Developers have announced that JE-8086 – software emulation of the Roland JP-8000 synthesizer – is now out of alpha testing, and is officially available as a free download.
They say that it’s “100% bit identical to the hardware and runs the original firmware”, so it should sound essentially the same as the original.
Here’s a guide to getting this set up, via Autodafe:
JE-8086 is available now to download for free for Linux, Mac and Windows. The catch is that it requires that you have a copy of the original ROM from the hardware synths, which is copyrighted.
Synthesist and composer Anthony Marinelli shared this video, a collaboration with Joe Patitucci of PlantWave, that explores modular improvisation along with sounds triggered through sonification of plants’ electrical conductivity.
PlantWave is a device that connects to a plant’s leaves and measures changes in electrical conductivity. Those fluctuations are translated into MIDI data, which are translated into musical notes, rhythms, and patterns. It’s more sonification of signals you would not normally be aware of, than the plant ‘playing’ music.
Here’s what Marinelli has to say about it:
“In this special session, I’m improvising on the legendary 1969 Moog IIIc “Plantasia” Modular Synthesizer—the same model used on Mort Garson’s Mother Earth’s Plantasia—along with my Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave, while the plants themselves generate melodies through PlantWave.
As PlantWave transforms real-time electrical signals from the plants into beautiful, evolving musical patterns, I’m tuning in, responding, and improvising on the Moog IIIc and 3rd Wave—matching their phrases with my own melodies and rhythms. Every moment emerges organically, completely unique, and impossible to recreate the same way twice.
This is a rare combination of vintage analog synthesis, modern wavetable power, plant-generated musical data, and real-time human improvisation. I hope you enjoy this unique collaboration between nature and machines.”
Touchord – a fully open-source chord-generating MIDI controller – is now available to pre-order as a DIY kit.
Touchord is designed to enable effortless harmonic experimentation and chord performance. It’s also designed to be a deeply modifiable project, built from readily available components.
The Touchord DIY Kit is an option to build one yourself. There are three options:
PCB Only – contains only the PCB with pre-soldered components.
Basic Kit – contains everything in PCB Only + Bela Trill Bar + SSD1306 display.
Full Kit – contains everything in Basic Kit + 13x Cherry MX-style Switches + 7x 3U stabilizers + Screw Set.
The full kit is available to pre-order for $180. Visit the project site for details for all versions.
