Friday, February 17, 2006
Charles Cohen and Signal 2 Boys Live in Philadelphia.
If you don't know who Charles Cohen is, check out this post. Title link takes you to more info on the show tonight. Do a find for Cohen when you get there. If you want to see a Buchla live and you are in Philly, here's your chance. According to Charles Cohen's website, the show starts at 8PM and is actaully free.
"SIGNAL 2 BOYZ is Philly's most angular, funky, and explosive electro-acoustic improv unit, featuring the legendary Charles Cohen! Utilizing a deceptively simple system known as "Transformative Groove", the ensemble creates shifting grooves, timbres, patterns, and structures that are about as unpredictable as they are infectious.
Signal-2-Boyz is: -Charles Cohen (Buchla Music Easel Synthesizer/electronics) -Amnon Freidlin (guitar/loops) -Andrew Gaspar (turntables/electronics) -Joe Lentini (MIA: Jamaica) -Evan Lipson (bass/devices) -Dave Smolen (analog electronics)
The ensemble's general aesthetic has evolved into a process of sonic layering or lamenationin which sounds may be frozen in real time (and/or from a previous moment), by a hyper-subtle process of looping and manipulation. Careful attention is payed to aspects of foreground and background texture, dynamics, density, pulse, contrasting colors, as well as various modes of poly-rhythmic/metric/tempic playing.This type of playing is smoothly juxtoposed with a more freewheeling yet interlocking language of varying complexity, where a large emphasis is placed upon purely timbral and sonic experimentation. These two areas freely flow in and out of each other, creating a sound that can often become quite raucous and 'grooving' (in the truest sense of the word...an area that S2B generally feels is largely ignored by most in the field of experimental improvisation), or very spatial and reduced in texture..."
"SIGNAL 2 BOYZ is Philly's most angular, funky, and explosive electro-acoustic improv unit, featuring the legendary Charles Cohen! Utilizing a deceptively simple system known as "Transformative Groove", the ensemble creates shifting grooves, timbres, patterns, and structures that are about as unpredictable as they are infectious.
Signal-2-Boyz is: -Charles Cohen (Buchla Music Easel Synthesizer/electronics) -Amnon Freidlin (guitar/loops) -Andrew Gaspar (turntables/electronics) -Joe Lentini (MIA: Jamaica) -Evan Lipson (bass/devices) -Dave Smolen (analog electronics)
The ensemble's general aesthetic has evolved into a process of sonic layering or lamenationin which sounds may be frozen in real time (and/or from a previous moment), by a hyper-subtle process of looping and manipulation. Careful attention is payed to aspects of foreground and background texture, dynamics, density, pulse, contrasting colors, as well as various modes of poly-rhythmic/metric/tempic playing.This type of playing is smoothly juxtoposed with a more freewheeling yet interlocking language of varying complexity, where a large emphasis is placed upon purely timbral and sonic experimentation. These two areas freely flow in and out of each other, creating a sound that can often become quite raucous and 'grooving' (in the truest sense of the word...an area that S2B generally feels is largely ignored by most in the field of experimental improvisation), or very spatial and reduced in texture..."
Kraenk's First Circuit Bending Project on YouTube
Cool. Kraenk posted a link to a video on YouTube of his first circuit bending project in the comments section of this post. Title link takes you there. Impressive. Thanks for posting this kraenk.
"i opened up an old cheap bontempy pcm synth, started a rhumba beat and started having fun."
"i opened up an old cheap bontempy pcm synth, started a rhumba beat and started having fun."
Seiko Drum Machine Watch
I was looking for more info on the Seiko rhythm machine in my previous post, and I ran into this. Trip. It's a drum machine watch. Title link takes you to more shots. I also stashed them here in case the page goes away when they sell it.
Toxygene - New Flickr Set
Title link takes you to the set. Anyone know more about this piece? It looks like some sort of rhythm machine by Seiko. Update: turns out it's a tuner. See the comments section of this post.
Manuel Clement - Paysages
According to this HC post, the music on Manel Clement's Paysages is all Dave Smith Polyevolver. If anyone can confirm please do. You can definitely hear evolver on it. Pretty interesting showcase of the evolver and good listening.
Vintage Synthesizer Breakout
Yep... Title link takes you there.
"Do you want to play Moog System 55, Oberheim 8 Voice, Yamaha CS80, SCI Prophet 5, Roland TB-303 and many other vintage synthesizers? Free? Without any time limit? Yes, of course you can do that, you are at Sound Of Music now - everything is possible now! Download Vintage Synthesizer Breakout 1.0 (4.67 Mb) and start to play with your favorite vintage synthesizers. The game, including the "game music", is programmed by Torbjörn "Toby" Frisk, Sound Of Music. There are no Mac version. There's a small hint: Avoid the corners if possible (we don't have the solution for that yet). The program is an exe-file, so you can play direct without install the program (nice if you are at public places such a library etc)."
"Do you want to play Moog System 55, Oberheim 8 Voice, Yamaha CS80, SCI Prophet 5, Roland TB-303 and many other vintage synthesizers? Free? Without any time limit? Yes, of course you can do that, you are at Sound Of Music now - everything is possible now! Download Vintage Synthesizer Breakout 1.0 (4.67 Mb) and start to play with your favorite vintage synthesizers. The game, including the "game music", is programmed by Torbjörn "Toby" Frisk, Sound Of Music. There are no Mac version. There's a small hint: Avoid the corners if possible (we don't have the solution for that yet). The program is an exe-file, so you can play direct without install the program (nice if you are at public places such a library etc)."
See dealers on the right for pricing and availability on gear.
LABELS/MORE: MOOG, Oberheim, Roland, Sequential Circuits, Yamaha
LABELS/MORE: MOOG, Oberheim, Roland, Sequential Circuits, Yamaha
Sound of Music
Title link takes you to the Sound of Music site where you will find Julie Andrews, oh wait, not that Sound of Music. Bwahaha. Hopefully that either resulted in a cringe or a laugh. Take two. Title link takes you to the Sound of Music site where you'll find a load of vintage goodies including Vintage Synthesizer Breakout. Saving the shot for that on my next post (above), so I can put the following beauty up.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Well Worn Workshops
Title link takes you to the Well Worn Workshops site, home of this modified Roland TR-808 and more. Click on the machines link for more. There is also a modified TR-606 on site.
Scams/Trolls on Craigslist
First there was the $350 Minimoog in the Seattle area. Then there is this. The Moog Model A from the Audities Foundation for $30 in Columbus. Yeah... Title link takes you to the post on Craigslist while it lasts. Image and details below.
"I am Selling a moog Key Board. It is a little beat up but it still works. Can't Find a model number on it. Used to be my Dad's Key Board, I don't know how to play it. It has several slots labeld "RA MOOG" and some of the labels are just paper stuck on. This would be a good Key Board for your child or someone getting started with music.
this is in or around hilliard"
Update: Via the comments, looks like that $350 Minimoog could have been real:
"For what its worth, I had emailed the Craigslist ad for the Minimoog (it was actually $350). He replied that I was the third person (ugg!) to email him but had already agreed to sell it to a person who emailed him first and lived a few miles away. He said he would call me if it didn't work out between the first and second person who emailed him.
He seemed straight forward in his email and seemed to know by all the replies he received that he had asked too little but felt that was the amount it was worth and was oblidged to sell it for what he listed it for.
He mentioned he was going to try to delete the ad as soon as the person picked it up to avoid any more emails in his in-box ( and probably so he wouldn't have reminders or regrets that he could have sold it for more).
On a side note, that listing was a slap-in-the-face reminder that I was spending way too much time surfing Craigslist, Ebay, etc. for things that I don't really need. I went cold turkey from those sites and am putting that precious time into finishing my bathroom remodel and getting ready for the upcoming gardening season.
M. Dunbar
Seattle "
"I am Selling a moog Key Board. It is a little beat up but it still works. Can't Find a model number on it. Used to be my Dad's Key Board, I don't know how to play it. It has several slots labeld "RA MOOG" and some of the labels are just paper stuck on. This would be a good Key Board for your child or someone getting started with music.
this is in or around hilliard"
Update: Via the comments, looks like that $350 Minimoog could have been real:
"For what its worth, I had emailed the Craigslist ad for the Minimoog (it was actually $350). He replied that I was the third person (ugg!) to email him but had already agreed to sell it to a person who emailed him first and lived a few miles away. He said he would call me if it didn't work out between the first and second person who emailed him.
He seemed straight forward in his email and seemed to know by all the replies he received that he had asked too little but felt that was the amount it was worth and was oblidged to sell it for what he listed it for.
He mentioned he was going to try to delete the ad as soon as the person picked it up to avoid any more emails in his in-box ( and probably so he wouldn't have reminders or regrets that he could have sold it for more).
On a side note, that listing was a slap-in-the-face reminder that I was spending way too much time surfing Craigslist, Ebay, etc. for things that I don't really need. I went cold turkey from those sites and am putting that precious time into finishing my bathroom remodel and getting ready for the upcoming gardening season.
M. Dunbar
Seattle "
Nuorogg - New Flickr Set
Title link takes you to the set. Check out this shot of the Access Virus Reback.
J Marimba Ponies
Title link takes you there. Check out the Sabre Dance video for some phat bouncy Moog Bass. Via Music Thing.
Using an Analog Sequencer on YouTube
Nice. I hope we start seeing more of this on YouTube. Title link takes you there.
Casio VL1 - Da Da Da Meets DM
Title link takes you to a post on VSE by DX covering Depeche Mode's Everything Counts with the Casio VLTone. Enjoy, or not. : )
Image via sequencer.de
Image via sequencer.de
GetLoFi Builds a 4 OSC Synth with Atari Joystick
"Yet another variation on the 4093 oscillator design, this one uses 4 directions of the stick for patching the outputs from off to on." Title link takes you to more details, images and video.
Mort Garson
In via j. Title link takes you to a post on Post Punk Junk on Mort Garson with mp3s. Some interesting stuff. "Standing alonside the pioneering greats of ’60s electronic music such as Jean-Jacques Perry and Walter/Wendy Carlos, Mort Garson let forth a stream of concept albums in the late ’60s through the mid-’70s that always tickle me." Thanks J!
seesselberg synthetik 1
In via PhilT. "thought you might be interested : http://insectandindividual.blogspot.com/ is hosting mp3s of a long deleted 73 album by seesselberg called synthetik 1. it's "electronic experimentation on homemade synthesizers" and sounds pretty good, if a little tentative. you have to use rapidshare to get it so follow all the prompts carefully for free downloading. it's got a pic as well.regards,
philT"
Prevoius posts on seesselberg including this video mentioned by dream chimney in the comments.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Buchla Responds
There was a two part review of the new Buchla 200e in the December 2005 and January 2006 issues of Sound on Sound. There was a bit of buzz about them as the first of two was not very favorable, specifically regarding the build quality. I'm still waiting for these articles to come up on the non subscription SOS site. Well, it looks like Don Buchla responded to the review and his comments are available online. Title link takes you there. Enjoy. "Hopefully, I leave your kind and tolerant but inquisitive and deserving readers with a slightly better sense of what we're all about. Reliability is of the highest concern to us, and we intend to continue making instruments of unimpeachable quality. We do our best to build fine instruments at fair prices, but we promise to avoid the cheap. Fame, fortune and financial success are of secondary importance, and we'll happily flail about in "the backwaters of the music industry" for a long time to come." Don Buchla on SOS.
Sampler anti-aliasing and pitch-shifting comparison
Interesting page testing a number of samplers. Samples, results and more listed. They also have an interesting analogy of audio aliasing and film (see below). Title link takes you there. Via the mighty Moogulator blog.
"It's easiest to describe aliasing in terms of a visual sampling system we all know and love - —movies. If you've ever watched a western and seen the wheel of a rolling wagon appear to be going backwards, you've witnessed aliasing. The movie's frame rate isn't adequate to describe the rotational frequency of the wheel, and our eyes are deceived by the misinformation!"
"It's easiest to describe aliasing in terms of a visual sampling system we all know and love - —movies. If you've ever watched a western and seen the wheel of a rolling wagon appear to be going backwards, you've witnessed aliasing. The movie's frame rate isn't adequate to describe the rotational frequency of the wheel, and our eyes are deceived by the misinformation!"
BeauSoleil - Prison Made Modular
Fascinating. Title link takes you to the full story. Charles Manson ties below.
"BeauSoleil got his first hands-on exposure to electronic music during the recording of the soundtrack. "I needed to enhance the sound palette of the basic rock instrumentation we'd used. I read Polyphony magazine [which later became Electronic Musician] and a couple of books by Craig Anderton to learn how to build my own circuits and instruments. From there, I graduated to building modules from scratch using parts from electronics surplus houses, and I used the modules to create new sounds." Thereafter, he studied audio electronics for several years in a prison vocational electronics program. This learning phase gave him the opportunity to develop skills he has put to good use ever since as a synth programmer and engineer. In 1984, he persuaded Jerry Kovarsky of Casio to loan him a CZ-1 synth in exchange for developing sounds for the instrument. (Kovarsky is now with Korg.) This was BeauSoleil's first experience with digital programming, but because the instrument was based on an analog architecture, he was able to complete several volumes of sounds. He is also a guitar player, so Casio later provided him with a PG-380, a MIDI guitar synth that he still uses as a stand-alone instrument. Actual programming of the PG-380 had to be done on Casio's rack-mounted VZ-10, from which patches were transferred on a data card. This programming experience and his connections at Casio later led to programming gigs with Ensoniq for the KT-76 synth, Kawai for the K4 synth, and Kurzweil for the K2000."
Update via the comments:
"Robert Beausoleil was also a member of the Manson Family before his imprisonment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Beausoleil"
From Wikipedia:
"He met Charlie Manson in Topanga Canyon in 1966 and later went on to be one of the group who killed Hinman, allegedly for defaulting in a drugs deal. Accompanying Beausoleil that night were Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner, both later involved in other murders."
"BeauSoleil got his first hands-on exposure to electronic music during the recording of the soundtrack. "I needed to enhance the sound palette of the basic rock instrumentation we'd used. I read Polyphony magazine [which later became Electronic Musician] and a couple of books by Craig Anderton to learn how to build my own circuits and instruments. From there, I graduated to building modules from scratch using parts from electronics surplus houses, and I used the modules to create new sounds." Thereafter, he studied audio electronics for several years in a prison vocational electronics program. This learning phase gave him the opportunity to develop skills he has put to good use ever since as a synth programmer and engineer. In 1984, he persuaded Jerry Kovarsky of Casio to loan him a CZ-1 synth in exchange for developing sounds for the instrument. (Kovarsky is now with Korg.) This was BeauSoleil's first experience with digital programming, but because the instrument was based on an analog architecture, he was able to complete several volumes of sounds. He is also a guitar player, so Casio later provided him with a PG-380, a MIDI guitar synth that he still uses as a stand-alone instrument. Actual programming of the PG-380 had to be done on Casio's rack-mounted VZ-10, from which patches were transferred on a data card. This programming experience and his connections at Casio later led to programming gigs with Ensoniq for the KT-76 synth, Kawai for the K4 synth, and Kurzweil for the K2000."
Update via the comments:
"Robert Beausoleil was also a member of the Manson Family before his imprisonment. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Beausoleil"
From Wikipedia:
"He met Charlie Manson in Topanga Canyon in 1966 and later went on to be one of the group who killed Hinman, allegedly for defaulting in a drugs deal. Accompanying Beausoleil that night were Susan Atkins and Mary Brunner, both later involved in other murders."
OP-X
Reaktor based Oberheim OB-X soft synth. Title link takes you there. Via VSE.
Update2: Via the comments:
"Anonymous said...
I hope they sue the guy, he's been spamming his wares on just about every thread of every forum.. gr...
10:29 AM
Hamilton Lovecraft said...
Yeah, what anonymous said -- these guys spammed all over the KVR fora recently. Don't give 'em any press."
Update: Via Wiglaf in the comments: "Keep reading that thread, the person who made that could be in some trouble." The risk is Gibson coming after them for the likeness of the Oberheim name. Gibson owns it. Thanks Wiglaf, I might have missed the updates - only so much time in the day feeding this site along with everything else. : )
Some choice snips from the thread:
"spookyman, I would take Bitexion's advice and tell your friend to either make it free or remove all references to Oberheim.
Why? ... well for the reasons already given, but also because I too have first-hand experience with such issues. Look at the last 2 softsynths mentioned in my sig. I am part of a developing team called Voltkitchen, we released these 2 emulations last year and we almost immediately received cease and desist e-mails from Arturia, as well as a less-nasty but inquiring e-mail from Moog Music.
However, Arturia's threats did not amount to anything because our product does not copy anything from their software. Arturia are just another company making emulations, not the original hardware (and they don't own the Moog or Arp name). So they had no case. But they were VERY nasty and threatening toward us for the obvious reasons (market share being taken away).
With Moog Music, their concern was not the softsynth itself but the "use" of the Moog legacy in the graphical layout and general appearance. I know calling it MiniMogue was a little bit of a sly side-step, but at least they were okay about it in the end after conversing with them via e-mail. Since Moog Music makes hardware (Voyager, etc.), they weren't concerned at all about market share, there's no comparison between a hardware real-analog Voyager and our free software.
However, Gibson is a HUGE company and might not be so nice. They've been known to throw lawsuits around like confetti. Tell your friend to be VERY careful."
Followed by:
"heheee.... thanks for your work on MinimogueVA! I work for Moog and own a Voyager, and guess what? I love MinimogueVA and use it on tracks side-by-side with the Voyager. It really sounds good. Not better and certainly there are many areas where they don't overlap... but I am not interested in comparing A to B as much as I am into really good sound... and MmVA is one of incredibly few VSTi's that really sounds good to my ears. The fact that it can even keep up in a mix with the V'ger and my Jupiter is quite telling. Keep up the good work... "
Update2: Via the comments:
"Anonymous said...
I hope they sue the guy, he's been spamming his wares on just about every thread of every forum.. gr...
10:29 AM
Hamilton Lovecraft said...
Yeah, what anonymous said -- these guys spammed all over the KVR fora recently. Don't give 'em any press."
Update: Via Wiglaf in the comments: "Keep reading that thread, the person who made that could be in some trouble." The risk is Gibson coming after them for the likeness of the Oberheim name. Gibson owns it. Thanks Wiglaf, I might have missed the updates - only so much time in the day feeding this site along with everything else. : )
Some choice snips from the thread:
"spookyman, I would take Bitexion's advice and tell your friend to either make it free or remove all references to Oberheim.
Why? ... well for the reasons already given, but also because I too have first-hand experience with such issues. Look at the last 2 softsynths mentioned in my sig. I am part of a developing team called Voltkitchen, we released these 2 emulations last year and we almost immediately received cease and desist e-mails from Arturia, as well as a less-nasty but inquiring e-mail from Moog Music.
However, Arturia's threats did not amount to anything because our product does not copy anything from their software. Arturia are just another company making emulations, not the original hardware (and they don't own the Moog or Arp name). So they had no case. But they were VERY nasty and threatening toward us for the obvious reasons (market share being taken away).
With Moog Music, their concern was not the softsynth itself but the "use" of the Moog legacy in the graphical layout and general appearance. I know calling it MiniMogue was a little bit of a sly side-step, but at least they were okay about it in the end after conversing with them via e-mail. Since Moog Music makes hardware (Voyager, etc.), they weren't concerned at all about market share, there's no comparison between a hardware real-analog Voyager and our free software.
However, Gibson is a HUGE company and might not be so nice. They've been known to throw lawsuits around like confetti. Tell your friend to be VERY careful."
Followed by:
"heheee.... thanks for your work on MinimogueVA! I work for Moog and own a Voyager, and guess what? I love MinimogueVA and use it on tracks side-by-side with the Voyager. It really sounds good. Not better and certainly there are many areas where they don't overlap... but I am not interested in comparing A to B as much as I am into really good sound... and MmVA is one of incredibly few VSTi's that really sounds good to my ears. The fact that it can even keep up in a mix with the V'ger and my Jupiter is quite telling. Keep up the good work... "
The Lambdoma
Title link takes you there.
"The Lambdoma Matrix is attributed to the philosopher Pythagoras (500 bc) who spent over twenty years as an Egyptian initiate. The concept of the Lambdoma Matrix in the present age is relatively unknown, and is not cited in most dictionaries. On the surface, it appears to be nothing more than a mathematical multiplication and division table. On a closer look however, it bears a one-to-one relationship to musical intervals in a very specific harmonic series. Because of its numerical framework of ratios, it can be translated into frequencies of audible sound. The Lambdoma bears relationships to aromatics, chemistry, crystallography, cybernetics, art, music, geometry, all of which may be explored by those interested in the above disciplines. The Lambdoma bears mathematical relationships to Issac Newton, the Diophantine equations and the Farey series, as well as in the present century to Georg Cantor."
"My dream was to realize the application of my theories in the health and musical domains. Recently I have accomplished a breakthrough in making the lambdoma a oncrete instrument of healing and auditory pleasure. With the help of engineers, software programmers, musicians, and electronics manufacturers this dream has materialized in the Pythagorean Lambdoma Harmonic Keyboard (PLHK). Based on early prototypes of this revolutionary instrument we have demonstrated its unique effects on human well-being and musico-spiritual evolution. Articles and testimonials from well-known authors on sound healing, microtonal composers, and university professors are available upon request. "
"The Lambdoma Matrix is attributed to the philosopher Pythagoras (500 bc) who spent over twenty years as an Egyptian initiate. The concept of the Lambdoma Matrix in the present age is relatively unknown, and is not cited in most dictionaries. On the surface, it appears to be nothing more than a mathematical multiplication and division table. On a closer look however, it bears a one-to-one relationship to musical intervals in a very specific harmonic series. Because of its numerical framework of ratios, it can be translated into frequencies of audible sound. The Lambdoma bears relationships to aromatics, chemistry, crystallography, cybernetics, art, music, geometry, all of which may be explored by those interested in the above disciplines. The Lambdoma bears mathematical relationships to Issac Newton, the Diophantine equations and the Farey series, as well as in the present century to Georg Cantor.""My dream was to realize the application of my theories in the health and musical domains. Recently I have accomplished a breakthrough in making the lambdoma a oncrete instrument of healing and auditory pleasure. With the help of engineers, software programmers, musicians, and electronics manufacturers this dream has materialized in the Pythagorean Lambdoma Harmonic Keyboard (PLHK). Based on early prototypes of this revolutionary instrument we have demonstrated its unique effects on human well-being and musico-spiritual evolution. Articles and testimonials from well-known authors on sound healing, microtonal composers, and university professors are available upon request. "
See dealers on the right for pricing and availability on gear.
LABELS/MORE: Alternate Keyboards, Lambdoma
LABELS/MORE: Alternate Keyboards, Lambdoma
OBX-a Soundscapes
More by Heath Finnie. Should have known. This peices reminds me a bit of the dreamy soundscapes you'd expect from a Yamaha CS80. Title link takes you there. Beautiful stuff.
Not Breathing
I previously posted about the Sedona Custom Synth on the Not Breathing site. I just purused the site again and thought I'd put up a post on the site in general. There a sections on DIY, Circuit Bending, Noise Makers, Drum Machines and more. Definitely worth checking out. Title link takes you there.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Happy Valentine's Day - New Flickr Shot
This one via Brandon Daniel. Make sure to check out the rest of the shots in the set for some vintage goodness. That's a Korg OASYS btw. Thanks Brandon!
A Synth Valentine Day
No title link. Just an image I found. Happy Valentine's Day everyone. Don't forget to give your synth a hug today. ; ) Matrixsynth title in Red to honor the day today.
Keytar V1 Video on One Blue Monkey
Title link takes you there. Finally get to see one in action. Video link under data under title.
Creamware Modular Site
Title link takes you to a really nice Creamware Modular Site. It's laid out with a top nav like the software, so you can easily review all modules available in the Creamware system. Via Moogulator.
More Synth on Retro Thing
Philip Taysom's Extreme Home Synthesis Studio is featured. Title link takes you there.
Roland TR-909 through ARP 2600 Sound Clip
Another via Heath Finnie. Title link takes you to the post on VSE.
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MATRIXSYNTH - EVERYTHING SYNTH
© Matrixsynth - All posts are presented here for informative, historical and educative purposes as applicable within fair use.
MATRIXSYNTH is supported by affiliate links that use cookies to track clickthroughs and sales. See the privacy policy for details.
MATRIXSYNTH - EVERYTHING SYNTH
