Continuing my experimentation with the standalone arpeggiator on the Bitstream 3X led to today’s sound. Once again I created it by controlling the Roland MKS-80 with the BS3X. I added some subtle reverb afterward to liven it up a little.
BS3X Arpeggiated Synth Bass
My studio laptop is in for repairs so I’ve been experimenting with the standalone arpeggiator on the Bitstream 3X. Once I have learned a little more about this complex feature of the BS3X I’ll write more about it. For now here’s a short piece I created by controlling the Roland MKS-80 with the BS3X.
BS3X and MKS-80 Bouncy Fifths
I created this polyphonic wind sound on the Roland MKS-80 using the Bitstream 3X to manually modulate the filter to give it a more natural and irregular sounding whistle. I did this rather than using the LFO because although I could adjust the rate the sweep would be automated and too regular instead of being based on human judgement. I am presenting it here in mono with no processing. If I were to use this I would process it in several ways including some volume automation, panning, equalization, probably a bit of slap back delay for stereo imaging, and a fairly short linear reverb that doesn’t sound too roomy.
Manually Modulated Polyphonic Wind
Since configuring the Bitstream 3X to control the Super Jupiter instead of using the reKon Audio VST-AU MKS-80 editor I have been creating loads of sounds without bothering to save to save them as presets. Thinking back, this seems to be my modus operandi. I’m feeling pretty comfortable with this instrument now and using the BS3X I can usually dial up the sound I’m looking for in less than a minute. Not saving presets is nice because when dialing them in manually they never come up exactly he same way twice and you learn a lot about the instrument in the process. Here’s an example of one of the sounds I programmed today.
Pulsing Bass Note
Now that I am able to program the MKS-80 with the Bitstream 3X I am attempting to do the same for other electronic instruments that lack tactile controls. This involves digging into the MIDI implementation of these instruments and then programming the BS3X to send the appropriate values. The first instrument I’m trying this with is the Roland D-50. So far I have had no success in getting the Roland D-50 to respond to the values I’m sending it, but hopefully I get it figured out soon. Here’s an example of what I’d like to accomplish. To create the sound below I used the D-50’s joystick to change the cutoff frequency on the first upper partial while sending it notes via MIDI.
Roland D50 Automation