MATRIXSYNTH

Korged Out!

flickr by zonkout.

click here for the full size shot.

images via this auction.

Move over Roland DJ70

"This is one little Casio keyboard that I remember fondly from the early '90s!! Rap was at the top of its popularity then, and this fun keyboard allowed all of us to become instant rappers :-)This 32-key keyboard offers 25 preset tones, including piano, horns, guitar and sound effects; 30 Rap patterns, including rap, rock, house and more; a scratch disk that gives you control of up to four different scratch sounds by turning it with your hand, and three effect pads - three buttons on the console that give you one-touch access to a selection of exciting sound effects.One of the best features of the Rapman is the Voice Effector function: this changes the pitch of the sound being input through the microphone. Yes, there's an extra-cool Casio EM-4131 mini-microphone included!The on board speaker is powerful enough for home use, but there's an 1/8" output too, for when you need to kick it up a notch.

some review
Yo-ain't nuthin' mo' stupid-dope than rollin' wit da Rapman. It blows-up big; It's like blow-it's like BLOW-It's like BLIZZ-OW!!This thing was marketed when the first wave of old skool rap jumped the proverbial shark-and it shows. The dated sound of the Orchestra Hit and percussion pads, the goofy technology of the "Voice Effector," and the bogus preset "Funky Cold Medina" and "Super Freak" rap patterns make the Rapman one of the most amazing period-specific cultural artifacts of its time.On the other hand, like the Casio "SK" series of mini keyboards, a lot of us into the avant garde have explored this instrument, found its unique attributes, and have exploited them to make new and hypnotic crazy sounds. I'm here to tell you that, even though I have much lizzove for the circuit benders, you don't need to bend the Rapman or the SK's to get bizarre new tones and textures; they're already there.Casio's sampling and rap synthesizers are some of the most underrated musical instruments ever made, as well as being inexpensive and almost unbreakable. The Rapman is built Casio-tough!!So, in between working on the avant synthpunk masterpiece that I'm presently trying to write, I put on a cheeze rap pattern, plug my "Fry Cook" headset microphone into the "Voice Effector," and get stoopid wit' the prurient ill rhymes."

Prophet '08 Demo

m4a via Stephen Jones.

livewire modules #1

flickr by kidtesla.

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Pixelh8 Music Tech Advertisement

YouTube via Hiddenfortress. "Chocolate Milk" Follow up to this post.

enapa monomachine jam!

YouTube via enapa1apa.
"this is one ch SID, one SAW and one VO6! sid does drums, saw bass and vo6 lead..."

Roland TB-303 Devil Fish

images via this auction.

The Development And Practice of Electronic Music

via this auction.

"The Development And Practice of Electronic Music by John H Appleton & Ronald C Perera. A classic from back in 1975! Very informative history of early synths and electronic music. Featuring some great photos! VG+ Condition, hardcover 384 pages."

Formanta EMS-01

images via this auction.

"It was made in Soviet Union at well-known Kachkanar (Polivoks) factory. This 2-manual instrument combines mono analog synthesizer and poly analog organ/strings. Synth has double OSC, noise generator, many different types of modulation, excellent analog filters, stereo phaser, ring modulator etc. Organ has several timbres with vibrato and chorus. It’s great instrument for any music styles and sound fx design. Sound is very original, warm and really individual! I think EMS-01 sounds more interesting than well-known Polivoks and many other popular analog synths. By the way, Formanta EMS-01’s retail was 3 times more than Polivoks in USSR!"