demagogue on 20/1/2022 at 15:56
Sorry about that. Yes, it asks you to enter because it's a referral: you'd enter, but I'd also get credit for it because you used my link. But then I realized I can't actually credit anything to anybody else's link because I've already entered. I didn't really get how it worked until later. So the whole thing is kind of borked, and I suppose you can all disregard it now, unless you actually want to enter at least. My intentions were good at least. XD
Funny that you couldn't apply though. I can from Japan. But maybe it's country-specific and Japan is just one of the countries. Or unless I just didn't read the terms carefully enough, but fortunately my family (& technically permanent address) is in the US, so I think it'll be okay even if that is a condition.
Aja on 20/1/2022 at 18:00
It didn't refuse my entry; I just saw text that said US residents only. Since you have a US address, you should be fine! Hope you win! I've got a Morphagene, and although it's not the instant hitmaker I always assume everything I buy will be, it's really fun to play with and has a lot of character.
demagogue on 24/1/2022 at 13:24
Deep sigh. I knew this could do more than vanilla techno.
[video=youtube;eXqL4d9BpWE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXqL4d9BpWE[/video]
demagogue on 10/2/2022 at 15:27
In the vein of my last post, I've been thinking a lot about the barest minimum of modules to make a setup I can carry around and start grooving on with lots of hands on control of the sound and a sequencer I can play with as it's going.
And what I came up so far is (
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1826391) this.
It's three basic core modules, the Swarm for 8-voices of a melody, the Queen of Pentacles for a drum machine / sampler, and erica synth's Black Sequencer running the whole show.
The pros of the Swarm are that it's boiled control down to a few knobs that give you a lot of control. It's got a dual filter, spring reverb, LFO, its own mini 8-step sequencer that doubles as an 8-key keyboard, and the 3 main control knobs are going to switch for each of the 8 voices. There aren't that many cons. You can't synch the LFO with the clock, kind of dumb, and you'll have to like the pre-set voices they give you. But aside from that it's imminently pick-up-and-playable.
The pros of the QoP are similar. Once you have a beat running of a sequencer, you have control over each voice (bass drum, snare, & clap) and 4 sampled instruments. There are more cons though. The SD card with the samples stupidly plugs into the back not the face, so you'd have to take it out of the rack to switch samples out. There's no CV control for pitch, just the knob, also the pitch knob for the bass drum is also stupidly on the back. The filter knob makes it hard to know when you're at zero-filter. Even with that, it's hard to find a module that let's you play with the voices with that much control like that.
And as for the Black Sequencer, it isn't the most powerful sequencer, but the apparently universal opinion is it's the easiest to pick up and use. It's so intuitive, once you know it, you never have to dig into a manual to figure out how to do things. It's great for randomizing good-sounding sequences and them switching them around dynamically. But compared to, e.g., the Intelligel Steppy, which is also really intuitive (and smaller), it is a lot more powerful with the functions you can punch into each step, and in constructing sequences according to all kinds of parameters, like the chords, modulation, etc. And conveniently it'll let you sequence 8 signals, which will let you run the 7 voices in the QoP and 1 voice in the Swarm, or for each extra voice for the Swarm one less on the QoP. But I also want to get a Pamela's Workout that can serve as a sequencer for the QoP, and set up some semi-random Euclidian beats, to free up the Black Sequencer for the Swarm.
I also added a Surface to the mix in my design because I think that's my favorite standalone voice generator, and a Disting EX because features.
Well, I've been thinking about the most minimal setup that I could really use, and I thought I'd share my thinking. Does anyone here that cares about synthing have opinions about minimal setups?
faetal on 10/2/2022 at 16:53
The surface feels a little surplus to requirement somehow.
Especially with the Poly Exciter algorithm from the EX: (
https://youtu.be/YDuP_JqXX9o)
I know it's not the same, but there's some overlap.
I would be tempted to replace it with something like this: (
http://xaocdevices.com/main/belgrad/)
Having so much space dedicated to 2 fixed purpose units (QoP & QS) might not give you a lot of flexibility vs a more modular approach, but nothing to stop you swapping stuff out later on.
Either way, looks like a fun combo.
Aja on 10/2/2022 at 19:00
I'm not really familiar with any of those modules, so I can't really say specifically if they'd work. I do think smaller setups are generally more conducive to productivity. Just look at how much Make Noise rings out of their shared system. If I had that rack, dema, I'd want some end-of-chain stereo effects, maybe an FX Aid. I know Disting can do it, but from experience I'll say that heavily menu-driven modules aren't very much fun, and my Ornament and Crimes is usually the last module I reach for. The consensus seems to be that Pamela's New Workout is an exception to this rule, though.
I'm a little confused about the Surface. Does it only output sound when it receives a gate into the strike input? If not, then you'd probably want a VCA and envelope generator for it.
Thor on 14/2/2022 at 11:05
Dunno why I'm posting, but also why not.
I got an Oxygen Pro Mini around the turn of the year, a two-and-a-half octave midi controller. Felt like the thing I need to conveniently learn music and experiment around with. It's still a bit overwhelming, but I knew that going into it the difficulty level is basically a brick wall. (I got a 5-octave piano keyboard some years too but I found that it not exactly being compact and a pain to set up with my computer was a fairly significant hurdle for day-to-day use.) I do hope to learn music properly in the years to come and produce something nice too, however small it may be, but eh, even fucking around with the sound libraries, arpeggiator etc. is fun. Would be great to get into voice manipulators as well but it smells like more gear purchasing like an audio interface and I don't feel the justification for that anytime too soon.
I like the sounds Aja, that crystal clean start is especially nice. Nice cover art too, actually. I think I'd like some software that makes some (hopefully artistic) visual output, reacting to the sounds produced.
demagogue on 14/2/2022 at 15:40
Just to respond to a few things....
Quote Posted by Aja
If I had that rack, dema, I'd want some end-of-chain stereo effects, maybe an FX Aid.
The Queen of Pentacles (the right hand knobs) & Swarm come with some effects built in. But I'm not too worried about it being FX light for reasons I'll mention below.
Quote:
I'm a little confused about the Surface. Does it only output sound when it receives a gate into the strike input? If not, then you'd probably want a VCA and envelope generator for it.
Lol, I just like the Surface for its own sake. I'm not really following my own rule of not duplicating. It's just an extra voice to have a little more freedom beyond the Swarm. But I'd probably get it last and chances are wouldn't keep it as part of a minimal set.
To answer the other point you bring up, as I understand it the Black Sequencer also lets you modulate ASDR envelope parameters and level individually for each note. So I have that covered. It can also put on a delay FX for each note, which I liked. The Swarm also has envelope parameters I can just directly control with a CV signal from the BS (I think).
The main catch is the BS only has 8 outputs that you mix and match for everything ... pitch, envelope, level, CV for anything. So the more modulation you want, the fewer voices you can control & vice versa. I understand that Pamela's Workout also has some sequencing ability.
The logic of minimal sets is you forgo bells and whistles to have more hands on control, with the idea that more direct control lets you focus more on making music than getting lost in making patches.
Kind of ironically maybe, the Disting & Pamela's Workout -- the exact opposite of that idea -- aren't actually meant to be regular parts of the set up, but they're just there in case there's some little thing I want to be part of it, so it doesn't have to be a critical part or as polished as a specialized module. They're supposed to actually free me up to focus on the modules I can play, if that makes sense.
And to respond to faetal's point, I want something I can spend time making musical stuff, rather than spending time setting up patches. I understand & sympathize with the point he's making, I just have a slightly different goal for this. And I already spend time on VCV Rack, Absynth, & Plasmonic experimenting and getting ass-over-elbow deep into the minutiae of patch making, so I'm not exactly missing out. XD
faetal on 14/2/2022 at 17:10
If hands on control is what you are after, you might consider one of the many excellent joysticks on offer.
Intellijel Planar 2 is the one I see touted the most. Doepfer do a good ribbon controller and there are some interesting touch and light-activated things knocking around.
There are good threads on some of the gear forums which cover a lot of options: (
https://modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=254950)
