Novation Peak Sound Design Tutorial #1 (in 4k)
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- Опубліковано 18 кві 2017
- The Novation Peak is a new 8-poly synth from Novation that finds itself in the borderland between Digital and Analog with its new Oxford Oscillators. Here's a full length tutorial of how to design sounds with this machine. If you know the Circuit engine, you'll find a lot of similarities. Under the hood though, it's completely different.
Introduced during Superbooth 2017. - Розваги
Its crazy how you do better demos than the people who work for the companies!!
Thank you so much mate!
That’s because he does sounds that he likes and not sounds that a marketing department think you’ll like... and he’s very good.
At around 15:00 it starts to sound like the intro to Wolfenstein 3D! Nostalgia!
Waaaaaaaaaaay better.
Thanks for the guided tour, it was nice to be shown around where everything is. Saved me a bunch of time.
All Peaks should be held like a ghetto blaster 📻
i'll be damned if this hole video didn't actually helped me out in my Synth learning experience. Thank you so much for this video!
Love that it has the ease on the front panel, and the weird depths in menus. Reminds me of the old Novation KS series. This is the first synth in quite a while for which I am truly excited!
This synth is perfect. It is perfection. It has literally all i want.
I just ordered one of these and this is by far the best, most in depth, video I've seen on how to use it. Thanks so much and I look forward to watching more of your content!
Another excellent tutorial. You show how to do something, and offer a reason why. Your comments about exploring the synth to find the sounds the user enjoys are a brilliant creative push. With the depth of the control software, Novation have offered an alternative to the DeepMind at a similar price. Like Sequential vs. Oberheim, two sonically different approaches, both offering new directions in electronic music. As someone who spent much more money on synths many years ago, I am enjoying the modern take. Keep up the excellent shows!
Thanks so much for the demo. Having seen quite a few of your videos, I have a pretty good idea of how you go about creating sounds. Your knowledge of synthesis is so extensive I learn something new in almost every one of your videos. I don't really hear the analog warmth but I hear the analog growl in this particular synth.
looks and sounds great. Novation always have great interfaces, and this looks to follow that tradition... very hands on! Great video Cuckoo!
This may be the nicest reverb I've heard on a synth to date!
what an awesome demonstration / tutorial... being part of your creative flow when developing sounds is so inspiring and motivating.
This is the only synth at this price range, and many priced higher, with a sound that truly captivates and hypnotizes me. This video really captures the feel and sound of this wonderful synth. The analog sound is incredibly soothing to the ears. The layout of the knobs and faders is intuitive and hands on, while some other synths get hung up in too much menu diving and not enough sound and music. There's a reasonable amount of menu diving. Cuckoo is making music throughout the process, like playing a fine instrument. Also, soft synths generally sound ridiculous compared to the Peak, and you can't actually touch them. Thank you, Cuckoo for this and other great videos.
I found your use of 'ring mod' as something like a tremolo with a wavetable of peaks and valleys to indeed be a 'hidden gem' and another example of how Cuckoo finds ways to get synths dancing like a c64, but it's traditional synth architecture doing the work rather than a composer's hand.
Brilliant stuff.
I just got the peak, and your tutorial is really helpful in helping me get started with it. Thanks!
I love the form factor, and the reverb sounds great. I do enjoy the Circuit engine, so if this is similar (but better!) I'm down.
I think octocat would like it
octocat needs 3 or 4
This is not in any way related to Circuit. Complete new ultra high quality digital oscillator section through bass station filters. Glorious.
***** I'm taking about Novation's approach to the mod matrix and mechanics of the synth, not the sound.
Then it might have been helpful to mention that in your first post.
OMG I'm in love with your "Mana's Potion" patch! Sounds sooo guuud
Although I don't have the Peak (yet) I improve my synthesis knowledge with this video. Great work, thank you! ;)
Learning so much from this even though I don't have a Peak. Really is helping me learn my Bass Station II.
So you uploaded this 5 years ago. In 4K. You are my hero. Still people uploading in HD quality and I am prepared for 8K... haha
Thanks mate! Yeah, Panasonic was ahead of time with their GH5 camera shooting 4K like a champ, before most others.
Amazing synthesizer and very nice and usefull video! Thanks!
that sound and tune at 1:00:00 nearly brought tears to my eyes! I love your patches!
Thank you!! 🙏🏼
thx for the great Tutorial. Love the way how you explain every step!
Really like that LFO fade time. Very cool.
Damn. A whole lot of people had to have been keeping their mouths shut tight about this to have not leaked out prior to this week. New copy of Sound on Sound just showed up with this on the cover and a nice review. This synth was a nice surprise.
When Castlevania hits and you briefly transport to your childhood
The first 12 seconds are the reason I subscribed to your channel
Thank you for this nice tutorial, it’s very useful for me ‘cause I just bought a Novation Peak.
The mirror is brilliant. Subscribed just because of that thank you.
Brilliant sounds my friend.
Since 2.0 firmware Peak and Summit are a completely new instrument. So much extra features like custom wavetables… And all major issues were fixed. Novation is the best in long term product support. Had the Peak for a year and decided to upgrade to Summit which is 2 Peak combined together with a fine keybed and some advanced features like layering.. Still unbeatable in its price range. Lovely instrument both
this synth is amazing!!!
Just love this synth and will be ordering one soon. My next synth after that will probably be a Rev2.
Thanks for this insightfull and log video :)
Nice machines well presented. Nice one, Cuckoo... I'll stick them on the might possibly want list... which is long. Enjoyed this.
Great guy explaining it!
42:37 now you're going ma... that sound is amazing
Whooooo! This is great! Haven't even watched the vid but this is great!!
Thank you, great video. Great dynamic. Renan From Brazil here.
they 've sent it to the right person !! good video !!
My favorite things about the Peak are 1. analog filter 2. The play mode Arp 3. the amazing reverb 4. The ability to subtly mix the “analog” wave forms with the wavetables. I stopped using a sequencer when I first got this because letting the arp go and tweaking th3 knobs was addictive.
goodness! This came out of no where!!!
My pockets are struggling to keep up!!!
Great Synthesizer. Great Video! Good Man! 👌 😎
I was getting a minilogue but this is brilliant.
This Synth is Powerful
I liked the intro!
Castlevania. You legend. :)
The intro sound effects game is strong in this one.
Hey Cuckoo nice tutorial and demo!
Thanks!
What a nice sounding synth, I just want to sit down right now and play with it :P
2:07 if Novation makes a Novation Peak 2. Novation should make a "Disable" switch for the Patch/presets knob
Great synth. Going to be interesting how this stacks up against the new DM6 yahh
I see Your face introducing Peak and I click thumb up automatically ;)
I enjoy seeing your enthusiasm for synths! A man after my own heart. :) My wife says you sound even more excited than I do when I talk synths to her. LOL
Haha.. ❤️
May you ask Novation leave that interpolation error as option.
Say Elektron have sample rate / noise reduction as standard option of voice. Since Peak OSCs are digital may be Peak could have such an option too.
Some great sounds. Wow. Analogue sound? well its rich
such a good polysynth imao
I can only think of one other NCO based instrument: The Modal 002 (and its predecessor the 001). It will be interesting for an 'apples to apples' comparison of the raw oscillators- being their sound is generated with the same NCO technology.
Edit: Worth mentioning here a reply to someone else: Playing the 002 for the first time- it was immediately apparent something significantly more advanced/ special/ better was happening with its sound. It was (and still is) jaw dropping. It is exciting to think the Peak has the same sound generation technology as an instrument nearly 4 times its price.
Now that more than a year has passed, I notice that this is appears to be the only video with the Peak. Any particular reasons?
Nice and comprehensive Walkthrough with some pretty sweet Sounds inside! Well done cuckoo!Are you still using it? Or did you just had it for Demo purposes back then?!
Thanks. I was mostly using it through the beta period. But I brought it out a few months ago again and completed my first Peak pack that I had started working on around launch.
I was very happy when the FM was enhanced in time for the shipping firmware. It’s useful.
I feel like it’s got a lot of potential, and it’s got one of the best modulation matrix systems out there. But for my taste I don’t feel like I get anything for free when I design a sound with it. It’s a blank page that sounds fairly bland at first (to my ears). It takes dedication to craft a sound and lift it to the sky.
I have found a few methods that I particularly like :) Like pitching down one of the oscillators way low, and using that as a source of sample like grit through Ring modulation among other things makes me pretty happy :)
Thats sad to hear mate. Especially if you consider that you nailed a lot of sweet Spots in this Video here. But ... I got one myself for a couple of weeks now and i can agree: If you hit that Initialize Button everything's very "flat" in the beginning and it doesnt sound interesting until you start modulating the right things. In fact, you often have to use the Post Filter Drive as a starting Point to get a more solid Sound, Wavetable Selection is still very limited ... i also noticed that the Resonance of the Filter doesnt "kick in" as hard as it should. Using either the Low-Pass or High-Pass Filter to boost the Bass Fundament is therefore not as easy - this can become tedious, balancing the Frequency towards the Key Tracking and often it still doesnt sound "right", you know. If i do the same with the Analog Four i have a solid Bass in seconds :-) But - the Pads are just amazing on the Peak! Using only the first Oscillator with a Square-Wave, a fast LFO modulating its Shape and the UniSpread Parameter set to 127 (this way you get Stereo Note Spread without actually using Unison) leads to some pretty sweet sounding "Strings" - now add the Chorus to that and the Reverb and play 4 Notes at least - and there you go. Amazing Pad done in seconds with one single Oscillator! It really seems that the Peak comes into its own when you modulate things quite heavily. Probably because this is where the power (and advantage) of using FPGAs really sits. But thats just a guess.
Yeah.. I also find the filter to be a bit under the mark. But a lot of Brits seem to really like it. Perhaps it’s got a British sound?
When I’m designing sounds I’m typically not using the filter until at the very end. I try to be clever and solve everything before the filter. It’s much easier to get an FM bass than a filter bass for instance. That way I can use the filter as a modest “EQ” adjustment towards the end, instead of letting it fundamentally shape the sound.
Thats in fact something to consider, yeah. FM is so foreign to me that i always skip it :-) Thanks for the Tipp, will try that out on the Weekend.
I think you’ve got some great sounds out of this. If the the Peak starts off a bit stiff, what poly synth are you using now that you would say has more initial character?
sounds pretty special to my ears. For example, the new Roland stuff does nothing for me. This sounds like it's got the secret sauce. Take my money!
Thank you so much for this awesome tutorial! Do you happen to know if all the knobs and faders send midi? I'm interested in using this as a mixer controller for Ableton along with being an amazing synth.
Man this vid would be great with an oscilloscope view.
play the video thru an oscilloscope
First of all awesome tutorial and very helpful. I really appreciate it. I guess the 'my patches' is your MEGA pack what is available on your site right? Does these new ones also there what you made in this video? As far as I know you cannot have effect parameter as a destination right? Can you imagine they will make it happen with an update? Also I guess I cannot set the synth to open up to the last patch I used right? I have an ultranova as well it doesn't do that also. So 1990... Anyway thanks again. Somebody says create your own sounds instead of try to find good presets so I tried with ultranova but it is not the best synth to learn synthesis so many menu diving not so instant results and the sound is less powerful for me but maybe I was too noob for that but the point is this synth is much more inspirational for me. Especially with this reverb. Tell them to make effect units!
I'm a bass man but there's some inspiring digital / computer game sounds in there 👍🏼
Just out of curiosity
Are you sidechain compressing, or more specifically ducking your voice with the peak's signal out ?
4:35 sounds kinda like the Idioteque synth sound to me. Well, until he decreases the attack and release. U kno wut I mean bb.
Cool!
This is tutorial #1. Is there (ever gonna be) also a #2? Or did I completely missed it?
Great vid btw. I like most of your custom sounds over the build in ones. :)
Is that anything like the VST serum?
So beautiful at 22 min how you just use the filter and res for final touches over the shape and ring mods 🤤
would be nice if they had an update where hitting that knob says are u sure or u could lock it so u don't lose the progress of your patch
The analog/digital dual nature it's simply because it's got both: digital oscillators, analog filters+amps+distortions
21:23. This is what you hear when you're at a fairgrounds. On LSD. Cuckoo, you are simply fantastic. Also any chance you know if the knobs Novation used for this synth are available for purchase on a parts site somewhere? Literally the knobs, I would like them for my Bass Station 2. Thanks.
+jason mastrandrea thanks :) As far as I know the buttons are custom ordered. The buttons of my prototype have even been improved on the final piece I've been told.
Am I watching Gaslampkiller doing his own sounds? I really cannot tell for sure whether he is it or not. :D My peak arrives tomorrow. Can't wait.
i liked your analog mirror.
42:37 was spiritual...
I need one.
11:43 just ahhhh great!!!
The sound at 42:15 is amazing, do you have that preset? Would like to know how to recreate it.
form factor reminds me of the Sunrizer which i always wished was a hardware synth
I dig you.
What size midi controller is best for this?
Time for Number Two!!!!
Whats your new camera setup?
Can it work with circuit isotonic editor?
How does this connect up between midi keyboard and PC so you can play the Peak with a keyboard? Thank you
How are the quality of those pots? I found the Novation hardware products, have cheap sliders and pots. I understand this is for the entry level buyer, so I pose this question on this seemingly high end gear. Do these pots wiggle or have slop?
No wiggle on these, it's a very solid, well engineered synth. Think Access Virus standard of build, or better.
Nice Job, Does anybody have problems with the ocean of hiss noise floor when not playing notes? I can turn down all effects, vca gain, oscillator outputs, overdrive, distortion, and noise, and end up with the exact same amount of hiss that I have when turning the aforementioned on. The noise floor is greater than any vintage piece of gear I have and it is NOT a ground loop. Very bummed.
Time for Number 2 Dude!!!!! PLEASE :)
Trying mine out now. It's a fun and versatile synth with a great feel, but the noise level is quite high, especially the sine wave. the oscillators lack the purity that my moog m32 delivers.
Were you able to solve your noise level problem with the Peak?
Perhaps a demo of the Summit for Tutorial #2 (in 8k)?
In 8k?! Are we there now, that people start expecting 8k?? That’s sick! Yeah I’ve tried the Summit. It’s an upgrade for sure. I think the most substantial difference is that it has twice the polyphony/ power, opting for interesting multi layer sounds and split and stuff. I don’t have one though. My focus lies elsewhere for now.
@@truecuckoo 1080P @ 24fps with awesome audio is enough. 8K was/is a joke. #1 of 1, Ok, understood. Gratefully.
i dig the sound of this synth.. very analogish.. if thats a word
haha I have a keystep too I live it, but the novation peak, I must have.
In some ways it's a bit like the Waldorf PPG with it's Wavetable Oscillators, VCA & VCF, and 8 voice polyphony...
Except not nearly as many wavetables and not nearly as many waveforms per wavetable. Disappointing. Maybe they can add more?
Depends on if they left any room under the hood I guess.
Can you get "Waldorfian" wavetable sounds from it? This is an interesting machine, tons of knobs, and wavetables too. Are they going to be expanable or can the user change them? I'm sorry, I may have missed it in the video. :)
Currently it seems that the wavetables are locked. I have asked for this too. I'm not sure how customizable it is intended to be.
Let's see. If it's FPGA based, the entire contents of that can be changed. I would assume the wavetables are stored in some flash. Some FPGAs will have embedded flash, or it could be external. In any case, that might make the tables customizable. Of course they'll need to support it in some way through the on-board OS and what not.
I think you are on the right track. I am to scared to try and hack mine yet but I have cracked it open and poked around with a multi meter. If you could get into the code, you could make that FPGA do literally anything. It appears to have possessing power to spare for most sounds, but it shifts to fill current needs so it's hard to figure out exactly whats going on. It should be crackable, custom firmware even if you could figure it out.
Im really into this synth...I love it...but Im having a tough time convincing myself to buy it when the Behringer Deepmind 12D is only £829, has 12 note polyphony, loads more effects and has insane connectivity options that include midi over wifi.
Please can someone out there convince me to buy a Peak...what would make you buy a Peak and not the Behrigner??
The deepmind is an analogue synth. This means it is limited in sound-design due to basic wave forms. The Peak may be digital - it's FPGA based engine with insane oversampling (24 million times per second) yields the closest to analogue possible sound ever but because it has way more wave forms to start from, the sound generation options are almost endless. Sound is a matter of taste so if I say I prefer the peak above the D12, many people will agree and as many will disagree. In the end it is entirely up to you. If you equally like the sound of both, things like looks may be decisive. The deepmind feels like cheap plastic and looks like complete shit to me. But once again that is very subjective. Still not convinced? The Peak is manufactured in the UK where people are being paid a reasonable salary. The Deepmind come from somewhere in China or Malaysia or wherever people are paid perhaps 50 dollars a month. Stil not convinced? Hey, you, go get that motherfukkin' PEAK, NOW! :-D
Behringer products are probably assembled by children... I would personally never buy Behringer products except for a X32 ; yet the overall quality has seemed to evolve since they are part of Music Tribe.
@@louisrmusic
I have read some things about Behringer's Tech Support that is not good. A guy that bought the Model D wanted to get the firmware upgrade and Behringer wanted a copy of his Proof of Purchase. Now, if he bought it brand new, that might not be a problem, and depending on who he bought it from, he should be able to produce an invoice. But Behringer is nit picking in my opinion. Also, although I understand their QC has improved, I don't know that I would spend the money on one of their instruments and be confident of years of service of their instrument.
Novation has been around a long time and the Peak is a quality made instrument. You can price shop it and get it below MAP. If you have a controller or a KB that has an action you like, you don't have to spend money on yet another keyboard. I like the Peak, I'll pass on Behringer. You get what you pay for,
Question to cuckoo or anyone else:
I have a Prophet 6, Virus Ti2, Sub37, Minibrute & Ultranova. I currently would like to get rid of the UN (got analog poly sound covered from other polys) & MB (no patch saving or cc's out are limiting in DAW rig). My question is this. Given what I want to keep, P6, Virus, Sub 37, would adding a Novation Peak help round my sonic palette? Or is Peak too similar to Ultranova (wavetables wise)? Or am I'm covered poly wise and in that case am pondering a Matrixbrute. Would the more complete setup be P6, Virus, Peak, Sub37 or P6, Virus, Matrixbrute , Sub37 ?
Having not tried any of these synths except the Peak, more or less, I'm tempted to say that the MatrixBrute might be the most interesting of the bunch. The Peak is compact and fast, but it lacks some of that edge and identity in my opinion. It can be used to make great sounds, especially after the final update which kicked the FM synthesis going too. But the Matrix Brute is more open, and from the demos I've been hearing myself, it has a clear and distinct sound, which I like. I'm not sure the Matrix Brute can do absolutely everything the Peak can, but it has a lot more open possibilities for sure.
Having said that, the portability and ease of use are important factors to take into account too. The Peak clearly winning in this regard. Compact and easy to use.
I've had a Matrix Brute and Peak for a couple weeks now (can't decide which to return, you really can't go wrong with either) and I've had a sub 37, circuit, and minilouge for awhile. Both are easy to patch and quite powerful.
The Peak samples at over 24,000,000 time a sec, any aliasing is way out of audible range, dial in an analog sound and you would never know it was a hybrid. It can be very lively, but you have to consciously add the sauce. It's a scalpel, it only does what you asked it to but it has a very high skill ceiling. It can sound "better" than the Mbrute and even hold it's own against a Sub 37 (Moog filters are hard to beat man) but the magic has to come from you. Aside from the lovely interface, its not going to lend you any assistance. The reverb is f***ing amazing, it is so high resolution, they put a h*ll of a chip in there and you can hear it. The matrix brute has more character by default, it just instantly sounds good or even great. The two main VCO's are more like 2 sets of 3 for 6 waves total, they are pushing wavetable levels of texture control but they are hard to animate like a wave table can and doing so burns up your mod slots, LFO's and envelopes. The sequencer is amazing. The keys are a functional 7/10 compared to my SV-1.(best I've ever played) The MatrixB wins on speed of patching with its physical matrix. That kind of guess and check speed is unrivaled, it's an awesome work flow.
I would lean towards the Peak for your set up just because you have a Sub 37 already covering the mono and funk and you (as I would assume from your gear) are proficient enough at synthesis unlock it's potential. That's what its coming down to for me at least. Hope I could help, ask me anything if you want.
Chase Wood Hey Chase, thank you for your through response and personal insight. I am
really drawn to the Matrixbrute for the immediacy of workflow and versatility of sound. At the same time however, Peak seems really bridge the boundary sonically between digital and analog really well for interesting sequences and pads. Owning the Virus TI2 Desktop and Prophet 6, would you say I would get more sonic variety from adding the Peak the a Matrixbrute? Including the Sub37, the Virus and P6 are main synths. Would another poly be worth it compared to have a second analog mono to have variety with Sub37? Or is Sub37 sonic territory close enough to Matrixbrute to warrant Peak being a better addition to expanding to
My sonic pallet given what I have verse Matrixbrute?
It sounds a bit like the Yamaha AN1x, which is my favorite synthesizer. This obviously has a nicer user interface.
I'm thinking about selling my AN1x to help fund this... it also makes me glad that I never ended up buying a JP-8080.
My An1X is the one piece of gear that I say 'from my cold dead hands!', never going to sell it. Bought a coffin that will accommodate it in the lid so my nose rests perfectly midway on the touchstrip. If you couldn't tell, that was a joke, about the coffin part, first statement is true.
Every minute I watch this vid, Iˋm more convinced...
@42:37 Goosebumps