Synths with Flexible Envelope Generators

Flexible Envelope Generators are one of my favorite modulation sources. Audio Damage's Continua is an example. Envelopes where you can add multiple breakpoints and set up loop start/stop breakpoints (then the envelope continues upon release). Kinda like the loop feature in old hardware samplers except you can add more points and shape the looping modulation to your preference.

Clark's recent acoustic song where he said he hated VA oddly triggered this appreciation from me. I don't think there are any analog (or hardware, for that matter) synths I know of with an equivalent. Would be tricky to set it up to send a FEG via-MIDI CC as you'd have to keep adding new CC numbers with every breakpoint.

For what it's worth, I fucking adore SuperCollider's envelope generators. I've even built phase distortion synths and quantizers out of them.

  On 6/25/2020 at 7:48 PM, sweepstakes said:

For what it's worth, I fucking adore SuperCollider's envelope generators. I've even built phase distortion synths and quantizers out of them.

Hadn't thought of it that way but yeah that basically is phase distortion synthesis in a nutshell. The Casio CZ-101 for example (although I don't think those are FEG's) is mainly a lot of interplay between envelopes controlling stuff.

  On 6/25/2020 at 7:53 PM, Taupe Beats said:

Hadn't thought of it that way but yeah that basically is phase distortion synthesis in a nutshell. The Casio CZ-101 for example (although I don't think those are FEG's) is mainly a lot of interplay between envelopes controlling stuff.

Exactly. The flexibility in SC arises from the ability to dynamically control level, duration, curve (lin/exp/log expressed as a single continuous value), as well as being able to retrieve envelope level as a function of time, all at audio rate (or query at control rate if you like). I think you can assemble envelope points from a Buffer object, too, meaning not only can you can have audio or CV coming in from your interface and turn that into envelope parameters but you can sample it, loop it, load it from a WAV, whatever. Ridiculous.

That is dope. It sounds like a super beefed up version of this (which I love):

http://fredantoncorvest.com/FAC_Envolver.html

Zebra has very flexible envelopes and MSEGs.  UVI Falcon as well. 

in hardware the waldorf MW XT has really great envelopes 8 stages, looping, time/level for each stage and you can do funky things w/them and all the mod sources in the mod matrix. math/logic functions etc.

also, the Rossum electro music Control Forge in modular is spectacular and one of the most flexible modulation sources out there. selectable curves per stage including all kinds of chaos and random shapes, 8 stages, looping, random jumps between stages, save presets and sequence the presets via cv. it's ridiculous. 

absynth

RAVE-O-LUTION 309

  On 6/26/2020 at 3:30 AM, TubularCorporation said:

 

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I borrowed a VZ10m many years ago. Such an awesome-sounding synth - the complexity of FM with a visceral, creamy quality, but lord what a pig to edit. I think it made me permanently allergic to multi-stage envelopes in hardware  - give me an AD or ASR and I'll suss the rest out with LFOs, thanks. I'd much rather do that type of shit with code where I can script away the tedium, or at least convert it into more amusing over-engineering.

  On 6/26/2020 at 4:16 AM, sweepstakes said:

I borrowed a VZ10m many years ago. Such an awesome-sounding synth - the complexity of FM with a visceral, creamy quality, but lord what a pig to edit. I think it made me permanently allergic to multi-stage envelopes in hardware  - give me an AD or ASR and I'll suss the rest out with LFOs, thanks. I'd much rather do that type of shit with code where I can script away the tedium, or at least convert it into more amusing over-engineering.

emu samplers have those envelopes too. my e6400 has that magic in it.. also can assign mod sources to various parts of the envelopes.

I've never used a VZ-10m, although a friend of mine used one a lot until he moved over to doing almost everything with a K2500.  The CZ keyboards are really easy to edit, although it would be nice if they had a data wheel and didn't retrigger the note every time you changed a parameter - they definitely aren't suited to tweaking things live and changing values is a little slow, but as far as getting to parameters and the voice architecture being right there on the panel with easy access to everything, they're great.  Maybe the VZ did that 90s thing (yeah I know, late 80s, but it seems like90s gear is where the "put all the information on the big LCD and use a few soft keys for everything" thing became standard) of thinking that using the display is always better no matter what.