Arturia MiniBrute 2 VCO close up by Olivier Briand 2018

Published on Mar 24, 2018 Olivier Briand

"A tweak about the VCO of the Minibrute 2 wich are pretty the same of the matrix brute..."

Notes on the Waldorf Quantum vs the Q and Microwave/XT Series

The following is via Soviet Space Child who has a Q+, an XTk, and a Quantum coming. He spent some time with the manual and found that the structure of how sounds are built on the Quantum differs from the cohesive synth engines of the Q and Microwave series. Yes there are new synth engines on the Quantum, but is it a replacement for Waldorf's classic synths? Perhaps not. Note, I have not had time to check out the manual myself, so this is solely Soviet Space Child's take. Also, he is still excited about the Quantum as you can see further below. If you have an opinion, feel free to leave a comment. You can find the manual on Waldorf's website here.

"Just sharing a few initial impressions as someone who has been using Waldorf synths for over 15 years now...

Judging by the manual, there's a great deal that the Quantum can do which previous Waldorf synths cannot. The reverse is also true, in that there are features in older Waldorf synths, specifically the Pulse, XT, Q, and Blofeld, which do not exist in the Quantum. This new synth really makes it feel like theres been a generational leap akin to when PPG's legacy shifted to Waldorf, i.e. the difference of going from the PPG Wave to the Waldorf Wave, and then MicroWave II/XT. Where as Wolfgang Palm was no longer involved in the new series of Wave synths, similarly the Stefan Stenzel era has given way to Rolf Wohrman. That's not a bad thing, but it really feels like this new synth was developed by a new company.

In terms of specifics where the older Waldorf synths offer more robust features, the Quantum lacks modulation modifiers, whereby two modulation sources can have operations such as '+', '-', '*', 'min', 'max', 'and', 'or', and 'xor' performed on them. The Quantum's 'komplex' modulation source partially alleviates this, though. The Quantum also lacks a random patch generator. While this is seemingly a minor features, the random patch generator on the XTk and Q is a source of great fun. It's easy to get lost in those synths for hours at a time just due to that one feature. There's also the lack of stereo capabilities on the analog filters, which was available for the analog filters on the Q+.

The biggest area where the older synths might seem to shine more than the Quantum, though, is the lack of modulation capabilities between the oscillators and the filters. That is to say, there are currently no FM or sync capabilities between the three 'oscillator' sections, and there are no FM capabilities on the digital formers. Where the Q and XT each felt like one large complex timbre, with the option to layer simpler timbres per voice, the Quantum feels like each voice is up to three simple timbres layered on top of one another.

Stereo analog filters aside, most of these things can be added later via OS updates, and here's hoping that the Quantum has a long life ahead of it in terms of customer support is concerned. Anyone who sells a Q and/or XT with the intent of replacing either with the Quantum might be left disappointed though, at least until the Quantum OS is given some time to mature, and even then the core sound of the synthesizer might be different, especially considering how characterful the Q and XT are.

With all that said, my XTk's and Q+ are not going anywhere, and I'm very much looking forward to having them in the studio with my Quantum."

KORG Z1 Synthesizer Keyboard MOSS Physical Modeling SN 002506

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

via this auction

"Legendary physical modeling synthesizer by Korg (1997). Great for a huge variety of acoustic modeling and analog modeling possibilities. Renowned for its top tier arpeggiator, abundance of realtime controls, high quality keybed, and very deep sound editing & construction."

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New Aoide Eurorack Module Based on the Triadex Muse

See the update in this post.

Sound Editing on the JD-800

Published on Mar 24, 2018 100 Things I Do

"Every time I prepare the JD-800 to be sold I decide to give it one last try. The synth is massive and the built in tones can be very nice. I get the feeling the JD-800 was never intended to be edited live (which I like to do with synths) as it can digitally clip in the filter, and the oscillator tones are organised in a slightly haphazard way. In the early 1990's when the JD-800 came out, real time controls (or almost any controls) were a thing of the past. In my mind the JD800 was leading the way to a return of easy to use control surfaces on synths with a strong nod to early Analog.

So am I selling the JD-800 ? I still am not sure.. :D

Lexicon MPX-550 reverb was used in conjunction with inbuilt effects!"

I almost sold mine. I picked up a D-05 thinking the D-50 engine might be better, but I found it lacking up front. I still need to dig in, but the JD-800 will stay. Not sure about the D-05.

SundaySynth #3 : Hot Casiotone on Digitakt Action

Published on Mar 24, 2018 Khoral Central

"Digitakt and Casiotone fed into Strymon Timeline delay, some Novation Peak part and a little Roland SH-01A one note sequence."

Moon Modular Quad 569: Sequence Variations.

Published on Mar 24, 2018 Resonant Anvil

"Adjustments throughout to sequence selector, voltage, and mos-lab oscillator octave controls."

A brief look at the basics of the beautiful Strymon Magneto

Published on Mar 24, 2018 Sunshine Jones

"STRYMON MAGNETO
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Here's a series of clips going over some of the basics of the beautiful Strymon Magneto - 4 Head Tape Delay Module:

1. REVERB
The reverb by itself

2. DELAY
Each delay by itself, feedback on head 4, and then head 1 and 4 together.

3. SHIFT MODE
Listening to how the heads create melodic accompaniment in shift mode. This mode is a simple switch on the left. Not a press and hold alternate mode. So it's immediately accessible mid performance. Nice touch.

4. QUANTIZE SHIFT
Here an arpeggio is created with heads 2, 3 and 4 in hold quantize mode, and then the tape speed is turned down, then up to hear pretty far out pitch changes.
This can be played via CV at 1V/Oct.

5. TRANSPORT
The delay is established , and then looped with the transport, reversed, and then paused and resumed.

I've been done a lovely favor and this module has been left in my care for the next two weeks. I haven't been able to find one of these for myself and have been seriously interested in what it's capable of.
Right out of the box I was not immediately delighted. But with a little study and some acknowledgement of how the device works I've come to see it as completely inspirational.

Things to explore:
- Playing it as an instrument via cv
- Creating feedback loops with the send and return
- Overdubs
- Cutting samples and using it as a looper

I haven't done these things yet, but as a delay, reverb (which you can set the dip switches and convert magneto into two independent effects of you like - but the stereo output --which I'm not positive you will be able to hear here-- is so beautiful that as cool as that is, you're gonna want stereo) are peaceful, authentic, warm, and so deeply textured that once you understand the way the delay times are distributed it becomes immediately absorbing and just superb.
I love this thing.

It's only day one and I'm already very sad that I'm going to have to give it back.

I hope this morning exploration illustrates this module clearly for you, and helps you see what it does, how it sounds, and inspires and informs you.

LOVE"

DIY analog synth project Steiner parker type VCF circuit (A new level of FATNESS !!)

Published on Mar 24, 2018 Adamski A.

"Hey guys , since the last Steiner parker filter video [posted here] , I still wasn't quite satisfied..... So I have yet again given the circuit an upgrade to achieve an even steeper cutoff slope and deeper low end response. I aimed for somewhere between 18-24db per oct and at the same time retaining the very controlled resonance response.
More sound demos to come very soon !!"

DSI PRO 2 Ambient Big Sky & REV 2

Published on Mar 23, 2018 Tarek Mansur

"I just got The Pro 2 and it's an amazing machine. Hybrid - Digital VS Analog. I used 3 oscillators for the Bass Drone.
The Big Sky does the reverb. I love it!!
The melodies are from The Prophet REV 2. I will do a video with only the Pro 2,

P.S - This was recorded on FHD 60 fps...
Looks like shit but now I know!

Enjoy!! :)"