modular

Analog Haven at NAMM

I often find myself spending quite a bit of time at the booth of Analog Haven at NAMM. It is an opportunity to see quite a variety of analog instruments (and a few not-quite-analog), and meet several of the small independent makers. The visit took on added significance as I cautiously wade into adding analog modular to my own arsenal of musical instruments.

We big with KOMA Elektronic, who showed off a prototype of their new Kommander, an infrared motion controller with multiple axes of control. It joins their existing effects boxes in their product line:

We also had fun with the fact the industrial design, particularly the geometric black-and-white pattern, match my own aesthetics in terms of dress and decor.

Make Noise is known for their unique and complex modules for audio processing and control. They had several new offerings, including the Echophon whose sound I quite liked.


[Click to enlarge.]

The Echophon is a collaboration with Tom Erbe of SoundHack, and is a reverse of the usual trend in that digital character is re-imagined in the analog domain. Make Noise also presented their first oscillator, the DPO.

Another module that particularly caught my fancy was the Morphing Terrarium from Synthesis Technology. It is a wavetable VCO that contains numerous waveforms, but more significantly it has parameters for “morphing” or moving among the different wavetables. With the right self modulation, this can lead to very surprising and complex waveforms:

Another interesting new find was an analog modular video synthesizer from LZX Industries.

Like analog audio counterparts, the LZX modules generate, process and modulate analog video signals. Think of it as being the boxes that each do all the little pieces of an old TV studio but with creative routing and control. You can see a little bit of video below:

I did specifically ask about mixing audio modules with the video modules (LZX uses the standard Eurorack format), and was informed that yes, this can be done, though one would need to match the voltages between the two domains, and keep in mind that the frequency ranges of video are much higher.

Visual interest and catchy names are a big part of the inspiration in many of the small boutique offerings. These pedals from Audible Disease were quite creative.

Among the visual designs, this simple switcher caught my attention. It reminded me a bit of my visit to the Communist Propaganda Museum in Shanghai.

Other offerings included the ARCHANGEL, an analog sequencer with touch plate controllers, from Detachment 3.

And these pedals from Lightfoot Labs:

The Goatkeeper 3 is a tremolo pedal with analog signal path, but with a variety of waveforms (including the ability to record your own), and a sequencer for even more complex modulation.

There was a lot more at the booth, more than I can do in one article. I hope to see more of these instrument makers as I personally explore analog synthesis in greater depth.

And

Malekko Heavy Industry at NAMM

This year, Malekko Heavy Industry had their own booth at NAMM. It was actually a bit of a challenge to find, all the way in the back of Hall C past the endless walls of guitars and celebrity-induced traffic jams. But I did find them, and was treated to a tour of a Malekko-only modular system:

In the above image (which admittedly isn’t the best quality), we see a simple patch that was focused on the Wiard Anti-Oscillator and Borg Filter, both of which I was particularly interested in. The Noisering was quite interesting as well and offered a lot of possibilities. The Wiard Jag (Joystic Axis Generator) was very pretty and intriguing, but I couldn’t immediately envision it’s use in a musical performance the way I could with the Noisering.

The system being shown is quite complete, with a host of VCOs, filters, modulators and utility elements. Indeed, one could build something just from their modules alone. But I do think it is most creative to mix and match with our manufacturers.

Lunar Experience modular, Noisebug (NAMM)

Here we see Gert Jalass of Lunar Experience tweaking a modular synth at the Noisebug booth at NAMM.

The modular had a deep sound that cut through even the hall noise. The Lunar Experience modules, however, were the controllers. Other modules (in the Synthesizers.com 5U format) were used for sound generation, but the demo should how it would be straightforward to use in a live situation.

Big City Music at NAMM

One of the perennial destinations at NAMM is the both of Big City Music. They have quite a collection of both vintage electronic musical instruments and contemporary analog electronics.

The highlight this year was a live performance with a Dewanatron by Leon Dewan:

It was hard to hear it well in the hall environment, unfortunately.

I also was looking closely at some of the analog modular offerings:

Above as a system primarily with Kilpatrick Audio modules for both sound and control. Below is a case full of Metasonix modules, distinctive with their protruding vacuum tubs and yellow color.

Big City announced a new metasonix module, the Thyratron VCO. I was able to listen to it and other modules (VCF, Waveshaper, etc.). Metasonix modules look a bit intense (and their description text can be a bit menacing), but the modules themselves had an unexpectedly subtle sound. That is, until you pick just the right modulation, then it gets more interesting. The wave shaper remains my favorite of theirs.

CatSynth pic: Appliancide (mostly) DIY modular

From Appliancide, where you can read more about the project.

I ordered some knobs and switch covers for the Doepfer modules, so they will blend in with my DIY stuff better. I am working on a second case and the modules to fill it. I will try to do a start-to-finish pictorial on one the modules this coming year. We’ll see. I like to build slow and rock out to music. Taking pictures cramps my style.

Also on matrixsynth:

“Clockwise starting from the upper left:

Doepfer a-111 VCO, Dual CGS/Serge DUSG, Doepfer a-188-1 256 stage BBD, Doepfer a-188-1 4096 stage BBD, DIY manual gate/lag generator, Doepfer a-135 mixer, Doepfer a-101-2 LPG, DIY version of Fonitronik Attenuverting Mixer and Buchla 292C LPG clone using boards from Thomas White.”

CatSynth video: Ghost Rider Modular (CatGirl Synth)


From FOCtv on YouTube, via matrixsynth.

“Mr. Hand demos a synthesizers.com patch utilizing a CatGirl Synth Sub Octave Divider module. The sequence is a facsimile of Suicide’s song Ghost Rider done with a Synthesizers.com Q119 Sequential Controller. It’s not the complete riff since Marty Rev’s riff is poly-rhythmic and I could only use 8 steps of the analog sequencer. The organ-like tonality is from the CGS Sub-Octave module which can function similarly to the divide down technology used in electric organs.”

Look for a black cat early in the video, and also the sounds with the CatGirl Synth module.