Hi Patrick! Thanks for sharing your experience with QO and for the excellent visual interpretation too! Following the discussion in some previous comments, I wanted to highlight the importance of the quality of the headphones, as well as of the playback device and amplifier being used. I haven't (yet) used a QO, but I'm coming from the hiend hifi camp and I'm almost certain that, using the highest quality hardware one can afford, will result in a solid, fatigueless and involving experience.
Hi Dimitri! Thank you so much for this insightful comment! I must agree with you about quality headphones. I was recently given some Beats headphones and I experimented with QO. The experience was quite different. I can't say for sure the experience was worse than with my Sennheiser HD280 Pro, but I could really sense a shift in range. I have my eye on a Beyerdynamic DT-1990, so maybe one day I'll be able to test that too.
i started using it before bed as a way to like i dunno attempt to calibrate, i also have a habit of hearing my heartbeat with headphones on this adds to what vlad talks about as to finding the stream, i picture waterfalls often, its almost like you can go into water via this device-- assuming you convince your mind you're in water heh@@pbartmess
Hmm, very intriguing. I use my Lrya FX module as a meditative device sometimes, just riffing off the internal modulation. There are no sensors like on the QO but I usually have one hand on one of the delay attenuators and the other hand on the feedback control, close my eyes and then just 'mentally' dance with the cv. The noise just so resonates with my brain and I love how it clears my mind. The folks at Soma pretty special in my book.
I agree completely about Soma Lab wizards. Very special. I hadn't thought of using the Lyra fx module for the same purpose but now that I have read a little more about it, I see what you're doing. Very interesting! All rivers flow from the same source...🙏🙂
Patrick. Thanks for involving me in this. It is so good now to see what it is I was helping with. If you watch the video a few times (which I did as I was developing it) I think you might notice that it tires your eyes out quite quickly. I suspect what is going on is a kind of visual overload. Since we only have a very small effective field of vision the brain has to make up a great deal of what we see by interpolation. For the face of a loved one is easy to do, but these images have little structure and change dramatically. It's only the lines and the mandalas that can be easily processed yet even they break apart differently every time. White noise, however, perhaps the brain can more easily detach from it and put it safely in the "too complicated pile"? I was reading a little of the exercises for the QO and there is a gradul focusing in on the parts of the noise a much more gentle approach to the audio problem. I can see that work with the QO could build concentration and resilience and self awareness. Also though we are vibrational beings and waveforms are part and parcel of what we are and perhaps subverting these too much may come with some dangers? Project for the future would be to build a visual version along similar lines....
As always, your comments are informative and insightful. I did find myself getting lost in the flow of images fairly quickly. I could only hold my attention on the screen for a maximum of 30 seconds before I felt myself zoning out a little bit. However after watching it several times I did discover little fragments that I hadn't seen before - tiny crystals of images that were quite beautiful. I have a feeling that if there was a melody or speech guiding us through the imagery, it would seem to coalesce and we'd be able to make sense of it. The formless white noise (actually it is something Audacity calls "Brownian Noise") doesn't give us much to hang the meaning on. I've been thinking about tacking a melodic soundtrack to the shorter piece and seeing what effect that has. I wondered a bit about the dangers of subverting my conscious thought with white noise exercises. For now, it seems harmless because I spend most of my day doing very task-oriented thinking, that demands rationality and proprioception. Not much time to widen my focus. I will report on my progress. I like your idea to try a visual version of QO passage.
@@davelordy For me. We live and evolved on a planet surrounded by oscillators, they are integral to our development. The position of the sun and moon the rotation of the earth, these things give us tides, day and night, the seasons. Yet with devices we are compelled to further sub divide these things into hours and minutes and seconds, we play music by beating on skins from vibrating strings right through to modern electronic oscillators. We create ripples when we swim , we communicate using waves of sound, we believe our very light to be made from oscillating electric and magnetic fields. We are surrounded by vibrations we interpret our very world using them. This device therefore acts entirely contrary to our experience and as so I guess can offer an altered experience. That's all.
I wouldn't mind having something like this. Pretty neat. I love these odd n ends type of gear....i would love to take that White noise through my ADSR and create some Rhythm,,,So clean the way it sounds in your Video. love the Visuals..
There's something very sweet about the sound of white noise! I made my own white noise module based on Kristian Blasol's designs (here's a link th-cam.com/video/px0D-ntx8Bk/w-d-xo.html) but 4MS sells a noise module that is actually designed for music-making (here's a link for that th-cam.com/video/J_lIGLKUUJ8/w-d-xo.html). This little device is more like an exploration station. Martin did a great job on the visuals - he is a wizard.
Yeah the Quantum Ocean is meant to be a sort of hippie mind-exploration tool, so they didn't design it to be useful as a musical instrument. You'd get a lot more mileage out of a noisemaker from JMT Synth; they are cheaper and have more responsive controls to shape the color & texture of the noise.
No, I didn't use any sounds from the QO in this video. I thought it wouldn't translate well through TH-cam's compression. This is just an abstract approximation of what it might be like to listen to the QO.
@@inanesilence I'm afraid not. The interaction is quite subtle so if a musician tried to perform with it, the effects wouldn't be dramatic enough for an audience to detect. I would use this device as a way to explore the inner world rather than make music. However, Tuesday Night Machines holds the opposite idea. He actually recorded an album using QO and it is available on Bandcamp. (It is full of beautiful sounds!) I guess the topic is subjective.
That was neat! Mine came with a sticker instead of a magnet. It took a bit of shuffling to find the right headphones. The first pair I tried really separated the noise into obvious layers - distinct frequency bands with gaps in between them. I thought this was just how it was, but I tried a different pair and got a much smoother soundscape. The layers were harder to find because all the frequencies blended together and nothing stood out. I'm assuming this is "better"? I haven't even gotten as far as touching the pads yet because I'm taking the exercises in order, and I feel like I haven't fully succeeded with #2. Also can NOT for the life of me "silence my inner monologue." Instead I become hyper-aware of it blabbering away while I'm using Quantum Ocean. How's your experience so far?
That's a very interesting insight about the headphones! I had no idea they would affect the sound so much but after reading your comment I tried it myself. The difference was quite noticeable! I worried that I would need to buy better headphones but I suppose in the end the quality of sound doesn't matter as much as the effect of concentrating on it. I like using Soma's little booklet as a guide. At first I disregarded it and just listened according to my own whim. But their suggestions really do help to structure the experience. I think quieting the mind is the hardest part. I'll be practicing the first exercise for a long while but I'm eager to explore this further! Thank you so much for the suggestion.
@@pbartmess I never really understood what people were talking about with headphone frequency response and whatnot. Even though some pairs are noticeably louder and some have better bass, in general I was always like "the music sounds okay to me" and aside from needing closed-back cups for recording, I never was too picky ... but with Quantum Ocean I was able to perceive differences all across the spectrum. It was quite a surprise. I haven't visited the Quantum Ocean forum but eventually I will, after I get confident with my visualizations. I'm curious to know how subjective the visualizations are, or if there's a widespread consensus i.e. do most people "see" the same colors associated with certain sounds? Got to wait though, because if I am influenced by reading what others have seen then it will invalidate the experiment.
@@JoshuaKennedy321 Same here about the forum. I'm curious to see if I get to the same conclusions that Vlad suggests, like accessing psychic realms and whatnot. I'd rather get there on my own, so I know it was actually my idea.
hey, really interesting interpretation of qo‘s output! when i meditate with qo myself, i experience some kind of dropout/interruption every now and then. do you have the same issue and it’s normal or should i email soma about it?
Thank you! It was a daunting challenge for me to attempt describing something like this. Meditation is such a subjective experience. I only had one dropout occur about six months after I bought it and before I emailed Soma I changed the battery. It hasn't happened since, so maybe I had a bad battery? I've visited the QO chat page on the Soma Labs website and every once in a while someone does post a comment. Perhaps someone over there has had your experience too. Good luck!
@@pbartmess yes, it is really hard to tell, if it's me or the device. i try to ignore it but the noise (it sounds like blowing in a mic) regularly pulls me out of my stream...
Hi, Patrick. Thank you for your video! Could you record just the noise of the device and share it on soundcloud or send me an email? Unfortunately, I can't buy this device yet.. :(
Hi Patrick! Thanks for sharing your experience with QO and for the excellent visual interpretation too! Following the discussion in some previous comments, I wanted to highlight the importance of the quality of the headphones, as well as of the playback device and amplifier being used. I haven't (yet) used a QO, but I'm coming from the hiend hifi camp and I'm almost certain that, using the highest quality hardware one can afford, will result in a solid, fatigueless and involving experience.
Hi Dimitri! Thank you so much for this insightful comment! I must agree with you about quality headphones. I was recently given some Beats headphones and I experimented with QO. The experience was quite different. I can't say for sure the experience was worse than with my Sennheiser HD280 Pro, but I could really sense a shift in range. I have my eye on a Beyerdynamic DT-1990, so maybe one day I'll be able to test that too.
You guys are so cool
This is so cool 😄
You and Martin are two of the coolest guys I've met on you tube, smart in such a unique way, just saying
🙏✌🏼💝
You're so sweet!!
Martin's animations really make the video complete, I think.
@@pbartmess for sure 😄💝
Great work!! Awesome share. Great to see more people trying the quantum ocean.
Thank you! I was just thinking it might be time for a follow-up video. I think the QO really helps with meditation.
i started using it before bed as a way to like i dunno attempt to calibrate, i also have a habit of hearing my heartbeat with headphones on this adds to what vlad talks about as to finding the stream, i picture waterfalls often, its almost like you can go into water via this device-- assuming you convince your mind you're in water heh@@pbartmess
Hmm, very intriguing. I use my Lrya FX module as a meditative device sometimes, just riffing off the internal modulation. There are no sensors like on the QO but I usually have one hand on one of the delay attenuators and the other hand on the feedback control, close my eyes and then just 'mentally' dance with the cv. The noise just so resonates with my brain and I love how it clears my mind. The folks at Soma pretty special in my book.
I agree completely about Soma Lab wizards. Very special. I hadn't thought of using the Lyra fx module for the same purpose but now that I have read a little more about it, I see what you're doing. Very interesting! All rivers flow from the same source...🙏🙂
Patrick. Thanks for involving me in this. It is so good now to see what it is I was helping with.
If you watch the video a few times (which I did as I was developing it) I think you might notice that it tires your eyes out quite quickly. I suspect what is going on is a kind of visual overload. Since we only have a very small effective field of vision the brain has to make up a great deal of what we see by interpolation. For the face of a loved one is easy to do, but these images have little structure and change dramatically. It's only the lines and the mandalas that can be easily processed yet even they break apart differently every time. White noise, however, perhaps the brain can more easily detach from it and put it safely in the "too complicated pile"? I was reading a little of the exercises for the QO and there is a gradul focusing in on the parts of the noise a much more gentle approach to the audio problem. I can see that work with the QO could build concentration and resilience and self awareness. Also though we are vibrational beings and waveforms are part and parcel of what we are and perhaps subverting these too much may come with some dangers?
Project for the future would be to build a visual version along similar lines....
As always, your comments are informative and insightful. I did find myself getting lost in the flow of images fairly quickly. I could only hold my attention on the screen for a maximum of 30 seconds before I felt myself zoning out a little bit. However after watching it several times I did discover little fragments that I hadn't seen before - tiny crystals of images that were quite beautiful. I have a feeling that if there was a melody or speech guiding us through the imagery, it would seem to coalesce and we'd be able to make sense of it. The formless white noise (actually it is something Audacity calls "Brownian Noise") doesn't give us much to hang the meaning on. I've been thinking about tacking a melodic soundtrack to the shorter piece and seeing what effect that has.
I wondered a bit about the dangers of subverting my conscious thought with white noise exercises. For now, it seems harmless because I spend most of my day doing very task-oriented thinking, that demands rationality and proprioception. Not much time to widen my focus. I will report on my progress.
I like your idea to try a visual version of QO passage.
@@pbartmess proprioception... thats a subject in itself! Try rhyming that with something!
😁 Challenge accepted
Woo-woo nonsense, I'd ask you what a "vibrational being" is but I doubt you be able to rustle up a coherent answer 😂
@@davelordy For me. We live and evolved on a planet surrounded by oscillators, they are integral to our development. The position of the sun and moon the rotation of the earth, these things give us tides, day and night, the seasons. Yet with devices we are compelled to further sub divide these things into hours and minutes and seconds, we play music by beating on skins from vibrating strings right through to modern electronic oscillators. We create ripples when we swim , we communicate using waves of sound, we believe our very light to be made from oscillating electric and magnetic fields. We are surrounded by vibrations we interpret our very world using them. This device therefore acts entirely contrary to our experience and as so I guess can offer an altered experience. That's all.
I wouldn't mind having something like this. Pretty neat. I love these odd n ends type of gear....i would love to take that White noise through my ADSR and create some Rhythm,,,So clean the way it sounds in your Video. love the Visuals..
There's something very sweet about the sound of white noise! I made my own white noise module based on Kristian Blasol's designs (here's a link th-cam.com/video/px0D-ntx8Bk/w-d-xo.html) but 4MS sells a noise module that is actually designed for music-making (here's a link for that th-cam.com/video/J_lIGLKUUJ8/w-d-xo.html). This little device is more like an exploration station. Martin did a great job on the visuals - he is a wizard.
Yeah the Quantum Ocean is meant to be a sort of hippie mind-exploration tool, so they didn't design it to be useful as a musical instrument. You'd get a lot more mileage out of a noisemaker from JMT Synth; they are cheaper and have more responsive controls to shape the color & texture of the noise.
@@JoshuaKennedy321 Oh I forgot about JMT! I love their design aesthetic. I second your recommendation.
Touch pads interaction are audible in this video ?
No, I didn't use any sounds from the QO in this video. I thought it wouldn't translate well through TH-cam's compression. This is just an abstract approximation of what it might be like to listen to the QO.
@@pbartmess ok. But that interaction is interesting and audible in terms of sound/ “music instrument”?
@@inanesilence I'm afraid not. The interaction is quite subtle so if a musician tried to perform with it, the effects wouldn't be dramatic enough for an audience to detect. I would use this device as a way to explore the inner world rather than make music. However, Tuesday Night Machines holds the opposite idea. He actually recorded an album using QO and it is available on Bandcamp. (It is full of beautiful sounds!) I guess the topic is subjective.
@pbartmess what's the album?
Interesting concept. I like your friend's video also.
I'm glad it interested you! I'll pass on your compliment to Martin.
That was neat!
Mine came with a sticker instead of a magnet.
It took a bit of shuffling to find the right headphones. The first pair I tried really separated the noise into obvious layers - distinct frequency bands with gaps in between them. I thought this was just how it was, but I tried a different pair and got a much smoother soundscape. The layers were harder to find because all the frequencies blended together and nothing stood out. I'm assuming this is "better"?
I haven't even gotten as far as touching the pads yet because I'm taking the exercises in order, and I feel like I haven't fully succeeded with #2. Also can NOT for the life of me "silence my inner monologue." Instead I become hyper-aware of it blabbering away while I'm using Quantum Ocean.
How's your experience so far?
oh this is awesome..You have one Too? hmmm i need to google this and see what this is all about..
That's a very interesting insight about the headphones! I had no idea they would affect the sound so much but after reading your comment I tried it myself. The difference was quite noticeable! I worried that I would need to buy better headphones but I suppose in the end the quality of sound doesn't matter as much as the effect of concentrating on it.
I like using Soma's little booklet as a guide. At first I disregarded it and just listened according to my own whim. But their suggestions really do help to structure the experience. I think quieting the mind is the hardest part. I'll be practicing the first exercise for a long while but I'm eager to explore this further! Thank you so much for the suggestion.
@@pbartmess I never really understood what people were talking about with headphone frequency response and whatnot. Even though some pairs are noticeably louder and some have better bass, in general I was always like "the music sounds okay to me" and aside from needing closed-back cups for recording, I never was too picky ... but with Quantum Ocean I was able to perceive differences all across the spectrum. It was quite a surprise.
I haven't visited the Quantum Ocean forum but eventually I will, after I get confident with my visualizations. I'm curious to know how subjective the visualizations are, or if there's a widespread consensus i.e. do most people "see" the same colors associated with certain sounds? Got to wait though, because if I am influenced by reading what others have seen then it will invalidate the experiment.
@@JoshuaKennedy321 Same here about the forum. I'm curious to see if I get to the same conclusions that Vlad suggests, like accessing psychic realms and whatnot. I'd rather get there on my own, so I know it was actually my idea.
hey, really interesting interpretation of qo‘s output! when i meditate with qo myself, i experience some kind of dropout/interruption every now and then. do you have the same issue and it’s normal or should i email soma about it?
Thank you! It was a daunting challenge for me to attempt describing something like this. Meditation is such a subjective experience. I only had one dropout occur about six months after I bought it and before I emailed Soma I changed the battery. It hasn't happened since, so maybe I had a bad battery? I've visited the QO chat page on the Soma Labs website and every once in a while someone does post a comment. Perhaps someone over there has had your experience too. Good luck!
@@pbartmess yes, it is really hard to tell, if it's me or the device. i try to ignore it but the noise (it sounds like blowing in a mic) regularly pulls me out of my stream...
Very cool Patrick!👍👍👍
Thanks for coming by to watch! It's always a pleasure to read your comments. ✨✨✨
Pleasure to watch!
Hi, Patrick. Thank you for your video! Could you record just the noise of the device and share it on soundcloud or send me an email? Unfortunately, I can't buy this device yet.. :(
I'll be glad to share some sounds from the Quantum Ocean! Just send me an email at pbartmess@gmail.com and we can discuss it further.
a flower that rrely is in bloom.
🌹🌷🙏 You are most kind.
Autant prendre un Neurophone c'est 1000 fois plus efficace et cela offre une multitudes d'autres ouvertures.......
Thank you for the suggestion. I will investigate the Neurophone.
Wonder what it would sound like ran into The fart pedal? 😏🤔
😆🤣farts probably😜😖