Syntronik [update March 2018: New T-03 Bonus Content & 4-for-1 bass synth promo] available

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

I thought this was going to be a dud from some of the sound clips sounding very MIDIesque... Having downloaded and tried the free version, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised.

I like that you broke up the sections into 50 dollar/50 credit chunks. And can even upgrade to the full kit through gear credits too. Nice touch.

Hmm on the free version all of the CC values are not labeled as to what they modulate. It is just a long list.. CC1 CC2 CC3 kind of like BBC1 BBC2 BBC3 hehe

It would be nice if they came up 'OSC1 Pitch, OSC2 Pitch, Cutoff1, Res1, etc.

Thank you for the kind words. Have you used MIDI learn to assign controls as you like? They are not assigned/pre-set for general DAW automation at this time (though the request for DAW automation without MIDI Learn has been relayed).

Thanks again!

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ABiP4_yea4

[jdoo]

It would be even cooler, to see mr. (expressiveness) Rudess, using these synths with aftertouch or a foot controller. - anything aside from velocity.

I should add: I say this, not in a demeaning way. Rudess really is king of getting expressiveness out of instruments. Everything from iPad apps, to alternative controllers.. he masters. My tongue-in-cheek response, was a dig, at Syntronik not supporting aftertouch (yet), nor foot pedal mapping. Am hopeful that those will come in a future update...

[martinjuenke]

Mmh...
Resident Advisor is not really convinced:
https://www.residentadvisor.net/reviews/21365

[Caine123]

i got a code from JRR but where to i apply it?

[Burillo]

in your authorization manager.

[Caine123]

thx, totally forgot this manager!

[zzz00m]

Mmh...
Resident Advisor is not really convinced:
https://www.residentadvisor.net/reviews/21365

The reviewer ended with this statement, like he was surprised by what had been stated all along if he had been paying attention:

"As a player instrument, it does the job well with its big bank of presets that capture the sounds of the classic synthesisers. If you're a sound designer looking for detailed control however, this one may not be for you."

Earlier in the review he admitted to confusion with the UI. I guess he didn't bother to glance at the users guide before diving in.

He liked the sounds, which are the most important part!

Clearly there is some room for improvement in the UI department, and I think IK is listening. There is an open thread over at the IK forum for suggestions that are being passed to the devs for the next update.

[fmr]

Clearly there is some room for improvement in the UI department, and I think IK is listening. There is an open thread over at the IK forum for suggestions that are being passed to the devs for the next update.

The update should (must) be on the main instrument, from which Syntronik is just a subset. The main instrument is Sample Tank 3, and it is limited in what concerns editing. And it shouldn't.

The limitations in Syntronik come from there.

[zzz00m]

Clearly there is some room for improvement in the UI department, and I think IK is listening. There is an open thread over at the IK forum for suggestions that are being passed to the devs for the next update.

The update should (must) be on the main instrument, from which Syntronik is just a subset. The main instrument is Sample Tank 3, and it is limited in what concerns editing. And it shouldn't.

The limitations in Syntronik come from there.

What editing are you referring to?

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

As far as what Syntronik is and is not, the sampling vs modeling debate, and the controls, I believe this previous post might clear up some confusion I see popping up again in that regard (as well as set expectations of any changes/additions to Syntronik) :

We make extensive use of round robin sampling throughout Syntronik, from the raw single oscillator samples to samples of complete presets. In addition to that, we also pay a LOT of attention to phase and phase relationships to capture the living, breathing, organic quality of analog synthesizers. This should answer the question about needing round robin sampling - especially due to the fact that we sampled the oscillators, not just synth patches from these vintage synthesizers.

Why sample oscillators? For modularity (especially marrying the analog-modeled filters to oscillators in combinations that haven't existed in hardware form anywhere) and for flexibility and tweakability. You can of course modulate the oscillators with a multi-shape LFO, tune or detune. The strength of the Syntronik oscillator is in its vast library of samples. We have seriously deep samples of the 38 classic synth and string machine oscillators. That is where the ultimate power and flexibility comes from. It also makes the synths sound much more authentic — much more like the real thing — than using modeled oscillators. Modeled oscillators of course provide more direct user programmability but this is not the main goal of Syntronik (though there is a lot of flexibility compared to a fully sample-based product). Instead, we provide a huge library of sounds that the user can play right away or easily edit to taste. It is not intended to be a ground-up sound design machine (maybe we'll dive more into those waters later?) but instead a go-to musical instrument where you can quickly get the iconic sounds you want with super high quality and extreme authenticity to the hardware.

"But where's the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc oscillator on x synth??"
Syntronik has a consistent control interface that is essentially the same for all of the synths in the collection. Only the sound and look changes from synth to synth, but not the functionality. This is to provide a consistent user experience throughout the whole product so you don't have to learn 17 different synths. Syntronik has 2 oscillator slots. We simulate 3-oscillator sounds (and 4, 8, 10-oscillator sounds, etc.) by providing samples of multiple oscillators that can in the either or both of the oscillator slots. So you cannot customize tuning for 3 separate oscillators, you can only do it for two of them. But remember that with our extensive — and I mean *extensive* — supply of multi-oscillator samples, we don’t expect this to be limiting at all.

As for the diving into the ground-up sound design waters, that was not in the context of Syntronik itself but generally as we expand our product line and of course is not an official statement of any intent or actual products in the pipeline at this time.

[fmr]

Clearly there is some room for improvement in the UI department, and I think IK is listening. There is an open thread over at the IK forum for suggestions that are being passed to the devs for the next update.

The update should (must) be on the main instrument, from which Syntronik is just a subset. The main instrument is Sample Tank 3, and it is limited in what concerns editing. And it shouldn't.

The limitations in Syntronik come from there.

What editing are you referring to?

The fact that you cannot choose whatever waveform (or sampleset, whatever) you want for each patch, basically. This is a big limitation, IMO.

[Elektronisch]

Perhaps most distressing is the lack of host automation—Syntronik only allows you to assign MIDI CCs to controls via MIDI Learn.

See Peter, im not the only one who points that out. And how long it has have been since i started to brag about this issue ever since ST 3 that came out 3 years ago

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

The suggestions/feature requests have been noted and we are going to address requests in an upcoming Syntronik update. Thanks!

[In The Mix]

Since I couldn't get anybody to respond to my thread in the official forum, maybe you guys here will have some ideas...


Is anybody having problems with Syntronik in standalone mode at all? On a Windows 8.1 machine using an Asio driver (Zen Studio) that is NOT being used/shared with anything else, as soon as I send a note on message it crashes.(Be it from its own virtual keyboard or an external midi controller). I've used it a lot with ProTools as a plug in, and so far so good.

..............

In the Arpeggiator view mode, above each step there's a field where you can assign a transposition value. Is the range suppose to be -12/+12 or -24/+24 semitones? According to the user manual, it's suppose to be -24/+24 but when I click in the field, I get -12/+12. Is this a graphic issue in the software, or a manual misprint?

............

(From User manual- Page 89)
"6.3.3 – Overall length
This parameter lets you shorthen or lenthen the duration of all events in the Arpeggio. The Length knob lets you shorten or lengthen all of the steps by up to 50% of its current value. The default value for this parameter is 100% with a minimum value of 50% and a maximum value of 150%. "

The Length knob range is between 0 and 100% though, so how is it suppose to add the length by %150? Or I'm reading it wrong? By the way turning the knob doesn't change the graphic of the step at all.

.............................
(From User manual- Page 90)
6.3.4 – Swing
"Swing moves every second note (the upbeat note) closer to the nearest downbeat with a range from no movement (0% Swing) to extreme note movement (100% Swing). A Swing value of 0% that results in no note movement, whereas a value of 100% results in extreme note movement. The default value for this parameter is 0%."

When I move the knob to make adjustments, it starts from 50% and NOT 0% . In fact if you just hover over the parameter, it displays a 50% value (default setting).

..........

I've used it a lot and I like it. I'm not bothered with the fact that it doesn't come with 10 Osc . All instruments share the same Synth panel as far as the features go. I thought that was strange at the beginning, but I kind of like that idea now as well.

Let me know what you think! Thanks