Behringer Edge with the DB-01

video upload by Richard DeHove

"The Edge-DFAM class of machines is an odd category. Not a very good as a synth due to the constant (and necessary) manipulation of the oscillator frequencies. Not particularly good as a drum machine due to the 8-step limitations and the delicate juggling required to squeeze out multiple sounds. And not so great live since there are no presets and too many parameters to easily morph to a different sound. OTOH if you want a random percussion chaos layer then it's the perfect solution.

Of course they're great fun to twiddle and make unexpected discoveries. They also pair up pretty well with more conventional machines to produce a more complex result than you'd get with 'ordinary' synths.

Having owned both the DFAM and Edge I'm happy but hesitant to admit that in a 1:1 matchup I'd choose the Edge. This is entirely due to the MIDI clock options: The sequence must always start at the start - duh. Some people say the DFAM sounds better (whatever that means) but I'm not feeling anything radically different. My only complaint is that the LPF feels murky and doesn't interact with the resonance control in a pleasing way. The HPF is much superior imo and saves the filter section. Of course it may be that I've now been trained by prolonged Polivoks filter exposure to expect satisfying grit and tortured screaming.

Back on the topic of 'Would I use it live', the more I thought about that the more I thought I'd use the LXR-02 instead. Perhaps a video 'The LXR-02 does the DFAM' would be good?

It may also be of interest to note the use of the DB-01 gate output connected to the noise level in Demo 1. It generates some noise percussion when playing normally because of the gate length but this largely disappears when playing the arpeggiator's much shorter gate length.

As usual there are absolutely no external effects or DAW processing.

0:00 Unboxing
1:25 The setup
1:42 MIDI reset
2:27 Clock divider
3:13 Tuning
4:05 Demo 1: Cheese
4:39 Demo 2: Swinger
5:19 Demo 3: Rubber
6:22 Demo 4: Wired

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

Tortured DB-01 filter harmonics soothed with a Big Sky (no talk, possibly no music)

video upload by Richard DeHove

"I like melody. Looking back at when I played synth-punk live back in the day, the music then probably had too much melody. Well, I'm making up for it here. It's just playing with sweet-spot harmonics made bearable by the newly-bought Big Sky. Too nuanced? Too nerdy? Not even music? Maybe, but look at them harmonic peaks :D

In my recent post asking whether I should send back this glowing blue reverb cliche a sizable group voted for "Make some videos and we'll let you know". It's got to be some praise for the Big Sky that these droning harmonics suddenly became sweet to my ears. In fact I didn't intend to make a video about this at all. I was just booting up the new Big Sky to make sure it worked (after my sad experience of a DOA Line6 DL4), got to preset number 2, tweaked it, twiddled the DB-01's filter knob, and here we are.

So there's some hesitation in posting this since it seems incredibly obscure. Five minutes of resonant squeals? Yet I found it strangely hypnotic and satisfying. The only other filter I've come across which was even close to the Polivoks in twiddle-fun was the classic Moog ladder on my now long-departed Sub-37. It is also fun to discover separate tones with tiny filter movements. OTOH maybe it's just the Big Sky doing all the work?

Perhaps it's best to look on this as you would a dreamy session on a Lyra-8: It's not so much music as a brainwave meditation session. And that's not bad at all for a little mono bassline synth.

As usual there is absolutely no processing other than what you see: A DB-01 and the Big Sky (plus the old sci-fi samples).

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: / richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

Polivoks FAEMI-M Soviet Vintage Analog Polyphonic Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Universal Audio

via this auction

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

Update: The listing has the FAEMI-M as being from 1968. It seemed a little early to me so I checked my copy of Peter Forest's The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers. It's listed but without a production date. Right before the entry for the FAEMI-M is the FAEMI children's keyboard which was released in 1972. I then checked http://www.ruskeys.net, but no date is given either. Previous posts refer to the FAEMI-M being from the 1970s. Sound on Sound's article on the Polivoks mentions the FAEMI-M but w/o a date. If anyone defininitively knows, feel free to leave a comment. A couple of interesting comments from that Sound on Sound article:

"The Polivoks is a duophonic synthesizer designed by Vladimir Kuzmin, an electronics engineer who had been the bass player and sound engineer in his student band. Having graduated in 1976, he was inspired to apply for work at the Urals Vector Company by the inventor of the FAEMI, the first commercially successful Russian electronic keyboard. That man was Vladimir Lugovetz, the Director of the bureau that controlled development of electronic instruments at the Vector company, and the father of Kuzmin's future wife."

Followed by "Interviewed by Polish synthesizer enthusiast and supplier Maciej Polak, in 2003, Kuzmin explained: "My first task was to design the spring reverberator, but I also tried to improve the design of FAEMI‑M in order to obtain some modern effects such as portamento and filtering."

Auction details:

"So, the good news: All four oscillator generators are working; I have cleaned the potentiometers, and only one couldn't be fixed, and just one is slightly crackling on movement. I replaced the output jacks with the standard 1/4" jack.

Things I couldn't fix: The vibrato section is not working. Several keys are not working at all, and some of them work when pressed harder.

The external original power supply is unusual – it is combined with the scale pedal in one housing. The pedal works, but it also has a slight crackle on movement.

To see and understand the objective condition, I recorded a video. Please watch below, where I aim to show the specific condition of the device. Despite the problems, it is still alive, and I believe you can either repair, sample, or simply enjoy the time with such an old and unusual synthesizer, even in its current state. Of course, due to these reasons, I have also objectively reduced the price.

The package is fully loaded: synthesizer, original power supply/volume pedal, original 5-Din cable to connect the pedal to the synth, power cable for the power supply, original wooden hard case

Here is some official spoecifications:

Specifications:

Keyboard volume - 4 octaves.

Full sound range (all the registers are switched on) - from F in the controctave to E in the fifth octave.

Output voltage at the load of 100 kOhm - not less than 0.1 V.

Power supply:
-from an external DC source - 12 V +10\-20 %;

Power consumption from AC mains - not more than 15 W.

Current consumed from the battery of dry elements - 350 mA.

Overall dimensions - 610*280*110 mm.

Weight - not more than 10 kg."

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Elta Music PM-02 Polivoks-M

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

via this auction

You can find a demo of the Elta Music PM-02 Polivoks-M here.

"46 HP Eurorack Module w/ original box and documentation. Includes power supply ribbon cable.

Full synth voice with classic Polivoks circuits
Variable-shape LFO with two simultaneous outputs
Classic, snarling Polivoks filter with BP and LP modes
ADSR envelope with optional looping mode
Full modular integration with CV inputs for pitch, cutoff, VCA, and PWM
Direct LFO, VCO, Suboscillator, Envelope, Noise, and Master audio outputs
Designed in collaboration with Vladimir Kuzmin, developer of the original Polivoks"

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UVI Introduces Synth Anthology 4

video uploads by UVI

Note the above is a playlist featuring 4 videos. You can use the player controls to skip through them or just watch them all in order.

Details on Synth Anthology 4 follow:

The authentic sound of 200 synthesizers, from vintage to modern
4,000+ presets and layers deliver incredible sound with hardware soul
Feature-packed dual-layer engine with fx, arpeggiator and more

Synth Anthology 4 - A Synthesizer Tour de Force
https://www.uvi.net/synth-anthology-4

Rebuilt from the ground-up, Synth Anthology 4 now features the authentic hardware sound of 200 vintage and modern synthesizers, a fully redesigned engine with powerful features, fx, arpeggiator, smart sound suggestion engine, native MPE support, and more.
A dreamlike collection!

Also included in SonicPass ➡️ https://www.uvi.net/sonicpass

Video credits: Anthony Hak
Music Credits: Théo & Thomas

"The Best Keeps Getting Better

What's new in version 4?

Almost everything!
We've rebuilt the engine from the ground-up, added more synths, more presets, more effects, more filters, more modulation, a dedicated browser, a second fully-customizable layer for creating hybrid and blended timbres, an all-new smart suggestion engine that helps you quickly find similar sounds, a more powerful arpeggiator/phraser, bus effects, native MPE support, and more!

Real Hardware Sounds There is something unmistakable about the sound of a real hardware synth, from subtle differences between voice circuits and drift to the varied way filters bite into the sound; there's a distinct character and energy. Synth Anthology 4 delivers the authentic and uncompromising hardware sound with all the conveniences of a modern software instrument.

Every piece of hardware represents a unique creative vision, sonic character, innovations, and strengths. Whatever you're looking for, from analog to digital, vintage classic to future classic, you will find it here. Synth Anthology 4 delivers an incredible collection of hardware, every major manufacturer, every type of synthesis, every era, 200 synthesizers in all.

You won't find a more complete collection anywhere else."

The list:

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Yet Another Happy (Eurorack) Accident

video upload by Musical Miscellany (Poorness Studios)

"I recently found this 0HP Low Pass Gate from Mystic Circuits in a drawer and decided to build a patch around it. To be honest, I'm not 100% sure what I did but I really liked the result so I decided to share it with my subscribers. I made a couple similar videos a few years ago. There are a lot of happy accidents that happen with modular synthesizers."

Previously:

Another Happy (Eurorack) Accident

"I was testing out my new IME (The Harvestman) Polivoks ADSR/VCA module (I bought it used from eBay) and somehow it evolved into this generative patch. I just recorded a couple minutes pf audio but I thought it was worth sharing.

It reminded me of this video I did back in 2016:

A Happy (Eurorack) Accident

"I rearranged my Eurorack case recently. After I was done, I tested all the modules and along the way, I came up with this patch accidentally."

Acidbox III extended demo with Perkons

video upload by Richard DeHove

"A stereo filter at the end of an instrument with four multimode filters? Why not, makes sense to me. I've been hunting an interesting filter for ages - preferably stereo. I've churned through the extreme Retro Mechanical Devices long-name-bigbox to the more recent Elta Polivoks, Source Audio Ultrawave and even the filter on the Strymon Mobius. All the of them are gone now except the Mobius.
With the Acidbox III I think I'm close to the answer. Of course the filter itself is the essential core, but two other aspects make this shine: a syncable multi-waveform LFO, and the classic Erica feature of overdrive on the input. Here I noodle around on a single Perkons pattern with a rare touch of the DB-01 just for a sonic change. Routings are explained in the video. There's no other processing than what you see.

0:00 Routings setup
1:06 Acidbox III overview
2:49 All twiddle no talk

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

Behringer Cat synth - unboxing and first sounds (no talk)

video upload by Richard DeHove

"Yes, it's my first Cat video, the Behringer Cat, which recently plunged in price by almost 50 per cent. It cost me substantially less than the Nemesis delay which it's paired with here. It's a bargain and since there was zero chance of me ever buying (and hoping to maintain) a 50-year-old original Cat it seemed a fair deal. Strangely enough I'd been looking at this synth for a month or so specifically because of two features: It's paraphonic with separate VCO 1 & 2 CV inputs; and it has beautifully raw cross-modulation. (More with the CV inputs in a later video)

This is also my first unboxing video (a challenge accepted from Berin) but I couldn't bring myself to utter lines like "here is the power supply, oh and a lovely sticker" so there's some Cat sounds over the top. There's a lot of dischordant sounds in this demo but that's what I bought it for. Of course it can do all the usual things too. The Nemesis delay is slopped over the top of everything for which I offer no apology since it sounds so much better that way, covers up sloppy playing, and makes filter twiddlings interesting. But if anyone really wants 100% raw stuff let me know. As usual there is no post-production audio trickery, the path is Cat to Nemesis to you. And for any Cat veterans out there I'm sure various settings were either redundant or bypassed (I couldn't work out the second envelope), but it's early days so live and learn. It was fun not needing to even look in a manual though, it's there in front of you. One thing that did strike me was how powerful the resonance is. I've been spoiled by the no-risk DB-01 Polivoks resonance which happily goes to 100 per cent anytime. Not here!

Visuals are AI-generated images made using Stable Diffusion. Being the creative type I came up with my very own set of AI word prompts, which I think makes me "lead visual artist, SFX supervisor and CGI chief designer".

0:00 Unboxing with bloops
1:02 Paraphonic grind
1:36 Filter sweeps
2:32 Awful twiddlings
4:04 Sick mid
4:23 Twiddlings two
4:55 Not Arabic

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

aPolyvoks | A FREE Polivoks AUv3 Synth App? | haQ attaQ

video by Jakob Haq

"aPolyvoks is a Polivoks-like synthesizer app for iPad. It's not a new app but it did recently receive a very welcome AUv3 update. So now we can load this Russian badboy up in our most favourite DAWs and on top of that, aPolyvoks is completely free. In this episode I'm comparing the app with the original built-like-a-tank Polivoks hardware synth and highlighting some features that are 'missing' in the app."

See Doug of The Sound Test Room's aPolyvoks video here.

Elta Music Polivoks-M Analog Synthesizer

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

via this auction

The grey side panels look 3D printed.

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Blue Lantern Evila modular synthesizer - Diode edition with bonus module

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

via this auction

"This is a rare modular synthesizer that was only made for a short time before Blue Lantern went into Eurorack equipment. This is a particularly great place to start for anyone who is new to the modular world. I'm also including a separate module that includes a VCA and two separate filters, one of which models an Oberheim. It can be attached or detached to the synth as seen in the pictures. All power supplies included, and I'll throw in a pack of ~20 patch cables anywhere from 5" to 2' long. I picked it up with the intention of getting into modular stuff about a year ago, but just haven't had the time. It has some scratches and stuff that are cosmetic, but I'd call it like a 8/10 overall.

The oscillators are pretty aggressive sounding, it's a pretty beastly sound so this isn't meant to create silky atmospheric pads. They also tend to waver around, maybe as far as 30 cents or so. It's likely a simple calibration fix, but I'm not the type of person to tinker around with equipment. For that reason, I think it's more fun as a sound designer, but if you're looking to make some really interesting, experimental music then I suppose it'd be good for that too. Anyway, that's why I'm selling it for so cheap.

Here is a video of a similar model, posted by the manufacturer. [posted here]

Details:

(2) 'BLUE DEMON' VCO'S WITH: SAW/ RAMP/ SQUARE/ TRANGLE/ SINE AND LINEAR, FM, SYNC, PWM, AND 1V/OCT CV INPUTS.

(2) MODULAR PORTABLE BI-POLAR POWER SUPPLY WHICH HANGS OFF THE PANEL WITH BUILT IN MULTIPLE CV BUFFER. 16VAC PWR INPUT(WALLWART) 2.1mm JACK

(1) NOISE GENERATOR WITH 4 TYPES : WHITE, RED, HPWN, LPWN

(1) AC MIXER.

(1) LFO WITH S&H AND TAP TEMPO. SAW/ RAMP/ SQUARE/ TRIANGLE/ SINE/ S&H

(2) ADSR ENVELOPE GENERATORS INCLUDING MANUAL TRIGGER BUTTON.

(1) POLIVOKS LM4250 BASED VCF WITH BRIGHT SWITCH AND BI-POLAR INPUT.

(1) MIDI 2 CV CONVERTER WITH (2) PITCH CV OUTS AND (1) GATE OUT, (1) TRIG OUT, (1) MIDI to CV CONTROLLER OUT

(2) JACK TYPE CONVERTERS SO YOU CAN CONNECT TO YOUR MIXER OR AMP.

(2) ATTENUATORS

MIXER FOR 3 INPUTS + 1 OUTPUT

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Polivoks-M Eurorack Synth 2019 Limited Edition

Published on Oct 25, 2019 ELTA music

"ELTA Music presents limited POLIVOKS-M in euro-rack

https://reverb.com/item/26609452-elta...

- works on the original scheme designed in 80-s

- features the original Polivoks filter that gives so defined classic Polivoks dirty sound

- the production is limited, there are only 50 units the world will see !"

ELTA Polivoks-M PM-02 Eurorack Module Demo

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Oct 10, 2019 ELTA music

"Polivoks eurorack module from @eltamusic. This is multitracked. All sounds/tracks are generated by the Polivoks. Drums are @roland_us TR-909. Music and Video by Protovolt.

Buy it now on Reverb using the link below.
https://reverb.com/item/26609452-elta...

Original schematics by Vladimir Kuzmin, creator of the original Polivoks synth from Soviet Union. Finally in eurorack format."

Cool retro arcade cabinet eurorack case.


Note the PM-02 was first announced back in April.

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ESK - Studio Session

Published on Sep 28, 2019 Metunar

"Some kind of acid techno jamsession in the studio.

Instruments:
- Elektron Digitakt with Chorus and Reverb from a TC M-One
- Mutable Instruments Shruthi with Polivoks filter and Delay from a Ibanez AD202 and Chorus from a Roland SBF325
- Arturia Drumbrute distorted through a Boss KM-60 Mixer

http://www.metunar.ch"

FAEMI M Polivoks VINTAGE ANALOG Polyphonic SYNTHESIZER Soviet USSR

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Sep 22, 2019 GLvintageSHOP

Some pics via this auction

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Better sound of Arturia MatrixBrute? Roland Jupiter and SH101, Korg MS20, Prophet 5?

Published on Sep 9, 2019 PawelBlaszczak_Composer

"How Arturia is sounding with third filter, with a lot of other third filters :) I'm testing how Arturia working with different eurorack filters from Korg MS20, Roland Jupiter 6, Roland SH101, Oberheim SEM, Prophet 6, Polikvoks and Prophet 5. Also Three Sisters filter checking.

This is test from composer/producer to others composer/producers so don't expect engineer oscilloscope detailed test. I'm artist, not engineer so far :)

So here are full list of filters with same order as showing:
1. Korgasmatron II from Intellijel - Korg MS20 filter,
2. Doepfer A-106-5 SEM - Oberheim filter
3. Jove80 from System 80 - Roland Jupiter 6, Roland SH101 filter,
4. Curtis Filter from Dave Smith - Prophet 6 filter,
5. Z2040 from TipTop - Prophet 5 rev 2 filter,
6. Black Polivoks VCF from Erica Synth - Polivoks filter,
7. Three Sisters from Mannequins

I used FabFilter L2 at the end of signal, since I thing loudness isn't most important factor here. No other effects.
Also, when I put to much resonance to duck the whole signal for not destroying your speakers, headphones. So, it isn't truth how Arturia is sound with max settings of resonance, because signal is ducked.

And sorry SEM presented is 12dB, not 6dB, sorry of that!

English is my second language, so sorry for mistakes. Hope you'll like it, not mistakes of course, but filters :)"

Elta Music Polivoks-M Eurorack Module

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

via this auction

"Polivoks-M in eurorack format, one of the first batch. very rare at this moment!

delivery from Ukraine with tracking 2-4 weeks. please check my feedback."

First time I've seen it in euro format. You can see demos of the desktop in the archives here.

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Orange Model Elta Music Polivoks-M

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

via this auction

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(Vermona '14): "Rumba in Blue" (MIDI-Synth)

Published on May 25, 2019 Kris Lennox

"Listen to the sound of that thing. For a straight-up mono tone, the '14 is hard to beat. In this recording I'm playing with a range of tones, from a rave sawtooth sound (i.e 0:51), to something more akin to a Polivoks (2:21 ish). In fact, when the filter is backed off a little, the '14 can sound very similar to the old Polivoks. I'd certainly understand if someone on hearing only the few seconds @ 2:21 thought they were hearing a Polivoks.

This track I wrote in the DAW (as a MIDI file). The '14 keyboard is decoupled, and I'm sending MIDI from the DAW to the '14 (via the mio cable). The MIDI is a straight 127 velocity value; it is simply the filter/settings etc on the '14 giving the sense of dynamic variation (if creating works with huge filter variation, I generally keep velocities within a narrow bandwidth, as certain filter positions can kill notes at lower velocities).

The piece, despite being for monosynth, is written to sound like three parts. Tricky to compose in this manner when harmony is non-existent - but worth the effort.

MIDI files are probably to electronic musicians what sheet music is to Classical players. I like the idea of someone else taking a MIDI file, running it through their own synth/modular, and doing their own thing with it. To me, this is the same as a Classical pianist sitting down and giving their own interpretation of a work.

Of course, electronic musicians will know MIDI files are like gold dust. They are the key.

Rather than holding on to my own MIDI files, I'm happy to sell them on. I'm also happy for others to run any of my MIDI live, release tracks on their own albums, splice the original file and use as they wish etc. If anyone wants the MIDI file for this track, I'm willing to sell it for £25 (paypal). Again, do what you want with it when you have it. The fun is doing your own thing.

PS I'll likely upload quite a few midi-controlled works, as I like the idea of others having access to the files and potentially creating their own versions. That, plus I plan on uploading videos of multiple synths driven simultaneously i.e Matrixbrute/Vermona/Odyssey etc.

Enjoy (the '14 really does have a great tone)

And if interested in the MIDI file, just email me (krislennoxpiano@gmail.com)

All best
Kris"

Schrittmacher Peak

Published on May 20, 2019 verstaerker

"Manikin Schrittmacher sequencer plays the Novation Peak , the sequences gets more complex while i'm adding add, gate and velocity-modulation"

Follow-up to Schrittmacher Polivoks.Pro.