Thursday, December 08, 2005
Sound Design Project - Part 2
Slow progress on the sound design so far. The sound
design "team" has received four new versions of the synthesizer
in question, two to deal with bug fixes, another to deal with fixes of
bugs that were caused by the bug fixes and another with some
refinements to the features. I say "team" because we are all
working independently and have no knowledge of each other's work
This does present the inevitable questions about duplication of efforts
and the desire to ensure that we stamp our individual mark without
making sounds which are not usable in practical applications No doubt
the answers to these questions will become apparent!
After spending some time learning the synthesizer (ie. reading the manual), I got to know the character and
features by playing around with it. I decided to approach the sound design by reproducing some
standard sounds to gain more familiarity before actually
sittting down and seriously programming. This included creating the kinds
of "bread and butter" sounds one would expect from a synth like this
(additive)
The programming has gone slowly so far, but I am sure it will pick up as the week
progresses (and the deadline approaches). So far I have a couple of interesting pad sounds,
some lead sounds for sequencing and some bass sounds. Perhaps I'm
a bit too much of a perfectionist, which is why it is going
slowly. But, if a job is worth doing etc. etc.
Still, this is a good challenge for me and I hope to meet it. In
due course, I will post some MP3s of some of the better presets in
use. I bet you cannot wait ;)
Posted by Jon at 12:17:37 AM in Muso-ing (9) | Comments (0)
Monday, December 05, 2005
Sound Design Project - Part 1
I have two weeks to come up with a couple of banks of preset sounds (which is 128 in all) for a brand new virtual synth (VSTi). This will be quite a challenge, I think. Challenging not only in the sense of the quantity and quality of sounds required but also because of the type of synthesizer that it is.I cannot give too much away about it since the synth is not yet released, but it's a combination of additive and "traditional" subtractive synthesis, with some intriguing and interesting morphing and re-synthesis capabilities. It should be quite an educational process and a good exercise in programming techniques.
I won't bore the non-musical with the ins and outs, but I thought I would track progress here on the development of those sounds. For the non-musical or non-technical musician, a patch is like a snapshot of the settings of a synth (be it a real one or a virtual one) - the positions of switches, the placement of controls, and other options which all go into making a sound make the sound it does. Patches can be recalled and saved in banks and either used as they were intended or changed into new sounds. So, my remit is for the next 12 days or so to come up with 128 usable patches (i.e. sounds) for this particular synth and hope that they meet the needs of the synth developers..
Sounds easy? We'll see...
Posted by Jon at 12:35:32 AM in Muso-ing (9) | Comments (1)
Friday, December 02, 2005
Thank you Doru!
It's very difficult to write about someone that you don't
really know at all but who you know to be a very good and generous
spirit because their demeanour and contributions inform you of
it. Even more difficult to write about them not being with us
very much longer and wondering what to do.
I write about Doru Malaia, who has consistently given a great deal to
the music community, with his free sample sets and incredibly good
sample CDs/DVDs, but most of all with his generous and humane nature
So, please go to Doru's web site
- look around, download some of the many freebies he has on offer,
purchase his fine refills or sample sets, and/or leave a message on his
guestbook.
And on a personal note, thank you Doru.
You'll live on in our music and in our hearts.
Posted by Jon at 8:56:24 PM in Muso-ing (9) | Comments (1)
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Current rotations...
Tactical Sekt - "Geneticide"
Suicide Commando - "Godsend/Menschenfresser"
[:SITD:] - "Richtfest"
Skinny Puppy - "Rabies"
Skinny Puppy - "Brap"
Posted by Jon at 9:52:04 AM in Rotating (5) | Comments (0)
Friday, November 25, 2005
Georgie R.I.P.
Well, I suppose we all expected it to happen. But now that it
has, and George Best is no longer with us, perhaps he will be
remembered for all the right reasons. Of course, Best's name was
made before mass pop culture really came into force and before
television induced and produced mega stars like a production
line. Best was part of an era where football was played in shirts
minus sponsors logos, on muddy pitches in an uncompromising fashion
during a time of relative innocence and naivety. A far cry from
the cynicism and commercialism of present-day football.
Best was a true genius when it came to the playing of the game of the
football. Greats like Pele thought so, as did many other luminaries
from the beautiful game. Admired and respected and feared by his
fellow professionals and honoured by them, Best truly was the first
sporting superstar.
Let's hope that the partisan and cynical nature of football gives
way to a genuine appreciation of a footballing legend. It's time
to appreciate the joys and triumphs that Georgie Best provided rather
than chart the decline of his career and his becoming a casualty
of fame. ...
Addendum:
It's upsetting to see some reactions to news of George Best's passing.
In particular, in mentioning George Best's death to several people
today and reading some internet postings I have come across judgements
about how his transplant was wasted on him or how he should not have
been allowed the chance to live. It's easy to judge such a person
((unknown and unconnected to us as they are) and cast a negative
opinion, especially when tabloid newspapers are inclined to feed that
very viewpoint. I would just say in response, if it was your
father, your brother or your son would you be the one to tell them that
you were going to deprive them of the opportunity of life? Would
you be the person to tell a doctor not to undertake that chance?
If one were to extend that further surely someone involved in a
drink-driving incident would be deprived of treatment, someone who took
part in dangerous sports would be left uncared for, and those who
through any of their life choices put themselves ar risk would be
untreated. I don't think that is feasible. In George Best's
case his alcoholism was an illness and a disease in itself. No
amount of pathetic jokes about it can deny that George Best's
alcoholism was part of his ill-health, physical or mental and therefore
he deserved treatment. . .
Posted by Jon at 2:12:45 PM in Musing (23) | Comments (0)
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Tired...
To say I am tired would be an understatement of a significant
order. Extremely tired would do my feelings some justice, but it
would not be quite the full story.
You know you are really tired (or tired-looking) when people you don't
know well or only meet on a casual basis (e.g. out walking their dogs)
tell you that you look tired - in the middle of the day. People
who never see a person outside of daylight hours probably have
substantial authority to determine that a person is genuinely fatigued,
rather than simply tired. And so it was, as I dragged myself and
Sophie (my black labrador friend) around the muddy lanes and tarmac
pavements of the village, that my tiredness was recognised and pointed
out by a fellow dog walker. It's funny how people close to you
can miss such things, but a more or less complete stranger homes in on
it with laser-guided precision. Sad, though, that the first
follow-up question was a line of enquiry involving a suspected cause of
that tiredness. Parties and socialising. Not quite the case here.
Working up to a tight deadline can be a nightmare for all parties
concerned, but particularly for the person or persons actually "doing
the doing" so to speak. Anyone who works in the design or
publishing business will no doubt concur and shudder with an
instinctitve recollection of such circumstances. It is under such
conditions that I have been working these last few days. Such is
the lot of a web designer, scraping to make ends meet without meeting
an end... [ see what I did there... totally seamless ] .
There are worse occupations, of course. And there are even worse ways
to earn money, full stop. I'm sure a lot of it is down to me,
perhaps I expect too much recognition for jobs well done, or
appreciation for the work I do. I certainly don't expect too much
financially, that is for certain. That is something I need to
work on. When you don't get much in the way of thanks or
consideration or a sense of being valued, somtimes you have to filter
out that part of your brain which responds to those things and
concentrate on providing yourself with the means to allow other parts
of your brain to respond positively. Which means money, so
that the parts of your brain which worry about bills and about getting
some respite are compensated accordingly for the lack of "warm fuzzies"
in the part of the brain that deals with value and
appreciation. It's a bit like telling one part of your
brain to look away whilst you feed another part of it. Or
something like that...
Ah, value and value. Being valued - thanks and appreciation for
efforts, knowledge and expertise. A valued being - the financial
rewards for the same. An internal market of exchange rates and
currency fluctuations. Are there traders in this market I
wonder? What's the current exchange rate between the "being
valued" currency and the "valued being" currency?
I am not sure myself at the moment.... I wonder if my internal currency
market crashed a long time ago a la Black Wednesday. Still, at
least unlike the real traders I don't have to wear a silly
waistcoat. Yet.
Posted by Jon at 10:27:19 PM in Musing (23) | Comments (2)
Current rotations...
:W: - "Evoke" (hmmm...)
Assemblage 23 - "Disappoint"
Suicide Commando - "Construct><Destruct"
Hocico - "Signos de Aberracion"
Fractured - "Only Human Remains"
Posted by Jon at 10:00:55 PM in Rotating (5) | Comments (0)
Saturday, November 19, 2005
A Winter's Walk
Honestly, you can keep your hot Summer days, as nothing comes close
to a cold, bright Winter's day such as we have had this week around
this part of the UK. Air so cold and so still, and so fresh it
feels healthy just breathing it in with gasping mouthfuls. The
perfect medium within which sound waves travel. The perfect
medium also for me to travel. Every sound is as clear as
the light around you. Every slight rustle of a frosted leaf
falling comes to your ears. Each drop of water hitting the
ground, deposited from a thawing tree branch lit by blue and golden
shards of sunlight. Each crunch of the frozen earth and the
cracking of twigs underfoot. Yes, even the sound of distant
traffic or a buzzing electricity pylon is borne swiftly to you on a
cold and crisp day like this. But it cannot spoil the calmness
and serenity of walking - your breath visible to you as you make your
way through dew-laden grasses - through the white-dusted countryside surrounded by the sounds of nature. Nor is
your walk spoiled by the return to civilisation, to traffic and to
noise of a different kind. Instead, as the door closes behind you
on your cold environs, there comes a new feeling of warmth. And
the welcome return of the feeling in the tips of your ears..
Posted by Jon at 1:37:53 PM in Musing (23) | Comments (2)
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Paperweight, and wait and wait
"Not much to say today" - quite frankly those are not ideal words to
begin a blog entry with. And a split infinitive is not an ideal
follow-up either. But I am tired - it's been a long, hard day
trying to get a web site prepared for a very tight deadline, so I feel
rather emptied out. I noticed tonight, however, and this is the
reason for writing, that the paperweight I had intended to put on eBay
a couple of weeks ago is serving a good purpose despite its impending
relocation. Put to one side, ready for photographing and listing
on eBay it has found a niche for itself - as a paperweight. Still
in its presentation box, no less. There's something poetic about
that, but then again, I am easily entertained and distracted
particularly when tired. I am looking for the bigger
philosophical meaning which can be gleaned from the paperweight finding
a niche for itself. I am sure there is one, probably involving
intent, purpose and disposal, but for the life of me it cannot be
pieced together . So, for the time being at least, the
paperweight will have a stay of execution in lieu of its beneficial
properties as an unintended paperweight.
So, as I said... "not much to say today".
Posted by Jon at 1:52:44 AM in Musing (23) | Comments (3)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Colin McRae Rally - Senior Edition
Just a bit of fun...(click to view)
Posted by Jon at 5:05:37 PM in Musing (23) | Comments (0)
eXT as a live tool
l have not used eXT as a live tool either in theory or in practice,
so my little sojourn tonight into its capabilities was quite an
eye-opener and rather fun.
Here's the set up
Start out with a MIDI patcher component so you can set up some keyboard
splits. This allows you to use part of the keyboard for
triggering live and part for playing in realtime (detail at bottom right of the screenshot below)
In the example below I've got three splits set up - one for triggering
midi components connected to a DeltaIII, Albino and Zero Vector, one to
Microtonic to trigger its internal drum patterns and fnally the rest of
the keyboard is connected to Absynth for playing freeform synth lines.
Each of my MIDI components is set to trigger when a note in the lowest
split in the MIDI patcher is played - note toggle is selected for each
midi component and I set each component to a different note (C1 to
D1). I've turned off MIDI THRU on each of these because I don't
intend to send anything other than the initial trigger notes to them
and I don't want to hear that note coming back to me through the
respective synths/drums.
The Microtonic has three patterns set up on keys C2 to D2, a basic rhythm, and two fill variations.
Lastly, I have an audio in set up for guitar which is playing through the Trash distortion unit after equalization..
Here's the screenshot of the set up
So, basically in space of about 20 mins set up I have at my disposal for live use:
1. a bass line I can trigger on/off on one note
2. a synth line I can trigger on/off on one note
3. a second synth line I can trigger on/off on one note
4. a drum synth with three pattern variations on three notes
5. another synth on the remaining higher notes
6. an audio input for guitar ( I might also have set up a trigger for the distortion unit on/off)
I could alternatively have used MIDI CC messages for all the
triggering. In addition I could use the same techniques to
trigger sample components in real-time.
All I need now is an audience... oh, and an extra hand for the guitar bits ;)
Posted by Jon at 1:19:29 AM in Muso-ing (9) | Comments (0)
Monday, November 14, 2005
Current rotations...
Saints of Eden - "Proteus"
Leaether Strip - "Positive Depression"
Leaether Strip - "Carry Me"
Hocico - "Wrack and Ruin"
Posted by Jon at 6:36:38 PM in Rotating (5) | Comments (0)
What am I good at?
This question has been bothering me a for a little while. I am
not sure quite what it was that caused this little menace to infiltrate
my brain, but it is there now and it seems to have bought clothing and
supplies suitable for an extended stay in my cerebral region.
So, what am I good at?
Well, actually the simple answer is that I am quite good at quite a few
things. See how deadening and deprecating the use of the word "quite"
was there? You see, I'm not great at anything, it
seems. I'm proficient and logical enough to do some programming -
sort of. I'm dextrous enough to play guitar reasonably well
- passably, anyway. I'm literate enough and nimble enough
to have a reasonable wit and do cryptic crosswords - sometimes.
I'm creative enough to do some design work and eke out a living from it
- just about, anyway. I'm imaginative enough to get some
songs written and recorded via computer. I'm intelligent and
resourceful (or perhaps able to play the system) enough to have gone
through a total of almost 19 years of almost continuous education.
Behind the facade of that simple answer, however, lies a complicated
backstage area inhabited by an answer which is rather more
shadowy. The problem is that I don't feel that I have really gor
any "gifts" or "skills" or "talents" that truly stand out in any
kind of definite way or which I feel are hooks onto which I could hang
some baskets (with eggs in, of course). Perhaps I should be happy
that I don't have
that burden to bear or be relieved that I have avoided some kind of
one-dimensionality. But, at times, and recently in particular, it
has begun to prey on my mind that there is really not a single thing
that I
could honestly say that I have a special capacity for or capability to
do.
Are you in the same boat as me?
(if so, I'm quite a reasonable sailor, but not great at it)
Posted by Jon at 1:32:15 AM in Musing (23) | Comments (1)
Saturday, November 12, 2005
From Glitch to Glitswitch via eXT
In a recent post (see "Glitch") I mentioned how useful it would be to be able program a sequence which would send output to different effects on a note-by-note basis. E.g. note 1 send audio to this FX plugin, note 2 bypass, note 3 send audio to this other FX plugin. Glitch does this with its own internal effects.
Well, steffensen over at KVR has come with a solution using eXt and Soma's Audio Switcher. Here's the link to the discussion.
It looks complicated but the basic principle behind it is quite simple (use Steffensen's light version first as it's a bit clearer). You have a midi part with each note corresponding to a toggle of Soma's Audio Switcher, which then sends output to your designated FX plugins. So, just insert the effects you wish to use and then sequence away. Great solution! Kudos to all concerned! Not got eXT? Get it here...
Posted by Jon at 11:52:50 AM in Muso-ing (9) | Comments (0)
Friday, November 11, 2005
Comfort Food...(serves one right)
You will need:- an appetite (healthy)
- cold weather or some kind of difficulty in your life (optional)
- a large baking potato (unbaked)
- some mature cheddar cheese (grated)
- a small onion or half a large one (shredded)
- butter (optional)
Part-bake your potato. I'll rephrase that - put ALL of the potato in your oven (you can start it off in the microwave if you wish, but you'll need it to be crispy when finished not soggy and limp). Whilst the potato is baking, mix up about 90% of your grated cheese with your shredded onion. Don't do anything with this just yet - no, I must insist on that. Now, go and do something else for a while. Not for too long, just long enough to pass some time before your potato is almost done. Tidy your room or something.
Okay, here's the tricky bit. Take your potato out of the oven, carefully ensuring that the temperature of the potato in contact with any part of you does not cause any ill-effects. Halve your potato without completely reducing it to two parts. I'll leave it to you as to whether you do it longtitudinally or not. Scoop (you don't need a scoop for this, it's just a good verb to use)... scoop out the potato and blend it with your cheese and onion mix. (At this point, you can also add a little butter for that creamier taste or if your potato needs a bit of softening up). Then scoop it back into the somewhat sad-looking shell of a partially-baked almost-halved potato. Mush it in a bit - you'll need to because what you took out is less than what you are trying to put back in now. Remember, you added cheese and onion didn't you? Okay, now garnish the rest of the cheese on top of the two halves. You did take notice of that bit didn't you? Ok, put the whole thing back in the oven and let it finish off baking the potato and allow it to render the top a little crusty and brown.
Serve with anything, really. Coleslaw is good. Beans are good. Both is probably a bit greedy. But, up to you...this is comfort food after all.
Posted by Jon at 7:35:24 PM in Musing (23) | Comments (1)
Current rotations...
Amduscia - "Impulso Biomecanico"Agonoize - "Evil Gets An Upgrade"
X-Fusion - "Dial D For Demons"
Aslan Faction - "Sin-Drome of Separation"
Fractured - "Only Human Remains"
the wretch - "ambulatory"
Sythilix - collected tracks...
Posted by Jon at 4:19:34 PM in Rotating (5) | Comments (0)
A slow and painful...
My pack of rolling tobacco reliably informs me that "Smoking can cause a slow and painful death." Undoubtedly true, but it got me thinking what products should have a similar corollary. That is to say, a warning about a slow and painful life?Some suggestions:
D.I.Y products. Reader's Digest. Boneshaker bicycles. Tortoises with feet prone to blisters. Police cars which escort wide loads.
What else? .
Posted by Jon at 12:37:29 AM in Musing (23) | Comments (2)
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Confession Time
Okay, I admit it. I don't know what I am doing. This is not
something that will come as a surprise to some of the people that know
me, as it seems to be a perspective shared by many on me. But in
the sense of blogging, I confess I don't know what I am doing. I
had this problem the last time I started a blog some five or so years
ago. Surfing around other blogs with their extremes of expression
guided by the Muses Polemic and Minutae, I struggle to find a niche and
wonder what it is that I offer and can say. Nothing new there,
either, but perhaps it's important to really have an idea of what your
blog is about? Perhaps?
It's not that I don't have things to say on various topics and don't
think I can't be even a little bit entertaining at times. It's
just that the vast morasses and masses of the blogging community just
about have it all covered, veneered and varnished. My rational
side counters with "Ah yes, but they are not you and your prespectives
are unique because they are yours", to which my cynical, self-critical
side retorts, "Yes, and you think that makes it worthwhile?".
But then I realised that probably someone else out there in BlogVille,
BlogLand has undoubtedly had the same conversation above, posted about
it on their blog, and now I am no longer worried or burdened by it
because let's face it, it's not worth it. [what a waste of two
paras]. .
On a lighter nots, a comedic situation in Wilkinson's today.
Vic and I both needed to buy glue (me for my aforementioned lost sole -
Joy Division anyone? - he for a broken somethingorother) which resulted
in a conversation about how it looked quite bad that we were both
buying super glue at the same time and that it might raise some
eyebrows. My punchline? Well, of course it had to be..."But
Vic, surely they know that friends stick together".
Anyway, more later perhaps after a quick sojourn to the pub...
Posted by Jon at 9:30:42 PM in Musing (23) | Comments (0)
Trickle-down
A strange perversion of the trickle-down effect seems to be
happening around me. Trickle-down being the principle that
actions at a macro level have knock-on effects through a system at
increasingly finer scales. It's a term usually applied to such
grand things as macroeconomics or to environmental systems.
However, it seems possible that the current large-scale troubles and
upheavals in my life have induced their own particular form of trickle
down to the domestic scale. Perhaps it is payback time but
the fates are all out of dramatic events so it's the mundane stuff for
me.
Note, the sole of para boot coming loose when out walking in the mud -
at the furthest point from home, of course, and naturally when followed
all the way home by other people. You try walking when it feels
like you've got a boot on one foot and a flipper on the other.. in the
mud... with a dog...
Note, suddenly proclivity of the bathroom light "pull" not to work when
pulled in the customary perpendicular fashion - oh no, it has to be at
about 25deg from the vertical and away from you in order to work now
and even then it's hit and miss.
Note, desktop light choosing to flicker every once in a while in
poltergesit-style fashion. Not simply going off. Not simply
flickering. But more like a kind of Swan Lake dying scene
routine... and then several moments later, it is back to life again.
But still, I am sure there are rational explanations for all the
abovc, most likely involving the words "old", "need" and
"replacing". Sounds familiar.
On a brighter note, snooker is going well...
Posted by Jon at 12:26:09 AM in Musing (23) | Comments (0)
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Current rotations...
The Retrosic - "God of Hell"
Fractured - "Only Human Remains"
Virtual<>Embrace - "Roots of Evil"
X-Fusion - "Demons of Hate"
Leaether Strip - "Underneath the Laughter"
Posted by Jon at 11:25:14 PM in Rotating (5) | Comments (0)