Tuesday, 22 July 2014

GenoQ Nemo Sequencer repair (Power supply)

It's sad that GenoQs who manufactured the Nemo & Octopus sequencers are no longer with us.
I have owned a Octopus for a few years now and love it to death.
It's a beautiful instrument to behold and is built like a Mercedes (they both hail from Stuttgart Germany).

So when the chance to buy the more portable Nemo came up I jumped on it.

I was upset when I first tried to power it up. ....Nothing happened. :-)

After checking the PSU (5V DC @ 3A, center +ve) I decided the only thing left to do was open it up and have a look (before I gave up and sent it to my technician).

This is what I found.

The blue metal is the base.The green section is the underside of the faceplate.


The power enters via the green PCB behind the red PCB.

The problem turned out to be a faulty power socket.
 These were the problem.

So if you encounter a similar problem it would probably be worthwhile to check this first before sending it
to a technician. There is no longer any warranty to void as the company is long gone. Plus I think it's always useful to know how things work in order to do simple repairs.



There is a diode installed to prevent accidental polarity reversal though still be careful. 
No soldering required. All you need is a Philips Head Screwdriver. Red is +ve, Black is -ve.

Monday, 21 July 2014

GenoQs Nemo

What's not to love about the Nemo.
Such a sexy instrument.


The curves & colour allude to a surfboard or submarine.. Aptly named.


 It's sad that GenoQ is no longer making these beautiful sequencers.

16 simultaneous tracks. The plan is to use this for live performance on a Buchla.

Twin MIDI In and Out ports. USB. Even a jack for a lamp.



Sunday, 20 July 2014

Tenori-On and Buchla

Though the Tenori-On (hardware version) has been out for ages (since 2007-2008) there aren't many videos of it being used with a 200e Buchla.

Paul (Cobramatic) & I decided to trial the i-pad Tenori app and the hardware sequencer yesterday. Loved them both. Spoilt for choice.

 The Tenori-On i-pad app



Both the app and hardware Tenoris are unique ways to create music. There are 16 layers or for our purpose there are 16 channels of midi. The first 7 are very much like your standard midi sequencer.
Layers 8 to 11 use Random Modes. Layers 12 and 13 allow you to "draw" sequences. Layers 14 and 15 are unusual : called "Bounce" and "Push" Modes.


 The Tenori-On Hardware sequencer/synthesizer


The Buchla 225e - Midi Decoder & Preset Manager.




 Buchla 259



Thursday, 17 July 2014

Masada - Israel

 Cable car to the summit of Masada.



 View from the summit. The small square partly covered by the cables are the remains of the Roman camp.

 Its incredible to still be able to see the remains of the Roman encampment after nearly 2000 years.

 Underground heating. Luxury for King Herod.



 Ancient artillery

This is the ramp built by the Romans. It was used to take Masada.















For more travel links click here:
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2015/03/travel-postcards-index-my-travel.html

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

Monday, 14 July 2014

Ambient Buchla

Some pics of this patch.

Buchla 250e

The patch is very tweakable The short demo doesn't really do it justice. I could leave it on for longer
and it would slowly evolve new patterns by itself.


4 VCOs - 259e, 259r, 258v & a 262v.
Mostly triggered by the 281r
The 262v Harmonic Generator is the first sound. Triggered by CVs from the 281
Randomness comes from the 266e
The 247v & 250e provide extra modulation to attack & decay inputs of the  281.


Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Buchla Easel & 208r - Patch C

Mixing up some sounds from a BEMI easel and a Buchla 208r





Jam # 3 - Cobramatic

Experimenting with the Buchla Music Easel and a 208r (Buchla clone)



Some links to unlisted patches:
(These are only accessible via this blog).
Buchla Music Easel & 208r - Patch 2
Buchla (BEMI) Easel & 208r - Patch 3