Lyra 8 alternatives

i bought a lyra8 about a year ago. i was pretty shure i´d sell it soon again even before buying it. but somehow it´s still here.
my thoughts about it:
i think price is really fair. well made, especially the inside !
the interaction of different functions is really interessting, but some of them are not that
unpredictable at all after some time of use. there are quite a few “trademark” sounds it creates.
but again and again it surprises me, i really like what i get out of it.
maybe not the best partner for using it with sequenced and tuned music instruments,
but i run sequenced stuff through lyras ext input a lot and it´s always nice to have the delay and drive section available for … something.
i thought about replacing it too, but it would be the lyra fx eurorack module and …something
downside for me personally is that i get so many nice sounds out of it i´d like to “control” but the machine does it´s own thing :wink:

1 Like

I have owned a Lyra for almost two years now. One thing I notice, is that the voice sensors really do react to temperature, humidity, not only of my skin but also the environment. So a patch left untouched changes its sound by nature of those sensors.

Some days she is really loud, some days she is soft with not much bass, some days she is a monster. Lyra lives!

8 Likes

get a Lyra 4 - that’s what I did ! :wink:
the 4 voices is enough for me - I don’t do any FM stuff on it - it’s really a pretty straightforward drone / weird pad machine that I only use on say every 1 in 5 tracks… For live gigs the Lyra 4 is good too as there’s obviously less to tweak - which I see as sort of an advantage in that environment…

having said that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a 4 crop-up second hand, but there must be a few more out there…?

1 Like

I think with some modular rack in Software you can come up with something different, but it wont interact and sound like the lyra. its because the lyra uses a lot of feedback loops and self modulation on the delay that bring the electrical components in an unstable state. to control this and make it into something musical you need that many direct handson knobs, a midi controller would be to vague.

some software experiment idea:
you might try to take a modular delay from bitwig and put a acoustic feedback plugin from softube in the feedback fx slot of the delay. add lfos and distortion to taste.

edit: I somehow completely ignored that the OP wants software… ups. :wink:

I´ve been thinking about this a little bit, and I had this idea…

I have these"AllFlesh" touchpads-on-a-jack from Landscape.fm kicking around…

Maybe that would be a way to turn an existing Eurorack system in something resembling a Lyra:

take outputs of 2 oscillators and put the contact pads in one of each, then another pad each to an FM input on the oscillators.

now, touching an “output” pad and an “FM” pad at the same time would result in unstable FM’ing… touching 4 pads at once would probably be total chaos, but possibly in a good way… ?
now do that 3-4 times (meaning you´ll want at least 4+ oscillators) and add delay, ringmod, other crazy FX… et voila! :slight_smile:

mind you, this is in no way cheaper than a LYRA8… but it might be a good option for someone who already has a few oscillators etc.

1 Like

A Lyra-8 is Lyra-8 is a Lyra-8 is a Lyra-8… :slight_smile:

2 Likes

If you’ve got an iPad then there’s a LOT of droning apps out there.
Even delve into granular apps like Borderlands with lot of added reverb for drone soundscapes that can be put through effects.

I know a lot of folk prefer hardware to software but actually I find that the iPad touch interface really lends itself to drones, soundscapes etc. Something very satisfying about moving your fingers around on the screen that changes the soundscape.

2 Likes

Another Lyra-8 user here … :smiley:

IMO most of the unique sounds of the Lyra are created by the “weird” crossmodulation between pairs and groups of oscillators in combination with the delay unit and the modulation of the delay unit. I call it weird, because it’s a kind of FM modulation, which definitely doesn’t work like the typcial analogue FM as I have it in my modular system.

This instrument is reacting quite “organic”. Sometimes it seems predictable, sometimes it seems weird and wild. A small change of one parameter can change a sound dramatically.

This said, I fear, there is nothing else like the Lyra. I would say, if you like the sounds and the fact that you have to learn and study a new instrument, go for it. I have lost hours just sitting with the Lyra on my desk, nothing else, and beeing fascinated …

8 Likes

Tell you guys what I listened today that almost got close and I’m not talking the intricacies but the new dreadbox NYX V2 does some nice drones

1 Like

Yeah, i got the 4. I love it. Especially through my EHX Flanger Hoax and EQD Afterneath.

2 Likes

I’ll bump this to share the ensemble I put up a few days ago, which is an adaptation of the Lyra 8 in Reaktor. Hopefully someone gets some good use from it.

https://www.native-instruments.com/en/reaktor-community/reaktor-user-library/entry/show/13457

20 Likes

If I had a million likes to give a post… look forward to trying it. How close does it sound? Not in a 1:1 translation way but the general sonic territory.

1 Like

In the comments on the user library someone said it was a good companion to their IRL Lyra. It’s very good at noise / weird soundscapes. The FM cross-modulation can make great screeching feedback-type noises. Here’s a clip I made while it was in development:

And there are the three snapshots (presets) it comes with:

3 Likes

Hey! Wonderful instrument! Lost myself playing it just like with the hardware one. Any chance you share the bg picture so we could try different colors?

1 Like

I could make the B View of the ensemble into a white version, I suppose. Even though mint green is the best color they offer for that unit!

Noise Maschine iOS can come very very close, but single voice.
Try it :mask:


1 Like

Check this one; I own a Lyra 8 and ordered one of these too

2 Likes

I pushed an update a few days ago with that white panel, hopefully that helps!

4 Likes

I know it’s been a while, but this Ensemble is great and I love the mint green!

1 Like

Thanks! It was a fun covid project.