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Expand view Topic review: NAMM

by 3rdConstruction » Tue Jan 26, 2010 4:33 pm

"Ooooooo, wutta lucky man I'll beee!" ... when I get my Solaris!

that resonant Moogish lead is outstanding. thanx for posting those pix & the video. i used to obsess over the rotors as my favorite part of Solaris. now i think it might be that feedback - brilliant!

by John Bowen » Tue Jan 26, 2010 7:25 am

Here's the Swedish video posted again on the Music Player forum, with onging comments:
http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthread ... ost2156164

And here's another discussion thread from Harmony Central:
http://acapella.harmony-central.com/sho ... ?t=2535677

You will probably want to scroll down past all the older initial videos that are posted by Bernard and so on, to get to the current NAMM show (2010) comments and photos.

(Thanks to marzzz for the links!)

-john b.

by John Bowen » Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:32 pm

To be honest, there were only 2 video cameras that came by, I think - one of them was a Swedish dealer, and the other was John Cooper of Planet Z. Here's the link for the Swedish-made video (it's pretty short):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOUFMEgkAk8

No news yet as to when John C. will be ready to post his video.

cheers,
john b.

by 3rdConstruction » Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:08 pm

i love the photos & am very happy to hear that Solaris got lots of attention! I'm desperately craving some NAMM 2010 videos - I love seeing John put Solaris through her paces. Hoping to see some videos up soon!

by John Bowen » Sat Jan 23, 2010 9:10 am

ThreeFingersOfLove wrote:if I understand correctly the process that you have described is ... filters in parallel? So a certain mix of oscillators in sent to say Filter 1 and the same mix of oscillators is sent to Filter 2? And we have 4 of these signal paths, right? Is it possible to apply a different ADSR for one of these paths and a different ADSR for another path (VCA-wise)?
Yes, exactly right. You could also send different mixes of the 4 oscs to each filter, since there are 4 mixers....or you could be using other audio sources in different mixes, such as the External inputs, the Rotors, the Vector mixers, the AM sections (think Ring Mod). You also have in this audio source list the output of all the Mixers, Insert FX, Filters, and VCAs for recursive or series application. (This same audio source list feeds each filter as well.)
Re: VCAs - yes, each of the 4 can have its own EG, since there are 6 EGs, but in addition to that, there is a Global VCA that is hardwired to EG6. This oversees the Voice Management system to know when voices can be 'stolen' when needed, and so the EG6 settings will need to be set so that they equal or exceed the longest times of any other EG.
ThreeFingersOfLove wrote:OK, let's say that when the multi-timbral operation is implemented, a user has 4 different parts. How many voices does each part get? Does the user allocate a fixed amount? Will the number of voices be saved per patch or is it going to be a global setting?
Good question, and what I can say is that I would prefer the user be able to assign voice allocation per part, but you can just have a switch that sets this as fixed or dynamic per part. I would have these settings stored per Multi-object (whatever we decide to call it - Combi, Multi, etc.). Another difference in a Multi is that the Global VCA would have to be separate for each Part, so we will need essentially 4 Global VCAs in this case.

-john b.

by ThreeFingersOfLove » Sat Jan 23, 2010 12:51 am

John Bowen wrote:Yannis,

Here's the thing about "mono-timbrality" - the Solaris has the ability to have four distinct signal paths per preset (signal path being 0sc->Filter->VCA). You can also use all 4 oscs into each filter, with different filter settings, and get some layers that way....or any combination as well. This means you can have a "layered" sound, but what you don't have is the ability to split/layer different presets, as Korg does with the Combi mode on their synths. We do plan on having a 4-part MultiMode in the future, but I think many will find the normal preset capability can get quite dense if needed.
-john b.
Hi John,

thanks for the reply.

if I understand correctly the process that you have described is ... filters in parallel? So a certain mix of oscillators in sent to say Filter 1 and the same mix of oscillators is sent to Filter 2? And we have 4 of these signal paths, right? Is it possible to apply a different ADSR for one of these paths and a different ADSR for another path (VCA-wise)?
John Bowen wrote: re: polyphony - we expect the final OS optimisation to produce 15 voices - the current proto is running with 10 (we have a multiple of 5 for our voice calculation). It is not currently a dynamically allocated code; this may be something that gets implemented down the line, but for now it is fixed.
OK, let's say that when the multi-timbral operation is implemented, a user has 4 different parts. How many voices does each part get? Does the user allocate a fixed amount? Will the number of voices be saved per patch or is it going to be a global setting?

I know that it's hard to answer this, since it's not implemented yet, but it would be great if you tell us how would you like to see it happen.

Thanks!

by John Bowen » Fri Jan 22, 2010 8:55 pm

lotus-eater wrote:... In other words, it would be great to be able to have a two oscillator, 16-step bass sequence running while I play chords on the keyboard over top.....Is this a possibility?
OK, I did a bit more quick testing, and I have to say that no, it is not possible. The sequencer is playing all of the synth - you need a 2-part multi-timbre setup to do what you ask.

-john b.

by sjones » Fri Jan 22, 2010 8:51 pm

Glad to hear that NAMM was a success for the Solaris!

by John Bowen » Fri Jan 22, 2010 7:17 pm

lotus-eater wrote:Regarding the multitimbral issue,

What I would like to see is a non-gated sequencer (press a button to start, pause, reset) that could be used to control the pitch of oscillators that I'm not using in whatever sound I'm playing from the keyboard. In other words, it would be great to be able to have a two oscillator, 16-step bass sequence running while I play chords on the keyboard over top. This arrangement seems like it would be easier to implement than replicating the entire solaris architecture four times over, but would still make the solaris more useful in a live performance.

Is this a possibility?
Would the chords you are playing sound in the same 'bass patch' as the sequenced voices you are playing?

-jb

by Carbon111 » Fri Jan 22, 2010 4:57 pm

NAMM was crazy this year...if there were fewer folks this year, it was hard to tell from the vantage of the Solaris booth. ;)

I'm just now recovering my voice from talking so much - and the head cold I caught in all the unbelievable rain down there.

Suffice to say it's been a long, complex road with lots of unforseen delays and stumbling blocks along the way. Now the end is finally visible! I think John has done a bang up job through all this!

The best part of NAMM wasn't really the gear, it was the people, especially all the other preorder folks I met there! :)

by lotus-eater » Fri Jan 22, 2010 3:05 pm

Regarding the multitimbral issue,

What I would like to see is a non-gated sequencer (press a button to start, pause, reset) that could be used to control the pitch of oscillators that I'm not using in whatever sound I'm playing from the keyboard. In other words, it would be great to be able to have a two oscillator, 16-step bass sequence running while I play chords on the keyboard over top. This arrangement seems like it would be easier to implement than replicating the entire solaris architecture four times over, but would still make the solaris more useful in a live performance.

Is this a possibility?

by John Bowen » Fri Jan 22, 2010 8:57 am

Yannis,

Here's the thing about "mono-timbrality" - the Solaris has the ability to have four distinct signal paths per preset (signal path being 0sc->Filter->VCA). You can also use all 4 oscs into each filter, with different filter settings, and get some layers that way....or any combination as well. This means you can have a "layered" sound, but what you don't have is the ability to split/layer different presets, as Korg does with the Combi mode on their synths. We do plan on having a 4-part MultiMode in the future, but I think many will find the normal preset capability can get quite dense if needed.

re: polyphony - we expect the final OS optimisation to produce 15 voices - the current proto is running with 10 (we have a multiple of 5 for our voice calculation). It is not currently a dynamically allocated code; this may be something that gets implemented down the line, but for now it is fixed.

Low-note, last-note, and high-note are the options for Note Priority.

-john b.

by ThreeFingersOfLove » Fri Jan 22, 2010 3:41 am

Hi John,

thanks for the reply. Nice to hear that things are getting better. I am anxious to see these videos!

So, it's my understanding that the Solaris will be monotimbral first and then multi-timbrality will be added in later OS releases?

What's the polyphony in monotimbral mode? Did you implement some sort of dynamic voice allocation or is it fixed? In mono patches can you switch between low-note, last-note priority?

by John Bowen » Thu Jan 21, 2010 9:13 pm

Yannis,

I know you've been very anxious to know what's been happening, so, in short, here's the deal - the project was stalled for a while, now it is back on. The OS is getting frequent updates, but we are still probably a month away from finishing the first release. We did some recording of bits of demos at NAMM, and I hope that these will be posted soon (but I don't have the recordings - someone else in Los Angeles did them). I hope to be in production by April for the initial orders. Once those are filled, there will be a bit of a break, and then we will start production again for normal retail sales, which I would guess will be in September.

We had a very strong response at the NAMM Show, and are still taking deposits now as a result.

I do appreciate your interest, and I'm sorry it's been so quiet, but there were some non-technical business issues going on over the last several months which caused delays. Now we are back on, and things are looking good, and I do hope I can get some more audio demos posted for those curious to hear more...but my real priority is to get the first group their units, as some have been waiting for quite a while.

cheers,
john b.

by ThreeFingersOfLove » Thu Jan 21, 2010 3:28 am

Is the OS finished? Can we hear some decent examples in wav please? :roll:

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