@SouthShoreSonics that's a cool tip! 🎶

@@SoundAuthor yeah, on the face of it, Pigments is kind of a simple one-layer, two-osc synth, but it does a LOT of interesting stuff now. I, too, think the overall sound engine is better now. Also, I like whatever little UX/UI changes they’ve made. One thing that’s interesting is that it was clear to me that Korg modwave native (and perhaps even the original modwave hardware) took certain design and functionality cues from Pigments, and vice-versa, Arturia is taking cues from Korg. Like, I think the Play mode view is actually a really nice addition to Pigments. I def will be doing more Pigments-related videos in future as I think it’s really neat now!

@ However, I have noticed that some of my custom wavetables sound a bit smoother in Vital and Hive than they do in Pigments. I’m guessing their interpolation needs improvement.

I'm gonna have to take a careful listen to that. I haven't used Pigments enough yet to really know its wavetable sound. (Also, I still need to RTFM.)

@@ShaighJosephson thanks for watching. I’m not sure what sort of phones or monitors you’re listening on, but this synth is extraordinarily great-sounding. 🤷‍♂️ And the analog emulation is extremely convincing. I’m curious as to what synths you consider having “good sound quality”?

Thanks for watching! When, in my next video, I say, “I probably think about David Lynch several times per month,” well, here’s an example.

@GeorgeLocke, thanks for watching and that's a great pro tip! (I wasn't trying to do a deep tutorial and was actually a little nervous about showing this sort of thing at all. Though some have found this useful. Someday I may do a "Python for producers/synth nerds" video. It's replaced so many other tools for me and eliminated a ton of audio/file drudgery... And it's a lot simpler than stuff like writing SoundForge scripts and whatnot!)

@@itsemurha0 what’s your problem, little girl? Do I not entertain you, child? GFY.

@stephenbertino8373, thanks for watching, and yeah, the Massey book is another classic for sure! You make a really interesting point about how one can be very knowledgeable about some areas of synthesis, but completely in the dark about others! WRT to oscillator sync, in my overview of the Korg multi/poly, I glossed right over sync, saying something like, "Oh, it's also got oscillator sync. You know how sync works." But I guess we really can't make assumptions like that. (Ironically, I'm not the biggest fan of the hard sync effect, but I've created a boatload of wavetables that essentially have a like sync-like sound -- the "Basic Mix" wavetables -- and I do find them useful and interesting at times.)

@@kcrosley I just looked through Samuel Pellman's 440-page electronic music textbook which I was made to buy for a class in the late '90s. I can't find any mention of osc sync, even pertaining to its original purpose of simply keeping two drifty old analog oscillators in unison. I wonder if patent issues kept Yamaha from making "operator sync" part of their FM implementation. It's really a kind of FM. It's easy for me to say it, but I think at least the Modx+ ought to have "operator sync" by now...

I’m not familiar with the Pellman book, but there’s no particular patent on oscillator sync in general. It’s just a thing that can be done. Like things like Ring modulation, cross modulation, or wavetable positioning modulation, it’s just a feature of a given synthesizer architecture. Synths don’t always have it. Older digital architectures (like the one I’m talking about here) are less likely to implement it. This is not to say that certain oscillator sync implementations in the digital realm are not patentable - and Korg claims to have some (see friend-of-the-channel Ian Dixon’s most recent interview with Korg R&D’s Dan Phillips). I’m inclined to believe this as the Korg multi/poly does an absolutely ripping impression of the Prophet 5 sync patch (the Let’s Go sound). Unless you were playing back samples of osc sync style patches from the Fantom, you wouldn’t be able to get osc sync style sounds out of the Fantom. It’s essentially a ROMpler. (There’s nothing wrong with ROMplers being ROMplers, it’s just that sync is just an effect that happens at the single-cycle waveform level. The cycling of one oscillator restarts the phase of some other oscillator. This isn’t a thing that sample playback units or samplers are designed to do and so we don’t find this feature.)

@@kcrosley Yes. The Dan Phillips interview was fascinating. I strongly believe he was hinting at Korg applying osc-sync principles to VCA envelope emulation at that point where Dan had his two arms up.

@@jonparkinson8008 thanks for watching and I’m glad you found this helpful!

@@AntonMochalin glad I could brighten someone’s day! And these sorts of comments brighten mine.

@kcrosley videos like this one is my favorite type of synth KZbin content, all those little tricks and theoretical musings about sound design. Always something to think about and maybe try or just try something somewhat related, food for ideas. BTW I would be very interested if you made this kind of talky show about Zebralette 2 or 3, they have such a simple but deep architecture, so many options to explore.

Agreed and I had TOTALLY forgotten about that! It’s amazing how much one can do with such simple architectures. We are spoiled for options with today’s synths and these edge case/unique capabilities go roundly undiscovered these days. 🤔🤷‍♂️

@@BatteryCoverMissing thanks for watching and commenting! Of course, changes in pitch and volume are perceived as/“are” logarithmic. Thus, modulated by an envelope (or any other modulator) with linear slopes, they will respond in a logarithmic manner. This does not change the fact the modulator itself is composed of linear segments. What we mean by the shape of an envelope segment is the rate of change/shape of that segment - not the perceived effect of the modulation, you see? As for your second comment, I’m sure you’re correct. (And I feel like somewhere long ago I read… something… to that effect.) Of course, this wasn’t a lecture about CZ-101 internals, but an appreciation for a fine piece of technical writing on synthesis. I’m glad that you don’t disagree with my understanding of PD synthesis as found in waveforms 1-5 as a sort of “vector waveshaping”. (Which, as a reminder, should always be referred to as “Time Distortion Synthesis(TM)” from here on out.) 😉 Your observation about the reso waves is a good one. If this were Espen Kraft’s channel, our next video would be “WHISTLEBLOWER REVEALS CASIO PHASE DISTORTION IS A LIE!!!” But that’s not what i do here. I just talk about things I feel moved to talk about with synth pals like you.

@cooksoni.a thanks for watching and thanks for chiming in! I’ll be looking forward to your video!

Hey @scott21113, thanks watching and for the kind comment! Nice suggestions about other helpful manuals, too... Cheers!

@@itinerantghost I’m glad you found that helpful! Thanks for watching!

@SoundAuthor, yeah, that's a really cool idea! I had done some wavetables using phase distortion that I wasn't really happy with, so never released them, but I'm now thinking about doing a set based on algorithmically generating multipoint "time vectors" that fade back to a linear shaping ramp, ala Casio's method.

Hey @HarmonicSonics, thanks for watching! As I mentioned in another comment, I'll probably be experimenting with wavetables made with techniques similar to what Casio used, and that might reveal some insights into how different source waveforms (and their phases) affect the resulting waveforms. If you haven't, take a look at the user manual for Korg multi/poly and the descriptions of some of the waveshaper curves -- there are certain ones that are designed to do very specific harmonic operations on the sine wave, which I think is a really interesting idea!

And first synth for so many others, @cathalhex7948! Casio apparently sold more than 65,000 of just the CZ-101...

@@awnashed I wouldnt go so far as to say “legend”… actually, yeah, I totes agree. Thanks for listening and watching! 😉

Hey there, @mass-1128, thanks for watching! So, I would say most cons on this instrument would come down to the form factor, which is divisive. I personally like the small, "laptop-able" format of the multi/poly keyboard (and also the very similar 3-octave wavestate and modwave keyboards). It's a shame that the keyboard doesn't have aftertouch. Also, for a professional instrument, connectivity is pretty sparse -- a single stereo out, headphone out, full size MIDI in/out, damper pedal, and USB (for USB midi and connectivity to the editor librarian). (Compare to something like a Sequential Pro 2 or Pro 3, which has a lot more connectivity,... but is like 3 times the price of m/p.) This is what leads some people to say, "well this is just a VST in a box," right? But that ignores all of the hands-on control you get from the front panel. (And this is overall a silly argument. Of course, it's all just software at this point with today's embedded computing power. We don't need custom ASICs, specialized DSP, etc. anymore to do awesome sounding synthesizer stuff in the digital domain. This is a good thing.) At present (Jan 2025), this is the only form factor for multi/poly. The other Korg R&D synths (wavestate and modwave, which have obviously been out for longer) are also available in a module form factor, as VSTs (which, BTW, can be bought at a discount if you own the hardware), and in the case of wavestate, available in a larger "SE" keyboard form factor. Will multi/poly also be offered in those form factors? It seems likely, but we don't know when. As I point out in the review, the keybed on m/p is superior to the original wavestate and modwave keyboards (both of which I own). Also the keys themselves are waterfalled (they have rounded edges), which I didn't point out, but makes things like organ falls fun to play. It's hard to find any fault in the sound of this instrument, and complaining about the architecture is just being greedy. However, with the oscillators being so complex and modulatable, I do sometimes find myself wanting perhaps just one more auxiliary envelope and/or LFO. (Unlike something like Phase Plant, you can't just modularly make yourself an arbitrary number of new modulation thingies. But there are plenty for all but the most insane purposes, really.) And one more not really a con, but worth noting: The modulation sequencer (which I didn't highlight in this video at all) is extremely powerful and can be used in a lot of creative ways, but it is complex and not necessarily "fun" to program. It definitely benefits from the editor/librarian software! But of course, there's an insane amount of complex synthesis stuff that you can do without even touching that. One thing that's a little odd is that the arpeggiator operates at the Performance level, not at the Program/Layer level, unlike in wavestate and modwave. Also, vis-a-vis the other two Korg R&D synths, this one doesn't have sample playback (which one might have thought was sort of a default feature of this architecture). Fans of these synths (like me) kind of want a Korg R&D super-synth that lets you mix wavesequencing, wavetables, VA oscillators, waveshaping, and sample playback, but now again we are just being greedy! 😉 Make sure to check out my follow on videos where I focus on the wavetable and waveshaper oscillators in more detail! (I made a new playlist with all of my m/p stuff in it here: kzbin.info/aero/PLrpwUaHrI9tOTuERRO9M5gABOcQLcSqev&si=9p_R0gIVVfka6WvE)

Just kind of a follow-up to my previous comments on cons of the multi/poly-most of which related to form factor: Korg announced yesterday that there's a Korg multi/poly module on the way, and also announced the Korg multi/poly native plugin coming soon! So, just like with the other Korg R&D synths, there's everything except a large keyboard version. So, that's now off-the-table as a limitation. (BTW, if one does have a hardware version, the VST/native version is available at a discount and I love having both the hardware and software versions of these synths.)

@@johnseniuk2875 hey there! Well, what are you trying? (And are you referring to the free version of KRC Mathwaves,the full collection or both?) The free collection is available as a single Korg multi poly bundle file (it’s at the very bottom of the free product page). Just download that, fire up multi/poly editor librarian, select Library view, and select import from the menu. The bundle will be imported and transfer to your multi/poly. In the full collection there is a growing collection of .korgwavetable (individual wavetable files) as well as mpbundle files that can be imported in a similar way. (I will eventually get around to converting everything, but it’s a bit of a slow process.) For anything that hasn’t been converted yet, you could import any of the Serum/Vital .wav versions of my wavetables using the editor librarian and selecting “Important wav as wavetable” to select the desired file(s)! Hope this helps!

@kcrosley thanks I'll try that!

That's working! I'll be back.thanks very much.

@johnseniuk2875 I'm glad we got it sorted! Happy wavetabling and stuff! :)

@@malcolmgregoire1019 thanks for watching! If you haven’t had exposure to the other Korg R&D synths, note that Korg modwave is similar architecturally and a lot of modwave tips and tricks can be applied to multi/poly (e.g., Ian Dixon’s modwave videos and many of my own videos in my KRC Mathwaves playlist). Congrats on getting a multi/poly! 🎉

Hey @VitaEx. Most of the patches shown in this video are using the waveshaper, of course, but in most of the Classic (the VA modeled waveforms) there are either one or two controls for morphing the waveforms. See pages 19 and 20 of the manual. The Saw and Shark Fin waveforms are the only two classic waveforms that do not have waveblend and/or PW/morph controls, but all of the other classic waveform types respond in some way to either "Control 1" and/or "PW/Morph".

@@kcrosleylet me clarify in just trying to understand how wave shaped works I see you load up each wave shape and as you hit a key the wave form on your screen modulates slightly. It doesn’t look like all your patch’s have lfo it isn’t the filter so I figured if I loaded up a wave shape it would do that and it isn’t are they modulating a specific parameter like pw or velocity or something

So far the closest I can get is changing the turning on lfo on pw morph and adding a velocity to the with the lfo as source Is that what you’re doing ?

With the waveshaper osc there are multiple dimensions of modulation: Gain, offset, pulse width, and the LPF-prefilter. Take your pick. I'm modulating all of those things. I don't understand your confusion, TBH.

@@kcrosleysorry I appreciate the reply I’m not very knowledgeable yet. Around 21:00 for example You appear to have your filters off Yet each key press shows the waveform change shape and length overtime I’m just assuming that’s modulation but haven’t come close to replicating the effect I’ll keep fiddling I haven’t tried setting up multiple modulations yet I’ll give that a shot thanks

@@cathalhex7948 yeah, late hypercapitalism is like that. She’s not being denied care of course, but everything has a price tag here.

@@Pictus_Invictus thanks, friend! And thanks for watching! Be well.

@@SteveMayzak thanks for your kind words! “No talking” version of that with disturbing meat-plant imagery is here: Transmission 03: Korg multi/poly Waveshaper Oscillator Demo Track kzbin.info/www/bejne/noipnoKqqqZ_oa8

@@HarmonicSonics. yeah, so I didn’t go into the waveshaper *effect* here, which is in all of the Korg R&D synths, but has a strange, small set of rather extreme shaping curves. Running a waveshaper on polyphonic material (or even complex mono material like sample-based ROMpler sources) will mostly sound like distortion. At the single-cycle waveform level, however, it’s simply timbral change/waveform design. It’s a somewhat wild idea to apply it to “program material” and I’ve not found much use for it as a layer-level effect (though it could be used as, for example, an alternative to guitar amp distortions or whatnot… as I like to say, “a little of that can go a long way.”)

Also: I know that folks want my take on the Ocean Swift wavetable designer software. But I just haven’t gotten round to that as yet. There’s a dearth of easy-to-use wavetable creation software, and I should really check that out. (Of course I’m a bit biased as I create my own wavetables using Python+math.) However I will get there!

​Yeah i like how the multi poly waveshaper oscs sound ​@@kcrosley . I'm running out of room on modwave for more wavetables, and I use native to swap hardware patches so a multi poly makes sense for me to get not only because of the waveshaper osc, but also because of the xmod routing and the layer rotate, the audio rate filter mod, and the polyphony. For some reason though the timbral shifts/ wave folding of the multi poly waveshaper fascinate me. I can kind of get some of that from my opsix but yeah I've actually is funny I've not really used wave folder a lot on that synth. I would imagine it's buzzier though. I'm really about making pads and lead sounds so I've a feeling the multi poly won't let me down there

Yeah, the native versions of modwave and wavestate add a lot of value to the hardware versions! I actually like using those as patching environments over the editor/librarian software. But then of course you can easily transfer your creations to the hardware. (And depending on the number of frames in your wavetables, you can have around 256,000 before modwave native says “no more, please!” Of course, I wish the number was higher! 😜

@@jaypaulauskas7108 it’s a very fine synth with modern features plus vintage mojo. Thanks for watching! Watch the other videos in my KRC Mathwaves playlist for lots of transferable synth programming tips! Happy new synth year!

@AntonMochalin, thanks for watching and suffering through that! OMG, your reference to FSOL Lifeforms is definitely a hidden influence that I didn't realize until your comment. There is nothing new under the sun, as the man said. 🤷‍♂️A Happy New Year to you, friend!

@@0e0 thanks for watching! Be sure to like and subscribe for more talky synthesizer content! Peep the description for links to my follow up video about using m/p’s wavetable oscillator. Another multi poly video coming soon with a deep dive on the waveshaper oscillator, as well!

@@PatricCatani, thanks for watching and I hope you got the full collection while it’s still on sale! (That’s the real lifetime supply!)

@@kcrosley I did thanks for taking this crazy mission on you!!! All the best for 2025!!

I'm sure you're going to really enjoy it, @SouthShoreSonics! multi/poly just has a lot of mojo to it (and I've owned a *lot* of analog synths at this point).

Happy New Year, @APKManagement-rg4px! I hope it's a great one for you and yours and thanks for watching, as always!

@@srm-unwrapper5533 I do understand what you’re saying (I presume vis-a-vis Vutu), but things like sample mapping, wavetable import, etc., are all part of the sound design process. Not everyone is into that, and some are more preset-driven. As in software development, we stand on the backs of giants. Keep in mind that resynthesis was, heretofore, a completely offline process with results many minutes or hours or days delayed from our original creative spark. You live in a time of wonders, child.

@@watchaddicts1213 i think the 3rd Wave sounds really nice (as does the Behringer PPG clone), but honestly Korg multi/poly is completely scratching my digital wavetables-plus-analog-sounding-filters itch for now (and then some). The problem with these recreations is they’re just not sufficiently modern. Gimme 6 Gigs of user wavetable storage like in m/p and then you’re talking.

@ Hey, THANKS for the Mathwaves lead! I’ve got VITAL (love it) and that Orher Thing I rarely use….Serim. Hey, MYTH is still on for HALF PRICE. Are you using it at all. I love the way it sounds. I know you think the remix sucks-surely Peter can improve that part… Modwave is on for $99 still, I KNOW I’m gonna end up picking up a MINTY SUMMIT FOR $1600, Amazing as 3rd Wave will continue to become, I love the Sound of Summit. I have days where I think: JUST SHUT UP AND enjoy your VST instrumentsz, 3rd Wave Desktop at $3500..:.a bit freaking nuts. I have my Minilogue XD still, too-LOVE IT. with its user OSC thing. I probably should buy Wavestate AND Modwave NATIVES now and forget about MYTH, but I can’t forget it. WALDORF SIUCKS for not putting Microwave on at 50% off. I found ONE analog (VA patch) in Microwave that is so freaking good that I almost paid full list just for that one preset…. I bet mathwave for $12 is a STEAL, ya Think? Thanks again! Mark

@ hey. Don’t mean to pester, but wanted to be sure you noticed that MYTH 1.5 dropped and the Resynthesis Engine got an overhaul and new modes….and maybe you will report that it doesn’t SUCK as much no. Mark

@@watchaddicts1213 while the 1.5 update is a lot better with resynthesis, fidelity-wise, I don’t find this synth to be super-fun to program and so I’m unlikely to do an extensive sound set. But do check out my sequel video, which has lots of ideas that could be easily transferred to the free “Zyklop” version!

@ zyclop WILL DO!

Hey there, @tombruckner2556, thanks for your support! I realize it's not the same thing as a well-written guide, but my KRC Mathwaves playlist (kzbin.info/aero/PLrpwUaHrI9tOHSLCcPc_pDjelYK1fYcoQ) covers each category of waveforms/wavetables in sort of chronological order of development. As a cool starting place, consider just downloading the latest collection "Synth Sort and ZCross". My most recent video explains what these are and gives some tips on how to use them! See kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJ-Wh2aDhdCFfMk

Thanks for watching. But, no, it really doesn't. It doesn't even sound like its closest sibling's VST (modwave native). I'm curious about what VST's you think multi/poly sounds closest to?

@@kcrosley How about microKORG NATIVE. A vst in a box. DIGITAL.

Thanks for watching!

@@SouthShoreSonics thanks, Mark! I hope yours arrives soon! It’s become my favorite of the Korg “Holy Trinity.” BTW, that whole new Wavetable set should fit in either of your modwaves, so go for it!

I agree! The waveshaping oscillator in multi/poly is incredibly interesting and sounds great (and as I mention, does in fact benefit sometimes from extreme over sample mode)! Thanks for watching!

Dlaczego większość ludzi prezentujących instrumenty więcej gada niż gra?

@Sanctearchangelemikele asked: "Why do most people presenting instruments talk more than they play?" I can't speak for anyone else, but, well I specifically make what I call "long talky synthesizer content". It's my brand. And I'm typically trying to communicate some specific tips and tricks, along with marketing my own products, and sharing my expertise and opinions. I don't see the point in playing, say, a bunch of my own patches without commentary about what I'm thinking about and what I'm doing. And I'm not the sort of person who would sit there an play through a synth's factory patches without talking. Why should *I* do that? That's what a manufacturer should do. Anyway, thanks for watching. Po polsku: Nie mogę mówić za innych, ale ja osobiście tworzę coś, co nazywam „długimi, gadatliwymi treściami o syntezatorach”. To mój styl. Zazwyczaj staram się przekazać konkretne wskazówki i triki, jednocześnie promując własne produkty oraz dzieląc się swoją wiedzą i opiniami. Nie widzę sensu w odgrywaniu, powiedzmy, wielu moich własnych brzmień bez komentarza na temat tego, o czym myślę i co robię. Nie jestem też typem osoby, która po prostu odtworzyłaby wszystkie fabryczne brzmienia syntezatora bez słowa. Dlaczego ja miałbym to robić? To coś, co powinien zrobić producent. Tak czy inaczej, dzięki za obejrzenie.

@@kcrosley Keith - please keep talking. I learn a lot. Sometimes I like to watch things that are a little abstract for me - and I can percolate that information for a few days - and then do something with it.

@David3Wise, I’m glad you learn something from my silly videos! Thanks for watching! I’ll definitely keep talking, but I do know that some folks want more pure sound/music content. I just rarely get around to making such things. (Also, I’m a crappy player and nobody wants to listen to a straight hour of me trying to remember how “Chopsticks” goes.)

You're welcome. Now, clean up that room of yours!

Mom ...any chance you have a suggestion for converting your wavs into Blofeld format sysex? And can I have a sandwich...

I thought I'd mention a few other synths that your wavetables work well in. They work fine in Pigments, and in Weevil's wavetable oscillator for Voltage Modular. They also work in Falcon, but it's necessary to append "_2048" to each wavetable's filename.

@Orichbike, thanks for mentioning those. I often forget to mention Pigments when I’m rattling off supported platforms!