Z-5 Analog Abstract Generator

[dnar]

My point was that if you need labels to operate a console you're holding yourself back... Agree, disagree, write them in Klingon, or some version of those really annoying "international" symbols - it's all the same to me.

So
Sounds to me like your expecting the controls to move around randomly. That would be a great adventure.... What does this slider do right now?.... Oh look, it does this, and I have no idea what I am doing, I am just pushing buttons like a monkey.

[The_Doctor]

I like the suggestion of the patch cords. Early on I commented that the layout seemed to combine the directness of a hardwired instrument with the compactness of a modular one. I'd said that a bit of signal flow path topolgy gained at a glance might help people, but going the other way might make more sense. If people have a few sockets to change the default flow (a bit like patching 'normalled' patch bay sockets), then they'll have more scope for control, and because they patched the route themselves, they're likely to know what it is.


Edit: All that talk of jet black.. I missed the Hitch-hiker allusion, all I could think of was the Stranglers.

[laserist]

So
Sounds to me like your expecting the controls to move around randomly. That would be a great adventure.... What does this slider do right now?.... Oh look, it does this, and I have no idea what I am doing, I am just pushing buttons like a monkey.

No, but when you do something really dramatic like adopting a patch approach, mildly dramatic like taking a one channel device and adding fixed rotation to support multiple channels, or just deciding to change to a dual concentric pot for one reason or another you might begin to understand.

Random? Sure that's it, I'm just standing in the dark turning controls at random.

Whatever gets you through the night.

[dnar]

No, but when you do something really dramatic like adopting a patch approach, mildly dramatic like taking a one channel device and adding fixed rotation to support multiple channels, or just deciding to change to a dual concentric pot for one reason or another you might begin to understand.

Random? Sure that's it, I'm just standing in the dark turning controls at random.
Whatever gets you through the night.

Cool, I am starting to see this through your eyes. Your actually working in a similar fashion to the experimental noise crowd I know and do shows for. Your control surface is your art, so I am digging your concept of "in the experience" creative process. Your ideal control surface is a never finished work in progress. Batch bays, banks of controls available to be patched to whatever, building blocks and an unpatched empty slate for your experimental pleasure.

Thinking about this more, I think that's what I am looking for... Beyond Universe helps you create custom surfaces, yet not intended for live on the fly....

Off to discuss ideas with my synth builder mate....

[laserist]

Cool, I am starting to see this through your eyes. Your actually working in a similar fashion to the experimental noise crowd I know and do shows for. Your control surface is your art, so I am digging your concept of "in the experience" creative process. Your ideal control surface is a never finished work in progress. Batch bays, banks of controls available to be patched to whatever, building blocks and an unpatched empty slate for your experimental pleasure.

Thinking about this more, I think that's what I am looking for... Beyond Universe helps you create custom surfaces, yet not intended for live on the fly....

Off to discuss ideas with my synth builder mate....

Slight correction: The console is the instrument - the fusion of the environment, lasers, and music is the Art.

[laserist]

There's a thread that hits on some of this here

My first real intro to Jon - keep in mind it had been 25 years since I touched a 6B at that moment in time.

for what it's worth the Chopper and Color Mod gains have dual concentric pots in the photo of the console that weren't that way in my day, the sensyn became raster gain, the motor speed cluster functionality moved, the spiral rate doubled up so you could do coarse/fine or ten turn control, the shutter became push on/push off with two switches rather than one, and the adig box disappeared. In place of the adig box there were several options over the years that split out variations on various themes...

[trotz]

This console looks very nice

How would it be for one shipped to Palma de Mallorca (Spain) and how can the payment be arranged?

Best Regards,

Pere

[trotz]

Sir DZ, I shared your post and project with my analog synth friend, he was impressed and thinks your asking price is very reasonable.

He and I have started our own conversation re producing a laser interface card to match any analog synth with an ILDA projector... Some interesting live show concepts in the brew.

Here's another modular synthesist interested in an interface ILDA/Eurorack. I'm going to try with a simple correction amp and that should do the trick. Synth outputs from most modules are already DC-coupled, anyway. We have quadrature osc's, LFO's, VCA's, clipping amps... the only thing I can't guess is how rotations and geometric corrections are being performed in an analogue console. There are so many interesting modules that could create interesting shapes! I have programmed a XY visualizer in Processing to watch the sound of my synths and they are definitely worth watching, the most interesting part being the AD artifacts at higher frequencies, though. The image below is an example of that.



Best regards!


Pere

[AshMcFadden]

Good Morning, DZ! Finally got around to registering for this forum. I'll try to answer some of The Doctor's questions about why I designed the original P-4 front panel the way I did. This place looks like it could be a serious time sink. Wheee!

[AshMcFadden]

I designed the front panel of the P-4 after playing the only popular analog synth you didn't mention, Doc: Alan R. Pearlman's Odyssey. I still have one in the studio.

Here's a bit about flow. I put image generation at the lower left, using rotary pots for frequency and slide pots for amplitude (and carrying this philosophy throughout the panel). The P-4 has two VCQOs, the Z-5 has three. To the immediate right of image generation is the VCA, which can be adjusted in amplitude for X and Y, separately or ganged, with a three position switch at the top to select direct voltage control from a pot or either of two LFOs, which are to the right of the VCA knobs. NB: Above each image generation slidepot is a switch/pot to modulate the VCQO frequency using either of the two LFOs. You can make an image zoom in and out in time to the music and also synch a morph from one lissajous pattern to another with the bounce.

I'll stop there. I just typed all that from memory without looking and for anyone who's played an ARP Odyssey, the many different ways of generating, rotating and modulating an image will be immediately apparent. It doesn't take long for someone to learn to run a P-4 by Braille.

I think the problem many people have, until they get their hands on the device, is that the flow isn't readily apparent because there are so many more ways to make it flow than there would have been if I'd copied a MiniMoog.