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<div><span>The Bumblebee</span>
<div class="field field--name-field-specifications field--type-double-field-extended field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Specifications</div>
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<div class="field--item"><div class="double-field-extended form-group"><span class="specification-term" title="Polyphony" data-content="The number of voices (notes) a device can produce simultaneously. Typically, a monophonic device can only play one note at a time. A Duophonic device can play two notes at a time. A polyphonic device can play two or more notes at a time." data-placement="top" data-trigger="hover" data-toggle="popover">Polyphony - </span>
<span class="specification-value">1 Voice</span>
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<div class="field--item"><div class="double-field-extended form-group"><span class="specification-term" title="Multitimbral" data-content="A synthesizing instrument that can play two or more timbres (also called sounds or patches) at the same time. A typical multitimbral tone generator can play, for example, the brass, piano, and violin parts all at once." data-placement="top" data-trigger="hover" data-toggle="popover">Multitimbral - </span>
<span class="specification-value">1 Part</span>
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<div class="field--item"><div class="double-field-extended form-group"><span class="specification-term" title="Oscillators" data-content="An electronic device which generates a periodic signal of a particular frequency, usually a sine wave, but sometimes a square wave or other waveform. In an analog synthesizer, oscillators typically produce regularly repeating fluctuations in voltage - that is, they oscillate. In digital synthesis, an oscillator more typically plays back a complex waveform by reading the numbers in a wavetable." data-placement="top" data-trigger="hover" data-toggle="popover">Oscillators - </span>
<span class="specification-value">3</span>
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<div class="field--item"><div class="double-field-extended form-group"><span class="specification-term" title="Waveforms" data-content="A signal, either sampled (digitally recorded) or periodic, being generated by an oscillator. Also, the graphical display of a sound pressure wave over time." data-placement="top" data-trigger="hover" data-toggle="popover">Waveforms - </span>
<span class="specification-value">Square</span>
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<div class="field--item"><div class="double-field-extended form-group"><span class="specification-term" title="Filter Slopes" data-content="A type of equalizing device for subtractively eliminating selected frequencies from the sound spectrum of a signal and perhaps, in the case of a resonant filter, increasing the level of other frequencies." data-placement="top" data-trigger="hover" data-toggle="popover">Filter Slopes - </span>
<span class="specification-value">24dB Slope (4-pole), High Pass, Low Pass, Resonance</span>
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<div class="field--item"><div class="double-field-extended form-group"><span class="specification-term" title="LFO" data-content="Low Frequency Oscillator. An oscillator especially devoted to applications below the audible frequency range, and typically used as a control source for modulating a sound to create vibrato, tremolo, trills, and so on." data-placement="top" data-trigger="hover" data-toggle="popover">LFO - </span>
<span class="specification-value">3 LFO with Square</span>
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<span><a title="View user profile." href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/user/406" lang="" about="http://www.vintagesynth.com/user/406" typeof="schema
erson" property="schema:name" datatype="" xml:lang="">Naomi Bolton</a></span><span>Fri, 10/16/2020 - 09:25</span>
<div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p>The Bumblebee is a noise machine and drone synth released in 2014 by Plankton Electronics from Barcelona. It was sold as a DIY instrument that provided users with the PCB and all necessary components. A fully assembled desktop version of The Bumblebee was also released.</p>
<p>Plankton Electronics marketed The Bumblebee as a synth for DIY beginners and that it was able to generate the most annoying sounds in the neighborhood. It features a very straightforward signal flow with three square-wave oscillators that are routed through two filters and an amplifier. All three of the oscillators have a level knob as well as individual outputs for mixing them separately. To modulate pitch each oscillator has two CV inputs while modulation depth is controlled with an attenuation knob.</p>
<p>The Bumblebee also features three LFOs, each with a CV input and attenuation knob. The high-pass filter and low-pass filter that the oscillators are fed to help give The Bumblee a nice aggressive tone. The main audio-out for this synth is a single mono output. Unsurprising given its name the Bumblebee can indeed sound like a swarm of angry bees. Since it has patching capabilities this little synth is capable of a lot of sounds on its own, but fun can also be had by using it with other synthesizers.</p>
<p>Although it is a straightforward build The Bumblebee can take a while to assemble for beginners. Plankton Electronics has simplified the process slightly by ensuring that all the things such as potentiometers and jacks are mounted to the circuit board instead of requiring wires. Since the oscillators and LFO are all square waves The Bumblee does lack the versatility of wave shape-variable ones. However, this limitation also makes The Bumblebee more of an experimental synth, which is something some users will enjoy.</p>
<p>The Bumblebee is indeed capable of creating very annoying sounds, so it is not something that is going to appeal to everyone. However, fans of drone machines will really appreciate what it has to offer and it also serves as a nice introduction to DIY synths for anyone with the patience to assemble it. Unfortunately, Plankton Electronics discontinued The Bumblebee two years after it was released, which can make it harder to track down. Overall, this is one for anyone interested in weird sound enthusiasts or those who would enjoy connecting it to other modular systems to experiment with the results.</p></div>
<div class="field field--name-field-make-er field--type-entity-reference field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Make</div>
<div class="field--item"><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/taxonomy/term/1146" hreflang="en">Plankton Electronics</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-year field--type-integer field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Year</div>
<div class="field--item">2014</div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-musical-genre-er field--type-entity-reference field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Musical genre</div>
<div class="field__items">
<div class="field--item"><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/taxonomy/term/775" hreflang="en">Electronic music</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-synth-type-er field--type-entity-reference field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Synth type</div>
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<div class="field--item"><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/taxonomy/term/778" hreflang="en">Analog</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-interface-features-er field--type-entity-reference field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Interface features</div>
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<div class="field--item"><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/taxonomy/term/784" hreflang="en">Modern</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-format-er field--type-entity-reference field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Format</div>
<div class="field__items">
<div class="field--item"><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/taxonomy/term/788" hreflang="en">Desktop / Tabletop</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-sound-types-er field--type-entity-reference field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Sound types</div>
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<div class="field--item"><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/taxonomy/term/790" hreflang="en">Synthetic</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-price-range-er field--type-entity-reference field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Price range</div>
<div class="field__items">
<div class="field--item"><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/taxonomy/term/795" hreflang="en">Less than $500</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-image-er field--type-image field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Image</div>
<div class="field--item"> <img src="http://www.vintagesynth.com/sites/default/files/2020-10/PlanktonBee.png" width="640" height="491" alt="Plankton Electronics The Bumblebee" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive"></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-files field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Files</div>
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<div class="field--item"> <div class="file-item">
<div class="field field--name-field-link field--type-link field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Link</div>
<div class="field--item"><a href="https://encyclotronic.com/uploads/monthly_2017_03/The_Bumblebee_Assembly_Tutorial_Rev2_pdf.b7c0e3cf194744cc17a8ea08daacd391">https://encyclotronic.com/uploads/monthly_2017_03/The_Bumblebee_Assembly_Tutori…</a></div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-type field--type-list-string field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Type</div>
<div class="field--item">File</div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-title field--type-string field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Title</div>
<div class="field--item">The Bumblebee Assembly Tutorial</div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-description field--type-string-long field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Description</div>
<div class="field--item">Assembly Tutorial for The Bumblebee</div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-youtube field--type-entity-reference-revisions field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">YouTube</div>
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<div class="field--item"> <div class="youtube-field" data-pid="17856">
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<div class="field field--name-field-youtube-link field--type-youtube field--label-hidden field--item"><img src="http://www.vintagesynth.com/sites/default/files/youtube/ga17EQe_xos.jpg" alt="Embedded thumbnail for The Bumblebee > YouTube" typeof="foaf:Image" class="img-responsive"></div>
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<div class="field-title">
<div class="field field--name-field-youtube-title field--type-string field--label-hidden field--item">Plankton Noise #01: The Bumblebee</div>
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<div class="field-author">by
<div class="field field--name-field-youtube-author field--type-string field--label-hidden field--item"> Plankton Electronics</div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-user-rating field--type-vs-synth-rating field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">User Rating</div>
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<ul><li><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/rss.xml#" data-value="1" class="one-star">1</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/rss.xml#" data-value="2" class="two-stars">2</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/rss.xml#" data-value="3" class="three-stars">3</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/rss.xml#" data-value="4" class="four-stars">4</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.vintagesynth.com/rss.xml#" data-value="5" class="five-stars">5</a></li>
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<div class="field field--name-field-texture field--type-list-string field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Texture</div>
<div class="field--item">Monophonic instruments</div>
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<div class="field field--name-field-disqus-comment field--type-disqus-comment field--label-above">
<div class="field--label">Disqus comment</div>
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