One Synth Challenge #170: Octasine by Joakim Frostegård (exponent1 Wins!)

[empphryio]

I vote that yes you should be allowed to use the amp sim. That it's free is the important part. This idea that we need to carefully compare the pure waveforms of endless free synths isn't serving a more useful purpose than making good music.

[TheNeverScene]

Thanks for the replies! I just installed the update and it didn't screw up what I'd already done lol. The additional waveforms open up a lot of possibilities....I may just be able to carry on! hehe I wonder if mono/legato is in the works...and some velocity settings? Also, the lfo's seem to retrigger, so maybe some additional lfo modes.......then a built in amp sim

[TheNeverScene]

I totally understand the rules and why amp sims are OSC taboo, and every once in a blue moon there is a synth that checks all the boxes. But as a guitarist that loves synths, there are times that I'm just bashing my head against my daw.

[Nakahito]

The idea of the challenge is to squeeze the plugin of the month the most you can (i think), and to do it fairly, using other stuff to distort the sound too much (obviously to make it "better") is not permitted. I don't think it's a bad thing, you can always replace all plugins, fx, and add stuff after the challenge to finish your song like you want it, as midi production has mostly a non-destructive workflow.

[TheNeverScene]

I've been doing these for a long time....I get it and respect it, but it never hurts to ask

[TheNeverScene]

that sounded unintentionally brash lol I blame my typing skills

[] Peter:H []

I've been doing these for a long time....I get it and respect it, but it never hurts to ask

Anyway nice you've asked ... I have learnt from some posts in the past that there's the "crunch up a sound with aggressve compressor settings" trick ... use compressor with low msec attack and release and you'll get amplitude modulation in a way... a 80hz wave uses 12.5 msec for a cylce if you use 5 msec attack and release your compressor will hit the wave somehwere in the middle ... do this with several such compressors in a row in between place some eqs and you'll get a nice neuro-whatsoever bass. funny ... this one would absolutely make the rules where as using a amp sim firstplace not.
Hm, or is setting compressors in an aggressiv way widely recognized as "modulation in the audible range" ... I don't know. Try it out TheNeverScene.
BTW: Third Reich picnic? serious? Thanks man for that comparison of yours ... so funny ... everyday I learn more about why human kind is such a dystopie. It's gonna be interesting who is stepping up in the "friendly community" - probably some moderators - to provide a slight hint that this kind of language is seriously not well digested. With greeting from germany.

[Daru925]

I wish we could use 0 ratio op to get clean distortion
(Although the free knob gives some form of dist)

[Nakahito]

Well, it's the first time i get into this so:

1- I'm doing a pretty sh*tty job by myself as i'm trying to get at least 1 idea, but i don't know how to manage making sounds i want cuz im pretty new with sound synthesis, soooo im trying making different sounds and see what i get, so far im ok with some but can't get the precussions sounding as i would like them to. (i already made 2 different iterations, sometimes when i create a new sound i like some stuff comes to me and the song changes, so i didn't stick with any so far)

2- The thing i really would love is a pitch bend respones, as the plugin is not responding to the midi signals other than the notes and velocity on my keyboard.

3- I haven't got a full song going yet so i haven't found a real use for a pitch bend, therefore what i said in point 2 lacks a motive.

Work in progress, i hope to upload at least a preview this week. A month is a good chunk of time to do it, the problem is mostly getting a good idea for a song. When you have the full idea already on your head you can even finish it on a single day (with enough work and the right tools).

[empphryio]

Is there a way to change the attack slope within the synth? Seems to have a pretty fast attack no matter what.

[FrogsInPants]

Anyway nice you've asked ... I have learnt from some posts in the past that there's the "crunch up a sound with aggressve compressor settings" trick ... use compressor with low msec attack and release and you'll get amplitude modulation in a way... a 80hz wave uses 12.5 msec for a cylce if you use 5 msec attack and release your compressor will hit the wave somehwere in the middle ... do this with several such compressors in a row in between place some eqs and you'll get a nice neuro-whatsoever bass. funny ... this one would absolutely make the rules where as using a amp sim firstplace not.

It doesn't matter how lightly each individual stage distorts the signal. What matters is how much the entire effects chain transforms the nature of the sound.

[Nakahito]

Is there a way to change the attack slope within the synth? Seems to have a pretty fast attack no matter what.

Here's something that I'm abandoning. Some nice stuff in second minute relatively speaking... Foghorn is goofy. Running out of sounds. Barely looked at percussion. https://soundcloud.com/anotherjaysherma ... al_sharing

You have to pull it forward on the graph, and remember to do the same with every oscilator if you want to have some sort of warm up/swell type of sound. There's no general envelope on this plugin.

[empphryio]

You have to pull it forward on the graph, and remember to do the same with every oscilator if you want to have some sort of warm up/swell type of sound. There's no general envelope on this plugin.

Thanks but I know how to change the speed of the ADSR. It can go I think almost to 5 seconds and the release goes to around 9 seconds. But the sound still comes in pretty quick I assume because of how the attack curves. No biggie. I can work it other ways.

[enacre]

First time participating, this synth is a sound design beast. If you embrace automation clips as your source of modulation, you can pull some truly crazy stuff out of it. Never got into FM synthesis on a deep level until starting this project, now I get people who write their music using only Ableton's Operator.

[574X]

This synthesizer is so different from the release of OctaSine that we began the competition with, that the name of the synthesizer itself is no longer relevant.

I've gone from a demo generated entirely from sine waves, to another demo only using sine waves for the sub bass.

Next, a Moog ladder filter & envelope!

Here's how I would recommend approaching the development plan priorities of this synthesizer, to maximize its unique characteristics and FM focus:

1. Midi pitch bend - core functionality
2. Additional feedback types - selectable via buttons like the LFOs have
3. Envelope bezier curve adjustment
4. LFO routing to multiple destinations, each with their own amount control