Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - The Sweeps - Le Voyage

Amazing track by The Sweeps

The Sweeps - Le Voyage LIVE



Text from the video :
  • 70s inspired instrumental tune by *THE SWEEPS combining some old Super 8-material (ca. 1976) with live footage. In the beginning it's just Fender Rhodes and Crumar Multiman, the Minimoog solo is coming after the break. The effects are offered by the Moog Prodigy.

Source :

More info about The Sweeps :

Oberheim - OB-8



Great demo of this classic polyphonic synthesizer, made by Synthmania.com

Oberheim OB-8 video demo Part 1 of 2



Oberheim OB-8 video demo Part 2 of 2



Text from the video :
  • A video demonstration of the Oberheim OB-8, an analog polysynth from the early 1980s.
    Go to synthmania.com for more demos of this and many other synthesizers and other instruments.

Source :

More info about Oberheim OB-8 :

Oberheim OB-8 manuals :

Oberheim OB-8 pictures :

Buy Oberheim OB-8 :

Monday, March 30, 2009

Octave - The Cat

Analog mono-synth from 1976

Octave Cat SRM demonstration part 1



Text from the video :
  • This is a retake of the original video which will be deteled soon enough. The webcam is now above the synth so you have a better idea of what is going on - thanks to all who suggested I do this.


Octave Cat SRM demonstration part 1



Text from the video :
  • This is the second part of the demonstation where I quickly go over the things I missed in the first. As I covered quite a bit already this video is much shorter.

    Hope this clears ups the stuff that I forgot to mention.

Source :

More info about Octave The Cat :

Octave The Cat manuals :

Octave The Cat pictures :

Buy Octave The Cat :

Synthesizer Performance - Thalassa - Waiting for the lift


This is the last song that I 've composed. All the sounds ( except drum sounds ) were programmed / patched on my synthesizers.com modular synthesizer. The synth is monophonic so all the tracks were recorded sequentially. This way or working it's a bit dangerous because if you need a sound that you have recorded previously you need to re-patch the synth and maybe you can not find the exact sound. But in the other hand, is very funny.

The video is nothing special, just a slide show of the synthesizers.com modules, but I wanted to upload the song to youtube so I had to make a video.... :). You can hear more of my works on my myspace

http://myspace.com/thalassas


Thalassa - Waiting for the lift



Source :

Sunday, March 29, 2009

BBC Radiophonic Workshop tribute

Very nice tribute to one of the first places dedicated to make experimentations with the sound. The BBC Radiophonic Workshop was created on 1958 and close his doors on 1998.

RADIOPHONIC EXPLORATIONS



Text from the video :
  • A dedication compilation of material celebrating the pioneering spirit of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Material is edited from the following documentary and information sources: The Alchemists of Sound, The Masters of Sound, The Music Arcade, Radiophonic Workshop archive footage, Doctor Who titles, The New Sound of Music and Sonic State.

Source :

More info about BBC Radiophonic Workshop:

BBC Radiophonic Workshop pictures :

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - Radambe


machinedrum + prophet 600 + mks-50 + ms2000 + lexicon



Text from the video :
  • Quick jam I did this morning

    the mix is eugh....i should go back and do it again sans mistakes and bad mix

    If you're not hearing this in stereo, try pasting &fmt=18 at the end of the URL for this page.

    gear used:

    1. machinedrum (drums + sequencing synths)
    2. sequential circuits prophet 600
    3. roland mks-50 alpha juno
    4. korg ms-2000r (bass)
    4. lexicon mx-400

Source :

Friday, March 27, 2009

ARP - Axxe

The ARP Axxe is the "scaled down" version of the ARP Odyssey.

Specifcations :

  • 1 VCO ( saw , square )
  • 1 LFO ( sine , square )
  • 1 VFC ( Low pass 24db )
  • 1 ADSR
  • Noise Generator
  • S&H

This five videos show the main characteristics of this synth.


Arp Axxe Vintage Analog Synth MIDI Control Doepfer



Text from the video :
  • A Doepfer MCV4 is used to drive the Arp Axxe. I put a simple pattern in Digital Performer, and manipulated the controls on the Arp Axxe as the sequence played.


Arp Axxe Vintage Analog Synth White Noise



Text from the video :
  • This clip demonstrates the sound of the white noise generator in the Arp Axxe processed by the low pass filter.


Arp Axxe Pulse Vintage Analog Synth Sawtooth Waveforms



Text from the video :
  • The Axxe has sawtooth and pulse waveforms. This video hightlights each waveform and uses modulation source to vary the pulse waveform width.


Arp Axxe Self-Oscillation



Text from the video :
  • The filter on the Arp Axxe has the ability to self-oscillate, and act like an independent oscillator, producing a clear sine wave tone. While this is a very simple sound, it is also very appealing. I used a vintage Roland spring reverb on Arp Axxe as well.


Arp Axxe Modulation Effects



Text from the video :
  • This video demonstrates the variety of modulation possibilities of the Arp Axxe.

Source :

More info about ARP Axxe :

ARP Axxe manuals :

ARP Axxe pictures :

Buy ARP Axxe :

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - Basement Load Sound

Amazing live performance using a MFOS DIY modular synthesizer.

Basement Load Sound # 02 on MFOS Synth



Text from the video :
  • MFOS is GREAT, long life to Ray Wilson :)

Source :

More info about MFOS :

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Oberheim - Matrix 6

The Oberheim Matrix 6 is one of the most popular synths from the 80s and a cheap way to get the Oberheim sound.Oddly , the rack version is more popular than keyboard version.
The only problem with this synth ( and with other 80's synthesizers ) , is programming sounds. The lack of dedicated knobs makes this work very tedious. Luckily you can edit the sounds via MIDI using a soft editor or a multi-purpose control surface.

On the video the synth is controlled by a Doepfer Drehbank

Knob tweaking an Oberheim Matrix6r



Text from the video :
  • Not so much a sound demo rather than a Doepfer Drehbank demo, just aimlessly turning knobs set to common parameters on the Matrix... Put in use it makes programming this synth a joy rather than a chore.
    No matrix mods used except for mod wheel opening and closing the filter.

Source :

More info about Matrix 6 :

Matrix 6 manuals :

Matrix 6 pictures :

Buy Matrix 6 - Matrix 6R :

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - Martin Peters - A changing theme

It's not the first time that I post Martin Peters' videos , He always makes good Berlin school tracks, but this one is specially good. Amazing sequences,atmospheric pads and beautiful melodies. If you like Klaus Schulze or Tangerine Dream, you'll not be disappointed.

A changing theme



Text from the video :
  • This time I experimented with changing between 3 different sequences using 3 presets from the Doepfer MAQ16/3. At first you hear the bass sequence from the Synthesizers.com Modular driven by row 1 of the Doepfer MAQ16/3. After that the volume is raised for the sequence from the self built Modular driven by MAQ's row 2. The 3rd sequence comes from the Creamware MiniMax ASB which is driven by MAQ's row 3. The strings are performed by the AKAI AX80 and the solo's are played on the Korg 900PS and the Clavia Nord Lead 1. You see, the setting is somewhat the same as the previous video but is sounds different.
    I had to shorten the video almost 6 minutes because of the YouTube limit of 10 minutes. The original video is 15:53 long and you can see or download it from my website.

Source :

More info about Martin Peters :

Monday, March 23, 2009

Roland - SH-1000 review


The Roland SH-1000



Text from the video :
  • Do yourself a favour, and NEVER READ any review of the SH-1000 on the internet. ALL of them inaccurately portray the Roland SH-1000. Hopefully, this video will bring some accuracy and clarity.
    Feel free to link to this video or post it on your page, but please give me credit by marking it "by Marc Doty." Thanks!

Source :

More info about Roland SH-1000 :

Roland SH-1000 manuals :

Roland SH-1000 pictures :

Buy Roland SH-1000 :

Steiner Parker - Synthacon

Rare analog synthesizer from the 70s. Today this synth is becoming famous on the DIY community, due the good sound of his filter. There are a few versions of this filter available on the web. ( See links section for more info ).

Steiner Parker Synthacon with analog "151 sequencer"



Text from the video :
  • I just got the sequencer 151 back from my tech, working great now with both channels, one controlling pitch, the other cutoff frequency... The Steiner Parker Synthacon sounds friggin awesome like usual... the sound!!!

Source :

More info about Steiner Parker Synthacon:

Steiner Parker Synthacon pictures :

Buy Steiner Parker Synthacon :

Sunday, March 22, 2009

MFB - Modular Drum modules and Step sequencer

Modular Drum Machine using MFB drum modules and MFB gate sequencer.

MFB & DIY Drummachine



Text from the video :
  • Drummachine with some MFB drummodules: bassdrum (Drum04), snare (Drum05) and Hihat (Drum03) and the Mixer (Drum99). The DIY Part is a bassdrum with a SSM2044 Filter chip and a 4093 percussion oscillator. Controlled with the MFB SEQ02.

Source :

More info about MFB Modular Drum Modules :

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Roland - SH-5

Another great synthesizer demo by AnalogAudio1

ROLAND SH-5 vintage synthesizer 1976 - HQ sound demo



Text from the video :
  • The Roland SH-5 is one of the best compact monophonic synthesizers from Roland. It has almost everything, that you could wish from a monophonic synth: 2 VCOs, 1 resonant multimode filter (highpass/bandpass/lowpass), 1 bandpass filter, 2 LFOs, Sample & Hold, ring modulator, oscillator synchronisation, noise generator (white and pink noise), ADSR and AR envelopes. Also there is a nice signal mixer with routing capabilities.

Source :

More info about Roland SH-5 :

Roland SH-5 manuals :

Roland SH-5 pictures :

Buy Roland SH-5 :

Friday, March 20, 2009

Modular Madness - Modcan lullaby

Great aleatory patch on a Modcan modular synthesizer ( A series and B series ) . The video just show the modular but has a tender end :)


Sunday Modcan Aleatory



Text from the video :
  • 100% aleatoric (randomly generated) music generated while doing studio maintenance. No MIDI or sequencers are used for composition or playback. All modules are Modcan except for a Cynthia dual ADSR and a Synthesis Technology patch/multiple module.

Source :

More info about Modcan :

Synthesizer Performance - vcovcfvca

Beautiful sounds. In some way this track reminds me to Isan.

elektrons moog kp 2



Text from the video :
  • Just a quick little jam... Elektron Machinedrum UW mkII (tiny little blips), Elektron Monomachine mkII (main groove), Moog Little Phatty Stage II (live play), Korg Kaoss Pad KP3 (delay on the Moog)

Source :

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - Thalassa - Synthevski

This song was composed yesterday ( 18/03/2009 ) in three ours using only the synthesizers.com modular synthesizer. No other synths or drum machines were used, just the modular and a computer with soft sequencer. The drum sounds were sampled and sequenced.

Six different tracks were recorded. On this video I was recording the sound FX track. I know that the video is nothing special , but it's an excuse to upload the music to youtube ;)

Thanks for watching. If you like the video remember to subscribe.

Click here for stereo version

More music here :

http://myspace.com/thalassas


Thalassa - Synthevski "synthesizers.com modular synth"




Source :

More info about Thalassa :

DIY Sequencer


New Clock, and 8-step Squencer Voltage Control



Text from the video :
  • In this vidie you see me repurposing a small plastic box that was originally made to hold .22 caliber bullets. I think it looks great as a module for making electronic music. You will notice that I do not use a fancy drill press to cut holes in the plastic for the various componants.

    The last bit of the video shows a new method I am using for voltage control over an ocsillator. I am emplying an LED and a photo resistor. I works pretty good when te LED is relatively bright, but when the voltage drops below a certain threshold the led lags in attinuation so there is a sort of glide in pitch to the low notes. I will work it out latter.

Source :

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - 80s Medley

As the tittle says... , three guys , six keyboards and a bunch of 80's songs performed live.

This is the song list :
  • Herbie Hancock - Rock it
  • Harold Faltermeyer - Axel F
  • The Human League - Don't you want me
  • Ray Parker Jr - Ghostbusters
  • A-ha - Take on me
  • Nena - 99 Luftballons
  • Toto - Africa
  • Europe - The final countdown
  • Abba - Gimme Gimme Gimme
  • Yazoo - Don't go
  • Van Halen - Jump
  • Falco - Rock me Amadeus
  • Styx - Mr Roboto
  • A-ha - The sun always shine on TV
  • Rick Astley - Never gonna give you up


80s Synth Medley (3 guys, 6 keyboards)



Text from the video :
  • Three guys, six keyboards, fifteen hits of the 1980s. All played live!

    Keyboards:
    ARP Axxe
    KORG MicroKORG
    KORG Triton Extreme 61
    M-Audio Axiom 61
    Roland Juno 6
    Yamaha SHS-10 Keytar

Source :

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Arturia - Origin

Arturia Origin promotional video.

ARTURIA Origin : User Case Keyboardist



Text from the video :
  • Origin User Case Keyboardist.

Source :

More info about Arturia Origin :

Arturia Origin manuals :

Arturia Origin pictures :

Buy Arturia Origin :

Synthesizer Performance with Korg MS family


* * * Korg MS-50 * MS-20 * MS-20 * SQ-10 * * *



Text from the video :
  • Another interesting experiment with only original live created MS-20 / MS-50 sounds (incl. beat), no FX at all!

    The SQ-10 triggers and sequences all synths:
    - The MS-50 plays a rythmic bass pattern (SQ-10 channel A+B).
    - The MS-20 plays another rythmic pattern using 2 different tuned VCO's, also sequenced by channel A+B, but using the inverted signal, which also goes through the MS-50 integrator for portamento purposes. EG1 controls the VCO frequency and swaps between 2 CV values every 32(!) steps, by using step 1 trigger output (which triggers once every 8 steps) divided by 4 (MS-50 divider) to generate a trigger once every 32 steps.
    - The other MS-20 plays a simple beat, a bass drum with hi-hat pattern (channel C).

Source :

More info about Korg MS family :

Korg MS family manuals :

Korg MS family pictures :

Buy Korg MS family :

Monday, March 16, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - Bunmei Ogawa

Live performance using only moog synthesizers :

Moog Minimoog x 2
Moog Rogue
Moog Source
Moog Sonic 6
Moog Prodigy


moog solo bunmei #1




moog solo bunmei #



Text from the video :
  • He plays many moogs!!

Source :

Modular Madness - Serge - Creature

Artistic video showing Serge Creature's front panel.

Serge Creature



Text from the video :
  • This is the Serge Creature M-odule by Sound Transform Systems. All sound was generated by the Creature.
    A touch of delay was added by the Moog MF104 on some sections.
    Shot with a Kodak Zi6 in Macro.

Source :

More info about Serge Creature :

Serge Creature pictures :

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Roland - ProMars Compuphonic


Roland promars monophonic synthersizer



Text from the video :
  • demo of the promars

Source :

More info about :

Roland ProMars Compuphonic pictures :

Buy Roland ProMars Compuphonic :

Saturday, March 14, 2009

NEWS - Drumcomputer MFB-522

MFB announces his new analog drum machine, the MFB-522. The aspect is very similar to the MFB-502 but this one has a sound more like the Roland TR-808. ( the 502 was more like early analog drum machines, Minipops, Ace-tone etc )

The MFB-522 main characteristics are :
  • 9 analogue instruments
  • Step-sequencer with 16 steps
  • 25 controls for attack, decay, tone etc.
  • Bass drum programmable in two lengths
  • Tom/Conga programmable in three pitches
  • Memory locations for 72 patterns and 8 songs
from MFB site

MFB 522



Text from the video :
  • ! TR 808 sounding analogue Drum Machine !

Source :

More info about MFB 522 Drumcomputer :

Friday, March 13, 2009

Modular Madness - Prelude Nº 1 Bach

I can only say WOOOOW. :)

Variation on Bach's Prelude No 1 for Modular Synthesizer



Text from the video :
  • Another tune just using sequencers, a Q119, Q960 and an M563. This is another one of my favourite Bach pieces (probably because its on of the few Bach pieces I can play!) It also uses the Analogue Solutions TR-808 and TR-909 drum machine clones, driven by the Superb Moonmodular M563.

Source :

More info about :

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Native Instruments - FM8 review 2/2

Native instruments FM8 review part 2. This second part explain how to program this FM synthesizer.
To watch the first part click here

FM8 Power Review Part 2/2 HQ



Text from the video :
  • http://www.PlugInGuru.com

    Part 2 of PlugInGuru's Power Review for Native Instruments FM8. This review is called "Programming Fun with Native Instruments FM8". I hope you enjoy !

    Skippy has created 12 FREE patches for FM8 that YOU can download right now at PlugInGuru.com plus there are 60 more inspiring patches you can purchase for $30 USD.

    FEED YOUR PLUG-INS !

Source :

Source :


More info about Native Instruments FM8 :

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Teisco - 60f

Nice electro track created by David Brans using a Roland TR-808 and a Teisco 60F analog monosynth.

David Brans - Teisco 60f & Roland TR 808



Source :

More info about Teisco 60f :

Teisco 60f manuals :

Teisco 60f pictures :

Buy Teisco 60f :

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Voice of Saturn - Voltage Controlled Filter

Curious inventor is a web page dedicated to electronic DIY.
They sell electronic kits, which include several modules to create a small modular synthesizer that also can be used as standalone modules. The last module released is Voice of Saturn Voltage Controlled Filter ( a low pass filter with a XY jostick ).

Previously available modules are :

Voice of Saturn - Synth
Voice of Saturn - Sequencer
Voice of Saturn - Modulator


Voice of Saturn Voltage Controlled Filter



Text from the video :
  • Low-pass filter module with cutoff and resonance controllable by joystick, VC inputs, or knobs. Joystick is modular and its output can be sent elsewhere, and can be fed inputs to attenuate. Two inputs are mixed and their amplitude is also voltage controllable. schematics available at curiousinventor.com
  • http://www.curiousinventor.com/kits/v...

Source :

More info about Voice of Saturn Voltage Controlled Filter :

Buy Voice of Saturn Voltage Controlled Filter :

Sound Synthesis - Jean Michel Jarre Laser Harp sound

Cmatsuoka gives you tips to recreate the typical Laser Harp sound that can be heard on Jean Michel Jarre's album ,Rendez-Vous. The original one was created by Paul Wiffen on a Elka Synthex

Laser harp in the microkorg



Text from the video :
  • This is my first attempt at creating a program for the microkorg, so I picked up a sound that is easily recognizable. This is certainly not the best Synthex "laser harp" sound recreation around, but it should provide a good start for tweaks and improvements. The idea should work with any two-oscillator analog or analog-modeled synthesizer with oscillator sync, filtering and some kind of pitch envelope for the sync sweep. Actual values used in each parameter are shown in parentheses.

Source :

Monday, March 9, 2009

Synthesizer Performance with Native Instruments Maschine

Native Instrumentss Maschine in action

NI MASCHINE + Akai MPD32 + Ableton 7 Jam



Text from the video :
  • This is one of the first jams with my new setup. NI Maschine is running as a AU Plugin in Ableton Live 7. All Drums come from Maschine and the 303 Bassline is done with the awesome D16 Phoscyon. There is no external FX used beside an EQ on the Master. If you want to get a real taste of how sweet this setup sounds, download the original video file here:

    http://www.suicide-server.com/video.mov

Source :

More info about Native Instruments Maschine :

Native Instruments Maschine manuals :

Native Instruments Maschine pictures :

Buy Native Instruments Maschine :

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Modular Madness - Upper Atmosphere by JohnLRice

I love this kind of atmospheres and drones!!!!! It's perfect to chill on the sofa and do nothing but look to the ceiling ;)

Upper Atmosphere by JLR



Text from the video :
  • Another simple test that also ended up as a little peice of 'music'. This time I was trying out the Synthesizers.com Q119 sequencer I recently received. This is my first sequence on it and I liked it enough to try to turn it into 'something'.

    See the end of the video for setup details. Thanks for watching, rating and commenting! :-)

Source :

More info about Synthesizers.com Q119 :

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Synthesizer Performance - artneffa

IDM-Electro-Mimimal performance

Spectralis - Virus Ti - SP 555 - KP3



Text from the video :
  • Homemade Electronic Sound

Source :

Friday, March 6, 2009

News - Radikal Technologies - Spectralis 2

Radikal Technologies mix analog and digital worlds inside their new synthesizer.

"The Spectralis 2 hybrid synth, fueled by the latest DSP- and true analog technology [...] The Spectralis 2’ oscillator section takes sound design to new extremes. The 4 oscillators offer continuously variable waveshapes plus time linearity modulation, FM, PM, oscillator synchronisation, bit reduction and independent pitch and volume envelopes. The self resonating filters, a 4 pole lowpass and a 2 pole multimode filter with LP, HP, BP and notch outputs, use two highly improved true analog circuit designs to overcome the restrictions of modelling based synths. [....] The synthesis engine takes advantage of a sophisticated step sequencing system - 32 independent parameter control lines with up to 192 steps let you explore an universe of previously unheard rhythmic effects and atmospheric textures. Punchy high resolution envelopes, are the cutting edge of todays synthesizer technology. " from Radikaltechnologies.com

Spectralis 2 will be available at the end of March


SPECTRALIS 2 Teaser 1


Source :

More info about Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2:

Roland - Fantom XR

Another synthesizer demo by keybdwizrd . Four videos showing some of the patches of the Roland Fantom rack version.

keybdwizrd - Fantom XR Demo #1




keybdwizrd - Fantom XR Demo #2




keybdwizrd - Fantom XR Demo #3




keybdwizrd - Fantom XR Demo #4




Text from the video :
  • Some favorite patches from the Roland Fantom XR synthesizer module.

Source :

More info about Roland Fantom XR :

Roland Fantom XR manuals :

Roland Fantom XR pictures :

Buy Roland Fantom XR :

Thursday, March 5, 2009

ARP - Quadra

ARP Quadra , four synths inside one case. Bass Synthesizer, Lead Synthesizer, Polyphonic Synthesizer and String Section

ARP QUADRA (PART 2) Stereo



Text from the video :
  • Some more fiddling about. This time with hgher quality audio track and some cheesy video FX! I hope you all space properly : ) I'm using a demo of a program to get this stereo version up. I will update it.

Source :

More info about ARP Quadra :

ARP Quadra manuals :

ARP Quadra pictures :
Buy ARP Quadra :