My Detailed, Honest Review of the 'Cosmos', by Soma Labs (all talk, no playing)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ค. 2024
- FYI - I purchased my Cosmos just like any other customer - I have no official connection with SOMA labs, and did this review without the offer of any compensation. I just wanted people to get a sense of this device from a truly independent & objective source.
#synthesizer
#somalabs
#deluge
#ambient
#somaCosmos
#synthstrom - เพลง
A stunningly inspiring review on COSMOS!!! Thank you so much for it!
Thanks for checking the video out......yeah, it's a wild piece of gear
Such a great review! I bought one a couple of weeks ago and I’m loving it so far. Soma are such an incredible team!
Agreed, SOMA make really different and awesome gear...................thanks for watching
you find find this usefull:
th-cam.com/video/uq03u-naPoA/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for your Review + all the important Features & Informations about the Cosmos. Your Opinion is pure Gold ✨
Thanks for taking the time to watch and to comment.........I'm still really loving this piece of gear.......it's a really special and unique effects device.....
Awesome review! I feel your enthusiasm. Love the Cosmos❤
glad you feel that. I'm seduced and very happy with my new addiction.
I am very glad to hear how much you like it! I have ordered mine, will hopefully have it soon, can't wait to have some fun with it!!
Awesome.......
Always top shelf content. Thank you, Will!
glad to hear that, thank you
Wow, that was a great introduction of this amazing device for sonic explorers like me! Thank you very much! Well done!
thanks so much. It's a rad piece of gear (but not for everyone), I'm glad to do what I can to get the word out.......I appreciate you taking the time to watch, and comment.
Beautifully put .Brilliant as ever Will.x
Thanks v much............appreciate the comment
@@willswitchcraft My 2nd hand Cosmos is arriving tomorrow .Gonna test out some dirty harsh noise / industrial on it.Can't wait.I love Vlads ground breaking gear and attitude.Keep doing what you're doing.All the best Will .Reg Plasma.
Congrats on your Cosmos. Yeah, Vlad is so rad................can't wait to hear what you do with it....
First visit to your channel, and I was very pleased. I've just ordered my Cosmos and it'll be here some time next week I guess. I'm gobbling up content about it, and I really appreciate your review. You have a new subscriber! Cheers
So great to hear.......In case you've not looked, I have dozens of videos using the Cosmos. It's really an amazing piece of gear, esp. if you like to experiment (because it has no presets, etc., you HAVE to keep experimenting)
you find find this usefull:
th-cam.com/video/uq03u-naPoA/w-d-xo.html
Thank you so much for this review. I'm so inspired to do this with my theremin and guitar.
Yeah, it's an awesome device......however I just recently sold mine, and replaced it with a Chase Bliss MOOD MkII.....excellent as well
Lovely review.
Once the Cosmos was announced I preordered
two of them right away.
Wow. Can't wait to listen to what you're pulling out of yours
You have really piqued my curiosity. Further research required. Thanks for the introduction!
Glad you were interested............thanks for the comment
excellent review. hits on all the main questions i had for the cosmos.
Glad to hear it........still love this box!
Thank you for your detailed explanation that is very helpful!
glad you found it!
Excellent analysis. I love mine, and I think we she do the quad experiment!
Right?!
would love to hear old radio station noises ran thru this thing. great vid
Cool idea. There are quite a few people using radio station reception from an assortment of odd stations to add to their 'ambient/electronic' offerings.....though I'm not aware of anyone using a Cosmos with them.....
Mine is on backorder. Hopefully it will be here in two weeks. I'm so excited to give it a run... Or rather a good meditative sit. 😉
I'm excited for you - you've got the right attitude: be prepared to have a more meditative experience than you would with a lot of other gear. Be open to experimenting to find ways of working with it.....I've uploaded quite a few videos with it, and still, every time I spark it up - I'm surprised to find new sounds.......
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! 'Cosmos' is on my list since it was released, bought Ornament-8 for Lyra recently so Cosmos is next, hopefully soon-ish, did you buy it directly from Soma? Doesn't seem to be in stock anywhere in UK yet...
Glad to hear we're both on the same team (SOMA). Yeah, I ordered it directly from them, they shipped it from Poland, so then I just had to wait for it to travel 4,000 Kms - during all the drama of Covid. I was worried that all the current European tensions might be a problem, just I guess it slipped through just in time........Thanks for watching & commenting.
Thank you for your thoughts on the Cosmos. I love the idea of working in the moment play, record and gone never to be repeated. Not available anywhere at the moment (UK) but probably that is a good thing or the credit card would be out again! lol
'play, record and gone never to be repeated' that's it exactly....I live in a remote area of Canada. I and a friend both ordered them at the same time - from SOMA (Russia), but they ship from the manufacturing part of the company, in Poland. .....yeah, always so much great gear, and I don't collect any more. Generally I sell something when I want to buy something new.....thanks for taking so much time to check out my channel.
Well Will, it has happened. It is on the way. Very excited.
Awesome job Will! Super Demo and explanation. I really love there Moto! I think this may be for me. I am working , learning how to work with, a Microcosm and a Night Sky right now. I hope all is well in Your world 🌎. Mark Bensette Aux Bois 🇨🇦.
Thanks for watching........I sold my Microcosm when I bought this (trying not to collect), but I really loved that piece of gear......The Cosmos is great for me, but I know that most people want more control, or BPM control via MIDI........Ahhh the Nightsky......awesome.......All is great in my world, but we're still waiting for the sun........
Found you on the suggestions, heard a bit about Cosmos, went straight to listen to your music. I appreciate so much, so much... Like and sub! Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you Matteo!......Just listened to "Frammenti di Ghiaccio" - really amazing piece of music.....I'm going to come back and listen to more of your uploads soon........Instant Sub!
@@willswitchcraft so glad so glad so glad to read this! You made my day!!
This would be a fav for me using my Korg Wavestate and its wave sequences. That would expand the sonic universe of this box since the Wavestate evolves wave sequences also. Thanks for your POV!
It's a rare device, but I love it........I just recently spent quite a bit of time exploring the Wavestate.......once I started using the 'Randomize' feature, I was totally blown away........(when I was using the factory presets, I was finding the sounds had too much going on, too much complexity, and not enough subtlety)
@@willswitchcraft I can understand that. Simpler wave sequences would be better for your styles (you would have to build them). Wavestate certainly has complexity which is good for some and not for others. 😀 I'd love to hear a song or section of a song (something with multiple parts/instruments) run through the Cosmos to see what it does with it in entirety. Do you have anything like that or a link to someone that has done that?
I haven't heard anything like that......Good point - it would be interesting.........I have uploaded a few short videos, which attempt to (sonically) show exactly what type of manipulation is occurring....check them out:
th-cam.com/video/4PeIzrDrvyg/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/2Rg7QEhS54U/w-d-xo.html
@@willswitchcraft Thanks for those links! I found a couple others and am searching now for something not so ambient played through the Cosmos to hear what can become of it.
This guitarist does an excellent job of showcasing the various algorithms of the Cosmos:
th-cam.com/users/andrelafosse
An excellent review. I placed an order seven months ago and just received the first of two (the second to arrive soon - I hope). I'd love to know if you borrowed your friend's and something of your quadraphonic experience. Other than firmware modification how did you set them up or combine them (signal path) to get your best quadraphonic experience? You are correct. These are manufactured in and shipped out of Poland. Thanks. :)
I'm really excited for you.....I remember how eager I was to receive my Cosmos. At this point, my dear friend (also called Will) and I have not got around to doing our Quadraphonic experiment. We have a couple of other musical things going on, and are currently far too busy curating an upcoming music festival, to do much else. ....but we're both addicted to synthesis, effects and exploration so I'm sure it will happen.......frankly, your comment is a great reminder for us to begin to think about it.......Perhaps you'll be doing this experiment before us!? Thanks for reaching out..
You and me both ! Ilove it ! Bang on ! ( have another ! )
Glad you dig it (the Cosmos and the review)
Hi thanks for the fantastic insight definitely worth looking into a bit more just waiting on Namm before spending my hard earned pennies although new synth prices rising so fast, tough judging if they drop back down again , still got my eye on a virus ti. Anyway really enjoy your channel and the fab insight your provide plus of course your music take care
Hey Ian, thanks for your comment. Back when I was a touring musician, I used to go to the Winter NAMM show (Anaheim) quite often. It was always an amazing few days, meeting players, seeing all the new gear.......Glad you're enjoying my channel. Thanks for taking the time. Beware, I'm developing a pretty serious addiction to the Cosmos.
Thank you..
Nice review.
And your review chops... 👏🙏🤗
I need one😉
Yeah, they are awesome devices.....not for everyone, but I love mine............................
@@willswitchcraft I need one of those-but you knew that!
Interesting and clever presentation - thx 🎼
Clever? - thanks for the support
Thank you very much for this video !
....hope it was helpful!
@@willswitchcraft sure !
I fanned out over this unit when they first came out and almost purchased one but they seem too sell out fast although I'm glad I didn't after watching this review even though I understood Will perfectly it sounds like it would be too much machine for me at this time thanks Will.🙏🤘
Interesting.......I love the Cosmos, but without having presets, you have to really learn how to get what you want from it. You might be better of with a Microcosm - they're incredible and more versatile......
there is a way to clock the cosmos. get youself a morphagene, experiment with your sound in the cosmos, record into morphagene and then clock it. i have my cosmos since 2 days after waiting my ass off. it was my fav piece of gear of the whole superbooth 22. i will keep this thing forever. i also love all the firmware. all in all an incridible device!!
Interesting.....thanks v much.......for me - the Rhythmic firmware is the one I find myself always going back to....
nice review!
Thanks v much.......hope you found it useful.
09:00 My Cosmos does in fact cut out the audio when I change the algorithm. I contacted Soma about it and they said that it's expected and that it's not fixable. Very interesting that you don't see the same issue. Makes me wonder if mine is actually broken. It even cuts the audio if the mix knob is turned all the way down.
I no longer own a Cosmos, but I found the audio drop out very rare, much better than a lot of 'loopers'......
@@willswitchcraft Why did you get rid of it? I'm pretty sure mine is broken due to dropouts when changing the algorithm, but I still can't imagine ever getting rid of it. Replacing it, maybe. ;)
It's a great device, but I opted for something with 'sync' capabilities and better reverb (C.B. MOOD MkII)
I put the Soma Lyra 8 into the Microcosm and then Intro the Cosmos - great results for me as a beginner
I'll bet you're getting some amazing sounds
Hi. Is there someone who has or had both of those machines - Soma Cosmos and Hologram Electronics Infinite Jets? Could someone compare, say a bit about differences. At a first glance some features looks similar.
my only in depth experience is with the Microcosm, but overall, the main differences is that the Cosmos is NOT easy and capable of connecting with other gear - no presets, no MIDI.....it's very different from most effects on the market
@@willswitchcraft Thanks for a replay. I had Infinite Jets for 6-7 months and sold it. I was disappointed with it's automation, to many things had happened without my hands and I had not enough control over it. Other thing was hum, to strong in my opinion.
A question - you mention Microcosm, I can't find any in depth comparison between the two. Are they similar, what would your opinion about the differences be? I can get only one. Deciding now.
for most people out there I would probably recommend the Microcosm. I love the Cosmos, but it doesn't have MIDI, so it doesn't sync to other gear in any way. It also has no presets, so you have to experiment to find a specific sound, then try and find it again in the future, if you've changed any settings. The Microcosm is a great pedeal, hi fidelity with amazing stereo effects. You can check my videos on in, starting with this one:
th-cam.com/video/BiRywMGG1zM/w-d-xo.html
@@willswitchcraft Thank you, much appreciated.
What would the biggest benefit or specialty of Cosmos be in your opinion (over Microcosm)? I guess they both have gret sound quality.
I already have Nightsky and mostly do acoustic based live looping performances, might add a bit more spaced out atmospheres that I usually do in DAW for my album releases... Nightsky already adds some "synth-like" ambiences, was thinking of adding Cosmos for more textures... now I am also interested in Microcosmos.
The main design feature of the Cosmos, is that - in most programs, the repeats in the Left and Right side of the stereo are set to different delay times. The idea is that, when listening on headphones, it creates a 'binaural' field that stimulates the different hemispheres of the brain, ideally - to induce meditational states, etc. They state all this on their website........that's how it's so different from almost everything else out there....
one of the best gear ever ... goes out to microcosm and yes...!
Thanks for watching. I've done a shipload of Virus videos, and Microcosm and Deluge stuff too, incase you're interested and haven't seen them.........Always great to watch your tutorials and other uploads Ron!
Well done!
thanks...................but I'm selling mine, if you're interested (I have an upload here on my channel)
I have one. Cannot believe you are selling it.I'm disappointed. @@willswitchcraft
Excellent review! I cancelled my preorder in favour of a Lyra-8. Now I want one again! Sigh.
Collect whole set - each one's unique, each sold separately!.........but seriously, I hear you - the folks at SOMA Labs keep coming out with awesome and original products.......
@@willswitchcraft I reordered one earlier from Thomann. They say new stock next month. 🙏
I’ve got Ether and Quantum Ocean; both unique and interesting devices.
The pulsar 23 has also piqued my interest, but I need to let my wallet breathe for a bit. 😅
Cool to hear.......But have you checked out the Terra???? Looks pretty unique.........
th-cam.com/video/_LBc3sJmp0o/w-d-xo.html
@@willswitchcraft the Cosmos arrived yesterday! Still getting to know it, but blown away by the magic it creates.
Awesome......I'm excited for you.. I've had mine a couple of months, and I'm still discovering new things within it.......
seems like you can create some beautiful and evolving, sound pallets, but it feels like a little too much AI for my taste. Correct me if I'm wrong? In other words, is it something that you can master and have some moniker of control over what you're doing?
There's a considerate amount of randomness to the Cosmos. Frankly, a lot of people prefer something that will do MIDI sync, and with presets (like the Microcosm). I no longer own the Cosmos, but it is a very powerful and interesting piece of gear.
“ it doesn’t use MIDI”. . . thank freaking god! I’m so there. Sounds like it would go good with the Microcosm
You're one of the few that probably feel that way (MIDI).....I had a Microcosm a while back.....excellent pedal as well, but quite different. My best friend uses both the Cosmos and Microcosm together on a regular basis, and comes up with some amazing sounds.......
Very good review good sir
thanks for your kind comment - I appreciate it................yeah, it's a really awesome piece of gear.....a year later, I'm still exploring it's potential
you have a very deep undestanding of this Thing i guess!
Actually Mikhail, I just got this a couple of weeks ago, so I'm exploring it's potential for my applications. It's a very interesting and unique device.....
@@willswitchcraft well it's clear for me that you have a really long background it this field - so no wonder you loved it)
Yes, ..........I'm old as dirt
Hey Will! About a year ago I asked about a p.o.box so I could send you something. Since then The house I rented was sold out from under my wife and I. To make a long story short, I've come across the item I wanted to send you. Question is has your po box changed recently? I still have the one you posted a year ago, so no need to re post if it's the same..
Nothing has changed at my end. Thanks for reconnecting!
@@willswitchcraft no problem! Love your channel
Thanks
@@willswitchcraft 👍
I don't doubt it's fantastic but from what I have seen so far you can get the same effects from Zoia. I maybe wrong but I need to see more to justify paying such a high price when Zoia can be bought for a few hundred less.
No question that the Cosmos is not cheap, and there are likely many other devices which sill deliver similar effects.....I'm not experienced with the Zoia so I can't speak to the differences, etc., but I appreciate you weighing in.....
Which presets would you use in Zoia to mimic the Cosmos?
It needs to be more controllable, have presets, and have midi... As it stands, you have to record everything which totally sucks... Not worth the money in its current state...
I believe Vlad is creating most of his machines so people can't rely on presets, etc. You have to be present and understand what you're doing to get different sounds. I do understand your perspective though. If it had presets and MIDI, it would be called a Microcosm, and be made by Hologram
Appreciate your enthusiasm.
I appreciate you taking the time to comment.....(BTW, I've since sold my Cosmos, but it is a great and unique piece of gear)