synthesizer

...now browsing by tag

Delayed Gratification – You’ve Got Mail

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Get the Flash Player to see the wordTube Media Player.

I was doing some spelunking through the latest firmware update for the Arturia Origin synth, and came across an arpeggiated patch that really caught my ear. I did some tweaking and recorded a quick sketch of it to add to a database I’m using to organize some of the ideas for an music project (which you’ll eventually see and hear on my other site – LPHovercraft.org). I thought it would be a cool sound to use in a desktop sound scheme, and found that I could simply set the Thunderbird email client to sound off any audio file when new mail arrives. So now this is my “you’ve got mail” indicator – and so I thought I’d share it with you. You can download it here.

Posted in Delayed Gratification | No Responses »
Tags: Arturia, desktop, LPHovercraft, Origin, sound design, synthesizer, Thunderbird

Plogue Chipsounds RAWKS!

Monday, November 9th, 2009

I just bought a gem of a plugin – Plogue’s chipsounds. In a way, it flaunts the never-ending-cycle of increased sample resolution and esoteric synthesis methods. This virtual instrument represents a throwback sound set captured from some of the classic game and computer consoles of years (and in some cases, decades) past. It may *seem* like a lo-fi walk in the park, but the process that the mad geniuses at Plogue went through to faithfully capture these retro sounds is pretty astonishing. Then they wrapped those tones in their own ARIA engine that allows composers and producers to do a wide array of sonic gymnastics. I’m pretty stoked about having this in my kit, since it’s both faithful to grungy kitsch while allowing for a great deal of modern experimentation. Below is a set of demos they produced to show what it can do. At some point (relatively soon) I’ll also be dropping chipsounds into some of my productions and will post clips under the category “Delayed Gratification“.

Chip music aficianados rejoice!

Posted in Software | No Responses »
Tags: composition, Plogue, synthesizer, virtual instruments, VSTi

Yamaha Motif Rack XS – a synth for a new era

Sunday, July 12th, 2009

Things are cooking along pretty well in the studio of late. Earlier this week I completed a quick turn-around mix on a teaser for a production company I’ve worked with in the past. I’ve set up lighting and cameras to film some industrial video to show some features and functions of the SmartAV Tango extension bay.

production still of overhead shot for SmartAV Ext Bay video

And, I just installed a new single-rack-space synthesizer, Yamaha’s Motif Rack XS.

(top to bottom) Steinberg MR816CSX, Arturia Origin, Yamaha Motif Rack XS

What I really like about this particular synth is its ability to ride along the same firewire connection as my audio interface (Steinberg’s MR816CSX) for seamless integration into my studio setup. It has fantastic sounds with a huge assortment of presets, and it also has the added advantage of showing up in Cubase as a VST3 instrument plugin – all of the convenience of category-based sound browsing while all of the DSP is handled in the rack-mount unit. It’s the best of both worlds.

I’ll probably end up doing some sort of vlog entry to show how this all works, but for now I’ve got to focus on the SmartAV Tango videos. I have a feeling that the Motif Rack XS (and effects on the MR816CSX) will find a way into those videos before it’s all said and done.

Posted in Hardware | No Responses »
Tags: Cubase, Motif, Music, Steinberg, synthesizer, Yamaha

Arturia Minimoog V2 – the best keeps getting better

Wednesday, May 6th, 2009

OK, I’m starting to have just a bit *too* much fun in the studio. I’m not sure if I feel like a kid in a candy shop, a bull in a china shop – or somewhere in between. The latest update to Arturia’s Minimoog V is a pretty major step forward. I love the vocal formant filter and the sound map – being able to dial in a sound that’s a parameter morph of four separate presets is amazing. And the modulation matrix is a vast improvement over version one – makes it almost Oberheim-like. I’m still getting my head wrapped around all it can do. It’s going to fun knocking out some demos with this virtual instrument – even though I spend more time with the Origin these days this plug-in can do some acoustic gymnastics that are pretty compelling. Stay tuned for demos coming soon!

Posted in Software | No Responses »
Tags: Arturia, Music, synthesizer

SampleLogic Waterharp

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

SampleLogic’s Waterharp is a spectacular library. It’s been installed in my studio for a few weeks and I’m *still* finding new and interesting sounds – both in the nature of the instrument itself *and* the amazing programming that the wizards at SampleLogic has instilled in this sound set.

Posted in Software | No Responses »
Tags: audio, Native Instruments, synthesizer

Titan Line Music

Houston H. Haynes – Composition for Film, Television & New Media