"VEGA is the first module of the italian company Faselunare. Is a 6HP, 4 Voices drum module in Eurorack format.
VEGA has 4 digital voices tailored for drum sounds, each voice works both in synthesis and with samples uploaded on the onboard SD card.
His unique color coded user interface, shrink the module at only 6HP, thanks to the RGB encoders, LEDs and buttons, you can access easily 12 parameters per voice, 5 presets and a very useful mute function for each voice.
VEGA has 4 Trigger inputs (one for each voice), 1 Random input which randomly triggers individual voices and a high quality audio output.
Why VEGA?
Here at FASELUNARE (Moon-phase in English), we have a passion for space and sci-fi, Francesco's Stage name has always been Urbanspaceman and together with Daniele he played and released some records as the "Space Aliens From Outer Space".
So that's why our projects have names inspired by science and science fiction!
If you look at an image of the Lyra constellation, you will notice that the 4 buttons of our module are positioned exactly like the 4 stars: Vega (α Lyrae, the brightest), γ Lyrae, β Lyrae and δ Lyrae."
"The SOMA LYRA-4 is a four voice synthesizer with touch plate triggers for controlling the volume of each voice. It has multiple routing modes so that it can be used as an organ, drone synth, frequency modulation synth or crazy frequency modulation feedback machine. There is also a complex LFO, and the sound is routed through a delay and distortion. The delay can also be used as a fifth voice and can even modulate itself."
I created this soundscape and short film for Halloween 2021. A friend and I went for a walk around beacon fell to do some filming and sound recording a few weeks ago, but the weather was far too wet and windy to do either!
However, I managed to get a few shots of the spectacular foggy atmospheres on my Osmo action, and thought they would pair well with the otherworldy sounds of the Lyra 8... so here we are.
The samples are from some radio show about haunted woodlands I recorded late on night on my field recorder.
I hope you enjoy. Please like & subscribe for more videos.
"Vlad Kreimer is a visionary chap, his early experiments in electronics sent him in some unusual directions, created in isolation in his native Ukraine (where he also invented his take on the sampler). These ultimately leading him to the excellent Lyra 4 and more recently the Lyra 8 which we reviewed and thoroughly enjoyed - its the physical manifestation of Vlad's desire to create instruments which break out of the standardized interfaces of modern instruments and encourage the user to explore creativity in a different way. These were built to provide Vlad with the instruments he wanted to use - his performances are the very definition of alternative."
"Warning: harsh tones and heavy distortion ... and hopefully you like that kind of thing!
I've had the Lyra 8 for 4 days now and have spent a few moments with it. It's a crazy, crazy synth unit but there are moments of design genius and beauty that dispel any doubts I've had about buying it!
Here I'm playing it without touching the sensors and I've created a kind of 3 track piece. Bringing up the Hold and Sharp knobs to fade in the parts. No external CV input.
Voices 7&8 come in first and they have LFO modulation engaged. The complex LFOs are set to OR have sync off - creating a pitchy pattern fed to those two voices
Voices 3&4 are FM cross-modulated by 1&2 and so you see me playing the Mod knob above 1&2 in order to change the pitch back and forth.
Voices 5&6 are set to a higher pitch drone to bring in some suspense towards the end, along with heavier distortion. I've added a little reverb to smudge the hard edges.
Subtle feedback modulation and some slower LFO settings create some wonderful sounds from the Lyra. Whenever I turn this thing on I get lost in it for hours... 6 or 7 hours!"
"LYRA-8 is a synth that behaves like it's from outer-space. From otherworldy drones to modulations that certainly aren't from Kansas, LYRA-8 isn't like any other synth.
But is that a good thing? Check it out if you're ready to step outside your comfort and into the twilight zone..."
TIMELINE:
0:00 Intro jam
1:35 Overview
4:55 Envelope control
7:45 Modulation
11:00 Cross mod
12:35 Vibrato
13:10 Total feedback
13:30 Hyper LFO
14:25 Delay controls
15:45 Delay modulation
17:05 Drive
17:35 External in
18:45 Hold gate
19:05 CV Delay
19:55 CV Voices
21:00 Pros & cons
22:50 Outro jam
"An analog organismic synthesither for soundscapes, FXs, pads and complex textures. The term "Organismic” means that all its modules are intertwined by many nonlinear connections and work in an entangled state, modifying each other, much like organs and systems in live beings. That allows for getting complex, diverse, fluid textures from a relatively simple construction."
You might remember when Noise Engineering's Desmodus Versio reverb module was announced back in August, there was this little included note: "Desmodus Versio isn’t just a reverb, though: it’s a DSP platform. Its firmware can be changed via USB, so it can be transformed into a completely different effect with new firmwares coming late 2020. Are you programming savvy? Open-source support will be released later this year."
"In August 2020, we released the Desmodus Versio, Noise Engineering’s reverb. Maybe you heard about it. We were pretty excited about a lot of things about it:
It’s a pretty kick-ass reverb.
It’s a DSP platform that users can update via USB, so we could create lots of alt firmwares for people (more on that soon. Very soon.).
It’s based on an open platform, so from the beginning, we knew we wanted to open it up so people could create their own firmwares too.
So we asked the software engineers at NE to help us less programming savvy folks talk about how this works.
First thing to note: writing custom firmware requires basic understanding of the C / C++ programming language. If you are not proficient in C / C++, there are plenty of resources or even other modular platforms to get started on!
Ok, onward.
UNDER THE HOOD - DAISY!
If you look at the back of your Versio module, you should see a mounted yellow board with a micro-USB port. This is the Daisy Seed, an embedded audio platform created by Electrosmith. It is the main processing unit on the Versio hardware, i.e., where programs are downloaded, or 'flashed.'
We opted for the Daisy platform for a lot of reasons, but the biggest was that it would be the best customer experience. At the time that the Daisy Seed became a contender for us, we had been developing, in parallel, a similar board (called George). Moving to the Daisy Seed board allowed us to speed development, decrease cost for our users, and take advantage of the large (and growing) community behind the Daisy ecosystem
Daisy is powerful and handles stereo in/stereo out with ease with up to 24-bit, 192 kHz audio processing, 64 MB SDRAM, and 8 MB of flash memory. Got an idea that you want in Eurorack? If any embedded processor can handle it, it’s probably this one."
Click here for additional details on Noise Engineering website.
The following is a demo by Cinematic Laboratory of the Ampla Versio, an 'all in one' VCA, VCFA, ADSR with chorus running on the Desmodus Versio.
The Bat Verb | Part 04 | Ampla Versio firmware | Desmodus Versio
Here is the full playlist:
The Bat Verb | Noise Engineering Desmodus Versio videos by Cinematic Laboratory
Cinematic Laboratory
1. The Bat Verb | Part 01 | Noise Engineering Desmodus Versio
I am always curious when Noise Engineering comes with something new and they never disappoint. I love reverbs. I am lucky to have the Erbe-Verb, Milky Way, Z-DSP, Clouds and ZVERB but I was pretty confident the Desmodus (Vampire Bat) Versio (Versatile) would add something new to my collection. And it did. This is just a first-patch so there will be a part 2 soon. Trust me, this video is only scratching the surface.
Note:
I wrote that the DV doesn't have a High Pass filter but that's not true. It has a filter that is neutral at 12:00 and becomes high pass CW and low pass CCW. What I mean it doesn't have a filter that makes sure the very low frequencies (below 80Hz) aren't 'reverberated' (high pass) which can go totally out of control and drives the module above the digital 0dB brick wall. Digital distortion is not pretty and you should be aware of it before going live. I also need to add that it happened only once during the making of this video. Just remember that infinite reverb and ultra low frequencies can cause serious trouble that goes way beyond 'mud'.
2. The Bat Verb | Part 02 | Noise Engineering Desmodus Versio
Desmodus Versio is a reverb - with a built in delay and distortion - and lots of other cool ways to turn your room upside down and fold a cathedral. DV's first batch had a little bug (I totally missed it), but NE's been working around the clock to create a fix and roll out the 'flash your DV' website. This also shows us how easy it is to install new firmware or future applications (which are coming soon). I am not sure, but I think the code will be open source so we can write our own reverbs and FX. I'll definitely dive into that when more info is available.
3. The Bat Verb | Part 03 | Desmodus Versio + Lyra-8
I had this idea of running the Lyra-8 through the Desmodus Versio and see what would happen. Then I realized it helped me (a lot!) to tune the Lyra-8 while playing live. So this video showcases the 'beyond infinity' setting on the 'regenerate' knob, where the reverb trail just plays on forever - but you can still hear a bed of the notes you've played - and add more. It can get pretty magical.
4. The Bat Verb | Part 04 | Ampla Versio firmware | Desmodus Versio
Noise Engineering promised to bring new firmware / applications to the Desmodus Versio reverb. Because it's not a reverb, it's a platform. This means you can completely change the application inside the module. Today NE released Ampla Versio, an 'all in one' VCA, VCFA, ADSR with chorus. In stereo. And this one is a worthy addition to the 'never too many' VCA's.
5. The Bat Verb | Part 05 | Imitor Versio firmware
"Noise Engineering has just released a new firmware for the Desmodus Versio, the 'versatile imitator'. It's a twelve tap delay with tempo sync, delay timing skew, circular stereo panning, distortion, tralis that rise and fall, shimmer and harmonically related pitch shifting. POB has done an excellent walkthrough on all features (see link in video), so I'll just focus on how it sounds in various patches. the IV is also available as a dedicated module with its own faceplate, and faceplates can be ordered for your DV if you're planning on permanent use.
Please note the IV is a delay that's designed to be discovered so make sure to spend some time with it. I noticed it features a lot of sonic textures which are also found on some of the best delays around. So this one may be the droid you've been looking for in just 10 HP. Highly recommended!"
"The Lyra-8 is an eight voice synthesizer with touch control pads for each voice and complex FM routing options. It has a great sounding dual delay and distortion built in, which the synth runs through as well as being able to input external gear, like the Volca Kick in this video.
"This fourth video shows some of the many possibilities and uses for the delay. Please leave a comment with any questions or requests and a like if this was helpful."
"'Polymers' is a collection of 64 polyphonic presets for Arturia Minifreak. It includes: 8 Brasses, 21 Keys, 10 Plucks, 25 Synths. The bank covers a wide range of timbres: - various keys with acoustic, FM, wavetable, digital or analog flavor... - vintage/retro synths recreations... - lo-fi, tape-like, noisy, detuned, flutter/wow colors... - presets with complex modulations and movement... - sweet and dreamy plucks and bells... - warm, soft, gentle or cold, distant, distorted tones...
The soundset is suitable for many genres: ambient, electronica, IDM, trip-hop, lounge, downtempo, chill out, new age, cinematic, trance, deep, progressive, techno, industrial, breakbeat, breaks, jungle, drum and bass, dub and many others.
Highlights: - Wide range of polyphonic sounds - Thoroughly set parameters - ModWheel and Aftertouch add expression - Velocity-sensitive - Macros 1 and 2 change the timbre or add movement - Volumes are equalized for a comfortable browsing
The presets inside the bank are subdivided into 4 categories, presets titles include the category for better sorting: BR (Brasses), KS (Keys), PL (Plucks), SY (Synths).
The presets are compatible with both versions of Minifreak: hardware and VST/AU/Standalone. Use the official software (Minifreak V) to send the presets to the device. Use the latest firmware and software versions.
"A much longer exploration of dronescapes on the DB-01. I find these long distorted dronescapes strangely therapeutic and relaxing. As I mention in the video it reminds me of the Lyra-8. That device I found more to be personal therapy than musical instrument, but is a fantastic way to relax and drift away.
Part 2 takes a different starting point: Multiple steps in a key to create smooshed chords. I could have explored this a bit more, but the idea is to restrict the playback key range, then to randomize the pitch, and get different chords. For more variety you could then transpose the entire thing.
The Death By Audio Rooms reverb is providing the required ambient blur and I keep it on the basic 'Room' reverb type.
This video is hopefully both a useful collection of ideas for DB-01 dronescapes as well as being somewhat calming in its dirty dark ambient gloom.
0:00 Setup blather
0:42 Choose a scale
0:50 Pattern setup
1:27 Random pitch
2:20 Playback mode
2:52 Gate length
3:45 Effects on
4:28 Attack amount
5:20 Filter wash
6:18 LFO settings
8:00 Playback range
8:35 Amp emvelope
8:53 Drones begin
12:18 FM pitch
14:50 Adding an arp
17:06 Lyra-8 style ?
18:28 Dry sound lol
19:00 Scream
19:57 Where beauty lives
TERRA is a new SOMA Labs synth that is currently in development.
TERRA is a highly conceptual device. The core idea is unity of nature and technology, and a perfect balance between simplicity and versatility. Behind the extremely simple interface hides a complex polyphonic, microtonal synthesizer with a broad and flexible sound palette that ranges from classical beautiful tones to complex atonal noise, and offers smooth and fast transitions between these extremes.
The innovative keyboard design invites new playing techniques and covers the full range of a grand piano with the possibility to tune each note with an accuracy of 125 steps per semitone. To achieve this range with such a simple keyboard we designed a unique system of pitch shifting using four additional sensors. Pressing different combinations of them will result in 16 variations of keyboard transposing, including up to 3 octaves up and down, fifth, fourth, third, tone etc.
Not only do you get the full range of a grand piano in a very compact design, TERRA also offers an entirely new and different approach to playing melodies and chords.
"Second live jam recorded during Covid-19 quarantine in my home studio. This live performance follows a similar structure than the previous one, containing different improvised sound environments melted together with a strong presence of a minimal modular system. In this session the main synthesizers were the Soma Lyra-8 and the Nordrack 2x, both reinforced with The Amazing Noises Reverb on the iPad thru Lexicon Omega audio interface. Nordrack is played from Korg Nanokey, connected to the iPad as well and routed with Aum to the Omega interface to the synth MIDI in. Sadly not much can be seen in this video due to bad camera (or artist) position, but I hope you like the music instead.
With this live recordings I’m not only having fun while playing relaxed without my typical time limitations, but also expressing this unique experience of being confined at home, watching the news, seeing the empty streets from my windows and having a social life limited to my wife, my son and my cats beyond the electronic communications.
Tracklist:
Part 1 - 00:00
Part 2 - 07:38
Part 3 - 15:23
Part 4 - 23:29
Part 5 - 28:44
Part 6 - 32:43
Part 7 - 35:02
Part 8 - 39:05
Part 9 - 44:08
