"Mice in the Attic" & "Love on a Mousetrap" - Yamaha RS7000 + Wavestate + Minilogue XD + Wavestate

Patrick Manderson

"'Mice in the Attic' - 'Love on a Mousetrap'

Recorded live early evening on December 18, 2020 using a Yamaha RS-7000 MIDI Sequencer and a room full of MIDI synthesizers. The sequencer was painstakingly programmed to play all instruments as well as automations, modulation, volume & patch changes. The instruments ran through 3 mixers and a rack of compressors and outboard effects. All parts were mixed and recorded to stereo tracks in a single take. This video was recorded early evening on winter solstice December 21 and edited days later.

The first half, "Mice in the Attic", was arranged on the RS-7000 Sequencer sometime in early 2019 and left without any ideas on how to finish it. At that time it only included the great guitar-like patch on the Korg EX-8000, a Bass Station II patch and a kick drum from the Boss DR660. Early this Fall, the second half, "Love on a Mousetrap", was arranged and paired up with "Mice".

This music was made with a symphony of Korg Synths. Notably the EX-8000 played a very dynamic guitar-like patch through an Alesis Quadraverb from beginning to end. The MS-2000 played various parts, mainly the femenine voice and the Radias played percussions and the masculine voice.

The voice performances on the MS-2000 and Radias were painstakenly edited on The Sequencer to get the articulations *just right*. Lots of pitch, modwheel, velocities and volume/expression CCs were used and getting them right in the basic event editor on The Sequencer was quite tedious. These parts were some of the most difficult and time consuming edits I've ever had to do.

The Wavestate toggled between two versions of the same patch of strings and choir sounds coming in at the start of "Love on a Mousetrap". It also plays the *heavenly* sequence at the end.

The two Minilogues switched quite a few patches - most notably the XD played a wonderful User oscillator named 'Pluck'.

Layering in FM tones at just the right moments was the Yamaha TX81Z - also ran through the Alesis Quadraverb.

The Roland JP-8080 plays *the rise* at the intro and a few quiet pads on the second half. The XV-5080 filled in a few parts emphasizing other instruments.

The Roland TR8S alternated between 3 separate kits to cover the percussion needed on the various sections. One of the kits used a master high pass filter to give it a Casio-like rhythm tone

Dave Smith is represented in not so obvious ways using the Prophet 6 and REV 2. The REV 2 being ambidextrous play 2 patches in a split when needed.

Much care and time was spent on the mix. Two line mixers and a Mackie 1604 VLZ3 routed all the synths and compressors including the Alesis 3630, Behringer MDX 1400, Art Pro Tube Channel, Art Pro VLA II and a Drawmer 1978. May takes were made. Whenever anything needed to be adjusted the entire piece had to be recorded again from scratch.

All MIDI ran through the MOTU MIDI Timepiece MTP AV.

Video was shot using an iPhone 8 through a magnifying glass. Editing was done in Davinci Resolve 15."