Dawesome Kontrast. Wavetable synth. Coming Autumn 2025.

[p1afff]

Quick clues for @swilow11

There is a Note On trigger mode for Random module
There is a HP filter with a BP switch
In almost every corner of Kontrast, ypu will find the subpreset concept. You can save / recall your own LFO, env etc and also the SCAN parameters. Look for the three horizontal lines that indicates a menu
Have fun with Kontrast !

[swilow11]

Quick clues for @swilow11

There is a Note On trigger mode for Random module
There is a HP filter with a BP switch
In almost every corner of Kontrast, ypu will find the subpreset concept. You can save / recall your own LFO, env etc and also the SCAN parameters. Look for the three horizontal lines that indicates a menu
Have fun with Kontrast !

Nice, thanks for the info- will have some further exploration tonight when I can't sleep

[PetVor]

Tutorial by Ruben Hulzebosch:

[kraster]

Tutorial by Ruben Hulzebosch:

Hi Peter,

Is there an equivalent of max frame size (no. of samples per frame) and amount of frames.

Like Serum 2's max is 2048 samples per frame and 256 frames.

If I drag the line in the window to the extreme left or right it goes to about a quarter way up or down the X position value in the scan tab.

Is there an image size or wave size that will incorporate the entire window?

[Thymos]

The Preset Browser is a lot nicer than some of your earlier work.
Hopefully those (like Novum and Kult) will get an updated browser soon (ish).
rsp

I hope so. The fact you can click anywhere outside of the preset browser window to close it is a huge improvement too.

It would also be great if Kult would get a random patch generator...Sry for being off topic.

[PetVor]

Is there an equivalent of max frame size (no. of samples per frame) and amount of frames.
Like Serum 2's max is 2048 samples per frame and 256 frames.

The import uses meta data to check if it is an export of classical wavetable synth and imports these eg as a 2048x256

When you drop a normal wav it will be converted to a wavetable, and there are no such limitations as you have with traditional wavetables. This is due to the expanded sonic range and material you can work with in Kontrast - eg handling of inharmonic sources like Tibetan gongs and bowls this is a must. Kontrast can theoretically handle up to 100 seconds, but it is questionable if this is always a good idea ... Kontrast is a next gen wavetable synth, not a sampler

If I drag the line in the window to the extreme left or right it goes to about a quarter way up or down the X position value in the scan tab.
Is there an image size or wave size that will incorporate the entire window?

In a traditional wavetable synth your slice is just a line and you can move that along one axis. In Kontrast often your "slice" has a 2D shape, and it can be very satisfying for sound design to "squeeze it to the sides" of the image. Or to wrap it around the top/bottom. Hence the value range of the X/Y extends beyond the image!

Pro tip: the context menu of "X" label allows you to set it precisely to the left/right/center if needed

[kraster]

Is there an equivalent of max frame size (no. of samples per frame) and amount of frames.
Like Serum 2's max is 2048 samples per frame and 256 frames.

The import uses meta data to check if it is an export of classical wavetable synth and imports these eg as a 2048x256

When you drop a normal wav it will be converted to a wavetable, and there are no such limitations as you have with traditional wavetables. This is due to the expanded sonic range and material you can work with in Kontrast - eg handling of inharmonic sources like Tibetan gongs and bowls this is a must. Kontrast can theoretically handle up to 100 seconds, but it is questionable if this is always a good idea ... Kontrast is a next gen wavetable synth, not a sampler

If I drag the line in the window to the extreme left or right it goes to about a quarter way up or down the X position value in the scan tab.
Is there an image size or wave size that will incorporate the entire window?

In a traditional wavetable synth your slice is just a line and you can move that along one axis. In Kontrast often your "slice" has a 2D shape, and it can be very satisfying for sound design to "squeeze it to the sides" of the image. Or to wrap it around the top/bottom. Hence the value range of the X/Y extends beyond the image!

Pro tip: the context menu of "X" label allows you to set it precisely to the left/right/center if needed

Ah I see.

Because you can extend the shape of the scanner on the X axis it makes sense that the zero point of the wavetable is not the zero point of the shape.

Just for fun I put the X position parameter at its lowest value, put the circle control up full and flattened it so it's a horizontal line (or very squashed circle) The rightmost part of that shape is pretty much exactly at the start of the wavetable.

You can get some really cool effects with the shape above and adjusting the size parameter.

That's a great tip about the X parameter. I also only realised today that parameters with multiple choices like the filter or distortion can be accessed via a context menu!

[rj0]

...

When you drop a normal wav it will be converted to a wavetable, and there are no such limitations as you have with traditional wavetables. This is due to the expanded sonic range and material you can work with in Kontrast - eg handling of inharmonic sources like Tibetan gongs and bowls this is a must. Kontrast can theoretically handle up to 100 seconds, but it is questionable if this is always a good idea ... Kontrast is a next gen wavetable synth, not a sampler

...

Now that's extra special. Wonderful!

[MillerSam]

Here is my sound demo with some extra info

[swilow11]

I upset Kontrast by trying to load a long vocal line from an external SSD. Even Bitwig couldn't really recover without me having to force quit. I am guessing I was a bit too demanding...

This synth is very deep. I must admit, most of rhe wavetables end up sounding the same- reminiscent of PWM especially when using the vertical axis. Everything gets thinned out.

Every now and then I land on something I just wouldn't have been able to make intentionally. I will need to spend much longer before I can predict the results a bit more. I am just running the trial but can see myself purchasing if I can find the time to master it.

[wintoid]

I must admit, most of rhe wavetables end up sounding the same

That's how I feel

[PetVor]

[...]
I must admit, most of rhe wavetables end up sounding the same- reminiscent of PWM especially when using the vertical axis. Everything gets thinned out.
[...]

Hmm ... this sounds like you are doing something wrong!

Have you tried to the presets? These cover quite a dramatic range - this is far away from "sounding the same" or "reminiscent of PWM" or "everything gets thinned out"?

Or do you mean: "when I crank up the Y parameter I am getting results that are reminiscent of PWM"? That should not be a surprise: (without changing anything else) this will squeeze the scanline to the top or to the bottom - which inevitably creates some kind of PWM.

[inkling]

Anyone else getting a noticeable lag when selecting presets in the browser compared to clicking the arrow to advance to the next preset in the preset name section?

Bitwig 6, Sonoma 14.7.8

Also, is it possible to change the font display to have preset names not display in all-caps?

[swilow11]

[...]
I must admit, most of rhe wavetables end up sounding the same- reminiscent of PWM especially when using the vertical axis. Everything gets thinned out.
[...]

Hmm ... this sounds like you are doing something wrong!

Have you tried to the presets? These cover quite a dramatic range - this is far away from "sounding the same" or "reminiscent of PWM" or "everything gets thinned out"?

Or do you mean: "when I crank up the Y parameter I am getting results that are reminiscent of PWM"? That should not be a surprise: (without changing anything else) this will squeeze the scanline to the top or to the bottom - which inevitably creates some kind of PWM.

Lol, I've no doubt that I'm doing something wrong. I've explored the presets a bit but generally find preset jumping tedious, much prefer random exploration to figure stuff out.
This could be a less than optimal way to figure out this very unique synth. Because it's unusual, I guess I'm trying to come up with analogies to help me figure out what does what. The PWM thing was as close as I could get. There's also something which sounds like Phase rotation, I'm hearing that distinct detune sound that you get when you slowly modulate phase position.

But yes, when modulating the Y axis, I'm finding it a bit like PWM. Which is lovely and characterful but seems to yield similar sounds regardless of the selected wavetable.

Curious- would you suggest a few factory presets i could take a look at to get an understanding of how diverse the synth is? What ones represent Kontrasts capabilities best in your opinion? Dismantling presets is a way I learn but my ADHD brain finds scrolling through presets to be a chore. Any suggestions would be great because of the few presets I've checked out, the sound is actually really diverse.

Didn't intend my comment as criticism btw. I'm very likely to purchase this soon.

[PetVor]

Anyone else getting a noticeable lag when selecting presets in the browser compared to clicking the arrow to advance to the next preset in the preset name section?

Thx for reporting. Is fixed in the next version - coming out next days.