Rare Latronic Notron MkII Midi Step Sequencer

via this auction

"Only about 150 Notrons were made, and production on them has been discontinued. So, already, it is a collectible instrument and will surely increase in value as time passes...

It does different reset points for each sequence, can output 4 different sequences, It does LFO shapes, wierd ass stuttering things, step length stuff, pitch bend and mod wheel macros, chords on steps, some time-stretching emulation sort of tricks, delays, strums and reversals. Some of the other neat stuff was being able to group changes across multiple steps, and all of it in real time. Pretty wild box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3zUoekEz6U [below]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FYryXXYSEw [below]

There is a better explanation in the SOS MK 1 review
the manual
mailing list

Total Weight = @9kg
UK bidders only - postage by ParcelForce Recorded Delivery will be @22 GBP"

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Latronic Notron plus Streichfett & Roland Jupiter 8

Published on Mar 22, 2015 oldgearguy

"Latronic Notron sequencer driving a Waldorf StreichFett. Mostly showing the Notron basics. I'll try to upload some more targeted videos of the Notron doing the special things that it can do."

Latronic Notron plus Roland Jupiter 8 (w. Encore MIDI)

Published on Mar 24, 2015

"I was going to create a more detailed video showing some of the advanced/less well known Notron features. So I hooked it up to the JP-8, created a simple patch and began recording. I never got around to the advanced features. I loved the tones so much I just mostly let it roll.

Slight apologies for the sudden filter jumps - I forgot that I had the LFO set to sawtooth instead of a smoother sine."

Sneak-Thief Notron and DIY Modular

Michel Morin (seak-thief / polygamy boys), sent in a couple of shots of his Latronic Notron and DIY modular. The following are his thoughts on the Notron.

"I bought the Notron new back in 1998 and manually upgraded it to the Mk2 ROM a year later. Cutting the rubber rim around the base was extremely difficult, not to mention carefully separating the two halves which were hot-glued together. I haven't replaced the rubber trim yet even though Latronic sent me a replacement piece along with the Mk2 ROM.

Notron's have generally had issues with static electricity and will sometimes reboot as a result. I think this might be solved if a proper star-grounding topology is used on the inside board along with a decent 5V DC power supply. I don't perform with it live anymore so fixing this is no longer a pressing issue for me.

I don't ever plan to sell my Notron, despite it currently being worth almost 3 times as much as I paid for it. Besides, how many sequencers do you know that can run at 1500bpm? When I first got it, I remember simultaneously crashing an SC-55, Juno 106, AN1x and TX81z due to some kind of insane midi stream that the Notron was spitting out. Most impressive!

What really stands out about this sequencer are the compelling ergonomics - it feels so damn good to use."

"p.s. It's crazy to think that I bought the Notron in 1998 for the equivalent of $950 USD and it's recently sold for over $3000 USD!"

DIY Modular from top to bottom:

1. 22-channel diy-passive mixer with FETBoy preamps
2. CGS + Oakley
3. Blacet
4 & 5. ASM-2 + Tonepad FX
6. Midibox CV + CGS
7. Henry/Stites + CGS + Papareil

Previous Notron posts

Two Latronic Notron Sites

Title link takes you to the TecnoMage Latronic Notron Site. Note this is the same host for LIFE. Just like the way that sounds. ; ) The Latronic Notron is a rare and somewhat exotic step sequencer. You can find an overview of the Notron on SOS.



The second site worth checking out is the synthservices page, which has manuals for download and upgrade information if you were lucky enough to score one of these before they disappeared.

Latronic Notron Mk1 MIDI Step Sequencer

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

via this auction

"Here is the INSANELY rare [gold color] Latronic Notron Mk1 MIDI Step Sequencer. This is a truly fantastic piece of equipment that holds a unique place in the serious electronic musician arsenal. Much more than a standard MIDI controller or software sequencer, this is a living instrument that can be found in the recordings and live set-ups of such luminaries as Bjork, The Orb, Goldie, Claude Young, Paula Temple, etc. It is a certified Techno, D&B, Electronica classic.

This is the original, ultra-rare version 1. There are only about 100 of these in existence, many in the hands of famous musicians. Despite being produced int he late 90's there are still unique features on this sequencer not found anywhere else (not even on the Genoqs Octopus or the Sequentix P3). My favorites are the cumulative transpose and supersteps."

"The Notron is a British-designed MIDI step sequencer used by Björk, Howie B etc. Produced in two models, the Mark 1 was available between 1996 and May 1998. The Mark 2 was a slim blue box produced until about 2001. About 100 Mark 1 units were sold and a similar number of Mark 2s. The Notron is no longer produced.
It was developed by Gerard Campbell and the software was written by Dave Spowage of Concourse Systems (UK). It was sold under the company name Latronic. In 1999 it won a Millennium Award from the Design Council and was exhibited at the Millennium Dome during 2000. For some time the Notron was on display in the London Science Museum.

In the words of Paul Nagle from his Sound On Sound (June 1997) review: 'Is it a hi-tech bathroom scale? Is it a 21st-century computer game? Is it Darth Vader's toilet seat? No, it's an innovative LED-laden MIDI step sequencer, with the power to wring new life from your old synths'."

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Human League's Latronic Notron MIDI Step Sequencer?

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

via this auction

"One of the rarest pieces of studio equipment ever made. Excellent condition and full working order.

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Rare Latronic Notron MK2 Midi Sequencer

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

via this auction

From Wikipedia:

"The Notron is a British-designed MIDI step sequencer used by Björk, Howie B etc. Produced in two models, the Mark 1 was available between 1996 and May 1998. The Mark 2 was a slim blue box produced until about 2001. About 100 Mark 1 units were sold and a similar number of Mark 2s. The Notron is no longer produced.

It was designed by and developed by Gerard Campbell and the software was written by Dave Spowage of Concourse Systems (UK). The original model bodywork was designed by Martyn Seiles. It was sold under the company name Latronic.

In 1999 it won a Millennium Award from the Design Council and was exhibited at the Millennium Dome during 2000. For some time the Notron was on display in the London Science Museum.

Only about 150 Notrons were made, and production on them has been discontinued. So, already, it is a collectible instrument and will surely increase in value as time passes...

It does different reset points for each sequence, can output 4 different sequences, It does LFO shapes, weird stuttering things, step length stuff, pitch bend and mod wheel macros, chords on steps, some time-stretching emulation sort of tricks, delays, strums and reversals. Some of the other neat stuff was being able to group changes across multiple steps, and all of it in real time. A very cool machine!"

Hurrah for Notron!

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Latronic Notron Step Sequencer

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

via this auction

"One of the rarest pieces of studio equipment ever made.

I bought this from The Human League in 1997. (my Dad designed their studio) Since then it has had about 5 hours use, spending most of its life stored in its original box.

So this is as close to a brand new Notron as you will ever find. As you can see from the photos apart from a couple of very minor surface marks it is like new both aesthetically and mechanically.

The unit was factory upgraded to version 1.3 and so has most of the cool features of the Mk2 blue version. So you get the iconic design of the original and the feature set of the Mk2.

From Wikipedia

'The Notron is a British-designed MIDI step sequencer used by Björk, Howie B etc. Produced in two models, the Mark 1 was available between 1996 and May 1998. The Mark 2 was a slim blue box produced until about 2001. About 100 Mark 1 units were sold and a similar number of Mark 2s. The Notron is no longer produced.

It was designed by and developed by Gerard Campbell and the software was written by Dave Spowage of Concourse Systems (UK). The original model bodywork was designed by Martyn Seiles. It was sold under the company name Latronic.

In 1999 it won a Millennium Award from the Design Council and was exhibited at the Millennium Dome during 2000. For some time the Notron was on display in the London Science Museum.

Only about 150 Notrons were made, and production on them has been discontinued. So, already, it is a collectible instrument and will surely increase in value as time passes...

It does different reset points for each sequence, can output 4 different sequences, It does LFO shapes, weird stuttering things, step length stuff, pitch bend and mod wheel macros, chords on steps, some time-stretching emulation sort of tricks, delays, strums and reversals. Some of the other neat stuff was being able to group changes across multiple steps, and all of it in real time. A very cool machine!'"

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Latronic Notron Mk1 version 2.0 (upgraded firmware)

This Notron is now up for auction.

"This is the original, ultra-rare version 1. There are only about 100 of these in existence, many in the hands of famous musicians. If you are looking at this auction you probably already know what this is!

Despite being produced int he late 90's there are still unique features on this sequencer not found anywhere else (not even on the Genoqs Octopus). My favorites are the cumulative transpose and supersteps.

from Sound on Sound:

"Its moulded plastic case has no fewer than 87 tri-colour LEDs, 10 stylish knobs, four equally stylish control wheels and 103 switches that rattle like marbles on a solitaire board. The Notron is a step-time MIDI sequencer with four rows of up to 16 steps. Each of these is capable of sending note information, MIDI controllers, chords and arpeggios on separate (or, indeed, the same) MIDI channels. Unlike older analogue sequencers, it doesn't have a separate pitch knob for each step; instead a switch toggles notes on or off.

Designed for lap-top operation, the Notron feels comfortable and is light enough (at 2.2kg) to leave propped against a convenient wall when not in use. Or to wear as an impressive codpiece, come to think of it. (Dimensions are approximately 14 inches by 18 inches by 2.5 inches high.) Let's complete the obligatory tour quickly so we can get to the interesting stuff: the Notron has a MIDI In and Out, two auxiliary inputs (for future developments such as controller devices) and an input for the external power supply. Construction is to a high standard, so there's no doubt that you're dealing with a serious piece of kit."
I bought this a few months ago from a guy in England (who was friends with David Spowage one of the creators) for research purposes only (I am an engineer and I am designing a sequencer). It has served it's function so now it is time to pass it on to someone who will get some use out of it! The original owner had this unit upgraded to the much improved version 2.0 software. Unfortunately to do this with the Mk1 (the enclosure is made from sealed plastic) they had to cut the edges of the Notron to open it up. This is the same way all Mk1's have been upgraded. The result is that there was a rubber edging glued on afterwards. It looks totally pro from the top but in the underside you can see he was a bit sloppy with the rubber cement. The upside is that the glue is easily scraped away (rubber) if you are neat freak. There is also a tiny 1" long hairline crack in the bottom right side (underneath), it is almost invisible but I feel it is important to disclose all details! Those are the downsides to the upgrade, the upside is that they replaced many switches and pots and the new firmware functions fantastically and includes many improved features detailed in the V 2.0 manual.

It is well used but everything functions perfectly. Included is the the old firmware rare, extra memory chip and extra switches. I also have a UK and US power supply and all the manuals.

See why Bjork, Howie B, Richie Hawtin, The Orb, Jeff Mills, The Advent, Claude Young, Girogio Moroder and many others love theirs."

Rare Latronic Notron Hardware Sequencer

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

via this auction

"Up for sale is a very rare Latronic Notron. It is the mk 1. The toilet seat version. This item came from the UK and comes with a UK power supply. You would need to use an adaptor/transformer for your country. The Notron works..."

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Latronic Notron controls TR808 and SH7

video upload by b3nsf

"The Latronic Notron is sequencing the Roland Tr-808 and the Roland Sh-7. The soundtrack is four tracks on the Notron, jamming out - no editting.. The video is not the actual sequence!!!!"

Latronic Notron

Title link takes you to shots via this auction.

Details:
"4 elements of 16 steps each. 4 wheels. 4 knobs for note length and 4 knobs for velocity. There's a transpose area, and some specialty sections for saving/loading and setting up various wheel functions. You can set each element to the same or to different MIDI channels. You can pretty much do everything without ever hitting the Stop button.

So why is the Notron better than the Zeit, P3, Octopus, etc? In my opinion, it has a great balance of hardware and functionality. There's just enough tools to completely mutilate your MIDI sequences and enough hardware control to give you awesome live capabilities. You don't spend time and lose focus by paging through menus on screen and the functions that are built in give you a lot of control over what's happening without getting you lost in the details. There's also simple dedicated controls that make a huge difference. These include dedicated Note length controls and the Sustain, Mute, and MIDI Kill buttons. In addition, the Notron handles MIDI slightly differently than most other boxes. The Notron spits out MIDI CC data inbetween steps. A lot of other hardware MIDI sequencers only send MIDI CC data at discrete intervals (ie - on each step). If you watch the Notron data, you'll see the CC data coming out between steps for smoother changes.

Other cool functions include Supersteps, Events (automated changes as if the wheel was manually moved each time), Scales, Sequence Shifts, BeatCreep (swing), and more. I used to have the manual on-line (before the latest ISP crash wiped out the site) and maybe you can still find a copy to look at somewhere."

Latronic Notron Mk2 Sequencer SN 2-000019

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

via this auction

"This box is remarkably inspirational and creative. It’s hard to say how, but the midi (I find, anyway) can be a dry, calculus-like thing to work with. The Notron takes it and makes it feel organic, exciting, evolving and new.

My favourite features include:

- The scale presets where you can impose a scale over the sequence you tapped in and it will play it in that scale. Very musical.

- The way the elements can be different lengths, rebound, skip, stutter, etc. leads to some crazy patterns.

- The way individual steps can become way more using the stutter and enveloping. Hard to explain but a brilliant feature, it’s great to write a drum line with melody like step shapes and then drop it into a drum track. It will surprise you every time!

Maybe other step sequencers do all that too, but they sure don’t do it in the same elegant and seriously intuitive way as the Notron 2. I beta tested the Genoqs Octopus and it was amazing in different ways, the huge matrix of switches was lovely, a real joy to use but somehow (for me) it lacked the “musicalness” of the notron.

It’s also beautiful to behold with its lovely shiny deep iridescent blue finish. The Notron is a truly inspirational piece of musical gear.

I know the whole “did you know Aphex Twin used this one time!” comparisons are a lame so I won’t do that. I do just want to say that Bjork helped make this box famous when her and Howie B picked a few up each. I heard Howie did a live show with just two of these and a linndrum or something. Nice. It’s magical on drums, all the single hit weirdness you can get going on is simply brilliant..."

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GF with the Latronic notron and DX100

video upload by b3nsf

"My girlfriend says these are her chords, so dont take em' ok? Playing with the Latronic Notron, Studio 440 and Yamaha DX100 ..."

Oberheim dpx-1, Latronic Notron, Mutable Midipal, jam out!

Published on Sep 14, 2014 Benjamin Hawkins

"Wine Country Productions Prophet-2000 'digital bass' disk on the Oberheim DPX-1, sequences generated on the Latronic Notron, Mutable Instruments Midipal processing notes.."

Rare Latronic Notron Version 2 For Sale

via this auction

"For sale is the legendary Latronic Notron hardware MIDI sequencer. These were made in very small quantities in England in the 90s. It was the secret weapon of many a techno producer. It is in great condition. It has the ground mod, so that the memory will not erase itself from static when you touch it."

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Latronic Notron Sequencer

click here for more shots of the Latronic Notron via Danjel.

Latronic Notron Mk2 Midi Sequencer

via this auction

"Only about 150 ever made, this UK-built sequencer is a work of art. Custom-machined metal knobs, gorgeous metallic blue paint job, and multi-colored LED’s that are a show unto themselves when this thing is fired up in a dark room. As opposed to its predecessor (the Mk1), the Mk2 has an all-metal housing and upgraded V2 software...

For the Notron backstory (Mk1), click here.

For the technical specs, click here.

For the Notron Mk2 manual PDF, click here."

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Latronic Notron Sequencer

via this auction. via Sascha of SubtleNoiseMaker. Note that this is his.

"Details:
* Parts -
- 4 step time sequencer "Elements" with 16 steps per element.
- Each element is completely independent but can interact with others when they share the same Midi Channel.

* Maximum data generated at any instant -

- Up to 4 Midi Channels with total of up to 24 Note On or Note Off messages plus up to 3 other Midi messages of Pitch Bend, Aftertouch or Controller; all user-definable for Channel / type.

* Effects (generated by Midi data) -

- Echo - up to 4 simultaneous different settings (Delay Time and Number of Repeats-user definable)
- Super Step Soundshapes ( user manipulates wave forms to control Pitch Bend, Aftertouch or Controller messages)
- Beatcreep adds "swing" to steps or whole Elements or both.
- Kill consecutives for special echo effects.
- Scale correction (45 available).
- Events (user "draws" own shape of effect on Note Numbers, Pitch Bend, Controller, Aftertouch, Sequence Skip or Sequence Pause.) Other Events can be Transpose, Chord or Strum up/down
- Midi Kill for "broken midi lead" effects.
- "Inverse" muting.
- Loop Point flipping with "Inverse".
- Copy and Paste element data.
- Creepmap & Velomap algorithms (approx: 29,000,000,000,000,000 per element)
- CreepMute /un-mute.
- Volume and Panning with "Inverse".
- Preset & Custom instant recall Controllers.
- Re-assign Controllers and or Aftertouch.
- ... All settings can be saved and retrieved as System Exclusive data.

* Internal Memory -
- Chords 16 (5 are pre-set) plus extra functions see Patterns...
- Patterns 16
- Setups 16
- Chained Patterns 16
- Scales 45
- Super Step Soundshapes 16

* Connectors -
- Midi Connectors (In and Out)

* Display -
- 87 triple colour LEDs

* Power Consumption -
- D.C. 5v up to 1 AMP

* Dimensions -
- Approximately 14 inches wide x 18 inches long x 2.5 inches high.

* Weight -
- 5kg

* Accessories -
- Instruction Manual
- Notron Power Supply
- Aluminium case

mehr info unter:
http://www.technomage.freeserve.co.uk/notron.htm"

Latronic Notron with highly liquid modded CS-01

YouTube via b3nsf | September 13, 2010

"I Midified my Yamaha CS-01 with the highly liquid kit, using a mini-disc case for the enclosure! I decide to let the notron test it out, because it has a cool sound for a midi sequencer, most don't sound cool, he he he! Enjoy!"


flickr By b3nnysf

(click for more)