One Synth Challenge #138: Surge (MrKarolus Wins!)

[Frostline]

Is there a way to widen the stereo field of the unison? It seems to stack all the voices in the center and I can’t find the control to spread the voices apart.
Thanks

[Shifrin]

I've not checked this myself, but there is a width control that apparently works when you're using the stereo/wide filter configurations. Might do the trick!

[EvilDragon]

Yeah stereo processing in Surge is something that needs to be worked on more, it's a pretty tricky subject since it touches upon a lot of different parts in the codebase. For example, only two out of 6 filter routing modes are proper stereo - all of them should be (well in that case there'd be some duplicates, but you get my point).

[Aro]

I've got a couple questions I need clarifying. I understand we aren't allowed to use commercial presets. So that means we can't use the third party presets? What about the factory presets.

Also, I'm a bit confused as to whether I can use sampled waveforms in the wavetable oscillator. I understand we can't use samples, but I'm assuming the sampled waveforms in Surge are single cycle, therefore don't sound like actual samples.

I'm just wondering because I've already created a sound altered from a factory patch using the banjo waveform and I"m a bit attached to. Actually, I'm pretty much done my entry and that patch is kind of at the the center of it. So I'm hoping its a legit entry, otherwise starting again fresh.

[GeneralQ]

I would assume that everything thats part of the factory content is legal. And those 3rd party waveforms and presets are in the default installer.
If we had a serum ocs I would expect the noise oscillator to be legal as well when used with the factory samples.

[RichardSemper]

I've got a couple questions I need clarifying. I understand we aren't allowed to use commercial presets. So that means we can't use the third party presets? What about the factory presets.

The third party presets included with the Surge distribution may be used, provided they conform to rules regarding sample playback.

Also, I'm a bit confused as to whether I can use sampled waveforms in the wavetable oscillator. I understand we can't use samples, but I'm assuming the sampled waveforms in Surge are single cycle, therefore don't sound like actual samples.

Much discussed grey area between wavetables and sample playback in previous OSCs.
Single cycle waveforms, morphing etc. is fine, but:
-using wavetables to effectively 'play-back' longer sampled recordings is not allowed, for e.g. kick, snare, cymbals, vocal phrases, bells etc. The emphasis of this challenge is synthesis rather than live recording.
-In this case I would say the use of 'one-shot' wavetables would not be allowed.

I'm just wondering because I've already created a sound altered from a factory patch using the banjo waveform and I"m a bit attached to. Actually, I'm pretty much done my entry and that patch is kind of at the the center of it. So I'm hoping its a legit entry, otherwise starting again fresh.

Not sure which patch that would be, but is probably fine (as long as it meets the above guidance).

[Aro]

K Thanks everyone for the clarification.

[ahanysz]

And there’s some cool python scripts that go from math formulae to wavetable binaries in the repo and stuff.

You mean this sort of thing? https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/su ... ated-wt.py

[EvilDragon]

Yes that.

[baconpaul]

And there’s some cool python scripts that go from math formulae to wavetable binaries in the repo and stuff.

You mean this sort of thing? https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/su ... ated-wt.py

Indeed.

Perhaps I was being generous by calling them cool. But functional!

[baconpaul]

Is there a way to widen the stereo field of the unison? It seems to stack all the voices in the center and I can’t find the control to spread the voices apart.
Thanks

Just to expand on what my colleagues said

the Unison voices are all spread across the stereo field
*but* the filter configurations are in many cases mono.
This is a holdover I think from the 2002-2005 era CPUs surge was originally written for. (Stereo filters are twice the work).

If you take the filter configurations into the various stereo path ones you will hear the unison voices.

But then you lose a lot of the neat features ("wide" is basically "stereo serial 2") that you can get with some of the other configurations.

We keep thinking about how to fix this. It's not super duper easy. But set the filter config to wide (the double arrow or RMB) and you will get stereo unison field for your oscillators.

[Leonard Bowman]

I've been moving so I haven't had time to get to my computer to comment here yet, but I'm super excited to do some more with Surge. There isn't a better free, open source microtonality-capable synth out there.

Also:
I'm attaching the patches I made for my OSC 134 track for anyone who's interested. There are a variety of sounds, most from scratch but some modified from the factory sounds. Particularly worth investigating are Snare 2 and the Bell Tower patches - they use the Reverb1 FX to create metallic resonances.
You should be able to load these by placing them in the Surge user patch folder (not sure how things work differently by OS, so YMMV)

Note: all of the sounds are tuned in 31edo - if you wish to use them in a different scale you will need to adjust the pitch modulation ranges accordingly.
This doesn't matter too much for drums, i suppose.

[IV!]

Hello everyone! I am very happy that Surge was chosen as the synthesizer of the month, as I myself wanted to undertake a detailed study of it. I love OSC for this extra incentive! It seems that Surge is capable of everything that synthesis is capable of at all! I think with it I will be able to fulfill my cherished dream - to make a track in rock style!

However, I am not very well versed in all the subtleties of synthesis, and therefore the answers to the main question are still unclear to me. So excuse me, but I will try to formulate my question in the most concrete form and hope for the same answer:

So, what specific Surge functions can we not use in this OSC? I am not going to discuss the rules and bicker later, I will work with what is there. But I would also like to know (if it comes to banning wavetable ocs) how Sarge's wavetable osc is fundamentally different from Odin's wavetable osc, which was allowed. Just for my (unprofessional) hearing, they sound + - the same...

[Tj Shredder]

Just restrict yourself to the factory wavetables and all is good - Actually you could even create your own wavetables as long they are not based on realworld samples, if they are synthesized as well, all is fine...
Basically play with what is there...

[ahanysz]

And there’s some cool python scripts that go from math formulae to wavetable binaries in the repo and stuff.

You mean this sort of thing? https://github.com/surge-synthesizer/su ... ated-wt.py

Indeed.

Perhaps I was being generous by calling them cool. But functional!

I think they're pretty cool. Clearly structured, looks like it will be easy to put my own functions in there and make new wavetables. (Not sure yet where I'm going with this, but it's nice to have the option.)