"I've always enjoyed integrating other gear beyond the realms of the Eurorack case. Synths and FX, guitar into modular, rack gear processing beats ... it's a great thing to explore, to find unique tones and new sounds.
The new Pedal Interface from DPW Design is a 4HP stereo or dual mono pedal/instrument input and output module. While it couldn't be simpler on the interface this was designed to address two issues and to improve working with the varied signals. DPW made sure to properly impedance balance so you're not sucking out the tone and brilliance in the signal and sought to address transient handling and add a tube inspired gain structure above the clean gain structure for adding tube like compression and saturation FX ... something we exploit for great distortion in the video!"
*TIMING INDEX // CHAPTERS*
INTRO 00:00 Hello & previews 00:56 What are we doing here? 01:38 Two improved design features with Dan from DPW
PATCHES 03:54 Simple pedal integration for characterful ambient FX 05:27 Handling transients with character (line level inputs) 06:28 #SockTone guitar & bass direct input 07:50 Patch it wrong for sonic treats! (Eurorack level saturation) 09:26 Integrating rack gear for parallel processing 11:16 Using pedals at the start of the signal chain (oscillator processing
P1, Pedal I/O
The P1 is a dual channel pedal interface. It can be used for pedal or line level in and out or as a guitar or bass input as the pedal in is a high-Z input that will not suck the life out of the tone of your instrument as low impedance inputs can do.
The module is designed to have more than 100kHz bandwidth in both directions to give you a very clean interface with in and out impedance to work well with pedals.
The two halves of the module are independent. You can use it as a dual mono or as a stereo interface.
Eurorack to pedal level is attenuating -18dB and pedal to Eurorack level is amplifying 18dB.
There is soft controlled symmetrical clipping in both directions through the module so if you are driving the inputs hard it will not sound harsh. You can use this as a creative effect.
The unit is AC coupled to be able to isolate your Eurorack from whatever you connect on the pedal side.
Is it The Vanilla Synthesizer or the muSonics TVS?
I started working on this project a year and a half ago.
Originally my thought process was to make a new American format synthesiser that could be sold as modules, kits, and bare boards. I was concerned about the future of the format, and I felt a new line of basic modules and infrastructure at a variety of price points was important. I still do.
STG Soundlabs was a failure because I made things that ultimately the eurorack market simply did not want. Yes, I sold some, and will continue to maintain the line as best as I can, but it's very hard to find photos of eurorack installations with STG Soundlabs modules in them, but rare to find a nice big man-sized synthesiser without my modules in it.
Another thing I wanted to do was teach myself how to do my own engineering. It didn't start that way, but it became that way. I'd been a hardware product developer since 2005 but never actually laid out a circuit board. That is no longer true, and I've done things beyond this project that I haven't even talked about.
"Paul from PWM gave a us preview of Mantis, which is the last synth designed by Chris Huggett [EDP Wasp creator] before he passed away. The Mantis is described as a Wasp Mark II with an Oscar- inspired dual filter, and two analog signal paths that make it duophonic. The oscillators are numerically calculated on power-up using then move into the analog domain, where everything is digitally controlled.
The Mantis mixer allows users to balance between oscillator one and two, add noise, and ring mod. It has a deep, but simple to use modulation section, two envelopes with a unique sustain fall feature and 100 factory patches and 100 user patches. The instrument also includes a few digital effects at the end of the signal path that help sweeten the sounds and make it more of an all-around performance instrument.
While the instrument is still in development, PWM showcased the circuit boards that are provide a preview of the final sound of the Mantis.
"A brand new synth from PWM - a new company with lots of history. Paul has worked extensively in the industry. Most interesting here are his connections from his time at Novation as the BassStaion 2 product lead. You may know that the inventor of the classic WASP and OSCAR, Chris Huggett, was involved there, and before his unfortunately untimely death he was working with Paul on this new synth. Paul has brought it to life with his families blessing.
A great story, and a great little synth. Still has a couple of pre production hoops to jump through but will be available soon."
Duophonic Hybrid-Analogue Synthesiser
• 200 Patches * All patches in RAM so can be overwritten * Bank A: 100 Factory presets * Bank B: 100 User presets (all set to initial patch) * Compare function * Initialise patch function
Moog Mavis Semi-Modular Synth: Overview and Demo with 5 Patch Presets - Patchwerks
First Look: Moog Mavis semi-modular synthesizer - Marcus Schmahl
Review: MOOG's MAVIS goes west! // 18 modular and wavefolding patch ideas explored // Full tutorial - loopop
Moog Mavis Is More Complex Than Its Size Suggests - HAINBACH
Everything Moog Mavis. - mylarmelodies
Moog Mavis Sound Demo (no talking) with Empress Reverb - Limbic Bits
Moog Mavis Sound Demo (no talking) - Bonedo Synthesizers
MAVIS - The New Moog Synthesizer 🐸 - PanicGirlVids
The press release:
"Meet Mavis: The Newest Addition to the Moog Semi-Modular Family Mavis, a
new all-analog semi-modular synthesizer, delivers legendary Moog sound in an
affordable and compact musical machine. An inspiring and expressive instrument,
Mavis offers serious value to anyone looking to learn synthesis or explore Moog
sound in a new way.
This build-it-yourself synthesizer kit is ready
to come to life as a powerful, patchable analog instrument, either mounted in a
Eurorack case or on its own. Mavis's intuitive design allows for immediate
musical exploration (no patching required) and is ready to guide your journey
through the expansive world of modular synthesis through its flexible patch bay
and accompanying educational resources.
Mavis features the first-ever
Moog wavefolding circuit, allowing for additive synthesis to sit alongside
traditional subtractive synthesis, unlocking sounds never heard before on a Moog
instrument. Mavis offers incredible value through its clever collection of
circuits, including two oscillators, full ADSR, a ladder filter, sample and
hold, attenuators, mixer, mults, and much more, providing all the tools needed
for creative patching and sound design.
Mavis delivers huge depth of
sound to any creative looking to begin their journey into synthesis, expand
their Moog ecosystem, or enhance their Eurorack setup."
Additional details & pics:
"As one of their most affordable semi-modular synthesizers to date, Moog's Mavis
is equally at home as a standalone instrument, companion to the Mother series,
or active member of a bustling Eurorack system. Shipped as an easily assembled
kit, the excitement of putting together your own instrument gives way to a
wonderful journey of sonic exploration.
Mavis packs all of the
essential elements of a full synthesis voice into a compact package—oscillator,
filter, ADSR envelope generator, and VCA—as well as some special surprises,
including Moog's first-ever wavefolder! Best of all, everything is accessible
through 24 patch points, overriding the internal normalled connections and
putting Mavis's signal flow under your control.
As with all Moog's
best synths, Mavis begins with an all-analog VCO, with this particular design
featuring a blend control crossfading between sawtooth and pulse waveforms. PWM
and pitch modulation are available with independent level controls, and may be
shaped by the LFO, envelope generator, or a mix of the two. The hallmark of any
Moog synth, the resonant lowpass ladder filter, makes an appearance on Mavis,
and may be similarly controlled with the LFO and/or envelope with positive or
negative polarity. As for the VCA, leave it wide open for drones or shape it
with the ADSR for lush swells or snappy plucks.
Mavis subscribes to
the same modular philosophies as Moog's legacy instruments as well as their hit
Mother series. With the 24-point patch bay, additional elements are available to
coax more interesting patches out of Mavis. Split and distribute signals with
the multiple, inject uncertainty with the sample and hold, and balance audio or
control signals with the DC-coupled mixer. Most surprising of all is the
inclusion of a diode wavefolder—the first such design on any Moog
instrument—bringing a touch of West Coast-style waveshaping into their world of
traditionally subtractive designs.
Though Mavis can exist totally
independently, it shines in collaboration with others. Place it on your desk
alongside your other patchable instruments, or remove Mavis from its enclosure
and mount it in a Eurorack case as a 44hp module for highly nested interactions.
Mavis ships with a handful of patch cables, overlay sheets, and a protective
plastic dust cover for when the instrument isn't in use. Whether you're just
starting out or looking for a fully-featured Moog synth voice, Mavis delivers in
spades.
MAVIS FEATURES
Fully analog semi-modular
synthesizer Easily assembled 24 patch points VCO with sawtooth
and pulse waveforms PWM and frequency modulation Resonant lowpass
filter 4-stage ADSR envelope generator Analog VCA Utilities
section includes mixer, multiple, sample and hold, and more First-ever Moog
wavefolder design Onboard keyboard with scale and glide controls May
be removed from enclosure and mounted as a 44hp Eurorack module Includes
patch cables, patch sheets, dust cover, and assembly tools"
"In December of 2017, as part of the 50’th anniversary celebration for MIT’s CAVS (Center for Advanced Visual Studies), I was invited to install my large, custom built-and-designed modular synthesizer system into the experimental hall where Alcator C-Mod was residing, MIT’s most recent tokamak reactor used in plasma fusion research. Known as being a pioneering melting pot for art and technology during the 60s, 70s and 80s, the CAVS was a place where scientific fields like physics would commune with performance and music. Modular synthesizers, as used there by early adopters like Paul Earls, were part of the Center’s original vernacular, and after many decades they are being enthusiastically re-discovered, re-embraced, and in many way re-invented by the current young generation of electronic musicians. Such reflected synergy into the present led to my invitation (as well as this installation’s name), as did the match between the aesthetic and technical grandeur of a large heavily-patched modular synthesizer and the huge mélange of custom, elegantly-kludged electro-mechanical systems that surrounded the tokamak. Similarly, the researchers’ quest to manage the chaotic nature of an energetic plasma (as expressed inside the tokamak’s torus during the peak of plasma confinement) resonated with my efforts to ‘sculpt’ my autonomous and likewise chaotic huge synthesizer patch into a definable aesthetic.
As I have my PhD in high-energy physics (having worked at CERN at various times between the late 70s and early 90s) in addition to having designed, built, and used electronic music systems of various sorts over the last 45 years, I was anticipating having access to actual Alcator data and using it in the patch that I would compose when the installation would go live in late March of 2018. My plasma physics colleagues resonated with this idea, and I was provided with several waveforms coming from various sensors on the tokamak acquired during its record-breaking run from a few years ago, when Alcator C-Mod had attained the largest recorded plasma pressure. Listening to this data as audio, I was immediately transfixed. This didn’t sound like bland digital noise, but instead felt alive – some strange kind of muted rattlesnake here, burbling life forms on a weird water planet there, perhaps other samples evoked the barely scrutable control room of an alien spaceship. These sounds, played at various rates and filtered into audible bands, were strongly otherworldly. This dictated the flavor that I’d strive for in my patched composition. Accordingly, I loaded banks of Alcator’s waveforms into an array of Eurorack samplers that I could control from processes running in my synthesizer. While most of these signals were used as direct audio, some were adopted for modulation envelopes and slow control – the tokamak cycle exhibited a variably noisy build-and-release structure as the magnetic fields were ramped up to concentrate the plasma before it went terminally unstable, which worked well here.
My patch evolved considerably during the installation, which ran from late April through late August of 2018. I worked on it weekly, and it achieved its ultimate balance between form and complexity by the beginning of July. At the end, I used every patch cord that I owned (on the order of 700) and nearly all modules in the synth, in addition to an assortment of outboard effects and commercial Eurorack modules that I coaxed to work with my system. Towards the end, when I was starting to run out of cords and hardware capacity, I resorted to kludging in simple wires and electrical components hanging in the air between modules to attain effects and sounds that I still wanted but didn’t have the modules available to make. This was the most extensive and ambitious synthesizer patch that I’ve yet composed – it pushed me to extremes of being simultaneously a composer, synthesizer musician, engineer, and scientist. Having designed, built or custom-modified nearly everything in my setup creates a special rapport for me that goes deeper than interaction with commercial synthesizer equipment – my system has its own unique capabilities and quirks that reflect my personal audio nuances and what I want to achieve with them.
At various stages during the 4-month run of this installation, I digitally recorded the patch’s stereo mix – in all, I have archived probably on the order of 60 hours of audio. The excerpts provided in this video all came from different sections of this long set of recordings. Aside from cross-fading between different excerpts, there was no manual intervention or overdubbing in these clips – the sound was made entirely from the patch running on its own after I set it on its way, with updates and augmentations I made every week or two based on ideas I got while listening to it stream online. The video also features a brief example of some of the raw plasma data sounds that I used."
And in the studio:
Synth Patch For Chaos Unit, Sitar Pedal, and NightSky'ed Keyboard (August 2021)
"In the summer of 2021, I put in a synth patch to test out my newly-arrived Sitar Pedal as well commemorate the tweaking/repair of my voltage-controlled chaos module. This was a very simple patch compared to my usual - nothing too deep or thought out, and the master sequence is a bit shallow - but it has its vibe. Plus, at 2:30 in, I added a keyboard line over what the patch was doing. This was all live - the synth patch ran autonomously and I just recorded as I played - no preparation, overdubbing, or refinement here - hence it's raw and not even close to what I'd term finished or a 'demo' - but I kinda like its intrinsic 'hopeful' feel.
The basic sequence is running through the sitar pedal, which locks on fine (it can separate the drone sounds and re-synthesized lead into separate channels). I'm running a fixed tone also through my chaos generator, which I move in a complex way into and out of stability - it locks onto subharmonics or devolves totally/partially into noise as it sweeps. This sound goes through several signal processing paths that periodically fade in, involving filters, unstable phase-locked loops, and a Boss guitar synthesizer pedal (which does wonderfully noisy gyrations as it tries to lock onto the chaos signal between stable moments).
At that time, as opposed to collecting Eurorack modules, I was slowly accumulating and modifying pedals - pedals are all about modifying an input sound in interesting ways, and which generally appeals to me (I hack them, of course, to accept voltage control in different ways).
The only keyboard sound here (aside from one chord and arpeggio at the end) is from the little cheezebox Casio 'toy' that the Minskys gave me at a Media Lab event some years ago - I abandoned my more sophisticated synths for this one in this piece, as it fits easily on your lap (that's how I played it in the excerpt here) and it sounds amazing if you feed it through one of the new complex reverb/echo/delay pedals like the NightSky or Micropitch (those pedals can put any sound into an evocative space).
The video is indeed of this patch and me playing atop it (shot while I was holding the phone in my other hand), but it's not the live segment that you hear in the piece, so pardon if things don't line up entirely, but you get the vibe.
OK - I figured I'd let this one get a bit of air in case it hits some resonance... It radiates a bit of melancholic positivity, which is something we all relate to these days."
"When I was a kid growing up in New York City in the early 1970s I would listen to WNEW-FM all the time, but especially from 10pm to 2am when Allison Steele, the Night Bird, was on the air. WNEW was a progressive rock station, not really the same meaning as today's term 'prog rock,' but more that the DJs played what they wanted with no playlists. And one night in 1974 Allison Steele played a song from a new band I'd never heard of before, Todd Rundgren's Utopia. I was 14, and I was instantly hooked. The song was over 14 minutes long, and was from a live show. I was heavily into keyboards and they had three keyboard players, one with a giant modular. The bass and drums were incredibly tight. And on top of that was Todd Rundgren, abandoning his pop stylings and going full on prog. And then, after being entranced through the first half of the tune, they all stopped, and the sequencer started up. That was it for me. Instant favorite, and started me down the path to synthesizers. Where I still am today.
So that sequence has pretty much always been in my head, and in a way influenced my entire life. It was life-changing for me. And so here it is, recreated. A 'simple' six-note sequence, but super fast, and constantly shifting. Six notes, but that section of the song is in 4/4. Except that the main lines are on the ones but the answering lines start on the 3 before the one beat. So you have six against four, and your four is being interrupted by the answering refrain. You're constantly off balance, but then again things are also constantly being resolved. And then they all pause, back at the sequence, and he rips into the most amazing guitar solo I've ever heard. The whole thing is genius. Todd Rundgren, perhaps at his peak.
Featuring Multiphonics CV-1 from Applied Acoustics Systems
Video captured with CleanShot X
Audio recorded with QuickTime Player
Voiceover recorded in Sound Studio using an AudioTechnica BHPS1 Broadcast Headset
Audio routing done with Loopback
Edited in DaVinci Resolve 17 on a MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019)
Chords, Rings, and Feedback Wars video by StudioElectronics
"It’s all about the gain staging in this discrete beast: processing and managing the relative levels in each step of the V’s audio signal flow to allow for the introduction of desired noise and distortion. Clean is easy.
Feedback (loop), FBK (feedback) Gain, Amp Drive, individual Oscillator levels, and the main Volume all interact and alter one cherished fact after another; the 24dB ladder to heaven is also… everything, except for the burnished bookends, the dualistic dynamism of synthesizer tone: Ringmod and Crossmod. Fans of our ATC know this verity well–enjoy in somewhat better fidelity on our SoundCloud page.
Spoiler Alert! it really starts to get layered and multi dimensional and very satisfying, at around 7:27. Now go back and listen to the whole thing from the beginning.
Treatment:
Just a touch of compression from our vintage dbx 163X during tracking, into the my marvelous DP10 (will never switch), and a spot of verb in the last few seconds—the balance is pristine and massive Midimini V30."
"32-Key USB MIDI Controller Keyboard with 64 Step Polyphonic Sequencing, Chord and Arpeggiator Modes
The Behringer SWING gives you full control over any synthesizer or virtual instrument in your DAW via USB or MIDI. Featuring a 64-step sequencer with an 8-note polyphonic sequence combined with 32 compact-sized keys and pitch and modulation touch-strips provide unlimited ways to express yourself in a compact and portable package.
The SWING’s 32-compact-sized keys create a perfect balance between size and playability. The keys give you the ability to create more nuanced and colorful passages with velocity and after-touch functionality. Use the Pitch and Modulation touch-strips to add even more character to your music. Chord Play Mode allows you to play a chord with up to 16 notes with one single key for some really enchanting Trance music. The SWING also features a 64-step polyphonic sequencer so you can create any progression imaginable and even play over it. Switch to Arpeggiator mode and create an amazing string of notes that can sync to the clock of any device the SWING is connected to.
The Mode knob on the SWING can select up to 8 saved programs in Sequencer mode, while in Arpeggiator mode, you can select different playing orders such as up, down, inclusive, exclusive, random, note order, double up and double down modes. Select from 8 different time signatures with the Scale knob and adjust the tempo with the Tempo knob or the Tap button. Press the Record button to start recording a sequence. This also doubles as an Append button when holding down Shift. Use this along with the Stop/Clear Last button and you can edit your sequences and arpeggios on the fly.
Update: And a response from Arturia followed by Axel Hartman who designed the physical look of the Keystep:
Arturia:
"Hello everyone,
We have been informed on Sunday November the 22nd of the upcoming release of a new product called Swing, by Behringer.
This product is in no way the result of a partnership between Arturia and Behringer.
We have worked hard to create the _Step range. We have invested time and money to imagine, specify, develop, test and market the KeyStep. Along our distributors we have been evangelizing this product, placing it in stores, explaining it, servicing it.
Of course we accept competition, and would absolutely understand that Berhinger give their own interpretation of a small and smart controller that would also be a sequencer. Others do, we have no problem with that and see good for the customer, as well as for the industry, in fair competition.
But this is not fair competition here.
Coco Chanel once said: “If you want to be original, be ready to be copied”. So we could in a way consider the Swing as a compliment.
We could.
In any case, thank you, everyone who came out and supported us these past 36 hours! It's been very helpful, very much appreciated.
"I do feel the need to comment on the many postings I can find here @ Facebook in several places regarding my thoughts, feelings, but also the truth about the blunt Behringer copy of the Arturia key step.
Arturia and myself, aka my company design box are designing instruments, synthesizers, controllers, interfaces since many years. As industrial designer, I contribute mostly my services on the asthetical side of a product. This is true for almost all hardware products that you know from Arturia. In all cases, Arturia is buying my services - I never licensed any of the designs. Arturia always pays, and naturally owns the output of my work, that - by the way - is alway the result of an in-depth cooperation with their internal team of specialists.
Arturia and myself are working together since many years, and we share the deep desire of designing innovative products. I could never share any of the designs, that came out of that cooperation with any body else, legally not, and not from my personal high attitude in that regards. So anything, pointing in that direction is simply fake information. Neither the company Behringer, nor Uli himself have ever approached me with a request like that. And I would also never ever do something like that - I can not license anything that is not in my possession.
Personally, I feel sad, and am also upset about that sheer copy of a design, that I once created for, and together with Arturia, the team around Frederic Brun. These people have spent lots of efforts and great energy in building a brand and all that belongs to a brands assets. It is simply not right, somebody else is taking advantage of that hard work (which is not only true for Arturia, but for all great brands, that must see their most successful products being copied)
I do not understand (Uli) Behringer - with his huge company and the power of many great R&D teams - some of the best and most respected and innovative companies we know in our business, that Uli was able to simply buy in the past with his money. A product like that copy simply can not represent the core values of the people, he could convince to be part of his company. It is simply sad, and I can not understand that move (like many, it seems)."
And then there's the following mock-up from Atomic Shadow that pretty much sums it up:
Update via Wikipedia: "Music Tribe, formerly Music Group, is a holding company based in the City of Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines.[2] It is chaired by Uli Behringer, founder of Behringer. Music Group rebranded to Music Tribe in December 2017.[3]...
In 2015, Music Group's portfolio included Midas, Klark Teknik, Behringer, Bugera, Eurocom, Turbosound, TC Electronic, TC-Helicon, Lake, Lab.gruppen, Tannoy, TC Applied Technologies and CoolAudio[6]"
"Since various magazines and Arturia have publicly called us out over the launch of our Swing MIDI Controller, we would like to respond and share some facts around the principles of competition and clear up some misconceptions.
Competition is a highly effective tool to drive innovation by empowering Customers to make their best choices and force manufacturers to constantly reinvent themselves. Innovation means progress and this happens on many levels, whether it relates to customer experience, functionality or cost efficiencies etc. There are 4 established marketing strategies: market leader, market challenger, market follower and market nichers. Here is a great article: https://aytm.com/blog/brand-positioning-for-a-competitive-edge-part-3/
The competition law was designed to avoid companies creating a market monopoly and stifle innovation, which would be detrimental to the rights of the Customers to expect better offerings. The law was specifically designed to encourage everyone to fiercely compete, even when it means over the same functionality and design, provided intellectual property such as utility (functional) and design patents as well as trademarks etc. are respected.
How many Fender Stratocaster or Gibson Les Paul clones are out there in the guitar world and how many SM58 clones are available? How many cars or mobile phones look alike? It is not surprising that Gibson recently lost a substantial legal case trying to prevent others from making V-shape guitars or Fender, who lost all trademark cases related to their Stratocaster design. The reason is simple: the law encourages competition and provides maximum freedom for companies to engage head-on, all for the benefit of the Customer.
We are spending large amounts of resources on innovation, which is reflected in products such as X32, XR18, Flow, DDM4000, etc. This made us the global market leader for analog and digital mixers and over the years we have built an extensive patent portfolio: https://community.musictribe.com/pages/intellectual-property However, we also clearly choose to follow successful brands and products, while adding more features and/or competing on price. Much of our innovation is invisible to the Customer as it relates to our highly advanced and automated design and manufacturing processes and for that we are spending hundreds of millions of US$. For this reason, we have become strategic partners with Microsoft, Siemens, Adobe and many other Tier 1 companies as we are pushing for extreme digitization and automation.
The follower marketing strategy is a very common business model in any industry, which is enabled by law to encourage competition. With our new Swing MIDI Controller, we followed an established concept, but of course wrote our own firmware with added functionality. However, these unique features will only come to life when we launch our free DAW.
The free Music Tribe DAW will form the heart of an incredible eco-system, where all our controllers, synthesizers and drum machines etc. will integrate seamlessly, thus dramatically improve connectivity and workflow. This will make it incredibly easy for our Customers to create, edit and share their music. Only our upcoming controllers will feature total integration with our synthesizers, drum machines, digital mixers and other Music Tribe equipment, while also offering standard functionality with all 3rd party products.
For anyone familiar with the industry landscape, Arturia has been cloned for years (Worlde MiniMidi, etc.), while the company has also been “borrowing” from others with their VST replicas of legendary hardware synths, open-source code from Mutable Instruments, the “Expressive Touche” controller or the registration of known “DX7” and “Synthi” marks. Equally, our own analog Xenyx mixers and many other products have been widely cloned. ¬We will absolutely continue to deliver innovative products but also follow our competitors as we expect our products to be cloned - fair play.
We are very cautious when it comes to our follower approach and employ expert intellectual property firms to ensure our products stay within the boundaries of the law; we are committed to never intentionally infringe on other companies’ intellectual property.
Many years ago, we were entangled in bitter lawsuits with Mackie and Pioneer, which we all won. But we also recently lost a case against Yamaha in China related to a simple fader knob design that involved a design patent we were unfortunately not aware of. We changed the design, we will pay the fees and move on. Notably, Yamaha themselves were sued by Dr. Dre over their headphone designs (https://www.cnet.com/news/dr-dre-sues-yamaha-over-headphones/) or entangled in other legal matters (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/musical-instrument-firms-to-pay-millions-after-breaking-competition-law), which clearly shows how competitive business is. The heated Apple versus Samsung disputes are a prime example.
It is our Purpose and Mission to empower Customers who don’t have deep pockets and provide them with the best possible equipment at fair prices. We do understand that we are a fierce competitor and at times controversial as we’re relentlessly push the envelope.
We would like to thank all our Customers who have supported us over the past 30 years. We are absolutely committed to continue to deliver the best possible products at the lowest possible cost."
Updates: Additional videos, audio demos, hi-res pics & details added below. Check out the SEQUENZ CB-4VOLCA Hard-shell case for up to 4 volts.
"Joining volca kick and beats as the third, and most unique, drum synth in the volca lineup.
The volca series is all about unique sound. Whether it's analog, PCM, or FM, the volca series puts unique sounds into an accessible platform. And now, the series is joined by a new rhythm machine that brings yet another sonic character. It's the volca drum digital percussion synthesizer."
Nick Kwas Demos the Korg Volca Drum at Kraft Music.
The Korg Volca Drum is a digital percussion synthesizer and rhythm machine with a 6-part x 2-layer structure. Based on DSP-powered analog modeling, Volca Drum generates a wide range of unexpectedly different percussion sounds ranging from realistic to idiosyncratic, with wave folder, overdrive, and waveguide resonator effects. Volca Drum is equipped with the familiar 16-step Volca sequencer with parameter automation capabilities. Sync and MIDI in jacks allow for connection to other volcas, select Korg synths and sequencers, and DAWs. Like other Volcas, the Volca Modular features a built-in speaker and battery operation.
Get more for your money with an exclusive Korg Volca Drum bundle from Kraft Music. These package deals include the accessories you'll need to get the most out of your new percussion synth, all for one low price. If you have any questions, please give us a call. Our knowledgeable sales advisors will be happy to assist in choosing the bundle that's right for you!"
Korg Volca Drum Digital Percussion Synthesizer | Reverb Demo Video
Published on Jan 14, 2019 Reverb
"The synth masters at Korg just announced the Volca Drum, Minilogue XD, and Volca Modular. Starting with the Volca Drum, check out this video demo (as well as those linked below) to learn more about the features in these new offerings from the dream team that created so many of the top-selling synths on Reverb in the past couple years. Read More on Reverb"
Korg Volca Drum Mega Tutorial
Published on Jan 14, 2019 cuckoomusic
"Korg Volca Drum is a percussive synthesiser from Korg, in the Volca range. I find it quirky and fun, when departing from the drum territory.
Here's a long tutorial, with a lot of flavours of what it sounds like, and how you can work with it."
"Welcome to an infinitely expanding world of sound-design.
Joining volca kick and beats as the third, and most unique, drum synth in the volca lineup.
The volca series is all about unique sound. Whether it's analog, PCM, or FM, the volca series puts unique sounds into an accessible platform. And now, the series is joined by a new rhythm machine that brings yet another sonic character. It's the volca drum digital percussion synthesizer.
Based on a simple trigger waveform, wave folder and overdrive are used to add overtones and distortion, and then a waveguide resonator effect brings the sound to life. The six-part DSP synth engine was designed with a completely different philosophy than conventional drum machines, and generates a wide range of unexpectedly different sounds. And of course, you can play those sounds from the volca-style sequencer.
Adding these distinctive sounds to your rhythms will revolutionarily transform your performances and productions.
"The best DUNE ever, now in Full HD!
DUNE 3 builds on the award-winning DUNE 2 synthesizer, adding frequently requested features and innovative ideas, to create the best DUNE experience ever!
DUNE 3 comes with many new patches crafted by expert sound designers. Since DUNE 3 is fully patch-compatible with DUNE 2, it includes its presets as well,
doubling the factory library size to more than 1000 patches.
"Get to know the stories of the people who make iOS Music apps. We want to include tips on the entire process: Programming, Design, Marketing, Development, and more..."
Playlist:
1. Audio Programmer Interview, Ep1: Alex Buga, Top 5 app, Samplist
Samplist is an amazing success story. Developer Alex Buga built his first music app in just 3 weeks with free tools (Swift & AudioKit) and it shot to the Top 5 paid music apps in the USA.
In this interview, he talks about his motivation, design, and development tools. Making a music app from scratch can be daunting. However, Alex persisted. A developer and musician, he powered through to create the app he wanted.
2. Audio Programming Interviews, Ep2: Dave Gibson, Music AUv3 plugin creator at FutureSonic
Audio App Interviews // Ep 02: David Gibson (Bristol, UK) creates inventive and fun AUv3 iOS plugins at FutureSonic. What's an AUv3 plugin? How do you get started in making audio apps? Dave answers those questions and more. Keep reading for a cheat-sheet of highlights in the video and links to FutureSonic apps...
"Kinetic sound object. The mechanism is a system consisting of two sound circuits and auxiliary mechanical and electronic elements. The first sound circuit is a speaker emitting square wave. This speaker forces copper balls, served one at a time or several at a time through a dispenser, to bounce up and down on its membrane. Depending on the amplitude and frequency of the sound of the speaker, the balls bounce at one of the same height or at another height. As they are confined in a pipe, they either fall back to the speaker, or jump out of it. If a ball jumps out, it ends up in one of seven collecting vessels and subsequently falls into the pipe. An optical sensor is installed in each of the seven pipes attached to the vessels, detecting the passage of the balls through this pipe. Subsequently, the ball ends up in the collector and may, as and when the balls are used, be returned to the mechanical dispenser through the use of a robotic 'hand'. Depending on the number of times that a ball ends up in a vessel (pipe) and a particular vessel (pipe), the algorithm of the generated sound changes in the second circuit, which executes the generative composition. The frequency of the sound in the primary circuit is also affected by the number of hits.
To all intents and purposes, the object represents a complicated feedback machine, where the feedback doesn't have a direct impact on itself, but uses kinetic and mechanical elements -intermediaries. These intermediaries are nothing other than the generators of random numbers inside a complex and harmonious system. This results in a constant change in the sound and the spectator’s observation of the system's attempts to retain balance and continue its work. To a certain extent, we may assert that the object is performing a routine ritual, infinitely repeating its actions in order to extend its life cycle."
"AS announces availability of Mr Hyde and Dr Strangelove synthBlocks signal processors
KINGSWINFORD, UK: British boutique electronic instruments innovator Analogue Solutions is proud to announce availability of Mr Hyde and Dr Strangelove — introducing its synthBlocks series of small and affordable desktop signal processors with two tantalisingly-named new products squarely aimed at laptop and audio plug-ins-focused digital musicians wishing to apply analogue, hands-on hardware processing to their sometimes sterile-sounding computer- based creations — as of November 17…
The synthBlocks series represents an all-new range of small and affordable desktop signal processors produced by British boutique electronic instruments innovator Analogue Solutions, an acclaimed company with over 24 years of designing serious-sounding synthesizers featuring fully-analogue audio paths with analogue LFOs (Low Frequency Oscillators) and EGs (Envelope Generators) to its notable name. Similarly, synthBlocks are all-analogue affairs — albeit with some lo-fi digital effects thrown in for good (musical) measure. Menus and software are all eschewed in favour of a hardy hardware approach. As such, synthBlocks are squarely aimed at laptop and audio plug-ins-focused digital musicians wishing to apply analogue, hands-on hardware processing to their sometimes sterile-sounding computer-based creations. Cue simply plugging the synthBlocks in question into an audio interface’s I/O connections, then routing drums, synths, vocals, or whatever out of the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and through the transistors and op-amps of the synthBlocks and recording the results back into the DAW. Something similar can be achieved by connecting the synthBlocks to the auxiliary buss of a mixing console — just like any other effects processor. Whatever the workflow, turning the dials and flicking the switches by hand of course changes the sound in realtime — often with radical results. Results of course can be radically different — depending on which of the two available synthBlocks are applied to any given sound signal.
Many might have heard of Mr Edward Hyde, an abominable alternative personality of Dr Henry Jekyll, a fictional character in Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde gothic novella first published in 1886. However, hearing Analogue Solutions’ Mr Hyde in the here and now is something else entirely! As announced, Mr Hyde was the first out of the starting blocks in its synthBlocks series as an analogue filter effects box bringing subtle to extreme filtering and modulation effects to the analogue processing production table. To further aid ease of use, Mr Hyde has quarter-inch input and output jacks on its rear, so can be connected straight to an audio interface or mixer without the need for adaptors. The topside of its distinctive blood-red panel features minijack sockets to patch with a semi-modular synth, such as Analogue Solutions’ relatively recently released Fusebox — an aptly-named, three-VCO (Voltage- Controlled Oscillator) true analogue monophonic synthesizer that favourably fuses the company’s characterful vintage sound with an advanced choice of modulation and melodic possibilities (in a beautifully-built box); ever-popular Eurorack small-format modular systems; or other modular systems.
"I am the original owner of this Sequential Circuits Pro One vintage synthesizer, serial number 2064. I purchased it from Guitar Center Hollywood in August, 1981. The power transformer is case-mounted and the keyboard is the J-wire type. It has spent its entire life in my home recording studio and is in excellent condition as you can see in the photos.
If you're not familiar with the Pro One, its sound generation is 100% analog. The keyboard inputs are digital as are its onboard sequencer and arpeggiator. It has versatile modulation routing and is outrageously fun to play with.
The following is an interview with Peter Grenader of Electro-Acoustic Research (formally Plan b). The focus of the interview is mainly on his involvement with The ZZYZX Society, however you will find plenty of insight into gear, including some of what Peter is working on next. I want to give Peter a huge thanks for taking the time out for this.
1. To start, what is the ZZYZX Society?
"The zZyzx Society is a group of like-minded half-crazy avant-garde musicians/composers who at one time or another fell down the same sonic rabbit hole.
Discussions about this began in 2011. Jill Fraser and I tried to get something together, and the circle of people then included Richard Lainhart. Unfortunately, he passed away when we were right in the middle of talking about possibilities. This is actually when I sketched out one of my two pieces that we are currently performing: Organasm. It settled down until Jill and I ran into one another at Mort Subotnick's live performance at Redcat a couple of years ago. We saw a fire in each other's eyes - a need to return to something that we had both evolved from.
Jill and I are ancient friends. We met at CalArts in - God.... 1977. We actually performed together once with composer Gordon Mumma at CalArts and worked extensively together on Mort Subotnick's NEA project, The Game Room, in 1978. Matter of fact, the photo Mort used for the Electronic Works Vol. 1 was taken when we were doing The Game Room - Jill is the blonde and I'm the guy holding the patchord in the foreground.
What really set the wheels in motion though was a recent dinner we had for Thighpaulsandra when he visited Los Angeles a few months ago. Thigh had been speaking about wanting to do another series of performances together since we both did the AnalogLive gig at Redcat in 2007. Jill was already well into the planning stages, although it wasn't clear who would be involved at that time though oddly enough - everyone who will be was there - Jill, Chas Smith, Thighpaulsandra and myself. When Thigh left for his return trip home - the last thing he said to me was a suggestion to get some gigs going - that it will never start unless there's a date, and when you guys get a set under your belt and are comfortable with what it evolves into, that he would come out and gig with us - and that's exactly what we are doing. Well, we'e actually focusing on tracking a CD, but I'll get into that more in a bit."
2. Can you give us a little background on each member? When the world of electronic music started for each and what they've done over the years?
That's where humility sets in - with the notion that musicians of this caliber would consider me a contributor. Why? Let's start with Jill: after earning her masters in composition at CalArts studying with Mort Subotnick and Mel Powell - her first stop was where I landed: Serge's infamous Hollywood synth production facility on Western Ave. She didn't stay there long, however, because she was hired to compose electronic music by Jack Nitzsche for Paul Schrader's film, Hardcore. This began a 25 year career composing both electronic and acoustic scores for hundreds of TV commercials for huge national campaigns: BMW, Honda, Porsche, Nissan, Mitsubishi, HP, NBC, KFC, Carl's Jr., and Apple among others, and in the process won 3 Clios. She also toured with Buffy St. Marie and auditioned for The Sex Pistols - no joke.
Chas will be the only one among us who people will be speaking about in 100 years. He's also from the CalArts electronic music composition master's program and spent his early days with modulars. Until recently he owned a 12 panel serge system he had had for 30+. His legacy will be the remarkable Harry Partch-esque tuned percussion instruments he crafts. He's shifted to metals exclusively which forge these amazing soundscapes, which would take immense work to generate electronically, yet just pour out of these sculptures. Along with collaborations with Harold Budd he's been released many times as a solo artist on Cold Blue Records, MCA, and others, music for Zimmer's Man of Steal score (they actually did a special feature on Chas for that film), as well as the first two Saw films with Charlie Clouser, for Shawshank Redemption, The Horse Whispser... the list goes on.
Man Of Steel Soundtrack - Sculptural Percussion - Hans Zimmer Published on Aug 27, 2013 WaterTower Music
Not sure what planet you'd need to be on not to know where Thighaulsandra's been. Like the rest of us here, his interest in electronic music is lifelong. Stockhausen and Cage were early influences and while you clearly realize his worth in the rock idiom, his experimental roots are unavoidable. Golden Communion - which has garnered stunning reviews in Europe - gives both Gabriel and NIN a run for their money, but you also hear Stockhausen in there and in the string introduction to the title track - Elliot Carter. He began his music career on the other side of the board - as a studio engineer, and this is where he met Julian Cope, who in time introduced him to John Balance - which led to 10 very productive years as a member of Coil - during which TPS began releasing his own solo work. He is a conservatory trained pianist blessed with the birth defect of incredible ability. After Coil he was off to Spritualized for I think three years?
As for me, I am the underachiever. After CalArts and a few small film scores, and a oddly enough a planetarium show for the Griffith Observatory, I put everything down for 25 years. In the early 2000's I found music again and had really good success in the academic electronic music festival circuit. I won the Periodic Festival in Barcelona and was selected for one of the evening performances at the SEAMUS National Conference, which doesn't sound like much, but I was probably the single first-time applicant to land that right. There were 30 or so festivals in the US after that over the next two years including the AnalogLive emsemble performance at Redcat at the Disney Hall in LA with Thighpaulsandra, Chas, Gary Chang, Richard Devine and Alessandro Cortini. The start of Plan B shifted my center to manufacturing, although I was signed, and did a CD for Coda Recordings in 2013 entitled Secret Life.
What I appreciate, especially working with Jill, but it's true of all these guys... our combined experience is such that we finish each other's musical sentences. It's astonishing. Three guys in a garage band and you expect them to vamp off their combined rock tradition, right? But electronic music, are you kidding me? Jill and I started rehearsing with a piece of mine called Benghazi, which is based entirely on a single diatribe of Glenn Beck whining about the attack in Libya. The first day we did what I would call informed noodling. When we started the second day she said she had worked out some other processed bits, and they were phenomenal. It brought the concept into much higher space and with no direct guidance outside of asking for other samples from the source file so not to loose Beck's context narrative. She just got it, completely.
zZyzx Society live in Joshua Tree: BENGHAZI
3. What sort of gear will each member bring to the project? Is there a preference for any?
I can't say for Thigh, dunno yet but he's got an arsenal at his studio in Wales. Jill is primarily using a Push via Ableton and a single Serge panel designed specifically for live performance made for her by Dmitri Sfc. I can name what Chas uses, but it won't mean much as outside of a rack of loopers everything he plays he's made. So for the record it's the Rite, the Replicant and his incredible steel guitar Guitarzilla. I am primarily using my modular - eight rows of it I crammed into two road cases, and then a Roli keyboard using Equator for now, and plans for a proper sampler as the ROli software wreaks Kickstarter deadline. It's fine as a closed synth, but while they say you can import your own samples - you really can't. I had to contact them, and they wrote the code so I could add one specific sample, but are not wiling to help me do more. The keyboard itself however is incredible.
4. What is the collaboration and recording process like? Do you record together or do you pass compositions back and forth for each person to work with separately?
Recording wasn't in the original plan, but that's changed and with Chas moving to Grass Valley - and Thighpaulsandra in Wales it's just like my FB relationship status: complicated. Jill and I are going to lay basic tracks starting in two weeks. So we'll be sending multitrack to both Chas and Thigh, who will be adding to them, then returning the new stack to whomever wrote the piece to do the final mix. The process is identical for Chas and Thighpaulsandra with their works There is talk of a release deal. So... with only one gig under our belts at FUTUREWURLD in Joshua Tree, which was really well received , but still...now we're shifting to recording the four pieces we performed with small gigs during that process, although, all in much more detail than we could manifest live with our hand count. Jill's got one which is actually four individual pieces, I've got Benghazi and Organasm and Chas has Perimeter. Thighpaulsandra is in the middle of one for us now and we're discussing the possibility of rendering Subotnick's Sidewinder.
5. What do you have in your modular system when playing with ZZYZX Society?
At first I brought almost everything. I could basically empty my main cabinet into the two road cases and on top of that I brought the two side cases, but I knew this wouldn't last. After a couple of days of rehearsal when we worked on the two pieces that were modular extensive I identified what was overkill and I limited my modular system to the two road cases (see image). It's eight rows of 88hp.
In the empty space I've now installed an Animodule Midi Gate, which is a brilliant idea and one I was planning on for EAR - but the best man won on that, more power to them for that. With it in that space will be two custom modules consisting of two Sparkfun Wave Trigger boards and a little unity gain mixer. Each of the Wave Triggers will be driven by the Midi Gate. I can use individual keys on my Roli to fire of independent events. Each of these WAVE modules allow for eight polyphonic samples to be played by either the depression of a momentary switch or a gate signal with each group of eight stored on a microSD card which can be loaded on the fly. I see this as an intelligent way of performing with a modular in a live scenario. It's basically what Mort is doing now - assembling the overall sonic contour by playing prerecorded samples as required with a couple of live voices over everything. Very effective and something Mort has been talking since the days I was working with him. It took 30 years for technology to catch up with him. In my instance, I will be playing events I prerecorded on the modular.
6. Does working on music like the ZZYZX Society influence your designs, or do you keep the two worlds separate?
It's had a huge impact on this. Immediately I started thinking about a group of modules called "the live set" which would be a series of devices which would make live performance easier for a modular artist. I don't want to give anything away outside of saying the guy that developed the Wave Trigger for Sparkfun lives a few blocks from me (wink). I've also had a couple of meetings with Vince De Franco, who produces the Mandela Electric Drums whom I met through Danny Carey. If what we're discussing becomes a finished product, it will be a paradigm shift for realization of live electronic music.
7. What's next for you? You were the man behind Plan B, your designs were featured in Subconscious Communications' modules, and you are back with Electro-Acoustic Research. You recently announced the Model 41 Steiner 4P filter. Do you plan to bring back any older designs like the Milton or will you be focusing on new designs only?
The EAR modules will be a combination of new things and legacy re-releases, but none of the old ones will be brought to market now without significant improvements. Not because they were broken before, but because I see no reason to revisit something without making changes. If you go to ear-synth.com the next product up is the Model 12 Mark II. It's two M12's in one package, both fitted with the IFM Sync function found on the M41. There are all manners of interconnection possibilities as well, so that two two can be used independently, or in either serial or parallel operation off all output taps of a single signal. If you sweep to the 'Future' page there's also the Model 24 Heisenberg Mark II, which adds a new quantized output to the stepped random and three new inter-modulation/triggering options. The Model 10 Mark II could not be more different than the original. Now two voltage controllable DASR envelope generators (Delay, Attack, Sustain TIME and Release). I have also mapped out a concept for an upgraded Model 15 Complex VCO which will make it the VERY Complex VCO lol. There are as well three new modules all ready to go.
I have been working on the relaunch for four years - since cEvin and I did the Subcon license on the 15 and 37. I've been working towards it continually. The first three products are completely done with a couple of revisions of hand built SMT prototypes behind them - ready to go - I just need to email the data off to Darkplace when it's time and product will appear a couple of months after that. If you watch Thighpaulsandra's excellent Model 41 demo video - next to the M41 you will see the Model 12 Mark II mounted in his system and that's one thing I did differently this time - I skipped the breadboard stage. I now go directly to SMT PCBs with Metalphoto faceplates. This addresses all sorts of potential calamities. It forces me to concentrate on the design stage and weeds out all manufacturing hiccups before they hit the Darkplace assembly line because if there are problems there - they aren't going to pay for that - I am. As my dad used to say when he was quoting new jobs.... "I don't do this for practice".
This brings me to something I want to close on. My father went through the Plan B collapse with me. He knew how hard I had worked to get where I did and he knew all too well what I forfeited. He was a tough love guy and at times unnecessarily hard on me about it. But in the end, I did it and he knew before he passed away. I was ready for the Model 41 a year and a half ago. Darkplace had already quoted it. It could have launched then and would have had he not died. There were delays from his death that the family needed to settle. But as far dad... I built most of the prototypes on his kitchen table because the light was so much better there than on my bench at home. He saw me working on them. He saw the Darkplace quotes. The last thing he said to me was 'I love you'. Right before that - he congratulated me on getting the company back on it's feet and that I found a way to do it all on my own, and he told me how proud he was of me. After he said this, I left the hospital for the day and he died that evening at 3 in the morning. Nothing was worth the six years I went through and the problems I caused people, nothing makes my father's death bearable - but that moment came real. real close.
"Up for auction a Kurzweil K250 synthesizer in fully working, fully RESTORED condition. it looks awesome, works the same. All 12 voices are incredible.
Keyboard:
K250 has an unique full weight wood keyboard which is built on the same way as a piano with balance-beams. It was cleaned with the passion, every wooden key was checked, adjusted and lubricant was added to the mechanics. It fills like new when you play it with right action and the response.
Technical:
Keyboard is running OS6.2 (latest OS6) and has all motherboard sockets populated with sound banks. These are Soundblocks A, B,C, D.
It has SUPERRAM-II option installed, (extremely RARE) which 4x increases the capacity of original CGP Digitizer. It's fully checked for the operation and very easy to use.
Also hard to believe but the RAM Cartridge, which is another RARE option, is included too.
It also has QLS interface installed, and QLS -to- Macintosh cable is included. I can make an Apple Macintosh with the programs and sound sets for K250 if required.
Front panel has all sliders cleaned up and the LCD display was replaced to VFD one. it looks nice and bright. I'm also including blue color filter, but understand you may not like a blue color, so it's not mounted. It comes with 3M adhesive, easy install in 1 sec. See the pic, it's awesome look.
Power Supply was also cleaned. It's a second revision, runs stable.
Finally, a set of K250 DEBUG chips are included too. That's for the future needs and hope you never need it.
Other details:
K250 comes with the ORIGINAL shipping box which has a palette directly attached(yes, it's fun box). It was stored in the box most of its life and has minimal wear. This also means that I can ship it anywhere without additional packaging. But the shipment will come in two packages anyways, - huge box on palette with K250 and Power supply (incl. manuals) in another separate box.
You'll receive:
1. Kurzweil K250 with Soundblocks A-D, SuperRamII in the original box
2. RAM Cartridge
3. Power Supply (combined with foot pedals)
4. Many Manuals and some spare parts such as original LCD.
"iSpark is an all-inclusive beat-making solution allowing to create rich tracks from A to Z while experiencing an unequaled workflow. It includes a large variety of drum kits and individual instruments based on the most renowned drum machines and top-notch sound design.
It is the result of a simple recipe, care for rhythm, innovation and uncompromising ergonomics combined with the personality of the greatest drum machines.
What you can do with iSpark:
iSpark allows you to play drum patterns in-real time and to tweak your sound on-the-fly. Its optimized and performance-oriented layout gives you a direct access to an extended range of sonic parameters.
It also integrates a powerful and flexible 64-step sequencer enhancing your creative freedom and effectiveness.
iSpark unites our multi-rewarded TAE® technology coupled with a modular engine and crystal-clear multi-layered samples. Beyond drum and percussive sounds, iSpark blasts the frontiers of beat-making through a range of singular sonic effects, warm analog synth textures and melodic elements.
Details:
Main screen
The main screen is all about performance. Its layout, inspired by our SparkLE controller, gives you immediate access to a comprehensive set of fundamental controls and parameters. Its lower part allows you to play and record your drum patterns in real-time, step by step, to jump between your patterns and to set their length.
Mixer
In the mixer, you can adjust the volume and panorama of your instruments, set two individual effects for each of them, and modify the sending levels to the return effects. The VU meters help you to balance effectively your instruments.
Studio
The Studio is the iSpark laboratory of sound. This is where you will customize your kits and all the instruments that compose it. For each instrument, you can choose the samples that are used and adjust a comprehensive list of parameters.
Sequencer
In the sequencer screen, all the steps of your different instruments are right in front of you. You can thus create your sequences in a flash. Besides, the automation tool allows you drawing modulation curves with a simple glide of your fingertip.
Song
The Song mode gives you the possibility to chain your pattern in order to create a whole performance. Organizing your song is as easy as a drag-and-drop. Switch to “Perform” and discover two large XY modulation touchpads that will bring your songs to life.
Connectivity:
iSpark offers a total and seamless compatibility with the existing Spark environment. Maintain continuously your creative flow by transferring in a heartbeat your projects, patterns, your kits and individual instruments between Spark 2 and iSpark.
Connect the dedicated SparkLE controller to iSpark and associate the flexibility of an app-based instrument to the effectiveness and comfort of hardware.
The compatibility with AudioBus and Inter-App Audio offers a smooth integration of iSpark in you iPad-based setup. With iSpark, your mobile setup found its beat-making solution.
Main features:
Pristine quality sound engines including: TAE® analog synthesis, physical modeling, and multi-layered samples provided by our top-tier development partners
· 640 Instruments / 40 kits
- Classic drum machines
- Electronic kits
- Acoustic kits
· Shuffle and shift modes to humanize grooves
· Choke groups to mute instruments naturally
· Song mode with 16 segments
· Song segment triggering from hardware
· Performance master effects: repeat, tape, reverse, strobe, pan, mix, bit crusher, 8-mode filter and Roller
· 16-track mixer with high-quality effects: multiband compressor, bit crusher, multiband EQ, chorus, delay, reverb, distortion, phaser, plate reverb, destroyer, flanger, space pan, limiter, sub generator
· Real-time automation on all parameters
· Compatible with SparkLE controller
· Ableton Link integration
· Possibility to share projects, kits and instruments between iSpark and the desktop version of Spark 2."
"Up for auction a Kurzweil K250 synthesizer in fully working, fully RESTORED condition. it looks awesome, works the same.
Keyboard:
K250 has an unique full height wood keyboard which is built on the same way as a piano with balance-beams. It was cleaned with the passion, every wooden key was checked, adjusted and lubricant was added to the mechanics. It fills like new when you play it with right action and the response.
Technical:
Keyboard is running OS6 and has all motherboard sockets populated with sound banks. These are Soundblocks A, B,C, D. It also has QLS interface installed, and QLS -to- Macintosh cable is included. I can make an Apple Macintosh with the programs and sound sets for K250 if required.
Front panel has all sliders cleaned up and the LCD display was replaced to VFD one. it looks nice and bright.
Power Supply was also cleaned (looks as brand -new) and was completely recapped. It runs very stable.
Other details:
K250 comes with its original stand, which is hard to find item, and the ORIGINAL shipping box which has a palette directly attached(yes, it's fun box). It was stored in the box most of its life and has minimal wear. This also means that I can ship it anywhere without additional packaging. But the shipment will come in two packages anyways, - huge box on palette with K250 and Power supply (incl. manuals) in another separate box.
You'll receive:
1. Kurzweil K250 in the original box
2. Original keyboard stand
3. Power Supply (combined with foot pedals)
4. Many Manuals
5. QLS cable to connect it to Macintosh"
"These are cool little synths for a certain kind of sound, along the lines of a Moog Opus III, being a fully mixable 'synth' & 'string' section, fairly straightforward, but still characterful.
The synth is more like an organ with slider volumes for various footages, which can be put through the ADSR & analogue filter.
The strings have a balance, EQ & AR envelope knobs.
Tones are nice & strong as is, can be wonderful through a delay, reverb or phaser!
Soundwise, I think if you're a fan of the instrumental side of 'Low' (the album) you'll get the idea. Deltas were also used by Broadcast & The Human League (the reason I kept an eye out for one), so darn fine company, I'd say.
Condition, I'd say good for age, there are marks & scrapes but nothing too extreme, some of the lettering has worn away in places, but no cracks or dents.
There are 2 things that affect at least half of all the Deltas I've seen..
Sure enough, the joystick is snapped off at the top. It is still useable & fully working. If you wanted you could add a sleeve of metal tubing to extend it's length again, that could crimp on at the bottom. Another solution is simply to pop a biro lid on the top, fits a treat!
The other really common issue is a fault on the filter which causes the synth section to stop working. This one was no exception, but I replaced the offending capacitors (did a good job!) & it's been perfect ever since (about 2/3 years).
This particular synth is fully functional apart from one slider, which has never worked in those 2/3 years, but after 6 months of inactivity has suddenly burst back into life.. The noise slider in the synth section is (was) inactive, but now seems to be fully working. But I'd still look at this as 'Noise not working'. You can absolutely live without it, but it does sound nice for those filtered White Noise sweeps. I reckon this would have to be the slider or a solder joint in that section, can't think of any components that would die then come back to life again.
Worth pointing out that I always clean everything I get, so no gunk on the knobs, no dirty keys, all the switches, jacks & sliders were Servisol'd & the front panel was polished while I repaired the filter."
