MATRIXSYNTH


Thursday, October 11, 2007

Serge N Voice Controller

via Loscha:

"In 1982, Serge Modular Music Systems were set to release something very amazing, which, it appears, never saw retail production. This marketing bulletin which I found among some other things I was given is the only illustration I have been able to find out about the device. Read into it what you will, and bear in mind, that the date is not April the 1st."

Do check this out. You will be surprised. The scanned bulletin also includes a price list.

Fender Chroma Polaris - showing some presets


YouTube via zioguido

Be sure to turn your volume back down after watching.

"This is my Fender Chroma Polaris from 1982. It's an amazing analog 6 voice synthesizer with digital control. The core of the digital part is an Intel 80186 CPU running at 6 MHz. In those years the most powerful PC had a 8086 CPU @ 4,7 MHz! The analog path is comprised of CEM VCO and Filters, while the envelopes and the LFOs are generated digitally. It's very easy to program, really powerful, with plenty of memory for your presets and a fine dynamic keyboard. If you find one at a reasonable price (around US$500) don't let it go! In this video I'm showing you some of the factory presets."

Handmade Music_Etsy Labs_Music Machines_2007


YouTube via rustyanalog.
"Filmed at Handmade Music Night at Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, New York, Sept 27, 2007"

they are coming...


YouTube via verstaerker. "...they are with us"

Alesis A6 Andromeda: arp. + step sequencer


YouTube via YpsilonVector.
"Sound presets with arpeggiator and step sequencer. All digital tuning functions are turned off."

KORG MicroKORG

images via this auction

Roland RS-202

images via this auction

"This is the Roland RS-202 "Strings" Keyboard. Unlike some string machines, its note releases do not get cut off when you hit new keys. Very useful and lush.

The five-octave keyboard can be split to play two different patches, each one being a combination of Strings I, Strings II (different octave), and Brass. A slower attack can also be switched in for each side, as well as a fixed volume attenuation. The Sustain (really the release) of each side is controlled by sliders. There are also global tone controls for the Strings & Brass. The time-honored Roland tradition of two different Ensemble (chorus) settings is global. There are High & Low audio outputs, and a Gate Out in case you need to hook it up to your System 700 modular rig. Like other Roland keyboards of the period, the AC cord is attached & housed in a little hatchway on the bottom."

SIEL ROM PACK for DK80 Synthesizer: SET 01

via this auction

"SOFTWARE DIVISION"

Moog 35 Synth Brochure

images via this auction.

"This is an original brochure for the Moog Model 35 Synth. It is in near mint condition with no tears or stains. This is a 3 page foldout and it is dated from 1976."

MOOG Model 15 Brochure

images via this auction.

"This is a vintage Moog Model 15 Synth brochure. It is in almost mint condition with no stains or tears. The brochure is dated 1976."

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

run dsp the sequncer and the drum machine

Remember Untangling MIDI? The following is a track via Craig using samples of the vid:
run_dsp-the_sequncer_and_the_drum_machine.mp3

PAiA 2700 Series Schematics

"The following book contains ALL of the PAiA 2720 series schematics and design explanations except for the 2720-2A improved linearity VCO and the 2720-9 Glide/Retrofit for the
2720-8 keyboard. It also
has the Gnome schematics and all of PAiA's really early kits (Synthespin, Infinity Plus sustain, etc)

Electronic Music Circuit Guidebook by Brice Ward
TAB books #743 ISBN Hardcover 0-8306-5743-6 Paperback 0-8306-4743-0
Library of congress card # 75-20843

David Hillel Wilson
Curator,
New England Synthesizer Museum
DWilSynth@aol.com
_www.synthmuseum.com/nesm_ (http://www.synthmuseum.com/nesm)"

rauschwerk liquid cubes - KORG Z1 Track

rauschwerk_-_liquid_cubes.mp3
via sequencer.de

Oberheim OB-Xa Based Modular

In case you missed the update to this post, what this turned out to be is an OB-Xa voice board used in a DIY modular system. See the post for the details and the update at the bottom of the page. Comments disabled here so you can comment there.

Roland Jupiter-8 Track

Stamba_-_Playing_with_Roland_Jupiter-8.mp3
via Stamba in the comments of this post.

DSI Prophet '08 Track - No Effects

Here is a "dry" track featuring nothing but the DSI Prophet 8 via Stefan Trippler: link

Richard Lainhart at Handmade Music


YouTube via rustyanalog.
"Richard Lainhart's performance from Handmade Music Night at Etsy Labs in Brooklyn, New York. Richard chose his Buchla 200e Electric Music Box not only because of its compact size and functional density, but also because it's the only patch able modular synthesizer with preset memory, making it ideal for live performance."

Cyndustries Photon Interface

"Why work in the dark? An elegant new lighting solution for your system and hand-playable optical voltage processor module is available all-in-one right now!

Each Photon Interface module comes with a durable black metal Littlelite brand high-intensity gooseneck lamp, a rheostat dimmer, heavy duty right-angle 4-pin panel connectors, and an independent 12 Volt DC power transformer for dependable system lighting right where you need it. The lower half of the module features a highly
sensitive photocell with its own dedicated voltage processor which makes for a great performance controller when your hand passes between photocell and lamp, (you can even tease this photocell from across the room with flashlights or lasers if you like...)

The voltage processor has an adjustable attenuator and comparator and offers both positive and inverted outputs. Rushing the photocell suddenly with your hand will also generate a Gate Output for triggering different things, and you can switch between an external signal input or an adjustable internal voltage supply simply with the pull of a knob.

Photon InterfaceThis is an illuminating little module with lots of fun and usefulness!"
More info on the Cynthia website.

Audio Damage Vapor Product Page is Up

click here for the product page with samples and more.

"What on earth is diffusion chorus? As the name implies, it has diffusion (sort of a red-headed step-child of reverb) and modulating delays (which, as we all know, equals "chorus"). Vapor takes this underused effect, usually only available in high-end hardware boxes, and makes it available to anyone.

Vapor's main purpose is to add top-end shimmer to pads, strings, and rhythm guitar to make those sounds cut through the mix. However, at more extreme settings, unique modulation effects can easily be attained."

Bruce Forat Interview?

I might be able to conduct a Bruce Forat interview. If you have any questions you always wanted to ask him, feel free to leave them in the comments. If you don't know who Bruce Forat is, check out these previous posts.

The following are some starter questions I am thinking of asking. I am always fascinated by the history of things in the synth world along with giving people somewhat of an open format to share things they want to share.

1. Can you give us some history about how Forat came to be?
2. What was your main motivation behind what you did with Linn? (if this is answered with 1, then chuck it of course.)
3. How closely have you been watching the synth market and what are you thoughts?
4. Can you tell us a bit about your customizations of the mpc4000?

PSP Traxxpad and roland SH-1000 jam part 2


YouTube via filtersweeperVCO.
"Simple sample based loop created on the PSP Traxxpad game, with 8' saw wave(I think) emmitted from Roland SH 1000 played over top and through a delay effect."

The Box sequencer test 2


YouTube via machinate.
"A test run of our latest software development, The Box. Based around a suite of esoteric and highly programmable sequencers, we are controlling the brand new feature in Live 7; Drum Racks."

Zeroscillator in Eurorack Format

via this auction.

Synth Guitar Unit Selector

images via this auction.

"CHD SYNTH UNIT SELECTOR.......an extremely useful floor pedal, well lit with indication lights, that routes a synth signal from any compatible instrument, a guitar with GK-2A pick up , which I used, or a keyboard synth,using a 13 pin Roland cable ,enabling a one in, to a possible three out......one, two or three synth modules at one time. It could not be any easier and simple to layer sound than this."

Red Yamaha CS01

images via this auction.

moogs

flickr by toebee.

click here for the full size shot.

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

RIP Philip Dodds



I just heard the sad news that Philip Dodds has passed away this weekend. Philip Dodds was the head engineer of ARP. That's him behind the ARP 2500 (third from the left) in Close Encounters of The Third Kind. You can find previous posts featuring Philip Dodds, including some ARP history, here.

Recent pictures of the modular

via felix inferious. More info after the hop.

Livewire Chaos Computer (not yet released)
Livewire Vulcan Expansion selector thingy (not yet released)
Plan B Model 14 Voltage Processor
Livewire Audio Frequency Generator (aka 'AFG', not yet released)
Plan B Model 15 Complex VCO (ordered and in transit)

Gp2x Little GP Tracker Midi Output LGPT





YouTube via drwolfer.

"This is Little GP Tracker [LGPT] running on a Gamepark Holdings Gp2x handheld, outputting midi using a custom serial to midi interface designed & coded by FirestARTer, board & assembly by IDMCLASSICS.NET.

In this clip, LGPT is driving a Clavia Nord Micromodular [3 seperate mono patterns into a polyphonic patch] and has an Alesis HR-16 drum machine slaved via Midi Sync.

FiresARTer: http://www.firestarter-music.de
Little GP Tracker: http://www.10pm.org/nostromo/lgpt/
IDMCLASSICS.NET: http://idmclassics.net"

Hammond A100 vs. VB3


YouTube via zioguido. I'd love to see this kind of comparison with VAs.
"In this video I'm showing you a short test of my Hammond A100 vs. its digital "alter ego", a VST plugin called VB3 (please visit www.soundfonts.it for more info).

VB3 was modeled after this A100 and they almost sound identically. Plus, VB3 has a function that no other software (also hardware?!) organ clone can give you: the "9 key contacts" simulation.

This is version 1.1 of VB3 which, at the moment I'm uploading this video to YouTube, is still in a beta testing phase and isn't available to the public."

Memorymoog


YouTube via Sharpblue.
"Mark Shrieve gives a little demo on the Moog Memorymoog."

TR-909 tap write demo


YouTube via pac209.
"Built in the 80s this machine later became the foundation of dance music."

Waldorf Microwave 2 Synthesizer "retro-sounds" by RetroSound


YouTube via retrosound72.
"some self-made retro patches by RetroSound. sounds: Tears (Wavetable Pad), SlowMini, Vangelis CS-80 Emulation 1 and Vangelis 2. more info and sounds: www.retrosound.de"

syntezatory.prv.pl - Roland Alpha Juno-2


YouTube via Jexus.

"1985 Roland Alpha Juno 2. Brought to you by WC Olo Garb. The sounds have been programmed by WC Olo Garb./// Syntezatory.prv.pl Videos: showing you not what a synthesizer can do, but what a man can do with a synthesizer."

mfos sequencer

click here for a flickr set via Jan.

Music From Outer Space

MOS-LAB Cabinet

click here for a flickr set via Jan.

MOS-LAB

MOTM CEM3379 VCF

image via this auction. via jan.

You can find more images in this flickr set.

"limited edition CEM3379 VCF/VCA/PAN Module for the MOTM Synthesizer. Powered with +/- 15V and completely functional."

New Synth Ts via Gear Addict

Remember this post? Well it looks like your feedback resulted in new Synth T shirt designs including this beauty. :)

click here for more and be sure to check out the others sections as well. If you have any suggestions for Ts feel free to comment.

JP-8080 with Wood Sides

via this auction. Note the Radikal Technologies Spectralis in the background. via Zam.

Oberheim Modular System? Update: OB-Xa Modular

via this auction

Details Google translated:

"To the instrument: This instrument is an absolute rare piece and a sole specimen/single copy. Here one can buy a Synthesizer, which otherwise nobody has. The complete prehistory of the instrument is not to be clarified any longer completely, it acts however obviously around the prototypes of a similar modular system of upper home from the year 1982. Construction units from the famous OB-X and Whether-Xa Synthesizern of Tom upper home are used. The sound reminded very much of the looked for OB-1 Synthesizer, is however substantially fatter and more pressureful and because of the modular structure many more flexibly due to the 3 VCO´s.
Everything is to be out-gotten by ultrafetten basses, alive Leadsounds, elektonischer Percussion, (poly) rhythmic sequences, noises and the most driven off sounds of effect from this “crate” with something trouble and consideration. The basic sound is fat, warmly, alive, sometimes somewhat dirtily, thus 100% genuine similar to! The filter sounds upper home typical see industrial union warm.

3 VCO with the waveform-shaping saw tooth, triangle and rectangle (+ PWM, FM, Sync).

1 MIXER with 5 entrances and 1 exit

1 VCF Lowpass with 24 DB/Oktave and 3 modulation entrances (Env., cut off, Resonance). Self oscillation is possible.

2 LFO with the waveform-shaping saw tooth, triangle and rectangle. The range of control of the LFO´s is quite far, for completely fast modulations takes one the VCO anyway.

2 ADSR with good reason fast Attack. Not completely as fast as Minimoog and ARP-2600, but faster than all digital Synthesizer envelopes. For electronic Perkussion of all play ways it is fast enough.

To those it to say, thus execution of kind of condition gives 2 VCA to few.

Here power pack and power switches are accommodated power module and as characteristic per quadruple a fragment for in or outgoing CV and gate signals, which offers very various Verbindungsmöglichkeiten with external analog equipment from in former times or today.

MIDI INTERFACE, a previous owner inserted to kind of condition the Midiinterface of Döpfer. Beside the normal spielbarkeit over a Midikeyboard still two additional control voltages are spent, which can steer arbitrary modules of the instrument. With the correct attitude and wiring one has even notice dynamics, etc.

1 NOISE, for wind, Snares and other noise-clung sounds is to be used this Noise module.

1 RING MODULATOR to use for disharmonische and metallic sounds. This ring modulator belonged however to the brachialen sort and provides for very distorted and bad sounds. A noble ring modulation A la Vermona RM-1 is not to be expected here; here gehts correctly to the thing.

2*4 MULTIPLE, this module serves for mixing and distributes from control voltages and also as adapters between the banana plugs of the instrument and the generally common jack plugs (6,3mm).

In addition an extensive assortment of the banana plugs belonging to this system is contained."

Update via Feinstrom in the comments:
"I am the former owner, sold it to him some years ago.
It is an OB-Xa voiceboard with jacks and some DIY. Not Oberheim-made, no prototype, built in the 90s or so. And the guy knows all that.
The sound is nice, though."

Granular Synthesis on the Clavia G2?


click here for the full article (Google translated from French) and a sample on Making Sound.

Note the the G2 does not actually have granular synthesis.
"To carry out this example, I used a microphone on one of the audio entries of G2 to sample a sentence with the stolen one. Once the audio source captured by the modules delay (it is enough to press on a key to launch the capture), it any more but does not remain to be played with the other parameters of the patch, associated the various interfaces of G2. Most important are associated the keyboard (height of the sample), the pitch stick (reading rate of the sample) and the serrated roller of modulation (position of “the read head”). Consequently, by choosing a null speed and by moving “the read head”, it is possible to traverse in real time the form of wave at the speed which one wishes. I let to you imagine the astronomical quantity of textures which it is possible to create by multiplying the audio sources…"

DalekInvasion

"This track is more interesting as far as the patch goes than it actually sounds, but I wanted to share anyway...

The main sound source is one square wave oscillator from the Dalek Modulator. It's pitch modulation comes from two sources"

click here for the track and more detail on felix inferious.

Livewire Dual Cyclotron+Dalek+Doepfer A-100



Livewire Dual Cyclotron+Dalek+ Doepfer A-100P2

YouTube via DavideModu. Follow up to this post.

Forat Linn 9000

images via this auction. via Must!
"It is a fully loaded Forat9000, and, as you may know, it is really hard to find a Forat with all the sampling upgrades. I sent the machine to Bruce Forat's place for him to go through. You will be buying a totally updated, upgraded, refurbished, very clean, fully functional, Forat Linn 9000.
You can see many of the upgrades from the shot of the rear exterior.

There is a mystery upgrade all the way to left - the unmarked 1/4" input. I called Bruce to see what it is, and he says it is an unmarked SMPTE upgrade."

Roland SH-2

images via this auction
ROLAND SH-2 SPECIFICATIONS
Keyboard 37 keys, 3 octaves
VCO AUTO BEND
MOD (modulation depth)
PULSE WIDTH (50% - MIN)
PWM MODE SWITCH (ENV/MAN/LFO)
TOTAL TUNE
* VCO-1 RANGE (32', 16', 8', 4', 2')
WAVEFORM (sine, sawtooth, square, pulse)PULSE WIDTH (50% - MIN)
BENDER ON/OFF SWITCH
* VCO-2 RANGE (32', 16', 8', 4', 2')
WAVEFORM (noise, sawtooth, square, pulse)
VCO-2 TUNE
TUNE RANGE (WIDE/NARROW)
* AUDIO MIXER VCO-1 SUB
VCO-1
VCO-2
* VCF CUTOFF FREQUENCY (10Hz - 20kHz)
RESONANCE (0 - self oscillation)
ENVELOPE SWITCH
ENVELOPE CONTROL
MODULATION CONTROL
KYBD CV CONTROL
* VCA MODULATION SWITCH (HOLD, ENV KYBD, GATE)
* ENVELOPE ATTACK TIME (1ms - 2.5s) RELEASE TIME (2ms - 10s)
GENERATOR DECAY TIME (2ms - 10s) GATE SELECTOR SWITCH
SUSTAIN LEVEL (0 - 100%) (GATE-TRIG/GATE/LFO)
* POWER SWITCH (with LED indicator)
* VOLUME CONTROL
* PORTAMENTO (0 - 5s)
* BENDER LEVER
* INPUTS/OUTPUTS OUTPUT jack (-10dBm) CV OUTPUT lack (1V/oct)
HEADPHONE jack (stereo, 8Ω) GATE OUPTUT jack (OFF = OV; ON=14V)
CV INPUT jack (1V/oct) EXT AUDIO IN jack (0.5V p-p, max)
GATE INPUT JACK (+ 7.5V min)
* POWER CONSUMPTION 11W
* DIMENSIONS 670(w) x 305(d) x 100(h) mm
* WEIGHT 6.9 kg

Yamaha CS50

images via this auction. Not the best shots, but there are a few of the inside. Pictured below are the voice boards.

Monday, October 08, 2007

Arturia Origin and Analog Factory Keyboard at AES

Official product pages:
Origin
Analog Factory Keyboard

via Tom of Music Thing and Alex. Both had a little hands on experience with the Analog Factory Keyboard.
Tom: "I played one today at AES - nice wood!"
Alex: "I had a go on a demo one today - feels really solid, and does everything it says on the tin."

Bringing the SEM's closer to the action

via Reed:
"After eleven years of not using enough SEM's in our tracks because the 4-voice was all the way across the room, my business partner decided to rack mount 2 of the voices.

The first challenge was finding a big enough box. Two SEM's side by side are wider than most standard rack boxes will accomodate. When Greg St. Regis built the Obie Rack at Studio Electronics, he opted to cut part of the sides off the actual SEM faceplates to make things fit. Since we want to keep the option of mounting the SEM's back into the 4-voice, we decided to pay a few hundred bucks to have a company build a custom steel box.

As you can see in the picture, Phil took the power supply from the 4-voice & carefully mounted it to the new chassis, putting the big transistors on the outside of the case. He then literally screwed an MPU-101 in there for Midi. At a moment's notice the whole thing could be restored to its original condition as though nothing ever happened.

There are no extra bells and whistles on the front panel. You tend to get the sound you want out of an SEM without any extra patch points or toggle switches. Bravo to Mr. Oberheim for getting it right the first time."

Livewire Dual Cyclotron+Dalek+ Doepfer A-100P3


YouTube via DavideModu.
"Livewire Dual Cyclotron+Dalek+Doepfer A-100P3"

KORG Electribe MX (4)


YouTube via Denkitribe.
"EMX with mini-KP"
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