the watmm GAS thread

[sheatheman]

I’m suddenly wanting the polyend tracker. I haven’t used renoise very much since my office job in 2016, but made probably some of my best stuff ever in renoise.

looks identical to me, though the MAIN thing I love about renoise besides the sampler is the fx. Cabinet sim, great delays and verbs, amazing chorus. Does the tracker have any fx (not step fx)

[modey]

@sheatheman have you been keeping track of M8?

https://dirtywave.com/

It's got more effects than the Polyend, and has its own synth engines as well (including a port of Braids). Plus, it's LSDJ based so can get really wacky with timing and micro-step stuff, as well as uneven lengths for each pattern in a track etc.

The only possible downside is that the handheld format isn't for everyone. But it has a lot of useful shortcuts to help where the lack of buttons may otherwise hinder it.

I'm in on the preorder list for one of the 80 "earlybird" units which are being made by hand before the production models, which will likely be produced later this year. Of course I'll be making videos and posting them here  

 

The Polyend looks like it'd be better for going back to basics / old style tracking, where a lot of the heavy lifting is done by the quality of the samples/sequencing rather than effects. The M8 has more potential to exploit effects and synthesis. The sound demos have been amazing so far. I mean, listen to the fkn thing:

I'm irrationally excited.

[xox]

The m8 is sick!

[Nil]

Ordered a i9 9900k + Noctua CPU cooler as my Tidal * Live sessions are slaying my  current i7 6700k. EP is finished and CPU could handle the workload, but as I’m working on multi-tunes sessions I need the update

Planning to keep the i7 and to build a super compact ´puter to run Audiogridder and to use on stage with my RBS lappy.

ps: the M8 video sounds impressive, can’t wait to hear what you’ll do with it @modey

[TubularCorporation]

I need to build a new computer sometime in the next 2-3 years.  Not that the old one doesn't do everything I need it to do, but I want to upgrade BEFORE the old one fails, and also it's huge and loud.

 

[xox]

41 minutes ago, Nil said:

Ordered a i9 9900k + Noctua CPU cooler as my Tidal * Live sessions are slaying my  current i7 6700k. EP is finished and CPU could handle the workload, but as I’m working on multi-tunes sessions I need the update

That’s a proper beast machine!

when can expect the ep to come out?

[modey]

53 minutes ago, Nil said:

my Tidal * Live sessions are slaying my  current i7 6700k

What's the deal with that? I've been making a sequencer in p5js and even the simplest code makes my imac's fan sound like it's about to take off!

[Nil]

It's the 100% real-time synthesis bit that's hungry for CPU hehe. Tidal isn't demanding at all. As everything is sequenced and generated live (at 24/96), it's actually a lot to process. Live can't anticipate / pre-render anything, hence the CPU madness. Sounds absurd, right ?

EP is 100% finished, I mastered it a couple of weeks ago. Finished the artwork too. Label has validated it. Now I'm waiting for a release date. I'm super pleased with the result, and 1st few feedbacks have been beyond amazing so far. Can't wait to share it with you guys.

I'm working on a short liveset for the upcoming New Moon Tidal Marathon, and keep on hitting huge obstacles to organise my set into something my current machine(s) can handle. I'll certainly have to record it to MIDI in lower Q with less processing to eventuallt export it in full quality.

Edited August 14, 2020 by Nil

[xox]

On 8/8/2020 at 10:40 PM, TubularCorporation said:

I went on a bit of a tear last winter trying to figure out the closest Pantone match I could to it (not the color in this thread exactly, it's the one you see in nuclear missile silos and control centers which has more blue to it), pretty sure I posted something about it in this thread a bunch of pages ago but I don't remember what I decided on.  Only real way to do it would be to take an old, 60s or 70s Pantone chip book on a missile silo tour and compare in person, and then find the modern equivalent of your best match.

 

Which, if you were actually developing a commercial synth or modules, would be totally worth it IMO.

 

 

https://www.tangiblewaves.com/store/p104/AE_modular_STARTER_RACK_2.html

[psn]

The Weller soldering station has the colour in check.

 

[Limo]

5 hours ago, xox said:

 

 

https://www.tangiblewaves.com/store/p104/AE_modular_STARTER_RACK_2.html

Wow ... that looks really cool! Cheap, too. Wonder how durable those mini pin jacks are though ...

[TubularCorporation]

Just got one of these today after hearing the internet hype for a while and it delivers, especially for $13-$18 depending on which AliExpress seller you get it from.  Really good fuzz. Has its own personality, probably loosely based on a Big Muff but doesn't have the tone stack, and sounds a lot different, more gated.  Some similarity to the Devi Ever Vintage Fuzz Master (one of the topologies in the multi-Devi Ever-fuzz pedal I made a little while ago) but even higher gain.  A lot of low end available without sounding muddy, too - it'll probably sound great on synth.

 

Edited August 17, 2020 by TubularCorporation

[xox]

1 hour ago, rhmilo said:

Wow ... that looks really cool! Cheap, too. Wonder how durable those mini pin jacks are though ...

No idea; saw it today for the first time. Also, not sure why it’s so cheap!

[TubularCorporation]

The price makes sense.  All the pots are inexpensive trimmers, there are only a few jacks, and the case is laser cut acrylic, so they really eliminated most of the expensive parts.  Simple analog circuits with mostly surface mount parts are pretty inexpensive even in relatively limited quantities.

[Bluetech]

On 8/13/2020 at 1:38 PM, kakapo said:

Arriving over the weekend, I'll post some first impressions then.  It was between that, and diying a kijimi (ideally with 2240 filters) or a vs1 oberheim obx clone.  I may still go back to them as my big diy project next year.  I like gear that has 'good vibes', and udo george is at the other end of the spectrum from say black corporation and the feeling that in some way you're getting ripped off.  Also, the uk is completely fucked and as much as I dont want it to be the case, buying British is almost becoming a moral obligation.

Man Im tempted by the that VS-1.  I have an avalon and love it, although mine has the scratchy pot issue and reading all the other issues people have theirs makes me super nervous about investing $2k in a DIY synth that may not have proper support.  I'm not a total noob, and have built about 20 euro modules successfully, but not sure if that project might be more than I can handle.

But Damn....  the VS-1 sounds good.

[TubularCorporation]

crOwBX is a lot less than $2k to make if you want a DIY OBX clone, although it's very bare bones and you'd have to wait until the next run (they're usually available for a couple months once a year, and I'm not too confident they'll be available this year).

Edited August 18, 2020 by TubularCorporation

[kakapo]

14 hours ago, Bluetech said:

Man Im tempted by the that VS-1.  I have an avalon and love it, although mine has the scratchy pot issue and reading all the other issues people have theirs makes me super nervous about investing $2k in a DIY synth that may not have proper support.  I'm not a total noob, and have built about 20 euro modules successfully, but not sure if that project might be more than I can handle.

But Damn....  the VS-1 sounds good.

I've only looked at it in detail a couple of times, but it looks a relatively straightforward build, certainly easier than one of the black corporation ones.  I would imagine it would be a case of doing the voice cards one by one and testing as you go.  The most complex thing I've done is a syncussion clone and it didn't look too intimidating.  Also, analog envelopes which seems fairly unique amongst this poly analogue renaissance.

[Bluetech]

34 minutes ago, kakapo said:

I've only looked at it in detail a couple of times, but it looks a relatively straightforward build, certainly easier than one of the black corporation ones.  I would imagine it would be a case of doing the voice cards one by one and testing as you go.  The most complex thing I've done is a syncussion clone and it didn't look too intimidating.  Also, analog envelopes which seems fairly unique amongst this poly analogue renaissance.

If anything goes wrong though, the troubleshooting is going to be a nightmare.  Luckily the smt is all pre-soldered.  Im sure calibration will be time consuming, but each through hole board doesnt seem so bad.

 

[TubularCorporation]

Yeah, one of the really nice things about the Black Corporation stuff is the self-calibration routines work very well.  So far the only issue I've had is the MPE implementation is a bit bare-bones and I'm not optimistic about them improving some things, but it's nothing that makes it work badly just makes it a bit less flexible in terms of channel assignment or anything.

 

If I'd started my build right away before that suboscillator tracking issue was figured out I'd probably be pretty upset, though.

Edited August 18, 2020 by TubularCorporation

[kakapo]

On 8/13/2020 at 9:07 PM, d-a-m-o said:

How do you like the super 6 so far ?

Take this with a pinch of salt as obv still in honeymoon period.  I haven't had time other than to go through presets and I have only hooked it up to headphones and not fully integrated into studio set up just yet. 

It's good.  Solidly built, feels premium.  I went for a blue one and having recently scored a Midas Venice I'm tempted to repaint everything blue.

There's a spectrum of good vibes from musical instruments that goes from, this is a complex instrument, there are lots of possibilities e.g. some of the Elektron boxes, to this feels like an instrument and I want to play it, it's intuitive e.g. the first time you play a really nice guitar.

I'm hoping this meets the sweet spot between the two, at the moment it's edging towards the latter but like I said I haven't dug deep.  It's a bit more flexible than some of the demos have painted it.

The sound is all there.  I was thinking the other night after playing it, what would it replace in current set up and theoretically if money was no factor, what would I swap it for.  The only things I could think of were CS80, Rhodes Chroma with all the extras, Polykobol, Elka Synthex maybe.  I certainly wouldn't swap it for one of the modern sequentials or a juno 60 or a novation summit, as good as all those are.

Minor cons:

I'm not sure how the binaural thing will fit in a mix, but to be honest the usp for me is more the rest of the architecture and the layout and feel.  I do have stereo processing in modular rig and outboard, including mid/side and crossover filters, so I will be messing about with it, and may end up using it in quite a subtle way.  The two effects sound good, but I've got options which may be a better fit.  

The mod amount is a push encoder and is a bit wobbly.  As I've never known a push encoder to be anything other than a bit wobbly, it's fine.  But because the rest of it is so solid, it sticks out.

Firmware is a work in progress.  Good and bad, they do seem responsive to user feedback.  But midi over usb is not working yet and I want to use it as a controller as well.  I have faith that they'll get things right, and knew as an early adopter there'd be stuff like this.  I'm not a professional gigging musician, so it doesn't bother me.  

     

 

 

[kakapo]

The chorus effect is a bit better than good and is in fact really nice.  I have a Boss Waza Dimension C and was expecting that I would end up with it permanently attached to the outputs as it had been with my ms6, but the on board chorus is comparable so I can save the boss for other things.  Also started to hear some of the problems that people have had with earlier firmwares (a few clicks and pops, stereo image a bit unblanaced on some patches), new firmware is coming hopefully by end of week.

Presets are a mixed bag, there's a handful that have got me thinking that I'll be hearing this on a record at some point soon.  The system of 128 patches in banks of 8 I thought I would have no issue with, but actually I do want more memory slots, and though I very much like that it has no screen, naming patches, even if its just 'bass1' etc, is one thing they're useful for.  No deal breaker and I'll wait until the editing software is ready before passing judgement.  

Trying to get my head around modulation matrix with having limited visual feedback.  Again, no bad thing.  I'm lazy and rely as much on serendipity as anything else when making music, but this is something that makes me want to know it inside out.   

[d-a-m-o]

11 minutes ago, kakapo said:

The chorus effect is a bit better than good and is in fact really nice.  I have a Boss Waza Dimension C and was expecting that I would end up with it permanently attached to the outputs as it had been with my ms6, but the on board chorus is comparable so I can save the boss for other things.  Also started to hear some of the problems that people have had with earlier firmwares (a few clicks and pops, stereo image a bit unblanaced on some patches), new firmware is coming hopefully by end of week.

Presets are a mixed bag, there's a handful that have got me thinking that I'll be hearing this on a record at some point soon.  The system of 128 patches in banks of 8 I thought I would have no issue with, but actually I do want more memory slots, and though I very much like that it has no screen, naming patches, even if its just 'bass1' etc, is one thing they're useful for.  No deal breaker and I'll wait until the editing software is ready before passing judgement.  

Trying to get my head around modulation matrix with having limited visual feedback.  Again, no bad thing.  I'm lazy and rely as much on serendipity as anything else when making music, but this is something that makes me want to know it inside out.   

Post some vids or audio if possible pls !

[kakapo]

7 hours ago, d-a-m-o said:

Post some vids or audio if possible pls !

No thank you.

I may post some audio once I have a better feel for it and its set up for recording, but it would be for watmm ears only.  The idea of posting a youtube synth demo fills me with existential nausea

  

 

[TubularCorporation]

I was just looking at the Future Sound System MTX-8 and it sounded really tempting until I saw the £409.00 price.

 

Even taking out the VAT that's still a big nope.

 

 

But it has definitely revived my interest in building a pin matrix from scratch some day.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2020 by TubularCorporation

[Limo]

1 hour ago, TubularCorporation said:

I was just looking at the Future Sound System MTX-8 and it sounded really tempting until I saw the £409.00 price.

 

Even taking out the VAT that's still a big nope.

 

 

But it has definitely revived my interest in building a pin matrix from scratch some day.

Whoah ... that’s a *really* expensive matrix mixer.

 

If you can do without the pins you could design and build this yourself for much less money, I’d imagine.