r/synth

the main element of this piece was inspired by 2000's raster noton records, trying to get that old timey yet futuristic/sci-fi interface sounds that i really like. it was made with mutable instruments plaits, sequenced by digitakt 2 with the help of maths function generator for those sharp transients.
every other sound came from the sample pack i've been working on for the last couple of months, which i think we'll be ready for early next month!
everything is fitted within one pattern with lots of conditionals and parameter locks, audio is routed via overbridge to ableton but it's mixed completely inside the digitakt aside from a saturator and a limiter. chroma console is being run affecting everything besides kick and bass with ableton's external audio effect.

Have reduced to this. Very focused and fun.

I made an ambient/electronica jam inspired by early-2000s electronica, blending rhythmic textures, glitchy beats, and environmental sounds like birdsong and wind.

This was created using four hardware instruments: Bastl Instruments KASTLE DRUM, Torso S-4, SONICWARE LIVEN EVOKE, and Elektron Digitakt.

The idea started when I was experimenting with the KASTLE DRUM running through the Torso S-4 and stumbled upon an unexpectedly immersive groove. It was initially very minimal and abstract, so I gradually added more layers and instruments until it became a complete piece.

Hope you enjoy it. 🎶

Ever since getting a Roto-Control, I’ve been enamoured with MI’s motorised knobs. I tried Nina and while it’s wonderful, it’s also very pricey here in its native land of Melbourne, Australia (about A$5K). So when I saw an excellent deal on the Delia pop up (44% off), I decided to shake things up and take the plunge.

I’ve only had it for about a week and have mostly been preset surfing/tweaking so far to get a bit of a feel for its capabilities and sounds, and I absolutely love it. The layout and flow makes so much sense, the sound is bright and clear and the build quality/feel is excellent. It complements my two other hardware synths (Sub 37 and prologue) perfectly.

Dialling in modulation is the most fun I’ve had on any synth: hit the MOD button and all knobs immediately jump to the 12 o’clock position. Pick any source and destination and modulate them positively by turning the knobs clockwise or negatively by turning them the other way...and then you can see the knobs move as they’re being automated - like a hardware version of Pigments or Massive.

Favourite features (apart from the motorisation):

1. The Morph knob. Each patch can be bi-timbral and you can seamlessly morph between them. If you find a sweet spot in the middle, you can also save that to a new preset. And turning the morph knob also turns any knob that’s in a different position between layer 1 and 2 - fun to watch!
2. the phrase looper. A basic MIDI looper that can store up to 2048 notes. you can play in a phrase, loop it, quantise it and overdub. Only wish it had undo :)

So far I haven’t really found anything about it I dislike. I’m tempted to make some wooden side cheeks for it to go with the other two, but I guess the metallic look goes with the digital oscillators vs its analog roommates :D

TL;DR:

Delia is a gorgeous synth that offers the convenience of a VST (knobs always in the actual position of the patch) with the satisfaction of a well crafted hardware instrument. I’d choose it over pretty much any other poly synth.

The Poorhouse Lane Siren is an open source, standalone, single-voice dub siren built on a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W.

The audio engine runs at 48 kHz / 24-bit through a PCM5102 I2S DAC.

• Synth Engine: Sine, square, saw, and triangle waves. The pitch envelope toggle (rise/off/fall) gives you +/-3 octaves on release. The LFO hits 8 waveforms (including sample & hold and exponential rise/fall) from 0.1 to 20 Hz. The filter is a Moog-style 4-pole low-pass that self-oscillates past 85% resonance.
• Effects: All the effects are onboard. The delay switches between digital and a tape model with wobble and flutter. Mutiple reverbs to choose from like spring, Dattorro plate, FDN hall, and Schroeder, plus a "Super Drip" mode for heavy spring feedback. There's also a phaser, chorus, flanger, and tape saturator with independent wet/dry mixes. You can change the order of the FX chain across six different routings.
• Hardware: 5 rotary encoders (with two parameter banks via a Shift button), 3 buttons, a 3-position toggle, and an LED that changes color based on the active LFO wave.
• Webserver config: Hosts a webserver that can be a standalone access point or connect to your wifi. It serves a UI and JSON API for every parameter across the Live, Presets, Encoders, Options, WiFi, and System tabs in real time.

It’s open source under the Apache License 2.0. The repo includes Gerber files for the custom PCB, and the 3D-printable enclosure files are on MakerWorld.

I've built several analog sirens but wanted something hyper customizable with effects built in. This has been a really fulfilling project for me, and I hope you all enjoy it!

Repo: github.com/Clingman-Ave-Labs/poorhouse-lane-siren