Musikmesse 2010 - Frankfurt, Germany

  On 3/26/2010 at 2:49 AM, Brandi_B said:

Indeed!

 

http://www.feeltune.com/

 

From a messe report from a synth forum user that went:

 

  Quote

What is it? It's actually really clever - a custom sequencer running on a stripped down Windows XP and a powerful set of guts (Intel Core 2 at 3 GHz) and a 24" screen partially covered by the UI, with an RME audio interface inside.

 

Unlike a Receptor, this means all your plugins just run the way they're supposed to and don't have to be made compatible. It's got a sort of mapper built in for VST parameters - so sort of like how Ableton creates a bunch of sliders for all parameters, this does the same and you can immediately access them by means of the row of rotaries and a matrix. This is the x0x-counterpart to the more MPC-like OpenLabs solution.

 

 

wow that sounds promising, the idea of being able to use an interface with multiple vsts of reaktor is very enticing

Waldorf have updated the PPG vst plugin to include waveterm capabilities. More info coming...All I can find is a video in German w/o subtitles.

Also I was thinking re: Electribes and the elektron updates to machine drum. So they have all this uber storage now right. But can't they still only work with the original specs of what can be loaded into the machine at one time? Ie Machine drums 2.5 MB(or whatever low number).

I need to fish around for this. Cuz if you can have all that storage in the machine drum now, it may have just made it on my buy list. I can't really justify paying $700 for another electribe that hasn't been updated in any other way but storage, as storage was typically the least of my worries with the electribes (had no prob using one SM card per song).

the strength of the machinedrum lies in it's synthesis, the sampling is cool and the rettigger is IDM tastic but unless you're in love with drum synthesis id stick with the korg electribe

lol Frankfurt is next door, I never realized they have such amazing stuff there.

Specs for Das Ubersynth from some German synth mag via somebody on AH

  Quote

- 4 oscillators, two filters (multimode 2pole lp/hp/bp/n + moog style

4pole), 2 mod busses, 1 lfo, osc4 switchable to be a second lfo, two

amp envelopes and vcas, pan

 

- oscillators: 32' - 1', each has a tune knob (+- 5 semitones) and a

knob for modulation depth from the busses (dunno which osc from what

bus), each has waveforms sin/tri/saw/square/low duty cycle 1/low duty

cycle 2. The last two waveforms look like 25% and 12.5% but it's not

mentioned and all i'm going by is the drawing on the panel!

 

- more oscillator stuff: soft sync osc 1-2, ringmod osc 1-2, hardsync

osc 3-4, crossmod osc 3-4, cv can be turned off for osc 4. All those

things are via switches at the bottom of the osc section. osc 4

switchable to lfo via the range knob. Osc 4 can be used as an FM

source through the mod busses.

 

- oscillators are said to be 'temperature controlled', and then Achim

Helmstedt talks about how after a 5 minute warm-up the synthesizer is

good to go.

 

- filter input routing: each input has a level knob (i expect it to be

possible to make nice distortion at this stage) and can be routed to

filter 1, 2 or 1+2. Inputs are osc1/2/3/4, noise and ext. There's an

overload indicator for the ext in.

 

- the same section has midi activity diodes and midi learn buttons for

midi 1/2. Dunno what they do.

 

- noise switchable to pink or white

 

- each filter has knobs for cutoff/res/env/modulation depth. Filters

self-oscillate. Env comes from each respective adsr envelope. The mod

knob changes mod depth from each of the CV busses. Each filter can

have kb follow turned off, envelopes can be inverted.

 

- output stage: two adsr envelopes one for each VCA (I assume osc 1-2

go to vca1 and osc 3-4 go to vca2). Pan sections for vca1/2. Each vca

has a 'manual pan' knob. There are rotary switches called 'select amp

1/2' with the settings off/kbcv/mod wheel/pitch wheel/mod-fix/manual.

I assume the 'manual' is when the manual pan knobs do something,

although it would be nice if they did 'something' either way, working

as an offset, via a CV mixer. Mod wheel means that the modulation goes

through the mod wheel and then to the pan; mod fix means the

modulation doesn't go through the mod wheel and is always present;

pitch wheel means the pitch wheel pans left/right. Master volume knob,

headphone volume knob.

 

- 440Hz switch

 

- power switch on the front panel (huh?)

 

- modulation and routing (this panel is all the way to the left): two

cv buses with separate tune (+/- 5 semitones) and portamento speed.

Pitch wheel column: osc select: off/1/2/3/4/1-4; destination:

osc/filter/pitch/pan; pitchwhell range knob. Mod.fix column: source:

tri/saw/neg saw/ s&h/osc4/env1/env2; dest: osc/filter/pitch/pan;

mod.fix range knob. Mod wheel column: source: tri/saw/neg

saw/s&h/osc4/env1/env2; destination: osc/filter/pitch/pan; mod.wheel

range knob. Below those 4 columns is a row with the lfo rate knob; rdm

rate (i assume it's the rate of the random S&H, but no idea really);

velocity: off/filt1/filt2/filt1+2 (controlling the cutoff). Below that

switches: sync lfo (i assume it's the gate sync that he talks about in

the article); cv lfo; s&h source: rdm/osc4; cv1: keyboard/mod1;

cv-split (on/off). LFO goes from 30 sec to 45 Hz. It isn't really

explained what 'rdm' actually is, I assume it's a funny shortening for

'random' and means the s&h samples noise and not osc 4. I suggest

changing it to 'rand' which is the normal shortening, 'rdm' is going

to confuse everyone.

 

- can be played as two separate monosynths each with 2 osc (osc 1/2 or

3/4) + 1 filter. This can be done when cv-split is 'on' in which case

it suddenly makes sense why there are two portamento knobs, although

separate portamento for oscillators can sound nice in its own regard.

 

- wooden pitch/mod wheels. If someone likes something like this..

surface might be too slick for my taste, but I haven't tried them in

person.

 

- potentiometers so no fail in that regard

  On 3/24/2010 at 7:08 PM, Ramses said:

Haven't had one in my possession so I haven't "used it," but I can certainly form an opinion based around all that I've listened to.

It seems as if every time I've heard the monomachine or machinedrum it has sounded like death, which encourages me to try out something else at the music store.

You seem very fond of them so if I run into one again I'll be sure to give it a good tweaking.

i recommend you give "untilted" by this group "autechre" a listen

  On 3/27/2010 at 8:41 PM, bigs said:

  On 3/24/2010 at 7:08 PM, Ramses said:

Haven't had one in my possession so I haven't "used it," but I can certainly form an opinion based around all that I've listened to.

It seems as if every time I've heard the monomachine or machinedrum it has sounded like death, which encourages me to try out something else at the music store.

You seem very fond of them so if I run into one again I'll be sure to give it a good tweaking.

i recommend you give "untilted" by this group "autechre" a listen

Yeah if I used internets as the basis for what the electribes can do, I would've never considered them. Due to it's easy interface (same with machine drum) it has a wide market appeal and just having the money to be able to afford it and then throw a demo up on youtube doesn't really mean that much.

It's all about what you do with it and how you can push it. I've fit very complex songs into the esx. Whether they are considered "good" or not is irrelevant, b/c I know how much stuff I crammed into them, and how you can get around the limitations of the machine with creative sampling and re-sampling. Same goes for the machine drum, but it's just so limited with the sample space.

And re: awepittance...I do love drum synthesis and I'm still waiting for korg to put out a fully fledged ER-1 update, or DSI/Linn to put out the Linn Drum 2. Till then the machine drum seems the best option, but I like samples b/c I can make the drum sounds with my synths then just sample em into the box and be good to go. That's what really appeals to me about the machine drum, but until there's more sample space to work with, it's not really something I have any interest in owning.

  On 3/27/2010 at 1:00 PM, analogue wings said:

Specs for Das Ubersynth from some German synth mag via somebody on AH

 

 

  Quote

- 4 oscillators, two filters (multimode 2pole lp/hp/bp/n + moog style

4pole), 2 mod busses, 1 lfo, osc4 switchable to be a second lfo, two

amp envelopes and vcas, pan

 

- oscillators: 32' - 1', each has a tune knob (+- 5 semitones) and a

knob for modulation depth from the busses (dunno which osc from what

bus), each has waveforms sin/tri/saw/square/low duty cycle 1/low duty

cycle 2. The last two waveforms look like 25% and 12.5% but it's not

mentioned and all i'm going by is the drawing on the panel!

 

- more oscillator stuff: soft sync osc 1-2, ringmod osc 1-2, hardsync

osc 3-4, crossmod osc 3-4, cv can be turned off for osc 4. All those

things are via switches at the bottom of the osc section. osc 4

switchable to lfo via the range knob. Osc 4 can be used as an FM

source through the mod busses.

 

- oscillators are said to be 'temperature controlled', and then Achim

Helmstedt talks about how after a 5 minute warm-up the synthesizer is

good to go.

 

- filter input routing: each input has a level knob (i expect it to be

possible to make nice distortion at this stage) and can be routed to

filter 1, 2 or 1+2. Inputs are osc1/2/3/4, noise and ext. There's an

overload indicator for the ext in.

 

- the same section has midi activity diodes and midi learn buttons for

midi 1/2. Dunno what they do.

 

- noise switchable to pink or white

 

- each filter has knobs for cutoff/res/env/modulation depth. Filters

self-oscillate. Env comes from each respective adsr envelope. The mod

knob changes mod depth from each of the CV busses. Each filter can

have kb follow turned off, envelopes can be inverted.

 

- output stage: two adsr envelopes one for each VCA (I assume osc 1-2

go to vca1 and osc 3-4 go to vca2). Pan sections for vca1/2. Each vca

has a 'manual pan' knob. There are rotary switches called 'select amp

1/2' with the settings off/kbcv/mod wheel/pitch wheel/mod-fix/manual.

I assume the 'manual' is when the manual pan knobs do something,

although it would be nice if they did 'something' either way, working

as an offset, via a CV mixer. Mod wheel means that the modulation goes

through the mod wheel and then to the pan; mod fix means the

modulation doesn't go through the mod wheel and is always present;

pitch wheel means the pitch wheel pans left/right. Master volume knob,

headphone volume knob.

 

- 440Hz switch

 

- power switch on the front panel (huh?)

 

- modulation and routing (this panel is all the way to the left): two

cv buses with separate tune (+/- 5 semitones) and portamento speed.

Pitch wheel column: osc select: off/1/2/3/4/1-4; destination:

osc/filter/pitch/pan; pitchwhell range knob. Mod.fix column: source:

tri/saw/neg saw/ s&h/osc4/env1/env2; dest: osc/filter/pitch/pan;

mod.fix range knob. Mod wheel column: source: tri/saw/neg

saw/s&h/osc4/env1/env2; destination: osc/filter/pitch/pan; mod.wheel

range knob. Below those 4 columns is a row with the lfo rate knob; rdm

rate (i assume it's the rate of the random S&H, but no idea really);

velocity: off/filt1/filt2/filt1+2 (controlling the cutoff). Below that

switches: sync lfo (i assume it's the gate sync that he talks about in

the article); cv lfo; s&h source: rdm/osc4; cv1: keyboard/mod1;

cv-split (on/off). LFO goes from 30 sec to 45 Hz. It isn't really

explained what 'rdm' actually is, I assume it's a funny shortening for

'random' and means the s&h samples noise and not osc 4. I suggest

changing it to 'rand' which is the normal shortening, 'rdm' is going

to confuse everyone.

 

- can be played as two separate monosynths each with 2 osc (osc 1/2 or

3/4) + 1 filter. This can be done when cv-split is 'on' in which case

it suddenly makes sense why there are two portamento knobs, although

separate portamento for oscillators can sound nice in its own regard.

 

- wooden pitch/mod wheels. If someone likes something like this..

surface might be too slick for my taste, but I haven't tried them in

person.

 

- potentiometers so no fail in that regard

Aaand it was on show at NAMM too.

"For you? Twenty-five thousand euros"

Lol was this really worth it?