KVR Audio

foosnark · Post by **foosnark** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:14 pm

generaldiomedes wrote:Why does ambient have to be 'warm' again? I find 'cold' ambient quite satisfying.

I like my ambient like I like my iced coffee: cold and dark and a bit scary.

liv · Post by **liv** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:24 pm

layzer wrote:
liv wrote:
layzer wrote:
liv wrote:Just an example.
Serum and only Serum.
https://soundcloud.com/leap-into-the-vo ... the-palace
sounds like something any old freeware synth drenched in reverb can do. big deal.
Thanks for the listen.
I think it sounds great. Deep, smooth and powerful at the same time. Personally I don't hear this character very often.

Please give an example.
korg M1, Vanguard and freeware:
https://soundcloud.com/layzerkvr/ramire ... red-forest

Sorry, I don't hear it.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:27 pm

cron wrote:
pdxindy wrote:How do people like the conversion from audio to wavetables in Serum? I'm not particularly pleased with my results... but I only tried a dozen times or so on the demo. Maybe there are some tricks to learn that I did not figure out but I like the results and capability in Icarus more.
FFT followed by wavetable morph (zero all phases) is generally a solid catch-all for 'smooth' sounding wavetables when you're just looking to capture the general 'spectral evolution' over time of your source material. The FFT import in Serum is a bit of a mystery to me, as it appears to be breaking the wav file into chunks of [FFT size] samples and that's it. I'm curious as to why it needs to operate in the frequency domain at all. The wavetable morph (zero all phases) step transforms those frames into something better resembling what FFT import IMO implies in the first place.

Thanks for the reply!

Bump1 · Post by **Bump1** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:43 pm

sfxsound3 wrote:
Bump1 wrote:I've never loaded a synth that I've hated as much as Serum...maybe Sylenth.

I know hate is a strong word. But it applies.
Gotta love 'em Sylenth haters! And who are YOU, boyo???

Just a nobody who hates Sylenth.

pdxindy · Post by **pdxindy** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:04 pm

cron wrote:The other negative for me is that wavetables aren't interpolated during modulation. It's always a hard 'jump' between one frame and the next. While I've only noticed popping artifacts with 'difficult' wavetables I crafted specifically to test Serum's abilities in this area, it's maybe something to think about if you're interested in the whole 'ambient journey' thing wavetable synthesis is usually good at.

At first I figured I must not be finding that parameter cause I could not imagine it was not there. It's certainly a downer for ambient washes and smooth soundscapes.

2 (per voice) filters would be so useful!

A few other don't likes for me in Serum...

I have not found a sample and hold option in Serum (chaos is smoothed) and the LFO's are not very modulatable (only rate). The LFO's also have no phase control.

Serum does not support breath control or expression pedals... this one is a big downer for me.

Besides the FM options and quantize, I don't find the Warp modes all that interesting in Serum. I like the 'Morph' options in Icarus (equivalent to Warp in Serum) a lot more.

I do like the FM in Serum. Particularly that one can use the sub-osc Warp mode and it has a good octave range. The very high fidelity of the Serum Osc's leads to some lovely FM results. That is my favorite aspect of Serum and for me, what sets it apart.

Like 2 filters, 2 warp modulators would be very interesting. I'd like to be able to combine FM with quantize for example.

Armagibbon · Post by **Armagibbon** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:58 pm

Why hate a synth? It kick your dog?

garryknight · Post by **garryknight** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 9:46 pm

To the OP: The current state of Serum, as I understand it, is that a new version has been programmed and is in the process of being alpha-tested. Other than that it has a resizable GUI and will be released some time this year, probably only very few people on here know much about it.

Armagibbon · Post by **Armagibbon** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:05 pm

Will be? Man serum just got an update with scaling gui. You try it out yet?

t3toooo · Post by **t3toooo** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:12 pm

garryknight wrote:To the OP: The current state of Serum, as I understand it, is that a new version has been programmed and is in the process of being alpha-tested. Other than that it has a resizable GUI and will be released some time this year, probably only very few people on here know much about it.

After logging in you can already download the newest beta at https://www.xferrecords.com

exmatproton · Post by **exmatproton** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:22 pm

garryknight wrote:To the OP: The current state of Serum, as I understand it, is that a new version has been programmed and is in the process of being alpha-tested. Other than that it has a resizable GUI and will be released some time this year, probably only very few people on here know much about it.

It is in beta (as stated on the account page on the xfer site). It runs smooth as F*** though.

latest.JPG

cron · Post by **cron** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:30 pm

Steve is very conservative when it comes to calling an update 'finished'. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a release without the beta tag. Maybe a consequence of the speed at which he fixes bugs and pushes updates out. He's easily the hardest working, most active and approachable developer I've dealt with.

exmatproton · Post by **exmatproton** » Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:36 pm

cron wrote:Steve is very conservative when it comes to calling an update 'finished'. I'm not sure if I've ever seen a release without the beta tag. Maybe a consequence of the speed at which he fixes bugs and pushes updates out. He's easily the hardest working, most active and approachable developer I've dealt with.

Dead Duck

foosnark · Post by **foosnark** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:24 am

So, just curious if anyone can answer: if Serum is a "cold" synth, what's "warm?"

I mean, I realize I'm just wasting my time with the question here because the same people who say that say it's "sterile" or "clinical" (which makes me wonder, are you just listening to the sub oscillator with A, B, filters, FX, and modulation all disabled? because DAMN). But indulge me.

I've been on this forum for 14 years and nobody has ever demonstrated what a "cold" or "warm" synth is and why one is supposed to be better than the other.

Yorrrrrr · Post by **Yorrrrrr** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:46 am

Those words can't really be defined. In my case it just means that I find the sound bland, uninspiring and character-less, way too perfect even if I introduce intentional imperfections. Meh...whatever, I don't know for certain, it's just a feeling and a matter of taste, so it's not like one is better than the other, just a personal preference.

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:13 am

mode audio has some great presets for Serum, not EDM but soft stuff.

https://soundcloud.com/modeaudio/desert-highway

The State of Serum in 2017