Full demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-tqTmVrC1E
mods:
"The Star-Spangled Banner" arrangement was adapted from the Sousa/Damrosch band version.
i want to buy my first synth for ambient/noise/drone music.
i want it to be a second instrument in a live set, i play guitar and bass with tons of reverb, looping, etc. i want it to be fairly easy to play and i would like to find it in the used market.
i would like to not need a computer in a live setup but dont mind needing to install something, i would also like it to be able to connect pedals to it!
thanks!
(pd: maybe i need a sampler?)
Picked up an old 106 for pretty cheap in the Olympic Peninsula this weekend. Has a little static which I attribute to the original chips with the coating still on, but I’ll let my tech person figure that out.
It was priced super cheap. Too cheap to pass up, and now I have 2. Thinking of MAYBE trying to tour with it.
That’s a big maybe bc I’m not sure how fragile these things are. Anyone out there tour with one of these these days?
Weirdly there does feel like an open, airy quality to a sine wave. Triangles aren't all that firey... But saws? 100%. Squares definitely have a deep earthiness to them.
Maybe I'm talking nonsense though. What do you think?
Been spending this heatwave inside adding an external out to my "new" casio pt-87. How do we feel about these little toy synths? This one has some decent sounds for my tastes at least.
Been working on a VST3 called Lumen. It's completely free and open source. The core idea: drag any image onto it and it becomes a playable instrument. Everything runs locally. No AI, no cloud, just math.
Download: https://www.kaziahmed.net/lumen
Repo: https://github.com/pixelsncodes/lumen/
How the image engine works:
Scan mode: converts the image to grayscale, samples 64 horizontal rows, and each row's brightness curve becomes one wavetable frame (resampled to 2048 points, DC-corrected, normalized). So morphing the wavetable position literally travels down the photo, and a scanline animates across the image in sync. A smooth gradient gives you evolving pad tones. A brick wall gives you buzzy harmonic combs.
Spectral mode: treats the image as a spectrogram instead. Vertical position maps to frequency (log-scaled, ~30 Hz to 16 kHz), brightness drives the amplitude of sine partials in an additive resynthesis bank. Basically the ANS synthesizer trick from the 1950s.
Chroma mapping: reads the color statistics and sets the patch around the waveform. Mean hue picks the filter type, saturation drives resonance and unison detune, brightness sets envelope attack, edge density (Sobel filter) adds drive and noise, hue variance sets LFO depth. The image designs the whole patch, not just the oscillator.
Beyond the image stuff it's a normal wavetable synth: 2 osc + sub/noise, SVF filter (audio-rate-modulation safe), 3 env / 3 LFO / mod matrix, drive-chorus-delay-reverb, 4 macros. C++20, JUCE 8. Presets store the generated wavetable data itself (not a file path), so projects recall bit-exactly even if the original photo is gone.
Second image is the "lens" panel with a bunch of test images. Every one of those thumbnails sounds completely different. Fourth image is the signal flow if you're curious about the architecture.
Happy to go deep on any of the DSP in the comments. Also open to feature ideas. MPE and a wavetable editor are on the maybe-list for v2.
cooked up a new patch for my new Dungeon Synth project, Spell Warden. The short performance is one take, I really should get a tripod to record while I play. The Prologue has become my go-to for these types of tracks, it just does ”the vibe” so well.
My SO heard me playing and said ”this reminds me of Ladyhawke” … I don’t know she knew how high of a compliment that was, but I’ll take it!
Hi everyone,
Already posted a similar post but i am after anothers suggestions / opinions…
I’ve owned quite a few synths over the years, including the Edge. The ones I’ve kept are:
Roland SH-01A
Toraiz AS-1
I also have:
Digitakt II
Various VST plugins
I make EBM, Industrial Techno, and I’m looking for a synth with a very different character :
Something that can bring grit, aggression, rough basses, basslines and sequences, and wild modulation. Basically, I’m after an instant industrial weapon of a machine.
In your opinion, which synth would be the best choice for that?
Thanks !
✌️
Hi, i’ve been going through my old belongings and found this yamaha groovebox thing. Given the state of it i’m assuming it isnt worth much, but i was wondering what yall would value it at?
Im not too much into music so was unsure whether to sell it, or repair it with 3d printing and gift it.
Sorry if this isnt the place for this, idk much about it so was just looking around.
It was pretty easy to assemble, it doesn't take up much space, and it can be folded into a slim stand for transport. You can also adjust the angle of the top section. If anyone's interested, I can measure all the parts and write down the dimensions so you can build it too.
The Roland Jupiter-8 has been around for over 40 years, yet it still seems to be one of the most recognizable synthesizers ever made.
Its sound has appeared on countless records across pop, synthwave, electronic, and film music. Even today, many software plugins and modern hardware synths try to capture its character.
But I sometimes wonder how much of its reputation comes from nostalgia versus its actual sound and workflow.
If the Jupiter-8 were released for the first time today without its legendary status do you think it would still be considered one of the greatest analog synthesizers ever made?
I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially from people who have actually played one.
I bought a Roland XV.5080.
I'm looking for a music editor for Windows. If you know of one or use one...
Then I saw this fantastic video:
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orwS6snZuwg&t=487s •
I'm contacting you to see if anyone uses this sampling method, and if burning CDs with WAV files works?
Thanks, the Gang
The other day, when I asked on this forum, “What’s your favorite 4-operator FM synth?” many people mentioned the TX81Z, so when I came across a used one, I couldn’t resist buying it. I really love how, thanks to the added operator waveforms and frequency fine cource controls, I can get a gritty sound similar to the Prophet’s poly-mod. It sounds just like a musical air vent.
Hello everyone, I really enjoy NIN industrial and gritty sounds lately and wanted to get myself a good synthesizer/digital/MIDI piano whatever it is. What’s the best suggestion to start from scratch ?
Recently the Minilab 37 caught my attention because Minilab3 is not capable for 2 hands play. Thanks you the help!
Hello!
I've recently got back into my trusty DAW after 15 years and am having lots of fun. Would anyone be so kind as to tell me how to re-create the effect on this track that goes up and down in frequency? I figure tremolo is involved and perhaps some sort of EQ sweep? But am unsure as to what the clean source sound would be also.
Thanks in advance and have a great rest of your weekend.
Covered a lap desk for books with velcro, put some strips on my gear to stick to it and now I can carry and play it on my lap, hehe.
Edit: by creating a blank track/channel and going to Edit - press B- File - Add- select an already recorded main - add it to the blank track - can now playback recorded main mix. (Only issue now is the volume is way lower than that of the actual recorded tracks that are separate from the main, not sure why it’s like that or how to fix it as even raising the volume still makes it lack some punch that gets lost.
I can record to specific tracks but the master alone will not record at all unless a track is armed along with the master.
I also can’t record FX to the recording at all in either state, while recording or after recording, though I can hear them being applied they just don’t record, tried several options within the menu and nothing allows me to record the built in fx for playback.
Manual is zero help with understanding this and I can’t find anything online about this, anyone who owns one and has experience with it if you could help me out it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Is this by design or is it possible I’ve got a bunk piece of gear?
Please help!