teh Forum

... Track.... Right click and save... Don't try and stream it, it won't work too well....

http://home.comcast.net/~j3rk/190-AcidFinal.mp3

Let me know what you think....

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It's actually pretty easy to get started if you want to do it on a computer. Find a copy (that can be facilitated if necessary) of Fruity Loops. It's an excellent learning tool. I learned using tracker programs on the Amiga, and FL is actually fairly similar. You select a sample for a track. Each track has 16 available note positions. You select each position where you want that sample to be played. You start another track with another sample and after you get that pattern sounding the way you want, you can make another. You can copy and paste patterns for repetition. Then once that's done, you can go in the song editor and just toss any pattern wherever you want it to play in the song. Very easy to learn the basics that way. Once you get that figured out, a real sequencer like Cubase and some software synthesizers will give you endless possibilities. I use a mixture of software and pro-gear. Fruity Loops actually comes with a bunch of nice samples to get you started. It has plenty of drums, it has a 303ish software synth etc. It's totally easy to toss together a simple house beat. Stick a bass drum every four notes in the patter. Stick an open hihat on the notes in between the bass drums. Stick a snare or clap on every other bass drum... etc. That's electronic music making 101.

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I'm not sure if there is a Mac version of Fruityloops or not. I'm sure there is quite a bit in the way of easy music creation apps for it though. For a long time, Macs were the preferred platform for audio. I'll take a look around and see what kind of things are available in that style.

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individual results may vary but in Dustin's case he is quite good and rather prolific in creating music using his pc.

Did you give that one a listen? I'm preparing to make a new purchase in the musical item area. I'm in the process of selling my MicroWave XT30 to fund a MonoMachine. I'm also thinking of selling the custom SID Station. Are you in the habit of making money yet? I'd sell you the SID Station at a lower rate than most, because it would be with an appreciative individual. Hopefully I'll have the MonoMachine by the beginning of next month. Then some new music shall be created!!!!

I find the idea of trading my personal time laced with much self-indulgence for money rather repulsive still...

for the longest time, I thought |2icks0r!'s avatar was a picture of an open mouth with an eye inside...

Oh by the way J3RK... your track is superb.

where are the vocal samples from, if I may ask?

Oh, I just did my standard look around the net for something that fit. It's actually the computer from Babylon 5. I chopped "Password confirmed, please stand by" into little bits, put some of them backwards, and tossed a lot of delay on them. I'm going to put up another track tonight. It's inspired by an old Moog musician named Mort Garson. Pretty strange fellow it seems. I happened accross an album in MP3 format from 1971 called "Black Mass, Lucifer" Really cool strange stuff. Anyway I read a little about him (same birthday as Jonathan 1924) I looked around to see if I could find more music by him. You can find LPs of his stuff, but they're out of print. Guess how much for an average Mort Garson LP... $100-150!! Crazy obscure bizniss. Anyway, I'm in a rather Garson mood now, so I've been writing Moogy stuff. I'll toss up a link in a few minutes. I'm going to encode it...

That was boring. I listened to a quarter of it, exercised restraint for the next quarter, then deleted it.

"whole lotta shakin', whole lotta shakin'"

There has to be a more interesting way of using your funnables than that.

"whole lotta shakin', whole lotta shakin'"

I listen to a lot of electronic music, and too much of it has people saying dumb, meaningless stuff thrown in because... because...

"whole lotta shakin', whole lotta shakin'"

If something goes on for 8 minutes, there has to be something rather inspired about it.

"whole lotta shakin', whole lotta shakin'"

I say this because you asked, because I'm honest, and because I hope you'll eventually produce something good.

"And that's why they call me the Chocolate Elvis"

... to hear any feedback. At least from people who know about more styles than the ones they favor. That reply, while honest, seems a bit short-sighted. Perhaps bound by musical bias, or lack of knowledge/ experience in the particular genre. Someone who knows the style, would know why the track was constructed the way it was. Anyway, it's supposed to be old-style acid. I go through moods. If I feel like making old minimal acid then that's what I make. I've also been told that it was an excellent track by someone who used to throw acid house parties and spin acid in the late 80s. I would never use "whole lotta shakin'" in a track. Is that what the vocal sounded like to you? Those vocals are used as an instrument, and aren't even complete words. They are also played backwards with heavy delay. I think for what I set out to do with that, it turned out just right. Now, if I was aiming for innovation, or trying to pioneer new electronic styles, then yeah, that track is not so cool. I happen to like minimal acid and techno though. The repetition does interesting things to the mind. I have written 191 tracks now, and I think I have a nice collection that you'd find interesting. With this track I was thinking early nineties tech rave. After my Moogy track has been up for a while, I'll put up some of the stuff that perhaps you'd find more to your tastes. I do a little bit of everything electronic. You wouldn't by any chance enjoy melodic trance would you [TEE HEE HEE] Really though, thanks for the input, though it could have been more constructive and thoughtful. I think you'd have to be into that in the first place though. It's not by any means an example of what I'm capable of per se, just a good example of what I was in the mood to hear that day.

... and when I make this sort of track, or drum and bass, or funky house tracks, I make them all long. 6-8 minutes. Though I have yet to actually do it, I get a lot of requests to get dub-plates cut. So I stretch them out to be mix friendly. When I write my normal spacey synth music, I write it to however long the particular track demands. What do you generally like electronically speaking? Give me a couple people as a basis for comparison, and I'll put up something that I think might interest you.

Unless of course it's any form of trance.

... I think about it, the more I think it turned out well. The only complaint I have about it is the acid sound itself. I don't (nor would I ever) own a real 303, because despite the cool sound it makes, it's a piece of crap. (hardware-wise.) I can't get the exact squelchy filter noises out of a digital representation of voltage controlled hardware. So, if I had the means to tweak the 303-clone sound, I would have zero complaints. Furthermore, you're the only person that has made any complaints, including my usual toughest critics. You must not like acid tracks. No big deal, I don't like a lot of genres. But if the music is a good example of a genre, (even if I don't like it) then I still say something like "Well, I don't like trance, but this is good trance." Next time you critique something, give specifics about why you don't like it. Say something like "I don't like you cheap representation of a 303, fix that and the track sounds good" or
"your recording quality needs improvement, you should get better hardware" or "I don't like the drum timing, why did you choose that timing specifically." Then, if I didn't have an intelligent reply, or reason for designing the way I did, you could tell me something like "I hope you'll eventually produce something good." Good is subjective. And so far everyone else has done their best to be as objective in an area of subjectivity as possible. Anyway, despite the long replies, I'm not really phased, I just usually feel the need to state my case when criticized. That way the critic can think about it and see if they feel the same way.

My criticism stems from considerable ignorance no doubt, hence your mild irritation with it.

I had a complete musical dead zone between the late 80s when I stopped buying cassettes of 70s music, and the early 21st century when I became one of those damn pirates. This can perhaps be viewed as a handicap for a music critic.

My requirements for music are simple. I like toons. I like lyrical and musical wit. I like progression within a track. I like a beat that stimulates in some way. I listen to music when I'm translating and I want it to be a little distracting - if it isn't I delete it ruthlessly.

So here is a list of what has generally survived. You may raise your eyebrows and say "tee-hee, that isn't electronic music at all" in some or even all cases, but don't worry, I'm thick-skinned.

Cinematic Orchestra
Four Tet
Lemon Jelly
Thievery Corporation
Les Hommes
Groove Armada
Kruder & Dorfmeister/Tosca
LTJ Bukem
Round Five
Zero 7
St Germain
John Digweed (some)
Swayzak
Jean Michel Jarre
Visage

None of which is acid. I don't think I like acid - it's boring (to me, anyway).

... ok. I actually thought much more highly of that reply. I can take a brutally honest opinion, but I need more substance to it. So now I know it's just a matter of taste. I like Jarre too. Rendezvous, Oxygene, and Equinox are quite nice. I don't like the other ones quite as much, but that's where my spacey moog music influences partially stem from. He, Walter/Wendy Carlos, and my new favorite Mort Garson, etc. Good stuff. You may like some of my older music. It's a bit strange. I pretty much write the music I want to hear. I download some, I buy other, but most of the time, if I want to hear something, I sit down and make it. Music generally puts an image in my head. A place, perhaps, or something more abstract. That day, I was thinking, -warehouse, 5000 people on acid moving synchronously, crazy lighting, DJ, etc.- Anyway, I'll toss something else up sometime soon. Try out that Moogy track. It's different. I'm not much into lyrics.

I forgot to mention that I'm also listening to the imperishable Dr Who theme tune. I wonder if Americans are familiar with Dr Who?

... familiar with Dr. Who. Nice theme song too. I'm going to have to hunt that one down.

I like acid, but the link is busted, can't get it. what gives?? ? ? ? ?? ??? ? ?

... only have the 10 megs of free space I get with my ISP account. I can only fit one track at a time. (I'll only encode my music at 160 or above.) Right now my Moog track is up. There's a topic about it if you want to check it out. I'll toss a few other things up soon, and then I'll rotate the acid track back in. I'm going to be building a MOTM modular synth next month ( check them out at www.synthtech.com ) I'll be getting a transistor ladder filter (which is what old Moogs and the 303 use,) so I should be able to get a much nicer acid sound when I make such tracks in the future. Like I said, while I like the way the track turned out, the acid sound isn't quite the way I'd like it. (It's close, but the digital filter couldn't pull off the really squelchy sound.) Anyway, I'll pop it up next week or something.

Dr. Who? (sorry, couldn't resist)

J3RK - I definitely need to hear the acid track when I get back to a pc that I can dload music to. I can probably spare up to 25MBs or so at my gaijintech hosting if you want to put some more songs up.

Email me about it late next week. I think I may be going back to Tokyo around Fri or something.

too much reading for drunken skunken bastard!!! waha...ok maybe next time ...damn 1.5L bottles of red wine for $6.49 whoa...that rhymes....

Wrote a song about it! Wanna hear it? hear it goes!!!


Drunk off of red Fred Meyer wine for $6.49...
Getting drunkar all de god damn tiem!!!!

MMMMmmm hmmmm hmmmm...hmmm.hmmmmmm!!!!

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... is probably not a bad place to start either. It'll give you basically a whole virtual studio. Virtual synths, sequencers, effects etc. I'd give that a try.

I haven't created any new tracks lately. I picked up a new instrument, then sold it, and got a new keyboard. I'm just getting used to it, and finding out what it's capable of. (Sold my MonoMachine and picked up an ION.) The ION was half the price, but does what I liked about the MonoMachine better. As soon as I think I've got a good enough grasp on it, I'll make a few tracks. I could probably whip out some kind of dancy track really quick, but I'm attempting to move on to grander things for a while. I want to do semi-orchestral-synthy-newage-space-music-using-all-analog-and-virtual-analog-sounds-deluxe-series-9850-music-of-ages. or something like that. I want more to go into my compositions than a four-four beat. (I'll still write breaks and house/techno tracks, but most of my energy will be going elsewhere for a while.) I'll put something up as soon as I make it. I'll probably have some semi-finished experiments soon.

I only had Reason installed for about 10 minutes before I got rid of it before, but that's when I had a huge rack full of synthesizers at my disposal. I think it would be extremely useful if that wasn't the situation. I know a lot of people who use it, and like it a lot.

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... it isn't necessarily any money at all The fact that you need the Mac version makes it a little more difficult to find, but I think it can be found for free. If not, you can get it used for not too much money. Look for a used copy in the classifieds at www.harmonycentral.com and www.sonicstate.com Or perhaps ebay. Software has nowhere near the resale value that hardware synths have. A controller keyboard is quite useful, but not entirely necessary. You can get by without it to start. You don't need to know how to play keyboards to start either, though that will become a useful skill. Check www.audiomidi.com www.novamusik.com or www.8thstreet.com for prices on controller keyboards. Some of them are extremely cheap. For just tapping out some keys and trying out sounds you're going to use, you could easily get away with a two octave controller (24 keys) which is small and portable, and extremely cheap. Look at the Oxygen controllers, and maybe some of the Edirol or Evolution models. They don't have the best feel in the world, but they have all of the necessary features. You could probably get a nice little controller and some software for less than $500 total.

Check out the stuff at www.nativeinstruments.com www.arturia.com

Arturia makes a virtual studio setup called Storm. It may be better than Reason, I just don't know if they have a Mac version. Native instruments sells bundles of their software synthesizers and a small controller (the Oxygen I believe.) There are also various Software/Controller packages at NovaMusik.

I don't know how many people would agree with this, but I think the best way to learn would be to teach yourself how to synthesize good sounds using a soft-synth and controller, and then later get a sequencing program and learn to write music. If this sounds good, then I'd get one of the Native Instrument Software/Controller bundles and start learning to make sounds. Then later buy something like a "lite" version of Cubase to write tracks in.

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... I just complained about people discussing politics in th Monkey Lair, and I'm sitting here explaining audio software.

<--- All the other Monkeys staring at me and my hypocrisy.

Anyway, a MIDI sequencing program does a few things. It basically allows you to control a MIDI instrument (whether virtual, a chip on your soundcard, or a piece of external hardware.) It records note data sent from a keyboard (or it can be manually entered into a grid-type editor.) The sequencer doesn't make any of its own sound. It just contains what notes should be played when, which controls should be sent to the instrument etc. You record some notes into the sequencer. It sends that data to say, a keyboard or synth module, which then produces the actual sound. If you want to record that sound, you have to send the audio from the synthesizer into a recording device, or back to the sequencer if it has audio capability.

I'm assuming that the software you have allows you to take a sampled sound, and place it in a pattern (perhaps 16 or 32 notes long.) This is more in line with software like Fruity Loops or an old tracker program. These let you take a sample, place it in a pattern. When the pattern is played, the sample is triggered where you placed it. Then you can add more patterns and create a song. These types of programs are what I learned to write music in. What I would suggest, is for you to go out and find individual drum and synth samples. (Not loops.) This way, you can make a creation that is completely your own. Hopefully this will appear correctly... Actually it won't, but you'll probably get the idea.

Bass Drum o...o...o...o...
Snare Drum ....o.......o...
Open HiHat ..o...o...o...o.

That will make your standard, simple 4/4 house beat. The Os being where the sample should be placed along a 16 note pattern.

Anyway, glad to hear you're musicing. Have fun!