Nostromo Synth is in the shop!

[selig]

Is there a reason why the Sweep Waveform is not assignable as destination in the mod matrix? I would find that very useful.

I seem to remember that the number of assignable destinations is too large to fit into a "normal" device menu, so they chose to provide only the most common destinations in the Matrix (as much as can fit anyway), and provide all of them through the Combi Programmer. All slots can be automated this way:

Edit: a recent post from eauhm just reminded me that you can also automate it from the sequencer. Select the Nostromo track and click on the automation menu at the top of the track list:

Yet another argument in favor of sub-menues for REs, as the Combinator/Automation route is not at all the same thing as modulation. ;(

[Neosaki]

I trialed it. And yeah it sounds pretty cool. I like the pads especially and plucks as well some leads. I wasn't impressed by the bass patches. I don't like the GUI especially. Seems that for 'Nostromo' it could have looked bigger with highlights, accents at least. I can't bring myself to spend the money for something when I have many other synths that sound just as good. Zero, kHs One, Antidote etc. I know this does many thing's they do not but I like a really nice GUI personally, not a knock on the dev I have other Panda stuff.

I actually like the way it looks :/

I think it looks better than zero and antidote anyway...

[DexStar]

It's a brilliant synth. One of the best I've ever played with.
But: The patches should be a lot better. Many of them sound to much detuned because of the extensive use of the drift knob. Please pandas fix this - this degrades your work so much.

[challism]

It's a brilliant synth. One of the best I've ever played with.
But: The patches should be a lot better. Many of them sound to much detuned because of the extensive use of the drift knob. Please pandas fix this - this degrades your work so much.

Or you could fix it to suit your ears by decreasing the drift knob yourself. Find a patch you like, but the drift is set too high? Turn it down.

[dhruan]

That craps on the workflow when browsing patches.

[dhruan]

In other news... awesome work. Will most likely get the bundle when I have had enough time to trial it properly (swamped with work & life until my vacation starts later this month). Pricey but good, yes, the same as with JP, Selig and some other folk.

[The_G]

Just download the trial. Initial thoughts:

1. Presets are solid but not the best I've come across in an RE synth. On the other hand, there are a lot of them, and some are excellent--so it's not a bad set of presets either. However, if you are a preset surfer, so to speak, you might be better off spending money on high quality sample packs instead. Moderate negative for me.

2. As others have said, the synth is very well laid out and quite intuitive to program. In about 5 minutes I put together a fairly interesting and useful FM patch. It's up there with Thor on the ease-of-programmability scale. That's a big plus for me.

3. It also feels like it's a really deep synth, in terms of programmability, and is designed to reward experimentation. Another big plus for me.

3. I'm not a fan of the brown-on-gray color scheme. Would love to be able to change that. Small negative for me.

Overall I really enjoyed my first adventure with Nostromo. I'll be evaluating it in more depth as the trial goes on to see if it's worth the asking price (for me).

[Jmax]

I trialed it. And yeah it sounds pretty cool. I like the pads especially and plucks as well some leads. I wasn't impressed by the bass patches. I don't like the GUI especially. Seems that for 'Nostromo' it could have looked bigger with highlights, accents at least. I can't bring myself to spend the money for something when I have many other synths that sound just as good. Zero, kHs One, Antidote etc. I know this does many thing's they do not but I like a really nice GUI personally, not a knock on the dev I have other Panda stuff.

I actually like the way it looks :/

I think it looks better than zero and antidote anyway...

If you like it great, brown-on-gray color scheme for you. For me I'd like to see the colors pop more, like the FM4. To each his own.

[fieldframe]

I trialed it. And yeah it sounds pretty cool. I like the pads especially and plucks as well some leads. I wasn't impressed by the bass patches. I don't like the GUI especially. Seems that for 'Nostromo' it could have looked bigger with highlights, accents at least. I can't bring myself to spend the money for something when I have many other synths that sound just as good. Zero, kHs One, Antidote etc. I know this does many thing's they do not but I like a really nice GUI personally, not a knock on the dev I have other Panda stuff.

I actually like the way it looks :/

I think it looks better than zero and antidote anyway...

I'd say it partly comes down to Nostromo looking more like it belongs in the Reason rack than Zero and Antidote.

Antidote has very Reason-like details and structure, but it has always struck me as slightly too big - it's like everything is 120% the scale of the Propellerhead devices.

Zero feels about right on scale, but the details leave a lot to be desired, with everything being a same-size knob and the spacing and typography having a less-refined look.

Nostromo has the right scale, the UI details are very solid with good typography and control hierarchy, and even though it's dense, it doesn't look out of place at all next to something like a Redrum. The only thing that could make it more Reason-like would maybe be an extra 1U on top with some more open space, possibly relocating the volume and a few other global controls up there. But that's a nitpick; Nostromo is definitely one of the best-designed RE synths.

[Neosaki]

If you like it great, brown-on-gray color scheme for you. For me I'd like to see the colors pop more, like the FM4. To each his own.

Looks like a darker gray on a lighter gray to me. Doesn't bother me.

I trialed it. And yeah it sounds pretty cool. I like the pads especially and plucks as well some leads. I wasn't impressed by the bass patches. I don't like the GUI especially. Seems that for 'Nostromo' it could have looked bigger with highlights, accents at least. I can't bring myself to spend the money for something when I have many other synths that sound just as good. Zero, kHs One, Antidote etc. I know this does many thing's they do not but I like a really nice GUI personally, not a knock on the dev I have other Panda stuff.

I actually like the way it looks :/

I think it looks better than zero and antidote anyway...

I'd say it partly comes down to Nostromo looking more like it belongs in the Reason rack than Zero and Antidote.

This. Exactly this (although it needs screws!).

Antidote has very Reason-like details and structure, but it has always struck me as slightly too big - it's like everything is 120% the scale of the Propellerhead devices.

Yes, it's out of scale!

Zero feels about right on scale, but the details leave a lot to be desired, with everything being a same-size knob and the spacing and typography having a less-refined look.

Exactly how I feel, too.

[joeyluck]

I am a big fan of the UI. And I have serious OCD. It's very tidy and I think it's a great size. I'm not a fan of synths that take up much more rack space.

Does that mean no 9 space synths for you?!? [emoji12]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I will consider anything. But I like the ratio of this. Close to 6:10 I believe?
The taller the device/UI, the less zooming you can do before you start to lose the interface above or below on most displays.
And the more space it takes up in general...

And yes, I was the one who pushed hard for Rob Papen to condense RPVerb from a 9U to a 5U
Was very happy that he understood and made the change
This was part of the mockup I made:

RP_Verb-5U.png (218.02 KiB) Viewed 2078 times

I posted an example earlier which shows how it looks when I zoom Nostromo on my MacBook Pro. Which isn't bad to be honest. It pretty much fills the screen. So if Propellerhead can implement a Rack or Rack device zoom feature, I think that would be best.

[joeyluck]

A better example instead of a screenshot like I shared on the last page...

Here is picture of Nostromo zoomed to full screen on my MacBook Pro:

Nostromo-full_screen.png (576.34 KiB) Viewed 2067 times

See what I'm saying? Why would you want it any taller?

[Faastwalker]

A better example instead of a screenshot like I shared on the last page...

Here is picture of Nostromo zoomed to full screen on my MacBook Pro:

See what I'm saying? Why would you want it any taller?

Wish I could do this in Windows 10 ....... I don't think I can ....... can I?!

Does it stay sharp ..... or as sharp as Reason devices look, which sometimes is not all that sharp. Do you have a retina display?

Would be great if there were an option in Reason to zoom device to display width / height. Would be great for synth programming.

[Faastwalker]

First update will have OCD patch.

\

[selig]

A better example instead of a screenshot like I shared on the last page...

Here is picture of Nostromo zoomed to full screen on my MacBook Pro:

Nostromo-full_screen.png

See what I'm saying? Why would you want it any taller?

Because it's my preference and think it looks too cramped?

Compare it to Thor for example - Thor is "tight" but not "cramped" to me. But hey, this is all personal preference. That's one of the reasons I build REs - to express my personal preference in UI, something I've spent a LOT of time learning more about over the past few years (dating an extremely successful professional UI designer doesn't hurt either, if just for her vast library of design books!).

All that being said, I acknowledge that even top designers disagree on stuff, so I'm not saying I have any special insight over anyone else on the subject. But I DO find it a fascinating study. And when my next RE comes out, feel free to tell me it's too big…



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[joeyluck]

A better example instead of a screenshot like I shared on the last page...

Here is picture of Nostromo zoomed to full screen on my MacBook Pro:

See what I'm saying? Why would you want it any taller?

Wish I could do this in Windows 10 ....... I don't think I can ....... can I?!

Does it stay sharp ..... or as sharp as Reason devices look, which sometimes is not all that sharp. Do you have a retina display?

Would be great if there were an option in Reason to zoom device to display width / height. Would be great for synth programming.

The resolution isn't as high, but OSX applies smoothing. I believe Windows has a similar function?

[Faastwalker]

The resolution isn't as high, but OSX applies smoothing. I believe Windows has a similar function?

There's a 'magnify' tool in Windows 10 but it sucks so hard it bends space & time.

[joeyluck]

A better example instead of a screenshot like I shared on the last page...

Here is picture of Nostromo zoomed to full screen on my MacBook Pro:

Nostromo-full_screen.png

See what I'm saying? Why would you want it any taller?

Because it's my preference and think it looks too cramped?

Compare it to Thor for example - Thor is "tight" but not "cramped" to me. But hey, this is all personal preference. That's one of the reasons I build REs - to express my personal preference in UI, something I've spent a LOT of time learning more about over the past few years (dating an extremely successful professional UI designer doesn't hurt either, if just for her vast library of design books!).

All that being said, I acknowledge that even top designers disagree on stuff, so I'm not saying I have any special insight over anyone else on the subject. But I DO find it a fascinating study. And when my next RE comes out, feel free to tell me it's too big…



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I can understand that. I suppose I just don't feel it is cramped. I could understand the difference between this and Red70. But don't feel a big difference compared to Thor.

[selig]

A better example instead of a screenshot like I shared on the last page...

Here is picture of Nostromo zoomed to full screen on my MacBook Pro:

Nostromo-full_screen.png

See what I'm saying? Why would you want it any taller?

Because it's my preference and think it looks too cramped?

Compare it to Thor for example - Thor is "tight" but not "cramped" to me. But hey, this is all personal preference. That's one of the reasons I build REs - to express my personal preference in UI, something I've spent a LOT of time learning more about over the past few years (dating an extremely successful professional UI designer doesn't hurt either, if just for her vast library of design books!).

All that being said, I acknowledge that even top designers disagree on stuff, so I'm not saying I have any special insight over anyone else on the subject. But I DO find it a fascinating study. And when my next RE comes out, feel free to tell me it's too big…



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I can understand that. I suppose I just don't feel it is cramped. I could understand the difference between this and Red70. But don't feel a big difference compared to Thor.

There is a measureable difference with control spacing including the mod matrix and envelopes - but if you don't feel it than cool! Then there's the fact that Thor is what, 3U bigger, so it's interesting you don't see a difference there…

Can you decipher the icons for the oscillators? They are all effectively blobs to me, but I may be going blind in my old age!

Could also be I'm an analog guy from way back, so I expect a different form factor?

Either way, I always enjoy discussing these things - thanks for indulging me!







Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[joeyluck]

A better example instead of a screenshot like I shared on the last page...

Here is picture of Nostromo zoomed to full screen on my MacBook Pro:

Nostromo-full_screen.png

See what I'm saying? Why would you want it any taller?

Because it's my preference and think it looks too cramped?

Compare it to Thor for example - Thor is "tight" but not "cramped" to me. But hey, this is all personal preference. That's one of the reasons I build REs - to express my personal preference in UI, something I've spent a LOT of time learning more about over the past few years (dating an extremely successful professional UI designer doesn't hurt either, if just for her vast library of design books!).

All that being said, I acknowledge that even top designers disagree on stuff, so I'm not saying I have any special insight over anyone else on the subject. But I DO find it a fascinating study. And when my next RE comes out, feel free to tell me it's too big…



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I can understand that. I suppose I just don't feel it is cramped. I could understand the difference between this and Red70. But don't feel a big difference compared to Thor.

There is a measureable difference with control spacing including the mod matrix and envelopes - but if you don't feel it than cool! Then there's the fact that Thor is what, 3U bigger, so it's interesting you don't see a difference there…

Can you decipher the icons for the oscillators? They are all effectively blobs to me, but I may be going blind in my old age!

Could also be I'm an analog guy from way back, so I expect a different form factor?

Either way, I always enjoy discussing these things - thanks for indulging me!

Yeah I just mean in terms of spacing.

I found I picked up on the icons on Nostromo pretty quickly.
One shows two rectangles overlapped, which would be copy.
Another with is a rectangle with an arrow which would be paste.
The other is a trash can which would be clear.
And the last being a die, which is random (roll the die).

Of course folks are going to have different preferences. And there is no right or wrong answer to in terms of how someone feels.
I just like to look ahead and think of having Rack zooming and possibly a z key function you could hit on a synth to make it go 'full screen' where much of these preferences wouldn't matter as much, I feel.

And rest assured, I am a fan of plenty of REs larger than this

[Kenni]

I couldn't care less about colour schemes, as long as it's intuitive and well laid out.

This synth is simply amazing. It tickles my creativity in all the right places.

[frog974new]

I couldn't care less about colour schemes, as long as it's intuitive and well laid out.

This synth is simply amazing. It tickles my creativity in all the right places.

well said

the Nostromo re take all the best features from olds Letric Panda's Re .
just load waveform on the slot and move all the fader and potars to get quickly an amazing tune ^^

this Re is on my top 3 Re for creativity : ( Oberon , Vecto , Nostromo )

[chimp_spanner]

The GUI was one of the things I really liked tbh! It has a kind of Subtractor feel to it ya know? Whoever said it nailed it; it looks "stock".

In answer to how it stacks up to other synths I use (Antidote, Zero, Noxious, Parsec, the Korg stuff, Oberon, FM4, PX7, etc.) I find its unison setting particularly nice/lush. The randomise function is another big plus for me. Set the sweep to a quick upwards ramp, roll the dice and generate awesome spectral basses and plucks. The filters are nice. The reverb is smooth (would've liked a mod control). The presets, I thought, were actually better than most REs. Obviously that's subjective but almost every sound I previewed made me want to play something.

My only issue now is weighing up the R9 update with the cost of Nostromo! And it's not that k don think it's worth it. I just have to budget!

[lowpryo]

trialed it last night, I love it! even though it seems geared towards unique/creative uses, this may replace Antidote as my go-to workhorse synth. the filters sound great, the unison is comparable (if not a little better sounding, but that might be the 'new gear' excitement), and it's just as quick and easy to whip up a full sound. the creative wavetable stuff is the icing on the cake

anyone do more in-depth CPU usage analysis? as far as I can tell it's lighter-weight than Antidote but I wasn't paying too much attention

[riemac]

In about 5 minutes I put together a fairly interesting and useful FM patch.

How do you get a FM patch with it? When I'm right you can't modulat one oscillator with another oscillator in Nostromo.
There is no oscillator modulation source or do I miss something? And the lfo's are to slow with 50 Hz.
Or do you mean with the FM wavespectrums?