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Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

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Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#61

Post by fractallyte »

freeflight wrote: post #33

I wish I would understand even a fraction of the stuff that's going on with software synths. Every couple of years I get this fancy idea of "I'd really like to create some sounds/music", which usually ends up with me aimlessly manipulating digital knobs and switches on some massive UI, creating weird sounds with no real structure and changing all the default settings. The other option being something like FruityLoops…

Intuitive way to understand the concepts and terms behind (subtractive) synthesis: Your mouth and vocal tract!

Open your mouth in a 'neutral' position and make a sound. That's an oscillator. Tensing your throat will change the waveform (on a synth that would be square, pulse, sawtooth).

Purse and widen your lips, make a 'wow' sound: that's a low-pass filter (which cuts off higher sound frequencies).

Make a 'shhh' sound: white noise. Purse your lips, make it sound like wind blowing: band-pass filter (which only lets certain frequencies through).

Turn that wind noise into a whistle: now you're adding filter resonance. As that noise becomes a pure tone, the filter becomes self-oscillating.

Add some vibrato to your sound (like an opera singer), or change the pitch (like a siren), and you're adding modulation.

Doing this in a room, or large hall: now you're changing the reverb (reverberation). In a canyon with echoes: delay.

Often, this is also a useful method to work out how to program a subtle or complicated patch (a sound preset on a synth, so named because early modular synths used telephone patch cables to make the necessary connections).

Aside: I've often wondered what a human choir, making 'synthy' sounds, would be able to do with something like Jarre's classic Oxygène IV...

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#62

Post by vortico »

nimmen wrote: post #21

Strangely xodular or automatonism don't get much coverage, I guess that "nice" UI did skyrocket vcv rack

The Fundamental modules included with Rack and all other VCV-branded modules are designed by Grayscale, also responsible for the panel design of a dozen Eurorack manufactures on the market. http://grayscale.info/design-services/

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#63

Post by soundwave106 »

privong wrote: post #58
soundwave106 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my opinion, though, subtractive synthesis is the easiest to "get". Starting with a relatively simple subtractive software synth that uses primitive "analog" waveforms -- like, say, Tal-Uno-62 ( https://tal-software.com/products/tal-u-no-62 ) -- is probably the best way to play around with learning synthesis. It's a lot harder to create a "bad" sound in a simple subtractive synth, and in something like Tal-Uno-62,…

> In my opinion, though, subtractive synthesis is the easiest to "get". Interesting, for me additive is the most intuitive. I find it easier to visualize sums of sine waves than subtracting harmonics from a more complex waveform (such as a sawtooth), particularly when considering the use of notch or bandpass filters. But that may have a lot to do with my education, which featured a heavy dose of Fourier Transforms an…

I think the biggest "issue" with additive is that it can be complex to program at its most low-level implementation. I'm thinking of stuff like the K5000 where you could not only set the initial volume of a partial, but every partial had an envelope to control volume. Extremely powerful, but on more complex patches that's a lot of envelopes to think about.

On the other hand, "simple" additive with relatively few partials is actually pretty easy too. (The Hammond B3 and other tonewheel organs are essentially additive synthesizers.) A lot of software (your Alchemys and Razors) is built on a simplified version of additive too, or uses additive techniques to perform "resynthesis", or has other tools that "simplify" some of the additive editing.

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#64

Post by freeflight »

fractallyte wrote: post #61
freeflight wrote: post #33

I wish I would understand even a fraction of the stuff that's going on with software synths. Every couple of years I get this fancy idea of "I'd really like to create some sounds/music", which usually ends up with me aimlessly manipulating digital knobs and switches on some massive UI, creating weird sounds with no real structure and changing all the default settings. The other option being something like FruityLoops…

Intuitive way to understand the concepts and terms behind (subtractive) synthesis: Your mouth and vocal tract! Open your mouth in a 'neutral' position and make a sound. That's an oscillator . Tensing your throat will change the waveform (on a synth that would be square, pulse, sawtooth). Purse and widen your lips, make a 'wow' sound: that's a low-pass filter (which cuts off higher sound frequencies). Make a 'shhh' so…

Thank you, that's already quite helpful!

But how to end up with actual music/a melody doing this? Do you manipulate the sound live? Do you record different samples, made that way, and stick them together with a sequencer? Or do you switch between different, predefined, patches on the fly to kinda "play" it like an instrument?

Sorry if these questions are basic, but this has always fascinated me with synth music: Creating beautiful melodies out of something that starts out pretty much just as "noise", it's kinda like magic.

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#65

Post by freeflight »

epicide wrote: post #55
freeflight wrote: post #33

I wish I would understand even a fraction of the stuff that's going on with software synths. Every couple of years I get this fancy idea of "I'd really like to create some sounds/music", which usually ends up with me aimlessly manipulating digital knobs and switches on some massive UI, creating weird sounds with no real structure and changing all the default settings. The other option being something like FruityLoops…

I think part of it is that you're conflating writing music with sound design. They often go hand-in-hand but are two different skills. Kind of like programming vs (video) game design. For example, you don't have to design a flute in order to play one. Unlike synthesizers, most instruments can't change (much of) their sound. Organs are probably the most versatile in that regard, but they achieve it basically through b…

> I think part of it is that you're conflating writing music with sound design.

That's a distinction I've totally missed until now, as you pointed out, I've mostly thought about synths like they are traditional music instruments, which ain't really the case and as such added a lot to my confusion about "How to make something other than noise with this?".

Thank you for, yet another, very helpful comment! I'm literally blown away by the sheer number, and quality, of useful resources and information being shared here. Kudos to the HN community!

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#66

Post by ahultgren »

jedanbik wrote: post #47
freeflight wrote: post #33

I wish I would understand even a fraction of the stuff that's going on with software synths. Every couple of years I get this fancy idea of "I'd really like to create some sounds/music", which usually ends up with me aimlessly manipulating digital knobs and switches on some massive UI, creating weird sounds with no real structure and changing all the default settings. The other option being something like FruityLoops…

This frustration is why Korg sold so many Minilogues last year. Check out this Minilogue review playlist by Marc Doty of Automatic Gainsay. You can see what's happening on the oscilloscope while he's explaining things. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAGrtvdn2CyYwV6gxgiXv...

Now i'm looking at ableton live wondering: where's an instrument/vst as simple as that thing? There are endless "instruments" with weird knobs and then there's effects and whatever. Is Live the wrong tool if i just want to create a nice sound and then record something and then put some tracks together?

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#67

Post by romaniv »

kilon wrote: post #29

Well software has been able to recreate analog sound sine 1997 when I started working seriously with computer mudic. The problem back then was that in order to make a faithful emulation that would need quite a lot of processing power. But back then I had a 200 mhz Pentium , nowdays I have a 3.4 Quad Core. Modern soft synths sound quality wise can dance around analogy synths , in depth , quality and versatility. Not t…

> The edge for vintage analogue synths was the fact that they offer more hand on control but with the wealth of midi controls that come with a wide array of presets support many software synths its still not much of a good reason to pick a hardware synth.

There are at least two fundamentally flawed assumptions behind your post.

1. Electronic music isn't just about endless options and capabilities. Endless options give you endless search space to navigate.

2. The idea that generic computers are always better than dedicated hardware is rather archaic, because with modern technology you can integrate powerful computers into dedicated hardware very cheaply.

There is a huge difference between using a fully integrated, though-out hardware synthesizer versus using a MIDI controller mapped to some plugin in a DAW. There is a reason thousands of musicians still buy analog gear, VA synths and fully digital FX pedals.

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#68

Post by romaniv »

freeflight wrote: post #64
fractallyte wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Intuitive way to understand the concepts and terms behind (subtractive) synthesis: Your mouth and vocal tract! Open your mouth in a 'neutral' position and make a sound. That's an oscillator . Tensing your throat will change the waveform (on a synth that would be square, pulse, sawtooth). Purse and widen your lips, make a 'wow' sound: that's a low-pass filter (which cuts off higher sound frequencies). Make a 'shhh' so…

Thank you, that's already quite helpful! But how to end up with actual music/a melody doing this? Do you manipulate the sound live? Do you record different samples, made that way, and stick them together with a sequencer? Or do you switch between different, predefined, patches on the fly to kinda "play" it like an instrument? Sorry if these questions are basic, but this has always fascinated me with synth music: Crea…

There are tons of different workflows to create electronic music. You can record sounds (and different instruments) linearly in layers. You can play a single keyboard set up in some clever way that allows you to trigger and control multiple virtual instruments at once (often with the help of arpeggiators or something like KARMA). You can use a looper. You can set up a step sequencer that plays notes in a loop while you manipulate both sounds and melody in some way in real-time. You can set up some gear to procedurally trigger sounds, which is what modular racks are often used for (look up "krell patch"). Or you can do several of these things at once, possibly in a group.

Re: Open source modular synth software lets you create 70s & 80s electronic music

#70

Post by epicide »

veli_joza wrote: post #22
cjsuk wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. The phrases "menu" and "software update" are what kills all tactile electronic instruments of various kinds. This is the same for electronic test equipment as well. There are so many features crammed in new devices, even if you manage to get enough controls for the basic cases on the front panel, a lot is still hidden in nested menus galore and they aren't necessarily sensible or discoverable or even work proper…

The UX of digital equipment _really_ sucks. At first I thought it was because it was a new technology still in infancy, but things haven't improved since and we are still emulating analog controls. VST interfaces often have static background image (skin) and 'knobs' you control with your mouse. Actual hardware usually features rotary encoder or buttons to navigate the menu system with several layers of depth. This is…

I would absolutely love to one day own an OP-1. Teenage Engineering does amazing work. All of their stuff has a certain tactility to it. They definitely put a lot of thought and love into their work.

For those that can't justify spending about $1k for one, their Pocket Operator series is pretty fantastic.

I also recently bought myself a Novation Circuit, which honestly has the feeling of Teenage Engineering's interface design (minus a lot of the whimsy). For about $300, it's a fantastic little groovebox that I'll be getting a LOT of mileage out of.

Edit: formatting.

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