New video of the Dewanatron Hymnotron Synthesizer
Checking out the Dewanatron Hymnotron instrument from Leon and Brian Dewan at winter NAMM 2012. The Hymnotron is a just intonation tone organ that uses a binary key arrangement.
The Dewans create unique handcrafted ‘folk synthesizers’ that explore areas ignored by the mainstream music industry.
This is what it sounds like the new Nord Drum – Virtual Analog Drum Synthesizer
We have all seen the nice little red box from Clavia / NORD – the new virtual analog drum synth, now an new teaser video has been released where you can hera what it actually sound like.
Nord Drum – 4 Channel Virtual Analog Drum Synthesizer.
See: www.norddrum.com for more info and additional sound demos!
Music by Boska (soundcloud.com/boskamusic)
Free Ableton Live Device – Christmas Tree Synth
AfroDJMac is gearing up for Xmas 
so here’s a little treat from him
This week I created an Ableton Live synth especially for Christmas. My Christmas tree has lights that play little Christmas songs, so I sampled the sounds coming out of its tiny little speaker and created this instrument for Ableton Live. I hope you enjoy it!
Download the Live Instrument: http://bit.ly/freesynth39
I just put up my Christmas tree and put on some lights that play Christmas songs. The songs are comprised of very simple monophonic melodies, coming out of a tiny little speaker, but as soon as I heard it I was transported back to my youth sitting around the tree late at night. Naturally I had to sample it. So I put my AKG C3000 right up to the speaker and let it play. I selected four different notes to use in the instrument. The lights only play notes ranging just over an octave, so there’s not a lot of choice. From there I placed it into an Ableton Live Device Rack and went to town. I put some reverb and delay in a separate rack, inside the main instrument, to allow you to mix in some space without drowning out the original note. There’s an arpeggiator hooked up to the macro knobs, as well as Sampler’s Shaper control for some added grit. The different samples can be played all at the same time, three at the same time, two at the same time or just one, if you are a purist like me. I’ve also looped one of the samples so that you can play the instrument with some sustain; the original notes are just short bleeps and bloops. The result is a very lo-fi quaint little synth, but at least for me, it has a lot of charm.
The Lower Rhythm releases Earthworm VSTi for Windows
The Lower Rhythm says that Earthwormis a bass synthesizer with all of the grease, fatness and power expected of an analog-style machine. It features include two oscillators (five waveforms each), an extra fat LP filter and variable ‘tone,’ ‘tube’ drive and bit crushing.
Although the user interface looks pretty basic/poor to me, it might provide the power you need to add that extra fatness to your sound
“When the soft sounds of other bass synths just aren’t cutting it for your IDM, glitch, industrial, etc… Earthworm will provide the monophonic balls required right out of the box.”
Features:
- Monophonic design
- Two oscillators with five waveforms each
- Extra Fat LP filter
- Variable ‘Tone,’ tube drive and bit crushing
Pricing and Availability:
$12.99
More information:
Industrial noise synth
Serious noise in this video:
Here’s a clip of the performance synth I built over the summer of 2011. I just added an awesome rhythm section prototype circuit based on Eric archers amazing andromeda drum modules. The drum sequencer is basically just two CD4089 binary rate multipliers. I added a CD4024 binary counter for making more complex rhythm sequences and also added a CD40106 for inverting various signals to put everything in phase.
More details on the Mute Synth
“Mute announce the release of the Dirty Electronics Mute Synth, a specially created analogue electronic instrument, which will be available at select shops, including Rough Trade East (London) and Schneiders Buero (Berlin) and online from: http://www.mutebank.co.uk
Originally created for the legendary Short Circuit presents Mute event at the Roundhouse, the Dirty Electronics Mute Synth is a hand-held touch and tilt instrument with copper etched artwork and contoured printed circuit board that was designed in collaboration Mute and long time associate, graphic designer Adrian Shaughnessy.
The instrument combines sound synthesis with a sequencer/pulser, and is controlled by the conductivity of the human body which completes the instrument’s circuit when the copper etching is touched. Designed to be played with thumbs and fingers, there are touch points on both sides of the circuit board and two tilt switches on different planes allow for gestural control of the sequencer.
Since 2003, John Richards has been exploring the idea of Dirty Electronics, focusing on face-to-face shared experiences, ritual, gesture, touch and social interaction. In Dirty Electronics, process and performance are inseparably bound and a large part of the Dirty Electronics experience is the workshop, which premiered the Mute Synth in the Roundhouse earlier this year.
Dirty Electronics recently held a workshop at the Supersonic festival in Birmingham, for further information please visit: www.dirtyelectronics.org
www.mute.com
www.twitter.com/muteuk
www.facebook.com/muterecords“
Time machine – Roland Alpha Juno 2 + Oberheim Cyclone Arpeggiator
Vintage synth demo by RetroSound
Roland Alpha Juno 2 Analog Synthesizer (1986)
Oberheim Cyclone Arpeggiator
more info: http://www.retrosound.de/
More info on the Juno 2:
This is an upgraded version of the Alpha Juno 1. It adds an extended 61 note keyboard with velocity and aftertouch and an external memory cartridge slot. Other than that it has the same great sound and features as the Juno 1. Sliders and buttons were replaced by membrane buttons and the Alpha Dial which is used to edit and browse through the extensive selection of parameters: DCO digitally controlled oscillators, LFO, bend, ENV, pulse, waveforms, noise, PW/PWM, high pass filter, VCF filter with freq/env/res/lfo/kybd, VCA envelope, chorus, and more.
Adequate in the studio or on the stage, the Juno 2 has 64 presets and 64 user memory patches, a nice LCD display, an LFO capable of a very slow rate for some cool sweeping effects, and a great bass sound (especially nice for acid basslines) and noise effects! It also has chord memory which is perfect for rave & techno, portamento and keyboard transposing. The PG-300 Synthesizer Programmer gives you traditional slider control of each parameter for much easier and faster editing.
Rockit DIY 8bit synth is now launched
HackMe Electronics has announced that the Rockit synth – their DIY 8-bit synthesizer project – has shipped.
Rockit is an open source analog-digital hybrid synth, created by Matt Heins. Heins says that he’s shipped about 175 Rockits in some for (assembled, kits or PCBs). The Rockit is now available assembled for $229, or as a kit for $139.
Features:
- Two Mixable Oscillators with 16 Waveshapes/Sounds and Detune
- Analog Voltage-Controlled Amplifier with ADSR controls
- Digitally Controlled Analog Filter with Selectable Low/Band/High Pass and External Audio Input and Independent Envelope
- Two LFOs with 16 Waveshapes and 6 Destinations Each
- MIDI In and Out
- Open Source C Code with an AVR Microcontroller
- 16 Slots for Patch Save and Recall
You can preview the sound of the Rockit synthesizer below:
Ableton Live – Kasio-M4L virtual phase distortion synth
Ableton has released Kasio-M4L, a free Max for Live instrument by Oli Larkin.
Like its namesake CZ-series synths, Kasio-M4L uses Phase Distortion synthesis – in which the phase of a sine wave is modified in various ways to produce new waveforms. Kasio-M4L builds on its digital legacy, producing plastic basses, sharp bell-like timbres and shimmering resonant pads. Utilizing two CZ-style oscillators, ring modulation, three Envelope Generators and an LFO, a wide variety of timbres are possible. Kasio-M4L serves to bring the classic sounds of Phase Distortion to all Max for Live users.
Kasio-M4L comes with 32 presets inspired by the original CZ-synths. All controls are laid out on one easy-to-use panel for instant tweaking. Select from eight CZ waveforms for each oscillator in the “Wave” section. Different waveforms can be set for each alternating cycle; the second oscillator can also be detuned and mixed as a ring modulator signal. The ADSR Envelope Generator sections control amplitude, pitch and the all-important DCW (digitally controlled wave-shaping) which varies the amount of phase distortion. Vibrato is controlled via the LFO section.
Kasio-M4L is a free download from Ableton. Requires Ableton Live 8.2.6 or higher and Max for Live.
More information:Kasio-M4L
Kid Nepro releases Vintage Synths Volume 2 for WAV, Reason and Kontakt
Kid Nepro says that, without having to shell out all that cash for a vintage synth, you can now get the next best thing – new samples from five of the best analog instruments ever produced.
Vintage Synthesizers Volume 2 includes a collection of new sounds from the ARP2600, Super Jupiter, Prophet-5, Prophet VS and Moog Modular Synths. Kid Nepro tells us that there are lots of cool basses, leads, pads, strings and analog synth sounds.
Vintage Synthesizers Volume 2 is available in WAV, Native Instruments Kontakt and Reason’s NN-XT sample player formats. Reason and Kontakt instruments are all set up for you. Just load and play. (Includes 1.1 GB Samples and 100 instruments)
Pricing and Availability:
Available On CD-ROM as a digital download – $40. USD.
More information:
DATAMASKIN
