Hachi live setup

video upload by Mike Perkowitz

"A brief clip using my Hachi sequencer (firmware on a custom Yaeltex controller) with drum kit and synths on Daisy Patch and other modules"

Live Hardware Electronic Music: Nolfo and Mike Perkowitz

video upload by Patchwerks

"Patchwerks is proud to present a monthly showcase of local artists working with a dizzying array of music tech. This month we're happy to host the musical talents of Nolfo and Mike Perkowitz.

Showroom Sessions are a great chance to enjoy live music from our incredibly talented community and link up with friends old and new in a casual environment, connecting over a shared love of electronic music and all its devices.

Nolfo

exploring vague memories through sound

Check out Nolfo’s music: https://on.soundcloud.com/CZCimSdAdsy...

Mike Perkowitz

Mike Perkowitz is Seattle-based techno and synthpop artist who has long been a part of the city's music scene as a member of Heatsync, Rotor, and Signal Corps and working with the label 1200 Music. While minimalist techno and synthpop dominate his repertoire, he also ventures into pop remixes and obscure piano compositions. Always seeking the perfect jam session, he has created software and firmware sequencers for live work, which are shared on GitHub. Discover Perkowitz's music at Bandcamp and Soundcloud.

https://soundcloud.com/perkowitz

https://www.patchwerks.com"

Hachi Sequencer Running on Yaeltex Controller

Mike Perkowitz

The above is a playlist featuring videos of Mike Perkowitz's custom sequencer running on a custom Yaeltex controller. You might remember Hachi from this previous post of it running on a Novtion Launchpad pro. You can find some additional info on Hachi there, and here's a post of it controlling a Nord Modular rack, a Morphing Terrarium, and a Fantom XR. You can find info on Yaeltex custom controllers below.

Playlist for the above:
Hachi Sequencer Running on Yaeltex Controller (1st 2 videos)
Hachi UI mockup
First sound from the new Hachi

And some info on Yaeltex: the following is an image from Yaeltex's website featuring their custom controllers. Note the Hachi is top center. According to Mike, his might be the only one with the Hachi branding, although he believes Yaeltex is set up so you can order controllers that other people design. You can also design and buy your own custom controller online through their site.

You can find more of their controllers at https://yaeltex.com

"Yaeltex // Custom MIDI controllers made in harmony between humans and machines in Buenos Aires, Argentina."

Note this is the first Yaeltex post on the site.

Below is a video of their configuration editor, KILOWHAT, followed by some user performance videos.


Yaeltex

Configure your device with our web-base tool

– Per component configuration
– Keystrokes for controlling any app
– Send Notes, CC, NRPN, RPN, Pitch bend, Program change
– Up to 8 banks
– Multiple encoders modes: double CC, remote feedback, shift to bank x, velocity to color, VU mode, etc.
– Integrated value scaling or pick up



Playlist:
THYLACINE - Lockdown full Live set
Paula OS - Buenos Aires Live Set
Quick demo of Yaeltex Niklou
Maqueta - Intro + Nadie + Espero Aca [En vivo @ Proyecto Exilio 160619]
Sidartha shit Sesion 362 x Mambogratis
I-O InstrumentoOptico "heka Ω" Live Chela 2018
THYLACINE - Live set @Château de Versailles
Pulse
Ambient Synth Jam - Enveleau

Nord Modular, Morphing Terrarium, Fantom XR, Hachi jam

Published on Feb 17, 2018 Mike Perkowitz

E-mu xl-7 (proteus 2000) acting wavetableish

Published on Jan 2, 2017 Mike Perkowitz

I thought this was pretty interesting as most PCM based synths do not allow you to modulate through oscillator waveshapes like on classic PPG & Waldorf wavetable synths. I reached out to Mike to find out exactly what was going on here. Here's what he had to say:

"It's crossfading through 8 different waveforms in succession. The e-mu doesn't let you modulate actual waveform selection, but you can assign 4 different waves to the 4 layers of a patch, and then set up a thing that lets you sweep through them, crossfading from one to the next (it's called realtime crossfade in the manual). in effect, it's a lot like one of the PPG wavetables where it interpolates from one wave to the next gradually. I have it set up so that one of the knobs is assigned to the crossfade position directly. I also have an LFO assigned to the crossfade position, with knob control over the rate and depth. I also have an AD envelope assigned to the crossfade, with knob control over attack, decay, and depth. Finally, I layered two of these patches, with the crossfades set up so that they cover the entire crossfade range with their combined 8 waves, and I chose some metallic, ppg-sounding waves for part of it. it took some meticulous programming, but now that I have a patch set up, it's fairly easy to try out different waves in the 8 positions and to play with different modulators."

I own a Morpheus myself and was curious if this was possible on it. I know, I know, I should know this owning one, and being mr. matrix and all, but I never got around to it. Mike, however, did know, and had the following to say:

"Aside from the filters, the Morpheus is a lot less sophisticated. You can't do this kind of stuff with a Morpheus -- it only has two layers per patch, and it doesn't have a whole lot in the way of interesting modulation, aside from the function generators. http://blog.perkowitz.net/2015/07/06/the-e-mu-morpheus-review-20-years-later/

The proteus-2000 synths are really, really deep, with a very good collection of waves for making synth sounds (especially if you get the XL-1 rom; I'm guessing the vintage rom is great too). The editing is not great, in various ways, and the very important edit knobs don't seem to hold up well, but it can do a lot if you put in the time."

New Hachi Step Sequencer for Novation Launchpad Pro + More

Hachi Step Sequencer Controlling a TT-303

Published on Dec 24, 2016 Mike Perkowitz

"Hachi runs on a Novation Launchpad Pro [+more, see below] and includes multiple sequencers. This video shows the step sequencer controlling a TT-303.

Each of the 8 columns is a step, and the note can be modified by octave (orange), velocity (green), slide (gray), tie (dark blue), repeat (pink), and so on.

For more info, see: https://github.com/perkowitz/issho"

"Hachi

A multi-function midi sequencer that runs on a Novation Launchpad Pro and a headless computer like a Raspberry Pi. Hachi is written in Java, and so can run on a Pi (tested), a Mac (tested), and many other platforms (untested), with or without keyboard and monitor.

Hachi (= 'eight' in Japanese) can run up to 8 'modules' at a time. Available modules include several midi sequencers, a paint/animation toy, and a sequencer-controller that lets you coordinate your sequencers. Hachi is a generalized version of this simpler sequencer that I wrote for the original Launchpad. That basic sequencer runs as one module in Hachi."

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Side Note: Mike Perkowitz is the admin of the AH (Analog Heaven) mailing list, which I believe is the longest running synthesizer mailing list.

TT-303 clone vs. real TB-303 & First Impressions by Computer Controlled

Top demo is the TB-303. Bottom is the TT-303 vs. TB-303. Pay attention to the accents.



"first 16 bars of TT-303 clone.
after that 16 bars of TB-303.
after that 16 bars of BOTH playing at the SAME time paned L/R .
after that it's TT-303 and TB-303 back and forth to show the difference in sound.

i matched the settings and turned only cut off & resonance in exactly the same way on both machines. the pattern is programmed same way on both machines.

NO EFX is used, no comp, no eq, no reverb, no distortion.
just pure sound directly in the line in of the a2d."

There's some discussion on the AH that the accent between the two is slightly different.  If you listen to 3:24 on you'll hear that the TT-303 doesn't quiet get that classic TB-303 quick accented filter sweep.  Could be the settings?  If anyone has a TT-303 and get that sound feel free to comment.  I'll follow-up with a new post if I hear anything.

And some first impressions by Computer Controlled:

"Just got my TT-303 earlier this afternoon. After a few hours of playing with it, here are my observations.

Build Quality:
Its made of lighter weight plastic than the TB is. So it feels slightly cheaper. With batteries in it, it's lighter than the TB.
It has a glossy finish, as opposed to the TB's matte finish. I like the matte finish much better.
The switches have almost no throw to them. This takes a bit of getting used to.
The knobs do rub against the case, but this doesn't bother me at all.

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