NAMM 2016 : The thread

loving last nights mix, great selection

I don't really need any of these new NAMM things, but I need them.

Some of them anyway.

  On 1/22/2016 at 11:35 AM, Salem1976 said:

I have to have that volca FM.

Yeah, I think it may have killed my latent FB-20 lust. FM heads please correct me if it has any advantage over this guy besides the extra 5 notes of polyphony.

I mean, if I'm understanding right, we're looking at a fully programmable, DX7-compatible, 6-operator FM synth with a built-in sequencer that can sync up to an analog clock. And if it doesn't break the volca mold, it will probably will cost less than 200 USD, run on batteries, and its MIDI spec will provide control of most parameters. Other limitations aside, that is the kind of synth I literally used to dream about. I can hardly believe this is really going to be released. As far as I can tell, this is a must-buy.

yeah I was just thinking that it'd be really nice to sync with nanoloop on gameboy

  On 1/22/2016 at 3:35 PM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 1/22/2016 at 11:35 AM, Salem1976 said:

I have to have that volca FM.

Yeah, I think it may have killed my latent FB-20 lust. FM heads please correct me if it has any advantage over this guy besides the extra 5 notes of polyphony.

 

I mean, if I'm understanding right, we're looking at a fully programmable, DX7-compatible, 6-operator FM synth with a built-in sequencer that can sync up to an analog clock. And if it doesn't break the volca mold, it will probably will cost less than 200 USD, run on batteries, and its MIDI spec will provide control of most parameters. Other limitations aside, that is the kind of synth I literally used to dream about. I can hardly believe this is really going to be released. As far as I can tell, this is a must-buy.

I'm not familiar with the synth you are comparing but it's likely that the 8 voice fm will also be 8 part multi timbral. I think the volca is just 3 note poly which is still cool but you can't use it as a 8 voice drum machine with all those thousands of sounds available to build up kits. Maybe you can use the motion sequence like p-locks to program beats???

Still cool tho the Volca.

wasn't there a rumor of some game changing roland sampler? did i miss that somehow?

Goddamn, I want that Volca FM.

Vermona synth

looks like this is designed to be soldered on top of the brutematrix to create an even bigger synth

Might be something i buy.

cuckoo te op-z for you cuckoo cocks

crazy that it's only been in development for 4 months. really hoping that means that the physical design will improve (the color if nothing else). they really weren't sure whether or not they were gonna show it. also explains any information on a final feature list

I like the color and chassis, actually, and the general concept of something like an OP-1 without a display. What is weird to is me that he first says that they've been developing it without looking at the display, but then spends so much time showing off the animations. And then he also says the graphics are actually rendered in a separate device.

Also I'm really not feeling the sounds he's demoing there. But it's probably not fair to judge at this point in its development.

if you're familiar at all with the pocket operators i can see it being fairly simply to program music on it without looking at the screen (obv it's got a good bit more on it than the pos but the interface looks quite similar). if you're specifically talking about sequencing animations then yeah you'll probably want to look at the display ;)

given the ubiquity of unity almost any device can run it. so theoretically your apple tv or chromecast could be pulling the graphical weight for your tv or your phone or tablet could be your portable screen. maybe they'll end up selling their own proprietary dongle for tvs. who knows

Logistically it makes perfect sense. It just seems that what the synth is doing isn't so much animation as generating data for the animation engine. Too soon to say much more about that but it would be cool if that data could be used with other software besides their animation apps.

  On 1/24/2016 at 5:25 AM, sweepstakes said:

Logistically it makes perfect sense. It just seems that what the synth is doing isn't so much animation as generating data for the animation engine. Too soon to say much more about that but it would be cool if that data could be used with other software besides their animation apps.

Not doing the graphic processing in the unit itself will surely keep the price down, which is good for people who aren't likely to make use of the visual part beyond using it as an interface.

It's a very interesting little unit. I like the step conditions and individual lengths; it may even be a good competition for the elektron boxes in terms of sequencing.. Hopefully it can store a lot of patterns too.

Maybe I'm way off here but to me it sounds like they have put several PO's into a new box and added extra functions to combine them into something more. That's not supposed to be derogatory, on the contrary. I really like the PO-12 I have for making loops and drum kits for the OP-1 but a more comlex device will be potentially more useful.

I find it funny how people always play the 'toy' card as if they have seen something no one else has.....TE's designs are made to look like toys so people don't find them intimidating. Of course all real electronic music should be made on massive modular systems that have a 1 in 10 chance of delivering a fatal electric shock at every patch point but newbies often find that puts them off.

I have shown my OP-1 to several friends, some are musicians and some are not. It takes about 2 minutes explaining the synth button, the 1, 2, 3, & 4 buttons and how the knobs are colour coded to the display and every single one of them sits with it going thru the various synth engines, tweaking presets etc randomly saying shit like 'ohhh, thats a nice sound' and 'thats cool...' - if the person has experience with synths and samplers etc another few minutes explaining the sampler and drum machines and how to assign sequencers and they start teaching themselves.

It's friendly enough to attract amateurs and deep enough for synth heads imo.

no midi, no 1/4 output = toy. Simple as that.

synth heads hate this company, look at the comments on that sonicstate video

Oh shit you're right.. I'm a synth head, how did I not realise.. fuck I'd better sell my OP-1 because it doesn't have a fucking 3.5mm jack output

Guys I'm having too much fun making music with these toys I can throw in a pencil case. I think I need something more serious and cumbersome!

dude, that's ok we get it, you're a TE fanboy.

(actually the OP1 is equipped with 3,5 mm in and out but that's fine)

IMHO the 3,5 out thing is not the main issue, volcas are equipped with 3,5 out and musicians are using it live or in the studio

but maybe that's because they can be sequenced via midi and that they don't sound like an old tamagotchi.

oops yeah I meant 5mm heh

and I'm pretty sure it's possible to sequence the op-1 via midi over usb

also it can sound fat as fuck, imo, but I also like chiptune sounds so yuh

As for the op-z, not sure but it's apparently based on the op-1 engines so probably pretty similar. Doesn't help that the guy at namm wasn't a very good demonstrator. They need to just hire cuckoo already!

I'm not really a TE fanboy, I just think they're making cool innovative synths in a market that is saturated with analog throwbacks.

yeah for sure cuckoo would be a better demonstrator !

TBH the design of TE products is pretty unique but as you said the sound is very chiptune/videogame

and peoples are like "OMG this is the future" but to me the "future" would be something like a new synthesis technic

  On 1/24/2016 at 1:39 PM, D4M0 said:

no midi, no 1/4 output = toy. Simple as that.

 

synth heads hate this company, look at the comments on that sonicstate video

Dumb rules are dumb.

And since when is 'synth head' a designation worth looking up to?

Oh hey guys you heard Aphex Twin's "nannou" it's so beautiful and interesting but I hate it because it was obviously made using/emulating toys so fuck that track. If only he'd made it using huge old Moogs with lots of filter sweeps.

why even bother? he has the same kind of mentality as the elitist twats who shrug off anyone who says they use fl studio.

couple of albums made entirely on op-1 showing a pretty wide variety of styles (could certainly find more but not even sure why i'm entertaining this discussion):

https://noorden.bandcamp.com/album/rumble-when-bumble

https://detund.bandcamp.com/album/frec

now. show me the equivalent made with $800 in hardware in a form factor smaller than or equal to the op-1's.

gg thx no re

/discussion