About the Wavestation VST

[Sequent]

As for fat or thin, who cares ? If you're happy with the sound it produces, and if that sound works well in your mix, then all is well.

That's about it......what more can ya' say?

Amen to that.

Another thing that perhaps people never stop to consider is that you need contrast and balance. If you have all "phat" items in your mix then it gets to be a big mess. Just as in a painting you would have elements that are done in more detail and with more saturated colors, vs. less detail and less saturated colors, etc. to create dimension, so too you need this kind of contrast in your sounds if you want some things to stand out. Even in a Pre-Raphaelite painting has this, lol.

A correlation from fiction writing/drama would be main characters vs. secondary characters, etc.

So, in my humble opinion I believe that both are essential components. I personally don't agree that the Wavestation is thin. If it's thin to you then I take that as a reflection of your programming skills. Granted, I don't expect it to sound exactly like an Oberheim OB-8 or something either. But there is a lot that can be done with the elements that are present in order to create some pretty warm sounds. I think some of the presets reflect that.

The D-50 is a pretty cool synth too. Back in the day it was a very tough decision regarding WS vs. D50 as I could only afford one at the time.

And the Wavestation was not intended as an all in one workstation. They had the M1 and T-series synths to cover that. When the Wavestation first came out so many people "cried" about the drums and lack of piano (if I remember correctly) that they came out with the EX version to try and alleviate that.

Anyway... the original quote says it best. If you like the sound of the WS, cool. If you don't like it, move along. If you click on the Instruments link in the upper righthand corner you will see that there are a TON of choices out there. Choose what works best for you and for the music YOU do, not what some magazine ad or bunch of blokes on some forum tells you.

[kilroy]

D50 was "LA" sysnthesis (Attack was a PCM sample, the rest was generated) whereas the Wavestation was all PCM samples.

If you chose the appropriate structure you could wholly bypass the PCM engine and work entirely with generated subtractive synthesis. Probably 90% of all my programming on the D50 avoided the PCM structures.

I always fancied that using those PCM bits in your patch made you sound rather like a girly man.

[DevonB]

D50 was "LA" sysnthesis (Attack was a PCM sample, the rest was generated) whereas the Wavestation was all PCM samples.

If you chose the appropriate structure you could wholly bypass the PCM engine and work entirely with generated subtractive synthesis. Probably 90% of all my programming on the D50 avoided the PCM structures.

I always fancied that using those PCM bits in your patch made you sound rather like a girly man.

Well then call me gurly man. I quite liked the slighty odd/different sound with that combination. Just didn't like it enough to keep it, and fully got my money back by selling it. Actually, I made $3.15 and got to play with a classic. Quite cool.

Devon

[kilroy]

Well then call me gurly man.

Not to feel bad mate.

When I got my first DX7 I was right chuffed with the new sound possibilities. I could hardly wait for next practice to show the band. I used the DX7 primarily in as we played through the songs, and after the guitarist strolled casually over to me. I was anticipating his making some enthusiastic gushing remarks.

"So mate, what's that yer playing, there?"

"Yamaha DX7...it's a new FM synthesizer."

He looked down at the keyboard...and then back to me.

"Is it then...aye, well it sounds like a bloody pee-shooter."

[mayan]

Cool piece, Kilroy. Hit the spot. Great use of a fine instrument.

[calex]

I'd go up to the music store and everyone was gushing forth about the incredible DX7 and I'd play it and it sounded awful. Thin, whiny, fake sounding. I thought the classic DX7 electric piano sound was horrible. The best sounding piano I first heard was on the Roland U20. That keyboard also had release velocity - great for playing string patches. It was relatively cheap too. I never bought it though. I ended up with the Wavestation EX as it seemed to have more options for programming. I was totally pissed that they had wasted valuable soundset space on real instrument emulations in the EX when it should have included more simple waves to work with the general concept of the Wavestation and take it even further.

[Tronam]

Right then...here you go. For anyone that cares...a recording comprised entirely of "crappy, hollow, thin, cold" Wavestation sounds. Found this whilst rooting through some old reels.

www.headroomproductions.com/Audio/SpiceDreams.mp3


This was a rough, original proposal sketch for a bizarre sci-fi "spice house" dream sequence. I managed to get the sounds programmed and the tracks laid down using just the Wavestation...and my voice. Taken from the original analog recording.

Weird, hallucinogenic vibe...I was working fast, it was bloody late, and I was right knackered.

Thanks for posting this, Kilroy. Fabulous atmosphere you created! I can't help but think of Dune. Was that in any way part of the inspiration for this track?

[kilroy]

Cheers, mayan.

Sadly, there was to be no opportunity to develop the theme beyond this very rough concept temp. An incredible series of inexcusable, mindless cock ups and bad management decisions caused investors to pull the funding plug.

For me, the whole affair was a *brutal* initiation to the sordid world of independent film scoring.

[LOOPxDIGGA]

actually i did kinda speak too soon...i played with it for about a half hour before i came to that conclusion.....i played with it more after a couple of u disagreed, it does sound ok with some paytches

[calex]

The factory patches for the Wavestation never inspired me. Don't judge the synth on those. They were very lame. The thing has huge potential if you get 3rd party or user-developed stuff. Also, it's a blast to program.

[kilroy]

Thanks for posting this, Kilroy. Fabulous atmosphere you created! I can't help but think of Dune. Was that in any way part of the inspiration for this track?

Very much so, I confess. I love the Dune series. Frank Herbert is, to be sure, one of sci-fi's best. Lord knows how many times I have read those books.

This dream sequence was supposed to underscore a telepathic communication across a solar system between two characters, one alien and one human, both warriors whose races were once allied together to defeat a common enemy. After a prolonged and extremely violent conflict the invaders were thrown back, but the damage was very severe, especially for the alien race, whose higher technology capabilities caused them to receive the brunt of the invading forces attention. As time passes, it becomes obvious that their planet is quickly dying, and after much consideration it is concluded that the only hope for their survival lies in massing their remaining resources to attack and displace the humans with whom they had been allied in the fight for the survival of both their races. It is a sobering and hard decision. After all passionate negotiations by the one alien warrior fail to resolve an alternate solution, his sense of honour and a deep love and respect for his human friend, causes him to commit the ultimate act of treason by warning him of the impending invasion.

The exchange you hear in the clip represents the two warriors exchanging words in the alien tongue. Almost as an after thought, I decided to add the interpretation of the final alien warning, "They are coming".

[polyslax]

Huh?

Sorry John, my attempt at sarcasm obviously fell terribly flat!

[trappist]

The thing has huge potential if you get 3rd party or user-developed stuff.

Any links for some good Wavestation patches?

[ew]

http://www.seriously-productions.freese ... vestation/

ew

[trappist]

Thanks!