I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of this synthesizer from Soma Labs since I preordered it in January, and now the Flux has landed. I decided to film and record my first jam with it, uncut, so you can see what it’s like to play it with no prior experience. I decided to do one of my favorite things to do with a synth, starting with ambient loop (in this case a recording I took at night in Ha Noi, Vietnam) and live-looping a variety of sounds into it to create a soundscape. The results? I am very, very pleased!
Following up, now I try the Flux in the context of a patch from my semi-modular synths (Softpop 2 and Erebus) in C-minor, to see how hard it is to play in tune with other sounds. Results? It’s definitely easier for a beginner to play than a violin.
I’ve been thinking about getting one because I kinda feel I want it, but I’m afraid it might be a one-trick pony. Not many demos of it yet, all of them quite similar. I’d love to see more about it because I’d love to have a Soma companion for my Pulsar, but I’m not 100% sure yet if this is the thing for me. Any nice videos around, or anyone here that has it and would like to share their experience with it?
The first time I played with my Flux I was underwhelmed: All I got out of it were clichéd theremin-like sounds, some bells and plucked strings. I was afraid that I got a one-trick pony.
Fortunately, I was wrong. Stepping through the presets doesn’t do it justice. When you discover the subtleties of the playing techniques - changing parameters with the left hand and tilting the right hand - the instrument comes alive and can be played with nuances.
While you can‘t change the underlying algorhythms, you can adapt the sounds in different ways. I find it especially interesting to rise the release time of the sounds and then play them polyphonically. You can get amazing soundscapes this way.
You can also quantize the notes to get rid of the sometimes annoying glide effect.
Like with all the Soma instruments that I play - Terra, Pulsar, Cosmos, Roat - there’s more than initially meets the ear.
That said, for me Flux is at its best when played together with other sounds or when multi-tracked (the Cosmos is great for that). Apart from doing soundscapes I would be a bit hesitant to play Flux solo live (while I have done some gigs with just Terra). But maybe that‘s also because I have much less practise with Flux.
BTW I find it great that you can operate Flux mainly with the magnets. It’s reliable most of the time. Sometimes I get a freeze but I could always solve it by pressing the calibration button. You‘re back up in just a second. I wouldn‘t hesitate to play live.
I hope this helps. At the moment I have no recordings to share.
I am planning on using it along with other instruments, and in the context of several of my bands. So I’m not looking at it as a standalone instrument to perform with. Not thinking about playing leads with it either, and that’s also the reason why I’m trying to find something that goes further than just the typical theremin sounds - I’m thinking about layering, adding in external effects, making it sound bigger, and getting closer to even pad-like sounds.
It’s a fairly new instrument, so I’m expecting to navigate uncharted territory with it, and that’s fine. But I don’t want to expect that I’ll get it to sound like something it is not, either, and then be disappointed.
I might be able to get one at a slightly discounted price next week, so I still have some time to decide. We’ll see…
I just uploaded some sketches with Flux that hopefully help you with your decision. Flux was used together with Soma Cosmos (their anti-looper) to do the layering. There was no other processing and I used only stock presets on purpose.
Flux is capable of deep rounded basses. Listening with headphones will give the best result.
(I couldn’t upload the files here because they were to big.)
Any new thoughts on the instrument after months of use? I’m thinking of getting one to play live, but still very little info on it or videos, would much appreciate some insite
I was here to also see if anyone had gotten one of these and had thoughts to share. There’s a new breakout box coming soon and that’s the piece I was waiting for so that it can play with euro or midi devices.
Hi! I already ordered the BOB and received it quickly. Right now I did first tests with an Eagan Matrix Module, controlling pitch and velocity with MPE and other things with CV via xyz of Flux. Until now it’s working well and Flux became a true MPE controller with some special skills. I was missing some more physical modelling abilities of the Flux’ synth engine – and now I got it because of the breakout box. There will follow some more tests regarding behaviour with Waldorf Iridium and some other modular controls.
