Octatrack MK1 users might be getting conditional locks!

    Elektron recently launched updated versions of their boxes, including an Octatrack MKII.  Octatrack MKI owners might still benefit from this release as Elektron has now officially anounced via their website (see image below) that the MKII OS will be compatible with the MKI box and will "include the functionality of the MKII".  As you may have heard, the MKII will support conditional locks, which is a great way to add probabilities to your sequenced steps--opening up a whole lot of good fun.


    (source: https://www.elektron.se/support/?connection=octatrack#resources)

    Now, to further legitimize my suspicion that MKI will now be able to do conditional locks (aka trig conditions), have a look at the manual and you will notice that everything is almost identical between the MKI and MKII manuals except for the highlighted sections below: CONDITIONAL LOCKS and FILL MODE. (MK1 manual on left, MK2 on right)

     

    So, congrats to all MKI owners as it looks like you will have at least one more OS update to come (but perhaps more!) with additional features here and there.  Personally, I'm still waiting for program change parameter locks, which are present in the digitakt and monomachine.

    What features would you like to see implemented in the MKII OS?

Sounds like the best things in life are still FREE

1/07/2014
I was recently working on a track with Cisko Bars and needed to go on a a scavenger hunt for some imaginative sound effects (SFX) to illustrate a rap verse (a-la classic Eminem).  About 5 years ago I had tried finding good royalty-free SFX online, but failed--free user-generated content was just not there yet.
 

Roland® tweets back

1/03/2014

Roland sets the record straight regarding their design motto... it sounds like they have some innovative gear to release soon.

Right, right, I know what some of you are thinking: "dude, @Roland_US only has 35,069 followers... it's not like @KanyeWest with 10,177,031 followers twitted you, get over it".  Well, yeah, but may I remind you that even Kanye named his album "808s and Heartbreak" after Roland's TR-808.

Introducing Gridz

1/01/2014

Gridz are abstract art pieces with the following characteristics:

Hello 2014 world!

1/01/2014

Happy new year! Synthmode has officially come to life on the net today (1/1/14) along with a twitter and facebook account.  The site is experiencing its first baby steps and will continue to grow very rapidly throughout 2014 and eventually become a fully-developed brand.

We will be releasing more details regarding synthmode soon, but In case it wasn't obvious from the menu and logo, here is a sneak preview of some of the tags you will find spread throughout upcoming content in no particular order:

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Gear

The Kilpatrick Audio PHENOL is the 2nd semi-modular synthesizer I've owned (the first being the Korg MS-20), and it is also the closest thing to a modular.  Soon after getting my hands on it I started realizing what the modular fuzz was really all about.

The PHENOL packs a lot of modular features in a small package.  This includes a very simple but useful divider and powerful multi-mode envelopes--all things that are not very common outside the modular world.

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sampler

The Zoom Sampletrak ST-224... the poor man's MPC... the last of the 90's samplers... and there's a good chance you've never heard about it.

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