vintage-synth

So where can you hear my music?

2012-02-10T13:01:00.000-06:00

Sadly I've been bouncing around so much the past few years that my actual musical output has been sporadic at best. I've played with better and better musicians - a blues band, then a funk band - but my own compositions have gotten short-shrift. With that in mind, I'd like to invite y'all to check out my musical ideas at http://soundcloud.com/badsamaritan

Ok, none of these pieces are finished works of art. But it's a peep-hole into the ideas and concepts I'm playing with. Currently the link is hosting some electronica pieces, some stuff I'm toying with using an iPhone or iPad as a sampler, and a few pseudo piano pieces I recorded for my grandma for Christmas. I hope you enjoy, and if you find the work laughable, well, so do I (to an extent).

FREE Apple Logic Icons

2012-02-10T09:30:00.001-06:00

I've posted a growing collection of icons to use in Apple Logic for keeping track of which instruments were used on which channels. Brand new are icons representing iPhone and iPad IOS apps which are increasingly being used to compose music.

http://lo-res.com/gear/gear-virtualinstruments.htm

Logic EXS24 Sample Sets Available

2012-02-10T09:25:00.003-06:00

I'm now offering 5 collections of Logic EXS24 samples for download. It's a good value: 50 sounds, $5; all 250 sounds, $25. Each collection is ~1GB and contains 16-bit or 24-bit 44.1khz samples in the new Logic 9.1 monofile format where the samples are embedded in the EXS file so they do not get lost.
www.exs24sounds.com

Vintage Synth Rescue Kits

2012-01-12T13:36:00.002-06:00

One of the hobbies I've been involved in for the past decade is to help people with vintage synthesizers keep their instruments up and running. I sell a number of inexpensive Vintage Synth Rescue Kits that help people to reload the factory sounds after their battery has died and they've replaced their battery. Also included are additional sounds for those devices, wherever possible. I don't earn much money from this endeavor, but it's helped me to meet musicians all over to globe, and to keep these instruments out of landfills where the toxic electronic parts would seem poisons into the ground water. If you're interested in resuscitating an older synth from the 1980's-1990's, I support over 100 different models with CD's, cassettes, and downloads sold through my ebay store:
www.vintage-synths.com

a new song I'm working on

2011-04-19T23:28:00.000-05:00

I have so much gear that I don't really need anything new to be inspired. That's a horrible crutch to lean on. However I've been having a bear of a time with ProTools 9 so I replaced my Fast Track Pro with a Saffire Pro 24. It didn't fix the digital noise issue so I went back to GarageBand. Here's the piano recording from last night and some bass I added tonight. Sadly, I didn't record the MIDI on the piano, just the audio so I can't recreate it easily. I'll probably re-record it in Logic or ProTools when I'm inspired. But for now it's just one minute or so of mellow.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present: Cloudland
http://soundcloud.com/badsamaritan/cloudland

Objects of Desire: the Ursa Major Space Station

2011-03-23T11:24:00.007-05:00

Perhaps the coolest piece of vintage gear I've ever used is the Ursa Major Space Station. It's a delay unit with 4 taps, and they're assigned to 4 knobs. Simply touching the knob triggers it. It's a rare and expensive piece of hardware that hasn't been made since the 1980's. I'm not sure I'd use much if I had it, but it's wicked cool. For a while there was a virtual version that worked with HD ProTools systems, but it doesn't work on OSX / Native.

I saw one for auction listed ~$400 but they usually end up going for $1000+

Virtual Instruments I'd Like to See from Roland

2011-03-20T22:44:00.001-05:00

Korg has done an admirable job of bringing some of their classic synthesizers into the digital age such as the MS-20, the M1, and the Polysix. Arturia has done an incredible job of making virtual versions of keyboards from Moog, Roland, Yamaha, Sequential Circuits, and Arp. GeForce has brought back classics like string synths and the Mellotron. Even Yamaha have allowed Native Instruments to improve upon their DX7 with FM7 (which has now been dropped for the more modern-sounding FM8) So why is Roland so afraid to jump into the fray with their own virtual instruments?

I've owned a VariOS and still own a V-Synth. The VariOS had a virtual TB303 and Juno6 that worked pretty well, but I was never a fan of that piece of hardware. They were pushing the envelope on what one could do with technology, but their pitch modification routines were not that dissimilar from what one could do with Acid or Live, so I never relied on it. But the Virtual D-50 is certainly something worth playing, even 25 years after its release.

When the Roland D-50 came out, they started a revolution with what is now sometimes disparagingly referred to as ROMplers, but which they titled Linear Algorithmic Synthesis, or LA for short. Basically they took tiny samples of the attack of a few waveforms, and coupled it with synthesis to finish out the sound, adding reverb and chorus effects to polish the tones and hide imperfections or loop points. Compared to subtractive analog synthesis and the immensely-popular FM synthesis, Roland's LA synthesis allowed much more realistic sounding piano, organ and strings -- although by today's standard it was still pretty crummy. But in 1987, the D-50 was the hottest synth on the planet. OK, it was pushed out of the top spot by Korg's M1, which allowed users to use additional samples on ROM card, but that was just a simple upgrade to which Roland never responded.

Roland, I'm asking you now to develop 4 virtual synths for DAWs:
1) I'd love to see a JV/XP/XV series that operated like SampleTank but allowed folks to load their own patches. Given that Roland made nearly a dozen models that shared essentially the same patch architecture and samples in ROM, there's probably thousands of unheard sounds that were made by JV/XP/XV owners.
2) Why not produce a virtual JP-series that includes a vocoder? Roland has had a lot of success making dance-flavored-synths and if they put their head to it, I'm sure they could invent something amazing. They've produced so many DJ sampler products the past decade that it's quite a shame I have to give them any suggestions in the first place.
3) My most fervent wish is to see Roland develop a D2 groovebox for the iPad; there's no reason for Korg to have all the attention on the iPad, and the D2 was so cool having the touchpad in the center of the unit where you could speed up, slow down, or even reverse the midi sounds. Of course for a year 2011 version, you should be able to load your own samples.
4) The D-50 should also be brought out as a virtual instrument, of course. There's no reason why they couldn't do such a thing because Roland already made the VC-1 which means porting it to Windows or OSX wouldn't be reinventing the wheel. People still enjoy the D-50's haunting tones, and likely will for another 20 years. It would just be a lot easier to do if Roland sold it to us as software, not as hardware which might fail over time.

When will the new iPhone come out?

2011-03-17T15:41:00.006-05:00

I have no idea when the new iPhone will come out. But companies usually get into production cycles, where one can expect an updated version of a product after a given time. And nobody likes to buy new gadgets or software only to find out a week later that a newer version was released. To help guide my future purchases, I've put together a table of products and when various versions were released. While there are too many other uncounted factors which could speed up or slow down a release schedule, this should give you a mildly accurate gauge of when to expect new versions of these programs and devices. There are exceptions, of course, so don't get mad at me if something comes out earlier or later than the suggested difference between when the previous version was considered "NEW". I'm simply reporting history.

Item	Release Date	Days
Apple iPad	04/01/10		Today	3/17/2011
Apple iPad 2	03/01/11	334	Days Since Last Version Released	16
			Next Version Due	318
Apple iPhone	01/09/07
Apple iPhone 3G	08/11/08	580
Apple iPhone 3GS	06/08/09	301	Today	3/17/2011
Apple iPhone 4	06/24/10	381	Days Since Last Version Released	266
			Next Version Due	115
MacBook Air	01/01/08
MacBook Air 2	11/01/10	1035

Mac Mini 2.0	08/01/07
Mac Mini 2.26	10/01/09	792	Today	3/17/2011
Mac Mini 2.4	06/01/10	243	Days Since Last Version Released	289
			Next Version Due	(46)
Mac Pro 4 core woodcrest	08/07/06
Mac Pro 8 core woodcrest	04/04/07	240
Mac Pro 8 core woodcrest	01/08/08	279
Mac Pro 4 core nehalem	03/03/09	420
Mac Pro 8 core nehalem	03/03/09	420
Mac Pro 4 core nehalem	07/27/10	511
Mac Pro 6 core westmere	07/27/10	511
Mac Pro 8 core westmere	07/27/10	511	Today	3/17/2011
Mac Pro 12 core westmere	07/27/10	511	Days Since Last Version Released	233
			Next Version Due	278
Apple OSX 10.2 Jaguar	08/23/02
Apple OSX 10.3 Panther	10/24/03	427
Apple OSX 10.4 Tiger	04/29/05	553
Apple OSX 10.5 Leopard	10/26/07	910	Today	3/17/2011
Apple OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard	06/08/09	591	Days Since Last Version Released	647
			Next Version Due	(56)
Apple Logic Pro 7	01/01/04
Apple Logic Studio 1	09/12/07	1350	Today	3/17/2011
Apple Logic Studio 2	07/23/09	680	Days Since Last Version Released	602
			Next Version Due	78
Digidesign ProTools 7 M-Powered	10/07/05
Digidesign ProTools 8 M-Powered	11/01/08	1121	Today	3/17/2011
Avid ProTools 9	12/01/10	760	Days Since Last Version Released	106
			Next Version Due	654
Steinberg Cubase SX 3	09/03/04
Steinberg Cubase 4	01/09/06	493
Steinberg Cubase 5	01/16/09	1103
Cubase 5.5	03/24/10	432	Today	3/17/2011
Cubase 6	01/13/11	295	Days Since Last Version Released	63
			Next Version Due	232
Ableton Live 6	06/17/06
Ableton Live 7	10/04/07	474	Today	3/17/2011
Ableton Live 8	01/17/09	471	Days Since Last Version Released	789
			Next Version Due	(318)
Propellerheads Reason 3	11/29/04
Propellerheads Reason 4	06/19/07	932	Today	3/17/2011
Propellerheads Reason 5	05/25/10	1071	Days Since Last Version Released	296
			Next Version Due	775
Native Instruments Komplete 2	12/02/04
Native Instruments Komplete 3	10/07/05	309
Native Instruments Komplete 4	09/23/06	351
Native Instruments Komplete 5	09/01/07	343
Native Instruments Komplete 6	09/02/09	732	Today	3/17/2011
Native Instruments Komplete 7	07/29/10	330	Days Since Last Version Released	231
			Next Version Due	99
Microsoft Windows 95	08/01/95
Microsoft Windows 98	06/01/98	1035
Microsoft Windows 2000	02/01/00	610
Microsoft Windows XP	08/01/01	547
Microsoft Windows Vista	10/09/06	1895	Today	3/17/2011
Microsoft Windows 7	07/01/09	996	Days Since Last Version Released	624
			Next Version Due	372

Evolution of the MOTU 828

2011-03-17T13:25:00.003-05:00

My first computer audio interface was a MOTU 828. Because it wouldn't run ProTools, I returned it to Guitar Center within the week and replaced it with a Digidesign Digi-001. The Digi-001 ran well, and as I recall it sounded a little better than the sterile 828. But being tied to a PCI host wouldn't work as Macs and PC's moved to newer, faster bus implementations, and Digidesign stopped supporting the Digi-001 with Apple's move to OSX. I hadn't used the 828 long enough to form any decided opinions pro- or con-, but I did prefer the fact that it keeps all the cables in the back of the unit rather than cluttering up a rack with cables on the front, where people need to SEE what's going on.

Since 2001 I've owned 3 Mboxes (USB), an Mbox 2 (USB), 2 FireWire 1814s, and a Fast Track Pro (USB) device. I've found Digidesign & M-Audio device drivers to be late in following Apple's infrequent and seemingly random release of OSX patches. Sometimes I've had to wait over a year to get drivers. And with all the troubleshooting I'm doing on my FTP and 1814, I'm ready to throw in the towel with Avid (Digidesign & M-Audio's parent company). Now that ProTools 9 native supports using interfaces from 3rd parties, I'm considering replacing my current devices with one of the MOTU 828 devices, since MOTU seems to have their act together when it comes to supporting Windows and OSX with modern drivers. My biggest concern going forward is that Apple is moving away from Firewire and won't support USB 3, and few vendors will be designing products around Thunderbolt because of the tiny market size.

The original 828 was introduced in 2001 to great fanfare, wildly hailed as the first 8 channel in/out firewire audio interface which could record on all 8 channels simultaneously in 24-bit, at 44.1kHz or 48kHz. The mkII (version 2) was released in 2004 adding more ports, monitoring from the front panel, and increasing the sonic capabilities to 96kHz (which would limit your simultaneous ADAT channels to 4). The mkIII version was released in 2008 under several different formats, including Firewire, USB 2.0, and Hybrid (both interfaces). In addition to adding a ton of new features and 64-bit driver support, the latest models support recording up to 192kHz, which is a vast difference over the original. Obviously, recording at 192kHz has its downside: files are much larger (8x per channel, or 16x per stereo) but can also help to hold down the noise floor before resampling down to 16-bit audio for CD's or 128k/variable bit rate for MP3's.

SOS - My favorite magazine

2011-03-14T16:38:00.000-05:00

Sound on Sound just celebrated their 25th anniversary. It's published in the UK, but they make an American version. It's not cheap, but I learn something every issue. And if you purchase a subscription, you get an account with access to all their archives online. This is an important resource if you're interested in vintage gear, as they do the best in-depth reviews of equipment, software, and recording techniques. As you might expect, they have tutorials dedicated to getting more from your software in every issue. Also every month they go to some English guy's home studio and fix it up so he can do a better job recording and mixing. Sound on Sound magazine is perhaps the most useful offline resource for learning to become a better producer.
http://www.soundonsound.com/

Do you need advice on instruments, mics, or software?

2011-03-14T16:28:00.001-05:00

My favorite site for learning about various tools for music production, and for bouncing ideas off other producers and musicians, is the Studio-Central Forums: http://studio-central.com/phpbb/index.php
There are some wonderful people on this site, and they offer good advice and friendly banter. I used to post there a lot more frequently than I do now, but you'll find all kinds of helpful information there. It's moderated, so a little less catty for noobs than some other sites. They're platform-agnostic, so you can find people who use all the major DAWs (Logic, ProTools, Sonar, Digital Performer, Cubase, Nuendo, FL Studio, Reason, etc) as well as tips on virtual instruments, keyboard synthesizers, mic techniques, you name it. Highly recommended.

my main music site

2011-03-14T16:18:00.002-05:00

I realize that there's not a whole lot of content here but that's because I've been refining my personal music site http://lo-res.com/ which I've run since 1995. There are links to bands, info on the instruments, equipment, and software that I use, and a bunch of other stuff. Check it out!

Vintage Synth Rescue Kits

2011-03-14T16:16:00.001-05:00

Do you want new sounds for your old synthesizer? Do you need to reset your keyboard to the factory settings before dumping it on ebay / craigslist? Click here to order my Vintage Synth Rescue Kits, now helping you fix over 125 synthesizers from "Casio, Ensoniq, Kawai, Korg, Kurzweil, Oberheim, Roland, Sequential Circuits, Yamaha. Contents available on CD-ROM, Cassette Tape, or as a Download.

http://www.vintage-synths.com/

Rebirth of Stun Studio

2011-03-14T15:57:00.001-05:00

I'm in the process of rebuilding my home studio, which is mostly working now except for the audio interfaces. Expect to post more as I get the bugs ironed out.