Rare Waves MIDI Narrator - Vintage Speech Synth DIY Kit

Published on Oct 4, 2018 EA78751

"MIDI Narrator is a fun MIDI-controlled vintage speech synthesizer. This DIY electronics kit from Rare Waves is for creative musicians, audio producers, and sound designers. It features the SP0256-AL2 speech synthesizer chip. These chips were used in 1980's home computers and arcade games. This kit lets you play all of its sounds from a MIDI controller or sequencer. Plus it adds pitch bend, pitch modulation, random pitch, and stutter effects. And, it can store up to 8 phrases for instant triggered playback from the on-board buttons. You assemble it by soldering, with our easy to follow step-by-step instructions.

The MIDI Narrator DIY electronics kit from Rare Waves.
Available at rarewaves.net, while supplies last."

Grendel RA-99 Grenadier - Contaminate Your Speakers (official synth demo)

Published on Feb 10, 2020 EA78751

"In-depth demo of the Grendel RA-99 Grenadier analog synthesizer. All sounds in the track are made with the RA-99, except the synthetic speech which was made with Rare Waves MIDI Narrator.

0:00 Part 1 - Contaminate Your Speakers (music track)
4:37 Part 2 - Making the distorted kicks
6:24 Part 3 - Making pink noise percussion
7:55 Part 4 - Making acid tones
9:25 Part 5 - Making the synthesized speech
10:06 Part 6 - Making the lead voices


Demonstration and Music by Eric Archer, 2020
Rare Waves LLC (rarewaves.net)"

synthesizer prototype [Eric Archer]

YouTube Uploaded by EA78751 on Dec 12, 2011

"Tektronix TDS 350 digital oscilloscope displays waveforms from a prototype synthesizer. VCO, Envelope Generator, and VCA are demonstrated. This true analog synth has voltage/logic control of all parameters and runs on 5V single supply."

Triple Grendel synth jam

Published on Sep 21, 2016 EA78751

"Demoing some sounds you can get from the Grendel DC-2e Eurorack voice modules along with the Grendel RA-9 Grenadier, plus a mystery synth on the left. Grendel synthesizers are available from I/O Music Technology, Detroit Modular, Switched On, NoiseBug, Perfect Circuit Audio, Analogue Haven, Noise Kitchen, SchneidersLaden. Rare Waves LLC 2016, www.rarewaves.net"

Lite2Sound in Dallas – Stereo photodiode field recording

video upload by EA78751

"What if the city was secretly composing its own musical soundtrack and only you could hear it? The year is 2023, location is Dallas, and this video was recorded downtown at night. All of the sounds are coming from fluctuations in the intensity of light emitted by the scene. We used a large aperture stereo photodiode amplifier developed by Eric Archer of Rare Waves LLC to capture these field recordings. The audio output from the photodiode amplifier was plugged in to the camcorder’s mic input, and by listening with headphones while recording, the videographer/sound hunter goes to a parallel universe of droning harmonic sounds and electronic frequencies. Lite2Sound photodiode amplifiers are available from rarewaves.net and in the Rare Waves reverb.com store."

San Cristobal Maestro [Eric Archer Space Rockers]

YouTube Published on Apr 13, 2012 by EA78751

Andromeda Mk-1
Andromeda Mk-2
Andromeda Mk-3
Andromeda Mk-4
Tune in Tokyo
1W Mixer Amp

Analog Computer Bouncing Ball

YouTube via EA78751
"In this video I'm demonstrating an analog computer that models a bouncing ball, with control voltage and trigger outputs that could be interesting with synthesizers, sequencers, etc.

I designed the circuit as an excercise in understanding analog computer techniques. I found that almost all textbook descriptions of analog integrators are incomplete, lacking adequate description of how to set the initial conditions of the integrator and reset it at the end of each computation.

An obvious application of this particular circuit is to generate nonlinear rhythms for electronic music... check out Aphex Twin's track "Bucephalus Bouncing Ball" for a good example of this effect.

more info:
http://ericarcher.net/devices/analog-...

Many thanks to Matthew Thies for filming and editing this video.

-Eric Archer
2009"

Electro doom with synthetic alien death voice

Published on Aug 6, 2018 EA78751

"This video demonstrates vocal formant synthesis with some new hardware we're developing. The voice is synthesized with analog filters and oscillators. Created by Eric Archer / Rare Waves LLC 2018. Rare Waves manufactures the Grendel Drone Commander, Grendel Formant Filter, and other unique analog music equipment. Our website is rarewaves.net"

Grendel Formant Filter - Voltage Language

Published on Feb 13, 2013 EA78751·42 videos

http://ericarcher.net/devices/gff/

"Demonstrating synthesis of vowel sounds using the Grendel Formant Filter Eurorack module. This 100% analog filter allows voltage-controlled selection of English vowels from a 2-dimensional map. The map corresponds to the International Phonetic Alphabet vowel chart, a.k.a. the vowel trapezium.

In this video, an analog joystick with X and Y CV outputs is used to control the filter module. Two channels of MIDI-CV converter may also be used. The module is designed to accept CV sources with 5 volt range. Either -2.5 .. +2.5 volts or 0.. +5 volts can be used for optimum control. Wider CV ranges (up to +/- 10V) will not cause damage, but should be attenuated for best articulation.

Visualizations were made with a Tektronix TDS 350 digital oscilloscope in XY display mode, 1 volt per division.

The Grendel Formant Filter is made by Rare Waves (Austin TX)"

Grendel Grenadier - Video Demo (official)

Published on Jan 19, 2015 EA78751

"A quick run through the Grenadier's functions: playing the keypad in real-time, activating the analog sequencer, storing a rhythm in the 32-step event loop, synchronizing two Grenadiers, and some basic patching.
The audio is recorded direct (not through an amplifier/microphone), with reverb and delay FX added. Uploaded January 2015
(Official Rare Waves LLC video)
More info at rarewaves.net/products/grendel-grenadier"

Grendel RA-99 Grenadier + 2TAC Sequencer

Published on Oct 17, 2019 EA78751

"We’re in the Rare Waves shop, demoing tones from the first prototype of a Grendel RA-99 Grenadier with help from a Grendel 2TAC analog sequencer. Fun! The RA-99 is based on the unconventional Grendel RA-9 Grenadier we produced back in 2014. It’s a true analog synthesizer with CV-Gate control. It has a formant filter bank with 3 VCFs for those guttural vowel tones and alien beatbox sounds. Its filter bank is animated by a pair of voltage-controlled modulation sources that can work as either LFOs or envelope generators. Its tone comes from 1 oscillator with VC waveshape + subharmonics and a pink noise source. And it has 20 patch points for semimodular control.

The original RA-9 Grenadier had a very basic 4-step sequencer built in - after revision, it spawned the 2TAC. So in a sense, the original RA-9 Grenadier evolved into the two units which you’re hearing."

modify the DigiTech RDS delay

YouTube via EA78751 | November 26, 2010 | 1 likes, 0 dislikes

"This box rules, but I have one complaint.... it has an automatic mute function that interrupts the flow of sound when buttons are pressed to change mode... bleh! pointless... but if you cut two leads this box is able to make a nice wall of sound.

Then plug an external LFO (5V) into the REPEAT/HOLD jack and freak out.

Digitech RDS 7.6, RDS 1900, RDS 3.6, RDS 2001 digital delay FX units all share the same PCB so this mod should work for any of them.

http://ericarcher.net/devices/digitec..."

Oscillography - Fibonacci Generator (2)

YouTube via EA78751
"Here is an excerpt from my unreleased videotape "Thirteen Meditations on the Meaning of the Tao".

The patterns are synthesized with a Lagged Fibonacci Generator (LFG) circuit built with discrete logic chips (CD4000 CMOS). The LFG is an algorithm sometimes used in cryptography to generate encryption keys. I'm exploring it as a pattern generator for algorithmic art and music. Although cryptographers like the LFG because its output is similar to white noise, I find that through creative electronic filtering, the intricate details of its cyclic patterns become visible, and we can appreciate the details."

Update via Eric in the comments: "here is a photo of the circuit in a partially complete state"

Lite2Sound listening to the highway lights

video upload by EA78751

"There are hidden layers of reality for example the sounds of modulated light. We're on the highway listening with a Lite2Sound photodiode amplifier. A few decades ago you wouldn't be hearing so many types of interesting tones and frequencies. But now almost every light is modulated and it all blends together like a free ambient soundtrack. On the highway there is also the sound of air turbulence, you hear it whenever a light shines towards the sensor while passing through turbulent air in the wake of a vehicle. I'm disappointed though, this was supposed to be a stereo recording, but by accident the camera only recorded in mono. Location: San Antonio (2022). Rarewaves.net / Lite2sound.com"

Grendel DC-2e and RA-9 : Drone Funk (official)

Published on Oct 7, 2016 EA78751

"Drone funk synth demo with Grendel DC-2e Drone Commander 2 Eurorack and Grendel RA-9 Grenadier. Two tracks of DC-2e, one track of RA-9, plus a touch of mystery synth."

The Harmonic Series

Uploaded by EA78751 on May 15, 2011

"An electronic filter dissects a sawtooth waveform (82 Hz, pitch E) into the first twenty-four partials of the harmonic series. The waveform is displayed on an oscilloscope with annotations to indicate the harmonic relationships. One can see that by counting the number of crests in the waveform per fundamental cycle, the harmonic number is easily obtained.

Have you heard a melody played with the notes of the harmonic series? It can be a pleasant alternative to the 12-tone equal tempered octave. Which instruments are capable of this?

You can approximate the harmonic series on a chromatic instrument by playing the series of pitches listed in the right hand column over a drone note at the fundamental frequency.

You can also hear the harmonic series by whirling an open-ended corrugated tube around in a circle. These are found in some toy stores and educational science shops. Try this and you'll notice it takes more and more effort to get to the next highest overtone, despite the fact that the pitch increments are getting smaller.

A photograph is included of the voltage-controlled diode ladder filter that was used for this video. Text scanned from THE EMI WALL CHART For Musical Instrument Making. Filmed from a Tektronix 2430A digital oscilloscope.

Original content by Eric Archer 2011"

Electro lovers rock w/ synthetic alien reggae voice

Published on Aug 11, 2018 EA78751

"A demonstration of artificial voices singing over a canned reggae rhythm from the Yamaha QY-70. The vocals are synthesized with voltage-controlled analog filters and oscillators, using hardware in development at Rare Waves.

Rare Waves manufactures unique electronic music instruments for creative musicians and audio producers. Our website is rarewaves.net"

Eric Archer aka Rare Waves - Electro Jam Session w/ Rare Prototype Synths

Published on May 5, 2017 EA78751

"This electro track demonstrates a special selection of one-of-a-kind analog synths from my R&D lab. It features the LMS-17 Light Matrix Synthesizer, which is an update on a rare item called dR0NEMATr1X that I offered 8 years ago. The LMS-17 is a two-oscillator CV/Gate synth with a unique 2D array of tone-emitting LEDs, which you blend together with a light sensor stylus.

Also in the mix is a prototype acid bassline machine with a diode bridge filter, and a sweet pair of 100% MIDI-controlled analog synths called ZM-1A. You'll also hear some Grendel Drone Commander, and the Grendel RA-9 Grenadier plays a big role, naturally. (Plus a little help from the Blofeld and Alesis D4 drums).

Hopefully more of my R&D projects will make it to the marketplace soon... or at least some day. Visit RareWaves.net to see what’s out now."

Eric Archer Mystery Synth

Published on Jun 30, 2014 EA78751·43 videos

"Testing prototypes from Grendel / Rare Waves. Playing with yet-to-be-announced new analog semi-modular CV/Gate tabletop synths is hard work but someone's gotta do it.. Drums: Yamaha QY-70. MIDI-CV converter: Vermona QMI. Efx: camcorder audio fbk. (Apologize for crappy camcorder audio.)"

Mystery Synth (2 of 3)


Mystery Synth (3 of 3)

Grendel Drone Commander Boutique Sequence Drone Synthesizer in Ammo Clip

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"Grendel Drone Commander Boutique sequence/drone synthesizer handbuilt by Eric Archer.

With a total of 9 knobs, the Drone Commander offers two manually-tuned oscillators and two LFOs, plus an unusually colorful and nasty filter. LFO1 is an analog variable-shape oscillator, and LFO2 is a pulse waveform that auto-synchronizes to LFO1 at a ratio of 2x, 4x, 8x, or 16x. Both LFOs can be routed to the filter for rhythmic patterns. A line-level output jack is provided for connection to amplifiers or effects. Six of the Drone Commander’s nine knobs double as push-pull switches to control signal routing and waveform selection.

The Drone Commander is housed in a dark green military ammunition case with engraved aluminum control panel. The case is welded steel with an easily removable, rubber gasketed lid. There is almost no plastic in the drone commander! It measures 10″(w) x 7″(h) x 3.5″(d), and weighs about 6 lbs.The unit is powered by a 9V battery accessible through a slide-out drawer in the side, as well as a 9VDC adapter. Filter CV input (0-10V) and clock pulse output (+8V) are now standard features."

Uploaded on Aug 20, 2009 EA78751·42 videos