By the way, filters are probably the star of the show. Often that’s what gives a synth its most distinctive sound, and this synth does just that. Variable from lowpass to bandpass to highpass. But you can also combine them in interesting ways. It has an acid bassline and a nasal sound. There’s a reason the filter his cutoff her knob is about four times larger than all the other controls on the front her panel. This is probably the most powerful tool for shaping your sound.
Both Cre8Audio and Pittsburgh Modular boast that this unique filter has “no dead spots”, in fact “everything is one big sweet spot”. I really struggled to make this filter sound bad. No matter how much resonance is turned up, in any mode, even with the filter mods set to ridiculous levels, it’s amazingly musical. It doesn’t self-oscillate, which might be disappointing for some, but I don’t really care.
western plague
The West Pest is like the hippie cousin of the East Beast. It’s a little weird and has to do everything a little differently, but it’s just not as glamorous and a little harder to tame. We swap the variable state filter and ADSR envelope for a lowpass gate and add a wave folder.
Like East Beast, I think Pest is best suited for basses and spirited leads. But the tone is completely different. It’s more aggressive and sharper, trading off the plasticy weirdness so often found in Buchla synths for the corresponding creamy goodness.
Creating an arrangement can feel a little daunting, as you’ll be navigating unfamiliar territory. But it can be a more satisfying solo instrument. Both synths have powerful randomization features like random cycling of oscillator waveforms and generative his sequencing capabilities, but West Pest feels more familiar.
Randomize a digital modulation tool and connect it to the Release modulation jack to change how long notes sound. Morphing then uses a random pattern generator to play a continuously evolving sequence. And you can vary the oscillator wave from note to note and get really unpredictable. Thread it through an epic reverb pedal and you have a custom soothing soundtrack for work or reading.
Yes, you can probably achieve something similar with the East Beast, a more versatile instrument, as it has most of the same randomization tools (save the release mods), but the results with the West Pest are more I think it’s fun. And honestly, this is one of the ways I like to use synths in the studio. Use it passively as a toy of sorts or to set the mood while editing an Engadget article.