The Last Bass Outpost
Main Forums => The Bass Zone => Topic started by: Pekka on February 17, 2013, 10:09:09 AM
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Any other analog synth fans? Here's my gear:
(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4322198/108603.jpg)
Yamaha CS01, Yamaha CS-5 and a Sonosaur bass pedal synth (Ric bass and DSOTM marble are for some extra prog appeal...). OK, not completely analog, CS01 has a digital oscillator and Sonosaur has two DCO's but filters are analog on those two also. Pretty basic stuff but they sound good, especially the CS01 has a great PWM and all are good for playing bass lines.
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Great synths, Pekka! I've always been partial to the old Yamaha CS lineup. Unfortunately, I'm not anywhere near coordinated enough to even begin to contemplate pedals of any sort ;D
I'm very much into old electronic and electromechanical instruments and effects, and enjoy repairing/restoring that stuff as a hobby. I've been fortunate to own quite a few synths and vintage keys by doing the buy-low/repair/try/sell-high thing for many years. The dust is starting to settle, and I'm currently left with a Solina String Synth (landed this for free!), Oberheim OB-8 polyphonic, Oberheim FVS four voice w/sequencer, Hammond M-102 and Leslie 145 w/147 amp, Hammond M-3 (I'm wanting to liberate this one - free to any LBO'ers close to the Phoenix-area! Bring friends and a hernia belt :) ), Sequential Circuits Pro-One (had this since I was a kid- bought cheap during the great DX7 sell-a-thon of the mid-1980s), '74 Minimoog, Rhodes MkII, a large Moog-format modular, several old Roland guitar synth systems (G-505 and 808 guitars, GR-100, GR-300, and GR-700 synths), and a few nice (IMO) digitals - Ensoniq EPS, Casio CZ-5000, and a Waldorf Q.
The majority of these were bought in various states of disrepair. Still need to tackle a couple of them - the Rhodes action is horrible, and the Waldorf has the somewhat common jumpy-encoder problem (akin to dirty pots, but in the digital world). The Roland GR-700 needs some service as well (LOVE the sound of that one, though - and it has digital oscillators. No digital bigotry here ;) )
Here are some pics...
Sequential Pro-one, Yamaha CS-40M, Obie OB-8, and a Multimoog on the floor:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/DSCF0005.jpg)
Hammond, Leslie, and Solina:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/hammond/DSCF0202a.jpg)
This is probably the only one I miss- Korg X-911 Guitar Synth:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/korg_x911/korg-x911a.jpg)
Minimoog, with one of my handmade "ribbon controllers":
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/74mini-12-1024x768.jpg)
Before-pic of the Minimoog ;D
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/74mini-2.jpg)
Oberheim Four Voice, pre-restoration
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/fvs1-1024x788.jpg)
...during restoration- ack!
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/fvs8-1024x768.jpg)
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/DSCF0027a-1024x707.jpg)
...and post-restoration with original sequencer (and noise, sample/hold source) interfaced in:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/oberheim_fvs/DSCF0701.jpg)
Roland systems:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/roland/DSCF0003.jpg)
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/roland/DSCF0045.jpg)
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/roland/DSCF0100-1.jpg)
Moog-format modular. This one has filled out a bit since this pic. Currently has 7 oscillators, 7 filters, 7 attenuators, 3 envelope generators, 4 sequencers, 4 quantizers, noise, sample/hold, wavefolder, distortion/clipper, ring modulator, analog delay, dual phaser, frequency shifter, triple chorus, and some other misc logic and signal processing things. Still have a bunch of stuff left to build for this one- EMS Synthi oscillator clones, Korg PS-3100 resonator clone, Buchla low pass gates and quad function generator clones...
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF0171.jpg)
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSC02154.jpg)
So yeah... I guess a synth fan ;D
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wow, i love them moog format modular.i have one of those korg guitar synths.1974 i think?
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In order to keep this in the Bass Zone we'd better load it with bass synths!
(http://imageshack.us/a/img839/6996/aldotaurussmall.jpg)
I don't have nearly as much variety as Pekka and Joe - 95% of my stuff is Moog, I can only find a pic of my Little Phatty right now but also have a Micromoog and used to own a Moog Rogue:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img193/5483/livepodcastlittlephatty.jpg)
Plus some MoogerFoogers which are basically synth modules, with the requisite spaghetti:
(http://imageshack.us/a/img210/5120/prolegomenonpatch6wj.jpg)
Haven't been doing much synth stuff lately, though I've been tempted to bust out the Taurus 3 with the new soul jazz trio...
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Thanks guys, I can show these pics to my wife now and she'll get off my back... :mrgreen:
Great stuff you have, I'm very jealous. I can't even start what I would like to own of those. All the Oberheims, Moogs etc. I hate you. :P
I forgot this:
(https://dl.dropbox.com/u/4322198/Korg%20PK-13_BPX-3.jpg)
It's an old Korg PK-13 Pedal unit driving a PBX-3 module. Very limited sound shaping possibilitites but it sounds very warm. I've learned these are very rare. Chromium, do you know anything about these? Or anybody? I'm thinking of selling it since I have the Sonosaur.
BTW, my friend has that X-911 guitar synth. The same friend gave me the CS01 (he had got it from a flea market for a fiver...).
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You guys must love playing "Frankenstein". What kind of keyboard hanging from the guitar strap is Edgar playing here?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLP1FCREBA
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You guys must love playing "Frankenstein". What kind of keyboard hanging from the guitar strap is Edgar playing here?
It's a keyboard for an ARP 2600 synth.
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It's an old Korg PK-13 Pedal unit driving a PBX-3 module. Very limited sound shaping possibilitites but it sounds very warm. I've learned these are very rare. Chromium, do you know anything about these? Or anybody? I'm thinking of selling it since I have the Sonosaur.
BTW, my friend has that X-911 guitar synth. The same friend gave me the CS01 (he had got it from a flea market for a fiver...).
Pekka, I think those pedals were offered as an add on to the Korg BX-3 organ when that emerged in the late 70s. You're right- they don't show up very often.
wow, i love them moog format modular.i have one of those korg guitar synths.1974 i think?
The X-911 was somewhat limited sounding, but I really liked using it with bass. It actually tracked surprisingly well! This was a little improv/impromptu thing that I had recorded with mine: http://www.hillscloud.com/music/Squelch.mp3 (http://www.hillscloud.com/music/Squelch.mp3). All the buzzy synth sounds were from the X-911 being driven by my Alembic Distillate. The synth bass sound is a mix of heavily compressed Alembic and the Korg. I didn't get mine as cheaply as Pekka's friend (getting tough to find those deals!), but I bought it broken and repaired it. Had to sell that one to help pay for the modular, but may try to re-buy one someday.
It's a keyboard for an ARP 2600 synth.
I actually was looking for an ARP 2600 when the start to my modular system became available used. I went that route figuring that it would offer more flexibility, and it was built this side of 2000 - and so less service issues to have to deal with... Still have a soft spot for a 2600 though! I think that may have been my first exposure to synths as a little kid - via Stevie Wonder on Sesame Street! ;D
(it was also the voice of R2-D2 ;) ).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMDCjA9_-tM
If that didn't get me started, early exposure to Tomita, ELP, Yes, Floyd, Herbie, George Duke/Zappa, Weather Report, Mahavishnu and Jan Hammer Group, etc... surely did.
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Pekka, I think those pedals were offered as an add on to the Korg BX-3 organ when that emerged in the late 70s. You're right- they don't show up very often.
That is what I was thinking too. If you know anyone who is interested in those let me know.
The X-911 was somewhat limited sounding, but I really liked using it with bass. It actually tracked surprisingly well! This was a little improv/impromptu thing that I had recorded with mine: http://www.hillscloud.com/music/Squelch.mp3 (http://www.hillscloud.com/music/Squelch.mp3). All the buzzy synth sounds were from the X-911 being driven by my Alembic Distillate. The synth bass sound is a mix of heavily compressed Alembic and the Korg. I didn't get mine as cheaply as Pekka's friend (getting tough to find those deals!), but I bought it broken and repaired it. Had to sell that one to help pay for the modular, but may try to re-buy one someday.
My friend got the CS01 for a fiver not the X-911.
[/quote]
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Some great stuff there guys! Love the Pro 1. I still have my first synth - an Oberheim Matrix 6. I also recently acquired a rack version Matrix 6R. A few years ago a guy GAVE me an original Moog Taurus. Awesome! All the myth and mystery is true about these things. Nothing else sounds quite the same. On the more modern end, my main keyboard is a Roland Juno G and Roland PK5 MIDI bass pedals.
(https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/20669_1227795173525_4517133_n.jpg)
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We have a hive of Geddy Lees here!!!! Ayn Rand, high-pitched vocals and an abundance of Rics can do horrible things to a young man's mind.
And the synth shall inherit the earth!
(http://www.egodeath.com/images/star-s.jpg)
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(J*sus,) Joe (seph and M*ry)... you certainly know how to come out of the closet in style...
When it all goes into place, is there some highly polished chromium-steel ten foot wide pipe that descends in a hillscloud of dry ice to reveal the secret picture...? ;D
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(J*sus,) Joe (seph and M*ry)... you certainly know how to come out of the closet in style...
When it all goes into place, is there some highly polished chromium-steel ten foot wide pipe that descends in a hillscloud of dry ice to reveal the secret picture...? ;D
Too much Dr. Who and BBC Radiophonic Workshop have taken their toll!
Actually, it would appear that I'm not the only one... ;D
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF4017.jpg)
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We have a hive of Geddy Lees here!!!! Ayn Rand, high-pitched vocals and an abundance of Rics can do horrible things to a young man's mind.
At least I don't sing.:)
Another Canadian band with a Rickenbacker-wielding synth-playing Taurus-pedalling lead singer was the eccentric trio called FM. Ben Mink or Nash The Slash on electric violin & mandolin (no guitars), Martin Deller on drums and occasional ARP 2500 (!) and Cameron Hawkins on lead vocals/bass/synths. Their first four albums are being reissued in late March by Esoteric and I'm rather fond of them. Very unique sound and I think they did some of the stuff Rush did on "Signals" few years earlier.
This songs reminds me of Peter Gabriel, Ultravox and Kate Bush. Produced by Larry Fast in 1980 so maybe there's the connection:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86IrD0Gm4qs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86IrD0Gm4qs)
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Joe... it's all lost on some of your bretheren (as I glance at my gravity-defying TARDIS to my left) ... ;D
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(as I glance at my gravity-defying TARDIS to my left) ... ;D
I'm working on one of my own here as well... ;)
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF4019.jpg)
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Love the Pro 1.
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/ribbon/DSCF0101.jpg)
That and a Casio CZ-101 were my first "real", programmable synths. The Pro-one is still my favorite mono. I bought it shortly after the DX-7 came out in the early-mid 80s, and everyone was dumping their old analogs to buy the Yamaha digitals (I had a DX-5 in the 90s - programming that thing drove me nuts). Could have bought a used Prophet-5 from that same store for $450(!) if I had it, and I think I got the Pro-one for about $125.
I had built my first synth from scratch using books and parts from local electronic stores and PAiA. It was very crude looking, but it worked, and I needed a decent keyboard assembly to control it. Buying that Pro-one at the time ended up being cheaper than buying just the bare keyboard assembly from PAiA- and I got an entire synth in the process!
I recently serviced it, and on a whim modified it to add aftertouch to the keyboard. It's pretty cool! I mounted some aluminum channel strip under the keybed with a force-sensing resistor sitting on top of it, and that in turn controls a VCA that all the modulation gets routed thru. I used to have a Multimoog that was touch sensitive, and that inspired the modification.
You can see it peeking out from under the keybed here... I didn't want to drill any holes in the synth, and so I put the bypass and sensitivity trimmer down there as well:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/retropressure/DSCF0001-2.jpg)
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/retropressure/DSCF0003-2.jpg)
I mounted the VCA inside, just under the bender box:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/retropressure/DSCF0159.jpg)
Did a quick demo of it here, when I was still toying with the idea. I only show it doing pitch bends, but it can control any kind of modulation - FM, Filter, Pitch, or LFO amount...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajHvJ5HSxGY
Love that Matrix 6! A former bandmate had one, and I got to spend a good deal of time with it.
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Also, I had found some cool etching/screening "easter eggs" on the board inside the Pro-one ;D
Chenrizig:
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/retropressure11.jpg)
Tibetan mushrooms?
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/retropressure10.jpg)
Mantra written in Sanskrit:
(http://www.hillscloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/retropressure12.jpg)
These are only visible on the top of the 'board- sandwiched against the front panel.
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It's all alien to me...
(diddly-boom diddly-boom diddly-boom diddlydiddlydiddlydiddly diddly-boom...)
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Cool mods! I spent a lot of time programming a DX-7, then a DX-7IIFD. Crazy envelopes in those things!
Circuit board "Easter eggs" - I had a e-mu Drumulator drum maching, and there was something on one of the boards that said "e-mu - never a beat off". :D
The Matrix 6 is a very underrated synth. It's downfall is the total lack of knobs, which was "the thing" in the 80s. But the sound engine is great. Not the best lead synth, but the pads kill. And with velocity, aftertouch, and essentially 3 mod levers, and 2 pedal inputs, you still have a lot of control. The modulation matrix is great.
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My friend bought a rack which has two Matrix 1000 Oberheims and Roland Super JX and Super Jupiter amongs some other stuff. Great patch sounds on those.
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The Matrix 6 is a very underrated synth. It's downfall is the total lack of knobs...
There's still a huge following for the Matrix lineup - especially the Xpander. The modulation-matrix stuff is akin to having a polyphonic modular. Pretty rare to have that flexibility in the portable "hardwired" synth world.
As for the knobs (or lack of), Access used to make a Matrix Programmer for the Obie Matrix 6/6r/1000... It covered the basics (...not the advanced modulation-routing stuff) and would program the synth via MIDI sysex messages, IIRC:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/w_access_matrix.jpg)
I always liked that about Roland - that they offered analog-style programmers for their synths back in the 80s (even for the D-50!). I have one for my GR-700 (which is similar to a JX-3P keyboard synth). It works great.
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/roland/DSCF0108.jpg)
Nice to see interfaces on the new digital synths swinging back that way! I had a Quasimidi Sirius briefly (it was too "techno" sounding for my tastes, but loaded with knobs), and now have a Waldorf Q virtual-analog:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/DSCF0012.jpg)
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Boy does that bring back memories! I had the pleasure of seeing the EWG live in'73 at the Rochester War memorial. , Derringer Hill and Ruff were in the band. It was a awesome show!
You guys must love playing "Frankenstein". What kind of keyboard hanging from the guitar strap is Edgar playing here?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSLP1FCREBA
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Here's some of mine.
Hammond M3, 88 sp. Dot Com Modular, Roland PK5A pedals. To the left: Maniken Memotron, Alesis Micron & Oberheim SEM.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c297/jazzbo58/ModularCypressWorks.jpg)
1974 Minimoog.
(http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c297/jazzbo58/Minimoog.jpg)
Very nice Synths in this thread!!
Cheers,
Jim
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Here's some of mine.
Wow - nice setup! I spy some other good stuff in there too.. SK15(?), Juno 106...
Regarding the Dotcom, what's that there between the oscillator and q143 presets in the top cab? custom multiples? Also curious what the 1U-wide module is there above the q106 in the top cab?
I just recently landed a used q960 (& friends- 961, 963, and a Moon 564 quad sequential switch). I made one modification on my 963 trigger bus... Instead of using their width feature cable behind the panel, I brought the function to the front panel via a separate switch for each bus. This lets you toggle between distinct or combined triggers for each bus on the fly- lots of fun!
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF0006-2.jpg)
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF0004-1.jpg)
Usually I'm not into drilling holes in my stuff, but some of the hidden (jumper) options on the Dotcom modules are pretty useful. I've also modded all of my q109s with a long/short envelope switch, and brought the clipping feature to a toggle on the front of the q107 filters (dirties 'em up nicely!)
Need to take some recent pics of mine. Here are some shots from when I made these mods, and was in redoing the power setup and bracketing the cabinets so that they don't fall and maim me :) (used some simple brackets from Ace on the rear- not shown in the pics)
q963 mod:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF0010.jpg)
knocked the back of the top cab out and flipped around the power location to match the bottom and middle cabs:
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF0017-1.jpg)
q109 and q107 mods (the red-tipped toggles):
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF0044.jpg)
Again - great stuff! Love that Memotron 8)
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Joe's music room looks a lot like NASA setups in the old movies :mrgreen:
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Man, I'd love to get my hands on one of those Access Matrix controllers. I remember the Roland JX-3P had a separate controller available. Always liked that little synth. Never owned one. I did have an Alesis ion (big brother to the micron) for a short while, but I needed more voices and multitimbral capability. Really nice analog sounds. On-board effects were strangely lacking, considering it's an Alesis. I think the micron is a little better in that area.
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Moog-format modular. This one has filled out a bit since this pic. Currently has 7 oscillators, 7 filters, 7 attenuators, 3 envelope generators, 4 sequencers, 4 quantizers, noise, sample/hold, wavefolder, distortion/clipper, ring modulator, analog delay, dual phaser, frequency shifter, triple chorus, and some other misc logic and signal processing things. Still have a bunch of stuff left to build for this one- EMS Synthi oscillator clones, Korg PS-3100 resonator clone, Buchla low pass gates and quad function generator clones...
(http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k125/0chromium0/forums/synth/modular/DSCF0171.jpg)
Nice modular Moog. I learned on one about 50 percent larger than this one when I was in college, about an hour east of the Moog factory. I had to BS my way into the class because I wasn't a music major. Had my own Minimoog. I have some tracks somewhere using it with my old progrock band before we had a real keyboard player, who had a shitload of analog synths and an original Melotron.
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Gawd... sometimes you guys make me so envious... :mrgreen:
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Nice modular Moog. I learned on one about 50 percent larger than this one when I was in college, about an hour east of the Moog factory. I had to BS my way into the class because I wasn't a music major. Had my own Minimoog. I have some tracks somewhere using it with my old progrock band before we had a real keyboard player, who had a shitload of analog synths and an original Melotron.
Thanks! This modular is actually of a fairly recent build - all roughly 6-10 years old. No actual Moog in it, but similar form factor. The core of it is made by a robotics company in Tyler, TX and sold via their http://synthesizers.com (http://synthesizers.com) website. I bought the start of mine (sans cabinets) used from overseas - and so I basically have here a Moog-inspired modular of Texas origin acquired by way of Dublin, Ireland from a Scottish fellow. ;D
Man an original Mellotron would be a blast if space and time weren't an issue! As much as I enjoy restoring old tape echo units, I know I'd have fun digging into a Mellotron project...
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A friend of mine's band had a Mellotron. They never used it on gigs, just in their studio. All this stuff is getting very pricey now. Chromium's collection is amazing.