Tuesday, 19 May 2015

Buchla Easel - Blue Sky Shimmer

Loving the sound of Buchla and the Stymon reverb.
the sounds are a mix of Buchla 208 & Eurorack --- all put through a Blue Sky. It's like having a whole choir in your living room.

Monday, 18 May 2015

KORG RockBeat - Keio Rockmate Drum machine 1966

This is one of the earliest of Korg's Drum synthesizer machines. It probably dates from 1966.
They are quite rare. It has 2 VCOs / 4 voices.
As was common in these early days, worldwide distribution meant that the drum was sold under different names in each market.

My drum goes by the title " Lafayette ROCKBEAT" and was produced in Tokyo, Japan.
It was marketed by the  LaFayette Radio Electronics Company.
It's a bit worse for wear, though she still works.
In the US, they were also sold as the "Olsen RockMate Donca Matic" and the Knight "Combo Sideman".

The rock band GORILLAZ made a song in November 2010 called DONCAMATIC
The faceplate layout is different in appearance though internally, they are identical.
There are 6 presets labeled A to F (and a fill). They are Swing Trot, Down Beat, Jazz Rock, Rock Beat, Four Beat & Slow Ballard.
The rhythms are charted out on music staves on the top panel
The doncamatic was one of the first all-electronic solid state drum rhythm machines made.
The Korg company was originally called "KEIO Gijutsu Kenkyujo Limited"

 The Tempo & rhythm (preset) dials.

The case is made out of steel and measures 7.5" x 7.5" and 1-1/4" deep.

 It is powered by a 9-volt battery (included), but also has a 9V AC adapter jack on it.

1/4" output jacks

The "Solo" button kicks in the fill (endless 16th notes on snare & hat) for as long as you hold it down
The drum was used by Morris Day & The Time.















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

Friday, 15 May 2015

Buchla 203 cabinet - 30 units of bliss

The ever expanding universe.... that's how I sometimes view my Buchla obsession.
The collection till now has been housed in more than one case and much has been kept (sadly) in storage waiting for a suitable home. There is lots of merit in trying to restrict the size of one's system in order to get the most out of each module. Bigger does not mean more creativity. It might even stifle creativity. But everyone is different. The Easel's 208 panel for example occupies just 4U. It's incredible for its "power to weight ratio" and flexibility. This attribute is what makes Buchla amazing for live performance.

The studio environment however is another story. It lets you go a bit crazy. I've always wanted to indulge this love of mine & finally put that larger system together. BEMI do sell lots of cases but even their largest system only uses a 24 unit  powered cabinet. That's four 6 unit boats.

 BEMI's largest cabinet the 24unit 201e-24

Bigger Buchla doesn't always mean better. Buchla packs lots of punch and even the smallest of systems can be very powerful in the right hands. I started out with just 3 units about 6 years ago. Then upsized that to a 12. When I finally succumed to a 24U I thought this would satisfy my lust. Apparently Not.

Buchla (before BEMI) did once produce a larger cabinet : They called it the 203.
This consisted of  five 6 unit boats. I've been searching for a vintage one without luck for years. Even pictures of them are rare to find. Lucky for me I have managed to secure a clone. And this 203 has been built by one of the best : Jason R. Butcher. I thought I'd post some pics just after I unpacked this work of art.
Jason R. Butcher's beautiful hand built 203 cabinet.
I've chosen to use a "modern" power distribution - similar to that found in current BEMI cases

The sculptured wooden ends of the Buchla 203



The finish on this cabinet is first class and the case is simply beautiful. Jason Butcher is a artist and this shines through. 

This is one of Jason's art works. When I first saw this I thought it was a etching plate (to print images onto paper). This, it is not. It's a finished art work. The surface is very delicate. A blend of digital (the photo) & analog (the etching).

I don't know the exact process but it reminded me of those early photos taken in the 19th century. They used metal plates treated with silver to make them light sensitive.

Jason says that the original photo is of the interior of a Buchla 100 series cabinet that he was working on. There are some power wires and maybe wood shavings. It looks like a silhouette which is what led him to print it. 
The process has lots of similarities to etching printed circuit boards. There is a lovely unity where art crosses to electronics. It addition to cabinet building and art, Jason Butcher is well known for his wonderful Buchla format modules. Here are a couple next to his etching.


More links: 
1. Jason Butcher's Touch Keyboard  
2. Jason Butchers Blog
3. JRB's official Website
4. Muff's JRB Bandpass filter
5. JRB on Vimeo
7. JR Butcher's Soundcloud

Thursday, 14 May 2015

Mehrangarh Fort - Jodhpur, India

Mehrangarh Fort, located in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, is one of the largest forts in India.


















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Sunday, 3 May 2015

DinSync 303 Acid

DinSync 303 Osc & Filter - Acid Love.

The DinSync 303 brings a Roland TB-303 to your modular.
This is the first of a three videos Paul & I recorded. Sorry for the poor audio.
Video 1:

The Tabula Rasa module - aptly named - it's a blank canvas waiting to be filled with sounds from your SD card.

Tabula Rasa was the theory that "at birth the (human) mind is a "blank slate" without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one's sensory experiences." (Wickipedia)

Video 2 & 3::
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOE6Ajsy7Vs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNgsc06-84Q

Koma Elektronik Vactrol SVF-201. Love those vactrols - just like Buchla
The filter has a slope of -12dB/octave - LP,HP,BP. Resonance can be voltage controlled

Klee Sequencer


Model 15 Complex Voltage Controlled Oscillator & Maths


 Sony DMX R-100 digital mixing console
Finally a remix has been done in deep house style: