Title link takes you to a podcast on delamar.de. Scroll to get to the player when you get there. Midway John plays a few sounds followed by talking about the synthesis engine.
Via fat eric in the comments of this post. fat eric babblefished the following off of delemar.de. Thanks fat eric! These are the first samples of the Solaris I'm aware of.
"One of the few highlights on the music fair 2007 for me is surely the Solaris, a Synthesizer, which was developed of nobody smaller than John Bowen. The Solaris began as semimodular software Synth for the Scope DSP maps of CreamWare, where it gained fast a good reputation as versatile applicable Synth. Marc and I had the large pleasure the symphatischen and still inspired Synth veterans to interviewen - the result can hear you as Podcast at the end of the article. With the Solaris it acts around a Synthesizer based on SHARC DSPs with 5 oktaven a keyboard, which with a 96kHz audio engine works. Under that about 40 buttons are 5 LCDs, which represent the button parameters. Additionally there is a graphic display, whose use us is not yet completely clear. The algorithms used in the Solaris are to be waited and improved occasionally over software updates. Also extensions are technically feasible and planned according to John Bowen. Perhaps it will also give at a later time some the Scope algorithms for the Solaris. However - John Bowen recommends to switch on and straight on play the equipment simply. The secrets reveal themselves then allegedly automatically. Who cannot allude the hippen Synth with a music shop, should absolutely clean-hear in the Podcast, because it enters or other hearing sample of the master there himself. An inspiring Synth, which by play joy and great sounds from the mass out-stings. The price will lie around the EUR3000. -. Thank you at John Bowen for the interview!"
"It's got an USB connection on the back. From what I understood, it should be able to act as a simple MIDI controller using that, but the main reason is of course to hook it up to transfer the waveforms.
Someone at the VintageSynth.org forums tried to make an argument on how every VA wasn't modeled but used samples (yeah - long story). I can happily say that this is not the case . The guy I spoke with was one of the engineers (as opposed to someone who does just demos. He was surprised (and delighted) that someone asked this question - as the Wave handles samples not like you'd think. One of the advantages is that you can play whatever you sample over the full range, without artifacts - and this is because the sample file is resynthesized for use in the machine. Everything's generated, no lookup tables!
The memory's about 2 megabytes, non-volatile. Maximum number of waveforms is limited by the display; 99 choices. I said he could expand it by using hexadecimal . The machine's quite ready for release, albeit that there was only one at the stand. In terms of sound it's between the Nord 2 and the 3. On-board effects include EQ, tube simulation, and delay and reverb.
There's no endless rotaries, because several users wanted to know "when they reached the bottom" so to say - that the physical knob would tell them when to stop - so they chose for regular pots."
Click here for more synth shots on Hataken's home page. You can find music made with these synths here.
Shane, the manager of Don Juan Dracula let me know Hataken is working on a remix of "Take Me Home" by DJD. Listening to his music, I'm really curious what it will end up like.
YouTube via clan232323. Sent my way via josh. Note the title of the video has a space between Reac and Table to emphasize the table control surface rather than just the concept of being "reactable."
"Here's a quick patch we made demonstrating the Oberheim Mini Sequencer we recently put on the market. It's triggering an ARP 2600. This particular Oberheim Sequencer has been modified. One of the mods is a CV input to transpose the sequencer CV output - a very useful feature. Here we show pitch transposition occuring every 32 steps. We achieved this by using clock division and an ARP Sequencer's quantized sequence output. You can transpose the sequence using other external CVs, like the CV out from a 1 volt per octave MIDI to CV converter, a 1 volt per octave output from a vintage synth, etc. The cute little yellow and green box is the legendary Tone Tweakers Mojax 3x4 - only the most complicated and awesome electronic musical device ever made!!! ;) This short sequence reminds us of something off Depeche Mode Violator. You may or may not agree, but we hope you enjoy it anyway. And yeah, those are latex gloves. We wear gloves cause our gear's so smokin' hot it would otherwise burn us. :) Email us anytime at minime123@onebox.com"
I recently discovered Don Juan Dracula back on March 4th, this year, when their manager Shane Chisholm contacted me about doing an interview with the band. I'll be honest and say I was a little reluctant at first because this site is about "the synths and not the band," but I liked what I heard, so I asked him if it would be alright to focus on synths and run the interview with their keyboard player. I got the thumbs up, and the following is that interview. I've been listening to their album for some time now and I must say I really do like it. Catchy stuff that will get stuck in your head for days and keep the energy going. Don't miss the videos below. One of which, "Run Away With You" features a kid in the video with a custom toy keyboard. Apparently the kid in the video made it when he saw Hennings keytar and they decided they just had to let him use it in the video. Pretty cool. That said...
1. How many members of the band play synths?
Henning: Our songwriter Henrik uses keyboards as well as guitar when he writes songs, but while recording and live it's me who playes the keyboards.
2. When and how did you get into synths?
Henning: In 2000 I think, Henrik asked me to play keyboards in his new band. I hadn't really played keyboards before, but like a lot of kids I was forced to take piano lessons when I was growing up, so I still remembered a little. When we started out, all we had was Henriks old Casiotone MT-800 and a Casio SA-10. Those two keyboards were the basis of our first EP and live-shows for a couple of years.
3. Do you view yourself as a synthesist, keyboard player or both?
Henning: I don't really see myself as neither actually. I like to collect old keyboards, synths and gadgets that make cool sounds. And I play them in a band.
4. What synths do you use in the studio and on tour.
Henning: Live i mainly use a Yamaha SHS-10 as a MIDI-Controller for the Korg Microkorg. That way I'm able to move around more on stage. I really like the diversity of the microkorg, and the simplicity of it's interface. Being able to quickly switch between custom sounds and finished presets makes it ideal for live use, which is probably why everyone is using them these days. Though it seems everyone is using one these days.
I also still use that old Casiotone and a Yamaha kids organ once bought at a flea-market for the lead-sound of "Take Me Home". We have gradually moved away from the pure Casio-pop sound, using more real instruments as well as synthesizers and not just FM-keyboards.
In the studio we have started to use more soft-synths lately as well, mainly because it's easier, and cheaper. Unfortunately we don't have the money to buy every synth we want.
We will be recording our next album soon, and we're looking to purchase the new Korg MicroX before that. I'm also trying to get hold of a Korg MS-10 for the studio-session. Everytime I buy a new synth or keyboard we try to use it somewhere in the recordings. That way we get a variety in the sound. I try to not use the same sounds more than once... We have used quite a lot of different gear over the years. Mainly cheap kids-like stuff, I just like the sound...
5. What is your favorite synth and why?
Henning: The Casio VL-1. Just because it's so small, and still so funny sounding. And it's a calculator as well. A friend of ours actually used his on a math exam once...
6. What do you think about the role of synthesizers in music today and it's influences in the past? What would you consider to be you main influences (musicians, technologies, anyone)?
Henning: The last couple of years you have started to hear more and more bands becoming popular using synthesizers in their songs, and I like that of course.
-Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo -not so much Erasure) and OMD has influenced me a lot with their simple monophonic style of playing and composing.
-As well as Casio.
7. What is your dream synth and why?
Henning: I have been dreaming of getting a Moog Prodigy and a Yamaha Cs-5 for a little while. Because they are the synths mostly used on my favorite album by Depeche Mode "Speak & Spell".
8. Do you prefer a particular type of synthesis (analog, digital, modular, FM, etc) and why?
Henning: I do (of course) prefer real vintage analog stuff, because it's the "real deal". But it's very hard to get hold of here in Norway, and lately americans on ebay don't want to send their stuff to Europe anymore. I also have a love for beaten up kids' casio stuff. I still look for them at flea markets every spring.
9. BTW, I was wondering what the little keyboard in the "Run Away With You" video was?
Henning: haha !
-it's actually a danish kids toy keyboard called "elektronisk keyboard 11 -100" gaffa-taped onto a kids guitar!
-The kid in the video made it himself actually before the videoshoot after he had seen pictures of me with my keytar. So we had to let him use it...
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And there you have it. I want to thank Shane Chisholm and Henning Krane of Don Juan Dracula for taking the time out for the interview. I also want to give a big thanks to Shane for giving out 20 free downloads of DJD's album to Matrixsynth readers (they are all gone, btw). DJD is about to break out on the international scene and I wish them all the luck. I had a great time going back and forth with them for this interview. When they get big, remember... You saw them here first!
I'll leave you with two of my favorites from the band:
Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction
I try not to grab stock photos as they are readily available on the web, but this is just absolutely stunning. Note the seller is Novamuik. I've dealt with them in the past and they are a great shop - highly recommended. Be sure to check out the other shots at the auction or the title link.
Title link takes you to shots pulled via this auction. Details: "This is a very rare ETI 4600 synthesizer by jaycar electronics. The ETI came out as a kit in which you could build week by week with each issue of the jaycar magazine. This synth has been professionally put together (electronics)."
Title link takes you to a podcast on delamar.de. Scroll to get to the player when you get there. Midway John plays a few sounds followed by talking about the synthesis engine.
