MATRIXSYNTH

Friday, September 22, 2006

FXpansion Orca - Free Soft Synth

"ORCA is an experimental monosynth built to showcase some exciting new technology that we've been developing. Based on detailed and accurate models of analogue synthesizer circuits and components, ORCA excels at deep, squelchy basses and thick unison leads."

Title link takes you to more info, the download and some samples. Via Chris Randall of Analog Industries who thinks it sounds pretty good and ARPish. I'm off to check it out.

Electronic Vibes Studio Videos

Electronic Vibes has some great videos up. Click on "Les Videos" when you get there for the Jomox Sunsyn, the Acidlab Bombass, and Elektron Monomachine. Via vibes in the comments of this post.

BugBrand Drone Machine - Demo of Oscs & etc....

Remember the BugBrand Drone Machine? Here's a YouTube video via BugBrand.

The Trip Intro

EMS Synthi A. YouTube via freeartslab. Via Robert Liener in the comments of this post.

Unease

Title link takes you to the Unease equipment page where you will find pages with more info and samples for the following: Sequential Circuits Pro One, MFB-Synth II, PAiA 9700S, Alesis ION, Access Virus Indigo, Roland Juno-106, Waldorf Pulse, Ensoniq ASR-10, and Casio CZ-101.

A6 Demos

Title link takes you to some Alesis Andromeda samples. Make sure to check out the crazymods and CS80 samples. via Synthesizer Magazin.

WEM Nightshade

Remember the WEM Nightshade? Title link takes you to a post on Synthesizer-Magazin. with a little more info and a sample.

Terra Blue - Starflight

YouTube via paculla1966. More on Terra Blue here.
via Robert Liener: "here is an link to youtube with some EMS synhi action."

I also see a Yamaha AN1X and Access Virus in the video.

Cat On a Keyboard in Space

I put this shot up a while back. Well, it looks like someone took the image and made a page featuring it and Jean Jacques Perrey's Brazilian Flower. Title link takes you there. Just load the page, listen and look at the cat. Enjoy. Also note the name of the URL. I seriously hope not.

The Moog SL-8

via the Moog Archives.

The Moog Operator and Eatery

Via the oddities section of the Moog Archives. Click on the Oddities link on the left when you get there for more.

The Moog Constellation

via the Moog Archives.

As you can see, the Constellation consisted of the Taurus Bass pedals, the LYRA 3 OSC solo synth, and the Apollo Polyphonic synth.

Don't mis Page 2.

This one is in via frederic.

Matrixsynth by Midifan

No title link. Just the shot via midifan. I like that the preset is "initial." Kind of like this site in a way. Never know what's going to be posted. : )

Lemur Videos

Title link takes you there.

via sendling.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

If Cheap Trick had a synth...

Title link takes you to a site with every shade of Tolex under the sun.

pamelia kurstin

flickr by biotron.

Click here for more shots.

Pamelia's official site

Korg EMX

flickr by jim212jim.

Title link takes you to more shots.

Chrome Modular

Title link takes you to more shots via frederic, apparently pulled from electricmusic.de. If you know what this is, feel free to comment.

Update via frederic:
"it seems to be basically a Moog 55 almost complete blended with some others Moog modules coming from a 15 system. But there is also some others things, like what seems to be a patch matrix"

Giorgio Moroder on YouTube

Giorgio Moroder Promo Video

Giorgio Moroder - From Here To Eternity

YouTube via StrangeFindings via Hans.

Update: One more via this post:

Donna Summer - Giorgio Moroder

Laser Music

flickr by acidmoongfx.

BugBrand Drone Machine

Title link takes you there.

-Audio input with Envelope Follower - input preamp with variable decay enevelope follower (EnvFlw based on SynTom ideas)
-Ring Modulator - using the AD633 multiplier chip
-3 x Voltage Controlled Oscillators (plus Low Freq Osc) - three powerful VCOs (based around the Thomas Henry XR2206 VCO) that can also run at low freqs for modulation, offering tri / sin / sqr waveforms, plenty of modulation and sync function.
-Voltage Controlled Filter - state variable (Lo / Band / Hi response) resonant filter with modulation and two audio inputs
-Digi-delay - based around the PT2399 digital delay chip that can be cranked down into very noised-up territories.
-2 x Voltage Inverters - for audio or CVs

via Sendling.

Update via Tom Bugs in the comments:
"Hey, thanks a bunch!

I've been battling with learning Avid Free DV to get some videos of playing the Drone Machine -- just uploaded the first one onto YouTube and its now embedded on the Bugbrand sound devices page: link"

Also posted here.

Technics SY-1010 Shots

via this auction.

"Features:

Wide-range audio oscillator with separate volume, coarse and fine tuning

Extra oscillator at A 440 for tuning

Noise generator

Filter with cutoff frequency control and resonance control, "keyboard" CV control, and envelope control

ADSR envelope generator which can control the VCA, the VCF or both

LFO with frequency control that can be directed to the oscillator (vibrato), the filter, or the amp (tremolo)... or all at once. The LFO has an LED indicator to indicate frequency.

VCA with initial gain (Hold) knob, which allows you to control the knobs and sliders of the synth without having to hold a note on the keyboard and an ADSR knob to control how much the envelope shapes the volume of the synthesizer.

2.5 octave keyboard

Variety of outputs including RCA and quarter inch. Level control switch, hard or soft tone switch.

Small size and light weight, excellent for playing at gigs when you don't want to tote a large, heavy, or temperamental analog synth to a gig."

via randy.

CLICK FOR MORE »

New Moogulator Shots on Flickr

Moogulator playing the Moog Modular

arp 2500

synmag logo

Technics SY-1010

YouTube via AutomaticGainsay.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

The IVANOHÉ I

Modules:
- 3 Electronote Tri-square VCO PCB
- 1 ssm2044 VCF
- 2 VCA
- LFO
- 2 ADSR
- 10 stages sequencer
- 1 Convertiseur MIDI/Control voltage, CV/MIDI et trigger (drum pad)/MIDI
- 1 Mixeur 2 entrées
- 2 Mixeur 3 entrées
- 1 Sample and hold
- 1 Ring modulator (AD633JN)
- 1 Timbre modulator
- 1 Octavizer
- 1 Differentiator
- 2 Modules d'entrées (ampli)
- 2 Modules de sorties (atténuateur)

Title link takes you to more info in French (including samples). Google translated to English here. The name of this synth reminded me of Ivanhoe. Putting this in the post so I can search for it later.

via sequencer.de.

SINTETIZZATORE ANALOGICO MODULARE VOLTAGE-CONTROLLED

"For who is curious or wants to try realizing some voltage controlled music module, I'd like to submit documentation pertaining to analogic synth I made. It is composed by circuits whose projects come from several sources. Some have been fully developed and planned by myself, some others more or less substantially modified, come from specialized industry sources, various application, technical magazines or..... by copying (through disassembling !) commercial cards being part of "vintage" synth. Everything has been developed by myself between end 70' and beginning of 80' when, after some very fast develop year, these machines use suddenly stopped due to digital technology advent. My last job dated 1995 consist of "midi to control voltage interface" to control synth via midi also. Schematics and drawings are in .jpg format while comment notes (I'm sorry... italian only !) are in simple text format (.txt)."
Title link takes you to more info and samples. via Synthesizer-Magazin.

Opas alter Synthesizer

Hammond, Minimoog, and what looks like a drum machine. Anyone know what that is to the left of the mini? I've seen it before, but I can't remember. Title link takes you to the post on Synthesizer-Magazin.

Korg MS-50 Samples

Title link takes you to some Korg MS50 samples put up by Ben of Korg Kornucopia. BTW, Korg Kornucopia is a great Korg resource site for the MS and PS series of Korg synths.

"The MS-50 offers a plethora of handy little audio tools, does PWM and has a very speedy LFO (with assistance, anyway.) As luck would have it, I was working up to doing this anyway over the weekend - I've now done a couple of basic MS-50 sounds that I've uploaded. Also, I have made some fun 'sound annotations' to the MS-10 Owners Manual and MS-10 Settings Examples Manual.
Enjoy!
Ben
Korg Kornucopia - analogue synthesizers"

ms20 playstation controller

YouTube via nodog93. Sent my way via Hans and also Dennis.

Steve Miller - Fly like an Eagle

YouTube via frankverheggen. Synth content comes in at 2:45. Via orthooo.

EMU Modular

flickr by Inglizian.

Title link takes you to the full set.

via Alex in the comments of this post.

Et Cetera - Raga Lady/Blue Thursday Morning/Sunrise (1971)

YouTube via orangefunk.
Synth content starts at 5:05. What's interesting is the EMS VCS3 is used more as a solo lead synth rather than effects. via frederic.

Pot Chiclets

"Pot Chiclets are small printed circuit boards to aid in assembly of MOTM format kits with Spectrol 148/149 or 248/249 and Bourns Type 91 potentiometers. No more painstaking and time consuming J lead preparation and heat shrink is required! Free standing Spectrol pots without PC board mounting pad locations typically require bending and forming the pins into J leads, doing the same to the wires to be attached, hooking the two J leads then soldering each pin/wire together, hoping you didn't forget to add heatshrink over the wire before soldering. With Pot Chiclets, simply solder your potentiometer to the PC board, then solder wires to the PC board. You're done! Boards are professionally manufactured, silk screened, single side copper, solder mask."

I just like the name and look of these things. I grew up on chiclets. : )

More Buchla 200e Demos

Title link takes you to new demos up since this post. Metalliton just added. Via Todd.

Solvent performs at the Balc Swamp Arts Festival

YouTube via CornslawIndustries2. Via Solvent on AH:
"for those interested, someone just sent me a YouTube link to some footage of me playing live in Ohio a couple of weeks ago. i was surprised to find that the footage and sound quality are actually pretty decent so i figured i'd share it here...live Voyager action in the first song (Some Assembly Required), and using the Roland VSynth XT for vocoder in the 2nd song (Remote Control)"

Synth Tower

via Jez.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

AVR Synth

"The AVRSYN is a monophonic "virtual analog" synth based, originally, on the Atmel AT90S8535 microcontroller and was designed by Jarek Ziembicki. His aim was to check to see if a simple micro could be used for sound synthesis purposes. And the result? The AT90S8535 managed to do all the tasks: front panel switches and pots services, receiving and processing MIDI messages, and sound generation!

The synthesis architecture is simple:-
two DCO's, a DCF, and a DCA. There is also an LFO and an AR/ASR envelope generator.

Sound samples: 1 2 3

Paul Maddox jumped in at this point and started to design a pcb for the unit but selected the
ATMEGA16 as the AT90S8535 is no longer a production item. Paul has had to temporarily withdraw from this process and so I have taken over the reigns and am releasing the pcb, along with an optional kit of components, to assist those who wish to build and/or develop their own AVR-based synthesiser."

via CDM

Akai MPC500 Official Site Up

Title link takes you there.

Doktorfuture's "Radio Modular"!

Update: I added a permanent link to the feed on the right.

Via Paulsop, aka Doctor Future:
"I've hooked up a feed of the main mixer from my modular and now stream it on the net. link

Here is a pic of what is making the sound.

Tonight's (and probably for the next few days) selection is minimal: 4 noise sources: white, pink, +/-, and + from a Modcan 07a (link). The +/- and + are sent to a Moog 904a lowpass and lovely glassy late model Arp Odyssey 4072 (Modcan 36a). These sounds are then sent to the Quadraphonic 33a surround position module (LFO's decide what the positioning is), and also through, to various modulated extents, two Ibanez AD202 and a Pioneer SR202 reverb. Envelopes and triggering is from Metalbox. Each day I'll tweak it (requests?) and keep it streaming.

I'm working on levels and stuff. There's no compression or anything. Just the modular->Motu Traveller->to stream. Let me know how it sounds? I am terrible with levels.

The modular is always on, and always squawking out something. Can't guarantee it'll be any good, but as far as I know, it's the first 24/7 modular source, so "yayz me!" It's all creative commons attribution stuff, so samples can of course be used.

Now, if other folk want to try something like this, I have plenty of bandwidth to host their radio streams. We could even make a 'meta modular' where we could, in real time, mix various modular streams (in a modular of course), and stream that out :)"

Very cool. Feel free to comment if you are interested."

The GRP Synthesizer

Via Antonio Tuzzi:

"Hi Matrix,

Paolo is friend of mine and he is building synth on demand: already 15 built! he has a very clean style, as you can see from the ebay A3 synth (on this ebay auction)

Is a mini style synth, but with 2 LFO, hard sync and cross modulation between the 3 oscillator and a ring modulator!

You can check his style in this other creation the 6 oscillator monster: the GRP Synthesiser"

PONG

Title link takes you gagmewithaspoon.com, the new website for Dave Lovelace's new band PONG. Note this is just a teaser site at the moment and the links do not yet work. Dave is the creator of The Packrat series and more.

"Here's a link to a teaser site I made for "PONG," the new '80s band that just got put together. It's basically like Plastica, but 100% New Wave hits (i.e. not as punk, nor anything too obscure), and possibly more in tune with the private party / wedding scene.

We're also going to stick with the original "cheese factor" of the originals as much as humanly possible to really make people feel like it's 20 years ago. It was very tempting in Plastica (as it is with other local bands that play an occasional oldie) to "rokk out" the wimpier hits (or just go for comedy), but this time around we're going to try to embrace the vintage sound and see what happens.

Should be an update in the next few months about gigs; for now we're dusting off our material. We only just completed auditions and got commitments from everyone within just this past week, actually..."