Vermona Sandy electronic organ

video upload by

"Vermona Sandy. Оригинальный такой инструмент из Восточной Германии. Отремонтирован, настроен, смазан, отрегулирован и готов к употреблению))"

"Vermona Sandy. An original such instrument from East Germany. Repaired, tuned, lubricated, adjusted and ready to use))"

Tiracon 6V + Vermona Synthesizer + Vermona SK 86

video by Najvrtson

"Three wonders from East Germany, three keyboard instruments unique in their era: The only monophonic synthesizer, the only polyphonic synthesizer and the only arranger keyboard made in GDR together in one a little bit strange composition! This composition has been already used in my older video, but then I played it on Electronica EM-25, Delicia HT-61-BD and Vermona SK-86 (you can watch and listen here:)"

1984 Microcar Bonny Drive and Description

video by Najvrtson

"Here you can see my Microcar Bonny (by Jeanneau, France, 1984) in detail. Enjoy!"

Rare Tiracon 6V Polysynth | Basic tune and a look inside

video upload by Mindburner

"This video fatures the Tiracon 6V polysynth for around 1987. It was made in Communist East Germany. It is one of the last and very rare analogue synthesizer models produced in German Democratic Republic before German reunion."

Vermona Synth - Conquest Of Paradise

Published on May 13, 2016 KPProd Music

"Famous Vangelis" theme on analog vintage East-Germany synthesizer"

Vermona Synthesizer (1980-East Germany) Demo

Published on May 5, 2016 Тимур Рыжов

"Analog syntheizer Vermona
1980
Specifications
Polyphony - Monophonic
Oscillators - 2 VCO's with Pulse, Ramp, Square and Noise waveforms
LFO - 1 LFO section with Speed, VCF-Modulation, and Delay
Filter - Analog 24 dB/oct with Brilliance, CutOff, Resonance, Contour
VCA - Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release
Keyboard - 44 keys
Memory - None (5 Presets for VCF, 1 User; 5 presets for VCA, 1 User)
Control - None"

VEMIA - Tiracon 6V

via this VEMIA auction

Tiracon 6V by V.E.B. Automatisierungsanlagenbau Cottbus

"Produced in '88 in East Germany, 6 voice analog synth, one VCO per voice, 3 LFO, 2 EG, 24dB LPF with resonance, 12dB HPF with resonance. Tiracon has basic MIDI, 32 backupable sound memories, pitchbend / modulation joystick. It has new capacitors in power supply, everything works well. Optical shape is very nice, except the highest F key was broken and re-glued (see picture). It comes with hard case and all manuals including service manual. Delivery from CZ to UK is 50 pounds, to continental Europe 50 Euro. More info here and here"

Studio Science: Patrick Pulsinger On Patching Modular Synths

Published on May 8, 2013 redbullmusicacademy·199 videos

Moog, Eurorack & Formant modulars.

"Viennese-bred producer Patrick Pulsinger has managed to leave his warped electronic signature on just about every style and tempo of dance music, including albums from Hercules And Love Affair and Elektroguzzi among others. Here, he demonstrates patching his bespoke modular synth at the 2013 Red Bull Music Academy in New York.

Originally from East Germany, Pulsinger moved to Austria while still a child, and got into producing acid techno after he moved to New York to escape the Austrian military service. On returning home, he set up the Cheap Entertainment label and began releasing his music under various pseudonyms, on imprints like Disko B, Compost Black Label, and Mo' Wax. Weaving together elements from across the spectrum of Detroit techno, Chicago house, funk, jazz, electro, soul, hip hop, and disco, Patrick has the ability to spin out a masterpiece. When he isn't working on compositions for film scores, collaborations with orchestras and choirs, or as co-operator of Vienna's Feedback Studio, he is also responsible for two remarkable albums in electronic music in recent years: Elektro Guzzi's self-titled exploration into organic techno, and the second album by Andy Butler's Hercules and Love Affair.

For more films, lectures and features, visit redbullmusicacademy.com"

VEB Automatisierungsanlagen Cottbus Tiracon 6V [GDR, 1987]

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

Pics of the inside below.

"Made in 1987 in Cottbus, former East Germany. Most likely based on Korg Poly-61 with some extras. Equipped with a fully functional MIDI system (in/out/thru(!)), a simple sequencer, chord memory, patch transfer function via tape interface and a rather unuseful Autotune function, which just freezes the synth (nothing bad happens, just turn it off and on).

Typical analog-poly sound combined with total rawness and uniqueness. Surprisingly quiet, less noisy than most of my gear. Keeps in tune, although hadn't been tuned by me and in years and years generally, so there might be a tiny repetitive difference between tones. But that definitely gives it some character anyway."

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Ad infinitum

YouTube via e7ektro | July 25, 2010

"The Drone Lab is a 4 voice analog drone synth, rhythm generator and FX processor. See http://www.ghostwizard.com/ for more information. Tweaking the oscillator pitches in realtime is a lot of fun.

The Vermona ER9 is an ultra rare analog rhythm device which is about the only rhythm machine produced in former East Germany. It was produced in 1976. The sounds are quite vintage and can be modified by internal trimpots. I managed to get a nice snare sound with a short decay.

This track was mixed with a Behringer Xenyx 1204USB and recorded and mastered on a Boss BR-600."

VERMONA PDD-501- SOVIET VINTAGE DELAY\REVERB\CHORUS EFFECTS

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

" Up for sale this vintage soviet delay\reverb\flanger effects processor "Vermona PDD-501". It is a fully programmable digital pro-equipment produced in East Germany (GDR) in the 80s. The device got all inscriptions in English, huge & amazing sound and rock-solid construction with MIDI interface installed.

The front panel has buttons: Effect ON, Param.On, Up, Down, Time Coarse, Time Fine, Feedb.Level, Effect Level, LFO Speed, LFO Intens., Low Pass, MIDI Channel, Mains.

The processor is fully controllable either by Midi signals or by analog pedals (Hold\Delay inputs). The audio input\outputs are standart TRS 1\4 jacks, with stereo audio out (Inv.Mix - Left, Mix-Right). With 88 presets onboard you can program any parameter out of: time coarse, time fine, feedback-level, effect-level,LFO-speed, LFO-intensity, low-pass, midi-channel. "Vermona PDD-501" signal processor produces sound that differs from well-known western processor brands. Unit sounds really fantastic - very wide and clean set of effects like delay-reverb-flanger-chorus! (check the Demo section). The mains power of the unit is 220 volts. For 110v countries I`ll include voltage converter. The unit is fully tested & is in ideal 100% working condition."

GDR VERMONA PDD 501 DIGITAL DELAY CHORUS FLANGER SN 250997

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
via this auction
mechanical animals (RSS)

"VERMONA PDD 501 PROGRAMABLE DIGITAL DELAY (s/n 250997), power cable original case, manual and service schemes :::

Vermona PDD-501 is a fully programmable digital pro-equipment produced in East Germany (GDR) in the 80s.
The device has all inscriptions in English, huge and amazing sound and rock-solid construction with MIDI interface installed. Unit also has a battery section (3x AA batteries)

Front panel: Effect ON, Param. On, Up, Down, Time Coarse, Time Fine, Feedb. Level, Effect Level, LFO Speed, LFO Intens., Low Pass, MIDI Channel, Mains.

The processor is fully controllable either by Midi signals or by analog pedals (Hold\Delay inputs). The audio input\outputs are standart TRS 1\4 jacks, with stereo audio out (Inv.Mix - Left, Mix-Right). With 88 presets onboard you can program any parameter out of: time coarse, time fine, feedback-level, effect-level,LFO-speed, LFO-intensity, low-pass, midi-channel. "Vermona PDD-501" signal processor produces sound that differs from well-known western processor brands. Unit sounds really fantastic - very wide and clean set of effects like delay-reverb-flanger-chorus!

Specifications:
— Voltage 220V / 50 Hz; 3x AA batteries
— Weight, < 4 kg (8.8 Pounds)"

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Joe McGinty's Klaviphon: Vintage Czech Electric Piano

Klaviphon: Vintage Czech Electric Piano Improvisation Published on Oct 20, 2018 Joseph McGinty

Great discovery and story by Joe McGinty. Joe McGinty, btw, was the keyboardist for The Psychedelic Furs. He has also worked with Ryan Adams, The Ramones, Nada Surf, Kevin Ayers, Martha Wainwright, Die Monster Die, Devendra Banhart, Ronnie Spector, Jesse Malin, Amy Rigby, Space Hog and others. And of course, he has also been featured here on MATRIXSYNTH numerous times. :)

Video description: "A short improvisation on the Klaviphon Electric Piano, a rare electric piano from Czechoslovakia. I traded a broken Czech wrist watch for this keyboard at a small shop in Prague. At the shop, there was no way to test it but I could hear the reeds 'acoustically' so I figured it was cool enough to gamble on it. It sounds sort of like a Pianet.

The electric piano is going through a Moogerfooger Analog Delay, an Electro Harmonix 16 Second Delay and a Roland Jazz Chorus. Audio is from the iPhone. Video effects are from Maelstrom from Signal Culture."

And the story of how Joe McGinty acquired the Klaviphon:

"The Broken Watch and The Klaviphon

This is a story that starts with a wristwatch purchase and ends with me owning a rare, vintage Czech electric piano. “When in Prague”, my friend Cathy wrote, “check out Prague Antiques. It’s full of bric-a-brac and the owner is a Serbian man who is married to a Croatian woman”. When traveling, Amy and I always look for vintage stores, thrift stores, record stores and any place that might have some obscure vintage instruments. I had found a record store, but no luck with vintage instruments. Cathy’s recommendation was perfect, so we added it to our Saturday plan. I have to say Prague Antiques did not disappoint. The store was chock-a-block with cool knick knacks from the communist era.

We wanted to bring back a souvenir from Prague, but it was kind of overwhelming. Finally, we saw a display counter with vintage Czech wristwatches. They were all beautiful. Amy and I each picked one out. “Remember”, the shopkeeper explained, “these are vintage watches. They need to be wound. Young people come in here, buy the watch and come back a few hours later, claiming it’s broken. They don’t know about winding the watch”. Of course, we know about winding wristwatches (we’re old).

Later, we’re wandering around Holesovice, a very cool neighborhood. We stop to eat at the cafe at Cross Club, a multidisciplinary art and performance space. There are incredible sculptures there, and vintage czech radios hanging from the ceiling. I notice my watch has stopped. I wind it up, making fun of the youngsters who thought their watch was broken. Well, needless to say, a few hours later the watch stopped. And then it stopped again. So I realize, yes, my watch doesn’t work. Harrumph.

We had a sightseeing plan for the next day, our last day in Prague. Do we go back to the shop to return it? Or do I accept that I possibly have been swindled? We decide to start the day off at the shop, return the watch, and continue with our sightseeing plan.

The next day, we arrive at the shop to a sign on the door: “Please come to our sister shop, around the corner”. “Oh, great”, I’m thinking. We’ve definitely been swindled. However, the shop around the corner is much bigger. And it’s a different man in charge. I show him the watch and explain that it’s broken. He takes it behind the counter, looks at it for a while, and confirms in a thick accent, “you’re right. It is broken. My friend, he doesn’t know”. Chatting with him for a while, he tells us of his Croation wife, and we realize that he is the owner.

He is super nice and helpful and explains that we can exchange it for anything in the store of similar value. Amy asks if he has any musical instruments. Keyboards, perhaps? And I’m thinking to myself, that it would be a stretch. I see a few toy pianos. He brings out a melodica. Some harmonicas. “One more thing”, he tells us. He leads us to a corner in the back. Underneath a random assortment of figurines and statuettes is some kind of keyboard. It looks “vintage”, but it’s unclear what it is. I assume it’s some sort of air organ. He removes the statuettes and places it on a table. It looks cool, but what is it?

There’s no way to test it. I don’t see a connection for a power cord, and there’s some sort of weird banana jack for audio. Playing it, I can faintly hear tines being struck, so maybe it’s some sort of electric piano? I’m reluctant: “How can we possibly bring it back?”. But Amy is persistent. The owner says that he has bubble wrap. “But what about our sightseeing plans?” Amy says not to worry about it, we’ll find a box to bring it on the plane. She has Platinum Status on Delta, which allows for a free checked item. But one of this size?

Back at the hotel, Amy calls Delta. The representative says that they have a 50 pound maximum for checked baggage. Rut roh. Not discouraged, she does further research. On the Delta website, they allow 165 pounds for musical instruments. “Phew”.

OK, off on our mission to find a way to transport the piano. We decide that a gig bag would be better than a box, to make it clear that it’s an “instrument” that we are checking. Next, we need to find a music store in Prague that has a gig bag that’s big enough. On a Sunday. Not an easy task, but we find one just on the outskirts of the city. And then to a mall where we can buy more packing materials. Well, that’s how we spent our “sightseeing” Sunday! The keyboard fits in the gig bag, and we fill it out with our clothes for extra padding. It’s now Sunday evening, and I’m determined to find any information at all about this mysterious instrument.

I’m trying all sorts of Google searches. “Eastern European Electric Pianos”, “Czech Electric Pianos”. Maybe it’s from Russia? East Germany? Nothing is coming up, not even on the definitive Simon’s Hall of Electric Pianos. Further Googling leads me to a website devoted to Czech keyboards. Finally! It’s a Klaviphon. And, wow, there are a lot of other cool Czech keyboards that I knew nothing about. I learn that Plastic People of The Universe used this instrument! Cool! In an interview with the keyboardist, Pepa Janicek, it says that his instrument was “bruised by a dog”. Huh? Google Translate in action. Another article with better translation says that a dog chewed the wires. Oh, OK. Makes more sense. There’s a nice Klaviphon close up from a pro-communist TV show, The Thirty Cases Of Major Zeman. The band is a faux hippie rock band intended to be a parody of the “Plastic People”. In the show, they are drug addicts that hijack a plane. Apparently based on a true story. Except that the plane was not hijacked by heroin-addicted psychedelic rock musicians.



I get further sidetracked reading about the Resonet, possibly one of the first electric pianos, invented in Czechoslovakia by Ladislav Korner. He was sentenced to 18 years for treason for trying to sell his patent to Canada and Australia. The story has a happy ending, as he ended up emigrating to the U.S. where, among other things, he designed groundbreaking technology for submarines (and custom work for Jacques Cousteau). It’s a fascinating story. If you’re interested, you can read more about it here and here. Side note: In the early days of the Beatles, George Harrison played a Resonet Futurama.

The next day, at the airport, the gig bag is checked without a problem. Thank you, Delta! And thanks to our super packing job, it arrives in perfect shape. A few days later, at my studio in Brooklyn, there’s still no way to test this piano. I run into my friend, Mike Buffington on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint. And because he restores vintage theremins, he has a cable that could work for the Klaviphon. Testing it out, we hear nothing but a loud hum. I call Steve Masucci. Steve has rescued and restored vintage Ondiolines. If there’s anyone that can revive this instrument, it’s Steve. He tells me that he’ll figure out a way to get it working. While working on the instrument, he finds all sorts of random parts, including sewing machine pins. I guess they didn’t have a lot to work with in the Eastern Bloc in the 60s. A few weeks later, Steve returns the Klaviphon to the studio. We plug it in, and it actually works! The sound? It’s a bit noisy, and it’s not going to replace a Rhodes or a Wurlitzer, but it sounds pretty cool. And it’s certainly a conversation piece. I’ll be so ready for the Plastic People Of The Universe tribute. Here’s a short improvisation using an Electro Harmonix 16 Second Delay.

Sneak Peek from 'Totally Wired' - Ken Macbeth

Sneak Peek from 'Totally Wired' - Ken Macbeth from niamhahern on Vimeo.

"This is an excerpt from the documentary 'Totally Wired', featuring the analogue genius that is Ken Macbeth, of Macbeth Studio Systems. Ken talks about what inspires him, his vision for the M5 synthesiser, and making noise. Set in Edinburgh, Scotland.
More sneak peeks to come to celebrate the DVD release of 'Totally Wired', now available on amazon.com"

Description from Amazon:
"Inside a crumbling socialist office block in former East Berlin, synthesiser store owner Andreas Schneider preaches the way of analogue to a loyal following of infamous electronic musicians, who flock to his store, 'Schneiders Buero', for unique boutique instruments. His business has prospered against the odds throughout the digital revolution in music, and in parallel, through a period of huge change in East Berlin. His is a haven for maverick instrument builders and passionate collectors alike. But as the twin forces of capitalism and digital technology seep through the last bricks of the Wall, how much longer can this analogue asylum survive?

This film about the 'Schneiders Buero' music store in Berlin, Germany, is a must-see for fans of analogue instruments and electronic music. Featuring exclusive material with Daniel Miller, Ricardo Villalobos, Dieter Doepfer, Junior Boys, Magda, Marc Houle, John Tejada, Anthony Rother, Ken Macbeth, Wowa Cwejman, Jessica Rylan and many more.

This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply."

click here and scroll for some prior posts including more video.

ROLI Unveils Equator - World’s First Cross-Platform Multidimensional Synth Engine

Musikmesse demo here.
You might remember, back in January, ROLI announced that an alpha version of their new Equator synth engine was available for Seaboard GRAND customers.  That engine was loaded into the Seaboard GRAND for stand alone use.  Unless I am mistaken, it appears ROLI has decided to make the engine available as an OSX stand alone app and plug-in for other multidimensional controllers such as the Haken Continuum, Madrona Labs Sounplane, the Eigenharp, and Roger Linn's Linnstrument as well.

The press release follows:


"ROLI unveils Equator: a groundbreaking new way to shape sound

FRANKFURT, Germany – ROLI, the award-winning East London music technology startup and creators of the innovative Seaboard GRAND, today introduced Equator, the world’s first cross-platform multidimensional synth engine.

Over the last several years, a range of electronic musical instruments and controllers have been released that are beginning to bridge the gap between the expressiveness of acoustic sound and the versatility of digital music creation. The Haken Continuum, the Eigenharp, the Soundplane and the Linnstrument are all examples of a new category of multidimensional instruments, each enabling multiple parameters to be controlled polyphonically on a per-note basis.

Equator builds on these innovations, offering for the first time ever a synth engine that has been designed from the ground up to enable multidimensional sound design which can run identical sounds as a standalone OS X application, as a plugin for a suite of industry-standard DAWs, and also on-board each Seaboard GRAND. This unprecedented functionality has been enabled by JUCE, the leading audio C++ framework which ROLI acquired in 2014.

Roland Lamb, ROLI’s founder and CEO, commented, 'We’re absolutely thrilled to be shipping groundbreaking software that unlocks the full expressive potential of the Seaboard. Equator is a delightful way to to shape sound, and paired with Seaboard GRAND it takes multidimensional digital instruments to an entirely new level. This will introduce a seamless marriage of expressive software and hardware that will expand the creative potential for producers and performers alike.'

Equator also boasts an intuitive interface that makes complex modulations easy to understand and control, and comes with an expansive library of presets, from accurate simulations of acoustic instruments, to synthesised layered effects. This will allow musicians to create their own sound palettes and load these sounds directly onto the Seaboard GRAND, which can now be untethered from a computer for the first time.

From 27th April, 2015, Equator will be made available as a software instrument for Seaboard GRAND owners to use, both as a standalone Mac OS X application and a DAW plug-in. The on-board Equator synthesiser for Seaboard GRAND will be activated on 18th May, 2015 as a standard feature on all new Seaboard GRAND orders. The update will also be supplied to the ever-growing community of Seaboard owners worldwide, via a free firmware upgrade.

Equator will be demonstrated at ROLI’s MusikMesse booth, located in Hall 5.1, booth A61 from Wednesday, 15th April to Saturday, 18th April. Attendees will also have the opportunity of playing and seeing the Seaboard in action, with live demonstrations and performances daily from such artists as Jordan Rudess (Dream Theater), Bill Laurance (Snarky Puppy), Marco Parisi (HEYMAN) and Heen-Wah Wai (ROLI).

About ROLI

ROLI is a design-led music technology start-up based in Dalston, London. ROLI makes hardware and software products designed to increase the bandwidth of interaction between people and technology.

ROLI’s first product, the Seaboard GRAND, is a radically new musical instrument that reimagines the piano keyboard as a soft, continuous surface. The Seaboard’s polyphonic pitch bend, vibrato and per-note dynamic changes are all available at the user’s fingertips, marrying the intuitiveness of a traditional instrument with the versatility of digital technology. ROLI has brought together years of innovation in several disciplines to realize this powerful concept as an award-winning product."

Vermona Formation 1 - Vintage Rare Analog Organ

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Jaroslav Čížek

"Hammond organ of the East"

via this auction

"Vermona Formation 1 is a rare vintage analogue organ with built-in spring reverb.
Made in 1984s in Germany (GDR).
The price includes an the instrument, original suitcase, original stand, and an original manual.

My particular unit is in a truly mint condition, honestly the instrument looks stunning, as you can you on the photos. It is also in full working order - I personally did the maintenance check recently.

• All the buttons, faders, keys are working perfectly
• Spring reverb works and sounds beautiful
• All te functions are in 100% working order.
• The chassis is clean and not broken.
• Output signal is loud and clear. It is not distorted, noisy nor crackly.

Despite the fact that this is an almost 40 years old instrument it shows close to none traces of usage. The suitcase, stand, and manual all have some traces of usage, most of them perfectly visible on the pictures, but still it they are in really nice condition and work perfectly well."

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MFB's Manfred Fricke Has Passed Away

Left: Manfred Fricke (via Amazona.de) back in the day with his first creations, the MFB-501 drum machine (right), and MFB-601 digital sequencer (left).

2nd image is Manfred Fricke with the MFB SYNTH II at SUPERBOOTH (unknown source).

We lost another legend in the synth world. Sad news in via STROMKULT: "'On June, 17th around 11am Manfred Fricke from Berlin alias MFB sadly passed away after having had a hard time with cancer for a while already. He left his wife Gloria and his son Jean-Marcel behind, we are all very sad having lost this partner, friend and father.'
HerrSchneider

Manfred Fricke was one of Berlins pioneers of analog synth and drum machine makers. He has been the weapon of choice for many (not only) starting musicians. Let’s be honest, who didn’t have one of his creations early in his or hers journey into electronic musical instruments – or at least thought about getting one – and why shouldn’t you? Manfred Fricke's machines always brought something unique to the table, they were mostly analog, affordable, in small plastic housings and just did the job. Manfred always focused on keeping his products affordable for his clients and the instruments quite often made their way to professional use later on, and the musicians often kept their first units as something almost holy, because it were these machines that paved the way into analog electronic music making.

But it would be too short-sighted to associate MFB only with budget entry-level products. Especially the drum machines Tanzbär and Tanzbär II, or the great Dominion 1 show that Manfred Fricke also built machines that met higher demands. The Tanzbär, in particular, is considered by many to be their favorite drum machine of the last few years, especially in terms of its amazing sound.

We hope that MFB will continue to exist and that it will continue to make it easier for many generations of musicians to enter the world of electronic sound production.

We wish Manfred Fricke's son Jean-Marcel continued success for the future of MFB and extend our condolences to him and his family. And lets hope that Manfred will finally meet up with all the other good guys on the other side.

Rest In Peace."

MFB TANZBAR 2 pic via STROMKULT.


video upload by 7V-STUDIO

MFB's Manfred Fricke's first procuct, the Fricke MFB-501 drum machine.

Description via this video:
"This little analog beatbox was developed in 1980 1979 by Manfred Fricke. It was offered at 380 DM. As a low-cost model on the market for analog rhythm generators the small black and white "Switch Box" quickly found a lot of friends, because its configuration could be compared to its expensive far east competitors: 64 patterns and as many fill-ins switchable via micro switches, speed ​​control via potentiometer, 10 analog percussion instruments (activated by means of micro switches), combined mono/stereo outputs (jack), In & Out (5 Vss) and trigger footswitch inputs (jack) for start and fill-in
(retail price for the switch at 16 DM). An external wall power supply provides 12 volts.

Approx. 5000 units of the MFB-501 had been sold. Not so bad for a one-man company. So this drum machine is one of the top-selling devices in the history of the Berlin engineer offices M. Fricke . If you're lucky, this iconic device can still be found on the relevant internet sales platforms.

Today, maintenance of this tiny noise machine is still easily feasible, because Fricke employed only commercially available components. Therefore, 'presumedly dead 501's' can be reanimated without major problems."

MFB 601 Vintage Digital Sequencer, Teardown, Repair and partial analysis


Published on Feb 2, 2015 FPV Electronics

Note this video is FPV Electronics of course, and not Manfred Fricke.
"This device is exclusively built from 7400 and 4000 series basic logic ICs. Making it must have been so much more difficult than just programming a generic µController as we would do today."

Timeline via http://mfberlin.de/en/about-us/:

1976: MFB was founded by engineer Manfred Fricke. So far there were more than some hundred products constructed and distributed. The first developments and products were primarly video games for industrial playmachines.

1979: A lowcost drummachine was introduced in 1979. (98 DM for the self construction kit). The legendary drumcomputer MFB-501 was finished and sold. Although it was not the most prominent drumcomputer of that time it surely was one of the best selling drum units in Germany. Some shops sold ten times more MFB-501s than Roland TR-808s. More products for the musician followed, such as the Digital-Sequencer MFB-601 and the digital drum machine MFB-512. All of these featured rich products were offered at exceptional low prices.

1984: The E-Drum module series 1000 and 2000 followed with corresponding pads.

1986: A new construction period started in 1986 with product launches of the MIDI-CV converter MFB-201 and the MIDI drummer MFB-SYNTH was finished in 1997, although its development dates back to the eighties. The machine never went into production since 2001, the year of the company´s 25th anniversary because of decreased interest in analogue synthesizer technology especially in the sales channels.

From 1986 Manfred Fricke specialized in products for video applications. Alone 20 different framegrabbers for the Apple II, C-64 und IBM compatible PCs were constructed. A very high percentage of these framegrabbers were and are still in use for special industrial purposes. Custom development is still done here, so these specialized tools are not available for other customers.

1994: MFB introduced the world´s first videomixer below 1.000 DM, the MFB-901. Its successor MFB-902 was available in 1995. Another important development in the video section was the model MFB-912, a digital video memory. This 1998 product was highly acclaimed by the press.

1999: The successor MFB-915 added sound and higher picture resolution. It´s available since October 1999. Another successor is the model MFB-920 with an integrated harddrive offering better options for nonlinear cutting and post processing of the recorded material.

2001: During this year, Manfred Fricke also developed another new MIDI drum-module. MFB-KULT, includes most of the famous sounds of the older machines. Both MFB-SYNTH and MFB-KULT are availabale since December 2001. Because of constant requests for the digital sequencer MFB-601 a successor MFB-602. was introduced in May 2002.

2002: Since August 2002 there´s also a little brother of the MFB-SYNTH, the MFB-SYNTH LITE

And of course the MFB DOMINION series and the MFB SYNTH PRO.

There have been 1747 MFB posts on the site prior to this one. MFB has been a mainstay on the site and Manfred Fricke will be greatly missed.

"MODULAR: The Documentary" Gets a New Name & Seeks Funding

"An announcement from Robert and Jason, director and producer respectively, of the upcoming film, "I Dream Of Wires: A Modular Synthesizer Documentary":

We have just launched an IndieGoGo fund raising campaign for "I Dream Of Wires", with rewards and incentives for your contribution. If you have any interest in this film, even if you are not able to contribute, please take the time to check out the page - it is full of information about our story, plans, aspirations, and an ETA for the film's completion. You want us to travel to Germany to interview Dieter Doepfer? You want us to travel to the West Coast to interview Don Buchla? Here is your opportunity to help us to make these things happen. Thanks for your enthusiasm and support!

http://www.indiegogo.com/I-Dream-of-Wires

Please Note: "I Dream Of Wires" is the same film/project previously known as "Modular The Documentary". We are aiming to conclude filming before summer 2012, with a fall/winter 2012 ETA for the completed film."

I Dream of Wires: The Modular Synthesizer Documentary

YouTube Uploaded by booster744 on Sep 5, 2011

"Formally known as: MODULAR: The Documentary, the film is currently in production, directed by Robert Fantinatto, original score by SOLVENT. This is the extended promo video and features some of the east coast participants such as Morton Subotnick, Sean McBride (Martial Canterel) and Jason Amm (Solvent). The film is still in production with a west coast shooting block coming up, along with European locations.

We are currently raising funds to complete the film, please visit:

http://www.indiegogo.com/I-Dream-of-Wires?a=269090&i=addr

There are some great incentives for even modest contributions.

To keep up to date on the production visit:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Modular-the-documentary/106157466146310

For info on Solvent visit:

http://www.youtube.com/s0LVentCIty

For info on Lori Napoleon's switchboard synth and sequencer, visit:

http://meridian7.net/"

Rough Trade London - Modular Synth Open to Public

YouTube via londonbonnie | Jan 6, 2011 |

"A quick demo of the supercool modular demo room at rough trade east London - a single osc through a wiard filter and sem filter and a little clap module through some fx"

via Sean

"This was a post I just read on the DOTCOM user group forum (not posted by me) thought it might be of interest to anyone who might fancy trying some modular stuff before taking the plunge. A really nice idea I thought.

Sean.

Dragonflymodular posted :-

'Just discovered an amazing concept in rough trade records in london...

They've installed a sound proof booth with a huge variety of modules - unfortunately all eurostyle so there's no dotcom or motm stuff.
But it's quite a unique selection - common brands through to some quite rare stuff.
They lock you in for free and let you do whatever you want!

I'm sure this is of interest to anyone here with or considering a modular. And they give free lessons every week...'"

Update via Jan:
"The demo room at Rough Trade is actually equipped by Schneiders Buero, Berlin, Germany http://www.schneidersbuero.com/index.php?lang=en§=news. You can even get real-time telephone support from the team at Schneiders Buero while you are in the demo room."

Moby's Drum Machines For Sale

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

You can find them on Reverb here.

Don't miss the video here.

Update: some pics and details captured. I made the mistake of trying to capture them all and then realized how many were listed. :) I ended up switching to the more esoteric models. Quite a few have never been featured here on MATRIXSYNTH before. What's a little bit interesting, is only two new labels were needed, one for Domino and one for Side-Kick-Er. All other brands have been featured before. See the labels at the bottom of this post. Side note: Blogger limits the number of characters to 200 for labels, so I wasn't able to capture them all for this post. You can always search for the brand names featured for more. I assume most do this anyway. The labels are more for maintenance and for finding posts that may not feature brand names in descriptions.

Pictured:

Realistic Concertmate Electronic Accompanist-Metronome

"Fully analog rhythmic companion utilizing 5 beat buttons to combine how you wish. Features metronome, speaker and line out, and tempo control.

Serial: 42-2103. Works with no issue."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Musikmesse: Cakewalk® Expands Worldwide Distribution

"Cakewalk® Expands Worldwide Distribution

—New distribution arrangements to extend company's reach in Asia, Australia, Latin America,
the Middle East, South America, and other regions worldwide—

Frankfurt, Germany, Musikmesse (Hall 5.1, Walkway B, Stand 56) (1 April, 2009) - Cakewalk, the world's leading developer of powerful and easy to use products for music creation and recording, announces new distribution arrangements in many regions worldwide. This new distribution extends the Cakewalk brand into regions not previously served, and areas where Cakewalk was under-represented, in order to meet the needs of musicians in these markets.

The distribution of Cakewalk products in these regions are now handled by Roland joint venture companies and firms with existing distribution arrangements with Roland.

The new territories covered include:

* Argentina
* Australia
* Barbados
* Bolivia
* Chile
* China
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cyprus
* Republic of Dominicana
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Greece
* Guatemala
* Honduras
* India
* Indonesia
* Israel
* Korea
* Malaysia
* Martinique
* Mexico
* New Zealand
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Philippines
* Peru
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Africa
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Trinidad
* Turkey
* Uruguay
* Venezuela
* Vietnam

For the complete list of Cakewalk distributors worldwide, including contact information please visit: http://www.cakewalk.com/Dealers/International.asp.


###

About Cakewalk, Inc.

Cakewalk, Inc. is the world's leading developer of powerful, yet easy to use products for music creation and recording:

* Award-winning Digital Audio Workstations and Sequencers
* Integrated Music Hardware and Software Solutions
* Innovative Virtual Instruments and Effects
* Entry-level Consumer Products

Millions of musicians around the world choose Cakewalk products to produce audio for the professional music, film, broadcast, and video game industries. These customers include Grammy® and Emmy®-winning producers, composers, sound designers and engineers. We invite you to learn more about our company and products by visiting www.cakewalk.com.

Cakewalk is a registered trademark and the Cakewalk Logo is a trademark of Cakewalk, Inc. Other trademarks mentioned are held by their respective owners."