Tusker

No offence taken. None intended bro. 👍 👍 Mark's a terrifically helpful guy and he's been posting here. When we did a team review of his GX80, he was kind enough to dive into the weeds with us. So I thought it would help if he was introduced a bit. 🙂

Love this!! 💪 What do you control with it?

Yes for sure, one Zebrallete 3 oscillator is a whole universe. You don't have to mess with the other stuff if you don't want to. It's like a Moog. No velocity. No aftertouch. Just great sound. I totally get it's not for everyone. 👍

Let's not. His name is Mark Barton. 🙂 "Mark Barton is a brilliant audio engineer, with a list of accomplishments a mile long. In the 1970s, Mark designed the Pollard Industries Syndrum, which defined the sound of electronic drums for the disco generation. He's also done groundbreaking work in speech synthesis, including writing the MacInTalk text-to-speech system for the first Apple Macintosh computer, and designed the innovative Zeroscillator hardware synthesizer module for Cyndustries. For the past five years, Mark has been bringing his talents to Cherry Audio with modules and bundles for Voltage Modular under the MRB Labs and Cherry Audio/MRB brands, and has contributed to the wildly popular instruments Miniverse, Novachord + Solovox, GX-80, Lowdown, Eight Voice, Rackmode Signal Processors, and, most recently, Synthesizer Expander Module and Pro Soloist."

That's a fantastically ergonomic idea. I've sometimes found it hard to reach a hardware knob or slider once you have a few hardware synths around you. Interface re-usability would solve that problem. In some DAW controllers the hardware sliders and knobs remap to different channel strips as your area of focus changes from one channel strip to another. Something like that would be cool for parameters like ADSRs, which might appear 2-3- times on an interface. Maybe MIDI 2.0 (or CLAP) would allow soft synths to communicate these parameters to the controller hardware?

There are so many different use cases and preferences. I admit at the outset, digital tools can't solve every problem. Do you think a Fader Fox PC12 would address most of the need for knobs? And could one of the controllers from Soundforce address the need for a more precisely emulated interface? I admit I personally don't see a need for either. Just wondering, since these products seem to meet the needs of some folks who like their soft synths with knobs.

Indeed. It's a very human problem. How can we know what we haven't experienced? The past speaks loudly and the future is unknown. The most intuitive interface I have ever seen is for a recently released beta version of a free synth. For me it's better than knobs, because you can actually see sound and shape it. On an analog synth (and I love analog synths!) I have to imagine things like: - a pulse wave adding even harmonics as you change the pulse width - a triangle wave sounding like a low passed saw wave - A saw wave and a square wave (down an octave) together sounding like a saw wave But these all require imagination. Or blind chance. But in a freely drawable wavetable synth on a big screen, you can see sound and shape it. The free synth is Zebrallete 3. Draw a sound. Hear it. This changes sound design. And who knows what will come after that? Part of our discussion is the struggle between the future and the past.

Yes, I think we might all be referencing slightly different use cases as we think about our preferences. Some us are expressing a preference for OKPF (one knob per function) synths versus non OKPF synths. Others are talking about the immediacy of direct analog control versus a slower digitally mediated control environment. These issues matter. Still others (me) are thinking about how virtual patch cords never need repair and how nice it is to have an infinite number of them. YMMV. 😅

To emphasize a point David alluded to: much of the problem is getting the skill into your subconscious, like a driving a car. What tools do you reach for without thinking? The challenge is to take control of your learning. Make mini-projects of the different basic skills and practice repetitively. Here's a starter list: Open close, edit, save a Logic project Customize project basic parameters (tempo time, signature, etc) Make a track, split a track move a track, edit a track (MIDI and Audio) Edit MIDI and Audio (learn the MIDI and Audio editors) Make a basic mix in the mixer Practice these basic skills repetitively, adding tricks to your workflow as you go. Advanced skills like automation and bussing should wait till these skills are in place. Good luck!

Agree completely with the comments about interface and amplification problems. (upstream and downstream) The discussion of these upstream and downstream problems illustrates how completely the central problem is solved. On the interface question, digital lags analog in some ways. It leads analog in other ways. That leaves the colossal problem of amplification. Where are the visionary Donald Leslies of today? Please come forward. 🙏🙏

Thank you Governor. A great discussion. So passionate and thoughtful. 🙏 I agree with Mark. The digital sound design experience is often far more productive and creative. And software modulars are the pinnacle of this. For now. That's different from being able to perform a piece in an engaging way. An Expressive E Touche sits on a desktop. Despite being more expressive, it's never going to look as heroic (or phallic 😄) as the Moog IIIC's ribbon controller.

To me, Rick is the complete package. There is a "rock musician' slant to his channel admittedly. I'll learn more from Mattia Chiappa on orchestration or Ryan Leach on composition. But still Rick's channel is a nice place to land ... Passion? He's got it. Scars of experience? He's got those. Theory? Yup he's got that too. Besides, he's one of the nicest guys.

Yes, it's fun to see him play the front panel isn't it? You can almost imagine the conversations. "I want to stand over here and play this box, and then I want to stand over there and sing." Cherry's software (unlike the hardware) also allows you to additionally adjust pitch and decay for each sound, so there's more expression to be loaded on a slider if we want it. But that takes us to your main point. Too many riches ... 😅

👍 👍 I had to load individual CR78 samples for In the Air Tonight and Duchess. Great to have it all now in one convenient package thanks to Cherry Audio. Here's Phil Collins, tweaking the CR78 on stage for Duchess.

Ha Ha! I love it too! I was in that post pandemic funk too and it was light in a dark room.

Agree and I think it's worth pointing out that Rick's probably trying to keep up with the YouTube clickbait culture, which is getting more and more insane. I also follow a YouTube legal commentator who provides a very dry, modestly reasoned view of several legal topics. But his headlines are over-the-top just to keep up with everybody else. 🤦‍♂️

His niceness and idealism comes through even to people like me who've never had the privilege to have met him. Caught my son and daughter giddily singing "Man oh Man" at each other the other day. I didn't want to mention I was a fan. Would have ruined the moment. 😃

Thanks #4! I totally appreciate them and it's not like they are going to replace the Beatles or Paul Anka or Frank Sinatra for me. I see what they do as decoration of the basic song form we have come to love. For those who want to "locate" this music, here is my unhelpful over-generalization: Every western musician will typically pause to breathe every four measures or so. If you are Louis Cole, you'll have a drum fill or a break or some rhythm ornamentation to catch the breath. His approach reminds me of classic funk with additional borrowed vocabulary from Drum&Bass and Trap. But other genres do the same essential thing. If you are Liberace you decorate your pause with pianistic arpeggios. If you are Joe Satriani, a whammy bar dive bomb might be what you reach for. If you are John Williams cue those 32nd note woodwind runs. It's not that different. JW's father was a drummer, lol. Yes, I too love to hear them live. Louis Cole seems like a very nice guy but musically he reminds me of Buddy Rich. He's big enough to anchor a very large ensemble. Love it! Thanks dB. 🎶

I've known and admired Rai Thistlethwaite but this outfit is new to me. What's their story?

Two oscillator poly synth? Would be very cool. Please not a paraphonic.

Since time immemorial music was composed by the powerless and controlled by the powerful. The troubadour plays at the pleasure of the king. Occasionally the structures invert and we experience a twelfth night when a musician might be called king. Occasionally.

Welcome back poserp. Enjoy our discussions of FM and VAST and sound design very much. Here's to more. 🍻

I don't usually watch the whole Grammy show and I didn't this time. But thanks to the discussion of Joni's performance, both pro and con I found it on Youtube. Thank you! I found it to be transcendent and celebratory. It revealed a new facet of the song, where the plunk plunk of Jacob Collier's steady rhythm allows a large group to sway into it and the declarative poetry of Mitchell's words would hypnotize the heart. If I was to sing the song, I might do it like this rather than as the wistful personal confessional it used to be. It's a strong song and worthy of many interpretations. Enjoy the song as you would like to remember it of course. This version spoke to me of strength, frailty and the contrasting beauty of both sides.

It looks like laws vary by state. In some states you don’t get to decide. A licensed doctor or psychotherapist does. Others seem more open ended … https://usserviceanimals.org/blog/emotional-support-animal-laws/

Totally digging this physical modeling synth. Sounds organic when played polyphonically ...