Deviant Synth

The work of Moritz Wolpert. More here.

First, Russian DIYer Dmitry Morozov, better known as vtol, has a website full of his colorful instruments. Nice panel art! He apparently makes limited issues of some of them for sale.

Then, Flickr user “jugger-naut” built a tube synthesizer in plug-in module form.

And Joe Paradiso built a hybrid synthesizer into a CAMAC crate, to be controlled by a PDP-11 minicomputer, in December 1979. Don’t throw it away, Joe, it’s a priceless historical artifact!

Mike Zee is a musician and prolific DIY builder in Poughkeepsie, NY. (That’s like saying Sean Connery is an “actor of some repute in Scotland”, I suppose.)

His main site for custom work is here. His cabinetwork is so beautiful, it will make you cry. Be warned, you will be exploring every link there. He has schematics of almost everything he’s built — clever designs, easy to reproduce.

He has a Soundclick page if you want to hear samples of his music. And he has a YouTube channel.

Seen on Matrix, with no information. It was, as it turns out, based on a Texas Instruments sound-effects IC (probably an SN76477). It appears to be built into an old tube tester cabinet. In case you didn’t know, Raes is a notorious Flemish artist, founder of the Logos Foundation—and dedicated nudist.
Here is a list of Raes’ DIY instruments.

The technology to do this has been readily available for at least 30 years. What gets me is that very few actual working musicians seem to be capable of doing a decent one-person-band. (She also appeared on Conan O’Brien last year.)

Using two Wiimotes feeding a Macbook via Bluetooth, to trigger solenoid-played drums.
Jazari’s website, and a post on Engadget. (Yes, cowbell.)

Dave Wright found this at a “junk shop” in Tucson. It uses two CEM 3394 chips, plus a PAIA MIDI-CV and a few assorted circuits. It was very well-made, almost commercial quality. The maker’s identity is a total mystery.

Video:
mystery homebrew synth

angelfire genki genki

here is an audio selection

angelfire genki genki face

dave wright

First, the “Acid Machine”, which generates pitches with a rotating wheel and LDR.

Plus, the Synth-Fan, doing similar business with a small computer fan.

And this, whatever it is.

neon lamp osc with doorbell keyboard

goes into a 6au6 via depth/drive knob with a neon as a modulator -

inductor on the plate for tone

goes into a second 6au6 via depth/drive knob and neon as modulator

inductor on the plate for tone

6AL7 magic eye on the outputs

each modulator has rate knob and ‘range’ switch – one setting being

a .015 cap across the neons – the other setting being no cap between the neons

some how this works really nicely

you know i couldn’t do it without barbour’s help!!!

dave wright

www.notbreathing.com

They build some damn impressive gadgets…..that do something.

And how often do you get to read about Paul Ketoff and his notorious Syn-Ket?
Not to mention its predecessor, the Fonosynth. Yet another great unsung pioneer of music synthesis.

Retrosonik is primitive and looks like it was abandoned years ago, some of the links are busted and there isn’t any information in Whois except the name James Phillips. I must say, his projects are amazing, what little we can see of them. (Although his spelling is awful.)

H-Pi has released a new, updated version of their Tuning Box. It does any arbitrary tuning setup, from Archytas Septimal to Just to Harry Partch’s 43-Tone Chromelodeon Scale to Johnston Enharmonic. You name it, if your MIDI synthesizer accepts pitch bend, this device ($299 is an amazing price) will generate the correct MIDI messages to make any alternate tuning or key reassignment desired. I’ve already ordered one for my own experimentation.

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H-Pi also had something on its website that amused me.

The New York Times ran a strangely familiar article four months later…..

Clever fellow made a controller with no keys, strings, or gizmos to trigger. You play it by tilting, rubbing, squeezing, shaking, etc……

Wired magazine article here, Gearwire video here, his website is here. Hope he manages to get it manufactured in some form.

new Cacophonator video

A synth made of neon lamps, from Not Breathing.
Videos of the Blinky in action: 1, 2

Quote from the maker:

5 neons in a ring counter type set up with a pot and cap value change for each stage,
a multivibrator modulator w/ 2 neons – rate pot, shape pot – range switch, switch o/off to ring counter.
different one w/out shape pot or range switch – depth pot – switch to power it from b+ or the previous multivibrator and switch on/off to the ring counter.
a third single neon osc as modulator w/ just rate pot, switch from b+ or previous modulator, on/off to ring counter
subosc divider, i grabbed from your vco circuit i believe, w/ a range switch,
and a 12 stage passive low pass filter (the magic part)

A great British DIY circuit-bender. A few of his gadgets have been mentioned on Matrix before, but I just want to direct you to his YouTube page. He doesn’t seem to have a regular web page. Unlike most other circuit-benders, Paul takes great care to make his gadgets look good, as well as sound interesting.

From the YouTube video:
“6 oscs(cmos), 4 ring mods(cmos), passive vca(diodes), passive vcf(vactrol), decay generator, additional passive low pass filter (via rotary), 2 watt amp – some knobs n crap – a lunetta? the vca modulation is skankulation – i have a lil fet s&h between the 6th osc and the vca – no buffer not so good”

Worms do it on a cracklebox!

 I’m dying to hear this through a TM series box

It even gets better