"Sequential Circuits Pro One J-Wire Vintage Analog Mono Synthesizer Synthesizer in excellent condition. This is an amazing sounding vintage synth with two oscillators with cross mod sync. It also has a built-in sequencer. J-wire keyboard for easy cleaning, and they don't wear out like the newer rubber keycap designs. All controls, functions, and keys work flawlessly. You won't find one in better condition - it's almost like new!"
"Afterneath is Earthquaker's first foray into producing Eurorack modules, adapting their cult classic reverb pedal into a washy, shimmering tool for modular synthesists. Expanding on the original Afterneath design with additional reverb modes and the addition of CV control, Afterneath Eurorack is a great way to add some space to any Eurorack system.
Afterneath excels at reverbs that evoke a sense of unrealistically huge, empty spaces. Diffused echoes bounce off distant walls, and sonic ghosts emerge from soft, washy reflections and short, chattering delays. Allowing CV control of the Drag parameter, the Afterneath can be played melodically and constrained to different scales and pitch classes based on the selected Mode, allowing sequenced reverbs that form a counterpoint against the sounds that feed them.
A powerful new tool for sonic exploration of the unreal, the Afterneath module marks an exciting step of one of the most interesting pedal manufacturers into the world of modular synths.
After more than 40 years, the Moog 16 Channel Vocoder is officially back in production.
Originally introduced in 1978 (and heard most famously on the title track of Giorgio Moroder’s E=MC2), the instrument has been used to transmute vocals, transform synthesizers, and electronically encode sound for decades.
The Moog 16 Channel Vocoder’s analog voice circuits, derived from the original schematic, are hand-soldered at the Moog Factory in Asheville, North Carolina to preserve the original instrument’s classic sound."
"The history of the vocoder is as unique as the sound it produces.
In the 1930s, Bell Labs introduced the technology as a telecommunications device that could deconstruct the most fundamental elements of human speech and then reconstruct a new electronically synthesized voice. During WWII, the US military used this advancement to electronically encode classified audio messages that could be reconstituted on the receiving end.
Over the following decades, music technologies would explore the artistic applications of the vocoder, whose robotic vocal articulations would soon find their way into mainstream music, television, films, and games. The influential sound machine has been used by the likes of Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Dr. Dre, Kraftwerk, Daft Punk and many more.
The Moog 16 Channel Vocoder, originally introduced in 1978 (and heard most famously on the title track of Giorgio Moroder’s E=MC2), has been used to transmute vocals, transform synthesizers, and electronically encode sound for decades.
With the instrument’s reintroduction, Moog Music has gone to great lengths to ensure that this distinct electronic voice carries on. Derived from the original vintage schematic, the Moog 16 Channel Vocoder’s analog voice circuits are hand-soldered at the Moog Factory in Asheville, North Carolina to preserve the original instrument’s classic sound. Updated mechanical connectors and a modern power supply improve reliability and long-term serviceability while ensuring that the analog soul of this instrument—and its unique character and idiosyncrasies—remains unchanged."
Moses Sumney | Conveyor at the Moog Sound Lab
Published on Feb 4, 2020
'Moses Sumney, accompanied by a full band, recently visited the Moog Sound Lab in Asheville, North Carolina to perform a reimagination of 'Conveyor' from his forthcoming album ‘græ.’
In this rendition of the unreleased track, Sumney processes his vocals through the Moog 16 Channel Vocoder, using the Matriarch synthesizer to serve as the vocoder’s carrier signal in order to transform and resynthesize his voice. Sumney also incorporates a looper pedal to manipulate both the dry and vocoded vocals, creating rhythmic patterns throughout the track. He is accompanied by Zach Cooper on bass, Mike Haldeman on guitar, Darian Thomas on violin, and Ian Chang on drums and sensory percussion.
Moses Sumney’s upcoming release includes collaborations with a diverse array of contributors and is his first work to be written in his new home of Asheville, North Carolina—also the home of Moog Music Inc. Double LP græ will be released via Jagjaguwar Records, with the first part due digitally this month; the second part, as well as the physical album, will be available May 15th."
"There has been a lot of interest in the last few years in the instrument known as the “cristal baschet” (aka, “crystal organ” and “euphone”), so I decided to make a video showing what it looks and sounds like. The instrument was developed in the early 1950’s by the late Bernard and François Baschet, two brothers who lived and worked in Paris. It is entirely acoustic, and constructed mainly of glass and stainless steel. There are resonators attached to it to amplify the sound. In the above video the large “sail” (“voile” in French) is made of mirror polished stainless steel, while the three other teardrop-shaped resonators are made from arborite (these are usually made of fiberglass but I have found that arborite, which is much harder, gives a superior tone).
The sound of the “cristal” is produced by dipping your fingers in water, and rubbing them along a series of parallel glass rods. The rods are attached to a row of chromatically tuned steel bars, similar in principle to tuning forks, and the vibration set up by these bars is communicated to the resonators. This idea was first developed two hundred years ago by the German musician and physicist, Ernst Chladni.
Because the “cristal” must be played with wet hands, it is not easy to find a second instrument that you can play at the same time. The obvious choice is the THEREMIN, because it is played without touching. The theremin in the video is a 1998 Moog MIDI Ethervox, the only fully capable MIDI theremin ever made, and believed by many to be one of the late Robert Moog’s crowning achievements. Sadly, there were only about 50 of these instruments ever made.
Since I only had my left hand to play the theremin (my right hand is playing the “cristal”) I was forced to control the volume of the theremin by means of a pedal. It is interesting to note that with Russian inventor Leon Theremin’s early prototypes (which he called the “etherphone”) volume was also controlled by a pedal - not by a volume antenna. I would like to thank the original designer of the Ethervox MIDI software, Rudi Linhard of LINTRONICS, for certain improvements he made to foot control of the MIDI functions - my left foot is on a MIDI pedal which you cannot see in the video.
I built the cristal baschet in the video myself, with the kind help of the wonderful French musician and “cristaliste”, Karinn Helbert, who shared her knowledge of the instrument and was an endless source of encouragement. For those who are interested in the construction of this instrument, here is a webpage I put together describing the process. It was lots of fun to build (I really like making stuff) but I will not be making another.
This webpage is in French, but I hope to get around to doing a translation soon for English speakers who are interested in the subject.
