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[Accoun]

Guys, I've been thinking about buying a cheap MIDI controller. Probably even the smallest ones (25 keys IIRCC) would be enough.
Any good ones on a small budget? Which ones to look for? Which ones to avoid? Or are all the cheap ones crap?
I'm mostly interested in the keyboards, all the pads/knobs are bonuses - maybe nice, bot not the most important.

 

[Fusebox]

The Novation Remote series was the best when I bought one a couple of years back but not sure about what's on the market these days.

I finished my modular synth over the weekend! It sounds amazing. Soooo fat. I'll try and get some demos up soon.

 

[aza]

Have you guys seen Impaktor? From the same guys that did Sunrizer:

Video



It's just been released on the app store. Gonna download and try it out in a bit.

 

[:Motorbass]

Fusebox: Man, that is soo sexy! Can't wait for the sounds!

Have you guys seen Impaktor? From the same guys that did Sunrizer:

Video



It's just been released on the app store. Gonna download and try it out in a bit.

I tried the app and it's amazing! You don't believe how responsive it is. You can use it on your lap as well if you don't move too much. Recording Loops is fun too. I jus accidentally erased sessions because I'm too stupid to manage the saving function... I hope they add a sampler to it and loops that you can trigger. Physical modelling is nice but you just can't get all the sonds you want.

 

[Outdoor Miner]

Checking in with another badass Minibrute video > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlN1_LajMrE&feature=player_embedded

The Novation Remote series was the best when I bought one a couple of years back but not sure about what's on the market these days.

I finished my modular synth over the weekend! It sounds amazing. Soooo fat. I'll try and get some demos up soon.

Wow that looks great. Can't wait to hear some samples. If you don't mind my asking, how much did that run you (ballpark)?

 

[Fusebox]

Not sure tbh, I'll have to check all the invoices - I was aiming for around $1000 but I think it was more like $2k by the end.

Here's some cool sounds from it - drums are from Maschine, and there's a splash of reverb on some of the synth takes but otherwise it's all just 3 tracks of modular.

http://soundcloud.com/kaarma/eurorack-test-2

 

[Fusebox]

Okay, so final cost.

All these modules I got second hand from a dude for $735

Bubblesound SEM20 filter
Doepfer A-190-2 MIDI -> CV module
Plan-B Model 15 VCO
Tip Top Audio Z3000 VCO

And the rest I bought from http://equinoxoz.com/

The Harvestman Double Andore Dual Wavetable VCA/Envelope $495
Manhattan Analog Mix module $100
Manhattan Analog Control Voltage Processor CVP module $100
Expert Sleepers Silent Way ES-3 ADAT lightpipe -> CV module $335
Intellijel Buffered Multiple $85
TipTop Power supply module $90
Tiptop busboard $85
Jones O'Tool Oscilliscope $275
Custom Hardwood case: $280

Holy shit, $2580 all up! That kind of snuck up on me because I was buying it bit by bit, but I had the budget to get a Moog Voyager and for me this is more versatile and sounds way more unique too.

Also I think I might be able to replace the Buffered Multiple, Manhattan Analog CVP and the Doepfer A-190-2 MIDI -> CV module as I've realised the Expert Sleepers ES-3 covers those duties well enough on its own.

 

[Foshy]

Bumping this thread to show off some of the stuff I've done. As most beginners I've started with FL Studio, but I've switched to Cubase about half a year ago. It's nothing exceptional, but I'd like to hear some feedback

http://soundcloud.com/maumaumusic

I'm also working on the OST of an upcoming Indie RPG which is (probably) releasing in 2013 along with some friends of mine, here's some of my work for it. The first 3 are made in FL Studio, last one in Cubase.

Tutorial BGM
A Dungeon
Some Boss Battle
Upbeat Character Theme

 

[nicoga3000]

Found my Ableton instal files after my latest system cleaning. Looks like it's time to dust everything off and jump back in! Really enjoying a lot of the stuff GAF folk have put together!

 

[out0v0rder]

to all maschine heads, 1.8 update has been released today. the servers are getting slammed, i want my free massive to i can wub wub.

 

[Fusebox]

Oh yeeaah 1.8, Transient Master!

 

[Tr4nce]

Bumping this thread to show off some of the stuff I've done. As most beginners I've started with FL Studio, but I've switched to Cubase about half a year ago. It's nothing exceptional, but I'd like to hear some feedback

http://soundcloud.com/maumaumusic

I'm also working on the OST of an upcoming Indie RPG which is (probably) releasing in 2013 along with some friends of mine, here's some of my work for it. The first 3 are made in FL Studio, last one in Cubase.

Tutorial BGM
A Dungeon
Some Boss Battle
Upbeat Character Theme

Yo man

Your videogame stuff sounds very nice. That first track on Soundcloud however is a bit, ehm, how do I say this, lacking in energy or something. It flows too formulaic. IMO! The mixing sounds clean and good.

Keep it up dude.

 

[neos]

Yo man

Your videogame stuff sounds very nice. That first track on Soundcloud however is a bit, ehm, how do I say this, lacking in energy or something. It flows too formulaic. IMO! The mixing sounds clean and good.

Keep it up dude.

ehi tr4ance, any news on your track?

 

[Tr4nce]

Hey neos, thanks for asking!

As it looks now, the track will be released 'somewhere in Autumn', according to my contacts at the label. So we will have to wait and see. Busy working on a follow up track, but I am struggling with it ATM.

 

[neos]

Hey neos, thanks for asking!

As it looks now, the track will be released 'somewhere in Autumn', according to my contacts at the label. So we will have to wait and see. Busy working on a follow up track, but I am struggling with it ATM.

Good, keep us updated on how it's going and don't let yourself down on the new track.HAs the label already requestd you a follow up track or are you doing it on your own in the hope it gets eventually accepted?
Best wishes man!

 

[Tr4nce]

Yes, ofcourse I will keep you updated

No, label has not requested a new track from me, I just continue with my passion, keep making new musical babies and who ever wants to sign it may sign it. Again, thanks for your interest.

 

[Foshy]

Yo man

Your videogame stuff sounds very nice. That first track on Soundcloud however is a bit, ehm, how do I say this, lacking in energy or something. It flows too formulaic. IMO! The mixing sounds clean and good.

Keep it up dude.

Thanks a lot for the feedback! Constructive criticism helps a lot

That song was my first real try to do something original (so, not a remix) in the Electro/House genre and looking back at it I can see what you mean by "lacking in energy". Aside from making it flow better, do you think it could already help to change up the synths?

That would be the field where I'd like to improve most right now. I'd like to make my own sounds from scratch, but usually that doesn't turn out as well as I'd like. So, most of the time I end up taking some presets and slightly changing them around, but it still doesn't quite sound how I'm imagining it. Has anyone got a good tutorial to learn the basics of making your own sounds? Doesn't even have to be software-specific. I have Massive along with the stuff included in Cubase, but I'm more looking for something general that explains stuff like OSC, LFO, Filters etc. in detail.

 

[Tr4nce]

No problem. What do you mean with changing up the synths?

Also, yeah sound design is tough and hard. And the problem is that when you're producing and in a flow, you just pick a sound quickly so you can go ahead. By the time you're nearing completion of a track you don't have the will and energy anymore to go change it. To learn more about this, just see what every little knob and/or parameter does to a sound. For example in Massive as well. Start with the simple things like waveforms, ADSR and filters. There's really tons of information about this on the internet. Just search for 'synthesis'. Or look on YouTube. Good luck man.

 

[Recon]

Those with Maschine; Updated to 1.8, where is Massive? Im not seeing it in Maschine, am I just looking wrong?

 

[Teknopathetic]

"Those with Maschine; Updated to 1.8, where is Massive? Im not seeing it in Maschine, am I just looking wrong?"

They just give you a serial for it, so far as I understand it. You load it up as you would any other plug-in.

 

[Recon]

"Those with Maschine; Updated to 1.8, where is Massive? Im not seeing it in Maschine, am I just looking wrong?"

They just give you a serial for it, so far as I understand it. You load it up as you would any other plug-in.

Ahh, I totally overlooked that email. Thank you.

 

[J10]

I have a song in 32-bit wav format that sounds exactly the way I want it. When converting to 16-bit for burning to CD there is a noticeable loss of volume. Is that unavoidable? Should I link examples?

 

[Tr4nce]

Uhm, that is NOT normal, if you ask me. What software did you use? Is there any chance you could have left the 'Normalize' option or something like that checked?

 

[J10]

Uhm, that is NOT normal, if you ask me. What software did you use? Is there any chance you could have left the 'Normalize' option or something like that checked?

Adobe Audition. The waveform isn't changing. It's almost as if a compressor kicks in a few seconds into the song a squashes it a tiny bit.

 

[Fusebox]

What software are you using to convert it?

Edit: Beaten. Some apps do reduce volume when converting, you should normalise it when you're converting to get it back to regular volume.

 

[J10]

It's a mastered track though. It's already limited at -0.2db. The peaks remain, but it's the perceived loudness that's different. It loses punch after conversion.

 

[Tr4nce]

Hmm. So you say it has nothing to do with any normalizing or anything? And did you master it your self? Not trying to be a dick but are you an experienced man at mastering? Otherwise it can do more Damage than good, often. Did you just slap a preset on it for example? Could indeed be a compressor with complete wrong settings. But to be honest, I don't know. Maybe give us an example indeed. I'm going to bed now, will surely visit this thread again when I wake up.

And Edit: Holy shit. How could I have missed that Impaktor App?? Looks awesome!!!!

 

[show me your skeleton]

just bought myself a pair of krk rockit 5s which seem great. a definite improvement from my macbook pro's built in speakers

 

[J10]

Nevermind. I figured out that it was my media player (Creative MediaSource). It squashes 16-bit files on playback for some reason.

 

[ant1532]

is that soundonsound tutorial/forum really that good? i read some of it.. pretty good, but super outdated. anyone know anything else covering the amount that does?

 

[Tr4nce]

I just have to rant.

Goddamnit, what a shitty day of producing I had today. Was well underway with my new track, almost reached the break, when all of a sudden, one of my channels starts to emit this high pitched whining sound which kept growing in volume. I checked everything, still don't know what causes it. Other Logic projects don't do this, so I guess it's not something hardware. Anyway, had to start a clean new project, copy every channel and every little setting from the old to the new project, and then build the arrangement again. FUCK!!!!!! 4 hours later, I can finally continue with my track.

Rant mode off. Sorry

 

[Tr4nce]

Well, it seems I found the problem, lol.

On a reverb bus channel (my main reverb send) I put an extra reverb it seemed, accidentally. So I removed it and that seems to have fixed the problem. I feel so stupid now. Sorry I bad mouthed you Logic Studio

 

[Tr4nce]

So, I finally finally finished my new track! Well, I have to polish it some more, but you get the drill. If anyone is interested, I will post a Soundcloud preview link.

 

[CaptainMintMan]

I'll give it a listen.

 

[Tr4nce]

http://soundcloud.com/rik-kiers/morrison-kiers-id

 

[Sadsic]

its really quiet

 

[VariantX04]

Got a new single out. Bought a new guitar, new MacBook (retina), and reFX Nexus 2. I'm officially fully devoted to my music now so I have to really work on getting some shows and eventually getting the fuck out of Saudi Arabia.

"A New Beginning": Would appreciate thoughts and criticism.

 

[Tr4nce]

Hey thanks for your comment on my Soundcloud man

I will check your single out soon, and get back to you on it! Cheers.

 

[VariantX04]

Hey thanks for your comment on my Soundcloud man

I will check your single out soon, and get back to you on it! Cheers.

No problem! I didn't know you were working on something new until just now. It's great stuff as usual.

 

[Teknopathetic]

For my Maschine brothers. Have you guys seen the new Ableton Push?

Looking like an upgrade (an expensive one).

https://www.ableton.com/en/push/

 

[Fusebox]

Hot damn, I had no idea that existed. For sale, one Maschine Mk1.

 

[Teknopathetic]

The built-in isomorphic playing support and the features surrounding that is a game changer. I *love* playing melodies with pads (not even joking, I did this a lot with my Maschine, but was obviously very limited with 16 pads vs this 64). Years of Beatmania + Guitar.

 

[Jack_AG]

Very nice! Big fan of Live. I have a few Launchpads and APC40 - love pad devices!

 

[Fusebox]

The idea of having the top half of the pads running as a step sequencer and the bottom half as a scale based keyboard plus the ribbon fader (I love ribbon faders) makes me jizz. I'm seriously moving from Maschine to Push if there's no game breaking issues.

 

[Teknopathetic]

Likewise. I love Maschine, but a lot of my major problems with it seem like they aren't an issue here.

Gonna be expensive for me, though, gonna have to buy the 778 Euro package with Live 9 Studio.

 

[Fusebox]

Yeah it isn't cheap. Hopefully I can get the Push + an upgrade from Ableton 8 Suite to 9 Suite for a decent price. The controller alone is ~AUS$650 though.

 

[Scuba Steve]

Likewise. I love Maschine, but a lot of my major problems with it seem like they aren't an issue here.

Gonna be expensive for me, though, gonna have to buy the 778 Euro package with Live 9 Studio.

What are your problems with Maschine that this controller fixes?

 

[Teknopathetic]

"What are your problems with Maschine that this controller fixes?"

All of this is speculation and assumption until more details/information comes around but:

1) Better melodic sequencing. I don't play keys. Granted, in the time I've spent lamenting over this, I probably could've taken lessons and been quite competent by now, but yeah. I do like step sequencing melodic elements unless...

2) More pads + isomorphic playing features. As mentioned earlier, I did enjoy this on Maschine, but it's limited by 16 pads.

3) Software related, Maschine is limited to a relatively low number of effects per sound/group/master. This is actually really minor and can be worked around with sampling/resampling, though.

4) Still no proper sidechaining. You can cheat this with automation for a lot of things, but still. Would be nice!


Edit: Not a problem with Maschine, but more of a bonus to Push: Ribbon. If someone (or if Ableton does it themselves) can setup a Ribbon Arpeggiator with M4L like the Electribe has that'd also be sick. Buying M4L would be an added expense to something that's already fuggin expensive, though.

 

[Scuba Steve]

Good reasons, I love how the pads are laid out symmetrically so that you dont have to worry about learning the fingering like you would on keyboard

Thats what I like about producing music electronically, you spend time learning software and techniques rather than conditioning your body to be able to master physical instruments through rigorous exercises and coordination. With drum pads you dont need to learn stick techniques or anything like that, and now with this Push controller, rather than having to practice proper fingering and music theory on piano, musicians can spend more time getting their ideas out and play melodies. absolutely love it

 

[Fusebox]

I used to own that Electribe you just posted, and that's the exact reason I love ribbon controllers so much now. Ripping out arps on the Electribe was crazy fun and vibey.