Electronic music vividly illustrates other worlds in a process of discovery, re-interpretation and expression: energy, technology and imagination at the helm.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Callate Gate update
The Noise Gate soldering of the PCB is complete. In looking for the 500k pot for 'sensitivity' control, I was lead to believe the Radioshack 'Volume Pot' rated 500k would work even with a missing solder connector. Turns out not to be the case, there is no third solder lug nor conductor trace to be found - so be warned - it does not behave like a normal potentiometer (voltage divider fashion). To remedy this I went to the only kind of place in this one horse town that stocks a 500k pot: a guitar store. There I dropped $10 on a fancy Fender brand-name pot, my buyers remorse being offset by having solved the problem and moving forward once again. After my initial tests of the Noise Gate, it does not appear the 'Q3' MPF102 N Chanel RF Amp is working out. Audio is simply passing through without being gated, no matter what the settings. I have tried the Q3 transistor in both orientations, since a couple of builders on the tonepad.com builder's report log describe the transistor being shown in the incorrect orientation. Looks like this project is going on the shelf until my next order from Mouser.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Building a Callate Gate 2
It's well known the Hohner String Melody II has a pretty high noise floor. One of the most popular solutions is to run the synth through a decent noise gate. Noise gates are very simple: when there is no sound the gate closes and the noise goes away, when you play the synth the gate opens allowing the sound through. I've found plans to build a clone of an MXR Noise Gate at tonepad.com for a design called Callate Gate 2, this second version having mods for attack/release times plus an input attenuator. Today I rounded-up all the parts, etched a PCB, and drilled holes. I'll be soldering it together tonight and, with any luck, will have it boxed tomorrow. For anyone building this I would like to note Radioshack does not carry the "Q3" N Channel RF Amp 2N5485, but they DO carry an MPF102 with similar specs and same pinout. Let's see how it does.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Boss RE-20 Space Echo with a Venom Synthesizer
Firstly, this video is unveiling my new 10-second opening title. Pretty shnazzy, eh?
Anyway, it's a demo of my favorite effect pedal, the Boss/Roland RE-20 Space Echo. The RE-20 is a savagely beautiful emulation of the tape-delays from the 70's, and the typical sound has been used countless music acts from Pink Floyd, Portishead, and Radiohead. This video isn't a full review, just showing some quick sound flavors if you're thinking about routing a synthesizer through it.
Synthesizer: M-Audio Venom
Synth Patch: Europa_JP can be downloaded here
Mixer: Mackie 402-VLZ3
Audio recorder: Tascam DR-05
Anyway, it's a demo of my favorite effect pedal, the Boss/Roland RE-20 Space Echo. The RE-20 is a savagely beautiful emulation of the tape-delays from the 70's, and the typical sound has been used countless music acts from Pink Floyd, Portishead, and Radiohead. This video isn't a full review, just showing some quick sound flavors if you're thinking about routing a synthesizer through it.
Synthesizer: M-Audio Venom
Synth Patch: Europa_JP can be downloaded here
Mixer: Mackie 402-VLZ3
Audio recorder: Tascam DR-05
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Some thoughts about the Akai Miniak Synthesizer
So yeah I traded my Microkorg for the Miniak synthesizer. Now that I've had a chance to mess with programming it a bit I just wanted to share some initial thoughts. Please don't think as this as a full review of the Miniak. There are many good reviews out there and I just wanted to supplement them with my own findings at this moment. I'll also compare the Miniak to the Microkorg and the Venom as well.
Miniak Filters
Having two filters per program, in addition to the pre- and post- mixer sections is the best thing about having Alesis/Micron DNA in your Miniak synthesizer: the Andromeda filters were setup in that exact kind of architecture! So the range of sounds that become possible don't only multiply, but increase exponentially. The filters are interestingly phat and flexible. The filters that are represented like oberheim 2-pole, moog, arp mostly sound very convincing and useable. The TB-303 filter not-so-much. To me the JP filter sounds more like JP-8000 than say a Jupiter-8, which is fine on a synth of this price range - not looking for miracles here.
Miniak sound quality.
Miniak does vintage synths sounds very well to a degree, like say the VCO digital/analog hybrid synths from the mid-80s. To me this makes it ideal for bass sounds. There is some great mojo about the Miniak that makes basses sound really full, thick and in-your-face. And to me that's a beautiful thing, and ideally suited to a synth that has only 37 keys just like the wonderful bass synths of yesteryear. It bears to mention the Venom can serve bass synth duties very well, but I have been maxing-out polyphony generating the other song parts so that a second synth became necessary. So, on the Miniak after auditioning presets and programming original sounds, it can either sound completely amazing OR can turn bad and cheesy on a dime. The trick seems to be a finesse game. The effects are not that great as the reverb gets these snap-crackle-pop artifacts going if you load the input to the effects section too much. But I've noticed some of the presets behaving this way. The compressor doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the Venom, either. So the way to go, it seems, is to do things in moderation: keep the wet/dry signal around 50/50 or below, keep the oscillator levels away from the 100% mark, and not to go overboard with the modulation amounts.
Programming the Miniak.
So the biggest drawback with the Miniak: the process of editing is a bit slow and tedious. Turns out its editor method is taken almost directly from the Roland Alpha Juno-1/2 whereby all the actions have to pass through a single data wheel. I've always felt it was widely understood this programming method was a shortcoming of the wonderful sounding Alpha-Juno synths, only to see history repeating itself once more unfortunately. It turns out there are some nice software MIDI editors available for price such as from hypersynth.com. But when you lump the costs of editors together with the initial price of the synth itself I think this defeats the cost effectiveness of the Miniak. If you're going to edit a hardware synth with a computer I would rather recommend something much greater sound-quality-wise such as the Venom for the money. Before getting Miniak I thought very seriously about getting a second Venom. All that said, I'll not be getting an editor and just endure the editor data-knob.
Some comparison to Microkorg
My main reason for trading the Microkorg for the Miniak is to get away from those miniature keys. The Miniak has rewarded me greatly for that decision having a sturdy full-size keybed. Sound-wise I think Korg has a better overall sound quality especially with their effects on the Microkorg. Both synths have the vocoder, but the mic for the Miniak seems to be a little more sturdy. MicroKorg has only two oscillators per voice whereas the Miniak has three. For bass synth duties I would have to defer to the Miniak, it really knows how to perfectly rumble the monitors in a sweetly desirable manner. As far as hardware editors go, I would rather have the mod matrix of Korg - and a big plus - Korg offers their excellent software patch editor for free on their website. It's been my hope that manufacturers would stop going to the data-dial mode of editing operations altogether.
So, the result.
I am thinking about the Miniak as a bass synth in my setup, a very capable and versatile bass synth is where it excels. I'll definitely be using Miniak that way in future live video performances. So, As long as you don't mind the editing method being slightly more laborious I can recommend the Miniak as a good alternative to Micorkorg.
Miniak Filters
Having two filters per program, in addition to the pre- and post- mixer sections is the best thing about having Alesis/Micron DNA in your Miniak synthesizer: the Andromeda filters were setup in that exact kind of architecture! So the range of sounds that become possible don't only multiply, but increase exponentially. The filters are interestingly phat and flexible. The filters that are represented like oberheim 2-pole, moog, arp mostly sound very convincing and useable. The TB-303 filter not-so-much. To me the JP filter sounds more like JP-8000 than say a Jupiter-8, which is fine on a synth of this price range - not looking for miracles here.
Miniak sound quality.
Miniak does vintage synths sounds very well to a degree, like say the VCO digital/analog hybrid synths from the mid-80s. To me this makes it ideal for bass sounds. There is some great mojo about the Miniak that makes basses sound really full, thick and in-your-face. And to me that's a beautiful thing, and ideally suited to a synth that has only 37 keys just like the wonderful bass synths of yesteryear. It bears to mention the Venom can serve bass synth duties very well, but I have been maxing-out polyphony generating the other song parts so that a second synth became necessary. So, on the Miniak after auditioning presets and programming original sounds, it can either sound completely amazing OR can turn bad and cheesy on a dime. The trick seems to be a finesse game. The effects are not that great as the reverb gets these snap-crackle-pop artifacts going if you load the input to the effects section too much. But I've noticed some of the presets behaving this way. The compressor doesn't sound anywhere near as good as the Venom, either. So the way to go, it seems, is to do things in moderation: keep the wet/dry signal around 50/50 or below, keep the oscillator levels away from the 100% mark, and not to go overboard with the modulation amounts.
Programming the Miniak.
So the biggest drawback with the Miniak: the process of editing is a bit slow and tedious. Turns out its editor method is taken almost directly from the Roland Alpha Juno-1/2 whereby all the actions have to pass through a single data wheel. I've always felt it was widely understood this programming method was a shortcoming of the wonderful sounding Alpha-Juno synths, only to see history repeating itself once more unfortunately. It turns out there are some nice software MIDI editors available for price such as from hypersynth.com. But when you lump the costs of editors together with the initial price of the synth itself I think this defeats the cost effectiveness of the Miniak. If you're going to edit a hardware synth with a computer I would rather recommend something much greater sound-quality-wise such as the Venom for the money. Before getting Miniak I thought very seriously about getting a second Venom. All that said, I'll not be getting an editor and just endure the editor data-knob.
Some comparison to Microkorg
My main reason for trading the Microkorg for the Miniak is to get away from those miniature keys. The Miniak has rewarded me greatly for that decision having a sturdy full-size keybed. Sound-wise I think Korg has a better overall sound quality especially with their effects on the Microkorg. Both synths have the vocoder, but the mic for the Miniak seems to be a little more sturdy. MicroKorg has only two oscillators per voice whereas the Miniak has three. For bass synth duties I would have to defer to the Miniak, it really knows how to perfectly rumble the monitors in a sweetly desirable manner. As far as hardware editors go, I would rather have the mod matrix of Korg - and a big plus - Korg offers their excellent software patch editor for free on their website. It's been my hope that manufacturers would stop going to the data-dial mode of editing operations altogether.
So, the result.
I am thinking about the Miniak as a bass synth in my setup, a very capable and versatile bass synth is where it excels. I'll definitely be using Miniak that way in future live video performances. So, As long as you don't mind the editing method being slightly more laborious I can recommend the Miniak as a good alternative to Micorkorg.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Switch-a-roo
The small mini-keys on the Microkorg are a thorn in my side no more. Enter this little beastie.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Thermion (live)
At last, here is my first live performance video featuring the track 'Thermion'.
Synths
- M-Audio Venom lead, pads
- Korg Microkorg bass
Sampler
- E-mu ESI-32 samples, drums
Sequencer
- Roland MC-50 mk-I
Main FX Chain
- Kaoss Quad, Custom GSSL Compressor, BBE
Pedals
- MXR Phase 100, Boss RE-20, RT-20
Mixer
- Alesis Multimix-8
Friday, October 7, 2011
New Setup
The new setup is pretty close to done. I've replaced the EFX-500 with a Kaoss Quad for live looping and other realtime effects. The MC-50 has also taken the place of the MMT-8 sequencer. The MMT-8 was a breeze to use but had severely limited memory storage even with the midi data skimmed way back. I've also needed to bring in a MicroKorg to help with the synth tracks as the Venom can only do so much. Here are some updated pics. Live performances are soon to commence and post on youtube!
^ A look at the rack case: ESI-32 sampler (top), power strip, BBE, and a couple of custom built units - the GSSL mixbus compressor and JH Triple Chorus (bottom).
^ The Alesis Multimix-8 is working out really well with 2 effects sends/returns and 3-band eq.
^ Suitcase starting from top corner: RE-20, RT-20, Phase-100, Kaoss Quad, MC-50.
^ A look at the rack case: ESI-32 sampler (top), power strip, BBE, and a couple of custom built units - the GSSL mixbus compressor and JH Triple Chorus (bottom).
^ The Alesis Multimix-8 is working out really well with 2 effects sends/returns and 3-band eq.
^ Suitcase starting from top corner: RE-20, RT-20, Phase-100, Kaoss Quad, MC-50.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Transformations
Update on what's going on around here. It has been quite inspiring to see many interesting YouTube videos of electronic musicians sharing their live music-making processes. So much so that now I am building a small live rig to generate some live videos of my own. In that endeavor it is my hope to fuel some exciting new creative processes. It is very much in the spirit of breaking away from my comfort zone to discover something unrealized, untapped creative potential. I know it's a vague notion but it has been my experience the process of discovery often leads to new and rewarding places and ideas. Some quick photos showing a glimpse of the live rig layout with my new rack and suitcase....
The suitcase was an interesting project that took about a week including shopping hardware parts. The 'box' structure is recycled wood taken from old kitchen cabinets I am currently re-facing. I had put to good use my experience re-covering Rhodes electric pianos for this black vinyl-covered beauty. It's built more like a pedalboard on the inside, with a slightly elevated "pegboard" platform where power cables raceway underneath out of the way of signal cables. The power strip resides in the back right corner pit where all the 'wall-wart' transformers seemed to collect ad infinitum.
Not pictured is the primary synth I'll be using, the new Venom. Also not shown, Korg Kaoss Pad Quad that has just been put on order and should get here next week, and it will be going in place of the computer keyboard (in photo). No computer pc or laptops will be part of this rig. Instead there will be a vintage sampler, sequencer, and plenty of effects. The general idea being a simplified slice from the studio with capability to easily re-patch various components, the ability to freestyle the outcome with every performance (remix on-the-fly), and introduce live DJ effects-style shenanigans.
The suitcase was an interesting project that took about a week including shopping hardware parts. The 'box' structure is recycled wood taken from old kitchen cabinets I am currently re-facing. I had put to good use my experience re-covering Rhodes electric pianos for this black vinyl-covered beauty. It's built more like a pedalboard on the inside, with a slightly elevated "pegboard" platform where power cables raceway underneath out of the way of signal cables. The power strip resides in the back right corner pit where all the 'wall-wart' transformers seemed to collect ad infinitum.
Not pictured is the primary synth I'll be using, the new Venom. Also not shown, Korg Kaoss Pad Quad that has just been put on order and should get here next week, and it will be going in place of the computer keyboard (in photo). No computer pc or laptops will be part of this rig. Instead there will be a vintage sampler, sequencer, and plenty of effects. The general idea being a simplified slice from the studio with capability to easily re-patch various components, the ability to freestyle the outcome with every performance (remix on-the-fly), and introduce live DJ effects-style shenanigans.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Oberheim Matrix-12 Demo
This is sound demo of the Oberheim Matrix-12 synthesizer. All but two of the patches are my original creation and hopefully shows some of the ridiculously flexible sound architecture that is possible with this board. I'm playing some riffs both of my own original music and from some of the bands that have influenced me. The last bit, Intro to Gunslinger, while it is short it DID take a couple of weeks practice to get it right and is backed by a Machinedrum.
A summary of song riffs played:
G-Storm - Miranda (By The Sea)
Radiohead - All I Need
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
G-Storm - Cerulean Deraileur
Jimmy Van M ft. Terra Deva - bassline from Love Like Sleep
G-Storm - Spaced Out Beauty
New Order - Blue Monday
G-Storm - Aerial
808 State - breakdown from In Yer Face
Garbage - You Look So Fine
Sasha - Mr Tiddles
Go West - intro to Call Me
G-Storm - untitled track
G-Storm - Expectations (a really old unrecorded track of mine)
Spaced Out Beauty
M83 - You Appearing
Expectations
Immersion Domain - 1000 Images (I used the same Limuidz factory patch on the Xpander for that track)
Van Halen - I'll Wait (Eddie used an OB-Xa, I believe)
G-Storm - Descendant
Vangelis - Blade Runner (Opening Titles)
G-Storm - Gunslinger
G-Storm - intro to Gunslinger
Recorded via Alesis Multimix-8 and into Macbook w/ only occasional additional effects from the Multimix added for select sounds.
A summary of song riffs played:
G-Storm - Miranda (By The Sea)
Radiohead - All I Need
Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
G-Storm - Cerulean Deraileur
Jimmy Van M ft. Terra Deva - bassline from Love Like Sleep
G-Storm - Spaced Out Beauty
New Order - Blue Monday
G-Storm - Aerial
808 State - breakdown from In Yer Face
Garbage - You Look So Fine
Sasha - Mr Tiddles
Go West - intro to Call Me
G-Storm - untitled track
G-Storm - Expectations (a really old unrecorded track of mine)
Spaced Out Beauty
M83 - You Appearing
Expectations
Immersion Domain - 1000 Images (I used the same Limuidz factory patch on the Xpander for that track)
Van Halen - I'll Wait (Eddie used an OB-Xa, I believe)
G-Storm - Descendant
Vangelis - Blade Runner (Opening Titles)
G-Storm - Gunslinger
G-Storm - intro to Gunslinger
Recorded via Alesis Multimix-8 and into Macbook w/ only occasional additional effects from the Multimix added for select sounds.
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