<<24>> is the magick number

[echorec]

The first Radius units are shipping this week.

https://www.redpandalab.com/products/radius

trem sound: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2XRT1hNi04/?hl=en

*edit* not sure if this was commissioned, or if this person has ties to a dealerership, but it's the first full Radius demo I've seen:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emN_DKgv3rs

The Radius is a ring modulator and frequency shifter with pitch tracking and an advanced LFO. It is designed around a novel "eight-quadrant multiplier" algorithm that smoothly transitions from ring modulation to frequency shifting and allows different frequency ratios for the upper and lower tones. Radius puts complex harmonic structures, bell-like tones, metallic textures, frequency shifting, soft tremolo, and bubbly phaser sounds at your fingertips.

[dubkitty]

interesting stunt tremolo, probably at a more extreme setting to show off the modulation(s). for me the rise and fall of a ring mod is its clarity when you do bell sounds. my Randy's Revenge sounds round and full, and that's basically my standard. so i can't have a overall opinion of something i still haven't heard. a lot of modern ring mods don't have a pleasant basic tone. still waiting on that sample.

it seems like the new thing is to make ring mods that are extremely controllable, which to me kind of loses the weirdness and unpredictability that i love about ring mods. you want randomization? put the mix to 100% wet and i'll show you some randomization, and it's not pre-determined by an algorithm. it feels like watching the domestication of the wolf. yeah, dogs are great and can do many things wolves can't, but there's one thing they can't do: be a wolf.

[echorec]

Korg has dropped 10 or 11 products this week, and most of them were...*surprise, surprise*...ho-hum retreads of digital products (KingKORG,microKORG).

They're doing an open-source Kaoss (NTS-3), that users can snap together and download community-sourced sounds for. One obvious limitation seems to be the small size. The X/Y touch surface area seems to be about half the size of the early Kaoss units (probably about the same as the yellow/pink minis).

The WTF moment of this year's WNAMM so far has to be Korg's PS-3000 FS reissue. It was a rare, semi-modular polyphonic synth (reportedly 50 units produced from 1977-81), that has recently garnered some attention thanks to the plugin community. Korg's relaunch is said to boast 256 user banks, in addition to 49-note polyphony.

Unfortunately, there's no price or release date yet and the model coming to the NAMM floor is supposed to be a non-functional prototype. The teaser info suggests it's only the beginning, as Korg also did full-size (FS) and scaled-down versions of the 2600.

[echorec]

it seems like the new thing is to make ring mods that are extremely controllable, which to me kind of loses the weirdness and unpredictability that i love about ring mods.

Well, I'm not sure which units you're referring to specifically, but we've got digital RMs now and many analog circuits that are digitally-controlled, so I imagine that is going to take away a lot of the chaos. I've never played a vintage Maestro, but I can't help but speculate that it'd be somewhat disappointing after all these years of more versatile and advanced pedals hitting the market.

I updated my earlier post with a YT clip of the Radius. Firstly, I'd like to hear it with a piano and a delay, in order to grade its bell capabilities. So far, my favorite aspect of the Radius is the sequencer tricks. I'd need to hear it with other instruments, or even vocals to really evaluate it. My preferred usage of RMs is definitely on drum machines and brass, not synths, guitars, or samplers.

[Heraclitus Akimbo]

They're doing an open-source Kaoss (NTS-3), that users can snap together and download community-sourced sounds for. One obvious limitation seems to be the small size. The X/Y touch surface area seems to be about half the size of the early Kaoss units (probably about the same as the yellow/pink minis).

I luv my kaoss mini's, so I'm totally into this. NIce to see they've moved to 1/8" jacks and away from RCA, which makes this more convenient to non-DJ people.

Having that separate slider on the side for FX Depth opens things up, too... that means the XY controls are free for more things.

(And I guess sync in/out is also useful for many, though doesn't play into my use case that much.)

[dubkitty]

there is actually a brief window in the Radius demo from 9:33 to 9:55 where he does my beloved bell sounds with the mix full wet. it's OK, not gorgeous but not an annoying distorted BLANG on a narrow bandwidth, either. the demo is a perfect example of how i think ring mods are getting neutered by being voiced to be used as a unison effect with the dry signal up and/or getting made into bleep-bloop boxes. i suppose if you don't care that much about the full wet signal, this makes them more "versatile" in terms of getting different sounds out of one pedalboard spot. but to look at most of that demo you'd hardly know it's a ring mod at all, which is titularly its main function.

[Seance]

EAE is apparently coming out with a pedal version of the MusicMan HD130 called "The Bard".

Their email list says "tomorrow" release... but also says February 23rd release.

So...

[dubkitty]

now, there's the very definition of a niche product. not that there's anything wrong with that. but i don't think i've heard anyone talk about Music Man amps since the 1980s. there are no doubt people out there who have experience with the originals and thus have some idea what they sound like, but all i can find is that apparently Clapton and Knopfler were into them in the late 70s. i seem to recall them also being popular with R&B groups then and seeing them in the background of TV appearances. but this is an illusion in a riddle wrapped inside a mystery to me. i haven't the faintest idea what it would sound like, or what it should sound like. i think they sound like a crunchy Twin Reverb, but without the harmonic complexity of preamp tubes. don't make me watch amplifier demos. please.

[echorec]

I luv my kaoss mini's, so I'm totally into this. NIce to see they've moved to 1/8" jacks and away from RCA, which makes this more convenient to non-DJ people.

Having that separate slider on the side for FX Depth opens things up, too... that means the XY controls are free for more things.

(And I guess sync in/out is also useful for many, though doesn't play into my use case that much.)

Are you familiar with Sinevibes? https://www.sinevibes.com/

They make killer plugins, such as Albedo, Droplet, and Rerun. Much of their stuff has been imported to the Korg Prologue/Minilogue/NTS-1. (Mac/PC plugins are $29-39, with their Korg counterparts priced at $19 each) Those could open up a lot of possibilities for Korg users, who aren't already deep into the DAW realm.

[echorec]

now, there's the very definition of a niche product. not that there's anything wrong with that. but i don't think i've heard anyone talk about Music Man amps since the 1980s. there are no doubt people out there who have experience with the originals and thus have some idea what they sound like, but all i can find is that apparently Clapton and Knopfler were into them in the late 70s. i seem to recall them also being popular with R&B groups then and seeing them in the background of TV appearances. but this is an illusion in a riddle wrapped inside a mystery to me. i haven't the faintest idea what it would sound like, or what it should sound like. i think they sound like a crunchy Twin Reverb, but without the harmonic complexity of preamp tubes. don't make me watch amplifier demos. please.

I used to live outside Nashville, and they were almost always available (inherited from parents/grandparents who were former pros). They're hybrid amps, so you're supposed to be able to get the best of SS/tubes (SS preamp = clean on front end, less maintenance). I do see them discussed here and there by Leo devotees (outside ILF). I've never owned one, but always heard good things from other people. (haven't looked at schems recently, but I think multiple models were reworked versions of the Fender Twin)

Some of those combo models are still much cheaper than recent Fender amps, which are less durable. Mark Bass (Italy) was supposed to produce reissue Music Man amps in 2014, but that fell apart. One Reverb ad said they were only distributed outside the US. (not sure how many actually made it into the market) For people dreaming about 'name' models (AC30, Bassman, Twin), but lacking >$1K for vintage mojo, I could see a lot of people being pleased with a MM 210 or 410 instead. Just glancing at ads, some of those combo models are still available for as little as $600-800, depending on your local market. Of course, if you look strictly at the dreaded R/Etsy price gougers shithole, they're more like $900-1,100.

[01010111]

I luv my kaoss mini's, so I'm totally into this. NIce to see they've moved to 1/8" jacks and away from RCA, which makes this more convenient to non-DJ people.

Having that separate slider on the side for FX Depth opens things up, too... that means the XY controls are free for more things.

(And I guess sync in/out is also useful for many, though doesn't play into my use case that much.)

Are you familiar with Sinevibes? https://www.sinevibes.com/

They make killer plugins, such as Albedo, Droplet, and Rerun. Much of their stuff has been imported to the Korg Prologue/Minilogue/NTS-1. (Mac/PC plugins are $29-39, with their Korg counterparts priced at $19 each) Those could open up a lot of possibilities for Korg users, who aren't already deep into the DAW realm.

The kaoss pad is enticing, but I already have a kaoss pad I don’t use. So, unless they’ve made it extremely easy to load your own programs onto, I’m not that interested. However, this formfactor would be the easiest to build into a guitar for maximum, Muse solos at home.

[Seance]

now, there's the very definition of a niche product. not that there's anything wrong with that. but i don't think i've heard anyone talk about Music Man amps since the 1980s. there are no doubt people out there who have experience with the originals and thus have some idea what they sound like, but all i can find is that apparently Clapton and Knopfler were into them in the late 70s. i seem to recall them also being popular with R&B groups then and seeing them in the background of TV appearances. but this is an illusion in a riddle wrapped inside a mystery to me. i haven't the faintest idea what it would sound like, or what it should sound like. i think they sound like a crunchy Twin Reverb, but without the harmonic complexity of preamp tubes. don't make me watch amplifier demos. please.

John Snyder of EAE (designer of circuit) wrote:
"Because we love a weird passion project, we editorialized our favorite parts of this cult classic into a compact overdrive pedal: The Bard."
https://www.electronicaudioexperiments.com/pedals/bard

One of the people working at EAE has his own pedal-thing (Nerd Knuckle Effects) that used to make an HD preamp that John Snyder designed.


It has been an ongoing interest. So whether it's niche or not, people can also see the schematic (available until February 2024) on the EAE website.
https://www.electronicaudioexperiments.com/schematics

Musicman HD Series Preamp
Simple op amp preamp inspired by the MusicMan HD65, HD130, etc. The topology looks a lot like a Fender preamp, with impedances scaled to suit op amp operation rather than vacuum tubes. These amps are known for their clean tones, but the trashy op amp distortion is in a class of its own. Any dual op amp which is pin-compatible with a TL072 should work. A "bad" op amp like an LM1458 might actually sound better at high gain - the originals used LM307 op amps which are close to the LM301 in design. The original also runs the chips at +/-16V which is possible but takes up a lot of PCB space, so this one uses a charge pump for +/-9V bipolar operation and the gain is reduced slightly to mitigate clipping at the input. Layout verification is pending. (Schematic https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56a5a0e242f55268768a0c2b/t/59275264be6594ad0823dc71/1495749220225/MM+HD+Pre.png).

Email verbiage about The Bard:
"We are releasing our latest pedal, The Bard. This is an adaptation of the cult classic Music Man HD130, an amp known for its pristine cleans and trashy overdrive. We adapted our favorite parts into a versatile new overdrive/preamp pedal that works equally well in front of an amp or on its own. The Bard traverses between both classic and angular sonic territory in a way that is unique in our lineup. It’s a charismatic crowd pleaser, just like a bard ought to be. (The lute is sold separately, though.)"


Manual here:
https://www.electronicaudioexperiments.com/s/Bard-Manual-R1.pdf

[echorec]

^^^If I ever resume my drive search again (for synths/keys), I could see the Bard serving me well in the FX loop of Rubberneck.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zf0x-XV_GQ

[coupleonapkins]

^^^If I ever resume my drive search again (for synths/keys), I could see the Bard serving me well in the FX loop of Rubberneck.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Zf0x-XV_GQ

Sounds neet, but I always thot the appeal of that Musicman amp was cascading thee channels for some superfluous chain gaining

Thing needs 2 sound like it's failing more, if possible? Or am I just a Caline guy at haert? ::::breakitupbreakitupbreakitupgif::::

Also fer de louds

Always had m'eye on a Nerdknuckle, so's I'm glad he's in the EAE foldt

[echorec]

Guild is updating the Polara. There's a standard nitro-finish in four solid finish variants ($549), and a Deluxe for $699. The standard model has a master VOL/TONE control, whereas the Deluxe has individual VOL/TONE pots for each PU, in addition to an upgraded neck, fretboard markers, and chrome PU coverings.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/search?s=polara