Essential Retro

Looks like James Grahame of Retro Thing has a book out and... it has synth. : ) Title link takes you there (scroll down the page to see what's in the book). Looks like a fascinating trip down memory lane as well as current retro design. Very cool. Would make a great stocking stuffer. Congrats James!



"My new book is entitled Essential Retro: The Vintage Technology Guide. It covers a few hundred of my favorite vintage and vintage-style gadgets.

Since I'm a synth addict, there's an entire chapter dedicated to electronic musical instruments. I start with a look at some classics like the ARP Odyssey and Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, but I couldn't resist including a few modern 'vintage analog' devices from Dave Smith, Clavia, and even the real analog growl of the Alesis A6 Andromeda.

Check out www.essentialretro.com for more details. People can buy signed copies direct from the site, and it should be available on Amazon in the USA and UK early next week. Priced at $19.95 in the USA, £11.95 in the UK."

Charles Cohen's Buchla on Flickr

Nice shot of Charles Cohen's Buchla on Flickr.

Nord Lead Demos

Title link takes you to some Nord Lead demos by SpeckO on Sonic State's the-gas-station.

Distorted Music Festival Pics

I recently posted about the Distorted Music Festival in Melbourne Australia. Title link takes you to shots of the festival including synths. Via Andee on AH; this was Andee's first live gig and he had a blast.



"Well, I had my very first ever live gig and it was a blast! I had to get the
A6 and my 20kg+ road case up 2 flights of stairs to do it, but damn it was
worth it:)"

"It was part of the distorted music festival in melbourne (distorted.com.au) so
not only had a great time performing, but also got to see and meet a bunch of
artists I've admired for years, not to mention getting onto a compilation CD
with the likes of converter, architect, scorn and mono no aware!"

My New Wallpaper

More amazing synth pics added to benj-sp's Flickr set. Amazing, synth pics. My new wallpaper. Again. Title link takes you to more.

Access Virus Ti and SH-101 Demos

Title link takes you to samples of the Access Virus TI sent to me by Jose Sogo Flores. Two of the samples are the Roland SH-101 followed by the Virus. Impressive. Also make sure to check out the third sample of the Virus. Absolutely liquid sounding; talk about bubbly. If the name looks familiar, he recently sent in those amazing G2 Minimoog samples. Enjoy, and thank you Jose!

Korg Flickrfest

Title link takes you to more. Lots of Korgs in this set.

Real World Digital Audio - Peter Kirn

Looks like Peter Kirn's book, "Real World Digital Audio" is out! Congrats Peter! I look forward to reading my copy. Title link takes you to the Real World Digital Audio site. Click here for Peachpit Press' page. Who's Peter Kirn? Why, Editor in Chief of Create Digital Music of course. Title link takes you to more info on http://www.realworlddigitalaudio.com/.

"Real World Digital Audio is a comprehensive resource that offers practical advice on making great music with modern technologies—a valuable reference whatever your musical genre or preferred audio application. You’ll learn how digital sound works, and then apply that knowledge to getting your music to sound the way you want. From recording, mixing, and producing CDs, musical scores, and video soundtracks, to performing live with your laptop, this is the definitive guide to the art of creating digital music."

Orgon Modular

There's an Orgon modular up for auction. I tried searching for more info on Orgon Systems and found some reference to kit synths like PAIA. Also found the title link on Synrise in German; click here for a Google English translation.

Update: via the comments: "they sold the Enegiser see SOS reviews, then started selling modules a bit hafter Blacet had a few going. so what 1999-2000? check the AH archives."

SOS on Orgon.



"A UNIQUE oportunity for you to own a classic ORGON SYSTEMS modular synth. Built exclusively by the man himself Geoff Waterston. The power and sonic versatlity of this machine is gaurenteed to blow you away. Check out the specs below and you will see that this is a once in a lifetime chance to grab a beast like this one! 21 modules 6x ADSR envelope (mk2) 3x hi spec VCO (lin FM, sync tri saw sine pwm) 3x dual LFO (6 lfo's in total) 2x VCA (log and linear mode) 1x VC waveform animator (very cool) 1x noise gen (white pink red blue) 1x multimode fiter mk2 (hi low band notch self osc) 1x ENIGISER filter mk2 (VC res, 25 filer modes, yes thats 25 different filters in one panel, sounds very sweet) 1x audio mixer with inverters 1x PSU 1x multi conection May the best man win!"

Bizarre Guitar Synth

More freaky dream material. Title link takes you to shots saved from this auction. Text below in it's ALL CAPS glory, also saved for posterity. You never know when you'll want to look this thing up again to frighten little... Seriously though, you gotta wonder what this sounds like. Via Music Thing.



"CHECK OUT OUR STORE FOR ALL YOUR HOLLIDAY NEEDS!! BE SURE TO REGESTER WITH EBAY BEFORE YOU BID !!! THIS IS A 1 OF A KIND GUITAR IT WAS DESIGNED AS A PROTO TYPE BUT WAS NEVER PRODUCED!! I HAVE THE ONLY ONE!!! DESIGNED FOR SCOTT CROMWELL IN 1970 I RECEIVED IT AS PART OF OUR ESTATE SALE.A LITTLE KNOWN GUITAR PLAYER SCOTT CROMWELL JAZZ ROCK PLAYER PLAYED BACK UP FOR SEVERAL MAJOR BANDS BEFORE HIS DEATH IN 1975!!! THIS GUITAR HAS NO STRINGS OR FRETS BUT LITTLE BUTTONS TO REPLACE THEM AND A SYNTHISIZER IN THE BASE TO CHANGE THE SOUND TO ANYTHING YOU WANT THIS GUITAR CAN MAKE YOU SOUND LIKE HENDRIX HIMSELF IN THE RITE HANDS THE GUITAR IS FOR SALE ONLY WE KEEP THE PAT AND ALL RITES TO REPRODUCE UNLESS OTHERWISE AGREED ON!!!!FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT OLDIESBUTGOODIES2000@HOTMAIL.COM"