Archive for September, 2023

Serge Paperface 2.0 Modular Synthesizer Performance Demo


Serge Modular shared this performance demo of the Serge Paperface 50 Anniversary System – a new Serge 2.0 modular synthesizer, with a design updated by original designer Serge Tcherepnin.

The Serge Paperface 50 features 3 panels, based on the classic Serge Paperface system: Helios (Voice panel), Paris Flash (Slopes panel) and Tempo di Roma (Sequencer panel).

Here are the details on each panel:

Panel 1 (Helios):

  • Serge Vintage Oscillator 2022, temperature-compensated, 1V/Oct
  • Serge Vintage Oscillator+ 2022, temperature-compensated, 1V/Oct, with PULSE and PWM
  • Serge Noise
  • Smooth & Stepped Generator (SSG)
  • Dual CV-Pro
  • Triple Waveshaper (TWS)
  • Serge 1973 VCF + Balanced Output


Panel 2 (Paris Flash):

  • Dual Positive Slopes (with new wildcard input)
  • Dual Negative Slopes (with new wildcard input)
  • Smooth & Stepped Generator (SSG)
  • Envelope Generator (with new wildcard input)
  • Dual CV-Pro
  • Dual Gates – new design
  • Serge 1973 VCF + Balanced Output


Panel 3 (Sequencer):

  • Serge Gate Sequencer
  • Enhanced SQP4 Sequencer / Programmer with UP/DOWN, HOLD
  • Serge Metronomic Clock
  • Bidirectional Router (with Flip-Flop)
  • Enhanced SQP4 Sequencer / Programmer with UP/DOWN, HOLD
  • Peak & Trough

View Serge Modular website for details.

 

Secrets of the Tron Soundtrack


Synthesist Alex Ball, in his latest video – takes a look at how the Tron soundtrack was created.

 

Wendy Carlos’s score to the original (1982) Tron features the London Philharmonic Orchestra, U.C.L.A. Chorus and GDS and Moog synthesizers.

 

Ball shares some of the history of the Tron soundtrack and recreates some of the cues, using a combination of hardware and software synths.

Topics covered:

0:00 Intro

0:49 Wendy Carlos

2:04 Tron – The Instruments

4:44 The Recording Rig

6:39 Cue Breakdown – Tron Theme

9:10 Cue Breakdown – Tron Scherzo

10:22 Cue Breakdown – We’ve Got Company

11:40 Use of Choir

12:49 Other Music

13:46 Summary & Thanks

 

Behringer Victor Eurorack Module Now Shipping


Today, Behringer has announced that Victor, an Eurorack oscillator that’s based on the Vector Synthesis capabilities of the Sequential Prophet VS, is now shipping.

The Prophet VS introduced Vector Synthesis – an approach to synthesis that enables you position four different oscillator waveshapes at the extremes of an X/Y grid, and then control the waveshape mix, using a joystick controller or other types of modulation.

Behringer announced the Victor about a year ago, but many of the company’s synths and modules have been delayed by shortages of the electronic components needed to put designs into production.

The Victor has CV & Gate inputs for monophonic control, but Behringer has suggested on their Facebook page that the USB connector will let Victor be used polyphonically. We see no mention of this in the module specs, though.

Behringer hasn’t mentioned where the module name derives from, but readers of a certain age may recall a running gag in the disaster comedy film, Airplane, that plays on the word ‘vector’:

Behringer says that the Victor is now shipping from the factory and is priced at $99.