Store Window Berlin

This one in via Oliver Chesler (The Horrorist): "Took this photo today on the way to my music studio in Berlin. This is the store."

Click the image for a much larger shot.

Inflatable DX-7

No title link. Just this image pulled via this auction.

Sent my way via synth ollie.

The ZX7

Groove Electronics M303

Title link takes you to a couple more shots pulled from this auction.

Details:
"The M303+ is a Roland TB303 (without the sequencer) modified by groove electronics to have midi control, also added sync 24 to start a tb303 with a clock from your pc or mac,,, and ,,,an added midi to cv convertor for another analogue synth without midi,,

Very handy kit to bridge the gap between midi and cv gate technology.

we used this on nearly all our old shades of rhythm material , we used the sync 24 to sync an original roland tb303 with our pc using cubase , we used the modified built in roland tb303(without sequencer) using normal midi and we used the additional midi to cv gate to turn our sh101 into a midi synth.. a true work horse ;)

The M303 + is a dual channel MIDI to CV converter with an analogue voice module fixed to the Channel A CV controls.
The M303 voice is very similar to that found on the TB303 Bassline, and incorporates all the same front panel controls as found on that machine.These controls are self explanatory, and a few minutes spent with the machine will inform you of the range of sounds available.
Differences include the ability to control the voice from MIDI with pitchbend on any assignable receive channel, and control of the cut-off frequency from velocity information.
The manual supplied is that of the M2CV as this explains all the programmable parameters that are available on this machine.
Please Note,
Any parameter described in the M2CV manual will be available for control af the 303. ie Mod wheel or aftertouch could replace velocity as the controlling information routed to the filter. Transpose can be used to alter range of 303. Remember however that at power up, the unit defaults to the same set of parameters.
The unit is fitted with SYHC 24 output, arp triggering and of course a free set of CV, LEVEL and GATE outputs to independantly control another monosynth."

Buchla Synthesizer at NAMM 2007

Video via Amateur Chemist where you will find more NAMM shots.

Two of My Birthday Presents

flickr by Mike Peacock2005.

No not my birthday. That's the title of the flickr shot. Title link takes you to a nice close up of the MicroKorg. Nice owl.

25 Years of SCD

Remember this post? It looks like the DVD will be ready in the second half of February and Boele is currently taking pre-orders now. Title link takes you there. You will find entire tracks with notes on what insturments were used. Many tracks showcase the Waldorf line of synths. Note that the DVD will have tracks not available via the site.

Update: I originally stated that all tracks on the DVD were available on site. This is NOT the case. There are tracks on the DVD that are not available on site. I misunderstood when conversing with Boele via email. My sincerest apologies for this. I will be putting up a new post to let people that may not find this particular post again.

Roland PG-800

Knob/slider box for the JX-8P, MKS-70, and JX-10 (Super JX. Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Rhodes Chroma

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction. This one is in Sweden.

Vermona perFOURmer

Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction.

Details:
"The Perfourmer is a hands-on, real-time Quad Analog Synthesizer. It is a true analog synthesizer ideal for basses, leads, pads and effect sounds! It consists of four voices, each a separate synthesizer channel with its own VCO, VCF, VCA and LFO. Unlike conventional synths, each voice is treated as a separate or monophonic synth, each with its own knobs for tweaking. In fact, each synth channel gets 2 rows of knobs (that's 18 knobs per synth channel). Each of the four synth channels are identical. This method of synthesis allows users to create four totally different synth sounds which can either be layered into unique textural sounds or treated as separate multitimbral parts, such as a monophonic synth bass, monophonic synth lead and polyphonic pads.

Each synth channel consists of the following features and/or parameters: There is 1 VCO per channel with 6 waveforms to choose from plus a white-noise generator. Pitch can be adjusted +/- 13 halftones. There's a 4-pole lowpass resonant filter with variable keytracking and ADSR envelopes for the VCF and VCA. The VCA can also be modulated by the a fixed Gate envelope or the LFO. The LFO has four waveforms and can modulate VCO pitch, VCF requency cutoff, and the VCA.

The Perfourmer features some curious ways of linking the four synth channels together to yield some interesting results. Unison mode combines all four voices into a monophonic synth sound, great for creating simple to complex lead and bass sounds. Duophonic mode combines Synths 1 and 2 into voice no. 1 and Synths 3 and 4 into voice no. 2. This is ideal for creating two-fingered (duophonic) pads, like perfect fifths, fourths and octaves. In Polyphonic mode, all channels function as a 4-voice polyphonic for even better pads and textures.

Additionally there's also an FM mode where Synths 1 and 3 don't produce audible sound, but rather, function to modulate their neighboring channels 2 and 4. The Perfourmer can also be used as a 4-channel filterbank. There are audio inputs to the filter for processing external audio. Each channel has it's own individual audio outputs in addition to the stereo Main Mix outputs in the back of the unit. These output jacks double up as insert jacks for externally processing each synth channel. With some creativity and some TRS insert cables you can actually route signals between the channels, ie: send VCO1 from Synth 1 out into Synth 2 so that it is processed by both VCFs, VCAs, and LFOs in Synths 1 and 2.

MIDI is the main means of playing the sounds you create with this synth. However, four optional CV/Gate inputs (1V/octave) can be added for controlling each synth channel from other analog gear. Cutoff frequencies of each synthesizer channel can be controlled by MIDI, but not by CV. The lack of on-board program memory is disappointing. With over 72 knobs, being able to save and recall your favorite sounds should have been a no brainer...oh well. It's a perfect companion to the Vermona DRM-1 Analog Drum Synth."

Vermona DRM1-MKII

Click here for more shots via this auction.

Details:

"The Vermona DRM-1 mkII is a true analog drum synthesizer. You can synthesize up to eight drum sounds and they can be triggered by MIDI and by an optional set of 10 Trigger Inputs. Each sound has about 9 knobs for shaping the sound. And since it really is analog (and not some virtual emulation) the sounds are more unique and unpredictable than any other electronic drum synths currently available.

With eight drum sounds and nine knobs per sound, the face of the DRM-1 is covered with over 72 knobs! The drum synthesis theory is based around five predetermined percussive sound types. There are three DRUM channels for creating bass drums, toms and numerous effect sounds. One MULTI channel for creating typical analog Cowbell sounds and effect sounds. One SNARE channel, which can generate numerous analog snare drums as well as wacky sonar pings. Two HI HAT channels (open or closed), and one analog CLAP channel. There are seven real-time sound controls plus panning and volume on each channel.

It has a stereo output but each channel also has its own audio output which doubles as an insert patch for externally processing each channel before reaching its main stereo mix outputs. A big unfortunate over-sight is the lack of program patch memory. With all those knobs it sure would be nice for some sort of instant recall of your favorite drum sound settings. The front panel tilts so the DRM-1 is at home rack-mounted or as a tabletop module. Anyone interested in creating their own unique ANALOG drum sounds should check out the DRM-1! It makes a great companion to the Vermona Perfourmer Analog Synthesizer module.

The original DRM-1 (non-mkII) had fewer Hi-Hat cymbal sound controls, no individual output/inserts per channel, no on/off switch, and an external power supply."