Hi!
Hybrid digital/analog is cool and all, but Korg’s move to open up their digital oscillators and effects to any developer, without certification, is one of the more interesting developments in synths in my opinion.
Open platforms aren’t anything new – computers and iPads have been supporting the concept for a while. There are even a few standalo...
2019-07-14 13:09:26 +0000 UTC View Post
Good Sunday!
I've had a pre-release version of Behringer's Crave on loan this week and here's my full review.
Even though it has an original look and name, once I dug in I found it's "heavily inspired" by Moog's Mother-32 from a workflow, patch bay and sequencing perspective, though Crave is desktop only and cannot be mounted in a Eurorack case.
To their credi...
2019-07-07 15:34:54 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello Modulators!
I'm sending you all a separate email because the "Waveshaper" tier also got the June book update in theirs - but I'll say it right up front: the fact that you're here is totally amazing IMHO - so if you're new, welcome, and if you've been around for a while it's mega appreciated because you're what makes all this possible.
Regarding LYRA-8: I was q...
2019-06-30 18:02:12 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello Waveshapers!
In order to reduce the amount of emails you get, this will be a two-for-one... (1) two music downloads - the intro and outro LYRA-8 review jams, and (2) the June book update.
Regarding LYRA-8: I was quite taken by this thing - it quite unlike "regular" synths - just listen to the downloads or watch the video and you might see what I mean. Check ou...
2019-06-30 17:56:39 +0000 UTC View Post
Good Tuesday!
After reviewing Pyramid, Deluge, Elektron sequencers and others, the bar for what a hardware sequencer needs to do is quite high, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Squid.
No, it's not the ultimate hardware sequencer, but Pioneer DJ/Toraiz have innovated on quite a few interesting fronts (14, yes, I counted them) with features that are eit...
2019-06-25 15:32:16 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
MOOD is a new effects pedal from Chase Bliss Audio - developed in collaboration with Old Blood Noise Endeavors (its left side, with spacial reverb/delay style effects) and Drolo FX (the right side, micro-looping and granular synthesis).
What got me interested in this pedal isn't the individual parts - but rather its Clock feature - which lets you slow down its s...
2019-06-20 05:42:40 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
The hype for vintage synths always surprises me until I get my hands on one and try it... The SH-101 is a simple, single oscillator synth, and yet actually playing one is an experience I highly recommend. The interface is very clear, easy to understand and definitely knob per function. Well, slider per function anyway...
So, obviously when Behringer came out wit...
2019-06-11 10:18:28 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
I was playing around with EZDrummer from Toontrack the other week and was impressed with their MIDI clip database and how easy it was to search through it, but my drum machines started getting little jealous...
While it is fun to program your own beats and sequences, I think we can all use some inspiration every now and then - and yet most drum machines don't su...
2019-06-09 11:46:06 +0000 UTC View PostHi there!
Every now and then I get asked "which sampler/sequencer/synth should I get", and the answer is (at least for samplers and sequencers - I'll get to synths in a bit) - "what are your needs and budget". The problem is, that samplers and sequencers have become so feature rich, one may not know which features are even possible, so that one can establish a "need", and...
2019-05-30 21:46:10 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
On the knobs vs faders argument I'm a pro-fader guy, because you can control more than one parameter with a single hand (though I'm a sucker for a big cutoff knob...). I've always been curious about whether motorized faders are a performance/production workflow improvement or just a gimmick. Spoiler alert - I think it makes a DAW feel much more like an instrument.
... 2019-05-29 13:13:45 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
Here it is - a full review and tutorial of Blackbox from 1010Music - a standalone hardware "mashup" of their Toolbox and Bitbox eurorack modules.
This is quite an interesting one - despite its small size, it sets the bar very high for connectivity and hardware capabilities - a very responsive touch display, 8 audio outputs, 2 in...
2019-05-19 14:35:55 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
Last two Superbooths I went with a song in my head and a goal to make a mashup of as many new synths I could get my hands on playing that song. You can check out the 2017 result here and the 2018 video here.
Havin...
2019-05-12 13:39:36 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
A while back I made video about how connecting a keyboard to Digitone and Analog Four and adapting their presets for react to aftertouch, velocity and a mod wheel opens them up as instruments - and that's exactly what Elektron has done with Digitone Keys.
Digitone Keys was released today and I've had the opportunity to explore the beta for a couple of weeks (in between some othe...
2019-05-08 21:55:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
As you may know, I made a little synth mashup last Superbooth with the most interesting synths I tried out at the show (here's a link to it in case you're missed it...).
There aren't many modules in that video, but one of the few modules that caught my attention was SWN - the "Spherical...
2019-05-06 13:04:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
While you should never judge a book by its cover, I decided to spice things up a bit, especially since I went through all the trouble of sticking a MIDI cable in a pepper for the generative video thumbnail...
Here's what's new:
Hi!
Steve Dunnington from Moog did it again. He took technology from the 1930s and re-spun it in an extremely interesting and compelling way.
When I heard this year's Moogfest project was a vocoder I was a bit disappointed, but the vocoder in Spectravox is just an entry point into a world of madness possible with a synth that has 10 filters......
2019-04-29 20:37:57 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
Here it is finally ;)
“Generative Music” is a term coined by Brian Eno to describe music that is always different and changing, generated by a system but led by creative guidelines, rather than typical music which follows a set of predetermined notes intended to be played the same way every time.
This video includes 20 ideas and even more tools 2019-04-24 13:56:59 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello and Happy Easter/Passover if you celebrate ;)
My full review of MicroFreak from Arturia is in (despite my best attempts at editing it down it's a bit over 40 minutes...) - and I can say MicroFreak sets a pretty high standard for the value you get from a synth.
Some of its digital engines are better than others (as is the case with Plaits IMHO,...
2019-04-21 21:10:00 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
It's been a couple of weeks or so since I emailed you - here's what I've been up to and what's coming...
Over the past few months I've been collecting ideas for a generative ideas/tricks video. A couple of weeks ago I decided it was about time to make it happen. Now, I usually try and post at least once a week, but I just couldn't fit it all into one video. A...
2019-04-17 15:27:21 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
Somewhat like Maths, Morphagene from Make Noise has a pretty basic feature set, but what you can do with it goes quite deep. This video took way longer to make than I expected because every time I thought I figured Morphagene out, something new was waiting to be discovered right around the corner. It got quite better after the v155 firmware update last year.
In ...
2019-04-01 19:30:20 +0000 UTC View PostHi there!
First, I'd like to say welcome and a huge thanks the all the new WaveShapers, and an even bigger one to those that are already here that keep supporting month after month - I'm blown away by your ongoing support.
$4 may seem like a small amount on its own (and some give more, thanks for that!) but it's starting to add up which means I can afford to i...
2019-03-28 12:20:50 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
NLDR (pronounced “Noodler”) from Conductive Labs is quite a sequencer, if it can be called that at all. If I had to summarize what makes it different, whereas with a typical sequencer, you enter notes to express your ideas – with NDLR you provide the musical ideas, and it takes care of the notes for you.
By “musical ideas” I mean a key, a sc...
2019-03-25 14:47:09 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
Ever thought of using a sampler as a CV mod source? If you're into Eurorack (or semi modular), I think you'll find this one kind of cool.
There is no eurorack equivalent (to my knowledge...?) to complex rhythmic modulation drawing tools like software based LFO tool, VolumeShaper and GateKeeper.
This video describes how to take modulations ...
2019-03-18 16:33:33 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
You'd think that new technology meant better... but while MIDI over USB is faster, bi-directional and offers a lot more routing flexibility compared to plain old 5 PIN MIDI cables, it brings along one big flaw (sorry... feature...) of USB - the fact that one side needs to be a host and another a device. With that, one of the mo...
2019-03-12 15:32:25 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
In my post to WaveShaper ebook supporters from a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that one of the February book updates was a sampler trick that made it into the book (page 81...) but I had not yet found time to make a video about. Here it is!
This is a neat and simple trick that requires ignoring your sequencer...
Here's some background: In the early 60’s ground...
2019-03-04 16:19:22 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
Skot Wiedmann's Hyve Synth approaches the concept of what a synth is in a completely original, creative and ingenious way.
It has 60 oscillators (not a typo) - 12 core oscillators and 4 sub-oscillators for each, organized in two layouts of close to 5 octaves each (piano style and isomorphic hexagonal), all the size of two ...
2019-02-26 14:43:52 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
Before I give you the details, I just want to say again, just how awesome it is that you all are here! Your support truly is what allows me to dedicate increasingly more time to the channel and to tips/ideas videos in particular.
I do love reviewing new gear, but coming up with these ideas and making music with them is truly what I enjoy the most, and I...
2019-02-22 17:11:31 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
Model:Samples from Elektron is their new entry level groovebox - "entry level" means a relatively low price ($400 is a first for them), and while it has less features than Digitakt, it has a few new things that Digitakt doesn't.
It's evident they made an effort to remove features so that most of its performance functions are one or two steps away, rather t...
2019-02-18 20:37:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello!
Last week I borrowed a Behringer Neutron from a friend, not expecting to make a video – I just wanted to hear for myself what the 3340 oscillators sound like, and yeah, they’re quite nice...
Then I took a look at the new features in 2.0 and saw no one really explored them, despite the fact that they’re quite substantial, espec...
2019-02-11 15:02:51 +0000 UTC View Post
Hi!
QPAS has got me totally hooked on stereo filtering - you've got to try it out! Just take two filters (at least), run your music through them (one to the left and the other to the right), set one cutoff to at least a few dozen hz below the other - then sweep away...
Make Noise takes this concept and runs with it. QPAS is a quad filter module, but it's designed to...
2019-02-04 21:52:10 +0000 UTC View Post