GLT Audio has introduced PM-80, a dedicated hardware MIDI controller for Yamaha CS-80 software synthesizers.
The PM-80 is designed to bring the hardware experience of patching an original CS-80 to virtual instrument versions.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
“For many musicians, owning a CS-80 synthesizer is a dream that’s out of reach – both financially and in terms of required maintenance. While today’s VST replicas sound remarkably close, the true spirit of the CS-80 only comes alive when you have all controls at your fingertips. That’s why GLT Audio created the Poor Man’s CS-80 — the PM-80, featuring 75 dedicated faders and a ribbon controller, offering an inspiring hands-on experience.”
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.”
