PoM
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Posted : May 20, 2013 18:14
damn, yesss sound good
Djones
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 05:03
Got my Boomstar SEM today.
So after an evening of knob fiddling I honestly feel slightly disappointed.
And it's imo that 12db filter that's nagging me somewhat.
The only other analog synth I have, the Slim Phatty just has this thick creamy sound and this one just lacks this thick bottom.
For some reason nothing is audible below 9 o' clock on the filter frequency dial.
That must explain the lack of bass.
Dialing in the bp or hp filter and I feel it lacks bite as well, probably also because of that 12db filter slope.
Another downside is its lfo which rate doesn't go as high as I like.
But there's the VCO 2 which is able to do the modulations into audio range.
I do however like it's fm sounds, so far its best feature imo.
Great for a variety of typical fm leads, as well fx and such.
Built quality looks alright, although the knobs are a bit wobbly.
All in all I feel like I need some time to let its sound settle and see if it will inspire me to make some great sounds with, but if the lack of bottom end keeps bugging me, I don't know if I will keep it.
PoM
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 10:52
maybe it s the caracteristic of that sem filter? but feel strange to me.. do you have control on the vcos level? maybe you push them too much in the filter dunno
PoM
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 12:02
that thick low is a caracteristic of some moog synth caractere.you won't find it on many popular analog synths but dont mean it s bad for bassline..just different sound.
maybe you could try to patch the boomstar osc out into the phatty input and see if it s the filter.
from what i heard about the real sem..what i realy like is the drive the filter can have on resonant sounds.
Djones
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 19:20
Quote:
from what i heard about the real sem..what i realy like is the drive the filter can have on resonant sounds.
There is definitely some drive going, sweeping the filter's cutoff with resonance fully open.
But turn the resonance down to 3 o' clock and there isn't almost any resonance left.
It's either resonance with drive or no resonance at all and this is without engaging the overdrive.
Something else, the sub osc is supposed to be a sinewave, but it sounds more like a soft square.
The manual describes the sub osc to be a sinewave 'with a center off position'.
Since I don't understand what that's about, does that 'centre off position' maybe explain why the sine doesn't sound like a sine?
PoM
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 19:27
personaly i was more fan of boomstar moog or 303 .. from the sample but the sem have good positive feedbacks it seems on gearslutz..
if you didn t give a try in a mix with fxs.. it may sound awesome to complement your moog hopefully.
PoM
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 19:33
[quote]
On 2013-07-31 19:20, Djones wrote:
Quote:
Since I don't understand what that's about, does that 'centre off position' maybe explain why the sine doesn't sound like a sine?
yeah probably,and/ or if some saturation is hapening in the synth chain maybe
i m listening to some sample and it can sound awesome to me! specially saturated stuff. a mix with lot of that sem with fxs ect would sound probably great to me..but after it s personal taste. it sound kinda modern tough i find
Djones
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 19:41
Quote:
On 2013-07-31 19:27, PoM wrote:
personaly i was more fan of boomstar moog or 303 .. from the sample
if you didn t give a try in a mix with fxs.. it may sound awesome to complement your moog hopefully
Got it drained in delay and reverb already And sure it shouldn't sound the same as my moog anyway, as that wouldn't bring any new sounds.
Guess I should use it for chirpy fx and fm sounds.
But playing the SEM as an instrument with my keyboard like I do with the Phatty in a more 'musical' way (downtempo arps and such) so far hasn't brought me the same experience as the moog did.
I almost went for the 3003 though.
Could have gotten it from the same guy for the same price, but I really wanted the multimode filter of the SEM.
PoM
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 19:45
congrats man..hopefully you get some fun with it.. if you keep it would be nice to hear more about what you think in sme time..
i was feeling a bit the same with my xs and tbh with lot of my gears..but after it can really grow once i find sweet spots ect
i think the moog are so limited that it s almost imposible to make it sound bad ,in a way it s all sweet spot synth..the sem might need more time and carefull programing to get best out of it..it s just a idea as i dont have one ..never tryed these synth..but it s like that with my xs..it s so flexible that programin it right matter a lot and it need lot of time.
Djones
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Posted : Jul 31, 2013 19:57
Thanks I guess it will have to grow on me.
And I see what you mean regarding the moogs, they almost can't sound ugly no matter what combination of settings I try, but it doesn't feel to limited in my experience.
Djones
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Posted : Aug 1, 2013 06:09
Poking around all day today and I've come to the conclusion that its filter sounds dull, pretty darn dull I must say.
The moog phatty's filter is supposed to lack brightness, well it has way more sparkle in the highs than the SEM, which actually sounds rather nasal in comparison.
For general va type of sounds the SEM is for sure not going to cut it, but for FM it's nice.
Might explain why most demo's at soundcloud are mostly weird fx and fm patches.
Nectarios
Martian Arts
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Posted : Aug 1, 2013 12:03
If I was you I would send it back and get another Boomstar. If you can do this sort of deal anyway.
http://soundcloud.com/martianarts
