MATRIXSYNTH

Convoy The Cat

You can find this Cat's music here.

Images mirrored here [old link]

lol cat

Oberheim Xpander Factory Patches - Casette

via this auction.

Click here for shots via this auction. Details: "This is the Roland CMU-810 Compusynth, one of the rarest synths ever made by Roland DG Group, an obscure offshoot of the Roland Corporation that remains to this day. In the old dealer price sheets from the 80's it was listed as an expander for the CMU-800 Compu Music, a small mixer/synth/drum machine in a similar housing that you hooked up to a computer. If you look online or read Peter Forrest's A-Z book, a false rumor has perpetuated that this is simply an SH-101 or an MC-202 in a metal box without a sequencer. They reference the schematics but the schematics are nowhere to be found. I've been looking for years for them without any luck. I've compared all three synths side by side, and have triggered the CMU from both an SH-101 and MC-202 sequencer as well as the Roland MC-4. The sound out of this box is entirely different than it's younger cousins, more aggressive, with a faster attack, and much nicer filter. The SH-101 and MC-202 sound very plasticky and thin compared to the CMU. The CMU-810 sounds more like the SH series of synths and soundwise it's probably closer to the SH-09. It excels at bass sounds and percussive effects. It also differs from the MC-202 and SH-101 in that it has a delay slider on the LFO, an input to control the VCA for tremolo effects, and removes the trigger control over the envelope. It also has a built in miniature mixer so you can merge the sound of two additional synths or drum machines (MC_202/TR-606?) with the output of the CMU. It sports sliders from the era of the Jupiter-8 indicating that it probably predated the MC-202 and SH-101 by at least a year or so. One European reviewer on SonicState wrote, "They say it is like the 101/202 but I have not heard any of them (101/202) as aggressive as my new baby (cmu). Very clear, very warm, loads of rumbling and as stated before it can be a very aggressive basspump. If you want to get rid of yours give me a shout cause I would not mind linking a few together." I agree 100%. I would buy one over an MC-202 or SH-101 anyday. But the CMU makes a good partner for either of these synths because it takes up such a small footprint and can act as a second voice when hooked up via CV/GATE. You can watch a video of a CMU-810 on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eof7hVqBsw0"

Previous CMU-810 posts

Bent VSS-200

For the circuit benders out there, title link takes you to OXO Unlmitted and a post on a bent Yamaha VSS-200. You'll find more images and info on the bend.

Vermona at the Musikmesse - Vids via Gearwire

Vermona Perfourmer Quad Analog Synth

Vermona DRM1 MKII Analog Drum Module

Also check out: JazzMutant Lemur

Plan B Model 26 Readies for Release

"The new Plan B Model 26 Multi-tasking CV Processor has hit the assembly stage and will be available for purchase on two weeks time. A fully operational store demo will be at Analogue Haven later this week.

The price is $185 USD.

The M26 is the first of a series of 'swiss army knife' modules intended to provide a series of basic, albeit important synth functions without having to make a large investment in money or real estate to do so."

via Peter Grenader.

Guns N' Roses' New EAR System

Via Peter Grenader:
"Guns N' Roses have taken delivery of their custom Plan B system, which will be used by keys player Chris Pitman (ex of the band Tool) as the GNR touring begins in Africa and Asia in Mid-April."

Electrobeds Volume 1

Title link takes you to more shots and mp3s of the disk.

via Brandon of fdiskc.

"It says 'Music for Moog Synthesizer', but pieces of it sound distinctly Buchla to me... especially some of the percussive bits. I acquired this in a lot of library music in the mid-late 90s, it's not very good, IMO, but maybe someone will get a kick out of it."

Makes me want to go record diving. Some of it sounds very "8-bit" as well, particularly the first track on side 1.

Latinsizer / Celofán

YouTube via pepemogt. Via the comments of this post.
"Tomatoes, Drum Machines, Onions, Knobs, Lettuce, Analog Synths, Chilly, Cables, Tortillas, Beef and Nurses." More details on YouTube.