Progress and FM Programming for Idiots (me)

Sorry for the long hiatus. Lots of things happened in the meantime, both in life and music. First, I got a new LXR and PreenFM2. On the other hand, the Roland TR8 just got sold. The money went to ordering this guy:

That’s the Squarp Pyramid, a very cool MIDI sequencer that will be the cornerstone of my rig. Soon, I’ll buy a Volca Keys for bassline duties and my basic setup will be there. My only other goals are to upgrade my cheap Yamaha MG10xu mixer and get some new studio monitors.

I probably need to explain why I chose these particular products, like why I’m getting the Vocal Keys over the Bass for basslines or why I sold my TR8 and kept the LXR, but I don’t feel like doing so right now. I’ll probably get into it later when everything is setup and running, as it’ll be more fun to actually show how everything works rather than just talk about it.

Something I do feel like talking about now is FM programming. I am pretty new to synthesis. I’ve dabbled in electronic music production for more than a decade now, but I was never any good at it. I mostly used presets, and was never that serious about learning any of the tech. Yea, I bought a few synths in the last year or so, but I still know very little about synthesis. Despite my ineptitude, I’ve taken a big liking to FM synthesis. FM programming has a notorious reputation for being a rabbit hole of clangy fucksounds. Miraculously, I’ve managed to have actual fun programming a lot of shit that sounds somewhat decent. Maybe when I’m not lazy I’ll record a couple patches and post them here.

Surprisingly, I haven’t seen that many tutorials on FM, and the ones available usually fall under two camps: 1. Study and modify the presets. 2. Here’s all the concepts of FM synthesis now go play. I found both very unhelpful. The best tutorial I found was this one:

Once you understand that. I want to show you what I do 90% of the time I start a patch. This is the FM equivalent to detuning one oscillator on a two oscillator subtractive synth. Basic as fuck, but it sounds good and gives you somewhere to go from there. In the subtractive world, the obvious path is to have the LFO modulate the cutoff and then feel like you created fire. You can do similar, basic ass shit in FM. Don’t let all the numbers, ratios, and algorithms fool you. This ain’t maths.

STEP 1: Use an algorithm with the structure of “alg.7” on this chart.

Think of this structure as a two oscillator subtractive synth. A and C are the oscillators with B modulating A, and D modulating C.  You can think of the modulating frequencies B and D as separate filters or wave shaping options for A and C.

Now, what do you do what you have two oscillators?

STEP 2: Detune the oscillators. 

Now, your FM synth may actually allow you to detune oscillators A and C, but we’re trying to get all FM with this and we should bring modulators B and D to the party. By adjusting B and D away from 1, like 1.3 or 0.78, it’s adding harmonics that effectively detune them. That’s why you can end up with a bunch of inharmonic, clangy nonsense if you wander too far past whole numbers. So, slightly push one modulator above or below 1. Maybe slightly push the other modulator in the other direction. Now you get some of that nice chorusing that you get in all your subtractive synths. Boom.

STEP 3: Fuck around with the ratios.

Make one oscillator into a sub by setting it an octave lower. You can set the other oscillator an octave higher. You can even set them in intervals. Now look to your modulators. You can get higher or lower harmonics depending on how high or low a number you choose. Just don’t stray too far from whole numbers and you wont get the sounds of machines turning on us.

And that’s pretty much it. That’s how I decide to start many of my patches. Of course I’ll throw in some LFO modulation here and there (usually on the volume or pitch of the modulators), and I might make different ADSR envelopes for each operator, but I tend to keep shit basic. See, FM is easy.

I Bought Things! Also, DIY Stuff is Pretty Rad and I Found a Bass Synth.

I wanted to buy the Sonic Potions LXR for the 2nd time, as I wasn’t happy with the build quality of the one I initially bought off of ebay. Sonic Potions had a list of builders for their kit, and I emailed some person known as “Altitude,” who was the only listed builder for the US.

When inquiring about having the LXR built, I also mentioned that I was thinking of getting a PreenFM2 down the road. It’s important to note that PreenFM2 is currently out of stock, and it seems to be released in small batches that sell out in a week or two.

Altitude told me that he could put the LXR together for $150, and that he could also send me a PreenFM2 for $250 (parts+labor), as long as I could wait a few weeks for him to get a certain part. Perfect.

I pulled the trigger, and now I have all the synths I was planning to get except one: a bass synth.

Enter, the Mutable Instruments Shruthi-1.

It’s a DIY 2 OSC + 1 subOSC monosynth with an analog filter and a slew of waveform and modulation options. It has patch memory, looks pretty easy to edit, transmits and receives MIDI CC, and sounds pretty damn good for bass. Altitude can make them for $300 (parts+labor) and once I get a little more time to drum up the cash, I’ll be getting one made.

It has occurred to me that all of my synths will be DIY projects, except for the Yamaha Reface DX. That wasn’t intentional. It’s just that these DIY synths offer me the best value on the dollar. It sucks that you can’t walk into a Guitar Center, try one out, and then walk out the door with one, but upon finding a person to source and build these projects, it’s a no-brainer for me. I would encourage anyone to give these DIY synths a good look.

Altitude can be contacted at altitude@misw.us, and you can see examples of his builds at here.

FINDING DAT BASS SYNTH

Now that I’m back to goal of going computer-less, I need synths.

Since buying the ReFace DX, I opted to go down the route of buying multiple synths rather than just one multi-timbral synth. It’s more expensive and less elegant, but it allows me to have more control in determining my pallet of sounds. The largest negative is that it’s a hassle in terms of organization.

Most multi-timbral synths allow you to save your patches as groups. So, if you make one song using patches, A, B, C, and D, you can recall that exact group (A,B,C,D) sometime later. With individual synths, I’ll have to just write down which song used which patch on which synths.

As a positive, using multiple synths means that I have a physical interface for each synth part, making it easier to edit. As a negative, it means I have to learn how to use each synth, which will have big differences in how their interfaces work.

Regardless, I’m buying multiple synths, so that’s what I will have to deal with. The ReFace DX will be the main keyboard as well as a great synth for just about anything. Next, I want to find a synth that will be well suited for making basslines.

Generally, I’m looking for synths under $500 that are compact but still offer easy editing from the front panel. In addition, the ability to receive MIDI CC is a must, and the ability to transmit MIDI CC would be a big bonus as well. Lots of synths do respectable bass sounds and there are plenty of options under $500, leaving me with quite a few choices. Synths to consider are the Moog Minitaur, Novation Bass Station 2, Roland System 1, Audiothingies P6, Roland Boutiques, Korg Volca Keys/Bass, Meeblip Anode, Arturia Microbrute, and the Waldorf Rocket.

First, the Roland Boutiques and Microbrute don’t transmit/accept MIDI CC for much of their parameters, so they’re gone. Roland Boutiques, Arturia Microbrute

The Bass Station 2 and Roland System 1 are on top of the heap when it comes down to all that they offer – filter options; 2 oscillator + 1 sub-oscillator; effects; receive and transmit MIDI CC; preset banks, and they both sound great. The Bass Station is monophonic analog, besides the DCOs, and while the System 1 is digital, it has 4 note polyphony and can change synth models with the Roland Plug-outs. However, I find that these synths take up too much space. Seems to be a ridiculous reason to cross them off the list, but one of the goals for my set-up is to make it compact enough to mount on a single surface. That way, I can move around the house and jam wherever I feel like it, rather than just being confined to a single section of a room. I would consider selling my ReFace DX and using one of these as the bass synth and master keyboard, but I want 3 octaves and I also just love my DX. Novation Bass Station 2, Roland System 1

The Korg Volca Keys/Bass have reportedly have noise problems and issues with tuning stability. They’re amazingly cheap, but I’d rather skip the headache of waiting for them to warm up to get into tune or wait for them to calibrate if/when they go out of tune. It’s just something I don’t want to worry about. I’d hate to capture a performance only to realize later that the bass is out of tune. Korg Volca Keys/Bass

The Moog Minitaur seems to be the perfect solution here, right? Simple, knobby interface; huge, vintage bass sound; compact; MIDI CC all around. However, it’s through and through analog with VCOs — some tuning issues are inevitable. Although I’ve read that the warm up time is negligible and the tuning seems solid, tuning stability is just something to deal with when it comes to VCOs, and there are still comments of people having to recalibrate their Minitaurs once in awhile. It’s probably something I don’t need to worry about, but I’d still worry about it. Moreover, I’m just not too in love with the sound of it. It seems to stand rather firmly in the land of vintage, analog bass. I’m looking for something that sounds a bit grungier and less round.  While it’s still a decent option, it’s the priciest one and yet I’m not in love with it. Maybe that “Moog sound” isn’t for me. Moog Minitaur

The Audiothingies P6 looks to be a great synth all around. Assembled, it’s only about $270, which is amazing for a 6 voice synth with 2 oscillators, 1 sub-oscillator, an 8-mode resonant filter, 3 envelopes and 3 LFOs per voice. It’s in a compact package with an interface that looks really easy to use despite only having 6 encoders.

The P6 was the front-runner for awhile. The voice panning would allow me to output the sub and other oscillators separately. This would allow me to do things like only gate the sub, run a delay or reverb only on the higher voices, and compress them separately. Only thing is, I really like more grungy, distorted bass sounds. I wasn’t able to really get that vibe from any of the samples I’ve listened to. Furthermore, I haven’t seen any options for transmitting MIDI CC. Not scratching it off the list yet, but I’m looking at other options.

Onto the Meeblip Anode. It’s about as compact as a synth can get; accepts MIDI CC for everything except resonance; has an analog filter that doesn’t alias; and exudes a huge bass sound that is gritty, gritty, gritty.

Oh, and it’s $140.

It doesn’t have a ton of options and was initially designed with only a square wave oscillator. The latest firmware has a wavetable mode, but from what i’ve heard, they all have that grungy, lo-fi character. It’s definitely a one trick-pony, but I’m planning to only use it as a bass synth anyway.

It sounds like this: 

And look at how small and cute it is! So kawaii!

Only thing is it doesn’t send MIDI CC. It doesn’t even have a MIDI out port. This makes a difference depending on which hardware sequencer I get, but that’s for another topic. For now, it’s on the shortlist.

For a compact, affordable bass synth that transmits and accepts MIDI CC for virtually all its controls, the Waldorf Rocket stands out.

It sounds like this. To me, it has more of a modern sound, but can still get really dirty. It has an option of adding a second OSC that you can detune or tune to specific intervals; an analog filter along with different filter types; a boost mode that distorts things quite nicely; and it can also be used paraphonically. A read a site that says it lacks an arp and LFO clock sync, but the official manual contradicts that, so yay. The lack of attack seemed like a bigger issue at first, but when I thought about it, using a bass sound with a slow attack is rare for me. I’ll put it on the shortlist.

At the end of the day, I’m still considering the Audiothingies P6, Meeblip Anode, and the Waldorf Rocket. Once I figure out what sequencer to buy, I’ll be able to narrow it down even more. The Rocket checks off the most boxes, but the tiny and cheap Meeblip Anode has somehow captured my attention the most.

First Sounds!

Just made a really quick example of the LXR and DX working together. The LXR will have to be returned, unfortunately, but I’ll be buying another as soon as I can.

Well, That Was Fast

Meanwhile, my Roland TR-8 and Arturia Microbrute are on Craigslist. Next purchase will probably be a PreenFM2.

Back on the Path

As covered in my last post, I was thinking of going to a live-looping based setup, and inevitably, to Ableton.

But then I saw the Kilpatrick Carbon:

Seems like all the sequencer I want without any of the fat: simple, polyphonic, records MIDI CC, and has a scene/song mode. It definitely got me really wanting to put together an all hardware setup again.

I also found the Sonic-Potions LXR Drum Machine:

I feel that these will make a perfect pair and be the foundation for my future setup. The Carbon seems to be much better at programming synths since it lacks per-instrument drum sequencing and instead just records whatever you throw at in on a single track. However, the LXR has a great sequencer built in, with p-locks, 32nd note resolution, melodic sequencing, and easy access to mutes. So, the shortcomings on the Carbon wont mean much as I could just program sequences on the LXR and then record them into the Carbon, p-locks and all, since the Carbon records MIDI CC. Individual recording of each drum part wont be important since I could play/mute each part from the LXR. I just hope that that the Carbon will still record 32nd notes in the standard 16th note grid.

This means I’m selling my Roland TR-8, and the LXR will be taking over all drum duties. I’m going to miss those 808 hats, but the LXR has such a larger set of options, offering the ability to tweak lots of parameters for its drum synths. You can properly tune kicks and even make acid basslines on it. Getting the ReFace DX made me realize that I do enjoy getting into the nitty gritty of synth editing (to an extent), and I no longer feel afraid of products that aren’t immediately accessible. The LXR offers so much more than the TR-8 in terms of variety and sequencing features. It doesn’t have as much storage, and most significantly, it doesn’t sound like a 808/909/707, but I’m looking forward to finding my own sounds.

Feels nice being back on the hardware path, except now I have to decide what additional synths I need to buy.

I Think I’ll Have to Change the Subheading For the Blog

So, using my amazing artistic abilities, let me start with what I thought my setup was going to be.

The Engine Sequencer was going to sequence the Roland TR-8 and the Waldorf Q rack with all the audio going to the Behringer X Air XR12.

The Waldorf Q is a beast of a synth and one of the best multitimbral synths I’ve found. 16 voice, 16 part, 3 oscillators per voice, 3 LFOs, wavetables galore, and in the multitimbral mode, you can individually edit each part, adjust pan and volume of each part, and then save the multitimbral patch with all the edited settings. There are a good amount of multitimbral synths, but many don’t allow such ease of editing in the multitimbral mode. Also, there are 6 individual outputs to send the parts through. That means I can send each part to an individual input on the XR12. The XR12 is awesome for the $300. It is a digital mixer that can be wirelessly controlled by an Android or iOS app; records to a computer or drive that you attach to the usb; each channel has its own graphic EQ, gate, and compressor; and you can select up to 4 fx that are shared amongst the channels. The Engine just looks to be a really solid 8 track polyphonic sequencer with a lot of options, but looks very straightforward to use. Lots of cool things I dig, like an arpeggiator, swing per part, and midi CC automation.

That was the goal, but then, I fell in love with FM synthesis. [Lots of songs made solely using FM here.] Hifi, clean, and you can get an almost acoustic quality out of some of the sounds. Despite FM being mostly associated with cheesy 80s pop music and early video game soundtracks, it sounds very modern to me when programmed outside of the common presets. The issue is that FM is notoriously hard to program. A Yamaha DX7 is multitimbral and cheap, but a bear to program. So, I bought the new Yamaha Reface DX. Portable, easy to program, but… it’s not multitimbral, so unless I buy like 3 more of these guys, I have to forget about a MIDI sequencing setup.

Then I considered live-looping. Here’s what the setup would’ve looked like:

TR-8 is the master clock in this case and there is no primary sequencer. The TR-8 has a capable sequencer on its own, and the DX has a MIDI looper with quantize built into it. The BOSS RC-505 can record 5 independent loops with overdubs on each channel, and would be recording the audio of the synth. There is only one stereo out, but with panning, I can make it work as 2 individual mono outs, basically. This would be an awesome setup for jamming, and since the RC-505 saves your loops, I could drop them on my computer and finish up tracks on the computer.

I wasn’t happy with any of the live looping products out there currently, but then I realized the best live looping devise was… well here’s the newest planned setup

Yes, a computer. A computer with Ableton and a low-latency audio interface can’t possibly be beat for live looping, not just in terms of overall potential, but when it comes to workflow and ease of use, Ableton is kind of “the tits.” The best part, is that once I’ve got a bunch of loops I like, I can live record the entire performance and it’ll drop everything into Ableton, ready to mix and master. The Zoom Tac-8 is a relatively inexpensive Thunderbolt audio interface with 8 inputs and very low, basically negligible latency. This turns the computer into both the looper and the mixer, with far more options for effects than the XR12.

But Bleep Bleep Boom, weren’t you trying to get away from that soul-crushing, mouse-clicking, DAW workflow? Yes, absolutely, and I believe this setup will still capture a lot of the magic of working with hardware while being a lot more flexible. The Roland TR-8 will still be using its own sequencer and I’ll still be making patches in the DX and using its onboard MIDI looper. I’ll just be recording the DX into Ableton as loops and then using Ableton to finish and master songs. All the jamming, patch creating, playing, sequencing, and composing will largely be done without having to touch my computer.

Now, the main pursuit is to figure out which MIDI controller is best for me, and to also decide what I’m going to change the subheading of my blog to.

New Headphones! – Audio-Technica ATH-M40x

So, my Equation Audio RP-15’s died. I took a chance on a small company and was mostly happy. They were great for being smaller headphones, but were pretty damn uncomfortable. Durability was about average as I’d had them for about 4 years and mostly treated them like shit. To find a suitable replacement, I pulled up some reviews at work, and it seemed like there was a fairly clear consensus among the people on the internet: the Audio-Technica ATH-M40x were the best headphone for mixing and tracking at $100.

So here they are. They sound nice and flat. Seems peakier in the mids but that could be because my last headphones were scooped. I’m not making music right now so I can’t say bullshit like “oh man my mixes are really translating now,” but they seem like they’ll do the job. They definitely give me a clearer picture while making patches on my Reface DX, as I’ve noticed some harsh frequencies in patches I made without these headphones that I can now dial out. Kind of wish there was more bass, since I feel like I mix a bit better with more bass. It encourages me to keep things tight, while headphones with little bass, like my old Sennheiser HD 280’s, sometimes encourage me to muddy up the low end. These definitely have more bass than my old HD 280’s, but if I had more money, I might have tossed on an extra $70 onto the fire and got the ATH-M50x instead, which are similar, but have more bass. According to the internets, the jury’s still out on whether people appreciate the added bass on the 50x’s over the flatness of the 40x’s.

I’m definitely not unhappy though. I’m pretty damn satisfied. They’re fairly comfortable, have decent isolation, and I know they will be more than adequate for my purposes. Best part is that they comes with both a coiled and straight cable (honestly this is awesome and every headphone should come with both).

So, umm, 9/10, or like 5 unicorns out of 6, or 3 freshly baked chocolate chip cookies plus a couple that you didn’t eat from last night that still taste good but not as good as the fresh ones because the chocolate isn’t all melty and no its not the same when you put them in the microwave — out of 5, or something.

Gearslutz.com Reacts: Yamaha Reface

Gearslutz.com, bastion of understanding and objectivity, a place where people don’t take things too seriously or imbue their self worth into the products they own; where it’s 2015 and people no longer debate analog vs. digital (even regarding a synth process that has always been digital); where people no longer care whether something is made out of metal or plastic because they know that guns are even made of “plastic” and that they don’t leave their house with their gear anyway; where people embrace mini-keys because they know that the small form factor makes it easy for serious enthusiasts to hook up a larger controller to it while novices can enjoy a compact synth right away; where people totally understand that their personal needs do not necessarily represent the larger market; where people don’t just tell you that something is over-priced because an old, discontinued product is cheaper on ebay, but then still turn around and say that modern, cheaper emulations of vintage equipment are not worth the price either, and you should go on ebay and buy the original for 5 times the price of the new product because even though it’s close it’ll never come close.

Unfortunately, there are some truly terrible posters and trolls on Gearslutz:

But Wait, There’s Another Way…

I thought the only decent solution to going computer-less was the standard midi sequencer, synths/drum machines, and mixer set up. I would write all my patterns on the MIDI sequencer, which would command all the synths and drum machines to play  and I could capture it in one take. Multi-tracking using some sort of recording device was the other obvious option, but if the idea it to get a simple, more immediate workflow, multi-tracking wouldn’t accomplish that [multi-tracking is recording several takes and then compiling them together to compose your track.]

There is another option that I failed to think about: live looping. This would be somewhere between multi-tracking and midi sequencing in terms of workflow. One would record the audio from an instrument as a repeating pattern (a loop), record several loops, and then arrange them live to build up the composition.

In comparison to using a MIDI sequencer, this option would only require a single synth. I wouldn’t need a multi-timbral synth [a synth capable of playing several patches simultaneously and independently from one another] or a combination of individual synths to capture multiple parts at once. Sequencing would also be more straightforward. Play the part like you want it to sound and record it. That’s it.

On the other hand, looping is more cumbersome than MIDI sequencing because you can’t just write in the sequence and have it play out perfectly every time. You may want to play a part in a certain way, but it’s up to the your skill in how it actually comes out. I’m a pretty shit piano player, so I predict I’ll have to do a good amount of retakes. Furthermore, MIDI sequencing gives a chance for editing your parts. If recorded your loop but you want to revise your performance, it’s time to delete and try again.

I just bought this guy for $475, tax included:

It’s the new Yamaha ReFace DX and it sounds like this. It’s not multitimbral, but I don’t care. I love it. [Expect a review to come sometime soon, but you can watch a much better one here.] This has pretty much put me on the path to at least try a live looping set up, mostly because I’m almost all ready to go. If I just buy a capable looper (~$500), I can use my Reface DX, TR-8, and mixer, and immediately start making computer music without a computer. Going the MIDI sequencing route, I would still have to hunt down something like a Waldorf Q on ebay (~$900) and the Engine sequencer (~$650), which isn’t even out yet.

If I can get my hands on a few hundred bucks, I’ll have a budget for a looper, and with it, I can get away from the computer and make some music.

Ugh, maybe add another hundred to that.