Music Making

[Dusty Chalk]

Like whoa dude

[acidbasement]

I guess I'm gonna have to go back to relying on my looks to get gigs.

[Kattefjaes]

On 11/3/2019 at 2:15 AM, acidbasement said:

Hoping inspiration strikes tonight.

Ooh, a Deluge, I always thought they looked like fun..

[acidbasement]

On 12/4/2019 at 8:55 AM, Kattefjaes said:

Ooh, a Deluge, I always thought they looked like fun..

It's ridiculously fun. Highly recommended.

[grawk]

That looks pretty fantastic. I’ll have to see if my kid is interested.

[acidbasement]

22 minutes ago, grawk said:

That looks pretty fantastic. I’ll have to see if my kid is interested.

For someone like him, who composes music, yeah. You can generate ideas so quickly.

[Kattefjaes]

On 12/5/2019 at 3:39 PM, acidbasement said:

It's ridiculously fun. Highly recommended.

You're not helping!

I'm currently gathering patch cables and software and trying to get running again- I have a weakness for small, quirky machines, I admit. My Sunday was a bit:

Edited December 9, 2019 by Kattefjaes

[acidbasement]

3 hours ago, Kattefjaes said:

You're not helping!

I'm currently gathering patch cables and software and trying to get running again- I have a weakness for small, quirky machines, I admit. My Sunday was a bit:

Is that a Digitakt or 'tone? I want to try them both. Also, you were quick to pick up that TD-3! Like it?

I'm staying away from software - as soon as I get on a computer my internet addiction kicks in, and I can't be creative. That's why I got the Deluge - it's not limitless, but its limitations don't get in my way, unlike other grooveboxes I've tried.

[Kattefjaes]

That's a Digitakt - I feel like I've barely scratched the surface so far but it feels like a fun machine. It sounds surprisingly giant too. Lots of fun to be had with conditional trigs and lots of realtime control, I suspect.

I pre-ordered the TD-3 from thomann.de within hours of the story breaking, as I suspected they'd have it first. I was right, looks like UK dealers won't have it until late January. It's.. well, it's fun. It sounds a lot like a 303 - maybe a bit brighter, and without the characteristic slightly sloppy timing of the original, but surprisingly close. The onboard DS-1-alike works quite well, too.

I've found it to be a tiny bit temperamental with regard to stuff like writing track sequences, and also selecting them for playback on the fly. You sometimes seem to not always get the pattern you're expecting - possibly it reads the selector input slightly before the last step of the pattern?

It has been too many years since I touched a real 303, so I can't honestly remember if this crankiness is normal, or if it's something in Behringer's implementation and potentially fixed in a firmware update.

On the upside, MIDI seems to work without much hassle, and the "synthtool" software gives you simple pattern editing on a computer for those rare times where you decide that you don't want to wrestle with the delightfully weird and intractable 303 UI. Unlike the original, there's no battery option- but it still runs from 9V negative centre, so you can power it from a guitar pedal supply.

Fundamentally, it sounds and feels a lot like a 303, so it's as fun as shit. I was like a little kid once I got it running.

If you want to hear it for yourself, here's a bit of audio, just some simple patterns over simple 4/4 "unf unf" drums from the Digitakt.

 

 

(Yes, I realise that the drums are REALLY LOUD, it was more an end-to-end test of connections than an attempt to do actual sequencing or mixing too precisely )

Edited December 10, 2019 by Kattefjaes

[acidbasement]

Love it. I don't need any more gear want one!

[Dusty Chalk]

14 hours ago, Kattefjaes said:

That's a Digitakt - I feel like I've barely scratched the surface so far but it feels like a fun machine. It sounds surprisingly giant too. Lots of fun to be had with conditional trigs and lots of realtime control, I suspect.

I pre-ordered the TD-3 from thomann.de within hours of the story breaking, as I suspected they'd have it first. I was right, looks like UK dealers won't have it until late January. It's.. well, it's fun. It sounds a lot like a 303 - maybe a bit brighter, and without the characteristic slightly sloppy timing of the original, but surprisingly close. The onboard DS-1-alike works quite well, too.

I've found it to be a tiny bit temperamental with regard to stuff like writing track sequences, and also selecting them for playback on the fly. You sometimes seem to not always get the pattern you're expecting - possibly it reads the selector input slightly before the last step of the pattern?

It has been too many years since I touched a real 303, so I can't honestly remember if this crankiness is normal, or if it's something in Behringer's implementation and potentially fixed in a firmware update.

On the upside, MIDI seems to work without much hassle, and the "synthtool" software gives you simple pattern editing on a computer for those rare times where you decide that you don't want to wrestle with the delightfully weird and intractable 303 UI. Unlike the original, there's no battery option- but it still runs from 9V negative centre, so you can power it from a guitar pedal supply.

Fundamentally, it sounds and feels a lot like a 303, so it's as fun as shit. I was like a little kid once I got it running.

If you want to hear it for yourself, here's a bit of audio, just some simple patterns over simple 4/4 "unf unf" drums from the Digitakt.

 

 

 

(Yes, I realise that the drums are REALLY LOUD, it was more an end-to-end test of connections than an attempt to do actual sequencing or mixing too precisely )

BRB, having a 90’s flashback.

[Kattefjaes]

23 hours ago, acidbasement said:

Love it. I don't need any more gear want one!

Sorrynotsorry.. it's small, it's cheap, it's cryptic and unruly and it offers serendipity/instant gratification. Of course you want one - (smiley is so apropos there)

11 hours ago, Dusty Chalk said:

BRB, having a 90’s flashback.

Yeah, that's exactly what I was having too. The grinning and bouncing around was real. So much fun. Serious Jeff Mills/Plastikman flashbacks all over the place.

Edited December 11, 2019 by Kattefjaes

[acidbasement]

My gear-lust shortlist atm:

- Akai Midimix or Novation Launch Control XL MK2 (gonna get it soon, will really open up the performance ability of the Deluge).

- Some kind of pad controller, to trigger samples in the Deluge.

- Arturia Drumbrute Impact.

 

My long list is Elektron and Moog.

Edited December 12, 2019 by acidbasement

[Dusty Chalk]

Ian Boddy just got a Matriarch (Moog).

[ironbut]

I have a couple of controllers that I don't use.

One's an old Korg padKontrol I picked up on eBay for a song and the other one's an Akai MPD18.

I never felt comfortable with either one so they've been in the closet for a couple of years.

Any of you guys can have one or both for shipping.

PM me.

 

[acidbasement]

1 hour ago, ironbut said:

I have a couple of controllers that I don't use.

One's an old Korg padKontrol I picked up on eBay for a song and the other one's an Akai MPD18.

I never felt comfortable with either one so they've been in the closet for a couple of years.

Any of you guys can have one or both for shipping.

PM me.

 

That's really awesome and generous. I think the Akai would work great together with my Deluge. PM inbound!

[Torpedo]

If I only knew what can be done with those toys...

[acidbasement]

5 hours ago, Torpedo said:

If I only knew what can be done with those toys...

Jay Hosking's channel is really informative for that.

 

[ironbut]

This video is long and deep.

And not unlike a lot of folks of his intellect, Jacob Collier is a little tough to take sometimes.

But even if you aren't into the kind of music that he's doing (not a fan myself), there's a lot to learn as he explains the broad strokes and fine-finite points of his music.

When I watch his videos I can't help but wonder where music would be if Mozart had had youTube.

 

Edited December 17, 2019 by ironbut

[Grahame]

Meanwhile ....

This turned up on my YouTube feed, for all you Alienated Synthesists

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Britannia_documentaries#Synth_Britannia

https://www.musicradar.com/news/tech/review-synth-britannia-223591

If you know where to look (The Possibilities are Boundless, arrr, matey), there,'s a 720p version available.

https://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Synth_Britannia_(BBC)

Enjoy.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

On 12/12/2019 at 11:09 PM, ironbut said:

I have a couple of controllers that I don't use.

One's an old Korg padKontrol I picked up on eBay for a song and the other one's an Akai MPD18.

I never felt comfortable with either one so they've been in the closet for a couple of years.

Any of you guys can have one or both for shipping.

PM me.

 

Did anyone take you up on the Korg?  I'd be interested if your offer didn't make you revisit it and renew your interest in it.   

[ironbut]

The Korg is yours Dusty!

PM with your addy and I'll get it off to you after the Xmas rush.

[HiWire]

I don't know much about synths, but this looks cool (POLY D – not from the Jersey Shore):

 

Edited December 23, 2019 by HiWire

[Torpedo]

Finally something I'd understand how it works and that I could use  

[grawk]

I've got the model D, it's great fun.  I'm tempted by the poly.