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Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

yes! guess you stepped away from the bass for a minute.
Decided to re start the work I left off.

Was burned out on it, now exploring new ideas and concepts.
Hope I can keep up a good work ethic and not slack off
This was the first thing imo was worth making into a mini release in a really freakin long time.

Thanks to anyone who took what little time they have to listen
 
I'm practicing for a gig in late August, been a while since I got serious and it's hard knocking the rust off. My synth rig is ridiculously complicated so I need to get a sort of routine checklist so I can quickly take the steps to change patches between songs. Our gigs involve long sets so I have to have about 2 hours worth of material to get through. Much of that involves long drony jams or sequencer journey type stuff, so it's not technically too difficult once you're in the groove, but operating all the machines for that long takes it out of me. So a little practice each night and try to get motivated.

And don't think about how the load out is going to suck.
 
So I’ve been way out of recording for a long time since my laptop died back in February…

Got a bit of tax back and some money coming in so thought I’d look at laptops but arg information overload / anxiety… everything is either too cheap or ridiculously expensive ( to the somewhat laughable… would anyone really spend 10k on a laptop? But then I guess we spend that on a bit of wood and some strings for the exotic basses )

I’ll keep looking… decided gaming is too much..
just need to get reaper, my interface and a few vst going at the most!
 
So I’ve been way out of recording for a long time since my laptop died back in February…

Got a bit of tax back and some money coming in so thought I’d look at laptops but arg information overload / anxiety… everything is either too cheap or ridiculously expensive ( to the somewhat laughable… would anyone really spend 10k on a laptop? But then I guess we spend that on a bit of wood and some strings for the exotic basses )

I’ll keep looking… decided gaming is too much..
just need to get reaper, my interface and a few vst going at the most!
Mac or PC? I recently got a new refurbished M4 MacBook Pro from the Mac store for a bit over $3.5k
 
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I found new pics of the Gen X-2 on Amazon. It may mean that it is soon to be available. Or not.

Anyway, we now get a clear view of the controls.

Here all all the visible changes compared to Gen X-1 :

- It's blue, not black
- Delay feedback is now labelled repeats. It is not known at this point if there was any change to the way the delay works
- The strip track is figured differently, with a middle point. There is an actual middle point on the Gen X-1, in front of the 9th key, between 5th and 6th squares but it was not marked.
- The recessed fine tuning hole in the back is no more, instead there isa -1/0/+1 octave switch for the keyboard. It is not known if they kept the general tuning know behind the unit.
- A switch to decide what the strip controls. LFO (rate probably or maybe depth), OSC (pitch, same as GEN X-1) or FILT (Cutoff most likely).
- Pitch and gate out, which should let you control other synths with the keybed and/or the strip.
- Pitch, gate and filter in, to access the tone of the stylophone with a sequencer, keyboard or other control device.

CV and gate controls really are good news because this unit is able to deliver a massive, thick tone that sometimes went to waste because the Stylophone didn't talk with other devices.
For an entry level mono synth, the Gen X-1 was damn impressive and full of great tones

gen_x_2.jpg.
Quality drones and bass tones ahead, unfortunately no hold as of today. I often use it with a Freeze pedal.
 
I found new pics of the Gen X-2 on Amazon. It may mean that it is soon to be available. Or not.

Anyway, we now get a clear view of the controls.

Here all all the visible changes compared to Gen X-1 :

- It's blue, not black
- Delay feedback is now labelled repeats. It is not known at this point if there was any change to the way the delay works
- The strip track is figured differently, with a middle point. There is an actual middle point on the Gen X-1, in front of the 9th key, between 5th and 6th squares but it was not marked.
- The recessed fine tuning hole in the back is no more, instead there isa -1/0/+1 octave switch for the keyboard. It is not known if they kept the general tuning know behind the unit.
- A switch to decide what the strip controls. LFO (rate probably or maybe depth), OSC (pitch, same as GEN X-1) or FILT (Cutoff most likely).
- Pitch and gate out, which should let you control other synths with the keybed and/or the strip.
- Pitch, gate and filter in, to access the tone of the stylophone with a sequencer, keyboard or other control device.

CV and gate controls really are good news because this unit is able to deliver a massive, thick tone that sometimes went to waste because the Stylophone didn't talk with other devices.
For an entry level mono synth, the Gen X-1 was damn impressive and full of great tones

View attachment 7289412.
Quality drones and bass tones ahead, unfortunately no hold as of today. I often use it with a Freeze pedal.
Looks nifty,
 
The gear struggle is real. Perfect Circuit has a good price on the Octatrack and I might finally take the plunge. But I checked more Elektron boxes out and the Digitone 2 is super tempting, though a different animal entirely. The FM sounds are ones I like. The Digitone has a drum and polyphonic sounds, and a less complicated interface. It seems like a way to jump into the Elektron game that would result in more creative results sooner.
 
convinced myself to get an OBNE Darkstar Stereo

Got one. And the extra cables because it has stupid TRS jacks.

With Slöer, I feel like the entire thing is one giant sweet spot; the only time it doesn't sound right is if you're giving it too much filter or too much woozy/fluttery modulation (and I do like a lot of modulation) so it's pretty easy to rein it in. The overall feel between the modes and settings is all fairly similar, but it's also all good.

With Dark Star, I've only played with it a couple hours so far. But my impression is, unless you're going for a really burned-out sound or super ambient wash, it feels like it can take some work to dial it in for whatever you're playing through it. But it does pay off handsomely on some material. The pitch shifting is pretty lo-fi granular stuff and imposes its own rhythm, which can be really cool at times and kind of annoying other times. I'm used to that from some other gear though and enjoy embracing the weirdness and rough edges instead of wishing everything was smoother and glitch-free.

For convenience I've got both pedals on one send, with Dark Star first, but Slöer first might make more sense for reverb-into-distortion fun.
 
Grabbed this RYK Algo for some FM fun. The first one I received was faulty and the v/oct wouldn’t respond at all. This one got home and the included breakout cable for stereo (output is a TRS) didn’t work. Fortunately I had a backup breakout cable and that worked. After a bit of RTFM and some experimentation I was able to get some very nice sounds, particularly bouncing through delay and reverb. The annoyance that accumulated trying to get this thing running right just melted away once it started firing on all cylinders.
IMG_3082.jpeg
 
Grabbed this RYK Algo for some FM fun.
Algo sounds fantastic. I kind of hate the TRS stereo output, since it doesn't make any sense in the Eurorack format, but I have my own solution. (Put a 2HP ventilation panel (or just open space if you're not picky) next to Algo. Use a right-angle low-profile TRS to dual TRS splitter, and run the cable through the vent. Plug the TS ends into the rear jacks of the Mazzatron Mult & Passthru that I had anyway.)
 
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So I bought a Microbrute to add to my wanting to go Dawless…
I was torn between this, a microfreak and a monologue for making some noise to add as intro / soundscapes live so I needed a “knob per function” synth… coming from the mininova which I loaned to my bands covers project, it was too much menu diving for hands on…
The Microbrute is perfect… and despite being a one oscillator with the overtones and the brute knob can pack a massive punch!
 
So I bought a Microbrute to add to my wanting to go Dawless…
I was torn between this, a microfreak and a monologue for making some noise to add as intro / soundscapes live so I needed a “knob per function” synth… coming from the mininova which I loaned to my bands covers project, it was too much menu diving for hands on…
The Microbrute is perfect… and despite being a one oscillator with the overtones and the brute knob can pack a massive punch!

The Microbrute was my first ever synth and I still love it. It's a nice, simple monosynth and every knob's function is clear. And it has just enough CV jacks to communicate with my other gear. I could make a list of features I'd like it to have, such as a noise oscillator and a true clock input, but I can't complain.
 
Algo sounds fantastic. I kind of hate the TRS stereo output, since it doesn't make any sense in the Eurorack format, but I have my own solution. (Put a 2HP ventilation panel (or just open space if you're not picky) next to Algo. Use a right-angle low-profile TRS to dual TRS splitter, and run the cable through the vent. Plug the TS ends into the rear jacks of the Mazzatron Mult & Passthru that I had anyway.)

I’m not incredibly bothered by the TRS stereo. The splitter cable wasn’t in the box with my first defective unit so I think that one may have been a previous return. The TRS splitter was in the box with the new unit I got, but the splitter is faulty and doesn’t work. Fortunately another splitter does. Stuff like this makes me wonder about the QC at RYK. But now that this thing is working right, I’m very happy with the sound and function. I’m having a bunch of fun with it.
 
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