|
this is going to be a somewhat long post but hopefully it's helpful.
i prefer for each feature to have its own knob but i got used to the mod matrix really quickly. i did buy software for it though, i bought the monstrumPulse software which looks great but i couldn't ever get the damn thing to work as a VST in Ableton, i could only get the standalone to work. the developer replied to a couple of my emails, trying to troubleshoot it but then stopped replying to me altogether. i guess he just gave up, so i'm out $50 for buying a piece of software that i only wanted to use as a VST for automation. i ended up buying another piece of software for it - it's the Pulse 2 editor for Max For Live. there are a couple Pulse 2 editors for Max For Live IIRC, i bought the one made by synnys. it doesn't look as good as monstrumPulse but it works like a charm. with all these features, the synth does seem a bit complex for using a matrix. so i usually load up the synnys Pulse 2 editor in Ableton then i use the matrix. that way i can glance at the computer screen and see what every parameter is set to. if i want to tweak 2 parameters at the same time and those 2 parameters aren't in the same row then i use the software to automate them, which works fine for me.
i got the Pulse 2 a few months ago and really love it. i was planning to use it mainly for its paraphonic capabilities to play square-based chords, stuff like this:
https://soundcloud.com/waldorf-musi...s/pulse-2-demos
it can also do "Unison-M" which is a supersaw-type sound that stacks 8 square waves and can be detuned to get a supersquare sound, it's monophonic. or you can do "Unison-P" for paraphonic where if you play 8 notes then it'll be one of those voices per note, if you play 2 notes then it'll be 4 voices per note. it also has "UniAPQ-M" and "UniAPW-P" which is the same concept except it allows you to use its "alternate pulse wave" as the waveform instead of a square wave. an example of "Unison-P" is at 1:00 (the 3rd and last sound) in this quick makeshift demo i threw together: https://soundcloud.com/djdizzyoffic...se-2-quick-demo
^ (the only thing i did with that particular sound was i added an instance of NI Replika for delay)
i've been so impressed with its sound that i've actually ended up using it alot for monophonic sounds than i thought i would. it has enough modulation capabilities to make complex sounds. you can get metallic sounds through using OSC2's cross-modulation or FM sounds by routing OSC3 to the VCF.
here's an example of the APW waveform (in "APW Poly") used as a midrange bass in a song i'm working on. i used the Pulse 2's analog drive set to around 40% or so. it's only using 1 oscillator and 2 voices (playing dyads).
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]
and here's the same 1 oscillator, 2 voice sound solo'ed. you can use PWM on the APW waveform so if you listen close you can hear it. i automated the pulsewidth rather than actually modulating it, so the pulsewidth change isn't cyclical and i automated it so it happens really slowly.
[[ LINK REMOVED ]]
___________________
Access Virus TI Polar, Moog Sub Phatty, Waldorf Pulse 2, Roland JP-8000, Technics 1210MK2's, NI Traktor Konyrol S4, Yamaha HS7's
Soundcloud | YouTube
Last edited by Dj Dizzy on May-14-2015 at 23:30
|
