Preordered this last month purely on my love for my Lyra and Ornament. They make electronic music instruments that are so human instead of synthesizers and I am grateful for the way this video shows it off. Can’t wait for mine.
I thought this thing looked cool from what I'd seen before, but the sequencer demo and linking it to the Volca has thrown a new light on it for me. It's not just bonkers (although bonkers is always appreciated), it's versatile too.
Just got my e-mail that my pre-order is in production, even more hyped after playing with this thing at Superbooth, even MORE hyped after hearing it with these synced drums. Great demo Chris! 😍
Looks like so much fun. Would be great if there was a sort of scale snap mode to also give this thing some melodic / harmonic capabilities, Scale snap + some cool chiptune arp stuff + some way to record melodies per voice would be insane. Perhaps some ideas for a firmware update ?
Yeah that would be great! Each voice does record on its own track so you can erase one element, but melodic stuff would be a nice addition. No word on any firmware upgrades as yet, but I'm not sure they've even been released yet
This is absolutely fantastic, thank you. I just tried to read the manual which massively confused me. However this has opened up the synth in terms of a much better understanding. Thx!
Sold with the Korg Sampler input. Been looking at this but found the chaotic squealing a little too much on its own. Bringing it under control with added gear makes a huge difference.
Quite different in practice to the chiptune synth the preview hinted at, it definitely seems more geared towards random digital madness. It'll make a great sample source.. I preordered back in Dec :) The only other SOMA Labs gear I have is the LYRA-8.. but all their stuff is wonderful
It seems a lot more versatile than I though it would be. Sounds great too. I'm tempted but I'm thinking about getting a Lyra 8 fairly soon so I need to watch my cash. The only bit of Soma gear I have so far is the Ether which is so much fun.
i love vlads stuff and the #lyra8 is a tool to die for - cannot get enough of mine, i hate this thing and yet i still find myself watching bloody videos - go figure
It's great to see a more musical presentation of this synth. Sure there's benefit to just making crazy noises with it, but there are probably a few too many lazy videos doing that already.
That's very helpful! Thank you so much. I wanted to ask what is the range of the tempo, can it go slow as well? The same goes for the LFO is it capable to go really slow. I have a feeling this can be fabulus for ambient jams as well but am I right? What do you think?
It's been 2years since you uploaded this review. Do you still play with RoAT? I have red many reviews about RoAT but It seems somewhat mixed opinions. I am asking because I am about to buy one this aweek. Thanks~Cheers
Hi. Great video just following it through with my new ROAT, I have tried the sequencer and it does not seem to work any ideas? Any help would be great thanks.
The sequencer can be turned off or on by pressing Record and Erase at the same time. You also need to hold down the record button while you record anything. You may also need to go to page 7 to set the tempo and click first, then try recording. On page 7 the 1st knob controls tempo, and the second controls the click.
Is it just me or do all of these 8 bit synths/modules just not sound remotely like actual 8/16 bit chiptune stuff? The beauty of 8 bit is the complexity from dead simple components, but these 8 bit modules always add too much and try too hard IMO. They're a cool alternative history idea, but they aren't accurate as a simulation of the real thing. You don't need one to get the real thing though! All you need is a square/saw VCO, a S&H, another VCO to drive said S&H, and an attenuator to adjust the amount. Old game consoles often worked by storing only 3 values to make many of their sounds. VCO 1 pitch, VCO 2 pitch/SH rate, and SH amount. That's all you need to get authentic video game SFX. Video game music is a bit more complex. Try square wave chords arpeggiated very fast, at near-audio rate. Bam, instant Pac Man. Square LFOs controlling VCO pitch between octaves or fifths, running at about 1/16 note speed, are part of the formula too. Keep it to simple tools (square VCO, LFO, S&H, and arp) but get creative with how you combine them. That's the truth of how they did it back in the day.
@@tl3ss - agree with you, the ROAT is much more usable with the four channel sequencer and easy matrix editing. But the ROTAS looks like a future buy for me!
It sounds like when you wake up handcuffed to a hospital bed.
Ah the memories
Oh it was you in the hospital bed across the ward @@SuperRbert
Preordered this last month purely on my love for my Lyra and Ornament. They make electronic music instruments that are so human instead of synthesizers and I am grateful for the way this video shows it off. Can’t wait for mine.
Glad you enjoyed it David! It's a greatt little Pandora's box
wow man ! you got me at 7:50 when you plugged the volca with it , it’s sounds so good , definitely looking to get one
I thought this thing looked cool from what I'd seen before, but the sequencer demo and linking it to the Volca has thrown a new light on it for me. It's not just bonkers (although bonkers is always appreciated), it's versatile too.
Definitely - it's really good for Techno and industrial music; it has a dark side!
I have a feeling that the Korg NTS-1 and the RoAT will sound great together 🤔
Chris aka Midierror - great review! I can recognize a true fan of low fi glitchy madness :) Please cooperate with Soniclab more often.
Thank W M ! I often only remember the critical comments so I appreciate your kind words
If ever there's a need to always record what you're doing it's this. Very deep.
Agreed - there's lots to dig into but it's very easy to navigate
Just got my e-mail that my pre-order is in production, even more hyped after playing with this thing at Superbooth, even MORE hyped after hearing it with these synced drums. Great demo Chris! 😍
This bit sounds wicked man you've really tamed it here sounds brilliant
Genuinely,
What a brilliant review,
Nice one 👍
Looks like so much fun. Would be great if there was a sort of scale snap mode to also give this thing some melodic / harmonic capabilities, Scale snap + some cool chiptune arp stuff + some way to record melodies per voice would be insane. Perhaps some ideas for a firmware update ?
Yeah that would be great! Each voice does record on its own track so you can erase one element, but melodic stuff would be a nice addition. No word on any firmware upgrades as yet, but I'm not sure they've even been released yet
This is absolutely fantastic, thank you. I just tried to read the manual which massively confused me. However this has opened up the synth in terms of a much better understanding. Thx!
This with the pocket operator arcade and robot 🤖 is the ultimate chip tune set up
Yeah, I was tempted to use it with the POs but thought they might kind of cancel each other out in a review! Definitely a great choice to jam with
Aly James FMdrive vst is amazing
Sold with the Korg Sampler input. Been looking at this but found the chaotic squealing a little too much on its own. Bringing it under control with added gear makes a huge difference.
Well it's not what I was expecting, but I sure love it!
Kind of the same as me!
Thanks sharing this cool look inside. I'm a SOMA fan/user and this will probably my next add to the Lyra 8, Lyra FX, Ornament 8 and Ether....
Good call, it's a versatile little noise machine!
Notage... hmmm, interesting concept. That could revolutionize the music world. Great review.
Gotta have notage!
Quite different in practice to the chiptune synth the preview hinted at, it definitely seems more geared towards random digital madness. It'll make a great sample source.. I preordered back in Dec :)
The only other SOMA Labs gear I have is the LYRA-8.. but all their stuff is wonderful
It seems a lot more versatile than I though it would be. Sounds great too. I'm tempted but I'm thinking about getting a Lyra 8 fairly soon so I need to watch my cash. The only bit of Soma gear I have so far is the Ether which is so much fun.
i love vlads stuff and the #lyra8 is a tool to die for - cannot get enough of mine, i hate this thing and yet i still find myself watching bloody videos - go figure
Hate? Seems strong
Haha perhaps its lure of the weirdness!
It's great to see a more musical presentation of this synth. Sure there's benefit to just making crazy noises with it, but there are probably a few too many lazy videos doing that already.
How could I resist after this vid?
That's very helpful! Thank you so much.
I wanted to ask what is the range of the tempo, can it go slow as well?
The same goes for the LFO is it capable to go really slow.
I have a feeling this can be fabulus for ambient jams as well but am I right? What do you think?
Interesting in many ways, Any idea what the final unit price will be for these? Are they kits?
I think it's at the end - 130 Euros and they come fully assembled. There's not much to them to be honest!
Nice one mate 🙂 The sounds are rly beautiful
Excellent, thanks - glad you enjoyed them.
this thing looks dope!
It is!
I like this,,,,GAS again,,,,,gonna get me one...
Go for it! It's small but powerful and very fun to fly around with
Vlad doing his thing again... amazing!
Not designed by Vlad though, but by Kakos Nonos.
Yeah the Soma Lab team do some awesome stuff !
Is there any sign from Soma that those who have pre-ordered will receive Roat soon?
You could send them an email...?
Well done Chris. Great review
Thanks Edd!
i sync it woth po 33 but how ya sync it with volca samples ?
It's been 2years since you uploaded this review.
Do you still play with RoAT? I have red many reviews about RoAT but It seems somewhat mixed opinions. I am asking because I am about to buy one this aweek. Thanks~Cheers
Hi. Great video just following it through with my new ROAT, I have tried the sequencer and it does not seem to work any ideas? Any help would be great thanks.
The sequencer can be turned off or on by pressing Record and Erase at the same time.
You also need to hold down the record button while you record anything.
You may also need to go to page 7 to set the tempo and click first, then try recording. On page 7 the 1st knob controls tempo, and the second controls the click.
With a pulsar must be nice
Absolutely!
I am soon to find out ...
great noises! 🤗 that scottish 6 oscillator madlab noise-X thing looked really tasty too
Thanks! Yes the Noise-X is a really nice bit of gear although, slightly harder to use than this. Worth the time for what it can do.
So is the sequencer only 8-steps?
Great! 👍
Thanks!
Is this easy enough to record into Ableton?
u just need audio input at computer and u can easily record it with jack cable:)
Is it just me or do all of these 8 bit synths/modules just not sound remotely like actual 8/16 bit chiptune stuff? The beauty of 8 bit is the complexity from dead simple components, but these 8 bit modules always add too much and try too hard IMO. They're a cool alternative history idea, but they aren't accurate as a simulation of the real thing.
You don't need one to get the real thing though! All you need is a square/saw VCO, a S&H, another VCO to drive said S&H, and an attenuator to adjust the amount.
Old game consoles often worked by storing only 3 values to make many of their sounds. VCO 1 pitch, VCO 2 pitch/SH rate, and SH amount. That's all you need to get authentic video game SFX.
Video game music is a bit more complex. Try square wave chords arpeggiated very fast, at near-audio rate. Bam, instant Pac Man. Square LFOs controlling VCO pitch between octaves or fifths, running at about 1/16 note speed, are part of the formula too.
Keep it to simple tools (square VCO, LFO, S&H, and arp) but get creative with how you combine them. That's the truth of how they did it back in the day.
Feel better?
@@ChrisP3000x Do you?
this thing can do simple if you want it.
coming out of russia, will there be supply issues?
SOMA have a EU division located in Poland. According to their website, that's where ROAT seems to be manufactured.
Yep, that's what they told us too
yeah
very interesting seeing a Russian product showcased in these uncertain times.
Glitch Storm sounds way better and only costs 50usd...
@@tl3ss - agree with you, the ROAT is much more usable with the four channel sequencer and easy matrix editing.
But the ROTAS looks like a future buy for me!