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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread
- Thread starter ttasselm
- Start date
Welcome to the zero-sum world of the internet. Every time you compliment one person you’re implying an insult against someone else. That’s how it works now.
I don't think anyone took actual offense at anything. I know I didn't...just having fun!
The first 13 seconds is beautiful. The rest is impressive too.
I meant those hyper fast tapping slurs of superfluous machine gun notes.26932340[/URL], member: 131803"]Not just the Jim Root notes
But that guy is a freakin serious alien player for sure, can’t argue with that.
Not my thing, but the talent is undeniable.
(goes back into the corner in the fœtal position thumb muting some pale copy of pseudo Larry Graham lines)
Soooooo. Today I made my twice-annual run to the ginormous Asian grocer that's not anywhere close to our place. It is however 10 minutes away from a Long&McQuade. So I stopped in to try out a Hydrasynth. They also had a Modal Cobalt and, shockingly, the Oberheim OB-X8 which is currently a cool 6400 Canadian dollars.
The Oberheim sounded exactly like you'd expect. Well laid out, all the presets sound like classic synth sounds. Easy to initialize and program. Not particularly my thing musically but if you put a $6000 synth in front of me, I'm going to play it. Sounds suitably huge. I prefer the sound of my synths, which conveniently are not $6000.
The Modal Cobalt was, um, ok. Works fine, would have been thrilled to have it in 1989 when I had no synths, but now I don't want it.
Then there was the Hydrasynth. I immediately took to the interface. I found it super easy to program, well-featured, and flexible. I ran through the presets which were way more varied than the Oberheim, and then repeatedly initialized patches and programmed stuff.
Programming was super easy and fun. The interface is brilliant. The modulation was really spectacular -- it's like a modular in a box and I was quickly routing envelopes and LFOs to one another and then on to destinations. also liked how it felt as a physical instrument.
But here's the thing: I didn't make any sounds that I really loved. I should love it. It checks all the boxes but...
To my ears, the filters were fine but not exciting, the various kinds of distortion same deal (drive, lo-fi, etc) and the mutants were cool but not mind-bending--FM works well, harmonics works nicely for emphasis after FM, PWMs are interesting but nothing earth-shattering, I also didn't like how the volume of the dry sound seemed to drop when adding the built-in delay or reverb. I'm not normally taken with wavetables, though the "roll your own" is definitely a cool feature and I admit I just haven't used wavetable synthesis much so the magic might be in there.
It was like 45 minutes with it, not a day or anything.
What am I not getting? If I'm in a room with one again, what should I try?
In other news, I have zero need for another mono synth and yet am very tempted by the Magella Implexus. Trying to just patch up complex oscillators in my rack instead and see if I really want another dedicated mono.
The Oberheim sounded exactly like you'd expect. Well laid out, all the presets sound like classic synth sounds. Easy to initialize and program. Not particularly my thing musically but if you put a $6000 synth in front of me, I'm going to play it. Sounds suitably huge. I prefer the sound of my synths, which conveniently are not $6000.
The Modal Cobalt was, um, ok. Works fine, would have been thrilled to have it in 1989 when I had no synths, but now I don't want it.
Then there was the Hydrasynth. I immediately took to the interface. I found it super easy to program, well-featured, and flexible. I ran through the presets which were way more varied than the Oberheim, and then repeatedly initialized patches and programmed stuff.
Programming was super easy and fun. The interface is brilliant. The modulation was really spectacular -- it's like a modular in a box and I was quickly routing envelopes and LFOs to one another and then on to destinations. also liked how it felt as a physical instrument.
But here's the thing: I didn't make any sounds that I really loved. I should love it. It checks all the boxes but...
To my ears, the filters were fine but not exciting, the various kinds of distortion same deal (drive, lo-fi, etc) and the mutants were cool but not mind-bending--FM works well, harmonics works nicely for emphasis after FM, PWMs are interesting but nothing earth-shattering, I also didn't like how the volume of the dry sound seemed to drop when adding the built-in delay or reverb. I'm not normally taken with wavetables, though the "roll your own" is definitely a cool feature and I admit I just haven't used wavetable synthesis much so the magic might be in there.
It was like 45 minutes with it, not a day or anything.
What am I not getting? If I'm in a room with one again, what should I try?
In other news, I have zero need for another mono synth and yet am very tempted by the Magella Implexus. Trying to just patch up complex oscillators in my rack instead and see if I really want another dedicated mono.
@JES
you may not be missing anything.
i don’t love the presets that come on it. i’ve learned from some of them, but that’s about it.
imo, its positives are many. however, there are days i don’t love the sound. i look at it as the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
the filters are not earthshaking. the mutants are subtle to unusable, depending on what i think i’m going for.
some of the wavetables are less useful for me than others. being able to scan through them is really cool.
the balance between wet and dry in the delay/reverb has bugged me since day one. i can’t remember their reasoning and if someone had a workaround on that.
imo, if you didn’t program modulation using the polyaftertouch and then played it, you missed a bunch. in addition, rerouting the mod wheel (away from the lfo) to the mutants (for instance) can facilitate variations in color. the expression, color and nuance you can get from the pat (and the mod matrix in general) are the big deal for me. makes it a physically expressive instrument for me.
macros are something i’ve gotten into a bit, but not enough. they can basically make one patch into eight very different permutations. make the modulation possibilities even more extensive.
the microtonal stuff is very useful to me.
i’m impressed by their updating firmware fairly frequently.
i look at other synths and they’re advertising 2 lfos, 3 envs, 16 mod slots and then think about the hydra 5/5/32(?). it’s kind of funny.
you might like the iridium. easy to program, mod slots like crazy. numerous lfos/envs. probably a little sweeter sounding from the get-go.
and… you probably don’t really know the ins and outs of your touch guitar in 45 minutes either.
but, different strokes for different folks. i’ve never really loved the oberheim
sound and don’t love the prophet stuff (though the p12 has my interest). people love their filters and they just seem too much to me.
you may not be missing anything.
i don’t love the presets that come on it. i’ve learned from some of them, but that’s about it.
imo, its positives are many. however, there are days i don’t love the sound. i look at it as the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
the filters are not earthshaking. the mutants are subtle to unusable, depending on what i think i’m going for.
some of the wavetables are less useful for me than others. being able to scan through them is really cool.
the balance between wet and dry in the delay/reverb has bugged me since day one. i can’t remember their reasoning and if someone had a workaround on that.
imo, if you didn’t program modulation using the polyaftertouch and then played it, you missed a bunch. in addition, rerouting the mod wheel (away from the lfo) to the mutants (for instance) can facilitate variations in color. the expression, color and nuance you can get from the pat (and the mod matrix in general) are the big deal for me. makes it a physically expressive instrument for me.
macros are something i’ve gotten into a bit, but not enough. they can basically make one patch into eight very different permutations. make the modulation possibilities even more extensive.
the microtonal stuff is very useful to me.
i’m impressed by their updating firmware fairly frequently.
i look at other synths and they’re advertising 2 lfos, 3 envs, 16 mod slots and then think about the hydra 5/5/32(?). it’s kind of funny.
you might like the iridium. easy to program, mod slots like crazy. numerous lfos/envs. probably a little sweeter sounding from the get-go.
and… you probably don’t really know the ins and outs of your touch guitar in 45 minutes either.
but, different strokes for different folks. i’ve never really loved the oberheim
sound and don’t love the prophet stuff (though the p12 has my interest). people love their filters and they just seem too much to me.
Thanks for the long reply. I like discursive posts.
Absolutely. That’s why I didn’t assume I “got it.” Though to be fair, I can pick up some basses and guitars and know they’re not for me.
This was also the part that impressed me. So many options for control. Really well thought out.
Ahhh, yeah, that’s probably it. I should have brought my Linnstrument to try it out. I messed with polyAT on the keys but I’m no good at keys.
Absolutely. That’s why I didn’t assume I “got it.” Though to be fair, I can pick up some basses and guitars and know they’re not for me.
This was also the part that impressed me. So many options for control. Really well thought out.
Ahhh, yeah, that’s probably it. I should have brought my Linnstrument to try it out. I messed with polyAT on the keys but I’m no good at keys.
some basses are awful and will remain that way; some will get better.
my linnstrument is happy with the hydra, which also has mpe capability.
Played another gig tonight. Interesting to note that the cheapo little Volca Bass was part of my rig again, with a Keystep MIDI'd into it. I have access to a Minimoog Voyager and yet I get more use of that little, limited "toy" Volca then any other synth, I think. It can't do everything, there's an awful lot it can't do in fact, but it's always useful for something.
Almost got the Qu Bit Nautilus today. It was in stock at Perfect Circuit and there was a sale. I hesitated too long and they vaporized. I was even across the street from PC twice and didn't go in.
...Instead, I went to REI and bought a jacket. Got home and realized the fit was a bit off not from the security wire in the sleeve, but because I got a women's jacket. I promptly went back to return it
...Instead, I went to REI and bought a jacket. Got home and realized the fit was a bit off not from the security wire in the sleeve, but because I got a women's jacket. I promptly went back to return it
Almost got the Qu Bit Nautilus today. It was in stock at Perfect Circuit and there was a sale. I hesitated too long and they vaporized. I was even across the street from PC twice and didn't go in.
...Instead, I went to REI and bought a jacket. Got home and realized the fit was a bit off not from the security wire in the sleeve, but because I got a women's jacket. I promptly went back to return it
try patchwerks or control voltage, as they’re probably having sales, but don’t charge cali tax and often have free shipping.
