Best Ambient Synth Shootout #113: Casio HT-3000 - Song 2

video upload by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the HT-3000. It's a 8-voice synthesizer based on 'Spectrum Dynamic' SD Synthesis and has a single real analog 4-pole voltage-controlled filter. My HT-3000 has the legoluft filter mod (http://legoluft.de/tech/bending/e-cas...), so that the frequency and resonance can be control in real-time via two separate knobs (on the left side above the pitch bend wheel).

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
HT-3000 - Digitech Obscura - Pigtronix Echolution 2 Deluxe - GFI System Specular Reverb 2. Depending on the recorded track some FX are deactivated. In addition, I used in Cubase the coreFX Volume Former on some tracks for a slight pumping effect.

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 #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 #111​: Bastl Instruments XOR - Song 3

video by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Bastl Instruments XOR. It's a monotimbral, 6 voice polyphonic, wavetable-based synthesizer using bit operations to add harmonics to the sound. The resulting dirty digital modulation artefacts makes it unique sounding.

I used it for the recording in the following FX pedal chain:
XOR - Elektron Analog Heat - Pladask Elektrisk Fabrikat - Pladask Elektrisk Draume - 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 #110​: Casio HT-3000 - Song 1

video by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the HT-3000. It's a 8-voice synthesizer based on 'Spectrum Dynamic' SD Synthesis and has a single real analog 4-pole voltage-controlled filter. My HT-3000 has the legoluft filter mod (http://legoluft.de/tech/bending/e-cas...​), so that the frequency and resonance can be control in real-time via two separate knobs (on the left side above the pitch bend wheel).

I used for the recording the following FX chain: HT-3000 - 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 #109​: Casio CZ-1 - Song 3

video by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third 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 - 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 posts

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #108​: Bastl Instruments XOR - Song 2

video by Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the Bastl Instruments XOR. It's a monotimbral, 6 voice polyphonic, wavetable-based synthesizer using bit operations to add harmonics to the sound. The resulting dirty digital modulation artefacts makes it unique sounding.

I used it for the recording in the following FX pedal chain:

XOR - Elektron Analog Heat - 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 #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 #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 #103: Neuron VS - Song 1

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first (quite dystopic) 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 the following FX chain: Neuron VS - 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 PCfor 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 #102: Roland D-05 - Song 3

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Roland D-05 Synth. It's a remake of the famous D-50 first released in 1987, a digital synth using the so called ‘Linear Arithmetic’ (LA) synthesis.

I used for the recording the following FX chain: D-05 - Pladask Elektrisk Fabrikat - 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 PCfor 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."

Christian's Sonic Spaces

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 #100: Arturia MicroFreak - Song 1

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first 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 - 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 #99: Böhm Dynamic 4x9 - Song 3

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third 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:

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."

Christian's Sonic Spaces Böhm demos

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #98: Alesis S4 QuadraSynth - Song 3

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the S4 QuadraSynth. It's a 64 voice 16-part multitimbral ROM-based synthesizer from the early 90s.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
S4 QuadraSynth - 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."

Christian's Sonic Spaces Best Ambient Synth Shootout

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #97: Alesis S4 QuadraSynth - Song 2

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the second song with the S4 QuadraSynth. It's a 64 voice 16-part multitimbral ROM-based synthesizer from the early 90s.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
S4 QuadraSynth - 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."

Song 1 here

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #96: Casio CZ-1 - Song 1

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first 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 - Pigtronix Quantum - 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 #95: Alesis S4 QuadraSynth - Song 1

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the first song with the S4 QuadraSynth. It's a 64 voice 16-part multitimbral ROM-based synthesizer from the early 90s.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
S4 QuadraSynth - Roland EF-303 - 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."

Song 2 here

Best Ambient Synth Shootout #94: Peavey DPM V2 - Song 3

Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the DPM V2. It's a 32 voice 16-part multitimbral ROM-based synthesizer with resonant digital filter from the early 90s.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
DPM V2 - 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 #92: Wersi DX 1000 - Song 3

Published on Jun 1, 2020 Christian's Sonic Spaces

"This is the third song with the Wersi DX 1000. It's a 54-note polyphonic, 16-part multitimbral ROM-based sound module using the so called ASIC-Technology. It features 256 ROM sounds, 256 RAM sounds and 6 drum sets with overall 120 drum sounds. Somehow there is almost nothing known about this unit, expect the above features that I found here and there. There is neither an operation manual available nor any deeper description. Well, it has RAM sounds, which implies that one should be able to change sounds, but so far I couldn't discover yet how because the setup knob guides just to some cryptic performance related settings. I guess the unit is from the early 90s and for that age it sounds to me surprisingly good.

I used for the recording the following FX chain:
DX 1000 - 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 PCfor 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."