Photo 9206203587:

Yeah, so this is the anonymous monster analogue modular synthesizer I adopted from a colleague a few years ago into the neglectful care of my rest home for broken and confused old gear. Thanks Neil! It’s pretty strange and non-conformist, just how I like ‘em: dual manual keyboard with oh-so-many unlabelled performance control switches, built-in spring reverb tank, spade terminals for direct connection to a speaker instead of a normal line output, many switches and knobs hanging unconnected to balance out the spate of unpopulated fascia holes, uncommon markings, 5 pin DIN for the microphone input amplifier (that dates it somewhat), and on and on. It’s non-functional of course, at least for now. It’s desired power input, on a rare form of bespoke socket, appears to be direct AC (likely to juice up the aforementioned power amplifier for the speaker connection) and although the wiring inside isn’t too batshit it is definitely way beyond my level of electronics comprehension and confidence. (I’m just two electric shocks away from being a lame Spiderman villain and I don’t have the legs for spandex.) The wiring beneath the keys: The poor machine’s origin is completely unknown, so if anyone has any clues as to just what it is we’d be all ears! zoom

Yeah, so this is the anonymous monster analogue modular synthesizer I adopted from a colleague a few years ago into the neglectful care of my rest home for broken and confused old gear. Thanks Neil!

It’s pretty strange and non-conformist, just how I like ‘em: dual manual keyboard with oh-so-many unlabelled performance control switches, built-in spring reverb tank, spade terminals for direct connection to a speaker instead of a normal line output, many switches and knobs hanging unconnected to balance out the spate of unpopulated fascia holes, uncommon markings, 5 pin DIN for the microphone input amplifier (that dates it somewhat), and on and on.

It’s non-functional of course, at least for now. It’s desired power input, on a rare form of bespoke socket, appears to be direct AC (likely to juice up the aforementioned power amplifier for the speaker connection) and although the wiring inside isn’t too batshit it is definitely way beyond my level of electronics comprehension and confidence. (I’m just two electric shocks away from being a lame Spiderman villain and I don’t have the legs for spandex.)

The wiring beneath the keys:

Wires!

The poor machine’s origin is completely unknown, so if anyone has any clues as to just what it is we’d be all ears!

Photo 7164815865:

analogtara: Jomox XBase09 drum machine (ca. 1999) with standard alder wood panels, on red Formica table. Photo accompanies my recent blog post on the history of wood paneling in synthesizer design. From the awesome aforementioned article on synth wood paneling history at Sounding Out: The paradox of dressing up an electronic machine made partly of toxic materials and processes with a sustainable-wood exterior is a fitting metaphor—like a contemporary fig leaf—for how we outwardly express environmentalist concern, despite plenty of contradictions in practice. Wood-adorned electronic devices, in all their glorious contradictions, are especially resonant in this cultural moment; see Asus’s EcoBook, Karvt’s lineup of custom wood skins for MacBooks, and, my favorite, Flashsticks: handmade wood USB “sticks” that combine “the high tech world of computing with the simplicity of the world of nature.” The story of Flashsticks’ handmade creation is a case study in eco-contradiction: the website implies that no trees were harmed in the making of their USB sticks—the company uses locally-sourced, “fallen wood from the previous winter’s storms”—yet we do not hear of the toxic materials that may comprise the drive itself. zoom

analogtara:

Jomox XBase09 drum machine (ca. 1999) with standard alder wood panels, on red Formica table. Photo accompanies my recent blog post on the history of wood paneling in synthesizer design.

From the awesome aforementioned article on synth wood paneling history at Sounding Out:

The paradox of dressing up an electronic machine made partly of toxic materials and processes with a sustainable-wood exterior is a fitting metaphor—like a contemporary fig leaf—for how we outwardly express environmentalist concern, despite plenty of contradictions in practice. Wood-adorned electronic devices, in all their glorious contradictions, are especially resonant in this cultural moment; see Asus’s EcoBook, Karvt’s lineup of custom wood skins for MacBooks, and, my favorite, Flashsticks: handmade wood USB “sticks” that combine “the high tech world of computing with the simplicity of the world of nature.” The story of Flashsticks’ handmade creation is a case study in eco-contradiction: the website implies that no trees were harmed in the making of their USB sticks—the company uses locally-sourced, “fallen wood from the previous winter’s storms”—yet we do not hear of the toxic materials that may comprise the drive itself.

Photo 4182077867:

From The Acoustical Apparatus of Rudolph Koenig where there are more delicious pictures of this and other great stuff: The nineteenth century physicist would not have recognized the phrase Fourier synthesis. Instead, he would have talked about combining tones to form various vowel sounds. The apparatus at the left is “Helmholtz’s large apparatus for compounding timbres of 10 harmonics … 1,500 francs [$300]”, which is item number 56 in the 1889 Koenig catalogue. This apparatus is at the University of Toronto. The ten electrically-driven tuning forks, each facing a Helmholtz resonator tuned to the same frequency, run continuously, but produce little sound. Pressing one of the keys moves the dull black shutter away from the hole of the resonator, and the sound becomes quite loud. Rubber feet under the corners of the wooden stand keep the vibrations from reaching the baseplate that runs under all ten of the tuning fork systems. (via @Shocklee)

From The Acoustical Apparatus of Rudolph Koenig where there are more delicious pictures of this and other great stuff:

The nineteenth century physicist would not have recognized the phrase Fourier synthesis. Instead, he would have talked about combining tones to form various vowel sounds. The apparatus at the left is “Helmholtz’s large apparatus for compounding timbres of 10 harmonics … 1,500 francs [$300]”, which is item number 56 in the 1889 Koenig catalogue.

This apparatus is at the University of Toronto.

The ten electrically-driven tuning forks, each facing a Helmholtz resonator tuned to the same frequency, run continuously, but produce little sound. Pressing one of the keys moves the dull black shutter away from the hole of the resonator, and the sound becomes quite loud. Rubber feet under the corners of the wooden stand keep the vibrations from reaching the baseplate that runs under all ten of the tuning fork systems.

(via @Shocklee)

Photo 3360514167:

dancersaurus: MMMM PROPHET 5 Such a timeless gorgeous design classic! ♥♥♥ Oh, and that it also sounds stunning too obviously helps. Dave Smith, I applaud you and can’t wait until the next time I get to gush in your presence again!

dancersaurus:

MMMM PROPHET 5

Such a timeless gorgeous design classic! ♥♥♥

Oh, and that it also sounds stunning too obviously helps. Dave Smith, I applaud you and can’t wait until the next time I get to gush in your presence again!