DIY Tube Oscillator, FREE in Kontakt

[HideawayStudio]

After tinkering around with a tube distortion unit I designed last year, based on a 12AU7 double triode, I found it made a lovely oscillator if I wired the output to the input via a capacitance decade box. What was interesting about this circuit is that I could distort the waveform as well as change its pitch which made for some very harmonically rich tones.

On sampling some of these tones captured from my box of tricks, I sampled them and discovered that the waveshape made for a very harpsichord like timbre.

Here is a sample in Kontakt of nothing more than my lashed up single tube oscillator layered into an octave and transposed over the whole keyboard:

DIY Tube Harpsichord Sampled in Kontakt:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/433m21

There is something really quite rewarding making instruments from scratch in this manner - the result is totally unique.

DIY Tube Distortion Box Used as an Oscillator:

[pinkjimiphoton]

dude.....that is cool as hell!!!
wish i could hear it, i don't have kontact...but i've used and messed with tubes for years.

[HideawayStudio]

dude.....that is cool as hell!!!
wish i could hear it, i don't have kontact...but i've used and messed with tubes for years.

Just download the Kontakt player from NI - it's free.... seriously, if you haven't tried it you should give it a go. I was very sceptical about soft samplers until I used Kontakt and I've more hardware samplers here than you can shake a stick at!

....if you like tubes then you have seen/heard my 163 tube beast????

[A.M. Gold]

Hmm, you're on your way to making a tube synthesizer.

[HideawayStudio]

Hmm, you're on your way to making a tube synthesizer.

hmmm... I already own the MOTHER of all tube synths!!

[A.M. Gold]

I didn't hear about that. What is it?

[rexlapin]

This looks very cool! It puts me in mind
of what I have read of Louis Barron's
oscillator experiments for the soundtrack
of Forbidden Planet (which I have always
enjoyed). Perhaps some further explorations
in that direction might be interesting. ;-)
Thanks yet again.
Cheers,
Scott

[hollowsun]

I didn't hear about that. What is it?

THIS


Steve

[HideawayStudio]

....yes - like he said

[A.M. Gold]

Oh, ok, yea, I DL'ed your strings sounds from that. But can it do anything like later synths (i.e. Moog, Arp, or Oberheim type sounds)? Or is it just set up to make instrument emu sounds?

[HideawayStudio]

Oh, ok, yea, I DL'ed your strings sounds from that. But can it do anything like later synths (i.e. Moog, Arp, or Oberheim type sounds)? Or is it just set up to make instrument emu sounds?

Novachord is a formant synth like the Korg PS-3100. The synths you mention shape their sound mainly through envelope controlled resonant LP filters and pitch modulation - a very different sound.

Like all things in life, it's throwing a combination of all these elements into the mix that makes things interesting.

[tomg]

You might be interested in a S-1000.

Metasonix S-1000
http://www.metasonix.com/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=61

"Step into the Wretch Machine" by reWire
http://www.metasonix.com/REwire_-_Step_ ... achine.mp3

S1000_Track1
http://thewretch.com/s1000songs/S1000_Track1.mp3

[HideawayStudio]

This looks very cool! It puts me in mind
of what I have read of Louis Barron's
oscillator experiments for the soundtrack
of Forbidden Planet (which I have always
enjoyed). Perhaps some further explorations
in that direction might be interesting.
Thanks yet again.
Cheers,
Scott

Yes absolutely - this is an area I'm starting to explore. Unusual methods of producing basic waveforms is a subject that has interested me for quite some time now. It's fascinating to discover what is musical and what isn't - it's amazing how little you need to change an oscillator waveform to switch it from sounding horrible to sounding great.

Taking these basic waveforms and then manipulating them in real time in a sampler can be very rewarding.

[rexlapin]

I'll be interested to see what you come
up with.
Cheers,
Scott

[A.M. Gold]

You might be interested in a S-1000.

Yea, that's what I was getting at. I've been interested in the idea of making a tube instead of SS version of a classic '70's synth. Not that I would make it myself but I always hoped someone would.