It Spoke to Me in a Strange and Rhythmic Language

This dissonant microtrack was created on the Roland MKS-80 with MIDI mapping on a Korg nanoKONTROL for real time manipulation of the settings. I setup three scenes on the nano to control virtually every parameter, although I was only adjusting a few of them for this recording. What makes this patch so interesting to me are the opposing oscillator frequencies. I managed this by routing the LFO to the VCO and by using cross modulation, which are settings on the MKS-80 that I’m just starting to get familiar with. Everything else on this machine fits snuggly into the subtractive synthesis model, but the cross modulation uses the second oscillator to modulate the pitch of the first. This can be used to produce FM or frequency modulated sounds including bell like tones similar to what the famous Yamaha DX-7 was doing around the same time.

It Spoke to Me in a Strange and Rhythmic Language

Real Time MKS-80 Programming

Now that I have the MKS-80 repaired I have started organizing ways to program the synth in real time. Without the MPG-80 programmer, or a suitable substitute, the MKS-80 does not lend itself well as a performance instrument. At least that is the case if you’re like me and insist on having real time tactile control of a good majority of the parameters. The following sequence was recorded while programming the MKS-80 in real time utilizing the reKon Audio VST-AU MKS-80 Editor mapped in Ableton Live to a MIDI controller. The MIDI controller I used only has about twelve assignable knobs and sliders, so I carefully chose the parameters that would provide the more interesting results. This included most of the parameters in the VCF plus LFO speed and cross modulation.

MKS80 Arp Real Time Control

Roland MKS-80 Super Jupiter Repair

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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