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MEET THE KNOBBERS – Italian synth meeting

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On 21-5-2011 “MEET THE KNOBBERS” has been the first synth meeting in Tuscany, Italy.

The meeting has been conceived as the first of a serie of musical events regarding synths and the application of electronic music in different enviroments, from interactions between art and music to live performances.
The location was the ” SOUNDY Musical Center ” , a recording studio with live hall and various live rooms, settled near Siena, in the beautiful country hills of the Chianti shire.
The meeting was a “One day only” event, with an afternoon in “total addiction” tweaking feast and a night of electronic music live.

The afternoon was spent with two “live rooms” full of machines and “knobbers” who played them but with a lot of curious people too!
Knobbers came from nord and south of Italy, everyone with his “toy”, as special guest Enrico Cosimi , the famous italian synth guru.
One room was dedicated to vintage stuff and DIY Modulars and synths, the other was based on Eurorack modular systems and pedals effects.
The afternoon led to interewsting electronic jam sessions with acoustic and electric instruments too such as guitars and bass.

The after dinner live sets was focused on various type of electronic music played by different artists, ambient electronica with GATTOBUS and his group, glitch/IDM with MICROSWITCH , electro with YES EXPRESS and deep house with ANDREA PEDRA.

MEET THE KNOBBERS are :

Andrea Pedrazzoli (producer, dj, live performer as Andrea Pedra/Whitesushi)

Francesco Poggianti (producer, live performer as Microswitch/Xtal/Notchsider)

a little list of the “knobbers” who made this meeting such a succesful event:

  • Maurizio Falconi with his DIY analog modular synth and lots of DIY material
  • Ludus Pinski with his awesome  Formant DIY modular
  • Niccolò “Cardinen” Caldini with his Cardinen DIY modular synth
  • Daniele Borri with his glitch mutant sound generator
  • Noctivaga with his eurorack “trolley travel”
  • Hatefish with his eurorack modular
  • Giacomo Frati  & Paolo Zemauno with their custom pedalboards
  • Gianni Proietti with his Minimoog model D

and last but not least Mimmo Nocera for his kindness and friendship, helping us to make this event come true giving the availability of the Soundy.

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Roland TR-606 review

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Roland TR 606 Drumatix

Roland TR 606 Drumatix

The Roland TR-606 was the cute sister of the great TB-303.
Roland intended to sell this pair of silver boxes to guitar players or organ players as  substitutes to a bassist and a drummer.
But in the early 80s , when the popularity of sample based drum machines was growing up with the Linn drum, Oberheim DMX, Emu Drumulator, the TR-TB combo sounded really poor and unnatural to rock players who were astonished by the fidelity of the sampled sounds.
So the poor silver boxes were sold just for practicing musicians on a budget.

During the 80s many electronic bands with low budget started using both the 606 and the 303 till , in 87/88 DJ Phuture enstablished the sound of the TB-303 as a new mainstay in the dance culture.

The TR606 , often used in early new wave electro-bands became famous as a great techno drum machine, along with its bigger sisters the TR 808, TR909.
So, despite its limitation the TR606 has gained its place in electronic music appearing in many awesome records by Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, Autechre, Kid 606, 808 STATE and many more…

The TR606 is a fully analog drumsynth with a digital sequencer.
The machine has seven sounds plus accent.

  • Accent
  • Bass drum
  • Snare drum
  • Lo tom
  • Hi tom
  • Cymbal
  • Open hat
  • Closed hat

The sequencer is really pretty easy to use.
It can be programmed in Step or Realtime, and is the classic 16 step TR sequencer.
You select the instrument and press the step that corrispond to the trig you want.
Really easy and user friendly!
The sequencer can also be used trig synth arpeggiators or other old machines with sync in.
The two toms have two triggers out to do it.
The 606 has a din port to sync (in or out ) with other machines that use the Roland sync 24.

The sounds are typical electronic analog sounds very close to the TR808, but with their own carachter.
The TR606 has a more aggressive and less smooth tone compared to the 808, it could be the 808 on acid!
The bassdrum kicks in a medium range, the snare is hard and snappy the hats and cymbal are really tinny, while the toms are great for that tribal electro rhythm.

This is a great analog drum machinee that’ is growing in price and popularity, I love mine and I think any electro/techno producer should own one!

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