Moog Mother 32.

I love the fact that this is actually a thing.

Moog Mother 32 Sketch from Gearslutz

Check out the crazy thread on Gearslutz …. not a lot of detail, but it is always fun to read the rampant speculation.

The quick skinny:

  • Last weekend at Knobcon, Moog had a special “no photography” area where they were inviting people to look at a new product.
  • The new product may have similar lineage to the Werkstatt.
  • Eurorack compatible
  • 32 patch points
  • Complete synth voice with a single VCO
  • Step sequencer
  • MIDI in
  • MSRP: $599 USD
  • Available in mid-October 2015

Some thought the product would be announced yesterday, but so far there has been no announcement. The picture above was skteched from memory by a Gearslutz user.

Going in Cold to the Kraftwerk Show? Here’s a Primer for New Fans

Kraftwerk Orientation Mix!

Greetings friends, I have created a playlist on YouTube that showcases Kraftwerk’s better-known music and its historical significance in my life. It took me a few years to become a really crazy fan, and whether you get as crazy as me or not, I’m pretty sure you’ll walk away from this mix with an appreciation for their talent.

Instead of doing something obvious like presenting their stuff in chronological order, or like a top-ten or something, I’m going to let you hear it (mostly) in the order I discovered it, and I’m going to write down some thoughts for you to read as you check out the tunes. I think this is an ideal primer for new fans who are about to go to one of their concerts, but would like to have a bit more familiarity with their music. If this is you, I strongly advise against watching any of the myriad of live videos on YouTube shot at Kraftwerk’s recent concerts! It could ruin the experience for you, as the 3D visuals do not translate well to YouTube and the sound is usually pretty crappy.

Just remember, this is not techno, and the older music in particular will lack the punch you’re used to hearing in modern recordings. Kraftwerk is very likely to perform reworked, modernized versions of almost every song I list here. Continue reading

Studio Nebula: Chronology

For the sake of my own recollection, and perhaps posterity, I share this, the evolution of my home studio.

Studio Nebula v6

2014 – present

Tobermory Cr., Brampton ON
Most construction was finished in 2014, but there’s always work to do. The workflow at the new location has been further streamlined.  I had some racks custom-made by M-Gear Design. Space allows me to use different areas for different technologies. An Expert Sleepers ES-3 Lightpipe-to-CV interface allows very usable computer control over vintage analog gear.

Double Synth RackDesktop Rack

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What’s Old is New Again.

Keyboard Setup Based on Vintage RMI 300B “Electra-Piano”

Remember me saying that Tom, the guy who sold me the Pax tape echo chamber is pretty cool?  Well … periodically he texts me links to good local deals on second-hand gear.  He seems to know exactly what kind of equipment I’m interested in, and he has a real nose for good deals.  I have added him to my contact list as “Tommy Tape Echo”.

A little over a month ago, he tipped me off to this really cool vintage keyboard from RMI (“Rocky Mount Instruments”).  I picked it up from a guy in Oakville that day for a couple hundred bucks.  Then, a few weeks later, when I finally got together with my experimental jam band, I put together a setup that looked like this (click the image to enlarge):

Retro Keyboard Setup

Korg MS-20 (Kit), Arturia Microbrute, Mackie 402 Mixer, EHX Small Clone Phase Shifter, Boss RE-20 Space Echo Pedal. All supported by the monstrous RMI 300B "Electra Piano"

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