#monosynth

[ymofan04]

Roland SH-101

[synthtv]

Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2 monosynth and Elektron Machinedrum

[tom2tec]

Nekobi ~ Single Oscillator Synth

Simple single-oscillator synth based on the Roland TB-303. github.com/DISTRHO/Nekobi A softsynth recreation of a classic single-oscillator bass monosynth. github.com/gordonjcp/nekobee

[corduroyinstitute]

Tuesday, November 27, 2018: Five years ago today, Corduroy Institute convened at the O' Higgins Laboratory of Recorded Sound to create Corduroy 19.

The piece centered around a rhythmic eight-step sequence on the Korg Monlogue, the first of only two instances of using that specific monosynth's unique sequencer. W. Ruiz sent the MIDI Out on the synthesizer to send clock data to control the timing of the Korg Electribe ES-1's drum pattern. S.A. Morin, meanwhile, played the Bass VI with the Boss LMB-2 bass compressor and the Boss DM-2w delay. These elements constituted the rhythmic foundation of the song.

For melodic content, W. Ruiz ran the Korg Volca FM through the Electribe ES-1 to add live decimator and delay effects, a technique previously explored on "Soft Light and Loneliness" from our second EP. At times the delay added an element which our journal classified as "reggae chords."

S.A. Morin also took the opportunity to use a guitar which has rarely featured on Corduroy Institute recordings: the Schecter Omen-6. Our notes indicate that this guitar was processed with the Boss TE-2 Tera Echo, Boss DC-3 Digital Dimension, NUX Atlantic, TC Electronic Crescendo and the Deadbeat Sound Thank You. Notably, however, this guitar was not in standard tuning—it was set to G# C# C# F B D#. The notes indicate that W. Ruiz also overdubbed some guitar work at the end of the piece, but this was not included in the final mix.

We then crafted lyrics for this improvised musical piece. It is notable to see how the cut-ups from the B. Davis Archive contain textual elements of varying sizes. This visually striking array of large and small text is unusual in our history, though a few songs from the forthcoming Take the Train to Manchester album did display this pattern.

We sang a rough set of vocals, but the final vocals would have to be completed on December 15, 2018, at the Bancroft Laboratory of Auditory Sciences. Corduroy 19 eventually became "Unfocused Subjects Fused," the third song on our mini-album Abruptly Forgetting We Never Were... from January 2019.

Today, we invite you to revisit this little-known catalog entry in our discography.

https://corduroyinstitute.bandcamp.com/album/abruptly-forgetting-we-never-were?t=3

https://youtu.be/j1EMwZ9LCeg?si=E4o55e0q782UuKtH

https://music.apple.com/us/album/unfocused-subjects-fused/1449236688?i=1449236693

https://tidal.com/browse/track/102250975

https://open.spotify.com/track/7xlX4RH7yfGooPrhX2hMRF

#CorduroyInstitute #experimentalpop #Corduroy19 #noisepop #shoegaze #dreampop #korgmonologue #alternatetunings #synthesizer #drummachine #ElectribeEs1 #volcaFM #BassVI #SchecterOmen6 #UnfocusedSubjectsFused #AbruptlyForgettingWeNeverWere

[vizreef]

Michigan Synth Works MSW-810m // monosynth (US, 2022)

Roland CMU-810 clone

[kuliak]

Deeper diving into animating the monosynth, and going from jam to song.

There's not a lot to say about this patch that hasn't been covered by other recent posts, in terms of signal flow. Milky way continues to impress me as a space effect for this smaller case, and Tete offers so many fascinating ways to play and sequence, really just a joy to play. Not every controller is a winner, but once you add something truly playable to the ecosystem, it changes the way you interact with and think about your instrument. I feel about it how I did when I brought in Constellation and Maestro. The three of them together I really think make the ideal core brain that can be be anywhere from programmable to performable.

[taperwolf]

Just having repeating loops really makes this stuff more music-like.

(I believe this is my homemade monosynth voice plus Brains/Plaits, run by Chaos/Marbles.)

[thekingofgear]

Jonny's Drum Machines with Dudu Tassa

A screenshot of Jonny from the Jarak Qaribak album teaser video.

After seeing Jonny play Dudu Tassa's super rare Fender "Nocaster", you might expect Jonny to use a drum machine even rarer than the old CR-78. In fact, his setup is surprisingly modern and super portable. It consists of a Roland T-8 beat machine and a Moog DFAM semi-modular drum synth. Both are units with "live" panel controls. Although the Roland has preset rhythms, the knobs on both units are hard-wired: what you see is what you get. That means any "automation" needs to be dialed in by hand.

The T-8 is designed to be a portable "best of" Roland rhythm boxes, with digital emulations of the 808 kick, 606 snare, TB-303 monosynth, etc. Regardless of the technology, the kick and snare at the start of Ya Mughir al-Ghazala certainly have that "Roland' sound. Given the borrowed guitar, it seems that Jonny didn't want to travel with a bunch of gear for this project. The T-8 is certainly much smaller than the vintage TR-909 that Jonny uses with Radiohead, let alone his modular. It's easy to imagine Jonny working out some of the beats on the T-8 during his flight over.

The T-8 has a few patch points for sync, mixing, headphones, and MIDI. On both Ya Mughir al-Ghazala and Taq ou Dub, Jonny has a yellow patch cable from the "Sync Out" on the Roland to the "Adv / Clock" input on the Moog, allowing him to use the Roland as his main clock. That's convenient since the T-8 has a BPM display. Jonny also uses the mix/headphone out to send his signal to the mixer (via one of the many blue DI boxes). He's not using the MIDI input on the Roland, which means he's in full control of tempo for the group whenever he uses the drum boxes.

As you might expect from a semi-modular, the DFAM is more flexible than the Roland in the range of sounds it can create. There's a patch cable routed from what looks to be the "VCO 1" output to "Velocity" input, adding some extra movement to the sound. Jonny devotes himself to the device on Taq ou Dub, only taking his hands off the device to play a few brief guitar arpeggios (and to adjust the Roland's hihat). It's worth noting that Jonny's DFAM is fitted with one of the "preset" overlays that come stock in the box with the unit. The youtube channel "Kilombo audio" made a demo of all the preset sounds, if you want to guess which overlays Jonny might be starting from.

In this screenshot from Taq ou Dub, the bend edge of an overlay on the DFAM is clearly visible.

Jonny adjusting the "VCA Decay" control during Taq ou Dub. Not the blue patch cable connecting the DFAM's "VCO 1" output to "Velocity" input — that's one way to add some automation.

[synths-and-sensibility]

It's almost July, which means I can think about my monthly toy budget and there's a *lot* of stuff I wanna make that I'm totally not going to have time for, so I really shouldn't get all the supplies at once

- power supply for case (the micronova is fine until I build up my power needs)

- sequencer (I still have a ton I can work on virtually and I don't even have anything to sequence*... or anything to drive it)

- clock (this one's actually furthest along conceptually, I think I only need a rotary encoder for it... but I don't have anything to clock)

- poorly defined DSP project (I am planning to order a teensy soon and start playing with it during summer vacations, will it probably be the prototyping platform for granular, reverb, delay/chorus, karplus-strong... etc)

- mixer + output (line and headphone outputs... possibly audio interface and/or recording too, yet another teensy project)

- I still need to finish the monosynth voice, the core of the DCO is mostly complete, but she needs tweaks and also input/output processing. Then I gotta do VCA, function generator, I really should do a filter or three at some point...

- also, my oscilloscope is being a brat, so let's throw that on the list too

(*I say nothing to sequence, but it would be crazy easy to incorporate a midi USB interface, also there's a lot of codependencies here, like I need x for y and y for x, I'm trying to serialize my workload to keep it mentally manageable, but there's sooooo much to do before I have a functional instrument)

[kushblazer666]

fucked up that 3Oh!3 is named after an area code not the monosynth

[synthtv]

Yamaha's Coolest Monosynth

[aarix]

Why the hell do I own a monosynth but no drum machine. It's ok though because I can turn it into an inferior drum machine anyway by sketchily repurposing its disparate oscillators. You will listen to my noise hi hat and sine kick and you will like it.

[baglsasha]

u don't need a eurorack u need a basic monosynth and 5 fuzz pedals

[meksynthesis]

Nord Drum 3p - A Six Part Mono Synth!

an interesting take on using the nord drum 3p as a monosynth

note: setup for this might be really tricky as the midi setup is pretty arcane if you're not on global channel 10

[musicarenagh]

Debut Single 'Carousel' Unveiled: An Interview with Paul Clare Guys, have you checked out Paul Clare's new song "Carousel"? It's his first single and it's pretty wild. This London guy has managed to mix old-school songwriting with a modern twist, and it really works. The track is like a rollercoaster - it's got these killer riffs and huge choruses that'll stick in your head. Clare's voice is unique too, kind of intense but in a good way. It fits perfectly with the song's vibe. True to its name, "Carousel" keeps spinning through different styles. Just when you think you've got it figured out, it changes again. That chorus though - it hits hard and feels so satisfying. They've put out a music video too, which is just as crazy as the song. It's all quick cuts and flashy visuals that match the energy of the track. If this is what Paul Clare's bringing to the table right out of the gate, I'm definitely curious to see what he does next. "Carousel" is a solid start for sure. We had an interview with the artiste behind this masterpiece and he revealed a lot about himself and whats next for him, join us as we delve deeper into his life. Listen to Carousel https://soundcloud.com/paul-clare-694010217/carousel?utm_source=clipboard&utm_campaign=wtshare&utm_medium=widget&utm_content=https%253A%252F%252Fsoundcloud.com%252Fpaul-clare-694010217%252Fcarousel Follow Paul Clare on Soundcloud Where do you find inspiration? It sounds unoriginal, but it sort of finds me. Music and words have flooded into my mind from somewhere since I was 7 years old. I’ve never consciously sat down to write anything. Melodies spring out at completely random moments. I can be out shopping, and suddenly need to find a quiet aisle to sing something into my phone recorder. What was the role of music in the early years of your life? My family didn’t listen to music at all, and I had very limited, passive exposure to it. Soundtracks on films, or advert jingles. I didn’t know released music even existed until I started secondary school. Are you from a musical or artistic family? Not at all, though other branches of the family were. My great aunt was a classical pianist and tutor, and older cousins were packed off for lessons with her – utterly hating it. I saw a piano for the first time when I was 9, and immediately started picking out tunes on the keys, before being told to get off in case I broke it! How did you learn to sing/write/to play? I’m still learning, and hopefully always will. When I was 18 I bought my first keyboard – an old Korg monosynth. Guitar came later. Nowadays there’s a million youtube tutorials, but back then the only way to learn was from someone who already knew how to, which I didn’t have. So it was very intuitive, just picking out what sounded right. What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform? I grew up in a small town where no band would ever play. When I was 17 I went to Blackpool (nearest large town) to see a band called The Icicle Works, who’d had a few hits in the 80s. The energy and connection to the music was transformational! A complete awakening. [caption id="attachment_56116" align="alignnone" width="2000"] I grew up in a small town where no band would ever play. When I was 17 I went to Blackpool (nearest large town) to see a band called The Icicle Works, who’d had a few hits in the 80s[/caption] How could you describe your music? Dense. It’s a wall of sound not by being loud, but from many intertwining musical phrases played on different instruments. I can’t stop adding more layers and harmonies. The production phase has a lot of thinning out to create dynamics. I’m trying to work on some quieter things too. What musician do you admire most and why? It's hard to single out one person, but I’ll say Kate Bush. While commercially successful, she always stuck to her creative vision, and incorporated more and more experimentalism into her work as she grew. The Ninth Wave, from the Hounds of Love, is one of the most wonderful and inspiring pieces of music ever.

Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career? I think the music I’m making now is what I’ve always aspired to. Learning DAW software, with infinite channels, has just finally made it possible. If I was in a band, playing each part individually, it would need 20 members! If it wasn't a music career, what would you be doing? Unfortunately, a career in music has always been the dream of many and attained by very few. There’s thousands of songwriters and musicians out there who put their music second purely because it’s next to impossible to make a living out of. I work in IT as a ‘day job’. What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music? Time!! I have children, and they rightly get my attention first. That and not being a trained or technically great musician. Not reading music, my composition notes would be indecipherable to anyone else. If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be? I think it’s changing in very good ways now. The ability for artists to self-release directly to potential fans has exploded compared to a few years go. Streaming payments are pitiful (and always have been), but they’re great exposure for building a fan base which could support the artist with vinyl releases, etc. https://soundcloud.com/paul-clare-694010217 Why did you choose this as the title of this project? “Carousel” describes the process of going through different relationships in life – romantic or friendships. At the start especially they can be dizzying, like whirling around on a funfair ride, and it’s difficult to see clearly. The more we emotionally invest in a relationship, the bigger the disappointment they can be if we’re not aware of the projections we naturally overlay onto others. What are your plans for the coming months? There isn’t a firm plan, but I have a second single recorded to release in the Autumn. Hopefully that will see whether there’s enough interest to record an album. I have 14 songs completed & ready to go - if anyone wants to hear them..? What message would you like to give to your fans? This is probably the best time ever to be a fan of music. Love it, live it, let it consume you. Seek out and embrace new sounds and music will reward you. It is out there, so never settle for what’s unimaginative or been done a million times before

[kuliak]

Traditional, decaying.

Learning the ropes of Magneto with a small dedicated monosynth - though I think I'll enjoy it even more when it's fully incorporated to my system. For now, we're very classic - VCO, VCF, VCA, delay, reverb, keyboard. Add in an arpeggiator and Planar for a little more expression and we're off to the races.

Pleasing, warm, especially melodic ambience here, with a little tape decay.