Bazille 1.0

[liv]

Really enjoyed the demos from liv myself. There might be a lot of noisy elements to them but I find them pleasingly textured and interesting. Very well put together.

Thanks.

[liv]

Added a new composition called "Imperial Topaz", featuring sub bass, sequenced panned noise, dirty synths, screaming leads, clicks, tempo-synced experimental sequence and bass drum.

Please enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/leap-into-the-vo ... rial-topaz

All sounds heard come from Canto Con Brio Electric with no fx used but a Low cut EQ (below 40Hz) and a small amount of limiter on the output.

[Kindred]

Well, I'm sorry folks. I'm not hearing it. To me, the demos just sound like a lot of noise.

Bazille can also do more traditional sounds/synthesis (heck, at its core it can be seen as a simple 4 oscillator, 2 filter synthesizer), but thanks to its huge flexibility, it invites sound designers easily to go off the beaten path and explore modulations with are not done to dead in other synths. The demos are just a matter of taste - one's noise can be another one's preferred sound and vice versa.

Fair enough. So can somebody post a demo of more "traditional" sounding stuff so I can tell if this thing is good for more than just making coffee grinder sounds?

Sure - this track I did was mostly Bazille -

https://soundcloud.com/kriece/kriece-wyoming

[wagtunes]

Well, I've been digging into this thing (downloaded the demo) for a couple of days now. Pretty simple synth as modulars go. The question I'm going to ask is going to have to be answered by somebody who has both this and Zebra 2, which I purchased myself a while ago.

It seems to me that modular wise, Zebra 2 is just as capable. In fact, it may have more routing capabilities than Bazille. Not sure. Didn't really count them up. Both are certainly capable synths in that regard.

I'm more concerned with the sound. I'm pretty sure I've squeezed just about everything that I can out of Zebra 2 sound wise. From my limited testing of Bazille, I've run into some sound "quirks" I'll call them that I haven't either been able to create using Zebra 2 or just haven't bothered trying. It seems that by combining PM, PD and Fractilization, Bazille appears to have the ability to come up with sounds, good or bad, that Zebra 2 just can't match. At least easier than with Zebra 2.

Am I pretty much on the mark or am I missing some hidden treasures with Zebra 2?

I ask because, if you listen to the presets of both synths, while there is some overlap, Bazille's seem to have a harder edge to many of them. The modulations appear to be more crisp and, at times, damaging to the overall sound. That's where the harshness and, IMO, ugliness comes in. But controlled, which I am getting a feel for pulling off, Bazille appears to be adding something that I haven't yet found in any other synth, modular or otherwise. Is this simply because of the structure utilizing PM, PD and Fractilization? It's certainly not in the modulation routings themselves as I have so far only done some very simple configurations (relatively speaking) and have still been able to come up with some "edgy" sounds.

So Zebra 2 and Bazille owners, what's your take on the two synths in comparison to each other? Am I onto something or am I hearing things that aren't there?

[pdxindy]

Well, I've been digging into this thing (downloaded the demo) for a couple of days now. Pretty simple synth as modulars go. The question I'm going to ask is going to have to be answered by somebody who has both this and Zebra 2, which I purchased myself a while ago.

It seems to me that modular wise, Zebra 2 is just as capable. In fact, it may have more routing capabilities than Bazille. Not sure. Didn't really count them up. Both are certainly capable synths in that regard.

They are different and Bazille does stuff Zebra simply cannot.

Zebra does not allow audio feedback loops except in a few specific controlled situations. In Bazille, you can create all sorts of arbitrary feedbacks. For example, take the output of the filter, and send it back into the filter etc.

In Zebra, modulation is all at control rate... audio and modulation are separate. In Bazille, most modulation is at audio rate. So you can do stuff like use the output of the sequencer as a sound source... use an Osc as a mod source, and so on.

Because of the audio rate modulations, I get sounds in Bazille that have a crisp vitality that I have not heard in Zebra.

Also, the modulation tools in Bazille lead to some different outcomes. Lag generators, rectifiers, quantizer more easily offer a variety of natural, organic and unpredictable realtime modulations than the overall more capable tools in Zebra. You can draw pretty much anything in the Zebra MSEG, but you cannot alter the shape in realtime. In Bazille, you can create a complex shape via multiple modules (with less direct control) and then a simple change can have great variety.

[wagtunes]

Well, I've been digging into this thing (downloaded the demo) for a couple of days now. Pretty simple synth as modulars go. The question I'm going to ask is going to have to be answered by somebody who has both this and Zebra 2, which I purchased myself a while ago.

It seems to me that modular wise, Zebra 2 is just as capable. In fact, it may have more routing capabilities than Bazille. Not sure. Didn't really count them up. Both are certainly capable synths in that regard.

They are different and Bazille does stuff Zebra simply cannot.

Zebra does not allow audio feedback loops except in a few specific controlled situations. In Bazille, you can create all sorts of arbitrary feedbacks. For example, take the output of the filter, and send it back into the filter etc.

In Zebra, modulation is all at control rate... audio and modulation are separate. In Bazille, most modulation is at audio rate. So you can do stuff like use the output of the sequencer as a sound source... use an Osc as a mod source, and so on.

Because of the audio rate modulations, I get sounds in Bazille that have a crisp vitality that I have not heard in Zebra.

Also, the modulation tools in Bazille lead to some different outcomes. Lag generators, rectifiers, quantizer more easily offer a variety of natural, organic and unpredictable realtime modulations than the overall more capable tools in Zebra.

Thank you. This is what I suspected in going through the architecture but wasn't 100% sure.

Yes, the more I'm digging into Bazille, the more I am seeing what it can do and like I said, I've been a Zebra user a long time but I'm hearing things in Bazille (not all of the beautiful variety) that I just don't hear in Zebra 2.

I don't think I would use Bazille for the same things I've been using Zebra 2 for. I think Bazille lends itself more to the old school electronica that I used to listen to back in the 70s from bands like Tangerine Dream just to name one.

This will probably be yet another synth that I will be adding to my arsenal. The more I hear it, the more I like it.

[pdxindy]

Yeah... If people are looking for standard modern synths sounds, Bazille is not for them. But as you point out, if one is interested in old school electronica, or interesting organic sounds outside the normal, etc. then Bazille is something unique in the software world. It has its own sound palette.

Me, I like weird evocative sounds, and Bazille delivers. It is enjoyably unpredictable and great with noise. Lots of softsynths, noise just sounds like it gets added on, but in Bazille, you get cool noise that is integrated into the sound in lovely ways.

[lacandon]

me love this one sounds really raw in a very nice way to me ! Electra 2 and Bazille are outstanding achievements !

[Satch1]

Well described pdxindy.

@wagtunes: Glad to see you are beginning to appreciate Bazille's charms. I think a lot of that charm comes from rolling your sleeves up and creating your own sounds with it. When one understands the possibilities on offer it really encourages one to think creatively, which is a lot of fun, and can lead to unusual results (sometimes unusable too ). I love that it can be unpredictable though... adds to the fun.

Obviously the end result is the most important and that's up to the user to decide if they like it.

[liv]

Added new composition called "Poseidon", featuring slowly evolving drone, tempo-synced clicks, sequenced noise, sub sequence and labrosonic pad.

Please enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/leap-into-the-void/poseidon

All sounds heard come from the soundset with no fx used but a Low cut EQ (below 40Hz) and a small amount of limiter on the output.

[liv]

Dear thread followers and Bazille enthusiasts.
Canto Con Brio Electric has now been released. Please find the release thread here.
The complete collection contains 128 presets and is available with a 20% discount for a limited time.

Uploaded a new example earlier today, created from a single preset called "Funeral And Arise".

Please enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/leap-into-the-vo ... -and-arise

[wagtunes]

I had to come back to this thread with a report, especially with all the Camel Audio/Apple nonsense that has turned Instruments into their own personal sub forum.

I finally bit the bullet and got Bazille yesterday and I am loving every minute with this thing.

My only frustration is that I have so many programming ideas and only so many hours in the day to implement them, especially with actual "work" that I have to do.

This may very well be my favorite purchase of this year. I haven't had this much fun with a synth since I got Zebra 2.

U-he can really make 'em, can't they?

Thanks to all who turned me onto this thing.

[billcarroll]

Well, I'm sorry folks. I'm not hearing it. To me, the demos just sound like a lot of noise.

Bazille can also do more traditional sounds/synthesis (heck, at its core it can be seen as a simple 4 oscillator, 2 filter synthesizer), but thanks to its huge flexibility, it invites sound designers easily to go off the beaten path and explore modulations with are not done to dead in other synths. The demos are just a matter of taste - one's noise can be another one's preferred sound and vice versa.

Fair enough. So can somebody post a demo of more "traditional" sounding stuff so I can tell if this thing is good for more than just making coffee grinder sounds?

Sure - this track I did was mostly Bazille -

https://soundcloud.com/kriece/kriece-wyoming

Yeah, so this is a nice gem to find here. I like your work.

[Echoes in the Attic]

Dear thread followers and Bazille enthusiasts.
Canto Con Brio Electric has now been released. Please find the release thread here.
The complete collection contains 128 presets and is available with a 20% discount for a limited time.

Uploaded a new example earlier today, created from a single preset called "Funeral And Arise".

Please enjoy.

https://soundcloud.com/leap-into-the-vo ... -and-arise

I'm not a Bazille owner (yet), but I just wanted to say that I dig your sounds. Nice and dirty! There's a real NIN kinda vibe in there that you really don't hear much in the world of sound banks.

[Urs]

I had to come back to this thread with a report, especially with all the Camel Audio/Apple nonsense that has turned Instruments into their own personal sub forum.

I finally bit the bullet and got Bazille yesterday and I am loving every minute with this thing.

My only frustration is that I have so many programming ideas and only so many hours in the day to implement them, especially with actual "work" that I have to do.

This may very well be my favorite purchase of this year. I haven't had this much fun with a synth since I got Zebra 2.

U-he can really make 'em, can't they?

Thanks to all who turned me onto this thing.

Thank you