BOSS DR-110 "Dr. Rhythm" Analog Drummachine (1983)

Published on May 9, 2016 RetroSound

"(c) 2016 vintage gear demo track by RetroSound

BOSS DR-110 "Dr. Rhythm Graphic" Analog Drummachine from the year 1983

The DR-110 sounds a bit like the Roland TR-606 but has an LCD graphic display, showing a step-programming grid for the various drum voices.
The bassdrum and snare voice were generated by damped tuned resonance oscillators. Cymbals and hi-hats were created by band-pass filtering a combination of white noise and four non-harmonically related square wave oscillators.
The DR-110 has 16 preset patterns, and 16 memory locations."

Open Music Labs x0x-heart Eurorack Module Seeks Funding on Crowd Supply

The Open Music Labs x0x-heart has been available as a desktop DIY project for quite some time. Open Labs is now seeking funding on Crowd Supply in order to produce a eurorack version.

"The heart of a TB303 synth recreated in modular format.

The Roland TB303 voice practically defined Acid music, heavily influencing the development of electronic music. Add that voice to your own setup with the x0x-heart Eurorack Module.

The x0x-heart module is the analogue section extracted from the x0xb0x (a TB303 clone) and made small enough to fit the Eurorack format. More nimble as a module, you no longer need to work within the constraints of the original TB303’s sequencer.

Features
CV control of frequency, gate, accent, slide, env-mod, decay, and cut-off
Switches for waveform selection (square and sawtooth), external/internal oscillator mix
VCA and VCF outputs

Specifications

Eurorack standard format (3U height)
18hp
~1.75in depth (45mm)
+/-12V current draw 10mA
5V current draw: 50mA

Includes

10” Euro power cable (16 pin to 10 pin connector)
Black anodized aluminum knobs with a diamond knurl pattern and two set screws (with slot heads and flat points)
A .063” (1.6mm) highly durable satin aluminum Metalphoto panel with a black print
Stretch goals
If, during the campaign, the funding amount reaches $15,000, the pacemaker circuit board (the one with the knobs) will be re-designed to allow for easier tuning and manufacturing.

If and when the first stretch goal is met, more goals may be announced during the campaign - let us know what you’d like to see as a stretch goal! No promises, of course. Here are some things we’ve been considering to make available - either for additional purchase or as options:

Red-anodized aluminum knobs
Laser-cut and engraved wood faceplates (which would be more fragile, of course!)
Open source hardware
To help you truly understand and control what you and your module are doing, Open Music Labs makes all schematic and board layout files available for your perusal and use."

Open Music Labs were also behind the Mixtape Alpha, and other devices.

Elektron Analog Rytm + Abstrakt Instruments Avalon - With Dre Robinson

Elektron Analog Rytm + Abstrakt Instruments Avalon - With Dre Robinson from Muff Wiggler on Vimeo.

"On the Fly recording with Dre Robinson."

More Info on the Vintage Waldeck Synthesizer from the 1970s

The first post on the Waldeck synthesizer went up back on May 1 here. MATRIXSYNTH reader Adam wrote in to let us know he tracked down and interview with the creator of the synth, Steven Waldeck, on the School of the Art Institute of Chicago website. Steven Waldeck was actually a professor at the institute starting in the 1960s.  He picked up an EMS Putney VCS3 for his department and and built his own synth, the Waldeck.

Pictured: "Duncan Green (left) and other Time Arts students working with a synthesizer, 1979"

From the interview:
"Waldeck: My philosophy was to offer technical assistance to any students from any area of the school. As an interest in 'sound' grew, and a school budget finally appeared for supplies, I bought a sound synthesizer called a Putney for my area. I also developed and built an electronic sound synthesizer of my own, called Waldeck.

Eventually, the interest in sound became too overwhelming for me to handle, so I asked Dean [Roger] Gilmore to consider hiring someone to handle this direction, and the SAIC Sound area was born. My area of kinetics also experimented in light and explored neon and holography, later to become separate entities. The Time Arts area was created at SAIC as a response to my written proposal sent to Dean Gilmore outlining and defining this conceptual area."

Update: some additional info from Adam who picked it up follows:

"I only had a few minutes with it and limited RCA cables to patch it up (that's how it patches).

I opened it. It is signed and labeled 'tested' and is hand dated by Steven Waldeck. The year is 1978.

There are two main boards...one seems to house the three oscillators, while the other contains most of the effects. There is a cool small reverb tank.

I couldn't get sound out of the third oscillator, but I think it won't be a big deal to fix.

I got some very EMS style sounds in just the five minutes I had with it before work. I have a VCS3, but haven't been able to 'side by side'/ A/B them.

I also found an old blog post by - I think - Mark Verbos. You can ask him. He might have one, as well. He says the build is crappy. It is kind of Sears-like. It is, but it has a nice panel, and with a little TLC, this one will be 100%.

I am not much of an electronics guy. I can solder and fix broken things, but I couldn't say where the circuit designs came from, or whether they are closely modeled to anything else.

That's all. I might bring it to Moogfest if anyone wants me to."

Update2: and some notes from Mark Verbos here:

"The Waldeck has a nice veriety of modules: three oscillators, a noise source, a ?envelope? (actually a combination amplifier and envelope like the Putney), a ?volume-pan? (this is a cool module), a ring modulator, a bandpass filter with resonance, a lowpass filter without resonance, a preamp, a spring reverb, a mixer-amplifier, and a meter with the mysterious ?trig? button. The oscillators have two waveform outputs: a pulse with variable width and a saw. The noise source is just white noise. The ?envelope?, as it is called, is dumb as there is no way to mod the filter with the it, because it can only mod the amplifier. Too bad. The ?volume-pan? module is cool for voltage controlling the mix between two oscillators. There is something like this for the Serge, that?s the only other place I?ve seen anything like it. The ring modulator is not very nice. The sound is more mushy than my Putney. The bandpass filter has resonance, labeled ?response-osc?, and is only marginally useful. The only controls being cutoff and ?response-osc?. The only mod input is the cutoff input. The meter is a joke. The window is about the size of a dress shirt button. The ?trig? button, I don?t understand."

Mellow Moon

Published on May 9, 2016 John L Rice

"The video here is a closeup of my Moon Modular 569 sequencer shot with a Canon 135mm f/2.8 soft focus lens, set to the #2 soft focus setting and then dialed completely out of focus. Don't get hypnotized! ;-)"

Update:

Mellow Moon II

Published on May 12, 2016 John L Rice

"More of the same music from Moon Modular and Synth Tech modules, out of focus sequencer video plus some Moon video footage I shot from my driveway Wednesday night.

Moon Modular 569 sequencer shot with a Canon C100 MkI camera and Canon 135mm f/2.8 soft focus lens, set to the #2 soft focus setting and then dialed completely out of focus.

The actual Moon was shot with a Canon C100 MkI camera and
Opteka 500mm f/6.3 mirror lens for the first two clips and then I added in the 2x converter for the second two clips, effectively making the reach 1000mm.

Both times the C100 A/V output was recorded to an Atomos Ninja Blade using the DNxHD 4.2.2 x codec.

Thank you for watching, rating and commenting! :-)"

Sonic Encounters Podcast 013- Tonalities from Orbit #2

Published on May 9, 2016 Mark Mosher

"This is the Krell again. We are beaming a 2nd tonality to your station. Are you receiving?

This is another piece inspired by the ground-breaking work of Louis and Bebe Barron on the film Forbidden Planet. I use oscillators as the primary source for the piece. I improvise using Waldorf Blofeld (original programs), Novation Launchpad Pro to control Blfoeld, plus an Elektron Octatrack.

More show notes and subscription info here https://sonicencounters.com/2016/05/0..."

Yamaha SK-20 Symphonic Ensemble (Organ/Strings/Poly-Synth)

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via this auction

"61 keys
Organ, Poly-synth, and Strings
Vibrato, Tremelo, and Ensemble
3 separate outs + mixed
Volume control and sustain inputs
Ext. Tone cabinet connection (for Leslie)"

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Sequential Circuits Sixtrak

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via this auction

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Roli Seaboard Rise 49 controlling a Modular Synth

Published on May 9, 2016 Steve Bryson

"Here's a simple voice patch with a square wave split through two filters, one a resonant low-pass filter, and the other a resonant high-pass filter. I'm using 4 dimensions of the rise: glide (pitch bend) controlling pitch, strike (velocity) controlling volume by modulating the volume envelope level, slide (position up and down the key) modulating the low-pass filter cutoff and press (aftertouch) modulating the high-pass filter cutoff. Not really intended to be music, just a demo that makes the action of the 4 dimensions obvious. Definitely not my new hero Marco Parisi."

Herb Deutsch - Electronic Voyager EXTENDED INTERVIEW #1

Herb Deutsch - Electronic Voyager EXTENDED INTERVIEW #1 from Electronic Voyager on Vimeo.

"Electronic Voyager: Retracing Bob Moog’s Sonic Journey…

Support us on Kickstarter April 25 to May 25, 2016

http://tinyurl.com/ElectronicVoyagerKickstarter

Michelle Moog-Koussa is on a journey to retrace her father’s footsteps, meeting some of the people who played a role in Bob Moog's story. Composer and educator HERB DEUTSCH was one of the most important. His pivotal meeting with Bob in the early 1960s lead directly to the development of the Moog modular synthesizer, which would form the template for the many synthesizers that followed."