Modulo: How much like MX4? and other ?s

Discussion of all things related to MOTU's powerful MX4 software synthesizer.

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wvandyck
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Modulo: How much like MX4? and other ?s

Post by wvandyck »

As a six stringer, I have major knowledge gaps regarding synthesizers. Purchasing a few Hollow Sun CD's (for M5) has sparked an interest in a "nostalgic" understanding of synths. ( I enjoyed Strawberry Fields, and Lucky Man in real time during initial airplay on the radio).

So here are tonights questions:
1. Are there MX4 presets that emulate the synths of yore?
2. Are the presets named well enough to suggest their origin?

Modulo is supposed to be a stripped-down version of MX4. I'm finally getting around to exploring it. I see possibilities!!!
3. Does Modulo (with it's limited parameters) sound like MX4?

Any input appreciated.
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mhschmieder
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Post by mhschmieder »

Well, "Strawberry Fields" used a mellotron, which technically is not really a synth per se and isn't an ideal candidate for modeling with analog synthesis. "Lucky Man" has two particularly famous sounds, one of which is a standard square wave. I have not tried to emulate that using MX4, but would be slightly surprised if it did a better rendition than some of the bass and lead oriented soft synths out there.

I haven't used MX4 in a long time, and may even sell it at some point, as I love the interface but found I had to do more stacking than I would like. It may just take more programming time, but it started reminding me of my Nord Lead 3 experience, where I was seduced by the interface. In both cases, things also did not sit well in a mix. One can always work at it more, but when there are other options that take less effort...

I have used it on some songs, specifically to emulate sounds of yore (particularly "Heart of Glass" by Blondie, and "I Ran (So Far Away)" by Flock of Seagulls). The preset names were not very often all that enlightening in that regard, but it doesn't take long to audition them. I made my own, but used the presets as a starting point.

In terms of sound categories, I at least initially found MX4 quite impressive in the synth bass department and especially for esoteric synth pads (in particular evolving pads). Almost Oberheim-like in some ways.

The reason I haven't spent much time with it lately is that I now own several specific emulations, such as CS80, Moog Mini, Moog Modular, ARP Odyssey, OSCar, and OB-X. I haven't hit the performance limit quite as often on those synths, and also find a broader selection of swell-programmed free presets, which saves me time. I love doing sound design, but more for creating new sounds than replicating old ones.

With a more powerful processor, I could probably be a bit more daring with MX4 and really push it to its limit, and see if it then challenges my hardware synths and some of the better emulative soft synths.

Someone else will have to comment on Modulo as I have not used any of the new VI's in DP 5 yet as the few that I tried crashed my session. They seem rather CPU intensive on the whole. But I haven't retried any of them since the most recent software updates.
Last edited by mhschmieder on Tue Apr 03, 2007 12:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
wvandyck
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Post by wvandyck »

Thanks for all of that input. Very helpful.

I became comfortable adjusting envelopes on my first hardware playback sampler. Then I acquired the Tx81Z. After looking over the manual, I decided I was not gonna try to play "programmer". (Fortunately, I purchased some really cool 'M1 Impressions" sci-fi sounding stuff from Sound Source).

As a guitar player, one of the reasons I really like DP's new basic VI, is that they are...basic. After reading some SOS Synth Secrets columns etc, I actually felt pretty comfortable tweaking Bassline presets.

Which brings me to Modulo. I'm working through it a little at a time and...I like it.

I've listened to all of the MX4 demos and found many quite pleasing. So, if Modulo is a more basic version of MX4 then it's quite likely I'll add it to my system in the near future.

If I've read your response correctly, it sounds like the Arturia and GForce plugs run more efficiently.
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Post by mikebeckmotu »

I've read mixed reviews on the CPU usage of Arturia's synths. I have their CS-80V, and can say it runs well on the Intel iMac.
I am a huge fan of the GForce (GMedia) synths - I have all of them. I'll probably get the String Machine when it's released soon. The CPU uasge is relatively low for Oddity, M-Tron and most of impOSCar's sounds, and MiniMonsta can go either way, depending on how its programmed. I've never had any of them overload my CPU as of yet on either my G4 Powerbook or Intel iMac.
impOSCar's probably my favorite synth as of yet, and I have more than enough softsynths. Wait - maybe I should say I have "many" instead of more than enough. Yeah, let's go with "many". :)
MX4 is way up there on my list, though. I like it very much. I've never thought of it as a possible emulator, since I have other emulators. Once you know it well, I'd bet you could make it sound like what you wanted.
I know we already discussed some of this off the forum, but I thought it might be worth re-stating.
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wvandyck
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Post by wvandyck »

mikebeckmotu wrote: impOSCar's probably my favorite synth as of yet, and I have more than enough softsynths. Wait - maybe I should say I have "many" instead of more than enough. Yeah, let's go with "many". :)
That's more like it :D

I'll test out the MX4 demo after getting up to speed with Modulo. That should help put things in perspective.

Again, thanks for your informative input.
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Post by mhschmieder »

The newer (and better) Arturia emus require 1.5 GHz processors (or greater, in the case of the physically modeled Brass VI). I have CS80 and Moog Modular, and am able to run most presets and stay out of trouble with my own since I know what sorts of parameters and settings will likely push the CPU.

The G-Force stuff is low-hit mostly (and impOSCar is my favourite soft synth, alongside OP-X from Sonic Reality), but minimonsta is a CPU pig and crashes on startup for me as I have 800 MHz and it requires 1.5 GHz or higher. The box set was still the best deal for me, and once I upgrade my computer, I'll be able to use the minimonsta.
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Post by pabothecat »

strawberry fields was done with a mellotron.
The g-force bundle includes M-tron, or you can by it separate. I don't know for sure, but i think they sampled an original mellotron. i haven't heard it, but it is supposed to be very accurate to the original.

maybe someone else could chime in about M-tron.

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Post by mhschmieder »

I finally used M-Tron on some tracking the other night. To be frank, I am not all that impressed, given that everyone who's ever owned a mellotron seems to have contributed their sounds for it. I know what a mellotron should sound like, and to me the M-Tron is just an approximation.

Maybe it has to do with how they implemented the looping, and maybe that is user-programmable -- the user interface is so spartan (as is the manual) that I haven't yet found a way to program this soft synth.

I do remember reading less than stellar reviews, with many people pointing to other mellotron sources as being superior (both in hardware revival and in software).

In fact, I think SONiVOX' mellotron sample set got very good reviews when it came out. I haven't quite figured out the product tiering since the Sonic Implants stuff got folded into the combined company though.

One annoyance I have with M-Tron is that it doesn't remember aliases from one session to the next, so I gave up and reinstalled the samples to my main hard disc. I didn't have room to do that until finally getting around to moving my iTunes library to my external hard disc and pointing that program's default to the external hd.

And frankly, the coffee stain is tacky and I would like to clean it up :-).

Just to clarify, though, the M-Tron is the best mellotron source I have, and is far deeper and broader than any hardware solutions that I had in varius ROMplers. I will continue using it, but will also keep my eye out for alternatives.
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Modulo = MX4

Post by hpmusicman »

In my opinion, Modulo sounds a lot like the MX4. You can do more tricks with the MX4 but that may not be necessary depending on your style of music. MX4 needs more patches also.
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Re: Modulo: How much like MX4? and other ?s

Post by mhschmieder »

Found this old thread by accident, and thought I should add that M-Tron Pro is miles beyond the original M-Tron from G-Force, in terms of audio quality, accuracy (including how they handle loops), and available sounds (it adds Chamberlin samples as well as some choral stuff that is luscious).

I know this is OT, but since it came up earlier and someone might chance upon this thread without seeing other discussions of mellotron VI's, I thought I had better append my earlier comment.
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Re: Modulo: How much like MX4? and other ?s

Post by twistedtom »

Yes Modulo sounds some what like MX4 but MX4 has much more to it. Modulo is my favorite bundled VI's. I find I can get much more interesting sounds from MX4 and have more control over them than in Modulo. Mx4 is like a few synthesizers rolled in to one. It is much deeper so it takes a bit more to learn to program. The starting presets are good for a number of things and there are lots of them, it is not hard to adjust them to be what you want.
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