Akai AX-60 Heavy Metal

Ever hear about how raunchy an Akai AX-60 can sound? Well here you go. Title link will take you to The Beat Junkey. The first track titled Squarewave Manifesto is all Akai AX-60 in it's abrasive splendor. Be careful and start with the volume low. Via Vintage Synth Explorer. Enjoy. : )

More from Dave Wright via Carrionsound

More DIY synths from Dave Wright including some samples. I love his design. Click through title for a whole lot more including modular synths. Really, really amazing stuff. Really... Click through already. : )

Sedona Custom Synth

Sent to me from Eric of Metasonix. This is a DIY synth from Dave Wright. Title link takes you to more info and pictures. Love the cats. : )



"Dave Wright of Not Breathing took a dead Crumar Stratus and did this to
it, using various modules, mostly devised by Synth-DIY list regulars.

In fact, Dave is one of the most prolific DIYers I've ever seen. Look at
the galleries at carrionsound.com for more."

Eric Barbour
owner, METASONIX
senior editor, VACUUM TUBE VALLEY


the guts:

ray wilson 1v/oct single bus keyboard pitch/gate extractor - gate/trig/pitch output on back - cv/gate inputs bypass - portamemto2 - on breadboard

2 ray wilson VCOs - four layer slider mixer controls vco1/2's saw and pulse outputs - knobs control sine outputs of both

to mixer - knob controls amount of cross modulation from vco2's tri to vco1's cv in - 1v/oct in on/off both, pulse width

modulate VCO1 from VCO2 tri switch

1 noise source using old crow's PIC code for digital noise - to mixer

1 CGS DC Mixer (slider bank/varios pots)

1 PAIA Dual VCF w/ ASR - bandpass/highpass/lowpass for both stages via two rotary switches, cut off and Q knobs for

both, ASR w/ led - attack/decay and depth knobs, LFO/ADSR cycle, Gate IN On/OFF switch

asr is dedicated to both filters cutoff

JOYSTICK controller controlls X= VCF1 Cutoff Y = VCF2 Cutoff - knobs for depth

1 4011 Cmos based RING MODULATOR on breadboard - grabs vco 1 + 2's pulses - to dc mixer

1 CGS Psycho LFO - rate, glide, depth knobs, LED, VCO1 or VCO2 on/off routing switch

1 Rene Schmitz ADSR on breadboard - attack/decay/sustain/release knobs, wired straight to VCA on breadboard

1 Rene Schmitz VCA using 1583 transistor - manual volume pot on breadboard

2 Cats

Exclusively Analogue Sequencer on the 'bay

Never seen or heard of this one before. Title link takes you more shots, saved for posterity. : ) Link to auction.



"Here's something you don't see every day. If you're a fan of Vince Clarke, Octopus-era Human League, love analog(ue) sequencers, or if you're one of the lucky few in the world that owns an Exclusively Analogue Aviator synth, this auction is for you.

Here is a pair of 16 step Exclusively Analogue sequencers. According to the designer/builder (Tony Wride) there were between 11 and 13 of these made. See the accompanying letter for the breakdown of who had them.

I don't ever recall seeing one up for sale/auction before, so this may be your only opportunity to own one (actually a pair of them).

The EA sequencer takes the familiar analogue step sequencer popularized by Moog, ARP, and Roland and adds some unique twists.

The quantizer section gives you a full 5 octave range (0 to 5 volts) and in addition provides 7 other preset quantization schemes such as a pentatonic and C minor quantizations. A further refinement is the two position switch below the scale knob - you can have the new scale switch in immediately, or only when you push the small reset button! Neat for controlling when the change takes place. Best of all - they are stored on an EPROM and you can burn your own unique quantizations.

In addition, there is a clock input divide control. You can set each sequencer to run on it's internal clock, slaved exactly to an external clock, or run at some division of the incoming clock like 1/2 time or 1/4 time.

Other features include 16 steps, each with an on/off/reset switch and LED, gate pulse width knob, manual start/stop, step, and reset buttons, a cv input for transposing the sequence and various clock, cv, and reset jacks.

There are two 16 step sequencers built into one panel. They can run independently or can be tied together via cabling or by adding a jumper wire internally. The power supply can be set for 120 or 240 volts (currently running at 120). The sequencer panel will fit in a standard rack case."

Update:

Interesting bit from Mark Glinsky via AH:
"Tony Wride made these, along with the Exclusively Analog Aviator Synths,
described in Peter Forrest's books.
Good stuff, very few made.

Tony flew for British Airways (I believe) in the late 80's / early 90's.

Scored a lot of analog stuff, took it over to the UK as baggage, kept
some and sold some at very profitable prices.

After the Exclusively Analog pieces were designed and made,
his wife got tired of all the modular and analog synths littering
the kitchen, dining room, etc., and cut him loose.

Hasn't been heard from since...."

Moving Modules

I forget where I found this one, but I love it. It's a take on Rush's Moving Pictures. Full size image, so no title link.

Drumbuddy

Yeah baby... Click through for more and more importantly, to listen. Trust me, it's worth it. : )

Encore Electronics Frequency Shifter

Frequency Shifters came up on AH. A link was posted to the Encore Electronics Frequency Shifter. Interesting module. Title link will take you to more on the Encore site including some sound samples.



"The frequency shifter operates by altering the frequencies of an input signal. The device shifts all frequency components of the input signal by an equal number of Hz. With this kind of shifting the harmonic relationships in the signal are not preserved. This is unlike a standard pitch shifter, which shifts all frequency components of an input signal by the same ratio, thus preserving the signal's harmonic intervals."

The Release - Bob Moog Tribute

This one from Chris Strellis in via AH. Amazing piece with samples of Bob Moog.

"In tribute to the sad death of Bob Moog I have produced a track in
Bob's honour written soley using the only Moog equipment I could
muster - which (unfortunately) is the Moog Modular and Minimoog
softsynths (please don't flame me for this I do have analogue gear!).
Speech samples from a Moog demo disc and from the good
Dr. himself suppliment the raw (virtual) analogue power!"

More from Heath Finnie - Axaxaxas

Update: Fixed title link. Doh. : ) Synths used listed below each track. Song8 will be up tonight.

Thanks Heath! : ) BTW, song8.mp3 wasn't up when I posted it, so if it 404s just click through title link and select away. Need to find out what's on track 61. Sounds like a Yamaha CS synth or an Andromeda.


"This one is kind of Klaus Schulze like. It's long but I
think quite good.

http://www.heathfinnie.com/media/song8.mp3 (Minimoog, Moog Sonic Six, Roland Sh-5, Farfisa Syntorchestra)

Two short songs that are quite eno-ish are here:

http://www.heathfinnie.com/media/song61.mp3 (Andromeda and minimoog doing the bass. Some Prophet 5. The drums are a Roland CR-8000)

http://www.heathfinnie.com/media/song62.mp3 (droning minimoog, Arp 2600, Andromeda and a guitar with an E-bow)

Right now we are going under the name Axaxaxas. I kind of like it
because it's a throwback to the 70's prog and krautrock bands."

Synth Graffiti

An interesting post on custom synth art came up recently on Vintage Synth Explorer. Title link will take you to more and bigger shots. Sorry Carbon111, I know you'll love these. : )

Punk Disco Technosaurus Microcon


Nintendofied Alesis Micron


Yellow Checkered Moog Etherwave Theremin

Tribute to Bob Moog - Moog Prodigy Sample

Via Vintage Synth Explorer. Rawnoiseattack put this together using only his Moog Prodigy, drum machine and and effects stomp box. Interesting piece with some voice samples from Moog the movie.

New free soft synths - d-lusion's Drumstation and Rubberduck

Via Synthtopia.

Roland Vintage Effects

Via Analogue Haven. Click through title link for much larger shot.



Roland Dimension D SDD-320
Dynacord SRS 56
Roland RV-800 Stereo Reverb
Roland PH=830 Stereo Phaser
Roland SRE-555 Chorus Echo

Switched-On Bach - Wendy Carlos

My previous two posts have me reflecting on the use of analog synths in more traditional, musical instrument roles. The quintessential example of this would of course be Wendy Carlos' Switched-On Bach. It is credited for propelling synthesis into rock and roll and the main stream. It's fascinating to wonder how things might be different had it not been released. Title link will take you to more, including this image and comments from Bob Moog:



"Switched-on Bach was released at the end of 1968 and became an immediate success. It was acclaimed as real music by musicians and the listening public alike. As a result, the Moog Synthesizer was suddenly accepted with open arms by the music business community. We witnessed the birth of a new genre of music--classical music, realized with impeccable musicianship on synthesizer and tape recorder.

Now, some three decades later, the electronic music medium has evolved into a mainstream musical tool. Sixteen-track and twenty-four-track recorders came to be widely used after the release of Switched on Bach, and then digital synthesizers, hard disk recorders, and computer-based music production systems. Wendy's contributions to this evolution cannot be overstated.

She has realized a wide range of high quality music, set ever-increasing standards for sound synthesis, developed a significant body of alternate tunings, and generously provided her usual perceptive advice to equipment manufacturers. Her four Bach/Baroque albums, specially remastered for this release, are major milestones in the evolution of electronic music. At the same time, each album stands by itself as an important contribution to our classical music tradition. I'm delighted to witness the re-release of these works, as are countless numbers of music lovers throughout the world.

--Robert A. Moog"

Stars and Stripes Forever - M3X style

Yep... That is one match I never thought I'd hear. It's insanity I tell yah. Enjoy. : ) Via vogelscheiss on AH.

Now we just need a custom bald eagle paint job on this...

Taps for Bob Moog

This came through on AH via Mark Smart. Taps done via modular at Pogo Studio. Abolutely beautiful.

Roland JX-3P Mod

Another shot in my synth p*rn collection that I forgot about. I vaguely remember this one. Notice the PG-200 controller imbedded in the case to the right. Gorgeous. Title link will take you to more shots.

Roland Devilfish Mod

I recently installed Google Desktop. I have it set to the sidebar mode. One cool thing I really like about it is that it has a photo widget that randomly goes through your photos; it's like having a mini slide show of all your pics. The cool thing is I have about 1G worth of synth photos I've collected over the years. Every now and then something really cool comes up that I've forgotten about that I figure I should share. Case in point, this red Roland TB303 Devilfish Mod. Absolutely gorgeous mod. Title link will take you to a site with more info.

Click here for two more shots and a bigger pic of this:

Lot's of Little Toys - New Flickr Shot

Moog/Radio Shack MG-1, Electro Harmonix Micro Synthesizer, Yamaha DX21?, BOSS SP-808. What fun. : )

First Univox on the 'bay

Via Music Thing.



Via Angelfire:
"Probably the earliest mass-produced portable electronic keyboard was the Univox. Manufactured by Tom Jennings’ J. M. I. Company, it laid the foundations for what was to become VOX- the sound of the 60’s. Designed in 1946 by Derek Underdown and Tom Jennings, it fulfilled Jenning’s original concept of a small, portable electronic keyboard instrument that could be used by a pianist to simulate the sound of various acoustic instruments and the human voice. In actuality, the Univox was really a monophonic organ with a range of tone selections and vibrato effects, which, for the time, was remarkably successful at doing just that."

More c/o pop synth p*rn - New Flickr Shots

Sputtnik's c/o pop set on Flickr. Click through title link for more.

Photosynth Auction - 100% of proceeds go to Red Cross

"The INVERSEROOM PHOTOSYNTH is a one-oscillator miniature synthesizer that outputs a simple square wave, which the user can change with a variety of control and modulation options. Only five inches long, the PHOTOSYNTH incorporates a phototheremin, LFO, depth control, and eight modification buttons to create a huge range of bizarre electronic bleeps, blips, whoops, and squeals. It’s ideal for experimental, glitch, electronic, and noise music, and runs on a single 9-volt battery.

The PHOTOSYNTH is based on two IC’s, a 4049 inverter, which produces and amplifies the signal, and a 4040 binary counter and resistor array, which control the LFO. Pitch can be altered with a potentiometer through a range of more than ten octaves, or by a photoresistor, which allows the user to play the instrument like a theremin. This sensor is activated by engaging the SEN switch, and allows the user to control pitch according to the amount of light that reaches the PHOTOSYNTH. The MODIFY panel of buttons can then effect a series of short-circuits that change the synth’s sound in unexpected ways. Some may seem to have no effect at all at some pitches, and drastic effects at others; some alter the output waveform, speed up or slow down the LFO, or create bursts of sudden noise. Below are two mp3 sound samples, one illustrating the sound of a steady pitch being altered by the MODIFY panel, the other with the LFO engaged.

The PHOTOSYNTH also features a combination ON/VOL knob, and an LFO DEPTH knob. Output is through a standard quarter-inch phone jack. The instrument is hand-built, wired point-to-point, and contained in a sturdy aluminum case standing on wide rubber feet. The 9-volt battery is easily changed, and a new one comes included in this auction; I will also include an instruction sheet."

Another Polyevolver Demo from Stefan Trippler

Haven't had a chance to listen to this yet, but as usually it's getting rave feedback. So... Enjoy. : ) 12 voices of evolver action.

Ruinprojects - New Circuit Bending and DIY site

Phil 'Ruin' just set up a new DIY and Circuit Bending site titled Ruinprojects. Check it out.

Update: New content and samples up.

"I just launched a website chronicling my DIY affairs, circuit bending and synth building... I am currently working on a DIY portable modular synth and have a section up about a past DIY effects modular I built... more to come in the future... http://ruinprojects.jomdom.net/

I also make all hardware music as 'ruin', if you goto the top right corner of the site there will be a link that says 'visit ruinsite too?' go there and theres some sound samples with lots of circuit bent stuff and effects modular usage on the two new tracks.

-Phil"

VCA:

VC Control of Resonance - Cynthia Example

Somone on AH asked for an example of using voltage control on filter resonance. Cynthia of modular synth maker Cyndustries answered.

From Cynthia on AH:
http://www.cyndustries.com/audio/SynthaCon5.mp3

Here's an example using a Cynthia brand Synthacon Filter set at a fixed
cut-off frequency with the initial Resonance knob set just below
self-oscillation. A fluctuating Sample & Hold voltage is fed into the
VC Resonance Input, which creates the "bubbling resonance" sound.

Some of the random voltage levels from the S & H are not enough to
kick it into oscillation, and many of them are...

(If one were to add just a touch of modulation to the cutoff frequency
and a little reverb as well, then you might have a fairly realistic
tribal "talking drum" type sound).

Most often envelope generators are either connected to VCAs to control
volume, of to VCFs to control the cutoff frequencies. Some intricate
or more sophisticated sounds can be realized when connecting an
additional envelope generator just to control the Resonance parameter
while the usual envelopes are doing Amplitude and Frequency. With all
three envelopes set slightly different from one another, more nuances can
happen within your sonic event. (If you don't have VC resonance, well
then try the third envelope on a VC flanger because that can be lots
of fun too!)


Cynthia

http://www.cyndustries.com/modules_synthaconfilter.cfm

Andromeda A6 Demo

A short but sweet demo of the Alesis Andromeda A6 running through a Empirical Labs Distressor from Colin via AH.

"I fed an old Andromeda recording through it, and it certainly does the biz! Oiginal, then 6:1 compression with Dist 2 mode - which adds some 2nd harmonic distortion sorta like a sweet valve like tone then with different faster attack setting. Remeber the Distressor signal has gone another D/A and A/D stage and the orignal is just a wav file on my computer! Smoothed out and punched, with a sweet tone"

Kayne West - Bling and Bush

Via Music Thing. Image below for Bling.

Kayne West's Louis Vuitton Akai MPC 2000XL (Nick Cannon in shot).

It's got tenticles!!!

Or some might say replace the n with an s. : ) GetLoFi's carboard sequencer has gotten an update. He also has some videos up on his site.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Sequential Circuits VS Rack Demo

Via zengomi on Sonic State's the gas station. Click here for the demo. Man, that is one magic sounding synth. And one amazing track by zengomi. Wow. Make sure to click through to his site for more.

Moog Moogerfoogers - New Flickr Shot

via Flickr

Update: Click through the link for a shot of the BOSS DR-110 in the set.

Korg History CD

I was searching for more info on the Korg Donca-matic and ran into this. Interesting; I never saw this before. At $99 it seems a little pricey, but who knows...

"Big Fish Audio - History Of Korg (Akai)

History of Korg is an arsenal of original Korg Synths, organs and drum machines with a programming staff that knows how to get the best out of them. CX3, PS-3100/3200, PE-2000, M-500SP, Sigma, Lamda, Trident, VC-10 vocoder, MS-20, Mono/Poly, Poly-Six, Poly-61, Poly-800, DW-8000 and DD1/5, KRP-77, KR55B, Donca Matic and Stage Man drum machines."

Which Rhythm Ace started it all?

Update: The Korg Donca Matic DA-20 circa 1963, predates the Rhythm Ace by a year. Thanks 100M for pointing out the Donca Matic in the comments for this post. : )

I was reading about the history of Rebirth at http://www.rebirthmuseum.com. They have a good piece starting with Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi. In 1964 he presented the Ace Electronics Rhythm Ace at his first US tradeshow. Was this the first groove box? : ) Soon after he formed Roland Corporation, and was directly responsible for the Roland TB303, TR808, and TR909.

I found some shots of the Rhythm Ace on Audio Playground's Synth Museum. Two are pictured below. Anyone know which was the first model and which was presented by Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi all those years ago?

Fac makes a synth

Via Sonic State's, The Gas Station. Click through for the thread and bigger pictures. Click here for a nice little MP3 of it. Sounds like a synthy mellotron to start.

MOTM - New Flickr Shot

via Flickr

Closeup of the MOTM.

Moog Etherwave Pro Theremin - New Flickr Shot

via Flickr

Beautiful closeup shot of the Moog Etherwave Pro Theremin.

Various Synth Samples - FDISKC.COM

I was poking around Brandon Daniel's FDISK.COM after posting his Serge VCS demo below, and I found a bunch of other goodies including samples.

Instruments include:

ARP 2600
Korg MS20
Oasys PCI
Roland TR606
Akai ASQ10
Korg ER1
Roland SH101
Moog Minimoog

This picture, also from his site, is now my desktop wallpaper.

Serge VCS

In via AH. Brandon Daniel just got a Searge VCS. Click here for a sample. He gave me the go ahead to post this. Thanks Brandon!

"My Bananalogue Serge VCS module arrived yesterday.

I don't have any real experience with actual Serge panels, so I can't
really compare it with a DSG, but the short impression is that this thing
rocks.

It seems most useful to me as a lin/log shaper or an LFO or EG with
lin/log shaping. I doubt I'll be using it as a simple slew much, it would
be a waste!

It's modulating the frequency of the model 15 osc and the lowpass/vca of a
doepfer lpg. All the various shapes of the modulation you're hearing are
coming in via external modulation of the slopes, and as you can hear it
happily heads into audio rates.

-Brandon"

http://www.bananalogue.com/vcs.html

TONTO - New Flickr Shot

From Flickr:

"This is the legendary and mythical TONTO modular synth setup, owned by old school synth nerd / producer / tape op Malcolm Cecil. It was featured on alot of Stevie Wonder's best music, including the track, "Superstition". There are ARP, Oberheim, Serge and Moog modules in TONTO, and even some created by Malcolm, himself. If you are a synth geek, and you've never heard of TONTO, consider yourself a synth geek in training, and class is in session. It is rumoured by Malcolm himself that TONTO contains a very large amount of spare wire from an Apollo space shuttle."

Check out the words TONTO in the middle, above the keyboard.

Potential MIDI Controller?

Via Engadget. Now translate the output of that to MIDI and you'd be set. Imagine a handfull of these in different colors, bouncing around in a dark room modulating your sequence. : )

P.S. Click here to see different means of applying the same technique including just using your finger.

Rebirth Museum - Rebirth for Free!!!

Via Create Digital Music.

http://www.rebirthmuseum.com

The original Roland TB303 and Roland TR909 software emulations have finally been put to rest. I remember when Rebirth first became available. Amazing times, then and now.

Update:

"In this tradition, Propellerhead Software offers the full version of ReBirth 2.0.1, and visitors can personally experience the phenomena of ReBirth and the legendary Roland Devices."

Rememberances on Bob Moog - Doug Wyatt

Click here for the post.

Gorgeous Moog Minimoog on the bay

Via AH. Andy Boucher's Minimoog is for sale on the bay.  Posted here are some absolutely gorgeous shots from the auction.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Cornell Chronicle Reflection on Bob Moog

Click here for an article (2.5M PDF) on Bob Moog's passing, in the Cornell Chronicle.

SK-1 Modular via GetLoFi

Trip. Click here for more shots and info.

Patched up below.

CLICK FOR MORE »

ElectroKraft Light Theremin MIDI Controller

Via Synthtopia:

"ElectroKraft has introduced the Lunar Module, an alternative controller that uses photocells to enable theremin-like control of MIDI signals. The Lunar Module can be plugged into any synthesizer, keyboard or drum machine with MIDI input to create sounds not before possible."

Man that looks bright on my site. My eyes!!! : )

Moog OSCar

I remember seeing this a few years ago on the 'bay. The claim was that it was the prototype of the Oxford Synthesizer Company's OSCar in the case of a Moog Source.

Via the AH archives:

"it was confirmed in SOS. There's an article on it. you can even see it in
the auction.

I don't think that many peopel want it because it's not working properly.
It's collectible, but that's all, not so overly usable..."

"I also think that this is the one described in a issue of Future Music
some years ago when they did a interview with Lionrock. I don't
remember the issue, though I know that I still have it. Apparently, it
was stolen shortly after the interview was completed. I saw the SOS
article too and, since the owner of the piece at that time had worked
with Lionrock, I assumed that the synth was returned."

I found this article on Sound on Sound, but no mention of the word prototype or moog (I need to read the whole thing). But I did find this information that I've also forgotten over the years. Chris Huggett, was the man behind the EDP Wasp, Oxford Oscar, Akai S1000, and finally the Novation Supernova. Pretty impressive.

From Sound on Sound:

"Chris Huggett? In the same way that I had to go and get a proper job with E&MM and then Sequential to make a living, Chris eventually had to get a more reliable source of income. I put him in touch with Akai, for whom I was doing S900 sound development, and the next thing I knew he was writing the operating system for the new S1000. Chris worked for Akai behind the scenes on most of the sampler operating systems for more than 10 years until he grew frustrated with their refusal to let him work on the hardware design as well (with the Wasp and OSCar, he had of course done both). Having fostered Novation in its early days with help and advice, he eventually joined them full-time a couple of years back and is the guiding light behind the virtual technology of the Supernova. So a very British designer is once more working on a very British synth for a very British company."

Update via Turboskin in the comments: "Found the restoration of this exact Moog OSCar: stereoping.com/"

Update 3/8/12: Bigger pics here: Legendary Moog OSCar Up for Auction

CLICK FOR MORE »

Synth Wiki

Brandon Daniel has created a new Synth Wiki. What's a Wiki? It's an online site that anyone can edit and keep up to date. For a massive wiki encyclopedia check out wikipedia. For more on wikis in general check out wiki.org. Wiki away!

Technos 16 π

The Technos Acxel (2nd picture below) came up on AH recently, so I went looking for more info on it. While looking I ran into the Technos 16 π. I totally forgot about this synth. I wonder how many of these were made if any, and who has it. Hopefully it didn't end up in a garbage bin or scrapped for parts. According to Synth Museum there might only be one in existence as Technos shifted focus to the Acxel Resynthesizer. You can see the scratch pad looking interface on the Technos 16 π like the Acxel Resynthesizer. Both were additive synths where the harmonics were represented by red LEDs on the pad, like a big red Lite Brite! You could draw your harmonics and then play them. Hmmm... Someone needs to make a Matrix Pin patch controller like an EMS Synthi but with Lite Brite glass colored pins. Woah...... Or a step sequencer where you can have different glass colored pins instead of LEDs, representing different steps doing different things. Man that would be beautiful. Someone do it please! : )

Technos 16 π (click here for a bigger picture).

Technos Acxel Resynthesizer (two sketch pad looking things on top. Click here for a bigger picture):

Check out this Engadget/Music Thing post for a good article on the Acxel Resynthesizer.