What are /r/synthesizers' favorite Products & Services?

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This post is meant to help people who are frustrated by the Ultranovas terrible screen viewability. Using a prism seems to be a simple and effective way to make it more comfortable to use. I have the Ultranova on a stand next to my desk at about a 45 degree angle, and the problem with the screen is that its quite thin vertically, and you basically have to be right over it to clearly see the text on the lcd. [This prism](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EKK3BTM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1) from amazon fits perfectly in the divet for the screen, and redirects the view. It also magnifies by probably 20% or so. The pictures don't quite do it justice, but in person it also seems to enhace clarity. The horizontal sweetspot for viewing is fairly narrow but if you don't move your synth much , then its no big deal. You also lose sight of the automap buttons under the encoders. I suppose there could be a more elegant mounting solution (maybe a 3D printed bracket) but 2 sticks, glue and a rubber band were what I had laying around. Anyway, I thought I'd share this little "hack" because I'm sure there's some other gear this may be useful for, and I haven't really seen it discussed anywhere.

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EDIT: added link to said prism

I have the same blanket

Edit: Can't vouch for the quality, but mine looks similar to this

I would vote Kraftwerk as the Beatles of electronic. Definitely did their own thing, 4 members with some iconic album covers, and were immensely influential. A few have argued that they are even more influential than the Beatles were (here and here).

Aphex Twin I would put as Jimi Hendrix, as he really pushed the boundaries of what was thought to be capable. Bob Dylan I would say Jean-Michel Jarre, Rolling Stones = Chemical Brothers as they had that similar "most people liked them" kind of feel, and for Black Sabbath I would say Throbbing Gristle as both bands helped to kickstart new genres.

Pomona 1508/POM Test Lead Holder for Wires Up To .210" Diameter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JXPSKX2/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AXQmBbM8RTGJF

Obviously not as fun as an effects pedal or new synth but very functional :)

People who like this might also want to check out this one: https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Dance-Music-Grooves-Hip-Hop/dp/1480393762/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1549558817&sr=8-1&keywords=electronic+dance+music+grooves

It covers more modern styles and is basically a TON of example beats that break down exactly why each one "works" or why certain hits are important to the groove. Also comes with a CD with the MIDI files (set up as an Ableton project) so you can follow along and edit the patterns yourself without creating every pattern from scratch. Highly recommend for producers who don't have a background in drumming.

I know it gets a lot of crap here in this sub, but it's a great little synth. Have fun! And if you ever get bored with it, you can always cut it in half like I did. ;)

Also, this entire song was created using nothing but MicroKorg sounds (including all the drums). Most of them were made completely from scratch (except for the vocoders, those were tweaked from presets). So the little thing can definitely rock.

No, Newfangled doesn’t have this kind of thermostat. I think it’s a Honeywell Pro-4000 model like this one : https://www.amazon.com/Honeywell-105841-TH4110D1007-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B001RZ678Q/ref=pd_sbs_60_1/136-3119337-3029751?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001RZ678Q&pd_rd_r=05cfe567-b1c8-4ab6-9dab-539586bce9d6&pd_rd_w=5C4OB&pd_rd_wg=ULf...

Couple things.

Audacity is an audio recorder/editor. That’s it. It does not produce sound on its own. It does not do anything with a MIDI controller. The only plugins it can use are audio effects plugins. Forget Audacity. It’s not what you want.

You need a DAW, and you need instrument plugins. DAWs receive MIDI events and pass them to instrument plugins. Most DAWs contain some native instruments as well, which are not plugins but are built into the DAW. There are free DAWs that you can try, such as Ardour ( http://ardour.org ). There are also a good number of free Instrument plugins. Google for them.

You will need to configure your DAW to use the Synthstation as a MIDI device. This differs from DAW to DAW.

The manual for the Synthstation is not clear regarding its audio outs, but it would seem they are used as a standard USB Audio device, whether on an iPad or a computer. In a DAW you would need to select this audio device to use the audio outs on the controller in order to use them.

That barely scratches the surface, but hopefully it will send you in the right direction.

A couple tricks that I've learned over the years that have helped me arrive at a place where I actually finish things:

• Never leave a project with a 1 bar loop. Even if you have to stretch that loop out to 3 1/2 minutes before you bounce it - do it. Hey while you're at it, maybe you can just add a quick B party, intro, outro whatever. Just fill that time. It doesn't have to be good, just done.

• Do not fuck around with sounds and patches until you have a basic arrangement in place -- a compelling arrangement that tells some sort of story on it's own, using only the abstract notions of musical fundamentals. Write a chip tune with unmodulated square waves if you need to, just don't touch that filter knob until you've earned it.

• Buy and read The War of Art. You have at this very moment a powerful and devious enemy who is dedicated fully to sabotaging your tracks and keeping you in a hell of unfinished fragments. Learn the enemy and how to defeat it.

That being said, it looks like OP's sticking point is that the jams never get edited into anything useful. Some technique solutions to this would be to make sure you multi-track all your hardware instruments so that it's easy to edit the fruits of your jam sessions. Does editing sound super unfun? Is editing not the reason you make music? Better read that book I recommended, as you're likely being deceived.

Audacity.

You can create a 'chain' in audacity that lets you specify a series of steps (convert to mono, save as mp3, etc).

You can then run the entire directory of sounds through the chain all at once.

It is what I did and was really painless.

The book to look at is <em>FM Theory and Applications</em> by John Chowning (inventor of FM synthesis) and David Bristow. You can hunt down a pdf easily enough on the internet otherwise look to spend around $100 on eBay. Amazon prices on the link are based on an alternate reality.

If it's no knowledge at all, search around on the internet and figure out what the individual components (Resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes, etc.) do, and try and 'analyze' some simple circuits and see if you can figure out why they work.

A lot of it is just experimenting and seeing what happens. There's wonderful simulation tools like Multisim or Falstad.

As for using that knowledge to make synths, Music From Outer Space and the circuits on that website helped me a ton! Just look around on it.

As for this build in specific, it didn't actually require that much electronics knowledge! Most of the work was already done because I bought the premade Doepfer DIY board. The reason I did this is because it's my first, and I really had no idea what to do. After being done with this, I feel like I'm more ready to make stuff from scratch and begin making my own modular :)

I don't know if this helped that much, feel free to ask more if you want to :)

[M MAKA Patch Cables](www.amazon.com/dp/B07BRSSMG6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_R.VuDbB9KWYFY?utm_source=share&amp;amp;utm_medium=ios_app)

I bought a bunch and they are awesome.

Edit: if anyone knows a make-alike that are available on not Amazon, please let me know!

Edit2: trying to fix my but reddit is messing it up, thanks for fixing below

If you're starting to get overwhelmed with cables at this point, would definitely recommend these.

I personally upvote everyone who responds to my posts and most comments, simply as a "thank you for playing". With that said - I must play devils advocate here:

> Reddit is stupid, they give us an ability but then ask us to not use it.

I liked where this was going.

> Same for downvoting comments- that's supposed to be for abuse and off-topic content or spam

You're describing the 'report' function.

> I see it in most popular threads being applied to opinions that the downvoter does not share.

That's what the word <strong><em>vote</em></strong> means

VOTE: a usually formal expression of opinion or will in response to a proposed decision; especially : one given as an indication of approval or disapproval of a proposal, motion, or candidate for office

> Remember people, you are free to ignore posts you don't like, just scroll down and uovote the posts you do like!

That doesn't make it wrong to downvote poor or mediocre content.

For the record- I still upvoted your comment. The moral should be to keep it friendly, no matter what ones opinion is :)

The logical next step from my wavetable loader utility is a sample importer.

Since there is a 32kb limit, it's impossible to put in even the shortest modern sample, but still plenty if we go old-school and only use one sample, find a good loop and transpose it all over the keys. Just like toy keyboards or Fairlight CMI, where majority of samples in the video are from.

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You can download the tool at https://gumroad.com/l/wavShelf

It's stable but still lacking editing features, currently you need to enter sample rate and loop infos manually, I'll suggest wait a bit longer if you are not familiar with samplers or trackers with this kind of editing.

This is not synth related, but Google's neural network experiments are fascinating and I enjoy the generated imagery.

Me and two of my friends were so stoned sitting in my car out front of friend a's house, listening to the radio, and we're just having some random, mild conversation. When all of a sudden Tobacco's Overheater comes on out of no where and it just slams! Me and friend b, who is in the passenger seat, just look at each other with our jaws very literally dropped like "what the shit is even happening to these speakers right now?!" That's about the time I got into synthesis and got myself a shitty korg R3 to start learning. End story

Edit: Overheater

I got these ones. I am a 6'2" male, so I was quite surprised that they actually fit pretty well. I wore running tights under them to try to, uh, obscure the "details" if you know what I mean. But even without those, they seemed pretty opaque.

This is a very standard and well regarded open content license. It's fromCreative Commons, which is by far the best considered site for open content licenses. "Build upon" means you can't take the book, add new text or other material to it, and redistribute it as a different book. It has nothing to do with knowledge gained or products you produce with that knowledge. This is about copyright.

Sure! It's a set of two posters from Amazon. They've been invaluable for me as quick references to glance at while learning music theory and coming up with melodies.

The answer is Amazon Marketplace

> Ships from and sold by Northern Shipments.

> Ships from and sold by GJG audio.

Anyone can sell anything for any price on Amazon. Just get one from a music shop. I wouldn't buy one from either of those, even if they were the right price. The Japanese seller has 13 ratings, and the other guy sells paper towels for $164

https://www.amazon.ca/Bounty-Select-Size-Paper-Towels/dp/B00HMY2PGE/ref=aag_m_pw_dp?_encoding=UTF8&amp;m=A1U6PAVBPLQVBI

look up DSO138 on Amazon. Bare bones but it'll do the job and it's a whopping $25. If you fancy DIY and soldering you can get it as a kit for far cheaper. I have heard of people making module versions of it.

So... make a separate survey and post it to the sub? This thread at least shows people are willing to put up the info. I think SurveyMonkey is the standard thing people use.

Play with Dexed if you haven't already. It's free, sounds just like a DX7, is entirely compatible with a DX7, and has a much better interface than a DX7. If you still want a hardware unit to untether you from a computer, go ahead and get one and apply the knowledge you learned from it, as well as now having a good patch library manager.

Discovered synths while at university. Was working at the radio station for University of Miami met some synth ppl and voila the rest came naturally. I post some stuff on soundcloud Desertf!sh and my latest projects you can find on Beatport Typ3 Records

Same price on Amazon if you just want the synth and not some random dude emailing or calling you a few times a month.

*Looks like it's sold by Alto Music, which will also give you a $124.90 electronic gift card towards a future purchase with the code ALTOBUCKS. https://www.altomusic.com/moog-subsequent-37-paraphonic-analog-synthesizer

You only need a MIDI cable if you want to send MIDI messages to the Volca to automate actions or control parameters.

For audio, just look on amazon for a 1/4" to 1/8" TRS or TS cable. Hosa makes some cheap ones.

https://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMS-110-Stereo-Interconnect-Cable/dp/B000068O36/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1543511670&amp;sr=8-9&amp;keywords=1%2F4+to+3.5mm+trs+cable

LOL! The dirty secret?

I have two cats, brothers, Mario and Luigi. Luigi's mellow, never a problem. Mario likes to chew on things, the more expensive and less replaceable, the better. After the second mouse and a set of reference headphones lost, I'm now religious about neatly cabling everything lest he get the idea that my patch cables (or the USB ones for that matter) are there for his amusement.

Velcro ties are your friends, best thing ever. I learned to like them about 20 years ago on my first civilian job post military, wiring up computer labs in schools - they're absolutely fantastic and so cheap you'll be embarrassed you don't already have some. I get mine from Amazon 100 at a time for about $10.

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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001E1Y5O6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1

I've always been an android user. Check out the caustic sound editor. I was recording into the phone microphone and sending samples straight into the volca.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.singlecellsoftware.kvsampler&amp;hl=en

I can vouch for Caustic 3 - I used it to do all the arranging of my current live set, then exported the MIDI files when I was done.

Check out the patch library that Cuckoo made. It’s 128 brand new patches and they are infinitely more useable and inspiring than the stock patches.

I am in no way affiliated with anyone, I just think this is dope. It made my MK into a completely new instrument.

here’s a link to his site

I used to own one, I regret selling it a bit but I also own a Sub 37 and there's some overlap there in terms of features.

You can make the Erebus sound really pretty and creamy, it has a certain 'vintage' quality to it. I hate to use a word like that to describe it because it sounds pompous as fuck, but it's got a character that's difficult to place. I've heard it compared to older Oberheim stuff but I've never had any firsthand experience with that so I can't back that up.

I wouldn't say it's as inherently 'nasty' as something like a Microbrute, but it definitely has a 'creepy' quality to it. The built in delay and duophonic stuff combined with very nice sounding oscs and filter make for a really nice little synth.

I used it with a Bass Muff a couple times and liked the results. Honestly, I don't think you'll be disappointed. It's a really nice sounding synth with a lot of character. If the GDC2 wasn't coming out, I'd consider getting one again down the line.

Edit: Here's some really short demos I have on Instagram from a couple months ago - bass line, lead noodle.

I agree. I don't think it can done without a few extra components.

Hackaday has a cool post on making a crude v/oct VCO here. It uses two transistors to make an exponential current sink and a couple diodes to sorta fake a split power supply.

Learn to play a KEYBOARD not PIANO. I know there there are fundamental similarities but they are not the same. The scales are the same, the fingerings are the same, but when it comes to playing there are major differences.

For example playing "pads" or long drawn out evolving notes will be completely different from playing "leads" or sharp quick arpegios. Drums is a whole different ball game.

A fundamental familiarity with the keyboard layout and some skills with playing/fingering will absolutely help, just remember that if you want to learn to play synths, don't learn keys on an actual piano, start using a controller right away.

And speaking of controllers, I would HIGHLY recommend a "Semi weighted" midi controller and preferably one with aftertouch.

For your first synth i would suggest using software but look for something that emulates hardware like maybe this one or even better the best COMPLETELY FREE and OPEN SOURCE synth out there SURGE

This community is full of people with way too much knowledge and they are all willing to help.

apologies for all the people who didn't read your post and are recommending $500 hardware synths.

get into software! the device you're using right now can be a synth too. there are loads of great free/cheap synths out there. I tried out Helm recently which is pay-what-you-want and sounds great. TAL U-No is cool too. if you let us know what sort of computer/phone/tablet you're using we can probably give better recommendations.

To answer my own question:

&quot;Live 10 will be available in early 2018.&quot;

&quot;Ableton Live 10 will be officially launched in the first quarter of 2018.&quot;

And there you have it.

I went with Suite because:

• I don't have a lot of hardware and it was the most realistic way for me to create a versatile set-up without breaking the bank.
• MAX for Live intrigues me and I hope to explore it someday

It is hard for me to say whether you should get it, but if you want Max for Live you should probably go for it. I know the Suite offers some more robust MIDI option with MAX.

https://www.ableton.com/en/live/feature-comparison/

I have a couple of these. Sabrent switched usb

I like having them in different spots. There’s a 16 port one for you if you want a ton of space.

The movie I scored just came out on Amazon! I'm excited to be able to share it with people; I had assumed it would just hang out in indie-land with very few people having access.

Synth-wise, it's got some Volca Keys, Korg Wavedrum, and plenty of soft synths. Copious e-bow guitar as well.

It's free with Prime if anyone is interested: Buckle Up Punk!

Quick question... Are there different sizes of MicroKorgs?

I'm thinking of buying a MicroKorg, was looking on Amazon and this is the first option to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Korg-microKorg-Modeling-Synthesizer-Vocoder/dp/B0000WS0SC

That looks fine. But there is also this product page: https://www.amazon.com/Korg-microKORG-Synthesizer-Full-Size-Headphones/dp/B00DQYKZDO/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1475638716&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=microkorg

So the second one has a stand and bench, only $15 more which is cool, is the keyboard any different? I ask this because the second one says "microkorg 37-mini keys" and the first doesn't say mini anywhere I see. Is the one with the bench a mini microkorg or are they just getting more specific with the name?? I just want a stand is all but I can't tell if the keyboards are different sizes or not. Question is probably dumb but I can't find a clear answer anywhere so I'm asking here. Thanks.

It's good for messing with just about anything, depending on what you like. I have a short clip on Instagram where I use the Moog MF Ring on my Minibrute and I think it sounds absolutely fantastic.

I only play one note (D) on the Brute and I use the mod wheel to adjust the cutoff filter. The audio is then sent through my pedal board to a reverb, delay and the MF Ring where I use an expression pedal to sweep the frequency spectrum with my foot at the same time.

It's so much fucking fun.

https://www.instagram.com/p/5-ZBpoJAls/

Why? ~$7 per unit. Not exactly rocket science with all these smartphones around. The only thing that might take time is designing an usable interface for it, but from the photo it looks like they already have something in place.

Current Obsession - Abstakt Instruments Avalon Bassline, Cwejman S1 mk2 (always! my white whale!)

I've also been doing a lot of work on this very, very early Moog. Hell, it's a very early synth in general: https://instagram.com/p/zWCIBvovjr/

Shortlist: Verbos Composition System and Multi-Envelope

"sudden influx of cash" dream purchase: Wiard 300

Holy Grail: EMS Vocoder 5000

Amazon's pretty strict about their vendors. Running astray of that and losing the ability to list on Amazon is not worth the risk.

Nicely done.

p.s. Information wants to be free

As far as synhesis goes, try using similar trick to brass spat effect (apply envelope modulation to pitch of one of the oscillators), but have the two oscillators set to identical high pitched skinny-ish pulses instead of saw waves. Some mild FM, vibrato and filtering of higher firquencies to taste are fitting. Play legato with no glide or just a hint.

I made an attempt here and will post a sample shortly.

edit: there

I would point them at Tracktion 6, that one's actually free, or Reaper which is essentially free until you decide to do the right thing and pay the very modest price.

This shit is exepensive I'm afraid! There's always going to be a pretty high initial cost just to get a basic setup going. I've not used the JD-Xi myself, but it seems like Roland have made is specifically with the beginner in mind, and I'm pretty sure that it is the absolute cheapest way available right now to get started with synths. If it's all getting a bit pricey though then it might be best for you to take the software route. There are countless free software synths and effects out there which are as good if not better than the real deal in some cases, all you're really missing out on is the hands-on programming that you get with hardware. If you want to get started in software all you need is a DAW (you can pick up Live 9 Intro for about £50) and a midi controller, although that isn't strictly necessary as you can just sequence the synths in the DAW. That should give you a good taste of things, and if you like it you can start blowing vast amounts of cash on synths later on like the rest of us :p Most people start out this way so maybe that's the best thing to do for now... and I'm sure we'll see you in the vintage synth thread in 6 months!

Mac has Sysex Librarian, which is seemingly an amazing program.

Sadly for Windows we don't have anything as nice, though I like MIDIOx (http://www.midiox.com/)

Basically you just set it up to listen/receive sysex on the MIDI port of your choosing, then you put a MIDI cable out from your synth to the in of the interface, and send. When it's sending you'll see the number going up in the window, and when it finishes the number will stop.

Before you reset/overwrite your patches, I recommend testing that it works. The way I did it was I first backed up my sysex, then on the first patch I just changed the AMP to 0 so there was no audio, then I re-imported it to see that the import worked and my export also worked.

Good luck!

I have my DT/DN running through one of these. Done all the FW updates and use Overbridge but only 4 ports

Sabrent 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub with... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00JX1ZS5O?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I’ve been using these short extension things for those annoying odd sized plugs that would otherwise use up multiple sockets. Works great for me

A power strip with spaced outlets and outlet extenders will change your life.

I got a Rolls 4 channel stereo active mixer from Amazon that isn't noisy, at least to these ears. It has 1/4 and 1/8 inch TRS inputs and outputs. They make a passive version as well that doesn't require power but I wouldn't recommend it - a cheap Belkin headphone splitter would probably do the same as a passive mixer. https://www.amazon.com/rolls-MX44S-Mini-Mix-Mixer/dp/B00102VV46

Another text I found mildly helpful was Snoman's Dance Music Manual: https://www.amazon.com/Dance-Music-Manual-Second-Techniques/dp/0240521072. I don't think its amazing, but there are some interesting analyses of specific types of EDM.

Do a Google search and Amazon shop needs to be 110v to 220v might be more portable options if you look around I've never had to use one. Idk if the lack of voltage could have damaged the synth or not I cant speak on that. https://www.amazon.com/Simran-AC-500-Voltage-Converter-Transformer/dp/B004MPR3XQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&amp;keywords=voltage+converter+110+to+220&amp;qid=1589748182&amp;s=electronics&amp;sr=1-4

One workaround you might consider for the moment is installing f.lux and using it to shade Audulus with a more red tone, which blurs the colors a little and reduces contrast.

https://justgetflux.com/

You can save a default setting for Audulus and just turn it on when you need it. :)

If you're on iOS, you might try Nightshift mode.

I've been using Lypur's learn piano tutorials which is one of the suggestions on this helpful Quora thread. It's definitely better than just banging around mindlessly on the keys, but learning the right way is tedious and time consuming.

I think LA is the capital of people awkwardly putting their arm around you, so you'd have to be more specific. :)

Maybe. We'll see how this one goes! Also, there is this: https://www.discogs.com/Flashbulb-Binedump-EP/release/441023

Personally, I don't really see the point of the ReFace synths. To me they aren't even useful: I have a DX7 and FM8, so the DX isn’t useful; I also have access to a CS-50 and have two CS-80 emulators, so the CS isn’t useful; the YC sounds nice, but I have Galileo for my iPad and I’ll be getting a real electric organ probably in my new house; and, finally, The CP is also fairly useless to me because, well, DX7, and I have GTG EP-2008, which is an absolutely fantastic electric piano emulator.

So, I mean, good on Yamaha for trying, but really given the mass amounts of alternatives and the absurdly high price of these units, I think we should just let Korg take over the modern vintage market.

In less polar news, I've been making actual music with my modular for once. Here are a couple examples: https://clyp.it/lfo1ftzu and https://clyp.it/binnih04

Follow along with this awesome hackaday series:

http://hackaday.com/2015/02/04/logic-noise-sweet-sweet-oscillator-sounds/

Also, I have built a Shruthi-1, and created a midi wavetable polysynth on an ARM M3 cortex board, and am building a Chiptune synth at the moment on an ATMega328. Made a few synths in software in Max/MSP, and C++ as VSTs.

Also my incomplete modular, but that doesn't quite count. Check out that link at the top though, it's pretty amazing/easy to make some noisemakers with envelopes, filters, sequencers, etc.

Er, post it here, here is the firmware for that ARM synth: https://github.com/safiire/arm_synth

there's a lot of sites that feature indie games and in most cases you can contact the developer. for example game jolt has a nice community section. start off by trying to work with smaller developers for free or small compensation/rev share and then build your portfolio from there!

I'm really unsure whether or not this was worthy enough of a post but I figured I would put it out because I found it extremely interesting. WORLDE, a Chinese budget company that mostly produces cheap USB controllers seems to have put out a pad controller that actually has DIN MIDI I/O which is increasingly rare on controllers these days.

I actually really like this controller, I haven't seen a controller with pads and (presumably) CC-assignable sliders and knobs that also has DIN MIDI like this recently, even though it is pretty much in the price range of Novation and Akai products at roughly $100. Like their other products it seems to be an almost copy of something like the MPD26.

Does anyone know any comparable AKAI/Novation controllers?

EDIT: also released this $170 49 key controller with pads/knobs/sliders and DIN MIDI I/O

I spent the afternoon with a professor and his early vintage Moog Modular.

https://instagram.com/p/zWCIBvovjr/

He lent me a one-of-a-kind Micromoog with mods by Bob himself, too. I never like to leave a dope gear cache empty-handed.

> What you do for a living?

Looking for a job as a programmer. working as a pedicabber.

>What got you into synthesizers?

Playing NES and dos-games as a kid. Loved the music. Had a Yamaha PSR-something as a kid which got me started. Teenage me got a kawai K4 which got me into learning about making patches.

> Your music background (formal or informal)

Grew up playing piano. I have a good understanding of music theory and a great ear for harmony.

> Favorite Genre?

I listen to almost anything. Except for this watered down popular crap that all the pop-rock bands are playing that sounds like a laundry detergent commercial (f**king glockenspiels man)

>What makes you tick?

I spend a lot of my idle time thinking about things to do in Supercollider, an amazing audio synthesis programming language. I want to make software for performing/guiding generative music.

> Where you're from.

Boston

> What inspires you?

Awesome sounds. I was listening to G Jones while pedicabbing a 14 hour shift the other day at SXSW, and that song was stuck in my head so much that when I went home at 4 am I live-coded something inspired by it in Sonic Pi.

if you are looking to get used to trackers because you are planning on using a tracker, no, but if you enjoy the tracker environment and want to use it in a daw yes. I love hexadecimal personally, that's the fun of renoise/redux, however I do wish the numpad on my keyboard was hex rather than having to jump all around a qwerty to count up.

you might want to check out sunvox http://www.warmplace.ru/soft/sunvox/ it works on literally everything and projects are cross compatible, plus it's free and has a neat modular system.

DX-FM is brighter and great for percussion. PD sounds closer to subtractive to me, even though it’s not subtractive at all.

If you have a desktop OS computer, try out Dexed, a DX-7 virtual instrument, as a standalone or in a DAW to see what you think of FM. On iOS, I recommend KQ Dixie for DX-7 emulation.

There are Casio CZ virtual instruments, but I’m not sure which one(s) to recommend. There are no free desktop options like Dxed, unfortunately. Have fun!

If you have or can get ahold of a midi interface for your computer, hook the ultranova to it (Un-out to interface-in) and use an app called MidiOx to view the incoming messages from your UN. I'd be willing to bet the UN is using that particular CC number for something else, its just a matter of figuring out what and changing it.

http://www.midiox.com

There are a couple of $50 converters out there, I’d recommend this one:

midiplus (USB MIDI Host) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B074NGTGHN

I have the same piano, it’s great! And while I love my Keystep, it’s not full sized keys. Not worth spending $150 on a Keystep when you can spend $50 on a usb-midi-host box and keep using your awesome piano.

I got this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B0019QF7JI small, no arms (which I didn't want anyway). Adjusts up/down, so was good for my desk and elevated table. It's a bit firm (but not as firm as the bucket)

Just look at the power output spec for the hub. I've used two which could power several devices: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07G8CMR18 and https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07Q3TYF15 . The latter has more ports and significantly more power per port, but something like that could probably do what you need. The former can get just over 500mA per port (the minimum official required by the usb spec) the latter can do 1A per port.

Do you get noise when you plug in at a different outlet in your house or whatever? It could be ground loop interference. It might be worth getting a ground loop isolator. They are pretty cheap on Amazon. Here is an example - disclaimer it could be a different issue.

Pyle Hum Noise Filter Eliminator Destroyer Stop Hum Noise with TRS Inputs and Outputs 2-Channel For Guitar Pedals , Speakers Ac Adapter No More Hum (PHE300) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BARTW3I/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_bjhxybGVYMEGB

Anything that supplies the following should be okay:

AC/DC Adaptor(12V DC 1.0A) Center Positive 5,5mm X 2,1mm X 12mm

I looked on Amazon, and there are definitely some decent options you could try. Something like this should be fine:

https://www.amazon.com/Arturia-MicroBrute-replacement-supply-adaptor/dp/B0161540AS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1508909538&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=Microbrute+power+supply

The supplier has pretty good reviews overall, even if the exact product isn’t reviewed. And they seem to respond to customer service issues as well.

Just FYI . . . 5 pin DIN sockets on a synth are the original MIDI standard port.

If you want to connect a MIDI controller (keyboard) that has only a USB port, to your synth, you will need a MIDI HOST.

Generally, a computer running a DAW or other MIDI enable software will act as your host, but you can also get standalone hardware boxes called MIDI Hosts. You send a USB cable from your MIDI keyboard to the Host and then a pair of 5 pin DIN cables from the host to your synth...

Here's the sort of thing...

You can do the same thing with a regular USB MIDI interface and a computer running a DAW or a small MIDI Thru application... but where's the fun in that if you can get a cool MIDI Host box instead?

I mean, Kickstarter scams are definitely a thing.

I don't know what VaxMidi is and certainly didn't back it, so I'll leave it at that.

A couple of personal favourites are Leftfield's Leftism and Underworld's Beaucoup Fish.

I have a MicroKORG, and I use it quite frequently (here is a sample of what I've done with it). In general, I love working with it. Some general thoughts:

Out of the box, it has GREAT sounds pre-set. The default parameters for the knobs (cutoff, resonance, attack, decay) allow for plenty of control without menu-diving. But even the menu-diving isn't really that laborious. Being a complete n00b to synthesis, it took a couple hours and a little pot, and I was waist-deep in my own sounds, made by tweaking the presets and trail-and-error. There are a couple downsides, though. The mini-keys take a bit of getting used to, although I'm to the point that I can play the board with RH while playing another regular sized board with the other (and if all else fails, you can just MIDI in another board as a controller. Another downside is that while the sky's the limit with variety, unless you have the time to devote to taking advantage of the variety, you'll probably end up using the same dozen or so sounds.

All in all, I fully endorse the MicroKORG. Best $300 I've spent on musical equipment since I bought my Roland XP-10 back in 2004 (used of course).

If you're really interested in the stuff you should join this coursera course with me! It looks like it could teach a lot. It's also partially taught by the guy who wrote that taxonomy page you linked

I now own an Alesis SR18 and a midi cable, so i'm going to start using my Micron ans SR18 in tandem. It's exciting stuff.

The SR 18 is essentially a drum machine, but last night I figured out I could use it to play chords if I wanted. The bass soudns all have almost 3 octaves, but setting them on the +1 still may not be high enough for chords even if you're using the light bass. However, in drum setup, you can transpose teh bass an additional octave higher. So, the SR18 almost feels like a groove box instead of just a drum machine now, albeit with very limited controlls. But, I do have ASDR for the bass sounds, and a filter (if no resonance), so this could lead to some nifty stuff.

Also, I'm getting the hang of using my BCR2000 to control my micron. I'm getting the hang of controlling the micron by itself, too. I've never been this deep into synths before, and I'm giddy.

Already made something interesting. Start at 2:30.

I'm working on something you might enjoy. It's not done yet but I think it's serviceable. More needs to be done, but it's mellow and, I think, interesting. The opening rumbles right now, give it a second or two.

https://clyp.it/o4susis1

At first I thought I was going to just buy a complete classic analog synth voice, but the salesman at the store convinced me to just buy fewer but more versatile modules to get started and use the microbrute to get something more traditional, so for now all I have is the Dixie VCO, the Doepfer 12DB SEM filter and the Make Noise Maths.

Here's a clip of that multitrack I made, but I've only had a couple hours with it to fart around so it's just rough BS. Still has those fun modular bleeps and squelches :)

https://clyp.it/zlp0swqe

> OK, so you need to post much on a certain subreddit to make your own unecessary subreddit?

If you start a subreddit for a topic, it is generally expected that you're an authority on the subject rather than someone with a brand new interest. Maybe you're a seasoned pro on all things DAWless so forgive me if I'm making an incorrect assumption. Lol that you called your own subreddit unnecessary.

> And it needs to take off?

Yes, generally speaking people want people to interact with and use subreddits they create, in other words, they want them to 'take off'.

> What does that even mean?

See definition 88.

> I'm pretty sure there is a certain interest in this.

There is. Thats why /r/synthesizers already exists.

> You can still only read on /r/synthesizers if you want.

We will.

If you want a 909 simulation, Jomox makes the Xbase 999, but at nearly $2000 it might be more cost effective to just buy a real 909. Here's one on ebay that's currently going for $1800.

As far as getting another synth, I'd recommend you get a synth module that you can then control with your SH-201. There are tons of options out there; Access Virus, Waldorf Blofeld, Dave Smith Instruments Tetra, etc. What's your budget?

so you're looking for a vst that you can load per midi channel?

I'd go with https://vital.audio/ - that thing is amazing, to me. You can also go with https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/ which uses a bit less DSP.

>FluidSynth didn't recognize the MIDI-Input at all.

hmm. I would suspect there's some problem that switching to a different softsynth won't fix.

Had to partially disassemble my studio to have some work done, so I've been enjoying this limited setup in the living room as a result. Sometimes it's nice to strip back and work with a smaller toolkit, and I'm finding this to be a pretty solid pairing. Not looking forward to putting everything back together tonight tho, and I'm pretty sure at least a couple of things are going to get sold as a result.

Also been totally in love with this album this week. Can't believe it was done 15 years ago by a couple of teenagers on different continents via IRC...kinda makes me want to quit now ;). Actually tho, I really like the idea of doing a bunch of short songs, and think I might explore that for a while to improve my writing.

I followed the Tonyx86 CustoMac guide and built a CustoMac Pro.

The machine is dual boot OS X and Windows, although I never really boot into OS X because I do all my production in Ableton on Windows.

If you are going to be using a lot of VST's that could cause your sessions to become CPU hungry I recommend the i7 and SSD. If you are just recording outboard synths then you can get away with the i5 but I would still have an SSD.

Hi all,

You may or may not remember me as the guy who wrote a song a day only using my 0-Coast back in January.

This time around I'm working on an album of phasing music, inspired by the minimalist classical tradition: Phillip Glass, Terry Riley, and primarily Steve Reich. I'm sequencing everything from my Squarp Pyramid, and recording the Perfourmer live exclusively.

It occurred to me that these pieces would be really cool to visualize, so I got some midi animation software going - this ancient thing called the Music Animation Machine. It has some limitations but the result I think is still pretty cool. I'd do it a little differently next time but I have a hard time being fussy about certain things!

Ah, spectral morphing. It's really difficult to do well, and that's why people pay lots of money for Kyma and/or Zynaptiq to do it properly. That's the sad, sad truth of it, and honestly, I've never heard anything do it as well as the Kyma algorithms.

Now, that being said, you can get pretty good results with open-source solutions like the plugins from Michael Norris and the Csound language. I say try the Norris plugins first and see if you can get some good results.

I think Yoshimi is a good candidate. It has nearly a billion voices. And you can program pitch bend and auto bend.

Runs on Linux so if you have an old pc you could use it as synth. Very powerful.

http://yoshimi.sourceforge.net/

No trouble at all. I write small sketches like that all the time when i have some idea of what interesting thing I could do with midi - it's really easy to work with midi messages. I already started a little bit just because you got me interested and i already have the basics working: https://soundcloud.com/x2mirko/tremolo-picking-a-rhodes/s-IlNbu

In case you do want to try it: It requires a virtual midi cable, like loopMidi to route the midi into the program and then back out of it. It's basically like installing a virtual midi port that you can then normally route midi to and from in your daw. So what you'd need to do would be to install that midi cable, route midi from your daw to one virtual midi port and then route midi from another virtual midi port to your synth. It's not all that hard, but if that sounds like too much trouble, it's probably better to try something like this at a more "adventurous" time - don't feel obligated to try anything just because i put in a bit of effort. I would've programmed that thing anyways after you put the thought into my head and now i'll play with it some more :D

There’s a free bit of software that lets you write music for the NES: http://famitracker.com

It’s Windows-only, unfortunately. Assuming that’s not a problem, it’s a great way to learn about the capabilities and limitations of the NES’s sound chip.

I know you asked for an hardware sequencer, but you might want to have a look at Renoise or especially at its VST spin off Redux.

Renoise is a Tracker DAW and Redux is basically the same in a VST package. Mostly centred around a sample based workflow.

But both are really strong as MIDI Sequencer. At least for me the tracker interface works really well to sequence multiple HW synths.

Maybe it helps you over until you find a hardware sequencer :)

Edit:

Redux

Renoise

PADsynth doesn't seem to get much of a mention, although a few plugins implement it.

http://zynaddsubfx.sourceforge.net/doc/PADsynth/PADsynth.htm

It's good fun and easy to implement if you've got a chunk of RAM for sample buffers and a handy DSP library.

> if anyone could list some good free VSTs

i just got DEXED last night. holy shit it's amazing. i would recommend it to everyone, i know lots of people have it already but it may be under the radar a bit too. was going to make a thread about it.

similarly all the free TAL vsts represent amazing value for (no) money and sound genuinely good.

I believe there are a few Amiga FPGA projects underway, but in the meantime OpenMPT and the ST-01 and ST-02 sample disks converted to WAV should get you pretty far.

I've been following Bitwig Studio as well, and it seems very promising.

I especially like plugin sandboxing, so if your plugin crashes it doesn't take down your whole DAW session.

http://www.bitwig.com/en/bitwig-studio/overview.html

Ableton has a pretty solid series on setting up an interface and external gear.

And usually everyone’s first mistake is mixing up the MIDI cables. Make sure the MIDI OUT on the interface goes into the MIDI IN on the Minilogue. Then you’ll be able to use Ableton’s piano roll to sequence your synth (I think that’s what you want).

You should totally do this, but make no mistake — this has been done to death. If you can figure out an innovative way to control the waveform shape or step through a table in your Reaktor ensemble, you could have something useful on your hands.

Also, check out https://www.desmos.com/. It has a graphing calculator with some very useful lessons/demos on graphing trig functions that should help you understand what you're doing when writing out an equation like the one you mentioned. Just launch the calculator and then click the symbol in the upper left that looks like three horizontal bars. This will show you a list of lessons/demos you can open and explore. Check out the ones named "Trigonometry".

Oh, and check out the math gallery too.

Any MIDI that comes to the RP201 on it's MIDI IN port won't necessarily get passed through to it's MIDI OUT. That's possibly why your JX-03 isn't playing any notes from the PC.

Does the RP201 have a MIDI THRU function (either a physical plug or a configuration setting to pass MIDI IN data through to the MIDI OUT port, often called "Soft Thru"). If so then use that.

Alternately if you plug both the RP201 and VP-03 into a computer (via a cheap USB MIDI cable) then Studio One can talk to each of them independently (but make sure you set up the MIDI ports in Studio One - there are YouTube vids for this). The only problem with this setup is that by default playing on your RP201 won't send notes to your JX03, however you can run free software such as Midi-OX which can easily listen for MIDI data received from one port and then send it out via a different one(s).

Do your homework, obviously, but I would like to contribute MidiOx which helped me monitor and track midi messages while doing dev stuff for a different project. Its neat and you can get feedback for signal and note transmission as you test your creation.

You're going to need a merger. You can do it in software (using something like midiox), or, with hardware (using something like this).