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Johnny Truant posted:I'm super excited to have everything play nice with eachother! Now figuring out how -I- can play nice with it is the tricky task... In case you haven't seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxXKue_-qds I don't have a Zoia, but I could follow along ok. (I mapped the basic ideas into software in Bitwig).
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Jan 11, 2022 21:57
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Johnny Truant posted:I'm super excited to have everything play nice with eachother! Now figuring out how -I- can play nice with it is the tricky task... Yeah, I hear you on how having everything connected would ease the process. I keep pretty much all my music gear in set of storage cabinets my wife built for the express purpose of not having a bunch of gear strewn around the basement. And while it's nice to have everything organized, it means using it all involves a bunch of time setting things up and then breaking it down, and most setups are impromptu arrangements of some of the gear. This was this weekend's temporary studio space:   Fun once it all clicks, but hard to just get some quick ideas down. Probably why I should spend more time playing around with just one thing rather than trying to connect it all. Maybe that will be the function of the Dwarf, once I get more familiar with it. Seems like you can do almost anything you want inside it, once you learn your way around the modules.
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Jan 11, 2022 22:04
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havelock posted:In case you haven't seen this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxXKue_-qds oh gently caress no i have not but i'm about to McCoy Pauley posted:Yeah, I hear you on how having everything connected would ease the process. I keep pretty much all my music gear in set of storage cabinets my wife built for the express purpose of not having a bunch of gear strewn around the basement. And while it's nice to have everything organized, it means using it all involves a bunch of time setting things up and then breaking it down, and most setups are impromptu arrangements of some of the gear. This was this weekend's temporary studio space: The Dwarf looks neat, like a Beebo but with software accompaniment. Your setup is tight too, that's a nice Yamaha piano  I definitely still have a lot to learn about each individual synth I have, but I've never connected everything together that I can, so I wanna try to get weird with it, lol
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Jan 12, 2022 00:55
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Rod Hoofhearted posted:I feel like “weighted, realistic piano key action” and “synth nerd sound design” are two different markets in this day and age, hence why the synths that check both boxes are old workstation lines from the big three. I'm fine with getting a workstation, I just wanted to know if anyone had any experience or insight with them. Mad Dragon posted:How about a nice... Keylab? This is for the living room, for me to spontaneously irritate my guests and neighbours. My laptop lives in the studio with the other gear. I need to minimise the time-to-noodle as much as possible. Frictionlessness is key here. tylertfb posted:It doesn’t seem like you’re in any way short on sound design capabilities with the rest of the gear. Maybe the e piano can just be a really good e-piano (and controller) If it wants that space, it has to earn it. Just because I have a big crew doesn't mean it's not a tight ship.
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Jan 12, 2022 01:35
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digital pianos sound nice, are cheaper, are extremely piano like and pretty much always have midi outs and ins
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Jan 12, 2022 01:46
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chaosbreather posted:
The 88 has a shelf for a laptop. You'll just have to buy a second laptop. 
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Jan 12, 2022 02:02
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Mad Dragon posted:The 88 has a shelf for a laptop. You'll just have to buy a second laptop. I already have a keylab essentials that i would love to get rid of, it was a dreadful mistake buying it and it's mostly being used as a vertical rubbing surface for my wonderful cat. The Voice of Labor posted:digital pianos sound nice, are cheaper, are extremely piano like and pretty much always have midi outs and ins I know, used to I sell them before my balls dropped. So I know they are also rather tasteless and unexciting, a sad plastic simulacrum of wooden piece of furniture, never as good as its original, while never embracing its own technological possibilities, just wallowing in its own miserable station in life. In other words, not quite the vibe I am going for. As for the price, fortunately, I am a ~creative technologist~ not a musician, so I can largely focus on maximising pleasure per unit cubed over musical performance capabilities per dollar.
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Jan 12, 2022 02:23
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chaosbreather posted:I like the nords a bunch but they just seem like high end digital pianos without a lot of scope for actual sound design? They’re also pretty difficult to find in a store Idk, I thought the synth engine was pretty deep, and they’re always adding to the libraries and whatnot but also, like, I’m never “awesome synth capability as priority 1” = workstation keyboard like sure pretty much every workstation has top flight synth engines, but most artists seem to prefer modules and synths or software/samples for doing “synth poo poo”, and workstations seem to be more for 1) arranger-style playing and composing/recording 2) live touring and playing 3) church— and many people have been replacing them with “laptop/DAW + keyboard” for all of those roles chaosbreather posted:I know, used to I sell them before my balls dropped. So I know they are also rather tasteless and unexciting, a sad plastic simulacrum of wooden piece of furniture, never as good as its original, while never embracing its own technological possibilities, just wallowing in its own miserable station in life. In other words, not quite the vibe I am going for. As for the price, fortunately, I am a ~creative technologist~ not a musician, so I can largely focus on maximising pleasure per unit cubed over musical performance capabilities per dollar. that’s also why I like nord— they didn’t try to make a bullshit fake acoustic piano, they tried to make a really nice digital piano, and made it a bit of a small design icon in its own right trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 02:30 on Jan 12, 2022 |
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Jan 12, 2022 02:26
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Speaking of that stuff, what does "arranger" and "workstation" even mean? I see some manufacturers separate everything into categories but I don't know what makes something an arranger
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Jan 12, 2022 02:46
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Unrelated but RN I'm trying out a PSS-A50 for the first time. Nicely intuitive controls, quite a variety of sounds and arp patterns, very nice little update to the PSS line.
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Jan 12, 2022 02:53
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chaosbreather posted:I already have a keylab essentials that i would love to get rid of, it was a dreadful mistake buying it and it's mostly being used as a vertical rubbing surface for my wonderful cat. https://www.instagram.com/tv/CK5D9J_lWxb/
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Jan 12, 2022 03:24
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chaosbreather posted:I already have a keylab essentials that i would love to get rid of, it was a dreadful mistake buying it and it's mostly being used as a vertical rubbing surface for my wonderful cat. perhaps this is more your speed? https://www.vintagesynth.com/kurzweil/k2500.php one of the coolest modulation matrices ever implemented in a synth and absolute topshelf vintage mid '90s tones. there's a K2500XS (the 88 key sampling option trim package) up on reverb. you would also get the thrill of hooking a scsi drive emulator up to it which adds a sort of cyberpunkish hack aesthetic. the k2600 largely the same thing but 5 years newer. I had one of these and thought it was pretty cool, but it was also redundant twice over in my ensoniq heavy collection and it was impractically large. at only 76 keys though it may not be impractically large enough for you. https://www.vintagesynth.com/ensoniq/zr76.php
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Jan 12, 2022 04:11
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brand engager posted:Speaking of that stuff, what does "arranger" and "workstation" even mean? I see some manufacturers separate everything into categories but I don't know what makes something an arranger They used to be more compromised and mocked as being for cruise ship entertainers or things like that. Looked down on like tarted up Casio keyboards. Today the synth engines can go pretty deep and the sequencers can almost rival computer daws from a simpler time. Of course there are compromises. All digital was undesirable until a couple of years ago. Linear style sequencers wouldn't do for electronic music what pattern based could. You could and can do a lot more on a computer for less money. You wouldn't have all the knobs dedicated to sound manipulation as you would on a regular synth. For a long time they wouldn't do digital audio like a sampler could. Most of all, rarely would anyone need all the functionality to be in one package and be willing to pay the premium that covers all the necessary computing power. I don't think they are bad buy per se and if they are the way to get 88 hammer action keys with an editable synth built-in, that sort of makes sense at the right price. I figure they could be fun for people that get distracted on a general purpose computer, probably. On the other hand they're long from the only game in town anymore for standalone multi-timbral, sequencer etc, like look at what modern mpcs can do.
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Jan 12, 2022 13:02
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Idk, I always got the sense (starting in the very late 2000s/early 2010s when I started getting into electronic music making) that arranger/workstation keyboards were kind of holdovers from an earlier time in music tech. Like if you were a touring keyboardist or event performer or somebody who made music for film/tv/etc in the 80s, 90s, and 2000s and you needed a “one stop shop” kind of device for whatever professional/personal reason, then you would invest thousands of dollars in these digital keyboards that had a comparatively large amount of computing power and relatively deep software right on board. There wasn’t really an equivalent solution on the desktop/laptop that didn’t involve plowing a ton of money into an expensive tower PC, and then having to go tour or perform with said PC, and there also wasn’t necessarily the software available to do that sort of thing professionally. Like we take for granted how ubiquitous the DAW and the laptop and the plug-in and the sound library are to music production and touring now, but even in the mid 2000s a “serious music production station” that could run ProTools and whatnot, to say nothing of the special hardware often required, could start at $10,000 and rise vertically from there. “Computer music” made on consumer-grade hardware was still largely limited to club-focused electronic music and hip hop backing tracks or to guys loving around in their apartments until really like the 2010s. Even now, there’s still largely a sense that home or “prosumer” setups will only get you to demo-quality output, but that has nothing to do with the capability of one’s gear these days and everything to do with producing/recording/mastering skill and the circumstantial realities of recording in a house or apartment and around other people’s lives and whatnot. Like it’s relatively trivial to get yourself the exact same iMac and UA interface and whatnot that your local recording studio uses, but it’s exponentially more difficult to properly sound treat your room, or to apply all of the recording engineer tricks that an experienced producer can do. (this topic drift is what happens when you pause halfway thru your posting to go have some reefer) But yeah.....uh, arranger keyboards. I think they still exist because there’s probably a nonzero number of players out there who came up working with them, and who want to continue working in that style, or they’ve been playing events/etc for the last 15-20 years and they need something that will slot into their/their band’s existing workflow.
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Jan 12, 2022 14:32
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Could use some gear advice. I have always enjoyed electronic music and finally got my first synth last year, a Microfreak, that I enjoy making weird sounds with, but I'd like to start turning those weird sounds into some sort of layered composition and I need something else to do that. I also got a PO-33 last year with the idea of being able to sample from that machine and from elsewhere and make beats and sequence but I'm not connecting with it like I thought I would. So I was thinking of getting a bigger sequencer/sampler along the same line of intent as the PO, considering a Circuit Rhythm or ???? I see the Beatstep Pro is on a pretty decent sale and have heard good things but I think that's strictly a sequencer, not sure how much that would open up the layers I'm looking for without connecting to more instruments/software. Anyway I'm still sort of a newb so please help me find the thing I need. (I'd prefer to keep playing with hardware over software)
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Jan 12, 2022 14:35
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edgar_ posted:Could use some gear advice. what’s your computer/DAW situation?
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Jan 12, 2022 14:38
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Ok Comboomer posted:what’s your computer/DAW situation? So far I have Ableton Live Lite on a desktop windows PC that feels like work to use
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Jan 12, 2022 14:44
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edgar_ posted:So far I have Ableton Live Lite on a desktop windows PC that feels like work to use I would get my computer situation dialed into something that I liked to use before spending big money on external gear.
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Jan 12, 2022 15:18
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Any opinions on whether Reverb or Ebay is better for selling hardware? Nothing wildly expensive, but a couple of things I'm not really using. I'm in the UK if that makes any difference to which is best.
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Jan 12, 2022 16:01
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I just got my circuit rhythm and I don’t have a review yet for it but it is very very nice.
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Jan 12, 2022 16:05
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I got distracted by Final Fantasy XIV + the holidays and haven’t done synth stuff in a good long while  Turns out my brother had a digital piano that he’s never used! It’s stashed at my parents’ place and they sent it over, should be arriving sometime this weekend. The cool little coffee table I made ended up being wayyy too short to comfortably jam on, I have to lean really far forward and it ain’t too fun. Considering getting another desk just to hold other stuff once the piano comes in, something simple this time. Part of the reason I’ve avoided working on stuff too isn’t just because I’m addicted to an MMO again. It’s also the usual creative anxiety-depression that accompanies getting involved in something. Still working through that 
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Jan 12, 2022 16:07
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I’m in the U.S. and I’ve had good experiences with Reverb. Bought a $400 guitar and a couple of eurorack modules, sold a Korg MS2000R, so not extensive experience, but I’m happy with it. In contrast, I started up a new eBay account to sell some old Silent Hill games last fall, and while in the end it all worked out, eBay’s user base is a wretched hive of scum and villainy. I wouldn’t want to sell anything serious there.
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Jan 12, 2022 16:08
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In the us at least reverb is the best. Then either Craigslist or eBay
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Jan 12, 2022 16:12
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Those fees though. I usually just go through Facebook marketplace or Craigslist these days.
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Jan 12, 2022 16:19
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The same scumbags that scam on people on craigslist are also present on ebay, yes, but there are honest sellers there too, and you can still find a half decent deal. I simply don't offer returns at all, which reduces what I can charge but used electronics in general has inherent risks. My gripe is that ebay uses a pay-us-to-promote-your-item scheme nowadays so you get put at the bottom of any text search if you don't pay the promotion fee. Also, there are ton of sellers that list items at 10x their value in order to make things appear more costly than they are and then have another listing(s) at lower values, you probably get the picture. Oldschool used car lot tactics and stock market strategies. Getting out this PSS-A50 again today, it does not spark joy. Nice keyboard and nice keys for its size. The arpeggiator lets you choose between over 100 preset arps but they aren't really arps so much as repeating chords. So I think the PSS line continues where it left off, with a keyboard that misses the mark but still has a bunch of sweet spots that could be fun to mess around with. It's a minimal keyboard input with micro-usb and sound output and apparently decent MIDI output. No doubt a useful tool and very compact. And unlike an Oxygen 25 you can play it by itself, with its one speaker.
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Jan 12, 2022 18:43
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Ok Comboomer posted:I would get my computer situation dialed into something that I liked to use before spending big money on external gear. This. I mean, the DAWless concept is cool and all but it takes a LOT of time and money to get there. For me the hard lesson was learning just how important effects are and how frequently I'd use them - I wasn't expecting how reliant I'd be on Ableton just to be able to do a lot of long effects chains without worrying about what pedals I need, how much they'll cost, or how I'd wire them. I've been trying to do a DAW-optional rig overall but I keep getting back into the box for more reverbs, delays, compressors, EQs, filters, etc YMMV though depending on what you're making and your process
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Jan 12, 2022 18:44
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And if anybody wants it, let me know. Ok Comboomer posted:I would get my computer situation dialed into something that I liked to use before spending big money on external gear. Or just follow chaosbreather and buy a really good workstation. It will cost though. There's a lot of good in being able to hit the power button and start playing.
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Jan 12, 2022 18:59
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It kinda hosed me up when I realized that Valhalla DSP makes imo the best reverbs available for just 50bux a pop, even compared to high end pedals. I’m a huge analog/real hardware purist too. I don’t like 99% of audio software but drat those plugins are so good and the UI is perfect. I’ve really pivoted to enjoying reverb via daw since it’s something really handy to come back to for tweaking + having stereo reverb right there handy without having to wire it up.
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Jan 12, 2022 19:00
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Ok Comboomer posted:I would get my computer situation dialed into something that I liked to use before spending big money on external gear. I know this is probably the best advice but I find working with DAWs so uninspiring. There's a lot that's exciting about playing with dials and keys and buttons that disappears when I have to right click a menu. Anyone have suggestions for how to solve *that* problem?
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Jan 12, 2022 19:10
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Other than buying a midi controller with a bank of 64 knobs (that you then have to manually configure for each parameter to adjust), not really. Or get used to stuff like vcv or bespoke which is still clicky with a mouse, but feels a little more physical.
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Jan 12, 2022 19:20
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brand engager posted:Speaking of that stuff, what does "arranger" and "workstation" even mean? I see some manufacturers separate everything into categories but I don't know what makes something an arranger Others already explained their respective purposes, but typically something marketed as an arranger has a number of built-in genre-specific patterns (with drums and appropriate instrument sounds) that can you can arrange into song programs, in any key, so you can play or sing along with them one-man-band-style. They're like the grown-up version of the Casio/Yamaha keyboards you always used to see in department stores. Workstations, on the other hand, rarely have any actual pre-baked multi-timbral song patterns out of the box, but you can of course write and record your own in their on-board sequencers. Arrangers are aimed at performers while workstations are more aimed at composers/producers.
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Jan 12, 2022 19:39
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brand engager posted:Speaking of that stuff, what does "arranger" and "workstation" even mean? I see some manufacturers separate everything into categories but I don't know what makes something an arranger arranger: yamaha tyros workstation: yamaha motif arranger: korg pa4x workstation: korg kronos check the youtubes, you will notice the difference workstations give a fullfledged sequencer. want a beat? on a workstation you build it from scratch. want to tweak a sound or design it from scratch? a workstation will let you do this. arrangers have “styles” - think karaoke versions of songs. sure, you can roll your own on the better higher end models, but most people just buy them. want to have cool synth sounds? too bad, in most cases you get real instruments. you also can’t really make them from scratch. now, the line between these gets pretty blurry. in a lot of cases they use the same guts and the same chips, but geared towards different things. workstations are for keyboard players in live bands, worship, etc. arrangers are for a different kind of music, generally. arrangers will have stuff like tangos and polkas and schmalzy stuff in the lower end of the product range arrangers have onboard speakers, workstations won’t. styles on low end arrangers are all factory defined, can’t roll your own, can’t edit sounds. lower end workstations have basic or no sequencers. a yamaha psr is an arranger. the more expensive an arranger gets, the closer it gets to a workstation. the best workstations have the best sounds and the best build quality and keyboard feel. compare a roland fantom with a roland juno ds. in the age of the daw a workstation is mostly useful because you only have to pack one thing for a gig, instead of several things. in the studio the sounds are generally good but not as good as dedicated kontakt libraries or virtual synths, and the sequencer looks like it came from 1988. it should be no surprise that the montage - yamaha’s follow up on the motif - has a sequencer that is a bit atrophied. still, the korg triton is on so many 90s and 00s hits, it’s not even funny Laserjet 4P fucked around with this message at 21:07 on Jan 12, 2022 |
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Jan 12, 2022 21:03
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edgar_ posted:I know this is probably the best advice but I find working with DAWs so uninspiring. There's a lot that's exciting about playing with dials and keys and buttons that disappears when I have to right click a menu. Anyone have suggestions for how to solve *that* problem? It's not a problem. It's a personal preference.
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Jan 12, 2022 21:06
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edgar_ posted:I know this is probably the best advice but I find working with DAWs so uninspiring. There's a lot that's exciting about playing with dials and keys and buttons that disappears when I have to right click a menu. Anyone have suggestions for how to solve *that* problem? ableton push ni maschine trade staring at a big screen for staring at a smaller one trade right clicking for learning the konami-code for a menu by heart
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Jan 12, 2022 21:08
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chaosbreather posted:I know, used to I sell them before my balls dropped. Really glad to hear you overcame that issue. Some guys have to get them done surgically.
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Jan 12, 2022 22:11
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edgar_ posted:Could use some gear advice. Looking back at my own path, I would recommend a four-track recorder of some variety, so you can leverage the synth you've already got for multiple purposes in the same track. Lay down a simple drum loop or even a click track, and jam with yourself. Mine is a Zoom H4. Second-hand tape machines are common, but more expensive because TAPE. You can also use your Ableton as a track recorder if you get an audio interface and don't have philosophical objections to using a DAW. (Use arrangement mode.)
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Jan 12, 2022 22:22
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So close to done with my diy Rings kit. All the SMT components are soldered on. Placed the knobs and jacks, put the panel on, and... The knobs are too big for the holes in the panel.  I got this in a kit, so I emailed the place I bought it from; asked them if I'm supposed to drill out the panel (I don't want to do this, it's a nice looking panel). They're looking into it now. I think the problem is that this panel isn't standard to all the other Rings panels out there. If I had known this, I would've picked a kit with a different panel.  It's funny, 'cuz they're going to go through the trouble of sending me the right knobs, and I'm going to solder on all the front panel stuff, plug it in, and then it's going to blow up. Oh well.
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Jan 13, 2022 01:25
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I wish there was a stompbox 4-track recorder. Something between a small looper and the OP-1 tape machine would sell like hotcakes. Start your jams as loops, flesh them out, then dump the stems to your DAW via SD card or something.
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Jan 13, 2022 01:30
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I feel like a four track recorder with a pedal input for start/stop should exist, but I'm not aware of any. Yeah, that's kinda weird.
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Jan 13, 2022 01:56
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https://1010music.com/product/bluebox Kinda close
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Jan 13, 2022 02:23
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