Synthesist George Hall has shared a series of videos on Youtube that explore using the Studiologic Sledge to create all types of iconic synth sounds.
In the video above, Hall creates a tribute to Wendy Carlos, using custom patches on the Sledge. Below, he recreates sounds from Tomita’s Snowflakes Are Dancing.
The series, whih includes over 40 videos, looks at recreating many other iconic synth patches, including sounds from Vangelis, Jarre, Toto, Steve Winwood, MGMT and others.
It’s too bad that the Sledge has a bad rep due to reliability issues.
What issues? I have a 2.0 and generally pay attention to such things, but I can’t recall a discussion of problems here or elsewhere. Not being a d*ck, just interested.
A couple of folks with memory issues that required repair. Issues with the patch software on a Mac, issues with local on/off, layers/splits not saving properly sometimes, patches sounding different when mono is on vs off, random glitch noises when transferring patches, sample looping fails when the loop is “too small”, temporary filter envelope issues after changing patches, filter-based sound changes when turning on or off the arp. These are all issues reported by more than 1 person. That being said, this is a highly underrated synth that I spend more time on than my System-8.
I know Gaz Williams sent his back for service. (He said this on SonicTalk.) He wasn’t too bothered by this though. I think that in general the Sledge is pretty reliable though.
Gaz williams’s microphone fell on his and broke a key thats why he sent it back.
When did Gaz send his Sledge for repairs? I know recently he smashed his keys when a stand in his studio fell.
Do you mean when he smashed that microphone? I don’t think it hit the Sledge then. He had it repaired before that incident. I think it was an electronic problem, though i’m not clearly remembering this.
Gaz is so cool, and i love his ideas and takes on equipment and methods.
These tutorials are just perfect for where I’m at right now. I’ve been learning a lot about synths the last bunch of years and it’s really nice to watch and listen to Mr. Hall make the sounds of my life on a synth with such a clear interface. I’m duplicating everything with u-he’s Diva. Thanks for the heads up!
Ive heard the Sledge uses a gimped version of the waldorf Blofeld engine… I wonder if they are planning on expanding it more beyond the 2.0 spec
Depends how you look at it. I know one Blofeld owner (owns 3 blofelds actually) that prefers the sound of the Sledge. One could also say the blofeld is a gimped version of the Sledge if you’re looking at the hardware. 🙂
I got a Sledge upgraded to version 2. Supernice synth – especially after finding the hidden ppg codes. However – my unit has some slow buttons. I have to press them very firmly, and sometimes repeatably to make them work. Not all of them – some of them.
Oh – and a tip: Make the best classic synth you want in Reaktor – and lay it out like the Sledge. Then use your Sledge as a controller.
With the OS2.5.1, I am hoping to create some fun sounds with the
hacked PPG,Comb, and Notch filter, as well as the unisono modes
that can be sent via cc.
I’d love to see this in a written-down pdf-type format.
With a Mac at least, get Opera or Safari browsers and you can save any page as a pdf gratis !-) Oh, and get a black Sledge 2.0! You can load in sysex format sounds from other synths too…
Can anyone tell us more about George Hall? I’ve looked and looked.
Regarding George Hall. Found a good article: https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/leisure/music/10910279.why-george-hall-keyboard-player-in-huge-is-the-master/