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Creating New Patches (Poll)
I'm in the process in dusting off the old noggin and start programming patches again after a long hiatus. I was wondering what process people on the forum use.
- How do you create new patches for your synths?44 votes
- Start from scratch (Init).25.00%
- Tweak existing presets.18.18%
- Use the random generator found on some synths.2.27%
- A combination of 1,2,3.40.91%
- Don't usually create new sounds. Play mostly presets.13.64%
Comments
For me it's a combination of (2) and (3) only. Too dang lazy to start from scratch.
For me it's a combination of (2), (3) and (5); but I mostly use presets.
Tweak existing presets or use 'em out of the box. That's why I love(d) Alchemy. Has there ever been a simpler tweaking interface?
Not above rolling the dice when the occasion presents itself.
Definitely a scratcher. Unless the preset can't be beat
@Jocphone As someone who creates from scratch how do you like to start? Are you mostly an Analogue man or do you like FM, wavetable, granular, etc too?
Not ready to start from scratch yet, always tweak existing right now.
@mkell424 it depends on what I am trying to achieve and the features of the particular synth but I do have a fairly good understanding of subtractive synthesis and most synths are based on the model of oscillators feeding into mixer then amplifiers and filters on to effects so I can find myself following in that order.
But it is good to mix things up a bit sometimes and maybe work backwards and it is also often useful to go back with a nearly finished sound and change the oscillator waveforms/samples to hear the effect is has on the character. This was the great thing about analog synths that you could easily tweak the parameters and hone your sound backwards and forwards across the interface. With emulated and software synths some of the fun is in finding the weaknesses or the slight combinations of settings that turn a sound a bit strange. Like aliasing or other artifacts.
On another level, especially using Gadget, I like to think of the whole iPad as a single instrument, in that the composite of all the little synths, whether using presets or self created patches, over time is what you are playing. Does that make any sense?
Oh yes definitely. I know about subtractive synthesis. It's been a long time but that was the only thing I knew. I especially liked adjusting filter cutoff and renesance with automation so it would change during the song. Reason is good at this.
As far as the iPad being one instrument I can see that. Especially with an all-in-one environment like Gadget but it applies to everything else. It really obvious when you are layering synths to play one melody. Each synth is a voice in a much larger patch.
I almost wish synths didn’t have presets.
Although I voted 'a combi of 1,2 & 3' its not against my religion to use the occasional preset !!.
1,2 & 3! One of the first things i look for in a app/synth after playing around with the presets is how to 'Init' the patch and start from scratch. If I happen to find a preset I like i try to figure out how it's programmed and then do my own version from scratch. For 'analog type' sounds I program them mostly from scratch, for FM i start with 2-op and build from there. This way I get what I need.
@RUncell Nothing like a good preset.
@ Samu What type of synthesis is your favorite to program?
From scratch. be original or die trying.
Check it out, dial it in, amp it up!
@mkell424 Hard to choose really. All 'types' have their own strength, knowing how the different synthesis methods work it's quite easy to pick almost any random synth with a little tweak ability and come up with desired sound.
I am a total sucker for pulse-swept lead sounds, been listening to way, way too much SID-Music
(Btw, there is still not a single iOS synth that can faithfully re-create the SID sounds heard in the video).
Not on ios no. But try Xfer's Serum it can do it all. Love it.
@Samu Cool song! My first computer was a Commodore 64. I used a program called Music Calc.
One thing to remember is that when re-creating SID-Type sounds the synth engine needs to have a at least a few 'built-in' step-sequencers that can change parameters on the fly.
Parameters that are typically controlled by a sequence/table include direction pulse sweep or set pulse value, change wave-form (this also includes ring mod on/off, sync on/off), change filter-settings/volume, set pitch or direction of pitch sweep and speed, step-sequencers also included a bit of logic for jumps, stops and loops. Each table could be up to to 256 steps due to 8-bit limitation
This is in addition to the ADSR envelope and note data for each oscillator...
Normally SID updates it's values at 50Hz, but multi-speed players could go up 8x meaning every single SID parameter is changed 400 times every second (this on a ~1Mhz machine)
Since I no longer have a working 'real' C64, I use GoatTracer to re-create some of the sounds and export them as loops to be used elsewhere...
(This is just example clip of GoatTracker, not my music).
And a bit more 'advaced' tune exploiting the SID using another tracker called Cheesecutter...
Not many synths i know of can accept different notes per 'patch' (Moog Sub37 does this in 'paraphonic' mode, first note played controls first oscillator, second note goes to second oscillator before the result is passed thru a single filter).
@Samu Interesting. So what sound characteristics are produced by changing all or most of the parameters on the fly? 400 times a second is a lot!
@mkell424 I'll see if i can find examples (There are plenty of examples in http://www.hvsc.c64.org collection but for that you need a SID Player too, for iOS Modizer does a pretty good job and has direct access to the hvsc64 archive).
Enjoy some multi-speed SIDs, not your normal plain 'TRI/SAW/Pulse' sounds
It's a fairly long pod-cast with many tunes so fast forward and I'll bet you find something you like during the 50 or so minutes, headphones recommended
@Samu Thanks! Also what do you think about the Kingston gadget? Is it real chiptune?
Magellan and spawn can yield outstanding results as well as Crystal XT and Breed. From there a bit of tweaking and if I were British I just might then say, "and Bob's your uncle."
I have Magellan. Are you saying they are good for chiptune or just synths in general?
Option 1, occasionally option 3
Synths in general. I love spawn !
@Samu
Checkout the edit page on Square Synth, it might make you happy, a sequencer for pitch, wave shape and pulse width...
Combination from 1, 2, 3, and 5 here!
Depends on the synth but 1, 2 or 3 for me.
Sometimes a preset is almost there....but just needs a tweak, or if there's nothing suitable I'll start from scratch. I'm also a fan of random audio surprise accidents - so that button gets a lot of use too (if there is one).
The iMS20 is a different kettle of ferrets though, I've had a real one for 30 years so I don't think I've even loaded a preset into that one.
@mkell424 The Kingston 'Gadget' is pretty limited. it can do pitch-slides has a few preset arpeggio patterns and a speed parameter. It's suitable for more early 'NES-Type' and 'Arcade' SFX type sounds rather than real 'chip instruments'.
Gadget has many synths that are very capable in their own way of creating 'chip-type' sounds and with some automatisation things get interesting. If i had to pick one synth in Gadget it would be Phoenix. It's pretty flexible for being a 'Gadget Synth'.
Unfortunately there is no 'numerical' values when editing the automatisation data manually in Gadget making precise tweaking very hard. (For Chip type arpeggios the the 'coarse-tune' would run at at leat 1/64th note with precise note offset for 0,3,7,12 etc...).
But as Gadget improves so will the editing capabilities (i hope).
Randomize or download extra free patches.Sunrizer is the only synth i like to start from scratch because of its simplicity and fast workflow.Magellan and spawn gives good results.