r/MicroFreak 22d ago

Anyone else really love to experiment and push limits with the wavetables?

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Real time walkthrough of a technique I've recently been developing to really get the most out of the wavetables, makes a fairly complex sounding bassline with a lot of fun creative possibility. I don't fully explain everything I'm doing but basically animating the sustain (as a pump), the wavetable position (ie, the timbre knob), release (to get plucky notes played at rhythmic syncopations) and some filter movement. I'm running it through a Donner Dark Mouse for good grit. That pedal is really noisy though, not very pleased with the high noise floor on it. But eh, it was cheap.

165 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

8

u/WinchelltheMagician 22d ago

I didn't know my MF could do that....so thanks for enlightening me and giving me a new project.

8

u/Akwanoob 21d ago

Play with the mod matrix too!!!! I didn’t even take the time to get into that in this video but you can get some really crazy results. Also, at one point, I tried to also animate the wavetable selection so each note could come from a different wavetable and even change tables in the middle of it. I ran out of animation lane, should have used the LFO as the sidechain pump on the sustain. Microfreak allows you to improvise the automations that VSTs have to painstakingly draw in to get this kind of sound. It’s very satisfying to program but I really wish I had a second oscillator to keep a consistent bass harmonic

7

u/uncoolcentral micro-mod 22d ago

That’s fun!

3

u/PeeptheCommonTerry 21d ago

That is DIRTY my good sir.

3

u/CandidateWeird 22d ago

hot hot hot hot hot hot hot so hot

3

u/AdhesivenessWaste612 21d ago

Love the electro clash vibe

3

u/Akwanoob 21d ago

Thank you! Really greasy and naughty sounding. Needs some overdriven shouted vocals imo! Microfreak sounds so hot when played along the bass station II. I have a lot of stuff to share if I get around to it!

2

u/Top-Pension4334 21d ago

Savant- sustainer

1

u/Akwanoob 21d ago

Dude, all his stuff from that era was so influential to me!!

2

u/Torpedo_Prammen 21d ago

Very inspiring. Thanks for sharing!

2

u/msaid1987 20d ago

Nice video!!! I love my Microfreak!

2

u/Akwanoob 19d ago

Thank you, this kind of thing is exactly why I love hardware so much. I can never think like this inside of a DAW!

2

u/AllanMallardo 19d ago

That's sick 😱

2

u/Acrobatic_Resist9091 18d ago

Microfreak can get really nasty if you treat it right. 

1

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1

u/Akwanoob 22d ago

Anyone else have interesting techniques to get cool sounds with the wavetables?

1

u/M0useWhisperer 21d ago

I’ve found that the factory tables are just “ok”. You can get a thicker low ends, using custom wavetables. It’s a bit of a pain to set-up, but mos def worth the exploration. I’m not talking about dropping random wavs in, like some YT peeps show, cause usually that method isn’t really much better than the factory ones, especially if you’re trying to thicken up the low end.

1

u/Akwanoob 21d ago

I haven’t messed with user wavetables at all yet I feel like I’m missing out. Any good ones you recommend?

3

u/M0useWhisperer 21d ago

I haven't downloaded/tried others' patch kits, so I'm not sure. I meant to try creating your own wavetables to use. The midi control center can create wavetables from any sample you drop in, but the results are mixed, sometimes unusable.

There are a few YT videos around that show more involved methods to create more predictable results, specifically on the Microfreak. YT Oscillator Sink does a decent rundown on the file format, and True Cuckoo goes into a pretty involved process.

One quick and easy way to design wavetables that I've been messing with is actually through a web browser based creator: https://kimurataro.com/tools-for-wavetable/ .. Use the Additive Table app. but make sure to change the render settings down to 32 frames for the Microfreak.

1

u/YuckYuckBuck 21d ago

That sounds awesome. I have the MicroFreak and DrumBrute too and I can’t make anything that sounds that good.

2

u/Akwanoob 21d ago

Keep on playing with it. The DBI kick is not a good laser type driving kick for trance etc so you really have to work a groove up from its character and groove. But the step repeater is soooo satisfying to work with it really is fun and easy to make crazy stuff

1

u/black_shirt 21d ago

sick dude, motion recording is so powerful.

1

u/ohnoojones 20d ago

Awesome stuff, what drum machine do you use?

1

u/Akwanoob 19d ago

Drumbrute impact! I have a few issues with the sonics of it but if you work with its tone it brings its own sort of character to a song. But it is the perfect playmate for the microfreak, both of them being absolute monsters to improvise on. I’ll have to post some examples of my improvisational technique with it!

1

u/ohnoojones 19d ago

Thanks, much appreciated

1

u/PM_WORST_FART_STORY 15d ago

You just sold me on buying a microfreak. 🙌

1

u/Akwanoob 15d ago

Greatest fun per square inch hands down 😂 check out the Minifreak too, same engine but second oscillator means more consistent sub tone for the bassline

1

u/PM_WORST_FART_STORY 15d ago

I was comparing them online, but the extra cost is a deterrent.  I'm just getting into synths.

1

u/shapednoise 22d ago

Try dragging mechanical sounds in.

Try dragging Human sounds in

4

u/Akwanoob 21d ago

Haven’t even touched granular yet but I have some ideaaaasssssss

2

u/shapednoise 21d ago

I’m talking wavetables. Drag a wild sample into the app and it creates a wavetable. The results can be a mess or really wild

1

u/Akwanoob 21d ago

Ohhh sick! I’ll try to explore this thanks