KVR Audio

Axis1~SL61 · Post by **Axis1~SL61** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 6:42 am

the problem is not because they're multistage -- I had an Ensonique ASR-10 and I'm familiar with multistage envelopes -- the problem in the soft SQ8L is that I click the Env1 (or 2, etc) button, see the parameters displayed, then turn the assigned knobs (Attack, etc) and I hear no effect on the selected preset. If I have to read the manual or a tutorial for such a basic simple thing as modifying the attack, then it's pretty discouraging, especially if already in the middle of a song... I'll still give it another try, but not in the current song, because I'm afraid that the inspiration and free time will be long gone after I finish reading the tutorials/manuals...

briandc · Post by **briandc** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 7:04 am

Axis1~SL61 wrote:the problem is not because they're multistage -- I had an Ensonique ASR-10 and I'm familiar with multistage envelopes -- the problem in the soft SQ8L is that I click the Env1 (or 2, etc) button, see the parameters displayed, then turn the assigned knobs (Attack, etc) and I hear no effect on the selected preset. If I have to read the manual or a tutorial for such a basic simple thing as modifying the attack, then it's pretty discouraging, especially if already in the middle of a song... I'll still give it another try, but not in the current song, because I'm afraid that the inspiration and free time will be long gone after I finish reading the tutorials/manuals...

I see what you're saying, and I admit that there are some things I don't understand yet, either like the MAT function. (Seems to be a type of effect that can be assigned.) But I'll probably read the manual just to learn something new about synths, which I like doing anyway.
The sound I made and linked to, was really pretty basic. Even if you just start with an initialized voice and play around with the waves, you start to hear some interesting things. (The "piano" doesn't sound much like a piano, but that's where the fun begins..

)

We'll keep this thread going for a while, so people have time to come up with something. A week is the minimum, I think, since many of us have jobs, etc, and can't spend entire days at the keyboard.
Then we'll move to another synth. Any suggestions?

brian

briandc · Post by **briandc** » Tue Sep 25, 2012 11:59 am

Axis1~SL61 wrote:the problem is not because they're multistage -- I had an Ensonique ASR-10 and I'm familiar with multistage envelopes -- the problem in the soft SQ8L is that I click the Env1 (or 2, etc) button, see the parameters displayed, then turn the assigned knobs (Attack, etc) and I hear no effect on the selected preset. If I have to read the manual or a tutorial for such a basic simple thing as modifying the attack, then it's pretty discouraging, especially if already in the middle of a song... I'll still give it another try, but not in the current song, because I'm afraid that the inspiration and free time will be long gone after I finish reading the tutorials/manuals...

I think I'm getting it a bit now..

Take a look at the ENV1 2 3 and 4. Go to Env4, and you see L1, L2, etc, and below: T1, T2, etc.
L means amount. The higher the number, the louder/harder the sound.
T means time. The higher the number you put, the longer it takes to reach respective Level above it.

Now, ENV4 affects the last part of the sound (I think). So, if you want faster cut-off, for example, change L3 to 0. This is basically "off." The change the T3 to what you want. The lower the number, the faster it will reach L3 at 0.

Hope that helps..

brian

maxmace · Post by **maxmace** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 1:29 am

Hey, I never said they were super-easy, just that they are not that hard.

The easiest way to start is from an INIT patch, just use ENV4 to learn to shape the volume.

The problem with this advice is that many of the professional patches (i.e. not "INIT") use fancy routing, so that fiddling with one of those patches at random may give unexpected results (as you've discovered).

--This is because the same envelope can serve double duty on an amp, an oscillator or a filter. A DCA or OSC can even be Double-Enveloped (you won't see that too often), and you can use the final envelope (ENV4) to modulate anything in the system as well(!). (I would consider that technique "bad form", but its there if you need an extra envelope that happens to match your final stage).

The INIT or BASIC patch avoids these confusing routings because only the 1st OSC is turned on, all the filters are wide open, and the LFOs and ENVELOPES are unassigned. You can build up a patch starting from a basic SAW (or other wave) and add other oscillators as needed.

This is a quick way to build up a CS80 Vangelis/Blade Runner style patch, by turning on the 2nd OSCILLATOR (OSC-2) with a SAW waveform and detuning it slightly. Turn on OSC-2 by using the "on switch" on it's DCA (DCA-2).

(BTW, each DCA has the master on/off switch for its associated oscillator, since the DCA controls the amplification for each oscillator).

Finally, you can use those envelope skills to apply a sweep to one of the OSCs or the filter, and you are in analog polysynth territory.
--M.

do_androids_dream · Post by **do_androids_dream** » Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:56 am

Axis1~SL61 wrote:the problem is not because they're multistage -- I had an Ensonique ASR-10 and I'm familiar with multistage envelopes -- the problem in the soft SQ8L is that I click the Env1 (or 2, etc) button, see the parameters displayed, then turn the assigned knobs (Attack, etc) and I hear no effect on the selected preset. If I have to read the manual or a tutorial for such a basic simple thing as modifying the attack, then it's pretty discouraging, especially if already in the middle of a song... I'll still give it another try, but not in the current song, because I'm afraid that the inspiration and free time will be long gone after I finish reading the tutorials/manuals...

I guess that it would be discouraging initially, but once you look it up and find out how they work, you then know for the future. It would be a shame to give up on this synth as it sounds so good. Hands down best software emulation of hardware imo. I must admit, i also found the envelopes confusing at first but after calmly tweaking each one with an initialised preset i had more or less worked it out afer about 15 minutes. If anything the SQ80's envelopes are a vast improvement over the simple ADSR for complex sound design so i applaud ensoniq for implementing this.

briandc · Post by **briandc** » Thu Sep 27, 2012 5:31 pm

Here's a layout of the SQ80, just to get an idea of the structure of the SQ8L:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/86426969/Modulation-sq80.jpg

brian

briandc · Post by **briandc** » Sat Sep 29, 2012 9:05 am

Here are some sounds from the original... just to compare with the SQ8L!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y8fNnDJUx0

brian

maxmace · Post by **maxmace** » Sat Oct 06, 2012 6:26 pm

After starting the thread on "patch wars," I thought the only way to really get interactive here without it getting to dispersive, would be to take one (FREE) synth at a time, and ask everyone to "tweak it good" and come up with a neat patch to share here.
What do you think?

I thought I'd start with SQ8L (although it could've been any other), since it seems quite basic and yet quite pleasurable to work with.

Anyone up to it?

Okay, it doesn't look like anyone is biting, so here's my effort:
HAUNTED MUSIC BOX

About the patch
Since it is October, in celebration of Halloween (and because i'm listening to a lot of John Carpenter scores), here is "HAUNTED MUSIC BOX". --Info on how to import sound is at the bottom of this message...

It might remind you of a complex delay/chorus treatment, but (of course) it doesn't use any FX--the creep factor is "baked into" the sound! And even without the warping, the basic chime tone contains a lot of rich organic harmonics and doesn't sound especially "synthy".

Modifying the patch
LFO1 Level2 controls the level of "spookiness" --Turn it to zero for a slight mind-warp, or to 63 for full-on clown-doll terror. It's current level places it in "Vangelis" territory, so it would fit in Space Music, "dream sequence", or horror contexts equally well.

You can also change the ENV4 parameters to create either a harp or chime attack (the current settings split the difference).

And as always, try it with different OSC waveforms. such as SINE or GLINT. If you get digital artifacts that you don't think are "cool", try turning OFF the AM. Amplitude Modulation gives you a cool bell ringing shimmer, but it will exaggerate waveform aliasing on harmonically rich samples.

Installing the patch
Download the HAUNTED MUSIC BOX file to your desktop, and from the SQ8L "File" menu, choose "Import Program File (SQ80/ESQ1 SysEx)" and navigate to the file.

You can put it anywhere in your banks (I recommend over a blank "INIT" space), and even rename it to "HAUNTED MUSIC BOX" instead of the 6-character abbreviation.

Enjoy the patch this Halloween, and pleasant dreams...

maxmace · Post by **maxmace** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 4:10 pm

I wanted to *BUMP* this to see if this sound from the previous post is useful (or at least interesting) to anyone.

I posted it Saturday when everyone had better things to do (hopefully).

IMO it's another example of a buttery workstation sound that most people don't think the SQ8L can accomplish, but it's really pretty easy.

EvilDragon · Post by **EvilDragon** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:39 pm

That's a very spooky patch! My girlfriend got jitters.

briandc · Post by **briandc** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 7:34 pm

Hi everyone,
thanks maxmace for the patches! I'm glad to see that this neat little synth is getting explored!

I haven't heard them yet, but I'm downloading them now, and can't wait to try them out!

After some time doing lots of other stuff, I (finally!) sat down today and put together a few patches. (I had tried doing it in the beginning of the thread, but I couldn't find a way to save the patches singularly. Now I do though!)

So here are 4 patches, all rather "playable" rather than effects:

http://ubuntuone.com/1bnPMkEvtB6vTiBjI90oee

http://ubuntuone.com/6piRVHyzgrufL6Nkca2WBN

http://ubuntuone.com/1Hbr8mgeNMbBRrbTBZQDCf

http://ubuntuone.com/01VEuzXIkn6S9dD9bKVM0P

Let me know if you aren't able to load patches one-by-one.

The SQ8L/SQ80 is a strange instrument in ways. The "piano" wave doesn't sound much like a piano, for example. But the variety of waveform/sounds are enough to cover a lot of territory, and the filters are very powerful. So you can get a piano in a "roundabout" way, using, for example, a plucking sound, together with a softer "formant" wave perhaps..

Let's keep 'em coming for another week or so.. then on with another synth!

brian

maxmace · Post by **maxmace** » Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:22 pm

the variety of waveform/sounds are enough to cover a lot of territory, and the filters are very powerful. So you can get a piano in a "roundabout" way, using, for example, a plucking sound, together with a softer "formant" wave

Absolutely. You are on exactly the right track, Brian. On the other hand, the PIANO waves can make great string ensembles. Think of the SQ8L as an Oberheim Xpander with 60 waveforms isntead of just a few, and layer the OSCs "by ear" instead of by waveform name.

The first 15 or 25 waveforms are really the workhorses, and the final 20 or so are great "flavor enhancers", but of course you could create cool sounds from just the click and pluck waveforms.

If someone has a request of a type of patch they would like to hear, I will take a crack at it. Within reason--I will not recreate all the Super Jupiter presets for you...at least not for free.

P.S.
After this thread runs dry I will zip up the half-dozen or so of these free patches that I have done for KVR members and upload them to the KVR Patch area--along with complete performance notes.

briandc · Post by **briandc** » Wed Oct 24, 2012 10:06 am

Ok, I'm going to start a new thread with a new synth to tweak. I've also been tweaking a synth in linux called "amSynth" which you can find 8 banks I made here:

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=363463

For now, I hope others add more of their tweaks to SQ8L. It's really a neat little instrument, and I hope to add more here in the future.

In the meantime, be looking for a new thread (perhaps tonight) with a different synth to tweak. I was thinking about 2 synths in particular: RMXL or perhaps AZeta66:

http://www.kvraudio.com/product/rmxl_by_krakli

http://www.kvraudio.com/product/azeta66_by_azeta

Anyone have a preference?

brian

Mr_meee · Post by **Mr_meee** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:45 pm

I don't know if its a proper time for doing this but...
in my dropbox there is a file of aproximadly 1mb containing 2829 fxp patches for the SQ8L

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i8px5lau94pa1 ... s.zip?dl=0

NOTE:
This patches work only with the SQ8L not anything else, even if it has a similar name, even if it have a shining looking interface that is not like the original thing, neither makes sense because the logic of emulation its to emulate the experience, and that allready exists for free...

Because the SQ8L its literally like having 1000 Ensoniq SQ80 keyboards inside your computer tower, cranked between your GPU and motherboard without even making extra noise.

I say 1000 because, the other day out of lunacy, i just opened reaper with 1000 SQ8L tracks playing and recording at same time to see if i could set my CPU on its knees

(i failed, the cpu only took 70% for the 1000 tracks, imagine that...)

I guess having a keyboard running a motorolla 68k that runs assembly means, that if somehow some assembly DSP genius manages to emulate it properly than it means in powerfull computers 20 plus years latter, that thing will never crash or even put them to test...

But i have not lost hope, i am certain that if i download a certain emulation from a certain company, i will most likely manage to place my CPU on its knees with a couple of dozens of instances (they usually never disapoint me on that.)

This is not an anti-anything post, i am just sharing presets!

T-CM11 · Post by **T-CM11** » Mon Sep 20, 2021 8:42 pm

Mr_meee wrote: ↑Mon Sep 20, 2021 7:45 pm Because the SQ8L its literally like having 1000 Ensoniq SQ80 keyboards inside your computer tower, cranked between your GPU and motherboard without even making extra noise.

That's one of the best things about it, especially compared to the new Arturia one.
That said, I don't think I've ever used more than 10 tracks (of any instrument/plugin/audio).

Sq8l