Formant Synth Dream

Update as of 9:26 PDT: I made a couple of minor updates in case you read it before then. Sorry!

A quick note on posts like this: I hope you enjoy them. If not, just skip them. When I first started the site I used to share my synth dreams but stopped. Personally I get a kick out of them. I won't share every one, just some of the stand outs. The last one stood out for the humor, this one stood out for the design of the instrument. It reminds me of different makers and their approach. As a maker, do you set out to design a synthesizer, an instrument, or both? Are you locked in by the tools, components, and paradigms of what makes a synth? In my dream both the musician and the maker (who never made an appearance BTW) didn't really know what a synth even was. The maker just designed an instrument and the musician just played it. This reminds me of Don Buchla's original designs and specifically the Buchla Music Easel. This was at the birth of synthesis as we know it. What's interesting is his designs weren't meant to be what they are commonly perceived as today. They were meant to be unique instruments, palettes for sound, hence the Music Easel. I heard even his modular systems weren't meant to be complete fixed instruments, they weren't meant to be mixed and matched. Think about that for a bit. They were modular in design, but they weren't meant to be modular in nature. They were meant to be wholly formed instruments. In the following dream the musician reminded me of Marc-Henri and Barry Schrader to an extent. Marc-Henri almost exclusively uses an Access Virus Ti as a music easel for his compositions. Barry Schrader started with Buchla and then moved to FM synthesis for his compositions. You can find an extensive interview with him here.


And the dream...

I had another synth dream last night. In this one I was at an ensemble event held in kind of a classroom/workshop/gym-type of open space at what felt like an old English or New England boarding school - lots of wood, flat tall ceilings, and windows along the length of the far wall. The ensemble consisted of maybe 18 people in a semi-circle with a small audience in front of them, mainly standing, which I was one of. The instructor had each member of the ensemble introduce their instruments. I was in front towards the left of the ensemble and noticed the last two instruments to be electronic desktop boxes sitting on a card table (synth gathering anywone?), both vintage and almost DIY looking in style. I remember thinking, "I know what these boxes are. They are synths! I can't wait to talk shop with the owners and check them out." Well the instructor starts going around the ensemble starting on the opposite side. Each member introduces their instrument and talks a little bit about them and their technique. There were some interesting brass-like instruments. I think there was one based on an alto trombone, but it was just a flat pipe and no horn at the end. Funny side note is my daughter is currently learning to play piccolo. She plays flute in high school band and decided to finally give the piccolo a try as a stretch goal. If you don't know what a piccolo is, it's a tiny flute for super high notes. She said there were tiny versions of most instruments including the trombone. I looked one up and sure enough there is. A tiny trombone not much longer than a foot exists. The instrument in my dream also bore a resemblance to the ribbon controller featured in the Nunomo QUN post, so I'm guessing that's where it came from - some bizarre mix of the two. Anyway, when the instructor/host got around to the last two instruments, it turned out the first was a theremin based synth minus the antennas. It was made of wood and looked vintage. It would have been interesting if not for the next box. That was something. It was black with white and silver sliders, levers, buttons, and knobs. It was a unique instrument custom made for the owner who knew the maker. The interesting thing was the musician wasn't familiar with synths and didn't even see the instrument as a synth. The maker also wasn't into synths. In the dream he was more like a luthier, more of an artist instrument maker than a synth maker. No offense to synth makers! :) Anyway, it was about the size of an EMS SYNTHI and was black with white levers and sliders and had a bunch of esoteric control blocks with non standard names/labels; similar to something like the Hartmann Neuron where controls are familiar but the names are completely different. For some reason it reminded me of a black Lassence uVentury, Modor NF-1, mixed with some MacBeth and Folktek in design, but again completely different. Again, this maker wasn't into synths. This was a unique instrument. After the talk was over the musician gave a little demo. The sound of it. It was like formant analog but the timbers coming out of it were rich and full, not thin or glossy like most formant synthesis. It sounded like nothing I've ever heard before. After the talks were over I walked over to it to check out the controls and design. I wondered if I could touch it and play with it a little and for some reason, as happens in dreams, I knew it was OK so I started playing with it. There was a thin ivory white reed-like lever about an inch and a half long that controlled a female formant timbre. It was amazing. There was an group of lever-type sliders that controlled a multi band formant filter block and I remember thinking, "Oh this is a filter!" There were envelop sliders and other familiar groups that I now forget, but there were a bunch of interesting controls on it that didn't quite match up to common synths. There were additional effects and shaping tools built into the design and everything just flowed like a natural instrument. Again it kind of reminded me in concept to a Hartman Neuron and Modor NF-1, with maybe a bit of Folktek, but it was more vintage and simplistic in design - just a sold black block with white and silver controls. It was definitely designed as a work of art instrument vs. a synth. Similar in concept to the Buchla music Easel as I mentioned in the intro to this dream above. So after checking it out a little and talking to the owner I realized I should take a video of it for the site! I got the OK to film it, pulled out my iPhone, and started trying to capture some of the controls and timbres it was capable of. When I got to that formant female slider it was gone! I couldn't remember what I did to get that sound and I couldn't find the control again. Damn dreams.... And as in many real world sessions I wasn't getting those rich timbres again. I got lost between timbres! I thought my readers would be disappointed in my programming chops for a split second, but then I reminded myself anyone into programming synths will understand and not care, so I kept tweaking. Well, right then, a foster kid boarding at the school distracted me and started talking to me. I hand gestured to him (no I did not flick him off) to hold off for a second because I was in the middle of filming the synth and trying to capture audio. He understood for like five seconds and started talking again. I asked him to give me a sec but he got upset and said I should be there more for people. I felt bad and wasn't getting anywhere with the instrument at that point, so I stopped filming to talk to him before he left.

And that was it! Everything felt right with the kid so that was good, but that instrument! It's gone forever...

Modor NF-1M Digital Polyphonic Synthesizer w/ Original Box

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

via this auction

"This thing doesn't have a speck or smudge on it. Super solid metal construction, and sturdy rubber feet. The knobs turn evenly and the synth responds great, especially the filter! The NF-1M has the same features as the larger NF-1, just in a smaller format."

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Modor NF-1m Digital Polyphonic Synthesizer

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

via this auction

"The NF-1m has the same synth engine as the larger NF-1, just in a smaller footprint with fewer knobs. This necessitates more menu diving, but I found this to be pretty intuitive. As a trade off for the menu diving, you get a cheaper synth that is more portable, and also adds MIDI over USB."

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Soundium: Enabled - Synth Event This Weekend in Vilnius, Lithuania

This one is in via Pierre-Henri Pache.

https://soundium.lt/enabled

"About and around music technology

Soundium: Enabled fuse theory, practice and experiences in the field of music technology. Main goal of the event is to demonstrate and educate. For the first time in the Baltics a space under one roof will be dedicated to DJ/studio gear testings, lectures with brand ambassadors and performances of local geeks.

However, we think the most important part of Soundium: Enabled is its participant (YOU), coming with his/her own approach to the creative process – so the door is open to anyone, and networking is strongly encouraged. See you on October 20th.
Program

Demo Space
Demo space a designated getting-your-hands-on-gear area. You can expect various equipment here, part of which will be hot & new: starting from DJ turntables, ending with modular synths, drum machines and DAW controllers. Some brand representatives will also be around, so do not hesitate to get tips straight from these professionals.

Demo:
Korg: Prologue 16 / Prologue 8 / Minilogue / Monologue / MS-20 Mini / Volca Beats - Bass - Keys - FM - Sample - Mix / Microkorg / Microkorg XL+ / ARP Oddysey / Electribe / Electribe Sampler / SQ-1

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Studio Tour #2 - Mark

Published on Aug 26, 2018 SynthMania

Cool intro piece. Great to hear synths being used in this style/context.

"A visit to my good friend Mark - We spent a few hours in his studio and went through his equipment, which includes classics like Mini and Memorymoog, but also modern equipment like the Andromeda and Poly Evolver. A huge thank you to Mark for sharing his knowledge and demonstrating the gear for us!

00:22 - Mark's theme on Andromeda & Elements
02:03 - Alesis Andromeda
03:16 - MacBeth Elements
04:07 - Moog Minimoog
05:22 - Hammond XK-3c with pair of Leslie 147s
06:14 - SoundConstruction workstation desk
07:28 - Eurorack modular skiff 1
09:11 - Focal Trio6 Be studio monitors
10:40 - Equator D5 monitors
11:28 - Empirical Labs LilFrEQ equalizer pair
12:13 - Moog Moogerfooger delays
12:45 - Empress Multidrive
15:12 - Kurzweil PC3X
16:25 - Eventide Eclipse
17:20 - API 2500 stereo compressor
18:10 - AKAI MPD232
19:09 - A genial idea from Mark! :-)
21:14 - Speck Xtramix mixer
21:25 - Aurora interface
21:30 - Coleman switcher
21:39 - Great River mic preamp
22:00 - Dave Smith Poly Evolver
24:27 - Poly Evolver demo
26:05 - Moog Memorymoog
28:57 - Memorymoog demo
30:51 - Moog Moogermoofer MIDI MuRF
31:58 - Moog Voyager demo
33:20 - Cwejman S1 mkII
34:17 - Oberheim Synthesizer Expander Module
34:55 - Eurorack modular skiff 2
35:39 - Andromeda demo
37:47 - Hammond XK-3c / AcousticSamples B5 organ demo"

Update:

Studio Tour #1 - Tom

Published on Jan 21, 2018 SynthMania

"A visit to my good friend Tom to buy (for the 2nd time!) a classic PPG synth from him. We spent a few hours in his studio and went through his equipment, that features many classic pieces of gear. Fired up the newly acquired Zhiyun Smooth Q and iPhone X, and this is a condensed "best of" version of the visit. A huge thank you to Tom for sharing his knowledge and demonstrating the gear for us!

Update from Tom:
Audio interface he uses: Forssell MADA-2a
Multitracking: Alesis HD24XR

00:46 - Toft Audio ATB24
01:37 - Marshall Time Modulator
04:38 - Roland RSP-550
09:08 - Publison DHM 89 B2
10:10 - Publison Infernal Machine 90
11:45 - Knif Audio Knifonium
13:50 - Oberheim Two Voice
17:52 - Roland Jupiter-8
20:15 - Modor NF-1
22:04 - Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2
23:31 - Sycologic M16R
24:16 - Hypersynth Xenophone
25:54 - Roland TR-8
27:08 - MacBeth Elements
29:47 - Kurzweil 250 RMX
33:13 - Eventide H8000FW
36:23 - Lexicon 480L
39:25 - Nord Electro 5D 73"

Modor NF-1/NF-1m OS017 Firmware upgrade

video upload by Modor Music

"Short look at the new Filter Type Mixing in OS017"

Hello Modor: unboxing the Modor NF-1m

Published on Jun 10, 2017 Olivier Ozoux

"While everyone else at Superbooth 2017 seemed to only be interested in the Elektron Digitakt, This is the synth that caught my ears. I really liked the original Modor NF-1 but it was just too big. It's little brother uses exactly the same sound engine, and trades a few knobs for a much smaller footprint, and a 50% price reduction...

Here's a first sound exploration out of the box, from the default init patch."

Modor NF-1 (Modor Music) few original presets from modor #2

Published on Mar 16, 2017 Dziam Bass

Part 1 here.

MODERN SYNTHESIZER WITH THAT CLASSIC VINTAGE VIBE

video by ONEPOLYMER

MODOR NF-1
KORG PROLOGUE 16
HYPERSYNTH XENOPHONE
(Side Kick: KORG DSM-1) 😉
Sequencer/Sampler MPC 4000 & Just YAMAHA LS-9 32 Effects

modor NF-1 / tanzbar / re-201. arp2600m

video upload by studio snippets

"sequenced by torso t-1"

Modor NF-1 Polyphonic Digital Synthesizer V.1

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

via this auction

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Modor eurorack-Noisy Oscillator & Comb Filter demo

Published on Jul 15, 2019 Dziam Bass

"This video shows sound from the Noisy Oscillator and Comb filter from Modor modules eurorack.

A little added noise from the oscillator from the second voice as you see the knob mix and also subtle filtering from Comb Filter to get a partial flanger effect without too much modulation.

later we got a little more effect with Fb-feedback regulation and a larger delay type, ie a stronger effect on the longer time generated by Comb filter.

Noisy Oscillator module is and oscillator that mixes two signals: a 'regular' wave (sawtooth/square/triangle) and a 'tonal noisy' wave. This adds a special noisy layer over the sound, that adds 'air', grit or dirt, depending on the combinations you make. The MOD parameter acts on the noisy waveforms:

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Modor NF-1 Digital Polyphonic Synth Virtual Analog FM Wavetable

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

via this auction

"Super sounding very flexible synth! The Oscillator choices really make this synth. Standard analog waveforms and many other types: FM, FM feedback, wavetable, etc... The state variable VCF is fantastic as well. Also includes very analog sounding chorus and delay effects. The latest OS is installed, as well as a large amount of preset banks to get you going."

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Lifeforms Modulation

Published on Oct 5, 2017 Dziam Bass

Analogue Solutions Leipzig & Modor Music NF-1.

Modor NF-1 Digital Synthesizer w/ Original Box

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

via this auction

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Lovely Drone

Published on Oct 3, 2017 Dziam Bass

Analogue Solutions Leipzig & Modor Music NF-1.

Modor eurorack module COMB Filter to make chorus and flanger style effects

Published on Aug 4, 2019 Dziam Bass

"Today I have a movie using Comb Filter and Noisy Oscillator from Modor.
I really like the effect of flanger and chorus, but I did not have them in modules so this module can really put in motion and sound it well. a little more impact on the strong effect I gave about 2 minutes.

Comb filter so jets named this filter but based on jets on short delays which just produces these two effects.
A little more accurately about this module
What is a Comb Filter? It is a digital filter. The signal is mixed with a slightly delayed version of the input signal. You will not be able to do it (40ms at max). "Comb Filter" comes from. "The Filter process" is a number of different combinations.

Comb filters are typically used to make chorus and flanger style effects. These effects are created by modulating the delay time. With longer and relatively fast modified delays you receive a chorus effect. With short, slow-motion, modular delays, combined with some feedback.

So, the most interesting parameter in this is the delay time. That determines the frequency of the teeth. So that's why there's a CV control for it. The typical chorus and flanger effects are made by the LFO. So there's a triangle LFO onboard the module, with speed control. If you do not enter any CV in the CV1 connector, it is standardized to this internal LFO to make typical effects. CV2 is standardized to the reverse signal of CV1, to make Modor's typical wide stereo effects, just as on the NF-1 synthesizer. But you can enter your CV in a few words: LFO's, Envelopes or some rhytmically undulating spacy voltage signals ... Check it out!"

Modor Comb Filter and Formant Filter - Superbooth 2018

Published on May 7, 2018 Sound On Sound magazine

"Modor have adapted the formant filter from their NF-1 synth for the Eurorack format and introduced a new Comb filter as well. We take a listen..."

Sonicsmith Squaver P1 in action song

Published on Nov 19, 2017 Dziam Bass

"Sonicsmith Squaver P1 in action with Modor NF-1 and Leipig -S (Analogue Solutions) D&R mixer and Eventide Space verb from hand live recording"

MODOR NF-1 Digital Poly Review

Published on Oct 5, 2015 sonicstate

"A desktop DSP based polysynth from Belgium is proud to be digital. We take a look"