Monday, 16 January 2023

Continuing the osmosis and gradually learning the RD9

Yeah, playing with different pedals in slot 2 and noting a few odd errors with 5-pin MIDI. Not that they bother me too much but I would like to get the arpeggiator working in tight sync at least. Next thing to try is recording into Cirklon and looking at the data, seeing if it plays back correctly. 

So far with the RD9 I've had good results patching out drums into the Oto Biscuit, high-pass filtering the high hats so they're almost as sweet at the 808's. The note repeat works well, jumping directly to a step in pattern change and the fills process is OK - not sussed the 'intro' part yet and the manual doesn't mention it at all. The knobs are loosening up a bit but the colour still stupid (dark grey with red indicators). All the probability, polyphony and randomness tried out and gonna be handy. Final shame is that I can't use the compressor on some voices, the filter on a different set. 

Weather been awful so no walk this week. Tim and I recorded a rather good track on Monday though.

Started recording a thing today (Thursday) that has potential. P3 sequencing a shed-load of JD-XA and some played Osmose / Cosmos. Recorded some RD9 drums to fit with it, sounding nice, and I have a good basis for something tomorrow. How splendid! The Osmose cover arrived from Ann's Tweed and it's great, just the job. Sussed copying bars in the RD9 but it's more long-winded than it should be. Also lost high hats completely and had to power off, so that's not ideal. Fortunately they returned but will have to keep eye on that. 


The sparrows are back, which is lovely to behold. They can't have gone to Egypt after all but I do wonder where was nicer and why it's now not. Hopefully we'll walk this week, it's looking good, not so rainy, if cold. Worked on the novel a bit last night, still not quite content to call it the end of draft #1. I suppose I'm putting off starting the big haul through again doing the proper tidying up. I read the first Richard Osman novel and he was thanking everyone for their help and assistance, telling him what was wrong in early drafts, making him work a bit harder on it. That's an issue I've always struggled with - never been quite able to get anyone interested in helping out, presumably because the quality really isn't high enough for anyone to bother, or maybe it's my complete lack of involvement in Pointless. I'm reading the second one now, which is much better, or it is so far. Very easy to read, the complication is there but not really hiding and the bits I'm meant to think about, or see coming, are laid out properly. I don't know that I'll ever be able to achieve that, too lazy and self-indulgent I suspect.

Added a track to the end of this. Not perfect but then none of them are and they're free.

Have done some nice music lately, in my humble opinion, and felt inspired to paint again after watching a Sky Arts program about Rothko. Did I write that in my blog already? This week my resolution is to not have quite so many pleasant afternoon whiskies while in the studio. Oh, I think I've learned the RD9 now, although the song mode appears to work differently to how the manual says. Fortunately I'm not interested in that, just wanted to do it for completeness' sake. Is that apostrophe right? It doesn't look like it. Oh, I didn't bother going to see Wolfgang Flur at the Ferret. There aren't many people I would go and see there, the Soapgirls perhaps, or does that just mark me as an old perv? I appear to have written most of that paragraph in the style of Osman's Joyce, which is worrying. Or is it?

Anyway. Did my tax and it hurt. Saying I'm retired now seems stupid as I can't claim for anything, so for next year I'm coming out of retirement, whatever that ultimately means. If only I was Jacob Piss-Fogg and I could just loan myself an income from some dodgy place in Bermuda/Ireland/the Caymans. Still, I'd be a cunt so best not go there. 





On Sunday we had a very pleasant visit from William and Benji as Dawn, Chris and Colin went off to Lytham to do sad family stuff. He was a lot more switched on this time and it makes me hopeful for the future. Broc woke me up at 03:30 but didn't want to go out, not entirely sure what he wanted but I didn't sleep properly afterwards. He repeated the exercise at 8am but I didn't get up this time and Pat found him sleeping in his nest in the library. I guess he was affected by Benji's visit in some doggy way.

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