Why the Synthstrom Deluge is my favorite music making machine (Tutorial)

[@footrocketco.3050]

I use mine mainly to sequence external gear and as an Ableton controller. I used to use it to chop samples that I would arrange and export from my computer by putting them on the SD card, and then I realized I could just use it to chop directly in simpler on Ableton. I don't get to use the built in affects doing it this way, but it's still an awesome way to sample chop and sequence. There's so much this thing can do that I don't even know about yet. Best groove box on the market, and when paired with other gear it just get's better.

[@AaronFerenc]

That's so cool that you use it to sequence other stuff. I gotta figure that out. What a fun device.

[@girlinagale]

Had Deluge for three years, used it a lot but also put it under the bed for months. But recently put it back in to my suitcase and it gives many benefits, excellent drum machine and song arranger. I write synth basses then convert track to midi so it plays my Mother 32, etc.

[@Kevvywevvy]

Great Video, super helpful for a Quick reference, time stamped, & well presented. So, Hey 👋 Cheers 🍻 👏

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching

[@melokit-music]

Great video !! Affect the sidechain to the pitch, pan, filters is a nice feature too 😁

[@simon_jakobsson]

Whoa, ok I have to try that! Thanks for watching!

[@thetendrilzone8753]

Great vid and much needed as there aren't many deluge tutorials with the current firmware. It took me a while to get around to watching it because the title didn't indicate it's instructional worth. I would say that you have the best delivery and just the right amount of detail that I've seen in deluge tutorials. I have had my doubts about keeping it but your clear and calm instructions have inspired me to press on. I would love to see you do tutorials on sampling a drum break (I've come close to self harm editing and stretching etc) and live looping. I look forward to watching your new clip and hope you make a few more. Deluge users need you. Cheers!

[@simon_jakobsson]

Wow that's a very kind comment, thank you. I'll definitely consider the drum break thing for the next one, as well as better titles moving forward :) Thanks again, much appreciated

[@Getthenderson]

Great reference video, I find I forget so many simple things on this beast, and you also taught me a couple things.

[@simon_jakobsson]

I'm glad to hear! Thanks for watching and happy new year!

[@marc.lepage]

Thank you for the detailed explanation.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!

[@AaronFerenc]

Great video! I've had a Deluge for about two months now and I'm loving it. I like the features you explained. It does feel somewhat difficult to navigate at times (so far), but watching you I sort of realized that it's just practice and idea-flow that make it all more tangible. I've never had so much fun with one electronic instrument! (Well...besides just playing a synth and tweaking knobs and getting lost...). The Op-1 was a blast, but I really could barely ever understand it well enough to make what I imagined. But the Deluge is like an imagination box that seems endlessly useful. I hope I can stick with it well enough to complete some tracks and get a handle on things.

[@simon_jakobsson]

That sounds great man, have fun and good luck - I completely agree with you, the Deluge is so much fun.

[@therealmber]

I found this video very helpful. Shared it with a friend who's thinking of getting one... OK the "friend" is me. I'm convinced. 😁

[@simon_jakobsson]

Lol that's great! I love this thing, I hope you'll have fun with it too

[@SuperGinkgo]

I have a Deluge arriving in a week, can't wait; this vid for me was next level... very useful, well explained and notes as well on screen, spoiling us. I have also watched your Hergest Ridge cover, awesome. I will be trawling your channel, you have a gift! Have a new sub, all best from Yorkshire UK. 😊👍🖖🎶

[@simon_jakobsson]

Wow thank you! I've made a bunch of deluge tutorials, hopefully you'll find them helpful. Have fun with the Deluge and thanks again for the kind comment.

[@garyturner5204]

This video is great. I love how you talk us through what you are doing as you do it.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thanks Gary, I really appreciate the comments.

[@TheDeviantus]

Amazing video and device. Hope to see more Deluge tutorials. Thanks!

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thank you so much. I haven't really done a tutorial before, this was a fun experiment. There's plenty of ground to cover with the Deluge, so maybe I will make more!

[@Luis-il5nb]

Fantastic! Hoping for more tutorials and walkthroughs for songs. Thank you!

[@xisotopex]

sampling is the big hurdle I need to make with this instrument, both individual hits as youve done here, and also recording phrases

[@simon_jakobsson]

Yeah, there's a bit of a barrier to entry, but once you pass the initial part of the learning curve, it becomes very rewarding.

[@ktrout2020]

This is a great tutorial. Thank You! I will have this on repeat for a while :)

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

[@JackAcid]

From one Simon, to another, this box changed my life. I LOVE it. Obsessed with it..Dream about it...🤣

[@nomikeyno]

Thank you for this extremely useful video!

[@simon_jakobsson]

Wow thanks, I'm glad you liked it!

[@desdoeseverything2366]

Great video! I really appreciate the insight!

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thank you! Some of these tips have really helped me with finding more sound design possibilities, so I'm really glad to see that others seem to like it, too!

[@MyReasonToPlay]

Wow! Nice all-in-one tutorial. Very informative in a short amount of time. Should be bookmarked for the future. Thank you!

[@simon_jakobsson]

Glad you liked it, thank you for watching.

[@hovermotion]

Great vid...I've only scratched.the surface with my Deluge...it can do so much...so unique.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Yeah, it's wonderful. So far I found that the more time I invest in exploring it, the more fun I have :)

[@leonoreschick3770]

that buttons / wave form thing just blew my mind

[@simon_jakobsson]

Yeah, when I found that feature it immediately made things 10x better :)

[@RhymePractice]

Great video

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thanks! Glad you like it.

[@ljcbc]

really good video, thank you for this

[@simon_jakobsson]

My pleasure, thanks for watching

[@ProfessorSynth]

Great tips, thanks Simon

[@simon_jakobsson]

My pleasure, thanks for watching.

[@peacefulpigeon7254]

Thanks for a great video - any tips on making synth patches would be great 😀

[@simon_jakobsson]

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into it :)

[@brutallyremastered4255]

Very useful, thanks.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Glad you liked it - thanks for watching!

[@Wawroni]

Excellent!

[@iosmusicman]

Thanks for the great video. One tiny downside is that the overlay text is nearly impossible for me to read. It’s a shame you didn’t move the akai out of the way or have added a big layer. I’ll repeat play it when I get my deluge.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thanks for watching, and for the feedback - I'll try my best to improve legibility next time. Enjoy the Deluge, it's a lot of fun.

[@rootstudio247]

With all the finesse this box offers, you'd think there would be an auto-trim for samples.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Yeah. Maybe it's something they could add in the future. I'm very much looking forward to the wavetable synth engine they talked about a while ago, too.

[@postRMO]

people like you are the bedrock of youtube

[@simon_jakobsson]

Haha thank you! This is fun to do and the response has been great too (because of people like yourself!). Have a great weekend

[@rayderrich]

I watched everything but do not own the Deluge. Do I want one? You bet I do! Thanks for the video.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Lol that's so funny. Well, if you get one I don't think you'd regret it. It's evident to me that whoever designed and built this thing really cared about what they were doing and wanted it to be very special.

[@rayderrich]

@@simon_jakobsson Please talk to my wife ;-)

[@simon_jakobsson]

@@rayderrich lol will do!!

[@positionnormal]

15:30 you farted!

[@simon_jakobsson]

I'm pretty sure I didn't, but I'm guessing someone in my apartment made the sound in my kitchen in the next room. It sure sounds like it though, good ears!

[@VJFranzK]

1:35 🐺

[@Swenglish]

I bought it specifically to use primarily as a sampler, but the lack of ability to use the 8x16 grid for triggering samples and chops directly made me so disappointed I ended up just not having any fun with it. Every time, I'd hit the keyboard button in kit mode and it would just blink mockingly at me. I heard this no-brainer feature is about to be added by the community since the firmware is open source now. That makes me want to get back into learning the ins and outs of this device. It can do a lot of stuff, just not the one thing I wanted.

[@lilbullet111]

hope you're getting back into it now, the new community grid mode is amazing and I think just what you were after 😊

[@Swenglish]

@@lilbullet111 I've been having some annoying bugs with trying to use a large kit (samples not loading, notes dropping out on a different track), but I haven't tried the latest update. Only some nightly builds leading up to it. I do think usability has improved significantly, but I'm gonna have to update again to see if the bugs have been sorted out.

[@lilbullet111]

@@Swenglish yeah true, I haven't noticed any samples not loading but occasionally I've had the random sample drop out issue. hopefully it's patched up reasonably soon! for the most part though, the grid mode has been awesome I think

[@williamwallace6508]

great video, Q is this way the fastest way to record audio into the deluge?

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thanks! I believe it is for samples. If you just want to record audio into an audio track you could do it slightly faster: 1 - Create an audio track. 2 - Set "learn/input" to the correct source. 3 - Press record.

[@xisotopex]

why did you make that first track an audio track? you have your samples on seperate tracks or are they all on the same track?

[@simon_jakobsson]

The audio track is to monitor any audio passing through the Deluge so I can hear what's going on even when I'm not recording. I typically add my samples on a per-track basis, so I do a lot of sampling for one song only, and then I sample something else for the next song :) Thanks for watching!

[@domischreiber8598]

Did i miss the part where you take all these sounds and did a little cool track? :-)

[@simon_jakobsson]

I'm doing more of this in my other videos, I wish I would have done it here, but nope :) thanks for watching

[@XtianApi]

I'm sure you know this, but you turned down each kick individually instead of holding the audition pad for the sound. Certainly turning down just the audition pad is quicker. Just saying if others don't know

[@simon_jakobsson]

Thanks! Yeah, you're right, it's one of those things that I did without thinking about the bigger picture. :)

[@Kevvywevvy]

Simon done this the only way, using the audition pad, in firmware 4 the audition pad is used for euclidean sequencing, in both clip and song view. A work around, set to cross screen, zoom to 64th, hit 1st pad, and turn that one down.. there you have a silent 4 to the floor 😀

[@claycowartisamazing]

skipped around trying to find some music....couldn't even find.

[@simon_jakobsson]

This is more of a reference video for features, but I appreciate your comment. I'm currently working on a follow up where I create longer musical phrases. Thanks for watching!

[@anonymous_friend]

I want to like this machine, but it is just simply not intuitive at all.

[@simon_jakobsson]

Really? Hard disagree from me, but maybe it just depends on your frame of reference. All I know is that this is the most fun I've ever had with a musical instrument :) Give it another chance, it grows on you!