Musick
October 22, 2006
Ryoji Ikeda + Oscilloscope on speaker line == amazing.
This is almost as good of a reason for hanging speakers next to my workbench as listening to music itself.
Category music
MySpace
August 27, 2006
Also, any band which uses MySpace as their primary online presence will not get any visits from me. That site is too damned annoying to use.
With web space as cheap as it is and basic design as simple as it is, there’s no reason not to have at least a standard website with some info, tracklists, and other such things on it.
FM
August 26, 2006
Sir Mix-a-Lot’s Testarossa, despite it’s HORRIBLE vocals and awful samples, has one of the best FM synth-based rythem parts ever recorded. It just simply sounds wonderful.
Then again, lots of this cheesey 80s/90s rap has some wonderful backing music.
When at Guitar Center earlier today I got to play with a real DX7. That was nifty. I still wish I had purchased a TX816 on eBay a few years ago when I had a chance. It would have been only about $150.
Let’s have a black celebration…
August 1, 2006
I just hooked the test MIDIbox SID-NUXX to my stereo for the first time, and I’m sitting here listening to a SID track which is a compilation of Depeche Mode songs. And it sounds great!
MIDIbox SID + Airwolf
June 19, 2006
Detail of a SID from
(Click for more SIDbox / MIDIbox SID-LC Photos…)
It works.
I don’t know what else to say… What I started a few months ago (with a hefty break in between) as an idea for a single board MIDIbox SID, the SIDbox (photo gallery retired) has now become a whole, working prototype. It plays SID-type sounds via MIDI, or can also play .SID files when loaded with SID Player software which makes it compatible with the SidStation‘s ASID protocol.
Now it’s time for me to start working on what will hopefully become the MIDIbox SID-LC. That is, a for-sale kit based on a bunch of the uCApps.de designs, in my own implementation.
I only made a few mistakes in this design, even through they were pretty substantial, I was able to work around most of them. If you look at the back of the SIDbox board you can see a number of the hardware patches I made. Two of those aren’t needed, I just cut the wrong traces twice and needed to fix things. Oops. I *think* it is all fixed in the current schematic. That will be confirmed another day.
Anyway, here’s that sound file again. It is a SID version of the Airwolf theme, played via this piece of hardware right here. Maybe I’m just a dork, but I find these especially nifty. I spent a good part of the night just listening to old SID files from the massive collection at The High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC) sent to the SIDbox (photo gallery retired) by sidplay2/w.
(Just as a reminder / disclaimer, what I am currently calling the SIDbox (photo gallery retired) is based almost completely on the MIDIbox project. Thus the future name change, especially if I will be selling the boards…)
PAiA FatMan Plus Panel Idea
March 16, 2006
Up above there is the rough idea I just threw together for the front panel of the PAiA FatMan which I’m rebuilding. I am going to be putting it in a new enclosure and adding some extra stuff to it, so I need to design a new panel.
I’m curious if those of you who are familiar with using synths what you think of this… I tried to somewhat follow the original FatMan desktop enclosure layout, adding the mods (subharmonic generator and VCO hard sync) where appropriate.
No, things aren’t lined up yet, labels aren’t in there appropriate places, and there are no knob position indicators… I’m just trying to get some layout ideas. Also, the three vertical columns of controls will be sized the same and properly centered. Also, the groupings will be labeled similarly to how the VCF one is. Oh, and the whole thing will likely be in white lines and text on black, similar to the x0xb0x. It’s just easier to start designing this way.
So, what do you think? What would you change?
Thanks!
Music Projects
March 16, 2006
So… There’s some music projects I really want to do…
Here’s my current thoughts:
– Finish my x0xb0x, #231.
– Finish rebuilding the FatMan, complete with subharmonic oscellator, hard sync, and diode mod.
– Add a MIDI input to my Casio SK1.
– Build a 9090.
– Make some nifty effects, or possibly start work on a full modular synth.
μziq
September 28, 2005
Did you ever find yourself in the keyboard section of K-Mart as a little kid, banging three keys listening to how the sound changed as you moved your head around? Not listening for the melody, but for the swirling sounds as the overdriven speaker in the Casio bounced sound off of the shelf, the ceiling, and whatever else was around?
Maybe it’s just me. I still love noisescapes, though.
I need to build another synth.
The New Deal at The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor
March 20, 2005
Well, as I mentioned not a few minutes ago,
Well, to make a long story short, we went, and were quickly blown away. One guy with five analog synths (Nord Lead, Juno 106, Moog something or other, Rhodes Organ, and a Korg Drawbar organ), a bassist with a boatload of effects, and a drummer with a rather interesting kit, and the only microphones on stage.
Over the course of two and a half hours they played five total ‘songs’. Well, there were only four recognizable breaks between things, including intermission and a pause for an encore.
They played an incredibly tight set, as if they’ve been playing together for years. They may have, but I’m not sure… Regardless, it was an absolutely amazing show.
Here’s some video that
· The New Deal – Clip 1 (Drummer – 1010 KB – MPEG-4)
· The New Deal – Clip 2 (Audience / Drummer / Keyboardist – 1.6MB – MPEG-4)
· Midwest Product (600 KB MPEG-4)
So, yeah. Definitely check those videos out, and the next time they come to town, or if you are lucky enough to be able to see them in their native Toronto, go! You won’t be disappointed… I have never seen a completely live band play together so wonderfully as these guys.
In addition, the person selling their CDs told me that the show was audience recorded (there was a guy with a laptop and stereo mic setup) and will likely end up on The Internet Archive‘s Live Music Archive. I cannot wait to get a copy of it to listen to.
Wow. Just…. Wow.
!!!
June 24, 2004
Click for more…
Well, it’s finally done. I got the PAiA FatMan finished. yay! It turns out that the problems with it were related to a bad EPROM, the bit that holds the program for the MIDI to CV conversion. I got a replacement chip, and everything was (eventually) good. There were only a few additional bumps, namely the replacement chip having it’s pins bent as hell. Fortunately it made it here, as the package it was in hadn’t been sealed. But, it’s here, assembled, and all is good. Take a look at just over a page of wonderful construction pictures here.
Or, there’s a few treats for you to listen to. Namely…
· PAiA FatMan Filter Jam (Just some random filter masturbation…)
· Eric playing the Super Mario Brothers 2 Theme Song
So, yeah. It’s done. I’m all happy about it and stuff. Now, as long as it gets good use and happy tunes are made with it, well, woo!
Also, it makes a surprising variety of sounds. You can tune it all different, have the two oscillators offset by all sorts of nifty amounts, all sorts of neat wacky filter goodness, etc.
Now, time for Luna! Woo!