New Buchla 200e Ambient track...

I've been busy in the studio again. Will upload a more complete post including patch details soon but for now enjoy this new track courtesy  of the 200e and some odds and ends.

You Got Chocolate in my Peanut Butter... and Inspirado..

Being an old Industrial/Noise guru I have always appreciated the clangorous metallic sounds that Frequency Modulation synthesis can offer. Being an experimental sound freak I have always liked the idea of mixing external sounds into the "wrong" input on modular synths and getting unexpected results. Feeding audio into CV inputs is one trick that never disappoints.

The Buchla 200e oscillators offer many options to get low bit rate aliasing and  glitch sounds. The 259e on it's own does weird wavetable freaknoise if you sweep it or even sometimes just try to track it via a quick CV or trigger. The 281e envelopes have a loop mode that can be organically triggered then modulate other audio parameters in an unusual rhythm (especially when fed by a Source of Uncertainty).

Yet sometimes I just can't resist messing with things further.

Here are a few experiments feeding the audio of a Vintage analog beat box (Roland TR606) into the FM inputs on the 200e. This causes glitching and twisted pitch triggering and gives an example of how you can make experimental music all the more... well, Experimental. 

First up is a stereo mix of the drum machine on one side and the 261e on the other. The clip starts with the solid tone of the 261e and then the Drum machine starts in. You can hear both together to give you an idea how audio modulates the Frequency of the oscillator. This is a far cry from trying to track the filter to pitch but of course that is the whole point. Throughout the clip I also manually tweak the Timbre controls a bit.

Second, we travel a little further down the rabbit hole. This is a clip of just the 259E audio with no dry signal. I'm messing with the waveform mix as well the Timbre. This is a good example of audio Frequency Modulation and what is can do for you (outside of scare cats and neighbors). 

Finally all this noise messing did what it usually does - it inspired me to try and do something more deliberate and "musical" (insofar as synth noise is musical).  This clip actually doesn't include any FM from the above examples but having heard those sounds for an hour or so I was curious about feeding the audio into more traditional inputs and seeing if I could get something in the same spirit.

This clip has the Drum machine being fed into the Preamp and then I'm taking two outputs from that. One is feeding a single channel of the Lowpass filter only section of a 292e and the other is going into my DIY Flight of Harmony Plague Bearer with the Source of uncertainty modulating the VCA input on the Plague bearer. Is it the "same" as the FM experiments? Well no. But can you see where one thing leads to another? If you can then welcome to the road of Inspirado...

Travel On...

Bzzzz (Guest speaker)

I've been working on a post explaining some of the unique philosophy of Buchla Modules and, in particular, the 250e sequencer.  It's clearly going take a little more time and in the process I posted on a forum for some advice and hints. The great 7th Dan has been very helpful and in fact has a series of instructional videos on  200e modules among other things so while I'm still working I thought i'd give him some press here.

His Blog is here: http://www.niklaswinde.com/index.html

For those not entirely interested in detailed how to videos there are also things like this video as well as some pretty handsome cat pics. Something for all synth geeks!

Mystery Synth Reveal... or The Importance of User Interface

Synthesizers come in all sorts of shapes and sizes including "virtual ones"  There are some amazing software programs  like Reaktor or Rebirth and dozens (hundreds?) of IPhone and Android apps that mimic everything from classic drum machines to modular synthesizers. Passionate debates flow freely about whether such instruments are groundbreaking or simply stealing the hype of classic hardware and if you ask a dozen people if they sound "the same" you'll get a dozen different answers.

For my purposes most of the debates seem to be asking the wrong questions. While I have plenty of judgements and preferences ultimately I don't care if a synth is hardware, software, analog, or digital. What matters most to me is if it is inspiring, interesting, and if I am able to use it (or abuse it) to reach my aural goals.  There will be more about apps and VST plugins on this blog in the future but as an introductory post allow me to introduce one computer and hardware combination that , to me, got it right. The Korg Legacy MS20 controller and Software and yes, this is the instrument featured in the most recent "Mystery Synth" post.

For the past few decades Korg has been leading the way in making modern synthesizers that are interesting and practical. While Roland and others were making ROM based "grooveboxes" Korg came out with the ER1 - a true percussion synthesizer with multiple LFO waveforms for modulating in internal synth engine. Then they came out with the MS2000 a digital "Virtual Analog" synth with knobs galore, a built in sequencer,  tweakable useful effects, and of course midi. They even included features many mainstream manufacturers seem to have forgotten such as a wave scanning oscillator and a form of modular patch memory for modulations.

A few years ago Korg introduced the Legacy Collection. Virtual software copies of some of their most famous synthesizers including the Wavestation, PolySix, and MS20. The MS20 is truly a flagship classic analog synth. it is unique in sound and layout, has an amazing dual filter section which has been cloned and copied of decades since it's demise, and also offers a semi-modular patching system. Kord then went one step further with their virtual software releases by creating a new hardware clone of the MS20 synth itself right down to the original color scheme, knobs, and patchbay.  Some slight changes were made such as the use of 3.5mm jacks intead of the original 1/4" ones and , of course, there is no CV control or actual internal sound engine. However, the legacy MS20 controller hooks up to any computer via USB and then allows you to twist and tweak in controller knobs, patch the jacks, and process external audio or run it as a guitar synth just like the original.  This moves the legacy system from just another software clone to an actual clone of the Interface complete with all it's immediate features. quirks, and real time inter-connections.

Here is a short video demo I made showcasing how it works:



On of the reasons modular systems are so popular among hardcore synthesists and sound designers is they offer a tactile and visual interface that is both immediate and inspiring. Both Bob Moog and Don Buchla realized years ago it wasn't enough to have a box of circuits if you wanted to create ART.  It may be a throwback or clone of the past but by creating a mock hardware interface to go with their software sound engine the MS20 legacy instrument brings the old into the 21st century.

No one nailed the answer but there quite a few great guesses. Free downloads have been awarded. If you'd like to see more synthish contests in the future drop me an email via this blog.

And, of course,  Real-time tweak on!

Mystery Synth Luv...

We synth nerds love to debate what is the "best" form of synthesis. Is it Analog? Digital? Modular? VST? Can you hear a difference? IS there a difference? What makes a synth "the best" or even just "good?"

Here is an audio demo of a synth to be featured in the next post on this blog. Can you guess what made these sounds?  This was recorded live, one take, with no editing.

 And what good would a contest be without prizes!

A free Download from the HelpWantedProductions.com back catalog at Http://DavidTalento.bandcamp.com for the person who gets closest AND a free download to the 15th and 30th person to submit a guess. So even if you have no idea you might get some cool free music!


 Two hints:

- This is a monosynth, it only plays one note at a time.
- There are dedicated knobs galore.






Email guesses HERE. Results will be posted later this month.

Guess on!

All sorts of goings on...

It's been a while since I've posted but it's not for a lack of activity. I have a new album from  Sweeping the Noise Floor almost finished, there are huge goings on from Buchla and Associates, and there are plenty of synth and noise machines floating around for upcoming posts.

To get us going here is a quick theme I did on the Yamaha SK30 organ/string synthesizer. Live one take old school and I even left the recorder "shut off" click at the end to add some lofi mojo :)



Here is a brief update of the new Buchla Company 

The first new module, the 267e is now available as well as a new ultra portable completed system the Buchla Skylab  which many are calling a new "Music Easel" type unit. In addition Buchla and Associates has formed their first ever partnership which was announced at the winter NAMM show. You can watch a short video with Mike Marins explaining that here:  


There also is a new update to the operating system for the 200e main computer (included in the 225e and 206e modules) and updated firmware for all modules (now operating on 3.x). I am currently keeping my system on the old firmware but hope to upgrade sometime in 2012. For now you can find experiences and opinions about the process and features in the Muffwiggler forums and in particular on this thread.

So there you have it, news, one new song, and a few hints of things to come.  The next post will be a return to form with some examples and more synthy geek stuff to follow but for now relax with the stringz'n'things and keep an eye peeled for the "new" Buchla Musical Instruments.

New Buchla Compilation Release!

One of the great things about being an electronic musician is the constantly evolving community on-line. There are forums, mailing lists, blogs, and sites which offer information and support on even the most obscure instrument, software, operating system, or vintage relic.  

Another benefit of this is it is easier to find other like-minded individuals and create and share music and ideas. Those of us older types remember the days of "tape trading" when the only method of having a friend in another state or country hear your music was to put it on a cassette and put in in a mailbox. Like, with postage and such kids. Gasp!

Some great music came out of those days. I personally participated in a Devo, AC/DC, and two looping, and numerous "Electronic Music" compilation tapes and CDs.  Perhaps in a more nostalgic post I'll muse on the joys and fun of those days but for today, the end of 2011, I'll take the leap forward and present you with an end-of-year present:  SIGNS: A COMPILATION OF WIGGLERS’ GRAPHICAL NOTATIONS FOR THE BUCHLA SYNTHESIZER. 

 

I'll let the curator of this fine release, Giorgio Sancristoforo, describe his efforts and the final CD as he does it best:

"Some months ago I’ve asked to the fellow Buchla musicians of the MuffWigglers website to participate to a collective experiment on music notation for the Buchla synthesizer. In the world of modular synthesizers music we often see free improvisations, sketches, etudes, but very rarely “composed” music with notation.

This experiment was an attempt to involve nowadays modular musicians in the field of composition by means of graphical notation.

The result is finally here. Signs is not only an amazing collection of mind blowing music, it is also the proof that notation in electronic music is alive and kicking and indeed deserve further explorations.  I want to thank with all my heart all the contributors of this amazing work. I hope you will all enjoy it."

 

The download "CD" release includes a beautiful 22 page  full color booklet with essays, bios, and descriptions of each of the pieces and artists. It is in high quality 320 KPS MP3 format and FREE!!!

You can download SIGNS as well as other fantastic cutting edge electronic music from the Gleetchplug Website here:  http://www.gleetchplug.com/Gleetchplug/Releases.html  

I'm proud to have a track on this great compilation. It was both challenging and fun. For full details download the release and check out the booklet! 

Here is the full TRACKLIST:

1)Olga Kokcharova & Gianluca Ruggeri : Eidetic Landscape
2)Todd Barton : Altair II
3)Niklas Winde aka 7th DanSound : Men för helvete Älskling!
4)Cyril Baud aka Ernest Saint Laurent : Incursions 3
5)Didier Debril : Sequences
6)Giorgio Sancristoforo : Andante Molto Vago
7)David Talento : That Which Was Then Becoming
8)Lyonel Bauchet : Kinesthézic
9)Schleusolz : Waltzing at the shipyard 

I hope you enjoy listening to release. Happy New year and keep bleeping into 2012!!

Old School Slider Synth ... the Yamaha SK30

This Blog is called the Synth and I and was started in part to explore both the topic of synthesis and the various keyboards, modulars, and other tools that exist. This month I was perusing the local classifieds and ran across an add for a most unusual classic keyboard that caught my eye. I've always kept at least one keyboard in the living room of my house plugged directly into an amp. this is so I have at least one simple instrument ready for just playing without any setup, concern for recording, or other complications. I suppose you could say it's my equivalent of the old piano-in-the-foyer that folks would gather around in the old days.

The keyboard that has occupied this spot in my home has rotated over the years. Originally it was a Wurlitzer 200A piano. Then I put a Roland RS09 organ/strings unit on top of that. Most recently it was my trusty Ensoniq KS32 which served as both piano, organ, and synthesiszer. But this month I decided to go back to basics. I wanted an old school, classic synthesizer with sliders for each parameter, multiple sounds, and most of all, something simple and fun to play. Enter the Yamaha SK30.

The Yamaha SK30 is made up of four distinct parts which can be output in any combination thanks to an onboard audio mixer. There are other instruments from the 70s and 80s that offered a similar type of setup. the Moog Opus3 offered a String, Brass, and Organ combo platter. The Arp Quadra had a Bass synth, Poly synth, Lead synth, and String synth and special phaser effect in an all-in-one-package. And, as mentioned above Roland offered a few variations of an Organ/Strings dual synth in the Roland RS09.

Yamaha seems to concentrate on the combo-synth for a few years making a few different varieties, each with their own features and sounds.  The SK30 lies towards the top of this evolutionary scale with four distinct sections featured in similar forms in the SK20 and SK50.  It also adds some other bells and whistles I have never seen on a combo synth and even though it was made in the late 1970s when I researched it i found it had a surprisingly robust design which explains why the one I found this month was in such good shape and fully working after all these decades.

On initial glance the SK30 looks to be a complicated beast. Sliders and buttons fill out the massive front panel and the effects and various split points often fight with each other for dominance on the full 61 note keyboard. But if you've ever seen a combi-synth or classic analog with sliders once you get to know it the design turns out to be remarkably user friendly.

Each section is broken down with it's own controls featuring a few presets and a manual section which allows you to create that part from scratch using the various sliders and buttons assigned to it.

There is the Organ section with multiple flute drawbars  and three adjustable percussion sliders similar to a Hammond organ:

There is the Polyphonic Synth section with a full analog Filter, Envelope, octave switch, and modulation settings.




The string section has three preset buttons with no editing. Each offers a similar sound but in a different octave range: 

And finally there is the Solo Synth section which offers a unqiue monosynth with Filter, Envelopes, flexible Portamento Modulation, and Waveform settings, two key ranges (including a manual bass setting) and even three assignable keyboard aftertouch effects .

On the back of the unit is more. Multiple and mix outputs for the individual voices, connections for CV/gate, various pedals (including volume, brilliance, portamento and sustain), a Leslie cabinet multi-pin jack and connector for an external full size floor pedal unit. All-in-All it's kind of a touch control synthesist's dream.

All this would be for naught if the sound of the unit didn't measure up but I am happy to say it does. In spades. The organ offers  a very  satisfying classic hammondesque sound, the strings add presence and the Poly synth is very flexible offering plenty of Prog, 80s/90s industrial, and classic synthesque sweeps, pads, and with some creative programming,  effects. And the solo monosynth is quite unique.  I read a review where the author claimed it was "almost exactly like a Roland SH101" and another that said it had a classic "Moog" quality. I'd have to say it is absolutely nothing like a SH101 and sounds, to my ears, much more raspy and raw than a Moog. It's similar to the other lesser known analog synth manufacturers of the time like Multivox, Siel, or - Surprise! - Yamaha.  Perhaps in a future post I'll delve into the SK30 monosynth on it's own  -  it certainly deserves the attention.  For now, I'll simply end with a virtual tip of my hat to a company that put everything but the kitchen sink in a heavy wooden framed analog and slider filled synth over three decades ago. One that is STILL playing 100% and both simple to use, inspiring, and a lot of fun. 

Tweak on!

What Do you DO with All this Stuff Anyway???

The title of this post is a very valid and frequent question I get when someone sees my studio filled with synths and wires and steps over piles of power supplies, drum machines, stomp boxes and more. The answer is a big more complex but could be simplified into the short answer, "I make music with it". You can blame my Jr High School music teacher, Charles Terry, for introducing me to the very first synthesizer I saw in real life (an Arp Odysessy) and defining music as "Any Meaningfully Organized Pattern of Sound". Seriously, he was THAT cool and it just goes to show some things from your school days do stick with you.


I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual Musicology conference which was held in Philadelphia (my hometown) this year. One of the speakers played a clip of an interview she did with one of the pioneers of Detroit techno where he stated rather than worry or think about genres or types of music (House, Acid, Techno, etc) he just "made music" and put it out adding, "I leave the labeling to others". My musical background both in appreciation and in training is diverse. I suppose that combined with seeing artists from all media who have always made their own path influenced me to never really do the same thing twice and to not pay much attention to where it would "fit". A short list of such artists would include Charles Ives, Chuck Close, Brian Eno, Controlled Bleeding, Hal Hartley, Joe Jackson, Louis Armstrong, and Reed Ghazala.


I founded HelpWantedProductions.com in the early 90s as a vehicle to put out cassettes and do shows of my then new interest in electronic music. I released tapes, CDs, and eventually downloads and played hundreds of shows of everything from Ambient, Industrial, Power Electronics, Dark Synth, Techno, Handheld and 8bit, Indie Rock, and about a dozen other genres all of which really don't convey what the music is. Some is played with guitar and bass, other has DIY soldered noise boxes, analog or digital synths, drum machines, and theremins. All of it, as diverse as it is, comes from the same place. I have music on other labels and compilation CDs as well as various online sites and have collaborated with other artists, festivals, and frequently play as a band member in a few friend's projects doing everything from keyboards and bass to vocals and Omnichord. All the piles'o'gear come in handy but when it comes down to it I grab a few pieces and just go with them either solo or with others and make music.


As you may have noticed this post is liberally sprinkled with links to streaming and downloadable files. This year I decided to come into the 21st century and create a page with much of the HelpWantedProductions.com back catalog. Not everything is up but more will be added. For now there are XOXBOX live sets, Modular synth sets (including This One of my large ModcanA system which has been written about on this blog), Guitar Synth and ACID music
albums, and more.

The official page which will be updated occasionally is at: http://davidtalento.bandcamp.com/.

All tracks are free to stream and most are a name-your-own-price system. It's not the full picture and as you can tell by this blog hardly the end of all this. But to answer those that wonder "what do you DO with all that gear?" it will do for now.


Listen On!

Finding a good home for her and Guest Speakers...

As many synthheads know part of working with and owning esoteric gear is finding it. This frequently involves trades as well as buying and selling pieces, etc. In fact the acquisition of my 200e was only possible because I had acquired a Serge synth in various pieces over the past decade and someone wanted all of it for all of his Buchla system. Recently I posted one piece of my system for sale in order to raise some funds for other items. (A typical geek process - why use the money for something useful or necessary when you can buy more synths?!) I was thrilled when an acquaintance I highly respect wrote me to buy it. In the trading biz we call this "sending it to a good home" and I could think of no better place for this rare piece than with John Potter aka ether^ra.

The piece I sold was a Cyndustries Zero Oscillator in Buchla 200e format know as the ZOe. According to the official description: "The Zeroscillator is a full-featured electronic-music-quality analog VCO capable of linear frequency modulation through zero hertz and into negative frequencies". I have been a fan since they came out and in fact the owner of Cyndustries, Cynthia used one of my tracks in her first ZO promo video for NAMM back in 2007. (See and hear it here.)

Alas, esoteric, boutique instruments aren't always easy to come by. In this care the Buchla version ZOe was a highly limited edition to start with, had some quirks, and there have been months going on years of delays in releasing the next batch. Anyone interested in the saga can pop on the Muffwiggler forum to find out more but suffice to say, customer service and ordering woes aside the piece itself is a wonderful tool for sound creation. Since I already had a Zero Oscillator in my ModcanA system and I knew they were in demand my ZOe went on the chopping block.

It turns out all is well and the ZOe from my system is happy in it's new home and already making music (the whole point of all this geekery).

Here is John's first demo using the ZOe in his system:
http://soundcloud.com/ether-ra/comp92-puppets-w-zoe

Also be sure to follow his blog on music and art at: http://etherra.blogspot.com/

Finally, I wanted to post another page which is full of free MP3s using a Buchla. In addition to running Eardrill Chris Muir does some amazing music and all his pieces are worth a listen. I want to call special attention to one of my favorites, a cover of the Beatles song, "Blackbird" using a Buchla 200e system. Apparently this came about as a joke in response to some folks mentioning most demos of Buchla synths were more experimental in structure, noisy, and non melodic. I think this track combines the best of all those and is actually quite beautiful.

Surf on!