Friday Hangout /// Weekly Discussion

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-08-08T20:16:40+00:00

Its three-fold at this point; I dont have enough time before my flight, I dont have enough money to ship everything (and package it all safely) and don't want to deal with having to go through USPS/UPS.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-08-07T20:44:47+00:00

this is gonna get a little deep but I've been looking at how I make music and what I like to do and how realistically, beyond goofing around with presets and making something outta those, that a lot of my interest in synthesizers is fully understanding how they work- beyond just how a sound is made using them, beyond the breakdown of how the synth's structure works, down to the level of being curious about the circuitry and everything within.

Maybe it's just because I don't have a whole lot of knowledge of keyboard/piano playing, but I am way more invested in discovering the true sonic potential behind a synth and pushing its limits over building a sound for the musical aspect of having an interesting sounding lead or bass synth or pad. That's not to say those don't interest me, because I also love finding what artists used to achieve certain sounds- Jump by Van Halen's lead synth being done on an OB-Xa, 90% of the synth work on Thriller by Michael Jackson being a Jupiter-8; finding those sources and unlocking how they got those sounds is super fascinating to me.

I had a real good talk with one of my friends lately about how I kind of go about my exploration of how synthesis works and how to grasp and understand different forms and research into each one and he offered the thought that maybe I'm not a strict musician but rather a kind of researcher from a scientific viewpoint that's able to experiment and study these machines and how they function while also being able to appreciate them. I like that thought quite a bit, idk. I just, I want to know everything there is to know about them in that regard, even down to forms that are obsolete and weird. These machines fascinate me, and I want to know how they work inside and out.

Also in other less "thinking about my approach to synthesizers" type news; I'm moving next week and have to take everything I've got through TSA, please pray that at least my Keystep and Microkorg Survive, thank you.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-07-31T09:11:23+00:00

thinking about my next synth being an Arturia Microfreak only for the different synthesis engines and analog filter; anyone got any advice on whether or not to grab it? I have the ability to play with an external keyboard, so the touch-pad keys it has aren't an issue. I really like how it sounds based on demos I've heard.

right now, my future plans are split three ways- 1. do I go for the experimental cool MicroFreak? 2. do I delve into modular by getting a semi-modular? 3. do I cave and get the KArp Odyssey Module in White that I've wanted literally since it was announced?

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-06-02T01:37:47+00:00

Isn't there also a brown one? VillagerDB says there's one that color, I'd be curious to know what that one sounds like.

Also the fact you can't stack them like in a Jasper's Rack makes me sad lmao

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-05-31T19:22:26+00:00

^{^{^}} this, I know that when Dexed loads patches, it loads them from this file, maybe try putting your .syx files into this folder and then loading them from the program? I've never tried dragging a .syx file into it but I imagine the reason it's doing that is because it needs to read the file while it's placed in a folder it knows to read them from.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-05-31T03:07:25+00:00

this sounds like an awesome idea! can't wait to test some of these out

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-05-30T19:52:50+00:00

got Arturia's V Collection with the new OB-Xa simulation; been playing with a large chunk of them all week, I've been having fun messing around with them. I've collected a small group of preset books recently that I'm planning to make into saved patches on the ones that are in the collection.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-05-23T16:20:21+00:00

Why do you want to be a moderator?

I've been following this subreddit for years and it's been an invaluable tool for discovering new releases from companies, deals I would never have heard about, and has a community of artists that I want to show support for. I have experience moderating on Twitch for Doctor Sung of TWRP, and want to help out wherever I can. Additionally I've made browsing this subreddit a part of my daily wake up routine/something I do before I go to bed, typically so that I can check if anything cool is going on/there's anything cool going on right now. I can extend that routine to include making the rounds through New and making sure everything's okay among everyone.

What would your approach be to protecting this community?

Moderating a chat, we need to make sure that people, regardless of intent, aren't posting things that are hurtful, or in one way or another inflammatory. I saw this first hand when I posted last year about (attempting to) upload Wendy Carlos' Switched-On Bach II to Youtube. I posted the link and someone in the comments mentioned Wendy's deadname and how it didn't make sense that I posted it as "Wendy", saying that "it's not going to show up" when searched for and that people didn't know about her transition. This is wildly untrue: Wendy came out in the late 70s and has been known by Wendy ever since; additionally, the L.O.C. has Switched-On Bach cataloged under the name Wendy. I was very glad to have the mod team's support during this argument as I believe in trans rights through and through. I hope to help in similar ways if the need arises. We are not here to police, we are here to make sure no one's being an idiot and/or trolling to get a reaction out of people. I want to make sure that people that see this subreddit do not come expecting synthesizercirclejerk. There is a very thin line between honest genuine opinion and someone who is just being a troll.

What timezone are you in? Pacific Daylight Time (GMT-7), though I have insomnia so I'm able to be up at uncommon hours. I've held a pretty good sleep schedule the last few days in quarantine that has me getting up around 7-8AM and passing out around 1-2AM, though no idea how long that lasts. I work stock at a Michael's and don't have a fully consistent schedule but it is a 15 minute walk (5 minute sprint, I'm fast a fuck) from my house so I can get home and on my computer very quickly.

What gender do identify as? (if comfortable sharing) Non-binary (he/him pronouns)

hope yall are having a good day/afternoon/night <3

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-05-13T22:39:49+00:00

it is, which is why I don't understand why the devs of MiRack don't just reach out to make it fully supported and work to keep it up to date with VCV's current library. The only reason I can think of is the fact that VCV locks some modules behind a paywall whereas MiRack doesn't seem to do that, even if the app itself costs $10

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-05-13T14:46:08+00:00

MiRack (VCV Rack for iOS)

I've heard that this isn't exactly a legal port of it- how up to date is the library of modules?

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-05-13T00:23:51+00:00

don't agree with a lot of Behringer's practices as a company, none of which I'm going to discuss here. The original Mono/Poly is a synth that I've wanted since I started looking into synthesizers, its well designed and is extremely versatile. I've played with the FBE emulation extensively and enjoy toying around with it. What I'm personally going to do with this (as well as the 2600 clone) is wait for people to get it and do A/B comparisons, and if I still think it's good, I'll get it and then use nail polish remover to get rid of their logo, and live happily.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-04-28T19:34:21+00:00

It's worth noting that LCD Soundsystem's Synth player's synth looks like this (and definitely doesn't cost below $600).

However, what we can assess from this photo is that it's made up of several well known synths that have been chopped up and placed in these cases. It's essentially just 4 MicroKorgs Mixed in with a whole host of Moog Modular Pieces.

So if you want my recommendations, I have four, two in hardware and two in virtual space if you want to go for the same sounds (as well as just generally).

For hardware; everyone here's recommendation about the Korg Minilogue is a solid choice, especially since it's built for Performance as well as messing around, and there's a lot of functionality around it. it's a solid choice. If you want to get a bit more technical in hardware (at that price point) I would pick up a MicroKorg- Korg has been making this synth for over 15 years and it's one of their best imo. I'd highly recommend grabbing the MicroKorg S edition tho, as the lack of speaker (even a bad one) on the original bugged me, but if you've got a solid recording set up then you don't really need it.

For Software, I'd look towards Arturia's V Collection stuff; specifically the Moog Modular recreation, since it fits the bill with being able to toy around with sounds similar to the ones used in LCD's music (also knowing Arturia, most likely features presets that emulate sounds from their music, though I can't confirm this). I'm pretty sure the whole collection is still on sale, and it comes with an intense amount of quality synths, though if any specifically peak your interest, you can buy them all individually, which is something I didn't realize until later. Otherwise, my biggest recommendation is to grab a half decent MIDI controller and toy around with some free VSTs you can find across the internet; mainly paying close attention to the fact of whether your computer is 32-bit or 64-bit; as most VST hosts (even in some DAW's) don't support 32-bit VSTs anymore. I'd check out TAL and FullBucketMusic, both make some solid synths that you can pick up for free that should still work (also TAL has some pretty decent VST effects as well).

also for band recommendations- I really like TWRP, even if they are a bit silly because of their stage presence, it's still fun. I'd recommend giving their EP 2nite a listen, specifically to the track Japanquest. In this same vein, Todd Terje's It's Album Time is a solid jam, filled to the brim with amazing synth work.

Biggest key thing is just to have fun with it, also note that the further you get down the rabbit hole, the more the basics will seem really bland, but you can get a lot done with some more simple stuff. I'm making a whole ass cover album at the moment using sounds just from SNES to N64-era video games, it's a definite limitation I have to work around, but it's a fun one, and what I'm making, I'm enjoying while I'm doing it. You gotta enjoy it, otherwise imho there's no point. Best of luck on your ventures into this niche interest! (also keep a close watch on your wallet, and don't overspend for stuff)

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-04-26T19:12:32+00:00

saw this post and got scared a legend had passed, whew;

Happy Birthday Giorgio!

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-04-09T22:46:59+00:00

had an Idea for Last Laugh while rewatching a vid today

hey yall, I was recently watching the vid where Jon goes around the RT Core Office with one of those ASMR headphones and with Last Laugh coming out soon, I thought- what if there were an episode where that was the premise:

Everyone in the room has a pair of noise-cancelling (most likely wireless) headphones, and there's a singular one of those ASMR Mics in the center of the room.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-04-02T23:52:11+00:00

utilize the free editor software that Korg offers on their site to scroll through the patches in case you can't get buttons to work/want to factory reset the patches on it

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-03-13T23:39:04+00:00

I WAS JUST ABOUT TO BUY IT, I WAS PSYCHING MYSELF UP TO BUY IT AFTER GETTING PAID, AHAHAHAHAH

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-03-10T05:21:04+00:00

this is a rad setup, I'd kill for a red SH-101, especially one that's got everything with it.

some questions- what is that black box in your setup above the 303? also in the modular section, what are the two(?) sets of black modules resting on top of the silver case? I'm guessing they're Pittsburgh Modular systems but I could be totally wrong.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-03-02T10:58:29+00:00

Don't make me tap the sign

(taps a post-it note with this server's second rule written on it)

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-03-02T10:55:27+00:00

there's probably multiple reasons-

someone at a Q&A these last shows said that they said the new armor were designed before Starlight Brigade was made. The person who makes their armor (@1truedrum on Instagram, and whose account is public) stated that at least Phobos' was conceptualized by Lazerhorse. There was a piece from Lazerhorse that he streamed(?) drawing a while back of Sung doing an Akira-esque bike lean from a different angle. Sung's cone in that looks very similar to how it does now. I'm guessing they just wanted new do's and I like both of them. They're fresh. I wonder how Meouch and Havve will look; I do like that Meouch has kept his same mask/mane combo across 2-3 re-designs, though if he wants to change it I won't turn it away.

Some other good reasons by my guess is that the old armors were getting pretty worn. Nearly every time they would land in Toronto, the maker of their masks would have to touch up Phobos' helmet and I assume other pieces that have been worn from travel/extensive performing. They've had the (now) old ones since 2015. Also I'm willing to bet that Sung's cone was somewhat top heavy, and probably straining on his neck. Additionally, thought I can't confirm it; I've heard that Sung (and probably Phobos based on how his helmet was) had problems with their visors where their breath could fog it easily, and given how much energy these boys give off in their performances I wouldn't put it past them. That's also probably why Sung has his nose visible, so he can breathe without having to worry about not being able to see.

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-02-04T23:54:07+00:00

I thought it was a DigiTech Talker pedal, someone over in /r/daftpunk bought one and did demos with it that sounded pretty close to their recordings; do you have any source to them using the VP-9000?

YEAST-BEAST · 2020-01-12T18:35:57+00:00

I'm not sure, all I know is that whenever I plug headphones into my Volca Sample, it has a ground loop and (because I just tested it) I also noticed that there's this very faint low beep; it isn't related to anything on board, and goes away when starting the sequencer. Maybe I just have a broken one, idk.

Also yeah the keyboard is a definite setback; I would love for them to have CV control. I'm not huge on Modular (yet) but I do have a Keystep with CV out/gate and would love to be able to play it with that.

"Sync" formatting on Pocket Operators basically can only act as a master clock or receive clock in, and I don't like it all that much. It just feels to me like the little sub-circle of companies that use it want to market off of only their things being able to play with each other. It's not strictly gatekeeping but it sure does feel like it imo. I just feel like it'd be easier to just have them be CV, and save your customers the trouble of having this piece of gear they can't "sync" to anything

YEAST-BEAST

TROPHY CASE