MATRIXSYNTH: The SMS 2000 - New Flickr Shots


Thursday, July 06, 2006

The SMS 2000 - New Flickr Shots


flickr by synthfan_bob. Title link takes you to more.

Update: New touched up shot via Elhardt in the comments.
Update: Note the name on the badge. Thanks Elhardt. : )

24 comments:

  1. That one is clearly real.

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  2. Damn. I need one.

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  3. Fake. Fake. Fake. Obviously a 3D rendering carefully composited into a more realistic setting. The plastic is a nice touch.

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  4. Interesting! The flat keyboard is not that innovative (capacative or membrane technology?). The switch matrix recalls Akai and the slider arrangement is Arp-ish. However, the master-stroke is that someone has had the vision, finally, to implement Dr. Goofus von Doofus's famed Bugs-Bunny's-Idiot-Brother modulation controller. Despite the rare cases of limb loss and other less mentionable hazards, this is considered the most versatile and sensitive synth controller ever to have originated in the hallowed labs of the Acme Corporation.

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  5. Nice try to evacuate the debate.
    Maybe the Emu Audity is a fake.
    Maybe the TONTO is a fake too.
    Have you seen them for real ?
    But no one is saying that these dream synths are fake.
    The SMS 2000 is real, that's for sure.
    I just wait to know more about it.

    (Thanks Matrix. Your blog is really a very good one. And it's fun)

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  6. Maybe the Emu Audity is a fake.
    Maybe the TONTO is a fake too.
    Have you seen them for real ?


    How very existential. Maybe when I close my eyes, the rest of the world ceases to exist, too.

    The difference is the Emu Audity and TONTO have a long history verified by numerous trustworthy third party sources.

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  7. "The difference is the Emu Audity and TONTO have a long history verified by numerous trustworthy third party sources."

    That's a obsiously a plot !
    Or collective hallucination. Anyway it's too good to be true...

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  8. Holy christ I just barfed up in my mouth laughing.

    That MP3 is so awesome.

    Best thing I've laughed at in MONTHS.

    SO WELL DONE.

    hehehehe. i have a head ache from laughing.

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  9. It's midnight in France.
    And I regret my last message.
    All that story is just too serious.
    It's mind-blowing.
    You see a picture and you don't believe it just because the one-shot Bahn Sage ?
    Wake up ! Everything is not fake !
    Ok, lies are many but simple truth still exists.
    The SMS 2000 is a prototype, that's clear. Maybe nothing more will be known about. But it's not a fake.

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  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  11. BREAKTHROUGH!
    I'd heard the new rare earth's were causing a lot of development problems in the labs but it looks like they have done it! A true membrane sandwich waferboard analog synth at last! Its superb the way they've hidden the hydrogen cell by flattening it. I wonder how they handle the water vapour byproduct? Man the roadie's are gonna love the weight ratio. Hurrah. kidtronic in Canada

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  12. I've seen Tonto and had the Audity in my livingroom for about a year.
    One thing though, I never *heard* either one make a sound.

    If this SMS critter was at a show, it was photographed and seen upclose by lots of people. Surely there would be more than these questionable pics out there.
    Consider also that these pics are supposedly taken at a show and then after or before as packed up.
    Anyone with a camera and that close to the action has other photos of the same show, additional ones of the booth, etc. It meant enough to photograph despite plastic, tape and cords over it. Surely there would be many more pics of it set up, lit, different angles, musicians playing it, etc.
    Why take a bad shot over someone's shoulder if you're privy enough to get private shots of it packed up and are apparently at the same show for a while? If it's so important to photograph with plastic over it, why not take pics when you can see the whole thing?

    The logistics don't add up for me here.
    I'd say this is a hoax by someone that is single, doesn't interact a lot with people, and prefers order instead of chance. My 2 cents of armchair psychology.

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  13. Very funny photos. They popped up on a Harmonycentral forum.

    Problem is the booth picture looks too real. There's no Photoshop work done. So I finished it up for you. May have to cut and paste link into browser.

    http://home.att.net/~synth6/SMS_Touched_Up.jpg

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  14. Oh, Kevin, I know you and deeply respect you for many years. What you think is very important to me. There is several pics of this SMS 2000, different angles of sight. Take a real look at them, please. And tell me.
    But I know you can know much more about this story. I am sure you know the good people to ask what is right or wrong. Just ask them and tell us.
    After that, I will say what you say. Ok ?

    Best regards from France.

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  15. Good one Elhardt. I just now noticed the name on the badge. Too funny. Post is updated. I finally made Elhardt hoax history. Cheers. : )

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  16. Specs of the SMS 2000 :

    4 vco's :
    VCO 1 --> 32' to 2' saw triangle square + Ring (or Freq ?) Mod Osc4
    VCO 2/3/4 --> 32' to 2' Saw triangle PW sync

    3 modulation connectors
    Source (x10 + off)/Destinations (x11)/ Controller (x10 + off)

    2 LFO's
    LFO 1 --> sinus saw triangle square random
    LFO 2 --> sinus

    Mixer
    VCO 1/2/3/4 + ring mod 1/2 + noise (?) + filter bank + external audio

    2 filters
    Filter 1 (24 db) --> frequency resonance env1(-/+) (LP and/or HP)
    Filter 2 (12 db) --> frequency resonance env2(-/+) (LP and/or HP)

    X-Y joystick
    X --> Filter 1 (24 db)
    Y --> Filter 2 (12 db)

    3 envelopes
    Env 1 --> ADSR + delay
    Env 2 --> ADSR (+ delay enable)
    Env amp --> ADSR (+ delay enable)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Can I just mention that this cardboard synth is the first keyboard to fully comply with new EU regulations on recycling electronic equipment? Not only is the solder lead-free but the synth itself is solder-free! The plastic wrap is to prevent spontaneous bio-degrading when in use at outdoor gigs.

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  18. elhardt aka frederic gerchambeau : you fake a good written french accent! but your ip shows you're two of the same. sorry, game over!

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  19. I am Elhardt ?
    Hi hi hi !!!
    Too funny !!!
    But you're wrong. Sorry.

    Je m'appelle Frédéric Gerchambeau, je vis à Wasquehal, près de Lille, dans le Nord de la France, et si tu veux m'écrire, voici mon adresse :
    fredericgerchambeau@wanadoo.fr

    Specs of the SMS 2000 (v.2):

    4 vco's :
    VCO 1 --> 32' to 2' saw triangle square + Freq Mod Osc4
    VCO 2/3/4 --> 32' to 2' Saw triangle PW sync

    3 modulation connectors :
    3 x Source (x10 + off)/Destination (x11)/ Controller (x10 + off)

    2 LFO's :
    LFO 1 --> sinus saw triangle square random
    LFO 2 --> sinus

    Mixer :
    VCO 1/2/3/4 + ring mod 1/2 + noise + filter bank + external audio

    Filter bank :
    10 filters 31/63/125/250/500/1k/2k/4k/8k/16k

    2 filters
    Filter 1 (24 db) --> frequency resonance env1(-/+) (LP and/or HP)
    Filter 2 (12 db) --> frequency resonance env2(-/+) (LP and/or HP)

    X-Y joystick
    X --> Filter 1 (24 db)
    Y --> Filter 2 (12 db)

    3 envelopes
    Env 1 --> ADSR + delay
    Env 2 --> ADSR (+ delay enable)
    Env amp --> ADSR (+ delay enable)

    Glide

    Mod wheel + 3 finger/thumb levers

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  20. Actually, what is really new in the SMS 2000 is the finger/thumb levers.
    It is supposed to have also a mod wheel but I can't see it. I just see a "Mod whl calibrate" turn-knob.
    4 VCO is a lot, for sure. But there is no PWM. Too bad.
    The 2 filters LP/HP are a very nice thing, especially if you create 2 well ajusted resonances with 2 well ajusted envelopes, not forgetting the X-Y joystick controlling the filters.
    The 3 modulation connectors are a powerful tool too.
    And that is the big point.
    Create a complex sound with a very long envelope, ajust as wanted the modulation connectors, grab the left-hand finger/thumb levers, put your right hand on the X-Y joystick, and you control 5 parameters (3 at your will + 2 filters) of your sound at the same time.
    Cooooooool !
    But the left-hand finger/thumb levers must be something hard to get used to. Anyway it's a very good idea.

    Un grand bonjour de France, où il est mainteant presque 14 heures.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anonymous, don't pretend you can look up posters IP addresses.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anyway, Mr Anonymous number 2, it has no importance. Me and Elhardt are totally different persons and it is very easy to verify.

    What is important is the new sonic possibilities that brings the SMS 2000.
    Could it be the ultimate synth in matter of expressivity because of left-hand finger/thumb levers ?
    That is an interessant question to discuss, no ?

    Un grand bonjour de France, où il est maintenant 18 heures 22.

    ReplyDelete
  23. I dunno, Oberheims have paddles that function similarly to the way those levers would.

    BTW, those levers look like they come out of an airplane.

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  24. No, I played several weeks on an OB-Xa. This is not the same way to control sound. On the OB-Xa, you push or pull with no much energy to control sound. On the SMS 2000, it seems to be a little more energetic and in another position of hand, not forgetting the action of the thumb. It's really 3 controls at the same time. Or less at the beginning I guess. Because it a new way, very different, to control sound. It must require a learning I think.

    Un grand bonjour de France, où il est maintenant 19 heures 35.

    ReplyDelete

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