TB-117 Bassline

A shot of October71's xOxbOx. Title link takes you to the post on VSE.

Roland SH-09 - New Flickr Set

flickr by altemark. Title link takes you to more.

Alkex Bio Octopus

Custom MIDIbox sid by Alkex. Title link takes you to more shots. Via Moogulator.

Korg MicroKorg - New Flickr Shot

flickr by iLEZ.

New Documentary, Podcast, to Feature Dave Smith

"No Island Media has announced plans to make a documentary and synth tutorials with legendary synth pioneer Dave Smith."

"The documentary begins production in April 28, 06 in St. Helena, California and will be released in May 2006. Free edits of the programming will be formatted for digital download, including free segments for streaming internet, rss/atom feeds, quicktime, windows, bit torrent, phone, psp, tivo and iTunes. Full digital downloads will be available for purchase at noisland.net, at the Google Video Store and select web retailers. The documentary and tutorials will also be available on DVD in June 2006."

Very cool. via Synthtopia. Shot via M.E.S.I.

Synth Pioneers Honored

"Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has made his annual selection of 50 sound recordings for the National Recording Registry. This year, the libary has selected some synth-heavy classics, including Walter/Wendy Carlos' Switched on Bach, and Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life."

Title link takes you to more on Synthtopia.

Oberheim TVS Shots

Oberheim Two Voice System. Title link takes you to shots pulled from this auction. Via Brian Comnes.

25k of Classic Analog

Worth 25k? You be the judge. Title link takes you to the shots pulled from this auction for a Musonics Minimoog, Oberheim OB-8, Moog Minimoog, Rhodes Chroma, and a Memorymoog Plus. Sent my way via Danielle Black and Rob Puricelli. Also see this gallery.

George Mattson and The Syntar

I recently engaged in an email discussian with George Mattson, creator of the Syntar. That's him next to Bob Moog who's trying out his Syntar at the 1980 Chicago Summer NAMM Show. The discussion we had was fascinating and private, and I thank him for sharing his story with me. As it was part of synth history I asked George if it would be ok to put up a post here, as I'm sure other synth enthusiasts would enjoy this bit of synth history as well. He gave me the go ahead, so here it is. Note that this was originally private and not meant to be a post - this was just me and George going back and forth. The references to Starship are to Jefferson Starship. Many thanks to George for taking the time to share this with me, and for letting me put this up.

"I was born as a non-Mormon in Salt Lake City, Moved to Anchorage, Alaska in Sept '64 3 weeks before my 10th birthday. Graduated from High School there in 1973. That Fall I moved to Moscow, Idaho where I enrolled in the School of Mines studying Mining and Metallurgy. Bought my first synths at that time-the 101 and 200 when there were only 3 manufacturers. ARP, Moog and EML. I liked the versatility of the EML line and went that route. That was the days that you had to send a certified cashiers check for the full purchase amount and they were made to order. Went to College 5 semesters and stayed a freshman with a 1.18 GPA. My older brother moved down and had a bunch of recording gear so we started a recording studio trying to break into commercials. I had picked up a Poly-box by then and my Yamaha YC-45D. Then bought the EML sequencer and a 300. Couldn't stand the clutter and built the box for the sequencer, Told EML what I was doing. They bought the original cases back from me and credited that against another 416 panel and another 300 just to fill 2 big gaping holes in the box. I had most of the synth panels on one side of my bedroom and all of the keyboards (including a Baldwin upright, a Rhodes and a friends EML 500) including the 101 keyboard on the other side of the room. We'd hire musicians to play the tunes and I ran/programmed the synths. Oct. 04 1978 I was alone in the room running back and forth between the consoles and the keyboards when I said to myself: "what I need is...." and the concept of the Syntar hit me. Then I said "somebody should make one of these" Then I said: "Hey, I could do this!" (I talked to myself a lot.) Jan '79 I moved to Bend, OR. Moved in with my folks and tried to find investors. I built a hand-made prototype using EML circuit modules and went to the 1979 Atlanta NAMM lugging this thing around trying to get a manufacturer to go for it and hire me as a team leader on the project. The only person that had any emotion about it while talking to me was Herb Deutsch from Norlin. He said he'd talk to his Board of Directors and call me. In Jan '80 I went to the NAMM winter market in Anaheim with Michael Garrison (He landed his distribution agreement with Ariola on the way down) and Mike asked if I saw the Moog booth. He took me over and we saw the prototype of the Liberation strapped onto a mannequin. I went home devastated and my folks put up the investment money to get started. They're no slouches; both my Mom and step Dad have electronics degrees. I advertised the Syntar in the mags a month before Moog advertised the Liberation. The thought was if I could beat them to it, at least people couldn't say I copied them. That never worked. They had a little bigger budget than I did. But, anybody researching it will find that I had it first. No big deal now. I had to close shop because we were broke and were facing a takeover. So, I closed it down, called Starship, told them I needed a job and got hired. A year and a half later They wanted me to move to San Francisco rather than flying me back and forth from home. I didn't want my 4.5 and 3 year olds growing up in the California rock and roll scene and moved here in July of 1983. Went out one more time with Starship in Aug/Sept 1983 and told them I was leaving. Been here since doing different things."

"Well, that's the way it went down. Can't change the facts. Of course, I would loved to have made money from all of the work I put into it. The sad part is that I still can't play keyboards. I'm a guitar player since I was 10. Hey, right after I moved to Anchorage."

"That picture was taken in June of 1980 at the Chicago NAMM. That's me next to him- I was 26 YO. Notice that he's playing prototype #3.( The first was the one I hand built from EML circuit modules, the second used forked plasic keys over fluted shafts-that one was later modified and used as a LASER controller by the guy doing the LASER shows for Blue Oyster Cult and Tangerine Dream)) The Syntar hanging in the background is just a panel and cardboard simulated left hand keys. The prototype Bob is playing has curved aluminum keys that dragged a resined string over a pulley. The final (and production)version was much more aesthetic and worked like a charm."

Thanks again George. Fascinating story. I really can't play either. : )
BTW, George also provided the EML Poly-Box Samples in this post.

Update: George later made up the 1.18 GPA with a 3.8 GPA with his AA in Electronics. : )

Korg Lambda ES-50 Page

Title link takes you to a really nice page on the Korg Lambda set up by Carbon111 - also posted on Synthwire.

ARP Quadra VC Phaser x 2 - New Flickr Set

flickr by unrest.
Title link takes you to the set.

Battery Powered Doepfer

See the XLR connector in the bottom right corder? Follow it to the back of the case. those are batteries that power the modular. Nice. Title link takes you to more including the custom case. Via Julian on AH.

Tiesco 60F - New Flicker Set

flickr by altemark. Title link takes you to the set.

JoMox XBase 09

Title link takes you to shots pulled from this auction. It went for $439.

One

New track and new shots on Gnostic Rocket, featuring the Springboard Dub.

Yamaha CS80 Shots

Title link takes you to more shots. I let this one slip away. It went for $2445. I played it and it was in immaculate condition. I really couldn't afford it, so maybe it's a good thing...

Oxford OSCar Shots

Title link takes you to a couple more shots.

Orgon Modular

Title link takes you to shots pulled from this auction. Details below.



Description:

3x VCO 01
Very acurate 1v/oct tracking.
linear and expo modulation.
High temperature stability.
Sine, triangle, Pulse/Square and Sawtooth waveforms.

6x ADSR ENVELOPE GENERATOR
<1 mS attack time.
Gate in and thru sockets.
0v to 10v output.
Manual envelope trigger button.
Attack and Decay LED's.
Attack and Decay Gate outputs.


1x Noise Generator
White, Pink, Red and Blue outputs.

3x Dual LFO (six LFO's in total)
Triangle/saw and Pulse/square outputs.
Bi-color Rate LED.
.oo1 Hz to 300Hz Range.
Output shape control.

1x Enigiser Filter
25 different filter responses
2 audio inputs
2 CV inputs
Voltage controlled resonance
Design Taken directly from the ORGON SYSTEMS ENIGISER

2x Log/Lin VCA
2 audio inputs
2 CV inputs
Log and Linear response
Initial Gain control
Good design, no "DC thump" or "bleed through"

1x Waveform Animator
Combined clipper, adder, subtractor and nonlinear amp

1x Multimode filter
2 audio inputs
2 CV inputs
lowpass, highpass, bandpass and notch responces
Classic statevariable design

1x Audio/CV Mixer
4 in 1 out

1x Multi Connection

1x PSU

The Reliqquary Dual Analog Filter

Title link takes you there. Via Moogulator.

Mixed Modular System on Sequencer.de

Nice modular posted on Sequencer.de.

Synthi Avs

Synthi VST from EMS Rehberg. Title link takes you there. Demo version on site. Via deb7680 in the comments of this post: "Hello, I like your blog on the synths. I was vorking with Ems Synth Aks during ten years. Now, i'm use the very nice emulation of Ems Synthi Aks,
EMS AVS." Thanks deb7680! Cool website, btw.

Samples via deb7680 via the comments:

"With Ems Avs I can work together with 3 or 4 Ems Avs. Listen this exemple :
http://ddata.over-blog.com/xxxyyy/0/23/32/50/mp3/avsssl128.mp3
realised with no effect, just electronic zigouigoui into Ems Avs and this one :
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/didier.debril/bcravsfiltre.mp3 "

Fenix, Cynthia, and MOTM Suboctmux

Shot of David Talento's (Legion) Fenix, Cynthia and MOTM Suboctmux modular.

Title link takes you to a 3.73M mp3.

Thanks David!

Modcan Pics and Sounds

Title link takes you to a much bigger shot. Also check out this MP3. Sent my way via Rui Peixoto.

Two more shots from RUI:

Modcan B multiples
Voyager Performer

Thanks Rui!

Tali Digs Moog

ASEQ-1

via sympatico.ca:

8-step Minisequencer - All Analog, All Real-time, All Performance synchronized to MIDI tempo.

Infinite number of sound sequences, now you can create whatever you wish by tweaking all knobs real-time synced to MIDI clock. You will not run out of sequences! All hardware design - no memory or CPU processing time delays. Punchy analog triggering. One of the "Retrobacks" sequencers was sold to MTV Europe.

* 8-steps pitch control
* Time gate control
* VCO level output from 0 to +5 volt control (covers standard 5 octaves)
* Real time knob for loop point control
* Start/stop/continue along with MIDI sequencer/drum machine.
* +5 volt V-gate (Oberheim, Roland SH, Arp Odyssey,Yamaha CS),+14 volt gate (SEM-1 ,System-100, ARP2600), S-gate (any voltage for Korg Monopoly, Minimoog ,Rogue ,Source) and Trigger output (ARP2600 , Odyssey 2800)
* Auto and Tap mode (TAP mode allows to tap analog sequence in MIDI song synced real-time, instead of steps mute buttons)
* 6 BPM ranges: 32 16 8 4 2 1 BPM.
* Built-in MIDI to DIN Sync converter to sync Roland's TRx0x TB-303 MC-202 machine.
* Power supply not included. Any 9 volt DC with negative center

Dimensions 28 X 18.5 X 3.5 cm

Via Moogulator.

Synergy Shots

Title link takes you to more shots.

Jean Michel Jarre Custom Keytar

Note the Moog Liberation neck.



Title link takes you to a much bigger shot. Via this VSE post.

Rick Jelliffe's Extras

Title link takes you to a number of soft synths from Rick Jelliffe including CS-80, SH-3A, and of course, the Neumixturtrautonium mentioned in this post.

Novation Remote 25 Dissasembled

Derek Warren sent me a photoset of the Novation Remote 25 disambled. There are some great shots in the set. Title link takes you there. Thanks Derek!

P.S. Click on the Club Adote link on the left when you get there for some cats. : )

SX Slider - New Flickr Set

fliker by bdu. Title link takes you to more.

HCGPF on S on Analog Industries

And it's a synth one. Title link takes you there.

EMU Emulator with Extra Knobs

Title link takes you to shots saved from this auction. Check out the extra knobs on top. Anyone know what that is? It almost looks photoshopped. There is no mention of the knobs in the auction. This one in via underface.

Update via the comments:
"The extra knobs are a JL Cooper filter mod. It was incorporated into the emulator 2."

Thomas Dolby's MIDI Knob Box

Title link takes you to more shots including the obligatory cat. Via CDM.

Mark Pulver on the Moog MF-104 Analog Delay Pedal

Title link takes you to Mark's thoughts on the Moogerfooger MF-104. He touches on the differences between analog and digital delays and he has very nice sample of the MF-104. If you ever wondered what an MF-104 sounded like, let alone what an analog delay sounded like, check it out. What's great about the demo is that it shows a wider range than typical demos. There is also a timeline on the page so you can read what's happening as you listen.

FM-800 - Korg Poly-800 and EX-800 Filter Mod

"This modification to the Poly-800 series of synthesizers adds the ability to control Filter Cutoff with DCO1. This is commonly known as FM control of a filter. Although it's technically not Frequency Modulation, the results are capable of sounding very much like an FM synthesizer. A knob allows the effect to be turned from completely off, to far beyond the normal capabilities of a Poly-800. This modification very nicely compliments the Moog Slayer modification for a total of 3 knobs full of fun."

Title link takes you there. Don't miss the sample link on top when you get there.
FM800 filter mod

Discovering Electronic Music on YouTube

Click here for episodes on YouTube. Via DVDBorn.

Casper Electronics Orchestra Conductor on YouTube

Title link takes you there. As always make sure to check out the rest on the right when you get there.

Cynthia Breaks Down Vactrols on YouTube

Modular synth maker Cynthia of Cyndustries and the acclaimed Zeroscillator, talks about Vactrols. Title link takes you there. Via Jay. Thank you Jay.

All Keyed Up - New Flickr Shot

"Closeup of my dusty Roland RS-70 synthesizer keyboard."

flickr by J. Mnemonic.

Das Subharchord

via Das Subharchord

"The Subharchord is a unique electronic instrument which is somewhat comparable to the Mixturtrautonium from Oskar Sala. This site is dedicated to the Subharmonic Sound Generator, which was developed during the 1960s in East Berlin (GDR) at the Radio and Television Technical-Centre (RFZ) of the German post office."

The Mixturtrautonium.


You can find a VST emulation and more info on Rick Jelliffe's site.

More on 120 Years and wikipedia.

Via this this electro-music thread.

The Unique DBK

Two shot's via this auction. Title link takes you to the post on VSE where I found this. Some interesting bits (pun intended) from Micke in the post (that Micke knows his synths):

"It's a rebadged LEM Bit 99:
http://www.synrise.de/history/advertises/advert_005.jpg

...which itself is a rebadged Crumar BIT 99.

some insider info:

LEM is/was a subsidiary of General Electro Music, Italy (more known as GEM) and I'm pretty sure they bought the rights from Crumar to re-release the BIT 99 (under the LEM brand) when the Crumar company ceased to exist around the mid-to-late '80's.

Around the same time as this, Gem would buy the ELKA company (another well-known Italian manufacturer of musical instruments) which was owned by the other Crucianelli brother, namely Piero Crucianelli.
(Piero was brother to Mario Crucianelli who owned Crumar). "

Yamaha CS15 - Shots and Samples

Title link takes you to shots and samples pulled from this auction.

A Little Disney History

Title link takes you to a post on Craigslist for the Moog Polymoog used in the Disneyland Electric Light Parade. Kind of interesting to me in that I grew up in Hollywood and used to go to Disneyland all the time. I remember pulling an all nighter there with all the goths during one of their special events (I looked the part, but I never was a goth!). : ) I actually had a black crow try to pick one of my hairs thinking it was branch. Another story for another time. I forget what the event was for, but I do remember passing out on a bench and having a great time. What's odd is I've probably heard this exact synth serveral times. This one via Brian Comnes. Thanks for the flashback Brian! : )

Two Notrons, a Serge and a Fenix Modular...

walk into a bar, and...



meet a couple o' little TB ladies. The Serge says, "see, hear, and feel the power of my wave (on top)" The Fenix says "I filter the crap out of your wave." The Notrons? "Shut up and dance, slaves. Mr. Tape recorder, start rollin."

Shot sent my way via mrcarp. Click on the shot for its full glory. Thanks Mr. Carp!

Ljudofonisk - New Flickr Shot

flickr by altemark.

Ekosynth P15

flickr by jumpstart.



"ekosynth p15, analog monophonic synthesiser"

Siliconsequences on YouTube

Published on Mar 4, 2006 morbius001

"This is a video demo of the Synthesizers.com Q-960/Q-962/Q-963 ability to be "played" on-the-fly, including skip, reset, stage input/output triggers (C)2005-Cybertron Productions. For more info, join our "synthesizers.com user's group" on Yahoo. Also, check out our WIKI pages
For more info,video demos, and music excerpts by Cybertron."

Ebay Synth Tracking Blog?

Title link takes you to a Circuit Bent Item tracker for Ebay set up by Circuit Master of GetLoFi. The cool thing about it is that it saves off the media (images and samples) to his server. These are then permanently accessible via the blog posts. I asked him how difficult it would be to set up a synth version. As expected it would not be difficult at all - he just finished a prototype. What do you think? Personally I think it's a great idea for a number of reasons. One it saves the most interesting bits for posterity, two it's kind of cool having a repository for everything synth on Ebay, and three it brings the items to you, making it easier to track what's coming up. On the bad side? Well, for those rare occasions where you might be lucky enough to be the only person to catch a good deal... Well those days would probably be over. The tool would post any item with the word "synth" on Ebay. Please feel free to post your comments. Great idea, sucks, or who cares... Sorry Doktor Future. : )

EML Poly-Box Samples and the SynthCluster

Click here for a couple of samples of the EML Poly-Box by George Mattson. Check out his monster setup (click the image for a much bigger shot). That is one massive EML Sequencer. You can see the orange EML Poly-Box below and the EML 101 to the left. Also check out George's site for more.

Update: Notes from George:
"They're all EML, The sequencer is running on it's own, the Polybox is following an oscillator on the 101 and the 500 is doing the bass line. The drums are actually a real Pearl acoustic set on Power Dive being played by a guy named Pete Gerdin. The vibraphone sound at the beginning of Happy Tune was the vibratone setting on a Yamaha YC-45D combo Organ. The sequencer just gets programmed and turned loose. I just played along with it."

"the samples were 29 years old and dug up off an old cassette in order to let people hear what a Polybox could be used for besides chords. Remember, the BIG music happening then was Disco. (ugh)"