Subharmonicon & Hydrasynth Vignettes

synthandsoftware

"In three vignettes, Synth and Software contributor Chris Stack demonstrates interactions between the Moog Music Subharmonicon and the Ashun Sound Machines Hydrasynth."

EMEAPP SONIC TEST DRIVE: ELECTRO-HARMONIX EH-0300 VOCODER AND ARTURIA MATRIXBRUTE

Published on Nov 12, 2019 EMEAPP

"EMEAPP SONIC TEST DRIVE: Electro-Harmonix EH-0300 Vocoder and Arturia MatrixBrute demoed by Chris Stack from your good friends at the Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project. More info at www.emeapp.org, please join us a member!

Chris Stack :: Pattern Language

Published on May 15, 2018

"'Pattern Language' - an experiment with three synchronized sequencers (DSI Pro 2, Arturia MatrixBrute and Arturia MiniBrute 2S/Moog Voyager), all playing in different time signatures, creating evolving overlapping patterns. Moog Little Phatty lead and pad byCamel Audio Alchemy app. Matrixbrute run through an Eventide H9. Everything else run through a Line 6 Echo Pro. Hear more at chrisstack.com"

Arturia MatrixBrute Patch Bank by Chris Stack

Published on Mar 27, 2018 experimentalsynth

"A quick tour of the Arturia MatrixBrute patch bank ExperimentalSynth1 by Chris Stack. More info at experimentalsynth.com"

ARPanoid :: ExperimentalSynth

Published on Mar 27, 2018 experimentalsynth

"Something new on the MatrixBrute"

experimentalsynth :: The Krell Suite by Chris Stack

Published on Oct 28, 2017 experimentalsynth

"The Krell Suite was inspired by one of Make Noise’s Patch of the Week videos, a demo of their 0-Coast version of that abstract electronic music staple, The Krell Patch, based on Louis and Bebe Barron’s ground-breaking soundtrack for the movie Forbidden Planet. Stream and download at https://chrisstack.bandcamp.com/album..."

The ContinuuConcert Promo Video - Behind The Scenes

Published on Jun 8, 2017 ContinuuCon

"A music-only version of the 2017 ContinuuConcert promo video, and a look behind the scenes. Shot with a ZOOM Q2n and a Canon T3i. Played by Sally Sparks, Geary Yelton and Chris Stack. Learn more at continuucon.com"

Continuucon started today, June 8 as posted here.

Ben Hovey :: Sally Sparks :: Chris Stack :: Improvisation 12/13/16

Published on Jan 28, 2017 experimentalsynth

"This is the first time Ben played with Sally and me and things just seemed to gel right away. Since I was mostly handling sequencing and background textures, I was able to shoot a bit of video and stills while we were playing. Instruments and tools used include: trumpet, Haken Continuum, (virtual) piano and Rhodes, Ableton, DSI Pro 2, Moog Voyager, Make Noise Shared System, Eventide H9, Borderlands, Animoog and probably a few other things that I've forgotten or was not aware of. I particularly enjoy how Sally's brassy Continuum timbres intertwine with and compliment Ben's trumpet work. And when you hear trumpet and Rhodes happening at the same time, it's because Ben was playing them at the same time. No overdubs here. All recorded live. An incredibly enjoyable musical experience that I hope we can soon repeat. - Chris Stack"

Dave Smith Instruments "In The Spotlight with the PRO 2" with Chris Stack

The eighth in Dave Smith Instruments' "In The Spotlight with the PRO 2" series is currently up with Chris Stack here.

"Player of synths, computers, guitars, ouds, flutes, and percussion. Principal editor, writer, videographer, musician, and researcher at experimentalsynth.com — that’s how Chris Stack describes himself. His musical endeavors range from 'Xenography,' a new album of synth, Moog Guitar, piano, shakuhachi, and processed voice works, to solo performances on piano and oud. Chris’ past music/tech experiences include marketing manager Moog Music and Vo Inventions; stints as engineering manager, marketing manager and manufacturing manager at dB-tronics; printed circuit designer at Computer Dynamics; and freelance printed circuit designer for Bob Moog at Big Briar."

You can find links to all of the "In The Spotlight with the PRO 2" interviews here. Scroll down for each.

ContinuuCon :: 2016

Published on Jun 18, 2016 ContinuuCon

This is a playlist of ContinuuCon 2016 videos starting with the teaser video. The full playlist follows the description below. Note Tony Rolando of Make Noise's video went up previously here. You can skip any video using the video controls at the bottom of the player.

"ContinuuCon, the First Continuum Fingerboard Conference took place June 9–11, 2016, at the Altamont Theatre in Asheville, NC.

Performers, sound designers, composers and electronic music enthusiasts who attended ContinuuCon explored this uniquely expressive instrument through concerts, workshops, lectures and more. Dr. Lippold Haken, inventor of the Continuum, and Edmund Eagan, developer of the Continuum’s synthesis engine EaganMatrix, were among those sharing their knowledge and musical talents.

With sponsors including the Bob Moog Foundation and modular synthesizer manufacturer Make Noise, the event opened with a reception at the Make Noise factory and included an evening concert, and a dinner (with multiple jam sessions) at Streamside.

Cameras: Geary Yelton, Chris Stack, John Schwenk
Editing: Chris Stack
ContinuuConcert Visuals: Greg Waltzer

Special thanks to: The Bob Moog Foundation, Make Noise, Hong Waltzer, Lora Tannenholz, The Altamont Theater and all the ContinuuCon attendees and guests.

Learn more at continuucon.com and hakenaudio.com/Continuum"

Playlist:

1. ContinuuCon Teaser Video

2. ContinuuCon :: 2016

3. ContinuuCon Quick Take :: Pallav Pandya

4. ContinuuCon :: Continuum History with Lippold Haken - "History and Deconstruction - Dr. Lippold Haken :: A chronological look at the development of the Continuum, from the first design goals to the current state of the art. Including design philosophies and the evolution that has occurred due to exposure to performers and new synthesis techniques."

5. ContinuuCon :: Continuous Pitch-Space Instruments with Dr. Tom Rhea - "A journey through time with the Hellertion, theremin, ondes Martenot, Trautonium, Moog Ribbon, Moog Trazor, and of course now, the Haken Continuum.

Dr. Tom Rhea pioneered introduction of synthesizers internationally as a Moog synthesizer clinician, functional design consultant, artist relations specialist, documentation writer, and marketing executive. Publications include articles and reviews in Computer Music Journal and many owner's manuals, e.g. the Minimoog Owner's Manual.

A noted lecturer on the history of electronic musical instruments, his Ph.D. dissertation on the topic is cited in The New Harvard Dictionary of Music, and in multiple entries in The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, and now The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, Second Edition.

Conceived and oversaw development of, and wrote the first music for OxyLights, the world's largest permanent music and light installation, as recognized in The Guinness Book of World Records. Artist in Residence at the IEA (Institute for Electronic Arts) 2000-2001 at Alfred University, NY to explore use of DVD technology for presentation of film clips with focus on electronics in the soundtrack.

Cameras: Geary Yelton, Chris Stack
Editing: Chris Stack
Audio: John Schwenk"

6. ContinuuCon :: EaganMatrix pt1 with Ed Eagan - "Design philosophy, the reason for it’s existence, inspirations, why a matrix, what is a matrix, module by module descriptions, simple and complex patching examples, the reasons behind the percular formula construction, integration with MIDI and Max MSP."

7. ContinuuCon :: Tony Rolando on East Coast/West Coast Synthesis - "Make Noise founder Tony Rolando fills us in on the historical differences and similarities in the development of synthesis and electronic music on the East and West coasts. He also includes a demo of Make Noise's new 0-Coast synthesizer module."

8. ContunuuCon :: Continuum Playing Techniques pt1 - "Ed Eagan, Sally Sparks and Rob Schwimmer in a panel discussion and open forum about Continuum playing techniques, and how each has developed their own personal style. Learn more at www.continuucon.com"

Reaching Aleppo [excerpt] - Sally Sparks and Chris Stack

Published on Mar 26, 2016 experimentalsynth

"A clip from the recording session for the album XENOGRAPHY by Chris Stack. Excerpt from the song REACHING ALEPPO. Sally Sparks on Haken Continuum, DSI Pro 2 and PianoTeq. Chris Stack on Moog Voyager, DSI Pro 2 and Animoog. Audio is from the final mix, using a different Continuum track and additional Animoog textures. More info at chrisstack.com"

Adventures in Synthesis: "I IV V" drone

Published on Feb 19, 2016 Chris Beckstrom

"More about this project:
www.chrisbeckstrom.com/portfolio/diy-mod­ular-synthesizer/

An exercise/improvisation with a drone. Some of the biggest and most epic sounds I've created with the modular yet. At times it sounds like a distorted guitar through a stack of amps, but it's just a bunch of square wave oscillators.

Patch notes:
The main sound is a square oscillator into a clock divider (generating multiple octaves) and then four of those octaves go into the four inputs of a sequential switch. The sequential switch is clocked by another oscillator that can go from audio rates all the way down to clicks (very slow).

When the sequential switch is clocked at audio rates it sounds sort of like frequency modulation, and depending on the clock speed you get various intervals and timbres. I don't really understand why this happens, but I discovered I could create various chord-type sounds by changing the clock speed.

The output of the sequential switch is mixed with one of the other divider outputs (very low suboctave) and a couple higher octave sounds going through semi-randomly-opened VCAs.

All that stuff gets a splash of delay, two channels into the mixer for some spring reverb, then into Bitwig running on Linux. I'd love to hear this on some really big speakers– on my little monitors it shakes the whole basement!"

Snowfall - Chris Stack

Published on Feb 9, 2016 experimentalsynth

"An experiment in sight and sound. Yamaha MO8, DSI Pro-2, Moog Voyager, Arturia MicroBrute, Eventide H9 and other effects. Hear more at chrisstack.bandcamp.com"

Jambé - NAMM Jams

Published on Feb 3, 2016 getJambe

"We took Jambé to the 2016 Winter NAMM show to see how people liked its sound, feel and portability. The response was overwhelmingly positive from hand-percussionists and stick players alike. Now available for preorder, with a $200 discount at getjambe.com"

This one in via Chris Stack.

Introducing Jambé Drum Controller & Synthesis

Jambé - A Quick Look - NAMM 2016 Published on Jan 23, 2016

This one was sent my way via Chris Stack.

"Learn more and pre-order at getjambe.com - Daniel Berkman jamming on Jambé during NAMM 2016. Jambé, a new versatile and expressive electronic percussion instrument was previewed last year at Winter NAMM, and in a series of sneak peaks for leading members of the Los Angeles music industry community. Jambé returns to NAMM in 2016 unveiling a vastly more powerful sound engine and an online store ready to take pre-orders.

Percussionists, producers and music tech aficionados alike were incredibly enthusiastic about Jambé and the qualities that make it unique - portability, extensibility, and the deep expressive possibilities of advanced high-resolution pressure sensor technology. After in-depth consultation with top players, the decision was made to rebuild the software from the ground up to better enable Jambé to exploit the full potential of its hardware.

The result is an incredibly powerful sound engine architecture dubbed Sample Powered Matrix synthesis or SPX. The software was created with the idea that a single hand or stick strike on a Jambé pad maps to an incredibly powerful individual voice, each with advanced expression and sound design features including:

Expanded Gestural Interpretation - normal percussive strike detection and MPE (Multi-touch Polyphonic Expression) style performance techniques, with sounds triggered or modified while a pad is held.

Extensive Synthesis Tools - 2 LFOs, 3 envelopes, 2 tracking generators, and 2 ring modulators per voice. Over 30 modulation sources and over 40 modulation destinations.

Natural Sonic Variations - 3 sample lists per voice with up to 8 samples per list.

Sample List Modes - sequentially trigger the samples in a list, allowing stroke variations or sequential patterns. Crossfade between samples using a modulation matrix and trigger samples simultaneously for chords.

Gestural Crossfade Between Sample Lists - creates effects like a closed slap or dead stroke without tying up multiple pads for an open and closed slap.

Massive Polyphony – with the ability to use number of voices playing as a modifier for more natural sound layering.

Unique Features - use the number of voices sounding as a modulation parameter. Enables sculpting the sound as more voices play. Perfect for adding special character to rolls, etc.

Like today’s musicians, Jambé lives in a connected world. Need a new sound for a last-minute gig? Professionally designed instruments can be purchased through your the iOS device. Working with DAWs or other sound modules? MIDI Output allows connection to a world of other musical gear. Play with your hands or sticks? Jambé supports both. Jambé will ship in the 2nd quarter of 2016 and is now available for pre-ordering online. The first 200 customers on the store at getjambe.com can place their Jambé pre-order to secure a place in line, and also receive a $200 discount!

About SensorPoint, Inc: This advanced yet elegant design is made possible by the rich industry and musical experience of the Jambé team. John Worthington created and implemented the Macintosh MIDI Manager. He was project leader for Apple QuickTime and one of the creators of the AIFF file format. Mark Bain was a pioneer in the use of MPEG technologies for media authoring and delivery for Hollywood studios, and was directly involved with the introduction of DVD authoring and HD media players. He has designed multiple new OEM products involving advanced semiconductor sensors, Apple’s iPad, electronic compasses, and computerized lighting controls."

Bob Moog Theremin Demo & Performance

Published on Oct 22, 2015 experimentalsynth

"Many years before going to work for Moog Music as marketing manager I was a printed circuit board designer. I met Bob Moog in Asheville and wound up doing the PCB design work on his Multi-Touch Keyboard project. Around this time, Bob hosted a presentation called 'New Vistas 91', a look at some then current happenings in avant garde electronic music.

Bob was gracious enough to let me record the presentation on my then new Video 8 camera. The tape was lost for decades, but recently found and digitized. Unfortunately the audio and video quality is not great, but I feel this is very interesting from a historical perspective, and I offer it as such.

Enjoy,

Chris Stack"

http://www.experimentalsynth.com

Bob Moog Foundation Performance - Sally Sparks, Marc Doty, Chris Stack

Published on Aug 28, 2015 experimentalsynth

"A video/photo montage from our performance at The Hop Ice Creamery in Asheville, NC for the Bob Moog Foundation, on the 10th anniversary of the passing of Bob Moog. Learn more at bobmoogfoundation.org"

DSI Pro 2 Parameter Sequencing

Published on Jan 11, 2015 Chris Stack

"On the Dave Smith Instruments Pro 2, I disabled track 1 note sequencing and am just sequencing patch parameters, primarily filter cutoff, while long slow LFOs bring in additional filter resonance and crank up the feedback amount."

Dave Smith Pro 2s on eBay

DSI Pro 2 and Moog Etherwave Plus

Published on Oct 25, 2014 Chris Stack

Dave Smith Pro 2s on eBay

Sally Sparks - Haken Continuum 5/11/14

Published on May 12, 2014 Chris Stack·82 videos

"During a break from rehearsal, Sally visits the renaissance."

Moog Apollo Solo - Erik Norlander

Published on May 9, 2014

"Bob Moog Foundation benefit, Isis music Hall, Asheville NC - Learn more at www.experimentalsynth.com"

Vintage Moog Modular Sequence - Erik Norlander

Published on May 9, 2014 Chris Stack·81 videos

"Bob Moog Foundation benefit, Isis music Hall, Asheville NC - Learn more at www.experimentalsynth.com"