SynthLog

This is a log of a project I began in earnest in November, 2017. I make lots of synthesizer gadgets and software, but I don't make much music, not seriously. I'm going to try to change that: this log will document my roughly weekly experiments and attempts at making music from scratch, using my own devices and patches. Plus some other notes on music, music devices, and research. I will also post the songs here plus all the sources necessary to reproduce them. And maybe some other entries. Email comments are always welcome.

15

Date
December 6, 2024
Song
15.mp3
Sources
15.sources.zip
Components
  • AE Modular synthesizer rack shown as configured here, notably including three GRAINS modules and a 555 VCO pushed through a Wavefolder.
  • Seq hierarchical and modular music sequencer
Notes
This song was written for the Aetherwaves Volume 6 compilation album for Musicians Without Borders. My recording here isn't the same as the one professionally mastered for the album. The requirements for the album were that the entire song be performed using an AE Modular synthesizer. This is also a test song for Seq.
Criticism
Much too muddy. Too reverb and the decays are way too long. The bassline's sound generation procedure causes it to sound out of tune, particularly flat, in many places; it'd have been better if I had pitched it up a bit. Also I had significant difficulty with the sound used for the melody, which was my FM synthesis firmware on GRAINS (DX). It would send out a trigger for a new note and change pitch, but the envelope module would be too slow to respond promptly in controlling the VCA, resulting in yucky sounds.

14

Date
November 9, 2024
Song
14.mp3
Sources
14.sources.zip
Components
  • Flow modular additive software synthesizer
  • Seq hierarchical and modular music sequencer
Notes
This is a test song for Seq, designed to show off modularity in music. I may rewrite it to output to the AE modular synthesizer: stay tuned. The song is unusual: it has a 13/8 part overlaid on top of a 4/4 part, making for a very unusual, kind of sloppy or loose rhythm.
Criticism
Obviously it's not a particularly complex song, and the second half is just a repeat and elaboration of the first half.

13

Date
November 9, 2024
Song
13.mp3
Sources
Coming
Components
  • AE Modular synthesizer rack shown as configured here, notably including three GRAINS modules, a 555 VCO pushed through a Wavefolder, and a PikoCore, among others.
  • Polyend Tracker handling sequencing
Notes
The goal was to produce a song which didn't sound at all like it came from a modular synthesizer, so it's got a lot of looseness and non-quantized playing on purpose. This is another attempt to dogfood MIDI control in a modular synthesizer. The GRAINS modules are running two instances of y BOOKER-M firmware and one copy of my MJQ firmware, which allows me to produce at least four-note polyphony (plus the 555). This time I have MIDI control over the notes in the GRAINS modules, which lets me put each of them on a separate channel. The drum sample is courtesy of Josh Brandt (solipsistnation).
Criticism
It's far from an amazing song. I don't have much control over the drum sample because the Pikocore is a difficult and weird module. It makes it hard to do breaks or variations on patterns. The song is poorly mixed and has limited effects because I'm constrained to do absolutely everything from within the modular synthesizer itself. And of course the instrument choice is weird, but I have what's available to me.

12

Date
March 23, 2024
Song
12.mp3
Sources
Coming
Components
  • AE Modular synthesizer rack shown as configured here, notably including three GRAINS modules, two MCO/1 modules, and many others.
  • Polyend Tracker handling sequencing
Notes
I have an outstanding project involving MIDI inside a modular synthesizer, and so my goal here was to dogfood it. To this end I have MIDI controlling three GRAINS modules two MCO/1 modules, two MCC/4 modules, a MTR module, and a MASTER I/O, in turn controlling a trigger step sequencer, a VCO, a DRUMKIT 010, and a KICK, all getting routed through various filters and stuff to produce the song.
Criticism
The song is obviously too heavy in bass and too muddy. The tinkly instrument (my DROPLETS firmware for GRAINS) is an octave too low, as is the Karplus-Strong string instrument (my PLUCK firmware for GRAINS). PLUCK also has difficulty maintaining pitch.

11

Date
February 24, 2020
Song
11a.mp3 and (louder bass) 11b.mp3
Sources
11.sources.zip
Components
  • Roland D-110: Custom Patch
  • Yamaha TX81Z and Yamaha TQ5: Custom Patch
  • Yamaha TG33: Custom Patch
  • Synthstrom Deluge: Drum sequence using 808 presets
Notes
I had recently built patch editors for several synthesizers, and before putting those machines up for sale I decided to build a song for them. The custom patches are all evolved using Edisyn's hillcliber. The Deluge is on loan from a friend. I made two versions of the song, one with louder bass, because in my car the bass is too loud and boomy, while elsewhere it's best louder. The drum changes were made live.
Criticism
The bass was a problem that I could not easily solve. The song is in mono. And there are several places in the song where I hit a major second as an interval; I thought it sounded cool but now I think it sounds grating. And of course the drum sequence is cheesy.

10

Date
August 21, 2019
Song
10.mp3
Sources
10.sources.zip
Components
  • Flow patches: Modified versions of OctaveChime, Pizzicato, LowDrone, Plop, Effervescence, and some custom patches.
Notes
This is the third in the testing triumverate for Flow. It takes up 18 voices. It was originally supposed to sound like a horror soundtrack (the Exorcist etc.) but obviously mutated from there.
Criticism

The drop, so to speak, is sudden with no anticipatory cues. The sounds are too thin and high-pitched. The instruments aren't the right choices (I was limited in my options as I was just selecting from remaining Flow patches I'd not yet used). I was hoping that Effervescence would be impressive but it just sounds thin.

9

Date
August 15, 2019
Song
9.mp3
Sources
9.sources.zip
Components
  • Flow patches: modified versions of Snip, Detuned Tom, Shimmer Bells, Mesmerize, Zephyr, and Kotobell
Notes
This is another test of Flow, and pushes my laptop to its limit. It takes up about 20 voices. It's not a complicated song and is meant more as a stress test than a demonstration of musical prowess. It was challenging getting this song to render without a glitch.
Criticism

The song is muddied and the instruments aren't well mixed. Except for Kotobell, many of the sounds are ones which could be made on an ordinary subtractive synthesizer and so don't show off Flow's unique properties (though those tend to the weird).

8

Date
August 15, 2019
Song
8.mp3
Sources
8.sources.zip
Components
  • Flow patches: modified versions of Kick, High Hat, Click, Peaceful Planet, Vigor, Droid, and Percolation, plus two custom patches.
Notes
This ridiculous bit of '80s synthwave EDM, or whatever you want to call it, is built using only Flow and Ableton. The patch has a polyphony of 16 and is meant to stress-test Flow's multitimbral code. It took quite a while to build this song -- I had to first write all of Flow, then all the modules in it, then write patches for it, then convert Flow to a multitimbral synth. Listen for the little teeny joke placed in the middle of the song.
Criticism

The song obviously has no chord progressions to speak of. It's not easy to build a song like this given the limited set of patches I have for Flow at the present time.

7

Date
July 10, 2018
Song
7.mp3
Sources
7.sources.zip
Components
  • Kawai K4: Custom Patch
  • Wavestation SR: Custom Performance, Patch, and Wave Sequence
  • Prophet '08 PE: Custom Patch
Notes
This lullaby is an attempt to use a custom wave sequence from the SR. It's the drone you hear in the background. The wave sequence is actually a single note rather than an arpeggiation. The Prophet patch is the first patch I've programmed on the Prophet. You'll note that the song ends in a different key than it began.
Criticism

This song sounds horrible on the Mac's speakers. The drone sounds like it's being run through a flanger. But it sounds great in headphones. Frustrating. :-( It's muddy and weird, but I didn't have much time to develop it.

6

Date
June 7, 2018
Song
6.mp3
Sources
6.sources.zip
Components
  • Kawai K4: Custom Patch
  • Kawai K4: Custom Drum Patch
  • Kawai K5m: Custom Patch
  • Wavestation SR: Custom Patch
  • Yamaha TX216 (x2): Custom Patch
  • Oberheim Matrix 1000: Patch #433
  • Gizmo: Custom Step Sequence. Gizmo is playing the Oberheim Matrix 1000.
Notes
This is an attempt to use Edisyn's hillclimber to explore and produce a variety of custom patches, and then find some way to use them all in one song. I almost did it: the Matrix 1000 uses a standard patch, though I had a nice custom one completed. All other patches are produced through evolutionary exploration. All the synthesizers except for the Matrix 1000 are being played by Ableton: the Matrix 1000 arpeggio is being played by Gizmo's arpeggiator, and I am changing Gizmo's note gate length and the Matrix 1000's VCF cutoff frequency and resonance in real time. I thought I'd also try my hand at an EDM-ish thing, with a repeating melody and constant drumbeat.
Criticism

It's still a muddy, weird song with instruments that don't hang together very well. The TX216's bass is too pronounced and things don't sit well. Sounds terrible on a laptop speakers, but much better in other contexts.

And I'm not impressed with the K5m. It's noisy and very difficult to code, even with my Edisyn facilities.

5

Date
March 30, 2018
Song
5.mp3
Sources
5.sources.zip
Components
  • Blofeld: Custom Patch (SquarishLead)
  • Gizmo: Custom Step Sequence. Gizmo is playing:
    • (Channel 1) Oberheim Matrix 1000, patch 346
    • (Channel 2) Yamaha TX81Z, patch "DigiAnnie"
    • (Channel 3) Kawai K4, patch "Old Suitcase"
    • (Channel 4) Korg SG Rack, patch "SynthFlute"
    • (Channel 5) Kawai K5, patch "vibraphon"
    • (Channel 6) Kawai K4, patch "Voices"
    • (Channel 7) Korg Wavestation SR, patch "Star Bell Piano" (8:14)
    • (Channel 8) Korg Microsampler, patch "E PIANO" (ROM 15)
Notes
This is an experimental song used to stress-test Gizmo's step sequencer in "Performance Mode". The lead is being played live, along with live manipulation of Gizmo's playing of the step sequence. Among other things, Performance Mode lets me selectively mute/unmute tracks for one iteration or permanently, and also lets me transpose tracks in the sequence by pressing a new key. That's what I am doing: I'm playing the lead on one keyboard while transposing Gizmo on the other keyboard, plus muting and unmuting various tracks. It took a lot of takes.
Criticism

It proved very difficult to come up with a lead sound that would work, and I'm far from satisfied with the one I settled on. The problem is that the sound needs to work both at a high register and a low register, and not overpower the other sounds. Some leads worked okay through various speakers (I tested in headphones, NS-10Ms, Elacs, and my car stereo), but sounded very boomy or overly reverberant/resonant in the lower register, or too electric and harsh in the higher register. Frustrating.

The reverb is also overdone.

This is basically every synth I own, and finding places to fit them in the mix was hard. I note that the Voices patch desperately needs to have some release and softer attack, and it does not, so it sounds cheesy.

4

Date
January 1, 2018
Song
4.mp3
Sources
4.sources.zip
Components
  • Blofeld: Factory Patch (InYourRoom, A118)
  • Oberheim: Custom Patch (modified version of some factory patch, I forgot which)
  • SG-Rack: Factory Patch (Classic, C01)
  • TX81Z: Factory Patch (Celeste, A30)
  • Kawai K4: Drum Kit
  • Microsampler: Custom Samples
  • MX200: Large Room Reverb
Notes
This song borrows a theme from a song I made way back when I was a teenager, interspersed with a modified blues. So of course it's in 7/8. It took a very long time to write due to holidays etc. I'm hoping that my once-a-month songs will get back to once-a-week now that Thanksgiving and Christmas are done.

This is the first song I've made with my TX81Z, which I've recently acquired. I found it very hard to build or find an Oberheim or Blofeld sound which would work with this song -- they're just too synthesizer-like, lots of fat leads and pads, not what I need.

In case you can't understand them, the samples are of my son Matteo saying "I love you robot", "That's a happy robot", and "Bye bye, robot!" I recorded them last year in Rome.

I wound up using almost entirely factory patches on this song.

Criticism

Improvising over 7/8 is extremely hard. I'm no longer a strong player and it really shows. My improv is far from precise.

I wanted a more elaborate chord set than the modified blues, but wound up abandoning it and I think it shows.

It's not easy to put this much stuff in the mix and have it not interfere. I don't think I necessarily succeeded.

3

Date
December 9, 2017
Song
3.mp3
Sources
3.sources.zip
Components
  • Blofeld: Custom multi patch (Hello World)
  • Blofeld: Custom single patch (Nick's OB6)
  • Blofeld: Custom single patch (FM Chime 2)
  • Waldorf Microwave XT: Custom single patch (XTDronePad)
  • MX200: heavy arena reverb and ambience effect
Notes
This song is a live take with no sequencing or other assistance. It involved three different sounds each played on a different keyboard. Furthermore, the drone pad sound required both hands. So that's four hand's worth of music played with two hands. It was a bit challenging. I made no attempt to follow any time signature or even be consistent in chord sequence.

The XT drone pad involved a variety of extended-time wave envelope modulation of the wave index, FM, ringmod, filter cutoff, and detune. I don't know if it was successful but it was fun. Next time I'll use Gizmo's 8-stage wave envelope on the Blofeld and see how that goes.

The Nick's OB6 patch is so named because it was originally a replication of a beautiful patch by Nick Batt at the beginning of his SonicState review of the OB-6. Praise be to PWM.

Criticism
There's an obvious error in the back half of the song when playing the Nick's OB6 patch chords. It's live, that's the way it goes I guess.

The drone is too heavy-handed and too ponderous.

The chords are simplistic.

Sounds terrible on my Mac's speakers, as usual. Everything distorts. Sounds great on headphones.

I am falling in the rut of playing lead A, then lead B, then both of them together.

The Microwave II/XT/XTk's wavetable modulation is stepped. I dislike that. I think the Blofeld's wavetable modulation is much better. And there's no way to fade out a chord and fade in a new one. Careful use of the sustain pedal helped. BTW, I am selling my beautiful XT Shadow. If you're interested, contact me.

2

Date
December 3, 2017
Song
2.mp3
Sources
2.sources.zip
Components
  • Blofeld: Custom patch (FinalCountdownSL)
  • Korg SG-Rack: Factory Patch (Funkamatic)
  • Matrix 1000: Custom patch
  • Microsampler: Selection of TR-808 samples (originally from here)
  • MX200: light reverb
Notes
An excercise in arpeggiation using Gizmo. There are two Gizmo-derived arp sounds in the song. The continuous background arp (the SG-Rack) uses Gizmo's custom arp facility with a variety of chords. Interestingly, the drum kit is also an arpeggiation! The Microsampler assigns one drum to each of 35 keys: I'm playing 7-note chords on those keys, and just using Gizmo's "Up" arpeggiation. There is also a slow arpeggiation with a bell-like sound played by the Matrix 1000, but that's being played by hand -- also it sounds FM but it's not. The Blofeld provides the trumpet-like synth lead.

The "drum arpeggiation" allowed me to try different drum sequences by just playing different chords, which I think is an interesting approach. You'll hear the drum kit constantly changing throughout the song.

I purposely didn't quantize or otherwise clean up the lead, so it sounds sloppy. I wanted to see if that would sound more humane or just messy. I think the jury's still out on that.

Yes, it's in 7/8.

Criticism
I tried to randomize the drum arpeggios but I didn't do a good job. It sounds somewhat repetitive: notably every eight bars it seems to almost disappear as particular arpeggio is masked by the SG-Rack arpeggio.

Bass isn't strong enough. I was worried the kick drum was too boomy and toned it down but on listening even on my phone via headphones you can barely hear it. Indeed the whole drum kit should have been brought more to the fore. And as usual, on the Mac speakers it sounds terrible, no bass at all.

I didn't pan the instruments enough. It sounds mono. And I'm still no good on EQ.

It's just a variant on AABA and needs more something.

The song is too hissy. I'm still playing through my mixer and doing one single recording, rather than doing mixing and recording in the box. But I may have to abandon that [or get a better mixer].

The lead is not the right choice. It needs to be something different. (And yes, FinalCountdownSL refers to my original attempt in building that sound: I wanted to replicate the sound in The Final Countdown as an exercise).

There's a short passage where I play the same sequence as in Song 1. Must not fall into a rut.

1

Date
November 22, 2017
Song
1.mp3
Sources
1.sources.zip
Components
  • Blofeld: Custom patch (a tweaked version of I Wuv You Robot)
  • Kawai K4: Factory patch ("Voices")
  • Matrix 1000: Custom patch, derived from #455.
  • MX200: Chorus and Arena Reverb
Notes
This is my first attempt to make a song with my full complement of synthesizer equipment. It's a Hello, World meant to test the system and to see if I could actually make something with it. It took me the better part of a day. I decided to take a second stab at I Wuv You Robot, this time properly clocked.

This is my first real song on Ableton. And wow, Ableton 9 has a terrible interface, with obscure and counterintuitive icons and obtuse and arbitrary hidden locations for doing things. I spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out why Ableton would suddenly speed up and then slow down: it turns out somehow a bit of the tempo envelope, hidden from view, had been modified. I didn't know it even existed. And it also doesn't help that Ableton, in 2017, can't do NRPN. How did this thing become so popular?

My trusty MX-8R mixer is starting to act up. At some point I will have to replace it. I like the Samson SM-10, plus it'd give me a free rack space, but it doesn't have faders, which I really like. I don't like the Behringer RX1602 or 1202FX.

I think I will sell my Preen FM2. Anyone interested? It's in pristine condition.

I bought a used Lexicon MX200 to replace my dead Microverb-III. I don't know about the MX200. Impulse sounds will cause the reverb to emit very dark, growly echos, and there's no way to brighten it. And Lexicon won't give me the sysex document, forcing me to reverse engineer it. Was cheap though.

Criticism
  • I struggled with making this song sound good on different speakers. Notably in my car the lead sounds muddy and the voices are almost inaudible.
  • I made errors in quantization; certain lead notes come in too early.
  • The Blofeld LFO occasionally gets a bit out of phase with Ableton's clock. Not on the recording though.
  • The repeated phrases in the song do not introduce anything new.
  • The phrases are too long and boring. During the voices section we need another counterpoint melody.
  • The effects are too heavy-handed. I'm no good at this yet.
  • I basically don't know how to do EQ right (or at all).
  • Voices aren't quantized. I thought that would sound organic but it just sounds bad.

0

Date
March 29, 2017
Song
0.mp3
Sources
0.source.zip
Alternate Title
I Wuv You Robot
Components
  • Blofeld: Custom patch
Notes
While in Rome I picked up a Blofeld and built a few patches. My favorite was I Wuv You Robot, named after this wonderful video. To test it, I threw together this test song (with the same name) using the Blofeld and a Microsampler, which is all I had. I then posted it to SoundCloud to great acclaim. Okay, I got like 4 followers. :-) Never had posted a song before. Of course, SoundCloud might be closing down now.

The patch is unusual. It's using an Sample and Hold LFO, but it's not connected to the note pitch to make the little blips and bleeps. Rather, it's modulating the index in the Robotic wavetable. I'm proud of it.

Criticism
The patch isn't clock-synchronized, and I had a hard time identifying when the beats should start given the bleeps and blips. So it's quite irregular in time.



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