Serge New Timbral Oscillator (NTO) | Tutorials | Episode 05

video upload by Cinematic Laboratory

"I did my very best to remain objective and compared the NTO with simple basic sounds to my favorite VCO - the MakeNoise DPO - and the digital perfection of the Schlappi Three-Body. The NTO has been around since 1976 and represents the origins of modern synthesis. I just learned about it this year, so better late than never. It's surrounded by praise to the level of 'hard to believe'.

I used reverb on the raw sounds, and I found out that a digital effect can easily ruin the analog experience. I used ALM MFX, and it sounds great with NTO. But it sounds terribly aliased with the DPO and I wasn't happy with the Three-body result either. I wouldn't have known with raw sounds and I would not be able to share it. I've patched DPO a thousand times and it sounds clean and woody in the MakeNoise universe, but the raw waveforms are far from perfect and there's a certain bite. In this video, you may also learn that every VCO carries the signature of it's maker. DPO sounds like Tony Rolando. The 259 sounds like Buchla. Cs-L sounds like Jason Lim. Three-Body sounds like Schlappi. The NTO sounds like Serge, and now I have a new personal analog favorite.

The NTO is pure sophistication. I can say this both objectively (backed up by history and other reviews) and subjectively (it melts your heart). In the end it's just a VCO, which is about 10% of your whole patch. In many occasions, any quality VCO will be enough. But if you're looking for something special, this may be it. But your own personal opinion and taste will always be more important than mine!

You will be listening to analog through MFX AD/DA and my DAW's AD/DA. It's impossible to really listen to analog on YouTube but the DAW captures analog very well. There are plenty of raw sound NTO videos on youtube, so if you need to deepen your interest, please do some research. I've linked to an interview with Serge, where he explains a few things. It's a privilege to be able to hear him talk about it."