One Synth Challenge #95: HY-Mono by HY-Plugins / hyakken (Carl_saved wins!!!)

[Taron]

Here's a little example I made for you, showing midiPolyphony, but it also showed me what a significant DC offset HY-Mono produces aside from many strange little things that are odd... it's not really a finished "product". To think how worried I am in making a synth for the OSC, haha...ah well. Anyway...

It's just a demo for you (CHEESY as heck, too):
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/hypolydemo/s-R7jHg

[Frostline]

Here's a little example I made for you, showing midiPolyphony, but it also showed me what a significant DC offset HY-Mono produces aside from many strange little things that are odd... it's not really a finished "product". To think how worried I am in making a synth for the OSC, haha...ah well. Anyway...

It's just a demo for you (CHEESY as heck, too):
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/hypolydemo/s-R7jHg

So does this track demonstrate the proper way to maintain the spirit of using a mono synth or does it demonstrate "cheating" with the synth?

And could you provide an example of the opposite so one might compare and hear what you are talking about?

[wagtunes]

I'm confused as to how playing this synth polyphonically is cheating. The contest rules only specify that you can't alter the sound of the synth. It doesn't say anything about how many notes you can play at once.

Could somebody please enlighten me?

[Taron]

Tahaha, danged guys.... it's not really "cheating", but simply deceptive as to what this synth internally is capable of doing. It is not in its nature to by polyphonic. Whether you use 16 lanes to program a polyphonic section of it, or you use something like midiPolyphony in order to achieve the same thing with a fraction of the headache, that makes no difference.

Since people generally don't scroll upward to check for older posts on that subject, I already said that there are no rules on how a synth is being played. It's not about rules. The subject is rather a philosophical one, whether it is the right thing to do to treat a specifically monophonic synth as if it was polyphonic without losing its character. That's all.

I also said that I don't mind, but that I'm curious about making a song with only monophonic tracks and see how far I get that way.

To illustrate what happens, if I use midiPolyphony, I made this little example for you so you may judge whether this keeps any of the spirit of this slightly crooked synth alive or not.

[.jon]

It's not in any way against the official rules as far as I can tell.

I think some people just expressed their wish to treat it as a monosynth and compose accordingly. Nothing wrong with that appoach imo, that's what I'll do. It's an interesting "limitation" that could be exploited creatively. Poly-izing a monosynth is one of the things modern technology and rules allows us, but I can understand how it feels a bit unnecessary or even against the spirit of OSC.

This is not the most amazing or flexible synth in the world, but guess that adds to the challenge

[Taron]

Here's a demo of the same thing, just monophonic:
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/hymonodemo/s-2XsXt

Besides, retrigger doesn't seem to work, the envelopes are all but decent...as in...not decent. The modulation targets are... HUH?
Oh boy, if I were to make a list...

I'm just noticing.... I have changed NOTHING about the melody from before, but you may notice that there suddenly is no more vibrato...

I'll skip this month!

[bjporter]

I'm confused as to how playing this synth polyphonically is cheating. The contest rules only specify that you can't alter the sound of the synth. It doesn't say anything about how many notes you can play at once.

Could somebody please enlighten me?

Using midi a tool is perfectly acceptable

[Beatmincer]

Not sure if my submission went through:

https://soundcloud.com/beatmincer/beatm ... ono-hubris

Not the easiest synth to program, that's for sure Anyway, here's my 80's take on this challenge.

All the best,

Beatmincer

[wagtunes]

I'm confused as to how playing this synth polyphonically is cheating. The contest rules only specify that you can't alter the sound of the synth. It doesn't say anything about how many notes you can play at once.

Could somebody please enlighten me?

Using midi a tool is perfectly acceptable

Thanks BJ. Now to hope this thing works in my DAW. lol.

[Frostline]

I think some people just expressed their wish to treat it as a monosynth and compose accordingly. Nothing wrong with that appoach imo, that's what I'll do.

But what does that mean?
Compose accordingly?
Treat as a mono synth?

Last OSC (Synth1) we had many tracks with both multiple percussion sounds and multiple non-percussive instrument sounds played simultaneously. Yet Synth1 is incapable of doing all of that in a single instance even though it is polyphonic, so multiple instances were used to achieve the desired whole. Did that go against the nature of the synth?

It's an interesting "limitation" that could be exploited creatively. Poly-izing a monosynth is one of the things modern technology and rules allows us, but I can understand how it feels a bit unnecessary or even against the spirit of OSC.

Could you please explain that to me then?

I look at it this way.
If I write 4 french horn parts for a composition I am not writing for a polyphonic french horn.
If I use 4 french horns I am not creating a polyphonic french horn.
Yet if I use 4 mono synths I am somehow making a polyphonic synth?

Are you saying that if I make a patch that sounds like a trumpet that because the synth is mono I can only have one trumpet like sound happening at any one time to be "composing accordingly"?

I am not trying to argue, I am trying to understand your position.

[.jon]

Don't stress your head too much about it, you're not breaking any rules.

[Taron]

I think some people just expressed their wish to treat it as a monosynth and compose accordingly. Nothing wrong with that appoach imo, that's what I'll do.

But what does that mean?
Compose accordingly?
Treat as a mono synth?

I gave you two examples that quite clearly show the difference...
polyphone (not quite authentic to the nature of the synth):
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/hypolydemo/s-R7jHg

monophone (100% authentic to the synth):
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/hymonodemo/s-2XsXt

[Cruba]

Here's a demo of the same thing, just monophonic:
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/hymonodemo/s-2XsXt

Besides, retrigger doesn't seem to work, the envelopes are all but decent...as in...not decent. The modulation targets are... HUH?
Oh boy, if I were to make a list...

I'm just noticing.... I have changed NOTHING about the melody from before, but you may notice that there suddenly is no more vibrato...

I'll skip this month!

Well, retrigger, envelopes, modulation targets... I've noticed same problems. I also have pronlems with the as(d)r. It doesn't work the way I need.

I'll do another try tomorrow, but I'm also on the way to skip it. Ther's a big difference between "challenge" and "pain".

[brainzistor]

Besides, retrigger doesn't seem to work, the envelopes are all but decent...as in...not decent. The modulation targets are... HUH?
Oh boy, if I were to make a list...

This synth is becoming worse by each new version.
I had the first version installed (1.01) and cutoff (frequency knob) and resonance were working fine.
In the latest version they are absolute shit and I updated to the latest version because when you reopen your project automation didn't work.

So, I thought I fixed that, then I heard that cutoff and resonance are producing completely different sound.
There's nothing ruined because I was just goofing around with it.
If you set resonance to max and start sweeping with cutoff you can see in EQ that the cone stops somewhere at 7500Hz, while in 1.01 it was going beyond that, the full spectrum, like it should.
This greatly affects the sound of the whole synth, it's now crippled and because of this in a lot of cases would produce annoying buzzing sound because resonance locks at 7500Hz.
On the other hand if you set cutoff to max and sweep with resonance you can only see that it disappears from 7500Hz without affecting mid range at all....
it's like "I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, deal with it"

[bjporter]

This synth is becoming worse by each new version.

I really appreciate you trying the synth out, bug testing /getting involved / etc, though can we tone down the language. He's trying hard to make a good synth, so it takes time. Lets be as constructively critical if we can.