Roland TB-303 Bass Line Chrodwheel

Now this is something I've never seen before. A chordwheel for the TB-303. Title link takes you to the acution for this. Image and text saved below for when the auction dissapears. Click the image for a larger version.



"The ULTIMATE TB-303 rarity!!

I've not seen one of these for sale on ebay before. This particular one stayed behind when the original Roland TB-303 Bass Line (bought for around £100 from London Rock shop) was sold on in 1985 for £50! It has spent the last 20 years packed away in some music equipment documents.

This is the one to have to complete your set.

The top rarity, rarer than the TB-303 pattern data sheets that Roland issued at the time.

Go for it!"

Korg EX-mas Shot and Sample

Thought this was a nice X-mas shot of a Korg EX-800 (desktop Poly-800) up for sale. Title link takes you to an mp3 posted in the auction. As usual, I have no affiliation, just like the shot.

Carbon111 on Analog Industries Gear P*rn Friday

Title link takes you to Analog Industries post. Cool to see Carbon111 featured.

Synth Books

No title link. With the recent book posts for Essential Retro and Real World Digital Audio, I thought I should put up a list of synth books. A friend of mine joined the Amazon affiliate program and started putting up book ads in posts where he reviewed the particular book. I actually liked the look of the ads because they include a small snapshot of the book. So, I figure why not. I joined and added a few of my favorites to the right pane (just scroll down and look for the books on the right). I also found one I hadn't heard of before called "Quick Guide to Analog Synthesis." Anyone know if this one is any good?

BTW, if you know of any others I should add to the list on the right, please post them in the comments below and I'll put them up. I checked Amazon for A-Z of Analog Synthesis but surprisingly it wasn't there. BTW, I don't want to limit the list to just ads, so if you have any links for synth books not on Amazon or other, send them my way. I just think it would be cool to have a list of all synth books on the right. And yes the Amazon ones are ads, no trickery there on my part. And obviously, if you are interested in picking up one or more of these books, feel free to support my site by ordering through one of these links. : )

Update via Peter Forrest in the comments below : )
"Hi all - very nice to be a toilet stalwart! I'm Peter Forrest, writer of the A-Z books. Sorry, but Amazon demanded such a ridiculous price to stock my books that I won't do it through them. Luckily you can buy them direct through me if you want :o) The easiest way is to email me at pforrest@vemia.co.uk, and I'll send you the details. I also still have some copies of the Synthesizer Museum books (and videos if anyone wants a nice retro original vintage 90s etc. etc. version of Bob Moog's speech and a bunch of incredible synths)."

Homebrew Sequencer - Galoppierende Zuversicht

Pic of a homebrew sequencer (and possible synth?) used by styro2000 of the swiss group galoppierende zuversicht. Sent my way by Philip Sherburne. Title link takes you to the galoppierende zuversicht site. Click here for a live set.

GenoQ Octopus Ready to Order

Looks like the GenoQ Octopus is ready to order. Title link takes you to their news page with more info. I previously posted on the GenoQ Octopus back in August. The Octopus looks to be an amazingly feature rich pattern generator/sequencer, focused on ease of use (little to no "sub menus") and live performance. For more, make sure to check out other sections of the site including the Story-Board pdf.

Bad Wolf TV

Kenny Balys sent a link to a couple of videos, "Eternity" and "Deja Voodoo" to AH. I finally got around to checking them out. Brilliant. Spoiler below shot. Check them out in this order: "Eternity" then "Deja Voodoo." Each is about 60M.



Spoiler:
Starting with "Eternity" my first impression was this is mediocre but pretty refreshing. Made me want to travel and gave me that sense of taking a cold shower, but a bit deeper than that; it reminded me of my self induced repression, reminded me of my college days when things were so much more crisp and life was simply magic, and how things aren't quite like that anymore. Things still are magical, but scars kind of leave their marks the older you get. Then it hit me. This is much deeper than the surface. The video quality reminded me of the videos I used to make in college. There is a certain depth to that. Coincidence? Who knows, but it brought me back. "Deja Voodoo" was a complete contrast; pulled me out of the wonder and into the scars, back to reality. What's interesting is the two paired reminded me of my rave days but in the opposite order. You'd start off at a rave that had the vibe of "Deja Voodoo" but end with the vibe of "Eternity." But life seems to go in the opposite direction, or does it? Maybe it just goes in waves. Anywho... Don't know if this effect was on purpose or not, but, brilliant stuff; nice contrast between the videos. The interesting thing is "Eternity" was more deja voodoo to me in reminding me of the past; reminded me a bit of Dif Jus actually. So, anyone know the significance of 099 or the fly that shows up in both videos?

Gear list comments from Kenny:

"The tracks were done with ATC-1 on bass, Moog Voyager,
Jupiter 6, TR808/909/606 CR8000 DR-55, Jomox Xbase-09 and lots
of Doepfer A-100. Also have some MFB in there from
Schneider's Buero at Alexanderplatz, Berlin.

Electrix Filter Factory and the Warpfactory used to add
shimmer and life to top end of certain sounds.
Dimension-D chorus for some pads and counter melodies.

We mixed analogue on a SSL 4048 board with a bank of Neve
pre-amps."

Airport81 - New Yoko - Yamaha CS60 over Atari 2600

Title link takes you to MySpace site for Airport81. I previously posted on their track The Buddy System. Looks like they have a couple of more tracks up including "New Yoko" which features just the Yamaha CS60 over an Atari 2600 for beats. Pretty interesting track. Via this post on Sonic State's the-gas-station.

Sonar Axe

Theremin like MIDI guitar controller. Yep... Via GetLoFi, which mentions something about having to wear goggles and rubber gloves? Hmm... Better keep the alcohol away from this one; unless, of course, you like the smell of burnt rubber. Looks like two massive sodering irons to me.

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"

Marx & Arbiter

Remember that QY and DSI in bed post I almost didn't put up? Well Jj is the guy in that shot. He sent me a few links including some samples of his QY and Evolver and this lovely shot of his cat. Sweet dreams....



Don't even think of touching that Ensoniq ASR-10 rack.

4 OSC Opto-Theremin in Gameboy Case

On GetLoFi. Title link takes you to more including a video.

Synthi AKS Shots

Via this auction. Click the title link to open this case.

Alesis Ion - Ralistic Drum Kit

Right click title link and save. Via programming wizard Kenneth Elhardt on AH. Amazing.

" It's a full drum kit I spent days on. Since it's a pain in the neck to play drum sounds on a keyboard monophonically and multitrack them to create the end result,
it is rather short (52 seconds). This demo shows, tight snappy toms, huge heavy toms, metalic snare, snare with attached tambourine, snare with emphasized head sound and reduced "snappy", hi-hats (should have played at higher pitch), cymbal crashes / splashes / taps, and more. I used some of the techniques from my MOTM renaissance demos in programming them."

Some Nice Synth Pics

Looks like Carbon111 put up some synths for sale on SYNTHWIRE. Some really nice shots in the post. Enjoy. And yes, this is kosher on SYNTHWIRE, as long as you put up something postworthy, like nice pics, or interesting tidbits of synth info, etc. The idea is that the post is worthwile even if you aren't looking to buy.

Waldorf XT - New Flickr Shot

Title link takes you to a bigger shot.

Two Octave Juno-106

Nice! An no, this is not real. How I wish.... I have a thing for portable lap synths.



Via Henrik Nydell:

"Saw that you put up an imaginary AlphaJuno-10 on the blog
and thought of my project that hopefully will be realised
some day, the SH-106, a 2 1/2 octave Juno-106."

Update: See this post for a real one, the "Junior 106."

Novachord Sample disk and CD Coming

I recently posted on Phil Cirocco's Novachord restoration project. Well, multiple sources indicate that Phil plans on creating both a sample CD for others to sample and use and a music CD to showcase the Novachord. Very cool.

Analoghell Manuals

Click here for downloads for the following docs.

Arp
Arp 2600 Fundamentals Of Music Technology (1.24Mb)
Arp 2600 Owner's Manual (10.27Mb)
Arp 2600 Service Manual (8.16Mb)
Arp 3620 Keyboard Owner's Manual (3.74Mb)
Arp 3620 Keyboard Service Manual (2.13Mb)

CLICK FOR MORE »

Moogulator's Neuronium Site

Title link takes you to Moogulator's Neuronium site with pics, video and general info. He also mentions a possible stripped down version on the way called the m-resonator. Interesting bit is that he comments the m-resonator as being more of an filter/effects box minus midi. If you haven't heard of the Neuronium Resonator, it's an interesting device consisting of what Jayemsonic referes to as six analog resonant neurons that can interact with each other. Rather than do injustice trying to explain it myself, just click this link for the Jayemsonic page on the Resonator. Also look at the star pattern on the Resonator above. Six knobs for six neurons to play off of one another, one ring to rule them all.

SCHIPPMANN

Title link takes you to the SCHIPPMAN site. According to Moogulator they are now shipping their filters. Dig the plexiglass. Make sure to check out the downloads page for samples and the pictures page for more shots including what looks like the shell of a knob ladden monster synth. Reminds me of an old EMU Emulator on steroids. Damn!

Alesis Fusion 1.2 OS Update

Via Harmony-Central News. Title link takes you there.



New Synthesis:
"With four types of synthesis, the Fusion’s sound capabilities have always been stellar, and now V1.20 up’s the ante once again with the addition of several new synthesis functions. The Fusion’s filter capabilities get a boost with the addition of the RP low pass filter derived from Alesis’ popular Ion synthesizer and three formant filters. The Fusion now facilitates up to four sample oscillator layers per Program as well as up to four insert effects per Program. There is also a new parameter that has been added to the oscillator to have it reset its sample in monophonic legato mode.

Also part of the V1.20 update, two new process functions have been added to Sampler Mode: “Quantize Region” and “Reverse Region”. These functions enable programmers to change the bit rates of samples from 1 to 15 bit (Quantize Region) and reverse samples (Reverse Region)."

Yamaha GS1

The Old Crow recently posted a link to a picture of his Yamaha DX1 and GS1 on the Yamaha CS80 group. I hadn't looked up the GS1 before, so I of course decided to check it out. I found a Sound on Sound article on the synth and the beginnings of FM synthesis. The GS1 was Yamaha's first FM synth and paved the road to the DX line of synths much like the GX1 was the precursor to the CS80, CS60, and CS80. It's a fascinating read. Title link takes you there.

Screaming Jupiter 4 Track

Title link takes you to a post on VSE by emage, with a link to 14.6M mp3 of his Jupiter 4. Takes a bit to dowload, but it's worth it. Nice track.

Yamaha Recalls S90 ES?

According to Synthtopia News, Yamaha is recalling the S980 ES as it may cause ear damage when turning it off and on under high temperature - white noise spike. Yikes! Title link takes you to the post, a quite funny one at that.

New Prophet 5 Soft Synth

Title link takes you to a post on VSE with a link to a Prophet 5 emulation. It does has that SCI sound over Oberheim, Roland, Moog, ARP, Yamaha, Korg etc.. Worth checking out.