Granular Matter

Bay Area Modular Meet - 924 Gilman St - 01/28

2012-01-10T18:50:00.000-08:00

Documentary: I Dream of Wires

2011-12-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

Just a friendly little reminder that the I Dream of Wires documentary is still in need of funding to offset the costs of creating this film. If you enjoy modular synthesis or synthesizers in general, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Modular: Toppobrillo Multifilter Demos

2011-11-14T08:41:00.000-08:00

A few Toppobrillo Multifilter demos popped up over the weekend. Take a listen and add your comments to the Soundcloud pages.

Toppobrillo Multifilter AFG Saw Demo

Multifilter Notch Sweep Demo

PingPong

Multifilter Lowpass Demo

Multifilter Bandpass Demo

Multifilter VCG demo

Multifilter FM

Music from Marz233

2011-09-12T11:03:00.000-07:00

My buddy Sean (Marz233) has been pursuing some side work away from his regular projects. The player below contains some of his newer solo tracks, some of which will make it onto an album in the coming months. When I hear these tracks it takes me back to a point when Sean and I worked together quite a lot. I'm really looking forward to collaborating with him again in the near future.

For now, take a listen and enjoy.

Trash Audio Synth Meet - Los Angeles 09.10.2011

2011-09-11T21:29:00.000-07:00

Fun times this weekend in LA. The venue was packed which lead to plenty of great conversations and plenty of new Eurorack modules to check out.

Bay Area, I think it may be time to get another one going.

Bay Area Synth Meet 05.08.2011

2011-05-10T23:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photographs from the Bay Area Synth Meet in Berkeley that was on May 08, 2011. Over the next few days I will continue to update the Flickr set as time permits.

Bay Area Synth Meet - Sunday May 8th

2011-04-29T21:58:00.000-07:00

More information can be found in this Muff Wiggler thread.

Modular: Quantimator Scales

2010-11-20T17:54:00.000-08:00

Bret posted another Quantimator test video. Check it out:

Modular: Quantimator Prototype #3

2010-11-19T15:05:00.000-08:00

The third Toppobrillo Quantimator prototype was brought to life today. Between Bret, Josh, and myself we should be able to narrow down all of the bugs fairly fast. Let the bug squashing begin! Now the hardest part is going to be resisting the urge to write music. The Quantimator is really musical as soon as it is plugged into a patch and naturally it wants to be used in that context. It makes me want to play with it and not test for firmware issues. Hmm, I guess making some demos would be a way of working while playing.

So anyhow the image above is an arpeggio patch using the Quantimator with a Fonitronik Sequential Switch. The switch cycles between three notes which are output to an oscillator's pitch input. Modulating the chord selection with a control voltage adds a slight variation to the arpeggio.

Modular: Quantimator Progress

2010-11-16T05:17:00.000-08:00

The Toppobrillo Quantimator is coming along nicely. The image above is one of the prototypes that we are using to test out the firmware prior to the production run. We used Pro-Modular for the prototype panels and they came out really slick looking. More information soon.The video below is of Bret testing the module out with the MakeNoise Pressure Points and the MFB OSC-02 Triple VCO.

Modular: Steiner Triple Envelope Generator

2010-10-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Almost done! This is the Analogue Realities recreation of the Steiner-Parker Triple Envelope Generator. Currently I have a few more wires that need be connected to the front panel components and then I'm ready for the first test. So far the build has been fairly easy since the project's documentation is really thorough. Looks like next week I'll have enough time to finish up the build which is great because I'm really looking forward to trying this module out.

More information about this module can be found at the Steiner Synthasystem website.

Modular: iPad/iPhone to Octomod

2010-10-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

This a quick and easy patch I created in Pure Data to interface an iPhone or iPad to the Octomod. There are eight sliders that adjust the control voltage being output from the Octomod.

The Pure Data patch and TouchOSC layouts can be found here.

Modular: Octomod Breadboard

2010-10-13T14:07:00.001-07:00

Pictured is my attempt at breadboarding the Greg Surges Octomod. The Octomod is an Open Sound Control to Control Voltage (OSC to CV) interface. This interface provides connections between hardware modular synths and software such as Processing or Pure Data. I'm still testing my breadboard out along with the software connections but I'm super excited to try it out for the first time.

Ongoing discussions about the device can be found on the following forums:
Muff Wiggler
Electro-Music
USB-Octomod Google Group

Modular: Doepfer's New Tuxedo

2010-06-07T12:13:00.001-07:00

A few days ago I handed over some Rogan PT Series knobs to my buddy Benji (Synthbenji) (Billy Sheen) so he could "update" some of his Doepfer modules. They look quite snazzy now and ready for a night out on the town. Keep it classy San Francisco.

Modular: PIC16F684 CV Quantizer

2010-06-03T18:42:00.001-07:00

Recently a DIY PIC-based Quantizer for modular synths was posted on the electro-music Forum. Since I do not currently have one I decided to breadboard it up to test it out. The first few tries were not as successful as I hoped but persistence proved to be the right path. I went through the circuit and narrowed the errors down to a problem with the PIC not programming correctly. It works now and is tons of fun. The link above will take you to the discussion.

Field Recordings: Audiofile Engineering FiRe

2009-09-25T15:23:00.001-07:00

These field recordings were created over the last few months using the iPhone app FiRe by Audiofile Engineering. This app is so much more convenient than carrying around a Sony MD.

Roland Juno-106: Battery Replacement

2009-02-24T21:20:00.002-08:00

The Juno-106 battery failed last year and since I was in a rush to move, the synth was packed away into storage. Well since I am entirely moved and settled in, today became the fateful surgery day to help get some presets back online. At first, I figured it would be a simple procedure so I reached for a screwdriver and the soldering station. Opening the enclosure up is as easy as six screws. Each side has three screws towards the bottom of each end cap that release the top and bottom. Once they were removed, the entire top assembly along with the end caps flipped up to reveal the analog/digital guts to be examined. Located almost in the middle is the PCB that holds the battery. The little bugger was still soldered in just like the day it left the factory. I carefully removed and labeled each connector as I removed them to eliminate any confusion during reassembly. Easy enough. Next I took out each of the four screws that secure the PCB to the wood bottom. Again this was another easy step. Now I was in for the "work" part of this whole process. The battery was soldered in really, really good. I had to slowly work the battery clip free while being very careful not to heat the board up too much. Too much heat and I would run the risk of destroying one of the neighboring ICs or even destroying the PCB itself. Finally after some time I popped the part out and replaced it with a new battery holder. Soldered, screwed, connected, and the moment of truth was now upon me. I turned the synth on, loaded in the factory sounds, powered the synth down, and unplugged it. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the true moment of truth but I had some homemade chicken soup waiting and besides the synth needed some time without power just to make sure the battery was really doing the job. I came back about an hour later and turned everything back on. The Juno was working like a charm.

More images can be found on Flickr

x0xb0x Progress

2009-02-24T12:49:00.003-08:00

Monday was a day off from work so I decided to spend part of it putting together the x0xb0x main PCB. I felt as though I finally had the time and the focus to sort through hundreds of resistors. Apparently I had a lot more focus than I thought because I almost finished the entire board in one day. I should be able to finish the rest of it today which means I can start on the second one very soon.

Modular Synth

2009-02-22T08:27:00.003-08:00

A few years ago I became fascinated with modular synthesizers and decided that I would start putting one together. At first I could not decide if I wanted to buy an assembled system or if I should build it from the ground up. Eventually I decided that an entirely DIY approach would be to my benfit since I could learn a lot more about the system in the process.

I began reading schematics and lurking around in the DIY section of the electro-music messageboard. The community is really informative and very helpful. During the last six months I participated in a few group buys and have since partially stuffed a couple PCBs. The modules I chose to start with are 1 Buchla 281 Clone, 1 Buchla 292 Clone, 2 Thomas Henry UD-1, 2 Thomas Henry MPS, 1 Thomas Henry SN Voice, and 2 Klee Sequencers. Next month I will be receiving 2 PS3100 Resonators along 2 X-panfaders and a Thomas Henry Super Controller PCB. Recently a clone of the Buchla 266 Source of Uncertainty has popped up as a PNP layout. I would like to add this module eventually but my plan is to get a few PCBs manufactured to suit my needs. A manufactured PCB would give me a good opportunity to try PCB design in Eagle CAD. I still need to decide on an additional envelope but this should keep me busy for awhile as well as fuel my excitement. Stay tuned for some photos.

Field Recording: Bahamas 2005

2008-11-08T21:32:00.006-08:00

The recording was made during a vacation to Hopetown located on Elbow Key in the Bahamas. This audio clip is an exterior field recording of the ocean at roughly 26.517393, -76.969013 during the mid afternoon. The audio was captured using a Sony MZ-N707 mini disc recorder along with Sound Professionals SP-TFB-2 binaural microphones. From this point the audio was transferred using a Yamaha 01V96V2 Digital Mixer, Mbox 2 Pro, and Pro Tools.

Beach Behind Chrysalis

The 233 Project Update

2008-09-10T11:27:00.006-07:00

The Anunnaki EP can now be downloaded from the Sound Cloud player.

[EDIT]
As well as the link above, the entire album can be downloaded here.

Elektroworx on Sound Cloud

2008-09-09T16:15:00.005-07:00

Brushing away the dust from another old project. Elektroworx has a home on Sound Cloud along with The 233 Project. Have a listen to the almost full Planet Eth album (-1 song that is MIA on the drives).

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The 233 Project on Sound Cloud

2008-09-09T14:17:00.010-07:00

Sean and I got an invite to join in on the fun that Sound Cloud is creating. The 233 Project Anunnaki EP from 2005 can be played in the provided player. Later this week I plan to talk with Sean to find out whether or not we are going to make the audio content portion downloadable. My assumption is that we will.

MIDIBoxFM: OPL3, DACs, & Jumpers

2008-03-15T21:36:00.010-07:00

I started from one corner of each IC with a little bit of solder on one of the pads. As soon as that corner was secure I jumped to the corner opposite of he previously soldered pin. Solder that pin. This method allows you to tack down the IC for hands free soldering. Once the IC is tacked down, the rest of the pins are easy enough. Keep a solder sucker handy just in case you bridge any pins. Move fast and keep any heating of the chip as minimal as possible.

Here is the PCB with all required jumpers installed. The jumpers are made from salvaged leads left over after soldering components.

Stribe: Spectra Symbol Softpot Linear Potentiometer

2008-01-07T12:31:00.003-08:00

I just received these 170mm "touch sensitive" linear potentiometers developed by Spectra Symbol. I purchased them from Josh Boughey during the prototype phase of his Stribe project. My plan is to stray a bit from the Stribe project slightly. I suggest checking out the Stribe Forum for all development news.

Korg Poly-800: Potentiometers

2007-11-25T18:23:00.004-08:00

These are going into a Korg Poly-800 since it suffers from very little realtime control. The modifications being performed are named the FM-800 and the Moog Slayer.

Freeduino Kit: Completed

2007-11-24T18:00:00.002-08:00

Took a few hours but the kit was not that hard to put togther. Wikipedia came in handy at one point to decipher the resistor codes for proper placement and the assembly guide was quite handy also. The only problem now is getting the IDE to work properly. I'm sure this can be sorted out pretty quick. Afterall. I wasn't expecting this to go entirely without issues.

The robot drawing is by G. Tan of Foreign Format

Freeduino Kit: Delivered

2007-11-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday delivered a great little suprise a bit earlier than I had expected,.. parts. Jameco is always so fast with shipping out orders and this time they were even fast with a holiday on the horizon. Honestly, I was hoping to receive the Freeduino Kit prior to this so I could have it assembled and running, but no luck. Today I was greeted with another little postal suprise of one Freeduino board just waiting to be assembled. The camera is charging, coffee is brewing, dubstep is pumping, and I am prepping to put the kit together.

Freeduino Kit: Ordered

2007-11-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I decided to order a Freeduino Kit from NKC Electronics. The board is a physical computing platform based on the Atmega168 microcontroller chip. My intentions at first are to use this as another means to control audio software for human interaction during live performances. I have some ideas I would like to work out using OSC instead of MIDI to communicate with Pure Data and Reaktor. First I will have to work with multiplexing, shift registers, and LED drivers so I can squeeze more out of this little device.

Monome Kit: Logic Board

2007-10-24T13:39:00.012-07:00

You are currently viewing the logic board from the inside of the Monome. This device came as a DIY kit that included most parts other than a case and LEDs. The kit is presently unavailable but on the forums there has been talk of another kit being released. Cross your fingers.