Getting away from the Mac/PC to make music is a joy. In the last year or so I’ve been making gear purchases with the goal of writing electronic music ‘live’, with the computer doing nothing except acting as a glorified tape recorder. The whole rig is based around a Sequentix P3 sequencer which provides a gloriously stable midi clock as well as midi sequences. The nice thing about the P3 is it can do generative sequencing in quite a controlled manner, which suits my repetitive yet evolving music style.

My various synths and effect boxes are hooked up to a Soundtracs Topaz 24 track mixer, which allows me to do dub-style ‘playing the mixer’, riding faders and jamming with effects sends, feedback loops etc. The cast list is pretty much this:

- Sequentix P3
- Suzuki SX-500 (poly analog)
- Kurzweil PC3
- Moog Little Phatty
- Dave Smith Evolver
- Eurorack Modular
- Korg ER-1
- Kurzweil Mangler
- Eventide TimeFactor
- Eventide Space
- hand built dual 1176 compressor clone
- Golden Age Pre-73 Mic pre-amp

The video is really my first attempt at using all this together and performing a song live. It uses pretty much everything on the list above except the Kurzweil PC3 and the Evolver. The modular is doing the melody, the ER1 is on drums (going through the Pre-73 and the 1176 to give it some balls), the SX500 is doing chords and the Moog I play live. The Eventide Space is doing all the reverb work. I used Presonus’s Studio One 2 to record everything to separate audio tracks and then did some basic mix tweaking. No additional effects were used. I’m new to Studio One and I’m impressed so far, I haven’t had to look at the manual once, which means they got it right. It also feels solid and hasn’t crashed once.

This experiment was proof of concept really, I have a Dave Smith Tempest on the way which will make drum performances a lot more fun and dynamic. I also need to use Parts on the Sequentix more in order to make more structured changes in the song progression. A better camera angle might not go amiss either.

Expect more live jams soon :)

A few weeks ago a friend gave me this curious looking box. A Suzuki synthesizer? Surely not.

A google search turned up very little, except a page at Hollow Sun. Essentially the Suzuki SX500 is a rebadged Siel EX80 which in turn was a copy of the Korg EX800.

Here’s what we know. There are two DCOs offering sawtooth and square waveforms (the square waveform can mix up to 4 octaves of square waves together). There is an analogue 24db Low Pass Filter (SSM Filter IC). Two amp envelopes (yes two!), filter envelope, two LFOs (hardwired to osc pitch and filter frequency), chorus effect and a basic record/playback sequencer.

Unfortunately it’s not a true polyphonic synth. It’s paraphonic, meaning that there is only one filter and amp for all 8 voices (actually there are two amps for a slightly odd ‘double’ mode which gives 2 x 4 voices with an interval setting for detuning the 2nd set of voices).

Here’s a quick demo I knocked up. It’s raw SX500 except for some delay (even the best analogue synths can sound a bit lifeless without effects). I think it sounds rather fine!

Suzuki SX500 / Siel EX80 Demo by Rozzer

Apparently when the unit was shipped, the SSM filter chip was tweaked to tame its resonance. Presumably the engineers believed that extreme resonance settings weren’t good for realistic sounds, which is clearly what this was aimed at (check out the list of preset patches printed on the top of the unit). Luckily there is a pot which can be tweaked inside which will restore the SSM chip to it’s screaming former glory. More details on the pot tweak here.

One of the nice aspects of the unit is that every parameter is controllable via midi cc#. This gives a good opportunity for control via your DAW. I knocked up a controller for Ableton Max For Live, which if nothing else, should give you a good idea of all the parameter the synth has to offer. Download the SX500 / ES80 controller.

Overall the SX500 / EX80 is far from perfect. The envelopes are really slow, the oscillators are limited in waveforms, it’s not truly polyphonic and some of the features are esoteric by todays standards but it has a definite charm. I think if you can find one, they can be had for very reasonable prices. Definitely worth a punt.

Ok, it been a few weeks so I feel I can safely express my opinion on the Phatty without coming across like it’s the best thing on the planet five minutes after unboxing it (a common phenomenon of synth forums).

Being of a generally positive persuasion, I’ll start with my likes:

The interface
This is probably the LP’s greatest achievement. Despite having only 4 knobs, you don’t feel like you are playing with a compromised set of controls. Just about any parameter can be accessed with a push button, which changes the focus of the knob above it. The knobs are large and feel smooth although they do wobble a bit more than I had expected.
A nice touch is that the four parameters which have focus on the knobs are saved with the preset, so you can setup appropriate performance parameters per preset.

The Envelopes
So many synths have unmusical envelopes. They’re either slow or too linear. Bob Moog seemed to understand the importance of a good envelope – tight and snappy when they need to be.

The Sound
OK, this is a given. You buy a Moog, you get the Moog sound. I was pleasantly surprised by how grungy the sound can get by using the Filter’s overdrive. Having played with a Moog Voyager a few times, the Little Phatty seems ruder somehow, more grungy and in-your-face and I like that. The low end is extremely solid and seems to fit into a mix without too much EQ or other processing.

Now for the less positive stuff:

It’s Limited
Yes, I knew this when I bought it but it’s worth pointing out. You can only apply a single modulation source to up to two destinations. Modulation only applies when the modwheel is raised. There is only one filter type, one LFO and no noise source, although you can use noise as a modulation source. Compared to say, a Dave Smith Evolver Keyboard which is a similarly priced analogue mono-synth, the Moog seems light on features. The Evolver will give you 4 oscillators, 4 LFOs, 4 sequencers and a huge list of modulation sources and destinations. This is probably the most important factor to weigh up when considering a purchase. The Moog will give you that sound but another synth might give you a broader palette. I’m in a lucky enough position to own both the Evolver Keyboard and the Little Phatty, but if you only have funds for one, then think about it carefully.

Build Quality
It’s not a huge problem, but I was surprised to find a bit of wobble in those nice big knobs. I feel like they would break if knocked with reasonable force. At the Little Phatty’s price pont I wasn’t expecting that.

No Aftertouch
I prefer to use aftertouch over mod wheel for expression and it’s a shame the Little Phatty doesn’t support it.

In Summary
Overall, I think the Little Phatty is a fine instrument. It’s great for classic style bass and lead sounds and you can push it into crazy territory with a little programming. It’s ergonomics are wonderful and it plays like a real instrument. It doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as some of the competition, but what it does do, it does with style. If you know you like the sound and you want a well designed, eminently playable instrument, then the Little Phatty is hard to overlook.

Here is a short demo mainly showing the modulation capabilities of the LFO when pushed into audio rates. If you want more traditional Moog sounds played by a musician infinitely more talented than I, check out Jordan Rudess’s Little Phatty tutorials.

Moog Little Phatty Drone by Rozzer

My first Moog.

It seems to me that every synth geek worth his salt should at least have owned one once. For the past 5 years or so I’ve relied on a Studio Electronics ATC1 for analog bass tones but one thing always bothered my about it. The envelopes are sluggish and as such its not possible to get really snappy bass sequences. So I’ve replaced the ATC with the LP in the hope that the classic Moog bass I’ve read so much about will do the job.

In truth I’ve no idea if it will. I have high expectations, as one might of such a revered brand. I’ve heard enough Moog recordings in my life to know what to expect sonically, but whether the LP and I will gel remains to be seen. At the very least I’m expecting *that* sound, high build quality, and oodles of playability. I’m hoping for a few pleasant surprises beyond that too.

Expect a fully fledged synth geek review soon. I’m off to pretend I’m Rick Wakeman, at least for the 20 minutes before my fingers get tired and I switch to using a sequencer.

The major source of fun is the vector joystick, with which you can create evolving sounds that go from crunchy 12bit samples to clean sparkly FM tones. It’s no powerhouse however, the FM is limited, there are no filters and the onboard effects are extremely limited. I don’t mind any of that, in fact I think its charm is born from its limitations and as a result, it’s pretty easy to program.

This piece was recorded in 3 takes. Everything you hear is from the TG33. The note sequences were programmed in a Sequentix P3 sequencer and looped. The development of sound is caused entirely by twiddling the TG33′s joystick and sometimes changing waverom and FM algorithms on the fly. The three takes (one drone and two melodic sequences) were then layered up in Ableton Live and some delay was added just for ambience.

The TG33 is a great little synth, and can be found for almost silly prices.

Above, you can see my controller for the DSI Evolver. There’s a fair amount of controls here, oscillator functions, filters, envelopes and delays. All the knobs spit out the correct midi control numbers for that parameter. Underneath the Amp Envelope settings you can see the program change functions. I can select any patch from the four internal banks and click up/down to audition successive patches. Because of the way Max integrates with Live, I can even midi learn the up/down buttons and use a midi controller to skip through patches. As my Evolver isn’t directly infront of me when I’m at the computer, this is a real time-saver.

The down side, if there is one, is that Ableton Live cannot process sysex. This limits the number of controls and devices you can control in this manner as a lot of hardware can only be controller using sysex. In the case of the Evolver, there are many more controls which cannot be accessed using conventional midi control changes, so a larger ‘all inclusive’ Max For Live controller isn’t possible. Generally though, manufacturers make the most common parameters available via midi control change so there is still plenty that can be done.

The next logical step is to create a rack containing the controller, along with an External Instrument device. The Live External Instrument device is amazingly useful if you have multiple inputs on your soundcard. With my Evolver hooked up to a dedicated pair of inputs on my soundcard, the External Instrument device allows me to specify which midi port and channel the Evolver is attached to, as well as which inputs to use on the soundcard. Once the rack is saved this means I never have to worry about routing midi and audio when I want to use my Evolver. I simply drag the saved rack to an empty midi track, and my dedicated controller is there along with all the midi and audio routing. Ready to go!

If you look closely at the rack picture you’ll also see an Arpeggiator device in the rack. The point here is that the rack can contain any midi or audio processing plugin. I could put a limiter after the External Audio plugin to stop any scary peaks getting through to my speakers, or a midi Scale device to always force my Evolver to play in a selected scale. Once the rack chain is decided, using an external synth like this is as easy as adding a software plugin. All the configuration is done, you just drag and drop a preset to an empty midi track and start browsing patches.

Update 19/04/2011
For all those interested in downloading the Evolver controller. Here it is. It’s still not 100% finished due to other commitments. All that is missing is some controls needs Inspector parameters adjusting to allow automation in Live. Should be easy enough to do if you have a spare hour (I don’t!).

Download the Evolver Max For Live controller

Update 10/07/2011

A few people have asked about specifics of putting together the Max for Live devices. I’m not going to go into detail on this blog, but I did write an article in Sound on Sound magazine which went into more detail. It was published in the April 2011 edition, or you can get the article on esub here for a reasonable 99p.

The problem is that PCs and MACs have notoriously shakey midi timing. If you’ve never noticed this, you probably don’t need a Sync Lock, but if you’ve ever been frustrated by the midi clock coming out of your DAW then read on.

I’ve owned an MPC2500 for a few years now. I love it dearly, but I’ve always thought of it as very separate to my DAW. There was never any reliable way to sync the two, despite the MPC being able to send and receive both midi clock and midi timecode. The problem is that midi really isn’t that stable on Macs and PCs. There are apparently many reason for this which i won’t go into here, but Innerclock’s page on the subject is very interesting.

The solution is remarkably simple. The Sync-Lock is a box which has two audio inputs (connected to two outputs on your soundcard), a midi output, a din sync output and a 1/4 jack output. The two audio inputs accept audio pulses, which are generated either with a simple WAV file or with a specially written plugin that comes with the Sync-Lock. One is for clock pulses and one for start/stop commands. The box then converts these (in less than 30 micoseconds according to Innerclock) to midi clock, din sync and pulse signals (for analog sequencers etc). The result is a clock output which is sample accurate (or as near as damn it) to your DAW’s audio output.

The results? Well, I’m only judging by my ears. To do a full scientific comparison between Sync-Lock’d and non Sync-Lock’d clocks would be tedious. I can tell you that the first time I had a proper jam with my MPC, Evolver and Future Retro Orb all synced to Ableton Live via the Sync-Lock, a huge smile appeared on my face, and didn’t leave for a long while. The Sync-Lock works. It just sits there and works. You can really ‘feel’ the difference in a tightly locked groove. I find that even at really low tempos, where timing errors really becomes apparent in any system with a poor clock, the Sync-Lock remains absolutely solid and resulting groove just feels ‘right’. Like it should.

If you are a gearhead, into sequencers, drum machines, Roland TR-XXXs etc, but love your DAW too, and are frustrated at getting them all to play nicely together. The Sync-Lock could well be the answer. It’s not glamorous, but it solves a problem and it solves it in fine style.

Finally, I’d like to say thanks to David from Innerclock who, when I initially had problems setting up the Sync-Lock, called me on the phone several times (from Australia to the UK!) in order to get me up and running. Top notch support.

I’m really happy with this purchase and I would miss it dearly if I had to do without it. Can’t say any more that that really.

Seems like finally someone gives a shit. Check out Innerclock. They are a company specialising in getting rock solid clocks for synchronising your gear. The site can be a little waffley, but there’s some great information there, like just why timing matters.

In an nutshell, solid, reliable synchronisation of ANY piece of gear to your DAW via midi clock is pretty much impossible. There are too many other things that your computer needs to do at the same time for it ever to keep a reliable, stable clock. Innerclock seem to have come up with a nifty solution. It’s a small box called the Sync Lock. It works receiving audio pulses from your DAW’s soundcard and converting those to midi clock, dyn sync or voltage pulses and it does all this in less than 20 microseconds! Because the Sync Lock is driven via your audio card, which is sample accurate unlike your midi interface, the result should be sample accurate clocks! Bliss!

It sounds too tempting to pass up, so Innerclock have my order. Watch this space, I’ll report back soon.

I really must hook this baby into the Rozzular :)

I haven’t had a great deal of time to play yet, but initial thoughts are that it oozes analogue character. The oscillators have an insane range (something like 15 octaves). The filters are clean, but very nice sounding. The envelopes could be a little longer, and I can’t for the life of me work out how you reset LFOs, but hell – I’m on a learning curve and it’s all good.

It’s actually quite hard to avoid just patching in regular bass and lead type sounds. If any readers have modulars and want to chime in with a tip or a trick, I’m all ears.

Here’s a few samples from my first recording session.

FM Sweeps by Rozzer