The Verb, To Be

YouTube via morbius001
"It starts off with a jam to a reverb patch... after that, medication would be in order. Leave a comment and a rating."

Yamaha CS01

images via this auction
"The CS-01 is a very old but classic analog monosynth from Yamaha. Although originally designed for use by novice musicians or first time synth-buyers, the CS-01 has been recognized by today's electronic musicians as one fat little bass machine with simple controls. In a nutshell, the CS-01 is simple to use and edit but still has some great features for any situation. It's tiny and portable, it has baby-sized keys and it can run on batteries, and there is a built-in amplifier and speaker which is quite fun.

As for sounds and synthesizing, the CS-01 is the perfect monosynth for bubbly and growling bass! It features a very nice 12dB resonant VCF filter. In addition to the oscillators' sine and square type waveforms there is PWM and noise. There are also LFO controls, glissando (like portamento), a typical ADSR envelope generator, pitch & mod wheels and even a breath controller input.

The CS-01 may look simple or toy-like but it is still able to create cool little analog bass blips, bass lines and bass bubbles that are just perfect for today's electronic musicians.

The CS-01 is a monophonic, single oscillator synthesizer with a 2 1/2 octave mini-sized keyboard, that can run on battery power or via a wall-wart AC/DC converter. It was obviously marketed to the young, first synth buyer, market. However, dispite it's mini-sized keys, it has been since adopted by many professionals for it's simple design, active sliders, and great sound.

The voice architecture is quite simple. A single oscillator with a sub-oscillator, a VCF, an LFO. The oscillator has a slider for fine tune, and an other with four octave settings, with the fifth setting switching it to the noise source. Available waveforms are triangle, sawtooth, square, and narrow. There is also a pulse width modulation (PWM) waveform with a separate slider controlling the PWM speed. There is a slider for glissando (unfortunately, not portamento). The filter (12dB/octave) section has sliders for cutoff frequency, resonance, and EG (envelope generator) depth. There is a EG depth for the VCA. There is a switch for resonance (low and high only). The LFO can be switched to control the VCA or the VCO. There is a slider for LFO speed and the amount is controlled by the controller wheel. The envelope generator is a simple ADSR with sliders for each (attack, decay, sustain, release)

Plugged into an amp it gives a great fat sound from deep bass to high glass spliting high notes. Built in speaker if your amp is not around.

Runs on batterys or mains (you need a cheap 12-v or multy-v mains adapter - easy to get for very little money)"

Yamaha CS30

images via this auction
"Features:
Monophonic / Duophonic
2VCOs
44 Keys.
1 to 8 Step Analog Sequencer
Envelope: 5 Type
External Trigger / Signal

The CS-30 is a large, knob infested, black analog synthesizer with traditional features. It is a monophonic synth with extensive analog control and shaping. It has two oscillators with separate outputs, two VCF resonant filters, two VCA amplifiers and three envelopes. It also features a ring modulator, external audio triggering and a simple but useful 8-step sequencer for use as a sketch pad, pattern or arpeggio effect. The CS-30 does not have any on-board effects, memory nor MIDI. Although the CS-30 is just a monophonic synth with a short 44 note keyboard it offers a lot of programming flexibility, and plenty of knobs."

Yamaha CS15

images via this auction

"This thing is basically TWO synths in one. Each synth has its own oscillator, filter, envelope, and VCA. You can sequence one and play the other by hand, or sequence both individually to get two simultaneous melodic lines with distinct sounds. Both synths have their own CV and trigger inputs. Additionally, the CS-15 has an external input that triggers one of the envelopes, which means that this synth becomes an amazing effects processor. One can get a creamy filtered distortion on guitar, or mutate vocals with an LFO, or get envelope-following filter sounds on drum machine.

Here is a video I made with this very CS-15 and the Frostwave sequencer I am selling in another auction."

YAMAHA CS-15 and FROSTWAVE Fat Sequencer

YouTube via ZonkOut

"The two separate channels from the Frostwave sequencer control the two separate channels on the CS-15 synth. Performed live, no effects or overdubbing."

CIRCUIT BENT KURZWEIL K2000

images via this auction

"One of the Mightiest Meanest Over The Top Prototype Circuit Bent Atrocities I have come across: A One Of A Kind Heavily Modified KURZWEIL K2000 V.A.S.T. ( Variable Architecture Synthesis Technology ) Keyboard Synthesizer Workstation ! Ray Kurzweil Of Man-Machine Cyber-Science & Synthesizer Technology Fame has Created several successful generations of refined & expansive synthesizers culminating in the K-Series instruments that are still widely used by Studio Pros & Live Performers for their Incredible Flexibility, Deep Precision Programing And Control ( Parameters are in REAL Values: True Intonation Tables, Adjustments In: Hertz, Milliseconds, Ticks, not "1 to 13" or "4', 6', 8', " as per some Other Synths ... ), & Lush Dynamic Sound. Kurzweil K Series Instruments have one of the widest ranging and diverse sample libraries available on Any Synth Platform. Now; To Take It Further... This Prototype K-2000 has been Extensively Modifed. Not Only can All of the usual synth parameters be accessed and utilized; but now interactive glitch switches and a Phat Circuit Bent Cyber-Patch has been implanted to achieve all sorts of combinations of Extra Outrageous Sound Manipulation. One of the Kings Of The Modern Synth World Conquered By the Insane Technicians OF DIABOLICAL DEVICES Down In Florida At the Infamous CLASS A ELECTRONICS Synthesizer Rehabilitation Center. The floppy disc drive has been replaced with a Backlit Panel Featuring a DIABOLICAL DEVICES Circuit Board Art Logo & the space where the drive sat internally is now taken up the New Electronics & the Patch Bay. Samples can still be loaded & extracted by SCSI or by MIDI. You can load up and Damage all those Kurzweil & Third Party Sounds; or masticate Your Own. All Bends are Super Stable & Repeatable; choose a Patch & Set Your Bends: -It Will Be A True Restore Every Time ! ! ! The Blue Button & The Red & Blue Banana Points Next To It Are Assignable From The Red & Black Audible Data Outs As A Momentary Bend Switch System. The rca Are Data/Bend Points That have Different Effects Dependent Upon What Is Cross- Patched To Them. Four Of The Switches Produce Ring-Mod Or Cross-Mod Type Effects. Three Switches Produce Delay Type Effects. The Other Seven Are harder To Describe, But Were Extreme Or Cool Enough To Make Them Hard Switch Points -So These Are Worthy Effects. It's Easy To Engage Or Patch Multiple Points & Effects & End Up In Difficult To Describe Territory... The Two 1/4 Inch Ports Are Designed To Put Audible Data To Mixer To Add To The Analog Out SIgnal For Further Hard To Describe Effects... The Switch in Back Turns The LED's Behind The "Diabolical" Display On Or Off. It Is A Behemoth Amongst Circuit Bent Synths; Full Arp, Seq, Extreme Synthesis Before The Bends Are Mixed In."

Synthorama - Airböurne Synthesizer

Click here for the first set of images from my trip to Synthorama.

This set includes images of the Airböurne modular synthesizer by Martin Hollinger, curator of the Synthorama synth museum. Martin has been working on this one of a kind modular for the last several years. The design is 100% his. It is a fantastic sounding modular. I asked Martin if he planned to produce these for sale anytime soon. He said it consists of over 10,000 components so it would not be easy. He does hope to show it at the Musikmesse.

Check out the patch cables. The tips are very similar in look to the patch pin tips used by EMS, but they are much smaller. I asked Martin why he chose them. He said mainly for size and quality. The quality of them is apparently very high - better than the patch pins he showed me for EMS. The one risk however is that if too much pressure is applied at an angle, they can break. If they were to break off while patched in the modular, it could be difficult to remove them. Because of this he is not sure if he would use them again. I can say, they are very attractive and add to the overall character of the modular.

Note the blue patch cable in the shot to the left. You can see what they look like unplugged.

As for the individual modules and what they can do, check out each image in detail. I tried to capture what each can do.

In my previous post, you might remember the shot of the skateboard. The significance? Note the name. :) Also take a look at the Airbourne logo in the bottom left of the last shot below. If you look closely, you will see that it's a skateboard! Pretty cool. Martin had a collection of skateboards as well.

A note regarding the shots: not all of them are the greatest, but rather than filter the bad shots out, I decided to put everything up. I sometimes hate the way images look when using a flash - glare sometimes shows and you lose the effect of the natural lighting. So... some of these shots will be blurry because of that. You will need to use your imagination to get a sense of what the setting was like for some of these shots. I do promise you there are some great detailed shots though. There are different reasons for each, some functional, some to capture mood, and some to capture the grandeur. As always be sure to click on them for the full size. You can click on the "All Sizes" link in flickr. Feel free to grab the shots for your personal use. If you have a website, and you want to use them, do so, just be kind and provide a courtesy link back to MATRIXSYNTH.


Update: videos of the Airböurne coming up. Check back soon.
Update: Actually, the upload is being extremely slow. I'll put up a new post letting everyone know when the Update: videos have been added to this post.

Experimentalists Anonymous Sandwich Echo #13

YouTube via eaced
"This a demo video of the sandwich echo, which is a rehoused and modified danelectro PB&J. This sandwich echo is the 13th that I've made. It has a switch to extend the max delay time, a delay modulation circuit, and expression jacks for delay time and feedback. It can self-oscillate and is true bypass. This video shows it being used with a guitar and a synth, specifically the Novation X-station"

Vermona DRM-1 Mk III Analog Drum Synth

YouTube via bigcitymusic
"Here is the huge sounding DRM1 MkIII analog drum module from Vermona. The DRM1 has amazing hands-on control for every single parameter, giving a knob for immediate manipulation. Trigger the sounds either with the trigger button or via MIDI. No menus here! There are 8 channels at your discretion: kick, 2 drum (from kick to high tom sounds), multi (think 808 cowbell to sound effects), snare, 2 cymbals (for closed and open hats or crashes) and a clap channel. This thing is punch-you-in-the-face GREAT! We'll make a sequenced video soon!

http://www.bigcitymusic.com
http://www.myspace.com/bigcitymusicdo...
http://www.bigcitymusicblog.blogspot.com"

Nord Lead Extreme patches pt 1

YouTube via jack07777. You can find p2 and more here.
"Here are a pair of performance sets from my original performance bank. These videos are created for demo purposes of these original sounds."

Nord Lead Circuit Bending

"A couple original performance sets created on a Nord Lead 2X. No modifications or harm were done to this synthesizer."

MOONMODULAR trigger sequencer M563

YouTube via moonmodular
"Sale announcement of the modul. One 960 unit, clocked by a MC 303 with drum fills is used. Ambient soundscapes are from the YOU production LASERSCAPE, track CHANGING ROOMS. We thank so to the band to give us the permission to use this sounds. Futher we come up with a video to demonstrate all options of the M563."