Softube Modular

[zerocrossing]

I've got it up in the marketplace if anyone's interested! (not because it doesn't rock, but because I've moved to Scope as a platform for modular stuff)

Selling Xills is very right decision.
But why SCOPE? I thought it sounds like old VA - i.e. bad and lifeless.

It's actually a kick ass VA, but that's not what I got it for. I got it to be a hardware modular wave table synth, and frankly it blows away the Prophet 12 I had in every way except physical interface, which is kick ass.

[deastman]

I still wish Clavia would do the G2 softsynth thing, other than the demo.

If only..

have you heard of Wren? it's been mentioned on KVR before. while not directly based on the G2 software, it seems to be a similar in many respects. i have yet to get it working with my soundcard, but those who've had success have given it positive reviews.

http://bluehell.electro-music.com/modules/

apologies for going OT.

Thanks for that. I hadn't heard of it. Got it bookmarked for later.
I don't have my G2 anymore, but this looks very familiar:

Wow, that does look rather familiar! I still have my G2, but I haven't switched it on in a while and I'm kind of afraid to find out whether it is still compatible with Windows 10.

[hivkorn]

could we expect a dark energy module ?

[deastman]

But anyway, I think the modular thing is largely a fad. I almost never hear anything decent done with one and if you actually have to kick out stuff as an job its not all that viable, simply too slow, not portable enough, no poly, not enough to justify and advantages in sound quality(which it's debatable if that even exists).

I guess it depends what you hope to get out of modular, or synths in general. What attracted you to synths to begin with? For me, it was the potential of making strange new sounds and exploring a sonic landscape far beyond that which a conventional instrument could manage. Yet, for all that promise, most synths are slight variations on the usual Oscillator Filter Amplifier Envelopes LFOs signal chain. Modulars shatter that narrow perspective, allowing you to experiment with an endless palette of timbres and rhythms and frequencies.

I also think it is worth noting that most of the early pioneering work in electronic music was an attempt to define a new musical vocabulary, both in terms of composition and instrumentation. It was only later that synths entered the domain of pop music.

The Tone Generation podcast is really worth checking out if you have any interest in the history of electronic music.
https://totallyradio.com/shows/the-tone-generation

[Michael L]

For me, it was the potential of making strange new sounds and exploring a sonic landscape far beyond that which a conventional instrument could manage.

2:27 of deadmau5 modular fun from 2011

[VariKusBrainZ]

That's why I went with a Scope system. It seems expensive at first glance, but when you consider the software it comes with and the fact that it's zero latency and a kick ass audio interface as well, it's not very expensive, especially if you buy the XITE-1D, which has fewer DSP chips, but the same software.

Even the 1D is about half the total I have spent on hardware and software in the past 13 years. With my budget I'm not comfortable sinking all of that into one company's platform, or a single piece of equipment. And while it's a big system, it still seems to be basically a closed one.

You can pick up the old Creamware PCI card for peanuts.

While I bought my original Pulsar for around Eur1200 (I forget the cost)when they came out last century, I swapped some software for my second Pulsar, they're that cheap.
I got Flexor in 2004 and it still runs fine on the most recent release of Scope

And they still work fine on modern 64bit Windows.
You can integrate the Modular and othervsynthswith your Vst host and there's audio rate modulation integration, it open ended so 3rd parties develop for it.
You can also run the supplied effects as inserts inside the modular.
There's a simple cable viewing system allowing you to show\hide particular sets of cables

The modularity of the entire system is just great, probably a bit mind boggling for n00bs which is why Creamware never hit the big time like UAD, which I always considered as a crippled over priced system in comparison to Creamware / SonicCore and has never attracted me for this reason.

The software goes on sale occasionally, I got the Scope upgrade, Mod4 upgrade and a bunch of synths for £99 last year

[aMUSEd]

I still wish Clavia would do the G2 softsynth thing, other than the demo.

If only..

have you heard of Wren? it's been mentioned on KVR before. while not directly based on the G2 software, it seems to be a similar in many respects. i have yet to get it working with my soundcard, but those who've had success have given it positive reviews.

http://bluehell.electro-music.com/modules/

apologies for going OT.

Thanks for that. I hadn't heard of it. Got it bookmarked for later.
I don't have my G2 anymore, but this looks very familiar:

I love my G2 but as modulars go the modules it comes with are all fairly basic bread and butter type modules, the creativity really comes in the patching; whereas some of these boutique Eurorack type modules that Softube and Blocks seem to be trying to emulate go way beyond anything that is available in the G2, bringing in things like complex oscillators and wavetables/granular modules that have no equivalents in the G2 (and Wren seems similar).

Unless things have moved on hugely since I lost my Scope system, I feel the same way about the Scope modular; lots of modules and great sound but not many that came close to some of those crazy Intellijel, Harvestman and other boutique modules. tbh it was also kindof buggy, crashed a lot, often just when inserting and patching stuff - maybe that's better now.

[Uncle E]

tbh it was also kindof buggy, crashed a lot, often just when inserting and patching stuff - maybe that's better now.

Those things have been fixed.

[zerocrossing]

tbh it was also kindof buggy, crashed a lot, often just when inserting and patching stuff - maybe that's better now.

Those things have been fixed.

The only bug I've come across is that you have to launch a demo to get its code for a demo authorization and there's no way out of that form window other than enter the code or force quit.

[larsomat]

I can see, a heated discussion. But the most important question is not discussed at all: How does it sound?

Of course, we can't say anything about it, yet. But then, why all the talking? There's really nothing to discuss as long as we can't test the sound of it...

There's a reason why modulars are often presented with acid farts. Those filter-fm sounds are really hard to get right in software, because software filters break easily when pushed to this limit. If softube modular gets it right, I'll bite. No further questions asked.

[Uncle E]

Those filter-fm sounds are really hard to get right in software, because software filters break easily when pushed to this limit.

How do you like Bazille? FM is one of the main reason it exists, after all.

[hivkorn]

From facebook :

Softube $99 for the basic pack with six Doepfer modules and 20+ utility modules. Then $25-50 for any additional module.

their price seems okay for me....


Uncle E do you know more about the modules not included?

[Uncle E]

Uncle E do you know more about the modules not included?

My understanding is the first two will be Intellijel's. Also, since they said these first two will be between $29 and $49, I'm assuming one will be $29 and the other will be $49. It's entirely possible that I'm not understanding them correctly, though.

[hivkorn]

Uncle E do you know more about the modules not included?

My understanding is the first two will be Intellijel's. Also, since they said these first two will be between $29 and $49, I'm assuming one will be $29 and the other will be $49. It's entirely possible that I'm not understanding them correctly, though.

I have understand the same thing on a video on youtube ...Thx for reply

It seems more easy to use than reaktor ,...
Long long wait until the 11 may.

[deastman]

Uncle E do you know more about the modules not included?

My understanding is the first two will be Intellijel's. Also, since they said these first two will be between $29 and $49, I'm assuming one will be $29 and the other will be $49. It's entirely possible that I'm not understanding them correctly, though.

I interpreted that video to mean that they hadn't finalized pricing for modules yet, but it would fall somewhere in that range. It seems pretty expensive if you ask me. I mean, to replicate my eurorack system, at those prices I'd still end up spending probably a couple grand. That just seems ridiculous for a virtual modular that costs $99 up front.