Tuesday, 2 December 2014

Bethlemen - Street Christmas lights

It's 21 sleeps till Christmas happens all over again. :-)
Can't wait.

These pics were taken on Christmas Eve in Bethlehem
Some wonderful memories. I'll upload pics of Bethlehem itself and the Church
of the Nativity in future posts.



Manger Square in Arabic: ميدان المهد
The main Christmas tree all lit up. So beautiful.
It's focal point for all of the Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem.

Waiting for Christmas Mass in Manger Square.
It takes its name from the manger where Jesus is said to have been born : the Church of the Nativity..... possibly the oldest existing church in the world.

Even if you're not religious, you should experience this just once in your life.

















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

Monday, 1 December 2014

KORG Mini Pops 45

The Minipops 45 is actually an improved Minipops 35.
It's also known as the Keio Giken 45.


The MP 45 is from 1976/77.
As far as I can tell, the only difference between the 35 & 45  is that  the later model uses a digital noise generator. Otherwise, both are pretty much identical.


So how do you describe it ?   ....Square & practical. It looks very much like the  Roland CR -78 which came out in 1978.  The square wooden box is a typical  Korg design of the 70s. (both of their rhythm machines & synthesizers).

 It has a real nice old school wood veneer which I think is quite beautiful.


There are 10 rhythms. The gray button  gives you a second VARIATION.



The BASS DRUM / Snare drum and CYMBAL dials give an extra 6 patterns to choose from

This gives many interesting interesting pattern variations .
The BALANCE controller has the same function as the TONE knob of the earlier models . 




No trigger out or in.

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For more info on the history of Korg Drum Machines Click Here

Saturday, 29 November 2014

The ARP 2500 & the 1005 MODAMP module

The ARP 1005 MODAMP.
The 2500 manual describes this as
" a balanced modulator, a VCA with certain associated circuitry"


It's very much like your standard ring modulator.
There the output consists of the Sum and Difference of the input frequencies
(but contains neither of the input frequencies).

The ARP 2600 used analog multipliers in contrast to the ring of diodes found in many RMs.
I wonder if the 2500 has a similar circuit.???
GuitarFool has the schematics here:
http://www.guitarfool.com/ARP2500/1005.html
The schematics for the 4014 Balanced Modulator which I think is related to the 1005 modamp
have two 2-Quad Multipliers.


The submodule in the 2600's case was the ARP 4014.
The schematics from ARPtech are here
One of the nice things about the 2600 was its switch that allowed you to select between
AC-coupled and DC-coupled modes.


Anyway, the 2500 manual describes the 1005 module thus:
"The Balanced Modulator" can accept two input signals A & B in the frequency range DC to 20KHz
and will produce the output function (A x B/10)......If f1 & f2 are chosen properly, the output will be a complex wave with inharmonic overtones".

One of the really cool things about the 1005 ModAMP is that it produces two DC control voltages.
(CVA & CVB).
 
 CVA & CVB - the 1005 outputs control voltages

In this video example (below) I'm using the CVs to modulate the VCOs.
http://youtu.be/uw0tw0jxMb4

You can download the audio files from the above video here:

Turning the ModAmp is easy with the illuminated on/off button.


 This on/off switch can also be operated with a gate. (the input is marked "Mod Gate" on the bottom & top of the module).

The Mod Gate

At the top, there are an "unmod" & a "Mod" input.

 Upper half of the 1005

The Manual states" a Pulse applied to to either input will switch the operating mode to either"unmod" or "Mod".
The mode will remain as set until a pulse is applied to switch to the other mode,
or until the mode is changed by the button.

Finally, the 1005 has a VCA.
We have a switch to choose between linear & exponential control.



And there are lots on CV inputs from both the upper & lower matrix sections.

Heaps to play with.

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Elektron A4 & RYTM - Paradise Lost

Here I'm mainly experimenting with the Scene Mode on the Rytm Drum machine. The Analog Four is just providing some background sounds.



The more I use the Rytm the more I realize that its real power lies with parameter locking. The Scene Mode gives you instant parameter locks.

Friday, 28 November 2014

ARPParty

A Arp 2500, 2600 and two drums.
Vermona DRM & Metasonix D-1000 (Vacuum tubes).







We did a few takes of this.
Here is an earlier one that ended on the cutting room floor.
Though I'd place a link to it as part of the exercise:
http://youtu.be/iWzFV10LAmw


Boss DR-550 MkII Dr. Rhythm

Boss DR-550 MkII Dr. Rhythm
This is a great sounding machine Early NIN ???
Nice for techno, rap and industrial. The Mark II model dates from 1992.
The Mark I is from 1990. 
It's small and runs on batteries. A very underrated machine. You can still find these puppies for under $100 on the bay.


She was my old workhorse that I bought back in the 90s.
I used to program beats on this while going to uni lectures via the bus.
....there is automatic quantizing (for when the bus jolted to a sudden stop).


Sadly there is no midi out. There is MIDI sync in so you can hook it up to other sequencers.


There are a number of time signatures ie 4/4 3/4 2/4 etc
The Mark II has pretty much got the whole 808 kit and some 909 sounds.
The samples sound very good (44khz). You can alter their Decay, Color, and Pan.  


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For more info on the history of Roland Drum Machines click here



Wednesday, 26 November 2014

Roland CR-78

The CR-78 CompuRhythm is one of  THE  Classic Drum  machines from Roland.
It's quite small compared to a 808 or 909.

DIMENSIONS:
300(W) x 280(D) x 205(H)mm
11.8″(W) x 11.0″(D) x 8.1″(H)
NET WEIGHT:
5.5 kg/12.1 lbs

It was made famous by its use by prominent pop musicians. The machine  featured in  "Vienna" by Ultravox, "Heart of Glass" by Blondie and "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.

These come dressed either in wood or black
There are 5 sliders, 31 buttons & 5 knobs
5 sliders, 31 buttons, 5 switches and 5 knobs
5 sliders, 31 buttons, 5 switches and 5 knobs
5 sliders, 31 buttons, 5 switches and 5 knobs

RHYTHM SELECTION BUTTONS:
Rock 1-4, Disco 1-2, Waltz, Shuffle, Slow Rock, Swing, Fox Trot, Tango, Boogie, Enka, Bossanova, Samba, Mambo, Chacha, Beguine, Rhumba.

VOICES:
Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Rim Shot, Hi-Hat, Cymbal, Maracas, Claves, Cow Bell, High Bongo, Low Bongo, Low Conga.


CANCEL BUTTONS:
Cymbal + High Hat, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Cow Bell + Claves.

It was the second drum machine to use a microprocessor. (That honour belongs to Paia's Programmable drum set).

Ikutaro Kakehashi (The founder of Roland Corporation) says that at the time the only CPU choices were the MOS Technology 6502 and the intel 80 series.The 6502 was difficult to get in japan so the 8048 won out.
  (the 8 bit CPU - NEC D8048-C015)

This was a very important advance in drum machine technology. Users could now program and store their own drum patterns

8 bits CPU NEC D8048-C015Users could now program and store their own drum patterns By tapping you could create your own pattern. You could also combine this with one of the preset patterns.





OUTPUT
Start/Stop, Variation (DP-1, DP-2)
Write (TS-1)(TRIGGER PULSE OUT)

TRIGGER PULSE SELECT IN SWTTCH:
8 Beat, 16 Beat, Combination.
The external clock input accepts a clock of 12 ppqn (pulses per quarter note), which adds up to 48 pulses per bar/measure on a four-four time. The signal should be between +5V to +15V, and have a length of min. 5ms. A Doepfer A-146 LFO produces just what you want .... a +5V symmetric pulse wave.

EXT. CLOCK (trig out):
0 to 15V pulses. min. 5ms width

A Pedal Switch DP-2 & Write Switch WS-1 (Roland programmer)
Roland programmer
are useful accessories

You can trigger the CR-78 with the following Eurorack modules :
  • A-146 LFO II
  • A-155 Analog/Trigger Sequencer
  • A-160 Clock/Trigger Divider
  • A-161 Clock/Trigger Sequencer
  • A-180 Multiples
See link 7 below for more info.

Links: 
1. Fenix I & III (and a Roland CR 78) 
2. CR 78 Midification (AnalogueSolutions)
3. Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm with Modifications - Demo Video 
4. Roland CR-78 non-rechargeable Lithum battery replacement mod
5. Astronaut
6.  Warren Cann from Ultravox  (his experiences modding the CR-78)
7. Triggering, Syncing and Programming a Roland CR-78 with Eurorack
8. CR-78 repairs & internal pics
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For more info on the history of Roland Drum Machines click here