-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

yes, they rule.

if you play guitar or bass, the external signal processing is pretty cool in and of itself

Software sound fuckery -
https://cdm.link/2018/02/mammut-free-software-completely-insane-things-sounds/
https://www.notam02.no/web/prosjekter/mammut/?lang=en

Behringer's 'clone all the synths you've ever wanted' project continues:

https://www.musicradar.com/news/behringers-wasp-synth-clone-revealed-and-you-can-pre-order-it-now

I have a Wasp filter in my Eurorack set-up but will probably pick this up as well at some point.

Behringer just announced a polyphonic Model D/Minimoog that looks close to the size of an original.

My main problem with the glut of Behringer stuff is that I don’t have any space left to put it, but this looks very cool.

I’ve ordered a Mutable Instruments Elements in the pre-Black-Friday sales and look forward to making lots of exciting plonking noises.

The behringer poly D is actually paraphonic not polyphonic apparently

a local seller in town had a roland s-10 sampler up for grabs, I couldn't resist! exactly the sort of chunky early sampling I wanted

here's a quick track I made using samples I created with the volca FM:

https://soundcloud.com/momotaropeachboy/11-26a

love those sounds

This inspired me to look up the Roland S-10, and then quickly download a 12 bit sampler emulation vst :)

glad you liked Jordan!

Signal Sounds has the Volca Modular and Volca Drum half price.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0_q8XLiW7U

I ended up getting an Intellijel Plonk to go with Elements and a second Mutable Instruments Yarns to sequence both via my Digitakt.

I simply don’t have any room for non-modular gear atm but Novation have some good discounts:

https://store.focusrite.com/en-gb/categories/black-friday-2019

https://i.postimg.cc/Qxyr1m8P/419-BC452-3-F79-4986-87-C8-683-B741-DB2-BD.png

My current setup, and unlikely to change for a while - though there is space to expand.

what all modules are you using?

https://i.postimg.cc/zvY6bszS/4-EDD00-BD-BF05-4-D0-D-926-A-9-D4-FC5494346.jpg

^ though the Polivoks filter is from ELTA rather than Malekko.

Lots of Mutable Instruments, as I love their whole approach, and a bunch of Doepfer.

so fancy, but what does it sound like?

Anything you want it to! I’ll have to put something on Soundcloud.

Are eurorack modules all meant for monophonic stuff, or are there polyphonic modules?

Anything you want it to! I’ll have to put something on Soundcloud.

New board description (for "I Love Modular")

(sorry couldn't resist, it's just the stereotype of constantly generating but not finishing anything...your setup is really impressive, I'm just always looking for the practical application when it comes to gear)

Ha! No, that’s absolutely correct. I’m terrible at finishing stuff anyway so can’t blame the synth.

Xps, most Eurorack stuff is monophonic, though you can get some poly modules, like the new Doepfer stuff here:

https://www.gearnews.com/need-polyphony-in-your-rack-doepfer-polyphonic-eurorack-modules-now-available/

You can also do chords from a single trigger with some.

I wound up buying a few modules used (a Batumi, a Pamela's New Workout and a Music Thing Radio Music) but almost immediately shelved the idea when I started contemplating the all-in cost with the modules I planned out on modulargrid. Maybe someday it will be feasible but currently not so much.

Enjoying VCV Rack more since I decided to start completely ignoring anything with a bad GUI/small knobs no matter what it does.

i'm really fixated on the idea of doing a 32hp dirty little monosynth modular rig; leave the effects and other fanciness to pedals

I was kind of looking at the opposite - the effects are where modular is interesting to me, Make Noise stuff like the Mimeophon, Erbe-Verb and Morphagene go places that pedals can't.

(The Make Noise shared system is only, uh, $4500...)

that's a cool approach too!

I got an Ensoniq EPS-16+ off OfferUp for $100- shockingly everything works, menus are understandable and the built-in '80s delay & reverb is surprisingly good.

Came with one disk with a super cheesy Steinway sample and a "Hipness" drum kit that does not appear to have a kick.

Does that one have polyphonic AT?

I think so. Keyboard is really nice - pretty light and not quiet at all but it feels way better than the sub-$500 MIDI controllers at Guitar Center.

My first synth/workstation (in high school) was an ESQ-1, so I have a soft spot for Ensoniq gear. I had a KS-32 for a while but lent it to a friend a while back and never got it back from him.

I finally got a Volca Fm, and I'm happily using the presets while messing with the velocity and algorithms (while just as happily not learning anything about fm synthesis).

So the Microfreak is fun for easy & quick modulations, especially getting pitch-bending sounds, but it just doesn't sound great in a mix? I feel like I have to either add a pile of effects to make it plausible, or I end up replacing it with samples or a different synth. Not universally true, but it can have a quality that's a little aggressive and brittle/thin.

With the Volca FM, on the other hand, I almost feel bad that I'm barely doing any processing to the sound. It just sounds great raw.

you can get some wild sounds once you mess with the EG settings, but i usually just play mildly tweaked presets through fx

The latest Behringer clone is unexpectedly the Octave CAT

https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2019/12/31/behringer-cat-synthesizer-clone-first-look/

just got my brand new benjolin in from derek holzer, hoping this will provide motivation to actually set up my studio space in the apartment i moved into like six months ago.

good iPad synth things lately:
AudioDamage Quanta - the only granular synth where I can get what it's doing rather than just turn every sample into noise or an atmospheric pad
ApeSoft Sparkle - resynthesizes two samples so that one takes on the qualities of the other

behringer is just shitting out synths like week-old sushi

Arp (Korg) teasing something that comes in a big box and has patch cables. Rumors of a Karp 2600 as per Jean Michael Jarre? Will probably cost less than what I paid to get my vintage one fixed last year.

always teasing something that comes in a big box

i feel like all that chinese sweatshop-built behringer mass-produced crap will break within a year

If the build quality is like their guitar pedals, then yes.

The construction of the Model D and Neutron seem perfectly fine, the DeepMind has been out for several years now.
Behringer has some shitty business practices but it's not like all the current Korgs and Rolands aren't being built in the same sweatshop factories.

does anyone make an affordable tactile sampler a la the dr. sample anymore

Roland still makes an updated version afaik (SP404).

fun. what about the maschine/maschine mikro? has anyone here used those? i don't really want to be tethered to a computer and the mikro looks hard to use without having it plugged into a laptop

yeah looks like those and the elektron model:samples require using a DAW to edit samples or sequence effectively

i had a volca sample for a while, it was kind of a nightmare to load samples into (via iphone app) but once that's done it's pretty self contained

The Elektron:Samples feels super crappy for the price - the buttons are squishy and the knobs aren't very responsive.
The Maschines are completely unusable without a computer I think.

Maybe a MPC 1000? I see them pop up locally for $400ish sometimes, they're usually listed for more online.

the roland sp seems like the best bet, i might just save up for a digitakt though