Pacific Northwest Synthesizer Meeting

"The Pacific Northwest Synthesizer Meeting is next Saturday.

Bring your analog or other synthesizers for show or to play. Come see and
hear what others have brought. Additional information is available on my web
site.

Saturday, October 21, 2006
10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

Renton Technical College
Building C, Room 110
3000 NE 4th St
Renton, WA 98056

Take care,
John
www.sound-photo.com"

imogen heap on letterman

I almost didn't put this up as I try to keep post specifically about the synths rather than just artists using synths. You can imagine how out of control the site would get if I opened the flood gates. But... Since I've been on a bit of a looping kick lately I figure why not. I've heard of Imogen Heap before but I never made the time to listen to her music. Brian Comnes sent me a link to this video as Imogen Heap is becoming the looping artist. This video shows how she is able to create a full piece of music all by herself using loops and most importantly building them live. Pretty cool, and Letterman seemed to like it. : ) This song is really growing on me. Anyone know what synth she's playing?

Mark Shreeve (Live At Emma '94)

YouTube via Kenzoid27. Sent my way via frederic. Title link takes you to more.

SpiralSynth Modular

"SpiralSynth Modular is an object orientated music studio with an emphasis on live use. You can use it in a fairly straight forward way to make tracks with, or get very experimental. Audio or control data can be freely passed between the plugins. Data can also be fed back on itself for chaotic effects."

Title link takes you there. via SoNiCbRaT.

Roland SH-1000

Title link takes you to shots pulled from this auction.
"It has 10 preset sounds and a synth section for creating your own sounds. On the synth section there are 9 synth selectors giving a range from 32' to 2' each of which can be combined for generating more complex waveforms. It also has a VCF and VCA. Effects include Vibrato, Tremelo, Portamento, Glide, Growl, Waw and Random Note which plays "accidental" random notes, interesting effect. There is also White and Pink noise."

Philips PMC100 Tiny Portable Synth

No title link. Shot and details pulled via this auction.

"This auction is for my Philips PMC100. It comes with its original box, a shoulder strap that clips on, a set of earphones with spare foam covers, the original manual in German, and a photocopy of an English manual. There are also some other little booklets to go with it that are in German.

It is in very good condition and works well - although I must point out that I'm not really sure what it does! As far as I can tell it works fine.

It can work on either 6 AA batteries, or a 9 volt multi adapter, neither of which are included.

It has a tape recorder built into it, that enables you to save your compositions like how old computers used to work. The tape recorder also allows you to record audio.

Connection wise it has a headphone/line out socket, a microphone socket and the external power input socket.

The PMC100 has 100 instrument or "melody" voices, and another 15 "melody and accompaniment" voices.

The keyboard is touch sensitive in a similar way to the EDP Wasp.

There is not much more to say abouth the PMC really, I couldn't find much info about it on the net and I know very little about it myself. As it is portable and can be run on batteries, I did wonder whether it may be of use to circuit benders?

Here's what I did find about it on the net:

Its based on the Yamaha FM sound chip, was launched in 1986, it had a nine-channel FM synth with a 100 presets, a membrane keyboard, 8k of ram, a built in cassette recorder, and buttons for a strap. It was designed by British PC music pioneer Lyndsay Williams, who claims to have designed the first ever PC soundcard, for an Olivetti in 1987."

Update via Andreas in the comments: picture of a white PMC100 via link.

Lord of the Korg

This goes out to the people who took the time out to comment in this post. ; ) For those of you that appreciate the video, check out Yanni Live!

The Yamaha HX1

Click here for a site dedicated to the Yamaha HX1, including samples, sent my way via Loscha. The site also includes the following modules: CVS-10, AVS-10, MDR-2/3/4/10, FVX-1, AVX-1, VEX-1/VEX-10, MBS-10 and more.

"The Yamaha HX is an electronic organ (musical instrument with keyboards) usually refered as an Electone - electronic tone (sound) generator. It is used not only for playing church pieces as with traditional organ or harmonium, but also for contemporary music such as jazz, rock etc. along with auto accompaniment and rhythm patterns. The first HX was introduced in 1987 and was the first electone equiped with Yamaha's new AWM tone generator (sampeled acoustinc sound). (EL and AR series are almost entirely AWM based).

The HX has warm sounds and beutiful figure (as can be seen in the Modular page). The tone generators of that series supported FM (Frequant Modulation),WM (Wave Memory - sampled organ sounds) and AWM (Advenced Wave Memory - sampled acoustinc sounds). As far as I know, only the HX (and FVX-1) series had 8/16 operatores for each FM sound, the famouse Yamaha DX-7 and SY-77 had only 6 operatores for each FM/AFM element. The HX has:
- 90 presets + 8 user (programmable) FM polyphonic voices (8 op. each),
- 54 presets + 6 user (programmable) FM monophonic voices (16 (!!) op. each),
- 16 presets + 16 user (programmable) WM polyphonic voices (Sampeled Drawbars),
- 5 presets AWM polyphonic voices (U/L keyboard),
- 5 presets AWM monophonic voices (bass),
- 60 Percussion AWM sounds."

Spoogeworld - Yamaha Resource Site

This one via Loscha. Title link takes you to a Yamaha resource site with manuals, patches and a book on FM Theory & Application written by the creators of FM synthesis.

Waldorf Wave Demo Take 2

Remember this WAVE demo? OH is back with one more:

"i have posted a link to a song [risong] with many sounds from the waldorf WAVE. a larger version is now available at: link

it is now called "resurrect me"

it is not finished yet but there are many beautiful WAVE sounds at the beginning and above all in the slow break."

Shadow Wave pictured.

Korg Z1 Demos by Suit & Tie Guy

Two demos by Suit & Tie Guy:
demo_world.mp3
"a Ligeti-ish take on 'What a wonderful world,' with synths. it's Numerology controlling 6 voices of a Z1 and a pluck sound on the MS2000. the pitch bend module in Numerology is used to make the notes glide from note to note over a one-measure period."

demo_dnb_world.mp3
"the phaser on the Z1 is coming from the Digitech Studio 400, and any delay or reverb is off the TSR-24. the sequencing was done with a very very early version of Numerology, probably the freshest alpha as of Jan 28, 2003. the bass on the dnb version is from the Bass Station and the drum samples are off the S2800, and i'm pretty sure are my own samples of a local indie rock drummer at his kit."

CV LED Plugs

via daddio:
recipe:
1/8" or 1/4" plug
100k resistor
led
shrink wrap

Plug into CV out and watch the lights pulse, ramp up and down, etc.
Multicolored blinky light heaven.

Similar to: link.

Buchla Phases out 259e & 249e?

Via the Buchla list.

Bryan notes:
"Looks like the 249e might be gone as well. Both modules have been removed from the systems on the price list. I bet there aren't as many orders for them now that the 261e and 250e came out. I haven't got my hands on either of the DARFs yet to prefer one over the other but I do like the 259e just as much as the 261e. Maybe more..."

Two prior posts specifically mentioning the 259e Oscillator (I didn't find any I put up for the 249e):
Buchla Breaking the Mold
Buchla 200e Analog vs. Digital

Update via Ezra Buchla:
"- something very much like the probability fields in the 249 can be
programmed with the 250 and the lower section of the 266. try it!

- keep up the feedback. it is not impossible to make more of these,
especially the 259. i love that module, because i love crazy extreme digital
sounds. these very same sounds have been bad-mouthed a lot in the press, so
if you enjoy them, let us know.

- the 249 is a beast to assemble, and we've had few enough orders that it's
hard to justify continuing firmware support for it (a lot of work would be
needed to really root out all the bugs.)"

Another update from Ezra:
"hi everyone, a couple things:

- we're not taking orders for either of these modules right now (and here
are good reasons). we will fill orders on the waitlist. i can't say if we
will make more of them ever.

- if you were considering ordering a 249, i would not dismiss the 250. it
lacks some functions but adds other important ones: 32x stationary knob
bank, 16x sample and hold, new voltage integration uses... if you miss the
259's probability fields, it is possible to program the same behaviors with
a 250 and 266 combo."

The Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic Music

Newsletter #2:

"Greetings from The Bob Moog Foundation! Thanks so much to all of you who helped make the launching of our website a success. We've had over 6,000 visitors to the site and over 1,100 downloads of our podcast featuring the band Perpetual Groove. The podcast series has also helped us to reach out to the community of musicians playing Moog instruments.

Over the past month, we have been hard at work building our base of support and we need your help! We are planning to distribute brochures about the Foundation to music venues across the U.S. to put backstage, encouraging bands to get involved. In order to accomplish this, we need to raise $5,000.00. Please consider making a $50.00 gift to aid in this effort. Every contribution counts. We need yours.

As we continue to work at cultivating support, we also have a couple of exciting Moogcasts coming up. Look for a podcast featuring Aron Magner, keyboardist from the Disco Biscuits, coming soon. Upcoming artists include progressive rock legend Keith Emerson.

We all miss Bob, but in these podcasts we get a chance to see the music live on through these great musicians.

We thank you for joining us in supporting the Moog legacy of electronic music innovation.

Moog lives. Rock on.

Michelle Moog-Koussa
Director, The Bob Moog Foundation

Spread the word!

Like Michelle mentioned, it's critical that we spread the word about The Moog Foundation in key music venues and studios around the country. With development, printing and production we need to raise $5,000 to make this happen. Will you help?

Donate Now

Moog in Japanese?

Thanks to our good friend Keiichi Goto, we now have translations of several key components of the www.moogfoundation.org translated into Japanese.

Look for the site to be updated in the coming weeks. Down the road, we hope to launch a Moog Foundation Japan site.

Thanks Keiichi!

What do you think?


We've gotten some amazing stories from friends, family and admirers from on our website. We are collecting these anecdotes and memories to put in a new section of the site.

Do you have a good Moog story? We encourage you to get involved by sending us your story today.

Submit your story."

matrixsynt(h) on Kaoss Pad 3

Via Martin:
"I did this one is on my brandnew KP3. (wonderful gizmo)
Sorry for the missing "h" on "synth", only 10 characters are possible
for scrolling text.. ;-)

keep on the good work,
i love your blog.

cheers from germany,

Martin"

Stuff like this just makes my week. GIANT GRIN : ) Thanks Martin!

AH California 2006

Via Brian Comnes:

=====Announcement ===========
Analogue Heaven - California announces its 2006 annual synth gathering to be held Sunday November 12 , 2006 at the Student Services Center of the College of Marin in Kentfield, CA. Doors open at 9:30 AM and the venue will be open until 8:00 PM. The event is free but there will be a donation bucket to offset possible janitorial fees.

Parking on campus on Sunday is free.
Take out and delivered food can be brought to the venue. There are plenty of places to get food within a few minutes of the campus. The campus prohibits alcohol.

The 5000 square foot facility should have plenty of room for all but if you plan to plug in , extension cords and outlet blocks are probably in order. The room has plenty of tables and chairs.

A campus map is at: link. Attendees should enter at Laurel Avenue and park in Lot 4 for load in and load out.

From Highway 101, take the San Anselmo exit (northbound) or the Sir Francis Drake Blvd. exit (southbound) and follow Sir Francis Drake Blvd. to College Ave. (seventh stoplight off 101). Proceed a block to Laurel, turn left and go to Lot 4 - see map.

Updates on the event will be posted to the Analogue Heaven mail list To subscribe to that digest, e-mail:
analogue-digest-subscribe at hyperreal.org

Hope to see you there!!

===============================

Accces Virus D - BLACK HELICOPTER

BLACK HELICOPTER

This is what comes up for product=virusd on the Access site. Anything else not released comes up with broken gifs.

Update: Check out the comments. Apparently this page has been there for some time, and I wouldn't be surprised if I saw it before. Too much to track and so much to forget, however:

"From Access Music email newsletter:

On a lighter note, we will celebrate the Virus' 10th anniversary starting 1st of November. Watch our website - you won't regret it ..."

A6 Demos by PaulSop aka Doktor Future

Three Andromeda A6 Demos by Doktor Future.

"Overflowing the A6 MIDI buffer causing odd sounds with Numerology: link

"I did this the day I got the A6 live with it's nifty Mix Mode and arpeggiator/sequencers: link

"A Cutsy riff inspired by a Pogues song played live: link"

Kendall Wrightson Loops a Linn 9000 and DX1

Been on a looping kick recently if you haven't noticed. Chris Strellis did and sent the following to me. What's funny is I have his Synth History DVD collection and this is the exact video clip that inspired me to finally get off my butt and actually start exploring the world of looping.

"I edited a section of the Synth History Revisisted DVD where Kendall Wrightson makes a track in one minute using a Linn 9000 and a DX1. This was for a guy who was interested in buying my Linn 9000 but I thought that it would be appropriate for everyone to see it. From 1985......... This clip [2.93M] comes from this DVD where more vintage synth fun can be found."

BTW, the DVDs? Absolute synth crack, and a blast from the past. Definitely recommended. You can find some of it on YouTube, but it's not the same as kicking back and watching it not only in better resolution, but full screen without interruption.

Update: BTW, check out Chris Strellis' MySpace page for some good music and a gear p*rn slideshow. Makes a good show while listenning to the music. You might recognize some of the shots from previous posts I put up from Chris.

Update via Chris in the comments:
"This video was shot at Syco Systems in London. In that area there's a rare Fairlight IIL (it has a hard drive!), a Kurzweil 250, a DX-1 and a Linn 9000. The most advanced hardware at the time. It just lacked a PPG with Waveterm - oh and a Synclavier ;)

Since that video, Kendall had written prolificly for Sound On Sound and other magazines and lectures on Music Technology in the UK's North East. link."

Reminder: 2n Annual Austin Analog Synth Meet This Sunday

linky.

Yamaha FVX-1

Remember the FVX-1? Brian Comnes found an FVX-1 site with specs.



- very rare programmable 8-operator FM synthesizer expander released in 1988
- 64 editable parameters - 22 direct + 42 with DOS based editor
- DSP - 11 effect algorithms Stereo-Chorus, Stereo-Pan, Symphonic, Phaser, Flanger, Delay, Tremolo, Digital hall, Celeste and Wah.
- 5 LED dsplays + levelmeter
- 4 x 8 voice blocks (4 part multitimbral)
- 248 ROM, 248 RAM presets, 16 performances
- 2x MIDI IN (front and back), 2x MIDI OUT (front and back), MIDI THRU, Headphone OUT, Aux OUT Stereo, Main OUT Stereo, Main In Stereo Cinch, Main Out Stereo Cinch, Aux In Stereo Cinch, Aux Out Stereo Cinch, Pack Port
- 14 Buttons + 1 Coarse, 4 endless controllers, 1 Main Out volume knob, 1 Aux Out volume knob, 1 headphone Out volume knob

Quandace Andromeda A6 Demo

Title link takes you to a 15.8M demo of the Alesis Andromeda by Tuomas Poikonen on Quandace.com. It's a pretty impressive demo. He also did a killer XTK demo previously posted here.

LOOPmaster

New Features:
* Tracks of different lengths can be recorded
* Click removal
* Enhanced user interface
* Multiple outs

Korg Oasys Gets Polysix and MS-20 Updates

Title link takes you to the rest on Sonic State.

Doepfer A100 Modular

flickr by unyo303.

Circuit Bent Casio PT-10

Title link takes you to GetLoFi where you'll find a map of the mods and more info.


Original PT-10 shot below via jarin.net.

Synth Trash

via CDM. This is a promo shot, named synthtrash, by Urs Heckmann for Zebra2. Hmm... Aren't sidewalks public property? Garbage is free game, right? Image: guy with Matrixsynth T running off with Urs chasing.

Zebra 2 Update

Remember Zebra 2? Version 2 has been realeased. Via Adam:

"I'm an analog guy, but I just bought this amazing softsynth. If there is only one synth that everyone should have, this is it. U-he is a one man developer whose creation is worlds ahead of NI. Try the demo."
It has also received praise from CDM.

My New Happy Place

Yeah, that would make me happy. Title link takes you to a couple of more shots (thumbnails on the top left when you get there), and some notes on the studio. Via Analog Industries HCGP, btw, glad it's back.

'Making a beat' with a DX7 and a drum loop

This is a pretty cool. For more info behind the video check out Shepitology. It's a great example of what you can do with Elogoxa Elottronix XL. Creating loops with it really is that simple. When I finally explored it I had one of those "how did I ever play without this" moments.

Loopy LLama

Ok, this one gets a post just for the name and website design. What is it?

"It's a looper... Made to emulate the Jam Man or DL-4 - but also generate a click track so it could be used with a drummer live. It is designed to work with Ableton Live or any other VST host such as Plogue Bidule for live performance."


Title link takes you there. via Phil on the SynthSights list.

A Preset System Concept for the Synthesizers.com Modular

Note this is not from synthesizers.com, just an idea submitted during a contest they had. Title link takes you to more info.

"Morbius asked for suggestions on a preset storage system for use with a Synthesizers.com modular synth. Here is a concept that I came up with. A guiding principle was Morby's comment that "no computers" be used. I believe that he was opposed to anything that would require a PC (personal computer) to use, whereas a computerized module was actually within his guidelines. Regardless, I took a stab at a system that could be built using discrete logic. Although the concept presented here stretches the limits of practicality, I think it is interesting."

Synthzone

Someone on the AH list was looking for a Matrix-6 editor, I directed him to the Synthzone Oberheim page where you will find few editors and more resources for everything Oberheim. If you haven't checked out Synthzone yet, do it. You will find a page for every manufacturer and much more. It was one of the first sites I visited when I started exploring synths on the web in the 90's.

Chris Strellis' Roland VP9000 Page

Title link takes you to Chris Strellis' VP9000 page with a few demos, info and shots. If you ever wondered what this unit is capable of, check it out. I remember when these first came out. It was pretty groundbreaking technology at the time and it was priced accordingly. I remember there being issues with it and the price quickly went down. The Variphrase technology eventually made it's way into the VarioOS chameleon like rack and of course the VSynth followed by the new OASYS and VP-550.

"It's a 6 voice (yeah only 6!) polyphonic sampler with 136MB RAM and a 250MB Zip drive. But - after you record a sample - you then "encode" it. Once encoded you can, in real time, affect the pitch, duration, formant and groove all in real time. I can stretch say a spoken phrase down to single wave and up to double speed without affecting the pitch. I can move the formant frequency around (male to female and vice versa) and on drum loops affect the swing and groove."

BTW, I love this second shot. : ) Also the Matrixsynth plug at the end of the page. Gotta like that. Thanks Chris! BTW, be sure to check out the rest of Chris' site while there.

Nanoloop

Via Brian Comnes:

"Nanoloop and LSDJ are both now shipping their MIDI synch cables again after a hiatus, so if you find one of these cartridges used for a low price, you can get that 8 bit sound from a real 8-bit source and synch it to MIDI clock , does it get any better? (well maybe a Moog Voyager IS better, but.....)"


Nanoloop
LSDj

Racking the Unracked

Red Roland SH-101
Roland Juno-106
Moog Minimoog
Moog Source
E-MU SP1200
Roland TR-909
Roland TR-808

Saw this on Synthesizer-Magazine. The shots come from Synrise.

more racked goodness:
Racked Synths Done Right
Racked Juno-106
Korg MS Series in a Rack
Racked Roland SH-101
Racked Wasp
Access Virus TI Racked
Custom Oberheim Two Voice Modular

CLICK FOR MORE »

Admiral Quality Poly Ana

VSTi. Title link takes you to more info including a demo version.

studio

flickr via altemark.

Cool setup:
"Roland [correction: Korg] MS-2000, Syntecno Teebee MKII, Roland SDE-2000, Elektron Sidstation, Boss BX-4, Elektron Machinedrum UW, Boss DE-200, Casio VZ-10M, Future Retro FR-777, Behringer V-amp 2, Dynacord EQ-210, Yamaha E-1010, MAM Warp 9, MAM VF-11, TC Electronic Triple C"

kitty hearts keys

flickr by softestthing.

sorry. : ) More after the hop.

Billy Joel - The Entertainer

Minimoog Solo. YouTube via Calavera123. Sent my way via frederic.

crappy mellow2

flickr by devowski.

Looks like he took it up a notch. This actually works:

"i built this mellotron for a sculpture class, each key plays a part of the intro to 'the power of love' by the legendary huey lewis and the news"

Title link takes you to one more image.

Buzzmachines

"Buzz is the first ever "easy to use" free modular software based synthesizer. What this means is that the entire system is based on objects, which may be routed in a modular fashion, giving you the freedom to be as creative as you want. For example, if you wish to run 3 Physical Modelling synths and a Drum Machine through 2 seperate Stereo Delays, into a Mixer, through a Compressor and Parameteric EQ, and finally out to your speakers - no problem. Lay down your synths, connect the wires and you're done. Check out the screenshots below for examples!"

I was cleaning out my email and I found one I sent to myself back on 12/28/2001. In it there was just a single link, http://www.buzzmachines.com. I thought I'd check it out before moving it and low and behold it was the Buzzclick software modular. I completely forgot about it. I decided to check out the latest submissions link and to my surprise the latest generator, Mead Bassdrum Machine (picutred), is dated 9/6/06. The latest effect, Multi 2, is dated 9/16/06. Pretty cool considering how long Buzzmachines has been around. Title link takes you there. via me back in 2001.

Elektron TurboMIDI TM-1

Title link takes you to a few more shots of the Elektron TurboMIDI TM-1 sent my way via Justin. There's also some shots of a Roland System 100 104 sequencer in the set. I posted them previosly.

Korg KAOSS PAD 3

YouTube via helitr0n. Via sequencer.de.

Scott Stite's Synth DIY

"At this site you will find a running log on the progress of the design/construction of my KS-01 Synthesizer, sound samples, schematics (more to come anyway), module layouts, and links to other DIY'ers, Module and System suppliers, and music created by DIY'ers." Title link takes you there.

Sneakthief's Henry/Stites SN-Voices DIY Modular

Title link takes you to more shots pulled via this electro-music.com thread.

Update: Sneakthief put up some samples on the thread. I added them to the title link share as well.

TB-303 PRO Kit

Remember the TB-303 PRO. Here's a few shots of what the kit looks like via this auction. No title link.

Analog.no

Title link takes you to analog.no, home to a number of resources including an MKS-30 MIDI upgrade, Polysix MIDI upgrade, Envelope performance times for a few synths, a list of cutom Roland ICs, simple mods and a list of patches for various synths.

The Last Gnat Special

Here's a rarity. The last Gnat Special being auctioned off by Adrian Wagner. Unfortunately it's a non working unit:

"Here we have the last not working Gnat Special from the last of the stock from Wasp Synthesizers Limited: the company I opened 24 years ago after the demise of Electronic Dream Plant. There were only 30 unit of this particular wooden model ever made!

The unit does not work when plugged in so I am selling this as component spares, to a collector or to some enterprising engineer who feels like having a go to fix it. Hence the low start with no reserve!

Even though it does not work, the overall condition (including the touch sensitive keyboard) is very good indeed. Unfortunately, all 12 knobs are missing but these are easy to find on eBay. This was the smaller, single oscillator model to the Wasp but with a great and fat sound. Unfortunately, the manual and electronic schematics have been lost years ago so the synth is all you get but, despite this, you will be bidding on a slice of the past and the good old days of British Synthesizer enterprise and development!"

Sent my way via Chad. No title link.

Inside the Oberheim Xpander

flickr by timothy fellsrow.