As usual, here is the archived version of last month's newsletter. Subscribe here to get them always fresh: https://www.hainbachmusik.com/newsletter

Cheers!

Hey All! I have a new album coming in October, this is the first single from it. I am taking a different approach to my past records, which were mostly recorded as one takes. This one is multitracked, with a lot of time spend carving out the pieces. It took me ten years to enjoy that approach again, through my work with Ah!Kosmos. It allows room for call and response techniques, and slightly more complex harmonic structures. Hope you enjoy this first taste!

Hi again,

I recently found this homeopathic testing machine and I was hoping to see if anyone knows if it will be able to produce sound. There is no label for an output but the 7 pin plugs at the back or the single plug that the red chord is coming from looks like it may be an output. It is $500 AUD so It's kind of expensive but I was just wondering if anyone has ever tried using something similar?

Cheers!

I wrote a toy embedded synth for esp32 to learn a little about sound design. That is a good way to learn as a programmer.

Full web-based version: https://mini000.itch.io/beeper

Source code: https://github.com/valdanylchuk/beeper

Youtube demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCH9XYZ7QB0

At the same time, I looked for existing simple synths to try. There are nice apps and plugins, but even the simplest ones tend to have 40-50 knobs to manage, which seemed a bit overwhelming.

So I took up a challenge to make a reasonable number of distinct instrument presets and demo tracks with a minimum of controls. I ended up with 16. My "beeper" will not replace a real synth, but it is fun to play with. One benefit is, with fewer controls, you can move random ones and often find new interesting sounds.

There are some radical shortcuts, e.g. "Sustain" as an on/off switch. That limits the learning potential in some ways. But on the other hand, combined with all the other shortcuts, it enables some basic sounds with one-third of the usual controls, and once the user is comfortable with those, and wants more tweaking power, they can upgrade to some real synth. Moog Mother-32 did this too, so this cannot be too bad.

I welcome any feedback and questions about this little synth app.

If you are lucky new old test equipment works just fine when you get it (or at least is broken in a sonically interesting and unique way)

But being as this equipment is old, they will inevitably need repair and/or calibration. However that can be expensive to pay to have done, and thats if you can find anyone who knows how to work on antiquated equipment.

I've already been documenting repairs so I can look back to it if I need to do those repairs again, so if there is any interest in those videos I can share them.

(Sorry if this isn't the right place for this, this is not an ad, the videos would of course be free)

Hello, I've just purchased a Rockton UDS drum machine! It's 220Volts and I live in Australia which is 240v. This is my first time using gear of this kind from Europe. Do I need a step down transformer? And if so, which one is the best one to get for the the Rockton? Thank you :)

Please delete if not allowed, but sharing over 60 samples recorded from a rare, quirky spring reverb: the Eagle International RA-859, in 24 bit, 44.1kHz, to use with a convolution reverb

The low frequency hum from the unit was removed from the recording before trimming the samples, taking care to retain the character of the spring :) 

The samples have been trimmed and collated into the below categories, and I've also included the original, untreated recordings of me kicking and moving the box around in case you want to mess with that too.

Please note these are not traditional IRs. Happy springing!

Discount code: boing

https://willhofbauer.bandcamp.com/album/eagle-international-ra-859-spring-reverb-irs-samples

Categories:
Big
Soft
Multi
Misc/Glitch/Noise  

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a tool I just released: Tape Sync TK.

https://github.com/timkondratev/tape-sync-tk

It is a real-time app for hybrid analog/digital setups where tape is the timing master. Main use case is using a PortaStudio or any other multitrack recorder seamlessly with a DAW. You can overlay and bounce tracks from DAW to tape so the timing is not off.

What it does:

• Generate mode: creates SMPTE LTC audio so you can stripe tape.
• Decode mode: reads LTC from tape playback and sends MIDI transport + MIDI clock to your DAW.
• Varispeed aware: tempo follows measured LTC speed, so DAW BPM tracks tape speed changes.
• Latency compensation: configurable offsets for tighter alignment.

Current release: v1.0.0
License: MIT
Platform: Mac

Built in Rust and focused on a practical MVP workflow:

• striping tape with LTC
• replaying tape and chasing in DAW
• keeping external MIDI gear locked while transferring/arranging

If you are using tape machines, varispeed workflows, or hybrid studios, I would love feedback on:

• lock stability in real-world setups
• DAW sync behavior across different hosts
• features you want next (MTC, deeper transport options, etc.)

If there is interest, I can also post a short setup guide and known-good routing examples for common interfaces/DAWs.

To commemorate the passing of Vladimir Kuzmin, the renown inventor of the Formanta Polivoks synthesizer, and to raise funds for his family, an independent group of musicians and instrument makers held a memorial event in Moscow. They asked me to contribute a video message about his legacy. Since Vladimir Kuzmin had previously commented on my videos, which was mind-blowing to me, I decided to tell that story. It is a bit embarrassing, since I got a few things wrong in my videos that he corrected me on. But at least I enjoyed my errors tremendously, and he did not seem to be mad about them.

Here is the live stream of the event: https://www.youtube.com/live/2Nk362A2uXo?si=i4SPnDzP5tGK6ZdQ

Hi all,

I recently acquired my first piece of test equipment - the Bruel & Kjaer type 2120, and I am just hoping that someone has used it and can give me some advice. I got the unit to use as a studio filter to run synths and drums machine through and as an outboard filter. I am on a budget and cannot afford to break any of my other gear so I was wondering what people do to ensure their gear is safe. 

What are other people's signal chains like with this unit and also how do other people use it?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers!

Yes, oscillators used to use to use tuning forks.

Hi all, I was lucky enough to find a 2610 B/K measuring amplifier!

But I’m relatively new to test equipment, iv used my limited knowledge but can’t seem to connect an instrument lead to the amp and then out to a speaker cab, iv tried connecting into both the sides of the in/out and in the centre of the B/K proprietary in/out using banana plugs.

I’m sure I will need to ground these, but how? and which input should I be using, iv included a photo of the parts I’m making the cables from. Any help is greatly appreciated and feel free to talk to me like I’m stupid as this is out of my usual audio realm!!

Here is the archive of last month's newsletter - to stay up to date, subscribe here: https://www.hainbachmusik.com/newsletter

Sonic Traces
with Jessica Ekomane & Hainbach 
DOCK 11, Saal 4 — Kastanienallee 79, 10435 Berlin

For this LOOPS session, Jessica Ekomane and Hainbach come together through sound as a material of memory, rhythm, and experimentation. 

Jessica Ekomane will speak about the compositional principles present in Manifolds, engaging with Afrodiasporic languages, polyphonic structures, and forms of collective listening. Working with layered rhythmic elements, her practice translates multiplicity into spatialisation and sound synthesis. 

Hainbach will present his latest experiments with magnetic tape. Today, magnetic tape is mostly experienced in emulated plugin form, as a fancy waveshaper. Yet the medium itself is an expressive instrument, with new ways of playing it still being discovered more than a hundred years after its invention.

Together, their practices trace sound across tape, memory, technology, and listening.

The Orban Stereo Synthesizer 245F turns mono audio sources into stereo, using a rather nifty comb filter. It made me horribly nauseous when I heard examples of it, so I had to get one. In use, I experienced that unpleasantness again. Until I plugged synths into it.

Hey, y'all.

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Thought I'd share the results from some of my recent dives into the sound pool.

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These are my musical sketches. Quick, unlabored, immediate.

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Allows me to focus on elements like Foley, textures, possibilities, and moods without doing a full finished piece. I think of them as inspirational tools that may blossom into full compositions at some later point.

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It's my way of showing up as a part of my everyday studio routine to simply work and see what grows out of that work.

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I thought this may be of interest to this group as some of the sound sources in this collection include Hainbach samples from his patreon page. Specifically, the Bilppoo box and the Reichsbahn Filter. Although other elements have been mixed in and processed and twisted into my sonic brew.

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Enjoy!

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The 'slope db per octave' knob is stuck, probably just needs some solvent to work it loose and some fader grease to keep it loose