Yamaha PSS-80 Rhythm Loops
March 31st, 2007 1 Comment
I picked up a PortaSound PSS-80 off Ebay, figuring it would be a good candidate for some circuit-bending experimentation (Click here for a YouTube video of a circuit-bent PSS-80 in action).
I sampled its built in percussion loops - there’s no headphone socket or line output (yet) so I recorded them using an Edirol R-09 pointed at the device’s speaker, then cleaned them up a bit. Unlike some of the keyboards in the PortaSound range, the percussion sounds aren’t PCM samples so they sound quite synthetic. The samples are 48kHz/16bit, tempo is roughly 124 BPM.
Download: pss-80_rhythm_loops.zip (630 KB)
Posted in: Samples
Flange Mayhem
March 29th, 2007 3 Comments
It’s a random stereo flanging VST effect. The randomization is tempo-synced: delay and feedback parameters are selected independently for the left and right channels at intervals ranging from 1/64 of a beat to four bars.
It started life as a subtle meandering chorus effect, mainly for making mono tracks a bit more interesting. Here’s an example using a rhodes sample, first dry then effected:
I added a limiter because it can get fairly loud with high feedback settings. Here’s a little arpeggio pushing the limiter pretty hard:
Here’s an example of Flange Mayhem doing weird things to a drum loop:
Download it here: flange_mayhem.zip
Posted in: VST Effects
Initial Public Ongaku
March 26th, 2007 No Comments
With so many free tunes available nowadays it’s not often I buy music, but I couldn’t resist checking out Sugimoto Tomoyuki’s IPO EP. I’ve been a fan of his Modulation podcast for a while so I knew this release wouldn’t disappoint - I’m not so good at classifying music but I guess it’s a sort of cross between IDM, picopop and techno.
Well, anyway…it’s finely crafted beats and melodies with meticulous production, check it out here, or just search your local iTunes store for “sugimoto tomoyuki“.
Also you can hear a preview at http://www.myspace.com/modulationjapan.
Posted in: Music
Accessing the Windows Recording Control With a Single Click
March 24th, 2007 7 Comments
For the last ten years or so I’ve been frustrated on a regular basis by the method required to select which audio input I want to record from. Ie. double-click on the volume icon to open the Play Control -> Select “Properties” from the “Options Menu” -> choose “Recording” and click “OK” to open the Recording Control.
Posted in: Tips & Tricks
Casio VL-Tone Piano Soundfont
March 23rd, 2007 5 Comments
I made a soundfont based on the Casio VL-Tone (or VL-1) piano preset.
All 53 notes in the instrument’s range (G2 to B6) were individually sampled via the VL-Tone’s line output at 96kHz/24bit then down converted to 48kHz/16bit.
Download: vl-tone_piano.zip (6.28 MB)
Posted in: Samples