Novation Circuit Randomized Patches

Posted on December 21, 2016 by John C.S. Keston

In my mind, sound design is at its best when it is a process of discovery. At its worst it can be an unfortunate exercise in mimicry. I am fascinated by the process of discovering sound through happy accidents. One of the techniques I have exploited frequently in this regard is synthesizer patch randomization. For example, the Yamaha TX81Z sounds great when randomized, or better yet, “degraded” with shuffled parameter values interpolated based on a time unit or clock division. The PreenFM2 has patch randomization built directly into the instrument!

So, it wasn’t long after picking up a Novation Circuit that I had the urge to use a similar shortcut to mine fantastic and otherworldly sounds from the unit. Full MIDI specification for the Circuit is available so that development of a standalone randomizer is possible, but Isotonik Studios published a free Max for Live editor in partnership with Novation. Max for Live patches are inherently editable so I decided to start there.

It took me a couple of hours to get into the guts of the editor and setup a drop down menu for randomization. The drop down has choices to either “randomize all” (not quite all parameters), or randomize one of seven sets of grouped parameters like the oscillator section, mod matrix, or LFOs. At his stage I haven’t included the EQ section, voice controls, or macro controls. I probably won’t add the EQ, but the macro controls might offer some interesting possibilities. The image above shows a simple subpatch I made that takes a bang and outputs the random values for the oscillator section. Unfortunately, I can not legally share my mods based on Isotonik’s and Novation’s EULAs. However, you’ll need little more than a basic understanding of Max to do this yourself. Checkout the video and let me know what you think in the comments.

Making Music with the Internet’s Most Reviled Synthesizer

Posted on November 23, 2015 by John C.S. Keston

I recently bought a Red Sound Systems DarkStar eight voice, polyphonic, tabletop synthesizer. This feature packed virtual analog (VA) was released in 1999 by the British manufacturer. Despite a glowing review from Sound on Sound on arrival, the instrument didn’t quite take off and was discontinued, along with its younger sibling the DarkStar XP2, after just a few years in production. Even more curious than that is the amount of vitriol amassed for the DarkStar on forums all over the web. I could go on, but suffice it to say that “piece of shit” was among the milder comments.

So why bother trying to make use of an abandoned device that broad swaths of the community dismiss while more zealous members condemn? Well, digging a little deeper led me to discover that although the instrument does have its shortcomings it also has its strengths and at least a handful of people seem to appreciate the character and flexibility of the DarkStar. Five part multi-timbral, two MIDI clock sync-able LFOs per part, low-band-high pass switchable 12db filter, full MIDI implementation, and loads of modulation routing add to the depth of the synth. It also has some quirky features like a formant waveform on oscillator 2, ring modulation, and a random LFO shape that interpolates between the values.

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Matrix Demo For Sound Design Class

Posted on May 15, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

Here’s a render of a Subtractor bass line I created using Matrix during a Reason demonstration for my sound design class last week. The theme of the demonstration was subtractive synthesis, so I started by initializing the Subtractor and creating a new sound from there. I threw a Dr. Rex drum pattern with a linear sweep on the envelope amount to illustrate automation as well.

Matrix Demo

Subtractive Synthesis Demo

Posted on May 1, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

Tomorrow morning I am going to be discussing some basic concepts of sound synthesis including subtractive synthesis with my sound design class. We’ll be looking at some hardware synthesizers, listening to some sounds, then creating sounds of our own. Tonight I created this pulse in Reason using the Subtractor instrument followed by delay and reverb as an example to show, although rather than showing this example I will create something else using a similar technique during the demo.

Subtractive Synthesis

Korg MS2000 Granulated Prickly Synth

Posted on February 8, 2011 by John C.S. Keston

To get this prickly texture I ran the Korg MS2000 through Grain Delay and Auto Pan in Ableton Live. I forgot to mention that the track was going through the usually reverb and delay sends as well.

Prickly