Synthesizers

Hi all, esp. those familiar with the peculiar thing that is Arturia Keystep Pro.

It just seems to have a mind of it's own. I see many have weird issues with it (in the KeystepPros Reddit and elsewhere around the internet).

My most common issue is that it just enters what seem to be totally random keys, whenever I am recording a sequence. If I switch the rec button off, no problems, no extra keys played. When I record, all hell breaks loose and it wants to add seemingly random keys.

I always need to do like 4 extra takes and do the sequence bit by bit. Live entry of a sequence would be impossible.

Is this some weird feature I don't know about?

Writing this made me suspect two things: some weird poly overdub feature where old key presses come back from the dead? Or could it be the randomness knob? Or some weird auto chord mode that only works when in rec mode?

Or is it just buggy?

I suspect the last option...

Arturia, please fix it. It would be a wonderful instrument if it didn't have the bugs it has.

Or if they would open source the firmware so that people could fix it amd make ir even better.

Diva vs Pigments?

For the past few months, I've been listening to increasingly more classic electronic music (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and I quite like Conrad Schnitzler). The other day I wondered how hard it could be to play this music myself. I have a reasonably well-equipped Mac and (next week) a usable MIDI keyboard, and after some tests with (among others) Surge XT (whose interface I didn't like at all), I found out that in terms of synthesisers, I get on best with Pigments and Diva, although I somehow prefer Diva.

I'm asking the question here because I hope there are more experienced musicians around than me: given my setup and musical preferences, what speaks in favour of one software solution over the other? I'm really a layman in this regard - the fact that I like Diva and care less for Pigments is the result of spending very little time on the subject. I'm probably overlooking the long-term implications. 🙂

(Cross-posted on @synths@midwest.social and Macrumors.)

@macos@lemmy.world

Diva vs Pigments?

For the past few months, I've been listening to increasingly more classic electronic music (Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and I quite like Conrad Schnitzler). The other day I wondered how hard it could be to play this music myself. I have a reasonably well-equipped Mac and (next week) a usable MIDI keyboard, and after some tests with (among others) Surge XT (whose interface I didn't like at all), I found out that in terms of synthesisers, I get on best with Pigments and Diva, although I somehow prefer Diva.

I'm asking the question here because I hope there are more experienced musicians around than me: given my setup and musical preferences, what speaks in favour of one software solution over the other? I'm really a layman in this regard - the fact that I like Diva and care less for Pigments is the result of spending very little time on the subject. I'm probably overlooking the long-term implications. 🙂

@synths@midwest.social

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/46701270

This Jam had many purposes. I have been working on this track based on samples of some old public domain tunes, and wanted to experiment with structure and elements.

I also wanted to finally start practicing using my M8 for live perfomance / Jams. Still just scraping the surface. But given that the M8 has been my goto music device and has me making a lot more songs then in a long time i really want it to be able to be a part of both my "jam" and "song writing" brains. :)

Everything is with LED strips inside diffuser strips which I routered in the wooden planks or hid under the self-welded shelves to shine on the shelf underneath. All cables will be hidden, everything is connected through patch bays (to connect effect pedals) to a hidden stagebox, so there will be one think cable protector consisting of power, CAT5 and multi jack cable for aux running to my mixer (cart on wheels).

Sadly, my monitor speakers are too high, due to a lack of space. I hope it won't matter much, otherwise I will change it to place them lower and have certain synths swappable instead of all connected.

The entire setup is modular, I placed the wall strips exactly 19" wide and made the racks the same size.

The sequencers are on laptop plates on gas loaded monitor arms.

The opposite wall isn't parallel to this one but angled, so I'm not worried about echoing with the straight wall setup as the sound would reflect angled into my kitchen (never had that issue with my previous setup). Also I can close curtains on both sides (I placed curtains in the middle of my house so I can close off the kitchen area for watching movies on my beamer in darkness, on the left top you see a bit of the screen I can pull down).

The cables will be stuck underneath the horizontal bars of the racks I welded with velcro tape, so invisible as long as a synth is on it.

The Deluge I use for the standalone synths, the Reliq for Eurorack. All connected through midi with hubs or midi thru.

All LED strips are synced and can be controlled with my phone or remote, to chance brightness, color or pattern.

Can't wait for this project to be finished.

Yes, I'm autistic haha

Presets and sound samples can be downloaded from webpage provided.

Hello,

Once upon a time, I was a musician. I took my classical guitar degree 10 years ago. I studied a little of music composition and experimented with computer music. But today, I don't do music anymore. Every time I try to do music, I spend the time looking for synthesizers, creating setups, and so on, and it ends I never play. So, I'm looking for some device that gives me an out-of-the-box experience with synths, effects, and loops. I would especially like to:

• loop audio input
• play with external or integrated keyboard
• apply effects
• use synth and samples
• programming the sounds and synths

Thanks!

This is my first road test of my portable setup for making jam videos.

Main stars for recording: a very portable tripod/selfie stick, zoom l-6 Connect directly to my phone for direct audio recording.

This, along with whatever portable gear i feel like bringing along lets me jam out wherever i like and record the results. :D

cross-posted from: https://rss.ponder.cat/post/153806

OS 2.0 is now available for the Teenage Engineering EP-133 KO II synthesizer. | Image: Teenage Engineering

Nearly a year and a half after it first launched the EP-133 KO II synthesizer in late 2023, Teenage Engineering has released its first major software update. The OS 2.0 update, which can be downloaded to the synth through a web browser or installed using a USB cable, includes features like creating new samples from existing samples or beats, hands-free sampling while playing another instrument, and the ability to layer and play more sounds simultaneously.

You can see all of the new features in the OS 2.0 release notes, but the most significant update appears to be new resampling capabilities that let you process or add effects to existing samples to create brand new ones. The update also allows you to create new samples by capturing snippets of a beat made up of previously recorded samples. The KO II is also getting a new hands-free sampling mode letting you record the sounds from an instrument that requires two hands to play – like a piano – without requiring a third hand to press record or stop on the synth.

Teenage Engineering has also increased the number of sounds that can be layered and played simultaneously on the KO II from 12 mono and six stereo to 16 mono and 12 stereo with OS 2.0 installed. Other upgrades include a new song mode that “adds the ability to chain scenes and create longer, more structured track arrangements,” and sidechaining that “allows one sound to control the volume of another.” So the volume of a bass drum in a beat can be automatically lowered whenever the sound of a kick drum plays so it’s not drowned out.

The $299 KO II falls somewhere in between the company’s $59 Pocket Operator synthesizers and its expensive but highly-capable $1,999 OP-1 Field. It’s positioned as a sort of advanced musical toy, but musicians might now find it a more capable song-making tool with OS 2.0.

From The Verge via this RSS feed

Eurorack vs. Semi-Modular Synths – a Comprehensive series of articles: https://www.dev.rofilm-media.net/node/336

An in-depth comparison for the music producer of todays Cheers and peace! Rolf

This is not synth related - hope it’s okay.

Hi, I’m new to fediverse and use the Voyager app and a user on the instance feddit.dk. When I access your instance (midwestsocial) in browser I see a lot of posts on this sub. But when I access it through the app, only two posts appear. What am I doing wrong? 🙏

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/30802473

Heres a video of soil fellas from my back yard while I play my synth in the background.

A recent copyright action taken by Teenage Engineering against Florian Pilz's "Bad Gear" ‪@AudioPilz‬ channel exposes a dangerous precedent lurking in the license agreement buried inside Teenage Engineering's materials: They have severe restrictions on exactly how you can use their devices in your published music. Unless you comply with their licensing restrictions, they could actually have a copyright claim against you, your music or your performances! In this video I expose what is going on, and how to avoid legal issues.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/23313444

A jam with some December vibes this time, and just in time for the holidays! I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas, and a happy new year!

This one is a bit longer then my usual jams. Kinda got lost in the moment :D Let me know if you want more long tracks or if i should stick to the shorter format. :)

I don't know who needs to hear this, but I figured this out and it's made it possible for me to interface my microKORG with my computer without buying a dedicated USB MIDI interface. It works for passing notes and for loading sysex/using Korg's craptastic software.

The Minilogue XD has a type-B USB port, as well as full sized MIDI in and out. When plugged into the computer, the Minilogue presents two sets of MIDI interfaces - one labelled "midi" and another labelled "sound" or "keyboard," with in and out for each.

By connecting the out from micro to the in on mini and the out on the mini to the in on the micro and using the minilogue's "MIDI" labelled interface on the computer, you can connect to the micoKORG and backup/load your patches.

I imagine this can be done with other instruments or controllers that have USB and standard MIDI interfaces, but I don't have anything else to test with.