Adam Holzman (Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Project) demonstrates the Minimoog Voyager – Select Series, Old School and Little Phatty in the Moog booth at Frankfurt Musikmesse.

via MoogMusicInc

Analogue Solutions has announced a new keyboard synthesizer, prototype photo above, the Leipzig-K:

LEIPZIG-k … coming soon. Keyboard Leipzig with extra functions, like 2nd LFO, LCD editing (of MIDI setup), CV/Gate/CV2 inputs & outputs on rear panel, and more! (Above) is first prototype metalwork, the wooden side panels are missing!

Production model will be BLACK, but if you prepay you I might give you a choice of limited edition coloured editions!

Expect the price to be around £799 exc. VAT and delivery.

I’ve got a classic Sequential Circuits Pro-One monophonic synth, but it’s got its share of quirks.  It’s great to see another nice new analog synth; a lot of vintage synths are getting creaky and there’s a lot to say for new electronics.

via Oliver Chesler

Mstrkrft’s sound is not far from Daft Punk’s. In fact, if you were disappointed by Daft Punk’s last CD, you may find Mstrkrft filling the void.

Throughout The Looks, the lyrics are simple and repetitive. The focus here, though, is on getting your ass dancing, and if you have a dance bone, Mstrkrft is going to work on you.

Highlights of The Looks are Work On You, Easy Love and Bodywork, each of which you’re likely to be hearing in clubs for years. The tracks are built on retro-80’s drum programming, funky analog keyboards and basslines and catchy vocoded choruses.

Also worth noting is the unusual packaging, which has cool 70’s style collage graphics, and has die-cuts and openings to reveal more freaky patterns.

This video for Work On You provides a taste of the Mstrkrft style:

If you just can’t get enough of disco vocoder, Mstrkrft has got you covered.

Tracks:

• Work On You
• Easy Love
• She’s Good For Business
• Paris
• The Looks
• Street Justice
• Bodywork
• Neon Knights

Matrix, who runs the site, is active on many synth-related lists and forums, and when he sees something of interest, he posts it on Matrixsynth. As a result, the site covers everything synth, from the serious to the humorous; the trivial to the items that wow us.

When asked why he put the site up he stated, “I previously created http://matrixsynth.com/old back in October 97 as my personal portal into the world of synths. The site was just a bunch of links to all of the sites I used to go to – basically my favorite lists. Over time I found that the number of items to keep track of was just too much and a lot of the interesting bits to me were hard to find. I’d have to try and remember where I found the item of interest, and a lot of the time, these items where lost forever. A classic example are ebay auctions with rare photos and bits of information on synths. Once the auction expires, that info is basically lost. So, I decided to start tracking this stuff with a blog. If see something interesting, I put up a post so I can find it later.”

“What’s interesting is that every now and then I’ll put something up that I second guess and it actually ends up getting more traction in the comments than something I thought might get more. I’ve had people thank me for putting up a post on a show or synth gathering that they might have otherwise missed. There’s also lot’s of synth shots with Cats out there for whatever reason!” : ) Take a look yourself and see if you find something you like. And as the site is a blog, it supports RSS out of the box, so feel free to subscribe with your favorite reader and see what trickles in.”

AMS is based in Las Angeles, and has about ten year’s experience dealing in classic analog equipment. In addition to selling systems, they also service and restore analog synths both electronically and cosmetically.

Their stock is extensive, and typically includes items from Buchla, Moog, Polyfusion, Roland and Serge. In addition to classic synths, AMS also carries Moog’s line of new analog equipment and accessories.

There are many books about synthesizers and electronic music, but Mark Vail’s Vintage Synthesizers is one of the best.

Vintage Synthesizers collects articles originally written for Keyboard magazine by Vail and others. The articles cover notable synthesizers and the companies behind them. In doing so, Vail tells the stories of the people that created these important instruments, and their companies’ rise and fall.

This is the second edition of the book, and it has been extensively updated and enlarged. Vintage Synthesizers covers most of the major companies and the most important synthesizers. It also discusses some of the weirder synths, and ones that never quite made the light of day. The book is well-illustrated, with a full-color section at the beginning, and black and white photos throughout.

The book has six main sections.

Hearts of the Modern Synth Industry
This section is a breezy introduction to the major synth manufacturers. It also includes “It came from the music industry”, an article that discusses some of the oddities of synthesizer history. These articles are interesting overviews of the synth world.

Modular Synthesizers
This section is very interesting, because it covers the synthesizers that started the whole electronic music revolution. There are articles on Arp, Buchla, Emu, EML Moog, and Polyfusion and Moog.

This section includes a large article on Keith Emerson’s Moog that is fascinating. Emerson’s Moog was one of the largest of its day, and certainly the most visible. He abused it on-stage and off. It was filled with water and left outside and had many problems as a result. It was rebuilt, though, and now works better than ever. The article details each of the modules within the synthesizer, including the bogus faceplates that were there just for show.

Famous Analog Synths
This section covers the Minimoog, the Prophet V, the CS-80, early Korg synths, and others. It discusses what made these synthesizers popular and what makes each of them important in the history of synths.

Digital Synths and Samplers

For several years, analog synths have been popular collectables, because they are easy to use, immediate, and sound great. Digital synths are beginning to become collectables, too. This section covers synths like the PPG Wave, the Synergy and the Emu Emulator.

These synths are less likely to become desirable musical instruments again, because their sound is more easily duplicated by more powerful soft-synths, and they didn’t have the immediacy of analog synths. Nevertheless, they are interesting, important synths. Vail discusses the contribution of each of the major early digital synths, and also major musicians and music that featured them.

Miscellaneous

There are many synth-related topics that don’t fit well into the earlier categories, so this section discusses things like drum machines, DIY syths, electric organs, and electronic pianos. There is coverage of Roland’s famous drum machines, electric pianos, and other instruments.

The Patchbay

This section looks at issues that affect buyers, collectors and owners of vintage synths. This includes tips on evaluating and buying vintage synths, determining pricing, and maintenance.

This section is good overall, but the discussion of used prices is not very helpfull. Vail lists very wide price ranges, making it difficult to make much use of them. Also, many of the prices seem out of date. Some are way too low, especially for desirable analog synths. On the other hand, others are high. For example, the Minimoog listing shows $300-1,600. This doesn’t really tell you what they are worth. At this point, Ebay has become one of the best tools for determining real selling prices for vintage synths.

On the other hand, the coverage of maintaining vintage synths is good. There is a listing of companies that repair and rebuild old synths. Vail also includes interviews with synth experts, and they provide tips on what some of the common problems are. I’d like to see this section expanded. One other thing I’d love to see added is more information on getting replacement parts.

The book also includes a glossary of synthesizer terms. There’s not much here that is new to anybody that’s been interested in synths very long, but this section may help new collectors.

Vail’s Vintage Synthesizers is the place to start if you want to learn more about vintage synths. If you are interested in buying older synths, this book will make you a better shopper. If you are a musician, this book will help you understand the instruments behind the music, and also how the instruments shaped the sounds of their times. For anyone interested in electronic music, this book is a must-have!