NOVAkILL has released NOVAkILLER, a freeware FM synth VST plug-in for Windows PC.

From the manual:

NOVAkILLER is something of a one-off instrument to celebrate NOVAkILL’s new ORION skin, NOVA-III. Like ANGSTkILLERmini, it has a hidden oscillator which is used to modulate the main oscillator to produce both FM and Hard Sync sounds. It is 16 note polyphonic and also features a Low-Pass Filter, tempo-sync’ed LFO, two ADSR Envelopes and overdrive.

NOVAkILLER features

• Oscillator: 5 waveforms, PW, PWM, FM envelope and velocity modulation depth, Unison Spread, Hard sync, FM On/Off, FM Modulation Wheel control, octave, Unison.
• Modulation envelope: ADSR, Linear, Convex, Concave and “S” Curve interpolation between curves.
• Filter: Cutoff/Resonance, envelope and velocity modulation depth, Invert, 12 to 24dB/Octave, Cutoff Modulation Wheel control.
• LFO - Low Frequency Oscillator: Delay modulation onset, PWM, Sync, FM, cutoff (+Invert) and stereo pan modulation depth, LFO Waveform selection, Tempo-sync’ed LFO frequency [1/16th Note to 16 Bars]
• VCA - Voltage Controlled Amplifier: ADSR, Volume, Velocity, Portamento time, Overdrive Wet/Dry mix, Poly/Monophonic switch, retrigger, two wide controls.

Visit NOVAkILL for more information and a link to download NOVAkILLER.

de la Mancha has released sfilter a filter effect plug-in for Windows PC.

sfilter creates a stepped filtered sequence, to create gating, sweeps or rhythmic modulation of filter cut-off. It uses a variable state filter, varying between 2 adjustable cut-off values according to a tempo-sync’d step sequencer. An LFO can also modulate the filter for extra movement.

sfilter features

• tempo-sync step sequencer, with 2 to 32 steps over a sequence length of 2 to 32 beats.
• resonant variable filter, LP, HP, BP and notch.
• filter cut-off varies between upper and lower cut-off values, in either direction.
• tempo sync LFO, with 6 waveforms and settings from 1/16 beat to 96 beats.
• random swing for step sequencer.
• wet/dry mix control.
• midi CC and midi learn.

sfilter is available for download free of cost (donations are appreciated).

Visit de la Mancha for more information.

Pro-Sounds has released Sanford Sounds, a sound bank for Novation’s V-Station software synthesizer.

Sanford Sounds features

• 128 presets in FXB, FXP, and MIDI format.
• A mixture of Leslie Sanford’s love for the digital sounds of the 80s and a knowledge of the modern dance scene.

The Sanford Sounds Bank can be purchased for $24.95. A demo bank showcasing 24 presets is available for download.

Visit Pro-Sounds for more information.

Some interesting things I found on May 9th, 2008:

# Somatic Circuits - !Malfunctionator Kit Instructions - The !Malfunctionator was designed to be a handy UFO dector dubbling up as a Electro Music Device to assist in the making of creative electro music. It consists of 3 oscillators each modulated by 3 low frequency oscillators see the signal path.

!Malfunctionator in an phone answering machine, and on the right Jan Czmok’s box

The oscillators are based around the hex invertor IC known as CD40106 aka 7HC04 , the wave froms produced from this logic device are trapazoid . This modulator to oscillator combination allows the user to create a wide range of sounds.

The !Malfunctionator is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

# Create Digital Music » iPod Touch/iPhone for Music Round-up - a look at what people are doing, including some apps you can download right now, and where this might go musically, whether it’s just a couple of fun toys or trying to make that pretty pocket device an instrument.

# Gnaural: A Binaural-Beat Audio Generator - a multi-platform programmable binaural-beat generator, implementing the principle of binaural beats as described in the October 1973 Scientific American article "Auditory Beats in the Brain" (Gerald Oster).

# SubtleNoiseMaker - Sascha Neudeck is selling a bunch of cool homemade synths: Weird Sound Generator, Cacophonator, SNM-Chaoscillator, Stereo Ringmodulator, and the new Alpha-Machine. Wood & Aluminium models available.

# Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories - Peggy version 2.0 - Peggy 2.0 is an updated version of our "Peggy" light-emitting pegboard display.

Peggy 2.0 - Check this Flickr set for more images

Like its predecessor, Peggy 2.0 provides a quick, easy, powerful and efficient way to drive a lot of LEDs– up to 625– in a big matrix covering almost a square foot of area.

A full Kit ($95, US) includes the circuit board, preprogrammed microcontroller, battery holder, power switch, two buttons, rubber feet and all other components needed to make the pegboard display base, along with full color printed instructions. Just add batteries and LEDs.