Impaktor Drum Synthesizer app for iPhone & iPad with Drum Sticks! – Demo and Looping Jam
Impaktor for iPhone and iPad (universal app) is a drum synthesizer that you trigger with your device’s built in microphone. The app is EXTREMELY accurate in perceiving the volume (velocity) of the notes you play, and even can trigger different tones from the synth with different sounds. “The real acoustical impulses from the built-in microphone are used as an excitation source for advanced sound modules that simulates behavior of membranes, cymbals, metallophones or strings. This makes Impaktor a highly responsive and expressive instrument.”
Bias BS-2 Synth Drum Percussion
Demo of a classic vintage and rare drum synth – Bias BS-2 Drum Percussion: Bias (Ishibashi Japan) Drum Analog Synth Module.
Time machine: MXR 185 Vintage Drum Machine 1983
The MXR 185 is a great American drum machine from 1983. It has individual outputs for drumsounds. The crispy 8-bit samples sound great. The built in sequencer has a “tight” groove, it grooves like hell!
Know more about the MXR 185 Drum synth:
MXR were major innovators during the ’70s with their ground breaking effects pedals such as the Phase 100 phase shifter that defined the beautiful, swirling guitar and electric piano sounds of the decade.
They also produced distortion pedals, sustain pedals and more…. products that set the standard for stomp boxes even today.
They also introduced us to the idea of a pitch shifters and harmonisers (not be confused with today’s pitch correction devices).
Their products weren’t cheap but they exuded quality and had a great sound and an MXR Phase 100 pedal is probably now worth more than it originally sold for!
However, as technology progressed, MXR’s fortunes began to dwindle. Looking for ideas to generate revenue, MXR couldn’t resist the lure of the growing (and lucrative) drum machine market. Linn and Emu had been seen to be very successful with their products and, technically, the concept wasn’t exactly rocket science at the time…. a programmable sequencer that issued triggers to fire off crude 8-bit drum samples stored in ROM chips! Nowadays, this might be a course project for a college engineering student! And so in the mid 80s, they released their MXR 185 Drum Computer.
On the surface, it looked great. Twelve ‘real’ drum sounds each with their own pad at an affordable price. None of the pads were velocity sensitive – you needed to use the ACCENT button for dynamics (but this was typical for the time). However, each sound also had its own individual output and level slider. Whereas the Emu Drumulator compromised in these areas, the MXR was more like a Linn in terms of dedicated pads and controls.
The MXR 185 also had some interesting innovations in the user interface.
Bass Sounds | Moog Little Phatty: Subtractive Synthesis
In this video Arjen Schatt demonstrates how to create bass sounds with the Moog Little Phatty. He starts from the calibration patch (CA CALIBRATION) as usual and create a bass sound as I go.
3 x Exploration of the Simmons SDSV
After months of repair SynthMania are ready to explore the capabilities of the Simmons SDSV. The SDS-5 (or SDS-V) was a really popular system, used by many of the big names in the 80’s. It was ‘module’ based so you could start with 5 modules and expand it to 6 or 7 in total.There was also different types of modules, toms, bass drum, snare and hi hat. Also it had ‘patch memories’, of sorts anyway. These were basically trimmers that were recessed below the panel. You could also use it in a ‘free’ mode where the sound you had was the sound set on the knobs.
After 11 months in the repair shop the Simmons SDSV is fixed. To celebrate the event, I’m testing the SDSV to explore some of the typical Italo sounds of the early / mid ’80s. The SSL Alpha-Link audio interface’s MADI port is also broken at the moment so I’m recording this audio through the computer’s internal sound card… I’ll create a better Simmons demo once I fix the audio interface. This is not a full song, just some noodling on the Simmons and JP-8 to test the SDSV sounds (which are great!)
A moody, slower demo of the Simmons SDSV, the Roland TR-808, and Roland Jupiter-8 using some classic-sounding sounds. The TR-808 drives the Simmons and the JP-8’s arpeggiator, the rest is improvised in real time. The filter of the JP-8 is set at -24dB and tweaked in real time. Again, due to my main audio interface being broken, I’m using the computer’s internal audio card, sorry for the floor noise.
Simmons SDSV, TR-808, Jupiter-8, Minimoog
Sugar Bytes – UNIQUE
Details on the Unique synth as stated by Sugar Bytes themselves:
Unique Synthesizer
The name says it all
The Unique synthesizer specializes in state-of-the-art vowel sounds and mighty, mighty analog keyboard sounds. With Unique, it takes just a rightclick on a control and complex parameter rides with internal and external controllers become a joyride. And that’s what they should be, after all.
The soul of Unique: Oscillators
The source of the Unique’s truly unique sounds are its direct and powerful sounding oscillators. The Triple Saw and the Triple FM algorithms cover such a wide range of sounds, we spent extra hours to make all this available by using just a few controls. The noise oscillator with built-in filter can be used in a tonal mode, the right choice for the vowel filter.
The passion of Unique: Filters and their modulators
The actual intention behind this project also became its outstanding feature: the Vowel Filter mode. The oscillator sound can be transformed to vowel formants in many different ways. The juicy filters can also be used in classic mode, so Unique is fitted for standard situations as well. Each of the five filters (with internal analog signal processing) again has five individual modulators for creating oustanding Vowel and Filter movements. The modulators can be triggered in many different ways: for example with the lowest note played, the first note played or even with the sequencer clock or the arpeggiator. Yet another stunning Unique feature: The internal LFO´s have fade algorithms for rate and intensity.
The sex of Unique: Controllers and Effects
The internal controllers section contains a recordable XY field and is very easy to manage with just a rightclick on any control. Feedbacks go from ‚the Controllers section rocks!’ to ‚the Controllers section just blows me away!’ The effects section contains two chained multi effects, each of them with six effect algorithms. So once you’ve built your sound, there’s tons of sound polish.
Exploring the Alesis Andromeda A6
A quick look at the Alesis Andromeda A6.
Filter CV modulation (by a Moog Multi-Pedal) and subtle timbral explorations over a rhythm track made from Moog synths (Voyager, Little Phatty and Slim Phatty).
The Andromeda A6 is a true analog synthesizer using two analog oscillators per voice, sub-oscillators, hard and soft sync and more! It features 16-voice polyphony. With the Andromeda, you’ll find a huge range of tonal possibilities: searing leads, warm pads, fat bass lines, extreme sound effects and more. And of course there are plenty of knobs (72) and buttons (144), even an assignable ribbon controller for addictive hands-on real-time control! The large high-resolution LCD display is excellent and shows you actual rather than relative values of parameters. Andromeda will integrate seamlessly into any studio with its total MIDI control and sync, individual voice outputs, stereo outputs and several audio inputs.
Andromeda is completely analog – no emulation! It features two analog filters per voice that sound great! They are a multimode 2-pole and a 4-pole lowpass. External audio can be routed through these filters too (three 1/4″ jacks)! As for modulation, Andromeda has three LFOs, each with six waveforms and they can be synced to MIDI clock. And there are three 7-stage envelopes with very creative and flexible functions. Also onboard is an extensive mod matrix for enormous freedom in configuring Andromeda’s sounds!
No analog synth would be complete without a set of classic effects and features. Andromeda also offers Portamento with nine slopes and legato functions. A built-in arpeggiator and analog-style sequencer are available, with MIDI sync! There are also some high quality digital effects such as reverbs, chorus, echo, distortion and more! Andromeda comes with 256 breathtaking preset patches plus 128 user. A PCMCIA-format memory card slot allows for additional programs and mixes. Andromeda is pure analog bliss, with all the features, stability and widgets of modern digital synths.
Yamaha CS-15 :: Sonic Death Factory
Exploring the classic Yamaha CS-15, description of the synth below
This synth really has its own sound. The CS-15’s got style. Built like a tank with a lot of nice knobs and best of all, not one but two of those funny sounding multimode filters. It’s actually a duophonic / bitimbral synth but you have to connect it to CV (Hz/V like Korg not V/Oct) to get the extra voice. Each of the two VCOs has its own CV/Gate control.
The best things about it are the flexibility of the VCFs and the routings to the filters and envelopes. You can rout VCO 1 to both VCFs and the VCFs to any of the envelopes positive or negative voltage. The VCFs are 12 dB/Oct and are switchable between low, band or high-pass. They are the key to the nice sound of the Yamaha CS family. Other nice features are noise, external-in for processing other sounds, LFO with Sample & Hold for those bubbling sounds and an individual auto-bend for the VCOs.
The CS-15 is great for strange blips, bass and tiny highpass sounds. The ADSRs aren’t as fast as the CS-10 but they are ok. A nice feature is the ‘brilliance’ slider that can control either or both VCFs. At their extremely low prices, the CS-15 is an analog that’s definitely worth checking out for yourself.
Roland Integra-7 Product Presentation
The Sonci guys are at it again, this time taking a closer look at the Integra-7, details below:
Integra-7. Roland’s latest professional sound module – with masses of sound and the Jupiter 80 sound engine and a lot more. Product specialist Gareth Bowen came down to show us what it can do
Time machine: Roland CR-68 Vintage Analog Drum Machine
The CR-68 is a classic analog Rhythm Machine related to the famous CR-78. The CR-68 has the same sound set and rhythm patterns, but is not programmable and lacks many of the better features found on a CR-78. However the CR-68 does have breaks & fills, an accent that really livens up its beats, and a balance knob that can be used to weird-out the sounds a little bit. A much cheaper alternative to the CR-78 considering it is strictly limited to its preset patterns.
The CR-68 offers up the basic set of rhythms and sounds. There’s 4 Rock, 2 Disco, Waltz, Shuffle, Slow Rock, Swing, Fox Trot, Tango, etc… The sounds are analog and include kick, snare, rim, hi-hat, cymbal, maracas, claves, cowbell and congas. These days the CR-68’s sounds are often sampled instead, after which the machine itself may be kept around for use as a paperweight or book-end.
DATAMASKIN
