MPC X, MPC Live, MPC One & MPC Key 61 Forum: Support and discussion for the MPC X, MPC Live, MPC Live II, MPC One & MPC Key 61; Akai's current generation of standalone MPCs.
By jpeg Mon Aug 02, 2021 6:58 pm
hyena wrote:i continually read people complaining about Tubesynth, saying its crap and useless.
i am a sound designer, ableton live certified trainer and i teach synthesis as my main job. i'm a synthesizer enthusiast, now my hardware gear is a bit reduced but i have the mpc live mk1, a 12u x 104hp eurorack modular synth and a bunch of other stuff. just to point out that im not exactly a newbie...of course my opinion is as good as anyone else.

i'm surprised by the hate towards tubesynth as i always found it a great virtual synth! while i agree on Bassline being too basic and a bit uninspiring, i find tubesynth great for many reasons:
-its a classic virtual analog with some unusual twists
-continually sweepable waveforms on both vco's
-waveforms modulatable by lfo and envelopes
-ringmod and suboscillator
-the unusual boost\cut sweepable eq on oscillator 2!
-all the detuning\doubling effects both on oscillator 1 and global
-hard sync
-many gain stage points with very nice saturation
-the great third auxiliary envelope!!! usually it defaults as pitch envelope but can be routed to other stuff as well
-the overall big fat gritty sound of it.

presets are "meh" as usual,but if you spend some time on it i think you'll end up appreciating it a bit more!


thanks for ur insight; from my perspective the issue with tubesynth is not in its technical features or specs, its all to do with the tonal quality of the sound, it had cold and glassy tone that does not mesh well with sampled content.

It also suffers from the flatness that i often hear in most vst synths, where the sounds dont have the same 3d sound dynamics that i get from hardware synths.

so the issue is it almost to perfect in producing the sound which gives it a lifeless quality; for instance when i use the filter cut off and the resonance, there is not much interplay between the resonance and the cutoff, while if u do the same on the microkorg there is a marvelous interaction between the two parameter that adds character to the sound, but even the raw oscillators on the microkorg sound better and more impactful, as far as weightiness and vibrancy of the tone.
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By hyena Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:20 am
yah i get what you say.
while i agree about the filter being a bit uninspiring, i find the general sound of tubesynth really pleasant to my ears, especially when in distorted\saturated territory.
but of course it's a matter of taste!
i personally don't like the sound of the microkorg that much but have friends who love it!
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By Neurone Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:07 pm
As far as “musical” filters are concerned, again, one persons meat is another persons poison.
It’s utterly subjective.
I for one, HATE, flabby filters with their dreadful old “warm” even-harmonic driven crapness.
I like my filters, cold, neutral, like grey razor blades.
I want cold, computer hardness, soulless math-driven icy distance.
You can all chase your sad EDM/Bored of Canada leaky filter nonsense lol.
By Straker Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:15 pm
Neurone wrote:As far as “musical” filters are concerned, again, one persons meat is another persons poison.
It’s utterly subjective.
I for one, HATE, flabby filters with their dreadful old “warm” even-harmonic driven crapness.
I like my filters, cold, neutral, like grey razor blades.
I want cold, computer hardness, soulless math-driven icy distance.
You can all chase your sad EDM/Bored of Canada leaky filter nonsense lol.

You have a filter on odyssey (or Tubesynth), Akai insert filters and Air insert filters to choose from.
And if you like none of them, you can route the synth out and use your favourite hardware filter.
So that's not a big issue at the end.
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By Neurone Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:21 pm
Straker wrote:You have a filter on odyssey (or Tubesynth), Akai insert filters and Air insert filters to choose from.
And if you like none of them, you can route the synth out and use your favourite hardware filter.
So that's not a big issue at the end.


Lol, I’m fine with the whatever Akai have provided, I can adapt as necessary.
By Straker Tue Aug 03, 2021 12:26 pm
Neurone wrote:
Straker wrote:You have a filter on odyssey (or Tubesynth), Akai insert filters and Air insert filters to choose from.
And if you like none of them, you can route the synth out and use your favourite hardware filter.
So that's not a big issue at the end.


Lol, I’m fine with the whatever Akai have provided, I can adapt as necessary.

Yeah I am also fine.
I don't like Air filter much, both the insert and the one on synths, but sometimes they are good to tame high frequencies and darken sounds.
Odissey filter is quite weird and I am still trying to understand how to use it and if I want to use it.
Anyway I like Akai insert filters, so I can akways use them as last chance.
All good.
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By EnochLight Tue Aug 03, 2021 6:43 pm
Neurone wrote:You can all chase your sad EDM/Bored of Canada leaky filter nonsense lol.


Image

Listen now - "Music Has the Right to Children" is one of the greatest electronic albums of the late 90's.
By Straker Tue Aug 03, 2021 7:31 pm
EnochLight wrote:
Neurone wrote:You can all chase your sad EDM/Bored of Canada leaky filter nonsense lol.


Image

Listen now - "Music Has the Right to Children" is one of the greatest electronic albums of the late 90's.

Absolutely.
And still a lot to learn from BOC in 2021.
They were using a fraction of what we have now.
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By Neurone Tue Aug 03, 2021 8:19 pm
EnochLight wrote:
Neurone wrote:You can all chase your sad EDM/Bored of Canada leaky filter nonsense lol.


Image

Listen now - "Music Has the Right to Children" is one of the greatest electronic albums of the late 90's.


I bought it on the day it came out.
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By Neodymium Wed Aug 04, 2021 4:54 am
EDM and BOC in the same sentence :vomit: