Category Archives: Workflow

Reassembling the studio Part 1

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As I’m nearing the end of the mountain of boxes that filled our new apartment after the move I’m finally starting to get my gear back up as well.

I’m having a desk and some racks custom built for me to maximise the space, and while waiting for that to come around I’ve begun to pull cables and rack up some auxiliary gear like patch bays and MIDI interfaces.

photo

I’ve always been a great fan of proper cabling and it feels good to take the extra time to get it right :).

More pictures and info to follow!

Off Topic: Sleeping Patterns

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Another Off Topic post. Sorry but without access to my gear I’ve found a lust to write about things besides making music. Live with it.

Since I stopped drinking loads of coffee and switched to tea, I’ve also seen some of my sleeping patterns change ever so slightly. I find that I get more tired in the evening due to the lower caffeine intake, and I feel less down in the mornings until I have my first cup of black.

Taking this a step further I’ve decided to try and twist my sleep cycle and rhythm slightly backwards so that I go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. My decision comes not only from a shift in caffeine intake, but also from a string of articles I’ve read lately about the adverse effects of not sleeping enough. I also recognise some of the tell-tale signs of prolonged sleep deprivation mentioned in those articles. (No link, there’s a ton if you do a  search and .)

For the longest time I’ve been convinced that I’m a ‘night person’ but to be frank I’ve never made an effort to revert this and see what the alternative might be like (except from jet lagged periods). I’m really curious to see where this leads…

Have you ever tried to change your sleeping pattern? What was your experience?

New Video (Dark Echoes)

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A little video I pulled together while jet lagged in Stockholm. It’s just the Doepfer Dark Time sequencing the Dark Energy with some percussive clickety-clacks from an Elektron MaschineDrum.

The delay and Reverb are from the built-in FX section of the Allen & Heath ZED-10FX mixer.

Novation Launchkey Mini vs Arturia MiniLab

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Disclaimer:
I have not used the Launchkey Mini yet, the below is based on specs and photos.

launchkeymini_angle-640x412So Novation has announced the Launchkey Mini (sp ~$99). With 25 mini keys, 16 pads, 8 rotary knobs and 2 performance buttons, all assignable of course, it makes for a sweet little MIDI keyboard, not at all unlike the Arturia MiniLab that also launched recently.

I got a chance to play around with the Arturia board for a couple of days and it certainly has the upper hand when it comes to design in my opinion. Of course the two are not entirely comparable given that you get a bloody awesome collection of 5000 analog synth emulation presets with the Arturia board..

My biggest gripe with the Arturia MiniLab was the touch strips. Very poor quality and performance which in the end rendered it almost unusable for me. The keys and the pads though were very nice and responsive. The Launchkey Mini has gone a step further and done away with the traditional modulation / pitch controls entirely. My suspicion is that you can use the two ‘performance buttons’ for this by assigning them your self?

MiniLab_275In terms of connectivity the only difference is that you get a foot switch input on the MiniLab. This could be important to you depending on your playing style. Both are USB powered and class compliant. I for one really wish they had a MIDI out port for connecting straight to some of my older analog gear, but that dear old round connection seems to be an endangered species these days…

Looking at the bundles software (Launchkey Mini: Bassstation, V-Station, Live Lite, Samples, Launchkey app for iPad vs. MiniLab: AnalogLab with 5000 classic synth presets) it really depends on your style of music and workflow. I love the Arturia emulations since they fit very well with the kind of music I make, but the flexibility of the Novation soft synths where you are not limited to presets is also very attractive. In the end it’s up to you.

Check out the rivals at their respective websites below:

Elektron Side Cheeks / Panels Part 4

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Today I had my third meeting at the studio building my Elektron side panels! I got a call in the afternoon that the actual designs / plans were ready for inspection so S and I drove down right away to check them out.

DSC01186Using the actual Analog Four to verify the angles, spacings and other details we went over the designs and sketches. I made one alteration, adding angles to the front cut-outs, which the carpenter seemed very happy with. Other than that his plans matched exactly what I had in mind.

Next the actual ‘production’ will start and in about 2-3 weeks I should be able to show you the actual results. Needless to say I’m really excited about this project and I can’t wait to see what the final panels will looks like.

More updates to follow.