ACL Sinfonion

[Sinamsis]

You've just made me want the Sinfonion now. Hehe, getting a Sinfonion to pair with my Permutation and Variant!

I absolutely adore the Sinfonion, and can fanboy about it all day long, but just to ask in fairness to other options: What do you have for quantizers right now? (Also, any arpeggiators and/or chord cv generators?)

Well I can get quantized voltages out of a Cirklon and I have a uScale. No chord generators as such but the E370 can work that way. In euro I normally use the Shapeshifter for chords although more often than not I turn to my polysynths. I've been eyeing the Sinfonion for some time and underusing the Permutation. I have a relatively large modular with plenty of room to spare.

I think in a larger system the Sinfonion shines. It's by no means absolutely necessary. But even as a utility it's worthwhile. Having all or at least most sequencers quantized by one modular helps tighten things up a bit. That said I'm not a stickler for tuning so to some degree it's lost on me. Ha but I do like having a module for chord generation, even if it's not used to created chords in the traditional sense. Meaning it's controlling the harmonic relation ship between voices. Having additional channels to quantize mono channels, and arpeggiator channel make it worthwhile to me, because it's my one stop shop for quantizing. I have yet to use the sequencing aspect but it's icing on the cake. Lots of modulation options and assignable CV inputs, and assignable pots makes it very playable. And I actually do use it sequence my hardware synths, despite having a Cirklon as well. The Cirklon, honestly, isn't ideal for sequencing chords IMO. When I do use it I play in the chords in one take, and if I don't like it, I keep rerecording until I like it. Editing is cumbersome. A DAW is much easier. Otherwise the Sinfonion lets you sequence chords in a very different way. In my case at times not as intentional. I'll often sequence the root and modulate the voicing with a random source. Obviously you need a CV to MIDI converter. But it creates sequences I would not have thought of on my own. It's cheating to some degree, but helps me when I'm in a rut.

Here are a couple chord sequences:

[dubonaire]

The Cirklon, honestly, isn't ideal for sequencing chords IMO.

I just use Aux Note. But I also record chord progressions in Keystep and just pass that through the Cirklon.

I'm not a stickler for tuning.

I never used to be, but I'm getting more into it now.

[Sinamsis]

The Cirklon, honestly, isn't ideal for sequencing chords IMO.

I just use Aux Note. But I also record chord progressions in Keystep and just pass that through the Cirklon.

I'm not a stickler for tuning.

I never used to be, but I'm getting more into it now.

Ah yeah, aux notes. I haven't used those in a while but that's a good way. But again for something less intentional, the Sinfonion does nicely. Ultimately I plan to record the MIDI and then kind of analyze it to see what different progressions and chord voicings sound like. It's all an effort to break out of the my usual rut and see how I might steer composition in a different direction in the future.

Ha and yeah, it depends on tuning for me. But for chords it really is critical. Before I bought my Sinfonion I was really happy with my Roland VCOs tracking. It wasn't until I tried to use them for chords that I realized the tracking was terrible past a couple octaves and they were completely useless. I calibrated them and they worked great thereafter.

[Jaypee]

Using Aux, are you limited to only 5 notes? (4 auxes + 1 root note)?

Sorry for hijacking this thread. I recently bought a Sinfonion.

[dubonaire]

Using Aux, are you limited to only 5 notes? (4 auxes + 1 root note)?

Sorry for hijacking this thread. I recently bought a Sinfonion.

Yep that's correct.

[Analog Music]

Duplicate

[MikeLeeBirds]

I noticed some of my voices produce little glitches/crackles, even without anything being modulated and going straight to my output.
Turns out these come from Sinfonion being set to quantize at 2V / Octave. Everything’s fine at 1, 3 & 5V / Octave.

Does anyone else notice this behavior?
I wonder if it can be fixed on a software level or if my Sinfonion needs to go back to ACL..

[Der Mann mit der Maschine]

Hey guys,

in about two hours from now (8 PM German time) I do a live stream together with Oliver Rauscher (from Schallmodul) on my Youtube channel. If you like you can join, see how three Sinfonions play together, ask questions, chat with us. I'd be glad if you join in. And don't forget to subscribe my channel

[Der Mann mit der Maschine]

Short update: The live stream has been postponed to tomorrow, thursday. 8 PM German time. See you there!

Hey guys,

in about two hours from now (8 PM German time) I do a live stream together with Oliver Rauscher (from Schallmodul) on my Youtube channel. If you like you can join, see how three Sinfonions play together, ask questions, chat with us. I'd be glad if you join in. And don't forget to subscribe my channel

[Analog Music]

Short update: The live stream has been postponed to tomorrow, thursday. 8 PM German time. See you there!

Hey guys,

in about two hours from now (8 PM German time) I do a live stream together with Oliver Rauscher (from Schallmodul) on my Youtube channel. If you like you can join, see how three Sinfonions play together, ask questions, chat with us. I'd be glad if you join in. And don't forget to subscribe my channel

Yesterdays live stream was great can't wait for the next one !
Can you please check your PM , I just sent you ?

[Jaypee]

I did my very first session using Sinfonion. Game changer. I dream of midi expander to send chords notes to polysynth synth...would be another game changer!

[MikeLeeBirds]

I did my very first session using Sinfonion. Game changer. I dream of midi expander to send chords notes to polysynth synth...would be another game changer!

I think there is quite a number of us who share that dream!

[Agawell]

there are many 3rd party modules that will do this - I doubt there will be an expander

[Der Mann mit der Maschine]

Hey guys, in 30 minutes -- 8pm German time -- we start our next live stream. We play three Sinfonions and you can join in and chat with us. My YT channel is here.

[Analog Music]

Hey guys, in 30 minutes -- 8pm German time -- we start our next live stream. We play three Sinfonions and you can join in and chat with us. My YT channel is here.

Please check , I just send you a PM .
thanks

[Analog Music]

Dup

[Analog Music]

Hey guys, in 30 minutes -- 8pm German time -- we start our next live stream. We play three Sinfonions and you can join in and chat with us. My YT channel is here.

Please check your PM , trying to reach you .

[Der Mann mit der Maschine]

Hey guys,

just to be sure. Here is a new and fresh invite for my Discord server, which is all about Sinfonion, DROID and making electronic music in general:

https://discord.gg/5Qr7GJc

[rolfjack]

Hi. I am the happy owner of the recently released Sinfonion. I have a few questions though.

1. What are the official support channel? Is this the place to ask questions?

2. One issue that bugs me is that when turning on the voltmeter (which is a great feature, thanks) then it monopolizes the display. even when nothing is plugged into the CV input jack in question. Is there any way around that?
Wish for FW update: When nothing is plugged in e.g. CV1 (voltmeter), it reverts to normal display mode.

3. Global edits. The option to set transpose, buttons etc. for each step gives great flexibility. But it would be nice to be able to set parameters globally for a song or part. Live mode is good, but adding a global edit mode would be great. Changes made in global edit mode would affect the whole song/part.

4. What are the expectations concerning FW updates? As I understand it we need to buy an additional dongle in order to perform a FW update. Given that a host of €100 modules allow updates via sd card or USB it defies reason that a €1000 module requires an paid addon to perform a FW update. Perhaps you should consider including it in future shipments and offer a complimentary sd card reader to your current customers when registering their product.
But that aside: Are there any plans for a fw update and would you like some user feedback to help you address e various issues that arise in real world use?

Thanks again for a great module. These a small gripes compared to the magnificient module you have made.

Regards, Rolf

[mdoudoroff]

The support situation is unclear and a bit uncomfortable. Mathias still visits this forum from time to time, but seems to prefer Discord. But Discord is just a chat environment, and it’s less than ideal for some of us. ACL don’t have a presence here and while they probably ultimately stand by their products, they don’t seem to be particularly responsive.

My current impression is that Sinfonion is “done” and there won’t ever be a firmware update. ACL never shipped a component that is apparently needed for firmware updates. Mathias, at least for now, seems focused on his own Droid product and his own music.

[Der Mann mit der Maschine]

Hi Rolf,

there is no "official" channel as such. In case of hardware problems you have to contact your dealer or ACL. Discussions about the Sinfonion in general take place at my discord server. Here is an invite: https://discord.gg/pVSYxP

Currently there is no firmware update at the horizon. I collect ideas. There are no real bugs known in the current firmware, so that's a happy situation . Some day in future there might be, maybe, an update, nevertheless. But the Sinfonion is already so packed with features so that will not be any soon...

[monads]

.....Currently there is no firmware update at the horizon. I collect ideas. There are no real bugs known in the current firmware, so that's a happy situation . Some day in future there might be, maybe, an update, nevertheless. But the Sinfonion is already so packed with features so that will not be any soon...

The only thing was early modules shipped with FW v1.0, there was an update and subsequent Sinfonion's released with FW v1.1. Previous owners were left with no option to update their module. The dealers purchased from were not aware and advised to contact ACL. ACL didn't provide update instructions or any indication when the "update device" for the user to perform would be made available. I think there only a few minor bugs in v1.0 that wasn't of major concern and only tripped up under certain applications. But still, those users deserve v1.1 too!

[Analog Music]

there is no "official" channel as such.

Hi sent you a PM , please see .
Thanks

[James_Fredrickson]

I've finally reached a happy place with chordal movement using the Sinfonion:

-Attenuated CV from a WMD Voltera is being fed into Sinfonion's Chord note selection input.
-CV from the WMD Voltera is wiggled by hand, recorded and looped in realtime on a 1 bar loop.
-Rhythm for the chords is handled by hand, using a tete and tetrapad in Euclidean rhythm mode with overdub recording enabled.
-Scale/Mode doesn't change, unless I switch to a different song if I'm playing a liveset. In this case I will generally only shift to a scale with 1 or 2 different notes from the current scale.
-Chord Inversions of the sequence are being created by feeding attenuated white noise into the chord CV input.

The gestural nature of the chord "progression" is non-functional in the sense that I'm not attempting to establish tonality. I'm using chords more for color and not to point in any particular harmonic direction. The harmonic cohesion comes from the strong rhythm, the repetition of chords, and from staying within the scale/mode. Also, I will often highlight the intervals that define the mode, such as the major 6th of the Dorian mode using the melodic voices. However, this track is definitely not 'in' Dorian!

Thanks for listening

[mixxalot]

Love what is done in larger systems with the Sinfonion. One day may get one after I have a larger setup with multiple complex oscillators where it would make sense for polyphony.