modey

Ha yeah, when I want to get something down super quickly I just use software. I'm working on music for a game that I'm making and have found that it's way easier to do it all in software because it's possible to go back and make changes without having to re-record anything.

I recently went on a bit of a gear buying spree after selling some gear and records. Pretty impulsive, but I ended up with: Roland SH01A + TB03: I never thought I'd like these, but I am so glad I bought them, as the form factor is beautiful and there are so many sounds I randomly stumble upon from some of my favourite classic IDM tracks. Korg NS5R: I got it into my head that having a QY70 and SY22 wasn't enough in terms of romplers, so tracked down one of these. Super lush and weirdly interesting to program. Pairs nicely with Pyramid, which it has finally got me using! Retrokits RK-006: I got sick of not having a USB-MIDI host. This has the benefit of also doing a whole lot of other stuff with MIDI that I'll likely never use. Chase Bliss MOOD: Probably the most impulsive purchase of the lot. Lush pedal, but it is definitely most appropriate for live playing. I'll keep it around for a bit longer, but I'll probably eventually move it along. I blame lockdown for all of this ?

I remember some Italian guitar amp design that had tuned guitar strings on a frame in front of the speaker; something like that would be interesting.

Contrary to popular belief, the "spring" in spring reverb actually refers to the season. You'll notice it'll sound like rubbish any other time of the year. Not enough pollen to make a proper connection.

My dad made me a matrix "mixer" a few years back using reed switches laid out in a grid that you place small magnets on to make the connections. It's just passive, but I think reed switches are a pretty fun idea for a matrix, because you can basically use any magnet you like to activate it, as long as it's strong enough, and the circuitry can be hidden underneath a panel for maximum aesthetic.

I remember there was one in Buzz that could get well beyond just adding punch to drums. I can't remember what it was called, but it used to completely obliterate things on extreme settings. Not much help I know.. edit: actually it was ld transient lol. Still not much help if you don't use Buzz ?

Plaid are special for me. I haven't enjoyed all of their albums (I couldn't get through The Digging Remedy for some reason) but what I like, I love. Double Figure is an obvious classic. P-Brane is top tier IDM for me. Polymer blew me away. Not For Threes and Rest Proof Clockwork are lovely albums that are as much respectable as early AFX imo. It's strange that I hold them in such high regard when I only really love half of what they've put out, but I've always felt some connection with their music. I'm a sucker for melody, and I think they're among the most melodic/emotional of the Warp artists from that era, even though their melodies are often a bit awkward and naive. Woah, thanks for linking! I loved his contributions to Plaid tracks, I'm definitely keen to check his other stuff out. New Family is a banger! Probably my favourite Plaid track.

It was this mod, not sure if they still do it but it looks like they do: https://www.circuitbenders.co.uk/drummachine/TR707.html

I played with a circuit bent 707 a few times. Sounded way more interesting than the original sounds, which are great, but the bends that are possible really take it into crazy territory.

Yeah gotta say, as much as I hate Behringer at the moment, the RD9 seems pretty great. Maybe I'll pick one up secondhand or something.

What's the deal with that? I've been making a sequencer in p5js and even the simplest code makes my imac's fan sound like it's about to take off!

@sheatheman have you been keeping track of M8? https://dirtywave.com/ It's got more effects than the Polyend, and has its own synth engines as well (including a port of Braids). Plus, it's LSDJ based so can get really wacky with timing and micro-step stuff, as well as uneven lengths for each pattern in a track etc. The only possible downside is that the handheld format isn't for everyone. But it has a lot of useful shortcuts to help where the lack of buttons may otherwise hinder it. I'm in on the preorder list for one of the 80 "earlybird" units which are being made by hand before the production models, which will likely be produced later this year. Of course I'll be making videos and posting them here ? The Polyend looks like it'd be better for going back to basics / old style tracking, where a lot of the heavy lifting is done by the quality of the samples/sequencing rather than effects. The M8 has more potential to exploit effects and synthesis. The sound demos have been amazing so far. I mean, listen to the fkn thing: I'm irrationally excited.

Yeah I've noticed high prices from Japan in the past few years, which is strange because I used to buy stuff from Music Sound Tokyo years ago for much cheaper than prices here in Melbourne. I'm holding on to my EM600 for a while, but if they truly are hard to find and the prices increase, maybe I should sell it..

Of course I recommend it ? It's a good entry into Elektron gear for sure. It's more limited than the other Elektrons but you'll be surprised at how weird you can get with it, especially when you start misusing the machines.

Yeah this has been my struggle recently. I sold a bunch of gear so I could get in on the preorder for Trash80's M8 device, then ended up getting cravings for a Bass VI again, so sold more gear. Couldn't find a Bass VI in stock and got impatient, so my mind wandered and all of a sudden I impulse bought a Chase Bliss MOOD and SH01A instead lol, because they came up for decent prices locally (plus I've wanted an acidy box for a while and that's the closest I'm willing to go without committing to something that only does acid). I only barely have enough to scrape in on M8 preorder, but strangely I think I made the right decision re: the MOOD/SH01A. Lately I've been really getting into making music with a single synth voice and an effects chain, and I think that combo would be nice.

No, I totally understand. Aesthetics and UI design is why I've held on to certain gear—it does have an influence on the kind of music I make. It's weird to say, but the white one had a certain ethereal/heavenly quality added to it by the white colouring that contrasted the industrial feel of the knobs and switches. Plus I think it was more of a glossy coat than the black one I ended up with, which was quite close to the textured matte black finish of early Octatrack mk1 builds. So it fit nicely with my OT, but drove me towards making more dark sounds, rather than the transcendental stuff I was making at Schneidersladen. Haha what a bunch of wank.

Yeah I sold a bunch of pedals recently but decided to keep that one. The reverse mode is amazing.

Yeah the Behringer RV600 is a clone of the Verbzilla.. somehow it looks better than the original as well, imo of course, which is rare for a Behringer clone.

Mine was the black one. It sounds weird but I probably would have kept it if it were the white one lol. I totally fell in love with the white one at Schneidersladen when I visited Europe a couple of years ago, but it may have been the setting (and the general positive vibe of that holiday) that influenced my feelings. I did try taming it with the OT, but the fact is that it just sounded like any other synth once it got shaped by the OT's filters etc. It really is its own thing that sounds best just going direct into an amplifier. The best recordings I made with it were from running other gear through it, like a 606 and Volca Drum.. which is why I'm considering the Lyra-8 FX module.

It's awesome. Can sound super beautiful if tamed, or make crazy industrial rhythmic noise. It's definitely a luxury instrument though, and I couldn't justify keeping it. I think I miss the effects the most, I might try to track down the eurorack module someday.

Behringer RV600 is pretty great if you can find one. Lots of different modes.

Good timing to resurrect this thread. I pulled out all of my old guitar pedals to sell some on ebay and accidentally ran signal through this Behringer EQ pedal without having it plugged in: So I'm not gonna sell that one. I'm definitely gonna experiment with feeding it various voltages below 9V to see if the distortion can be controlled, but damn, what a crazy sound.

I think it has to be taken in context with the rest of their work. For me, Downward Is Heavenward is among the best guitar music I've ever heard, at least in that style. This album being more of the same (in a good way this time!) is very exciting as a result.

I'm gonna put a vote in for the Model:Samples, since I don't think it's been mentioned yet. It's not a true sampler in that it only plays back samples you load into it and doesn't record them, but it is one of the quickest and most fun devices I own. Its sample playback is pretty transparent in that it doesn't appear to colour the samples at all, which means it's not going to become a classic due to that, but the filters, distortion and effects make up for that imo. I love the Octatrack, and still consider it my #1 electronic instrument, but sometimes I just want to sit down with a nice, light groovebox and jam out some fun patterns. I made everything in this video in less than an hour the other day: (it's also a bit of a plug for my new sample pack ?) I'm totally an Elektron fanboy as a lot of people already know, but hey, it's for a reason.

I can't believe how good this album is. I love the parts where they just space out on one riff for ages. Someone here recommended Downward is Heavenward to me like 10 years ago or something. I've loved that album ever since, and I think I'm gonna love this one at least as much. To me it sounds like my favourite parts of DiH expanded into an album.