Korg Sequential BlackTrak Synthesizer

flickr set by kb_cheapmods
(click for more)

via hegoodbutcher in the comments of this post for a Split Eight with painted black keys.

On the BlackTrack: "This is a modified Sequential Six-Trak synthesizer.

Where to start? The most obvious mod is the black keyboard. This is not a paint job; I felt a paint job would chip eventually and look cruddy. So I replaced the Six-Trak's white keys with the corresponding black keys from a reverse-key Korg Poly-800. They are a near-perfect fit (thanks to Sounddoctorin for the insight!) and function exactly the same.

And inside, there's more Korg. I took the VCF/VCA board from a Korg DW-6000 and adapted it to act as the filter and amplifier for the Six-Trak. This means the CEM3394's are acting only as VCO's, while the wonderful NJM2069 IC's are getting control voltages from the Six-Trak's microprocessor.

Finally, I implemented the individual out modification, as well as adding VCF in for each channel. This means you can use this Six-Trak a six-channel voltage-controlled signal processor."

SampleWiz for iOS Now Available

SampleWiz - Jordan Rudess: Wizdom Music, LLC - iTunes
iPads on eBay

From the creators of the award-winning iOS app MorphWiz comes SampleWiz!

Capture your sonic universe!
Listen… Record… Create…

Jordan says: In creating this instrument I wanted to create something that would appeal to the sonic explorer in all of us. Creating a sampler for iOS devices has allowed us to push the boundaries of traditional sampling instruments. From playing a selection of my signature sounds on the SampleWiz keyboard (JR lead anyone?) to getting up close and personal with sounds by playing directly on the waveform screen, our mission was to blow your mind, put a smile on your face, and expand your creativity. In creating SampleWiz, we have created partnerships with leading sound developers in addition to my personally selected onboard presets.

"Inspiring! Just when you thought nothing could be new in the world of sampling, along comes SampleWiz to fire up the neurons of our creativity in new ways. I love the the new realtime interactive noises I can get by 'touching the sound'...the crazy and unique stuff you can do with it is really expressive and fresh!" - Eric Persing, Founder of Spectrasonics

"SampleWiz gets you playing instantly, and if you like to sample, there's no quicker or more fun way to go from recording to playing your own samples. Amazing controls, easy to understand yet deep enough to let you create musical voices! And it comes with a library of great sounds from Jordan Rudess. SampleWiz is a wiz if ever there was!" - David Mash, VP of Technology and Education, Berklee College of Music

We have poured our hearts and minds into this and driven our families, bandmates, and friends insane by sampling everything that moves. I hope you enjoy this very expressive and wild music app creation!

*Choose from three different sampling modes: classic, granular, and modern.
*Classic - the traditional method of sampling where the sound will speed up and slow down as you go higher or lower than the recorded pitch.
*Granular - Wizdom Music's own take on a granular synthesis engine. Adjust grain size and speed while the entire range of notes maintain the same speed.
*Modern - explore new sampling possibilities using Dirac technology to allow formants and time to be adjusted automatically over a device-selected range.
*Up to 10 seconds per sample.
*Jordan Rudess presets from his private collection.
*Resample anything that you play on the playing surface to create all new samples derived from your existing presets!
*Three playing surface modes allow you to play on the keyboard, wave-edit screen, and the ADSR window.
*Wizdom Music's Advanced Pitch Rounding for initial attack as well as after a slide.
*Every note you play is an independent event allowing powerful, expressive control of pitch and amplitude.
*Finger vibrato effect allows you to achieve vibrato even when pitch lock is activated!
*Unique visuals for each sampling mode. A glow tracks your fingers and respond to the amount of amplitude of every note you play.
*Choose from many different scales and customize your own.
*Play your samples forward or reverse!
*Looping options include standard looping as well as back-and-forth looping.
*Allows trimming of samples.
*Unique visualization of the amplitude envelope on the ADSR page.
*FX include delay with a choice of tap-tempo, BPM, and seconds control over the rate.
*Have two keyboards on the screen, each with its own range and scale!
*Unique hold mode where every held note can be in a different synthesis mode!
*Share your presets with friends by mailing them as SampleWiz files or standard audio files.
*Play directly on the waveform and hear the audio that is right under your finger. Slide each finger separately in any direction to change pitch and position in the sample.
*MAPI AudioCopy/AudioPaste allows sharing of audio with top audio apps.
*Load your own audio files with iTunes file sharing.
*Onboard help screens explain every parameter. Touch the question mark to activate."

SampleWiz - Jordan Rudess: Wizdom Music, LLC - iTunes
iPads on eBay

Broken Clocks with Percussa Audio Cubes

via Percussa

"Disable and Les Sales Gosses performed different electronic music styles such as dubstep, drum’n bass, beakbeat, junglecore, breakcore, hardtrance,… Of course, the AudioCubes could not be missed at this event, because the people from Disable are very active AudioCubes users. The decoration was created and set-up by Le Triangle Psyprod..."

pics by By sylarwenaginger

Mutable Instruments goes SMT

via Mutable Instruments
"Last month I decided to learn SMT soldering. Here are the three main reasons:

Many interesting parts are not available, or are hard to find in DIP (through-hole) packages. This includes ARM microcontrollers, but also cheap and large capacity RAM and flash chips.
I like small things, and SMT is a good way of reducing the size of the boards.
While there are still many factories out there doing through-hole assembly, the process is quite complicated and require unnecessary human labor. SMT boards, on the other hands, can be populated in seconds by pick and place machines.

But even if you’re not considering having your gizmo manufactured, the first two reasons should be enough to motivate DIYers to learn it!.." full post here

Macbeth Studio Systems: X-Series Dual EG

flickr By Analogue Haven

"New from Macbeth, the Dual Envelope Generator in Eurorack continues his "X-Series". Here is a photo of the final prototype.

The Dual EG is a classic dual ADSR design and includes a "bonus" utility VCA. The module was made to be versatile, thanks to the range control, but extra attention was placed on the envelope attack and decay times to allow fast, "clicky" envelopes much like a Roland Sh-101.

The module is in production now along with the Dual SV Filter. It should be available within a few weeks. We'll update our website closer to the release date.

LINK for more info: www.macbethstudiosystems.com/ (X-Series tab)."

x0xb0x xternal input

YouTube Uploaded by Altitude909 on Jun 24, 2011

GForce Visits Benge Studio - Something New in the Works

via Benge's It's Full of Stars where you'll find more pics.

"Dave and Chris came here to play around on some of my big modulars. They are working on a top secret new product that I cannot tell you about, but believe me it's going to be way cool for synth-heads. We spent two days patching and sampling the Moog 3C, the Arp 2500, the Roland 100M, the VCS3, the Serge, etc, etc, by the end we were totally synthed-out!"

skyline

skyline from Amanda Ghassaei on Vimeo.

"light sensitive device responding to ambient infrared light from the sun. At sunset and sunrise the intensity of light causes the array of 64 infrared photosensors to randomly trigger for about five minutes (before this time they are over-saturated and cannot reset to an "off" state, and after this time there is not enough light to produce an "on" message). This stream of random data was sent to an additive synthesis patch in Max/MSP: in effect, translating ambient light into ambient sound.

patch is '"slide" by tehn for monome
filmed at sunset at gasworks park in seattle
*note: the lower frequencies in this video may be inaudible on laptop speakers"

XILS-lab Synthix - JMJ Laser Harp (Elka Synthex) Sound Test

YouTube Uploaded by ozashikiTECHNO on Jun 24, 2011

"XILS-lab Synthix でJean Michel JarreのLaser Harp (Elka Synthex)のサウンドに迫れるかテストしてみました。
音源は http://youtu.be/zLOq-BUtjFQ を参考にしました。"

Deadmau5 "Sofi Needs a Ladder" cover by luCho moLinari, Voyager Electric Blue, Prophet 08, Jomox 999

YouTube Uploaded by luchomolinarixxx on Jun 24, 2011

"This is a cover i performed from the awesome Deadmau5's track "Sofi Needs a Ladder"... this was such of a grate challenge!!... by the way!!!
greetings for all of you Mau5 and Sofi!.... greetings from Argentina!.... = D
peaCe
luCho"