Matrixsynth by....

Matrixsynth by Des



Matrixsynth by Failed Muso



Matrixsynth by Mike


Matrixsynth by [F] for Feraillus


Matrixsynth by Anonymous #2


Matrixsynth by Andrew Foster


Matrixsynth by Anonymous #3


Matrixsynth by phloemlabs on Synthwire.

Matrixsynth by...

Matrixsynth by underface (original image)


Matrixsynth by Shepitology


Matrixsynth by Frederic - Being and X-Men fan, I was surprised and happy to see this one. : )


Matrixsynth by Javier

Yamaha DX100


Waldorf Microwave XT


Waldorf Microwave PC Editor


Clavia Nord Modular


Kurzweil K2000S


Ensoniq ESQ-m

BTW, I want give a HUGE THANKS to everyone who took the time to create and submit these. There have been a total of 47 shots so far. I know how busy things can get, so the fact that you took the time out to one, create the patch/name, two, take a shot of it, and three, send it in is really flattering. I thank everyone privately in email, but I just wanted to say THANKS again in public. I said it in my one year anniversary post and I'll say it again, the contributions by the readers of this site really do add to it. Running the site by myself can be overwhelming with a day job and a family to take care of, so stuff like this really makes it worth it.

As for any of you that think these Matrixsynth by... posts are a bit too much, I will start putting up one post a day with all Matrixsynth by... shots. I'm also guessing over time the number that come in will naturally go down, but I do welcome people to feel free to send these in whenever they feel like it. It would be cool to see one come in a month after they stop. Thanks again. matrix

Happy New Year From MATRIXSYNTH! - A Look Back at 2014

Happy New Year everyone!

I want to start by thanking everyone that comes to MATRIXSYNTH and helps make it what it is - the readers, the supporters, and of course all the sponsors on the right.

THANK YOU and have a GREAT 2015!!!

This site is a labor of love and a ton of work. This site is ultimately meant to be an testament to everything synth in the making. We have over nine years of daily synth history captured here, 119,983 published posts. I can't wait to see what the future brings us in 2015!

That said, here are a few interesting bits from 2014 in the longest post of the year. ;)

CLICK FOR MORE »

I Dream of Wires Extended Interviews 4 - 8

Carl Craig - Modular Pursuits: IDOW Extended Interview #4 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

In April 2012, the I Dream of Wires team met with legendary Detroit techno producer Carl Craig, to discuss his electronic music influences and production experiences, including his recent interest in eurorack modular synthesis. Craig's experiments in modular synthesis are best heard on 2010's "Modular Pursuits" 12-inch, released under his No Boundaries alias. For more info on Carl Craig: carlcraig.net Music, used with permission from Planet E: "Desire" by 69 "Pursuit 1", "Pursuit 2", "Pursuit 3" by No Boundaries.

http://www.carlcraig.net
http://soundcloud.com/carlcraiginc
http://planet-e.net

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 4th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://idreamofwires.org
http://www.facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Made in Canada - Modcan & Intellijel: IDOW Extended Interview #5 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Canada holds a significant place in the history of electronic instrument development: from the ground-breaking inventions of Hugh Le Caine in the 1940s to the innovations at the University of Toronto's Electronic Music Lab in the 1960s. Recently, Canada has again come to play a significant role with the modern day resurgence of modular synthesizers; it is home to two highly respected manufacturers: Modcan, founded by Toronto's Bruce Duncan, was the first company to reintroduce modular synthesizers to the post-MIDI marketplace, and Intellijel, founded by Vancouver's Danjel Van Tijn, is one of the fastest growing and most respected lines of Eurorack synthesizer modules. For more info on Modcan, visit: modcan.com For more info on Intellijel, visit: intellijel.com Music/sound: Jason Amm (Solvent), Bruce Duncan (Modcan), Danjel Van Tijn (Intellijel), John Elliot (Emeralds) I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 5th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://www.modcan.com
http://intellijel.com
http://idreamofwires.org
http://facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Orphx & Modulars - The Physical Element: IDOW Extended Interview #6 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Canadian duo Orphx have been releasing electronic music since 1993, and while they were best known in experimental/industrial music circles for many years, today they are regarded as pioneers in the fusion of techno and industrial music. Orphx's recent output on Sonic Groove has met with critical acclaim from many of techno's leading DJs. Having performed live with laptops for several years, Orphx's Christina Sealey made the decision to delve in modular synthesizers, hoping it would bring some spontaneity and excitement to Orphx's music, both on stage and in the studio.

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 6th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://www.orphx.com
http://orphx.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/orphx
http://www.soundcloud.com/orphx

http://idreamofwires.org
http://facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Solvent - Modular Encounters: IDOW Extended Interview #7 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Canadian electronic artist Solvent was commissioned to create an all-modular synthesizer based soundtrack for the forthcoming documentary I Dream of Wires; The challenge allowed him the opportunity to work with a vast array of modular synthesizers, both new and vintage. Solvent, born Jason Amm in Zimbabwe, and currently residing in Toronto, Canada, has been releasing his unique brand of analogue synthesizer music since 1997, encompassing crunchy IDM, melodic electro, and vocoder synthpop. Best known for his releases on Morr Music and Ghostly International, Solvent is also co-founder of the obscure, yet influential electro(nica) label, Suction Records. All of the music heard in this video segment was created by Solvent during several on-camera album recording sessions. No drum machines, samples, or hardwired synthesizers were used; each and every sound was created from scratch on the following selection of modular synthesizer systems: Eurorack, Modcan, Synthesizers.com, and Moog 15. In addition to creating the film's soundtrack, Amm has recently been serving as writer and producer for "I Dream Of Wires".

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 6th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://solventcity.com
http://facebook.com/solvent
http://soundcloud.com/solvent
http://suctionrecords.bandcamp.com

http://idreamofwires.org
http://www.facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary


Richard Devine's Analog Voodoo Effect: IDOW Extended Interview #8 from I Dream Of Wires on Vimeo.

Richard Devine is an Atlanta-based electronic musician and sound designer. He is recognized for producing a layered and heavily processed sound, combining influences from hip-hop, to old and modern electronic music. Richard Devine has released records through such esteemed labels as Schematic and Warp Records, and is the creative force behind his own sound design company, Devine Sound. Though he has contributed sound design to a number of hardware and software manufacturers, he recently released his first official sample library through Sony Creative Software. Devine has also scored commercials for the likes of Nike and Touchstone Pictures. Since the late-90s, Richard Devine's sound has been synonymous with taking cutting-edge computer-based DSP (digital signal processing) to its limits. In recent years, however, Devine has also become a convert to the unlimited sonic capabilities and hands-on "analog voodoo effect" of the Eurorack modular format. I Dream of Wires spoke to Devine at NAMM 2012, which he attends annually. Judging by the studio footage on his Vimeo channel, and his wild enthusiasm on the subject, Devine is a bonafide Eurorack obsessive! All music and sound in this video is by Richard Devine. Additional studio footage supplied by Richard Devine.

I DREAM OF WIRES is a forthcoming documentary film about the history and resurgence of modular synthesizers. The film is currently in production. This is the 6th in a series of extended interviews, which will be produced and released in various formats throughout the production, and following the release, of the film. I DREAM OF WIRES extended interview segments are sponsored by MATRIXSYNTH (m.matrixsynth.com).

http://richard-devine.com
http://devinesound.net
http://soundcloud.com/richarddevine
http://vimeo.com/channels/richarddevine

http://idreamofwires.org
http://facebook.com/idreamofwiresdocumentary

See the IDOW label below for more.

I Dream of Wires to Add Additional Extended Interview

via I Dream of Wires on Facebook:

"It looks like we'll be producing and releasing one more free I Dream Of Wires: Extended Interview piece in 2014. If you could choose just one person, out of all of the people we interviewed in IDOW, who would you like to see featured in a full Extended Interview? [leave your pick on Facebook here]

If you're not familiar with our Extended Interview series, we've released 9 of them so far. See the list below, and check out our Vimeo channel to watch.

I Dream of Wires - Extended Interview Series:"

9. Chris Carter:

CLICK FOR MORE »

MATRIXSYNTH TURNS 10!!!

We are slowly maturing... :) Today marks the 10 year anniversary of MATRIXSYNTH! It's hard to believe 10 years have gone by since I started this format of MATRIXSYNTH. If you are curious what the original version of MATRIXSYNTH looked like, take a look here. That was a portal to all the sites I used to visit. I started the site back in October of 1997. Some people might falsely think the matrix alias and site name came from The Matrix movies, but the first movie did not come out until 1999, two years after matrixsynth.com went live. Did I have the foresight to predict the name, or were the Wachowski's a fan of the site and computer terminal green? :) The truth is the matrix alias and name of the site actually came from my first synth, the Oberheim Matrix-6. I could have gone with a blue on black theme, but my favorite color is green and I liked the retro terminal look, so green on black it is.

Every now and then I get some confusion as to what exactly is the point of this site. Is it a professional news media outlet or just some guy's blog? The truth is it's a bit of both. It started as "some guy's blog" sharing everything he came across in the world of synths and eventually it caught on and grew. It's now a mix of official press releases, demos, videos and everything else I find out there as well as what people send in, with some rules. I promised myself I did not want to fall into the trap of becoming a media outlet only. There is one reason this site exists - to share the world of synthesizers from a synthesizer's perspective. Think about what that means. Nothing else matters. A few days ago I updated the intro to the Post Guidelines. I think it sums up the spirit of the site:

"MATRIXSYNTH is a daily glimpse into the world of synthesizers with the focus on specific, individually identifiable synths. Every single post on the site is created manually, by hand. The current format of the site launched in 2005 at the birth of sharing platforms like Blogger, YouTube, Vimeo and Flickr. SoundCloud wouldn't launch until 2007. Facebook wouldn't open to the public until 2006. Prior to these platforms the only way everyday users of synths could share what they were doing was by having their own dedicated website. Sure there were forums where people could talk about synths, but to upload videos, audio demos, and hi-res pics, you needed your own website. Print publications were dedicated to professionals in the industry, rarely featuring non-professionals, and media was limited to static images. MATRIXSYNTH is meant to compliment print by showcasing what us, the fans of synthesizers, do with our gear on a daily basis. The site is a mix of what I (matrix) find out there and what readers send in. The content is balanced between press releases, official demos, and what everyday users of the site are doing with their synths, along with a glimpse of the used synth marketplace. The site evolved over time to meet both the needs of readers, and to maintain the overall spirit of the site. Imagine if we were able to capture what users of synths were doing back in its infancy. Much of that time may be lost, but we can capture synth history moving forward!"

So how many posts have gone up to date? A whopping 127,448 including this post. Every, single, post, is edited and posted by hand. The sad thing, is because of format changes over time, along with Flash going by the wayside, I have had to start the long process of updating the majority of posts in the archives. It will be slow, but MATRIXSYNTH is a labor of love and I think it will be worth it. The site has received over 46,832,215 pageviews to date. Some question why I chose Blogger as a platform. The reason is because I want the site to live on long after I'm gone. Blogger is free and is owned and hosted by Google, so that's about as safe as it will get. Someone will need to switch the the URL back to matrixsynth.blogspot.com so the site doesn't disappear when/if the matrixsynth.com domain name expires, but hopefully I'll be able to take care of that ahead of time, when I am much, much older. :)

I don't want to take too much time in this post, so I'll cut it short. I just want to say running MATRIXSYNTH has been quite the experience. As with everything there are good days and bad. I feel a sense of ownership and identity when it comes to the site, almost in a parental sense. The site has become my best friend and has been a constant companion over the last ten years. BTW, in the last ten years I have only missed a single day of posting back on August 6, 2005, the first year of running the site, when it definitely was just "some guy's blog". I had no idea there would be something to post every single day of the year moving forward. Think about that a bit. There is something to share every single day. What an wonderful world of synths we live in.

I want to end this by saying thank you for an incredible ten years. I want to thank everyone that has supported the site in their own little way. I am humbled that others love the site as much as I do. THANK YOU!!!

On to another 10 years!

Update: Thank you to everyone who has wished me a happy anniversary in the comments below, on Twitter , and Facebook (and here), email and websites - thank you Palm Sounds!  Below is a screen grab of the initial post from @chris_carter_ (wikipedia) and a cool little image from Audio Hoarder made on his phone.  Thank you!

MATRIXSYNTH Swag & Hall of Fame!!!

MATRISYNTH Ts are $20 in the US and $25 outside the US. This includes the shipping cost, three MATRIXSYNTH cards and one magnet.  A set of three cards and one magnet, minus the T, is $5.

The T-Shirts are from Gorilla Screen Printing - highly recommended. If you get Ts done by them, let them know you found out about them here.

Paypal any amount to matrixsynth *at* gmail.com. Be sure to include the shipping address, size and whether you'd like long or short sleeves.

Below are some MATRIXSYNTH Ts and cards spotted in the wild. If you have them, send them in!

CLICK FOR MORE »

MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2012 MEGAPOST

Just thought I'd consolidate everything into one post. First is the flickr set of pics I took (288 in total) in the order taken, followed by the videos in the order taken. Links to the individual posts at the bottom.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Matrixsynth by...

Matrixsynth by Anonymous #4


Matrixsynth by Seven D.



Matrixsynth by Frederic

MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014 Pics

Mouse over the image above for the slideshow controls.

Update: added a few notes below.  I hate picking highlights because I honestly do love it all.  That and I don't like missing anyone or anything.  The focus is on what's new.  More will come with the videos.

This is the full set of 282 NAMM pics including the following sub-sets just posted:
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: WMD et al. Modular Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Moon Modular Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Miselu, Quicco Sound & Audiobus Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Studio Electronics & Pittsburgh Modular Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Schmidt Analog Synthesizer Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Radikal Technologies Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Big City Music Booth & Aerosmith Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Buchla Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Elektron Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Dave Smith Instruments Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Monome ALEPH Looper Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Moog Music Booth Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Dubreq Stylophone Pics
MATRIXSYNTH NAMM 2014: Bob Moog Foundation Booth Pics

And that's it for my NAMM pics. Videos will follow over the coming days. As you can see I missed a few of the major synth booths including Clavia/Nord Keyboards, Waldorf, Access, Teenage Engineering, Korg, Roland, Novation, Studiologic and Yamaha. This is no slight to them. I would have loved to check them out, specifically the new A1 from Clavia and the new Waldorf 2-Pole filter.  I did see the new full size KORG MS20 kit but the booth was packed and I didn't get any pics. I knew anything AIRA was not going to be shown so I skipped Roland. I typically go to NAMM on Saturday as I'm literally glued to the site posting away all the NAMM news along with everything else that comes in up to then. By Saturday I have a pretty good idea of what has and hasn't gotten plenty of coverage on the site.  Based on that, new product announcements, and prior commitments with those that reached out to me, I go through my list of booths in order.

As for standouts, although I didn't get to try the new A1 from Clavia, I was impressed by the new oscillator and effects section in the demos to date. I like what I hear. I do think they made a mistake with the messaging on it being an entry level synth. Not sure why they chose to go that route as it degrades the synth's capabilities in my opinion and the price does not reflect an entry level synth.

The new Elektron Rytm sounded fantastic. I should have a video of Highsage jamming on it coming up. Hopefully the audio is good.

The Sub 37 is a thing of beauty.

I'm a fan of the Prophet 12 and the new Prophet 12 module. I'm a fan of mixing digital with analog and I think it is capable of timbres you simply can't get out of pure analog.

The Tiptop Audio system at the Big City Music Booth was absolutely insane! Tomio is a Jedi master on that thing. I should have video of it coming up.

The new Make Noise modules were a mind trip. Video coming.

Noise Engineering is new to the scene and their modules sound fantastic. I particularly like the drum module. They also have a vocal formant module. I mentioned the Yamaha FS1R's formant synthesis and they said it was actually based on it to an extent. Video coming.

The STG EMS Oscillator sounded insane. Video coming.

The new Studio Electronics Boomstars sounded pretty incredible. Video coming.

It takes quite a bit to surprise me.  Two things did.  Full on patch memory on a modular synth with the Buchla Music Easel and what's coming for Audiobus. The Miselu iPad keyboard and Quicco Sound controller were pretty cool devices as well. The Future Retro Triadex Muse based sequencer caught my interest. I didn't show it, but it definitely was a geek out moment for me and caught me by surprise. Who would have thought technology based on the obscure Muse would re-appear today.

That's it for now. The videos and pics should speak for themselves. I love it all.

A Quick Note on MATRIXSYNTH-C

MATRIXSYNTH-C started as a place to showcase music made by you the readers of the site. The rule for the site is that only music sent in goes up. This rewards you in that your posts stay up longer vs. competing with the flux of posts going up here on MATRIXSYNTH. It also keeps posts here under control. If you are unclear as to what goes up there vs. here, see this post. In short, MATRIXSYNTH is about the gear and MATRIXSYNTH-C is about the music.

That said, a concern of course is that people that have no interest in the sites (promoters and marketers) might drown your posts on C. So... Moving forward there is a new rule for MATRIXSYNTH-C. If you want a post to go up and promote your music, you will need to promote MATRIXSYNTH by linking back to the site. If you send something in for a post, please make sure there is a link back to MATRIXSYNTH before sending. If not it will likely be ignored. People that take the time to promote MATRIXSYNTH will be rewarded by having their posts stay up on MATRIXSYNTH-C longer. Note all MATRIXSYNTH-C posts also go up on MATRIXSYNTH Twitter and MATRIXSYNTH Facebook.

Update: I will make the exception for people that contribute to the main site. Unless I "know" you please call out what you have contributed - so much comes in it's impossible to remember everything. See the comments below for suggestions on how to link back if you are on Soundcloud, YouTube and/or Vimeo.

Happy New Year From MATRIXSYNTH!

Happy New Year everyone!

First I want to thank everyone who takes the time out of their busy schedules to come visit the site. I want to give an extra thanks to everyone who supports this site, including the sponsors you see above and on the right. Without them this site would not be possible.

As many of you know, running MATRIXSYNTH is a labor of love. The site has been running for over 13 years and hopefully will continue on for many years to come. Every single post goes up by hand, seven days a week, including holidays and "vacations." Some of you may not know this, but MATRIXSYNTH is a one man shop by me, matrix. I have not missed a single day of posting since back on August 6 of 2005 when I first launched this format of the site. I say "this format of the site" because I actually registered matrixsynth.com back in October of 1997. You can still see the old site here. On the left were links to sites I visited back in the day. It's actually a pretty neat snapshot of what was around on the web back then before the days of YouTube and social media. I launched this version of the site back on July 20 of 2005. As of this post there have been 175,117 posts on the site. We had 13,302 posts in 2018. Every single one went up by hand. I am extremely humbled and grateful of those who choose to support the site. Thank you so much!!!

Now, for some numbers. I haven't shared them in a while as they started to feel a little redundant year after year, but I figured why not? The image above is a map of visitors to the site in 2018. We had 540,712 users visit for a total of 3,418,064 pageviews. We finally have a visitor from North Korea this year! The numbers are from Google Analytics and should filter out bots. BTW if you look at this all time map, the only country to not have visited MATRIXSYNTH to date is the Central African Republic. It's pretty amazing to think someone from every single other country in the world has visited the site.

The following are the top 10 countries to visit by traffic:

1 United States 4,564(35.30%)
2 United Kingdom 1,070(8.28%)
3 Germany 866(6.70%)
4 France 653(5.05%)
5 Canada 544(4.21%)
6 Italy 512(3.96%)
7 Japan 464(3.59%)
8 Netherlands 357(2.76%)
9 Poland 331(2.56%)
10 Norway 314

(Update: I originally had the list by language which duplicated DE and FR. The list has been updated for country only).

A couple of years ago I started tracking new gear for the year with "new gear" labels. For 2018 we had the following:

695 new items never featured before on the site. This includes 49 posts on older gear never featured before.
111 new makers
92 new synths
63 new soft synths
67 new sound/noise machines
36 new synth effects
266 new modules
42 new mobile apps
11 new drum machines
111 new DIY projects
26 new controllers
40 new tools
7 new cases

And finally we had 52 posts to get the exclusive label for the year. These are the rarest of the rare featured on the site.

Note there is some overlap and the primary focus of MATRIXSYNTH is hardware synthesis. Rather than go into a top 10 list (which I never was into because all gear has its use imo), click through any of the links above to see what came in by category.

On the mega synth front, we saw the release of the Sequential Prophet X and XL (DSI changed names to Sequential as well), the Moog One and Grandmother, Yamaha MODX, Korg Prologue, and the Waldorf Quantum finally made it to release. You can also recap what was featured at NAMM 2018, SUPERBOOTH18, Knobcon, and SoundMit and other events.

This year we lost the following in the synth world. Note this does not include discontinued gear, although with Erthenvar being featured as a company, I may include gear in the the future.

Erthenvar Closes Shop
RIP John Leimseider
RIP Shirleigh Moog
The Candlelight Vigil: A Synth Cover in Memory of Jóhann Jóhannsson (From Prisoners)
David Van Koevering Has Passed Away

-----

And that's it for 2018. Happy New Year and onto 2019! Thank you to everyone that enjoys, contributes, and supports the site! I started MATRIXSYNTH to track everything synth. It's rewarding to know people out there still enjoy the site. MATRIXSYNTH is my gift to you.

Modular Jam 50

Published on Mar 20, 2016 ngarjuna

Another great track via MATRIXSYNTH Member, ngarjuna.

"Patch Notes

Bass Patch
Sequencer 1 driving
Rubicon Sine - Timbre modulated by PEG - .Mix
Rubicon Sub - .Mix
STO Sine dynamic FM'd by Maths and uVCA
.Mix into Optomix enveloped by Maths
STO Vari out into Optomix enveloped by Maths

Sync Fold Lead Patch
Sequencer 1 driving STO outputting vari out to Rubicon hard sync
Rubicon V/oct from PEG
Symmetry modulated by Rene unquant out
Rubicon sine - Timbre modulated by Wogglebug Stepped out
into Optomix enveloped by Maths, Damp modulated by PEG

Pluck Patch
Sputnik 2 getting pitch from Rene
Dynamically FM'd by Sputnik 1 via Optomix-Maths
Sputnik 2 Sine - Timbre modulated by PEG
into Optomix enveloped by Maths,
Damp modulated by Sequencer 1

EC Bass Patch
Rubicon Sub and Square PWM'd by PEG
STO Shape modulated by PEG and FM'd by its own Sub out
into Post Lawsuit Filter enveloped by Minimod EG with some pitch tracking
into AJH Minimod VCA enveloped by Minimod EG

Microbrute sequence
LFO - Filter
Env - Metal
Stereo delay added post production

Drums in Spark
Acid line tortured by Angel Lofte Audio Source Plus

Photo backgrounds courtesy of Hubble Space Telescope
and of course my trusty Tektronix 422 scope providing the trippy light show."

MATRIXSYNTH Turns 8!

Today marks the eight year anniversary of MATRIXSYNTH!

I usually go a bit in depth on what it takes to run the site, but this year I thought I'd keep things relatively short and just focus on what the site means to me and why it exists in the grand scheme of things. I'd also like to ask you what MATRIXSYNTH means to you. Please share in the comments below.

For me the site is a daily log of everything synth from the perspective of us, the users of synths, with the focus on the individual synths. With a few exceptions, each post showcases and features individual synths that you can clearly identify and get a feel for. It's a day in the life of synths. It's what was put out there each and every day and in time we'll be able to look back and see what was shared by the community every single day since July 20, 2005 (minus Aug 6, 2005). You might notice I don't interject much in posts. There is a reason for that. I believe things should be presented as they were meant to be presented by the creator of the content. It's my job to share what is out there unbiased. It's up to you to take whatever you want from it. MATRIXSYNTH in essence is a weblog in its truest sense.

The original non-weblog MATRIXSYNTH launched in October of 1997 and was a simple site with links to various synth portals on the web. If you take a look, you can see what sites were out there before the current format of MATRIXSYNTH launched. Before MATRIXSYNTH, print magazines and online synth portals primarily focused on full articles - press releases, professional reviews, interviews and tutorials. What was missing was what us the users of synths were doing with our gear on a daily basis. Most publications would likely turn you away if you had something to share unless you were a known artist, manufacturer or other influential. The DIY and circuit bending scene? Not covered. Botique manufacturers? Not covered. MATRIXSYNTH was the first to bring it all to you. Back then if you wanted to share anything you had to host your own website. YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, SoundCloud, Twitter, and so on were not out yet. I created MATRIXSYNTH in its current format in 2005 to capture and share what I came across. The site gained in popularity and soon people were sending in things they found or created on their own to share with others. The site has remained true to this since day one.

MATRIXSYNTH is a site that celebrates and showcases what we, the people passionate about synthesizers, are doing with our synths on a daily basis. It is a site that celebrates the synthesizers we love, all synths, old and new, simple and complex. All synths have character, all synths are special, all synths can be explored and discovered. It's about the exploration of sound, and not just traditional tonal music. Like an artist discovering palates of color, we discover palates of sound. Synthesizers are our gateway to the exploration of unheard timbres. MATRIXSYNTH celebrates that.

THANK YOU for helping make this a great site!!!

For those interested in numbers, this post marks number 96,509 published to date.  Every single post on the site has gone up by hand, and since the site's launch on July 20, 2005, there has been only one day missed, August 6, 2005.   Back then I had no idea there would be something to post every single day of the year.  Little did I know.   The site currently averages about fifty posts a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year (Christmas is the one day I take it easy).   What goes up is a combination of what you the readers send in and what I come across out there.   According to Google Analytics the site has had 37,074,619 pageviews from 16,976,707 visits since the site launched, while Site Meter shows 39,630,44 pageviews from 18,469,084 visits.

Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles Demo Mix

Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles, set to be released on Oct 19, features the following supporters of MATRIXSYNTH: Todd Barton, Parallel Worlds, and Dave Bessel.

Details:

"Various Artists Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles DiN:TS02

Release date 19th October 2018

Limited to 500 copies. Digipak CD format.

Tone Science sub-label, from DiN records, continues to explore the world of modular synth music.

This second compilation “Module No.2 Elements and Particles”, like its predecessor, features nine artists from different musical backgrounds with the common thread being that all the tracks were composed entirely with a modular synth system.

The album opens and closes with the ambient soundscapes of two tracks by Todd Barton and
 r beny. Barton is a world renowned exponent of Buchla modular systems as well as the Music Easel employed on this track. Austin Cairns (aka r beny) has a penchant for lo-fi looped synth atmospheres which combined, in this case, with a field recording creates a haunting, evocative piece. The next three pieces by Bluetech, Parallel Worlds and Paul Nagle build up rhythmic and sequenced elements with a fascinating amount of detail that modular systems are so good at. They also all use various methods to produce a poly-rhythmic, fractal feel as patterns shift and change throughout their tracks. The middle of the album then sees a fascinating experimental ambient interlude by Dave Bessell (a member of the synth group Node) using waveguide physical modelling in the analogue domain. The second half of the album has a rawer, more gritty feel with Richard Quirk building up a crescendo of wonderful textures in his track “Radar Hill”. This is followed by Hainbach using the exotic Ciat-Lonbarde series of hand built instruments to produce, in his words, a piece of “pure electronic music”. Nathan Moody then brings proceedings to a climax with a gnarly, muscular track using a Buchla modular system before the blissful ending piece “Marine Layer” closes out the 60 minute sonic journey the listener has just travelled.

Boddy has curated both the artists and tracks on this album to flow in a musical way and not just be a collection of equipment heavy demos. Though fascinating and always cool to look at, it is important not to get lost in the gear for gear’s sake syndrome. Having said that this album features Eurorack, Serge, Buchla & Ciat-Lonbarde modular systems and the nine tracks show how varied and flexible these instruments can be.

'Tone Science Module No.2 Elements and Particles' continues the journey down the rabbit hole of possibilities and sound worlds inhabited by artists and musicians working in this ever fascinating and varied musical field.

01 Floating World by Todd Barton 8:41
02 Magnetic Lullaby by Bluetech 6:36
03 Additive Procedure by Parallel Worlds 5:56
04 Euneirophrenia by Paul Nagle 7:52
05 Overtone by Dave Bessell 6:37
06 Radar Hill by Richard Quirk 7:22
07 Your Strange Glitter by Hainbach 5:02
08 Prophet & Loss by Nathan Moody 5:02
09 Marine Layer by r beny 7:02

Total Time: 60:24

Released by: DiN

Release date:
19 October 2018"

Matrixsynth by...

Matrixsynth by Davide. Novation KS-5


Matrixsynth by Rob. MPC1000 running JJ OS 4.34.

No not new for NAMM. : ) I'll be posting my usual between NAMM stuff. I have a full inbox of stuff people sent in. I'm going through them now so if you sent me something, it's coming up.

P.S. Ccheck out this Failed Muso post for a video of his MPC 1000. Also he has a few Synth Babe posts running.

Matrixsynth by...

Matrixsynth by HarriL


Matrixsynth by Frédéric

Matrixsynth by...

Matrixsynth by bringmeup


Matrixsynth by gamagoblin.

perdide

perdide from druc drac on Vimeo.

via Druc Drac Sertyle on The MATRIXSYNTH Lounge

"This generative patch name is after the movie "Les Maîtres du temps" by René Laloux, with drawings by Mœbius and synthetic soundscapes by Christian Zanési."

French video description followed Googlish further below.

"Le nom de ce patch - et de cette vidéo - fait référence au film "Les maîtres du temps" de René Laloux, dont Mœbius avait signé le dessin et Christian Zanési les ambiances sonores synthétiques.

This patch - and video - name is after the movie "Les Maîtres du temps" by René Laloux, with drawings by Mœbius and synthetic soundscapes by Christian Zanési.

Détails du patch :

Le seul VCO utilisé est le DPO.

Les deux premières voix :
La sortie dent de scie du premier oscillateur et la sortie carrée du second passent chacune par une piste de l'Optomix.
Celles-ci sont modulées par les canaux 1 et 4 du Maths au niveau du Control et sont triggées par les sorties EOR et EOC du Fonction.
Le Fonction et le Maths s'intermodulent (les sorties sont récupérées pour changer les durées de Rise et/ou de Fall du module voisin).

Troisième voix :
Les sorties sinusoïdes des deux oscillateurs du DPO s'intermodulent dans le Moddemix.
Je récupère la sortie 2 de celui-ci, ce qui me permet de remoduler le résultat par la sortie SUM du Maths.

Quatrième voix :
La sortie Final du DPO est directement récupérée.

Intermodulations supplémentaires :
La sortie EOC du canal 4 du Maths vient donner une clock à l'enveloppe 1 du PEG.
Cette enveloppe influe sur la durée du Rise des canaux 1 et 4 du Maths.
Les sorties EOR et EOF du PEG fournissent les clocks du Brains et du VIII de Razmasynth qui séquencent chacun la hauteur de chaque oscillateur du DPO.
Le Fonctions vient aussi moduler l'indice de modulation FM entre ces deux oscillateurs.
La sortie OR du Maths vient changer le Scale du PEG.

Enfin, le VCA Matrix me sert à atténuer les différentes pistes.

Je récupère le tout dans ma carte son et je le mixe dans live (niveaux, panoramiques + injection dans une Valhalla Room)."

Googlish:

"The name of this patch - and this video - refers to the movie" Masters of Time "by René Laloux, including Moebius had signed drawing and Christian Zanési synthetic soundscapes.

This patch - and video - Effective name is the movie "Masters of Time" by René Laloux, with drawings by Moebius and synthetic soundscapes by Christian Zanési.

Details of the patch:

The only VCO is used DPO.

The first two votes:
The sawtooth of the first oscillator and the square output of the second pass each output by a runway Optomix.
These are modulated by channels 1 and 4 of Maths at the Control and are triggées by EOR and the EOC function outputs.
The Function and Maths intermodulent (outputs are retrieved to change Rise times and / or of the adjacent module Fall).

Third voice:
The outputs of the two sinusoidal oscillators DPO is intermodulent in Moddemix.
I get the output 2 thereof, which allows me to remodulate the result by the SUM output of Maths.

Fourth voice:
Final output of the DPO is directly recovered.

Additional intermodulation:
The EOC output channel 4 Maths just give a clock to the casing 1 of PEG.
This envelope affects the duration of the Rise of channels 1 and 4 Maths.
EOR and EOF PEG outputs provide clocks of Brains and VIII each séquencent Razmasynth that the height of each oscillator DPO.
The functions also comes modulate the FM modulation index between these two oscillators.
The GOLD Maths output is change the Scale of PEG.

Finally, the VCA Matrix I use to mitigate the different tracks.

I get all my sound card and I live in the mix (levels, panoramic + injection in Valhalla Room)."

Elhardt on Synthesis

Elhardt. Some of you may recognize the name. For those of you that do, it might conjure up a number of reactions, some good some bad. : ) He has been the source of a number of controversies and one grand spectacle in the synth world - the Bahn Sage. The Bahn Sage was probably the biggest synth spoof ever. I remember spending weeks with others trying to find more on this mystery synth. A photo showed up on the net and it quickly spread, followed by more, and finally a brochure that had people whipping out their Photoshop skills to analyze in detail. In the end it was a fake; a brilliant hoax.

Now Elhardt has be showcasing his amazing programming skills by conjuring up some of the most realistic acoustic examples of real life instruments with an Alesis ION, Andromeda A6, and MOTM modular. Is it real or is it another hoax like the Sage? Who knows. I'm inclined to believe these samples are real given the attention to detail with the Bahn Sage, and replications of real world instruments by synthesists such as Wendy Carlos in the past, but you never know, do you. His samples are pretty awe inspiring (check out the links to some of my previous posts below for some examples, specifically the realistic drum set).

Another controversial perspective on synthesis from Elhardt? Knobs are not performance controllers. They are used to edit and create sounds. That's it. If you want to control sounds while playing, use the dedicated performance controllers on the synth like the mod wheels and keyboard. : ) I like to play outside of the box myself. Regardless I am impressed by Elhardt, and I do appreciate his dedication to synthesis.

Recently Elhardt sent an email to AH on his perspective on synthesis. I asked him if it would be ok for me to post it and he said yes. Enjoy. Or not. : )

Elhardt on Synthesis:

"Following are all the reasons I like to do realistic emulations of reality.

1) There is nothing interesting about playing samples. Everbody is doing that. Buy a $200 Casio and it does it. The skill of synthesis is completely missing. An artist paints a landscape, he doesn't just snap a photo of it. Sample libraries make everybody sound the same. If everybody synthesized their own acoustic sounds, everybody would have a different style.

2) Sample libraries are so insanely huge and can't even be fully used in real-time. I'd have to spend weeks sifting through 35 Gig of string samples and articulations and go through days of intense sequencer/midi programming to get them to play in a realistic manner. I'd have to use them from a computer with bug-ridden software. Major sample libraries are never complete, and constant updates suck money from you for the rest of your life. It's all going in the wrong direction.

3) I want instruments that play like physically modeled instruments. I just call up one patch and play it expressively in real-time. Simple. I also want to do instruments I can't buy samples of, or create brandnew instruments never heard before.

4) BTW, I have a lot of sample libraries, and some of the instruments suck, sometimes it's just a few notes that suck, sometimes the attacks are too slow and they can't be played fast, there are mistakes made (like clicking noises in garritans trombones, or a mono sample within stereo samples and so on), there's the repetative nature of hearing the sample recording played everytime the note is played, and so on.

5) Synthesis died in the 80's, before anybody ever pushed it to its limits. That is unsatisfying to me. When I first heard Tomita, I thought he was synthesizing virtually everything. Through the years, I found out he was using real instruments, mellotrons, and other acoustic methods in places. I want to do what he didn't. When I do a CD, I want to say I created all those sounds. As synthesists, aren't we supposed to show those snobby acoustic musicians we don't need them or their sounds?

6) Acoustic sounds are complex and hard to synthesize. It demonstrates extreme skill, knowledge of sound, and totoal control over a synthesizer to accomplish the advanced and difficult programming to acheive some of those sounds. It requires coming up with new techniques and tricks which are challenging and have never been done before. We've been hearing awful string patches, corny brass patches, cheesy drum patches for decades now. I want to push subtractive synthesis to its limits to see what it can really do, even if it were for no other reason than to say, "see", it really can be done.

7) Doing spacey synth pads and sequenced bass lines and that stuff is all nice and good, and I create many patches like those myself. But those things are relatively easy to accomplish. They don't force you into extreme patches of a 100 modules or into using a 42 band filter bank and spending weeks to acheive something nobody else can seem to do. You can't do this stuff on a Minimoog or OB-8. So as Matthew pointed out, it's mostly unexplored terrain. And doing something for the first time is more motivating to me than doing things already done.

BTW, my latest Nord violin I believe sounds better than the Synful one over certain ranges of notes. After I make two more passes through the 42 band filter bank refining it, I think I may have a better sounding violin over the entire range. Though it still won't play as smoothy. I'm also back to working on my additive string synth for the winter. The one I started working on before Synful hit the market and took some of the wind out of my sail."

Some previous posts on Elhardt:

http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2005/08/bahn-sage.html
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2005/12/alesis-ion-ralistic-drum-kit.html
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2005/11/alesis-ion-demos-by-kenneth-elhardt.html
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2005/11/alesis-andromeda-a6-and-motm-demos-by.html
http://matrixsynth.blogspot.com/2005/11/alesis-andromeda-a6-samples-by-kenneth.html