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Review: The present face of IDM is here heard occupied by dream duo D'Arcangelo and Karsten Plum, whose latest joint effort for Acid Avengers bowls us over with its acid tweezings, pangs, twingings, twangs, thrums and flits-past. The pH scale skyrockets to the point of insanity on Pflum's side, with 'Hornfish Acid' and 'Aroe Acid' jointly corroding the full length of the Earth's core with their snippy but incisive sizzles and 'ows, until we reach a forbidden underworld uncannily reminiscent of Oz - except the faces of the protagonists are horribly twisted into a yellow, illegal-raved rictuses. D'Arcangelo's 'Gawain' does equally as much with its eerie sprung-verbed chroma-chords and muted but moving melodies; so too does 'Walker Two' raise the tempo to silly speeds, coming as a veritable velociraptor of Druqks-y breaks and drill bits, all let loose from the barrel at a surely illegal rate of fire.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Record sleeve damaged, product in working order***


The enduring appeal of Steely Dan never fades with time, and why should it? Donald Fagen and Walter Becker's relentless pursuit of perfection and blue-eyed soul gifted us a whole heap of stunning albums, and their fiercely devoted fanbase would fight tooth and nail over which one gets the top spot. Our money would be on Aja though, given its enduring influence, its rich extended life through a whole host of sampling and the quite simply flawless run of songs, composition, production and beyond. It's one of the greatest albums out there, and you'd do well to grab a copy if you don't own it already.

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Dent on the side, product in perfect working order***


Like a greatest hits of recent Analogue Solutions synths, the Ample combines sound elements from the Fusebox with jack patch points, a patch pin matrix, plus sequencer and CV touch pads from the Generator, creating something new and unique.

Supplier's Notes:
Ample combines the best elements of several of Analogue Solutions' recent products.

The sound elements of Fusebox
Jack patch points of Concussor Eurorack
Patch pin matrix of Vostok
Echo from Dr Strangelove
Sequencer and CV touch pads of Generator

It shares all this yet still has its own sound!

Ample can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be

This synth has been given a large and diverse number of controls, that along side the patch sockets, will give even the best and experienced synthesist endless possibilities.

This synth presents the controls in a user friendly and familiar synth layout that, together with this manual and other resources, enable even the new guy to get great sounds.

Synth - Percussion - Audio Processor

Ample is a compact analogue synthesizer. Analogue - as in really analogue. Aside from the MIDI chip (which has to be digital), everything else is totally analogue using real transistors and op-amps. There are no CPU stabilised and quantised circuits, no DCOs, no digital LFOs and no digital EGs, as found on other so called analogue synths. The circuitry is based on designs dating back to the mid-1970s. So Ample has a genuine old sound.

Circuits included

3x Analogue Oscillators

There are three analogue VCOs - each providing a wealth of features and modulation choices. VCO3 can easily be utilised as a LFO.

2x Analogue Low Frequency Oscillator

LFO2(/Sync) has a triangle wave output. VCO3 can be used as an LFO and has Saw, Triangle and Square wave modulation signals.

Analogue Filter

Ample uses a four pole 24bB per octave low pass filter.

Analogue Amplifier

The VCA can be set to THRU so it is always 'open'. This allows Ample to be used as an effects processor.

2x Analogue Envelopes

There are two EGs - each having full control over ATTACK, DECAY, SUSTAIN, and RELEASE.

Modulation

Great thought has been placed into modulation route choices, allowing a wide range of sounds to be produced, including percussion and 'modular' sounds further extended by patching with the jack sockets and pin matrix.

MIDI

MIDI is intentionally kept simple - so you can concentrate on making new sounds and making music - not getting tied up with SYSEX programming.

You get the all important control over filter cut-off using MIDI Velocity.

Patchable External CV Control Sockets

Ample has many input and output audio and CV sockets - to allow the synth to be effectively re-wired to make new sounds.

The sockets also enable it to be easily used with Eurorack and other modular systems. They can be patched together.

Sequencer

Ample has a vintage style 16 step sequencer.

Touch Keys

There are 6 touch keys that each output a set voltage. Use this to play the pitch or as modulation signals. A great tool for inspiration!

Pin Matrix

A neat way to patch the synth.

Echo

Nice lo-fi echo / delay.

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Item refurbished, repaired and in perfect working order.***


One of our favourite DJ turntables. Clearly inspired by the classic Technics SL-1200 but clocking in at a more affordable price point. Direct drive motor, decent build quality and a few nice bonus features like adjustable pitch range.

Supplier notes:
The AT-LP140XP fully manual professional DJ turntable features a high-torque direct-drive motor and anti-resonant, mass-damped, die-cast aluminium platter to ensure stable, on-axis rotation at 33-1/3, 45, and 78 RPM. It is equipped with an S-shaped tonearm with height adjustment, adjustable tracking force (counterweight) and adjustable dynamic anti-skate control.

Audio-Technica has been a leader in phono cartridge design for more than 50 years, and that expertise shows in the durable, high-output AT-XP3 DJ cartridge with 0.6 mil conical bonded stylus included with the turntable. It comes pre-mounted to an AT-HS6 universal 1/2"-mount headshell.

Designed to connect to components with a dedicated phono input, the turntable comes with a detachable dual RCA output cable and supplies a strong 5.5 mV output.

Additional professional features include a start/stop button; forward and reverse play; selectable high-accuracy quartz-controlled pitch lock and pitch change slider control with +/-8%, +/-16%, and +/-24% adjustment ranges; a stroboscopic platter with speed indicator; a retractable plug-type stylus target light; and a removable hinged dust cover.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Impex Records is shares a new, audiophile-quality LP release of Bud Shank's pivotal 1961 classic, Barefoot Adventure. With original compositions arranged by Shank for Bruce Brown's surf film of the same name, this is a swinging, hard-driving jazz session by six top-flight musicians at the height of their careers: Bud Shank (alto and baritone), Bob Cooper (tenor), Carmell Jones (trumpet), Dennis Budimir (guitar), Gary Peacock (bass), Shelly Manne (drums). The original Pacific Jazz recording features excellent sonics and showcases Shank at his most adventurous, toying with an advanced confidence and sophistication. Remastered and cut to lacquer by Kevin Gray from the original 1961 analogue master tape, this ultimate vinyl edition of Barefoot Adventure will satiate the most demanding audiophile and jazz enthusiast alike!

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


2022's stunning album Once Twice Melody was a fine example of Beach House doing what they do best - living bang up to that name, with intimate-but epic instrumentation falling somewhere between surf-y jangle and grand shoegaze. 'Become' is definitely on a similar tip, and as such feels much like an extension of the long form.
Dig a little deeper, though, and scratches begin to show. While the full-length record represented Beach House reaching for the stars, or at least the moon, and stepping into the role of festival headliners, here the sense of pure confidence and occasion is less pronounced. That may not be a bad thing, mind, because while Once came across like a finished article, refined and prepared, things here seem somehow rawer, as though we're sitting in on a session as oppose to getting the signed off product.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Over the course of his long and successful career, Ennio Morricone composed many dance songs in step with the fashions of the late 60s and early 70s. These were themes not necessarily directly connected with his films' synopses, but which were nonetheless played in disco clubs, on jukeboxes, turntables and on the radio. This collection contains a selection of pieces such as the brilliant main theme from Grand Slam (1967); the shake rock (opening credits) from Dario Argento's classic Four Flies On Grey Velvet (1971) the danceable from the noir film Violent City (1970); the beat version of the opening credits of 'Pioggia Sul Tuo Viso' by the Sorrows, from How I Learned to Love Women (1966); 'Per Vittorio (Bossa)', an elegant bossa nova with flute and percussions from The Success (1963); the tribal shake from I Cantori Moderni, which winks at the dies irae from Garden of Delights (1967); 'Scuola di Ballo al sole', a wild surf piece from the Hawks and the Sparrows (1966); the supreme bossa nova from One Night at Dinner (1969) with the super iconic voice of Edda Dell'orso; the shake music of "'Ostinazione al Limone from What Have you Done to Solange? (1972); and 'Donnabossa' from Full Hearts and Empty Pockets (1964), a delicate bossa nova piece with a prominent harpsichord.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Scratch on back of outer sleeve, record in perfect working order***


Geoff Hibbert may be the only rave-era dance music producer of note to hail from Oadby, a small town just outside Leicester. He first burst through with a couple of bleep-influenced anthems as Cyclone, but his biggest club smash was actually 'Break of Dawn' as Rhythm On The Loose - a killer, piano-sporting, saucer-eyed breakbeat house number that made great use of vocal samples from First Choice disco classic 'Let No Man Put Asunder'. This timely reissue packages the 1991 original mix with a trio of later 1995 rubs. There's Hibbert's own remake, which turns it into a MK-influenced house jam, a gloriously up-beat, synth bass-powered Strike remix full of fizzing riffs and bouncy beats, and a throbbing, raw and trance-inducing Stonebridge revision.

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Item refurbished, repaired and in perfect working order.***


Celebrating the 50th anniversary of this truly iconic synth, the 'modern' take on the classic Buchla Music Easel doesn't mess with a winning formula, paring the 208C sound source with 218e touch-sensitive keyboard.

Supplier's Notes:
The Buchla Music Easel was one of the first truly portable electronic music instruments. Fifty years ago, in 1973, only a few dozen were made. Unlike many iconic technologies, the influence was not grown through force of scale, but rather the force of the ideas. The Music Easel made available virtually every musical dimension: timbre, melody, rhythm, and time; how these dimensions intersected was no longer the court of acoustics and material, but signals and voltage. The 208 Stored Program Sound Source engendered "a new functional organization [with a] particularly rapid system of patching and program storage via plug-in cards."

Taking cues from the then-recent discipline of cybernetics, the 218 touch plate was for "real-time communication" to help realize the "potential vocabulary" of the Easel, rather than exploiting existing modes of musical virtuosity. The Stored Program Cards ensured rapid repeatability and repertoire on its own terms. The battery terminals made sure the music was as portable as any acoustic instrument. And the name let you know it was designed for art rather than science.

Buchla is ecstatic to revive the Music Easel for its third run in 50 years. Buchla first released the updated 208 Stored Program Sound Source, dubbed the Easel Command, with expanded MIDI and USB capability. Next came the update of the Easel Program Manager - a complete kit for storing and recalling sounds sources, even more rapidly than imagined in 1973. The new 218 Touch Activated Voltage Source provides the optimal input facility, as originally envisioned. It is now all together in a rugged case and the advanced EMBIO module that unifies all the audio and control inputs and outputs for integration with the rest of your musical world.

More than a retro novelty, the Music Easel still speaks to a future we strive for. A technology that invites conversation, not chats, and controls that engage expression, not work. There are many new worlds to explore in this instrument created at the crossroads of the jazz and computer ages. Designed as "an integrated assemblage of functions", rather than a collection of modules, the Music Easel's colour coding, comfortable access to controls, and solid patch connections allow for satisfying sessions of sonic discovery.

The Music Easel is available for pre-order starting June 16 at Buchla.com and your favourite Buchla Dealer. Delivery of the Music Easel (modern) is expected fall 2023.

Stored Program Sound Source Model 208C

The sound source of the Music Easel is the 208C, which includes a complex oscillator and a modulation oscillator (which can also serve as another voice), each with independent switchable waveforms, as well as a noise generator, allowing for rich and intricate sound design. The 208C also features a five-stage sequencer, envelope generator, pulser and modulation source - with switchable triggers - allowing for complex patterns and evolving textures. The dual low pass gate provides dynamic control over the tone and amplitude of the sound, as well as natural-sounding decay and sustain. The 208C has a number of modulation sources, including a random voltage generator, the envelope generator, modulation oscillator, and an envelope detector. These sources can be used to modulate various parameters via the extensive patchfield - creating movement, texture, and complexity. The 208C also includes a mixer section with spring reverb.

Touch Activated Voltage Source Model 218e (v3)

The first design appeared in the 1973 release of the Buchla Music Easel and named for the spacecraft that delivered astronauts to the moon. Providing the familiar piano key layout for this early mobile music machine, the additional controls and capabilities were an interface for exploring uncharted musical territory. With the new version 3, it's been elevated with a new foundation of stable, modern electronics with incredible sensitivity and accuracy - the lightest touch will produce triggers and control voltages. The adjustable sensor has the dynamic range and durability to handle your playing. The new texture not only improves the sensing, but provides a satisfying tactile experience. As always, pressure is an expressive output, adding an extra dimension to the control. MIDI outputs velocity and polyphony, as well as channel pressure, making the 218e a uniquely expressive controller. The 218e includes portamento and an arpeggiator, which can be driven by external inputs and are allowed to interact with the automated notes to make patterns more complex. Additional controls allow you to blend different patterns and randomness to easily change from the expected to the surprising. The classic preset voltage knobs offer several possible ways to shift your sounds into new territory. Not only can the knobs be used for quick access to voltages for your patch, they can control arpeggiation modes and octave shifting. Pads output pulses for additional control. The 218e also gives you a unique interface to playing your existing MIDI gear and soft synths. Each touch outputs note name, channel pressure, and velocity for every note, along with sustain controls from a pedal. Polyphonic MIDI mode lets you play chords. The touchstrip can act as a pitch bend control, or as a mod wheel for additional expressive control. Easily configured using the front panel controls, you can send notes and controls on any MIDI channel.

Electric Music Box Input/Output (EMBIO)

Maintaining the spirit, sound, and process from the original, the new Music Easel adds a variety of new features. Buchla's latest renditions of the Stored Program Sound Source and Touch Activated Voltage Source are tied together with the Electric Music Box Input/Output (EMBIO) module. This of course provides MIDI out (mini jack and USB) and CV out from the 218, MIDI in to the 208, and the audio out from the 208C. Additional creative control comes from the Audio Mixer, for integration with other Buchla modules and systems, and the CV conditioners and controls. The slew control can turn your sequencer into a wavy modulator, or soften up a square LFO. The attenuator and crossfader gives you the opportunity to find new levels and combinations of voltages from existing ones. The pulse converter offers new rhythms to trigger. And a simple LFO provides another valuable modulator when you just can't quite let yourself flip that Mod Osc switch from "high" to "low."

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Sons of Kemet had already made themselves into stars before they released their debut album. They did so with electrifying live shows all around the UK with each member of the supergroup which is led by clarinetist, saxophonist and composer Shabaka Hutchings with Oren Marshall on tuba and Tom Skinner and Seb Rochford on drums, all coming together to create fresh jazz fusions. When Burn landed a decade ago it took things up a notch. It has addictive melodies that work for both heart and mind and now gets a special anniversary reissue.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


Tel Aviv's Elado has put out a fine run of eight releases in just two years on the likes of GAMM, Barefoot Beats and Bonfido Disques, but for his next move, he branches out with his own reissue label. its aim is to "focus on uncovering lost gems" with the original paired with his own remixes. The first one is a 1983 private press from the Canadian pair OUI. 'Circle Of Love' is a big disco banger with flashy synth work and rugged arps, with a pair of Elado's mixes making it even more dancefloor ready. 'You Make Me High' is a more sentimental 80s pop sound.The release has recieved support from a lot of artist, such as Gerd Jansen and Hunee. A fine start to life for this new label.

Review: Christian Linder Essential Elements is a new label from Christian Linder that will serve up the essential elements needed for late-night dancing, so you can't fault its name. The first EP sets out its stall in fine style with two versions of the same cut. 'Circular Motion' (Emotional) is a mix of amped-up and slick drum loops that are detailed with some alien sound effects and a rising sense of synth warmth that brings a subtle sense of euphoria. 'Circular Motion' (Vivid) is a gentle tweak that has more bright pads and a more driving but still dubby and smooth groove. Two different sides to the same coin that will work in many different settings.

Review: ***B-STOCK: Sleeve damaged but otherwise in excellent condition***


One of Brazil's most prominent rappers Criolo returns with his first album in almost four years. Showing a natural maturity and development, Convoque Seu Buda (Summon Your Buddha) is a spell-binding experience that digs much deeper than the harder rap he made a name for himself with years ago. Cuts like "Casa De Papelao" are smoky, cosmic soul joints while "Cartao De Visita" is a fun throwbacks to the chronic sounds of the early 90s. Sugar-sweet skanks can be found deep in the sandy groove of "Pe De Breque" while anthemic, lighter-raising vibes can be found on "Piano De Voo" where Criolo's sharp tongue gives Em a run for his money.

Review: Peaktime zoneouts from Rodhad and company; Crimson Rubeus is the first compilation on WSNWG to be curated by the techno titan, and hears eight rising bubblers of the scene contribute to a well-rounded octagonal sonic prism in double LP form. All circulating for months in demo form and as fixtures of Rodhad's sets across Europe, every track here - from the snappy synaptics of Nastia Reigel's 'Limit Y' to the non-duped beffudlery of O (phase)'s 'Exiting The Delusion' - drips with an aural crimson rouge; truly a hematophage's dream. Rodhad does the almost impossible here; squeezes blood from the stony style that is hypnotic techno.

Review: The Mars Volta's debut album remains one of the band's creative high-points. After the post-hardcore rush of At The Drive-In burst into flames, few could have dreamed something as ambitious and progressive as De Loused In The Comatorium could have emerged. The clue's in the word progressive, as Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Jeremy Ward pooled their resources (with some bass assistance from Flea) to create long, spiralling narratives around the concept of Cerpin Taxt, the comatose hero of this nebulous story. Still sounding visionary 20 years later, it was the start of an exciting new chapter for a band truly unlike any other.

Notes: ***B-STOCK: Box opened, product in perfect working order***


Conductive Labs have turned complex music theory into a killer synthesizer-jamming MIDI controller with The NDLR.

With four parts that can play up to 8 synths, it's possible to make fantastic electronic music with this device.

These tools we use to compose and produce music are dear to our hearts. Dust, liquid and accidental impact have taken many a good unit down over the years - this is where Decksaver steps in.

Designed exclusively for perfect fit, whilst still accommodating cables, your NDLR arpeggiator can sit ready for operation.

Slides straight into a flight or soft case, or rucksack for maximum protection during transportation.

Shields delicate controls, ports and internal components from damage at home, on the road and on stage.

Dimensions

Weight: 0.399kg
Length: 23.2cm
Width: 15.9cm
Height: 3.4cm