Best Ambient Synth Shootout #44: Red Sound Darkstar XP2 - Song 3

Published on Nov 11, 2017 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Red Sound Darkstar XP2. It's a table-top 8-voice polyphonic, 5-part multitimbral virtual analog synthesizer.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Darkstar XP2 - TC Electronic Mimiq - DigitTech Ventura Vibe - DigiTech Obscura - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. The used fx varied depending on the recorded track.

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

All parts here.

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #122: Yamaha TX81Z - Song 1

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Yamaha TX81Z. It's an 8-notes, 8-part multitimbral FM synthesizer from 1987. In contrast to the DX-7 it use 4-Operators instead of 6 but supports additional waveforms other than just a sine wave.

This song is based on 'My Lord Willoughby's Welcome Home' by John Dowland who lived 1563–1626.

I used for the recording the following FX chain: TX81Z - DigiTech Ventura - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC via USB for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #54: Quasimidi TechnoX - Song 1

Published on Aug 27, 2018 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Quasimidi TechnoX. It's a 21 voice 16-part multitimbral ROMpler from the mid-90s with a focus on techno, rave, electronic.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Quasimidi TechnoX - Alesis Ampliton - Alesis Philtre - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated

The signal went through a small Behringer mixer into the pc for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #47: Waldorf Blofeld - Song 3

Published on Feb 23, 2018 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Waldorf Blofeld. It's a table-top 25-voice polyphonic, 16-part multitimbral, digital synthesizer capable of wavetable synthesis and analogue modelling.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Waldorf Blofeld - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2 - Alesis 3630 - Elektron Analog Heat

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #51: Olegtron 4060 MK2 - Song 1

Published on Aug 7, 2018 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Olegtron 4060 MK2. It's an experimental signal generator. Signals and sequences are generated by sticking all kind of electronical components to its patchboard. Pretty cool!

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Olegtron 4060 MK2 - Alesis Philtre - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2 - Alesis 3630 (bassdrum on sidechains). Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated

The signal went through a small Behringer mixer with a Korg Kaoss Pad KP3+ in the FX bus into the pc for recording. The song was then mastered with noise reduction and a bit compression/limiting.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #45: Waldorf Blofeld - Song 1

Published on Nov 19, 2017 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Waldorf Blofeld. It's a table-top 25-voice polyphonic, 16-part multitimbral, digital synthesizer capable of wavetable synthesis and analogue modelling.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Blofeld - Alesis Ampliton - DigiTech Obscura - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. The used fx varied depending on the recorded track, while the internal fx of the blofeld were deactivated.

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #77: Korg M1R - Song 3

Published on Feb 2, 2020 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"After moving to another city my studio is (at least partially) ready, so that after 6 months I can start to do music again, yeah :-D

This is the third song with the M1R. It's a 16 voice 8-part multitimbral synthesizer based on PCM waveforms. This time the outcome of the session was a minimal soundscape track.

I used for the recording the following FX:
Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe, GFI System Specular Reverb 2

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC for recording. To create the complete song I created and recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #46: Waldorf Blofeld - Song 2

Published on Dec 28, 2017 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the Waldorf Blofeld. It's a table-top 25-voice polyphonic, 16-part multitimbral, digital synthesizer capable of wavetable synthesis and analogue modelling.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Waldorf Blofeld - GFI System Specular Reverb 2 - Alesis 3630

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Song 1 here.

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #137: SammichFM - Song 2

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second recording with the SammichFM. It is a streamlined, compact version of the MIDIbox FM synthesizer DIY kit. Designed around the OPL3 chip YMF262 (4-Operators with 4 different waves), which was a famous sound chip from the 8 bit computer era (e.g. Sound Blaster 16 soundcard), it can play 4-sounds with 6-voice polyphony each.

I used for the recording the following FX pedals:
Line 6 DL4 MkII, GFI System Specular Reverb 2, OTO Boum.

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC via USB for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. On some tracks Compressor and EQ where added in Cubase 13. The final song was then mastered using iZotope Ozone.

Well, I decided to go back to the basics, but at the same time make something useful for the synth community and do a kind of competition (I like competitions;-). What's my best synth for ambient music :-)"

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #134: Sonicware LIVEN Ambient Ø - Song 1

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first lazy afternoon recording with the Sonicware LIVEN Ambient Ø. It is a 10-voice, 4-layer synthesizer focussing on ambient, drones, soundscapes, etc. It shares the same platform than the other LIVEN.

I used for the recording the following FX pedals (FX from the LIVEN Ambient Ø are deactivated): Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe, GFI System Specular Reverb 2.

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC via USB for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. On some tracks Compressor and EQ where added in Cubase. The final song was then mastered using iZotope Ozone."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #118: Roland V-Synth - Song 1

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first (minimalist, spherical) song with the V-Synth. The V-Synth was Rolands flagship synthesizer released in 2003. It is 16-part multitimbral with up to 24-voices polyphony, featuring analog modeling and PCM waveforms with user sampling that can independently manipulate pitch, time and formant thanks to Rolands VariPhrase technology.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
V-Synth - Digitech Obscura - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated.

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC via USB for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #91: MEGA MIDI - Song 1

Published on May 23, 2020 Christian's Sonic Spaces

I believe tis is the first post to feature the MEGA MIDI by Aidan Lawrence.

"This is the first song with the MEGA MIDI by Aidan Lawrence. It's an FM synthesizer based on either the YM2612 yamaha chip (used here and in SEGA Genesis / Megadrive home consoles and various SEGA arcade game systems, including the Mega-Play, System 18, and System 32) or the cleaner sounding YM3438 chip without the crossover distortion in the output. Both sound chips has six channels with four operators per channel.

In contradiction to the Kasser DAFM Synth you can't program the sounds but just load via SD card opm-file game sounds from the SEGA Genesis / Megadrive games (currently more than 9500 opm-files available). The game music composers did a great job to programming the best out of the 4 OP FM synth. So it's a lot of fun to dive through all the game sounds.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
MEGA MIDI - DigiTech Obscura - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #140: Mega MIDI - Song 3

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Mega MIDI by Aidan Lawrence. It's an FM synthesizer based on either the YM2612 yamaha chip (used here and in SEGA Genesis / Megadrive home consoles and various SEGA arcade game systems, including the Mega-Play, System 18, and System 32) or the cleaner sounding YM3438 chip without the crossover distortion in the output. Both sound chips has six channels with four operators per channel.

In contradiction to the Kasser DAFM Synth you can program the sounds only via Midi CC but it can load via SD card opm-file game sounds from the SEGA Genesis / Megadrive games (currently more than 9500 opm-files available). The game music composers did a great job to programming the best out of the 4 OP FM synth. So it's a lot of fun to dive through all the game sounds.

I used for the recording the following FX pedals:
Line 6 DL4 MkII, Pigtronix Echolution² Deluxe, GFI System Specular Reverb², OTO Boum.
Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated.

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC via USB for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. On some tracks Compressor and EQ where added in Cubase 13. The final song was then mastered using iZotope Ozone."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #56: Evolution Synthesis EVS-1 - Song 1

Published on Sep 23, 2018 Christian's Sonic Spaces

Here's something you don't get to hear often. The EVS-1 rackmount synthesizer by Evolution Synthesis. There have only been two previous posts featuring the EVS-1, one, an auction with some pics, and the other a link to Rolamtech featuring various synth demos.

"This is the first song with my latest addition, the Evolution Synthesis EVS-1. It's a 16-voice polyphonic, 8-part multitimbral, digital synthesizer featuring 4OP FM, 4OP Phase Distortion, Ringmodulation, Waveshaping, etc. It wasn't very successful when it came out in the early 90s. The reasons might be that one need a computer software to programm this synth, the sounds contain significant digital artefacts and it hasn't any filter and effects. But thanks to the 4 6-stage envelopes and 2 LFOs which all can be freely routed to each control two different parameters of the synth engine including LFOs themselves AND the "wavetable", it's a beast to create crispy, wobbling, glitchy, drony, weired, industrial-like soundscapes. The aliasing is here a significant part of the sound design ;-) I'm really impressed how versatile and "freshh" it still can sound.

BTW, all sounds I used for this song I've created myself ;-)

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Evolution Synthesis EVS-1 - Alesis Ampliton - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2 - Alesis 3630

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track. Please note that I didn't use any filter and EQ for this song."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #101: Kasser DAFM Synth - Song 2

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the DAFM Synth. It's an FM synthesizer based on either the YM2612 yamaha chip (used in SEGA Genesis / Megadrive home consoles and various SEGA arcade game systems, including the Mega-Play, System 18, and System 32) or the cleaner sounding YM3438 chip (as in my DAFM) without the crossover distortion in the output. Both sound chips has six channels with four operators per channel.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
DAFM - DigiTech Obscura - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

You can find aditional DAFM posts here.

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #65: Modal Craft Synth - Song 3

Published on Mar 17, 2019 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Modal Electronics Craft Synth. This time I did a minimal drony/noisy/soundscapish one with this little beast.

I used it for the recording together with the following FX pedals:
4ms Dual Looping Delay, Alesis Ampliton, GFI System Specular Reverb 2, Roland TR-8 (for sidechaining).

The signal went then via a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded several stereo audio tracks, each played live. The final song was then mastered with just a bit EQ and compression on some tracks."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #59: Evolution Synthesis EVS-1 - Song 3

Published on Oct 14, 2018 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with my latest addition, the Evolution Synthesis EVS-1. It's a 16-voice polyphonic, 8-part multitimbral, digital synthesizer featuring 4OP FM, 4OP Phase Distortion, Ringmodulation, Waveshaping, etc. It wasn't very successful when it came out in the early 90s. The reasons might be that one need a computer software to programm this synth, the sounds contain significant digital artefacts and it hasn't any filter and effects. But thanks to the 4 6-stage envelopes and 2 LFOs which all can be freely routed to each control two different parameters of the synth engine including LFOs themselves AND the "wavetable", it's a beast to create crispy, wobbling, glitchy, drony, weird, industrial-like soundscapes. The aliasing is here a significant part of the sound design ;-) I'm really impressed how versatile and "fresh" it still can sound.

BTW, all sounds I used for this song I've created myself ;-)

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Evolution Synthesis EVS-1 - Alesis Philtre - Alesis Ampliton - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2 - Alesis 3630. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated.

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #57: Evolution Synthesis EVS-1 - Song 2

Published on Sep 29, 2018 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with my latest addition, the Evolution Synthesis EVS-1. It's a 16-voice polyphonic, 8-part multitimbral, digital synthesizer featuring 4OP FM, 4OP Phase Distortion, Ringmodulation, Waveshaping, etc. It wasn't very successful when it came out in the early 90s. The reasons might be that one need a computer software to programm this synth, the sounds contain significant digital artefacts and it hasn't any filter and effects. But thanks to the 4 6-stage envelopes and 2 LFOs which all can be freely routed to each control two different parameters of the synth engine including LFOs themselves AND the "wavetable", it's a beast to create crispy, wobbling, glitchy, drony, weird, industrial-like soundscapes. The aliasing is here a significant part of the sound design ;-) I'm really impressed how versatile and "fresh" it still can sound.

BTW, all sounds I used for this song I've created myself ;-)

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Evolution Synthesis EVS-1 - Alesis Philtre - Alesis Ampliton - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2 - Alesis 3630. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated.

The signal goes via a small Behringer mixer straight into the pc.

To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with just a bit compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Song 1 here.

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #106​: Casio CZ-1 - Song 2

video by Christian's Sonic Spaces

Song 1 here

"This is the second song with the CZ-1. It's a 16 voice Phase Distortion synthesizer from the mid 80s. The only Casio Synth from the CZ series that featured velocity and aftertouch sensitivity.

I used for the recording the following FX chain: CZ-1 - Alesis Philtre - Digitech Obscura - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated

The signal went through a Presonus StudioLive 16.0.2 into the PC via USB for recording. To create the complete song I recorded consecutively several stereo tracks. The final song was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and some limiting on the master track."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #32: E-MU Morpheus - Song 3

Christian's Sonic Spaces
Published on Aug 10, 2017

"Another E-MU Morpheus song ;-) It's a Z-Plane Synthesizer which has an unique filter morphing technology that can create organic spacy sounds. So it's good for ambient too ;-)"