Sonic LAB: MakeNoise 0-Coast Review

The desktop mono, modular synthesizer from Maknoise fits in between East and West Coast synthesis methods - we take a look.
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[@robertsyrett1992]

1:10 you can see the "missing" pink cable on the floor. That is priceless!

[@xvoid1045]

wut

[@ProjectMoff]

LOOOOL!

[@garyabbot4659]

😂

[@andykandolf1948]

:D hahaha

[@RedMeansRecording]

I never knew I needed a hairy triangle until now.

[@BeardslapRadio]

Hairy triangles are the source of all pleasure.

[@RedMeansRecording]

Beardslap Radio ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[@alialo9023]

hairy triangles and a big wide knob, they've thought of everything

[@WARDISWARD]

Yes ,drink from the hairy cup and become immortal

[@thetownwaites118]

It compliments the meaty girth.

[@ryanbeckenbaugh]

Dude that sequence at 16:25 melts my heart.

[@fleuwsburrow8868]

That melody/sequnce at 16:25 is one of the most beautiful things ive heard....gave me gooosebumps!!! Would love to hear more of that 🎶

[@stephenjames4937]

Agreed, as good as Mr Batt's reviews are, his music is even better. It's a shame there's so little of it on KZbin.

[@dandykaufman2]

that was great

[@thrownstair]

It reminds me very much of the soundtrack of the original Portal.

[@valdiskrebs566]

Finally, a nice tone/sequence from the NoCoast... 🙄

[@noizekiller]

ae like melo

[@stephenjames4937]

I appreciate the way in which Mr Batt's reviews are always sensible and informative, so I can see/hear the breadth of what these synths can do. I can then decide if I want to spend my money on them.

[@crudeexperiments3582]

"Just a simple line, this is just unaffected" Absolutely amazing sound. Thank you.

[@ModularLanding]

What a great review! Hats off. I had the chance to play one of these at the Make Noise table at MoogFest and it's really fun. They packed a lot into a small package. This may do for West Coast what the Mother 32 did for East Coast... Another gateway drug to modular. Really cool little system and this video starts to show how creative you can really get with this. Great value too!

[@Flohr]

Nice overview. In addition to the ADSR another East Coast nod is the fast VCA. The O-Coast does not have a traditional LPG because it doesn't use vactrols, which impart the desirable tone and smooth decay but at the cost of fast response time. Apparently the O-Coast VCA is quite fast, meaning it responds well to fast modulation. I imagine it AMs like a champ. Good point about using it with other gear at the end. Pairing it with a MicroBrute or Mother-32 would be a very powerful and portable combo.

[@danselmix]

Yes, it´s fast enough for AM. And According with the manual the design of the Dynamics section "utilizes transistors in a topology that has more in common with East Coast instruments and perhaps even Far East Coast instruments" so maybe the Polivoks´design has some credits there

[@Flohr]

+Daniel Anselmi or Korg or Roland maybe?

[@danselmix]

haha ... you're right ... it makes more sense than the Polivoks!

[@turmulus9658]

like a west coast Erebus. so many cool desktop semis out right now. top of my list.

[@Pulse2AM]

That patch at about 16:20 sounds great! Nice review.

[@AngryOscillator]

Up til 11mins I wasn't sold... but that envelope contour log/exp got me. Damn it. This is a pure pluck machine!

[@Rprth]

the most complete review of all, brilliant.

[@timothynewman6062]

i love that one of the first things you did was find a way to do PWM on it.

[@z3r0slugfm]

I've been afraid of the west coast style but this, this might be the gateway drug I've been waiting for

[@inthefade]

Great review. A really interesting machine, no doubt. Any interest in reviewing the new Audiothingies synthesizer? It has such a good sound, feature list, and price. I'm surprised it isn't more popular as an entry-level synthesier! From what I've heard it blows most of the competition at that price point out of the water as a basic workhorse synth.

[@Iterationanddiscord]

Well done nick. I'm assuming this was a challenging demo.

[@joeeoh]

God Nick, you're sequencing is always terrific!

[@mCKENIC]

Thanks Nick - great overview! When this was releases I was trying to think if it was a bit of DPO, Optimix, Wogglebug etc. trying to get my head around how one would use it. You have eloquently demonstrated it is very much its own synth! Many thanks!

[@paulsimvient]

What an extraordinary demonstration

[@mylarmelodies]

12:43 = ace

[@DivKid]

indeed!

[@boonman262]

you're ace! love your videos dude.

[@andykandolf1948]

this review is pure gold from both a comedic and educational pov :'D

[@danselmix]

Thanks for another very good review. Just a couple things: if your intention was to show the sound of the naked oscillator (with or without the overtone/multiply section) you should have the dynamics section completely open, because being LPG-ish it has a VCA + VCF behavior. So at the half setting you´re damping the high frequency content and got a darker sound. at 11:30 you open it up, raising the volume but also letting the sound pass through the "filter" part of the Dynamics section without affecting it. The other is just a detail: the Contour´s decay goes from linear (full counter-clockwise) to exponential, but can´t be set to a logarithmic response (like the Slope section)

[@EdSoloUK]

Surely the halfway point would be linear ?

[@danselmix]

according with the manual it goes from linear to exponential, so logarithmic is not included in this section...you have to use the SLOPE one to achieve this behaviour

[@kristopps3]

I'm actually impressed, quite a nice little thing

[@vr4ever645]

You Sir, are the master of youtube synthesizing videos! Hats off! 🖖

[@TheSlowGrowth]

Another great review. Nick, you really nail it again and again! Thanks for the scope shots!

[@wolflegjon]

Very interesting, its like the inverse version of the Kilpatrick Audio Phenol which has east coast oscillators and filters with west coast envelopes.

[@Genshi]

Exactly! (which is why I have both.)

[@wolflegjon]

I have a bunch of Make noise modules but this is very tempting for even more portability. Throw an OP-1 in with that and you can cover an amazing amount of ground in just one small bag. Just seen your krell video with the 0-coast which is great!

[@Genshi]

Thank you, I appreciate that!

[@K0r0n1s]

I've never heard of this east and west coast approaches to synthesis. Well, I never stop learning^^

[@BeardslapRadio]

Very basically - East coast = Moog/boring traditionalists, West coast = Buchla/useless hippies.

[@Genshi]

Check out the documentary "I Dream of Wires" which explains in depth the hows and whys of the two different coast philosophies.

[@K0r0n1s]

Thanks for the info^^

[@fuzzjohn]

I think at this point the beatstep pro needs a round of applause for MVP

[@cristianodepetrillo8333]

12:01 unpatching like a pro

[@andykandolf1948]

hahahaha

[@MattGreerMusic]

Sounds very nice. I think for about $1500 somebody could have one of these and a couple of Mother 32's and have a modular system that would/could rival many systems costing much more.

[@fUP420babe]

add a few mutable intruments crazy things and you would be unstopable!

[@ModularLanding]

Was thinking the same thing!

[@benjarrell1122]

It does sound nice, I just think the font and layout on all of these Make Noise modules are so hideous I don't think I could bring myself to pay money for one.

[@chaselearkendall]

+Daniel Isaac Miller that's interesting you guys didn't like the make noise interface style/look at first. Mutable instruments and others are definitely beautiful in their simplicity and minimalist art styles, very attractive. But I always though make noises' style reflected in their name, sound, and artistic layout. Always had a rough mad scientist / angsty teenager look, and sound. And their name compliments the style for the layouts (it's a very "noisy" design, looks super busy), AND their sound! (Always though make noise made some great instruments that were sort of more exciting and noisy :) always thought their look was a nice contrast from the minimalist look. Both are very nice though.

[@hallorolf5070]

chaselearkendall We share the same thoughts bro!

[@manne3d]

Its a good thing we have the lowpass gate...You don't want that hairy triangle to get to out of control :) :)

[@BuildingCharacter]

Been really looking forward to this review. Been looking at the 0-Coast as a gateway to modular maybe.

[@spfiros]

great tune Nick!!! i'ld love to listen it in a complete track!

[@balares]

*SOLD*

[@clrndalvare]

Even for someone that dislikes modular synths like me, this is a lovely machine!

[@DigitalStains]

Damn you Nick! You just sold me another piece of hardware which I'm gonna enjoy ;)

[@ikeaboy_damo]

That patch halfway through is stunning.

[@dbpooper7512]

I see those wobbly knobs! I've loved all the Make Noise stuff I've ever owned, but man those knobs sure are unappealing.

[@andyq9669]

my thoughts too. wobbly knobs are scary, you aways feel like your going to snap something off the circuit board

[@nandoblondemobydick5438]

yes at this price range, difficult to expect more due the lot of features it has, anyway i own a Phenol which use apparently wobby knobs and the results are pretty solid, the important at end are the pots

[@brokenscart7989]

Oh my, that patch is beautiful.

[@gladtobeangry]

Okay, that was a little more useful than watching videos by Buchla representatives describing sliders as brushes and sounds as colors. At least now I have some idea about what "West-Coast" synthesis is about in actual terms that make some sort of sense. But still it seems like a very backwards way of doing things, making things needlessly complex with no really good reason. You could have complex oscillators and real control over the contour and modulation, instead of this cumbersome way of juggling volume and timbre, modulation waveshape and -rate, etc.. I did hear some nice sounds, which I suspect is mostly thanks to the hard work and raw talent of mr. Nick Batt (I'm sure he could make even a Yamaha PSR keyboard sound lovely). But I'd rather have just those complex oscillators as a sort of wavetable generator, and none of the other Buchla weirdness, thank you. I know, it can be done using other modular stuff with this box, but really that would be wasting a lot of money for a lot of useless functionality just to get at that oscillator. I bet there are cheaper ways of achieving the same thing.

[@radiokoala]

0-Coast can possibly be even more east coast with pwm & saw waveforms, if you have missed them. For pwm: patch square to slope trigger in, adjust width with rise, take pw out from eoc. For sawtooth: more or less the same, only use the regular slope output. In a likely manner you could optionally patch (a square) lfo in there, to get your bonus saw/ramp lfo waves. Pulse width and triangle skew could also be subject to modulation, if you patch into 'time', I expect. Go have a happy time!

[@sonicstate]

Hi I thnk I went over that in the EOC output of the Slope section, not so easy to scale the pitch of those waves over more than about an octave I found though

[@radiokoala]

Good to know! I didn't think about it. Shall still work for LFO's though.

[@MarctheDarc]

Very good review, and very interesting piece of kit. Generally quite interested in semi-modular stuff, since it doesn't come with the same considerable pricetag on entry, or quite the same pitfalls, as full modular. But in a sense has the same level of expandability. And out of that market segment, this does seem to have the larger scope of possible sounds as a selfcontained unit. Though demanding some time to wrap your head around it, for those not in the know already. Looking at their list of dealers, here's another place where denmark is a 3rd world country, sigh...

[@manne3d]

Great review as always...thanks for showing the full range of the osc. would have been nice if it had gone up and down more little more...but still as you say it can be reached via ext CV.

[@geecen]

To me it's def nicer than the mother 32, unless you really have no way to sequence externally. This with a microbrute will be super handy combo.

[@SendyTheEndless]

Wavefolding for all!

[@xXspiellionXx]

I dont know why, but the voice of this guy freaks me out. Its a really nice and smooth voice, but there is something I cant explain. I really like the voice, its so unique. Really nice video btw!

[@iNuchalHead]

He's British.

[@Bishka100]

7:45 Hairy Triangle???... Said with such innocence :-)

[@thetownwaites118]

Meaty girth and a hairy triangle? Nick sounds sexually frustrated on this one. He forgot to mention the wobbly knobs though. lol

[@bauhnguefyische667]

These are hypnotising. You'll patch it up and get lost in a sonic wonderland ... of course I have one.

[@NYslide62]

I was told the O-Coast did not interface well with the Beatstep Pro by a salesman. I see that is not true. How are the O-Coast and BPro connected? Are they connected by MIDI and /or CV,s? Sorry for the newbie question, I’m trying to understand and learn. Was the BPro used to create that beautiful melodic sequence? Thanks!

[@fantasyproduct1042]

Hi. You can connect with midi or CV

[@mixolydian2010]

Great review and amazing synth

[@nandoblondemobydick5438]

to me it is an impressive synth at a good price, but be sure to make it work and use it for musical purpose like to be able to create controled emotions with it will takes a lot of time, so to thinking about adding lots of modules until you really master this little beast like i´ve saw in comment below, from some very respected people here who think on adding things even before to they puts they hands on it. this unit alone is capable of a lots of creatives things. judging why i see/listen at this excelent demo and other demos from some advanced in synthesis guys that are in you tube IMHO

[@whiterottenrabbit]

When I first heard of this, I thought it's "0 cost". Too bad it's not that cheap...

[@skovbowden8113]

very animoog kinda sounds it produces. Like this extremely!!!! +1, Nick !!! (@8:02)

[@Automageddon]

17:26 Lovely patch!

[@Cires789]

Good review Nick. I want one!

[@NedRush]

Think I'm gonna pick one up.

[@PaulBoos]

My next semi-modular to contemplate with my others... This will be great with Ants! and the Microvolt 3900.

[@psysword]

stunning sound!

[@NOLNV1]

Ideally I'd want a full scope look at the waves with the Gate as open as possible. I haven't heard many clear bright sounds out of this machine.

[@laurencevanhelsuwe3052]

Hey Nick.. when do we get the *best* online review on the MatrixBrute ? ;-)

[@sonicstate]

When it becomes available, still waiting,

[@alialo9023]

Forget the matrix brute, where's the System 55 review?? No excuse there, it's been out ages!!

[@ben-rosfeld]

True or screw it and just review the emms

[@boheem3451]

What is the 'modular mindset'? Is it having a 5mm knob with a 5 octave range and no numerical output? Feel my knob width?

[@ogasi1798]

😂😂👌🏻

[@sonicstate]

it means, thinking more about routing and patching rather than the generally fixed architecture of a regular hardware synth which may just have only modulation slots

[@PaulBoos]

I was already sold on picking up a 0-Coast, but now I may need to grab that BeatStep pro...

[@amazeus1980]

Exceptionally nice review of an exceptionally nice synth! 2 dislikes ...whaaat? ;)

[@reazallykhan8614]

Niceness

[@rlh1984]

I haven't seen anything indicating if this is mountable. I'm thinking it's not, but why wouldn't it be? The Mother 32 is a desktop synth, but it's also mountable.

[@Krung0401]

It's mountable. Take it out of the metal case.

[@mysticsailor9]

It can come out of the case for sure.. but its length is not an integer of hp..so sliding nuts are needed

[@otto609]

Wish you would of takin' sometime to go over the "pages" as I've been a bit confused when trying to figure these out. Very similar to the Rene pages.

[@sonicstate]

I honestly couldnt get the hand of them, I think that MN are releasing some in depth tuts on how they work soon.

[@PieAreSquared]

How would anyone who's tried this and the dreadbox erebus say they compare to each other? It seems to me that the 0-coast is capable of much more interesting stuff but the I just love the sound of the Erebus (sadly getting both isn't an option at the moment)

[@TheHoinoel]

Great review man :)

[@DJ_Cthulhu]

I just ordered one 😎

[@gamma_noize]

Hmm... I can't really see, where much of the east coast resemblance is. Tri / Square osc: typically west coast Wavefolder and waveshaper: typically west coast Slope / Function generator: west coast ASR envelope: east and west coast Dynamics / LP Gate: west coast The 0-coast is practically a pure west coast synth a'la Buchla. So i guess, the name doesn't refer to east or west coast synthesis. But... great synth nonetheless. :)

[@victor-emmanuel7485]

How is the build quality? Looks like there is a bit of play on the knobs. I don’t have any experience with these devices so far, but really intrigued by this one

[@nelio123]

Thank you very much, thats a very helpful review!

[@anthonydiiorio]

Nice review

[@iNuchalHead]

Can anyone recommend a software oscilloscope?

[@els1f]

The s(M)exoscope is pretty good (and free is a great price point).

[@aljowen]

How easy did you find the UI of the device to use? Since it certainly has a certain aesthetic to it :p Sonically its incredibly interesting though.

[@sonicstate]

Not really a problem, it was more that the individual sections are unfamiliar and the way they can interact is quite unique for someone more used to East coast

[@BURG]

The power plug is that the on the left, eg sticking out on the side ? Seems a bit odd placement.. also, it looks a bit protruded from the chassis. Was it wobbly, or was the plug just a bit longer spec, eg you could not insert it all the way in... id hate to see that one getting detached during the heat of the jam moment. Great demo as always, thanks !

[@MusicEasel]

knobs are flimsy - will they last long? Are they mounted to front panel or directly to PCB?

[@philoupaulo]

All the buttons are very wobbly, not screwed on the front plate ... It's not the Vermona build quality !

[@stevencohen5116]

Nice job!

[@valdiskrebs566]

Good review... but No GAS for NoCoast for me.

[@synthanatomy]

great review :)

[@flecthermunson8397]

those pot shafts/knobs look a little on the loose side to me from watching this - will their longevity be questionable?

[@Philipplus]

Hummm... interesting stuff. Thanks for another great review! Is Sonicstate planning to do a review/presentation of the new unnamed Behringer synth? I'm already gagging for it. Cheers

[@alexanderprofane]

Wonderful

[@kentxx12]

Hi Nick...Where is your own (private) review of the Modulus 002 ?

[@waldemar.golebski]

I feel so lack of knowledge listening to Nick... Great review as usual.

[@shane_l8085]

Can this say send a synced lfo out to a CV in parameter on another piece of semi modular gear? And an audio rate lfo at that?

[@SjN7HETIK]

nice but what if i want to simply close the cut off with some resonance? WHERE IS THE KNOBS???

[@sonicstate]

its not a traditional subtractive synthesis instrument. thats kind of the point.

[@rfawesome]

There is no VCF. The equivalent is the wavefolder, which DOES have a knob. As you turn it up, it increases the harmonics of the wave. As you turn it down, it decreases the harmonics. Similar to a traditional low pass filter, but not the same.

[@DanHaglund]

Great review as always - but I missed any comments on build quality... Elsewhere ppl are saying this is high, but in this video all the knobs seem to have a lot of 'give' when nick moves them around... any comments from those who own one of these? Thanks

[@r3ijmsszf3bsrew7tw7o]

Dan Haglund it's very sturdy

[@myblueextremes1526]

Dan Haglund I've had mine a year now and it's rock solid. I don't even think about the build quality. It just works.

[@ArctaProductions]

Is there a cv/gate out for the midi input as well? (Could I use this as midi to cv)

[@Bishka100]

I don't think Mike knows what a hairy triangle is......He should ask his wife :-)

[@danielgrace7887]

What's the official name of those splitter cables, like the blue one?

[@truekasia12]

Am not being sarcastic : nick is such a Geezer!

[@GhostKarate]

Can anyone tell me where I can get a VST filter that has that old sound/feel like at 17:21?

[@valdesyur]

Comes with 6 patch cables actually

[@distorson]

Does some know if the 0-coast fits into a euro rack?

[@kennymester]

I thought the MIDI dongle follows the Korg standard to work with the SQ-1?

[@Genshi]

You can use the SQ-1 with the 0-Coast via CV, no need for MIDI. I've got a few examples of this on my channel...

[@radiokoala]

I have this revolutionary idea that with devices like these (which use midi on minijacks) you could connect them straight with 3.5mm stereo cables and forget about adapters. Can be real handy!

[@andyq9669]

+radiokoala I was going to ask that question, since Nick said that it's the same connection standard as arturia uses, can't you just use a straight 3.5 mm jack cables without the dongle? Has this been tried with the beatstep?

[@tehnik333]

Nice review but to say it's the only game in town? What about Kilpatrick Phenol that actually is using the banana plugs?

[@thisisprisma]

he believes it is a bit more west coast, that's why says so...

[@sonicstate]

+Marek M thanks for the heads up, I don't know the Phenol personally.

[@churlishbeardo]

Phenol's always struck me as pretty "East Coast," really. To whatever extent those terms hold weight these days.

[@tehnik333]

+sonicstate Nick you really should not miss out on Phenol. Like Makenoise also Phenol is made by the people who love synths more then make money. I'm not sure about UK but Scneidersladen in Germany has a new shipment coming in.

[@SPAZZOID100]

Where i come from, East Coast & West Coast means “NYC/CA”.....but according to THIS definition, i will be avoiding West Coast like the plague.