Flip Synth
Designed by Claude Winterberg aka FlipFloater
Claude Winterberg, born in Basel Switzerland in 1968, felt in love with electronic music in the 90s. He toured worldwide with Beyond Third Spring, a psychedelic trance act with didgeridoo and electronics. In 2007 Claude built his first Atari Punk Console at the Swiss Mechatronic Art Society (SGMK) where he got infected by the electronic D.I.Y. virus. Ever since, he’s been building his very own synthesizers with unusual oscillations, and has deepened his interested in circuit bending. From this he evolved his current project FlipFloater.
I myself met Claude for the first time in 2014 in Dresden at Circuit Control. He brought his 4093 Step Synth to Dresden, which I then soldered with joy. Later I soldered a second one, then two 9V MS20 HP-LP filters, the Flip Synth and two Flip Floater Delays, about which I already reported in Edition 2 on Electronic Cottage. Now I introduce you to the Flip Synth, which gets a great update by Claude very soon.
Flip Synth (original)
Flip Synth midified
1 * Why did you develop the Flip Synth? What inspired you?
The trigger was a request from the music festival "Les Digitales" in Bern. They wanted the visitors to be able to solder something at the festival.
As simple as possible and still usable. At the end it was not that easy for people who have never soldered. But I liked the concept of the synth, the Flip Synth was born.
2 * How is the Flip Synth structured?
It consists of four CD4093 Schmitt-Trigger Oscillators. Two for the sound and two for the rhythm. The first tone Oscillator can be additionally tuned with an LDR (light-dependent resistor). Both tone oscillators can be paired with a CD4070 ring modulator.
3 * How do you use it live?
Mostly with a filter and then with the FlipFloater Delay. With this setup many great and varied sounds can already be created.
4 * You recently showed me a new version, an updated version of the Flip Synth. I was very excited. Do you already want to talk about it?
Yes, this will be my next synthesizer. The upgraded synth consists of two Flip Synths that play alternately in succession which will create complex basslines.
5 * What tools are coming up, what's in the pipeline?
I'm about to give my Nois Synth an update. Its sound production consists essentially of a TR909 noise. He gets a new motherboard with new possibilities. And my Benjolin (designed by Rob Hordijk) needs to be finished in the Star Wars case. You can find informations on the Benjolin including schematics in the link section.
Benjolin – FlipFloater design
5 * What are your next projects as FlipFloater, your live act?
I'm playing on August 23rd at the club Eck in Aarau at the showcase "Electronic Music for Plants", in early October at the Cirquit Controll Festival in Dresden, on November 2nd at "20 Years Anyma" in Friborg and on December 6th at the OffBar in Basel.
6 * Is there anything else to tell, a link to share, something to draw attention to?
I have just built an original Cracklebox. In combination with a filter and delay it‘s very creative. The sound of the Cracklebox is created by shorting the sensor surfaces with your fingers. This creates a broad sound spectrum. You can watch a video – see links.
Schematics Flip Synth (2018)
Links:
Homepage FlipFloater: http://flipfloater.net/
FlipFloater at Soundcloud: http://flipfloater.net/project/soundcloud/
Schmitt Trigger: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmitt_trigger
Circuit Control 2018: https://www.electroniccottage.org/wolfgang-dorninger/edition-4-circuit-control-2018
SGMK - Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Mechatronische Kunst: https://mechatronicart.ch/
Beyond Third Spring: http://www.winterbergproduction.com
Benjolin by Rob Hordijk: http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-38081-25.html
Benjolin hack by Klangbau Köln: https://klangbauköln.de/klangbaukoeln-special/benjolin-von-rob-hordijk-klangbau-koeln
DIY Cracklebox – video: https://vimeo.com/334635714
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Also published on Electronic Cottage