Coffeeshopped Blog
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Lucas Fowler from Syntaur, for their podcast “Talking Synths”. We talked about the origins of Patch Base, what makes a good synth, and some of the other things I'm up to. Give it a watch!
Happy 2026! There have been a lot of small updates and releases for Patch Base in the past couple of months, and today I wanted to spotlight a feature from one of them: an improved drum kit editing experience. The most recent releases of Patch Base have included updates to the Clavia Nord Lead 2 and Novation Bass Station II editors, each of which have a drum (or drum-like) editing mode. The Nord…
This is a somewhat geeky post. But a lot of people in the past few months have asked what is currently happening with Patch Base, so I wanted to give everybody an update. The latest updates to Patch Base for Mac (v1.21) and iPad (v3.27) are now available. This update has been about two years in the making, but you won't notice much (if any) change. All of the work has been behind the scenes. This…
The latest Patch Base releases (iPad version 3.26 and Mac version 1.20) include an editor/librarian for Korg's (fairly) new Volca FM2 , the new version of the highly popular Volca FM, which as you might know is a sort of clone of the original Yamaha DX7. And there's not too much new about the Volca FM2; it's the same voice architecture as the original, but you now get six voices (like the DX7)…
Patch Base for Mac v1.19.6 and Patch Base for iPad v3.25.4 are both out now, offering bug fixes for the Roland JD-Xi editor. Unfortunately, these updates will probably be the last that support iOS 9 and iOS 10 on iPad, and MacOS 10.12. The latest version of Apple's development tools, XCode 14, no longer allows me to support these platforms . From the release notes of XCode 14: Building for…
The latest updates to Patch Base (iPad version 3.25 and Mac version 1.19) add an editor/librarian for the Roland JP-8080 : a dual-timbral virtual analog desktop synth from the late 90's. The JP-8080 can play 2 patches at the same time, each with its own 2 oscillators, multi-mode filter, envelopes for pitch, filter, and amp, 2 LFOs and effects. Also included is the Voice Modulator section which can…
Patch Base for Mac (v1.17) and iPad (v3.23) now include editors and librarians for the Waldorf Micro Q , a virtual analog polysynth released in the year 2000. The Micro Q is very similar in architecture to the later-released Blofeld , one of the first synths that was supported in Patch Base. As previously with the Korg Prophecy and DSI Tetra , the synth I used for development (and pictured here)…
Patch Base for Mac (v1.16) and iPad (v3.22) now include editors and librarians for the Dave Smith Instruments (now/once-again Sequential ) Tetra , a 4-voice multi-timbral analog powerbox. Its little sibling the Mopho (same architecture, but 1 voice) was one of the first editors I ever created, so it's nice to finally get some time with the “TETR4”. As previously with the Korg Prophecy , the unit I…
Patch Base for Mac (v1.15) and iPad (v3.21) now include editors and librarians for the Korg Prophecy , a virtual analog lead/monophonic synth released in 1995. I'd been hoping to come across one for quite awhile, and thankfully a generous fellow Texan named Jesús Navarro contacted me awhile back to offer some of his gear for testing and development! Many thanks to Jesús. This synth is capable of a…
Patch Base for Mac (v1.14) and iPad (v3.20) now include editors and librarians for the Behringer Deepmind 12. The Deepmind is the first Behringer synth that Patch Base supports, as we continue to expand our coverage of the many manufacturers out there. Although Behringer created their own feature-filled editor for the Deepmind 12 on iPad and Mac, as of September 2021, those editors haven't been…
The newest versions of Patch Base for Mac and iPad include editors and librarians for the Novation Bass Station II. Not only does Patch Base support editing every voice parameter on the BSII (including newer parameters such as fixed duration envelopes and Glide Divergence some undocumented parameters for the sub-oscillator), but the recent AFX Mode is also supported, with a full Overlay editor…
The latest updates to Patch Base (iOS version 3.17 and Mac version 1.11) bring an editor/librarian for the Yamaha Reface DX . Released in 2015, the Reface DX is an updated take on Yamaha's many classic 4-op FM synthesizers. People seem to most often compare it to the DX100, which is true in terms of its form and number of operators. But the Reface's updated feedback options give it sonic…
Starting today, Patch Base supports the Roland JD-990 on both Mac and iPad . The JD-990 is a sibling to the JD-800 , put into a rack form and with some sound engine improvements. It has the now-classic Roland 4-tone voice structure, and a suite of 7 different effects units that can be routed in a variety of different orders, with tons of parameters. In Performance mode, it can play up to 7…
Back in November, friend of Patch Base Stefan George (who helped with the MKS-50 and DW-8000 editors ) contacted me asking if I'd like to borrow a Access Virus C and Virus TI Snow in order to make editors for them. I gladly took him up on the offer. December and January were mostly eaten up by fixing bugs and improving performance in Patch Base, not to mention avoiding other viruses , so it wasn't…
The new versions of Patch Base (iOS version 3.14 and Mac version 1.8) add editor/librarians for the E-mu Proteus/1 and Proteus/2 . The E-mu Proteus/1 is a rompler/synth first released in 1989 that sold like hotcakes, and the Proteus/2 is the follow-up that came a year later with the same architecture but a different set of sounds (and included the preset "Whistl'n Joe" that makes the iconic sound…
It's August, and here in Austin that means that it's been near-triple-digit hot for at least a month now, and it will be for at least another month (95°F at the moment). I'm listening to the hum of a window-unit air conditioner as I write this. Pictured above is a Turk's Cap from the front yard. Anyway... Roland JX-8P Editor A couple of weeks ago an update to Patch Base was released that added an…
The latest updates to Patch Base (iOS version 3.12 and Mac version 1.6) add an editor/librarian for the Roland JD-800 . The JD-800 is a very hands-on digital synth from Roland made in the early 90's — a sort of precursor to the JV-1080 family with its 4-tone voice structure. But before I get into the details of the new editor, I want to give a very big thank you to Ken DiStefano in New Jersey! Ken…
The latest updates to Patch Base (iOS version 3.11 and Mac version 1.5) bring an editor/librarian for the Yamaha DX21. The DX21 is another of Yamaha's many 4-operator FM synthesizers from the 80's. It's very similar to the DX100, but includes a Pitch Envelope as well as a Chorus effect. It's also much larger than the DX100. The DX21 pictured above is the one I recently acquired off of Craigslist…
It's been quiet on the Coffeeshopped blog and newsletter for the past month or two. I hope everyone is doing ok. Like everyone else, I've been mostly at home all day. Luckily, home is where I do a lot of my work, and I've taken this time to work on some of the more core parts of Patch Base. Also, I'd like to say thank you to all of our customers, both old and new. I think a lot of synth lovers…
Here's a bank of 32 FM drum patches designed for the Yamaha DX7 and related synthesizers, available for free download. In the bank you'll find some kicks, snares, claps, hats, and other percussion sounds. The sound bank is compatible with the DX7, TX7, DX7ii, TX802, and TX816. The sounds were designed using Patch Base , but the enclosed SysEx files can be sent to your synth using any SysEx…