SunVox Compo 2026, Anyone Interested?

[Logickin]

This annual SunVox Contest is there once again! Anyone interested? Unfortunately, the forum is currently getting DDoSed, so here are the details if you can’t access the forum:

Some SunVox tips here

The rules:

• use SunVox;
• size of the SunVox file must not be greater than 4 MB (4194304 bytes);
• no more than two works from one author;
• works must not be published before the start of voting;
• prohibited: remixes, covers, tracks shorter than 1 minute, tracks written as a joke with no artistic value.

Send your .sunvox file(s) to nightradio@gmail.com with “SunVox Compo 2026” topic.
Don’t forget to name your project in the SunVox → Main Menu → Song Properties. Name format: Author - Song Name

Deadline: March 29 / 23:59 (UTC+05:00)

By participating, you agree that your tracks will be published on WarmPlace.ru, on all channels related to the competition and will be included in the votepack and in the SunVox distribution.

Winners will be announced later (after the public vote) on WarmPlace.ru and on all SunVox-related channels.
The best works (from the first three authors with the highest points, only if the packed file does not exceed 256kb) will be included to SunVox distribution.
Promocodes for any of my apps will be provided for all participants.

[Jek]

What does the winner get, are there prizes for 2nd & 3rd place?
Or do people just give some other people free content?

[Iconoklast]

Promo codes to apps for any participants… I don’t use any ‘Apps’ personally, Don’t have a smart phone nor even a cellphone not gonna waste money on that krap…

However SunVox quite rocks, haven’t used it much as I like others better but sure looks great with all the modules flashing about kinda like a kids mobile with lights flashing above twirling leaving the youth in a mindless spellbound state of stupor…

[Logickin]

@Iconoklast

kinda like a kids mobile with lights

Haha, and this kid mobile is really the most inspiring and expressive software I have ever used, better than many linear daws I have ever tried, where putting a hundred if not thousands modules into the projects and it still run smoothly and snappy, while it practically can build any synthesis model if you know how fundamental of the model and SunVox module work well enough.

For the one who is wondering how it sounds like, you may take a look to the past entries, and here are some of them:

Edit: there is a common misconception when people watching these videos: the piano roll are the visualisations of the compo player, and this is not included in the SunVox itself.

[ffx]

Is there a shortcut spreadsheet?

Also Z and Y keys are swapped on German keyboard layout, any way to change that?

[Iconoklast]

OK, After going thru a reasonable amount of the compos there’s a problem with so many tunes sounding the same, basic finger-meddling with FX piled on… It’s tough to get thru them as the next one sounds like the previous… If one were to simplify these down without FX we are talking many with same level of musicianship which in SunVox to stick out you have to do different but certainly nothing wrong with SunVox itself… Maybe it’s because so many are doing what everyone else is doing or perhaps they never started out as hardware musicians… If I were entering the LAST thing I would do is a tune that even sounded remotely like anybody elses…

[Logickin]

@ffx

Is there a shortcut spreadsheet?

Here are the default shortcuts:

WarmPlace.ru. SunVox User Manual

You can change the shortcut under:
SunVox logo at the top left > preferences > interface > shortcut

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with different keyboard layout, so you need to test on your own to see the behaviour.

[Logickin]

@Iconoklast

so many tunes sounding the same, basic finger-meddling with FX piled

Doing sound designs and writing melody at the same time have been a tough challenge, and for the one who just got into SunVox, it does takes some learning curve to learn how to build instruments and use fx command at the lower level.

It took me 6 years to understand basic sound design at the low level and 2 - 3 more for expression, and before that, my music also sounds like what you have mentioned.

Clearly, it takes a long time to get into a certain level, but at least, seeing those entries, I can see them having passion and fun with their tracks, writing the track without cheat with AI, which is already important in this era where many people are prising AI generated contents instead of getting motivated to learn something new.

That is not enough though, so the next thing is to find a way to narrow the gaps between beginner and expert, smoothing the learning curve. I have been doing some modules that sounds good out of the box while they are not too difficult to use, with a preset picker to have a few examples for users to get inspired quickly. I have been planning to giving some tips about writing music in terms of melody, song structure and expression, but I haven’t done it yet since there are things in higher priority.

Not sure if that address your points.

[lilith]

that’s also sunvox

and all tracks from here, except untitled which is Renoise

https://bandwagon.fm/69581fd0f2025d70ca7c41a4

[Iconoklast]

Well, That was actually quite a good response/retort explaining it all… You see it’s not really a problem as to becoming proficient in SunVox other than trying to get away from that same-o ‘SunVox Generator’ sound which makes all sound so similar, It’s the musical technique behind it…

I outlined this in another thread in case you or anybody else wanna look, I’m not gonna paste it here-

Renoise is still the best for expressive sequencing — do you agree?

OK… Well, Answering the topic starters question & it’s not gonna make me popular… There have been all kinda ways to obtain ‘musical expression’ and an actual ‘musician’ knows what they are & can utilize these techniques in any DAW or Tracker… The problem we face these days is that someone buys ableton or FL & instantly thinks “I’m a musician now”… Nope not hardly, can you decompile a song just by listening to it or do you need melodyne or some other ‘crutch’?… Being musical has very little to d…

As to SunVox I was rallying for any kinda sampler format support over 10 years ago… I don’t care what it is SF2/SFZ/AKAI/EXS but nope… This was so others who don’t really wanna focus on the same ‘SunVox Electronic Sound’ & would like to introduce real instruments combined with the internal FX had something to grasp on as trying to map out a HiQ instrument in SunVox back then was a real pain… I can get just as rich a sound & way more variance in Skale Tracker using HiQ AKAI that I make every semitone sampled plus Skale does Synth VSTi & VST Plus many others…

So to explain this allows one to make bluegrass/country/jazz/rock/motown/funk/dixieland that cannot be done just with an ‘Electronic Sound’ which almost always come with too many FX ‘Coatings’ covering for a lack of musical understanding… If you read that link you’ll know what I’m talking about…

[Logickin]

Ah right! I did actually read that reply and I find some of the points relevant. I even have drafted some replies, but because it was a bit disorganised, I ended up take too long to clean the reply and have forgotten about it.

Let me continue this topic in that thread later since that might be a long discussion, and I am going to keep this one for the Compo event alone.

Edit:
I think you might misunderstood the meaning of the event, and there is a reason why I didn’t actively use the word “contests” and “competitions” when I write the reply since this is something we have been used as annual gathering, and seeing what new blood joins the community and how some experienced users push the limits of the software. It is true that being a good musician requires good musical skills, but I think it is more important to see if people are interested in the software and make something with it, even just for fun.

[Iconoklast]

Ahhh, Yes… Not ‘contests’ or ‘competitions’… Just ‘clusters of anything’… ‘compos’… Yes, of course because we have too many growing up now with little tolerance for being a ‘loser’ at a contest… I think this is more of a western world problem with kids for decades now being brought up without asses being beat so they get their way early on…

Seems like the Russian Schism Tracker types still have contests & compos as well… No if you wanna go ‘elite’ then Schism is the way with it’s IT ‘finger-feel’… The workflow is tough to get through-

I have always thought best way to handle those who may get disappointed in ‘losing’ & smash their computers up & scream at their parents, etc is to NOT use say SunVox at all… Use a simple tracker that is different that way it puts everyone on a fair stance & they will feel much less disappointed if failing the contest…

Such as Sonant, which is synth only… no way to cheat, weird pattern editor, kinda cool-

Or perhaps Bram Bos Moonfish which is a tracker designed as a joke-

[Logickin]

@Iconoklast

Ahhh, Yes… Not ‘contests’ or ‘competitions’… Just ‘clusters of anything’… ‘compos’… Yes, of course because we have too many growing up now with little tolerance for being a ‘loser’ at a contest… I think this is more of a western world problem with kids for decades now being brought up without asses being beat so they get their way early on…

Originally, I am going to leave something in depth, but I think this will ended with something endless and meaningless since you start to pull the Generation War and Music Taste Judgment onto the table which is not the wisest thing to say regarding to the topic as a musician. Even that, I originally have the draft for that point as well, but I am going to archive it, for now.

@Iconoklast

I have always thought best way to handle those who may get disappointed in ‘losing’ & smash their computers up & scream at their parents, etc is to NOT use say SunVox at all…
…
Or perhaps Bram Bos Moonfish which is a tracker designed as a joke-

I hope you are either trolling or using ragebait for engagement to this post since I don’t feel mad or sad about what you have said, but I am hugely disappointed since before this comment, you are nearly did a very good arguments in the other threads and you are also right about the craft and self-improvement point for making music, inspiring me of how to inspire other to improve their music with one of my upcoming blog post, along with that spectacular album that makes me an awesome weekend. Not to mention your passion of sharing all your old music tracker goodies in other places which I found inspiring.

Unfortunately, you are so close, so close you have reached the peak, and you unfortunately saying all of that and slipped off, trying to make fun of people who are new into making music or people who make music just for fun, and even make fun of any younger generations. I don’t know if we will have any meaningful discussions, sorry mate.

Wish you luck, with your skills and expertise of your performance and your tools of choice, finding your own audience.

Edit:
I know some people would see this as an angry response, but during writing this comment, I just feel tired and empty for the generation wars which I had no idea why it relates to this thread, and these are just dramas created on the internet and media to hate on each others and it has been happened for all generations at the younger ages. (Sigh…)

However, with this attitude, is it… the musician or the professional I should respect? I guess there are reasons why many AI people don’t see us seriously, and many people gave up their music career with using AI instead.

[Logickin]

Alright, I think we should end the drama, and let’s go back to the Event alone.

The original point of this thread is simple, and it is about your interest to explore this powerful music trackers with modular synth!

Click here to save the scroll for the details of the event!

[Logickin]

Some tips before the SunVox Compo:

I know using the SunVox could be a challenge for the first few times since this tracker has mechanisms fundamentally different compared to other trackers because of the modular system; thus, I am going to share some tips from time to time, starting by:

The Users Module Collection

Sound design has been a tough topic for many since SunVox sound design is low level which you need to know the individual synth components and functions well enough before you could build something basic. Just in case if you find it hard and want some examples for inspirations, you may take a look in the following place for your sounds:

1. The default instruments and effects Folders in SunVox

There are many modules in various count, from instruments like keyboard, pads and drum, to effect like distortion, chorus and reverb made by the community, not only giving you some basic materials for your track that sounds more than just a generator or drumsynth, but you may have a look inside the project to understand how some of your favorite modules are made.

2. SunVox Module Section

Not all modules are included in the SunVox alone since there are some experimental and proof of concept idea in the forum, so you may have a look to see if there are some module ideas could inspires you.

3. vekoN module collections

vekoN has been contributing many modules for the SunVox users. If you are want to make EDM genres like Dubstep, dnb and many genres that focus on synth bass design, the collection are well worth for a consideration.

4. Some of My Modules

Despite not finished and I might need to design all the UI in the page, you many have a look to some of my modules frequently used for music, focusing on the ease of use. I will update the page from time to time.

I will update the resources from time to time, so you could have some material for your Entries.

[Logickin]

Tips before the SunVox Compo - Part 2

There are some useful shortcut and tools to set the automation of modules in SunVox:

Besides you can manually type the controller ID and the control value with keyboard, you may shift + left click on the controller to assign the control value:

With at least 2 control points on a the same column, you may use ctrl + I to interpret between two defined values:

Similarly, you may do interpretation on the velocity too, using ctrl + U:

If linear interpretation is not enough for your use case, you can simply right click on the pattern editor by selecting the Interpretation Tool:

If you want to draw your own automation curve, simply find the Draw … tools at the right click menu, and select the specific column to draw:

And here are some of the common ways to define automation for your modules; hopefully, this helps you to add expression onto your instruments.

[Mobilux]

Renoise user and new to sunvox…That was exactly what I was looking for. On point. Much appreciated!

[Logickin]

Thank you, I glad you find this useful!

Since I know there are features many people don’t aware of while they are helpful for writing our music, I decided to posting some tips before the start of the events, and doubled as a promotion to the event since the original forum has been getting attacked by DDoS that the details is sometimes unreachable.

[detomastah]

Thank you for useful hints. Can you recommend some good but short introduction video for SunVox?

[lilith]

I would look into the Example files. There are some Videos by Nightradio, but nothing like a full tutorial.