It certainly seems like it. The pond has frogs in it, blackbirds are nesting in the garden, the sun is shining, and (metaphorically for a moment) I seem to have entered a period of rejuvenation. I don't quite know how but it seems a combination of circumstances - the 'Close to the Noise Floor' compilation, the stuff I've been doing with Tim, the gigs, the fab mynoise.net web project or making contact with some musicians I really respect and finding out they like my stuff too. (Nemesis, if you're wondering - check 'em out!).
Hey, these are the little things that keep you going in the face of disinterest and the general nonsense of the world! Picko has been working on scraps I can barely remember or recognise and turning them into gold, which demonstrates just how bloody good he is. Also, his new album (Vanguard II) will demonstrate that - I rate it 10/10. He did a remix of a noodle I did recently and made a very good job, subtle and light-handed but perfect. Its existence makes me think of doing another solo album just so it can be included. Perhaps if I release the live performance it can be a bonus item.
Anyway, I guess we artist types pretend to be thick-skinned and cope well with indifference but in truth it can all start to feel a bit limp and pointless if you never reach anyone. I seem to be happy enough though, despite many people assuming I no longer exist (these people will gush with enthusiasm once I pop my clogs). I keep making music because it makes me happy. I'm no great artist but this video really struck a chord.
Who knows, maybe this year my novels will take off. I'm going to put out 'Liminal Entity' soon; it's been a total waste of time trying to get people to read it. With a couple of exceptions that is. Have been working on 'Beer' again, not tackled the big problem chapters but have improved some of the others.
Tim deleted a comment about the video, a comment I thought was brilliant. In it we were compared to Little Britain, which made me chuckle. It made me consider playing it up in the next one. Might still do that to see if it annoys Mr Grumpy Pants. :)
Gear Love - Roland RC-505
Time to praise a piece of gear I've complained about in the past. But it's also very useful, (it took away my desire for an Octatrack). I can have up to 5 audio loops, long ones too, selected automatically by each P3 bank selection. This does almost all I wanted from the Octatrack without the pain, cards, complex saving. Well its saving is convoluted but as I'm on a positive spin we won't go into that. The RC-505 is the last chink in my live rig, I think and maybe the looping is in homage to Phil, or doing part of the job he once did. It could also be used with different selections of gear from the same central system. SH-101 effect processing added to each kit too, will probably take that along rather than Mini. At this stage I'm over-prepared. Any more work and it'll be overcooked. Six songs ready and sounding good.
https://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/boink
I'm using the RC-505 to capture the Blofeld, itself dropped into the mush of the DD20 gigadelay. I can capture the mush, however it's served, and if I get something really freaky, I can save it, either for a future reminder of a melody of chord progression, or to use as is. I would probably have considered this cheating once. I don't believe anyone else would even give it a thought.
Monday, this cool thing comes out officially, a rather good use of my music.
http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/paulNagleSequenceGenerator.php
Saturday, 27 February 2016
Thursday, 18 February 2016
Back to normal
Well that was an interesting period. Eye-opening you might say, in terms of understanding how the internet works as a medium for communicating ideas (badly). I'm referring to the video Tim made last Friday round here, taking a very simple (we thought) look at one property of analogue envelopes. It turns out that this is so widely misunderstood that even those who eventually said they'd 'got it' may well not have. We got a mention on matrixsynth, who to his credit, eventually did do that rare thing and admit to being wrong. I'm grateful to Colin for wading in and offering some support, without which I suspect I'd still be trying to divert matrix and others away from 'trigger modes', also widely misunderstood. So next time Tim's down here and in the mood, that'll be our next video.
http://www.matrixsynth.com/2016/02/analogue-envelope-behaviour-minilogue.html
Now let's try to get folks to watch some of Tim's other films, accompanied by our fab music, maybe to buy some of our albums. Nah, life's too short. People don't want to look at or think about paintings, they want to talk about paint brushes.
Today I spent a while getting Jasper tagged (it was free so there was a long queue) and trying to sort some PPI repayment. Doesn't look like much but pretty sure I have a good case. Might buy a new toy. And something nice for Pat.
No writing work in so continuing with library music. Wonder if my Korg contact (currently in the 'denial' stage) has sent through the video link. Hopefully the Minilogue guys did if he didn't cos I'd actually buy one of these if they make it behave like an analogue synth, even optionally. Not seen one review mention Minilogue the band yet, which is a shame since they kindly allowed Korg to use their name. What else? No sign of a fix for the Electribe delay, so that's another gig gonna come and go without me daring to use it. Should I make my 'expose' video public? Can I stand the hate/backlash? So much software seems rushed and inadequate these days but if you dare point it out, you're the bad guy. That's me feeling old again.
Tomorrow would be gig prep day but have a visitor, old pal, to talk about gear. So Saturday then. I should also progress that other library project.
http://www.matrixsynth.com/2016/02/analogue-envelope-behaviour-minilogue.html
Now let's try to get folks to watch some of Tim's other films, accompanied by our fab music, maybe to buy some of our albums. Nah, life's too short. People don't want to look at or think about paintings, they want to talk about paint brushes.
Today I spent a while getting Jasper tagged (it was free so there was a long queue) and trying to sort some PPI repayment. Doesn't look like much but pretty sure I have a good case. Might buy a new toy. And something nice for Pat.
No writing work in so continuing with library music. Wonder if my Korg contact (currently in the 'denial' stage) has sent through the video link. Hopefully the Minilogue guys did if he didn't cos I'd actually buy one of these if they make it behave like an analogue synth, even optionally. Not seen one review mention Minilogue the band yet, which is a shame since they kindly allowed Korg to use their name. What else? No sign of a fix for the Electribe delay, so that's another gig gonna come and go without me daring to use it. Should I make my 'expose' video public? Can I stand the hate/backlash? So much software seems rushed and inadequate these days but if you dare point it out, you're the bad guy. That's me feeling old again.
Tomorrow would be gig prep day but have a visitor, old pal, to talk about gear. So Saturday then. I should also progress that other library project.
Sunday, 14 February 2016
A bit of Minilogue pottering
Tim brought his Minilogue along and I had a good play. Should probably have read the manual to discover if there was a level control for the external input, whether the sequencer had 'tie', whether there was a way to turn off the sequencer's automated start as you might not always want that. I sure don't but then Cirklon has a trick for that, since I also didn't want it for the Octatrack once upon a time. Cool that if the sequencer is running you can select a new patch and its sequence will kick in too. How ace would it be if there was no patch memories, only sequencer memories? Shame only 16 steps though. Also a shame that if you make a 9 step sequence you then have to enter a fecking menu to confirm that yes, you really meant 9 steps. The SH-101 is just too good...
So my thoughts.
It looks really nice, strokable, woody, slim and... I didn't totally hate the little keyboard. Sounds good too. Not a massive difference in character between the two filter slopes, obviously more resonance in 2 pole mode. The cross mod is useful, the PWM OK but not exactly lush. I liked the bender too, although might want to remove the spring if I had one. I'd prefer a portamento control to the useless Tempo. Will anyone really use this as their master clock?! Annoying to have to keep hitting the menus to adjust portamento time, maybe I'm weird but that's something I do constantly.
The good bits are many and I'm not gonna do an actual review - plenty others out there already. The oscillators are nice and each waveform has a variable shape. The downside of that is if you modulate the shape, you can't have one unmodulated to add 'solidness', but that's a small price to pay. The filter is fairly sweet, I know people have said it's plain but I think it's good enough. I'd like to have been able to drive it harder. I disliked the bi-polar eg int controls - would much rather have the whole knob travel doing positive filter env amount. There's also no detent, the dead zone is too small. In the case of VCO2 pitch, it's therefore too easy to have it out of tune. While the display is sharp, I found myself constantly moving the EG int control before I dared switch off sync. BTW oscillator sync and the ring mod are brill additions, as is the shift/play functionality to work in manual mode, which is where I stayed constantly, always wondering what the knobs are pointing to.
Looking at the LFO waveforms - missing are noise and Sample and Hold (if you were making some kind of SH-101 homage that is, and Korg kinda were I think). The sequencer is good though - and you can record up to 4 lots of control tweaks and clear them individually. All good but it'd be better if you had a button for on/off for motion rather than menu-diving. The (older) Electribes had this right. The arpeggiator doesn't seem to have hold but if you want to hold it, you can record its output into the sequencer, which is something. Must find out whether velocity is routed to EG depth or cutoff, hopefully the former. Not a big response to velocity, fiddled with the curves available and settled on '5'.
The mod stick can do pretty much anything you want. I had it doing feedback, which seems to double as delay depth. Which brings me to...
The envelopes... obviously software. They start at zero. Hardware envelopes start at the current voltage. How many times have I told Korg this? So this time we did a vid, which I might post a link to here if I remember. The clicks are probably related to this, as they were on the Modor NF-1. We'll see what happens, assuming Korg will accept the idea this little beauty is too good not to get completely right. I think I said the same about the new Electribes and I'm still waiting there. (Indeed, a new bug got added recently.) Hey, I'm moaning again so I should point out I'm actually very impressed overall. It's a wee poly analogue for hardly any money!
Still, while moaning, I'll roundup with: the layout is too generic, the knobs are unhelpfully anonymous with the same stupid minimalism the Electribes suffered from. I'd replace them all with ones that proudly to point. Did I say I thought the delay was darn useful? Noisy, especially at its longest times, and no clock sync, but great to have all the same. The extra voice modes are also totally fab, although I'll need to spend time with side-chain to work out exactly what's going on. (Edit: sussed it now). Each mode has a 'depth' control which is a superb idea, from the shifting of chords to the variation of unison detune. The delay mode is sweet, using the 4 voices creatively and allowing synced delays (but no dotted values). Alas, mono mode is sadly unusable for hippies like me due to the shitty envelopes. Chord mode is fun - even if I instantly wanted to record my own. BTW you can record the mode depth, although when you do this the screen is showing the text 'motion recording' so you can't see the values - which you'd want to, I think. Doh!
Switching modes as the sequencer plays - simply awesome. We got a whole day's recording out of it with more to come! What else? Well, occasionally it felt like a paraphonic rather than polyphonic synth. I don't think it's just the high pass filter/delay that gives that impression - the use of portamento also seems to change its response, although I didn't spend long pondering this. I should declare I've yet to play the thing unstoned.
Oh yes, it's another of those 'doesn't turn on without help' devices like the Electribe and RC-505. If this trend continues you'll have to schedule extra studio time just to power on! (Or have less stuff). Didn't see an option to let the MIDI out be a thru but haven't looked at its MIDI so it could be hiding somewhere. Still haven't found the sequencer 'tie' but it must be possible cos when you record live it sorts out the proper legato. So that's good even if it's not an obvious part of the step input. My 101 fixation eh?
And... the resonance went wonky after we tried the external input. I think this is a known bug though, at least I'm fairly sure I read about it somewhere just after we'd done the OS update. Odd.
So anyway, bottom line is I'd quite like one but can resist for now. If Korg take another look at the envelopes, maybe assign the guy who worked on the Radias to give a few tips, then I might change my mind. But what a machine - and so small and cheap and sequency! All those patterns too cos, unlike the BassStation 2, you get a pattern in every patch.
Naturally, I'm now dreaming of a slightly bigger 8 voice one with adult-sized keys, two LFOs, quieter delay, proper envelopes, knobs done by someone who plays synths, no fecking menus.... who knows, Korg are pretty hot right now, if only they'd scale up a bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF2F6MhWIm4&feature=youtu.be
So my thoughts.
It looks really nice, strokable, woody, slim and... I didn't totally hate the little keyboard. Sounds good too. Not a massive difference in character between the two filter slopes, obviously more resonance in 2 pole mode. The cross mod is useful, the PWM OK but not exactly lush. I liked the bender too, although might want to remove the spring if I had one. I'd prefer a portamento control to the useless Tempo. Will anyone really use this as their master clock?! Annoying to have to keep hitting the menus to adjust portamento time, maybe I'm weird but that's something I do constantly.
The good bits are many and I'm not gonna do an actual review - plenty others out there already. The oscillators are nice and each waveform has a variable shape. The downside of that is if you modulate the shape, you can't have one unmodulated to add 'solidness', but that's a small price to pay. The filter is fairly sweet, I know people have said it's plain but I think it's good enough. I'd like to have been able to drive it harder. I disliked the bi-polar eg int controls - would much rather have the whole knob travel doing positive filter env amount. There's also no detent, the dead zone is too small. In the case of VCO2 pitch, it's therefore too easy to have it out of tune. While the display is sharp, I found myself constantly moving the EG int control before I dared switch off sync. BTW oscillator sync and the ring mod are brill additions, as is the shift/play functionality to work in manual mode, which is where I stayed constantly, always wondering what the knobs are pointing to.
Looking at the LFO waveforms - missing are noise and Sample and Hold (if you were making some kind of SH-101 homage that is, and Korg kinda were I think). The sequencer is good though - and you can record up to 4 lots of control tweaks and clear them individually. All good but it'd be better if you had a button for on/off for motion rather than menu-diving. The (older) Electribes had this right. The arpeggiator doesn't seem to have hold but if you want to hold it, you can record its output into the sequencer, which is something. Must find out whether velocity is routed to EG depth or cutoff, hopefully the former. Not a big response to velocity, fiddled with the curves available and settled on '5'.
The mod stick can do pretty much anything you want. I had it doing feedback, which seems to double as delay depth. Which brings me to...
The envelopes... obviously software. They start at zero. Hardware envelopes start at the current voltage. How many times have I told Korg this? So this time we did a vid, which I might post a link to here if I remember. The clicks are probably related to this, as they were on the Modor NF-1. We'll see what happens, assuming Korg will accept the idea this little beauty is too good not to get completely right. I think I said the same about the new Electribes and I'm still waiting there. (Indeed, a new bug got added recently.) Hey, I'm moaning again so I should point out I'm actually very impressed overall. It's a wee poly analogue for hardly any money!
Still, while moaning, I'll roundup with: the layout is too generic, the knobs are unhelpfully anonymous with the same stupid minimalism the Electribes suffered from. I'd replace them all with ones that proudly to point. Did I say I thought the delay was darn useful? Noisy, especially at its longest times, and no clock sync, but great to have all the same. The extra voice modes are also totally fab, although I'll need to spend time with side-chain to work out exactly what's going on. (Edit: sussed it now). Each mode has a 'depth' control which is a superb idea, from the shifting of chords to the variation of unison detune. The delay mode is sweet, using the 4 voices creatively and allowing synced delays (but no dotted values). Alas, mono mode is sadly unusable for hippies like me due to the shitty envelopes. Chord mode is fun - even if I instantly wanted to record my own. BTW you can record the mode depth, although when you do this the screen is showing the text 'motion recording' so you can't see the values - which you'd want to, I think. Doh!
Switching modes as the sequencer plays - simply awesome. We got a whole day's recording out of it with more to come! What else? Well, occasionally it felt like a paraphonic rather than polyphonic synth. I don't think it's just the high pass filter/delay that gives that impression - the use of portamento also seems to change its response, although I didn't spend long pondering this. I should declare I've yet to play the thing unstoned.
Oh yes, it's another of those 'doesn't turn on without help' devices like the Electribe and RC-505. If this trend continues you'll have to schedule extra studio time just to power on! (Or have less stuff). Didn't see an option to let the MIDI out be a thru but haven't looked at its MIDI so it could be hiding somewhere. Still haven't found the sequencer 'tie' but it must be possible cos when you record live it sorts out the proper legato. So that's good even if it's not an obvious part of the step input. My 101 fixation eh?
And... the resonance went wonky after we tried the external input. I think this is a known bug though, at least I'm fairly sure I read about it somewhere just after we'd done the OS update. Odd.
So anyway, bottom line is I'd quite like one but can resist for now. If Korg take another look at the envelopes, maybe assign the guy who worked on the Radias to give a few tips, then I might change my mind. But what a machine - and so small and cheap and sequency! All those patterns too cos, unlike the BassStation 2, you get a pattern in every patch.
Naturally, I'm now dreaming of a slightly bigger 8 voice one with adult-sized keys, two LFOs, quieter delay, proper envelopes, knobs done by someone who plays synths, no fecking menus.... who knows, Korg are pretty hot right now, if only they'd scale up a bit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF2F6MhWIm4&feature=youtu.be
Friday, 5 February 2016
New Tune
Well, extra sugar. Bliss, the party state of the Balifroans. Either annoying or hypnotic, you decide.
Heh, starting to assemble vids from past gig and latest to make something new. Ish. Fractal app for later OS. Naughty NI disabled one of their drivers, will have to roll it back. Anyway, this:
https://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/bliss2
I'll probably delete later, after listening
Heh, starting to assemble vids from past gig and latest to make something new. Ish. Fractal app for later OS. Naughty NI disabled one of their drivers, will have to roll it back. Anyway, this:
https://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/bliss2
I'll probably delete later, after listening
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