Hi!
A few days ago I asked on Instagram and Youtube what viewers would like to know about the OP-1 Field, and the by far most frequently asked question was, "is it worth it?"
Obviously, that depends on you, your budget, and your preferred music-making workflow and inspiration.
In this video, I compare the OP-1 Field mainly to the original OP-1 (which holds up pretty nicely), but also briefly to using a laptop, and slig...
2022-08-23 13:40:23 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
It's quite rare to see an original way of doing things, and surprising when it comes from an established company like Eventide.
Misha is a Eurorack module that is a collaboration between Eventide and Leon Gruenbaum, based on Samchillian - his original interval-based performance instrument - which has been around for quite some time.
Misha is really two things in one - a performance instrument that makes improvisation in ...
2022-08-01 15:26:55 +0000 UTC
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Dear WaveShapers!
I'm taking a minute out of an intense editing session for a video coming out tomorrow to bring you this month's update...
This month's new chapter is inspired by a tip from a Patron, which grew and grew into its own little chapter called "Resampling for pleasure and profit". Resampling is a feature I did not give much attention to, but it can be a powerful tool for, well, fun and saving money, hence the profit part.
I also added a little tr...
2022-07-31 16:20:07 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
Almost three years ago I reviewed Roland's Jupiter Xm. When I started taking a look at JUNO-X I thought it would be an easy one, since it's based on the same platform, just in a JUNO-106 like enclosure. That's partially true, with a few minor differences, the thing is, Roland has added so much for the platform, that I couldn't just review the difference and refer you to watch my Xm review.
So... here's another long one - a full and detai...
2022-07-27 19:18:41 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
I'll keep this short and sweet - if you're interested in how the new Iridium Keyboard compares to the Desktop version, and how its polyphonic aftertouch keyboard performs - this one's for you!
The intro and outro jams are attached for offline listening - enjoy!
All my best,
Ziv (yes I have slight remnants of a cold but still publishing synth videos on youtube as "Loopop")
2022-07-08 11:38:22 +0000 UTC
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Dear WaveShapers!
Attached is this month's book update. As usual, search for JUN2022 to skip through the updates.
One of the updates this month is a description of what I call a "Generative Harmonic Quantizer". This is an idea explored briefly in my Mavis video, that I had quite a bit of fun with and can be implemented using any resonant filter, so it's not specific to Mavis.
"Generative" typically refers to a system set up to compose for us based o...
2022-06-30 15:28:50 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
Is it an MPC with a built-in keyboard, or a serious competitor in the workstation wars? Akai's aiming for both.
I can now talk about the very much leaked MPC Key 61 - coming out with a bunch of feature updates in 2.11, and a lot of new synth content.
In this video, I go through what's new, how it's different from a regular MPC with a keyboard, and talk about its pros and cons in comparison to other workstations.
If you have any ...
2022-06-23 14:11:00 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
With Mavis, Moog has stepped into the west coast game... and they've priced it quite competitively. Werkstatt has evolved into Mavis with a wave-folding circuit, a powerful patch bay and more modulation options.
Explaining what Mavis can do takes under 10 minutes of the video, and the rest is spent exploring various patch ideas and opportunities its wavefolder and patch bay open up.
Many of these patch ideas are relev...
2022-06-14 16:11:58 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
This video is an attempt to solve the very first-world problem of creating and managing a setup where you have slightly too much gear for just making a few connections and getting going.
In a perfect world, the idea is to hook audio and MIDI up to a central matrix, where you can easily create dynamic and custom chains of instruments based on what you're in the mood to use. More details in the video, based on patch bays, Erica...
2022-06-03 09:26:57 +0000 UTC
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Dear Waveshapers!
I hope you found just the right sequencer/groovebox/sequencer/effects/daw/dawless setup that enables you to be creative and make music with a simple setup.
But if you haven't, and I know I've not, then this month's update may help. For quite some time I've been trying to create the "perfect" setup, which of course doesn't exist. So, instead, I went on a mission to create the most modular (non eurorack) setup/system I could put together.
One that's bui...
2022-05-31 17:15:46 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
I doubt you've not heard of this one... so I'll cut to the chase, here's a detailed review of TX-6 including pros, cons and alternatives.
I've also attached the outro jam for those interested.
Have a great weekend!
Ziv (twiddling knobs, no matter how small, on a youtube channel called "Loopop"...)
2022-05-20 12:24:08 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
First thing's first - there's a link in this post to my review of Polyend's Play. I usually send you all an email as soon as I publish, but the Patreon app wasn't having any of it at the show.
It's interesting to write this as I read the comments section to the video now that a few hours have gone by - quite a polarizing instrument! As I mention in the video, IMHO it raises the bar for grooveboxes on the sequencing and performance side, but is rela...
2022-05-12 21:19:50 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
... and the other shoe drops! Here's my review of Roland's entry into the volca game...
These may seem like simple little boxes, but they're quite capable, surprising little gems with a lot of innovation, regardless of their size.
As a matter of fact, they have so much in them that I put together of cheat sheet of all the combos and shortcuts that aren't labeled on the panel. These are in the manual of course, but spread throughout (at least in the draft...
2022-05-10 07:14:14 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Korg is following up on the successful NTS-1 with non-sequel - an oscilloscope/FFT/tuner/oscillator/LFO packed in one.
Since the NTS-2 also has an XY scope, I had a bit of fun with oscilloscope art in the video. If you'd like to dive deeper into the topic, check out this excellent resource by Jerobeam Fenderson.
I'll make this email short because another one is coming soon...
All my ...
2022-05-10 04:30:25 +0000 UTC
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Hi there,
This month's book update has plenty of ideas and tips based on insights from videos I made over the past few weeks.
As usual, just search for the text "APR2022" to hop from one new thing to the next.
Here's what's new:
- Added an “FM synthesis for dummies” section inspired by the Volca FM’s controls
- Added a “trick” regarding how to modulate operator feedback depth in synths that d...
2022-04-30 14:34:40 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
I hope you're all doing well! A quick update: I usually make around 3-4 in-depth videos a month and a book update. That's the plan for May as well, but some of those videos are going to be somewhat grouped during and a bit before Superbooth - not my preference, but that's how embargos work, and when they're too close to each other, advance prep is needed to properly explore what's new. I can't talk about what's coming other than to say it will include Polyend's new grid-based ...
2022-04-28 17:18:41 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
UPDATE: The Patreon Exclusive Syntakt Sample pack is attached - 182 samples of Syntakt goodness - if you don't have a Syntakt, load these up in a sampler to get a taste of what it can do
Syntakt is the third "takt" from Elektron and this time the focus (or lack thereof!) is a bit of almost every form of synthesis out there - 8 digital machines include percussion, FM, virtual analog, physical modeling, bit crushing and
2022-04-21 15:36:38 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
In my last video, I looked at what two 4000-euro sine wave operators can do, now we've got 6 sine waves literally for the price of a Volca! (and one LFO on top of that too!)
Obviously, the C15 has other merits beyond two sine waves and goes way beyond FM, but if you're in to hardware synths, it's hard to ignore the value of Korg's newly released "MK2" version of their DX-7 compatible Volca FM, with double the voices (6 instead of 3), official ...
2022-04-14 06:49:39 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Elegance in design is a set of choices of what not to include - and I think Nonlinear Labs achieved this goal with C15's synth engine. In this video I take a look how you can start with two simple sine waves, and take them quite a long way with relatively few components.
C15 isn't cheap, mainly because it's hand-made in Germany in small quantities, but if you'd like to explore it's synth engine, the company developed the software instrument Kontour
2022-04-02 17:09:53 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Here's the latest book update with many of the insights from this months' videos, and one extra Patreon only exclusive: This month my son asked me for a bit of sound design for a science project, in which he needed a simulate an environment where the harder you blow at wind chimes, the louder and more frequently they play, I immediately thought of a video I saw once about the memory effect feature of the rare Natural Gate module by Rabid Ele...
2022-03-31 15:33:03 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Native Instruments is wrapping up the beta of version 2.15 of Maschine, and in it is a fully featured Auto Sampler - which lets you create standalone multi-sample versions of both hardware synths and any plugin you like.
In this video I take a look at what's new, how it works, and, since I happen to have my hands one a quite rare Korg 700FS, I also put together 12 multisampled instruments using it. Three of th...
2022-03-18 16:20:05 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Expectations are high with Hapax, the third sequencer from Squarp, and for the most part, they deliver. That it would be feature-rich is expected, but where I think they knocked it out of the part is in the interface and ease of use.
That said, it does need some polish and debugging - so if you're an early adopter, save frequently just in case...
Hapax isn't cheap, but if you're interested in generative sequencing, Hapax is well worth a look.
2022-03-14 17:52:18 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
Spatial audio is somewhat of an obsession, so when I heard Quasar at Superbooth, I was quite eager to explore it in-depth.
The module is fairly simple and easy to use, so it's all about whether the effect works, and of course, whether the price is worth it - as usual - boutique modules aren't cheap.
Without further ado, you're welcome to watch the review, including a few binaural tips and tricks, and the full 4+ minute outro track ...
2022-03-03 18:23:03 +0000 UTC
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Dear Waveshapers!
I hope you're well, especially if you happen to be from Ukraine - hopefully, this shameful attack will come to a peaceful resolution soon. The bit of encouragement from this is seeing more and more people and countries standing on the right side of history.
On a more positive note - here's my bit of musical distraction for this month. As usual, you can jump between the updates by searching for "FEB2022" in the document, and also attached are the two VCV Rac...
2022-02-28 11:25:38 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
What a difference compared to last week! Anyma Phi was probably one of the most feature reach, complicated synths I've reviewed in a while - a very interesting synth but with almost nothing on the panel relevant to what the knobs do, and now, Implexus from Majella - an analog synth, with a knob per function interface that doesn't even bother with a shift key.
Implexus' easy-to-use interface made it probably the synth that took me the least time to lear...
2022-02-15 16:47:02 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
I've been looking for an excuse to explore physical modelling for a while as part of a new chapter for my book - so this was the perfect opportunity. Expect it in the next update! Meanwhile....
Thanks to the efforts of Emilie Gillet from Mutable Instruments, the code for excellent physical modelling based modules Elements, Rings, Braids and more is open source.
The folks at Aodyo packed parts of those technologies along with many o...
2022-02-07 12:16:05 +0000 UTC
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Dear WaveShapers,
As usual, thanks for your ongoing support - it's what allows me to create content without wasting time looking for sponsors, nor waste your time listening to their messages.
Here's the latest book update with insights from this months' videos and more. Search for the phrase JAN2022 (or just 2022 will do in this case...) to skip between updates:
- Added all the observations from my “Unlocking Atmos Top 10 hits secrets video”
2022-01-31 12:40:09 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
The K-Board from KMI has been my travel companion for the past few years - it's light and you can throw it in a bag without worrying about knobs getting torn off - so I was quite excited when I heard they came out with an update to K-Board's sibling QuNexus (originally the CV and MPE capable version of K-Board), that now includes a 3-track arpeggiator/sequencer (!)
While sequencing is basic, they managed to pack quite a bit of functionality into this one, and ...
2022-01-27 17:55:33 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Quad is back baby, and then some! As long-time channel viewers may know, I'm a fan of making music with and for more than two speakers - the experience makes stereo sound flat and lifeless.
I've already published two videos about Quadraphonic music-making - a theory masterclass with Suzanne Ciani and a follow-up with practical quad perform...
2022-01-18 23:13:42 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
A few years ago, I took SoftPop (and Loopsynth) as travel companions to Knobcon, and indeed great travel companions they were: small and portable, and yet original enough to keep me busy for a while.
SoftPop 2 extends the riddle wrapped in an enigma that was the original SoftPop in many ways but stays true to its quirky roots.
Bastl and Casper have taken the "think differ...
2022-01-05 17:10:27 +0000 UTC
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