One synth EP Challenge (No competition or prizes - just for fun)

Great fun, great prizes! Good luck!
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TritoneAddiction
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01 Oct 2017

joeyluck wrote:
01 Oct 2017
Hey everybody! Here is an article/review of sorts I did about God of Rainbows' album, nanobots.

https://www.reasontalk.com/2017/10/albu ... -rainbows/

Special thanks to God of Rainbows for taking the time to talk with me and to TritoneAddiction for this great challenge/thread and everyone else who has been participating. Hopefully this article will help bring more attention to this thread.

If there is anybody else here that would like to write an album review or write about your experience writing an album, please feel free and if you send it to us, we can feature it on the front page!
I read the article. Really cool.
There's always the possibility that people will get into this thread more when the new R10 instruments arrive.

I might be up for something like writing about making an EP at some point. We'll see.
I'm pretty sure I'll make a one synth EP with Europa when it comes out. Maybe the other instruments too.

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TritoneAddiction
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01 Oct 2017

Just finished another Legend synth track.

When starting this thread my goal was to write a Legend EP. That failed and I ended up writing EPs with Chip64, FM4 and Snakebite instead.
But now I've actually finished 4 Legend tracks in total since I got the Legend synth.

I wouldn't call it an EP since all tracks are very different. But still for anyone wanting to hear Legend in different contexts here are my 4 Legend tracks I've made so far.

"Bubbles"
I just finished this one. All sounds and reverbs comes from the synth. No samples used. One of my most dynamic song I've written for sure. I've avoided a lot of harsh and bright sounds so that one can listen to it on loud volume and still have it sound somewhat soft.


"Voltage Overload"
This is pretty much the opposite of "Bubbles". Not much dynamics and lots of distorted sounds and beats.


"Modecca"
It all started with the beat and then I built the track from there.


"Legend"
The first track I wrote with Legend and also the song I entered with for the Legend Song Challenge. Making this track made fall in love with the synth. All sounds are made with the Legend, drums, delays, reverb too. No samples used.

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FLVZ
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02 Oct 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
01 Oct 2017
Just finished another Legend synth track.

When starting this thread my goal was to write a Legend EP. That failed and I ended up writing EPs with Chip64, FM4 and Snakebite instead.
But now I've actually finished 4 Legend tracks in total since I got the Legend synth.

I wouldn't call it an EP since all tracks are very different. But still for anyone wanting to hear Legend in different contexts here are my 4 Legend tracks I've made so far.

"Bubbles"
I just finished this one. All sounds and reverbs comes from the synth. No samples used. One of my most dynamic song I've written for sure. I've avoided a lot of harsh and bright sounds so that one can listen to it on loud volume and still have it sound somewhat soft.


"Voltage Overload"
This is pretty much the opposite of "Bubbles". Not much dynamics and lots of distorted sounds and beats.


"Modecca"
It all started with the beat and then I built the track from there.


"Legend"
The first track I wrote with Legend and also the song I entered with for the Legend Song Challenge. Making this track made fall in love with the synth. All sounds are made with the Legend, drums, delays, reverb too. No samples used.
I think you definitely have an ep to be proud of here brother. I can hear it in the way you've crafted the songs. Your bias towards a particular sound when using Legend (Saw leads and FM sounds) is what characterises this EP.

IMO Track 1 is Bubbles because its a nice slow starter and quite contrasting to the other 3 songs.

Track 2 is Voltage Overload for me, simply because of the musical contrast it has over bubbles, which is imo a great way to grab the attention of the listener and tell them we're going for a ride now.

Track 3 is Modecca which showcases a more exotic approach (If Voltage overload was described as a Crazy tour guide driving you through a jungle at absolute speed, Modecca is the brother to the crazy tour guide who likes to get high and enjoy the drive rather than just get through it).

Track 4 is Legend an epic ending to the journey, the song for the credits at the end of the show when you leave the cinema with that slight buzz of adrenaline because you enjoyed what you came to watch!
Well done on this EP, achievement unlocked imo :thumbs_up:

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TritoneAddiction
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03 Oct 2017

Flavolous wrote:
02 Oct 2017
I think you definitely have an ep to be proud of here brother. I can hear it in the way you've crafted the songs. Your bias towards a particular sound when using Legend (Saw leads and FM sounds) is what characterises this EP.

IMO Track 1 is Bubbles because its a nice slow starter and quite contrasting to the other 3 songs.

Track 2 is Voltage Overload for me, simply because of the musical contrast it has over bubbles, which is imo a great way to grab the attention of the listener and tell them we're going for a ride now.

Track 3 is Modecca which showcases a more exotic approach (If Voltage overload was described as a Crazy tour guide driving you through a jungle at absolute speed, Modecca is the brother to the crazy tour guide who likes to get high and enjoy the drive rather than just get through it).

Track 4 is Legend an epic ending to the journey, the song for the credits at the end of the show when you leave the cinema with that slight buzz of adrenaline because you enjoyed what you came to watch!
Well done on this EP, achievement unlocked imo :thumbs_up:
Thanks for the comments, appreciate it.
Even though it took longer than I expected to write my Legend tracks and they are far from cohesive as an actual EP, I'm still pretty happy with these as individual tracks.

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TritoneAddiction
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03 Oct 2017

I took the liberty to remove some people from the list of upcoming EPs. Their deadlines had past a loooong time ago. Just seemed like they weren't going to happen at this point. If I'm wrong feel free to post a new deadline again with your synth and I'll add you back on the list.

It would be nice to have some people on the list with deadlines that hasn't expired already. Otherwise it feels like the whole point of a deadline is pretty meaningless.

On the positive note, 21 EPs/albums has been made and posted in this thread which is very cool. I'm hoping this thread hasn't completely died off yet and that more people will take on the challenge.
Last edited by TritoneAddiction on 10 Oct 2017, edited 1 time in total.

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joeyluck
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03 Oct 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
01 Oct 2017
joeyluck wrote:
01 Oct 2017
Hey everybody! Here is an article/review of sorts I did about God of Rainbows' album, nanobots.

https://www.reasontalk.com/2017/10/albu ... -rainbows/

Special thanks to God of Rainbows for taking the time to talk with me and to TritoneAddiction for this great challenge/thread and everyone else who has been participating. Hopefully this article will help bring more attention to this thread.

If there is anybody else here that would like to write an album review or write about your experience writing an album, please feel free and if you send it to us, we can feature it on the front page!
I read the article. Really cool.
There's always the possibility that people will get into this thread more when the new R10 instruments arrive.

I might be up for something like writing about making an EP at some point. We'll see.
I'm pretty sure I'll make a one synth EP with Europa when it comes out. Maybe the other instruments too.
Thanks!
Let us know anytime if you decide to write something :puf_smile:

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TheGodOfRainbows
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13 Oct 2017

Tritone, I'm ready to announce the release date of the Jiggery Pokery Harmonic Synthesizer EP that I originally announced many months ago.

And this time, I will adhere to the deadline! Also this time, I will make it an EP, not a full length LP.

:mrgreen: Well, ok, I'll do my best to stick to the rules. :puf_bigsmile:

JPS Harmonic Synthesizer EP
DEADLINE: December 12, 2017

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frog974new
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14 Oct 2017

this topic get me inspired to do my last EP with only with the Predator

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7503569

i'll take time to listen all new entry on this EP but on those i've all ready view ,its an amazing work ,there's some cool stull .
it nice to see how each artist using some Re :) .

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TritoneAddiction
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14 Oct 2017

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
13 Oct 2017
Tritone, I'm ready to announce the release date of the Jiggery Pokery Harmonic Synthesizer EP that I originally announced many months ago.

And this time, I will adhere to the deadline! Also this time, I will make it an EP, not a full length LP.

:mrgreen: Well, ok, I'll do my best to stick to the rules. :puf_bigsmile:

JPS Harmonic Synthesizer EP
DEADLINE: December 12, 2017
Awesome :thumbs_up:

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MannequinRaces
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14 Oct 2017

joeyluck wrote:
01 Oct 2017
Hey everybody! Here is an article/review of sorts I did about God of Rainbows' album, nanobots.

https://www.reasontalk.com/2017/10/albu ... -rainbows/

Special thanks to God of Rainbows for taking the time to talk with me and to TritoneAddiction for this great challenge/thread and everyone else who has been participating. Hopefully this article will help bring more attention to this thread.

If there is anybody else here that would like to write an album review or write about your experience writing an album, please feel free and if you send it to us, we can feature it on the front page!
Great article and great tunes God of Rainbows!! Very inspiring stuff! Keep up the great work. Really good example of how setting limitations can lead to amazing results.

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teddymcw
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18 Oct 2017



blah blah spiel:

So life changed, and in combination with having a truly hell of a time managing CPU (ya I know all the tricks), a few weird bugs, and breaks helped me to be months passed the deadline. Forgiveness please, as I hold the energy on this thread sacred. I’ve fired myself a few times, but eventually got most projects cohering just enough for a submission.

Anyways, positives are that I was able to add another piece that will integrate into the 15 track Vk-2 LP I have going fairly nicely, learned more about mixing, and ended up venting into the acoustic guitar while traveling or battling the process.

Mixes surely aren’t totally final but mostly hearable for now. I love this synth, except the CPU was such a pain to work with that it's truly prohibitive for my workflow and kind of a mistake in hindsight to spend so much time in bounce, fix hell. Maybe I'll fix the mixes and complete the 15 tracks that are 90% orchestrated when quantum computing becomes more ubiquitous. These aren't even any of the 3 tracks I originally intended on releasing for this challenge many months ago haha. My 'cheat patch' which is a tweaked Parsec patch called 'nice' by Andrew Skelton is only apparent on 'Lagrimas'
Last edited by teddymcw on 18 Oct 2017, edited 1 time in total.

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TheGodOfRainbows
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18 Oct 2017

MannequinRaces wrote:
14 Oct 2017
Great article and great tunes God of Rainbows!! Very inspiring stuff! Keep up the great work. Really good example of how setting limitations can lead to amazing results.
Thank you!. Yeah, setting limits in an age when there practically are none, does help focus one's mind.

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TheGodOfRainbows
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18 Oct 2017

teddymcw wrote:
18 Oct 2017


blah blah spiel:

So life changed, and in combination with having a truly hell of a time managing CPU (ya I know all the tricks), a few weird bugs, and breaks helped me to be months passed the deadline. Forgiveness please, as I hold the energy on this thread sacred. I’ve fired myself a few times, but eventually got most projects cohering just enough for a submission.

Anyways, positives are that I was able to add another piece that will integrate into the 15 track Vk-2 LP I have going fairly nicely, learned more about mixing, and ended up venting into the acoustic guitar while traveling or battling the process.

Mixes surely aren’t totally final but mostly hearable for now. I love this synth, except the CPU was such a pain to work with that it's truly prohibitive for my workflow and kind of a mistake in hindsight to spend so much time in bounce, fix hell. Maybe I'll fix the mixes and complete the 15 tracks that are 90% orchestrated when quantum computing becomes more ubiquitous. These aren't even any of the 3 tracks I originally intended on releasing for this challenge many months ago haha. My 'cheat patch' which is a tweaked Parsec patch called 'nice' by Andrew Skelton is only apparent on 'Lagrimas'
I like that first track!. Sounds good. The third one it says unavailable in my country!

I hear you on managing CPU. One thing I learned while making nanoBots, was that I need to stay on top of being organized, and being more frugal with my use of various effects (eqs/compressors/reverbs). I like to be like Jackson Pollack when I'm making music, in that I just throw devices into the rack fast and dirty, but at the peril of my CPU.

You mention bounce, fix hell. I was totally there with nanoBots. That's what took so long. I had built up so many devices, that live playback was not possible (I keep CPU use in Reason to 100%, so it doesnt stop playing back). And I hated the idea of having to bounce down a few tracks, or any at all, because one thing I try to do a lot is keep modulating and automating parameters continually (continuously?), and when bouncing down, making a tiny change to the sound mean now you have to rebounce. Gross.

Well, after postponing the release for several months because I was actually trying to work in Reason with CPU at 100%, and putting off bouncing, I finally accepted I had to "commit" to bounced tracks.

I look forward to your completed project! 15 tracks sounds like alot! Are going down the rabbit hole of full LP rather than EP as I did?

Good luck!

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TheGodOfRainbows
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18 Oct 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
01 Oct 2017

"Bubbles"
I just finished this one. All sounds and reverbs comes from the synth. No samples used. One of my most dynamic song I've written for sure. I've avoided a lot of harsh and bright sounds so that one can listen to it on loud volume and still have it sound somewhat soft.


"Voltage Overload"
This is pretty much the opposite of "Bubbles". Not much dynamics and lots of distorted sounds and beats.


"Modecca"
It all started with the beat and then I built the track from there.


"Legend"
The first track I wrote with Legend and also the song I entered with for the Legend Song Challenge. Making this track made fall in love with the synth. All sounds are made with the Legend, drums, delays, reverb too. No samples used.
:exclamation:
You are a music making machine! Amazing stuff! You are very prolific. I love your melodies, and mixing skills. Great job as always Tritone!
:puf_smile:

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TritoneAddiction
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18 Oct 2017

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
18 Oct 2017
:exclamation:
You are a music making machine! Amazing stuff! You are very prolific. I love your melodies, and mixing skills. Great job as always Tritone!
:puf_smile:
Well it did take me over a year to make 4 full Legend tracks so I wasn't exacly quick with this project :D But thanks I appreciate the kind words.
The mixing is a slow and steady process and often you don't hear if you improve or not. But I was happy when I listened back to an old track I wrote over 2 years ago and found so many bad mixing decisions I would do differently today.

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teddymcw
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18 Oct 2017

TheGodOfRainbows wrote:
18 Oct 2017

I look forward to your completed project! 15 tracks sounds like alot! Are going down the rabbit hole of full LP rather than EP as I did?
Thanks for the kind words and it really is great to be able to relate to having technical difficulties during the process!!

Third track should be fixed, it's nothing groundbreaking just kinda consonant vk-2 sounding stuff.

I'm not sure I'll ever finish the 15 tracks totally, there's still stuff I should be fixing in these last 3 I just posted. If I get good with Grain or other Samples I might come back and add a few samples to sure up some tracks. I just love being in the 'creative phase' if you will, making an orchestration rather than refining it to the sound quality one hears in their head while they try and produce that. My goal is to keep improving my knowledge of tidying a track to the point where I actually get a serotonin boost from organizing it. Then I can get to the more creative parts of mixing, which completes the circle of production, essentially making the entire process fun again! Yet, again CPU problems are not fun in anyway but I've gotten better at that workflow. So, I'm gonna step away from managing 6-15 instances of any monster synth.

Nice talking GOR, now I get to re-listen to your LP and a few others. I have more stuff with other synths in the spirit of this thread so I might continue with those. This paradigm is great.

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Reasonistas
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23 Oct 2017

Thought of this thread when I saw this article pop up on my news feed:

5 Excellent Electronic Albums Made With a Single Synthesizer

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/5-excell ... sizer/amp/
ImageImageImage

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TheGodOfRainbows
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02 Nov 2017

Noel G. wrote:
23 Oct 2017
Thought of this thread when I saw this article pop up on my news feed:

5 Excellent Electronic Albums Made With a Single Synthesizer

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/5-excell ... sizer/amp/
Sorry I didn't respond to this. Very interesting and so perfectly relevant! Thanks for the link!

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TritoneAddiction
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03 Nov 2017

Just finished another (my third) Snakebite track. Unlike the other two I wrote some time ago I feel like this one really represent what the Snakebite synth is all about, at least in my eyes. It's got a lot of those dirty, screechy, distorted sounds that Snakebite does well.



I'll add the two older tracks as well so that people can listen to all three of them if they want.



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MannequinRaces
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05 Nov 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
03 Nov 2017
Just finished another (my third) Snakebite track. Unlike the other two I wrote some time ago I feel like this one really represent what the Snakebite synth is all about, at least in my eyes. It's got a lot of those dirty, screechy, distorted sounds that Snakebite does well.

This was sweet! Nice job!

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ravisoni
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05 Nov 2017

TritoneAddiction wrote:
03 Nov 2017
Just finished another (my third) Snakebite track. Unlike the other two I wrote some time ago I feel like this one really represent what the Snakebite synth is all about, at least in my eyes. It's got a lot of those dirty, screechy, distorted sounds that Snakebite does well.



I'll add the two older tracks as well so that people can listen to all three of them if they want.


HOW YOU DO DAT. Man, I have so much respect and admiration for your work, your creativity and your relentlessness. Huge fan, seriously.
:reason: Reason 12 | :re: Preset Browser | :refill: Refill Hoarder

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TritoneAddiction
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05 Nov 2017

ravisoni wrote:
05 Nov 2017
HOW YOU DO DAT. Man, I have so much respect and admiration for your work, your creativity and your relentlessness. Huge fan, seriously.
Wow thank you. You totally made my day. Really appreciate it.

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Auryn
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05 Nov 2017

Glad to see that this thread is still alive & kicking... there's a lot of creativity going on here. I'll chip in with a 3-track Oberon suite that was made for my upcoming refill, the top track is a new and original track, the other 2 are arrangements of some well known classical pieces with sounds from the refill, and have been posted before in this thread a while ago.

~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-
Quixotic Sound Design: http://www.quixoticsounddesign.com
Europandemonium Refill: https://gumroad.com/l/YxIGB

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Ahornberg
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05 Nov 2017

Auryn wrote:
05 Nov 2017
Glad to see that this thread is still alive & kicking... there's a lot of creativity going on here. I'll chip in with a 3-track Oberon suite that was made for my upcoming refill, the top track is a new and original track, the other 2 are arrangements of some well known classical pieces with sounds from the refill, and have been posted before in this thread a while ago.

Wow! Love that merry-go-round sound, right for a scary movie :o

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Auryn
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05 Nov 2017

Ahornberg wrote:
05 Nov 2017
Wow! Love that merry-go-round sound, right for a scary movie :o
Hey thanks, that's nice to hear! Are you talking about the last track in particular?
~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-~-.-
Quixotic Sound Design: http://www.quixoticsounddesign.com
Europandemonium Refill: https://gumroad.com/l/YxIGB

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