One Synth Challenge #151: GR-8 by Phuturetone (Jasinski wins!)

[Gmunu]

Hi everyone !

Here is my submission for the OSC 151.
https://soundcloud.com/user-146475644/g ... ry-osc-151

DAW : Logic Pro
--> 43 instances of GR-8
Fx used (only slightly; I tried to use (and abuse) the internal Fx as much as possible):
Tracks : Channel EQ (Logic), Compressor (Logic), Multipressor (Logic), OTT (Xfer), Imager 2 (Ozone), Kotelnikov (TDR), Nova (TDR), ChromaVerb (Logic)
Master: Linear Phase EQ (Logic), Stereo Spread (Logic), Exciter (Logic), Multipressor (Logic), Kotelnikov (TDR), Adaptative Limiter (Logic)

I used v1.0.7. (I didn't realise that there were updates until my track was finished)

A friend told me about this challenge a few months ago, and I was finally able to find some time for it. This is the first time that I am attempting this kind of sound design exercise. I am looking forward to your feedbacks (you seem to be a wonderful community )!

edit: I forgot to mention that I used Modulator (Logic) (instead of copy-pasting some automations)

[Taron]

Hi Gmunu, AWESOME DEBUT!
What a dense arrangement, but beautifully coherent! Are you at home in the genre, or what do you normally produce? Well, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you are clearly a seasoned composer, knowing deeply well what you're doing.
The only thing I'd say is that it can become a little fatiguing with the immense density of it. It's like sitting on a table with 6 people constantly having heated exchanges of all sorts. Makes me want someone to come in and go:"Coffee anyone?" and there's a brief silence and then a collective:" More BEER, please!" with one going:"...is there still a piece of cake left?"... and then they can resume with the acoustic suffocation, hahaha.
Anyway, it sounds awesome, it's full of jazzy excellent, my beloved progressive rock touches and countless nuances I dearly love. SO: AWESOMENESS and, oh, I deeply hope you will stick around for many more rounds to come!

Oh, yes, the sound design: GREAT! Loads of classic synth touches, everything modern is squeezed in there, too. Altogether wholesome and neat! It's difficult to pick out details, especially while trying to remember what I've just heard, but yeah... most prominent are the traditional sounding leads and very effective drums, too!

[Phuturetone]

Hi All,

A mini-update, added the global Octave control:
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/gr-8-b ... /downloads

Cheers!

Not sure why, but this update seems to have changed the internal mappings. Automation from the previous two versions of GR-8 have automated the same, this latest octave control update has caused e.g.

OSC Pulsewidth has now become PWM Source
Filter Cutoff is now Env2 Sustain
Filter Resonance is now Filter LFO Depth

Could just be how Bitwig saved automation mappings maybe? Not a big deal, I just remap them in Bitwig, but might cause some confusion as I thought I'd lost all automation in the latest update until I figured out it's all changed what's being automated.

Edit: Looks to just be the parameter list has all shifted down a position with the Pitch Octave added to the top of the list, but Bitwig must use the index position of the parameter in the GR-8 list rather than index by the actual parameter name as a string.

Hi hockinsk3,

This was already posted in the other thread, but I couldn't find what's wrong. Many thanks for investigating, the list you've posted helped me find 3 parameters with wrong names. Two of them shifted the others by two positions, while one is later in the list.

What I knew is that parameters have their unique, automatically assigned, random number that is used for saving presets. But I didn't know that the same IDs are not working for automation. It looks like automation parameters are ordered alphanumerically.

So while I had good intentions to include a few requested controls, that change made chaos with automation. There's no fix for this kind of screw-up.

I will first investigate how should I organize the parameter automation list, making it bullet-proof for the eventual future addition of controls. I will release an update after this contest ends, so it doesn't mess up automation to people few days before the deadline.

My apologies to everyone affected by this bug.

[hockinsk3]

No problem Phuturetone, glad to help!
Cool track Gmunu, the start very much reminded me of a cross between Cybotron - Clear & Kraftwerk - Tour de France!

[MadMcMan]

Here's my track
Um.... Bongos?

I made some bongo sounds quite early and felt i kinda needed to use them but wanted to make something technoish with a fun rumble. So here it is.

https://soundcloud.com/madmcman/um-bongos


DAW:
Reaper

GR-8 Instances:
x56


Atlantis Reverb by GeraintLuff
Delay w Pingpong
Leet Delay 2
Midi Delay
Midi Harmony
Midi Transpose Notes
Ozone Imager 2
Highpass/Lowpass Filter
ReaComp
ReaGate
ReEq
Saike Multiband Ravager
Saike Not OTT
Saike Tight Compressor
Limiter
SPAN
Springbox Delay-reverb
STFU
TDR Kotelnikov
TDR Vos SlickEQ
Valhalla Supermassive.

[J.Ruegg]

My entry:

https://soundcloud.com/jruegg/jruegg-blackhole

64 Instances of GR-8 (maybe 2 or 3 instances less, as some sounds didn't made it into the final version) in Bitwig 3.3.11

3rd party VST effects:

- AllPassPhase
- ZEEK CHOP (beta)
- ZEEK STFU
- D16 Frontier
- MSaturator (free)
- Xfer OTT
- Signalizer
- TAL Reverb 4
- TDR Molotok
- TDR Nova
- TDR VOS SlickEQ
- Valhalla Supermassive
- Polyverse Wider

Bitwig effects:

- Ladder (only used for the drums "fade in", and on the master for the outro)
- Eq+
- Transient Control
- Peak Limiter
- Tool
- Multiband FX-2
- Note Receiver

And lot's of bitwig modulators.

[] Peter:H []

Hi All,

A mini-update, added the global Octave control:
https://www.kvraudio.com/product/gr-8-b ... /downloads

Cheers!

Not sure why, but this update seems to have changed the internal mappings. Automation from the previous two versions of GR-8 have automated the same, this latest octave control update has caused e.g.

OSC Pulsewidth has now become PWM Source
Filter Cutoff is now Env2 Sustain
Filter Resonance is now Filter LFO Depth

Could just be how Bitwig saved automation mappings maybe? Not a big deal, I just remap them in Bitwig, but might cause some confusion as I thought I'd lost all automation in the latest update until I figured out it's all changed what's being automated.

Edit: Looks to just be the parameter list has all shifted down a position with the Pitch Octave added to the top of the list, but Bitwig must use the index position of the parameter in the GR-8 list rather than index by the actual parameter name as a string.

Hi hockinsk3,

This was already posted in the other thread, but I couldn't find what's wrong. Many thanks for investigating, the list you've posted helped me find 3 parameters with wrong names. Two of them shifted the others by two positions, while one is later in the list.

What I knew is that parameters have their unique, automatically assigned, random number that is used for saving presets. But I didn't know that the same IDs are not working for automation. It looks like automation parameters are ordered alphanumerically.

So while I had good intentions to include a few requested controls, that change made chaos with automation. There's no fix for this kind of screw-up.

I will first investigate how should I organize the parameter automation list, making it bullet-proof for the eventual future addition of controls. I will release an update after this contest ends, so it doesn't mess up automation to people few days before the deadline.

My apologies to everyone affected by this bug.

I only know Juce Framework and there they have AudioProcessorParameterWithID base class.
https://docs.juce.com/master/classAudio ... ithID.html

The Ctor doc say: "The creation of this object requires providing a name and ID which will be constant for its lifetime."

I bet you should simply only set these IDs explicitely yourself and not rely on the the framework assign it automatically for you...

[Aro]

@Taron: I just discovered a new use for Melodyne. I can practice hearing harmonics by slowly increasing them. I'm starting to put the sound puzzle together although bit by bit. Thanks!

[Aiynzahev]

Here's my track
Um.... Bongos?

I made some bongo sounds quite early and felt i kinda needed to use them but wanted to make something technoish with a fun rumble. So here it is.

https://soundcloud.com/madmcman/um-bongos


DAW:
Reaper

GR-8 Instances:
x56


Atlantis Reverb by GeraintLuff
Delay w Pingpong
Leet Delay 2
Midi Delay
Midi Harmony
Midi Transpose Notes
Ozone Imager 2
Highpass/Lowpass Filter
ReaComp
ReaGate
ReEq
Saike Multiband Ravager
Saike Not OTT
Saike Tight Compressor
Limiter
SPAN
Springbox Delay-reverb
STFU
TDR Kotelnikov
TDR Vos SlickEQ
Valhalla Supermassive.

m2reloaded-freeway14.jpg

[Double Tap]

https://soundcloud.com/taptapdoubletap/ ... rntablists

Too many DJs think they're GR-8 turntablists. I did at one point try to have two DJs arguing while the needle was spinning in the label groove, but that was a bridge too far. Or a chorus too far. Or something.

All effects are Ableton Live
Phuturetone's GR-8 x37
Drums x6
DJ FX x3
"Tablas" and "Bongos" x4
Sort of neuro bass x6
Wub bass x4
Electro/Trap/Trance instruments x5
Textures and risers x9

Effects: lots of Limiters, most things have Compressor, EQ8, some Glue Compressors, a few Hybrid Reverbs and Reverbs, AutoFilter for the risers, Shaper to turn an arp into hi hats with LFOs. But most of the effects are in GR-8 and I made a lot of use of the internal distortion, EQ, reverb and chorus.

[Gmunu]

Hi Gmunu, AWESOME DEBUT!
What a dense arrangement, but beautifully coherent! Are you at home in the genre, or what do you normally produce? Well, beyond a shadow of a doubt, you are clearly a seasoned composer, knowing deeply well what you're doing.
The only thing I'd say is that it can become a little fatiguing with the immense density of it. It's like sitting on a table with 6 people constantly having heated exchanges of all sorts. Makes me want someone to come in and go:"Coffee anyone?" and there's a brief silence and then a collective:" More BEER, please!" with one going:"...is there still a piece of cake left?"... and then they can resume with the acoustic suffocation, hahaha.
Anyway, it sounds awesome, it's full of jazzy excellent, my beloved progressive rock touches and countless nuances I dearly love. SO: AWESOMENESS and, oh, I deeply hope you will stick around for many more rounds to come!

Oh, yes, the sound design: GREAT! Loads of classic synth touches, everything modern is squeezed in there, too. Altogether wholesome and neat! It's difficult to pick out details, especially while trying to remember what I've just heard, but yeah... most prominent are the traditional sounding leads and very effective drums, too!

Wow, thank you very much for your message, Taron !

TBH, I can't say that I am at home in any genre ; I am still fairly inexperienced in music production (I only finished 3 tracks over the last 4 years, two of them were more like jokes/memes with friends, the last one is, well, just above). However I have a good background in music theory, a decent understanding of how synths and acoustic work in general, and I've spent a lot of time watching tutorials this summer so I am not starting from nowhere.
I hope too that this submission won't be the last !

[schiing]

In the orchestral library world...hmmm...

That's where I've been! Still finding the time for some OSC shenanigans in between, though.

I don't want to insult it, but it just... I wonder, if it is the whole consumer aspect of it all, like the "musicians" there expect to be given a ticket to excellence with their purchase, or that they can't be bothered with much more than how to use the tools they acquire to attach themselves with one achievement of others to another achievement of another. As a result they seem distracted by the effort of feeling superior, subconsciously aware that they carry little responsibility for the quality of sound they produce, haha. Harsh, I know. But, really... it's painful to witness all the dependence and the strangely distant smugness you find there.

VI Control?? I don't want to diss them too hard, because it's also a very useful and informative community with plenty of humility and good-natured exchanges to go round. But some of those less favourable aspects are definitely present, too.

I enjoy playing around with orchestral tools, but whenever I finish some sort of epic orchestral piece, I invariably find myself asking "Why???" I don't do that with soft synths. I think it's because the results feel, somehow, more authentic in regards to the tools I'm using. Like "why do I spend hours on solo violin articulations when any mediocre fiddle player could do it better in a matter of minutes?" In a way, I'm just cutting and pasting legatos, chromatic runs and dynamics like bits of a big puzzle. A synth tune feels like "the real thing", whereas an orchestral arrangement feels like, well, what it is: a mockup of something "real."

Anyway, I guess this is my roundabout way of saying that I won't be able to compete this month, because I too busy philosophising about the essence of music.

Or, perhaps, because I'm still reeling after the near Win10-disaster, where only luck prevented me from losing all my music software licencing and dongle information, because I had fatally dallied around for almost a year before creating a system image.

I'm calmer now than I was a little while ago.

I've enjoyed playing around with the GR-8, though - I like this synth!

[gorgorgathgorgorgor]

Well, for better or worse, I made a thing. A generative thing. I built a virtual robot for making bleeps and bloops. It's expressing my emotions for me, so I don't have to.
https://soundcloud.com/gorgorgathgorgor ... 93269c615a

This is my entry into the OSC 151 GR-8.
I used VCV Rack as the Host, With it's "Host" modules.
the level might be a bit low as the mix comes right off of the MindMeld mixer. I used Loudmax with HostFX between the mixer and the Record module just to catch any accidental overs.
The rest is just MIDI sequenced with numerous sequencers, LFOs, quantizers, clocks and clock dividers, voltage references for the drum note information, Bernouli gates, and flip flop switches.

There are eight instances of GR-8.

enjoy.

[Aro]

@gorgorgathgorgorgor: robots have complex emotions Fun concept!

[MilksterX]

Buono Estente!

Here's my submission for this month

https://soundcloud.com/milksterx/milkster-unarmed

I made a couple of different tracks but settled on this one. Hopefully makes a nice change from the usual flailing beats

34 instances of GR-8 made in Ableton 11 Suite
15 instances for drums
19 instances for Synths
Native plugins
EQ8, Saturator, Erosion, Drum Buss, Glue Compressor, Multiband Compressor, Echo, Hybrid Reverb, Reverb, Auto-Pan, Auto Filter, Limiter,

Third party
Limiter 6, CamelCrusher, GClip, Wider, Valhalla Supermassive, TDR Nova, TDR Slick EQ, Ultrasonic, Loudmax64 Youlean Loudness Meter

Hope you enjoy!