MATRIXSYNTH

at 9/05/2006 12:10:00 AM

flickr by devowski.

Title link takes you to more.

at 9/05/2006 12:05:00 AM

Three shots pulled from this auction. More on the SPV-355 on SOS:

"The SPV355 Pitch-to-Voltage Synthesizer was launched in those very days -- 1979, to be exact -- as part of the Roland Rack series of 19-inch studio–quality effects units, amplifiers and specialist preamps. The most famous of these are probably the Roland Vocoder and the Dimension D spatial chorus. The P/V Synth is a bit of a curiosity, because it seems to have been released on the one hand as a rackmounting analogue expander module (indeed, it's said to be one of the first rackmounting synths), but on the other as a budget alternative to the Roland GR–series guitar synthesizers. These synths were quite expensive, specialised instruments; the GR system consisted of a high-quality, specially adapted guitar connected via a 24-way cable to a floor unit containing a rudimentary, six-note polyphonic synth engine. The SPV355 alternative scored points as it didn't need any special interface hardware (pickups and so on) and you could, in theory, use any old guitar to play the synth. The 1979 Roland catalogue states: "The SPV355 P/V Synthesizer is specially designed for use with guitars", which is ironic, as this is probably the P/V Synth's least effective and most problematic mode -- more on this later.

Fortunately, the SPV335's uses were not confined to guitar synthesis, and for its time (and compact size), it was quite well specified: two VCOs, a sub-oscillator, VCF, VCA, envelope generator, two audio mixers, and a multitude of interface sockets. As with other Roland Rack units, the 355 is housed in a 2U steel case and weighs nearly 6kg, which makes it a pretty hefty beast to lug around. And as for build quality, well... the word 'tank' springs to mind, as does the phrase 'heavy duty'. They don't make 'em like that any more..."

via Simon

at 9/05/2006 12:02:00 AM

Nice. Title link takes you to the post on Music Thing.

at 9/04/2006 01:31:00 PM

No title link. More exclusive shots sent in via Frederic. This set of Klaus Schulze in 1978. Frederic isn't sure where this performance was exactly. Note the shag carpet he's sitting on. Thanks Frederic!
Update via Mikael in the comments:

"This is most likely from the European tour in september or october 1978.
synth spotting:
- Moog modular IIIP w/optional double sequencer box unit.
- PPG modular + sequencers
-Arp Odyssey mk II (black face)
- Arp 2600 (orange & black)
- EMS-synthi
- Minimoog (x2)
- Polymoog
- Korg PS-3300

Mikael"

CLICK FOR MORE »

at 9/04/2006 10:15:00 AM

Saw this one on sequencer.de. Title link takes you to an interesting biography of the Human League. I didn't realize Adi Newton was part of the original lineup and left to for Clock DVA (note in the bio they refer to Clock DVA as Clock DNA. I'm guessing this is just a typo).

"Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh were two computer operators in Sheffield who both shared an intense passion for German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. Armed with a few months' savings, Ware was able to buy a modest monophonic synth (a Korg 770S) that had just become available on the commercial market at an affordable price. Despite having never played a single note, Marsh and Craig set themselves the task of understanding the art of sound synthesis and it wasn't long before their combined enthusiasm began to exceed the limits of the cheap synth."

"The very first Human League demo contained Being Boiled, Circus of Death & Toyota City all recorded in mono and it soon caught the attention of Bob Last who ran a small record label in Scotland called Fast Records.

Being Boiled was released in June 1978 after the League and Bob Last had agreed a deal over the phone. Although the single had a limited amount of copies pressed, the song succeeded in attracting the admiration of NME whilst guest reviewer Johnny Rotten described the group as 'trendy hippies'! Being Boiled was completely at odds with the prevailing punk movement of the time. The track was a stark slab of electro that would influence many artists in years to come, memorable also for its lyrics that linked the slaughter of silk worms with Buddhism."

"Disappointed by the lack of sales, Virgin reacted swiftly by cancelling the League's proposed UK tour in November asking the band to support the Talking Heads instead. Reluctantly, the group agreed releasing a press statement that revealed their plans for the upcoming performance. With tongue firmly in cheek, the League suggested that they wouldn't actually be on stage for the performances and that their place would be taken by backing tapes and a slide show hinting that they would occasionally view the show as members of the audience. David Byrne and co failed to see the funny side and the League were dropped from the support slot."

Update via the comments:
"Here's a really good site dedicated to the pre-Dare Human League"

at 9/04/2006 09:02:00 AM

No title link. Shot of the Oberheim Xpander sent my way via one of the anonymous.

at 9/04/2006 08:55:00 AM

No title link. Shot of a Roland MC-4, Moog Voyager Anniversary Edition, and a couple of TB-303s sent my way via one of the anonymous.

at 9/04/2006 08:30:00 AM

flickr by cortez77_fr.

Title link takes you to more shots of what looks like a prog rock concert featuring mika jarvinen. Note the keyboard player in the first shot is part of the band in the second shot. It's cool to see the knod to Moog at a show like this.

at 9/04/2006 12:49:00 AM

Nice. Title link takes you there.
Scroll when you get there for more.

via synthesizer-magazin.de

at 9/04/2006 12:45:00 AM

flickr by night000vision000.

at 9/04/2006 12:38:00 AM

I recently saw this on sequencer.de. I wasn't sure if I put up a post on this before, however I was pretty sure I saw it on Music Thing and/or CDM. Sure enough I did. I sent an email to Tom and Peter and Peter was kind enough to reply with links to the posts. Here are the links to the posts on Music Thing and CDM.

Peter Kirn also sent the following:

"Check out these links for some amazing photos:
modeles
pedagogie.html

What I can't find -- and you'd probably need someone who has connections to IMEB for this -- is what happened to the public software release that was supposed to happen. There's nothing on the site, and the documentation of the project appears to be abandonware. (Hopefully that's just the site itself.) That'd be nice, as they redeveloped the software in Max/MSP."

If you know anything, please comment.

Update via Peter Grenader in the comments:

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a big midi controller designed to control patch parameters within software synthesis progrmas such as Csound and MaxP. This is what was explained to be a year or so.

Also, I believe Max was developed by Cycling 74, not the IMEB. Barry Vercoe I know developed Csound with IRCAM."

Update via the comments: "Actually, Max was developed by Opcode, who later added MSP. Then Cycling '74 bought it in 1999, and have been developing it ever since. What the post was actually saying is that the IMEB developed their own program using Max/MSP, not Max/MSP itself."

Update via Peter Kirn in the comments:

"Some historical corrections:

Csound was developed by Barry Vercoe while he was at MIT, not IRCAM. Csound is in turn indebted to Max Mathews' Music4 (and variants), as developed at Bell Labs from the late 50s through the 60s. Csound has grown a lot since its original version, however, through contributions by Dr. Vercoe and many others.

Max was not originally developed by Opcode; Max and the audio environment Max/FTS were the creation of Miller Puckette while he was at IRCAM (and I think IRCAM still holds some of the copyrights to that version of Max and its descendents). Max/MSP as we now know it did result from the Opcode variant of Max, that's true, though it has had an ongoing, bi-directional relationship with Max/FTS and later Pure Data, as developed by Miller Puckette, and has evolved through contributions of many people. Max Mathews is the namesake for the software Max, but supposedly specifically for an archaic reason having to do with scheduling (as well as, I'm sure, his admiration for Max Mathews' contributions to digital synthesis).

Back to the original question, I think people are right in that this is a hardware controller for a Max/MSP-based software patch. The modularity, having previously been in hardware, is now apparently in the software. The patch is promised to have been publicly released in the PDF docs for the instrument. So it's out there somewhere -- I just don't know where!"

Update: also see The Gmebaphone Concept and the Cybernéphone Instrument

at 9/04/2006 12:37:00 AM

Just four shots pulled from this auction.

No title link.

Update: Turns out this is the same Syrinx in this post. Via alex in the comments. Nice catch.

at 9/04/2006 12:36:00 AM

Title link takes you to Keyboard TV by Keyboard Magazine. There are a few videos of Summer NAMM and more. The Ableton video is pretty cool. Looking forward to Live 6 and Sampler.

via SHEPITOLOGY

at 9/04/2006 12:35:00 AM

flickr by P Villerius.

at 9/03/2006 01:29:00 AM

flickr by mano_paysages.

at 9/03/2006 01:28:00 AM

Anyone know what happened to the Lassence uVentury II? I remember when it was first announced. Frederic sent me a link to the Lassence uVentruy II page on Gearjunkies. I did a quick search and found this detailed article on Sound on Sound, dated May '03. Both the SOS article and Gearjunkies page links to www.bluebay.be which now appears to be a data warehousing and business intelligence company.

If anyone out there has one or knows more please feel free to comment. I'm curious to how they sounded. It's a gorgeous looking synth.

Update via the comments (make sure to check out the other comments as well):

"OK,The lassence ventury II was made in 14 exemplaries + the prototype,all including the proto was sold.
It was totaly handcrafted,pots are alsp plastic conductive,but are of bad mechanicaly quality,the VCO's are stablebut only Volt/octave for a range of maximum 3.5 octaves (if you calibrate them)(none on the sold units where properly calibrated) Components and manufacture of prints and case was high-Q. Indeed the VU serve for nothing,and the Wave-X is poor,also the ADSR has a faulty thing,but can be updated just by adding one single resistor. The filter is SEM influenced.

Story: The unit was originaly designed that wy because the guy that have invest in the proto wants a tube-tech look. The project was abandoned. Untill X found a new interested distributor.

It went ok ,and units get starting manufacturing,but the death-end of shipping was to soon ,and the product wasn't througfully tested,thats why problems with pots,adsr,wave-x and,not calibrated!

On top of that meanwhile some units where 'fixed' the distributor absolutely want to send a unit for review to s.0.s,...this was the death before the unit was born!

Retail price was way to high because the machine was totaly hand assambled + the bad s.o.s review..... the last 4 units where sold for only 600$ (i buyed 2 of them,been close friend to the guy who's buit them,i fixed them very quick)(any unit can be turn into a very nice reliable machine just by changing all pots,fix the adsr,and tune the vco's 1v/oct.)

In fact the modules where available since years already,the guy was an ex-ACME member in 80ties and then at that period they where distributor for the digisound brand . We have sale a lot of modules in early 90ties untill our huge curtis stock was empty At huge demand the complete set was completely re-designed using discrete components.
Most of our systems where sold to the country's techno underground scene that use them in there live acts,all always made completely custom on special orders. It had created a very closed entourage almost a myth as manny people want them but not could reach the builder any way,as everything was keept secret by the scene. Untill it was time ('i' think it was time,that these deserve more respect). So i/we decided to re-launche them 'properly' and start to manufacture them like beatufull modules of other brands.

The basic set is complete.

DUAL VCO/LFO
DUAL ADSR
MULTIMODE 12db VCF
24db VCF
DUAL VCA
DUAL Ring Modulator
8-step sequential voltage source
quad VCO/LFO
Wave multiplier (this kills now! it sound identical to the serge middle section,thougt ofcourse
electronic design is different.

Still available
CEM 3340 VCO (if u supplie the cem)

Buzzy Project
Sequencer
High-end vco (v/oct. at wide span)

All modules are at same pitch off MOTM.etc so you can easy fit them together.

These modules 'sounds' or better what you can do with it,is very different
compared to other vintage or commercial products.
They where basicaly intended to create 'alien-like' new sound sculptions,and not to
use them to play do,re,mi,fa,so...Ofcource you can.
the in and outputs are very high,you can do extreme feedbacks and modulations between modules.
I have try lot of modulars,we have client that have an MOTM,MOOG,and our new modules...

If i know how i can post a pic here,i can present soon exclusive for matrixsynth
the the proto...and finaly eventualy sond files

see u l8r alig8r"

In a while crocodile. Thank you!

at 9/03/2006 01:27:00 AM

Along the lines of the Sounds of Stars and the Rings of Saturn, here are the sounds of Earth.

Via Earth Sounds:
"January 19, 2001 -- If humans had radio antennas instead of ears, we would hear a remarkable symphony of strange noises coming from our own planet. Scientists call them "tweeks," "whistlers" and "sferics." They sound like background music from a flamboyant science fiction film, but this is not science fiction. Earth's natural radio emissions are real and, although we're mostly unaware of them, they are around us all the time."

Title link takes you to the NASA online VLF receiver. You can stream the sounds in real time or check out the samples of tweeks, whilstlers and sferics on the page.

This one via Jon. Also check out Monolake and surround sound thunderstorms.

at 9/03/2006 01:26:00 AM

Title link takes you to the thread on VSE. You'll find a 6.29M sample there. Backed up here for when the thread goes to limbo.

at 9/03/2006 01:25:00 AM

flickr by windupgodzilla

ARP Axxe

at 9/02/2006 06:14:00 PM

All Ebay auctions on this site are affiliate links. What are affiliate links? In short paid links. The way it works is Ebay charges you to put an item up for auction. That's how they make money. They keep 100% of that charge if the buyer comes to the auction directly. If a buyer comes to an auction through an affiliate link like the ones on this site, then they give a percentage of that 100% to the owner of the affiliate link. That would be me. I figure if I'm going to put a link up to an auction, why let Ebay keep 100%. They are a big company and they can afford to help support this site. I do all of this on my own free time and I believe sites like this should be free and supported by ads that are useful and relevant. Never buy anything you do not want to. Also, note that the affiliate fee comes out of that 100%, it is not an additional charge, so it does not cost the buyer or seller of the auction more. Why is Ebay willing to do this? Because they figure it will drive more traffic to them. In my case it would probably be the same as I do not put up posts for the sake of the affiliate links. If I did you would see a whole lot more going up. I was actually a bit uncomfortable with the amount I put up so I created MATRIXSYNTH-B to cut the noise down. I only put the most interesting items up here - either the best shots, the rarest and most unique items, or interesting bits of synth history found in the details of auctions - I only put up posts if they merit a post regardless of the source, whether that be Ebay, Flickr, or other. Why am I putting up this note here? Because I do not want to put it up with every single auction post that goes up. I don't think most would appreciate having to read this in every single post. Why not just say it's an affiliate link in the post and be done with it? Because affiliate links mean different things to different people and I want to explain exactly what it is on this site. Note that there is still a bar for MATRIXSYNTH-B. I frequently post auctions people send me on both MATRIXSYNTH and MATRIXSYNTH-B, and I respect anonymity, although on MATRIXSYNTH I will only put auction posts that meet the bar above. If I posted everything on Ebay, you would see everything here go up. Note saving and posting all of this stuff does take a lot of my time, and it doesn't cost you (buyer or seller) anything. I spend 3-6 hours every single day, Monday through Sunday, on the blog. What I do get from Ebay helps with the sanity.

at 9/02/2006 02:44:00 PM

More exclusive shots of Kraftwerk sent in via Frederic.

Note these have never been seen before. In case you missed the last set, here they are.

at 9/02/2006 10:21:00 AM

Title link takes you to a thread on the Moog Forums with some samples of the Little Phatty. They are also on the Little Phatty user's group, Phatsound, where you'll find more samples.

via the comments of this post.

at 9/02/2006 09:51:00 AM

flickr by Zebra Pares.

at 9/02/2006 09:49:00 AM

flickr by Picinìn.

at 9/02/2006 09:44:00 AM

Title link takes you to a previous post I put up on Ultravox Synths. Micke just posted the following on this VSE thread.

Did you know:

1) that the fat bass line on Ultravox' song "Slow Motion" (off of Systems of romance, 1978) was actually played by Chris Cross on his EMS-Synthi?

2) that the EMS synthi, Arp Odyssey (and Elka Rhapsody) were the only synths used for U-Vox' 2nd album "Ha, Ha, Ha" (1977)?

3) that the Elka Rhapsody 610 was used for the string sounds on U-vox' first three albums?

4) that Brian Eno programmed the Minimoog (his own synth) on the early U-vox songs "My way" and "Slip Away"?

5) that the kick drum, snare and hi-hat on U'vox' cues "Dislocation" were done on Billy Currie's Arp Odyssey with lots of fx added?

6) that the Minimoog is responsible for the bassline on "Quite Man"

7) that the Oberheim OB-X was used mainly for solos on U-vox album "Rage in Eden"?

8) that Billy Currie bought a Yamaha CS-80 in late 1979 and used it on songs like "Mr.X" (Vienna), "Western promise" (Vienna") "I Remember" (Rage In Eden), "Hymn" (Quartet)?

9) that U-vox' main string-machine between 1980-1984 was the Yamaha SS-30?

10) that the Yamaha GS-1 FM synthesizer was used for the solo in "Mine for life"?

11) that the EMS-Synthi was U-vox's very first synth back in early '77 or thereabouts?
-----------

Also see Midge Ure on the Minimoog used for the bassline in Viena.

at 9/02/2006 01:55:00 AM

Title link takes you to joerg-erren.de. Jorg posted a link to his site in this Curetronic post. I of course checked it out. He's got quite a bit of info up there including specific pages on Anywaree Instruments, Alesis, Diverse, Korg, MFB, Oberheim, Roland and Yamaha. You'll find some really nice gear shots and samples for each piece of gear. Very nice.

at 9/02/2006 01:54:00 AM

flickr by mcdux.

at 9/02/2006 01:53:00 AM

flickr by maskinbatterist.

at 9/02/2006 01:52:00 AM

Remember the chameleon? Turns out it's badl0ader's. He sent me a link to his MySpace site where I found this video. It takes a lot of balls to fill up a cup like that. This one dedicated to Chris Randall of Analog Industries. Something tells me he will appreciate this one. ; )

BTW, do check out badl0ader's MySpace page. Cup aside, it's good synth pop.

at 9/02/2006 01:51:00 AM

flick by spablab.

Yep. So, what is that?

Update via the comments: "I am in that band... I'm the guy in the blue shirt in the background. our albums were done by me and the guitarist, Lazlo. When we played live we got extra help from some friends. Lots of synths on our records and onstage - Korg Polysix, Korg DW8000, Univox MiniKorg, Yahama SK20, Korg Delta, Moog Prodigy, etc. No samples used in the live show -- everything was played. The guy in the diaper was known as The ManBaby. He was an amazing beatboxer who for some reason liked to perform in a diaper. He was always a big hit with the audience. Wow, that was a fun band to play in.
- Mel Stanke, Emperor Penguin"

at 9/02/2006 01:50:00 AM

Title link takes you there. Track title is the one with via nematode. via Jon:

"i just got an s612 in the mail yesterday (bought it off kevin, you posted one of his gear sales, so thanks) the 13 pin connectors came in at the same time. so i painstakingly soldered 26 tiny little leads, then i looked in the s612 manual and realized i only had to solder 14 tiny little leads. plugged my new cable in, ran a midi cable from the ax to the s612. messed around with midi channels and worked the static out of the ax's a/b mix slider, knocked over a full stack of 100 blank dvdrs in the process and within about an hour or so was up and running. there's an 8 minute (in two parts) 3 track overdub of just the ax-60 and the s612 arpegiating while i twist and tweak (the sample start/end time faders are awesome) up on my myspace page it's called nematode something-or-other. i was up 'till about 4.30 last night getting that posted, so now i'm going to get some donuts and, if the neighbor kids quiet down, take a nice long nap."

Update via a follow up email from Jon: "this too, i don't know if it's been pointed out yet, but as only audio is being sent to the ax60, there are no control signals envolved, the ax should be able to run -any- audio input through it's filter. all it should take is wiring the leads from an audio connector (your choice) to the ground and signal pin (again, your choice) of the input on the synth."

at 9/01/2006 02:33:00 PM

Title link takes you to a 3.4M video of the Little Phatty Boot sequence hosted on trippler.net.

via Georg.

at 9/01/2006 10:30:00 AM

The Sonic State guys are back with Mike Dupp in Technomania Episode 3.

at 9/01/2006 10:22:00 AM

flickr by hellohello.

at 9/01/2006 10:17:00 AM

Title link takes you to Natural Rhythm where you will find images, samples and general musics on making music with synths.

Pictured: Roland Juno-106 Bender Mod

via sequencer.de

at 9/01/2006 08:44:00 AM

Title link takes you to the full sized charts and more info at the Rhodes Chroma site.

at 9/01/2006 08:41:00 AM

Title link takes you there. Not much up as of this post, but do check it out.

at 9/01/2006 08:28:00 AM

Remember the Curetronic? Frederic sent me this shot along with a link to the Curetronic site. It's been a while since I checked them out. Title link takes you there.

BTW, I almost thought the shots were rendered until I checked out the photo gallery. Wow.

Update via Jörg in the comments:
"Another site in German... my own! ;-)
With some information on Curetronic: link"

at 9/01/2006 12:25:00 AM

Remember the synth mangler? Looks like it got a perty new face. Brian Comnes sent me a link to the Synth Mangler product page on Analogue Haven, where I pulled this shot. Title link takes you to Effector 13 where you will find the mangler and more. There are images, videos and more info after the hop. Here's a link to a mangler video.

at 8/31/2006 03:58:00 PM

Frederic sent me some rare shots of Kraftwerk he took at the "Pavillon de Paris", in Paris, in concert 4th october 1976. Title link takes you to more. Amazing. Thanks Frederic!

at 8/31/2006 03:57:00 PM

Tangerine Dream - Ossiach Lake (1971)

Tangerine Dream - Kiew Mission

via Frederic.

at 8/31/2006 01:58:00 PM

"Soundbombs are New-Media-Accessories. Each one a lowtech object for interactive transmission. An integrated soundmodul makes it possible to record any given sound and then activate it through a motiondetector. As a Non-Visual Graffiti, with its origin in streetart, Soundbombs give the possibility to tag a place in an accoustic form: a welcoming greeting at the entrance or a warning of a bad restaurant. Each owner can leave a personal message anywhere and at any time. Soundbombs can whistle, laugh, belch or recite a poem."

Yep, I could have some fun with this.

via Brian Comnes.

at 8/31/2006 11:48:00 AM

YouTube by kokoon.

at 8/31/2006 10:10:00 AM

flickr by fantismo

at 8/31/2006 10:09:00 AM

Title link takes you to more on Harmony Central.

at 8/31/2006 10:07:00 AM

Title link takes you to a 3.59M mp3 (right click and save if you want to check it out), by REwire, posted here on VSE.

at 8/31/2006 10:05:00 AM

Note this is not a commercial from Moog Music but a project from an enthusiast. YouTube via themedusas: "This is a project I did for my Motion Design 2 class. The concept behind this was to magnify the culture and kinship of owning a Moog Synthesizer. Since the 70's, musicians have been building and customizing their own Moogs. So I wanted to reflect that sort of attachment that owners have with them, and in the process, bring the history and culture of owning a Moog into the new millenium as well."

at 8/31/2006 10:00:00 AM

Title link takes you to some nice Crackle Box shots on Sendling. This one reminds of the Peruvian made Zebranologic.

at 8/31/2006 08:50:00 AM

Title link takes you to Boele Gerkes' homepage where you will find a wealth of synth shots, info and some incredible music.

A bit of trivia: Boele is one of the first people I met online back in 1996 or shortly after. Realize this was right after Windows 95 came out and the Internet was just beginning to boom. Sonic State, registered in 1995, was the place to hang out (VSE came in 1999). As a side note, my old Matrixsynth.com was registered in 1997. I beat VSE! I also remember Boele from the Waldorf list back then. I liked his music so much I bought a number of his CDs. SCD was the first completely independent music I have purchased online. And believe me, it had to be really, really good for me to take that first step, at that point in time.