Tiptop Buchla Performance

video upload by Todd Barton

"My performance for the Modular World Tiptop Buchla Spotlight this past Sunday. [video below]

One of many amazing performances featuring the range of Tiptop Buchla modules. This performance features all the currently available modules including the external preamp input of the 207t mixer with my shakuhachi. Enjoy!

My Patreon: / synthtodd"

Ep43 - Spotlight: TIPTOP/BUCHLA

video upload by Modular World

"BUCHLA FOR THE PEOPLE!
Gur Milstein (TipTop), is working with Buchla under the consultation of Todd Barton to reissue the legendary 200 system from the early 70's. The best part--the modules are affordable.
I know Don Buchla would be very proud to see the kind of legacy that he has left behind if it means that more people could afford to touch his creations.

Modular World will always stand with stories about people, and the passions that push them to stand out. Gur Milstein (TipTop) told me that working with Don's old schematics to recreate these designs has been the greatest honor of his professional life. Yes.

Grab your popcorn and have a seat. With 18 performances and two amazing interviews, this is going to be good."

CLICK FOR MORE »

LYRA-8 // Tutorial for Calm Ambient Tracks

video upload by Dexba

"Many of you asked for it, and finally, here it is!
At first, I wasn't sure about what to put inside a basic tutorial like this, but then I realized it was more about the APPROACH, rather than the technical side, a little bit like nobody watch Bob Ross strictly because of his painting skill.
I had so much fun doing that, and I can't wait to make more, and... get better at it!
Hope you'll enjoy it and find it useful enough 🧡"

LYRA-8 // it's not the destination, it's the journey

video upload by Dexba

"This is the jam I ended up with, following the process I described in the previous video.
This time we're taking it slower, calmer, less creepy, and I felt like that was the case, especially during these challenging times.
Enjoy ✨"

Korg OpSix // Emotional Soundtrack

video upload by Dexba

"Who would have thought?
The more I used the OpSix, the more I started to like it. And this is my own patch I called DEXBA.
Super simple, but it has all what I need: hands-on controls via the drawbars over subtle modulation, the right FX, and the right filters.
FM is always seen as complex, but we don't always have to go to the extreme crazy territories, and we can also stay away from bell sounds and still use some F modulation here and there :)
Since I sold the OB6, and sold the Matriarch, I was missing some pad synth I could just make love with, and I found a little, very little, substitute in this OpSix on loan.
Unfortunately, I am at a point in life where I can't spend what would be needed for some of the big names, but I had my emotional moment with this one, and I am grateful for that.
Enjoy ✨"

Meng Qi Wing Pinger & Chase Bliss Mood mk2 // Meditation through pings, an intimate process

video upload by Dexba

"Playing with the Wing Pinger by @MengQiMusic is a meditative practice. 🪷
While it looks simple (and beautiful) on the outside, the balance required to achieve something to be proud of is considerable.
That’s the reason why, even though I play frequently with this instrument, I rarely record with it, because it feels like being naked and vulnerable.
The right output (the lower note) is going back into the left input, in order to get a mono output that can go into the Mood mk2, since the pedal didn't handle well the double mono nature of the Wing Pinger.
I hope you'll enjoy the meditative nature of this video with me!"

SERGE INORI // Saigon 1975

video upload by Dexba

"50 years since the end of the war that showed the world how foolish wars are.

It's not a regional thing, it's not a sporadic thing: it's the core nature of war, that, finally, people were able to see towards the end of the Vietnam War.

When the plot gets so lost nobody even knows where they are going, who they are really fighting, what and why they are fighting, the blind brutality of the conflict becomes finally clear: the war for the war's sake.

This piece is an expressionist recording of the overstimulating nature of an armed conflict – there are helicopters, indistinctly passing by and falling, monkeys (who maybe were once humans?) screaming from the jungle, there is warfare, and it's relentless.

A quick note on the instrument: without my SERGE system, I would have never recorded this piece. It's hard to state if it came first the egg of wanting to record this genre of music or the chicken of my 4U modular, but the only unequivocal is that, to me, Serge means first and foremost an artistic legacy, and without even naming names, I always felt the pressure to make my time spent with the instrument worth a bit more than the quick enjoyment of some electronic strumming.

The freedom of the highest latitude of exploration possible with a SERGE instrument is what made it possible, having the confidence that my creativity, and my skills, were the only limiting factors in the equation, and I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do this and share it with all of you."

Make Noise 0-Coast // First Ambient Approach

video upload by Dexba

"Almost 5 years after my first Make Noise 0-Coast, I got one again.

I don't even know why: I am slowly moving back to eurorack, but the 0-Coast is only marginally modular or rackable, so yeah, I got just struck by a lightning of GAS.

Anyway, this is my little welcome jam.

I only had three cables, the bare minimum for sequencing, and I decided to expand the sound with the help of the Hologram Microcosm.

I've heard a lot of experimental, noise, and harsh-sounding demos on YouTube, so let's see how it will work with something more gentle."

Elektron Digitakt // Sampling a Buddhist Vietnamese Mantra

video upload by Dexba

"I haven't had that much fun making a beat in ages!
When I heard these little boxes playing in small shrines inside houses, I knew I had to buy one.
It took me a while to get a model featuring both a high number of chants to choose from and an output jack, but here we are, and I couldn't have been happier with the result.
The ABSURDLY lo-fi quality of the recordings adds a lot of character, and when I got it I was afraid the bad sound was only due to the onboard awful speaker; turned out the bad quality was from the recording itself, so... win?
First quick video here, but I will be using it a lot more in the future, and I'm trying to find creative ways for ambient music too :)
Hope you'll enjoy ✨"

Instruō Lúbadh & Cš-L // Tape Looper as a Glitch Ambient Machine

video upload by Dexba

"This video follows the live stream from two days ago!
A single voice from the Instruo Cs-L is being fed four different sequences coming from the TipTop Buchla 245t, passing through the two mixers of the 257t, being once again mixed into the Instruo [1]f before entering the Instruo Harmonàig. A touch of reverb coming from the Strymon Starlab, and the recording stereo into the Lubadh, using both the decks.
Tape emulation is cranked up, as the input volume, to get all the tape flavour even while passing through, and after a good amount of recording, you will hear the modulations ready to mangle the tape, overlaying some glitchy madness to the otherwise relatively calm background.
I hope you'll enjoy it! 🧡"

Elektron Digitone + CXM1978 // Feedback Waves

video upload by Dexba

"Just having fun here!
Two arpeggiators (T1 and T2) with different length arpeggios, modulation going into the CXM1978 via midi for some 'hardware' warbling effect, and T3 (with that swooshing noise coming in) is played by me in real-time, jumping from tonality to tonality because I like to make my own life pretty hard when it comes to musical boundaries. Nothing to learn this time, so I really hope you'll enjoy spending some musical time with me 💝"

SOMA LYRA-8 + Guitar + Strymon Iridium // The Foot Strikes Back

video by Dexba

"The idea was too good to be left as one performance, so now I am back, with a different (read: better) guitar, new pedals (like the lovely Strymon Iridium), and a bit of thought put into the video!
This time you will be hearing a distorted, compressed SOMA Lyra-8 going into a fake Marshall Plexi, provided by the Iridium, with some added love coming from Fender, both the guitar and the -evergrowing- array of pedals in front of me.
The result surprised me, putting me in territories soundtrack-like, with Doom being one of my favorites (the recent one, from Mick Gordon).
I am very satisfied with the result, and I will never stop encouraging you to play Lyra with all your body part (results may vary and the upload site may vary too) 😄
Enjoy!"

GRP A2 + OTO Bim & Bam // My new favorite MONO SYNTH

video upload by Dexba

"So I stumbled upon a GRP A2 the other day, and I already love it.

There is something cute in its 5U enclosure, like a baby modular, as the OTO are definitely cute with their boxy, a bit cryptic, design.

I wanted to record a jam that could highlight some of the most prominent features of both the synth and the pedals. We have an arpeggio, very classical, almost Bach-sounding, going into a classical delay and a short reverb, then we get to a lush, water-like, filter playing, supported by a long and frozen reverb and a way more strong, hazy delay. In the end, the jam gets modern, with no delay, a very short reverb, just to give more air, more space to a powerful jumping sequence with some gnarly filter action.

Both the GRP A2 and the OTO are a pleasure for the dawless jammer, with all you need in plain sight. The only thing missing is a proper sequencer (GRP sells one too, the R24, but it costs almost twice the A2 synth, so...), but I have my handy Synthstrom Deluge always ready for that! Enjoy ✨"

Sequential OB6 - Interstellar Theme & More

Dexba

"Since everything is just glorious with that synth, why not try to play something reminding of one of the most emotionally intense soundtracks out there, able to give the chills with just 3 or 4 notes?

Needless to say, the quality of the sound went beyond every expectation and a tear may or may have not have been spilled in the process of playing!

This is not a perfect recreation of Hans Zimmer's Interstellar soundtrack, but it has the vibe to it, and I thought it was worth sharing with you."

Sequential OB6 - That's just glorious!


"The title says all: from the sequence with Depeche Mode-kinda vibes to the lush chords that just scream greatness.

I mean, the view must have helped!

Deeply in love with the Dave Smith sound, the Sequential OB6 is, simply put, a modern classic.
Yes, I keep a Novation Peak for when I need more modulation or I want to explore wavetables, but the pure quality of the oscillators in this synthesizer is glorious.

Have a listen! Enjoy"

Sequential OB6 - Mære Sea


"Enjoy some waves dying on the shore.

What I really love about my OB6 is the ability to make everything incredibly musical, including the noise.

A glass of wine, a little bit of meditation after dinner, purification for the body and the soul!"

Sequential OB6 - First approach

DSI Sequential PRO3 // Everything in Its Right Place (Radiohead Improvisation)

Dexba

"Yeah, that's right: I am playing the PRO3 with TWO hands and it got dark while I was playing!

Last night I started fooling around, when, by mistake, I fell into Everything in its right place, by Radiohead, just the initial set of chords, and I got lost.

I kept going, exploring emotions, thank also to the modulated Super Plate reverb and the enormous joy I get from playing with more than 3 fingers on the keyboard at the same time, ignoring the maximum paraphony, only for the good of voices stealing themselves, as once also said Ricky Tinez when he bought his PRO3.

This Sequential PRO 3 goes deep, screams with the open filter, and is always, always, as no other instrument is: creamy.

Here we go, with this somehow classical-feeling improvisation over one -in my opinion- of the best songs in modern history.

Enjoy!"

Elektron Digitakt + Hologram Microcosm // Infinity Bells

video upload by Dexba

"Another soothing afternoon.
Digitakt is sequencing 7 bell tracks, each with a different track length and a per-track LFO randomizing the volume of the steps, in order to furtherly increase the slowly evolving feeling.
Track 1 is the only one with strings, meanwhile, the Microcosm is recording, then looping everything one octave down, while some parameters are sequenced by the Digitakt to increase the movement.
Hope you enjoy ✨"

Meng Qi Wingie 2 // Blippoo Box New Firmware Demo

video upload by Dexba

"What a fantastic addition!
As a beautiful homage to Rob Hordijk's legacy, Meng Qi has just released a new firmware, featuring a recreation of the Blippoo Box.
It sounds incredible, it will provide hours of sonic exploration in the ultra-compact, battery-powered Wingie form factor, what could we ask for more?
Can't wait to see what other firmware will come for the Wingie platform!!!
In this video, you will find a bit of a demo and a rough tutorial.
Hope you'll find it useful! 🧡"

TipTop Buchla 242t – Tonal Tutorial

video upload by Dexba

"The first thing I noticed about the 242t was the number of steps, and since 'pitch is a vibration, everything is rhythm', I decided to show you this side of the new module by Buchla.
More "traditional" showcases will surely follow, but here we go!"

ELTA SOLAR50 // Fifty Oscillators Cinematic Goodness

video by Dexba

Yellow model. Previous posts feature a white model.

"It's finally here! I wanted it since its announcement, especially given how much I love my SOMA Lyra-8 (as you could probably tell, looking at my past videos).
Solar50 is larger, lighter, thinner, has 6 times the osc, and even built-in fx!
Oh, and it is also yellow, if it wasn't cool enough with its light sensor made to look like HAL9000.
Anyway, it's here, and I definitely should make a comparison video, because almost anything of the Solar50 resembles the Lyra-8, apart from the touch surfaces (still, a different kind of ones).
This yellow beast is more resembling, to me, to an orgy of Sequential OB-6, with its brassiness and the 12dB Polivoks filter.
This was a first encounter, much more to come: I still have to receive all the other cartridges, I need to try it in stereo with some pedals, and a comparison with the Lyra-8 is almost mandatory!
Anyway, enjoy! ✨"

SOMA Lyra-8 + CXM1978 // Getting lost in the process

video upload by Dexba

"It is quite difficult to describe the relationship between me and the Lyra.
On paper, it does very little, or way too much, much of it is nasty sounding, dirty, unpolished, difficult to tune and keep in tune, interpret the Attack & Decay pattern.
But, without me even noticing it, I always end up with very intense, involved jams, lasting several minutes, and I need to trim them down to do the sensible thing for the youtube viewers (and still almost 9 minutes).
There is something (sigh, I have to admit it) very organic, organismic, about how the Lyra behaves and how it forces you to interact with it.
It's the fear of the unreplicability (is that a word?), it's the gritty nature of the oscillators, with their seemingly random palette of harmonics that will eventually get in the way of tuning and creating chord, I really don't know. But I wouldn't trade it for anything else. Sort of. Tempt me!
Oh, and yes, that's the insanely for-no-reason expensive reverb pedal, and I am torn between liking it a lot on the Lyra and missing some of sparkling (or muddier at the same time) vibe of a BigSky or a DBA Room.
I definitely need to try the Cosmos tho!
I had a nice video in the making, with a sort of a Lyra review/comparison with the Solar50, but then life changed rapidly and I had to ditch all of that.
Now I am waiting for an Ornament-8 to complete my set with the Lyra and Pulsar-23 too, and I hope I will be able to show you something before the end of the year 💝
In any case, enjoy ✨"

DSI Sequential PRO 3 // Does it sound digital?

Dexba

The Pro 3 has a digital wavetable oscillator along with two analog oscillators, all run through an analog filter. You can find specs on the Pro 3 here.

"I know sparse viewers won't care about that, but I am feeling really bad about not having the space to play more than one instrument at a given time; yes, that's the reason why I only make videos of one instrument per-video and there are moments, like, throughout all this video, I would have wanted to play something to go with this line.

I ended up playing with the lovely distortions offered by the PRO 3 and the nice-sounding BBD Delay.

I am still not convinced by the Super Plate reverb, I would like to hear something deeper, fatter, lush, something like the one onboard of the Novation Peak (maybe the feature of it I like the most)."

Sequential OB6 // I am IN LOVE with this CINEMATIC SOUND

video upload by Dexba

"What else can I say?
You turn it on, you get the new score for Interstellar 2 right away, you can inbox it to Hans Zimmer and save him some work.
A touch of chorus, a pinch of phaser, and some little chords that have been stuck in my head in the past weeks.
No copyright, you can grab it and use it in your cinematic edits, if you want!"