Mutable Instruments to Ramp Down DIY

via Mutable Instruments

"Please take the time to read this...

After careful considerations, I have decided to progressively ramp down the production of most of Mutable Instruments’ DIY line.

=== The reasons ===
* Some of these products are getting old and/or are not as successful as I thought they would be, and it doesn’t make much sense to keep them in inventory when only a couple units are sold in a month - while their price has been decided at a time they were produced in batches of 100s.
* There’s little overlap in the way Mutable Instruments’ as a maker of modules, and Mutable Instruments’ as a maker of DIY kits operate; to the point that it really feels like I’m running two companies; dealing with two groups of suppliers, two ways of managing accounting or keeping track of stock etc. Some decisions related to growth (small things like formalizing procedures through software, or big things like relocating or hiring…) can’t really be done in a way that would serve both missions. I have reached a size at which a choice must be made, and the ratio of things I like to do / annoyances is higher when it comes to the kit business.
* I no longer agree with some of the design decisions (be they aesthetic or technical) defining these products. It just feels wrong to me to sell products I would not personally buy.
* I’d like to explore a few (non-music and/or non-electronics and/or non-DIY) projects and I badly need to make room in my life for that.

=== The consequences ===
I do not plan to produce new batches of the following products:
* MIDIpal. There are currently 55 units left in stock. I’m keeping a small stash to serve warranty requests. As time passes, I’ll get rid of them (without warranty).
* Shruthi XT kits. There are currently about 50 kits left in stock.
* Anushri (as a kit and as a PCB set). There are currently about 100 kits left in stock. I only have 40 Euro panel sets, so I might do a small run of them to prevent the last kits from being sold naked.
* Shruthi filter boards. I have in stock (or on order for the Polivoks and Yellow magic) about 50 pairs of filter boards. The digital filter board is already out of production.
* Ambika (as a kit and as bare PCBs). I currently have 50 kits being sorted, which will be available as a bundle with Adrian’s case in november or early december. I still have a big stash of PCBs – so this one will take more time to disappear.

I do plan to produce new batches of the following products:
* Shruthi kit. There’s really nothing quite like this little beast. I might narrow it down to one or two flavors (like vanilla = kit+plexi case and vanilla-caramel-choco-chips-cookie-dough = 4PM kit + metal case).
The fate of the following products is unknown:
* CVpal.
* Module tester.

=== And after that? ===
Some of you might want to organize small community-runs of PCBs to keep one of these products alive – just as it has been done for the Sidekick. I’m fine with that, but obviously I won’t provide any support.

Keeping the DIY line alive through a commercial initiative is something that requires more thought. If this happens, and I am currently exploring several paths for this to happen, this has to be done in a way that does not involve the Mutable Instruments name, or only as a sort of quote or tribute."

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.

Polivoks Synthesizer sequenced MIDI via Dotcom modules

Published on Oct 7, 2015 alternatingbitmusic

"I still intend to do a full Polivoks demo but I was having fun with this sequence so I had to share. I love the vibrato-like modulation I used on oscillator one. This Polivoks has a MIDI IN / THRU mod, and I'm using the Synthesizers.com quantizer bank aid Q172's MIDI out to transmit CV for pitch via the Q119 sequencer."

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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A Zen-Bro romance told in resonant screams

video upload by Richard DeHove

"I have a bad habit of cranking the resonance on any machine I touch. It's so ingrained I did it at a friend's studio a little while back on an unfamiliar synth - and after a brief shriek decaying to an air-moving whomp I thanked the gods that the volume was set so low. I've used so many Polivoks-style filters in recent times I'm used to cranking the resonance with impunity.

Which brings me to the delicate love story between the Erica Synths Zen delay and the Behringer Pro-800. My trusty Rev2 is for sale and in its place I bought the Pro-800. Why trade down you may ask? Truth is I'm not a big poly player. The more polyphony you use the more simple the sound needs to be, in which case I wanted a simple yet knobby poly, and that's the Pro-800. Added bonus: no onboard effects. So when the Pro-800 arrived this week I teamed it with the Zen delay immediately.

So the romance is revealed: A brand new Pro-800 teamed with the Zen delay. The 800 is switched on for the first time, the resonance is cranked, the Zen's input drive and overdrive is engaged and almost immediately this gloriously jagged, gritty, and unpredictable darkness pours out.

Five minutes of first-time noodlings is a bit much I admit. And I was going to say all this over the top of the video but that felt wrong, like ads in a funeral service. So instead here it is. It is literally the first time I ever powered it on, to the point where I didn't even know how to save the sound or know whether I'm in tune, on the upside I pretty sure moved every knob and switch so if you want to replicate the sound, there it is.

Even so the 800's resonance is not fully cranked, I had to back off a little just to retain the ability to hold an actual melody.

Whether the 800 is good for anything else, who knows - I haven't got past this sound yet and I must look up how to save it. What's clear though is that the 800's filter teams beautifully with some heavy drive. I can feel more teamings in the air - perhaps another stereo 'Roger That' outing?

One final thing worth mentioning: the Zen delay cost significantly more than the Pro-800. Makes you wonder where your synth dollar is best spent.

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/"

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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DIY Filter Demos via Crashlander42

Wasp Filter Clone YouTube via Crashlander42

"Playing with my DIY modular synth. Running 2 XRVCO's and a Yusynth VCO through a Wasp filter (Fonik Version)
Visit my music page @ http://www.myspace.com/isaciongun"

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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 :)"

Modular Synth and Guitar Crossover

Published on Sep 13, 2016 FatSynthDude

"For some reason you don't see much talk about doing stuff like this. For this demonstration, I'm running a guitar through various modules on my Eurorack system before sending it to the amp. In all cases, the guitar is a Schecter Avenger 7, the amp is a Schecter Hellraiser Stage 100, the mic is an SM57, and the preamp is an Eleven Rack. For most of these sounds, the clean channel was used. No post-processing effects were used. The order of the modules being used is as followed (also see corresponding picture.)

1. 0:00 Flame FX-16 (Autowah)
2. 0:19 Flame FX-16 (Bitcrusher)
3. 0:52 Audio Damage Aeverb
4. 1:20 Analogue Solutions SY02
5. 1:39 Doepfer A-136 Distortion/Waveshaper
6. 1:55 EMW Fixed Filter Bank
7. 2:35 A-125 Phase Shifter (Modulated by WMD DPO)
8. 3:27 Synthrotek Echo
9. 4:22 Dave Smith DSM-02 Character (5:42, drive turned up to max. Kinda of has a Tube Screamer-esque quality here.)
10. 6:03 Synthrotek 308 (Rat Clone) (6:43, Lead Channel engaged and a bad cover of 'Where the Slime Live" is played)
11. 6:58 Doepfer A-105 SSM Filter (Modulated by WMD DPO)
12. 8:36 Mutable Warps
13. 9:18 OSC303 (being CV modulated by the guitar, oddly enough)
14. 10:16 Mutable Elements
15. 10:58 Mutable Clouds
16. 12:12 Uoki-Toki Polivoks Filter (Modulated by WMD DPO. Uoki-Toki has super cheap Polivoks clone filters available on Muff Wiggler and I can't recommend them enough.)
17. 13:16 Trouby Tube Fuzz (Can't believe I've actually found something usable for this module! Sounds terrible on synths, but great as a guitar front end.)
18. 13:41 Music Thing Radio Music
19. 13:57 Waldorf NW1 (Wave 80 is my new god)
20. 14:30 Pittsburgh Modular Verbtronic (love how it has such a spring reverb character to it)
21. 15:30 Dwarfcraft Hax
22. 16:18 Flame Talking Synth
23. 16:50 Soundmachines UL1 Looper (very lofi quality even at highest quality)
24. 17:31 4ms Atoner
25. 18:42 Synthrotek APC (Modulated by WMD DPO)"

Roland [100M] M-121 VCF mod. for PROJECT SKYJAM

"[Replacing original M-121 cirquitry with MS20 + Polivoks VCF clones.]"

more info

via Svenn

Rakit Metal Synth (Working Name)

Published on Jun 23, 2018 Rakit

"A new 'metal' synth prototype, it makes a variety of metallic (and sci-fi) sounds using shaped noise."

via Rakits.co.uk where you can find more pics and a newsletter sign-up.

"A new prototype percussion synth has been in the works for some time now and it has finally emerged.

The prototype features:

White noise, ‘metal’ and external sound sources
A Polivoks style filter with switchable bandpass/lowpass modes
Sweep for subtle to sci-fi sounds
Adjustable decay and tails contour generator
CV controllable filter cutoff & Gate Input

The Prototype
Initially we went through a few filter circuits before we settled on a polivoks style filter (think abusing op amps). The unit is able to create classic synthesised metallic sounds, hi-hats, cymbals and even an approximation to a snare.Just like our drum synth, you can coax interesting and useful sounds out of the unit, but as you dial it up you get all sorts of crazy. As an added bonus the filter works as a third voice for sci-fi laser sounds.

The white noise and ‘metal’ sound sources are produced by an 8 pin attiny. The VCA is a long tail BJT pair, which on the final unit will contain a matched NPN transistors pair soldered on by us. We thought about matching pairs by hand but we don’t have the time and its unfair to make the customer do this themselves.

A lot of mods have been made to get the unit working so another prototype run will be made before a product can be launched. But I’m hopeful it will only take one more board spin.

Currently we are pretty pleased with the sound palette and fitting any more components would be near to impossible, but any feedback will be considered.

Korg SQ-1 clocks MU modular and Polivoks

Published on Apr 1, 2016 alternatingbitmusic

"Just a mini demo of how you can use various options for tempo clocking and pitch control. In this setup I'm using the MIDI OUT from a Korg SQ-1 mini sequencer to control a vintage monosynth and a few MU modules that trigger a Vermona DRM1 MKIII Drum Synth."

Polivoks + Moog Sub Phatty groove

Published on Apr 1, 2016

"Often I declare how whenever I do a video of a modular patch or demo, once I record something for a video and upload it, I then revisit the patch and something much greater comes out, and this is no exception. Hence, you only have audio to sample, but I thought it was worth sharing. Here's the original video from which this jam derived: [above]"

Early August Noodle (Modular Synth Performance)

Urs Heckmann
Published on Aug 7, 2017

Urs Heckmann is the man behind u-he.

"Here's last weekend's patch on a small system. All sound is recorded straight out of this synth. Goes to show that two oscillators, one filter plus Rings and Clouds make for a nicely dense patch. Base drum (way too loud, sorry for that) stems from Peaks. I'm using Batumi + 2 x Tirana and the Sequenced Switch to create all sorts of triggers, random offsets and rhythmic context.

Most of the performance is setting the levels of each component, plus a few tweaks on Maths. I could have done more, but...

... the general problem with recording a video like that is, I could do much more to make it interesting, but it might be difficult to come back to the original setting. Hence some knobs are better left untouched if there's the slightest chance one needs to reshoot. Then, after five or six attempts one is just fine with the bad light, noisy looks and some mixing errors. I need more experience with this :-)

Patch Notes:

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Soviet FAEMI M SN 1183218

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

"FAEMI M Rare Analog Organ Synthesizer from Polivoks Factory"

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Polivoks, Easel and a Reverb

Published on Oct 13, 2018 verstaerker

"this is mainly a sound demo for GFI Specular Tempus Reverb & Delay Effectpedal
i'm using the Polivoks.Pro and Easel as Soundsoruce"

The Harvestman Polivoks eurorack modules... vs. manmademadman

Published on Jun 4, 2014 manmade madman·16 videos

"Brief demo of the new modules from The Harvestman.
These include the R-1983 oscillators, HMR1987 modulation source, R1982 filter, and R1985 VCA/envelope.

During the demo, it is being sequenced by the Acidlab Autobot in TAP WRITE mode.
Together, these modules are filthy sounding- just like my old Polivoks was- but without the tuning issues and general unreliability. On FM, they sound huge. Very inspiring and lots of tone to be had inside here. I'm only scratching the surface of what these can do."

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/"

Tiptop Audio Demos by Tomio Ueda

Theres a bit more in there as well.

Playlist (remember, you can use the video controls to skip through the videos that interest you):

Tiptop Audio Eurorack Modular Jam: Office Edition Published on May 1, 2013
"another day, another modular jam at the office!
Using Tiptop Audio's (currently) unreleased Trigger Riot for sequencing and for clocking all sources, triggers, events, and particle exterminators."

Tiptop Audio: Trigger Riot Drum and Bass Demo Published on Feb 2, 2013
"change of pace and doing a simple drum and bass rhythm with the Trigger Riot....lots of shit going on here but basically everything is being clocked by the TR's internal clock and its 8 outputs in matrix mode."

Tiptop Audio Trigger Riot Techno Published on Feb 1, 2013
"Showing off how you can make basic techno patterns and rhythms with Tiptop Audio's up-and-coming Trigger Riot!"

Modular Jam 4 Published on Oct 30, 2012
"bloooooop"

Modular Jam 2 Published on Oct 18, 2012
"blooooop"

Tiptop Audio Demo at Noisy By Nature, Los Angeles Published on Aug 10, 2012
"Tiptop Audio Demo showcasing the fully analog 909 Clap and 808 Cowbell as well as the new Z-DSP Broken Silicon and Error-Codes chips."

Tiptop 808 + Z3000 Jam Published on Mar 22, 2012
"www.soundcloud.com/nonbot
simple techno jam using the bd808, sd808, hats808, and the z3000mk2"

NAMM 2012 Tiptop Audio Modular Patch 1 Uploaded on Jan 24, 2012
"www.soundcloud.com/nonbot
Messing around with Doepfer clock dividers, z3000 mk2, 3 x z8000, BD808 kick, SD808 snare, OHCH808 closed and open hihats, and the prototype of the analog polyphonic modular VCO (PVCO), and Cwejman ADSR."

NAMM 2012 Tiptop Audio Patch 2 Uploaded on Jan 24, 2012
"www.soundcloud.com/nonbot
Messing around with Doepfer clock dividers, z3000 mk2, 3 x z8000, BD808 kick, SD808 snare, OHCH808 closed and open hihats, and the prototype of the analog polyphonic modular VCO (PVCO), and Cwejman ADSR."

minipatch with z3000, Korgasmatron, Maths, ADSR-VC2, and a simple LFO.mp4 Uploaded on Aug 18, 2011
"www.soundcloud.com/nonbot
seeing what I can do with 1 stack cable and 9 wires :)
featured modules here are:
Tiptop z3000mk2
Intellijel Korgasmatron
Make Noise Maths
Cwejman ADSR-VC2
Doepfer a145 LFO
Doepfer a160 Clock Divider
Pittsburgh Audiomixer Attenuator"

unts unts unts Uploaded on May 28, 2011
"unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts unts"

Silent Way + ES-3 with Fireface 400 Uploaded on Apr 30, 2011
"After much fumbling, I've finally got Silent Way to work with my ES-3 and my RME Fireface 400 audio interface! It's insane how well it works once you get the hang of things.
As far as modules go, I'm using Silent Way to control my RS-60, Piston Honda, and Polivoks VCF which are all routed into HexVCA and finally into Mutagen.
Thank you os on muffwiggler for helping me! I'm very excited to see what this is capable of!"
Frequensteiner Demo at Big City Music Uploaded on Apr 12, 2011
Roger of Big City Music was kind enough to let me test out Livewire's awesome Frequensteiner in the store before buying it! I don't think anybody else in LA would even allow that, let alone letting you mess around with every other module they had there (including a bomb cwejman modular!). The oscillator was coming from Wiard Anti-Oscillator and routed through an Analogue Systems Modular.
http://www.bigcitymusic.com/"

Hawkeye - 985 Kilohertz (C64 SID vs E-MU E6400 Ultra)

Published on May 15, 2016 Maelstroem3

"This track title was inspired by the CPU frequency of the PAL Commodore 64. And what an awesome machine it is! 35 years later, we have about a million times more processing power, but has the software really become any better? :-) Back then, endless hours of tuning assembly loops, squeezing a few milliseconds out of display routines. Nowadays, we just buy newer hardware, if something is running a bit slow... and after 4K with already nearly invisible pixels 5K already awaits :-). Yes, it has been a great journey, but the beginnings were no less awesome than the current day is.

Regarding the live session: I only had the left hand available for track selection and synth action, because i held the camera in the right hand :-). Therefore, and as i am not left-handed, please forgive any strange timings or mistakes (i once accidentally flipped through the SID filter modes, but it somehow worked out :-))

Filmed with a Panasonic GH-2, the main polysynth jam loop is from an Alesis A6, the main melody is from a pair of 8580 SIDs placed in a MIDIbox SID. Drums by an E-MU E6400 Ultra (that was a bit hardware-hacked to show an oscilloscope view :-)). Secondary leads by the Ensoniq ESQ-M and the Yamaha FS1r. Bassline by a Moog LP through a DIY Polivoks VCF, all sequenced by the fantastic MIDIbox SEQ.

Hope you enjoyed this session and thanks for watching and listening.
Many greets,
Hawkeye / Maelstroem Records"

Happy New Year From MATRIXSYNTH! - A Look Back at 2015

Happy New Year everyone!  I want to thank you all for a great 2015 and I wish you all the best in 2016!

The following is my yearly round up for the year.  Feel free to dig into this post as much you like, or skip it and leave a comment at the bottom of the post. I'd be curious to hear what stood out for you in 2015. Do you like the direction the synthesizer world is headed in, or would you rather see more or less of any type of product?

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