Earthquaker are turning Afterneath into a synth module!
― ShariVari, Tuesday, 6 August 2019 21:38 (four years ago) link
hi all, looking for some "first synth" advice...
basically i want to create, endlessly tweak and zone out to penetrating drones and deep washes of noise (think eliane radigue but obviously so much less elegant)
i don't have a lot of money. i'm thinking a software synth is a good option. can anyone recommend something? the arturia modular v maybe (or is that too complicated)? thanks
― cheese canopy (map), Thursday, 8 August 2019 01:01 (four years ago) link
https://vcvrack.com/ is free and open source and cross platform
― koogs, Thursday, 8 August 2019 01:46 (four years ago) link
Yes, VCV rack is ideal. You can make an amazing soft synth for drone / ambient stuff just from a handful of the Mutable Instruments modules available that’s essentially as powerful as a $6000 modular hardware setup would be.
You can start with a a small virtual rack and work out how to use new stuff as you go. There is a learning curve but there are lots of free YouTube videos, etc to offer guidance.
I have a hardware modular synth and I honestly have almost no idea how the Arturia Modular V works. That’s mostly laziness on my part but the interface is typically larger than a screen can handle and it feels less intuitive when you can’t see what’s going on without scrolling. Their Buchla and Synthi reproductions are also very good.
VCV Rack could keep you occupied for years and would certainly give you a sense of which direction to go in if you did want to buy something else in the future.
― ShariVari, Thursday, 8 August 2019 06:22 (four years ago) link
VCV Rack is awesome, but it's a bit of a steep learning curve for someone unfamiliar with synthesis theory and methods.
― Sassy Boutonnière (ledriver), Thursday, 8 August 2019 08:39 (four years ago) link
you can start small though, lfo, couple of vcos, some kind of output.
there are tutorials that take you through it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbFyPHZykYY
(although the actual synth output in that is far too low in the mix. and i wish he wouldn't keep sliding the modules around like he does)
― koogs, Thursday, 8 August 2019 08:51 (four years ago) link
Patch Storage has a bunch of VCV racks people have put together - most of them are insane and overly complicated but if you look through you can find some VCV has the plugin manager on their site, you probably need to download the 15-20 most downloaded ones to get what people are using. They don't take up much memory and they're free
https://patchstorage.com/beginners-patches-i-basic-sequence/
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Thursday, 8 August 2019 16:40 (four years ago) link
didn't finish that first sentence - you can find some basic patches that help you figure things out. Tracing backward as to where cables go and how things interact is the best way for me to learn so starting points have been useful.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Thursday, 8 August 2019 16:58 (four years ago) link
A grendel drone commander would be an awesome first drone synth, but that's obviously the opposite of inexpensive.
― Sassy Boutonnière (ledriver), Thursday, 8 August 2019 19:18 (four years ago) link
vcv looks ideal -- thanks all!
― cheese canopy (map), Thursday, 8 August 2019 19:29 (four years ago) link
My only comment would be that it's way more fun to play with a physical synth than a VST. If you could get something like a Neutron or Bass Station 2 or Minilogue, it might be more inspiring for you.
― DJI, Thursday, 8 August 2019 21:06 (four years ago) link
the 0-coast used sells for $350-400, most demos seem to have a harder edge but it could probably do big drone-y wash with a reverb pedal (or two)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLS9UZ1VP2I
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Friday, 9 August 2019 00:10 (four years ago) link
Any tracks we can hear? It looks really fun. Like a Circuit++― DJI, Friday, August 2, 2019 1:35 PM
― DJI, Friday, August 2, 2019 1:35 PM
I goofed around on the Deluge in honor of 808 day. I don't know what I'm doing yet - this thing can do SO much - but threw this together in about an hour:
MSS808
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 9 August 2019 00:27 (four years ago) link
Awesome! Very 80s drums and bass.
― DJI, Friday, 9 August 2019 03:33 (four years ago) link
Had to use those 808 style drums!
― EZ Snappin, Friday, 9 August 2019 04:30 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywK9udx4Svc
I have an iPad app that does most of this but having the knobs and sliders looks so nice.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Sunday, 11 August 2019 00:55 (four years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjnjHrTIU58
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Tuesday, 13 August 2019 00:38 (four years ago) link
i was worried for a minute that the lines on her hands were conductive paint and were part of the circuit.
― koogs, Tuesday, 13 August 2019 08:41 (four years ago) link
I took my first step into synth world and got a Reface CS a few months ago. It's a powerful little machine & perfect for a synth noob like myself. However, the lack of arpeggiator & a proper sequencer have me realizing that I need more. I'm thinking a Microbrute may be my next purchase once I've saved a little $$.
― Auld Drink of Misery (zchyrs), Tuesday, 13 August 2019 17:19 (four years ago) link
Here's a minimal little noodle I put together on the Reface:
https://soundcloud.com/found-river/sundogs
― Auld Drink of Misery (zchyrs), Tuesday, 13 August 2019 17:20 (four years ago) link
I like that piece.
― DJI, Tuesday, 13 August 2019 17:30 (four years ago) link
I have a Yamaha Reface YC organ, I mostly just enjoy sitting an droning away on notes.
― michaellambert, Tuesday, 13 August 2019 17:43 (four years ago) link
Thanks, DJI!
― Auld Drink of Misery (zchyrs), Tuesday, 13 August 2019 17:49 (four years ago) link
I traded some comic compendiums for a fancy-lad wooden Eurorack case (Pittsburgh 270). Having fun on modulargrid finding out how many used Honda Civics it could cost to fill it up.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Friday, 16 August 2019 03:25 (four years ago) link
fucked around and came out with the weirdest patch i could make on the volca fm, this is the result:
https://soundcloud.com/momotaropeachboy/sequence-1
― clouds, Saturday, 24 August 2019 23:08 (four years ago) link
lol I would not have guessed that was an FM synth at all
― El Tomboto, Saturday, 24 August 2019 23:15 (four years ago) link
That LFO is definitely coming with the Earthbound vibes.
― Auld Drink of Misery (zchyrs), Sunday, 25 August 2019 14:31 (four years ago) link
ha that is probably the single biggest influence on my music so thank yew
i really liked "sundogs"!
some more messing around with a single patch and a simple kalimba-like sequence
― clouds, Sunday, 25 August 2019 16:54 (four years ago) link
Thx, dude!
I got a Keystep the other day, so now I can start making some proper arps and sequences (you can kind of do this with the reface's built in looper, but it's very annoying to work with). Now I just need something to program beats with, like maybe a Volca Sample. I'd use software, but my computer is getting unreliable in its dotage.
― Auld Drink of Misery (zchyrs), Monday, 26 August 2019 17:18 (four years ago) link
Also, I kinda just hate working on a computer, even though you can do just about anything in a DAW.
Digging "Bint"--was this all just on the Volca FM?
― Auld Drink of Misery (zchyrs), Monday, 26 August 2019 17:20 (four years ago) link
It's like the scene in a JRPG where an NPC reveals themself as the evil villain and then warps the party somewhere, just as they were about to achieve something.
― change display name (Jordan), Monday, 26 August 2019 17:29 (four years ago) link
old Korg Electribes are pretty cheap now - the ER-1 is about the same price as a Volca last time I looked.
― Greta Van Show Feets BB (milo z), Tuesday, 27 August 2019 00:00 (four years ago) link
Are those the little beat boxes?
I once saw a YouTube video of someone doing a really good live techno PA on one of those. Wish I could find it again.
― Mario Meatwagon (Moodles), Tuesday, 27 August 2019 03:12 (four years ago) link
Digging "Bint"--was this all just on the Volca FM?[
yeah just volca overdubbed in audacity
― clouds, Wednesday, 4 September 2019 13:31 (four years ago) link
Very nice! I can barely understand FM synthesis, but one can get some pretty wild stuff with it.
I don't think I'll be able to prevent myself from picking up one of these when they come out, this looks incredible for just $99:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhonu-rM0B0
― icy bike chain rain (zchyrs), Thursday, 5 September 2019 16:56 (four years ago) link
Damn all the new Roland stuff looks lame. When will they stop with the virtual analog stuff?
― DJI, Thursday, 5 September 2019 18:55 (four years ago) link
That little Korg thing sounds pretty great though!
― DJI, Thursday, 5 September 2019 18:56 (four years ago) link
The Juno boutique thing looks good. I managed to get one of the first run in Russia but they’d been sold out in the U.K. for years and were going for a lot more money on eBay.
I honestly do not understand releasing a souped-up digital Jupiter for £2200, though.
― ShariVari, Monday, 9 September 2019 21:04 (four years ago) link
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000879q
a 60 minute modular-synth mix selected by Steve Davis, former world snooker champion...
― koogs, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 11:39 (four years ago) link
(he plays one himself, new lp out shortly as Utopia Strong - https://www.loudersound.com/news/steve-davis-and-kavus-torabi-release-first-new-music-from-utopia-strong )
― koogs, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 11:42 (four years ago) link
Wait, what? How did I not know this? That’s amazing.
The Caterina Barbieri album is brilliant btw.
― ShariVari, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 11:53 (four years ago) link
tne caterina has been the stand out track so far. not exactly background listening though (in that i can't concentrate on anything else whilst it's playing)
― koogs, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 12:26 (four years ago) link
Talking of modular stuff, I got a clone of Clouds from a DIY builder on eBay and it’s wonderful. I may need a second.
― ShariVari, Tuesday, 10 September 2019 18:19 (four years ago) link
Please enjoy some imaginary action game music I made using Korg Gadget on my Switch:
https://soundcloud.com/found-river/run-jump-dont-die
― icy bike chain rain (zchyrs), Monday, 16 September 2019 17:27 (four years ago) link
Pretty cool. Sounds like the theme song to an 80s show about a talking vehicle.
― DJI, Monday, 16 September 2019 19:53 (four years ago) link
Haha thanks
― icy bike chain rain (zchyrs), Monday, 16 September 2019 21:25 (four years ago) link
little ambient thing i did
https://soundcloud.com/momotaropeachboy/fluor
― clouds, Friday, 20 September 2019 18:37 (four years ago) link
Not a synth at all, but these look and sound gorgeous!
https://www.vintagevibe.com/products/vintage-vibe-tine-piano
― DJI, Friday, 20 September 2019 22:02 (four years ago) link
I definitely want to pick up one of these when they finally come out. Seems like a really flexible piece of gear.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYHqBt6B234
― just another country (snoball), Sunday, 6 October 2019 13:32 (four years ago) link
Totally--that thing looks worth it for the effects alone. And I don't have the first clue about DSP, but it will be cool as heck to download other people's FX and oscillators.
― icy bike chain rain (zchyrs), Monday, 7 October 2019 20:05 (four years ago) link