Elby Designs + Paula Maddox MonoWave

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via this auction

Paula of course is the woman behind Modal Electronics, and previously, vacoloco.

"Old Nik says: "The MonoWave(X) is a early GEM from Paula Maddox... The unknown (to many) ancestor of the Modal Electronics 001/002! It's super! Think PPG Wave and Moog Model D had a baby, and that is the MonoWave(X)..."

Manufacturer Description:
The Monowave was the brainchild of UK electronics designer, Paula Maddox. Paula has been designing and building synths for many years as well as releasing her own unique music realized on her impressive modular creations.

Paula wanted to build a synth the roots of which lay in the PPG. Originally intended as a monophonic bass synth, the Monowave has uses beyond that.

The Monowave is a wavetable synthesiser with 256 waves available for each of the two oscillators. Each oscillator also has a sub-oscillator. The filter is a copy of the Moog filter, there are separate envelope generators for the filter and amplifier, and a simple LFO. The panel is very 'retro' and 'traditional' with knobs for every function and a simple display. Internally, the circuitry is all analogue (except for the digital circuitry used in the oscillators)... no wimpy DSP thank you very much - this is a 'real' synth!!

Paula has now released the MonoWave as GPL and has given me permission to release the PCB and a Component Kit for those that unfortunately missed the first, limited run.

The new MonoWave (X) is a rebuild of Paula's popular MonoWave I and is being re-released with her permission. The new design reduces the original multi-pcb design down to 2 pcbs.

In addition, the front panel design incorporates a 2x16 LCD Module (the original MonoWave only had a 1x16 Module) allowing software developers to extend the user-interface.

Technical Information:

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Vaco Loco MonoWave II

"The MonoWave II is a complete change for me in that it's a 100% DSP based synth. My reason for this is that it allows me to experiment with features and the sound of the synth without having to rebuild circuits from scratch.

The MonoWave II is a free download for anyone who uses the Sound Art Chameleon. It was designed with the same goals in mind as the original Monowave, a unique sounding monosynth with unique sonic abilities.

I'm new to DSP and this is my first project, so I've decided to make it a freebie. You can get the latest version, along with a patch dump, in the downloads section. You can also find the source code, including DSP assembly language, here. Please feel free to use it, but I would request that you keep a link to the modulus webpage and also SoundArt webpages in the files."

Samples here

You can find more info on the original MonoWave here. In short it was a mono synth with Moog style filters and the PPG waveshapes for the Oscillators.

As always see the labels below for what's gone up in the past.

Update via Qwave in the comments:
"I can clear up a thing, because I own three MonoWaves: it does not produce wavetables. But it contains all the waveshapes the PPG waves used to make up the wavetables by interpolation. So it does sound like a PPG from the oscillator side. But the filter is a pure and legal (written permission by Bob Moog!) Moog filter.
http://www.till-kopper.de/monowave.html
Scroll down for the english (sort of) version.
Here is my MonoWave rack:
http://www.till-kopper.de/monowave-rack-small.jpg

keep on turning these knobs"

Till"

Update via Lord Avon in the comments:
"It's worth noting that you can control the wavenumbers via MIDI CC, so if you sequence it you can get psuedo wavetable effects, like this demo from Paul Nagle ;-
http://www.vacoloco.net/synths/monowave/sounds/MonoWaving_Seq.mp3"

Modulus Electronics Monowave

Another rarity in the synth world; only 25 made. The Monowave contains 256 waveforms including 127 from the classic PPG Wave range of synths. It's filter, envelopes and VCA are analog. Click through title link for more including tons of samples. The Monowave was created by Paul Maddox. Make sure to check out his Monowave II for the Sound Art Chameleon, his Modular work, and joint products.



Update: Or you could always build your own. : )

Update via Paul Maddox in the comments:
"New URL for my synth projects -
Http://www.vacoloco.net/synths/

For the 'kit' -
http://www.elby-designs.com/monowave/monowave-about.htm"

Modulus Electronics Monowave

via this auction

Via the official MonoWave site:

"The Monowave was the brainchild of UK electronics designer, Paul Maddox. Paul has been designing and building synths for years as well as releasing his own unique music realised on his impressive modular creations. Paul wanted to build a synth the roots of which lay in the PPG. Originally intended as a monophonic bass synth, the Monowave has uses beyond that. The Monowave is a wavetable synthesiser with 256 waves available for each of the two oscillators. Each oscillator also has a sub-oscillator. The filter is a copy of the Moog filter, there are separate envelope generators for the filter and amplifier, and a simple LFO. The panel is very 'retro' and 'traditional' with knobs for every function and a simple display. Internally, the circuitry is all analogue (except for the digital circuitry used in the oscillators)... no wimpy DSP thank you very much - this is a 'real' synth!!

Paul has now released the MonoWave as GPL and has given me permission to release the PCB and a Component Kit for those that unfortunately missed the first, limited run. I have decided to upgrade the main microcontroller to the newer ATMEGA32 which will allow developers to further extend the capabilitites of the design should they wish."

You can also find a write up on Vaco Loco.

3 Monowaves - Prototype, Beta (1 of 5) and Production (1 of only 25 made)

via Vaco Loco

"Here’s something you don’t see everyday, 3 x Monowave altogether. What also makes this special is that there is the original Prototype (bottom), a beta unit (1 of 5) and a production (1 of 25) unit al together."

The Monowave had two oscillators with 256 waveforms each. 127 of them were from the classic PPG wave synthesizers. It had two additional sub-oscillators and a Moog ladder filter clone. You can find more info on here and of course the Monowave label below.

Update via Qwave in the comments: "And here is another triple MonoWave rack: http://till-kopper.de/monowave-rack.jpg
That's mine. I love the sound of it."

Rare Monowave Wavetable Synthesizer for Sale

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via this auction

The Monowave was a Paul Maddox design which featured PPG wavetables. It was essentially a monophonic PPG Wave. Paul Maddox is the man behind the current Modal Electronics.

via the seller: "It's bulit with the board from Elby Designs. I didn't like the vcf's response from the board so I replaced it with one more appropriate to the original ladder filter."

via wikipedia: "This synth was first shown in 2001 by its inventor Paul Maddox on a PPG user/fan meeting. Because its attraction to some synthesizer players at the event, the project was started with 5 beta-test units to test the software and hardware. By spring 2002. the serial production of a 25-piece limited run started. About a year later, all units were sold.

Late in 2005, after many attempts at designing new products, Paul decided to close Modulus Electronics and its website (modulus-music.com). In order that people could still enjoy the Monowave, he worked with Elby Designs to create a kit version of the monowave offering the same features. The software was released at the same time under the GPL license, in the hope that others would continue to develop its features.

It features two digital oscillators with 256 different waveshapes selectable individually. There is also a unique de-res, a function to lower the digital waveshapes' sample resolution, to give a sound very much like the famous German PPG wave synthesizers from the eighties. The signal of these oscillators and their suboctave signals are mixed together and then feed in the pure analog part of the synth:a 24 db lowpass filter a la Moog synthesizer. and a VCA. Both of them controlled by their own ADSR envelopes. Depending on the EEPROM software, it may either have an arpeggiator or a midi velocity to wavenumber function.

The MonoWave has no patch memory. It can be played by ingoing MIDI signals from software, sequencers or MIDI keyboards."

New MONOWAVE(X) PPG STYLE WAVETABLE SYNTHESIZER SOUND MODULE

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via this auction

"Imagine a monophonic, MIDI controllable, 19" rack mountable PPG blue wavetable synthesizer minus the wavetable scanning, plus a user selectable De-Rez, with a classic Moogª filterladder and real analogue knobs.... well just image, explore it with the Monowave(X).

The Monowave was the brainchild of UK electronics designer, Paul Maddox [Vaco Loco] who wanted to build a synth the roots of which lay in the PPG.

Originally intended as a monophonic bass synth, the Monowave has uses beyond that.

The Monowave is a wavetable synthesizer with 256 waves available for each of the two oscillators. Each oscillator also has a sub-oscillator. The filter is a copy of the Moog filter, there are separate envelope generators for the filter and amplifier, and a simple LFO. The panel is very 'retro' and 'traditional' with knobs for every function and a simple display.

Internally, the circuitry is all analogue (except for the digital circuitry used in the oscillators)... no wimpy DSP thank you very much - this is a 'real' synth!!

Specifications:

· ROM waves 8-bit depth
· 256 samples per cycle
· DE-REZ reduces cycle to 64 samples
· ADSR timing range Attack: 6 - 820 milliseconds
· Decay: 16 - 6000 milliseconds
· Release: 16 - 6000 milliseconds
· Dynamic range About 90dB
· MIDI Note Range C#-2 to C6
· MIDI note offs Recognises real Note Offs as well as velocity Note Offs
· Audio out Headphone socket: best if used with 32 ohms impedance
· Monophonic 6.3 mm (1/4") socket
· Display 2 x 16 backlit LCD
· Power Input: 110V - 240V ac 50/60 Hz, auto sensing power supply
· Maximum power consumption: 30 W
· Size 2U 19” rack unit"

Zombie Nation - Left Rack (studio session)

Published on May 24, 2016 Zombie Nation official

"having fun with some classic gear from my studio. - unreleased

Ursa Major Space Station SST-282 / Delay
SND FB-14 Stereo / Filterbank
Vertigo VSC-2 / Quad Discrete VCA Compressor
Doepfer MS-404 / synth
Modulus Monowave / synth"

The Monowave was a Paul Maddox creation before Vaco Loco & Modal Electronics. It was a monophonic rack synthesizer featuring PPG waveforms (not full wavetables) and a Moog style filter. See this post (note there was an all digital Monowave II) followed by the Monowave label for more.

Elby Designs - MonoWave(X) PPG-inspired Analogue synth with Wave-table Oscillators

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via this auction

"The MonoWave was the brainchild of UK electronics designer, Paula Maddox who wanted to build a synthesizer the roots of which lay in the PPG. Originally intended as a monophonic bass synthesizer, the MonoWave has uses beyond that.

The MonoWave is a wave-table synthesiser with 256 waves available for each of the two oscillators. Each oscillator also has a sub-oscillator. The filter is a copy of the Moog filter, there are separate envelope generators for the filter and amplifier, and a simple LFO. The panel is very 'retro' and 'traditional' with knobs for every function and a simple display. Internally, the circuitry is all analogue (except for the digital circuitry used in the oscillators).... no wimpy DSP thank you very much - this is a 'real' synth!!"

Monowave

images via this auction

"This is a TRULY UNIQUE synth in keyboard history... perhaps THE only rackmounted version of the famous PPG Wave 2.2, only 50 of these were made by Paul Maddox, one of the leading experts on PPG in the UK. Feel free to read more here. This synth was a limited custom (built to order) and only 50 were ever made, this is #16."
Update: you can find more info on the monowave on the Elby-Designs Monowave page as well as via the Monowave label below.

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Elby Designs MonoWave Monophonic PPG Wave Synthesize

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via this auction

"This is a Elby Designs MonoWave Synthesizer. It contains all of the waveforms from the PPG Wave Synthesizer in their original 8-bit glory, so you can get very close to the "PPG WaveComputer", "Wave 2.0", and "Wave 2.2" synthesizer tones with little effort. This unit was purchased in December and is still in excellent condition. It was only used in my home studio briefly. I have too much gear and really need to thin the heard a bit. In addition to the unit, I am including a very nice 19" x 16" rack case that will protect this synthesizer from damage if you wish to take the unit on the road or travel with the unit and rest assured that it will remain protected. I will also include the original A/C adapter, a printed copy of the manual, and the optional little grey rubber feet that came with the unit. The build quality is good and the amount of sounds you can get out of this unit is amazing. This unit also has an on-board arpeggiator. Please note that the MonoWave is unable to store sounds in patch memory, so what you create on the panel is what you get. This unit weighs 22.2 pounds..."

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Modulus Music - Rebirth of a Classic Synth Company by Paul Maddox

via Greg Cole on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"Hey guys, show some support to Paul Maddox for the rebirth of his synth company Modulus Music. Paul's the man behind the Monowave wavetable synth and the awesome little VacoLoco boxes. Excited to see what he's working on!"

The Modulus name was in use by Paul Maddox with the Monowave as seen back in 2007 in this post.

Paul initially announced the new company on March 7th in The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge as well.

"Something big is coming, Follow us for updates, pictures, sounds and videos as they happen.
https://www.facebook.com/ModulusMusic"

I was going to hold off for a post until products where announced, but decided to put something up now.  I can't wait to see what Paul comes up with next.  You can see the vacoloco channel below for his latest up to now.

Monowave Synthesizer

Published on Jul 2, 2015 Strat-1

I believe The Monowave was the first synth by Paul Maddox. It was basically a monophonic PPG. Paul Maddox of course is the man behind Vaco Loco and Modal Electronics.

Vaco Loco

Click here for Paul Maddox's Vaco Loco. You'll find tons of synth content including info on the Defender, Monowave, Monowave II, Phoenix, PolyDAC and Midi2SDS, some of which have been featured here before (btw, the Search box up top and to the right are your friend).

ELBY-DESIGNS MONOWAVE X WAVE TABLE 2-OSCILLATOR SYNTHESIZER PPG STYLE RACK

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via this auction

"The Monowave is a wavetable synthesiser with 256 waves available for each of the two oscillators. Each oscillator also has a sub-oscillator. The filter is a copy of the Moog filter, there are separate envelope generators for the filter and amplifier, and a simple LFO. The panel is very 'retro' and 'traditional' with knobs for every function and a simple display. Internally, the circuitry is all analogue (except for the digital circuitry used in the oscillators)... no wimpy DSP thank you very much - this is a 'real' synth!!"

CLICK FOR MORE »

New Hardware Keyboard Synthesizer Coming from Modulus

Teaser pic via modulusmusic.me where you'll find a couple of audio demos. Just look at it. Reminds me of a John Bowen Solaris, meets Synton Syrinx with a touch of Oberheim OB-12. Modulus is from Paul Maddox who brought us the Monowave. See the Modulus and Monowave channels for previous posts. We knew something was coming. This is the first glimpse. Some things you can clearly see from the pic: 5 octave keyboard, tons of knobs and sliders including two rows of knobs on the lower right that can be indicative of an onboard sequencer, and a display with what looks to be a larger data knob to the lower right.  Unless the PWM demo has been multi-tracked, this will be polyphonic.

Modulus will be at this year's SDIY UK event.

Update: I forgot to mention, Paul Maddox is also the man behind VacoLoco.  It looks like vacoloco.net now redirects to the new modulus website, but you can get in the back door here, and of course a bit of VacoLoco synth history is archived here on MATRIXSYNTH.  See the VacoLoco channel below.

Vaco Loco Zira Now Available

via Paul Maddox of Vaco Loco

"My first synth since the Monowave, Zira is now available to buy (http://VacoLoco.net/order.shtml). It comes fully assembled and in a perspex case, you just need to supply MIDI, power (9V-12V DC @300mA) and a Stereo 3.5mm Jack. The just plug it into your mixer and off you go!

Think of Zira as a pocket sized monowave. Zira has the following features

* Two oscillators, each with 48 wave forms, a sub oscillator and hard sync
* Analogue Lowpass 24dB/Oct filter. Zira uses the NJM2069AD (New old Stock) chips to give a stunning warm and rich filter sound.
* The VCA is part of the NJM2069AD and is a low noise, high quality VCA.
* Two ADSRs, one for the VCF and one for the VCA
* LFO with 4 waveforms, with delay, single shot mode and four routing destinations.
* All parameters editable via MIDI CC
* 64 Patch memories

I only have a very limited supply of NJM2069s, so grab them whilst you can as Zira won’t be available in this format again. You can purchase one from here.

Multi-tracked demo of Zira playing Depeche Modes 'See You'"

All synth sounds except the drums.

VacoLoco · See You (Zira Demo)

VACO LOCO ZIRA

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via this auction

"The 7-Bit Sound NAND Drone Synth is ballistic Lo-Fi synth box that packs a heavy punch, with 4 internal gated oscillators

NAND Drone synth is easy to use and is controlled in the following ways:

· The First knob controls oscillation frequency of the number 1 oscillator that is gated to the number 2 oscillator

· The Second knob controls oscillation frequency, by turning the First switch we open or close the gate.

· The Third knob controls oscillation frequency of number 3 oscillator that is gated to number 4 output oscillator which is also gated to the number 2 oscillator

· The second switch controls the gate between number 3 and number 4 oscillator.

The Vaco Loco Zira came out of an idea to see how small a fully equipped and versatile synth could be built.

The Zira features Two oscillators, each with 48 waveforms that were favourites from the Monowave. A sub oscillator, linked to oscillator one. The Sub oscillator has a level control, oscillators one and two can be switched on or off. Note offset for Patch +/- two octaves, second oscillator has note detune of +/- two octaves and fine tune. Hard Sync of oscillator two to oscillator one's pitch.

The Zira is based on the Korg NJM2069AD Filter/VCA chip. This 4-pole low pass filter is the same filter chip used in the Poly800, DW8000, DW6000 and DSS-1

Zira comes fully assembled in a clear acrylic housing, and is a very limited edition release, never to be seen again once stocks are sold out.

Features:
· Two oscillators, each with 48 waveforms
· One Sub oscillator
· Hard Sync of oscillators
· Two ADSRs, one VCF, one VCA
· One LFO
· Multiple routing options
· 64 patch memories
· MIDI updatable firmware

Specifications:
· 2 Oscs: Each with 48 waveforms, I picked 48 of my favourites from the Monowave. A sub oscillator, linked to oscillator one. The Sub oscillator has a level control, oscillators one and two can be switched on or off.

Note offset for Patch +/- two octaves, second oscillator has note detune of +/- two octaves and fine tune.

Hard Sync of oscillator two to oscillator one's pitch.

· VCF: The Korg NJM2069AD is used in the prototypes for the filter. This 4-pole low pass filter is the same filter chip used in the Poly800, DW8000, DW6000 and DSS-1

· VCA: Very high signal to noise ratio and incredibly clean sounding, again, the prototype uses the NJM2069AD.

· EG's: One for Filter and one for VCA, both are ADSR type. They have Linear attack and exponential decay and release curves.

These go from very quick (~3mS) to a many seconds for each stage (~48 Seconds).

· LFO: The LFO has 4 wave forms, Sinewave, sawtooth, square and random. the LFO is routable to oscillator pitch, filter cut off and filter resonance.

A delay parameter allows the LFO to come "fade in" with an adjustable delay.

It also has a key sync mode, when on the LFO is forced to reset when a new key is pressed and when the LFO cycle has finished it rests at that value.

· Display: The display uses four 7 segment displays, the same as GorF and Tron.

· MIDI: MIDI CC for each parameter, receipt of Patch change (64 patches).

· I/O: The Connections could not be simpler, power in (6 to 12V DC), MIDI in and Audio out.

Video Demos:"


YouTube Published on Apr 16, 2012 by VacolocoSynth

"A quick run through of Zira and it's features."

Zira Demonstration

Published on Apr 16, 2012 by VacolocoSynth

"A quick run through of Zira and it's features."

New Boot Loader

Uploaded by VacolocoSynth on Feb 23, 2012

"Quick demonstration of the new, faster and more reliable, boot loader. This demo shows an update for Zira, but the same boot loader will be used for all new projects from this point forward."

Fat Controller Driving a Monowave

Click here for a demo of the Frostwave Fat Controller driving a Modulus Electronics Monowave. The track is Sequence 1. A Virus Indigo provides textures and a Multimoog provides lead. Via Seth Elgart on AH.

Novation Spotlight: Purity, integrity and Synthesizers with Paula Maddox

Paula Maddox brought us the Monowave (essentially a mono PPG Wave), Vacoloco DIY projects, Modal Electronics, and Dove Audio.

You can find the full Interview with Novation here.

"Unbridled passion drives Paula Maddox as she finds her sound through synth creations.

Captivated by the perplexing synth sounds of the 1980s and driven to recreate the beloved melodies of her favourite songs, Paula Maddox has had a fruitful career in music tech. As a synth afficionado turned designer, Paula has been at the helm of many groundbreaking synth creations, and has also founded her own synthesizer company, Dove Audio. We spoke with Paula to learn more about her career as a trans woman in music tech, and how she infuses purity, integrity and love into her work."

Check out additional Novation Spotlight posts here.