Elta SOLAR50 + OTO Bim & Bam // HUGE sounding pocketable ORGAN

video upload by Dexba

"I've recently fallen into the pedals craze and yeah, I couldn't resist both the design and the vintage crunchiness of the OTO line, so when I got a good deal on the pair I went for it!
Both are amazing, even though you have to dive a little deeper in order to get exactly the sound and feel you're looking for.
BAM was a refreshing acquisition after years of BigSky. Natural sounding reverbs with a touch of dirt (comparison with the CXM1978 coming soon 🔥).
BIM is simply the perfect delay for me. Can go from a very simple, nice-sounding delay, to a filthy lo-fi stereo grungy mess, and the modulation came really handy with the Solar50 (that's what I am fiddling with during the jam).
Solar50 was the perfect companion for these pedals, since its raw sound (not passing even through the filter, since I was using the dry stereo output).
BIM provided dimension and modulation, while BAM gave the space and that little smudging effect needed for cutting some of the harshnesses.
All in all a GREAT combo! Can't wait to get my hands on an OTO BOUM, even though I am undecided between that and the Elektron Heat mk2. We'll see!
Enjoy ✨"

Sequential OB6 // I am IN LOVE with this CINEMATIC SOUND

video upload by Dexba

"What else can I say?
You turn it on, you get the new score for Interstellar 2 right away, you can inbox it to Hans Zimmer and save him some work.
A touch of chorus, a pinch of phaser, and some little chords that have been stuck in my head in the past weeks.
No copyright, you can grab it and use it in your cinematic edits, if you want!"

Suiko ST-20 & Strymon BigSky // Dreamy Japanese Sound (short sound demo + jam)

video upload by Dexba

"I am always been fascinated by Asian instruments, and in fact, I even own and play an original koto.
So, when I found out these Suiko things existed, I immediately felt the need of owning one.
It came from Japan, it's vintage (seems like they where produced in small number during the 80s) and it sounds kinda awful without reverb, to be honest.
The koto sound is quite harsh, and it doesn't really sound like a real koto, since it has no polyphony, no way to 'prepare' the pitch bend, no velocity sensitivity, and the overall sound is quite poor.
Then there is the flute, quite a nice one, and a very screaming organ that gets annoying pretty soon.
But, as soon as you add a reverb, possibly a good one, you get back some sort of polyphony, you iron out the roughness, and even the limitations can become useful tools!
Enjoy! ✨"

DSI Sequential PRO3 SE // Can it REPLACE ALL your MODULAR GEAR?

video upload by Dexba

"This video is my answer to that question, the question that prompted me to buy the PRO3 in the first place.

I had quite a lot of eurorack stuff around, but it was becoming more of an obsession, with all those buy sell trade try learn trade again, in an infinite loop without sign of slowing down and PEACE.

So I decided to sell all my modular gear, in order to fund this (which seems a way better value than the two premium modules I had to sell) and some other gear.

My Sequential / DSI Pro 3 already appeared on my channel before, but in a way that wasn't the one I bought it for.

So, I took my time to try to get in the same mindset I would have had while patching my eurorack system: I started from nothing, a buzzing wave, then I started "patching", modulating the OSC, the filter, the onboard FX (yeah!), assigning some stuff to the control surfaces (touch strip + mod wheel) and I tried my best with the sequencer to obtain the deep, nonsensical, evolving patches I used to make with the modular gear.

I was so happy, I reached my goal, and now I am GAS-free for eurorack stuff.

Yeah, I miss a bit the physical act of patching, but hey, that's way more practical and it comes with presets, so I can save my work to get back to it another time!

Enjoy ✨"

ELTA SOLAR50 // Fifty Oscillators Cinematic Goodness

video by Dexba

Yellow model. Previous posts feature a white model.

"It's finally here! I wanted it since its announcement, especially given how much I love my SOMA Lyra-8 (as you could probably tell, looking at my past videos).
Solar50 is larger, lighter, thinner, has 6 times the osc, and even built-in fx!
Oh, and it is also yellow, if it wasn't cool enough with its light sensor made to look like HAL9000.
Anyway, it's here, and I definitely should make a comparison video, because almost anything of the Solar50 resembles the Lyra-8, apart from the touch surfaces (still, a different kind of ones).
This yellow beast is more resembling, to me, to an orgy of Sequential OB-6, with its brassiness and the 12dB Polivoks filter.
This was a first encounter, much more to come: I still have to receive all the other cartridges, I need to try it in stereo with some pedals, and a comparison with the Lyra-8 is almost mandatory!
Anyway, enjoy! ✨"

Moog Matriarch // Some Mellow Sounds of Raw Moog Beauty

video by Dexba

"Moog Matriarch. I've said everything already.
In this first video, I wanted to focus on all the components' intrinsic quality and how beautiful a sound can get even without extreme patching. The only cables you will see are for automating the Spacing of the filter!

Matriarch is the current flagship (if we don't take into consideration the Moog One, a halo synth by features and price) in production by Moog, and for me, it ticks all the boxes:
- Pure analog goodness from the beefy oscillators (4 of them!) to the gorgeous filter and the delay
- Creativity & tradition, with the stereo filter and all the patching capabilities
- Onboard FX, and what an FX! MF104 built right into the synth

Yes, we can all agree that it still isn't the polysynth we maybe wanted, especially because not many people are considering buying the ONE, the price is a bit steep, but man, oh man, if that isn't the best Moog in production...
Because of this, I am also selling my Subsequent 37, an interesting project for sure, but with a character not even close to what the Matriarch can offer without a sweat.

Pure analog goodness and I am all for it!
Enjoy ✨"

SOMA LYRA-8 + Guitar + Strymon Iridium // The Foot Strikes Back

video by Dexba

"The idea was too good to be left as one performance, so now I am back, with a different (read: better) guitar, new pedals (like the lovely Strymon Iridium), and a bit of thought put into the video!
This time you will be hearing a distorted, compressed SOMA Lyra-8 going into a fake Marshall Plexi, provided by the Iridium, with some added love coming from Fender, both the guitar and the -evergrowing- array of pedals in front of me.
The result surprised me, putting me in territories soundtrack-like, with Doom being one of my favorites (the recent one, from Mick Gordon).
I am very satisfied with the result, and I will never stop encouraging you to play Lyra with all your body part (results may vary and the upload site may vary too) 😄
Enjoy!"

Sequential PRO3 & Strymon BigSky // You can't go wrong

Dexba

"Everything started when I was preparing a comparison video between the Sequential PRO 3 and the Moog Subsequent 37 (actually, Sub37, the one I own), so I put the PRO3 in 4-pole Ladder filter mode and everything went south. Or north, dunnou.
I know, I know, everything passing through a BigSky is gonna be awesome, maybe sometimes even a bit too much, because of the pedal's character.
But, I've never suspected how good it could be playing a very distorted and messy sound, not some ambient-y pluck like angel tears on cushions.
Here we are talking about 3 saw waves with overdrive, with distortion, with resonance, saturating a reverb: it is usually illegal to put reverb on a bassline.
But here we go, and the result was not-so-surprisingly good, like "I am gonna make an EP" kind of good.
As always, let's talk about our common synth disease in the comments, and most importantly:
Enjoy! ✨"

TASCAM PORTA ONE & DELUGE // Magic of the TAPE

Dexba

"I just received my multitrack tape recorder, and I so pumped up. I've never used one, I've watched some demo and many, MANY videos on YouTube (and Instagram, where it seems to be mandatory). I will keep it simple: it sounds amazing. I am the farthest thing from an audio expert, but there is something really pleasing in the way the otherwise normal drums sound: they're at the same time crispy and soft, tight but rubbery. Loving that.

And, with the recording part taken care of, I could improvise a little bit with my guitar, and BAM, magic happened, and in just a few takes I was very satisfied with the result like I am almost never been since!

So guys, do yourselves a favor and buy a multitrack tape recorder (they are cheap), a guitar (they are also VERY cheap, nothing compared to a synthesizer), and maybe a Synthstrom Deluge too (they are not cheap, but they are sort of priceless for a quick idea laydown)."

SOMA Lyra-8 // Eventide PitchFactor is the BEST companion

Dexba

"I only own two pedals: the two you are seeing right now.
And I bought the Eventide PitchFactor immediately after the Lyra because I knew it would it be magic, and IT IS!
This time the BigSky is just a plain reverb, no fancy shimmer-y stuff, or it would get really messy between the drifting from the oscillators, the pitch tracking, and ANOTHER pitch tracking.
The real star today is the PitchFactor, in a very simple use case: transforming single notes into chords, but maybe mainly to play notes with a shorter attack/decay but still using the Lyra sound.
Ok, this video may be a bit basic, but I got completely lost playing it and I think that this is the real BEST companion for you Lyra-8, maybe paired with and Eventide Space, or why not: just buy an H9 😎
Enjoy!"

DSI Sequential PRO3 // Everything in Its Right Place (Radiohead Improvisation)

Dexba

"Yeah, that's right: I am playing the PRO3 with TWO hands and it got dark while I was playing!

Last night I started fooling around, when, by mistake, I fell into Everything in its right place, by Radiohead, just the initial set of chords, and I got lost.

I kept going, exploring emotions, thank also to the modulated Super Plate reverb and the enormous joy I get from playing with more than 3 fingers on the keyboard at the same time, ignoring the maximum paraphony, only for the good of voices stealing themselves, as once also said Ricky Tinez when he bought his PRO3.

This Sequential PRO 3 goes deep, screams with the open filter, and is always, always, as no other instrument is: creamy.

Here we go, with this somehow classical-feeling improvisation over one -in my opinion- of the best songs in modern history.

Enjoy!"

DSI Sequential PRO 3 // Does it sound digital?

Dexba

The Pro 3 has a digital wavetable oscillator along with two analog oscillators, all run through an analog filter. You can find specs on the Pro 3 here.

"I know sparse viewers won't care about that, but I am feeling really bad about not having the space to play more than one instrument at a given time; yes, that's the reason why I only make videos of one instrument per-video and there are moments, like, throughout all this video, I would have wanted to play something to go with this line.

I ended up playing with the lovely distortions offered by the PRO 3 and the nice-sounding BBD Delay.

I am still not convinced by the Super Plate reverb, I would like to hear something deeper, fatter, lush, something like the one onboard of the Novation Peak (maybe the feature of it I like the most)."

DSI Sequential PRO 3 // Jamming for the first time over Arrival of the Birds

Dexba

"I got my Sequential Pro 3 SE (Special Edition) and I only got a little chance to use it until now.
In the past few days, I got carried away with the cello version of ThatCelloGuy of 'Arrival of the birds', by The Cinematic Orchestra.

Since I am a cellist too, I started preparing my own keys base, in order to play on it lately, but then I got carried away with all the infinite possibilities of this amazing instrument, like the powerful sequencer (and its inspiring Random Mode), the not-so-reverb but creative to use Super Plate effect and so on.

The video is not polished, it wasn't intended to be published, but as an inaugural play with the Pro 3, I think it can be passable :)"

Sequential OB6 - Interstellar Theme & More

Dexba

"Since everything is just glorious with that synth, why not try to play something reminding of one of the most emotionally intense soundtracks out there, able to give the chills with just 3 or 4 notes?

Needless to say, the quality of the sound went beyond every expectation and a tear may or may have not have been spilled in the process of playing!

This is not a perfect recreation of Hans Zimmer's Interstellar soundtrack, but it has the vibe to it, and I thought it was worth sharing with you."

Sequential OB6 - That's just glorious!


"The title says all: from the sequence with Depeche Mode-kinda vibes to the lush chords that just scream greatness.

I mean, the view must have helped!

Deeply in love with the Dave Smith sound, the Sequential OB6 is, simply put, a modern classic.
Yes, I keep a Novation Peak for when I need more modulation or I want to explore wavetables, but the pure quality of the oscillators in this synthesizer is glorious.

Have a listen! Enjoy"

Sequential OB6 - Mære Sea


"Enjoy some waves dying on the shore.

What I really love about my OB6 is the ability to make everything incredibly musical, including the noise.

A glass of wine, a little bit of meditation after dinner, purification for the body and the soul!"

Sequential OB6 - First approach

Novation PEAK & Synthstrom DELUGE // Ambient Distortion

Dexba

"Introducing the first video of my new PEAK, oh boy, not so sure I was loving this thing before I started sequencing with the Deluge, the ultimate hardware sequencer/piano roll for dawless lovers.

I was stuck playing it via my Korg SV1, so no mod wheels, no pitch bend, nothing, and everything was static and sort of... lame? It is not the right word, but no excitement, no vibrant feelings like with the OB6 and the Lyra 8, I was getting always the same tones and sounds, and nothing too exciting for me to show you guys.
The reverb is and always will be one of my favorites, it just sounds TOO good, and I admit I am in love with the distortion possibilities.

But yes, yesterday something clicked, playing it with the Deluge, since the sequencer is completely missing (Why Novation? Why.) and I saw it from a new perspective.

All in all, we, Peak Owners, are here a little because of r beny videos with it, so: here it is an ambient track full of peace and some distortion, growling full of harmonics.

Enjoy!"

Suiko ST-20 x Synth Café

Dexba

"Trying for the first time my newly arrived koto synthesizer!"

Soma Laboratory Lyra-8

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
Dexba

via this auction

"Beautiful, boutique drone synth by SOMA LABS. In donut-box pink, which I believe is more difficult to come by that the black/white versions. Built like a tank. A true joy to play. Fantastic sample manufacturer. Tune it to middle C, load it onto a sampler, and you’ve got the most majestic pads you’ve ever heard. The one in the video looks a little more hot pink, whereas this one looks more like the photo."