MATRIXSYNTH

Wednesday, February 10, 2021

noystoise PS2 v2

video by noystoise

http://www.noystoise.com

Also see the noystoise label for previous posts including demos and pics.

video by Mike Olson

"This is an electronic music composition which was created in 2018 using a vintage Polyfusion analog modular synthesizer. It is the first piece I’ve created using this particular instrument and I chose to restrict myself to using it exclusively as my only sound source for the piece. The title is in reference to the fact that I am choosing to use “antiquated” technology in this piece, (and all of my other recent electronic music compositions for that matter). I guess you could say that at this time in my life, I feel like I myself am something of an anachronism, in as much as I have spent years developing a set of skills that are no longer needed or valued, (except by special people who have an appreciation for them). Likewise, this Polyfusion synthesizer would be considered anachronistic by the vast majority of sensible electronic music composers. Perhaps that is part of what makes it attractive to me.

Aesthetically, this piece is a little on the dark side, (though not particularly lugubrious). It exhibits characteristics that could fall under such headings as “experimental drone” and “pattern-based minimalism”, over which sometimes ecstatic gestural outbursts emerge. Like much of my recent work, I am striving for a sense of restraint, which I am only partially successful in achieving. This ties in with the idea of limitations, which I am also very interested in. I begin every new composition by establishing meaningful limitations to work within. For this piece my limitations were that the piece must be all electronic and use only the Polyfusion as it’s sound source. This has resulted in a finished piece which unabashedly celebrates the sound of electronics and the sound of the Polyfusion modular synthesizer in particular. There is nothing in this piece which is trying to sound like an acoustic instrument of any kind. It is electronic and it sounds electronic. The only acoustic sound is the sound of the switch at the very beginning of the piece. This is literally the power switch for the Polyfusion being thrown. The hum which follows is the actual hum of the Polyfusion’s power supply. I mic-ed it and recorded the sound of that hum. Though this is not an audio signal being produced by the instrument, it is an audible hum which is in fact being generated by it. So it could be said that the piece starts with the physical sounds of the electronics, and then transforms into a sonic world that those electronic components produce as audio signals.

As is evident in the previous paragraph, the aesthetics of this piece tend to get tied up with the technology employed. So, let’s get into it. Without getting into the specifics of the modular synthesizer patching, the audio signal flow goes as follows: audio out from a VCA (voltage-controlled amplifier) on the Polyfusion, to a rehoused Big Muff distortion box, then to a standalone Moog ring modulator, then to a Vox wah pedal, and then finally on to a mixing console, through which the audio is recorded to a computer. Additional signal processing was freely added in the computer as the piece was being constructed. The Polyfusion was triggered (or played) through the use of a Future Retro pressure plate keyboard for the human performance gestures and a Dot Com Q960 sequencer and Doepfer A-155 sequencer for the quick-tempo patterns.

In addition to the keyboard and sequencers, there is another notable performance interface that is heavily featured in this piece: Knobs. As I listen to the piece, I can really hear the sounds being shaped in real time by the physical manipulation of knobs. These are of course, actual hardware knobs on the various devices, not automated software knobs. I didn’t really set out to make this a significant feature of the piece, but now that it’s done, I can clearly hear the knob-centricity of it. I find this interesting and very much in keeping with the hardware-based electronic character of the piece.

I feel I must now confess that there is also one audio signal sound in this piece that is not being generated by the Polyfusion, but which I chose to allow, even though I was breaking my limitation rule. This would be the ground hum sound of the Big Muff when it’s sustain knob is turned all the way up and no audio signal is coming into the device. I recorded a nice big chunk of this sound while very gradually adjusting the tone knob on the device. It is one layer in the complex of drones used in the first section of the piece. I see this sound as a kind of bridging sound between the acoustical buzzing sound of the Polyfusion power supply and buzzy analog synthesizer sounds that exist as audio signals within the wires."

Eurorack Modular Sequencer Comparison - which Sequencer do I need? 6 Sequencer Preview and Workflow

video by Maik Schott

"In this Eurorack Modular Sequencer Comparison Tutorial I will help you to choose the best sequencer for your needs. I will give you an overview over the most important functions of these 6 Eurorack sequencers:

00:45 WINTER MODULAR ELOQUENCER
08:05 INTELLIJEL METROPOLIS
13:50 ERICA SYNTHS DRUM SEQUENCER
18:18 MALEKKO VARIGATE 4+
24:38 1010MUSIC TOOLBOX SEQUENCER
32:53 VERMONA MELODICER

The Sequencers are mostly routed to the MFB Bass,the WMD Fracture Claps Module, the mutable Elements and the MFB Triple Oscillator.
As filters I use the Analogue Systems EMS Filter."

Novation Circuit Tracks - Deep Dive with -CALC- (Part 1) // Novation Live

video by NovationTV

"In the first livestream of ‘21 -CALC- introduces the brand new Novation Circuit Tracks. This will be a deep dive session and will explore all the new features in the brand new, powerful groovebox from Novation. He’ll share some of the new workflows alongside tips and tricks for both new-comers and experienced Circuit users.

--- Discover Circuit Tracks:
https://bit.ly/CircuitTracks"

Modular Synth & Arturia OB-Xa V + Chorus JUN-6 Jam

video by Oblivion Corner

"A relaxing synth jam with an arpeggio on the Arturia OB-Xa V VST emulation with some dissonant monophonic modular synthesizer sounds layered on top. For good measure, the sound is put through the Chorus JUN-6 emulation sitting in the send slot.

If you'd like to support this channel with a one-off purchase, please check out our affordably priced music: https://synthandsundry.bandcamp.com"

Evolution Vol 3 - Patches 26 to 50 - Sequential OB6

video by GEOSynths

"Out 15th February 2021

Patches 26 to 50.

It's been almost 3 years since I brought out Evolution Vol 2 for the Sequential OB6 Synthesizer and wasn't sure I'd do another, however Sequential have updated the OB6 with the "Vintage Knob" feature, from the Prophet 5 Rev 4 Synth. After playing around with it, I decided to do another Bank and while it is subtle with some sounds, with others, it can really make a difference.

In this set I've also focused a little more on making Patches using Osc 2 as a Modulation Source and delving deeper. While there is the odd "Vintage" patch, it's more about getting new Synthesizer sounds."

GEOSynths Sequential OB6 Evolution demos

GEOSynths Sequential OB6 demos

Eplex7 Klerhaim N1 Analog Plugin Synthesizer VSTi & Modeling the Behavior of Electrical Circuits

video by Eplex7 DSP

The above video does a good job at showing how modelling analog circuits is more than just generating the equivalent compoents in software.

via Eplex7:

"Basic code cannot behave like electricity in real analog circuits. That is a reason why we developed our own virtual circuit technology. We have emulated individual circuits, electronic components, modules of synthesizer and analog behavior in various situations, noises, feedbacks, interfering signals, etc. In real analog synthesizers everything is moving, changing, modulating, living... analog synth is like a living organism. Nothing is static. The electricity and circuits are in constant "chaos".

Klerhaim N1 is not an exact emulation of an existing analog synthesizer. Eplex7 preferred to analyze more than 5 analog synths of vintage 60s, 70s and 80s era. The analyze of individual circuits (oscs, filters, LFOs, envelopes, etc.) not just output sound and combine various different vintage analog circuits to one complex synthesizer VST plug-in emulation."

The following is a playlist of some demos of the Klerhaim N1:

And the press release:

Eplex7 DSP Klerhaim N1 – analog VST plugin synthesizer with virtual circuit emulation technology

There are many analog emulation synthesizers available, but unfortunately 99,5% of them are far from real analog hardware synths (sounding sterile, digital, cold, boring, robotic, uniformly, numb and sharp).

Why?
Firstly because they are made by coders, not electronic engineers. They perfectly understand the code but not circuits, electronic components and physics. We are both: programmers and educated electronic engineers with more than 18 years of experiences.

And also... basic code cannot behave like electricity in real analog circuits.

That is a reason why we developed our own virtual circuit technology. We are emulating whole analog circuits, electronic components and modules of synthesizer + their behavior in various situations, noises, feedbacks, interfering signals etc.

In real analog synthesizer everything is moving, changing, modulating, living...analog synth is like a living organism. Nothing is static. The electricity and circuits are in constant “chaos”. Analog oscillator waveforms are not precise, sharp and always the same like in digital synths. They are changing their shape, have a noise, harmonics, ringing, modulating their tone / pitch, volume etc.
Also output from oscillator module is saturated. It is not just output of whole synthesizer but output of every circuit / module. More volume of oscillator = more saturation and color.
Analog envelopes (modulating filter, amp or pitch) are not linear like in digital synths. They are exponential and changing their shape in time / different one with every different note. Including some noise and harmonics too. The peaks / spikes are not digitally sharp but analogue round.
The filters are creating small distortion / harmonics. They are not perfectly stable. The values are changing 0,1%. Including is the noise and output is saturated. Simply everything is “living” in analog synthesizer because of laws of physics / electricity. Every note sounds a little bit different, that is why analog sound is rich, organic, warm, fat and like real instrument.
We have successfully emulated analog behavior, individual circuits and electronic components.
Klerhaim N1 is not exact emulation of one existing analog synthesizer. We preferred to

analyze more than 5 analog synths of vintage 60s 70s and 80s era. The analyze of individual circuits (oscs, filters, lfos, envelopes, etc.) not just output sound and combine various different vintage analog circuits to one complex synthesizer VST plug-in emulation.
Top features:
- 2 analog type voltage controlled oscillators with saw, triangle, square, ramp, pulse 1, pulse 2 waveforms, volume control, octave selector, fine-tune control, LFO mod control, on / off switch
(with complete analog emulation behavior like saturation, noise, harmonics, automatic pitch modulation / interference, etc.)
- Analog temperature control (emulation of circuit temperature – more temperature = more noise and interference signals)
- pink / white noise generator + on / off switch
- Analog exponential amp envelope with attack, decay, sustain, release controls and 7 different shapes of envelope for different sound / different type of modulation
- Analog exponential filter envelope with attack, decay, sustain, release controls and 7 different shapes of envelope for different sound / different type of modulation
- Voltage controlled low pass analog emulated filter with 12 / 24db slope and slope selector. With cutoff, emphasis, tracking and envelope mod. Controls
- 2x LFO (with saw, triangle, square, ramp, pulse waveforms) speed and depth control
- Output analog saturation
- Glide and pitchbend controls
- preset manager with 100 presets (leads, bass, brass, stabs, acid, fx, special vintage sounds, keys)
- 2 versions available, classic and soft sounding (with softer vintage transients / peaks)
Product page / download demo version:
https://eplex7.com/klerhaim-n1-analog-vst-plugin-synthesizer/
Price: 59 €. There is an introductory price for first 100 customers of: 29,90 €.

Moog One - Pink Floyd - Shine on you Crazy Diamond Intro

video by Orano Music

"3 Synth Patch made in the Moog One 16v - I think the late Rick Wright would have loved this synth for sure :)"

Electric Toy Piano Meets Modular Synthesizer

video by poorness studios

"Ever since I modified this toy piano back in December, I've been waiting to try this. I figured plugging into my Eurorack modular synthesizer would probably create some cool sound textures. The piano's signal goes into the Xaoc Sewastopol II, then into the Make Noise Phonogene, and then into the Calsynth Typhoon before it joins the mix. I used the ADDAC 301 and a damper pedal to start/stop the loop in the Phonogene. I'm pretty pleased with the result.

You can find the toy piano video here:"

DIY Project #51: The Electric Toy Piano

"I took the Best toy piano which I unboxed recently and converted it to an electric toy piano. I used 5 contacts mics (piezo elements) and the wiring components from the Muslady guitar kit I built earlier this year. It worked pretty well and most importantly, it did not affect the acoustic tone at all.

Check out the unboxing video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQgdS...

And see a playlist of my DIY Project here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list..."