By David Battino, Batmosphere
A supplement to my “Synth Hacks” column in the Summer 2021 issue of Waveform.
In this video, I MIDIed an Akai Miniak to an iPad Mini running Korg iWavestation. The Miniak is playing a monophonic lead sound; iWavestation is playing a polyphonic sound with a longer attack. (The screen shows another synth app, Waldorf Nave.) On short notes, you hear just the Miniak. When I hold notes, iWavestation fades up in the background. Holding multiple notes adds harmonies to the lead.
The background loop is from Interval Studios’ Thicket app. Recorded live, then sliced up and layered with bonus percussion.
Here I create unique grooves by playing talk radio into my Novation Bass Station II as a second oscillator and chopping up the sound with the synth’s envelopes and arpeggiator. I added compressison and a touch of plate reverb to the recording.
Splitting a synth’s output and routing it back into the external oscillator input is a classic hack for toughening up a sound. Here I inserted a Joyo Quattro delay pedal into the feedback loop and then monitored on the Bass Station's headphone jack. Adjusting the type of sound and input level created everything from metallic distortion to squealing feedback. I especially liked the watery sounds I got with the Joyo’s Mod delay, which adds a chorusing effect to the echoes. I added compression and hall reverb to the recording.
Both synth and delay pedal are powered by USB battery packs. A MyVolts Ripcord boosts the 5V USB output to the 9V the pedal needs.