Mark Salud on Yourself Presents

YouTube via peahix. Sent my way via Pea Hicks.
"amiga desktop mod techno, performed live on san diego public access tv show 'yourself presents!'"

More Info on the Psych-Tone Composer Synth via Bugbrand & Peahix

See the update in this post.

Ralph Dyck's 1970s DIY Synth Recovered From Pawn Shop

You might remember Ralph Dyck as the Godfather of the Roland MC-8 MicroComposer. His home-brew sequencer served as the basis for the MC-8. See this post for a video featuring a track he wrote titled "Odd Rhythms" that was included in the MC-8 manual. Ralph Dyck was also featured for his DIY modular work in this 1972 news article.

via Pea Hicks on the Roland MC-8 Micro Composer blog:

"A couple years ago, Ralph mentioned to me that in the early-70s he had built a couple of custom analog synthesizers for local schools – UBC and Carson-Graham Senior Secondary. I attempted to contact the music departments of both of these schools. The UBC music department still had theirs, but the Carson-Graham synth was missing in action. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and I get an email from Ralph that an acquaintance of his in Vancouver recognized Ralph’s handiwork in a craiglist ad for a homebrew synth- it was the long-lost Carson-Graham synth!

The asking price was only $75, but try as he might to recover it, Ralph was too late, and it was purchased by a young guy interested in making 'bloopy synth sounds.'"

Click here for the full story including audio and pics.

Side note: Pea Hicks aka peahix who wrote the article is also the man behind Optigan.com.

Carillon My Wayward Son

YouTube via peahix. Anyone know what the interface on top does?
"This is a preview of a piece I wrote for the UCSD Geisel Library Carillon. You can hear the official performance on Jan. 23rd, 2009 at 12 noon. Just be somewhere in the vicinity of the library. You won't be able to actually SEE anything being performed, as the carillon is housed in a small cement room atop the library in a restricted area. But this video will give you an idea of what the carillon looks like. The "bell" are amplified metal rods that play over a loudspeaker system on the roof of the library. Included in this video are some shots of the library that I took after practicing the piece, in case you've never seen this amazing building. Thanks to Scott Paulson for commissioning this piece! For more info, see http://blog.ucsd.edu/artslib/2009/01/..."

Roland MC-8 Sequencer Malfunction w/ Sequential Pro-One Synth

Published on Feb 22, 2016 peahix

"My MC-8 is ailing at the moment, which means that when I turn it on, it does it own bit of 'micro-composing.' Here it is connected to my Sequential Pro-One synth."

5'32". Take that 4'33"! Most exciting sequence ever. It's definitely putting a ton of thought into it.

They Might Be Giants - CHESS PIECE FACE - Recreated w/ Casio CZ-101

Published on Jul 7, 2015 peahix

"I was messing around with my CZ-101 this evening and decided I'd go ahead and re-create "Chess Piece Face" by TMBG, because it was done entirely with three of the Casio's preset sounds- Violin, Crispy Xylophone, and Elec. Organ. The trickiest thing was getting the sliding portamento violin parts, so basically I just approximated that. I really couldn't justify spending too much time on this thing. But hey, if you need a karaoke track, this will do the job."

Found 8mm Film - 1950s Xmas Kids + Bonus Sea Sausage

Published on Dec 20, 2018 peahix

"8mm film found at a garage sale. Music is Johnny Largo At The Optigan (http://optigan.com/shoptigan/music-cd...). Scanned w/ Moviestuff Retro Universal."

"This CD contains all of the known promotional recordings that Mattel produced for the Optigan. Basically there were two different cassettes that were distributed at different times: one containing 1/2 hour of Christmas standards, and one containing a 15 minute “tour” of the Optigan, featuring voiceover work by Mike LeDoux. For anyone who is interested in hearing how the Optigan sounded in the best of all possible circumstances, this CD is a must. Johnny’s arrangements and performances are remarkable!

A specially customized Optigan was used for the recordings which minimized hum and buzz, but this CD proves once and for all that the Optigan, even at it’s very best, was still an incredibly noisy and lo-fi instrument!! Bottom line: I don’t want to hear any more complaints about scratchy discs!! ;)”

2009 Optigan Disc: MINIMALISM feat. Tara Busch!

YouTube via peahix
"Now available for pre-order at http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan

Here's a hot new sound for the 1970s, straight from New York City! Mesmerizing musical kaleidoscopes throb from East Village loft windows and trendy art gallery doors, where less is definitely more More MORE! And you can be right there on the scene with the new Optigan Minimalism
program disc!

Your left hand conducts a tight ensemble of organ, flute, saxophones and bass clarinet- pulsing bass on the special effect tabs, and whirling arpeggios on the chord buttons. Your right hand plays vocal solfege melodies, sung for you by none other than Tara Busch of AnalogSuicide.com!

So fill up your glass and take a deep, satisfying gulp from the sonic ocean of Minimalism!


Performance Notes:

The Optigan Minimalism program disc was arranged specifically to allow for a large variety of extended harmonies by pressing two or more chord buttons simultaneously. For instance, holding down C Maj and E Min will produce a C Maj7 chord. G Maj and D Min combined will produce a G9
chord. Also, since the basslines on the special effects tabs contain no thirds, they can be used equally well in major or minor keys. Let your own imagination be your guide, and make your own kind of music!

Music arrangement and production by Pea Hicks
Vocal solfege scale sung and recorded by Tara Busch
Disc creation software, disc production cover artwork and jacket layout by Robert Becker

Rhythms: 4/4
LEFT HAND: Electric organ, flute, saxophones, bass clarinet.
RIGHT HAND: Female vocal solfege.
SPECIAL EFFECTS SWITCHES: 1. Bb Bass 2. F Bass 3. C Bass 4. G Bass 5. D
Bass."

Wurlitzer SideMan - 1950s Tube Drum Machine

YouTube via peahix.

"The Wurlitzer SideMan was arguably the world's first drum machine. It depends on whether you count the Chamberlin Rhythmate, which was introduced some years earlier, but featured tape loops instead of electronically generated drum sounds. In any event, the SideMan is definitely the first "beat box." I just picked this one up for $50. It's got all its guts exposed so you can see how it works."

Vintage ARP AXXE Monophonic Analog Synth

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

via this auction

Note this is for sale from peahix of opitgan.com. It's the one featured in this video. You can find audio demos of this exact unit here and here.

"This Axxe was serviced by a qualified tech about a year ago, and at that time it was 100% functional and working well. The keyboard bushings were also replaced. I have not had a chance to use it much since then, so it's likely that it will at least need to be calibrated. Also, since this is an old piece of electronics, the usual caveats apply with respect to its long-term functionality. It will almost certainly need to be maintained by a qualified tech in order to continue working well. Cosmetically it's slightly rough- study pics carefully. The bumper sticker on the back adds an odd bit of charm, so I left it intact, though it should be easy enough for you to remove if you wish..."

Yamaha CS01II Analog Synthesizer Demo

Yamaha CS01II Analog Synthesizer Demo by peahix
"Here's two versions of a little demo track made entirely with my trusty old Yamaha CS01II analog synth. The original is from 1986, played by hand and "multitracked" by dubbing back and forth on my Star Studio boombox [below]. I cleaned up the sound as best I could. I decided to do a remake to see how close i could get to the overall sound of the original. Same synth, but now with CV jacks installed and sequenced with Cubase."

"Star Studio" Radio Commercial Spot

YouTube Uploaded by backporchvideos on Feb 4, 2008

"Just look what it did for Joey!!! Aired 6-1-85."

EML ElectroComp 101 Analog Synthesizer Demo Tracks

Published on Jun 26, 2016 peahix

"All sounds except for drums made with an EML ElectroComp 101 Analog Synthesizer. Recorded in Cubase using an audio clock pulse to trigger the sampler on the EML."

Playlist:
EML ElectroComp 101 Analog Synthesizer Demo Track 1
EML ElectroComp 101 Analog Synthesizer Demo Track 2
EML ElectroComp 101 Analog Synthesizer - Noodlings

Vintage SWTPc Psych-Tone Composer Synthesizer

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

via this auction

Update via Bugbrand in the comments: "Here's linkage to some details about the project. A Don Lancaster design via Popular Electronics. Looking through, they mention that the Psych-tone is quite similar to the Triadex Muse. (cue drooling from people perhaps?!). The chips inside seem old-irregulars but they're standard things like flip-flops and logic gates so perhaps someone could make a modern version (no, I'm no putting myself forward)"

And via Peahix: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/SWTPC_Catalog_1972_Page15.jpg [info sheet - added below]

"Warning: Operation of this device in the presence of anyone over thirty may be hazardous to your health."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Nobody's Diary - Yazoo Cover - feat. Marie Haddad & Casio MT-400V

YouTube via peahix

"This is a cover of the Yazoo song "Nobody's Diary." Marie Haddad did the singing, I did the music/production. This was largely an experiment to see what could be done with an old Casio MT-400V, which was used for all the sounds in the backing track. The video consists of a slow pan across the Casio's control panel. This MT-400V has a nice resonant analog filter, which was used heavily here. Some other effects were used on the Casio sounds, most notably a pitch shifter on the bass, to get it down an octave lower.

To hear this without the crappy YouTube mono/compressed audio, visit Marie at http://www.myspace.com/mariehaddad"

Roland KR-55 Digital Keyboard Factory Demo Songs

YouTube via peahix
"I recently bought this keyboard for $30 on Craigslist (an xmas gift for my nephew, who just started piano lessons). Prior to making the deal, I looked around the net for some info, and didn't find much, so maybe this will help you decide if you want to buy one of these or not. These are all four factory demo songs on the unit. Note that it doesn't have a sequencer onboard, but if you use it with a sequencer, you can generate music like this in real-time (7 parts multitimbral, 30 voices of polyphony).

This one's a bit beat up- a couple buttons are broken and an octave's worth of black keys are dead at the upper end. But for $30 I figured I couldn't go too wrong. I was hoping it had reasonably piano-like action, but it doesn't- these are normal synth-style keys. Still, it's got onboard speakers, and it sounds good for a 1991 keyboard. I also found the manual freely downloadable on the net."

Pea Hicks' Studio Circa 1992

via Pea Hicks

Some synth spotting:
"Yamaha DX-100 & MT-100II 4-track, Ensoniq EPS, E-mu Emax & Proteus Orchestral, Sequential Circuits Pro-One, Roland TB-303, MC-202 & SBX-10, Amiga 600, Art Pro-Verb, Tascam Mixer, Shure SM-57, DBX Compressor."

Note Pea Hicks runs the Optigan website and has been featured here on MATRIXSYNTH a number of times (as Pea Hicks and peahix).

Vintage 1970s EML Electrocomp 101 Semi-Modular Analog Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by ebay-peahix

via this auction

"Vintage 1970s EML Electrocomp 101 Semi-Modular Analog Synth Synthesizer. This one is in average used shape cosmetically - study all pics closely for details. The stickers should be easily removable. Functionally it's in good working order, having been serviced by a qualified tech a few years ago. Since then the main issue is that the calibration has drifted, so that will have to be scaled in order to play standard in 12-tone equal temperament. This should be a relatively straightforward process for a qualified tech. The keys all play smoothly and trigger cleanly/correctly. Note that this is the earlier version without the "SEQ" (aka CV) input, and it doesn't otherwise have any mods to accept standard CV. I'm not aware of any other mods to this unit either. I'm not the original owner, so I don't know the full history of it.

The demo video features some simple demo tracks I produced with this synth awhile back when it was still mostly scaled well. All sounds except drums and police scanner noises are from the EML. I used the trigger input for rhythmic sync with my sequencer, and played the notes manually on the EML keyboard as the sequence ran. After that is a bunch of noodling, some of which I recorded when I created this listing in Sept 2022. It's not very "musical" but will give you a sense of the range of sounds this synth can make. I did very little/basic manual patching for this demo- the range of sounds you can get with manual patching is even more varied."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Five New Vako Orchestron Discs - Now taking pre-orders!

via Pea Hicks:

"Howdy folks!!

You know what they say, when it rains, it pours!

We're proud to announce not one, not two, but FIVE new Orchestron discs!

VIOLIN and PIPE ORGAN are Orchestron originals, newly remastered.

STRING ENSEMBLE is a previously unheard scale taken from the original Optigan / Orchestron master tapes.

TREMOLO ELECTRIC GUITAR and PIANO are newly recorded scales made specifically for these discs.

You can read more details, hear demos, and place your pre-orders now at:

http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=2

Cheers!!
Pea"


NEW 2010 Vako Orchestron Discs - YouTube via peahix — April 12, 2010 —

"Now available for pre-order at http://www.optigan.com/shoptigan"

Playlist:
NEW 2010 Vako Orchestron Disc - TREMOLO ELECTRIC GUITAR
NEW 2010 Vako Orchestron Disc - PIANO
NEW 2010 Remastered Vako Orchestron Disc - VIOLIN
NEW 2010 Remastered Vako Orchestron Disc - PIPE ORGAN
NEW 2010 Vako Orchestron Disc - STRING ENSEMBLE

An MPC Before the MPC? DYNAMIC DRUMS by New Wave Software for the Amiga

Amiga Demo - DYNAMIC DRUMS by New Wave Software Published on Mar 2, 2017 peahix

Thought this was interesting. It's a video demo for DYNAMIC DRUMS by New Wave Software for the Amiga. Notice anything familiar? The UI is a standard MPC style drum grid. Only thing is, according to this site, and the copyright date on the back of the box, this software came out in 1987. You can see the date in the image below. The first MPC to be released from Akai? The MPC-60 in 1988. This software predates it. Wasn't the MPC-60 supposed to be revolutionary for introducing the grid-based pad layout? Does anyone know of any earlier hardware or software that used this format? I'm sure there will be something I forgot and totally overlooked, but I'm drawing a blank at the moment. A funny side note: If this is the first time the classic grid-based drum pad layout came out, then virtual predated actual in this case.

Video description:
"Back in the late 80s I used to use this obscure drum machine program on my Amiga called Dynamic Drums (later Dynamic Studio). I noticed that hardly anyone else used this thing or remembers it, so I thought I'd make a little video of it playing its factory demo songs via WinUAE. I always liked the lo-fi punchiness of the built-in drum samples, and I used them on alot of tracks back in the day, usually synced to my Ensoniq ESQ-1. There's a glitch in the video which causes the screen to go black a few times, but I couldn't be bothered to go back and redo it so sorry about about that."

Pics of the box, description and discs for DYNAMIC DRUMS via Amiga Future.

Update via gwenhwyfaer in the comments: "The Boss DR220(A or E) had its pads in a grid layout in 1986. It may well not have been the first."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland MC-8 MicroComposer Unboxing & Demo

YouTube via peahix

"I just bought this old beast on eBay. Since it came complete in the original box in essentially unused condition, I thought I'd make an unboxing video. After spending an hour or so getting familiar with its arcane operating system, I made a quick programming demo. It's brain seemed to be a bit frazzled when I first turned it on, but it seems to be working OK now, except that it needs to be calibrated because the pitch CV's are off scale. Anybody know someone that can do this for me?"