Oberheim Matrix-6 Sound Check

I am currently building a set of patches for the Oberheim Matrix-6/6R/1000. Here is a sound test of the first set of patches. A few sounds will be those translated from the Matrix-12 which has very much of the same character. It shouldn't be surprising since they seem to share the same software DNA and extreme mod routing that makes these sounds possible. I'm using an instrument editor I found on the internet in Cubase SX3. Here's the exact one I'm using and is working quite well. I still need to do the Mod Matrix routing from the synth but the editor makes the patching much easier.

Anthem

Anthem is a driving synthesizer jubilee celebrating the near completion of a 5-year album project. The audio is the final processed version. This track will be available for download soon at http:gstorm.bandcamp.com

Checking in

Yep it's been a while since my last post. A few things happening at the moment, but very quickly...
- Sold the Wavestation. I wanted to explore the wavetable aspect but found it a bit redundant (as I might have expected) already having the PPG Wave 2.v plugin which I highly recommend. Haven't tried the 3.v yet.
- Speaking of wavetables, for anyone skeptical of their sonics being too harsh I've been going back to the old Fixx track Deeper & Deeper. That sound is absolutely bonkers. And of course not forgetting Thomas Dolby's Windpower. Anyone who knows of more excellent examples feel free to reply!
- Finally had a chance locally to audition the Minibrute monosynth, and after three days of tinkering in the store went ahead and picked one up. Been wanting a couple of monos for a while. Also turning quite blue holding my breath for the release of the MS 20 mini on pre-order.
- Recording a bit of a different track for me called Anthem. I've been using the catchy chord progressions in some video demos for the RE-20 and the String Concerto II plugin. Throwing everything at it but the kitchen sink: Jupiter-6 leads and arpeggios, Matrix-12 bass, VP-330, Andromeda...it's all sounding very sexy.
- Speaking of plugins the String Concerto II and VSP-330r2 will be re-posted soon, more details to come on my other blog.

Magnum

5 months since my last track.  Dark.  Blues.  Mesmerizing.  Magnum features a haunting melody,  downtempo rhythms at 70 bpm, and my first turn on guitar in many years.  I had spent a month and a half going down the wrong road at 90 bpm but wasn't feeling it at all.  So I actually scrapped the whole piece starting over.  It was worth it.  The second time around textures were built up around a simple piano melody coursing with vinyl-grit.  The TX81Z FM synth part at 0:53 is a crazy patch I conjured for a demo of the synth called DrtySecret, and knew at the time I had the starting point for this track.  While the drums are basic, I had spent a great deal of time in BFD getting them to sound big but not too busy.  As always the analog synths had to be in there.  There's quite a bit of Matrix-12, VP-330, a bass part from the Jupiter-6.  Continuing to push myself outside of my comfort zone with some simple ambient guitar textures drenched in Eventide Timefactor, and a short guitar lead part going through a ProCo Rat.  I had been practicing with a Fender Strat for a while now, and starting to trust it from a songwriting standpoint more and more.

Download Links Are Back

My apologies for taking so long to get these back up.  I will be using this post to manage my download links.  As files are added or updated it will all happen right here.

My selected synthesizer patches.
Oberheim Matrix-12/Xpander
Avid/M-Audio Venom
Alesis Andromeda

Update from the studio

First I want to thank everyone for their feedback on my synth tutorials. Making these videos takes quite a bit of time but felt strongly they were worthwhile in helping others get the most out of these synths. It is greatly rewarding to hear from you. And now the holidays are upon us, always a busy time. While I am toiling with vexing electronic file delivery issues for my plugins, some other interesting things are going on.

Recently acquired a standard Korg Wavestation keyboard and exploring some of its potential. As with many synths of this age it needed a new lithium battery which was a very simple process. Alas, the Wavestation also had to be completely disassembled to have the tactile switches cleaned. The backlight has also gone out on it causing a faint whine of the current driver not pushing anything. This hasn't stopped me from programming the synth so I'll probably ignore the issue for now.

Lastly, I am recording a new track called Magnum, which has been kicking my ass for some time but making great strides now. To me some of the greatest works in art and music have been labored tirelessly over a period of time.

Alesis Andromeda Tutorial 5 - Tempo-Synchronization

Diving into the Andromedas arpeggiator or sequencer can sometimes be unpredictable. Sometimes they seem to do something unexpected, or worse, nothing at all. Hopefully this tutorial will be able to shed some light on the Andromedas tempo-synchronization functions.

CONTENTS
0:05 Introduction and The Clock Module
1:16 LFOs
3:27 Patch: LFO SWEEPMATIC
5:26 Arpeggiator
7:25 Sequencer
9:05 Patch: RAPID TRANSIT
11:21 Tempo Synchronizing the Digital Delay Effects

Peavey DSC-4 Dual Clock Stereo Chorus Pedal

This is a quick demonstration of the Peavey DSC-4 Dual Clock Stereo Chorus.  I stumbled across this pink nightmare in a second hand store for cheap.  It was hard to pass up being an analog pedal.  And holy sh*t it's made in USA.  After my not finding any demos out there I wanted to make a quick demo of my own.

The DSC-4 is a mono input, stereo output effect pedal.  It uses a simple sine wave on MOD 2, and a rectified wave on MOD 1.  Each side of the chorus has its own speed and depth controls.  This is an analog pedal using an MN3101 clock chip to drive an MN3007 Bucket Brigade chip.  The pedal is capable of having one of its outputs fed back into the input for obnoxious noises as I show in Part 3.

Part 1 - Oberheim Matrix-6 Synthesizer, one synth voice enabled.
Part 2 - Fender Strat
Part 3 - Feedback loop using OUT A.  Warning: loud obnoxious sounds.

Recorded straight to a Tascam DR-05 from an Alesis Multimix-8 mixer.
No other effects were used.  This being a stereo effect demo make sure to listen on some decent studio monitors or headphones.

TX81Z is the bacon of FM synthesizers

What's better than TX81Z?  More TX81Z.  Each one has 8-note polyphony, but now they are chained together for 16-notes.  Getting things ready to record a new track.

Alesis Andromeda Tutorial 04 - Envelopes

So far I have been showing the use of Envelopes in a conventional manner.
Today I will uncover advanced secrets of Andromedas envelopes in more detail.  Some of these powerful envelope features may astonish you.

CONTENTS
0:05 Introduction
0:25 Envelope Polarity
2:13 Patch: Do-wah Bass
2:51 Time Page + Level Page
3:40 Trigger + Re-trigger
6:20 Patch: Delta Re-trigger
8:06 Dynamics Page
10:07 Loop Page
10:59 Patch: Reverse Technique + Loop Oscillation
12:32 Engine Optimizer
13:10 Closing

My next video will explore the CLOCK and its related functions: LFOs, Arpeggiator, and Sequencer.  Thanks for watching!

PS - I apologize for some of the wobbly camera mount.  I'm looking into building a more stable overhead camera rig.