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the watmm GAS thread


modey

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Thanks! I was told by someone else not to use flux. Its already in the solder apparently.

Im going to practice on some worthless pcbs. 

 

Yes, I actually ruined 2! mc-4's with alcohol! I was too embarrassed to admit it. The button thing is an issue. I paid to have them fixed and the tech couldn't do it. You have to totally remove the button assembly and replace with something else. 

like this guy:

http://astrochicken.blogspot.com/2017/03/roland-mc-4-push-button-replacement-and.html

 

43 minutes ago, TubularCorporation said:

 

I've never ceaned a PCB in the sink myself, since I don't have a water softener installed like this guy does and using straight tap water for this IS a bad idea since it will deposit stuff inside the controls. But it's a goot example of how tough these things really are.

 

 

 

I have to big up Synthfool. Really good guy. Did me a huge favor. Killed himself over back pain!

 

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I ruined my Soundmaster SR-88 drum machine (for now) in a similar way.  One of the buttons was getting intermittent so I sprayed them out and they instantly stopped working.  The trouble is they're actually some kind of high qualitykey switches from like 1981 and they aren't branded or anything so I had trouble finding any leads on a replacement that would fit.  Unfortunately they aren't IBM stype buckling spring keys and they're completely sealed so I haven't been able to safely open them up to check whether I can just push a spring back into position (I assume the issue is that when I sprayed them it knocked a spring loose, that's how it feels) and I don't want to modify it to use modern keys if I can avoid it.  I know more about computer keyboard repair now, though, so I should give it another look soon.  Maybe a simple Cherry keyswitch would fit the PCB an key caps, those are only a few bucks each and easy to get.

 

 

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What I tell for street cred: "Oh, don't but a Prophet, I broke one when cleaning the PCB with alcohol."

What actually happened: "I finally managed to make a sound that was not a fucked up helicopter, got carried away and spilled craft beer all over the ADSR section."

 

Edit: obligatory GAS: CF to SD adapter and fat pads for the MPC1000.

Edited by thawkins
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On 8/15/2022 at 4:33 AM, marf said:

Im in the market for tr-808. The real one. DM me.

https://reverb.com/marketplace?product_type=drums-and-percussion&query=Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer

 

But once again I would say that if you want a real TR808, but don’t know where to get one… then you probably can’t tell the difference in sound between the real one and the official Roland remake or the Behringer clone. Which makes this a huge waste of money.

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I porbably do need to get my hands on a Sherman Filterbank eventually, but that's not ahppening any time soon.

I've been saying that literally since I read a review in EQ or Mix something as a teenager the year they were released, but some day it will happen.

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11 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

I porbably do need to get my hands on a Sherman Filterbank eventually, but that's not ahppening any time soon.

I've been saying that literally since I read a review in EQ or Mix something as a teenager the year they were released, but some day it will happen.

I have a Filterbank 1. Potentially controversial opinion but these have never clicked with me. For exactly the reason that a lot of people praise it, the volatility. Admittedly I've never had that moment where I liked the results which drove me to really dive into it. Which I guess leads me to my other issue with it, which is also something people praise about the thing. The interplay is hard to fully understand. A silver lining over something like, say, an FM synth is that at least all the parameters are looking at you and hands on. But yeah, good to quickly get distorted bass-y doom sounds and other metallic oddness. Oh, and the MIDI implementation on the Sherman is...odd. Not sure I'd call it bad, but it's unique.

Totally unrelated aside, I have fully come to the opinion that I hate gear influencer culture. All of it. It's just opening a cesspool of assholes getting way too much attention and clout. I think the impacts are bigger than people realize as well. Most people watching these channels have lived in a world where electronic music is dominant. Where synths are just as if not more familiar and prevalent as guitars. The culture is bigger than ever but still ripe for snake oil sales. The crap creators outweigh the good so I'd rather it all faded (I know it won't).

Also, and this is a totally personal opinion, but I don't like the idea of mystery being taken away from synths (or electronic music in general). That's a big part of the fun for me. While influencer culture is far from the sole offender, they're not helping in preserving that mystery.

Edited by Taupe Beats
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After years trying to keep myself from it, I finally bought a Eurorack case. I discovered the Nifty Case from Cre8audio which had me really considering building a rack, because it seemed well built, cheaper than other options on the market, and included built in utilities (they even have a bundle with two modules for less than 300€).

Ended up looking for modules everywhere and buying a more expansive case which will stay empty for a while because I already am out of money (bought an Arturia Rackbrute 6U).

Now I spend my time designing setups on modulargris. I would like to build a rack to interact with my Matriarch and do live fx, with original sequencing possibilities (using clock dividers and modulation mostly). I remember people here posting about modular synths so if you have any advices I'd be glad to hear!

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2 hours ago, Taupe Beats said:

I have a Filterbank 1. Potentially controversial opinion but these have never clicked with me. For exactly the reason that a lot of people praise it, the volatility. Admittedly I've never had that moment where I liked the results which drove me to really dive into it. Which I guess leads me to my other issue with it, which is also something people praise about the thing. The interplay is hard to fully understand. A silver lining over something like, say, an FM synth is that at least all the parameters are looking at you and hands on. But yeah, good to quickly get distorted bass-y doom sounds and other metallic oddness. Oh, and the MIDI implementation on the Sherman is...odd. Not sure I'd call it bad, but it's unique.

Totally unrelated aside, I have fully come to the opinion that I hate gear influencer culture. All of it. It's just opening a cesspool of assholes getting way too much attention and clout. I think the impacts are bigger than people realize as well. Most people watching these channels have lived in a world where electronic music is dominant. Where synths are just as if not more familiar and prevalent as guitars. The culture is bigger than ever but still ripe for snake oil sales. The crap creators outweigh the good so I'd rather it all faded (I know it won't).

Also, and this is a totally personal opinion, but I don't like the idea of mystery being taken away from synths (or electronic music in general). That's a big part of the fun for me. While influencer culture is far from the sole offender, they're not helping in preserving that mystery.

I kind of felt like I'd have a similar experience after I learned mor eabout it, but then more recently I've been finding out that a lot of sounds I'v heard in all kinds of tracks over the years and assumed was mixer feedback was actually a Sherman, so now I'm interested again because if it can get sounds like I get from mixer feedback but with less patching it would be really useful.

 

Even if I had the money I'd hold off until I build a Schumann F-Loop clone, though (I have a PCB and most of the parts, but I need to get all of the pots and make sure the enclosure I have is big enough).  If it can get me the sounds I'm after as well as I expect it to, I might not be interested in a Sherman anymore, and I could build at least 10 F-Loops for the cost of one secondhand Filterbank. Not much in the way of F-Loop demos since it's one of the most rare and obscure pedals ever made (the one in the video is the same oe that the PCB I have was traced from, and as far as I know it's the only original that has ever been demoed online anywhere; there's also one VERY bad demo of the one built into the Morley wah case mentioned at the end of the video - but that's basically it).

 

It's essentially a filtered feedback loop with, LFO modulation for the filter, expression pedal or footswitch triggered AR envelope control of the feedback level, and a polarity switch on the loop return. So even less controllable than a Filterbank, but depending on what you put in the loop it could also go way beyond the Filterbank. But there are no proper demos in existence so I won't know until I build it.

Edited by TubularCorporation
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28 minutes ago, TubularCorporation said:

That said, if you don't like the Filterbank 1 you have then you're welcome to give it to me!

That's on my embarrassing long list of "trade bait". I offer stuff like this up for trade on occasion when I see craigslist offers that entice. Only been successful once or twice so far but patience is a virtue. I was sad I couldn't convince someone to trade an Anyma Phi, that thing looks extremely awesome.

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Well, if you're in the USA and want like half a dozen utility eurorack modules let me know. I was joking but only until it stops being a joke!

 

image.thumb.jpeg.e8d584e6820427d197c44d0aabaf9814.jpeg

 

EDIT: if you are willing to trade a Filterbank 1 for this box of stuff I am in no way going to judge your poor life decisions. I would even throw in a genuine BBE 422 Sonic Maximizer to maximize your sonics.

Edited by TubularCorporation
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I fucking love Canibal: The Musical. It was all downhill from there for them, really.  Somewhere I've got the Troma VHS screener with the OG cover art from when they were trying to market it like a horror movie. Like this, but a screener:

 

il_1140xN.3262530228_benu.jpg

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I worked on a Troma movie once and got to visit the office, and Lloyd Kaufman said I could have a free DVD, and I picked Cannibal the Musical. I grew to really enjoy south park, then they fell off a bit, buckling to certain political trends rather than bucking them, but their paramount series is doing well, seems like comedy central or viacom might have had a bit too much control but paramount seems to give them carte blanche, and I think they've got a chance to make some profound statements at their current level.

but on the topic of GAS, I'm looking at building a new computer and i heard that AMD is supposed to be releasing a next gen processor around September or so, and that means the current top of the line Ryzens will be cheaper, and I might build one of those. My current computer is a kind of middle of the road 4 core i5 from 2015. Core count is one thing, but also the speed per core might actually be more important. And I want to try the m.2 drives that run on the pci express buss rather than slow old sata3. all i needs is mo money and i'll be in biznass.

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For some reason I am wondering if there exist any small form-factor trackball mice that could work also like the Nob with some keyboard shortcuts or even physical mouse button comboes. It would be really nice for fader-knob control in a DAW, for example.

This kind of thing probably does not exist, though.

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I rememeber reading an old, old article that recommended getting a mechanical trackball and taking the roller for the X axis out so it only moved the cursor vertically, for writing fader automation.  Wouldn't work with anything made in the last 20 years or so, though, since it's all optical now, so I've never tried it but it's probably cheaper to buy an old trackball than a Presonus Faderport or something.

 

There's this, $9 each (but a minimum order of 2):

https://www.alibaba.com/pla/Portable-Finger-Hand-Held-4D-Usb_60751020861.html

 

and a lot of similar handheld trackballs aimed at Powerpoint users.

 

EDIT: actually there's a mouse with a trackball on top on Aliexpress, so you can probably find something a little less ugly and better built if you look at brand name stuff.

 

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/New-A5-rechargeable-2-4g-wireless_1600520432369.html

Edited by TubularCorporation
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I know there are gamer mice with switchable dpi for precision stuff. There should also be autocad mice with lockable axes and at least one maker - Kensington - seems to allow this feature in software. I need to research more.

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Gotcha, I thought portability was the main thing.

 

The idea about disabling the X axis on an old, mechanical trackball is all I can think of, unless you can find a Mac equivalent to autohotkey, since apparently that will do it with some scripting:

https://www.autohotkey.com/board/topic/56025-how-to-temporarily-disable-mouse-x-axis/

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17 hours ago, TubularCorporation said:

I rememeber reading an old, old article that recommended getting a mechanical trackball and taking the roller for the X axis out so it only moved the cursor vertically, for writing fader automation.  Wouldn't work with anything made in the last 20 years or so, though, since it's all optical now, so I've never tried it but it's probably cheaper to buy an old trackball than a Presonus Faderport or something.

My relatively new kensington trackball at least has 2 separate optical sensors for the 2 axes and when you block one it moves the cursor on 1 axis only like you describe.

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