GForce Intros RE STRINGS for Reason w/ Billy Currie Interview & Freeman String Symphonizer Overview

Published on Apr 11, 2017 GForce Software

"RE-STRINGS is our Rack Extension version of the award winning VSM and contains a selection of its most popular and iconic String Ensembles including: ARP Quadra, Crumar Multiman, Elka Rhapsody, Eminent 310, Freeman String Symphonizer, Godwin String Orchestra, Hohner K4, Junost 21, Korg Lambda, Korg PE2000, Logan String Melody II, Mellotron Violins, Moog Opus III, Roland VP330, ARP Solina, Technics KN200, Yamaha CE-25 & Yamaha SS-30.

With it's dual layer capability, it's possible to load the classic string ensemble sounds from years gone by or create your own hybrid ensembles.

Legal Notice
All musical instrument manufacturer and product names are trademarks of their respective owners and in no way associated or affiliated with GForce Software Ltd. The trademarks of other manufacturers are used solely to identify the products of those manufacturers whose sounds and technical data were studied for this instrument. All names of instrument inventors have been included for illustrative and educational purposes only and do not suggest any affiliation or endorsement of GForce Software Ltd."

Billy Currie talks String Synths, VSM & RE-STRINGS

Published on Apr 11, 2017 GForce Software

"During the process of creating patches for RE-STRINGS Rack Extension, we talked with Billy Currie about his use of String Ensemble keyboards over the years and how the Elka Rhapsody and Yamaha SS-30 contributed to some of Ultravox's classic tracks.

Billy also talks about how valuable the VSM and RE-STRINGS libraries are to him and how they've been used in his latest album, Doppel."

Freeman String Symphonizer

Published on Apr 11, 2017 GForce Software

"A brief walkthrough of the Freeman String Symphonizer, invented by Ken Freeman, sounds from which are in both VSM and RE-STRINGS.

The Further Adventures of K.FREEMAN and his Incredible Machine of a Thousand Strings courtesy of I Monster - BRIGHT SPARKS album. www.imonstermusic.com

Ken Freeman footage courtesy of BRIGHT SPARKS Documentary
http://brightsparks.movie"

via Propellerhead

"50% OFF Release Offer! 2 weeks.

The modern, polyphonic string synthesiser was invented in 1970 by Ken Freeman, a British keyboard player and engineer who discovered that if you layered two notes then detuned and slightly modulated one a pleasant ‘chorused’ sound resulted. Over the next 10+ years Ken’s initial discovery spawned an industry that saw the manufacture of more than one hundred ‘string machines’ and multi-keyboards.

Although viewed by some as a one-trick-pony or a poor man’s polysynth, string machines had so much character they’ve graced tracks by artists as diverse as; Lonnie Liston Smith, Air, Pink Floyd, The Cure, Parliament, Herbie Hancock, Camel, Joy Division, Jean-Michel Jarre, Thomas Dolby, Tonto’s Expanding Head Band, Genesis, Toni Tone Tony and countless others.

Product details
Based on our award winning Virtual String Machine (VSM), RE-STRINGS comprises 67 individual sample sets from a plethora of classic analogue string ensembles including the ultra rare (and first) Freeman String Symphonizer, the highly coveted Solina, the eminently desirable Eminent 310, the highly-lauded Logan String Ensemble, plus several other classic (and not so classic) string machines.

Each sample set spans 49 notes (4 octaves), each individually sampled and looped, plus RE-STRINGS contains a 700+ patch library created by respected patch designers including legendary string machine user and keyboard maestro, Billy Currie.

With Dual Layer capabilities - each layer comprising of a Lowpass, Bandpass & Highpass Resonant Filter Section, Two Envelope Generators, Pitch or Filter LFO, Dynamic control including filter aftertouch - if you want to create your own hitherto unrealised hybrid combinations of classic and evocative string ensembles, it’s a cinch. Finally, global vintage style Ensemble & Phaser effects are provided, allowing you to hone your sound to evocative, retro, string ensemble perfection.

RE-STRINGS includes string tones from the following classic instruments ARP Quadra (1978) Crumar Multiman (1975) Elka Rhapsody (1975) Eminent 310 (1972) Freeman String Symphonizer (1973) Godwin Model 749 String Concert (1980) Hohner K4 (1977) Junost 21 (c 1986) Korg Lambda (1979) Korg PE2000 (1976) Logan String Melody II (1977) Mellotron (1963) Moog Opus III (1980) Roland VP330 (1979) Solina String Ensemble (1974) Technics KN200 (1982) Yamaha CE-25 (1983) Yamaha SS30 (1977)"

MD77: Voice Editor for Yamaha SY77/TG77 by Ibo Kai

Available on iTunes

"40% OFF for a limited time!

-------

MD77 is the complete, professional Voice Editor for the Yamaha SY77 and the rack-mountable Yamaha TG77. These 1980's synths by Yamaha combine FM synthesis and sample-based sound production for lush, layered, multitimbral sounds. With direct access to hundreds of parameters, MD77 lets you reach into your TG77/SY77 and tweak to your heart's content.

The layout inside MD77 is by veteran MIDI Designer Pro 2 author Ibo Kai. All of his layouts are beautiful and deep, including full-blown controllers for many popular MIDI targets from Korg, Kawai and Yamaha. Check out his page at midiDesigner.com/ibokai to see his other designs for yourself. Each layout is a masterpiece.

Features of MD77:
◎ 13 full iPad screens and over 800 controls allow you to tap the depth of these vintage synths
◎ A Quick Editor page that combines AFM and AWM parameters for maximum utility
◎ A consistent color scheme -- e.g., yellow and orange for Levels and Rates, blue for Volumes -- helps keep you on track
◎ Use MIDI Designer patent-pending touch dials to select voices simply by sliding your finger on the iPad’s touch screen
◎ Save your most used sounds in the Global Presets for instant recall
◎ Requires iOS 9.2 or better, and an iPad 2 air or later is recommended. All graphics are optimized for all Retina screens, including the 12.9" iPad Pro

NOTE: This app cannot read patches from your Yamaha gear, but you can store up to 20 presets created in MD77.

Want to customize further?

MIDI Designer is the engine that powers the MD77 app. Upgrade to MIDI Designer Pro 2 to create your own pages, reorganize, and redesign to make your own YAMAHA layout. Then share it with the vibrant MIDI Designer Community. MIDI Designer is community-powered and this layout is one of our finest demonstrations of the power of you, our users.

MIDI Designer is easy to use, infinitely flexible and customizable, and battle-tested in performance. It's the most-respected MIDI controller platform for iOS."

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Yamaha Introduces VOCALOID4 Library CYBER SONGMAN

【CYBER SONGMAN】Official Demo Fighter


Update: video added above, sent my way via Elias.

"Yamaha Corporation announced that is has begun to market 'VOCALOID4 Library CYBER SONGMAN', a new PC-based software that can create natural singing voices in authentic English pronunciation. This new software can be downloaded, beginning today, from the official VOCALOID Shop.

VOCALOID is a technology developed by Yamaha in 2003 to create artificial singing voices just by inputting words and melodies. By installing a Voice Bank, filled with sound bite parts of human voices, and the VOCALOID Editor to input the words, melodies, and singing styles desired, you can instruct the virtual singer of your choice to perform anytime and anywhere.

VOCALOID is continuing to evolve, and is presently available for creating cyber singing voices in Japanese, English, Spanish, Chinese, and Korean. Voice Bank software is available from Yamaha and other sources within and outside of Japan. Yamaha announced VOCALOID 4, the latest version, in November 2014. This version offers richer, more natural and expressive singing voices than ever before.

A very wide range of songs created with VOCALOID is available from video Internet sites such as YouTube. Especially in Japan, VOCALOID has grown and developed to become a part of the musical culture.

CYBER SONGMAN, which Yamaha is announcing today, is a new Voice Bank developed especially for users in the English-speaking world. CYBER SONGMAN offers a new level of enjoyment in creating songs using virtual singers performing in the English language. This new Voice Bank is based on recorded sound parts taken from the singing of a native speaker from the United States, and the pronunciation is clear and crisp American English that fits in well with almost any musical genre. If users also use the Growl function, it is possible to create the high levels of expressiveness needed, for example, in blues and rock songs.

CYBER SONGMAN was developed for wide global use, and it is offered for sale as a product that can be downloaded even from outside Japan. The price is JPY10,000 (before tax), and sales began today on the dedicated VOCALOID Official Shop. Besides, for VOCALOID beginners, we offer two starter kits on the VOCALOID shop. One consists of CYBER SONGMAN and VOCALOID4 Editor, the other consists of CYBER SONGMAN and VOCALOID4 Editor for Cubase. The both products are offered at discounted price.

*We are also considering offering the new Voice Bank for download on other websites operated by Yamaha.
*This product cannot be used on a stand-alone basis and must be used with VOCALOID4 Editor or VOCALOID4 Editor for Cubase andthe Cubase Series. https://net.vocaloid.com/en/products/editor"

MATRIXSYNTH Review and Overview of the Novation UltraNova

Hi everyone, you might remember, back in July I posted some pics of my newly acquired UltraNova, and mentioned that review posts would eventually follow. Well, I’m happy to tell you the first post is here. The UltraNova is one powerful synth, so to make the overall review a bit more consumable, it will be broken up over time. This first section includes an Overview, the Oscillators, and the Mixer sections. When new sections go up, I will be sure to let you know via a new post.

As with most of my reviews, I will say this one goes pretty deep into the synth engine and all editable parameters. If you are the type of person that likes to dissect and explore all of the available parameters on a synth, then this post is for you. I will touch on what each parameter does and will call out any interesting features and limitations as I do so. There are some pretty special parameters on the UltraNova that give you control beyond most other synths. Hopefully this review will give you some insight into what makes the UltraNova special.

Overview & Quick Comparison to Previous Nova Synths

The Novation UltraNova, released back in 2010, is a 20 voice virtual analog & wavetable synth with three oscillators, two ring modulators and one noise source per voice. The UltraNova also features two audio ins that can be assigned to the oscillator section and/or a 12-band vocoder. It’s worth noting that the Novation Nova from 1999 featured a 40-band vocoder, while the Supernova II from 2000 featured a 42-band vocoder. The UltraNova is a monotimbral synth while the 12 voice Nova was six part multitimbral and the Supernova II (24, 36, or 48 voice) was eight part multitimbral. The UltraNova supports up to 5 simultaneous effects per patch. The Nova supported 42 simultaneous effects, while the Supernova II supported up to 56. The Supernova II also supported FM synthesis while the Nova and UltraNova omit it.

The UltraNova, however, is the first Nova synth to feature wavetable synthesis. An interesting side note is that all of the oscillators on the UltraNova are actually stored as wavetables, including the standard waveforms. According to Novation, “The wavetables in the Supernova series are all calculated. The wavetables in the UltraNova, even the standard analogue waves are wavetable oscillators. This change in oscillator generation was first used on the A-Station and K-Station and subsequently in the KS series, X-Station and Xio.” This allows the UltraNova to have some advanced tricks when it comes to the oscillator section, which will be covered in detail below.

I asked Novation about the lack of FM synthesis and they told me, “FM would have been a lovely addition to the UltraNova, but it would have been asking too much of the DSP to be able to run everything the UltraNova can do and also add in FM. The wavetables were a really good way to introduce a new (to Novation) type of synthesis that is able to cater for some of the synth sounds that FM is known for and also to be able to create lush evolving pads.”

The UltraNova features two routable filters per voice with a total of 14 filter types to chose from including 6dB (no resonance), 12dB, 18dB, and 24dB with Lowpass, Bandpass and Hi-pass modes. The Nova and Supernova II lacked a 6dB mode.

As for hardware, although the UltraNova may have fewer knobs per function than its predecessors, it is extremely well laid out and super intuitive to use. Along with both keyboard velocity and aftertouch, the UltraNova has touch sensitive knobs. They literally respond to touch and can be assigned to various parameters. Worth noting, velocity is configurable, however, aftertouch is not. I found the aftertouch to be good, but it does require a little extra force than I prefer; it’s good for not accidentally triggering it, but not so good for subtle, natural performance.

Please note the above comparisons with the Nova and Supernova II were only for quick reference. The UltraNova of course is its own synth with a few tricks up its sleeves that are lacking in the original Nova line, including a level of control over the synth engine often only found in the modular realm. It sounds incredible, and for the price, currently only $599 new, it is an extremely flexible and powerful synth. You get the current top-of-the-line Novation Nova synth engine with new wavetables and more. The UltraNova is both a performance oriented synth as well as a synth programmers dream. It can be configured for easy access to specific parameters for a live situation, or you can dig as deep as you want with a clearly well thought out interface.

That said, let’s dig in.

The following review and overview will essentially go over the signal flow of the UltraNova followed by performance controls including the arpeggiator and the hardware interface. I’ll go into a little detail on what each feature can and cannot do in an attempt to give you a detailed idea of what the synth is capable of. Because my reviews tend to be a bit on the longer side, I will be posting the sections in chunks over time to make it easier on you to consume and for me to compose.

First we start with…

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Korg Volca FM - The Expert Guide by Tony Horgan for iBooks

iTunes: Korg Volca FM - The Expert Guide - Tony Horgan

"The essential guide to the Volca FM, created by the world’s leading Volca expert Tony Horgan. Across 170 pages, this interactive guide explains everything about the Volca FM, with easy-to-follow text, illustrations, photography and audio examples. Make rapid progress with the quick-start guides, then look deeper into the amazing Volca FM. Every control is covered in detail, FM synthesis is demystified, and all the parameters and algorithms are fully discussed and illustrated. Jump between sections using hyperlinks and take it at your own pace. From the author of the universally 5-star rated Korg Volca Beats - The Expert Guide, this is the perfect companion for all Volca FM users.

The full chapter list:
1. About this book
- Hello
- Get in touch
2. Quick-start guides
- How to select a sound
- How to edit a sound
- How to rename a sound
- How to save a sound
- How to select and play a pattern
- How to record a pattern
- How to save a pattern
- How to record a motion sequence
- How to chain patterns
- How to import Yamaha DX7 sounds
- How to clone sounds and patterns
3. What is FM synthesis?
- FM synthesis theory
4. Slider controls
- Transpose slider
- Velocity / Value slider
5. Program edit knobs
- Modulator & Carrier knobs (+ envelopes)
- LFO rate, LFO Pitch Depth
- Program / Param knob
- Algorithm knob
6. Program edit buttons
- Octave / Operator buttons
- Save / Export button
- Edit button
7. The arpeggiator
- About the arpeggiator
- Arp type knob
- Arp type chart
- Arp Div knob
- Arp Division chart
8. Tempo and volume
- Tempo knob
- Volume knob
9. Play, Record, memory & Func buttons
- Play / Active step button
- Record / Erase button
- Memory / Write button
- Func button
10. Keyboard functions
- Understanding the keyboard and LEDs
- Voice mode: Poly, Mono, Unison
- Chorus
- Arp On / Off key
- Tempo division
- Metronome
- Warp Active Step
- Transpose note
- Motion sequence keys
- Clear Active Step
- Clear All
11. Power
- Mains and battery power
- Auto Power Off
12. MIDI In
- MIDI: an overview
- MIDI cables
- Selecting the MIDI channel
- MIDI Control Change messages
- MIDI Control Change numbers
13. Sync In / Sync Out
- What is Sync?
- Changing Sync steps
- Changing Sync polarity
14. Headphone socket and speaker
- Audio connection and speaker
15. Parameters in brief
- Parameter list
- What are parameters?
- How to select and edit parameters
16. Parameters in detail
- Every parameter explained in detail
17. Algorithms
- Algorithms list
- Algorithms explained
- Full-page diagrams of every algorithm
18. System update
- How to update the firmware
19. Global parameters
- All global parameters explained"

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Yamaha TX816, eight DX7 synths in a rack

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

via this auction

"The TX816 is the big boss of all FM synths. It is a rack with eight TF1 modules which are Yamaha DX7 synthesizers condensed down to a single circuit board. Designed for use with an external controller and patch editor, the TX816 allows you to easily play eight DX7s.

There are 3 levels of Yamaha TX816 expertise. Level 1: how to use the TX816, Level 2: which software claims to emulate it well, and Level 3 why none of them does, but can sound great layered to it. If you are reading this listing, I guess you made your way to Level 3 already, congratulations. It's nice to be between professionals.

Although one can use the TX816 like it's eight seperate DX7s, mixing and panning each module together to layer the sounds into one monsterous 128 voice and 48 operator DX powerhouse is where it truly shines. The TX816 has been used by Kitaro, Chick Corea, Michael Jackson, Europe, and Scritti Politti between others. In the early eighties the unit cost $5,000. Each module also features an indepednent audio out (XLR) and MIDI I/O for a total of eight audio outputs and MIDI I/O's. It also has one global MIDI in/out port with 8-part multitimbrality, but no common stereo or mix output.

The unit I'm selling works, I just played all 8 modules separately to verify. It has two minor issues: the last module flashes a low battery error though it still holds patches (I'm out of TX816 batteries) and the back of the enclosure has a small ding on the left. It doesn't show if the TX816 is mounted in a closed rack. So instead of the $1600 what some people listed their mint unit on eBay, you can have mine for $999 with the one memory error and case ding."

MIDI Designer Pro 2 for iOS Released

iTunes: MIDI Designer Pro 2 - Confusion Studios LLC

"WHAT'S NEW IN MDP2?
● Completely-redesigned look: Glow. More beautiful, practical and functional with a new Home screen
● IAP with new control types: Image Panels, Pickers and Meters (free DAW plugin from musicIO)
● Preset Packs: share global presets with users of the same layout
● Browse and upload within MDP2 to interact seamlessly with the Community
● Hundreds of smaller new features, bug fixes and under-the-hood improvements for greater flexibility, stability and speed"

"MDP2 (MIDI Designer Pro 2) is the next generation of MIDI Designer Pro, which took the music-making world by storm when it lauched in 2012. This is the full, professional version for iPad and iPhone/iPod touch.

Dream, create and play your perfect MIDI controller with MIDI Designer Pro 2:
● Reviewed and loved by DJ Tech Tools, Recording Magazine, Sound on Sound and Keyboard Magazine
● Winner of Sonic Touch Gold Award for Best App
● Trusted on stage by veteran touring acts like Todd Rundgren and newer projects like POSTYR and Groove Boston
● A studio cornerstone for music producers like Shadow Child and Oliver for tweaking tons of vintage gear
● Used by musicians, VJs and DJs all around the world
● The platform of choice for community- and professionally-sourced layouts for top-flight gear (e.g., Korg, Roland, Moog, Eventide, Yamaha)

If you can dream it, you can create it in MIDI Designer.

● Control all MIDI-enabled hardware and software: synths, effects, DAWs, plug-ins, DJ, VJ & lighting rigs, other iOS apps, robots, cruise ships, rail guns, particle accelerators
● Near-zero latency connections via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Lightning Cable (with musicIO) or any class-compliant MIDI hardw are
● Design your perfect controller using customizable knobs, sliders, XY pads, labels, panels and more
● Use supercontrols and subcontrols for advanced functionality with no scripting, ever
● Choose background color, texture and LED color for up to 8 banks of 6 pages each
● Save, load and share your layouts and pages
● Send/receive all MIDI message types (e.g., sysex, NRPN and 14-bit CC)
● Use MDP2 as a heads-up display for external hardware via the "Pedalboards Feature"
● Explore presets and other features at mididesigner.com/manual: discover a mature, reliable platform for your controller design and performance

MDP2 is easy to use, infinitely flexible and customizable, and battle-tested in performance. It's the most-respected MIDI controller for iOS

* * * * * dream | create | play * * * * *"

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Roland JX-8P Hacked Into a Guitar Synth Stomp Box

DIY Hybrid guitar sounds demo

Published on Feb 28, 2016 Seb Sermisy

Details on the build in Czech here (Googlish here).

Video description:

"Here is the sounds demo of my hybrid guitar prototype:

Guitar: Harley Benton te-30 BE (88€)
Hexaphonic pickup: Roland GK Kit (98€)
-Piezo and pre-amp:Joyo JE-305 (23€)
-Buffer: MusikDing kit (9€)
+stereo jack, 13 pin cable, led, button, tools...

The sound is wet: recorded directly from the pedal board into the audio interface. In real situation I use two amps (a Vox AC30 and a home made amp) for a perfect stereo effect. My aim was to have 3 different but complementary sounds and a huge stereo sound.

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X1L3 - circuit bent - synth mod - yamaha DD-7 drum machine with midi

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

via this auction

video here and here.

"The big sister of the yamaha DD-6 with a more varied and larger sound set.
Lots of good percussive sounds and a variation of synth and voice samples.
It's also one of the finest in the DD range for glitch generation and ease of
which the glitching can be shaped and moulded into unique fx, incidentals and noise.

Modifications and embedded circuitry:

Analogue resonant filter with high pass and low pass bands
Gain, resonance, low pass/high pass toggle and cutoff
A nice warm filter based on the synthacon.
Lot's of resonance and a unique character of it's own.
Violent, squelchy and crunchy when overdriven in this machine.

Digital 'death industrial' delay
Rate, noise, feedback, off/on toggle
This delay variant is based on the formula applied and the output of circuit bent delay pedals which have been sold in the past.
A versatile and if desired aggressive set up that can drift between ambience, echo and all out harsh noise wall and power electronics.

Analogue distortion
Dual mode distortion with diode clipping, filter and gain.

PSU - DC hum suppression circuitry
A regulated psu is now built into the machine.
This gives a stable and quiet power supply to both the drum machine and additional circuitry as well as
providing a quiet output and excellent noise floor.
Input voltage is +12V tip positive running 2 amps.
Please be aware of the amp rating of your adapter. It MUST run 2 amps or above.
Suitable adapters are available at low cost on ebay.
if Shipped within the UK i'll include a suitable adapter.

Midi retrofit & Gate output
The drum machine now has midi capability by means of an embedded microcontroller.
The four drum channels can be triggered via a sequencer or daw.
Trigger notes are: C3, C#3, D3, D#3 and F3 for the gate output.

Midi is set to CH16 but if you'd prefer a different channel for convenience i can flash the firmware before shipping for you
and assign it to what ever channel is best for you.
The gate outputs at +5v and can be used to trigger other devices such as adsr's and also drive eurorack sequencers.
One of the videos below demonstrates the gate output driving a sequential circuits pro one sequencer.
The gate isn't locked to a time signature so if driving a sequencer you can advance it however you want.

Master pitch control
Gives a large global pitch range - demonstrated in the demo videos
The pitch has a high and low setting and a coarse and fine control.
The fine control gives you conventional pitching of the drums, the coarse will take them down to vicious noise, droning and glitching.
The drum machine now serves not only as a percussive instrument but a generator of abstract sounds and textures.

4x4 glitch matrix
The glitch matrix disrupts the percussive sounds and warps them into various forms of data crash and glitch.
A very interesting modification on it's own. It takes on a whole new level when the fx chain is applied.

Cnc machined aluminium panel work with blue anodize and engraved text and graphics

The DD range of drum machines are some of the best for glitched circuit bent sounds. They achieve a bizzare edge
without becoming too unruly and hard to control. With midi now added you can create nicely spaced patterns which accomodate the glitch matrix and fx chain nicely. It's no longer restricted to it's preset patterns. The pads can still be used with drum sticks and the preset patterns are still intact. It will still run as intended if you choose to use it this way."

X1L3 - circuit bent - synth mod - yamaha DD-10 drum machine with midi

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated. X1L3 - Circuit bent Yamaha DD-10 - evolving percussion

Published on Jun 26, 2015 manufacturedZ3R0 .

"Improvised percussive set utilising the internal sounds and the additional oscillators that have been added. The oscillators can be set to drone or to follow the amp envelope of the output as shown here. A very simple drum pattern in order to show how much this can do on such a basic foundation."

X1L3 - Circuit bent Yamaha DD-10 - power electronics / noise wall

Published on Jun 26, 2015

"Improvised set of PE / noise wall and ambience generated with the embedded oscillators and fx in the DD-10.

Since the DD-10 is near 'unbendable' and seeing a modified one is a rarity i thought i'd give it a go and see what i could come up with."

via this auction

"Circuit bent - midi retrofit - yamaha DD-10 drum machine.

Modifications and embedded circuitry:

Analogue resonant filter with high pass and low pass bands
Gain, resonance, low pass/high pass toggle and cutoff
A nice warm filter based on the synthacon.
Lot's of resonance and a unique character of it's own.
Violent, squelchy and crunchy when overdriven in this machine.


Digital 'death industrial' delay
Rate, noise, feedback, off/on toggle
This delay variant is based on the formula applied and the output of circuit bent delay pedals which have been sold in the past.
A versatile and if desired aggressive set up that can drift between ambience, echo and all out harsh noise wall and power electronics.

Analogue distortion
Dual mode distortion with diode clipping, filter and gain.

PSU - DC hum suppression circuitry
A regulated psu is now built into the machine.
This gives a stable and quiet power supply to both the drum machine and additional circuitry as well as
providing a quiet output and excellent noise floor.
Input voltage is +12V tip positive running 2 amps.
Please be aware of the amp rating of your adapter. It MUST run 2 amps or above.
Suitable adapters are available at low cost on ebay.
If shipping within the Uk i will suppply and adapter free of charge.

Master pitch control
Gives a large global pitch range - demonstrated in the demo videos The pitch has a high and low setting and a coarse and fine control. The fine control gives you conventional pitching of the drums, the coarse will take them down to vicious noise, droning and glitching. The drum machine now serves not only as a percussive instrument but a generator of abstract sounds and textures.

2 X Drone oscillator section.

The oscillators can be set up as drones or as amp envelope followers. In the first instance they turn the machine into an interesting drone and noise synth, with the features of the FX chain at hand to liven things up. In the second mode they add a tone to the drum patterns which will follow the amplitude of the pattern envelope and add a low end growl to the pattern when the distortion is engaged. Both modes are demonstrated in the videos below.

External input and mixer section.

An external input has been added which has line level and pre amp selection. You could if you wanted to plug a guitar or microphone into it now and apply the effects to the incoming signal. You can also mix this external signal in with the drum sounds and oscillators via the mixer section. Everyhting can be faded in and out as desired.

Cnc machined aluminium panel work with black anodize and engraved text and graphics

The DD-10 comes with midi as standard. It has a good and varied range of sounds and although it can't glitch as with a lot of other old DD drum machines it's been reworked here with a number of additional features to give it a warped character which can hold it's own when put side by side with the machines which are open to rom glitching. It's quite unique in how it behave and sounds now. They're something of a rarity in modified form due to how difficult they are to modify. With some forethought and synth diy application it can now hold it's own amongst the most unruly and bizzare of circuit bent instruments.

Watch the demo videos below for some examples of what it can do.

The first video is a very simple percussive pattern. Intentionally simple in order to show what the machine can do with something very basic. The second video is an improvised noise set. Constantly shifting and evolving. Quite violent at times. It shows what the DD-10 can now do outside of the confines of it's original drum machine format. Harsh noise wall, ambience, fx and power electronics are all within it's grasp."

X1L3 - circuit bent - synth mod - Casio PT-87

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Published on Aug 31, 2015 manufacturedZ3R0 .

Playlist:
X1L3 - circuit bent casio PT-82 and yamaha DD-7 doing NIN
X1L3 - circuit bent - synth mod - casio PT-87 - corrupted percussion
X1L3 - circuit bent - synth mod - casio PT-87 - drone distortion
X1L3 - circuit bent - synth mod - casio PT-87 - drone, power electronics & HNW

via this auction

"Modifications, circuit bends and embedded circuitry:

Analogue resonant filter with high pass and low pass bands
Gain, resonance, low pass/high pass toggle and cutoff
A nice warm filter based on the synthacon.
Lot's of resonance and a unique character of it's own.

Digital 'death industrial' delay
Rate, noise, feedback, off/on toggle
This delay variant is based on the formula applied and the output of circuit bent delay pedals which have been sold in the past.
A versatile and if desired aggressive set up that can drift between ambience, echo and all out harsh noise wall and power electronics.

PSU - DC hum suppression circuitry
A regulated psu is now built into the machine.
This gives a stable and quiet power supply to both the keyboard and additional circuitry as well as
providing a quiet output and excellent noise floor.
Input voltage has been converted to 12V tip positive.

Control voltage input to filter cutoff
3.5mm socket. Allows you to hook the casio up to your cv enabled equipment to modulate the filter.
An example of this is shown in the first demo video.
The cv modulation is provided by a sequential circuits pro1 which is driven by one of my modified midi retrofitted DD7 drum machines.

Drone dostortion, drum boost and lofi keys raw bends
Three of four selected raw bends.
Drone distortion is a variable mod that acts as both a drone oscillator and a means to distort and shame both the keyboard and
percussive sounds of the pt-87.
Lofi keys knocks the edge off of the key sounds and brings them down to the preset percussion level, if you wish to record
phrases using both aspects. It stops the keyboards sounds which are inherently louder than the percussion from over powering the percussion,
Drum boost over drives the drum channel and turns the quaint casiotone percussive elements into much heavier
analogue drum and percussion sounds which work well with the added resonant filtering.

Master pitch control
The final raw circuit bend,
Gives a large global pitch range - demonstrated in the demo videos

Cnc machined aluminium panel work with black anodize and engraving

A compact keyboard giving access to a huge range of conventional synthesizer sounds through to harsh noise wall and power electronics.

The PT-87 is a mid sized 80's casio keyboard which bares a lot of resembelance to the classic VL tone.
The drum sounds and key tones can be shaped into squelchy analogue percussion and deep analogue wave forms which
take on the sound of vintage synths of the same era as they're passed through the resonant filter.
The effects chain opens up a glitch element which would otherwise be unavailable on the PT range of keyboards and
gives access to abstracts progression, data crash glitching, harsh noise wall and power electronics."

X1L3 - circuit bent - synth mod - yamaha DD-6 drum machine with midi

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

via this auction

See the recent videos on the X1L3 channel.

Modifications and embedded circuitry:

Analogue resonant filter with high pass and low pass bands
Gain, resonance, low pass/high pass toggle and cutoff
A nice warm filter based on the synthacon.
Lot's of resonance and a unique character of it's own.
Violent, squelchy and crunchy when overdriven in this machine.

Digital 'death industrial' delay
Rate, noise, feedback, off/on toggle
This delay variant is based on the formula applied and the output of circuit bent delay pedals which have been sold in the past.
A versatile and if desired aggressive set up that can drift between ambience, echo and all out harsh noise wall and power electronics.

Analogue distortion
Dual mode distortion with diode clipping, filter and gain.

PSU - DC hum suppression circuitry
A regulated psu is now built into the machine.
This gives a stable and quiet power supply to both the drum machine and additional circuitry as well as
providing a quiet output and excellent noise floor.
Input voltage is +12V tip positive running 2 amps.
Please be aware of the amp rating of your adapter. It MUST run 2 amps or above.
Suitable adapters are available at low cost on ebay.

Midi retrofit & Gate output
The drum machine now has midi capability by means of an embedded microcontroller.
The four drum channels can be triggered via a sequencer or daw.
Trigger notes are: C3, C#3, D3, D#3 and F3 for the gate output.

Midi is set to CH16 but if you'd prefer a different channel for convenience i can flash the firmware before shipping for you
and assign it to what ever channel is most convenient for you.
The gate outputs at +5v and can be used to trigger other devices such as adsr's and also drive eurorack sequencers.
One of the videos below demonstrates the gate output driving a sequential circuits pro one sequencer.
The gate isn't locked to a time signature so if driving a sequencer you can advance it however you want.

Master pitch control
Gives a large global pitch range - demonstrated in the demo videos
The pitch has a high and low setting and a coarse and fine control.
The fine control gives you conventional pitching of the drums, the coarse will take them down to vicious noise, droning and glitching.
The drum machine now serves not only as a percussive instrument but a generator of abstract sounds and textures.

4x4 glitch matrix
The glitch matrix disrupts the percussive sounds and warps them into various forms of data crash and glitch.
A very interesting modification on it's own. It takes on a whole new level when the fx chain is applied.

Cnc machined aluminium panel work with red anodize and engraved text and graphics"

Yamaha TX816 SN 3493 with 8 TF1 Modules

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

via this auction

"The TX816 is a monster of DX and FM digital synthesis. It is a unique system in that it is a rack unit that could take up to eight TF1 modules. A TF1 module is basically a DX7 condensed down to a single circuit board with almost no front panel controls. Definitely designed for use with external hardware and software controllers the TX816 allows you to easily carry around up to eight DX7s! Software such as MOTU Unisyn, Emagic SounDiver, or even another DX7 can be used to program the sounds in each module via MIDI.

Each TF1 module consists of a 16-voice, 6-operator digital FM synth engine. So a complete TX816 with all eight TF1 modules would offer up to 128 voices and 48 operators! Each TF1 also features an indepednent audio out (XLR) and MIDI I/O for a total of eight audio outputs and MIDI I/O's. It also has one global MIDI in/out port with 8-part multitimbrality, but no common stereo or mix output."

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FM-Alive Yamaha DX Editor Adds Support for Behringer BCR2000 Editing

via FM-Alive

"New for DXM4 - Behringer B-Control 2000 Rotary Editor

Get preprogrammed controller settings for your synth. Master Template includes 32 Presets covering most DX/TX models.

Edit all Preset, Control and Global parameters in one editor.

Select MIDI Parameter Change, Channel and Control Messages from drop down lists - no need to hand crank sysex.

Use the Script Editor for advanced message editing."

via mekonca: "Dx Manager had update so now you can control DX yamaha's synths with BCR2000 instead of mouse. BCR2000 output is routed to DX Manager software and then to the synth, or you can run “STAND-ALONE” where you upload a Preset to the BCR2000 and control the synth direct.

All thanks goes to Jon Morgan who programmed it.

more info:
http://fm-alive.com/pages/DXM4.aspx
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/bc2000/conversations/messages/4814"

AMBIENT GUITAR w KORG MS-20 mini VOLCA live AMBIENT DUB JAM I ThePhantomsGuest & Volcarock I #18

Published on Sep 7, 2014 VolcaRock

"a global live AMBIENT GUITAR & DUB SESSION with GUITAR into KORG MS-20 mini, all KORG VOLCAS & some other great synths
Special thanks to the fantastic guitar-player, The Phantoms Guest, he plays the leadguitar and ebow. Enjoy and please check his great stuff out on his channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/thephant...

Recorded in may 2014 without overdubs, Noise Reduction and Mastering in just one take! When I finished my session, I send the Track to The Phantoms Guest, He also recorded his part in just one take on the other side of the world (Melbourne/Australia)!

ENJOY LISTENING AND WATCHING :-)
________________________________________­___________________

KORG VOLCA SET UP:
Korg Volca Keys, Volca Bass & Volca Beats into the sub mixer

SUB MIXER for all Volcas: Behringer Xenyx 802
SEND FX used for Volca Keys
Danelectro Spring King into Rocktron Tsunami Chorus into 2 Behringer Vintage Time Machines (built into one housing) for analog Stereo Delay

SYNTHESIZER RACK SETUP (*used on this track)
Roland Juno 60 (with Kenton MIDI PCB MK II)*
Doepfer MS 404*
Waldorf Puls I*
Waldorf Microwave I (with Access Programmer)*
Nord Modular Rack*
Emu Proteus 2000
Yamaha Tx81z
Jomox Xbase 09 (special edition with Jazbase upgrade)*
Roland Rhythm 77
Roland DR-880
all Synths run into Soundcraft Spirit M12 into Main Mixer (TL Audio Fat Track)

Send FX Spirit M12:
Line 6 Echo Pro (Tape dub Delay)
Lexicon MPX 100 (Hall/Chamber)

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The State Of 21st-Century Synthesis Panel Discussion at NAMM

Published on Jan 28, 2014 Synthtopia·4 videos

"This video captures a panel discussion on The State Of 21st-Century Synthesis, held at the 2014 NAMM Show.

The panel features:

Panelists:

Gerry Bassermann

A former product specialist, voice programmer, and instrument demonstrator for E-mu Systems, Gerry Bassermann has also been an editorial contributor to Keyboard magazine, a product demonstrator for Opcode Systems and Be Incorporated, and a creative consultant to Antares Audio Technologies, Zoom Corporation, and many others. He is currently the director of North American Markets for Propellerhead Software (www.propellerheads.se). Gerry also taught electronic music composition at the University of California at Santa Cruz for twelve years.

Edmund Eagan

Audio producer, music composer, and sound designer for film and video with over 28 years of professional experience, Edmund Eagan (www.twelfthroot.com) is an award winner for scoring the animated production "The Woman Who Raised a Bear as Her Son" and as a producer for CBC's "The Health Show." Edmund has worked on countless television and radio commercials, animation series, television programs, and live multimedia events. He's been working with Dr. Lippold Haken for the past ten years in the design, development, and evolution of the Haken Audio Continuum Fingerboard (www.hakenaudio.com) and the EaganMatrix synthesizer, both of which he astoundingly demonstrates in performances at www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nq3Q4tHvHY&feat­ure=player_embedded.

Drew Neumann

Composer/synthesist Drew Neumann (www.drewneumann.com) created the captivating music, sound effects, and voices for Peter Chung's Aeon Flux, launched on MTV's critically acclaimed Liquid Television animation series in 1991. Drew also composed music for all 84 episodes of Nickelodeon's The Wild Thornberrys and the Paramount Pictures feature The Wild Thornberrys Movie, 52 episodes of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, along with episodes of The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Evil Con Carne on the Cartoon Network. In addition, he created sound effects for Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Rollercoaster Rabbit, and Off His Rockers, and composed music for Disney Television Animation, E! Entertainment Television's Talk Soup, and major advertising agencies worldwide. He has consulted and designed sounds for synthesizer manufacturers/distributors Tom Oberheim of Marion Systems, Studio Electronics, Dave Smith Instruments, Moog Music, GSF Agency, and many more. Drew is currently working on shorts for Renegade Animation and for Frederator's Cartoon Hangover series Bravest Warriors.

Eric Persing

Eric Persing was the chief sound designer for Roland from 1984 to 2005, programming sounds for popular hardware synthesizers including the innovative D-50. An accomplished studio musician and composer, Eric is the founder and creative director of Spectrasonics (www.spectrasonics.net), a leading softsynth company that produces Trilian, Stylus RMX, and the flagship synth Omnisphere.

Dave Smith

Synthesizer pioneer Dave Smith founded Sequential Circuits during the mid '70s and in 1977 designed the world's first fully programmable polyphonic synthesizer, the Prophet-5. He was the spearhead behind the development of MIDI in 1983, for which he received a Technical Grammy Award in 2013. Dave served as a consultant for Yamaha and Korg and was the president of Seer Systems, developer of the first professional software synthesizer, Reality. In 2002 he founded Dave Smith Instruments (www.davesmithinstruments.com), manufacturer of analog and hybrid synthesizers built in San Francisco.

Moderator: Mark Vail

Music journalist, historian, teacher, and performer Mark Vail discovered synthesizers in 1973 and bought his first in 1976. After earning an MFA in electronic music at Mills College in 1983, he served on the editorial staff at Keyboard magazine from 1988 to 2001 and has taught Propellerhead Reason classes since 2003. Mark is the author of Vintage Synthesizers, The Hammond Organ: Beauty in the B, and his latest book The Synthesizer: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Programming, Playing, and Recording the Ultimate Electronic Music Instrument (Oxford University Press USA, 2014, http://global.oup.com/academic/produc...)."

Happy New Year! The Year in Synths 2013

Happy New Year Everyone!

What a busy year it has been in the world of synths.

This is going to be one doozy of a post, so bear with me. This post is a review of the year in synths for 2013. We begin with Tributes to Those We Lost This Year, followed by New Manufacturers & Makers, Older Manufacturers Added to the Site, New Gear Announcements, Top 10 Posts by Traffic,  My Standout Posts for the Year, and finally This Years' Synth Events. I did my best to keep things as short and concise as possible.

Let's begin with the hardest part of the post.

Tributes to Those We Lost This Year

RIP Bernard Parmegiani - Electronic & Acoustic Composer
Lou Reed RIP
RIP Dick Raaymakers aka Kid Baltan
RIP George Duke - DreamWeaver
RIP Ralph Dyck, Sept 28, 1941 – May 20, 2013
RIP Ray Manzarek

All missed and never to be forgotten. Take a moment to remember them.

------

New Manufacturers & Makers

Starting last January, I decided to keep a running list of every new manufacturer and maker introduced to the site during the year.  This is something I haven't done before and I thought it would be interesting to see how many there were in the year.   It's easy to focus on the big synth announcements throughout the year, but what about all the new makers and brands? I shouln't have to go considerably into the significance of new designers on the scene, so I'll just say two things regarding them.  One, the number of new makers is a direct reflection on the interest in our scene, and two, these are the creators of new gear which directly translate into new designs not previously available to us.  Think about that for a moment.  These are makers and designs that did not exist before.  They are part of our synth history.  So what is the total count of new synth designers for the year? A whopping 113. Think about that a bit. One hundred and thirteen new synth designers and brands this year alone.

Here they are (note a handful date back to 2012, but 2013 marked their momentum and availability):

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!!!  I hope 2012 treated you well and I wish you the best in 2013!

As I do each year, I thought I'd reflect a little on the past year.  These posts are always difficult to write, and I always wing them, so bear with me.  It's impossible to justify a whole year's worth of synth coverage in a single post.  The following is just a small bit of what comes to mind when looking back.  You'll find a top ten list of posts with the most page views followed by my picks for the year further below.  Apologies if I miss anything, and of course, if you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment below.  I'm curious what you, the readers of the site, felt stood out in the world of synths this past year.

First, I want to begin this post with a HUGE THANK YOU!!!  If you are reading this it obviously means you have come to this site and some of you have been coming here for years! Thank you for sticking with me. This site is a journey I hope to continue for years to come. Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to showcase their synths, and thank you to those that share what they find! Thank you to those that link to the site and help spread the word on MATRIXSYNTH via Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and your own websites! And of course, THANK YOU to all the sponsors on the right who believe in the site enough to support it!

A nod to previous New Years posts, pictured to the left is the MATRIXSYNTH world domination map. :)  I always think it's worth taking a look at who's watching the site.  Synths are global and you are looking at a map of the readers of MATRIXSYNTH.  Everything you see in green represents a visit from that country.  The darker the green, the higher the number of visits.  This is just for the year, but for the life of the site, we still haven't gotten a single hit from North Korea!   I don't know what they have against synths!  ;)   You'll find the top 10 visits by country further below.

This is the eighth New Year the site has gone through!  The focus for the site this year has been the same as previous years, and I plan to keep it that way.  This site is about showcasing specific synths, not just synths in general, and not just news and press releases.  The focus is on the individual synths that have existed throughout history, the technology behind them, and the lives they lead with their odd owners, myself included.  :)  Yes it is about the gear, their makers, and their players.  It has always been my opinion that synths in general have a tendency to be undervalued. Compared to say collectible guitars, they are often discarded and devalued in favor of next year's model, next year's technology.  It has always been my opinion that every synth has something of value to offer,  something specific and something unique that gives it its character. I built this site to showcase that.  This site is about the history of synths as their history unfolds - videos and images of synths being played and used, by both those that make them and those that play them.  Vintage synths being offered in the second hand market, being exchanged from one sonic explorer to the next. It really is a wondrous thing. Think of the magic synthesizers bring into your world. That is what this site is ultimately about.  Some posts may not seem to make sense now, but they will in time, because they will be a look back in time. A day in the life of a particular synthesizer.  I love analog and I love digital. I love all synths and this site celebrates that.

And now for a little reflection on the year. This year we had a total of 16678 posts including this one.  That comes out to roughly 45.69 posts a day.  Not a single day of the year went without a post.  So what dominated the synth year?  Mobile, modulars and a few dedicated hardware synths.

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Encore Expressionist MIDI to CV

via this auction

via Encore:
"Expressionist is a professional, eight channel MIDI-CV converter. It is the most capable MIDI to control voltage converter on the market. The high resolution D/A converter gives the finest resolution for real control of your equipment. No more zipper noise like you've seen in other products.



The Expressionist offers eight complete channels of control voltage. This means you can connect a greater number of analog modules without having to purchase a handful of one and two channel converters. A channel consists of a 1/4" control voltage jack, and a 1/4" trigger jack. Each channel has available pitch bend, four modulations, four LFOs, six octave transpose, two types of portamento, voltage offset and tracking, and trigger polarity. The trigger jacks can be programmed to be a Positive Gate for triggering synthesizers such as Roland, ARP, and Oberheim. The triggers can also be programmed as S-Triggers for Moog synthesizers.

The Expressionist supports both types of control voltage: Volts/Octave and Hertz/Volt on every channel! The first type is most popular and is used by Oberheim, Moog, Korg and others. The second type is used by early Korg, Yamaha, and others.

There are four global LFO that reside in the Expressionist. Each LFO can be modulated by different sources on different MIDI channels. These can then be mixed in various ways within each CV channel. The four modulation sources can be note position, velocity, aftertouch, or any of the standard MIDI controllers. The Expressionist also has a Roland compatible DIN SYNC output connector to allow MIDI clock to run your pre-MIDI drum machines and other devices..."

Yamaha Voice Editor Essential for iPad

YouTube Uploaded by yamahacorporation on Sep 15, 2011
Hats off to Yamaha on this. I hope other manufacturers offer this. It can take months to create a decent editor for more complex synths on your own. Editors like this really open up synths in a way you simply cannot otherwise.

"Voice Editor Essential is a simple Core MIDI iPad editor application to edit parameters in Yamaha synthesizers.
The editor focuses on detailed editing of insert effects, system effects, arpeggiator and EQ that are frequently modified and can take advantage of the iPad's large graphic display. In addition to that, you can control parameters like EG or cutoff in real-time by using fader control or XY Pad. Some essential global parameters including tap tempo and volume control are also included."

Yamaha Corporation - iTunes
iPads on eBay


Yamaha Set List Organizer

Uploaded by yamahacorporation on Sep 15, 2011

"Set List Organizer can be used to edit and display the set list for a live performance. It's a must-have application for any musician. Set List Organizer is a Core MIDI application that can send MIDI program change messages for each song in a live performance from your iPad to a synthesizer or other devices. You can use Set List Organizer to write detailed notes for each song."