This is WAY TOO cool what the fuck? I absolutely adore how the sine wave sounds. This is super unique, extreme props to the developers, it's rare to see something so ridiculously unique but also incredibly usable and musical and that sounds *so* good. It's a shame it's about *insert cost of device* more than I can afford, because these are the exact kind of sounds that I would absolutely use every single day in my personal music.. this is so incredible though. I haven't been this excited and enthralled about a synth in... maybe ever? I cannot get over this. edit: oops sorry didn't mean for this to be a reply, just a regular comment on the video.
That is honestly the coolest synth I've ever seen! I can't get over how it has a mechanical and physical gritty and distorted sound yet it somehow also sounds digital, refined and clean. The bass around 8 minutes in is outstanding! And that LP filter sweep... As a fan of electionic/industrial music this truly would be a powerhouse for sound design. I'm amazed they have such great modulation to boot. It's literally like a computer and motor had a baby. Thanks for making this video! 🙂
Love this! Love the audacity of those folks at "Game-changer" Interestingly this shares principles with he FIRST synth ever - 1896's monstrous Teleharmonium. This room-sized behemoth had "tone-wheels" (serrated cylinders in this case) that worked under a similar principle, only just using magnetic impulses. Then came the many iterations of tone-wheel organs, most famously the Hammond Organ, which still are used to this day.
Being able to directly SEE the oscillators spinning up and slowing down is so much fun. Really helps make the mental leap from settings and inputs to the action of the synth. Showing the waveform on an oscilloscope is cool and useful but this is next level. People have been obsessed with motors as instruments for a long time but this makes them musical in a brilliant way.
In general a very cool product, but when you first feeded it the the metronome, and then its own mechanical resonances my mind was twice blown🤯 Awesome!
Having played with the NINA at Superbooth I can say it's _not_ an esthetic gimmick. The added UX of simulated knobs, preset memory and mod-matrix settings is absolutely core to the functionality of the NINA synth (maybe not the sound, but a synth is more than just a sound engine). And indeed these kinds of motors are built to spin millions of cycles, thing with the Motor Synth is that these spin a hell of a lot more than the NINA motors do in their life-time. Definitely find the modulation and motion recording features of the Motor Synth some of the more surprising and useful features btw!
The NINA's motorised knobs are not aesthetic only. I think it's one of the most logical technological developments to enhance the user experience and interface on synthesizers. It also has some genuinely cool uses like the mod routing. I love my NINA and I think it's great to see companies thinking differently about the musician's interaction with their instrument, and the feedback that these knobs give us, rather than looking at LEDs or a tiny screen (if one is even provided). It also sounds great, has plenty of ins/outs, and three really nice sounding effects included. Please give that one a chance, Benn! I love your videos - informative, educational, fun, and great sounds! I also own the Motorsynth and love the craziness of the concept. Powering it on always makes me smile ear-to-ear when that insane spinning-disc-sound occurs.
Love your content Benn. Just wanted to say that the knobs on the NINA are more than aesthetic, it provides the most intuitive "mod matrix" I've ever used. click one of the 16 sources on the bottom buttons, and the faders all jump to the +/- value of the destinations. Makes mod routing extremely easy. Also, they're magnetic contactless drone motors which are rated for 500x the life expectancy of "regular" morotized knobs. Would love to see you figure out if that's really the case, as public info is kinda spotty.
They brought a motor knob testing display to Superbooth, so people can see their testing mechanism. Of course, you still have to trust that they performed the test in good faith, and reported the results with transparency.
@@GizzyDillespee The only point of contention is if the motors are indeed contactless or not. I've seen it mentioned here and there, but isn't a staple of their marketing. We also aren't 100% sure if there's 1 VCO and 1 FPGA, all their early marketing materials said this, and they replied to me with this answer, but at launch their marketing just said "2 analog oscillators" + wavetable. We need some investigative reporting on this, if only we knew someone who excelled at that kind of content...
*500x the life expectancy of conventional potentiometers. I believe it... pots have a wiper that scrapes along a resistive element to vary how much resistance is applied to the circuit. These wear out all the time. A brushless motor encoder with an optical sensor should have no contacting parts, so in theory it will last way longer.
Hi! I am an engineer from "Gamechanger Audio" who developed the motor functionality part. Just wanted to clarify - there are no gimmicks, no cheating in what You hear. What You hear is what You get! The sound might be a topic for a discussion but so does everything concerning the "taste". Other than that, we really tried to get the "real motor sound" experience out there. Actually we had a long discussions internally whether of not to add digital voices as that might screw up the idea of having a sound from motors. It is ... different, I cannot deny this fact. But as my boss told me: "Music is an art form. It is not always a question of having a good instrument. Sometimes it is a question of inspiration." And, boy, does a MotorSynth does this!! Case and point - Micka Luna with album "Fernando". This thing is not for everybody - I'll admit that! But is is something to have if You're looking for something weird, crazy and inspirational. At the end, thanks for Your input. We are the team of 10 people... we cannot follow up and respond to every comment out there, but we do read all of them. And we take any response in consideration - good or bad. Actually "bad ones" gives more feedback, to be honest! :D So, thanks!
Own most of thier pedals and love them. All really unique, go from gentle to extreme and are built like tanks. Great company and group of people. Bet this sounds amazing through their Light Pedal.
Stellar presentation as always. I'm also super interested in your non profit organization situation, that sounds like a very wholesome way to manage the type of content you provide.
You were The person to review this, Inspector Ben Gadget. Take away the motors and you still have a Really Deep Synth with some great control options. CLUTCH... That is reminding me of Elektron's temporary move param for all tracks option, but I REALLY think Clutch should be A Thing more often. Loved when you fed the soft murmuring resonance of the mechanics back into the synth. Great presentation, thanks!
This sounds incredible. For a more affordable option, if you know a bit of electronics engineering anyway, a Teensy 4.1 (or a few of them) and some drone (or hard drive motors harvested from broken hard drives if 7200-10k RPM is enough) could probably get a decent DIY option going. Just do us all a favor and open source it!
@@BennJordan How about tuned wine glasses with little damp pads that whirr around the top? 24, so you have 2 octaves. You could make the little damp pads out of rare rubber from an endangered species of damp pad tree that you're saving from extinction, or from some hard to make, ridiculously expensive nanotech material. A material that's essential if bats are to hear your amazing tunes.
You'll want a desktop Aeolian harp to go with that. A really complicated one - I'm seeing lots of small boxes, arranged attractively, with some custom paintwork to make it sound better - with individual, quiet, high speed fans (quiet *and* high speed is expected with firmware 2.6) to make them oscillate.
I have a 4 cutter head-planer machine at work. (It turns crooked wood into nice, straight and flat boards) The machine has 4 powerful induction motors, each spinning at about 9000rpm, slightly out of tune, at an ear-piercing volume. It is the most awful sound I have ever experienced. It really makes you want to vomit. But it's cool though! Made me think of how to turn high-speed motors into useful oscillators.
I experimented with this in the 90s with a little brushless motor and a disenguitarred guitar pickup, but I didn't know shit about modular and CV and all that jazz (or DIY hardware or anything at all really) back then so never went anywhere with it. I'm psyched someone made such a thing and I'm excited to hear this review!
dope! i fooled around with a very similar concept during the quarantine, used a binary sequencer to change a variable motor, and then put up a magnetic coil pick up along the edge of the motor. Hope more companies explore ideas like this.
I have the mk1. The operating noise is loud enough it's hard for me to use in my home studio (aka living room). Then the 3+ year delay in delivering the features Gamechanger promised was very annoying. I need to still try out the new firmware though, I'm hoping it breathes new life into the synth.
@@GizzyDillespee ....on the other hand, the Mk1's cost less than 1000 if you were an early bird on the Indigogo campaign. That's a bargain. I sold mine right before the new firmware popped up. Indeed, it took way too long and they never gave updates about it ... but I made my money back + some extra, so I can't be mad.
@@mistervalentin8396 Exactly. The new firmware took ages but people forget there were a few international things that went down so smaller companies were likely just trying to stay afloat before they were able to focus on other issues. So far the update is great. Still deciding if I'll keep it but it's great they were able to get it done.
Finally someone who made a video again with motorsynth! with the trigger in / metronome! Super helpful how to possible use this without using modulair. I love the synth! Still on my journey discovering this beast.
Tangential aside, why is the "hold" part of the envelope so uncommon in filters? I only know of a few synths that have it. While I can see not wanting to work it into a hardware synth, it's pretty rare on digital synths too. The fact that it was included here was kinda surprising to me. There are more expensive synths out there that just have your standard ADSR envelope.
I like how it sounds overall, it's a beautiful concept, executed really well. It's way beyond my budget, but the most stand out thing for me was that CLUTCH button! What an amazing idea!!
This got me obsessed about using the motors as filters. The brake/acceleration enveloppe kinda does it, but the way it works right now, it can filter any signal. Because of the way the wheels work, they map rotational speed with frequency (of a particular wave). To use it as filter, you'd need to map either rotational position to the signal or rotational speed to the signal.
I watch so many gear reviews of gear that I'll never probably ever see in real life, the options now are bewildering when you think back to making music in the eighties. The whole music scene has changed so much in the past few years. I wonder what the future holds?
It'd be interesting to add some mass to one of the discs and see how the slower acceleration and deceleration changes the sound (altho the motor controllers might just compensate)
It's got a very buzzy tone and lo-fi tone going on for it that I'm not sure I love. Obviously that's due to the nature of of the design behind the synth, this is what you're going to get. I applaud the ingenuity, but I feel like it's more proving a point through engineering than having a use case - or at least for my ears.
Wow I thought this thing was all gimmick so I never really checked it out, but this video really shows off what it can do. Super cool synth. Great stuff!
after being in ESC development for a while i think it would be definitely more fun to also control speed PID terms instead of just envelopes. especially when creating modulations and feedback loops. natural instability of crazy tuned control system that can be heard. and that window definitely needs to be open to affect it with hands, but that requires proper current limiting algos. this implementation is original, but for me its like only 10% of "motor" possibilities are being used. ps: quadcopter motors are actually the worst for that kind of applications, as BEMF further limits the range and cogging adds constant hum..
while this is way out of my price range, it's cool to see something innovative. My only thought is the struggle someone who loves their quiet M1 Mac, wrestling with the "jet engine" dilemma.
First, Benn, you always find the coolest stuff! Thank you for presenting the Motor Synth. I have been a major synth nut since 1983... and back then, almost everything was new and exciting, until the 90s when everything was just a repackaged same-as-yesterday. You know what's been "new" lately? Zippo. Nada. Until SOMA... and now GamechangerAudio. This is so unique, and honestly, brilliant (imo) to approach sound in a surprisingly "new" way. I love it. I hope this inspires us humans to keep thinking of new ways to generate noise ❤
That just shows when you stopped being in touch with what's new! Most of the new stuff in synths during this century happened in modular (mostly Eurorack) software and control equipment.
When I got mine, I was a bit turned off by the motor loudness and almost returned it. It even cuts through headphones, agh. I knew it would be loud, but not THAT loud, lol. BUT, the output is sooooo worth it and I quickly learned to love it. I am almost tempted to sample the motor noise for each patch and create a whole library of just that, or to layer WITH the patches for extra oooomf!
Oh this is really unique! I might need to get me one of these bad boys! Benn Jordan: "It's $3.300" Well I didn't have space for more gear anyway. OK but seriously Benn, could you make a Decent Sampler instrument out of this? Because that bass really is something. Edit: Holy shit some of these sounds are absolutely incredible. We definitely need a Decent Sampler instrument now. The Motor Synth has a whiney, noisey quality to it that would make it ideal for melancholic electronica, dark ambient and techno textures.
This is just incredible, so glad that people can be so inventive and hang the market incentives for developing instruments. The only sound I can think of that is anything like it is from Mouse On Mars' track - Frosch.
Here is what I don't get about the motor synth, isn't each motor and disc a really expensive way to implement a wave table through mechanical means ? I mean, the motor controller sends AC signals into the stator coils, which generates a rotating magnetic field which drives the rotor, shaft and disc, and the disc patterns are then read into a sound signal through the infrared lasers... It's kinda cool in the same way that a rube goldberg machine is, but as for generating a sound signal would it sound much different if the phase of the AC control signals was just fed directly into a wave table ???
With the Nina synth, the motors do more than aesthetics. I was amazed by the software-driven detents that the motors allowed, for example. But it is all interface, not fundamental oscillators, which is presumably what you were driving at.
I love it! I love the idea and the sounds too! It's expensive, but it should be possible to replicate a similar (but simpler) motor synth with my raspberry pi... hmm...
Screw the negative people and I hope keep making these videos dude . Though I totally understand your decision. Thanks for this great video. Love it. Have one on the way and then insane your video pop-up just now. Cheers 🙏
I'm a little disappointed that the synth doesn't actually use the propeller sound but of course that would be pretty dangerous lol. It's still pretty interesting though I found myself liking the sound of the actual motors moving a bit more than the actual output from the lasers
So I was an early adopter of the MK1 (Serial number was a single digit) as an early kickstarter backer. The MK1 was definitely unique and had an undeniable presence, but it was also rough. The firmware was unfinished, and the motors were NOT in tune with what you were playing. To be clear, they kept relative pitch, so playing a C1 and a C2 would result in the sound of the motor going an octave up - but it definitely wasn't a C. It's not clear to me from this video if that's the case or not anymore... I didn't really ever hear the output overlaid with the physical tone in a way where I could compare them. It can be incredibly jarring to hear a completely separate tone (that you have no control of the volume over, mind you) competing with what you are playing that's always a fixed interval off. I understand that they have added some sound insulation to the physical motors themselves on the MK2 - My experience with the MK1 says that this is a VERY good thing, as anything above the third octave would send any animals near by fleeing away in terror... High pitches were ABSURDLY loud and high.... You had to have it REALLY loud to play over the tones the motors made. Anyways, as I spent time with it, I realized it wasn't really bringing as much novel as I would like in terms of output. One thing that I really thought could be interesting - the "magnetic" waveform - was really just a distorted sine wave, and was easy to recreate in other devices. Everything else is a bread-and-butter waveform, and the magnetic waveform didn't really add enough for my tastes. Granted, all of this was the MK1 - and probably are the direct things that lead to us having an MK2. But it also made me question something: Does any of what this device brings to the table actually benefit me, either directly, or just as a way of getting me thinking about things differently? And more importantly, does it do so in a way that nothing else I have will? The answer for me ended up being a pretty solid "no" - if I wanted any of this, my Analog 4 MK1 could deliver it and then some. Maybe the answer for you is a "yes" - but make sure you are thinking through the question of "what will adding 8 drone motors and cooling fans to a polyphonic analog synth do for me" before you make any decisions here. To be clear it's not an inherently bad device, I love seeing companies build wildly improbable things like this. it's still quite novel, and there's a type of person who really can make use of it - maybe that's you, maybe it isn't. Just take a good look at how you interact with this and the output that can come out of it, and think it through. For the noise / industrial artist performing live - you may have found your next device. For the studio musician - you may want to give this extra scrutiny.
You're matching the rotational speed, and could be manipulating blade pitch, AoA/aspect, or other things I don't know enough about aerodynamics to think of! It's no different in principle than vibrating a speaker cone to play the sound of a live electric guitar. It is however totally awesome and fun, I didn't mean to suggest it's passe just not mysterious.
Yo I paused this video with each Latvian factoid to tell my Latvian mother in law about it like I knew what I was talking about and then the reveal that it's all fake was amazing and soul-crushing at the same time. Nice.
Picked up the motor synth mk2. Fastest I’ve ever boxed up a synth for return. The actual motors are simply too loud for me, to the point that I was uncomfortable after a few minutes of playing it. I also didn’t like the menu diving and I found it kind of quirky. But even if all that were amazing, the sound of the motors was so shrill and unpleasant and loud! :grimacing:
Bizarre thing is I saw this video this morning and now visiting a friend for a BBQ. First thing I saw besides the extremely cute puppy was this very synth.. Forgot that she actually demoed it to me already lost year ( when I was slightly drunk) 😅 she wanted to spend some heritage on the craziest synth she could imagine.. I love the idea
Hi Benn, I understand your perspective on NINA, but it may be misguided. While the motors in NINA may not directly contribute to the synthesis, NINA's motorized knobs are not just a cosmetic aesthetic. They're still a significant fundamental part of the synth's overall design (UI/UX is as crucial as the produced sound). For instance, NINA's modulation matrix allows all sources to modulate all destinations SIMULTANEOUSLY, creating modulation combinations unique to modular synths (no modulation slot limit). Also, with the nature of the oscillators of the Motor synth, I would anticipate that they would wear out faster than users can wiggle NINA's knobs.
I actually thought of the NINA first when you said 'motorised synth' but of course this is completely different. I'd love to see the Nina's knobs on this synth (or this synth's motor oscillators in the Nina!).
I was curious to see what you thought of it and maybe to see what's new in the MKII. I don't honestly see myself in the market for the MKII because I already have the MKI. I got it at an incredible price compared to the MKII when the preorder for the first ones opened. And then people complained about how noisy it was. I think a lot of that was sorted out in the MKII. GCA even contacted me to offer to modify my Motor Synth to be less loud from the drone motors. I have such a low serial number, it didn't seem right to change it. I would do firmware updates, but I got it in part because it's crazy, loud motor noise and all. I agree that it will probably only go up in price, but I can't imagine ever selling mine.
Really gimmicky. I had a play with one yesterday and can't really see the point of the oscillator source, other than gimmick. The cons, at least for me, faaaar outweigh any pros. Plus in Canada, it is over $4500 plus 15% sales tax!! (Over 5k) If you're a collector, I guess this makes sense. For a working musician though... don't think so. Lol Thanks for the video Ben!
I wouldn’t personally by one myself as I don’t hear 3k+ of synthesizer when I close my eyes. There’s a lot of style over substance here… in my opinion of course. The gimmick is how it makes sound. Not how premium it sounds (or not). For this amount of money, I’d prefer something like a DSI OB-6.
Thank you, Benn! We should seriously consider organizing the drone festival in Riga next year. 😂
I will bring helmets for the children!
This is WAY TOO cool what the fuck? I absolutely adore how the sine wave sounds. This is super unique, extreme props to the developers, it's rare to see something so ridiculously unique but also incredibly usable and musical and that sounds *so* good. It's a shame it's about *insert cost of device* more than I can afford, because these are the exact kind of sounds that I would absolutely use every single day in my personal music.. this is so incredible though. I haven't been this excited and enthralled about a synth in... maybe ever? I cannot get over this.
edit: oops sorry didn't mean for this to be a reply, just a regular comment on the video.
You could have a musical drone festival right next to the aerial drone festival.
Hey, can you make a VST? Affording this thing is beyond the realm of accessibility for many, many musicians.
@@BennJordan haha
That is honestly the coolest synth I've ever seen! I can't get over how it has a mechanical and physical gritty and distorted sound yet it somehow also sounds digital, refined and clean. The bass around 8 minutes in is outstanding! And that LP filter sweep... As a fan of electionic/industrial music this truly would be a powerhouse for sound design. I'm amazed they have such great modulation to boot. It's literally like a computer and motor had a baby. Thanks for making this video! 🙂
Love this! Love the audacity of those folks at "Game-changer"
Interestingly this shares principles with he FIRST synth ever - 1896's monstrous Teleharmonium. This room-sized behemoth had "tone-wheels" (serrated cylinders in this case) that worked under a similar principle, only just using magnetic impulses. Then came the many iterations of tone-wheel organs, most famously the Hammond Organ, which still are used to this day.
Being able to directly SEE the oscillators spinning up and slowing down is so much fun. Really helps make the mental leap from settings and inputs to the action of the synth. Showing the waveform on an oscilloscope is cool and useful but this is next level. People have been obsessed with motors as instruments for a long time but this makes them musical in a brilliant way.
such a cool idea.... mabye in 10 years ill be able to afford the behringer clone
Waiting for the Behringer motor oscillator 🙏
Watching the oscillations physically manifesting in the LED pulse on the discs is making me feel really tingly
For me, the coolest bit is the clutch button - that is great functionality, and I hope other less botique synths will pick it up as well!
24:20 in or so…the motors are not in Faraday Cage from what I could see. Glass does not eliminate EMI.
In general a very cool product, but when you first feeded it the the metronome, and then its own mechanical resonances my mind was twice blown🤯 Awesome!
the sound of the drone motors adds such a nice touch to everything
Having played with the NINA at Superbooth I can say it's _not_ an esthetic gimmick. The added UX of simulated knobs, preset memory and mod-matrix settings is absolutely core to the functionality of the NINA synth (maybe not the sound, but a synth is more than just a sound engine).
And indeed these kinds of motors are built to spin millions of cycles, thing with the Motor Synth is that these spin a hell of a lot more than the NINA motors do in their life-time.
Definitely find the modulation and motion recording features of the Motor Synth some of the more surprising and useful features btw!
The NINA's motorised knobs are not aesthetic only. I think it's one of the most logical technological developments to enhance the user experience and interface on synthesizers. It also has some genuinely cool uses like the mod routing. I love my NINA and I think it's great to see companies thinking differently about the musician's interaction with their instrument, and the feedback that these knobs give us, rather than looking at LEDs or a tiny screen (if one is even provided). It also sounds great, has plenty of ins/outs, and three really nice sounding effects included. Please give that one a chance, Benn! I love your videos - informative, educational, fun, and great sounds! I also own the Motorsynth and love the craziness of the concept. Powering it on always makes me smile ear-to-ear when that insane spinning-disc-sound occurs.
Love your content Benn. Just wanted to say that the knobs on the NINA are more than aesthetic, it provides the most intuitive "mod matrix" I've ever used. click one of the 16 sources on the bottom buttons, and the faders all jump to the +/- value of the destinations. Makes mod routing extremely easy. Also, they're magnetic contactless drone motors which are rated for 500x the life expectancy of "regular" morotized knobs. Would love to see you figure out if that's really the case, as public info is kinda spotty.
Once they explained NINA synth rotaries are drone tech, the penny finally dropped.
They brought a motor knob testing display to Superbooth, so people can see their testing mechanism. Of course, you still have to trust that they performed the test in good faith, and reported the results with transparency.
At least the box was transparent. They only started the test a couple of days before NAMM '23
@@GizzyDillespee The only point of contention is if the motors are indeed contactless or not. I've seen it mentioned here and there, but isn't a staple of their marketing. We also aren't 100% sure if there's 1 VCO and 1 FPGA, all their early marketing materials said this, and they replied to me with this answer, but at launch their marketing just said "2 analog oscillators" + wavetable. We need some investigative reporting on this, if only we knew someone who excelled at that kind of content...
*500x the life expectancy of conventional potentiometers. I believe it... pots have a wiper that scrapes along a resistive element to vary how much resistance is applied to the circuit. These wear out all the time. A brushless motor encoder with an optical sensor should have no contacting parts, so in theory it will last way longer.
I really didn't expect the sound to be this good. There is obviously a significant gimmick-factor, but the results really are quite beautiful.
Hi! I am an engineer from "Gamechanger Audio" who developed the motor functionality part. Just wanted to clarify - there are no gimmicks, no cheating in what You hear. What You hear is what You get! The sound might be a topic for a discussion but so does everything concerning the "taste". Other than that, we really tried to get the "real motor sound" experience out there. Actually we had a long discussions internally whether of not to add digital voices as that might screw up the idea of having a sound from motors. It is ... different, I cannot deny this fact. But as my boss told me: "Music is an art form. It is not always a question of having a good instrument. Sometimes it is a question of inspiration." And, boy, does a MotorSynth does this!! Case and point - Micka Luna with album "Fernando". This thing is not for everybody - I'll admit that! But is is something to have if You're looking for something weird, crazy and inspirational. At the end, thanks for Your input. We are the team of 10 people... we cannot follow up and respond to every comment out there, but we do read all of them. And we take any response in consideration - good or bad. Actually "bad ones" gives more feedback, to be honest! :D
So, thanks!
Own most of thier pedals and love them. All really unique, go from gentle to extreme and are built like tanks. Great company and group of people. Bet this sounds amazing through their Light Pedal.
I guess the constant dissonant chord heard in the background when you speak is what they call _A DRONE_ ?
(I‘ll see myself out.)
The thing sounds like the soundtrack on the 16mm films they made us watch in High School health class (back in the 70s...you'll have to Google it)
This thing has such a character. Very Boards of Canada-y in is warbly tones and static sounds.
Stellar presentation as always. I'm also super interested in your non profit organization situation, that sounds like a very wholesome way to manage the type of content you provide.
You were The person to review this, Inspector Ben Gadget. Take away the motors and you still have a Really Deep Synth with some great control options. CLUTCH... That is reminding me of Elektron's temporary move param for all tracks option, but I REALLY think Clutch should be A Thing more often. Loved when you fed the soft murmuring resonance of the mechanics back into the synth. Great presentation, thanks!
This sounds incredible. For a more affordable option, if you know a bit of electronics engineering anyway, a Teensy 4.1 (or a few of them) and some drone (or hard drive motors harvested from broken hard drives if 7200-10k RPM is enough) could probably get a decent DIY option going. Just do us all a favor and open source it!
I'm all for DIY oscillator innovation!
@@BennJordan How about tuned wine glasses with little damp pads that whirr around the top? 24, so you have 2 octaves. You could make the little damp pads out of rare rubber from an endangered species of damp pad tree that you're saving from extinction, or from some hard to make, ridiculously expensive nanotech material. A material that's essential if bats are to hear your amazing tunes.
You'll want a desktop Aeolian harp to go with that. A really complicated one - I'm seeing lots of small boxes, arranged attractively, with some custom paintwork to make it sound better - with individual, quiet, high speed fans (quiet *and* high speed is expected with firmware 2.6) to make them oscillate.
I have a 4 cutter head-planer machine at work. (It turns crooked wood into nice, straight and flat boards)
The machine has 4 powerful induction motors, each spinning at about 9000rpm, slightly out of tune, at an ear-piercing volume.
It is the most awful sound I have ever experienced. It really makes you want to vomit.
But it's cool though! Made me think of how to turn high-speed motors into useful oscillators.
I think the concept of this device is mind blowingly amazingly awesome, THANKS Ben
Very nice synth. Nobody is mentioning that this channel became non profit, very nice from you Benn!
OK, Ben you have the perfect Synth for drone music. Make some PLEASE!
This was a great empress demo man
I experimented with this in the 90s with a little brushless motor and a disenguitarred guitar pickup, but I didn't know shit about modular and CV and all that jazz (or DIY hardware or anything at all really) back then so never went anywhere with it. I'm psyched someone made such a thing and I'm excited to hear this review!
oh I discovered it's diffirent in the first couple minutes... not just the spin of the motor. neato
@@mattzog this is what I assumed it was also before getting further. What you're describing would also be really cool as a synth too, though.
dope! i fooled around with a very similar concept during the quarantine, used a binary sequencer to change a variable motor, and then put up a magnetic coil pick up along the edge of the motor. Hope more companies explore ideas like this.
That Synth sounds so damn fun and crazy. Also YAY for non-profit status!!
*samples the OSC sounds and runs away in a cartoon thief costume*
YOU’LL NEVER CATCH ME!
I have the mk1. The operating noise is loud enough it's hard for me to use in my home studio (aka living room). Then the 3+ year delay in delivering the features Gamechanger promised was very annoying. I need to still try out the new firmware though, I'm hoping it breathes new life into the synth.
Tape on a contact mic and run it into the input. Embrace the noise.
I kinda feel bad for those who got stuck with mk1s... I sort of understand why it went down the way it did
@@GizzyDillespee ....on the other hand, the Mk1's cost less than 1000 if you were an early bird on the Indigogo campaign. That's a bargain. I sold mine right before the new firmware popped up. Indeed, it took way too long and they never gave updates about it ... but I made my money back + some extra, so I can't be mad.
@@mistervalentin8396 Exactly. The new firmware took ages but people forget there were a few international things that went down so smaller companies were likely just trying to stay afloat before they were able to focus on other issues. So far the update is great. Still deciding if I'll keep it but it's great they were able to get it done.
Finally someone who made a video again with motorsynth! with the trigger in / metronome! Super helpful how to possible use this without using modulair. I love the synth! Still on my journey discovering this beast.
Thank you so much. I’ve been running on fumes for inspiration. This is the content that fills the tank. Cheers
Tangential aside, why is the "hold" part of the envelope so uncommon in filters?
I only know of a few synths that have it. While I can see not wanting to work it into a hardware synth, it's pretty rare on digital synths too.
The fact that it was included here was kinda surprising to me. There are more expensive synths out there that just have your standard ADSR envelope.
Sounds amazing. Some of the coolest lofi I've heard. It's the reigning king of lofi.
This thing sounds incredible, honestly
I like how it sounds overall, it's a beautiful concept, executed really well. It's way beyond my budget, but the most stand out thing for me was that CLUTCH button! What an amazing idea!!
20:48 one of my favorite sounds to ever come out of a synth!
Such an interesting video! Great work Benn. This synth has been on my radar for a while and this is the best video on it so far :)
This got me obsessed about using the motors as filters. The brake/acceleration enveloppe kinda does it, but the way it works right now, it can filter any signal.
Because of the way the wheels work, they map rotational speed with frequency (of a particular wave).
To use it as filter, you'd need to map either rotational position to the signal or rotational speed to the signal.
low notes with the magnet pickup sounded super nice
Aside from the solid content on this channel, I absolutely adore the well placed use of cuss words.
Well done sir!
I watch so many gear reviews of gear that I'll never probably ever see in real life, the options now are bewildering when you think back to making music in the eighties. The whole music scene has changed so much in the past few years. I wonder what the future holds?
It'd be interesting to add some mass to one of the discs and see how the slower acceleration and deceleration changes the sound (altho the motor controllers might just compensate)
... And fry the esc
It's got a very buzzy tone and lo-fi tone going on for it that I'm not sure I love. Obviously that's due to the nature of of the design behind the synth, this is what you're going to get. I applaud the ingenuity, but I feel like it's more proving a point through engineering than having a use case - or at least for my ears.
Those motors are really coo...OMG THE CLUTCH!
Wow I thought this thing was all gimmick so I never really checked it out, but this video really shows off what it can do. Super cool synth. Great stuff!
18:00 that side chained pad sequence sounds great
after being in ESC development for a while i think it would be definitely more fun to also control speed PID terms instead of just envelopes. especially when creating modulations and feedback loops. natural instability of crazy tuned control system that can be heard. and that window definitely needs to be open to affect it with hands, but that requires proper current limiting algos. this implementation is original, but for me its like only 10% of "motor" possibilities are being used.
ps: quadcopter motors are actually the worst for that kind of applications, as BEMF further limits the range and cogging adds constant hum..
This has some serious old school industrial / power electronics in it 0.0
while this is way out of my price range, it's cool to see something innovative. My only thought is the struggle someone who loves their quiet M1 Mac, wrestling with the "jet engine" dilemma.
First, Benn, you always find the coolest stuff! Thank you for presenting the Motor Synth. I have been a major synth nut since 1983... and back then, almost everything was new and exciting, until the 90s when everything was just a repackaged same-as-yesterday. You know what's been "new" lately? Zippo. Nada. Until SOMA... and now GamechangerAudio. This is so unique, and honestly, brilliant (imo) to approach sound in a surprisingly "new" way. I love it. I hope this inspires us humans to keep thinking of new ways to generate noise ❤
That just shows when you stopped being in touch with what's new! Most of the new stuff in synths during this century happened in modular (mostly Eurorack) software and control equipment.
When I got mine, I was a bit turned off by the motor loudness and almost returned it. It even cuts through headphones, agh. I knew it would be loud, but not THAT loud, lol. BUT, the output is sooooo worth it and I quickly learned to love it. I am almost tempted to sample the motor noise for each patch and create a whole library of just that, or to layer WITH the patches for extra oooomf!
Very cool concept for a synth. Between this and Korg's prototype acoustic synth, it's an interesting time for synthesis.
Gimmicks - but, yeah … interesting …
Oh this is really unique! I might need to get me one of these bad boys!
Benn Jordan: "It's $3.300"
Well I didn't have space for more gear anyway.
OK but seriously Benn, could you make a Decent Sampler instrument out of this? Because that bass really is something.
Edit: Holy shit some of these sounds are absolutely incredible. We definitely need a Decent Sampler instrument now. The Motor Synth has a whiney, noisey quality to it that would make it ideal for melancholic electronica, dark ambient and techno textures.
Saw/heard first version in person in NYC a few years pre-COVID. Fascinating idea/concept.
11:52
Hey, Listen!
Link! You've found the legendary water tunic!
I was expecting this to be an instrument that uses the noise of the motors themselves to generate sound...
I’ll go with the jetski… 😂
Sounds better, too!!
I think it sounds really beautiful in a somewhat broken way. Would love to check one out in person.
This is just incredible, so glad that people can be so inventive and hang the market incentives for developing instruments. The only sound I can think of that is anything like it is from Mouse On Mars' track - Frosch.
Here is what I don't get about the motor synth, isn't each motor and disc a really expensive way to implement a wave table through mechanical means ?
I mean, the motor controller sends AC signals into the stator coils, which generates a rotating magnetic field which drives the rotor, shaft and disc, and the disc patterns are then read into a sound signal through the infrared lasers... It's kinda cool in the same way that a rube goldberg machine is, but as for generating a sound signal would it sound much different if the phase of the AC control signals was just fed directly into a wave table ???
With the Nina synth, the motors do more than aesthetics. I was amazed by the software-driven detents that the motors allowed, for example.
But it is all interface, not fundamental oscillators, which is presumably what you were driving at.
I'll wait behringer version ;-)
I love it! I love the idea and the sounds too!
It's expensive, but it should be possible to replicate a similar (but simpler) motor synth with my raspberry pi... hmm...
Screw the negative people and I hope keep making these videos dude . Though I totally understand your decision. Thanks for this great video. Love it. Have one on the way and then insane your video pop-up just now. Cheers 🙏
I'm a little disappointed that the synth doesn't actually use the propeller sound but of course that would be pretty dangerous lol. It's still pretty interesting though I found myself liking the sound of the actual motors moving a bit more than the actual output from the lasers
Putting a load on those motors would waste massive amounts of energy and make them MUCH slower to change pitch. I don't think it's practical.
Hey Benn, can we get a link to the Laser video? I can't find it.
Ditto, please!
Wow I wish I had the money for this it sounds awesome. Great demo of it.
I was in this meetup group for synth DIY in 2018 and a guy there did the same thing with hard drive motors.
Dammit Benn, I really believed your intro , suspended disbelief and all that ! 🙂
Really nice video!
8:30 - How the hell did my Voyager 4320 pick up that sound?? Damn. This is a call center headset basically and the delivered that bass perfectly!
8:38 I love this synth so much 😍
So I was an early adopter of the MK1 (Serial number was a single digit) as an early kickstarter backer. The MK1 was definitely unique and had an undeniable presence, but it was also rough. The firmware was unfinished, and the motors were NOT in tune with what you were playing.
To be clear, they kept relative pitch, so playing a C1 and a C2 would result in the sound of the motor going an octave up - but it definitely wasn't a C.
It's not clear to me from this video if that's the case or not anymore... I didn't really ever hear the output overlaid with the physical tone in a way where I could compare them.
It can be incredibly jarring to hear a completely separate tone (that you have no control of the volume over, mind you) competing with what you are playing that's always a fixed interval off.
I understand that they have added some sound insulation to the physical motors themselves on the MK2 - My experience with the MK1 says that this is a VERY good thing, as anything above the third octave would send any animals near by fleeing away in terror... High pitches were ABSURDLY loud and high.... You had to have it REALLY loud to play over the tones the motors made.
Anyways, as I spent time with it, I realized it wasn't really bringing as much novel as I would like in terms of output. One thing that I really thought could be interesting - the "magnetic" waveform - was really just a distorted sine wave, and was easy to recreate in other devices. Everything else is a bread-and-butter waveform, and the magnetic waveform didn't really add enough for my tastes.
Granted, all of this was the MK1 - and probably are the direct things that lead to us having an MK2. But it also made me question something: Does any of what this device brings to the table actually benefit me, either directly, or just as a way of getting me thinking about things differently? And more importantly, does it do so in a way that nothing else I have will?
The answer for me ended up being a pretty solid "no" - if I wanted any of this, my Analog 4 MK1 could deliver it and then some. Maybe the answer for you is a "yes" - but make sure you are thinking through the question of "what will adding 8 drone motors and cooling fans to a polyphonic analog synth do for me" before you make any decisions here.
To be clear it's not an inherently bad device, I love seeing companies build wildly improbable things like this. it's still quite novel, and there's a type of person who really can make use of it - maybe that's you, maybe it isn't. Just take a good look at how you interact with this and the output that can come out of it, and think it through.
For the noise / industrial artist performing live - you may have found your next device. For the studio musician - you may want to give this extra scrutiny.
I kind of wish the drone rotors were miked up and part of the sound. Since theyre in tune they could potentialy add a lot
The magnetic pickup is magical!
You're matching the rotational speed, and could be manipulating blade pitch, AoA/aspect, or other things I don't know enough about aerodynamics to think of! It's no different in principle than vibrating a speaker cone to play the sound of a live electric guitar. It is however totally awesome and fun, I didn't mean to suggest it's passe just not mysterious.
Yo I paused this video with each Latvian factoid to tell my Latvian mother in law about it like I knew what I was talking about and then the reveal that it's all fake was amazing and soul-crushing at the same time. Nice.
Nothing a Hammond Organ couldn't do ;)
Benn, a sample pack of this synth for the newly coming MicroFreak firmware 5 would be amazing for us plebs! 😌💖
8:40 onwards...."ok"...yes, yes indeed.
My comment about the synth aside, Wow, fully non-profit now eh? That's so fucking cool of you Benn. You're such a dope human.
Picked up the motor synth mk2.
Fastest I’ve ever boxed up a synth for return. The actual motors are simply too loud for me, to the point that I was uncomfortable after a few minutes of playing it.
I also didn’t like the menu diving and I found it kind of quirky. But even if all that were amazing, the sound of the motors was so shrill and unpleasant and loud!
:grimacing:
Bizarre thing is I saw this video this morning and now visiting a friend for a BBQ. First thing I saw besides the extremely cute puppy was this very synth.. Forgot that she actually demoed it to me already lost year ( when I was slightly drunk) 😅 she wanted to spend some heritage on the craziest synth she could imagine.. I love the idea
the motor itself can generate sound. when you turn a drone on it makes a series of beeps. the beeps are the motors twitching back and forth.
Frankly, I prefer the sound of my dentist's drill.
I remember playing the mk1 at a party after Superbooth. Pretty cool idea
This synth actually sounds better than I thought
Question, do the engines have physical wear? if yes by how much ?? Thanks very much
Hi Benn, I understand your perspective on NINA, but it may be misguided. While the motors in NINA may not directly contribute to the synthesis, NINA's motorized knobs are not just a cosmetic aesthetic. They're still a significant fundamental part of the synth's overall design (UI/UX is as crucial as the produced sound). For instance, NINA's modulation matrix allows all sources to modulate all destinations SIMULTANEOUSLY, creating modulation combinations unique to modular synths (no modulation slot limit). Also, with the nature of the oscillators of the Motor synth, I would anticipate that they would wear out faster than users can wiggle NINA's knobs.
I actually thought of the NINA first when you said 'motorised synth' but of course this is completely different. I'd love to see the Nina's knobs on this synth (or this synth's motor oscillators in the Nina!).
This sounds like a sci-fi vehicle dream.
I was curious to see what you thought of it and maybe to see what's new in the MKII. I don't honestly see myself in the market for the MKII because I already have the MKI. I got it at an incredible price compared to the MKII when the preorder for the first ones opened. And then people complained about how noisy it was. I think a lot of that was sorted out in the MKII. GCA even contacted me to offer to modify my Motor Synth to be less loud from the drone motors. I have such a low serial number, it didn't seem right to change it. I would do firmware updates, but I got it in part because it's crazy, loud motor noise and all. I agree that it will probably only go up in price, but I can't imagine ever selling mine.
...many old devices used a spinning optical disc...such as printers and positioners for X/Y axis...
Really gimmicky. I had a play with one yesterday and can't really see the point of the oscillator source, other than gimmick. The cons, at least for me, faaaar outweigh any pros. Plus in Canada, it is over $4500 plus 15% sales tax!! (Over 5k)
If you're a collector, I guess this makes sense. For a working musician though... don't think so. Lol
Thanks for the video Ben!
Yup. Talk about ‘hipster synth’, lol
oh is it finally out?
I wouldn’t personally by one myself as I don’t hear 3k+ of synthesizer when I close my eyes. There’s a lot of style over substance here… in my opinion of course. The gimmick is how it makes sound. Not how premium it sounds (or not). For this amount of money, I’d prefer something like a DSI OB-6.
Absolutely. Talk about hipster synth, lol
This sounds like every flume synth ever. Im in love
‘flume synth’?
Whoa, I'm glad I know about their name now. Thanks
This is beautiful... I love this idea
omg that bass, amazing
Wouldn't it be a great perc/Drum synth with all that low-end?