Post your keyboard controllers, synths, drum machines, etc!

[Cylotron]

Speaking of effects... I've wanted a VT-1 voice transformer for the longest time but never got around to it. They seem a bit pricey on eBay these days(unfortunately). What do you guys think of the VT-3 though? Watched a video on YouTube and it seemed dandy.

 

[Cylotron]

i was off yesterday & didn't feel like going anywhere, so i stayed in my room all day & made this track:

i was originally intending to make a faster paced 'techno' track, but it ended up like that.

 

[Takumaji]

The VT-3 is part of the Aira family of small and affordable Roland boxes with the new Analog Circuit Behaviour technique that were all the rage at this years' MusikMesse and NAMM show. A guy I know did a demo for it at a local music store and it seems quite good for what it brings to the table. Its ten presets cover most areas of voice fx, like vocoder, auto tune/pitch shifter etc., but the most interesting feature is the synth/lead/bass mode where your voice triggers synth or bass sounds. The MIC inputs have a quite high level, you have to do some balancing (say via a mixer) if you want to use it as a quasi-line input, for ex. for putting effects over voice samples or hooks.

The vocoder sounds okay, albeit a little muddy at times and is not as flexible as a real vocoder because of its limited selection of carrier sounds.

In short, it's a decent and affordable voice fx box that is easy to use and will do the trick for most current productions.

Nice track, Cylotron, some good ideas in there. Dubby club stuff.

 

[complexz]

that sounds pretty good cyclo, and so damn clean... I love my dirty ass analogue ass beats but sometimes hearing something so clean leaves me feeling just sloppy and unprofessional might have to finally jump on that MPC ren in the not too distant future.

 

[Takumaji]

Yeah, really clean. My stuff sounds way more "boxed" and overdriven, must be my crappy audio interface.

One of these days I will have to get me the full version of Wavelab and a better interface.

 

[Cylotron]

I mostly use headphones when I'm producing. I'll regularly give a listen through the monitors also just to make sure. Also, once I've got enough of a track together... I'll copy it to my phone and go out to my van for a listen. I've got some decent component speakers installed as well as sub's(spent more on the sound system then on the van itself).

 

[alec]

Thanks for help with the FB Tak. I just ebayed one, should be here in a few days, its only 30 miles away!

 

[Takumaji]

Thanks for help with the FB Tak. I just ebayed one, should be here in a few days, its only 30 miles away!

Good to hear. If you have any questions or problems, just ask them in here!

 

[Cylotron]

my headphones are dying...

what are some decent headphones w/ more emphasis on accuracy rather then 'bass'(no beats thanks)?
and they'll be used primarily for production - although note, i'm not doing this professionally(yet) so don't have the funds for high end stuff atm...

thanks!

 

[fake]

How much do you want to spend? These are great for the price:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/K701/

If that's too pricey, I'd try some $200 range Shures.

Also, I installed the Arturia Jupiter 8v synth and it's blowing me away. It just sounds so good. I haven't had a chance to record anything yet, but once I do, I'll post it here.

 

[Takumaji]

I have a Technics RP-DJ1210 and am very happy with it.

http://www.djresource.eu/images/gear/small_technics-rp-dj-1200.jpg

It's a tiny bit bass-heavy but still good for production use as it also has excellent highs and mids which gives you a crisp overall sound, I bought it as a one-stop solution for production and DJing and it more than does the trick for both. Technics is a Panasonic label now but the quality is still high, this thing is durable and the swivel system is great. It sits tightly on your head which means very good sound cancelling from the outside. Can be folded for easy transport. Comes with a carry bag, heavy coiled cord and a screwable jack/mini jack adaptor system (gold-plated). Price is about $150 but you can it for around $100 as well if you shop around a bit.

 

[fake]

I threw this together in about an hour.

Synth pad, bass, and lead are all the Arturia Jupiter 8v

Drums are UltraBeat

Guitar is my 62 reissue Jaguar > Beta 57 > Mesa Boogie > virtual pedal

https://soundcloud.com/border_down/july-jupiter-v-test

 

[Takumaji]

The chords sound like "Nr. 19" by Aphex Twin, just faster. Nice. I also like the delay/doppler style of effects. The drum arrangement is okay but the samples sound a bit too generic in my opinion. A clickety-clicky Autechre-style moving drum pattern with low-fi drums would sound awesome with that synths and bass arrangement.

If you like that particular set-back type of hybrid sound that sits somewhere between analog and digital, you should really get yourself a FM synth.

 

[fake]

Yeah, I mean it's going to sound generic - I literally made that in one hour. There are only 6 tracks on the song, and three are the Jupiter 8. I'm having a hard time dialing sounds with it, so for now I'm just picking presets and tweaking them into what I want. The interface isn't very similar to my MicroKorg, so I'm pretty lost.

I'd like a DX-7. They're cheap and sound decent, but I A. don't really have time to learn anything beyond subtractive synth stuff and B. don't have room. I've got a two tier rack and will be replacing my midi keyboard with a Korg SVT next year, and love the MicroKorg XL too much to replace it.

 

[potetoboy]

to save space you can always go for the module route with the TX-7. basically a DX-7 in a box minus keys.

you'd still have to learn FM synthesis, or at least download a bunch of patches and send em via sysex (what I do)

 

[fake]

to save space you can always go for the module route with the TX-7. basically a DX-7 in a box minus keys.

you'd still have to learn FM synthesis, or at least download a bunch of patches and send em via sysex (what I do)

Oh, nice! Yeah, I'm not in love with the aesthetics of the DX-7, so I wouldn't mind having the modular version.

 

[Takumaji]

Get yourself a TX81Z, it's a 4op FM synth that is somewhat easier to get into than the 6op DX-7, and it's a rackmount unit. You can edit all parameters from the panel or get yourself an editor like FM Alive. There also are tons of patches floating around for it on the net.

A DX/TX-7 is an excellent choice, though. If you spend a bit of time with editing patches and unleash some strange and wonderful sounds in the process, it will soon dawn on you why this thing started a revolution when it came out in the early 80s.

 

[Cylotron]

I haven't decided on new headphones yet(going to go and see what's at Guitar Center this weekend).

In the meantime, I did some more sound dabblin' and ended up with this:

 

[Takumaji]

Nice drum/percs and voice hooks/loops arrangements, I prolly would have toned down the zapps a bit. Good DJ tool-style track.

 

[potetoboy]

if anyone still has a tape player and happens to like minimal dub techno, check out this EP I helped out on..

http://spawaves.bandcamp.com/

 

[Cylotron]

Nice drum/percs and voice hooks/loops arrangements, I prolly would have toned down the zapps a bit. Good DJ tool-style track.

I have a thing for zaps. Thought about making a track that has nothing but drums/bass/perc & lots of zaps. Maybe an occasional robot adlib..

I'll have to checkout your Soundcloud when I get home. Word is, you're a cool kid around these parts.

 

[Takumaji]

I have a thing for zaps. Thought about making a track that has nothing but drums/bass/perc & lots of zaps. Maybe an occasional robot adlib..

I'll have to checkout your Soundcloud when I get home. Word is, you're a cool kid around these parts.

Yeah, I love zaps too, Kraftwerk-style. Often use them in my tracks.

There's only a small selection of my tracks on Soundcloud, I've uploaded most of them to YouTube. Have fun.

 

[Cylotron]

back again!!... was up until 3am the other day working on this(no big deal if i didn't have a day job)

it's a bit more of a house/tech house sort of feel to it:

 

[fake]

Another WIP Jupiter 8v test. I uploaded it but I can't get it to play for some reason and now my previous upload won't play either. Other people's songs play fine though.

If you can hear it, keep in mind that it's a work in progress but I need advice on making the slide less cheesy.

https://soundcloud.com/border_down/july-17

 

[Cylotron]

Ok Lightmanraygun.. I checked off "follow" on your soundcloud. Listened to the 1st so far & its good. Going to blast it in my car after work.

Will checkout Border_down also