KVR Audio

yellowmix · Post by **yellowmix** » Sun Apr 14, 2019 1:42 pm

BONES wrote: ↑Sun Apr 14, 2019 12:21 amLinux?

If you're referring to the attachment, it's a 7-Zip archive. It's a free Windows-based archiver that can deal with zip, rar, and other common formats. 7z is its own compression scheme. There is a Linux port as well. Honestly one of the best archivers around since it can deal with many of them and is fast.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Mon Apr 15, 2019 1:16 am

Why would you think I was referring to the attachment? 7-zip is the very first thing I install on any new PC build. It's definitely the best archiver around and I'd be lost without it.

AdvancedFollower · Post by **AdvancedFollower** » Wed Apr 17, 2019 9:04 pm

So my local music store ran a promotion where the UNO Synth was €143, and you also got to pick one IK Multimedia software product worth up to €199. So you're basically getting paid to take the synth off their hands (not really, but still).

I think the interface is the reason this synth doesn't seem to have sold that well. Compared to something like a Microbrute or Monologue, it just doesn't look very inviting, even though it's arguably more feature packed than those (if only it had oscillator sync and ring mod). At first glance, the "buttons" look like crappy old membrane switches, and it only has 7 knobs. One big reason people still buy hardware is for the tactile switches and knobs (ideally 1 per function) and you're not getting that here. Having to use the editor to access basic functions like LFO PWM mod amounts and filter kbd tracking is extremely limiting if you want to use it stand-alone.

Hooked up to a computer it's great, though. I found I had to add an audio isolation transformer module to get rid of the ground loop noise when plugging in with USB, and I also had to connect an extra MIDI Cable for MIDI Clock when using USB for the VST editor. But other than that, it's works great and gives you quality of life features like recall of patches inside the DAW (something you won't get on a lot of the other cheap analog synths).

Peter - IK Multimedia · Wed Apr 17, 2019 10:49 pm

Who says it hasn't sold well? It's one of our most successful and raved-about products. That store was discounting it, and the promotion for the software is one we created. You can see we've had the promotion posted for a while: UNO Synth Double Up

The interface is capsense (capacitive sensing) and not membrance, in case someone happening upon this thread is confused by the post above.

Hope that helps clear things up. Thanks!

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:16 am

AdvancedFollower wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 9:04 pmCompared to something like a Microbrute or Monologue, it just doesn't look very inviting, even though it's arguably more feature packed than those (if only it had oscillator sync and ring mod). At first glance, the "buttons" look like crappy old membrane switches, and it only has 7 knobs. One big reason people still buy hardware is for the tactile switches and knobs (ideally 1 per function) and you're not getting that here.

Well, it has easily outlasted my Monologue. The Monologue might look inviting but the disconnect between all those knobs/switches and the actual settings is a huge turn-off for me. At least with Uno I don't have that expectation, I know the knob position is meaningless. (Of course, with my Pulse 2 it is even better, as it has endless rotary encoders so it works a lot more like you'd expect.)

Having to use the editor to access basic functions like LFO PWM mod amounts and filter kbd tracking is extremely limiting if you want to use it stand-alone.

No it isn't, because it has a patch memory so you can save the patch and recall it whenever you like, whether it's attached to a computer or not.

I still love my Uno. Two nights ago I finally got around to switching all my hardware on for the first time in more than 6 months and I spent most of the evening playing with Uno, because it is so immediate and sounds so good. Interestingly, I am having trouble with noise for the first time, running it through Overhub, so I may have to disconnect the USB, which is fine.

glokraw · Post by **glokraw** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:31 am

AdvancedFollower wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 9:04 pm
I think the interface is the reason

I think IK did a great job with the interface and the editor,
keeping the price down, and the functions high.
There's plenty of $400-$500 hardware that lack UNO capabilities,
without offering superior sound.

It's audio and midi i/o, arp, and sequencer make it
both an oft used accessory, and a core studio componant.

If using 5 pin midi din cables, I recommend fabricating a bracket that
keeps that weight from pulling down on the UNO midi jacks,
or securing the larger cables so there is no weight transfer.
Cheers

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 1:03 am

Yeah, that feels like a possible point of failure, doesn't it? I haven't worked out how to deal with it using the stand I got for mine yet. It's something I need to work out.

glokraw · Post by **glokraw** » Thu Apr 18, 2019 9:34 am

I think I'll super-glue a kids 'lego' block under the connectors.
The available sizes should do the trick, and once the first
one is in place, others are stackable. Small ones can be glued
atop the main ones to provide horizontal resistance to errant tugs.

I think I'll also find some shock absorbing foam for the corners
and bottom, and glue toothpaste tube caps taller than the knobs
on the left/right corners, so a crash landing won't be absorbed
by the pots. It may then look like a first grade science project,
but I didn't get much past that grade anyway

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Sun Apr 21, 2019 1:54 am

Mine lives in the soft case I bought for it, with the cables coming out of the zipper edge. I just remove it when I want to use it. That said, I prefer Skulpt's hard cover, it makes me feel that it's much safer than Uno.

glokraw · Post by **glokraw** » Sun Apr 21, 2019 1:57 am

Attched is a loop made using UNO arp, with it's
PLY direction, and 'hold' enabled, played from my old QS8.
UNO arpeggiated SampleTank sounds, a nylon guitar,
a sitar and another similar ethnic sound,
and I recorded a string of short live arpeggios,
then used Audacity for colating, editing,
and staggering the ones I liked to make
a more interesting result.
Cheers

toonertik · Post by **toonertik** » Sun Apr 21, 2019 9:45 am

BONES wrote: ↑Mon Apr 15, 2019 1:16 am Why would you think I was referring to the attachment? 7-zip is the very first thing I install on any new PC build. It's definitely the best archiver around and I'd be lost without it.

Oh no... but it's true...
My 1000th post and WTF, GRRRRRR, I am agreeing with 'ole Bonesy....
Hopefully just this once on this monuMENTAL occasion.

7-zip is the best by far.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Tue Apr 23, 2019 12:36 am

I was running Uno through my Yamaha AG06 over the weekend, which has very handy on-board effects. Using it with the Amp Sim I was getting some great sounds out of it. One of the presets I was using, unbeknownst to me (what a weird word that is to type out), used a non-standard scale and it made the riff it was playing sound very guitar-like. Once I realised it was a strange scale, I changed it back to chromatic and it lost all its charm. Up to that point I had thought the scales feature a minor annoyance, now I find myself trying out different scales to see what happens, making Uno even cooler than it already was for me.

AdvancedFollower · Post by **AdvancedFollower** » Wed Apr 24, 2019 1:18 pm

Peter - IK Multimedia wrote: ↑Wed Apr 17, 2019 10:49 pm The interface is capsense (capacitive sensing) and not membrance, in case someone happening upon this thread is confused by the post above.

I'm talking more about the physical appearance of the buttons at first glance, not their function. For someone who's just seeing the box or looking at pictures, it's not apparent which might affect first impressions (especially if you grew up with cheap 80s home computers

). They are of course capacitive and very responsive once you get to use them.

BONES wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2019 12:16 am No it isn't, because it has a patch memory so you can save the patch and recall it whenever you like, whether it's attached to a computer or not.

Yeah but if you decide you want to change those parameters later, you have to hook it up to a computer or iDevice, modify the preset and then upload it again. To me that's hardly practical and would make the synth unsuitable for standalone use.

The editor is great though. Just thought it was an odd choice to make those parameters completely unavailable on the panel. They could have been made available (and silk screened) as secondary parameters by holding the LFO and Filter buttons, for example.

It's like a broker advertising a 1-storey house, and then you find out there's a hidden trapdoor to a complete second floor.

BONES · Post by **BONES** » Thu Apr 25, 2019 1:50 am

There is nothing I can do about your workflow but so far, after 8 months or so of actual use, that is a problem that has yet to rear it's head in my workflow. I do not program mine through the editor very often (maybe only two or three times in 8 months) so if it was really a problem, I think it would have started to bug me by now.

I think it is fairly obvious that Uno is not designed as a standalone instrument so much as something to integrate into a larger set-up. That said, if full access to every parameter on the go is so all-important, you only have to hook your iPhone up to it to access the deep parameters, which is hardly the end of the world. After all, it is just a few functions - Velocity to amp/filter LFO rate and wave modulation (PWM). I just set up a couple of INIT presets with different settings for each and I use them with the front panel controls to make and edit sounds whenever and wherever I like. If I were to run into an issue where I wanted access to PWM, for example, I'd just put it aside until I got home and hooked it back into the rest of the set-up. Hardly a deal-breaker when the rest of it is so damned good and it is so stupidly cheap.

Peter - IK Multimedia · Thu May 02, 2019 5:29 pm

Great discussion, glad that folks are still getting a lot out of UNO Synth and we'll continue to improve it.

We do, however, have something else up our sleeve coming during Superbooth and we've posted a couple of photos so far. First was the knobs photo but that's not a lot to go on:

But this one, posted on Reddit earlier than anywhere else and picked up by Bonedo is more telling:

IK MUltimedia UNO Synth