wire to the ear

Last week I took a walk to my favorite store in the world Schneiders Buero. Herr Schneider is a really cool Geschaftsfuher (store owner). When you enter his palace of new analog synthesizers for sale a Theramin greets you by sounding off as you enter the door. Scattered around the shop there are postcards and adverts from some of our favorite gear. I grabbed some of them and scanned them for you. Remember when viewing images in flickr you can click “all sizes” to see larger versions of the scans.

To view the full set: click here

Musikinstrumente & Design is a small vintage music instrument shop in Berlin. In fact, it’s directly three doors down from where I live. This means everyday I walk by and have to force myself not to buy anything! It’s a typical Berlin “Geschäft” meaning it opens “whenever” and there is usually three or four people just hanging around drinking and smoking cigarettes.

Please click here to view a small photo set from inside Musikinstrumente & Design. I’ve never seen some of these pieces so please feel free to comment or tag the photos in flickr. Please note I put a Creative Commons license on these images so feel free to use them as long as you link back to this article.

Synthesizer fans have been coming across photos of your Analog Miniature collections on the internet. In fact your set on flickr.com has been viewed over 80,000 times. What inspired you to make these?

Well I’ve always been interested in human/machine interfaces and I think analogue synths and equipment are quite exciting visually because of all the knobs and sliders (usually one control for every function). I always wanted to design a synth but lacked the skills and resources, and making small models was something I could do. As far as I was aware nobody had built miniature synths before. I was already building small sculptures out of framing mattboards so this seemed like a logical step.

How long does it take you to make one?

Generally I’ll spend 2 to 3 days on each model, but I’m a perfectionist so if something isn’t right I will always redo it.

The photography of the miniatures is an art in itself. Do you have any comments about that? Are you a camera, lighting or Photoshop geek?

All of the above. I use a Nikon D-80 and a couple of speedlights. All of my diffusers and snoots have been constructed from cardboard and copy paper, so it is very much photography on the cheap. I love the process of setting up a photographic composition, but I still don’t see myself as a professional photographer.

Are the Miniatures your most popular work? Did that surprise you?

Absolutely. I had no idea they would appeal to anyone outside of the synth community.

I see your miniatures have found there way onto Steven Jansen’s CD cover. Are there other commercial places the Miniatures can be found?

Well I’ve done a couple of CD covers. The Moog Acid record is the other major one. I was delighted to be involved with that because I’m a big fan of the artists (Jean Jacques Perrey and Luke Vibert) and I think Non-Format also did a terrific job with the sleeve design (link). I also produced some work for a compilation on Canadian label Do Right! Music (link). There are a few other commercial projects featuring the miniatures which should see the light of day soon.

Can anyone buy one of your Miniatures? Read “Interview with Dan McPharlin. Analog Miniatures.”

There are many reasons why I am in love with this video: clear plastic, chrome spheres, multi-color LEDs, laser scanner and Roland TR-808 sounds. I am really happy things like this and other unique sequencers such as the Monome and Tenori-on are being produced. I’m on the verge of either building one myself of buying one.

A tangible rhythm sequencer. Ball bearings are used to trigger drum sounds. Visual feedback is displayed from underneath to indicate the current time and the state of each ball bearing.

Do you want one too?

Peter Bennetts website: click here
via Matrixsynth