The Matrix Brute feels very solidly build. has some serious heft and a solid build. the manufacturing is done by a new company and I am assured the build quality is far superior to earlier runs of products. the filter section is deep with two multimode multi pole filters that can run parallel or series. the mod matrix will make your mind snap. instant easy routing of any parameter… then there is the modular capabilities around back… check the video for more! be sure to watch to the end for direct audio of Glen Darcey tweaking it.
You need a portable USB MIDI controller, but also want a keyboard that provides a musical playing experience. You have some MIDI modules you want to connect as well, but don’t want the footprint of a large keyboard. You have a modular synth system and analogue gear you want to control via CV (Control Voltage). You want a step sequencer with polyphonic capability that you can sync to your favourite modern and vintage gear. If only a single product could do all of this. Dream on? Not necessarily. Now, thanks to Arturia, that dream has become reality… ready yourself and your music, for the KeyStep Controller & Sequencer does all of this and more!
In this video I showcase the Hexinverter.net Mutant Hot Glue on the Dave Smith Instruments Tempest drum machine. I show the different flavors of distortion and compression. More to come so stay tuned!
PARIS, FRANCE: avant-garde musical hardware researcher and developer Squarp Instruments is proud to announce that it is already accepting preorders on its inaugural Pyramid Polyrhythmic Sequencer breakthrough — an advanced hardware standalone sequencer running proprietary PyraOs realtime processing firmware and boasting (multiple) MIDI, USB, CV/Gate, and (Sync48- and Sync24-configurable) DIN Sync connectivity, together with a host of fanciful features belying its compact and bijou form factor — as of May 21…
Most notably, and arguably an absolute rarity in this day and age, Pyramid Polyrhythmic Sequencer is fully polyrhythmic, meaning different and unusual time signatures can be set for each of its 64 tracks to cleverly create shifted-beat sequences — set a track to 4/4 and add other tracks to simultaneously run with it in 5/4, 6/8, 15/8, or whatever — to bring stirring new musical flavours to productions. Pyramid Polyrhythmic Sequencer… it is incontestably an appropriate appellation, after all! Apart from that, though, what makes this standalone sequencer so special and also why resolutely return to hardware in this day and age of commonplace software-based sequencing solutions, courtesy of all-singing, all-dancing DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations)?
Well, to truly get a feel for the flexible future of state-of-the-art and easy-to-use hardware sequencing in the present, perhaps it pays to look to the past? Which is exactly what the forward-thinking research and development team at Squarp Instruments did. “Our aim was to create a hardware sequencer in ‘sync’ with the new styles of electronic music being written nowadays,” notes company co-founder and R&D engineer Tom Hurlin. “There’s a huge gap in the market for this, which is kind of weird, because most popular music from the early-Eighties to the late-Nineties was produced using sequencing hardware. Hip-hop, for example, originated on the MPC series, which actually revolutionised all kinds of music — Madonna to Bryan Ferry to Whitney Houston. How come these machines were suddenly replaced by the computer?”
The MST ‘07 Buffered Multiple is a PRECISION buffered mult that is perfect for for 1V/O CV sources. A signal plugged into Input 1 will be available from all 14 outputs. Break the chain by adding a second signal into input 2; signal 1 comes out 4 outputs and signal 2 is available at the remaining 10. Plug in as many as 4 inputs, each split 3 or 4 times. What you put in you GET OUT!
Vince Clarke keeps tuneful tracks tuned with namesake clever CV/Gate tuning system
BROOKLYN, NY, USA: synth-pop Svengali Vince Clarke is proud to announce that he will be releasing a series of creative and utilitarian modules for the ever-present Eurorack small-format modular system under the namesake Clarke company name, designed and built to exacting standards in close collaboration with British ‘boutique’ analogue synthesiser and accessory designer/manufacturer Analogue Solutions, starting with the now-available Auto Tune — a self-contained, expandable Eurorack-compatible MIDI-to-CV converter/calibration system offering an uncomplicated solution to the problems of tuning and scaling both vintage analogue synthesisers and modern Eurorack VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) modules — as of March 18…
So why simultaneously sidestep into this creative and utilitarian synthesiser module manufacturing (ad)venture alongside superlative synth-pop music compositional creativity? Who better qualified to address this than the Ivor Novello Award-winning songwriter himself… hardly surprising, really, since Vince Clarke can, of course, comfortably find his way around a notable number of synthesisers, too, as attested to by the well-earned songwriting success-funded collection of analogue classics currently residing at his NYC studio, relatively recently relocated from a custom-built cabin in rural Maine to inner-city Brooklyn. But this is no millionaire’s museum piece, but rather a unique personal workspace, where each and every awe-inspiring analogue instrument included in his sizeable collection of vintage and modern synthesisers comfortably housed within regularly earns its keep on a variety of musical projects, be they synth-pop based or otherwise. “For those of you who work with synthesisers using CV and Gate, you will all be aware of the problems of calibration,” notes Vince Clarke, continuing: “Having tried many a cumbersome software-based package over the years, I wondered if there might be a neater solution — a kind of all-in-one MIDI-to-CV convertor with auto-calibration.”
And, as if by musical magic, the collaborative Clarke company concept was born. And with it the first of those creative and utilitarian modules for the ever-present Eurorack small-format modular system that is increasingly popularised (and heavily populated) by an ever-growing band of merry ‘boutique’ manufacturers now numbering hundreds worldwide… welcome into the world Clarke’s clever Auto Tune system! So, let’s learn a little more about what it is, what it does, and how, exactly, it does it…
In a nutshell, then, the Auto Tune system consists of a VCM20 master module, which can control up to 16 VCS20 slave modules, each of which provides one channel of CV (Control Voltage) and Gate. With 16-bit voltage resolution and a tune time of 10 seconds, this straightforward system can compensate for VCO alignment issues and environmental factors that cause tuning drift quite literally at the push of a button!
Available as a kit or completed module this sucker is deep with features.check it out at Hexinverter.net
The ACXsynth MIDI2CV Eurorack module is an 8HP, 4 channel CV/Gate interface with a robust feature set you can build yourself!
The original circuit and firmware were designed by the talented Alain Coupel of ACXsynth. His design is used here with permission. Dmitry, a forum member, took it upon himself to update the firmware with a slew of new and exciting features!
FEATURES
12bit DACs with high quality Intersil opamps for great CV accuracy
Monophonic mode offers full control of one voice (mod, pitch wheel, etc.) as well as sequencer control (start/stop, reset, sync)
Split and duophonic modes accessible through advanced features
Sync output emits MIDI clock pulses for driving sequencers
MIDI channel auto-learn at startup means no configuration if only basic functionality is desired
This circuit is actually very very simple to assemble and shouldn’t really take you more than a half hour tops to build.
It comprises of a board with pads for a few knobs and jacks, as well as a few extra parts so that you can play around and add modifications to the circuit. The PT2399 is a chip that is found in MANY guitar delay pedals. It is a digital chip that emulates the analog bucket brigade. As delay times get longer, the audio degrades. This can be used to great effect when you start to play with long delay times and feedback.
In this video I build the PT2399 Dev board, I do not show me building in any mods. The reason for this is I want you to feel free to experiment with the board. you won’t harm the chip its quite robust and is great fun to play with “circuit bending” it. just basically wire up a momentary switch (included with the kit) and touch the leads to any two points you find interested (by poking a piece of wire around you may find the chip behavior act interesting). For the final circuit I went with the suggested Feedblast the warp and the feedback as pictured below.
