Gear lust

[mks]

The SQ-1 looks cool, like a little Volca sequencer. But why just have one cv sequencer when you could have two cv sequencers, plus 8 channels of cv drum gates plus MIDI?

[nowaysj]

Uhm, yeah, that's what I'm saying. SQ-1 is too limited in my opinion. A few crucial gaps, like it can't slave. The Volca seq's can slave...

[mks]

I'm finally home with a keyboard rather than trying to type out my responses on a phone.

Yeah, they should have added a MIDI in. It's cool that it has a cv out A and a cv out B but it only has two 8 step sequencers, you can't even combine them to make a 16 step sequencer. The Beatstep, I believe, can do 16 steps and the Beatstep Pro is going to be to do 64 steps plus two separate cv/gate sequencers. Plus the MIDI controller aspect of the Beatsteps. I would rather save that $100 and invest it into the Beatstep Pro when it comes out (hopefully in April).

[nowaysj]

Absolutely dabsolutely.

I've heard that you can chain the two 8 step seq's getting a 16 step seq, but I heard it from someone that may be an idiot, so...

Strictly for techno, I think you can use 8 step sequencers, but come on. 16 at a minimum, but 64 steps is where I'm at. That opens up a whole world of melodic, harmonic progression.

I think the bspro is unmatched for what it is (by hardware, I'm sure there is an ipad version that is more powerful).

[mks]

I just bought a Gakken SX-150 Mark II analogue synth from Japan. I saved up a long time for this. This is going to be nuts!

[nowaysj]

They take cv in?

[mks]

No, but I believe they can be modified. There is a guy that is building a modular synth with these.



http://www.matrixsynth.com/2015/01/gakk ... -test.html

[nowaysj]

You've got to make a sample pack!

[mks]

This guy added a MIDI in with Arduino, and a 1/4 jack, switch and knob. It sounds pretty good.



I mean it sounds pretty wiley at times, but when he's got it reeled in, it's not too bad, plus the fact he built this with an Arduino card.

[nowaysj]

I could have sworn I saw someone with cv in at some point.

The synth sounds great, it is an evolved dub siren. Imagine that through analogish delay.

I'm not kidding about that sample pack. I could use like a thousand of those blorps and blarbles. Talk to Komanderkin, the bpb, he'd love to put up the sample pack.

In fact, if you're super crushed for time, you could just record a thousand blorps, and send that file over, I can cut em up for you, send em back. That synth sounds great, it should be shared!

[nowaysj]

Isn't this cv?

[mks]

Yes, it is. The synth has been modified. For such a cheap synth, I probably wouldn't worry about it. I have no experience doing that though. I just wouldn't want to fuck up a cool synth, but I would like to make the synth even cooler.

[nowaysj]

I actually really like the ribbon, though. It is really expressive. This is like a pocket pedal steel monosynth/dubsiren. And it is red!

[mks]

Microtones! Ribbon is def a different way of playing things. Buchla did that from the start. He was like, this is a different instrument, why be tied down to a traditional keyboard.

[nowaysj]

So true. Honestly. I fucking HATE keyboard. Why base your entire interface to the limiteless world of daw music by the c major scale? SO DUMB! I see two things - the screen becomes a multitouch interface, that'll make dawing so much better, and the keyboard steps aside and we get new, truly expressive input mechanisms.

Are you into the Linstrument?



I haven't been following it, but this is something I'd really really like to try. Would love to hook this up to a very modulable synth.

Little known fact about nwj, I love to lead. Like once I get a beat going, I'm fucked, I can just riff/lead/noodle for days, like literally. I'd love to be able to put more into it (actually why I like the microkorg, it is a funky little bitch).

[mks]

That is so very nice! Probably bookoo bucks.

Do you ever play fretless bass, nowaysj? You get the notes in between the notes. It's harder to keep in tune, but if you got your ear and know your hand positions, it brings out a lot of expression on that instrument.

With that said, after playing fretless instruments for years, I started to miss the fretted sound.

[nowaysj]

I, like every other dumbass brokeass bassist, attempted to turn one of my old basses into a fretless. I removed the frets, then found the strings were way too high off the neck, so actually snuck into a machine shop and took down various components of my bridge... and then got helluv busy and that project got shelved. When I moved out of LA, I just gave the bass away, had no room, which was a fucking mistake, but is only a single note in a symphony of bad decisions, so nothing to really lament.

God willing, I will have a cello at some time in my life. Have been drawn to it my whole life, only played one once... The cello sounds like my voice, it is a way of singing. That vibrato... it is an expression of soul.

I mean, when I play the padkontrol, I literally play with vibrato... it doesn't do anything, but in my head, I'm putting that soul in there. :O

Crazy night, tonight. I've got to chill.

[mks]

I need to figure this shit out.

1:04 to 1:49 or something like that.



Viola!!

[fragments]

I think there was an estimate that a smaller Linn Instrument would be available for 1.5K ...I'm not sure there has been an estimate for the one that is being demoed on videos by Linn and others.

[nowaysj]

I think it is shipping already, dude.