Haha, Massive, I actually played around with Massive a few months ago and it was pretty okay, but way too overused in certain electronic music genres IMO.
And I realized that you can connect the Volca Keys to the Microbrute to use the smooth MB filter so my criticism pretty much went up in smoke
― DDD, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 15:08 (ten years ago) link
oh, connect them how exactly?
i like how quickly i can create and modulate a patch in Massive but i'm getting sick of how it sounds, i'm only using it for certain things these days (big fan of the 'Classic' waveform).
― festival culture (Jordan), Tuesday, 4 February 2014 15:25 (ten years ago) link
1. Use one of the orange patch cables to patch "Gate In" to "Gate Out" on the back of the Microbrute2. Connect audio output to the Microbrute "Input" jack and set the Input Level3. Press a key on the Microbrute and the audio input signal is permamently triggered! Have fun!
― DDD, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 15:35 (ten years ago) link
Oh, you should also turn off all MB oscillators and set the VCO to Gate (I think)
― DDD, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 15:36 (ten years ago) link
uhm, VCA, not VCO. Sorry, it's been a while since I did that with my Microbrute. But you should get some sweet results out of that. Anything from simple filtering to overdriving the filter and making a mess with the Brute Factor knob.
― DDD, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 16:03 (ten years ago) link
Also I misspelled "permamently", why am I doing all these mistakes today
― DDD, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 16:16 (ten years ago) link
And I did it again....
― DDD, Tuesday, 4 February 2014 16:18 (ten years ago) link
aargh... just outbid on a Voyager
― JLB Credit (Jack BS), Thursday, 6 February 2014 19:55 (ten years ago) link
The Minimoog Voyager?? I don't see many people talking about that synth for some reason... a shame.
― DDD, Thursday, 6 February 2014 20:50 (ten years ago) link
So my AN1x finally arrived today...
... yeah, it's a pretty good synth. Some of the factory presets are cheesy though. What's with synths and truly cheesy factory presets?
― DDD, Friday, 7 February 2014 16:53 (ten years ago) link
If your on PC there is a great midi manager /patch randomizer program called an1x genetix.
― dsb, Friday, 7 February 2014 17:04 (ten years ago) link
Gonna check that out, thanks!
― DDD, Saturday, 8 February 2014 23:10 (ten years ago) link
Well, Moog have sold huge quantities of them. The consensus of the cognoscenti is that it's powerful and good-sounding, but somewhat clinical, lacking the grungy magic of the original Minimoog. I've never heard of anyone who liked the touchpad feature, and it's been notable by its absence from the many, many spin-offs that Moog have brought to market since launching the Voyager. I've never bothered checking one out myself, as I own an early-'70s Mini, which is all the Moog I'll ever need.
― Vast Halo, Sunday, 9 February 2014 21:12 (ten years ago) link
I have a pretty random collection of hardware synths.
Best luck was with the first one, which I got in high school: the Akai AX-80. which was a completely bizarre attempt to produce an 'analog' version of a DX-7. Same stripped down simple knobless / faderless interface. Presets were disgusting. But like the DX-7, the second you dip below the surface and begin to tweak it, absolutely bizarre sounding, mutant techno to Sun Ra / Residents squall, sounds more unique by the year. There's one patch from it I always I end up putting on nearly every album like a Wilhelm scream.
Other purchases since have been two cheap Casio CZ-101s, a Roland V-Synth and an OP-1. All very quirky, absolutely useless as go-to workhorses -- the basic presets are far too generic & silly, but they're all great for distinctive what-in-hell-is-that solos and ornamental ear candy details.
― Milton Parker, Monday, 10 February 2014 20:30 (ten years ago) link
I listened to some Voyager demos and despite the "improvements" it definitely has the Moog thing going on. But TBH when you're able to afford the Minimoog Voyager you might as well buy a vintage Minimoog.
Milton, your collection sounds like a vintage synth enthusiast's nightmare - that's awesome! And I love the sound of vintage Akai synths. Teisco synths, too.
In other news, I was looking for a bag for my AN1x and ended up buying a Korg Monotron Duo. Woops. I know I've mentioned how I didn't like the Korg sound (especially the filters) but I looked at the Monotron and just couldn't help it.
― DDD, Tuesday, 11 February 2014 12:09 (ten years ago) link
As someone who's most comfortable with SH-101 or MS-20 knob tweaky synths, the Voyager's powerful preset programming is a bit weird. Kind of like having a soft synth... sound is great but v clean.
― JLB Credit (Jack BS), Tuesday, 11 February 2014 14:50 (ten years ago) link
I thought this was a cool article about programming bass sounds, and it also touches on some reasons some synths are seen as better for e.g. bass sounds than others:
http://www.darksonus.com/DS_articles_analogbass01.php
― L'Haim, to life (St3ve Go1db3rg), Sunday, 16 February 2014 03:58 (ten years ago) link
http://www.korg.com/us/news/2014/0217/
Dannnnng
― DDD, Monday, 17 February 2014 16:14 (ten years ago) link
Whoaaaaa. Korg have already gone full tilt into the neo-analogue thing, but this is something else again...
― emil.y, Monday, 17 February 2014 16:20 (ten years ago) link
Announcement timed to mess with Roland and their new VA line up?
― an office job is as secure as a Weetabix padlock (snoball), Monday, 17 February 2014 16:39 (ten years ago) link
If you look closely at that prototype pic you can see a mini-slider next to the filter sliders - looks like the KORGyssey will maybe include both MKI and MKII filters... That's awesome, although I'm more in the mood for crystal-clear digital synths now (bidding on a Waldorf Blofeld)
― DDD, Monday, 17 February 2014 18:48 (ten years ago) link
Maybe, although OTOH prototypes often have extra controls that don't appear on the final product. Anyway, interested to know if this is going to be a 85% sized version like the MS-20 mini - if so, it might be almost as cheap.http://www.djfood.org/djfood/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Florian-Autobahn-smile.gif
― an office job is as secure as a Weetabix padlock (snoball), Monday, 17 February 2014 19:09 (ten years ago) link
looks genuinely awesome. the ody is discrete right? korg should bring back curtis chips as well 8)
― föllakzoidberg (electricsound), Monday, 17 February 2014 21:21 (ten years ago) link
otm
― bourgie tagger (crüt), Monday, 17 February 2014 21:24 (ten years ago) link
ow hope it's not stupid mini version of the arp, hate mini keys
― Crackle Box, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 10:13 (ten years ago) link
Yep, looks like it's gonna be a bit tinier than the original model
http://i.imgur.com/293L5xi.jpg
― DDD, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 10:56 (ten years ago) link
man i've been living in maxmsp land for ages now, miss playing with the synths :(
(i don't own many of these, landlord is an ex synth-junkie who lets me use all his stuff. also, i work in a recording studio doing programming/engineering)
korg ms-20 - original. badass. the best. new thing doesn't really compare imo. the originals really scream. maybe it's just age and worn components.sequential circuits pro 1 - filthy filthy. surprisingly versatile. love the seq/arp and modulation madness.moog taurus 2 bass pedals - got that moog sound. kinda wooly. mine's a bit scratchy.waldrof pulse - monster sounds, huge. v annoying to program from the front panel. not really mastered this one yet.minibrute - does some really interesting things. don't really go to it for classic sounds out of but good for experimenting.novation bassstation 2 - it's growing on me, started using one of these in a band. really good for overdriven dubsteppy type sounds.moog micromoog - hugely underrated, S+H etc. have had 2 and they both sounded v different.moog minitaur - fucking great.little doepfer modular setup - love it. rarely use it on its own. need to try out that cv software thingymc-202 - does what a 101 does but without the keyboard afaicttb303 - broken but when it worked it was… eh alright. 202 does a good enough job.prophet 12 - getting into it. i always end up in terry riley land for some reason. spent a few days doing rudimentary things like making drums / basic sounds to get a feel for it. it's a v powerful synth but it's not good at everything. the wave morphing stuff is cool but eh, computers are better at that imo.roland gaia - LOLjuno 106 - with electricsound on this one. i'm not the greatest keyboard player but i've heard people make them sound great.alpha juno - keyed has gone on mine again. which is fine. i like it for dronesmatrix 1000 - love the sound of this. amazing value for money.walford q - cheeky little number. like the pulse it's annoying to program, i quite like to make it freeze and crash it does all manner of weird things.yamaha fs1r - my favourite synth in the worldcasio cz101 - these sound really really greatroland jd800 - pretty cool. too many knobs and things, always have fun playing with it but don't find it partic useful.jv1080 and all those - these are all great if you want vintage, err, digitalvolca keys, beats, bass - fantastic stuffnovation supernova - v v cool, always end up getting useable stuff out of thislogan string machine - lush as fuck
really wanna play with:
more arp, buchla, ems stuff. flood's studio isn't far from where i work, really wanna get in there for a night.
synths synths synths. a lot of fun, but i think i've got to a point where i'd be quite happy with just a laptop and max/reaktor.
― Crackle Box, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 11:45 (ten years ago) link
That list... wow
Also re: Roland, one might think they'd change their stance on VA/analog gear after the bad reception of the GAIA but oh well...
― DDD, Tuesday, 18 February 2014 16:15 (ten years ago) link
waldrof pulse - monster sounds, huge. v annoying to program from the front panel. not really mastered this one yet
yeah this needs a controller beside it to really shine. i have the kiwitechnics PE which opens this thing right up. i got mine mega cheap from someone who clearly gave up trying to program it.
― föllakzoidberg (electricsound), Tuesday, 18 February 2014 21:12 (ten years ago) link
aaaand I bought the Blofeld!
Gonna sell my K-Station.
― DDD, Thursday, 20 February 2014 18:35 (ten years ago) link
wow that kiwitechnics thing looks great! want want want arghh
― Crackle Box, Friday, 21 February 2014 23:43 (ten years ago) link
this is a dumb question well below the level of what everyone here is doing BUT ANYWAY: i have one of these http://www.atarimusic.net/featured-articles/retro-review-articles/271-yamaha-pss-680-retro-review, ostensibly a cheap beginners keyboard but with some surprising fm synthesis features, and even more surprisingly what seems to be fairly advanced fm synthesis hardware that can't be manipulated with the keyboard itself but can be using the midi in. i downloaded some software for that purpose but i get errors when i try to send my edited patches to the keyboard, perhaps because the software is like 15 years old. is there any general purpose software (for pc) that would do this job?
― Merdeyeux, Saturday, 22 February 2014 20:34 (ten years ago) link
You tried that PSS Edit software, right?
Hmm... Did you try installing it in compability mode (assuming you're using Windows 7)?
If the PSS is able to work with SysEx commands you can maybe try a SysEx program but I don't know if editing SysEx files is possible without good results...
― DDD, Saturday, 22 February 2014 21:59 (ten years ago) link
general purpose probably not, the only thing i could think of that deals with multiple types of synth sysex editing is midi quest which is notoriously unstable and very expensive for that. what is the editor you're using? also make sure the synth memory has any write protect settings set to off..
xpost
― föllakzoidberg (electricsound), Saturday, 22 February 2014 22:03 (ten years ago) link
ya it's PSS Edit I've been using. I think the keyboard may be to blame, I noticed that while it initially saves my patches (the ones I make on the keyboard itself) to the banks they eventually disappear to be replaced by the default. Oh well. It still works as a MIDI controller, and has the interesting side effect of producing weird random sequences out of thin air when I use the pitch wheel. Ghost synth.
― Merdeyeux, Sunday, 23 February 2014 17:13 (ten years ago) link
does the PSS use an internal battery?
― DDD, Sunday, 23 February 2014 17:31 (ten years ago) link
oh, it has that option but I use mains power. Definitely something wrong with its storage though, the chord memory function doesn't work either. Never miiiiind.
― Merdeyeux, Tuesday, 25 February 2014 18:26 (ten years ago) link
now that i finally got the midi in + audio out set up for my Volca Keys, i'm really happy with it. noticed something weird though...after i took an audio track of chords that i recorded with it and pitched it down an octave, there was a super unpleasant high frequency hum in there that made it unusable.
the original pitch version sounds just fine, although maybe there's something in it that's higher than i can hear?
― festival culture (Jordan), Tuesday, 25 February 2014 18:45 (ten years ago) link
Possibly the delay:http://audiocookbook.org/korg-volca-keys-delay-circuit-noise/
― an office job is as secure as a Weetabix padlock (snoball), Tuesday, 25 February 2014 18:49 (ten years ago) link
oooh thanks! i'm sure that's it...i was definitely using a sound with a low cutoff and i wasn't entirely sure how to turn off the delay entirely. i guess you do that by turning the feedback all the way down? the manual says "FEEDBACK knob: This knob sets the amount of delay feedback as well as the mix level of the effect and dry sounds."
― festival culture (Jordan), Tuesday, 25 February 2014 19:00 (ten years ago) link
The Blofeld is tons of fun... I don't have the Sampling License but there is a free Wavetable Editor for it and I've been transferring my Microbrute's waves to the Blo.. interesting, especially with the huge amount of options this synth has. Almost modular-esque.
― DDD, Thursday, 27 February 2014 17:32 (ten years ago) link
i obtain microbrute
have spent last 20 minutes grooving on 'I feel love' sequence; went all 'patrick cowley remix' for a bit
― if I only could, I'd make a meme with doge (haitch), Monday, 3 March 2014 14:52 (ten years ago) link
So we have a Moog Prodigy at our studio, and I LOVE the crazy filter modulation that I can get out of it. Is there ANY modern synth that can sound like that, or should I just start saving my bucks for my own Prodigy? Wondering if maybe the Novation Bass Station II can match it...
― schwantz, Monday, 3 March 2014 16:57 (ten years ago) link
Everyone needs to have a Moog in their life once. Often copied, never matched.
― DDD, Monday, 3 March 2014 18:41 (ten years ago) link
But what exactly do you mean with crazy filter modulation? Assigning the LFO to the filter cutoff and then setting the LFO speed so fast that it's audible and changing the sound?
― DDD, Monday, 3 March 2014 18:48 (ten years ago) link
Every (good) analog synthesizer should be able to do that (like the Microbrute)
― DDD, Monday, 3 March 2014 18:50 (ten years ago) link
No, I mean assigning something in the filter (Contour? Not sure exactly what is going on - or maybe it's modding an oscillator?) to the mod wheel, and riding it. It gets these crazy braaaps and squelches. When I try to do something similar with a software synth (I know, I know), it sounds all wimpy and lame.
― schwantz, Monday, 3 March 2014 19:09 (ten years ago) link
Sorry, I think I was actually using the PITCH wheel to modify the second oscillator sync. I'll have to look more closely.
― schwantz, Monday, 3 March 2014 19:12 (ten years ago) link
Yep.Like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCY28P-rgN8
― schwantz, Monday, 3 March 2014 19:31 (ten years ago) link
Sounds like you can do it with the bass station 2 (needs 2 oscillators, so maybe not with the microbrute).
― schwantz, Monday, 3 March 2014 19:37 (ten years ago) link