For that route, it's trickier since they don't have headphone jacks. You can dongle out of the lightning port of the camera kit adapter, but then your phone loses battery pretty quickly.
― DJI, Thursday, 18 March 2021 16:46 (three years ago) link
and of course BT audio has way too much latency for playing software instruments.
― DJI, Thursday, 18 March 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
Yeah, those kinds of issues is why I prefer the camera kit and audio interface approach. Audio interfaces are useful in so many contexts that it's a good idea to get one. I know people fetishize DAW-less approaches these days but I hardly ever use a DAW and I'm still constantly using my audio interface
― Dan I., Thursday, 18 March 2021 16:51 (three years ago) link
What interface do you use with the iPad? I like the look of that Zoom UAC-2 one.
― beard papa, Friday, 19 March 2021 08:40 (three years ago) link
if learning piano/keys is an important part of the equation, i'd recommend investing in a USB/MIDI keyboard controller with full-weight keys, and skimp on the sound modules (iPad seems like a good way to go) until you want to expand your synthesis firepower. weighted keyboards are considerably pricier (i think the cheapest start at $500) but i think the difference in feel/response is profound... maybe learning on a piano spoiled me, heh
― davey, Friday, 19 March 2021 11:25 (three years ago) link
SYNTH LIFE UPDATE: Selling my old Reface CS to make room for some new gear. I'm jonesing to get an Opsix, but the $800 price tag feels a little steep to me. I really like the way that thing sounds though, and the patching possibilities are pretty wild.
Also considering the Modal Cobalt 8, Minilogue XD, and the Microfreak. None of which are FM like the Opsix, but the main things I'm looking for are: 1) robust sound design; 2) at least 4-voice polyphony; 3) compactness. I feel like I could actually go a long way with the Microfreak and some external FX. I'm not a big fan of that keyboard though. If anyone has recs or thoughts on these options, I'm down to hear them.
― american primitive stylophone (zchyrs), Friday, 19 March 2021 12:08 (three years ago) link
ASM Hydrasynth Desktop might be desirable if a built-in keyboard is not a must
― davey, Friday, 19 March 2021 12:24 (three years ago) link
About the audio interface, I'm really happy with a Steinberg UR242.
After 15 years with Presonus and Maudio interfaces that I always had to jump through hoops to get to connect and stay connected, constantly futz with things to try to avoid audio glitches due to DPC latency, and get random and not-infrequent blue screens (due to flaky drivers, best I could tell), it feels like a miracle to have an audio interface that Just Works and never, ever crashes or malfunctions.
― Dan I., Friday, 19 March 2021 14:40 (three years ago) link
If you can afford it, a used Peak would be pretty sweet.
― DJI, Friday, 19 March 2021 14:40 (three years ago) link
Also for audio interfaces, I think the little MOTU ones look pretty good.
― DJI, Friday, 19 March 2021 14:41 (three years ago) link
This guy makes a bunch of cool tools for making glitchy live music: https://www.giorgiosancristoforo.net/softwares/
― DJI, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:24 (three years ago) link
(haven't tried them, but was recommended by a coworker)
― DJI, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:25 (three years ago) link
i used MOTU for I/O long ago and it worked very nicely. idk how the prices compare but Focusrite's latest gen has been great as well.
― davey, Thursday, 25 March 2021 16:37 (three years ago) link
i fully endorse giorgio sancristoforo's gleetchlan software, it's like a bunch of wild max/msp modules that you connect together with a giant synthi style pin matrix. i like to feed 6 of the same field recording at slightly different speeds and just let it absolutely mangle itself. really fun.
― adam, Thursday, 25 March 2021 22:00 (three years ago) link
gleetchlab that is.
I need to try his Stockhausen-y Berna app again, I couldn't figure it out the last time I tried.
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Thursday, 25 March 2021 22:08 (three years ago) link
yeah i never got that one cookin
― adam, Thursday, 25 March 2021 23:27 (three years ago) link
I'm never quite sure what's going on with Ciat-Lonbarde instruments but the Sidrax seems cool - like a Soma Lyra but less whalesong
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUbYN1ezipg
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Tuesday, 30 March 2021 17:35 (three years ago) link
Man, there are some people in my life who would LOVE that thing.
― DJI, Tuesday, 30 March 2021 17:56 (three years ago) link
Well, I ended up going with the Microfreak, which I've had for a little over a week now. I'm having a blast with it so far, and it turns out I was wrong about the touchplate keys--I love them! Also I had no idea how cool the arp/sequencer on this thing is. You can make a psuedo-random repeating pattern with the arp just like on the Keystep, but then you can actually save it to the sequencer and tweak it from there. It's really cool for generating melodies and grooves.
― feed me with your chips (zchyrs), Thursday, 1 April 2021 15:06 (three years ago) link
that sounds fun, the arp on the keystep is wonderful
― adam, Thursday, 1 April 2021 15:29 (three years ago) link
Nice to see the Timecops using a Volca Keys to monitor Loki! pic.twitter.com/FsiuVA9Yhq— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) April 5, 2021
― na (NA), Tuesday, 6 April 2021 00:06 (three years ago) link
Must not have been able to borrow the Eventide rack unit from Contact.
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Tuesday, 6 April 2021 03:10 (three years ago) link
so i got a korg microsynth and it seems pretty rad so far but i need some insight from somebody who can put things into understandable language. it's my first experience trying to do anything with a synth so i've found other forums and help guides just add more confusion at this point because i literally don't know what some of the language means and the definitions don't help explaining the questions i have.
in a lot of the patches (which i don't even known if i'm using that term correctly), there's effects already on the sound and i've been able to navigate around and tweak fairly well but i've run into two issues:
1— sometimes the knobs indicate that they should control a parameter, but turning them does nothing. the display changes text, but the actual sound remains the same. in some banks, certain knobs don't do anything and they're not supposed to — fine. i'm referring to when all signs indicate the knob should change a parameter, but it doesn't. what gives?
2— on some patches, there seems to be like a filter running at all times. i'll play some notes and it'll be nice and booming and exactly what i want, but then it feels like it's cycling through a filter (or something?) and it'll reach the other end of the filter and everything just becomes weak and stunted. i've gone through all of the effects and tried to turn them off, or least set them to as subtle as possible. but it still does it! i mainly got the microsynth for basslines and that really sucks when i'm in a groove and then all of a sudden, it's like the volume got turned down and all of the dynamics are gone. until the filter (or whatever) cycles back around.
it was a floor model, so maybe i just need to do a factory reset?
kinda feel like a dumbass rn ngl
― Totally different head. Totally. (Austin), Thursday, 29 April 2021 00:17 (two years ago) link
2 sounds like a very slow LFO is modulating the filter
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Thursday, 29 April 2021 00:20 (two years ago) link
1 - Sometimes if you have a big envelope modulating something (like the filter), changing the filter won't seem to work.
― DJI, Thursday, 29 April 2021 00:48 (two years ago) link
Or maybe there is a very slight unison in place causing that very slow beating effect
― covidsbundlertanze op. 6 (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 29 April 2021 01:17 (two years ago) link
*very slight detune I meant to say
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSiJS93H6Kk
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Sunday, 2 May 2021 17:54 (two years ago) link
That guy's pretty annoying but I didn't think the Colossus actually existed for sale, that it was just a proof of concept deal for Analogue Solutions.
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Sunday, 2 May 2021 17:56 (two years ago) link
26k pounds + 2k pounds for delivery to the US FYI
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Sunday, 2 May 2021 17:57 (two years ago) link
that's a beautiful machine, but i am a dilettante who values the convenience of patch recall so i will continue to use the Zebra2 VST contentedly ^O^
― davey, Monday, 3 May 2021 09:03 (two years ago) link
change display name (Jordan) at 12:58 17 Mar 21I wonder if the best solution would be getting a Volca FM (or another small synth like a Yamaha Reface CS, or one of the other Refaces, or the Roland boutique series, a Minilogue or another Volca, etc) and controlling it with a cheap full-size midi keyboard? I think anything with a full-size keyboard (Nord, Sequential Circuits, etc) and serious onboard synthesis starts to cost $$$$$.Although back a few generations I used to have an Alesis Ion digital synth that was full-size, it was ok, wish I still had it.
― peace, man, Monday, 3 May 2021 10:11 (two years ago) link
loving the new filters on the Hive2 updatehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8JDrl9m5WU
― davey, Wednesday, 5 May 2021 14:31 (two years ago) link
Cool! I've been loving the Reface CP too, it's just such a pleasurable sound for learning tunes. Haven't recorded it much, although it does record well.
I keep meaning to get more into the u-he synths since people seem to like them so much, but right now I'm still committed to getting as much as I can out of NI Razor (and will possibly dive into the user-created Reaktor rabbit hole and never come out, who knows).
― change display name (Jordan), Wednesday, 5 May 2021 15:04 (two years ago) link
I love how much everyone loves the Refaces. They're such a sleeper hit. I love my DX. It's like, they're all digital and they have these little keyboards and you'd think they'd be terrible but they did everything right. Just the right simple interfaces, great sound, great price, easy to use etc. They should make a super Reface with a normal keyboard and all 4 models stuck in it.
― dan selzer, Wednesday, 5 May 2021 16:40 (two years ago) link
been messing around with this li'l vocal synth from Klevgränd. good fun.
https://klevgrand.se/products/pipa
― davey, Thursday, 6 May 2021 08:51 (two years ago) link
Ooh that looks fun, ty
― change display name (Jordan), Thursday, 6 May 2021 14:55 (two years ago) link
One of my early pandemic purchases was a Reface YC and I absolutely love it.
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 11 May 2021 21:53 (two years ago) link
NGL, kinda regret selling my Reface CS to fund the Microfreak...the MF is an excellent instrument and I love it, but the CS was incredibly useful for virtual analog sounds. Really nice keys for a mini-synth too. Oh well!
― feed me with your chips (zchyrs), Wednesday, 12 May 2021 17:36 (two years ago) link
Anyone have any good ideas for a drum machine? I don't care about having a sequencer (I just got an SL Mk3, which has a really good sequencer), just something that can load lots of sounds. I currently have a Drum Brute, but I just don't love the way it sounds. I'm thinking of waiting for the Circuit Rhythm, but wanted to get y'all's opinion.
― DJI, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 16:19 (two years ago) link
Would be nice to be able to load loops into it too.
― DJI, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 16:20 (two years ago) link
mpc1000
― dan selzer, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 16:38 (two years ago) link
What about Voca sample?
― DJI, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 16:44 (two years ago) link
Volca Sample
― DJI, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 16:45 (two years ago) link
I like my Digitakt but a large part of that is the sequencing workflow. If you want analogue drums, the new DRM1 MKIV from Vermona might be worth a look.
― Scampo di tutti i Scampi (ShariVari), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 16:46 (two years ago) link
I have a Volca Sample and it’s ok but I think the Volca Drum sounds better.
― Scampo di tutti i Scampi (ShariVari), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 16:47 (two years ago) link
The new Volca Sample with USB file transfer hasn't really released yet I don't think (I've had one backordered with ZZounds since January).
― Joe Bombin (milo z), Wednesday, 2 June 2021 21:46 (two years ago) link
That's the one I'm thinking about.
― DJI, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 21:49 (two years ago) link
I also realized that the noise generator on my Drumbrute died. Apparently it's a known issue. Hopefully they will replace the voice board for me, even though it's a few years old.
― DJI, Wednesday, 2 June 2021 21:51 (two years ago) link