One Synth Challenge #143: Any Hardware or Emulation (Taron Wins!)

[surreal]

Would I be able to use ni Fm8 as this was inspired by the Dx9?

Or Rob Papens Bit.. it is emulated o the Jupiter 8

'inspired by' and actually emulating are two very different things, IMO. B.I.T. obviously is not an emulation of a Jupiter 8. If that goes, anything analogue-ish goes. I think Z' got it right ( ) when saying:

What if we clarified the rules with something like: the chosen synth must state on the website that it is a software version / implementation / recreation of a specific piece of hardware? Is that more or less what the original intent of the challenge was?

Surely that was the intent. And even then I'd consider it sporting to avoid using drastic enhancements to the original. For example: Arturia's DX7 offers choice of envelopes, including fancy MSEGs, But when aiming for a DX7 emulation one should really only use the DX7-style ones, shouldn't one ?

Still dithering myself. I'm leaning towards the KORG odyssey or MS-20 VST. Those stay very close to their originals and sound excellent. Probably Full Bucket if it had to be freeware. Nice and to the point. Will be dipping a toe in the waters of hardware soon with a Behringer 2600, but alas, that's unlikely to arrive on time

Then Synth1, Diva and Tyrell and Ace would be ruled out by this definition as Diva was inspired by the Nord Lead, Mini moog ,The Juno 60, Jupiter6 and 8, obx and a korg ms 20 as much as BIT is inspired and Based on a Jupiter 8 and Ace inspired by the Arp 2600.

[zarf]

To be honest it all seems to have been a little confused by the example of Diva being given as something that is OK. Diva is not a software version of a specific piece of hardware and therefore it seems to create an inconsistency within the rules.

Apart from that I was thinking it's pretty clear - use any hardware synth, including digital of course, or any software that REPLICATES hardware specifically, not *inspired by* hardware.

Hardware synths that use some sampling under the hood - like the D-50 (or D-70 which I've got) with their PCM - surely that's just like using the in-built factory samples in soft synths that has happened various times in OSC before.

But of course even without the confusing example of Diva, there are still grey lines all over the place. I suggest everyone finds something that they find inspiring and exciting to work with, as close to the rules as they feel comfortable with, and we see what happens Or ignore my post, another perfectly valid option here

[FrogsInPants]

I asked earlier--but no response. Are tape emulations okay? I was thinking maybe not, as they can change the character of the sound from the synth. But if they are, I'm in.

I suppose it depends on what aspects of tape it's emulating. Tape saturation is okay. The rule on that is, "Please use distortion / tape saturation / bit crushing sparingly." If it's doing wow/flutter, maybe not, as among the things that aren't allowed are "Effects that pitch the sound (e.g. pitched / granular delays, tapestops etc."

[FrogsInPants]

I suggest everyone finds something that they find inspiring and exciting to work with, as close to the rules as they feel comfortable with, and we see what happens

Ah, yes. The one true rule of OSC.

[doctorbob]

There are some (buggy) EMS VCS3 emulators out there too if we want to really go retro ...

dB

[reusenoise]

Some vintage stuff
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/neon-by-steinberg
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/model-e-by-steinberg

[Leonard Bowman]

So I can record HW synth and then splice and rearrange any way I want while retaining original pitch/speed/direction, right? Just want to be sure I can glitch recorded material manually (it gives so much possibilities for HW usage instead of emulation)

I personally see nothing wrong with rearranging the audio but personally I'm trying to avoid cuts and splices in my recordings. Maybe that's a personal challenge to myself to see how well I can perform my parts

Splicing things at silence doesn't bother me - that could just as easily be two separate recordings or two separate tracks. I'd be hesitant about cutting takes mid-note, but I'm still more interested in a song that's fun to listen to than one that's obviously within the rules. Be tasteful and curious and rock on.

[briefcasemanx]

Anyway, is Nord Micro Modular a supposedly allowed hardware? That's the only of the two HW synths left here, the others I sold them all! (The other I still got is CASIO VZ-8M)

why not?

The Nord Micro Modular is a DSP software on dedicated hardware, and not an emulation of any other hardware. Therefore I wasn't sure that it could fit the "rules".

What's the difference of a digital synth or a "DSP software on dedicated hardware"?

ok, said that way: it's none.

But said that way every single synth ever made, hardware or software are allowed.

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I'm unsure why this seems so hard for people. Maybe it's because the person that made the thread put Diva in there without any qualifiers?

It seems very easy to me. The only edge case I can think of that I don't have an opinion on is Nord modular and that's only because I don't know much about it.

IMO If you really have to ask just pick something else that's obvious. Arturia V Collection stuff, TAL J8, Phoscyon, Korg Collection, Fury800 are all obviously emulations of a hardware device. A virtual modular rack ecosystem or a synth with one of its 12 filters filters based kind of off a specific hardware probably isn't it, chief.

[HiEnergy]

What about synths that combine hardware and a VST plugin?
If the answer is "yes", I might throw my Access Virus TI into the arena.

[jasinski]

At the risk of blowing up this thread even more; but a question asked in earnest. Would it be ok to use U-He's Satin and Presswerk? They are emulating hardware and can be configured to emulate specific devices.

[z.prime]

At the risk of blowing up this thread even more; but a question asked in earnest. Would it be ok to use U-He's Satin and Presswerk? They are emulating hardware and can be configured to emulate specific devices.

I'm not really poised to answer the question, as I'm still confused why Diva would be allowed in this particular challenge... but from u-he's website about Presswerk:

Presswerk is more than an emulation of a single hardware compressor. Like Satin, Presswerk is a toolkit, drawing ideas and inspiration from a number of sources.

Which, to me, says it's not an emulation of a hardware device and similarly neither is Satin. But, again, if Diva is really okay, then why not?

[SeBaer]

Ah, yes. The one true rule of OSC.

One rule to ring them all...

But said that way every single synth ever made, hardware or software are allowed.

I don't think so. Nord Modular is a specific DSP hardware. The code wouldn't run on any other hardware, unlike a software synth. Programming of the patches takes place in a computer software, though. But that doesn't produce any sound, AFAIK.
My guess is, Nord Modular is fair game.

[cthonophonic]

OK, Theremin it is, then.

[H-man]

Programming of the patches takes place in a computer software, though. But that doesn't produce any sound, AFAIK.

Correct. The software will not even really activate until it finds a Synth connected via the PC-Link (Dedicated MIDI IO for the software-synth connection).

So, you configure your synth, download it to the hardware and play it. There is a second MIDI IO for normal use and no USB so it's audio-out into your soundcard/interface.

For anyone interested, some clever peeps converted the G2 editor to work with Csound:

https://cdm.link/2018/02/nord-modular-free-software

[liqih]

Anyway, is Nord Micro Modular a supposedly allowed hardware? That's the only of the two HW synths left here, the others I sold them all! (The other I still got is CASIO VZ-8M)

why not?

The Nord Micro Modular is a DSP software on dedicated hardware, and not an emulation of any other hardware. Therefore I wasn't sure that it could fit the "rules".

What's the difference of a digital synth or a "DSP software on dedicated hardware"?

ok, said that way: it's none.

But said that way every single synth ever made, hardware or software are allowed.

That's exactly why I asked in first place.

------------

I'm unsure why this seems so hard for people. Maybe it's because the person that made the thread put Diva in there without any qualifiers?

It seems very easy to me. The only edge case I can think of that I don't have an opinion on is Nord modular and that's only because I don't know much about it.

IMO If you really have to ask just pick something else that's obvious. Arturia V Collection stuff, TAL J8, Phoscyon, Korg Collection, Fury800 are all obviously emulations of a hardware device. A virtual modular rack ecosystem or a synth with one of its 12 filters filters based kind of off a specific hardware probably isn't it, chief.

Agreed. On my side I will stick to Nord Micro Modular, just restricting myself to the most obvious limitations of the machine. Not abusing it's power, LOL.