KiwiTechnics is located in Auckland, New Zealand PC   Service   Ltd   was   established   in   1988   as   a   design   and   support   company   specialising   in   hardware   and   software.   We   then   grew   to also manufacture microprocessor based versatile LED lighting systems for use in the film industry. The   name   Painting   with   Sound   was   adopted   when   a   synth   repair   division   was   started   in   2006.   It   was   during   this   phase   that   the concept   of   the   Patch   Editor   was   born.   Combining   the   microprocessor   and   film   lighting   experience   along   with   an   obvious   need   for   a replacement   for   the   Roland   PG   series   of   controllers   that   are   rare,   expensive   and   in   some   cases   poorly   made,   development   of   the PE   was   begun   in   2008.   The   name   Kiwitechnics   was   adopted   for   this   division   in   2009   as   it   has   grown   and   developed   a   life   of   it’s own. The   frustration   of   developing   the   PG-200   part   of   the   PE   and   the   obvious   shortcomings   of   the   JX-3P   led   to   the   development   of   the   3P   Upgrade.   This   began   as   a   patch   of the   existing   code   but   this   quickly   showed   it’s   shortcomings   and   it   has   now   become   a   full   cpu   replacement   and   a   complete   rewrite.   All   PG-200   support   was   been   removed from the PE & 3P as it has caused endless support issues and it has passed it’s use-by date. It’s time to get a proper midi controller. The   Kiwisix   upgrade   was   developed   due   to   the   steady   stream   of   dead   and   dying   Korg   Polysix’s   coming   through   the   workshop.   This   was   mostly   due   to   the   battery   that was used starting to leak and the acid damaging the cpu board. The Polysix is a popular and unique sounding synth and should be kept alive. Following   the   success   and   the   ideas   developed   with   the   Kiwi-3P   Upgrade   a   comprehensive   upgrade   was   developed   for   the   Roland   Juno-106.   This   synth   is   another example   of   good   hardware   but   with   a   limited   user   interface   with   poor   midi   implementation.   Psicraft   have   developed   a   comprehensive   editor   that   is   being   bundled   with the upgrade. The   Kiwi-8P   upgrade   has   proved   to   be   the   most   complex   and   challenging   yet   with   processing   split between   2   cpus   and   70k+   lines   of   code   but   the   result   has   been   worth   the   effort   we   feel.   The   Roland JX-8P   has   a   warm   full   sound   and   is   an   excellent   step   up   from   the   JX-3P.   We   have   given   it   more   (and faster)   envelopes,   more   LFOs,   a   powerful   sequencer,   an   arpeggiator   and   a   powerful   matrix   system. This   has   resulted   in   big   button   assignment   changes   so   a   full   quality   label   has   also   been   included   with the upgrade. The   Oberheim   M1000   synth   adds   new   features   as   well   as   fixing   the   midi   problems   and   the   Roland MKS-30   upgrade   is   a   big   step   up   for   this   capable   synth.   The   JX-10/MKS-70   upgrade   was   released   in Nov 2020 and was the most challenging upgrade yet. The result is a beautiful sounding synth. 2021   will   forever   be   remembered   for   all   the   wrong   reasons   but   we   have   used   the   time   wisely   and revisited   the   Kiwi-3P.   We   have   added   a   full   matrix   system   and   developed   a   wave   processing   module   that   allows   wave   combinations   and   pulse   width   editing   of   the   pulse wave. We also added a small dedicated cpu just to read the PG-200 input so this is also supported.