Xaoc Devices Sofia | ‘Transcendent waveforms’ that sound sublime

This is an in-depth look at Sofia, the new ‘transcendent waveform analog oscillator’ from ‪@xaocdevices13‬. It uses a unique implementation of ‘FOF’ synthesis that combines a base tone with two ‘ripple elements’ to generate waves that don’t really sound like anything else.
In the video, I give a brief run-through of how this works, and build six patches that show off the range of sounds available with various techniques. I don’t get too heavily into self-patching or disabling the ripple element tracking, both of which will open up an even bigger sonic palette, but hopefully you’ll get a decent idea of what it’s capable of.
Chapters:
00:00 Preview and introduction
01:58 Overview (WTF is FOF?)
07:17 ‘Filtering’ with ripple elements
10:48 Three-part techno synth
13:45 Drifting ambient sequences
16:21 Extreme folding and filtering
19:08 Exploring audio-rate FM
24:08 Modulation to the max
Big thanks to Xaoc Devices for hooking me up with Sofia for this video. All opinions are my own. Find out more about Sofia (and check out the excellent manual to learn more about FOF synthesis) at xaocdevices.com/main/sofia/
A lot of the patches in this video make use of the Xaoc Devices Moska II sequencer. I previously made an in-depth video about that module, which you can watch here: • 8-step sequencer tips ...
More stuff from me:
tomchurchill.bandcamp.com/
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/ tomchurchill

[@thomassobolik4103]

yoo honestly big up yrself ..... you are basically the only modular youtube person i have encountered with all three: 1) approachable and careful explanations that are easy to grasp 2) kind energy with an absence of glib, corny youtuber dude vibes 3) makes great sounding music with a clear goal-oriented approach eschewing any pointless bleep-bloop hackery i'm very grateful for your channel. thank you!

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks, that’s very kind of you! Glad you like the videos, it’s great to hear 🙏

[@sub-jec-tiv]

I’d put this in the same league as Div Kid, which is a huge compliment.

[@AnimalFactoryAmplification]

That three part techno synth section is some pure UK techno nostalgia for me. Brings back some serious Underworld and Orbital vibes.

[@stevekirkby6570]

Gotta love XOAC for their inventive approach. Super nice voice.

[@chonbaquer]

love what xaoc cooks up, and the sounds of you eating the meal

[@andreasoberg2021]

Fantastic ocerciew. The music sounds good as well

[@nkozi]

Lovely VCO - Sounds almost like a gentler complex osc. Video was great! I've subscribed.

[@telkmx]

Was waiting for a proper demo and its this one. More than the harsh range ppl showed. It sounds beautiful

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks very much, glad you like it! :)

[@Taketaketak]

Subscribed for the relaxing presentation.

[@forwardmemory5940]

Really good demo. Lovely sequences and sounds. I bought it because of this.

[@randydarklight]

yeah me too 😁

[@gapster77]

Really do like that gentle Acid growl it has, I like the more Melodic & Ambient side of Techno, so I can see how this could really be utilised. Getting a serious itch to get into modular, won’t be starting out with this, but this will be going on my prospective acquisitions list for sure 😬

[@dillipphunbar7924]

Those were some lovely demo jams. FOF is new to me, but then the world of electronic sound synthesis is vast.

[@corticallarvae]

As a big fan of coil .... I love this particular module for the possibility to take the concept that they used Loves secret domain ..stolen and contaminated.. and gold is the metal... to obliterate any connection to the genre of acid house (which they were both enjoying and having to cope with at the time....) and obliterate abuse it... which this particular module could offer more adherence to the squelch resonance and murder it even more.... it worth the experimental possibilities... more I love the structure...Xaoc never fails to make something you can make new sonic possibilities with on so many levels...

[@alchemist.D]

great patch , man

[@indigocotton4187]

I’ve never really liked this thing until now 👍 sounds lovely

[@reecedeyoung6595]

Final patch was incredible

[@SynthDad]

Great demo Tom - I've had my eye on the Sofia for a while and you've shown some great musical applications of it

[@snorrevonflake]

Now thats very interesting!

[@tcrist56]

I have been looking for another oscillator. Sofia is on the short list along with en129 and Teia's VastWave . All quite different. Hard to make up my mind. But this video is excellent and, as always, I appreciate your hard thoughtful work on making it.

[@martintaylor9205]

TOM exceptional clear demo of Sofia and its potential, patching of although I get bit lost in it intricate configurations with other modules, need it at half or less speed to keep up, like to see a full patch then reverse engineer by removing cables one at time to see effect on sounds???? So great as u get us thinking about possibilities Thanks again👍🕸⚡️🎶🎶🎶🎶🌟

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks Martin! I’m going to to a separate patch breakdown video for one of the patches where I’ll build it from scratch and explain what’s happening in a bit more detail - stay tuned! 😀

[@brokenscart7989]

This sounds incredible. Disgustingly delicious

[@TomChurchill]

Haha - thank you!

[@sub-jec-tiv]

New sub here. Great explanation, beautiful module. Dammit i thought I didn’t need any more sound sources. 😂 this thing would be great for percussion, too. EDIT: 11:00 oh, dang… you did, cool.

[@Robert_Babicz]

Very interesting.

[@Bestmann3n]

great demo! are you planning to make a video on inertia? As for replicating ripple-synthesis with other modules I was able to make some similar sounds by patching an oscillator into a function generator with gated cycling(to loop at audio-rate) and then mixing them together. Since the gate is only high roughly 50% of the time you get that same phase-sync effect. I got some insanely rubbery and rippling sounds by experimenting with using a clock divider before sending the osc to the gate output, modulating the function generator cvs with the osc and using am/ring modulation instead of summing the osc and "ripple".

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks! Yeah, I'm working on some demos of all the News Systems Instruments modules next. Inertia can do so much, it's taking quite a bit of planning :) That technique for ripple-style synthesis using a function generator sounds very cool - I'll give it a try!

[@Braunld]

nice, easy to follow demonstration.. the osc sounds great in a variety of ways, contexts, etc. what type of drums / perc. did you use for the techno part? that part was really cool. thanks for making this demo!

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks! The drums in that part are actually super-simple: just Tiptop BD909 and HATS909 (in a separate rack off-screen). They’re triggered from Pam’s - straight 4/4 kick and 16th-note closed hat, plus I’m using Pam’s to trigger accents on the hats on the off-beats. They run through Dannysound Dynamics for a bit of compression, sub-bass, overdrive and EQ. (Pretty pleased with how that section turned out considering it’s literally just three modules generating all the sound!)

[@i_never_asked_for_an_alias]

Nasty.

[@savagemessiah.]

Nice demo. I just got one of these and it's probably my favorite oscillator now. What are you using for the 1u-3u conversion next to odessa?

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks! It's a Xodes FC313, the 20HP version...

[@TomChurchill]

www.xodes.net/product/fc313-eurorack-triple-row-intellijel-1u-3u-format-changer-wide

[@savagemessiah.]

@@TomChurchill Cool, I've accumulated a lot of 1u modules, this could be useful. I just got my first 3u->1u converter lol.

[@vyvhope-scott]

Nice video. Could you give a bit more detail on how Pams is playing the hihat at 12:38, please? It sounds like there's level or length mod, not just 16ths. Or is it just down to whatever hh module you're using?

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks! The hats module is Tiptop HATS909. It's just the closed hat being played; it's getting 16ths from Pam's but I'm also sending an accent on the offbeats (i.e. x1, phase 50%). It's mixed with BD909 and then runs through Dannysound Dynamics for some drive and compression. So between the compressor attack and release and the accents, the hats end up with quite a bit of level variation.

[@randydarklight]

Hi Tom, outstandingly good video. One question: what alternative modules could I get if I want to do the sequences you did with the Mutable Stages? The M. Stages is sold out and even the clones are very expensive.

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks! Not sure which patch(es) you’re asking about, though - in this video I’m mostly just using Stages for simple envelope duties I think? Let me know if there’s something specific you have in mind. If you’re just looking for a simple step sequencer or envelope generator there are plenty of alternatives, but not much else that can do all the things Stages can do in one package, unfortunately…

[@randydarklight]

@@TomChurchill Thanx for the feedback. I watched the video several times and got it now. 😁 I really enjoy your videos - I learn a lot.

[@subatomicuk]

love your oscilloscope, is it home made or over the counter, would love one

[@TomChurchill]

It’s a DSO138 that I built from a kit (basically just assembling a Perspex case, no soldering needed!) but you can also get them preassembled. It’s cheap and cheerful but does the job!

[@teleman-11]

Great vid! What is the oscilloscope that you're using here?

[@TomChurchill]

Thanks! It’s just a cheapo JYE Tech DSO 138 - about £30 for a kit

[@NiamorH]

17:00 it sounds very 303-ish

[@Nick-kb6jd]

hey. great videos. Cn I ask which oscilloscope that is? the little red one. Does it have a probe or did you figure a way to plug a patch cable straight into it? Any links would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

[@TomChurchill]

Hey - it’s a DSO138, which you can pick up very cheaply either as a kit or ready assembled. I use a BNC to 3.5mm jack cable (or you could just use a BNC to BNC cable with a 3.5mm jack adaptor on one end) and connect Eurorack signals to it via a passive mult. Hope that helps!

[@christopherwilliams375]

Would you happen to have a readily available copy of that research paper you were scrolling describing FOF? It’s “available”, but costs lots of cheese.

[@TomChurchill]

No, I’m afraid I don’t have the whole thing - I just grabbed the two-page preview that’s available here: link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-009-9091-3_21

[@TomChurchill]

(Direct link to PDF: page-one.springer.com/pdf/preview/10.1007/978-94-009-9091-3_21

[@christopherwilliams375]

@@TomChurchillI’ve sent you a message on MW. You may find it of interest.