As well as performance controls, we saw earlier how straightforward it is to rope in conventional modulators. This is where you change patches and banks, save, choose favourite patches, initialise, and – with a feature I also love on Korg's Wavestate – create patches out of thin air with the random button. Build quality is flawless, sound quality is pristine and the light show from all the knobs and buttons coming on is a lovely touch. Let's not forget the CV connectivity, which you'll find right there on the front panel for easy access, and includes two CV inputs and five CV outputs.

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Of course, this depends on the musical context as changing tunings will result in other compositional compromises, but for ambient tracks or other sustained forms of electronic music, applying a tuning for specific chords can add cohesion and smooth the edges of your sounds. This might be worth exploring sooner rather than later, because the synth always powers up at Bank A's first patch, while your own will probably begin in the empty Banks D and E. Setting up mod routes can be done in and out of the Mod Matrix page – accessed by the Mod Matrix button – and is super fast. Before moving on, it's worth mentioning that the ring modulator can make use of any oscillator, Mutator, Mod input or noise (white, pink or brown). The well-respected Blofeld includes user-sample-upload, virtual analogue synthesis, three fast LFOs per voice and four fast envelopes per-voice, 16 parts, arpeggiator, three oscs per-voice (with wavetables) and FM.

In its place, you have 24 Polytouch pads to perform with and the option to connect an external keyboard. The Hydrasynth sound engine is incredibly vast, and offers a number of ways to apply expressive modulation into patches beyond its five LFOs and five envelopes, via polyphonic aftertouch, external MPE input, and more. In a live situation, you can initiate complete ambient soundscapes while you nip off for a glass of sweet sherry. You can then choose which finance term you'd like to apply for, and change your deposit if you wish. You must be employed at least 16 hours per week, self-employed, retired in receipt of a pension or receiving disability payments.

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And while the third oscillator lacks the scanning functionality, it can still select any waveform and you can modulate the selection too. Using five of these mini step sequencers at once, you have a huge amount of room to really manipulate your sound. By default, every envelope will be triggered by playing notes, but it's also possible to allow them to be activated by LFOs, ribbon gestures on the keyboard and Deluxe models, pressing a sustain pedal, and the modulation inputs. This means the one can feed and be sculpted by the other (series), or they can complement one another (parallel). This should be clearly audible, but it will be easy to notice on the Hydrasynth oscilloscope display as well—playing octaves and fifths should be rather stable, but adding a third or other intervals should bring movement into the sound, a trait Hordijk refers to as intermodulation distortion.Okay, the results might sometimes be – shall we say – a bit off, but out of nowhere gems will appear that offer great starting points for exploration or great sounds in their own right. After mixing these together, alongside ring modulator and noise sources, two filters give further shaping.

ASM Hydrasynth Desktop Synthesizer | PMT Online ASM Hydrasynth Desktop Synthesizer | PMT Online

Although creating new sounds on Hydrasynth is very intuitive, the synth also features a Randomizer that can be applied as to individual modules, as well as to the whole patch itself. I was most taken by the wavetable sweeps, glassy digital textures, pads and electric pianos, many demonstrating the excellent reverb. The thing I hated about some of the other syths I've used is not being able to see the values of settings when loading a preset, this is not the case with Hydrasynth, everything is shown with the LEDs around the encoders and on the screens. Features include 120 wavetables, 32 static wavetable modifiers, 32 high-resolution wavetable oscillators, eight types of oscillator modifier and four filter types.The ASM Hydrasynth Desktop features 24 Polytouch pads and a powerful, highly customisable sound engine. With an advanced wavetable synthesis engine, 3 Oscillators, dual Wave Mutants, and 2 filters that can be configured in series or parallel, the tone generating capabilities are unmatched.

Hydrasynth Digital Polyphonic Desktop Synthesizer ASM Hydrasynth Digital Polyphonic Desktop Synthesizer

As you might imagine by discussing this topic in this article, we can do this on the Hydrasynth, too! Filter 2 is a 12dB per octave state-variable filter, which means it can sweep continuously from either low pass > bandpass > high pass or low pass > notch > high pass.Now with four different models available, there's a Hydrasynth out there for everyone: the standard keyboard model, the compact and rack-mountable desktop version, the highly-portable and battery-friendly Explorer, and the expansive, bi-timbral Deluxe. Scrolling on, you'll encounter usable brass, strings, bells, basses and arpeggios — sounds that wouldn't seem out of place on a synth from the 1990s. My process for setting up a patch in this style is fairly straightforward, though it should be understood that our results will be more suited for sound effects and textures, as they forego conventional notes and pitches. Boasting a smooth workflow and powerful, highly customisable sound engine features, the ASM Hydrasynth is the perfect synth for both sound designers and musicians.