New Reaktor Buchla-based modular synth: Lyrebird

[aMUSEd]

I just need to be able to use it and can't with those tiny knobs and a mouse - this way I can get hands on with it (and also use Kore to morph between variations and that way generate new patches)

[David]

You still need to use the knobs to assign mods, though, no?

So, is this the now-long-gone-and-much-mourned Kore of Yore we're talking about? Or some new thing related to current NI hardware?

[aMUSEd]

Yes I can't get away from using the mouse for some things but just less. Same old Kore, still works for me.

[David]

Wish I still had it! Or could get it working again…

[David]

Latest Lyrebird demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uuv4W5MTw-M

[deastman]

I passed because the GUI looks hideous and I would never actually use it.

[David]

Hookups Part Two:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CWZfExI_qI

[vortico]

I passed because the GUI looks hideous and I would never actually use it.

I passed since examples weren't musical.

Why so much passing? If you get past these nitpicks (which are reasonable, don't get me wrong), you'll have a lot of fun playing with this "alternate reality" Buchla-style softsynth, which is a nice break from typical subtractive and Moog-style synthesizer workflow.

[EvilDragon]

This needs a GUI overhaul. The knobs are far too small to work with!

I just attended Matthew's video feed and I think that this pretty much locked in. He is very committed to the Blocks format and this leads to 22*22px knobs unfortunately.

Not true, you can use knobs of different sizes with Blocks format.

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/r ... show/8705/

That big one is 55x55, middle one is 37x37, and small one is 27x27.


Knobs on this Lyrebird ensemble are just badly designed, period.

[David]

I passed because the GUI looks hideous and I would never actually use it.

I passed since examples weren't musical.

Knobs on this Lyrebird ensemble are just badly designed, period.

You see, some subjective opinions are just… objective facts to those that have them. Get over it:) (Seems there's a precedent for this observation:
De gustibus non est disputandum, or de gustibus non disputandum est, is a Latin maxim meaning "In matters of taste, there can be no disputes" (literally "about tastes, it should not be disputed/discussed").[1][2] The implication is that everyone's personal preferences are merely subjective opinions that cannot be right or wrong, so they should never be argued about as if they were. Sometimes the phrase is expanded as De gustibus et coloribus... referring to tastes and colors. The phrase is most commonly rendered in English as "There is no accounting for taste(s)."[3] The original quotation is an ancient Latin adage, i.e. Roman, and discussed by many philosophers and economists.

Here's another "fact": Lyrebird is reserved, by design, for sound-makers primarily interested in intriguing functionality, which it delivers in well-conceived profusion, but only visible to those lured on by fresh options to persist beyond any initial illusions of difficulty, which swiftly dissipate after brief acquaintance. Those who can see the door can enter; those who miss it, fortunately, aren't in the way of those who don't. Nor is the door in any danger of closing:)

Nor is the design set in stone as is. First things first, and for Matthew, function came first, before gui. And continues to, as he's already delivering new included modules for what he calls the Lyrebird Multiverse, with very intriguing added functions, such as these:



And not only are more to come, as well as requests being encouraged, Matthew's already stated that users are free to disassemble and rebuild using the internal components, even allowing for use in other for-sale or for-free creations. This IS Reaktor, after all.

In short, LB is a fully functional Music Easel, able to reproduce every example in the recent AskAudio Tutorial series on the Buchla Music Easel, all packed into a fully front-panel-patchable, eight-mod-source Reaktor Block that leaves plenty of room for adding more standard-sized blocks from any other maker. And now it also includes a block that allows the duplication of every published usage of the Make Noise MATHS Euro-rack device, in the same form factor. Plus, in Flip Book, a fascinating, decidely powerful, and as far as I can tell, quite innovative 800-second-recordable XY controller/mod source—same format and functions.

But not for you, if you require bigger knobs, at least for now.

[lnikj]

This needs a GUI overhaul. The knobs are far too small to work with!

I just attended Matthew's video feed and I think that this pretty much locked in. He is very committed to the Blocks format and this leads to 22*22px knobs unfortunately.

Not true, you can use knobs of different sizes with Blocks format.

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/r ... show/8705/

That big one is 55x55, middle one is 37x37, and small one is 27x27.


Knobs on this Lyrebird ensemble are just badly designed, period.

But how would you fit the bigger ones on the interface? Maybe the 37*37 would fit but then the 'whitespace' would disappear.

[lnikj]

.

Are the Flipbook / Maths II blocks in private beta David?

[David]

I don't think they're private exactly, meaning any owner could probably get them with a quick email to Matthew, understanding that they are definitely in progress and he's just started a new internship that takes a lot of his time. They'll definitely be part of whatever revised packaging he's planning, about which I don't have details or a schedule for. He's a brainiac student cranking out amazing stuff at an equally amazing rate just now and as far as I can tell, eager for others to join the conversation and the fun—and of course to convince him that his efforts are of serious interest:) They sure are to me!

[lnikj]

I don't think they're private exactly, meaning any owner could probably get them with a quick email to Matthew, understanding that they are definitely in progress and he's just started a new internship that takes a lot of his time. They'll definitely be part of whatever revised packaging he's planning, about which I don't have details or a schedule for. He's a brainiac student cranking out amazing stuff at an equally amazing rate just now and as far as I can tell, eager for others to join the conversation and the fun—and of course to convince him that his efforts are of serious interest:) They sure are to me!

Thanks for the info. I'll wait until an official update but good to know there is stuff in the pipeline.

EDIT: ... and two hours later an official update arrives

[friedrichsaudio]

Speak of the devil, the latest update just got pushed tonight.

There are many decisions to make as far as future block additions go, so one of the major hurdles just making up my mind! I had known since I made the original Mathematical that I wanted to make a more hardware accurate version by getting rid of the wavetables and adding back the mixer properly. This was a perfect excuse to finally do that. Flip Book was a request from David that I went all out on. It also helps that a few other people have asked for a "recordable XY pad" in the past. If the hint isn't sticking, asking for new types of blocks is very welcome, and I do mean that.

The new update also makes it easy to assign DAW VST host automation via the text underneath the knobs. That area will act like a normal Reaktor knob, so you can assign them anyway you normally would. Once the assignments are made, you can use your controller of choice to edit the parameters. I tend to only assign a few at any one time, but I am now aware that some users wanted to map every single one of the 89 knobs.