This month I had a special treat. Instead of being sent a module to review, I was sent an entire system! Glasgow Make Some Noise was kind enough to loan me one of their Pure Modular synths to check out. The Pure Modular is an 84 HP Eurorack synthesizer in a rugged, wooden, lidded case. From left to right, it’s made up of an LFO, Noise Generator, Sequencer, Quantiser, two Oscillators, a Low Pass Filter, Envelope Generator, and VCA. This provides everything you need to get started putting together a wide range of sounds, but it also plays nicely with any other modular gear that you might have. Continue reading “Review: GMSN (Glasgow Make Some Noise) Pure Modular Synth”
Category: Synthesizers
Synthesis Essentials: All About Oscillators
Oscillators. The raw sound source that spawns the diverse range of tones and timbres spewed by all synthesizers. They come in different shapes and can be produced by a variety of techniques to make your imagination audible. If you consider the fact that all of the sounds we hear are vibrations in air, oscillators are creating synthetic vibrations that become sound once connected to a speaker. Instead of moving back and forth like a guitar string, the oscillator cycles between positive and negative voltages. Continue reading “Synthesis Essentials: All About Oscillators”
Review: Soulsby Synthesizers Oscitron
The Oscitron from Soulsby Synthesizers is a lot of things. It’s their first Eurorack synthesizer product. It’s an 8-bit digital oscillator with wavetable sampling, selectable audio engine resolution, multiple filter types, scale quantization, portamento, bit reduction and preset memory. Amazingly, they managed to squeeze all this functionality into just 14HP. This is achieved through the clever use of two knobs that also function as buttons. Continue reading “Review: Soulsby Synthesizers Oscitron”
Synthesis Essentials: Know Your Filters
The filter is arguably the element of a synthesizer that does the most to define its character. Words like squelchy, brassy, creamy, gritty and so on are often used to describe their impact, and reading those adjectives in this context probably made you think of a few specific synths. Perusing the various offerings in both the fixed architecture and eurorack markets presents a perplexing plethora of jargon. To make matters worse, many of these terms overlap, as manufacturers will often use different names to describe the same feature. So what makes all these filters different and how does that affect the way a synthesizer will sound? Continue reading “Synthesis Essentials: Know Your Filters”
Just in: Case!
For the first time in October, I had to take my gear on a plane. The logistics of transporting my equipment proved more difficult to solve than I anticipated. My eclectic collection of gear was pretty awkward to accommodate. Any bags or cases large enough to accommodate all of my equipment were too big to be guaranteed approval as carry on luggage. If I had to risk checking in my luggage, I wanted to make sure I had a case that would protect my synths and samplers. I looked at a number of cases from a range of companies but couldn’t find anything really appropriate. Finally I decided to give Dinosaur Cases a call. Doug listened to my requirements and gave me a rough quote, as well as a couple other recommendations to try. The more I looked around, the more I realized how reasonable his quote was. Many of the available products were just as expensive or even more. Having a custom case made specifically for my gear had some pretty attractive advantages too.
Earlier in the year I had been visualizing a stand for my Kraftzwerg so that it would sit closer to the MicroBrute and angled upwards for better ergonomics and access to the knobs. If I was paying to have a custom case made, maybe I could have my studio workflow improved too. I ran this by Doug, and while it would increase the cost it would certainly be possible, so I decided to go ahead with the case.
I’m quite happy with the results! The Dinos were able to make a tray with a hinged shelf that sits inside the lid of the case. When I get to the gig I just put the case on a stand or a table, open it up, plug in a few cables and I’m ready to go. If it sits too low I can use the case as a platform and save myself a lot of back ache from hunching over my equipment. In the studio it sits nicely on my desk and the raised back items are more accessible. Plus it looks really professional and dare I say sexy.
SUBLIME SOUND 