Virtual Moogfest Day #1: Minimoog Voyager

Published on Mar 24, 2020 Starsky Carr

"A Virtual Moogfest for anyone stuck indoors, with a synth fetish. I'll be taking a look at and demoing a few Moog synths over the next few days. Here we have Day 1 : The Minimoog Voyager."

Acustica Expanse 5 meets the Prophet 5?

video upload by Starsky Carr

"An old school comparison - function by function how does the Acustica Audio Expanse 5 plugin stack up against a hardware *Prophet 5*?

Lucky for you I've got both here, and made a quick runthrough of the main functions."

0:00 intro and tuning issues
5:50 Oscillators
7:48 Sync
8:47 Poly Mod
11:53 Filter
16:37 Modulation
18:24 Extras

Playing the GROOVE on the RemindeR

video upload by Starsky Carr

With the Analogue Solutions Leipzig V3.

Patches on the Fly // Complex Pads

video upload by Starsky Carr

"Wavetables are misunderstood - they're not as complex as they first appear - in fact they're an amazingly simple way of making complex tones easily. Throw some granular into the mix and you've got unlimited pad making abilities."

0:00 What's it all about
6:59 You don't need expensive kit - Pigments
10:15 Granular is GOOOOOD!

Cherry Audio Introduces PS-3300 Virtual Analog Recreation of the KORG PS-3300 Synthesizer

video upload by Cherry Audio

"PS-3300 is an exactingly faithful virtual analog emulation of the colossal and ultra-rare semi-modular analog polyphonic synthesizer released by KORG in 1977. Cherry Audio has pulled out all the stops to accurately recreate and update this mythical monster synth, from its massive stacked sonic character and signature multiple‑resonator sweeps to the considerable patching capabilities that distinguished the PS-3300 from all other polysynths at the time."

Introduction to Cherry Audio's PS-3300 - Hosted by Tim Shoebridge

video upload by Cherry Audio

"To get users up and running with PS-3300, Cherry Audio and Tim Shoebridge of Sound Mangling have again teamed up to create an introductory tutorial video walking users through the history and extensive features of this massive virtual synthesizer instrument.

https://cherryaudio.com/products/ps-3300

00:00 - Introduction
02:57 - The KORG PS-3300
04:38 - Cherry Audio's PS-3300


User Interface Basics
05:41 - Signal Generator Panels and Master Panel
06:33 - The Oscillators
08:15 - The Filters
09:22 - The EGs
10:54 - Keyboard Tracking
11:21 - The Resonators
13:00 - Modulation (LFOs)
16:45 - Temperament and Tuning Controls

Semi-Modular Patching with Virtual Cables
18:14 - Patching Basics
20:58 - Mod Wheel Patching
25:20 - Conclusion

Cherry Audio PS-3300 - a massive demo and tutorial for a massive synth

video upload by CatSynth TV

"Today we present the new PS-3300 from our friends at Cherry Audio, in partnership with the good people at the Electronic Music Education and Preservation Project (EMEAPP). The original Korg PS-3300 is a massive polyphonic semi-modular analog synthesizer with three independent polyphonic synth voices, each of which has a multi-waveform oscillator, low-pass resonant filter, a unique three-band resonator, independent tuning of each note of the scale and more. Cherry Audio's version recreates the look and sound of the original, and adds some additional modern features.

Such a beast of an instrument deserves a beast of a video, almost an hour in length, packed with details about the history of the instrument, how each part of the synth voice works, how to use all three together, the global and effects sections, and factory presets."

00:00 Introduction
00:26 History of the Korg PS-3300
01:33 Overview
02:39 Single voice - oscillator
05:40 Low pass filter
10:42 Resonators
13:56 Amplitude and frequency modulation (single voice)
17:56 More global modules
19:55 Temperament and intonation
23:48 Multiple voices
25:57 Multiple resonators and low-pass filters
34:27 Cross-voice modulation
39:23 Different temperaments on each voice
41:33 The effects section
48:48 Factory Presets
57:15 Conclusion

**NEW** Cherry Audio PS3300 // 3 polyphonic synths in a semi modular box

video upload by Starsky Carr

"This is one CRAZY synth!! 3 full polyphonic synths in one big box. Here's my review, demo and walkthrough of the Cherry Audio PS3300. It's a replica of the Korg of the same name from 1977. This is a great example of a unique and characterful synth from the days when they were figuring out how best to create and control the tones.

Each voice has a single oscillator, lowpass filter, ADSR envelope and 2 LFOs. The resonators are a great addition - 3 resonant BP filters per voice - gives a lush or crazy phasing effect.

Follow all this with Cherry Audios FX, and the scalable interface, MIDI control etc etc and you end up with something well worth picking up. Have a cheese sandwich for you dinner and pick this up instead of a pizza!"

0:00 what is it?
2:35 Oscillators
4:52 Filter
6:20 Envelope
7:22 Polyphony
7:41 Keyboard Volume Balance
8:18 Resonators
9:50 Amp Modulation
10:27 Keyboard CV Outputs
11:08 Mixer
13:08 CV Processors
15:23 Sample and Hold
16:21 CV Processors Signal Invert

MiniFreak - Firmware Update 3.0 | ARTURIA

video upload by Arturia

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland VOCODER SCV-350 // I LOVE this thing

video upload by Starsky Carr

"A look at Roland's Vocoder SVC-350. It's probably the best your money can buy - The Moog is hugely expensive and the EMS Vocoder 2000 and 3000 are incredibly rare (and equally expensive). This isn't bad value in comparison, they seem to sell for around £1500. BUT.. .sounds. a lot better than any other hardware I've used... but then most of them are digital - nothing wrong with that but they don't have the clarity for some reason. I'm not sure if the Digitech Talker has analog circuitry but that sounds very clear too. check out my vocoder roundup for more." [posted here]

Pittsburgh Modular & Cre8 Audio: Working Together to Bring us Nice Synths!

video upload by Starsky Carr

"Pittsburgh Modular and Cre8 Audio work closely together, but what’s behind the collaboration and where does one start and the other end? What is this mysterious relationship that works in the shadows and makes amazing value superb little synths?

Richard Nichol from Pittsburgh was more than happy to explain when we met up at @superboothberlin"

Moog Mavis // Super Quick Assembly

video upload by Starsky Carr

Analog Solutions Fusebox 3: Hands-On Demo

Published on Nov 30, 2018 Starsky Carr

"A demo of the fantastically analog Fusebox 3 by Analog Solutions.

It's surprising how busy you can be while performing on a synth without a keyboard!

I've included a step-by-step explanation of how the 2 main patches are developed through the duration of the track.

The kick and toms are from Slate Digital SSD4 Blackbird expansion pack. FX are via the Eventide H9 Space Time algorithm 'Quarterly Delay' plus noise' hats through Unfiltered Audio's BYOME plugin from Plugin Alliance."

The 80s DREAMSYNTH by Cherry Audio

video upload by Cherry Audio


video upload by Starsky Carr

"A first look at Cherry Audio's novel Dreamsynth. Imagine you're back in the 80s looking at an impenetrable D50 interface and wishing you could afford a Jupiter 8... here we've got an Oberheim style state variable filter, virtual analog oscillators or PCM Samples or single cycle samples, single shot cycles... you get the point,. Plus a really intuitive interface."

Description for the top video:

"Cherry Audio's Dreamsynth is a tribute to the celebrated hybrid analog/digital synthesizers of the mid-to-late 1980s. The innovative design blends flexible dual-wave morphing oscillators, stereo filters, a fully polyphonic string synthesizer, extensive and easy-to-use modulation, studio-quality effects, and MPE support, all in an elegant vintage-style synth interface.

Cherry Audio's Dreamsynth synthesizer is available now at cherryaudio.com and authorized resellers worldwide for the incredibly low price of only $39!

DREAMSYNTH FEATURES
- Innovative design blends flexible dual-wave morphing oscillators, stereo filters, analog strings, extensive modulation, studio-quality effects, and MPE support, all in an elegant vintage-style synth interface
- Three dual-waveform oscillators, amounting to six simultaneous virtual analog or PCM sample-based oscillators with up to 16 voices of polyphony
- Authentically modeled virtual analog waveforms, plus 430 looping, one-shot, and single-cycle PCM waveforms
- Fully polyphonic 16-voice string synthesizer can be layered and split independently of the primary synth
- Three tempo-syncable LFOs
- Arpeggiator, independently assignable to synth or string sections
- OB-style 12 dB/octave multimode stereo filters
- Extensive and accessible modulation: 20 mod sources and over 40 destinations, including effects
- Effects include distortion and sample-crushing, 12-stage phaser, chorus, flanger, rotary speaker, delay, and reverb, including the new "Galactic" reverb algorithm
- Support for MIDI Polyphonic Expression (MPE) -- Pitch, Channel Pressure, and Timbre -- making Dreamsynth capable of more organic and expressive performances when using MPE-compatible controllers
- A massive library of over 1100 presets from a wildly talented and diverse group of sound designers including James Terris, Katharine Fountain aka FOUNTAINS, Julian Pollack (J3PO), Julie Kathryn (I AM SNOW ANGEL), Huston Singletary, Mark Wilcox, Dave Polich, Joseph Holiday, Agent Method, and Venus Theory

Dreamsynth is available in AU, VST, VST3, AAX, and standalone formats, for macOS and Windows. It includes native support for Apple's M1 processor and is fully compatible with macOS 12 Monterey. A free 30-day demo is available. Visit cherryaudio.com for additional product details, system requirements, and an expansive collection of awe-inspiring sound demos."

Erica Synths STEAMPIPE The Synth with no oscillators!

video upload by Starsky Carr

"An interesting polyphonic synth with NO OSCILLATORS from Erica Synths... demonstrated by Girts and his daughter, who play clarinet in the Riga philharmonic. A talented family indeed!"

Update: post updated with:

"The 'in-phase' version of the video. The original upload recorded the outputs straight from the mixer at the booth, which must have had the chase inverted on one of the channels so it was silent for some of you. Now I'm back in the studio I've fixed it."

Roland Galaxias // Create your own Frankensynths

video upload by Starsky Carr

"Enhance the classics by combining analog, digital, vintage and modern tones.

We've now got a standalone synths for Roland Cloud Ultimate,... and they've given us an upgrade - you can just load your favourite synths or you can create monster hybrids. With Galaxias you can build up to 4 layers per scene - so you've got Fantom style complex performance patches .. without needing a FANTOM. Plus this can use 4 ACB models in a single patch/scene."

3rd Wave // MPE with the ROLI Seaboard Rise2

video upload by Starsky Carr

"The 3rd Wave from Groove Synthesis has had an MPE upgrade so here I give it a workout with the ROLI Seaboard Rise 2. It's super easy to set up and adds a whole new dimension (or 5) to the 3rd Wave. I NEED to do more of this!

The ROLI software gives you fine control over the calibration settings of each dimension, plus the keyboard itself has the sensitivity sliders plus CC control, so loads to discover."

Best Budget Synth 2024 // Dreadbox NYX Reissue

video upload by Starsky Carr

"Review and demo of this stunning little synth, that I'm calling my best budget synth of 2024. It sounds exactly like you'd expect from Dreadbox... The NYX Reissue sounds MASSIVE ... and luxurious, bur it's got not very hidden depths. With a knob per functioin there's not a lot of hiding1 But unless you look deeper you might miss its 4 LFOs, 3 AR/ASR envelopes, 2 glides, 2 filters, HP/LP series/parallel.."

0:00 quick overview
2:54 2 Big Fat Analog Oscillators
5:54 2 Big Fat Analog Filters
6:37 VCO + VCF + MOD Routing
8:10 Mod Generators - Envelopes & LFOs
12:00 Recapping + Rounding Up

What's New? | PolyBrute - Firmware 3.0

video upload by Arturia

"Matt Pike gives you a guided tour of the fresh creative features, sonic enhancements, and useful fixes arriving with PolyBrute's firmware 3.0, from built-in distortion to new tuning options."

Playthrough | PolyBrute Firmware 3.0 - Presets


"Enjoy a sonic preview of PolyBrute's revamped preset library, courtesy of firmware 3.0, with sound designer Matt Pike. Each preset is designed to delve deeper into PolyBrute's unique expressivity, alongside the firmware's new features."

Polybrute Firmware V3 Update

video upload by Starsky Carr

"The Polybrute gets better and better.. Arturia have given us another surprise firmware update for the Polybrute. Lots of nice little additions in here, in particular the 7 new distortions plus FX routing, VCO tuning options and unison detune... and a fair bit more."

0:00 7 Distortions
1:13 FX Routing
2:31 VCO Tuning
3:14 Unison Detune
4:15 Poly Unison
5:04 Duo Pitch Bend
5:53 Stereo Layers
7:05 Arp Glide
7:53 Step Record Page Follow
8:32 Generate
9:03 Visuals and Misc

Distortion mode

Color and crush your polyphonic patches with a new page of effects: Distortion. This includes 7 types of crunch: Subtle Tape, Classic Distortion, Soft Clip, Worn Out Tape, Germanium, BitCrusher, and DownSample.

Flexible effects routing

Dig deeper into PolyBrute’s signal chain and rewire its effects to suit your sound design flow; both the Insert and Send modes can now be adjusted in terms of order.

New Stereo Layer mode

Allocate one voice to the left channel and one to the right to add increased natural width to PolyBrute’s sounds.

Enhanced tuning

A wider range of tuning options lets you adjust PolyBrute’s musical role in your projects, from tuning individual oscillators more deeply to transposing the keyboard to suit a particular track or style.

PolyBrute Connect

Communication between PolyBrute and its software counterpart is now quicker, smoother, and more intuitive, also accommodating other new features from firmware 3.0.

Workflow & expression improvements

Numerous fixes and much-requested additions to PolyBrute’s feature set, from reloading your last saved preset on startup to more features & parameters displayed on-screen in real-time.

Over 350 new presets

PolyBrute’s library has been totally reworked with new & enhanced presets that emphasize its expressivity, analog power, and new features like Distortion and Stereo Layer mode; hear the new library in action in Matt Pike’s dedicated playthrough video.

Neutral Labs Scrooge – sequenced malfunction generator

video upload by nyppy

"Available as a DIY kit or assembled desktop synth or 42 HP Eurorack module."

Check with dealers on the right for availability.

User videos:



1. Neutral Labs Scrooge and Digitakt II - live electronic performance - Jay Hosking

2. So…is it a drum machine?" The Neutral Labs SCROOGE Demo - mylarmelodies

00:00 Don't call it a drum machine!
01:06 What is Scrooge?
02:02 How it works.
04:07 Panel Controls
06:49 Making a Pattern From Scratch
08:42 Step Knob Automation
13:09 Adding More Voices
14:25 Ratcheting for Tone Creation
15:25 ...Then Adding 808
16:39 Funky Oizo Jam
17:17 'Control All' Feature
19:00 'Random Pattern' Generator
20:55 Manually Editing It.
22:17 A Techno Ending.

3. What's a Sequenced Malfunction Generator // Neutral Labs Scrooge Review and Demo - Starsky Carr

0:00 What's A Scrooge
2:00 Demo with TR606 and Elmyra2
4:04 Quick Start Guide
12:20 CTL ALL FTW
13:58 How to Create a Pattern
21:18 Creating Variations with CTL ALL
25:12 Randomisation
25:51 Function Buttons
27:41 Microtiming
30:24 Evolving Patterns with Random Variation
32:13 Playing with Perkons



"Scrooge is a sequenced malfunction generator, available as a 42 HP Eurorack module or semi-modular desktop synth. While you can convince it to deliver boomy kick drum sounds, clicky hi-hats or metallic snares, it would much rather be making glitchy artifacts, hollow crackles and horribly distorted growls. It contains a sophisticated and performance-oriented step sequencer with parameter locking and the possibility to control all steps across multiple tracks at once. Its 5 distinct and fully analog voices are made up of special circuits that work without dedicated power supplies, scrounging power from the sequencer control signals instead, which gives them an organic and unstable quality. As a bonus, it means you won’t have to power the unit itself if you sequence it from external gear.

5 distinct analog voices
device can work passively without a power supply if sequenced from external gear
each voice can be routed to either of 2 main outputs (headphone compatible)
individual voice outputs
individual voice CV inputs that respond well to audio signals
2 modulation tracks, individually routable to voices
2 modulation CV inputs
onboard step sequencer
parameter locking per step
"control all" mode (change parameters for several steps and tracks at once), great for interactive playing
arbitrary step length per track (up to 64 steps)
generative algorithm builds random variations on patterns (available while performing), or creates random patterns from scratch
pattern chaining (up to 32 patterns)
stores up to 128 patterns in 16 banks
microtiming
CV slew limiter per track
can sequence external gear
sync output
sync and reset inputs
MIDI input (TRS type A)"

Vintage Classic That's 2 Synths In One // Yamaha CS 15

video upload by Starsky Carr

"A Human League Favourite - You probably never realised you've heard it, but its a super flexible things. The Yamaha CS-15 from 1979 has got 2 state variable VCFs, 2 VCAs, 2 VCOs, 2 ADSR envelopes, 2 Pitch envelopes... and 2 independent routings - you get the gist. The Yamaha CS series isn't as well known as Moogs, Arps and Oberheims, but they can pack quite a punch.

A 12dB filter may have been its future downfall, but its more like a mini modular (like the Kawai 100F I demo'd here ) [posted here]

There's essentially a single 2 VCO monosynth, plus an additional path with noise and one of the VCOs. The additional patch (the upper section) has its own filter, VCA etc. The only real downside is a single LFO for all modulation. The CS30 takes things further but this is a more compact and cheaper unit."

Presenting the Polyend Synth: A Revolutionary Multi-Engine Polyphonic Synthesizer

video upload by sonicstate

Update: new videos & pics below. Check with dealers on the right for availability.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Roland Aira S-1 // A mini SH101 and so much more

video upload by Starsky Carr

"The Roland Aira Compact S-1 uses Roland's Analog Circuit Behaviour (ACB) technology to emulate the classic SH-101 monosynth from the 80s. ... plus a lot more, like 4 voice poly, delay and reverb, wave drawing, fast LFO, MIDI (obvs), poly sequencer with parameter locks, extra LFO shapes, and D-motion.

In this I have a play with a few of the factory sequences to give a feel for its range and play it alongside my vintage SH101 to see how close it gets."

Check with dealers on the right for availability.