Saturday, 1 April 2023

New gear coming soon

 Lots of new gear coming out.
I can't wait.

..




Chat GPT poem - the beauty of DIY synths

 I thought it would be fun to ask ... 
I'm surprised with the result.


:-)



Greece - Rhodes 3

The old town of Rhodes is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I love its narrow cobblestone streets, ancient walls, and impressive fortifications.

This is the Street of the Knights.
It's a cobbled street lined with imposing medieval buildings. 
The street was once home to the Knights of Rhodes, 
and each building is adorned with the coat of arms of a different knightly order.


The Old Town is surrounded by a massive stone wall, which was built by the Knights of St. John in the 14th century. The walls are so thick that they are almost impregnable, and they offer a fantastic view of the town and the sea beyond. Inside the walls, visitors will find a labyrinth of alleys and streets, lined with beautiful medieval architecture, churches, and palaces.


Other interesting places to visit in Rhodes Old Town include the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes, which features exhibits from the ancient Greek and Roman periods, and the Ottoman Library, a beautiful building that once housed a collection of Islamic manuscripts.





 The Archaeological Museum of Rhodes is housed in the medieval Hospital of the Knights Hospitaller Order of Saint John (1309-1522). Its construction began in 1440 by the Grand Master de Lastic and was completed in 1489 by the Grand Master d' Aubusson.

Aphrodite
Recovered from the seabed of the west coat of the city of Rhodes.
The erosion of the sculpture by sand and sea enhances her beauty

Head of Helios, the god of the island of Rhodes.
(second half of the 2nd century BC).


One of the most impressive landmarks in Rhodes Old Town is the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. The palace was built in the 14th century and was the residence of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, who ruled the island during the medieval period. Today, the palace houses a museum that showcases the history and culture of Rhodes.\








Rhodes town centre at night.








Monday, 27 March 2023

PULSAR-23 . Yellow Andrew Huang Edition


I had a play with a mates Pulsar-23 a few weeks ago and loved it.
His was a standard version.


SOMA Laboratory, has however recently collaborated with musician/video producer 
Andrew Huang to produce this exclusive edition PULSAR-23


It has a loud yellow exterior with custom knobs which is accompanied by an exclusive 
alligator clip-emblazoned hat.

The Pulsar-23 is a semi-modular drum 
machine with an open-ended approach 
that sidesteps and outright rejects 
classic drum machine tropes. 
Described by its creator Vlad Kreimer 
as "organismic," PULSAR-23 is all 
about building living, breathing, 
evolving rhythmic structures using 
alligator clip patch points and 
physical interaction....

 Like other SOMA devices, Pulsar-23 creates a seemingly organic connection
 between the musician and instrument, tapping into the deepest parts of your 
subconscious to rely on instinct and reaction rather than conscious decision-making.
PULSAR-23's four voices are tailored to produce kick, bass, snare, and hat sounds,
respectively, all of which can be controlled using the built-in recorder/sequencer or external
MIDI or control voltages. But by patching together its many control voltage utilities and
effects, it reveals a unique life of its own.


This Perfect Circuit exclusive PULSAR-23 includes a custom colorway, knobs, and hat
 — all developed in collaboration with Andrew Huang to complement his unique take on this experimental drum machine.


The PULSAR-23 Andrew Huang Edition is available here:


Cost: $2250 USD

Saturday, 25 March 2023

Modulisme Session 083 by VA. Serge-O-Voxes --- voices for the Serge 5. v.1

 Modulisme Session 083 by VA. Serge-O-Voxes --- voices for the Serge 5. v.1

...

Welcome to Serge -o- Voxes # 5 celebrating 50 years since the creation of the SERGE « the People’s Synthesizer».
Gathering compositions made playing the system to compose an hommage, secretly, as I wanted to prepare a surprise for Serge Tcherepnin... The first 4 volumes of the « Serge -o- Voxes » series gathered 80 compositions forming the largest hommage-testimony ever made…
This time offering 60 short works divided in 2 volumes, this is v.1,

Arp 2600 - Envelope Follower & pre-amp

The APR 2600's envelope follower is a often ignored module.
However, its really useful and with clever patching, can greatly enhance the use of the 2600.

Found on the extreme left, the module is grouped with a pre-amp & ring modulator.

It tracks the amplitude of an incoming audio signal and generates a control voltage (CV) up to +10 V that can be used to modulate other parameters of the synthesizer.

The envelope follower is most often used with external instruments
such as using a guitar as an input signal to modulate the filter cutoff frequency of a synthesizer. By controlling the filter with the guitar's amplitude, the synthesizer can create a more expressive and responsive sound that mimics the characteristics of a guitar.

The Envelope Follower can also be used in place of an envelope generator
if you have an external signal. Thus with little more that a external sound source you have an extra envelope to modulate VCO's VCA's or filters.



The Pre-amp is important when imputing an external audio signal.
It can amplify signals up to 1000 times.

Use a guitar, mic, voice, keyboard , tablet, MP3 players, 
drum machines, Kaoss pads, etc etc 
Really versatile.





The pre-amp is normalised to the envelope follower.
Thus you don't need a cable to connect the two.

Note, that there is now no connection going from the Env Fol output
to any other part of the 2600.

In practical terms, the EF converts amplitude into voltage.
So the louder the signal, the greater the voltage.




Also, remember the EF's output is hard wired to the input of the lag processor.
Interesting! Why would you want that?
I think, if for example we plug in sounds with quick attacks like drums, we can control how responsive everything is.


Before connecting any external instruments it a good idea to check levels first.
You may want to connect your mic for example into the pre-amp input and set the 
gain to the lowest.



Patch 1
Control the pitch of a VCO with an external instrument.
Always use one of  the module's "control inputs".


Patch 2
Controlling the filter.
Remember you'll need to plug it into one of the Control inputs , not into the Audio section of inputs.
Basically, we are replacing the ADSR with a new envelope.


Patch 3
Say we want to hear the guitar / external drum but also want that instrument to impact the filter


By tweaking the envelope follower slider, you'll be able to change the effect amount on the filter.

Patch 4
VCO & filter modulation


Patch 5
Feedback & distortion
Using the Pre-amp (keep the gain down).
The pre-amp output goes into the VCA (replaces the VCF input).
In this example, Ive taken a saw waveform and plugged this into vco 2
Play around with the different knob and sliders -- pre-amp gain & filter cutoff & res is fun.



Patch 5
Voltage controlled Resonance.
1. Plug the output of the ring mod into the input of the envelope follower.
2. the output of the pre-amp is plugged into one of the inputs of voltage processor 1
3. VP (inverted) ---> ring mod input on the VCF
4. The filter output, goes into the left input of the Ring Mod.





Patch 6
Ethereal Phase-shifting on an External Source
p.96 - Original ARP 2600 patch book.


Patch 7
"Ow" on external source.
p.98 - Original ARP 2600 patch book.



Check out the 
Drum-controlled ADSR & S/H
PWM ???

p.99 - Original ARP 2600 patch book.
(I haven't tested this out myself).



Friday, 24 March 2023

Greece - Rhodes 2

 Some pics of Rhodes island. It's in the eastern Aegean Sea.
The island has a long and rich history that includes Eastern, Western & Islamic influences. 



In the early 7th century, the Arab armies of the Rashidun Caliphate began to conquer the Eastern Roman Empire, including the islands of the Aegean. Rhodes fell to the Arab forces in 654 AD and became part of the Umayyad Caliphate.


Under Islamic rule, Rhodes became a major center of commerce and trade in the Mediterranean. The city of Rhodes, known as Rodos in Arabic, became a hub for Islamic scholars, scientists, and artists. The famous Arab geographer and traveler, Al-Masudi, described Rhodes as a city of great wealth and beauty.



Mosque of Suleiman in Rhodes
The Suleymaniye Mosque or the Mosque of Suleiman (Turkish: Süleymaniye Camii) was a mosque originally built after the Ottoman conquest of Rhodes in 1522 and reconstructed in 1808. It was named by the Sultan Suleiman to commemorate his conquest of Rhodes.



In the 10th century, Rhodes came under the rule of the Fatimid Caliphate, which was based in Egypt. 

During this period, the island experienced a cultural and artistic renaissance, with the construction of many new buildings and monuments.


In the 13th century, the island came under the control of the Knights Hospitaller, a Christian military order that established a stronghold in Rhodes. The Knights Hospitaller fought against the Ottoman Empire, which was expanding into the eastern Mediterranean. In 1522, the Ottomans successfully captured Rhodes from the Knights Hospitaller.




Part of the battlements of the Grand master palace is to the right.
It is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece. The site was previously a citadel of the Knights Hospitaller that functioned as a palace, headquarters, and fortress.


...
Coat of arms ... wall of rhodes .. old town.

During the Italian rule of Rhodes, the Italian architect Vittorio Mesturino restored the damaged parts of the palace between 1937 and 1940. It became a holiday residence for the King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, and later for Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini, whose name can still be seen on a large plaque near the entrance.

...
MINARET OF THE IBRAHIM PASHA MOSQUE 




Knightly coat of arms on the wall of a house of Ippoton street in Rhodes



..
Roloi Clock Tower. 
The Clock Tower is the highest point of the Old Town of Rhodes.
Visitors climb 53 steep wooden steps to reach a low-ceilinged chamber with 360-degree views.
The clock tower is a Byzantine structure that originally dates back to the end of the seventh century. It was reconstructed after the heavy damage caused by the earthquake of 1851.

.





Greece
   - Kos - Greece - part2