Ambient/Post-Rock/Textural bass playing thread

[dukeorock]

For the synth and sequence junkies

I like Cuckoo’s videos a lot. Good teacher, funny dude. I even kinda like his quirky electro jams. Only down side is he’s very obviously on the Teenage Engineering payroll at this point. Great for him, but it’s going to effect his objectivity.

All that to say, I only sorta get the OP-Z. It sounds kinda cool in that TE ‘really neat toys’ kinda way. I’d consider the OP-1, but looks like it’s getting discontinued. My main issue with the OP-Z is it’s just too dang small for me. I checked one out. It’s just too much functionality to cram into what amounts to a tv remote in size.

The real story to me, in that video, is how powerful AUM has become and how many amazing synths and manglers you can run simultaneously for a shockingly low cost.
Ive done it with a Digitakt and it’s really nice.

 

[HotelX]

Crap, that thing is awesome :/

Now for sale in the classified I notice

 

[monsterthompson]

Power supply question.
Have any of you using multiple bits of gear, including desktop synths, found a favorite power supply that can candle multiple and varied devices including the synths?

I’m considering a Dunlop Iso to replace some wall warts. It seems to have some horsepower and flexibility. My main concern is if the 12v and 15v sockets can power a the non-pedal devices. I’m holding an Ableton Push 2, an 0-Coast, and both a Dreadbox Nyx and Erebus, and a Novation Circuit. I’ve also got a 5 ch. Mackie mixer. My main concern is the mA draw each box needs. They require 12, 15, and 18v supplies, which the Dunlop Iso has, and I don’t run all the boxes all the time, so I think I could have enough jacks of each voltage type. I need to RTFM for each box and see what the mA draws are and see how that lines up with the Dunlop.

I’m assuming adapters are available for center +/- polarity.

I’d love to get rid of some wall warts, and streamline my set up process.

Thoughts?

EDIT - I found the Nyx needs 15v & 1A to operate. Not sure there are (m)any supplies out there doing that

 

[SunnBass]

Walrus makes the cleanest power available. They're expensive, but they're worth it.

 

[monsterthompson]

Walrus makes the cleanest power available. They're expensive, but they're worth it.

Their 8 output box only does 9v, so that's out.
On the 15 output box, the site says:
• Two outputs include a toggle switch option to run 9V or 12V
• One output includes a toggle switch option for 9V or 18V
No 15v is a weakness. No mention of the mA rating, so I'll need to dig in the manual. My Dreadbox synths are 15v (Still hunting for the mA rating).
Some of the 9v spots can do 300mA, which is the minimum for the Empress Echo and Reverb pedals.

At that price, I'm passing on that supply, regardless of cleanliness.

 

[monsterthompson]

Interesting USB power device
Invalid Link Removed

 

[HotelX]

Have you looked at the effectrode power supply?

• Delivers a massive 6 amps at 12 Volts D.C. output for powering up to 4 vacuum tube effects

Edit: maybe this one actually won’t work for you. Reread the specs after I posted

 

[HotelX]

You can mount some of that stuff in a eurorack case. Might reduce your number of wall warts

 

[monsterthompson]

You can mount some of that stuff in a eurorack case. Might reduce your number of wall warts

I asked the dudes at Perfect Circuit about something like that and they just looked at me like I was an flaming alien, then told me that desktops synths won't fit in eurorack, and that I should just buy some eurorack modules instead. I almost face palmed right there. My initial question was "Do you have any suggestions for how to organize and power my non-eurorack gear?"

I'll peek at some of the euro power supplies and they connections they offer. Maybe I can find a supply which can use the right kind of barrel connectors for the devices I want to power.

 

[HotelX]

I asked the dudes at Perfect Circuit about something like that and they just looked at me like I was an flaming alien, then told me that desktops synths won't fit in eurorack, and that I should just buy some eurorack modules instead. I almost face palmed right there. My initial question was "Do you have any suggestions for how to organize and power my non-eurorack gear?"

I'll peek at some of the euro power supplies and they connections they offer. Maybe I can find a supply which can use the right kind of barrel connectors for the devices I want to power.

Some of them will fit. But I’m sure they know tons more about that stuff than I do.

Looks like a need for this kind of product in the marketplace. Maybe someone will take this idea and run with it.

 

[monsterthompson]

Some of them will fit. But I’m sure they know tons more about that stuff than I do.

Looks like a need for this kind of product in the marketplace. Maybe someone will take this idea and run with it.

Yeah. I found a Gearslutz thread or two on the topic (some were a couple years old). Same gap in the market was noted. Time to start building...

 

[dukeorock]

Prepping to do my first electronic set with (mostly) the Octatrack on Jan. 2nd. This is gonna be a nail biter. Still pretty much a beginner with this machine. Got 35 minutes worth of music so far...trying to decide what level of complexity I’m willing to risk

 

[D.A.R.K.]

Power supply question.
Have any of you using multiple bits of gear, including desktop synths, found a favorite power supply that can candle multiple and varied devices including the synths?

I spoke with Strymon before making this purchase- had been using Voodoo Labs for years but wanted something that would power everything. Turns out a lot of pedals over state their Ma requirements (the guys who worked for a number of companies now work at Strymon and confirmed this). The Zuma does indeed power everything I've tried so far, including Line 6 and digitech Whammy, etc. and like the Walrus has 9, 12, 18 volt options on ports. These have internal switching supplies (110-240) and weigh nothing, unlike what I had (probably 5lbs.+ of supplies). Powering synths though, that will get tricky. The Strymon does 500ma rated but I think you can use a combiner cable to get 1k ma.

 

[SquareWaveSymph]

Have you checked out Invalid Link Removed from Poland? Might be worth having a look. They build some massive power supplies.

 

[monsterthompson]

Have you checked out Invalid Link Removed from Poland? Might be worth having a look. They build some massive power supplies.

Very interesting! Not quite my Goldilocks supply, but very interesting.

 

[monsterthompson]

Just gonna leave this here.
Not looking at @dukeorock at all.
Not even a little.

 

[dukeorock]

Dang it...I was starting to save money again!!!

 

[theunknowndude]

Yeah I keep looking at software and hardware synths... it’s just crazy the infinite possibilities compared to effects pedals that may have a few limited tones

 

[dukeorock]

Just gonna leave this here.
Not looking at @dukeorock at all.
Not even a little.

Interestingly, there were a lot of negative reviews on this when it came out, coupled with a few crappy demos of it that made me cool on it a bit. Then I saw this...

Yeah I keep looking at software and hardware synths... it’s just crazy the infinite possibilities compared to effects pedals that may have a few limited tones

I dunno, I like both worlds quite a bit. A few great pedals can be used with guitars, basses, synths and samples and will sound different more often than you may think. That said, it’s crazy what you can get for your iPad for next to nothing...so many great noise makers. Same with soft synths. The new Waves Flow Motion FM Synth is really nice and it’s like $40. The new Arturia Pigments soft synth looks like a winner as well. I gotta admit, I’m just not personally into having laptops or iPads onstage, so I tend to sample them into hardware. Sampling synths has made me really want a decent hardware synth though, for real time modulation during the piece. You can fake that on a sampler LFO and whatnot, but it ain’t the same.

 

[theunknowndude]

Interestingly, there were a lot of negative reviews on this when it came out, coupled with a few crappy demos of it that made me cool on it a bit. Then I saw this...





I dunno, I like both worlds quite a bit. A few great pedals can be used with guitars, basses, synths and samples and will sound different more often than you may think. That said, it’s crazy what you can get for your iPad for next to nothing...so many great noise makers. Same with soft synths. The new Waves Flow Motion FM Synth is really nice and it’s like $40. The new Arturia Pigments soft synth looks like a winner as well. I gotta admit, I’m just not personally into having laptops or iPads onstage, so I tend to sample them into hardware. Sampling synths has made me really want a decent hardware synth though, for real time modulation during the piece. You can fake that on a sampler LFO and whatnot, but it ain’t the same.

Funny you mention the waves flow motion! That’s what I just got! With reapers virtual keyboard I’m not even using a midi keyboard (yet, that may change).. has my GAS for a Korg Monologue but for now for way cheaper I can get a lot of sounds out of the flow motion.. compared to my pedalboard which I’ve spent close to 200 per pedal with 9 pedals on it that is very much awesome but still not very creative with my ideas... my pedalboard I generally end up with just going fuzz into chorus into delay/reverb and Wah or combinations there of which doesn’t get many noises out of it