Don’t think that was what he was going for. Besides that this guy can actually play. Loopop for sure makes the worst music examples for all the gear he reviews.
I am not sure about CV 12V triggering as it wastes half of the eurorack converter pins, but MIDI implementation of Pulsar is impeccable: velocities, gate lengths, modulations all work like a clock. I used Octatrack to sequence it, including p-locks for additional parameter changes.
Definitely use the connections that make the most sense for your gear (or maximize the fun) and absolutely, the MIDI capabilities of the Pulsar are genius.
Honestly this is the most interesting use of a Soma instrument I've seen yet. I get that we all want to make our toys make dumb fun sounds in a vacuum, but there's a pretty firm delineation in my mind between compositional tools as opposed to expensive toys. No shade to expensive toys, but I feel like the Pulsar and Lyra deserve to be showcased as regular old music makers and not just a weird "I'm not like the other synthboys" status symbol. Solid video, mate. Now we just gotta do a cover of funky drummer with just this drum machine and my Error Instruments stuff. :D
Why does everything including the bass drum sound like it has chorus? (In the beats before you start using the delay) Did you somehow record a monitor mix on top of another mix? Good video though, thanks man!
Yeah, so funny story 😅 and good ear! This was one of my first tutorial style videos and was still figuring out my workflow, and I got a little excited and did the ENTIRE session and patches without realizing that I never pressed record (in the DAW). After I finished the conclusion and patch tips, I went to hit stop and my heart sank. So what you are hearing isn't an offset mix, it's my fav mic picking up my near-field monitors in an untreated square room. It took so long and I was so frustrated with myself that I didn't have the heart to do it over from scratch. 😬
The MIDI to CV converter lets you control arbitrary patching, but it also has a MIDI IN on the back panel, and a "learn" button on many modules, that will remember the channel number, key, or CC, even after powering off. The MIDI implementation on the Pulsar-23 is really well thought out.
I wonder about using pulsar back into (in my case) semi modular gear like the Matriarch, or the O-Coast, or will the voltage make it a no go. As fast I know the eurorack patvhbay can be used both directions.
That's a good question, I haven't gone in that direction yet. Going to have to get the multimeter out and test. I suspect it will require an voltage offset utility in order to give the +/-5v bipolar range that most modular gear is expecting. My understanding is that a good circuit would be protected from damage, but that the hot signal could introduce noise or unwanted distortion. I'd guess that using the Pulsar-23's attenuators for signals routed outbound would also work, but might be less precise / safe.
I was processing Pulsar signals in eurorack (Out -> Eurorack conversion pin -> Erica Dual Drive/Drum Mixer) and getting modulation from eurorack (Erica Drum Modulator), everything worked in perfect way.
Thanks Margaret! I don't quite understand your comment re: velocity? I might be able to clarify how velocity was used in this sequence, and why the voltage boost is needed with the Pulsar-23.
@@0VRLNDR Drum breaks like the Amen break have ghost notes - not all the snares are equal, 2 & 4 are strong, all the other notes are ghosted. You need some kind of velocity control?
@@MargaretHarmer Yes exactly! My comment regarding velocity in this context may have been confusing, let me explain. These patterns are tapped in on a rigid grid with as depicted by the slides, each note striking with 100% velocity/voltage. With Amen Break, you can see the pattern I used at 4:30. The exercise was to see what the Pulsar-23 would sound like with even bare bones patterns on a grid. The velocity I refer to in the video is the gate voltage, which the Pulsar reads as velocity. Without the boost from 5v to 12v on the sequencer, the Pulsar would treat it as a "low velocity" activation-I believe 5v is "medium" and 10v+ for "fast", but I've not verified that yet. In any case, without that boost, it prevents the sequencer from triggering a fast attack and all the voices would have slow envelopes. But you are absolutely right. If the goal is a faithful re-creation of these drumbreaks, the pattern would need to be enhanced by both modifying the velocity & gate length on the sequencer, and adding some ghosts in. Thanks for the feedback, definitely love input from an actual percussionist!
@@0VRLNDR Yes! You've got it! That's why I think that the pulsar fits better more electronic beats. I mean it sounds absolutely amazing! I like how you developed the Apache beat - really a sort of re-creation of the original beat in a super cool way. I think somehow the exercise of copying is great but not the most interesting from this synth.
Fantastic question. I have two in-the-box explanations and one confession. In-the-box, the clap setting is essentially a 1 shot delay, and it could have been set to an amount that caused phase cancellation. Second, the amount of the signal sent to the effects module, delay in this case, could have been set at just the right distance to cause a comb filter. Confession: this was an early UA-cam video for me and still working on my studio-I forgot to hit record on the DAW. Thankfully I had my lav mic on, so what you are hearing is recorded on a lav mic, in an untreated room, from near-field monitors. The room is pretty boxy, so reflections could have come into play there too. Long story short, the dry signal has no natural combing that I can see on a spectral monitor, but it certainly could exist in this video.
great vid. I've had mine now for about a month and have put a lot of time in it to understand it. and I know it's not a traditional machine, but I'm a frustrated at the very limited tones that come out of it. but sometimes I find magic in it. I just can't decide if I should be spending time on it or other synths like the tempest to get the same sounds and more. but I do realize it offers things that nothing else will give. so I guess that's what's the point of having one.
Built like a tank too, I expect it will last a lifetime. For widening the palette, all I can recommend is to patch, patch, patch. Use the attenuators, mix external signals, etc.
@@0VRLNDR ya, I’ve been getting more variety out of it. It is making me think in different ways and I’ve gotten some surprises for sure. The best thing about this machine so far it the insane kick and bass sounds. The snair and cymbals are not realistic, but are great fun. I have some wild patch ideas I’m going to try and I’ll post the results
Yeah, "limited" seems to be a thing with all these "industrial" Russian devices, and largely what turned me off from them, though I as intrigued for awhile. Always the same Dark Digital Reverb delay-pounding muddy type sounds..
@@brianobush Yeah, it is limited, although I would argue an 808 is a lot more versatile than many synths, especially with the individual outs per sound. I have a great clone of one (Yocto), though I am selling it because it is limited compared to my Gotharman's Spazedrum.
Not sure I follow, as this vid demonstrates sequencing with some standard patterns. Without an external sequencer, the looper is also quite functional for creating any pattern in just about any time signature.
Excellent but i feel a sequencer destroys its purpose of build. Meaning is meant to create atonal offbeat irregular industrial noise chaos not structured sequences:p but yes it can be tamed. I still wouldnt trade it of my alpha base tho but thats just me
Yeah it's such a fun instrument with a universe of patching and exploration, this was just a fun experiment. This machine really can't be constrained to any definition. Check my other videos for some ways I play it solo or together along with other synths. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@0VRLNDR i will. I was gonna pull the trigger on it. Then i said..ill go with a jdxa and a zen delay instead lol. I love it for how chaotic 'adhd friendly' it can be. I cant justify its price tho. But maybe its part of its unique. Any issues so far?
@@raven-jz6cv No issues at all, it's built like a tank. Soma has an extremely rigorous manual testing protocol too. I think this will be a future classic decades from now. But no doubt it's spendy. I did some napkin math with available Eurorack modules, and of course it wouldn't be identical, but just for creating 1:1 functionality, it'd cost about $3900. Considering the Pulsar-23 build quality, it's very fairly priced. Any chance you could try one locally?
He explains that in another comment. It's @ refurbished sound from an external mic. Because he did forgot to press "record" in DAW ) Shit happens sometimes.
Walmart Loopop
Best compliment I've ever had, would have been excited with 7-Eleven Loopop!
Nice reply mate!!
😂 ♥️
Don’t think that was what he was going for. Besides that this guy can actually play. Loopop for sure makes the worst music examples for all the gear he reviews.
This is great. Thanks for doing it. That Pulsar 23 has me all riled up.
Funny guy!!!!
Extremely useful information I needed this.
Glad it was helpful!
Thinking to buy one, great video thanks for making this, it really helps me to decide making a the right choice 😎
Check out the other uses on my
channel to see it used more as a modular synth!
This thing can do anything a regular drum machine can and sound good. The snare is crazy. Thanks for the video
Agreed and thanks for watching!
I am not sure about CV 12V triggering as it wastes half of the eurorack converter pins, but MIDI implementation of Pulsar is impeccable: velocities, gate lengths, modulations all work like a clock.
I used Octatrack to sequence it, including p-locks for additional parameter changes.
Definitely use the connections that make the most sense for your gear (or maximize the fun) and absolutely, the MIDI capabilities of the Pulsar are genius.
It’s sound is so “acoustic” in nature. Wow!
Organismic!
Apache was good fun! I love my pulsar 23 it insane
Thanks Keith, me too!
Nice programming and sound design.
Thanks Nacht!
A W E S O M E !🔥
Great demo! Subbed.
Nice dude
Cool idea ! 👏👍
Honestly this is the most interesting use of a Soma instrument I've seen yet. I get that we all want to make our toys make dumb fun sounds in a vacuum, but there's a pretty firm delineation in my mind between compositional tools as opposed to expensive toys. No shade to expensive toys, but I feel like the Pulsar and Lyra deserve to be showcased as regular old music makers and not just a weird "I'm not like the other synthboys" status symbol. Solid video, mate. Now we just gotta do a cover of funky drummer with just this drum machine and my Error Instruments stuff. :D
Regular old music. You said it
Why does everything including the bass drum sound like it has chorus? (In the beats before you start using the delay) Did you somehow record a monitor mix on top of another mix? Good video though, thanks man!
Yeah, so funny story 😅 and good ear! This was one of my first tutorial style videos and was still figuring out my workflow, and I got a little excited and did the ENTIRE session and patches without realizing that I never pressed record (in the DAW). After I finished the conclusion and patch tips, I went to hit stop and my heart sank. So what you are hearing isn't an offset mix, it's my fav mic picking up my near-field monitors in an untreated square room. It took so long and I was so frustrated with myself that I didn't have the heart to do it over from scratch. 😬
Cheers for the high quality audio. Lol
so op to the left is the midi to cv thingy right? but there is no actul midi CC on this thing right?
The MIDI to CV converter lets you control arbitrary patching, but it also has a MIDI IN on the back panel, and a "learn" button on many modules, that will remember the channel number, key, or CC, even after powering off. The MIDI implementation on the Pulsar-23 is really well thought out.
I wonder about using pulsar back into (in my case) semi modular gear like the Matriarch, or the O-Coast, or will the voltage make it a no go. As fast I know the eurorack patvhbay can be used both directions.
That's a good question, I haven't gone in that direction yet. Going to have to get the multimeter out and test. I suspect it will require an voltage offset utility in order to give the +/-5v bipolar range that most modular gear is expecting. My understanding is that a good circuit would be protected from damage, but that the hot signal could introduce noise or unwanted distortion. I'd guess that using the Pulsar-23's attenuators for signals routed outbound would also work, but might be less precise / safe.
I was processing Pulsar signals in eurorack (Out -> Eurorack conversion pin -> Erica Dual Drive/Drum Mixer) and getting modulation from eurorack (Erica Drum Modulator), everything worked in perfect way.
The sounds are so great! You don't really get velocity - so no ghost notes.
Thanks Margaret! I don't quite understand your comment re: velocity? I might be able to clarify how velocity was used in this sequence, and why the voltage boost is needed with the Pulsar-23.
@@0VRLNDR Drum breaks like the Amen break have ghost notes - not all the snares are equal, 2 & 4 are strong, all the other notes are ghosted. You need some kind of velocity control?
@@MargaretHarmer Yes exactly! My comment regarding velocity in this context may have been confusing, let me explain. These patterns are tapped in on a rigid grid with as depicted by the slides, each note striking with 100% velocity/voltage. With Amen Break, you can see the pattern I used at 4:30. The exercise was to see what the Pulsar-23 would sound like with even bare bones patterns on a grid. The velocity I refer to in the video is the gate voltage, which the Pulsar reads as velocity. Without the boost from 5v to 12v on the sequencer, the Pulsar would treat it as a "low velocity" activation-I believe 5v is "medium" and 10v+ for "fast", but I've not verified that yet. In any case, without that boost, it prevents the sequencer from triggering a fast attack and all the voices would have slow envelopes.
But you are absolutely right. If the goal is a faithful re-creation of these drumbreaks, the pattern would need to be enhanced by both modifying the velocity & gate length on the sequencer, and adding some ghosts in. Thanks for the feedback, definitely love input from an actual percussionist!
@@0VRLNDR Yes! You've got it! That's why I think that the pulsar fits better more electronic beats. I mean it sounds absolutely amazing! I like how you developed the Apache beat - really a sort of re-creation of the original beat in a super cool way. I think somehow the exercise of copying is great but not the most interesting from this synth.
I can't tell, is that comb filtering sound coming from the synth or the recording? It's pretty evident on the snare
Fantastic question. I have two in-the-box explanations and one confession. In-the-box, the clap setting is essentially a 1 shot delay, and it could have been set to an amount that caused phase cancellation. Second, the amount of the signal sent to the effects module, delay in this case, could have been set at just the right distance to cause a comb filter. Confession: this was an early UA-cam video for me and still working on my studio-I forgot to hit record on the DAW. Thankfully I had my lav mic on, so what you are hearing is recorded on a lav mic, in an untreated room, from near-field monitors. The room is pretty boxy, so reflections could have come into play there too. Long story short, the dry signal has no natural combing that I can see on a spectral monitor, but it certainly could exist in this video.
great vid. I've had mine now for about a month and have put a lot of time in it to understand it. and I know it's not a traditional machine, but I'm a frustrated at the very limited tones that come out of it. but sometimes I find magic in it. I just can't decide if I should be spending time on it or other synths like the tempest to get the same sounds and more. but I do realize it offers things that nothing else will give. so I guess that's what's the point of having one.
Built like a tank too, I expect it will last a lifetime. For widening the palette, all I can recommend is to patch, patch, patch. Use the attenuators, mix external signals, etc.
@@0VRLNDR ya, I’ve been getting more variety out of it. It is making me think in different ways and I’ve gotten some surprises for sure. The best thing about this machine so far it the insane kick and bass sounds. The snair and cymbals are not realistic, but are great fun. I have some wild patch ideas I’m going to try and I’ll post the results
Yeah, "limited" seems to be a thing with all these "industrial" Russian devices, and largely what turned me off from them, though I as intrigued for awhile. Always the same Dark Digital Reverb delay-pounding muddy type sounds..
The 808 has a pretty limited sound palette as well. Add another synth to it and you will find it isn't that limited.
@@brianobush Yeah, it is limited, although I would argue an 808 is a lot more versatile than many synths, especially with the individual outs per sound. I have a great clone of one (Yocto), though I am selling it because it is limited compared to my Gotharman's Spazedrum.
Billie Jean.. I hear Taco - Puttin' on the Ritz, instead!!!
Haha now I can’t unhear it!
If the soma had the ability to make standard drum patterns in addition to using odd time signatures it would make it the perfect drum machine
Not sure I follow, as this vid demonstrates sequencing with some standard patterns. Without an external sequencer, the looper is also quite functional for creating any pattern in just about any time signature.
Excellent but i feel a sequencer destroys its purpose of build. Meaning is meant to create atonal offbeat irregular industrial noise chaos not structured sequences:p but yes it can be tamed. I still wouldnt trade it of my alpha base tho but thats just me
Yeah it's such a fun instrument with a universe of patching and exploration, this was just a fun experiment. This machine really can't be constrained to any definition. Check my other videos for some ways I play it solo or together along with other synths. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@0VRLNDR i will. I was gonna pull the trigger on it. Then i said..ill go with a jdxa and a zen delay instead lol. I love it for how chaotic 'adhd friendly' it can be. I cant justify its price tho. But maybe its part of its unique. Any issues so far?
@@raven-jz6cv No issues at all, it's built like a tank. Soma has an extremely rigorous manual testing protocol too. I think this will be a future classic decades from now. But no doubt it's spendy. I did some napkin math with available Eurorack modules, and of course it wouldn't be identical, but just for creating 1:1 functionality, it'd cost about $3900. Considering the Pulsar-23 build quality, it's very fairly priced. Any chance you could try one locally?
@@raven-jz6cv also a JDXA would be fun too :P
Sounds awful to honest
He explains that in another comment. It's @ refurbished sound from an external mic. Because he did forgot to press "record" in DAW ) Shit happens sometimes.