Synton 3000 modular synthesizer

YouTube via scienceforce

"Here a video of a rare Synton 3000 modular synthesizer system. It was the Felix Visser preproduction model and personal system with some rare modules, full of control voltage generators and processors. This is an auto modulation demo."

Cynthcart

via this auction

Hohner Stringvox

images via this auction

"A multi-function keyboard SYNTHESIZER of the '70s. Voices include:
* cello
* violin
* viola
* piano
* contrabass
* harpsichord
* Split Bass"

Roland Juno-106

images via this auction

"It's also commonly said that the Juno-60 sounds "punchier" than the 106 because the 60 had the ability to modulate osc. pulse from an envelope."

I actually haven't heard this one often. Feel free to comment.

Yamaha RM1x

images via this auction

"The incredible Yamaha RM1x is a complete dance-music workstation that is both a real-time performance instrument and a powerful production tool. An intuitive "hands-on" interface makes realtime operation easy for artists with a DJ background, while in-depth sequencing and editing functions make it possible to create the most complex original patterns from scratch.

The RM1x also features a great-sounding tone generator with an enormous selection of great dance sounds built in. If dance is your style and you want the most powerful performance and production tools right at your fingertips, it doesn't get much better than this: the Yamaha RM1x Sequence Remixer.
An extensive arsenal of 700 outstanding dance-oriented sounds. An awesome assortment of 50 preset styles, 960 pattens ans, 726 phrases.
8 assignable real-time control knobs, a large LCD display panel with 4 display knobs and a large multi-function keyboard.

Each "style" has up to 16 "sections" which can be switched in real time during playback via the RM1x keyboard.
Powerful 16-track sequencer with 110,000-note memory and 480 clocks/quarter note resolution lets you record original material via the RM1x keyboard or an external MIDI keyboard using a versatile range of record modes: realtime replace, realtime overdub, punch-in, step, and grid.
In-depth sequence editing functions make it possible to creat and refine complex patterns and musical textures with extraordinary precision.

Edit and refine the RM1x voices to create sounds that most ideally suit your own music.
A sophisticated multi-effect system can be used to add anything from subtle ambience to wild variations.
Realtime “Play Effects” including harmonize with unison and octave functions, beat stretch, clock shift, gate time, and velocity offset.
Built-in floppy disk drive for convenient, low cost data storage and retrieval.
Full MIDI compatibility."

New Metasonix Moon

The naked butt of the new Metasonix. And of course new graphics are going up daily on umop.

Moon as in mooning someone. My lame attempt at humor, not the actual name of the new unit.

Update: Bill O'Reilly is a Putz? See the comments for more.

Audio Damage Ricochet

The latest from Audio Damage. Not out yet, but I'm guessing close.

"Ricochet is a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use multi-tap delay, with the signature Audio Damage sound. Featuring a 16-step grid for programming tap time, Ricochet is right at home in modern electronic music production, designed specifically for that context, and is much quicker to program than the run-of-the-mill multi-tap."

More info including samples on the Audio Damage website.

MOOG Song Producer

images via
this auction

"For sale an super- rare- impossible- to- find Moog Song Producer for the Commodore 64. Pratically it is a Midi/Triggering interface which uses the Commodore 64 as its DAW. It comes with original package, software and diskette, plus alot of tech notes (yeah .. very uber-vintage feel !) The pictures below show the MSP for sale and those are real screen pics of the beast at work. The C64 in the pictures is NOT included in the auction.

Lots of geeky info out there if you Google "Moog Song Producer" (click here for results) without mentioning all the C64 blogs."

Update: I've updated the flickr shots with larger ones.

Philips PCM100

images via
this auction.

"For sale an impossible- to- operate- but- very- rare Philips PCM100. I am selling it because I cant find a manual and I do not dare to circuit bend it myself. Pratically it is a FM synth with a bunch of presets, a membrane keyboard, 8k of memory and it boasts a cassette recorder. It works but I can only make her play the 3 demo songs. It uses batteries or a normal 9V adapter (both not supplied)."

Update: I've updated the flickr shots with larger ones.

Mars Wind - She Left Me At The Beach

YouTube via illformed.
"A radical tune by Mars Wind from the album "She Is A Subwoofer", available for download from http://illformed.org"
Featuring Renoise:
"Renoise has a unique bottom-up approach to music making. With its vertical timeline and streamlined interface, Renoise lets you have direct control over the composition."

Czesław Niemen i Aerolit @ Sopot 74

YouTube via MustardTV.
"Polish psych rock. Niemen (moog, śpiew), Adam Piwowar (gitara), Jacek Gazda (gitara), Andrzej Nowak (piano Fender), Piotr Dziemski (perkusja)."

Reactable live in Vic

YouTube via marcosalonso. via Nusonica.
"Improvised encore of a concert in Vic (Barcelona), as part of the Nits Digitals event. More information about the reactable project: link"

Pimp your Audiorealism ADM out with more samples

via wire to the ear where you will find the full post.

"I’ve said it before: I love drum machines. Hardware or software it makes no difference they all are great! Making some super noises that are heard all around the world from Uppsala, Sweden is Mike Janney and his company Audiorealism. I was a fan of their first two products the ABL (303 emulation) and ABL Pro (Roland sounding modular) so much so I endorsed the ABL. I was seriously pleased to hear Mike’s new project was a drum machine and it’s been out for a while so I thought I’d share a useful “tip”."

Larry Henry's Studio for Sale

"Many of you viewing this page may have known my father, Larry “Stooge” Hendry. While after his death, he left behind a great legacy to his family and friends, he also left behind a studio full of musical gear. This site has been created to showcase the contents of the entire studio in hopes to sell it as one piece. I know that anyone interested in such items lacks the need or desire for a great number of the items contained herein, but this approach must be worth at least one shot. It sure beats piecing things out in a thousand different e-bay transactions. I have compiled estimated values, which are being listed along with the product descriptions, and I am offering this at a substantial discount from the total value. I am hoping that someone will want many of the items contained in the package, and see the remainder as an investment opportunity. There is certainly more money to be made individually selling these items, but my time is precious."

link via this VSE thread.

49 - How to Play the Synth (Large)

flickr by Adamo W .Jr. II

full size

Update via Adam in the comments:
"This is a completely genuine book cover, which I found in Bangalore, India. I thought it was hysterical, until I opened it and saw what they write inside. Maybe I should scan a few more pages later, because the stuff they write there is just unreal.
I decided to invest $2 in buying it and I haven't regretted it since."

Harvestman Polivoks VCF Demo via Navs

via Navs:

"I've added a demo of the Harvestman Polivoks VCF to the Patch of the Day thread at the Canecutters' forum.

Two minutes of manual frequency FM with the Polivoks being modulated by a Plan B Model 15 VCO. Very Metal.

Expect a full review in the Modular Lab soon.

Cheers,
Navs
--
LINKS:
MadVlad (Polivoks VCF demo)
Patch of the Day
Modular Lab"

Jazzmutant Lemur Vids via bonomius

hip hop glitch

"demo of an ableton live template for jazzmutant lemur i'm working on..."

electro samba

YouTube via bonomius
"improvising with ableton live + sequentix p3 and jazzmutant lemur"

Space Probe Project - DSI Evolver Drones

click here for drones from the DSI Evolver. Note the sounds are not actually coming from space. It is all the Evolver.

happening upon osaka synthesizer festa 2007

YouTube via billytwo.
"a small part of only one of the exhibition rooms"

Moog Minimoog + EHX Small Stone + Roland JD-800

YouTube via retrosound72

"synth demo by RetroSound

bassline: Lintronics Minimoog with Midi through EHX Small Stone phase shifter and triggered by the MFB Step64 step sequencer
fx sounds and glass voices: Roland JD-800
drums: Roland TR-707"

Koshi Miharu TATHIIRIKINSHI

YouTube via yaoyasan. "Japan Thecho-pop Girl"
Synth action comes in at 1:37. Yamaha CS-15D
Update: one more video here.

Genoqs Octopus Basic Demonstration 7

YouTube via DayflightTrok. "Page Chains and Page Repeat."
You can see all episodes here.

Space Magic Fly Cover

YouTube via fischek.
"Space Magic Fly Cover on Korg TR 61 and Nord Lead 2X"

Vako Orchestron Optical Disc Playback Sampler

YouTube via peahix. Sent my way via Pea.
"Here's a demo of all 8 discs that were made for the Vako Orchestron. This keyboard, which is adapted from the Mattel Optigan, was introduced in 1975 by Dave VanKoevering. It was intended to be a competitor to the Mellotron, but it never really took off. Kraftwerk was a very early adopter of this instrument. I've included little examples of some of the well-known parts Kraftwerk used their Orchestron for back in the day.

My Orchestron is in fairly average working condition. You'll note that I had a bit of trouble with one of the high F keys. Also, note the substantial level of radio interference, which I've muted during disc changes.

Anyone interested in more information about the Orchestron and related instruments can find lots of stuff at my website, www.optigan.com."

Synthesized by Elhardt

Synthesized ACOUSTIC INSTRUMETNS #1 - Stereo

CLICK FOR MORE »

Brain Computer Music Interface

YouTube via anarchistcinema. Sent my way via Adam.
"A demo of my brain computer interface for controlling a synth. This video is an 'overflow' for the one on my website as I don't have the bandwidth at the moment. More info here"

MOOG

flickr by MAN BEAR PIG

"Omg I just came in my pants"

full size

Isao Tomita

isaotomita.net















website via Benjamin Ward. sent my way via LDT

Korg PS-3010 Polyphonic Keyboard for PS-3200 PS-3300

images via
this auction

"This is an impossible-to-find keyboard controller for the Korg PS-3200 and PS-3300 synths. It is a 48 key fully polyphonic controller, with X/Y joystick and various trigger selection settings. There is some good info on it on Bluesynths here.
You will need to register to read the page, or read it from google cache."

via Matt

Real vs Synthesized Symphony Orchestra

YouTube via Elhardt

"This is one in a series of videos of me demonstrating advanced sound synthesis using analog or virtual analog synthesizers and subtractive synthesis. Each video lists what synthesizer was used. In addition, some standard outboard effects were used such as EQ, reverb, digital delays, and/or chorus.

Be sure to check out other related videos in my series, and check back now and then as I will be posting more in the near future."

"Once Upon a Time in the West" with DOEPFER R2M

YouTube via gattobus
"I'm just practicing with my new toy, Doepfer ribbon controller R2M connected to the Moog Little Phatty..."

Vintage Casio 403 Circuit Bent

YouTube via xd515
"I bent this for a friend, if you want your gear 'modded' drop me a mail at the address in the clip! Oceanus"

Sherman Filterbank 2 demo in Hi-Fi

YouTube via shaft9000
"a simple patch from a Supernova synth is processed using various modules in the Sherman Filterbank signal processor."

Roland Juno-60 + EHX Small Stone + TR-606 + SCI Pro-One

YouTube via retrosound72

"synth demo track by RetroSound

pads: Roland Juno-60 through EHX Small Stone phase shifter
bassline: SCI Pro-One, triggered by the TR-606
drums: Roland TR-606


hand played, no software sequencer used"

Sound Thrasher 3.0

via
this auction
"Here’s an original piece of functional art, created by New York outsider artist, Bent-It. This particular work of art is part of his Sound Thrasher series. The piece shown in the pictures is the one you will receive.

With this piece, Bent-It combines visual, audible, and physical stimulation, fostering a truly unique, thought-provoking, interactive work of art. The artist’s fundamental concept of “art creating art” is made evident, as the owner of this piece may physically control and manipulate the audio/ sound/ noise/ music/ art output.

The guts of this functional art piece include three oscillators which play with each other, causing its ¼” output to spit out droning, spaced-out, ring modish, 80’s video game-ish, psychedelic analog noises. The on/off switch can also be flipped rhythmically, allowing for some wicked bleeping/blooping noises. But, to experience, what you could call, the full potential of this piece, go ahead and hook it up to an audio effect pedal, board, rack, or even your Mac or PC, and explore the infinite world of soundscapes that you can create. The Sound Thrasher has a ¼” input for anything with a strong enough signal to effect the piece. For example the audio clips made with a roland tr-505 drum machine where the Sound Thrasher more than lives up to its name – thrashing and destroying any incoming sound waves and mutating them into sounds of vulgarity or beauty, depending upon your style and taste of audio/sound/noise/music/art.

A standard boss-style 9-volt DC wallwart adapter will bring this functional art piece to life. It is not included."

click here for audio
You can see the Sound Thrasher 2.0 featuring Bela Lugosi here.

Emulator II

images via
this auction

MOOG The Source

images and videos via
this auction
"The Moog Source is a monophonic microprocessor-controlled analog synthesizer manufactured by Moog Music from 1981 to 1985. The Source was Moog's first synthesizer to offer patch memory storage. The design was also the first (and only) Moog synthesizer to feature a flat-panel membrane keyboard to replace the standard buttons, knobs and sliders.

In addition to the memory capable of holding 16 presets, the Source features a 37-note keyboard, and two VCOs that can be selected between three waveforms and three octaves. Programmed presets can be saved to a cassette interface to free up the onboard memory for additional new patches. The 24dB/octave VCF has parameters for keyboard tracking, cutoff frequency, resonance, and envelope amount. There are two ADSR envelope generators that can be set in single or multi trigger modes, one for the VCF and one for the VCA. For modulation, the Source features LFO and sample and hold.

Features:
* 2-VCO
* Micro-processor-controlled
* Programmable monophonic synthesizer
* 16 memory locations
* 3-octave, 37-note (C-C) keyboard
* Arpeggiator and a digital sequencer with memory for two seqences of up to 64 notes
* First to use digital parameter access for programming, a method now commonly found in today's synthesizers, using membrane switches, a two-digit LED display and a single data knob
* VCOs have three available waveforms (sawtooth, triangle, and pulse; with pulse width modulation) and three available octaves (32', 16', and 8'). VCO2 can be detuned at fixed intervals and it can be also synced to VCO1
* Mixer section features levels for VCO1, VCO2 and Noise
* VCF (24dB/octave) has parameters for keyboard tracking (off, 1/2, and full), cutoff frequency, resonance, and contour (Moog's word for envelope) amount
* Two ADSR envelope generators, one for the VCF and one for the VCA
* Envelopes can be set in single or multi trigger modes
* LFO (triangle and square waveforms) can be routed to the VCOs and the VCF
* Sample-and-hold can be routed to the VCF
* To the left of the keyboard is the pitch bend and the modulation wheel, along with two octave-switching buttons
* These and a volume knob are the only dedicated controls.
* Back panel includes audio out, cassette interface, a recessed pitch knob (for fine tuning), and CV and S-trigger inputs and outputs
* 16 factory pre-sets are: Lead 1, Lead 2, Horn, Flute, Clav Bass, Vibes, String Bass, Harpsichord, Organ, Trill Voice, Taurus, Synthevox, Sax, Wind, Snare Drum, and Lead 1 (duplicated here so that if you wanted to, you could use this extra slot to move patches around).
* Programs are saved and loaded via a cassette interface.
* Moog's Source was their first to offer patch memory storage as well as some other new features.
* It boasted 16 memory locations so you could finally save and recall your synth patches.
* A cassette-tape jack was also implemented to transfer your patches to and from an external tape and free up the on-board memory for additional new patches.
* In an effort to modernize with the eighties, the Moog had replaced all buttons, knobs and sliders with flat-panel membrane buttons and a single data-wheel assignment format.
* Parameters are edited not with hands-on sliders and knobs but by assigning a selected parameter to the dedicated data wheel.
* Those famous monophonic Moog sounds are still inside this synth which has two fat analog oscillators and the legendary 24 dB Moog filter."

PAiA Stringz n Thingz

via via this auction

You can find more info on the Stringz & Thingz here.

ARP Quadra

images via
this auction

Note the Odyssey in the background is listed here.

Oberheim OB-X

images via this auction
"The OB-X was released in 1979 and was the first programmable polyphone synth from Oberheim. It's the direct successor to the famous SEM-based four/eight voice. The main point is, that the OB-X has the same discrete filter design as the SEM-modules - there are no curtis filter ICs as the followers OBXa and OB-8 got. But the filter is not as flexible as the SEM-one (which were multi mode) - it has a fix 12dB lowpass setting. When you open the belt, you will see boards with tons of electronics. Every voice has got it's own circuit board - they can be removed separately. A maximum of eight voice boards can be installed - mine has got six. For stereo use, every board's output is assigned to a pan pot. Every voice board has two VCOs with saw and pulse. The VCOs can be synced and crossmodulated (you won't find crossmodulation in the followers OBXa and OB-8) - so there can be generated strange and metallic waves. There's a great polyphonic portamento section, an autotune function and a hold button (which can be used as a chord memory as I found out!). Then we got the described filter section and two ADSRs for filter and amp. The sections can be modulated with the Oberheim-typical modulation matrix. An LFO with quare, triangle and S/H can modulate the LFO pitch, the filter cutoff and the pulse width (separate for VCO1 and 2). There are 32 memory locations to save your sounds. Of course you can edit programs any time - just push the edit button and turn the knobs as you like. There's a casette interface to load and save memory banks. On the backside you find some goodies: a CV/Gate interface to control voice 1 and a filter control jack, where I've connected an external potentiometer to modulate the filter cutoff without any stages - which sounds absolutely great. This direct and precise cutoff control you will never ever experience with a software synth. You can really navigate to a particular partial tone and hear it growing louder until you got it exactly! What I learned to appreciate furthermore are the Oberheim-typical levers. They allow you to bend the tones of the Oberheim like you bend a guitar string - the levers are very responsive. It's easy to bend up a note and modulate it at the same time. I admit freely: I'm not a fan of wheels - I like better the korg joystick. Unfortunately, the Oberheim-concept has been abandoned."

Maestro OB-2

via this auction

"Maestro Octave Pedal, made ca. 1974.

This is a classic octave pedal great on guitar, keyboards, even voice.
Extremely smooth tracking, it always yields a nice smooth analog bass tone. When your note decays the box will track the next loudest harmonic, sometimes 3rd, or 5th giving a cool harmony when mixed with dry signal.

The controls on the pedal are: Octave On/Off, Guitar Vol., Octave Vol, Sensitivity, Mode (Perc./Sust.)."

I'm guessing the Maestro Octave Box was designed by Tom Oberheim along with the Filter Sample/Hold FSH-1.

Synhouse DIY CV/Gate and Audio Inputs for the MOOG Prodigy

"Most Moog Prodigy synthesizers have no interface whatsoever. Only the very few last Prodigies made had CV, gate, and audio input jacks. The following plans describe a method of installing the jacks yourself, if you have a little experience with electronic repair and the soldering of wires and circuit boards. If not, these plans will allow a professional repair shop to add the analog interface jacks for you. It is best to download these diagrams and print them out on paper to look at while working on the instrument and make notes and check off the steps as you go. All repairs and modifications made to your instruments will be done at your own risk and Synhouse Multimedia Corporation assumes no liability for personal injury caused or damage to equipment or loss of use caused directly or indirectly by the use of these plans. If in doubt, don't do it!" click here for more info on Synhouse.

WTF Chicken!?

YouTube via deadmau5.

via Dj Aero.

"In the Studio with Tommy Lee , DeadMau5 and Steve Duda. Chicken is the name of the track which will be released soon."

via an anonymous reader:
"That's at Tommy Lee's studio...with Doepfer, Harvestman and other Eurorack modular gear. More tracks at http://www.myspace.com/wtfisthisstuff"

Metasonix Puzzle

Sighup has been taking the daily Metasonix teaser images going up on umop and piecing them together. Click here to see the full image so far.

Bloog: The RSS Mod-Synth

via Andrew Haarsager (click through for more info and some examples):

"Here is the finished project of what I wrote about here - a machine that scrambles the words and sentences of real-time blog posts, based on the look of a 1960’s Moog synthesizer. It pulls in any RSS feed (for demonstration I used Technorati to create one that fetches all new net-wide blog posts about ‘music,’ har har). The knobs and sliders scroll through the text and add or subtract words from the screen, creating new ideas from the existing sentences."

B2007.004.28

flickr by okto

full size

Alesis Micron

Click the tattoo link below for more.

BTW if you have or know of a synth tattoo that I have not posted, feel free to send it in.

Jean Michel Jarre - In Oxygene estudio

YouTube via cosmicsound. JMJ is playing the Yamaha CS80.

Monowave

images via this auction

"This is a TRULY UNIQUE synth in keyboard history... perhaps THE only rackmounted version of the famous PPG Wave 2.2, only 50 of these were made by Paul Maddox, one of the leading experts on PPG in the UK. Feel free to read more here. This synth was a limited custom (built to order) and only 50 were ever made, this is #16."
Update: you can find more info on the monowave on the Elby-Designs Monowave page as well as via the Monowave label below.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Workshop Analoge Klangsynthese mit Alesis Andromeda

Workshop Analoge Klangsynthese mit Alesis Andromeda 1/2


Workshop Analoge Klangsynthese mit Alesis Andromeda 2/2

YouTube via mag4musicians. Sent my way via Mr. Array.

"Workshop Analoge Klangsynthese mit Alesis A6 Andromeda. Armin Küster zeigt im ersten Teil des Workshops, welche klanglichen Möglichkeiten schon in der Oszillatorsektion stecken. Überabreitete Version"

Encoding an image to sound

"Encoding the Image
The first pass of my program disregarded the color data and only produced a frequency for the Y axis if the color intensity was less that half the sum of all colors. Below is an example. Note: I converted the WAV to an MP3 to conserve bandwidth, at 320kbps not much data is lost.

Audio File: ohmpie.mp3

I was really shocked to fist see the image! The only tweaking I needed to do was to use a linear scale for the frequency. Also if I selected too high an amplitude for the sin wave, clipping occurred in areas with too much black. For image above I used an amplitude of about 1000 on a scale of 0 to 32768."

You can find the full article including more examples and the code here. via Mr. Array.