thanks!!
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Has anyone got the correct MIDI CC MAPPING I could see? Done a factory reset and the midi cc mapping settings/routing have been removed, all are showing ———
Any help would be massively appreciated!
I’m getting it because Erica Synths is great and this is within reach for me. Was going to save for the Behringer System 55 but I feel like I’m done with that company.
This is a real nice album you got there.
Have you released it on bandcamp?
Not to be negative, but does the Steampipe really do anything that can’t be done with a DT or DN? I mean it’s noise being shoved through filters, right? I have one, and I’m kind of struggling justifying keeping it tbh. I love the form factor and the reverb is great, but the latter is also a slight negative, as it makes it difficult to treat the sounds coming out of it with other effects like delay. Hopefully it’s just me not having spent enough time with it…
It’s noise chopped in a very short, tuned delay shoved through filters. It’s the delay that turns the sound from “noise” into a plucked string or hammered metal or wood block. It can also just be noise, but if that’s all you’re hearing you’re missing 90% of what the box does.
This method of making sound is generally called “Karplus-Strong”, and if you look it up you can find ways to do something like it with most synths that can generate quick impulses and have a delay. But a few things set the Steampipe apart.
- The control. Your average subtractive synth can only use something like 1% of the range of its delay to make Karplus-like sounds. Every one of the Steampipe’s (many!) controls are tuned to just that small range useful for physical modeling synthesis. So there’s a lot more subtle (and even not-so-subtle) sounds that can be explored with it.
- Feed-forward. It’s pretty easy to get a buzzing string sound out of any delay. But to get blown sounds like a flute or pipe, you need a “push” or feed forward stage. So those sounds are rare outside the Steampipe.
- Expressivity. One can always sample the sound of a flute or a guitar and play that without going through all the Karplus-Strong mumbo jumbo. But then it will be fixed and static. Because the sound is generated on a Steampipe, and each of its parameters can be modulated, it’s very easy to play expressively. Even on a subtractive synth, which is also generating the sound, it’s unusual to have an amount of modulation that will let you play these sounds in tune, much less with expressivity.
But that’s just off the top of my head. Really, I think it comes down to “This was a synth made to do this sort of thing and so will be better at that.”
It’s like comparing an A4 to a DN. The A4 can do some wild FM sounds. But would I recommend it to someone looking for an FM synth? No.
So question is, are you looking for a physical modeling synth? If not, the Steampipe is going to underwhelm. But if so, it’s kind of the only game in town.
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Thank you for that insight. I am very excited by physical modeling, and think it in a lot of ways is the way forward. Was just curious as to how “different” the steampipe is. Greater variation/expressiveness is definitely a good argument.
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when i first heard demos of this unit i was like omg four tet in a box
and now apparently four tet has one
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Noob here, would be grateful if you could write settings for Linnstrument and Steampipe. I received both devices a few days ago, and i’m bit overwhelmed. Great machines, thank you in advance, best regards
don’t have the steampipe anymore!
Would be interested to hear your thoughts on it.
Does anyone use Steampipe with Squarp Hapax? Steampipe should be able to send midi cc (knob movements) for Hapax to record automations, but it doesn’t send messages. Some other synths that i own do that flawlessly. I checked settings on Steampipe (transmitting midi cc to on for DIN) and tried different cables, same result. If sombody is using both devices to check if it works for them?
Does this synth get boring quick then?
I do. I don’t think there was anything special I had to do. Is your problem that the Steampipe isn’t sending messages at all? Like, if you put the Hapax in MIDI monitor mode (2ND+live) you don’t see anything?
If not, here are some things to check:
- On the Hapax, settings →
MIDI Input→ is “CC MESSAGES” set to “ACCEPT”? - On the Steampipe, are the knobs in question assigned a CC# (
Settings→MIDI CC Mapping)? - Are the Steampipe pots set to catch? This can cause problems becasue the “catch point” is set to whatever the incomming CC is, and that can cause a sort of feedback loop. Turn it off in
Settings→Display→Pot Catch.
Just saw your post over in the Hapax thread. That problem (the CC being stuck at zero) is almost certainly because pot catch is on. Set it to OFF and you should be good.
Hey Jemmons,
thank you for fast reply. Yes, i’ve tried it know, and pop catch was causing trouble.
Do you use your Steampipe with pop catch set to off? And how do you manage knobs once you change the preset? I set all my synths to catch parameters when changing presets and i really wouldn’t know how to operate devices without that option. I was hoping to record automations on Hapax, and having pop catch pop setting, so now i have to decide if i’m ready to make compromise.
I really like the sound of Steampipe, but now knowing what values are parameters on Steampipe makes it unusable in my case. I can live without automation recordings on Hapax, bit of disappointment but i will live through this.
That leaves mi only one option, to keep pop catch pop on, and when i want to record automation on Hapax, just turn of pop catch, and after the recording, turn pop catch on.
Thank you for pinpointing it for me, i thought my Steampipe was faulty, best regards,
Filip
Back in the day we didn’t have pop catch or midi, try jamming with out the safety nets, happy accidents are fun live!
Maybe someday when i gain more experience. At my level, i really want to have control over what is going on, i’m also learning that way
I personally don’t use the pot catch, but I don’t think there’s a problem doing so (and the Steampipe’s UI for this is pretty good, IMHO).
What doesn’t work is using pot catch and listening to incoming CC and sending CC to the Hapax.
That’s because, when you turn a pot:
- The Steampipe sends a CC
- The Hapax receives the CC and echos it right back out.
- The Steampipe gets the CC and uses it to set the pot position that needs to be “caught”.
- But by that point, the pot on the Steampipe has already moved past this point, so the pot won’t do anything until it goes back and catches it again.
To avoid this, you just have to break one step in that chain. You could:
- Disable pot catch when
CC INisON, or - Disable
CC INwhen recording CCs to the Hapax, or - Turn off
CC OUTwhen not recording to the Hapax, - Etc.
Another way to deal with this from the Hapax side is to use a FILTER midi effect, setting the CC MIN to 119 and CC MAX to 0 to stop the CCs from being echoed back to the Steampipe when recording. But depending on your track setup, that might not be practical. And, of course, you’d have to remember to disable the effect on playback when you presumably want the CC to be sent.
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This clarify many things, thank you for elaborate reply, i will certainly try options you suggested, when i catch more time, best regards