Setup is JM Lemur, connected to a mac laptop running Ableton and Max/MSP Clip launcher template. Currently my set has about 500 samples and loops in ableton, that I can trigger via the Lemur. Full set is a hour long ...
YouTube via Dovinia "Here's a little collection of old and cheesy example patches for the Yamaha CS-10 taken from a booklet of patch charts which can be downloaded for free from this site: http://www.usersmanualguide.com/yamah...(combo_products)/cs-10
Some of these patch names are truly hilarious e.g. "Flute Played by a Celestial Nymph". Classic!
If anyone knows of an unsecured version of this patch manual and the original user's manual, please let me know - these files can't be printed out it seems..."
"I have designed a synthesizer made of only filters. There are no oscillators in the design at all. It is also up to 32 voice polyphonic. I call it PolyDrum.
It has 32 state variable filters and 32 single pole IIR filters and is implemented on a $39 FPGA development board.
The state variable filters form "resonators" and the single pole filters form exponentially decaying envelope generators. The envelope generators modulate the Fc input of the state variable filters to provide a variety of pitch modulation effects.
Each resonator is frequency, Q, EG and MIDI note number programmable. More than one resonator can be programmed to respond to a given note number - but all of the resonators responding to the same note number will begin their sound with a synchronized pulse
EDIT ADD 2009-12-05: I should have added that the instrument is played (MIDI) by sending an impulse to any resonator that receives a match between the note played and the resonator's note number map (assignable). If the Q values are large enough, it will be very tonal with a long sustain."
Video Playlist: Oberkorn tips & tricks. Part 1: very basics. For noobs. Oberkorn tips and tricks: binary control inputs/outputs Oberkorm tips and tricks: external clocking / echo / sync mod Oberkorn tips and tricks: CV control of clock with square wave Oberkorn tips and tricks: CV control of clock with EG Oberkorn tips and tricks; glide on filter cutoff Oberkorn tips and tricks: clock at audio frequencies Oberkorn tips and tricks: transpose and cross mod Oberkorn tips and tricks: special gate inputs & Legato switch
YouTube via ASUKLTD "Europa sequencer. This is the pre-prod unjit (99% finished), used with Blofeld. Showing note editing, octave shift, mute, transpose. This sequencer is really easy to use and tunes can be created so quickly."
Europa hardware MIDI sequencer demo with blofeld & dr670
* Intuitive and simple programming procedure * No sub-menus or shift keys - one function per key * Simple to use - TR808/606 style programming. * Analogue features - analogue tempo clock, 7 analogue trigger outs, analogue sync signals * Live editing features * Transpose, Octave shift, Mute * Rugged steel construction.
Europa is a hardware sequencer, it does not contain a 'sound engine'. It has been designed from the ground up to be utilised with your MIDI synths, analogue modular, drum brains and drum machines." "Eurpoa was designed to be utilised with our SQ8 and Oberkorn analogue sequencers (and anything else with a compatible clock input).
Either use the main sync out or one of the seven trigger outputs to clock your analogue sequencers. Have them step whenever you like by programming triggers into the Europa sequencer. You can have 2 sequencers play alternately. You can mute the track so the Oberkorn/SQ8 sequencer stops! Use another trigger and you can activate the reset feature of the Oberkorn/SQ8!"
YouTube via FatSynthDude "Just a quick demo of the MFB 522. I like the demos currently out there (in fact, they're a big part of the reason why I ended up buying one) but they don't really do a good job of showing what this thing can do when you effect it heavily like many of us who would be interested in owning the 522 would end up doing to it. As kind of a bonus, this demo also shows what the Tweakalizer can do when used outside of a DJ context. For this video, the 522 is being run through a UM-300 Ultra Metal distortion and then into the Tweakalizer. I didn't record the audio to the computer, but rather recorded the audio with the camera. The reason for this is simple: I am fat and lazy. I didn't feel like going in later and manually resyncing the video to the audio with editing software. If you need somebody to blame, I can point you to the nearest McDonald's for making me fat and lazy. That being said, I hope you enjoy this video.
Some thoughts on the 522: This drum machine has been purported to be similar to the Roland TR-808 in it's sound. I've never used an 808 myself so I can't compare, but on it's own it's pretty decent. It's got a lot of snap and pop to it and is extremely raw. Being analog, it handles effects differently than digital drum synthesizers, so it's more of a different flavor than the MachineDrum, ER-1, Attack, and the like. The kick drum has some interesting range to it. It doesn't quite thump like your typical 909 kick, but I doubt that anybody who buys one of these is looking for it to do that. The cowbell kinda leaks through the amp gate (as you can hear in the video) but it's only really noticeable if you distort the hell out of the signal. Using the volume control for the cowbell, this problem can be remedied or even used creatively. I wish it had more ways to shape the sounds, but being a synthesist primarily, it could have as many knobs as my modular and I'd still complain. On the subject of knobs, one of the biggest complaints one hears about this device is the tiny knobs. I'll admit at first, they're a bit of a pain, but you get used to them real quick. The sequencer isn't quite as straightforward as one would ask for, but it suffices. My only real complaint with this drum machine is the lack of a MIDI thru/out. Because of this, you can neither sequence other instruments with the 522 nor use it as the master clock if one were so inclined. The sequencer can be synced to external MIDI signals though, and for those who like to sequence with external sequencers, the MIDI spec is very nicely done so that I was even able to play the drums with my guitar-MIDI converter with ease. All in all, this isn't a drum machine I'd recommend to everybody as it's targeted towards a specific market, but if you're in the need for an 808 soundalike that can do it's own thing, at this price, it's kind of a no-brainer. Yes, there are some compromises made, but with the low cost of this unit, it's expected."
YouTube via FatSynthDude "There still aren't many demos of the Kraftzwerg up right now, so I thought I'd throw my own into the pile. While I don't use sounds like these in my own music, I like listening to and making them because they really demonstrate just how far the synth can be pushed and give one a great idea of the possibilities. Plus, they're a lot of fun to make! Yes, I recorded this using my camera's audio, but I'm fat and lazy, so that's to be expected. Anyway, enjoy the demo!
Some thoughts on the Kraftzwerg: I got kinda pushed into this one by accident. A while back, I was selling nearly every synth I had so that I could buy a whole bunch of stuff that was normally outside of my price range. Toward the top of this list was an Analogue Solutions Red Square. I ordered one from Analogue Haven's website but there was a mistake on their site saying that it was in stock when it wasn't. Then there was this big lapse of communication, blah blah blah, so to make up for it, they decided to let me have a piece of gear at a significantly reduced price. There wasn't much of theirs at the time that they had that was in stock that I particularly wanted, but as I had the spare cash and I'm a sucker for good deals, I thought I'd give the Kraftzwerg a shot, and that's how I ended up with it. It's a very killer unit. It's completely analog and semi-modular. The VCO's are a blast, the filter can get pretty Moogy, and the cross-modulation of the LFO's makes for some very neat effects. The only thing I can even think to complain about really is the lack of a multiples module, but that's really not such a big problem. It integrates with other modulars and semi-modulars quite nicely and on it's own is a very capable machine. The default signal path leaves a bit to be desired, but as it is a semimodular, it's nothing that a patch cable or two can't fix. I love this synth, and I'm glad that I got it as even when I'm not making music with it, just fiddling with this thing provides hours of entertainment and inspiration."
"There's still only two demos of the Schlagzwerg out there, so I thought I'd throw out one of my own. Recorded this one directly into the computer so it should be a little more clear than my other demos. My primary goal with this piece was to demonstrate the range of sounds possible with each drum part and then dive into some noodling including a bit of intermodulation between the Schlagzwerg and a Kraftzwerg.
Some thoughts on the Schlagzwerg: Quite simply, it sounds nice. The kicks have a nice thump to them making them very 909-ish. I'm particularly a fan of the snares on this thing. The toms have some nice range on them and when tuned low, can even function as a second kick drum. One of my primary concerns when purchasing the Schlagzwerg was that I was worried about the overlap between it and the MFB 522 (MFB's website is kinda vague on this issue.) The only module that's really shared between the two is for the hihats/cymbals, but the Schlagzwerg gives you a tuning control which works on the hats as well, so it's a little more variety than what the 522 can give in that department. In fact, after I did this video, I took the 522's hats and played them against the Schlagzwerg's with some detuning and it sounded pretty nifty as a contrast. The sequencer isn't as user-friendly as one would hope. Setting up the CV lines is easy enough considering that you only get one knob (press and hold the step you want to alter, and then twist the data knob) but with the drum triggers, while entering in a drum hit as easy as one would expect, in order to delete a step, you have to hold down the step key and then press in the data knob. Even the manual admits that this is a bit 'cumbersome' but apparently necessary. It's kind of a small price to pay for the amount of versatility that this sequencer affords, though. One of the things that is easily overlooked is the fact that aside from all the gate/trigger sequencers, the Schlagzwerg also has six separate CV sequencers that can be used to sequence things outside of the Schlagzwerg itself. As I've actually been in the market to get three sequencers for my modular activities, this was a nice little unexpected bonus. My only real complaint with this unit is in the MIDI implementation. Again, MFB's website was a bit vague on this subject. In order to have MIDI control over the drum parts, you have to disable the sequencer, first off. So there is no sequencing with the internal sequencer and an external sequencer simultaneously allowed. Also, the way that the drum triggering via MIDI is handled is that each part is paired with it's own CV channel and they both get their own MIDI channel, plus there's a dedicated CV/Gate channel for sequencing external hardware. While this actually makes a lot of sense and gives you a lot of range to work with as far as MIDI sequencing, this means that you have to give up six MIDI channels just for this one instrument. For guys sequencing with hardware where MIDI channels are limited or people trying to keep their MIDI ports manageable, this can be a problem. Plus, having to jump between channels to sequence different drum parts isn't exactly appealing. So for my situation, what I'm having to do is let the internal sequencer run the machine and then clock it to MIDI, but the MIDI tracking seems to be a little off for some reason. What I'm going to try within the next couple of days is to have my Kenton box shoot clock signals at this thing and see if that helps at all. Really though, I'm not much of a fan of using more than one sequencer to handle my synths anyway, especially as the Schlagzwerg's sequencer doesn't leave much room to alter the actual sequences on the fly, so I'm not happy with the MIDI situation at all. So all in all, this machine is a mixed bag. The sounds are great and the modularity is a blessing, and the sequencer is pretty cool in some respects. But, I'm still seriously considering selling this thing mainly because of that MIDI and maybe getting a 503 or DRM1 in it's place. It sounds fabulous, but the MIDI just really doesn't work for my rig!"
YouTube via FatSynthDude "...and the only prescription is MOAR (ANALOG) COWBELL!!!!!!1111oneoneone
Friend of mine on the intertubez posted something about needing more cowbell and since I'd done a vid recently that had a bit to do with the cowbell on the 522, I thought it would be mildly entertaining to make a cover of the infamous "Don't Fear the Reaper" song by Blue Oyster Cult to post as a reply. I'm at home sick today anyway (ironically, with a fever) so it isn't like I've got anything better to do. And of course, I made the cowbell way too freakin' loud intentionally. :-D It ain't pretty, but making this thing work with only one free hand is pretty much impossible.
So here's how it was done: The Akai MPC1000 (with JJOS of course) was used as the master sequencer. The actual notes were sequenced in using a Schecter Devil Elite outfitted with a GK-2a feeding a GR-30 and outputting MIDI to the MPC. The synth that mimics the main guitar riff throughout the song is an Alesis Andromeda ('bout time I got some use out of that beast!) The bassline was played with an Analogue Solutions Red Square. The percussive/distorted/band-pass filter synth thingie is Future Retro XS. Almost all of the drum sounds were handled by the MFB Schlagzwerg, except of course for the cowbell which came from the MFB 522.
Sorry again that this thing was done kinda sloppy, but doing all this stuff one-handed really bites. Anyway, enjoy!"
TeleKraftzSchlagz Jam
"This is just something I threw together real quick. Not supposed to be fancy or mind-blowing, just some simple fun. What I have here is the MFB Schlagzwerg being used to trigger it's own drums, and fire off gate and CV to the MFB Kraftzwerg and the Analogue Solutions Telemark and tweaking all of the above. This is just to show that while yes, the Schlagzwerg sequencer is a bit of a pain in some ways, it can most definitely be used creatively. (I'm even thinking that one of these days, I want to do a demo where I turn off the audio outs to the Schlagzwerg and just use the entirety of the sequencer to decimate one single synth.) When doing this video, I wanted to get a bit more going on as far as the number of synths going off at once, but sadly I didn't have any 1/8"-1/4" cables left when I thought I did have some, and half of my gear runs on 1/4", so I had to suffice. Oh well. This is totally giving me some ideas for some crazy synth jams, though. Almost wish I had like five other people, and then I could just use the Schlagzwerg to send pitch and gate and have an orgy of synthetic sound molding! I'm getting moist just thinking about it....
Oh, and I didn't have room on the Schlagzwerg video to append this, but it did turn out that the MIDI timing was partially my fault. The reason the timing was goofy was because the swing was turned on. ...this is especially odd since I don't remember turning on swing.
And sorry that the video and the audio don't quite sync up. My usual video editing app hasn't been cooperating lately, so I've been stuck with Windows Movie Maker and it doesn't quite sync up the way it looks like it does when matching waveforms up. ....see why I use so much hardware for music now? I hate computers. This also helps to justify whenever I use the camera's microphone to record this stuff. Helps to keep me fat and lazy! XD"
