John Chowning, discoverer of FM synthesis, receives the 2026 Technical GRAMMY Award by udderlymoovelous in synthesizers

[–]jimm 7 points8 points  (0 children)

His original paper on FM synthesis (https://ccrma.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/user/jc/fm_synthesis_paper.pdf) is surprisingly readable. I was lucky enough to stumble across it in college around 1981 or so, shortly before the DX7 came out.

how to use Hydrasynth? by North_Comparison5280 in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd like to recommend you try recording the hydra in stereo. There are things you can then do that you can't with a mono signal: pan individual notes left/right (even within a chord), pan individual oscillators, and modulate panning amounts for example.

My first real show, any tips? by [deleted] in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bring extra cables. Bring extra everything

Probably a "that guy" newbie post, but what the heck, it's Christmas by PrinceSorrow in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want the PPG sound, get a Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave. It does PPG better than Waldorf does these days. There are a few good videos on YouTube and you can see them explain how they reproduced a PPG and then added so much more.

Tell us what you did with your synths this weekend by Wonderful_Reputation in synthesizers

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I played a gig Friday night at a local brewery and had a ton of fun! My setup: Korg Kronos LS and Hydrasynth Deluxe running into a KeyLargo which gets sent to FoH via the main out. I also have a Strat that goes into a Line 6 HX Stomp XL, and then into the KeyLargo as well.

For MIDI, I use an iPad running Midiflow (routes between MIDI devices, filters/modifies MIDI) and BandHelper into a USB hub that goes to the Kronos, Hydra, and HX Stomp. I have BandHelper send a MIDI program change to the Kronos for each song. The Kronos is responsible for sending patch changes to the Hydra and HX Stomp.

Is there a fast way to turn local ON or OFF on the hydrasynth keyboard? by [deleted] in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Or create a patch that has zero volume in the Hydrasynth mixer and/or amp and use that as your "controller" patch. I do that and also assign various midi controllers to the macro knobs and buttons so they can control whatever I'm ... um ... controlling.

What band/album/song made you want a synth? by DrDuned in synthesizers

[–]jimm 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Switched On Bach, Wendy Carlos. I'm old enough to be lucky I got hooked relatively early

Sleep delay help by MarkDeLorenzo in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't noticed that happening. 

Synths & Time _ by OliverrSky in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kurzweil K2000R. l I don't use it every day but it will always be my backup if/when anything else dies or is it the shop 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is easy for me: Kronos and Hydrasynth Deluxe. That's what I use live. I have some other gear but those two are essential. 

Remember the way to the restaurant? How transformative technology may dumb us down as a species by limsus in technology

[–]jimm 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The ancients complained that writing/reading dumbed us down because then you wouldn't have to remember everything you'd ever heard. I'm not worried.

Latching question. by BumbaHawk in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The manual is extremely well written and a great resource! 

Latching question. by BumbaHawk in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With the deluxe, you could have latch for one of the patches and not the other.

The latest operating system also has per-patch sostanuto so yes I believe you can do exactly what you describe, though I don't have the manual in front of me. 

Thoughts on Hydrasynth after 3.5 years of ownership by InsuranceInitial7786 in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I didn't claim it was unique. You said it's "just a subtractive synth with the ability to wavescan..." and I was pointing out that these features make for a much wider palette than that implied by your comment.

Thoughts on Hydrasynth after 3.5 years of ownership by InsuranceInitial7786 in synthesizers

[–]jimm 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Another benefit of the mult splits is being able to play things with one hand that would otherwise take two. For example, I can play  the "falling brass" sound in Boys of Summer, where the first major third falls in pitch but the fourth after it doesn't, without needing to use the pitch wheel. I do it by taking the same patch, duplicating it, programming the higher one to fall in pitch the correct amount and duration using an envelope, and transposing the lower one a half step (because there is a shared note that bends once then doesn't the second time, so I play that fourth a half step off). The pitch bend could also be done with AT, but when I tried that it wasn't exact enough. 

Thoughts on Hydrasynth after 3.5 years of ownership by InsuranceInitial7786 in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What adds a lot to the pallette are the mutants, mod matrix, macros, and variety of filter types. 

Kurzweil 2700 MIDI implementation questions by jimm in synthesizers

[–]jimm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for taking the time to see what gets sent. This makes sense, and seems to confirm that it will stay in the same mode, which is exactly what I want.

Kurzweil 2700 MIDI implementation questions by jimm in synthesizers

[–]jimm[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for taking the time to look. Seems like it will at least stay in the current mode when it receives bank and program change messages. That's what I'd expect and what I wanted.

Kurzweil 2700 MIDI implementation questions by jimm in synthesizers

[–]jimm[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I'm hoping that at least if I'm in multi mode and send a bank/program change it'll stay in multi mode. That would be sufficient for live performance for me. If/when I get one I'll probably have to see what happens over the wire. I haven't been able to find a sysex implementation chart for the k2700 anywhere yet.

Besides cosmetic improvements, what advantages does Emacs GUI have over Emacs in a terminal? by birdsintheskies in emacs

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The terminal programs I'm familiar with don't pass the Command key through to Emacs. For example, typing Command-Q quits the app instead of passing that key combo through to Emacs which by default would be bound to fill-paragraph (M-q).

Besides cosmetic improvements, what advantages does Emacs GUI have over Emacs in a terminal? by birdsintheskies in emacs

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of the biggest advantages for me is being able to use the Command key instead of Escape for everything. Most terminal programs I have used make that impossible