[via Techcrunch]
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Apple Acquires Redmatica
[via Techcrunch]
Ohm Force Releases Free Beta of OhmStudio DAW
"Ohm Studio is the first real-time collaborative digital audio workstation. Start a project, invite musicians and make music together. It's as simple as that.
Download the application and join a worldwide online cohmunity of musicians and producers."
Korg Poly-800 with 6 Mods on eBay
• VCF Cutoff Frequency. absolutely essential.
• VCF Resonance (with an internal trimmer ) I've set it so the filter will just barely oscillate at max.
• VCF Freq Modulation (DCO1 digital controlled oscillator) Smooth modulation here.
• VCF Super Mod ( DCO2 digital controlled oscillator) This modulation is much harsher, much more striking than the first.
• Noise gain - this is really nice to be able to turn it up and down for some wind and thunder effects.
• 18/24db filter output selection switch. I've found that the 18db output on the filter is a much better sound with more character, depth, clarity.
Info at the listing...
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Free Korg Monotron Duo Samples from Rhythm Lab
GO GET THEM!
The Tyranny of Choice
• Have a Spring Cleaning of Your Studio/Workspace
I try to keep my studio fairly organized, but you know how it is. Receipts and invoices pile up, cords get re-routed and mixed up, and all manner of extraneous crap can invade your workspace. It can make it unpleasant to work in, and, some believe, that disorganization may spill over into your work. So while this doesn't have anything to do with having too many choices, I recommend it as a good first step in being more productive. Your mileage may vary, but I always find myself more eager to work and more productive when my studio is clean and organized.
• Schedule a Spring Cleaning of Your Computer
Once a year, I sit down and have a "spring cleaning" of my plug-ins folder. If there's an instrument or an effect that I haven't used in the past six months, it gets backed up and pulled out of my folder. This can be hard to do at first. It's easy to fall into the trap of "but I might need it later", but I think you'll find 9 times out of 10 you really don't. And if you do end up needing it? Just pull out that back-up and install it. The benefits here are that it'll take you less time for you to find the effect or instrument you're looking for and you'll waste less time randomly trying different effects or sounds just for the sake of doing so.
• Trust Your Instincts
This is something it took me a long time to learn and an even longer time to truly implement. When you've got so many choices in front of you, it's all too easy to waste a lot of time worrying about whether you chose the "perfect" string/bass/kick/kazoo sound. What if there's an even better sound you could be using?! Don't get me wrong. It's good to experiment with different sounds and effects and you can have many a happy accident this way. But there is a point of diminishing returns where you're just spinning your wheels without any real benefit. The same can happen with the songwriting process. Who among us hasn't spent hours trying to find the perfect riff to accompany a bassline, only to return to what you originally had? So try, at least initially, to be fairly quick and efficient in your decision-making process. Don't over-analyze and beat yourself up worrying about if there's an "even better" sound you could be using. Push forward and once you have something approaching a finished song, you can always make tweaks, if necessary. You will probably find, however, that the song sounds pretty bitchin'. I think the #1 thing that leads to that folder of unfinished 4-bar riffs that everyone has, is over-analysis and losing the initial spark of inspiration in a sea of self-doubt and endless auditioning. Need evidence of this? Guns n' Roses last album. 'Nuff said. Try the quick approach and see if it doesn't make you more productive.
• But Don't Totally Trust Your Instincts
Good instincts take time to develop for many of us. So always have a trusted friend who will give you honest feedback regarding your music. You don't have to agree with their opinion, but it may help you focus on some problem areas you never noticed you had. It's extremely difficult to be objective about your own music. So find someone who can be and let them help. Knowing how the average person listens to your music can help you hone in on areas for improvement more quickly and can take out a lot of the guesswork that results in so much lost time.
• Impose Restrictions on Yourself
I know what you're thinking... "Musicians have dreamed of having a fully-stocked studio with every kind of instrument and effect available to them for as long as recorded music has existed. Now that we actually have that dream available to us, we're supposed to restrict ourselves? Screw you, Shear!" Trust me on this one, though. Try to impose some limits on how you're working on your current project. Try limiting yourself to 1 or 2 synths and using those to produce all the sounds in your song. Give yourself a time limit in which to complete a certain part of your song. Write something using only the black keys on your keyboard. Not only will challenging yourself in new ways make you a more well-rounded musician, but with all those choices narrowed down for you, you can concentrate on making music and getting that song across the finish line.
What are your favorite methods of being more productive?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Tone2 Updates AkustiX to 1.1
Free Stream of Skinny Puppy's "Dog Shit" [Live]
Skinny Puppy will be releasing a live album on Metropolis Records this June 12 called "Bootlegged, Broke, and In Solvent Seas". You can stream a full track from the album of their classic track "Dog Shit" on Soundcloud. Enjoy!
[via Slicingupeyeballs]
Friday, May 25, 2012
Free Sample Friday: PowerAxxe Part 1
"A single 8mb sample of cold, shredding, piercing, mess.
The output of the Axxe was sent through a metal container full of water transmitted and received by two homemade piezo microphones.
Part two will contain manipulated derivatives of this sample."
GO GET THEM!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
John Chowning's "FM Synthesis Theory and Applications"
If you don't know who John Chowning is, he is none other than the inventor of FM synthesis which went on to become the sound of the 80's and sell Yamaha a whole lot of DX-7's. Unfortunately, FM Synthesis isn't quite as intuitive as good old subtractive synthesis, and that's where this text comes in. More or less considered to be the bible of FM synthesis, the text may help to clarify things a bit for you if you're struggling.
GO GET IT!
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Hollow Sun Records Honors Bob Moog with Special Offer
Google Honors Bob Moog's Birthday with Playable Web Synth
Monday, May 21, 2012
Early BBC Radiophonics Experiment from 1957
"An early BBC experiment in radiophonic sound, predating the establishment of the Radiophonic Workshop, created by Frederick Bradnum and Daphne Oram (pictured) and produced by Donald McWhinnie.
TX BBC Third Programme, 07/10/1957."
[via Straypixel on YouTube and BoingBoing]
John Tejada Interview
Friday, May 18, 2012
Free Sample Friday: PWM Pad
GO GET THEM!
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