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Deep-Sound Divers´ Think-Tank

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Tutorials

Deep-Sound Divers´ Corner

The World Is Sound

Experiments, Experiences and Philosophy

The Adventures of Grandpa Soundstone

Modular Synthesis:

Softube´s Modular

SoloStuff´s SoloRack

Granular Techniques:

accSone´s CrusherX

Frequency Modulation And Phase Modulation

u-he´s Bazille

Hardware:

Retro, Remakes And Clones

There are two kinds of tutorials

The “in-depth” tutorials are in love with details. Every single detail of the particular hard- or software is introduced, explained and analysed.

There are also remarks about similar matters, further tutorials or other kinds of educational sources concerning the particular matter.

These tutorials mostly come as series. Be prepared to spend some time with them and the matters they talk about, as some of them last up to 3 hours.

These tutorials are marked with a "P" in the following list.

Tutorials, which are not carrying the “P” mark are meant to give you an overview, a kind of deeper general impression of the matter. Even if taking a good look under the hood from time to time, they are not as detailed as the “P”-tutorials.

You don´t know, whether or not to get yourself a certain hard- or softsynth and want to see and hear a bit more than a simple demonstration of presets or only the overall functionality? Well, these tutorials are what you were looking for.

But here you also find explanations and demonstrations of matters independent from certain gear, as i.e. the series of FM/PM workshops.

Softube´s Modular:

u-he´s Bazille:

SoloStuff´s SoloRack:

u-he´s Zebra:

In this first part of the series of tutorials about Softube´s Modular I show you through the process of licensing and installing, explain the basic GUI, patching and the handling of presets and files.

This part 2 deals with basic principles of modular synthesis, explains control voltage, gate signals, trigger pulses, audio signals and MIDI signals and certain aspects of the file management.

Tutorial 3 talks about the Doepfer A-110 Voltage Controlled Oscillator, explains all of the unit´s functions and shows typical and untypical applications of the module.

“Everything You Always Wanted to Know About ...” LFOs is shown and explained in tutorial 7. The Doepfer A-147 VCLFO Module is a perfect candidate to demonstrate modular techniques, which go far beyond simple “lfo-ing”.

Do you like bacon as well as modular synthesis? Well, watch tutorial 8 about the Doepfer A-118 Noise and Random Voltage Module then. Not only will you learn a lot about the implementation of noise, but also about the mental state of Rolf.

Some people call it the core competency of modular synthesis, others think it is a redundant part of synthesis with all that computers at hand. I simply love it: Analogue Sequencing! Sequencing anything and everything, producing short fast running patterns embedded in long lasting and huge carpets of sound … Well, just watch tutorial 9.

At the beginning of this series about SoloStuff´s “SoloRack” I talk about the installation, about the file management and about basic functions of the GUI like handling modules and saving CPU power. I close part 1 introducing a nice patch.

The SA 310 VCO is one of the synths basic oscillators. Basic, but hiding some powerful extras under the hood. This part 3 deals with some general modular concepts as well as with a lot of patching. Further items are Pulse width modulation, hardsync and more.

Analysing Bazille´s factory patches is not only an entertaining but also a very instructive way to get familiar with this extremely versatile synth. In this series I choose some highly sophisticated presets to gradually talk about every part of Bazille. Todays patch is “3AM Wormwood”.

I don´t dive as deep into the single modules as I do in my tutorials. But it´s more than only a shallow “look, what do we have here” kind of video. It´s sufficiently thorough to make you really understand the analysed patch while having a lot of fun with it.

The analysed patch keeps what its name promises. The “6th element” delivers sounds from another world. And the video makes you understand how these sounds are created.

Our journey takes us to wave tables, hypercombs, the MSEG envelopes, key scaling, filter FX and frequency modulation. We are going to have some fun tweaking the preset at the end of the analysis.

This series deals with the factory presets of Zebra2. It will be continued analysing the patches of Zebra3 as soon as the new version is available. But Zebra2 is such a universal kind of a synth, that it will never get redundant.

Wow – what a patch! LFOs as sequencers, mergers, random modes and stack voices, making use of “imperfect waves” and shaping the “Outer Temple” with envelopes. Analysing this preset means having fun and learning a lot.

The Doepfer A-132-3 Voltage Controlled Amplifyer is the star in tutorial 4. Very detailed and showing a lot of love for the matter the video delivers a bunch of basic and advanced aspects of the module.

The Doepfer A-108 VCF8 Voltage Controlled Filter module guaratees for warm analogue sounds. But you can make the module go bananas as well. Tutorial 5 shows how to achieve both.

Tutorial 10 leaves the field of “classic” modular synthesis and is as basic as an elephant is small: not at all. Intellijel´s crazy “Rubicon” module demands for these nearly 3 hours of experiments, explanations and patches. Watch those 3 hours and get a “patcher extraordinaire”.

Inspired by the filters of the “classic” Korg MS-20 Intellijel developped “Korgasmatron”. The “Korgasmatron II” module makes it necessary to redefine the term “filter” in modular synthesis. (And this tutorial no. 11 may inspire you to redefine the term “tutorial”.)

Producing tutorial 12 took me exactly 56 hours and 5 minutes. The Buchla 259e module is probably the most complex wizard of sound delivering the most unpredictable results at the beginning, which I´ve ever had under my fingers – which are still trembling a bit. Watch and get your fingers tremble as well.

It´s all about envelopes here in tutorial no. 6. The Doepfer A140 ADSR module comes with some “secret” attributes, which are explained in detail. But even the common functionality of the unit invites to some interesting applications.

Saw, supersaw, hypersaw … well, it´s about the S304 and the S302 oscillators. It´s about noise and about Karplus-Strong, about some certain frequency modulation and about a complex patch. Phase shifting, through-zero FM and the year 1984.

The module this tutorial 5 in the series talks about is called “S321 Linear and Exponential FM and PM Oscillator”, and it´s as powerful as its name suggests. And so tutorial 5 contains 1 hour and 39 minutes full of experiments, demonstrations and explanations all around FM and PM.

The analysed patch makes use of PM, phase-distortion, fractalization, the mapping generators, the inverter and the LAG generator and of course FM. It uses the noise generator in a very creative way and sets up a whole network of filters. Watch, learn and enjoy!

Part 2 is about hidden functions, the different groups of modules, preset management, oversampling, some “cable art”, some tricks to make patching easier and faster and about setting up a famous patch..

Even simple modules can deliver results nobody has even thought of so far, if a creative mind makes use of them in an intelligent way. The patch “Morph between 4 OSCs” is an excellent example.

Tutorials Page 1

Part 13 of the series about Softube´s Modular deals with the module "Clouds" (Mutable Instruments).
It is all about granular processing of sound. The video includes an introduction explaining the basics of granular synthesis.

The History of Working with Sound

The series of Tutorials concerning all modules of
Softube´s Modular continues in Modular City.
Please click this text to learn more,