Cowboy and the Vocoder by Redmartian

The track is now available here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/redmartian9

"The song was recording using the MMM for bass and vocoder carrier. The lead is a jupiter-6 and the drums were done using a Sequential DrumTraks. The lead and vocoder (Roland SVC-350) parts were played manually along with the bass/drums which were sequenced using midi via Logic."

Some of you might remember Cowboy and the Vocoder from these previous posts.  The story behind this track has a somewhat intersting and quirky history.  Cowboy was VoiceEncoder's dog.  VoiceEncoder is known for his vocoder videos and demos that became somewhat of an obscure synth meme.  His demos actually came up in a recent conversation I had with someone.  VoiceEncoder would often feature his dog Cowboy in his videos.  Cowboy would just be lying on a bed somewhere while VoiceEncoder talked to him through a vocoder.  Sadly Cowboy passed away on Monday, March 23, 2009 (click through for a tribute post).

The second half of what makes this track special is that it is one of the first tracks predominantly featuring the Mattson Mini Modular (it might actually be the first) [Update: according to Redmartian, "it was the first 'song' on the MMM. I did a few musical demos and orchestrated lute pieces, but this was the first 'pop song'."] It was composed by Redmartian as a tribute to Cowboy.  The lyrics are a dedication to Cowboy and the videos he was featured in.  Below are two videos for the track.  The bottom video was taken at the 2009 PNW Synth Gathering and features the Performance Music Systems Syntar in place of the Jupiter-6 for leads.   The Syntar was the first fully contained keytar synthesizer created by George Mattson, the man behind Mattson Mini Modular.

Cowboy and the Vocoder and the MMM

Uploaded on Nov 5, 2008 redmartian·73 videos

"A song written for a dog who likes to listen to the sound the Roland SVC-350 vocoder. This song features the MMM as well as a Sequential Circuits Drum Traks and a Roland Jupiter-6. (I don't have a Poly-800 .. sorry cowboy).

Here are the lyrics:

Do you know Cowboy
and the SVC-350?
Do you know Cowboy
and the Roland Vocoder?

Hey there Cowboy
I see you there
Lazy gazing
Gazing lazy
Whos my sweet boy?
You know its you.
I like to vocode and you do too.

No Poly-800 to drive the SVC
So I use an MMM as my carrier wave
No Poly-800 but Cowboy doesn't mind.
We all know its the Roland SVC-350 vocoder time.

Audio version can be found here:
http://redmartian.com/napster/Red_Mar...

Don't hate the dog or the vocoder."

Introducing the Mattson MAXI Modular!

Today marks the six year anniversary of George Mattson deciding to get back into the synth business with the Mattson Mini Modular.   The first public teaser actually went up here on MATRIXSYNTH back on September 15, 2007.  Pictured to the left is a white prototype sitting on top of a Synthesizers.com system from the 2007 PNW Synth Gathering.

As you can guess, people were astounded by the small form factor. Not satisfied with having the smallest format in the modular world, George Mattson has decided it's time to have the largest.  We are talking hardcore BIG with THE FATTEST knobs and jacks you will find on any system.

I had the honor to announce the original Mattson Mini Modular to the world.  I am now proud to present to you his next format, the Mattson MAXI Modular.  Pictured below are the first two modules in the series, the SQ3/6 MONDO Sequencer and the Jet Engine Noise module.  Each module in the series will come in it's own powered cabinet - one module per cabinet. The Noise module can be set to blow dryer modeo for those live hair in the wind moments.  Don't forget the spandex!  Update: George tells me there is a hidden "Popcorn" mode in this dual system.  It plays Gershon Kingsley's synth classic "Popcorn" and doubles as a popcorn maker. The popcorn shoots out of the noise jacks.  You set the fluff, rate, salt, and butter settings with the SQ3/6 sequencer.

Back From the PNW SynthFest 2011

Hi everyone, I just got back from the PNW SynthFest (Facebook page here). It was amazing. It was like a mini NAMM meets synth gathering. Three rooms of goodness. I met lots of great people and saw tons of great gear. The MMTA, Shoreline Community College, AES, and the Recording Academy PNW Chapter did a fantastic job hosting and organizing the event. I'll have plenty of video and pics that will go up over the coming days. Bookmark the PNW Synthfest label so you don't miss a thing. Also, I updated the link for the SynthFest banner on the right to point to the label now that the event is over. My goal is to bring a little bit of it to those that couldn't make it. With that in mind and because there is only so much time to post, work, and process, much of what I put up will be raw and unedited, giving you the experience of someone actually at the event. First posts should start going up tomorrow. As for now, it's time for me to catch up on posting! BTW, if you made the event and took pics and/or video, feel free to send it in.

PNW SYNTHFEST 2011

The Pacific Northwest Synthfest will be held on October 29 at Shoreline Community College near Seattle Washington. Click on the image for the full size shot. Details will be updated on the MMTA (Mostly Modular Trade Association) website here. Save the date!

Note this replaces the PNW Synth Gathering of previous years. If you attended that event you know it is a pretty casual affair. Bring your gear and share with like-minded individuals. There will be three rooms this time around. See the flyer for details.

John Bowen talks about Solaris (Demo) 1 - 5

YouTube via Moogulator | October 19, 2010
http://johnbowen.com/
"Munich 2010, Synth Meeting [Synthesizer Treffen], John Bowen talks about the Solaris"
Moogulator of http://sequencer.de/

You can see John's talk at the PNW Synth Gathering in this post.
See the John Bowen label below for all posts including more video of the Solaris.
Update: In case you find this post in the archives, there is a new video of the above presentation here.

VB-99: Darryl Jones Interview

YouTube via RolandChannel | October 17, 2010

synth centric talk comes in at 4:00 minute mark.
"http://www.roland.com/products/en/VB-99/
Darryl Jones (Rolling stones, Sting, Miles Davis) talks to Roland about the VB-99 V-Bass System."

VB-99: Darryl Jones Interview (part 2)


This is interesting from the perspective of playing synths with alternate controllers. Also see this post on Jason Stiles playing bass with a Mattson Mini Modular at the 2010 PNW synth gathering.

The Syntar Turns 32

Today marks the 32 year anniversary of George Mattson's Performance Music Systems Syntar. You might recognize the name Mattson. George is the man behind Mattson Mini Modular. The Syntar, conceived in 1978, was the first all-enclosed keytar synthesizer. Before then keytars were just controllers. You can read all about the history of The Syntar on Carbon111.com here (you'll find a pic of Bob Moog playing Syntar prototype #1), and of course check out the Syntar label for posts that have gone up here. Below are two videos of Red Martian with the Syntar at the PNW 2009 synth gathering.



Pacific Northwest Synth 2009 - Red Martian
YouTube via matrixsynth | November 03, 2009


YouTube via matrixsynth.

Overview of the Syntar comes in around 1:55.

Dana Countryman at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010 Pt1

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 28, 2010

http://danacountryman.com/

"Dana goes over the Ondioline and his DIY controller based on the Ondes Martenot."

Dana Countryman at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010 Pt2


Note this is the last video in the PNW Synth Gathering 2010 series. Click here for all posts.

Lorne at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 28, 2010

"Lorne (http://www.youtube.com/kidtronic) goes over his various noisemakers including a modified Roland Compuphonic Jupiter-4 at the Pacific Northwest Synth Gathering.

via Lorne: "The Compuphonic Jupiter 4 is custom modified with four banks of eight user memories. On top are space rockets gristleisms, fm3s, original buddha boxes, a postcard weevil and the jackson pollock-ish item is a Dearraindrop videoscope [video below] by critter & guitari for audio to video synthesis."

Other noisemakers include the Shruti-1, Casper Electronics Drone Lab, Eric Archer, 4ms, and Where's the Party At 8-bit sampler. Click here for all PNW 2010 posts. Another MATRIXSYNTH T :) I added this and John's video to the MATRIXSYNTH Ts post.

The OLPC at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

Jeff Sandys brought the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) laptop this year. I recording his presentation but the audio did not come through. I recorded the presentation on my iPhone and I'm guessing I somehow covered the mike. :( Apologies to Jeff for this. You can see his presentation last year here. See the following link for more info on the OLPC. He did mention a link to where you can download the synth software on a USB. If anyone knows the link, let me know and I will update the post.

http://laptop.org/en/

Computer Controlled aka Acid Hazard at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 28, 2010

http://www.reverbnation.com/computerc...
http://flightofharmony.com/

Computer Controlled goes over his eurorack modular and the Bitchin' Sync. Apologies for the shaky hand syndrome. Filmed this one with the iPhone 4 and didn't have anything to rest my arms on. Part 1 is an overview. Synth audio starts in Part 2. Don't miss Part 3 for the flight of harmony Sound of Shadows making some crazy cicada sounds.

James Husted of Synthwerks at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 28, 2010

http://synthwerks.com/

James gives an overview of SYNTHWEKRS modules followed by the Yamaha Tenori-On in part two.

Sonja of flight of harmony at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010

http://flightofharmony.com/

Quick demo by Sonja. Back on iPhone 4 video from this point on.
See last years's post for the gas mask reference.

Update: This video should now play. I missed setting it from private to public. It should be good to go.

Note: new posts are coming up followed by more of the presentations. Remember you can get to the all PNW posts by clicking on the pnw2010 label below. Book mark it or just search for PNW on the site and then click on the label in one of the posts. You should also be able to find a post or more in the Featured Sites link above for a bit.

Also you can find this one at the top of Jul 27 in the archives section. Click it followed by the label.

George Mattson and Jason Stiles at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010

http://mattsonminimodular.com/

See this post for more details on the one of a kind floor system Jason is playing. This entire performance was done real time with guitar, bass and two 2-cabinet MMM’s run with their feet.

The following is another version of the piece performed by George Mattson and Jason Stiles. The main line in A minor is an old classical guitar piece by an unknown composer. If anyone does know, feel free to comment or shoot me an email - contact info is on the bottom right of the site.

matrixsynth · GeoJas Etude Am

Note: if the player doesn't work, try refreshing or click here.

Update via ThisGuyFrritz on YouTube: "The original piece is 'Asturias' by Isaac Albeniz."

John L Rice at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010

http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnLRice

"John L Rice Goes Over his 5U Modular System at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010. Note this is a module overview, not a music demo. There is some brief modular audio at the end of Part 2 and in Part 3. See John's YouTube channel for what he creates with his modular systems. BTW, I spoke to John at the gathering and he only had one and a half hours of sleep prepping his system before the event. Crazy man! LOVE THE T! :)"

Scott Rise of Division 6 at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

video upload by
YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010

http://www.division-6.com/

Scott briefly goes over what he brought to the meeting - an update to his MIDI module for the Mattson Mini Modular, a Division 6 MIDIfy'd Nintendo DS, KORG MicroKORG, and of course his Division 6 eurorack modules.

Scott Jaeger of The Harvestman at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010

http://www.theharvestman.org/

David Skinner with Synthesizers.com Q171 and Q172 at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010

http://synthesizers.com/
"David Skinner with Q171 Quantizer and Q172 Quantizer Aid at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010. The Q171 provides three quantization channels. The Q172 adds a fourth channel with expanded features including CV to MIDI conversion."

Note the audio on this one is pretty low. Be sure to turn your volume back down after this one. I had to switch to my iPhone 4 as I ran out of space on my Canon T2i at this point. Unfortunately I missed the KORG MicroSample demo which was pretty fun. Remember these videos are meant to give you a feel for the event if you couldn't make it. Nothing is scripted. Just a bunch of people getting together to talk about and appreciate synths. See the pnw2010 label for all posts in the series.

Carbon111 and the Yamaha VL-1 at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010 http://carbon111.com "Brief demo of the Yamaha VL1 by Carbon111. Note the Yamaha VL1 is a physical modeling synth and with this particular demo, Carbon111 is using a breath controller to "trigger" the sounds while he plays pitch on the keyboard."

Aaron of Analog Bytes and the Atari Pokey at the PNW Synth Gathering 2010

YouTube via matrixsynth | July 27, 2010

http://www.analogbytes.org/ - click for more info including sound samples.