bC8 pt.1

YouTube via ChimSyn

"bC8 miniature portable synthesizer with simple pattern memory."

Chimera bc8 & KORG Monotron

flickr By jonas_l
(click for more)

"At first the Chimera bc8 felt like a random beast, and while it still does at times I have discovered that running it through the filter of the Korg Monotron is a good way to tame it. Great for rythmic bass patterns and random noise."

bc8 pt.2

YouTube via ChimSyn.

Part 1 previously posted here. "part 2, demoing the envelope generator (single-shot & auto-repeat). extra unwanted stopwatch ticking in background.."

bC8 pt.3

"later half of pt2. showing the auto-repeat envelope generator and other stuff"

Chimera BC8 Synthesiser Sequencer

via this auction
"Amazing Chimera BC8 Synthesiser/Sequencer Complete with Brand New Batteries and Instructions.

Very Rare - Made in UK - Incredible sounds -Check out the web videos to see what this "Beast" can do

Check the following Link for Info

Grab a piece of Musical History -Great Condition -Latest Software Installed -Amazing Sounds -all in the palm of your hand -incredibly portable -use headphones on the train or whack it through an amp for really Dirty Gritty synthesised sounds."

no MIDI no keyboards (+audio)

flickr by Chris_Carter_
(click for more)

"Live improve set-up.

Equipment shown:
Two Kaossilators, two mini Kaoss pads, a KP3 Kaoss pad, a Tom Bugs WOM synth, Chimera BC8, BC9 and BC16 synths, two Zoom PFX-9003 effects, an Eventide Modfactor, an Eventide Timefactor, a Dirty-Carter E.S.G.I synth, a portable Edirol mixer and a Zoom H2 for recording. No MIDI, keyboards, laptops or desktop computers were used.


Rhythms were generated by the two Kaossilators - going through the mini KPs, bass loops were generated by the KP3. The Chimera BC16 synth (LFO and ADSR) was voltage controlling the BC9 synth and the two Eventide stompboxes. All loop syncing and BPM matching was done on the fly using 'tap-tempo' on the Korgs and Eventides.


A recording of this improv set-up can be heard here:
soundcloud.com/chris_carter/no-midi-no-keyboards

another photo here: www.flickr.com/photos/chris_carter_/4652558166/

This is part of my CCCL project.
aka: Chis Carter's Chemistry Lessons
chriscarterchemistrylessons.blogspot.com/"

My Tiny Army

via Luis Fernando Hernandez-Loera on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"-BleepLabs: Bit Bolb Jr.
-BleepLabs: Nebulophone
-BleepLabs: PicoPaso
-Chimera Synthesis: bC6 (Blue Face)
-Chimera Synthesis: bC8
-Chimera Synthesis: bC9 (Two)
-Korg: Monotron
-Gijs Gieskes: Acid Machine (Black)
-Rarebeasts: EM-Tronic
-SuONOIO
on top of a Little Phatty!"

Chimera BC8

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

"This machine is amazing, it has three modes.
1) single shot, press the black button and it makes the sound once.
2) repeating oscillations.
3) programmable mode.

It only has eight knobs, but even for that you can make very unique sounds. It contains an array of oscillators, effects and other weirdness. What's more it runs off three AAA's and fits happily into your pocket, all the better for scaring people whilst your on public transport."

TG 2009 - CC test run 1

flickr by Chris_Carter_ TG = Throbbing Gristle
(click for more)
"Trying out different synth & effects combinations for TG 2009 shows.
Korg Kaossilator, Bugbrand Postcard Weevils, Korg Kaoss Pad 2, Korg Kaoss Pad 3, Zoom PFX9003, Chimera Synthesis bc8 & bc16. Slightly weedy mono sound."

Chimera Synthesis BC6 Walnut synth / step recorder

via this auction

"A brilliant compact synth / drone machine from the now deceased Chimera. Great for sampling :-)

This is what Chimera had to say about the BC6:

[BC6] WALNUT, handmade, small, standalone synthesizer with in-built 16-step sequence recorder

[DESIGN] Beautiful Black Walnut wood, brushed stainless steel, bright-red printed circuit board, green plastic button and green LED

[SOUND] Distilled Chimera bC8 type sounds

[USE] Live, backing, drone, musique-concrete, glitch, industrial…

CONTROLS:

[1] VCO pitch, from 27.5Hz [A0] to approximately 3.1KHz [G7]

[2] LFO>VCO modulation depth, controls both AM and FM depths

[3] LFO rate (sub-sonic to audible)

[BUTTON] envelope trigger (with sustain), mode selection and playback start-stop

[4] Envelope, combination attack/release control 5 milliseconds to 20 seconds

[5] VCO waveshape continuous morph (sine, triangle, square, sawtooth) and LFO waveshape selection (sine, square, rising sawtooth, falling sawtooth)

[6] Volume [also auxiliary functions of mode selection when at zero and playback speed]

[MODE] single-shot mode with sustain, auto-repeat, playback

[RECORDER] automatically records the last sixteen notes played including, note duration, time between notes and the values of knobs 1-5 (these maybe overridden during playback if desired),

[PLAYBACK] plays back the last sixteen notes, speed maybe smoothly varied from 1/16th speed to 16x speed

TECHNICAL:

[OUTPUT] Stereo 3.5mm jack socket (50mW available for driving headphones)

[POWER] 3x AAA cells, drain ~55mA, power switch on base

[SIZE] 90mm diameter x 45mm overall height (including knobs)

[CONSTRUCTION] body from black walnut, hand-finished and protected with Danish Oil, stainless steel top-plate, high quality double-sided

PCB hand-assembled and tested.

[AVAILABILITY] only 100 units were built (this is number 28)"

Revolution Bass Beat - Naked iPhone Mix

YouTube via OculoRapido
"Psychedelic ArtMatic visualization of analog techno drum and bass track, performed on Blacet/Metalbox/Wiard/Cynthia synth modules. Sequencing by Future Retro Revolution, Blacet MIDIverter, and Metalbox Sequential Switches and Gate Sequencers. Production by Doktor Bob. Copyright 2009, Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D. Best viewed in HQ due to frame synchronization with music: iPhone resolution."

Folding Space to XI: The Hawking Warning (iPhone Mix 1)

"Video excerpt from Folding Space to XI: The Hawking Warning, track 1 of Analog Planetfall. Original CD by Oculo Rapido on Eurock Records, www.eurock.com. Audio produced with Blacet/Metalbox/Wiard/Cynthia analog modular synthesizers, Video synthesized by ArtMatic, from U&I Software. Produced by Doktor Bob and Mac Power at Rapid Eye Soundlabs. Copyright 2009 Robert B, Trelease, Ph.D. Special thanks to Archie Patterson and Eurock."

VCOnet vs the Drone Racks: A Dirge for BC

YouTube via OculoRapido
"A doombient salute to BC, as we approach the first year of unfilled bc16 orders. Is that Buzzy the bc8 lying silent and dead under the marble skull before the Borg Disk? Tune in next time to find out what new disaster awaits our long-suffering, backlogged gear cult as the fabled bcX and XWIND eat all available time and components. Perpetrated on Blacet/Metalbox/Wiard/Cynthia modular synths, VCOnet proto, KAOSS Pad 3. Xacti HD1010 video. Produced by Doktor Bob at Rapid Eye Soundlabs. Copyright 2009 Robert B. Trelease, Ph.D."

Chimera Synthesis BC6 Walnut SN *8E1F3D*

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

via this auction

"For sale a very rare Synthesizer Chimera Synthesis BC6 Walnut synth / step recorder

"A brilliant compact synth / drone machine from the now deceased Chimera. Great for sampling :-)

This is what Chimera had to say about the BC6:

[BC6] WALNUT, handmade, small, standalone synthesizer with in-built 16-step sequence recorder

[DESIGN] Beautiful Black Walnut wood, brushed stainless steel, bright-red printed circuit board, green plastic button and green LED

[SOUND] Distilled Chimera bC8 type sounds

[USE] Live, backing, drone, musique-concrete, glitch, industrial…

CONTROLS:

[1] VCO pitch, from 27.5Hz [A0] to approximately 3.1KHz [G7]

[PLAYBACK] plays back the last sixteen notes, speed maybe smoothly varied from 1/16th speed to 16x speed

TECHNICAL:

[OUTPUT] Stereo 3.5mm jack socket (50mW available for driving headphones)

[POWER] 3x AAA cells, drain ~55mA, power switch on base

[SIZE] 90mm diameter x 45mm overall height (including knobs)

[CONSTRUCTION] body from black walnut, hand-finished and protected with Danish Oil, stainless steel top-plate, high quality double-sided

PCB hand-assembled and tested.

[AVAILABILITY] only 100 units were built (this is number 28)"

[2] LFO>VCO modulation depth, controls both AM and FM depths

[3] LFO rate (sub-sonic to audible)

[BUTTON] envelope trigger (with sustain), mode selection and playback start-stop

[4] Envelope, combination attack/release control 5 milliseconds to 20 seconds

[5] VCO waveshape continuous morph (sine, triangle, square, sawtooth) and LFO waveshape selection (sine, square, rising sawtooth, falling sawtooth)

[6] Volume [also auxiliary functions of mode selection when at zero and playback speed]

[MODE] single-shot mode with sustain, auto-repeat, playback

[RECORDER] automatically records the last sixteen notes played including, note duration, time between notes and the values of knobs 1-5 (these maybe overridden during playback if desired)"

CLICK FOR MORE »

Chimera bC8 (mk2) synthesizer/sequencer

via this auction

Chimera BC8 Synthesizer SN 8K6A1H

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

Noodling with a bC8

More noodles at Chimera Synthesis' AudioBoo site.

http://www.chimerasynthesis.com


BTW, AudioBoo seems to be taking off as a place to host audio.

Chimera Synthesis bC8 SN *6G1A5G*

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

via this auction

"If you're here, you know how rare these are. Oh, and it's tiny. Tiny. I put a lighter (not for sale) next to it for a comparison. Those things in the vial, you'll need those to open the bottom plate in order to install batteries, 3AAA to be exact. I included an extra one because you'll lose one and freak out about it even though they only cost about 29 cents at your local hardware store."

CLICK FOR MORE »

bC16 synthesizer and its various bits and pieces

flickr by sethelgart

(click for one more)

Tiny. Note this is the bC16 not the bC8 which is even smaller.

click on the Chimera label below for more including audio and video.

Dual Chimera?

via @Chimera_Synths

"late night tooling change"

Update: "it's a Super8 (bC8 like, with wild 18dB analog VCF analog, VCA, auxin, MIDI and mad 8-step sequencer with variable destination)"

Chimera BC8 - Handheld Battery Powered Synth

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

Chimera Synthesis bC9 Mini Synthesizer

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

via this auction

"The Chimera bC9 synthesizer offers the same range of sounds as the bC8, with the ability to externally modulate any possible combination of the eight main control knobs, including the infamous ?patch? control; a ninth knob controls the depth of external modulation?

The semi-transparent frosted body diffuses the light from the ten LED?s that logically show various conditions and processes.

Note: Chimera is a boutique synth manufacturer. Some buyers have reported long delays between ordering products and getting them delivered. This item is ready to ship next day.

Detailed specs on the Chimera bC9 below.

Specifications:

CV input: 3.5mm jack socket (near yellow VCO knob): 0v to 5v
Trig input: 3.5mm jack socket (centre): 2 to 10v
Audio out: 3.5mm stereo jack socket (near grey volume knob), drives headphones.
Indicators

10 separate LED?s of various colours. Aside from showing the current status of the
LFO, envelope generator, battery and external trigger. The LED?s also show the
modulation destinations when the black push-button is pressed.
External CV voltage shown by the ?analog? LED by the black push-button.
Knobs

1st knob, yellow – VCO frequency
2nd knob, yellow – VCO & LFO modulation depth control
3rd knob, blue – Waveshapes for VCO and LFO
4th knob, blue – LFO speed
5th knob, green – External CV modulation depth control
6th knob, red – Attack, envelope generator
7th knob, red – Release, envelope generator
8th knob, green – Patch control
9th knob, grey – Volume control
Controls

On-Off switch (right-hand toggle)
Envelope mode (left-hand toggle)
>up=auto-repeat, centre=single shot (no sustain), down=single shot (sustain
allowed).
Black push-button
>press to see and modify the external modulation-destination.
Red push-button
>triggers envelope generator, effectively in parallel with external trigger
Battery

3x AAA cells, alkaline or rechargeable types. Supplied allen key loosens four screws to allow stainless steel base plate to be removed.
Unibody construction

CNC machined from a solid lump of transparent acrylic polymer, hand frosted with alumina. Stainless steel base plate/battery lid. Four rubber feet."

Chimera Synthesis BC9

"bC9 synthesizer –
Based on the popular bC8 synthesiser/sequencer, the bC9 offers the same astonishing range of sounds with the ability to externally modulate any possible combination of the eight main control knobs, including the infamous ‘patch’ control; a ninth knob controls the depth of external modulation...

The semi-transparent frosted body diffuses the light from the ten LED’s that logically show various conditions and processes (warning: mesmerising).

Connections
CV input: 3.5mm jack socket (near yellow VCO knob): 0v to 5v Trig input: 3.5mm jack socket (centre): 2 to 10v Audio out: 3.5mm stereo jack socket (near grey volume knob), drives headphones.

Indicators
10 separate LED’s of various colours. Aside from showing the current status of the LFO, envelope generator, battery and external trigger. The LED’s also show the modulation destinations when the black push-button is pressed. External CV voltage shown by the ‘analog’ LED by the black push-button.

Knobs
1st knob, yellow - VCO frequency 2nd knob, yellow - VCO & LFO modulation depth control 3rd knob, blue - Waveshapes for VCO and LFO 4th knob, blue - LFO speed 5th knob, green - External CV modulation depth control 6th knob, red - Attack, envelope generator 7th knob, red - Release, envelope generator 8th knob, green - Patch control 9th knob, grey - Volume control

Controls
On-Off switch (right-hand toggle) Envelope mode (left-hand toggle) >up=auto-repeat, centre=single shot (no sustain), down=single shot (sustain allowed). Black push-button >press to see and modify the external modulation-destination. Red push-button >triggers envelope generator, effectively in parallel with external trigger

Battery
3x AAA cells, alkaline or rechargeable types. Supplied allen key loosens four screws to allow stainless steel base plate to be removed.

Unibody construction
CNC machined from a solid lump of transparent acrylic polymer, hand frosted with alumina. Stainless steel base plate/battery lid. Four rubber feet.

Chimera Synthesis Ltd
http://www.Chimera-Synthesis.com
E&OE 13 May 2010"

Update: see the comments of this post below if you are considering picking up a Chimera.