Some sonic challenges I've set myself from time to time to synthesize various sound effects from scratch in the studio using all manner of custom designs, vintage studio equipment and test gear....

All Sound Design, Recordings & Compositions Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio.

Synthetic Sound Effects...

The result of an afternoon in the lab experimenting and exploring a newly resurrected and slightly modified little 1964 EICO 488 variable frequency tube dual-channel multiplexing switch, a swept signal generator and a pinch of insanity :)

Several minutes of ensuing material was declicked in iZotope RX (yes, sadly the EICO's tube multiplexor, although lovely in tone and saturation, has a clicking/popping habit) cut up and then randomly triggered in Kontakt with random levels, panning, filtering and reverb depths to create a cacophony of Amazonian birdsong... well that was the general idea anyway...

Rain performance courtesy of my Blue Zone Kontakt library.

Sound Design, Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2022.

1964 EICO 488: Amazon Hideaway.. (SFX With Lab Gear)

Ever wonder what happens if you shine a flashlight through a glass full of water, olive oil and marbles, give it a spin and then record the resulting modulated shadows of light on the other side of the glass with an optical sensor?

All sounds from the optical sensor bar the rain which was courtesy of our back garden one soaking wet afternoon.

Incidentally, the long reverb tails on the thunder claps were the result of the contents of the glass slowly coming to a halt - only a very short reverb was added to increase the effect of outside ambience.

Concept, Sound Design & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2022.

Sound of Light Through Oil, Water & Marbles (Optical Sound Experiment)

unfinished, only track i didid on the matriarch.
vocal sound is actually a Onde Magnétique om1 cassette recording being spazzed with control voltages from the Cirklon  ***

matriarch test 3+Om1 Cass+909 edit1 F6 omc+1

Setting myself another sonic challenge..  made with a 1978 Mk 1 Korg MS-20 making use of the MS-20's superb high and low pass resonant filters and ring-modulator auto-triggered and shaped from an external audio source via the built in Envelope Follower.  The sheer flexibility of the MS-20 really does allow this wonderful instrument to cover a lot of ground.

Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2023.

1978 KORG MS-20: The Patch Cord Band..

Montreal

Thank you for listening💙

Visuals ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSse9fhFCgo

Deep Inside A World Away From You

The recording of my set at Mostra 2024 @mostrabcn 🤍

I had the joy of playing a sunny afternoon set 15:00-17:30 before Konduku, so I kept things bright & groovy 🌻🧚🌞

This set features some IDM, electro and minimal tracks I haven’t played out in years, alongside recent releases I’ve been enjoying.

The whole festival was beautifully programmed and curated, and I heard many inspiring sets throughout the weekend in the iconic grounds of the Castell De Montjuïc. 

Many thanks to F-on & @mostrabcn for the invitation to join this gathering of like-minded artists 🏰🖤

~
Downloads enabled ~

Mostra 2024

Sybil @ Mostra 2024

28 organ

Influx

Electronic music at its best offers a tantalising glimpse of the future, capturing the moment of conception where new worlds and genres are brought into being. Amsterdam-via-Berlin label Q1E2 (standing for “quality first, ego second”) embodies this expansive promise on their new various-artists compilation, a thrilling speed-run through the cosmic outer-reaches of contemporary club sounds that highlights the work of essential emerging producers from around the globe.

datSIM’s “Influx” races through kaleidoscopic sci-fi spacescapes, presenting a futuristic reimagining of UK bass sounds with dextrous organ melodics and widescreen atmospherics.

Taken together, the label’s new compilation provides a snapshot of a scene in constant evolution, taking the temperature of the modern electronic scene and finding it to be in rude health.

PREMIÈRE: datSIM - Influx

 [[tapedel] played & programmed customised Yamaha Disklavier Pro, Recorded To Nagra IVS 5"]

avril 14th, notes played backwards, not the audio.

Journey to Coulsdon Town [Lower Mountain mix]

UPDATED RECORDING 08/06/22 now with steam whistle SFX "accidentally" created whilst attempting to build a tube based VCO and ending up with a spectacularly unstable mess with a rather surprising unintended sonic result!

Whilst testing out a monster 3 cabinet classic Moog Modular during major overhaul to my surprise I ended up producing what sounded like there was something monstrously heavy heading my way!!...

Made in one live take with a 960 Sequential Controller feeding a 1528 Sample-Hold triggered by a 921 AUX LFO, 902 VCA modulated by the sawtooth from the S/H, three cross modulated 921B Oscillators into a CP3A 4Ch Mixer all feeding into a 907 Fixed Filter Bank which was madly being hand cranked band by band to create the pass by phasing effect...

The interacting speeds of the sequencer, LFO and sample/hold clock were carefully adjusted until everything started to chug in quite an uncanny manner!

Now with a little ambiance courtesy of the back garden! :)

Original Sound Design & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2019.

1977 Moog System 55: The Iron Horse.. (Updated Recording)

Made with a GenRad 1390B vintage tube noise generator driving a PAiA 6710 modulated by a swept frequency generator...

..and a hinge on the airing cupboard door!.. which finally got oiled!!

A selection of test recordings that came out of an experimental sound design project initially called Thermionix. The project resulted in a very significant amount of sample material which eventually formed the basis of what was to become The Blue Zone sound library for Kontakt.

The project made use of a significant amount of vintage and experimental tube equipment and circuits - hence the original name...

Sound Design, Composition & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio 2011.

Thermionix: The Beast Snoreth Again...

100% synthesized water effects made by feeding some randomised FM bell like sounds from an Orla DSE24 and pink noise from a Bruel & Kjaer type 1405 fed hot via a tube mixer into a gorgeous 1965 Bruel & Kjaer type 1612 Band Pass Filter Set.   Around 60 samples were captured with the filter set to each of the 3rd Octave frequency settings and then loaded across the keyboard and auditioned live in various combinations....

The classic Bruel & Kjaer Band Pass Filter Sets such as the type 1615, 1612, 2112 and 2113 are made up of banks of very high quality passive L/C resonators and are extremely selective with very high Q factors and have a sound all of their own!  There are few studio filters that could come close to achieving the same effect.
 
Sound Design & Recording Copyright D.A.Wilson, Hideaway Studio, 2020.

1965 Brüel & Kjaer type 1612: Waterwerks (SFX With Lab Gear)

Coco's Chops

D.A.Wilson is an Electronic Engineer, Sound Designer & Vintage Synth Specialist with a particular interest in combining vintage tube, classic analog and modern digital technologies working as a synth engineer looking after a very considerable amount of vintage studio equipment for Will Gregory (Goldfrapp / Moog Ensemble) and a number of other internationally celebrated electronic musicians and producers.  Having undertaken several major restorations and produced custom electronic designs for a number of major artists including Jean-Michel Jarre, Dani is also known for fully restoring two out of the world's four remaining 1979 Crumar GDS and partially restoring 1938 Novachord 346 (the only known operational Novachord in the UK) to playable order along with developing and producing the new Elfin family of 8-bit polysynths and the popular MIDI Front Panel Animator (FPA), Filter Defeat Module (FDM) and XD-280 Drive Emulator upgrades for the AKAI S612 sampler.

Demos of the S612 Upgrades in Action: 

https://soundcloud.com/hideaway-studio/sets/hideaway-studios-s612-front


Hideaway Studio Kontakt Sound libraries may be purchased directly from: 
https://www.lootaudio.com/category/kontakt-instruments/hideaway-studios
 

..and a nice introduction by Cory Pelizzari to the Hideaway Studio Kontakt Libraries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-C7a3ChC9U&feature=emb_title


For more on releases from Hideaway Studio for Kontakt please visit the blog at:  www.hideawaystudio.net

Thermionix: The Beast Snoreth Again...

Hideaway Studio

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