New Saurus sound bank preview - RELEASED!

[Frantz]

The 'pushing' has to be done with care.

The thing with Saurus is, it has a great range, so it can be taken from the very lush and 'analog' to the very digital.

I have two Creamware hardware VA's, the Minimax and Pro-12, and I prefer how they maintain their "analog" sound with most settings. When the Saurus sounds digital, it seems like more of a bug than a feature from my perspective. Although I understand many people like this flexibility.

For example, teh much maligned feedback is extremely useful. Here is a bass preset with feedback set to max. Drive is set to 1 o'clock, the 'tube' effect is also at work here, and together with a closed cutoff, it gives a very solid, full, overdriven yet dark bass:

I appreciate you sharing the patch and your insights and I will try it out on a day when I'm not so tired. To be honest, that bass sound in isolation is a little harsh for my tastes although it works very well in the context of the track.

[himalaya]

The 'pushing' has to be done with care.

The thing with Saurus is, it has a great range, so it can be taken from the very lush and 'analog' to the very digital.

I have two Creamware hardware VA's, the Minimax and Pro-12, and I prefer how they maintain their "analog" sound with most settings. When the Saurus sounds digital, it seems like more of a bug than a feature from my perspective. Although I understand many people like this flexibility.

Nice to see another ASB user. I have the Prodyssey. It sounds superb.
The thing is, everyone focuses on the digital sound, which is certainly available in Saurus, but people do that forgetting about the very authentic analog side. The balance is way skewed. Nobody even talks about the superb audio rate sound of the LFOs! The filter, for example, is extremely sweet and the resonance reminds me of the one in Roland SH-2 (as vintage and sweet sounding as they come).

Take the basic analog waves (saw, sq/pulse triangle), add the 24db LPF, some PWM, a little detune and some fine pitch modulation in the matrix, shape the envelopes to taste, and hear a very authentic analog sound. No harshness anywhere. These are the ingredients which allow to make the majority of classic analogue sounds we all love (well, some of us, lol).

To be honest, that bass sound in isolation is a little harsh for my tastes although it works very well in the context of the track.

It works amazingly well in the mix, doesn't it. However, even in isolation I can't say it's 'harsh'. I associate harshness with higher frequencies, yet the bulk of this sound is from 40Hz to 800Hz - depending on the key played. There is a click in that patch and it does go up, but it's a transient click which still does not add harshness (it's also what allows this bass to cut through a dense mix). The only sound I could point to which is harder - harder rather than harsh - pops up when I move the modulation wheel up. The mod wheel opens the cutoff and lets in some of those driven/feedback frequencies, but since I have limited the cutoff in the mod matrix, it never becomes too hard or really harsh. To my years of course. See the preset.

Good to have you participate in the thread.

[himalaya]

Really awesome demo - was like a long lost JMJ track!! Really excellent programming. Loved it!!

Many thanks for your comments.

You mentioned Cypher, which I think sounds really great - do you prefer that over Saurus still now you've used both in depth?

Again, awesome sounds a playing!!

Cypher and Saurus? They sound very different. So far I see that both excel at certain tasks so I'd pick one depending on what I'm after. There is common ground in both, sure, but the way certain parameters work in both allow for different sounds, which is great of course.

[george]

Corona awaits you for more sound goodies

[Frantz]

Take the basic analog waves (saw, sq/pulse triangle), add the 24db LPF, some PWM, a little detune and some fine pitch modulation in the matrix, shape the envelopes to taste, and hear a very authentic analog sound.

I like using this approach with my new favorite synth Z3TA 2. It has "vintage" basic waveforms which sound great going through its smooth 36db LPF. These waveforms are much punchier on Z3TA than Creamware. They stand out in the mix without compression. Not authentic analog but I like it.

It works amazingly well in the mix, doesn't it. However, even in isolation I can't say it's 'harsh'. I associate harshness with higher frequencies, yet the bulk of this sound is from 40Hz to 800Hz - depending on the key played. There is a click in that patch and it does go up, but it's a transient click which still does not add harshness (it's also what allows this bass to cut through a dense mix). The only sound I could point to which is harder - harder rather than harsh - pops up when I move the modulation wheel up. The mod wheel opens the cutoff and lets in some of those driven/feedback frequencies, but since I have limited the cutoff in the mod matrix, it never becomes too hard or really harsh. To my years of course.

I call it harsh, you call it hard. This is a matter of taste. But you say the main component is Saurus feedback. If I compare it to Creamware Minimax feedback (modeled on Minimoog feedback), the sound is quite different. Minimax feedback would make the sound fuzzy, blurry, and white noisy but not hard or harsh. So I am wondering what Saurus feedback is modeled on and is it really an "analog" sound.

[himalaya]

This is a matter of taste

Sure, 'taste' is one thing but it helps if we use appropriate terms. 'Harshness' does not come in the bass frequencies but way above 1Khz, yet the bulk of the sound is based around 40Hz to 800hz - these are not the frequencies which introduce harshness.

I'm always interested in people's perception of sound and how people describe sound, so here is a slightly edited version of that bass preset - playing the same riff - is this still 'harsh' ?

preset BA Feedback Driven2

[himalaya]

Corona awaits you for more sound goodies

It does?
Will have to have a look then.

[mcnoone]

Those audio demos sound fantastic himalaya.
Really great music, and sounds.

[Frantz]

Sure, 'taste' is one thing but it helps if we use appropriate terms. 'Harshness' does not come in the bass frequencies but way above 1Khz, yet the bulk of the sound is based around 40Hz to 800hz - these are not the frequencies which introduce harshness.

Is there a scientific definition of audio harshness that I am not aware of? Is it impossible to have a harsh bass sound?

I think terms like "harsh", "warm", "fat", etc. are vague and open to interpretation. But I think we can agree that you like Saurus feedback much more than I do.

I'm always interested in people's perception of sound and how people describe sound, so here is a slightly edited version of that bass preset - playing the same riff - is this still 'harsh' ?

preset BA Feedback Driven2

I'll listen tonight when I get home from work.

[himalaya]

Is it impossible to have a harsh bass sound?

It's certainly possible, especially with synth bass which can occupy the whole of the frequency spectrum. It's easily done and pretty much the majority of modern synth bass sounds cover such range. However, the patch I linked is firmly based on the sub to low mid frequencies, well outside the area responsible for harshness. The reason I'm pursuing this topic is that I want to learn what you (and perhaps others) consider as 'harsh' in this bass context. It will help me in the long run.

[himalaya]

Those audio demos sound fantastic himalaya.
Really great music, and sounds.

Thank you.

[Frantz]

You are not only a talented sound designer but also apparently a psychic. From your website:

http://www.electric-himalaya.com/electr ... about.html

Then again, what I may consider as beautiful, you may consider as noisy or harsh.

I'm always interested in people's perception of sound and how people describe sound, so here is a slightly edited version of that bass preset - playing the same riff - is this still 'harsh' ?

preset BA Feedback Driven2

I'm liking this version a lot more. The first version was capable of knocking my fillings loose. This one is rattling my teeth but my dental work is no longer in jeopardy. After careful consultation with my thesaurus, I deem this version "aggressive." If the feedback were reduced by approximately 10%, it might even qualify as "cool."

[himalaya]

You are not only a talented sound designer but also apparently a psychic.

Hey thanks My psychic ability is lacking though (where's that crystal ball, damn it...)

I suppose when people find things to be beautiful, no clarification is needed, but when a thing is found to be 'harsh', it merits some probing to find out 'why'.

In any case, I shall post my last demo in the thread, this time I wanted to see if I could do a pseudo Italo-Disco number ('pseudo' as the sound set is not aimed at the 1980s, so it's a test to see if i can push some of these sounds into the next century - going from 1970s, lol)

Italo Disco

again, no processing of any kind on the synth sounds, no limiter, eq, compression or any disco-fizer effects. lol

[Echoes in the Attic]

Very nice sounds.

[himalaya]

NEWS!

Just to let everyone know that this sound bank is now released.

You definitely desire to hear new demos so you are very welcome to have a listen here:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=353686

Very nice sounds.

Hey thank you.