Korg Monologue, MicroFreak, Novation Circuit, Volca FM, NTS-1, Lone Rider

Korg Monologue, MicroFreak, Novation Circuit, Volca FM, NTS-1, Lone Rider part 1

Waveformer

"First part of a three-part jam, featuring the Korg Monologue, Arturia MicroFreak, Novation Circuit, Volca FM, and with Zoom MS-70CDR and Korg NTS-1 on effects.

My music on Bandcamp: http://waveformer42.bandcamp.com/

This jam was originally planned to be around 45 minues, with lots of different parts, and lots of different solos played live on the Monologue. All planned out over 3 sheets of paper with plenty of notes scribbled all over. I did record a 45 minute take, but wasn't happy with the performance so I decided to scrap it. And ... playing the whole thing live was kind of daunting, so I chickened out and decided to make this a three part jam with a common soundset and some common themes.

This is the first of the three planned parts.

The Circuit's are doing drums, bass, two melodic sequences, and some slightly melodic effects. The track is running at tempo 112, but I have set the Circuits to tempo 56, and use the microsteps to squeeze in twice as many steps, so each pattern is in effect 32 steps. One of the Circuits is also sequencing the MicroFreak. I'm very much "playing" the different melodic sequence patterns, both on the Circuits and on the Volca - changing timbre, filter, sync, wavetable index, etc. during the jam.

The VolcaFM does it's own thing with a basic 16 step sequence being used as an arp/melodic sequence in some parts and as a bass in other places, using with the transpose slider. I found a fun way of adding some randomness to the sequence on the FM, by turning on the arpeggiator, setting the type to random 2, and the div to 1-1. If I play just notes with length 1 step, the arpeggiator does nothing. But I make sure to hold a few notes in the sequence for two or three steps, and then the arpeggiator plays one or two notes at a random octave. The result is a 16 step sequence that varies slightly all the time. A fun discovery :-). The Volca goes into a MS-70 pedal for vibrato, autopan, slapback delay, standard delay with ping-pong, and a HD hall.

The MicroFreak is doing pads and has a very basic custom patch - just a super saw oscillator and the cyclic envelope slowly modifying cutoff frequency. It goes in to the MS-70 for a gentle chorus, a stereo delay, and the HD hall reverb, for a wide lush sound.

On the Monologue, I start off with a theremin-ish sound, using just the triangle oscillator, the filter and the LFO for some vibrato. Later on, this is transformed into a grumpy distorted lead sound by adding oscillator sync with the envelope modifying oscillator 2 pitch, and with maximum resonance and filter self oscillation fighting with the harmonic frequencies from the oscillator.

The audio is recorded on a Korg KP2S and normalized in Audacity. Video is recorded on iPhoneX. Audio and video is synchronized in DaVinci Resolve 15.

The Zoom MS-70CDR patches are included below. To load a patch into the MS-70, connect your MS-70 to your computer using a USB cable, go to https://g200kg.github.io/zoom-ms-util..., right-click an available patch slot, select "Import Patch from text", and paste in this text.

Zoom MS-70CDR #1 (MicroFreak) effect "SoftVelvtW":
f0520061284a2000002e007c000032200000000000040000000060020023707a7c00191040000200000000006400002101004c0060000019400600000000000000000021011500707a5c1f304048714146160500400000001100003204004c0113006204000000000000000001000000000000000000000000000000000000000000140f53006f667456656c7600745700f7

Zoom MS-70CDR #2 (VolcaFM) effect "Velvet WF":
f052006128080102000c02740010327000070000000400000000210000404e0914013240000000000000000000040021020010250440000f701300100000000000000011002100704200001b200010400600000000000000110000320360100112004006000000000000000061040000040010013200000000000000000000000000180f5600656c766574202000574600f7

Gear:
- Korg Monologue
- Korg NTS-1
- Korg Volca FM
- Arturia MicroFreak
- Novation Circuit x 2
- 2 x Zoom MS-70CDR
- Korg Mini Kaoss Pad 2S (for recording)

Connections:
- Monologue - NTS-1 - Mintbox Mixer
- MicroFreak - MS-70CDR #1 - Mintbox Mixer
- Volca FM - MS-70CDR #2 - Mintbox Mixer
- Circuit 1 - Mintbox Mixer
- Circuit 2 - Mintbox Mixer
- Mintbox Mixer (2 in series) - KP2S
- Midi: Circuit 1, Circuit 2, Monologue, MicroFreak split midi out to Volca FM and to NTS-1

Effects:
- NTS-1 (Monologue): Delay (Type: High, Time: 60%, Depth: 70%, Mix: D-60 ) - Reverb (Type: Plate, Time: Max, Depth: Max, Mix: D-35)

Misc:
- Tempo: 56 on Circuit and 112 on MS-70s
- Volca FM patch: Old Korg W

Chords:
- Intro (notes/intervals): C - [C-Eb] - [Eb - G] - [Ab - C] - [F - Ab] - [G - Bb] - [Bb - F] - [G - D - G] - [G - D - F] - [C - Eb] - [Bb - F] - [Ab - Eb - G] - [C - G - C] - C
- Scene 1: Cm - Fm - Cm - Bm - Cm - G - Cm
- Scene 2: Cm - Ebm"


Korg Monologue, MicroFreak, Novation Circuit, Volca FM, NTS-1, Lone Rider part 2

Waveformer

"Spacious jam using the Korg Monologue, VolcaFM, NTS-1, MicroFreak and Novation Circuit.

My music on Bandcamp: http://waveformer42.bandcamp.com/

This is the second part of a three-part jam, using the same instruments and patches as in part 1 [below].

The jam starts off with the Volca FM playing a 16 step pattern, with arp type set to random 3. I'm quite pleased with how you can get nice variations over a basic melodic pattern using the random arp and time division 1.1. Notes longer than one quarter is then arpeggiated randomly, whereas quarter notes in the pattern stays the same.

The Circuit joins in with short melodic and percussive sounds, building an ambient soundscape, before the jam moves into more structured melodic territory. The Large Hall reverb on the Circuit is really nice sounding, with the decay and damping parameters set to max (max decay, minimal damping). You need to use a MIDI editor or controller to access the reverb parameters on the Circuit. Check the Circuit Programmers Reference Guide for details.

The MicroFreak is underutilized, just doing chords with the super nice SuperWave oscillator combined with Chorus, Delay and Reverb from the MS-70 "CDR" (duh).

The Monologue is used for solos. First, I'm playing with a 16 step pattern, turning steps on and off. Then an improvised solo using the same soaring lead sound as in part one of the jam (from last month). And finishing off with a short theremin-like doodle at the end. The NTS-1 is used just for delay and reverb for the Monologue.

Inbetween the two first Monologue parts the Volca FM gets some attention as I increase the carrier decay and then play with velocity and modulator decay. You can really hear how the 16 step pattern varies due to the random arp here.

The Zoom MS-70CDR effects are the same as in part 1 of the jam. Check the description for how to download.

Gear:
- Korg Monologue
- Korg NTS-1
- Korg Volca FM
- Arturia MicroFreak
- Novation Circuit x 2
- 2 x Zoom MS-70CDR
- Korg Mini Kaoss Pad 2S (for recording)

Connections:
- Monologue - NTS-1 - Mintbox Mixer
- MicroFreak - MS-70CDR #1 - Mintbox Mixer
- Volca FM - MS-70CDR #2 - Mintbox Mixer
- Circuit 1 - Mintbox Mixer
- Circuit 2 - Mintbox Mixer
- Mintbox Mixer (2 in series) - KP2S
- Midi: Circuit 1, Circuit 2, Monologue, MicroFreak split midi out to Volca FM and to NTS-1

Effects:
- Zoom MS-70CDR (MicroFreak): Vintage CE (Comp: 2, Rate: 25, Mix: 50) - Stereo Delay (TimeL: 8th note, TimeR: dotted 8th note, Mix: 97, LchFB: 28, RChFB: 31, LchLv: 100, RchLv: 89) - HD Hall (PreD: 34, Decay: 83, Mix: 38, LoDmp: 32, HiDmp: 70)
- Zoom MS-70CDR (Volca FM): Vibrato (Depth: 28, Rate: 29, Bal:100, Tone: 7, Level: 120) - Autopan (Rate: 28 quarter notes, With: R19, Depth: 4) - SlapBackDelay (SubDv: dotted eigth note, Fb: 32, FxLvl: 55, Mode: Str) - Delay (Time: 536ms, FB: 0, Mix: 54, Ping-Pong) - HD Hall (Pred: 26, Decay: 100, Mix: 37, LoDmp: 0, HiDmp: 100)
- NTS-1 (Monologue): Delay (Type: High, Time: 60%, Depth: 70%, Mix: D-60 ) - Reverb (Type: Plate, Time: Max, Depth: Max, Mix: D-35)

Misc:
- Tempo: 56 on Circuit and 112 on MS-70s
- Volca FM patch: Old Korg W

Chords:
- Cm - Ebm - Bb - G"

Korg Monologue, MicroFreak, Novation Circuit, Volca FM, NTS-1, Lone Rider part 3

Waveformer

"Third and final part of a three-part jam, featuring the Korg Monologue, Arturia MicroFreak, Novation Circuit, Volca FM, and with Zoom MS-70CDR and Korg NTS-1 on effects.

My music on Bandcamp: http://waveformer42.bandcamp.com/

See the two previous videos for part 1 and 2. The tree jams use the same instruments and effects, but with different themes.

The Monologue is used for 3 solo parts - one bright synth-y lead in the beginning, one grumpy distorted lead sound in the middle, and one theremin-like sound at the end. All based on the same custom patch, but with modified envelope, oscillator mix and filter to give each solo a unique character.

The MicroFreak is doing chords with a simple super saw patch and lots of chorus, delays and reverb from the MS70. In the section from 7:30 to 9:30, I'm using a nice "trick" to get from a C minor to a Eb minor in a smooth way. I go from Eb to G7, and then to B diminished 7 (just move the low G note a half step up to a G sharp), and then on to Bb7 (move the B one half step down to a Bb). The Bb7 is the dominant chord for an Eb minor, so the transition to Eb minor feels very natural. To my ear, all these transitions feel very smooth, and still we end up on a Eb minor chord three half steps from the C minor root. And the G minor note in the Eb minor chord is definitely not in the C minor scale. It's even a tritone. The diminished 7th chord of a scale is a very nice gateway to other scales. If you're in C (major or minor) scale, you can use the B diminished chord to go to Eb, to Gb and to A - minor or major. All of these are just a half step up from a note in the diminished chord, so the tension in the diminished chord resolves nicely to any of these.

After that smooth ascent from Cm to Ebm, I choose an abrupt descent from Eb minor to C minor, because I like the feeling of "falling" :-).

The outro played on the MicroFreak consists of the same notes/intervals as the intro to part 1 of the jam. https://youtu.be/T--CvlEU2DU

The Zoom MS-70CDR effects are the same as in part 1 of the jam. https://youtu.be/T--CvlEU2DU. Check the description for how to download.

Gear:
- Korg Monologue
- Korg NTS-1
- Korg Volca FM
- Arturia MicroFreak
- Novation Circuit x 2
- 2 x Zoom MS-70CDR
- Korg Mini Kaoss Pad 2S (for recording)

Connections:
- Monologue - NTS-1 - Mintbox Mixer
- MicroFreak - MS-70CDR #1 - Mintbox Mixer
- Volca FM - MS-70CDR #2 - Mintbox Mixer
- Circuit 1 - Mintbox Mixer
- Circuit 2 - Mintbox Mixer
- Mintbox Mixer (2 in series) - KP2S
- Midi: Circuit 1, Circuit 2, Monologue, MicroFreak split midi out to Volca FM and to NTS-1

Effects:
- Zoom MS-70CDR (MicroFreak): Vintage CE (Comp: 2, Rate: 25, Mix: 50) - Stereo Delay (TimeL: 8th note, TimeR: dotted 8th note, Mix: 97, LchFB: 28, RChFB: 31, LchLv: 100, RchLv: 89) - HD Hall (PreD: 34, Decay: 83, Mix: 38, LoDmp: 32, HiDmp: 70)
- Zoom MS-70CDR (Volca FM): Vibrato (Depth: 28, Rate: 29, Bal:100, Tone: 7, Level: 120) - Autopan (Rate: 28 quarter notes, With: R19, Depth: 4) - SlapBackDelay (SubDv: dotted eigth note, Fb: 32, FxLvl: 55, Mode: Str) - Delay (Time: 536ms, FB: 0, Mix: 54, Ping-Pong) - HD Hall (Pred: 26, Decay: 100, Mix: 37, LoDmp: 0, HiDmp: 100)
- NTS-1 (Monologue): Delay (Type: High, Time: 60%, Depth: 70%, Mix: D-60 ) - Reverb (Type: Plate, Time: Max, Depth: Max, Mix: D-35)

Misc:
- Tempo: 56 on Circuit and 112 on MS-70s
- Volca FM patch: Old Korg W

Chords:
- Theme 1&2: Cm
- Theme 3: Cm - Cm - Cm - Cm | Cm - Cm - Cm -Cm | Cm - G7 - Bdim7 - Bb7 | Ebm Ebm Ebm Ebm
- Theme 4: Cm - Fm - Cm -Bb
- Outro (notes/intervals): C - [C-Eb] - [Eb - G] - [Ab - C] - [F - Ab] - [G - Bb] - [Bb - F] - [G - D - G] - [G - D - F] - [C - Eb] - [Bb - F] - [Ab - Eb - G] - [C - G - C] - C"