WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

LA Priest shared this demo of the Polygene, an all-analog, class A, all-transistor polyphonic synthesizer.

Inspired by the earliest polysynths of the 1970s, the Polygene is fully polyphonic, can be tuned to any scale or tuning, is multi-timbral and completely touch sensitive:

What they have to say about it:

“Touching any part of the synthesizer bridges connections in the circuitry and creates a unique sound.

Every area of the instrument’s gold plated circuitry can change its tone. At the top, oscillator transistors can be synchronised by touching them, while below there are 24 pressure sensitive polyphonic pads and at the bottom a 24 note keyboard triggers a more familiar polyphonic synthesizer voice.

All of these can be played simultaneously and there are many more effects of the circuitry to be discovered, as each of the traces react differently to the touch.

12 tuning controls allow you to tune the 12 pairs of oscillators to any scale, from a standard equal tuning to any microtonal, non-western or even unison tuning.

The bottom 3 oscillators can go into the sub-bass range and using the oscillator sync method of bridging the transistors by hand, the bass oscillators can play a wider range of notes.

By using transistors as the only active components in the instrument, each oscillator passes through only a handful of sound shaping components before reaching your ears. Instruments that rely heavily on transistors (like the Minimoog and EMS Synthi for example) are famous for their raw, untamed sound that has much to do with this circuit topology.

The synthesizer is built into a hand-made cedar wood case.”

Features:

• 24 note polyphonic, mutli-timbral
• Hand made using quality through-hole components
• Discrete analog all-transistor circuitry (no ICs, analog or digital)
• 24 oscillators (12 tunable + 12 sub oscs)
• 24 VC Envelope Generators
• 24 VC Amplifiers
• Unique diode filter with attack, lfo and cross modulation via touch pads
• Oscillator LFO modulation
• Touch-sensitive pitch bend
• 2x 24 note gold touch sensitive mini keyboards

The Polygene is priced at $1,539.09, but is currently listed as sold out.

Host Ziv Eliraz – In his latest loopop video – shares what’s probably his strangest review of the year, a review of the Speak & Glitch GND-1T Speech Chip Synthesizer.

The GND-1T is based on an emulation of the TMS speech synthesis chip found in the classic vintage Speak and Spell game. It was inspired by many years of circuit bending hardware Speak and Spells to produce musical sounds, but takes it far beyond anything that’s possible in hardware.

Topics covered:

0:00 Intro

2:45 Overview

5:50 Build

6:10 Workflow

9:15 I/O

10:05 Patch screen

10:45 Drift

12:20 Morph

14:25 Random

15:00 Excludes

15:40 Speech

19:45 Speech filter

20:20 Word loop

20:50 Will it bend?

22:05 Stereo

22:40 Pitch

23:05 Post filter

23:30 Mix/Echo

23:55 Mini looper

24:40 Modulation

25:05 Envelopes

25:50 MFO

26:45 LFOs

27:20 Mod blocks

30:10 Exp matrix

32:00 Note XP

32:40 Drums

35:45 Arp/seq??

37:10 Misc

37:30 Pros & cons

42:10 Presets

Eliraz notes that this priced reasonably for a boutique synth and that its sounds are completely unlike any synth out there. On the cons side, he notes that the interface doesn’t make great use of the big color screen, and that it’s sometimes not clear what a parameter does. He also notes that that online manual is hard to read.

Details on the GND-1T are available at the developer’s site.

If you are interested in the Speak & Glitch GND-1T, make sure you check out the preset demos, which start at around 42:10 in the video.

Watch the video, and share your thoughts on the Speak & Glitch GND-1T in the comments!

Sonic Artefacts has introduced the Sonic Chessboard, a unique DIY musical instrument that merges the worlds of chess and sound.

Inspired by Lowell Cross’ design for John Cage’s Reunion (1968), the Sonic Chessboard offers a unique way to create spatial sound experiences.

Using the Sonic Chessboard doesn’t really require any knowledge of chess. Instead, it’s really about creating a unique interface for performance and experimentation with sound.

An overview by creator Wouter Jaspers:

The Sonic Chessboard is a passive Optical Octophonic Audio Panner that routes 16 audio signals via 64 light-dependent resistors, embedded in the squares to 8 separate audio outputs, changing the volume when a chess piece gets moved from one square to another.

By strategically placing chess pieces on the board, users can control the volume and flow of sound, creating dynamic and immersive soundscapes.

This limited edition DIY Kit includes all the necessary components to build your own Sonic Chessboard:

• A full-size CNC-machined chessboard made out of cork;
• A professionally manufactured PCB;
• All electronic components;
• Mounting hardware;
• 3D and CNC files for customization;
• A detailed manual and build instructions.

Here’s what they shared about the Sonic Chessboard:

The Sonic Chessboard invites you to embark on a sonic adventure, combining strategic thinking with creative sound design. Whether you’re a seasoned musician or a curious beginner, this unique instrument offers endless possibilities for exploration and experimentation.

In the annals of avant-garde music, John Cage’s “Reunion” stands as a unique and fascinating experiment, blending elements of chance, game theory, and electronic music. Premiered in 1968 at the Ryerson Theatre in Toronto, “Reunion” was a collaborative effort between Cage and the legendary artist Marcel Duchamp, who was also a passionate chess player.

The concept of “Reunion” was simple yet revolutionary: a game of chess would determine the structure and sound of a musical composition. These compositions, created by David Behrman, Gordon Mumma, David Tudor & of course Lowell Cross, were then distributed to eight speakers surrounding the audience. The result was a dynamic and ever-evolving soundscape, shaped entirely by the random and unpredictable nature of the chess game.

The choice of chess as a structuring device was not arbitrary. Both Cage and Duchamp were fascinated by the game’s strategic depth and its potential for generating infinite possibilities. Chess, with its rules and constraints, offered a framework for creating a musical composition without resorting to traditional notions of authorship or control. By relinquishing control to the game, Cage embraced chance as a creative force, echoing his experiments with indeterminacy in works like “4’33” and the “Imaginary Landscapes.”

The Sonic Chessboard is available now in a limited edition of 30 pieces for €360.53 (excl EU 19% VAT) /€ 429.00 (incl. EU VAT).