Element of Surprise

[realisation]

This is great - the best interface, the best sounds, can it get any better?

[liars&ashes]

----Wait til ya try out Ugo's new M-Theory synth, that one's not done yet, but just wait.

Jeff

[ouroboros]

I did not expect the spanish inquisition.

[833-45]

It's the reincarnation of arcdev's discontinued blackbox. One of my favourites.

[Dozius]

It's the reincarnation of arcdev's discontinued blackbox. One of my favourites.

yes! wasn't there supposed to be a whole series of blackboxes eventually? Thought I read that somewhere.

[Jazzyspoon]

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

[lucknow13]

Is there an archive of the original black box anywhere? curious!

[1-2-Many]

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

Inquisitive Spaniards Maybe?


As for TEoS, Yes, hard to get anything but great sounds Ugo. I know it goes against the premise of the thing, but many clicks have me wishing I could just peak under the hood for a sec and tweak a thing here and there.

[kx77free]

hi,

I like this idea, very fun... but I want sliders and knobs

Xavier

[ugo]

I'm glad you guys are having some fun with The Element of Surprise.

I like this idea, very fun... but I want sliders and knobs

As for TEoS, Yes, hard to get anything but great sounds Ugo. I know it goes against the premise of the thing, but many clicks have me wishing I could just peak under the hood for a sec and tweak a thing here and there.

Less tweaking, more music!

A great many of us here at KVR are serious synth tweakers, so trying to work with a synth that has no controls can be frustrating at first. But I have found that the process of song writing is much easier and faster for me if I don't tweak anything while I'm actually trying to write music. If I just grab some sounds and start working, I get much more done. Afterwards, the sounds become kind of integral to the song and I find I have less need to tweak them than I had originally thought I might.

Of course with this synth, you can't even tweak anything afterwards. As a result you may end up wanting to replace the sound with something else, or modify it using some additional processing. In the future, I might consider creating a version that can be tweaked, but all the controls would be hidden from view unless you open that window. But it would take more willpower than I probably have not to just always stay on the screen with all the controls, which would kind of defeat the purpose.

The main idea of The Element of Surprise is really just for it to help serve as a creative kick starter. ...something that will quickly deliver a cool but unexpected sound, and then help encourage you to stop thinking about the sounds (since you cant tweak them anyway) and start putting all your focus on writing the song instead. This is just my little effort in seeing if I can help some people break out of their writers block.

[Stargard]

thanks ugo.

fantastic concept. makes you apply techniques you'd otherwise use when working with samples. I often wish to be able to change the key or some chords in a sample, but it's impossible. same here.

I have to use compressors, gates, fx in general to be able to change the "sample" EoS creates.

nice one!!!

[Exit Zero]

This gets my #1 vote. I love and use Ugo's synths in my LivePA's all the time - especially Texture.

Chris (aka Ugo), thank you so much!!!


Now, a question - can we get the exclamation point mapped to CC or midi note?

What I would like to do is setup a blank slate type of LivePA template using 'Element of Surprise' and be able to invoke a new patch from a midi controller. Each performance would be different by simply always generating new patches. I would actually be using several instances of TEoS, invoke a new patch on each one and GO!

I really, really love the way you always get a usable patch - unlike other "lazy" buttons which randomize parameters. So on that note, another "pipe dream" request would be to have this synth in three different flavors:
-'Element of Surprise - Bass'
-'Element of Surprise - Lead'
-'Element of Surprise - Pad'

You've done such a good job of "taming" the patch generation function (!) I can't help but think you could narrow this down into the three categories above. Perhaps a switch which toggles between the three modes: 'bass', 'lead', and 'pad'?

I think this plugin is going to be an excellent instrument choice for improvised IDM performances. It has been a real inspiration to me.

BRAVO!

[bobsled]

Another TEoS fan here. Thank you for this very useful tool and your encouragement to just make some music. Brilliant.

I'd also like to second the request for "exclamation point mapped to CC or midi note". Between the 4 parameters (Envelope, Rnd-to-Env and Volume already mapped) my hands wouldn't have to leave my controller.

Which would be, you know, pretty cool.

[ugo]

Now, a question - can we get the exclamation point mapped to CC or midi note?

I'd love to add that but it seems I cannot, due to a limitation in SE. The randomizer works by randomizing internal CC's, and the problem is apparently that no control can both feed the midi automator module, and be assigned a CC itself. When I attempt that, SE says I have a midi feedback loop and refuses to run in that configuration.

So on that note, another "pipe dream" request would be to have this synth in three different flavors:
-'Element of Surprise - Bass'
-'Element of Surprise - Lead'
-'Element of Surprise - Pad'

To a certain extent, you can already lock it into random pads by turning off the envelope randomization (the switch next to the envelope control, in the upper right hand corner), then leaving the envelope up in the white range, where the attacks and release times are longer.

Similarly, you kind of do the same with leads by leaving the envelope control set in the mid blues, where the attack and release are fast, but the sound sustains. The pitch is controlled randomly, but If you play in the upper register of your keyboard, you will usually still be within the pitch range of a lead.

This trick does not work quite as well when it comes to basses though. By setting the envelope to the darker blues, you can get fast attack and release, with no sustain, and variable decay. However, the random pitch adjustment, and other control changes, often produce results that are less useful for bass. But with the envelope set like this, and by setting your controller to a lower octave, you'll at least be increasing your chances of running into a bass sound.

[djgroovy]

This is a great idea Ugo, so thank you.
It's good because the sounds are actually quite good and inspiring, otherwise, the push one button interface would bore to death. When you're looking for "that sound" that's missing in your track, wich you dont know what it is - that's where your plugin will come in handy.
It's on my n. 2 vote so far.