Subsekt's favourite analog stuff: synths drum machines, etc.

[Tobs]

So we've got one thread for plug-ins, let's have it for analog stuff, maybe it'll be useful for people that are thinking about buying something.

I've got the Elektron's machinedrum UW (technically not analog, but i'm gonna include it)



I bought it like 2 months ago, but because of school i wasn't really having enough time to make music at all. but now i'm writing again, but only using the machinedrum (no computer) and it's just amazing.

it's like using an instrument really. you have to learn how to tame the beast, and it's not an immediate thing. but an it's intuitive thing, and you can quickly get some nice results from it (i still haven't completely tamed but I've already written a couple of tracks with it).

Before, using the computer, i was felling kinda boring, i had to "think"... now i just jam and then, if it sounds OK, i arrange & mix it (inside the machinedrum), and then i record LIVE, turning knobs and stuff (using the song mode for structure), only using the computer as a recorder.

it's just such a cool machine, and i still haven't used any kind of external samples, only using its sound design capacities and the samples that came with the machine.

i can imagine that when i start using it with the computer and external samples, it's gonna the best of both worlds.

[Mslwte]

I love the machine drum. I've got the standard mk1 version and its the best thing in my studio. I've considered many times about upgrading to the uv version but always talked myself out of it because of financial reasons, but maybe one day! It's the best alternative to 909 sounds.

[disparate]

I've got the Machinedrum too. Analogue it certainly ain't, but it's an interesting bit of kit for sure. I have a weird love/hate relationship with it, sometimes I just can't get the sounds I want out of it but other times I have great fun with it. I've had it for a few years but I guess it's fair to say I haven't mastered it yet. I'm thinking of complementing it with a sampler or something analogue at some point.

[Lost to the Void]

I`m looking to get a MD to add to my live PA.

[xonetacular]

I had a machinedrum uw+ but couldn't get it to sync to ableton for shit with able's terrible midi clock no matter what I did so I sold it out of frustration. It was definitely cool though the learning curve was a bit steep.


Pretty much my only hardware now is a eurorack setup. When I expand some more soon I'm going to get a bunch of the tiptop 808/909 modules and the new drum sequencer plus I'm building some modules geared towards strange percussive noises.

[disparate]

I had a machinedrum uw+ but couldn't get it to sync to ableton for shit with able's terrible midi clock no matter what I did so I sold it out of frustration. It was definitely cool though the learning curve was a bit steep.

I managed to get mine to play nice using Ableton as master and the MD as slave. It took a while though.

[rein]

the machinedrum sounds about as digital as it gets.... but the sequencer and parameter locks are very nice on it. i never liked the sound of it so passed it...

after selling a lot of stuff i don't use much in the studio i now have
roland sh101 (classic, very capable synth with an enormous sweet spot)
roland tr606 (comes in handy to sequence the sh101, and love the silky hihats on it, kick drum with the right processing is awesome)
vermona drm1 mk3 (great drum sounds, kind of big learning curve but if you get to know it the sounds it can produce are sick)
lots of effect; tube distortion, analog delays and reverb (love the old dynacord stuff), compressors (old dbx for drums is fantastic), then a couple of mixers, a yamaha rm800 which has a really nice sound for the price, and a old tascam m208 (excellent for distorting stuff by overdriving it)... i've got some mixers to bring out for special needs, including a crappy 70s novanex... but it really makes everything you send in to it sound super analog when using the preamps...

i love to work with gear but the rule for me is if i don't use it enough i sell it... more compact setup means learning every machine from the inside out and i want to work as fast as possible so..

[osha]

cheap shit is my shit, mfb drum, dx21 and electribe esx. love them all for different reasons.

[strawMan]

I have an ESX and a Tetra - both sound excellent for different reasons. The Korg for the noisy grainy character it imparts, and the Tetra for it's "hifi" sound. It's hard to describe, but in comparing it to a Juno 106 and a Nord G2, it came across as a higher fidelity.
Possible a trait of DCO synths - haven't had too much experience with hardware, but in comparison with those, I thought it shone.

[Mslwte]

I'm finding it really hard to resist the ms20 mini. Does anyone here have one?

[rasz]

Arturia Minibrute, Sherman Filterbank 2, Poly 800, and a mackie vlz1204 just for saturation/overdrive, everything goes into Live trough a motu ultralite mk3. I've had al the korg electribes but sadley sold them. I only regret selling the ESX as it was a nasty little monster. And im quite fond of nasty little monsters.

[Hades]

I've got too much analog gear here, so...

1) Matrix 1000 + access programmer :
Underestimated synth. Has that beautiful warm oberheim sound but is still fairly affordable. I got the access programmer for it, so that makes it a easier to tweak (otherwise it's only possible with a software editor), but you can use a BCR for it as well, or probably even a tablet with the right app nowadays.
Can be used for anything : pads, basses, leads, SFX,...

2) Juno 60 :
A classic. Punchy yet very warm, extremely easy to program since it's all right there in front of you. Comes with a simple arpeggiator (106 doesn't have the arp onboard). Whoever says DCO can't sound as warm as real VCO has never heard a Juno 60 (or 106). Also looks perfect : colourful, wood side-panels, such an old early 80's sci-fi look. I love it.
The Juno can be used for just about anything : fantastic basses, leads, beautiful pads, and it's also good for drum sounds.
If anyone is still looking for one of these, try finding an HS-60, it's the same synth like a 106, but with built-in speakers. Looks a lot uglier, but most people don't know it's a 106 in a different disguise, so you might find it for a far better price.

3) SH-101 :
I don't really need to say anything about this one that you guys don't know yet, right ? It's such a limited synth if you look at the specs, and yet it can make quite a few different sounds. Obviously, it's great for that typical techno lead sound (love it love it love it !!!), but if you have one of these, check out the sound synthesis examples at the end of the manual. They will show you lots of new ways to use the limited options to come up with stuff you would have never thought to be possible.
Always sounds better with some EQ though. I'll get mine modded somewhere in the future. Circuitbenders offers a real cheap mod for it, and the resonance broke down on mine, except for the self resonance strangily enough, I guess it's the slider that's not functioning properly anymore.

4) TB-303 :
Another classic that needs no introduction. I always planned on getting a 303 clone (acidlab bassline to be precise). I'm glad I didn't and got the original. It's only good for a few things, but my god, there's no synth that does those things better. It's always a pleasure to turn on the 303 and run it through delay, distortion,...
Another one that sounds instantly better when EQ'd a bit.
Gonna get the devilfish mod done on mine some day. But it's an expensive mod, and it means I gotta ship mine to Australia, so that won't be anytime soon.

5) Xbase888 :
Raw analog drum computer with lots of knobs and a great sound. Who wouldn't like that ? Excellent for kicks, snares, hi-hats. I don't use only this for drums, not at all, but it's just another great unit for instant fun. Usually I always have it turned on so I can turn to it for jamming purposes. Together with a 303 or 101 it's always fun.

6) Andromeda :
Was on my list for years, and got this one when I found out they stopped making them. One week later word got on the net and prices for this unit almost doubled on the 2nd hand market. So that was definitely the best buy I ever did.
It's technically an analog synthgeek's dream : 16 voices with 2 oscillators + sub oscillator per voice. Wonderful 2-pole and 4-pole filters that you can use parallel or serial. Onboard arp + step sequencer. Very flexible 7-stage envelopes (ADDSRR) with loopable parts and different slopes (I love that feature, more synths should have it, the slopes can do so much for the attack and decay of your sounds !!). Filter feedback, Ring modulation, nice onboard digital FX plus seperate analog distortion, external Filter input, Hard and Soft Sync, 3LFO's plus seperate Sample & Hold,... Plus a highly flexible modulation matrix (71 sources and 92 destinations !!!), a great ribbon controller you can even split in 2 if you want to. And you can dial in sines (and/or ring mod) after the filter, so you can bring back pure fundamentals even if you have a heavily filtered sound, very useful feature.
And you can use it for anything, absolutely anything : big basses, beautiful leads, fantastic pads, analog drum sounds, SFX,...
There's only a few downsides : you need to be aware that you gotta keep the levels of the oscillators down or they start distorting too fast. This means that the volume of all oscillators together is best kept at 50 in total. This doesn't mean at all that it's a weak sounding synth, far from it, it just means you gotta remember that when programming your own sounds. And if you want very hard distorting stuff, you know where to look easily.
Plus it won't sound like a Moog if that's what you're after. But then the solution is simple, just get an overpriced Moog with maybe only 20% of the options you have on the Andromeda.
I absolutely love this synth. Every single time I turn it on I come up with new sounds. And all the options just keep you interested forever. Plus you sometimes even forget how much beautiful stuff you can get with just using simple parameter settings. It can be overwhelming for some people though, with all the buttons and knobs. I actually got this synth from a guy who sold it to get a Juno 60.
Honestly, to each his own, and I love my Juno 60 as well, but that's just funny as hell if you think of it.
If it dies some day, I will be VERY unhappy, and just look for another one instantly.
No doubt by far my favourite piece in the studio !!

7) Filter stuff, like my Sherman Filterbank 2 (stereo) + Restyler, and the analog filter on my Biscuit. The Filterbank and me still gotta become real friends, but that's only cause I didn't have enough time to spend with it yet. The filterbank to me also feels a lot more like a distortion tool than a normal filter.
The analog filter at the end of my Biscuit is simply great because it works perfectly together with the bitcrusher. You can get really nasty distortion going on, and you can then soften it just a little with the analog filter at the end of the signal flow. Just perfect !

I should mention that there's an Xpander on its way. I'm picking it up on sunday.
Another one that was on my list for years, but I never actively looked for one, untill by coincidence I came across 2 in good shape from good sellers. I tested it out for about 3 hours just before I left on holiday, and I was absolutely blown away by it ! Huge sound, very VERY warm and typically oberheim. Even though it's a very deep synth, it's dead easy to program. I was constantly making great sounds with this thing in just minutes.
And with 15 filters, 5 envelopes (that can be as long as 30 minutes if you want to !!), 5 LFO's per voice, basic FM, and a very flexible modulation matrix, I just know I'm gonna be set for years and years and years...
Whether you want endless analog ambient bliss pads/textures, or just massive brutal basses or leads, this baby can do it all.
I can't wait to run it through my own setup, cause when I tried it, it was on some miserable old little amp that got blown way by the massive sound constantly (which had its own romantic shine to it in a way though).


I like digital synths as well though

[rasz]

7) Filter stuff, like my Sherman Filterbank 2 (stereo) + Restyler, and the analog filter on my Biscuit. The Filterbank and me still gotta become real friends, but that's only cause I didn't have enough time to spend with it yet. The filterbank to me also feels a lot more like a distortion tool than a normal filter.
The analog filter at the end of my Biscuit is simply great because it works perfectly together with the bitcrusher. You can get really nasty distortion going on, and you can then soften it just a little with the analog filter at the end of the signal flow. Just perfect !,

try triggering the Filterbank it with midi instead of audio and it becomes a real filter. The input is the trickiest part of the whole filter.The fun just starts when you start playing with the midi aspect of it then you can get rid of the overdrive part and it starts behaving like a real synth filter.

[Mslwte]

I've never played with the midi on the filterbank. Bit I never bought it for the filter anyway. But I will have to investigate it's a beast a distortion though.

[Hades]

try triggering the Filterbank it with midi instead of audio and it becomes a real filter. The input is the trickiest part of the whole filter.The fun just starts when you start playing with the midi aspect of it then you can get rid of the overdrive part and it starts behaving like a real synth filter.

I'm not sure I follow you.
If there's nothing connected to Trigger ADSR or Trigger AR, or hell, just nothing connected except for signal in and out 1 and/or main out,
and then you use a MIDI signal to trigger it (whatever parameter you want/can) instead ?
I can see from a quick glance on the manual (which I ony read up till page 15 or so uptill now) that you can do a lot via MIDI (great manual as well, btw !!!),
but why would the MIDI get rid of the overdrive part ?
Or is there something I'm missing ?

[rasz]

Normally the filter gate only opens if you reach the input threshold, but by triggering the gate with midi you can open the filter even with a low input volume hence less distortion.

to do this you need to block the audio AR, and ADSR

[Hades]

a-ha !
that makes sense, thank you.
did you get that from somewhere in the manual ?
I'm having a look now, and from what I can tell, you mean you gotta send a C#4 and D#4 note message to block audio trigger ADSR and audio trigger AR,
but do you need to send other MIDI messages as trigger to open the filter, or is closing the AR and ADSR enough to then just use it with lower volume inputs ?

[Hades]

wait a second, think I just found my answer.
Right underneath on the same page they talk about other MIDI notes to send out "normal trigger ADSR and normal trigger AR".
So basically, it's not enough to send out just a block signal for the audio trigger, you need to also send out a MIDI note to normally trigger the AR and ADSR.
Or can you use it without the AR and ADSR as well ?

Hell, they even talk about "trigger ADSR with speeded-up attack and release".
Sounds great. Gotta find me some time next week to try all that out.

[rasz]

Exactly. I'm at work so sorry for my short explanation. But that's exactly how it works! I just made some stickers on my midi keyboard to remind me what does what. But using the FB with midi triggering really opens op a whole new realm of sounds which are impossible to archive with audio triggering. You can even do "normal" filtersweeps. I've heard allot of people complain about the filterbank being to harsch or rough etc. But its because they're over-driving the filter all the time and never took the time to go trough the manual!

Have fun.

[Hades]

I'll ask Herman about it some day after I fiddled with it for a while.
I went picking up my units (FB and Restyler) at his home, and Herman is really one of the nicest nutty professor types you can imagine. Kind of like Christopher Lloyd in "Back To The Future", but a way more chilled out version.
He gave me a brief demonstration of the FB in his working space (which was a massive mess), but I had very little time, plus the unit was too new for me to remember much of it now.
There's usually a well-thought out reason for any kind of parameter on the FB, so I'm curious to know what he envisioned all this for.