KVR Audio

andy-cytomic · Post by **andy-cytomic** » Sun Aug 30, 2009 10:02 pm

Captain wrote:EDIT: Or are you talking about modulating external signals...? Couldn't find bmanic's original post, so I assumed the topic was Synth Squad, but maybe that wasn't the case?

The ring modulator in Synth Squad is a mathematically "perfect" one, which is simply the result of multiplying two signals together. This type of exact multiplication is possible in analogue but it's difficult to do. Typically analogue circuits use cheaper methods which have distortion and other characteristics which impart a distinctive drive and tone to the sound.

Andrew Simper

Captain · Post by **Captain** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:56 am

andy_cytomic wrote: The ring modulator in Synth Squad is a mathematically "perfect" one, which is simply the result of multiplying two signals together. This type of exact multiplication is possible in analogue but it's difficult to do. Typically analogue circuits use cheaper methods which have distortion and other characteristics which impart a distinctive drive and tone to the sound.

Ah, thanks for explaining! You live & learn.

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 6:59 am

So it looks you finally got me. I just purchased Synth Squad as the download version. Will take some time to check all the feature and patches.

UPDATE: First impression: The sound quality is really excellent, definitely "analogue" sounding. The second softsynth besides Sylenth1 that reminds me of hardware analog synths while playing.

IncarnateX · Post by **IncarnateX** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:23 am

Ingonator wrote:UPDATE: First impression: The sound quality is really excellent, definitely "analogue" sounding. The second softsynth besides Sylenth1 that reminds me of hardware analog synths while playing.

Apart from the fact that Sylenth 1 sounds very VA to me, I look forward to try the synth squad demo with all this nice feedback. I hope there soon will be news on that front.

bobbybland · Post by **bobbybland** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:32 am

Ingonator wrote:So it looks you finally got me. I just purchased Synth Squad as the download version. Will take some time to check all the feature and patches.

UPDATE: First impression: The sound quality is really excellent, definitely "analogue" sounding. The second softsynth besides Sylenth1 that reminds me of hardware analog synths while playing.

Exactly! Only a bit more vintage analogue sounding if I may say so myself.

ZenPunkHippy · Post by **ZenPunkHippy** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:44 am

bobbybland wrote:Exactly! Only a bit more vintage analogue sounding if I may say so myself.

We need a new term ... something like "Retro Modern Vintage Analogue"

Rory_FX · Post by **Rory_FX** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 8:48 am

Even though it's a bank holiday here in the UK, we couldn't wait to give you the next Quick Tip. Behold the awesome Velocity Glide:

Don't forget you can watch the Quick Tips so far as a playlist:

And all the tutorials:

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:12 pm

The sound quality of Synth Squad is fantastic but the CPU use is really insane. I tried to use 3 layered patches (Strobe + Cypher + Amber) in Fusor + 1 instance of Strobe (Lead sound).
On my Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU with Ableton Live 8.0.4 i get around 78-85 % CPU use when switching to 2 x oversampling. And the amount of voices in each synth was already set to only 5. Amber seems to use the most CPU of the three synths. Using more instances and/or voices in my case is only possible when switching to 1 x oversampling.

UPDATE: I'm a little bit confused. Why is it possible to play chords in Amber when the Voice count is set to 1 ? I i could leave it at 1 voice this could solve some problems with Amber's CPU use and finally the overall CPU use.

Echoes in the Attic · Post by **Echoes in the Attic** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:28 pm

Ingonator wrote:The sound quality of Synth Squad is fantastic but the CPU use is really insane. I tried to use 3 layered patches (Strobe + Cypher + Amber) in Fusor + 1 instance of Strobe (Lead sound).
On my Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU with Ableton Live 8.0.4 i get around 78-85 % CPU use when switching to 2 x oversampling. And the amount of voices in each synth was already set to only 5. Amber seems to use the most CPU of the three synths. Using more instances and/or voices in my case is only possible when switching to 1 x oversampling.

First of all, it's 3 synths layered, so it'll be cpu heavy no matter what. But to save cpu, keep amber to one voice. You can still play polyphonically. I also keep amber to oversampling of 1x because I don't think it's worth the extra cpu for playing, and I don't do the kind of sounds with it that really need 2x (IMO). The good thing about Amber is that with that one voice, you can play as many notes at the same time as you want. And maybe in your fusor patch you don't need 5 voices for both strobe and cypher? Otherwise it's till bound to eat cpu. I tend to use strobe and cypher as mono synths myself. But even if you keep those voices at 5, you'll still save lots by keeping amber down. Amber at 2x and 5 voices is going to hurt cpu for sure.

Echoes in the Attic · Post by **Echoes in the Attic** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:31 pm

Ingonator wrote: UPDATE: I'm a little bit confused. Why is it possible to play chords in Amber when the Voice count is set to 1 ?

It's the nature of Paraphonic Divide-Down oscillators. Those old string machines used one voice, but could still play multiple notes.

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:32 pm

Echoes in the Attic wrote:
Ingonator wrote:The sound quality of Synth Squad is fantastic but the CPU use is really insane. I tried to use 3 layered patches (Strobe + Cypher + Amber) in Fusor + 1 instance of Strobe (Lead sound).
On my Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU with Ableton Live 8.0.4 i get around 78-85 % CPU use when switching to 2 x oversampling. And the amount of voices in each synth was already set to only 5. Amber seems to use the most CPU of the three synths. Using more instances and/or voices in my case is only possible when switching to 1 x oversampling.
First of all, it's 3 synths layered, so it'll be cpu heavy no matter what. But to save cpu, keep amber to one voice. You can still play polyphonically. I also keep amber to oversampling of 1x because I don't think it's worth the extra cpu for playing, and I don't do the kind of sounds with it that really need 2x (IMO). The good thing about Amber is that with that one voice, you can play as many notes at the same time as you want. And maybe in your fusor patch you don't need 5 voices for both strobe and cypher? Otherwise it's till bound to eat cpu. I tend to use strobe and cypher as mono synths myself. But even if you keep those voices at 5, you'll still save lots by keeping amber down. Amber at 2x and 5 voices is going to hurt cpu for sure.

You're right. I just looked in the manual and found i could use Amber with one voice. This saves 20 or even more % of the CPU use. I guess i'll check the manual before asking next time.

Using more voices in Amber sounds a bit like using hypersaw or unison.

bobbybland · Post by **bobbybland** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:41 pm

ZenPunkHippy wrote:
bobbybland wrote:Exactly! Only a bit more vintage analogue sounding if I may say so myself.
We need a new term ... something like "Retro Modern Vintage Analogue"

I like that

bobbybland · Post by **bobbybland** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:45 pm

Fwiw this synth (knowing fxpansion) will most likely get alot of tweaks to be more cpu friendly,till then bounce or freeze seems to work, for the quality of sounds here it evens out imo. I do hope they get Fusor a bit more tamed though, stacking these sounds together with fx etc, makes the walls shake here..

Vectorman · Post by **Vectorman** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 5:36 pm

Exactly! Only a bit more vintage analogue sounding if I may say so myself.

Indeed. I thought ImpOSCar and OP-X were good at evoking a retro-analog sonic vibe and still think they sound really good, but the Squad has upped the ante in terms of the amount of sonic detail and character even when doing simple patches. I'm really discovering the pleasure of creating digital-esque sounds with them too - just messing with the sync knob in Strobe creates some bellish, metallic sounds that are almost PPG-like, but which have more warmth and variability at the oscillator stage.

Ingonator · Post by **Ingonator** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 7:56 pm

bobbybland wrote:
Ingonator wrote:So it looks you finally got me. I just purchased Synth Squad as the download version. Will take some time to check all the feature and patches.

UPDATE: First impression: The sound quality is really excellent, definitely "analogue" sounding. The second softsynth besides Sylenth1 that reminds me of hardware analog synths while playing.
Exactly! Only a bit more vintage analogue sounding if I may say so myself.

Agreed. Synth Squad now is the reference for that "analog sound" in softsynths but Sylenth1 is not far away in respect of sound quality IMHO (and it has those nice hypersaw OSCs).
Synth Squad is indeed perfect for vintage analog sounds. The only patches i am missing are Synth Brass sounds, like in most VA softsynths. So far i mostly had to program them myself (e.g. Sylenth1, Largo). Guess i have to do them for Synth Squad too...

BTW my favorite source for vintage analog patches are still OP-X Pro and Arturia Jupiter 8V, even if their sound quality is not as high as Synth Squad. The patch data of those synths is very good for reproducing those patches in other synths.

FXpansion D-CAM: Synth Squad for sale now!