One Synth Challenge #138: Surge (MrKarolus Wins!)

VST, AU, AAX, CLAP, etc. Plugin Virtual Instruments Discussion
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Tj Shredder wrote: Tue Aug 04, 2020 11:02 am Just restrict yourself to the factory wavetables and all is good - Actually you could even create your own wavetables as long they are not based on realworld samples, if they are synthesized as well, all is fine...
Basically play with what is there...
If this is the case, then everything is fine! I'm not going to create my own wavetables, the main thing for me is that all factory content was legal for OSC!)

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So I had some fun playing around with the presets. I decided to orchestrate a composition I recently did, using Surge. These are all, mostly unaltered presets. I'm really impressed and there's so much more to explore.

This isn't an entry. This is my first composition off of a production album I'm working on based on a book "Meditations on the Tarot". I'm hoping once completed I'll be able to sell it to a library or something. Constructive feedback is welcome.

Think cool children's programming, like Adventure Time or Sesame Street.

https://soundcloud.com/lionsclub-1/the-magician

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:hihi: ...wag 2.0? I get flashbacks right now... :hihi:
Uhm, well, sometimes I do admire the courage and confidence one can come across here. I wonder what would have been, if I ever had just about a quarter of it. :pray: ... :lol:
The only thing I'm confident about here is that you, Aro, need not worry about how you use Surge's wavetables! :D
...very cute! ;)

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Aro wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 12:32 am So I had some fun playing around with the presets. I decided to orchestrate a composition I recently did, using Surge. These are all, mostly unaltered presets. I'm really impressed and there's so much more to explore.

This isn't an entry. This is my first composition off of a production album I'm working on based on a book "Meditations on the Tarot". I'm hoping once completed I'll be able to sell it to a library or something. Constructive feedback is welcome.

Think cool children's programming, like Adventure Time or Sesame Street.

https://soundcloud.com/lionsclub-1/the-magician
I would think more traditional instruments (Which maybe can be created with Surge..? Not sure yet, haven't messed with it yet but it seems really versatile) would make more sense with Tarot..? Just my thought. I picture medieval recorders and.... lutes.

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:lol: (I can't help myself)
Ok, here's a little example (NOT AN ENTRY!) with Surge, using comb filter for a spinette/clav like sound and only using a tiny section of the emu-experimental "flute bad" for the flute... I should add that I only used Surge's internal reverb, but I did add a tiny bit of loudmax to the master, but just a little. Kept it quiet on purpose.

https://soundcloud.com/taronium/surgech ... Hg0IlD3dgN

Just a silly example for how quickly Surge can sound pretty exciting (to me).
I do, however, find that even the special Filter KeyTracking seems inadequate for the comb filter and swings out of tune around 2 octaves. Wished that was a wee bit more stable! :roll:
But overall...my God, this thing is a dream. Yes, yes, I still have to figure out, if there's some way to modify LFO rates with another LFO or any more complex routing, but dang... Even I feel like saying to myself:"What the hell else do you want?!"
Ah, yes, individual panning for oscillators, yeah...maybe I haven't found that, yet. Well, there really is a heck of a lot to explore! :hyper:
Let me say right away, though: I LOVE SURGE! :hug:
...I mean, you can immediately get lost in oscillator heaven, playing around until someone has to pry you from your machine. The excellent GUI design is another thing. Even without a manual it doesn't take long to figure most of it out to get started. Then there's no limit to the gems that can be found and stuff that begs to be learned like the entirety of the filter section and what it all allows. Just wonderful. I should stop now, because one could go on and on... masterpiece! :clap:

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I find the key tracking with filter feedback oscillation depends quite a bit on the resonance and (in some cases at higher frequencies) can be a bit more stable at higher sample rates. Also the different filter modes can help quite a bit. I generally use a combo of bandpass and comb when I'm doing physical modeling with feedback also to help with intonation. but yeah it's an art not a science!

And thanks for the kind words!

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Taron wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 1:40 am I still have to figure out, if there's some way to modify LFO rates with another LFO
Does the orange arrow help? https://surge-synthesizer.github.io/man ... ce-routing

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@ahanysz: YES, IT DOES! :hug: ...that's awesome!!! :hyper:

@baconpaul: I surely will keep goofing around with it. I think, I did make a fairly stable comb the first time around. I still have that preset, too. I just love playing around with combs. Oh, and you are very, very welcome. In a different kind of life, I probably would've loved to jump on board, too. It's so much after my own heart and it is a true treasure! :)

Here's a new attempt I've just started playing with... fairly solid for enough octaves:
ClavComb01.rar
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@Taron Thanks for the cute comment. I imagined the magician to be fun and spontaneous, like a cute kid at play I guess.

@empphryoio I decided along time ago that I wouldn't work with or try to emulate real instruments. I don't have the ear for the fine detail involved. But thanks for the suggestion.

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Well, you're welcome, Aro! In Tarot the magician is almost the opposite of fun and spontaneous. He's the one, who brings things in order, knows about fundamental distinctions in all directions. Keenly aware, he represents the opposite of the fool, who comes before him. The fool could be considered "fun and spontaneous", while being completely unaware of anything around him. If you wished to musically illustrate the magician, you should consider showing clear elements that are being brought into a clear order to find harmony. I'd probably start with a quite whisper of a chaos and the picking out of elements among the chaos to be made clearly audible and then lifted to the harmony where it should all go to. One by one the magician would pick out bells, winds, bass, strings, horns, trombones, trumpets, percussion... probably trying to do a "above/below" kind of picking order. By the end it all is in perfect places, perfect harmony, perfect balance, but possibly, deliberately a bit stale. Like the foundation has been created and it all gets ready to be actually brought to life by what comes next.

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Thanks Taron for the suggestions. I guess I just have a different relationship to the magician than you. Your right, the fool is fun and spontaneous in a stepping out into the unknown kind of way. I guess, and I'm also going on by what I read in the book, the magician is like the initial spark of spirit. Which, I imagine is also fun and spontaneous. I mean, I could get into a in depth conversation about the Tarot with you, but its open to interpretation, just like music. I might consider calling this the song "The Fool", but I'll decide that when I get to the "The Fool" in the book, which doesn't happen until the end. I'd be interested to hear your song "The Magician" though. :)

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It's a fun discussion for sure, and likely quite educational! :)
The Tarot describes the path of creation, which is how things come to be at every moment. That means, all of these aspects are active at all times. The magician represents awareness, most roughly speaking, and could probably best be considered the conductor, come to think of it. He is the true gate into the great becoming that is creation.
If you wish to study this further, you should look into the tree of life and how the tarot relates to the paths from node to node ("sephiroth"). But the Rider Waite Tarot does give you amazingly detailed clues about the meaning behind the cards. You do have to look carefully, though, and with an investigative mind beyond what you see, but to grasp all indications. As with everything, there are multiple dimensions to consider.
In music you would consider frequency, timbre and rhythm as well as, of course, harmony between frequency and harmony between rhythmic elements as well as the overall connection of them. Each component you'd have to consider can be looked at as a dimension. This is tough stuff to wrap your mind around and you need time to really let this become part of your awareness, but that is exactly what the magician represents: the process of becoming aware!

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I don't know. I stand by my interpretation of the Magician. Maybe he plays the fool, but he isn't the fool. I think that's the way I see it.

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But if what your getting at is I have a lot to learn, I get that. I'm just tired of learning, and ready to just start creating at the risk of imperfection.

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The path to enlightenment start on the way to your heart, Aro! Having something creative in your heart is a massive blessing and always worth pursuing. The closer you get to your heart, the more you will enjoy learning again, too. :)

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