One Synth Challenge #81: Oxe FM (z.prime wins!)

[doctorbob]

ReaXComp is more flexible, but doesn't sound great to me for some reason, to be honest.

Sort of with you there ...

Nova is more subtle.

Yes, just been finding that out - lots of a/b-ing - deffo subtle. But where I need to go is still a bit surgical and 4 bands may not be enough to home in tightly on the slightly troublesome areas. So, this time round it'll come off the master, but most likely it will make an appearance in the future for me.

67p, anyway was like an eq compressed together, multi band but not independent.

Yes, this is the clever bit, but when you get in there you just seem to want even finer control.

Still sounded good tho. This new one seems about the same, sounds good.

But for a freebie, a good one for the arsenal.

Cheers,

dB

[doctorbob]

I'm using Nova on my master bus for light overall EQ and multi-band compression (super light though) and I have to say, for free software, I think it's awesome.

Agree - for free, excellent tool.

I've also been using Limiter No6 as the last step in the chain and while it's taken some experimentation as it's a little complicated with many choices for settings, it also sounds very, very good.

With you there, you have to dig very deep, but it's worth it. I usually use Waves L3, which can be quite aggressive, but with tuning it works very well with some decent comp just before it. Not for OSC obviously!

ReaEQ seems ok.

I like the seeming simplicity of ReaEQ, just adding bands as required. Nice and reactive, so you can sweep a node around and get a good feel for what it's doing very quickly. Just brilliant for that little boost or cut just in the right place in the spectrum.

This is my first project on Reaper and once I got past some synth related midi issues, I'm finding it to be a very good working environment.

Yeah, it's not a bad environment at all - I find it quite intuitive (but others complain like hell!). Golden rule is "right click" anywhere, yes? I also find it's good on cpu, and its handling of slightly wayward VST's second to none.

Cheers, dB, and thanks for the nice comments on my latest track.

[a-type]

Yay! Looks like the latest version of OXE FM is much more stable in Renoise on Mac... so I'm putting together a track right now for the competition this month. So far, I'm really liking OXE FM.. the interface is a bit dated and clunky, but this little guy is deceptively versatile. It's kind of hard to make it sound bad, which is definitely an achievement for a traditional FM synth like this.

Really enjoying everyone's tracks so far!

[jasinski]

Man guys. I wish I had time to participate this month! :/

[a-type]

Hope you can find the time Jasinski! I was looking forward to hearing what you would do with this little beast. It's pretty neat...

[z.prime]

Man guys. I wish I had time to participate this month! :/

Read: "I have something awesome cooking that will blow everyone's mind!"

[psmacmur]

This is my first project on Reaper and once I got past some synth related midi issues, I'm finding it to be a very good working environment.

Yeah, it's not a bad environment at all - I find it quite intuitive (but others complain like hell!). Golden rule is "right click" anywhere, yes? I also find it's good on cpu, and its handling of slightly wayward VST's second to none.

This is my 2nd project in Reaper after 2 years in Studio One. Reaper is MUCH faster (lighter on CPU) than S1, and has Acid's lovely midi clip looping feature. In theory, it's automation curves are what I missed from acid, but actually working with automation in Reaper -- from digging through deep long menus to find the params, to manipulating the control points -- is such a PITA that I might just switch back... oh but the CPU... sigh... Despite Reaper's immense capability, it feels like work, not play. Maybe I just need to give it enough time for me to feel fluent in it, but it's so ugly and clumsy the joy is lost.

[GaBeRock]

Well, I've finally gotten the first draft of my song down. I'm marking it CC-BY-SA so feel free to do whatever with it (well, besides submit it yourself for the contest ). Any suggestions/feedback? I'm already planning to (at the bare minimum) throw a limiter on the master track and mess with the volume automation a little bit.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/989 ... t%20v1.wav

I'm also considering having a percussion-only breakdown to show off the sexy bass drum I made.

[zendorf]

Finally got around to mixing my track. I hadn't listened to it in 2 weeks, so always good to hear it again with fresh ears to do a final mix!

https://soundcloud.com/7angram/zendorf-oxygen8

Reaper 4 was the DAW used. 18 instances of Oxe FM using the following effects: ReaDelay, ReaVerbate, ReaEq, Ferric TDS, JS Stereo Field. ReaEQ and Ferric TDS used on the master bus.

[sawsq]

automation in Reaper -- from digging through deep long menus to find the params

Did you try this: Touch plugin knob, then go to top area "Param" --> "Show track envelope"? Of course you can add a shortcut to the action "FX: Show/hide track envelope for last touched FX parameter".

For the other crazy long menus, you can customize them, throw out all things you don't need (and still optionally keep the factory menu as an item in it, just in case).

[Hanz Meyzer]

Hey guys,

where do I find patches for this synth? are there any dx7 preset conversions available ?

[doctorbob]

automation in Reaper -- from digging through deep long menus to find the params

Did you try this: Touch plugin knob, then go to top area "Param" --> "Show track envelope"? Of course you can add a shortcut to the action "FX: Show/hide track envelope for last touched FX parameter".

For the other crazy long menus, you can customize them, throw out all things you don't need (and still optionally keep the factory menu as an item in it, just in case).

For post tracking automation I just switch on the track envelope/automation curve and draw out curves for the "general" parameters and VST FX I need. Of course, if you are feeding the Oxe with a midi track, then you can do the same and automate any of the parameters this way as well.

Long time since I used ACID, V2 if I remember correctly. All DAW's have their strengths and weaknesses - Reaper is no exception and can feel "clunky" when you compare its workflow to other mainstream DAWS, but if you stick at it you can customise it to the nice clean interface to your music making that you yearn for. Don't forget the "feature requests" in the forum - some things requested by users do make it into releases.

In the end everyone ends up using a variety of software tools to get the job done. I'll use Sibelius for score work, Reaper for tracking/mixing/mastering, Adobe Audition for waveform based work and basic CD burning, and various composition tools along the way. So I don't feel I have to use one tool for everything, which I am sure you don't either!

dB

[rghvdberg]

working on this
https://soundcloud.com/rghvdberg/osc81- ... he-oxe-say

[wagtunes]

Hello everyone ... sorry about the "false start". Here is my track for this OSC A more conventional song this time, with a catchy melody (well I think so!), so get yer' feet tappin' and sing along ...

DAW: Reaper 5.1

Track Details:
14 * OXe FM
14 * ReaEQ
3 * TAL Reverb Mk II
1 * NastyDLAMKII

Master track:
TDR VOS SlickEQ
Ferric TDS
Limiter No. 6

BPM at a gentle 85 and a pleasant DR 12

I hope you enjoy this track with a little "Nod to Paris" with the little intro.

dB

https://soundcloud.com/doctorbob/doctor ... -fm-osc-81

I absolutely love this.

Nothing more to say.

Bravo!

[psmacmur]

Did you try this: Touch plugin knob, then go to top area "Param" --> "Show track envelope"? Of course you can add a shortcut to the action "FX: Show/hide track envelope for last touched FX parameter".

Did not try that; that's a great tip; I need to learn more of those sorts of tricks; thanks!

For the other crazy long menus, you can customize them, throw out all things you don't need (and still optionally keep the factory menu as an item in it, just in case).

Customizability doesn't qualify as an excuse. In my 20s, when I was building my own Linux kernel and stuff, I'd've liked that, but now, I just want to get to the music. I don't want to fuss for hours with the tools. I only have an hour or so a day.

For post tracking automation I just switch on the track envelope/automation curve and draw out curves for the "general" parameters and VST FX I need. Of course, if you are feeding the Oxe with a midi track, then you can do the same and automate any of the parameters this way as well.

It's the editing of the curves that makes me want to beat someone with my midi controller

Long time since I used ACID, V2 if I remember correctly. All DAW's have their strengths and weaknesses - Reaper is no exception and can feel "clunky" when you compare its workflow to other mainstream DAWS, but if you stick at it you can customise it to the nice clean interface to your music making that you yearn for. Don't forget the "feature requests" in the forum - some things requested by users do make it into releases.

So true... Reaper's performance is tops, hands down. Maybe I'll do that. I'd really like to be able to see the whole project at once, like I can in Studio One. There are a ton of little things Reaper does wrong, maybe I should be writing them down. Like, undoing an automation edit causes the whole track view to jump around ... that's gotta be a bug...

In the end everyone ends up using a variety of software tools to get the job done.

Sounds like grad school

I'll use Sibelius for score work, Reaper for tracking/mixing/mastering, Adobe Audition for waveform based work and basic CD burning, and various composition tools along the way. So I don't feel I have to use one tool for everything, which I am sure you don't either!

dB

You have a point. For example, I'll probably always prefer Audacity for surgical audio edits.