Blacet Prices Going Up in the Fall

Via Blacet news, prices are going up by 10% in the Fall.

"I hope everyone is staying cool and having a nice Summer so far!

Everything is currently in stock, except for the DIY panels, which should be here any moment....pauses to listen for UPS truck.

We had to fire our cable assembly house, so we are looking for another.

Shipping charges for foreign customers are going up a bit. In the past we have gotten away with using "Letter Post" for small shipments to save our customers money. There is no insurance with this type of mail, however, and our luck has run out lately with a few missing shipments.

The Post Office is not very interested anymore in finding lost letter post shipments so except for items under $50, we will now use insured Air Parcel Post. Your best value is when you order 2 or more modules, etc. The USPS still beats UPS, etc for pricing.

After 5 years or so of keeping pricing the same, look for a 10% hike across the board in the Fall. This is due to parts cost increases, shipping increases and the higher cost of lead free PCBs., etc, etc......

John Blacet"

Synthesizer 101 Tutorial on YouTube

YouTube by rtermini. Synthesizers.com modular featured.

Elizabeth Parker - BBC Raidiophonics Workshop on YouTube

YouTube by Sharpblue. Features the EMS Synthi 100 and Putney. I think there might have also been a MUSE.

Myself and the EMS Synthi 100 on YouTube

No, not me. YouTube via mustanghovercraft. Note: The Synthi 100 has an ignition key. : )

"Here's a clip of myself being interviewed by SonicState in 2003. We had nearly completed restoration of a EMS Synthi 100 and were showing it in London. I HATE having my pic taken - being filmed - whatever! And to have a mic shoved in front of you with no rehearsal - yikes! No wonder I forgot everything and stumbled all the way through!!

Just to correct a couple of things - this Synthi was researched in depth (with help from R. Wood!)and found to be the original DIGITANA (the name for the prototype before Synthi 100) as used and pictured in the EMS Studio. The sequencer was designed slightly later around '70 - 71... This being the original it consisted several veroboards!
An awesome instrument when its restoration was completed - and one I miss... "

Modular 2002 on YouTube

YouTube via liquidcolor.

Modular 2001 on YouTube

Wiard. YouTube by liquidcolor.

Paul Wiffen and the EDP Wasp on YouTube

YouTube by Sharpblue

Julian Colbeck Talks Analogue on YouTube

YouTube by Sharpblue

Thomas Dolby - One Of Our Submarines (live) on YouTube

Roland Jupiter 8 featured.

Touch Sensitive - New Flickr Shot

flickr by _f1guy68_.

GEM Promega 3 Performance Keyboard"

GControl

Remember this? Failed Muso has the download. Title link takes you there.

Update via GodzillaFrog the comments: "Try the update from here It fixes a problem that manifested on machines with no MIDI in ports."

Indigo Blue - Synclavier 9600 Recording

Title link takes you the tracks on Indigo Blue, all comprised of a Synclavier 9600. You can find more info and a few more links on this DVDBorn post.

Design Box

"Designbox was founded in 1995 by the industrial designers Axel Hartmann and Stephan Leitl in Ravensburg, Southern Germany."

Take a look at the keyboards to the left. Design Box was part of the design of each as listed on this page. Going from left to right, top down you can see the following:

Alesis Andromeda
Moog Voyager
Waldorf Wave
Access Virus TI
Moog Little Phatty
Waldrof Q Keyboard
EMU Xboard
Hartmann Neuron

Title takes you Design Box. via sequencer.de.

2 cs01s - New Flickr Shot

flickr by shistec ra.

prophet 5 music inside - New Flickr Shot

flickr by bdu.

They even threw in the kitchen sink.

Oakley Sound Modded Roland SH-101

"The modifications are my usual 'Oakley mods'. The first new knob on the left you see is the filter FM depth control. This allows the cut-off frequency to be modulated by the VCO. The switch to its right selects the waveform used by the filter FM. It can be selected from either sawtooth or the sub oscillator.

The second switch on the left is the filter mode. You can select from 'smooth', which is the default SH-101 output, and 'fizz', which is almost like band pass.

The second knob is the triangle wave output from the VCO. The switch to its right selects whether the output from this pot goes to the VCF or the VCA.

Sound samples:

Simple sequence from the SH-101's internal sequencer with various real time tweaks. You will hear the filter FM control being tweaked whilst waveform source is changed. Listen out for the sudden change in tone as the filter mode is changed from normal to the fizz. Also, hear the sound deepen as the triangle wave is added to the VCA's input. External effects are reverb only. 2.09MB. SH-101a.mp3

Solo sound with filter FM and triangle wave being fed direct to the VCA. The VCF is being swept with the SH-101's ADSR which allows the pulse wave to come up in volume behind the triangle wave. 528KB SH-101b.mp3"

Title link takes you to the source. BTW, this one is for sale in the UK. Samples saved here for posterity.

x0xb0x Mod by Amos/controlvoltage

Mod by Amos of Moog Music. Note this is his personal mod and has nothing to do with Moog Music. Just noting the players for the archives. Title link takes you to more shots and the post on ladyada's tea party. Details and one shot saved for posterity.

"List of mods:

Internal:

bass boost mod; carefully-selected transistors in key places (not a mod, but a good idea);adjustable amount of resonance boost on accent (trim pot on underside of mainboard). Also increased env. amount range, goes down to zero and up to 3x normal maximum amount.

I/O mods: CV outputs from the sequencer for Pitch and Gate (same as stock, now with 1/4" jacks), also Accent and Slide gate-CVs. CV Inputs for Gate, Accent, Slide, Pitch, and Filter Cutoff. New audio I/O is on a 1/4" stereo jack providing VCO out/VCF in, for a pre-filter effects loop or clean external audio into the filter/VCA. See my thread in x0xm0dz for more details. VCF input goes well with the "gate always-on" switch I added.

Panel/control mods:

Devilfish-esque VCO-to-Filter overdrive;
Accent duration control knob.
VCO->VCF FM, has FM amount knob and FM waveform selector switch;
Resonance Boost switch, with trimmer for setting boost amount
Gate always on switch - VCA wide open with infinite sustain. Good for bubbling liquid legato lines or external filter processing. Filter falls to minimum unless you are using my envelope mutator, or hit the:
Momentary Gate-Retrigger button; this fires off the main envelope generator when pressed, so you can inject some variety into always-on lines or just goose the sequence when you want.
momentary Accent-on button, similar principle as above, fire an Accent on demand.

Envelope Mutator - my own little street-style RC envelope circuit, takes in a +5V pulse and bleeds it to ground thru a variable resistance. This is then applied to filter cutoff, where it interacts with all the other filter mods to create delicious new flavors of groove. The source is selectable between Gate (all notes trigger the env mutator), Accent, and Slide triggers via a miniature 3pos. rotary switch; there is a mutation on/off switch, a Mutation Duration knob, variable between ~5 milliseconds and 5 seconds, and I am about to add a Mutation Amount knob for added subtlety. Right now it is either off or full-on.

I think that's about it... still to be done are the momentary switches when the parts get here, and drilling the panel for the controls. The jack panel isn't perfectly machined but I might fine-tune it... or leave it looking a little DIY, which it certainly is. It should be finished up sometime next week! Sound samples when I get a chance. It sounds.... mighty good.

edit: here is a half-arsed sound sample... unfortunately the envelope mutator is not fully installed w/level control so it gets out of hand... also no momentary buttons yet so the legato/drone sections are not what they will be soon. But, bandwidth is cheap these days, so here's 10 mins of impromptu tweaking on stuff.

-=x0x Tw34Ks=-"

Matrixsynth by Neuro

Roland Juno-D

Serge in Custom Cabinet

Gorgeous. Via Ross:

"Just thought I'd drop you a photo of my Serge made up in a VCS3 style cabinet. My dad made it over a month I learnt quite a bit along the way, the biggest mistake is to not give enough space between the bottom section and the top, as you have to factor in stacking banana plugs. I should have made the gap a little bit bigger, but can always swap the TKB Touch keyboard up two modules:-)

What is strange is that I am using the Serge now in a different way just because of the cabinet? :-)

The next step is to have 2 more panels in another cabinet on top featuring Livewire, Plan B and Doepfer all banana jacked. Oh and then there is my VICMOD Modular synth which I am building with our group, so the future is looking modular."

c64 Orchestra on YouTube

"C64 Orchestra approached two of the most experienced C64-users from the 1980s, Rob Hubbard and Jeroen Tel. The current work of these two Commodore 64 musicians intend their compositions to be exploited with the aid of a classical orchestra. The compositions that they are going to play:
Rob Hubbard's compositions:
Monty on the Run, One Man And His Droid, Commando, International Karate, Master of Magic.
Jeroen Tel's:
Cybernoid II, Hawkeye, Myth, Supremacy, Iron Lord.
Midway 2006 will see this production premiered."

Great documentary. via Tim Peters. Thanks Tim!

Synclavier Lap Synth and Possible Soft Synth

Thought this shot was kind of funny. The Synclavier isn't exactly the sort of synth I think about taking with me out to play on my lap in the woods. I guess if someone is bold enough to bring that out along with the computer, there could be a power generator sitting just outside that shot.

Via Failed Muso where you can find more shots. As for a soft synth, he also found this intersting blurb on the Synclavier site:

"I am researching the possibility of creating a Synclavier® "plug-in" for several hardware platforms that would recreate the "Synclavier® Sound" by accurately modeling the actual operation of the original Synclavier® hardware. I am convinced that, by utilizing 96/192 Khz 24-bit technology, such a plug-in could faithfully reproduce the sound of a variable sampling rate digital audio system. This project will take between 12 and 24 months."

ML-303 on Acidcode - Precursor to the x0xb0x?

Bread, wine and a "303." I could go for that. Click image for the full shot. The caption on Acidcode reads, "... a little more than just a discontinued DIY project ;)" followed by a link to ladyada and the x0xb0x.

Update: according to Moogulator of sequencer.de there is no direct relation to the x0xb0x other than they are both clones of the Roland TB-303. The ML-303 was made in Germany. Not sure where ladyada is.

""here's a link [on sequencer.de] to the user manual for the ML-303 BassLine."

Via Awakened_Yeti in the comments of this post.

Alien Head Theremin

Photo cell theremin. It picks up light changes in the room.
Title link takes you to XLPCTheremin.com.

Shot, samples and discription pulled from this auction.

sample1
sample2
sample3

"THE NEW AND IMPROVED (MORE LOW TO HIGH RANGE) LARGE PHOTO CELL INSTALLED ON TOP OF THE THEREMIN WILL PICK-UP ANY EXISTING LITE IN THE ROOM, AND TRANSFORM IT INTO SOUNDS THAT ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD.THE THEREMIN REACTS TO ALL TYPES OF LITE, INCLUDING FLASHLITE, LASER POINTER, TV, OR ANY OTHER LITE SOURCE.BY SIMPLY WAVING YOUR HAND OVER THE PHOTO CELL SIDE TO SIDE, UP AND DOWN YOU ARE ABLE TO CHANGE PITCH, AND VOLUME.TO GET THE SOUND EFFECTS YOU HAVE TO CONNECT TO AN AMP.(ALL MY XLPC THEREMINS ARE BUILT TO BE USED WITH AN AMP.). CONNECT EFFECTS PEDALS (DELAY - DISTORTION - PHASE SHIFTER - ETC.) TO THE THEREMIN CUSTOMIZE AND EXPERIMENT, LET YOUR IMAGINATION GO. GREAT FOR DJ's, IN THE STUDIO OR LIVE ON STAGE.JUST CLICK ON THE LIGHT SWITCH FOR ADDED ATTENTION. ADD MY XLPC THEREMIN TO YOUR SET-UP AND EVERYONES HEAD WILL TURN!!!

The XLPC Theremin includes:

8 ohm Speaker (very small - low volume)
Red On/Off Switch
Silver Pitch Volume Knob
Extra Large Photo-Cell (New and Improved)
1/4" Output Jack (Amp. Cable not included)
1 AA Battery (mounted outside the base for easy access)
Soft Plastic Green Alien Head Lamp "

Genoqs Octopus OS Update v0.98

• Step chords: steps may carry individual chords, in addition to the "legacy" track chord system.


• Step chords can be strummed, and strumming may also apply to velocity, pitch, and length.


• Step repeats: you can set a step to multi-trigger.


• Step events: steps may be programmed to trigger a track event, modifying any track attribute


• MIDI IN recording: note and controller data records onto tracks, polyphonically (in the case of notes).


• Undo capability for editing.


• Grid scale: basically an intrument-wide scale setting, in addition to the page-wide scale settings.

massturbator recording session on YouTube

Matrixsynth by Frédéric

I like it! : ) Thanks Frédéric.

elektr4 and the ML-303 Bassline on YouTube

Anyone know more about the ML-303?

blinkenlights by elektr4 featuring an ML-303 Bassline

CLICK FOR MORE »

Expanding the Jomox XBase09 on YouTube

Below are videos of the unit performing via YouTube. Title link takes you to the post on sequencer.de with more. The mod itself is from XRom.







The mod itself. More on XRom.

The Pluto 3000 Formant Modular Synthesizer

Another from the DIY crowd. Check out that pin matrix in the center. Title link takes you to the post on sequencer.de.

Custom Sequential Circuits Pro One

Via Stephen on AH:

"I've always thought the Pro-One's case was flimsy and cheap. Well, of course it was designed to be, but I thought it would be cool if the Pro-One looked more like a Prophet 5. It took 5 iterations, but it looks like my father has come up with something that looks quite cool.

He used the wheel box from my keyboardless Prophet T8 (which he also built new pieces for in black walnut). He used Red Mahogany, though we had originally tried to get a slab of expensive Koa. Anyway, I hope you enjoy how it turned out as much as I do: link"

Absolutely Gorgeous. Thanks Stephen! Title link takes you to more shots.

The First Roland to Have MIDI?

So was it the Jupiter 6 or the JX3P? I was always under the impression that it was the JX3P, shown at NAMM in 1983, hooked up to the Sequential Circuits Prophet 600. On Dave Smith Instrument's Museum page it states that the JX3P was the synth hooked up to the Prophet 600. "First shipped in December 1982, it was successfully connected to a Roland JX-3P at the January 1983 NAMM show, the first time two MIDI instruments were joined. Look what has happened since!" BTW, as many of you already know, the Prophet 600 is credited as the first synth with MIDI introduced by Dave Smith, the man behind the MIDI spec in 1981. You can read more about MIDI and it's history on wikipedia.

I recently read an article on the Juno 6, 60 and 106 in the July '06 issue of Keyboard Magazine. In it Mr. K of Roland is quoted as saying the Jupiter 6 was the first Roland synth with MIDI and it was the Jupiter 6 shown connected to the Prophet 600 at NAMM.

So I shot an email off to Analog Heaven (AH). Someone there must know. A few interesting replies came in. According to the Keyboard Museum Roland Timeline, the Jupiter 6 came out in 1982 and the JX3P came out in 1983. If this is correct, not only did the Jupiter 6 predate the JX3P, but it would have had to come out in December shortly after the Prophet 600, unless there was an original version without MIDI. If anyone knows, feel free to comment. Someone that joined Roland later that year believes it was the JX3P that came first and was hooked up to the Prophet 600, and one of the employees he worked with claimed to have the JX3P that was shown at NAMM. Finally the shot in this post was sent in. Looking at both synths it is clear that the synth on the right is the Prophet 600 and the one center is the Jupiter 6. The shot is from this Mix Online Article. The caption reads, "Dave Smith (in plaid) demos a Sequential Circuits Prophet 600 controlling a Roland Jupiter-6 at the 1983 NAMM show." So I'm left thinking it was the Jupiter 6, unless of course both were shown at Winter NAMM that year and both were hooked up during the show. And then there was always Summer NAMM.

If anyone out there knows conclusively, please comment.

ZO Waveforms

Title link takes you to shots posted on a new Yahoo! group for Cynthia's Zeroscillator, pronounced "zeeroscillator." Yes you have to join to see the shots. I pulled one for the post. It kind of reminded me of the bat signal. Come to think of it the Zeroscillator kind of reminds me of Batman. Hmm... Not so sure I should be sharing these things...

Update: Ok, just look at them below. They have Batman written all over them. hmm... conspiracy...

Bailey - New Flickr Shot

flickr by weepingrocksins.

Tom gives you pink panties, I give you a plaid synth skirt. Somehow I think I just won the synth geek award of the century.

Plan B Model 24 Heisenberg Generator

Title link takes you there.

Fully voltage controllable random events with independent Stepped and Smooth functions

Computer-generated random source replicates MM5837 noise chip at 16bit

Accepts external sampling voltage and clocks -or- generates it's own random voltage and musical timings

Multifunctional: Smooth/Stepped Random, Noise Source, Slew Limiter, S+H

Update via the man behind Plan B, Peter Grenader, himself:

"The Model 24 Heisenberg Generator is a dual random voltage processor - one side producing smooth (as Ezra Buchla put it - wiggly) random voltage, the other side doing stepped random. It runs off it's own random source, or can be used to process external signals, meaning it can operate as a VC Sample and Hold or Slew Generator. I slipped this one into production when no one was looking, - there was no advance notification. PCBs and faceplates are already on order, most of the parts are already here. Shipping to our dealers will commence in about a month's time.

The M24 uses an Amtel 2051 micro-controller to generate its triggers and internal gate signals (which in some cases are processed into noise in the same manner as the extinct MM5837 noise chip). There are specific reasons why I elected to use a microP for these functions. Details are on the EAR site.

As a further note, shipments of the Model 10 Polyphonic Envelope ($185 retail) and Model 14 Dual Processor ($225 retail) will commence next week.

There are three other products coming in short time. One is long overdue - the four channel stereo mixer/panner. The Model 16 Spectral Mutliplexer is next. The other one has not yet been announced and I'm going to keep it under my belt for a bit longer. All I can mention is it's an Evil Twin.

Evil twin of what will remain a mystery...for now!

peace,

- P"

Sealed's New Roland U-110 Page

Title link takes you to Sealed's new Roland U-110 page with info and samples. It sounds a bit like a Korg Wavestation to me.