One Synth Challenge #128: OB-Xd from discoDSP (mmGhost wins!)

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Carl_saved wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 1:17 pm BTW is there any way of making OB-Xd spend a part of its now 32 voices on a unison sound and yet be polyphonic, much in the same way Synth1 does it?
Was wondering about the same thing too :D

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schiing wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:56 pm ! WITHDRAWN !

My entry was starting to get on my nerves, I had to pull the plug on it.
I'm wondering why. But I guess it can be a personal choice

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Auplant wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 3:20 pm
schiing wrote: Mon Oct 07, 2019 7:56 pm ! WITHDRAWN !

My entry was starting to get on my nerves, I had to pull the plug on it.
I'm wondering why. But I guess it can be a personal choice
No no, I enjoy talking about how we feel about our music and how it informs our choices! I probably enjoy talking about myself too much as well :D :roll:

I still like the cacophony and anarchy of it. To me it's like a Gene Krupa-on-Oscillators kind of thing, which I like. But when I revisited the track after a few days I realized that the "banging-on-drums" part never evolves beyond its initial novelty value, and I didn't think the little variations in sound textures and themes was enough to justify it going on for a third of the song.

And I didn't really think the sum of the sounds were that interesting - it's the kind of stuff everyone knows the OB-Xd can do. Add to that a somewhat dull mix - again with the novelty of having no effects, which was interesting as an experiment, but it ultimately made the track less exciting than it could've been.

So on reflection every part of the song seemed superfluous to me, and once that idea settled in my head I couldn't see any point in submitting it to the competition.

But I guess you never can tell with your own music. I've felt the same way about other tracks in the past, and when I listened again a year later, I loved it. Similarly, some stuff I've considered to be my greatest achievements sour in my ears completely as time goes by.

Hey, is this the first time someone does a full-fledged review of their own material on OSC?? :lol:
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You know, that's one of the curious pitfalls of the OSC. With all the masterful mastering and crazy effects as well as obsessively engineered automation and insane numbers of instances, the thing that gets endangered more than anything is "music itself". When I doodled around today with just one freaking sound, I remembered again that any single instrument, be it guitar or piano, can be all it takes to offer a fantastic moment of music. Something as complex and versatile as a synth such as OB-Xd really has everything it takes to do the same thing: Be an instrument to make music.
Once I get myself into that mindset, it becomes so much easier again to make a song, because it shifts back into the challenge/joy of simply making music. Letting the heart point the way, indulging deeply in exploration, whether for theoretical reasons or to discover what it takes to hit the right feeling that appears to evolve. These motivations really hold the original joy I have for composing and all of it.
I love it and the OB-Xd is a mighty fine tool to remind oneself of it. :phones: :violin:

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Taron wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:13 am So...I'm doodling around with this thing and this happens:
One Single Instance of OBXd...(+ some reverb)
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/obxd-onesound/s-j41YB
Dayyyyuuuumm!! That's a nice one, Taron! I'm getting a little envious over here...

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Ehehe, thanks, Z! Thought about sharing the patch, but it's embarrassingly simple. It's really just the reverb and the unashamed chords, but it still makes me very happy. :hyper: I think, it's the wild panning for each voice and the nice tone of the synth, which kind of wants to sound a bit brassy and metallic. :shrug: ...filters help with the more string section like feel underneath the very horn/brass like tones. I yet have to make a nice "strings only" sound, haha. :hihi: (which is what I originally wanted to make) :oops:

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exponent1 wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:56 pm So does this imply that you'll be participating this month? That's awesome! I'm also really happy that TNS and Taron have made comebacks, very exciting months of music :hyper:
I'll likely be there, changed my mind :)

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@ ]PeterH[ … have made some changes wrt bass processing … track updated :party:

viewtopic.php?p=7544524#p7544524

dB

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Taron wrote: Mon Oct 14, 2019 12:48 am ...but I think there's something with your monitoring equipment that makes you push up those 800-2000Hz frequencies (or even higher) to really painful levels.
I know I do the same and in my case it's hearing loss. The high frequencies are the first to go if you have had much exposure to loud sounds, like the loud stage volumes I often had to deal with for many years.

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Yup, when you get to 70 like me, hearing loss is the norm! :dog: You can look at the analysis all you want, but if you don't know what it sounds like to others you are at a major disadvantage wrt these youngsters here! :(

dB

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I can absolutely imagine. That's why I've offered my services, hehe. I really feel for you and can tell that it won't be long before I could use some fresh ears, too. One thing that might help- or at least I'm hoping for it- is to listen to good mixes, just to get a ballpark or reference for inner calibration. If a successful record sounds muffled, well, then it may be my ears. :shrug:
JUST DON'T USE OSC TRACKS as reference, hahahahahaha.... that can go south quickly! :hihi:

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Taron wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 9:13 am So...I'm doodling around with this thing and this happens:
One Single Instance of OBXd...(+ some reverb)
https://soundcloud.com/taronium/obxd-onesound/s-j41YB
Beautiful :tu:

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Thanks, Andy! :) This synth has some fantastic powers, if one lets it. Yet, it can be quite challenging at times, when one wants to get more specific sounds or certain kinds of sounds. Here and there it is difficult to wrestle it out of rather squeaky formant ranges, I find. But if it begins to feel impossible, it simply means that it doesn't want to be used that way and it's wise to change course a bit.
I do, however, really love synths with limitations, because of the challenge, but also the guidance they provide.

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Taron wrote: Wed Oct 16, 2019 6:50 pm You know, that's one of the curious pitfalls of the OSC. With all the masterful mastering and crazy effects as well as obsessively engineered automation and insane numbers of instances, the thing that gets endangered more than anything is "music itself".
What is "music itself"? I give you an example that will show that this is completely subjective. I was completely flashed by the 1950s movie score of "Forbidden Planet". "Composed" very differently, even physically in terms of "devices built by the composers themselves" and in the end Charles and BeBe Baron composed one of the most impressive and unpreceeded scores with their take on krell music. Is this music? Will this pass the chord police?
I'm really frustrated that all it takes to fall under "music" to reproduce the n-th iteration of yet the same Max Martin recipies over and over again... Axis of awesomes 4 chord songs. I have not yet the impression that this approach will take anybody to any new terrain and actually this "recepies" thing is exactly what AI already can do and even will do better... Just clone what Max Martin does 253 times a year... This said, I get more and more not surprised anymore. But it's good to have this conservation because I remember again what impressed me the most in electronic music ... and I probably revert back to more "head cinema" style if taking part again.

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You're getting lost in your own preconceptions regarding the reminder to consider "music itself". In fact, you unwittingly support my point even more, because such scores were made truly from a place of care for the context. Zarf, among others, will testify to my love for creation outside of worn-out chord progressions. Being inventive is likely the most brilliant choice one can make and likely draw from the heart as well (that includes cerebral efforts!). If anything, and as always, I'm ready to cringe again, if I keep hearing over and over the locked in arrangements and template mixes that were fantastic the first 50 times, but it sorta...well... just gets a bit old and uninspiring. That being said, they still can be very impressive, no doubt. Enough "new people" join the gang to be overwhelmed by those well balanced productions, but... anyway.
I love your explorations and careful crafting, Peter. That can indeed be very inspiring, especially remembering that fantastic stereo treatment with the Oculus Spatializer (which I haven't used for a long time...hmmm...should hook it up again!).
So, yeah, don't be bitter about musicians, who have a strong enough background in music theory or the natural inclination to explore and create within established patterns. I'm with you on the boring me-too aspects in all directions, be it chords, sound design or mixing. But, please, don't twist my words around, turning them into something I've never said nor meant.

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