Comments on: Circle Synth is Here: New Instrument Built Around Flow

By: Create Digital Music » iPhone/Touch Roundup: BtBx Acid Bass, iDrum Workflow and Babies, OpenSoundControl App

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:16:53 +0000

[...] It’s quite a nice app, as you can see. I like the simplicity of it, actually, as there’s not a whole lot of space on an iPhone for your fingers. The killer feature is clearly the Lemur-like multi-touch mode. And because it uses OSC, it should be a snap to hook this up to apps like Processing or the new Circle synth. [...]

By: Hyram H.

Hyram H. — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:34:03 +0000

I love the interface. The further away the computer is from my creative flow, the better I like it.

What would SERIOULY own is Circle running on a Jazzmutant Lemur. That, I would pay any price for. ANY price.

By: niall

niall — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 22:37:10 +0000

Eoin wrote:

Ok ok, Iâ€™m going to come forward here and disclose that I did in fact partake of up to three cups of industrial-strength coffee during my interview with Gavin. There may have been biscuits involved. (Eh, there were supposed to be beers though???!!!)

O, well there goes a nice opportunity to ask if they gave you Galway Hookers. Too bad.

By: actuel

actuel — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:58:43 +0000

already a nice update in case anyone is still following:

Future Audio Workshop (FAW) has updated its wonderful semi-modular virtual synth Circle to v1.0.2.

Changes :

- Added a CPU economy mode in the setting pane. This allows Circle to use less CPU for a minimal reduction in audio quality.
- There have been some updates to the OSC messaging.
- A bug related to the mouth filter clicking during modulation has been fixed.

By: johnboy

johnboy — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 17:56:52 +0000

Hello,

i tried the demo and some of the presets sound really good and interesting.

particulary i like the way they implemented the routing, to pull the dot from the lfo to whatever destination yu want is really well thought out. The filter did sound ok to my ears, the oscillators sound good too. the interface is well done in general. it took minutes to figure out the basic usage of FAW.

however, i canÂ´t stand working with softsynths anymore. iÂ´m a bad keyboarder but itÂ´s priceless to twiddle real knobs and push real buttons.

johnboy

By: cosmonaut

cosmonaut — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 14:58:53 +0000

I agree, massive was the first thing I thought of myself as a comparison. But I meant they seemed like they were aligning them selves alongside of Ableton’s marketing presence.

Now, I’m all for finding that one product that will take your work flow to the next level, but I tend to be a very conservative buyer.

If you’re just starting out and / or considering massive, this could be an alternative. But considering they both cost 200$ and the differences may surmount to personal preference in the GUI, I’m wondering if they aren’t trying to sway your purchase by offering you the sizzle of their brand against the establishment of NI’s.

By: Peter Kirn

Peter Kirn — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:05:03 +0000

@cosmonaut: Really? I mean, these things all do have a tendency to borrow from each other, which to some extent is a good thing. The filter graph, for instance, is a pretty straightforward x/y plot of a filter — hence, we can read it. :) To me, though, this looks quite different from the Ableton synths. They’re more about presenting a lot of information in a compact space; this is more about a full screen with extra space and visual feedback on routing. Ableton has you focused on one parameter at a time, in other words, or the key parameters, as makes sense in the context of a host, whereas this is more of a synthesis workflow where everything is there at once. As I said, the closest similarity is to Massive, but the feeling for me of using this and Massive is very different, and I tend toward different sounds.

By: fiz

fiz — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:50:22 +0000

Cost question aside, it may be that what distinguishes Circle as a unique instrument is as many folks not liking it as there are that do. I was definitely prepped to care less for Circle’s interface when I downloaded the demo. (Last thing I need is to drop another 2 bills on a softy… But, as soon as I sensed how the sounds I was creating were flowing directly from the lighted shapes I was seeing, it was all over.

By: cosmonaut

cosmonaut — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:30:16 +0000

“Whatâ€™s innovative to me is the cleanliness of the interface.”

*shrug*

NI has done something similar for the last year or two and they both borrow heavily from ableton. i think it’s more hype over a wanna be boutique instrument cast in abeltons image.

By: D. Kristian

D. Kristian — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:15:18 +0000

I agree that this is a somewhat expensive softsynth, but I think the price will drop, or there will be a promotional discount offered in the coming months, as was the case when Camel Audio first released the Cameleon 5000. Circle is a well designed, great sounding synth, but it’s not as deep and versatile as u-he’s Zebra 2, or innovative as AAS’ String Studio.

That said, I also agree that Circle has great potential as a learning tool (yet another reason to lower the price). I’m already recommending it to friends who are just getting into Electronic music.