9532

I’m enjoying your release a lot . I like the sound of granular and you yield it well. I like the pacing of the tracks and your sound selection is sensitive.

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9533

have to echo others that I’m also enjoying your album! thanks for sharing it. I think the topics of granular technique and constructive feedback (it can be really hard to find people who give valuable feedback, especially in the realm of experimental music) are worth discussing more. Namelessness might be a good home <3

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9534

Can’t decide if this is amazing or insane but either way I’m hyped to see people use this thing.

Stylophone Theremin

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9535

In my case, most of the videos I have watched on the S4 incorporate some form of granular manipulation. It’s not a criticism of the S4 itself, as I do think it is a device that has many great features and of course it stands on its own.

I just got a Chompi and what makes it fun is this sort of granular blurring effect that then lets you craft beautiful textures that can be used as chords quickly. There is no doubt the S4 does much more than the Chompi, but it’s an example of why my interest in the S4 will be in comparing it against other things I have in the granular sampling realm.

I already have a GR Mega on preorder and I want to see how the two size up against each other. The GR Mega is also four layers and does many other things as well besides just being a powerful granular device.

9536

FWIW GR Mega seems like something dangerously approaching GRM Tools in a box, while S-4 seems like a performance mangling sampler with basic granular processing / synthesis as one of the core techs.

Not to say “obviously they’re going to be different” or anything arrogant like that, because neither of them is out yet and they have a lot of similarities too, but based on what’s known now, at least GR Mega pretty obviously wins for the granular and frequency domain processing power.

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9537

@ModulationStation I understand your point of view. I will reformulate my point. Moving towards the S-4 based on its presumed granular capabilities may disappoint many people. At best, I tell myself that the granular is the bonus side of the instrument. It’s like buying an Op1 only for its sampling capabilities. After that, it’s only a modest point of view, everyone does as he wants. I reacted because at one point I found strange the comparisons of the S-4 with eurorack instruments or modules dedicated to the granular.

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9538

Without still knowing how good, capable and fun the forthcoming Torso will be in practise, the OP-1 was a comparison I was thinking as well earlier. Not because of possible vague feature similarities (“tape”), but simply because it looks like it might combine a lot of interesting things to a package that looks to be easy and convenient to use, without any one of those things being necessarily better than the competitors, and the value being in being a cohesive fun instrument rather than eg. “a better granular synth than x”.

FWIW inb4 I realize the depth of pre-release hype and assumptions about something that doesn’t exist in finished and released form is getting pretty ridiculous. So as a disclaimer, still just sharing random conjectures / thoughts that have come to my mind while waiting for the instrument to actually come out and reviews to pour in.

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9539

Doesn’t look strange to me when it seems to be the main attractor for most (at least of what I’ve read so far) and the most discussed part.
Torso focusing on it on their demos also favors this perspective.

It’s no mystery that ‘granular’ label catches everyone’s attention these days.
I find interesting that for example Slate&Ash Spectres doesn’t mention granular at all in their engine description, but a “collage” engine, setting themselves apart from the mandatory granular engine comparison. I think this is a smart marketing approach and helps them to present the engine as a whole, opposite of what happens with S-4.

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9540

@monopole I may be too factual in my approach. Referring to the product’s web page, I do not find that the granular aspect is specially highlighted. It is also true that Torso’s communication is quite frustrating like other brands. The opportunity to exchange and discuss their discord allowed me to overcome this bad experience. You fully agree to also emphasize that the term granular is very attractive to most of us. In any case, the first pre-order batch is finished so there is a certain interest in their product.

3 Likes
9541

I also think/hope this is a good comparison.
What I like about the idea of the S-4 is the combination of granular with a tape function. This is how I normally use granular. I record it while mangling sounds. And then I’ll use some favourite parts. Seems like I could do that on the S-4 and keep it all in that box.
OP-1 + much more radical soundesign.

1 Like
9542

As an anecdotal study of 1, I preordered the S-4 and its granular engine is the thing I’m least excited about. Not to say I’m not interested in it, but of all its features, granular functionality is at the bottom of the list.

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9543

I’m sorry to join the "demos disappointed me’ crowd.

The part where torso says you have (only) 2 play modes: looper and midi play.

I’m running so tired of loop-oriented gear that having only these 2 options seems really wasted potential. I guess I’m also part of the crowd that wanted an intuitive 4-track audio recorder arranger with mangling potential.

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9544

Off topic I know but given the brains on this forum surely we can design and manufacture our own dream machines?

Code, cad, and GUI:UI are my bag.

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9545

We do have the Norns, of course, which quite a few forum members have made things for! (inb4 obvious UI restrictions without auxiliary connected devices and so on, naturally)

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9546

I think that’s because they are kind of terrible demos. I watched all of them in a row this morning, he spends a few seconds on a given function then very quickly does several random hand adjustments and slathers effects all over everything. They might do well to enlist someone else to run through it, the machine still looks like it could be very deep.

But then, I too fall in the more interested in functions that aren’t granular crowd (also the never preorder anything and buy things rarely crowds).

Outside of norns/monome-specific stuff, there has occasionally been some brainstorming along those lines, but there is always the risk of a too many cooks scenario. Small breakout groups might be the way to go.

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9547

What other playmodes are you thinking about?

9548

what actually is that tip top audio system at the of the article? frist time hearing that.

9549

In very simple terms it’s a set of polyphonic modules with a proprietary communication system (based on the usb-c connector & a digital only 3.5mm jack connector)

There’s a large FAQ at the bottom of the page below.

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9550

Plus of course, even many of us seasoned professional developers, designers etc. who haven’t actually done a single piece of complex hardware from start to finish in their life, tend to IME heavily underestimate how much time and energy it takes to actually design and develop the concept, hardware and software from zero.

Which doesn’t mean it isn’t possible, just that it’s easily kind of “well, how hard can it be to make something that does that thing better than that other thing?” - cue two years later a shoddy prototype that isn’t still nearly as fun as whatever it was “inspired by” and not very fun to either DIY or professionally manufacture either.

Then again, some people are good at avoiding bloat and making good decisions, and there are also plenty of people with actual hw development experience among us.

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9551

I am the King of Bad Decisions, but one unsurprisingly GASsy decision I don’t regret came roaring back this week with the news that my Pet Rock shipped!

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