Do i Regret buying the Modal Skulpt? // Sound Design and Workflow with the Skulpt 

this guy is the perfect antidote to GAS. Whenever he reviews a piece of gear I don't want it anymore

That jam at the end was tight!

I have the Skulpt SE, not really any improvements from the black one I had. I am conflicted about it. It is about the most powerful synth modulation-wise I have found for that low price and I lean toward toughing it out until the UI becomes intuitive for me. But that might take a while! The biggest gripe I have is that the shift button can't be set up to not latch. The fact that it latches complicates the flow as it requires unlatching and it is easy for me to forget if I am in shift mode or not. Update: in fact, I was wrong in saying latch was the only way the shift button works. I have just discovered that holding shift while adjusting a knob releases back to unshifted after I am done adjusting the parameter. I contacted Modal Support but they did not mention this. It is hold to automatically unlatch. But just pushing shift alone latches in shift mode. Knowing this improves the UI 100% for me.

I found the knobs were hard to identify in my crap-lit studio, so I added coloured dots to the top of the knobs (green for envelope, yellow for filter/res, red for the oscillators, etc...)- worked a treat and looks good too!

Bought the Skulpt as my first Synth (im a bass and keys player, primarily) and it delivers much more than expected considering.the price. Im Having a great time learning synthesis, and adding some rich sounding pads or chords to loops. The touch keys are not great, but if you're creative with voicings you can make some nice chord progressions too. It does feel flimsy at times, but I've had it in my gig bag going back and forth to jam quite often and its not showing signs of damage or tear so far, after 4 months of active use.

I love your no nonsense unbiased approach to this. I got a circuit a couple weeks ago and found your videos. Keep it coming Ricky! Great youtuber.

I've been looking for something portable to use - something with a small 'keyboard' layout, sequencer and basic effects. I had an OP-1 and found it groundbreaking, amazing and 'fun' but it seemed like it did a lot of the work for you in unexpected ways, especially when you had an exact idea of what you wanted to do: eg, I want to use an arp to create 16th note bass lines, but I'm looking at two monkeys playing the notes to something completely different - musical yes, but not what I wanted at all. It catered for experimentation and non-musicians who want to play things in time, in key by holding random keys and figure out things as they go along. Those who understand they want: an XXms delay, a simple up-down arpeggiator, a filter-sweep without having to work out that shifting the gearstick on the racecar or compression by the shade of red of the cartoon boxer's glove (or whatever it was) - got you what you wanted... I can understand the appeal for people, especially breaking out of the 'traditional' interfaces and parameters to get inspiration, random elements and for those who don't have any experience with the 'old-skool' parameters and interfaces, but for those of us looking for an all-in-one scratchpad, with a small keyboard and basic interface, the OP-1 has too many other distractions. It is absolutely fantastic, and I miss parts of it a lot, but wasn't completely what I wanted, after two years of experimenting with it. Is there anything with some decent synths, sampler, drums, effects, arp/sequencer and a keyboard that isn't a matrix of MPC-style square buttons? I've been looking at the Modal and the Sonicware options. A Microfreak with a USB power supply might be good, with a small, digital recorder? Any suggestions or experience people have that could be useful?

Another great unbiased review of something from someone who's actually used it and is talented - how unique! ;) Always love your stuff whether it applies to me or not - just great listening to such a talented person and their take on things :) _PLEASE_ set yourself up on _Patreon_ - with '00's of people giving you a few bucks it's worth it as it's my preferred way of supporting people as I'm not really in to hats, t-shirts etc...

4:30 in the morning, the sun not yet rising, lights dimmed and set to some warm colors, a good cup of coffee, and watching ricky tinez play some mellow tones before work. Vibin' hard.

Love your video's and the music, can't wait for the next one!

@Ricky Tinez - Merch idea for sure “kiss the noise” with a sine wave that morphs into noise. I’d buy that as a hoodie 🙂

Sounds like you'd like the Argon 8M. It's kind of an upgrade to this, and addresses most of of your gripes on layout, wavetables, depth and ease of use. Great vid as always 👍

Nice to see you talk about the Skulpt. I'm having similar issues, if you will. I like it, and I use it for certain things, but somehow, it doesn't really make it into my regular production flow. What I like is to midi through other devices through it, and kind of use it as a support for sound I generated on devices I use more frequently. It's a good device, and I wouldn't wanna give it away, but somehow, I don't manage to dive really deep into it. Nice video, gave me some more insight, thumbs up!

I heard you say you weren’t sure about The Uno Synth. But I love it. Not as complex as Skulpt original I have. I think they go well together.

Hey Ricky, great video as always! Your shit is always super chill, and usually inspires me to get off my ass and make some beats 😂 I’ve got a weird question that I don’t even know if you can answer. In a lot of your old videos theres these two background tracks that are super chill. I’m assuming you made them, but I could never find the names of them in the description or comments. I’d love a way to listen to them on their own, if you or any helpful fan can direct me to them.

You embody a True musical magician. Although unlock oz. U do not hide behind the girl of editing and cutting. The fact you let alot of "struggle' moments in this video. Created an immense relatability between you and I. Amazing. Work. And great videography decision making.

Hi, thank you for posting such a great video. I have been trying to find out if this particular synth can also be utilized as a controller for musical vsts and plugins in logic. Would you happen to know the answer to this? Thanks again for posting a cool video

Dude! thanks for this video, omg i felt the same way, at the time i was between this and a Arturia Microfreak (totally awesome unit ) but i needed something more "warm" sounding, more "padish" and "buttery" anyway... i was put off by the weight and plasticky feel of it, and the layout , however i must say that i do enjoy the sounds, its very capable. I see modal has come out with a revision of it, which fixed the top layout, i'm wondering if maybe we can make a cut out of that layout to lay on top of this one...

Love how its so original! keep It up!!

I love your videos! Thanks a lot for sharing them!

I keep looking at this considering adding it to my set up, this video helped me inform that decision

I find Skulpt like Craft are really powerful additions to the synth arsenal that can create distinctive sounds, not much else can replicate. Nice overview, and when you use the Modal app editor as a VST, it makes far more sense

"kiss the noise" love your poetry!

I’m not sure it’s practical, and yet - I love the angled print on it.

These modal synth have amazing low frequency response , like that about my 001. Interesting your thoughts , then they release the Cobalt8 which addresses a lot of the limitations of the analogue synth paradigm.

Great video, that layout is a perfect example of emphasizing design over function !

That got SICK once you got to the arp. Mind made up. Buying now.

Hey Ricky-thanks for the demo-this unit looks so good on paper-and I love the size, but...anyway-thanks for posting man.

25:47 exactly this. i have one (kickstarter) and although i dont use it much at home, it comes out in small gigs often... gigzs, remember those!?

The fact that you got so turn around at the 9:30 mark shows improvements could be made.

2 minutes in and dude - you're studio is top chill

I kind of get when you don't want to rely on FX. To many things seem to sound good drowned in Reverb. Hou do you work with FX if you have multiple instruments? Do you use the FX on each instrument or do you only use the send and return on a mixer?

really liked the inspiration from the arpeggiation

Why do we hear that 'hiss' sound (at the background) ? Is it because of the Skulpt and Circuit powering from the USB inputs? or are there any other explanations?

Vibed out to the jam at the end 👌

I have one and love it. It has so much potential!

16:00 really digged the unintentional FF6 Magitek Factory vibe you had going on. You’d probably get a kick out of the Cobalt, but I’ve definitely had a love/hate relationship with modern VAs. Sometimes the “feel” just isn’t there or you get lost in the sauce with the more esoteric waveshapes when you accomplish goal A but fall frustratingly short of goal B. Still, great bang for the buck. Edit: lol and about FX for life, the Cobalt turns into a different beast when you run all those ring mods through the Nightsky.

HOLY SCALPING SCULPTS, BATMAN!! Model sculpts are going for $600 on eBay! thank goodness for the SE, but looks like they're not widely carried. The $200 price and android compatibility are what got my attention. Plus people seemed to like the craft synth a lot for $150, but now the Korg NTS-1 is out. That you build, with not just presets but can be used to add FX to whatever you plug in, sooo... I know what you mean about "FX feels like cheating or laziness." I felt the same way about video editing and refusing to use "After Effects." In a way I still do. I think you can just show your talents from straight editing. In fact, I STILL haven't installed AE.

Ricky that was a great and honest review.

Thanks Ricky, been thinking of getting a Skulpt for a while and now the SE version is now a 100 cheaper I think i'm going to get one.

Im thinking about getting one just seen someone selling one for £130.. but I'm about to get the Roland S1 as I just got the t8...does anyone know if this is a better option or should I just get the s1

The only issue I have with the synth is, that the oscillators retrigger everytime a note is pressed and I get a massive phase effect when I am using detuning with the spread function. Other than that it feels cheap...but I cannot complain for that because I got it cheap. I wish I had gone for a NTs1 or a Microfreak.

Nice vid! Pleasure to watch =)

Apart from the Skulpt... How cool is the chord feature on the Circuit Tracks, where you can freely choose which notes a chord is made of and then assign it to a single pad! Most other sequencers / drum machines (I know of) will only (if at all) let you choose from a list of preconfigured chords, like a major, minor, dominant etc. chord... And of course those chords will quite probably be in root position, so they sound very trivial and are not quite usable for a production.

I am not sure I agree that it is a "basic synthestizer". The spread to detune then to chords via a knob is unique, the morph (shift reso knob), the matrix (which you were trying to assign the cutoff knob to MEG which does not work) check out the 8 slots in the software to see what is assignable for on the fly tweaking, the FM, LFO2 has a Freq division rate by note (as in you want it to pulse with 8th notes, it can) and last but not least.... it is MPE compatible hardware! You can connect your Roli keyboard to it via midi and it works! No software, no computer running Equator. I mean that is cool by itself to be DAW-less and use MPE. Very cool and unique little synth.

I bought a Skulpt recently...because of its size, and the realtime sequencer) I'm always more interested in performance features. Not that interested in Modding or sound design. The problem is...the Skulpt DOES feel a bit "buggy". It is tricky to press the right combination of buttons in the right sequence to get the arpeggiator & recording sequencer working. There is no "4 count" (metronome is either on or off) so I haven't yet mastered how to get recording to work in time. ( I don't run things from apps or other synths.) You have to press 2 buttons puls hold a finger on one of the keys for just the right amt of time to do certain things. Then when it doesnt work you're like "is THAT why they sold it so cheap?" Not sure I would have bought it again...on the other hand...when you want a synth smaller than 1 ft that actually sounds good & has performance features...how much choice is there?

hey i bought one of these used the other week and I am just now getting to the point where I can spank through the SHIFT and normal states of all the knobs, the last hurdle is for me to figure out how to use the sequencer in a way that's on the fly and musical. my fave is stacking 5ths in Duo mode and then playing the 2 notes in a way to make major or minor chords, owrks great for interesting sequences. I payed 210 plus shipping used on reverb only to find it for 200 brand new @ seattle synth. lol.

I think my Skulpt sounds great but in my experience, editing with the app is pretty much a must. So much so that I generally just sit my iPad in front of a controller keyboard and have the actual synth somewhere off to the side, which at that point, you might as well just use a virtual synth on the iPad. The Craft 2.0 however, that one is a better thought out product IMO. My favorite, compact, bang-for-the-buck, synth remains to be the MicroMonsta.

It would be nice if you did the Argon/Cobalt review.

Thanks for reviewing this one ricky

Well, it does sound really good. This is kinda what I do. I find some niche thing that I enjoy using a certain device for, and then I kinda just keep it in my mind as "that's the device I use such-n-such for"

I really like Modal's stuff, and I think their modeling sounds great. However, I find myself liking the sounds of the Craftsynth engine more so than the Skulpt, since it uses digital waveforms rather than analog modeling. It just sounds more interesting to my ears, so I really get what you're saying about analog synths. Likewise, I really find myself preffering the Argon8 over the Cobalt 8. The Cobalt 8 is a fine VA synth, for sure, but it's just a bit less appealing to my ears. Edit: Having said all that, last I saw the Skulpt was regularly on sale for only $200, and I think that's a hell of a lot of bang for the buck. If you can get past the confusing interface then I think it's easily worth the money, since it's so cheap.

now has MPE, makes a compact MPE dawless setup a possibility. definitely thinking about grabbing the SE

I got one for Christmas and have similar qualms but it’s so tiny and has a few effects and an arp. I think the micro freak is more accessible but it’s also bigger. I have it too and love the options. Actually used them both together recently.

Kiss the noise a real quick... Classic Ricky!!! :D

The end sounds like some dope Streets of Rage type stuff

Dude! Love your channel and your hat ;)

I dug it. But the USB crapped out on me so couldn't use the app anymore, manage patches etc. That kind of soured me on it. But I LOVED the morphing filter, which was shockingly smooth.

I just realized you don’t have an OP-1! It has some issues (artifacts, cumbersome midi), but i’m surprised you don’t use one. The sampler can be polyphonic, the synth engine sounds decent (would sound killer with zen delay), and it has, what i consider to be, limitations that are creatively fruitful. Have you ever messed around with one? I sold mine, and even though i got a ton of eurorack stuff with the cash, i still kinda miss it sometimes. Still very unique. The price tho 😭

I recently made a list of stuff to sell in order to fund some more Elektron boxes. Came up with a list of 8 items, including my Blofeld and Monologue. The Skulpt wasn’t even close to being on the list. Find a pad sound and then lose hours randomising the patch 😀

Ricky, buy the KORG MINILOGUE XD MODULE. I have the keys model, and believe or not, it’s the most enjoyable synth I actually have. It’s tiny, I bring it everywhere, fucking powerful and flexible, lot of great features, great sequencer etc etc etc. KORG absolutely NAILED IT with this one ! Big salut from France 🇫🇷 Vinz🙋‍♂️

Nice at the end E, thanks

I grabbed up one of these so I can use it in live, solo electronic sets to replace my old Moog (needs work, too valuable to take out anymore). Just something like a monophonic synth I can doodle on w one hand.

At some point will you just edit all the things you do with the Circuit Tracks? Even though you don’t care if I buy it

Do you know the track "Adventures In Success" by Will Powers ? That lovely little jam at the end reminds me of that - sort of that bassline or groove 👍☺🎶

i wish the sequencer was a bit better thought out-- with the sequencer you have modulation lanes which would be very useful-- kind of parameter lock-ish-- but even with the app it's just not intuitive at all. anyway, the skulpt is probably the only synth in its class that responds to MPE, which ableton 11 just started supporting. and it might make good use of the microfreak's keyboard as a controller... i was initially annoyed with the skulpt but i've got an old surface pro i have permanently hooked up to it dedicated to running the software, then connect to the rest of my setup through simple MIDI and to it's credit it works flawlessly. also, spending the extra $30 on an oversynth overlay has made the panel interface 100% more usable. with the SE version being so cheap it's actually a great deal. don't expect a perfect thing but with a couple more updates to the firmware and app it could be a truly great synth.

I love this guy. He's really good at helping people decide on bits of kit. G.A.S addiction is punishing for lots of us.

Man, I don’t know what you do at Novation... But I think you could get involved in design. I hope they consult you in user experience stuff, because I have been watching you for years and your interactions with gear on this Chanel is honest and revealing. User focused. Applause 👏

wow tracks looks sick, I am thinking to replace my mc 707 with one as its smaller and I wont use the sampling function on the mc 707

I've reset the patches almost every time I play with my Skulpt. The usability is maddening

I saw the thumbnail and went "oh no, my bad..." 😂😂

Only got one b/c SW marked them down a hudno around my b-day back in December. I got it out and used it once since then... This seems to be the trend with gear I've collected over the past 5 years or so. The only exceptions: Uno Synth, Volca Drum and Model:Cycles.

Nice outro!

is the background noise from modal?

I love how you wanted something really random so you pressed “randomize” multiple times 😂😂😂

re: affects=cheating, I remember reading an article in some computer music magazine back in the 90’s or 2k’s where BT was ranting about how using effects was cheating, (along with using arpeggiators instead of programming every note by hand) so it’s a definitely a thing amongst certain circles.

I own the Modal Cobalt and its fantastic.

the intervals you keep playing around the beginning sound just like the Shinra music from final fantasy 7 lol

Giving you work for novation, is a circuit tracks review in the pipeline?

I almost got a Skulpt once, I really love the form factory and the sounds, but then I went for the Digitone.

At 13:20 you make an interesting comment about getting bored with analog synthesizers. I too have experienced that with both analog and digital in terms of no matter how much time I spend adjusting the parameters I didn't seem get the sound or inspiration I believed I would get. I sold many synths because of this, and even some of them I now regret selling. I eventually realized what was happening after I bought enough analog synths and many repeat buys of the same model because say one AX-80 may have 50% less inspriational sound than another. I found that It's not necessarily the lack of complexity of features like variable wave shapes, cross-mod, extra lfo's and envelopes, oscillators, etc. But those really turn out to be at best minor factors that makes for inspirational quality, relatively speaking. I mean dont get me wrong options and features are big factors and very important to me and what I used to look for first and foremost when I started off buying these things. I thought the more features the more sound shaping possibilities,...the more inspiration I'll get to come up with new ideas. Not true in the respect that I realized it not the features, but the inherent qualities of the actual synth in-hand --> the components, circuit architecture, which doesnt necessarily have to be complex, but rather I've seen many simple 2 oscillator, one filter, 1 adsr, 1 lfo designs that kick out more thrill, inspirational...more musical...in fact often much more than the complex designs. So to your point at 13:20, if you find yourself wishing for more complex options and features on a given synth and hope that in itself gets you the most mileage for that moment of musical bliss, I learned it won't. It's not the features that do the real trick. Its other implicit things that cant be described just by a feature list. So my take on this is just start with a great synth that 80% of the time, any knob tweaks you make come up with is sound that motivates you to hit the save button. It truly is the synths intrinsic inspirational factor no matter where the knobs are, as few of them as some synths have, that makes is a keeper at the end of the day. A good example is the Korg Monotribe. At my place that sits on the top shelf besides the Moog and Sequential gear and to be open and honest some of the Behringer stuff.

I prefer the Skulpt SE: Sold my Microbrute because of the thin Sound and the horrible Knobs: The Rubber Knobs got pretty sticky after a short time. Same Problem with Arturia Beatstep, wich has almost the same Knobs, sold it too.

RE Randomizer; I think if you hold it down you get a fully random patch?

My only problem with the Sculpt is the crappy USB power supply, which packed up after three months and now works intermittently, and became unreliable enough to now be unused. It was a shop demo model, so only had a short guarantee. I liked the sounds of the thing, but have to agree regarding the confusing layout. I didn't get much chance to learn how it all worked before the USB broke. Synth makers need to avoid using the USB as a power supply. Shove a good solid socket on there.

Anyone hear the opening to contra in that chord progression?

14:56 I feel a touch of Deadmau5 there :-)

Erm...the t-shirt. Is the knob twiddling image just unfortunately positioned or was it meant to make you think of someone tweaking a nipple?

I've had one of these for about a month now (microfreak had sold out everywhere) and I did eventually fall in love with it. At first I found it super confusing too, but once the muscle memory kicks in it's totally fine. Paired with the po-33 it is great because you can power it off a USB battery pack - totally portable set-up!

21:05 nice tune 😁

I did regret buying one, so I sold it and bought a used MicroKORG - which I love - for the same price instead … you make me regret selling it a bit 🙂

I was eyeing the Modal Skulpt for a while but ended up getting Novation Circuit Tracks and Bass Station 2. Now, though? THEY'RE ALL GONE! Really hard to find now, it seems it was a limited run? although the first Model is everywhere. BTW I HAVE been second-guessing the circuit tracks a little bit. I didn't know about using it to play chords on external hardware. As easy as it is to play, it's just as difficult to make complete tracks. Also quick-paced drums and sounds. It's like a sample-based groovebox that can't use samples. (or rather I can't add samples) It is still early to say if this is a problem. it isn't a year old and updates are coming out fairly often so I can't complain too much. I'm still learning everything too.

I wouldn’t mind getting one theses

My Beloved Korg Volca Keys gave up the ghost today, and a used Skulpt popped up in my local gear store. Instead of impulsively buying it on the rebound, I watched Ricky's video and...Nope. Perhaps another Keys is in order. Thanks Ricky! You saved me $150 USD.

Hey Ricky, you need to get yourself some bigger headphones!

Dude there's a new shirt for you "FX for Life"

I hate the knobs on mine (black, kickstarter) they are so wiggly lol. Modal insists they are quality and I'm sure they are, but it's a perception thing for me... I don't regret my kickstarter costing more than they do now XD but yeah, I don't use it a ton. That said, I plan to have it in my "hardware jam area" that's separate from my DAW. It is a pretty great bang for the buck poly synth. I've considered buying another to polychain for 8 voices but yeah...

that close out.... that beat is heavvvy. grab a copy?

It’s a digital synth. You have to download an app to your PC to use it. Then why not make it just a soft synth? That would be exactly equivalent, easier to use and cheaper?

I can hear the intro from the preview now

I regret buying Korg Volca FM for some obvious reason - there are so many parameters to alter and so many combinations of them that I lost interest. Ricky has to buy Volca FM! Ricky I'm ready to trade Volca FM for your Modal Skulpt. Loos like this is what I need!