OfficeSteppers '13 (aka the offtopic but still prod. thread)

[SunkLo]

Overclocked my i7 920 to 3.8Ghz today. Dunno why I didn't do this earlier. Haven't really done much in terms of stability tests yet. Gonna run Prime95 overnight for several days and try to pull the voltages down until it becomes unstable.

Now I can finally run 57 FM8s in HQ mode and become Skrillex. I can stop pretending to hate brostep. Free at last.

[wub]

Productive day.

Batteries in my Kaossilator, , tried building a track using just that and recording directly into Audacity. Then factory reset my Electribe after trying unsuccessfully to route it via midi into fl.

Honestly most fun I've had all month. Less output more mad scientist vibes.

[SunkLo]

Yeah I've been thinking lately I need to shut myself in, do some voodoo rituals, and just perform some sonic alchemy for while. Pure experimentation away from the notion of production.

[nowaysj]

Just casually roll to tape (or Edison) as you do. You'll have a really nice sample swamp to wade through.

[SunkLo]

Oh lawdy. Every time I spend an hour with Prism, I think to myself "Why the fuck don't I use this all the time?" It always seems a bit impenetrable at first and then after a while of fooling around, you've got some dope feedback resonance thing that sounds really alive. I get that feeling of exploration that I don't get with a standard subtractive synth. You could randomly stumble across some crazy combination of ratios, feedback, delay, filters, and phase that all interact to create something awesome. Per-voice LFO and feedback paths are also dope. I like assigning an LFO to the exciter or feedback amount and turning the keytracking up, then playing chords. Each voice's LFO runs at a different rate, causing the exciter/feedback for each voice to beat against each other and create dense polyrhythmic textures. If you turn off 'Trig Zero' the modal bank doesn't get reset on every note-on so you get something slightly different depending on how the modal bank is already resonating. It really feels like fucking with a physical real world system instead of a static synth.

I also never really realized, but I should be using the Prism FX version too. I've been using the Ableton resonator to run textures through, but Prism is a lot more powerful with its ratio warping, filters and feedback tuning. I've been filling up this audio track with 32 bar clips of wizard noises, slice to Sampler, play slices on the keys till I find some golden details and then sequencing in midi. Feels much more fun than trying to diddle a subtractive synth into something good sounding and then trying to get movement through shitloads of automation.

It's weird that bouncing to audio actually feels less static to me than working with live midi. When it's a live synth with automation, everything's still theoretical. You're trying to find a good middle ground patch that you can automate into various good sounds. Bouncing to audio is just throwing the shit at the wall and seeing what sticks. Instead of trying to do a bunch of tedious manipulation while trying to compose your parts, you just sample the wide range of expression you can get out of your synth into something concrete, and then just chop out all the good bits. Instead of trying to remember that the filter sounds good at a certain cutoff, but only when the resonance is set right and you're playing the right note and the saturation is at a certain setting, you just have to remember that the sample on F#4 sounds dope. You've got a bunch of permutations mapped to keys on a keyboard that you can access through muscle memory with a single press, instead of noodling across several automation envelopes to get a certain sound. I find the best synth patches are always really tenuous and can collapse with a minor change to certain params. Every time I come across something cool, I bounce to audio and keep exploring. At the end of your journey you've got a bunch of clips that all evolved from one another.

[You are reading a preview of the book 'SunkLo Rambles About Production Shit'. To order the full book on Amazon, please click here.]

[didi]

planned my payday purchases

rokit g3 rp6
scarlett 6i6
stands
auralex
keylab 25
logic

when i finally get monitors >>>>>>>>
when i finally get a midi keyboard >>>>>>>>

can't wait for wednesday

[nowaysj]

Damn didi, you're going the distance.

[didi]

Damn didi, you're going the distance.

aha lol im trying to play catch up tbh i've been far too basic far too long rly

[nowaysj]

[SunkLo]

I'm curious about those Keylabs. The 61 key looks nice. I wonder how the pad sensitivity is. I'm assuming the keys aren't weighted though, since it isn't mentioned anywhere.

I've been thinking about selling my MPK and getting something different. Tired of fucking with these pads. I might get the 261 but it's not out yet and who knows how much better it'll be. I was considering just splitting shit up and getting a basic keybed and then getting a second pad controller with some knobs and faders. The Nektar P6 looks nice but 12 pads, get the fuck outta here. You guys had one job and skimped on a row of pads? Especially given that it's supposed to be a dedicated controller for several DAWs which all use 16 pad drum machines. Weighted keys, 16 encoders, 9 faders, motorized touch sensitive track fader, awesome LCD screen feedback, bunch of buttons... but 12 pads, fuck me. There's always something missing.

Damn look at this, don't even read the url: click.
Obviously lacking in pads, but 9 motorized touch faders, backlit pads, and encoders with proper LED feedback? If the Dirty B has their shit together to that degree, you'd think all the other keyboard offerings would be stellar. You're not running audio through a midi keyboard so I bet there's a lot of people that won't give a fuck about the company and get enticed by the faders, encoders and $300 list price.

Seems like the competition is slowly rising. I wish I could fast forward to a year from now when all the luxury options come standard.

[Jizz]

[Genevieve]

Didn't a ninja make that? I think when I signed up some dude shared his drug paraphernalia inspired plugins on here.

Edit: nope this is new. nvm