The Behringer Keyboards 'n' Stuff Thread #3

[BillB]

When you say Eastenders, that’s an instant turn off. But looking at Alex Ball’s exploration of the SDS-3
https://www.alexballmusic.com/simmons-sds-3
…it looks like a pretty competent four channel percussion synth, going into sonic territory that drum machines, even analogue ones, just don’t.

This is going to be on my radar (assuming my radar keeps working long enough to detect an actual product).

[BigRedX]

Having owned an original SDS V as well having spent some serious time with the later versions, i'm more than happy with the VSDXS plug-in which IMO completely nails all the classic Simmonds sounds as well as the less well known ones.

[resistorman]

Having owned an original SDS V as well having spent some serious time with the later versions, i'm more than happy with the VSDXS plug-in which IMO completely nails all the classic Simmonds sounds as well as the less well known ones.

Good to know!

[N i g e l]

price is every thing in this case. The SDS looks a bit basic for the 21st century.

£550 Nord drum 3p, has pads, 6 voice & basic synthesis [but comprehensive in a percussion sense]

£350 Waldorf blofeld - ok its a synth but multitimbral with channels, splits and layers. The synthesis is comprehensive [and sample replay if you pay extra]

[MarkOne]

Logics Drum Machine designer has a pretty good SDS sample set.

In fact it has versions of most classic drum machines. I can’t ever see myself getting a hardware drum machine of any variety at any price.

[BigRedX]

Logics Drum Machine designer has a pretty good SDS sample set.

In fact it has versions of most classic drum machines. I can’t ever see myself getting a hardware drum machine of any variety at any price.

The problem with sample sets is there is only so much you can do with them compared with the original analogue generated sounds. I had my own very comprehensive SDS V samples that I made back when I had the actual hardware, however no matter how many samples you record there is always the possibility that the perfect sound for the track hasn't been captured even though the hardware is capable of it.

[Wonks]

Why have they gone for 3.5mm jacks for the mic and channel ins/outs? They've made it a toy.

[MarkOne]

Logics Drum Machine designer has a pretty good SDS sample set.

In fact it has versions of most classic drum machines. I can’t ever see myself getting a hardware drum machine of any variety at any price.

The problem with sample sets is there is only so much you can do with them compared with the original analogue generated sounds. I had my own very comprehensive SDS V samples that I made back when I had the actual hardware, however no matter how many samples you record there is always the possibility that the perfect sound for the track hasn't been captured even though the hardware is capable of it.

This is where I'm as far from being a purist as it gets.

Me: What this needs is some SDS like drums (Brings up DMD, tracks it and moves on)

Also my entire workspace is a 600x180 desk with an 88 note controller under it on a wheeled stand, and a three tier ultimate apex with synths on and that's it.

It also has to double as a home office space. There's no room for desktop doohickies and certainly not a one trick pony like an SDS module.

[Martin Walker]

One of the many things I enjoy about Sonic Charge's Microtonic drum plug-in is how its developer Magnus Lidström as a personal experiment used machine learning algorithms to imitate any sound with any synth. The first fruit of his labour was a patch bank for Microtonic (free for existing users) created from recordings of the following classic drum machines:

Maestro Rhythm King (1960)
Keio / Korg Minipops 7 (1966)
Roland CR-78 CompuRhythm (1978)
Korg KR-55 (1979)
Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer (1980)
Oberheim DMX (1981)
Linn Drum (1982)
Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer (1984)
Roland TR-707 Rhythm Composer (1984)
Roland TR-505 Rhythm Composer (1986)

Magnus said "Notice that the collection includes both analog and digital drum machines. Naturally, the digital drum machines are much harder to reproduce using Microtonic's synthesizer engine, but even imperfect results are fun, and I find the sounds quite useful.

The older drum machines were mainly preset pattern players. I have painstakingly tried to reproduce not only their sounds but also all of their original patterns."

No SDS, but an amazing selection of other drum machines that you can hear in this short YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uid_P90CnaA

Now that's added value for you!

Martin

[DGL.]

Another announcement is the now ready JT-4000 Micro, a JP-8000 inspired four voice paraphonic mini-synth with a single analogue filter, minimal user interface, USB-C for connectivity and a 16 key touchplate keyboard.
A tiny synth that will retail for only $49, so for what you get it's quite the bargain and as everything can be controlled by MIDI CC# you are not limited by the devices controlled, though you'd need some sort of USB MIDI host to connect something to it.

[muzines]

A tiny synth that will retail for only $49, so for what you get it's quite the bargain.

It's about £80 in the UK.

[Arpangel]

I don’t care about company politics, etc etc, I just want that VCS3, give it to me, yesterday, this is series stuff, it’s like a talisman, in no uncertain terms.

[DGL.]

A tiny synth that will retail for only $49, so for what you get it's quite the bargain.

It's about £80 in the UK.

Yes, £74 on Thomann which is surprising, normally it's a roughly 1:1 conversion once VAT is taken into account but I guess the exchange rate is a bit crap at the moment.

[muzines]

Yes, £74 on Thomann which is surprising, normally it's a roughly 1:1 conversion once VAT is taken into account but I guess the exchange rate is a bit crap at the moment.

From what I heard, when behringer originally floated the prototype for this one, they were "hoping", or "aiming" for $49. When it actually arrived, for whatever reasons, it came in somewhat more than that initial target price.

Is it actually on sale anywhere for $49, that you've seen?

(Not that I'm interested in this, I don't see the attraction of tiny paraphonic boxes with a few knobs, I'd rather spend the money on a decent plugin.)

[Arpangel]

Yes, £74 on Thomann which is surprising, normally it's a roughly 1:1 conversion once VAT is taken into account but I guess the exchange rate is a bit crap at the moment.

From what I heard, when behringer originally floated the prototype for this one, they were "hoping", or "aiming" for $49. When it actually arrived, for whatever reasons, it came in somewhat more than that initial target price.

Is it actually on sale anywhere for $49, that you've seen?

(Not that I'm interested in this, I don't see the attraction of tiny paraphonic boxes with a few knobs, I'd rather spend the money on a decent plugin.)

Me too, I’d rather play a bit more for something truly polyphonic, or pay nothing for a plug-in, like Synth One.

[N i g e l]

I don’t care about company politics, etc etc, I just want that VCS3, give it to me, yesterday, this is series stuff, it’s like a talisman, in no uncertain terms.

It was on this day in 2021....or there abouts, that B announced their PPG wave was going to beta testing phase. After 2 years, by now they oughta have done delta and omicron testing too. Im not going to even mention the midi controller [& sequencer] box.

And then theres the DAW...Is there a shortage of for loops & if then statements too ?

[Arpangel]

I don’t care about company politics, etc etc, I just want that VCS3, give it to me, yesterday, this is series stuff, it’s like a talisman, in no uncertain terms.

It was on this day in 2021....or there abouts, that B announced their PPG wave was going to beta testing phase. After 2 years, by now they oughta have done delta and omicron testing too. Im not going to even mention the midi controller [& sequencer] box.

And then theres the DAW...Is there a shortage of for loops & if then statements too ?

I’m going to start Beta testing my all-in-one synthesiser, with built in DAW, every type of synthesis imaginable, a user customisable control surface which can change at a molecular level, your end-cheeks can be any material you desire. It’s also a sampler, it has world class built in microphones and monitor speakers, it can also, using AI, make your music for you, doing away instantly with all that tiresome creative b******s.
Shipping should be around August 2525, it’ll be a snip at £500,000, of course full payment in advance on pre-orders please.

[MOF]

I don’t care about company politics, etc etc, I just want that VCS3, give it to me, yesterday, this is series stuff, it’s like a talisman, in no uncertain terms.

Arturia do a plugin version.
https://www.arturia.com/products/softwa ... v/overview

[Arpangel]

I don’t care about company politics, etc etc, I just want that VCS3, give it to me, yesterday, this is series stuff, it’s like a talisman, in no uncertain terms.

Arturia do a plugin version.
https://www.arturia.com/products/softwa ... v/overview

I’ve tried it, didn’t have any impression on me, apart from sounding very bland, and not reacting like a real one, in terms of patching, synths like this don’t go down well as virtual instruments, so much about them is physical, more so than a typical mono/poly synth.

[MOF]

I’ve tried it, didn’t have any impression on me, apart from sounding very bland, and not reacting like a real one, in terms of patching, synths like this don’t go down well as virtual instruments, so much about them is physical, more so than a typical mono/poly synth.

I get the physical interface bit but I don’t think it’s a bland plugin. There was a real one where I used to work and from distant memory it sounded the same as the plugin.
Also given that it’s component modelling I would imagine it’s very close in sound, allowing for differences in component tolerances.

[Arpangel]

I’ve tried it, didn’t have any impression on me, apart from sounding very bland, and not reacting like a real one, in terms of patching, synths like this don’t go down well as virtual instruments, so much about them is physical, more so than a typical mono/poly synth.

I get the physical interface bit but I don’t think it’s a bland plugin. There was a real one where I used to work and from distant memory it sounded the same as the plugin.
Also given that it’s component modelling I would imagine it’s very close in sound, allowing for differences in component tolerances.

Something interesting yesterday, I’m thinking, you’ve got to start using that iPad as a synth, go on, give it a go.
It lasted about ten minutes, then I ripped out the cables and put it back to internet duties.
How people can use things as instruments I don’t know, I felt totally disconnected from it playing it from a keyboard, it sort of works when you play it from its screen, interesting things can happen, but as soon as you connect a keyboard to it, it kills it stone dead.
My relationship with computers has always been an uneasy one, I’m even thinking of ways I can stop actually recording on them.
Trouble is not using them makes life very difficult, it’s more difficult to come up with anything worthwhile using entirely hardware, it takes a long time, and using hardware makes you make decisions earlier, you have to commit yourself, rather than fiddle around for hours going through thousands of options, moving stuff around to see if it works, the results are more down to serendipity, than by our own design.

[Hugh Robjohns]

Some artists find oil paints suit their expressive needs and style. Others find they work better in watercolours... that doesn't make either form good or bad, just different. The same applies to hardware and software in audio.

[Folderol]

Exactly!
Use whatever works and gets as close as possible to what you want.

[Arpangel]

Some artists find oil paints suit their expressive needs and style. Others find they work better in watercolours... that doesn't make either form good or bad, just different. The same applies to hardware and software in audio.

They are both paints, oils, and water colours, that require the same basic techniques in use, more or less, they are both liquids that need a brush to apply them onto a medium of your choice.
You don’t require new hardware when a new colour comes out, also, a new colour doesn’t require a new brush.
If I choose to use Brushes on an iPad, at some point I’ll have to upgrade the app, or buy a new iPad, we all know that endless circle, and they are the reasons why so many choose to work without that technology, in many creative fields, it’s not an easy analogy to make, comparing computing to traditional tools and methods.

[Hugh Robjohns]

They are both paints, oils, and water colours, that require the same basic techniques in use...

The same mentality suggests that a hardware synth and a software synth are the same thing and require the same technique... but we know that's not the case in the real world — just as painting in oils requires a completely different approach and technique to painting in watercolours....

If you don't like working with soft synths don't use them. There are alternatives. But the evidence is that plenty of people can use them creatively perfectly well. Not everything suits everyone, and your preferences are only directly relevant to you.