FYI!! Melda SoundFactory ON SALE til JUNE 30

[RobinWood]

I think even this beta would have profited from a better variety of pre-made instruments. I know it's great to have all those modules but some users might need examples how useful they are in which combinations.

edit: on the other side we can't edit and look inside devices, so the learning part might not kick in

[OneOfManyPauls]

I guess that makes this a leap-of-faith discount - but you can look at mxxx to get an idea of what's in store down the line.

[wagtunes]

Well, the work flow thing is slowly coming around. Eventually, with enough repetition, this will begin to become second nature but it will probably take as long as it did with MPS.

In the meantime, my own personal opinion (and that's all it is so take it with a grain of salt) as far as the synth being worth wrestling with because the sounds you get aren't much different from other synths, I'm not sure I agree. I've gotten some pretty strange things out of this synth. And the FX that you can build into each patch alone, IMO, make this synth worth getting. At least at this price. I can't think of any other synth that has this many FX built in.

For $55 (what it cost me) I have absolutely no regrets getting MSF. I've had my share of frustrations just trying to find things and I still wish they had done a more traditional FM layout, because this thing is driving me batty, but all in all I can't really complain giving all I've gotten for so little.

When the synth shoots up to $299, that's a different story. There are plenty of synths that are cheaper, easier to work with, and sound just as good. I would have a difficult time buying at that price point.

But for those of you on the fence, now is the time to get this, especially if you own other Melda plugins as that lowers the price even more.

[mevla]

I feel like being able to directly draw in the envelope can be more immediate for the purpose of doing "custom shape" alone, but not nearly as flexible as it is donw right now, where you can apply and blend together (even modulated) different amounts of basic shape, custom shape and sequencer shape. Right now it gives a much organized way to address each component individually.

I would agree with that. I have used now and then two Melda audio plugins that offers truly free-form envelope drawing and I find that f-f approach more limited than what can be done at the moment in MSF, with all the options and modulations available. Especially regarding the modulations. Just briefly exploring MSF so far I already saved a lot of custom presets, all modulated variations in one way or the other.

At the core though, is the attractiveness of the preset sounds. Whereas I wasn't too fond of MPowerSynth for its coldness upon which modulations tended to enhance the 'unrooted' aspects, MSoundFactory, while still in the digital realm, as a lot more depth and provides much leeway for modulating expressions. I'm looking forward to hear the actual real MSF presets in the very first upcoming release, since the presets for the time being, if I'm not mistaken, were ported from MPS by jmg8.

EDIT: So far I use MSF in the 6-out configuration. I find it great to be able to fine-tune volume, pan and adding non-Melda processing to specific MSF outputs at the (Bitwig) DAW level.

EDIT2: On this last subject, I would like to share a hint/tip regarding the creation of new multi-channel instruments in Bitwig, using MSF. In this simple example, an oscillator was added on MSF channel two, with its own characteristics, and the original oscillator then processed using Voxengo's Vari Saturator, and then the whole thing, MSF and FX, packaged and saved as a new Instrument Layer ready to be loaded on any new track when needed. An Instrument Selector could also be used, allowing for instant automated switching between two MSF instances.

bitwigInstLayer.jpg

[David]

I think even this beta would have profited from a better variety of pre-made instruments. I know it's great to have all those modules but some users might need examples how useful they are in which combinations.

edit: on the other side we can't edit and look inside devices, so the learning part might not kick in

More examples certainly would be great, altho folks who've had the beta from before it was public are delighted (I'd guess—I am!) to now have any at all to check out. Now there's 6!!—each quite complex and imo impressive demos of what can be done with devices; seems like Xmas:)

And editing them IS definitely possible; all the devices so far supplied are Editable, fully explorable in Edit mode. Please report more if you're not able to get there…

There's also a few much less polished Devices (including a couple of NOT-editable ones because the poster didn't get that Editable had to be selected, soon to be made the default) in the Preset Exchange folder, accessed at the bottom of the Global Presets Browser. Worth checking out, too…

And there's always the no-devices GLobal Presets that were just added for the public release, over 800 of 'em. They're ported over from MPS, so not great demos of MSF's unique options, but useful starting points from which to explore those, I've found.

[bmanic]

In the meantime, my own personal opinion (and that's all it is so take it with a grain of salt) as far as the synth being worth wrestling with because the sounds you get aren't much different from other synths, I'm not sure I agree. I've gotten some pretty strange things out of this synth.

100% agreed and it's the biggest strength of this synth (and partially due to the strange user experience).

The sounds I've managed to make so far are pretty damn unique to this thing. Because it doesn't do the traditional stuff all that well (edit: Correction, it takes an unnatural amount of effort to do these well so it ain't really worth it.. but it can be done, definitely) and has some strange quirks and features, you easily end up with pretty unique sounds. That's a major plus in my book.

For 99 euros this thing is definitely worth it if you are a person that likes exploring new territory in sound and don't really care for presets (though some of the MPS presets are quite nice so it's not a total loss on that front either).

[David]

hmmm…is it starting to look like 57 pages of sturm, angst, drang are proving…almost worth it? Maybe

[wagtunes]

hmmm…is it starting to look like 57 pages of sturm, angst, drang are proving…almost worth it? Maybe

I think so. Keep the faith David.

[dionenoid]

I've gotten some pretty strange things out of this synth.

Indeed. That's why i like it too. It's a different kind of animal.

[NeoKortex88]

hmmm…is it starting to look like 57 pages of Sturm, Angst, Drang are proving…almost worth it? Maybe

what are those german quotes? Is it a saying in english?

[David]

Angst: a feeling of persistent worry about something trivial.

Sturm und Drang: literally "storm and drive", though usually translated as "storm and stress", was a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s.

Sturm, Angst, Drang: The name of my new band. Of brothers. The League of Toilers. In The Factory.

[WasteLand]

Angst: a feeling of persistent worry about something trivial.

Sturm und Drang: literally "storm and drive", though usually translated as "storm and stress", was a proto-Romantic movement in German literature and music that occurred between the late 1760s and early 1780s.

Sturm, Angst, Drang: The name of my new band. Of brothers. The League of Toilers. In The Factory.

nice! sturm und drang, i know my german, and culture, i am not german, by the way.. i have goethe in my library... a goethe preset/instrument/device... nice start.... (i like it when there references to literature... my thing...)

MSoundfactory the Sturm und Drang synth!

EDIT: Angst is a word that is also used in english movies or literature. i never knew why the german word Angst infiltrated/penetrated the english language (which has many words from the french language, but because the french occupied the island, or a part, don't know exactly anymore).
it is a word that i more associate with a german philosopher, but i do not know if Angst is also from the period that you mentioned.

perhaps a strange message within this thread, but i write (and publisch) and how i write, it is consider very extreme and strange, is very much influenced by music (with an accent on some composers), and how i write influences now how i make mysic....

[NeoKortex88]

I know those meanings iam german
Are you? Will international people understand the name of your Band?

[NeoKortex88]

There is btw some really nice german poems but when i read the translation into english it always sufferes greatly
Like "Der Panther" by Rilke. I cannot tell you how much better the german is compared to the english translation.
Overall i like the english language more though. Especially when it comes to commercial music. Somehow german lyrics 80% of the time sound
embarrasing or weird.

[WasteLand]

I know those meanings iam german
Are you? Will international people understand the name of your Band?

haha, they must! they must! since you are german, as the word Angst the same impact or effect, as use, for example in the english language. the same connotation? i am dutch by the way, we write it also as "angst", but no capital letter.

and this is still a MSF thread, the complex structure of language(s), represents MSF....
in a way you can modulate language, and it is a structure. the structure of MSF is in a certain way a language, that you must learn. the grammer, the syntax.. ow well i stop now.

great tips, at last, here in this thread.