Teenage Engineering OP-Z says Hi to Skulpt

Published on Dec 4, 2018 Matt Craven

"Got Zeddy a new pal and they seem to be getting on great so far.

The Modal Electronics Skulpt is a 4 voice Polysynth and although it dwarfs the OP-Z, it's a great little Synth that looks very capable.

Connected to OP-Z via a USB C OTG and a Roland UM-ONE mkII.

Drums coming from OP-Z, Skulpt doing the pads and chords."

Modal Skulpt Synthesizer into Elektron Digitakt

Published on Dec 4, 2018 Electronisounds Audio

Percussa Adds Mac & Windows Patch Editor to mSSP Kickstarter

via Percussa

"(Los Angeles, CA) On November 23rd, Percussa launched the Percussa micro Super Signal Processor (mSSP) Eurorack module on Kickstarter.

The mSSP is the smaller, lower cost but equally powerful version of the successful Percussa SSP eurorack module which was funded on Kickstarter in September 2017 and which was delivered in June 2018.

After receiving feedback from backers and SSP users, Percussa decided to add a Mac & Windows patch editor to the Kickstarter project. The editor will work with the mSSP and SSP hardware, supporting real-time patch and parameters changes.

The mSSP will still ship with ​50 modular synthesis patches as planned, offering polyphonic wavetable, granular, sampling and traditional synthesis techniques, multi-channel audio processing.

The mSSP Kickstarter campaign ends on Sunday, December 23 2018 at 8:00 AM PST. After the campaign ends, the retail price of the mSSP will be $799 (instead of the $549 Kickstarter price).

Percussa states that the mSSP will only become commercially available if the Kickstarter project meets its goal, since the engineering involved is substantial and the project requires purchasing large part quantities to make the module available at the $549 kickstarter price point."


For those curious about the differences between the original SSP and the mSSP aside from form factor and display, you'll find a comparison chart below.

NOVATION Introduces PEAK UPDATE 1.2

You can find an overview video from supporting MATRIXSYNTH member, BoBeats further below.


First, the press release via Novation:

Introducing powerful new features & presets

Novation is proud and excited to announce the release of the Peak firmware 1.2 update. Firmware 1.2 adds a number of the most requested features from Peak users around the world, as well as all-new presets.

New wavetables
Massively increasing the range of Peak’s sonic palette, 43 new wavetables have been added to the Oscillator Wave menus.

Additional modulators
Peak 1.2 adds two freely assignable, non-voice-specific LFOs (bringing the total to four) to the Mod Matrix and new FX Matrix. Pitch-Bend is now also available as a modulation source, with Up (BendWhl+) and Down (BendWhl-) assignable as separate signals if required.

New Mod Matrix design
Workflow is greatly accelerated with Peak 1.2's updated Mod Matrix design, as sources and destinations are presented on the same page – no more toggling between them to make and edit assignments. And as a knock-on benefit, the Page button now enables quick access to all 16 modulation slots.

FX Mod Matrix
You demanded, Novation delivered! Peak 1.2 lets you route non-voice-specific modulation sources to Peak’s FX parameters in the new four-slot FX Mod Matrix. Now you can, for example, expand and contract a reverb with a rhythmic LFO, or automate delay time changes using an envelope.

New envelope features
Speaking of envelopes, Peak 1.2’s ADSRs sees the addition of a Hold stage (up to 500ms) and the ability to loop between the Attack and Decay stages. For many, this game-changing improvement alone will be reason enough to upgrade.

Initialise Manual Mode
Peak 1.2 gives you the option of maintaining the current positions of all knobs and sliders when the Initialise button is pressed, rather than resetting their parameters to defaults – ideal for getting instantly hands-on with new patches, and creating random ones from scratch. The previous behaviour can be reinstated in the Settings menu, of course, for those who prefer it.

Microtuning
Peak 1.2 also adds support for microtuning. 16 Tuning Tables can be edited and saved for recall within any patch, and automatic note selection makes MIDI note-to-pitch assignment a snap.

New presets
Available in Components, new Soundpacks from Patricia Wolf and GForce Software showcasing the new features of Firmware 1.2, as well as the sonic power and versatility of Peak in general.

Availability
Reaching new heights of sound design potential, Peak’s 1.2 firmware update will be available from the 19th December 2018 as a free download in the Components content manager."

And the overview video from BoBeats:

BIG NOVATION PEAK UPDATE 1.2

Published on Dec 4, 2018 BoBeats

"Today we are checking out the new 1.2 update (available 19th Dec) to the Novation Peak. If you want to help the channel join Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/bobeats"

ContinuuMini with External Controllers

Published on Dec 4, 2018 HakenAudio

"A demonstration of the ContinuuMini while using external Midi to control the internal sound engine of the ContinuuMini, the EaganMatrix."

A Yamaha CP 70 for the Sequential Prophet X / XL

Official Prophet X:XL Add On: "CP 70" Published on Dec 3, 2018 8dioproductions

A Yamaha CP70 sample set for the Sequential Prophet X & XL from 8dio who produced the original samples for the X & XL.

DEX5MBER 01: Yamaha EX5 + Novation PEAK Jam 130 BPM

Published on Dec 4, 2018 Floyd Steinberg

"Instead of participating in 'Jamuary', I'll do a 'DEX5MBER' instead. I'll try to post a new short musical sketch / JAM every Tuesday and Friday until christmas eve, using the EX5 as main synth & hardware sequencer for my other gear.

I used the EX5s pattern sequencer for this, routing some of the sounds to the secondary line out, which is connected to a ZOOM MS100BT for additional effects. The "distorted arp" is played on the PEAK, all the other sounds are EX5.

Next video on Friday 7"

TEST SERIES Abstract Sound Design Mutable Instruments Elements 2x Rings Eurorack

Published on Dec 4, 2018 Outsider Sound Design

"Abstract sound design with Mutable Instruments eurorack Elements and 2x Rings as the sound sources.

The purpose of “TEST SERIES” is to focus on the sound design possibilities of various gear combinations. This series is not musical nor does it serve as an instructional video. It is all about sound potential.
Please consider supporting this channel by purchasing a sample pack or music download from www.outsidersounddesign.com"

Silent Strike - Stellarator

Published on Dec 2, 2018 Silent Strike

This Drummer Messed with the Wrong Synthesizer (OFFICIAL)

Published on Dec 4, 2018 Sheldon Kreger

"This arrangement was structured by sequencing groups of 2, 3, 4, and 5 in unison on the drums and Buchla synthesizer. Using Ableton Live, and starting at a modest tempo of 55 BPM, I created MIDI tracks of eighth notes and used a MIDI to control voltage converter to send these pulses to the Buchla. On the Buchla, the pulses served as a heartbeat to push through the step sequencer. I then programmed one tone at a time and modulated several parameters on the tone using the step sequencer.

The step sequencer was programmed in 2, 3, 4, and 5 steps to align with the rhythmic concept. A clear example are several bass lines where the step sequencer modulates the pitch, moving up or down with each step, and each step pushed forward by the MIDI/CV input. This modulation was used in parallel on several patches, simultaneously modulating several parameters by utilizing stacked banana cables. The raw output audio of each sequence was recorded back into Live for an arbitrary period of time (perhaps 60 seconds).

After amassing several sequences in each grouping, they were sliced into reasonable lengths and arranged into a composition. The structure was determined by the number of steps in the sequence, and clips of the same sequence length were often stacked and faded in and out. For example, there were several raw audio recordings featuring four steps. These were used all in the same section of the composition – after the threes and before the fives.

The advantage to maintaining the order of these groupings was to simplify the difficult drum performance. In fact, the entire concept was spawned from the idea of using ostinatos of 2, 3, 4, and 5 on either the hands or feet on the drums, and then superimposing a recorded Buchla performance atop. For example, during the group of three, the feet play RLL, with right foot on kick drum and left foot alternating between a pedal slamming into two tone-paired wood blocks. The hands were then free to play a groove or various improvisations. In other cases, the hands would perform the ostinato while the feet improvised.

After tracking drums, I ran the master drum track through a gate and recorded the output. This created yet another rhythmic sequence which captured only the loudest hits on the drums. Returning to the synthesizer studio, I used this (awful sounding) gated drum sequence to again trigger the step sequencer on the Buchla. This time, however, I used the raw audio via a ¼ jack on a Eurorack, and a converter for this signal to pulses for the Buchla. Another difference for this second lap was utilizing a 16 step sequence with knobs turned at random, rather than overlapping the previous ostinatos. The end result was that the sequence moved when I hit crash cymbals, the kick drum, or the snare drum. This created another layer of unification between the organic drum performance and the Buchla, but this time commanded by the drum performance itself. It often sounds like the drums are actually triggering a sample, but this is not the case. I recorded a few clips like this and arranged them in Live to build tension within and between the ostinato groups."