Great! Thank you very much. Dave Smith, Tom Oberheim, Dave Rossum etc have all made successful comebacks. I wish that the main guys at Ensoniq would do the same and pick up where they left off... Trans/Hyperwaves still have a lot of potential for sonic exploration in the here and now. Lots of interest out there.
@@TheDaydreamSound I guess anybody _that_ smart can do a whole world of amazing things. Whenever I dive into the depths of my ASR-X from about 1995 I realize it has like a stunning giant city of engineering expertise/creativity built into it.
My ASR 10 has been sitting in my studio unused for years and I was considering selling it but after watching this and some of your other videos I just may fire it up again Thanks for the inspiration 🙏
My theory is this: Back in the '80s-'90s, a.k.a. the Golden Era of Hardware Samplers, samples came in two basic forms: 1) Emulating real instrument sounds ("Real instruments" also included analog/digital synthesizers), and 2) Sound Effects. Now, things like drum loops and breaks would technically fall into a subset of "Sound Effects." The former needed things like advanced looping, layering, elaborate multisample architecture, etc. After all, you needed all of those things to capture a grand piano or even a D-50. But along came Romplers, which can already do all of the above for you. And over time, the sounds of real-life acoustic and electronic instruments were at least satisfactory enough on Romplers that people didn't need samplers anymore to play them. I remember back in the mid-'80s, many artists relied on the Emulator II to play Grand Piano and string section sounds. But now, any Rompler can do that, and even the cheapest Rompler today has more realistic and expressive piano and string patches than an Emulator II could make. Which leaves the Sound Effects category, which are more or less phrase-based, and one-shot in nature. Loops are rhythmic, and many sampler users didn't even need to manually loop the "loops" as they could have a sequencer (i.e. MPC) re-trigger the sample every bar or two. By the 21st century, those that used samplers primarily used them for phrase-based, one-shot deals. And the industry followed suit. A friend who owns a Roland Fantom lamented that he could only record one-shot samples triggered by pads but not pitched samples triggered by the keyboard. The whole phrase-based sampling today continues with things like Ableton Live and Ableton pad controllers, which play primarily one-shot phrases.
I was just going to say that: Ableton Live's Simpler with a MIDI controller (and some imagination) can get you there also. You can go from sound snippet to sound snippet, add envelopes, lfos and other fx. Assign them to a note, and start doing what fires up in your brain.
People need to read up on Xenakis, Truax, Schaeffer, Stockhausen, R.M. Schafer, Simon Fraser University, WDR, RDF (Radiodiffusion Française)... Grain can be derived from any schizophonic sound object, including wavetables. Wavetable synthesis itself can be considered an applied technique of granular synthesis. Evidently 'transwaves' have been referred to as an extension of wavetables. The term "synthesis" (as commonly applied to all three) is appropriate, though a bit of a misnomer, since synthesized sound is generated from non-acoustic, inaudible processes whereas granular audio is the result of manipulated playback of sound objects (i.e. samples). There was a fierce philosophical rivalry in first half of the 20th century between the Concrete and Elektronische schools, to the point that both might find the words "sample" and "synthesis" in conjunction to be anathema. Fortunately for us that debate is a matter of history, but all contemporary electronic musicians are indebted to their work. We would do well to know our avant-garde music history and utilize its lexicon with care and intention.
wow - I have a Ensoniq ASR 88 and as of yesterday pick up a 16 plus rack and a ASR 10 rack - all of them in mint condition - i think my studio is ready for anyone that still knows how to really sample
I do everything in my Ensoniq samplers. They are truly endless. Sample something-> push buttons & move sliders. Before you know it you are engaging the sequencer, editing song steps. Brilliant Machines!
Dude! Totally agree, I love my ASR10 and have been using it since it came out (EPS before that). I’m just getting back into music again and was surprised that newer samplers are kinda simple. What we used to do all the time is now a speciality thing. Keep up the great work :)
I’m glad your touching on Transwaves. Not an easy thing to concept at first. But when you get to that point, man. It’s incredible. I have found a machine that almost does this. I think it’s called the xylophone. I think you have to build it too? But, transwaves do so much. Makes Ensoniq almost priceless. Also, makes it that you can basically recreate any patch from any synth on a sampler. Great stuff man, I don’t miss a video
What's up Jim!!!!!! Thanks for watching man!!!! I agree! Transwaves along with the other synthesis features on the Ensoniq samplers are really hidden gems!!!!!!
Actually, the closest thing to this is the time trip pad in the roland vsynth, v2,xt and gt. These synthesizers allows you to travel through time in the sound by hand, and you can either assign an lfo or a step sequenceur a very powerfull way while keeping the tempo synchronized back to the arp or drum beat. If you are interested I can make a demo daydreamsound . Also in reaktor there is the "spatializer " ensemble that is exactly using this technology. The daydreamer: I would like to thank you for these high quality video' s, they are smooth, I love the blue aspect of the videos, the very calm and understandable voice even for a french native speaker like me. Thanks a lot, cheers from Brussels
Listen folks..I bought the ASR10 rack and Roland analogue synth at the same time,and changed my life and ideas about music.I got the 16 MB RAM and still havent put it in,because by then i learned how to truncate,chop,mangle,and normalize,so i didnt need to touch it.The effects section is so killer,i bought an efx module and hardly used it.I used it live while i was spinning and making mixtapes,made new sounds for myself,and used those sounds as my drum kits and stuff.I have 4 samplers now since i gave away one,yet none of them has the character of the Ensoniq.You can get the ASR10,the VFX synth,and the Paris system,and have a complete studio.Get the third party magazine they had out,if you can,and build a nice desktop system,with SCSI,a LOT of RAm,and have a lotta fun..I'm going to use my EMu6400 and Roland MV8080 the same way.It makes no logical sense to have 20 keyboards,when you can have a couple connected to samplers like the ASR10,because the ASR allows you to run inputs through it's internal DSP/effects section,etc..
I agree, sometimes in order to be creative it is better to rationalize and use only a few samplers and make sure you have a correct desktop, sound system, ergonomy that makes you feel much more comfortable . I have seen so many musicians with tons of synths, sometines 4 kronos in the same room,... and none of them even knowing how to use wavesequences that made korg so famous. Or none of them actually have a proper acoustic, sometimes, less is more.
To quantify further; the Transwave function doesn't prioritize amplitude or frequency over time. It focuses on distributing velocities evenly over time. This way, you can choose much shorter loop regions for synthesis. Knowing this loop number, is the base math for the filters applied. Heavier, less noisy synthesis.
Check the free vst Surge. It always had transwaves, now it imports Serum format wavetables or any wav file. It's way more capable than these old samplers.
Transwaves synthesis is the closest thing to musique concrète, to tape manipulation pioneered at the dawn of electronic music. Most commercial music using electronics these days draws on a very narrow range of sounds immediately recognizable as belonging to the musical orthodoxy of commerce. Recognizable samples almost always rely on 60s-70s R&B. We’ve been very thoroughly trained to reject every other kind of sound in our desire to conform to mass marketing expectations and identities defined by commerce.
I'm biting my tongue a bit in regards to the future. But I can speak to some current samplers that can still do this. Transwave is simply a term that isn't used but the technique still is. Often times it's referred to in terms of grainshifting (which you do touch on in the video). One piece of kit I really enjoy doing this with is in the modular domain. The phonogene and morphagene do this with a whole host of extra control. Dave rossums amazing assimil8or goes even deeper with allowing you to also audio rate fm those pieces. The future has not forgotten these amazing samplers though... We are in a new golden age.
Are you sure you can't do this in any other box? I have a Kurzweil K2000S, and I expected you to show me something that was really unique to Ensoniq. Maybe I missed what was really happening, but it looks like you just sliced a small section of a sample, looped it, and then added modulation assigned to performance (e.g., aftertouch). Can't any sampler do this? I'm pretty sure a K2000S can do this. I haven't used an MPC or AKAI sampler, but I'd expect the same there too. Please help me understand. Thanks!
Nice to think of a sampler as a creative tool, not merely playback of traditional sounds. As for the transwave concept, I believe you should be able to pull this off with Tal Sampler using the mod matrix.
Yeah back in the 90s your sampler was your only instrument, the mirage was my first piece of gear it had actual analog filters and lfo so you could do a lot of synthesis with those samplers even though the mirage only did 8 bit.
Waht's up Brian!!!!! Thanks for watching man!!!!! The Mirage is an absolute gem!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree! You could get so much done when you only have one instrument to work with.
What's up Sabored!!!!! Great question!!!! You know I've used the Kruzweil samplers so much and never really paid any attention to the concept of V.A.S.T. I really gotta go back and look into it now.
There is nothing like Transwaves in VAST. Modulating loop start and loop end points is itself unique to the Ensoniqs and a handful of software samplers. The transwave tech is the logical conclusion of this and as far as I know there is no direct analogue of it elsewhere. Ditto the looping types (bidirectional crossfade, bowtie, synthesised loop etc...). That said VAST can do some nice stuff - FM on samples (it's actually called SAW+ SHAPE though within VAST), amplitude and ring modulation, wavehsaping and wavefolding a nd other non-linear processes not found in other hardware, plus really nice filters. My main board is a K2661 with sampling, I find it really easy to use despite what you may have heard, but I've also keep an Ensoniq around - they're unique.
You get used to it- plus, pressing EDIT on any field takes you directly to that page. The great thing is you'll find you still uncover new depths to it years on. All the wavefolding/waveshaping stuff we're seeing last few years in West Coast style Eurorack has been in the K2x since 92. Plus all the values are in meaningful values - Hz, dB etc. What you learn on the K2x is transferrable directly to your mixing, your modular, learning Csound/Supercollider/Max etc. It's a worthwhile learning curve. And they didn't reinvent the wheel when they brought out new models- eg if you know the K2, you buy a PC3 or whatever, it's a matter of just learning the updates. They're beast machines. Dig in.
@@CaptainCabers-nickmccabemusic the plugin Surge, while not a sampler, (originally developed by Claes of Bitwig)can import custom wavetables. It can also modulate the loop points. Combined with a program like audio-term, the sky is the limit.
Just found you and definitely a sub here! This is an awesome example of what I been working on in my head but only have phone software to try an capture my ideas! Love to learn more about freestyle creation poke this! Thanks for the video!
@@TheDaydreamSound I've seen more videos now and love and appreciate you're content even more. You've got me trying ideas through inspiration, so a big thank you! Phones can do way more than anticipated!! ;)
Transwave was a musical dead-end, according to a former Ensoniq employee who was asked shortly after Ensoniq folded as a synth company. There was/is simply no real demand for the feature outside a fraction of a niche subset of the Synth user base. It's a lot like polyphonic-aftertouch, everyone fawns over that feature, but very few who have access to a synth with a poly-AT equipped keybed actually ever uses it musically.
I honestly still failed to see why he thinks what he did is exclusive to ensoniq transwave. Maybe the operational method is different but you can do the same things on an MPC, Maschine, etc what exactly was so special here?
@@tellitlikeitis8691 there really is nothing special about Transwaves... Much like the Realtime Convolution and Modulation feature on the Yamaha SY77/99, it is something that takes a sample and spits out mostly useless noise...
@@looneyburgmusic Thanks for the reply. Yeah I'm genuinely curious if there is any sampler out there that qualitatively stands out from the rest or if it's just a sound/workflow thing
@@tellitlikeitis8691 that's actually a good question... I've been a huge fan of Ensoniq since the Mirage, but I honestly never found a musical use for the Transwave feature
When you created the drums, did you create one shots and mapped them to the keys and then created the drum groove or are the drums a single transwave and the beat is created by modulation the positions within the sample?
Yeah…I really regret selling my EPS…I’m seriously considering getting another. And you are so right, I’ve been looking at current samples, and none of them seem appealing, especially since I want an actual keyboard sampler, to get that classic 80s Latin freestyle vibe.
Dope textures! That looks like an old school way to do granular synthesis (which I'm a big fan of). Been experimenting with similar approach in Reason by making a combinator patch with NN19 sampler, modulating sample start parameter with LFO and sending fast gate signal (from Subtractor LFO or Matrix sequencer)
@@TheDaydreamSound yes, Reason is a sound design beast, definitely worth checking out! So much modulation possibilities thanks to its modular nature and the ability to modulate almost any parameter (of both built in and vst instruments and effects) in combinator
What's up man!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!!!!!!!! Much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!! It's different and can do so much more than what we're showing here for sure!!!
Daydream Sound, appreciate the knowledge. Sorry for the sort of rudimentary question, but if I wanted to transfer songs from an ASR-10, to Ableton Live for tweaking, mixing, and recording, in your professional opinion, which would be the best method, and which newer components, if any, are available to help fascilitate this process? Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to lend. Really enjoy the vids, and you've got a new sub;-)
What's up man!!!! Thanks for reaching out!! These two videos might help czcams.com/video/BaS64S_ij40/video.html & czcams.com/video/lh8D4LO73CE/video.html
"can't do as efficiently in software". Wouldn't say that. You can do this quickly and easily with Ableton's Sampler/Simpler by setting a loop and automating the sample start position with an LFO. You could automate the loop length as well, basically modifying the granularity of the playback in real time if you wanted to. Imagine I could probably set that up quite a bit faster than setting up a transwave patch. But the old samplers and old devices in general tend to have their own sound so there's still ample reason to use them IMO.
Is this possible on the eps16+ as well? I’m new to these samplers and I’m already convinced this will stay with me forever...now to carry the manual around with me for a while like I’m studying for a degree.
I sample sounds into a v synth 2.0 then when I am done exploring that and making something crazy, I sample that into a e-mu e6400 and use the z plane filters to really explode my head with sonic insanity...
Love you vids! I have a question... I’m looking for a modern day 88 key-keyboard somewhat like that Ensoniq line. I have a MPC 1000 and really want to chop up sounds as quick as possible with the onboard sampling/keys and with my other hardware as well without a computer or software, but I also don’t want to sacrifice any quality towards the acoustics. I like to play both Rap/Classical music so it’s a bit of a dilemma lol. Are there any keyboards that’ll help me with that? Or I’m I better off with the ASR/ Ensoniq line. Thank you
What's up Adrian!!!! Thanks for reaching out!!! I would look into workstation synths like the Korg Kronos, Yamaha Montage or Roland Fantom. They may fill the role that you're after.
The ASR10, is way ahead of its time. I love using the the auto loop function. Perfect looping so fast. Without seeing it. Especially for looping bass notes and such. What I don’t get is why you can’t auto loop in stereo? There is a work around, by doing one layer at a time. I especially like the video of auto chopping. When I seen that, I was like, I do that!. I go between start and transwave, though. I like trans waving drums to, for fills. It’s the closest you can come to actually jamming on that kit. Such a great machine. Akai mpc’s are a totally different thing. Ensoniq samplers are more for making synth patches, and everything else. You’ll really only use the mpc for sequencing. You really don’t even need that.
Great video with a highly usable technique explained in clear detail ...One viewer asked if you would review a Roland MV ..l wonder if you you check out the MPC 60 as it has similar functions as the 2000/ 2500 ..Yamaha samplers / work stations are a mystery to me ...Anyway top work ma man
Hey, love the videos! I have a quick technical question; are you aware of anyway to get around having to load the OS into the ensoniq samplers everytime you turn them on? As in a mod that loads the os internally somehow when turning on the machine?
What's up Arne!!! Thanks for reaching out!!! The EPS16+ has a flash ROM option that lets you store the O.S on it but aside from that you'll have to load the O.S from disk every time.
What's Callum!!!!! Thanks for reaching out!!! The ASR-X has some Transwaves in it's ROM memory but unfortunately you can't create Transwaves with it's user interface.
Are you serious ? This is granular synthesis and you can achieve this effect with a LOT of modern hardware/software : The Harvestman Tyme Sefari, Make Noise Morphagene, Rossum Assimil8tor, 1010 Music Bitbox and so on... Reaktor can also do this since more than 15 years !
This was just one example. Transwaves in general are like *wavetables.* On gear like the ASR-10, you essentially can make your own wavetables that you can scan through with whatever you want. Granular synthesis is typically done with very short snippets of audio at a time; you're not restricted to granular type stuff with the ASR-10. Transwaves aren't the same as granular. I get what you're saying, but they're not the same.
"Transwaves" is a marketing name, granular synthesis is the real concept behind. As soon as you are able to create tiny loops of audio material and make it move, this is granular synthesis. Still cool to be able to do that on an old device like this.
I don't understand why You don't see the way Digitakt is tool to handle granular resynthesis. I see your point (I hope so) but I do love Digitakt becouse of its granular possibilities. If any questions how to do on Digitakt chop, start/end loop points, rec on same device/reuse then resample on buttons (lack of aftertouch on Digitakt but You can use midi to connect any other device)...then use filtering (a lot things with mapping this...) ,lfo assign on many, many parameters on each block then....just ask. There are a lot of things You can't do with Digitakt, but...there are also some things You can do in diffirent way :) I think that its still a- good video and good subject. Also I understand that both machines have different potentiality...
@@Voc0der I'll take your word for it; that probably makes more sense, in retrospect. I thought they were more similar to wavetables, but I don't have a VFX, SD-1, or ASR-10, etc., and it was a long time ago that I read about it
I wonder every day bro. In 2020 all this tech should be stuffed into $99 portable synthesizers. Heck, by now it all should be stuffed into pocket recorders with BT & DIN MIDI.
@@Roikat Don't tell my EPS-M (classic rack mount). It has had transwaves as a function since 1991. *edit* Ensoniq has used transwave synthesis in it's synths since the 1980s. Looks like the Mirage is the only unit that didn't have a transwave function.
No really. There are many vintage synths that are sitting crippled and out of circulation because of lack of repair. Let alone manufacturing new boards. The components used in their audio architecture--chipset, circuitry or whatnot--are no longer available. Korg Z1 is another example of lost technology. It was made with components that no other Korg synths shared, and those chips are no longer available. The sound it created is very distinctive.
@@cubistone Transwave technology isn't lost nor is it dependent on circuitry or chipsets. In fact, many software music programs implement process similar to transwaves today. It's just not something included in hardware samplers. It's completely possible and comparable. It's just not in demand; just like variable sample rates an samplers.
@@TheDaydreamSound you're right about the lack of demand for such synths. If there's no interest in any vintage gear it won't be making a comeback. Peace
this is f-ing CRAZY. i just got an asr-10 recently and my head is buzzing thinking of all the kinds of sounds i can make with this.
Great! Thank you very much. Dave Smith, Tom Oberheim, Dave Rossum etc have all made successful comebacks. I wish that the main guys at Ensoniq would do the same and pick up where they left off... Trans/Hyperwaves still have a lot of potential for sonic exploration in the here and now. Lots of interest out there.
What's up man!!!!! Thanks for watching!!!! That would seriously cause more of a stir than we think!
@@TheDaydreamSound who were/are the ensoniq geniuses?
@@theminotaurs Bob Yannes, Al Charpentier & Bruce Crockett who've all have pretty much moved on from making musical equipment.
@@TheDaydreamSound I guess anybody _that_ smart can do a whole world of amazing things. Whenever I dive into the depths of my ASR-X from about 1995 I realize it has like a stunning giant city of engineering expertise/creativity built into it.
@@theminotaurs Yep!! The ASR-X is incredibly powerful!
My ASR 10 has been sitting in my studio unused for years and I was considering selling it but after watching this and some of your other videos I just may fire it up again Thanks for the inspiration 🙏
What's up man!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for watching!!!! It's a good overall tool to keep around! Just in case!!!
DO NOT get rid of it..I have other samplers and they never can touch the mighty ASr10..LEARN IT AND EXPERIMENT..
Just sit down with it. A few minutes in, you find yourself in love again. EPS16 & ASR10 are incomparable machines
@@whenvioletsturngrey9597 I did not long after posting this but unfortunately it gave up on me about a year month ago. No power. Gutted ;-(
@@fischergreen4134 That's probably an easy fix man! don't give up on ol' betsy. where u located?
5:51 crazy stuff for my ears ❤
My theory is this: Back in the '80s-'90s, a.k.a. the Golden Era of Hardware Samplers, samples came in two basic forms: 1) Emulating real instrument sounds ("Real instruments" also included analog/digital synthesizers), and 2) Sound Effects. Now, things like drum loops and breaks would technically fall into a subset of "Sound Effects." The former needed things like advanced looping, layering, elaborate multisample architecture, etc. After all, you needed all of those things to capture a grand piano or even a D-50. But along came Romplers, which can already do all of the above for you. And over time, the sounds of real-life acoustic and electronic instruments were at least satisfactory enough on Romplers that people didn't need samplers anymore to play them. I remember back in the mid-'80s, many artists relied on the Emulator II to play Grand Piano and string section sounds. But now, any Rompler can do that, and even the cheapest Rompler today has more realistic and expressive piano and string patches than an Emulator II could make.
Which leaves the Sound Effects category, which are more or less phrase-based, and one-shot in nature. Loops are rhythmic, and many sampler users didn't even need to manually loop the "loops" as they could have a sequencer (i.e. MPC) re-trigger the sample every bar or two. By the 21st century, those that used samplers primarily used them for phrase-based, one-shot deals. And the industry followed suit. A friend who owns a Roland Fantom lamented that he could only record one-shot samples triggered by pads but not pitched samples triggered by the keyboard. The whole phrase-based sampling today continues with things like Ableton Live and Ableton pad controllers, which play primarily one-shot phrases.
What`s up man!!!!!! Thanks for sharing out!!!!! Great theory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was just going to say that: Ableton Live's Simpler with a MIDI controller (and some imagination) can get you there also. You can go from sound snippet to sound snippet, add envelopes, lfos and other fx. Assign them to a note, and start doing what fires up in your brain.
People need to read up on Xenakis, Truax, Schaeffer, Stockhausen, R.M. Schafer, Simon Fraser University, WDR, RDF (Radiodiffusion Française)... Grain can be derived from any schizophonic sound object, including wavetables. Wavetable synthesis itself can be considered an applied technique of granular synthesis. Evidently 'transwaves' have been referred to as an extension of wavetables. The term "synthesis" (as commonly applied to all three) is appropriate, though a bit of a misnomer, since synthesized sound is generated from non-acoustic, inaudible processes whereas granular audio is the result of manipulated playback of sound objects (i.e. samples). There was a fierce philosophical rivalry in first half of the 20th century between the Concrete and Elektronische schools, to the point that both might find the words "sample" and "synthesis" in conjunction to be anathema. Fortunately for us that debate is a matter of history, but all contemporary electronic musicians are indebted to their work. We would do well to know our avant-garde music history and utilize its lexicon with care and intention.
wow - I have a Ensoniq ASR 88 and as of yesterday pick up a 16 plus rack and a ASR 10 rack - all of them in mint condition - i think my studio is ready for anyone that still knows how to really sample
Congrats man!!!! Great samplers to have!!!!
I do everything in my Ensoniq samplers. They are truly endless. Sample something-> push buttons & move sliders. Before you know it you are engaging the sequencer, editing song steps. Brilliant Machines!
Dude! Totally agree, I love my ASR10 and have been using it since it came out (EPS before that). I’m just getting back into music again and was surprised that newer samplers are kinda simple. What we used to do all the time is now a speciality thing. Keep up the great work :)
I’m glad your touching on Transwaves. Not an easy thing to concept at first. But when you get to that point, man. It’s incredible. I have found a machine that almost does this. I think it’s called the xylophone. I think you have to build it too? But, transwaves do so much. Makes Ensoniq almost priceless. Also, makes it that you can basically recreate any patch from any synth on a sampler. Great stuff man, I don’t miss a video
What's up Jim!!!!!! Thanks for watching man!!!! I agree! Transwaves along with the other synthesis features on the Ensoniq samplers are really hidden gems!!!!!!
You are the real sample head
Actually, the closest thing to this is the time trip pad in the roland vsynth, v2,xt and gt. These synthesizers allows you to travel through time in the sound by hand, and you can either assign an lfo or a step sequenceur a very powerfull way while keeping the tempo synchronized back to the arp or drum beat. If you are interested I can make a demo daydreamsound . Also in reaktor there is the "spatializer " ensemble that is exactly using this technology. The daydreamer: I would like to thank you for these high quality video' s, they are smooth, I love the blue aspect of the videos, the very calm and understandable voice even for a french native speaker like me. Thanks a lot, cheers from Brussels
What's up Ludovic!!!! Thanks for watching and sharing!!! The V-Synth is my favorite instrument from Roland for sure!!!!
guys, guys, why so much hate? some of you tried to explain it and that's the point.. the technology itself is fascinating..
Listen folks..I bought the ASR10 rack and Roland analogue synth at the same time,and changed my life and ideas about music.I got the 16 MB RAM and still havent put it in,because by then i learned how to truncate,chop,mangle,and normalize,so i didnt need to touch it.The effects section is so killer,i bought an efx module and hardly used it.I used it live while i was spinning and making mixtapes,made new sounds for myself,and used those sounds as my drum kits and stuff.I have 4 samplers now since i gave away one,yet none of them has the character of the Ensoniq.You can get the ASR10,the VFX synth,and the Paris system,and have a complete studio.Get the third party magazine they had out,if you can,and build a nice desktop system,with SCSI,a LOT of RAm,and have a lotta fun..I'm going to use my EMu6400 and Roland MV8080 the same way.It makes no logical sense to have 20 keyboards,when you can have a couple connected to samplers like the ASR10,because the ASR allows you to run inputs through it's internal DSP/effects section,etc..
I agree, sometimes in order to be creative it is better to rationalize and use only a few samplers and make sure you have a correct desktop, sound system, ergonomy that makes you feel much more comfortable . I have seen so many musicians with tons of synths, sometines 4 kronos in the same room,... and none of them even knowing how to use wavesequences that made korg so famous. Or none of them actually have a proper acoustic, sometimes, less is more.
To quantify further; the Transwave function doesn't prioritize amplitude or frequency over time. It focuses on distributing velocities evenly over time. This way, you can choose much shorter loop regions for synthesis. Knowing this loop number, is the base math for the filters applied. Heavier, less noisy synthesis.
What's up Stereopsist!!!!! Nice!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing man!!!!!
I had no idea the ASR was capable of such things, thank you for sharing,
i love how the bass tied it together..
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love your channel. Thanks for sharing knowledge on older sampler
What's up Alexis!!!!!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Thanks for watching!!!!!!!!!!!!
That sound was weird and I didn't think you would be able to make it sound cool in a song, but at the end I was bobbing my head. That came out nice!
Thanks man!!! The ASR-10's got an amazing way of giving you the most options for sure!!!
Check the free vst Surge. It always had transwaves, now it imports Serum format wavetables or any wav file. It's way more capable than these old samplers.
Thanks man!!! I'll definitely have a look at it!!!
Yo man, just discovered this channel. Great content. Subscribed.
What's up man!!!!! Thanks for finding the channel!!! Much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very cool. You can do this easily - and even more - also with the Octrack MKII by modulating the start point of your sample.
Wow another Transwave video. That was quick, thank you so much!
What's man!!!!!! You're welcome man!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!!!!!!!!!! Much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
we never knew how good we had it
Beautiful and unique. Thank you for sharing. Subscribed!
I always wanted an ASR10. It might be time to get one. Damn you sound mangled it. Wow modern sampler makers are sleeping on this old feature.
What up John!!! Yep!! They're overall great instruments!
Transwaves synthesis is the closest thing to musique concrète, to tape manipulation pioneered at the dawn of electronic music.
Most commercial music using electronics these days draws on a very narrow range of sounds immediately recognizable as belonging to the musical orthodoxy of commerce. Recognizable samples almost always rely on 60s-70s R&B. We’ve been very thoroughly trained to reject every other kind of sound in our desire to conform to mass marketing expectations and identities defined by commerce.
I'm biting my tongue a bit in regards to the future. But I can speak to some current samplers that can still do this. Transwave is simply a term that isn't used but the technique still is. Often times it's referred to in terms of grainshifting (which you do touch on in the video).
One piece of kit I really enjoy doing this with is in the modular domain. The phonogene and morphagene do this with a whole host of extra control. Dave rossums amazing assimil8or goes even deeper with allowing you to also audio rate fm those pieces.
The future has not forgotten these amazing samplers though... We are in a new golden age.
What up Flux!!!! Thanks for watching man!!!!! Yep the future is bright for sure!!! The Assmil8tor is amazing!!!!
Very unique (combination at the end)! 🙌🏾
Thanks Bruv!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great jobs - sound amazing when you bring it all together.
Thanks man!!!!!!!!!!!!! Much appreciated!!!!!! Transwaves are amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you sure you can't do this in any other box? I have a Kurzweil K2000S, and I expected you to show me something that was really unique to Ensoniq. Maybe I missed what was really happening, but it looks like you just sliced a small section of a sample, looped it, and then added modulation assigned to performance (e.g., aftertouch). Can't any sampler do this? I'm pretty sure a K2000S can do this. I haven't used an MPC or AKAI sampler, but I'd expect the same there too. Please help me understand. Thanks!
Trust and believe..my ASR10 is mighty and I didnt even use my efx unit because the ASR10 has it inside..
It's a crazy sampler!!!!!
The ASR10 is a beast! Just picked up one for $150. Transwaves on the ESQ1 not as satisfying. Thanks.
What's up Rodney!!! Congrats!!!!!
WTH, good biz
Nice to think of a sampler as a creative tool, not merely playback of traditional sounds. As for the transwave concept, I believe you should be able to pull this off with Tal Sampler using the mod matrix.
That sounds fantastic! I´m definitely going to town experimenting with that technique. Thanks for always being such an inspiration. :-D
What's up Henrik!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's definitely worth a try!!!!! You'll end up with some great results for sure!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah back in the 90s your sampler was your only instrument, the mirage was my first piece of gear it had actual analog filters and lfo so you could do a lot of synthesis with those samplers even though the mirage only did 8 bit.
Waht's up Brian!!!!! Thanks for watching man!!!!! The Mirage is an absolute gem!!!!!!!!!!!!! I agree! You could get so much done when you only have one instrument to work with.
not quite sure if eps classic can do this or not...i love the sounds you're making on this vid...wow...almost granular...that's my jam for sure
How does Ensoniq's Transwaves compare with Kurzweil's V.A.S.T?
What's up Sabored!!!!! Great question!!!! You know I've used the Kruzweil samplers so much and never really paid any attention to the concept of V.A.S.T. I really gotta go back and look into it now.
There is nothing like Transwaves in VAST. Modulating loop start and loop end points is itself unique to the Ensoniqs and a handful of software samplers. The transwave tech is the logical conclusion of this and as far as I know there is no direct analogue of it elsewhere. Ditto the looping types (bidirectional crossfade, bowtie, synthesised loop etc...).
That said VAST can do some nice stuff - FM on samples (it's actually called SAW+ SHAPE though within VAST), amplitude and ring modulation, wavehsaping and wavefolding a nd other non-linear processes not found in other hardware, plus really nice filters. My main board is a K2661 with sampling, I find it really easy to use despite what you may have heard, but I've also keep an Ensoniq around - they're unique.
You get used to it- plus, pressing EDIT on any field takes you directly to that page. The great thing is you'll find you still uncover new depths to it years on. All the wavefolding/waveshaping stuff we're seeing last few years in West Coast style Eurorack has been in the K2x since 92. Plus all the values are in meaningful values - Hz, dB etc. What you learn on the K2x is transferrable directly to your mixing, your modular, learning Csound/Supercollider/Max etc. It's a worthwhile learning curve. And they didn't reinvent the wheel when they brought out new models- eg if you know the K2, you buy a PC3 or whatever, it's a matter of just learning the updates.
They're beast machines. Dig in.
@@CaptainCabers-nickmccabemusic the plugin Surge, while not a sampler, (originally developed by Claes of Bitwig)can import custom wavetables. It can also modulate the loop points. Combined with a program like audio-term, the sky is the limit.
Off da planet 👾🌌
"Aftertouch!" Did you hear that so called controller keyboard manufacturers??👂🎹
I'm here becuz of Lampdog from MPC Forums, thanks Lamp
Just found you and definitely a sub here! This is an awesome example of what I been working on in my head but only have phone software to try an capture my ideas! Love to learn more about freestyle creation poke this! Thanks for the video!
What's up man!!!! Glad you found may channel!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!!!
@@TheDaydreamSound I've seen more videos now and love and appreciate you're content even more. You've got me trying ideas through inspiration, so a big thank you! Phones can do way more than anticipated!! ;)
Transwave was a musical dead-end, according to a former Ensoniq employee who was asked shortly after Ensoniq folded as a synth company. There was/is simply no real demand for the feature outside a fraction of a niche subset of the Synth user base.
It's a lot like polyphonic-aftertouch, everyone fawns over that feature, but very few who have access to a synth with a poly-AT equipped keybed actually ever uses it musically.
I honestly still failed to see why he thinks what he did is exclusive to ensoniq transwave. Maybe the operational method is different but you can do the same things on an MPC, Maschine, etc what exactly was so special here?
@@tellitlikeitis8691 there really is nothing special about Transwaves... Much like the Realtime Convolution and Modulation feature on the Yamaha SY77/99, it is something that takes a sample and spits out mostly useless noise...
@@looneyburgmusic Thanks for the reply. Yeah I'm genuinely curious if there is any sampler out there that qualitatively stands out from the rest or if it's just a sound/workflow thing
@@tellitlikeitis8691 that's actually a good question... I've been a huge fan of Ensoniq since the Mirage, but I honestly never found a musical use for the Transwave feature
This loop is sucking my brain ❤
You might like a little sampler loop box called the Akai S20. Fun stuff. THANKS for sharing.
What's up Jimmy!!! Thanks for watching!!! The S20 is an interesting sampler for sure!!!
The video is 3 yrs old, anyway, in my opinion this should be possible at least with Bitwig's builtin sampler, Kontakt and Arturia Pigments.
It definitely can be done in software. In today's modern hardware samplers it's not really present.
When you created the drums, did you create one shots and mapped them to the keys and then created the drum groove or are the drums a single transwave and the beat is created by modulation the positions within the sample?
Fire! 🔥
best videos about the asr 10
Thanks man!!!!!!!!!! Much appreciated!!!!!!
Dang! I need to get an ASR-10 now! It's so industrial/experimental/glitchy - just the sound I want!
What's up man!!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!! It's a definitely great sampler!
Yeah…I really regret selling my EPS…I’m seriously considering getting another. And you are so right, I’ve been looking at current samples, and none of them seem appealing, especially since I want an actual keyboard sampler, to get that classic 80s Latin freestyle vibe.
What's up!!! Yep! The ASR-10 and the 90's era of samplers in general are pretty special instruments!!!!
brings back memories !!!!!
Yo!!! What's up man!!!!!! Good to hear from you!!!!!!!!!!
Keep bringing dat heat.
Thanks man!!!!!!!!!! Will do!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dope textures! That looks like an old school way to do granular synthesis (which I'm a big fan of). Been experimenting with similar approach in Reason by making a combinator patch with NN19 sampler, modulating sample start parameter with LFO and sending fast gate signal (from Subtractor LFO or Matrix sequencer)
Have you tried Grain?
Yes, but it's also fun to do it the awkward way :)
What's up man!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for sharing and watching!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I've gotta take a look into Reason sometime!
@@TheDaydreamSound yes, Reason is a sound design beast, definitely worth checking out! So much modulation possibilities thanks to its modular nature and the ability to modulate almost any parameter (of both built in and vst instruments and effects) in combinator
so this is essentially crude granular sampling before it really was a thing?
What's up man!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!!!!!!!! Much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!! It's different and can do so much more than what we're showing here for sure!!!
@@TheDaydreamSound you never fail to surprise me when you pull out another trick from your seemingly endless list of tricks of ensoniq samplers!
The very reason why I’ll never part with my ASR 10... great example
What's up man!!!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!! The ASR-10 is definitely a great sampler!!!!!
Daydream Sound, appreciate the knowledge. Sorry for the sort of rudimentary question, but if I wanted to transfer songs from an ASR-10, to Ableton Live for tweaking, mixing, and recording, in your professional opinion, which would be the best method, and which newer components, if any, are available to help fascilitate this process? Thank you in advance for any help you may be able to lend. Really enjoy the vids, and you've got a new sub;-)
What's up man!!!! Thanks for reaching out!! These two videos might help czcams.com/video/BaS64S_ij40/video.html & czcams.com/video/lh8D4LO73CE/video.html
@@TheDaydreamSound Ok, cool breeze. Really appreciate the look. Much success!
I wish I still had my ASR10
ohhhhhhhhh!!!! Another Level... Thank´s Tds
Thanks man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for this amazing tutorial! I want to know, is it's possible to use transwave technique in Ableton's Sampler?
Sick af. Have u ever messed with the MV8800
What's up ETwOne!!!! Thanks man!!!!!!!!!! I've used the MV8000/8800 Series samplers in the past. I like them!!!!!!!
I feel like erica synths is putting out a module that's pretty close to this effect
What's up man!!!! Thanks for watching!!!! Nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Erica Synths has some amazing modules!!!!!!!!!!!!
"can't do as efficiently in software". Wouldn't say that. You can do this quickly and easily with Ableton's Sampler/Simpler by setting a loop and automating the sample start position with an LFO. You could automate the loop length as well, basically modifying the granularity of the playback in real time if you wanted to. Imagine I could probably set that up quite a bit faster than setting up a transwave patch. But the old samplers and old devices in general tend to have their own sound so there's still ample reason to use them IMO.
What's up man!!! I agree!!!!
Is this possible on the eps16+ as well? I’m new to these samplers and I’m already convinced this will stay with me forever...now to carry the manual around with me for a while like I’m studying for a degree.
What's up man!!!! Yep!!! It's completely possible!!!!
I sample sounds into a v synth 2.0 then when I am done exploring that and making something crazy, I sample that into a e-mu e6400 and use the z plane filters to really explode my head with sonic insanity...
Z-Plane filters are great!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for watching man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love you vids! I have a question... I’m looking for a modern day 88 key-keyboard somewhat like that Ensoniq line. I have a MPC 1000 and really want to chop up sounds as quick as possible with the onboard sampling/keys and with my other hardware as well without a computer or software, but I also don’t want to sacrifice any quality towards the acoustics. I like to play both Rap/Classical music so it’s a bit of a dilemma lol. Are there any keyboards that’ll help me with that? Or I’m I better off with the ASR/ Ensoniq line. Thank you
What's up Adrian!!!! Thanks for reaching out!!! I would look into workstation synths like the Korg Kronos, Yamaha Montage or Roland Fantom. They may fill the role that you're after.
The ASR10, is way ahead of its time. I love using the the auto loop function. Perfect looping so fast. Without seeing it. Especially for looping bass notes and such. What I don’t get is why you can’t auto loop in stereo? There is a work around, by doing one layer at a time. I especially like the video of auto chopping. When I seen that, I was like, I do that!. I go between start and transwave, though. I like trans waving drums to, for fills. It’s the closest you can come to actually jamming on that kit. Such a great machine. Akai mpc’s are a totally different thing. Ensoniq samplers are more for making synth patches, and everything else. You’ll really only use the mpc for sequencing. You really don’t even need that.
They put so much into those samplers. It's really easy to miss.
Awesome!
What's up Matthew!!!!!! Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great video with a highly usable technique explained in clear detail ...One viewer asked if you would review a Roland MV ..l wonder if you you check out the MPC 60 as it has similar functions as the 2000/ 2500 ..Yamaha samplers / work stations are a mystery to me ...Anyway top work ma man
Ive been looking at one for months at my local shop, finally had the money to cop today but it was sold last week bro D:
What's up Guma!!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!! That's unfortunate!!! They'll be more around I'm sure!
*INCENTIVE
Really Incencitive of you to pick on the guys spelling :P
eye no.
And my little sister used to say “libary”.
Do you have the endoniq routed to anything else?
Thanks
You're welcome!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!!!!!!!!
Incentive is spelled with a C.
Hey, love the videos! I have a quick technical question; are you aware of anyway to get around having to load the OS into the ensoniq samplers everytime you turn them on? As in a mod that loads the os internally somehow when turning on the machine?
What's up Arne!!! Thanks for reaching out!!! The EPS16+ has a flash ROM option that lets you store the O.S on it but aside from that you'll have to load the O.S from disk every time.
Hi is this still the case on the asr x Pro ? Or was there a difference between the 2
What's Callum!!!!! Thanks for reaching out!!! The ASR-X has some Transwaves in it's ROM memory but unfortunately you can't create Transwaves with it's user interface.
Awesome
Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Are you serious ? This is granular synthesis and you can achieve this effect with a LOT of modern hardware/software : The Harvestman Tyme Sefari, Make Noise Morphagene, Rossum Assimil8tor, 1010 Music Bitbox and so on... Reaktor can also do this since more than 15 years !
This was just one example. Transwaves in general are like *wavetables.* On gear like the ASR-10, you essentially can make your own wavetables that you can scan through with whatever you want.
Granular synthesis is typically done with very short snippets of audio at a time; you're not restricted to granular type stuff with the ASR-10. Transwaves aren't the same as granular.
I get what you're saying, but they're not the same.
"Transwaves" is a marketing name, granular synthesis is the real concept behind. As soon as you are able to create tiny loops of audio material and make it move, this is granular synthesis. Still cool to be able to do that on an old device like this.
I don't understand why You don't see the way Digitakt is tool to handle granular resynthesis. I see your point (I hope so) but I do love Digitakt becouse of its granular possibilities. If any questions how to do on Digitakt chop, start/end loop points, rec on same device/reuse then resample on buttons (lack of aftertouch on Digitakt but You can use midi to connect any other device)...then use filtering (a lot things with mapping this...) ,lfo assign on many, many parameters on each block then....just ask. There are a lot of things You can't do with Digitakt, but...there are also some things You can do in diffirent way :) I think that its still a- good video and good subject. Also I understand that both machines have different potentiality...
@@Voc0der I'll take your word for it; that probably makes more sense, in retrospect. I thought they were more similar to wavetables, but I don't have a VFX, SD-1, or ASR-10, etc., and it was a long time ago that I read about it
Wavetables are different beasts, it consist of scanning a collection of pre-recorded one cycle samples
hey there, new at this. bought an asr-10 . do u teach on how the use. need a beginner class
Wha't s up man!!!!! Thanks for reaching out!!!! We're definitley looking into it!
can you do this on an eps classic ??? or something similar.. thx
What's up man!!!! Yep you can do something very similar (in my opinion more interesting) by modulating the loop points in the EPS Classic.
This was dope thanks for this
What's up Christopher!!!!! You're welcome man!!!!! Thanks for watching!!!!! Much appreciated!!!!
I wonder every day bro. In 2020 all this tech should be stuffed into $99 portable synthesizers. Heck, by now it all should be stuffed into pocket recorders with BT & DIN MIDI.
Can you do this on the SD-1?
😎
omnisphere ?
What's up Issie!!!! Thanks for watching man!!!!! Are you asking about Omnisphere's ability to make Transwaves? Let me know your thoughts.
I thought it could .. might be wrong
I traded it for an Emulator II HD
sounds like an old printer
Great Printer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can the EPS Classic produce transwaves?
Every day, all day. That's been my main tool since '93.
can you access the same parameters on the classic? im about to hook mine back up now and combine with ableton
@@blocadebeats same parameters as the eps 16, 16+. Only heavier, as the EPS classic operates at the same dynamic range as microphones and speakers.
Transwaves were introduced on the EPS-16+.
@@Roikat Don't tell my EPS-M (classic rack mount). It has had transwaves as a function since 1991. *edit* Ensoniq has used transwave synthesis in it's synths since the 1980s. Looks like the Mirage is the only unit that didn't have a transwave function.
You're comparing orange to apple. Ensoniq gear were from another time.
Is that so?
No really. There are many vintage synths that are sitting crippled and out of circulation because of lack of repair. Let alone manufacturing new boards. The components used in their audio architecture--chipset, circuitry or whatnot--are no longer available.
Korg Z1 is another example of lost technology. It was made with components that no other Korg synths shared, and those chips are no longer available. The sound it created is very distinctive.
@@cubistone Transwave technology isn't lost nor is it dependent on circuitry or chipsets. In fact, many software music programs implement process similar to transwaves today. It's just not something included in hardware samplers. It's completely possible and comparable. It's just not in demand; just like variable sample rates an samplers.
@@TheDaydreamSound you're right about the lack of demand for such synths. If there's no interest in any vintage gear it won't be making a comeback. Peace
AI will kill music. Learn to play while you can.