Berlin synth and drum machine company MFB announced (or leaked) they are making an under 1500 Euro synth. I think it will be interesting because this Manfred Fricke design will be the full blown real thing with a keyboard and three oscillators. I can’t wait to see and hear it.
“high quality analogue monophonic synth, 3 oktaven weighted keyboard mit aftertouch, pitch/bend & mod rad arpeggiator, sequencer funktion (synchronisierbar), 3 vco mit fm und sync, pwm, saw/trangle mix, 3 lfo (2 als hüllkurve nutzbar) bis in den audiobereich, ringmod & noise multifilter (8-12 typen) eines bekannten berliner filter entwicklers, 2 analoge und schnelle ENVs (voltage controlled), daher gut regelbar bei niedrigen werten high quality VCA, digital delay (tbc), speicherbare sounds, midi und cv/gate steuerbar, midi ausgabe, wertige potis, schalter und knöpfe, stahlgehäuse mit holzseitenteile.” – tripbeat
For more info: mfberlin.de
This entry was written by , posted on February 23, 2011 at 2:11 pm, filed under hardware, synthesizer and tagged Berlin, Dominion, Manfred Fricke, MFB, oscillator, synthesizer. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoOSAlscNeE
Above is a nice video find of Manfred Fricke’s newest toys made in Berlin. If you like knobs and sounds nothings better than a semi-modular analog drum machine and synthesizer!
“Five-Voice Modular Analogue Drum Synthesizer with Six-Channel CV/Gate Step-Sequencer with Shuffle Quantization Algorhithmen” – nirvanabeach
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u48Qq0TsZaI
How about some Kraftzwerg, MFB-STEP64 and another Berlin creation the Flame Midi-Talking Synth? Yeah I thought so…
More info: mfberlin.de and shelaq.de
This entry was written by , posted on April 26, 2009 at 6:20 am, filed under hardware, synthesizer, video and tagged analog, Berlin, drum machine, Flame, Kraftzwerg, MFB, Schlagzwerg, synthesizer, Talking Synth. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Since I lean toward the synthesizer slash software side of things the best music gear “fair” in the world is Germany’s Musikmesse. Each spring or “Frülings” as the German’s say, gear geeks, music software wizards and pro-audio companies from the States to Japan all meet in Frankfurt. This year’s shibang is from April 1-4 which if you’re reading this post today means it’s on now. Will any new product convince you it will improve your songs? Nothing I’ve seen so far is making my head explode but there are some nice new toys on the show floor.
One of my favorite instruments, the Persephone, has been upgraded to “Mark II” status. It’s big new feature is the addition of a second oscillator. To love a Persephone is to play one. It’s a nice feeling high end instrument. The best way I can describe it is something in between a Theramin and slide guitar. Doepfer steps away from the Lego – build your own mindset and released the Dark Energy. The Dark Energy is a mini 100% analog synth with a built-in USB/Midi interface. At 400 EUR what’s not to like? Tascam seems to have noticed Mackie’s troubles (their Chinese factory went out of business) and released a new line of inexpensive analog mixers including the M-164, M-164FX with built-in digital effects and the M-164UF with built-in USB.
SSL released a new version of it’s Duende which has an improved audio engine and includes a new reverb called X-Verb. Novation hit us with there new versions of their popular controllers, the Zero and SL now at MKIII status. I have some friends who were disappointed by earlier versions of these. Most of the complaints were in the “faders are too cheap” category. Nevertheless, Novation added more pink lights on the new babies so I can’t help staring. Akai seems to be on a mission the past few trade shows and Messe09 is no different. They have a new basic Pad box, the MPD18 and a new 88key weighted controller the MPK88. What really has my mouth ready to scream “Reactivate!” is the new Miniak synth with built-in vocoder. I always thought Akai made the best software vocoder (D.C. Vocoder) but alas it never went OS-X. If the Miniak sounds as good I’ll grab one for sure. Presonus released a DAW called Studio One. Are they crazy? Why isn’t everyone using Ableton at this point? Oh yeah, in case you didn’t hear Live 8 is out of beta and ready to buy.
Update. So a few more niceties have crossed my radar. Jomox has updated it’s popular analog kick drum module the MBase now called MBase II. I believe the compressor is the new add on in this highly recommended box. I love mine: video. Rob Papen has a new software bass synth called SubBoomBass. I doubt SubBoomBass will break much ground sound wise but I constantly go to other Papen synths when Im doing certain styles of music and want to troll a zillion presets. MFB must be reading my mind because the only thing I love more than drum machines are semi-modular drum synthesizers and that’s exactly what they just announced. They call it Schlagzwerg and I’ll be buying that (680 EURO) before you can say Berlin!
More Musikmesse 2009 round-ups here: SonicState Create Digital Music Synthtopia
photo credit: joaquinenriquezbeltran
This entry was written by , posted on April 3, 2009 at 8:22 am, filed under hardware, plug-ins, synthesizer and tagged Dark Energy, Doepfer, Duende, Jomox, Mbase II, MFB, Musikmesse, Persephone, Rob Papen, Schlagzwerg, SubBoomBass, Tascam. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
New drum machine alert! Wait even better: New ANALOG drum machine alert! MFB in Berlin named after the man behind these toys Manfred Fricke has announced an update to the nice sounding MFB-502. I have friends with the 502 and it’s been on my “gonna grab” list. These machines are not kick drum monsters like a Jomox but they have gorgeous analog snares and hats. There’s rarely a reason to touch the eq after recording these drum machine into your DAW. The best part here? The new MFB-522 is 280€. 16 fach Step Sequencer included!
Visit the official MFB-522 page: click here
This entry was written by , posted on March 9, 2009 at 2:00 pm, filed under hardware and tagged analog, drum machine, MFB, MFB-522. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Remember one of my MusikMesse 2008 picks the MFB Synth 3? It’s been renamed the Kraftzwerg and it’s been out for a few months now. For 579€ you can have one of these interesting noise makers. Visit the official MFB (Manfred Fricke Berlin) website here: mfberlin.de
“Some clueless noodling on my small modular. MFB Kraftzwerg and some Doepfer modules. No effects.” – mancio1
Buy a Kraftzweg: SchneidersBuero or analoguehaven
This entry was written by , posted on January 3, 2009 at 8:11 am, filed under hardware, synthesizer and tagged Doepfer, Kraftzwerg, MFB, video. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Berlin is the undisputed center of electronic music. A few times a month friends and blog readers come to visit. I’ve decided to make a Google Map with the locations of many of the great record stores, labels, synthesizer manufacturers, audio software companies and nightclubs you can check out upon arrival.
Ableton, Tresor, Hard Wax, Native Intruments, Schneider’s Buero, Neumann, MFB, Gigolo Records, Berghain, JoMoX, Sugar Bytes, BPitch Control, SoundCloud… what more do you want?
If you do come to visit don’t forget you will be in a gorgeous city full of historic places and green parks. Don’t spend all your time dancing. See it all!
Remember Google Maps is feature rich. You can get point to point directions, zoom way in, see satellite views and create your own map of places in Berlin you want to see (click a pin and select “save to my map”).
To view the map full screen and also see the complete list of great places: click here
This entry was written by , posted on October 11, 2008 at 8:47 am, filed under business and tagged ableton, Berghain, Berlin, BPitch Control, Germany, Gigolo Records, Google, Hard Wax, Jomox, map, MFB, Native Intruments, Neumann, Schneiders Buero, SoundCloud, Sugar Bytes, Tresor. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Musikmesse is one of the best music gear trade shows. It takes place in Frankfurt Germany this week. There are many websites covering Musikmesse down to the very last detail. I’d like to only list here what I personally think are the most interesting new products. So without further ado here is Wire to the Ear’s MusikMesse 2008 hot picks:
Korg DS-10. This is a Korg MS-10 synthesizer for the Nintendo DS! This is a fully sanctioned product from Korg itself. You use the DS’s touch screens to control parameters. There is a sequencer and you can sync several units together via WiFi. I am really looking forward to getting this and using it live! link
Melodyne Direct Note Access. This has to be on top of the list because it’s a revolution in the audio tech world. This fall when the next version of Melodyne is released you will be able to edit individual notes inside polyphonic sounds! There is no doubt about it, what Celemony has done is amazing. To grasp this concept head over to Celemony and watch the videos on their site. link
MFB Synth 3. Manfred Fricke from Berlin (MFB… get it?) has a new synth ready for 2008. I really like the MFB stuff because it’s affordable and sounds good. These units are a lot smaller than you think. You could throw everything MFB makes into a backpack easy and head to a gig. The new Synth 3 will make sound without you patching any cables into it. But of course the fun starts with wires! 3VCOs, full analog, 37 patch points, midi and CV for only 580 euros! link
Rob Papen RG. Dutch sound designer turned software developer Rob Papen makes really useful synths. I find myself turned to Blue quite often. His new release looks interesting and my guess is it will find it’s home in an unintended market. What do I mean? Well it’s a virtual rhythm guitar plug-in matched with Rob’s synth engine and sequencers. So will rock n rollers be using it? I doubt it, my guess is whatever sounds this thing churns out will be in dance clubs by October. link
Solid State Logic Matrix Superanalogue Mixer. When you think of 16 Channel mixers of the 8-bus type the you think of Mackie or Soundcraft maybe? Imagine a small sized console from SSL? Each channel strip would represent a boutique quality strip. You know the class-A vintage looking things you lust over? Now imagine that small SSL with a digital output for about $25k. Come on your car costs more than that right? This is the kind of gear monthly payments were made for. link
The Nord Lead Anniversary Model Ltd. Edition. The Nordlead really made me believe that software could emulate hardware in a convincing way. To top it off the Nordlead was built like a tank and had a wicked cool stone mod wheel and wood pitch bender. There’s nothing new feature wise on the Anniversary Model. It is essentially a Nordlead 2x but those reverse keys are pretty. There will be only 299 of these so run to Sweden now and get yours before it’s to late. link
OrangeVocoder 10th Anniversary. What? Anniversary edition software? Sure why not. I must have used Prosoniq’s vocoder on twenty songs or more over the years. The new version finally brings us an Audio Units, new sound modes, voiced/unvoiced detection linked with a noise synthesizer, a filterbank freeze option and a HF passthru mode. link
So what are your Musikmesse picks? Anything hot you think I missed? The show’s not over so by Monday I think I will update this post a little.
This entry was written by , posted on March 13, 2008 at 1:44 pm, filed under hardware, plug-ins, synthesizer and tagged Korg DS-10, Melodyne, MFB, Musikmesse, Nord Lead, Rob Papen, Solid State Logic. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
Did you think I would go to the coolest analog synth store in the world and not take a few photos? To go along with my last post here is a photo set from Schneiders Buero. Berlin, Germany. Feel free to tag and add notes to the photos if a synth or module isn’t labeled. I dare you to even attempt to label the Doepfer Modular!
To view the full set: click here
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This entry was written by , posted on February 11, 2008 at 5:12 pm, filed under hardware, synthesizer and tagged Cwejman, Faderfox, Macbeth M5, MFB, Schneiders Buero, Vermona. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
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
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This entry was written by , posted on February 10, 2008 at 8:04 am, filed under hardware, synthesizer and tagged EOWave, hardware, MFB, Omega 8, Persephone, Studio Electronics, Vermona. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink and follow any comments with the RSS feed for this post.
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