Razmo's Gear Rant Thread...

[Commie_User]

..And one or two good mousetraps I suppose, which I feel you might need. Any mice of mine fortunately never damaged anything but a few old towels. Perhaps in my place it's the dust to watch for the most. As I've boasted, my place is just a web now.



Though looking at all your interesting stuff, I do wonder. How close would these quick doodles of mine compare to the sound of yours?

The first segment is the Commodore waveform, second the Sega Master System and the third a mixture of Lowrey organ and B4 software. Would you care to mash your fingers on the keyboard as I did, stick up the MP3 and hear how similar sounds compare?

Would my cheap and cheerful options really fall that far behind your big rig?

[Razmo]

I don't really want to make comparisons because to me, it matters not how many or how expensive tools you have, but what inspires you to make music... many a hit record has been made on "cheap stuff"... in the end sound is sound, and all that matters is what you do with it.

The only reason I've got so much studio gear is because it inspire me, not because it's expensive, or rare or... the stuff I aquire feeds my quriosity, it's that simple... thus, that is the right gear for me, and it might be worth nothing to many others who want something else.

The biggest mistake one can make is thinking, that more expensive gear will make you create better music, that's for sure... it might help you achieve things faster, just as a chainsaw will do that job quicker than a hand axe, but it'll not make you any better really.

Personaly I don't find much inspiration using videogame chips anymore... I had a period where the SID inspired me, and to some extend it still does... I just will not use it because the chip is bug'y with it's envelopes, and the sound I'm after is not "chip-tune" style.

Today my interrest lies within the Berlin School genre, more relaxed and sequencer like patterns etc... atmospheric soundscapes and such and with a bit of "old style vibe" to it as with old 70's synths...

But my interrests shift from time to time.... maybe that's why the studio does as well... don't know... and I don't really care either

[Commie_User]

Oh don't get me wrong, I wasn't trying to hold a willy contest. And if I was, I'd still say you'd probably win. I'm just dead interested in some kind of comparison.

It's fun.



Like even with the basic waveforms, how much extra flavour does the rack gear provide?

You've got some brilliant stuff. Please let me hear a few scraps.

[Razmo]

If you're thinking about the raw waveform material, before filters, FX and all that, then many of them does not have anything much different... they may have a lot less aliasing noise than what game consoles have etc. and some machines have more complex waveform generation methods like with FM and other nonstandard synthesis types, but they all sound raw and boring before they are manipulated with filters, FX etc.

But also in that department, it's a matter of taste, and what type of sound you're after... sometimes high quility digital oscillators are simply too sterile and too accurate, sometimes that's what you want... it all depends as usual.

I'll see if I can throw up a few snippets af some raw oscillator sounds from different machines... but it's going to be boring to listen to... really

[Commie_User]

Thanks very much for telling me Razmo. Perhaps I can just ask you to hit the organ instead.

Oh go on, do please hit the organ. (Unless it's still in maintenance.)

[Razmo]

It's still in maintenance actualy, but it's working quite well nonetheless.

The problems with it currently is, that the orbitone (basicaly a chorus) does not work, as one of the three modulator boards are faulty and needs to be fixed, so that I have desoldered at the moment. Other problems is that the pedals don't work, unless they are routed into the ensemble effect, and the Tibias stops don't work either... but that's about it.

Today I actualy drilled three holes on the backside to place three TS jack plugs... I then desoldered the wires from the strange round amp connector on the back, so that I could get three seperate outputs at the jack plugs instead... it works fine. This allow me to sample the individual three lines seperately.

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[Commie_User]

Oh good show. I'm glad that organ's in capable hands. Someone like me would maybe just live with it as it was.

Though for the videogame chips, I was surprised with the Sega. Add a little reverb and it actually sounds a big old classic synth somehow.

[Razmo]

That's a typpical trick to get almost everything to sound "good"... throw some FX on it... you'd be surprised how sterile most Roland, Yamaha and KORG flagships sound, if you switch of the FX on them... they are usualy bathed in FX to hide some otherwise wimpy raw oscillators.

It's the usual building blocks... OSC -> Filters -> Amplifier -> FX

All the parts have an influence, but the biggest is usualy the movement... raw oscillators sound boring because they are sterile, nonchanging and generally inanimate... throw some filters on them with time varying changes, volume as well, and FX to make the sound "move", and it starts to sound "professional".

In fact, the SID chip is a very capable sound generating device, especialy if you use it's three oscillators to make one big voice, and use it's internal analog filter... throw on some FX after that, and it's basicaly as good as any professional hybrid synth from the 80's and start 90's ... it's the movement in the sound that's appealing to the ear... not a static constant tone.

[Commie_User]

I'm certainly aware of stuff like that. Just that the Master System always struck me as sounding more authentically 'classic' with so little done to the waveforms on my part. And I only appreciated it when taking sounds for my own use.


And I'll definitely still use the Commie until I'm sick of recording itself. There are just so many programs, samples and tools to use. From MSSIAH to Music Machine, Synthcart with Commodulator to Ubik's or Instant Music, there's still so much more for me to do on it. I'll certainly get bored of music way before I've exhausted even half its possibilities.

[Razmo]

This one is on it's way into the studio as well very soon:



It's digital... I'm getting a few digital machines these days to fill in the gaps of different synthesis types instead of all those analogs which does basicaly the same... thus I've now sold quite a few of those, and gotten the recent Radias and now this.

It's basically a sort of sampler... it has VariPhrase technology, which is basicaly some sort of granular synthesis that allow you to stretch samples, pitch them without loosing their durations, and retaining formant information accros the whole pitch range... something I really look forward to using.

Here is an internet video that really caught my ears:



But in addition to that synthesis type, it also has VA synthesis remnicent of the JP-8000 and the like (Supersaw etc.)... a great addition.

Also it has two options build in... a vocoder like synth for processing vocals in a variety of ways. The other is a faithful recreation of the famous Roland D-50 synth.

I guess it'll have to get a place right in front of me on my studio desktop because of that touchscreen interface...

[Commie_User]

I've fiddled with that a few times in Dawsons. I think the only way I was ever going to.

Sounded good and smooth to my ears with some clever tricks. Whenever I wander in I have a clearer understanding where those magazine software demos are going.

Though funny for me to say that maybe synths have been done to buggery now, if I can say that. I'm more interested in the pianos these days, I suppose as a kind of reaction to all the sonic sophistication. Just like I'm into tracking drums and bass with minimal overdubs at the moment. Just get them barely beyond a basic track and they're ready for mixing. (But you have to get the tune good.)

[Razmo]

For me, both simplicity and complexity inspires me, and I like to have both types of devices in the studio... but I'm tired of older machines from the 80's and before, as they are getting harder and harder to maintain... the Eminent 310 Unique is a good example of that, and the only one left in my studio now.

I like the simplicity because it's fun to see how much you can get out of very little... a leftover from my coding days on C64 and AMIGA I guess, when optimizing code... but I also like the complexity because of the variety of sounds you can make, as they allow for greater opportunities to actualy make the sound you came for.

In general, with the simple machines, I don't have a goal in mind when making a new sound, I experiment, and see what crazy stuff I can squeeze out of them... with the complex ones, I usualy have a specific sound in mind when I go for it, because they have the needed sculpting tools to make what I want.

But I understand your philosophy... many times less is more, and simplicity makes it more... "human like" if I may call it so.

[Commie_User]

I don't think I even consider in terms of that. Just how can I do something else and make myself sound even more a group of ideas. And simple stuff does juxtapose well with more complicated bits and I know I've done that with my soundtracks.

But even so, I've still a signature. Still a format. I recognise how a bit of music is me even if I can't define it. But I suppose that's what holds everything together when I patchwork my jingles and bits.

And because I've stuffed myself in a binge of collecting, I've the diversity to just go where I want, which is nice.

[Razmo]

Just made a "little" demo of some of the more sinister sounds from the Yamaha EX5... I'm really impressed with this synth to be honest... it can howl like no other synth I've come across thus far... be careful with your speakers! ... you have been warned!

[Commie_User]

Now THAT is a stack of doodles. So much like the movies, TV and other little pieces like the Clockwork Orange.

And as a piece it's actually way better than Electronic Music by George Harrison.





There's one on Ebay at £142 current bid. Now that seems a good price at the moment.