Twisted Electrons BlastBeats Synthesizer/Groovebox

General

Modern synthesizers, compressors and even microphones can't help but hark back to the vintage greats, which simply makes sense. Luckily, in terms of operation, legendary synthesizers are fairly easy to replicate. FM-synthesis, like the circuits that sat inside the Yamaha DX Series synths, are a little less popular when it comes to reissues and emulations. FM-synthesis requires a full army of control elements, so a remake would be a costly business. However, there is a category of FM-synthesis that's often overlooked: the FM-chips that served as the sound cards of early home computers in the eighties and nineties. These simple chips were actually more potent than they looked, and soundtracked the second wave of video games with a more diverse range of instruments than the crunchy blips and bloops that came before. One of the most-used chips at the time was the Yamaha YMF262, and it's this chip that Twisted Electrons have used to provide the inspiration for the BlastBeats synthesizer.

The Twisted Electrons BlastBeats

While the DX7 chip had to make do with a sine-tone operator waveform, the YMF262 wielded multiple waveforms. And while you were dependent on feedback to gain a more raw sound with a single sinewave, with a multi-wave operator, the sound is immediately rough and satisfying. The YMF262 is also known as the OPL3, has a maximum polyphony of 18, and enabled music tech-heads of the time to go nuts. The BlastBeats deviates a little bit from what the OG tech-heads had to work with, because this machine offers a fixed instrument layout, making it far more easy to understand and control. Six drum tracks are laid out: kick, snare, tom, open hi-hat, closed hi-hat, and cymbal. There are two monophonic synth tracks and two duophonic synth tracks. The healthy supply of faders lined up across the control panel provide fast and direct access to the sound parameters, completing a far more accessible workflow than the little diaphragm buttons of the DX7.

The BlastBeats Groovebox

This chunk of hardware is not just a synthesizer, but a fully-fledged groovebox. 160 complete songs can be produced with 16 patterns, each with up to 64 steps. For sequencing, you're set up with a row of old-school push-buttons laid out x0x-style - adding to that vintage-synth feel, and slapping a grin on the face any self-respecting synth-nerd. Of course, if you're not so bothered about pushing buttons and nudging faders, then you can always control the BlastBeats via MIDI using your DAW. However you want to use it, you're offered an immense array of options that are well worth getting to grips with, and ultimately, you can get to work quickly with this unit. FM synthesis has a reputation for being simple but extensive, which has a lot to do with the classic FM synths that were controlled by nothing more than a set of diaphragm buttons and tiny display. Loaded with fifty-six faders, the BlastBeats presents a completely different experience of FM synthesis, revealing what it actually is: a genuinely elegant synthesis method that places an enormous bank of potential beneath your fingertips.

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