click here for the full set of scans on flickr.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Introduction to Modular Synthesizers
For those of you new to modular synthesis and actually analog synthesis in general, Innovative Synthesis has a short introduction worth checking out.
"Modular synthesizers are one of the oldest types of synthesizers around, as well as being one of the most expensive and interesting. The philosophy of a modular synth is that it is made up of modules which are interchangeable, allowing new modules to be added with ease, as well as the customization of existing modules. Because of the constant expansion of most users modular synthesizers, many systems end up looking like a telephone exchange – this is often referred to as GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)."
What's interesting about the GAS comment, is that although the start-up cost for a base system may seem high compared to getting a non-modular synth, the cost for that next gear fix goes way down. Itching for something new? Get a new module for much less than a new synth - new or used. I will be satiating my GAS next with a new Mattson Mini Modular. Next stop, most likely Plan B and Doepfer eurorack. Cwejman, Livewire... That's what they call Gear Aquisition Syndrome.
"Modular synthesizers are one of the oldest types of synthesizers around, as well as being one of the most expensive and interesting. The philosophy of a modular synth is that it is made up of modules which are interchangeable, allowing new modules to be added with ease, as well as the customization of existing modules. Because of the constant expansion of most users modular synthesizers, many systems end up looking like a telephone exchange – this is often referred to as GAS (gear acquisition syndrome)."
What's interesting about the GAS comment, is that although the start-up cost for a base system may seem high compared to getting a non-modular synth, the cost for that next gear fix goes way down. Itching for something new? Get a new module for much less than a new synth - new or used. I will be satiating my GAS next with a new Mattson Mini Modular. Next stop, most likely Plan B and Doepfer eurorack. Cwejman, Livewire... That's what they call Gear Aquisition Syndrome.
PROPHET 08 SE DEMO - LOS GAUCHOS FROM LAS PAMPAS
YouTube via gauchosinc. via Nusonica.
"This its a mini demo of PROPHET 08 - VAN HALEN - JUMP Sequenced by LOS GAUCHOS FROM LAS PAMPAS PROPHET 08 SPECIAL EDITION"
Admin: New Label: Scans
I created a new label for scans. If you see a post that should have the label, but doesn't, post a comment in that post and I will update it. If you see the label in a post that shouldn't have it, post a comment in that post and I will update it. Currently I just added the label to a blanket search on schematics, pdf and a few posts I knew to be scans. BTW, if you haven't been using the labels on the site, do use them. I'm currently at 10,118 posts with this one. That's a lot of synth content to peruse. Also use the search boxes. The official blogger search is on the top left and the Google site search is on the right. Personally I always use the one on the top left first and if I don't find what I'm looking for I'll use the one on the right.
BTW, I didn't put up a post at the time as I didn't want to distract from the MMM announcements, but... we passed 3 million page views since the site launched a little over two years ago. That's up from 2 million back on April 28th this year. We are currently at about 3.24 million since I started tracking the site.
BTW, I didn't put up a post at the time as I didn't want to distract from the MMM announcements, but... we passed 3 million page views since the site launched a little over two years ago. That's up from 2 million back on April 28th this year. We are currently at about 3.24 million since I started tracking the site.
SSM Data Sheets
Solid State Music data sheet scanned by Loscha. [link to pdf scan] SSM made various synth chips for early analog synths. The 2040 filter chip is one of the most respected filter chips out there. It was used in the Rev 1 Prophet-5. It is included in the data sheets.
4017 Step Sequencer
Sequencer built by Casper Electronics. Link to more including links to the schematics and another post with a sample."The recording was made using the sequencer to trigger three different synths.
–A casio SK1 was used to make the melodic sounds.
–and I had that running through an echo circuit I’ve been working on for a while
–the bass drum beat was made with a Korg MS20.
–The other rhythmic tones were made with a Paia modular synth"
Audio Damage Vapor Released
"Vapor's main purpose is to add top-end shimmer to pads, strings, and rhythm guitar to make those sounds cut through the mix. However, at more extreme settings, unique modulation effects can easily be attained."link
bit traffiker
via phil on AH."quick Malgorithm demo DL for mp3.
basic: M15 saw, at 2:15 in change to Sine, modulation provided by Dual Cyclotron and M10 into Malgorithm and Dalek Modulator into M15. that is all.
then into JoeMeek MC2 then Chameleon Labs 7602s into FireFace 800.
tweaking M15 freq and Dalek some, most changes are from adjustments on the Malg. esp. the volv switches. An amazing module!"
Doepfer Livewire Plan B MFB Analog Modular
images via this auction"Doepfer Black Portable Case with 115V power supply, power bus boards and power cord
-Doepfer A-100 AD5 power converter for the A-190
-MFB OSC-01 Triple DCO ---- 3 Digitally controlled analog oscillators with ringmod and OSC SYNC!!!
-Plan B Model 15 Complex VCO ---- The best VCO in Euro-format!!! Can't beat that Morph function!!
-A-112 Sampler VC Sampler/Wavetable Oscillator ---- 8 bit crunch with MIDI!!! Can even use like a delay!!
-Livewire Vulcan Modulator LFO/LFVCO ---- Dual FUNKED out LFO's!!! Can also be used like VCO's!!!
-Plan B Model 10 Polyphonic Envelope ---- Great EG!!! Some really cool settings!!
-Livewire Dalek Modulator VCO/LFVCO ---- Funked up modulators!! Dual VCO's w/ destroy ringmod!!! LFO
-A-190 MCVS Midi-CV/Sync Interface ---- Midi to CV/Gate converter with sync and trigger.
-A-170 SL Dual Slew Limiter
-A-105 VCF SSM 24dB LP Filter ---- The best LP filter in modular format IMHO!!! Think Prophet 5 rev.2!!
-A-137 VC Wave Multiplier ---- Multiplier and Wave folder!!
-A-118 Noise and Random Voltages ---- use for white and various forms of pink noise and a modulator.
-A-138 Linear Mixer ---- for mixing audio and cv signals
-A-121 VCF2 MultiMode Filter ---- Uses a Curtis CEM 3320 filter chip!!
-A-140 ADSR Envelope Generator
-A-132-2 QVCA Quad VCA ---- Great for both Audio and CV signals!!"
YAMAHA ED10
via this auction"there are 10knobs for control synthetic sound and touch sensitive drum pad SENS,PITCH,SUB SONIC,FILTER,NOISE,DECAY,BEND,CLICK,FILTER MOD,VOLUME so you can tweak around these knobs and easily get warm and phat analog synth sound from deep bass drum like TR808 or TR909 to industrial noise percussion or spacey disco tom sound! it's very easy and funny to create your own sounds and play it with pad. it also has MIX INPUT,SIGNAL OUTPUT,PAD OUT/IN,DC 12V IN,DC 12V OUT PAD OUT/IN accepts trigger or audio signal so you can also control from your drum machine."
Oberheim SEM
images via this auction"There are a couple of modifications (done before I got it): Audio In and Out jacks are 1/4" instead of the normal 1/8". There is an extra switching potentiometer next to the CV-IN jack which controls GLIDE. A minor drawback for this knob is that the pitch voltage drops a tiny bit when it clicks from OFF to ON.
I will include information on adding/switching patchpoints so that you can change the I/O configuration or modularize the SEM by adding many more patchpoints. There is also a company making a MIDI In retrofit."
MOOG Minimoog
images via this auction"Mike at ModuSonics totally cleaned her up, replaced all jacks, added an oscillator buffer board(an original Moog upgrade) for better tuning, CV/Gate In's and Out's, cleaned up the cabinet, etc... etc... I added a picture of the invoice to this auction. Total cost of clean up and upgrades were $1620 USD. Mike worked for the Original Moog Music in the 70's and 80's and used original parts that he had from the old company and had acquired over time.
This Minimoog is in incredible condition for it's age and stays in tune better than some of my newer analog synths!! Everything functions 100% and looks great!!
Serial # 2960 means it has the oscillators that are the most sought after for their sound. Newer Model D's had more stable oscillators, but lacked a little in fatness. Having had the Oscillator buffer board added, these super-fat Oscillators are extremely stable, even right after you power it on.
The CV/Gate jacks let you send and receive CV and Gate signals. You can use it to play your modular synth or use a sequencer that sends CV/Gate signals to play it!! Mike also added a on/off switch for the Glide, so that if you are using it with a sequencer you can turn the glide fully off!!This is an excellent example of a 100% functional Minimoog that should last someone forever with low maintainance every few years.
Auction Includes: The Minimoog Model D Serial # 2960 in said condition and a copy of the ModuSonics repair invoice.
More info on Modusonics: http://www.moogce.com/."
Akai AX60
images via this auction"The Akai AX60 is a 6-voice polyphonic programmable analog synthesizer with a 5-octave, 61-note (C-C) keyboard. Each voice consists of only one VCO (switchable between sawtooth, triangle, pulse, or noise waves), however, the filter section features a VCF (Low Pass) with an additional high-pass filter. Fortunately Akai included an Autotune button to tune all of its VCO's and VCF's. There is a single Envelope Generator, an ADSR with additional controls for amount ("depth level") and delay (delay before the attack begins). The "depth level" controls the maximum level of the envelope as well as the sustain level. The AX60 was one of the last analog synths to have knobs and sliders. There are a total of 25 sliders and two knobs. All controls, including split points and effects, are stored in one of its 64 memory locations. There is a handy Edit Recall button to reset the parameters for a patch. Also included is an effects section featuring digital delay and chorus.
The AX60 came with very limited MIDI implementation and no velocity sensitivity. However, it does feature a MIDI THRU plug. It is bi-timbral using the keyboard split points as well as through MIDI. It also features a unison mode making it a 6-VCO mono-synth. The AX60 has a good arpeggiator with an external sync socket.
The keyboard can be split in two at any key with each controller or effect applied to either of both halves of the split. There are 8 memory locations to store programmable split points. The voices can be split in one of the following configurations (left-right) 6-0, 4-2, 2-4, or 0-6 (unfortunately not 3-3). The reason for including splits that have no oscillators on one side is for when the AX60 is used in conjunction with an Akai sampler as explained below.
One of the nice features about this synthesizer is that it has a 13-pin input that alows you to hook it up to an Akai sampler (S612/700, X7000) and input the samples to be processed with the AX60's internal synth engine (VCF's, VCA's, effects, etc...). Combined with the keyboard splitting capabilities, this alows you to play the sampler via one of the split sides. The sampler/AX60 combination is unique in that it is one of the few ways that samples can be treated with real analog filters."
Ron Boots
image via Ron Boots' website via this Matrixsynth forum post. You can find more images as well as a discography of Ron's music on his site.
Roland Juno-106
Oberheim/Viscount OB12
Sequential Circuits Prophet-5
Sequential Circuits Prophet-VS
Korg MicroKorg
Waldorf XT
and...?
Synthekicks
flickr by Synth... (click for more)"My bro got a new pair of chuck t's, so he gave em to me and I went to town on em..."
Converse, shoes.
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MATRIXSYNTH - EVERYTHING SYNTH
© Matrixsynth - All posts are presented here for informative, historical and educative purposes as applicable within fair use.
MATRIXSYNTH is supported by affiliate links that use cookies to track clickthroughs and sales. See the privacy policy for details.
MATRIXSYNTH - EVERYTHING SYNTH
