Design, and investigation in general, thrive on a challenge. So Bastus Trump, working with none other than Monolake co-founder and Ableton imagineer Robert Henke, took on the call to make the blank glass of an iPad behave more as an instrument might. The results, filling that screen with overlapping circles, are impressive, exploiting continuous touch movements to make pitch gestures that are more difficult on a piano-style keyboard. But it’s even nicer to see digital fuse with analog and timbral transformation as the app, Orphion, meets the more traditional Moog Moogerfooger effects.

Bastus writes CDM:

[Orphion's] interface was developed especially for a touch screen and allows very expressive — and also virtuosic — playing. You can choose between different layouts of tonally-tuned pads, which sound differently depending on the finger position when played, and can be modulated by further movements. The sound and the means of interaction is a mixture of string and percussion instruments and reaches from soft to plucked to a hard slap.

The concept of the Orphion results from my master thesis at UdK Berlin supervised by Robert Henke (aka monolake). The topic was to develop an interface for multi-touch screens that allows a maximum of expression.

So, you can see a quick demo of how it’s played. But just how would this fit into your studio? For the answer to that question, we turn to our friend Chris Stack and his excellent Experimental Synth series.

In this episode:

Playing the Orphion iPad app through a Moog MF-102 Ring Modulator and MF-104Z Analog Delay. Moogerfooger parameters are controlled with the Moog Voyager Touch Surface CV outputs.

experimentalsynth.com

Thanks for the great work, Bastus. We’ll be watching.

iPad only; download the app or provide your own review on our exclusive Apps section:
http://apps.createdigitalmusic.com/apps/orphion

[Oh, yeah. About that. Announcement coming shortly. Consider yourself with the scoop by virtue of having read to the end of this article.]

Moog Music has made official the launch of the Moogerfooger MF-108M Cluster Flux. Leaked specs went out yesterday. I was editing a book; hopefully you were doing something less work-like, such as sipping beers aside the beach with your iPhones completely powered down and stowed. But now that it’s official, we know full specifications on the hardware (below), and pricing and availability. The Cluster Flux will list for US$599; expect lower prices street. You’ll be able to get it third quarter of this year.

Why is the Cluster Flux worth leaking? Moog already has a lovely line of analog Moogerfooger effects units, but the Cluster Flux is a unique flanger / chorus / vibrato / modulated effect unit. It promises to do the usual sounds those features entail, but loaded up with hardware controls, it can do more, too, says Moog – like a “wider range of modulated delay line effects” more. And in usual Moogerfooger fashion, you get a full complement of CV and MIDI controls, too.

Two other observations: first, the design of this will look familiar to those of you who have used Moog’s iOS app. Second, Cluster Flux to me sounds more like a Metasonix product name than Moog. Actually — no, then it’d be just Clusterf***, and one of those knob labels would require you to shield youngsters’ eyes. And there would be a tube stolen from a rotting Soviet submarine, not what the Moog press release describes as “state-of-the-art all-analog circuitry.”

I’ve been waiting some time for a Moogerfooger to move from “nice to have” territory into “have to have.” And for those of us on a budget, who can’t fill up our studios with Moog hardware the way the company’s NAMM booth exhibits do, that means being choosy. This one could be the one, looking at the specs. I’ll reserve judgment until I get to play with it.

The specs (copying and pasting; I hear editor-sent attack dogs scratching at the door and actually need to run for it so they don’t savagely tear off my limbs — catch you later):

The MF-108M Cluster Flux is more powerful than traditional chorus/flange effects offering musicians the added modulation of multiple LFO waveforms: Sine, Triangle, Square, Saw, Ramp and Random, to create many kinds of new modulated BBD Delay effects. MIDI IN allows control of Delay Time, Range, Feedback, Output Level, LFO Waveform, LFO Rate, LFO Amount and Mix. Additional features include:

· The ability to sync LFO modulation effects to MIDI Clock or Tap Tempo
· The ability to control Delay Time w/ MIDI Notes for “tuned” flanger comb-filter effects.
· CV control of Delay Time, LFO Rate, Feedback, LFO Amount, Mix
· Send/Return Insert for external processing of BBD signals.
· A second output configurable via DIP switches for different types of stereo outputs
· A Spillover mode allows for creation of interesting drones and other feedback effects.
· Control of Delay Time, Mix and Feedback in Chorus setting for extreme chorus effects
· Bi-polar feedback design creates Flanging effects w/ even or odd harmonic emphasis.
· Wide-ranging LFO Rate for very slow to audio rate modulation
· Input/Output Level controls for use w/ wide range of devices.

Readers are already pointing to rival gear from maker Eventide. It’s an apples-to-oranges comparison in some ways — but, then, sometimes you want an apple, sometimes an orange. I hope we’ll get to cover more soon from both these vendors.

The earliest major analog electronic instrument meets laptop, as artist Dorit Chrysler demonstrates the power of her voice and musicianship in the Moog Sound Lab.

How it works:

To function as a one woman band, Dorit triggers a prerecorded backtrack on her laptop, adding vocals and theremin in real time. At her feet are a Moogerfooger MF-104Z Analog Delay and an Akai Head Rush looper that add layers of complexity to the sonic depth to her sound.

It’s an eminently practical rig, with the sort of gear you can really cherish rather than just dispose – and just the sort of live performance we’d love to see more often. Having just come off watching a night of intense live electronic performance at Philadelphia’s Saturn Never Sleeps (more documentation of that soon), seeing this makes me want to head into my own lab and do some serious practicing. There’s no technology quite like the human technology.

Moog Sound Lab: Dorit Chrysler

Connecting something to something else – it’s a basic principle of musical composition, of improvisation, of conversation. It’s therefore an essential feature of software, code, and digital music interfaces.

But sometimes, it’s awfully nice to turn a knob and plug in actual, physical cord.

Our friends Ben Hovey and Chris Stack are here with more freebies and giveaways for the analog circuitry-containing portions of your studio. This isn’t just for the deep-pocketed, either – they share free listening, ideas that can be applied even to free software patches, and techniques that work even if all you’ve got is a Moogerfooger.

First up, Ben Hovey shares a funky, free EP he made while beta testing the spectacular, capable Moog MIDI MuRF effect pedal. With MIDI-manipulated modulations, the MuRF is a bit like having a little analog effect computer. And since you can use anything as a source, it can make its textures from synthetic sounds or – as Ben does here – “on the trumpet, farfisa, wurli, breaks, and even as an echo chamber (feedback from speakers->mic->murf->speaker->mic->murf…).”

If you could only have one piece of Moog gear, or even only one hardware effect, the MIDI MuRF might be it. And, just as importantly, Ben’s music is itself as perfectly-crafted as a polished piece of North Carolina pine, filled with funk. Give a listen and download:

THE MuRF EP by benhovey

It might be considered blasphemous – part of why I like the Moogerfoogers is the feel of the knobs and faders – but Ben has also built a remote controller with the popular touch control tool TouchOSC for iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, in case you’ve been hiding in your analog modular cave – lucky you). This assumes an intervening computer, though; you need something like OSCulator to do the conversion. Going straight from mobile wirelessly to MIDI device is likely to be a topic of discussion here shortly, so that’s all I’ll say for now.

But the layouts look useful, and while I wouldn’t personally have any desire to duplicate the controls already on the Moogerfooger, having access to MIDI-accessible controls is indeed very nice.

Finally, Chris Stack, formerly of Moog Music but now doing all of this independently, continues his fantastic Experimental Synth series. I’ll say what I’ve said before, which is that you can borrow these ideas even if you aren’t lucky enough to have this (very fine) gear; if you have a computer and no pocket change at all, you can still do it in Pd. And if you can beg, borrow, or bribe your way onto the gear, now you’ll have lots of great stuff to try when you get there.

At top, the latest video and my current favorite, which shows all that’s happening in the wonderful world of modulars, specifically the imaginative Make Noise modules.

This video shows a Make Noise René sequencer modulating a Moog Voyager, Little Phatty and Slim Phatty. René is a Cartesian sequencer and brings a totally new method of control to the Moog synths. No MIDI cables were harmed during the making of this video.

But wait — there’s more. Continuing the MuRF theme, here’s a means of syncing that box via a gate output for some rhythmic fun:

Have a Moog MuRF, Bass MuRF or MIDI MuRF? Here’s a way to sync it to the beat using the Gate output from a Moog Voyager (w/ VX-351). This method should work with other Gate-producing gear as well.

Tuning has been a big interest area for many of us of late; here’s a lovely demo of alternate scales with the Little Phatty, something I hope to try on more synths in general.

An exploration of non-Western tunings with the Moog Little Phatty. In this example, the Arabic scale, Maqaam Husayni is given a workout.

And finally, a reminder that harmonizers don’t have to be used exclusively on vocals:

I can’t simply rip off every single video Chris does, so be sure to check out:
www.experimentalsynth.com

And analog, digital, or … steam … keep the interesting music stuff coming.

Chris Stack (formerly of Moog) inaugurates a series of experimental synthesis sounds with a stereo modulation effect, using two of the terrific Moog MF-102 ring modulators as the canvas. It’s a dead-simple combination of cables – you connect the carrier output of the first MF-102 into the input of the second, and the LFO out to the frequency – but once interconnected, the double ring mod effect is capable of a wide range of sounds.

(“Double ring mod … oh my God.” Yeah, I know.)

In fact, for the impatient among you, you might here the experimental synthy sounds at the beginning and miss the subtler pads just before three minutes. This is a technique that really has a broad potential palette, beyond the conventional (and admittedly alien) sounds of the ring mod.

The Moogerfooger has a very recognizable sound, and it’s a wonderful unit. If you can’t afford two or more of these beauties, though, watch carefully – the routing here could easily be replicated in software, once you understand what’s going on. (Pd patch, anyone? Upload to comments and I’ll send you … some kind of prize.)

And if you have a computer and some Moog boxes, you can do this twice.

Chris, I look forward to what you do next! (Bonus, below – the answer to that question, and the question of what to do if you own a Little Phatty and a Slim Phatty. Or … perhaps what do if you’ve got one Phatty and your friend has another?)

Moog Music, they of the normally analog-only gear, have built their first iOS application. We’ve acquired exclusive details of the innards of the app, and I’ve been testing it today on my (second-generation) iPod touch. Blasphemy? Perhaps, but it’s a nicely-designed little application, and with audio input capability, could turn your Apple handheld into a tiny recording and effects-processing unit alongside other gear. (Game Boy plus iPod touch? Casiotone plus iPod touch?)

The application, Filtatron, hasn’t yet been announced. There’s no information on pricing or availability, accordingly.

Divided onto several pages (see screenshots), it represents a set of modules for recording, sampling, effects, and filtering. The controls are cleanly laid-out, and everything makes some sound, making it familiar and fun for people who know how to use it but very “tweakable” for someone who’s never touched something like this before. (There’s no question this could be a gateway drug to Moog’s genuine analog gear for the mass market on iOS.)

What it does:

• Filter + LFO
• Amp (drive) + feedback for distortion
• Adjustable, time-syncable delay
• Sampler with adjustable playback speed, loop points, and live recording
• X/Y pads for tweaking and performance, plus preset sharing.

You can actually use the app without any input, by transferring files from your computer or another application (with AudioCopy supprot). But connect a mic or line input (or use the internal mic on a device like the iPhone), and the Filtatron turns your device into a live filtering unit.

In case you’re afraid Moog are giving up on gear, there’s a Catalog link on the about page from which you can buy one of the Moogerfooger line. Or, you can just sport this app and a t-shirt. (It’s like owning a BMW lighter but no car. Well, okay, somewhat more useful than that.)

So, what could this be used for? One of the Moog engineers imagined importing audio, processing on the go on the device, then re-importing to your music environment. (Just in case you want to adjust that LFO just right on the bus.) You can use it for real-time effects. Or you can even use it as a really unusual field recorder, recording only in Moogified sounds.

I will say this: my impression so far is that it’s a lot of fun to use. Yes, there are other apps that do things like this. No, it isn’t nearly as satisfying to use as the Moogerfooger hardware – losing the tactile response really loses a lot. But it’s a different experience; something you could easily add to a chain of other devices or use on the go in a way you might not expect.

I also notice that, aside from getting Moog-like sounds, you really appreciate big, simplified controls. That says to me that software generally could learn a lot from hardware, not just in sound or tactile feel, but in design. Review forthcoming, but here’s the full run-down on specs.

Complete Specifications

Audio input will work via any adapter. You can use the headphone/mic jack directly (though to get audio out, you’ll need to use a 3-prong minijack – more on that as I test my camcorder cable with this and other apps). You can also use third-party devices like the Blue Mikey (good if you need a mic) or IK Multimedia iRIG (good for mono instrument/guitar input). I’m also testing the iRIG.

Via an internal design documentation, I’ve got the details on the internal specs for the app. The goal, says the document: “filtatron allows you to combine several sound sources and apply effects to them in realtime. Sound sources include line or mic input, looping sample playback, and an internal oscillator.”

Audio engine: 16-bit, 44.1 kHz. (Some apps, like RjDj, actually use less, so that’s worth noting.)

Filter: modeled 4-pole resonant filter, which Moog intended to be matched to their analog filters. Lowpass, highpass, cutoff, resonance, self-oscillation at high resonance – you know, the usual.

LFO, Envelope Filter: Routed to filter cutoff. LFO: sine, ramp, sawtooth, square, sample&hold. Crossfade/morph between LFO shapes. Bipolar LFO (sweep up or down). Free-tuned LFOs, sync to tap tempo.

Envelope Follower: Route sound inputs to sweep the filter, with adjustable reaction speed.

Tap tempo, separation, mix.

Amp (overdrive) effect with feedback. Also can self-oscillate.

Delay effect. Delay with its own LFO. Adjustable from a short flange to longer delays.

Pads. X-Y pads controlled by multi-touch control parameters for live performance/tweaking. Assignments:

VCF pad controls filter cutoff and resonance, LFO pad controls LFO Rate and Amount, Delay pad controls delay time and feedback. VCO pad controls oscillator frequency and level (amplitude) – if the VCO “Release” parameter is engaged (ENABLE button on VCO panel, main page), then the VCO x-y pad also controls the VCO volume gate — the VCO is silent when you are not touching the pad and sounds a note on each touch. ENV pad controls envelope follower amount and speed, and AMP pad controls amp drive and feedback.

Sampler: Play included loops, record your own samples, or bring in your own loops using either the AudioCopy/AudioPaste API or an FTP connection. Sampler includes play controls, playback speed (-2x to +2x), and tap-and-drag controls for loop start and stop on the waveform.

Record audio into the sampler dry, or record with effects for resampling capability. Recording is limited only by available storage, but playback is limited to 10MB each (ca. 2 minutes).

Preset recall and storage. Includes a number of presets, allows you to save your own, and provides onboard email sharing of presets.

Exclusive CDM Moog April Fool’s Pre-announcement

The Minimoog XL for iOS. All 61 keys, so small you can’t hit them. Still monophonic. Seriously. I want to see it in the traditional April Fool’s announcement, you guys on North Carolina.

More Q&A, More Moog

From comments:
Christopher Wolfe, developer of the superb Jasuto (modular for iOS and now Android), is evidently behind some of the implementation here, collaborating with the Moog design team. Great work, Christopher. So it’s sort of a meeting of Chris’ mobile development experience with Moog’s hardware and design experience, as I see it.

Looping is not something you can do live; that’s not really the focus of the amp. But once samples are recorded, they’re fun to play with.

Apologies for not having a video, but here in the CDM workshop, we have some… other things happening, too. Moog have released a video with Richard Devine, but we can do one that’s quite a lot clearer! (Looks like they only had time for a teaser. I like the Wall of Moogerfoogers, though.)

Oh, and for the record, I’m actually surprised there isn’t much controversy here regarding a Moog iPhone app. But shows that – like them or hate them – people have at least come to expect iOS music apps.

If you do love hardware, though, check out the Slim Phatty, a news story Matrixsynth broke yesterday with a leaked ad. (Thanks, sgnelson.) $799 for a rack mount-style module, leaving the question of choosing which keyboard to use to play it. $800 is a great deal on a Phatty; Dave Smith Instruments, of course, remain a strong (and incredibly affordable) choice in the same price range.

Sing along, those of you who don’t like these iPhone apps moving in on the hardware.

`Cause I’m the Slim Phatty, yes I’m the real Phatty /
All your Moog iPhone s*** are just digital crappy /
So won’t the real Slim Phatty please stand up /
please stand up, please stand up

Y’all act like you never seen an iPhone app before.

Finally, the headline from the terrific Tara Busch and AnalogSuicide.com says it all:
Moog to Release New iPhone, iPad app, “Filtatron”. Embrace it!

Tara also makes no apologies for focusing on Moog at the moment. (Don’t worry, CDMers, we can and will also cover Smith, Linn, Chowning, Mathews, Roads, and company. All in due time.)

Moog’s Moogerfoogers, the boutique all-analog hardware effects units, are brilliant piece of sound gear. They’re accessible, terrific sounding, and exquisitely-designed in terms of interface and control. Even as a software person, I just have a lot of respect for the design of these boxes.

I’m sure Moog Music hopes you collect these things (oh, if I had that budget), but if you had to take just one Moogerfooger, the just-announced MF-105M might be your strongest candidate. First, it combines the two previous Moogerfooger MuRFs – that’s the Bob Moog-designed Multiple Resonance Filter Array. The MuRF (rhymes with “Smurf”) is basically eight filters which are sequenced to “animate” the effects in interesting ways. The original MuRF led to a set of bass filters, aimed at bass players or guitar players “looking for a heavier, darker sound.” Previously, you’d have to buy two separate Moogerfoogers to get both; the MF-105M just gives you both in one box.

More importantly, the “M” in the MF-105M stands for MIDI. Modulation is only fun if you have something with which you can modulate. As on the whole Moogerfooger line, you can use Control Voltage, but the MF-105M also uses MIDI, as seen in the demo video below.

• Change from pattern to pattern using MIDI Program Change
• Sync your patterns to tempo with MIDI Clock, so you can play along with a drum machine, Ableton Live, whatever
• Control any front panel with MIDI Control Change messages – for instance, control the envelope with your Mod Wheel
• Play the filters with MIDI notes

It’s still US$479, but you get what would otherwise require two of these units plus a MIDI-to-CV converter. And it’s all set up to use out of the box. It’s definitely a keyboardist and synthesist-friendly Moogerfooger – and for guitarists with MIDI guitars and a lot of imagination.

Moog Moogerfooger MF-105M

Thanks to Ben Hovey over at Moog for sending this our way. (And yes, everyone is free to send us your product news, please – can’t guarantee it won’t get lost in my frightening inbox, but…)

Available in August. Video (silly titles, but about halfway through they have some useful demos):

A chap named Nick Ciontea has created a channel on Vimeo collecting odd videos folks have made with or regarding Moog products. I know about this, because two of my videos made it in. It’s a grab bag, but a lovely tribute to how much people love this gear.

My favorite selection is the video here, because it’s not what you’d expect sound-wise from either Yamaha’s Tenori-On or Moog filters. Artist “Smith” says:

This first test is a prepartory work to a series of solo pieces inspired by John Cage’s experiments for prepared piano and Conlon Nancarrow’s player piano studies.

Yes, things you don’t normally expect to go together: Cage/Nancarrow, Moog, Tenori-On. And he successfully erases the Tenori-On’s beautiful if predictable signature sound. This is what I imagine music boxes would sound like on Alpha Centauri. In other news: I can’t afford this rig.

- 2 TENORI-ON(s)
- MI Audio Pollyanna Octave Synth
- Moog Low Pass Filter (MF-101)
- Moog Ring Modulator (MF-102)
- Moog Bass Murf (MF-105b)
- Jomox M-Resonator
- Rotary Ensemble (Boss RT-20)
- Boss FV-500L (as expression pedal for LPF Resonance)
- Boss FV-500L (as expression pedal for RM Frequency)
- Boss EV-5 for Rotary Ensemble speed

But, involved as that is, it’s further evidence you can push sound in new ways. And if online videos do nothing else, they can lay the gauntlet down in terms of what you think possible – both by demonstrating the generic and the unusual.

We live in an age of disposable electronics. iPod battery wears out or new prettier iPod arrives, and old iPod gets tossed. Or, if you’re Norwegian sound artist and musician Espen Sommer Eide, your iPod could live a second life far more interesting than its first.

The Slåttberg is a custom musical instrument fashioned from an iPod running Linux, pdPod, the iPod-ready version of open-source multimedia patching software Pure Data, a 60s-era loudspeaker cabinet, an internal amp, and, most importantly, a big crank. Plugged into a Moogerfooger FreqBox, the resulting instrument feels like a reimagined analog Hurdy-Gurdy. Espen says he was inspired by deconstructing Norwegian fiddle music, and it comes out in the instrument not only in the sound but in the sense this creation is something Norwegian ethnomusicologists might collect, alongside ancient Scandinavian flutes.

Those of you in Norway, let us know how the premiere goes, and what else happens at the festival — sounds terrific. Espen writes:

Hi being a regular reader of your site, and since your article about the pdpod a while back inspired me to use my old ipod for this project РI thought you might be interested to check it out. A preview video of a custom built musical instrument by Espen Sommer Eide, artist and member of Alog and Phonophani. The Sl̴ttberg will premiere at the Borealis Festival for contemporary music Bergen, Norway late february 2008.

alog.net

Alog, by the way, is the acclaimed duo of which Espen is one half. And anyone who makes use of Duck-Rabbits (the “famous gestalt psychological figure representing both a duck and a rabbit depending upon the point of view”) wins still more bonus points.