Modular Synthesis (Part 2) - Studio Time: S2E12
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 มิ.ย. 2017
- Let's get a little more advanced with modular synthesis techniques in Part 2!
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www.junkiexl.com
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I love how Tom just rolls with the hiccups & keeps it all in the video.. very useful to size up the commitment required for modular. If my gear suddenly broke down, I'd have to edit out my yelling & weeping.
you are an amazing teacher and producer, thank you for explaining everything so well
I'm not a musician but i enjoy this video alot. I think it could be very nice to watch you work and create without commenting all the way.
I love these videos. So informative..
Low angry bass notes are the best sounds ever :)
Love this. The recaps are great. Thank you, Junkie XL. Happy New Year
Great video! Best way to get an overall idea about modulars, getting components explained etc... learned a lot, today!
These videos are incredible! Thank you so much Tom.
You are explaining it really clear Tom!
Thanks for the high quality videos and proper explanation!
bigger than Massive
massassive
Good stuff, many thanks for taking the trouble. It's just a little more real estate than most of us have to play with (although with a bit of multitracking I can make my three little oscillators sound fairly fat!) Lovely to see this huge beast in action from the ground up as it were. Let me know when you're away for a week or two and leave the key under the mat. I promise to leave everything tidy :-) Looking forward to the next episode.
Watching this, and don't get me wrong, makes me realize why "hardwired" synth routing's were designed. Although limiting the functionality, it was "ease of use" manufacturers were striving for to make sure "sales goals" were achieved. Oh man but what I wouldn't give to have your wall, and trade it in for the hardwired boxes Tom. Thanks for another awesome lesson!
Bravo, εύγε!!! Interesting tips about modular systems!!
Super serie, met plezier zitten kijken. Prachtig.
His collection of modular cables costs more than my entire home studio rig.
Thank you so much for these amazing videos
Wow, the quantiser is great, great added value, especially for the small size. You can put scales in it, and complex overtoned waveforms as input. Very nice. Makes it a musical machine
incredible channel
Amazing guide thank you very much
This recalls some of my childhood dreams, when I used to fall asleep listening to Roger Powell's Cosmic Furnace LP :-)
Did Tom ever get to doing a similar video with the eurorack wall he has?
This is so cool
COOL STUFF!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice video, hope for some more on modular synthesis.
Could you, by any chance, de-construct "The Shore" from Distance Between Dreams OST, namely the intro pads/atmospheres and the arpeggiated melody that comes after? Or, you know, any other track from the OST.
Thank you for the idea of using an inline guitar tuner...I was always using a hand held.
I'l stick to my computer and my plugins because I don't think I have the patience for this. Still very interesting to learn about, and to see the amount of work it takes to bring these unique sounds.
go back to the boring part of the internet
It looks really fun! I think this is an excellent investment. This thing makes a great impression just being in the room. How much does it matter to you?
Like he said in one of his videos, it can also become a burden almost, to have this much equipment, making you feel bad and ashamed when you walk past a module that you haven't touched in ages, and you're still not touching it. But yeah, cool to be in a room reminiscent of something like a spaceship 😜
Hey Tom, Thanks so much for the great videos! they've been a great help for me. :) Could you possibly do a video about various ways to clock a modular system from a DAW? I clock mine with a midi signal sent into either my Mother 32 or jdxa but I'd love to learn a different way to do this as this method is a bit limiting. Thanks!
That is crazy how phat that sounds!
yessss!!! finally part 2 :)
This is absolutely great! Thank u! I was wondering about the bass line tho. I have always thought that bass sounds should be recorded mono and stay mono. Otherwise you might loose the punch of the bass/kick etc. However, I cant deny that it really sounded great when you made two bass lines (or how to put it) for the left and right channel.
So I suppose my question goes: is it preferable to record bass/kick and similar bass heavy sounds stereo as well? Is the most important thing that you dont pan them in the final mix perhaps?
Im thinking that I maybe should do the same and record a left and right bass line and kick on a stereo track rather than just keep it mono. Just a bit afraid that this wont be appreciated when the track go to mastering hehe
Thanks again - gonna experiment quite a bit now :D
Still keeping the synth doctor busy, beak my heart every time any of that gear died. Looking forward to you getting round to the boomstars, as thinking of adding one and would like your input on them first though.
meneer Hollenborg, u bent simpel gezegd een baas. KUTGW
I have no idea what you were doing when you suddenly exclaimed “Okay, we achieved it”. Cool setup you got there.
Great videos I love them. Probably a stupid question considering this video is on modular synths, plus the crazy amount of awesome software and custom patches you have as well. But have you ever used one of the free vst instruments that are out there in a composition before. I only ask because I have some decent kontakt libraries and some nice commercial soft synths vst's and a couple of hardware units. But even with my limited equipment every once in a while I'll find a sound on some random free vst. And apply it to a composition made with some pretty nice stuff, and as soon as the sound mixes with the rest of the comp it gels instantly to the point where the comp would fall apart without this cheap sound. lol I just wondering if you had an experience like that. P.S Thank you so much for your videos and music Tom your a blessing.
Wow, you need a lot of patience to work effectively on a modular synth.
Yeah, but very interesting things can be done when maintaining that full control over the signal pathways :-D It's definitely nice to have all that equipment, but in the particular instance of modular synthesis I think I would prefer the workflow in software such as reaktor or max. And then you also have the luxury of patch memory :-D Would be cool to have a huge hardware modular rig though with lots of fully analog modules, then once you have decent modular patches going in software you could move over to hardware and really start dialling it in :-)
@@mortenrobinson I agree with this :) I only got into modular synthesis in the last couple of weeks and I really love it ! I'd say it's definitely cheaper and better for the workflow in the box, but man.. something about using the hardware really gets the nips hard hehe.
@@yebitchye You may want to check for ground coupling if that's the output you're getting.
this great guy has so much wholes, dont know where to plug in. cheers and greets from Germany.peace.
lot of fun and interesting to watch this wallstuff which sounds very well.peace.
Sounds even bigger then it is!
This is kind of like a stand up desk for musicians...
have you hooked up your moogerfoogers with all the CV ins and outs to a patchpay??
:-O wuuhhhh! this is like "Wreck-it Ralphing " into Reaktor or Voltage Modular :-)
Is there a reason you had the filter re-trigger with the Moon? Wouldn't the envelope retrig from Q960's sequence?
Tom in your VEp 6 system on your slaves do u load one articulating per kontakt instrument or do you load multiplayers ?
Your studio looks so clean Tom, how do you dust/clean this monster with all those knobs and nooks and crannies?
Chris Strobel step 1: pay someone else to do it
lose3111 Or get an air compressor with a blower attachment I guess 🙄
I'm just guessing Tom doesn't clean it all himself
You need your tuner display on a (smart) wristwatch or GSM.. would be a lot handier, no?
Brilliant Idea! You should patent it!!
Realized I was listening at 1.5 playback speed. Very cool sound. Try it during bass sequencer parts.
The notes can be controlled with a keyboard?
yes, you need a keyboard that has CV out or a module that converts midi to CV.
Is it not easier to have a tuner physicly on your monitor speakers set with a microphone instead of patching all the time? Just tune what comes out of the speakers
That can work an be handy but it will often become unusable rather quickly as you build a patch because you start to have many oscillators and effects etc sounding at once so you'd have to bypass the entire patch just to tune one element of it.
@@JohnLRice well everytime you tune, you need to play just that instrument over te speakers ofcourse. You cannot tune the whole patch. It's just way faster.
@@TheTerracide Probably in a majority of situations that could possibly be true for a majority of people, but I can say from my own experience it's not always true. ;-)
My OCD can't handle that one red cable :-p
How come most of your modules are black, while other modular racks are mostly white?
A strong majority of all 5U format synth modules are black, only Modcan B is whitish and you can get Analog Craftsman MU modules in chrome as a custom order etc. If you are thinking of the eurorack format sure, that format started out as grey and/or silver and these days a majority of eurorack modules are still those shades but more and more manufacturers are offering modules with black panels as alternate versions or only make black panels (like Erica Synths) so entire eurorack systems in black only are becoming fairly common. :-)
question:
How do you find a doctor?
lets say i buy a synth/ or a module. it breaks down and i cant diy fix it.
how do you find one
Jeremy Gillam this is more about how to find a tech. not the tech's name
Often, when you try to fix it yourself, you get into contact with other owners of similar synths. If the fix turns out to be over your head, they'll often have good references.
In any case, fixing a synth is very enlightening and removes some of the 'it's a magic box' feeling.
How do you incorporate these electronic sounds with the traditional orchestra ?
A clock-to-electrocardio-pulse converter can be run through a massive multi module into each instrumentalist to keep them in sync with the sequencer.
Regarding the multiples, do you have issues with dividing voltage?
There are actually two types of multiples : passives (not requiring power supplies) and actives. Passive multiples might alter/lower the voltage so they're good for not so sensitive voltages (like LFOs for example). Active multiples are designed to maintain the integrity of the copied voltage, these are the ones you want to use to duplicate sensitive information like notes.
Thanks. I was wondering. Where can I find info on obtaining active multiples? Are they typically only used for modular synths? I am wondering if passive could lead to some issues in a regular audio patchbay.
lahattec Yes, these mults are specifically designed to process modular signals. Each modular "family" (500, Serge, Eurorack, etc.) has its own voltage standards. So, even though mults look like tiny patchbays, I would not recommend using them this way ;)
Thanks. I know that sometimes multis are used in audio patchbays to route a signal to multiple places. I suppose there typically isn't any problem with doing that.
Great! I wasn't (just wire the patchbays to mult), but was wondering about the specifics. Good to know. Thanks.
Dumb Question: when you take an audio/CV signal out and use a multiplier/splitter (from 1 to 4 out), is the signal weaken by splitting it, or is there some type of amplification/quantizing coming out of the multiplier to maintain the level? (referencing @18:52). Appreciate the clarification.
yes! That is why you preferable want to use 'Active Mult'... this will avoid signal weakness
It's a shame to see all the issues. One of my worries. Tom, I'm thinking about buying a dot com Studio 88 this year or early next. Are there any modules you would recommend adding or removing from this system?
after some searching I found out I was using a faulty APC battery. After replacing the rig was totally fine.
Studio 88 is great start and the standard config is great!
junkiexlofficial ah, cool. Glad you got to skip the doctor visit.
Perhaps you could add this comment as an annotation at that point in the video. It would be a shame for new users to be scared off by an otherwise nice tutorial when it was a simple issue to resolve.
Do the Euro wall!
I'd have a voltmeter connected showing the different power supply voltages
Dutch guy here: Where did you buy these (synthesizers.com?) modules? From the original store or some European reseller? I'd love a moog-like synth rack, but i'll end up paying so much for shipping and, more importantly import tax.
In Europe check out these manufacturers:
www.lunar-experience.com/index.html (Germany)
www.synth-werk.com/ (Germany)
www.mos-lab.com/ (France)
www.cluboftheknobs.com/ (Portugal)
www.krisp1.com/store/ (UK)
corsynth.com/home/ (Spain)
www.grpsynthesizer.it/ (Italy)
www.macbethstudiosystems.com/5uintro.html (UK)
curetronic.com/ (Germany)
marienbergdevices.de/ (Germany)
facebook.com/rob.hordijk (Netherlands! ;-)
Jesus Christ, that is so cool
@junkiexlofficial how much did you spend on all of this?
$75!
The "voltage Quantizer" should be called "Voltage tuner", or "Scale tuner".
To me, quantizing is more about rhythm. But I might be wrong. What do you think?
It can be both. From an internet source " Quantization is the concept that a physical quantity can have only certain discrete values." So while a rhythm quantizer might only allow/force notes to land on 8th or 16th note divisions a voltage quantizer might only allow/force voltages in 12th volt steps (chromatic scale) or a more restrictive scale like G minor with a flat 7th, Pentatonic, or even just octaves.
I can't even imagine the nightmare of cable management behind these machines
behind the machine will be fine. These things are mostly only connected to power. The cable management nightmare is on the front ;)
...laying in my bed, 37° outside, air conditioning working at full speed, to keep it under 24... and Tom posts a new fantastic video: thank you so much !
As much as I like synths and I find it a really cool setup, it is seldom I hear it produce something a keyboard at a really small fraction of the price can't do as well, even a DSI PRO2 (or 2 of them) with virtual mod cables is probably not even 1/20 or less then the cost of that entire wall, with patch saving and CV in/outs to connect some extra modular gear. Not negative dissing, just saying..
But this gives you way more fun and joy! ...and fun is the one thing you really need after falling into daily film scoring routine :-)
@@suadcokljat1045 haha yeah totally I do that kind of stuff as well even completely redundant setups to distract 😁
@@laxiton I gone even further and mastered vinyl DJing in next room to my studio as a distraction from GHz, VSTs, TDMs, latencies and buffers ;-)
seems like that tuner is in a really weird spot.. maybe it should be in the middle of the room lol
Ehm I dont think this is the next week Tom, both you and the camera guy are wearing the exact same shirt and your belt is still sticking out ;) Great stuff though!
lot of work for very little play, the machine controlling the man, funny to watch
very little play more like trying to let people keep up. now that we have all of this information litterally skys the limit.
hey junkie, if you mail that huge synth to me i'd love you forever!
are these machines made in north America? lots of buttons
A lot of it is made in the USA, like the Synthesizers.com, Analog Craftsman, Synthetic Sound Labs, STG Sound Labs, and Megaohm Audio etc. The Moon Modular stuff is made in Germany, Club Of The Knobs is from Portugal, Mos-Lab is from France, etc. If you are in the USA check out the store NoiseBug.com since they carry modules from many USA and European manufacturers.
He probably spent more on patch cables then i did on all my equipment
Hahahaha, obviously. Thatś modular
... and thats why the real thing is better!.
You could have made that patch in seconds using Diva or any other decent soft synth and your ears wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Also doesn't cost 50-100g
Or Reaktor blocks if you want to get real close to modular emulation. Everybody works differently though and my studio is in an RV, so that wall is out of the question!
@Hogboy I think the difference in dynamics is obvious. And not only..
Owning a modular wall like this is last level and really not practical for the majority of musicians. I get why he wants to show it off though, that thing is a monster. Just picked up a Matrix Brute a few days ago and I'd recommend that to anybody that wants an affordable analog synth with pretty deep mod capabilities, and the sequencer is amazing.
Can’t even afford the rent for a single room, nevermind a modular setup that requires its own accommodation. Cool though!
Tom, you should stop using MIDI for sync/clock and use something more precise like Expert Sleepers plugins that generate audio signals which are sample accurate, free of jitter.
You missed his comment where he showed us what his midi master clock is...
for syncing an analogue sequencer Midi is perfect. I think you are talking about Clocking Cubase. I use Apogee for that. Analogue sequencing doesn't deal really with jitter. or sample accuracy. But audio clocking does
Hi Tom! Syncing an analogue sequencer with midi is ok, but I'm talking about Expert Sleepers plugins (there are others), which are *audio* plugins that generate *CV, Gate and Clock* signals through your soundcard audio outputs. Being a plugins, they're sample accurate... that means, you don't get *MIDI* jitter. Check Expert Sleepers's Silent Way, or MOTU's Volta. You can do a lot more that clock sync, you can have full control of your modular, they can even tune the oscillators automatically! Cheers.
www.expert-sleepers.co.uk/silentway.html
Hi Tom, thanks for the videos, do you actually need to clock the AD/DA converters to get perfect video sync? My understanding was that external clocks always performed worse than internal ones, however I am not familiar with the requirements of video clocking [I thought editing would have taken care of that]
little more about trigger sequencer please
last week...... wearing same clothes. thats what i do!
you too could blow $100 k on a wall of Modular synths and make it sound like a - Korg Ms 20
Normally I would concur, but Tom has been building up this collection most of his life. He also has received income from work that used his modular, so technically it's paying for itself ... to a degree. I'd rather have that MS-20 myself, easier to move. Although I could sell Tom's rig .... oh wait no I can't!
so ill