Music of Sound

Wow – if only these were real! Well they are real, but made of felt rather than circuitry….
So cute!

Buy them from pul(sew)widths Etsy store

Its very interesting how of all the major companies hyping their products at NAMM, that a little plugin should come along & steal their thunder!

 

CDM has a good explanation of it here, so I wont go on about it too much here, other than to say I might just have to remove a few output capacitors from one of my 002s so i can use VOLTA to generate control voltages for my modular synth, check out this video by the plugins author, stretta

If you own or are considering starting a modular synth in the Eurorack format, then the Modular Mega Planner is a very useful site as it lets you physically arrange any of the currently available modules in the space available for the various size cases available… And believe you me, it takes a bit of thinking about & trial & error to work out the best layout for a modular synth. Inevitably I am influenced by the synths I have used in the past & although they were not modular, they did have a very logical & ergonomic layout through the work of their designers… but they also didnt have to think about both audio and control voltage patching!

So via the MegaPlanner here is where my modular synth is at (click image for larger version)

The top G6 case houses drum modules, VCOs and sequencer…

The next G6 case houses primarily processing

Then I have a G3 case which is primarily for i/o

And best of all I still have my A100 suitcase, sitting completely empty….

And those gaping black holes? They represent the future! In the empty space in the processing rack I think I’ll get one of the Malekko Assmaster distortion modules once they become available…

After that? Who knows… but it sure as hell is a great time to be building a modular synth, with so many developers producing such inspiring modules…

Heres a list of Eurorack manufacturers maintained at the MuffWiggler Forum:

EURORACK MODULAR SYNTH MANUFACTURERS:

Analogue Systems (UK)

Analogue Solutions (UK)

Bananalogue (USA)

Bubblesound (US)

Cwejman (Sweden)

Cyndustries (USA)

Doepfer (Germany)

Elby Designs (Australia)

Flight of Harmony (USA)

Future Sound Systems (UK)

Harvestman (USA)

Livewire (USA)

Makenoise (USA)

Malekko (USA)

Metasonix (USA)

MFB (Germany)

Plan B (USA)

Tip Top (USA)

If you are looking to buy (or sell) a synth or bit of electronic music gear then the PREPAL site might just help indicate how much that new gadget should cost you. With over 4,000 products in a searchable database

Heres a few Korg synths from the database:

and heres a few Roland products from the database:

Sphere Music is a UK based auction website specifically dealing in vintage electric music instrument auctions; VEIMA and they currently have an auction with a fantastic selection of vintage gear (including many synths) from the sale of a private studio…
The two items that struck me as VERY unique were these two:

The Schlumberger Solartron JM1861 Pseudo Random Signal Generator:

And even rarer, the Korg MS20 Blackboard Edition:

“Here’s probably a unique chance to get one of the rarest synth ever made ! This is a Blackboard KORG MS20 made by KORG in 1978 , for synthesis education. This one was sent by the Japanese KORG Firm for Mr Francis RIMBERT (JM JARRE’s well known musician) for a French synthesiser school. Less than 40 examples were made !! It has been serviced last year by a professional in France, so everything has been checked, and cosmetically is really in very good condition. The keyboard can be replaced into the main panel if you decide you want, but it looks very good like that and it’s great to use like it, and it was made in wood in 1978 as soon as it arrived in France. Big dimensions (1 meter x 0.70 m x 0.12 m for the panel)”

Also in the current auction, theres an MS10, MS20, SQ10, MS02 and the ultimate in the range; the MS50. You better have deep pockets if you want to collect the whole set! Happy bidding!