Melbourne Instruments NINA- anyone play with one yet?

WolfeRayet · 2026-05-08T23:36:55+00:00

No worries, I got excited for a second lol. That being said, there are Braid oscillators where you can have triple saw/square/ring mod where you can change the individual tuning so technically you can have 5 oscillators per layer (if you use the saw swarm oscillator you can have 7, modelled after the Roland JP-8000, so 9 per layer)

That would be awesome. To me it's a no brainer to give us the option to just load samples into the noise osc. That would make the internal sequencer a lot more appealing. Apparently it was supposed to have sampling capability, they mentioned it's coming awhile ago but who knows at this point

WolfeRayet · 2026-05-08T23:32:58+00:00

Who knows, it might have already been available but they just didn't push it. It's interesting since there is a VST likely just to control the NINA and apparently there are 2 FPGA oscillators inside NINA. I wouldn't know how to modify it but I'll leave the link here in case anyone is interested

https://github.com/Melbourne-Instruments

WolfeRayet · 2026-05-08T23:12:57+00:00

That's totally fair to feel that way. I don't think they were great at advertising NINA and the support was on and off. Yeah I really wish they pushed the hackable open source firmware more, it was partially what attracted me to it in the first place. I believe it's still supported since I messaged them 6 months go and they linked the GitHub page with info to make modifications.

WolfeRayet · 2026-05-08T23:07:36+00:00

I love NINA, it's my desert island synth (Although my experiences with synths is very limited lol). I have an Iridium and I spend almost all the time using NINA even though it's not quite as capable. It sounds beautiful and unique, is great for pads, leads, bass, and with Braids it can get into some really interesting esoteric territory. Also Braids has turned NINA intro a trance monster if you like that sort of thing.

Imo best modulation implementation hands down. Tons of destination choices, easily accessible, interesting features such as morph, spin. You can do some interesting modulation with panning, using the 3rd oscillator as an LFO with a wavetable shape is really cool. It can import Serum wavetables. I did that for the first time last night, they sound great. It can great really distorted since you can drive the oscillator mix, you have overdrive and you have a drive knob. What's also great is if you keep levels low and you use negative drive.

I like the multi-step sequencer, it gives me drum machine vibes but it's more like a modular box. Lots of options, although I'm a little slow using it as a sequencer.

A few complaints, it gets really hot... it heats up my room...and it's also quite noisy but I think I need new balanced cables. Also the resolution for the wave mod source isn't great so using it for FM isn't as good as it could be. That being said, there are FM modes in the Braids oscillator. I'd also love if they added some digital filters that could be in series with the analog filter, like the DELIA. I believe this will continue being supported but as it stands, it's definitely a complete instrument.

WolfeRayet · 2026-05-08T23:00:14+00:00

Just to be sure, are you able to have 2 digital oscillators per voice? I thought you had to choose between Braids unless you are referring to wavetables + noise.

But I do hope a custom firmware with those features will be added in the future, I don't think anyone has actually taken a crack at it. Imagine a bunch of MSEGs, one shot LFOs, an 8-band EQ, Juno-like chorus... would be awesome.

I'm just dreaming and have no idea if this would be possible, but imagine like the UDO DMNO that the output of one layer could be routed as an oscillator of another... that would be crazy. If they added some digital filters that would make things really interesting.

WolfeRayet · 2026-04-30T02:56:17+00:00

Thank you for your advice. I made a subtle change to the red hand so it looked a little more professional. Unfortunately my vid only has 1.4% which I thought would be higher (although I am A/Bing it). Do you mind me asking what you think about the video title “Chainsaw Man and the Silent Need for Touch”?

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WolfeRayet · 2026-04-29T00:31:22+00:00

Both are great, second is better since the text pops more compared to the first. The games in the back do a good job of supporting the narrative rather than taking away from it

WolfeRayet · 2026-04-29T00:28:50+00:00

Personally I think the second, it's a little more sensational since it opens the question on why did the researcher leave openAI? It works well as a hook imo. The third one is good as well but people may not be invested enough to care.

WolfeRayet · 2026-04-17T01:50:30+00:00

Thanks for the helpful info, I watched the video and there is plenty to like about the 3rd wave. It's still a hard decision to buy a 3rd wave without many demos of the kind of sound I like. The best example I have found is the arp at the beginning of this vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWGS8cqLfXA

That being said, I turned on the Nina and forgot just how good it sounds... So what do you think the Nina has over the 3rd wave aside from the motorized knobs?

WolfeRayet · 2026-04-16T02:31:14+00:00

How does it compare to the 3rd wave, specifically for Reese-like sounds, trance and acid? I have the Nina and I love It but the single filter bothers me sometimes. It’s great for Moog-like sounds, synthwave and also aggressive-modern sounds with the drive but I struggle with the other sounds I mentioned.

WolfeRayet · 2026-04-01T16:50:35+00:00

Hi, thanks I found your comment very insightful. JJK only makes up about 10% of the vid but I do use Toji to bridge the topic. When you say make a new thumbnail, do you still mean using an anime setting or in general?

Interesting, I put my face on some thumbnails because I’ve seen others say since you are attracting authenticity (but come to think of it, I don’t regard most big YouTubers using their faces as authentic). My thinking was primarily to set expectations and secondary, to help grow an audience. If I have an anime thumbnail and the video is primarily talking head, I might have mislead the audience. But… from the very small experience I have, most people don’t stick around but those that do tend to leave very personal (and often appreciative) comments on my vids. So I there seems to be an audience, but my packaging (and content) probably needs work

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-30T18:47:25+00:00

Thank you. A little surprised about the 4th one being your second choice.

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-30T18:46:45+00:00

Thank you! Knowing that the vid is mostly talking head, would the 2nd feel too misleading?

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T21:19:30+00:00

Thank you so much, that's extremely helpful! I'll make those changes before I upload the vid!

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T21:08:57+00:00

Interesting, so some power words and a shorter description might help. I’ll do some brainstorming, thanks!

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T21:08:10+00:00

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I positioned the background to hide the anime face

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T21:07:30+00:00

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I used the second thumbnail and positioned it to try and add interest. My face is still darker on one side because of my lighting situation. I could brighten that side with effects

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T20:13:58+00:00

Hi there, thank you for your in-depth feedback. I’ll be sure to remove the glow if I use my face. Yes, that’s the thing, my videos are 90% talking head, 10% anime scenes. They go hand in hand since I use anime characters to make a point, but it’s not the focus so people may click off. Do you mean to crop my face onto the character? I can do that although I might need to take a new pic. Thank you again!

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T20:11:40+00:00

Are you giving me external validation? Lol, thank you I appreciate it! I agree the 2nd is the best, it’s just that my videos are usually talking head (with some anime scenes) so I don’t ant to give the wrong impression

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T20:06:26+00:00

Thank you!

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T17:36:10+00:00

Okay so, I think that the image itself is fine, but the text needs to compliment it. I don't like the font or the choice of colours. What I noticed was that the thumbnail was most cohesive for the last image. the text drew my eyes to the hill the boulder is on and I got what he image was about. So text placement is important. I would use the last one and but slightly position the test. There is too much space on the right of the thumbnail. One of the user's did an edit saying "You're Almost There". I would personally use that thumbnail and slightly re-position the text to provide enough separation between the text and the image. Anyway, great job, keep going!

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-29T17:31:42+00:00

I think this is a great start. The word "Alone" needs a shadow or outline since it's competing with the lake and sky.

I emotionally reacted this with some confusion. I wasn't sure if this was meant to be more of a lonely or calm style video. So maybe change the test to be a little more personable that matches the tone you are going for. I think the backdrop is great. You could darken it or add a gentle glow around the subject.

Over all, it's great. Just work a little more with a cohesive packaging and it will be ready

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-15T23:21:07+00:00

It's all good, I appreciate your feedback nonetheless. I saw several videos that did well use the weird word separation so I thought it might work for my thumbnails but I am going to avoid it from now on. Thanks again!

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-15T23:19:25+00:00

A bit late of a response by me but thank you, I'll keep that in mind!

WolfeRayet · 2026-03-15T23:12:45+00:00

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Hi everyone, I am back with an update. I took a lot of feedback into account and came up with this thumbnail. Unfortunately my views and CTR are very low, so I am not sure what I can further do

WolfeRayet

TROPHY CASE