PWM Malevolent // the best and most unique affordable synthesizer of 2022

video upload by Miles Away

"Purchase my Custom Synth Patches:
https://shop.milesawayofficial.com

Sound demo, review, tutorial and overview of the Malevolent, an amazing and unique new analog synth from PWM that specializes in heavy and aggressive sounds. Unveiled in 2021, but only widely available this year, this gets my vote for Best Of 2022

0:00 - Malevolent demo song
1:40 - what is the Malevolent?
2:54 - synth overview: VCO oscillators
6:40 - VCF Filter and Gain Staging
10:18 - LFO and Envelopes
11:18 - drive section
12:25 - FM and patching, sound design
17:20 - review, pros and cons
19:19 - sound demos, no talking"

Physical Synthesis Cicada Acoustic Vibration Synthesizer & Nymph Eurorack Module Update

video upload by Physical Synthesis



You might remember the Physical Synthesis Cicada - Acoustic Vibration Synthesizer posted back in April of 2021 - you'll find a playlist of demos there. The initial run was sold out. They are now teaming with USA-based distributor Electro Distro on a new run of Cicadas as well as a Nymph eurorack module.

The press release follows:

NEW YORK, NY, USA: having sold out of its initial production run, unique products-producing hardware startup Physical Synthesis is proud to announce that it is working with San Clemente, CA, USA-based distributor Electro Distro’s growing global network of dealers (https://www.electro-distro.com/dealers) to bring its game-changing Cicada — an ‘acoustic synthesizer’ that transforms electronic signals into physical vibrations that can be fully manipulated before being reconverted back into a new, never-heard-before electronic sound — to a wider audience in advance of Nymph, its upcoming Eurorack module…

It is fair to say that every once in a while, a moment comes along whereby human interaction with sound changes completely. Cicada is effectively one of those moments — one of those new instruments that moves the needle in music technology. Indeed, it is pioneered by unique products-producing hardware startup Physical Synthesis as an ‘acoustic synthesizer’ that transforms electronic signals into physical vibrations that can be fully manipulated before being reconverted back into a new, never-heard-before electronic sound. Says company founder Spencer Topel: “Cicada was the first step in introducing physical synthesis methods to the synth community; it is an award-winning interface that really lets musicians explore microscopic sounds with precise control.” Clearly, Cicada made musical waves when winning the Judge’s Special Award at the Guthman Musical Instrument Competition 2022, hosted by Georgia Tech School of Music — one of the few schools in North America that offers Music Technology as a major in undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D levels of study — as an annual event dedicated to identifying the newest and greatest ideas in music.

Musical waves notwithstanding, ‘noise' is a subjective term; while electromechanical devices like speakers or headphones try to minimise the distortion inevitably introduced in physical systems, Cicada is designed to precisely exploit these distortion products as the basis of a new kind of synthesis. Cicada converts voltages to vibrations in a mechanical oscillator to create intermodulation — the addition of frequency content in a nonlinear system — in place of typical analogue or digital oscillators. By bringing the signal chain into a physical space, Cicada allows users to shape such content with natural, tactile gestures that truly transcend twiddling with a knob or pushing a slider. “As a violinist and composer, my experience of creating sound is highly physical,” proclaims Spencer Topel, adding: “With Cicada, I wanted to make an instrument that connects these elements, allowing musicians to produce complex, compelling sounds, but through tactile interaction.”

Insofar as actually doing what it does, Cicada receives two Eurorack-level signals that drive oscillation in a cantilevered Bridge positioned atop a Soundboard at an adjustable height. Digging deeper, distortion caused by the Bridge-Soundboard interaction adds frequency content to the input, determined by the specific qualities of the system. Self-explanatory Polycarbonate Soundboard, Foam Soundboard — made of EVA (Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate) foam, and Wood Soundboard — made of Birdseye maple — options each provide a range of resonating/filtering properties that combine uniquely with the likes of the Coral Wing Bridge — tip made of solid oak (resulting in a bright, clear tone), Coral Dual Tip Wing Bridge — tip made of premium rubber (allowing for a hard, precise attack with a balanced low-end), and Grey Wing Bridge — tip made of soft neoprene foam (resulting in a mellow, balanced acoustic effect); each pairing opens up a portal to a distinct sonic universe.

Users can dynamically change the system (and, therefore, how it is transforming signals) by adjusting the Bridge height, changing the region and degree of contact between Bridge and Soundboard, or applying pressure to either — effecting real-time, tactile timbral control, in other words. With that being said, premium vibration damping materials, such as Delrin, and custom circuitry minimise unwanted noise, allowing the intermodulation products to shine, while the output, captured by a pickup microphone positioned beneath the Soundboard, can be monitored directly, processed modularly, or recorded into a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).

With behaviours akin to those exhibited by a traditional acoustic instrument, Cicada is highly responsive to differences in the excitation mechanism — the input signal, in other words. As an example, striking a snare drum with a stick or using it with brushes produce vastly different-sounding results; driving Cicada with quiet or loud, spectrally simple or complex, or bass- or treble-heavy signals similarly yield very different timbres.

Though Cicada is designed to work with a Eurorack setup out of the box, one of its strengths lies in its inherent flexibility. Indeed, it can just as easily receive signals from a DAW, boosted to the appropriate 5-10Vpp level via an outboard mixer. Moreover, the choice of input is completely left open to the user: an Ableton Live loop run through Cicada acting as a physical filter to provide timbral variety over time, for example; an LFO (Low Frequency Oscillator) from a Eurorack module, generating rich percussive tones on the maple Soundboard as the foundation of a beat; or a harmonically dense signal — similar to the output of a Max/MSP FM patch (which many would, without doubt, prefer to navigate physically rather than digitally) — made by moving the Bridge around the Soundboard to amplify certain harmonics and suppress others, finding a grittier sound with the Bridge barely touching or coaxing a more ethereal tone with it centred and depressed.

Endless exploration possibilities are a given, guaranteeing that any sonically-ambitious Cicada user is likely to while away the hours playing with input signals, system configurations, gestures, modulation combinations, and more.

It is hardly surprising, then, that Physical Synthesis sold out of its initial Cicada production run, really hitting a home run by counting luminaries like renowned electronic music composer and performer Hainbach — citing Cicada as being “The Tesla of electro-acoustic workstations, miles ahead of standard piezo and solenoid boxes...” — and Ableton CEO Gerhard Behles amongst its fan base, and has now turned to working with US-based distributor Electro Distro’s growing global network of dealers to bring its game-changing ‘acoustic synthesizer’ to a wider audience. “I want to bring acoustic synthesis to a wider range of musicians,” maintains Spencer Topel, before ending on a high note: “We are building some really exciting expansions of Cicada to different formats, including a Eurorack module called Nymph, which is coming soon.”

Physical Synthesis’ ‘acoustic synthesizer’ is now available as Cicada Founders Edition Extended — encompassing two dual AMPs, one PRE, one Actuator, five Bridges, three Soundboards, three Meanwell power supplies, three custom SATA Cables, and one custom Nanuk 935 Flight Case — for $2,700.00 USD or as Cicada Pro Series individual modules — starting at $79.00 USD — via San Clemente, CA, USA-based distributor Electro Distro’s growing global network of dealers (https://www.electro-distro.com/dealers) or directly from Physical Synthesis’ online Shop (https://shop.physical-synthesis.com).

For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated Cicada webpage here: https://www.physical-synthesis.com

Miles Away: Why I Love The Oberheim OB-X8

video upload by Miles Away

"Oberheim is finally back after almost 40 years with the amazing OB-X8, one of the greatest polyphonic analog synthesizers ever made. This is my longest video yet, and hopefully it helps you learn about this amazing synth and its history. Feel free to use the chapters to skip around.

Purchase my Custom Synth Patches:
https://shop.milesawayofficial.com/co...

0:00 - Improvised Playing
1:34 - Introduction
2:00 - History of Oberheim
4:14 - Demo Song
5:30 - The Sound of Oberheim
6:19 - Skillshare
7:57 - Factory Presets
11:24 - Panel Overview & Tutorial; Oscillators
18:41 - Filter Section
26:30 - Envelopes & LFOs
31:21 - Control Parameters
34:55 - Arpeggiator & Lever Box
36:30 - Page 2 Panel Setting
37:07 - Split and Double Modes
40:52 - Advanced LFO Modulation Options
43:18 - Review; Pros
45:33 - Cons & Issues
48:01 - Closing thoughts
48:40 - Outro Jam"

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

Sequential Prophet 6 Custom Patches: Synthwave, Vintage, Stranger Things, Ambient and More

video upload by Miles Away

"Buy these 50 Custom Patches for the intro price of only $25:
https://shop.milesawayofficial.com/pr...

These 50 custom patches will load to 450-499 on your Dave Smith / Sequential Prophet 6. These patches range in all genres from Classic Analog, Synthwave, EDM, Film Score, Ambient and more. Every patch has a custom sequence programmed by me as well, so click “play” on the sequencer to get an idea of what the patch would sound like in context of a song! Enjoy this no talking sounds demo.

Note: While these patches make use of many of the Prophet 6’s excellent effects, most don't use the onboard reverb. In this demo, I am using the Empress Reverb, so I strongly encourage you to add your favourite reverb to these patches! Also your Prophet 6 must be updated to the latest firmware to use these patches as they make use of the vintage knob update!

CLICK FOR MORE »

Sequential OB-6: 2022 review & comparison to Oberheim OB-X8

video upload by Miles Away

"With the announcement of the new Oberheim OB-X8 and the Behringer UBXA, is the Dave Smith OB6 still worth getting in 2022? Here I share my thoughts."

Buy my OB-6 Custom Patches: https://shop.milesawayofficial.com/pr...

Miles Away OB-6 posts

Sequential OB6 vs Korg Prologue: choosing the best VCO Analog Polyphonic Synthesizer

video by Miles Away

"Wondering which synthesizer to pick? In this deep dive video I explore the similarities and differences between the Dave Smith OB6 and the Korg Prologue. Along with the Prophet 5/6 and Moog One, these two are some of the main modern VCO based poly synths. Which one should you choose?"

Also see Miles Away's Why I Love the Sequential OB-6 video.

Miles Away: Why I Love the Sequential OB-6

video by Miles Away

"Over the last several years, the prevailing mentality in synthesizer design has been 'more features = better'. The Sequential OB6 is a synthesizer that follows a much different mantra for development, one of 'character over features'. After 2 months of learning this synth inside and out, I'm finally ready to talk about it with you. Get the tissue box ready, this synth hits you in the feels."

Chick Corea, In Memoriam

video by CatSynth TV

Legendary composer and keyboardist Chick Corea has passed away. Above is a tribute from supporting member, CatSynth.

"We pay tribute to the great jazz composer and keyboardist Chick Corea, who passed away on February 9, 2021. We look at his seminal work with Miles Davis in the late 1960s into his launching Return to Forever in the 1970s. We also touch on his Elektric and Acoustic bands, his duets with Herbie Hancock, his explorations of orchestral and chamber music, and his reunions in the 2000s.

His pioneering work included embracing the electric piano and then synthesizers in his jazz performances (something he shared with his contemporary Herbie Hancock), but returned to acoustic jazz and explored other aspects of music over the years. He leaves behind a multi-decade legacy.

We extend our thoughts to his family, friends, and many collaborators on his passing."

And a few synth related videos featuring Chick Corea (if you have any other favorites, feel free to link to them in the comments):

Chick Corea Jazz Keyboard Demo — Rhythmic Displacement
video by Chick Corea

Chick Corea best Mini Moog solo.wmv

video by bandasabanagrande

chick corea & return to forever / herbie hancock & the headhunters "soundstage chicago 1974"

video by I See The Land

An Interview with David Burraston of noyzelab

You can find the full interview here.

"David Burraston (who also goes by Dave Noyze) may well be the only scientist and synthesist who lives five miles away from the nearest paved road. “We live on the farm where [my wife’s parents] were when they retired,” he explains. “We run a farm as well as the Wired Lab here. We’re in the middle of nowhere, and we’re not served by any amenities except electricity. We have to capture our own water, we have our own sewage and septic tank, we have to take our own rubbish to the tip. We don’t even get mail.” This is somewhat surprising for a man who obtained a Ph.D. for researching cellular automata and generative music, and famously conducted and independently released Syrobonkers!, the most technically comprehensive interview Aphex Twin ever gave."

Korg 01/W Demo sequence (1991) - Don Muro

Published on Apr 6, 2018 jd wall

Kathmandu;
Kicker (:51);
Serenade 1(1:49);
Serenade 2 (2:22);
Sloppy Joe (3:07);
The Call (3:59);
Miles Away (4:51);
Finale (6:02).

Korg MS20 | Science Fiction

Published on Feb 13, 2018 Alex Ball

You need to be careful triggering that secret patch setting at :22 in.

"I've been after a classic 70s synth for a while and kept returning to the sound of the Korg MS20. This synth has been through various versions and reissues, but this is the original from 1978 (with the type 35 filter for the nerds). I couldn't believe my luck when one came up for sale two miles away.

It's a completely different sound to my 80s synths (the reason I picked one up). You can overdrive the filters incredibly easily and it has a very fuzzy sound. It's probably most famous for the main riff in Daft Punks "Da Punk".

It's also semi-modular and there's loads and loads of patching possibilities. If that wasn't enough, you can also run instruments or vocals through it and process them, although I'll get into that in another video probably, once I've learned how to harness it!

For now, here's a spot of Tangerine Dream meets Rush meets Genesis using the raw sound of th MS20. This is the first thing that came out when I started jamming with it!

Synths:
Korg MS20 sequenced with SQ-1
Roland JX-3P (not seen in the video) doubling the sequence in stereo in the background.

Electric Guitars: Ibanez JEM 7DBK, Squier Jagmaster, Ibanez Tubescreamer, Boss CE-2 Chorus, Fender Blues Junior II, Mic'd with an SM57
Acoustic: Alvarez Baritone, mic'd with an AKG C414 (as seen)
Bass: (not seen in the video, but it's there) Fender Jazz Bass, Orange OB1-300, DXX 266Xl Compressor

VSTS:
GForce Software MTron Pro
Past to future drums (two kits, one take panned left, the other right - 70s style!)
Sound Dust Hammr Growler

Plug-ins: Goodhertz Vulf Compressor, various Waves and Izotope plugins, Past to future reverb impulses"

Korg Volca FM Patch Pack 03 (FM Does Analogue!) - FREE!

Published on Jan 13, 2018 Oscillator Sink

"Here is my third patch pack for the Volca FM called: 'FM Does Analogue'.

I'm in no way suggesting that the Volca FM is going to replace your beloved Moog Model D - it won't even be replacing your Volca Keys! But by aiming for this style of sound I think you unlock some really interesting tonalities that sound at once obviously FM but that are miles away from those classic bells and pads that are so often what FM is known for.

You can find the downloads for the patches on my website: http://www.oscillatorsink.com"

Whirling Windmills (never stop turning knobs)

Published on Sep 18, 2017 Aidan Burns-Fulkerson

Fun piece.

"In the absence of any kind of order, with very little preparation, sound energy is made from chemically stored electrical energy. The 0-Coast is the only outlier of the group, demanding its energy in the form of quickly alternating voltage.

The continually spinning turbines use concepts of special relativity to push endless electrons to the consumers. The synthesizers transfer electrical energy to (sometimes) audible frequencies and then send the signals to the air-movers so we can feel the waves.

Support alternative energy! Everything is star powered if we look back in time far enough. We now have the technology to cut out the middle men and stop burning things here in our atmosphere to make electricity. It's time to let our favorite star do the 'burning' millions of miles away, far outside our tiny layer of air."

The blind masseur (Volca FM x2, Keys, Beats)

Published on May 10, 2016 Metatron's Cube

"It seems my video editing software can't handle a bunch of stuff happening at once, I tried re-rendering this several times and they all have a stutter near the beginning. But, it was too cool not to upload even if it's janky for a few seconds. Anyhoo, Zatoichi the blind masseur/swordsman whistles us in on this jam. His sword skills are so powerful the computer shudders in fear and mis-renders the action(lol). The Korg FM's are set up like a guitar, and the other like a plucked string like sound(and clashing blades in one part). It's a drone to wander the landscape to. Also a big thanks to all the recent subscribers. We have been working quite a bit lately, but when it calms down some more, bigger jams will happen. There are things slowly happening in the shadows(as well as a full Volca Series(all five volcas) random give-away at, or just after our 1000th subscriber, because why not?). Have great week everyone, and thank you for listening and watching!
download@ https://soundcloud.com/miles-baskett/...
Gears used:
Korg Volca FM
Korg Volca FM + Kp3 LCR delay
Korg Volca Keys + TC Electronics T2 reverb
Korg Volca Beats + TC Electronics HoF reverb
Zoom R24 (recording)
Presonus Studio One (final touches)
Kdenlive (freeware video editor)"

KORG Volcas on eBay | KORG Volcas on Amazon

Roland Aira TB-3 + CASIO XW-P1 (sequencer play)

Published on May 21, 2014 Metatron's Cube·61 videos

"Starting to dig into the sequencer on the Casio XW-P1. I had 4 or 5 unused tracks as well. Just trying to get comfortable using the new menu layout on the new synth. Sounds beastly even with the tb-3 blasting away. The synth section is really big too, saw that it had 300-ish waveform types and went back to the sequencer...another day for that. Some fooling about for the first three minutes till I settle on some beat sounds. Thanks for watching/listening.

Download: https://soundcloud.com/miles-baskett/random-late-night-tb-3-jamming"

Chroma - Synth Tattoo

"A brand new track, fresh off the render. A true epic; progressive, colourful, dark and wonderful.

I just put the finishing touches on today, it should (fingers crossed) be the final version now."

via Miles Philip on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"Something I've been working on lately. I'm pretty happy with it, I'd be interested to hear your feedback.
As always it was produced using lots of vintage and new analog gear (Roland MKS-70, Yamaha CS10, Novation Bassstation, Moog Minitaur & SubPhatty) and some digital (Kurzweil K2000R, Ensoniq TS12, Access Virus TI2)."

Details on what's doing what: "the opening bass line is the K2000r, it's a 303ish patch I made, it then gets layered with the Minitaur. The sequenced synths that follow are the Sub Phatty and the MKS70, they're playing different sequences. There's also a CS10 sequence that comes in a bit later. There are two pads, one is the Virus and the other (I think) is the TS12. The main lead synths are a combination of three synth sounds, one is the MKS70, another is the Virus and the bell sound is the TS12. Later a new bass line comes in and that's the Subphatty, it's layered with a line from the MKS70. The final melodies are played on the TS12 and the default Kontakt 5 harp sound. All beats are made with Stylus RMX and NI Battery. I think I covered everything, I may have miss-remembered some stuff because I'm away from home right now and can't verify. I might have not used the Bassstation after all, difficult to remember sometimes"

And on the tattoo: "I wanted a tattoo that represented my love of analog synths (I guess primarily Moog because they're so iconic and their knobs and panels always look great) and so go some basic module knobs tattooed on my arm. They are: cutoff, res, waveform, LFO rate, VCF amount knobs."

Dubspot First Look: The Propellerhead PX7 FM Synthesizer

Dubspot First Look: The Propellerhead PX7 FM Synthesizer In Reason 6.5 w/ Chris Petti

Published on Jan 10, 2013 DubSpot·387 videos

Pic of the massive Jellinghaus DX7 hardware knob laden editor at :53.

More info: http://bit.ly/X3rh1F

"Recently Propellerhead approached me about designing some sounds for a new FM synthesizer in Reason. As you may recall from some of my previous video tutorials, I showed you how to create an FM synth out of several Thors and a Combinator. The purpose was to demonstrate how to get some of the more modern, edgy FM sounds that we associate with dubstep and electro.

Although my method for creating FM sounds this way worked, Propellerhead have made this easier now with a new FM synthesizer engine, the PX7, now available as a Rack Extension for Reason 6.5. The PX7 is a true six-operator FM synth with some dazzling math behind it, resulting in a replica of the Yamaha DX7, the first commercially available FM synth from the early 1980s.

Just so you all know, the DX7 and I didn't have a great relationship when we first met. I first encountered it in the labs at Berklee when I was studying music synthesis. It was a million miles away from what I wanted to achieve soundwise. I was very into the big, fat, warm analog sounds that I was hearing in all the drum'n'bass tunes I was into at the time. The DX7 was also difficult to program at first. It didn't make sense to me and was really tedious. It had a very small display that required you to scroll through dozens upon dozens of parameters to create and edit a sound. More importantly to me at the time, it was seemingly not capable of producing the analog sounds I was into.

Years later, after a revival in software form, FM synthesis has found a very special place in my heart. I now find it to be very exciting as I am now very clear on what I can and can't do with it. I have developed an appreciation for the highly detailed and exotic sounds that FM can produce. So I hope you all enjoy and appreciate the irony of this situation and my love/hate relationship with FM throughout the years. Most importantly, I hope that you enjoy the lesson in the PX7 and ultimately FM synthesis. - Chris Petti"

RIP Pete Namlook

Ambient and electronic music producer, composer and founder of the German record label, FAX +49-69/450464 has passed away at the age of 52.  Below you'll find a track he composed with Ludwig Rehberg (E.M.S.) and an interview.  He worked with a Moog modular, pictured, and of course plenty of other synths.  Update: In 2008 he ordered two custom "Blue Meanie" MacBeth M5Ns. New image of Pete Namlook below.

via Wikipedia "Pete Namlook (born 1960 as Peter Kuhlmann [ˈkuːlmaːn] [Namlook is Kuhlmann in reverse] in Frankfurt, Germany, died on November 8th 2012[1]) was an ambient and electronic-music producer and composer. In 1992, he founded the German record label FAX +49-69/450464, which he oversaw. Inspired by the music of Eberhard Weber, Miles Davis, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Chopin, Wendy Carlos, Tangerine Dream and Pink Floyd, he also composes his own albums."

Image and documentary vids below via FACT mag which has a nice write-up on the work of Pete Namlook. Via Jose Luis Sanchez Rodriguez on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge you can also find a write-up on relaxed machinery.

Pete Namlook's Slice
Uploaded by monkeygra on Apr 7, 2009
"feature on German musician Pete Namlook, proprietor of FAX +49-69/450464

from issue 3-07 of Slices, the electronic music magazine

Electronic Beats
EB-DVD 011
15 September 2007

encoded by Tamas
fixed up, re-encoded, and uploaded to YouTube by Kyle
all of it for the FAXlist

http://www.eb-slices.net/
http://www.namlook.de/
http://2350.org/faxlist/

slices is a free magazine, so don't nobody try to make any money off of this"

The Putney (Pete Namlook & Ludwig Rehberg) - Putney Dust

YouTube via rtmnmk | June 12, 2009 - previously posted
Update: Re-Published by Music Delivery Service

"Excerpt from "The Putney Dust", Fax +49-69/450464 Recods, PK 08/76"

via THE SYNTHI: Pete Namlook and Ludwig Rehberg (E.M.S.)"

http://www.namlook.de
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Pete+Namook

flickr By Dan Correia

"Pete Namlook (1960-2012) in Sonic Studio, Frankfurt. Taken by Geir Jenssen during the Fires of Ork recording sessions."

Tiptop case #1

via Jimmersound:

"I thought you might like these photos. I recently fell into the black hole known as Eurorack in the Modular galaxy. After a lot of research I ordered a batch of modules from Analogue Haven (Thank you, Shawn Cleary!) and I emailed Tiptop about their cases. After emailing back and forth a bit, it turns out Gur Milstein (of Tiptop) & I live about five miles apart, which led to me having the great fortune of being the proud owner of Tiptop case #1 (Thank you, Gur!). I have been happily patching away ever since. I have a few other modules on order and I also have the option of using my Moog theremin (with CV outs), ARP Axxe, Microcon and a few other goodies I have with this rig, but it will be a self-contained instrument."

CLICK FOR MORE »

M-Z3R0 - K-FILTER - resonant low pass filter

M-Z3R0 - K-FILTER - resonant low pass filter + mpc500, elektron monomachine & dave smith mopho

YouTube via manufacturedZ3R0 | December 22, 2010 |

"Repetetive electro. Just something knocked up on the fly to demo the filter.

Used an Elektron Monomachine, Dave Smith Mopho and an Akai MPC500 and stuck them all through the filter into Propellerhead record in multiple takes.

Based on the steiner synthacon filter. Altered to run on a single rail 9v power supply.

Some distortion was added to a couple of layers in record and some compression was added here and there. Other than some key mapped adsr envelope on the second track that comes in on the monomachine all of the filtering in this is done by the K-filter.

It's sound isn't a million miles away from the filters found in the Korg MS-20..."