One Synth Challenge #177: Synful Orchestra & VSCO2 Percussion (silverpants Wins!)

[ElVincente]

If anyone is having problems with the VSC02 Percussion (Not working on some MAC's, here is a download link for SFZ instruments with the samples, which can be used in Sforzando or other suitable soundfont player. These are from the same sample set as were used in the plugin.
Size of the file about 123mb.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Pf3rbe ... sp=sharing

These are ok to use instead of the plugin if you need to. Note that they are not exactly the same, as the plugin makes a more refined use of the sample set than these sfz files.

Thanks Richard, I'm going to need that as VSCO2 is such a hog with on my system.

I'd like to report that I successfully used this vst3 https://discord.com/channels/8967787049 ... 1331590165
to host some great ususally reaper specific jsfx, so anyone can use that (and we're allowed to go 11 with them on reaper right ?).
I had success running those saike stuff in bitwig :
Reflectosaurus
Filther
Sequenced FX
Saike Pitch Shift
Stereo Bub III
SatanVerb
Modizer
FM Filter
Abyss
Ripple
MS-20
Duskverb
Reabee
Saike_Phase_Mangler

[neverbeeninariot]

Hello
Is anyone using Reaper here? Have you succeeded in routing VSCO2 to multiple channels?
The Reaper asks for that on the track adding, creating 16 tracks with routings, but all sounds are routed to only the first one of them.

No, unfortunately it doesn't support multiple outs, which is why you'll see complaints about the amount of resources it consumes when loading multiple instances.

The samples are available separately though (see the post above this one), and I think that it's ok to use them individually, e.g. dragged directly into the arranger/timeline if your PC/Mac can't handle many multiple instances of the plugin, but Richard has only mentioned that it's ok to use the SFZ versions and hasn't explicitly OK'd the use of the samples in that way.

It's a bit strange that Reaper is asking to add additional tracks for routing, I don't remember seeing that here

[neverbeeninariot]

So I suggest everyone just relax and write music from your heart, sincerely expressing themselves. This, by the way, is often the shortest path to victory!)

[Negoba]

So I suggest everyone just relax and write music from your heart, sincerely expressing themselves. This, by the way, is often the shortest path to victory!)

This is the way.

My previous comment simply meant that it felt like this contest would be more about the composition of the song and less about sound design. Mixing and production are always going to be part of the process, I assume.

I have a very strange song in process for this one. Is there a prize for dead last? I may be gunning for it.

[Double Tap]

Perhaps someone could make a sample pack of Wooden Spoons?

[neverbeeninariot]

So I suggest everyone just relax and write music from your heart, sincerely expressing themselves. This, by the way, is often the shortest path to victory!)

This is the way.

My previous comment simply meant that it felt like this contest would be more about the composition of the song and less about sound design. Mixing and production are always going to be part of the process, I assume.

I have a very strange song in process for this one. Is there a prize for dead last? I may be gunning for it.

Given that we are allowed to 'go to 11' with free plugins this month, sound design may play a big part - but it's almost impossible to know what kind of weighting people give to each component of an entry in any round.

For what it's worth, personally, I like strange songs, and I know that I'm not alone either

I'm also totally down with the idea of a pack of wooden spoon samples for last place - genius

[z.prime]

... it felt like this contest would be more about the composition of the song and less about sound design. Mixing and production are always going to be part of the process, I assume.

OSC is a unique contest, because it doesn't mean the same thing to every participant. I find it pretty likely that many entrants do, in fact, value sound design as a critical aspect of OSC. OSC is [generally] a contest to take a single synth and make a whole song with it, which means to make some super song you need to be able to coax interesting / appropriate sounds out of the synth. This is an art in and of itself. But since OSC doesn't stop there, the other aspects you mentioned like composition and production are important, too!

Without dwelling on voting too much, I always suggest to find a personal balance of Composition, Sounds (Design, Choice), and Production (Mixing, Mastering). For me, the balance is approximately 1/3 for each aspect, but since composition is quite a personal thing, I think this can tend to influence the final result more than it probably "should". And while this of course isn't a requirement to follow suit or even a suggestion, there are definitely times I have voted tracks 5 for completely amazing sound design even though I really didn't care for the composition. To me, due to the nature of having a short time to learn a synth and use it for such an open-ended result, I'm always going to score something high (at least 4) it it has me ask "how the heck did they make this?" or "how did they get these sounds"?

[doctorbob]

With this orchestral synth though plus the go crazy with FX notion - it's down to using the synth "as it should be used" or "abuse it and make sounds it's not supposed to make"!!!

Wrap the sounds in a composition and then produce it.

I suspect that the mix/master side of things this time will be a challenge in itself.

To quote a famous phrase .... "To mangle or not to mangle, that is the question". Ha!

dB

[Negoba]

I'm still new here and this is only my second OSC go, but a more classic synth like last month seems to lend itself to pushing your skills at sound design as an inherent part of the creative process. This synth is much more challenging to tweak inside the plugin itself, at least in ways that I understand. Maybe it's just my skillset.

And indeed my composition is almost done but some of the sounds aren't very good so I'm trying to wrangle them to sound a little less amateurish.

[neverbeeninariot]

I'm still new here and this is only my second OSC go, but a more classic synth like last month seems to lend itself to pushing your skills at sound design as an inherent part of the creative process. This synth is much more challenging to tweak inside the plugin itself, at least in ways that I understand. Maybe it's just my skillset.

And indeed my composition is almost done but some of the sounds aren't very good so I'm trying to wrangle them to sound a little less amateurish.

It's not your skillset, Synful is ok at a few things, but in general is very limited in what it can do.

I ended up leveraging the VSCO percussion plugin for a sound for one of my melodic parts (lots of pitch-bend going on), but this is part of the 'challenge' of the One (sometimes Two) Synth Challenge, right?

I can promise you that some of the synths chosen for the OSC have been, or will be worse than this one, so we need to be thankful for our little audio blessings

As mentioned before, this month you can use any free fx plugins with ludicrous settings if you want, so there's room to enhance dull sounds with saturation, modulation, etc, but also paid plugins are allowed as long as they are used within the normal OSC rules for free plugins (if that makes sense?).

[bburtin]

Here's my submission:

https://soundcloud.com/boris-burtin/bbu ... 7abf99e7d3

This track was recorded with 10 instances of Synful Orchestra (bass, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 2 clarinets and bassoon) and 4 instances of Versilian Chamber Orchestra 2 (cymbal, hi-hat, kick, snare).

The track was recorded with Studio One 4.5. I used the Fat Channel (EQ and compression), Room Reverb, and Limiter plugins that come with Studio One.

[neverbeeninariot]

Greetings Earthlings.

From the distant reaches of interstellar space, we bring you our submission for OSC177.

https://soundcloud.com/neverbeeninariot/dub-synfony

Reaper 7
Synful Orchestra (8)
VSCO Percussion (7)

With a special guest appearance from an alien bee. RIP.

TrackFx : BC Chorus, CHOWTapeModel, db_Glitch1, IVGI2, MComb, MFlanger, MFreqShifter, MPhaser, Pro-C2 (7), Pro-Q3 (13), Ripple Phaser (Geraint Luff), Tape MELLO-FI, TEOTE, Kotelnikov GE

SendFx : Pro-R2, ValhallaDelay, ValhallaVintageVerb (2), Echobode, Ripple Phaser

MasterFx : Satin, TEOTE, Pro-Q3, Pro-L2, Loudness Meter (Cockos)


Notes.

Regarding the use of db_Glitch.
It's used only on the bee sound (which itself is one of the VSCO percussion sounds with non-audio rate pitch bend modulation), to dramatise the intensity of the life or death struggle, and the tragic demise of said bee during the struggle inside Spaceman D. Bassman's helmet.

Regarding the bee.
No actual bees were hurt during the making of this production.

[MATCHER]

Hello! This is my entry for this month:

https://soundcloud.com/thematcher/harmoniquea

Made in Ableton Live 11 with:
2x VSC02 Percussion and 12X Synful Orchestra
plus

Ableton stock effects:
EQ Eight
Compressor
Glue Compressor
Saturator
Utility
Echo
Reverb
Limiter
Multiband Dynamics

3rd party plugins
OrilRiver
Tal Chorus LX
SPAN
Youlean Loudness Meter 2

I hope you enjoy it.
Cheers!

[silverpants]

My entry for this round "Bertrand's Last Band"

https://soundcloud.com/slugnest/bertand ... al_sharing

Professor Bertrand Snook loved playing with his band on a sunny Sunday in the bandstand. But the mighty starship Argenti was waiting patiently in the distance. This would be the band's last song, and he let them play their hearts out. Soon he would be on his way out of the system and towards the mysterious object he had been working towards for his whole academic career.
But for now - play on! The sun is shining and the starship can wait.

DAW: Reaper

15 Instances of Synful
3 Instances of VSCO2

Dead Duck:
Filter, Limiter, Compressor, Flanger, Delay, Phaser, Chorus, TiltEQ, Overdrive, Autopan, BitCrusher.

Reaper JS:
Channel Time Delayer, Sweeping Resonant Filter, Event Horizon Limiter

Reaper: ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaCompX, ReaDelay

Boogex Amp Sim
OrilRiver Reverb
SPAN, Youlean Loudness Meter, kHs Gain

[Juergen]

Hello everyone,
this is my second test with Synful Orchestra and probably still not my contribution for this month.

https://soundcloud.com/user-221952934-5 ... al_sharing