RedSound Darkstar XP2 SN 00813

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"Revamped version of the Dark Star MK1 - MK1 vs XP2 differences: XP2 features 1/4" instead of RCA outputs, 1/4" stereo headphone output, chorus, and special SINEWAVE mode (for OSC2).

British company Red Sound System's first synth, the DarkStar is a table-top 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer suitable for anybody who wants affordable analog sounds for use in most any style of electronic music. Analog sounds are created by DSP-based analog modeling which means you'll get reliable and clean analog-type synth sounds in an economical and professional instrument. The DarkStar features 2 oscillators per voice, 5-part multitimbral set-up, joystick mixing for oscillators, ring modulation, filter resonance and pink/white/blue noise generators.

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Virus TI Darkstar / Depeche Mode Wallpaper

"Recklinghausen, Germany. Access Music, the company behind the award winning Virus synthesizers offers the Virus TI Darkstar again. The Darkstar has the same appearance and features like the Virus TI Polar but comes in a gun metal colored housing with red LEDs and logo light. Designed for both live players and studio musicians, the Darkstar is build like a tank and features a 37-keys action keyboard with aftertouch. Connected via USB to a computer, it seamlessly integrates into many modern DAWs using a VST/AU/RTAS compatible plug-in.

The Virus TI Darkstar is available now and can be ordered through Access' worldwide dealer network or from their online store. Mode details can be found here: www.virus.info/darkstar

To celebrate the Virus TI, Access releases a rare picture taken at the Berlin Olympia stadium right before Depeche Mode entered the stage. The wallpaper can be downloaded here: http://www.virus.info/dm"

RedSound Darkstar Demos & Review by Ostraka (John Keston)

Great demos.  Check out the full review on Audio Cookbook.  According to the review the DarkStar was the "Internet's most reviled synth".  I don't recall this, but then I didn't spend too much time in the forums after launching MATRIXSYNTH.  I have an XP2 myself and love it, although the interface does take a little getting used to.  It appears John Keston is pro Darkstar as well:

"For me the DarkStar fulfills a spectrum of features that I’ve been looking for in a desktop poly. It has a low profile so I can use it along side a collection of other devices while performing. It has eight voice polyphony allowing me to produce dense harmonies. It has a bloody joystick to control the filter and resonance! The joystick can also be configured to control ring modulation and oscillator mix. Many knobs make sculpting the sound in realtime possible. The LFOs have ramp, triangle, square, sine, pulse, sample & hold, and “random” waveforms. What random does is pretty remarkable. Similar to slew on the Novation Bass Station II, it interpolates or slides between random values instead of jumping to them like sample & hold does. This is especially nice for panning and one of the things that distinguishes the DarkStar from other VAs of the time."

Retrosonik DIY and Darkstar Mods

http://www.retrosonik.com

Darkstar Mods

"By adding two little transformers to the outputs of this device I have changed it from an amusing but thin & sterile sounding digital device into a Phat sounding analog style MONSTER!! The whole procedure only took about an hour to perform but the differance is profound! The highs are much smoother ;none of that digital edgyness & the lows are much fuller.The basses are just ....bassier!! All around the Darkstar just gets darker!

I did this Mod to the First Version of the Darkstar. The Latest version has more outputs so I do not know if there is sufficent room to install the transformers inside the unit, like I did on mine."
via Deviant Synth
KlangeMachen
"Klange Machen means Noise Machine(roughly) in German.This is a little noise making beastey based on the long extinct SN76477 chip. This chip can still be purchased from Unicorn Electronics ,for about twenty bucks each. The 'keyboard' is part of the etched PCBoard and you use a little probe to touch the keyboard to produce an obnoxious sound.The scale is in no way equally tempered but a lot of fun to play,nonetheless. It was built in a surplus CATV case & has a built in speaker and 1/4 inch audio out, as well."



"The Maelstrom is a theramin and Zoom FX processor that I built into an old bakelite radio,that I salvaged. It also sports a two tone paint job & a built in Plasma Ball for added personality.The audio out put from the theramin Passes through the Zoom 506 bass processor where up to 9 FXs can be stacked & saved into 64 unique presets.The presets can be advanced via a foot pedal that can be pluged into a jack on the Back panel or from buttons on the front of the unit. Built for Marty of the Swinging Love Hammers."

Minimal System Instruments - DarkStar VST Synth - Plugin Features Overview

YouTube Published on Jul 5, 2012 by loopmasters

"http://www.looptv.net/ ‪bring ‬this video guide from Loopmasters producer Andre Touhey as he explores the DarkStar Synth VST Plug-in from Minimal System Instruments (MSI).

DarkStar is a monster analogue modelled synth. With its 4 oscillators you can easily create the sounds you need.

In this video Andre gives us an overview of the DarkStar synth's main features, with a examples of the synth at work in a track. For more information on the Minimal System Instruments Line synth and purchase - please visit the http://www.PluginBoutique.com store.

Enjoy!"

Red Sound Darkstar XP2 Analog Modeling Synthesizer

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SN 00976

"The Darkstar is an 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer that uses Physical Modeling via powerful DSPs (Digital Signal Processors) to recreate the warmth and control of the synthesizers of yesteryear without the problems of unstable tuning and unrepeatable sounds, and with modern benefits like realtime control and multitimbral access.

The DARKSTAR XP2 features all the highlights of the analogue tradition such as Pulse Width Modulation, Ring Mod, Resonant Filtering and ADSR Enveloping, combined with all the advantages of modern MIDI instruments like rock-solid tuning, perfect program recall, velocity response and 5 different timbres simultaneously available.

So whether your aim is to recreate 'classic' timbres like 70's Disco Bassline / Screaming PWM Lead, chart new sonic territory with realtime joystick manipulation of filter frequency and resonance, or even combine both approaches in the same MIDI sequence, DARKSTAR XP2 is the perfect tool for you."

Red Sound DarkStar XP2 Digital Analog Synthesizer

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"Red Sound DarkStar XP2 Digital Analog Synthesizer
Serial Number: 00976

Red Sound says "The Analogue Synthesiser, mainstay of Seventies' and Eighties' music, is back, reinvented in a new, more reliable and flexible form. Physical modelling via powerful DSPs (Digital Signal Processors) allow all the warmth and control of the synthesizers of yesteryear without the problems of unstable tuning and unrepeatable sounds, and with modern benefits like realtime control and multitimbral access."

This Red Sound DarkStar XP2 Digital Analog Synthesizer has the following features:
Polyphony - 8 voices
Oscillators - 2 per voice (Osc 1: continuously variable between Sawtooth and square/pulse; OSC 2: Formant or pink / white / blue noise); hard sync-able
LFO - 2 with separate speed and delay controls (Ramp, Triangle, Square, Sine, Pulse, Sample & hold, Random waveforms); MIDI sync-able
Effects - Auto-Panning, Tremolo, Fixed frequency Ring Modulation, Portamento
Filter - 12dB/oct resonant with low-, high- and band-pass
Keyboard - None
Memory - 64 patches
Control - MIDI (5-parts)"

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Novamusik.com Access Virus TI Polar Darkstar Edition!

YouTube via Novamusik | January 27, 2011 |

"Access just released their Darkstar version of the TI Polar. This seemed like the perfect excuse to play with a Polar to Troy and I! -Brian"

Novamusik Darkstar Polar on eBay
http://novamusik.com/

Access Virus TI2 Darkstar with Custom Paint

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"This one-of-a-kind custom painted Access Virus TI2 Darkstar is like new in absolute mint condition. I bought it from a good friend who bought it new and had it painted at Custom Synth UK, and as you can see in the pictures, it features a sleek black paint with red LED lights and a red backlit screen. I used it very sparingly, as I ended up using my other gear much more at the Darkstar's expense. It's a shame to have it lying around practically untouched, so I decided it was time to sell it. It is in perfect condition in every way, and it looks and operates as though I just took it out of the box yesterday. All the original banks are still on it, and I have loaded some banks from the Virus A, B, and C onto it as well (but these can be removed or replaced whenever you please). The original owner covered park of the back with black electrical tape to cover the special edition name painted on by Custom Synth UK to give the back a completely black look, which I left on, but it comes right off if peeled."

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Best Ambient Synth Shootout #44: Red Sound Darkstar XP2 - Song 3

Published on Nov 11, 2017 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Red Sound Darkstar XP2. It's a table-top 8-voice polyphonic, 5-part multitimbral virtual analog synthesizer.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Darkstar XP2 - TC Electronic Mimiq - DigitTech Ventura Vibe - DigiTech Obscura - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. The used fx varied depending on the recorded track.

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

All parts here.

Red Sound Darkstar 8 Voice Virtual Analog Synth

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"Original owner, never left home. Works great, cool analog-style sounds. Lots of real-time control, including joystick! Software version 1.09. Comes with original power supply and manual.

The DarkStar is a table-top 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer suitable for anybody who wants analog sounds for use in most any style of electronic music. Analog sounds are created by DSP-based analog modeling which means you'll get reliable and clean analog-type synth sounds in a professional instrument. The DarkStar features 2 oscillators per voice, 5-part multitimbral set-up, joystick mixing for oscillators, ring modulation, filter resonance and pink/white/blue noise generators.

There are 14 knobs, all of which transmit MIDI data and provide instant hands-on access to the filters and envelopes. The two LFOs and two envelope generators provide plenty of modulation abilities for the oscillators, pulse-width and filter. The filter offers high-, low- and band-Pass filtering with a 12dB/oct slope. It is fairly flexible since both the cutoff and resonance can be modulated by either LFO and EG for a wide range of filter-sweeping effects."

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REDSOUND DARKSTAR SYNTH WITH VOCODA OPTION

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"The DARKSTAR is a virtual analog synth with lots of hands-on control. It's capable of dark/brooding pads, fat basses and screaming leads and a lot more. It's 5-part multi-timbral so quite complex sounds can be created. The assignable joystick is very useful for quickly exploring sound variations and its very easy to lose hours just noodling around with this synth. You can also put external sound sources through the filter/envelope sections of the synth using the external inputs.

The VOCODA option turns the DARKSTAR into a 11-band + vowels/noise vocoder with 8-step sequencer. The oscillators, envelopes, LFOs and controls of the synth are active while its a vocoder, and using the sequencer you can do a lot more creative stuff with this than with traditional vocoders. The joystick controls the level as you sweep the frequency spectrum.

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Best Ambient Synth Shootout #42: Red Sound Darkstar XP2 - Song 1

Published on Oct 31, 2017 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Red Sound Darkstar XP2. It's a table-top 8-voice polyphonic, 5-part multitimbral virtual analog synthesizer.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Darkstar XP2 - Sony DPS-V55M - DigiTech Obscura- DigiTech Polara. The used fx varied depending on the recorded track.

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Redsound Darkstar Synth XP2 Overview & Demos

Published on Mar 11, 2017 studentsmusic

Playlist:
Redsound Darkstar Synth XP2 - Part I: One more Intro
"There are many Darstar Demos on Youtube. Here´s my view and video, followed by a sequenced track in Part II to give you an impression if its worth the little money you pay on ebay and co.."

Redsound DarkstarXP2 - Part II: Sequenced Audiodemo
"Nice little sequenced Darkstar Tune (including Cubase 9, NI Massive and Reaktor Monarch) where you can see how to manage it in realtime and that is still a useful cheap hardware tool especially for synth beginners!"

Red Sound Systems DarkStar XP2 Demo

Published on Sep 23, 2013 Cassandra Moone·4 videos


via this auction

"Highlights from the studio test of our latest project: a Red Sound Systems DarkStar XP2 synth. This refurbishment included a full take down, clean, rebuild, and custom replacement red joystick (replacing a missing silver original control)

The DarkStar XP2 was produced in the early 2000s by UK-based Red Sound Systems. It offers a truly unique sound, and plays *very* well with external effects (hint, hint :)

The synthesizer being played in this video has been fully refurbished is currently listed for sale in our eBay store.

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Content copyright 2013 analoghardware. All rights reserved."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #43: Red Sound Darkstar XP2 - Song 2

Published on Nov 5, 2017 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the Red Sound Darkstar XP2. It's a table-top 8-voice polyphonic, 5-part multitimbral virtual analog synthesizer.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Darkstar XP2 - Sony DPS-V55M - DigiTech Obscura- DigiTech Polara. The used fx varied depending on the recorded track.

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Song 1 here.

Red Sound Darkstar XP2 with Original Box

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SN 00-20021200397

"The Red Sound Darkstar XP2 is an 8-voice polyphonic synthesiser with all the highlights of the analogue tradition, Pulse Width Modulation, Ring Mod, Resonant Filtering and ADSR Enveloping, combined with all the advantages of modern MIDI instruments like rock-solid tuning, perfect program recall, velocity response and 5 different timbres simultaneously available"

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Red Sound DarkStar synthesizer

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"This is a very early Red Sound DarkStar analogue modelling synth, made in England in 1999 - this one has a sub-250 serial number. It's a lovely synth capable of a great range of sounds: from the dark, heavy wobble basses so beloved of the dubstep crowd through to lush pads and everything in between. As well as being versatile it's very tweakable, in that almost all of important controls are accessible via knobs or the joystick - the latter being a really cool way of bringing movement into the sounds."

Red Sound Darkstar 8 Voice Synth Module w/ Vocoda

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"Offering a RedSound Darkstar 8 voice polyphonic synthesizer in original box with original packing. has manuals, power supply papers. Also has Vocoda accessory in separate tube with items as shown with 2 overlays for controls. Lights up and appears to work properly. Looks lightly used and well maintained. No evidence of use or wear. box intact..."

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Akai AX80 & Red Sound Darkstar XP2

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Note these are on Craigslist which I don't normally post, but I know the seller and he supports the site. :)

"$450 - Akai AX80 8 voice vintage analog synth in great working shape. This synth was babied after purchase in my non smoking studio and never played out. Fully functional with the following cosmetic issues:

Minor scuffs due to age and in the condition I purchased it in. There's one small cosmetic ding above the Hold button and LED as you can see - the button and LED work fine. Aside from this the membrane is pristine. Looks brand new. No depressions or cracks.

One key was cracked so I glued a small ram chip on it years ago as you can see. It is smooth, not rough to the touch, and feels fine. See Pics.

VCA 30 Velocity LED bar is out. This is purely cosmetic. The parameter works fine and you can see the values change on the red numerical display by the data knob. Only the EQ looking LED is out as you can see in the pics.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. This is a great sounding vintage 8 voice polyphonic analog synth and it is 100% sonically functional and solid. The AX80 uses the same CEM3372 Filter/Mix/VCA chips as on the Oberheim Matrix-12, Xpander, SCI Prophet-600 and T8. For a full list of what synths use the 3372 see here."

"$300 - RedSound DARKSTAR XP2 - Redsound's eight voice virtual analog desktop synth with a joystick. Like new."

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