Best Ambient Synth Shootout #112: Alesis Fusion 8HD - Song 1

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Alesis Fusion 8HD. It's a synthesizer workstation (up to 190 voices per engine, 16 parts multitimbral) that offers several different synthesis types: AWM (sample playback), FM (freely configurable 6-operators engine), Virtual Analog (VA) and Physical Modeling (Wind and Reed models). There are three oscillators per voice that can be any of the above mentioned synthesis types and 20 different filter types including low-pass, band-pass, high-pass and a 4-band EQ for every patch.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Fusion 8HD - 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 #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."

Ambient music using a Kawai K5000R

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This synthesizer is still so amazing whenever I use it! I bought it on sale and, along with my Ensoniq Fizmo, it was the first real synthesizer I ever owned. My only regret is that I don't use it much more often because this synth deserves it. Maybe I'm just worry that it might break at some point. It has been upgraded with a Nalbantov USB port so I can load and save sounds without needing floppy disks.

I used for the recording the following FX chain: Kawai K5000R - 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. On some tracks Compressor and EQ where added in Cubase. 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 #123: Wersi MK1 - Song 2

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the Wersi MK1. It's a 12 voice synthesizer from 1986 using a kind of additiv synthesis based on complex volume and pitch envelopes for up to 32 digitally generated harmonic's. In addition it has a single analog filter (in my version it's an SSM2045 filter chip) for all voices (paraphonic use).

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
MK1 - 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 :-)

Check out my Best Ambient Synth Shootout Playlist:"

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 #37: Korg Prophecy - Song 2

Published on Aug 28, 2017 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the Korg Prophecy. It's a monophonic synthesizer with algorithms for Virtual Analog, Variable Phase Modulation similar to FM synthesis, and physically modeled brass, reed, and plucked string instruments. This song sounds like a scary zombie game soundtrack, nothing you would expect from a Prophecy synth ;-)

I used for the recording the following FX chain which I sparely used this time:
Prophecy - Alesis Ampliton - Elektron Analog Heat - Boss Tera Echo - TC Electronic Mimiq - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - DigiTech Polara. The used fx varied depending on the recorded track but this time most tracks were recorded dry.

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 #81: Böhm Dynamic 4x9 - Song 2

Published on Mar 1, 2020 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the Boehm Dynamic 4x9. It's a German FM-synthesizer from mid-80s that were only available as DIY project. It uses 12(!) Yamaha ICs of the type YM2203, which were commonly used in home computers from NEC as well as in arcade games until the early 90s. Each of the ICs has 3 FM-voices for an overall 36 voices 4-part polyphony.

I used for the recording the following FX for the song:

T-Rex Twister, DigiTech Obscura, Alesis Ampliton, 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."

Additional Böhm Dynamic 4x9 posts

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 #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 #128: SammichSID - Song 1

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the SammichSID. It was designed to be a streamlined, compact version of the MIDIbox SID synthesizer DIY kit. Designed around two SID chips, it is two-voice multitimbral with a total of six oscillators.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
SammichSID - Zoom MS-70CDR - 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 #105: Hartmann Neuron VS - Song 2

video by Christian's Sonic Spaces

Song 1 here

"This is the second song with the Neuron VS. It's the software (VST) version of the Hartmann Neuron, a novel hardware synthesizer introduced in 2001 based on artificial neural networks used for sound synthesis. The software version of the instrument, was released in 2005.

I used for the recording just on the opening pad an Eventide Blackhole. All other FX are directly from the Neuron VS.

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 #125: Arturia MicroFreak - Song 3

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the MicroFreak. It's a monophonic/paraphonic synthesizer with a digital oscillator section containing 12 different algorithms and an analog filter.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
MicroFreak - Zoom MS-70CDR - 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 :-)"

Ensoniq Fizmo - Single Patch with Arpeggiator tweaking into Chaos

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is a recorded short live jam with my Ensoniq Fizmo. Just a custom patch using the arpeggiator and tweaking things with the knobs into chaos. Still a weird, unique, beautiful sound monster!

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
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. The jam was then mastered with a bit EQ and compression on some tracks and iZotope Ozone on the master track."

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #90: Ensoniq SQ-R Plus - Song 3

Published on May 22, 2020 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the SQ-R Plus/32. It's a 32 voice 8-part multitimbral synthesizer. It features 9 Transwaves, Ensoniq's kind of wave tables.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
SQ-R Plus/32 - 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.

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 :-)

If you like it check out my other stuff and please support me on:
http://synthroton.bandcamp.com/

Enjoy :-)

#Ambientmusic #synthesizer"

Best Ambient Synth Shootouts

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #69: Kawai K1r - Song 1

Published on Jun 9, 2019 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the K1r. It's a 16 voice 8-part multitimbral synthesizer based on 256 PCM waveforms. One interesting feature is the ringmodulation (AM) between two oscillators.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
K1r - 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 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 #55: Roland M-VS1 - Song 1

Published on Sep 19, 2018 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Roland M-VS1. It's a 28 voice 8-part multitimbral ROMpler from the mid-90s with a focus on vintage synths.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
Roland M-VS1 - 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 #124: Wersi MK1 - Song 3

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Wersi MK1. It's a 12 voice synthesizer from 1986 using a kind of additiv synthesis based on complex volume and pitch envelopes for up to 32 digitally generated harmonic's. In addition it has a single analog filter (in my version it's an SSM2045 filter chip) for all voices (paraphonic use).

I used for the recording the following FX chain: MK1 - Pigtronix Envelop Phaser - Zoom MS-70CDR - 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 :-)

Check out my Best Ambient Synth Shootout Playlist:"

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 #130: ASM Hydrasynth - Song 1

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the Hydrasynth. It is an 8 voice digital wave morphing synthesizer. It has an advanced wavetable synthesis engine, 3 Oscillators, dual Wave Mutants, and 2 filters that can be configured in series or parallel.

I used for the recording the following FX pedals: Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe, Tasty Chips Electronics Integral, Meris Polymoon and Beetronics Seabee. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated. On the bass track is also a Fairfield Circuitry Roger That, to give it some slight extra brittle.

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 :-)

Check out my Best Ambient Synth Shootout Playlist:"



Use the player controls to skip around.

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 ;-)"