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Jim Alfredson

MPN Advisory Board
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About Jim Alfredson

  • Birthday 05/25/1977

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    http://www.jimalfredson.com
  • occupation
    musician
  • Location
    Lansing, MI
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    MPN Advisory Board

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  1. That's a tough one. I would have to say the PolyBrute. It's like a modern Matrix-12. If rumors of the new one are true, that's the one to get. 12 voice, polyaftertouch. Yep yep yep. It can do pretty much everything you want an analog to do.
  2. Nice fix. The first batch of Kurzweil PC4 boards suffer from a wonky pitch wheel, too. Not fun on the gig.
  3. The Arturia sounds nice but it's pretty obvious which is which. That said, it could be a simple matter of patch programming. For example, the French Horn patch on the Arturia sounded radically different than the OB-X8 and the OB-X8 does indeed sound the same as the original OB-Xa patch.
  4. A very nice write-up by Jexus on the PolyBrute and his sound pack is pretty incredible. Interesting to note that the keys are slightly smaller than standard keys. We're talking a few millimeters. Weird. https://sounds-for-synths.com/arturia-polybrute/
  5. Those contacts look like Fatar to me, but I don't know which model.
  6. Mark's cool. But your link to that thread reminded me of the perfect example of what I and others are talking about in regards to the software / digital vs hardware / analog debate. This picture says it all: Just looking at that gives me anxiety and fills me with dread. I have absolutely no interest in tweaking those tiny skeuomorphic controls or trying to decipher the miniscule text. Yes, the interface can be resized but it's a prime example of why accurately depicting the panel and controls of analog synths in the digital / plugin world is fraught with ergonomic issues. To solve this, developers should offer both the skeuomorphic interface but also a modern skin with tabs for different sections, optimized controls, more easily readable text, etc. Take advantage of the digital realm instead of trying to shoehorn the analog into it. For example, yes of course the original CS80 had a ribbon but why take up space with a 'virtual one' in the interface? Are you really going to rock out on that tiny ribbon with your mouse? This same line of thinking can be applied to many things that have been fully digitized. Why is album art still square? Why aren't labels and artists using the full capabilities of the smartphone format, since that's how the vast majority of people listen to music now? Why isn't album art interactive, moving, with different sections for 'artist notes', credits, photos from the sessions, etc? Technology has advanced so far and I feel like we're still stuck in a 1980s mindset when it comes to interacting with it.
  7. I wish I knew the answer to this. I haven't been inside a Sub37 so I don't know what the connections are. Do you know what keybed it uses as stock?
  8. The Prophet 5 gets the glory because it was the first analog polysynth that utilized a microprocessor to store and recall patches. Oberheim was second on the scene in that regard. Both use a single DAC to convert the digital data from the RAM / CPU to analog in order to load patches. The DAC never touches the audio, which is purely analog.
  9. Yes, endless encoders can be a drag if there's no reference to where they are set for any given patch. I really like the sliders on the Kurzweil Forte7/8 because they have LED bars next to them that show where they are set. Unfortunately they dropped that feature on the K2700. I like the regular pots on the later Sequential stuff like the Prophet X. Pass-through mode is fine for me and the screen tells you where the values are set.
  10. Of course but it shouldn't be a ticking. It's just the whirr of a motor spinning the tonewheels and the sound of gears rotating. The scanner itself should be quiet. Nothing in there makes any noise.
  11. I agree with Barton that digital has gotten to the point where it is better at 'analog' than analog. To me there's a big caveat, though. Marinelli briefly touched on the interface aspect. That's the big problem. Yes, softsynths are amazing. Pigments by Arturia is one of the best sounding synths of all time, hardware or software, imo. And it can basically do anything. BUT... it simply isn't as fun to use as a big old knobby synth. The interface of analog synths inspires you to mess around, experiment, and play! Until the issue of tactile inspiration can be solved, I don't think digital will replace analog. With that physical nature of the 'real deal' comes an immediacy as well. A vintage Minimoog is FAST. It responds instantly to your touch. I can get my computer down to about 3ms latency, which is tiny and is all but undetectable... and yet... it does seem to affect my connection to the instrument. I think that's where some of the disconnect comes from.
  12. The scanner should not tick. Check to see if the threads that wick the oil from the cup on the run motor are still there. I just rebuilt a scanner where every single thread was broken. No surprise, the run motor seized up. Got everything running again, did the enamel coating on the internal scanner parts to prevent dendrites, re-threaded everything, and I'm going back to the client to install on Wednesday.
  13. You don't fill the cups. You put about 10 drops in each every 2 years or so. As to where it goes, it gets spun out, most likely, and winds up in the felts and metal containers and the surrounding wood. Everything is spinning in there.
  14. He is entertaining and I like his videos where he discusses patching ideas with the ARP 2600 and using effects. He knows that thing in and out. A true master of the instrument.
  15. The best contact cleaner on the market is MG Chemicals Super Contact Cleaner. Used in aerospace because it leaves behind absolutely no residue.
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