Synth Geekery 307

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In episode 307 we talked about synths, eurorack, sequencers, drum machines, samplers, effects and software! Plus all the usual segments! Funny Side, News from the Geekery, Price Watch, Name that Synth …

Show contents:

About the Synth Geekery Show

Synth Geekery is a weekly podcast/live stream (YouTube) show about everything synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, sequencers, eurorack and music technology. We take the “one of the masses” viewpoint, where we are also users of gear just like you (read: we’re not influenced by commercial product placement).

The show relies on the generous contributions of the synth community. You can contribute in many ways including supporting us via our YouTube Channel Membership or Patreon. We also have regular and special video guests: if you would like to take part in future shows – please contact me via email on the about page here.

Your Host

Ranzee (Ranz Adamson) is your show host. He’s based in Perth, Western Australia and has been a hobbyist musician and technologist for most of his life. More information can be found about him here.

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ranzee

BandCamp: https://ranzee.bandcamp.com

Guests

This week’s video guests are:

Daren T. Housse

Bandcamp Link: https://darenthousse.bandcamp.com/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLPHxpZgFKKE1wkG9ndto3A

Daren resides in the UK and is one of the first video guests on the show since 2019. He has a large amount of tracks on his youtube channel plus a great album collection over on BandCamp.

SynthAddict

Andy is a musician and technologist from the bay area in California. He has an amazing collection of music tech gadgets and a large knowledge of synthesizers.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUtABvP7q29uvLKi73zIjFQ

Ian J. Cole

Ian is a musician, composer, sound designer and producer currently producing solo ambient electronic music. He also runs Sinners Music which is a Record Company and Online Music Retailer in East Yorkshire, England

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/IanJCole

Chris – Maikshifter

Chris is a musician and technologist from Perth, Western Australia. He’s always had a love for creating and tinkering with music electronics and has recently embarked on a new journey creating eurorack modules.

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Maikshifter

Video replay

Funny Side

The funny side segment is a collection of memes that are somewhat relevant to the synth geekery community. Some of these images are taken from Facebook, Instagram and other social media sources. Please respect the creators. Hope you enjoy this week’s selection “Library edition”:

News

ALM MUM M8 DSP

The MUM M8 is an 8hp Eurorack low‑pass filter inspired by the classic Akai S950 12‑bit sampler design, enhanced with resonance, voltage control, clipped saturation, and an integrated VCA. It recreates the smooth, “vacuum‑like tone sucking” filter character beloved in early jungle and hardcore. It’s an authentic digital emulation of the original hardware for you to use in your DAW.

🛠️ Feature List

  • Recreation of classic sampler filter for your DAW.
  • Resonance and gain control.
  • Added Clock bleed switch.
  • Added Bit Depth control for downsampled, character-rich output.
  • Ability to overdrive and saturate signals.
  • Mumdance approved 

Price: $10

Link: https://busycircuits.com/mum-m8-dsp/

Behringer Halos

The Behringer HALOS is a 14 HP Eurorack physical‑modeling resonator module, inspired by Mutable Instruments Rings. It turns simple inputs (noise bursts, triggers, envelopes, external audio) into richly textured, acoustic‑like sounds using modal synthesis, modeling strings, tubes, membranes, and plates.

🛠️ Feature List

  • Three resonator modes: Modal Resonator, Sympathetic Strings, Non‑Linear/Dispersion Strings for modeling different acoustic materials
  • Pseudo‑polyphony: up to 4 simultaneous notes for overlapping decay and movement
  • Front‑panel full CV control (Frequency, Structure, Brightness, Damping, Position), each with bipolar attenuverter
  • High‑resolution CV input (16‑bit) for precise modulation
  • USB‑C port on front panel for firmware updates (new over original Rings)
  • Compact format: 14 HP wide, ~30 mm deep; draws ~50 mA @ +12 V and ~20 mA @ –12 V

✅ Pricing (approximate retail list)

Behringer’s basic U.S. MSRP is USD 119.

Based on current exchange rates as of Aug 1 2025 (RBA, XE/Wise data):

  • EUR: €≈103 (USD119 × ~0.866 EUR/USD)
  • GBP: £≈89 (USD119 × ~0.746 GBP/USD)
  • AUD: A$≈185 (USD119 / 0.6435 USD/AUD)
CurrencyPrice
USD$119
EUR~€103
GBP~£89
AUD~A$185

⚠️ Note: These are approximate conversions, not including local taxes, import fees, or retailer markups.

📅 Release Date

Behringer officially introduced HALOS on July 30, 2025, with pre‑orders starting immediately and shipping shortly after.

Link: https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=0720-ADN

EMW Noise Bank

The EMW Noise Bank is a compact Eurorack noise generator module by Electronic Music Works (Brazil), featuring a digital noise algorithm offering extensive variety and modulation capabilities.

🛠️ Feature List

  • 142 distinct noise types, organized into seven categories: Basic, Filtered, Vowels, Process, Phased, Cycled, and Decay
  • OLED display and rotary encoder for intuitive navigation and selection
  • Trigger input to synchronize cyclic or decay‑type noises
  • Frequency control potentiometer and frequency modulation CV input for shaping noise spectrum dynamically
  • Compact form: 8 HP width, 55 mm depth, weight ~100 g; power draw +12 V: 84 mA, –12 V: 2 mA

Pricing

  • USD: MSRP $158.00
  • Other currencies: Not listed directly, but approximate conversions using current rates (as of early August 2025):
CurrencyApprox. Price
AUD~ AU$ 240–260
EUR~ €150–160
GBP~ £130–140

Note: EMW prices are published in USD; conversions use mid‑2025 exchange estimates.

Release Date

First revealed in early 2025, with announcements around April 2025 and online previews/teasers cited in February and April of that year (user reports from February and Synth Anatomy coverage in April). An exact shipping date hasn’t been specified, but listings suggest it’s available by mid‑year by July 2025.

Link: https://www.electronicmusicworks.com/eurorack/noise-bank.html

IG000151 VCA Clone for Yamaha CS Synthesizers

The clone is fully drop-in replaceable and is able to coexist with the original vintage chips in the same synthesizer. It can function as VCA and current source for envelope controller on M-cards, or control voltages for TRG boards (and on any other board that uses that chip). It has the same control voltage cutoff point and similar non-linear control curve as the original, so all the control sliders work the same.

The iG00151AP is a replicant of the rare IG00151 Voltage Controlled Amplifier (VCA) chip, which was used by Yamaha in their CS-series analog synthesizers and organs from the 1970s and 80s. The iG00151AP was carefully engineered from the original chip, retaining all of its characteristics and properties, including the peculiar non-linear control curve and cutoff, input and output impedances, and identical power consumption at the same gain setting. This makes the iG00151AP the only “clone” available today that is fully drop-in replaceable and is able to coexist with the original vintage chips in the same synthesizer. While the originals are getting more expensive and harder to find, the availability of the iG00151AP ensures that the CS-series analog synthesizers remain serviceable. One CS-80 synthesizer contains 210 of these chips!

Price: $19.95

Link: https://ebay.us/5wqbEO

Price Watch

Find below images and links to the items we showed for the price watch segment.

Oberheim TVS-1https://ebay.us/UySPkH
Yamaha VL1https://ebay.us/johK1v
Yamaha SEQTRAKhttps://ebay.us/R5Siuu
Korg Tridenthttps://tidd.ly/3JgvnWc

Name That Synth

No name that synth this week – send one in!

If you are after more information about Name that Synth – please check out this page here.

Saturday Sonority

This week’s Saturday Sonority we might talking about …..