Man, I miss modules and racks …

[RABid]

On 1/5/2023 at 7:03 AM, Al Coda said:

Also software can only be upgraded for a limited period of time and there´s no guarantee every update and/or upgrade is a real improvement you urgently need.

Most often, when a bug is fixed, you got 10 new ones being hidden in new code.

I've been updating Komplete for a long, long time. Maybe 20 years since I started with an upgrade from my individual NI synths to Komplete 1. More than anything else, Komplete has become my rack.

[Nathanael_I]

I don’t miss racks, modules, or workstation synths. A laptop is vastly preferable in every way for me, and has been for a decade. 

[Anderton]

I'm almost all ITB, except some hardware has a "special sauce" software doesn't have - like the Yamaha FM synths that are aces at mono and legato modes for MIDI guitar. Not that anyone else cares  Or the Karma functionality in my Korg M3 (or maybe there's software that has that functionality, and I just don't know about it).

 

Hardware arguably has some advantages for live use over a laptop and controller,  but I think for samplers, software reigns supreme even for live use. There's just no way you're going to find a hardware keyboard sampler with the same muscle as even a mid-grade laptop.

[Al Coda]

23 hours ago, RABid said:

I've been updating Komplete for a long, long time. Maybe 20 years since I started with an upgrade from my individual NI synths to Komplete 1. More than anything else, Komplete has become my rack

 

I´m using software AND hardware and I´m a NI Komplete user since Komplete 2 special edition was released.

Currently I´m on Komplete 12 Ultimate CE ...

So, like you, I upgraded for a long, long time too and that is where my experience w/ these updates and upgrades comes from.

Just only remember how many NI devices you formerly payed for are discontinued meanwhile.

And NI broke compatibility w/ Reason for several times (p.ex. w/ Massive X) as also I received a Komplete Kontrol update freezing while scanning plugins folders, which got only fixed by installing a previous version of Komplete Kontrol.

NI Access 2 is buggy too, at least when running Win 10 Pro.

It simply failed when updating already installed devices by not finding the formerly by the user and in NI Access 2 selected content installation- and vstplugins folder path.

I re-installed the original NI Access and all was good again.

 

The latest loss when upgrading to Komplete 14 is Absynth 5 and I can imagine the next might be FM8 and/or Massive.

In fact, it seems to hit almost every device which is still in the NI 32Bit vstplugins folder of Komplete12 amd 13 and even these exist in 64Bit versions still.

I guess it comes from VST3 developement.

Unfortunately, I´m not satisfied w/ VST3 at all, so it´s not really an improvement for me.

 

I expect ending up w/ all devices being VST3, only these synths running on Reaktor´s core, Kontakt, Guitar Rig and Komplete Kontrol.

Product palette shrinked to 3 devices, Reaktor, Kontakt and Guitar Rig.

What really grows is soundpacks only.

 

 

A.C.

 

[Stokely]

On 1/7/2023 at 10:50 AM, Nathanael_I said:

I don’t miss racks, modules, or workstation synths. A laptop is vastly preferable in every way for me, and has been for a decade. 

Exactly my opinion as well. 

Programming modules on those tiny screens for multitimbral operation was not my idea of fun.  Saving patches, sometimes having to save sysex, then trying to get it all to come back up for a session, ugh.

Now I don't even have to save patches, the Daw saves any tweaks for me.  Sound quality differences aside--and I'm of the opinion that ITB is more than good enough--the convenience factor can't be overstated, it's HUGE!  Not to mention the fact that effects are all in there as well, I don't need a console, patch bay or any rack gear.   I'm editing on a 32" monitor instead of a two line lcd at the bottom of a rack.  I'm automating things I never would have dreamed of by drawing lines with a mouse.  My younger self would have my current self either burned at the stake for a witch or raised up as a deity if I were to go back in time describing what is possible now!

The only thing I do miss is the vibe of a room full of gear.   I do have gear but it's a few guitars, keyboards and speakers, that's about it.  For live, I've used an ipad for a bit but I prefer hardware keyboards, because I need things to just work simply and quickly.  No time to mess with computer issues during a gig and I like not having to map things (dedicated controls).  I'd gig with a laptop with backup hardware, but then I think:  "If I have backup hardware anyway, just use two keyboards and be done with it!"  Plus unlike an ipad I don't have a good spot to put a laptop, our stages are pretty small sometimes.  I hem and haw on this, it would be nice to use Repro and my software pianos!

[Nathanael_I]

In the studio, I simplified massively last year.  I took out three racks of outboard gear, sold it all and bought an Avid MTRX and an HDX card.  I realized I wasn't using some amazing boutique hardware, and demonstrated by my historical action that I was just working ITB.  I tested all my plugins, ditched anything that aliased or had artifacts, removed all the stuff I wasn't using and standardized on a limited, but very excellent set of plugins.  Zero regret,  The room is much simpler, the sonics are top notch. 

 

I grew up in audio right as the big rooms with the massive consoles were on their deathbed, so I still have those big mix rooms in my mind as a picture of success.  It's taken a while, but I no longer want that.  I've had several opportunities to buy the big hardware desk, or go nuts on outboard, and I haven't done it.  It just doesn't fit how I work or the sonics I'm chasing.  I may be one of the few, but I'm NOT trying for 70s sound.  Zero interest in a rack of old Neves, outside the historical respect.  I LOVE the high-end digital of the last several years.  Have a friend with a 24 track Studer.  No thanks.  Microphones go direct to MTRX.  They are digital all the way into the Genelecs.  I am very happy. 

[Anderton]

1 hour ago, Nathanael_I said:

I tested all my plugins, ditched anything that aliased or had artifacts, removed all the stuff I wasn't using and standardized on a limited, but very excellent set of plugins. 

 

Just out of curiosity, what are your preferred plugins?

[Nathanael_I]

EQ

  - PSP e27 - I love how fast it is to use - very effective at finding "handles" to control a sound. I use this all the time.  The EQ points are perfectly chosen IMHO.  I contemplated buying a rack of the hardware version and realized how silly that was compared to the plugin....

  - Stock EQ's in whatever DAW I'm in (PT or Nuendo) - they work great, sound fine, EQ's don't alias anyway.  Use these for HP/LP duties generally

  - Flux Epure

  - Have the new Eventide "SplitEQ" but haven't characterized it or played with it yet.  Seemed interesting for drums

 

Compression

  - Tone Project's Unisum

  - Flux Solera

  - Slate Digital "FG-MU" buss compressor (models a vari-mu compressor - alias free @ 96kHz) - it's on my master bus, almost always in M/S mode

 

Distortion

 - ToneProjects Kelvin.  Distortion and compression are the two non-linear processes that generate aliasing unless the developer does an excellent job.  Tone Projects does.  So I have their distortion. 

 

Limiter

  - Flux "Pure" Limiter

 

Channel Strip - Flux Evo.  Alias free as long as input levels are below -8dBFS no matter how much distortion or compression is added.  At any normal use it is completely clean.  It has EQ, compression, distortion, continuous phase adjustment, etc.  It's a simple one stop shop for all the basics.

 

Reverb- 2B2C for software verb.  I mostly use the Eventide H9000  - it sounds great and takes no CPU

 

Delay - EchoBoy and Eventide H9000

 

Pitch - Melodyne

 

Audio Surgery - iZotope RX10.  Magical.  The noise reduction seems to get better every version.  I have Spectralayers.  It seems to want a GPU, which I don't have in my audio DAW.  It does work fine on my MBP laptop.  But moving audio over is a hassle. 

 

Mid/Side decoding/adjustment: MSED

 

I'm not counting all the utility plugins for gain adjustment/trim, monitoring, various scopes, etc.  I've got Auto-Align for drums, and stuff like that. 

 

You will easily notice that all this stuff is CLEAN.  Hyper clean. (Well, except the Slate FG-MU.  It is definitely not clean.  But I definitely like it a lot, so it stays.)  Mastering clean.  And that's the general aesthetic here.  Recording acoustic things and having them sound as good as possible.  Good meaning "like it sounded in the room".  I'm looking for invisible compression not a coloration device.  No issues with folk that want that, but I don't. 

 

I had a Slate Digital "everything" subscription for a few years, figuring that would cover the "colored plugins" world, and it did.  I just didn't use it.  I'd initially be attracted to the louder, colored version, but then after a number of tracks, the fine details go away, and I don't like it anymore.  Take off all the colored plugins and the micro-details and transients are back.  They do a thing, and do it very well.  But I'm just headed a different direction. 

 

[Anderton]

31 minutes ago, Nathanael_I said:

Recording acoustic things and having them sound as good as possible.  Good meaning "like it sounded in the room".  I'm looking for invisible compression not a coloration device.

 

Thanks for the detailed answer! You bring me back the days of doing 96 kHz classical music projects when I had the same requirements. Nowadays I try to avoid plug-ins if possible. For example I'm more likely to use gain envelopes to trim peaks than limiting or compression, and then when I need to add dynamics, it's not necessary to add much. It's time consuming, but I'm working on 2-3 minute songs or Instagram soundtracks, not feature films. The one effect I use a lot is EQ. For that, I'm picky about when to use linear-phase and minimal-phase. But I haven't found any EQ that makes me think "Wow, this sounds so much better than everything else." Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.

 

RX10 is indeed fantastic. I don't know how I could do decent narration without it! The mouth click removal feature alone is worth it, and the noise reduction cleans up residual mic hiss so well. The Waves Clarity (pro version) is pretty amazing if a loud boat goes nearby at the wrong time.

 

Overall, I don't quite get the whole "vintage" thing. With any plug-in that has the option to introduce hiss or distortion or whatever, I always turn it off. I loved when IK Multimedia came out with a Mellotron plug-in that did include all the Mellotron sonic crap, but gave you the option to get rid of it. A lot of vintage emulations feel limiting. For example, the Waves EV2 SSL channel strip does indeed model an SSL, but their Scheps Omni Channel is far more versatile.

 

Then again, I don't really use enough plug-ins to justify a channel strip, a few a la carte ones usually do the job. I only need clean on vocals, acoustic stringed instruments, and percussion. But one of my best "clean" investments was in fact hardware - a Class A guitar preamp to avoid going through audio interface preamps. The audio interface ones sound fine, but the class A preamp has some desirable quality that I can't measure.

 

You've gotten me curious about the Flux plug-ins, I've never tried them. More trial versions to download, I guess.  Or maybe not...I'm on the wrong side of the mortality curve to obsess too much about getting those last few dB of performance 

 

[Notes_Norton]

I'm reading all these posts and realizing how different live gigging is from modern recording.

 

I think if I ever decide to record anything but a MIDI backing track, rather than learn everything that happened since tape died, I'll just go to someone who knows that end of the business.

 

Sadly, the only decent actually recording studio in our area closed down. The owner used to call me to add sax or wind synth to tracks, but when home recording got affordable enough, his work slackened. Then he had some health issues, and just gave it up. Too bad, he was a nice guy, and did good work. Too bad, I do miss the extra money.

 

I find this thread fascinating, and it's leading to a lot of googling on my part.

 

Thanks.

 

Notes ♫

[Nathanael_I]

13 minutes ago, Notes_Norton said:

I'm reading all these posts and realizing how different live gigging is from modern recording....

 

I find this thread fascinating, and it's leading to a lot of googling on my part.

 

Thanks.

 

Notes ♫

It has changed a lot since the mid 1990s.  Digital was pretty poor then.  Amazing because it worked at all and at a price that didn't involve mortgage payments.  But the sonics were nowhere close to the 40-50 years of evolution of analog recording.  2000-2010 the good digital was still very expensive, and not widely used, but it existed on the high end.  Classical music and jazz took full advantage and dropped analog recording immediately.   But the big deal "back in the real world"  is that a whole generation of musicians learned to record themselves at home and this killed the studio business (along with the changes in music sales and distribution via internet).  They never worked in a big analog room, and it didn't stop them from making their sound. 

 

The 2010-2020 decade saw digital get good.  Really good.  Better than the peak of the analog era in relatively affordable boxes.  Music production had changed such that the only economically viable answer for top mixers and producers was to work digitally.  So the world shifted, and many of the great acoustic rooms were lost.  (This is truly sad - recording acoustic instruments takes what it has always taken in terms of real-estate and acoustic performance). 

 

Now in the 2020 and beyond we are seeing new digital tools that go places analog couldn't image - an equalizer that can EQ the transient of a drum differently than the body?  It exists.  For $99.  Unlimited instances.  Wild.  As Atmos rolls in for video and immersive content, audio production MUST be fully digital - there's no other way.  Analog is only for microphones and speakers.  Digital is now so good that several pro-level guitar players I know record through software amps and have stopped pining for every tube amp.  They have actively counseled me to NOT drop 30k on boutique guitar amps for the studio...  They are perfectly happy with software.  They won't come here just to play a fancy amp.  GUITAR players!  Vintage tone hounds!  But they aren't wrong.  An Axe-FX or a Neural DSP box are GREAT, and so are the software amp sims.  And now they "feel" right.  They didn't 10 years ago.  But that's the change.  Its not just that digital "works" - its become actually better in most applications.

 

In fact, to the point about space, beyond my personal needs, my studio serves others by being a place to record very high end piano and acoustic drum sessions.  I have the gear, the ears, and the years of experience to do that in a way that no one can match "at home". They can do synths without acoustic space or good mics, and guitars and bass.  But if you want to record a violin well... a grand piano that has the subtle interplay of harmonics on the soundboard and not a sterile sample...  A drum kit that has snare buzz and sounds alive, with transients that haven't been compressed away by the producer of the library...  For this, I have enduring value... and physical space that most do not.  Just like your live business - it is providing what the market is missing, not what it has in abundance, and doing it exceptionally well.  Not a little better.  LOTS.

 

The hardware-driven recording world will still be with us for a long time as a "craft" practice.  Like black and white film photography.  But music is well down the digital transformation path.  It has been almost 10 years since most of the best mixers in the country moved to fully ITB workflows.  The pandemic accelerated this.  It's super fun and satisfying to turn the knobs on expensive gear.  It sounds great.  It's just not efficient.  it doesn't work "remote".  Recall is a serious problem.  As a "craft", all this is just fine.  But for production, it's just too slow and limiting.  I made my peace with this. 

[Nathanael_I]

1 hour ago, Anderton said:

 

Thanks for the detailed answer! You bring me back the days of doing 96 kHz classical music projects when I had the same requirements. Nowadays I try to avoid plug-ins if possible. For example I'm more likely to use gain envelopes to trim peaks than limiting or compression, and then when I need to add dynamics, it's not necessary to add much. It's time consuming, but I'm working on 2-3 minute songs or Instagram soundtracks, not feature films. The one effect I use a lot is EQ. For that, I'm picky about when to use linear-phase and minimal-phase. But I haven't found any EQ that makes me think "Wow, this sounds so much better than everything else." Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places.

 

RX10 is indeed fantastic. I don't know how I could do decent narration without it! The mouth click removal feature alone is worth it, and the noise reduction cleans up residual mic hiss so well. The Waves Clarity (pro version) is pretty amazing if a loud boat goes nearby at the wrong time.

 

Overall, I don't quite get the whole "vintage" thing. With any plug-in that has the option to introduce hiss or distortion or whatever, I always turn it off. I loved when IK Multimedia came out with a Mellotron plug-in that did include all the Mellotron sonic crap, but gave you the option to get rid of it. A lot of vintage emulations feel limiting. For example, the Waves EV2 SSL channel strip does indeed model an SSL, but their Scheps Omni Channel is far more versatile.

 

Then again, I don't really use enough plug-ins to justify a channel strip, a few a la carte ones usually do the job. I only need clean on vocals, acoustic stringed instruments, and percussion. But one of my best "clean" investments was in fact hardware - a Class A guitar preamp to avoid going through audio interface preamps. The audio interface ones sound fine, but the class A preamp has some desirable quality that I can't measure.

 

You've gotten me curious about the Flux plug-ins, I've never tried them. More trial versions to download, I guess.  Or maybe not...I'm on the wrong side of the mortality curve to obsess too much about getting those last few dB of performance 

 

Pretty much yes to all of this!  I love the 'no plugins' for dynamics approach.  It's so good.  And for EQ?  The stock EQ in Nuendo will do linear phase per-band with a toggle, and every band can be a dynamic EQ.... The stock plugin that comes with the DAW!  What else does one need?  And the secret about EQ.... no one can hear a difference between EQ's in a mix.  You could microscope it and probably hear the curve differences in very sterile conditions.  In a mix?  No chance.  EQ literally doesn't matter what brand.  User interface is all you are choosing.  The next phase for EQ's is going to be AI-driven EQs that automatically identify clashing frequencies and help suggest possible solutions in the context of a whole mix, offering spectral plots to show anyone what today would take a well-trained set of ears to understand. 

 

Flux started with mastering plugins.  Interestingly, their plugins all work on the Avid DSP, so I can use them while tracking.  (not a factor when I bought them years ago).  They also make some of the best immersive spatialization tools available for film and game industries (SPAT).  They are very committed to DSP and digital math.  The Solera compressor is virtually inaudible in normal use - it is the most configurable compressor I've ever used.  It's very deep.  You can use it simply.  But if you want control, it will do anything.

 

 

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, Nathanael_I said:

EQ

  - Have the new Eventide "SplitEQ" but haven't characterized it or played with it yet.  Seemed interesting for drums

I have Split EQ, I am a few short steps away from using it for my primary and probably my only EQ. 

The ability to EQ transients and/or tones with smooth multi band EQ in an easy to work interface is pretty compelling. 

You can really clean up just about any problem audio you can think of or you can create new sounds. A great plugin. 

 

I also have Eventide Physion 2, which has a simpler but similar EQ and a bank of effects for either or both transients and tones. 

It might be the only plugin anybody needs for anything, worth taking for a spin at least. 

Eventide's Precision Align plugin is great if you need it. I haven't needed it yet but I got it anyway when it was on sale. I should probably dig deeper on that one. 

 

Yeah, I'm a fan. Or maybe just logical. Who created the first studio digital delay around 50 years ago and is still in business? Umm... Eventide. I think they kinda know what they're doing. Like Craig, I'm curious about your other plugins. 

 

I've accumulated a giant pile of them but now I want most of them to go away. I will keep many of my sounds plugins, synths and samplers. Those are fun to mess with. Some of them sound really good too. 

 

I do still use a bit of hardware but much less lately. My favorite go to box for bass is a Tech 21 Q\Strip. It's a small DI, runs on phantom power, is very quiet and has 2 quasi parametric Mid bands that work wonders on dialing in a bass tone that I love. Would be easy to toss it into the same bag as a laptop and a small interface if you wanted to record somewhere else. Could be handy on all sorts things. That and an SSL 2+ are all my outboard gear if you don't count a mic (Shure KSM8) and a stand. 

I'll be testing, sorting and deciding about a good few things over this spring. 

The important stuff happens in my DAW. 

[Nathanael_I]

Just now, KuruPrionz said:

The important stuff happens in my DAW. 

That's where I got.. And then I realized that clutter in my DAW was like having a pile of trash in my physical room.  So I took my DAW seriously and even though the plugins aren't expensive in $$, they are in time.  And so I chose.  And just wrote the other stuff off as learning.   The other stuff would be great for someone else.  But it is wonderful to chose a set of tools and learn it deeply. 

[KuruPrionz]

I've never put more than 3 plugins on any track and now I try to see if I can not put any on there. 

That's probably me becoming better at recording my instruments to suit their purpose. I'm not a fan of "high pass filter" on everything but bass and drums. 

If you have too much bass buildup, why not figure how not to record so much bass? It's not that difficult. 

Just changing to a thin pick can make a world of difference on a guitar, picking nearer the bridge on the low strings works wonders too. 

Don't put the mic so close!!!! That helps. 

 

The biggest reason I use the KSM8 primarily is that the cardioid pattern is as close to perfect in terms of frequency response that you will find. So you can sing back a little ways and off to the side a bit and get just enough proximity effect, almost zero plosives and sibilance and sound very natural. Under-rated and virtually un-noticed in general. 

A big step forward in dynamic mics, nothing else is quite like it. 

[Anderton]

4 hours ago, Nathanael_I said:

 The next phase for EQ's is going to be AI-driven EQs that automatically identify clashing frequencies and help suggest possible solutions in the context of a whole mix, offering spectral plots to show anyone what today would take a well-trained set of ears to understand. 

 

iZotope is already going heavily in that direction...they have EQs that "talk" to each other, so they may get there first.

[Greg Mein]

On 1/1/2023 at 7:48 PM, Sundown said:

I really miss synth modules. I’m sure their demise is economic given the rise of software instruments, but I still like hardware synths and I have no desire for another set of keys. A 19” rack makes a lot of sense for a guy like me and coupled with an editor/librarian it’s a great combination.

 

The last one I had was the Roland Fantom XR. A versatile and great sounding unit that featured multi-sampling I used live as my Digital Performer/MIDI sound unit. It was rather large and heavy though as I recall, stuck out farther back than anything else in the rack and increased the overall weight significantly.

I remember wishing they'd come out with one that had similar functionality but be smaller and lighter but that never happened. I quit using it in my live rig and sold it. I kind of wish I'd held onto it but I suppose I figured I didn't need it anymore after I bought the FA-08.

[Anderton]

Fired up my K3m rack module yesterday, and ran through the sounds. It has a fine collection of digital waveforms that I just love, along with typical waveforms that everything else has (organ and such). I think I'm going to sample the waveforms, and wrap presets around them in a soft sampler. Maybe it's time to see if the Waves CR8 is up to the task, they claim it's easy to use but I don't know if 8 samples per layer is enough to obscure the split points. If not, then I'll load them into Presence of maybe even Kontakt. The true test for any of these will be looping the waves.

[Anderton]

I was just reminded of something else while returning some OTB hardware to my system: Cables!! MIDI cables, audio, USB...that in itself is kind of a PITA, right?

[KuruPrionz]

5 hours ago, Anderton said:

I was just reminded of something else while returning some OTB hardware to my system: Cables!! MIDI cables, audio, USB...that in itself is kind of a PITA, right?

This is why I am pondering if I should pass my PreSonus Quantum TB2 interface along, it has 8 inputs and I thought "Cool, I can hook everything up and have it all ready to go!"

That may be an over-rated and un-needed idea. Cable clutter is REAL and I don't like it. 

I'd have to do an AB test but I'm getting the impression that both the mic preamps and the headphone outs on my SSL 2+ actually sound a little better than the Quantum. 

It sure is simple to use and the most cables I can have is maybe 4 if I use mics and my cloud lifter/cathedral pipes pre-preamps. 

Add 2 cables for speakers and the headphone cable and that's just about it. My XKey 25 has a short cable, it's so small I can just put it on the desk when I need it and the Triple Play goes wireless with the receiver in the USB port. 

By the way, Fishman has updated the Triple Play software twice recently and it seems to me that they've made it better. I've always liked that the interface can dock 4 synths with zero issues, you can really create some interesting sounds, especially if you choose different ADSR for each synth and have at least one for bass and one for stupid high notes that humans can barely hear. Free download if you want to mess with it again... 

[Nathanael_I]

5 hours ago, Anderton said:

I was just reminded of something else while returning some OTB hardware to my system: Cables!! MIDI cables, audio, USB...that in itself is kind of a PITA, right?

I took an almost 2' stack of cables out of the studio when I switch to pure Dante ethernet interconnect and all the copper multicore DB-25 left.  The cabling for a full console is insane.  But yeah, cable is no joke in a 16, 24, or more channel studio.  My son jokes that he will get his inheritance in copper wire....

[Nowarezman]

Well, just prefix "Euro" to your nostalgia for "rack" and you have a universe of modern gear to choose from.  Not all Eurorack is CV-only by a long shot.  And there are MIDI to CV converters.  

 

In the old rack days, I loved my Roland Drum and Bass module and Roland Strings module.  Had an ok Yamaha piano module, an FS1R rack, a Roland MK-50 Alpha Juno rack that I wish I never sold, and a Korg something, was it a M-50?....never went for the big dog Romplers of the day, 'tho.  Had a K2000 to keep me busy.  Now that was a fun machine, well built, super deep, versatile, covered all the bases from good pianos, electric pianos, B-3, to any sort of madness you could brew up using those algorithms.   

 

nat

 

[Notes_Norton]

17 hours ago, Anderton said:

Cables!! MIDI cables, audio, USB...

When something isn't working...

 

Rule #1. It's always the cable.

 

The cables in my rack are stable, as they don't get disturbed, and somehow Yamaha made the WX5 wind controller cable almost bulletproof, but all the other cables from the rack to the gear have at one time or another bit the dust. Add guitar cables to that one, as for me, they have the shortest life expectancy.

 

On the other side of the coin, since going mp3 and ThinkPad computers on stage in 2002, I've never had a computer crash on the gig. And I just retired a 2002 ThinkPad computer this year. One factor might be that I use minimal software on the gig, eliminating potential conflicts.

 

I keep two on stage, booted at all time. One for the mp3s and the others for words and/or music charts. One computer can do both jobs, and since 2002 I've had two problems.

 

1) A hard drive started making a mechanical noise, so I moved the USB to the second computer and used it for both tasks. I had the HD replaced the next day.

 

2) CMOS battery failed ($5.00 replacement). It still ran, but not knowing at the time I could boot by entering the date, I went to the other computer.

 

I bought two new ThinkPads this year, with backlighted keyboards, so I can see them on a dark stage without getting the USB gooseneck lights out.

 

BTW, to save the jacks on the rack gear, I run a small jumper from the back of the gear to a strip on the front. That keeps the hard to replace jack from wearing out do to repetitive connecting/disconnecting.

 

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[RABid]

On 1/1/2023 at 10:48 PM, Sundown said:

A 19” rack makes a lot of sense for a guy like me and coupled with an editor/librarian it’s a great combination.

If you lived close to me I would show you my rack, say "pick one" and let you take it home. Instruments need to be used. Even old rack mount ROMplers.

[Notes_Norton]

I have ROMplers, FM, LA, PM, and other forms of synthesis, and even a floppy disk loading sample player. I like different synth methods for different sounds and different expressions.

 

On my floppy disk loading sample player, I sampled a left and right hand strike on a snare, so the rolls don't sound like machine guns. I use the military grip on my drumsticks, so they hit at a slightly different angle. Plus, I hit them close but not at the same spot on the drum head. Although it still isn't like a single stroke roll on a real drum, it's 100% better to my ears than a machine gun sounding roll.

 

I also sampled my own lawsuit-era imitation Fender J bass finger plucked with flat wound strings. None of my ROMplers have quite that sound, and for a lot of the 1960s and early 1970s music it's essential. There are also various other percussion instruments sampled on it. All my own samples.

 

The Physical Modeling VL70m combined with my WX5 wind MIDI controller gives me the ability to express myself like nothing else I've ever tried. I'm predominantly a sax player, and I actually use this module to play saxophone solos. My tenor is set up for a bluesy/rock tone, so if I want a Getz-like cool school sound, or an alto sax (I leave my alto home now), I get it on the VL and it responds over 90% like a real sax.

 

I like it so much, I pack a spare VL in my work rack --- just in case. (So far - so good).

 

But like I've always said, there is more than one right way to make music. For now, this is my right way, but I'm willing to change if I find something that works better for me.

 

Notes ♫

[Nowarezman]

14 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

The Physical Modeling VL70m combined with my WX5 wind MIDI controller gives me the ability to express myself like nothing else I've ever tried. I'm predominantly a sax player, and I actually use this module to play saxophone solos. My tenor is set up for a bluesy/rock tone, so if I want a Getz-like cool school sound, or an alto sax (I leave my alto home now), I get it on the VL and it responds over 90% like a real sax.

I've been re-visiting Getz bossa nova stuff lately and falling in love all over again.  He has a touch of a bluesy thing going, plus his use of vibrato and smooth dynamics just hit the spot.  

 

There's a YouTube posted up of Gary Burton giving a jazz masterclass.  He tells a great anecdote about Getz.  Burton was super-young when he started getting gigs with some serious jazzers (there were precious few jazz vibes players in those days).  In a session with Getz on sax, Burton noticed that Getz never came in on the first beat or two of changes.  He learned that Getz did not read music at all, but played totally by ear.  So Getz had to hear just a tiny bit of the changes first, then he was good to go to come in.  Now that's an ear!  

 

nat

[David Emm]

Going all ITB works best for me now, but I have one hold-out: my E-mu Planet Earth 19" synth module. The sounds are 98% world percussion and usable as-is. Little synth-style tweaking is needed, just EQ or FX here & there.

 

I have the Digital Sound Factory of same for ease of use in Logic, but the hardware is uniquely playable. The beats are stellar and not included with the DSF sound set. Legendary percussionist Ed Mann created the samples and patches. He also created audition file beats, along with Nate Tschetter, John DePatie, Kevin Woodhouse, Sam Ward & Friends.

 

The basic patterns are simple at first, but if you like, you can turn a knob from 8 pm to 12 to 4 pm and at 4, it sounds like Tito Puentes' rig being pushed over a cliff. Things get more complex, other instruments appear and it all stays in glorious lockstep. You hit Overload at the 4 pm slot, but at straight-up 12, its often awe-inspiring. I've sniffed various software options, but none of them come close, to my ear. Its a strange form of collaboration, but it pays off.

 

It also has a feature called SuperBEATS, which allows you to latch and unlatch different loops in real-time. Its an earlier form of the pad-grids that are common now, where you finger drum your way to Nirvana. I can also play lesser bits like fills or stabs by hand, of course. The only thing its missing, oddly, is tablas, which I found elsewhere, so I'm good. The Proteus 2000 line was a classy peak in the evolution of synths. Modular as HELL under the hood, too, before editors became commonplace.

 

My other hardware has moved on, but if there's a fire, I'm stuffing the Mac in my pants, the dog under one arm and the Planet Earth under the other. Then I'll go waddling for my life.     

[Notes_Norton]

19 hours ago, Nowarezman said:

In a session with Getz on sax, Burton noticed that Getz never came in on the first beat or two of changes.  He learned that Getz did not read music at all, but played totally by ear.  So Getz had to hear just a tiny bit of the changes first, then he was good to go to come in.  Now that's an ear!  

I wonder how he played in sax sections in bands like those led by Jack Teagarden, Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and so on. If he couldn't read, he not only had a great ear, but a great memory.

 

I like Stan's playing for the way he shaped the notes, and that although he played some technically difficult things, you didn't hear the technique, you just heard melody.

 

Stan Getz and Stanley Turrentine are perhaps my all-time two favorite tenor players. Although their styles and tones are very different, they both shaped their notes to get the best vox humana out of their horns.

 

I don't play like either, but they both had an influence on me.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[Nowarezman]

11 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

I wonder how he played in sax sections in bands like those led by Jack Teagarden, Stan Kenton, Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, and so on. If he couldn't read, he not only had a great ear, but a great memory.

 

I wondered about the exact same thing, but I'm not inclined to doubt Gary Burton.  How did George Shearing manage, blind from birth?  There's a good number of excellent blind jazzers on various instruments.  These guys are all light years beyond me....and you know the really good musicians find a way somehow.  Only two fretting fingers on the left hand?  Django says, "no problem!".

 

nat

 

[Notes_Norton]

Back in the 1970 I hired a blind pianist who was in the USA from France, while he was in trouble for tax fraud, Gilbert Montagne. When his troubles were over, and it was found that his manager's accountant was the guilty one, he eventually went back to France where he already had a hit recording and later became a huge star, eventually getting France's equivalent of UK Knighthood.

 

When we auditioned him, we went through our songs with him on the piano, and he just played along. Didn't miss a chord or change, even on some of the songs that we used substitution chords on. He had questions on a couple of diminished chords--which note was the root. The biggest set of ears I've ever had the pleasure of playing with.

 

This is definitely OT, but at the time, rockers had long hair and rednecks violently opposed to long hair. Gilbert not only had long hair, but dark glasses that his wife picked out they had frames that were colorful and a bit feminine, plus like most Europeans he carried his belongings in a man-purse.

 

So here we go, into the redneck bar, and because Gilbert is blind, I'm leading him and our arms were locked and a purse hanging from his shoulder. They thought we were long-haired queers. Fortunately, we convinced them that he was blind, and once we started playing, all was forgotten. Our guitarist knew a lot of country music, Gilbert could hear the changes instantly, and we did a lot of songs I never heard before. The pentatonic scale and my ears served me well that night.

 

Gilbert both played piano and sang well. His keyboard at the time, I think an early Kurtzweil if I remember properly. It also had some wonderful other sounds too. I often wondered how he knew the values of the buttons he was pushing.

 

That was in the days before modules in a rack, when you saw videos of keyboard players like Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman in a three-sided 'fort' with walls made of multiple keyboards stacked on A-frames.

 

A rack full of modules and a keyboard controller made life a lot easier.

 

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

 

 

PS as we all know, any thread that lasts long enough drifts off-topic. My apologies for the tangent.