Als Wien dereinst Hauptstadt des Habsburgerreichs war gab es als Gegengewicht zu Schwarzgelb eine stattliche Zahl beeindruckender Menschen. Der Schriftsteller und Publizist Karl Kraus war einer von ihnen. Berühmt ist er unter anderem auch für Aussagen wie zB:
“Ein Blitzableiter auf einem Kirchturm ist das denkbar stärkste Misstrauensvotum gegen den lieben Gott.”
oder
“Ein Journalist ist einer, der nachher alles vorher gewusst hat.”
Am bekanntesten ist aber wohl:
“Was Deutschland und Österreich trennt, ist die gemeinsame Sprache.”
.. den ich mit aller gebotenen Höflichkeit a&f@k.de widme.
Maybe you listened to some of my MOD-7 demos. Don’t be afraid, there are no more coming!
Now it is RC’s turn.
Richard Courtel aka RC
RC-Mod7-Demo.mp3
Why this demo?
I always like to make demo of new synths because lots of people love to listen to demos than sometimes do not come out quickly from manufacturers.
Demo Specs:
16 midi tracks used. You can see on the screenshot which patches i have used. I use the patterns to create different phrases for each sound. I have created 35 patterns for this one what is pretty low in fact and I could have made more variations and so more patterns but it’s not the purpose of this demo. I focused on the sounds, took the ones that really inspired me in the factory loaded bank, 12 MOD7 sounds + 4 drum tracks (HD1).
Screenshot of the patches used for RC’s audio demo.
I have used 9 IFX slots (see screenshot) and all mFX/TFX slots. Concerning IFX you can see that is quite simple and the guitar sounds took almost half of the IFX used.
The complete demo took 25 - 30 hours.
Screenshot of the IFX used by RC for his audio demo.
I really like to work with Korg sequencer, beside the fact that of course some functions are lacking, but it’s quite simple, straigh forward, from my point of view, and you can achieve good songs quickly with it.
MOD7:
The sounds are really good and by using only one you can have several sounds ready because of the well programmed realtime controllers, especially the Vector JoyStick which I have used a lot in the sequencer.
If any one has questions about this demo, I will answer of course!
Neuron’s backside - no in- and outputs as they are located on the left side.
Neuron’s On/Off Switch on the backside
In the middle of one of the two Resynators you can see the “chanterelle”. Its movements can be recorded and become an important part which breathes some live into the sounds.
In a posting at Karma-Lab Forum OASYAN RC aka Richard Courtel was asking me for some Neuron sounds. Therefore I thought I will give it a try.
A synthesizer’s sound character also depends on the person playing it. Neuron is here no exception, on the contrary in my opinion Neuron’s sound does even more depend on the person using it. This is not an excuse for the demos, just an explanation that in case you hear some completely different sounds and being surprised that it is the same source used here.
Neuron was and still is a polarising instrument, no doubt but for someone who likes to generate soundscapes it is a very interesting tool. Several people claim it only can sound harsh, cold and digital. Let’s hear if that is true and decide for yourself.
Do not expect the sound of a real Orchestra when listening to the first example.
Orchestral Pad
To me this sound includes in a way horns, strings and a bit the decay of a harpsichord at the end. All thrown together, shredded and put together again. Do you think this to be a harsh, cold and digital sound?
Next sound is one of my favourites and named “bebe Tara”. Originally planed to be used in a short diving movie, but the movie never made it.
By using the sticks (= “chanterelles”) you can influence some of the characteristics of the sound, depending on the model used. The reverb you hear is the internal one and to be honest, quite important for most of the sounds…
bebe Tara
In the last audio demo you can listen to several sounds I played in a row. Yes, some of them are scratchy, to me this is part of the “charme” of Neuron. Switching between sounds sometimes can take a while as Neuron always has to load the model.
several neuron sounds
Mass & Time
sounds like a motor saw recorded thru a phaser
Der Erzaehler
reminiscence to a project in the 90ies, has some Peter Gabriel “genes” in it
VP-1 Bellpad
very scratchy, but I love it
Didgeridoo
a factory sound, played a little bit with the chanterelles.. surprisingly does sound better then during playing
Wave Tubell Pad
used a Wave sample and “ReModellized” it, does not need further explanation, does it? Maybe your monitor boxes cannot reproduce the low end at the beginning.
Unisonal
to avoid any depressed listeners I am ending with a typical “happy sound” … mh… maybe not to happy for others, but a happy sound for me. Chanterelles were used once more.
Last but not least - in case you ever have the chance to switch on a Neuron one… no, two recommendations. First put on your sun glasses before you switch on… but before that check the fuses :wink:.
If you want to know more about this machine, then visit hartmann-music’s website.
Wenn die Leute wenigstens gute Fotos von mir nehmen würden, aber NEIN, sie scheren sich einen Dreck um das Urheberrecht und suchen sich dann noch die schlechtesten Fotos aus.
Konkret möchte ich Ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf das Posting von Darren Richard aka Daz “Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:56 pm” richten, in dem Sie einen link zu www.memtest.org finden.
____________ legal disclaimer ____________
Der Vollständigkeit wegen und aus Sicherheitsgründen folgender Hinweis - Die Verwendung der in dem entsprechenden link angeführten Software, sowie der damit verbundene RAM Test im OASYS oder jedem anderen Gerät, wird vom jeweiligen Anwender auf eigene Gefahr durchgeführt. Für etwaig auftretende Schäden wird keine Haftung übernommen.
On February 11th, shortly after starting with this blog, my personal wishlist for OASYS was posted here.
Now eight months later we have some more tools, MOD-7 already arrived and EXs3 will be released within the next weeks. Fine. As someone who likes to program I really appreciate what we got. The posting below about the angry family members in my studio is a joke. But in german we have a saying “jeder Scherz hat einen wahren Kern”, which means more or less that there is always some truth underlying the joke.
I could make an actual foto of my studio which would show you how much space I have now. Space for manuals, books, CDs, paper etc…. and somehow also space for ideas, but this is a completely different story. So OASYS by the time took over more and more responsibilities as to me it is the tool I was always looking for.
It was in the year 1990 when I entered a music store named “Stelzhammer” in Vienna to purchase Yamaha’s SY-77, the succesor of my beloved DX-7. And I was really working hard to fulfill this wish… but at the end I left it with a Korg T-1, as to me it seemed to be much more flexible in the things I wanted to do. It is fine for others to discuss about the specs and all the possibilities one has, routing here, matrix there, modulation, carriers, etc…. nice, but I was looking for a tool which gave me the possibility to realise my ideas in the shortest possible time… or lets say it the other way around, it should be a tool that does not stop the working flow and is not becoming a brake for creativity.
Korg’s T-1 had several limitations - no doubt - the number of voices was just one but the most important of them. But its sound was good compared to other instruments costing much more during that time. And it was good enough to convince a person named Fred Jakesch who left my home with the wish to buy something similar for his studio…
It is proven, you can work with the internal sequencer! RC aka Richard Courtel and Mike Conway are just two examples and today I heard a third one of someone who finished a complete production within OASYS, obviously also using the internal HD recorder.
But still there is the wish of many users to improve OASYS’ sequencer… and myself always being on the synthesizer / sound side asking for new EXis, I am now one of them as well. On top of my actual wishlist stands the internal sequencer making OASYS to a complete and perfect production station. It does not need to be dp, Logic or Cubase, just higher resolution, please also add a piano roll and make better use of the great GUI…. this would make OASYS to the perfect tool.
Another good reason for improving the sequencer is, that there are quite a lot of people with whom I would like to collaborate. Interestingly most, if not all, are using OASYS. Thus wouldn’t it be very convenient for us to just exchange the data files? In times of people working over big distances by using data transfer via internet and without meeting personally in the “real” world (whatever that place is, btw) wouldn’t it be great to just exchange the PCGs + Sequences?
Thanks.
ps: I just had a look at the wishlist poll… and guess what? .. best to click here.
Eric J. Sawyer aka EJ2 is another well known member of the OASYS network and 3rd-party sound designer for Karma, OASYS, M3 and V-Synth. His last collection was ECLECTRIC v1, a fully KARMA-fied set of 32 combis for Korg’s flagship. Let’s see if Eric is working on new sounds for the OASYS…
blogasys: Eric, you know what is coming now as intro – please be so kind and tell us a little bit of yourself.
EJ2: First, thank you, Peter, for the opportunity to share some details about myself and my work. I have really enjoyed reading the interviews published on your blogasys, so I hope my contribution adds more insight and information for our OASYS community.
blogasys: I am sure about that and thanks, Eric!
EJ2: .. compared with most users on KLF or KF, I’m an old fart – 63 years and counting. I’m a Canadian Boomer, eh! I grew up with two other brothers (one older, one younger) in a working class family in the north end of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. We didn’t have a lot of money back then, but my parents made sure we had what was needed to develop into well rounded citizens. One of those supports included music lessons. My dad was an excellent piano player (mostly self taught) and it appears my older brother and I inherited some of his talent. He had an amazing gift to be able to hear a song for the first time, sit down at the piano and crank out his version of it, which was pretty darn good too. I often wish I had half of his ability to play by ear. Unfortunately for my older brother and me, he passed away before he could teach us his techniques and secrets, especially his left hand comping. He was one of the best piano players around. Just the same, as the saying goes, “blood is thicker than water”, so I did acquire a passion for music, especially keyboards and a knack for improvisation and playing by ear.
Now, my older brother was a good piano student. He progressed with a natural affinity and did well in recitals and exams. Later into his young adult years he kept his piano acumen as an avocation while his main livelihood took him elsewhere. This is basically what my dad did as well. Neither dedicated 100 % to a professional career, even though they were more than capable. That’s not to say they didn’t make a few bucks here and there. At 67, my brother is still in demand and he does a solo gig now and then. Now, when he’s visiting me, he seldom ventures into my studio. One time I sat him down at the Karma and within one bar he threw off the headphones declaring, “I can’t handle all that. It’s too much. I’m completely lost with all that shit!” We had a good laugh appreciating where each of our talents shone.
When I first started piano lessons, I did not show a smidgen of disciplined diligence. I hated to practice. I refused to follow proper technique (fingering etc.). And my reading was atrocious. My piano teacher in her frustration with me would scratch deep red pencil marks all over my music books. I was more interested in just farting around experimenting with sounds. Needless to say, my parents took notice and eventually told me that I should quit my lessons because I was making good progress going nowhere. I agreed and, at 10 years old, packed in formal piano lessons – but not music altogether.
A few years later, my innate talents hit a different direction. A buddy across the street received a brand new accordion for his 12th birthday and invited me over to see and hear it. Well, I desperately wanted to strap it on and have a go. At first he was reluctant, but when I reminded him that I had taken a few years of piano lessons, he (and his dad) agreed to let me try to play it. Needless to say, I could; and I fell in love with this instrument. However, my parents were quite unwilling to let me restart my music education. Yet, with much pleading, and only after I showed them I could play my buddy’s accordion, albeit by ear, they conceded. A year later, after fruitful lessons with a rented “Stomach Steinway”, I had my own lovely 128 bass pearlized Scandalli. That was the first beginning of my love relationship with keyboard instruments. For the next three years I built up a decent repertoire of accordion and popular standard songs. One of the latter, in particular was my mom’s favorite – the “Theme from Mr. Lucky”. In addition, my inherited talent for playing by ear kicked in, especially when I was messing around pumping out blues, boogie, and zydeco styles on my “squeeze box”.
To tie in a little more about my musical background, I should mention that during my high school years, I played drums in our school’s jazz band – by ear, no reading nor training whatsoever. I just picked it up by listening and playing along to LP records of standard big band jazz tunes – Woodchoppers Ball, for example. All the other band members were enrolled in the school’s music classes, except for me. However, I fit in perfectly. Now, back in the 60’s, when school stage bands were rare, we were in high demand for private and public shows. We got to be quite good. Believe it or not Eugene Levy (American Pie fame) was one of the saxophonists in the group. This stint definitely had an impact on my grasp of rhythm and how it fit in with melody.
There’s more, however. In addition to “playing the traps” in high school, I was also, the lead trumpeter in a marching band for our local Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron. Again, I was self-taught and played by ear. Nevertheless, my success in Air Cadets went beyond the band. One of my honors resulted in an International Exchange to Great Britain when I was 18 years of age. So, why should I mention this? Well, having a natural “itch” to play music and without my trusty accordion along, all those pianos readily available in many of the pubs and mess halls that we visited, lured me back to those 88s with a new perspective and a new desire to really connect with keyboards. When I returned home, I followed my “old man’s” steps and started playing by ear - mostly the rock ‘n’ roll crap of the era in a few local groups.
It wasn’t long after my return, my father died. I met a girl, got married and started a family. Since then, I made sure of one thing - I always had musical instruments in the house, especially a piano, an accordion and, eventually other keyboards.
blogasys: How did you start making music and which electronic instrument was the first you played?
EJ2: This question segues nicely into what happened next. During the early years of my first marriage, I had a host of different jobs – grocery clerk, steel worker, insurance salesman, butcher, railroad trainman/conductor, and military drill instructor, believe it or not. I finally decided, with my then wife’s support, that I had enough of jumping from one job to another and that it would be best to return to school to commence degree studies and establish a real career in education. We knew that this decision would put a strain on family finances. So, she started full time work, while I worked shifts after classes; but to help pay the bills and university fees, we took in boarders. Before I explain how this led to my beginnings in electronic music. I should explain a few more interesting facts.
Having a penchant for playing around with sounds had me trying all kinds of experiments with my music instruments and found material. Before I even knew what the technique was called, I was investigating the “prepared keyboard”. I fooled around with thumb tacks in the hammers of my piano. It was an old Nordheimer, so I wasn’t worried about ruining it. Another trick (amongst my many experiments) was to put wax paper or aluminum foil behind the dampers. I even used drum sticks, guitar picks, large rubber bands, railway spikes – you name it - on detuned strings while depressing the sustain pedal. All the while, I was recording the results on an old “wire” recorder (http://www.videointerchange.com/wire_recorder1.htm). My next stunt was to play back my experiments from the wire recorder, improvise on whatever instruments or found sounds I wanted to integrated, and then recorded all that on another tape recorder. I even learned how to press on the outside of the wire recorders transports without realizing that I was engaged in what came to be known as “flanging”. I tried other techniques for distorting and modifying the sounds. Primitive yes! But, even by today’s standards, I had some really interesting “stuff” happening. Sadly, all that material has been long lost. Yet, little did I know that a decade or so later, the world of electronic music would explode for me with the advent of synthesizers, drum machines and multi track recorders.
Now, the reason I mentioned the renters in the previous paragraph was because they were decent musicians who discovered I could play keyboards. They introduced me to my very first electronic organ. To be precise, it was a beat up Vox Continental they had rented and brought back to the house to see if I could play it. I could and I did, so I decided to buy my own Yamaha YC-10.
That was tons of fun trying to play Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” (amongst other material) with that thing. We named ourselves “The Propellers” after the old one I had from my air cadet days hanging in the basement practice area. That chewed up prop accompanied us on all our gigs. Eventually, the band broke up and the musician boarders departed in their own directions. Nevertheless, my “Propellers” encounters made electronic keyboards a major part of my life forever.
blogasys: Why did you decide to use synthesizers for making music? What do you like about them?
EJ2: Well, it wasn’t long after my first wife and I divorced that I and two of my sons went on our own, and to keep busy with “healthy” distractions, I started frequenting music stores in some of my spare time. Basically, I was on the hunt for a cheap portable Hammond – a tough order indeed. At that time, I was desperately lusting for the sounds of the likes of Rod Argent (Argent), Tony Banks (Genesis), Jerry Corbetta (Sugar Loaf), Keith Emerson (ELP), Matthew Fischer (Whiter Shade of Pale), Jimmy Greenspoon (Three Dog Night), Jon Lord (Deep Purple), Gregg Rolie (Santana), Jimmy Smith (Jimmy Smith fame), Thjis van Leer (Focus), Rick Wakeman (Yes), Rick Wright (Pink Floyd), Steve Winwood (Traffic), et al. Be that as ambitious as it may, I came to concentrate my excursions at one store in particular - Lakeshore Music in Mississauga, Ontario (an up and coming urban area outside of Toronto). It wasn’t long before a very productive collegial relationship was established with the owner (Wally) and staff (John). They were in my age class (early 30’s then), held similar musical propensities, and they were very accomplished musicians who were eager to share their knowledge and the latest equipment around or soon to be around. They knew what they were talking about and they shared it freely in a friendly and helpful manner without the hype or misinformed bullshit you get today. [Just as an aside, I find it shameful that most current music store keyboard departments (and I’ve been to a few across North America) are staffed with idiots who haven’t a clue.]
blogasys: Yes, the days when you could have a good discussion are over….
Now, back to the store that introduced me to the synthesizer: One Saturday morning, I came across a keyboard that looked like a small chord organ (not what I was in the market for). It had knobs and wheels and it bore a strange name – Moog. “Turn it on and give it a whirl.” Wally insisted. After three notes, that was it. I was hooked. Though I did complain, “I can’t seem to play any chords on this thing.” He laughed and suggested I was a bit ahead of my time with that comment. “It’s a synthesizer!” he explained, “But, take a look at these.” He then showed me a Roland, a Yamaha, and a Korg - all (but Yamaha) new names to me as well, and yes, all monophonic. When I questioned why these companies couldn’t put out a keyboard that could play chords, we bantered around the concept of “polyphony”. He then told me to wait a few months because he was bringing in something from Roland that just might be up my alley. Each week passed by while I explored the mono-creatures now sucking me into the world of electronic music. Finally, that fine day and the beast arrived. It was a Juno 6 and, with the exception of 6 voice limitation, I was soon in sonic heaven. Without a blink of the eye, I wrote out a cheque, took this baby home, and the rest is history, as the saying goes.
I absolutely loved messing around with this synth because it augmented my penchant for sonic experimentation. I didn’t just restrict myself to the suggested settings from the diagrams and schemes in the manual. I went whole hog and before long, I had a brand new vocabulary - cut-off frequency, modulation, LFOs (low frequency oscillators), VCFs (voltage controlled filters), VCOs (voltage controlled oscillators), Arpeggiator, ENV (envelopes), ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release), effects etc. The Juno 6 was a great synthesizer to cut my teeth on. Without a doubt, this was the genesis of EJ2. To be sure, though, it’s been a long evolutionary progression to where I am today.
blogasys: Who are your favorite musicians, groups, or sound designers you think influenced you?
EJ2: Well, it’s a long list that includes those already mentioned above and giants from the past as well as more contemporary artists and sound designers, but I’ll limit it to the following. J.S. Bach, G. F. Handel, D. Scarlatti, Palestrina, Paganini, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Salieri, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Weber, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokefiev, Mussorsky, Liszt, Wagner, Dvorák, Sibilieus, Satie, Debussy, Camille Saint Saens, Bizet, Berlioz, Bartok, Ravel, Scriabin, Gustaf Holtz, Edvard Grieg, Pucinni, Elgar, Benjamin Britten, Paul Dukas, Mahler, Copeland, Gershwin, Ives, Stravinsky, Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein, John Williams, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Burt Bacharach, Stephen Sondheim, Frank Loesser, Steely Dan, Spyro Gyra, Weather Report, Miles Davis, Dave Brubek, Joni Mitchel, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Tony Banks, Yes, Focus, Keith Emerson, Jam n Lewis, Steppenwolf, Tod Rundgren, Gordon Lightfoot, Loverboy, Red Rider, Gino & Joe Vanelli, Jeff Healy, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, W.C. Handy, Bo Diddly, Fats Waller, Fats Domino, John Lee Hooker, BB King, Taj Mahal, Muddy Waters, Carlos Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, J. L. Ponty, J.M. Jarre, John Cage, Philip Glass, Morton Subotnick, Wendy Carlos, Glenn Gould, Samuel Barber, Larry Fast, Andre Previn, Thomas Dolby, S. Ciani, Vangelis, Brian Eno, Enya, S. Vega, Kraftwerk, Klaus Schulze, Kitaro, Tomito, Mike Oldfield, Alan Parsons, Tangerine Dream, the Beatles, the Who, the Guess Who, Supertramp, Mahavishnu, Rush, Kim Mitchell, Jethro Tull, Saga, Ray Manzarek (Doors), Billy Preston, Deep Purple, Tears for Fears, Moody Blues, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul, Jan Hammer, Dream Theatre, Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, William Orbit, BT (Brian Transeau), Rob Papen, Tim Conrady, Ned Bouhalassa, Eric Persing, Paul Haslinger, Maarten Spruijt, Marc Schlaile, Zon Vern Pyles, Dan Lind, Jordan Rudess, John Bowen, Steve McNally, John “Skippy” Lehmkuhl, Peter “Ski” Schwartz, Dan Phillips, Jack Hotop, Paul Osborn, Stephen Kay …
I guess I got a bit carried away…..
blogasys: … and I guess this is a prove that you really love music!
EJ2: … man, there are so many more who have had an impact on where I am today. I know I’ve left out a few. As you can see, those influences range from medieval to baroque to classical, from impressionist, to post modern, from blues to experimental, from contemporary to ancient patterns/scales, from middle eastern, oriental, aboriginal music to cinematic sound tracks. I’m all over the music map.
In Part II of Eric’s interview he will tell us more about his music, the equipment he is using and focus on OASYS and the sounds he has designed. Eric will mention one or two words about KARMA and give an insight in his sound design work - so watch this space!
You want to listen to some audio demos already?
Ok. Then please click here to listen to some Combinations of Eric’s ECLECTRIC v1 Collection.
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Das Bessere ist des Guten Feind.
