old socks and new toys

another one

2010-08-31T22:11:00.003-04:00

His snare drum arrived today and I started fucking around with positions.

I did manage to fry one transistor in the outputs but that was my first fail in a while.

nitty gritty

2010-08-31T08:01:00.004-04:00

Before I get accused of calling a single solenoid being held by a puppet a robot, let me fill you in on some of the details of how this little guy is actually set up in real life.

The controller board from Highly Liquid allows for MIDI input to trigger solenoids and motors. I am writing a number of apps in Max/MSP to allow for things like randomization of different parts of the playing within a clocked rhythm.

The Robot Drummer's set up actually has 16 channels set up divided between two boxes, one is set up for a 12 volt load the other for 24. So stuff like his eyes of different strikers can be individually controlled.

Robot Drummer Preview

2010-08-30T22:25:00.008-04:00

I wanted to build a Robot Drummer back around 1990 but I was even more lacking in the skills needed to do it. Along came Highly Liquid with awesome products that made my dream become a reality.

In recent months a flurry of obsessive work has made it impossible for people to be around me without being forced into talking robots.

Yeah I know there are a lot of drumming robots out there. A quick google search will reveal some of the lamest shit excuses for bombastic drum wankery in video form. People who do this 1. don't have a clue where there sense of humor might be and 2. seem to like both drum machines and over playing.

My robot is made to play Punk Garage fuck you music. He's meant to make a racket. Now I can tell Plague Monkey to go fuck himself, he's been too gimmicky for too long.

The sad part is that most people will be disappointed when all is said and done because how could I live up to the hype. The good part is I don't give a rats dick hole what anyone thinks. I am pleased as a pig in donut fat with myself.

I should say that John from Highly Liquid was awesome as hell and David & Jeff really were great friends and teachers and shit, my wife should have tossed me out months ago for bringing home all kinds of garbage every day.

Anyway, here's the first real peek at the Robot Drummer.

UPDATE: for some details go here

shits and giggles

2010-08-22T21:27:00.003-04:00

If you don't know what project I've been obsessively working on the last few months this video isn't for you.

Actually it really isn't for anyone but me, I just wanted to document something.

"hello David"

2010-06-27T22:46:00.004-04:00

Here's a little improv done with Livewire, Doepfer and Bubblesound modules. The main voice is the ULFO and the Doepfer A-112

It got it's name because when I heard the sound I thought I should push David to get a A-112 because it sounded great processing the ULFO in oscillator mode.

Hello david by Tommy DOG

computers can really suck

2010-06-03T21:15:00.002-04:00

So I'm all happy as I pop another TB HD into my computer and I look to see a drive I bought in December is SMART coding on me. What? yep, back up everything son and walk away quickly.

Great. I "might" be able to return the now dead drive BUT I am at a stand still because I am running out of space and all my bays are otherwise taken.

Trojan Man? Liquid Plumber? Mr. Clean?
"Jane, stop this crazy thing..."

Obit: Walter Sear

2010-05-02T22:25:00.002-04:00

Walter Sear has been a fixture in NYC pro audio since before we called it that. He could play tuba, sell you a Moog and school you on making records all at the same time. Anyone who met him, talked to him or worked with him learned something about something.

We respect those who teach by remembering their lessons and passing them on.

http://www.searsound.com/

one caveat

2010-03-23T21:54:00.002-04:00

In my last post all smelled rosey and everyone was happy in the land of technology but I did forget the real test. Pro Tools.

Yes, I do most of my stuff in Pro Tools so it would be a good idea to test this plugin demo in there before I buy it. Before you remind me that I am kidding myself in believing that Digidesign's iron citadel was going to be a nice place to play, don't.

Rounds 1-5 consited of my trying to get Pro Tools to accept the fact that a demo of a five piece drum kit shouldn't overload the CPU in my Quad-Core T0wer. Needless to say FAIL.

Rounds 6-9 involved trying to figure out how to route through Sound Flower and out of the computer and back into the computer with a multitude of optical and other assorted orifices. The result, diddly squat.

So in this day and age where companies are benefiting from sharing information and supporting each other Digidesign still is holding on to the old way which not only sucked but if I recall the AVID video editing systems didn't fair well when they didn't want to allow developers to develop for the platform.

All this to say the growing pains of the tech world are still causing my head to hurt.

his own drummer

2010-03-16T21:50:00.006-04:00

For many years I have used drum machines and samples to embellish recordings during the overdubbing process. Often my preference is to record the basic tracks live and then go in and play around once that foundation is there.

As drum machines began to use samples they became more viable for certain types of Rock music. When the Roland V-drums hit the market we now had a level of editing that turned these electronic drums into viable musical instruments.

It had been a while since something new has come along that actually caught my ear in the E-drum dept. when I heard about XLN Audio's Addictive Drums. I was told by a touring musician that they had held up really well over weeks of shows and that they sounded great. Well that was enough for me to want to at least look them up.

When I hit the website I was sort of surprised to see a product that was packaged in a mainstream way, offering styles (including "Punk") and at a relatively low street cost of about $200. I have to say that I was totally skeptical having been so spoiled by the quality of boutique gear and stuff that at face value was decidedly noncommercial in that hipster sort of commercial way.

I jotted off a question or two which was quickly responded to by Tore Jarlo at the company.

Soon I had downloaded their demo, which is usable and really is just limited by the fact that it only gives you a few drums to play. One can edit the sounds and get a real sense of the software in terms of one's ability to tweak and get the best out of the software.

Having not read any instructions or made any special provisions as to what I was going to do I loaded the demo up in VSTLord and began to play around with the drums by playing them with The Manta.

I am safe in saying that I am fully qualified as a musician and musicologist to make an unequivocal statement that I really am not a good drummer. THAT being said, I do know what drums sound like and I do know when a controller like The Manta has hit a good match in terms of being able to use it's expressiveness to a high degree and both the hardware and software blended so well that I actually felt a pang of artistic joy.

It's rare that a test comes out like an actual musical event. When one works with technology one tends to distance one's self at times like these.

My desire in the studio is always to be able to add drums and percussion during the overdubs that blend easily with the original tracks but I want the flexibility to go gonzo and I want the real drummers to feel comfortable using the tools. Today was one of those epiphany days.

Is it ready yet?

2010-01-11T17:29:00.003-05:00

With the modular explosion of the last few years one would think the last few modules I need to complete my vision for this Moog would have popped up.. Not really, it's slow going.

I am however a little closer then I was thanks to doing a random spontaneous search for the 905 Reverb.

Someone please send me a 984 Matrix mixer and I'll shut up (for a moment)

instruments and folklore

2009-10-26T22:18:00.005-04:00

Although much of what is interesting and exciting about a musical instrument is a holistic experience that comes from making music, there are times when one's intellect has other questions.

Sadly not many people seem as interested as I am in the history and folklore that goes along with instrument design. This is not to say that the various people with whom I spoke weren't generous with their time, quite the contrary.

My feeling is as a general rule is that for example, some aspects of an instrument's development and the changes that occurred before it reached the point of being considered classic are not that interesting to people when for me they are important touch stones that often reveal what a designer may have had in mind to begin with with.

I am trying to unravel a bit of a mystery relating to my Wiard system. See if you can follow me.

Wiard system number 2 (six modules plus controller) was sold by it's original owner when they moved abroad, theoretically as a whole unit. That system was integrated into a lager system which ultimately ended up being 24 or so modules. It was used on a bunch of recordings and then sold of in parts.

I ended up with what I assumed to be some pretty early modules among the ones I bought. The first three Wiard systems reacted to black light, I never tested mine but I figured that two (VCO & SEQ) plus the controller where early enough.

Fast forward a few years and I buy 1 module (The Filter) and realize that my friend is selling two more from that system. He is the forth owner so already the details are harder to trace but from what I can figure out from talking to a number of people involved including previous owners, I feel like I am one module away from owning system two. I have put out the word that i am looking for the last module.

Now, 5 of the 6 modules believe to be part of that early system are in my case and I'm doing some dusting. I finally, all these years later pull out the black light.. What do you know, the Filter, Sequentizer and VCO don't glow. Only the Envelator and the Waveform City.

It is clear from the graphics on these panels that they are very early and were done in Grant's garage. My understanding is that there is only one blue "The Filter" and it does appear in a photo I have that is alleged to be system 2. I also know that the first three systems had glowing paint.

Where does that leave me?

Information may come from my posting this but in truth, the end result is my instrument s my instrument and it may have some aspect of folklore to it but it's most important that we make our own.

todays improv

2009-09-18T23:58:00.003-04:00

Sept 18 09 by Tommy DOG

EDIT some patch info:

Two Anti-O, inter modulating dulled down with a Boogie then a Borg 2. The controllers on this patch where Evelator & Sequentizer with tempo controlled and interrupted by the Wogglebug and noise ring. LFO for timing was s always a Borg.

A little electronic improv

2009-09-17T21:48:00.008-04:00

I do as much improvisation as I can, often with modular synthesizers as they remind me of plasticine which I used for so many years to relax. make toys do animation. I am especially fond of The Wiard as it is truly something that inspires and surprises.

This bit of racket came from my screwing around with the Sequentizer which is one of my least used, thus understood modules. What started to come out where these notes that reminded me of Clavichord music.

Klavawiard by Tommy DOG

2009-08-29T00:12:00.005-04:00

Sometimes life is too busy to really comment on it virtually. It's not the lack of things I feel like writing about, it's the fact that I'd rather be making music then writing about it's gritty technological details.

I've noticed that there are constant trends in the modular synth community. Not surprising as it is booming in a way that makes the past seem quiet. Between the awareness that people are developing and the push to make things that never existed before, it is both an expensive time and an exiting one.

One subject that is of current interest to many is Don Buchla's amazing instruments which are now the source of much gear talk. Having gone from institution and avant garde to a seemingly more available state, many in the synth community have developed a Buchla lust.

I understand one's affinity to an instrument and do personally like some specific designs that Buchla made but when it comes to full systems my heart belongs to Moog and Wiard.

foot pedals

2009-06-26T22:52:00.002-04:00

At some point I saw these wonderful photos of a very early Moog that lives at the University Of Michigan. I was very taken with the early pedals that seemed so slapped together, in fact I was so much so that I began asking around to see if anyone had a set of pedals to sell.

From what I had seen the early systems had two different types of pedals. There were the ones pictured and another style that not only went up and down but sideways as well. This was somewhere in between an early stompbox design that I have an example of, which controlled volume and tone and the Wonka elevator.

While buying some panels from a nice gentleman named Bill, I did the logical thing and shot off a note about the few Moog parts I was still after.

It turned out Bill had a few of these pedals raw and loose. No mounting, no instructions but some valuable information instead. Bill was able to tell me that they were common of a lot of organs, much like the Pratt-Reed keyboard that Moog also used. He thought that they had been manufactured by Allen.

A short time later I received a strange E-mail telling me of a shipment. Shortly the explanation followed. Bill had generously sent me the pedals. I was thrilled and nervous because I had no idea how I was going to get them to work.

After some attempts to get an actual diagram or something from some Moog experts I know failed, I decided to just go for it. Tonight they work again, pitch control and groovy detuning at very reasonable voltage ranges. Yeah, I used a meter because I wasn't going to blow anything up.

Here's my reproduction.

Happy Birthday Doc

2009-05-23T21:58:00.003-04:00

I've had some relationship with Moog synthesizers since I was very small. From my love of The Beatles who managed to use the Moog so tastefully on Abbey Road to Gershon Kingsley who recorded an album in my grandfather's temple and featuring his iconic voice.

As a young artist I dreamed of being really professional, at least enough to warrant my owning a Minimoog. A short time later I had the gear and was trading and debating ideas with Bob Moog himself when it came to things like alternative controllers, our shared love of the then forgotten Theremin and later his effects pedal line.

I don't think Bob cared whether a customer was famous or if a good idea came from the peanut gallery. He was generous with his time and loved what he did.

Shortly before he died I began my dream of building a Moog modular. I was advised by a friend that this would be a waste of time and money given the difficulty of the task of buying a few modules at a time WHEN I could find them.

Over the years I met a hell of a lot of people, almost all terrific and interesting. People who worked with Moog (the man), at Moog (the company) and of course with Moog the instruments. Some of these people became friends and some shared their stories of a funny man who caused a funny machine to make funny sounds.

The piece of music I played tonight was for one person, whether he heard it or not.

more Pro Suckage

2009-03-25T22:29:00.002-04:00

Let me put this to you dear readers simply; smaller is never better.

Bigger is pretty much always better. Extra is always a plus and bonus is never viewed in anything but the most positive terms.

"lite", "nano", "mini", "Jr." are all LESS THEN something that probably came before it.

If I wanted something edited, truncated, sawed off or shrunk I would have to hand in my "Proud To Be An American" card and hop over the border into Canada.

So next time some weenie in a sales job tries and con you with the virtues of the improved tininess of something, tell em you want it big, loud and full of action because that's what makes life worth living.

Fireworks?
Fuck you, I want the atomic bomb!

next please

2009-03-24T22:48:00.003-04:00

After installing Pro Tools LE 8.O into my new Mac Pro I discovered that 2 Gigs of RAM was not enough to keep my mouse from spazzing out. The joy was only exacerbated by the lovely inspection of my new MBox2 Pro which feels like it was made by not just cheap but retarded Chinese slave labor.

I give up.

4 more gigs coming whenever the fuck the shipper decides to get around to it. Meanwhile I'll enjoy the speediness of the improved Ethernet speed and download some zombie porn.

it's not pro

2009-03-22T22:31:00.003-04:00

1. If it's made entirely out of plastic
2. If it can't be serviced
3. If it's designed to take up very little space in your dorm room

This is is the first installment of what I imagine will be an ongoing bitch fest over turning a new computer into a usable recording device.

Enjoy my pain.

NAMM Oddities 09

2009-02-03T22:38:00.000-05:00

If you don't keep going back the day after NAMM until the site is updated you are a soulless pig. Barry Wood's NAMM oddities is the only meaningful part of the winter NAMM event for most of us.

I remember when I used to feel like I needed to do the conventions and it sucked. Barry sums up the best in side show, vapor and wildly ugly gear.

houses of sound

2009-01-30T22:39:00.000-05:00

When I was growing up I understood there to be three different musical houses of worship.

1. There was the record store where one listened and learned until one could debate.

2. There was the live stage, usually a club. Somewhere that allowed a musician to perform to an audience at a reasonable volume and with much gusto.

3. The recording studio. This was in my mind the ultimate destination and the place that led one back full circle to the record store where someone else might discuss the merits or lack there of of one's latest release.

As times change we see these three venues melt away from our normal day to day music life. A music fan and musician goes less and less to an actual store to buy music, has fewer and fewer live venues to see music and no longer spends much time if any in a real recording studio.

The first and last of these two losses can probably be blamed of affordable digital technology while the clubs closing is probably more of an economic issue.

In NYC we also had the joy of a mayor who went after nightclubs with zeal and managed to make things bad enough that much of our cultural bleeding edge was moved out into the suburbs. Can you imagine the greatest city in the world with no night life nor red light district?

Rudy you fucking suck, you may have fooled some people into believing you did good but you are a culture nazi and rezoning doesn't count as lowering crime..

Anyway...

Where does the future music fan find other fans? Where do musicians find work in their field?

I forgot why I started this. I guess it was easier then trying to find the battery cover to my alarm clock.

Doepfer A-117 mod UPDATED

2009-01-17T23:03:00.000-05:00

After some more experiments I realized that I would not be able to trouble shoot the module without being able to compare it to one that is working normally.

I did come to the conclusion that this is a module that would respond well to some changes. Being able to tune the internal oscillator against the incoming modulation source is cool. If I can add some control over the additional outs which are static that would be great.

Doepfer A-117 mod

2009-01-15T21:48:00.000-05:00

WARNING: this is far from technically sound. I am not a learned EE. These are guesses based of my limited knowledge.

My Doepfer A-117 Digital Noise module started having some issues. At first all I could get was a feeble oscillator noise that sounded more like an analog (non precision) oscillator driver that was used to drive the digital noise generator's clock.

I probed the circuit and found that making a connection to a resistor to one point on the newly replaced ext. input jack brought back the digital noise but now it could be tuned to the source by adjusting the rate knob.

I will post a picture of the board and perhaps someone more knowledgeable will figure what part is actually not functioning properly. Anyone have any thoughts feel free to post of contact me directly.

Maybe this will turn out to be a good and usable mod for others.

Winter NAMM Predictions

2009-01-13T23:05:00.000-05:00

and here are some predictions based on years of technology experience...

1. more Kaoss Pad offshoot products that have the fun taken out and replaced with suck. KP3 is still selling so they can still milk it.

2. virtual Ensoniq collection plugin with a Fizmo that even has a special dongle key that is shaped like a bad regulator.

3. digital "tape loop" player with animated hubs on a touch screen that you can flange with your finger.

4. MIDI standard to be replaced something worse.

To be continued...

I've lost another friend

2009-01-13T09:22:00.000-05:00

Rest In Peace Tom.
You were one of a kind to many and all.

lets do the time warp again

2009-01-11T22:55:00.000-05:00

I posted a bunch of photos of my last studio on flickr.

If mind numbingly depressing not to have what I would consider a workable space but I have had a fair amount of real luxury and luck. Much of my professional life as a musician I have either had a studio or at the very least access to free space in the apartment I grew up in.

At present I will not take any job that requires critical listening or significant volume because i simply don't have any means of accommodating these things in what I would consider to be a professional manner.

We won't get into a debate today about the dumbing down of the recording studio. Just accept the fact that as much as I encourage artists to be realistic with their budgets I am not a fan of just making a shitty product just because it's easy and believe me I have broken every rule spread eagled here so I know I'm not talking smack.

content for other blogs

2009-01-02T21:52:00.000-05:00

Because nothing spells creative like changing things around.

Little details are still unsettled but it's more then enough to be functional on a day to day basis.

If the photo is blurry, does that mean it won't end up being used somewhere else?

Who's your daddy?

2008-09-25T17:42:00.000-04:00

In the olden days "used" was not "vintage" unless you where talking guitars.

Daddy's Junky Music had a monthly catalog and if you saw something you wanted you probably called using a device called a telephone and spoke to Hirsh. You asked him whether it was still available and if it was you bought it.

The great thing about Daddy's was that if you had a band or owned a studio (which also was a different thing in those days) you could outfit your racks with more processing power, buy extra drum hardware and put together a good PA system for very little money.

At some point Daddy's opened more stores and stopped their "Used Gear By Mail" catalog and business. My memory was that there just was less used gear hitting the market and Ebay had probably had a negative effect as well. I know I was sad. I think the last item I bought was a huge Vox bass cabinet which I paired with a fawn AC-30 and made much happy noises.

Today as I was doing a search for road cases and I hit Daddy's site and much to my great joy, they are back in the mail order business. Touring bands to garage bands can rejoice and afford play.

Euro Wack

2008-08-25T23:35:00.000-04:00

With the modular synthesizer business being as brisk as it has ever been I can't quite understand why an affordable power racking solution hasn't appeared.

Yes, Doepfer has released their "low cost" suitcase, which is not at all a suitcase but is still cheaper then a box with a handle. This thing would be fine if you had a desire to buy a bunch of them and then do all the stuff that would make them solid but you'd end up spending a lot of money.

I'm at a point where I'm pulling stuff out of my racks and hoping to run into a good deal on a G6 at the right time but I know too God damned well I'll be the same place again soon enough.

Vacation pocket music

2008-08-20T22:08:00.000-04:00

I have mixed feelings about many of the pocket music devices that some people use seemingly just because of their size. Granted I am a stompbox fanatic and I do usually prefer them to much of their rack counter parts.

I recently go a chance to try the Korg DS-10 which has gotten a fair amount of press already. My interest was very small, after all I had always been a little put off by people's revisionism that has turned an ok synth into a classic. I figured it won't kill me to try it and try it I did.

After some inital screwing around I finally put on my test visor and gave the little bastard a whirl. Much to my shock and amusement they managed to not only pull off a fun virtual synth but they added a bunch of extra stuff that makes it better then an actual emulation would have been.

Me? I'll be taking my DS on vacation loaded with Electroplankton, Korg DS-10 and perhaps some homebrew stuff loaded on to my R4.
I have not liked many copies of synths I own and have found many soft synths to also be unwieldy power hungry son of a bitches that can't do anything complicated because the GUI has eaten the processor. Did it have to take some toy company to finally do it right? I'm not sure but if you are going to have a DS anyway you might want to wait for the US release in Sept.

Circuit Bending

2008-07-09T23:03:00.000-04:00

Circuit Bending is it's self the art of exploring a circuit board to find new pathways that will generate an altered form from the original designers intended function. Sometimes one is simply adding additional functionality, other times skewing the form.

Circuit Bending is not "modding" it is not something one does with schematics or circuit maps to tell you what to do.

Why this is so confusing is beyond me. Reed Ghazala created these parameters for the art form he named and crusaded for. His name, his concept, his rules.

So many people are "teaching" this art form, selling instruments that they have Bent and making money off of one man's idea yet they can't see to respect the little bit of philosophy behind what the intention of his work was in the first place.

Can't stand myself

2008-07-03T22:18:00.000-04:00

I was thinking about posting something heart felt about the crap one goes through on some days, trying to meet a deadline on a project while still staying within whatever bullshit artistic thing you currently conned your dumb ass in to believing this week.

Bottom line, I'll probably rant and not say a word about my lame internal turmoil as it would only make the two or three losers that read my blog realize that I am just another weepy arty duche bag without any merits and fading street cred.

Anyway...

So I've been trying to do a new single for a few days. The some total of the recordings seems to be three totally different things that don't fit together and aren't even that good. Needless to say I'm thinking E.P.

Trying to record in an unprofessional or rather a very much home studio manner without proper monitoring and shit is like having sex by yourself when you are "not in the mood" and doing it in an awkward location that you would only consider sexy based on the fact that you were with another person who wanted to "do it" there.
-That makes sense right?

I'm spoiled by having the experience of being paid to be mediocre in grander surroundings then my lovely home and I'm no longer inspired or young enough to be otherwise more effective.

Shall I quit and not bother to announce the single?
Should I announce it and then not bother to do it?

My guess I will use this as a means of driving myself into a state of deeper self loathing while continuing to plod on if only so I have the right to piss and moan. You know what? I've always hated artists. They are best dead or at least at a distance. Few of my friends are artists in the traditional sense and I can clearly see why.

papa's got a brand new cab

2008-06-12T22:13:00.000-04:00

My uncle Steve just finished building be a traditional lower (slant) cabinet for my Moog.
It's already been loaded with some CP panels, mostly blanks and soon I will begin populating it from modules I have stored away and from my other cabinets.

Ultimately, when I actually pull everything together the system will be in the IIIC/55 range with a bunch of bells and whistles. Both oscillator banks are there and accounted for and it will indeed be really modular, aside from the filter switching.

I don't have the energy tonight to start taking apart everything so I will sit back, rest on my laurels and stare gratified in to this cabinet as I drink Guinness.

A dream come true and several years of non stop searching for loose modules as well as pestering Mike Bucki for custom stuff, etc. I'm still missing a few minor things like extra VCAs and a second mixer but I have leads and am already beginning to real stuff in.

Ode to Ultimate Support

2008-06-01T22:00:00.000-04:00

Over many years I have loved, hated and relied on Ultimate Support modular stands and "Thinker Toys". Because I have been so deeply invested in various custom stands, bags of tubing and boxes of connectors that I don't recall buyingt I somehow missed it when the company discontinued the line. Still a little bit of me died when I heard.

When my friend LH finally had decided enough was enough and the two things leaving his work space were Ultimate Support and milk crates I ended up with the former. In fact, truth be told he still occasionally finds more nests of parts and delivers them to me.

As I continuously try and find some sort of peace and balance in not having a real studio of my own I am always looking to find a way to streamline and improve work flow, one thing usually comes to mind Ultimate Support. Alas I now know that if I need a specific sized tube or an extra whatever I have to just wing it.

I have already bought a bunch of 3/16th hex keys so I have ample supply of those BUT I still haven't found a hardware store substitute for the tubing. Dear reader, hip me to that please.

In the mean time I will as LH to look behind the sofa, check under the family gazebo and look out in his storage for another supply of the gift that keeps on giving.

Help STEIM

2008-05-23T09:36:00.000-04:00

http://www.steim.org/steim/funding_in_danger/

Where's the Sound Lens?

2008-05-12T22:44:00.000-04:00

Toshio Iwai has been a very busy guy.

A few years back Nintendo released the psychedelic game for DS Electroplankton to a confused universe. It's an inteactive piece of art mixed with a game and a musical instrument much in the same style of his marvel the Tenori-On which has finally started selling in limited editions worldwide.

The "game" has no winning or losing, just like real life and it suggests a interesting possibility of creating art that functions and is interactive to the point of being a virtually passive element in the process. Meanwhile the new and more expensive Tenori-On takes a similar role but in the form of a MIDI step sequencer with an amazingly elegant interface. Both seem to be the toys of the future but specifically for the musically inclined.

I have been inspired enough to wonder and indeed hope that the project called the Sound Lens will also appear in the form of a usuable tool and work of art.

Thank you Toshio Iwai for seeing the space in between the lines of instrument and entertainment, tool and toy.

Max 5

2008-04-23T23:38:00.000-04:00

Somehow as I was here fucking around trying to get an old G4 iMac to be usable as something Cycling 74 released Max 5.

I had vowed that I would buy a new Mac when this came out. Of course my research had been so frustrating since Apple refuses to have a mid range desktop machine.

Anyway, Cycling's release is a big deal and it marks a similar change as MSP's original release.

Good going guys! Don't worry about all of the mess in my house over computer corpses.

Time marks failure

2008-04-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

The other day out of some masochistic impulse I put on a album I did in 2000 and much to my shock the disk began to skip. I checked for scratches and dirt but the disk was clean.

I put on someone else's work and no errors appeared. I replaced it with one from my label from 2001 and that one also skipped. I began to panic and quickly grabbed one from 2006 and it played fine, the same went for one from 1998.

With two disks, isolated. I sort of wondered whether the machine I was playing them in had become picky. Although not a technical nor logical explanation it does happen.

Let's step back for a moment. Since 1998 almost all music on my label has been sold online and in person as a packaged & burned CD-R. Although there have been a few releases where traditional manufacturing was done due to a slightly larger demand, the general rule is that my audience is small and technology finally got to a point where I didn't need to store slow moving product.

In that time I have never received complaints of quality nor failure, although when I first started to do product as a made to order thing more then a few folks thought I was nuts.

Did I miss something?

2008-04-09T22:51:00.000-04:00

This has to be a prank.

I was under the impression that the music industry was in the process of a significant change and for the most part everyone kind of knew there was much less money being spent in all directions.

I also thought that we all are now in agreement that there has always been too much bloat and we had to cut all that out in order for creative professionals to get paid.

Did something change or are these folks operating in a totally different universe where bands actually have more holes for corporate predictors to fuck em?

Stuff and more stuff

2008-03-18T23:10:00.000-04:00

It's amazing how stuff breeds other stuff for people like me.

A few years ago I stepped away from buying stompboxes to concentrate on building my modular Moog, of course I have to continue feeding my other modulars as well. I can see my Wiard and Frac doubling and my Euro continuning to bloom as the Moog reaches something like a cross between a III and a 55.

Meanwhile I am still looking for the right P-bass and there is always a few more mics that I must have in order to be ready to record period accurate stuff.

It's a sickness like any other addiction and what's worse is I can justify it as long as there is an album at the end of the year.

The Egg is dead long live the Egg

2008-03-12T22:13:00.000-04:00

The Egg has been the nickname for my eMac, which I used for light work and interweb stuff.

I was tired of the space it took up and the monitor jumping and I decided to pull it's hard drive and plant it in my Mirror Door G4. I have to say the implant worked great, I now have two bootable internal drives (which probably isn't the best idea) and everything is in one nice safe place.

It's a reminder of how easy the Macs are to use, fuck around with and survive.

I wonder when I'll be posting that this whole thing was a horrible idea.

The Egg Will Die

2008-02-07T23:25:00.000-05:00

The clock has begun to tick. Soon I shall crack open The Egg.
I will harvest it's innards and toss away it's empty shell.

NAMM Oddities

2008-02-01T11:17:00.000-05:00

Mr. Barry Wood's the Other Room treats us once again to the best of the odd.
This is the only thing I personally wait for during NAMM season.
Go get you newest NAMM Oddities!

Minimoog is a beautiful thing

2008-01-29T22:02:00.000-05:00

For anyone who bought their Minimoog back when they didn't cost a whole lot and weren't worth sending to "someone" to be fixed it is either a bad memory or an ongoing love affair.

I bought mine for about $300 from Hirsch Gardner at Daddy's Junky Music (MAIL ORDER!) around 1990. If I remember correctly he was selling it for a friend, he was told something about how it had had some sort of Tom Oberheim upgrade, whatever that might have been has been lost in my memory banks.

The unit sounded great from the get go. The keys a bit squirrelly and the tuning took a moment. I think a previous owner had been a rock star or maybe even a working musician but it hadn't been used in a while.

Over the years I have never done anything but play, clean and every blue moon or so calibrate and surprisingly it seems to get better with age.

I'm sure this instrument could use a professional overhaul and in doing so we might find out what weird mods by previous owners. This being my Minimoog and the only one I have ever owned, I probably wouldn't be able to spot some differences.

I had this on my mind today because the pitch wheel had been bonkers for a while and I finally cleaned it up and now it can do what it's supposed to. It is a great instrument and despite what limitations it may have, it belongs solely in the same class as the few real classics that have maintained their thaang since time began.

Over & out...

when shit isn't bad enough

2008-01-12T23:11:00.000-05:00

Articles like this one in Rolling Stone Magazine, who have always been known to be really "with it" speculate about the so called volume wars.

These "wars" that producers and labels are supposedly in to fight for our attention are causing mastering engineers to squeeze out much of the sonic detail and frequency content by over using compression. This "battle" that is raging is apparently due to the fact that so many people are downloading their music as MP3 files and the file format has a limited bandwidth.

O.K. so we're all clear on this concept that is being put out there just as we are all clear that the MP3 is the devils tool, blah blah blah.

So what I don't understand is why the fuck anyone would even care when the standard for compact discs hasn't improved since they introduced it in 1982 (yep nineteen eighty two) -check wikipedia and see what they say.

16 bit is shit, it wasn't good sounding when it came out and the only reason people aren't complaining now is that their fucking ears have been scared from listening to music in this crumpled up tin woodsman kind of way.

-Generations of mutants can't tell that they aren't hearing most of what they paid for and should be hearing.

So next time some duche bag brings up your stolen MP3s or how loud the new TJ Blowyouz disk is, you just tell em that you are waiting for a higher bit rate before you commit to dancing.

studios?

2008-01-08T21:37:00.001-05:00

I will pretty much use any excuse to record with my band. Since we don't leave anywhere near each other it is only an occasion that can bring us together. My upcoming 40th birthday is just such a thing.

Once I got a sense that my somewhat unwilling comrades were willing to indulge my artistic fantasies once again, I began to look into studios.

With the proliferation of cheap studio gear filling people's homes and the real studios needing work I was pretty convinced the minimal requirements that I have to cut the basic tracks would be easy to meet and I would have a number of studios to choose from.
-Hell no!

Amazingly concepts like live drums, isolation and decent mixer are just old fashioned. I was picturing bringing in a portable set up, using their space, drums and montoring -nope.

O.K. Now bare with me for a moment.

All I want to do is record three people. One playing bass, one playing guitar, one playing drums (small kit -two mics). So if my math is correct that would be four tracks plus a fifth as a guide vocal.

I would like to record straight to PT (Mac) with a safety two track mix going to DAT or something and maybe have everything bussed to 8 Track half inch (as if that was even an option)

Somebody send me a sign.

Death to the 8500

2007-12-16T22:43:00.000-05:00

After over 10 years I finally stopped trying to justify keeping my 90's PowerMac 8500 which I bought when Cycling 74 released MSP. It was the first application I needed a PowerMac for. David Zicarrelli actually went to the trouble of helping me choose a computer from the newish used models. -That should tell you how small and how supportive the Max world was at that time.

Despite being one of the worst designs Apple had ever come up with in terms of the ease or lack there of with which one could open up the computer and update parts, it was a sturdy and great computer.

Tonight I wrestled out the hard drives, the Sonnet card which I had used to run the machine as a G3, the USB card and of course the Audiomedia III (which I never felt sounded as good as the II). After that stuff was sort of dusted off and bagged I brought the carcass down to the basement.

I have to kind of wonder whether Mac users tend to have not developed past the anal phase. I don't know whether anyone has looked at computer user profiles to see which one is more likely to use a computer long past it's prime but I bet it's the same one who save gross unmentionables in jars.

BTW I have updated a few times over the years, I just kept finding extra uses for the 8500.

Next I plan on PIMPING MY EMAC.

Modularus Uber Alles

2007-10-20T22:03:00.000-04:00

It's easy to get sucked into the world of the modular synthesizer. I find that unlike the music one makes with many other electric and electronic instruments, one has a very active duel role as listener and creator.

I sometimes drift to sleep having thoughts of wires and dream systems that are often seemingly as close as being just behind the next paycheck...

"I wonder how many Blacet Dark Star Chaos modules is necessary to achieve a full patchable arcade of overkill." I actually think this kind of thing.

Blacet has been a long standing provider of interesting and good sounding modules. Some like the afore mentioned DSC have become discontinued and coveted. Others still in production are compared quite favorably to more expensive competitors.

Cynthia Webster has her well acclaimed Zero Oscillator and Peter Grenader has his PlanB model 15 many of us are still waiting for the new oscillator from Livewire looks really cool. I think 2 of each would probably do the trick.

A lot of people seem to think that designer Mike Brown is underestimating how long it will take to get it into the market.

The same prediction seems to be made about every designer with the exception of Dieter Doepfer he is known to deliver pretty regularly.

On the other end of the spectrum Wiard flies it's freak flag and I love getting weird with them. I do feel that I'm about a hand full of additional modules away from maximum basics.

It's hard not to get dragged in to the bigger is better fantasy. In fact it's almost pointless to avoid it. Modular is mean to be big and complex.

Max 5, AES and upward.

2007-09-27T10:58:00.001-04:00

I'm going to the AES convention this year, under disguise of course. It's funny to go since I have in many ways stopped being on the same page as most manufacturers and it's been a headache since the late 90's to see what kind of crap the big boys roll out.

Don't get me wrong. I love to get schwag and talk gibberish to my fellow audio people but fuck if shit hasn't gone in the wrong direction for quite a while.

For what it's worth I couldn't have picked a better year to take a fist full of Advil and go. My dear friend Alan is going to be at the Tascam booth showing off his Gigasampler chops and of David Zicarelli's has just announced Max 5 which is an important release for Cycling74 and Max/MSP users.

I remember talking to David on the eve of the MSP release and getting personal computer advice because this release was the reason that I moved from a 68 machine to a PPC Mac. I would have dragged that change out for God knows how long otherwise if it hadn't been for Max/MSP

I suspect the release of Max 5 will probably be the reason that I need to finally buy a new computer. Hell, I already have the wii controller ready to go.

Maybe AES will not suck so bad. Maybe it will convince me that I really need a Tenori On.

So much porn

2007-08-31T22:55:00.000-04:00

Trying to write about The Wiard is not easy without falling into dumb lines which sound more like porno then descriptions of a musical instrument.

I will have to state first that the excellent designs warrant the exclusivity of it's price tag, which isn't bad when you count out each modules function. I know people who won't buy boutique audio products because they'd rather spend money on vintage stuff that isn't as good either in sound or in construction.

Up and running I was able to get a wide range of moving sounds that creep along and change timing in ways that I haven't been able to pull off on other gear. The only short coming I could come up with was that two of the modules were much older and didn't include the in/out arrows that are on everything else.

After several mind boggling patches that were complex and sounded great I pulled the patch chords and experimented with the modules in more traditional ways. each one out performed in it's expected purpose's and excelled in unexpected ways.

The Wiard isn't for everyone, if you want an organ or a piano move along. This instrument is probably a great choice for people who want to carve out their own sound and are looking for something that can take them to space.

wii are now ready to continue

2007-08-05T19:42:00.000-04:00

Not that I'm a laptop performer by any means but I am a Max/MSP user and that makes me curious about stuff like the wii remote. Ideally, I would be using it in a situation where my laptop was handling certain functions and was more or less off to the side. But fuck I just love alternative controllers anyway.

no studio

2007-08-02T19:50:00.000-04:00

It's been about 5 months since I packed up my gear. Longer since I stopped operations.

Having a private or public studio space is something I miss. Although I continue to create music I keep feeling like I'm in a holding pattern in this part of my life.

I think about getting an office or sharing studio space with either a band or someone in the business who I know and trust.

This time away has made me rethink some issues in workspace design and even recording format.

I've been pushed into this weird space of just being a musician and less of a technician (except when people call for advice). I like just being the artist, whether that is a clearly defined job or not, it's still much more of who I am am and how I function then anything else.

I hope I make some changes soon.

EML 101 fixed!

2007-07-10T17:32:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Mike Bucki my EML 101 is back and it sounds great.

It still looks fuckin' ghetto but there isn't too much that I can do about that besides buying a nice handle for it. Sorry Mike, I can't be rockin' the rope.

OT: Rock $ Roll placement

2007-06-30T19:05:00.000-04:00

Nobody thought that anyone could out do Guns & Roses in terms of greed. When the band released two albums on the same day instead of a double album and claimed this would save their fans money we on the outside laughed at the giant grunt of stupidity. No one from the underground music world would fuck their fans like that.

Flash forward...

Smashing Pumpkins has gone above and beyond by signing on for 4 different version of their new album. Each one has a "bonus" song (read an extra song that wasn't good enough) and all "special" versions of the CD will be sold by big chain stores and iTunes (which isn't any different) No special version for the indy shops, unless they are the ones who will get the vinyl version which will probably be at a fair number of places any way.

As I skimmed forums looking for reaction from the bands audience I could see a lot of people were pissed off, few were surprised. I guess when a band I like pulls a stunt, like most of The Sex Pistols branded output I just laugh it off and go "good one guys" so who am I to cast a stone?

Okay, now let's play devil's advocate...

People want their favorite musicians to keep making music and love to stay in denial that their pop stars really have day jobs. So what should a working musician do? They can either make money doing music or they can cop to having a straight job. Tough call.

A second point that some people may not have thought of... Collectors live variations on releases. Color vinyl, etc.

So only a real fan can decide what they feel is a rip off. I can't comment with any authority on Guns & Roses or Smashing Pumpkins, they really aren't bands I listen to. I can say that lot's of Punk bands have been returning in many ways, some just for the cash.

DVD Part 4 and counting

2007-06-29T23:04:00.000-04:00

Today Alan convinced me that I had to face my fears and buy a spool of disk. I headed over the the local electronics discount place then the office supply place when the first had almost no selection.

From what I had read Sony disks were considered safe, good and generally available so I bought a 50 pack of their AccuCORE DVD-R's and headed to the testing ground.

I put together a folder that weighed in at 4.0 Gigs and dropped it in Toast. I choice burning speed as "best", began the process and waited. At the 1 second left mark, a write error appeared and Toast crashed.

Hmmm... Maybe it's something I did?

I restarted the computer and began the next burn, this time at "2x", I waited and watched and Guess what happened...

As pissed off as I was I figured the drive it's self was most likely fucked and I decided I should consider cutting my losses, pull the hard drive out and wack the fucking computer with my chain mace, which my wife apparently hid.

I networked the soon to be destroyed eMac with my Mirror Door and transferred the test folder.

Next I happily popped in a fresh disk and hit all systems are go. I leaned back in my chair and felt pretty satisfied. I imagined what I could do with the eMac's carcass to ensure it's total suffering. As the burn came to an end the same error notice appeared, crashed Toast and made me see blood red.

I now began to wonder whether these drives didn't like the dyes being used on the DVDs. I put in a CD-R and burned it on the eMac, I did another I verified that they matched the original files... 100% fine.

FUCK!!!!!

I'm now going to research compatibility issues with DVD-R brands while I debate buying another hard drive and returning this batch of disks.

Microsoft's newest toy

2007-06-29T19:16:00.000-04:00

Having money doesn't always dictate one has taste.
This is a instance where Microsoft made a good buy on the technology market and may get to look slick for more then a minute.

As an Apple user, I am impressed.

fuck me with a gear slut artist brush

2007-06-28T21:30:00.000-04:00

After years of back and forth with various people associated with The Brothers Baschet, one can actually order instruments in a semi clear manner. Of course if you want the good stuff you are going to have to suffer through a trip to France.

Check this site and drool. I want a set of everything in fucking D-E-L-U-X-E!

Prediction

2007-06-24T23:01:00.000-04:00

Here's my prediction...

After finally installing Ableton Live 6 I suspect I am going to be up to my ass in a fury over Core Audio and it's MIDI implementation.

DVD-R part 3: UPDATED

2007-06-23T09:57:00.000-04:00

In my last post on this subject I had said that I had tried to contact the company that manufactured the disks. Since that time, I have not received a response. Here is my note to them:
_________________________________

I've been a TDK user my whole life. I have never experienced any issue with your cassettes, DAT, CD-Rs in many personal and professional applications.

A few months ago I bought one or two spindles of 1-16x 4.7GB disks.

Over a period of time I burned, verified and tested about about 150 disks of both data, audio and video successfully I placed them back on a spindle.

When I went to retrieve a disk I discovered it wouldn't read. I became concerned and started testing all the disks. about 100 or so disks were no longer readable. They were tested on 5 computers with different OS' and the video disks were tested on two DVD players.

I have researched this topic for two weeks now and have not found any information on disks being created, tested as working, stored and tested as not working within a three month period.

As a professional who has used optical media for some time, I am at a loss as to 1. what could have possibly happened 2. what to do to possibly retrieve the data.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could forward this around the company and see if you can help find a solution.

All disks were burned on two Macintosh's running up to date versions of Roxio Toast. The numbers on the disks read CMDR47G-CTMW01-104 3115

Thank you for your attention.
_________________________________

Alan suggested I post in the forums at doom9.net which I have done. Although I have not found a solution, I have at least read a fair amount of interesting information and the people on the forum have been supportive.

I found a Japanese application called DVD Media Inspector which allowed me to locate who actually manufactured the batch of disks. I was able to do decoding by comparing the data with information on this site.

Meanwhile the handful of disks that aren't totally dead are dying fast. They take minutes to read and many give errors if I try to copy them and I am still searching the house for all disk from that batch. I am at a standstill as to whether I will be able to trust DVD back up again.

Replacement handles

2007-06-20T11:24:00.000-04:00

Sometimes adding something simple like a suitable replacement handle for a piece of vintage gear can make it look so much better. I've had this experience with vintage Mic Preamps, synths and test equipment.

This place looks like they have what I need.

Minimalist

2007-06-18T19:17:00.001-04:00

Admittedly there is more to my home studio then what meets the eye but still this is a very simple feeling work set up and I hope that it will do for my what the all white did for John and Yoko.

The tags lets you know what's not visible.

educating the snob

2007-06-15T17:24:00.001-04:00

Okay, I'll fess up that my knowlege of current low-end "pro" audio is somewhat limited. I've never owned a Mackie product, my attitude about Soundcraft is based on their mid-end stuff from the 90's like the Spirit Studio (which I do indeed like) and I bought my Ramsa so long ago.

As I have looked at solutions to my dead mixer issue I have been stupifide by the dumbing down of equipment, the lack of real world logic in design and the simple fact that one can't just can't find a reasonable choice of analog products in this range.

So let's review my needs...

1. A couple of ins for computers (minimum 2 stereo)
2. A couple of mono ins for me to dangle 1/4" cables out of (minimum 2)
3. 1 monitor out
4. 2 stereo "mix" outs
5. good sound
6. cheaper the repairing trusted Ramsa (under $400)

Desires...

1. No built in effects
2. Nothing made by Behringer
3. something that could be re-souced to serve another function if I end up with another project studio with a real console.

As much as I have always loved mixers I am almost tempted to try working with the Mackie Big Knob because it will do most of what I need, take up little space and have a possible use later on.

I would like to know which inputs one uses if one integrates it with a mixer. I am dreading going to 48th Street and having to deal with the "sales dudes" that seem to never be able to answer my questions but are sure I need some other thing. This is a rare thing for me to feel like I should actually check out products in person. I am rarely wrong and because I'm unsure I figure I'll hedge my bets.

Plus for shits and giggles I can make them use their demo gear to run the experiments that I wouldn't want to try at home.

random, smart and automated music

2007-06-15T10:35:00.000-04:00

In the early days of my Max (later Max/MSP) usage I was very interested in things like machine listening and software generated music. Somewhere along the line my experiments ended with minimal conclusions.

I was engrossed enough that I read through all the David Cope, Robert Rowe, Marvin Minsky, Phil Winsor and a number of others. I asked a lot of questions and was amazed at how generous these people were with their time, especially considering I was not an academic.

Now some folks at my old research spot IRCAM (of course) have come up with Omax. This looks like the software I wanted to full fill my dreams of mutant robot bands and creating the ultimate fake band.

I would say that this software looks good enough that I should probably just ignore it and just continue my fantasies.

the reviews aren't clear

2007-06-14T21:15:00.000-04:00

It's amazing that if one searches the interwebs for gear reviews and opinions one is likely to find some gay fan site extolling the virtues of some shitty company like Toa who make products that could very well be rugged (and even that I'm not betting on) but sound like cold hairy bum ass.

Why is it too fucking much to ask rational questions about lowend, semi pro and prosumer products made by Mackie and Soundcraft?

I look at specs and photos and it seems like they are designed for idiots. For example, why the fuck does it specify on the equipment it's self what each input is supposed to be used for yet doesn't make any remark in the specs as to whether there really is a difference or not?

From Soundcraft: "zero-latency monitoring"on an analog mixer I should fucking hope so. Do we have to question their target market when the only linked review on their site is in Polish?

Back to the Mackie...
This 2005 Sound on Sound review here does the product more justice then the user forums, or at least it's a more confident sell. I get nervous when I read shit like "you can even plug in your drum machine" -what the fuck does that mean? It can handle line level sound, oh good! maybe I can use it in a real application.

One thing that hasn't been made clear is which one I should buy. I lean towards the Mackie because I am under what may be a deluded sense of belief that it could be useful beyond my current state.

This old Mixer is fucking doomed

2007-06-12T18:23:00.000-04:00

I am not one of those new jack techs who can or wants to do it in the box. The mixer is not just an organizational tool, it's a musical one. That being said, I struggle with what to do with my current set up.

When I closed my project studio and wrapped up my Soundcraft I dug out the old Ramsa which is fine sturdy and quite usable for basic stuff. BUT after a few months it developed a nasty bug which causes it to go into solo mode, thus knocking out anything that isn't soloed (IE probably everything). Theoretically one could have everything soloed BUT then you would be in mono too and I am not Phil Spector.

Now as much as I don't want to just buy something like a Mackie Big Knob I want to open up and repair the Ramsa even less. Now I'm more or less settled on the Mackie because it's the least wack, smallest thing I have seen that can function in the two most vital ways that I currently need, those being 1. controlling volumes from multiple in & out sources and 2. being an object that I can have a quarter inch cable hanging out that I can just grab and plug in. Though being a snob I have never owned anything with the name Mackie on it, not that Ramsa is any better.

I know this doesn't sound like an emergency situation but I am not using any amps here and would like to be able to play music without having to turn on my computer in order to monitor myself.

I am considering another option which is the more traditional Soundcraft Compact 4/10 It's in the same price range and probably doesn't sound bad though I would be a liar if I didn't say it looks pretty toy. Either way, we are looking at about $250 in order to actually plug my bass into something and adjust the volume. I was half way tempted to just wire up a passive thing and just run my powered KRKs which I am quite happy with but I just don't think I'll be happy with that.

So is the easy solution a small mixer or some sort of switching interface thing? A tough choice for sure since I have not real idea how long this home studio thing is going to work for me and I do have my old board which I am still happy with.

The little I am clear is I'm going the cheap route but not the sleazy one. In other words, I may not know much but I know I won't go Berhinger (who suck so bad I won't link em)

DVD-R part 2

2007-06-10T14:26:00.000-04:00

I am now thinking that this is a bad batch of DVD-R's which has me really worried about any disks that still work. I guess I may have a ticking bomb on my hands.

I sent an E-mail to the manufacturer because it's total bullshit to have 100 or more disks go bad.

I still have no idea how the disk went bad and because of this whole ugly situation I am wondering what the point of DVD burning is if one can't count on it holding.

I need a OS X app that can inspect these disks. So far all I can do is watch my computer spit them out.

The DVD-R vanishes

2007-06-07T18:54:00.001-04:00

It's been a fairly long time since I started using digital media in my day to day life.
First DAT that ADAT then AIFF & SD II files on the Macintosh. Amazingly I had no problems with digital tape, few issues with audio files on the computer.

A few weeks ago while my wife was out of town I decided to toss in a DVD-R that I had recorded a concert on. I had left the last 100 or so burns on the spindle, which I knew was lazy and stupid, my lack of labeling was bad enough but this was a new low.

When I popped the disk in the computer spat it out. I tried again.. Spfitttttttt!! out it shot.
Shit!! No error message from the computer, no visible damage to the DVD-R. I was panicked. I started to go through every disk on that pile, all were bad.

After several hours of testing about 100 DVD-R disks on 4 computers running three OS' and two DVD player I realized something horrible had happened. But what was it? All good media, slow burns, verified and played back...

I have many disks here and the only ones that went bad were left on a spindle. I searched the Interwebs for clues but found no exact matches to my situation. I began calling experts and no one could come up with an explanation.

It then dawned on me... I have Pro Tools sessions and video work for myself and others backed up on DVD-R. I don't know where to begin.

This page talks about care for various optical media and is useful but does even hint at what I'm dealing with. I looked at various data recovery applications but didn't see one that looked good and was OS X. I don't know whether that speaks well or poorly for my chosen platform.

One thing I have seen over and over is that long term data storage should be done on hard drives, which leaves me to wonder what the fuck DVD-R's are for exactly. The other interesting thing is the CD-R is much more trust worthy and rugged, this is most likely because it's not trying to squeeze so much data onto such a small space.

it's like dominos

2007-05-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes things just go bad one after another.
Usually it happens when you are tired and repairing something with stiff wiring.

I was on the road to fixing up my EML 101. I had sought out replacement knobs and actually found 10 that a nice guy was willing to sell me at a fair price. The main reason for the need for spare knobs was that the range knob for OSC 2 was no longer working and the actual knob was refusing to come off peacefully.

I opened up the unit, braced the range knob and successfully removed the old knob, replacing it with the new one. Mission accomplished. But wait, just what I feared, two wires had come loose.

Although getting them back in place would have probably been easy with a couple of alligator probes the power died. Having no idea as to what type of fuse is in the unit I tried to unscrew the board with the transformer. Sadly one red wire came loose and I decided to give up.

Between not knowing where that red wire goes or what type of fuse is in there I feel that just giving up is about the best thing I can do right now for this instrument.

The picture below shows the yellow and green wires that came loose. One went to the range, although I'm not sure which lug, the other went to tuning.

Should anyone know the fuse type, have a detailed photo of the board with the transformer or happen to be damn sure about these two loose wires please let me know. In the mean time I will be repeating the words "I suck" over and over again, while I debate sending it to a tech or finding another one and using this for parts..

Robot Love

2007-05-27T14:02:00.000-04:00

Alan turned me on to this site. Check out the page with robots. I am so interested in living with robots and maybe starting a band with a bunch of them.

covers, renditions and slaughter

2007-05-20T09:23:00.000-04:00

Sometimes one is amazed by the variations that different artists can impose into a great piece of music, making it their own. Other times the outcome of interpretation is something that bypasses one's initial expectations and leads one into a numbing state of shock.

In this situation we are treated to a perfectly good song that by it's very nature should and need not be redone by another artist, not just because it is view with some historical significance but because when one performs music in brute skeletal form, it is usually by design.

First the original
Next the parody
Now the variations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

updates, etc. & so fourth

2007-05-18T21:40:00.000-04:00

Just to keep my readers, whom I refer to as "the loyal 5" in the loop...
I updated the Gear Lust post or really I just expanded on it.

On the collectable gear front: those Ludwig Phase II's have gotten pricey. I mean yeah, they are cool in both looks and sound but one just went on The Ebay for close to 4 grand... I'd hate to say how little I paid for mine, which is nicer then all the ones I've seen for sale recently. I guess that's the collectors world for ya.

Meanwhile, I'm rethinking the Max/MSP project I was doing because my previous project was just more fun for me. Plus, if i really need a simple sampler I could use one of my Kaoss Pads or someone elses' Max patch.

The Max/MSP project I was working on a while back was a live effects processor that was especially good for turntables. I set up each parameter with tempo based suedo random number generators that would alter various aspects of the mix, effect and even toggle differnt combinations on and off. It was pretty fun and sounded good. I think I'm gonna go back to that.

EML 101

2007-05-12T23:15:00.000-04:00

Every good instrument has it's own personality. The EML 101 has definitely got a special thing to it. Mine was in the Caribbean at one point and later a closet in the US. it's not a perfect example and "needs some work" like the range knob on OSC 2 but as it is I'm tempted to leave most of it the was it is.

I remember reading about how Brian Eno would mark his VCS3 to make sure certain things were not repaired because the flaws appealed to him.

The EML is not a pretty looking instrument, nor does it have as much hipster cashe as other semi modulars like the ARP 2600 but what is does have is an extra oscillator and enough routing choices to make patching less immediately important in searching for interesting sounds.

Here's a little clip of it making some noises

Max/MSP ASCII Sample player: post 2

2007-05-11T23:20:00.000-04:00

It's pretty amazing that with about 45 minutes of dicking around over two days I was able to made a simple patch that bares a vague likeness to what I'm actually going for.

If I was doing this with a MIDI trigger in instead of ASCII, I'd be done and working on bells and whistles. ASCII is probably perfectly easy but I haven't had the slightest experience using the computer keyboard as a controller with Max.. That's kind of going to slow things down.

There are a few objects for ASCII conversion, "key" & "key up" are two that may work. Right now I'm leaning on the former. I may look around and see if someone else has already mapped out the keyboard into pitches so I don't have to.

Having added pitch control and variable echo on one channel is helping the patch actually sound like it's doing something fun already.

Samplers

2007-05-10T18:54:00.000-04:00

I never could view Ableton Live which I love as a software sampler as some folks do. The same could be said for the Electro Harmonix 16 second Delay (NOT THE REISSUE) looping and sampler are not the same thing.

I miss hardware samplers. In fact I can safely say that I basically stopped using samplers when I stopped using my Akai S950 Although I do use the Doepfer A-112 which is both a wavetable Oscillator and Sampler, it's still not the same as stretching twisting and tweaking something until it makes you laugh like crazy.

Another thing that's lacking is that slightly offbeat triggering of sounds in late 80's Hiphop. That still has it's charm. I actually plan to settle this missing mojo via Max/MSP and build a simple sample triggering patch that just has the basic functions like reverse and looping but triggered by the ASCII keyboard on my ibook

Should take no time at all. Max/MSP is so great for getting stuff like this done and in all of the years that i have used Max, I can safely say I have yet to get to a point of being an expert but I still manage to get my ideas done without errors or crashing. Great program.

925 Voltage Controlled Reverb

2007-05-08T18:12:00.000-04:00

Mike Bucki just sent me my 925 reverb.
9-2-5 you ask??
You mean 9-0-5!
Nope.

From my understanding this got as far as prototypes in the custom shop at Moog, mine indeed has a smooth finish panel instead of the flat mat finish that we usually see on Moog modules and is old stock.

Mike spent a great deal of time matching output transformers to different reverb cans and tweaking it with caps until he was sort of satisfied and then I said "come on Mike it's time.. I can always tweak it myself or run it through the fixed filter bank"

Mike is not a guy who likes to let work go that he isn't 100% happy with, which as he would say is "a good thing". He and I have built up a trust where he knows I'll tell him the truth and we are usually in agreement.

To this day I don't know that our two sets of ears have disagreed yet on anything Moog. Although our musical tastes are as far away as Asia is to Motorhead.

So how does the 925 sound?
Great!

I plan on writing a full thing on Mike for this blog pretty soon and I'll see if I can find out some of the details behind The String Filter, Ring Modulator, Sample & Hold, VC Reverb, Dual VCO Rack and some of the other less common Moog products which Mike has continued to build.

In the maentime, if your vintage Moog needs a tune up give him a ring at 716-438-0756

Salesman: slight return

2007-05-03T17:30:00.000-04:00

So after ending on a nice reasonable note I get a hand addressed item in the mail from the salesman's place of employ. Needless to say, I was not happy. The item was an generic offer to have a special credit card for this music store (a place I haven't bought anything from in 7 years)

I decided I should call, talk to a "manager" or what was probably really just a higher ranking salesman. He took the brunt of my foul language and what for the most part would seem like paranoid pissing. Admittedly, I am an aggressive fucker who doesn't like being fed a line of bullshit.

I have now asked not to be contacted by mail, phone or E-mail. Should the company wish the express their apologizes for not respecting my wishes in the first place, they can send that telepathically.

Mike Bucki, the mixer and MORE MOOG

2007-05-02T22:27:00.000-04:00

I got a note asking me whether the Moog Keyboard Mixer was made by Mike Bucki. When I E-mailed him an answer I figured I had what was worth posting in my blog.

The comments I made are below:

The mixer was not really a Bucki special. It was made in Moog's engineering department between 1980 and 1982 (he can't remember) out of parts from the Lab amps and who knows what.

They did go as far as to screen the graphics on there and it's a pretty well thought out 8 channel stereo mixer with 4 knob EQ section & spring reverb.

Regarding the "Mike Bucki" specials, I can speak highly of his revisions on the Moog sample & hold which has been re-numbered 1528. Also he has taken the CP3 mixer section and created a 4 channel mixer that fits a single full height Moog space.

Most of his work is exact to the specs but there are a few cases where he's done stuff like balanced the output of the 902 VCA so that the volume is equal in either control mode.

Moog Night

2007-04-28T22:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I couldn't get it together to write anything because I got stuck on this Reynols kick and I was living very much in a blissful state of fandom so much so infact that when my friend Ben Taylor of Southside Guitars told me that he had found a pedal that I wanted I was laid back about getting my hands on it.

Today, a record hunting mission at the local library who were having their annual sale turned up a number of records by Avant heavy hitters like Stockhausen and Tudor.

Later I finally got down to music and spent most of the rest of the day playing with The Moog. Playing this thing just blows my fucking head off. I just kept coming up with patch after patch of stuff to improvise on. I think any more fun would have to be a sin.

Humorously, when I took a break I ended up bumping into this Electronic X-mas record pictured below at a bookstore. A perfect thing to play after making all that noise on my own Moog.

Bleep Labs vs. Doepfer

2007-04-26T22:49:00.000-04:00

Here is the Bleep Labs Thingamagoop being processed and controlling a Doepfer A-121 Multimode Filter via the A-119 External In.

EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2

Moog Keyboard Mixer

2007-04-26T11:27:00.000-04:00

I was going though some audio tracks for a post I wanted to do and found one that was processed through the spring reverb of this mixer and I thought I'd post a little thing about the mixer it's self.

According to my friend Mike Bucki of Modusonics (formally Moog CE) between 12 and 16 were made in the early 80's. The reverb circuit comes from the Lab series amps. These were not production models and if I remember correctly from an early conversation, they were used by touring Moog artists doing gear demos.

Believe it or not I don't recall this one's history but I'm sure it saw a Ramada Inn and probably had a mixed drink or two spilled on it by a guy with a flower printed shirt playing a Poly.

Nothing's more fun then a 2600

2007-04-25T23:17:00.000-04:00

After 2 hours of patching and playing one can help but feel good. In fact it makes total sense that it was used for Star Wars.

One of these days I am going to have to buy an ARP Sequencer just because it's right and it'll hang nicely with the 2600 and Odyssey.

Flo & Eddie talk business

2007-04-25T08:56:00.000-04:00

Thanks to my legal council for pointing this out:
Go to Youtube and watch it!

my fuzzy and distorted history in overdrive

2007-04-24T11:55:00.000-04:00

Most people who play guiar go through a fair amount of distortion, fuzz and overdrive pedals before they find one that works for them at least in the majority of siuations.

My first pedal was an MXR Distortion+, the guitar player I played with at the time had a Electro Harmonix Big Muff Pi which was the only other logical choice at the time. Later I briefly used a Boss Super Feedbacker Distortion which would have been great if I liked that squealing Strat sound, which I don't and infact have most of my life chosen semi hollowbodys.

After switching to a Rat 2 and being much happier I still managed a fling with a Tech 21 XXL, which I know is totally unhip but I think it's an under rated pedal. Finally I stayed with the Rat for good.

Over the years I have built up a vast collection of fuzz boxes. Many classics, weirdos and so many that really are cool. I am amazed at the variation on what can be done with a few parts and am always on the look out for pedals, especially square wave 60's fuzzes with a small part count.

Although The Rat is what I reach for to play I do use other pedals on recordings, switching effects for different parts of songs can add flow to tracks. Some have such specific sound that may only work in certain passages and of course with specific guitar and amp combinations.

As a long time user of The Rat distortion pedal I was was very excited to find this page. Personally I use both a "Tone knob" Rat and a Rat 2.

Some of my favorites for recording include the Maestro Bass Brassmaster, MGI Fuzz (which I think is the same as a Clark) and the Fender Blender. I also often use the SansAmp on certain guitars.

GEAR LUST

2007-04-23T18:37:00.000-04:00

The following is a list of some of the new gear I've been dreaming of this year.

Enjoy my perversions (in no particular order):

I have always enjoyed Theremin, long before the obnoxious trend made them into a misunderstood novelty and a bad noise joke The Eowave Persephone has the ability to slide from one note to another but is configured more like a ribbon controller. It's an elegant thing really.

I've been a fan of the whole MoogerFooger line and have bought most of them. The Moog Music MF-107 FreqBox looks like a winner to me, whether it's another EH Microsynth type of thing or something new I'll bet I love it.

The thing about AudioCubes is that they look fun. Now don't get me wrong, I can't foresee someone doing a riveting and rocking live performance with them BUT in the studio or if one is just feeling arty...

okay, anyone who likes Speak & Spells is going to dig the Flame MIDI Talking Synth

We all know that touch screens are whats happening. Here are a few products that make music fun and touchable. Mononome Korg Kaoss Pad KP3 , Electroplankton

For the modular lover who doesn't want his or her waveforms stock: Wiard synthesizers

Ciat-Lonbarde electronics makes electronic instruments that look like art and sound like lizards gnawing at your temples.

Continuum is the coolist controller for the Microtonal set

You can filter out or duck quak to death anything with Ebbe und Flut

A special mention needs to go to Bleep Labs who's product not only cute and fun but also works nicely with modulars. For an idea of it's size, see it pictured below with an Oberheim SEM and Steiner Microcon.

A lot of gear comes out each year and only small amount of it finds it's way into my fantasies, even less will make the final cut in terms of what I think is worth plunking down hard earned cash on. Aside from having to be 1. good 2. something that inspires creativity and 3. special

Plus I do have an ongoing habit with Doepfer who keep putting out interesting and affordable modules for their A-100 modular Synthesizer.

the salesman part doo

2007-04-23T18:35:00.000-04:00

*************************** UPDATE *******************

Amazingly, the sales person responded to my E-mail DIDN'T call me an "asshole" and expressed that he had indeed checked my resume (which he referred to as "impressive") and said that he was aware of the scope of my interests and leanings.

Well what does a smart ass fucker like me do with that?

I commended him for not choosing to take the bait and start a pissing contest and explained clearly what type of things he may want to let me know about should his place of employment end up with an exclusive on sales.

the salesman

2007-04-23T11:49:00.000-04:00

I have gotten a bunch of E-mails from a sales person with whom I have never done business with from a company I have done some business with but not in some time. I believe s/he has just started their job and has taken over someone elses territory and phone list.

Having had several of these E-mails and actual phone calls to the studio, I felt that I should respond with an E-mail to clarify. Perhaps I am being a dick, but on my property I am the biggest dick and that's my right as the guy who pays the bills.

Enjoy:

Hi _____,

As I have been doing music professionally since 1978 and mainly use custom and boutique equipment you are probably barking at the wrong person.

Although I do have to rely on places like your place of employment for some things, it is this type of impersonal, yet assumtive salemanship that keeps me from wanting to even comminicate.

I understand that it is the nature of a sale job that dictates a need to be aggressive in order to succeed, however it is also this very approach that causes the unfair prosumption that all salemen are pushy.

My advice to you is to put me on your "don't contact" list and should you wish to at some point develop a good business relationship with me at some future time, please consider researching my specific needs and interests instead of typing my first name into a generic piece of text.

I wish you luck, and hope that you appreciate that I actually thought about responding to your E-mail directly as oppoosed to cutting and pasting.

Resume of the future

2007-04-22T19:37:00.000-04:00

I think that with the advent of the compact disc there are many people who work in the audio industry who make their whole living dealing soley with the past.

The main "professional" thing I do is restoration and mastering of old Punk stuff for either re-release or as a retrospective release. I joke that my resume is begining to look like I stopped working in the late 70's or early 80's.

I find this work to be generally rewarding because as a fan I love the music it's self and as a musicologist I feel like I am helping to set history right.

As we speak I am listening to what should be the upcoming Terrorists release.

Just a bit of a hello

2007-04-21T14:06:00.000-04:00

I have a great love of musical instruments and technology and I am the first to admit that I would buy a vintage fuzzbox for a crazy amount of money and on the same day buy new underwear at the pharmacy because it's cheap.

There are plenty of people who balance their relationships and time so they can spend their nights programming in Max or others who choose to live in a tiny apartment so they can to save up for something like a Buchla 200e

Musicians will do anything to to get their vision across and the devices that help make that happen fit into a special little part of our worlds.

I have always wanted to spend some time writing about musical instruments and technology. In the early 90's I create the Electro Harmonix fan site called "Stoned, Cloned but never dethroned". I also created a site called "The Max Resource Guide" which I ended up donating to Cycling 74 when i was no longer able to keep up with it and I built a site devoted to my interest in random music generators, machine learning & A.I. in music.

This time I'm going to keep it simple, loose and easy. It's the stuff that has to do with my work making music. Technical questions, problems solved, weird fantasies having to do with knobs.

I hope you will join me.