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Quatschmacher

By Quatschmacher,
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Kiwi Grand Master

Kiwi

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@Quatschmacher

would it be too much to ask for a decent arpeggiator?  I mean if they are selling and committed to the whole concept of bass synth thing, I'd like to think that  a good, programmable arp is worth a tonne of occasional use modulation effects that are used in other pedals anyway.

  

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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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@Kiwi have to say, I TOTALLY agree.

I really didn't know what I'd been missing until I picked up my SY-1 a couple of months back. The arp feature is one of the best of many good things about this pedal and a big reason why it's such a creative fun pedal. It is, after all, such a classic synth sound. 

What's the big advantage of programmable over manually tweakable when it comes to arp for you? Playing live manual is much more immediate if you need to tweak, although I'm a big fan of presets which is a key 'weakness' of the SY-1.

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Quatschmacher Grand Master

Quatschmacher

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56 minutes ago, Kiwi said:

@Quatschmacher

would it be too much to ask for a decent arpeggiator?  I mean if they are selling and committed to the whole concept of bass synth thing, I'd like to think that  a good, programmable arp is worth a tonne of occasional use modulation effects that are used in other pedals anyway.

  

Probably would be. Code space is pretty full. You could plug in a sequencer to the MIDI IN port. Keystep would be a good choice.

The only FX in FI are chorus/delay, EQ and overdrive and they are all really useful. 

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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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I've never really understood 'normal' drive being incorporated into other pedals. Just been discussing the same point about having a saturation (aka drive) in the excellent Becos Stella comp with @51m0n - we both agreed it was pretty pointless; 'cos if folk want an excellent drive they're totally spoilt for choice - it's probably the single biggest / most popular genre of pedal available.

I'd much prefer arpeggiator over 'normal' drive in a synth pedal every day of the week. When I say 'normal' drive I'm getting at additional 'optional' overdrive in contrast to a drive unit that forms a core part of the synth tone generation or a gated fuzz. If the FI drive is either of the last two then I agree it's a core feature rather than an optional extra.

Edited by Al Krow
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Quatschmacher Grand Master

Quatschmacher

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34 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I've never really understood drive being incorporated into other pedals. Just been discussing the same point about having a saturation (aka drive) in the excellent Becos Stella comp with @51m0n - we both agreed it was pretty pointless; 'cos if folk want an excellent drive they're totally spoilt for choice - it's probably the single biggest / most popular genre of pedal available.

I'd much prefer arpeggiator over 'normal' drive in a synth pedal every day of the week. When I say 'normal' drive I'm getting at additional 'optional' overdrive in contrast to a drive unit that forms a core part of the synth tone generation or a gated fuzz. If the FI drive is either of the last two then I agree it's a core feature rather than an optional extra.

One very good reason is that it forms part of the preset so involves zero fiddling around with settings once programmed. It’s actually a very good sounding drive and I’ve used it in many of my patches. 

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GisserD Mentor

GisserD

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2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

@Kiwi have to say, I TOTALLY agree.

I really didn't know what I'd been missing until I picked up my SY-1 a couple of months back. The arp feature is one of the best of many good things about this pedal and a big reason why it's such a creative fun pedal. It is, after all, such a classic synth sound. 

What's the big advantage of programmable over manually tweakable when it comes to arp for you? Playing live manual is much more immediate if you need to tweak, although I'm a big fan of presets which is a key 'weakness' of the SY-1.

I'm having a hard time deciding if you like your sy1 or not...

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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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10 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

One very good reason is that it forms part of the preset so involves zero fiddling around with settings once programmed. It’s actually a very good sounding drive and I’ve used it in many of my patches. 

That's fair - part of getting a set of programmed presets that you can use.

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Quatschmacher Grand Master

Quatschmacher

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OK, so that one wasn’t quite there as one voice jumped an octave. This whole thing is basically a huge maths problem. By slimming down to three voicings and changing the direction of the bass movement, I’ve managed to find a set of numbers that work. This time all the voice leading is smooth:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ThpNfKymROLUouZDZadNYNl7B3ldDZ4M/view?usp=drivesdk

And, because I've only used three oscillators and two flexi slots, I could have the synth play the root notes and there’s room for more modulation madness.

I’m going to see if I can work out some combinations that work for minor II-V-I progressions too.

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Kiwi Grand Master

Kiwi

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12 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Probably would be. Code space is pretty full. You could plug in a sequencer to the MIDI IN port. Keystep would be a good choice.

The only FX in FI are chorus/delay, EQ and overdrive and they are all really useful. 

A sequencer would require programming though.

I suggest keeping the role of the pedal quite simple, ie. bass synth note generation and leave the effects to a separate pedal.  Because there's no tap tempo, doing time based effects, like slapback delays in "I Feel Love" for example, would need an extra delay pedal anyway.

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AxelF Proficient

AxelF

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8 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

I’ve nailed the minor II-V-I too. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vIML8STlWGly0FTaV3ONQbE3oAxa7vjl/view?usp=drivesdk

They sound amazing, great work! I have absolutely zero idea how you've achieved that though, does that work on an expression pedal being in different positions to determine which chord is triggered? 

Edited by AxelF
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Quatschmacher Grand Master

Quatschmacher

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1 hour ago, AxelF said:

They sound amazing, great work! I have absolutely zero idea how you've achieved that though, does that work on an expression pedal being in different positions to determine which chord is triggered? 

That is exactly how it works. I chord is at toe-up, II chord at mid position, V chord at toe-down.

It took a lot of working out to get it to work as you aren't working with actual pitches, but rather with offsets from the root note, which is shifting. That would be quite straightforward if you want the same overall chord shape on all three chords, (by that I mean, eg. the third is always the lowest note, ninth always the highest etc.).

I was trying to achieve smooth internal voice leading so that notes don’t jump around wildly. Only certain combinations of root movement and voicing type work for this due to the numbers. I want to get least one version that is built of the 7th and one that is built off the 3rd for both the major and minor progressions.

Basically I’m using two or three of the new Flexi Controllers to alter the pitches of the oscillators. I look at which offsets need to be applied for each chord then work out combinations of three that best work with the available transformation curves. I use a linear curve for combinations that are symmetrical such as 12-14-16 or 26-27-28. Then I look for combinations that can be grouped in a 1/3, 2/3 arrangement such as 31, 31, 38 as there are some hard-transition curves where you can specify which point the curve jumps from low to high; setting that point towards the right means that the lower value gets held until the toe-down position.

It’s basically maths and problem-solving. You don’t really need to understand how I did it in order to make use of it. You don’t even need to use the sound I programmed. You could use the Flexi setup I made as a template and create a wholly different patch around it.

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Quatschmacher Grand Master

Quatschmacher

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3 hours ago, GisserD said:

You will never cease to amaze me peter. That sounds fantastic!

You must be over the moon with that?

Thanks! Yes, I am!

I had this idea when I first started beta testing and had some limited success with it. One of the others in the group thought it was pointless as it would be unusable. The addition of the hard-transition curves last week has made it possible to make the changes in easier-to-control ways; the rest was just maths and I knew I’d get there in the end.

Obviously it has its limitations, being tied in to either a major or minor progression but could easily work for muti-tracking. There are loads of jazz tunes that are built solely out of major II-V-I progressions so it could be used.

I’m sure someone will find a use for it and it’s a good showcase of the flexibility that the Flexi Controllers offer.

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Quatschmacher Grand Master

Quatschmacher

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I managed to nail two 4-note minor II-V-I progressions and one 4-note Major one with proper smooth voice leading before going to bed at 3am. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16zIK035UiU-aBZGjUKVVW5_XzvW5pB7g/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QuMyeSINcPydaKBkXAoNqHQ9vF3lJ_Kn/view?usp=drivesdk

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gNq_3POlLpeRq6dFjoY8boVaQ1no3hHy/view?usp=drivesdk

 

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GisserD Mentor

GisserD

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19 minutes ago, Quatschmacher said:

At the suggestion of @GisserD, I’ve set up a Patreon account. If you feel like supporting me in what I’ve been doing here then I’d be most grateful. Thanks. 

http://www.patreon.com/Quatschmacher

Great move peter! 

I've just signed up. Keep up the good work!

I feel much better about filling up my pedals with your patches now :)

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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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Great suggestion Darren! Good to see Peter finally starting to get a fair reward for his efforts and glad that you've persuaded him to set aside all that guff about: 

"If everything in this life were only done with the expectation of financial gain, then it would be a miserable existence."  😂

Let's face it, life with no money is even more miserable and everyone should be entitled to fair compensation for the effort they've put in; particularly when they are providing valuable services to a commercial outfit. Well that's my old fashioned view on the subject, anyway!

If I ever get another FI, I'll certainly be signing up to Peter's Patreon account and filling my boots with his excellent patches.

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Quatschmacher Grand Master

Quatschmacher

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1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

Great suggestion Darren! Good to see Peter finally starting to get a fair reward for his efforts and glad that you've persuaded him to set aside all that guff about: 

"If everything in this life were only done with the expectation of financial gain, then it would be a miserable existence."  😂

Let's face it, life with no money is even more miserable and everyone should be entitled to fair compensation for the effort they've put in; particularly when they are providing valuable services to a commercial outfit. Well that's my old fashioned view on the subject, anyway!

If I ever get another FI, I'll certainly be signing up to Peter's Patreon account and filling my boots with his excellent patches.

I still don’t expect financial gain and will be continuing to make patches available for free. Those who feel I ought to be paid for it can do so. (Does that mean I’ll be seeing a payment from one A. Krow sometime soon?😆)

Edited by Quatschmacher
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Al Krow Grand Master

Al Krow

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2 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

I still don’t expect financial gain and will be continuing to make patches available for free. Those who feel I ought to be paid for it can do so. (Does that mean I’ll be seeing a payment from one A. Krow sometime soon?😆)

Please remind me to sign up as soon I get an FI! :)

Edited by Al Krow
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HogBranch Newbie

HogBranch

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Hi, new owner/user here. Super psyched, but waiting on upcoming V3 update before diving into changing presets etc. to avoid duplication of efforts.

However, the tuner function on my FI is off by a semitone. When I am tuned to A (based on all my other tuners), the FI tuner shows me as a half-step sharp. Is there a way to calibrate the tuner on the pedal / in the software?

I tried to do a web search for this yesterday and again today, but I was unable to locate any info -- although I could've sworn I saw a thread about it months ago when I was just considering purchasing the pedal.

Thank you for all the great info here and on TB. Rick

Edited by HogBranch
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King Tut Veteran

King Tut

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8 minutes ago, HogBranch said:

Hi, new owner/user here. Super psyched, but waiting on upcoming V3 update before diving into changing presets etc. to avoid duplication of efforts.

However, the tuner function on my FI is off by a semitone. When I am tuned to A (based on all my other tuners), the FI tuner shows me as a half-step sharp. Is there a way to calibrate the tuner on the pedal / in the software?

I tried to do a web search for this yesterday and again today, but I was unable to locate any info -- although I could've sworn I saw a thread about it months ago when I was just considering purchasing the pedal.

Thank you for all the great info here and on TB. Rick

I asked the same question on this thread on friday night - it's fully answered on here mate - just scroll up a bit!

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