What is The Vanilla Synthesizer? It's Ready, That's What

via the STG Soundlabs/muSonics Electronic Newsletter:

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.

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SYNTHBOOKS #05 - BJOOKS Push Turn Move - Kim Bjorn | SOUNDMIT

video upload by SOUNDMIT

Googlish translation further below:

"Ciao a tutti e bentornati o benvenuti ai video del Soundmit, vi ricordo che potrete vedere i precedenti video sul nostro canale all’indirizzo www.soundmit.com/youtube e se vi piacciono, iscrivetevi e seguiteci anche sui nostri canali social all’indirizzo www.soundmit.com/social

Riprendiamo le nostre pillole letterarie con una serie nella serie, ci occuperemo infatti di una serie di 5 libri relativamente nuovi, scritti da Kim Bjorn, designer, DJ e scrittore Danese che abbiamo avuto il piacere di ospitare diverse volte al nostro Soundmit.

Andiamo in ordine cronologico parlando del libro che ha dato il via alla serie ovvero, PUSH TURN MOVE!

Come vedete, qui con me ne ho due copie, in realtà sono due edizioni differenti. La seconda, leggermente più sottile ma con eguale numero di pagine, è stata rivista recentemente e riallineata all’impostazione grafica dei volumi usciti successivamente.

Sono anche stati rivisti in parte i contenuti, infatti non troveremo alcune interviste e alcune considerazioni su prodotti di aziende che non esistono più o che hanno sospeso le attività, in favore di nuovi e più aggiornati contenuti.

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Moog Matriarch - LIVE Stream With Engineers

sonicstate

"Live Q+A Session with Moog Engineers - Amos Gaynes and Mark Crowley, as we discuss the design aspects, the heritage of the Moog sound and maybe some live patching examples."

Moogfest 2019 Moog One With Amos Gaynes

Published on May 2, 2019 sonicstate

"Always a pleasure to speak with Amos on any subject, and the Moog One is something we talk with him for hours on. Amos is one of the engineers on the project, mainly working on the firmware aspect of this monster poly synth."

Moog One: Firmware Update v1.0.1 Livestream Video

Started streaming 37 minutes ago Moog Music Inc

"Moog One Firmware Update v1.0.1 Livestream with Moog's Product Design Engineer Amos Gaynes."

Moog One: Factory Presets

Moog One: Factory Presets - Part 1 (Live from the Moog Factory)

Starts at 30:28

"Amos Gaynes, Moog Product Design Engineer and Trent Thompson, Moog Product Marketing Manager explore the factory presets shipping in Moog One."

Moog One: Factory Presets - Part 2
Streamed live 3 hours ago
Starts at 30:15

"Nick Valente, Moog Moog Instrument Specialist and Trent Thompson, Moog Product Marketing Manager explore the factory presets shipping in Moog One."

Moog One: System Architecture

Moog One: System Architecture - Part 1 Starts at 30:10

"This series of live streams features several Moog One engineers deep diving into the work flow of the Moog One.

Today we have Michael Ashton, Moog's Senior Firmware Engineer who is joined by Amos Gaynes, Moog's Product Design Engineer discussing the Moog One's System Architecture."

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Moog One Sound Designer, Live from the Moog Factory

Started streaming 25 minutes ago Moog Music Inc "Live from the Moog Factory"

Update: new session below. Skip to 25:30.

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Moog's First New Poly Synth Coming in August/September?

Update: some pis of the PCB and patent here.

First a quick note on leaks: I don't enjoy posting them as I admit they make me feel a bit shady. Manufacturers work hard to make sure a product release goes smoothly. Leaks throw a wrench in that. On the other hand I feel obligated to you my readers. If the news is out there, I feel like it is my job to post it and let you all know. My policy on the site has always been not to leak unless the info is already out there and already leaked. Once it is, it's just a matter of time before all sites pick it up. That said, manufacturers need to do a better job at not leaking info out there. All info ultimately comes from the source. I sometimes wonder if manufacturers actually allow carefully placed leaks to get out. Who knows...

Second: This is still in the rumor stage. Read below and decide for yourself.

So... remember that rumor about a new poly Moog coming to Moogfest?

It might actually be real. Not the render, but a new poly from Moog. Rumor is it will be the "Moog One", currently trademarked by Moog. Note August/September would correspond with a Knobcon release. Update: Soviet Space Child mentioned, "Summer NAMM starts this week, maybe the reveal was scheduled for later in the week? That would make more sense for a potential August release." That is a good point. You rarely see major synth product announcements during Summer NAMM, but that would make for a surprise with little competition to steal the limelight. It would also be a little closer to Moogfest, which would explain the previous rumor. Often product announcements get pushed out, as you know.

The synth could be based on the tech presented here: Geert Bevin, Amos Gaynes - Designing and Implementing Embedded Synthesizer UIs.

Details follow, spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child. I will admit I sat on it for a bit as the original source post was pulled, however, it went up elsewhere, so here it goes:

[Disclaimer: the following seems a bit shady to me. Why would this guy post it w/o mentioning the dealer? How could any dealer think it's OK to announce it w/o Moog announcing it first?]

"Ok this is copied directly from my personal email from my rep who is a senior rep, and personal friend of mine:

Oh, it's cooler than that! So glad I can actually spill some details for you now.

It's polyphonic, and comes in 8- and 16-voice versions. (Moog has not only set us up as the earliest dealer with stock (around mid-August), but we'll have an exclusive until they launch with other retailers in September. And they've also promised us a number of low-serial-number units (2-10) on each unit, though this does run an extra $500 (and also gets you a letter from Mike Adams, and a signed photo by the techs who built it). Sounds incredible, and check this out!

• 3 VCOs per voice
• 3 part multitimbral - 3 synths in 1
• Knob per function
• 4 LFOs per synth with easily assignable modulation
• Arp and sequencer (per synth)
• Clock sync
• Assignable CV ins and outs
• Lots of i/o for routing synths and effects
• Eventide reverbs built in
• Unrestricted number of presets

Oscillators
create complex waveforms

Noise
• Dedicated envelope for transient shaping

Filter
• Stave variable filter AND Moog Ladder Filter
• HP, LP, BP or notch
• link filters together for ganged sweeps
• assign sources to SVF ladder or both in the mixer

Envelope
• 3 envelopes (amp, filter, and assignable)
• easily assignable mod matrix

Sequencer and Arp

Effects
• True bypass effects
• effects per synth and a master effects bus
• 2 assignable macro controls - customizable per patch
• Vocoder
Modulation
• Easily repeatable mod mattrix routings
• 4 LFOs - 1 button destination routing
• Fine tune and ccreate complex modulation via transforms
• Easy assign performance controllers
• XY pad for expressive control

Not too shabby, eh? Admittedly, I'm always pretty impressed when Moog comes by, but this was probably the biggest shock I've ever had at seeing their products early under an NDA…and the toughest to keep private until we could talk about them! I figured you'd appreciate knowing about it as much as anyone, since you've been involved in MI retail for so long, and have probably seen most things under the sun to date.

Still not sure when we'll have it up on the website, but we are taking orders, if you're interested. 8-voice version is $5999.00, and the 16-voice version is $7999.00. I've got a little wiggle room for you, but a bit less than usual…they really don't want us deep-discounting these due to anticipated demand, obviously.

Whew…glad I could finally talk about this!"

New Moog Synth - Geert Bevin, Amos Gaynes - Designing and Implementing Embedded Synthesizer UIs

Geert Bevin, Amos Gaynes - Designing and Implementing Embedded Synthesizer UIs with JUC Published on Nov 22, 2017

This one was spotted and sent in via Soviet Space Child.

A new product they can't go into is mentioned. Further below is a video by Geert Bevin featuring JUCE GUI on Linux running on a Raspberry Pi. Although Moog is known for their analog synths, they of course have already delved into digital synthesis via their acclaimed iOS apps and the Theremini. It will be interesting to see what they introduce at NAMM next year.

"Designing and implementing embedded synthesizer UIs with JUCE

Geert Bevin, Senior Software Engineer, Moog Music
Amos Gaynes, Product Design Engineer, Moog Music

JUCE has become an ideal platform to develop embedded UI applications. Moog engineering discusses C++ JUCE front-end application design on top of streamlined Linux distributions. This talk focuses on practical solutions with code examples, including: maintainable user-interface and user-experience design, code and application architecture, unit and functional testing, efficient message handling and dispatch, domain-specific interfaces, APIs promoting consistency and correctness, patch storage and retrieval, and application-specific scripting.

Presented at ADC 2017, Code Node, London."


Raspberry PI 3 super small and fast custom Linux distribution for Audio and MIDI Published on Aug 11, 2017 Geert Bevin

"Been working on an embedded Raspberry PI 3 project with audio/MIDI.

It is available as open source from here:
https://github.com/gbevin/erpiam

First steps were getting the smallest possible Linux distribution working with full LCD, mouse, keyboard, audio and MIDI support ... and running one full-blown JUCE GUI application. It boots up in just a couple of seconds with a customizable boot screen, pretty neat I think!"

Moogfest 2017 :. Live Streams

Moog Pop-up Factory :. live


"Enjoy the Moog Pop-up Factory" [posted earlier here]

Various feeds of Moogfest live. Be sure to check each.

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MOOGFEST 2017 UNVEILS FULL SCHEDULE OF 100 WORKSHOPS & MASTERCLASSES

via Moogfest

"- Moogfest attendees engage in an ecosystem of ideas, experiments, and specialized skills

Durham, North Carolina (April 5, 2017) – Today Moogfest unveils the full schedule for the expansive four-day festival. Exploring the future of technology, art, and music, the festival includes more than 300 musical performances, daytime workshops, conversations, masterclasses, film screenings, live scores, durational sound installations, and interactive art experiences.

The full schedule can be found online at http://moogfest2017.sched.com

*Please note, the full schedule can be viewed on Sched; however, registration and adding sessions to your personal schedule won't be available until sign-up opens Friday, April 7, at 12:00 noon ET for Engineer ticket holders; Tuesday, April 11, at 12:00 noon ET for VIP ticket holders; and Tuesday, April 18, at 12:00 noon ET for all ticket holders.

Moogfest celebrates the legacy of Bob Moog, a visionary engineer who pioneered the analog synthesizer and other technology tools used by artists like Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, and Kraftwerk. This year’s program will feature over 260 innovators in music, art, and technology -- from Flying Lotus, Animal Collective, Suzanne Ciani, Gotye and Princess Nokia to Dr. Kate Shaw, an experimental particle physicist working on the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and Joe Davis, a pioneer in creating art with genes and bacteria at MIT Media Lab. Moogfest takes place in Durham, North Carolina, a fast-growing capital of technology, culture and entrepreneurship.

Happening Thursday, May 18 - Sunday, May 21, with hundreds of artists, speakers, and sessions across downtown Durham, Moogfest contains a vast galaxy of discovery. Workshops are an essential part of the Moogfest program, as the platform prioritizes intimate spaces for collaboration and creativity. In these open learning environments, participants interact with technology tools that allow humans to creatively express themselves in new ways, so that we can design the future we want to see and hear.

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Knobcon 2016 Details are In

"Knobcon, the world's only synthesizer convention, returns to the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg near Chicago IL USA for the fifth happening of this immersive event featuring over 60 exhibitors, live performances and workshops!

Knobcon:
Jack to the Future Part V
$35 Entry Fee for ALL 3 DAYS!
Optional Knobcon Banquet only $50

It all begins with an opening reception on Friday, September 9 with live performances by Allerian, Entanglement, Studio Dummies, and Suit & Tie Guy. Attendees of the reception will also enjoy specially priced drinks featuring whiskey from Balcones Distilling.

Multiple exhibit halls open to the public at 10AM Saturday and Sunday and are filled to capacity with large manufacturers such as Roland, Korg, Yamaha, and Moog, the finest boutique modular and pedal companies, and even some "classic cars" that collectors bring to display. Behringer’s new analog polysynth DeepMind12 will be making its North American debut at the event. Also appearing will be the new Minimoog Model D from Moog, and Arturia's Matrixbrute. See the latest releases and even purchase gear at special Knobcon pricing throughout the weekend!

Workshops scheduled on Saturday and Sunday, Sept 10-11. See the Knobcon website (www.knobcon.com) for complete descriptions and times.
• Syntheizer Basics and Synthesizer Myths presented by Marc Doty
• History and Theory of Additive Synthesis presented by Jon Sonnenberg
• Birth of the Prophet VS presented by Chris Meyer
• Tomita: A Voyage Through His Greatest Techniques presented by Nicholas D. Kent
• Experimental Music: Composition with an Arduino MIDI Controller presented by Elliott Inman
• MIDI: What’s it All About? presented by Amos Gaynes
• BeatPPL - Live Podcast Recording
• SynthSummitShow - Live Podcast Recording
• Learn to solder SMT with synthCube building a Buffered Mult and Cable Tester Module
• Build an AstroNoise Euro Module or Standalone Circuit with Synthrotek
• Build a Dual Passive Low Pass Gate Euro Module with Modular Addict

Saturday evening features multiple events including the annual Knobcon Banquet with a keynote address by guest of honor, Bill Hemsath. Enjoy cocktail music by the Knobcon Supper Club All-Stars, a classic organ, guitar, and drums trio.

Bill Hemsath, RA Moog's Chief Engineer from 1969 to 1971, gave us three fantastic things we all treasure to this day. He developed the first CV joystick, which then became pitch and mod wheels. He also had the bright idea to wire some modules together in a box with a keyboard, and the Minimoog was born.

The entertainment continues Saturday night with multiple live music events. The Knobcon Big Room - a house and techno party with projections by Lorenzo Vektor and Dennis Stein. Big Room performers include Glacial 23, Introvert, Low-Gain, Komprezzor and Oliver Dodd. If that's not your thing, head over to the International Players Club - a live music and jam session with The SynthFreq & Friends.

Knobcon ends on Sunday, September 11 at 5pm.

Full event details can be found at www.knobcon.com

EXHIBITORS
2hp, 4ms Company, Amplified Parts, Analogue Solutions, Antimatter Audio, Art For The Ears, Artisan Electronic Instruments, Arturia, Audient, Behringer, Believotron, Black Market Modular, Blue Lantern Modules, Casio, Detachment 3, Detroit Modular, Division 6, Dreadbox, EarthQuaker Devices, Elite Modular, Erogenous Tones, Evaton Technologies, EVE Audio, Future Retro, Foxtone Music, Grove Audio, Hexinverter Électronique, Industrial Music Electronics, Kilpatrick Audio, Korg, KVgear, Malekko Heavy Industry, Metalphoto of Cincinnati, Modal Electronics, Mode Machines, Moog Music, Moon Modular, Modular Addict, Nerd Audio, Noisebug, Novation, Old Crow, Percussa, Perfect Circuit Audio, Plastiq Musiq, Qu-Bit, Reverb, Roland, Sleepery Supply, STG Soundlabs, Syinsi, synthCube, Synth City, Synthrotek, Synthesis Technology, Tsyklon Labs, Verbos Electronics, WMD, Yamaha, Zetaohm, Żłob Modular, Z. Vex Effects"

MOOGFEST 2016 Lineup & Details Announced

Moogfest 2016 Talent Announcement with Reggie Watts

Published on Dec 8, 2015 Moogfest

"Headlining performances include Gary Numan playing a three night residency of his trailblazing early albums, a two-night residency by GZA, ODESZA, Laurie Anderson, Oneohtrix Point Never, Suzanne Ciani, Blood Orange, and Sun Ra Arkestra; with keynote presentations by transhumanist activist and pharma tycoon Dr. Martine Rothblatt, and computer scientist Jaron Lanier, a pioneer in the field of virtual reality.

More than one hundred other acts are already confirmed to perform, while the conference program continues to develop in partnership with a range of esteemed universities, innovative businesses, and art/technology organizations. Program partners include MIT Media Lab, Google, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, The New Museum’s New Inc., IDEO, Gray Area, and the EyeO Festival.

For the first time ever, Moogfest will take place in Durham, NC. Moogfest activates seventeen venues, throughout the walkable downtown core, from intimate galleries to grand theatres, including a free outdoor stage with participatory, all-ages programming. Durham promises to be an ideal setting for Moogfest: a city uniquely blending diversity, authenticity, world class innovation, and culture, with a long history of great music.

Program highlights:
Pioneers in Electronic Music
Electronic music pioneer Gary Numan will perform his first three albums (Replicas, The Pleasure Principle, and Telekon) over three consecutive nights in three different venues. Musical experimentalist Laurie Anderson weaves stories and song in her solo performance, “The Language of the Future” and then returns to the stage the next day to hosts a daytime conversation.

Future Pop
Headlining talent also charts a zig-zagging course across today’s synthesizer infused pop landscape, from the vibrant electronic duo ODESZA, to the future soul of Blood Orange (playing in North Carolina for the first time), a return of utopian rockers YACHT, and even the comic stylings of Reggie Watts.

Experimentalists
Immersive noise and minimalist sonic-scapes from some of today’s most progressive experimental artists, including sunn O))), Ben Frost, Tim Hecker, Silver Apples, Oneohtrix Point Never, Quintron & Miss Pussycat, Olivia Block, Alessandro Cortini, and Lotic.

Ambient Music Innovators
A rich program of sustained tones and cascading moods led by Daniel Lanois, Brian Eno’s prolific Grammy winning protege, Suzanne Ciani, and the UK’s originators of ambient house The Orb.

Hip-Hop
GZA leads Moogfest’s strongest ever hip-hop and rap lineup, supported by a roster of emerging talent including Lunice, Tory Lanez, Denzel Curry, Dr. Dre protege King Mez, and Well$.

The Future of Creativity
Futurist philosophers set the tone for a mind-expanding conference. Keynotes by Dr. Martine Rothblatt, author, entrepreneur, transhumanist, inventor of satellite radio, and Jaron Lanier, a computer scientist and composer who has pioneered the field of virtual reality. Other visionaries include sound explorer Onyx Ashanti and his 'exo-voice' sonic prosthesis, Tod Machover from MIT Media LAB presenting his work in HyperInstruments, and Gil Weinberg and The Robotic Musicianship Group at Georgia Tech performing with Shimon, an improvising robotic marimba player that uses artificial intelligence.

Orchestral Ensembles
The intergalactic voyagers of Sun Ra Arkestra channel the cosmic philosopher himself. Arthur Russell’s Instrumentals ensemble, making their US debut. Floating Points’ live project veers fluidly from warm electronic to jazz to sonic space rhythms.

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Moog Sub37 New Firmware 1.1 Demo

Published on Jan 28, 2015 SourceDistributionTV

"Amos Gaynes from Moog Music Inc gives us a sneak peek at the upcoming new Moog Sub 37 Firmware update 1.1 which will add a host of new features to this already incredibly flexible and fantastic sounding analogue synth. Best of all, the update will be completely free to existing users."

NAMM 2015: Moog Sub 37 Firmware Update

Published on Jan 22, 2015 sonicstate

"Amos Gaynes takes us through the new features"

Moog Little Phatty MATRIXSYNTH Patch

via CustomSynth on Facebook

The patch is real and actually came with the Little Phatty.  See this post for details.  It was a tribute from Amos Gaynes of Moog Music.  There's also a Suit & Tie Guy patch.  Note my patch was originally preset 95 on Amos' Little Phatty, but ended in slot 70.  Pretty cool.

Note the silver on black reverse keys.

Talking Moog Sub 37 Analogue Synthesizer with Amos from Moog

Published on Jan 29, 2014 SourceDistributionTV·77 videos

"Source chats to Moog's Amos Gaynes on the inspiration behind the new Sub 37 synthesizer, differences with the existing Sub Phatty, and what Amos himself is most looking forward to exploring on the Sub 37."

Moog Sub-37 analog synth at NAMM 2014

Published on Jan 29, 2014 keyboardmag1·381 videos

"Moog Music's Amos Gaynes gives us a panel tour of the new Sub-37 duophonic synth."

Nova Musik - Moog Sub 37 overview with Amos Gaynes at NAMM 2014

Published on Jan 24, 2014 Nova Musik·90 videos

"Moog product design specialist Amos Gaynes walks through the features of Moog's new Sub 37 analog synthesizer. If you thought it was just a Sub Phatty with 12 extra keys, think again!"