Teaser picture: The Electronic Music Works EMW-200 Synthesizer
Electronic Music Works has released these sound demos of their upcoming EMW-200 Electronic Sound Lab synthesizer.
The EMW-200 Electronic Sound Lab is conceived as an improved version of the vintage Electronic Sound Laboratories EML-200 synthesizer. The EML-200, introduced in 1969, was a synth sold primarily in the education market, but has been used since by Pere Ubu and others.
Connecticut based Electronic Music Laboratories (EML) was most known for producing synthesizers along the same lines of Moog and ARP, but most EMLs were destined for the educational market. The ElectroComp 200 was one of EML’s first synthesizers, introduced in 1969. It’s old school but has very sophisticated features for the time (such as a Wave Shaper and stereo sound). It is monophonic and includes two oscillators, independent high- and low-pass filters, two ring modulators, an LFO with sample-and-hold, stereo panning, and built-in spring reverb. The front panel of the 200 is nicely designed and laid out. There are 31 mad-scientist-looking knobs and over 60 patch points! With a little patching, even people new to analog synths will be able to start getting sounds out of the 200—it was originally intended for use in educational institutions.
Note however that the EML 200 is keyboard-less, making it more like an Expander module designed to interface directly with other EML equipment. Most notably, with the Model 300 manual controller which offered a 4×4 key matrix, pitch knobs, and an oscillator with envelope generator and VCA of its own. Today, you can use the 200 with analog synths other than EML with the properly modified CV/Gate connections and converters (its oscillators are a non-standard 1.20v/oct). The EML 200 today is most valuable as a collectors item rather than a piece of studio kit, due mostly in part to its rarity in relation to the more popular Moog and ARP instruments that it is comparable to, as well as being surpassed by the more common ElectroComp 101.
Keith McmIllen 12 Step Foot Control Keyboard
A single octave MIDI controller device designed to work on the loor and be played with your feet. Plenty of programmability makes it quite a versatile unit.
User quote: “The 12 Step is a great way to send note data to my DAW without taking the hands off the main controller. The biggest and most pleasant part is how accurate the velocity sensitivity feels. You can get some really nuanced performances out of this thing, more than I ever expected from a foot controller”
I Dream of Wires – Extended Interview Series: Drumcell
In January 2012, the I Dream of Wires team stopped by the studio of techno producer Drumcell, to discuss his evolution from producing with hardware, to software, and now back to hardware again, with a focus on eurorack modular synthesis. The interview was conducted for inclusion in “I Dream of Wires: the Modular Synthesizer Documentary.” Drumcell is also the founder of Droid Recordings, and co-founder of Droid Behavior, one of LA’s longest running techno event promotion companies, standing at the centre of the West Coast techno community for nearly a decade.
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 3rd 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).
For more info on Drumcell, visit:
soundcloud.com/drumcell
droidbehavior.com/blog/artists-team/drumcell
For info on the film: idreamofwires.org
The Miselu “neiro” – new portable, net-enabled social music device
The Miselu “neiro” is a portable, net-enabled social music device with a musical keyboard and a wide multi-touch display, and a variety of musical apps and cloud services.
This mobile companion invites users to perform, create, learn, discover and share — from anyplace they go. Social is integral to the Miselu “neiro” and permeates through all applications. The open platform environment will also enable developers and users to build their own custom apps and solutions.
Yamaha is providing the upcoming “neiro” with the Yamaha AudioEngine (TM) Series Sound Chip NSX-1. This powerful synthesizer engine delivers a quality that almost matches the sound of real musical instruments. The DSP chip offers a larger variety of sound effects such as reverb, chorus and EQs that create a rich sound experience.
More info at miselu.com
Music: ”Ken Ishii presents Metropolitan Harmonic Formulas – After The Rainstorm (feat. Jazztronik) (Yogurt & Koyas Remix)” from Sublime Records
Moog – Introducing The Ladder
The Ladder brings a new dynamic dimension to the 500 Series. It smooths out the harshest of tracks and adds warmth and body to any sound. The Ladder excites dull or lifeless tracks, and has the power to shape sound in a way that is excitingly unique.
More details:
The Ladder is a Dynamic Transistor Ladder Filter that is based on Bob Moog’s original ladder filter designs. Don’t be fooled by its small size, The Ladder is a powerful and fantastic sound sculpting tool that allows for creative and unique sound shifting and shaping. By design, The Ladder sports the smoothest all analog Low Pass and High Pass filter section. Simply adjust the Cutoff knob to add vibe, warmth or tonal adjustment. Choose LP to add analog vibe and warmth to a sound or select HP for sweetening and relieving the heft of a sound.
The Envelope section of The Ladder is where things get really cool:
– Variable Attack and Release controls allow you to perfectly dial in the behavior of The Ladder’s envelope section. Use these controls to open and close the envelope as fast as lightning, or slow as molasses.
– Use the Amount control in Positive or Negative mode for mild to extreme sound shaping and manipulation. From slight timbral excitement and voicing to extreme compression-like behavior. Even reversed filter action is achievable!
– The Resonance control used with The Ladder’s other features allows for the creation of sweet, dynamic and even speech like behavior. Use it to tune The Ladder to a sound source… or not. You can excite or accentuate specific frequencies as well as create completely new unique and wild sounds.
NOTE: The Ladder’s Resonance control will push the unit into self-oscillation. This can be used for effect if desired.
The 2Pole/4Pole switch allows you to select how aggressive your filter slope is. 2 pole is equal to 12db per octave which is smooth and sweet, while 4 pole is 24db per octave which is hard and aggressive.
You also have a hard wire Bypass for totally transparent routing and A/B comparison
The Ladder isn’t your average filter. It’s a big step up
Start Up & Mix with DJ Rig The Professional DJ Mixing App for iOS Devices
IK Multimedia has announced the release of what they say is their first professional DJ Mixing app: DJ Rig – a full-featured, double-deck DJ mixing app for iOS devices.
SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE $1.99 / €1.59 in the App Store!
http://www.djrig.net | http://www.irigmix.com for more information
DJ Rig is a full-featured, double-deck DJ mixing app for iPhone. It provides instant song-playing from the device’s music library, automatic tempo sync and beat match, sample-based pads and performance recording, plus an arsenal of high-quality DJ effects. When used with the new iRig MIX audio mixer for iOS devices, DJ Rig provides the most portable professional setup for mobile DJs and musicians.
DJ Rig has many professional features not found in other DJ apps like its unique beat match, its selection of 12 high-quality DJ effects with XY control, built-in sampling pads, multiple cue points, crossfade curves and X-Sync. X-Sync (available when used with iRig MIX) enables anyone to automatically synchronize the app audio with any other external audio source like a second iOS device but also regular CD or MP3 players.
DJ Rig — What you Get
DJ Rig comes with all the professional DJ features above — including 6 high-quality DJ effects (Low pass, Band pass, High pass, Delay, Stutter, Phazer) — and 8 built-in sound banks plus one adjustable cue point.
These can be expanded with 6 more effects (Flanger, Comp, Fuzz, Reverb, Auto Wah, Crush), 7 extra sound banks, 3 more cues points plus digital deck interface, all available together through in-app purchase in the Pro Bundle pack.
Free Ableton Live Rack – Unusual Percussion part 2
Here’s a new freebie from AfroDJMac featuring more quirky percussions
This is a free Ableton Live download featuring 309 unusual percussion sounds. Follow along in the video tutorial and I show you how to use my technique of sampling and resampling to create your own interesting and unique percussion sounds.
Download the Ableton Live Project here: http://bit.ly/freesynth50
This week’s free Ableton Live AfroDJRack is a continuation in the my study in unusual percussion. I’ve been looking for new ways to create percussion sounds and this download is the result. This week I have a total of 309 different sounds for you to play around with. More importantly, though, I show you the technique I used to quickly create loads of unique sounds. If you missed part one, check it out here.
I began this Ableton Live project by sampling some ordinary sounds. I recorded the sound of pencil and eraser on paper. Then I tore the paper (I felt inspired by this awesome video with Robot Koch). I snapped my fingers and rubbed my hands together, and recorded that. Next, I tapped my foot on the mic stand, which created some surprisingly bass-y kick drum like sounds. After that I took out my Casio SK-1, which is a sampling keyboard from the 80s, very lo-fi. I sampled crackles, drum sounds and even noises created by plugging in an instrument cable and touching the end to create buzzes. All of those sounds were sent into Ableton and are on the track labeled “Original percussion.” Feel free to do what you like to those sounds.
From there I played around with the clips I created, reversing some and messing around with the transpose envelope. Next I set them up to play somewhat randomly using follow actions, and recorded the result on to another audio track. The resulting clip was then “sliced to midi” and that created the drum rack on track 5 “AfroDJMac Unusual Perc NOFX.”
I then repeated the process of randomly triggering clips and resampling them, but this time I placed a host of effect racks on the track which I turned on and off and manipulated at random, using an iPad running the Lemur app. This yielded two more instrument racks, found on tracks 3 and 4. In the end, this download features 309 different percussive sounds!
Mute Synth Custom Modified by A.S.M.O. for Daniel Miller
Dirty Electronics Mute Synth custom modified by A.S.M.O. for Daniel Miller (The Normal / Mute Records).
Touch panels hardwired to pots and switches, 3 LFOs, one for each oscillator and feedback.
Low / band pass resonant filter with external voltage control input, self oscillates at full resonance.
Panel is covered in (warm) leatherette, nice!
Giant Speaker at University of Wisconsin
This is a giant speaker constructed for the UW -Madison Engineering Expo in 2011. It was built by a team of PhD students in electrical and mechanical engineering as a fun side project on a limited budget. The cone is made of polycarbonate and is 6 feet in diameter. The cabinet is 8ft x 8ft x 2ft or 128 cubic feet. Everything was custom made by the team, voice coil, magnet assembly, cone, surround, etc. Peak electrical draw is ~6kW. The video displays a chirp from 5 Hz to 500Hz or so. the speaker works best in the 5Hz – 50hz range. The video does no justice for the vibration this thing produces. We found the resonant frequency of the building it was in which caused “annoyance” for people several floors above us in the opposite side of the building. We were partially inspired by Doc Brown’s speaker from Back to the Future. A detailed history of the construction process may be found at http://www.ludoislabs.com/Giant_Speaker.html
Salad Spynner – new sound library for Ableton Live
Praxworld has announced the release of Salad Spynner, a sound library for Ableton Live.
Add some greenery to your tracks with a helping of fresh delicious drum and percussion samples harvested from the SonicCharge Synplant synthesizer.
Contains 213 single hits in .wav format, and seven fiber-rich Ableton drum racks.
The Salad Spynner library is available to purchase for $3.86 USD.
DATAMASKIN
