One Synth Challenge #117: ModulAir by Full Bucket (Rellik Wins!)

[z.prime]

... - still the first one?? To work people!

I think people are still busy designing sounds and pushing this thing to its limit. I'm also just simply having a bit of a play around with it very slowly; it's just so capable (but not the quickest to edit).

[schiing]

... - still the first one?? To work people!

I think people are still busy designing sounds and pushing this thing to its limit. I'm also just simply having a bit of a play around with it very slowly; it's just so capable (but not the quickest to edit).

Absolutely - same here, you can take this thing in so many directions, as Rellik's WiP displays perfectly. I was just being tongue-in-cheek - far better that people take their time!

For my own part, I just need to get a track out there fast so I can relax again. I handle the silent terror of unfinished tracks very poorly!

[mmGhost]

I've been looking for a free convolution reverb.

I've been looking for a free multi-band compressor with separate side-chain inputs for each band. know of anything?

[z.prime]

I've been looking for a free multi-band compressor with separate side-chain inputs for each band. know of anything?

I did read your post in the general forum, unfortunately I'm not sure there are any free options. I've looked in the past, perhaps something in the Melda collection (I think they have some paid ones, going to download the updated pack shortly). I don't recall the DAW you use, but you could possibly just build a bandpassed compressor group/chain/etc. with a mix control to achieve somewhat of the same effect over a specific band.

[mmGhost]

I don't recall the DAW you use, but you could possibly just build a bandpassed compressor group/chain/etc. with a mix control to achieve somewhat of the same effect over a specific band.

yeah i've done something similar in the past. it works. but b/c of the rules of bouncing to audio i find my track management gets kind of ridiculous if i try to do this during sound design phase. but yeah, thanks for the feedback

[Medniex]

Looks like I'll be participating in this round as well. Since TheNeverScene provided us with a nice percussion patch I was able not to lose my patience and make at least something. For me that modular approach is not the favorite part, but at least presets were more usable than in seismic synth. It is really important for start to me to have a set of sounds I can make my first idea out and then I can start to tweak further. I hope I'll learn something during the round, but for now it's more like creative way to use given presets in unusual octave ranges, a lot of automations already in the early stage etc.
Anyway here it is:

https://soundcloud.com/medniex/osc-117-rev00

DAW:
Ableton Live

12X ModulAir
Host FX: EQ Eight, limiter, Utility, Arpeggiator (MIDI), Dynamic (MIDI), AutoPan, Glue compression (sidechain), Reverb

[] Peter:H []

Looks like I'll be participating in this round as well. Since TheNeverScene provided us with a nice percussion patch I was able not to lose my patience and make at least something. For me that modular approach is not the favorite part, but at least presets were more usable than in seismic synth. It is really important for start to me to have a set of sounds I can make my first idea out and then I can start to tweak further. I hope I'll learn something during the round, but for now it's more like creative way to use given presets in unusual octave ranges, a lot of automations already in the early stage etc.
Anyway here it is:

https://soundcloud.com/medniex/osc-117-rev00

C'mon guys, you say you're synth enthisiasts and start worrying about ModulAir?! Really!?
Modular Synths are like the canvas of Vincent van Goch just bevor he did his famous paintings. It cries for sth new, new paint, new strokes with new brushes... Step aside your usual paths and experiment with sounds, noizes and yet unheared stuff. The 10000ths iteration of the same is lame...

[schiing]

C'mon guys, you say you're synth enthisiasts and start worrying about ModulAir?! Really!?
Modular Synths are like the canvas of Vincent van Goch just bevor he did his famous paintings. It cries for sth new, new paint, new strokes with new brushes... Step aside your usual paths and experiment with sounds, noizes and yet unheared stuff. The 10000ths iteration of the same is lame...

I hear you. I for one needed a detox following information overload and making a complete mess of things during the first few days with ModulAir - so I sought refuge in well-established patterns and familiar setups to cleanse the palate. And man, it was heavenly.

I guess I'm greedy - I want the new and the old - the familar and the unknown. And no painting is ever the same as another - aany way you want it to be, that's just right.

[Saffran]

C'mon guys, you say you're synth enthusiasts

Maybe i should introduce myself.

I'm 60+ and have inherited a Levin acoustic guitar from my father. I use nylon strings and just play random notes and chords and build from that.
In my 20's i got together with 4 buddies and started a band. It turned out to be jam sessions because everyone had too big an ego to collaborate well with others.
I have never finished a whole melody. It's more like lot of small jingles or riffs. I have never let anyone hear me play.
I have a couple of old hardware synths and a cubase 5LE but never felt motivated enough to produce something. Too mentally tired all the time.
Now then. Same time as i applied for pension this CbB daw got released for free. I now have both time and means to try to put together a whole song.
Obviously softsynths is a big part of a daw and composing. I'll need to learn the basics about synths and daw composing. How to better do that than use this competition to push myself and give that bit of motivation to learn not just programming synths but also learn to use the daw.
It is fun to play with the modules. And frustrating when there's nothing but shite coming out. And terrifying when suddenly it screams at you at a volume you didn't know that little speaker where capable of.
Have it.

[TheNeverScene]

Ya gotta start somewhere Saffran...welcome aboard!

[schiing]

C'mon guys, you say you're synth enthusiasts

Maybe i should introduce myself.

I'm 60+ and have inherited a Levin acoustic guitar from my father. I use nylon strings and just play random notes and chords and build from that.
In my 20's i got together with 4 buddies and started a band. It turned out to be jam sessions because everyone had too big an ego to collaborate well with others.
I have never finished a whole melody. It's more like lot of small jingles or riffs. I have never let anyone hear me play.
I have a couple of old hardware synths and a cubase 5LE but never felt motivated enough to produce something. Too mentally tired all the time.
Now then. Same time as i applied for pension this CbB daw got released for free. I now have both time and means to try to put together a whole song.
Obviously softsynths is a big part of a daw and composing. I'll need to learn the basics about synths and daw composing. How to better do that than use this competition to push myself and give that bit of motivation to learn not just programming synths but also learn to use the daw.
It is fun to play with the modules. And frustrating when there's nothing but shite coming out. And terrifying when suddenly it screams at you at a volume you didn't know that little speaker where capable of.
Have it.

That's great, Saffran! Welcome to OSC. ModulAir is a very bold place to start learning! If you finish a little piece with it this month and pick up a few DAW tricks as well, I'm sure next month's synth will be a breeze!

[ontrackp]

C'mon guys, you say you're synth enthusiasts

Maybe i should introduce myself.

I'm 60+ and have inherited a Levin acoustic guitar from my father. I use nylon strings and just play random notes and chords and build from that.
In my 20's i got together with 4 buddies and started a band. It turned out to be jam sessions because everyone had too big an ego to collaborate well with others.
I have never finished a whole melody. It's more like lot of small jingles or riffs. I have never let anyone hear me play.
I have a couple of old hardware synths and a cubase 5LE but never felt motivated enough to produce something. Too mentally tired all the time.
Now then. Same time as i applied for pension this CbB daw got released for free. I now have both time and means to try to put together a whole song.
Obviously softsynths is a big part of a daw and composing. I'll need to learn the basics about synths and daw composing. How to better do that than use this competition to push myself and give that bit of motivation to learn not just programming synths but also learn to use the daw.
It is fun to play with the modules. And frustrating when there's nothing but shite coming out. And terrifying when suddenly it screams at you at a volume you didn't know that little speaker where capable of.
Have it.

Welcome to OSC. You'll find there are a few of us 60 + folks, including the venerable Dr. Bob. My advice is to not sweat the details -- start simple and then as you need to do something new it's easy to learn. ModulAir is a very, very big synth and would not normally be a good starting point to learn about softsynths, but part of its beauty is that you can set up a very straightforward patch -- OSC, Filter, Amp and you'll be able to start. Send the OSC to the Filter, the Filter to the AMP, use an Envelope and LFO to modulate the filter, and tell the synth to output the amp. Now you'll have a simple subtractive synth. Once you get comfortable with that you can start adding more signal paths. Even for very experienced sound programmers the multiple signal flow possibilities in ModulAir are daunting! Good luck, and don't be shy about asking questions. OSC is a very nice community of helpful people who do this for fun!

-OnTrackP

[doctorbob]

Welcome! As one of the oldies (pushing 70!), now is just as good a time to start making music again as any. You are right that the whole OSC thing of making a complete track in a month is great for giving you that push to get something done. Remember, most people don't submit their tracks until the last minute (basically, a track is NEVER really finished!).

I would say to get going, you need to have some idea about what type of track you are going to create. Probably something with just a few instruments to start with (ie a small number of "tracks"). Maybe lay down some nice chord sequences as a backing, and then maybe jam a melody over the top, pop in a bit of bass etc ... The track does not have to be long (although a 7 minute masterpiece is OK too!). Try to get to grips with some basic synthesis - just ask here, people WILL help you. Don't worry about using presets.

Getting a nice coherent sound is important too - so think about where sounds are placed in the stereo field, and also how to carve out some EQ space (frequency) for the sounds as well. Shoving everything down the middle leads to a mush! Again, many here are pretty expert about how to get this right and will help you a lot (I cringe when I listen to my earlier attempts!). Help and encouragement can make for an interesting hobby once a month - I love making tracks, and sometimes surprising people as well!

Don't hold back from posting up "Work In Progress" (WIP), tracks for comment. Even 30 seconds of ideas and sounds can help people point you in the right (or a better/different) direction.

In the end, simply enjoy the learning process.

dB

[Ranoka]

Welcome Saffran!

My first entry for OSC was last month and I'm still a beginner myself (I'm learning composition, arrangement, sound design, mixing etc all at the same time - I am however comfortable with my DAW FL Studio thanks to YouTube ), I found taking part is a great way to stick to something and complete it and also get some feedback. Even if the track isn't the greatest it helps to just start where you are rather than trying to endlessly prepare to start. I also found it really beneficial to me to take the time to go through the other entries during voting time and make notes and leave comments, I found the critical listening helps me grow too.

Last month may have been an easier synth to start with because Triple Cheese is quite simple and playful, you can get interesting results from experimenting with it. ModulAir is quite a beast that you have to tame, I found the envelopes and retriggering don't quite behave how I would expect. I've found playing with the FM and modulation can give some quite interesting results! I'm not even sure what some of the module do, like the Hilbert Transform.

Another option is to use presets, some members have been sharing theirs and there's some being shared in the ModulAir thread I believe.

I also suggest you join the OSC Slack channel (info on the 1st page of this thread). It's a great place to say hi and chat, and ask technical questions and get quick feedback on stuff you're fiddling with.

Btw, if you don't find many tutorials for CbB, you could consider switching to a DAW that the YouTube kids are using - there will be a lot more tutorials

Good luck!

[] Peter:H []

@Saffran
Welcome to OSC and let me explain my previous comment, it was not meant in direction of OSC or even electronic music beginners, like you. Hope I'm still curious to learn new things like you do...
It was rather meant in direction of the regular OSCers for which a modular synth should be an invitation to yet unseen terrain and sounds. For me OSC is a big field of sonic experiments as it is the "one synth" challenge not the "one song" challenge, I dedicate every OSC to different sonic experiments. Be it synth technicalities like creative use of restricted wavetables or how to place synths in stereo that I can get exaggerated width percussions...