DSI Tempest

The Lounge Other Gear
#1

Hi guys,

after I get a huge amount of controverse opinions about it, i’ve decided to start a thread right here.
I’m looking for buying a tempest and i have few qustions. Perhaps you can give me a hint or some advice on it.
I’ve testet it in the local store and i couldn’t figure much out, because it seems to be too complex for jast an hour on it.
first: is there always a noise from the distotrion? as I cranked the dist and compressor I’ve heard huge noise coming out?! is this normal?
second. could you please give me a opinion in general about this drum machine.
i.e.:
sound design - flexibility.
midi sync with other gear( i.e. problem with the note repeat function).
as 6 voice synth - complex sounds.
as 6 voice drum machine- sequencer.

there are realy not much good videos on youtube and perhaps it’s the cook but perhaps the kitchen… I really stuck…

any advice would be welcome!

thanks and cheers, van
ps sorry for bad spelling

1 Like
Tempest opinions years later
#2

I think the sequencer and workflow of the Tempest is my favourite of any machine. Unfortunately I didn’t like the sound. I think DSI’s sound is more suited for synths than drum synths. If you like the sound than it’s an amazing machine!

2 Likes
#3

yea i agree !

#4

i like the sound a lot,

i like that its not the overused dance drum type/

its a rounder type tone, more new wave,

thats the only way i can describe it,

the sequencer is great, very geared to drums and perc,

elektron seems to be a sum greater than its parts, the power is the sequencer and parameter interaction,
but, absolute sound quality has never been their strength,

tempest i think will probably sound better but the ar will win on features

thats just my take on it,

i am still wondering if i should get the ar, and add it with my tempest, it add a lot,

that means selling the a4, ass-station2, nord drum,


#5

I had one for 3 years, constantly love/hate relation with it. The workflow was not so nice for me. Too dependand on modes and a simple adsr envelope already involved constant use of the shift button. The synth engine is not geared towards drums, more like a normal analog synth. Also, no resonant hipass, which is pretty essential for lots of drum sounds.
It syncs fine with the latest beta, noise is always present when using the compressor.
The poly synth sounds were fantastic, but when sequenced externally, only 1 midi channel at a time. The built in sequencer is very basic compared to elektrons, and monophonic. Dsi more or less dropped support for it (as in no new features anymore).

#6

those are all the issue i thought too, but after messing with it, i like the results and its fast,

#7

i forgot to actually answer any questions,

its 6 voice at 1 time, with its own sequencer, but 32 different sounds, but when u assign stuff, i believe it becomes fixed a bit more,

most vids for that schmigt poly analog sound like shit too, oe however its spelled,

tthere are a few good vids,

as far as sound, like i mentioned, i think its great, the synth parts are almost like a mini evolver,

its verrry flexible, and they don’t make it easy,

it has a lot of parameters, but none are simplified for drums, u have to learn to program them, its very well worth it after that

in my opinion its a pretty good machine, it does a bunch, sounds great, and has very interesting live performance tools,

go n mess with it yourself a bit more, never mind people who complain about it every time they can, they hardly objective,

lots of great musicians use it to make great stuff,

dsi coulda done a few things better, no doubt, but it is, what it is,

i am going to give the ar a chance soon, the lack of synth might be too much though,

but if it really is a much better machine, i will keep it…

you can probably get a temp pretty cheap , lots of people believe the hype of the elektron knock-off

#8

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with drum machine ever since I bought

my first back in 82.

This is the only one that I have way more love for than hate,

It drives you to play it live and use the sliders and knobs and the roll and the reverse and ext pedals and the pad pressure and the beat switching and the real time swing and tha…

You can realtime record a beat then go into the editing mode and time shift, transpose, vol, 4 parameter locks, reverse, which for some is quirky but I’ve found it pretty straight forward

It has its issues and annoyingness but with its complexity quite understandable

(oh there was one other but it was really a 1 off, a fully robin whittle modded 808)

#9

While my feelings with elektrons box lead me to some deep electro sequence, the tempest leads me naturally into some rock n roll beats. It is rageous and very “male” sounding.

DSI did not stop supporting it and is planning new updates. One is coming in a few weeks. They also plan to sell it for 5-10 years so there will be updates for a long time.

It’s awesome to use and a great fun

#10

thanks!
now i have a better picture. it is possible that this is more for people who like to tweak and build sounds and dig into synthesis and it’s not a “intuitive” and simple like a tr8 or even ar?
but lucky me, i’m a person who likes tweaking and spending time on sounds…
so where is my tempest? - 1300€ for used one… my poore bank acount… :dizzy_face:

#11

The presets inside the machine when you buy it new are terrible so it’s not really “plug n play killer beats”.
If you buy second hand, the previous owner may have made some better sounds. Also you can load sysex banks, many of them are nice. DSI plans to release new projects banks in the next update.
Anyways, if you like to tweak, that’s a machine for you.

#12

the tempest (and all DSI stuff really) can make some really nasty, in-your-face aggressive type sounds, as well as very soft ethereal and just plain weird

its versatile but it requires a fair amount of hands-on programming to get there… its a damn fun machine if you enjoy sound design, but if you are looking for a quick fix its probably not the best thing for that

#13

It can also do some very nice Polysounds : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT55pBZt4jc

#14

I owned one for about a year before selling. I agree that the work flow and live features are top-notch. Also, the OLED screen is really something and invites you to fiddle with the parameters. The main detractors for me were the sound and the inability to add your own samples. Definitely not the punchiest sounding kicks. If you could layer your own samples it would be a dream.

#15

I can only say that I’ve had a “tempestuous” relationship with the thing, I’d mimic what’s been said above.

I really love the sequencer and the workflow, the sounds not so much.

Getting a decent bass kick from it is incredibly difficult, the filters just don’t resonate to well in that lower range, which I find really frustrating as I can get my A4 to shake my roof tiles loose!

In short, excellent concept, poor execution.

#16

I really like it for jamming out live. Also it sounds great once you program good patches. here is a live set I made last weekend tons of tempest in it, mostly Synth, chords, bass line with some perc like clap, hats ect…though i dont use it for kick drums.

[url=“https://soundcloud.com/kawa/peoplemuver-2nd-live-recording-may-3rd-2014”]

https://soundcloud.com/kawa/peoplemuver-2nd-live-recording-may-3rd-2014

as much as i like the tempest it dose have short comings!

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#17

I really like the sounds I can get with the Tempest: distinctive, deep, and aggressive. Some may not like it’s personality. You have to work to make it sound ‘sweet’ (like the A4 or a Moog can be, for example). You can definitely use the tempest for a lot more than drums… bass, pads, leads are all possible. It’s really a 6 voice analog synth with samples.

As far as sound design goes, the parameter set is very synth-like (as others have said). However, it does have some percussion specific things like mute groups and snappy envelopes. I also like the pads / knobs / layout.

However, I don’t really like the sequencing workflow. So many modes to remember… I can never seem to get fluent with it.

Another thing: since it only has 16 beats (patterns) and doesn’t listen to Program Change to select the patterns, so syncing it up to Elektron boxes is a bit limited… you end up switching patterns on the Tempest and whatever master Elektron box you have. I like to have all the boxes switch patterns from the OctaTrack. Currently, I use the Tempest to make loops for the OctaTrack that provide a different sound from the MachineDrum.

So, it’s useful and has a great, distinctive sound. Doesn’t really play that nice with the Elektron stuff though for a live set, IMO.

HTH

#18

I loved its capabilities. I did not love its sound.

The points made about it being more of a synth are true.

Switching between modes was, at times, a PITA.

Only six voices was a serious PITA.

It is a very cool analog synth that is designed like a rhythm machine, and as such, does a great job.

It will do beatwide parameter sound sweeps like nothing else - highly recommended. I miss them.

I needed a drum machine that would knock down walls and crack foundations. The Tempest was not it for me.

#19

It is awesome as a 6 voice synth module. 4 OSCs, 2 digital/2analog with a good filter, good distortion. if you like programming your own sounds you will get along with this machine.

The biggest flaw IMO is it’s lack of midi implementation. As of now it’s my understanding you can’t even automate stuff like filter cutoff over midi so it’s not the most DAW friendly piece of gear out there. just keep that in mind. I sold my A4 after i got it and i haven’t looked back, so that tells you something.

it does aggressive very well, but it also does basses very well especially for deep house kind of stuff and it can get real grimy

Also you can’t sequence chords right now (maybe they could change this in an update) which is another annoying thing because the 16 tunings mode is very inspiring and opens up a lot of possibilities for you if you’re not into music theory.

bottom line is it is a blast to play… it really makes me wish the octatrack had pads. i think i’ve only recorded with it one time but i will hook it up and jam for an hour non-stop all the time and just have fun with it.

oh yeah! if you primarily want a drum machine i would probably look elsewhere. although i like the drums and the variety of samples that it has, i like it way more for synths. maybe i should have bought a prophet 12 instead lol.

cause like the guy above me said, 6 voices won’t always cut it. maybe if you were just using it for percussion but once you put down a bassline youre gonna want to put down a lead line and then you start eating up the voices real quick

#20

You can’t do it on one track because the sequencer is monophonic. You can however copy/paste the sound to one or more other tracks and effectively do chords. You do have 32 tracks/sounds per beat/pattern so there’s definitely room to do so. Downside is that you can’t tweak all those tracks in realtime without affecting all the sounds.

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