Jekyll n Hyde Filter | Polivoks 2 | Pulsar-23 TEKKNO

video upload by alternatingbitmusic

"Loopy jams are fun."

Also see Retro Mechanical Labs Jekyll N Hyde Dual Filter w/ Synthesizer

A Zen-Bro romance told in resonant screams

video upload by Richard DeHove

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: / richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

♫ Jamming With a Bunch of Synths ♫ ----- (79)

video upload by

"This jam is a little weird. My phone was on low battery which made the video slightly glitchy. I was a bit distracted during this recording so it's maybe a bit more boring than usual. There is also a couple mysterious audio drop outs near the end of the video. I didn't notice these prior to uploading so it's possible something went wrong when combining the audio and video files or something.

5U Modular (Synthesizers.com, STG Soundlabs, Synthetic Sound Labs)
Akai MPC X
Behringer Pro-1 (Sequential Circuits Pro One clone)
Clavia Nord Wave
Cherry Audio Voltage Modular (software modular)
cre8audio East Beast
Elta Music PF-3 Stereo Multimode Filter (Formanta Polivoks chips)
Erica Synths Syntrx II
Landscape Noon
Korg Delta
Korg Mono/Poly (x2)
Make Noise 0-ctrl (analog sequencer/touch keyboard)
Moog Source
Roland TR-55
Simmons SDS-V
Studio Electronics Boomstar 5089 mk11
Yamaha CS-15 (with UAD Bermuda Triangle distortion plugin)"

Behringer Edge with the DB-01

video upload by Richard DeHove

"The Edge-DFAM class of machines is an odd category. Not a very good as a synth due to the constant (and necessary) manipulation of the oscillator frequencies. Not particularly good as a drum machine due to the 8-step limitations and the delicate juggling required to squeeze out multiple sounds. And not so great live since there are no presets and too many parameters to easily morph to a different sound. OTOH if you want a random percussion chaos layer then it's the perfect solution.

Of course they're great fun to twiddle and make unexpected discoveries. They also pair up pretty well with more conventional machines to produce a more complex result than you'd get with 'ordinary' synths.

Having owned both the DFAM and Edge I'm happy but hesitant to admit that in a 1:1 matchup I'd choose the Edge. This is entirely due to the MIDI clock options: The sequence must always start at the start - duh. Some people say the DFAM sounds better (whatever that means) but I'm not feeling anything radically different. My only complaint is that the LPF feels murky and doesn't interact with the resonance control in a pleasing way. The HPF is much superior imo and saves the filter section. Of course it may be that I've now been trained by prolonged Polivoks filter exposure to expect satisfying grit and tortured screaming.

Back on the topic of 'Would I use it live', the more I thought about that the more I thought I'd use the LXR-02 instead. Perhaps a video 'The LXR-02 does the DFAM' would be good?

It may also be of interest to note the use of the DB-01 gate output connected to the noise level in Demo 1. It generates some noise percussion when playing normally because of the gate length but this largely disappears when playing the arpeggiator's much shorter gate length.

As usual there are absolutely no external effects or DAW processing.

0:00 Unboxing
1:25 The setup
1:42 MIDI reset
2:27 Clock divider
3:13 Tuning
4:05 Demo 1: Cheese
4:39 Demo 2: Swinger
5:19 Demo 3: Rubber
6:22 Demo 4: Wired

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

Custom Desktop POLIVOKS w/ Modular Performer MIDI CV Breakout Box

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

via this auction

"Unique custom modified desktop analog synthesizer Polivoks with 'Modular performer box' ( Midi-cv/gate and more ) developed and constructed by G-tank laboratory from Kyiv,Ukraine. Velocity/cut off/glide/aftertouch/clock mod can be controlled by midi keyboard(mod weel) or directly by your modular gear. Tested with Akai MPK49 midi keys Orange box can be used as midi to CV converter with other modular gear. Midi in/thru.USB powered or powered by Polivoks (see pics)

This synth is fully serviced.Old electrolytic capacitors replaced. Wood side, front and rear panels installed. Custom rear panel with multiple ins/outs.You'll get Polivoks+box+cables."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Tortured DB-01 filter harmonics soothed with a Big Sky (no talk, possibly no music)

video upload by Richard DeHove

"I like melody. Looking back at when I played synth-punk live back in the day, the music then probably had too much melody. Well, I'm making up for it here. It's just playing with sweet-spot harmonics made bearable by the newly-bought Big Sky. Too nuanced? Too nerdy? Not even music? Maybe, but look at them harmonic peaks :D

In my recent post asking whether I should send back this glowing blue reverb cliche a sizable group voted for "Make some videos and we'll let you know". It's got to be some praise for the Big Sky that these droning harmonics suddenly became sweet to my ears. In fact I didn't intend to make a video about this at all. I was just booting up the new Big Sky to make sure it worked (after my sad experience of a DOA Line6 DL4), got to preset number 2, tweaked it, twiddled the DB-01's filter knob, and here we are.

So there's some hesitation in posting this since it seems incredibly obscure. Five minutes of resonant squeals? Yet I found it strangely hypnotic and satisfying. The only other filter I've come across which was even close to the Polivoks in twiddle-fun was the classic Moog ladder on my now long-departed Sub-37. It is also fun to discover separate tones with tiny filter movements. OTOH maybe it's just the Big Sky doing all the work?

Perhaps it's best to look on this as you would a dreamy session on a Lyra-8: It's not so much music as a brainwave meditation session. And that's not bad at all for a little mono bassline synth.

As usual there is absolutely no processing other than what you see: A DB-01 and the Big Sky (plus the old sci-fi samples).

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: / richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

Elta PF-3 Stereo Multi-mode Filter (Formanta Polivoks Filters)

video upload by Bata

"Picked up this stereo filter from Elta Music based on the chip used in the Formanta Polivoks. These filters are capable of sounding very nasty on certain settings."

DB-01 with Light pedal feedback - and JPTR FX Add Violence

video upload by Richard DeHove

"There's something very satisfying about the DB-01 and dark, deep drones. Maybe it's the Polivoks filter and that big knob.

In this setup the DB-01 is going into the Gamechanger Audio Light pedal in Feedback mode with everything cranked. From there into the JPTR FX Add Violence pedal and then into the Nemesis delay. This order seemed to work better than the Light pedal after the distortion. There's no audio processing in the DAW. Quotes come from a 1940s movie through the Valhalla delay.

The original noodle - which I was trying hard to keep short and sweet - was eight minutes, but how much grinding feedback drone is too much? So here we are at about four. In hindsight it would have been good to have something after the Light pedal that could more severely mess with the feedback tone. Next time :D

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

Polivoks FAEMI-M Soviet Vintage Analog Polyphonic Synthesizer

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Universal Audio

via this auction

Note auction links are affiliate links. See the site's privacy policy for more info.

Update: The listing has the FAEMI-M as being from 1968. It seemed a little early to me so I checked my copy of Peter Forest's The A-Z of Analogue Synthesisers. It's listed but without a production date. Right before the entry for the FAEMI-M is the FAEMI children's keyboard which was released in 1972. I then checked http://www.ruskeys.net, but no date is given either. Previous posts refer to the FAEMI-M being from the 1970s. Sound on Sound's article on the Polivoks mentions the FAEMI-M but w/o a date. If anyone defininitively knows, feel free to leave a comment. A couple of interesting comments from that Sound on Sound article:

"The Polivoks is a duophonic synthesizer designed by Vladimir Kuzmin, an electronics engineer who had been the bass player and sound engineer in his student band. Having graduated in 1976, he was inspired to apply for work at the Urals Vector Company by the inventor of the FAEMI, the first commercially successful Russian electronic keyboard. That man was Vladimir Lugovetz, the Director of the bureau that controlled development of electronic instruments at the Vector company, and the father of Kuzmin's future wife."

Followed by "Interviewed by Polish synthesizer enthusiast and supplier Maciej Polak, in 2003, Kuzmin explained: "My first task was to design the spring reverberator, but I also tried to improve the design of FAEMI‑M in order to obtain some modern effects such as portamento and filtering."

Auction details:

"So, the good news: All four oscillator generators are working; I have cleaned the potentiometers, and only one couldn't be fixed, and just one is slightly crackling on movement. I replaced the output jacks with the standard 1/4" jack.

Things I couldn't fix: The vibrato section is not working. Several keys are not working at all, and some of them work when pressed harder.

The external original power supply is unusual – it is combined with the scale pedal in one housing. The pedal works, but it also has a slight crackle on movement.

To see and understand the objective condition, I recorded a video. Please watch below, where I aim to show the specific condition of the device. Despite the problems, it is still alive, and I believe you can either repair, sample, or simply enjoy the time with such an old and unusual synthesizer, even in its current state. Of course, due to these reasons, I have also objectively reduced the price.

The package is fully loaded: synthesizer, original power supply/volume pedal, original 5-Din cable to connect the pedal to the synth, power cable for the power supply, original wooden hard case

Here is some official spoecifications:

Specifications:

Keyboard volume - 4 octaves.

Full sound range (all the registers are switched on) - from F in the controctave to E in the fifth octave.

Output voltage at the load of 100 kOhm - not less than 0.1 V.

Power supply:
-from an external DC source - 12 V +10\-20 %;

Power consumption from AC mains - not more than 15 W.

Current consumed from the battery of dry elements - 350 mA.

Overall dimensions - 610*280*110 mm.

Weight - not more than 10 kg."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Elta Music PM-02 Polivoks-M

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

via this auction

You can find a demo of the Elta Music PM-02 Polivoks-M here.

"46 HP Eurorack Module w/ original box and documentation. Includes power supply ribbon cable.

Full synth voice with classic Polivoks circuits
Variable-shape LFO with two simultaneous outputs
Classic, snarling Polivoks filter with BP and LP modes
ADSR envelope with optional looping mode
Full modular integration with CV inputs for pitch, cutoff, VCA, and PWM
Direct LFO, VCO, Suboscillator, Envelope, Noise, and Master audio outputs
Designed in collaboration with Vladimir Kuzmin, developer of the original Polivoks"

CLICK FOR MORE »

SOLAR 42 sound demo part. 2

video upload by ELTA music

"Price 1700 euros + cartridge pack 100 euros
Pre-orders shipping at the end of October- November.
On sale in December 2023.
Pre-order at sales@eltamusic.com

SOLAR 42 is a unique experimental electro-music instrument, an analogue microtonal ambient drone machine. It will inspire you to find a new and spontaneous approach to composing music. No midi, no presets.
The instrument is oriented for live performances, creating film soundtracks, theatre soundtracks, atmospheric sounds, microtonal and background music. It is an improved version of the older SOLAR 50 model. The instrument was inspired by early electronic musical instruments of the 1920s and 1950s, notably Leo Theremin's «Harmonium» instrument, as well as science fiction film soundtracks.
The SOLAR 42 does not look like a classic synthesiser, which may confuse the user as it looks very complicated. In fact, it is easy to use. It has 8 voices as separate blocks, a mixer with pan and double effector, and various CV blocks.
FEATURES
Two volt octave morphing VCO voices
Multifunctional touch sensitive keypad controller.
Six drone voices with separate push-button keypad
Two white noise generators,
Two S&H generators
Five LFO generators,
5 step sequencer,
CV Joystick
Preamp for contact mic + envelope follower
Stereo mixer with panoramic left and right channels
Dual POLIVOKS filter
Dual cartridge effector combiner with CV control. Now you can load a different effect on each channel.
Stereo audio output. Dry audio outputs volt octave voices. External audio input.

POWER SUPPLY DC 12V 1A…2A
WEIGHT 5,4 KG (11,9 lb)
SIZE length 49,5 cm x depth 32 cm x height 2,9 cm (5,6 cm height including potentiometer knobs)
SOLAR SET - SOLAR 42, infinity cartridge, DC 12V2A power supply, user manual, 5 minijack patches, sticker pack."

Acidbox III Fully cranked

video upload by Richard DeHove

"The Erica Synths Acidbox III stereo filter with everything cranked. Team it with a DB-01 and you've got a Polivoks filter going into another Polivoks filter. Both resonances on full, input saturation full and then an added 20dB of input gain on top. Why be subtle?
A few normal DB-01 patterns are mangulated at the start before forgetting about any sort of input at all and just playing latent noise and resonance through a Shiftline Astronaut pedal. We end somewhere among the Krell on Altair-4.

0:00 The setup
1:06 Pattern one
1:40 +20dB input gain
2:52 Pattern two
4:23 Pattern three
5:00 Control input config
6:12 CV input
8:33 1950s sci-fi
9:58 On Altair-4 (no more talk)

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/"

SOLAR 42 sound demo part 1

video upload by ELTA music

"Special pre-order price until the end of September 1500 euros + Cartridge pack 12 pieces 100 euros
Pre-orders shipping at the end of October. On sale in November 2023. At a price of 1700-1800 euros. Pre-order at sales@eltamusic.com

SOLAR 42 is a unique experimental electro-music instrument, an analogue microtonal ambient drone machine. It will inspire you to find a new and spontaneous approach to composing music. No midi, no presets.
The instrument is oriented for live performances, creating film soundtracks, theatre soundtracks, atmospheric sounds, microtonal and background music. It is an improved version of the older SOLAR 50 model. The instrument was inspired by early electronic musical instruments of the 1920s and 1950s, notably Leo Theremin's «Harmonium» instrument, as well as science fiction film soundtracks.
The SOLAR 42 does not look like a classic synthesiser, which may confuse the user as it looks very complicated. In fact, it is easy to use. It has 8 voices as separate blocks, a mixer with pan and double effector, and various CV blocks.
FEATURES
Two volt octave morphing VCO voices
Multifunctional touch sensitive keypad controller.
Six drone voices with separate push-button keypad
Two white noise generators,
Two S&H generators
Five LFO generators,
5 step sequencer,
CV Joystick
Preamp for contact mic + envelope follower
Stereo mixer with panoramic left and right channels
Dual POLIVOKS filter
Dual cartridge effector combiner with CV control. Now you can load a different effect on each channel.
Stereo audio output. Dry audio outputs volt octave voices. External audio input.

POWER SUPPLY DC 12V 1A…2A
WEIGHT 5,4 KG (11,9 lb)
SIZE length 49,5 cm x depth 32 cm x height 2,9 cm (5,6 cm height including potentiometer knobs)
SOLAR SET - SOLAR 42, infinity cartridge, DC 12V2A power supply, user manual, 5 minijack patches, sticker pack.

https://www.eltamusic.com"

SOLAR 42 | AMBIENT SYNTH MACHINE

video upload by ELTA music

"SOLAR 42 is a unique experimental electro-music instrument, an analogue microtonal ambient drone machine. It will inspire you to find a new and spontaneous approach to composing music. No midi, no presets.
The instrument is oriented for live performances, creating film soundtracks, theatre soundtracks, atmospheric sounds, microtonal and background music. It is an improved version of the older SOLAR 50 model. The instrument was inspired by early electronic musical instruments of the 1920s and 1950s, notably Leo Theremin's «Harmonium» instrument, as well as science fiction film soundtracks.
The SOLAR 42 does not look like a classic synthesiser, which may confuse the user as it looks very complicated. In fact, it is easy to use. It has 8 voices as separate blocks, a mixer with pan and double effector, and various CV blocks.

FEATURES
Two volt octave morphing VCO voices
Multifunctional touch sensitive keypad controller.
Six drone voices with separate push-button keypad
Two white noise generators,
Two S&H generators
Five LFO generators,
5 step sequencer,
CV Joystick
Preamp for contact mic + envelope follower
Stereo mixer with panoramic left and right channels
Dual POLIVOKS filter
Dual cartridge effector combiner with CV control. Now you can load a different effect on each channel.
Stereo audio output. Dry audio outputs volt octave voices. External audio input.

POWER SUPPLY DC 12V 1A…2A
WEIGHT 5,4 KG (11,9 lb)
SIZE length 49,5 cm x depth 32 cm x height 2,9 cm (5,6 cm height including potentiometer knobs)
SOLAR SET - SOLAR 42, infinity cartridge, DC 12V2A power supply, user manual, 5 minijack patches, sticker pack.

The music is recorded in one take and one track. Without any processing and external effects.

Pre-order at sales@eltamusic.com
https://www.eltamusic.com"

Additional Posts

UVI Introduces Synth Anthology 4

video uploads by UVI

Note the above is a playlist featuring 4 videos. You can use the player controls to skip through them or just watch them all in order.

Details on Synth Anthology 4 follow:

The authentic sound of 200 synthesizers, from vintage to modern
4,000+ presets and layers deliver incredible sound with hardware soul
Feature-packed dual-layer engine with fx, arpeggiator and more

Synth Anthology 4 - A Synthesizer Tour de Force
https://www.uvi.net/synth-anthology-4

Rebuilt from the ground-up, Synth Anthology 4 now features the authentic hardware sound of 200 vintage and modern synthesizers, a fully redesigned engine with powerful features, fx, arpeggiator, smart sound suggestion engine, native MPE support, and more.
A dreamlike collection!

Also included in SonicPass ➡️ https://www.uvi.net/sonicpass

Video credits: Anthony Hak
Music Credits: Théo & Thomas

"The Best Keeps Getting Better

What's new in version 4?

Almost everything!
We've rebuilt the engine from the ground-up, added more synths, more presets, more effects, more filters, more modulation, a dedicated browser, a second fully-customizable layer for creating hybrid and blended timbres, an all-new smart suggestion engine that helps you quickly find similar sounds, a more powerful arpeggiator/phraser, bus effects, native MPE support, and more!

Real Hardware Sounds There is something unmistakable about the sound of a real hardware synth, from subtle differences between voice circuits and drift to the varied way filters bite into the sound; there's a distinct character and energy. Synth Anthology 4 delivers the authentic and uncompromising hardware sound with all the conveniences of a modern software instrument.

Every piece of hardware represents a unique creative vision, sonic character, innovations, and strengths. Whatever you're looking for, from analog to digital, vintage classic to future classic, you will find it here. Synth Anthology 4 delivers an incredible collection of hardware, every major manufacturer, every type of synthesis, every era, 200 synthesizers in all.

You won't find a more complete collection anywhere else."

The list:

CLICK FOR MORE »

Behringer Polivoks Prototype

You might remember back in 2021, Behringer shared that they were working with Polivoks creator Vladimir Kuzmin.

Here's an image of the prototype in standard Behringer desktop & eurorack format.

"Two years ago Vladimir Kuzmin and Behringer entered into a collaboration to develop a new Polivoks synthesizer. Here now is the latest prototype, which is now undergoing thorough testing and hopefully the approval of Vladimir."

ELTA Music POLIVOKS mini

video upload by SyntheticMachines

"a small demo made with the Polivoks mini desktop synth
As always a multitrack recording with some fx."

Mutable Instruments Shruthi Hybrid Mono Synthesizer w/ Polivoks Filter in Rare Red Case

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

via this auction

"Shruthi-1 with Polivoks Filter. It’s in near-mint condition. Rare red case. Comes with power supply."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Crazy Vincent SELLS 100 synths & keeps 26! EP1 = intro, synth list, and new studio space.

video upload by Vincent Presley

"After 2 years of crazy synth buying, Vincent has the new Secret Records studio down to a mere 26 synthesizers that he claims are better than the rest.....
Before you watch, maybe you can make your own list of what you would have kept or make some guesses about what Crazy Vincent kept. Remember..... he's not like other people.

Support the label, the studio, and us at secretrecords.bandcamp.com

Chapters:
00:00 Opening Music
00:14 Introduction
01:32 Overview
03:04 Stack One
04:49 Stack Two
05:48 Stack Three
07:23 Stack Four
08:43 Stack Five
09:23 Stack Six
09:55 Stack Seven
11:12 Stack Eight
13:19 Outro
14:50 Some Music

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Best of Polivoks

video upload by RetroSound

"(c)2007-23 by RetroSound
supported by UVI: http://bit.ly/retrosound-uvi

❤️ Support #RetroSound​ channel: https://retrosound.creator-spring.com

The Best of:
Polivoks Synthesizer (USSR 1982)
drums: Simmons SDS-8, LinnDrum, Boss DR-55, Roland TR-808, Roland TR-707, Korg KR-55B

0:06 Erstmal warm werden
0:24 Jetzt aber....
0:40 Mischka hat schlechte Laune
1:09 Radiowellen um uns herum
1:26 Schlechte Verbindung
1:43 Der Tanzbär
2:03 Heute fliegt die Kuh
2:37 Ferner Osten
2:52 Ein besonderer Wunschtitel
3:06 Blutgruppe 0
3:28 Besuch in der Anstalt
3:49 Diagnose: Unheilbar
4:20 Willst du mit mir spielen?
4:33 Ich hab Kopfschmerzen
4:46 Die Party ist in vollem Gange
5:04 Mischka hat gute Laune
5:15 Mischka sagt Danke!

The Polivoks is my favorite analog mono synth.
Here can you find the full Polivoks playlist with a lot single sound demos and one synth demo tracks.
The Polivoks playlist:"