Oneshots: Volume 1

Since launching Symplesound, my focus has been to create intuitive instruments and presets that make it easy for producers to create their own sounds – without having to be an expert at synthesizers.

Because of that, I decided to redesign all of the instruments on this blog and collect them into one pack, making everything much easier to use. The pack also includes tutorials, integrated effects and MIDI clips for inspiration.

They're still 100% free – because I want to continue supporting synth fans everywhere – and they're now available at the Symplesound shop, along with more free downloads and goodies.

Hope you enjoy these updates! Download them here.

Free Novation Bass Station II Instruments

A few months back, I reviewed the Novation Bass Station II for Keyboard Magazine. As modern analog synths go, the BSII packs a lot of analog power into a small footprint. So while I had it in my studio, I couldn't resist snagging a few samples of it to share with everyone.

For those who aren't up to speed on the Bass Station II, it's a dual-oscillator analog monosynth with a sub-oscillator and tons of nifty filtering modes, along with a nasty little distortion. As the name implies, it excels at bass, so that's the focus of this new pack.

Free Moog Sub Phatty Ableton Instruments

Moog's Sub Phatty (the basis for their new Sub 37, incidentally) takes their Phatty engine and adds a sub-oscillator and new "Multidrive" circuits that are capable of some really in-your-face sounds.

Since I've been using it for close to a year, I figured it was time for another round of Moog-based Simpler patches. Because the Multidrive is so unique and the extra sub-oscillator adds textural complexity, I focused on those for this pack.

Korg Volca Beats Loop Pack

I just reviewed the new Korg Volca Series for Keyboard Magazine and the full report will be coming in the March 2014 issue. Until then, let's just say I'm quite taken with the Volca Beats groove box. Sooo… 

Since these analog babies are backordered, well, everywhere, I figured it might be a cool idea to post a loop pack for y'all.

To keep things useful and interesting, I mixed up the pack with some full grooves, some kick/snare patterns, some hats and some top percussion loops.

Everything is 24-bit/44.1 and all loops are two bars long. I even did a bit of multiband compression and limiting, so they're good to go.

Also, it's worth mentioning that every loop is 123 BPM, because house.

You can download it all here:

Francis Prève's Volca Beats Loop Pack

Feel free to follow me on Facebook for more downloads and music stuff.

Cheers!

Free Prophet 12 Ableton Instruments

Dave Smith's Prophet 12 is one of the most buzzworthy keyboards of 2013. It's arguably the deepest analog-hybrid polysynth ever released - and since all of my previous packs have used single note samples, I decided to create a pack entirely from chord stabs.

Because chord stabs are all the rage with the kids these days.

I'm also breaking with tradition and including twelve presets instead of the usual six. See what I did there?

Free Korg MS-20 Ableton Instruments

Korg's MS-20 Mini has quickly become one of the biggest synths of 2013. Maybe even THE biggest synth of 2013.

With its full-figured filters and a semi-modular approach to sound design, the MS-20 has a sound that's so beefy and unique that it's earned a very special place in my studio.

Having tinkered with it for the better part of the summer, I figured it was time for another six-pack of Simpler patches. Since the MS-20's filters are so distinctive, I focused on their sound as the basis for these presets.

The MS-20 instruments in the file are as follows:

Ring Fizz - Combining the MS20's ring mod (using a major third interval) with super-resonant filters resulted in this nasty patch. Check out the freaky aliasing in the top octaves.

Reso Square - I tuned the filters to match the square wave oscillators, which added a light quiver to the overall tone.

Res Saw Interval - Interval tuning on a pair of sawtooth oscillators, again with the resonance cranked for additional harmonic emphasis.

Noise Square - Using the MS20's patch bay, I modulated the filter cutoff with some white noise. Dirty.

Filter Frenzy - With the filter resonance adding some "ghost" tones, I dropped one of the oscillators by an octave to increase the low-end content. For some serious boom, lower the cutoff frequency on this Simpler patch.f

Detuned Pulse - A pair of pulse waves detuned with the lowpass open and the highpass subtly boosting the lows.

As usual, the instruments are in default mode, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

With all of the modulation and detuning going on, looping was a challenge, so I took longer samples to capture the character a bit more accurately

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:

Francis Prève - MS-20 Mini Simpler Sixpack

(compatible with Ableton Live 9.7 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Free Mopho X4 Ableton Instruments

Dave Smith's Mopho X4 made my Beatport News 2012 Top 10 Tech Tools list for good reason. It can sound sweet-as-pie or downright nasty, depending on how you program it.

Since my previous downloads have been a tad on the smooth side, I decided to explore the grungy, filthy aspects of the X4 - resulting in seven Simpler instruments that really show what it can do.

The Mopho X4 instruments in the file are as follows:

Ultra Moopher - Based on one of the factory presets, this one's great for fat chords and leads.

SizzleSquare - Starting with a pair of square wave oscillators, I cranked the resonance on this patch, giving it a lot of fizzzzzz.

Uberswell - I used a really long filter attack and a ton of filter feedback to get this evolving texture.

Dirty Fiver - One oscillator is set to square, the other's set to a sawtooth, then detuned a fifth apart. There's a little bit of sub-oscillator and a touch of filter feedback too.

Vanilla - Here's a pair of detuned saws. Good for pads and progressive stuff.

Bassification - Slightly detuned oscillators with the Curtis filter cutoff lowered for warmth. Useful for subby breakdown drones.

Dabuzz - Another dirty patch with a bit of white noise thrown in for fun.

As with the all of the other Simpler packages on this blog, I left the devices in their default mode, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

Like the SH-101, there's some quick-n-dirty looping on these patches. Nothing fancy, as I was more focused on creating long waves, so you can turn the loop off  and use the samples in their pure state. 

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:

Francis Prève - Mopho X4 Simpler Pack

(compatible with Ableton Live 8.1.5 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Cheers!

Free Roland SH-101 Ableton Instruments

After the success of last month's "What Synth Should I Sample?" poll, I decided to do it again for the 12k milestone on my Facebook page.

This time, you wanted me to sample my beloved vintage Roland SH-101.

There's a ton of web info on this historic synth, so you can read about it here and here.

The Simpler instruments in the file are as follows:

SH101 Saw - Basic single oscillator SH-101 sawtooth.

SH101 Square - Basic single oscillator SH-101 square wave.

SH101 PWM - One of the truly classic SH-101 sounds lies in the character of its pulse width modulation.

SH101 Saw+Sub - Another signature sound from the 101 comes from its sub-oscillator. Here, I blended it with a sawtooth waveform.

SH101 ResSweep - The SH-101 shipped around the same time as the legendary TB-303 - and many producers have used the 101 in similar ways. The resonance on this synth is exceptional, so here's a taste.

SH101 Resonant - This is another example of the SH-101's resonance, generating a whistling tone over a square/pulse wave.

SH101 Noise - Lots of 80s tracks used the SH101's midrange-heavy noise generator for synth drums, so I included a sample of it here.

SH101 Bass - Gotta have some bass too, right?

As with the all of the other Simpler packages on this blog, I left the devices in their default state, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

That said, I did some quick-n-dirty looping on these patches, which was tricky due to the nature of Simpler and the slight inconsistencies of analog-derived waves. Fortunately, the samples are long enough that many users will be able to switch it off if they choose. 

(For those who create cleaner loops for these presets, please send them my way and I'll update the package accordingly.)

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:

Francis Preve - SH-101 8-pack 

(compatible with Ableton Live 9.7 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Cheers!

Free Prophet 08 Ableton Instruments

To celebrate hitting 10,000 fans on my Facebook page a couple of weeks back, I took a poll to see what synth in my studio you wanted me to sample next.

The overwhelming response was my beloved Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 08.

So… Here ya go! :)

The Simpler instruments in the file are as follows:

P8 Saw - Basic single oscillator Prophet sawtooth.

P8 Square - Basic single oscillator Prophet square wave.

P8 Pulse - Basic single oscillator Prophet pulse/rectangle wave.

P8 2x Fifths - Two octaves of fifth intervals. Super thick and Mau5-ish.

P8 Big Octaves - Four octaves of a basic dual-oscillator patch. "Undertaker" and "Ghosts-n-Stuff" fans are gonna love this one.

P8 Detuned Saws - One of the hallmark sounds of ALL Prophets.

P8 Deep Drone - Big, throbbing detuned bass drone.

P8 Sync Sweep - Long slow hard sync sweep with tight short loop at the end. If you want to have a lot of fun with this patch, start by adjusting the sample start point. You'll see ;)

P8 Res Sweep - Resonant sweep with a touch of white noise and a tight loop at the end. As with the Sync Sweep patch, try tinkering with the start point.

As with the Minitaur and Doepferheim packs, these Simplers in their default state, with filtering, LFOs and envelopes off, so you can use them as starting points for your own sounds.

I did handle the looping tasks myself, because several friends commented that it's rather tough to get them right if you're inexperienced with the process.

Here's a fun aside: The "Marina" lead sound is in this collection, but it requires some additional programming. See if you can find it.

Here's the Ableton Live file containing the presets.

Download:
Francis Preve - Prophet 08 6-pack 
(compatible with Ableton Live 9.7 and higher)

Note 1: If you like any of these sounds and want to keep them for future tracks, just click the little save button in the upper right corner of the Simpler and add it to your library (it will copy the waves too).

Note 2: If you don't use Ableton and just want the C3 samples, you can download the file and fish the waves out of the "Samples" folder, then use them in your DAW or sampler of choice.

Much love, kids.

Free Oberheim/Doepfer Ableton Instruments

Fans and friends of mine know that my studio consists of a ton of analog gear, arranged in a semi-modular configuration - and I'm constantly experimenting...

One of the cornerstones of this rig is a baby modular, created by pairing a Doepfer Dark Energy Mk 1 and an Oberheim SEM CV-edition.

You can find all of the tech specs in this article I did for Keyboard Magazine last year.

A lot of people have asked what this beastie sounds like, so I decided to whip up a new Ableton six-pack that showcases some of the sounds it can generate.

Free Moog Minitaur Ableton Instruments

The Moog Minitaur is one of the most buzzworthy hardware synths of the year.

It's an all-analog bass synth, with a knob for every function, that costs around $600 (US).

To honor the release of this synth - and commemorate hitting 3000 Facebook likes for my Official page  - I whipped up a four-pack of Ableton Simplers that demonstrate how amazing this synth sounds.

And yep, they're free and you can use them in your tracks - royalty-free.

Slim Phatty Loop Six-pack

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Moog's new Slim Phatty has become one of the cornerstones of my sound for 2011. Oh sure, I'm still madly in love with my Oberheim SEM for its raw aggression, Vermona Mono Lancet for its versatility, and Doepfer Dark Energy for its micro modulararity, but for rafter-shaking bass and in-your-face leads, the Phatty is my go-to synth.

I just reviewed it for Keyboard and the details are in the current issue, but if you want to know why I'm head over heels for this beastie, check out this six-pack.

Six loops. All yours. Royalty free. Have fun.

Links after the jump...

Musikmesse Gear That Grabbed My Ass

When it comes to synth exotica, this year's Musikmesse was one of the best I've seen in years. No, no, no... I was too busy with Academik to make the trek, but considering I've already had my grubby mitts on a couple of these delights, I can safely say that the world of synthesis has been going through a bit of a renaissance lately.

Here's a rundown of my favorite products of this show. It is by no means comprehensive, it's just the stuff that I plan to either buy, review, or recommend.

[Update: Some browsers are having problems displaying this piece's layout, notably Safari. Not sure what's going on, since I've posted numerous YouTube videos in the past without incident. Looks great in Firefox, for what that's worth... Apologies...]

ROLAND JUPITER-80



With three months of teasing and rumors, Roland's Jupiter-80 made one of the biggest splashes in tradeshow history - and I'm not just saying that because I designed a fuckton of its presets.

This performance-centric synth sports a three-oscillator analog-modeled synth, Roland's new SuperNATURAL modeling/sampling technology, massive array of world-class effects, and a whopping 256 voices, making it worthy of its $3999 price tag.

How does it sound? Well, having had one in my studio for nearly four months, I can tell you first-hand that it's a true beast of a synth with a VERY Roland vibe. Kind of like a menage a trois between a Jupiter-8, D-50, and Fantom X8 - but targeted directly at live performance.

Howard Jones also designed a bunch of the Jupiter sounds and gives his take on the beastie in the YouTube video above.

Hella cool.

More gear porn after the jump...

Building A Desktop Modular System

2010 was the year I turned my entire studio into a modular synth.

No shit. Pretty much anyone can do it for about the cost of a MacBook Pro. Seriously.

So, Keyboard Magazine asked me to write an article/tutorial about it.

Here it is.

Happy Monday!

(Photo credit: Seabrook Jones for JuicyThis.com)

Polymoog Surrealism

Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Michael Boddicker, and MIMES!

Oh yeah, and the Polymoog.

This promo video redefines the word "surreal"...



Part 2 after the jump...

Free Loops: Korg Monotron Sixpack #1

Last week, fellow Sentinel Billy Jay and I were tinkering with our Korg Monotrons and I decided to record the experiments. Since Billy's a bit of a Monotron virtuoso, the results were worthy of posting as a Sixpack.

We really dig the Monotron, not 'cause it's cute like a little raccoon, but because it's duuuurty. So don't expect pristine little riffs. That's not what it's about.

Loop links and tech notes after the jump...

Yamaha CS-60 Synthesizer Demo

My bf(f) in highschool used to have this synth.

God, what I'd give to snag one now...



(via Matrixsynth)

My Thoughts On The Monotron

Korg's Monotron is absolutely one of the coolest little synths that has come my way.

It's real analog.

It fits in your pocket.

It's under a hundred bucks.

And you can actually run audio through its synth engine.

I've done two reviews for it, so if you want a deeper look into my opinions on this affordable wündertoy, check them out.

Review links after the jump...

This & That #2

Now that the Super Bowl is over, time to go back to being a geek...

Analog Badassery Alert

Tom Oberheim is at it again. This time he's recreating the original Oberheim four-voice as the "Son Of 4 Voice" - a modern-day take on the legendary semi-programmable behemoth.

Here are a few tidbits about it to whet your appetite:
- Son Of 4 Voice image
- Son Of 4 Voice audio examples
- TomOberheim.com main page

Beatportal Tutorials Permalink

Just posted a permanent page to my blog, so you can easily find the Beatportal tutorials and RA glossary.

William A February 2011 Minimix

Armada recording artist and good buddy of mine, William A, has posted his latest DJ set here.

More linkee goodness after the jump...

Analog Synth Buyer's Guides

Last year, I did a couple of analog synth shopping guides for Resident Advisor.

The info is still quite relevant overall, so I'm reposting the links here.

Best in gear: Analog synths under €1000
Best in gear: Analog synths over €1000