#129

Im using a TSNM 4u which can do some quantizing. There is a buchla format Ornaments and Crime option too. Also, 1979 is developing a marbles 4u.

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#130

@909one - Personally, I’d want a ‘complete’ instrument if shelling out for the music easel (either easel or easel-k). While it’s tempting to think about adding other manufacturers into the mix, I don’t see a big benefit beyond Eurorack if going away from the original vision that Don had. You could end up with a more expensive modular system that does similar things.

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#131

Honestly I think the easel excels at being played rather than sequenced…I use a 208 clone and I opted for the TSNM instead of a 218…

Although I do alot of modular patching with the easel along with my little bugbrand setup and in that scenario the 208 makes a really fine source of CV’s especially rythmic as the combo of pulser and sequencer is a proper visionary move. But as a sound source I find that im way more drawn into what the easel has to offer when im playing and triggering it all myself.

I have not tried the 218 and I do sometimes miss the linear progression of notes that the fixed piano style offers.( When programming a scale I do it in a completely unplanned any note anywhere fashion) Still I use many of the functions of the TSNM alot and especially the built in slew feature when using pressure has become indispensable. Ive had my easel for over a year now and have still not found the need to expand it even tho I have 3 slots still there. I kinda dig the negative space!

Gotta say out of all the synths I have used modular or fixed keyboard based…the easel is the most fun, satisying and rewarding for me. However It does require a certain elegance and finesse to utilise its sonic potential, more so than other synths due to its simple architecture.

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#132

One thing that’s been looming in my consideration of this is the completeness of the full Easel. I guess I’m really hard pressed to tell how much the 218 plays into the overall playability of the instrument compared to something like a sensel and 208c or even just a midi keyboard. Is it very difficult to track down a 218 in the event that I were to pickup a 208c and wanted the full Easel experience at a later date? The price tag of the full Easel and again my inability to find any new for sale is making me want to go the piecemeal route if it came down to it.

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#133

This is exactly where I’d be at if I jumped in.

So the question is, from a sound perspective, what makes the Easel the Easel? These companies are all making excellent clones. I can’t imagine there’s something drastic they are missing.

It seems to me that the core elements that make up the unique tone of the Easel are the vco, the wavefolder and the lpg.

I have an Instruo CS-L and an Optomix, and from demos I’ve heard of the Easel it comes pretty close. However, I can hear something on record or not know what it is, and I can almost always pick out the Easel if its doing the typical Buchla style things… sweeping the wavefolder, pinging the LPG, etc. There is a very unique sound to it. For example where Charles Cohen plays it or Alesandro Cortini or Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith. Its like hearing a Strat, you just know its a Strat.

I’m wondering if there’s things in the circuit that people in Euro world are not duplicating, or if its the reverse, and the nature of the self contained system is causing people to react to the instrument in certain ways.

I feel like sometims with Euro, things gets a little generic and unfocussed, because there are so many options.

3 Likes
#134

my 208 clone sounds like a vintage synth. It sounds old…it sounds like the 70s. And thats without the spring reverb. Its unstable and psychedelic. I use the wave folder extremely subtly and find its sweet spot for a given patch is quite narrow. Ive used a m8s make nooise system and the feel is not really the same at all and optomix doesnt ring like the buchla lpg. One of my lpgs rings way too long…like almost 10 seconds lol.
Oh and the high notes are very sweet and not harsh unlike many other synths. I have limited experience but have also found it complements conventional instruments very well. In that it doesnt stand out as being “electronic”

All that said ive been listening to alotta MSHR recently and I noticed that alot their cool satisfying sounds that they get from supercollider remind me of things I can get outta the easel…So yeah its defo not out of place sonically in 2020.

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#135

I wish I knew more about the circuitry and components to know if there is some extra Buchla special sauce. I will say that simply having extra length of the 4u sliders gives more of a buffer area for improvising and tinkering with a patch.

I have always been mesmerized by how you can feel Suzanne Ciani performing and bending the patch in this recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vZGeHBfxU0

I wasn’t able to be nearly as physically active with a verbos or instruo patch because of the required ultra fine tuning of the various parameters.

1 Like
#136

Not to disparage, but that sort of sounds like it needs to be calibrated (narrow range/ lpg ringing too long)? I’ve been reading that the clones are often not calibrated correctly and it is a difficult process. Also, vactrols supposedly vary quite a bit, so maybe that’s just the particular vactrol in the system. Wouldn’t expect one to ring for 10 seconds though.

#137

Well the lpg thing kinda developed over time. I need to replace the vactrol on that channel. And was told that its quite rare to have it ring that way! Mine was built and calibrated by Dave br who is kind of an authority with these clones builds. The narrow range I spoke of I admit is more due to my own taste. I find it gets too unruly sounding when turned to high. I found the same thing with the make noise DPO tbh. Its best used in moderation but that varies on the patch also. It can make a nice smooth noise type sound when turned up and with the right fm dialed in. It also causes the sound to sometimes break apart in way like a brass intrument…so if the callibration changed that then I dont know if id be too happy. Im kinda into these little errors that make my build unique! Id say the easel is defo not the one to go for if you want something that functions perfect.

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#138

I had similar concerns, but for what it’s worth I still haven’t bothered trying to interface the Easel with my euro system. Instead I do external sequencing and processing using the Rozetta iOS apps to get some Mutable Instruments functions - using an ipad and audio interface with MIDI.

#139

looks like busa plans to release the full easel w/ 218 & suitcase at some point in the near future

https://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=229291&hilit=Busa#p3225920

3 Likes
#140

has anyone here purchased a built/plug-and-play 208 from portabellabz? wondering what the avg price difference is between going that route (and then finding a 218) and a BEMI on the used market

#141

I bought a used BEMI easel but added real UA726s on the voice cards, which massively improved tracking and warm up times. I added an Aux card, which provides much of the functionality present in the 208C plus a couple of other bits.

For me, the 218 is a huge part of the Easel package so I would strongly urge anyone thinking of diving in to also put some serious thought into adding this or some other expressive, tactile controller. This really is an instrument and for me, it works best on its own, with a couple of simple fx chains.

5 Likes
#142

Finished building the portabellabz 208 this spring. It sounds great. I have a Future Retro 512 keyboard I use with it rather than a 218 and that works well. It cost me around… $1500-1700CAD I think all said and done. It still has some minor issues partly stemming from trying to have it track 1v/oct and also the ua726 replacement cards are pinned on so they can jiggle and cause issues but that’s solvable.

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#143

I’ve had my 208r for 3 years now, and I’ve never owned a 218 but borrowed one to see if it is something I should buy or build. I can definitely understand why many see it as a must, but for me it’s not worth the money or time, at least not at the moment. I’ve mostly used my 208r with a Meng-Qi Voltage Memory and finally picked up a CVGT1 and look forward to use the 208 with Norns and Teletype.

2 Likes
#144

Something I’d recommend Easel owners to look into is making a program card to get external triggers into the sequencer input. Especially if you are using it with other equipment. I use the inverter “To Prog” banana jack for this, 5V triggers are all you need. This is how I sync mine up with a looper.

7 Likes
#145

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Yeah I made the 208p and 218r rev 1, as well as the expander card (also by Portabellabz).

I saw some people here already say that it’s easy, but to me it was the most challenging build I’d ever done. The board are fully unmarked, and some parts need to be selected like the vactrols and some j201s I believe. And then there’s the whole mechanical construction of aligning everything to get the panel on.

The 218r is great, but I do wish it had the arpeggiator like the BEMI 218e. If someone here wants to give the firmware a crack, I believe there’s an STM32 in there, so more than enough cpu power.

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#146

How did you find building the 218… The clear paint scares me a bit with the bubbling as well as the board alignment.

#147

Found a kit on reverb. Rev 1 has the board already coated, and soldered to one another. You just add a few throughhole parts and glue in the frets, then flash the firmware.

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#148

To me, it has as much to do with the components as it does with the scaling of the knobs / faders, and the way in which that scaling interacts with the range of sound / sonic potential contained within the circuits. One thing I’ve noticed in eurorack is that almost any module reacts fairly differently depending on the modulation source you throw at it and how it’s attenuated (or not). For example, some modules look for 0v—10v in eurorack while others expect -5v—+5v; some behave best when not pushed to their extremes, while others really crave to be modulated heavily.

On the easel — or any self-contained synth, be it a DSI poly, a Music Easel, the Syntrex, an MS-20, etc — all the attenuators, knobs, and modulation sources are designed to work within the confines of that instrument to produce certain sonic results. This is a big part of what makes eurorack sound unique — all these various elements jammed together in infinite combinations. But it’s also its greatest weakness, IMO, and why it’s next to impossible to get an easel in eurorack, or an MS-20 in eurorack, etc.

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