Cables and Kenton

Had another deliver today, a rather large box from Juno Records..inside, packed into a box for 12" records, was a smaller box surrounded by bubble wrap, inside which..was the MIDI THRU box and power adapter. So, quickly tested the THRU box, all working, then set about untangling the cables, wrapping them, and labelling the ends. I'd like to replace with all shorter cables, maybe later, it's not essential at the moment. Bit tired so that's about it for tonight.

It looks like it did the other day

Well, here is everything that's is a "keeper" at this stage. It's the same as the other day except we have a new mixer, new knowledge of MIDI (and a THRU box in the mail), and a 6 way power block. Starting to realise I need to buy shorter cables, start to measure up flight cases, get another Smart Media card (RT-323 doesn't have one, it's all on-board memory for now)..it's working out a bit at a time. The additional of a Korg Mini KP is the only possible bit of kit I'm thinking about adding, and that's down to selling a few items to fund it.

Back to the loft..

Well, thanks Tandy mixer, you got me this far..the SU10 is fun but basically the MPC 500 is the only sample-trigger I need..love the old school of the RX-17 but it's too big for only a few drum sounds..and the Pandora is pretty cool but really built for guitar FX and it hums pretty bad and occasionally resets. So, these guys will probably go back into storage. For now.

New arrival

Great! The Behringer 1002FX arrived.. here she is, plugged in as I work my way through the inputs checking everything is in order, so far so good. I'm using the tape in as I ran out of 1/4 inch jacks, something else to add to the shopping list..actually I might have one or two in the loft, more digging required. Everything sounds good so far, built in effects are fine, very easy to set up and use out of the box. I'll use up those 4 stereo inputs in no time, but the mono line in's, tape in, plus basic routing on the EMX-1 and line in on the RT-323 are currently spare.

Yamaha stuff

The Yamaha units together, possibly for the last time, but who knows. Just wanted to test out a couple of new MIDI cables really but it got me thinking about how much room the RX17 takes up given that it is only a very very limited drum module (and basic sequencer but I wouldn't need that). I like it but it has hardly any flexibility. The SU10 on the other hand proved handy when I got that ribbon controller doing a CC pitch control. I also checked the Maplins foot switch on the RT-323 and it worked, for basic "hands free" start/stop, so I need to think about that when picking a MIDI master as the EMX-1 doesn't have foot switch unless you buy a MIDI version, anyway, not the end of the world just a few more lessons learnt as I keep trying various things out while waiting for the mixer and THRU box to arrive.

Chains and stars

Having a bit of trouble keeping the EMX-1 as the Master as the MPC 500 wants to run the show (issues with the "soft THRU" mode)..so, just ordered one of these (thanks to a few more sales today, cheers Rich!) which will let me try out a star network vs the current chain, which is supposed to be better for what I'm doing and will keep the EMX-1 in command and leave a few spare THRU ports for future expansion. It's down to Parcel Force now, more waiting..mixer was dispatched though, so it's coming together..

Arc of machines

Forgot to post this pic the other day so using blogger on android as a test upload.

Took a quick picture of some of the loft-finds, added in a foot pedal that I think can be used with the RT-323, maybe. It's a left over from a home-made electronic drum kit I built years ago, and passed on to someone else, this part got left behind, it might have a use yet.

Line 'em up

Well, thought I'd lay out a few bits, how they might fit into a guitar hard-case. I think I'm going to use up more room, so need to think about DJ flight cases..or a massive board and just glue them down. I'm joking.. on the glue. If you're interested in a bit more detail and to save some google time the stuff here from bottom of pic to top..

Akai MPC 500 : it's a sampler and sequencer but my primary use is triggering samples

Zoom RT-323 : it's a drum machine but happens to have a nice sub bass and dedicated sub bass outputs, so a bass-line machine perhaps

Korg Electribe EMX-1 : ROMpler groovebox with nice old school synth capability, easily the heart of the setup

Korg Kaoscillator : for spot FX and freaky sounds using that trademark x-y pad

Hmm, just noticed the mixer is out of shot. See what I mean about running out of space? I need to do some serious layout work, but that's not important for now, I'm still landing on the "V1" set of gear to use that works well together musically for me.

This pic is a few days old now, I need a new one, once the mixer arrives and I figure out where exactly the SU10 and PX1 will go..and maybe that RMX-17. I'm pretty sure I won't find anything else in the loft to add. The only other item I made note of, I was recommended to get a Korg MINI-KP or similar. But funds are out at the moment, got a few things up for sale so let's see how it goes, I may not need it. I need to have a limit of say 6-8 things and even that's a bit of over the top. Learning as I go!

Stuff from the loft

Well, right mixed bag of things found..broken distortion pedals, broken megaphone, now in the bin. Guitar tuners and cables, stored.. a never used (by me anyway) Yamaha SU10, and a Korg Pandora PX1...these could be potentials for RIG-1. Tested the Pandora and it works but occasionally resets (I need to open it up and check connections), found a power supply and manual online for the SU10 which is basically a tiny MPC type thing, but the cool part is that it has a ribbon controller (apparently can set a CC value)..this unit is the same as Atari Teenage Riot used live so I learnt today. Jimmy, if you're reading this - thanks for donating that SU10 years back, if you remember, and Mark same to you for a swap we did on that Korg, it's ages ago now, but I'm possibly breathing life back into this stuff.

something old = something new

Well, the Tandy mixer is creaking (ran out of inputs and sliders rusty, and quite a lot of hum, oh and no fx-out, oh and running on batteries..you get the idea), and the model up from that I found buried in the loft was worse..so I've dipped into the funds and ordered a new mixer from amazon. I had about 60 ish quid to spend, wanted at least 4 stereo inputs, and ideally some kind of FX capability, and small form factor. Strangely such a thing exists (well, close as). Hopefully it'll do the job. I was ok using the Tandy to test stuff out but it soon became apparent this idea could work but the 20 year old budget mixer wasn't going to cut it.

MIDI MIDI MIDI

..and then there were 5. The RT-323 came out of the loft and the Kaoscillator out of the "sell me" pile, audio into the Tandy and for the first time MIDI from EMX > MPC > RT-323. I was using an old Yamaha RX-17 but that's not in the pic, but it might be making a comeback later. Can't get the MPC to pass on the MIDI clock start down to the RT-323, MPC only likes using "soft THRU" when it's the master. That's ok for now but I need to get around that as start/stop/tempo on the EMX is much easier on the hand. A MIDI box will solve it at some point if I can't find the answer in the manual or on the web.With this set up, I sat fiddling around for an hour, coming up with all kinds of weird stuff. The magic of having them all hooked up, audio/MIDI, was happening -- well, it might have sounded like crap, but I was enjoying it.

First things first.

This is pretty much the starting point, dusted off an old Tandy mixer (cheers for storing it bro!) and ran the audio of my EMX-1 and MPC500 into it, and out to headphones. Found my box of tricks in the cupboard under the stairs with a stack of old (again, Tandy, cheers!) cables and adapters inside. I can't wake up the family so no speakers, and I've got no spare room so this has to be done on the floor in the living room. It's all part of the fun, honest!

blastoff.. RIG-1 is born

So, I'm used to making music using software on a computer. I started with an Amiga, went to a desktop PC, went to a laptop, and even to an iPod Touch. I didn't really "get" MIDI, and I've ignored it for a long time, staying inside the software using samples and occasionally virtual instruments.

I started to get fed up with mouse clicks and thought I'd get myself some new-school MIDI (over USB) controllers, which were fun, but still..underneath it is still software on a computer, which means system updates, anti-virus, almost limitless memory/space for sampling and the whole web's worth of virtual instruments, patches, music software....I was spending more and more time finding and fiddling and less time enjoying the process of making music.

I also realised that the music I had put out there (see my soundcloud) had very little chance of being performed live or expanded on.

So I started to look at the hardware groovebox market, thinking that might be a good start- restricted, hands-on, hardware approach.. and quickly reminded myself that I used to want an Electribe. I went to eBay, checked funds, took a chance bid, and won a bargain EMX-1. This got me into a few of the tribe forums, where a couple of folks (Ruso, Aciphecs and Novatron in particular) had really inspiring "coffin" setups..no PC/MAC, just hardware in a box wired up and ready to go.

Back at home the other thing happening was that I had to have a serious think about storage space, and the gear in the loft..going into the loft reminded me that I had collected (played with for a while.. then stored) some interesting stuff over the 15+ years. Most of which I'd decided to sell, give away, or bin..with this in mind I started to drag this stuff out, plug it in, and see if it still worked. I started to have more fun doing so than I'd had in a fair while with just software and it also dawned on me that I only ever used this gear one piece at a time in the past, I never really connected it all up.

The result of all this, is the start of a new project "RIG-1". It's about getting value out my old gear, wiring it up, overcoming MIDI, hands on performance, no PC/MAC, and at some point, building a coffin to hold the thing and perform live.