Building A Desktop Modular System

2010 was the year I turned my entire studio into a modular synth.

No shit. Pretty much anyone can do it for about the cost of a MacBook Pro. Seriously.

So, Keyboard Magazine asked me to write an article/tutorial about it.

Here it is.

Happy Monday!

(Photo credit: Seabrook Jones for JuicyThis.com)

This & That #7

One of my all-time favorite periodicals - New Scientist - has posted a very cool video on building your own Sonic Crystal.

What's a Sonic Crystal? Go here.

These are about as cool as it gets. And my birthday's only a week away!!!

Earlier this month, I was asking the guys over at Switched On if anyone had made a decent Roland VP-330 softsynth. Well apparently, someone did - and if it's Windows-only, I'm gonna key their Chevy.

Free shit and more info after the jump...

Download: NI RAZOR Loop Six-pack

Just snagged the Native Instruments' RAZOR Reaktor synth that I blogged about yesterday.

Developed in conjunction with Berlin electronica artist, Errorsmith, this ensemble is targeted at the Dubstep community, but there's a helluva lot more to it than that.

With its über-pretty FFT display of harmonic motion, tons of really unique filters and a couple of beat-synced LFOs, RAZOR makes a deep cut into additive synthesis territory (sorry, couldn't resist the pun).

So, I decided to beat everyone to the punch and drop a RAZOR-edged free loop six-pack on ya, so you can get a taste for yourself.

Tech notes and linkage after the jump...

Download: Opening Set for Gabriel & Dresden at SXSW 2011

A lot of people have asked if I recorded my opening set for Gabriel & Dresden at last week's reunion show at SXSW.

Why, yes. Yes, I did.

So here it is. Perfect for workouts, road trips, or long walks on the beach...

Download Opening Set for Gabriel & Dresden at SXSW 2011

Super Secret Roland Project

A lot of people have been asking about the top secret programming gig I recently did for Roland.

Here's a hint ;)

Native Instruments Announces Dubstep Softsynth

It's not April 1 yet, so this must be real. Gadzooks.

Virtual Monotron

In honor of Korg's incredible wündertoy, the Monotron, here's a virtual version to test drive.

Beware. It's addictive.

Java-heavy applet after the jump.

Academik SXSW Launch Event Update

Man, this week is just cuh-razy. Planning a label launch is hard work...

That said, the Ableton t-shirts are in. The Korg Monotrons are here, as are the Bleeplabs Thingamagoop 2s. The Avid/M-Audio Venom is looking pretty in its box - and we've got a ton of Propellerhead beanies to go along with the copies of Reason Record Duo we're giving away. It looks like a friggin' Guitar Center at Academik HQ.

But that's how we like it :)

Just as cool - maybe moreso - the Secret Panda Society played me some of their newest tracks and well, I'm more than a little blown away by what I'm hearing. Today and tomorrow, we're working on a couple of tech house collabs in The Danger Room. Seriously good stuff. Brace yourself for an amazing show this Friday.

Buzz is growing. Tweets are flowing.

More event info here.

New Ableton Preset: Arkade

Taking the occasional break from launch activities, I've been fiddling around with this preset for a couple of weeks and I think it's ready to release into the wild.

Arkade is designed to emulate 8-bit video game sounds, with a few effects like bitcrushing and highpass filtering thrown in for good measure.

MACRO PARAMETERS

Rate: Adjusts tempo-synced arpeggiation rate
Length: Adjusts duration of arpeggiated notes
Range: Determines maximum upward range of arpeggiation
Step Size: Varies the step size from 0 steps (only held notes are apeggiated) to one octave (classic octave jumping arpeggiation)
Octave 1: Introduces an additional square wave, one octave higher.
Octave 2: Introduces an additional square wave, two octaves higher.
Bitcrush: Bitcrushing amount
HiPass: Highpass cutoff frequency

Notes and download link after the jump...

Polymoog Surrealism

Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Michael Boddicker, and MIMES!

Oh yeah, and the Polymoog.

This promo video redefines the word "surreal"...



Part 2 after the jump...

How To Launch Your Own Record Label :)

Introducing Academik Records...

This & That #6

I've been too busy working on this to worry about that.

Back in the saddle after SXSW. Promise.

Pow!

Sometimes it's the little things in life that make you smile the most...