Loop Level - New Flickr Shot

flickr by mikest.

The Glamour Box

Title link takes you there. Samples on site. So, what makes one circuit bent audio device better than the next? I'm curious if the debates are as in depth as what makes one analog synth sound different than the next. Do a search on circut bent on Ebay and you will see a slew of oscillator based audio devices. What's funny is, when I listen to some of the samples, for some reason, the image of an EMS Synthi comes to mind. The Synthi is like the ultimate version of one of these - it is the ultimage sound effect machine. BTW, if I offended you by putting the Synthi in the same light, don't read too much into that. It's just a thought that comes to mind... The Synthi of course is more, much, much more.

via brian comnes.

Optigan Logo

Cool logo. Title link takes you to a few more shots of the Optigan including its guts.

via Brian Moore who has it listed in the Seattle area Craigslist.

The Whitney Music Box

Title link takes you there.

via Voltage Controlled.

Line 6 TonePort

The MIDI controller for guitarists.

"Record everything from guitar and bass, to vocals and now keyboard parts easily with world-class studio results!

TonePort™ KB37 is the latest addition to the award-winning TonePort™ family of USB recording and modeling interfaces. With world-class Line 6 guitar, bass, and vocal tone with an integrated keyboard controller, you’ll be ready when that hit song comes calling!"

Everything from TonePort™ UX2:

* 18 guitar and 5 bass amp/cab models
* 30 stompbox and studio effects
* 6 high-end studio microphone preamp models
* 2 Mic Inputs with +48v Phantom Power
* Guitar/Bass Input w/ Pad Switch
* Stereo Line Inputs
* S/PDIF Digital Output
* Line Outputs via balanced 1/4-inch
* Monitor Input via stereo 1/4-inch jack
* Headphone Output w/ dedicated volume knob
* Assignable VU Meters
Tone Direct™ monitoring
* 44.1/48KHz, 16/24-bit recording - 96KHz mode
* Mac® and PC compatible
* 37-Note full-sized keyboard with Pitch/Mod wheels for MIDI control
* Transport & Control buttons/knobs assignable to GearBox and MIDI/recording software
* Expression pedal input to control GearBox™ wah/volume or MIDI
* And the same dual footswitch jacks as UX2 for control of GearBox (effect on/off, tone select, tap tempo, etc.) or MIDI/recording software (sustain, start/stop, punch in/out, etc.)

As seen on MusicThing.

Devo on TechTV on YouTube

The Wasp bit is hilarious.

Cirko Hound

This one in via Dr. Georg Müller. Title link takes you to a 5.65M zip of mp3s. Image via Synrise. Details below via the web archive. I remember when this came out.

"Hound Synthesizer
Cirko Electronics is a Dutch company specialized in custom made hardware. In a two years span we developed a music synthesizer module from scratch called the "HOUND". It is a multitimbral analogue synthesizer module build in a 19" rack. There are three version available only differing in the number of voices (6-, 10-, or 16-voices). This is not a so called "virtual analogue" synthesizer, with the VCF's simulated by fast DSP chips. The "HOUND" combines digital oscillators with real analogue (V)oltage (C)ontrolled (F)ilters. This synthesizer sounds big. That's why we called it the "HOUND". It's a savage beast.

Main Aspects
The VCF is equipped with not only the well known "Cutoff Frequency" and "Resonance", but also has a controller named "Fatness". There is a mode called twin mode where the voices are grouped to make the synthesizer function as a stereo device. Easy to learn menu driven graphical user interface with only six pushbuttons and a rotary knob. The four available audio outputs satisfy the full 16 part multi-timbral properties.

Librarian
The "HOUND" is delivered with a free librarian software package (W95/W98 only). This will enable the user to store and rearrange Patches(sounds) and Multi(timbral) settings on the PC's harddisk.

HOUND Analog Synthesizer Module

Polyphonic digital/analog classic synthesizer build in a 19" rack 2U.
24 dB/octave real analog VCF with Resonance & Fatness.
8-voice stereo or 16-voice mono routed to 4 outputs.
Digital oscillators with FM & PWM.
10 MIDI controllers (7 continuous, 3 pedals) simultaneously available.
Polyphonic Portamento.
Sample & Hold
16 Part Multi Timbral.
98 continuous parameters & 37 switches to setup a Patch
Easy manipulation of patches via 6 pushbuttons & rotary controller.
Large LCD display supports the graphic presentation.

HOUND specifications
The HOUND synthesizer combines both digital and analog technology. The oscillator's are digital in order to guarantee a sound source with very stable frequencies. The VCF is really analog (not virtual), thus giving warmth to the sound. The HOUND is a plain synthesizer. There are no samples inside, and no effect processors are build in.

The HOUND is MIDI controlled (MIDI-IN, MIDI-OUT, MIDI-THRU) and 16 part multitimbral. A total of 10 MIDI- controllers (7 continuous, 3 pedals) can be used simultaneously. All multitimbral settings are stored in multi's with a total of 24 multi's. Also the multitimbral routing to the four outputs of the HOUND is stored in a multi.

Different sounds are stored in patches of which 120 patches can be stored. A sound can be modified by editing the according patch. With the help of the graphical display and a smooth turning rotary knob it is easy to make adjustments. While editing a patch the parameters are surveyable displayed. Four pushbuttons have given a strict function, and two pushbuttons are soft keys. The latter functions are showed on the display.

The 10 MIDI-controllers (7+3) and the MIDI-messages note/velocity/aftertouch/release-velocity can control each patch in a way free to the users mind. Almost 100 parameters are available to make this possible.

The HOUND can operate in sole mode using the maximum number of voices available or in twin mode. In twin mode the voices are grouped in pairs resulting in stereo performance. Of course the number of voices is then cut in half, but in return there is more in it.

As a users aid a MIDI tester is available. It shows MIDI messages on different MIDI channels and displays them distinguished by MIDI message type."

equals - New Flickr Shot

Another by devowski. Title link takes you to one more.

Dan Slater's Buchla Pages

Dave sent in the following links to Dan Slater's Buchla pages. Note the URLs are web archive. I tried going to the original URLs and they are gone.

site one
site two

Interesting note by Reed in the comments:
"Not long ago a 60-something rocket scientist visited my studio, looked at the Buchla & said, "that looks like what we used to simulate missile flights!" He said even after digital computers became the mainstay, the analog computers were much more accurate and a lot more intuitive to program. In his opinion, the digital ones took over because it was a lot quicker to recall earlier simulations... no messy patchcords, etc., but at the same time a lot of finesse was lost.

Sound familiar?"

Buchla - New Flickr Shots

Ezra Buchla by javan.


My sanctuary by ica~icarus.



Buchla 200 Touch Surface Controller by antfactor

Turning a Fixed Filter Bank Into a Modulated Filter

JH posted the following to AH. He gave me the ok to put it up here. Title link takes you to a 7M WAV. Enjoy.

"I've just finished an experiment of using two Frequency Shifters to turn a Fixed Filter Bank into something animated, modulated.

A drone sound from the OB-8 is sent to a first Frequency Shifter, which shifts the audio signal up by a variable amount of Hz.

This upshifted signal is sent thru a filter bank (MAM vocoder, with a rather thin-sounding setting with all even channels up and all odd channels down.

This filtered signal is shifted back down with a second Frequency Shifter, by the same amount of Hz that the original signal was shifted up.

First you hear the very thin sounding unshifted signal - just the OB-8 drone processd by the vocoder filter bank.

Then we start to modulate the Frequency Shifter with the Joystick.

link ( 7 MByte - I tried mp3, but it was no good)

Please note that there is no filter modulation! The filter is fixed all the time (static formant filter) - it's the signal that is modulated!

Sorry for the rather low quality of the unmodulated sound - I just made this experiment at 1 am after finishing the hardware. :)

Background about this project: link


Let me know if you have ideas what else could be processed with this. I'll certainly try reverb, and all kinds of fixed filters.

JH."

Voyetra 8 Soundbits

Title link takes you to a 1.5M zip of Voyetra 8 samples sent my way via Dr. Georg Müller.

Update via the comments (source found):
"Tony Clark did those. link."

Dr. Georg Müller mentioned he did not remember where he got them from and they were not his.

What is this?

Ross sent me the following:

"I recorded these 2 tracks off the radio in the mid 80s, and have no idea who it is...can you pass on this web address to see if anyone can help me solve the 25 year puzzle?"

After listening to them I'm actually curious myself. If you know please post in the comments.

Live 6?

Title link takes you to some screens you can click on for more details before they were pulled. Via Didier. Also check out CDM.

Update on the Stolen Buchla

Previous post. More details:

"You may have heard, but the College's beautiful Easel was stolen sometime around the 29th or 30th of June from it's studio. This instrument had etching and a steel label fixed to the power-supply cover. It was stolen without it's cover.

We are looking into a suspicious person who showed up to take my summer class. A Ben Katz from California, who claimed to have a Roland 100 and an AKS from 'estate sales' was here for the week, and disappeared the same day as the Easel. We have the campus police seeking him. If you have any information or hear of any easels on the market, it may be ours. If anyone knows of this person, please forward information to me or campus police 360 867 6832 atten Pam Garland garlandp (at) evergreen.edu

Please distribute this information to any and all possible places to help us recover this instrument. I have been teaching with it for nearly 30 years, and cannot believe it has been stolen."

Thanks

Peter Randlette
The Evergreen State College
LIB1402 TESC
Olympia, WA 98505
360 867 6279
pbr (at) evergreen.edu

WMS 1020A Analog Sequencer

Title link takes you to more shots pulled from this auction.
"1970s vintage WMS model 1020A analog sequencer, serial #D10218, and accompanying power module #100-D. This unit is in very nice to excellent used cosmetic condition and 100% fully functional plug-and-play condition. All jacks on the unit are 1/4" and it runs on 117V US voltage. WMS (i.e. Wasatch Music Systems) was a very small 1970s US company and I believe they were based out of Utah.

This unit is so incredibly rare that I haven't ever seen another for sale, though I'm guessing they made at least 17 others... my logic being that the serial numbers likely started at 1020x (due to 1020 being the model number). It's very cool and very flexible. It has many of the features of the great Arp Sequencer like random mode, a voltage controlled clock that can be normalled to the second voltage row and individual outputs for each row with parallel and serial mode. Serial mode is particularly cool on this one because the A/B outputs both flipflop at the end of the row (with LEDs!) so both outputs functionally serially and opposite each other. Though it is missing a couple of important features of the Arp (quantizer and gate busses) it has a few bonuses of its own, like the negative voltage outputs, switchable V-trig / S-trig gate output to drive pretty much any kind or brand of synth with cv/gate inputs, and of course 2 extra steps per row. And it is much smaller than the Arp Sequencer. All jacks are 1/4" and the "Carry" output is a reset trigger output so you can use it to restart your other sequencers in your setup. Other functions should be fairly self-explanatory if you've used analog sequencers before. One thing that's a little weird at first is that both voltage rows are at zero when they the knob marker is on the line... this means that zero for Row A is at 6 o'clock while zero on Row B is at 12 o'clock. Oh, and check out the killer fake wood (plastic) end cheeks with relief WMS logo on them!"

Jamming with Roger Manning Jr. on YouTube

via ben shannon illustrator.

PAiA Fatman Plus

This one in via Brian Comnes. More pics here.
Update via Steve in the comments:

"Hey, that's mine. You should see the original which that was rebuilt from. A nice, rusty metal box, but it all was unlabeled and it didn't actually work."

http://www.nuxx.net

Another update via Steve:
"Sorry, took me a bit to reply. I just added a switch to sync the VCOs, the subharmonic generator(s), the new case, and a couple of other things. I figured that made it a 'Plus' to the current synth. I wanted to keep the original name since it's still very clearly a FatMan, but I wanted to differentiate it somehow.

-Steve"

Nanoloop Gameboy Synthesizer - New Flickr Mail

flickr by Kriton Visuals.

Upate via the comments: "Hey, that's my photo! And that Nanoloop is for sale at the moment, by the way." Post a comment if you're interested.

Wohmart Voyetra 8 Site

Title link takes you there.

Plan B Mystery Meat

Via Peter Grenader of Plan B on AH.

"The following link is a soundbyte of an all-Plan B patch, which along with a
single Model 10, 13 and 15, incorporates three modules you've not seen nor
heard before...but you will real real soon. That's all I'm going to say.

OK OK OK, one more thing: that ain't the Model 12 filter you're hearing.

bWuH-hA-Ha....

link

enjoy (or not!),

- P"

Oberheim Four Voice Sample

Click here for a 5.2M sample via Heath Finnie. Via this VSE post.

Shot via Heath's flickr set.

last disco at the fan mile - New Flickr Shot

flckr by Melita.

To the guy that complained about me putting up every single flickr shot I come accross: this one's for you. : P

Zena SoundScape Project

Title link takes you there. Via David:

"I've been a regular matrixsynth blog reader since I first put my hands
on a little blue novation laptop module ... now I recorded a few demo
tracks, and it would be a great honor for to be worth a post on your
blog

The music is Ambient, and not nova only : I also used some an
Andromeda, Wavestation, K2000 and Novation Nova, while all drum
sequences come from laptop based software : recording gear shots are
on the way ...

Mainly a live session, mostly live FXs, slightly cut and reworked ...
of course any comments/advices are welcome :-)"

I like it. ; )

MS-02 Schematic

Title link takes you to the full scan. Here's one in color. Both mirrored here.

Update via the comments: "Hi. Thanks for sharing these schematics. And great job with the transcription. I am implementing the Hz/V-V/Oct circuit, along with a Trigger processor in my Yamaha SY2A mono synth. Works pretty well. Note : I've noticed 2 mistakes in the coloured version of the schematic. If you care to fix it, I think it may help people 'cause they'll probably, as I did, use the coloured version, since it is easier to read.

Trigger Processor :
- IC-9/10, first half : the op amp's input symbols (+ and -) are reversed. "+" should be at pin 3, and "-" at pin 2
- IC-9, sec half : The mistake is also on the original schematic. +supply pin should be 8 instead of 3."

Patrick Cowley and the E-mu System

Title link takes you there. Groovey.

The AM0600

Title link takes you there.

"The AM0600 The Analog Metropolis version of the Roland CSQ-600 has been extensively re-engineered with the following changes:

The case has been ditched, and the main PCB and PSU integrated into the AM Modular Cabinet.

The CSQ-600 is controlled from a new remote front panel, linked to the sequencer via a ribbon cable.

The remote panel is a standard AM style panel, just 135mm wide. Have a look at the mocked up front panel to see how much we have slimmed down the controls.

Some controls have been left on the CSQ-600 PCB, to simplify the front panel and because they aren't likely to get used much (e.g. gate rewrite and portamento).

The remaining key controls have been located on the new front panel, and replaced with high quality components which transform the usabaility.

A new replacement potentiometer for TEMPO

New toggle switches and buttons

New 5mm LED's, blue, red and aqua green

The original inputs and outputs have also been slimmed down to the bare essentials, and located on the new control panel.

The CSQ-600 will sync to an external 1 beat per note signal. So I have added MIDI clock sync.. "

SMS Modular

Title link takes you to more shots and schematics.

Quasimidi Nucleus Front Panel on the 'Bay

This is something I thought I'd never see. The front panel of a Quasimidi Nucleus up for auction. Title link takes you there while it's up. According to the auction, only 3 exist. Details translated from the auction: "Front screen for the NUCLEUS, which was not finished, with light scratch. There are only 3 pieces world-wide."

Clusterchord's OBX-a Demo Page

A few OBX-a Samples. Title link takes you there. Enjoy.

Cheetah MS6

This one in via Simon. Click here for the Cheetah MS6 Resource Site. Shots pulled via this auction.

dAdA iNN

dAdA iNN is one of Moogutor's projects. You might recognize the name Moogulator, he runs sequencer.de and he does the website for Aliens Project amongst others.

dAdA iNN is bOOmbaum, nilleallstar, and moogulator.

Title link takes you to their site including video.

Aibo on an Octopus

Looks like Cikira got an Octopus.

VL-Tone : for all the family : Mum - New Flickr Shots

flickr by Equaliser. Title link takes you to more.

Farfisa Syntorchestra - New Flickr Shots

flickr by Heath Finnie. Note it's Syntorchestra not Synthorchestra. Title link takes you to more.

thisisanamewithitiamm cool's - New Flickr Set

Title link takes you to the set.

Keys - New Flickr Shot

flickr by Hipgnostic.

My Cat Programs Synths

Here is a shot of my cat JD going over some patch sheets for the Sequential Circuits Multi-Trak.

BTW, I sent this shot to Cute Overload. If you haven't seen Cute Overload, check it out. It's so cute it'll make you sick. ; ) It's a daily stop for my two year old daughter, so I thought I'd suprise her by trying to get a shot of our cat JD up on the site. Currently he is on Cute Caps where you can vote for captions and submit your own. Feel free to do so yourself. BTW, if you submit any good captions, feel free to post them in the comments of this post.
Go JD! Go!

Duracell (Andre Diamant) Live @ Ground Zero on YouTube

Nord Micro Modualar provides the synth content. via MusicThing.

Todd Rundgren - Black Maria

Check out the dual Synthis. So, if I made a Matrixsynth T like the one Todd is wearing would you buy it?

GR-700 - New Flickr Shot

Roland GR-700 guitar synth. Shot sent my way via drsquidd. Title link takes you to more synth shots by drsquidd.

Update via the comments: "I used to own one of these. For anyone who is interested, it is basically a JX-3P with ok pitch to midi."

Bruce Haack: The King of Techno on Google Video

"A look into the underground world of Bruce Haack, a genius musician whose past work continues to garner recognition with time."

Title link takes you there.

Via GetLoFi.

Update: link to some of his work via Pete.

Roland Juno-60 - New Flickr Shots

flickr by fibra.

Modularz Gone Wild

Title link takes you to a 5.17M WMV by Legion. Mirrored here.

"Got a new digital camera this weekend that takes crappy videos :)
Starring: Cyndustries (w/Modcan Vector fade) and a HELL of a lot of
Blacet/Metalbox/Paia/Wiard frac stuff on the right :)"

Check out the Wiard dual joystick controller.

90º to my right - New Flickr Shot

flickr by ideolocator.

LivePA Rig - New Flickr Shot

flickr by jimgskoop.

w - New Flickr Shot

flickr by devowski.

Now if I see this camping...

studio room - New Flickr Shot

flickr by silly-boy.

Magical 8bit Plug - NES

"The best way to get 8-bit sounds is to employ a real NES system or Game Boy for fifteen bucks and go to town — nothing else sounds quite the same. But for the next best thing, and the ability to do evil things to those sounds within a serious host, this free plug-in from Japan that will do the job"

Title link takes you to the post on CDM. Here's a link to the official site's download page in Japanese.

Happy Synth Dude - New Flickr Shot

flickr by rrazor.

Updates from the comments:

You can get these here.

and....

"Of course he's happy. That's a Buchla he's carrying out of Evergreen College!!" : )