Sonic Boom

Update: Some nice Spacemen 3 Ts: http://www.sonic-boom.info/shirts/ : )

Nice shot of Sonic Boom. Dig the revolving stage and matching shirt. Note the outward facing speakers and glow underneath. That would be surreal to see live. One of my biggest regrets was missing the Spectrum show in Seattle years ago to go see Fluke instead. Fluke was great and seeing "Atom Bomb" live was a hoot, but Sonic-Boom and a Synthi.... Why, oh why did I miss that... Title link takes you to Sonic-Boom's website with more info and upcoming shows.

Shifty Death Synthesizer H.Q.

Update: Make sure to check out the comments link for this post below for some notes from solipsistnation including a link to an interview. Pretty cool. Also, looks like this site made Make: via this post of course. ; )

I remember seeing this a while back. It's a DSP box that supports MIDI and a Palm Pilot interface. Some programs actually do not require either. It's an OPEN DSP system that people can create custom apps for. Below is a list of some of those apps. Title link takes you to the main site with more info.

• Remixer Automatically remix sounds into new sounds! NEWest!!!


• Combyops All the Combyops from Death Synth! NEW!!!


• Oddelay Self-FM Delay


• Sinlut Sinusoidal Lookup Table Waveshaper NEW!


• Burrito The ultimate MIDI controller program for Palm Pilot and EZ-Kit Lite devices!


• Xpand Spectral Inversion and Un-Inversion to enhance your existing FX!


• Click-O Acrid Distortion sound with randomizing paramters


• Modulation Domain Not the freq, not the time, but MODulation domain.


• GenMusic Algorithmic programs-- synthesize an entire pseudo-random song! (created by a user on our mailing list)


• SVF State-Variable Filter, a.k.a. Multi-Mode


• Template Updated!!! a template to get you started writing your effect own algorithm.


• Finally! Hear the effects on an audio stream of AND, OR, and XOR! (with source code and build scripts!)


• HarmEQ Download version 0.2 now! timbre re-arranger/harmonic equalizer


• Rim Job a Ring Mod with some Special Features (created by a user on our mailing list)


• Death Synth a many-parameter variable synthesizer


• Skank raunchy multi-effects box


• Fmadness screamingly weird modulator with extra controls

Memorymoog Schematics

Memorymoog Schematics via ChristianH on AH. Click here for higher res versions.

"Compressed TIFF, at about 1.2 to 1.8 MB per sheet. I didn't cut them up
into smaller pieces, because at that file size everybody should be able
to do it just for their individual needs, without running into trouble
(if it had been in the multi 100 MB league, it might have been necessary
to utilize our specialized large format tools)."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Analog Solutions Mod Page

I previously posted on the Analog Solutions Modifications Page. Tomislav Babic just posted a link to another page with more on AH. This page has a huge grid of synths and available mods along with pricing and pics below the grid. Title link takes you there.

DIY Minimoog

Update: Via the comments, "It's worth noting that the schematic for the VCF on that site contains the mistake with pin 13 on the CA3046 referred to in the text. There are a few other oddities like the biasing on the left of the ladder, that 5k6 resistor probably isn't going to work. Also, the ouptut/feedback amplifier in the VCF has a few differences from the Moog circuit that potentially break things. "

Title link takes you there. Via Paul Wagorn on AH.




"After playing on many different synths and copying several designs. I decided that I had to have a minimoog...

Unfortunately the cost of a second hand minimoog is anything between £1000-£2000 depending on age and condition. So the only choice I have is to look at doing my own copy with the aim of keeping the circuits and design as original as possible."

minimoog clone

PAiA Memories

In via John Mahoney on AH.

"Sadly, it appears that John Simonton of PAiA fame, has died.
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2005/11/john-paia-simonton-rip.html

Sure, Paia synths, keyboards and effects were cheap and sometimes cheesy.
But they were all about returning the "best bang for your buck". Lots of
people bought Paia because it was their only affordable option. More
significantly, though, was Paia's influence on the musical electronics DIY
(do it yourself) community. Paia was instrumental in the very creation of
such a community, in my opinon. Many a soldering iron has been heated to
build a John Simonton circuit, that's for sure.

And with that in mind, here's a place to post remembrances of John Simonton
and Paia:
http://paiafans.blogspot.com
We're hoping for a nice response so that his family can see what an effect
the whole Paia thing had on the electronic music community.
--
john"

John "PAiA" Simonton - RIP

Update: If you haven't already, check out the comments of this post for some other words.


This has been a bad year for the synth world indeed. I just read via AH that John "PAiA" Simonton has passed away after a battle with cancer. It's hard to find words that would do him justice. When you think of the great names behind synthesis, names like Bob Moog, Don Buchla, Tom Oberheim and Dave Smith immediately come to mind. You know them because they created the classic uber analog synths. They brought you the packaged analog classics. So what about PAiA? You know the name but you rarely see mention of PAiA systems pitting up against these other synths. So what makes PAiA so special? DIY. The PAiA Fatman was the first and only DIY synth I ever created. I am not a technician and before the Fatman maybe only worked with a soldering iron about twenty years ago in the Boy Scouts. Yes I was a Boy Scout in an urban jungle. Anyway, I created my Fatman and had a blast doing so, but when I finally was done it didn't work. I contacted PAiA and what did they do? They said no problem, had me ship it back, fixed it and returned it back to me free of charge, with an explanation of what I did wrong. Amazing customer service and an amazing experience. So what makes PAiA so special? They allow us to create synthesizers. When I say us I mean everyone, the experienced and the inexperienced DIYers. Think of that. Not simply buying a synth and playing it out of the box, but actually building one. There is just something magical about that, and many of us, myself included, have John "PAiA" Simonton to thank for that. Think of how many people got to experience this because of him. PAiA started in 1967 and are still around today. Simply amazing. Title link takes you to the main PAiA site. RIP John "PAiA" Simonton and thank you for my big, little Fatman. He's pumping out one fat bass.

Octave CAT Demo

Via phloem on the VSE Synth Forum. Title link takes you there.

Gentle Bakemono's Flickr Set

Title link takes you to the set. Buchla and EMS. Yowsa.

Rusty Insects

Title link takes you to Carbon111's Rusty Insects studio page. Rusty insects, get it? I didn't at first. : ) Very cool name for a synth studio. Also, make sure to track back to the root of Carbon111's site for more, including some music composed with these synths. His latest track uses the Yamaha VL-1 and is pretty impressive to say the least. An interesting note on the VL-1: until I was fortunate enough to see Carbon111 play his, I had no idea that the included breath controller actually triggered the voicing - some patches do not play when playing notes unless you actually apply the breath controller. For some reason I thought the breath controller was simply a modulation source. It's much. much more than that. You can hear how expressive it is in Carbon111's track, Long Shadows. Enjoy.


BTW, knowing Carbon111, that is a reflection on that Moog Prodigy's wood side panel, and NOT dust like I mistook on this poor synth. That Prodigy is immaculate.