Noisetheorem

Today just kinda sucked. I think it may be time to find employment
elsewhere. I don't like the direction things are going in, and maybe
its (finally) time to go…

Spent the better part of the day yesterday working with VazModular, and I can safely say that it *does* have high jam-factor. I spent a good amount of time trying to find as many of the G2 equivalent modules as are there and most are there, or have close equivalents.

Getting my head around how sequencer rows work was a bit hard, but now that I get them, the are actually simpler AND more powerful. Rather than being clocked, you use a modulation source (a ramp generator) to move through the values. This makes it much more useful, as you can get all sorts of weird modulations by modulating the LFO wave shape.

Today I am going to mess with reaktor and compare notes.

So I sold my Nord G2 a couple weeks ago. Wow. It is weird not having it in the studio. Like many things, now that it is not around, I think about it and what it could do more making me want to find ways to get back into that sonic territory. I am determined, however, to do so WITHOUT going out and getting another g2. In theory, I have two very powerful tools that should be able to get me into that space: VazModular and Reaktor.

On paper, both offer things the G2 doesnt (tight DAW integration via plugin and the ability to manipulate sampled data) but there is one thing they both really lack, and that is what I will miss the G2 for: Jam factor.

I could take the G2 and a laptop, and patch sounds in my head together on the fly without worrying about crashing my DAW. It’s UI was so fast, that it encouraged deep experimentation. Someone could say ‘we need a sound that does xyz’ and I could patch it together in a couple minutes.

Now that the G2 is gone, I dont have that anymore. I feel that VazModular has a greater chance of becoming that replacement than Reaktor. Vaz was always a favorite synth, and I have been using its modular version now for a while. Its quick once you know it, and it seems to have *most* of what the G2 did (though I havnt played much with getting into logic or how to control sequencers). Reaktor, on the other hand, is more like developing software than it is making music. It requires a lot of that same mindset, and unfortunately a similar time investment. You kinda gotta know what you want before you start.

Today I plan to play with both and just see what happens. I want to see if I can get into that same sonic texture space that the G2 always delivered. I hope I meet with some kinda success.

This morning I read that George Carlin passed away yesterday. While some people may find it strange of me to say so, he was a sort of mentor at a distance for me. He was one of my heros. And it wasnt just because he made me laugh, but because he made me think as well. I had always wanted to see him perform live, but never got the chance.

I am sure others will write better than I can about his life and accomplishments. I will just write that I feel the world is a happier place having had him, and now its just that little bit sadder now that he is gone.

So I decided to move a couple things around in the studio, and (as always) it turned into an entire tear down and rebuild. Why do I do this to myself?

The goal was to get the FX rig back into play, and to get the Elextrix stuff I bought of Niall (and the neat tape delay ands and such I am borrowing from him) into easy use. I even hooked the E64 in there, just to basically act as a player/recorder (cause selling it is apparently near impossible).

Anyway, the new layout is a slight tweak on the last, and Ill post picture (again, as always) later. Right now, I have a question for those that might be able to help.
I have a Yamaha TG77 synthesizer. I love the bastard. its sounds is….not smooth, not phat (do they still say that? I dont fucking care), and definitely not warm. Its nasty, grungy, noisy and rude. I like rude.

Unfortunately, the synth has one flaw, common in TG77s: the backlight in the display is out. The display itself works great with no dead pixels to speak of. It is just very hard to read in anything but optimal lighting conditions (and I like a dark studio).

Anyway, I have found the common source for parts on this, however I am nervous I will brick the thing if I attempt to do the work myself. Anyone know a tech who I may contract (or barter with…I have webspace I can offer and/or programming skills I can offer) to get the work done?

I also have a Korg EMX-1 that has a few dead LEDs which I would like to find out how to replace. The two rows of LEDs that telly you what measure your editing and what measure is playing are out, and it makes the unit much harder to use. It would kill me to have to pay $400 (or whatever the e-bay price is) to replace it when all that needs fixing is a few little LEDs.

And while I have the ears (or rather eyes) of the tech savy among you, can anyone reccomend a cheap CV/MIDI converter I can use with the SH2 I have? I have been using the ATC-1 for this, but the way Studio Electronics implemented its CV out, I loose the ability to independently control the ATC1 (though layering the two is pretty damn cool..). I am looking for something not to expensive that will basically support a monophonic gate/trigger and let me set MIDI channel.

relieving myself of the VSynth GT has proved harder than I thought. I really think I am offering a fair price, but I guess the demand just is not there…

Its not a big deal. It just pushes back getting the new car, and also getting a workstation for the live shows. Oh well.

A few have asked me why I dont use the GT for live shows. I tried to make it work for that, but really it would be better as a second synth than the center of the live rig. It lacks enough splits/layers that I can do and for sounds that are not supposed to sound streched and synthetic, it kinda sucks. Its a mangler, not a player. And definitely NOT a controller.

I think I am going to move some stuff around in the studio and reconfig it as my main PC controller (for now). I also have started planting the modular seeds (I have a power supply, and soon will have a cabinet and at least one module) and the system needs reconfig for that as well.

They released Angela from the hospital today, and by all indications she is doing very well. They gave her some pain pills (lucky her) and some basic instructions (basically sit on your ass, but not too much, and drink a lot of water).

It really is nice having her back at home, even if she was only gone a few days. It is true that you tend to take people for granted until they arent there. I (and the dog) really missed having her around. It might sound crazy, but we have had a lot of fun today just sitting on the couches watching DVDs. I have to work *really hard* at not making her laugh though…

I also want to thank everyone who has sent their good wishes our way, via this blog or the other one. It really does help having the support of the wider community, even if many of you here have never even met angela, nor seen either of us. We keep meaning to get out more, and when she is better…we should all get together soon!

Ok, so those who follow my twitter know something I havnt posted hear:
Angela had surgery today to remove a 9 cm dermoid cyst from her left
ovary.

Without going into the long details (because I am way to tired to
offer them) everything went very well. Because of its size, they had
to do a slightly bigger operation than is normally neccessary. This
means she is still in the hospital until sunday afternoon, digging the
good drugs while she recouperates.

I am way tired. way way tired. Maybe Ill write more tomorrow.

Does anyone know of any program that lets you post to many blogs at
the same time? My main ones on blogger and LJ accept posts via
e-mail, but I cannot seem to figure out how to get my myspace blog to
update via e-mail. Facebook, fortunately (brilliantly) just accepts
the RSS feed from this blog and feeds it in.

Any suggestions?

Ok, the modern workstation is not THAT boring (depending on who you are). They can be quite a interesting topic, one that usually descends into fan boy flame wars of epically useless proportions at the slightest mention on a forum. Hell, all you have to do is dare to ask ‘what do you guys think of x’ and you are garanteed to get 300 or 400 posts within an hour on why company x is better than y is better than z is better than x, as well as assertions that the xyz are in collusion to keep you down and not put out anything truly innovative. Its all a bunch of bullshit tiny dick waving akin to the kind of dick waving you get at a LARP convention.

If your a keyboard player who is planning to play live and depending on the type of project your involved in, a workstation may be your *only* option. My project thats going live is going to be straight up industrial metal (or something like that – I cant keep up with genre definitions anymore), so all I need is a set of keys and some sound sources.

In the past (way past..early 90s) I actually took a keyboard, a rack, and a Yamaha digital mixer to gigs. It worked, but it was a PAIN IN THE ASS (or more specifically, the back). Over time, I reduced and reduced until all I needed was a Korg Triton, and a Roland VS880 recorder to play back tracks.

So now, after many years away from stage, I want to get back to that kind of setup. Currently, I have nothing in my rig that lends itself to being the uber synth on stage, either because of a limited tonal pallet, limited polyphony or by simply being something I would not take on stage.

Of course, not being the only one in this situation, the market has graciously provided me with three options: One by Roland, one by Korg, and one by Yamaha (Fantom G, M3, and Motif XS respectively).

Here we get to my quandary (which I have probably stated and restated here before): All three would probably do the job, but all three have one..little..issue that makes none of them the ideal choice.

First, the Motif is just plain ugly. Really..it is. Its synthesis engine is also sorely laking in the modulation department. On the pro, its got *excellent* arpegiators, seems easy to use and sounds great. Its also got the most RAM possible for its sampling engine (1gb!) and that could really come in handy for the live sets. Plus, with a GB of ram, if the sound isnt already in the board I can make detailed multisamples and not have to worry about room.

The second is the M3m. I have to admit that I have always been a Korg fan boy. I just *like* them. While the M3 has the modulation the Yamaha is missing, it is even UGLIER. I know some people really like the new stying, but I HATE HATE HATE the ‘everything needs to match my iPod’ school of design. Also to looks, I have seen them at a number of shops and that white finish pickup up dirt like nothing else I have seen. I really do not want to see what those boards look like after a short bit of touring.

The real nail in the coffin on the M3, however, is its sampling ram. Not only does it have the lowest number (320mb) expandable only via proprietary modules, but it also only samples at 48khz. It is a small amount of ram that it wastes, but with only 320mb, every little bit counts.

The final option, the Fantom G6, looks really good. 512mb of ram, a display that is to die for, lots of mod routings and interesting voice routing combinations, cool sequencer stuff..even a mouse input for navigating the interface. The sample pads are awesome, and all in all it looks like a winner.

So whats the problem then? The problem is that it *is* a roland. I dont know why, but rolands and I never last. I had a Fantom X6 and was terribly disappointed in how it handled its sample banks (its thinking was counter to how I wanted it to be) and I could never get to like its filters (the resonance always sounds really plastic and harsh on rolands). I have played in in the store, and it does seem to borrow the filter aglo from the V-Synth GT (which I love) so maybe all is well here…but….I am gun shy based on my disappointment in the X6. Oh, and I find it ugly (I am impossible to please on aesthetics, apparently).

And there you have it. Always right back where I started. At some point, ill just have to buy one and live with my choice I guess, and I am sure whatever I do choose will do what I ask it to and do it well. *sigh*.