MATRIXSYNTH: Tuesday, June 17, 2008


Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Synth?


YouTube via SThomme2008
"8bit? I used guitar effector.I did'nt use guitar."

Stillwell Audio Olga

"Olga is a virtual analog synthesizer unlike any other, designed from first principles to be distinctive. Imagine a handmade experiment from an unlikely place, a synthesizer so full of life and character that it earns the right to be called a musical instrument. Olga encourages risk, experimentation, and exploration, and rewards you with unexpected and exciting sounds, vibrant and human. This is the dusty gem you could spend your life searching for.

Bezier Antialiased Dynamic Analog Synthesis System: Olga uses a truly new approach to DSP waveform generation to emulate glorious analog imperfection. Olga’s free running oscillators are in a constant state of structured variability, a deeply musical instability, free of aliasing artifacts and light on your CPU.



Gaussian Reactive Oscillator Overdrive Virtual Engine: Throughout Olga’s signal path, levels can be pushed through saturation and into full overdrive, with a thickness that develops organically, breathing life and character into your music." More info and samples at Stillwell Audio.
via sequencer.de

Abyssal says thanks!!!


via AtomoSynth, makers of these devices.

Steampunk Analog Modular Synth

Jules Vernian Analog Synthesizer
"Peter wrote me a while back with some pictures of his latest project, a Jules Verne inspired analog synthesizer with etched brass control panels. Now, I cut my teeth on a vinyl copy of Switched-On Bach and I've been a fan of analog synth heroes Tangerine Dream since High School. So I was very excited to see this.

Peter used the electrolytic etching process that I've previously worked with to etch the control panels for his synthesizer. The synth is designed to be modular and re-configurable so Peter was looking for a process that could be repeated in-house at any time in the future should he wish to add or change modules."

You can find the full post with interview and more pics on The Steampunk Workshop. via JackAstro


YouTube via flowerseven
"I'm using the drum machine as a trigger for the filter envelope."

'Oldest' computer music unveiled

"A scratchy recording of Baa Baa Black Sheep and a truncated version of In the Mood are thought to be the oldest known recordings of computer generated music.

The songs were captured by the BBC in the Autumn of 1951 during a visit to the University of Manchester.

The recording has been unveiled as part of the 60th Anniversary of 'Baby', the forerunner of all modern computers.

The tunes were played on a Ferranti Mark 1 computer, a commercial version of the Baby Machine." You can find the full article with audio and video on the BBC. via Larry Legend. First ever recording of digital music.

pr0n synth

via mike

click the images for the full size shots

spot the synths

Red MacBeth M5N

genoQs Octopus MIDI Sequencer

images via this auction
"The Octopus world consists of entities or objects, attributes that are associated with them, and functions that modify those objects or their attributes. The idea is to allow modifications of the objects in the most flexible manner and real time, which is done using an intuitive control model and the comprehensive Octopus user interface. The master Octopus object is the GRID, which contains PAGES, each of them containing TRACKS, which are made up of STEPS. Each object is associated with attributes and functions that can be operated upon.
Sequence grid: 160 pages Tracks per page: up to 10 Track resolution: 1/16, 1/32, 1/64 of a note User Interface
Elements: 258 pushbuttons, 21 endless encoders Front panel: 630 x 270 mm
Concurrent play: up to 16 pages Editing capabilities: full during play, seamless saving Track play: polyphonic, roll, shuffle
700 x 450 x 140 mm, 8 Kg" via mike

Stupid Modular Tricks - Duophonic Synth Patch and Overdrive


YouTube via mooguphonic
"Using a duophonic patch on a Synthesizers.com modular synth. Also demonstrates a variation on the old minimoog overdrive trick."

Korg Polyphonic Ensemble P

images via this auction
"This amazing vintage synth was the first polyphonic model introduced by Korg. This Univox "K-4" version adds sensuous hardwood veneers for a more upscale appearance.

This particular unit was used very carefully by a local church group.

Major Features (from the Owner's Manual):

--Refined 7 Preset Tones. String, Pipe Organ, Brass, Electric Piano, Piano, Harpsichord, Clavichord

--Controls with a wide range of freedom. Tones can be synthesized freely by means of control knobs. Almost an infinite range of tones can be synthesized. Example: Koto (Japanese harp), sitar, harp, horn, human chorus, etc.

--Chords can be produced. As the name indicates, the Polyphonic Ensemble--an embodiment of synthesizer technology--can produce perfect chords.

--Korg's exclusive Traveler mechanism.

--Octave Coupler for richer sound.

More details about this vintage gem (including service manuals and owner's manuals) can be found at http://www.korganalogue.net"

MFB Analog Drum Synth Modules


via this auction

Note this one is from NoiseBug.

"the drum-01 revives the kick- and snare sounds of the legendary seventies drum-machines mfb-301/302 as well as the model mfb-501. their unique sound is based on digital c-mos gates that produce less distortion than conventional opamp’s and therefore sound softer. bass- and snare can be triggered thru individual inputs. however, triggering does not need to take place with conventional analogue or digital signals only. you may as well use drum-pads or piezo- and dynamic microphones. separate sensitivity controls adjust the input gain. dynamic triggering will not only affect the volume but also attack and decay parameters.

drum-01 offers the following functions:
kick: attack produces a short impulse sound that is mixed with the kick drum signal to enhance its percussive character. decay defines the length of the kick – a parameter that was only adjustable inside the mfb-501.
snare: tune controls the tonal part of the snare sound while noise controls the atonal part. decay defines the length of the noise part after triggering.
noise out: this separate jack outputs the unfiltered signal of the digital noise generator. use it in combination with other modules to create hi-hats, claps or cymbals.

the module has a width of 40 mm (8 te).

delivering five different analogue generated percussion sounds, drum-02 is the best possible addition to mfb’s drum-01 bass- and snare-drum module. the sounds are tom, low bongo, hi bongo, low clave and hi clave. the sounds are vastly taken from the mfb-501 and offer individual decay controls.

accordingly to drum-01 module, drum-02 uses c-mos gates for a unique sound that is softer and less distorted than typical opamp’s circuit layouts. the c-mos gate are combined to work as a bandpass-filter with adjustable resonance. triggering of all five inputs can take place by digital and analogue signals. individual controls for input sensitivity also allow usage of drum-pads, piezo- and dynamic microphones. dynamic triggering will not only affect the volume but also its attack and decay level.

the matching step-sequencer for drum-01 and drum-02 will be forthcoming seq-1 module that will allow 12 trigger-tracks with individual outputs and accent function.

remark: the sounds h1 and h2 of mfb-501 have been renamed to low clave and hi clave in drum-02. tom and the two bongo instruments can also be used as three toms tuned differently. the module has a width of 60 mm (12 te).

the drum-03 module revives the cymbal, closed- and open hihat sounds that were originally found in mfb’s drum-machines mfb-301/302 and later on in model mfb-501. drum-03 complements drum-01 and drum-02 modules to a complete mfb old-school beatbox drum-set.

just like the other mfb drum modules, drum-03 has that specific mfb-sound that derives from analogue sounding digital c-mos gates. these units work with less distortion compared to typical op-amps and therefore sound softer. hihat and cymbal accept different trigger signals at their inputs. these don’t necessarily need to be analogue or digital trigger signals of a step-sequencer but can also derive from drum pads, piezo- or dynamic microphones. the two sens-controls will individually adjust the input sensitivity. dynamic triggering will not only affect the volume of the sound but slightly also attack and decay parameters.

drum-03 offers the following functions:
hihat: the sound source for the hihat is a digital noise generator that is sent into a bandpass filter. two parameters quality and filter offers different sound variations. decay controls the duration of the open hihat sound and also affects the closed hihat’s decay slightly. cymbal: the cymbal sound uses the same combination of digital noise generator and bandpass filer as the hihat section. here, only the bandpass frequency can be altered. decay sets the decay time of the cymbal with a range that is almost equal to the open hihat section. accordingly, the cymbal can also be used as a second hihat sound. with a shorter decay time it may complement the groove as a half open hihat.

the module has a width of 40 mm (8 te).

this item is a 'lightly used demo model.'"

SynthStar

"I'm writing to let you know that I've launched a new synthesizer database site – yes, another one:

http://www.synthstar.com

Of course I know that there are already several synthesizer database sites out there – but they all lacked one thing, which was a decent search feature. None of them let you search by individual synth specifications, so I've stepped in and created a site with an exhaustive advanced search function. If you check out the advanced search page, you'll see what I mean:

http://www.synthstar.com/advancedSearch.php


Here, you can pretty much go crazy with the search parameters. If you wanted to find a list of all synths made between 1979 and 1995 with a chorus effect, you can do so. Looking for a synth that has an aftertouch-capable keyboard as well as a minimum of three oscillators? Can do.

Apart from that, each synth page has its own comments area, and I've compiled resource links for just about every synth in there. I also tried to keep the design low-key so that pages would load quickly and also to make it easier for visitors to find what they're looking for faster. Almost all of the information entered in the database was culled from product manuals when possible, and from other sites when absolutely necessary. For the record, Sequencer.de has by far the most complete and accurate set of synth information on the web.

All of the data entry for this site was done by myself, for all 641 synthesizers in the database (I did turn up a few which I didn't see on any other synth DB site). Because of this, I'm sure that some errors were introduced, or some synths missed, so I'd ask that visitors use the correction form if they notice something wrong. A reference would be appreciated if something is found, to save me a bit of leg work since I'll need to research it anyway.

One note I should make: right now there are no modular synthesizers in the database. Initially I did start adding these in, but quickly realized that they wouldn't work with the site because their specifications vary so widely and it's difficult to put these in a searchable database alongside "normal" synths and still return accurate results. So for now I'm holding off on that, and may instead launch a sub-site at some point in the future that would list each individual synth module rather than treating all of the modules as one big theoretical machine.

One thing I would definitely appreciate is image submissions – you'll notice that there aren't a lot of synth images on the site right now. It just wasn't feasible for one person to get permission to use images for 641 synths, so instead I'm going to rely on the kindness of visitors to get these up there. I really, really appreciate anyone who is able to take the time to help me out with this part of the site.

This took me a long time to put together, and I'm happy that I've reached the end of this project – I hope people find the site useful! I plan on adding more to the site and continually improving it as time goes on, so anyone is welcome to email me with their comments and suggestions to admin@synthstar.com. :)"

Secret X0XB0X

flickr by ANDY_MOOG_BOY

full size

DOPEST INSTRUMENT EVER @ SCION ART SHOW 6.7.08


Online Videos by Veoh.com
The Suzuki Q Chord. via Alex.

EDP WASP

images via this auction

via synthorama

another modified HT-700 video; a better groove?


YouTube via rolandsh1000. follow-up to this post.
"a slightly earlier version of this mod, before the octave drop"

Buchla 281 Front Panel

flickr by mpeake

full size

Wiard 300 Samples by Mark Griffith

You can find details and a link to the samples on Mark Griffiths Music.

Portishead's Adrian Utely Interview


Sonicstate.TV by sonicnick
"Part 1 of an afternoon spent at Adrians place rummaging through his gear and talking about the process of making Third"

Modified Casio HT-700


YouTube via rolandsh1000
"I modified my Casio HT-700 minikeyboard. This is the programmable version of the MT-600.

It has two onboard analog filters, one for the main voice and another for the chord voice. I never liked the chord stuff, but the programmable bass voice was quite usable, so I routed that through the chord filter and got rid of the chord channel.

I added CF & res controls for the filters, as well as triangle LFOs, a simple EG for the bass voice, and octave-dropped the bass voice. You can also route the drums through the bass filter, and I added a modification that defeats the annoying AutoPowerOff "feature" of these keyboards.

Since the drums and bass are programmable in two-bar loops, this thing is now a nice little groovebox, over which you can play melodies."

Sequential Circuits Prophet-5: Ross Kelly Fixes His MIDI Fix


YouTube via gearwire. follow-up to this post.
"Ross Kelly and I both look for a quick fix before applying a permanent fix. For example, the light bulb in my room went out, and I can't reach the fixture, so I've just been setting things on fire. Once my pile of ashes is high enough, I can just climb to the top of it and easily switch out the bulb.

Ross, on the other hand, is actually going to show you how he's going to switch out his temporary MIDI fix on his Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 for a permanent solution. See more on Gearwire.com."

The Pragmatic

The Pragmatic

spot the synths

"We are all huge fans of your blog and we read it everyday. You can probably tell by listening to our music that we're obsessed with anything synth, and your blog helps that addiction.

We just took some promo pics with a lot of our gear, and I thought maybe your readers might be interested in checking them out and maybe guessing what it is."




This Is Not Analogue!


Sonicstate.TV by bluemanontelly
"shock, horror - a non-analogue music video. Well, I don't have any analogue gear. Virtual analogue anyone?

This is a demo of how all 3 generations of the Korg Electribes play together. Plus a little bit of Novation X Station & Ableton Live for good measure. It was improvised and performed live.

The Electribe ER1 Mk1 is Korg's discontinued rhythm groovebox with analogue style sounds and a nice delay effect. The discontinued Electribe EA1 Mk2 was part of the second genera..."

GONG - You - Side A - A Sprinkling of Clouds - 1974


YouTube via JohnyAllSmiles. Sent my way via JUergen.
"AS I remember they had several VCS3 and other machines" I think I hear a little MOOG in there as well, but who knows...

Inside a Roland TR-909

flickr by firegroove
(click for the full set)

【Review】vol.5 Arturia Origin


YouTube via musictrackjp
【DEMO】Arturia Origin

LIMS08: Check Out the Juno Stage


see the write-up on Sonic State.

Oberheim

flickr by Doilum

full size

Dj Skyline Br - HiperActive


YouTube via kamitnick. "trying one DnB"
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