TubularCorporation

I got a DOA 2010 Macbook Pro a few years ago (it completely stopped booting after the previous owner put in an SSD, even with the original drive in it, and just gave a "bad RAM" beep code even with fresh, new old stock factory RAM installed) for free but it got to the point where I couldn't get it to work without swapping in a motherrboard, and in 2015 a completely untested motherboard for that model with no returns offered was almost $400. Nope. EDIT: on the other hand, around the same time a roommate of mine found one in the street that had been run over, took it home, pulled the motherboard out, discarded the body and keyboard, mounted it in a plywood box with a power supply, and used it as a desktop with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse for years with no trouble, so I guess they're pretty durable.

My boss gave me one one of those Macbooks for free last year, I've been sitting on it hoping a new AmigaOS branch will come out that can run on it (it's in that weird zone where it's the last generation PPC that AmigaOS doesn't work with but it's not Intel so nothing new will work on it either). That got me thinking maybe I should just sell the thing, even though it's pretty beat up. I never got in to Macs because I've always lived near enough to universities that good quality, slightly out of date PCs show up free pretty regularly. Haven't actually bought a NEW computer since my very first one when I went to college in the late 90s, I've been coasting on free or cheap used stuff since then with no problems.

keep us posted! *edit* havn't watched yet but saw this: Glad to see they kept the clicky keys!

I saw a 2006 white macbook standard with a cracked case for sale in a local shop for $175 last week. Not joking.

I wonder what a Venn diagram with these two categories would look like: trump supporters and roosh v supporters. not wildly dramatic, weenie MRA types have a figurative and literal hard-on for Trump and hard line "Conservative values". I think the last time I donned the hazmat and took a look at the Return of Kings frontpage it was littered with political musings between the usual "reeeeee women" shitposts It would probably depend on age group a lot, too. I think very few people over 50 have any idea who Roosh V is, no matter who they voted for. O'Reilly got them. Incidentally, there's actually no such thing as "alpha males" in wolf society. It was observed once in one early (but influential) study of one extended family of wolves held in captivity in overcrowded conditions. It and hasn't been observed in the wild where younger generations move to new territory and form their own packs, and interaction within any given pack is cooperative and relatively egalitarian, and has been abandoned by most researchers for decades (sorry for the lack of primary sources, most of the actual research I've found is behind academic paywalls although some of these link to some of it). http://www.mnforsustain.org/wolf_mech_dominance_alpha_status.htm http://www.businessinsider.com/no-such-thing-alpha-male-2016-10 http://www.davemech.org/news.html http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2007250,00.html https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/issues/14_12/features/Alpha-Dogs_20416-1.html https://positively.com/dog-training/myths-truths/pack-theory-debunked/ http://www.woofology.com/alpha%20myth.html Chimp hierarchy and warfare are more of a real thing (although not as universally accepted as they think) but that's no surprise, apes are kind of assholes in general.

I still haven't finished that Jasper synth yet, for the dumbest possible reason - I haven't gotten around to designing a case for it yet, and I don't want to put the stock jacks on just to use it and then have to take them off again when it's time to hook up the final off-board ones. Other than that it's been finished for months.

Yeah, I always had fun with the DX21 I had years ago but I haven't really missed it much since I sold it in maybe 2008 or 2009. In terms of pure tone, the FB-01 is kind of my favorite Yamaha FM synth these days, all of the corners they cut (no headroom on the outputs, lowpassed at something like 5 or 6k to hide the high noise floor, etc) give it a really nice dirtiness, kind of like an old Soundblaster or something.

I decided to put the last bunch of a short run, DIY cassette release I did in late 2014 up for sale today (sold enough of them to cover my costs when it was first out and kept the rest for gifts and selling at shows). All-hardware, recorded direct to stereo through a cheap line mixer with no EQ, very loosely inspired by a mid 1970s dystopian sci-fi short story by Tor Åge Bringsvaerd and VHS tourism videos in general. I'm never really comfortable with genre labels but it's probably closer to vaporwave than anything else. 30 made in total, 10 left.

Turns out it's a DX-27, probably don't need one of those even if it's free since I've got an FB-01 and a TX-802 (my very first rack synth from back in college). Kind of a relief TBH.

That IS a good write up, miles away from the old Dummy one.

Damn it, I really am not looking for any more gear at all but a regular at work to day intimated that he might give me a DX-5 he has in his basement, and I don't think I could pass up a free DX-5 if he comes through on it. Not sure where I'd even put it, though. That's the trouble with being a gear person and working in public, eventually you hit a tipping point where you become like the animal rescue center for gear and people start giving you stuff you don't even want. Which can be pretty cool but usually not as cool as it probably sounds.

man sorry to hear. that shit is a total plague round this way too. My wife has a handful of relatives who are on-and-off addicts, no matter how many times her family tries to save them and bring them back, and no matter how many near-death experiences they have, sometimes they will just keep slipping back into it. In one case I think we're pretty much waiting for the phone call to find out that they've died Fuck that shit and the scum that distribute it. Yeah, the deliberate too high/too long recommended dosages and huge list of off-label uses that the companies that market this stuff push to deliberately get people hooked and increase sales, and their general flooding of the market (who cares how much of it goes missing down the line as long as they are moving product, right?) are just disgusting. Huge problem around here, even worse than the 90s heroin epidemic that I lost some friends to in high school and early college.

GPIO from a Raspberry Pi running Sunvox? EDIT: just replace the LEDs in that video with relays or something.

Reagan + the Internet = Trump.

I don't know much of anything about that, but can't you control servos and stuff more or less directly with GPIO? Axoloti supports GPIO directly from the pin header on the board if I'm not mistaken (haven't used mine as much as I probably should), so that might be a more music-friendly platform to start from.

I'm really starting to think the neurosyphilis theory might actually be right.

I've had plenty of reasons to be embarrassed about my country's politicians over the years but we're really hitting new lows almost every day now.

Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it!

Yeah, the live sampling is literally the reason I got one. Until I had it in my hands, a lot of other things about it seemed like they would be over-complicated or counterintuitive but I think a lot of that is down to the manual. Not that the manual is bad or anything, just that a lot of stuff about the interface that makes complete sense when you actually use it seem really complicated and obscure if you try to describe it. There are plenty of fundamental things, especially about locks and scenes, that I just kind of figured out intuitively after watching 15 minutes of videos and sitting with it for an hour that, now that I'm going back and reading the manual cover to cover instead of just consulting the index when I need to figure out a specific function, that take pages and pages to describe but are actually two or three well thought out button presses.

Discussions where people are debating abstract concepts of mental inner-workings can be quite difficult! It's like in meditation, where high levels of "focus" can be achieved by relaxing and taking in as much as possible, which allows one to react immediately- but the problem lies in concepts like "focusing", where there are traditional images of great mental fatigue. So all these fucking crazy abstract concepts are crazy! Like I agree with your point AND the drummer. Drummer felt that the next-move was a conscious decision- you felt that the next-move was more subconscious. Cuz when I'm improv'ing and "consciously feel out the next-move", it actually does go well, but I believe that there is maybe very little "conscious planning" involved (it just feels very conscious), so both of you really are correct, for me. Overall, though, you pick up a guitar and rock it. I know this "is a joke", but if it's true, you should share your creations with as many people as possible. Art that has been created from pure states of high consciousness, transfer pure states of high consciousness to others. Most peoples 3rd ears are not ready for my eschatological sonic messages Scatalogical sonic messages?

Those moves.

I've got the"effortless" part down, it's the other one that I haven't figured out yet.

Really, that's how I'd use it half the time I'm sure. Which is part of what's keeping my lust for it at bay, given I've only got one synth that can even send CV (though obviously it receives MIDI as well). Plus I've got an Evolver which can already achieve similar levels of insanity. Less is more...less is more...less is more... Same here, I was thinking I'd just do wanky blip jams and then slice them up for percussion samples, or sit there with a sampler and do them one at a time, or just have it do one drum voice alongside the samples or other synths. Dammit I still kinda want an Evolver too. The lack of headphones is the thing that stops me with that one. Yeah, I've sat down just with Rytm and Pulse 2 (to a much lesser extent) with just headphones plugged in and played, love focusing like that, Evolver would be a perfect little box for that. I'd actually thought about getting a splitter to run into headphones for that purpose. Maybe the keyboard versions have headphone outs? I'd probably prefer one of those just because of the dedicated knob situation, and of course poly would be interesting... I've been trying to convince a musician friend of mine who lives a couple blocks away and is starting to get the synth bug to buy one so I can go over and sample it. Really, that's how I'd use it half the time I'm sure. Which is part of what's keeping my lust for it at bay, given I've only got one synth that can even send CV (though obviously it receives MIDI as well). Plus I've got an Evolver which can already achieve similar levels of insanity. Less is more...less is more...less is more... Yeah, my gear lust comes and goes, and I've found that when I don't have it the best way to keep it from coming back is to be a bad influence on other people. Like, I've got no desire to own a Novation Peak myself but I've suggested them to at least two people in the last weak. Dreadbox stuff, too. "Less is more" doesnt work as well for me because it works in terms of how much I use for any given track or project, but I still like to change up what I'm using regularly to keep things fresh, so it usually ends up more like "I haven't used that thing in a year but I know I'll pull it back out eventually so I can't part with it." Lol yeah that's one way to deal! Peak sounds decent and all but every time I hear it I can't help but think, "yeah, but for this price I may as well get a Prophet" which to me sound 10x better any day of the week. Less is more is definitely what I try for when it comes to elements...I then like to repurpose those elements in varying ways. I'm actually just now digging up lots of recorded bits and pieces to try and repurpose them into something. I've also got those 'can't part with' items, mostly little shitty keyboards that I almost never touch but what's the point of throwing them away, ya know? Not worth anything to anyone else, but maybe one day they'll be the perfect tone for a track. Yeah, the peak is mostly interesting to me because it's a hybrid and there are a lot less modern hybrids than there are modern analogs these days. I've got no interest in owning one but it would be fun to have access to one from time to time. A lot of my "cant part with" stuff is cheap pedals and weird old stereo equipment, especially compressors meant for hi fi systems or early home theater setups back in the 80s, and "stereo widener" type things. I spent a lot of years working at an old-style crate diggers' record shop and a while at an independent thrift shop so I got quite a little pile f stuff like that for usually $5-$10 each, and I'll pull one of them out every couple months to run a drum machine or loop or synth pad through but most of the time they're just taking up space. And it's always this situation where maybe I could sell one for $60 but then the odds of ever finding one again for the cost of a cheap lunch are pretty bad so I just sick them in the closet again. ACtually that's almost always the stuff I have trouble getting rid of, things that I found cheap or free and would never want to pay a fair market price for because I don't use them but couldn't get enough for to make them worth selling. Sometimes I trade them or give them as gifts. Closest thing to GAS I've got left right now is sometimes thinking a Volca Kick would be cool to have around but for half the price I could finally buy the parts to build the Thomas Henry Megapercussive Synthesizer module I got a blank PCB for a couple years ago in one of my occasional "I've got $30 to blow, time to get some bare PCBs to build later" moments. Over the last four years I've piled up the PCBs to make a pretty excellent semi-modular analog drum module with maybe 8 or 9 voice, but I don't have any of the actual parts, just the empty boards,a few of the rare-ish ICs and transistors for a couple of 808 and 909 voices, and a power supply.

I've been trying to convince a musician friend of mine who lives a couple blocks away and is starting to get the synth bug to buy one so I can go over and sample it. Really, that's how I'd use it half the time I'm sure. Which is part of what's keeping my lust for it at bay, given I've only got one synth that can even send CV (though obviously it receives MIDI as well). Plus I've got an Evolver which can already achieve similar levels of insanity. Less is more...less is more...less is more... Yeah, my gear lust comes and goes, and I've found that when I don't have it the best way to keep it from coming back is to be a bad influence on other people. Like, I've got no desire to own a Novation Peak myself but I've suggested them to at least two people in the last weak. Dreadbox stuff, too. "Less is more" doesnt work as well for me because it works in terms of how much I use for any given track or project, but I still like to change up what I'm using regularly to keep things fresh, so it usually ends up more like "I haven't used that thing in a year but I know I'll pull it back out eventually so I can't part with it."

Yeah, the time to think about it is before you start working on it and after you're done and are sifting through the results. While you're actually working there's no time to thing, you've got to just react. At least that's how it has always worked for me. Or as an old jazz guy I took lessons fro years ago said put it, when you make music you have to bring more than you need (i.e. all of your ideas, skill and experience) and the real artistry is in what you DON'T use. He was talking about improvisation with other people but so much of making electronic music is improvising against the real-time feedback from the machines you use and refining it incrementally that I think it's a relevant way of looking at it it here, too. That's really good... It's also good as a justifcation for spending money you can't really spare on gear you don't actually need too, unfortunately. Literally bringing more than you need. His other really good one was that you can think of creativity and technical ability as two different lines on a graph or thermometers or something (I forget the specific visual metaphor, but the point was that you think of them as two quantities) that both rise at different speeds depending on what you're focused on at the time. If you're having a lot of ideas but struggle to actually realize them it means you should focus on developing technique, if you're playing (or producing or whatever) well but aren't that inspired by what you're playing you can forget about technique for a while and focus on writing and ideas. When both are at about the same level, that's when you will do really good work and that's the zone you want to be in as much as possible. It sounded a lot better the way he said it. "Let go" and "focus" are both needed, but at different times. I used to get in stupid arguments about this with the drummer in the last band I was in. It was a kind of Space Ritual-y, one chord, improvised thing we'd started as a throwaway side project that ended up getting more and better shows than our real bands, so when everyone started taking it more seriously we'd run in to spots where people's different approaches to improvising would conflict sometimes, and that was frustrating but it also forced you to kind of step back and think objectivey about how you were approaching things so that you could communicate it to other people instead of just going for it. He was big on "you have to always be thinking and planning your next move while you're playing" and would get kind of evangelical about it, and I ended up figuring out that for me it's important to NOT be thinking about it in the moment because thinking is too slow, for me it's about listening and reacting. If you're thinking then it's already too late - you do your thinking before hand, that's what practice is for. Obviously that's just what works for me, but actually thinking about it and figuring out in kind of analytical terms what was going on was really helpful, so I guess there's some real value in overanalyzing stuff sometimes after all. Yeah, I don't think anything I've posted is a big profound new insight in and of itself, but I know it's always helpful to hear someone else say something I already figured out on my own, and more selfishly figuring out how to say it clearly to other people is realyl helpful too.