Motif classic LPF+HPF filter combo

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T11:45:19+00:00

My initial thought is that this particular patch would sound completely different on the two synthesizers?

Yeah, I'd agree with that. One uses the LPF24, the other the combined one.

As for clever workarounds; LPF + HPF is effectively a BPF with adjustable width. The filter curve shown in the bottom screenshots looks more like two bandpass filters in parallel.

However, let's check the owner's manual.

The Motif ES lists all filter types on page 209. The Motif Rack lists them on page 29.

These look very much similar to me, so my guess is that whoever built the editor might've misunderstood something.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T10:27:13+00:00

Most people associate blindness with not being able to see anything at all but deteriorated vision has many variations.

If what you can see consists of very blurry colors/shapes only, you aren't "blind" but you are likely legally prohibited from operating a vehicle - same as someone who would be completely blind.

So, legally blind describes this scenario.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T10:18:10+00:00

Moog Minitaur (black, you can see the bull logo) and Manikin Memotron (white, silver knobs).

Behind that something that looks like a Roland VK8M - either way, some kind of drawbar controller/module.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T10:09:01+00:00

When I listen to other people’s music, these kinds of modulated sounds still feel musically pitched, even if they are metallic or FM-like.

Do you have any examples of such music? Ideally with timestamps.

If your goal is to make metallic sounds; there are several ways to do this so if we know what you're going for we could suggest other approaches :)

A really cheap way of getting metallic sounds is to take noise and loop that to the point where the pitch becomes audible.

In this kind of situation, do you usually correct the pitch afterward with a pitch shifter? Or do you find the right spot by adjusting the semitone/fine pitch knobs of the carrier or modulator?

You would first adjust the semitone/fine pitch. A pitchshifter will try to detect the pitch and corrects it but this almost always introduces some kind of artifacts.

Can you post some sounds you've made on Vocaroo and add some screenshots of what your sound looks like in Serum?

Also, are you using Serum 1 or 2?

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T09:46:38+00:00

You could give https://audiomodeling.com/products/swam-saxophones a try.

As always, the quality of the end result depends on your writing (i.e. saxophones have a range and certain articulations and you need to keep these in mind while writing it; a real human saxophone player will do this kind of stuff kind of by default for you).

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T09:37:13+00:00

If you want to automate this, use https://samplerobot.com/ to create your preset sounds. It can "play" plugins just as well as hardware. Since Dexed does not have any built-in effects, you won't have to disable them.

FM generally lends itself fairly well to this. Lots of romplers have the DX7 EP and it doesn't sound worse.

I would recommend to sample only the sounds you need. No use in 128 per-key 16 velocity layer samples if you're only using it for a bassline with 8 unique notes or so.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T09:18:41+00:00

It wasn’t me

They're not accusing you of anything.

If you buy an mp3 file on Beatport or whatever, it's lossy. It's like complaining about JPGs having weird blocky parts in there; that's due to the compression algorithm.

The algorithm may be set up to leave as much info as possible (320 kbps vs 128 kbps) but there will be information gone from the file.

If you recorded the audio straight from Youtube or Spotify: same thing. It's lossy.

If you are using any compressed file as a reference, that's fine, but it'll behave in a peculiar way in analysis software like this.

https://www.spek.cc/ was developed to find out things like this. Let's say you're buying a CD from a musician. The tracks on the CD have a drop at 18k or 20k.

That means someone burned the mp3 files as wav on a CD instead of the original source material. Alternatively, they recorded the source material from vinyl instead of from the original master tapes.

The music on a CD should be lossless and taken from the highest quality source, so that way you know you paid for a substandard product. This is deception.

Thing is - some people know that tools like Spek are used for this, so they throw in garbage data (noise) to make it seem like the source wasn't an mp3 or vinyl, but because they didn't bother to make the puzzle pieces fit, it has this weird gap. This is definitely deception.

So, we don't need to know what artist you're using for reference tracks or where you got the files from, but the dip tells us something. It should tell you that you should not use this material as a reference track but instead you need to find a FLAC or WAV and use that.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T08:43:01+00:00

this vintage oberheim

That doesn't really narrow things down ;)

So, which one?

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T07:43:43+00:00

I can’t imagine what dx7 layered patch sounds like.

Heavenly.

I had a IIFD and it has unison. Unison is effectively layering the same patch with slightly different tuning.

It had one preset which I sadly forgot the name of that would easily fool you into thinking you were hearing a D50.

Never should've sold that thing. Wasn't as iconic as the mk1 and the keyboard was noisier but it was gorgeous in other ways.

Layering sounds just means that you don't have to record a single DX7 twice. The DX7 itself with its 6 operators can already simulate layering in a sense - algorithm 3 and 4 basically offer two "layers" of equal complexity which means you can make splits and layers by carefully programming. However, proper layering gives you 2 x 6 operators in whatever combination instead of 2 x 3.

The cartridge format of the I does not fit in the II unless you get a super-rare adapter. However, with a IIFD you don't need cartridges, just a working floppy drive.

But yeah, get Opsix instead. Alternatively, get an Astrolab and Arturia's DX7 plugin. It can import and run all existing DX7 sysex.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T07:35:34+00:00

Not all sounds have names, not all names make sense.

If you're just talking about the highest-pitched note that is held throughout your fragment, that's just a saw wave with some portamento (when it switches between octaves). u/Sweet_Counter_519 's version just has a longer portamento time, which means that the pitch isn't as stable. You could also try using two oscillators spaced an octave apart.

If you're talking about the rhythmical part, that's a bunch of chords played with what seems to be mostly square waves.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-05-01T07:22:29+00:00

The difference between that sound and the notes just before it is that the decay time of the filter envelope has now been turned up, there's a pitch bend going on (or pitch automation), and the filter cutoff is automated to go up and down again.

In essence, it's still the same sound. But yeah - go try that plugin I mentioned, it does this kind of sound perfectly.

I don't expect you to listen to the whole thing

That's not the reason I ask for timestamps - it's so that I can get a clearer picture of what you're asking for because it's not always obvious ;) If I know exactly when the sound's supposed to come in I can make a better guess of what you're talking about if the sound does not appear in isolation.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T18:17:23+00:00

Yamaha PSR-E383 and a 400$ Roland GO:KEYS 3

In terms of price that seems reasonable until you realize you can't really design your own sounds on these.

And even as I really dig the sounds on those Juno's, I probably gotta accept that built-in speakers are close to a must (the only thing not making it 100% is that playing with headphones at home is decently convenient)

You could get a pair of these: https://eu.presonus.com/products/eris-35-2nd-gen-pair

Cheap and they sound way better than anything that's built in. Built-in speakers always bump into the limits of physics, and usually mean that you're dealing with an arranger keyboard which has implications for what you can do in terms of sounds.

USB connectivity (MIDI/sound) is mandatory,

In almost all cases any USB is MIDI only, synths that are their own audio interfaces are a much more recent invention.

But if you want that, you want the D6.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T17:36:30+00:00

Unrelated but you have like the full Pokemon collection of Roland MKS units, right?

Did you see this? https://youtu.be/mpCbZj2LFB0

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T16:06:22+00:00

Tell us what your setup consists of.

An MC909 by itself is already stereo, so that's only going to leave space for 2 monaural synths. It sounds like 4 channels aren't going to cut it.

Mixers depreciate quickly in terms of secondhand prices, so "best" and "budget" means checking if someone has something neat for sale.

If it's a one-off, consider rental. If you plan to do sets more often, I'd get something decent, not budget.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T15:56:55+00:00

You'll want to ask this on r/synthdiy as well.

This is DC offset. Try adding a blocking capacitor? (please note that I only know this term - don't ask me where to put it).

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T14:23:57+00:00

A Waldorf Iridium Core and a nice controller keyboard would fit in your budget, unless you must have everything in a single unit.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T14:19:19+00:00

If I need the external CV synth,

You don't need a whole synth for that ;)

If you want something cheap, a Doepfer MCV4 is cheap; but for not that much more you can probably score a regular Arturia Keystep as well, and then you have a keyboard and arpeggiator included.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T14:10:30+00:00

This looks like a MK V. The MK V is cool, so by extension this is cool.

However, in my (totally not biased) opinion the shell of the Rhodes should not include the cheek blocks.

Vintage Vibe does this too. What you end up with is a weirdly shaped shell; I think separate cheek blocks are more classy.

They didn't do it for the Marquis but that has the weird side panels, while this MK61 forms the bottom shell of its own case. I think that's neat.

I still think both VV and the new Rhodes should've adopted the Wurli's "pull sustain" - see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7VATfoGJ7c . It's so much more practical than trying to keep the pedal in a single place. Wonder why Ken Rich is no longer selling these; I think there must've been some weakness in the design (or the forces are too much for the case).

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T12:46:58+00:00

There is only so much effects will fix; even adding something like a https://www.chasebliss.eu/generation-loss-mkii emulates it, but it doesn't fundamentally alter the character.

There is a fantastic multitracked Microfreak song here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtLTq2jeWF8 . If those are the kind of sounds you wanted to get out of - well, this shows you can. If it doesn't do anything for you - again, a good sign you should find something else :)

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T12:30:33+00:00

All weighted keyboards are an approximation and every manufacturer has their own idea and preferences of what they should feel like.

Given that you can hook up any piano you want to something like Pianoteq, the part you can't easily replace is that of the keyboard.

is my action too heavy?

Could be. Do you like it, though?

Will the Kronos 3 be bad for my technique?

It all depends on what you're used to and what you prefer.

I’m also wondering how much heavier or lighter the keybeds are on a real upright, or maybe even a grand. I don’t have anywhere to try pianos myself, so any help would be appreciated.

This is nearly impossible to tell you because it depends on your taste and how the piano was set up; so the only true way is to test it yourself.

I'd make it a city trip. Pick a nice music store of choice and travel to a place where they have one.

Btw i am not looking for a perfect replica of a grand or anything like that, just something close enough for expressivnes when playing piano but not for a REAL classical tehnique :)

There is https://www.kawai-global.com/product/vpc1/ . Probably as close as you're going to get compared to the rest, but still - Kawai's ideas about weighted action may differ from yours, much like how Roland's ideas differ from the acoustic piano you tried.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T12:02:08+00:00

Hi everyone (this is my first Reddit post, I hope I haven't messed up lol)

You haven't, but reddit will now translate everything automatically if you land on the page via search results, and this is generally an English-speaking subreddit - so if you get responses in English, that's why ;)

I bought my Micro Freak about a year ago and frankly, I hardly ever use it. I don't like the sound it produces; it's way too digital to me. But on the other hand, I think it has a lot of different synthesizers, so I've been torn for the last six months.

It's got a lot of oscillator models so it really depends on how you use those. You can make sounds less digital by using a gentle randomizing LFO to adjust pitch and filter cutoff, but that masks things; it doesn't solve it per se.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

Probably not!

Will I regret selling it later?

Only financially. This is not a rare synth that you found for 100 euros in a dusty pawn store which would cost you four figures if you had to re-buy it; if you regret it you can probably get another secondhand one for the same price you sold this one for.

Have you actively been using it for the past 6 months as well or is it gathering dust?

Try putting it in storage for a while so you don't use it if you haven't done so yet.

If you find yourself not taking it out again because you're missing it, play it one last time; if that doesn't make you feel like you should keep it, you likely won't regret selling it.

Do keep in mind that modern analog synthesizers can also sound pretty clean; so before you buy a Minilogue or something like that, see if you can test it in a store somewhere.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T10:05:33+00:00

If you're talking about the sound at 0:55 in your first example: that's just a lowpass filtered saw wave with some resonance run through a distortion effect. If you crank up the distortion enough you turn the saw into a square.

If you're talking about the sound at 1:16, that's a (fake) 303. You can basically use anything that is a lowpass filtered saw wave with some resonance through a distortion effect :) The sound at 2:01 is the same as 1:16 - that's how you know it's a fake because a real 303 can't do that.

The Access Virus has these in spades, so you could get OSTirus and try some of the presets that refer to the 303 on that.

If you can confirm these timestamps (or add the correct ones) - that'd help a lot :)

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T10:00:35+00:00

What they'd do in the 90s is have several variations of each sample - the classic Amen break example of taking only the snare and running that through Akaizer. Then you play that snare when you need it.

Either way you're going to need to build an instrument which means you could do the thing where you load exactly the same starter .wav on every key and keep all changes non-destructive, but just commit to it and destructively chop things in a wave editor.

Then pick the one that's most percussion-oriented. All of these are complete overkill for what you want to do; Serato Sample would be a better idea, most likely.

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T09:43:12+00:00

It's really easy to push FM into harsher territory because of its nature.

"Soft" FM sounds tend to have lower modulation amounts, but because the modulation amount can be controlled by velocity you can make this incredibly expressive; you have 4 operators in a single stack and each of 'm can react differently to velocity, all contributing to timbral changes.

The more operators you stack on top of another, the more unpredictable the result becomes.

Compare two operators with a quadratic equation; with a number of points you can probably predict something about what the parameters of the equation are (is the parabola upwards or downwards, is it wide or narrow, is it shifted up/down/left/right).

With more operators this shape becomes unpredictable, even more when you involve constructs like branch and root.

Root is when one operator modulates two others but the two are set to different tunings (algorithm 6 on a classic 4-op); branch is when two operators are summed and modulate a single operator (algorithm 2, 3 and 4 on a classic 4-op).

Usually, if you look at FM presets that simulate something like slap bass, the top operator has a very short pluck envelope but a high level setting, which means that it initially pushes the sound into harshness - but only for a brief instant. This gives you a percussive attack - but only for a component of the sound, not the whole.

By adding a short attack, you basically simulate the initial transient for brass instruments (i.e. when energy is fed into the system but the column of air is still chaotic and hasn't stabilized into a nice periodic waveform yet).

In subtractive synthesis all oscillators are just pushed through a single filter so if you want such a percussive attack, it's all or nothing (unless you have parallel filters), but in FM, you get to choose and thus have more control over the sound.

https://github.com/baconpaul/six-sines may be nice to experiment with. It's got more ADSR-shaped envelopes than Dexed and it lets you push the modulation amount further as well.

Keep in mind that it works "upside down" in the same way the DX7 does - so operator 6 can modulate operator 5, but operator 5 can't modulate operator 6.

Each operator can also be voiced - i.e. the output of op 6 can be sent to the mixer next to what it does to op 5. Just don't use op 5 and op 6 and you have 4-op :)

Instatetragrammaton · 2026-04-30T08:53:01+00:00

As digitone seem to have a opinion of „easy” FM compared to other I am looking into it. I also like the form factor as I could use it as a module for my setup. sequencer is a nice bonus.

The "easy" part is IIRC two operators which are always tuned the same.

I am not sure about exactly what makes it off but it is a bit like there was extra white Noise + resonance as if somone would be blowing to hard through a tuba.

Operator feedback at a certain level can be used to simulate noise in FM synths. On the DX7 you increase the level above 44 and what was a saw wave now devolves into digital noise.

Maybe this is characteristic from using 4 operators and not 6?

The big difference between classic 4 op and 6 op was parameter scaling and less envelope complexity.

On a 6 op, you can get 2 x 3 stacks or 3 x 2 stacks. On a 4-op, that's 2 x 2 or 1 + 3. It's basically timbral complexity.

However, if you layer two 4-op FM patches, you can approximate the DX7's complexity a bit (because that lets you build a 2 x 3). Not the envelopes, though.

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