One Synth Challenge #68: Synth1 by Ichiro Toda

[NedK]

Voted!

[Pulse Width Modulation]

I VOTED!
Whew! That was a lot of tracks! But I have to say, EVERYONE did a great job! I can't believe how high the overall quality of OSC has become!
On a personal note, I'm going to have to let go of OSC for a while! My spare time is getting less and less, and I've decided to focus more on ambient music for releases, but I am really going to miss this! In this last run with OSC since last April, I learned so much, met even more fantastic musicians, and had a great time with the positive comradery this contest has well established. Good luck and great tracks in the future to all of you who compete! This is one of the coolest things I have ever experienced online! I'll be watching for your names in the music world, and maybe in the future I'll be joining OSC again! After all, I might get a craving to create another 80's retro track! So, thanks for the music, thanks for the lessons, and thanks for the friendships! See you 'round!

-Paul

[bjporter]

On a personal note, I'm going to have to let go of OSC for a while! My spare time is getting less and less, and I've decided to focus more on ambient music for releases,

-Paul

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pulse Width Modulation]

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks BJ! You've been doing a great job as moderator!

By the way, I almost forgot! I wrote a blog entry on Relaxed Machinery about a synthesis technique I used for my Synth 1 entry:
http://relaxedmachinery.ning.com/profil ... i-synthing
I explain how I created my piano sound for the contest, using four copies of Synth 1. I even have an mp3 demo where I break the piano down into component parts!
Thanks again!

[bjporter]

Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks BJ! You've been doing a great job as moderator!

By the way, I almost forgot! I wrote a blog entry on Relaxed Machinery about a synthesis technique I used for my Synth 1 entry:
http://relaxedmachinery.ning.com/profil ... i-synthing
I explain how I created my piano sound for the contest, using four copies of Synth 1. I even have an mp3 demo where I break the piano down into component parts!
Thanks again!

wow that's really nifty. I usually had to do a ghetto copy of midi channels for multi synthing. This will be a fun read

[H-man]

Oh yeah ...voted. (Almost forgot to post it here )

Well done this month to all. Diversity was off the scale this month

[bjporter]

Get ur votes in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HURYYYYYYYYYYY

[RichardSemper]

I wrote a blog entry on Relaxed Machinery about a synthesis technique I used for my Synth 1 entry:
http://relaxedmachinery.ning.com/profil ... i-synthing
I explain how I created my piano sound for the contest, using four copies of Synth 1. I even have an mp3 demo where I break the piano down into component parts!

Really interesting and well explained article. I do remember your mentioning this much earlier in this thread, and thinking how this could apply equally to other sounds e.g. plucked strings.
Maybe this could also influence some future synth designs, whereby they could allow for splitting sounds across the keyboard within the synth itself?
Good luck with your future endeavours, I'll be keeping an eye (ear?) out for you

[Pulse Width Modulation]

I do remember your mentioning this much earlier in this thread, and thinking how this could apply equally to other sounds e.g. plucked strings.
Maybe this could also influence some future synth designs, whereby they could allow for splitting sounds across the keyboard within the synth itself?
Good luck with your future endeavours, I'll be keeping an eye (ear?) out for you

Thanks Richard! Any synth that offers keyboard tracking as a modulation source for things like filter cutoff, pulse width, and frequency modulation can solve a lot of these problems as well, but not all synth designs can do this.

[Chris-S]

@PWM: Thank's for your blog about multi-synth.
Indead I've always been wondering why few VA synths have a sophisticated key scaling.
If at all mostly it's a simple linar modulation across the keyboard range.
Better are some FM synth. FM8 has a free multi-stage keyscaling envelope for all 6 operators.

The multisynth aproach gives the best flexibility but also the most effort needed.

[APZX]

Well as a total newbie I fully expect to be at the bottom - my only plan was not to embarrass myself too badly - I think I did get a couple of fairly catchy melodies going at times, so I'm not too unhappy (really needed to use a snare sound but the Bladerunner preset sound bank I limited myself to didn't include one).

As for your track, I scored it a 4 mainly for the section at 2.31 and just after when those gorgeous chords come in - real hairs of the back of the neck stuff. The mix sounded decent to me but I actually thought there was a bit too much low end - the best bits of the track for me were when you laid off that a bit and let the chords or arps soar above the muddier parts..

I did say I love ample bottom end

You did a lot of things quite well, and while the sound design was more utilitarian in nature there is nothing wrong with that. For whatever reason people liked my bass sound I did. It is so simple in nature. It only uses oscillator one with a sub osc and a little bit of a portamento. That is it. So, I think you'd be surprised at just how simple a sound can be and yet be extremely useful. If you keep at working with various synths I think you'd be surprised at how what you know on different synths translates around.

[bjporter]

Results coming soon

[bjporter]

Final Results: All hail emperor z.prime!!!!!!!!



1st z.prime - Pray for Change - 191pts


2nd Pulse Width Modulation - Looking Out Looking In - 188pts
(Paul, I couldn't think of a better way to break from OSC than a #2 finish, congratulations, and we'll miss you, and will see you soon )


3rd Photonic - Ichiro's Theme - 188pts


4th keith303 - since april may not march in june - 188pts

5th Hanz Meyzer - Dance in the Bureau - 183pts
(Hanz, congrats for your first top 5!!!!!!!!!)

6th bzur - 9planets - 173pts
7th Caine123 - City Of The Damned - 172pts
8th Bjporter - The Electric Fairy's After - Party Ball - 170pts
9th Orboscope - Combat Drugs - 168pts
10th Skyzone - Soulmates - 166pts
11th Loris DS - Midnight Affair - 164pts
12th H-man - Tink - 161pts
13th DoctorBob - Space Bubbles - 160pts
dq DzAH - NeoClass2 - 160pts
14th NedK - Last 2nd Observation - 159pts
15th pedalsteeldrummer - Shambhala - 158pts
16th G-Roove - The One - 157pts
17th Saga Musix - Synthetic Journey - 157pts
18th APZX - Vivimus Hodie - 155pts
dq Subject 36 - Light Of Death - 154pts
19th Saukar30 - The Intergalactic Funking Of Lt. Veronica Killagroove - 153pts
20th Yeager - Scene Missing - 151pts
21st BlitBit - At The Fireworks - 148pts
22nd ballacr75 - high voltage - 147pts
23rd Kullervo - OBL - 146pts
24th Richard Semper - The Rebel OSC Synth1 - 145pts
26th Poofox - My Girlfriend's A Robot (And It's Alright) - 144pts
25th Doc Jon - Run Run Don't Look Back - 142pts
27th Ricler - Devil In Details - 133pts
28th JKFlashico - Dune Of The Sorrow - 132pts
29th spider - Eighties Rularr - 132pts
30th ImNotDedYet - Um Dia No Brasil - 131pts
31st Carl_saved - God In The Desert - 130pts
32nd rokces - Game - 130pts
33rd Jared Juntunen - Holiday - 123pts
34th jlanthier - Thanks Ichiro! - 122pts
35th Psmacmur - Crossing The Brooklyn Bridge - 122pts
36th RuediRena - Hopfen Und Malz (Rich Draft) - 120pts
37th Krepssound - Move Ya - 116pts
38th Hwangman - Fringe Kick - 114pts
dq besh - kiesel1 - 113pts
39th bibz1st - bibz1st-March-As-A-Mad-Hare - 112pts
40th excessional - bladerunners - 112pts
41st Particle Ray - Colony Alpha - 103pts
42nd IrregularDan - To The Beta Lyrae! - 86pts

Can I haz prizes? Now?
First place winner, please announce your chosen prize, and pass it on to the next top fiver. You can't have it right now, it'll take some days, but be patient ***NOTE*** If you don't want prize, it will be passed to the next person down, thank you

Quite the amazing bunch of tracks once again. Just fantastic work!

**SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!**
All historical OSC results have been compiled by the Excel mastermind Emanuele Ballasina (aka Ballacr75), please check out the right side to see the placements
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... heets_home

All time #1 greatest OSCer is Yeager, followed by
#2 z.prime
#3 bzur
#4 irion da ronin
#5 Photonic

and check out the sheet for the rest!

Thanks Emanuele!

Scoresheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... =756508263

[Chris-S]

Congrats to all winners.

[JKF Flashico]

Gongraz to all winners