MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2013: Pittsburgh Modular at the Noisebug Booth

Uploaded on Jan 29, 2013 matrixsynth·249 videos

My first stop at NAMM was the Noisebug booth starting with Pittsburgh Modular. As I previously posted I was intrigued by their new offerings which presented eurorack modular systems as self contained stand alone synthesizers rather than individual modules.  In my opinion, this format helps break one of the psychological barriers behind getting into modulars.  Rather than starting with an empty case and contemplating what modules to fill it with, you can essentially by a desktop synth, get your hands wet to see if you are comfortable with modulars and then expand from there.  Richard goes into this perspective, why he decided to create these systems and what each is geared for.  Unfortunately they were not patched up for an audio demo at the time.  You'll find details on each in my previous post and of course the Pittsburgh Modular website.  At the booth, pictured below, are the various configurations of the Cell 48, the Cell 90, the Pittsburgh Modular Foundation, and the Foundation with Expander.  Click each for the super size shot.

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MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2013 Posts

Now that the NAMM storm is subsiding, my coverage will be going up over the next few days.  I have a ton of uploading to do.  Note this is just an informational post to let you know how I cover NAMM; no product insights or reflections, they will come with the individual posts, so you can skip this one if you want.  That said, my posts will have MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2013: in the title so you can differentiate them from the others.  Each post will focus on a specific manufacturer and/or booth, one post per manufacturer/booth.  At the end of all the posts I'll upload all of the images to Flickr to create one massive NAMM gallery there.  The images will be higher quality on Flickr as Blogger appears to limit the size of uploaded pics, but don't worry, the Blogger pics are still plenty big.  Posts will go up in the order each booth was visited. Note the order is not preferential in any way, nor are any videos.  The order is just what I visited while walking around with appointments in mind and I held back from taking any standard presentation videos to save time as I knew they would be covered by others and featured on the site.

To give you a little background on how I cover NAMM, as you know by now, I pretty much post everything that comes in.  This is good for content creators who want to promote their sites, it is good for you in that you get to see more rather than just my coverage,  and it's good for me because it saves me time and allows me to focus on other things while at NAMM, which in turn is good for you because it allows me to cover things that might have been missed otherwise.  I do have a few things I haven't seen elsewhere yet.  Not new gear, just different perspectives, demos and tons of pics.

Feel free to post my pics, video and coverage elsewhere, just mention where it's from like I do for others in every post I put up.  Other site owners are welcome to post my pics, videos and any quotes.

Side note: NAMM broke the record number of posts for a single day on the site this last Saturday with a whopping 115 posts i a single day.  I hope the coverage wasn't too overwhelming, but honestly, that pretty much sums up the NAMM experience.  The repeat presentations should also give you a little insight that most visitors at NAMM miss - the role of the presenter giving the same presentation over and over again.  Visitors typically only have time to see them once, and for them it's always the first and only time.  Not so for presenters.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the posts!

Casionova4 - Casio Casiotone MT-400v Audio Track

via Bill Compeau in the comments of this post.

"I just recorded a song with mine that I found in the garbage!!!"

Nice find!

"MINT" Moog Prodigy

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

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Beat Thang Tips - Sequencing a beat with MIDI controller input

Published on Jan 29, 2013 SoundsAndGear·467 videos

http://beatthangtips.com

"Just a quick video showing the workflow of Beat Thang with a MIDI controller hooked up for recording melodies and chords."

An Interview with Paddy Kingsland of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

You'll find the full interview on Astronauta Pinguim, including mentions of Delia Derbyshire & Daphne Oram.

BTW, today is Paddy Kingsland's birthday.  Happy Birthday Mr. Kingsland!  :)

Pictured: Paddy Kingsland and the EMS Synthi 100 (the Delaware)

"Patrick 'Paddy' Kingsland was born in Hampshire (England) on January 30th, 1947. He took piano lessons in his youth and got his first guitar when he was 15. By this time he also built his own valve amplifier and began to play in a band in his school days. After attending Eggars Grammar School in Alton, Hampshire, Paddy joined the BBC. He was a technician there until, in 1970, he had the chance to join the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, the famous department that was responsible for providing the soundtrack and sound effects to BBC radio and TV shows. Paddy worked there for 11 years and created the music for many programs, including "The Changes", "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy" and several episodes of 'Doctor Who'!

"In 1973, BBC Records released the album 'Fourth Dimenson'. Although it was credited to The BBC Radiophonic Workshop, "Fourth Dimension" is the first solo album released by Paddy Kingsland and includes tracks that he recorded from 1970 to 1973, using mainly the EMS synthesizers VCS3 and Synthi 100 (the Delaware)..."

You can still find the release on Amazon and eBay.

The first synth to enter the BBC? "The first synthesizer arrived in 1970 - an EMS VCS3. It was great for learning about voltage control and making sounds, but no good for playing tunes on. The Arp Odyssey which came a bit later was much better for that."

via Fabricio Carvalho aka Astronauta Pinguim on the MATRIXSYNTH Lounge. You can find interviews with other synth legends on his site or via the Interviews label below.

NAMM 2013 Pics by Atomic Shadow

Full gallery on Atomic Shadow.

Pictured here:

Eurorack modular
Buchla's The Electric Music Box
Birotron B 90

NAMM 2013: The Wheelharp

The Wheelharp from Atomic Shadow on Vimeo.

"A curious instrument from the 2013 NAMM show. It has stings that move in contact with a rotating 'bow' to play the strings like a violin. Yes. They are very expensive but quite lovely"

Jean Michel Jarre with an X-Series Dual Oscillator

via Ken MacBeth on Facebook

"JMJ with an X-Series Dual Oscillator!"

FMViDeO

Published on Jan 29, 2013 arnouxindahouse·5 videos

"Little jam messing around on logic modes on Make Noise Renè.
Kick: Tip Top BD808
Snare: Doepfer A-106-6
Melody: Modcan FMVDO + LPG
Delay: Doepfer A-112
A little bit of manual modulation by Intellijel Planar"

This one reminded me of Michael Brook's music.