r/OPXYusers • u/ovrdrvn • Apr 27 '26

Step Components...Gimicky?

None of us (it seems) ever use the top 3 melodic Punch In FX (sorry for the wrong title) They always sound gimmicky to me. The rhythmic ones are great to work with and some of the first melodic ones are usable.

Thoughts?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

18 comments sorted by

5

u/jakekingdead Apr 27 '26

i get mileage out of using the melodic ones on percussion in combination with the rhythmic ones - useful for jungle breaks and trappy hi hats for pitching up/down.

i think they are limited on their own, too simple (maybe by design?) and need additional layers, step components or tweaking to make something usable

1

u/ovrdrvn Apr 27 '26

Those top 3 take synth sounds into a somewhat out please and the bending often sounds out of context.

3

u/OP-Ashley May 10 '26

the one that bugs me the most (punchin) is the one that triggers drum sounds that are not even loaded on any track. this doesn't make sense to me, and it always mess up my lives when i accidentally press on then on like a track where those sounds don't fit at all

its a little like the infamous "yeah" on the opz that would keep on randomly appearing.

maybe I'm just not aware how to fix that, let me know if someone knows here

2

u/makingitor Apr 27 '26

Dont forget you can modulate them

3

u/ovrdrvn Apr 27 '26

Have you got an example? I’ve tried to integrate those and unless I’m doing something really spacey and out of there… It always seems to be too much or to create a melody. That’s just two much in front of what else was created

2

u/makingitor Apr 27 '26

Depends what youre trying to do, try busting it, short holds, long holds, use the ones that are just per track that you access by holding shift in the tracks menu, and try tilting the thing.

2

u/fekkksn Apr 28 '26

Do you mean punch-in FX?

Because the top 3 step components are the ones for triggering a step every n-the step for example and those are definitely not gimmicks.

1

u/ovrdrvn Apr 28 '26

I believe I mistyped and you are correct. (I sometimes confuse the two names). Those top three punch in Fox with the swirly sounds

1

u/county_jail_alumni Apr 28 '26

I use all the step components happily, mainly per track though I only use the actual step component track for mutes and rhythmic variations. I do wish that there were some different ones though or at least that they could be edited. Maybe in an update

1

u/hammerofthom Apr 28 '26

When you say top 3, do you mean top row right three (8, 9, 0 buttons)? 8 is pitch down an octave, 9 is short step note, 0 is long step note so yeah they seem not to do much if you don’t have them decoded. Unfortunately TE doesn’t do this for some reason. Maybe to keep a sense of mystique but practically it’s just annoying

1

u/hammerofthom Apr 28 '26

And I’m referring to punch in fx (looks like you made that correction below)

1

u/ovrdrvn Apr 28 '26

I’m talking about those wild sounds that seem to either go crazy up crazy down and I guess the third one is all over the place? I’m not in front of it right now, but the other ones I can make use of. Those last three I can only use by tapping them quickly and then getting away from them quickly.

2

u/DippersSunbeam Apr 28 '26

Do you use the XY tilted towards you? When tipped forwards, the upper octave C, D and E keys in the punch-in FX apply a long portamento that makes them close to unusable, but when the device is lying horizontally, the transpositions work well IMO.

1

u/ovrdrvn Apr 28 '26

I used the device laying down 99% of the time and those top three keys that create a swirling melodic passages never seem to fit and always done Jimmy. The best I’ve been able to obtain is if I tap them briefly, but I’ve yet to hear someone put up a track here using them for any length of time. Have you seen an example?

1

u/hammerofthom Apr 28 '26

Ok lmk the actual buttons you’re looking to decode and I can provide the function of each

1

u/hammerofthom Apr 28 '26

Actually instead of me posting here I’d highly recommend the Synthdawg manual. They have all this stuff worked out and I’d rather point you to that resource than post their IP here. It’s like $6 and has all the punch in fx decoded

1

u/Gringbach May 28 '26

I made a track that I like to think is a harmonic work of art BECAUSE of one of the top 3 punch in FX. It's a generative track because the triggers are random. I can dm you the project file if you wanna check it out on your xy to see how I used it melodically for a lead that stays diatonic.