Another musical daydream based on experiments with modular synthesis, starting with various arpeggiated chords from the E370 internal sequencer and explorations of the Xoac digital frequency shifter, useful for making dramatic bass sounds. The piece finishes quietly with a nighttime field recording of Echo Lake (Maine) set to musical accompaniment  - you can hear some loon calls if you listen carefully. 

Much has happened in the last few months: a move required the studio be put in storage for months, then when it was fully restored in our new home, the music computer died. Now that the new music work station is installed and ready for action, I'm finally back in business again. Some of the clips used here were developed in the computer's absence, hence an experiment in DAW-less sound design, which I must admit, isn't my favorite way to work.

So thanks for listening, it's much appreciated.

Introspection

Nearly imperceptible shifts and trends, all the things that happen when you're not paying attention - and then something from that background noise erupts and changes everything...  

illustration: "Van Gogh's Synthesizer" by Melissa O'Brien

How Did We Get Here ?

Bass FM note from Cyclebox thru E520 Spectral Crusher FX 
[Compress Mode] 'Quant' off w 'Threshold' slowly & slightly modulated by self-cycled Maths
  
0:00 raw note, no FX
0:08 range +/-25c (Pitch Shift @ max)
0:46 freeze it
1:29 range +/- 100c
2:10 freeze it

Light dash of FabFilter reverb

Spectral Crusher Demo E520

2 passes thru SeqWah, one with oscillator, one with kik with dry and partially wet FX Pro 801.

Kik gets some extra fuzz with BP and med Rez

SeqWah One - E520

Four transformed elements then a complete track, "After the Flood"

1. 'Resampled Reverb': Crystal - E370 square wave chord, woggling resample parm
2. plain saw wave thru 'Spectral Sweep' - makes a nice background layer
3. kik pattern used in track sent thru 'SeqWah' bandpass, high filter Rez for texture
4. chord sequence from E370 also via 'SeqWah' & then extreme high pass filter

complete track here: https://soundcloud.com/fastus/after-the-flood

4 Transforms & A Track (E520)

As Arizona & Texas groaned under record-breaking heat, the Hudson Valley in NY(where I live) was hit by deadly & wildly destructive, once in a thousand year flooding. 

This a track of both sadness and resolve. We must find a way to collectively combat climate change.

Some tech details on the track: https://soundcloud.com/problivion/4-transforms-a-track

mastered by Shawn Hatfield @ audibleoddities.com
Music © 2024 - All Rights Reserved

Into the Light

After The Flood

Audio copyright (c) 2023 Gary Regester.  All rights reserved.

4ms Ensemble Oscillator + Tiptop Buchla 292t Quad Lopass Gate (arpeggios)
Qu-Bit Chord + Tiptop Buchla 292t Quad Lopass Gate (arpeggios)
Tiptop Buchla 258t Dual Oscillator (bass)
Synthesis Technology E352 Cloud Terrarium + 4ms Dual Looping Delay (melody)
ALA Cumulus (processing the E352)
Electro-Harmonix Cathedral Reverb

Recorded 7/22/23.

The Great Delusion (modular synth) [4ms Ensemble, Qu-Bit Chord, Tiptop Buchla, Cloud Terrarium]

Episode 44 of the SysEx Dumpster podcast.  Paul Schreiber of Synthesis Technology and MOTM fame reluctantly joins us in the dumpster to discuss stealing aircraft grade aluminum, jamming out to Synergy, restoring vintage audio test equipment, reverse engineering the Midiverb, and life after eurorack.

This episode was recorded in July 2023.  SysEx Dumpster is hosted by Dave 8cylinder, Nick Vasculator, and Greg VanEck.

Intro and outro music by Greg VanEck and Dave 8cylinder.

Episode 44 - A Conversation with Paul Schreiber of Synthesis Technology

Experimenting with accents. The sequence is duplicated with an active mult and either channel is subject to different accents via Quad Clock Distributor. The USTA gateA output on trk1 is stacked to articulate each note, but the duplicate gate output is routed to the QCD, creating a 3 different clock divisions which are routed to a CV mixer, in this case a Quad VCA, to produce the accent envelopes. The left channel USTA sequence is fixed at /3, the right varies via a SSM switch between the /4 and /5 on the QCD's 3rd and 4th output. Accent volume levels on the Quad-VCA are higher and exponential /spikey in contrast to quieter linear envelopes used for all notes.

Accents (USTA Sequencer)

Smashing the Crockery

The dark: the recent passing of friend Paul Schreiber, owner of Synthesis Technology. Along with fellow rocket scientists Eric Brombaugh and Robert Rich, he engineered the E370 Quad Morphing VCO which I use everyday. He was a true genius, a snarky story-teller, a good hearted guy. I felt honored just to know him, occasionally helping with some demos and testing on various modules.

The light: the new addition to the family, as pictured

The Light & the Dark

SysEx Dumpster is a quasi-monthly podcast about modular synths, music gear, and related garbage. Hosted by Dave 8cylinder, Nick Vasculator, and Greg VanEck.

Questions, comments, and feedback can be sent to sysexdumpster -at- gmail.com.

In ancient Roman times an augur or diviner, sought omens from things like the flights of birds to ascertain auspicious days when new work would go well.The pieces listed here represent the results of personal 'fastus' days, my best days.&#13;
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Fastus appears on the Kosmo netlabel compilation "Vapors of Ambient" - check the promo video here: <a href="http://youtu.be/F8fTbY_csYI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://youtu.be/F8fTbY_csYI</a>

These are modular sketches & demos. Full sized/complete pieces on my Fastus page.

Thrilled to announce the new Fastus release - "Into the Light" -DL or physical media! [see link below]

New tracks tagged #Synthesis Technology