Programming analogue synths...

[TwilightOdyssey]

... is HARD!!

Having decided that I have pretty much gotten all I can from the presets on my MOPHO, I have been taking a course on synth programming and finally cracked the hood on the MOPHO's editor software and started writing my own patches.

As simple as the MOPHO is, in many ways I wish I had an even simpler synth to start with!

I spent about 4 hours writing 2 patches last night. I will listen back tonight to see if they hold up (I am hopeful). Overall, a fun -- but challenging, and sometimes frustrating -- experience. Once I wrote the patches down to the MOPHO, I did have great fun playing through them, making notes of things I want to change (like mod wheel destinations and LFO settings).

I will need to make dope sheets for the MOPHO so I don't lose interim changes before I write patches in the future -- that alone cost me losing some really cool sounds that are now lost forever lol.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

Point a video camera at the control panel. Record parameter adjustments as you make them. Hopefully, any happy accidents will be captured, giving you some hope of recreating them in future.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

Good idea; I may get some screen capture software and do the same.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

NVidia Geforce GTX 600 series and up graphics cards have this handy thing called ShadowPlay for capturing in-game videos. It will also record desktop videos.
If you can score a card cheap enough...

Although a different beast, I have an Alesis QSR (rack version of the QS6/7) and feel the pain of programming. It's only 1.5x more complex than programming the Digitech rack preamps I've had over the years (though the 1101 is more stupid-friendly than the Legend or TSR). At least they come loaded with useable presets. I think I managed to write one in the 10+ years I've had it :lol:

Need to pick up another guitar-MIDI interface for it. Can't do shizzle with keys, and while reading tabs is fine, I can't quite get my head around orchestrating stuff in Guitar Pro. It just comes out closer to what I hear in my head when I play it on guitar.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

You should look into this, http://jamorigin.com/products/midi-guitar/

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

I am kinda old school when it comes to programming vintage analogue mono synthesizers.

There are two approaches;
1) Analyse the instrument sound that you propose to imitate. Mimic its basic waveform as closely as possible. Add further waveforms to mimic the upper harmonic content of the desired sound. Apply filter and amplitude enveloping to mimic variations in the timbre over time. Similarly, apply low frequency modulation to mimic the natural micro-variations of the desired sound. Slap on a little delay or reverberation to give a sense of space.

2) Fiddle with the controls randomly until you arrive at a noise that you dig. Store it.

2.5) In the case of instruments devoid of patch memory storage, e.g. the Roland SH-101, revel in the one-off nature of the device by recording a song's worth of your sonic creation for later editing in your DAW. Feel secure in the knowledge that you will never get exactly that sound ever again BUT, neither will anyone else.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

You could always get a few Korg Volcas, cheap, fun and informative for learning the basics of analog synthesis.

Also, if the modular bug ever bites, the app "Modular" is a great way to scratch it before you drop coin on a starter modular.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

I have the Arturia Modular V.

I am also taking a course in synth programming.

I am torn between a fully modular synth and the Moog Mother-32 right now, but have a few months to keep researching and make up my mind.

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

The Mother 32 looks pretty cool. I was close to buying a Pittsburgh starter system, but then I started playing guitar more and held off...

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

The 32 is only the beginning. You will end up spending a great deal more.

http://www.soundonsound.com/news?NewsID=18807

Imagine, if you will, that the Moog Mother 32 is the sound generating portion of your modular instrument. You could probably do with more oscillators. Then, you might want to add an outboard modulation effect. (Phaser, Chorus or a KORG-like all-in-one Modulation/Delay line.) Then, you will find yourself butting up against another authentic Seventies analogue experience - insufficiently polyphony.

Full arrangements will involve multi-tracking to build up the note density on any given sound. The possible advantage of this is that any inconsistencies caused by voltage control will add an element of semi-random variation. This may or may not imbue pad sounds with a sense of natural complexity that ROMpler synthesis cannot match. Of course, you may simply be so relieved that you got the multiple passes into your recorder at all that you let any "flaws" go uncorrected.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

Yup, I have already thought about it and know the 32 is just the first brick in the wall. I don't mind mono synths at all and have, in fact, already recorded multi-mono synths to simulate polyohony in a piece I wrote some time ago called Clockwork.

I may also go in an entirely different direction and go with an SEM and a TETRA. Or a Sequential Prophet (though I am not into having something with an integral keyboard).

 

[Wormhelmet]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

Ugghh. I learned about programming synths with a Korg EX800. No knobs. Just buttons. I learned a lot though. Next synth was a Quasimidi Polymorph. Much easier to program. In software, I started on my first freebie VST of Synth 1. A relatively simple two oscillator subtractive synth that is very versatile. I'm not good with FM synthesis or complex additive synthesis, but did write presets for a virtual modular in beta (Sonigen Modular) and have written presets for all the following:

M-Audio Venom virtual analog
Waldorf Blofeld virtual analog
Quasimidi Polymorph virtual analog
Korg EX-800 analog
Arturia MiniBrute analog (no stored presets, just iphone pic backups)
Blue Lantern Salamander Modular analog (same as MiniBrute, no stored presets)
Roland SH-32 virtual analog

Plus following VST synths:
Synth 1
Rob Papen Albino
ImpOscar
Superwave P8
Native Instruments Massive
Vanguard synth
Z3ta+
MS-20 (both ipad and PC) I have IC MS-20 controller for this - real knobs to turn and real keyboard
PolySix (both ipad and PC)
Predator
Rapture
Thor
Cassini
Nlog Pro
Sunrizer
Prophet 5 vst
Crystal synth
Magellan
Minisynth Pro

Plus a whole bunch of others I don't ever fire up anymore. Now on hardware for most of my synth work and occasionally my iOS synths. I think FM synthesis is a bear to program and some additive synthesis also. Simple two or three oscillator subtractives is where I am best at and feel pretty comfortable around.

Have fun with the Mopho. Sound design is both fun and rewarding and can keep you from sounding the same as everyone else using stock presets. I do like some presets though. Most sound designers that do commercial presets understand synth programming better than me, so have an easier time getting exactly the sound in their head out to the synth. I start with an idea and try to get the basic filter adsr curves right, then tweak it from there and start applying lfo's and gates if necessary. I'm not a great player so it's a little more important to keep sounds moving while playing my basic stuff.

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

One of the more 'interesting' aspects of the MOPHO is that there is no factory recall setting, so once you change a preset, that's it -- there is no going back. Also, there are not user presets and factory presets -- they are ALL user presets! So, once you change something, and you save it, the original is essentially gone for good unless you happened to capture a screen shot of the editor settings ... which of course I didn't do and ended up burning 3 presets before I realised that lol.

I think you are totally correct: writing your own patches is extremely rewarding, though super time-consuming. I think this is definitely one of the 'hidden costs' to an analogue synth that one has to keep in mind when thinking about purchasing, and would definitely put preference on a Dave Smith unit over a Moog or Oberheim, depending on your preference/needs/wants.

Funny you should mention programming additive synths ... I also spent a chunk of time over the past few days setting up user patches on my Proteus/1. Again, the end results were far "better" than using presets, as they were all tailor-made for the specific sounds I was after and could get them just so. The editing menu on the Proteus/1 is pretty intuitive, actually, and I had little trouble. Of course, it was more layering of samples and tailoring ADSR than really getting under the hood with LFOs and such, though I did that for one pad patch that wasn't giving me what I wanted. What I ended up with was a surprisingly analogue sounding polyphonic pad patch, which I partially attribute to the Proteus/1's rather crunchy DAC...

I am far more fearful of writing patches on the JV1080.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

You should look into this, http://jamorigin.com/products/midi-guitar/

Awesome concept, but something appears to be keeping it from playing nice with my system. It runs, but I get no sound from it, nor any indication that sound is getting into it. DAW works fine, interface's app works fine, but it seems that no matter which in/out and ASIO options I choose, Midi-Guitar (2 beta) doesn't acknowledge the input. Even tried routing my DAW track's Output to a specific target of the interface, and set that as the Input source for G-M2, but no dice. The on-board help says I should be having fun by now.
Gonna have to dig into it more later.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

I downloaded the trial version of JamOrigin MIDI Guitar. The input device selector defaulted to the built-in mic and the output defaulted to the onboard loudspeakers. By this method, I managed to control a Roland System 100M plug-in by singing into the mic. With a long release sound, the loudspeaker feeds back into the mic. This led to either near infinite sustain or a bunch of hanging notes.

 

[DrNewcenstein]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

Finally got it somewhat working. Copied the vst plugins (from v1) to my VST folder and activated them in Audition, then things improved. It's not tracking very well in either Poly or Mono, and I'm using a PATB2 so the pickup's got enough power. I can hear the dry signal just fine, but still may not be hot enough to trigger it every time. I'll have to play with it more when I get home from werk.

 

[ginormous]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

One of the more 'interesting' aspects of the MOPHO is that there is no factory recall setting, so once you change a preset, that's it -- there is no going back.

When I'm in Reaper, their VST hosting allows for saving patches. I'd imagine other DAWs function in a similar fashion. I'd start with the blank slate, save it as the "recall", and then have at it, saving the interesting sounds as you go.

I first learned about synths back in the 70s from a school presentation by Alfred Mayer, who started his own company and made the Ionic Performer.

http://maltedmedia.com/people/bathory/killer.html#mayerself

 

[TwilightOdyssey]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

That is precisely what I did. I made a preset called 'Template'.

 

[Wormhelmet]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

Synth 1 is free and a great vst synth with some filters that can scream or be very smooth. Very easy to learn to program on.

Roland SH-32's cheap on ebay also and another synth easy to tweak. You can save presets on it. If you can find a used JP-8080 module, that would be an easy one. These are both very tactile modules with a ton of sliders and knobs for parameter changes that are easy to see relationships with.

Check out KVR audio and VST reviews. Lots of links to free vst's that make easy to program self learners.

iOS synths are great for learning on too. Many really good ones for low prices. Sunrizer and Arctic Keys both come to mind. Epic synth is just like SH-101 monophonic and easy to see how controls relate.

I prefer a one knob per function synth for learning, over a menu diving synth without many knobs.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Programming analogue synths...

Roland's recent crop of plug-in software synths offer decent renditions of the SH-101, System 100m and others. They also have a new set of desktop synths that do Jupiter and Juno sounds, albeit with limited polyphony.

The plug-ins are available in a free download trial version.