MATRIXSYNTH

RIP Keith Barr - Founder of Alesis and MXR

Sad news sent my way via Michelle Moog-Koussa of The Bob Moog Foundation.

via wikipedia on Alesis:

"Alesis Studio Electronics was founded in 1980 by Keith Barr (who co-founded MXR) in Hollywood, California. Sadly, Mr. Barr is reported to have passed away of natural causes on August 24, 2010 at age 61."

Condolences to his friends and family. 61 is too young.

image and the following via Spin Semiconductor
"Keith Barr is the president of Spin Semiconductor, and an avid electronics engineer. Keith has been designing products, primarily for the audio industry. He founded MXR Innovations in 1973, and later, Alesis Corp in 1984. His experience began with tube circuits (when transistors were not available), building amplifiers and radios.

Although an analog engineer at heart, he designs computer architectures, the most recent of which is the FV-1 processor (Spin's first product). Keith sees ASIC design as the next step in electronics engineering, and designs all of his circuits from the bottom up, from the transistor level."

He authored ASIC Design in the Silicon Sandbox: A Complete Guide to Building Mixed-Signal Integrated Circuits.

Update: Keith Barr was the man that made the Andromeda A6 possible. See this post for some history.

Note: I decided to leave this post on top for the remainder of the day. New posts are scheduled to start going up after 2AM PST to make sure folks in the UK/Europe have a chance to see it. You can quickly get back to this post via the Exclusive label above, or of course you can bookmark it.

Merry & Doepfer III

flickr by Ran Kirlian
(click for more)

"Merry enjoys the Vulcan Modulations"

LFO Expander for Synthesizers

http://www.lfo-expander.com/

"features:

- external analog LFO processor

- generates an LFO and bend signal that can be mixed together

- LFO and bends controlled by hand, by foot pedal (active/passive) or by control-voltage

- for Moog minimoog, Yamaha CS80, CS60, CS50, ARP 2600 and all other synthesizers having external inputs for vco, vcf or vca control.

- LFO depth and rate can be controlled at the same time by one single movement !

- adds vibrato, wah-wah, tremolo, pitch bends or other modulations to your synthesizer

- allows mixing of a sequencer-cv with your synth’s keyboard-cv so you can transpose sequences in real-time

- allows attenuation and mixing of cv’s. Control the filter cut-off frequency of your ARP 2600 with a knob that’s just in front of you or add variable keyboard-tracking to your ARP 2600 !

- fits on top of your ARP 2600 keyboard, minimoog keyboard etc.

- LFO range from 0,2 Hz up to 275Hz

- selectable triangle- or square waveform

- runs on batteries (2x 9V) or dc-transformer"
see http://www.lfo-expander.com/ for more details.

DJTT Midifighter Contest May 2010 (Winning Entry)

YouTube via distracteddispatches | May 12, 2010

"UPDATE: This Launchpad mapping for Traktor (TSI) and a PDF explaining it can be downloaded here: http://www.mediafire.com/?jyymxbmdt2j

This is the winning entry for DJ Tech Tools Midifighter contest. Thanks DJ Tech Tools and Ean Golden for the free Midifighter!!!! Other winning videos can be viewed here: http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/05/20...

I'm using a Novation Launchpad with Traktor Pro 1.2.4. and juggling the cue points freestyle w/ quantization off and play off. For music, I'm using the tracks specified in these contest rules: http://www.djtechtools.com/2010/04/18...

Just to explain the Launchpad mapping, it's divided into four decks. Each deck takes up a quarter of the Launchpad (4 buttons by 4 buttons). Each deck also has 8 illuminated cue points. It's not the best set up for cue point juggling but it works for other stuff. You can download the mapping and a PDF explaining it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?jyymxbmdt2j

I want to win a Midifighter because I love this concept of cue point juggling but the Launchpad keys are sticky and not really suited for the kind of crazy routines I imagine you could do with real arcade buttons. Thanks for the motivation to make a video and a chance to participate in this contest, DJ Tech Tools!"

Flight of the Concords

via FFFFOUND!

Casio AZ-1 keytar

DIY Doepfer and Analogue Systems Eurorack Modular

via macumbista. Click the image for the super size shot.

The system contains the following modules were are for sale:

Still available as of 16 July 2010:
Doepfer A-100P6 Suitcase 220V EUR 370 /75% = EUR 277.50
Doepfer A-175 Voltage Inverter EUR 45 / 75% = EUR 33.75
Doepfer A-135 Voltage Controlled Mixer EUR 120 / 75% = EUR 90
Doepfer A-138 Mixer (exp) EUR 45 / 75% = EUR 33.75

Added 16 July 2010:
Doepfer A-199 Spring Reverb (module only without tank, RCA jacks added to faceplate of module to allow tank to be kept outside case)
EUR 60 / 75% = EUR 45 RESERVED
Doepfer A-174-1 Joy-Stick (spring removed, stiff enough to hold its place)
EUR 75 / 75% = EUR 56.25 RESERVED
Doepfer A-136 Distortion/Waveshaper (broken trace on PCB repaired by hand, fully functional)
EUR 60 / 50% = EUR 30
Analogue Systems RS-40 Noise / Sample & Hold / Clock
EUR 139 / 75% = EUR 104.25
Analogue Systems RS-30 Frequency To Voltage Converter
EUR 115 / 75% = EUR 86.25

Added 25 August 2010:
Doepfer A-128 Fixed Filter Bank EUR 160 / 75% = EUR 120
Doepfer A-198 TRC Trautonium Ribbon Controller (module only, you will need to buy or make the ribbon controller yourself)
EUR 70 / 75% = EUR 52.50
Dual Lag Processor (DIY module, same as Livewire Dual Bissel Generator, retail EUR 179) EUR 40 RESERVED
Dual Lag Processor (DIY module, same as Livewire Dual Bissel Generator, retail EUR 179) EUR 40 RESERVED
Dual Tonepad Rebote Delay (DIY module, analog-sounding digital delay) EUR 40 RESERVED
Dual Tonepad Rebote Delay (DIY module, analog-sounding digital delay) EUR 40 RESERVED

Not Pictured:

Doepfer Pocket Control 16 knob MIDI controller, early version with black/blue paint and yellow lettering EUR 30
Assortment of Patch Cables 11 x 25cm (black), 7 x 50cm (gray), 9 x 75cm (red) EUR 12/EUR 0.50 each with module order
Blank Aluminum Panels (2mm thick, 128.5mm/3U high, undrilled, finished on one side with plastic protective film, good for use as blank panels or for DIY projects)
—9 x 4 HP (20mm) wide EUR 0.50
—12 x 8 HP (40.3mm) wide EUR 1.00
—10 x 12 HP (60.6mm) wide EUR 1.50

This Eurorack system is located in Berlin, Germany. All modules are in perfect condition unless noted, and all modules are fully functional. Prices do not include shipping, I will send a quote for that once we have agreed on what you would like to buy..." See macumbista for further details including contact info.

the squarewave parade teaspoonSLIGHT

6 up for auction at the squarewave parade here.

"the teaspoonSLIGHT is a handheld window sampler. controls include: input gain, course and fine sample size, wetness and output volume. toggles allow for time / pitch modulation and playback hold. the set of internal controls feature tilt disable, gain extension, aux input conversion and self oscillation. the input / pre will accept a range of sources from direct guitar input to lower synth level. the aux input allows for remote control over sample playback and will work with either a voltage source or a common sustain pedal. you can also trigger playback via the internal tilt switch. essentially a light version of the CAS"

Vince Clarke Analogue Monologues

Looks like Vince Clarke will be showcasing videos of synths. You can find the first one on the Sequential Circuits Pro-One here.

"The Analogue Monologues is a new series of mini video documentaries. In each webisode Vince talks about one his analogue synths and explains where the on/off switch is. This series proves, once and for all, that he really doesn't know much about anything (a must see!)."

Relaunch for Novation Launchpad

YouTube via deludedrich | May 29, 2010

"Video showing Relaunch V0.01 working as a Launchpad to ReDrum interface. Go to www.deluded.co.uk for more details.."

relaunch teaser

deludedrich | August 14, 2010

"Playing around with relaunch - note that the music was overlaid afterwards, and not quite in sync.
All sounds and effects except pad chord on keyboard was done using launchpad & relaunch.
Drum beat done using 'live' mode, but not shown.
Public beta soon :)"

RelaunchSlides.mp4