Thursday, 22 January 2015

Roland TR-66 Rhythm Arranger

Roland TR-66 Rhythm Arranger

The TR 66 came out in 1973. It's importance in the history of drum machines can't be understated as it marks the transition between the four drums of the TR series - (TR 33,55,77 & 330) and the ground breaking CR series (CR 68 & 78).

Though it still bears the name TR, standing for transistor rhythm, Roland moved from a solely percussion based pattern machine (with pre chosen sounds), to one where 2 patterns could be combined.. The top 16 patterns were (chosen with a dial ) a kick, snare and hi-hat. The bottom consisted of your standard percussion patterns: Waltz, Jazz Rock, Slow Rock, Cha-Cha, Bossa Nova, Rhumba, etc. that you could find on the earlier TR machines  These are selected by the buttons along the bottom row.

I really like the snare & kicks from this drum. All the sounds are warm & analog.The sounds include kick, snare, hihat, conga, bongos, claves, maracas, cowbell, rim shot, and cymbal. The TR-66 has been used by Depeche Mode and on the "Cha-Cha" rhythm on Roxy Music's "Dance Away" (1979).

Sadly, there is no way to sync the Tr 66 without modification.



The "Arrange Switch" offered two extra variations to the standard (AUTO) setting giving 36 patterns in total.

By combining the "Rhythm Selector" & "Variation Selector" interesting mixed rhythm patterns can be produced. When adding the Tempo, Balance control & the arrange switch, lots of variation is possible. A great little machine. !!!!


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

Fenix I & III (and a Roland CR 78)


video:






The Fenix III sequencer has a very useful clock divider (left of photo). The Roland CR 78 needs a 48 pulse per measure clock to sync. The Fenix clock divider needed a bit of tweaking but worked.

Here is the unedited video:






Wednesday, 21 January 2015

Akbar's Tomb - Agra, India

Akbar is arguably the most famous ruler from India's past. He was India's Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death in 1605. His grandson (Shah Jahan) is famous for building the Taj Mahal.
These are pictures from his tomb.


 The ceilings are magnificent. The tomb is a masterpiece of Mughal architecture. It was built between 1605 & 1613. It is situated in 48 Ha (119 acres) of grounds in Sikandra, a suburb of Agra

During his rule he enlarged the Mughal Empire to include the whole of the Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari river.

This is not his main tomb. It's just an out house.

What I find facinating about the man is how he kept the empire together....... through diplomacy, and conciliation. He was Muslim by birth but tried to unite the many faiths in his diverse country.


He tried to bring about religious unity and tolerance. It's a ideal we still strive for today.
I wonder what he would make of today's situation?


Akbar had 36 wives and over 300 women in his harem, but the legend goes that he had 3 favourite wives... One Muslim, one Hindu and one Christian. Whether this story is true I'm not sure, but you can see the fusion of the three forms of architecture throughout his palaces. He even promoted a new religion called Din-e Ilahi where he tried to take the best parts of Islam, Hinduism, Christianity, Jainism and Zoroastrianism and merge these into one.

Akbar concluded that no single religion could claim the monopoly of truth. 



These grills are carved from single blocks of stone.



Tuesday, 20 January 2015

TKB build (The Human comparator kit) - Build Part 2

TKB build (The Human comparator kit) - Build Part 2 

***Click here for the Index of the TKB Build ***

I though that before I start building the Human Comparator's TKB kit it would be fun to see what a vintage TKB looks like. I just happen to have one.
This was built by my friend Warren Burt in the late 70's / Early 80's.
And it still works.


The first TKBs also appeared in kit form.
Here are the build instructions care of Ken Stone:
http://www.serge.synth.net/documents/kit/tkb.html

The particular TKB was restored in 2013 by Andrew F of Non-Linear Circuits.



 





OK, now it's time to begin my own build of this Serge classic 
J
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***TKB - Build Index ***
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Monday, 19 January 2015

TKB - Touch Keyboard Sequencer - Build Part 1

TKB Build - Part 1 - Pics of the kit 
The Human Comparator Clone.


*** Click here for the TKB Build Index ***

I've been looking forward to building this so much.
I remember back in the day, the TKB was the Holy Grail of Serge.
I understand these first came out in 1977.
The TKB is a combined touch sensitive keyboard and 16 step analogue sequencer.
What's not to like.

Zthee's website where you can purchase this kit is here:
http://thehumancomparator.net/tkb/ 
And the official build notes of the Human Comparator
http://build.thehumancomparator.net/ 
and Muffs has a thread here:
http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=104513

Also, of interest are the original Serge build documents.
More useful links:
http://www.serge-fans.com/wiz_seq.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2jpZuY1lj4
http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/serge.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serge_synthesizer
And some pics of the inside of a vintage TKB:
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/tkb-build-human-comparator-kit-build.html


 Thanks to Zthee (THC) for making this kit available.... all the way from Sweden.
.... a land famous for synths.

I love the Japanese theme.



The Unpopulated Faceplate.

Of course you can use it as a normal 4-bank sequencer, but it can do so much more... You can program your own scales for example. There is also a  four-stage vertical sequencer which can step through each of the four layers.... this allows for sequences up to 64 steps.

The MM74C150N - A 16 line to 1 line multiplexer.

This is the main component PCB.(front side)


5 simultaneous outputs


We have 16 capacitive touch-sensitive keys

Let the building begin.

Part 2. Some pics and info of a vintage TKB.
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*** TKB - Build Index ***
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Korg MiniPops 5

The Minipops 5 " Donca Automatic " (left)  is the direct precursor of the famous Minipops 7 (on the right). The MP 5 & MP 7 were produced in 1966. (before the more common MP3 which came out in 1967.


The MP5 is suitable for mounting on an organ.
 Here I have mounted one on a table edge.
 The screw locks it into place.
There are a total of 20 rhythms.
The red (young Beat) and blue (Fox-Swing) buttons house 6 rhythms.

There is a TONE control, as well as controls for VOLUME and TEMPO .



And the horizontal metal rail on the front is  a touch sensitive start/stop.
just like the one on the Roland TR 77.
The built-in " metronome " is quite nice - you can start it at any point ,
even if a rhythm is in progress. Its timing is tight & sounds great
Quite an asset .

It sounds very much like the MP7. I love this machine. Sadly, it's quite rare.
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For more info on the history of Korg Drum Machines Click Here