Octa Companion: Blofeld or Ipad?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#43

I already have a Shruthi-1 I proudly built myself.
It’s really an easy thing to do, very well documented, takes something like 7 hours to craft, a few other ones to master, and yes the sound is really excellent.
This thing is a beauty.

But you know what : I’d like chords :wink:

I looking forward to learning more on synthesis, currently reading the whole SOS series. Blofeld seemed to me the right tool to practice !

Concerning the “sterile” sound : I’ll get the Blofeld through Shruthi filter or AR compressor if I find it too cold…

#44

have you seen the Audiothingies P6 we were discussing? it sounds amazing, has a similar format as the Shruthi, onboard effects, 6 note polyphony…

#45

Yes indeed.
I was close to buy it, but for some reason I prefered the Blofeld.
I couldn’t find much comment on the P6, nor sounds, and I thought the Blofeld was more versatile.
But I would definitely drop an ear to any P6 track :slight_smile:

#46

Well they are both dsp synths, and multitimbrality definitely speaks in favor of the Blofeld, as P6 is not multitimbral, and will never be. But then again, for the price of a new Blofeld, you could grab both P6 and Shruthi. But even having both, I feel the Blofeld to be more versatile (dat mod matrix :heart: ).

#47

Right, multitimbrality. That’s the word, thank you @michalronin.

Plus I’ve just seen that once you completely exhausted the Blofeld possibilities, you can add samples management (yet for a 100 bucks more).

I’m confident I made a good choice and the Blofeld is gonna stay :wink:

#48

You can also add to the wavetables, for free, without the sample add on.

Pretty much impossible to EVER exhaust the possibilities of the Blofeld…

#49

I find the Blofeld is a great companion to the Octatrack but its not without issues.

I am getting dropped notes in multi mode and that is just using 3 channels out of 16, i think they must be DSP intensive sounds so it would not be like this with all sounds but it is something to consider being as it is billed as ‘25 note polyphony’.

Also, if you are a preset tweaker, the multi mode can be a real pain. Each actual sound can have 2 FX slots but in multi mode only the first sound has 2 FX slots, the rest have just one. This means that for any sounds that use both FX slots, the sound will be altered in multi mode due to losing the 2nd FX slot (unless that sound is on the first channel).

These issues aside, the Blofeld is perfect to team up with the Octatrack :slight_smile:

1 Like
#50

…whatever the road is in decisions…and clean concepts…

chords and arpeggios are the hot thing again…and the ot midi sequencer must have the the option to play his strength here…

multitimbrality whatsoever…at least 3 voices at the same time are a MUST…

and now i have to step back from this thread…
i really don’t need another synth…i’m perfectly settled with all whishes and have more than enough options in all conceptional ways…and still…
the longer i get involved here, i’m afraid i’d bite from this p6 apple tree also in the end…
stay away from me, gearslut demons…

1 Like
#51

Are you using comb filters, wavetables, or samples? I’ve read that these three things will reduce polyphony the most.

Also, if you are a preset tweaker, the multi mode can be a real pain. Each actual sound can have 2 FX slots but in multi mode only the first sound has 2 FX slots, the rest have just one. This means that for any sounds that use both FX slots, the sound will be altered in multi mode due to losing the 2nd FX slot (unless that sound is on the first channel).

Ah, now this is great info that I have not yet read before. Grabbing a Blofeld next for Monomachine sequencer expansion.

#52

Are you using comb filters, wavetables, or samples? I’ve read that these three things will reduce polyphony the most.

Also, if you are a preset tweaker, the multi mode can be a real pain. Each actual sound can have 2 FX slots but in multi mode only the first sound has 2 FX slots, the rest have just one. This means that for any sounds that use both FX slots, the sound will be altered in multi mode due to losing the 2nd FX slot (unless that sound is on the first channel).

Ah, now this is great info that I have not yet read before. Grabbing a Blofeld next for Monomachine sequencer expansion. [/quote]
I’m not using any wavetables or samples, not sure about the comb filter, i will have to check. I think i’ve just gone and picked the most DSP intensive sounds although theres no way of actually knowing.

I forgot to add that the 2nd FX slot on the 1st channel in multi mode affects all the sounds in the multi. Its good incentive to start developing sounds that take advantage of it :wink:

1 Like
#53

Thanks Adam :slight_smile:

Camera connection kit gives your iPad USB. So i use a UCA202 via CCK into iPad.

Aside from improved analog output, the great thing is the UCA202 has optical digital output, so if you are using an iPad in conjunction with a mac that has optical digital input, like a mac pro or older macbook pro, you can get digital audio from your iPad to your Macintosh without it ever leaving the digital domain.

#54

I completely forgot about this post…
so after 2+ years, I’m about to get my hands on an Analog Four :slight_smile:
I made a few sets with Octatrack + Shruthi + Audiothingies P6… I wanted more voices, so I eventually replaced the P6 (I still own it though) with an iPad, running a few synths (Mood, DRC and - sometimes - Troublemaker) all sequenced by the OT.

with the current price drops on Analog Four MKI’s, I decided to go for it… hopefully I’ll be able to sort the headache of transitions better with these two alone :wink:

Although I was thinking of selling my Shruthi, I love it so much that I might keep it (plus, I think it has a sound that is quite different from A4, maybe more capable of rounder, less agressive bass sounds…?)

#55

Hahaha! Just found this thread. As someone whose main OT companions are the Blofeld and the iPad, my answer is “both”!

I especially like using the soon-to-be-discontinued iPad app Patch Morpher to quickly dial up some wild and gorgeous sounds on the Blofeld, turn them into a multi, then use the OT to play the hell out of the Blofeld, with drums and perc supplied by the iPad.

A quick, tidy, beautiful sounding setup.

Hope the A4 turns out to be a boon to your workflow.

1 Like
#56

Hey that sounds a lot like what I’m trying to do! Except I’m a newcomer to patch morpher and it seems the synth licenses are no longer available. Can’t purchase in-app.

Have emailed jazzman a couple times but getting no reply… Ghost ship app…? Is there a way to work around this you know of? Can I somehow pirate the Blofeld license from someone who has it and PayPal the guy to ease my conscience / encourage them out of hibernation

I’m new to iOS music apps too, as may be obvious!

Edit: my replies to ppl don’t seem to shhow up as such. At least to on my login. This one is @robotunes

#57

I had and IPad, I didn’t like it. Don’t especially like
touch screen for music. Maybe as a midi controller. I prefer hardware, that’s personnal.

I have Blofeld with SL Licence, I didn’t really use samples, and I’not sure I will do it more, as I just received an Mpc 500.

#58

well I think iPad works particularly well when the interface is meant to be tactile - Samplr, Borderlands Granular, Shoom, are some great examples

1 Like
#59

I have a Blofeld and an iPad with tons of synth/drum/fx/sampler/etc… apps. I recently spent a full day with each sitting outside on my deck with the Octatrack & Digitakt on separate weekend days. Good music came from both sessions but I ended up just playing random sounds from the iPad and mangling them in the Octatrack and Digitakt. With the blofeld I actually sequenced stuff as well as randomly sampled stuff. The more I play with the Blofeld the better I realize it is. If I had to pick only one it would be the Blofeld.

One thing that helps is that I printed and laminated a reference sheet to the Blofelds MIDI CC#'s so I can quickly assign anything to be plocked on the blofeld. Another cool thing you can do with the Blofeld is make use of the x,y,z controllers in the modmatrix. An example is assigning both filter cutoffs to x, y, or z in the mod matrix. Offset each of them and adding some resonance to give you some almost “formant” sounding filters. Then plock the x,y,z controllers to move both filters at once (kind of like the Virus).

I have the SL license too and started to create some oscillators based on a bunch multisamples I recorded from an old Roland XP-80 with a vintage synth collection card in it (before I sold it). First tests with the sampled oscillators is they sound more beefy (though built in stuff sounds good too).

Also the FX aren’t as bad as everyone makes them out to be. Once issue is that they can’t be changed in realtime without clicking or breaking up. The other is that they have sweet spot about the size of a pin head at various locations, but they CAN sound good.

I honestly almost sold the blofeld because I had it for a long time and never really gelled with it. Recently though I’ve started to really really like it and I’m not sure what my problem was before but it’s really an amazing synth at the price it goes for. Modulate stuff and use the wavetables, I think that’s the trick to getting great sounds from it.

So conclusion: get an iPad :stuck_out_tongue:

3 Likes
#60

If you haven’t bought Patch Morpher, it’s too late. Apple is phasing out apps that are too old to work with their newest OS. That includes Patch Morpher, and Jazz Man wrote me last month that he won’t update the app, primarily because he doesn’t have the synths he owned when he created Patch Morpher.

I’ve bought an older, used iPad that I will never update so I can run a number of older apps that are straight-up awesome. Patch Morpher, Alchemy and meta.DJ are three I can think of off the top of my head. I’ve been using iOS music apps since before the iPad came out in 2010.

Sadly, I think you’re out of luck on this fantastic app. I don’t think there’s a way you can pirate Patch Morpher’s Blofeld license.

There are a ton of synths and apps to connect to the OT. I recommend multitimbral synths that respond to CCs. First on that list should be Gadget on the iPad.

#61

Many thhanks for the info. I did get Patch Morpher from the app store just a few days ago, but maybe just the free version is available - no in-app purchases…?. It is still great with all the restrictions so I won’t be deleting it!

#62

oh and what product are you using to connect OT to iPad? Wondering if a cheap USB to MIDI din cable will work with the camera adaptor added on

something like

look good but being USB bus powered am wondering will the iPad say “not enough power”?