• From: Скопје
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 390

Topic: MonsterDrone

Hi fellas,

I'd like to show you this machine built by a friend of mine. He's from Rio, an electronic engineer and a builder of analogue gadgets. He's an incredible guy. He plays guitar for one of the oldest progressive rock bands still active here in Rio.

So he built this machine called the MonsterDrone. I kept telling him that I'd really like to have one of those Sleepdrones or Drone Commanders. So he came up with the idea of the MonsterDrone. It's an 8 VCO drone machine.

This is him:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1376980/aparatos4.jpg

And this is a jam I did with it just now. A Thingamagoop 2 is sending its CV to one of the oscillators. Quite brutal.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1376980/d.mp3

Cheers

  • From: Hellgium
  • Registered: 2009-03-08
  • Posts: 2,093

Re: MonsterDrone

some cool sounds that come out of this little machine, it really becomes great after 1/3 of the track.
With the sound you hear in the first minute you could even make some 90s trance  smile

"A Real Music Hater"

Ray Van Mechelen's Website

3 Reply by Orbweaver (edited by Orbweaver 2010-11-23 03:30:47)

  • Registered: 2010-06-20
  • Posts: 228

Re: MonsterDrone

Sounds amazing. Build quality/cosmetics look ace too....

Those sounds dry? Or being run into something? Looks patched into the RE-20......


edit

care to open her up and give us a gutshot? wink

  • From: Скопје
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 390

Re: MonsterDrone

The build quality is reality great. High grade stuff. Solid.

The sounds are going through the RE-20.

I'm gonna open it and take some pictures of its guts.

  • From: washington dc
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 515

Re: MonsterDrone

far our track miravalles!!! that machine looks & sounds really awesome.

worship the potentiometer.

screenvinylimage's Website

  • Registered: 2010-06-20
  • Posts: 228

Re: MonsterDrone

If and when you take some photos, zoom in on the ICs

The suspense is killing me wink


Wondering if it might be CMOS based.....

  • From: near rotterdam
  • Registered: 2008-07-07
  • Posts: 1,656

Re: MonsterDrone

Miravalles, i'd love to write an article about this unit on http://noisesource.wordpress.com/
Are you ok with it and can you get me more info?

i don't need the gear, the gear needs me 
http://www.mono-poly.nl/

mono-poly's Website

  • From: Скопје
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 390

Re: MonsterDrone

mono-poly wrote:

Miravalles, i'd love to write an article about this unit on http://noisesource.wordpress.com/
Are you ok with it and can you get me more info?

Sure Mono, no problem. I'll talk first to the guy that built the unit, but I can assure you he's gonna love the idea.

Here's his website with some info on the MD: http://www.vbrazil.eng.br/MonsterDrone.html (it's in portuguese)

And here's his Soundcloud account with some demos: http://soundcloud.com/vinicius-brazil

Or you could get directly in touch with him if you like: brazil.v@gmail.com

I'm still figuring out the unit, but basically it's 8 VCOs, grouped in 4 pairs. In each pair, one oscillator can FM the other. You can control the modulation depth and choose between two types of modulation with a switch. I don't quite understand these different modulation types. There's also an AM section which can modulate each pair of oscillators separately. Amplitude modulation is still quite mysterious to me. There's a switch that inverts the polarity of the modulating wave (square) and a knob that determines it's width. There are 3 filters: 2 band pass filters, that act in different frequency ranges and a third one, very resonant, that I don't know exactly what it is. It's connections are 4 CV in, for each pair, clock in, clock out and 4 separate outputs for each pair.

He's working on a manual for it.

I'll take some more pictures of it later today.

Besides the MonsterDrone, this guy has a very good phaser pedal, with some great features. You can choose between 4 or 8 stages and between 4 different waves forms for the LFO.

He's now working on a desktop monosynth. I'm sure it's gonna be awesome!

  • From: Hellgium
  • Registered: 2009-03-08
  • Posts: 2,093

Re: MonsterDrone

Will you ever release some of your music Miravalles? There is some very cool music on your soundcloud account.

"A Real Music Hater"

Ray Van Mechelen's Website

  • From: near rotterdam
  • Registered: 2008-07-07
  • Posts: 1,656

Re: MonsterDrone

miravalles any updates about doing an article about it?

i don't need the gear, the gear needs me 
http://www.mono-poly.nl/

mono-poly's Website

  • From: Скопје
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 390

Re: MonsterDrone

mono-poly wrote:

miravalles any updates about doing an article about it?

Hi Mono,

I was offline these past 3 or 4 days. You can write the article about it, sure.

I didn't open mine, but here's a picture of one of the PCBs:

http://www.vbrazil.eng.br/attachments/Image/Mdrone1%20Site.jpg

There are 2 PCBs. There's a smaller one just for the oscillators. There's no CMOS, according to the guy that built it.

Yesterday I had some "classes" on the MonsterDrone. It's really impressive. There are some unique features, like that special kind of FM that I mentioned before.

I'm planning on making some videos.

  • From: Скопје
  • Registered: 2008-07-08
  • Posts: 390

Re: MonsterDrone

Ray Van Mechelen wrote:

Will you ever release some of your music Miravalles? There is some very cool music on your soundcloud account.

Thanks Ray! I'd really like to release some of my stuff, but I must confess that I have no idea how to do it.

I want to make some CD-Rs and send it to the people.

  • Registered: 2010-06-20
  • Posts: 228

Re: MonsterDrone

miravalles wrote:

I'm still figuring out the unit, but basically it's 8 VCOs, grouped in 4 pairs. In each pair, one oscillator can FM the other. You can control the modulation depth and choose between two types of modulation with a switch. I don't quite understand these different modulation types. There's also an AM section which can modulate each pair of oscillators separately. Amplitude modulation is still quite mysterious to me. There's a switch that inverts the polarity of the modulating wave (square) and a knob that determines it's width. There are 3 filters: 2 band pass filters, that act in different frequency ranges and a third one, very resonant, that I don't know exactly what it is. It's connections are 4 CV in, for each pair, clock in, clock out and 4 separate outputs for each pair.

Yep, far more complex than a CMOS based synth. Really, really nice.....

I'm thinking your friend has Eric Archer's Grendel Drone Commander beat.........yeah, definitely beat