Official Serum thread!

[PatchAdamz]

....."cold filter fantasy".

Hey, I like those words, "cold filter fantasy".

I think this will be the title for my next CD release or band name.

Ladies and Gentleman, introducing, The Cold Filter Fantasy!

Its got a ring to it.

sounds like a band name from the 80s, especially with the "The" at the beginning. The Cold Filter Fantasy featuring MC Serum on the fridge.

Dude, there actually was a Cold Filter Fantasy in the 80's, they toured with Toad The Wet Sprocket.

No, I think they toured with Sleepy LaBeef.

[PatchAdamz]

Don't you guys read directions ?

It clearly states on the back of the box . . . and I quote -

* For a warmer Serum you need to cover with a paper towel . .
then place in microwave for 45 seconds.

Take out Serum and stir . . . then re-cover with paper towel
and cook an additional 20 seconds.


BE CAREFUL - IT WILL BE HOT.


In fact most of the patches will be smokin' .

Let stand for 2 minutes and enjoy !


( Best served with a tall glass of Chardonnay )

I actually prefer a nice Summer Shandy or a hot cup of Java.

Its also good with cold Pizza.....

[ontol]

Don't you guys read directions ?

It clearly states on the back of the box . . . and I quote -

* For a warmer Serum you need to cover with a paper towel . .
then place in microwave for 45 seconds.

Take out Serum and stir . . . then re-cover with paper towel
and cook an additional 20 seconds.


BE CAREFUL - IT WILL BE HOT.


In fact most of the patches will be smokin' .

Let stand for 2 minutes and enjoy !


( Best served with a tall glass of Chardonnay )

I actually prefer a nice Summer Shandy or a hot cup of Java.

Awesome, I can do this at the same time I charge my iPhone then.

[arkmabat]

No time to wade through this epic thread but---has Steve Duda responded at all to the "Serum is too cold and digital" opinions?

I'm not looking for drama on this---I'm sincerely interested in whether he is responsive to this impression of Serum and if so, will he try to work more "warmth" into future versions.

Yes, he sure did respond in this thread, but I won't wade through it either to find that post for you.

What was the general consensus?

[Sampleconstruct]

No time to wade through this epic thread but---has Steve Duda responded at all to the "Serum is too cold and digital" opinions?

I'm not looking for drama on this---I'm sincerely interested in whether he is responsive to this impression of Serum and if so, will he try to work more "warmth" into future versions.

Yes, he sure did respond in this thread, but I won't wade through it either to find that post for you.

What was the general consensus?

LOL, there is no general consensus, on the contrary. The developer just commented on his philosophy and why people might think that the pristine, aliasing-free frequency range of Serum up to 20 Khz is interpreted by some folks as being sterile. Are you all too lazy to have a look through this thread...?

[db3]

If I recall Steve described Serum sound as pure. Each synth has it's own character, if I was to use a word for others I would say Bazile = hard, Spire = thin, Dune2 = full, Diva = warm etc. Each has a place but might not be to everyone's taste.

[Lee702]

How would you rate it for VA-type sounds? Does it sound cold and harsh (like majority of wavetable synths) or it can sound warm and "analog"?

I'd rate it good (of course I would? no seriously), everyone has their own definitions of what that means. There are two chaos oscillators you can use (well, subtly in this case) to simulate oscillator pitch drift. The ladder filter certainly has a fluid, analog character and what I consider a "warmth". The portamento curve can be sculpted, you and make the keytracking a little imperfect if desired. So I think it's quite possible to get things which are "convincingly analog" which I think is ultimately about the flaws. I've included a bunch of wavetables from analog/modular oscillators as well and my sound designers included even more, so you have a pretty comprehensive collection of simple analog waveforms.

Since the demo is 8 hours or less out, hopefully you'll find the time to give it a run yourself, and I look forward to your feedback!

[kelvyn]

I'm not really getting the cold/warm discussion. Isn't music like visual art where we the artist paint with sound as opposed to color, where different timbres like different mixtures of pigments represent warm and cool.
Serum has a particular character that adds a different color to our palette...

Here's the concluding statement from an article in a design magazine on 'The difference between warm colors and cool colors.'
'An important thing to remember when dealing with warm and cool colors is that no room should have just one. If you want your room to be cozy have warm colors as the dominant colors and then add a few elements that incorporate cool colors (and vice versa). Like with all elements of decorating it's important to have some balance.'

That about sums it up for me... Serum is the cool ying to the warm yang of a synth like Codex (for example) and gives me those edgy hard cool timbres when I need them. The two really complement each other.

[blackflag]

There also doesn't seem to be any way to adjust post-filter volume (other than the master level), this is a big problem when trying to mix the two oscillators, and only one of them is routed through the filter...your only option is to adjust the pre-filter oscillator volume which changes the gain staging and tone in the filter. I'm starting to think 90% of the devs effort went into designing the oscillators and modulation, and everything else was given very little thought.

tldr: the filter needs a level knob

[bitcrusher]

your only option is to adjust the pre-filter oscillator volume

Well, in fact no, it's just about avoiding unnecessary controls, of course that sometimes means that everything isn't intuitive to everyone. However I don't see any issue here - you can simply adjust the oscillator(s) volume that isn't running to the filter and balance that way - e.g. mod source fixed, or macro, to relevant oscillator volume(s).

Steve
Serum | Xfer Records

[bitcrusher]

Also just to touch on the temperature talk

First off I think in this day and age with the measurement tools we have, there's no need to start talking like there is some sort of magic going on anywhere: Some synths make you run through some prefab EQ. Many synths roll off the highs (to minimize aliasing). Most synths have aliasing creeping in to the audible spectrum. Some people are easily persuaded by faux-wood paneling or factory presets. Serum might have a bit of talk of edginess because of the factory content (I have a lot of friends who make edgy music). Fortunately some fine folks have demonstrated repeatedly in this thread that it's capable of much more than edgy sounds.

With that said, with Serum being proudly WT and not VA, "analog warmth" was never a primary concern. "proudly digital" but in a pure/clean way was the idea. I agree with the sentiment that you learn what plugins are suitable for what situations.

Steve
Serum | Xfer Records

[blackflag]

Sometimes that just doesn't work though, I'm working on a patch right now that I can't hear the un-filtered oscillator at all, even at full volume, without turning down the filtered one, and I can't do that without completely ruining the filter tone. That's a serious design flaw in my opinion Steve.

[bitcrusher]

you must be driving the filter a lot in that case. Anyway the beauty of software is it's soft, feel free to contribute to the requests thread on the website.

Steve
Serum | Xfer Records

[blackflag]

Yea it's really only a problem when driving the filter really hot, I do that quite often with my sounds, surely I'm not the only one? I will definitely make a feature request asap.

[bitcrusher]

Well, in general the drive control adds gain more than it colors the signal. You can often get away with reducing the drive especially if you're trying to let some other oscillator through, I don't know, it would be easier to just have the example patch that is posing you a trouble. It's problematic to just "add a gain stage" because these things add CPU. I could potentially allow the filter Mix control switchable to be a post filter volume (i.e. no dry through).

Steve
Serum | Xfer Records