Tuesday, 17 January 2017

Pioneer Squid - Toraiz- Patterns & Pattern Set mode - (Song Mode)

Patterns
This is where midi data is stored.
Each instrument (a drum, a sample or a synth) can have up to 64 sequences or patterns associated with it. 
The data is stored on 4 pages containing 16 patterns per page.
Patterns are like clips in abelton live.
 
 Pattern Set Mode
Pattern set mode is like the song mode on many sequencers.
Here you can recall & load 1 to 16 patterns at once
It saves combinations of patterns.
 
This is useful if you want to perform your songs live. 
It helps you to easily create beginning, middle and end sections for your tracks.
 
This works like scenes in Native Instruments machine or Abelton.
 
To enter Pattern Set press "SHIFT + Pattern".
The PATTERN button will flash.
 There is no chaining sadly.

How to enter patterns into each Pattern Set
1. Select your patterns
   (Press the Track button + the pad (pads) with the track/s you want to add).
2. Enter pattern set mode .
   Hold the  <SHIFT> + <Pattern> button together.
3. Press the pad you wish to assign to that pattern set. 
4. Repeat the process.
    You can have up to 16 patterns in each pattern set.
    Thus, using Pattern Set mode, you can load up to 16 patterns at once.
 
 
Deleting a pattern set
1. Enter pattern set mode .
   Hold the  <SHIFT> + <Pattern> button together.
2. Hold the  <COPY> + <PASTE> button together.
3. Press the pad you wish deleted.
    The light of this pad should turn off.



Friday, 13 January 2017

Minor Chords & Their progressions

 Much dance music is done in the minor key.
Building these chords is a pretty similar process to the major key.
You start with a root note, then count 3 semitones up & then 7 up.
(Major triads : start with a root note, then count 4 semitones up & then 7 up).
 
So a minor triad chord is built from a root note, a minor third and a perfect fifth. 
 
------------------------------------------------------------
 
G minor is made up of G – Bb – D
 
 
 
Below is a  G minor to f minor progression

 
we can instead progress to a F major from the G minor just by moving one note:

 
------------------------------------------------------------
 
D minor is made up of the following notes: D, F and A
 

 -------------------------
 
A minor is made up of the following notes: A, C and E

 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------
E minor is made up of the following notes: E, G and B
 
 



Thursday, 12 January 2017

Recording an external midi instrument into Abelton setup

This is a basic Abelton setup.
How to record an external instrument into Abelton 

I want to be able to send and receive MIDI note data.
I also want to record audio from the synth.
 
Some synths use USB MIDI. Others use DIN MIDI
The example below is a VIRUS which uses USB and DIN.



In this example look up the preferences menu & make sure the soundcard is selected.
It will then appear in the dropdown box of its MIDI channel (1 MIDI).

The Virus is a really simple audio interface.
It has just one stereo input. 
In this case, its set up as external inputs 1 & 2

For every synth we need two tracks 
Audio track & MIDI track




Deluge - Parameter Automation

Steps to record automation
1. select the parameter to record. Press the associated button
2. Press record
3. Press play
4. Twiddle the knob you wish to record.
5. Any automation is overwritten if the sequence loops
    while changes are being made.
6. Automation is not connected to the notes entered. So you can change the note sequence
    for example, and the automation will remain.
7. Automation can be applied to a song, a clip, or a pad.
    To automate a PAD hold the pad and twist the parameter knob you wish to record as the steps above.

Deteting Automation

1. Select the parameter to delete by pressing the button.
2. Shift + press the associated knob.
3. You need to do this for each parameter.
4. The display will show 'dELE' to confirm deletion.
5. The deletion can be undone by pressing 'Back'

Monday, 2 January 2017

Braids - Chords

Making chords in a eurorack modular is really difficult
It at the most basic level requires 3 VCOs, a filter, VCA and EG


Mutable Instruments Braids has a number of modes that approximate chords, though there is no official chord mode

X3 mode is a good place to start
There are four variations of this mode

 /| /| x 3 mode  is 3 saw waves with individual tuning.
This mode is I think inspired by past synths like the miniMoog, EMS synthi, the electrocomp 101, etc. The saw waves can be tuned independently giving pseudo chords.

nn_X3 ... three square waves
The tuning of three oscillators is tied to the Coarse knob & Timbre knob.
By turning the timbre & Color knob, two of those oscillators can be detuned above or below the central tuning of the primary oscillator.
These two controls are quantized to “snap” on musical intervals like octaves or fifths.

 
 
/\X3.... three triangle waves

SIX3...... Three sine waves

/|/|/|/| ....... 7 super saws detuned

--------------------
The second pseudo-chord mode is the WTX4 mode
WTX4 is the wavetable times four page.
This mode is a 4-voice variant of the WLIN mode.

TIMBRE morphs through a small selection of 16 waves.
COLOR selects the harmonic structures between the 4 voices - from a predefined set of chords.
When COLOR is at 7 o’clock, all voices are playing the same note with a variable amount
of detuning, creating a thick chorus effect.


This is a great manual with the impt chord table for this mode.
http://www.vo1t.com/Euro//BraidsIllustrated1.8.pdf



There are a few variations in the original braids firmware which add extra chord modes.
Renaissance is a great place to start.
https://synthmodes.com/modules/braids_renaissance/#info

Sunday, 25 December 2016

Rendezvous with Rama - Arthur C. Clarke

This won both the Hugo & Nebula awards 
First published in 1973 the story takes place in the 2130s.
 
It's a first contact novel ? or is it ? there are no aliens .. just their extinct civilization.
Actually, it's mankinds first encounter with alien intelligence.
 
Earth has a space detection device called Spaceguard This is a system for detecting future asteroids
Instead they detect a huge cylindical object which they name Rama (after the Hindu God.)
 
A team of human explorers from the spacecraft "Endeavour" is dispatched to explore it before it drifts away and is lost forever. This exploration of an alien megastructure parallels James Cook's encounter with the Continent of Australia.

The explorers leave Rama with so many questions and mysteries. It is clear that there are some aspects of this civilization that no level of scientific research and observation can solve.

I really liked Clarke's empire building. The United Planets is made up of Earthlings, Martians, Lunas (people from the moon) and Hermians (Mercury's human colonists)
 
 
 
Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke
  ***
Publisher    Gollancz (UK)
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (US)
Publication date
    Jun 1973 (UK)

Aug 1973 (US)
 
 
Media type    Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages    256 (UK) 69,048 words
Awards    Hugo Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award for Best Novel, John W. Campbell Memorial Award, Locus Award for Best Novel, etc.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Rendezvous With Rama also appeared in Galaxy magazine
  Sep1973,
Oct 1973; Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973
 
 
 

Korg Volca Beats - Getting started - For beginners

Some very basic info to get you started with the Volca Beats right away.
 


When you first turn on your VB , the screen will say either LIVE or StEP.
You can jump between the two by pressing the STEP MODE button.

LIVE =  live performance
StEP = Step editing mode.

Playing a pre-recorded sequence.

Stay in the Live Mode for now.

The volca can store 8 memorized sequences.
(M1 to M8)
Press MEMORY and one of the 8 step buttons to load in a sequence.
Press play.


This is really good for live performances.
While the drum is playing you can jump from one sequence to another by pressing
MEMORY & one of the 8 step buttons.

For live performance, the other button you will find useful is MUTE.
While a sequence is running you can mute a sound by pressing
MUTE and  one of the 10 step buttons corresponding to the sound you wish to silence.

The Stutter Function is quite useful for live performances.
Stutter can be Global (effects all sounds) or Individual.
To turn on/off global stutter press FUNCTION & GLOBAL Stutter (key 13).
I usually turn both stutter dials to zero when starting, then turn them up for taste.


Making a new step sequence (Step Write)

(method 1)
1. Go to STEP Mode.
2. Clear what's in the memory.
     Press FUNCTION & ALL
3. Press play.
    (the sequencer will run without any sounds)
4. Press FUNCTION & one of the 10 step buttons corresponding to the sound you wish to add.
5. add the beats by pressing the step buttons (1-16)
6. to switch to a different sound, hold the FUNCTION down and press
    one of the 10 step buttons corresponding to the sound you wish to add.
7. Saving
    Hold down Function & Press Write (memory)
    The Display will show the words SAVE.
    One of 8 LED (steps) will light. The Volca is asking where you wish to save the sequence.
8. While still holding down the FUNCTION button, press one of the 8 steps.
     The sequence is now stored.
    
------------------------------------------

Making a new step sequence (Step Record)

(method 2)
You basically use the  (FUNC button + (REC) button)
This is the mode for inputting a pattern for each step. 

1. hold down the FUNC button & press the  (REC) button to enter step recording mode.
     The LED below the first step button will blink. 
2. Press the button for the part to be played.
     The step will record the part, then move to the next step. 
3. To play multiple parts with a single step, 
     simultaneously press the buttons for the parts to be played.


-----------------------

Factory Defaults


This will return all sequence data to the factory defaults 

1. While holding down the FUNC and MEMORY buttons, turn on the volca beats.
 “LdPr” will appear on the display, and the  (REC) and  (PLAY) buttons will blink. 

2. Press the  (REC) button to return the sequences to the factory defaults and start volca beats. 
    Press the  (PLAY) button to cancel the reset operation and simply start volca beats.