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modey

Knob Twiddlers
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Posts posted by modey

  1. 6 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

    i need something with a long lifespan that can be repaired, customized and upgraded easily with good backward compatibility, and Macs don't offer any of that in my experience.

    Yeah, this was what I wanted when I bought the PC. Sadly it also comes with a whole lot of fucking around in order to get things to work reliably; I lost a lot of time last week trying to diagnose my PC's problems—time I should have been spending on my uni work.

    I know it can be done, since I have friends who use Windows professionally for video editing, audio, etc., but I just don't have the patience anymore. I thought Windows could have got to the point where it was relatively transparent but it doesn't seem to be there yet.

    Also, little aesthetic/design nerd things like the UI font and being able to press option+shift+minus for an em dash instead of having to remember a code ended up being more important than I expected ? 

    • Like 1
  2. 2 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

    it's absolutely doable in Windows, with Jack or probably other systems

    I tried with Voicemeeter but had to run everything through it, including the internally generated audio, which resulted in latency from things like websites, which is a big nope for me, because I'm working on my browser based stuff and any latency keeps making me think there's something wrong with my code.

    2 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

    And the underlying hardware is the same

    Not anymore with the M1 architecture. I get what you're talking about but some things are just deal breakers for me, and I didn't realise until I tried to switch.

    2 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

    bigger interface

    Doesn't help if I want to plug multiple multi-track USB audio devices in at once that don't have individual analog outs.

    2 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

    If you haven't sent the PC back yet, have you installed any cards or RAM in it?

    Haven't touched it. It's stock. I did open it not long after I got it to try disconnecting the garish front panel light, but reconnected it again because it somehow removed all lighting options from the software. It worked fine until only recently though.

  3. 7 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

    I haven't gotten a blue screen in nearly 10 years.

    I'm getting them daily on the new PC, even after a reinstall of the OS. Something's definitely wrong with it. 

    Even without the blue screens, I can't live with the way audio works in Windows. I've been spoiled by aggregate devices and native low latency in macOS. 

  4. Latest GAS is for a new studio computer.

    Back in March I was experiencing some major crashes when streaming or editing video on my iMac, so I impulse purchased a PC, thinking enough is enough, I want an actual modular computer that I can repair / upgrade one part of and not have to throw the whole thing away / pay Apple to repair it for me. Turns out the PC was an endless source of frustration for me in terms of getting audio working to even close to the standard I expected from Apple computers, and then it started randomly freezing followed by blue screen errors that I couldn't diagnose after days of research.

    Bottom line is I don't want a computer that I spend more time configuring / troubleshooting than actually making music / uni work with. So back to Apple I go. Don't care how much cheaper it is to get a PC, and before anyone recommends things like Voicemeeter or ASIO4all, yes I've tried all of that and various things about them frustrated me.

    Anyone have experience with the new M1 range? Specifically the Mini? The only downside (apart from some software stuff) I've seen so far is that Bluetooth can be a bit flaky.

  5. 1 hour ago, cboyardeat said:

    from what I remember they had some sort of legal trouble with the original creator of the devilfish mod.

    It was more like they lowballed him on the rights to use the Devilfish name/design, he refused, and then they (evidently) went and did it anyway.

  6. 8 hours ago, sweepstakes said:

    People like little-scale and cTrix have done fucking amazing shit with the old hardware.

    Yeah, I've noticed it's mostly Australian people who are really pushing it in more innovative directions, unless I just don't get to see the innovative stuff that people from other countries are putting out.

    Two more Australian ones for your collection, while we're on that subject:

    https://dotay.bandcamp.com/album/you-re-better-at-this-than-you-think

    LSDJ tracked out to tape, mixed and mastered at a 100% analog studio. Dot.AY is someone who I see as at the forefront of electronic music genre diversity, mostly from his radio shows where he manages to find some incredible micro-genres. He really has a great ear for consolidating a ton of different styles into a unique sound, something I aspire to.

    https://theythemmusic.bandcamp.com/album/flat-moon-society

    My collaborator in Nanoloop2 duo THE GOTH"S. Claire is one of the few people who is on my level when it comes to messing with audiences not through overwhelming them (as is the usual case with chip music), but through minimalism. This album was made with Nanoloop Mono and is almost SND-like in terms of how much space there is.

     

    (I've probably mentioned both of these here before but they deserve all of the reposts)

    • Like 3
  7. 3 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

    I've been really enjoying the 8bit Warps (even though I've mostly used it for the surprisingly lifelike tanpura sounds that I wasn't trying expecting to get out of it).

    The sign of a truly good chiptune synth is its ability to go beyond typical chip sounds. I'm glad it's capable of stuff like that. So many of us chip musicians are trying to push the boundaries of what's possible on the hardware, meanwhile tons of synth companies come out with shitty "8bit" products that are only capable of the stereotypical bleep bloop sounds (e.g. TE's PO-20).

    • Like 2
  8. Anyone else into the new Cannibal Corpse album? Bit more thrashy than their previous stuff, some actual sick riffs and melodic parts among their usual impenetrable dissonance (which I do also love).

     

    On 6/6/2021 at 11:52 PM, psn said:

    Portal is some sick shit, maaaaaan. ?

    fuck I'm not sure if I'm ready to experience Portal again. I saw them live a few years ago stoned out of my mind (thanks to a friend's edibles that were way too strong for me) and it was too much lol. I definitely want to listen to them again at some point though.

    • Like 2
  9. 9 hours ago, yekker said:

    AA batteries are such a thing of the past. 

    Honestly all of my gear with built in rechargeable batteries makes me anxious. My Gameboy Micros barely last an hour until they show a low battery indicator, which means I've had to retire them from live shows. I'd much rather have a set of rechargeable AAs that I can replace and keep the device going than a built-in one that deteriorates after a few years.

    • Like 2
  10. edit: in reply to @TubularCorporation

     

    And? If Elektron suddenly start making products I don't like, I'll stop buying them. Again, they don't owe us anything. I'm probably the biggest Elektron fanboy on this forum but it's only because they make gear that I enjoy using. If they suddenly become like TE or Apple or whatever, I'll say "ah well, that sucks" and move on. 

    3 minutes ago, auxien said:

    Elektron does 'owe' the handle, kinda, since they were the ones to announce that it was on the way what....two years ago?

    Yeah, but there are people complaining that they were misled or whatever, when it was well advertised from the beginning what the device would look like, and that it would take AA batteries. 

    • Burger 1
  11. 10 minutes ago, auxien said:

    anyway this guy ain't into it, he details why:

    lol that guy didn't want one in the first place, and just bought one so he could shit on it even more. He's going out of his way to post it in as many places as possible. I'm surprised he hasn't posted here. 
     

    I don't get why people are so passionate in their hate of this product. Just.. don't buy it? Elektron doesn't owe us anything. They've already made several amazing devices that won't suddenly stop working now that they've released a battery handle that isn't rechargeable.

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1
  12. 11 minutes ago, sweepstakes said:

    Why wouldn't you have bought one?

    I don't really need it. I bought a tiny battery pack that holds 4x AA batteries not long after I got my Samples, and then got a USB to barrel adaptor which allows it to be powered by a powerbank. I'll likely use the battery handle now that I have one, but especially not having a stable income, I couldn't really justify buying one.

    • Like 1
  13. On 5/27/2021 at 12:00 PM, auxien said:

    having a handle attaching at a joint where the power cable connects, and expecting people to hold/carry/rest the weight of the device on that joint seems maybe a recipe for breaking your power connection.

    It doesn't rest on the connector. It clips onto the enclosure without needing the cable connected and doesn't put any stress on it at all.

    I was a beta tester for the handle and while I wouldn't have bought one; I found it a lot less goofy than it looks. I don't mind that it takes AA batteries, I have tons of rechargeables from years of using gameboys to make music so :shrug:

  14. 15 hours ago, Nil said:

    aside from the Quick Start Guide, is a manual already available ?

    There's a somewhat incomplete manual here. If there's something missing (or you have a question), jump on the Discord and request it; someone should be able to either help you out or update the manual accordingly.

    15 hours ago, Nil said:

    can the M8 do anything remotly like note probability / conditional triggers ? Not a deal breaker at all obviously, but once used to working with those...

    No conditional triggers as yet, but there is the CHA (chance) command which can either be applied to a note (trigger chance) or parameter (chance the parameter is triggered). Also, there is the RAN command, which repeats the last command with a random parameter, within a specified range. Those two together can get close to making some generative stuff, as well as using tables in 00 speed mode (table will only advance when a note hits). If you're wondering what tables are, consider it like a little sequencer per instrument that can run at a division (or multiplication) of the tempo, or the aforementioned 00 speed mode where it acts almost like a sample and hold, but any commands can be placed in the table, so it can get pretty complex.

    15 hours ago, Nil said:

    have you tried to hook it to a computer, be it with audio or MIDI ? Or other bits of gear ? Genuinely curious on how it works and what it can (and can't) do.

    Yes! I've used it with the TouchDesigner patch to stream, and stream USB audio into my DAW. I've also used it to control my QY70, NS5R and some other things. And controlled it with my Keystep + RK006. It's pretty solid as a MIDI sequencer. You get 10 automatable CCs per instrument instance.

    It's not 100% there as a live playing synth/sound module though. Its primary use is as a sequencer, so currently there's no release phase on the envelope, for example. Or polyphony, unless you use something like the RK006 to split polyphony into different MIDI channels.

    15 hours ago, Nil said:

    do you know if the dev is open to reasonable feature requests ? If not already implemented, Link comes to mind.

    Yes, trash80 is very prolific with features. It's being updated constantly, with the most recent firmware released yesterday. There's a Trello board (can't find the link but it's somewhere on Discord) showing the roadmap, but jump on the Discord and have a chat if you've got something in mind. I'm not sure if he's planning on implementing Link but the MIDI sync/position implementation is getting pretty robust.

    15 hours ago, Nil said:

    M8 and an iPad with a nice synth could be an insanely fun, super compact / ultra portable and equally as inspiring alternative set-up for me

    Yeah, once I'm not completely overwhelmed with uni stuff I want to get really stuck in to making some M8 tunes, either standalone (it's actually mindblowing what it's capable of internally) or with aforementioned sound modules like the QY70/NS5R for those lush pads.

    • Thanks 1
  15. On 4/14/2021 at 12:45 AM, oscillik said:

    If they're "standard" Kailh switches, the stems are definitely suscepitble to being snapped off if enough force is applied at the wrong angle. It's very easily done by people who try to remove keycaps from their keyboads with something like a screwdriver (basically unless you're applying even upward force distributed equally around the keycap).

    That's like saying it's easy to rip the encoders off the board on Elektron products if you try to remove the caps using a hammer.

    The only issue I've seen with a pre-production M8's keys is from someone trying to remove the spring that makes the click sound (which, for the record, many of us have done successfully); they accidentally broke part of the assembly. 

     

    On 4/14/2021 at 2:35 AM, xox said:

    do you use the tracker only when you're away from your home? i'm trying to understand/predict possible usage of it bc i don't reeeeally need such a portable device

    i presume that you have a lot of gear in your studio, so do you in any cases use the M8 instead of another gear while working in your studio and why? i mean, for that money i can buy a Digitone

    I use it at home mostly. It's a good couch device. It's also not really comparable to the Digi/Model series Elektron gear in terms of sequencing (I know I mentioned sound earlier), in that it's definitely designed more for writing detailed "songs" rather than techno style pattern iteration (though its live mode is good for that, and the instant song file switch while playing is an awesome feature for live playing).

    I definitely get more into a composition mindset due to it being a tracker, not that everyone uses it like that, but that's just how I feel with it. It's also the most detailed hardware sequencer I own, except maybe the QY70, but I never went too deep into that.

    On 4/14/2021 at 4:13 AM, rhmilo said:

    That key layout looks really weird ...

    I did think this at first as well, but now I find it pretty comfortable to use, either handheld or on a tabletop. It becomes pretty quick once you get a sense of the screen map and common button combinations. I find it much easier to use than a gameboy d-pad+buttons.

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1
  16. The keys are pretty low profile and quite solid. The switch actuators are wider than they are tall, but I guess the stems on the caps could be broken off with enough force. 

    I think trash80 is looking into including a basic case/pouch type thing with it. I use some kind of passport travel pouch with mine, it's actually perfect for it. 

    38C9CD57-2289-487F-A0AC-1FE89A3E1B75.thumb.jpeg.b3ccfe127941f09a7a5dad8c055a0785.jpeg

    • Like 3
  17. Yeah, M8 is definitely aiming for ultraportable. It can't really be compared to a phone either, because.. have you ever tried using a tracker on a phone? Even Sunvox is cramped as fuck on a phone. 

    M8 is a device capable of producing full, polished songs. It's not a sketchpad. It's a workstation. 

    • Like 2
  18. 14 hours ago, ignatius said:

    here's a demo from Ess

    It's the best thing to show people who say it's not worth the money because it's "just an eight mono track sequencer". Obviously not everyone is going to be able to pull off what Ess did here, but it's super flexible for being able to do this kind of stuff. 

    • Like 1
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