Noisetheorem

The time is soon approaching when I will have to return the ADAM A7’s and Speck xtramix to their rightful owner (among other things – Manikin Schrittmacher, Macbeth M5, Vermona DRM MkIII, Roland SH5, some FX pedals and other boxes).  On the one hand, I will actually be glad to pass the stuff back to him.  My needs have become much more focused over the last year or so down to just a few basic tools which I push myself to use to their fullest. 

That said, I am going to miss the hell out of the ADAM A7s.  I don’t really want to go back to my KRK V8’s that I have.  They just don’t sound as crisp and clean as the ADAMS, particularly in the bass range.  They have a smear to them I never really liked.  Most of the time, it takes you time to adjust to how a new speaker sounds, but I never got used to the KRKs.  The ADAMs, on the other hand, were love at first listen. I definitely need to figure out how to get a pair of these into the budget and soon.

The Speck Xtramix is another story.  I was using it as a sub-mixer for a while, but really didn’t appreciate its full power and potential until about a month ago.  It took me a while to really dig into and understand how flexible its routing is, and just how useful that is in my studio.  That and it just sounds way better than the cheap Yamaha I had been using (considering the order of magnitude price difference, this is not a shock). Also, the 4 rack space form factor made it *extremely* convenient.  The Yamaha is more a traditional mixer and takes up 10 rack spaces (more if you count the jack field)   While I can probably find a way to buy a pair of the A7’s, any mixer in league with the Xtramix is going to be well over what I can afford realistically.

That is the problem with high quality audio components.  Your blissfully happy using cheaper and inferior equipment until you get a taste of what the real pro level stuff sounds like, and then – you can NEVER go back.  I skillfully avoided any really high quality audio gear for years, and now…..damn it…

Anyone need a kidney?

Just testing the soundcloud embedding. Nothing really new here.

Finally getting my internet presence in order. I now have soundcloud account and a face book page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/NoiseTheorem/141645972762

http://soundcloud.com/search?q[fulltext]=noisetheorem

Only a small amount of data there, but I will be posting more. In fact, I might just post all my old stuff to soundcloud and let the internet have it.

I sold a mess of the small ‘kipple’ that had taken over my studio today.  I placed 4 adds on craigslist and, much to my surprise, got a response from a guy I had sold to in the past who offered to take all of it off my hands AND pick it up at my office.  That, sir, is a done deal.

So lets look at what I am out:

Korg ER1 and EA1
Yamaha TG500
Kawai XD5

That’s a small list, but significant.  All of it was stuff that was becoming ‘dead weight’ in the studio.  Stuff I shuffled around but didn’t use very much, at least not enough to justify shuffling it around.  I sampled all the sounds off them that I needed and they are on to usefulness in someone else’s studio.

What did I get in return?  Just enough to pay for a Sequentix P3 a friend of mine is selling.  I cant wait to take a crack and running that.  I have always wanted to try my hand with one, and my results with the Schrittmacher have me encouraged to work with more hardware sequencers.

On another note, my musical self doubt continues.   I have a track going, but I am just not convinced that anything I do is going to be anything that anyone is ever going to actually want to listen to.  I am probably just over thinking it.   Ill have to run a demo together and pass it on to the trusted few who I think might have valuable opinions on such things.  That or just throw it all away and get a kazoo.  Whatever.

Oh, and I decided to take guitar lessons.  Whee.

I recently took in a Macbeth M5 which I am babysitting on behalf of a friend.  When asked if I wanted to watch it for him, I believe my response was on the order of ‘does a dog lick his balls’ or some other such pointlessly vulgar expression.   Here is a very fuzzy picture of its loveliness:

I havnt had it long enough to do anything really musical with it.  Getting the CV/MIDI interface box I have connected will help there.    I have done one short demo of it is much more like a quick tour than song:

Macbeth M5 quickie demo

Enjoy!  Ill post more when I get something more ‘musical’ accomplished.

Things have been very busy for me these last few weeks. I had a trip to Germany for work for a major project I am working on (not music, unfortunately) and then his last week has been mired in getting that project off the ground state side. I have also had a cold, bronchitis and an ER visit since getting back. Fun times.

In my last post, I mentioned that I was looking for a Roland Fantom XR. Unfortunately, I didnt find one of those at a price I wanted to pay, but I *did* find an Akai Z8 on craigslist at a price I condered to be an absolute steel. I just picked it up this morning, so I have nothing to say about it yet, but you know me – I will dedicate a post to it after Ive had the chance to put it through its paces.

Also new in the studio is a Sherman Filterbank II. I got it as an even trade for my MFB Synth II and I think I did alright. Again, it only arrived last saturday while I was flying back from Germany, so I havnt had time to do more than verify it powers on and makes *some* sound. I am hoping to get some time in on it this weekend with a serious inclination to hooking it, the MPC5000 and the Z8 together into some kind of joy rig. Oh, and the borrowed Schrittmacher has to come to that party too…

So the live setup hit a snag.  I just cant seem to get everything I want into the memory of the MPC5000.  I had a feeling this might be a problem.  I have been tempted to just say screw it and use Maschine on a laptop and have all the RAM I need, but I have decided not to do it.  A lot of the appeal of trying to take NoiseTheorem live is in doing it with a laptop free rig, and (possibly) even keyboard free. 

The basic problem is I need a source for some good key mapped sounds, as well as some very longish samples.  Some of my evolving textures from Absynth and Reaktor are 20 or 30 seconds long, and yes..looping part of it looses something for the song.  I need some way to extend the memory of the MPC, no way around it.  I looked at options, and here is what I have so far.

Akai Z4/Z8

I was always an ‘EMU Man’, but this sampler is hot.  512 MB of RAM; 24bit/96khz fidelity; a very comprehensive and flexible multi filter system and a mod matrix to make it sing.  On the Z8, you could even pop off the front panel and use it as a remote for live tweaking.  This was the last of the great Akai hardware rack samplers, and its widely under acknowledged.   It even has Akai Sys support, which means I can manage the entire unit from my PC for setting up key maps and multi programs for use on stage.  Really, this is a monster, and I cant think of much it *cant* do.

So with all that good stuff, what are its downsides?  Not much.  They can be had for song on eBay, but are rare.  If this is my choice, it wont be easy to find one.  Akai Sys should make things easier, but I have heard horror stories about getting that to work.  I also am under the impression that Akai sys has been abandoned, meaning the move to Windows 7 and x64 will mean it becomes useless anyway..

EMU E64

This has the advantage of having already been purchased.  I have one sitting in the rack next to me, and its a workhorse that I have used for years.  I am intimately familiar with its every nook and cranny.  If this box can do it, I have done it. 

The major downside is the age of the device.  This sampler already has a very dim display, and I have had days it didn’t want to light up at all.  The chassis fan is *very* loud, too, and probably should be replaced.

The biggest downside is it doesn’t really solve my problem.  This one only has 32 mb of RAM installed.  I could upgrade that to the full 64 if I dug up some 30 pin simms of the right type on ebay (they go for around $30) but…even that’s not going to be enough.  Dealing with SCSI is a whole other issue.  I’d have to use MIDI SDS to get samples into this box and that is not going to be pleasant.  In fact, having done that once in my life, I never want to do it again. 

Yamaha DTX-Multi

This one is really out of left field, but I think its a viable option.  The DTX is a 12 pad trigger device with a pattern sequencer and a lot of neat beat making performance features built into it.  You can load samples into it from a USB stick, and it keeps the samples in FLASH memory, so there is *no* loading needed.  That already puts it out a head of the pack.  It has some built in FX and a sound engine derived from the Motif series, so there isn’t much bad one can say about it.  I think it even does melodic programs, so I could use it as a rompler too.

The downside?  I am not a drummer.  In fact, I kind of suck at drums.  Playing this on stage would probably be something I would have to work toward, or use sparingly.   I could just use it as a sample playback device – kind of like a memory extender for the MPC, but that seems to be a waste.  Also, I am not sure 64 megs is going to cover it.

Another factor is that you edit the device through a two line backlight LCD that has something like 32 characters on it.  Wow…welcome back to 1995.  That is going to suck…

Roland V-Synth (2.0 or XT)

Now this one…THIS ONE…this is tempting.  I loved the V-Synth GT when I had it, and had I not needed a more practical keyboard for doing live shows, I would definitely still have it.  The V-Synth 2.0 and V-Synth XT are both amazing instruments that let you do amazing things to audio files that nothing else I have ever played can do.  They are like a playground for synth geeks and samples.   I would love to have one again.

The big downside here is cost.  I really don’t want the V-Synth 2.0 keyboard.  Its a big beast, and I have no where to put it in my studio, let alone dragging it out live.  I would want the Rack, and prices for them regularly go over $1200 on eBay.  That is way over my budget for this.  Other negatives are small amount of sample memory available (50 megs), and the fact it just plain doesn’t handle key mapped programs very well.  Of course, it has that wonderful VA section to make up for it.

Roland Fantom XR

This is another unit I have had my eye on, particularly since I sold my Fantom X6.  I actually loved the sound of the X6, however I did *not* like the way it handled certain things – particularly its sequencer.  I just couldn’t get used to all the weird key combinations you needed to use to get around it.  Because of that, I never really exploited its master keyboard functions.  Its a shame, really…it was such a lovely sounding board. 

With the XR, you don’t get any of that baggage – just the great sound engine.  You also get some neat things in that the XR and X6 could hold up to 512mb of RAM. Also, you could load the files from CF cards up to 2gb in size.  The unit also has USB on it, allowing it to hook up to an editor and not require any MIDI ports to be eaten up.  In fact, you could actually use it as a MIDI interface and (i believe) sound card.  This is sounding pretty good.

It handles key mapped programs.  It handles drum programs (for sample loops).  Its modern..its supported…

And its not cheap. Still well under $1000 though, and they pop on eBay all the time.

Negatives?  I really cant think of any off the top of my head, other than ‘its a Roland’, which I never understood why people thought that was negative…

Korg Kaos Pad KP3/Pro

I want this one.  It doesn’t doe what I need, but it will add to the performance aspect of the show regardless.  Buy me one for xmas?

Conclusions

Yeah, its going to be the XR.  Not quite as exotic as a V-Synth, but much more practical.  I think its going to do everything I need and do it without costing an arm and a leg.  Now, I just need to hunt one down at the price I want and pull the trigger.

FAN BOY WARNING: You will not like what I am about to say.

All feminine hygiene jokes aside, I was actually interested to see what Apples iPad would be like. Would it be a touch based netbook, or would it be a giant crippled iPhone. Today we got our answer, and its worse, much worse, than I thought Apple was capable of.

My main issues with it are no multitasking (i.e. only one app can run at a time) and only apple proprietary devices can connect to it. Basically, no matter how you cut it, its just a really big iPhone. It is *not* a computer. Its a crippled phone. It even runs iPhone OS. Thats great on a teeny tiny screen…not so great on a 9.7 inch one.

What will the developers do with it? make iFart apps that take up more screen. Its locked down and locked into the apple iTunes ecosystem which immediately alienates me as a user since I *hate hate hate* iTunes. Its crappy bloatware used to punsh PC users who dont buy macs but dare try to hook up apple hardware to such inferior junk. Yes, thats exactly what it is.

And one more thing. My ‘netbook’ which ‘does nothing well’ does everything the iPad does, and does it all at once. It doesnt have a touch screen, but there are models coming out this year from other manufacturers that *do*.

So I have a choice, basically (much to apples chagrin..choice is antithetical to the whole apple marketing premise). I can buy a crippled giant iPhone, or I can wait and pay (probably less) for a device that will do more all at once and not be locked into to a crappy choice free application store. hmm..hard one there.

So far the rig is going to be the MPC5000 and the Korg EMX-1.  I have two tracks broken down and set to run on the rig, and they work pretty well all told.  Based on playing through what I have pretty rigorously, I’ve come up with a few items I am definitely going to need:

1.  Mixer – Need something smaller (about the size of an electribe) with at least 6 stereo inputs and an FX loop.  Possibilities are one of the numerous Behringer small format mixers or maybe a Roland VS series HD recorder.  Cheap and it would probably work.  I’ve given up on a DJ mixer, because they aren’t really designed for what I have in mind.  Most of them that I can afford only allow for two channels to be cross faded regardless of inputs.  I need at least 3 stereo inputs running all the time, and probably an FX loop.

2.  Keyboard -  Probably the Blofeld but maybe a Miniak if anyone will buy this MPC2500 and actually pay for it. It would be nice if it were no more than 4 octaves.  Hell, maybe Ill just take my MIDI controller. 

3.  Stand – This is the sticky one.  I’d really like to have a DJ coffin that i could easily box everything into, but I would have to build it custom to fit the MPC5000.  It shouldn’t actually be *that* hard to build..its basically a box covered in felt…

4.  Kaos Pad KP3 or KP Pro – I know I want one of them…but I haven’t figured out which.  It will really come down to sample capacity.  The MPC5000 is getting too full to fast.  It seems I always have one or two very long samples in there that would be great to offload and just be triggered. 

Any perspectives on the above welcome as always.

It is becoming obvious to me that if I am to pull off this NoiseTheorem set the way I want to (Me, an MPC, a keyboard and no computers at all) that I am going to have to whip out every trick I have ever learned and really push the MPC5000 in every way I can.  I am going to have to squeeze every bit of juice out of it possible.  To illustrate this, lets explore the issue of managing sampler memory.  We will have to start with a little bit of math…

If a song is 7 minutes on average, I need 6.42 songs to cover my set of 45 minutes.  Lets round down to 6 which is probably the realistic number that I will have (some will be longer, some shorter). 

The MPC5000 has 192 megabytes of RAM for sample and sequence storage.  Sequences are very small and compact, so we don’t need to figure them into our calculations.  6 songs into the memory of the MPC5000 without having to load and replace data each song can be no bigger than 32 megabytes in size.  In my mind, that sounds reasonable.

Today I took a song I am working on in Propeller head’s Reason 4.0 and broke it down into loops.  This song is not a particularly complex track, and so I figured that it should give me a good idea on the storage requirements of a single song.  I broke the drums down into individual loops, sample synth loops with and without FX, and sampled a number of variations of the parts that were most important to be variable.  When All this was done on this ‘simple’ track, I came to a total of 75.6 megabytes, more than twice what I can allot per track without having to load new data.

This is not good.  I need to find a way to improve that figure dramatically, or this is not going to work as intended.

So what can I do?  The first thing I can do would be to convert most of the samples to Mono instead of stereo.  PA systems at most venues wont be stereo anyway, so having stereo samples would be a needless luxury.   That will cut the memory in half.  In my example above, that would be to 37.8 megabytes.  That is still over the limit, but much more within the range of acceptability.  Some tracks should be smaller than this one, its not too important that I be overly dictatorial about this. 

Another trick I can do would be to break the drum samples down further to individual hits and then sequence them inside the MPC patterns.  This is not a bad idea and would save a *lot* of memory.  For a lot of the drum loops, they are repetitive and filled with empty spaces.  I could probably score another 10 or so MB of space if I take the time to do this.

The final trick I will employ will be sample rate reduction.  For obvious reasons (loss of audio fidelity) I will avoid this one if I can.  If I drop a sample from 44.1khz down to 32khz, that will have about a 27% reduction in storage.  on some samples, I may even be able to push that down to 22khz which is half (though the reduction will become very obvious at that point). 

So this is going to take some work just on the sample side.  I haven’t even gotten into the issues I am starting to see on the horizon such as FX bussing (I don’t think I can change the FX section of the MPC except by loading a new project from disk) or the bigger one of how to gracefully cross between songs.  Also on the horizon is the issue of how Ill ever be able to do a set longer than 45 minutes.  At that point, I will have to load from disk, and I will need some way of covering for that live (a second MPC or rack sampler perhaps?).

This is going to be a challenge.   Fortunately, I like a challenge. 

Any comments or suggestions welcome.  How would *you* handle this?