Muff Wiggler

Portal 2

2011-04-18T20:02:00.003-05:00

The sequel to the only video game I care about will be released in 13 hours. I'm preloading it from Steam right now so I can play the moment it goes live. Taking the day off work.

I'm way too old to care this much about a video game, and I'm not really a big video game sorta dude, but honestly Portal is one of my favorite things ever.

I'm watching it preload and listening to Plague Diagram by Surachai. I've been waiting years for this moment. So excited.

Plague Diagram

2011-04-18T14:14:00.003-05:00

Plague Diagram by Surachai is fucking garbage. That shit will rot your mind. Stay away from it.

Want a Zeroscillator?

2009-10-01T23:37:00.000-05:00

I will trade a mint condition frac-format Zeroscillator for a Wiard 300 Series Sequantizer.

Not enough for you? Ill trade more. Name your price.

Many thanks.

lol, learn 2 webmaster, n00b

2009-04-18T07:51:00.000-05:00

Uh, balls.

If anyone really knows a lot about blocking spammers with an .htaccess file, building a caching system, and lowering memory usage of phpbb, *please* contact me by email, muff at muffwiggler dot com.

Damn I'm suddenly WAY the hell out of my league.

Thanks

FORUM IS BACK!!!

2009-04-14T11:40:00.001-05:00

YAY!!!!!!

Super sorry everyone, this was so lame.

But, we're back!!!

The Forum Is Down!

2009-04-13T14:18:00.002-05:00

So, Peter Grenader & Plan B broke the forum!

Ok, not really.

I broke it.

As part of moving to our AWESOME new hardware, as some of you saw, everything was working perfectly and we had AWESOME performance.

Then, dumbass I am, I rebooted the servers.

Seems like there was a permission issue with the config - servers came back from the reboot and suddenly mySQL "doesn't have permission" to talk to the webserver.

Argh.

It's a simple fix, but one I can't do myself - I need the techs at my host to do it for me.

And of course, this happened in the middle of a long weekend.

Argh.

I'm hoping that some time during business hours on Tuesday (Pacific Time) we will see this all resolved.

Please note that once this is fixed things should be very stable..... I don't imagine this will occur again.

Please accept my apologies, and my thanks for your patience. Hopefully you are all getting lot of music done in the meantime.

Cheers

Forum Sold To Plan B

2009-04-01T03:37:00.002-05:00

Please see this forum thread for discussion - exciting news!

Hi everyone.

This is a difficult post to make, however I have thought long and hard about this, and I firmly believe that it is the right thing for all of us.

After long and complicated talks, I have agreed to transfer ownership of this forum to Peter Grenader & Plan B.

This comes at a time when I have very little time for managing the forum anymore, and have been concerned about the health and future of this place. Peter has made me an extremely generous offer in exchange for ownership of the forum, and more importantly has convinced me that he has the interests of all of you close to his heart, and an excellent plan for where this forum can go in the future, and new services for all of you that can be created on this platform.

I think this is a very special place full of very special people, and I think of all of you first when making any decisions that affect this place. I know that this seems like a very drastic change, however please put your trust in me and understand that we have spent a LONG time talking about this, and Peter really has convinced me that this is going to be something that creates a far far better place for all of us.

Thanks for a wonderful few years, it's been an incredible time for me, and I am honored to be your admin here. I'm grateful for the time you have all invested in this place, and I know you'll be really excited at some of the changes and new services that will be announced.

I'm not going anywhere, and will still be around as a member and moderator - believe me when I say that I'm very excited to participate in some of the new things that will be happening.

So there really is little change at the moment other than ownership. I'm sure Peter will chime in soon with some of his own comments and a preview of some of the ideas we will see rolling out here at this place.

Again, a most gracious thank-you for making this place what it is - and exciting things are just beginning.

Best wishes,

'Muff

EDIT: Ok enough time has passed, this one doesn't seem so funny any more. Check the date - it was an April Fool's Day joke. The forum is not for sale. Although I would consider swapping it for a 200e or a few Serge panels!

Zeroscillator FOR THE YUM

2009-03-07T16:51:00.005-05:00

Well look what just arrived. omgz.

Super extra special thanks to Kevin who is an AWESOME trader and was simply fantastic to deal with every step of the way. Thanks Kevin and *really* appreciate this.

'Scuse me now please, I have some FM to play with.

Yes We Cat!

2009-01-23T02:41:00.002-05:00

Hey sorry for the lack of updates - I know you guys got all your NAMM news, BugModular, Metasonix Euro Modules and ASSMASTER, Volta, all that good shit.

Let's face it - I'm just not here for you guys anymore. :(

The forum has just gone apeshit, in case you haven't noticed. I keep promising to get back to the blog but it's tough, you know? Three kids, my job is extremely extremely extremely busy currently, the forum, I'm trying to finish my crappy little album. I've never even posted about my Innerclock Systems Sync-Shift that I got many many months ago, and which continues to BLOW MY MIND with the fun I'm having. Or BugModular - woah! BUGMODULAR! Did you know I ordered a Wiard 300 system? You didn't? No....because this blog doesn't get updated.

This poor blog.

Sorry guys! Check the forum, really. It rocks there. Sign up. Have fun.

I'll be back here as soon as I can.

Oh and hey USA, congrats!! Wow.

And the forum is back......

2008-12-16T11:15:00.003-05:00

Very sorry for the downtime....looks like all is well again in Muffland.

Thanks for not panicing!

Yeah the forum's down...

2008-12-14T23:50:00.001-05:00

...and it's been down a while. It's a DreamHost problem, so once they get their new hard-drives installed or something that that it'll be back. But just a little shout-out because it's been down a few hours now, and I'm not sure if it'll be up super fast right now.

Anyway, usually problems are resolved in a few minutes, this is the first big outage I've had in almost three years on Dreamhost.

Don't panic.

Tiptop Audio Z3000 Released!

2008-11-06T18:51:00.005-05:00

Hey folks - I'm incredibly excited to announce that the Z3000 Smart VCO has finally been released! For many of you who have been patiently following along on the forum, you know what a long wait it's been - six months! I think in the world of synth modules, this is a really long time, and I want to thank everyone who has been extremely patient through this process, putting up with little hints and teases while we wait for the release.

Now that it's finally official, it brings me enormous pleasure to be able to say that all testing and production is done, and modules are now in-stock at Analogue Haven!

A little bit about this module - this may not be news to some of you, as I'm actually not the first blogger to write about it today, and there has been some juicy bits of info dropped in the forum recently.... but for those who don't know, or are looking for some more, here's my personal summary (official information available of course at Tiptop Audio's website)....

The Z3000 "Smart VC-Oscillator" is, as you would probably imagine, a Eurorack VCO. My opinion is that another VCO option is *always* a welcome thing, however the Z3000 brings some really interesting and unique functionality to the table.

First of all, I feel compelled to mention, this is an ALL ANALOG VCO. Tiptop is known for working some digital into their modules, and the digital/analog question has come up many times. The entire VCO circuit is completely analog. I'd also like to say that it is a really warm, thick, 'lively' sounding VCO. One of the design goals was to avoid creating an ultra-stable, static VCO, and the guys at Tiptop have been incredibly successful in this respect. All the waveforms really sound wonderful, however the sinewave in particular is something I find extremely compelling - I can't say exactly what it is, it's not a perfect sine, but it sounds somewhat bright and animated compared to the sinewaves from my other VCOs (Livewire AFG and Blacet VCOs).

So, where does the digital fit in? This is another very exciting part of the story - and what gives the Z3000 the 'smart' part of its moniker. Built alongside the analog VCO is a digital frequency counter... this is an amazingly flexible feature to add to the module, and it functions in a variety of different manners... by default, it displays the current operating frequency (in Hz) of the oscillator. This display can be changed to two other modes - an octave display, and a note display. The note mode is very cool... it will tell you the frequency in Hz, until you tune to a specific note, and then it displays the note and octave number. Really cool! I now have no excuse for 'not tuning my modular', and in specific setting up harmonic intervals between multiple oscillators is really easy. Multiple oscillators? Yes! The Z3000's frequency counter has an "Ext In" jack, allowing you to patch in any sawtooth wave from any oscillator, and you can then use the frequency display to tune your external oscillators as well. Extremely cool and I have to say this one seemingly simple feature has led me to start using my modular synth in ways I never have in the past.

So, what else is special about the Z3000? I'm glad you asked :) The FM response of it is wonderful - there are two Linear FM inputs (with attenuator knob), as well as a single exponential FM input. Comparing it to the AFG and Blacet, the response to FM in the Z3000 is much deeper and more 'dynamic' sounding. I have to admit that I'm not the most knowledgable FM synthesist, however the incredible tones I've been able to pull from this beast have ensured that I'm going to spend a LOT more time exploring FM than I have in the past.

Another amazing (and as far as I can tell unique) feature is the HSM "Hard Sync Modulation" input. The main Sync input allows for some of the coolest, sharpest sync sounds I've been able to hear from an oscillator so far, however the HSM jack allows a variety of different sync sources to be used, not just square waves. The range of possible sounds is simply enormous. My Z3000's sit next to my AFG, and as much as I love the AFG, I have to say I find myself working with the Z3000 far more often - the sound is just so rich and lively.

I want to take a moment to highlight the beta testing process.... I know a lot of people found it took a very long time. There were a few revisions of the digital part of the code, as well as some changes to the tuning functions (testers found it 'touchy' and hard to tune to a specific note - this was fixed when we all sent our modules back for both a software and hardware update). There was a lot of stuff to focus on with this module, and we were really lucky to have a very motivated and excited testing team, all of whom have contributed in their own unique way to the development of this module. To highlight just a few of the many efforts, Mark Pulver was vocal and essential in making sure this was not another 'static' oscillator.... Matthew Davidson applied his enormous experience testing all functions of this VCO, and even working on the panel graphics...and of course the Tiptop team working hard to build, ship, receive, update, rebuild, reship and get these modules out there. Just an amazing job by everyone and the six months flew by extremely fast to be honest with you.

I'm really excited about this module - it's as close to perfection as I can personally imagine. I'm extremely grateful to the team at Tiptop for once again giving me the chance to be involved with a really exciting project, and putting up with my often travel-delayed replies to emails and discussions. At $245, I can't see any reason why most eurorack users will not want to add this to their setup, it's an absolute no-brainer decision as far as I'm concerned.

A huge congrats to Tiptop on the release of what they have very honestly called 'their baby'. This has been a huge effort and one I think they should be extremely proud of. Please do check it out.

More information at Tiptop's webpage

Z3000 for sale at Analogue Haven

My synth reborn!

2008-09-08T22:57:00.004-05:00

Any of you who have seen my synth know what a pain in the ass the layout is/was.

Those stupid rolling racks which I have outgrown have modules right down near the floor - makes it so hard to use them. Plus they take up way too much space, are too far apart, are hard to move, and are ugly as hell. I get so jealous when I see someone with wooden housings for their modulars, I think that wood and modulars complement each other so well.

Anyway, I couldn't find anything available to solve my problem at all, so I took matters into my own hands. I know nothing at all about woodwork, but I put in some effort and took my time, and things worked out far, far better than I had ever hoped they would. I solved all my problems, AND the entire project only cost me $40!

Here's a couple more pics for you, as always be sure to click for fullsize...

Finally, if you'd like to see the step-by-step process of making these, have a peek here at this forum thread where I documented the whole project.

Really, REALLY happy about this. My synth finally has the enclosure it deserves, and a layout that is fun and easy to work with. It's waaaaaay overdue.

New Life (The modular family?)

2008-08-27T00:20:00.002-05:00

Well, very very sorry for lack of updates. Seriously sorry. Seems all the action is at the forum, so as you can probably tell I have moved a lot of whatever attention I can spare over there - but I do hope to have more frequent postings here than the last couple of months have seen, but I guess time will ultimately be the judge of that. Thanks to everyone who stops by to read and see if anything is new (or just stubbornly keeps me in their RSS feed subscriptions!)

Anyway, the big BIG news is the new addition to my family. At 4:35 this morning (technically yesterday, the 26th), after nearly ten months of waiting, my wife gave birth to our third child, a baby girl. She was 17 days late, and was born naturally and without complication after about 12 hours of labour here in Ottawa. She weighs 9lbs, 5oz, and we are really REALLY happy and proud. So I just wanted to share the news with you all. The world gains another possible modular synthesist ;)

Modules Sold

2008-07-23T20:57:00.007-05:00

Thanks for the interest everyone.

About those $35 Euroracks....

2008-07-14T21:02:00.007-05:00

Via Gerald in the comments to the previous post - "where the hell did you get $35 euroracks... ??? Does the e-bay guy have any more?"

Well, maybe it's a good idea for me to make a post with more info.

In short, "I got them from a guy on eBay", and "Yes, he has more".

They are Schroff EuroPAC Chassis. Schroff makes the racks for Doepfer, so these are very similar. They work just fine for Eurorack modules. You need to get a power supply, and some busboards, but these racks work great (the guy claims Schroff normally sells them for around $500 each - he apparently has a wholesale lot he's trying to get rid of). They are fantastic quality, you will however need a Torx driver to take them apart and remove the TONS of extra crap that comes inside them.

Also, they aren't $35 anymore, the price has gone up. The guy originally had a couple hundred, seems he's got 20 left now. The current price is $45.

Be warned that he will charge around the same price for shipping it, but anyway, there you have it, cheap eurorack chassis.

You can find the auction here, and if the auction has ended, check his "all items" listing, as he may sell another batch under a new auction listing. This has happened a couple of times. Here's his listing of items for sale.

I have to thank mono-poly at the ModularSynth.net forum for making me aware of these auctions in this thread.

Finally, there's a lively discussion about setting up and using these specific racks here in this thread at my forum.

Hope this helps everyone get into some cheap eurorack lovin'

Edit: Because these aren't gonna be around long, and my PSU is strong enough for it, I just bought a fourth. There's 19 left now ;)

Euro joins the party!

2008-07-13T19:19:00.004-05:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I have tradionally forgone the eurorack modular format - not for lack of enticing module options, but due to the sheer cost of the real estate and power. The availability of $35 Schroff racks and willingness to wire up a commercially available DC power supply have solved this, and I'm really excited to say that the Eurorack format has now joined up with my frac stuff, creating even more of a monster synth.

Be sure to click the pics for a larger view -

The rest of my euro setup consists of two lonely skeletons, sitting beneath a desk waiting for the day they'll be needed...

So I've got 3400ma of Euro power, and three racks to build up in. And the total cost of this infastructure was literally almost nothing - a fraction of the price of a single powered Doepfer frame. Thanks eBay guy!! Let the euro madness begin....

Eurorack Metasonix? Opinions?

2008-07-13T13:53:00.003-05:00

Seems like Metasonix is looking at developing some native Eurorack modules. Now that is cool! Just yesterday I finally got my euro power and racking system all setup. I was keeping away from Euro, but the availability of $35 Schroff racks on eBay pushed me over the edge. I'll be buying some of these modules for sure.

Anyway, if you look at the link above, you'll see that Eric is seeking opinions on how well (or poorly..) received yellow Euro modules would be. Most of us at the forum like the yellow, but I personally have a feeling that this trend wouldn't hold over the entire group of buyers out there. What do you think? Please reply in the forum thread if you can.... If you don't want to become a forum member, go ahead and post in the comments section of this blog post.

Exciting stuff!

10,000th Forum post!

2008-07-09T23:16:00.004-05:00

Little celebration today, as the forum received it's 10,000th post. I find this pretty amazing to be honest and I want to sincerely thank all the great people at the forum for making something like this possible. Far beyond my wildest dreams when I first uploaded the thing, simply to get to play around with phpBB and look under the hood.

Anyway, we are having a little celebration here in this thread - why don't you come join us?

Congrats to Kwote for making the 10,000th post, and thanks again to all the members - without you guys, there would be nothing there at all.

Speaking of the forum, it has been growing quickly lately - the addition of the popular new 'Synth Noise' subforum seems to be getting more and more people involved. A great time to have a look if you haven't already.

One other funny note - today, same day that the forum gets it's 10,000 post - well, a couple hours later my car hits 100,000km. No shit. 2001 VW Jetta 1.8T, original owner. I thought that was pretty cool. I snapped the pic at the top of this post using my phone, shortly after it happened.

Unlike my car, the forum is nowhere near running out of gas!

(no title needed)

2008-07-04T01:12:00.004-05:00

speaks for itself, really

Hey modular companies!

2008-06-30T02:11:00.004-05:00

This is what I want....

For frac rack, obviously.

Seriously, why isn't there something like this? The closest I can think is the Blacet QuadMix, which is discontinued, is exponential only, and you need to change resistors on the board to convert it from 10v to 5v.

And it's not like people don't use lots of VCAs.

This is really the sort of thing we all need a couple of. C'mon.

Metasonix S-1000 Review in SOS!

2008-06-22T01:08:00.003-05:00

Sound on Sound recently reviewed the Metasonix S-1000 Wretch Machine, and contrary to my expectations, they really seemed to like it! Nice in-depth review and obvious that the author has become a believer. Nice surprise compared to the barrage of negative opinion that often congregates around the brand.

Take a look at the review here

Life & Music

2008-05-12T20:44:00.005-05:00

Not many of you know that I consider South Park one of the most important things that has ever been put to broadcast in any fashion whatsoever. Well, now you do.

This isn't South Park, but it's just about as good. Short video made by Matt & Trey (the creators of South Park) to accompany some words from Alan Watts. Really moving and an important message - in fact something I've long felt is one of the most important messages of all.

Little Drum Module Demo

2008-05-11T09:22:00.003-05:00

Strange to post this because Matrixsynth actually got it up before I did (man he's fast!!) but hey they are MY crappy videos so I'm gonna take proper responsibility for them and post 'em on my blog. And try to actually put the right tags with 'em!

Enjoy. Or don't. I don't know. You can't really hear the drums anyway..... complaints are welcome on the forum or in the comments

either way, thanks for visiting my blog :)

Pt. 1

Pt. 2

If anyone wants to donate a digital video camera (I'm actually doing this stuff on a 3 year old digital STILL camera) I won't say no..... :)

Crappy Studio Tour

2008-05-01T09:10:00.002-05:00

Well, I spent a lot of the last two days reconfiguring my studio for better ergonomics. Still not the greatest but it's a LOT better and solved the major problems I have had as my modular synth has been growing.

I actually made my FIRST ever video to show off the changes. It's really crappy, was done on a 3-year old digital still camera, and it cut off at the end because I ran out of batteries.... But anyway, it's my first video, and was done at 4am after moving all sorts of stuff around. Not the best, but you'll get the idea.

It's also my first ever YouTube upload. I guess I may try my hand at some more vids now that I have a YouTube account.

Anyway, good morning to y'all. Hope you like the video or at least have a laugh over how amateurish it is.....

Never Enough.....

2008-04-30T23:22:00.003-05:00

Little bit of fun... I made this 'smiley' up for kicks in reply to a thread at the forum, and thought I would share it with you all.

James over at CTRL Voltage blogged this as well, let's see how many places we can get it to appear :)

By the way, James has a pretty cool blog, so do check it out....

Metalbox Drum Modules

2008-04-30T13:13:00.011-05:00

(Please be sure to click all pics for the 'full' view)

Let's talk drum modules.... my modular has gotten to a point where there's really just two main things missing (ok three if you count a Frequency Shifter) for basically covering all the possible functionality I could wish for. One is an army of analog sequencers. The other is a nice set of dedicated drum modules.

Well, I've been chipping away at the latter issue, and yesterday received a shipment of some custom modules from Metalbox that's pretty much solved the drum-module defecit in my synth. By the way, I think of all the modular manufacturers out there, Metalbox has to be the one with the most solid lineup of percussion-specific stuff. Not only do you have all these great drum modules, but units like the Gate Sequencer and Burst Generator really excel when doing percussion work. Do have a closer look at Metalbox if you haven't already done so. Michael's work is as solid as I've ever seen anywhere, and the modules have this wonderful feel of 'no nonsense military precision' that really jives with me.

Now, there's a lot of ways to get drums out of a modular, and one surely doesn't need dedicated drum modules to get some thump-thump action. Without turning this post into a patching lesson, I've done great drums in the past using a fast VCA and a Blacet I/O to give me a quick thumpy voltage. There's other ways as well.

But let's face it - a strip of dedicated percussion modules is FUN FUN FUN. Let's take a look at what we have here.

As mentioned, my Metalbox shipment arrived yesterday, containing four new modules - Analog Logic, Digital Noise, and 'custom' Dual Drum and Dual Chime modules. What's 'custom' about them? Well these modules are typically built in a 1U-wide format, with only one control (Decay) per voice. But, there's loads of trimpots on the PCB that would make great panel controls.

I asked Michael at Metalbox if he would be willing to build me a Dual Drum and Dual Chime with the trimpots brought out - and I was delighted when he told me he would. Thanks again Mike! These modules are tons of fun, and I really appreciate the extra effort that went into them.

The Dual Drum is pictured above at the top of this post - as you can see there are three extra controls for each voice now, Impact, Pitch and Timbre. Fantastic.

And.... Michael was able to work some very similar magic with the Dual Chime module, take a look:

Seriously now, who DOESN'T want extra flexability in their modules? This is good stuff.

Now, I mentioned the other modules I received were the Analog Logic and the Digital Noise. I want to talk about the latter one for a moment. I actually had one some time ago, and sold it off (actually 'sacrificed it' is a better thing to say - was required to get my hands on a Dark Star Chaos Rev.B that I badly needed, and are very hard to find being long discontinued....). Anyway, I didn't have any drum modules at the time, but I *LOVED* the "binary outs" on this module, have a look -

These two outputs give you semi-random pulses that are derived from the clock frequency - just awesome for triggering drums. While it's an excellent noise module, the truth is that I'm swimming in noise modules, and the real value for me here is the binary outputs. Tons of fun. The clock on it's own is a bit faster than I would like for drum purposes, but it has no problem being clocked more slowly using an external source. Lately I've been usuing my Noise Rings to clock just about everything, because I love the amount of instability and randomness you are able to dial in at a controlled rate. Anyway, driving the Digital Noise with a slowly changing Noise Ring, and then firing off drums from the binary outs is pure techno joy.

So that's the new stuff that arrived yesterday. It joins up with some Metalbox percussion stuff that I already had, and gives me an awesomely, addictively fun 'drum strip' within my rack setup. I was up 'till 5am last night patching up drums and grinning from ear to ear.

Since this post is pretty much a Metalbox percussion frenzy, I'll highlight the other drum modules in my rig, and mention briefly the other Metalbox offerings that can make this setup even more powerful in the future.

You can't really talk about drum modules without mentioning the Cynare....

Metalbox's website describes this as "the monster percussion synthesizer", and never have truer words been spoken. I bought this one used (thanks Paul!) and really was blown away when I first got to use it - it is so much more than I expected. At any point it's very easy to pull three distinct drum sounds out of it, and if you get a little fancy with a couple more modules, you can get four (and possibly more!). It's a complete synth inside a single module, including a multimode filter, vca and mixer, most with their own dedicated I/O. You really need to spend some time with this one to see what it's all about.

Another great used module in my lineup is the 8008 Bass Drum. This is one of the few Metalbox products that is NOT a CGS/Ken Stone design, it's a Michael Ford design, unique to the Metalbox lineup. Based on the venerable TR-808 kick drum, this little beauty adds some extra controls, and runs at modular signal levels. HUGE sound from this tiny module.... all too easy to rattle the windows!

Whew, this is a lot of modules! I've got two more for you, neither of which are dedicated drum modules, but both being units that, like the Digital Noise, really excel when working on drum patches.

Next up is another Michael Ford design, the (sadly discontinued) Dual AD. Easy, simple, fun! A pair of AD generators that are FAST and perfect for triggering drums - and the gate inputs are normalled together so you can fire both envelopes with one voltage if you want - or insert a second signal to break the normalling and they are truly seperate generators. Unfortunately these are no longer available, and I lucked into one on the used market. Keep your eyes open for one of these - really useful little module.

Last one here - again a sweet deal on the used market for me (thanks Sandy!) the truly unique Burst Generator.

This one is really interesting - basically it fires of a set of trigger pulses when triggered - you can control how many pulses in the set, and it can run on it's own internal (wide range) clock, or be clocked externally. You know what I'm doing here - NOISE RING. This thing comes alive when fed an unstable clock, essential breaky, glitchy, AFX-y bursts of percussion. As CR would say "it's full of techno!"

So, there's a little rundown of how Metalbox can really help you get your drums on. As mentioned above, there's a pile of great modules in their lineup that can make your drum patches even more interesting - the Gated Comparator, Clock Divider, various sequencers, etc. I hope to eventually add some of these to my setup for even more fun.

Finally, here's a look at the current configuration of my 'drum' strip, in the center tower of my synth. From left to right we have -

8008 Bass Drum, Dual Drum, Cynare, Dual Chime, Digital Noise

(Click for larger version)

If you are really keen on pictures of modules, have a look at this forum thread where I have some shots of the backsides of these modules as well.

Ok, that was a long post. I'm off to patch up some more drums!!

Thanks again to Michael Ford at Metalbox for these great modules, and for working with me on the custom DDrum and DChime. Really happy about these and enjoying the modules a great deal.

It's here! Tiptop Audio's Z5000!

2008-04-16T13:08:00.052-05:00

Well, let me tell you - this is *really exiting* and has been VERY hard to keep a lid on over the last couple of months.

I'm really truly proud (and grateful to the guys at Tiptop!) to be able to break the news of a really exciting brand new synth module!

Some of you may have noticed the 'Teaser' post I put up a couple of days ago, and I know a bunch of you have been following along with the 'Mystery Module' thread over at the forum (where you'll find a few of my own samples - clipping and overall crumminess due to my own poor skills, not the fault of this cool module!).

Well, the mystery is finally over! Thanks everyone for your enthusiasm and for playing along - it's been a lot of fun, and like I said, pretty hard to not spill the beans on this.

Anyway, on to the module - I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the testers, and I can tell you that I've had a TON of fun with this! It is a euro-rack module, but it has no problem at all being powered by a frac-rack 15v power supply, and I had no trouble integrating it into my rig - where it's been playing very nicely with all the rest of my gear.

What is it? And who are these guys? Those are great questions! Let me give a little summary, and then paste in the official press release.

As you may have guessed from the images, the Z5000 is a voltage controlled, stereo multi effects processor, powered by a 24bit/48khz DSP. This is the first DSP-powered VC'd multi effect device I'm aware of that's been designed explicitly to work within a modular synth - it's built to handle the signal levels found in all modulars (with lots of headrooom), and obviously gives you CV control over the effects themselves. On board the module are 16 different effects 'programs', 13 of which are voltage-controllable. This all results in a really nice hybrid of analog and digital - providing some of the unique advantages of DSP, within the typically analog structure of a modular synth.

Now, the 'analog/digital' debate has gone on and on forever - but many of the forward-looking synth developers have always taken a hybrid approach, using analog where it can benefit the sound, and using digital where it can add some unique options. Of course Buchla has been a pioneer in this sort of work, and companies like Wiard and The Harvestman have continued this 'best of both worlds' tradition in the modern age.

Tiptop Audio comes to the table with the same philosophy - they seek to bring the advantages of DSP to a world that they recognize is mostly analog. The results are fantastic! And also not what you may expect... luckily these guys took the stance of NOT trying to replace your favorite Eventide unit (or whatever you may use.....), but instead to provide some unique effects that are more closely related to the 'experimental' approach most modular synthesists prefer. (One of my favorite things about this module is the 'quirky' results you get when applying CV control to the three programs that are NOT specced for CV - some very, very interesting things happen!)

I won't get into too many of the module's specs here in this post - the press release below gives all that information better than I can. However I can tell you some of the things that I really like are the fact that this is a stereo module, allowing some interesting patching options - putting one signal into one side of the processor and a different signal into the other allows for some amazing results. Also the module can take in a mono source, and then output a stereo one, which can have a great effect on your sound. And I must say that my favorite programs in the module are the "Non-linear Reverb" (in particular when under voltage control), as well as the "Chorus+Room Reverb". Some AMAZING sounds to be had here.

Now, who are these guys? Well, they are Tiptop Audio - and you just might know them already. You can find their website (where this announcement should be up now - or very imminently) at http://www.tiptopaudio.com/. Based in LA, Tiptop is comprised of SDIY-meister Sean Coulter (who has been building the modules, working with the testers, setting up dealers & distribution and acting as the 'face' of the company), and designer Gur Milstein, the engineer responsible for the module's circuitry and DSP. You may recognize Gur's name from work he's done in the past, including designing the TM-116 Sequencer, ACS Quantizer and a variety of other custom electronic instruments and control devices.

Let me tell you that this is just the start, and Sean and Gur have some *really* exciting plans for the future of their DSP applications. I can also tell you that these guys are INCREDIBLY cool, nice, humble, laid-back and just great to deal with. They really have a great community spirit (look, they let me leak info and gave me the OK to break the official news on my blog!) and are really excited about getting to work with all the modular musicians out there.

The module is in stock at Analog Haven, costs $185, and is ready to ship! We are all really excited about hearing what some of you maniacs are going to be able to do with this!

So, without further ado (this is turning into a long post!), here's the list of the FX programs and below that, the official press release. Be sure to hit up Tiptop Audio's website for more info, including some great audio demos!

-----------------------------

Multi-effect processors have been used for years to post-process sounds generated by analog synths, providing harmonies, delay, and reverb. Here, for the first time in an analog modular synthesizer format, is a multi-effect processor that has been specially designed for use deep with the actual process of creating synth sounds and timbres. The Z5000 is an analog-controlled digital module that fits perfectly at the heart of any analog system, bringing new and original patch options and sound manipulation capabilities. The results are exciting, progressive sounds and timbres created and enhanced by a powerful DSP engine running 16 FFT algorithms of 24-bit digital audio.

As an integrated synthezier module, the Z5000 makes post-processing modular synth sound in both mono and stereo as easy as it can possibly be. No more long cables with phone jack adapters running to external multi-effects processors and no more clipping from un-matched signal levels. Because the Z5000 is designed to handle "hot" modular signals with up to 16Vpp of headroom before clipping, it can be integrated into a system like any other module and going directly from any signal generator directly to the multi-effect processor is effortless.

Z5000: The power of voltage controlled digital signal processing seamlessly integrated into an analog package!

Features:
13 Voltage-Controlled Stereo Effects
16 Total Effects

Custom FFT programs running on Tiptop Audio DSP core at a resolution of 24 bits at 48kHz

Specially designed for modular synthesizer signal level inputs and outputs

Independent gain level light for each input

4 Input/Output Combinations:
Stereo In to Stereo Out
Stereo In to Mono Out
Mono In to Mono Out
Mono In to Stereo Out

Input / Output Gain Control

Wet / Dry Control

Effects Parameter Control

Effects Parameter CV Control

Mechanical Specifications:
Format – Eurorack
Width – 14HP / 71mm / 2.8”
Depth – 84mm / 3.3”

Electrical Specifications:
Dynamic Range, SNR – 97dB
THD+N – -88 dB
Frequency Response – 20Hz to 16kHz
Maximum Audio Input Level – 16Vpp (Before Clipping)
Maximum Audio Output Level (Dry/Wet) – Rail / Input
CV Input Range – 0V – 5V
Power - +/-12V or +/-15V
Current – 160mA

-----------------------------

Again, I just wanted to say a HUGE thanks to Sean & Gur for giving me the chance to work with this module, letting me tease my forum members, and allowing me to break this exciting news on the web. Congratulations on the big release! I know it's been a ton of work getting there. I'm really excited for you guys, the module, and the future of Tiptop Audio! Looking forward to seeing this get out there and to learning more about your future modules....

Analog Suicide

2008-04-16T12:49:00.004-05:00

While I'm sure this is old news to some of you, I wanted to take a moment and point you to one of my favorite new spots on the web, Analog Suicide.

I discovered this around NAMM-time in February, thanks to some posts that Matrixsynth put up, and I've been addicted ever since!

Not only will you find all sorts of drool-worthy synth news and wonderful gear, you'll enjoy some incredible videos, some STUNNING music (seriously, do check it out!), and a really refreshing, ehthusiastic attitude about all the quirky gear we love so much.

Don't waste another moment - go check out Analog Suicide and get some sunshine in your day. I've also added them to the 'Around the Web' set of links (found at the right-hand side of this blog).

Great stuff - thanks Tara & Maf! :)

New Synth Pics

2008-04-16T01:21:00.004-05:00

Pulled the camera out tonight and took some new pics, been a while and the system has grown a lot since then. Check out this forum thread if you want to see more pics.

CHARLES COHEN AT THE BUCHLA MUSIC EASEL

2008-04-15T17:15:00.005-05:00

CHARLES COHEN AT THE BUCHLA MUSIC EASEL from Alex on Vimeo.

This is great, historic stuff.

OK - Disclaimer: Like the vast majority of my readers, I found this on Matrixsynth. This is the first time I have ever re-posted anything that I saw on Matrixsynth (but I always appreciate it very much when he re-blogs my posts!), for the obvious reason that the vast majority of my readers also read that blog, and I want this place to be something slightly different than a 'Matrixsynth wannabe'.

Anyway. In this one case, I've reblogged this post. Why? Because I feel it is very important. AND IT'S REALLY REALLY GOOD. And I know that in actual fact, I have at least one or two readers that don't read Matrix's blog. And this film is just GREAT, and is of significant historical and musical importance to anyone with even a passing interest in electronic music. And it's very well done. And finally, the author has stated that people are free to blog and promote this film, as long as the original text that I'm about to paste in below, is still present.

So enjoy. Thanks Matrix for bringing it to my attention, thanks Alex for making this video, thanks Don for creating such captivating instruments, and thanks Charles for the wonderful music.

Here's the obligatory paste - please read it, very interesting stuff....

------------------

"/ / / / / Viewing with headphones or a stereo source is highly recommended / / / / /

This colorful video features sound artist Charles Cohen improvising on a 1970's Buchla Music Easel. This extremely rare instrument is one of Don Buchla's 200 series. Buchla (a pioneer of audio synthesis) only manufactured 14 of these units. The entire film was edited from an hour-long set of free improvisation, with audio was taken directly from Charles' mixing board.

All of the photography and editing was produced by Alex Tyson, a sound and video artist from Pennsylvania. The film was shot in 16:9 720p High Definition format, using a 35mm LensBaby 3GPL.

This film is free to distribute, share, blog, vlog, etc. When re-posting, please copy and paste this text to inform anyone about the film.

At this time the film is only available online. While you can stream it in HD, it is best viewed on DVD.
Please contact the filmmaker for hard copies if interested.

Charles can be reached at ccohen (at) voicenet.com

Alex can be reached at alextyson (at) gmail.com"

Teaser....

2008-04-14T11:48:00.002-05:00

Just a little teaser of something new that will be announced this week. This is something a little different than you are used to, and should cause a fair bit of excitement when the time comes. I'm already pretty psyched! Stay tuned....

Buyer Beware: Plimus ecommerce SUCKS

2008-04-05T22:07:00.009-05:00

Edit: Updated - Please see the bottom of the post.
---------------------------------------------------

Wow, I'm really truly stunned that this is for real...and it's 2008 on the Internet and I actually have to deal with this sort of bullshit...

Anyway, last night I made an electronic purchase. The person was using 'Plimus' as their outsourced ecommerce provider. I had never heard of Plimus before (I've used Share*It and a few other 'familiar' ones in the past, but never Plimus...), and was a little worried, so I put the sale on pause and went on a search for a bit of info about Plimus.

Well, the search temporarily put my concerns at ease - looks like they were a large, professional, established US-based ecommerce company. And along with creditcard numbers, can process with PayPal accounts. "No problem" I thought.

So I went ahead and made my purchase. Filled out all the forms. Used my home address and contact info, used my PayPal account.

PayPal went through no problem. I go to check my email, and I see this:

___________
Dear XXXXXX

Thank you for your recent order for XXXXXXXX. In order to approve this order we must contact you via telephone. Due to the current time and as a token of respect to your household we do not wish to call you at this time without your permission.

Please visit the following link and provide us with the phone number and best time when we can reach you, so we can process your order:
http://www.plimus.com/ask_phone.jsp?ref=XXXXX

Your phone number is always kept strictly confidential and will never be used for sales calls, it will only be used to verify this order.

Regards,
Plimus Sales
------------

wtf???

Now this is concerning to me. Very much. Because of my job, I am very 'identity theft aware', and this was so out-of-the-blue, so unorthodox, all I could think is that they are trying to profile people for identity theft. There's no way in hell they need to verify my working telephone number (in addition to ALL the TONS of other info they needed to collect in order to allow me to order through them - actually through a PayPal passthrough payment, which makes it all even stranger).

I sat there, stunned for a while, absolutely ready to cancel my order and bitch the company out. I realized, the money was already gone from my PayPal account. I also realized I had never given any of my creditcard info to these shady Plimus people (THANK YOU PAYPAL!). And I really wanted the product (an anti-spam plugin for phpBB forums).

So I went to their stupid telephone form, and entered the number THAT I HAD ALREADY GIVEN THEM again, and seleted the "call anytime" box.

13 hours later they called. A grumpy sounding person asked if I had ordered the product. I said I did. He said "OK, You'll have email confirmation in a few minutes" and hung up.

A few minutes later - I had email confirmation, BUT - confirmation that the product developer had now been notified of my purchase, and would respond within 48 hours.

It's now been 24 hours since the purchase, 11 hours since the callback. No sign of the developer or the product I purchased.

I'm absolutely steaming. If this was a downloable game I had wanted to play on Friday night, I would have been twice as pissed (Plimus is used a lot by the indie game dev commuinity - see this related thread ).

I have absolutley NO IDEA what could have caused Plimus to think my sale was 'high risk' or whatever. I used my primary 'family' email address at a major ISP (not a Gmail account), I gave all my personal information - this is just outrageous that they need all this info PLUS verify a working phone just to take a passthrough payment from PayPal. Totally unacceptable to me. Like, TOTALLY, TOTALLY, WRITE UP A GOOGLE-SEARCHABLE BLOG ENTRY UNACCEPTABLE.

Anyway, I'm putting this out to you guys as a warning, because I know that like me you probably make a lot of online purchases. I will not purchase anything that uses Plimus as a checkout provider ever again. Not a chance in hell. I'll find something else or go without. This is absolutely unacceptable to me. A fucking PHONE CALL? 13 HOURS LATER? WTF? Sorry guys, you lose. That's totally, totally bullshit.

Fail.

------

Update: Well, the developer got in touch with me, about 24 hours after the inital purchase was initiated. Actually considering the time/geography difference, and Plimus' 13 hour pre-call wait, it was a very fast response from the developer.

The developer was very apologetic about the whole thing, and I want to be clear I hold none of this against the devs or the companies that have chosen Plimus as a source of payment & customer frustration - they have my sympathy. Also the dev told me that the 48 hour thing was bullshit as well - there should have been an automatic email of the license to me AS SOON as Plimus had verified the order. This never happened, and the developer had the grace and forsight to email me a copy of the license from his personal Gmail account, just in case I hadn't received it 'automatically' (which obviously I didn't). What a disaster.

Anyway, nice thing about the small and indie devs is the level of care for the customer, too bad they get caught up in the crap policies of the big internet companies they often have to partner with.

DIY Blacet Modifications

2008-04-02T20:54:00.003-05:00

Over at the forum there's a thread about all the different modifications that can be done to wring some cool extra functionality out of Blacet modules.

Yesterday, I added more comprehensive step-by-step information, along with photos of the process, for two of the mods - one which adds an AC/DC coupling selector to the Blacet VCO's FM input, and one which moves the 'range' DIP switch on the Micro LFO's circuit board to a front panel mounted switch. These are two of the easiest mods to perform, and great place for beginners to get started - and are both mods which add some very useful functionality to the module.

Check out the VCO's AC/DC FM Coupling Switch mod here

And peep the LFO Range Switch mod over here

This was prompted by some user requests, along with the fact that I've been promising to take photos and get the information up for over a year now. Sorry for the delay... one other cool reason that gave me a push to do this was that one of our forum users, BananaPlug, pointed me to information he had written up on mods for Blacet's Improbability Drive. BananaPlug gave me the OK to post his info at the forum, which was really cool of him - so I'll point you guys to that one as well...

BananaPlug's Improbability Drive Mods can be found here

Finally, be sure to have a peek at the general 'Blacet Modifications' thread as well, for summary info on a variety of other mods, as well as a place to get news when more mod info is added.

If anyone has questions about performing any of the mods, feel free to join up into the discussion at the forum. For beginners out there, this info doesn't qualify as a primer on soldering practises or anything like that - it's assumed you have the right tools, have a rough idea how to solder, and have some patience and common sense. None of us are to be held responsible if you destroy your modules! Have fun though, and be careful not to burn your fingertips ;)

Soundguy Test

2008-04-01T20:33:00.004-05:00

hehehe

someone posted this at the Guitarsbyleo G&L forum, I couldn't resist and had to put it up here.

Retro Encabulator

2008-03-26T18:27:00.001-05:00

I think this pretty much speaks for itself, there's not much to add except that I had to share it with you all. The only other thing I could tell you is that I discovered this last week when a colleague actually used it in a business meeting with a bunch of us at work. Pure classic.

Livewire AFG Preorder! Limited Edition! New Blog!

2008-03-15T02:25:00.004-05:00

Well, the question so many people have been wondering is now answered - you can order your AFGs!! It's a preorder - and it's a limited edition. Regular editions will be available after this run, but delivery times are not guarenteed at ALL, so if you have your heart set on the lovely Audio Frequency Generator, you'd better head over to Shawn's blog and check out the info.

What's that? Shawn's blog? Yes indeed, it seems like our good friend Shawn Cleary has started a new blog, obviously focusing on modular synths. Good luck with the blog Shawn, I've added you to the links section here - you know I'll be keeping an eye on whatever you post.

Congrats as well to Mike Brown and Livewire on this awesome module.

Awesome Frac Module Updates!

2008-03-01T01:02:00.005-05:00

Wow, what a great time for frac-rack users.

First of all, Synthasonic has just released their amazing looking (and sounding!) 8 stage phaser! And it's only $175! Talk about value. Run now to the Synthasonic website and order yourself up some phasey goodness. Note that their LPF is shipping as well. Thanks Sam for the heads-up! Would like to see some actual photos (instead of renderings) of these modules, hopefully those will come up soon.

Also, whew, this one flew under everyone's radar.... Suit and Tie Guy's Wave Folder is now available at Analogue Haven. Like the Mankato, I ended up ordering the very first one! Shawn said he would send me the model shown in the pic, #9 with the lovely '3AM Eternal' scribble on the side. Looking forward to mangling up some waves with this beauty.

Next, just a quick note that the Cyndustries Saw Animators (previously mentioned in this post) are now available to ship from Analogue Haven in both frac and euro formats.

Finally, a long overdue followup comment about this previous post on the Mankato filter. I should have put this news up long ago, I apologize.

Anyway, if you look in the comments of the post, Tim Servo, who designed the PCB, graciously chimed in about the DC coupling issue. As he explains, it's not an issue at all - all three of his personal Mankati are configured with only DC coupled inputs.

First, I'm grateful to Tim for reading and chiming in with the info. I apologize to everyone for being so late to bring it to the front page here. Anyway, having had (not nearly enough but...) some wee bit of time to play with my filter, I concur that it isn't a problem at all. The thing has no problem with the AC signals I throw at it, and the DC coupling does seem to come in useful in other applications, so it really seems to be the best of both worlds.

I have plans to try to make some demos and make a half-decent review of the Mankato to post here for you guys at some point - it's really a very impressive, fun and unique module, and I hope to get the time soon. I'll be travelling for the next few weeks for work, but hopefully after that things will settle down enough.

Thanks as always for reading. Cheers everyone. Enjoy your instruments - no matter what format or instrument you play, we are all so lucky to have such a wealth of incredible options available to us these days.

Retarded Animal Babies in NEED

2008-02-15T12:46:00.008-05:00

Here's a chance to help out Dave Lovelace and the entire lovable RAB clan. You owe them at least this much for the wonderful influence they have had on your beloved Metasonix boxes.

As most of you probably know, Wikipedia is a cesspool of bias, ego and misinformation.

However, it's also (somewhat sadly) become a major reference point in our digital society.

For reasons unknown, the powers-that-pee over at the mighty Wiki seem to have a major bug in their ass about Retarded Animal Babies. I don't have the whole story, but many attempts, by multiple parties, to craft an article on RAB have been fruitless. Articles PERFECTLY fitting the accepted Wikipedia 'style', including references, proper tone and bias, etc., are constantly rejected, deleted and locked by Wiki administrators. It's crazy.

I'm going to make some comments in the Wiki discussion pages about this. There's no reason this should be happening. It's unfair and irrational bias, and it's extremely unfortunate for Dave and the work he does. It is CENSORSHIP, that alone should be enough to motivate you to speak out.

I'd like to ask for the help of anyone who cares, or would like to help. Please post comments in these discussion sections at Wikipedia, challenge their bone-headed refusal to allow RAB content on their site. Let's see if we can get this to somehow magically be approved on Wikipedia.

This is where you can comment:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Deletion_review/Log/2008_February_11#Retarded_Animal_Babies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Editor_assistance/Requests#having_trouble_with_an_article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Administrators%27_noticeboard/Incidents#Trying_to_recreate_a_banned_page

Additionally, hey are are trying to get this page killed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lovelace

Your help, comments, lobbying are all GREATLY appreciated. Someone has to stand up to these idiots.

Thanks.

And thanks Eric for bringing this to my attention. Sorry Dave that these guys have something against you. Ridiculous.

Edit: More details, including the backstory on the whole Wikipedia affair, courtesy of Eric Barbour can be found here.

Edit 2: Broken links fixed. Thanks Felix!

United Colors of Bananalogue

2008-02-13T01:23:00.001-05:00

Was moving stuff around my rack today and re-noticed that my Bananalogue modules have really colorful PCBs. I have two VCS modules, and there's a different color board on each one. Pretty neat.

Cool stuff - hot sale!

2008-02-12T23:34:00.003-05:00

Trying to raise some quick cash, got a bunch of GREAT stuff that doesn't have a place in my setup at the moment, time to trim down a bit.... hope you guys don't mind a quick sale post here - the first! Overall I don't want to use this blog as a marketplace, but in this case I'm hoping a lot of people will see these and I'll sell 'em quick. Thanks for looking

Click on the pics for a bigger view.....

Black Finger $160

Wiggler $160

16SDD Reissue $300 w/box mint condition. These are out of production and dealers are out of stock. They are going on eBay for well over $300, and at times as high as $500. This is a DEAL. This is Not a pic of mine, as mine's not here - it's at a consignment shop. I'll grab it if anyone wants it. Also mine has all white sliders.

Early 80's Hot Tubes. $200. Kim Gordon relied on this for years as a major part of her Sonic Youth bass tone. Classic pedal, possibly the single best pedal EH ever made. This one is another HUGE deal for the buyer. Look at how mint this is.

All prices include shipping.

Also - if anyone wants, $700 takes them all. Can you say deal?

thanks again

Meter Section Detail

2008-02-09T01:07:00.000-05:00

(As with all pics on this blog, please click for a larger view)

I was *never* able to find any decent size/quality shots of this oldschool controller on the web, so here's some Wiard porn for you, a good detail shot of the meter section. Even though it says 'DC Volts' on it, it meters both - and + voltages, in opposite directions (as you may have guessed by the number scheme printed on it).

Sex!

2008-02-08T18:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, super sorry about the lack of updates. I've even been getting emails about it!! Thanks for hanging in there folks. The truth is i've been extremely sick for, shit, the past couple of months now. Something I thought was no big deal in the fall has turned into a serious problem over Christmas/January. Not life-threatening (it seems) and I'm recovering now and should be back to my regular 110% in about 6 weeks. I'm doing better though, but honestly this has been a BIG deal and has just killed my ability to do much at all.

Anyway, I have a TON of posts 'saved up', ready to go, planned for when I can get to it - and it'll be soon! People have written, sent in info, all sorts of good stuff. I have some cool news and interesting stuff coming up for everyone. I plan to at least get a few posts up over the weekend, and by next week get through most of the stuff I have planned... anyway again sorry and please stay tuned!

Thought I would catch your attention with the word 'Sex' and then get you horny with some sexy shots of my newest synth config - thanks to the awesome oldschool Wiard controller I snagged on the 'bay

cheers folks, be well

Eric Says.... Fuck You! (Are you surprised?)

2008-02-05T02:19:00.001-05:00

Well, this is certain to be fun. Eric Barbour, of Metasonix infamy, has launched a 'personal' blog.

Anyone who knows anything about Eric knows that he is certainly a hell of a character, so this should be some very entertaining stuff indeed.

Check it out here - Eric Says Fuck You

Metalbox Tube VCA

2008-01-17T12:28:00.000-05:00

I received this a couple weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to rack it up and try it out yet, as I've been super super super sick. Anyway, I wanted to post up a few pics, as there aren't any online anywhere.

Really cool looking module by Metalbox, based on a Ken Stone PCB. Includes a bizarre Russian vacuum tube that apparently was used on MiG-29 fighter jets!

Really cool, and hoping to feel better soon so I can have some time to play with this one. Some pics of the guts below for you guys as well.

The Great Destroyer

2008-01-17T12:02:00.001-05:00

I received this AWESOME little box from Dwarfcraft Devices, and I can't really believe how much fun I'm having with it!

Named after the wonderful album by Low (who use at least one of these pedals....), and handbuilt by TheOneTrueAen, this thing is nuts. I don't really know what it's doing, except that it has two gain stages, neither of which really acts like a gain stage. One acts like a bitcrusher that bleeds clock signal, and the other acts like a perverted tone control. There's a master volume out (which is really handy), and a battery starve knob, which is really fun. Super cool little box.

Aen made a small run using these vintage water-transfer state decals. I was very happy to get Texas :) I think he may be out of the decals now, so no idea what he's using for graphics.

Anna Nicole Fuzz

2008-01-17T11:58:00.000-05:00

A fat and nasty fuzz!! I love it. From Dennis Menard of Fuzzbox World

Apparently Billy Gibbons has three of them. Seems to me that either the "Billy Gibbons" line is being abused to sell boutique products, or that the Reverand has very similar taste to myself, as a lot of the odd things I pick up, I later learn that "Billy Gibbons has three!".

Wonderful fuzz. Mr. Gibbons, you have great taste :)

STG Mankato Filter Now Available!

2008-01-16T00:40:00.000-05:00

Suit & Tie Guy's *incredible* looking Mankato Filter is now available in 'FU' format (Frac Rack) at
Analogue Haven. Without even going under the hood, I have to say this one is up there with the Wiard JAG for the 'coolest looking frac module' award. Amazing job on the layout of this one!

The Mankato is a 4-pole lowpass filter designed by synth guru Thomas Henry, with some very interesting features not found in your everyday VCF. For one, it has an ENORMOUS range, from deep sub audio ranges to far above the audible frequencies - all in a continuous sweep, no range switching required. However, that's probably the least interesting thing about it.

Next on the 'cool list' is the fact that it will self-oscillate at ANY frequency, even the really really slow ones. So it can be used as a pretty funky LFO if you have the need.

But it gets better still, as you may have surmised from the photo. A wide-range VCF that can self-oscillate at any frequency - hmm, sounds strangely like a VCO, doesn't it? Ok, so it's a sine-wave only VCO as well, that's cool - but that's also true of a lot of modular filters.

What sets this one apart are the phase outputs, all eight of them. It goes beyond quadrature oscillator to provide you with 8 phases of your sinewave output - you get outputs for the 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270 & 315 degree positions of your sine wave.

I'm only just starting to wrap my head around ideas for this. I know there's going to be some very interesting FM tricks available, and I think I may be able to cobble together some sort of frequency shifter using this as well - I'll be searching for that famed 'barberpole' Shepherd infinite phasing effect. I suspect it may be possible with this module, however no-one's been able to let me know if if can or not. In fact, I've just ordered the very first one from AH (thanks Shawn!), so I will be sure to let you all know how I make out with it once I've had some time to try some things. I'm new to quadrature-land though, so please bear with me here ;)

I do have a hunch that those 8 outputs will be able to make a Wiard JAG do some really incredible things

One last thing - the signal inputs are DC coupled, which allows one to use the Mankato as a voltage controlled slew limiter. While this is a cool feature, I wonder what effect (if any?) the DC coupled inputs have when using this as an actual VCF, to process audio? I know it's probably mostly intended to use as a modulation source but damn, it has FILTER right in the name!

I do know the PCB (which is manufactured by Magic Smoke Electronics) allows for AC or DC coupled inputs. It's a pretty option-rich board, and I really thank Suit & Tie Guy for taking advantage of the vast majority of synthy goodness on tap, and in particular for giving us those 8 juicy outputs. Anyway, perhaps it may be easy to add an ac/dc select switch? Hey STG, you read this blog sometimes, any idea on this?

Anyway, very cool stuff, I'm really excited about this module, it's 'something different' from the modules i've been into and I'm really looking forward to that. Thanks again STG and thanks Shawn @ AH for giving me the heads-up that these were in. It's not every that something surprising and different comes out for your modular synth!

Again, KILLER design job on the front panel of this baby. It's just gorgeous.

Hey! Check out AH's Mankato page right here, you're only ONE click away

And one click here brings you to STG Soundlabs!

New Metasonix Product Unveiled!

2008-01-15T02:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been sitting on this information for a little over a week now, and it's been HARD! Haha, seriously. Lucky me, Eric Barbour once again gave me permission to break the news of his new product, on the eve of the NAMM show. He said "tuesday morning", but really wasn't clear on what time ;) Since it's now technically tuesday morning (yeah, even in California, I waited....), and since there's already been a bit of info starting to float around, I'm not sitting on this any longer!

Anyway, without further ado, yes you speculating bastards, yes indeed...

IT'S THE GUITAR AMP!!

Some people prayed, some wept, some swore he would never do it. Here it is you crazy freaks. It's pretty hard to believe, I'll give it that. Look at that thing!

I do wish I had an image of Dave's art on the other side. And I can't tell you at the moment what it's called, but my money's on "Fucking Fucker".

It's the psychotic Metasonix amp. It's like a nuclear bomb just went off. I can't wait to learn more about this, and to see what guitar players think. This is insane.

Little is known at the moment - just the pics, that Dave's art will be on the other side, and that's it. Obviously we are looking at a 2 channel amp. There's loads and loads of crazy tubes inside. I do believe I spot at least one or two BN6 tubes, but I would have put money down on that anyway. There's a bunch of beefy transformers AND a switching power supply (as pointed out on Matrixsynth). There's a great jab at Bill O'Reilly. There's absolutely no room for anything else in there, but there are some very interesting controls, like 'reverb', 'phase' and 'ream your ass'. This thing is going to be a LOAD of fun for anyone who gets to play with it. Bring earplugs, really big ones.

Another question that's nagging at me - is Eric going to get in trouble at NAMM for the name of the product and the artwork? It would be absolutely fantastic publicity if he did.

I'm really, really looking forward to more info about this.

Guitar players, come on, unless you really want to keep rewarding an industry that feeds you reissue after reissue after reissue of the exact same crap year after year, go buy something like this. Reward the guys who are pushing for something different.

Thanks Eric! We love your stuff so much man, please keep it up & best of luck at NAMM!

Head on over to Metasonix's webpage where there is sure to be more information, and most likely a VERY amusing press release, any time now.

-----------------

PS. Some of you long-term Muff Wigglers out there may remember my big 'scoop' last year with the TM-7 announcement...) I'm extremely grateful to Eric, not only for all the incredible and unique products, but also for trusting me with advance information and letting me break this news. It's really exciting for me.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T17:35:00.000-05:00

Quick post to wish everyone a happy new year. I've been very busy lately and away from the computer and Internet for the most part - and know I've missed a lot of great gear news, which I'm sorry for - but family always comes first. Things will pick up again soon, for sure.

Hoping everyone had a great new year's eve - we went over to a party at a neighbour's house, and everyone had their kids there. It was an absolute blast, and my own children (3 and 5 years old) ended up staying up 'till midnight for the big countdown! They were asleep about 28 seconds later :) Loads of fun.

Anyway, all the best to you all for 2008, hope it's going to be a great year!

---------------------------------------

A little new year's bonus for any of you with a little sense of gear fun - My 5 year old daughter is starting to know her way around the studio, and understands well the basics of pattern sequencing and programming. As such she is well suited to produce Acid House music, and indeed delights in syncing up the ER-1 and the 303 clone, and dances around the room like a maniac while switching patterns and tweaking knobs. It's adorable and makes me wish for a video camera :)

Anyway, she has been asking to make a song and put it on a CD, so yesterday we took the time to set things up to record her little performance. Interestingly, she had a bit of 'stage fright' knowing that it was being recorded, so she was much less interactive with her pattern switching, muting and knob twisting. Regardless, it does build a bit, and there's even a few stompin' little moments in there.

Mostly factory patterns, however it was very impotant to her to program the intro pattern from scratch - such a little techno trooper :)

So here you have it - FR Mobius is clocking a Korg ER-1 and a MAM MB33 MK.II. She is switching MB33 patterns using the Mobius, and switching drum patterns using the ER-1. She is tweaking knobs and doing some volume drop-outs ('solos' for her).

Click here for some good family fun!

Cyndustries Saw Animator - New 3U Shots

2007-12-29T02:11:00.001-05:00

Not sure if these have been posted on Matrixsynth or elsewhere yet - I didn't see them, but I've been 'seasonally' out of the loop in the last week or so.

Anyway, Cynthia just sent me these my way, and they had me DROOLING - I had to post them! Very sweet stuff indeed - and currently right at the top of my 'to buy very soon list'

Thanks Cynthia :)

TM Modules vs. the Korg ER-1

2007-12-12T13:42:00.001-05:00

After some requests on the forum, I've just done up three new Metasonix demos.

These were done in response to requests for demos of the Metasonix units in a 'tame' or 'subtle' fashion.

One of our members has a very digital sounding drum machine, and he's looking for something to 'warm it up a bit', and was wondering how applicable Metasonix may be for this. A good question, as most demos and marketing initiatives for Metasonix definately seem to focus on heavy-handed use and destructive power.

So, I took on the challenge to take three modules that I thought could work in a somewhat "clean" fashion, and try to run them as transparently as I could while feeding them a drum pattern from my ER-1.

So, some demos of the TM-5 preamp, the TM-1 waveshaper, and the TM-7 'scrotum smasher'.

The TM-5 and TM-1 demos start with four bars of 'clean' ER-1, with the Metasonix unit bypassed. I've tried to set it to come on at the same volume level as the clean signal.

Next, as the demo progresses, I slowly add more and more nastiness, working the unit from 'as clean as possible' through the various permutations, ending with noisy and aggressive by the end. The goal is really to try to demo the entire range of the modules.

Here's the TM-5 Preamp

Here's the TM-1 Waveshaper

Now for the TM-7, there's actually two samples, as there's no bypass option on this unit (only Zuul!). Additionally, as I made this demo a bit later, it's not exactly the same drumloop. So, to be fair, here's a quick MP3 of the ER-1 dry, direct into my soundcard. This is the same drumloop that will be fed to the TM-7 in the next sample...

Here's the dry drumloop

Same drumloop, getting it's nutsac pummeled by the TM-7

Thanks for checking these out. I hope more people realize that Metasonix can be used for a lot more than destroying stuff. Although, as you can hear in these samples, the temptation to destroy is always there, and hard to ignore...

Origins of "Muff Wiggler" (Is it offensive?)

2007-12-12T13:29:00.000-05:00

Had an interesting discussion on my forum last week, prompted by a question that I'm frankly surprised took so long to be asked.

The question was: "Hey, do you get flack about 'Muff Wiggler' not being PC for the 21st century? Just curious."

Well, long story short, yeah, I agree that it's "not PC" for sure, and no, I don't really get any flack.

It's sort of a stupid joke that took on a life of it's own. The name is actually a reference to a couple of effects boxes from Electro-Harmonix, the Big Muff Pi, and The Wiggler.

Anyway, that's the short story. If you'd like the long story, and a discussion about how 'offensive' it may be to you, have a peek at this forum thread. If you would like to chime in as well, but aren't a member at the forum - why not join up? But feel free to sound off here in the comments of this blog post as well, you can even do so anonymously if you'd like.

STG Soundlabs @ AH

2007-11-29T00:35:00.000-05:00

Very wierd....somehow I totally missed this one, and apparently Shawn even emailed me a head-up that I never saw... hmm...

Anyway, I don't think this has been covered elsewhere and better late than never!

Everyone's favorite store (if it's not it should be....),
Analogue Haven has an exclusive deal to distribute frac-rack format modules from Hammond-meister and all around cool cat, Suit And Tie Guy.

For those not in the know, Suit And Tie Guy runs STG Soundlabs, who make some really cool modules. Yep, another player in the not-nearly-crowded-enough modular scene. It really is an awesome, awesome time to be interested in modulars. I've said it before, but I honestly believe this is the greatest time in history to be interested in these fascinating instruments. The options available, the quality of products, and the affordability are simply unmatched at any point in history. Sadly, I feel the 'peak' of this wave will be upon us in a few years, and we will see a decline as through-hole componentry becomes impossible to obtain as a result of the EE world's move to SMT components.

In fact, just today I was speaking to an engineer from Texas Instruments who told me that no-one is manufacturing through-hole componentry anymore, and no-one ever will again. I can't qualify the first statement, but I certainly believe the second one.

But, I digress. It's a great time to be into modulars, and if you have had an interest but are waiting for a better time - don't wait and do build you system now while you still can.

Kudos to STG for getting these modules out to the public, and to AH for carrying and distributing them. It's just awesome to see people supporting modular synthesis on the builder and dealer level. You guys are awesome.

Currently AH is selling the STG Multiples and the Dual Gate delay. Three more modules (including the fantastic looking Mankato filter) are expected in-stock before NAMM.

Thanks Shawn for the heads-up!

Hit up the STG section of Analogue Haven right here

Cyndustries Saw Animator - Frac & Euro!!

2007-11-27T02:35:00.000-05:00

Just got the official word from my friends (and yours!) at the coolest store in the world, Analogue Haven, that the Cyndustries Saw Animator module is shipping - imminentely - in Frac-Rack and EuroRack format!

This is really cool. This time last year AH received Zeroscillator modules in these smaller, handier formats. Now we have another powerful and unique Cyndustries module to add to our systems. I swear, the guys at AH might as well install a direct line to my bank account - they are killing me with all this coolness!

Hopefully this is the start of a trend towards the smaller format modulars. It would be amazing to see more Cyndustries stuff hit frac rack (and Euro of course), and maybe one day we may see ModCan step up to the plate as well. Awesome stuff and certain to keep me poor!

For the Saw Animator module, AH is hoping to have the Frac and Euro formats in stock to ship in time for Christmas. Following this they expect to receive the module in other formats as well, including MOTM, DOTCOM and ModCan/Cyndustries.

I gotta say, I love seeing a module that is available for all formats. This was a real coup when the Zeroscillator was released, and we could really use more of this philosophy in the modular world.

Awesome stuff! Thanks Cynthia, and thanks AH!

Happy Birthday!

2007-11-23T15:04:00.000-05:00

So this blog turns one year old today! Amazing to look back at the posts, and see how much stuff I actually wrote.

I originally made a Blogger account simply so that I could comment at Matrixsynth, and didn't have plans to use the blog for much.

Well, it's come a long way! I'm still amazed to look at Google Analytics and see how many visitors actually drop by, and I'm grateful to each and every one of you. I know that updates sometimes come in flurries, and then we have big dry-spells, and I know the content is sometimes all over the map. Well, regardless, an amazing number of people drop by here to see what's up. I really find this incredible! Thanks to every one of you for making this blog feel like a "success" to me.

You guys really need to get a life, lol. Not as badly as me.

Thanks again, hope next year will be even more fun.

New Eurorack Discussion Forum

2007-11-22T23:08:00.000-05:00

After a smart request from one of our members, we've launched a dedicated Eurorack module discussion board, over at the Muff Wiggler forum.

Perhaps some of you blog readers haven't bothered with the forum because it was too Frac-oriented, and you are a Eurorack user. Well, shun us no more! Really, please don't. Please?

SMT? Through-hole? IC Shortage? Huh?

2007-11-21T21:23:00.001-05:00

I think we all know that around the synth community, and more and more as time goes on, there's always a group of people talking about discontinued IC chips, extinct parts, increasing prices, etc.

A conversation at my forum today about the demise of the Blacet Klang Werk prompted a good, and obvious (to some people) question, what is "SMT"?

We hear talk about SMT components, SMT soldering, etc. At least those of us that are way too synth geeky and read the mailing lists and forums do, haha. But obviously not everyone builds modules, and not everyone knows what's happening with components, or even what 'through hole' or 'smt' means.

Well, shit, I'm no expert either. But to answer a good question, I pretended to be one for a second and wrote out my understanding of the current 'situation' with electronic components, the demise of through-hole, the reasons why, etc.

After I wrote it all up, I remembered that Wikipedia exists. Haha. Probably a better reference.

But if you wanna read my (probaly incorrect) understanding of it anyway, clicky clicky. Feel free to post and discuss in the forum. Please register for the forum. We love you.

Blacet Window Comparator Video

2007-11-21T16:52:00.001-05:00

Well, I've witnessed lots of speculation about the Window Comparator, and even engaged in some of it myself.

Anyway, the good folks over at Blacet (uh, I guess that means "John") have given us a little peek in the form of a video. Mostly a view of an oscilloscope screen so that you can see what's happening with the module, but there's the obligatory money shot of the actual unit in action at the end of the clip.

As I speculated, this thing looks like it will be FANTASTIC for deriving interesting trigger sets from audio waveforms. Currently a slowly clocked MiniWave is my favorite way to accomplish this, however this looks like a very different approach that will generate some unique results, and I can't wait to try it.

Great news, and nice to have a video from Blacet so that we can have a closer look. Also I'm very happy that this module is shipping at the amazingly attractive price of $124 assembled ($92 for the kit). Once again Blacet is bringing unique and powerful new options to the modular synth world at bargain prices. I don't know how they do it, but I like it!

Peep the video right here

Final run of Klang Werk modules!

2007-11-21T16:10:00.000-05:00

Just noticed on the Blacet news page (thanks for the heads-up Kwote!) that the Klang Werk is in it's final production run.

Seems like the IC's it uses are out of production, and Blacet has located enough for one more run, and then the module is discontinued.

This is far more than your grandpa's Ring Modulator. It's got an internal carrier (three types!) that can be modified with both CV and/or the panel controls, as well as the ability to use an external carrier (AC or DC!). It's got an amplifier. It's got an envelope follower, it can be used as a VCA, etc etc. A mini synth in a single module. As Blacet says, it really is the "werks"! Plus it sounds fantastic, and also like nothing else out there.

This is the last chance to pick up one of these classic and legendary modules, at least on the "new" market. So hit up Blacet and make yourself happy!

Just a reminder, at my forum I keep a thread with info about all the discontinued Blacet modules. Just added the Klang Werk. Take a look at the thread here, and see all the great Blacet stuff that you're missing!

The Yellow Goat I Ate

2007-11-03T19:55:00.000-05:00

hehehe my wife and I have been laughing ourselves a little too crazy over this one all day

thanks Pauly for the heads-up

Fascinating Documentary

2007-11-02T11:48:00.001-05:00

The History of LOLCats - Watch more free videos

Facebook

2007-11-01T20:26:00.000-05:00

Because I was dreaming of having some stupid fun with it, I just tried to register the domain name www.assbook.com. Unfortunately, it was already taken.

Seriously.

More chops...

2007-11-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

Woah. Nothing even potentially cheezy here, this one's just awesome.

Got Chops?

2007-11-01T15:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, so if you think "guy with a violin, playing a prog-rock mashup of Yes & Michael Jackson", we all gotta admit that's pushing things a bit. Cheeze-o-rama? Perhaps.

But, tell me this isn't pretty damn impressive. Go ahead, tell me.

Discontinued Blacet Modules

2007-10-26T14:45:00.000-05:00

Had this cool idea, so spent some time writing up a "closeup" look at all the different modules that have been discontinued from production at Blacet Research.

Posted it at my forum so that it's easy to have a discussion if anyone wants. I'll keep the thread updated with info on any future modules that are killed off over at Blacet.

Click here to have a look!

Welcoming the Wretch

2007-10-12T16:27:00.000-05:00

Not mine (unfortunately), but Tiny333 uploaded this pic to my forum after the arrival of his Wretch Machine, and I thought it was such a cool pic, it was nice that he gave me permission to post it on the blog.

Cool stuff! Have fun with your tube synth Tiny!

Please note that I'm not suggesting in any way that the adorable girl in the photo is a Wretch. We are giving our welcome to the machine, not the girl. Just figured I should point that out ;)

Mmmmm...

2007-10-11T10:08:00.000-05:00

Felix made a nice guess yesterday - and was pretty close!! Unfortunately that's not *exactly* what it is... here's another clue:

Will be interesting to see if anyone figures it out... I'll spill the beans in a day or two.

EDIT: A couple of hints:

- There were 869 of them produced

- They are the only production item ever that Leo Fender signed in his own hand (ie. not using a 'stamp')

MMM

2007-10-10T15:26:00.001-05:00

something really, REALLY cool is happening. Here's a little teaser.

More info soon. HUGE thanks to my friend Jay for this one....

Innovative Synthesis

2007-10-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

Hey there. I received a nice email from Dave over at Innovative Synthesis. They've got a great little site over there, well worth your peek and a bookmark as well. I've added them to the links on the right.

Innovative Synthesis

Thanks for pointing this out to me Dave! Keep up the great work.

Radiohead are Awesome

2007-10-01T10:48:00.000-05:00

Ok, so the subject line of this post is kinda like saying "winter is cold". Yeah, we all know.

But, get this...

Seriously, get this...

Radiohead's new album, "In Rainbows" is finished. Hitting stores December 10th or so.

Digital download available October 10th or so.

You can preorder the digital download and.....

drumroll please...

You can pay whatever you want.

That's right, it's up to you.

I think this is HUGE. I'm going to pay them $25. More than I'll pay for the CD in the store. Why? Because I think this is a brilliant idea, and I hope they make millions. Also because it's Radiohead.

This is a great idea all around though. Let's say some artist I didn't care about, maybe for argument Jack Johnson, pulled something like this. Suddenly I'll go from not caring about his new album, to dropping $2-3 for the download to check it out.

For one, this $2-3 is probably the same that Jack would pocket if I bought the physical CD, which I wouldn't have done. So he's up. Next, I get to hear his new album, which normally I wouldn't have done. So he's up again. Now, if for some reason I happen to really groove on it, I'll buy the CD in the store. So he's really, really up at this point. What a great idea.

These metrics change of course with Radiohead - I'd buy their album regardless.

Anyway, this is a really really interesting model, and I hope it's a smashing success. Well done lads.

New Blacet Modules!

2007-09-22T16:49:00.000-05:00

Wow, some *excellent* looking new Blacet modules, all utility stuff, but I'm excited about them all - the Window Comparator in particular!! A very nice surprise today from John Blacet, thanks John!

Click here for images and all the info on Blacet's website

The new modules are:

Window Comparator - With VC'd Level and Width, includes inverted out, trigger out, and a very cool looking ramp generator which features a number of outputs! Very, very cool stuff.

Splitter - Basically a buffered 1-into-3 multi (hmm these are popular lately, Plan B just announced one 2 days ago. Seems like a reaction to something. I wonder what? Mmmmm..., but some extra cool features - one of the outs has a phase control, one has an atten, and the other is clean (but buffered). Nice extra flexibility as always from Blacet, and in a half-size module!

Mixer - Another half-size module, the Mixer is really the reverse of the Splitter above. 3-into-1, with an atten on one channel, a phase control on the other, and a third clean channel.

Cool stuff as always, I'm going to need at least a couple of each of these.

Also, for anyone who has been waiting, the Klang Werk is back into production.

www.blacet.com

Metasonix M-1000 Mixer

2007-09-14T10:14:00.001-05:00

oooooh yeah baby

in some ways i'm very surprised....in others, not at all.

Really looking forward to more about this!

Thanks Mike Weeks

Edit: I got sneaky and found a few more pics on Mike's website. Seems like this was a custom build for Mike (too bad, I actually really could use one of this in a big way....), and it used BN6 tubes to add (what I assume will be a LOT of) drive to the signal. Incredible. Eric, what would it take for me to get my hands on one of these?

Buy my Mobius.... (Sold!)

2007-09-03T23:07:00.000-05:00

Edit: This is now sold, nice and fast. Thanks Darren & enjoy your Mobius!

----------------------------

well, one of 'em anyway. Great unit, fun sequencer + midi-to-cv conversion. The only converter that can translate both hz/V and v/Oct AT THE SAME TIME. Anyway, I just don't find that I use two as often as I had thought. $350 takes it, shipping anywhere in North America included. As a limited time offer, mention that you saw this on my blog and it's yours for $325

ps. Further to the Cookie Crisp post below, isn't it funny that they had to write "artificial chocolate chip flavour"? lol, "we simulate the flavour using strychnine and BN6 tubes"

If you like cookies, you'll love Cookie Crisp

2007-09-03T14:26:00.000-05:00

Dunno why I'm thinking about this, but for pretty much my entire life, every year or two I stop to marvel at the fact that 'little chocolate chip cookies in a bowl' is considered acceptable breakfast to some folks. What amazes me is that this crazy breakfast anacronism is still with us! Can't say I've ever tried them, and I'm sure I *WOULD* like them, but really, for breakfast?!?!? You gotta be kidding. Am I the only one that finds this terribly wierd?

Serge TKB Videos

2007-09-01T02:20:00.000-05:00

Consumed is a fellow modular synth maniac who has just received a Serge TKB. He made a couple of videos, and I'm really impressed - I always thought these things looked cool, but I had no idea how much fun they could be! Be sure to check these out, a couple of great videos.

Also dig the FM patch on the second video - I think it sounds like what could be the start of a very convincing marimba patch!

Check out the videos at Consumed's Twango page here

Little Metasonix Suitcase Jam

2007-08-18T22:23:00.000-05:00

Little Metasonix Suitcase Jam

still just in the early stages of 'getting to know' this metasonix suitcase synth. this thing is crazy, it's so sensitive - i find you have to work very slowly with knobs and settings and interactions, and there's SO MUCH in these yellow boxes when you explore carefully...

anyway, nothing particularily fancy, but cool in the amount of variety from some minimalism

one single pattern from a mobuis sequencer repeating over and over drives four Metasonix modules. I'm not saying which ones but there is an Agonizer in there, and the vco is also probably a safe bet, no?

one pattern from a mobius, 4 metasonix modules. a tiny bit of external audio processing by a MOTM ADSR and MOTM VCA. just jamming and messing around, don't expect drums or quality mixdown or anything. have fun. watch your speakers.

http://www.muffwiggler.com/music/demo/suitcase_jam.mp3

Travel Weary/Broken Record

2007-07-30T22:09:00.000-05:00

As always, damn, sorry for the lack of updates. I'm close to losing it here. Can't even remember when I was home last.

What was supposed to be a slow period of travel has become the opposite, thanks to a spat of security disasters, not least being the Virginia Tech shootings. I just arrived in Dallas after 4 days in New Orleans, after 3 days in Grand Island, Nebraska (woot! Party! Hehe, no, not at all actually).

In bright travel news, but dark 'spending time at home' news, I just found out that I will be spending much of September in Dubai. Du-freakin'-bai! I can't believe it, I've wanted to go there for ages. Should be really really cool. I'm going to try to play golf, yep, in the desert. I mean it. Also going to try to spend a night or two at that big posh sail-looking hotel, the Burj Al Arab. Really excited about this one, which is a damn nice change.

I mean, its no Nebraska, but it should be fun nonetheless.

No offense whatsoever to my kind readers and friends from the cornhusker state. You folks have some very nice and friendly people in your state. I guess that's about the only thing I noticed, except for the sky and the corn and the lack of cellphone coverage. Go Nebraska!

------------------------------
This message was sent from
my Blackberry wireless device.

Latest Modular Pics (Featuring Wiard!)

2007-07-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

Well, finally got a bit of time to re-do one of my towers and get all my new Wiard stuff in there, and took a few pics. I think these may be some of the nicest pics I've ever taken of my synth... (never been much of a photographer)

Anyway this is actually an up-to-date photo of my synth! It's not showing the two 'orphan' frac racks I have sitting standalone on the side with some modules in them, but anyway. Mostly I wanted to get a shot or two of my gorgeous new Wiard modules that were waiting for me when I got back from the US on Friday. Enjoy.

(Oh yeah, click on the pics for a bigger size if you want)

Bring the Doom....

2007-06-30T23:12:00.001-05:00

And I'm happy to announce that it's finally finished....

Yo

2007-06-27T12:59:00.000-05:00

Hey there....just wanted to say that I've started the slow process of fixing the broken images in this blog....images broken as a result of me cancelling my Flickr account. As much as I now detest Flickr, I have to admit I'm having a tough time adjusting to life without it.

Anyway, I've fixed the images on this first page of my blog (except the Mini Wave Expander post.....I may have lost those images, gotta see when I get home from this trip), and all new posts going forward should be fine for images.

Still gotta go back over the older pages of this blog, hopefully by the end of this coming weekend I'll have them fixed as well.

Again sorry for the hassle and crappy look of this blog lately, and thanks to you all for bearing with me. It's getting better.

Oh yeah, thanks to the anonymous poster informing me about the unclosed HTML tag. I think maybe a blogger staff member saw my post and fixed it for me, as the font problems seem to have gotten better. Anyway thanks to you both.

cheers

Wiard 1200 Series - Cool News!

2007-06-25T19:04:00.000-05:00

Well, here's another blog post from on the road using my phone, so Ill have to skimp on the fancy graphics, but anyway I have some great news to pass on, so hopefully you will forgive the lack of imagery.

This is a little followup to the news a few months ago about Wiard discontinuing the 1200 (frac-rack) series modules.

Anyway, Grant has just updated the Wiard webpage to reintroduce the classic 300-series system (prices are up now as well) and has made some very welcome comments on his mailing list. Turns out he has decided to keep the Boogie Filter, Borg Filter and Noise Ring modules available in the 1200 format, however only the black panel ones will be available - the engraved blue ones are now a part of history.

He says that 90% of 1200 series orders were for black panels, so it makes sense to keep the most popular models available.

So, gone from the 1200 series lineup are the Joystick, the JAG, and the blue engraved version of the Noise Ring and the two filters.

The joysticks and JAG have however been replaced with a single 19" controller module, featuring a blue engraved panel, a pair of 'sticks and a pair of JAGs, for $600. I'm very happy to have a pair of 1200 series JAGs though, these are incredible modules, useful for far more than one would immediately think!

Anyway, I know a lot of you were bummed thinking you had missed out on a frac-format Noise Ring or filter, so I'm sure this will come across as great news to you all!

(have to admit I'm feeling pretty good about having the lovely engraved blue versions of all the 1200 modules as well now that they are gone for good!)

More details can be found at the Wiard webpage, www.wiard.com

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Blogger wierdness

2007-06-22T23:44:00.001-05:00

Does anyone know wtf is up with the font size problem here on my blog?

thanks

Hey everyone....little update

2007-06-22T23:35:00.000-05:00

Wow, crazy long overdue update!

First thanks to all my readers for your comments and emails.

I'm not dead and I've not given up on this blog or you all!

Life has been astoundingly busy lately. I've been at home a total of about 3 days in the last 6 weeks. It really sucks.

Also, for complex reasons, I've deleted my Flickr account.

All this adds up to a sketchy looking blog here - no updates in a while, and lots of broken images.

I'm sorry! I will in the next week or two get things back up to speed. I will get a new image host, or use my own website, and get my galleries back up. I'll fix broken image links, and I'll start updating the blog with new posts again - lots and lots of cool stuff to tell you all about!

Thanks for bearing with me, and again sorry that things have kinda fallen apart lately - real life has been very demanding unfortunately. Things will be back to normal - hell, better than normal, very soon.

Hey, can anyone suggest something that is just like Flickr, but not Flickr?

Thanks to you all - talk to you soon.

ps. As you see I'm making this post from my BlackBerry. I'm still not home. I'm not even in my own country! But I have a spare moment and wanted to write this update, just because I've been feeling really guilty about the state of this blog lately! I'm going home tomorrow though - for a whole day! Wow! Then off to the US for a whole week. I simply cannot even begin to tell you how sick of travelling I am. Cheers for now....

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Portable Nuclear Suitcase

2007-05-22T19:43:00.001-05:00

IT BEGINS

Three more rows coming in a week or two, the new brackets are on their way!

Fixed up with fixed images because I quit using stinkin' Flickr

Still Growing

2007-05-22T19:33:00.001-05:00

and there's another growth spurt just around the corner!

(edit, it's actually happened, I've now got 14 fracs full of modules, just need to take some new pics if I ever get home again)

Blindly Patching for Light

2007-05-19T01:27:00.000-05:00

Check this out, I'm CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY sleep deprived and quite unsane at the moment, and i did something stupid

i got the idea to totally waste a shitload of time instead of sleeping, and patch up my modular so that every LED was lit, to take some pictures.

but to get all the LEDs to light, of course I had to patch many modules. so i patched them just however i could to make them light up

by the time they were all lit, there were a lot of patchcords out.

so i figured i should hear it. but most of the modules weren't connect together, it was all just like an lfo to something to make it light up, over and over, etc.

so i figured i would make a big semi-random audio and cv routing out of the mess. the only criteria was that every module that had lights must be participating in the patch. also i didn't want to re-do everything, since it actually took a while just patching to make the lights all lit up. so i wanted as few cable changes as possible, but EVERYTHING that was lit up needed to be in the patch. it was actually a bit of a challenge.

anyway, i got it all styled out. using tons of mixers and signal routing. i hadn't heard it yet though, i wanted to just make the patch according to the above criteria and listen to it afterwards. so i did

i expected pretty much garbage. white noise or screeching or whatever. i had my final filtres and my time machines and my klang werk all just on full clipping, so i could light their 'clipping' led so i really expected pure shit

and......well it wasn't at all what i expected. i mean, it's still kinda shitty, but way, way, way cooler than i thought. rhythmic and kinda mellow.

i basically finished the patch, turned the volume on the output vca to nothing, and turned on my speakers, and fired up my PC and hit record, not knowing what to expect.

i raised the volume on the output vca slowly, and i've got the recording right here for you to check out

this was all generated by blind patching for light

there's some lfos that are slowly sweeping things around, and some faster ones that are generating the rhythmic pulse that you hear. this was all just the patch. in the last 60 seconds of the recording, i start playing with a couple of modules, the main filter (boogie) near the end of the patch, and the delay and regen times on the time machine that ended up a bit more 'downstream' in the patch

but everything up to the last 60 seconds is the patch on it's own. i was really really surprised at how cool it turned out. also i'm really really freakin' tired, red-eye home from san fran last night and i haven't slept today and it's 1:27am and i'm feeling like a monster. so probably tomorrow i'll wake up and this totally sucks and i'm embarrassed that i put it up there on the internet, but there you have it, let insanity prevail. in any case, I DIDN'T MAKE THIS. the patch cords and the leds conspired with each other and ended up calling all the shots.

here's the mp3

about 5.3mb

also if you are adventurous and want a 16bit wav to play with in your editor, there's

this file then

about 14.8 MBs

oh yeah

it took exactly 55 patch cords

Felix Inferious

2007-04-20T14:31:00.000-05:00

I came across this cool blog after the owner registered on my forum....really cool stuff, Felix is building a modular synthesizer and blogging the whole process! He's got a lot of similar interests to myself, and it'll be fun to watch his system come together.

Have a peek, and say hello to Felix!

Inside Job?

2007-04-18T10:31:00.000-05:00

Just got this in the mail from Dave of "The Middle Winger". This is great, regardless if you think it's fandom at the most severe, satire, or a commentary on 9/11. Doesn't matter, it's a great piece of work.

Uncomfortable Questions: Was the Death Star Attack an Inside Job?

Enjoy you geeks.

Hylander Mini Wave Expander

2007-04-08T12:17:00.000-05:00

Hey, I'm very excited about this, and it's basically done and I've got pics in hand, so it's time to post this to my blog...

David Hylander has built a Mini Wave Expander for me, and he'll be shipping it in the next couple of days. If you are already familiar with David's Expander, you'll notice that he's made some changes to the design - there's now an input so that the inverter can be used for other signals, as well as dedicated positive and negative outputs for the inverter's signal. Really, really cool stuff, and I can't wait to receive this!

For those that don't know, the Expander is used along with a Blacet/Wiard Mini Wave module, allowing the MW to address a total of 10 ROMs (as opposed to the 2 ROMs that a standard Mini Wave can work with), which ultimately gives your Mini Wave 2,560 individual waveforms. Additionally, the Expander adds CV control over the currently active ROM, and a signal inverter. Personally I think Dave Hylander is absolutely friggin' AWESOME for designing this, offering the PCBs for sale, and building them for people from time to time. Really, really cool, and this will turn one of the best modules ever into a total powerhouse. I can't wait to receive this, and will be eventually trying to talk Dave into building me a second one for my other Mini Wave.

If anyone wants to know more about the Mini Wave and what makes it so cool, I've written a little review here.

Little Update

2007-04-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

Hey there. Been super crazy ultra mecha busy. I owe some of my Internet friends out there some updates and replies and such, and it'll all happen in the next day or two - sorry for the delays on all fronts.

But I just wanted to pop in and say, in case you are wondering, that white G&L Legacy is absolutely the motherfucking best guitar of all time, ever. I'd be hard pressed to think of a purchase that I've ever been as happy about. Damn I'm happy with this thing.

What I Hate About Vegas

2007-03-27T12:45:00.000-05:00

Well, time for a small rant. I'm here in Vegas staying at the lovely Venetian (great hotel). I come here a couple of times a year for work, and having been doing so for about the last 8 years now.

There's lots of things to both love and hate about Sin City, however there's one little thing that drives me insane every single time I'm here, and I spend enough time grumbling about it, I figured I'd blog this up as a little rant. I mean this is something that really, really drives me nuts, and as petty as this sounds, pretty much ruins the Vegas experience for me every time (AND keeps me from spending money in the casino.....so listen up hotel managers!).

What could it be? Can you believe it is as simple as this - no coffee makers in hotel rooms.

That's right. In Vegas you have some of the world's finest, most full-service hotels, however not a single one of the 'majors' on the Strip will give you a coffee maker in your room.

Why not? And why is it a big deal?

Everything in Vegas (and I mean *everything*) employs a type of psychological warfare, aimed at getting you to spend time on the casino floor. The idea is this - the more time you are on the floor, the more likely you are to gamble. So, instead of coffee makers in the room, there are a number of coffee shops on the casino floor (which you have to walk through to get anywhere). Doesn't sound like a big deal? Recall that I'm here for work. Work usually starts between 7 and 9 in the morning. At that time of day, the lineups at the coffee shops are INSANE. I mean INSANE. Like 30mins or more of waiting time.

So here's the typical start to my day. Bear in mind that I have a terrible, terrible addiction to coffee.

I wake up earlier than I want, and more tired than I like. I have a long day ahead of me doing corporate stuff. I have to shower and shave and get dressed. Anywhere else in the world, I would have a cup of coffee brewing while I shower. But not here. So I'm cranky as all fuck from the get-go.

Sans coffee, I head downstairs to meet my colleagues. I see the huge lineup for coffee - not only do I not have enough time (yeah yeah, I could get up earlier, but that's missing the point), but just on principle I'm NOT going to line up for 45mins just to spend $5 on a cup of joe. So, while I wait for my colleagues, 'cranky as all fuck' slowly morphs into 'i want to set fire to the casino and everyone in it'.

While I wait, am I thinking of gambling? Should I drop a dollar into that slot machine? FUCK NO. At this point, I'm so pissed off at the casino, there's not a single snowball's chance in hell that I will give them a cent of my cash. I mean, I'm really pissed at them each morning. I calm down later once I can get 'work coffee', but by then I'm long gone from the casino.

An alternative? Fuck, it's simple. If there was a coffee machine in my room, I'd be downstairs waiting (I'm always a bit early) in a very happy, contented state. The hotels are tacky but impressive, and there are some very beautiful sights (beautiful people and beautiful art/scuplture/archetetcure whatever) all over. So I'd have some time to kill, and I'd be in a good mood. Would I try a slot machine or perhaps a quick hand of blackjack? Damn right I would.

I'm not some high-roller. I'd be happy losing a hundred bucks or so each visit, just for some fun and to get to play. But, for 8 years now, two or three times a year, the casinos lose any chance of seeing a penny of my money, because I'm so damn pissed off at them, all because I can't have coffee.

I just want a cup of coffee when I wake up. That's it. You fuckers.

Misunderstandings and Web Drama

2007-03-26T09:33:00.001-05:00

Well, here's a follow-up post (hopefully the only one!) to the whole KL affair below.

First of all, thanks very much for your comments guys. As much as I don't want to see anyone getting bashed, it was really nice to hear your encouragement, and in particular that you guys didn't think I was ever misrepresenting the photos. Thanks for that. The 'free advertising' comment was something I was thinking to myself. Also, worth bearing in mind, is the viral-type way that information spreads around the internet and within groups of people. In the time that I've had pics of my own (and other's) synth gear on Flickr, I've had countless emails from people wondering "what is that all that crazy gear??". Remember, there's far more people in the world who could not recognize a modular synthesizer, than those who could. These pics have allowed me to introduce our anacronistic little hobby to many of the un-initiated, some of whom have returned back to me with fascinating stories about childhood memories, or the first time they heard a Moog. Very cool stuff.

Anyway, I have a plane to catch in a moment, and I want to cut to the chase here. I received a very nice email from Kevin this morning, one that I imagine wasn't easy to write. Kevin started and ended the email with a very nice and heartfelt apology. I'm not going into details or quoting it here for you, however, in a nutshell I can tell you that he was having a very bad day, and as chance would have it, he came across my Flickr sets at all the wrong time.

Kevin has lost an enourmous amount of bandwidth to people remote linking his files, using them as MySpace wallpapers, etc etc etc. He was very clear that my usage on Flickr did not contribute to this. Anyway, the percentage of HTTP requests for his images that actually originate from his own website visitors is alarmingly tiny. And it costs him a fair bit of money to keep his site online.

Well, as he was trying to figure out where all his bandwidth was being used, and looking at all the places online where other people are showing off his images, he came across me. Wrong place, wrong time. While it was a mistake, I ended up being the last straw, and he vented on me pretty hard.

Do I blame him? I know he's had PR issues with other bloggers in the past. I don't want to get into that, I don't know the details and it's none of my business. But I can say that, while I didn't like his initial approach, I don't blame him. As stated, I fucked up the 'all rights reserved' thing on Flickr, I take responsibility for this, and realize how it would piss him off (I've had my own personal family photos stolen and reposted, and it sure as hell pissed me off). The guy is only human, he was having a bad day, and his mistake componded with mine, and he got really really irate.

Hey, I'm sure we've all been there. I know I have. It takes a big man to come clean and write to someone and say "Hey man, I fucked up. I'm sorry." You get a lot of points in my book if you can do this. From reading his email this morning, I really get the impression that he's not a bad guy. Probably a guy who can get pretty stressed, but I'm guilty of the same thing.

Anyway, I kind of wanted to put an end to the mud-slinging. Bad timing, bad coincidence, bad day, bad reaction. Apology accepted (and my own still offered), and personally I'm moving on with no hard feelings. I think that Kevin and myself both learned some things about 'life on the web' from this whole affair. Now guys, please stop sending me photos of your dogs. Really not interested.

cheers

A Public Apology to Kevin Lightner

2007-03-23T22:39:00.001-05:00

Well, interesting times. If any of you have visited my Flickr sets, you will have probably noticed a couple of sets, "Synth Stuff" and "Other People's Modulars".

These sets have (had) all sorts of tasty photos of wonderful synths that I've found around the web.

Many of these pictures came from Kevin's Synthfool website. Kevin is a highly regarded tech and has worked on many famous systems, and I believe he photographs them all.

Both of these Flickr sets had a description that includes "some of these photos are mine, and some were found on the web". Additionally, every single photo that came from Synthfool was labelled "Photo from Synthfool" in the photo's description section.

Nonetheless, it seems that Kevin took enormous offense at my inclusion of his photographs. I won't get into the details, however I can tell you that I'm certain that he was very, very upset indeed. Surprisingly so.

Also, there's something that I screwed up on, which certainly compounded his offense - in Flickr you can set copyright and permissions on your photos. I have over 3000 of my own photos (and, untill recently, a few dozen of other people's), so I have a default setting of 'all rights reserved'. (just can't manually do every single one)

Flickr has many, many wonderful options. I cannot claim to know every one of them in intimate detail. When I originally set the global 'all rights reserved' option, I did not consider that later I would add photos that I found on the web (disclaimer on the photo or otherwise). I screwed that up, and I apologize to Kevin, and to anyone else who has seen my photos or read my blog, and feels that I have been dishonest or misrepresented any one else's work as my own.

I did not at any point intend to suggest that they were 'my photos', or represent them as such. I apologize wholeheartedly and honestly, and hope none of this has caused you any damage.

You guys won't be able to find any of those photos in my Flickr sets anymore, nor in the future if I come across any others. I'm sorry. I will also try to be very careful about what images I use when posting at this blog.

Oh, I don't have sex with dogs either. For the record.

-----------------

Edit on March 18, 2008 - I've locked this post from comments, and 'hidden' the comments that have been made. Every couple of weeks I feel like doing this, as every couple of weeks 'anonymous' user(s) toss up a bunch of comments simply slagging Kevin off. I've put up with it awhile, but I'm tired of it.

I've tied my online identity to my posts, I've got no shame in expressing my opinion and letting people know how I feel. The anonymous thing bugs me a bit. One or two anonymous slags is to be somewhat expected, but this long-running habit of putting them up time & time again has gone on long enough. If you want to slag a man off, at least have some pride in your opinion and the decency to let people know who is making the comments. Otherwise it sad, immature, and nothing anyone's gonna take seriously.

My New (New!) Guitar

2007-03-23T14:16:00.000-05:00

Followup to the previous post....I've sold enough that this is now locked in, so I can tell you all about it... believe it or not all this GAS and sales were for a guitar!

From the comments in the last post:

You see, I've become so enamoured with the incredible quality and playability of my G&L Legacy, I'm actually trying to buy another G&L. A little odd as I bought the Legacy thinking it was the last guitar I would ever buy! But I've become quite addicted to them - these guys make the most incredible instruments. Anyway, there's this ASAT (Telecaster-style) for sale online, and it's exactly my style of thing... I've never been a Tele kinda guy, but also always wondered what the fuss was about. The ASAT is by far G&L's most popular and revered model. Anyway, this one is just too sweet to pass up.

Besides, any reasonably equipped guitar player (which I don't consider myself to be) needs a hard-tail and a soft-tail axe. Oh the things we say to justify our purchases...

Anyway, it's a beaut. Really looking forward to this one.

(Edit: Damn I'm enjoying it more that I can say, wow what an amazing piece of work.)

EHX stuff for sale

2007-03-22T19:21:00.000-05:00

(EDITS: Some stuff sold!)

All awesome stuff, selling off to raise funds for a serious G.A.S. situation!

- EHX 16 Second Delay Reissue (up to 4 minutes looping), with foot controller pedal. Absolutely mint, includes plastic bags inside the wooden box, it could pass as brand-new. The foot controller has a cardboard box, but could also pass as new. $400 incl. shipping within North America

- A mid-70's era Switch Blade channel selector in 'quite good' condition, $65 incl NA shipping

- A late 70's EHX Electronic Metronome in very good condition, $50 incl NA shipping.

- Frequency Analyzer reissue ringmodulator in absolutely MINT condition, with the wooden box. $150 incl. NA shipping

thanks for looking!

Random Cool News!

2007-03-19T14:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a little potpourri of cool news for you today.

One - BIG thanks to
Zerosum who was kind and cool enough to invite me over for drinks and mad gear mayhem when I was visiting Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago. A wonderful time, and the start of a great friendship and possible future collaborations. Thanks again! I had a blast and your hospitality was greatly appreciated. So nice to get time away from work, and spend it with someone who shares so many of my interests. Oh, the Frostwave Sonic Alienator is INCREDIBLE! I must have one.

Two - Need somewhere to host your music or demos online? I've started up a little temporary file hosting service at my forum. Aimed at the online electronic music community, if you need somewhere to upload a file and keep it online for up to a month or so, I can probably help you out. Now you can share your crappy synth demos as well! Find the details here.

Three - Now this is cool! I received an email that someone had signed my guestbook on my main website. That doesn't happen often...but when I looked, I was pretty surprised to see that it was Mr. Anthonie Barmentloo, of PureTube fame! Very cool. This is the guy who designs all the Electro-Harmonix vacuum-tube pedals, including of course the Wiggler (which was the source of half of my silly on-line moniker!). By the way, the Tube Zipper is one of my all-time favorite creations ever. If you think you know what to expect from Electro-Harmonix, think again, this thing is NUTS and totally unique, and totally addictive. Anyway, Mr. PureTube found my website because he bumped into the name "Muff Wiggler" on a different forum, and it gave him a good laugh, and he needed to find out more. Very cool! He has promised me that he will show me how to modify my Tube Zipper to allow +/-10v CV control over cutoff and resonance. Now this is very very exciting news!

Four - Well, there is no four. That's it for now. Oh, I guess I can tell you that I just ordered my SIXTH Blacet power supply. Yes, I'm a sick man.

cheers

This Week's Frac-Rack News! Crazy!

2007-03-11T23:06:00.000-05:00

No, not a new weekly feature here, but the results of a flurry of news from the Frac-Rack world!

First, and this is *major*, The Wiard Synthesizer Company has announced on their mailing list that they will be discontinuing the 1200 series (Frac-Rack Modules), and bringing the classic 300 series back to reglar production.

This is very mixed news, that impacts me in a few ways. First, I've just shuffled a bunch of funds, and have made a large payment to secure the remaining modules I need for my 'master plan' frac system, which required 2 of each of the 1200 series Wiard modules (one of each in black and blue!). Next, I'm bummed that there won't be new 1200 Series modules, in particular the Woggle Bug and the VCO. Finally, I'm extremely excited about the return of the 300 series. In fact, I can tell you right now that this will FOR SURE be my 'next format' after I'm done with Frac-Rack (actually, I'll probably start BEFORE I'm done with Frac-Rack). Tough beans Euro-Rack, this means you'll have to wait a LONG LONG time to see any of my money. Anyway, no more 1200's, and the return of the 300. Really interesting news. If you covet any 1200-series modules (they are all freakin' FANTASTIC), get your orders in fast - Grant will continue to build them only until his parts are depleted.

Next, Shawn from Analogue Haven dropped me a line to mention that the Bananalogue LPFA (see earlier post) should be in stock this week, along with the frac-rack version of the Livewire Frequensteiner module. He included a photo of the 'Frac'uensteiner, and I'm happy to say that it has a BLACK front panel (as opposed to "classic" Livewire silver), so it'll look great in all our frac systems! I won't post the image here, because Matrixsynth already did it. Anyway, thanks Shawn for the tip!

Finally, in MOTM news, Paul mentioned on the mailing list that PCBs are being stuffed for the next run of Frac'd MOTM modules. No more details, except that they will be available at Analog Haven as usual, and that the MOTM VCO will be one of the new modules. Cool stuff!

My new guitar!

2007-02-26T20:50:00.000-05:00

Further to the below post.....

I've made a decision, and I couldn't be happier. After 20 years of waiting to buy 'the right strat', and hoping to find it when the time was right, i've found it. And it's not made by Fender (at least, not the Fender company.....). It's a G&L (Leo Fender) and it's everything I've always wanted, and lots more. I couldn't be happier.

If you think you are looking for a USA Strat, take a good hard look at G&L. I think you would have to drop a couple thousand on a pimped out Fender Custom Shop Strat to get what the G&L Legacy offers at a fraction of the price. I'm amazed.

Guitar geeks - please help me!

2007-02-24T14:47:00.000-05:00

hi folks, i'm having a crazy dilemma

for about 20 years i've been waiting to buy myself 'the right strat'. i wasn't gonna wimp out and buy a cheapie or anything, because, long story short, i know how right 'the right strat' feels to me.

i just sold the beautiful guitar i've been using in the meantime, i have a bunch of money in my hand, and i'm in the middle of searching to find 'the right strat' and purchase it

well, suddenly i'm having a MAJOR crisis, while at a shop looking for strats, i picked up a brand new G&L legacy. it has *all* the features i'm looking for in the strat i wanted, same color, same fretboard, same pickup type.

only things that weren't 100% ideal is that the tremolo bridge is a little big and 'floyd roseish' for my taste (but not nearly as bad as the big FL monstrosity), i'm not sure about the plastic nut, it's brand new and not an older model, the headstock is wierd looking, and, well, it's not a strat

ok, so that's a lot of things, but on the other hand finding these '100% ideals' in the strat i'm searching for probably won't happen all in the same guitar either, so i'm going to have to compromise on some of the things anyway.

but here's the other thing. while it doesn't say 'strat' on it, it's a strat. it's all the last final step in the evolution of leo fender's design for the strat. this much i know. i played it, and it's ROCK SOLID, and feels great, better than the brand new Strats i've tried (which is why one of my criteria was always an older strat, like up to 88-89 or so i guess). so that sort of eliminates the 'its not a strat' and the 'its not old' criteria.

and the headstock and tremolo things are cosmetic only, i'm sure they both add up to making it a better guitar.

anyway, besides this (all of which i've just learned today), i don't know a damn thing about G&L guitars, except that it was Leo Fender's company before he died.

I've waited my whole life to buy a strat and now i almost blew the money on something else that 'seemed' a better strat. am i succumbing to trend and marketing? wtf should i do?

can any of you guitar headz out there please do what you do and wax on and on about the merits of G&L vs. the Fender Corp, and their products, how do you all feel about these guitars, this goes out to Fender players and G&L players and otherwise guitar geeks who have an opinion on this.

thanks a bazillion