IK MUltimedia UNO Synth

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I am enjoying it. I finally had a chance to sequence higher frequency content and there are some really nice sweet spots with the filters and the drive combination. I push everything through a DAW (don't do live) so having this available for additional effect processing is really appealing. I really like the multimode filter and drive circuits.

I have a Digitakt sampler setup with a retrokits 002 cable that will allow the digitakt to become a stereo polyphonic 8 voice sample based synth. When time permits some customs presets are going to become polyphonic monsters or nice little polyphonic plucks/stabs living in the Digitakt.

This is one of the reasons I really like this small format synths. So much creative power in a small footprint that you can really extend through your DAW or with a sampler.

Keep me in the loop if you don't mind regarding your experience with it. Good or otherwise. Have a good one. - Scotty



SLiC wrote:
SLiC wrote:
Scotty wrote:As I can't hear your unit I don't want to comment on your situation as that can be extremely annoying and unhelpful.

From my unit I just tested a bunch of presets and the harmonic sequence can get more apparent with some presets if the filter is highly resonant (patch 27) but for me still a non issue as the level is very low and with anything else playing ... completely inaudible.

Also backing off the volume from max (5 o' clock to 3 o 'clock) makes it even less apparent even if volume matched at the preamp stage. I hear exactly the same thing through stereo headphones.

I just compared it to my Volca Keys, Arturia Brute and Beats and their background noise relative to the UNO is higher unless that harmonic sequence cycles up and then Uno gets a bit louder by comparison but still in the same zone.
Hello Scotty

Yes the background noise is low without the harmonic sequence, but its a really irritating high pitch sequence through a desk to monitor speakers.... have a compressor on the output without a gate its even worse. I am pretty sure it shouldn't be there and am hopeful kit will just be a firmware tweak.

Sounds like you don't have the noise/hiss issue over patches with headphones? I am not getting it with stereo input to my mixer, just headphones, but I have tried 3 pairs in case it was faulty cans or impedance issues from in-ear to pro-audio...same thing.

Anyway- other than these two issues I really like the basic sound of the synth, I have been getting some nice pad sounds from it with a bit of vallhala shimmer added :)

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SLiC wrote: OK, I have plugged it in my mixer with a mono connector (I thought it may have been an artefact of summing) but it is just the same, this looks like a real issue.

Mono cable to mixer, no other cables attached -After any sound is played it goes quiet and then runs through a harmonic (calibration?) sequence permanently in the background!

When listening with headphones (I assume via any stereo connection there) is a lot of white noise/hiss over the pre-set. I tried 3 pairs of studio grade headphones, always the same (in face the better the headphones, the worse the noise!)

Can any other users please confirm or do I just have a bad one? (I have seem 1 other person over at gearsluts post exactly the same issues, so I fear the worst...hopefully its a software update rather than a unit return....)
(also posted on another audio forum)
Thank you SLiC, your input is always appreciated and we certainly value it. We did a deeper analysis on what you are posted (it’s Saturday, so we are trying to be on this in full force even though it may be more difficult during the weekend) and we think we may have now fully understood the issue experienced.

We believe that what you are hearing is the result of the calibration process, which ensures the two oscillators of UNO Synth are always perfectly in tune, without requiring a manual tuning process (which is also one of the advantage of UNO Synth).

This happens after the synth is inactive for 10 seconds in a situation where the synth is NOT playing, so as to not affect anything during a regular performance/use of UNO Synth. This process stops at the next note on (again to ensure your performance is not affected). This also ensures that even if you play UNO Synth for long time, it is immediately calibrated/tuned at the next available opportunity.

Now it seems that on some of the initial units we hastened to ship to end-users to meet the demand and excitement for UNO Synth's release, this process is conducted at -40/-50dB attenuation, which should not affect you enjoying UNO while playing or using it live or in studio, yet we've found this ended up still being slightly audible after these 10 seconds of notes off in these units, which may be annoying in certain cases.

Not to "bury the lead" but I can say that a firmware fix (which will be very easy to apply) is on its way for early next week. We hope to be able to make it available on Monday or Tuesday.

Thank you very much for your understanding and support, and sorry for the inconvenience or any confusion and we hope in the meantime that you can keep enjoying your UNO Synth.

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Terrific response, thanks Peter. I was hoping it could just be tweaked out...

Now...back to making some presets and a nice Biwig controller template :D
X32 Desk, i9 PC, S49MK2, Studio One, BWS, Live 12. PUSH 3 SA, Osmose, Summit, Pro 3, Prophet8, Syntakt, Digitone, Drumlogue, OP1-F, Eurorack, TD27 Drums, Nord Drum3P, Guitars, Basses, Amps and of course lots of pedals!

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SLiC wrote:Like all analog synths, it realy comes to life with a descent reverb behind it (and preferably a bit of compression).
Why would you need compression on a synth? Why wouldn't you just alter the envelopes to shape the sound? Every synth preset I have ever heard with constant compression on it (as opposed to side-chained) has served only to make it louder and that includes big brand hardware from Korg - you can turn off the compression and raise the level to get precisely the same effect. Every time.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

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I spent a couple of hours and mapped controller templates for the UNO for the NI Komplete Kontrol software. There are 78 CCs + mod wheel and pitchbend that can be mapped to the UNO which is quite exceptional for an analog synth and especially so for one at this price point. It took 3 templates to map all of it as NI only gives 8 knobs per page and 4 pages per template using Komplete Kontrol.

It does works well but it has me really look forward to the dedicated software from IK with a proper user interface. Getting access to that many parameters from your keyboard / DAW really opens up the sound design possibilities.

Most of the sound demos I've heard concentrate on the bass where it does indeed sound great but I was interested in how it sounded in the higher registers and it doesn't disappoint. The multimode filter when tweaked and fed some LFO and drive has a lot of sweet spots that kind of pop up as you sweep it across the higher end of its range.

Very positive thoughts after a couple of days of tweaking.

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BONES wrote:
SLiC wrote:Like all analog synths, it realy comes to life with a descent reverb behind it (and preferably a bit of compression).
Why would you need compression on a synth? Why wouldn't you just alter the envelopes to shape the sound? Every synth preset I have ever heard with constant compression on it (as opposed to side-chained) has served only to make it louder and that includes big brand hardware from Korg - you can turn off the compression and raise the level to get precisely the same effect. Every time.
It's common to use a compressor to provide additional sound shaping, making for more complex envelope shapes than the synth alone could offer eg a slightly longer attack setting on the compressor will give more of an initial pluck. That's especially useful where the envelope decays are running in the hundreds of ms for a fuller sound, but you want it to have a strong transient in the mix.

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I have a couple of questions if anyone has a minute to answer based on their practical experience. :)

1. How much loud can it get? I mean it looks sufficiently loud in the demos, but what does your experience say?
The speaker/power output part is missing the spec.

2. Is it too noisy or manageable? I plan to DI record it through my audio interface.

Thanks!

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Plenty loud. I recorded with it through an adat convertor and didn't have to boost the gain very much at all with UNO volume knob set to 75%. Noise is lower than my Volca's and Arturia Brute but it is present in any analog gear. I can't say if it will be a problem for you or not. If you aren't used to tracking with analog gear, guitars, mics you might mind the noise but it won't be louder than other analog synths at least the stuff I have in my studio. Using a good cable is always a good idea.

Also there is plenty of volume to drive headphones. I tested it with the AKGs K712 Pros and K240 MKII both which want a bit of juice and the UNO could handle them just fine.

IK is releasing a firmware update sometime early this week as some users are hearing high pitch notes after about 10 seconds of silence... apparently due to an automatic tuning process. IK is doing something to make the tuning cycle quieter with the firmware patch.



LoveEnigma18 wrote:I have a couple of questions if anyone has a minute to answer based on their practical experience. :)

1. How much loud can it get? I mean it looks sufficiently loud in the demos, but what does your experience say?
The speaker/power output part is missing the spec.

2. Is it too noisy or manageable? I plan to DI record it through my audio interface.

Thanks!

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OneOfManyPauls wrote:It's common to use a compressor to provide additional sound shaping, making for more complex envelope shapes than the synth alone could offer eg a slightly longer attack setting on the compressor will give more of an initial pluck. That's especially useful where the envelope decays are running in the hundreds of ms for a fuller sound, but you want it to have a strong transient in the mix.
And how often do you need to do that, as opposed to how often you see a preset with a compressor on it by default? But I think I'd tend to use a transient shaper for that kind of thing, though. Compression is by orders of magnitude the most over- and incorrectly used effect in the history of the universe. I see it with DUNE presets ALL the time and you can turn off the compressor and often the EQ and other effects that people seem to use just because they are there, and it makes not the tiniest difference to the timbre, apart from making it louder. I think we'll call your example the exception which proves the rule.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

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Thank you so much for the detailed and helpful answer, much appreciated.

Yes, with what you mentioned, noise does not seem much of an issue. I am not into analog gear much, so I can rely on someone (you) who is well acquainted with analog synths. This increases my confidence to get UNO Synth. :)

Scotty wrote:Plenty loud. I recorded with it through an adat convertor and didn't have to boost the gain very much at all with UNO volume knob set to 75%. Noise is lower than my Volca's and Arturia Brute but it is present in any analog gear. I can't say if it will be a problem for you or not. If you aren't used to tracking with analog gear, guitars, mics you might mind the noise but it won't be louder than other analog synths at least the stuff I have in my studio. Using a good cable is always a good idea.

Also there is plenty of volume to drive headphones. I tested it with the AKGs K712 Pros and K240 MKII both which want a bit of juice and the UNO could handle them just fine.

IK is releasing a firmware update sometime early this week as some users are hearing high pitch notes after about 10 seconds of silence... apparently due to an automatic tuning process. IK is doing something to make the tuning cycle quieter with the firmware patch.
LoveEnigma18 wrote:I have a couple of questions if anyone has a minute to answer based on their practical experience. :)

1. How much loud can it get? I mean it looks sufficiently loud in the demos, but what does your experience say?
The speaker/power output part is missing the spec.

2. Is it too noisy or manageable? I plan to DI record it through my audio interface.

Thanks!

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Thanks for the comments and information.

Bonedo did this "no talking" demo of UNO Synth recently:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjtDk183CtE

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UNO Synth firmware version 1.02 has been released in your IK User Area in the "Firmware Updates" section as well as under "Related Products" for UNO Synth under "My Products".

What’s New:

- Reduces the volume of the background calibration and tuning.

USB power has inherent ground noise, so when connecting the UNO Synth directly to your computer via USB, you may hear more noise and interference than when the synth is connected to a USB wall charger or running via batteries. With the direct computer connection, you can reduce the USB ground noise and other interference by either using a USB isolator or a custom TRS cable into a balanced input on your preamp or audio interface where the ground is not connected balanced input side.

You can find a diagram from the above paragraph and instructions in the Firmware Updates section of your IK User Area.

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Comments on Firmware:

On my end I cannot hear any harmonic sequence related to tuning (after 10 seconds of silence) at all after applying the firmware patch. The installer indicated that for Windows it wants at least Windows OS 8 and that seems to be accurate ... it wouldn't update in Windows 7 for me giving me a pathway error message.

I updated it from a Mac computer I have in the studio that meets the specifications and it updated without issue. It will be interesting to hear from LoveEnigma18 to see if it cured his issues as he was more impacted from the tuning calibration related noises than me.



From the firmware update page...

The Firmware Updater requires OS X 10.11 / Windows 8 or later.

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They are now in stock in a few stores in Australia already, which is pretty good going. Sadly, none near me so I can't go and have a play. And Au$329 is pretty sharp pricing, cheaper than a straight currency conversion plus taxes. Gotta be happy with that.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.

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Peter - IK Multimedia wrote: What’s New:
Have you tested UNO with midi thru? Thinking of controlling
Sampletank normally, with the midi controller's midi-thru
going to UNO midi in, and the UNO audio output going
to an audio track, for example, playing both
some ST3 instrument and a UNO sound of differing attack/release ?

I didn't realize how tiny UNO is, til Bonedo's video.
It sure won't take up enough space to worry about.
It's a bracket-gizmo fiend's dream!
Cheers

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