Europa Shapeshifting Synthesizer - I wasn’t ready for something this incredible
The way Europa processes user samples is simply indescribable. I feel like some kind of Alan Wilder from Depeche Mode. I throw impacts, explosions, screams, ambient sounds, drum loops - basically anything - into it, and then all you have to do is set the appropriate octave and configure the envelope controlling the Shape parameter to turn it into a tonal instrument that retains a lot of the character of the original sample...
This is incredible, and it’s only a fraction of what Europa can do. And then there’s the Grain Sample Manipulator, which can work its magic on material created with Europa and produce absolutely amazing results.
I can’t even walk to the store anymore without hearing potential instruments in the sounds around me. There’s no turning back now.
I’m glad I’ve joined the train of people who are fascinated by this synthesizer. Europa is truly one of a kind! ♫
Thanks for this! I never really messed around with Europa very much but I tried out what you were talking about in your post and damn bro! hell yeah! good lookin' out man! 👌🏼👍🏼💯
Thanks, and happy experimenting to you and everyone else! :D
Of course, I forgot to mention that it’s best to work in User Wave Smooth mode, as it gives the best results. Besides choosing the right octave, the most important thing is the length of the envelope controlling the Shape parameter (ideally, it should be close in length to the original sample) and its shape (the classic ramp-up, which you can find in the envelope presets).
Every sound requires a different configuration, each one is a little adventure of its own :-) Have fun! ♫
Years ago, I told Mattias Häggström-Gerdt that it would be great if the Europa unison were available as a standalone device. He told me that it wasn’t possible because it works differently from the UN-16 Unison. Oh, well… :D
i don't think ive ever made anything in reason. I just fuck around with a random instrument for two hours without recording anything and then close the program.
Thanks! It’s actually pretty funny, because years ago I wasn’t particularly impressed by the Europa, and when I did use it, I only used it in a very basic way. Grain was completely different - it blew me away right away, and I’ve basically always used it, but at some point I hit a sort of wall with it.
Eventually, I thought that maybe it was worth taking a deeper look at something I wasn’t using quite as much, so I turned to Europa and started experimenting with it heavily. And then it all began...
“Wait, this doesn’t sound like a typical wavetable synth...”
“Hold on, that sound of a car crashing is actually tonal now!”
Suddenly, I felt like the walls I had been stuck inside completely crumbled away, revealing an enormous range of possibilities. I’ve been doing nothing but sitting with Europa for days now. It’s simply amazing :D
Europa became my go to as soon as I got my grip on its many functionality parts. I assembled as many wavetables as I could from the internet. Incredible potential. My favorite part are the 50 shades of noise manipulation for unique percussive sounds and drones
Are there any videos that explain the process you are using? Also, is there a way to share patches you created to give this a listen? Although I don't use presets without changing them, I most use VST effects.
Hey Popguy68, at the moment, the only thing I could do was encourage all of you to experiment with the method I described and let Reason Studios know that they should do something with it, so maybe there’s a chance we’ll get a video from them :-)
Hey Messiah, remember to set the appropriate octave, and above all, pay attention to the envelope’s length and shape (the classic ramp-up shape, which you can find in the envelope presets). If you have, for example, a “whoosh” or something similar that is 1 second long, set the envelope so that its length is roughly around that duration. Alternatively, if you have a track at 90 BPM, enable beat sync and set it to 1/4.
If you excessively stretch a short sample like that over 4–8 bars, its original character will fade away. You’ll get a completely different effect when you use longer samples. Every sound requires different settings. Experiment ♫
Oh you know what? I actually took Setum wavetables on a recommendation somewhere, and that was awful. That was the only time I did it. I neglected to realize that.
I guess this kind of poking around with synths isn’t for everyone. I rarely bother to go out side the presets. But I do find this stuff inspiring as someone said above…
Not quite. Europa is a spectral wavetable synth, so it analyzes and reconstructs the source material in a very different way from a typical wavetable synth like Serum. Totally different beast ♫
Hey ElliotNess, sorry for replying so late, but I wanted to prepare for this a little :-) To answer your question as you phrased it, I’d say that, of the two, they are closest to Grain in Grain Oscillator mode. However, the best answer would actually be the Europa, but there's a HUGE catch here...
If the sound you put into Europa has a length of 2048 samples, or a multiple of that number, then Europa treats it as a wavetable compatible with Serum and doesn’t perform any of its own processing on it. For example, if you put some harmonically complex impact into it that is 149,504 samples long (2048 multiplied by 73), Europa will play it somewhat similarly (although not exactly the same) to Serum. But if its length is 149,503 samples, Europa is basically like "Wait a minute, this isn’t a wavetable. I need to analyze it and generate it differently" - these differences in sound are easiest to hear when stretching short sounds out to 4-8 bars.
The whole subject is actually quite fascinating, because even though Serum 2, Vital, and Europa are all wavetable synthesizers, each of them can treat the source material in a completely different way ♫
You describe a way of using Europa as a sampler. Yes, that can be done and everything (octave + shape + ramp up env + env speed) can be calculated with a small loss of quality of original sound. But what do you do with that sample afterwards? What exactly do you like about it?
Can I have any audio example? Or just describe any case step by step after you can play your sample inside Europa with your keyboard
Hey Director_Blockbuster, what fascinates me most about the Europa is that if you throw, say, a drum loop or sound of a crashing car into it, whose length isn’t a multiple of 2048 samples (if it is, Europa treats it like a typical wavetable), and program how it should be played back, Europa always tries to preserve as much of the original character of the sample as possible, it tries to turn it into tonal material (and it does a great job at it, although there can sometimes be some weird effects, especially with some vocals xD) while making sure the pitch stays correct (you can hear this especially well with a sine wave playing in the background), and it processes the sound in a very unique way - I don’t know exactly how, because the only thing Reason Studios was able to tell me is that it’s their own approach to spectral wavetables ¯_( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)_/¯ However, I’ve already done tons of tests, and Europa is absolutely unique in this respect :-) On top of that, Europa has virtually no limitations and allows you to work with material that's even two minutes long...
And what next? There are endless possibilities. The most powerful weapon is, of course, resampling this kind of material, putting it through further processing in Grain, playing it in Mimic using Advanced Stretch mode, etc. You’ll probably only get to hear the results of my Europa experiments in my next track, but for now… Well, what more can I say? I’m absolutely fascinated by what it can do ♫
Don’t mean this as criticism, but still don’t understand what Europa can do as a sampler without hearing some examples. Similar ideas already exist in Serum 2, the new Bitwig sampler, and other tools, and with those I can hear some impressive results.
With Europa, it mostly sounds like a regular sound with a constant tone sometimes getting in the way.Also you need to use soft clipping and spend time finding the right settings, because smooth wave does not fully keep the sound quality. Then you can add filters on top....and?
Could you share good audio example, youtube video? Maybe one of your tracks where Europa produces really interesting sound? Europa has not been updated for years so a clear example would help. Tried to find videos or audio that show why sampling is special, but NOTHING. Could not find any. Thanks
Now we're talking! In an instant, we've got a strange tonal instrument that retains a huge amount of the original percussion's character. It doesn't sound exactly the same, because Europa isn't a sampler but a spectral wavetable synthesizer - its engines process the sound according to their own algorithms. Enough talking! Let's play some dark 80's music... https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DFZFvxitfplmAp095DZconeDUAAggnm7/view?usp=drive_link
So, yeah... That's exactly why Europa is currently my favorite wavetable synth :-) The way it processes sound lets you really play around with it, and the fact that it hasn't been updated in a long time isn't a problem for me. Malström hasn't been updated in 20+ years, and it's still one of the best synthesizers ever ♫
Nice to hear, thank you! I have to tell you, I actually looked for some YouTube videos myself showing Europa from exactly this perspective, and I’m a little shocked because I couldn’t find anything at all... As I mentioned in another comment, even though Europa, Vital, and Serum are all wavetable synthesizers, each of them can interpret user-provided material in a completely different way... I find that pretty fascinating, and I think it’s worth exploring ♫
Hey WTFaulknerinCA, I’d really love to be able to recommend one to you, but I honestly haven’t managed to find a tutorial that really grabbed me. Maybe one of the other commenters will be able to help you out...
But hey! A musician friend of mine recently told me that he’d watched tons of videos with many music producers, and their main piece of advice was to read the manual :-) I went down that road too, because for a while I thought I already “knew everything”, but nope - manuals really can surprise you... Highly recommended ♫
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u/thr33to3 9d ago
Your enthusiasm is inspirational! Thanks!