-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

that sounds fun, the arp on the keystep is wonderful

Nice to see the Timecops using a Volca Keys to monitor Loki! pic.twitter.com/FsiuVA9Yhq

— Matt Colville? (@mattcolville) April 5, 2021

Must not have been able to borrow the Eventide rack unit from Contact.

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

2 sounds like a very slow LFO is modulating the filter

1 - Sometimes if you have a big envelope modulating something (like the filter), changing the filter won't seem to work.

Or maybe there is a very slight unison in place causing that very slow beating effect

*very slight detune I meant to say

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSiJS93H6Kk

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.

26k pounds + 2k pounds for delivery to the US FYI

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^

change display name (Jordan) at 12:58 17 Mar 21
I 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.

loving the new filters on the Hive2 update
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8JDrl9m5WU

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).

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.

been messing around with this li'l vocal synth from Klevgränd. good fun.

https://klevgrand.se/products/pipa

Ooh that looks fun, ty

One of my early pandemic purchases was a Reface YC and I absolutely love it.

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!

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.

Would be nice to be able to load loops into it too.

mpc1000

What about Voca sample?

Volca Sample

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.

I have a Volca Sample and it’s ok but I think the Volca Drum sounds better.

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).

That's the one I'm thinking about.

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.

Roland TR-8S maybe? Different price class but it can load samples plus you get the modeled Roland drum sounds.

Looks cool, but yeah - I think I'm looking for lower-cost. I have my computer for more production-oriented stuff.

Preordered the Behringer 909 clone today

speaking of roland X0X boxes, are there any software emulators that are nearly as good (and not as stupidly pricey) as D16's stuff?

https://d16.pl/classic_boxes_collection

The Roland cloud versions are all available cracked if you don’t mind piracy.

thank u milo.... i'm wary of the open web, and that's not on the private tracker i use, but plz do email me if u can recommend a site <3

tbh, I live dangerously and just got the Roland Cloud stuff off of rutracker.org. The only one I kept was the JV-5080, which has made me thirsty for a late '80s/early '90s rompler.

This is only synth-adjacent, and perhaps is better-suited to the VSTs thread, but: I just copped Koala Sampler for Android (it's also on iOS) and it's maybe the best $4 I've ever spent. It's incredibly immediate and rewarding, and it runs on my dinky Motorola phone. Truly we do live in the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3FbBeaB0jk

New tactile synth from Soma, I want one

me too. i love my Lyra and this would be a great companion

Ooh, that looks like so much fun, esp with midi or a controller. I'm scared to look at the price.

Yeah that's outside the range of what I will allow myself to pay for a synth. Looks sick though.

Yeah a friend of mine shared it last week and I was with him on it till I saw the price. I think I can do the same to a degree with my Dirty Electronics bits and bobs.

Juno is listing it for £455, which seems pretty reasonable.

Ok, that's about a third of what it was listed at the beginning of last week.

Got my MRCC this week, and so far, it's pretty nice. I can filter stop/starts to each device, only route certain gear to other gear, etc. Right now I have it basically used as a big MIDI thru/splitter for my SL MK3. Next I need to have a USB preset for use with the computer. And then maybe I'll go back and make a preset for controlling everything with my Circuit. I also think it will be fun to be able to record things from my various keyboards into the SL, rather than having to sit in front of the SL all the time.

in similar news, haven't read enough to see how this compares, but Kenton's got a MIDI patch bay/filter/splitter thing coming out:

https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2021/08/02/kenton-intros-interchanger-smart-midi-patch-bay/?fbclid=IwAR1dJQbL9VKUkbufP3jBHVKwW8Eo9Y_M7UfdY99TyoDUUIOm9G68D4x4j2c

I saw that! Seems like a ripoff :)

I'm borrowing a Microwave XT and it's so gnarly, born to make dystopian sci-fi soundtracks.