

Yamaha | Montage M Sound Demo
video upload by Yamaha Synths Official

"Enjoy this sound demo video showcasing sounds available in the new Yamaha MONTAGE M Series Synthesizers.

0:00 - 0:36 : AN-X Syn Orch Pat - AN-X Poly Synth with Polyphonic Aftertouch
0:37 - 1:00 : Hamburg Grand - AWM 2 Concert Grand Piano
1:01 - 1:19 : Sweet Synths - AN-X Poly Synth
1:20 - 1:48 : RD 67 Smooth - AWM2 1967 Tines E. Piano
1:49 - 2:10 : Classic Mini Sawlead - AN-X Mono Lead
2:11 - 2:35 C7 + Analog String Ensemb - AWM2 Yamaha C7 Grand Piano + AN-X String Ensemble
2:36 - 2:55 : Poly Dreams - AN-X Poly Synth
2:56 - 3:10 : SFZ Tremolo BPM Sync - AWM2 Tremolo Strings
3:11 - 3:49 : Distant Memories - AN-X Poly Synth
3:50 - 4:11 : Drawbar Organ - AWM2 Organ with YC Series VCM Rotary Speaker effect
4:12 - 4:29 : FM Piano + Soft Pad - FM-X E.Piano + Soft Pad
4:30 - 4:45 : Synthpop Forever - AN-X Poly Synth
4:46 - 5:05 : U1 Upright - AWM2 Yamaha U1 Upright Piano
5:06 - 5:31 : Dum Drum Bass - FM-X + AWM2 Poly Synth

Yamaha presents our next-generation flagship Synthesizer: MONTAGE M. Featuring three engines that create a variety of sounds – ultra-realistic instruments, vintage analog synths, and cutting-edge FM synths. For keyboardists, synthesists, and pianists, MONTAGE M seamlessly bridges stage and studio, unlocking new possibilities for sound, control and workflow."

NEW AN-X ENGINE

A revolution in authentic analog sound, control and behavior, the AN-X engine recreates the warm, classic sound of an analog synthesizer with a host of sophisticated modulation options.

･Three Oscillators with 5 waveforms (Saw 1, Saw2, Triangle, Square and Sine) and Noise Generator

･Two filters with 10 filter types

･Pulse width modulation

･Oscillator Self Sync

･Ring modulation, FM, and wave shaper

･Amp EG with drive

･LFO for both amplitude and filter,

･Voltage drift and aging settings to simulate vintage synth behavior

Integrated into the Motion Control system, the AN-X Engine allows you to create expressive, unique analog sounds to your heart’s content.

Improved AWM2
Experience realism and detail with MONTAGE M’s improved AWM2. Offering an incredible 128 Elements per part, AWM2 allows for smoother transitions, giving you an expansive canvas for ultra-high-definition sound creation, especially for “nameable” sounds such as piano and strings.

400 NOTE TOTAL POLYPHONY
A significant upgrade from the original MONTAGE’s 256 notes, MONTAGE M offers up to 400 notes of polyphony across its three engines:

･128 notes for AWM2 Preset Waveform Parts

･128 notes for AWM2 User Waveform Parts

･128 notes for FM-X Parts

･16 notes for AN-X Parts

And more about sound
AND MORE
[PRESET WAVE AND FLASH MEMORY UPGRADE] MONTAGE M offers twice the memory over its predecessor with an increase from 5.67GB to 9.97GB of Preset Wave memory, and an increase from 1.75 to 3.8GB of User flash memory. Plus, you’ll find a host of new sounds and instruments, including pianos, orchestral instruments, drums, and more!

[FM-X] MONTAGE M rekindles the Yamaha legacy of expressive and dynamic FM Synthesis with its 8-operator FM-X engine, offering a wide variety of diverse tones: from crisp and bell-like, to edgy and aggressive, to mellow and evolving. This is an excellent complement to the AWM2 and AN-X engines.

[VCM ROTARY AND DRAWBAR BEHAVIOR] Using sophisticated modeling technology, the VCM Rotary Speaker effect simulates the rich and enveloping motion of a classic rotary speaker cabinet. Plus, the new organ drawbar fader setting simulates the vintage “pull out” drawbar organ behavior.

[16 LIBRARY LOCATIONS] With 16 Library slots at your disposal, you can house up to 10,240 additional Performances (that’s in addition to the over 2,700 performances in the presets), facilitating quick searches by Category, Name and Attributes.

[PURE ANALOG CIRCUIT 2] The upgraded Pure Analog Circuit included in MONTAGE M reduces noise and improves the dynamic range, crosstalk, low-frequency phase, and distortion rate, resulting in clearer sound at all volumes. You’ll also find the sound has more detailed low-mids and presence.

GEX ACTION WITH POLYPHONIC AFTERTOUCH (MONTAGE M8x ONLY)
Available exclusively on MONTAGE M8x, GEX Action elevates your performance and sound creation with Polyphonic Aftertouch – a revered synth control found in the legendary CS-80 and DX1. Polyphonic Aftertouch allows you to individual modulate held notes with pressure. GEX also provides key repetition behavior typically found in grand pianos.

NEW PERFORMANCE CONTROLS
MONTAGE M introduces new performance controls: a 5-segment ribbon controller with dedicated HOLD button, a new KEYBOARD HOLD button for sustaining chords while using knobs to edit, and a Portamento on/off button and dedicated Portamento time knob.

DEDICATED KEYBOARD, PART AND SCENE CONTROL
You’ll find dedicated Keyboard, Part and Scene Control buttons to control 16 Parts per Performance. This intuitive control, particularly beneficial for live performances, improves overall usability and adds dimension to each Performance.

AND MORE
[HIGH-RESOLUTION CONTROL] All the Performance Controls – from the Keyboard and Faders to the Super Knob and Sustain, as well as the Sound Engine, are now in High Resolution. Because of the fine resolution, you’ll find the MONTAGE M behaves in a smoother and more “analog” way.

[MOTION CONTROL SYNTHESIS ENGINE]This groundbreaking engine allows you to interact with sounds in a variety of ways, including Motion Sequences, which dynamically automate synth and effect parameters, and can even be synchronized to tempo; the Super Knob, which controls dozens of modulations in a single gesture; the Envelope Follower, which modulates sound from the A/D input or another Part; and many, many more ways!

[NEW AND IMPROVED LED LIGHTS AND COLORS] Enhanced LED lights and colors on MONTAGE M faders, Performance, Live Set and Category Search offer visible, instant feedback, vastly improving the user interface.

WORKFLOW
Expanded Creativity

EXPANDED SOFTSYNTH PLUGIN (E.S.P.) (COMING EARLY 2024)
A game-changer for musicians, the Expanded Softsynth Plugin (E.S.P.) replicates the MONTAGE M in your favorite Digital Workstation (DAW). Free for all registered MONTAGE M owners, E.S.P. allows you to create, edit and mix MONTAGE M Performances anywhere you happen to be – without the hardware – offering an unprecedented level of stage and studio integration. We are planning on releasing E.S.P. in Early 2024. The first version will have all the MONTAGE M sound while being limited to basic editing. The full version will be available in Summer 2024.

FASTER, MORE INTUITIVE NAVIGATION
Upgraded navigation enables quick, intuitive sound editing and operation. You’ll find features like a new 512 x 64 LCD screen, 6 touchscreen display knobs, and a PAGE JUMP button that moves what’s in the LCD screen over to the larger 7” TFT Color touchscreen for deeper editing. And the dedicated Navigation button shows an overview of a Performance. Just touch a graphical object in the screen to jump to that parameter for deeper editing. The dedicated Navigation button allows you go directly from the “surface” of a sound to the deepest part.

USB MIDI AND MULTICHANNEL AUDIO INTERFACE
Simplifying your studio setup, MONTAGE M offers a USB MIDI and multichannel 32 output/6 input audio interface. Streamline MIDI recording, virtual instrument monitoring, and multi-track audio recording through a single USB cable, so you can spend more time being creative.

AND MORE
[FASTER UI] MONTAGE M’s UI is significantly speedier than the previous generation. Plus, the overall look is cleaner and easier to see.

[CATEGORY SEARCH] Search for Performances by Category (Piano, Keyboard, etc.), Sub Category (Acoustic, Vintage, etc.),Name, and Attributes (AWM2, FM-X, AN-X, etc.).

[TWO USB-TO-DEVICE PORTS] Allows simultaneous connection of a flash drive (or drives!) and USB MIDI controllers.

[DEDICATED DAW REMOTE BUTTON] Use your MONTAGE M as a hardware controller for DAWs such as Cubase, Logic, ProTools and Live. Control the mixer, transport, softsynth plugins and more.

[NEW SHIFT BUTTONS] Two new Shift buttons make it effortless to access secondary functions, increasing overall functionality.

[COLOR-CODED BUTTONS and SLIDER LAMPS] Backlit LIVE SET and CATEGORY buttons are colored differently and clearly show mode function. New slider lamps show red LED value increments, while active Parts are illuminated in blue.

Click the pics to zoom in.

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September sketch

video upload by ALEQ Modular

"The third sketch.

The objective of this video, in addition to the image and music, was to test the Ritournelle modulesThe objective of this video, in addition to the image and music, was to test the Ritournelle CV and TRIG modules from Larix Elektro.

@http://www.larix-elektro.com/"

RYK Modular Night Rider extended sound demo

video upload by Molten Music Technology

"No talking, just full-length experiments with the Night Rider."

Kaivo: Key Overview

video upload by Madrona Labs

"Overview of Kaivo's Key Section

Kaivo is a software instrument combining two powerful synthesis techniques (physical modeling and granular synthesis) in an easy-to-use semi-modular package. It’s laid out a bit like an acoustic instrument; the GRANULATOR module acts like the player’s touch, exciting one or more tuned objects (here, the RESONATOR module, based on physical models of resonant objects) that come together in a central resonating body (the BODY module, also physics-based).

https://madronalabs.com/
Linnstrument/Aalto Video: [posted here]

Scala: https://huygens-fokker.org/scala/

00:00 Intro
00:26 Scale/Mode Menu
01:00 Voice Control
01:33 Bend
02:22 Glide
03:04 Unison Button
04:14 mod cc#
05:42 Output Overview
09:09 MPE Settings
10:04 Outro"

Why to love the GateSeq64

video upload by Omri Cohen

"I'm sure you noticed that I use the GateSeq 64 quite often, and that's because of 2 main reasons. It's easy to create interest with its probability feature, and add variation with its song mode. These are 2 things I do all the time, and I hope this video will inspire you to try them as well.

Here you can find the Impromptu collection - https://library.vcvrack.com/Impromptu...

00:00 - introduction
00:26 - Probability per step
06:32 - Song mode"

"Consider joining our community on Patreon and Discord - https://www.patreon.com/omricohen
Want to learn Modular Synthesis? have a look here - https://bit.ly/learnmodular
Interested in more patching techniques and ideas? Have a look here - https://bit.ly/3o1Q3Sg"

Arturia MATRIXBRUTE - 64 Dark Ambient - Sequence based - Patches

video upload by Alba Ecstasy

"64 patches for Arturia MatrixBrute 👉https://www.albaecstasy.ro/arturia-ma...
Dark ambient sequences."

Behringer on Moog Layoffs

This one was shared by Behringer on Facebook. Note Moog is not out of business, see Moog's statement here, so the image shared by Behringer on the left is a bit misleading. [Update: the image is actually from the video below that Behringer refers to. Behringer did not create the image. Thx to @uniquewerkx for the heads up.] That said here's what they had to say.

"Usually we just ignore such inflammatory videos. However, we have decided to respond this time, as it provides a perfect example of why we have previously emphasized that some influencers prioritize clickbait and disparagement over delivering accurate information.

In reality, in May of this year, Mike Adams, the CEO of Moog, reached out to Uli to propose selling Moog. Both individuals have had a longstanding friendly relationship. Therefore, Mike reached out to us first and shared all the financials as well the company’s challenges.

Mike's decision to sell Moog was influenced by his advanced age and serious mistakes made on the supply chain side. The company had purchased excessive inventory, leading to significant cashflow constraints.

While we believe Moog is a great brand, we declined the purchase due to our low-price business model not aligning with the luxury model Moog is pursuing.

Blaming us for Moog's struggles is as reasonable as blaming Yamaha for the bankruptcy of Sequential, Oberheim, ARP and Moog in the 1980s when the DX7 and other digital synths were introduced to the market.

We wish Moog and its people all the best and believe they have a great future. Both brands serve a very different customer base that can perfectly coincide.

Our focus will always be on creating highly affordable products so everyone can discover the world of music. Our mission is to empower the musicians that don’t have deep pockets.

As always, we encourage you to conduct your own research and form your own opinion🙂. Mark."

Update:

Why Moog Died 😞 (as we know it) [Op-ed]

video upload by Benn Jordan

Ulistamps:
0:00 - Intro
3:23 - Synths are luxury items
5:00 - Synths are like fancy sneakers
6:33 - Behringer
10:40 - Superpartnerships
13:34 - Co-op Financing Schemes
15:11 - Everything is f____ed
17:47 - Pouring one out for Bob's vision

Also see Two Takes on Behringer - Which Do You Fall Under?

Bastl Basil Delay Module - Video Manual and Patch Examples

video upload by Oscillator Sink

"Basil, from Bastl, is a stereo time-based effect module that runs on their Pizza platform (if you own a Pizza you can turn it into Basil via a firmware update).

It is, capable of traditional delay and echo sounds as you might expect, but through its wide ranging controls, CV, and a selection of parameters which modify the behavior of the two delay lines you can find chorus, flanging, comb filtering, pseudo reverbs, lo-fi effects and more - and all in stereo.

In this video I've aimed for the first part to act as a kind of video manual going over each of the features in turn. That's followed by a number of example patches which can hopefully show the module in context, showing some of its versatility.

Basil is a module with a lot of hidden depth, so this video is, predictably, pretty long. To help you navigate to the material you're interested in, I've added extensive chapter markers so feel free to jump around to find the info and sounds you're after.

Transparency notice: the Basil module was provided to me by Bastl for free for the purposes of making content about it. I was not otherwise paid and Bastl did not request, nor were they given any editorial oversight."

Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro
00:01:34 I/O
00:02:37 Introducing the front panel (and a note about CV control)
00:03:47 Delay Knob (Time Mode)

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