KVR Audio

S-N-S · Post by **S-N-S** » Mon May 26, 2008 8:19 pm

looking forward for this update,when it comes

olepro · Post by **olepro** » Mon May 26, 2008 9:36 pm

Hi
All i will say is that the interface is much improved in a very clever way.
And there are some sound improvements, that get's it even closer to the real thing. And there are some new features in the sound engine that not relates to the original hardware synth.

Sigi told me not to "spread it" and by that i'm sure he means the software and not some teasers in this forum.

I have no idea of when this will be released, but i know that he is working on SQ8L and it is getting even better !

Ole

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Mon May 26, 2008 11:45 pm

Sounds great! I never owned an SQ8 but I did own a TS-10. Anyone know how they differed in terms of sound engine because this plug really reminds me of that synth.

Mark

Integratron · Post by **Integratron** » Tue May 27, 2008 12:09 am

This is most likely THE best kept secret of the freeware synth world!

maxmace · Post by **maxmace** » Tue May 27, 2008 5:29 am

I have been using the forthcoming beta for a few days. I am amazed that Sigfried is allowing it to go out for free. A couple of the enhancements that some of you hoped for in the commercial version are present and working in this new free version. With the permission of the author I will post a screencap of the new GUI.
While it wont get all the press coverage of the lfo "galaxy" feature in the Roland Jupiter VST, something Sigi has done with the new LFOs makes gives them astounding power--especially considering the cross-modulating LFO capabilities that already exist. I am only beginning to explore this feature, and I'm sure a bank of special "Hyper LFO" patches will accompany the commercial version.

If any of you with the early beta preview have been developing fancy LFO modulations based on the new architecture, please share them.
--Mark

olepro · Post by **olepro** » Tue May 27, 2008 6:07 am

zerocrossing wrote:Sounds great! I never owned an SQ8 but I did own a TS-10. Anyone know how they differed in terms of sound engine because this plug really reminds me of that synth.

Mark

SQ80 and TS10 is totally different synths.
It's too much to write about here i think (i'm on work)

But take a google on both synths.

papawillow · Post by **papawillow** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:31 am

If he wants help to nail the filter emulation he should have a chat to Togu of TAL ,, the brains behind UNO60 and TAL-Bassline ,,, some nice retro filter coding there.

olepro · Post by **olepro** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:38 am

papawillow wrote:If he wants help to nail the filter emulation he should have a chat to Togu of TAL ,, the brains behind UNO60 and TAL-Bassline ,,, some nice retro filter coding there.

I think he allready nailed the filter...

papawillow · Post by **papawillow** » Tue May 27, 2008 8:41 am

I have an SQ-80 sitting next to me, so I can check.

olepro · Post by **olepro** » Tue May 27, 2008 9:29 am

papawillow wrote:I have an SQ-80 sitting next to me, so I can check.

My SQ80 died 2 years ago, so i can only base it on my very good memory.
But i think it's very close.

I would really like to know what you have discovered when you have made an A/B test.

papawillow · Post by **papawillow** » Tue May 27, 2008 2:34 pm

Ok did an A-B test of the filter using the 303 Style preset from the 11/07 version. I am only a novice so no filter sweeps this time. Test involved the highly technical switching headphone socket from SQ-80 to Pc SQ8L through Emu 1212M and involved the memory of listening for clues.
The real SQ-80 at the low register has the Saw spitting sound with greater defined clarity down low and a more brighter sounding resonance on top ( you could hear inside the sound more).
I messed with the Frequency cutoff to give me various reads.
This was some intense listening so it shows they were close back then.

amiga909 · Post by **amiga909** » Tue May 27, 2008 3:03 pm

Integratron wrote:This is most likely THE best kept secret of the freeware synth world!

+1
really like siegfried's work, amazing.
its also synth1-like in cpu usage!!

audiojunkie · Post by **audiojunkie** » Tue May 27, 2008 3:04 pm

maxmace wrote:I have been using the forthcoming beta for a few days. I am amazed that Sigfried is allowing it to go out for free. A couple of the enhancements that some of you hoped for in the commercial version are present and working in this new free version. With the permission of the author I will post a screencap of the new GUI.
While it wont get all the press coverage of the lfo "galaxy" feature in the Roland Jupiter VST, something Sigi has done with the new LFOs makes gives them astounding power--especially considering the cross-modulating LFO capabilities that already exist. I am only beginning to explore this feature, and I'm sure a bank of special "Hyper LFO" patches will accompany the commercial version.

If any of you with the early beta preview have been developing fancy LFO modulations based on the new architecture, please share them.
--Mark

I would LOVE to see a screen capture of the new GUI!!!!

I'm really looking forward to the next version of this synth!!! It is one of my favorites!!!

--Sean

P.S. what is this Roland Jupiter VST you are talking about? I must have missed it. URL?

maxmace · Post by **maxmace** » Tue May 27, 2008 5:34 pm

Arturia's Jupiter-8V

A powerful and good sounding synth emulation in its own right, but it doesn't have a couple of the advantages of the SQ8L. Nothing against the excellent Jupiter-8V, but it suffers by comparison in the same way that a lot of 80's synths did to the ESQ/SQ80, in the sense that the SQ80 can sound like a DX7 (on one extreme) or a Oberheim Expander or Super Jupiter (on the other), but nothing can quite emulate the DOC chip texture of the ESQ/SQ80.

This, I think, is Dr. Rainer Buchty's greatest contribution to the SQ8L IMHO. he insisted that Sigfried emulate the Ensoniq DOC chip with extreme precision. Ultimately, the DOC chip may be a LARGER contributor to the sound than the famous Curtis filters.

The DOC chip emulation is one of the great advantages of the SQ8L. You can easily simulate the SQ80 signal path and modules with other VST's, but nothing matches the texture of a well implemented Ensoniq DOC chip. This is the same processor that was the heart of the Ensoniq Mirage and the Apple II GS.

maxmace · Post by **maxmace** » Thu May 29, 2008 3:43 pm

I have received permission from Siegfried Kullmann to post a screen shot of the new GUI on this forum. I think most of you will find it is much more than you hoped for, especially for a free version:

Use the scroll bar to see the whole graphic. It is too wide for the forum template (at least in my preview).

The biggest thing you notice is the Clickable Signal path Diagram. This feature, IMO, is the biggest aid to navigation and programmability possible, and replicates the front panel of a real SQ80.

Anyone who has used an actual SQ80 knows that it is one of the best programmer interfaces ever. --Click on a module in the signal path and all the parameters are displayed on the vacuum fluorescent display (VFD). You don't have to "page around", because every module has it's own button. Now the SQ8L has this advantage too!

A couple additional things you might notice: See how the VFD is showing an LFO page? Notice that the waveform is set to bipolar instead of one of the traditional waves. In fact, you can now use any oscillator waveform as an LFO waveform.

Also on the vacuum fluorescent display, notice the DOWN ARROW at the far right, leading to many expanded options for the LFO. A number of pages offer these up/down arrows, either for quick navigation or for expanded module parameter options.

the author is to be congratulated for this major step forward. I know some of you were already calling this one of the best VST's ever, and this enhanced GUI will open up easy programing to many people who were intimidated by the previous GUI. I can't believe this is free!

--Mark Wynkoop

SQ80 emulating VSTi available