Human Voices Redux for Omnisphere 2.6
Human Voices Redux is a soundset for Spectrasonics’ software synth Omnisphere. There are 120 patches, and all exclusively about voices: Big choirs, little choirs, lead vocal keys, human beatbox drums, wistful calls and effects, all made with human vocal samples and vox waveforms. Of course there are many beautiful pads, but many phrases have been retuned and granularized, and others turned into rich and unusual drum and percussion patches.
Latest videos:
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Two DB-01s and a pod-load of CV
The Erica Synths DB-01 sends and receives CV and includes a handy attenuator, so a little experimentation with CV can really extend the sound design possibilities. Here both DB-01s and a pod of Euro clocks and modulators (two Erica Synths Drum Modulators) are synced together. One DB-01 is the master feeding pitch CV into a mult and then into the second DB-01. Both units are getting filter CV inputs from the Drum Modulators. The main machine is sometimes going through a Microtubes B3K for extra overdrive goodness, and the second DB-01 get washy with an Earthquaker Devices Afterneath V3 - which also accepts CV. Hopefully this little demo gives you some ideas. A little CV goes a long way.
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove -
Norand Mono and a DB-01 - noodlings (no talking)
Both the Norand Mono and the Erica Synths DB-01 are best known for furiously zipping along through 16-step patterns, although both can easily move into very different realms. While fiddling with the filter and resonance on the Norand (and applying envelopes separately to both) I came across an interesting effect where they sometimes seem to split off into two voices. I couldn't quite decide whether it was spooky, or had a sort of Arabian flavor. The DB-01 seemed a natural fit so I added a very simple drone-mode pattern. Both machines have an added touch of Valhalla delay in Reaper but are otherwise as you see them here.
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove -
Afterneath V3 on synth with CV control (no talking)
There's plenty of videos which show Earthquaker Devices' Afterneath V3 doing all the usual reverb things, so here I thought I'd just show what happens when you apply CV. The expression jack accept 1v/Oct CV, although it doesn't track pitch. Because of that I mostly ignore the Major, Minor, Pentatonic scale modes because they don't really work anyway in terms of tracking pitch. Despite that there's lots of interesting weirdness to explore.
Here I'm running a DB-01 through the pedal. the DB-01 CV out is being mixed with the CV from a synced LFO. I experiment with different LFO shapes, rates, and blends of the LFO and DB-01 pitch CV.
In my first edit of this video I chopped everything up into highlights, but I abandoned all that and went with the unedited noodling instead. I think it's more interesting to see the process of getting from one effect to the next even if that means a few interludes of mush. Hope you find it useful.
ps: This is not a sponsored video, I bought it at full price with my own money.
0:00 Dry sound
0:20 Mode 2 (unquantized with slew)
1:05 Squeaky gate!
1:20 Very slow LFO CV
2:40 Reacting to dynamics
3:30 Faster LFO
4:08 Ramp up LFO
5:30 Slow sine LFO
6:00 Whooshy zing
7:30 Chopping LFO
8:45 Slow ramp
9:18 Dry sound
9:42 New pattern (at last!)
10:14 Ramp up LFO CV
11:40 Octaves mode
12:10 Octaves and fifths
12:30 Chopping LFO CV
13:05 Dry sound
13:12 Fast choppy LFO CV
13:50 Slow sine again
14:40 Extreme LFO CV
15:00 Extreme LFO CV with slew
16:20 Square wave LFO CV
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove -
Gentle OB-6 arps with a Zen delay
Do you find that certain combinations of gear suddenly become "more than the sum of its parts"? The OB-6 has become a huge magnet for my time these past few weeks since I've teamed it up with the Erica Synths Zen delay. This piece is a little similar to the "OB-Zen Nocturne", but instead of manual twiddling of the filter and resonance knobs they're now hooked up to the little MIDI fader box on the left. The far left slider is filter amount; the middle one is resonance. The other fader (which I didn't use here) was assigned to filter EG amount. The benefit of the fader box is the ability to tweak both parameters together while also playing with one hand.
Clearly I'm not playing each note of the arpeggiated chords, just triggering chords. That's done using the plugin "Cthulhu" by Xfer with a range of chords I assigned per note. The piece begins with G Minor 9th, then a G# maj9. After recording I added a touch of EQ and some compression since the big octave range and varying filter and resonance settings gave it some pretty wide dynamics.
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove -
Avalanche Run V2 with a DB-01 synth (no talking)
Some random noodlings with the Avalanche Run V2. Bought this because of the knob-per-function controls. It's certainly very easy to operate and gives a big thick sound. The Tone control works beautifully on the delay and the reverb is rich. On the other hand a little more stereo separation would be nice and you do need to be careful on the levels as it will clip fairly easily with a loud pop and crackle. I tried hooking up the DB-01 CV out to the expression in but the results were disappointing. Likewise using an expression pedal didn't seem worth the effort when using it on the desktop since all the controls are exposed anyway. Still, what you're paying for here is a beautifully thick stereo sound and superfast and simple tweaking. What a relief not to worry about menus and secondary functions!
0:00 Big combo on keyboard
0:57 Dry sound
1:06 Drones
3:03 Delay only pattern
3:35 Feedback function
4:00 Tap tempo
4:20 Reverse delay
5:10 Reverb variations
7:00 Tone control
8:00 Reverb and feedback
8:15 Dry pattern
8:30 Delay variations
8:53 Swell function
9:40 Long repeats
10:25 Delay and feedback
11:02 Reverse
11:36 Reverse bitcrush
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove -
The OB-Zen Nocturne: An OB-6 with a Zen delay
I bought the Erica Synths Zen Delay intending to pair it up permanently on drum duty. On a whim I hooked it up to my OB-6 and I think that's where it going to live from now on. There's something about the Zen that seems to pair with the OB-6 so well, some added soft richness and a dreamy reverb-like quality.
This track is a single take recorded as a MIDI track into Reaper. I then played back the melody while tweaking the filter and resonance as you see here. There's absolutely no other effects, automation, sounds or tweaking. Just an OB-6 and a Zen.
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove -
Getting the most out of FM with the DB-01
With a little simple tuning, FM on the DB-01 can become extremely useful. You can create multiple pattern variations by moving the FM tuning from note to note. And instead of "losing" the LFO it's now available to create interesting filter modulations that start sounding like bit crushers and distortion. Changing the LFO shape adds even more flavors. If you haven't used much FM before, it's worth choosing one of your favorite patterns and experimenting with variations.
In the video I use a Fabfilter L2 limiter on the output for consistency. More importantly, if you're trying to recreate the sound, I also have the CV out hooked directly to the VCF/CV in to give filter tracking.
0:00 Why no love for FM
0:36 Setting up for FM
1:15 Choose a note and tune
2:04 Filter modulation
3:30 Re-tuning to a new note
4:00 New pattern
4:52 The joys of the sub
5:24 Changing the LFO shape
7:40 Square wave FM
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove -
Using CV to create generative ambient with the DB-01
The Erica Synths DB-01 plus a single Eurorack LFO module (the Erica Synths Drum Modulator) can achieve generative dark ambient. Seems unlikely but is really very straightforward. In this example it even sounds a bit like a thunderstorm. An Eventide Blackhole provides the obligatory big dark reverb and there's also some limiting in the DAW from a Fabfilter Pro-L.
0:00 Creating a pattern
1:00 Into drone mode
1:18 Clock out to LFO
1:48 CV input
2:30 Internal LFO
3:20 Gate in
3:58 Add reverb
4:40 Pitch CV in
6:00 Creating the storm
My site: https://richarddehove.com/
Lots of downloads for supporters on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/richarddehove
Altair-4 soundset for ArcSyn
“Altair-4” is a soundset for SPC ArcSyn. It contains 100 patches widely varied between synchronized bass, leads and percussion; characterful drones; long self-generating textures and ambiences; special effects; stingers; drums and sci-fi leads. Every patch has a variation on the modwheel – be sure to try it! Celebrating five years of ArcSyn.
Metal clunks from the song "Fear"
In my dark-ambient song “Fear Has Brought You Here” I use a lot of hard metal clanks and clunks. They were recorded by me hitting a big empty metal skip with other bits of metal and a hammer. In this sample set you’ll find 60 metal hits and scrapes, including all the sounds used in the song. You can download the first 16 samples as a free taster.
Drum samples from the DB-01
Erica Synths DB-01 is primarily a bass synth but can also double as a heavy hitting drum machine. In this sample set you’ll find 78 kicks, zaps, thumps, noise hits and distorted growls suitable for heavy electronica or further mangling into deeper weirdness. You can download the first 16 samples as a free taster.
Dystopia soundset for ArcSyn
“Dystopia” is a soundset for SPC ArcSyn. It contains 101 patches of horror, tension, torment and sci-fi textures designed for cinematic, space music, ambient, gaming, sampling and horror. Rich intersection modulations are heavily randomized for constantly shifting texture. You’ll also find related keys, pads and special effects. It’s the deepest dive yet into the complex beauty of ArcSyn.
Sputnik soundset for ArcSyn
ArcSyn by SPC software is an incredibly deep VST synthesizer. Its combination of unusual oscillators, filters, noise sources and LFO sequencer makes it capable of some unique sounds. “Sputnik” is a collectioon of 100 sounds from subtle keys and pads to complex textures and syncronized basses.
Get both albums on CD
There's nothing like real-world physical media. Sure you can listen to the tracks on Youtube (or Bitchute), and download high-quality MP3s from any of the major music stores, or from this site direct, but if you're a collector then you'll want actual CDs.
I still have a small number of CDs of my first and second albums available. Click the button below to get both CDs for US$20. The price includes both albums and delivery anywhere on the planet. When ordering don't forget to include your preferred name and address! After ordering you'll receive an email confirmation. The CDs will be sent within 48 hours.
Both albums (including delivery) for $20: