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List of Synthesizer Conventions

November 21, 2019, 2:17 am
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I just returned from a Synthesizer Convention in Tokyo.
I had a blast and have caught the bug.

Here is a list of Synth conventions around the world.
If I have left any out do let me know.
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 Jan

The National Association of Music Merchants Show
Official Website: https://www.namm.org/
Jan 16-19, 2020

 ----------------------------------------------------------
 Feb
-----------------------------------------------------
March

Synthplex
https://www.synthplex.com/
Around March 26/29
Burbank CA, USA.
 ------------------------------------------------------------
April

Musikmesse
Official Website: https://musik.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/en.html
Dates: Wed, 1 Apr 2020 – Sat, 4 Apr 2020
Location: Messe Frankfurt - Forum, Frankfurt, Germany


Moogfest
Official Website: https://www.moogfest.com/
16 April - 19th April, 2020
Durham, NC, USA


Ableton Loop event
https://loop.ableton.com/2018/live/
https://www.ableton.com/en/blog/loop/
https://loop.ableton.com/2020/
Berlin April 24-26 2020


Superbooth
Official Website: https://www.superbooth.com/en/landing.html
https://www.superbooth.com/en/
Thu, 23 Apr 2020 – Sat, 25 Apr 2020
Location: FEZ-Berlin, Berlin, Germany


---------------------------------
May


Synthfest France (https://www.synthfestfrance.com/
Nantes, France
22/23/24 May 2020

-------------------------------------------
June
July
----------------------
August

Modular Day, Barcelona
https://www.facebook.com/ModulardayBCN/
30/31 August 2019

KISS2019 - Kyma International Sound Symposium
https://kiss2019.symbolicsound.com/
August/Sept 29/1
 -----------------------------------------------------------
Sept

Knobcon
Official Website: https://www.knobcon.com/
Sept 6/8, 2019
Chicago

Dutch Modular Fest
https://www.dutchmodularfest.com/ 
Sept 27.28, 2019


New England Synthesizer Festival
https://www.facebook.com/events/2324604164460137
Sept 28, 2019
 -----------------------------------------------------

October

Synth Fest UK
https://www.synthfest.co.uk/ 
Sheffield
Oct 5, 2019


Zurich Modular
http://zurichmodular.ch/
Oct, 18-19, 2019
-------------------------------------------------------
November

Tokyo Festival of Modular
http://tfom.info/
16/17 Nov, 2019

 Dallas Synth Meet
https://www.facebook.com/DFWSynths/
Nov, 10, 2019

Soundmit
Turin, Italy
https://www.soundmit.com/en
02/03 Nov, 2019
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December



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Yoyogi Park Tokyo

November 23, 2019, 9:55 am
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If you're staying in Shibuya and have a few spare hours a great place to visit is Yoyogi Park.
It's adjacent to Harajuku Station and Meiji Shrine.

It was actually just a short walk from our hotel (Hotel Emit) in Shibuya ... just follow the train line to 5G mUSIC Technology (synthesizer store).
 5G (as most stores in Tokyo) open in the afternoon, so if you need to kill time in the morning, the park is a great place to do this.

This is the entrance (#Torii) gate.... it's a border between the secular or mundane world and the sacred....
 Most Shinto shrines have this gate.
It's a distinguishing feature between the Shinto shrine and the Buddist temple.
There is a special way to walk through the shrine... you must bow once, then walk through the side , not the centre.
The centre of the pathway through the shrine is considered to be for the kami (gods).




aVoid the centre as you walk down the path. Its 1km to the main building.




Meiji Jingu - Established on the 1st Nov 1920 ... nearly 100 years old.
It's a "man made" forest , planned to be a "real" forest in 100 years.
The forest is a shrine for national prayer and peace.

The shrine building was lost during WWII (fire) but was rebuilt in 1958.

The inner garden is 173 acres. The outer garden is 74 acres.
























 

 Wedding
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New Sound Waves Modular Meet

November 23, 2019, 10:01 am
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There is a NSW Synthesizer modular meeting  coming in 1 week.



To be held at 107 Projects gallery , 107 Redfern St, Redfern.

Sat , Nov 30 .
5.00pm to 8.00pm

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mnk

November 23, 2019, 10:01 am
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Mori Tower - Roppongi - Tokyo, Japan

November 30, 2019, 3:52 pm
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Some pics of the Mori Tower / building (situated in the Roppongi Hills District) and the surrounding area

It's a great place to hand around, to see & be seen.

Some views:





Construction OF THE TOWER started in 2000.
The architect is Kohn Pedersen Fox (US based).
 They did the Chifley Tower, in Sydney, and the Marina Bay Financial Centre, Singapore


 AS far as I know, this is all family owned. The Mori company was founded by Taikichiro Mori,
(an economics professor). He became the richest man in the world in 1992 with net worth of 13 billion.
(at the time Bill Gates was worth 3 billion).

Anyway, the main reason I visited was the art gallery. This was sadly closed.
However, the views from the 52nd floor are magnificent, and well worth the 20AUD ticket.




















bELOW is the National Art Center






cOUldn't resist.
A fitting final last Japanese meal 

Just like the pic
Cheers Terry.




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Suzanne Ciani - Penderecki - Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima

November 30, 2019, 3:53 pm
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I was listening to a podcast this morning ... The Source of Uncertanity... episode 2
(It's a great series BTW and I highly recommend you subscribe).

Kyle & Robert were interviewing Suzanne Ciani and the question came up about how electronic instruments interact with live traditional orchestras. She mentioned a classical piece by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki and (if my interpertation is correct) ...how his methods could be used to score electronic music.
 It's titled: "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima"
The piece is 8 and a half minutes long (it was originally titled 8'37") and belongs to what was in the 1960s  a new approach to music composition. The name "Sonorism" was coined. This non traditional type of composition  focuses very much on timbre, texture, motion, articulation & dynamics. We all know how these characteristics are fundamental to electronic musicians. The piece uses 52 string instruments (mostly violins) but I can easily see how these could be swapped.

"Sonorism emphasizes discovering new types of sounds from traditional instruments, as well as the creation of textures by combining different, often unconventional instrumental sounds in unusual and unique ways. The term sonoristics is used to describe this novel approach, which went beyond merely injecting individual color, quirks, and experimentation. It aimed to establish new structural functions in a composition, such as employing non-functional chords for sonorous effects, and emphasizing the sonic aspect of texts in vocal music" (Granat 2008). 


Suzanne's interperation was facinating.

"Don B was adamant about the danger of associating a keyboard with the Buchla instrument as it short circuited the whole concept of the instrument". (Suzanne Ciani)

Listen to this piece by Suzanne {Seven waves). She is a classically trained pianist, and this is one of her solutions to (in her own words) "fuse her classical melodic roots with her electronic vocabulary.........
This was a composition with a score".


 Getting back to Penderecki.
"It has an electronic sensibility but it is done with acoustic instruments.   (but) the language is electronic.
...... The score is graphic..... and the conductor is the key to getting it all to gel." (Suzanne C)

So what did Suzanne mean by "a graphic score"?
The problem with sonorist music is that it's difficult to score using traditional notation.
How do you write a score recording changes in timbre? So Penderecki constructed a road map of sound.
Here there are no conventional bar lines or time signatures. Rather, the music is divided into intervals of real time (seconds).  Notes are often assigned to individual players. Players, are often assigned to groups to create "sound clusters".

-------------------------------------------------------
Citations:
Adrian Thomas. “Penderecki, Krzysztof.” Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed April 5, 2015, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.fsu.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/21246.
Jan Topolski. “Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima.” Culture.pl. Accessed April 5, 2015, http://culture.pl/en/work/threnody-to-the-victims-of-hiroshima-krzysztof-penderecki
---------------------------------------
Listen to Robert’s music at:
https://mutierend.bandcamp.com/releases
Listen to Kyle’s music at:
https://darksparkler.bandcamp.com/

For more information on Suzanne Ciani visit her website:https://www.sevwave.com/
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Synths in Wollongong - Prosound & Lighting

December 4, 2019, 7:02 pm
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Prosound & Lighting are holding a synthesizer event in 2 days in Wollongong
(Sat the 7th December). Starts at 2pm.
Bring a synth if you'd like to perform. It.s an open event. Doesn't have to be modular.


There will be live performances on all types of synthesizers (modular, non-modular, keyboards, drum machines, etc).


Prosound held a similar event in 2017 which was very successful.

This is a family event and will be held in the carpark of the Pro-sound showroom in Flinders Street Wollongong.

Starting time : 2.30 pm
Finishing time : 6.00pm

Contact:
Claude Spinelli
Prosound
16 Flinders St, Wollongong NSW 2500
Phone: (02) 4226 1177


Links:
+ New Sound Waves
+ Prosound & Lighting, Wollongong... Website
+ Prosound FaceBook
+ Face Book event page
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ljk

December 4, 2019, 7:02 pm
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kjhfkl

December 13, 2019, 11:54 pm
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bEASTEK - pIXEL dRUM 1.3

December 13, 2019, 11:55 pm
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sOME pics of the building of a Pixel Drum.
This is a Eurorack module I've bought as a kit.


It's a 12bit drum voice. I'm hoping it can also double as a  compact synth voice.
There are 32 different algorithms.




All parts supplied. :-)




I am not associated with Beastek. These pics are unofficial.
The official website with The BOM and official build notes can be found here:
http://www.beast-tek.com/pixel-drum.html

The two PCBs are connected via headers

 I like to solder these early in the build phase.



jACKS, ETC ... getting ready for attaching the front plate.


sTART soldering the pots and jacks once the plate is attached.

pcb 2

DIODES (ZIENER) & inductor

getting there ...

more diodes & ferric beads.









Notes:
+ All about inductors

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DAFM synth - DIY build notes

December 14, 2019, 12:04 am
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My unofficial build notes for the DAFM synth.


I am in no way associated with the developer. These are just my personal build notes to help me trouble shoot, should I have any problems.
The  designer isKASSER SYNTHS from Spain.


The DAFM uses the YM2612(OPN2) and it's CMOS variant the YM3438.
The 2612 was used in arcade machines, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis home game console (1988), and the Fujitsu FM Towns (1989)
It's a FM/PCM hybrid chip
The chip can have either 5 or 6 FM channels.
 (5 FM channels with 1 PCM or 6 channels without PCM)
   The YM2612 has six channels with four operators per channel.




tHE build is super easy. All parts are supplied and well labelled. If you can follow a recipe and know how to hold a soldering iron, you can build this.



 There are  8 algorithms. The envelopes, frequencies and LFOs can be changed to get a good range of FM sounds.

The midi section is on the top left. A standard DIN connector.
 Thats a MPR121 breakout pcb on the lower right.
It's a capacitive touch sensor controller driven by an I2C interface... probably what controls the cube keyboard.
Presets can be saved in the RAM memory or in a SD card as DMP files that can be opened with VGM trackers like Deflemask.


The top right section... LD33V power regulator & USB - type B, female.
The USB connector is  the power supply of the DAFM synth
The  LD33V powers the touch sensor


Also added the two lower encoders.
These are used to move through the DAFM Synth menus.

That pink board is the audio preamp.


The 8 MHz Crystal oscillator ... for the timing.
keep the dot on the bottom left.

This second pink PCB is a multiplexer.
It lies between the SD card & the DIN socket.

This TCA9548 I2C Multiplexer connects to the four OLED displays.
The four OLED displays share the same I2C address.


Next solder the four 0.96 I2C Monochrome OLED displays.


Now its time for the  STM32F103C8T6.
It's an arduino micro-controller of course






iT'S A wonderful thing when you see the synth power up on the first attempt.



Links
+ buy on tindie
+ Youtube - menu
+ Build instructions 
+ Wikipedia - YM2612 
+ Yamaha FM chips
 
----------------------------
FM Index
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ProSound and Lighting - Wollongong synthesizer event

December 14, 2019, 2:28 am
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Synths in the Carpark

Some pics from last Saturday.
Thanks to Claude Spinelly of Prosound & Lighting , Wollongong for hosting this event.
Awesome sets and gear.

AE modular & Korg Electribe


The 5th Volt


...





The Kitchen Patcher

Post Global Disorder

PGD




Rodney






VITALS


V




Adam














Videos to come.
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lj

December 25, 2019, 3:19 pm
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DFAM - user guide

December 25, 2019, 3:19 pm
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My personal manual for the DAFM.
I'll add to this as I explore the synth.
Please let me know if I have made any mistakes or omissions.

There are 6 levels (menus)
1. Feedback & Algorithm selection
2. Frequency ratios and operator tuning / detuning
3. ADSR Envelopes
4. LFOs
5. SSG envelope generator
6. patches/presets & midi channels
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Feedback & Algorithm selection




There are 2 types of operators: carriers & modulators
Carriers: (you hear these)

Modulators: (they modulate of course)

The left knob controls feedback.

Right knob chooses the algorithm (there are 8 to pick).
Picking the correct algorithm is probably the most important part about FM sound design.
As the chip is from Yamaha I expected the algorithms to be the same as some old Yamaha synths.
I wasn't disappointed.
Below is a chart from a Yamaha DX100.


Now here is my version of the DAFM synth using these same algorithms


On the DAFM, algorithm 7 has all operators as carriers.... it's basically additive synthesis.
On the DAFM Algorithm 4 has 2 modulators & 2 carriers. It's a good one for Bass sounds.

There are 4 main types of algorithm:
a. Stacked... one or more modulators connected in series to a single carrier (algo 0)
 (These are used for orchestra sounds ... piano, brass, string)
b. Branched... multiple modulators connected to a single carrier (algo 1, 2, 3, )
   This is good for bass sounds.
c. Root.... single modulator connected to multiple carriers (algo 5)
    Vibe sound 
d. Carrier only .... multiple operators in the carrier position (algo 6, 7)

For pad/drone, organ like sounds, I like to use more carriers and less modulators. ... thus use DAFM algorthm 7. A bit of detuning between the carriers can thicken things up. Think of each operator as different organ “stops,” which can be mixed togetheras desired
For something bell / metallic, I tend to go for something with two modulators and a carrier. 

2. Frequency ratios and operator tuning / detuning
     Here you can create some harmonic & non harmonic overtones.





     range: 0.5:1 to 15:1



3. ADSR Envelopes
    These are amplitude envelopes I think


These are very similar to your old fashioned ADSRs



4. LFOs
    You can adjust the LFO for each operator.

You can adjust the frequency (Hz), amplitude sensitivity (percent) & amplitude amount(dB).

5. SSG envelope generator
    The SSG (Software-Controlled Sound Generator)
    is an NMOS-LSI device designed to be capable of music generation. 
   


This appears to be connected to the ADSR envelope in menu 3 & LFO in menu 4.
It effects how they are repeated.



6. patches/presets & midi channels

You can save your presets to the RAM or SD card (the right screens)
You can recall your presets from the RAM or SD card (the left screens)
It looks like you can load/recall 6 presets to the RAM and 6 to the SD card. ???

....

tHIS setting to save to cell 1 (ram)
///

This setting to save preset to cell 4 in the RAM

Use this setting to save to SD card

Use this setting to load from SD card

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Turing Tumble

December 25, 2019, 3:19 pm
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I got this for Christmas.

It's a game & it's also a mechanical computer driven by marbles. Invented by Prof. Paul Boswell, who used to teach at the University of Minnesota,.

Rather than use electronic components like most modern computers, this uses gears and levers.
It should be a fun way to teach basic programming which I can hopefully (somehow) apply to synths.

Computers in general can be either analog or digital.
This distinction also applies to mechanical computers.
They have been around for ages.
 Below is  the famous Antikythera mechanism.
It's an ancient Greek mechanical computerused to predict astronomical positions 


 They are analog when they use smooth mechanisms such as curved plates or slide rules for computations. They are digital when they use gears.

The Turing Tumble uses gears and is apparently "Turing Complete". This means it can do anything a computer can do - or at least it could if the board were big enough.



..
Basically, a Turing machine is a "finite state machine" with the ability to read and write data to a "tape".
It can also stop or halt – it may not sound important, but this ability attracts a great deal of attention.

Links
+ What is a Turing Machine
+ tURING Machines explained visually
+ Stanford Uni
+ Turing Tumble VR
+ Dr Nim
+ Hackerday
+ Digi-Comp 1
+ Nim

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Merry Christmas

December 25, 2019, 3:25 pm
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Multiplexing and synths

January 11, 2020, 11:38 am
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In your DIY synthsizer endeavours the topic of multipliexers will come up.
They are basically multiple input & single output switches.
(or single input, multi out ).
They are useful in synths, as you can control them with voltages.
On a macro level, a sequential switch module  is a good example of a multipliexer.
Below is a Doepfer 151 which is such a module. 

It allows you to route one source to one of many destinations
or route one of many sources to a single destination.

You can use the 151 to route the 3 eight step sequencers into different combinations.
Setting the toggle switch to 2, 3 or 4 steps will change the sequence length.

On a micro / integrated circuit level there are a number of decent ICs which are good to keep in your box of tricks. They are often referred to as a Mux or a demux (demultiliexer).
They can be analog, in which case it's very similar to an analog switch; but they can also be entirely digital, built from logic gates.
 A mux is a bit like the mechanical rotary switch above except it's digitally controlled.

Like standard switches, manufacturers often refer to the number of poles & throws when classifying them
EG: The 74HC4067; 74HCT4067 is a single-pole 16-throw analog switch (SP16T) 


 It has 4 inputs (s0, S1, S2, S3).
It has 16 outputs (Y01 to Y15).

A demux is  simply the reverse of a mux. It takes a single input and selects one of multiple outputs. A multiplexer is often used with a complementary demultiplexer on the receiving end.
Chaining multipliexers is commonly done in electronics to construct large multipliexers from smaller ones. These switches have a limited current carrying capacity when you compare them to standard switches, but they have the advantage that you can open & close them with digital logic voltages.


List of Multipliexer ICs
74157     Quad 2:1 mux.     Output same as input given
74158     Quad 2:1 mux.     Output is inverted input
74153     Dual 4:1 mux.     Output same as input
74352     Dual 4:1 mux.     Output is inverted input
74151A     8:1 mux.     Both outputs available (i.e., complementary outputs)
74051     8:1 mux.     Output is inverted input (CD 4051)
74052   Dual 4 channel (two 4 way switches)
74053  Three 2 way switches
x4066  four logic controlled single-pole, single-throw switches in one intergated circuit.
x4067    Single 16-Channel Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (74HC4067)
74150     16:1 mux.     Output is inverted input
74HC4067    16:1 mux
DG 506B     16-channel single-ended analog multiplexer (See NLC 32:1)
DG 408  (DG stands for Double-Gate .... its a CMOS chip)
                8 channel single-ended analog multiplexer. (NLCStatues - build notes)
DG 508    Multiplexer Switch IC.  8:1 CMOS Mid Voltage MUX (NLCStatues - build notes)

The CD405x, CDx4HC405x and CDx4HCT405x devices are digitally controlled analog switches that use silicon gate CMOS technology.
They are bidirectional switches that allow any analog input to be used as an output and vice versa.
My favourite multiplex ICs are the CD4051, CD4052, & CD4053 . You can do a lot with just these.

The 4051 is a single eight-way multiplexer, the 4052 has two four-way multiplexers, and the 4053 has three two-way switches. Below are some examples I've found used in the synth world.

4051 -  (CD4051, 74HC4051, HCF4051...)
            Eight channel multiplexer having three binary control inputs, A, B, and C, and an inhibit
            input. The three binary signals select 1 of 8 channels to be turned on,and 
            connect one of the 8 inputs to the output.
            Fairlight CMI IIx - Switched resistor filter
            Ciat-Lonbarde - Tetrazzi 
            Ciat Lonbarde - Paper Circuit -Terazzi organus
            Buchla 312 Gating module

4052 -  (HEF4052, CD4052, 74HC4052, MC14052, MC4052...)
            Dual 4 channel multiplexer, having two binary control inputs, A and B, and an inhibit input.
            The two binary input signals select 1 of 4 pairs of channels to be turned on and connect 
            the analog inputs to the outputs.
                                                    (NLC 4SEQ) 
                                                       (Null A)
                                                      Bindubba sequencer
                                                      Vectrex Video Game 
                                                     Ciat Lonbarde - Master Brando - Paper Circuit 

4053 -  (HEF4053, CD4053, MC14053, 74HC4053...
               The CD4053B is a triple 2-Channel multiplexer having three separate digital 
                control inputs, A, B, and C, and an inhibit input. Each control input selects one 
               of a pair of channels which are connected in a single-pole, double-throw configuration

List of De-muxiplexers
74139         Dual 1:4 demux.     Output is inverted input
74156         Dual 1:4 demux.     Output is open collector
74138         1:8 demux.     Output is inverted input
74238         1:8 demux.    
74154         1:16 demux.     Output is inverted input
74159     CD4514/15     1:16 demux.     Output is open collector and same as input



Buchla 312

NLC 32:1

Driscoll

Links
+ CMOS & Lunetta synths
+ DIY index
+ Multiplexing for beginners (Youtube)
+ nONLinearCircuits 32:1 - build notes
+ NLC. Statues - build notes
+ NLC Router
+ NLC Chopper

If you find any mistakes, or omissions please let me know.
I'll update the article accordingly. Happy New Year.
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ljgj

January 11, 2020, 10:18 am
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Ha Long Bay - Vietnam 2019 - 20

January 18, 2020, 9:56 pm
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This was  a great place to wish in a Happy New Year.




Thumbs up for the Vietnamese red wine. 

I must go to Dilat one day.






Limestone caves





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Synstrom Deluge world tour 2020

January 19, 2020, 2:32 am
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Looking forward to this:


The world tour is to celebrate the release of a record  featuring 26 songs from deluge users from all over the world.
What is, you might ask, a Deluge ?

It's one of these:


 It's a sampler, synth, workstation.
I love it.


Tour details at: https://synthstrom.com/?p=17085
EVENTS: https://www.facebook.com/pg/synthstromaudible/events/
Artwork by Matt Limmer

 I will probably perform a set.
The idea is the organisers supply a Deluge, and you the performer just bring a SD card with your tunes.

The Sydney event is:

Sydney
The PBC
77 Brighton St, Petersham NSW
thepbc.org.au
March 13, 2020
Party 8pm
Facebook Event
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