Just sharing my experience with the swarm here in case anyone cares.
Had it for a couple month and used it with only an OT. As a single synth voice i found it quite simple. I sampled it a lit and ended up selling it afterwards, since i couldn‘t find new sounds with it. I now have a small modular rack, which would probably allow for more sound shaping possibilities with the swarm.
However the sound didn‘t catch me that much back then.
I found myself using the Basimilus Iteritas Alter a lot and use it as an „alternative“ Digital OSC for the swarm:)
2 Likes
Thats good to hear, although a BIA rig can be pricey once you start adding a clock divider or whatever other modules you need. I really liked the BIA a lot but I actually prefer the sound of the 0-Coast to it, which is great since I can use it without a modular rig.
1 Like
That’s definitely true…
for what the Swarm is, it’s quite cheap!
LFO and Spring Reverb alone would take up additional money + space in a BIA rack…
1 Like
Yeah BIA is still an amazing module. I hope you enjoy yours. I paired mine with a make noise envelope, pams new workout and a filter. It was super cool and a blast to use. Oddly enough got me looking at the 0Coast, just because I loved that rich, digital sound.
1 Like
Yes to be honest i am glad they are discontinuing it
I sold it after 1 month, very flimsy, not precise and not worth the price
Personally, I would not be so harsh. Mine has been working flawlessly and without any noticeable issue (I had to recalibrate the HP filter once, but that’s it.) It took me some time, though, to find the right place in my setup for its sound and character.
1 Like
Been gigging with it the past month and it has become a vital part of the setup. The only thing that feels flimsy to me are the plastic sides. I put it in a shoulder bag with a t-shirt covering the front. No problems so far :). I think it really depends on the use case. It is a little unpredictable because of the tiny pods that don’t offer very precies control. But that unpredictability is exactly one of the reasons I love it as it keeps surprising me in live situations.
Also running it through a few pedals or feeding it to the lemondrop has been fun as well 
One odd thing to me is the standard routing of the envelope to the first envelope and the LFO to the second. From the beginning I’ve swapped it around because that way you can go a bit nuts with filter mod on the first filter and still keeping it rhythmically coherent by modulating the second filter with the envelope.
Luckily the ability to reroute these things is there
3 Likes
Do we need another Swarm video? No. But i made one anyway.
I tried to explore the softer side of it but it wasn’t easy. So after a bit i took a turn and drove right into brutal territory. I was quite happy to find out it can sound similar to the DFAM which i sold a while ago. It’s definitely a quirky synth but also a lot of accidental fun.
2 Likes
Especially in situations with bad monitoring, it can be tricky to “find” good sounds, due to its unpredictability. I’m currently focusing on two or three of the algos and leaving the rest alone, to learn predict the algos a bit better. (The metal algo is great but sweeps through a lot of terrain, also dependent on pitch.)
Same here
2 Likes
I agree. It’s a bit hit and miss with finding sweet spots. Concentrating on only a few algos seems like a good idea. I don’t know how Dave uses it live. I thought about it but then found it too unreliable. But maybe in a few months i might feel comfortable enough to use it for sets.
One of the reasons why I use in ear monitoring, always. Can’t rely on monitoring systems when playing live unless you’re a big name
The unpredictability is manageable I find. And I kind of embrace it. It’s either an extra piece of rhythm or the lead. If the sound is a bit too wild I tend to just turn down the decay.
5 Likes
Do you use a compressor behind the Swarm?
Nope. Only analog heat on the master out of the setup’s mixer. Keeping check of the level by ear. It can get loud but if you know why and when it tends to spike it’s quite easy to keep in check.
2 Likes
What do you use? Have been thinking about this for a while.
Same here! Trying to get reproducible elements is just not what this thing wants
3 Likes
Shure 535
1 Like
Another dirty techno track with the crazy little box. M:S is sequencing the Swarm via midi and the drums get freaked up by the nasty Frostwave Sonic Alienator.
5 Likes
Out of curiosity, how did you have the tracks of the Octatrack set up on that occasion? I’m just trying to imagine how the Swarm might fit into my setup, and the idea of pairing it with ‘just’ an OT is intriguing.
1 Like
I’m not exactly sure what it is you want to know. I’ve used a variety of track setups and I often change them up mid-set
Aha, fair enough! As I’m still finding my way with the OT my tracks tend to be set up fairly consistently for live performance:
T1 + T2 are a Thru and Flex corresponding to A-B for my friend’s audio.
T3 + T4 are a Thru and Flex corresponding to C-D for my audio.
These are for capturing 64 step loops which I slice and scramble.
Other tracks are Flex or Static machines with samples to be triggered via MIDI, then a Master track.
I guess I’m wondering if you were using the Swarm to generate both percussive and drone sounds, and if you had various techniques for capturing them.
Thanks for following up on an old post, by the way! Appreciated.
Hi,
Just wondering if anybody has a default patch sheet they can share for putting the swarm in ‘Drone’ mode, I’m sure I can hold down the Kybd/gate - but want to be able to tweak with both hands if poss 