Synthstrom Deluge - classic downtempo synth with Zeptocade, Chroma Console

video upload by Jay Hosking

See this post for additional details on the Zeptocade.

"Please support my work on Patreon: / jayhosking
A live synthesizer jam performed entirely on hardware.

Full disclosure: Ian from Synthstrom got in touch and we were discussing my older Deluge videos. I mentioned I had been missing the Deluge since I sold it, and he kindly offered to ship one to me so I could try the new screen and community firmware. I didn't pay for this Deluge, although I did pay taxes and duty on it (O, Canada). In short, while I bought my original Deluge, this new one was sent by Synthstrom.

But I have to say it's so good to have it back. The updates to the hardware (i.e. the screen) and the firmware have fixed basically every shortcoming I felt in the device, and they did so without compromising what makes the Deluge so great. Thanks to the screen, I can finally learn how to better use the device without resorting to YouTube searches, I can easily adjust patches and use samples effectively, and I can see all the new effects and other changes. And thanks to the community firmware, I can now bust out of the one-endless-loop mentality with grid mode, and have stereo chorus, and so much more. And somehow, all these new additions don't seem to get in the way of what made the Deluge so great in the first place: great synth sounds, feeling like a sketchpad space where it's fun to quickly draft ideas, buttons that feel really great to the touch, and a complete groovebox package with endless sequencing plus MIDI and CV out.

Here, I relied on some of those well-known Boards of Deluge preset packs (go check them out!) to drum up some inspiration. From there, I started to explore looped audio stretching, which I'd never done in the Deluge but was now so easy, as well as resampling. And finally, I switched into the new grid mode for some easy arrangement and clip launching. It's just awesome.

I wanted some more drums, and something with a few more buttons to play, so I added in the Infinitedigits Zeptocore/Zeptocade. It's an audio loop slicer and player with a strong emphasis on performability, which is right up my alley. It's also imperfect, which I discuss more in the Patreon behind-the-scenes video. In short, I adore the performance aspect and think it sounds so good (especially through the Chroma Console for saturation, compression, and delay), but I also struggled to keep it in tempo and not bugging out.

Ultimately, I was surprised where this one ended up. I thought it was going to be a busy fast song, but it fell into a more contemplative and interesting backbeat.

Thanks for listening.

Synthstrom Audible Deluge - Many synth voices, percussion loops, effects, sequencing
Infinitedigits Zeptocore/Zeptocade into Hologram Chroma Console - Performed sliced drum loops

Performed and recorded live, with EQ, compression, and limiting on the master.

https://jayhosking.bandcamp.com"