Mega Synthesis Tutorial
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- Опубликовано: 31 июл 2024
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Chapters:
00:00 intro
02:28 Hardware overview
04:14 Select presets
04:43 Velocity knob
05:38 Nice factory presets
07:49 3 x FM tracks
08:02 2 x PSG tracks, (8-bit style)
09:34 Vibrato
10:08 PCM samples
12:02 Track recap
12:16 Program a bass line
13:11 Select a melody sound
13:42 Making a track longer
14:33 About live-recording
15:18 Turning on the metronome
16:02 Recording in real-time
16:40 Poly/ mono/ legato/ portamento
17:38 Arpeggio
18:59 Muting a track
19:14 Reverb and other FX
21:52 Changing a sound in retrospect
22:13 Sound Locking
25:51 Parameter locking pan, fx send etc…
26:37 Recording drums
27:42 Mixing advice
28:41 Stutter
30:25 Don't forget to SAVE!
30:44 Yuzo Koshiro's factory presets
33:22 Design an FM sound from scratch - Edit Mode
34:55 Algorithms
35:32 Starting out a patch
36:28 Changing an Operator Frequency
36:38 The envelope generator (EG)
37:42 Mixing and tuning frequencies
40:02 Feedback
41:13 Another algorithm (5)
41:34 Adjusting Envelopes per Operator
41:58: Changing frequencies per operator
42:42 Diving deeper into the algorithm
44:45 The looping envelope (SSG EG)
46:13 Saving the sound
46:29 Make an E-piano sound with velocity
50:27 External MIDI keyboard + MIDI channels
51:48 Legacy modes
53:46 Jamming out a song 
Видеоклипы
So mine arrived yesterday…I am a lifelong metal/punk musician and in the last few years been listening to a lot of Synthwave. I grew up with Sega 8-16 bit fantasticness but never played a synth in my life. So right now this is the most important video of my life lol…thanks!
I'm the same, black metal , but recenlty last couple years, just going to punk, and hardcore shows. Even though i do play guitar and bass, it was dungeon synth and the nostalgia of old school video games that got me into synths. Can't really get into dance electronic music.
100% the same here.
I have absolutely zero intention of buying this piece of equipment but I was so happy to watch this entire video. It was so thorough and so thoughtful. You really seemed like you worked hard to make a connection between the viewer and this piece of gear. Well done sir.
"its like it's made for me"
Alright. Cuckoo and 1 hour of Mega Drive based FM goodness? I am here for it (perfect video to sweeten the waiting time until my preorder arrives 🤩)
These order lead times feel like an eternity (but on a positive side they should be shipping the orders soon if I recall)
Ooh I've been looking forward to seeing what you think of this. Megadrive was the same for me, had a huge influence on my musical taste and desire to make music 😁
I've never seen a synth so perfect for someone more. Than this...
I recently discovered your channel because of the Mega Synthesis. I saw the ad for it and started looking for reviews. Your tutorial was one of the best I have seen. I'm fairly new to synthesizers and have been watching many tutorial videos on other models but this just became my favorite. I ended up watching a couple of your other tutorials and hope you continue to make more!
Thank you so much! Means a lot to me 🙏🏼
Yeah...I don't do the Telegraph app thing anymore. If it wasn't you, then someone is using your name.@@truecuckoo
Man, thank you so much for taking the time to do this.
I have a Mega Synthesis on pre order and this video will be very helpful when it arrives 👌
Can't wait!
Awesome tutorial Cuckoo, the FM edit mode looks straightforward enough as well, love these sounds🥳🤘🏼😎
That was incredible, the song at the end was a beauty. I can't wait for my mega synth to arrive!
Presenting the gear with sound efx truly makes your videos so good. Always look forward to that part. Going to start sampling those parts and see what I can come up with!
🔥👊🧡👍🔥
Just revisiting this to brush up on the FM editing sections. Thanks a lot, Cukoo! I appreciate the way you teach. I hope you’re having a lovely week!
As a fan of Sega Genesis soundtracks and their sound in general, I love that it's getting some love with machines like this.
Very cool to see them have sound banks from specific games included, especially Toejam and Earl.
I also love that FM synthesis creation is conveyed through a swappable face plate. That's really smart design.
When I saw the announcement video from sonicware, I instantly thought about you, cuckoo. This syntj was made for you, man❤🎉
Wow I just love your videos. Not only are they super helpful but you have the most soothing voice. Thank you ! Just got mine in the midst of another round of covid so I didn’t have the head to start learning yet. Your video has given me the courage to give it a try :) thank you again. Lovely music you made too!!🥰🎵
watching you go through Yuzo Koshiro's presets was all smiles - loved it! Hoping to get to try a Mega Synthesis soon
I love, how you really seem to like this machine! 🤩 I am a big fan of the Xfm, this one here seems to bring the concept into a complete (and retro-ish) groovebox context. So looking forward to getting mine 🤩🤩🤩
Thanks for this tutorial cuckoo ❤ got mine on order now. Can’t wait to relive those mega drive sounds. Yuzo Koshiro’s presets make this a must have.
Really cool! I've pretty much recovered from GAS but damnit I might need this. There's been a few attempts at the Sega sound but I've been dreaming of an authentic chiptune synth colab between Nintendo and Korg for years. This kind of stuff is what we need to see more of.
Nicely done. I watched it entirely again and another winner for my education and personal progress.
so much nostalgia here love it ! great demo you also just have a great style with every machine much respect to you sir!
What a great video. I really enjoyed that song at the end. Keep crushing it. ❤
Amazing jam at the end! Will come back later for the full tutorial, when I got mine.
So rad! I can't wait until mine arrives. Thanks for the demo!!
The jam was nothing short of amazing… thanks for being a true inspiration ❤
Love watching your FM videos! :) Good stuff! Relaxing, and always top notch chippery!
Nice tutorial! Can't wait to get my unit! I insta-ordered it and it's scheduled for the second batch. Can't wait to let this unit play together with the Model: Cycles 😀
The thing that hooked me right off the bat is that this thing looks FUN and focused. It gets straight into the action, and while I have more complex or versatile synths, inspiration always hits hardest when I'm submerged in fun and nostalgia sauce
So I just got one of these and have been slowly trying to learn how to use it. I’m gonna keep watching this video to help me out, but so far it’s been really helpful. Thanks!
You really do so well in explaining your thoughts. I find your videos so helpful to my learning.
I'm a newb with a little bit of gear (guitar, Modal 8 synth, SP404) and you have been so helpful in my thinking smartly to learn my gear.
Thank you for your help. /cheers to you 🍻
🙏🏼 thank you!
Thanks Cuckoo, very nice presentation of the capabilities of this device!
A friend of mine surprised me with one that arrived today so I'm stoked to watch this video.
Thank you so much for sharing such a great tutorial video! 🙏
I love your sound and jam❤
Thanks Endo san! This might be your best work! I love how it turned out.
Loved the outro jam! This affordable synth looks awesome. Sold out for now though!
This was fire! I'm pretty much 100% software these days, but as a Megadrive obsessive I'm very tempted to pick this up as it feels like the best implementation of this idea so far. I owned an MC303 in the 90s so groovebox workflows are both exciting and filled with dread for me. But I'd probably sketch out on this first and then sequence everything from Ableton.
What a cool little synth. Fun video as always. 🙂
This sound took me straight back to 80's, love it!!
I find your way of presented very honest and charming. The sounds of this device threw me right back into my grandmas livingroom with my SEGA :) Thx for the nostalgia!
'Pattern #3" really hit the spot btw. ^^
That jam was wonderful. Thank you Cuckoo
Nice tunes! I'm loving this thing, i cant wait to have it in my hands.
Can't wait to receive mine. I've tried using Deflemask years ago and I honestly think I'm not made for DAW. I'm glad there's finally a DAWless equivalent.
Great demo! What an awesome synth!
Thank you for this tutorial. I got mine earlier this week and literally had no idea what to do out of the box. I'm also new to synth sequencers in general. One thing I think was glanced over that could help others, is how to select an empty track at the start. I figured it out when you went over saving and the factory presets, but yeah if you are new and want an empty track to start on (on first turn on mine was on the a factory preset track), hit the PTN button and scroll with Value to at least page 2 (P2).
LOVE the jam at the end.
Great video! I am a big fan of the Streets of Rage series of games, a fan of the composers Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima. Sega Mega Drive is the console of my childhood. That's why I sometimes make official music albums with chiptune music. My goal is basically to bring back electronic retro music, as well as rock music from the past. However, I usually don't mix different genres with each other. I watched your video in one go, with great pleasure.)
Beautiful cut at the end, sir.
It sounds great. I love these sounds too.
Love the way you work in some classic tunes... Streets or Rage and Toe Jam and Earl!
Thanks Brian! 💙🖤 the references are impossible to let slide when the sound is there!
No way! So cool. When I think of Genesis music, I think of the boss fight from Shinobi. Also any track from Strider. Classic sounds.
Bookmarking it, saving it, liking it and groovin' it. This is cuckoo!
oh man - love your videos - this resonated so much - the first track I ever made was on a Roland sampler after cracking Sonic The Hedgehog" for all the sounds and sampling De La Soul's Say No Go - needless to say it was truly awful but 30 years later still making tunes....
I would say both tracks in this video actually sound quite modern, the synth is definitely not limited to sounding like early 90s consoles though I guess if you really want to you can get that real retro sound quite easily. And that's great, I'm not into grooveboxes but I really understand those who are going to buy this cool device.
This will be perfect for my dungeon synth project.
I thought the Digitone would be the closest we would ever get to an FM groovebox that could be used to replicate the Genesis/Mega Drives sound. I am beyond ecstatic that this thing exist and will be ordering one soon. Like you, Cuckoo, my very reason for making music was because of Sega's 16 bit console and this thing feels like it was made just for me! Gotta have it in my hands soon!
Thank you! I'm going to work through this tonight!
That's amazing. Thanks for speaking the word on this.
Love it. Sounds like the track of a game I would like to have played :)
I'm not crazy about the liven hardware, but this combination of sound engines is completely brilliant. I'm looking to pick one up when they become available.
When me and my mate saw the first promo ads pop up for this thing we said to each other "Cockoo def gonna do a video with this!"
Love it!🥰
great tutorial cuckoo, thank you!
What a great video and superb jam to end it on 👍🏻
It would be good to get your take on the Yamaha SeqTrak, which looks to take the OP-Z concept to another level.
Thanks. After I read the SeqTrak manual, and heard sound examples, I lost interest, and declined. I think everyone should read the manual and calm down.
Really? Thanks for the advice 👍🏻. Is there anything, in particular, that put you off?
Awesome Video! I’d love to see thuis synth in the hands of some classic Grime producers!
Good call!! I'm not a genre person, but if there's one genre I actually care about, it's Grime.
YES!!! This is awesome!!!
Thank god it's you doing the tutorial!!!!
Great overview
I LOVE IT!. Just the first bass sound was like being back in childhood :D It also looks very good. They seem to do a great job, and love hearing you play it :) edit: just checked the price :O :O I expected it to be twice as expensive!. What a bargain, will order one when I get my salary :) thanks again, love the ending tune.
I certainly hope your being paid well to make these mega tutorials, this is the video that just made me order the Mega Synthesis! :)
No payment or affiliate links for this video. They sent me the device though. I just like this stuff, and I wanna share it with the world. And I like Sonicware. They're the nicest people!
Nice T-shirt!
Sonicware's stuff is definitely funky and more affordable as well! The 8-Bit Warp is enticing too! Now I need to ponder which one to procure.
Get this one and the Texture Lab (granular synth). The only Liven I didn't like and therefore can't recommend is the Liven Bass & Beats (combined mono wavetable synth and pcm drum machine). Apart from that, they're great.
@@dinogoldie9716is this tutorial useful for the 8bit warps? Are the workflows similar?
@@beepb0t Despite all the Livens being built on the same hardware platform, their workflows are all very different. For instance, the 8bit Warps is only a single track sequencer but it does include a 4 track looper and synth engines where you can morph between patches. This Liven Mega Synthesis is the first Liven not to have a shift button to access secondary controls via the knobs. All previous Livens have a "Func" for key combos and a "shift" for knob combos. I highly recommend all the overviews and tutorials made by ChrisLody. personally, I find the UX on all Livens (except for the Liven Bass & Beats) very straightforward and pleasurable.
@@dinogoldie9716Thanks for the thoughts! I've got drum machines covered pretty well I think (TR-8S, Syntakt, DFAM's, oh Maschine Mk3 too); but the chiptune stuff is a good time!
The 8bit Warps is fun but to be honest it is not the "chip tune in a box" groove box you may think it is. It does do some lovely pads though.
Also, I really dislike the sequencer on the Warps, I just don't get on with it.
Wow, they really have the lofi world on lock.
Really want to 6-bit sampler also
As fun as these are, I never thought one would be released that beat the 8-bit warps. This might be their best one
that`s dope ❤
Great demo - thanks! Your jam (57minutes in) ..lovely and haunting . Reminded me of Computer World Kraftwerk. (in a very good way)
Thank you so much 🙏🏼
Ordered! Easy decision.
I definitely want this
For me a similar machine but with the sid chips ....well that would blow my mind for sure. That has to do with my nostalgia ,nothing against Megadrive Yamaha chips
Oh no, I just payed off my last synth debt. You’re killing me lol
😅💙
I got a megadrive for Christmas in 91, ended up swapping it for a motorbike 😂
Does sound as good?😊
Lucky for you that the Australian made Fairlight computer synthesiser wasnt on your radar in the 1970s.
Forget about the motorbike- we are talking about $25,000+ which was the cost of house in inner city Sydney at the time.
New passenger vehicles were priced between $2,500 and $5,000
I wonder if both had Yamaha internals
30:44 WOW Yuzo Koshiro presets ❤
now I want to buy the 8 bits version too !
6:39 is that the riff from Toe Jam and Earl? 😊
It is :D (trying at least 😅)
Nice! Yamaha Seqtrak next pls
Very nice toejam and earle tribute in there! Lol
This one is a fresh breeze even if its ol school sounds.
I had a LoFi 12 for a little while. It was an amazing drum machine but I sent it back. I'd pay $500 for a machine like that in a more durable case. Put it in a metal case with high quality pots/encoders and these boxes would be better than almost anything on the market. This mega drive thing is half the price of the Drumlogue but it's way more interesting to me.
Have you tried Sonicware's Smpltrek? Also, they've got a Lofi-XT coming out this spring which is meant to be a Liven Lofi12 upgraded to the Smpltrek hardware platform.
@@dinogoldie9716 I've seen them but I don't need the extra functionality. Those things are still made with the same plastic cases and the same knobs. Which to be fair are plenty considering what they're charging for their stuff. I totally get why they make them how they do, they're a small company. I loved the LoFi 12, I just wasn't confident that it would last very long if I used it a lot or tried gigging with it.
That's a cool machine
My family finally got a telly when I was 10 so dad and the guys who worked on our farm could watch Italia 90 and dad got us kids a Mega Drive shortly after 💚🤖
and how does it stand up to the megafm, sounds-wise?
I would love to have those jams available somewhere to download (buy)!
great vid, just a heads up the link to buy a Limited Edition shirt doesn't work, you have to have an account with the record label and I couldn't find any way to creat an account. Disappointed you were out of stock on the XL but would have bought a Large T if I could.
Cuckoo I have a hard time with programming things, so I usually just construct a loop and do solo jams over them. Would this device be suitable for that? The presets sound amazing and I kinda want it just to solo over my modular haha
nice
wow .. its nice ..
How do you get rid of the preset sample? It keeps playing the factory tune
I dont like boxes with inbuilt sequencer. But this one i actually would like to own.
1hour! Why not 10! 😋 Reminds me of my volca fm. But way cooler. I read somewhere that old game music for the megadrive was made with stuff like a emu proteus and roland rack units like the jv 2o8o. Guess they do have that 90s movie vibe.
You might be thinking of the PlayStation, maybe the Saturn. After CDs came into the mix, that's when they started doing more Roland racks and big boy synths. The Mega drive was almost all the built in Yamaha YM chip, which this baby emulates really really well. There were some extra sample memory and polyphony modules added on with the segaCD.
@@GeorgeL909 yea I had Sega CD in mind when commenting. But that came out in like 91. Guess that's why my volca fm reminds me a bit of old game music cause the Sega used a fm chip. I guess it's all similar just different sample/bit rates. The proteus came out in 89 but the jv2080 in like 96. I'm no historian or bitboy chiptune master, I just had to do some quick research. Nonetheless it's all nostalgic and nice to see products still being made to keep the sound alive. Would be fun to have this paired with the new stylophone drone synth, my volca fm and volca sample and the new korg kaoss kit. 😜
Hey man, I just got mine! I can't seem to record though. When I hold down buttons 1-16 to program like you do, it doesn't do anything. Any ideas at all? Great vid btw!
thanks for the tut! so want one of these, but sold out! if sonicware want to lend me one.... pretty please!
My pleasure, mate! Thanks. Yeah they seem to have worked up a pretty loyal customer base over the last few product launches. I'm sure they're pushing them out as fast as they can.
Thank you for this tutorial ! I wonder if it's possible to make 'human voices' with this gear like when we took weapons in Thunder Force III ?
Thanks. For human voices I’d resort to sampling. I didn’t show how to sample in the video, but it’s in there. You can hit it down to 4-bit sampling, which will likely resemble the Thunderforce voice.
@@truecuckoo You mean that 'SEGAAAA' at the start was made with a sample ? I found this examples on YT : ruclips.net/video/KsMRe_QenvU/видео.html
I wear that shirt with pride :D
One thing I've been wondering... I know the FM tracks have 6-voice polyphony, but is that shared across all three tracks, or is it 6 voices per track? I'm guessing it's shared, in which case I'm a little curious how voice stealing works - i.e. can a super wide chord on one track interrupt bass/lead voices on other tracks? I admit it's not the most important question ever... but I have the wile away the time until my Mega Synthesis ships somehow, right?
Anyway, this was even better than I dared hope for when you mentioned an upcoming tutorial - thanks for your brilliant work!