Synthesizers

NAMM: Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 12 and Mopho X4

Dave Smith Instruments is one of my perennial stops at NAMM. This year they introduced two new keyboard instruments, the Prophet 12 and Mopho X4.

The Prophet 12 is gorgeous, but is also a powerful synthesizer. It’s odd to think of twelve voices of polyphony as a lot, but then one must consider that DSI synths are often monophonic. I did of course have to get my hands on one of these:

It plays very smoothly, both from the keyboard and while turning the knobs. I particularly liked the tuned feedback combined with both the highpass and lowpass filters. It was simultaneously a nasty sound but also very polished and playable.

The Mopho X4 was also fun. It is basically a four-voice version of the popular monosynth with a new physical design:

It plays like the original Mopho, very punchy and thick. It doesn’t quite have the smoothness of the Prophet, but it is not supposed to.

As usual, I wouldn’t mind having one of these myself, but they don’t come cheap. We will have to see…

NAMM: The large and small of it (Nektar and Nord)

I tend to oscillate between the very large and the very small when it comes to instruments. On the small scale, I stumbled upon these tiny controllers from Nektar Technology.

These tiny controllers seemed like perfect companions for the iPhone and iPad – and they are quite cute. (Use the stuffed cat for a sense of scale.) The keyboard and continuous controllers both have a small modular footprint, slightly wider than an iPad. I might have gotten either or both, if they were available. Nektar hopes to have these out later this year.

While it is great to be able to show up at a gig with just an iPad, a controller like those from Nektar, and a couple of cables, sometimes one needs a real keyboard. And those aren’t getting any smaller. The Nord Stage 2 is the latest incarnation of my heavy but reliable workhorse keyboard:

The electric pianos (and the primary reason I got the Stage) were the same as ever and felt great. But what is different from the previous version is the synth section, which is now more akin to the Nord Wave. I could definitely use that feature. There are also improvements to the acoustic piano modeling, but that is more incremental. I don’t think I would replace my Stage EX at great expense for these features, though. There are some new acoustic pianos available for the older model, which I will try out at home.

CatSynth Pic: Mystery Rhythm Machine – Barns & Mullins Percussionet 20

Via matrixsynth, where you can find more info and pictures.

“I recently picked up an old rhythm machine at an estate sale, It’s called a Percussionet 20, made by Barns and Mullins, London, England.

I think it may be rare because I could not come up with any info about this unit online anywhere, even tried Emailing Barns & Mullins twice, but they never responded.

Perhaps one of your readers may have some info about this oddity.

It will play all of the rhythm styles such as ( Fx – Foxtrot, Tw -Twist, Ch – Cha Cha, Tg- Tango etc.) at the same time, so you can combine various rhythms, also you can select and de-select the individual instruments in the rhythms such as: Snare, Tom Tom, Side, Bass, Bongo etc.

Rear has Hi and Lo output and ¼ ” footswitch input that starts and stops the rhythms.

Add some verb and delay or modulation effects and it sounds pretty incredable.

As usual, Charlotte the cat has her own thoughts about my Percussionet 20, see attached photos.”

CatSynth video: Synthesis for Cats

From Poppaneedsanap, via matrixsynth

“OJ (Turkey Leg) on the Etherwave pitch CV controls the rate of random LFO, pinging a Q106 oscillator. Bling Bling (aka Manwich) goes nuts on a contact mic and Moog MF104Z Delay. Ok, I mixed the contact mic pretty low I admit, but it was his first time wiggling and he was a little self conscious about his performance.

A more robust jam will follow when I find the fucking laser pointer!”

CatSynth pic: Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution Drum Machine SN 42262

Another “cat not included” auction photo courtesy of a matrixsynth:

“Cat not included!”

“This unit is unexpanded (hence the moderate price)… There are many technical photos of this synth at http://www.loscha.com These pictures are of the actual unit you will be buying.

The power socket has a slightly broken shell, but the plug holds in no problems.”

KORG Polysix/Mono-Poly era knobs.