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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.