Learn With Me - Hydrasynth: Ep17 - Macro Controls

With all the other sections out the way, we finally get onto the macro controls and demonstrate creating, naming and utilizing them. I also quickly demo the randomization feature for completeness.
In this series of videos you'll join me as I learn the ins and outs of the ASM Hydrasynth (Explorer). I've had it for about one month and used it to a limited degree alongside reading the manual. I'll demonstrate my end to end learning and exploration process starting with the basics of how to use the synth, through all the features, and ending with some sound design demonstrations.
Episode 00 - First Impressions - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 01 - Overview & Paradigm - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 02 - Oscillator 3 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 03 - Oscillators 1 & 2 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 04 - Mutants Part 1 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 05 - Mutants Part 2 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 06 - Mutants Part 3 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 07 - The Filters - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 08 - Envelopes Part 1 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 09 - Envelopes Part 2 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 10 - LFOs Part 1 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 11 - LFOs Part 2 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 12 - Mod Matrix Part 1 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 13 - Mod Matrix Part 2 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 14 - Effects Part 1 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 15 - Effects Part 2 - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 16 - Voice Modes - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Episode 17 - Macro Controls - • Learn With Me - Hydras...
Playlist - • Learn with Me - Hydras...
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[@wgaule]

You might find that Depth button for the Macros useful!

[@ChalkWalkMusic]

Thanks for watching, and for your comment. Do you mean turning the macro knob on the macro edit page, or pressing the button on the macro page to instantaneously change the value? I've definitely used both, the former is a time saver and the latter is useful for rhythmic modulations executed by hand.

[@GillamtheGreatest]

this is the episode where i wish you had the deluxe instead of the explorer, cause the macros are more complicated on the deluxe

[@ChalkWalkMusic]

Thanks for watching, and for your comment. I hadn't really considered how they would differ in the deluxe. In particular I assumed that the macros would apply to both parts, or you would paginate and get 16. From my reading of the manual each layer gets 8 macros as usual, but when in the multi mode you can specify which of the 8 macro controls affect either or both parts corresponding macro. This sounds like a simple approach, but requires more care. It also seems as though it makes things less useful if you just load two patches into the upper and lower as the corresponding macros may not make sense to occur together. Unless you have an easy way to swap macros around, this seems like it could be frustrating.

[@GillamtheGreatest]

​@@ChalkWalkMusic yeah, it seems like you dont get to see the macro name if they arent both named the same but i dont think they have to adjust the same parameters on both the lower and upper. theres arrows showing if it does lower, upper or both though. need to test if setting a modulation on the upper macro will effect that independently of the lower as well, cause if it works that way on a multipatch you could get the LFOs or envelopes from one patch to modulate another. will test later today

[@ChalkWalkMusic]

My reading is that the underlying macros exist per layer (adjusting up to 8 parameters for that layer) but that you still only have 8 macro controls. This means that each macro control can set the underlying macro level for one or both of the layers; where set to both, the underlying macros are set to matching values. This has the consequence that if you set the macro control to upper or lower, the corresponding macro on the other layer cannot be adjusted. I'm sure you can still do a lot this way, but it definitely means designing multis is much more usable that layering non multis, and that designing multis takes more thought.

[@GillamtheGreatest]

@@ChalkWalkMusic yeah i think i got that part figured out. what i am trying to test today as an example, is if i have macro1 set to both but i have, as an example, LFO 5 from the upper only modulating macro1, will that modulation effect both the lower and upper macro1? cause if thats true you can modulate parameters of the lower with modulation sources of the upper on multi patches, or the other way around. also firmware 2.0 dropped for all models with a lot of new features, so you may want to keep going a bit more with this series than you initially planned

[@ChalkWalkMusic]

@@GillamtheGreatest I see what you mean: does the modulation affect the "macro performance control" or does it affect the "layer level macro value": that's an interesting question; my guess is the latter, but I'd love to be proven wrong! As for 2.0 firmware: I literally just installed it and wrote a quick plan for an extra episode to showcase the new features (which I suppose I'll record tonight). I especially like the new stepped LFO step advance mode, voice mod and modulation source quantization.

[@GertBoers]

I don't have an Explorer, but you don't have to use that clumsy way for setting the amount of the macro. Just turn encoder 3. (On mine it 's encoder 5 of 8.) Also, use SHIFT when you want to scroll to the last or first page.

[@ChalkWalkMusic]

Thanks for the comment, and for watching. I guess you mean selecting the value field, with the cursor then turning the upper encoder? I turn the lower encoder in the mod matrix to do this, but somehow didn't do it so much in this video; perhaps because the button value field doesn't have a shortcut. The more frustrating part of the experience to me is in the mod matrix: until you put the cursor on the source field, the encoder by source has no effect. I really wish you could just turn the encoder and have it select that field automatically. Similarly I sometimes select a source, then press the page down button instead of the button by the encoder and my assignment is removed: I wish there was a "null assignment" that got created as soon as you selected a source. I suspect a lot of these things are less convenient on the explorer vs the other Hydrasynths with the 8 encoders as you have to page through less often. I'd been considering getting the desktop for a while, for that reason but not having a keyboard put me off (one of the big draws to me). As for shift to page through: that's a good idea. Overall I find myself not using shift that often as it has so many different purposes; sometimes jumping to set increments, sometimes moving the value slowly, sometimes moving it quickly. I guess (over time) you'll see me use it more when I build a muscle memory for when it does what. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts and tips. There are probably 5 or 6 more videos to go (there really is a lot to cover with this synth). I hope you find them interesting!

[@GertBoers]

@@ChalkWalkMusic With encoder 3 I mean setting the macro value. Not the individual macro slot value. (That is done with encoder 4.) You jumped out of the macro to change it to 128 and then back in to be able to hear the changes you make with the macro. But you don't have to move out. You can just use encoder 3 for that.

[@ChalkWalkMusic]

@@GertBoers Ah, I see what you mean now. That's helpful: thanks!