Roland D50 Automation

Posted on March 26, 2011 by John Keston

Now that I am able to program the MKS-80 with the Bitstream 3X I am attempting to do the same for other electronic instruments that lack tactile controls. This involves digging into the MIDI implementation of these instruments and then programming the BS3X to send the appropriate values. The first instrument I’m trying this with is the Roland D-50. So far I have had no success in getting the Roland D-50 to respond to the values I’m sending it, but hopefully I get it figured out soon. Here’s an example of what I’d like to accomplish. To create the sound below I used the D-50′s joystick to change the cutoff frequency on the first upper partial while sending it notes via MIDI.

Bitstream 3X MIDI Controller

Posted on March 22, 2011 by John Keston

I just got a Bitstream 3X MIDI controller (BS3X), and have just started experimenting with it. This is a complex and fully programmable device, so I will need some time with it before I have learned the best way to incorporate it my setup. The easiest way to use it is in standard mode where no programming is required on the unit. Simply map the controls in the software you are using. However, what makes the BS3X powerful is the user mode where every assignable control can be programmed. A sophisticated editor allows the user to map these controls based on a long list of device parameters such as “Roland D50 Upper Partial 1 – TVF Cutoff Frequency”.

Just to get started with the device I used the standard mode and mapped the bulk of Roland MKS-80 parameters to it via the reKon Audio VST-AU MKS-80 editor in Ableton Live. For the VCF cutoff and resonance I used the XY axis joystick. This gave me one finger control over both of these parameters for very expressive control of the filter. I also mapped the VCF envelope LFO depth to the ribbon controller for another way to manipulate the filter. In one take using only three controls (the XY axis, ribbon, and a knob mapped to the LFO rate) I performed this drone.

MKS-80 XY Axis Drone

What is Your Top Programmable MIDI Controller?

Posted on March 10, 2011 by John Keston

I’m looking for a programmable MIDI controller for the Roland MKS-80. I have almost resigned myself to building my own MIDIbox 64, but if something pre-built and inexpensive that will serve the purpose is out there I’m willing to consider it. The most attractive thing I’ve found so far is the CME Bitstream 3X (formerly Wave Idea), but I’m not exactly thrilled about CME products. I have a CME UF7 keyboard controller and I’m not that happy with it. I’d love to hear from someone with a Bitstream 3X about what they think of it feature and construction wise.

Other interesting devices are the Novation SL MkII series (a little short on knobs and sliders) or the Doepfer Drehbank (discontinued). Another possibility is 3 Korg nanoKONTROLs and a USB hub. I’m using one right now with three scenes programmed to control everything on the MKSK-80, but the scene switching is cumbersome, and I loose my positioning on parameters after switching scenes causing jumps in the programming. However, having three of them would solve that problem. Unfortunately, they are not programmable for sysex (required to interface with the MKS-80), so I’d need to map them through editor software, eliminating the potential of a computer free setup.

Roland MKS-80 Super Jupiter Repair

Posted on March 6, 2011 by John Keston

I recently purchased a Roland MKS-80 in need of repair. Several things were wrong with it including the tuning knob, dynamics slider and “insert cartridge” errors when trying to change the patches from the front panel. Without being able to tune the synth or utilize the dynamics, the instrument was effectively unusable, but I decided to buy it anyway in the hope that it could be repaired. After several days and more than thirty hours of research, parts swapping, and troubleshooting I managed to get it working properly. Read on for an illustrated story of the repair process and audio from the fixed unit.
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VidiSynth Generates Audio from Light Sources

Posted on February 28, 2011 by John Keston

Expanding the VidiSynth Part III from paul sobczak on Vimeo.

Paul Sobczak has recently posted some videos documenting the VidiSynth. It’s has four independent oscillators that are controlled by either potentiometers or inputs from other sources. In this case he is using light dependent resistors or LDRs that suction onto a display. As video plays on the display the pitches change on all four oscillators based on the position of the LDR on the screen producing corresponding sounds. I’m not sure how Paul plans to use this, but I’m anticipating some interesting generative work with a synesthetic theme.

Weird Sound Generator Meets Memory Man

Posted on January 27, 2011 by John Keston

This evening I introduced the Weird Sound Generator (WSG) to the Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man delay. The two of them hit it off and the next thing I knew was that someones jack went into someones input and some completely unprotected signals went down. A little mood lighting later and… here’s the result of the union.

WSG Meets Memory Man

Example of Posc from Live Performance

Posted on January 16, 2011 by John Keston

I extracted this recording of the Posc from a performance of Words to Dead Lips at Intermedia Arts last November. I left the processing on it that I had used during the performance. At some point I’m going to acoustically record one of the “noise shields” that built for the dancers to use in the piece as a comparison. The “noise shields” have a distinctive sound tailored by the amplification, speaker, and the body of the instrument that is quite different for the direct sound below.

Words to Dead Lips Posc Example

Juno-106 Glitchy Drone

Posted on January 13, 2011 by John Keston

Here’s another excerpt from the glitches that I recorded while the voice chip was failing on my Roland Juno-106. In this section I was just holding a note without touching any other controls, so all the variations in the sound were caused by the autonomous shorting that was going on inside the faulty 80017a voice chip.

Juno-106 Glitchy Drone

Juno-106 Bad Voice Chip Glitch

Posted on January 12, 2011 by John Keston

As I mentioned in my last article, I was quite disappointed that my Juno-106 arrived with a bad 80017a voice chip, not to mention a laundry list of other technical and cosmetic problems. However, in some ways I enjoyed the challenge of getting it back in working order. All the research, soldering, and fussing with the electronics was kind of rewarding in the long run.

Another thing I wanted to explore were the glitches I could get out of it while the voice chip was bad. So, I recorded 20 minutes of crackly, warbled, weirdness while adjusting sliders and pressing buttons. I’ll be sharing more bits and pieces of this in upcoming articles. For now, here’s an excerpt of glitches from the first few seconds of my experimentation.

Roland Juno-106 Glitch from Bad Voice Chip

Roland Juno-106 with Bad Voice Chip Restored

Posted on January 11, 2011 by John Keston

Back in November I wrote an article titled What is Your Favorite Poly Synth? discussing mostly vintage polyphonic synthesizers. One of them that kept coming up was the Roland Juno-106. Researching these popular synths, I found that they are fairly easy to come by, and usually reasonably priced. I found a great deal on one and snapped it up only to discover that it had the dreaded voice chip problem. Fortunately the seller agreed to refund part of the purchase price to help pay for the repairs. Six weeks later I have finally got it up and running, but it took some doing. Read on for more, and the the synth sound of the day.

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