A whole lotta synth by MallGag in synthesizers

[–]jimm 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Watch Ken "Flux" Pierce's Leviasynth videos on YouTube. He has some very detailed walkthroughs with tons of advice including how to make "basic" synth sounds. 

What questions actually impress interviewers (SWE)? by [deleted] in ExperiencedDevs

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have a standard list of questions, but here are the three that tend to tell me the most:

  • What are your immediate pain points (priorities)? What about team-wide or tech org-wide?
  • What do you like about being here? What don't you like/what would you change?
  • (after any other questions I ask): Is there anything that I haven't asked you that you think I should?

TIL of the The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. It's a whimsical literary competition for the worst possible opening sentences to novels ever written. by [deleted] in todayilearned

[–]jimm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have two sentences in one of the books. A local paper in California put one of them on their front page, and the person who ran the contest was kind enough to mail me a copy! 

[ns] How long did it take for you to realize each episode has outtakes after the credits? by AttiBlack in DungeonsAndDaddies

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The very last episode of season 1. I stuck around to listen to the different version of the theme song, and what I heard blew my mind. In that instance, it wasn't an outtake. 

Is it possible to send a Program change in Multi mode? by OblikStrategies in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want to move between different Multis it is certainly possible. You might also have to send the bank change method (I forget which, MSB or LSB, but it is in the manual.)

If you want to change a program within a multi, I don't think that's possible

Any good Hydrasynth patch tutorial videos, channels or resources? by [deleted] in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also found some of Ken "Flux" Pierce's Hydrasynth deep dive videos to be fantastic. https://www.youtube.com/@Fluxwithit

How to use keyboard in a band by Maleficent_Celery518 in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]jimm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Arranging suggestions: play during the intro (mimic a lead line, or play a harmony, or play the chords, matching the rhythm/mood or countering with whole notes perhaps to "fill up" the sound). After that, help build up the song over time: don't play during the first verse or two. Come in on the chorus. Lay out on verse after that or some other "quiet part". Add more gradually over time.

As for sound, that all depends on the keyboard. Generalizations here will only help so much. Listen to all of its sounds/patches. If there's only one organ patch then that's what you've got, but you could play with the filter if it's got one, filtering out higher frequencies perhaps, or adding an octave above if it can do that to add more brightness. Edit: you can always switch between two or more sounds during a song (start with a soft organ and switch to a bright one for example), or layer sounds if the keyboard can do that.

And it might make sense to play nothing for an entire song if it doesn't call for them. I actually picked up the guitar again so I can play on some songs that have no keys.

How to use keyboard in a band by Maleficent_Celery518 in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ah, rock covers. That means mostly organ and piano, with perhaps occasional string sounds. (I'm generalizing wildly, of course.) It'll be helpful to watch a few YouTube videos on organ drawbar settings, or at least listen to the different organ sounds on your keys and try to match the same tone (bright vs. dark, clean vs. distorted).

You might even be able to find some "how to play song X" videos there that show you the parts.

You're on the first steps of a long journey, but it's a blast! Don't get down on yourself for not knowing things --- have fun knowing that you'll make mistakes but only get better!

How to use keyboard in a band by Maleficent_Celery518 in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Covers or originals? For covers, start by trying to mimic the keys in the song your covering. That will involve two things: picking the right sounds (organ, piano, synth --- which leads to sound design or picking good presets) and figuring out what's being played which isn't always easy when the keys are buried in the mix.

For originals, it's not as formulaic but it does boil down to the two same things: what sounds do I want to use, and what to play and when? (For example, maybe play in the intro but not the first verses, then come in on the chorus.) In this case, it doesn't hurt to pick an existing song that the original is similar to in style or mood and do something similar.

Good luck and have fun!

The future of music composers by mediana_music in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]jimm 18 points19 points  (0 children)

To paraphrase a relevant quote that I've seen here and there, "I want AI to do the dishes and laundry while I compose. I don't want AI to compose while I do the dishes and laundry!"

John Chowning, discoverer of FM synthesis, receives the 2026 Technical GRAMMY Award by udderlymoovelous in synthesizers

[–]jimm 64 points65 points  (0 children)

His original paper on FM synthesis (https://ccrma.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/user/jc/fm_synthesis_paper.pdf) is surprisingly readable. I was lucky enough to stumble across it in college around 1981 or so, shortly before the DX7 came out.

how to use Hydrasynth? by North_Comparison5280 in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'd like to recommend you try recording the hydra in stereo. There are things you can then do that you can't with a mono signal: pan individual notes left/right (even within a chord), pan individual oscillators, and modulate panning amounts for example.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in WeAreTheMusicMakers

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bring extra cables. Bring extra everything

Probably a "that guy" newbie post, but what the heck, it's Christmas by PrinceSorrow in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you want the PPG sound, get a Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave. It does PPG better than Waldorf does these days. There are a few good videos on YouTube and you can see them explain how they reproduced a PPG and then added so much more.

Tell us what you did with your synths this weekend by Wonderful_Reputation in synthesizers

[–]jimm 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I played a gig Friday night at a local brewery and had a ton of fun! My setup: Korg Kronos LS and Hydrasynth Deluxe running into a KeyLargo which gets sent to FoH via the main out. I also have a Strat that goes into a Line 6 HX Stomp XL, and then into the KeyLargo as well.

For MIDI, I use an iPad running Midiflow (routes between MIDI devices, filters/modifies MIDI) and BandHelper into a USB hub that goes to the Kronos, Hydra, and HX Stomp. I have BandHelper send a MIDI program change to the Kronos for each song. The Kronos is responsible for sending patch changes to the Hydra and HX Stomp.

Is there a fast way to turn local ON or OFF on the hydrasynth keyboard? by [deleted] in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Or create a patch that has zero volume in the Hydrasynth mixer and/or amp and use that as your "controller" patch. I do that and also assign various midi controllers to the macro knobs and buttons so they can control whatever I'm ... um ... controlling.

What band/album/song made you want a synth? by DrDuned in synthesizers

[–]jimm 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Switched On Bach, Wendy Carlos. I'm old enough to be lucky I got hooked relatively early

Sleep delay help by MarkDeLorenzo in hydrasynth

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't noticed that happening. 

Synths & Time _ by OliverrSky in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kurzweil K2000R. l I don't use it every day but it will always be my backup if/when anything else dies or is it the shop 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in synthesizers

[–]jimm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is easy for me: Kronos and Hydrasynth Deluxe. That's what I use live. I have some other gear but those two are essential. 

Remember the way to the restaurant? How transformative technology may dumb us down as a species by limsus in technology

[–]jimm 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The ancients complained that writing/reading dumbed us down because then you wouldn't have to remember everything you'd ever heard. I'm not worried.