Official Serum thread!

[ariston]

You can override the Envelope 1, of course, like you said. But don't forget that you can scale the modulation via a different mod source (in the matrix). So you can have Env1 affect all 4 destinations, but you can use LFO3, velocity, aftertouch and chaos (f.e.) as mitigators to achieve different effects.

[Greg Houston]

Can someone help me understand this please.

Oscillator A and B, Sub and Noise Volume are 'tied' to ENV1.
But i want to use different amplitude envelopes for all 4. How do i go about that?

The only way i see is: Leave ENV1 open full. Use ENV2 and 3, and also 2 LFO's as an envelop. This leaves little modulation available.

Why is ENV1 always tied to all sources? Isn't this very limiting as far as amplitude is concerned?

There is room for another envelope in the current UI, but if there was some sort of toggle to decouple ENV 1 from everything, how would that work by default? Would no sound play from an OSC until you specifically assigned an envelope to it's volume? I don't think an LFO could count since it doesn't factor in release.

Regarding, "This leaves little modulation available", even without using LFOs as envelopes this is the single biggest limiting factor for me in Serum. Serum makes complex modulations super easy, and my imagination quickly supersedes the 4 LFO limit. I've been putting a lot of morphing and rhythmic ideas on hold crossing my fingers we might get more LFOs at some point.

[zeep]

You can override the Envelope 1, of course, like you said. But don't forget that you can scale the modulation via a different mod source (in the matrix). So you can have Env1 affect all 4 destinations, but you can use LFO3, velocity, aftertouch and chaos (f.e.) as mitigators to achieve different effects.

Yes. But it's limiting the modulation sources too much atm.

There is room for another envelope in the current UI, but if there was some sort of toggle to decouple ENV 1 from everything, how would that work by default? Would no sound play from an OSC until you specifically assigned an envelope to it's volume? I don't think an LFO could count since it doesn't factor in release.

It could be as simple as a Global button on ENV1, On by default. Once switched off anything goes. Ideally 4 envelopes.
Maybe some different options in a pull down menu:
- ENV1 Global
- ENV1 and 2 > OSC1 and OSC2
..

Regarding, "This leaves little modulation available", even without using LFOs as envelopes this is the single biggest limiting factor for me in Serum. Serum makes complex modulations super easy, and my imagination quickly supersedes the 4 LFO limit. I've been putting a lot of morphing and rhythmic ideas on hold crossing my fingers we might get more LFOs at some point.

I would like more refined rhythm and transpose options in an LFO, to help make beats and melodies. A tight grid. As it is now, it's very hard to make good/tight rhythms and melodies. Maybe even a Timeshift dial, that works like a Swing function on a xbar grid.

[Greg Houston]

I would like more refined rhythm and transpose options in an LFO, to help make beats and melodies. A tight grid. As it is now, it's very hard to make good/tight rhythms and melodies. Maybe even a Timeshift dial, that works like a Swing function on a xbar grid.

What do you mean by tight grid? Not sure if you are looking for something else, but if you hold the alt key down while moving nodes they will snap to the grid.

Swing is definitely one of the most requested features.

[stikygum]

I was trying to find where it says the key commands in the manual, but didn't see it in the table of contents. I've watched Steve's video tutorial on Modulation and it mentions the key commands. Basically, if you use a combo 'shift', 'alt' or command and click then you'll see the different gestures Serum will make. Those there seem to be the main key commands, but I saw a list somewhere and there are quite a bit more.

[ariston]

While I wouldn't mind additional modulators, I really question the necessity of these. You can already do so much with what's available... this is a case where limitations make for better sounds IMO. Additionally, there comes a point when sounds lose their musical viability if you overdo it - again, in my opinion, of course. You get these hold-a-key-and-make-a-song sounds. Impressive, but not useful. I prefer "as simple as possible" where synths are concerned. Tomatoes and Tohmatohs I guess.

Something like swing would be nice, though. And, taking a cue from the U-He synths, mods like quantize, rectifier, and lag would be very helpful.

[Kain]

Can someone help me understand this please.

Oscillator A and B, Sub and Noise Volume are 'tied' to ENV1.
But i want to use different amplitude envelopes for all 4. How do i go about that?

The only way i see is: Leave ENV1 open full. Use ENV2 and 3, and also 2 LFO's as an envelop. This leaves little modulation available.

Why is ENV1 always tied to all sources? Isn't this very limiting as far as amplitude is concerned?

There is room for another envelope in the current UI, but if there was some sort of toggle to decouple ENV 1 from everything, how would that work by default? Would no sound play from an OSC until you specifically assigned an envelope to it's volume? I don't think an LFO could count since it doesn't factor in release.

Regarding, "This leaves little modulation available", even without using LFOs as envelopes this is the single biggest limiting factor for me in Serum. Serum makes complex modulations super easy, and my imagination quickly supersedes the 4 LFO limit. I've been putting a lot of morphing and rhythmic ideas on hold crossing my fingers we might get more LFOs at some point.

If you run out of LFO's you can always use a different VST plugin in your host, like the LFOtool and then just use automation.

[DJ Warmonger]

If you run out of LFO's you can always use a different VST plugin in your host, like the LFOtool and then just use automation.

Well yes, but I wouldn't use it as an argument to buy 190 USD synth with reported high CPU usage

EDIT: Either way, I just became happy owner of Serum

[Kain]

If you run out of LFO's you can always use a different VST plugin in your host, like the LFOtool and then just use automation.

Well yes, but I wouldn't use it as an argument to buy 190 USD synth with reported high CPU usage

EDIT: Either way, I just became happy owner of Serum

Then your sound is probably to complicated and complex and won't sound good as an instrument anyway (but effects or long pad sounds that change are different) . Aks the sound designers here if they are already running out of LFO's. And you can reuse an LFO to control multiple things by automating or changing the parameters on the matrix page (like output, input shape, output shape). There really is no good reason to use every LFO and ENV and complain you need more. If that happens you do something wrong in sound design. And as long as OSC A has not influence over OSC B (like warp with FM from the other OSC) you can always use a second instance of Serum. That's also the reason Serum only has two main OSC, more are not really needed. CPU usage is higher then all the other synth, correct. But that's because no compromise was made on the quality (and there is a draft mode now without oversampling) and you can hear that when you compare basic sounds with other VST's. I am on a shitty laptop i5 mobile with two cores and no extra multi treating and I am not complaining about Serum's high CPU usage. Even though once in a while when I play with releases times FL Studio grinds to a hold. It forces me to find more efficient ways of getting the same sound and also to bounce to a sample a lot. Something that is really amazing, because lots of times I have a good sound and then lose it later. When I bounce more and more to sample and then start slicing it and putting sample effects on it that only work on samples I am amazed at how much better this approach is. And I can easily use small parts of one song in the other song because of that. I have never liked working with samples to much (because I want to be the creator of the whole thing) but nowadays I am achieving great results by creating all kinds of samples from my older projects and using them in newer projects. For instance check out my upcoming hip hop instrumental.
https://soundcloud.com/matthijsbos/snea ... strumental

Almost done, just got to compose and play some more upright bass licks. I have used samples from three other projects that I never finished, even one from 2001 that I made after getting inspired at a Jazz festival in Belgium.

Anyway, I am drifting out of tune.

EDIT: I guess Greg Houston does see it as a limitation. I guess I'm wrong then. Move on, nothing to see here just a noob showing he is a noob.

[Greg Houston]

Then your sound is probably to complicated and complex and won't sound good anyway.

You lost any authority on this topic when you asked this question...

Does anybody a way to get the fibonacci sequence in Serum?

[Kain]

Ha, I was thinking like this: to have a waveform in the editor that goes the smallest amount above the middle (A) then the smallest amount below the middle (B), then A + B above the middle (C), etc etc like the fibonacci sequence. And I don't know anything about the mathematics behind waveforms (except that a sine wave is a sine on a graph) so I was wondering if there would be a formula that would accomplish this without me drawing it manually.

But I am probably using the wrong terminology so I don't know if I can make clear what I am talking about.

I am listening to your Magic Serum Soundset right now, I really like the first couple of sounds in the beginning with the unison drifting in to tune. Might buy it one day, to use in my tracks and to learn from.

[DJ Warmonger]

After whole weekend with Serum I can tell it's absolutely my favourite. It has more possibilities than I imagined, smooth workflow and CPU usage is not an issue. With wide array of filters and wavetable possibilities the number of possible sounds growths exponentially without user's effort. Either way, they all sound great and there's no need to browse through all of them.

Also, Serum turned out to be capable of great melodies, both standard leads and experimental textures. This is just next-gen synth we didn't see before!

[Kain]

Some more noob sound design

to prove it works lets fade a sine to saw to square.
sin((x+1)*pi)*(-y*(y<0))+(-x)*(-abs(y)+1)+x/-abs(x)*(y*(y>=0))

I used that for this

https://soundcloud.com/matthijsbos/soun ... ple-trance


and made a short track example (yeah it's trance, deal with it KVR!)

https://soundcloud.com/matthijsbos/trac ... ple-trance

Here is the patch if anybody wants to play with it --> http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?fi ... 6854115276

[Greg Houston]

23 instances of Serum, some drums, and one other instrument that comes in for the last handful of measures for the perty ending. The drums have a touch of Xfer Records Dimension Expander on them to bring them into the same space as the Serum instances. Then there is compression and limiting on the 2bus.

https://soundcloud.com/gregoryhouston/lifeforce

[Kain]

I'm so in love with Serum. Like seriously ... will I ever get sleeeeeeep?

Finally a decent sound! Made this last night, three instance of a Serum patch I made + some drums =

https://soundcloud.com/matthijsbos/oooh ... -hell-yeah