This is a demo of the Synthesis Technologies MOTM-650, a 2U wide, full-featured 4-channel MIDI-CV converter.

Features include:

• Voice allocations settable as four 1 voice, two 2 voice, or one 4 voice group – each voice group separately addressable via MIDI
• Voice assignment modes on a per voice configuration: Poly 1, Poly 1 steal, Poly 2, Poly 2 steal, Unison, Solo Unison, Solo, Solo Rotate.
• Dual arpeggiators, each arpeggiator assignable to any active voice group – one arpeggiator per voice group
• Arpeggiator clock sources – MIDI IN Clock, internal clock (60-238BPM weighted), or external
• Arpeggiator clock divisors /4, /3, /2, /1.5, 1X, 1.5X, 2X and 4X the clock rate
• Arpeggiator note order as up, down, up/down, and down/up
• Arpeggiator modes are normal, ordered, ping pong, and random
• Portamento – per voice group configurable as constant rate or constant time
• Each voice group is independently configurable
• Firmware updateable via MIDI (Windows and Mac OS 9 update utilities provided)
• All MOTM-650 options settable via MIDI CCs or MIDI System Exclusive commands as well as the front panel user interface
• MOTM-650 Settings and state are remembered across power cycles
• Patch storage for MOTM-650 settings (up to 32) – recallable via MIDI patch change command
• Microtuning per MIDI spec
• Pitch bend adjustable from +/- 0 to 24 to be added to note CV on all voices
• Each of 4 AUX outputs assignable to pitch bend, channel aftertouch, or any MIDI CC.
• Velocity jack on each voice can be configured to be velocity or a trigger – providing a 5ms pulse when the voice is retriggered
• LEDs to monitor MIDI IN activity, internal/external/MIDI clock, and voice gate operation
• 8X2 LCD with variable backlight and 4 buttons for the user interface
• External clock in jack
• Transmits MIDI clock if set to external or internal clock

The MOTM-650 retails for $499.

DJ Thomas White demos his resonant low-pass gate, a synth DIY project. More info on the project is available at White’s site.

via djthomaswhite:

www.naturalrhythmmusic.com

Here are some samples of what you can do with the Resonant Lopass Gate PCB I offer at my website shown above. You will find commentary about this DIY project including samples of running a guitar through it, a voice through it, and music from an iPod through it. Modules used include the Oakley Sound Preamp/Envelope Follower Module, and the Lopass Gate module with a bit of TC Electronic M350 reverb at times. Songs are shown for demonstration of this module only.

Thanks to Don Buchla for giving me permission to make these PCBs! A true gentleman and scholar of electronic instrument design!

Mattias demonstrates treating an Korg Electribe ER-1 drum machine through his Synthesis Technology MOTM/Synthesizers.com modular synthesizer.

via RothHandle

Eric Satie’s Gnossienne No 1 for Modular Synthesizer

This is another of Satie’s beautiful melodies done using just analog sequencers.

It uses the Synthesizers.com Q119 and Q960 and the Analogue Solutions Oberkorn 3 as well as the MoonModular M563 trigger sequencer. It also uses MoonModulars M564 and Club of the Knobs C962B sequential switches.

The M564 is used to switch the gate busses and the COTK is used to play the three rows of the Oberkorn and then 16 steps of the Q119. The M563 is used to control the timing of the bass and chords. Trying to synchronise the three step sequencers, two sequential switches and the trigger sequencer with each row shifting at different rates proved to be very challenging.

The only effect used apart from the Modcan digital delay is a little reverb.

via justwaving

Here’s a few clips from Meeting of the Knobs 2009, held June 27th in Bedford, Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth area.)

It looks like MOTK 2009 was a great chance to see incredible and rare synth gear and to meet some of the people responsible for the renaissance of analog synthesis.

If you made it to MOTK 2009, leave a comment with your thoughts!

Click here to view the embedded video.

via zibbybone, , davidryle

Meeting of the Knobs 2009, a day devoted to tweaking, vintage and modern analog synths and drooling, is scheduled for June 27th, Bedford, Texas (Dallas/Fort Worth area.)

The event will be held from 10am-5pm at the Bedford Library.

Details here.

About the event:

Looking for People to Bring

Modular synthesizers of all kind
Vintage heros like Moog, Arp 2500/2600, Roland 100/700, Oberheim 2V/4V, etc.
Mellotron
DIY instruments
Magazines, Books, Sales Lit

Itinerary

Doors open at 9am
We will order pizza or other take-out for lunch
Photographer will be available for individual and group shots
Close doors at 5pm
Dinner at local cafeteria

Don’t Forget

Headphones
Camera
Extension cords and power strips
Wear a Synth T-Shirt

For all you fans of cute synth videos – two boys making some noise, with a giant modular synth.

Every kid should be so lucky, right?

via chromeeumm:

Joseph (6) and Michael (3) testing out Dad’s late night assembly work on the modular synth.

Variation on Bach’s Prelude No 1 for Modular Synthesizer.

via justwaving:

Another tune just using sequencers, a Q119, Q960 and an M563.

This is another one of my favourite Bach pieces (probably because its on of the few Bach pieces I can play!)

It also uses the Analogue Solutions TR-808 and TR-909 drum machine clones, driven by the Superb Moonmodular M563.

Analog Modular Synthesizer synth jam.

via justwaving:

Just moved my modular to the other side of my tiny studio and thought I would upload my first video. I really have to move the filters into a better position.

This is only the Q119 And Q960 playing sequences.

John L Rice demos his modular drum machine:

Second experiment of my new Synth Tech MOTM-730 Voltage Controlled Pulse Divider.

I had an idea to try doing a basic drum beat and then expanded from there.

Patch chart now posted at www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3504

Bug Killer – Synth Demo

via robotmakers:

A Robotmakers demo of the MOTM-730 Pulse Divider and the Synthesizers.com Q960 Sequential Controller in a musical context.

Be patient for the musical context.

Popcorn performed on Synthesizers.com

via Thalassa77:

Popcorn cover performed in Synthesizers.com, all sounds are from this system except drums.

11 different synthesizers.com sounds are in this track.

All made with one VCO!

The video isn’t especially sexy – but’s it’s a great reminder of what you can do with limited resources – and that most of the synth pop classics were made with a fraction of the gear that most electronic musicians now have.

The Robotmaker’s Crush Kill Destroy:

The return of the Robotmakers only deepens the enigma of the robot with the anger management problem. Original music created with Moog, MOTM, Dotcom, Cynthia and homemade modulars, Fender, Phantom guitars and Vox amps.

Original video filmed with rng35 35mm adapter, OM and Lensbabies lenses.

via robotmakers

Variation on Satie’s Gymnopédie No 1, for Modular Synthesizer.

via justwaving:

This is another tune done just using the Q119 and Q960 sequencers. The synthesizer is playing on it’s own.

Switched-On Satie, anyone?

Robert Rich demonstrates the Synthesis Technology MOTM-730 Voltage-Controlled Pulse Divider.

The MOTM-730 is use to “divide down” an input signal (usually from a LFO or VCO) to produce multiple square wave outputs. The MOTM-120 Sub-Octave Mux is a simple version of this module (it divides by 2, 4, 8 and 16 only).

via MOTMsynth

This is another MOTM demo via JohnLRice:

Just some fun trying to rework a patch using a Synth Tech MOTM-510 WaveWarper module to sound more like the opening of Deep Purple’s song Space Truckin’. inspired by Attorks!

It really does sound much better played extremely loud!!!!

MOTM-510 Live Patch Jam

via JohnLRice:

Here is another instance of playing around with a particular module and coming up with something “almost” good enough to post here . . . and going ahead and posting it anyway!

Sorry for all the keyboard noise!

I promise for the next video I’ll take the time to attach carrot laden sticks to the heads of the multitude of little donkeys that turn the big wheel the powers my studio and record a proper line out to the computer instead of using the camera mic again!

About the MOTM-510:

The MOTM-510 is a new kind of analog signal processing module. It’s not easy to describe what it does, but I’ll try.

Let’s start with the well-known Ring Modulator (like the MOTM-110 or MOTM-190). A Ring Modulator is a multiplier: the output can be written as Out = X * Y, where X and Y are the 2 input signals (sometimes referred to as the modulator and the carrier). X and/or Y can be audio or DC signals. The output is simply the voltage X times the voltage Y. This produces the sum of X and Y (X+Y) and the difference of X and Y (X-Y).

The traditional RM has no ‘control voltage’ inputs: you just feed 2 signals in, and get 1 signal out. The MOTM-510 takes this concept and generates entire new types of waveforms.

Instead of the 2 RM inputs, the basic WaveWarper has 3: X, Y and Z. These are audio inputs. The transfer function is OUT = X * (Y/Z)^m, where:

• X is the GAIN signal. It controls the overall amplitude of the signal
• Y is the ‘main audio’ signal, the one that is getting ‘warped’
• Z is the DIVISOR signal. This is acts to modulate the amplitude of the main audio signal before it gets warped
• m is the Warp Factor. This is a fixed exponential factor, which is what is doing the ‘warping’. No, it’s not voltage controlled.
• m varies (by the FACTOR control) from 0.2 to 0.6 (ROOT mode), 1 (UNITY, which makes it similar to a RM), to 2 to 5 (POWER mode)
• each input (X, Y and Z) has attenuators
• the AUDIO OUT is AC-coupled and band-limited to 18Khz. The FULL OUT is DC-coupled and can go as high as 200Khz!

There are 3 DC-coupled inputs called OFFSET. These can be DC control voltages (LFOs, EGs, etc) that add to the audio signals. In this manner, the WaveWarper can respond to 6 different modulation sources simultaneously.

Great….what does this MEAN? Well, it makes an absolute mess of even the simplest waveform. Effects range from frying bacon to a frog in a blender to sticking your head into a jet engine. You can warp LFOs into bizarre new waveforms, as well as the output of MOTM-800 EGs. You can process any line-level audio. 

Analog Synthesizer MOTM-650 Demo Air On a G String

via justwaving:

This is demo of the MOTM-650 Midi/CV convertor operating in four voice mode.

Velocity and controller information is also being sent to the modular

Variation on Pachelbel’s Canon for Modular Synthesizer

Does the world need another version of Pachelbel’s Canon in D?

Probably not – but this version for modular synthesizer is still pretty fun:

I have always loved this piece and wanted to try part of it just using sequencers. The synthesizer is playing on it’s own.

via justwaving.

The Synthesis Technologies MOTM-485 Filter

Description:

via JohnLRice:

The Synth Tech MOTM-485 GX-1 is not your ordinary VCF!

I received mine a few days ago and this demo hopes to show some of the more unusual effect it can help to create.