Icegear - Nambu (FM)

echoopera

Loving this synth so far. Here’s a little something for your ears:

Gavinski

@frosttrance_7 said:
I just tried it, and I think it is the real spiritual successor to Cassini, not Lagrange. I love how you have ring modulation, noise, filters, and limited sample playback. However, I noticed a few bugs that I reached out to the developer about such as horrible looping for the sine and triangle waves in oscillator shape mode. I am a bit surprised that there are no formant or comb filter types considering they were in Cassini and Lagrange.

Bugs are likely because the dev doesn't seem to beta test his apps, but report anything and I'm sure it'll be addressed quickly in the next update!

Jumpercollins

Weekend treat is here. Looks and sounds great on the iPhone. Well laid out.

waka_x

is this synth capable of weird/atonal/experimental/long/evolving sounds
because all I can hear is very FM melodic conformist patches...
!?

Gavinski

It should be because of all the envelopes and lfos etc. The IceGear presets that come with the synth tend to be on the less experimental side - looking forward to seeing what the linkes of @Spidericemidas , @richardyot and @Soi come up with

Just digging in now!

@waka_x said:
is this synth capable of weird/atonal/experimental/long/evolving sounds
because all I can hear is very FM melodic conformist patches...
!?

MAtrixplan

anyone could share impressions how it's different than Omega Bleass? (better? worse? easier? more complex?)

Spidericemidas

@waka_x said:
is this synth capable of weird/atonal/experimental/long/evolving sounds
because all I can hear is very FM melodic conformist patches...
!?

and @Gavinski

It certainly does! I was dabbling last night, and got lost in some wonderful experiment of atonal metallic sweepy swishy goodness. The amount of modulation options and combination of sound sources, with the resonator and textures added, you can get really crazy and experimental with it.

There's a lot going on in this beauty, yeah the factory presets are always going to be more cautious and standard and conservative. But take the time to dig in and experiment with different operator types configured in various orders, take advantage of the insane amount of modulation available and assignable, and you will be greatly rewarded! The textures sound source is really cool, as is the resonator.

I think over time as we all get more familiar and experienced with it, we'll find it's one of those synths that just keeps on giving. I'm pretty certain it's going to become my favourite IceGear synth and very possibly my favourite synth on my iPad.

I hope we will see a lot of designers making stuff for this one. The range of possible sound designs is beyond huge, looking at the UI and the routings for modulations, your mind is just totally blown. This one deserves a lot of attention from all the designers here.

waka_x

thanks Spidericemidas!!!:)

Spidericemidas

@Spidericemidas said:

@waka_x said:
is this synth capable of weird/atonal/experimental/long/evolving sounds
because all I can hear is very FM melodic conformist patches...
!?

and @Gavinski

It certainly does! I was dabbling last night, and got lost in some wonderful experiment of atonal metallic sweepy swishy goodness. The amount of modulation options and combination of sound sources, with the resonator and textures added, you can get really crazy and experimental with it.

There's a lot going on in this beauty, yeah the factory presets are always going to be more cautious and standard and conservative. But take the time to dig in and experiment with different operator types configured in various orders, take advantage of the insane amount of modulation available and assignable, and you will be greatly rewarded! The textures sound source is really cool, as is the resonator.

I think over time as we all get more familiar and experienced with it, we'll find it's one of those synths that just keeps on giving. I'm pretty certain it's going to become my favourite IceGear synth and very possibly my favourite synth on my iPad.

I hope we will see a lot of designers making stuff for this one. The range of possible sound designs is beyond huge, looking at the UI and the routings for modulations, your mind is just totally blown. This one deserves a lot of attention from all the designers here.

I have to add that I have honestly not been so excited and attracted by an iOS synth as this one, since joining the platform in 2016.

Gavinski

Wow! High high praise! I might have to quote you in my YT vid!
Haven’t dug into the resonator yet but the textures are very very cool indeed!

@Spidericemidas said:

@Spidericemidas said:

@waka_x said:
is this synth capable of weird/atonal/experimental/long/evolving sounds
because all I can hear is very FM melodic conformist patches...
!?

and @Gavinski

It certainly does! I was dabbling last night, and got lost in some wonderful experiment of atonal metallic sweepy swishy goodness. The amount of modulation options and combination of sound sources, with the resonator and textures added, you can get really crazy and experimental with it.

There's a lot going on in this beauty, yeah the factory presets are always going to be more cautious and standard and conservative. But take the time to dig in and experiment with different operator types configured in various orders, take advantage of the insane amount of modulation available and assignable, and you will be greatly rewarded! The textures sound source is really cool, as is the resonator.

I think over time as we all get more familiar and experienced with it, we'll find it's one of those synths that just keeps on giving. I'm pretty certain it's going to become my favourite IceGear synth and very possibly my favourite synth on my iPad.

I hope we will see a lot of designers making stuff for this one. The range of possible sound designs is beyond huge, looking at the UI and the routings for modulations, your mind is just totally blown. This one deserves a lot of attention from all the designers here.

I have to add that I have honestly not been so excited and attracted by an iOS synth as this one, since joining the platform in 2016.

waka_x

Spidericemidas:
yes, I trust you but
I already have Aparillo and ID700
as non-orthodox FM experimental instruments
and I can't hear anything interesting or special in Nambu patches or demos.
( and its not exactly cheap for me to buy it for testing...)

yep- Nambu looks impressive on screen
and on paper
but I'll wait for some sound demos...

Spidericemidas

I also think, with so many routings and modulations on offer, this is going to be one of those synths where you have to plan ahead and construct patches carefully step by step, testing things to see what happens as you go. It can get pretty wild in that mod matrix! 😄 It's an adventure in itself just seeing how the operators affect each other in different configs with various sound sources!

Spidericemidas

@waka_x said:
Spidericemidas:
yes, I trust you but
I already have Aparillo and ID700
as non-orthodox FM experimental instruments
and I can't hear anything interesting or special in Nambu patches or demos.
( and its not exactly cheap for me to buy it for testing...)

yep- Nambu looks impressive on screen
and on paper
but I'll wait for some sound demos...

Ah. I don't have Aparillo or ID700.
Yeah, I agree, quite often factory patches don't give you an idea of the true potential of a synth. Sometimes I think even the devs don't fully realise what their synths can do until a sound designer with more time on their hands sits down and digs in and pushes things further.

I always call factory presets "safe" presets. Not too wild or adventurous. More middle of the road "safe" stuff to appeal to probably a majority. So at first things don't sound too different from most other synths.

If ID700 and Aparillo are already in your collection, there's no need for you to rush, waiting for a sale or waiting to see what sound designers here can coax out of it first is a fine approach 🙂

Samu

Considering that Nambu has some samples (textures) baked it and can do am/ring-mod it's closer to the AFM engine found in the TG/SY77/SY99 which should be pretty neat

I do hope that we'll some day get control of the the start-phase of the LFO in IceGear apps.
It's such a minor but very handy feature to have as it allows you to control 'where' the LFO waveform it starts its cycle.

This is especially handy when using an LFO to control filter cutoff, pulse-width or any other 'amount' so you could start the modulation anywhere between 0.00 and 1.00 and still use the full 0.00 to 1.00 modulation range.

And well the TG77/SY77/SY99 allows one to control the start-phase of the waveforms used by the 'operators'.

Looking forward to videos and sound demos on this even though I know I'll most likely get it at some point...

Spidericemidas

@Samu said:
Considering that Nambu has some samples (textures) baked it and can do am/ring-mod it's closer to the AFM engine found in the TG/SY77/SY99 which should be pretty neat

I do hope that we'll some day get control of the the start-phase of the LFO in IceGear apps.
It's such a minor but very handy feature to have as it allows you to control 'where' the LFO waveform it starts its cycle.

This is especially handy when using an LFO to control filter cutoff, pulse-width or any other 'amount' so you could start the modulation anywhere between 0.00 and 1.00 and still use the full 0.00 to 1.00 modulation range.

And well the TG77/SY77/SY99 allows one to control the start-phase of the waveforms used by the 'operators'.

Looking forward to videos and sound demos on this even though I know I'll most likely get it at some point...

Hey Samu.
I could be very wrong about this as I'm still figuring everything out in Nambu, but there's a control under the LFO waveform graphic that lets you slide a yellow line along the waveform. Would this be a control for setting the start point of the LFO? It's in the list of controls where you can also skew the waveform shape.

Gavinski

@Spidericemidas said:

@waka_x said:
Spidericemidas:
yes, I trust you but
I already have Aparillo and ID700
as non-orthodox FM experimental instruments
and I can't hear anything interesting or special in Nambu patches or demos.
( and its not exactly cheap for me to buy it for testing...)

yep- Nambu looks impressive on screen
and on paper
but I'll wait for some sound demos...

Ah. I don't have Aparillo or ID700.
Yeah, I agree, quite often factory patches don't give you an idea of the true potential of a synth. Sometimes I think even the devs don't fully realise what their synths can do until a sound designer with more time on their hands sits down and digs in and pushes things further.

I always call factory presets "safe" presets. Not too wild or adventurous. More middle of the road "safe" stuff to appeal to probably a majority. So at first things don't sound too different from most other synths.

If ID700 and Aparillo are already in your collection, there's no need for you to rush, waiting for a sale or waiting to see what sound designers here can coax out of it first is a fine approach 🙂

Both Aparillo and ID700, btw, are examples of synths whose factory presets are absolutely non-standard and push the envelope - fnar fnar - to the max

waka_x

Gavinski:
I agree about Aparillo and ID700
but Nambu's patches doesnt seem to push anything to nowhere...
yes - vanilla is good but even 10-20% exotic spices are necessary

Samu

@Spidericemidas said:

Hey Samu.
I could be very wrong about this as I'm still figuring everything out in Nambu, but there's a control under the LFO waveform graphic that lets you slide a yellow line along the waveform. Would this be a control for setting the start point of the LFO? It's in the list of controls where you can also skew the waveform shape.

I don't have it yet but will take a closer look at the manual.
'skew' is not the same as 'start phase' but if you can set the start point on the wave then that might be it.

For me as a PWM junkie it's one of the essential features in a synth, another is having a 'defined grid' when doing step-sequencing so the y-values can be properly quantized to the modulation target (for example a grid of +/-12 to control the tuning, it's not the same 'effect' as using an arpeggiator as the envelopes are not re-triggered only the pitch is 'set' per step).

The LFO could be improved by allowing one 'shape' for each of the 8 'slots' instead of just controlling the level of each 'slot'.

But don't mind me, I'm just a 'weirdo'

thesoundtestroom

Here is my first video for Nambu, just a general getting started thing and a bit of patch design and a few presets played.
It is a beautiful thing.

Gavinski

@Spidericemidas said:

@Samu said:
Considering that Nambu has some samples (textures) baked it and can do am/ring-mod it's closer to the AFM engine found in the TG/SY77/SY99 which should be pretty neat

I do hope that we'll some day get control of the the start-phase of the LFO in IceGear apps.
It's such a minor but very handy feature to have as it allows you to control 'where' the LFO waveform it starts its cycle.

This is especially handy when using an LFO to control filter cutoff, pulse-width or any other 'amount' so you could start the modulation anywhere between 0.00 and 1.00 and still use the full 0.00 to 1.00 modulation range.

And well the TG77/SY77/SY99 allows one to control the start-phase of the waveforms used by the 'operators'.

Looking forward to videos and sound demos on this even though I know I'll most likely get it at some point...

Hey Samu.
I could be very wrong about this as I'm still figuring everything out in Nambu, but there's a control under the LFO waveform graphic that lets you slide a yellow line along the waveform. Would this be a control for setting the start point of the LFO? It's in the list of controls where you can also skew the waveform shape.

Hey Spider, could you send a screenshot maybe, showing this yellow line? I'm not seeing it

Spidericemidas

@Samu said:

@Spidericemidas said:

Hey Samu.
I could be very wrong about this as I'm still figuring everything out in Nambu, but there's a control under the LFO waveform graphic that lets you slide a yellow line along the waveform. Would this be a control for setting the start point of the LFO? It's in the list of controls where you can also skew the waveform shape.

I don't have it yet but will take a closer look at the manual.
'skew' is not the same as 'start phase' but if you can set the start point on the wave then that might be it.

For me as a PWM junkie it's one of the essential features in a synth, another is having a 'defined grid' when doing step-sequencing so the y-values can be properly quantized to the modulation target (for example a grid of +/-12 to control the tuning, it's not the same 'effect' as using an arpeggiator as the envelopes are not re-triggered only the pitch is 'set' per step).

The LFO could be improved by allowing one 'shape' for each of the 8 'slots' instead of just controlling the level of each 'slot'.

But don't mind me, I'm just a 'weirdo'

There is a step sequencer in there too. But it doesn't appear to have a specific grid, and I'm not sure yet if it can be assigned to pitch control but I'll look into that one 🙂

Samu

@Gavinski said:

@Spidericemidas said:

@Samu said:
Considering that Nambu has some samples (textures) baked it and can do am/ring-mod it's closer to the AFM engine found in the TG/SY77/SY99 which should be pretty neat

I do hope that we'll some day get control of the the start-phase of the LFO in IceGear apps.
It's such a minor but very handy feature to have as it allows you to control 'where' the LFO waveform it starts its cycle.

This is especially handy when using an LFO to control filter cutoff, pulse-width or any other 'amount' so you could start the modulation anywhere between 0.00 and 1.00 and still use the full 0.00 to 1.00 modulation range.

And well the TG77/SY77/SY99 allows one to control the start-phase of the waveforms used by the 'operators'.

Looking forward to videos and sound demos on this even though I know I'll most likely get it at some point...

Hey Samu.
I could be very wrong about this as I'm still figuring everything out in Nambu, but there's a control under the LFO waveform graphic that lets you slide a yellow line along the waveform. Would this be a control for setting the start point of the LFO? It's in the list of controls where you can also skew the waveform shape.

Hey Spider, could you send a screenshot maybe, showing this yellow line? I'm not seeing it

The 'Shift' function does it...
The knob under 'Phase Sync'.

david_2017

Can someone of the advanced crew quickly scan through this video and let me know if this is capable of doing this sort of FM?

Muchas Grazias - Vielen Dank - Many Thanks, guys!

Samu

@Spidericemidas said:

There is a step sequencer in there too. But it doesn't appear to have a specific grid, and I'm not sure yet if it can be assigned to pitch control but I'll look into that one 🙂

You can modulate coarse pitch with any modulation source so it should be doable and in 'Mono Pole' mode it should be relatively easy to do by ear.

Spidericemidas

@Gavinski it's moved by the shift knob.

Samu

@Spidericemidas I know you love arpeggiators so using the LFO to 'step sequence' the pitch of each oscillator/operator could be something for nice automated melody generation

Samu

I'll dive in and get it right now...
...I practically 'sold it to myself' after reading thru the manual

Spidericemidas

@Samu said:
@Spidericemidas I know you love arpeggiators so using the LFO to 'step sequence' the pitch of each oscillator/operator could be something for nice automated melody generation

Haha yes! Cheers. There's so many things and options to explore in this one! Thanks Samu 👊🙂

waka_x

@Samu: pls pls if you got it,
share some deep exploration of it with us,
even if its only audio! thanks!:)

Gavinski

@Samu said:

@Gavinski said:

@Spidericemidas said:

@Samu said:
Considering that Nambu has some samples (textures) baked it and can do am/ring-mod it's closer to the AFM engine found in the TG/SY77/SY99 which should be pretty neat

I do hope that we'll some day get control of the the start-phase of the LFO in IceGear apps.
It's such a minor but very handy feature to have as it allows you to control 'where' the LFO waveform it starts its cycle.

This is especially handy when using an LFO to control filter cutoff, pulse-width or any other 'amount' so you could start the modulation anywhere between 0.00 and 1.00 and still use the full 0.00 to 1.00 modulation range.

And well the TG77/SY77/SY99 allows one to control the start-phase of the waveforms used by the 'operators'.

Looking forward to videos and sound demos on this even though I know I'll most likely get it at some point...

Hey Samu.
I could be very wrong about this as I'm still figuring everything out in Nambu, but there's a control under the LFO waveform graphic that lets you slide a yellow line along the waveform. Would this be a control for setting the start point of the LFO? It's in the list of controls where you can also skew the waveform shape.

Hey Spider, could you send a screenshot maybe, showing this yellow line? I'm not seeing it

The 'Shift' function does it...
The knob under 'Phase Sync'.

I thought that should do it, but as you'd already been through the manual and thought it was lacking ability to set start points I then thought I must be somehow mistaken. Good to know it can sate your 'weirdo' needs!