Little Boy Blue Deluxe

"Little Boy Blue is a compact modular synthesizer, designed for live performance. This powerful instrument combines voltage-controlled synthesizer modules and no-input mixing capabilities with the simplicity of an effects pedal.

The first edition of Little Boy Blue consisted of six units, 4 standard and 2 deluxe."

Title link takes you there.

via KONEY.

Studio Electronics Omega 8 Demos

Smith Toppleton posted some Omega 8 demos on this VSE thread along with the following:

"I recorded about 20 minutes of Omega pads, strings, basses, fx, and other sounds, with plenty of cross modulation and arpeggios. I didn't use any external effects or processing so everything you hear is straight from the synth. My keyboard playing isn't the best, but hopefully it's enough to get a general idea of the character and sound of the Omega. This is a 4-voice model with the standard OB SEM and Moog filters."

I asked him if it would be ok to put up a post here for others to check out and he gave the thumbs up. Here are the links:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

I also mirrored them here for when the links are gone.

MIKADO Analog Sequencing System

Prototype analog sequencer project on the Techno Toys site. Title link takes you to more info including a sample, details for each module and an image of the hardware in the flesh.

"Mikado is a configurable analog sequencing system, optimized for controlling a small (2-4 voice) analog modular synthesizer.

Mikado was designed to meet the need for a flexible, non-traditional hardware sequencer. A primary design goal was to include several modules for creating and manipulating rhythms using dividers, logic, and manual input. Flexible voltage sequencing, quantizing, signal routing, and manual inputs were other necessities.

Mikado is a "semi-modular" sequencer ala the Fenix or Serge systems, rather than discrete modules as other systems are. This is in keeping with the goal of controlling a small system, and reflects the designer's needs. Mikado could also serve as the heart of a larger sequencer system by adding modules from other manufacturers. In the present design, banana jacks are used for patching, though other types of jacks could be used by changing the front panel drilling accordingly.

Mikado's module complement and front panel were designed and specified by Jim Johnson. Electronic design and PC board layout are by Jim Patchell. PC boards for this project will be made available, and a customizable front panel is also available. It should be noted that, while the remaining material on this page describes the sequencer's specified configuration, the circuit and PC boards will have some additional capabilities, such as extra LED drivers, some additional sequencer modes, etc.

Modules
Mikado's module complement is as follows:

* 1 Master Clock
* 2 8x2 Sequencers
* 2 Quantizers
* 1 Pattern Generator
* 1 Transposer
* 2 Analog Switches
* 1 Sequential Switch
* 2 2-input Logic Gates
* 1 4-input Logic Gate
* 3 Logic Inverters
* 1 Type D flip-flip
* 1 One-shot
* 1 Binary Divider
* 1 Prime Divider
* 1 Divide-by-N
* 2 Gate Switches
* 2 Gate/Trigger Buttons
* 3 Toggle Switches"


Via Exsurdo in the comments of this post.

Metasonix Scrutum Smasher and Wretch Video on Sonic State

Title link takes you to the full set of NAMM 2007 videos on Sonic State. Scroll and you will find the scrotum.

BTW, the artwork on the TM-7 might look familiar. It's from none other than Dave, creator of The Packrat.

As usual, the Wretch sounds like it's about to burst and ooze bubbly tar out of the vacuum tubes. Raunchy, raunchy synth.

Analogics

I was looking at this auction for a Korg PS3100 wood case and noticed it was from Analogics. I did a quick search here and no post, so here it is.

"Analogics has been involved in analog synth repair and refurbishing since 1990. We also sell analog synths. I have added a custom woodworking page for the furniture, clocks, and jewelry boxes I build for customers. It's a passion of mine. Take a look around. If you have a question or can't find what you're looking for, please feel free to email Analogics or give me a call at Analogics."

EML 101

via this auction

"Like the ARP 2600, the EML-101 was a patchable (1/4'' patch cords) quasi-modular synth with a hard-wired voice path. The synth offered 4 oscillators (2 of which could go sub-sonic) with multiple or variable waveforms, a voltage controlled 12 dB/oct multi-mode filter with resonance, 2 envelope generators, ring/amplitude modulator, noise and sample-and-hold. In addition, the synth makes no distinction between control voltage and audio paths allowing just about any source to be patched to any control or audio input in any order. With the 4-oscillator architecture, multi-mode filter, and elaborate patch control the EML-101 was undoubtedly the most flexible of all of the portable patch-synthesizers available at its time of manufacture. It is used by Skinny Puppy, Tommy Mars, Download, Weezer, Foreigner, and Ohm."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Korg M3 Video

Title link takes you to the video on Gearwire.

Korg Poly-61M

Another synth up for auction by Dave of The Packrat and umop.
Pics saved here.
Update: Dave mentions it's digital in the video. The Poly-61 is actually analog with digitally controlled oscillators (DCOs) to keep them in tune. They are not digitally generated. The filter is also analog from what I understand. Not sure about the modulation such as LFO and Envelope.

Nord Lead 2x

This Nord Lead 2x is up for auction via Dave of our synth favorite, The Packrat and umop.
Images saved here.

Don't Mess With The Wretch

Metasonix Bear and his Wretchrosonix.

Title link takes you to more shots sent my way via Michael.

Techno Toys is Now Free!

Looks like the Techno Toys suite is now free! Techno Toys was one of the first things I ever downloaded off the net. It has lived through Windows 95, 98, and now XP. It is the only software I have transfered and continue to use to this day. If you haven't tried them, just do it. Loads of fun. Pictured is the XG-909, SEQ-303, and ARP-X8. The ARP-X8 reminds me of an easy to use Oberheim Cyclone. Think uber arpeggiator. SEQ-303 is an analog style step sequencer with accent. The XG-909 I haven't played much with but obviously it's a 909 style drum machine. Title link takes you to the download. [mirrored here - right click and download the icon when you get there.]

Cheap 2' Patch Chords

Bookmarking this for the day I need them. If anyone has any other recommendations, feel free to comment.

Korg Mini Kaoss Pad Video

Title link takes you to the video on Gearwire.

I'm digging the form factor on this. Anyone know the MSRP?

Polyvoks Samples

Title link takes you to some samples on sequencer.de.

Access Virus at NAMM

flickr by penmachine.

Nothing new here. Just some really nice shots. I had to do a double take when I saw this image though. For a split second I thought Access came out with a mini keyboard version of the Access Virus TI. Title link takes you to more shots.

More Feedback Machine V2.0

Delay heaven. Title link takes you to the public beta.

via Analog Industries.

The Wretchrosonix!

Via NAMM 2007 on fdiskc.

via CornMaiden in the comments of this post.

Formanta EMS-01

Title link takes you to more shots and info on Bob Cash's Keyboards & Synthesizers.

SHENZHEN JNGZHUO Electic Circuit Technology CO.,LTD

For anyone looking:

"Dear Sir,

First, hope this mail doesn't disturb you much. Herewith we would like to introduce ourselves in briefly:

Our company specialized in producing 2-16 layers Printed Circuit Boards and FR4 Spacer. Our product is RoHS Compliance and UL certification, and we can provide the products that with good quality and reasonable price & lead time to our customers, If you are looking for a supplier of Quick PCB Sample and Small Lots Production,here we are the professional manufacturer for you! if you want to know more info.,please feel free to contact me.

We have some customers in Netherlands, USA, Germany,Singapore, Sweden and some other countries,we would like to develop a long-term and mutually beneficial cooperative relationship with you."

Best regards,
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Block 15,Bao Yuan Industrial Zone,Xixiang,Baoan District,
Shenzhen City, Guangdong Province, China.
Tel: 86-755-21230208
Fax: 86-755-27859605
Mobile: 86-0-13538166157
UL No.: E244521
E-mail: gwangpcb[at]yahoo.com.cn
Website: http://www.szjzpcb.com.cn/en/gsjj.htm"

25 Years of SCD Update

Remember this post? Well I'm a complete goof. I noted that all tracks on the DVD were available for download on site. Well, that is not correct. The DVD DOES contain tracks not available for download. I misunderstood some conversations on an email thread discussing the DVD with Boele and others. I apologies profusely to Boele and anyone that may have passed on the DVD because of this. I have updated the previous post and I'm putting up this new post, so people don't miss it. Title link takes you to more info.

Future Retro XS NAMM Videos via Shagghie

EMS Synthi Demos on Aliens Project

Title link takes you there.

via sequencer.de

Jen SYNX 508

flickr by synx508.

title link takes you to more.

WNAMM07: WALDORF latest - via Sonic State

Via Sonic State

Plan B Right Pane

Akai AX60

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

via SoNiCbRaT

Roland OP-8 CV Interface

No title link. Just two shots pulled via this auction. via SoNiCbRaT.

Previous OP-8M post

Update via the comments: "Just a slight correction. The OP-8 and the OP-8M are two quite different things (there is a link in this post to another post with more 'OP-8' info - and the link leads to a post on the OP-8M). The OP-8M has a midi out and the OP-8 doesn't."

"...the OP-8 is a cv/gate to dcb interface and the OP-8M is a cv/gate to midi OR dcb interface. They were both released to compliment the MC-4 sequencer, hence the looks on them."

CDM NAMM Flickr Gallery

Title link takes you to the CDM NAMM flickr gallery. You can check out their NAMM shots or post your own.

Pictured:
"Plan B synth at Analog Haven booth. Very absorbing, organic sounds were emanating from this when I stopped by--made me think "yes, they really do need all those knobs." flickr via jjancourtz.

via CDM

Orbital Decay

Remember this groovy guitar synth? Geir Helgi found it on Orbital Decay. Title link takes you there. You'll find it under the Equipment page along with tons of other gear.

Synthesize this!

flickr by bashfulkarly.

Kimball synthesizer. Anyone know more about the Kimball?

title link takes you to one more shot.

SMS 2000 Dual Filter Test

Remember the SMS 2000? There was and still is a huge debate whether this thing is real or not. Well, it keeps getting better. Here's a video of it. : ) So, physically it definitely exists. Now, you have to ask yourself, is it producing the sound in this video or is the player is "lip singing" to it? Hey, if Britney Spears can do it...

via Dr. Kyle Han Ten.

Update: Previous SMS 2000 posts

Update: Here's the thread Dr. Kyle Han Ten found the video. If anyone reads dutch, feel free to comment if there is anything interesting in the thread. I beleive I already posted all the shots in my previous posts when the SMS 2000 first surfaced.

Vintage Synths Made in Italy

"From late 60s until the mid 80s the Italian world of music instruments have created many sinthesizers and electronic keyboards of quality. This site is dedicated to all those who have made the history of the italian synths, and to all those who love the italian sound."

Title link takes you there.

NAMM Videos via Shagghie

fdiskc at NAMM

Couple of shots of Brandon Daniel sent my way via r. That's him with the super short hair and black shirt. I figured why not put up an image of the man that brought us all the great NAMM shots via fdiskc. Thank you Brandon.

I should also say thanks to Moose of MIDIzoo.com for his great set as well.

Thanks guys, you made this year's Winter NAMM a whole lot better.

Matrixsynth by Amos

via Amos of MOOG Music. : )

Store Window Berlin

This one in via Oliver Chesler (The Horrorist): "Took this photo today on the way to my music studio in Berlin. This is the store."

Click the image for a much larger shot.

Inflatable DX-7

No title link. Just this image pulled via this auction.

Sent my way via synth ollie.

The ZX7

Groove Electronics M303

Title link takes you to a couple more shots pulled from this auction.

Details:
"The M303+ is a Roland TB303 (without the sequencer) modified by groove electronics to have midi control, also added sync 24 to start a tb303 with a clock from your pc or mac,,, and ,,,an added midi to cv convertor for another analogue synth without midi,,

Very handy kit to bridge the gap between midi and cv gate technology.

we used this on nearly all our old shades of rhythm material , we used the sync 24 to sync an original roland tb303 with our pc using cubase , we used the modified built in roland tb303(without sequencer) using normal midi and we used the additional midi to cv gate to turn our sh101 into a midi synth.. a true work horse ;)

The M303 + is a dual channel MIDI to CV converter with an analogue voice module fixed to the Channel A CV controls.
The M303 voice is very similar to that found on the TB303 Bassline, and incorporates all the same front panel controls as found on that machine.These controls are self explanatory, and a few minutes spent with the machine will inform you of the range of sounds available.
Differences include the ability to control the voice from MIDI with pitchbend on any assignable receive channel, and control of the cut-off frequency from velocity information.
The manual supplied is that of the M2CV as this explains all the programmable parameters that are available on this machine.
Please Note,
Any parameter described in the M2CV manual will be available for control af the 303. ie Mod wheel or aftertouch could replace velocity as the controlling information routed to the filter. Transpose can be used to alter range of 303. Remember however that at power up, the unit defaults to the same set of parameters.
The unit is fitted with SYHC 24 output, arp triggering and of course a free set of CV, LEVEL and GATE outputs to independantly control another monosynth."

Buchla Synthesizer at NAMM 2007

Video via Amateur Chemist where you will find more NAMM shots.

Two of My Birthday Presents

flickr by Mike Peacock2005.

No not my birthday. That's the title of the flickr shot. Title link takes you to a nice close up of the MicroKorg. Nice owl.

25 Years of SCD

Remember this post? It looks like the DVD will be ready in the second half of February and Boele is currently taking pre-orders now. Title link takes you there. You will find entire tracks with notes on what insturments were used. Many tracks showcase the Waldorf line of synths. Note that the DVD will have tracks not available via the site.

Update: I originally stated that all tracks on the DVD were available on site. This is NOT the case. There are tracks on the DVD that are not available on site. I misunderstood when conversing with Boele via email. My sincerest apologies for this. I will be putting up a new post to let people that may not find this particular post again.

Roland PG-800

Knob/slider box for the JX-8P, MKS-70, and JX-10 (Super JX. Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Rhodes Chroma

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction. This one is in Sweden.

Vermona perFOURmer

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Details:
"The Perfourmer is a hands-on, real-time Quad Analog Synthesizer. It is a true analog synthesizer ideal for basses, leads, pads and effect sounds! It consists of four voices, each a separate synthesizer channel with its own VCO, VCF, VCA and LFO. Unlike conventional synths, each voice is treated as a separate or monophonic synth, each with its own knobs for tweaking. In fact, each synth channel gets 2 rows of knobs (that's 18 knobs per synth channel). Each of the four synth channels are identical. This method of synthesis allows users to create four totally different synth sounds which can either be layered into unique textural sounds or treated as separate multitimbral parts, such as a monophonic synth bass, monophonic synth lead and polyphonic pads.

Each synth channel consists of the following features and/or parameters: There is 1 VCO per channel with 6 waveforms to choose from plus a white-noise generator. Pitch can be adjusted +/- 13 halftones. There's a 4-pole lowpass resonant filter with variable keytracking and ADSR envelopes for the VCF and VCA. The VCA can also be modulated by the a fixed Gate envelope or the LFO. The LFO has four waveforms and can modulate VCO pitch, VCF requency cutoff, and the VCA.

The Perfourmer features some curious ways of linking the four synth channels together to yield some interesting results. Unison mode combines all four voices into a monophonic synth sound, great for creating simple to complex lead and bass sounds. Duophonic mode combines Synths 1 and 2 into voice no. 1 and Synths 3 and 4 into voice no. 2. This is ideal for creating two-fingered (duophonic) pads, like perfect fifths, fourths and octaves. In Polyphonic mode, all channels function as a 4-voice polyphonic for even better pads and textures.

Additionally there's also an FM mode where Synths 1 and 3 don't produce audible sound, but rather, function to modulate their neighboring channels 2 and 4. The Perfourmer can also be used as a 4-channel filterbank. There are audio inputs to the filter for processing external audio. Each channel has it's own individual audio outputs in addition to the stereo Main Mix outputs in the back of the unit. These output jacks double up as insert jacks for externally processing each synth channel. With some creativity and some TRS insert cables you can actually route signals between the channels, ie: send VCO1 from Synth 1 out into Synth 2 so that it is processed by both VCFs, VCAs, and LFOs in Synths 1 and 2.

MIDI is the main means of playing the sounds you create with this synth. However, four optional CV/Gate inputs (1V/octave) can be added for controlling each synth channel from other analog gear. Cutoff frequencies of each synthesizer channel can be controlled by MIDI, but not by CV. The lack of on-board program memory is disappointing. With over 72 knobs, being able to save and recall your favorite sounds should have been a no brainer...oh well. It's a perfect companion to the Vermona DRM-1 Analog Drum Synth."

Vermona DRM1-MKII

Click here for more shots via this auction.

Details:

"The Vermona DRM-1 mkII is a true analog drum synthesizer. You can synthesize up to eight drum sounds and they can be triggered by MIDI and by an optional set of 10 Trigger Inputs. Each sound has about 9 knobs for shaping the sound. And since it really is analog (and not some virtual emulation) the sounds are more unique and unpredictable than any other electronic drum synths currently available.

With eight drum sounds and nine knobs per sound, the face of the DRM-1 is covered with over 72 knobs! The drum synthesis theory is based around five predetermined percussive sound types. There are three DRUM channels for creating bass drums, toms and numerous effect sounds. One MULTI channel for creating typical analog Cowbell sounds and effect sounds. One SNARE channel, which can generate numerous analog snare drums as well as wacky sonar pings. Two HI HAT channels (open or closed), and one analog CLAP channel. There are seven real-time sound controls plus panning and volume on each channel.

It has a stereo output but each channel also has its own audio output which doubles as an insert patch for externally processing each channel before reaching its main stereo mix outputs. A big unfortunate over-sight is the lack of program patch memory. With all those knobs it sure would be nice for some sort of instant recall of your favorite drum sound settings. The front panel tilts so the DRM-1 is at home rack-mounted or as a tabletop module. Anyone interested in creating their own unique ANALOG drum sounds should check out the DRM-1! It makes a great companion to the Vermona Perfourmer Analog Synthesizer module.

The original DRM-1 (non-mkII) had fewer Hi-Hat cymbal sound controls, no individual output/inserts per channel, no on/off switch, and an external power supply."

Cwejman S1 MK2

via this auction

Growth is Good

Muff Wiggler's modular turns one.

Final fdiskc NAMM shots are up

Title link takes you to them.

SMS MARS x 2, SMS Planet 7 and Doepfer MAQ16x3 pictured.

SCI DrumTraks Synthwood Sides

Click here for more shots pulled via this auction. Pictured is gorgeous Oak. As some of you have probably guessed, these are from Synthwood. The buy it now on these are only $19.50. Not bad if you are looking to spruce up your synths. So far I believe Synthwood only offers wood panels for synths that had wood panels to begin with. There are quite a few synths out there that would look very nice with a set of these. The OB12 immediatley comes to mind - the grey plastic-wood sides that come with it are hollow on the underside - I swear they'll cut a finger off if you aren't careful.

Arturia Origin Sequencer Screen

Another shot of the Arturia Origin via MIDIzoo's NAMM coverage. This one of the sequencer screen. The MSRP for the Origin is $2999. Street will be lower.