Some Maschine Kits...
As you no doubt know if you're a regular reader of this blog, I very rarely use any pre-built drum sounds; I prefer to make my own via various synthesis and recording methods, and I do individual kits for nearly every…
2012
77 posts. All years
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This One Time, At BandCamp...
Just put a new group of songs up on BandCamp for your listening pleasure. These are the tracks I made using (for the most part) all that shit I welded up over the summer. So they're largely an exercise in sound design…
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Various, and also Sundry...
Coupla things: 1\. Plogue has just released sforzando, a free .SFZ format sample player available for all the usual plug-in platforms, plus stand-alone. Why do I care? Well, Plogue are cool, for starters. Also, they…
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All Your Bits Are Belong To Us...
(Click to embiggen.) Coming soon, from deep in the heart of the Audio Damage Research Laboratories. What does it do? It fucks shit up. How does it do it? No fucking idea. Adam will speak to that point when he's good and…
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Dr. Drum, Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Con...
As you know, from time to time I use the fairly massive Google footprint of this site to provide a public service to musicians that are just starting out, informing them of the various cons that are floating around, in…
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Blue Monday...
It's that time of year again. The annual Blue Monday sale at Audio Damage! Use the code HOWDOESITFEEL at checkout for 25% off your entire order; this includes bundles, of course. EDIT: Sale is over. Thanks, all! One…
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Now If Only Someone Could Invent A Mechanical Lead Singer...
Due to my recent (and ongoing) fascination with electronic music via electromechanical means, this video piqued my interest. (Or "peaked," maybe, since this is, after all, the internet.) While the music in the video is…
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When I Think About You I Touch My Monitor...
I was able to get back to the Continuing Saga Of Crandall's Experiments In The Exciting World Of Touch-Screen Control this week. I realized, at some point well in to the making of version 4 of the control software (this…
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The New Shit...
First things first: my condolences to the victims of the Storm. That one was a whopper, and no mistake. If there's any city in the world that can take a hit like that in stride, it's New York City; I personally am…
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Can't Touch This...
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison Continuing my exploration of making a touchscreen-based recording/performing environment (that isn't on a fucking Twitter Machine…
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Granular Shoot 'n' Loot...
Yay, Borderlands Granular for iPad is finally out! Despite my personal opinion that the author may need to re-address his product-naming paradigm (related: watch for my new synth app for the iPad, Fallout 2…
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Cut Me Off A Line Of That, Please...
It looks like Jonathan Heppner, the creator of AudioGL, has finally made a beta available; $80 for a full license, and there's a save-disabled version to try out, if you want to give it a whirl. (32-bit Win only…
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Gear Clear...
Yesterday was a sad day; my entire "pro" audio chain left the house to greener pastures. My general reasoning here is that since I work almost entirely ITB these days, everything in my office that had enough dust on it…
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Enough Formaldehyde To Choke A Horse...
After a disheartening false start, which entailed pretty much starting over from bare metal (protip: might want to have some idea of what you're gonna code before you start coding) I have my personal R&D project at a…
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Various And Sundry...
It's that time again, my bi-annual Gear Catharsis. This time, however, I'm going nearly to the bare walls. I'm basically only keeping the Virus and the Maschine, and starting fresh. To save the usual go-round about why…
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Instrumental...
I'm currently doing some research and experimentation with a full-sized (22") multi-touch screen; I'll put up more info about that specifically as I learn/create, but in thinking about what I'm doing with that, I keep…
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The Usual...
Sorry for the tepid posting. Well, not really sorry as such. Okay, not sorry at all. I've been busy as busy can get. Just finished a pair of contract UIs, plus we wrapped up a 2-month R&D project and sent it off, in the…
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An Existing Paradigm...
I've collected the audio from the last three YouTube videos ("Experiment 10," "textural," and yesterday's track, "barthes") and put them together with two other tracks I had lying about, and put them up on Bandcamp as…
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Some More...
I won't deny that my non-commercial instrumental work is incredibly derivative of the mid-to-late 90s "IDM" sound. It has lately gotten to the point where I'm essentially the world's only tribute band for that narrow…
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When You See A Chance, Take It...
There was some discussion about the "right place, right time" aspect of my mission statement in the previous post, so I just wanted to put up an example of what I meant. This is fairly old news; I'm not breaking some…
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It's Not A Memo...
For the last couple months, I've been trying to codify all my various thoughts about the shape the music industry is beginning to take now. Last night I sat down to write a post for this site on this very subject, and…
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Kickin' It Old School...
I apparently decided to spend the entire weekend dealing with various computer problems instead of doing anything productive. On Saturday morning I was just gonna kick out a little jam video, like the couple dozen I've…
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BabyPlate...
I was at Target a couple weeks ago, and (as I occasionally do) I took a quick browse through the toy section to see if there was anything that could be construed as "cool," and furthermore "neat," and could be co-opted…
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Here, Kitty Kitty Kitty...
Fuck you, I'm a mountain lion! - Mountain Lion. So I spent the first four hours of yesterday dealing with Time Machine fuck-ups (I did a full snapshot instead of just the partial one I normally do, and it turns out my…
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Effecting, Affecting...
In the interests of moving along from the remarkably tedious discussion of insurance in the previous post, I'm forced to essentially manufacture a topic. Luckily, this is within my blogging skill-set, and you're…
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Back In The Swing Of Things...
A fairly awesome vacation was had; always nice to see my nieces, who are, I'm sad to say, far cooler than all other kids, including yours. The only truly remarkable thing is that I live in Phoenix, and went to the…
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Dog Days...
It's that chunk of summer we see every year, when the entire continent is sweating under a heat wave (except for here, where it's always hot; a dry heat, but hot nonetheless) and not much is happening in the music…
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SpringThing...
I haven't put in the electronics yet, but the electromechanical portion of SpringThing is complete. I'm experimenting with different combinations of effects that will work in the context, for the best possible result…
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Fire Sale And Various Things...
We're currently having our summer sale at Audio Damage, if you didn't get the info through one of the roughly 3,000 media outlets it appeared in prior to me putting it here. Enter the code BURNINGUP at checkout for 30%…
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Building An Empire, One Optimus Prime Cock At A Time...
As those of you who follow me on the Twit-scape know, I completed the MATG last week, and began work on the third instrument, SpringThing. MATG turned out... interesting, I guess? Not quite what I expected, I'll say…
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And In The End...
This time it came through Facebook. We've gotten the news first hand, second hand, over the phone, via email, pretty much any communication medium we humans possess. "Hey, Chris, did you hear? One of your friends died."…
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Emily The Intern...
There's quite the kerfuffle on the 'Tubes this week due to a post to NPR's All Songs Considered blog by one Emily "The Intern" White. If you haven't read it, you don't really need to bother. The gist: "I love music a…
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Instrumetal...
After several trips to various light industrial zones, wherein pieces of metal and pressure tanks filled with noble (and not-so-noble) gasses were procured, on Saturday I busted out my shiny new MIG welder, and…
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Various Things...
First up, if you didn't get the memo, there's a new set from Standard Beat Company, Boiler Room Beats. Single hits, some loops, plus Poison. It's like if Bell Biv DeVoe was produced by Adrian Utley. (I'm aiming for a…
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In Search Of Hidden Sounds...
After bagging the completely procedural algorithmic album idea (which turned out to be a lot more fun to think about than to actually create, as it happens) I started pondering my next release in earnest a couple weeks…
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Our Hypocrisy Knows No Limits...
Sorry for the lengthy pause, but we've been working long days since Thursday when we received the Propellerheads Rack Extension SDK. Since we're under a fairly detailed NDA, I can't really go in to all the trials and…
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Inspirational Activities...
When I do a post like this, half the readership goes "sigh. Another process post." And the other half goes "Yay! Another process post!!!" When I started blogging lo these many years ago (Jesus fuck, has it been 18…
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8 BITS OF DOOM...
Puremagnetik has just released a new Micropak called alphaSynth. It is a heavily re-tooled and much improved version of the sample set I used to have here that I made from the alphaSyntauri. They are much, much better…
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Digits...
The vinyl of unsuspected sounds has arrived here at the compound, and assembly and shipping will commence in the morning. As promised, and since this is a good cusp, here are all the numbers so far, with annotations…
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Yeah, It's That Time Again...
If you point your browser at this little gem, you'll be rewarded with an interesting insight in to Apple's continual process of legacy software pruning. They learned long ago (c. OS 9) that it is far easier to just not…
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Various Things...
Been a busy few days 'round here. 1\. I went to L.A. yesterday. While I was there, I got a tour of NI's LA office. They have a nice office. It's just like the Audio Damage offices, except in a big building on the Sunset…
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Welcome To The Maschine...
As I noted a few weeks ago, I got a Maschine Mikro. I've been very happy with the software, but for the way I work, the hardware was not up to the task. This is not in any way to belittle the Maschine Mikro controller…
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unsuspected sounds Now Available...
The long-awaited day has come. I was waiting until the jackets arrived, so that I knew the most time-consuming part of the process wouldn't have to be repeated. They just showed up today, and look fantastic. So I've…
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Las Tortugas Comen Queso...
I'm currently writing my next EP, and this album is interesting inasmuch as the particular set of constraints I've set for myself this time involve using only generative techniques for the sequencing. That is to say…
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Asshole Alert...
As you know, I provide a public service occasionally where I point out situations where musicians are being taken advantage of. Haven't had to do this in a while (although TuneCore's "Get My Money" boondoggle has been…
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Standard Beat Company...
As you all know, our good friend Wade Alin folded his Beatserv sample company a few months ago, due to issues beyond his control with his partners and other things. Much dismay and rending of garments ensued. Well, from…
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The Real Deal...
The funny thing about getting vinyl (or CDs, for that matter) made is that it is essentially a long, boring process, punctuated with brief flashes of blind panic. My sister has told me that this is what being in Iraq is…
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Hands, With Occasional Beard...
It's been a while since I did a Disembodied Hands Touching Gear video, so I busted one out this afternoon. I've picked up quite a few new pieces of kit in the intervening months, and some of it appears in this video…
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Roland - The Synthesizer Pt. 4...
Sorry this took so long, but real life intervened. Anyhow, here it is: the last of Roland's four-book primer on synthesis, The Synthesizer. This one is mostly concerned with how to synthesize different string and…
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Busy, Like A Bee...
Oh, taxes. Joy of joys! Oh, the flu. My favorite thing! Oh, MusikMesse! Can we get a minimum of one new plug-in format per major trade show, please? Oh, 64-bit updates! Saved the hardest for last, apparently! Oh, making…
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Patching With Paradiso...
Heavy synth-nerdery alert. If you've been in the synth game for a while, you no doubt know about Joe Paradiso of MIT and his monster DIY modular. The video above is some basic background. I question whether it is the…
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The Plague...
I imagine you're getting sick of hearing about me being sick, but I'll absolutely guarantee that you're not as sick of hearing about it as I am of being it. I am paying penance for nearly a lifetime of being in perfect…
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Updates...
The compilation has been mastered; I'm just waiting for the upload of the digital version from SAE. Some updates on that front: the name of the album is now "unsuspected sounds." This is from an Edgard Varèse quote I've…
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The Long March...
Things are moving at a punk-rock clip in Compilation Land. The mastering session is booked for Thursday, and jacket and pressing situations are firmly in hand. This is an interesting process; while I've made dozens of…
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Roland - The Synthesizer Pt. 3...
Here's what you've all been waiting for: the first half of the Big Mo. Practical Synthesis For Electronic Music Volume One is the third of the four books in The Synthesizer, and is probably the most informative of the…
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And The Envelope Please...
I just want to say at this juncture that this was exceedingly difficult. In order to keep from exhibiting any favoritism for people I know, I removed the names and numbered all the tracks, 1 through 92. I then put them…
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Roland - The Synthesizer Pt. 2...
Here is the second of the four books in The Synthesizer. This one, Multichannel Recording For Electronic Music, is probably the least useful of the four, as the techniques described are almost entirely for a four-track…
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Roland - The Synthesizer Pt. 1...
I was able to scan in the first of the four Synthesizer 2nd Edition books. This is "A Foundation For Electronic Music," and the title pretty much sums up the contents. It is the smallest of the four, and contains a…
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Home Is Where The Algae Is...
Home from my travels, at last. That was an interesting week. In no particular order: 1\. I strongly recommend the Hotel Modera if you have to stay in PDX. Reasonably priced, yet with all the normal trimmings of a nice…
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A Change In The Weather...
After a 1400 mile drive in an un-heated RV, whereupon I was reminded that it is in fact February everywhere else in the country (you can discerne the ambient temperature from my AmEx bill, as I purchase things made out…
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Phaedra updated to 1.0.1...
Phaedra version 1.0.1 is now available in the App Store. Changelog: 1\. Fixed issue where LIVE CONTROL knob was incorrectly affecting gate time. 2\. Fixed issue where OCTAVE settings per note were not recalled correctly…
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Historical Significance...
Bootleg audio of this have been making the rounds for years, but I've never seen the video. I imagine Warner Bros. will have this taken down in short order, so enjoy it while you can: the entire nearly 14-minute live…
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All She Wrote...
Okay, submissions for the AI compilation album are now closed. It may surprise you to hear that I received 91 tracks. Taking one of the ten slots for myself, that means you have a roughly 10% chance of getting on the…
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Oddses And Endses...
A couple little things: 1\. One week left to submit for the AI comp. February 15th is the cut-off. (I expect a bunch of "OH HAI I JUST SAW THIS CAN I STILL GET UP IN THIS BITCH???!!" letters on the 16th, since that's…
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Two Weeks Notice...
There are two weeks left to get your submissions in for the AI Comp. (For those just joining us, info and discussion here.) On Twitter and via email, I've received a number of questions, enough to where it might warrant…
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Secret Weapons...
Okay, I figure this subject is interesting enough to warrant its own post. In the previous topic, we discover that we generally agree that the following synths, which can be had for a song for the most part (or at least…
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NAMGLA Day Three & Home Again...
On the third day of the convention, I mostly just talked to people about AD stuff and the suchlike and played pianos. I didn't make any earth-shattering gear discoveries, unfortunately. I didn't go to the fourth day…
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NAMGLA, Day Two...
I hit all the obvious highlights yesterday, so this morning I spent some quality time in Hall E, the Basement Of Failed Dreams And Sadness. This is the fun hall, because it has all the booths where an inventor is…
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NAMGLA, Day One...
Just got back to the RPV after the first day of NAMM. The best thing I saw today was the Schmidt Polysynth. While it is somewhat comical when you're sitting on your couch reading about it (and I laughed when I saw the…
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Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick. Hit Me Slowly. Hit Me Quick.
Leaving for NAMM in an hour or two. L.A. is a five-hour drive on what is both the most boring and most exciting highway in America. Boring because it is essentially a straight line all the way there, and the only visual…
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I Call Bullshit...
Synthtopia is reporting on Auria, a 48-track DAW for iOS (specifically the iPad 2) from WaveMachine Labs that will supposedly bring 24-channel recording and VST support to iOS. I call bullshit, though. And for two…
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Even More Things...
It's been a surprisingly busy time here in the new year, and I haven't had the opportunity to sit down and do one of the big Things I Do that warrants a Real Blog Post. So I just keep dumping these little nuggets…
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A Couple More Things...
1\. Bigseq2 has been updated to 64-bit on all platforms, and there are a bunch of minor bug fixes. v1.1.0 is now in the AD Store for download. Free update, and recommended for all users. 2\. Steinberg has released…
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A Couple Things...
1\. Just a quick note as a reminder: if you are sending me a track for the comp, DO NOT SEND ME AN UNCOMPRESSED WAV OR AIFF. Read the last two paragraphs of the instructions again. I want an MP3 with your name and…
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Submit Thyself...
New Year, y'all, and it's time to get this party started. Pursuant to the earlier discussion on the subject, I'm hereby announcing an open call for submissions for the first Analog Industries compilation album. Here's…