In celebration of the 50th anniversary for the E-mu Modular Exclusively Analogue will be hosting a seminar at Synthfest 2022 which will be taking place on October 8th in Sheffield UK. […]
We're pleased to confirm that 'The Merlin' is now real and in direct response to feedback and suggestions from Exclusively Analogue customers. In keeping with the aviation link the 'Merlin' is named after the iconic Rolls Royce engine that powered a number of aircraft including the Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, and Lancaster. The aim of Merlin is to provide a powerful analogue synthesizer with maximum flexibility and at a competitive price (approximately £800 depending on format). Part of the flexibility comes from making it small enough to fit into the Eurorack format but without compromising usability. To this end all of the jack sockets are on the bottom to avoid patch leads crossing the controls which is a common drawback of a lot of Eurorack modules. Merlin is available either as a self powered 19" rack mount module, a self powered desktop module, or in Eurorack format able to utilise an [...]
We recently had the pleasure of delivering a Pioneer "Tribute" system to the studio of Steve Everitt, an accomplished professional composer and musician. Steve has been a regular contributor to 'Eat Static' - an eclectic electronic band headed by Merv Pepler. Taking along another Pioneer "Tribute" system and combining it with Steve's Aviator meant there was a total of 5 complete Exclusively Analogue synth lines. Tony commented - "Whilst I have the technical ability to produce the equipment, I sadly lack the musical talent to be able to produce anything remotely appealing. In contrast Steve has talent by the bucket load, which was proven within the first 30 minutes of my being there when he added a sound from his new Pioneer system into a beautiful piano led piece he was working on. The piece already had Steve's Aviator in the mix and the end result was a magical combination [...]
At the end of 2013 Tony decided to build a special 24" by 24" "Square" Pioneer 'Tribute' system similar to the original Emu modular that he had in 1994. The modules have been built into a Maple wood cabinet and have been set up as two complete synthesizer lines including 5 VCOs, 3 different Voltage Controlled Filters, 2 Dual Transient Generators, 2 Voltage Controlled Amplifiers plus a few other useful modules. The picture below shows two modular systems together. The two systems provide 4 separate analogue synth lines controlled by various Kenton MIDI/CV convertors. Using the MIDI files of some well-known pieces of music Tony had the basis to experiment with different sounds. As an example, he used 1 line for the bass, 2 lines as sequences and the final line as a lead with an added drum track from a MacBook Pro. The MacBook Pro, running Logic Pro, was [...]
It's always great to hear the stories and thoughts of Aviator owners and this post is more of a guest post than anything else. The owner of Aviator No.28 has written in to give us his story and how he has used it as part of the setup for his band Eat Static. When I bought my Aviator, I was in an experimental techno band called Eat Static. That was around the time of our 3rd album, 'Science Of The Gods', so probably 1997. Your synths were as rare as rocking horse poo at the time and highly sought after. Luckily, I had become a successful Production Music composer in my day job and was able to pay a bit over the odds for mine. Worth every extra penny! There were three members in Eat Static and we had an enviable collection of analogue synths and drum machines. No modular [...]
Recently we had an order from a guy called Tom Rowlands who was after a Range Switch and Pot Pourri to fit into his Emu Modular system. At first glance it was another name at the bottom of an email we received. Tom put in a request and asked if we would go to his studio to fit the modules and it was only after a bit of digging that we realised who Tom actually was - one half of the very successfull Chemical Brothers. If you are not sure who they are you might like to look on YouTube at a video of the "Horsepower' track by the Chemical Brothers. Tom has a very enviable collection of analogue synthesizers in his studio, enough to keep any 'electro-musician' occupied for ages creating interesting sounds. His Emu modular system was one of the late versions with the improved large VCOs allowing [...]
