I love banks 7 and 8 of the D-50 which are filled with mostly SFX and strange evolving preset classics like “Marshy Zone” and “Dense Forest”. I’m a big fan of zaps, whooshes and SFX of all types and I love to pepper them into tracks to create a sense of space.
Are there any synthesizers vintage/modern that you guys might be aware that focus heavily on these types of presets? Not opposed to softsynths or analog synths either.
Someone will eventually mention the Monomachine and it may as well be me. The weirdness isn’t so much in presets, though, as routing and patterns (locks, etc.)
Roland D-50 is a virtual analog filter (with PCM transients) and chorus, delay and reverb. So I’d say any synth with chorus, delay and reverb …
I’d say the Digitone can be far superior to that, since it also has those effects plus master overdrive and then you get all the FM synthesis, the unique Mix paramter and subtractive filters …
Another idea, Typhon is an analog synth with three effect slots that can have things on the crazier side like folder, pitch shift …
Randomizing patches in the PreenFM2 or PreenFM3 yields some crazy results, especially since you can pan at the operator level.
Other FM synths like the aforementioned DN (check out the sound packs!) or the OpSix (hardware or plugin) can get weird really fast. Also any version of the Access Virus will keep you busy making out-there patches for a looong time.
Wavestate has a bunch of presets that remind me of old romplers. And the JV era of Roland stuff is pretty good for this, so older hardware or newer stuff that inherits those sounds like the MC-101 is a solid bet.
On the software side, look at the Roland XV VST, Korg Triton and Wavestate VSTs. The K1 mentioned is also available as a free VST. E-Mu rackmounts have some things like this and are available as soundfont and for Komplete.
For rolling your own, think about layering with hardware or software you have, combining samples with synthesis (analog or digital) and using lots of effects like phaser, flanger, chorus, delay and fancy digital reverbs.
On the Twisted Electron BlastBeats, you can “wiggle” any parameter of the 4 operator FM synths (4 part multitimbral + drums), that is, randomize their values, e.g. continuously change the waveshape of each operator, its feedback, volume, multiplier, etc.
Interestingly, you can now lock the random value reached at each step, and define the range of randomization (per pattern, not per parameter). It yields really crazy and musical stuff…
These are all amazing suggestions and I will be watching YouTube preset no talking videos for weeks after this post. Common themes seem to be wavetable/FM/digital from the late 80’s early 90’s
So far we have
Hardware:
Eowave Quadrantid Swarm
Kawai K1 (classic, totally agree with the weirdness here)
Monomachine
Microfreak
JD-800 (another classic weird)
Roland D-50 (one of my favorites)
PreenFM2 or PreenFM3
OpSix
Access Virus (been wanting one of the early 90’s models for ages, this is right up my alley)
Korg wavestate
JV era of Roland stuff
E-Mu rackmounts (what’s weirder than planet phat???)
Waldorf Microwave XT, Waldorf M, Waldorf Q or possibly Blofeld and Pulse
3rd Wave (this looks amazing, ppg lineage for sure)
Hydrasynth
Gotharmans Little Deformer 3
Softsynths:
Roland XV VST, Korg Triton and Wavestate VSTs. The K1 mentioned is also available as a free VST
Synplant 2
Keep them coming! It seems like every vintage synth had a UFO liftoff or a racecar driving by preset, but I am realizing there are quite a few that have embraced the weird and gone headfirst into it.