Hi!
The third shoe has dropped, if that's possible. After reviewing MODX (the "lite" Yamaha Montage), Fantom (Roland's flagship workstation) it was only a matter of time before I took a look at the Kronos, Korg's flagship workstation product line, and Nautilus was an excellent opportunity.
Nautilus isn't a new flagship, rather, it has the same internal sound engine as Kronos, refreshed samples, fewer controls, and their generative...
2020-11-09 06:30:15 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
For those of you following last month's ordeal of moving from Mac Pages to Microsoft Word, during the transition, the book lost a clickable table of contents and some links stopped working.
I am happy to report that after spending quality time with Microsoft tech support, the problem wasn't that I turned to the dark side, but rather that I didn't go far enough. Seems like the Mac version of Word lacks some features that the Windows version has.
Oh, and since Apple passed...
2020-10-31 13:28:38 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
I'm putting the finishing touches on the second mixing chapter in my book, and celebrating the event, I've put together a video with a few mixing tips and ideas.
The blasphemous part of it is that I'm using Let It Be as a case study. Specifically, the 2009 remaster. Now, even if I was 100% certain a Beatles song had a mixing mistake, I wouldn't be cocky enough to use it for a mixing lesson, if not for two reasons:
- The Beatles "poin...
2020-10-29 10:29:20 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Pulsar 23 is an interesting beast - a 4 voice drum synth that embraces SOMA Lab's fondness of cross modulation and chaos, with eurorack jacks swapped out in favor of alligator cables and contact pins.
I'll keep this post short and sweet, but the video is anything but! Well, it's sweet, but not short...
Wishing you a great rest of week,
Ziv (crosspatching chaos on youtube as "Loopop"...)
2020-10-21 16:26:51 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Bluebox from 1010Music is 12-input / 6 output (or 6 stereo in, 3 stereo out) digital desktop mixer that ditches mic preamps, hi-z inputs and knobs in favor of size, portability, a touch screen and Eurorack compatibility.
It also as multi-track recording capabilities, including support for multiple takes per track.
It's not perfect, at least not yet. 1010Music sent over a prototype, the production models will only be out in December - but it's a good glim...
2020-10-10 09:05:49 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Solar 50 from Elta Music is an interesting and unique instrument. Notice I didn't say synth - from a synthesis perspective, it's quite simple - 50 sawtooth oscillators arranged in 10 voices.
As is often the case, it's the limitations that breed creativity. Solar 50 doesn't accept MIDI or v/oct CV to play its voices or oscillators - you have to play and tune it entirely by ear.
And to add to the microtonal madness, the oscillators are all analog and not t...
2020-10-07 14:18:19 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
As you may know, when I get pre-release review gear sent in, I accept no conditions on my content except one: the time I can hit "publish" on a video (also called an "embargo" time).
This is also why you often see multiple content creators release videos at the same time, whether it's music tech gear, cameras, phones, and I assume also new lipstick product videos.
Little did I know when I accepted the TR-6S and RC-500 for review (Roland and Boss are the same company), th...
2020-10-01 07:10:32 +0000 UTC
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Dear WaveShapers!
I hope all is well with you. Attached is the September 2020 update to my ever expanding book...
The biggest change is one I hope you won't see: I've been using Mac Pages up until now and it has become so sluggish as the book has grown that it's just not usable, so I moved everything to Microsoft Word, and naturally that did not go smoothly. Hopefully I've uncovered all of the bugs, but if you see something is off - please let me know!
2020-09-30 13:23:07 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
I received over 400 questions about Maschine Plus by Native Instruments. Not being one to avoid hard questions, I present to you the 53-minute answer...
The questions centered around three main topics:
- How powerful is the CPU? I compared the Maschine Plus experience to using a computer with the Maschine MK3 controller: I stress tested it in comparison to my MacBook Pro (Late 2016 quad core 2.7ghz i7)
- How well can Maschine ...
2020-09-27 12:35:20 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Roland just released a fairly significant update to their Zen-core based Fantom 6/7/8 product line, adding much-needed sample playback and multi-sampling features, as well as quite a few other updates.
"Workstation" seems like such a stodgy term compared to the less formal "groovebox" label, but when you take a closer look, it looks like the two are increasingly converging.
Synth and sample playback engines, step and live sequencing, patterns, Ableton Li...
2020-09-18 16:02:54 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
When does a feature define a synth? I think that will be the case with the morph feature in PolyBrute, Arturia's new six-voice flagship analog synth.
We've seen this capability with digital synths - Octatrack's Scenes and Maschine's Locks - but this is the first time (at least as far as I'm aware) that a capability like this exists in an analog synth, along with a workflow that's just begging for it to be used...
2020-09-15 16:02:54 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
[EDIT: "Making of" notes for the intro jam below....]
I'm assuming you've seen Arturia's KeyStep as a recurring sidekick in my videos: it doesn't take a lot of frame space; it can sequence and arpeggiate hardware gear and is simple and easy to use.
So, you can imagine my interest when Arturia said they're planning a KeyStep 37. I've been missing the five extra keys, that's for sure.... but Arturia have also added four MIDI CC knobs (4 banks ...
2020-09-08 15:54:53 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Here's the latest book update - before I dive in to what's new:
- Are there any topics you'd like me to expand upon?
- Are there any new topics not in the book that you'd like me to cover?
Feel free leave a comment or to send me a private message if you want to request topics privately.
Aside from that, I've already received requests for the following topics, but it would be great to hear specific problems you've b...
2020-08-31 14:58:00 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Firmware updates rarely unlock a hidden hardware feature, and yet here we are - it turns out the headphone jack in every Arturia MicroFreak since day one is a TRRS type jack with an input that can process incoming audio.
Today, Arturia announced a firmware update that adds a vocoder oscillator to the MicroFreak, along with a special edition white MicroFreak bundled with a goose-neck mic that also has an additional headphone jack, which c...
2020-08-25 15:02:16 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
"Gamechanger" is such an overused word, that I didn't use it in the title of this email or video, so I don't get accused of clickbait, but MTX8 from Future Sound Systems (FSS) may just be one. A gamechanger I mean... not clickbait...
The concept isn't new at all: the EMS Synthi has a patch matrix, and FSS have had a product called MTX9 - matrix module for Eurorack - for quite some time.
All they did here is put 1/4 inch jacks on ...
2020-08-23 11:01:00 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
I find FM synthesis incredibly interesting. Not because of a fondness for 80's video games or DX7 nostalgia (both of which I admit to having), but because of the surprises and happy accidents that lurk in between operator ratios and different algorithm configurations.
The TR-8S is 80's nostalgia in product form... it was released two years ago and combines virtual analog models of Roland's classic drum machines, including the 808, 909 and 606, along with sampl...
2020-08-11 07:13:53 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Music theory can be intimidating and daunting. TheoryBoard from Irijule is an attempt at bypassing the complexities of theory and manifesting in hardware form a controller to help you explore multiple different scales, and create chord progressions, melodies and bass lines within their boundaries.
It's not a generative tool: it doesn't have an arpeggiator, sequencer or even an internal clock. Rather, its focus is on being a palette
2020-08-02 16:57:57 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
What's the essence of a useful trick in my book? Something easy, non-obvious but straightforward - a setting, option, or something else that helps you do more with your electronic instrument, or something hidden, the absence of which just frustrates the heck out of you.
If there's a theme to this month's update, that's probably it.
For example, someone reached out to me frustrated that their synth only had a downward-saw LFO without an upward ramp. O...
2020-07-31 12:52:06 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Dreadbox and Sinevibes' TYPHON is little synth with much more in it than meets the eye.
On the one hand, it combines six knobs into one (oscillator 1 and 2 level, oscillator 1 and 2 shape, pulse width and oscillator fm depth), and on the other hand, it adds two knobs that no other synth has to my knowledge... (VCA and filter envelope timing).
It has analog fm that is both wild and controllable at the same time, a...
2020-07-23 19:52:03 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
A couple of weeks ago, Presonus announced a new controller called ATOM SQ, and I was intrigued by its offset dual row design.
Most multifunction grid-based pad controllers let you play piano keyboard style layouts (Digitakt, Launchpads, etc), but I always find the location of the "black keys" confusing when they're directly above some of the pads as opposed to between them, like black keys on a piano.
Having two full r...
2020-07-20 11:10:25 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
If you want an all-in-one overview of how wavetable synths, resonators, granular synths and FM/multi-operator synths work, this is the video for you...
Believe it or not, I set out to make my videos as short as possible, and yet this is my longest ever - there was so much to cover in Waldorf's Iridium - this is the best I can do without leaving anything important out.
Iridiu...
2020-07-15 18:38:43 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Semi-modular synths. You can't save presets. The patch cables are a hassle. Who needs 'em?
Well, for one, Eurorack pairings are your best shot at transforming a synth into something very different than what you got when you bought it.
In this video, I explore 10 such ideas with Moog's Matriarch, plenty of which should be relevant for other semi-modular synths.
A word about the download attach...
2020-07-05 18:02:14 +0000 UTC
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Hey there!
I hope you are all well! First, I'd like to thank and welcome all the new WaveShapers, and of course double thanks to all of you that keep supporting the channel month over month.
To the newcomers: I don't take money from companies for reviews, and while some companies send review units over and some stay, there are often cases where I end up paying either taxes, fees, discounted prices, or full price. Your support is what...
2020-06-30 15:54:55 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
As I was exploring the Mutate and Deviate functions of the MK3 Launchkeys, I starting feeling my eurorack modules get jealous: could similar algorithms be implemented with modular/analog systems? How could you go about "freezing" a generative pattern in a modular/analog setup if you liked what you got?
Sure, modules like Turing Machine and Marbles can freeze generative sequences, but they're digital - they can store patterns in RAM without bre...
2020-06-29 12:17:34 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
The simple and yet elegant generative arpeggiator in the Launchkey Mini MK3 was one of my favorite features when I reviewed it.
Today, Novation updates their Launchkey range to MK3 and brings those features to the bigger brothers in the range, as well as a new 37-key member, in addition to the 25, 49 and 61 key versions.
A few useful chord modes were added, as well as a better (but still small) scr...
2020-06-18 15:12:41 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Last week's video was all about a MIDI-based generative instrument; this week's star is REmindER from Enjoy Electronics - an instrument with the same goal in mind, only it uses delay lines and applies them to audio rather than MIDI.
All too often delay effects put time and feedback as the primary means of expression - REmindER focuses on the different rhythms possible by giving you access to tempo-synced,
2020-06-14 15:01:13 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
"Traditional" Sequencers are increasingly starting to add generative features: a little probability or randomness added to the KeyStep Pro, Spice and Dice on the Microfreak, Mutate and Deviate on the Launchkey Mini MK3, conditional trigs on Elektron machines, and more.
TORSO's T-1, a Kickstarter campaign launching today, is a hardware sequencer designed from the ground up around generative ideas rather than having such tools added as a minor f...
2020-06-08 10:55:39 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
SYNTRX from Erica Synths is a different kind of synth, as was the synth from which it takes its inspiration - the EMS Synthi AKS.
Instead of patch cables or a mod matrix in a hidden menu, it uses a 16x16 digitally controlled patch matrix - similar to the MatrixBrute only SYNTRX is focused on audio rate modulation rather than envelopes and LFOs.
Not that one is better than the other, just a different m...
2020-06-01 11:47:09 +0000 UTC
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Hi there!
I hope you're doing well. Apparently, the first paragraph of my book has promised a whole chapter about analog vs. digital, and yet I've not added it with all the other excitement going on... well, at least I can claim truth in advertising since the title of the book clearly states it's in-complete.
So, the big addition this month is a whole chapter about analog vs. digital and software vs. hardware synths.
My goal is to provide yo...
2020-05-31 09:03:44 +0000 UTC
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Hi!
Disting MK4 is one of Eurorack's most popular modules - and rightfully so - but, as I mentioned in my review of it two years ago, it's very hard to use without the manual unless you have an excellent memory, only use the same few algorithms, or have the superhuman patience to wait for parameter names and values to scroll by on a two-character screen.
Enter Disting EX - two conjoined Disting MK4s with a small but hi-res screen that is a great e...
2020-05-20 13:59:24 +0000 UTC
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