24 Febbraio 2021


Roland Fantom#444xchallenge

I was invited to participate in the Roland Fantom #444xchallenge and here is my video.

I exploited the incredible flexibility of the Zen-core synthesis engine for the rhythm base: 8 layers / 30 partial to simulate a wavesequence, inspired by Korg (the samples are all ROM samples of the Zen-Core synthesis) plus an acoustic drum kit .

The 4 models were used for everything else, melody included: a total of 13 zones running without any timing or polyphony problem.

Here the  link of the scene that contains sounds and sequences: who owns a Fantom can freely download and use it.

...e here ...DoctorMix jams with me...!!

February 2021


Wavetable and Wave Sequences Synthesis with Roland Fantom .... work in progress
(Part 2)

Tests continue regarding the possibility of implementing, through the Zen-Core synthesis of Fantom, some Tones that simulate wavetable and wavesequence synthesis oscillators.
To verify the real functionality of the wavesequences, I tried to implement what “historically” is considered the most famous: it is the classic Korg Wavestation SkiJam preset.

This wavesequence is created as a chain of 30 samples, which follow one another at regular intervals, with the exception of the first and sample N.16 which have double duration.
The overall duration of the sequence, with Tempo = 140.52 bpm, is approximately 6.5 sec: each slot has a duration of approximately 213 ms.

The method I used in Fantom was to create 8 Z-Core Tones, each consisting of 3 or 4 partial, with increasing delay values ​​of the trigger of the sound, implemented through the parameter Z-core Delay Time (0-1023 ).
The sequence is activated within a scene thanks to the fact that the Tones are layered.

To choose the correct values ​​of Z-Core Delay Time, which obviously cannot be entered by trial and error, I used a table that I compiled that associates the corresponding value in ms to each Z-Core Delay Time value (0-1023).
Fantom as the delay increases in ms "offers" corresponding values ​​that are less and less precise: this inaccuracy is below 10 ms for delays up to about 3 seconds and reaches an approximation of 20 ms in the case of the maximum delay which is equal at 6.7 seconds.
For this reason, wanting precise timing, I chose to split the wavesequence into two layers of 4 tones each: to make the entire sequence play, two notes must therefore be played: the first that triggers the samples (1-15) and the second, one octave higher, which triggers subsequent samples (16-30).

The 17 samples used were sampled from the VST version of the Korg Wavestation.
A summary table follows.

The purpose of the test was to verify Fantom's ability to execute sequences without timing and polyphony problems.

The result is incredibly positive: I created a short song directly inside Fantom and without any problem you can play the wavesequences, chords, bass and drums without any polyphony and timing problems.

As you can guess, the ultimate goal is not to clone Korg's wavesequences, which was a pleasant fun, but to exploit such potential of the Fantom, to create sounds apparently reserved for other synths, such as the recent Korg Wavestate.

A video with a short demo follows.

January 2021


Wavetable and Wave Sequences Synthesis with Roland Fantom .... work in progress


With Fantom, thanks to the Zen-Core synthesis structure and the possibility of using up to 16x4 OSC-> Filter-> Amp synthesis chains within a single scene, it is possible to create sounds that are typical of synthesizers with Wavetable oscillators and WaveSequence.

The methods I used are very similar to those described for Montage and Modx, with a number of differences deriving from the synthesis structure which is obviously different.

The basic principle is to consider Wavesequences and Wavetables as a sum of individual sounds having a precise delay for triggering the sound and an envelope modeled ad hoc and capable of possibly creating crossfades between successive samples.

The samples in the case of wavetables tend to be "single cycle wave" created through external software and loaded as user samples: it is also possible to use the samples resident in ROM, which allows to use the same synthesis techniques for other ZEN-Core synths such as Jupiter -X / XM and AX Edge.

As an example, the "table" that creates the "synthesizer" sound is created by means of the 3-tone layer that with 11 partials create the phrase: Synt-esai-ser

In the future I will insert some insights with useful tables to automatically calculate the various parameters to be set, such as the correspondence between each of the numerical values (0-1023) of Delay Time in the corresponding ms (0-6700 ms).

Follows a video with a short demo