Noisetheorem

So yesterday morning, after enjoying what will probably be our last relaxing xmas morning for at least the next 18 years, I got an e-mail giving me a heads up on a killer deal on an MPC5000.  It was a fully loaded and hardly used (studio only) 5000 that was being sacrificed cheap to move fast.  Basically, the price was low enough that I can sell my 2500 and possibly even make a profit.  How sweet is that?

I talked to the wife, because I would have to put the item on a credit card pending sale of the 2500.  She agreed, e-mails were sent, and as soon as the post office can get it here, I will have my upgrade!  This is awesome.

Basically, this means I can skip rig #1 which was proving to be a bit of a pain anyway.  Making a program that could play like a synth patch on the MPC2500 was just not going to be possible, and bringing the TG500 with was going to be headache.   Dealing with MIDI, another sound module, and just having to have another rack space that needed to be supplied was not going to be worth it for the short period I was planning to have to do that. 

That said, I am also a little nervous about getting a 5000.  The buzz on the net was very VERY negative when it was first released.  Its 1.0 OS was really a disaster with bugs that, supposedly, made the unit unusable.  Of course,  a lot of it was also driven by the fact a certain well known producer posted a blog rant about it, and a lot of the hip hip fan boys who buy MPCs because that’s what JAY-Z uses started to echo the complaints.  Weather or not 2.0 fixes all the issues seems to depend on who you ask.  There is also the fact that I am not your usual MPC user.  I am kind of used to that though.

So why do I like the MPC concept so much?  Well, it actually stems from a love of samplers in general.  Samplers are like a completely blank canvas you can fill however you choose.  You get out of a sampler, literally , what you put into it.   When I recorded my first album, it was all done with a Synth, a Sequencer and a Sampler.  Back in a day when hard disk recorders and DAWS were just a distant idea,  it was the sampler that got pushed hardest.  The Sampler (an Emu E64 which I still have) was my multi track recorder, my audio mutilator, my synthesizer and my mixer.  I did whole tracks in that thing, and they were all done within 10 mb of RAM (this was when loading it to 64 mb would have been $3000). 

The MPC5000 really represents that original trinity of Synth, Sequencer and Sampler in one box.  In addition, it adds performance controls and FX processing that, even if primitive by today’s standards, is light years ahead of anything I had access to in those early days.  Not to sound like an old fart, but when I here people complain about the small amount of RAM the 5000 supports (192mb) I really do laugh on the inside.  You would be amazed what you can do with half that.  You would be amazed what you can do with 2mb.

Having rambled on enough, I am going to post this and go start backing up all my data off the 2500, and get some tracks ready for loading into the 5k.  Its going to be a fun 2010. 

So I did a lot of thinking (way more than necessary (as usual)) regarding what kind of live setup I would use with NoiseTheorem.  blog posts were written..Google waves started….diagrams drawn and far more doodles on my sketch pad than I care to admit (yes, that chicken scratch does mean something…it is not just some kind of din plug infested Rorschach test).   A decision has been made.

I want to try to be interesting on stage.  As a one-man show, that is going to be hard. Suggestions ranged from using a Theremin to getting scantily clad dancing girls.  If only I could fin a bunch of Theremin-wielding S&M strippers I couldn’t help but be a hit!  Sadly, I don’t think that’s going to happen.  Unless I do the stripping.  You don’t want that.

But I digress.  Because I cant just go out and buy all the stuff I need right away, and because I would like to do some performances sooner rather than later, I have decided to plot a path to an eventual goal rather than try to buy and build a whole new setup all at once. 

Version 1: MPC2500 + TG500 + Korg Prophecy + Korg EMX1 + Small format mixer

This is the incarnation that requires I buy nothing save for a mixer (haven’t picked out a model yet).  I control everything from the MPC2500.  The TG500 is there for keyboard sounds and the Prophecy is there as a keyboard.  The EMX is there for being a tweekable synth, though I might replace that with something else.  Its got the advantage of multiple channels that are very easily accessible and a control surface a kindergartener could get around (or younger….my 6 month old son loves the damn thing).   I do not have any external FX to play with (save for the electribe), and the control surface for manipulating the sampler is limited to the 2500’s Q-controls.  

The big question on this setup (and all the setups, really) is weather or not I can crap a full live set of samples into 128 megs of ram without having to reload mid set.  This is another reason to bring the EMX as it can probably cover for a bit if the sampler needs to load.  Hell, I’ve done whole songs on that thing so It should be a good cover.  Also, back in the day, I managed to get the entire 45 minute live set for Carbon Haze into 10 megs of RAM.  NT is a bit different project with a lot more ‘evolving’ type sounds, so it remains to be seen if i can cram it all in there. 

One really nice thing on thing about this rig is, as I said, that I already have it.  I just got a $75 guitar center gift card, and that could basically cover the mixer I would need (it doesn’t need to be a all fancy).  Id be able to do a show in January, if anyone would book me..and I could pull 45 minutes of music out of my ass.

Version 2:  V1 + MPC5000 – MPC2500 – TG500

This one swaps the 2500 for a 5000 and takes the TG500 out of the loop.  Any synth sounds I need can be sampled and played as key map programs in the 5000, a feature the 2500 lacks. 

I get a lot of stuff upgrading the 2500 to the 5000.  50% more sample space, more FX busses, more real time control and a number of other nice things that just aren’t available on the 2500. 

This I could probably do pretty soon, actually.  I have a few items I don’t need laying around I could sell, and obviously the 2500 would be on eBay.  With the price of the 5000 trending downwards, I should be able to snap one up at a deal without having to dip into any cash.  That’s always nice.

Version 3: V2 + Yamaha DTX-Multi

This is where things start to get more ‘fun’.  The DTX adds another 64mb of sample space, but also it adds a whole new control interface, one I have always wanted to use.  I watched the demo videos of this, and I really love the idea of ditching the keyboard completely and doing a lot of the melodic performance using sticks or hand playing techniques.   This is the first money I would actually have to spend on the rig, and its not insignificant.   By this point, however, I should have probably done a show or two and know what the hell it is I am doing and maybe even have drawn in a dollar or two to the cause (though I wouldn’t bet on it.  The day I get significantly compensated for a gig has yet to pass). 

Version 4: +-?

And that’s as far as I have planned anything out.  Beyond this point, Id probably swap the Prophecy for something a little less precious and easily damaged, maybe just a generic controller after all.  Maybe an MPK49.  Maybe a Miniak…or a Quasimidi Sirius (one can dream)?  Who knows.  I also think that, at some point, a Kaos Pad needs to be integrated here somewhere.  That’s just a moral imperative.

I love planning out my rigs. Yeah, its kind of silly, but its also fun to speculate.  I have a few days off, and in between relaxing and playing with the little dude, I plan to setup rig one and putz around a bit.  Maybe even write a tune or two.

Any other suggestions?  How would you suggest I kick up the fun?  Know any scantily clad dancers who like electronic music?  

To do this live show, it is becoming clear that I will need some gear.  But first, that means I have to sell some other stuff and square away a few debts.  In that spirit, I guess I am going to go back on my word when it comes to selling certain items I had sworn not to.  Sentimentality has to be sacrificed in the name of progress. So here goes..

MFB Synth II

I got this one in trade from a friend not to long ago.  I love the thing – its got a great analog sound and a really nice little sequencer.  Add some FX and Sync it to your favorite analog drum machine and you have Nitzer Ebb’s That Total Age in a box.

Korg Electribe ESX1

This is the Electribe that samples.  Its awesome.  Unfortunately, it is also not 100% working.  I have a feeling its nothing more than a loose connection in the display, as it works most of the time, then sometimes the display goes buggy and you cant use the instrument.  You leave it alone/off for a while and it goes back to normal.  Think of it as your schizophrenic uncles drum machine and you will do fine.  I am definitely willing to sell it at a price that is appropriate for what is wrong with it. This one I will definitely get again some day.  I just really need something reliable for the stage rig.

Kawai XD5

This is a great little sound machine.  I sampled it off a while ago, and now it just sits in the rack.  I am willing to let this go really cheap if anyone wants it.  I really don’t want to deal with eBay fees on this one (or any of these auctions).  Please…buy it!

Yamaha TG500 and Emu e64

Yeah, I am too lazy to take separate pics.  Sue me.  Anyway, these two are sentimental classics.  I wrote my first album on that e64, and while its display is dim and its fan makes a bit of noise, its still a great box.  I am willing to let it go really cheap simply because of the display.  If you know anything about anything the fix is pretty easy and cheap.  I will also include a box of various SCSI device that I will never ever use again (zip drives, jaz drives, a CD-Rom and a mess of disks and cables) just to get them out of my damn life.  The TG500 was not used on my first album, but its sister product the SY85 basically WAS that album.  All the songs were written on its 8 track linear sequencer of Joy.   The sound is amazingly good, partly because synths at this time did not employ compression to fit as many as they could into a small ram space.  Its not the easiest thing to use, and definitely not the most advances synth, but its still a great musical resource. I also have a couple cards for it, and they will be included.

Yamaha MG16/6 Mixer

Ok, so its not a Toft Audio or a Speck.  It works, and it works well.  I need something smaller for my live rig that can fit in a rack and be left alone.  I don’t need all the EQ, as that will be done in the samples before I run them to the rig.  I am not going to let this one go free, but its definitely going to be reasonable.  I would also trade it for a DJ mixer, possibly, or for some kind of FX.  This one is a bit more open.

So that is it. If anyone is interested, send me mail to tony at this domain dot com (if you cant figure that out, your a scum sucking bot and you can go to hell with you and your ass bot face) and let me know your offer.

I might be posting up more later.  Maybe.

Jason Weaver (Dead Man’s Kassette) and I are considering teaming up to do a few shows with our solo projects (we are both in Short to Ground).  What we are thinking is that we each do a half hour set with a mini cross over set in between with both of us contributing.  I love this idea, however, it got me thinking about how in the hell I will pull this off.

The problem

Now, most people these days doing these kind of one man electronic shows grabs a laptop running Ableton Live and a controller/controllers of some variety and do some kind of triggering of loops and sonic manipulation.  I could do this.  I have the software and a capable laptop.  I’d just need a controller and an audio interface. 

The problem is that I don’t think I would be *happy* doing that.  I prefer keys to on a matrix controller, and I certainly don’t think triggering loops would make me happy.  Further more, I don’t know that it would be particularly interesting to watch me do this.  Others can make a show of this, but I think I am more fun to watch pounding on keys than I am typing on a laptop. 

So that’s out.  What now?

Solutions?

As always, there is more than one way to approach this live set using gear I have that will make things interesting.  I know for a fact there are certain parts of the setup that I must have to pull it off.  I must have a keyboard to play that has a broad pallet of sounds, a sampler to play back triggered loops of material from the songs and a sequencer for playing the backing tracks.  I don’t want to use a hard disk track for backing tracks to keep the set a little more live and fluid. 

The keyboard choice is pretty obvious.  If I bring my Korg M3, I can us its combi mode to control everything.  It also has a nice control surface mode I could probably put into use for performance aspects.  Its also just a damn nice synthesizer. 

The downside to the M3, if there is one, is in its bulk.  The thing is damn heavy.  Also, its kind of my main STG board, and it would be kind of nice to completely break out of that headspace while doing NoiseTheorem shows.  This might sound crazy, but I really like the idea of having something a bit more primitive there.  Something like a Quasimidi Sirius or Roland JX305…or maybe one of those EMU Command Station Keyboards.   Something with hard lined limitations that force me to focus more on the sequence of events than just synth noodeling.  If I could find an Elektron MonoMachine keyboard at a price that didn’t make my left testicle ache that would be awesome.  Basically anything light and simple that just had enough sounds would be cool.

As for the sampler and sequencer, this is where it gets tricky.   I have a wealth of options at this point.  If I bring the M3, I could use its firewire interface with my  laptop and run any combination of software on it.  Anything from FL Studio to Maschine to Live.  The idea of Maschine, particularly interests me.  Its just a great program and I could really put the hardware controller to the test.  I could also, theoretically, sequencer other MIDI gear from it since it now supports MIDI out.  It and the M3 could be really good pals..

But there we are in software land again.  Blah.  I really don’t want to bring a computer if I don’t have to.  I feel it may be one thing that distinguishes my shows from others (aside from the music of course).

So after all of this, I have kind of settled on bringing the M2500 out and playing that live.  The 2500 should have enough memory for the entire set, it can be setup to do real time control and I can play with the sequences a bit using the various setups it has.   My current thought is to have a few patterns per song and I will mix match and mute them live along with my own interjected synthy stuff.   I’d like to actually be able to tweak *musical* sequences live, but for that I would need some more MIDI synths (virus desktop?) and some kind of performance sequencer to run it. 

Another problem with all of this is going to be mixing.  I really don’t know *what* I want for that.   Maybe I could get a DJ Mixer and run through that?  It would be kind of cool to have that kind of performance capacity.   Of course, Id be limited to very few channels, but how many do I need?  I honestly have no idea.

Cry for help

So I don’t know what to do really.  Maybe I just need to start with the MPC and  build from there.  That’s pretty much what I did with the STG rig, starting with the M3 and adding as needed.   Maybe try the Prophecy as my controller or the blofeld and just see what happens.  

What do you think Mr. Internets?