September 2007
Friday, Sept 21
A small but very handy studio improvement.
I listen to a lot of online music, mostly checking out other people's work, along with the odd video. I also play iTunes quite often. There's this little application that routes computer audio (CoreAudio soundcard) through the ProTools hardware interface, so you can bring sound up on the console. It's a good idea, but you have to wait for it to open, or futz with system settings to deactivate it.
So I ran a 35-foot Toslink cable from the computer's S/PDIF optical output, through the wiring trough and into this sample rate converter. I then wired the converter's analog outputs to the patchbay, freeing me from the little app. and enabling me to bring internet audio and iTunes up on the console, completely independent of ProTools or anything else.
A small yet vast improvement in studio operations and features.
Friday, Sept 7
Another entry into the category of musical gelatin dessert.
It started when I was playing with one of the stock loops in the Motif (the ES-8, not Yamaha's new flagship model). I played with the individual parts' faders, turned the filter cutof all the way down, and the filter resonance up a bit. These are pretty limited controls on the Motif, but they can produce some interesting results.
I recorded several passes of various settings of the stock loop, set up a skeletal arrangement, then added some fluffy things onto different sections. Later, I assembled those fluffed sections into something resembling an actual composition, then added percussions and accents.
I don't care for it at all, but it was one more something to throw together and spit out. It will be tossed into the grab-bag of "musical" bullshit that I can possibly use somewhere in the future.
It's a little different from my recent stuff, as it's mostly in a major key and not the darker suspended/minor seventh stuff. There is one section that happens three times that I actually like a lot; anyone who knows me will probably figure out where it is.
Happy Blank Stare/Happy Horseshit/Musical Jello/Time's A-Wastin'...you pick a title.
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