Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #20 on: February 10, 2018, 08:58:56 AM »
I made a nice little discovery last night. With Ring Mod on and tuning set all the way down to 0 or 1, you can get some really nice tremolo effects. In conjunction with the mix knob it adds a little something extra that's different from only modulating the Amplifier or Panning settings. Also, turning Keytracking on makes the speed of the trem vary depending on the lowest note played. This makes for a very dynamic and inspiring effect! I discovered this with a simple EP sort of patch and it really turned the patch into something wonderful.
I might be talking to myself here but if anyone would like a copy of these patches I can upload them  :D

Gerry Havinga

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Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #21 on: February 10, 2018, 12:05:07 PM »
I made a nice little discovery last night. With Ring Mod on and tuning set all the way down to 0 or 1, you can get some really nice tremolo effects. In conjunction with the mix knob it adds a little something extra that's different from only modulating the Amplifier or Panning settings. Also, turning Keytracking on makes the speed of the trem vary depending on the lowest note played. This makes for a very dynamic and inspiring effect! I discovered this with a simple EP sort of patch and it really turned the patch into something wonderful.
I might be talking to myself here but if anyone would like a copy of these patches I can upload them  :D
Very nice tip thank you, and let one of the LFOs add periodically 1 or 2 to FX parameter 1 gives a nice weird random character to the tremolo effect  :)
DAW-less and going down the Eurorack rabbit hole.

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #22 on: February 10, 2018, 12:59:36 PM »
Of course, and thank you! That's a great idea, I'll have to give it a go tonight  :)

I don't have the synth in front of me to try it out right now, but I'd imagine assigning Note Number to the Ring Mod tuning with a small amount would also wield some interesting results. Or velocity. Perhaps an envelope too! One of the things I love about the Rev 2 is that it has almost none of the limitations I had with my previous synths. I can make just about anything I can dream up and that is a truly wonderful thing!

It seems that the ring mod effect has some movement within the stereo spectrum that gives the effect a little bit more depth. I think I'll be using this quite a bit in the future.



Very nice tip thank you, and let one of the LFOs add periodically 1 or 2 to FX parameter 1 gives a nice weird random character to the tremolo effect  :)

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #23 on: March 06, 2018, 06:14:46 AM »
Hi,


I just figured out this little trick:
When you deactivate both oscillators and use the filter to generate a sine with keytrack to 64 and resonance beyond self oscillation you can fine tune the filter by turning up the oscillator mix knob. Setting an LFO to OSC mix turned up to 64 makes some nice little vibrator effect.



Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #24 on: March 26, 2018, 06:40:58 PM »
I guess most of you guys like to keep your tricks secret   ;)

Even if you just have some old standard analog sound design tricks, I'd love to hear them!

https://www.reddit.com/r/synthrecipes/comments/3ex4ay/everything_in_its_right_place/

I came across this write-up about recreating the synth sound from Radiohead's Everything in its Right Place. I was able to make a patch I really liked from it, similar enough to the recorded sound, which is quite simple anyway, but this is the interesting part. At the end of the post you'll find this bit:
---
 If you’d like to mix in a dash of Rhodes authenticity, you can use a second oscillator to recreate the super-high pitched Rhodes tine noise. You can use a thin pulse wave or a triangle wave, and set the interval two octaves, nine half steps, and 50 cents above the main oscillator (this is the same as 33 half steps and 50 cents). You’ll want to fine tune the mix level. You might also need to open up the cutoff frequency to let that little guy through.
---

Do you mind posting your synth settings?  I'm struggling with getting this patch to sound authentic on the Rev2.  It's coming through the filter way to bright.  I love this Radiohead sound and have been trying to recreate it on this synth.

W07

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #25 on: August 09, 2018, 12:02:45 AM »
I don't have a rev2, but i have a theory i'd like to try out, if anyone with a rev2 could oblige me?

I noticed the rev2 doesn't have individual level control for osc 1 and 2, only a balance/mix knob.
On a lot of synths i have the sound gets a lot less harsh and cleaner when lowering the level of the oscillators sent into the filter section. So could anyone try this: Set up 2 mod slots of source: DC to osc level, both for osc 1 and 2 with a negative value of say, minus 64 or minus 48
Remember not to set amp envelope all the way to 127 (but rather nothing higher than 116)

Does this affect the sound other than in volume? I want to know if you can take the edge off the curtis filter a bit this way.
Thanks!

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #26 on: August 09, 2018, 12:07:44 AM »
I don't have a rev2, but i have a theory i'd like to try out, if anyone with a rev2 could oblige me?

I noticed the rev2 doesn't have individual level control for osc 1 and 2, only a balance/mix knob.
On a lot of synths i have the sound gets a lot less harsh and cleaner when lowering the level of the oscillators sent into the filter section. So could anyone try this: Set up 2 mod slots of source: DC to osc level, both for osc 1 and 2 with a negative value of say, minus 64 or minus 48
Remember not to set amp envelope all the way to 127 (but rather nothing higher than 116)

Does this affect the sound other than in volume? I want to know if you can take the edge off the curtis filter a bit this way.
Thanks!

I don't think the REV2 sounds harsh. I can try tonight though.

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #27 on: August 09, 2018, 09:28:45 AM »
On a lot of synths i have the sound gets a lot less harsh and cleaner when lowering the level of the oscillators sent into the filter section. So could anyone try this: Set up 2 mod slots of source: DC to osc level, both for osc 1 and 2 with a negative value of say, minus 64 or minus 48
Remember not to set amp envelope all the way to 127 (but rather nothing higher than 116)

There isn't a Osc Level in Mod Destination. Are you referring to Osc Mix?
DSI Prophet Rev2, Access Virus TI, Moog Sirin, Ableton Live

Razmo

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Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #28 on: August 09, 2018, 12:03:09 PM »
On a lot of synths i have the sound gets a lot less harsh and cleaner when lowering the level of the oscillators sent into the filter section. So could anyone try this: Set up 2 mod slots of source: DC to osc level, both for osc 1 and 2 with a negative value of say, minus 64 or minus 48
Remember not to set amp envelope all the way to 127 (but rather nothing higher than 116)

There isn't a Osc Level in Mod Destination. Are you referring to Osc Mix?

Actually there is in the printed manual... it's an error though, there is no such destination.
If you need me, follow the shadows...

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #29 on: October 23, 2018, 05:00:35 AM »
I read this cool thread and though I'd contribute a tip that I learned thanks to an answer in another thread by philroyjenkins. It greatly increased my appreciation and use of audio mod.

The effect of audiomod may seem very subtle when oscillator 1 is clearly audible (osc mix turned (almost) all the way to the left). Oscillator 1 then modulates itself. A much more interesting effect appears when you turn oscillator mix (almost) all the way to the right, while having any oscillator chosen for osc 2. If you now turn up audio mode, you will hear osc 2 modulated by osc 1. Now make some extreme adjustments to osc 1 pitch, e.g., g5, and hear how you get a whole new world of sound.

Razmo

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Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #30 on: October 24, 2018, 02:09:35 AM »
If you want the filters to be perfectly in tune, make certain you do the following:

1. Let the REV2 warm up for 30 minutes so that it's in working temperature.
2. Power off the REV2 for AT LEAST 10 seconds, then turn it on again.
3. Perform the filter/osc calibration routine.

If you do not do this initial waiting period of half an hour, the Curtis chips will not have warmed up to working temperature, and the result may be a nice filter in tune right after the calibration, but with time (as they warm up) they will go out of tune again and stay there... thus, if you do as I stated above, the filters will be out of tune when you turn on a cold machine, for about half an hour until the chips has reached working temperature... i think the later is probably what people would want.

The filter plays absolutely in tune on more than 8 octaves... A LOT of my programs utilize the filter in self oscillating mode, and it's crucial that they are in tune for these types of programs, or they'll be unplayable really, and especially for programs that also use Audio Mod.

The reason for turning the REV2 off and then on with a 10sec pause is that some users have machines that freeze during calibration if the REV2 has warmed up first, or runs thru very slowly... that little off/on trick will make it run thru the calibration in a snap. The chips will not have cooled down being off for just 10 seconds. But PLEASE wait all 10 seconds... I've had situations where a fast off and on would have the calibration routine either freeze or run thru very slowly if the off period is too short... i have no explanation of this "phenomenon", and SCI have not exactly been helpfull when I asked them about this, so I gave up asking about it... just make sure you wait those 10 seconds. I bet this has to doo with some capacitance... if you switch off and on fast, you'll also notice that the display remembers a lot of the information it had on it prior to switching the unit off...

SCI often tell us that it is only necessary to calibrate the REV2 once in it's lifetime... I've witnessed this not to be the case more than once, so be prepared to recalibrate from time to time... you'll hear it rather easily when one or two voices' filter is off... especially on those self oscillating filter programs. it is rare though that you need to recalibrate... luckily...

Using the filters in self oscillating mode, with the keytrack set to 64 (100%... not 50% as the manual states... value of 128 is in fact 200% keytracking) is the key to many more interresting timbres on the REV2... it's key when it comes to the parameter "Audio Mod" which frequency modulate the filter cutoff via oscillator 1... without this feature the variety in timbres on the REV2 would be very limited actually... and it becomes even more interresting when you also switch on sync between the oscillators, since oscillator one is the one being synced, and oscillator one is the waveform used to modulate the filter frequency via the Audio Mod parameter... without the Audio Mod feature you'd not have many believable bell like tones, that's for sure... at least not unless you use the RingMod FX... but that is monophonic and way less flexible when it comes to polyphonic bell sounds.
« Last Edit: October 24, 2018, 02:20:11 AM by Razmo »
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Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #31 on: October 25, 2018, 07:39:28 AM »
Allright... here is a trick I came up with lately to circumvent the fact that the REV2's reverb is nowhere near good enough for long-tailed ambient reverbs... we all know that it's impossible to get the decay time of the reverb long enough... the built in reverb simply does not cut it.

This irritated me a lot... mostly because I'd really like the reverbs to be part of the instrument itself...

It is possible though, to simulate a huge reverb on the REV2 with a rather simple trick, and a little sacrifice in polyphony.

Here is what you do:

1. Create whatever preset on layer A that you want... don't put any reverb on it... use the FX on layer A freely anyway you like, it's quite ok.

2. Copy layer A when you're done with it, to layer B by pressing split/stack simultanously, and then press "write".

3. Now edit layer B, and tweak the envelopes decay and release parameters to be extremely long... in essence you want a VERY long version of the sound you made on layer A before.

4. Now choose reverb as the FX for layer B, and set the decay to maximum, and the tone control to whatever you'd like (dark reverb or light or in between, your choice). Set the FX mix parameter to 100% wet.

With this setup, you will get a HUGE and very dense reverb from layer B, but you will not notice that the length comes from the very long release times since the FX is playing 100% wet.

You can now control the "mix" via Layer B's volume parameter instead to whatever amount you might want.

If you want to simulate a very long delay time before the reverb sets in (like when early reflections are gone, and the long tail gradually comes in), then simply adjust layer B's attack rates on the envelopes to your taste.

Actually you can go even further by transposing the reverb up an octave (transpose the sound in the oscillator section)... that gives an almost kind of "frozen" shimmer reverb quality to the verb.

If you want the verb more modulated, simply put some vibrato on the sound in layer B and you'll get an insane wash of verb ;)

The only drawback is that you have only 8voices since you must do this with stacked mode, but it really is not a big deal because the 100% wet reverb blurrs any voice stealing so much it's practically impossible to detect it, and the sounds you'd want to have on layer A would be short decaying sounds in most cases, which do not require more than 8 voices of polyphony... reverb on pads that sound all the time anyway is not as effective as one would believe since we normally notice the effects of a reverb mostly when the sound has ceased to sound.

here is an example i just did:

http://razmo.ziphoid.com/FakeVerb.mp3

...and yes... the above example is 100% REV2 ... no external verbs or anything... just your good ol' REV2 doin' it's thing ;)
« Last Edit: October 25, 2018, 07:45:46 AM by Razmo »
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Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #32 on: October 25, 2018, 08:08:10 AM »
In addition to my above post...

If you really think about it, A LOT of neat tricks is actually possible when you start to use the B layer cleverly... it has HUGE potential, and is probably one of the greatest things about SCI synths these days... all thair latest polysynths have A/B layers... use them to your advantage! ... the trick of setting the FX mix to wet and having the same sound as in layer A on the B layer, slightly changed can do seriously many cool things... just take the idear I gave above even further and introduce more advanced modulation in these long sounds and you'll have a reverb that have lots of motion in them for all kinds of strange verb FX you'll not find in any FX box out there... just use your imagination and experiment away ;)
If you need me, follow the shadows...

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #33 on: October 25, 2018, 11:06:09 AM »
In addition to my above post...

If you really think about it, A LOT of neat tricks is actually possible when you start to use the B layer cleverly... it has HUGE potential, and is probably one of the greatest things about SCI synths these days... all thair latest polysynths have A/B layers... use them to your advantage! ... the trick of setting the FX mix to wet and having the same sound as in layer A on the B layer, slightly changed can do seriously many cool things... just take the idear I gave above even further and introduce more advanced modulation in these long sounds and you'll have a reverb that have lots of motion in them for all kinds of strange verb FX you'll not find in any FX box out there... just use your imagination and experiment away ;)

Thanks Razmo! This is rely a creative approache.

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #34 on: November 09, 2018, 04:12:03 AM »
Thank you very much for that great idea for the reverb (and the example), Razmo. Sounds great! I will try out the idea of transposing layer B an octave to get that shimmery effect. Also, I'm glad I just got the 16 voice version (still so much to learn!), which will also come in handy for ideas such as these.

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #35 on: February 22, 2019, 02:15:02 PM »
---
 If you’d like to mix in a dash of Rhodes authenticity, you can use a second oscillator to recreate the super-high pitched Rhodes tine noise. You can use a thin pulse wave or a triangle wave, and set the interval two octaves, nine half steps, and 50 cents above the main oscillator (this is the same as 33 half steps and 50 cents). You’ll want to fine tune the mix level. You might also need to open up the cutoff frequency to let that little guy through.
---
The specification for +3350¢ had me wondering; it turns out to be almost the 7th harmonic (which would be +3369¢). 


Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #36 on: March 05, 2019, 03:45:23 PM »
Found this tonight:
If you're layering another external synth with the Prophet and playing it from the Prophet,
you can pseudo-solo the external synthesizer/voice by holding down 'Source' in the Modulation Matrix
(it cycles through Velocity, Pressure and Note Number, thus muting the Prophet hehe)

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #37 on: June 30, 2020, 02:34:44 PM »
I made a nice little discovery last night. With Ring Mod on and tuning set all the way down to 0 or 1, you can get some really nice tremolo effects. In conjunction with the mix knob it adds a little something extra that's different from only modulating the Amplifier or Panning settings. Also, turning Keytracking on makes the speed of the trem vary depending on the lowest note played. This makes for a very dynamic and inspiring effect! I discovered this with a simple EP sort of patch and it really turned the patch into something wonderful.
I might be talking to myself here but if anyone would like a copy of these patches I can upload them  :D


Hey Man,
I would love if you uploaded some of those patches. It sounds like you and I both love the dying, warbly, and yet rich organic sounds. Can you email em to me or upload them here?

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #38 on: October 18, 2020, 08:03:50 AM »
4 pages of Rev 2 tips included in a Paul Dither’s free zip of factory patch recipes. Some duplication of tips on this thread but some new and easier to print to have on hand :)

https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,2455.0.html

Re: Rev 2 Tips and Tricks!
« Reply #39 on: November 24, 2020, 04:21:24 PM »
here's a little trick I discovered. if you put an LFO in a mod slot rather than just using the LFO Controls, you can set negative values for unipolar waveforms, and change the starting phase for bipolar waveforms. this allows for some really cool effects. I discovered this yesterday while re-creating Edgar Winter's Acid Bath patch used on Frankenstein.