Deadmau5 walks viewers through an array of rare and vintage synthesizers that would make even the most seasoned collector drool
The latest video features Deadmau5 (Joel Zimmerman) sharing a tour of his studio, and sharing his thoughts on his career through gear.
Inviting Reverb into a gear-stuffed home studio that he says took “a solid three years” to build, the mouse-headed Canadian artist shows off a jaw-dropping collection of synthesizers that surely must be one of the most extensive on the planet outside of a museum.
In the video, Zimmerman walks through the synths, modular systems, and rare vintage pieces that power his sound—from ARPs and Oberheims to his custom modular synthesizers.
Another rarity is Deadmau5’s Minimoog Voyager, a synth was a mainstay in his workflow, a gift from none other than Linda Perry of 4 Non Blondes. This isn’t just any Voyager, though, but the last one ever made. “That’s the last unicorn, the last one,” Deadmau5 says of the synth, a 10th-anniversary edition of the Voyager of which only 31 were manufactured. Along the way, he discusses how his gear has followed the evolution of his music.
Zimmerman admits to being a G.A.S. (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) addict, and, at one point, even says he built out his Modcan modular synth to ‘one-up Daft Punk’. This – combined with the fact that he’s successful enough to be able to be able to buy what he wants – has resulted in him building one of the most amazing electronic music studios ever.
Kenton has introduced the USB Solo mk2, a new MIDI-to-CV converter and USB MIDI interface, designed to let you control vintage analog monosynths via MIDI.
Features:
Dual MIDI ports
High specification MIDI to CV conversion
Works with almost any CV synth
DIN Sync / Sync 24 output
Pitchbend can be set at up to +-48 semitones
The LFO applied to the pitch can be controlled by:
MIDI CCs 0 to 119
Aftertouch
Velocity
Pitch Bend
Portamento can be set as follows:
Always On
Always Off
Automatic
Controlled by MIDI CC 0-119
Fixed rate (that you can specify) or fixed time.
Auxiliary outputs – If your synthesizer has inputs for additional control voltages, such as for filter cut-off or VCA volume, these can also be controlled using the USB Solo’s three Auxiliary Outputs.
Clock output
Built-in LFO
Built-in ADSR Envelope Generator
Auto Portamento
The USB Solo mk2 is available now, priced at £199.80 GBP including VAT.
Parallel Minds let us know that they’ve introduced Reverie, a standalone desktop app, for macOS and Windows, that can transform any audio file into long-form ambient soundscapes.
In short descriptions, you can drag and drop your source audio file into Reverie, and then use it as the source for generating an audio soundscape.
Reverie features 38 audio processing modules – including spectral processing, time-stretching, filtering, modulation and spatial effects:
Time-Stretch
Paulstretch
Spectral Freeze
Standard Stretch
Spectral
Spectral Blur
Spectral Morph
Spectral Gate
Spectral Cross-Synthesis
Temporal Evolution
Segment Analyzer
Modulation
Chorus
Phaser
Tremolo
Polyrhythm Tremolo
Harmonic Tremolo
Ring Modulator
Frequency Shifter
LFO Filter
Space
Shimmer Reverb
Delay
Stereo Width
Room Reverb
Pitch
Pitch Shift
Formant Filter
Harmonic Shift
Chord Layer
Pitch Drift
Resonator
Dynamics
Compressor
Tape Saturation
Bitcrush
Breathing
The application is designed to be easy to use, with style presets to get you started. You can control the output, though, by manually controlling the settings.
Reverie is available now for €19. You can download it for free to try it out, but it has limitations until it is unlocked.
