Good troubleshooting. Gotta love those two-way diodes. Almost like the backwards diodes I've fixed in the past.

Wow... One two way diode presented itself by having only one key/octave to somewhat work, exept the octave where the broken diode was (that worked as it should). The other interesting symptom was that when you held the key that had the broken diode, the whole keyboard worked almost without symptoms. It also affected the front panel button behavior by making arrow keys and +/- keys act funny.

Curious: What were the symptoms with reversed diodes?

today i boxed my a4mk2 to send it off for repair sadly

to cheer myself up i am processing 808 via lyra8 distortion and its dirty delay until my ears bleed or the old bill turn up, whichever is 1st

Made another glorious patch for my Typhon / EWI combo!!

I posted this in the May New Gear Thread because I was using software I purchased recently, but in retrospect, it should have gone here. So last month I got Orb Sequencer, which is an AI-assisted MIDI sequence generator. Wasn't really getting the results I expected from it, but then I had an idea when I found out I could RYM2612 for so cheap. So I had Orb generate an "orchestral" style sequence and then played it back with this Sega Genesis emulating softsynth before carving up the sequence and laying it out to be a little less jarring to listen to.

Just because I'm a nerd, I got into reading about the sound architecture of the Genesis YM2612. The YM2612 has six channels and six-note polyphony. Channel three has the ability to make more atonal sounds (often used for drums or effects) and channel six can be repurposed as a PCM section (used for drums or sound effects in the game.) The PCM channel is generally monophonic, but if you can spare the processing in the game you're running, you can make it polyphonic with a proportional hit to the sample rate. As far as said sample-rate, There've been instances of running 8-bit and 32khz, but most of the video game music out there uses 16khz with the sample rate halved for each level of polyphony you want to use. (I.E. 16khz for two channels and 8khz for four channels.)

So even though Orb spat out some pretty cool sequences, a lot of the time I was working on this, I was shaping the sequence to better match the specifications of the Genesis. The PCM channel is reduced rate and monophonic to fit the typical Genesis soundtrack, the FM synth polyphony never goes over six notes (five when a PCM track is being used), and the number of channels is listed. For denser parts, I condensed tracks to where they used the same synth channels and reduced denser chords to two or three notes at a time.

And just to make it a little more retro, I summed everything through the PCM2612 plugin to mimic the DAC of the Genesis, slathered on some reverb (I just couldn't do the dry video game sounds), and used a cassette deck emulation to mimic the way some kid in the 90's would have recorded his video game music. All in all, as geeky as this was, this was a very fun experiment. I learned a lot about vintage sound design, and though this was intended as a one-off, I think it would be fun to come back and try again knowing what I know now, and try to make something that's closer to a 90's video game soundtrack.

You know you're going to have to record and post this for us to hear, right?

3 pairs of 1-meter balanced TRS cables arrived so I used one pair to connect my Matriarch to my mixer, to eliminate some noise I was getting with the unbalanced cables I was using.

Then while playing with the Hydrasynth I discovered I had the L/R outputs connected backwards when I reconfigured everything last weekend, so I fixed that, and also swapped in balanced cables to that synth as well.

I have a couple more synths with balanced outputs I need to swap cables on, but that will have to wait until the 2-meter ones arrive.

I also created a nice saw brass pad patch on the Hydrasynth. I was aiming for something Jupiter-ish but it ended up sounding closer to the CS80 brass from Toto's Africa. My reversed diode story dates back to 2008, when I bought a used Alesis Andromeda that had a known issue where it would lose its settings and user patches when powered down for a while. I traced it to a diode on the board that was supposed to feed the battery power to the SRAM but it was installed backwards. After fixing that it worked fine.

Sounds like a good place to install a diode wrong way. The positive side could have been improved battery life. =D

That is an incredible collection. May i ask which you enjoy playing the most or tend to gravitate towards most?

I use them all from time to time. I think I'm done with buying synths, I have more than enough now! Instead of buying a motorcycle or a sports car as a result of my divorce, I bought a pile of synths.

As for what I gravitate toward, the MODX gets used every time for bread & butter sounds (pianos etc.), Sirin for bass mostly, Take 5 and OB-6 for analog poly duties (Take 5 takes lead roles often too... it's a great lead synth). I've had those long enough to have their "roles" pretty well established. The two newcomers (Hydrasynth Deluxe and Matriarch) are in the "honeymoon period". I love sound design on the Hydrasynth, and the Matriarch is good fun too.

Probably the Neutron gets used least, but I do enjoy it when I do start messing with it. I rarely jam with drums, but when I do, the Model:Samples is great for that.

I'm going to keep my setup as it is for a while now (maybe add a 2nd mixer so I have extra inputs) and see where I go as far as synths that get used more or less, and maybe downsize some once the dust settles. Or I may move some pieces to a smaller tabletop "jamming setup".

So while researching how to better emulate the sound of a Genesis, I found out that there's a whole other chip onboard that I wasn't aware of. Also found a better way to emulate the PCM channel while I was at it. So here's a club-friendly EBM track for you, brought to you by Sega!

Have you checked out the MegaFM?

Woke up early, put on headphones and did some Vangelis tribute jams. Hydrasynth + OB-6 layered does great Bladerunner.

I would be 110% onboard with getting one (since I seem to be geeking out over Sega sounds so hard lately), but it's only mono-timbral, doesn't address the PSG chip, and doesn't process samples. I'm not sure where the heck I'm going with all of this, but I'm trying to at least remain loyal to the architecture of the Genesis. I thought I was going to be leaning hard on the Inphonik plugin, but doing some research, I found a freeware plugin called Genny (the one used for the above track) that can emulate the FM sounds, the PSG sounds, and can mimic the PCM channel. Editing FM sounds on Genny isn't as easy/fun as on RYM2612, but I think by putting the PCM2612 plugin on the master and using Genny for the individual channels, I can get a lot closer to the sound of the Genesis. If this ends being a thing I want to get knee-deep into, there's this thing called MegaMIDI that has both of the chips on there and is only $180.

Yeah yeah yeah. But it's amazing. Definitely not a bread and butter all-rounder synth but it does that Game Stop chip synth stuff in spades and it does dark and foreboding. I mean DARK AND FOREBODING. Glitchy nonsense. It's divine. I might pick up more of their stuff like that new drum machine of theirs. Mmmmmm

Got my 2022 replacement analogue setup in place, after having to remove the perFOURmer for maintenance.

From Top to Bottom

Behringer K-2 on top on Korg MS-20Kit (stereo pair)
Vermona '14 also as MIDI controller for stereo pair mono
Dreadbox Abyss which are below the '14.

(The perFOURmer normally goes where the 2 Abyss are-but they are emergency replacements)

Oh yeah those digital things on the right are a Korg Modwave on top of a Waldorf Blofeld.

Playing lots of Vangelis inspired stuff today.

TR-8 came in yesterday, so I hooked it and the TB-3 up and set them up with the other grooveboxes in Studio B. I had a fun little jam, and I like programming the TB-3, but I think I prefer the sound of the TD-3. There might be some rearranging coming up soon, especially since more and more, I think the Virus, NDLR, and MPC One should be in the main studio and not the goof-off station.

I'm getting into the drone zone today by layering about 7-8 sound sources. Sounds nice.

I used my Novation Remote SL 37 and Roland XV-3080 to test that the software I develop works also in Windows in addition to OSX where I usually develop it.

I got some longer midi cables so I relocated the NDLR to a more convenient spot. Maybe now I'll start using it more.



I also zip tied my patchamacable organamizer to my Jaspers stand. So now my patchamacables are organamized and easily accessible when I am patching.

Finished my new ambient track called "Inflection Points".
Headphones are recommended for best listening.

Gear used in production;

Arturia PolyBrute,
Arturia MatrixBrute,
ASM Hydrasynth,
Moog Matriarch,
Sequential Prophet XL,
Tasty Chips GR-1,
Waldorf Iridium,
1010 Music BitBox Micro,
Studio Electronics Tonestart 2600,
4MS Ensemble Oscillator,
vpme.de Quad Drum Voice,
Neuzeit Instruments Quasar,
Roland TS-8S,

I played with some software I got last week. 1bit Dragon is like a mini DAW for people unfamiliar with theory. Basically you pick a scale, and then draw in the notes you want to play on each part. While I'll admit it was cool because it's an unusual way of working, I don't think I'll ever do anything productive with it.

DefleMask on the other hand was much more fun. It's basically an emulation of the sound portion of a few old video game platforms (C64, Master System, Genesis, NES, Gameboy, and a few others) but all put in a nice comfortable tracker environment. I had a blast exploring different video game sound engines and feeling out how they work. My only beef with it is that most trackers work slightly different from one another (particularly as far as keyboard shortcuts) so I was having a difficult time adjusting. Unfortunately, it doesn't import/export MIDI, so I can't just program in a different environment and move it over. I think if I use it for anything, it'll be to put together loops and then shoot them over to Renoise or Reaper.

So I switched back to Genny for my Genesis needs, spent a little more time with it, and felt very comfortable with it because I can run it as a VST in Renoise. If anything comes of this whole Genesis fetish, it's going to be with Genny. It feels weird that the best Genesis sound system is freeware, but there you have it. I'm toying with the idea of getting a MegaMIDI to go with it. MegaMIDI is basically the YS2612, SN76489, and a DAC similar to the Genesis all on one USB-powered board. You can send VGM files (like what Genny can record and export) and MIDI, and have your sounds playing through the real hardware. Neato!

Have to say the Strymon El Capistan is awesome.

I gave some synths/drums on the TO SELL LIST the El Capistan test for a sober second thought.

Microbrute, was selling, now it sounds great through the E.C.-not selling now.
Tom Cat, was selling, and still am!

It really warms up a Blofeld, as I always program it sans effects (on 99% of my patches)
It beefs up my Modwave as it gives the built in effects some extra beef.

Maybe if I still had my Timbre Wolf I would have kept it!

Running the E.C. into a Strymon Deco really adds something, as they are my ONLY outboard effects on the effects return of my 2404VLZ4 , I had to use something that hopefully kicked the sound up a notch.

And they do!

Groovy!


Soundfile is Microbrute through El Capistan test.
backed up by Vermona '14 at end.

I actually got a lot accomplished yesterday.

First thing is that it'd been bugging me that my little NDLR/Virus/MPC setup was part of the extra workstation in the dining room. The placement of each piece was awkward and not very ergonomic. I'd been meaning to put this setup in the main workstation, but I couldn't figure out where until it occurred to me to just put them front and center. The downside to this new setup is that now I have no keyboards in the main studio. This isn't too big of a problem since I mostly program with trackers anyway, but I do want to get a keyboard back into the mix eventually so I can at least more easily control velocity during note entry.



The second thing is that I reorganized the grooveboxes in the dining room. I have everything setup in MIDI chains, but I wasn't entirely happy with how those chains turned out and the placement of those synths. Pulling out the MPC One gave me some extra room, and I set up the following groupings:

1. Electribe 2 & 2S
2. Liven XFM, 8Bit Warps, and B&B
3. Model: Samples, Model: Cycles, Uno Drum, and Uno Synth
4. TR-8, TB-3, TD-3, and Circuit Rhythm

The Electribe and Liven groups just make sense to me since they're pretty much complete synth groups. I jammed with the other two groups to test them out. The Models and Unos are a unique group, but I feel like it lacks synth power and puts too much focus on drums. The TR,TB,TD,Circuit group on the other hand were a blast. I shot a quick video of a jam to a friend, but I might try working on it and making it a full-fledged track. And @ Bignatius was evil enough to point out that there's still a little bit of space left for another small groovebox or two. That bastard.



I've still got the video and DJ section of the dining room to go. Hopefully I can have enough gumption when I get home from work today to tackle that project.

wow how do you get the time.
i used to try loads of software, download loads of freeware, and free VSTs.

and then hardware reared its head again. i'd been doing really well allaying my addiction with free VST .. (i could stash thousands of virtual gearz on a hard drive, and *nobody knew*, thought i'd dumped all that foolishness)

but you... you have crates of modular, a... throughput of various boxen... and you still BUY software - which presumably you're going to have time to use a handful of times ... ? is this harsh? - just speaking from my own experience. i love my little softwares really, was quite happy twiddling with that. if i think of the number of things i've downloaded and installed, thought yeh that's great for xyz, (and then you reinstall your system at some point, and you forget all about it - so my dream/vision of Ultimate Freeware Experience always gets smashed up by that, so why even bother with commercial software..) and then you never use it as much as you should, before the next thing comes along. (think i got it in a nutshell there eh)

It's very simple really: I don't. I just set them up and play with them for the most part. I go years without any musical output. It's very exciting!

that box collection is looking good with the Liven stuff.
what do you think of the Uno Drum (and synth?)

Ha! Derp and I are kindred spirits!

I like those wire shelves!
Great system!