In this episode of Synth Journal, we discover the isolated Moog Modular tracks from The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun”. There’s also a whole lot of randomness going on, with two experimental synths and an ingenious trigger processor module from DivKid.
Synamodec Magnetar: The Dark Star of Drones
If dark, menacing drones and gloomy ambient textures are your thing, here’s a new box from Synamodec you won’t want to miss. Magnetar is a “dual distortion synthesizer” that combines two kinds of distortion and a modulated delay to create a wide range of unpredictable soundscapes. While it does have a signal input – meaning that you can run any signal through it to unleash Magnetar’s destructive powers – it also generates sounds without any input. Judging by the sounds in the video below, you could score an entire sci-fi movie with this thing!
The signal chain begins with a distortion module, which then feeds into a fuzz. Next is a delay, which can be modulated by an internal LFO. There’s also a tone control (EQ) for the output.
Despite the simple setup, I find the range of sounds quite fascinating – Magnetar sounds like hours and hours of experimental droning fun.
Magnetar is now available from Synamodec for €375.
DivKid & Making Sound Machines DivSkip
Whenever YouTuber and Eurorack guru DivKid releases a new module of his own, you can be sure that it’s something unique and useful. In collaboration with Making Sound Machines, DivKid created DivSkip– an incredibly versatile multi-mode trigger and gate processor. Designed to be chained behind clock utilities, trigger sequencers, or logic modules, DivSkip lets you mangle trigger signals in a variety of creative ways, injecting a dose of randomness and probability into your patch.
DivSkip has four channels, each of which can operate in one of eight modes – from Bernoulli gates to Turing and Euclidean modes to speed ramps and a range of predefined rhythm patterns. Plug a signal into a channel’s trigger input, and it’ll be processed and/or split between the dual output jacks according to the selected mode. There’s even a CV input per channel that lets you control the probability externally. And you can easily mute channels by pressing the knobs. This opens up a huge range of creative performance possibilities.
DivKid & Making Sound Machines DivSkip is now available for around €230 / $250.
Home Bake Instruments ARPS: Random Arpeggio Wavetable Synth
Here’s another experimental synth for anyone enjoying the unpredictable. ARPS by Home Bake Instruments from Japan combines four wavetable oscillators with a “chaotic note generator” to generate an endless supply of random phrases. ARPS can sync to an external trigger signal, but there’s also an internal clock generator.
The note generator has three knobs for selecting the scale and adjusting the root note and range. You can then use the big knob on the left to smoothly scroll through the oscillators’ over 200 waves while the random arpeggio is playing. A simple one-knob AR envelope lets you vary the sound from percussive to a softer attack.
ARPS costs 14,800 Japanese Yen, which is just over $100. Outside of Japan, the developer’s products are unfortunately only available through forwarding services such as Buyee or ZenMarket. At the time of writing, ARPS was sold out, but if you really want one, just drop Home Bake Instruments a line – I’m sure they can work something out.
Listen to the Isolated Moog Tracks from The Beatles’ “Here Comes The Sun”
Even over half a century after The Beatles split up, their work remains a treasure chest with so much to discover. In a new video, the YouTube channel You Can’t Unhear This explores the recording history of George Harrison’s gem “Here Comes The Sun” – including his experiments with his newly acquired Moog Modular. George’s Moog was one of the first such systems to be delivered to the UK, and he used it on several tracks on “Abbey Road” – the final album to be recorded by the band.
Rumor has it that George didn’t really know what he was doing – few musicians did at the time –, but the sounds he overdubbed on “Here Comes The Sun” augmented the recording in a fascinating way. The video also reveals that he erased large portions of the woodwind overdubs in favor of the Moog – in the days of 8-track recordings, you just had to make choices!
I recommend watching the whole video, but if you want to jump straight to the Moog bit, it starts at around 5:35.
If you’d like to experiment with a Moog Modular system and don’t want to shell out over ten grand for the Model 10 replica, we recommend Arturia’s Modular V or Moog’s excellent Model 15 app for iOS and macOS.
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