I have a bad habit of cranking the resonance on any machine I touch. It's so ingrained I did it at a friend's studio a little while back on an unfamiliar synth - and after a brief shriek decaying to an air-moving whomp I thanked the gods that the volume was set so low. I've used so many Polivoks-style filters in recent times I'm used to cranking the resonance with impunity.

Which brings me to the delicate love story between the Erica Synths Zen delay and the Behringer Pro-800. My trusty Rev2 is for sale and in its place I bought the Pro-800. Why trade down you may ask? Truth is I'm not a big poly player. The more polyphony you use the more simple the sound needs to be, in which case I wanted a simple yet knobby poly, and that's the Pro-800. Added bonus: no onboard effects. So when the Pro-800 arrived this week I teamed it with the Zen delay immediately.

So the romance is revealed: A brand new Pro-800 teamed with the Zen delay. The 800 is switched on for the first time, the resonance is cranked, the Zen's input drive and overdrive is engaged and almost immediately this gloriously jagged, gritty, and unpredictable darkness pours out.

Five minutes of first-time noodlings is a bit much I admit. And I was going to say all this over the top of the video but that felt wrong, like ads in a funeral service. So instead here it is. It is literally the first time I ever powered it on, to the point where I didn't even know how to save the sound or know whether I'm in tune, on the upside I pretty sure moved every knob and switch so if you want to replicate the sound, there it is.

Even so the 800's resonance is not fully cranked, I had to back off a little just to retain the ability to hold an actual melody.

Whether the 800 is good for anything else, who knows - I haven't got past this sound yet and I must look up how to save it. What's clear though is that the 800's filter teams beautifully with some heavy drive. I can feel more teamings in the air - perhaps another stere..

It's a rare day that I'll abandon the superb sequencers of the DB-01 for an external source. Much is lost when you go external - accents, filter modulation and pitch envelopes just for starters. Yet the MidiCake Arp gives in return: Powerful one-finger pattern-play, gate length modulation, 32nd notes and even patterns with portamento.

So here are five example Arp patterns ranging from somewhat cheesy to somewhat dark. Ideally I would have used lots of other effects, but I wanted to keep everything compact so one DB-01 gets the DM-2w delay, the other gets either the Astronaut reverb or Nemesis delay.

For some reason the Arp locks the DB-01s LFO sync to one rate, so the LFOs are always free-running. Other than that it was very smooth. The DB-01s are of course in "key" mode because that's what's needed to trigger them. A useful byproduct of this is that the DB-01 portamento can now be used in sequences!

The MidiCake Arp is an amazing little machine. Complex, but amazing. After many hours I know I'm just scratching around doing pretty obvious things yet that's still very satisfying. I rather like that its possibilities are so vast you can choose your own way into its abilities. In the five examples I mostly have 'play' mode enabled which means the patterns run as a continuously synced whole. In others 'play' mode is off and I manually trigger things (tracks 4 & 5), which is much more unforgiving, but gives a little more flexability. In any case you can see how simple the basic notes are against the complexity of the result.

As usual I've kept everything simple (ie without drums etc) so you can get a good idea what's going on. And no DAW post-processing of any sort.

0:00 Flutterings
0:56 Memories
2:16 Pokery
3:25 Sliders
4:42 Regrets

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My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark a..

It's a rare day that I'll abandon the superb sequencers of the DB-01 for an external source. Much is lost when you go external - accents, filter modulation and pitch envelopes just for starters. Yet the MidiCake Arp gives in return: Powerful one-finger pattern-play, gate length modulation, 32nd notes and even patterns with portamento.

So here are five example Arp patterns ranging from somewhat cheesy to somewhat dark. Ideally I would have used lots of other effects, but I wanted to keep everything compact so one DB-01 gets the DM-2w delay, the other gets either the Astronaut reverb or Nemesis delay.

For some reason the Arp locks the DB-01s LFO sync to one rate, so the LFOs are always free-running. Other than that it was very smooth. The DB-01s are of course in "key" mode because that's what's needed to trigger them. A useful byproduct of this is that the DB-01 portamento can now be used in sequences!

The MidiCake Arp is an amazing little machine. Complex, but amazing. After many hours I know I'm just scratching around doing pretty obvious things yet that's still very satisfying. I rather like that its possibilities are so vast you can choose your own way into its abilities. In the five examples I mostly have 'play' mode enabled which means the patterns run as a continuously synced whole. In others 'play' mode is off and I manually trigger things (tracks 4 & 5), which is much more unforgiving, but gives a little more flexability. In any case you can see how simple the basic notes are against the complexity of the result.

As usual I've kept everything simple (ie without drums etc) so you can get a good idea what's going on. And no DAW post-processing of any sort.

0:00 Flutterings
0:56 Memories
2:16 Pokery
3:25 Sliders
4:42 Regrets

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

In the words of Dr Strangelove "Why keep it a secret? Why didn't you tell the world?"
Fortunately not jacketed in Cobalt-Thorium-G, yet still unannounced, the secondary config menu contains a few very useful options. I especially like the default starter note and the default gate length options. And as I mention in the video perhaps someone can better explain the calibrate CV in and MIDI Note Offset options. In any case since it's not mentioned anywhere else I thought it may be useful to at least put this basic guide out there.

Sincere thanks to @Phurniture for suggesting this video. I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to comment, it's by far the best part of Youtubing.

0:00 The secondary menu
1:01 SER - Serial number
1:18 CCI - Calibrate CV In
1:44 CCO - Calibrate CV Out
1:57 MIP - MIDI Instant Program Change
2:30 MNO - MIDI Note Offset
2:48 PBR - Pitch Bend Range
3:01 DCV - Default CV
3:24 DGA - Default Gate Length

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This is a single DB-01 drone track recorded exactly as you see it with no editing. Nor have any effects, compression, EQ or limiting etc been added in the DAW (other than the sci-fi movie talk samples). The DB-01 is running into the Light pedal on feedback mode. (Thanks to @aopaul for suggesting turning down the dry level which has entirely solved the noise issue into the Rat). From there it goes into the Rat, and then into the Shift Line Astronaut for some modulated stereo reverb.

A very slow LFO on the DB-01 opens the filter enough to better activate the feedback on the Light pedal which gives the periods of relative peace and intensity. The DB-01 is also on random playback with a handful of notes on bar 1 and the other three bars empty. The Astronaut pedal has a very slow modulating octave shift in the reverb and the Light pedal has a very slow shift in which optical sensor pair is active. All these slow modulations deliver the needed variation.

The old video is all from "Vampyr", a 1932 Danish-German horror movie. That's combined, somewhat oddly perhaps, with audio samples from the 1953 sci-fi classic "It Came From Outer Space". It wasn't hard to find the good bits in that since I first sampled it way back in the day on my old EPS. We even had a song in our live set which used one of the quotes from the movie as it's main hook "Our mission was to another world". Good days. Of course I couldn't re-use that same sample here :D

The title of this video comes from the original full title of the Vampyr movie: "Vampyr – Der Traum des Allan Gray" or in English, "The Dream of Allan Gray".

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I've always wanted ferocious feedback on a synth, just like them geetar players get. The obvious choices are a FreqOut or even an old Boss FB-2. But how about a Gamechanger Audio Light reverb pedal and a Rat ? One reason I got the Light pedal was its interesting modes, gate and drive. By itself a lot of the options feel very underpowered when fed by the DB-01. But add a Rat after the reverb and everything comes alive.

Here I first try the Light pedal's Reflect mode which is a dirty delay, then the Feedback mode. The Rat is vital to crank the Light pedal's effect although it does add a huge amount of noise. Ideally I'd add a noise gate after the rat and then a delay. Perhaps even a pitch shifting delay to try to get a little more pitch control over the feedback.

With it's little Rat friend the Light pedal now seems a lot more useful.

As usual there's absolutely no other audio processing than what you see.

0:00 Starter sound
1:25 Reflect cranked
2:42 Light pedal options
4:48 Feedback mode
8:28 Sequenced feedback
9:25 Keys feedback

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I recently made the somewhat rash suggestion to try an LXR-02 emulation of the DFAM. Here it is, sort of. At first I thought I'd use only one voice of the LXR. So in all five kits demoed here Voice 1 or 2 tends to claim almost all the LFOs and be a clock-synced complex sound.

But the LXR-02 and DFAM are such very different beasts it seemed odd to be so restrictive. Instead I've gone for a two or three voice 16-step kit and pattern that attempts to capture the flavor of the DFAM rather than strict technical parameters.

The speed of all parts is 73bpm, a couple of the kits use the internal ping-pong delay, and where there is definite pitch it's always on C - just makes things easier for sampling and later processing.

The result is not exactly DFAMish. Demo 2 even sounds bit chiptune to me. But I've never yet owned any two machines which could exactly replicate the other. As an exercise though it's a bit of fun! All LXR-02 challenges happily considered.

On the plus side the LXR-02's ability to store presets is a massive bonus but the constant click-and-twiddle is no match for the knob-filled interface of the DFAM/Edge.

All five kits are on my Patreon. Unused voices (typically 4, 5 and 6) are mostly on the default sounds.

As usual there is absolutely no extra processing of the sound. It's all completely raw LXR-02.

0:00 Demo 1: Slapper
1:00 Demo 2: Chiptune
1:56 Demo 3: Saw
3:06 Demo 4: Frogpond
4:23 Demo 5: Decay

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The Edge-DFAM class of machines is an odd category. Not a very good as a synth due to the constant (and necessary) manipulation of the oscillator frequencies. Not particularly good as a drum machine due to the 8-step limitations and the delicate juggling required to squeeze out multiple sounds. And not so great live since there are no presets and too many parameters to easily morph to a different sound. OTOH if you want a random percussion chaos layer then it's the perfect solution.

Of course they're great fun to twiddle and make unexpected discoveries. They also pair up pretty well with more conventional machines to produce a more complex result than you'd get with "ordinary" synths.

Having owned both the DFAM and Edge I'm happy but hesitant to admit that in a 1:1 matchup I'd choose the Edge. This is entirely due to the MIDI clock options: The sequence must always start at the start - duh. Some people say the DFAM sounds better (whatever that means) but I'm not feeling anything radically different. My only complaint is that the LPF feels murky and doesn't interact with the resonance control in a pleasing way. The HPF is much superior imo and saves the filter section. Of course it may be that I've now been trained by prolonged Polivoks filter exposure to expect satisfying grit and tortured screaming.

Back on the topic of "Would I use it live", the more I thought about that the more I thought I'd use the LXR-02 instead. Perhaps a video "The LXR-02 does the DFAM" would be good?

It may also be of interest to note the use of the DB-01 gate output connected to the noise level in Demo 1. It generates some noise percussion when playing normally because of the gate length but this largely disappears when playing the arpeggiator's much shorter gate length.

As usual there are absolutely no external effects or DAW processing.

0:00 Unboxing
1:25 The setup
1:42 MIDI reset
2:27 Clock divider
3:13 Tuning
4:05 Demo 1: Cheese
4:39 Demo 2: Swinger
5:19 Demo 3: Rubber
6:22 Dem..

The second episode in the series which explores different pedal and routing combinations with the LXR-02 drum machine. This time it's Joyo's Darkglass Microtubes X-Ultra clone "Monomyth" and the Erica Synths Acidbox III. Taking just a stereo pair out, the left side goes into the Monomyth, which is a bass pre-amp with EQ; and the right side goes into the Acidbox and then to the Nemesis stereo delay.

The kits on the LXR-02 have been slightly tweaked in the panning to push the more kick-like sounds to the Monomyth. They've also been programmed with the effects on, so can sound a bit odd when dry.

Four demo tracks here which mainly speak for themselves although I should mention the last demo "Transient" is interesting in headphones where you can pick out the big effect the Acidbox has on the transients. In hindsight it may have been better not to twiddle the knobs on that one so much, but it's hard to resist that gigantic filter knob :D

The only thing added in the DAW was a brickwall limiter to catch some of the peaks, otherwise everything is as you see it.

0:00 Talk about routing and devices
1:55 Demo 1: Scratchy
2:58 Demo 2: Fat & Thin
4:40 Demo 3: Industrial
6:33 Demo 4: Transient

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The second episode in the series which explores different pedal and routing combinations with the LXR-02 drum machine. This time it's Joyo's Darkglass Microtubes X-Ultra clone "Monomyth" and the Erica Synths Acidbox III. Taking just a stereo pair out, the left side goes into the Monomyth, which is a bass pre-amp with EQ; and the right side goes into the Acidbox and then to the Nemesis stereo delay.

The kits on the LXR-02 have been slightly tweaked in the panning to push the more kick-like sounds to the Monomyth. They've also been programmed with the effects on, so can sound a bit odd when dry.

Four demo tracks here which mainly speak for themselves although I should mention the last demo "Transient" is interesting in headphones where you can pick out the big effect the Acidbox has on the transients. In hindsight it may have been better not to twiddle the knobs on that one so much, but it's hard to resist that gigantic filter knob :D

The only thing added in the DAW was a brickwall limiter to catch some of the peaks, otherwise everything is as you see it.

0:00 Talk about routing and devices
1:55 Demo 1: Scratchy
2:58 Demo 2: Fat & Thin
4:40 Demo 3: Industrial
6:33 Demo 4: Transient

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What do you get with a full parameter randomization and an LFO modulating FM? Played in the usual way you're almost certain to get a dog's breakfast. But with some careful step arpeggiation it can start to come together in a very DFAM-like way. If you're particularly lucky you may even be able to get the equivalent of four or five progressive sections from a single pattern.

The setup is a little bit involved so if you're impatient to see whether the DFAM sound is achieved just skip to the demo chunks at the end. My favorite is the DAF demo. These were named after creating them - don't think for a moment you can decide what you want ahead of time :D As usual the Gods will deliver to you what they see fit.

The Zen delay is proving a little "smoothing" and rhythmic coherence but other wise what you see is what you get. There's no further processing. Some of the demo tracks are slightly chopped since it's very easy to wander off the path into techno-Gristle land. Visually there's a few sections where the waveform display is missing, so my apologies, in the excitement of twiddling I forgot to switch it on :(

0:00 A mild example
0:42 LFO setup
1:56 Randomizer
2:40 Arp settings
3:42 Set scale
4:25 Roll the dice!
5:45 FM LFO issue
7:11 Demo 1: Warm Featherette
8:00 Demo 2: Funky Gabber
8:34 Demo 3: Bandpassed
10:10 Demo 4: DAF
10:42 Demo 5: Noisetown

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My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

I like melody. Looking back at when I played synth-punk live back in the day, the music then probably had too much melody. Well, I'm making up for it here. It's just playing with sweet-spot harmonics made bearable by the newly-bought Big Sky. Too nuanced? Too nerdy? Not even music? Maybe, but look at them harmonic peaks :D

In my recent post asking whether I should send back this glowing blue reverb cliche a sizable group voted for "Make some videos and we'll let you know". It's got to be some praise for the Big Sky that these droning harmonics suddenly became sweet to my ears. In fact I didn't intend to make a video about this at all. I was just booting up the new Big Sky to make sure it worked (after my sad experience of a DOA Line6 DL4), got to preset number 2, tweaked it, twiddled the DB-01's filter knob, and here we are.

So there's some hesitation in posting this since it seems incredibly obscure. Five minutes of resonant squeals? Yet I found it strangely hypnotic and satisfying. The only other filter I've come across which was even close to the Polivoks in twiddle-fun was the classic Moog ladder on my now long-departed Sub-37. It is also fun to discover separate tones with tiny filter movements. OTOH maybe it's just the Big Sky doing all the work?

Perhaps it's best to look on this as you would a dreamy session on a Lyra-8: It's not so much music as a brainwave meditation session. And that's not bad at all for a little mono bassline synth.

As usual there is absolutely no processing other than what you see: A DB-01 and the Big Sky (plus the old sci-fi samples).

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
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What do you get with a full parameter randomization and an LFO modulating FM? Played in the usual way you're almost certain to get a dog's breakfast. But with some careful step arpeggiation it can start to come together in a very DFAM-like way. If you're particularly lucky you may even be able to get the equivalent of four or five progressive sections from a single pattern.

The setup is a little bit involved so if you're impatient to see whether the DFAM sound is achieved just skip to the demo chunks at the end. My favorite is the DAF demo. These were named after creating them - don't think for a moment you can decide what you want ahead of time :D As usual the Gods will deliver to you what they see fit.

The Zen delay is proving a little "smoothing" and rhythmic coherence but other wise what you see is what you get. There's no further processing. Some of the demo tracks are slightly chopped since it's very easy to wander off the path into techno-Gristle land. Visually there's a few sections where the waveform display is missing, so my apologies, in the excitement of twiddling I forgot to switch it on :(

0:00 A mild example
0:42 LFO setup
1:56 Randomizer
2:40 Arp settings
3:42 Set scale
4:25 Roll the dice!
5:45 FM LFO issue
7:11 Demo 1: Warm Featherette
8:00 Demo 2: Funky Gabber
8:34 Demo 3: Bandpassed
10:10 Demo 4: DAF
10:42 Demo 5: Noisetown

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

This guide is meant for new users and is ordered to present the information you need as you start to explore the machine. So if you've just got your machine, plug it in and follow along, and by the end of the video you'll know 95% of the functions and be happily creating, saving and tweaking patterns. The DB-01 really is an amazingly well-balanced machine that can do much more than mere basslines.

My original guide to the DB-01 was published back in 2020 and although it's one of my most popular videos it was done on a crusty camera and onboard mic. So after dozens of videos about this sturdy little machine, I thought it deserved a redo.

If, at the end, there are areas where you want more detail, there's sure to be a video about it in my DB-01 playlist. Please have a look. If not, ask in the comments, I try to answer every question.

0:00 Intro and contents
1:27 Back panel
2:00 Interface
2:44 Escape key
2:58 Make sound
4:58 Notes
5:50 Gates
7:00 Keyboard mode
8:03 Volume
8:28 Firmware version
8:36 Set volume
10:00 Filter tracking
10:47 Live record
11:58 Saving
12:35 Undo
13:52 Patterns
14:30 Config: Clock
16:20 Config: MIDI
16:53 Config: Follow
17:50 Config: Tuning
18:00 Config: Backup
18:08 Config: Calibrate
18:55 Config: Factory reset
19:09 Config: Version
19:35 The LFO
27:50 Save LFO settings
28:55 Select Bank
30:15 Move start step
31:18 Save methods
32:17 Copy and paste
33:44 Random pattern generator
38:00 Set scale
40:19 Accent
40:42 Slides
41:22 Pitch envelope
42:58 Last step & length
45:53 Filter mod
46:43 Play mode & probability
48:52 Transpose
49:16 Arpegiator

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Why just make a quick guide on replacing the Midicake Arp's front panel when I can have an extended gripe about too-colorful gear? So here it is, all talk and no music about the joys of black front panels. For reasons unknown a jumble of gear colors disturbs me. Perhaps there's some deep explanation centring on light patterns, color contrast and their interaction with brainwave states? After all, why are some color groupings universally regarded as "beautiful" or "harmonious" - such as a sunset - and other combinations like brown and orange, or magenta and red, judged terrible? Either that or I'm just getting more grumpy and demanding. In the meantime, if anyone knows of a black overlay sticker for the Big Sky, I'm in.

0:00 Approved colors
1:18 Midicake Arp
2:35 Strymon neon
3:24 Arp front panel
3:50 Replacing the case
5:35 Knob time
6:55 Ta da!

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I like melody. Looking back at when I played synth-punk live back in the day, the music then probably had too much melody. Well, I'm making up for it here. It's just playing with sweet-spot harmonics made bearable by the newly-bought Big Sky. Too nuanced? Too nerdy? Not even music? Maybe, but look at them harmonic peaks :D
In my recent post asking whether I should send back this glowing blue reverb cliche a sizable group voted for "Make some videos and we'll let you know". It's got to be some praise for the Big Sky that these droning harmonics suddenly became sweet to my ears. In fact I didn't intend to make a video about this at all. I was just booting up the new Big Sky to make sure it worked (after my sad experience of a DOA Line6 DL4), got to preset number 2, tweaked it, twiddled the DB-01's filter knob, and here we are.
So there's some hesitation in posting this since it seems incredibly obscure. Five minutes of resonant squeals? Yet I found it strangely hypnotic and satisfying. The only other filter I've come across which was even close to the Polivoks in twiddle-fun was the classic Moog ladder on my now long-departed Sub-37. It is also fun to discover separate tones with tiny filter movements. OTOH maybe it's just the Big Sky doing all the work?
Perhaps it's best to look on this as you would a dreamy session on a Lyra-8: It's not so much music as a brainwave meditation session. And that's not bad at all for a little mono bassline synth.
As usual there is absolutely no processing other than what you see: A DB-01 and the Big Sky (plus the old sci-fi samples).

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

The trusty DB-01 teamed again with the Zen delay. What you see is what you hear - there's no other sound processing of the music, not even a final limiter. Nor is there any volume tweaking of different parts. It was all recorded in one pass although it was cut down from about 5 minutes to three. The vocal samples are from a 1958 sci-fi movie "The Day the Sky Exploded" about a swarm of asteroids threatening the Earth and the world uniting to destroy them.

The silly title "It's not you it's me" refers to me having bought the Zen delay for the third time - a new record in the cycle of GAS and regret. But I'm reasonably confident I've finally accepted what I don't like about the Zen and the fact that I will never find the perfect delay - the "Zen" name adding a final dollop of irony to the whole thing.

The re-buy was also helped along by the sad story of my new "blackout" Line6 DL-4 delay. Imported it from Thomann in Germany and it was dead on arrival. Well, not quite dead, it would work for anywhere between 30 seconds and two minutes and then freeze. A shame because it sounded pretty good from the little previews I managed to hear.

You may notice I added another cable to the DB-01 rear from the clock out to the gate in. It adds little sixteenth note clicks. The waveform displays the interesting left-right variation created by the Zen.

In other news, it may be time to create a DB-01 "masters" school. Your rank will be determined by how much text from your interface has been rubbed away. At least with my two machines I can tell which one I bought first.

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

To everyone who comments on my videos, sincere thanks. Comments are one of the best things about making videos. If I can use an Australian analogy, my brain is the giant flock of sheep and comments are the cattle dogs barking and nipping to keep me on track. Which is to say that this comparison video of Perkons vs the LXR-02 came from ideas in a comment thread. At first I hesitated since it seemed like an irrelevant and unfair comparison. But the comments reminded me that these are the decisions we face all the time? Will machine X satisfy or should I try for something bigger and better?

As soon as I bought Perkons I sold my old LXR-02 thinking it was redundant. Why would I bother with such a pipsqueak when the Great Blue-Green Master had arrived? But regret soon set in and the LXR-02 returned. Why? Well, that's really the essence of this somewhat chaotic comparison. It's not an analysis of kick and snare drum frequencies, rolloff curves, or about particular waveforms. I'm not trying for lab test answers. This is a collection of critical impressions of both machines, looking at some of the fundamental differences in how they're played and programmed. I hope will be of some use and interest to you.

0:00 The Big Five
0:41 Perkons is big
1:51 Analog vs digital
3:00 The interfaces
3:43 LFO modulation
8:00 Buttons
8:58 Mono vs stereo
11:05 Core sounds
17:01 Parameter locks
22:56 Pitchmod curse
24:09 Drones
25:07 More about knobs
26:26 Envelopes
28:51 Filter knob
32:42 Firmware
38:00 Conclusions

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My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

The first episode in a new series which will explore different pedal and routing combinations with the LXR-02 drum machine. First up are two Roger That pedals from Fairfield Circuitry (for left-right stereo), a Boss GEB-7 EQ and the Future Factory stereo delay from Free the Tone. Some might recognise the pedal setup from my last video with the DB-01. I liked the stereo effect so much it seemed a shame not to swap out the DB-01 for the LXR-02 and give it a test.

0:00 Intro (the only talking)
1:12 Tippy Tap
2:34 Grinder
4:09 Industry Anthem
5:32 King Pong
7:11 Ping Kong
8:49 Rubberman
9:36 Bass Poker
10:41 Modem Dancer

All ideas for the series on combinations, routings or types of patterns are very welcome.

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

Any discussion about an interesting mono pedal will eventually devolve to: "If only pedal X was in stereo". To which some production savant will quickly reply "Just buy two!". Can it really be so simple?
Here we have a DB-01 running through the most excellent Boss GEB-7 bass EQ, then into a simple line splitter for the left and right "Roger That" pedals from Fairfield Circuitry, and finally into the Future Factory stereo delay from Free the Tone. No DAW audio processing.
There are 10 short audio examples. Each to their own but I'm now a convert to dirty stereo bass. Even when the two units are closely matched there are differences which no mono-only modulation can give.
Next time I'll try the two Rogers on some drums :)

0:00 Machine bass
1:22 Acid runner
2:33 Doom keys
3:37 Industrial drone
4:11 Fuzzy square
6:34 Poker echo
7:02 Sharpy arp
7:42 Two step
8:40 Fully rogered
9:12 The Scraper

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

The Source Audio Nemesis is a classic stereo delay with loads of interesting parameters. Unfortunately most of those parameters are only accessible via the editor software - or as MIDI CC parameters. Meanwhile the Free the Tone Future factory delay makes all the parameters available via the front panel interface, but it's a cumbersome button and encoder process that feels like an old digital synth interface.
To get easy access to most parameters while playing you can use a MIDI controller. The cheap and cheerful option is a Korg NanoKontrol 2. It is handsome, compact, cheap but is USB only which means if you want to use it without a computer then you'll need to go through a MIDI host. Now your slimline controller is starting to get big and messy, especially if you also want to add an external clock.
The best controller option imo is the FaderFox EC-4. Not only does it have MIDI in and out, it can pass through MIDI clock, has multiple scenes available direct from the unit and even lets you create four-character names for every parameter. Of course it also costs about the same (or more) as your expensive stereo delay pedal so you'll want to be sure you'll get good use from it beyond just a delay pedal knob tweak.
So is it worth the time and trouble to add a controller? It can make for some dramatic effects far beyond what is usually possible. It could also be a far quicker and more enjoyable way to program new patches.

0:00 So many options
1:28 FF & Nemesis
2:00 Ergonomics
4:15 NanoKontrol2
6:33 Annoying install
7:18 Future Factory CC list
8:02 More Nano pain
9:11 MIDI Host pain
10:15 FF setup
11:15 FF music*
17:23 Nemesis CC list
19:52 Nemesis setup
23:20 Nemesis music (no more talk)

* In the Future Factory EQ controls I limited the bass EQ boost. The full CC range 0-127 gives a 15dB bass boost. That was so ferocious I limited the range to 0-100. So if you want bass boost it's available.

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rich..

Any discussion about an interesting mono pedal will eventually devolve to: "If only pedal X was in stereo". To which some production savant will quickly reply "Just buy two!". Can it really be so simple?
Here we have a DB-01 running through the most excellent Boss GEB-7 bass EQ, then into a simple line splitter for the left and right "Roger That" pedals from Fairfield Circuitry, and finally into the Future Factory stereo delay from Free the Tone. No DAW audio processing.
There are 10 short audio examples. Each to their own but I'm now a convert to dirty stereo bass. Even when the two units are closely matched there are differences which no mono-only modulation can give.
Next time I'll try the two Rogers on some drums :)

0:00 Machine bass
1:22 Acid runner
2:33 Doom keys
3:37 Industrial drone
4:11 Fuzzy square
6:34 Poker echo
7:02 Sharpy arp
7:42 Two step
8:40 Fully rogered
9:12 The Scraper

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

There are few synths more simple than the Solina, but can it be extended from its one trick? Can it do what real poly synths do, or at least cover some of the territory by using external effects? And if it successfully delivers a range of bid pad sounds then can interesting little mono synths do the weird stuff and your need for a flagship poly finally end?
After a short intro burble I demo a range of sounds using the Strymon Mobius, Shift Line Astronaut and Erica Synths Acidbox III. They certainly move the Solina out of its usual zone but can't really overcome the lack of envelope control. OTOH the pad thing is well covered. It it enough to end Big Poly GAS?

0:00 The only bit of talking
1:09 Rotary
1:40 Formant
1:52 Bit crusher
2:50 Chorus
3:44 Filter & res
4:24 Env follower
4:48 20dB gain
5:20 Drive
6:40 High res
7:20 Metal
8:10 Envelope
8:37 Drone
9:25 Thick

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

There's something very satisfying about the DB-01 and dark, deep drones. Maybe it's the Polivoks filter and that big knob.

In this setup the DB-01 is going into the Gamechanger Audio Light pedal in Feedback mode with everything cranked. From there into the JPTR FX Add Violence pedal and then into the Nemesis delay. This order seemed to work better than the Light pedal after the distortion. There's no audio processing in the DAW. Quotes come from a 1940s movie through the Valhalla delay.

The original noodle - which I was trying hard to keep short and sweet - was eight minutes, but how much grinding feedback drone is too much? So here we are at about four. In hindsight it would have been good to have something after the Light pedal that could more severely mess with the feedback tone. Next time :D

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos

There are few synths more simple than the Solina, but can it be extended from its one trick? Can it do what real poly synths do, or at least cover some of the territory by using external effects? And if it successfully delivers a range of bid pad sounds then can interesting little mono synths do the weird stuff and your need for a flagship poly finally end?
After a short intro burble I demo a range of sounds using the Strymon Mobius, Shift Line Astronaut and Erica Synths Acidbox III. They certainly move the Solina out of its usual zone but can't really overcome the lack of envelope control. OTOH the pad thing is well covered. It it enough to end Big Poly GAS?

0:00 The only bit of talking
1:09 Rotary
1:40 Formant
1:52 Bit crusher
2:50 Chorus
3:44 Filter & res
4:24 Env follower
4:48 20dB gain
5:20 Drive
6:40 High res
7:20 Metal
8:10 Envelope
8:37 Drone
9:25 Thick

Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Many thanks to my kind patrons who keep this channel ad-free
My website: https://richarddehove.com/
My other channel "IntraCosmos" of long-play dark ambient textures: https://www.youtube.com/@intracosmos