Noisetheorem

So here we are on the last day of 2007. I dont yet have the first of
my last cups of coffee for 2007, but I think I can manage what I want
to say unaided.

2007 was a year that helped me understand why the chineese proverb
'may you live in interesting times' is a curse. 2007 was definitely
'interesting times': My grandfather passed away, I met my biological
father, My mother and stepfather have decided to get a divorce, and
the whole process of selling our old place and buying this one was a 7
month ordeal that I never want to repeat. As icing on the cake, I
lost all of my musical history (for the second time) due to no ones
fault but my own.

I know more people who are worse of today than they were one year ago.
I know more couples that split than came together. I know more
people who have lost this year rather than gained.

Fortunately, there are two sides to every coin, and the year was
obviously not without good news. My friends Dave and Becky had their
second child (first together) and my sister brought my second nephew
into the world. My career is in good shape, and I am poised to do even
better this next year. While I may bitch and moan about the move, I
am actually very happy here.

I think 2008 is going to be a good year. I really really hope so. I
think everyone could use a good year.

Ill close this with the hallow cliche of 'Happy New Year', but
understand I wish you all better than that phrase captures.

As you have been reading, I have determined Ableton Live 7s drum racks
to be *the* drum machine of my dreams. I can compose with it *almost*
exactly as I have always wanted to, right inside of my DAW, and its
far easier on the workflow than Fruityloops, Guru or any of the other
solutions I have tried over the years. In fact, Drum Racks solve the
problem of getting me back to the way i did things way back when i
started – Creating sequeces, sampling the short loops, and then
building arrangements from there. Drum Racks turn my PC into an MPC
with a big display and a lot more options and control.

Notice I said *almost*. Almost, because it lacks the one thing that I
find most inspiring when writting rhythm patterns: physicality.
There is a certain joy in being able to *touch* the notes via an x0x
style grid, or being able to step record the Hihats. Sure, I can do
this with live in a way – I can play MIDI notes or, if I had a pad
controller, program via that…but…not quite the same all around.

So now we get to the subject of this post. right now, I am damn
tempted by an MC808. yes…a few weeks from the NAMM show, and I
might take a portion of my x-mas bonus and splurge on something I, by
all accounts, probably do not need – a groove box. why? Physicality.

My thought is to arrange the synths that I dont use so often, and
create a seperate 'island' rig controlled by the MC808. I'd pull over
the drum modules (XD-5, JoMoX Airbase, R8m) and the lesser used synths
and FX (Korg Z1 and Prophecy, Ensoniq MR-Rack, TG33, Repeater,
Fireworx, and my two DP2s) and make an old-school. The PC would still
be at the center of the rig for routing of MIDI signals and for
eventual recording/mixing but it would be, for the most part, its own
rig.

I am a gear whore. And frankly, I dont care.

I am once again entertaining the idea of building a modular synthesizer.

What always stops me, is figuring out *where* to start. here is what
I would like, and I ask you, kind readers, to help push me in the
right direction:

1. I like the MOTM format. I like bigger modules that have the
appearence of military hardware
2. I would like to *build* the modules, not just buy them
3. CV to MIDI is going to be a must have
4. I would like to start out with a conventional signal path, and add
processing and modulation as I go

So….any good suggestions? ive got a big bonus coming from work, and
I intend to use that as seed money to setup my workshop (getting a
cheap meter, workbench and maybe even a scope).

help is appreciated

After a bit of discussion, it is my feeling that the space between
Christmas and New Years should be called 'Decembers Taint' (or
perenium, if you wish to be medically accurate).

Just thought I'd share that.

Over the last few days, I really got to get under the hood of Live 7
and have to say that the upgrade is well worth it. The drum racks
turn Live into *exactly* the drum machine I always wanted
(well..close…still no step recording). I can insert a drum rack,
put samples on the 'pads' and have a pretty sophisticated beat going
within a few clicks. There are some nuances to it I still need to
learn, but it just about as intuitive as software can be.

The external instruments devices have replaced my external mixer. I
just need a bigger interface to handle a lot more inputs. I think
they build this feature thinking people have only a few hardware
synthesizers these days (which in most cases is true) so I am putting
it to an extreme test. Its super easy to use (way easier than the
cubase way to achieve the same thing) and like everything in live,
integrates well into every other piece of live.

Two other common complaints I hear about live is the quality of its
mixing engine, and its external MIDI timing. Its rare that a company
upgrades that kind of thing and its so easily heard, but in this case
both of these items were immediately clear to me – particularly if you
turn off warping (which I dont need – I work with MIDI clips, and
convert to linear audio at the end). The sound is much less muddy and
much more clear in 7. I can also really appreciate the better timing
- I can record MIDI patterns off my EMX-1 and they dont sound
completely wacked up on playback.

I also upgraded to the 'suite' version, mainly because I wanted the
drum sound libraries, and to upgrade and buy them actually costs $100
more than upgrading to the whole suite and getting the new soft
instruments essentially for free. My plan is to install the whole hog
on my laptop for creating tracks on my (now significantly longer)
commute.

With Live 7, it really feels like live has finally hit the mark for
me. I am pretty psyched to be working this way, and I already have
some starts of tracks to show for it. The studio feels *integrated*
through live in a way my studio hasnt in a long while. If you are a
live user, I cant reccomend this upgrade enough.

Merry x-mass, or whatever it is you do or do not celebrate. A virtual
toast to you all

Knob Creak saves the day again. I would not have made it through without her.

Three advil, some water and then bed. I am sleeping in tomorrow, damnit.

When we decided to have X-Mas for Angela's family at my house, and not
go visit my family this year, I really had no idea what I was getting
myself into..

I am really upset that I dont get to see my family this year at X-Mas.
Particularly since Angela's family is so un-fun. Stuffy, uptight,
and overconcerned about keeping up appearences would be more
descriptive. And guess what? they are coming to dinner…

*sigh*. Pass the jack…

Wow…Ive been really busy. Tonight, we have my family here for gift
exchange and dinner…tomorrow is cleanup and then xmass eve will be
her side…her WHOLE family.

Wish me and my bottle of Jack Daniels luck…

I actually spent an honest to god day working in the garage. I worked on the snowblower (yes…I tried to FIX something mechanical), unpacked/organized the tools, and generaly just cleaned up. I feel so freekin manly its insane!