A pic of my current synth rig. Click pic to enlarge.
Saturday, August 20, 2016
I modded a moog, and I liked it
You can read the whole moogibrute review and even hear some MP3 sound samples HERE if you feel so inclined.
But for the sake of bloggal (?) brevity let me just say that I'm having a swell time with my new moog.
Here's its baby picture:
Just click the pic to enlarge.
You'll notice that it has two large knobs. These are not standard equipment but they should be. It sucks trying to adjust frequency range and cutoff with those little bitty 6 mm pot shafts. I notice in the photo in my previous post that the owner of that Werkstatt also added knobs; but his are stupid. Mine are cool.
If you want cool knobs like mine, just go HERE for the story of this breathtaking mod, and much much more.
Excelsior and stuff.
But for the sake of bloggal (?) brevity let me just say that I'm having a swell time with my new moog.
Here's its baby picture:
Just click the pic to enlarge.
You'll notice that it has two large knobs. These are not standard equipment but they should be. It sucks trying to adjust frequency range and cutoff with those little bitty 6 mm pot shafts. I notice in the photo in my previous post that the owner of that Werkstatt also added knobs; but his are stupid. Mine are cool.
If you want cool knobs like mine, just go HERE for the story of this breathtaking mod, and much much more.
Excelsior and stuff.
Monday, August 15, 2016
moogibrute
The way I say "moogibrute," it rhymes with "Juicy Fruit." I know, I know, synth nerds will correct me and tell me that "moog" ryhmes with "rogue" and not with "fugue." But that's only because Robert Moog said in an interview that he preferred his last name rhymed with "rogue" some 30 years after the "fugue" rhyming pronunciation became standard. So I rhyme the man's name with "rogue" but I rhyme the instrument's name with "fugue." It's easy to remember because the instrument name isn't capitalized but the man's name is. And if you don't like it, then "fugue" with two syllables.
But that's not why I called.
It's August and I have SSL. That's Seasonal Synth Lust for you uninitiated types. As often happens this time of year, I want a new synth. And for the almost first time, I want a moog. I've had my eye on the Slim Phatty off and on but whenever one is available for a good price I talk myself out of it.
Tonight that all changed.
Lately, when I search online for SP's I also see recommendations for the Werkstatt-01. Tonight I thoroughly researched that device and a little light went on.
The Werkstatt is a cheap little kit synth that doesn't even have a real keyboard but it has a moog oscillator and a moog ladder filter. In other words, it has moog sound. And it has a CV patch port!
Why does that last statement deserve an exclamation point? Because the CV port means I can connect it to my Microbrute in any of a dozen ways, sharing filters and stuff and providing the moog with a keyboard and a step sequencer. And the Microbrute can translate MIDI signals to CV, so I can play the Werkstatt from any of my MIDI keyboards and even play it with the Microkorg arpeggiator or the Microsampler quantizing pattern sequencer.
And the Werkstatt looks like a little cheap-ass toy-like gizmo like the rest of my gear. It suits my style and budget much better than all the other moog instruments. And it makes the Microbrute, the most limited instrument in my rig, much more useful and valuable. Together, the Werkstatt and the Microbrute will be my moogibrute.
I can probably have one in about a week, which gives me some time to experiment before my annual autumnal synth frenzy kicks in.
Below is a photo of someone else's Werkstatt-Microbrute marriage.
Isn't it cute?
Update 8-16-2016:
I just ordered a Werkstatt, a Control Voltage adapter (the thing stuck to the right side of the Werkstatt with all the cables plugged into it) and a half-dozen colored cables, probably just like the ones in the photo.
I'm excited. This will be a fun rig to play with. And it's my first moog!
But that's not why I called.
It's August and I have SSL. That's Seasonal Synth Lust for you uninitiated types. As often happens this time of year, I want a new synth. And for the almost first time, I want a moog. I've had my eye on the Slim Phatty off and on but whenever one is available for a good price I talk myself out of it.
Tonight that all changed.
Lately, when I search online for SP's I also see recommendations for the Werkstatt-01. Tonight I thoroughly researched that device and a little light went on.
The Werkstatt is a cheap little kit synth that doesn't even have a real keyboard but it has a moog oscillator and a moog ladder filter. In other words, it has moog sound. And it has a CV patch port!
Why does that last statement deserve an exclamation point? Because the CV port means I can connect it to my Microbrute in any of a dozen ways, sharing filters and stuff and providing the moog with a keyboard and a step sequencer. And the Microbrute can translate MIDI signals to CV, so I can play the Werkstatt from any of my MIDI keyboards and even play it with the Microkorg arpeggiator or the Microsampler quantizing pattern sequencer.
And the Werkstatt looks like a little cheap-ass toy-like gizmo like the rest of my gear. It suits my style and budget much better than all the other moog instruments. And it makes the Microbrute, the most limited instrument in my rig, much more useful and valuable. Together, the Werkstatt and the Microbrute will be my moogibrute.
I can probably have one in about a week, which gives me some time to experiment before my annual autumnal synth frenzy kicks in.
Below is a photo of someone else's Werkstatt-Microbrute marriage.
Isn't it cute?
Update 8-16-2016:
I just ordered a Werkstatt, a Control Voltage adapter (the thing stuck to the right side of the Werkstatt with all the cables plugged into it) and a half-dozen colored cables, probably just like the ones in the photo.
I'm excited. This will be a fun rig to play with. And it's my first moog!
Thursday, August 11, 2016
how to make AEJOTZ synth music
This isn't really a how-to article. But I was just reading a how-to about electronic music and it explained how to do everything the way I don't.
I make synth music the old fashioned way... by hand!
I actually play keyboard synthesizers by putting my fingers on the keys and pushing down. And I record what I play on a multi-track recorder. Granted, it's a digital recorder, but it's a dedicated music recorder.
I don't use a computer to sequence music. I do use the on-board sequencing functions of my instruments. I'm not a Luddite. Still, every sound is the result of me playing keys by hand. And a little quantizing is no greater sin than a little auto-tune.
The computer is tangentially useful before and after music creation. It's useful beforehand as a source of interesting patches and sounds to download and there are computer "editors" that make it easier for me to program new sounds on my synths. After I complete a tune I transfer it from my recorder to my PC for distribution worldwide via the internet.
Perhaps the biggest advantage to playing everything by hand is that I'm not a very good keyboardist and I make a lot of mistakes, some of which sound better than what I meant to do. I then deliberately make the same "good" mistakes and take credit for creating them.
The end.
No, wait. There's one more thing. To play like an AEJOTZ you have to use really cheap toy-like synths. I use the CZ-101, Microkorg, Microbrute, Microsampler and now the Werkstatt-01.
OK, now it's the end.
I make synth music the old fashioned way... by hand!
I actually play keyboard synthesizers by putting my fingers on the keys and pushing down. And I record what I play on a multi-track recorder. Granted, it's a digital recorder, but it's a dedicated music recorder.
I don't use a computer to sequence music. I do use the on-board sequencing functions of my instruments. I'm not a Luddite. Still, every sound is the result of me playing keys by hand. And a little quantizing is no greater sin than a little auto-tune.
The computer is tangentially useful before and after music creation. It's useful beforehand as a source of interesting patches and sounds to download and there are computer "editors" that make it easier for me to program new sounds on my synths. After I complete a tune I transfer it from my recorder to my PC for distribution worldwide via the internet.
Perhaps the biggest advantage to playing everything by hand is that I'm not a very good keyboardist and I make a lot of mistakes, some of which sound better than what I meant to do. I then deliberately make the same "good" mistakes and take credit for creating them.
The end.
No, wait. There's one more thing. To play like an AEJOTZ you have to use really cheap toy-like synths. I use the CZ-101, Microkorg, Microbrute, Microsampler and now the Werkstatt-01.
OK, now it's the end.
Saturday, July 30, 2016
synth-fluence
When Switched On Bach was released in 1968 it was the first time I heard an electronic instrument without being impressed. Until then I had only heard electronic instruments on Kai Winding's "More," Del Shannon's "Runaway" and the Beatles' "Baby You're a Rich Man." Those examples were very interesting. (Later I would hear "Telstar" and wish I hadn't.) Bach music performed using funny sounds struck me as more gimmick than artistic innovation.
In 1971 Mort Garson released a hideous album of electronic noise called "Black Mass." It was shit. There are certain kinds of Moog sounds that I still despise because of this ugly album.
The guy (J.J. Perrey) who played the electronic instrument on "More" also worked with the guy (Gershon Kingsley) who wrote "Popcorn" in 1969 but I would not hear the latter composition until the 1972 cover by Hot Butter. That was an exciting piece of music. For the first time in my experience a synth tune sounded like the music was written for the synth.
In early 1974 Isao Tomita demonstrated that playing traditional music on synths can result in great beauty if appropriate sounds are used instead of just using funny noises.
In late 1974 Kraftwerk demonstrated that musically awkward people could make mildly interesting "garage" music with synths. (Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh was already brilliantly pioneering robotic nerd music at this point but would not be heard by the masses until 1978.)
Finally, in 1975, Synergy released "Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra." Here was quality music written for and skillfully played on synthesizers. I thought this was the beginning of a big change in direction for synthesizer music. I was wrong. Each successive Synergy album would be a step away from this masterpiece and toward the same automated mainstream as the rest of "electronic music." And no one else picked up where "Electronic Realizations" left off.
[In this spot I artfully blasted the most overrated "electronic" musicians of the boomer era, then changed my mind and deleted it. The surest way to be ostracized in today's oversensitive facade of faux-culture is to tell the truth. I will simply say that I was not as enamored of Jarre, Vangelis or Moroder as the masses were.]
When AEJOTZ was accidentally born in 1983 my main influences would have been the first Synergy album, 1970s Genesis, Devo and the B52s.
The rebirth of AEJOTZ in 2011 was catalyzed by Stereolab, whose music often reminded me of my 1983 synth experiments. I can't tell if Stereolab actually influenced my music or if we just have shared tastes and influences.
1980s synthpop has a bit of an influence on me, but not the usual kind. It influences me mostly by repulsion rather than by attraction. Sometimes I make musical choices to deliberately avoid '80s synth cliches.
In 1971 Mort Garson released a hideous album of electronic noise called "Black Mass." It was shit. There are certain kinds of Moog sounds that I still despise because of this ugly album.
The guy (J.J. Perrey) who played the electronic instrument on "More" also worked with the guy (Gershon Kingsley) who wrote "Popcorn" in 1969 but I would not hear the latter composition until the 1972 cover by Hot Butter. That was an exciting piece of music. For the first time in my experience a synth tune sounded like the music was written for the synth.
In early 1974 Isao Tomita demonstrated that playing traditional music on synths can result in great beauty if appropriate sounds are used instead of just using funny noises.
In late 1974 Kraftwerk demonstrated that musically awkward people could make mildly interesting "garage" music with synths. (Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh was already brilliantly pioneering robotic nerd music at this point but would not be heard by the masses until 1978.)
Finally, in 1975, Synergy released "Electronic Realizations for Rock Orchestra." Here was quality music written for and skillfully played on synthesizers. I thought this was the beginning of a big change in direction for synthesizer music. I was wrong. Each successive Synergy album would be a step away from this masterpiece and toward the same automated mainstream as the rest of "electronic music." And no one else picked up where "Electronic Realizations" left off.
[In this spot I artfully blasted the most overrated "electronic" musicians of the boomer era, then changed my mind and deleted it. The surest way to be ostracized in today's oversensitive facade of faux-culture is to tell the truth. I will simply say that I was not as enamored of Jarre, Vangelis or Moroder as the masses were.]
When AEJOTZ was accidentally born in 1983 my main influences would have been the first Synergy album, 1970s Genesis, Devo and the B52s.
The rebirth of AEJOTZ in 2011 was catalyzed by Stereolab, whose music often reminded me of my 1983 synth experiments. I can't tell if Stereolab actually influenced my music or if we just have shared tastes and influences.
1980s synthpop has a bit of an influence on me, but not the usual kind. It influences me mostly by repulsion rather than by attraction. Sometimes I make musical choices to deliberately avoid '80s synth cliches.
Saturday, July 2, 2016
Non-Fiction Music
I want to say "in the preceding article" but from the reader's perspective it's the "following" article. Let's try this:
In the chronologically preceding but physically following article, I endorse the jam band "Drones of Saturn." They are an example of artists who make "Non-Fiction Music." I, AEJOTZ, am another example. Feel free to genuflect.
I've probably written about NFM before but I never do anything quite the same way twice so I'm not really repeating myself if I do it again. Kind of.
There's a sliding scale of gray between extremes of "Fictional Music" and NFM but it's easier to describe the concept if I swing far to either side.
Far over on the FM side you have professional hit song writers who construct musical product according to a strict formula. This product is then sung by an age/gender/fashion appropriate "star" who performs the song the way an actor performs a script. Every step of the process is phony.
Way over on the NFM side you have a penniless bohemian sitting in an urban park coaxing some old instrument to play a spontaneous tune to the morning, expressing the feelings of an artistic soul grooving in the ever-changing now. The whole process is alive and real.
In-between would be songs artists felt when they wrote them, but that later became just "oldies" they are expected to play. (Does Alice Cooper still perform "Eighteen?")
A jam session is, ideally, an expression of spontaneous extemporaneous creativity. I qualify the preceding statement with "ideally" because I've been to "jam sessions" in which one or more egos were doing more showboating than extemporaneous jamming. Trying to impress the other players with your Yngwie scales is not the same as sharing and exploring a groove with the other players.
Ah, the key I was looking for just popped up: "exploring." A good jam doesn't just meander over existing worn rutted trails; it blazes a new trail. Not all "musicians" can do this. A guy who can learn his parts and play in a cover band is called a "musician," even if he never creates an original piece of music. He is totally FM. Only an adventurous sonic explorer can be NFM. Dig?
My new pals (I haven't met them yet) Drones of Saturn are trailblazers. You can draw comparisons between their sound and that of some bands that have gone before, but that's just nerdalizing. Oh crap. Now I have to explain nerdalizing. Sometimes I wish I'd quit making up terms.
I once wrote a seafaring song in 3/4 time that I performed for a number of years. After one such performance, some jackass smugly declared that I'd imitated "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. The Lightfoot tune was released in 1976. I wrote mine in 1971. I was nerdalized.
Nerdalizing is when some uncreative, unimaginative nerd jackass compares anything and everything new to the few things he's experienced in his stupid past. The nerdalist will ALWAYS say, "oh, that sounds like _____." Nerdalizing can be found in every comments section on every music-related webpage in the universe.
Anyway, back to the Drones. They play electric guitar, drums and bass guitar, so they sound a lot like a band that plays electric guitar, drums and bass guitar. DUH!!! The important thing is that they start with a hint of a shadow of a germ of a groove and then explore the @#$% out of it until they've completely ravished it and left it panting and satisfied in a ditch by the road. Pure creativity. Pure Non-Fiction Music.
Have I sharpened this point enough, yet? I sure hope so.
In the chronologically preceding but physically following article, I endorse the jam band "Drones of Saturn." They are an example of artists who make "Non-Fiction Music." I, AEJOTZ, am another example. Feel free to genuflect.
I've probably written about NFM before but I never do anything quite the same way twice so I'm not really repeating myself if I do it again. Kind of.
There's a sliding scale of gray between extremes of "Fictional Music" and NFM but it's easier to describe the concept if I swing far to either side.
Far over on the FM side you have professional hit song writers who construct musical product according to a strict formula. This product is then sung by an age/gender/fashion appropriate "star" who performs the song the way an actor performs a script. Every step of the process is phony.
Way over on the NFM side you have a penniless bohemian sitting in an urban park coaxing some old instrument to play a spontaneous tune to the morning, expressing the feelings of an artistic soul grooving in the ever-changing now. The whole process is alive and real.
In-between would be songs artists felt when they wrote them, but that later became just "oldies" they are expected to play. (Does Alice Cooper still perform "Eighteen?")
A jam session is, ideally, an expression of spontaneous extemporaneous creativity. I qualify the preceding statement with "ideally" because I've been to "jam sessions" in which one or more egos were doing more showboating than extemporaneous jamming. Trying to impress the other players with your Yngwie scales is not the same as sharing and exploring a groove with the other players.
Ah, the key I was looking for just popped up: "exploring." A good jam doesn't just meander over existing worn rutted trails; it blazes a new trail. Not all "musicians" can do this. A guy who can learn his parts and play in a cover band is called a "musician," even if he never creates an original piece of music. He is totally FM. Only an adventurous sonic explorer can be NFM. Dig?
My new pals (I haven't met them yet) Drones of Saturn are trailblazers. You can draw comparisons between their sound and that of some bands that have gone before, but that's just nerdalizing. Oh crap. Now I have to explain nerdalizing. Sometimes I wish I'd quit making up terms.
I once wrote a seafaring song in 3/4 time that I performed for a number of years. After one such performance, some jackass smugly declared that I'd imitated "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot. The Lightfoot tune was released in 1976. I wrote mine in 1971. I was nerdalized.
Nerdalizing is when some uncreative, unimaginative nerd jackass compares anything and everything new to the few things he's experienced in his stupid past. The nerdalist will ALWAYS say, "oh, that sounds like _____." Nerdalizing can be found in every comments section on every music-related webpage in the universe.
Anyway, back to the Drones. They play electric guitar, drums and bass guitar, so they sound a lot like a band that plays electric guitar, drums and bass guitar. DUH!!! The important thing is that they start with a hint of a shadow of a germ of a groove and then explore the @#$% out of it until they've completely ravished it and left it panting and satisfied in a ditch by the road. Pure creativity. Pure Non-Fiction Music.
Have I sharpened this point enough, yet? I sure hope so.
DRONES OF SATURN
Go right now to
https://soundcloud.com/dronesofsaturn
and listen your @#$% off
to some of the best non-fiction music anywhere, anywhen
These guys are my "neighbors" in NWI (Northwest Indiana, duh).
They're looking for a synth player to join them and I'm so tempted.
But they sound great and tight as a trio.
More might be too much.
On the other hand, since I realize that, I might be the perfect addition.
I would be carefully restrained.
Hm...
Maybe I should at least go jam with these guys once.
What do you think?
https://soundcloud.com/dronesofsaturn
and listen your @#$% off
to some of the best non-fiction music anywhere, anywhen
These guys are my "neighbors" in NWI (Northwest Indiana, duh).
They're looking for a synth player to join them and I'm so tempted.
But they sound great and tight as a trio.
More might be too much.
On the other hand, since I realize that, I might be the perfect addition.
I would be carefully restrained.
Hm...
Maybe I should at least go jam with these guys once.
What do you think?
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