This is one in a series of mixes that I am creating by improvising on the DSI Tempest synched to the Korg Volca Keys, which is in turn synched to the Korg Monotribe. Minor editing for length and simple processing has been applied, but there’s no extensive post-production or mastering.
The true test of a new instrument is whether you can integrate it into your workflow and use it to produce satisfactory work. This I wasn’t so sure about after my first few hours of working with the Yamaha FS1R. The factory performance patches on the FS1R are all overloaded with effects and glitzed out to impress the ears of musicians from 1998. Despite the frustrating characteristics of the instrument’s patches, I had faith that the complexity of its FM architecture coupled with its formant shaping features made it something worth trying to tame. To produce Vortex I created the formant lead sound from the ground up, made a nice, wide stereo bass patch using a couple of DX voices, and adjusted a melody patch to my taste. The percussion and arpeggios were programmed and played on the DSI Tempest.
I recently programmed this synthesized clavinet sound using the DSI Tempest. There are no samples involved, only analog oscillators. It turned out to be quite effective thanks to the speedy envelopes in the Tempest synthesis engine. I added a little reverb and delay to give it a little bit of space. I also used a sustain pedal on part of the phrase, something that you cannot do on a Hohner E7.
Tempest Synthesized Clavinet
I produced this track soon after I got my DSI Tempest about five months ago. As a keyboard player one of the first things I did was hook up a MIDI controller to it. Although the Tempest is a legitimate, six-voice, polyphonic, analog synth it does not yet record chords into the internal sequencer. To get around this I simply synched the Tempest with Ableton Live and recorded the MIDI there. Obviously not an all-at-once-live-playing endeavor, but many of this machines limitations have pretty simple and effective work-arounds.
After five months of sitting on the track I finally decided to clean up the mix a little, give it the title Tunguska Dub, and preview it on SoundCloud. All of the drums, the main melody, the dub organ, and the wub bass are done on the Tempest. The SCI Pro-One is handling the main bass part, and the Super Jupiter is making the arpeggiated counter-melody.
I must admit that I am curious about the Elektron Analog 4 (A4), but not in the market for new gear while I am still on my honeymoon with the DSI Tempest. So, I thought to myself that as complex and sophisticated as the Tempest is there must be some way to simulate something like the A4 parameter lock (a sequencer feature that allows for real-time manipulation of synthesizer parameters on a per-step basis). So, I tried a few experiments using an unorthodox method that requires adjusting the system settings while simultaneously playing in a sequence with a MIDI keyboard. Not an ideal alternative to the workflow of the A4, but useful for me none-the-less. Distraction Surplus Syndrome was produced using this technique. The bass and sustained melodies were played on the SCI Pro-One. Let me know what you think, share your experiences using parameter-lock-like techniques, or read on for recipe details. Continue reading