The Oberheim OB12

Update: A funny via the comments (White Synths are Better!): http://musicthing.blogspot.com/2004/12/are-white-synthesizers-cooler-than.html

Yeah, I wish they kept the OB12 white, but then... People would go off on it not only because it had the Oberheim moniker but also because they tried to rip off the original OB white. Still... I think they should have done it.

BTW, there have been a few updates on the main thread since I posted this (click on the title link to get there).

Update: Two Sound on Sound articles on the OB12. One before and one after an OS update.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/sep00/articles/oberheim.htm
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Apr02/articles/oberheimob12.asp

Great post up on Vintage Synth Explorer regarding the Oberheim OB12. Title link takes you to it. I shared why I think it failed in this post - the Oberheim branding. There is no way it could live up to it.

A shot of the rare white OB12 prototype


The following in an interesting nugget from the post that I was unnaware of from CTB:

"I might have told the story about the curator of the synth museum in Florida (Audio Playground, http://www.keyboardmuseum.org/play.html). He was actually involved in the development of the OB-12. The Viscount guys asked him about features, and he gave them a bit laundry list. Months/year later, they plopped a proto in front of him and asked what he thought. The features he told me about sounded really great, and I wondered at the time why the synth wasn't more popular. Viscount actually gave him the prototype - it is the only white one ever made (kinda like the color of x-voice synths), and it is on display at the museum. I have a picture of it. He sometimes posts over on AH - Joe Rivers is his name.

Mr Rich makes me curious to hear one now."

The Moog Strikes Back - New Flickr Shot

Trip. Never saw this one before. Anyone know what synth that is with the mike?

SuperMoe Modular Sequencer Project

An interesting thread came up on AH regarding why modular analog sequencers are not modular in the sense of being able to build as man steps as you like by simply adding modular steps. James Husted posted a link to Dave Bradley's SuperMoe Modular Sequencer Project on hotrodmotm.com.



BTW, I thought the follwoing reason to build this was quite funny. : )

"I spent many months designing an "all in one 10 units wide do everything" step sequencer. It had voltage control or clock selection of the sequencer stage, 16 trigger switches, and could be switched from 8x4 to 16x2 modes. It pushed the very edge of complexity in terms of being practical to attempt to build it using discrete logic. The panel was huge and crammed full of controls. Then I made another survey of all the sequencers I could find both past and present, found 2 more features I wanted to add, and the whole thing came crashing down under its own weight.

So I went back to the drawing board, and repackaged everything in a more modular fashion."

Make sure to check out the title link for much more. On a somber note, track back to the root for a shot of Dave and the late Larry Hendry. He will live on.

CES ED-LAB

Update: Excellent point via the comments. Thanks Dave.

"Aren't these for more of what they can do, then for what they sound like. Basiclly, it gives a number of logic modulues to your banaplug modular.

After playing with my Nord Modular for a while, you get to really understand the power and flexibility of logic modules.


So the power is in what it does or doesn't do to your sound, rather then in it's sound creation abilty.

Though never played with one, so there could be some good sound making abilties.. i do see the diodes and tube...



Dave "

----------------

Currently on the *bay. Title link takes you to shots saved for posterity. This looks like one of those educational kits. Read below for details. I always wonder what one of these would sound like. My guess is nothing too impressive otherwise they'd be more popular, but who knows... If you do, please feel free to comment.



Notes from the auction also saved for posterity:

ANALOG MODEL 652.A ELECTRONICS SYSTEM LAB

6 DC power supplies regulated with fixed and variable outputs with both positive and negative fully protected supplies; 2 phase AC power source; waveform generator with sync, fvco, variable sine, square and triangle outputs from 1 Hz to 100Khz; meter for AC or DC voltage and DC current shunts; high impedance AC input to prevent over-loading; switches, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, zener diodes, varactor diodes, transistors, lamps, op amps, radio coil, transformer, digital and linear IC socket, vacuum tube socket, PC, printed circuit, or breadboard slot; FET's, MOSFET's, UJT, SCR, Triac, Diac, and built-in speaker.


DIGITAL MODEL 703.A DIGITAL SYSTEMS LAB


A/D converter, D/A converter, follower/hold, scmitt trigger, comparator op-amp, one-shot, variable speed digital clock, counter and register, IC socket, PC, printed circuit, or breadboard slot; multiplexer, demultiplexer, encoder/decoder, 8 electronic switches, 10 flip-flops, 4 AND gates, 3 NAND gates, 3 OR gates, 4 Exclusive/OR gates, 3 NOR gates, 6 Inverter/NOT gates, keypad, and built-in speaker.



CONSTRUCTION AND CONDITION

The Ed-Labs are well constructed 1/8" aluminum panels each housed in 23.5" W x 14.5" H x 10" D formica cabinets. These were purchased from a Vocational School surplus sale and were described as operational to the auctioneer. There were no banana cables or manuals included. Both power-up but are untested by me (no cables). These instruments are very clean cosmetically. Each has a foil serial number sticker on the front panel and the 702 has its serial lightly scratched in small numbers under the keypad. There is a ding to the lower left corner of the 651 (see picture). The 651 is also missing a knob on a button switch at the bottom labeled "M" and a knob in the radio circuit. This knob mounts on a shaft that is sitting flush to its front panel casing. The 651 was missing one of its rubber feet, so I replaced those with a similiar white set of four. The original set of three will be included with the auction. Both units appear to be otherwise complete.



APPLICATIONS

The Ed-Labs can be employed as expanders for a modular synthesizer system; for circuit design, modification, experimentation; or as effective tools for those pursuing a general electronics education.

Fruity Loops Sytrus 2 Synth

Update: RM in this case looks like it's Ring Modulation. Wiglaf called it in the comments section. I went back to the site and found the following bit on it. It is interesting that it's called out as a separate synthesis type.

"Ring Modulation - Sytrus operators can interact not only via FM (frequency modulation) and a simple mix, but also via RM (ring modulation). Ring Modulation is a process where the spectra of two input signals are multiplied together to produce another spectrum, often having characteristics qualitatively different than the input signals. "

Via Create Digital Music. I love Fruity Loops. This one looks really interesting. Title link takes you to the Sytrus link destination off of the Fruity Loops main site. There is a link there to the main Sytrus site. The reason why I'm linking to this interim site is because there is an in depth info section with tons of information on the synth. Make sure to check it out. There are some pretty powerful performance features I haven't seen before. BTW, if anyone knows what RM Synthesis is, please comment. I must have overlooked it on the site.



"Sytrus is a powerful and versatile synthesizer featuring 6 customizable operators for FM and RM synthesis, plucked strings synthesis, 3 SVF (filter) & distortion modules, effects module with chorus effects and 3 delay lines & unique programmable unison mode."

Umm... What's RM synthesis?

Moog - New Flickr Shots

Nice little OB-Xa Filter Sweep

Via this gas station post.

Synth Graffiti

Nice. Via Music Thing. Title link takes you to post. Ok... Anyone else spooked by that bottom left shot.

MS20 Portrait - New Flickr Shot

The Voynich - Made In China

Sent to me by Chris Strellis. Track made with the Voynich home keyboard. Nice! I actually have one of these. : )



"So here's a song made using just a toy keyboard. The drums were sampled
individually and a new groove recreated. Tons of EQ and FX were using in Adobe
Audition to bring it to life as best I could. Lots of ropey playing too - those
tiny keys are damn hard to play!"

Metal Box

Makers of modular gear. Click through title link for more.

Music Thing Gets a Clavia G2 Modular

So that's why Tom has been quiet over there. Some impressive samples of the G2. Interestingly, they don't sound like the Nords to me.

Circuit Benders

Great circuit bending site with pictures and samples. Via GetLoFi. Please don't let this be a circuit bent Roland SH101. The caption on Circuit Benders says it's modified. Let's hope that means modified and not circuit bent. Cheap home keyboards, bend away, but actual synthesizers with only a limitted number out there... Please... Protect and serve.

Oldschool-Sound

I haven't been to Oldschool=Sound.com for a while. Looks like there has been quite a few updates since I last dropped by inlcuding tons of p*rn, some somewhat literal. : ) It's a great site, just be careful at work with those groovy babe shots.

More AH Bay Area Gathering Shots

New set in via AH. Wow. Man that's a beautiful modular.

Modcan

Korg MS-10 Samples

You commonly hear Korg MS20 samples. Here's two of the MS20's little brother, the MS10 I ran into via this thread on Vintage Synth Explorer.

http://oldschoolsound.free.fr/sons/5%20ms10s%20fast%20copy.wav
http://oldschoolsound4.online.fr/sons/MS10&SQ10&KR55.mp3

My Favorite Retro Synth - The ConBrio ADS 200

"THE ADS (Advanced Digital Synthesizer) 100 was a high end (there was no given price when the 100 system was introduced) analogue synthesiser, probably most well known for providing the sound effects for 'Star Trek' TV series. The first model 100 system was a dual manual splittable keyboard (microtonally tuneable) ,a video display for envelopes, 'control cube' disk drive with computer hardware, and a multi-coloured buttoned front panel for 64-oscillator additive synthesis and real-time sequencing."

Title link takes you to more on the ADS 200 on Synthmuseum.com. Both the ADS 100 and ADS 200 were digital. Only two of the ADS 200 were ever made and one sold for $30,000.

Update: I remember hearing how the ConBrio ADS 200 would look home on the original Star Trek series. Well, according to 120 Years, it's bigger predecessor, the 1978 ADS 100 was actually used in Star Trek the TV series.

Update: I should change the tagline of this blog to "The Snopes of the synth world, debunking Urban Synth Legend." See the comments for much more. The ADS 100 was not around when Star Trek the TV series was aired. I'm going to shoot 120 years an email on this to see if they know something we don't. Thanks all.

Update: Looks like Retro Synth found the answer to our little mystery. The ADS 100 was used in Star Trek, The Motion Picture. Now that sounds more familiar to me, but who knows, it's all a blur. Too many synths, too little time... : ) As for my favorite digital synth, why it would also be the Wave... But, it would be the Crimson Wave with matte finish. The ConBrio is my favorite Retro Synth, focus on Retro. I had a TV that looked just like it when I was a kid. Warm memories... : ) image via wikipedia.

The Crimson Waldorf Wave

Update on the original Star Trek via the comments: ""Star Trek burst upon T.V. screens in the summer of 1966. The guiding genius behind this massive effort was Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry recruited a hand-picked technical crew to create the incredible series which became a legen in its own time. The challenge of finding and creating the multitude of sound effects was of particular interest since no television series of this magnitude had ever been attempted before. Virtually all the sound effects were created exclusively for the television series, i.e.: the pneumatic doors of the Enterprise were actually the sound of an airgun played in reverse. Spock's viewing machine was in reality the thump of a torpedo firing pin played backwards.

The final result is a unique library of brilliantly futuristic sound effects that were created principally by Jack Finlay, Douglas Grindstaff and Joseph Sorokin. Grindstaff is one of Hollywood's finest sound editors and the recipient of many awards and is currently the department head of Lorimar Post-Production. Sorokin also works at Lorimar and is the sound editor of "Knots Landing." Jack is now retired.

Just imagine what they could have created for Star Trek if they had access to today's high-tech electronic equipment!""

Win the Prodigy's Prodigy

Interesting. Makes you wonder...


Via Music Thing.

Korg MR16 Midi Rhythm Sound Unit

Trip, I've never seen one of these before. It's digital PCM/sample based. The knobs are for controlling the pan and volume of each sample. Looks like a fun little unit.

Receptor Muse Video

Receptor Muse Video on Sonic State.

Synthesizers.com for sale

Huge system for sale. Title link takes you there. Some great shots.

Molecular Bytes Membrane - Audio Sequencer

Haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Title link takes you to more on Sonic State including links to audio demos.



"Membrane analyzes and separates the most diverse physical characteristics out from the audio material, so it becomes freely variable and changable by the user. Aferwards Membrane resamples the audio material with the use of the changed characteristics. By this method you can assign completely new characteristics to the material, which are played in real time and without destruction of the original input data."

The Melloman - DIY Mellotron built from Walkmans

Nice.

Via Boing Boing.

New Modcan B Series Analog Sequencer

"Inspired by the excellent Milton Sequencer designed by Peter Grenader at Buzzclick music. The VC SEQUENCER 54B retains the core ADC voltage controlled step selection circuitry of the Milton while contributing a few new features and variations to Peter's design."

Click through title link for more details.

1975 Mutron Bi-Phase

Nice shot sent to me from Andre Vezina. Thanks Andre!

Shalmaneser: Feature Wars & SuperCollider

Tim Walters on SynthSights announced that all tracks on his Feature Wars album is now available for download. 90% of the album was done with SuperCollider a real time audio synthesis programming language. Title link takes you to Tim Walters site where you can hear it for yourself. For more on SuperCollider, check out Wikipedia and the SuperCollider homepage.

AH Bay Area Gathering Shots

Title link takes you to more.

C64 on Retro Thing

I love it when Retro Thing puts up retro synth content. Title link takes you to a new post on the Commodore 64 Sid Chip which includes a shot of the Sidstation and a link to a C64 blog I haven't seen before. Check out the following shot of a C64 and SCI six-trak and drumtraks.

Click here for the source and a much bigger shot.


Speaking of retro synths. I've been meaning to put up my favorite retro synth for some time. Coming up... : )

The Crystal Method - New Flickr Shots

Jackpot. Title link takes you to a ton of shots. Looks like they are using an Andromeda A6.

Fairlight Voicetracker

I just saw a post on electro-musci.com for a Fairlight Voicetracker for sale. I never heard of one before, so I decided to look it up. Apparently it's a device that converts voice input to midi output.



From the site:

"In 1985, Fairlight Instruments introduced the Voicetracker VT-5, a device that allows you to operate MIDI and control voltage synthesizers with your voice or any monophonic instrument, rather than with a MIDI keyboard. It was priced at US$2495 when it first came out.

The Voicetracker's 8MHz 68008 CPU analyzes an input signal to determine the pitch and harmonic content of the sound (such as dynamics and breathiness). It takes about 1ms plus several cycles of the incoming sound to determine the pitch. As you might guess, the pitch information is output as MIDI note values and analog control voltages, while the harmonic content analysis can be used to control a synthesizer's filters (among other things)."

Title link takes you to more.

Solvent City - Analog Goodness

Via Jason Amm of Solvent City on AH. I decided to check out his site for more and was glad I did. His music is simple, magical and beautiful. A wonderful treat to my ears. Title link takes you to his site. Make sure to check out the studio link for some great synth shots.

Roland System 100, models 101/102 (w/Midi)


----------------------------
SOLVENT European tour 2005
----------------------------
Thursday October 20: BERLIN, Germany

Thursday October 27: AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands

Friday October 28: UTRECHT, The Netherlands

Saturday October 29: GENOA, Italy

Monday October 31: ROME, Italy

Wednesday November 2: BOLOGNA, Italy

Thursday November 3: VICENZA, Italy

Friday, November 4: PARIS, France

Saturday November 5: LIEGE, Belgium

Sunday November 6: HAMBURG, Germany

Radikal Technologies Spectralis Shot

Just a shot of a Radikal Technologies Spectralis on the *bay. It went for $1575. Not bad considering they go for $2500.

Andromeda A6 Hard Acid Track

F.A.S. Truhan III posted this on on AH. Alesis Andromeda A6 and Korg ER-1 and some Roland R-8mkII. It'll give you a taste of the A6 for acid. Enjoy.

Quick note on SYNTHWIRE

Stuff is starting to come in, so make sure to check it out if you haven't already. Also, feel free to sign up to start posting your own stuff as well.

Sealed's SY85 Page Update

Via Sealed's Deep Synthesis Journal.



"I added new sound examples of YAMAHA SY85 .

Also MIDI SysEx information added. It seems that there are different versions of SY85 OS. If you know anything about SY85's SysEx, please let me know."

x0xb0x

303 DIY clone. Via CoolColJ's the gas station thread started way back on May 28. I swear his threads always seem to last forever. I think his Andromeda A6 thread was the longest running except for maybe the Olde Oberheim Abbey thread. Those were good times, btw. I still wonder what ever happened to Seldom Seen Slim. : )

Title link takes you to the main x0x0b0x site with more pictures and samples. Check out this little diddy.




"The x0xb0x is not just another MIDI-controlled TB-303 clone. x0xb0x is a full reproduction of the original Roland synthesizer, with fully functional sequencer. The sequencer can be programmed just like the original 303 (ok its actually a little easier, we think) and can be used to control other synthesizers via any of its various output formats. 128 banks of track memory and 64 banks of pattern memory are stored in onboard EEPROM, no battery-backup is needed!"

More Shots of Tim Lee's Custom Macbeth M5

I recently posted about Tim Lee's custom macbeth M5. He just posted a link to more shots of it on AH. Title link takes you there. Some good shots that give you a perspective on the size of the Macbeth M5.

Korg Poly61M Samples

Some great Korg Polysix samples via rockmanrock on the gas station.

Picture curtesy of Analog Playground.

Genesis Synth P*rn

Apparently the Genesis - Video Show DVD has tons of analog synth p*rn in it. Definitely need to add it to my list...

Three Prophet VS Emulations

Update: Make that THREE Prophet VS emulations. Via anonymous in the comments (guys and gals, start using your alias I can give you credit! : )

This Prophet VS emulator has been around for a while. That would make three!

http://manfreda.org/LordFrito/Prophet%20VS/index.html




Update: Trip! I just tried out the Auguar demo and the two envelops you can see in the picture below actually have a white dot that indicates where you are in the envelop while you hold a note down. Too cool.

Title link takes you to a post I was reading on Vintage Synth Explorer regarding a Prophet VS VSTi named the Auguar. I decided to check it out remembering that I previously downloaded General Vibe's excellent Prophet VS emulation, VectorSector. I remember reading that the people behind the VectorSector worked on the original Prophet VS, but I might be mistaken. If you know either way, please comment. I haven't been fortunate enough to get my hands on a real Prophet VS but both of these do sound good to my ears. They have that haunting quality the Prophet VS is known for. Click on the links for more info including samples and demos of each. I believe the Auguar is free while the VectorSector is $129 as of this post. It's amazing what you can get for relatively nothing today.

Auguar


VectorSector

First SYNTHWIRE Post is in!

It's from ALANG. I see a future synth user in the works. : ) So cool. Click through for more.

Yamaha CX5M Music Computer - Retro Thing

Update via the comments:
"The full story behind my post is that I bought the CX5M at a music store blowout sale in the late 1980s. I paid $20, including the Yamaha 4-track sequencer cartridge.

They had a Roland MC202 at the same sale for $50. Wish I'd have the spare cash to snag that, too. -- cheers, james"

Trip, Retro Thing has a post up on the Yamaha CX5M Music Computer. I forgot about these. Click through title link for more.



From the post:
"I was digging around in my basement yesterday and came across a box of forgotten music gear from the 1980s. The most exciting discovery was my old Yamaha CX5M MSX-compatible music computer. Released in 1984, this little beast offered a built-in FM synthesizer and MIDI IN/OUT ports. It also includes Microsoft Extended BASIC for programming. Methinks I'll have to dust it off, power it up, and hack up a few strange little MIDI mangling synthesizer programs."

Um.... Yeah! I'd be all over that thing.

Dronebox2 and Polycomb

Posted on Electro-Music.com. Below is a picture and specs on the Dronebox2 VSTi. The Polycomb is similar but uses MIDI to trigger the comb filters. Looks interesting. Click here for a sample of the Polycomb. There are also demo links to the software.



Description:
Dronebox is a VST effect that can turn your guitar into a sitar. It is a bank of six resonant, tunable comb filters with extensive modulation options. It can be used to create lush evolving drones or to add resonance to drums or whatever source material you wish to process.
Version 2 has a stunning new GUI, enhanced modulation and excitation possibilities plus a reverb effect. It also has a built in help section, manual and presets.

Features:
- 6 comb filters that can be tuned by note name, frequency, or by midi input.
- Volume, Pan, Polarity, Damping and Decay time controls for each comb filter
- An Oscilator to reinforce the drone.
- Advanced Excitation section to feed the comb filters with different noise
- Resonant filter
- Four LFOs and a Modulation Matrix
- Pitch bender to adjust the pitch of all combs at once.
- Delay effect
- Reverb effect
- Tool tips for each section.

Pieces of Light - Jazz and the Arp 2600

Title link came in on AH. I checked the site out for samples, but came up dry. It's too bad. I would love to hear an Arp 2600 in a 1974 Jazz piece. Need to put this one on my list...

Magnus Oberheim OB-8 Page and more

Via AH. Great resource page on the Oberheim OB-8 including the Service Manual, Release List, Factory Patches, Engineering Change Orders, Tips and Issues, and Links. Also back track to the root of his site for more.

SYNTHWIRE!

Previously I put up a post asking whether I should open up this blog to other posters. The idea was that I put up stuff I come across every day, but I bet there is a whole bunch of stuff I am missing, and a whole bunch of stuff others might want to put up.

I pretty much received unified feedback that although it's a cool idea, I should leave the site as is. The biggest concern was there possibly being too much noise, which would result in the quality of the site going down.

Well, I thought about it and it came to me. Why not put up a separate site for others to put stuff up. Well, that site is here and it's called SYNTHWIRE.

So how do you join? Send me an email at matrixsynth at hotmail.com from the email address you want to use and I'll add you. Then go to http://synthwire.blogspot.com and start posting.

Note that even if you just want to put something up say once a month, just do it. If we have enough members a single post in a while will add up to plenty of content. Of course if you want to post away, feel free.

We'll play it by ear and see how it turns out.

Obviously if there is any abuse from a given user, I will simply delete the post and the user.

Cheers,

matrix

Ultimate Joystick Controller

Move over you little Korg joystick controllers. The original and real deal is back in town. Someone had to do it. Check out this joystick on a Casio SK-1. Look familiar? It's none other than the Atari 2600 joystick. Now if it only made that 2600 Pacman bonk, bonk, bonk sound. I still remember picking up a copy with my mom and brother at Zody's off of Sunset and Western back as a kid in Hollywood. Via GetLoFi. Title link takes you there.

Minimoog vs. Minimoog

Model D vs. Voyager sound test on the Vintage Synth Explorer forums. Title link takes yout to post. I'd recommend right click and saving the track, Windows Media Player is currently stuck downloading the track while I type this. Ok, just listened to them. The Voyager sounds way more bright in these samples. Makes me wonder what it would sound like with the filter down just a notch. They both sound like Mini's to me. Bob always claimed the Voyager to be a Minimoog. It's also hard to tell what time does to the sound of an analog synth. I've frequently heard that no two Minis sound the same. There are subtle differences in sound between them. I like to think that a Voyager sounds like a Model D just out of the factory. And of course the Voyager adds a bit more in it's featureset.

Clear Gleeman Pentaphonic - Phillip Taysom's studio

Ran into this via this gas station thread. Title link takes you to an Oct, 2004 Sound on Sound article on Phillip Taysom's studio. There are some really nice shots there including an Oberheim 8-voice and one of the rarest synths out there, a clear Gleeman Pentaphonic pictured below. Wow.

Juno 6 - New Flickr Shot