Hideaway Studio S-VX Hybrid Library for Kontakt Featuring Novachord & More

"Complex Analog Oscillators with 12-bit Crunch into Curtis Filters…

For a while now I've been curious about the infamous AKAI S900 into VX90 combo and after building a 13 pin connection cable and installing an HxC virtual floppy drive in the S900 I decided to give it a go.

The results were very promising so I decided to put a new sample library together offering complex warm analog oscillator sources transposed over 5 octaves with a touch of 12-bit crunch shaped with classic Curtis VCFs and VCAs!

Raw complex oscillator sources were sampled in 12-bits on a recently refurbished AKAI S900. Sources were mainly 1976 Minimoog model D but also included ARP Omni-2, Philicorda GM751, 1939 Novachord, Juno-106 and three tube oscillators fed into a tube waveshaper.

32 complex oscillators were captured on the S900 and stored as virtual disk images on SD card.

Patches were programmed into the VX90 to modulate the Curtis filters and VCAs and the results multi-sampled as a library of 376 generously long 24-bit samples.

32 instruments were programmed up in Kontakt to form the basis for a 4-voice layering engine complete with scripted user interface.

32 example editable patches were created.

Here is a link to more background, sound demos and download page for what I think you will all find is a very tempting Christmas offer of £10:

http://hideawaystudio.wordpress.com/

All the best,

Dan Wilson, Hideaway Studio."

You can find the set including pics of the gear used on Hideaway Studio here.

1939 RCA STORYTONE PIANO - Worlds First Electric Piano

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

via this auction

"An extremely rare and historically important instrument, the RCA Storytone piano was built in 1939 in a joint venture between Story & Clark and RCA. It is the world's first electric piano, and it debuted at the 1939 World's Fair, which was truly a great event for musical instruments -- the similarly famous Hammond Novachord, the world's first polyphonic tube synthesizer debuted there in 1939 as well.

The piano has normal strings and action but no soundboard -- the sound is amplified through electromagnetic pickups, circuitry and a speaker system, making it the world's first commercial electric piano. It works especially well for sustained styles of playing, as notes can last up to a minute or more with its unique form of resonance. It sounds more authentic and much more like a real piano than a Rhodes, Wurlitzer or Helpinstill, and sounds richer, fuller, and thicker than a Yamaha CP-70 or Kawai EP-308. It really is the king of all electric pianos, save for transportability.

Even better, it has an art deco/streamline design that rivals that of the finest furniture of the era. This piano has been refinished and restored and is in excellent functional and cosmetic condition. It also comes with its original bench, which has also been refinished, reupholstered, and restored. Please note that we did not replace the keytops, which are original, because they look better than new keytops would.

Please note that the shipping cost is an estimate and that the actual shipping cost to the buyer will vary based on the buyer's location. For instance, moving this to the east coast would cost $590, while moving this within the Los Angeles metro area would cost $125."

via @AtomicShadow

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Synth Rorschach #13

via Grant Richter (Wiard) on Facebook

I'm seeing a bit of everything in this one.  The box on the left reminds me of Serge, the "piano" looking box she is working on reminds me of Moog.  Many of the controls remind me of the Hammond Novachord. And of course vintage oscillators.  Note there is an actual mini keyboard on the left just to the bottom right of the Serge looking box.  Take a look at my post on the American Museum of Radio and Electricity for a photo of one.  You'll note it's not a standard eight octave based keyboard.

Working HAMMOND NOVACHORD For Auction

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

See the seller's other items for some other interesting instruments.
Be sure to read the full description as always. Working in this case means it actually plays which is extremely rare for these. See the Novachord label at the bottom of this post for more including the Novachord Restoration project by Phil Cirocco who is known for his own modular systems and work on ARP synthesizers including restoration and the ARP Lumina upgrades.

Description via the auction: "The introduction of the Hammond Novachord, the world's first polyphonic synthesizer, at the 1939 World's Fair is a major milestone in electronic keyboard musical instrument history. With over 100 vacuum tubes inside, this synthesizer has a thick, harmonically rich sound that you can't get elsewhere. The instrument is incredibly rare (only 500 are said to have ever been made, and who knows how many remain in existence). Commercial sample libraries of this instrument alone cost $300; that's how rare, complex, and musically useful this instrument is!

This Hammond Novachord is in better functional shape and cosmetic shape than all three of the Hammond Novachords we have sold in the past. It actually plays! It doesn't play perfectly though, and has some minor issues, but it probably will be an easier repair than 90% of the Hammond Novachords out there, if you can find one. It is sold as-is, no returns, because obviously the buyer will need to spend many hours repairing it in order to have it play perfectly. Cosmetically, it has scratches on the sides and back that might merit it being refinished, but from the front it looks very nice.

Our movers took the pictures shown below of the Novachord. They have moved many fragile and expensive musical instruments for us and received our express instructions on how to properly dismantle a Novachord for transport. They dismantled it into its three main parts: (1) lid, (2) metal chassis, and (3) bottom half/base, in order to get it out of the door of the house we bought it from, where it had sat for the past several decades. We have done this dismantling before with our last few Novachords and will be putting the Novachord back together as soon as it arrives on August 22 (it came from the east coast of the USA).

If you are in California, we can offer free delivery if you buy this before August 22. The shipping prices listed here are just estimates. Shipping to other locations will be determined by the actual zip code of the destination."

Lot of HAMMOND NOVACHORD TUBES

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

"Up for auction is a lot of 119 tubes from a vintage Hammond Novachord polyphonic synthesizer. All the tubes tested in working condition by our Hickok TV-2 tester with the exception of the ones listed in red. Please see the spreadsheet below for detailed results of the testing we performed on the tubes."

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Buchla - Prototype & Buchla Oscillator Burial Ground

flickr By rick604
(click for more)

Below:

"Buchla 258/158 - Oscillator hell

the ancient Buchla oscillator burial ground.

pic of from a few years back, most of these are working again now. Sitting on top of the freshly rebuilt novachord (one of 2 JL and I toiled over for months at Cantos - now the NMC)"

Fingerwolf Studio Pics

A few studio pics in via Fingerwolf who has a new release out on Hollow Sun Records titled "HERE BE WOLVES". Click through to check it out.

Pictured:
Emu Proteus
Yamaha SY22
MFOS Weird Sound Generator

Click the pics for the full size shots.

Other gear used: "I use Kontakt (Hollow Sun Novachord library is excellent!) and Abysnth as well as the Reason synths. Various other bits of kit have come and gone, but pop up on various of the tracks on Here Be Wolves: Blofeld, Monomachine, Machinedrum, Roland SH-201, Nord Lead 2, a Spector bass, and a Roland v-drum kit."

RIP Mike Fulk - Novachord Hammond Guru

This one in via Brian Comnes, via pressdemocrat.com:

"A Lake County man who collected electric organs was identified Monday as the victim of two-alarm fire that destroyed his mobile home on Sunday.

The body of Michael Fulk, 72, was found in the back bedroom of his home in a Lucerne mobile home park...

The mobile home was filled with electric organs and other items owned by Fulk, Deputy Fire Chief Pat Brown said. One room held a dozen of the musical instruments."

Eric Barbour of Metsonix has an obit up here:

"Completely unknown to myself, or to the Hammond organ fans, Fulk had moved to a trailer in Lucerne, on the north shore of Clear Lake, several years ago. And, judging by this story, was probably barbecued by an electrical fire in one of his Hammond organs. The exits were blocked--by organs. Including two Novachords, I presume."

Venom Reactivator Synth Demo 4 M-Audio/Avid

YouTube Uploaded by gstormelectro on Mar 5, 2012

"http://gstormelectronica.blogspot.com/
Download these patches on my blog.
Here are some new original Venom patches I've made recently.
- 73 Tines. A smoother EP like Rhodes, Wurlitzer with a digital character.
- SuperJuVee. Thick Roland JV-1080 Soundtrack strings with soft Venom grit.
- Tank!: A loosely Atari-2600 sound effect inspired by the tank game in 'combat' and 'Pole Position'.
- Novachord. Ancient Hammond synthesizer from the 1940's used in eerie old sci-fi movies.
- The Chills. A real spine-tingler that will be used in my upcoming track 'Polar'. (Unreleased patch.)
- Sex Object. Digital or FM-based bowed string inspired by a Kraftwerk track.
- Deep Sweep. Thick analog atmospheric pad.
- Dy$on. Venom does Hoover-style rave genre sounds. Mod Wheel controls suction.
- WoodblkRok. Highly addictive percussive hollow sound for dance music.
- FullChoir. There are a few little tricks to get some male/female formants going.
- SuperGate. Percussive 'thwonk' taking full advantage of the Venom's reverb gate. For dance and pop music."

Introducing Hollow Sun Records - Esoteric Electronica

For those not familiar with Hollow Sun, they are known for bringing a number of incredibly rare instruments into our sonic palette that we would otherwise not have access to. They brought us the Hammond Novachord, vintage valve/tube oscillators and noise generators from the 40s and 50s, and a number of conventional but rare synthesizers, string machines, and more. See the Hollow Sun website for the full list.

They are now launching Hollow Sun Records which will showcase experimental electronic music.

"Hollow Sun Records brings esoteric electronica from a broad range of experimental sonic artists from across the world on modestly priced, high quality downloadable albums you can buy directly.

Hollow Sun Records offers considered, abstract soundscapes and thoughtful sonic tapestries brought to you by leaders in their field of modern (and some retro), offbeat electronica.

We pride ourselves on the slightly odd and weird and tend towards the unconventional. Many strange noises are to be heard reverberating around the crumbling, musty corridors and labs here at Hollow Sun Towers so it seems only logical to release the work of friends who are exploring new (and sometimes revisiting some old) sonic territories for others to enjoy."


The current line-up includes ATOMIC SHADOW, who's vintage oscillators and noise machines have been featured in some of Hollow Sun's instruments, BOB TAVIS, and MATTHIAS SCHUSTER. Bios follow.

---

"Atomic Shadow is at the forefront of modern abstract electronica using as he does true retro equipment from the 50s and 60s ... test oscillators, reel-to-reel tape machines for feeding in tape loops or tape delays, etc.. His music invokes influences from the likes of Tod Dockstader, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop and others.

Atomic Shadow's electronica is moody and dark, sometimes challenging, sometimes whimsical, always intriguing."

---

"Bob Tavis started with experimental music in the late 60s when all he had was a test oscillator, two tape recorders, a Hammond and Farfisa Duo organ, a spring reverb and a tape echo.

Bob studied under electronic music pioneer, Vladimir Ussachevsky, in the 60s and has also worked with Boris Kovalev on developing two software synths, psyBox and Ambitron."

---

"Matthias Schuster's prolific output is forever fascinating with the various projects he and his Thereminist wife, Trautonia, are involved with. From Das Institut to Geisterfahrer, his unique brand of music always challenges.

But Matthias dates back a bit and is as adept at 'Berliner Krautrock' with sweeping Mellotrons backed by his PPG modulars and all the other crusty old analogue gear he has as he is at more angular experimental material."

http://www.hollowsunrecords.co.uk/

Hammond Novachord with Service Manual

via this auction
"For Sale is a Hammond Novachord fully polyphonic valve synthesiser. This is one of the most unique synthesizers that you can buy at the moment. These were produced in the USA between 1939 - 1942, only 1024 were made with very few surviving to this day. This is one of only two known models in the UK.

The Novachord is complete but in need of total electronic restoration. It is not known whether these came with a bench, this has the bench of a Hammond B3 which matches perfectly.

It is possible to restore these as people have shown in the past. It is not a job for the faint hearted. [See the Novachord Restoration Project]

The Novachord has its original PSU but the amp in the picture is not original neither are the speakers, these are believed to have been replaced in the 50's!

The serial plate is missing but the previous owner believes that the serial number is 197 and this may be stamped on the chassis somewhere.

Below is a youtube video link that shows a working model in action." [posted here]

via Marshall on FB

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A MATRIXSYNTH HALLOWEEN

Happy Halloween everyone! Hope it's a good one!

Pictured: My ARP Odyssey Lumina and some MATRIXSYNTH pumpkins!

Click the pic for the crisp, full-size shot. Mouse over the image up top, and use the controls for the slideshow.

Update: I had to step out for a bit and didn't get to initially post the following. I thought I add it for those that might be interested. Phil Cirocco of C.M.S. does fantastic work. If you have an ARP that could use some work, you owe it to yourself to consider him having a look over. My ARP Odyssey had some stiff sliders so I sent it in for the Lumina upgrade and decided that if it's going to be away for a bit I might as well go all out. It came back in unimaginable shape. It was beyond what I expected. It literally seemed like I bought it from ARP today and just took it out of the box. It wasn't just a repair, it was a complete rejuvenation of the synth. I highly, highly recommend Phil's work. It's worth noting, Phil did the Hammond Novachord Restoration as well [previously posted here].

Restored First Ondioline—the original portable synth.

Electronisch muziekinstrument: Jenny Ondiolini (1948)

YouTube Uploaded by BeeldenGeluid on Oct 16, 2010


via this auction

"First-Generation Ondioline, one of only two known to exist. A historic instrument—the jewel of any collection—that is also completely playable.

Georges Jenny designed the Ondioline, the world's first portable synth, in 1941. The Ondioline was truly revolutionary: it was designed to mimic a wealth of instrument sounds—violin, cello, saxophone, trumpet, even guitar and mandolin. It did this with breathtaking accuracy, not only given the time period, but also when judged with modern ears.

The few similar instruments that preceded the Ondioline, like the Trautonium and Novachord, weighed hundreds of pounds, incorporated thousands of parts, and produced primarily futuristic tones. But the Ondioline was slim, lightweight and portable, and could produce scores of sound variations that included incredibly accurate imitations of a wide range of instruments.

The second version of the Ondioline is the most well-known: It features a keyboard sitting on top of a companion amplifier, both housed in handsome wooden cabinets. These began production in 1950 and are incredibly rare themselves (knowledgeable estimates have 700 of these keyboards having been produced, most of which stayed in Europe).

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Hammond Novachord, world's first polyphonic synthesizer

via this auction

Tons more pics at the auction.

"(THE ONE SHOWN IN THE PICTURES IS THE EXACT NOVACHORD FOR SALE. THIS IS NOT THE SAME NOVACHORD THAT SOLD FOR $4500 A WEEK AGO IN MY LAST EBAY LISTING [captured here]. This is a different one than any of my previous auctions.)

This one has everything, including the speakers, original amps, tubes, electronics, etc. Nothing significant is missing, as far as I can tell. It does not turn on currently. I can rebuild the small wooden housing around the pedals (note the chips in the wood) at no extra cost to the buyer...

See the vid I had for the last Novachord I sold two months ago for an example of what a partially-working UNrestored Novachord sounded like. Then see all the other videos of restored Novachords to see their full potential."

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Hammond Novachord For Auction

via this auction

"world's first polyphonic synthesizer"

Sold For: US $4,900.00






YouTube Uploaded by Screenery on Nov 30, 2010

Ingo Weidner's "Analog vs. Digital" Soundset for Waldorf Blofeld

"This soundset from Ph.D. Ingo Weidner contains various classic analog and digital sounds, similar to well known synthesizers such as PPG Wave 2.3, PPG 2.V, Yamaha DX7, Moog Minimoog, SCI Prophet 5, Roland Jupiter 8, ARP 2600, Elka Synthex or Hammond Novachord. There are also some completely new sounds with a complexity far beyond the limitations of such archetypes.

The set includes one SoundDriver-Library with 128 sounds and 8 midi files. Each midi file contains the same sounds, offering the possibility to replace any of the eight soundbanks in Blofeld with these 128 sounds.

Listen to all 128 sounds in 8 audio examples here" German page here

Frame Dragging Vortex - Featuring Novachord Sample Set

"This is a piece titled "Frame Dragging Vortex", from the new Atomic Shadow project called "Creatures From Beyond". It was made with Hollow Sun's terrific Hammond Novachord instrument, Roland Gaia and Strymon's wonderful El Capistan tape echo. The arppegiated pattern is the Gaia run through the El Capistan tape echo pedal. Everything else is Novachord"
Update: Download link: http://atomicshadow.bandcamp.com/album/creatures-from-beyond

The Novachord Restoration Project MP3s

Spotted these on Amazonafter the previous post. The Novachord Restoration Project was initially posted back in 2005 here.

Vintage Hammond Novachord LPs

via the following auctions:

Victor Records The Magic of the Novachord by Collins H. Driggs

Columbia Presents Novachord Solos by Fred Feibel

Cascades of Melody by Collins H. Driggs

Added to the Synth CDs post.

Update: The Magic of the Novachord is available on iTunes:


Thanks to UniQue Werkx in the comments.

Soniccouture Novachord for Ableton

$69 on Ableton here. Not sure how it compares to the $129 version on Soniccouture here [previously posted in June here]. The Ableton version is 2.2G and the Soniccore is 3.5. Samples on site.