Juno 106 & RM1X shots

Nice shots of a Roland Juno 106 and Yamaha RM1X on autumn leaves. Pulled from the title link post on these for sale. Via alextoevs on AH.

Fame - More Synth Shots

I previously posted about the movie Fame and some synth spotting in it. Well, reader Tony decided to watch it again after reading the post. He sent me two more brilliant synth pics from the movie. Wow! Now I have to see it again. I keep putting odd movies on my Blockbuster list for reasons like this, they show up in the mail and my wife wonders what the heck I am thinking. Oh well, I have to see the following shot in the movie, so she's outta luck. : ) Title link takes you to a bigger shot of the below and another. Amazing. Thanks Tony!

DSI and QY in Bed - Literally - New Flickr Shot

Update via JJ in the comments:

"Say! That's me! I've never been blogged before. Thanks!

At the following URL is a LJ post that contains a couple of audio samples of the QY through the Evolver:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/sarendipatree/119571" Hmm... Currently getting a 404 for this. Oh well...

I almost didn't post this shot as there just wasn't enough "synth skin" in the pic, but I decided what the heck. The human side of what a synth and music brings to the table is worth posting. There is just something really nice about this shot. She's smiling, they look comfy, and he's playing away on that Yamaha QY and DSI Evolver. Cool headboard and wallpaper as well. : )

SEMtex Review on Sequencer.de

Update: Don't miss that Felix the Cat sticker in the shot. : )

I previously posted on a SEMTex review back on 10/28/05. Title link takes you to another review posted by Moogulator on Sequencer.de. The review includes a bit of history on how the synth went from an idea discussed on Synthesizerforum.de to reality.

Alien's Project Toy of the Month

If you haven't checked out the Alien's Project site yet, you own it to yourself to do so. It's a sci-fi themed synth site extravaganza. Tons of synth pics, samples, videos you name it. One thing I just discovered is that they have a Sounds page titled Toy of the Month. Each month they feature a given synth and post samples, info and a pic. Very, very fun way to spend some time exploring synths. The site design is quirky and kitschy in the best sense. Like Archie mcPhee's meets Rob Zombie. Title link takes you to the Toy of the Month page. Make sure to track back to the main Alien's Project site as well. Enjoy. Update: I originally implied the Moogulator designed the site. He actually coded it. The disign is by Bernie himself.

Strongbad gets a Key-Sword-Tar

Title link takes you to the episode. At the end, click on the green bird's head. Too funny. Enjoy! : ) Via Dave, "The Packrat".

Korg Trident Samples

Title link takes you to a post on VSE with Korg Trident Samples. It has some killer strings. The Tri1_FlangeStrgs_PolySyn.mp3 sounds just like the intro to Duran Duran's Planet Earth.

Back Online!

Sorry about the downtime. Looks like there were some issues with Blogger today. I asked Peter Kirn on CDM if he could put something up letting people know for me, and he did. Thanks Peter!

A6 to Minimoog A/B Sample

Update. The answer is in. The first part is Minimoog and the second is the Voyager. : )

Title link takes you to a great sample Colin Chung put up on AH that A/Bs a bass patch on the Alesis Andromeda with a Moog Minimoog. Right click and save. Listen to it closely. It really allows you to pinpoint the difference between the two. There is a certain something that picks up the second sample where the first sounds a bit sluggish compared to it. If I were training people on the subtle characteristics that differ between synths this would be a great sample. Depending on what you focus on it either sounds very similar or totally different. Subtle differences in sound can have a tremendous impact on the overall feel or color of the sound - like a drop of ink in a clear bucket of water. It might be small, but it's there. BTW, I'm hoping we are all past the synth x is better than synth y arguments. That's not what this is about. They are all different and we know that. This is about listening to the subtle differences in sound. No one call the synth police.

Mars Synth

Now this is a cool shot. Currently on the Synthesizers.com homepage.

Two Synthesizers.com Must Haves Modules

Via the SCI PRONE post on VSE. Links: No Pass Filter, Shock and Awe.

SCI PRONE

Yep, not the Pro One, but the PRONE! Too funny. Title link takes you to the post on VSE where I found this abomination. : ) More shots after the hop. What would be interesting is if this were real like the OSCar in Moog Source case. The SCI Multi-Trak was about as small.

Standing In Front of a Dream - New Flickr Shot

Cool shot. That's Keith Emerson's Moog modular in the background.

Hartmann Goes Offline

Update via tahome in the comments of this post:
"There's new software for the Neuron and NeuronVS by one of the former developers of the synthesis technology (Stephan Bernsee) at http://www.osxtools.com"

In via reader voss. Well this sucks. We knew it was coming, but not this soon. Also, I did not expect the site to go down this quickly. Hopefully someone saved it off like the Waldorf site. If someone did and wants me to host it, just shoot me an email - matrixsynth [@] hotmail.com. I wish I grabbed the site before this.

______ mail from Denis Goekdag _____

Dear users of Hartmann Instruments,

please excuse this unsolicited email, but i believe this information
be of interest to you as a registered Hartmann user.

As of today, the Hartmann Music servers have gone offline due to
Hartmann Music's ongoing file for bankruptcy, which means that there
will be no further techsupport or downloads available from Hartmann.
However, i have decided to provide free techsupport for these
products at the site of my own company, Surround SFX. This site is in
no way affiliated with Hartmann, so please be aware that i can
obviously not offer warranty, spareparts or software updates. You
will, however, find a couple of cool FAQ's, How-To's, free models to
download and a community of users that will gladly help you should
you have problems with or questions about your Hartmann
product....oh, and *me*, the former techsupport-guy at Hartmann ;-)
Surround SFX will also be offering some exciting products for and
around the Neuron/VS series of synths in early 2006.

Here's the URL for the support forum:

www.surroundsfx.com/forum

Best regards,
Denis Goekdag aka Mobilegazer aka "the techsupport guy"

New Macbeth Forum

Title link takes you there.

Rhodes Chroma Ad

Title link takes you to a Rhodes Chroma ad I just read on the Rhodes Chroma site. I'm increasingly amazed at how versatile this synth is. A prime example is that you can actually reverse the direction the keyboard plays. Yep. You have to wonder what the story behind that one was. Amazing synth. Title link takes you to more including comments by Herbie Hancock and Josef Zawinul.

UC-1 - Pro One Sequencer Mod

Interesting sequencer Mod for the Pro One. Via Ben Vehorn on AH.

x0xb0x & MG-1 Demo

Title link takes you to a demo of the x0xb0x and Radio Shack / Moog MG-1 via Troy Sheets on AH. "The MG-1 is the growly little brat, and the x0xb0x is the light-footed pixie."

Dot Matrix Synth

Carbon111 beat me to the post! I knew this would happen sooner or later. : ) I originally saw this via this post on VSE. Title link takes you to Carbon111's post on SYNTHWIRE.

MiniKorg Demo

Jabberwalky posted a 5 minute demo of a Korg MiniKorg on VSE. The demo is one MiniKorg, no effects doing a wide variety of sounds. Title link takes you there.

Pro One - New Flickr Shot

Ekseption - Rick van der Linden

I just found out about a band called Ekseption and their keyboard player, Rick van der Linden, via AH today. Unfortunately it was a thread announcing that he is seriously ill. Title link takes you to the main Ekseption site with a fascinating biography on Rick van der Linden, some pics and more. Condolences to his friends, family and all affected by this.

PLATO IMS Synthesizer

Now this is interesting. Mark Smart put up a site on the PLATO IMS Synthesizer. If you don't know what it is, check out the site via the title like to this post. The site is made to use the amber on black font of the PLATO. The site has history, samples and details on it's sythesis. Really impressive.



"I put up a web site about the IMS synthesizer which was developed at the
University of Illinois for use with the PLATO computer system. I went kind of
nuts and wrote PHP scripts to generate characters that look like a real PLATO
plasma screen."

x0xb0x Logos by Amos

No title link. Amos sent me a couple of x0xb0x logos he did in the spirit of an "open-source" synth project. Pretty nice if I must say so myself.




"Just realized, I forgot to post my shiny new self-made x0xb0x logo... free to anyone who wants to use it. An open-source synth project should have an open-source logo. Limor (LadyAda) said that there wasn't any logo yet for the x0xb0x, so I decided to take the initiative and create one. The "0" is the schematic symbol for a PNP transistor."

Serge Animal Post on Synthwire

Carbon111 just put up a great post on Synthwire on the Searge Animal Modular. He walks through each module and links to his Serge page with more info. Title link takes you there.

NIN Polyevolver Cover - Stefan Trippler

Via AH. Yep. I think Stefan is pulling my leg on this just being a hobby of his. : )

"Sounds from the Evolvers, drums mainly from Stylus RMX, some additional from
the Evolver, vocals from www.nin.com

Peaceful advent time all ;)

Stefan"

Kawai SX-240 Sample

Ever wonder what the Kawai SX240 sounded like? Click here for a sample from WC Olo Garg. It sounds surprisingly like an Akai AX60 or AX80 to me. WC Olo Garb sent me the link to the sample and his SX-240 page. Rather than point directly to that page and risk missing all of the other synth content on his site, I thought I'd link to his gear page instead. Scroll down for the Kawai SX-240, and while there, make sure to browse around. There are some great synth pics and samples. BTW, I thought I recognized the site; I previously posted on it here and here.

Trogotronic

Via GetLoFi.

Excellent Logo


What the?...

Trippler.Net

I've put up a number of posts on Evolver and Polyevolver demos by Stefan Trippler as they came in. Well, I realized how easy it can be to miss things simply because they are not "news." In the synth world old news can very much be new news if you think about it. I used to visit Trippler.Net back when Waldorf was in it's heyday as Stefan was constantly putting up demos and more. I just took a trip down memory lane and visited his site again. There is still a LOT of content up there including his amazing demos of the Waldorf microQ, DSI-Evolver, and Virsyn Tera2. If you haven't checked out his site in a while or haven't at all, just do it and listen to his demos.

Moog Exhibit - Vancouver BC

In via Lorne on AH (title link takes you to Royal BC site - click here for pdf of exhibit):

"If you drop in to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria BC between
now and January 30th to see the Linda McCartney's excellent 60s photography
exhibit, you will also find a companion exhibit about three other important
contributions of the 1960s: the rebirth of the poster in Haight-Ashbury's
Avalon Ballroom,focusing on the artists hired by Chet Helms: twenty-five
photographs taken of John Lennon and Yoko Ono's bed-in event in Montreal in
1969 where media used to promote peace; and two cases in memory of Robert
Moog, talking about his contributions, from modular recordings to the
Polymoog and onwards. The Polymoog showed the limits of analog compression
into smaller polyphonic packages and provided the analog model for the
digital revolution. The second case shows the history of the Minimoog and
its players, focus on Wakeman and Jan Hammer, with an 1130 drum controller
(Billy Cobham was a big user) and an Oberheim minisequencer #010.
Thursday/Friday/Saturday the Imax of the Stones Steel Wheels tour is
showing. This Saturday at 1:30 a tour with the photographer of the bed-in
takes place and at 1:30 Sunday a talk on the history of psychedelic poster
will be presented. John Lennon's handpainted Rolls Royce is in the lobby so
you'll know your in the right place."

JD 800 Service Mode Page

Roland JD-800 Service Mod Page. Bookmarking this one in case I ever need it. Via this post on VSE.

Music Thing Xmas List

Music Things has quite the list up. Title link takes you there.

Elka on the *bay

Some Elka on the *bay, sent to me via Dave "The Packrat." These are not his and as usual, buyer beware. I just grabbed the shots for posterity. Title link takes you to them. Thanks Dave!

Cameleon 5000 Additive Soft Synth Demo - Vogelschiess

Title link takes you to nice demo of the Cameleon 5000 Additive Soft Synth on Vogelschiess. The majority of pads are produced by the Cameleon 5000. For more on the Cameleon 5000, see http://www.camelaudio.com/cameleon5000.php.

DIY Synth Lunch Box for my Daughter

CDM has some great posts up! Check out this little DIY synth from Music From Outerspace.

< thoughts> Hmm... Might just need to make her one of these for her birthay... and if she doesn't like it... < /thoughts>

It does beat a bowling ball doesn't it? ; )

Fenix Modular Synth Page

Just ran into this site via this post on electro-music.com. It's a good site on the Fenix modular with tons of info, pics, mailing list, and much more.



"A direct descendant of the well-respected Synton 3000 modular synthesizer and the Syrinx lead synth, the Fenix offers classic analog technology and innovative new features in a compact design."

Audacity 1.2.4 Update and 1.3 Beta Released

Audacity is a free, cross-platform sound editor. I use it to edit my WAV files and convert to MP3. It's a great piece of software. 1.3 Beta is out. Title link takes you to the Audacity site with more info. Via CDM and electro-music.

Some nice Synth P*rn via CDM

Title link takes you to the post. Bigger shot of the below pic there. Enjoy.

Sweet Buchla 200e...

New MacBeth Studio Systems Yahoo Group

Title link takes you there. Just set up by Tim Lee. In via AH.

John 'PAiA' Simonton Memorium

No title link. Note the John S. Simonton Memorial Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, PO Box 1146, Oklahoma City 73101.

--------------------
In Memoriam: John Stayton Simonton, Jr.
June 24, 1943 - Nov. 25, 2005


Oklahoma City - Founder and president of PAiA Electronics, Inc. (OKC)
John Stayton Simonton, Jr. died at his home in Arcadia, Okla. on
Friday, Nov. 25 after a yearlong battle with esophageal cancer. He was
62 years old.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii to John and Eva Simonton, John Simonton grew
up in New Orleans, La. graduating from the Sam Barth School for Boys
and the Metairie Park Country Day School. In 1965 while finishing his
engineering and psychology degree at Louisiana Tech University in
Ruston, La. he met and married Linda Brumfield Simonton.

After completing his degree in 1967, John moved to Oklahoma to work for
the first computerized jet engine test facility at Tinker A.F.B.

In 1968, John founded PAiA Electronics, Inc. in Oklahoma City, a
company dedicated to providing synthesizer kits to the do-it-yourself
electronic musician. John Simonton has designed hundreds of products
including the Gnome MicroSynthesizer, the SMPL System SMPTE / MIDI /
Machine synchronizer and the PAiA Programmable Drum Set, which is
credited with being the first commercially available user-programmable
percussion box.

Many music artists received their first exposure to synthesis with
PAiA's modular systems. Many engineers, scientists and technicians had
early exposure to their professions through his trade journal articles.
His work with starved tube circuitry produced the TubeHead series of
preamplifiers and his most recent project was PAiA's Theremax theremin.

A widely read author and contributor in the electronic popular press,
John was also the publisher of Polyphony magazine, which was first
published in 1975 and later renamed Electronic Musician. Electronic
Musician eventually sold to Mix Publications of Berkeley in 1985. John
was also the founding partner in High Technology, Inc. the first
computer store in Oklahoma in 1976, which became the first wholesale
distributor for Apple Computer, Inc. in 1977.

Deeply dedicated to doing what was right, John was a mentor and
inspiration to many do-it-yourselfers encouraging them to pursue
avocations and careers in engineering and music.

He is survived by wife Linda Simonton, daughter D. Stayton (Staci)
Craig, son John S. Simonton III (Trey), granddaughters Nikki Craig and
Callie Simonton, and grandson Christopher Kai Simonton.

A memorial service to celebrate John's life will be held at 6 p.m.,
Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Omniplex Science Museum in Oklahoma City. In
lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the John S. Simonton Memorial
Fund at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation, PO Box 1146, Oklahoma
City 73101.
"

x0xb0x Wiki and More - It's Alive!

Lot's of discussion happening on AH regarding the x0xb0x. If you don't know what the x0xb0x is, it's a Roland TB303 clone. Check out the x0xb0x site. I also posted on it here and here. Oh, if you skim through the list below, do check out the mp3 from Amos.



On AH:

Mods from Amos:

• 5 CV Inputs - http://bulldog.unca.edu/~azgaynes/CV_inputs.jpg


• Audio FM of the Filter


• Unmodified demo of the x0xb0x with Moogerfoogers - http://bulldog.unca.edu/~azgaynes/liveX0X-somasen.mp3


• x0xb0x Wiki - http://wiki.jonnay.net/x0x/x0xd0x


• Envelop click - http://bulldog.unca.edu/~azgaynes/envelope_click.jpg

Via Colin Chung:

• Demos - http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pagemusic.cfm?bandID=417985

Driscoll Modular Still Available

I posted on the Driscoll Modular back on September 29. The following comment just came in on the post. If you wanted one, here's your chance. : )

Julian driscoll said...
Hi all

I am Julian Driscoll, who designed and built
the Driscoll Modular.
I can still build them.
My email address is jcdrisc[@]melbpc.org.au
I am in Melbourne, Australia
I do custom work also
snail mail :
4/2 Bona Vista Ave
Surrey Hills
Vic 3127
Australia

cheers, Julian D

Crystal

Updates via the comments: this software actually is free, not a demo. : ) Check out the comments link below for more.

Via Tony K on SynthSights. Haven't seen this before, but it looks interesting. Title link takes you to more info including samples and downloadable demo.



"Crystal is a semi-modular software synthesizer featuring both subtractive synthesis and frequency modulation (FM) synthesis. It offers abundant modulation control with over 90 parameters which may be modulated, multi-stage envelopes with graphical editors, extensive tempo sync of envelopes/lforates/delay times, built-in effects for chorus/flanging/comb filtering/echoes, and a band splitter for effects processing by frequency band. Not only that, Crystal has wave sequencing, granular synthesis, program morphing, MIDI learn, and imports soundfonts. The musical applications for Crystal are literally boundless.


Crystal is a plugin, which means it runs within a host, such as Cubase, Orion, Logic, Fruity Loops, etc. "

1001 Posts!

Just realized I hit 1000 posts! This is post 1001. : ) BTW, the search functionality so far hasn't picked up all of my posts, so it's pretty hit and miss. Hopefully Google will fix that over time - they own Blogger. In the mean time... Check out the Archive links at the bottom of the page or the bottom right pane of the page. They are grouped in months because I plan to be around for a long, long time. ; ) But because they are grouped in months, the download times will vary based on your connection. Fortunately text comes first followed by images, so it isn't too bad.

Spleepo2 and G2 Death Synth

I posted earlier on the Shifty Death Synthesizer, a programmable MIDI DSP box that can be controlled by a Palm Pilot. In the comments section of this post, Tom of Music Thing pointed out the Spleepo2, a VST version of the Shifty Death Synth and a Clavia G2 patch Tom created that emulates the synth for you lucky G2 owners. You can find more on both via the title link that takes you to Tom's post on electro-music.com. You can find more directly on Spleepo2 here: http://www.dsperado.com/sbleepo.shtml. Thanks Tom!

Spleepo2


"SBleepo2 is a VST simulation of the hardware-based Death Synth. It has its own sequencer, two oscillators, and about 15 combination metrics to join them. Oscillator A can be a live input or a square / saw, Oscillator B can be a square or saw. You can change pulse width, the frequency multiplier, the oscillator sync amount, and portamento. You can change the length of each sequencer, or how long they ring out for. You can adjust the volume of the entire mess (thank heavens!) You can set the number of measures before it "returns to 0." You can set the BPM."

Chroma CPU Replacement

Now this is good news. One of the biggest fears of getting an old vintage synth is what do you do when an obsolete part fails? Well, Chroma fans rejoice. There is now a CPU Replacement board that not only revives your Chroma if your CPU should fail, but it actually has a number of improvements. Title link takes to the rhodeschroma site with more info. The icing on the cake? The replacement board mounts in the same location with the same connectors - no modding necessary.

Russian RITM-2 Shots

Russian 1 OSC plus sub, analog RITM-2 synth via this ebay auction. Interesting in that I've only seen black versions of this synth on Rusynth and Russkeys. See either link for more info and samples. Title and picture links take you to a bigger version of the shot pulled from the auction. For more on Russian synths back track on either Russkeys or Rusynth linked above.

How to Make a Minimoog Makes Make:

Good to see synths on Make:. Title link takes you to the post. Check out the via link after the hop. : )

Creamware Launches Pro-12

Looks like the Pro-12 ASB has been released. The Pro-12 is Creamware's virtual SCI Prophet 5 in a break out box. Via Harmony Central News. Title link takes you there. For more info on the box and demos see the Creamware ASB Page.

This is hardware


Specifications and Prices
Virtual-analog synthesizer (desktop unit),
12 voices, 128 factory presets and 128 user presets,
analog stereo input and outputs, MIDI In/Out/Thru,
USB-to-Host/MIDI interface, external power-supply unit
(12 VAC), plug-in like WindowsTM remote control software

Minimax ASB MRSP 899 USD*
Pro-12 ASB MRSP 999 USD*
*MRSP not including sales tax or VAT

Electro-music.com Receives Cisco's Innovative Company Award

Great to see a music and synth oriented site win this award. I remember when electro-music.com was announced. They've really come a long way and are an invaluable resource to music and synths. Congrats guys! Title link takes you there.