Mutable Instruments Ambika (Xena) soundscape

video upload by MIDERA

"I finally found my PSU for my Ambika. I've been very tempted to get the Michigan Synth Works Xena synth... My unit has 3 4P voices and 3 SMR voices (if you see a note activated on the left side of the LEDs, that's a 4P filter, if you see a note activated on the right side, that's an SMR filter.

Well - there's probably no real reason for me to buy the Xena. But maybe this video will help you decide...

Used Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb."

Into the Depths | Moog Minimoog and Rhodes Piano improvisation downtempo track

video upload by MIDERA

Moog Minimoog
Rhodes Piano
Eventide Blackhole VST

Whispers of the end | Moog Minimoog and Rhodes Piano somber instrumental track

video upload by MIDERA

"I was not ever looking forward to posting about this. Our dog Pepper, that we adopted in May, will need to be re-homed. It will be the third pet that I have to say goodbye to that I deeply love within this year. When 2023 started, I wondered if I would lose any pet friends this year, and I think instead of whispering in my ear, life just decided instead to punch me in the stomach instead.

Pepper is a beautiful 9 year old black German Shepherd. Our resident dog, Blue, attacked Pepper back in June, causing $1200 in emergency vet visits, and from that point on, we had to keep the dogs completely separated. A trainer came in and after wasting $500 on them, they told us that we should consider re-homing pepper. Great.

I didn’t want to give up on her. I love this dog so much… but after consulting with a lot of people, we decided that it would never get better and that Pepper should be in an environment where she didn’t have to be near a dog that attacked her out of nowhere. Sure - between gates they will lick each other, but it’s that 1 time we have no warning where it becomes an issue. We don’t want the dogs harmed and we especially don’t want our kids or us harmed.

I write this as Pepper is next to me, sitting peacefully… unaware of what we’ve decided. I hate to do this to her, she is family to me… I wanted to be there when she passed away (hopefully many years away)…

All I can do is hug her as much as I can before we have to say goodbye.

Eventide blackhole vst used for reverb
Strymon el cap used on minimoog
Strymon dig used on Rhodes

#minimoog #strymonelcapistan #strymon"

Deadvine | Spectralis 2 and Virus TI downtempo IDM

video upload by MIDERA

"This was song number 2 in a set of 4 songs. 'Away' was my first song, previously published.

I think this one was my favorite. It seemed to scratch this itch in my brain I didn't know I had. Sometimes, music does that to me, but I always like it when I'm able to create that.

Last night I uploaded a new photo to my Flickr page and realized I hadn't posted anything there since July of 2021, a month before my second daughter was born. I realized that after that my life got so hectic, I stopped doing a lot of things I enjoyed. Now with two dogs that hate each other, and two amazing little girls - I definitely don't have much time to do anything on my own. Would it be nice to have a little more free time? Yes. Would I change my life to get that? No. I love being with my kids (and dogs - but they just can't be together).

What else is there to say for now - which is a good thing I guess.

Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb"

Away | Spectralis and Virus TI downtempo IDM

video upload by MIDERA

"Song 1 of 4 from a recent show

My studio is a mess. Nothing connected. It was a struggle to reconnect my Spectralis and Virus, which had been sitting in their cases since I went out to do a live show early October. A few days after my show was done our refrigerator died (and we realized we had been eating spoiled food) and then a few days later I had to put my cat Pivot down. It hadn't been the best month.

I've listed all sorts of gear locally to sell - because my studio is just too cluttered. I don't think I can really store my stuff in a way that makes any sense, so it should just go - but no one seems interested (locally). Maybe I'd regret selling the gear - but also, I regret having it all too.

Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2 (routed into the Virus).
Access Virus TI
Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb"

Moog Minimoog somber demo

video upload by MIDERA

"Tonight - I read a poem I had written years ago about my cat Pivot. I made it in the style of Dr. Seuss, about how she poops on the floor. We laughed a lot as I read it. But then I hit the last line and realized how it ended, and I just broke down crying. My wife and my kids consoled me, it was nice. I knew it would be hard to lose this cat. And now I have this burning desire to get another tuxedo cat (I got Pivot a week after my last Tuxedo cat, Winchester, was put down). I feel like it would be a fitting tribute to her... but then again, it would be another cat to take care of (we still have 2 cats, and 2 dogs).

Anyway, I know I'm not sharing the poem here... but it's odd how something can hit you so differently at two different times. The story was supposed to just be funny.

Moog Minimoog
Strymon Volante
Eventide Blackhole VST"

The warmth of the sun | An ode to Pivot & Bonnie

video upload by MIDERA

"On the way to the emergency vet, Pivot by my side. I remember the sun on her carrier. I hoped it had warmed her. Or if nothing else, I hoped the sound of my voice or my daughter's kept her company. Today was a hard day. It was time to put Pivot to sleep.

Pivot was very sick. Yesterday, she had thrown up multiple times and afterwards, just laid down and wouldn't move. I couldn't entice her to eat, not yesterday, not today - it's my litmus test for how my cat is doing. She, in fact, would move away from it. I had hoped over night she would feel better, but it just did not happen. She laid by a water bowl in the kitchen and occasionally drink from it (a sign, I thought, that she was improving), but she just seemed not well. I made the call. It had to be done.

Everyone said their goodbye's. My wife would stay home with our 2 year old who would not have handled the mood very well. However, to my surprise, my 6 year old wanted to come. I was glad. Pivot had laid with her for years. She would lay on my wife when she was pregnant with my daughter. She would lay by her carrier when she was asleep in it. She was always with her. Pivot was her fur mama. She loved my daughter.

It was a big gift that my daughter came with. When I cried, she would say "It's ok Papa." She was strong. Of course, she cried too. But the resilience of a 6 year old who, in 6 months, has had to deal with the loss of two of her favorite pets, is impressive. Tonight there was a lot of "I miss Bonnie and Pivot." I do too. We cried a lot.

I got Pivot in August of 2008, a week after I lost my last cat, Winchester. Pivot was best friends with Bonnie. Pivot was nuts. She would fly around my house and body slam cat scratch toys. She would lay down with rugs and kick them. But she would lay next to my face and fall asleep. If I was sad, I could make fake sad meow sounds and she would run to me. She always comforted me.

I did want to try to do an in-home service for putting her down. I thought that would be the kind thing to do, because she hated traveling, but ultimately, I knew it should be done sooner than later, and honestly, those home services are kind of a lot of money ($700+ instead of $400+). I feel a little bad that I chose the cheaper option, because Pivot HATED traveling (like she would pee herself when we'd leave the house). Today - hardly a peep. She did meow, but she had such little strength. I knew sending her off earlier was the better option too. Doing it away from the house at least made it so I didn't need to look at a spot and say "That's where Pivot died." Pivot let go of this life at 1:10PM, in my arms, full of love, all of which I hope she took with her.

So - here I am, alone now, everyone else asleep in the house. I wrote this as I sat here and felt the mood was fitting. I think of myself as the Rhodes Piano voice, a sad depressing tone, mixed in with the voice of Pivot, dancing around my sadness, as she really did so well. It begins and ends without her, the way our lives were entwined. She will be forever missed.|

Rhodes Piano in Strymon DIG
Prophet 10 in Strymon El Cap
All through Eventide Blackhole VST"

Update:

Bonnie

video upload by Mike Lewis

"Mar 13, 2023
This last weekend, on March 11th, I put my dear friend Bonnie (Flame Point Siamese cat) to sleep. She suffered a stroke (or had a growth in her brain) on Tuesday March 7th. We found her walking in circles, I think she was suddenly blinded. She was not well. I thought "if this is a stroke, cats can recover, even if she's blind." I tried to hold on to her, but something changed even further on Thursday night. That was the moment I realized that she had stopped purring when I pet her (she had been purring in the day). I think she may have had seizures, because I remember seeing blood on her paw pads, where her nails would have dug in (which were not there in the afternoon).

I think only one word really describes how I feel about losing her: Devastated.

She lived at least 15 years (with me) and was adopted in 2007, being about 2-4 years old (as a guess), meaning she was about 18-20 years old. That was a good long life for a cat. I had hoped she would have made it to 23 years old... dying in her sleep peacefully, but she (and I) didn't get that. I watched her suffer for a few days, but I think Thursday she stopped eating entirely. On Friday, I found her stuck behind the litter box and I knew that was time.

I don't know why I feel such guilt, but apparently that's a common feeling when you lose a pet. I think I feel guilty that I was kinda mean to her in the first year I had her. I even told people I didn't want her (note, that I could not ever bring myself to get rid of her). I don't know why I felt those things. I even said she was ugly (she did have a really funny weird brown spot on her nose that always made her look like she was snarling). I feel a lot of guilt for feeling and saying these things. I know she didn't understand them, but I wasn't kind.

What's strange is, all the things I found annoying or disliked, just now happen to be all of the things I miss. Like her tenacity to get in my lap and stop at nothing until she won (multiple times I'd get her off my lap, eventually she'd sneak in and win). Or her licking my arms. Or that funny snarl look on her face. These things... they just stick in my mind and I just absolutely devastated that I can't experience them now.

The hardest part for me was after realizing she was going to be put down - telling her what a good kitty she was, how I loved her so much, and that she was one of my best friends. Well, the hardest part was holding on to her as life left her. I knew she was no longer in pain, but I think that feeling will stay with me forever. We drove to the vet in the same car she came home in when I adopted her. I thought she'd like that. I talked to her in the car, telling her how beautiful it was outside with the thick snow falling gently in the grey sky. While she was probably deaf, and now blind, I hoped she could hear me, even just a little.

Now, she is gone. I look at the kitties and puppy I have left and tell myself that I need to be more present for them. I also tell myself, everything that bothers me about my pets will be the very things I will miss when they're gone. I need to be more present in general, for my wife and my kids.

There is the biggest hole in my heart, where apparently Bonnie resided. I had no idea how big that space was until she left me."

Moog Minimoog Model D | First pass experimental ambient sound design

video upload by MIDERA

"I've wanted a Minimoog for some time, but it was 'always out of my price range' (and it still is - 0% financing for the win?). When the new version was released at $5000, I laughed and said, well, that's not going to happen. After the mass layoffs at Moog - I guess I was somewhat compelled to get one. I'm sure this is, by itself, a fairly irrational reason to get it. At the time, I didn't know (or maybe it's still not 100% certain) whether Moog would make more Minimoogs in the US. Originally the thought/fear was that everything would be produced elsewhere. So yes, that played probably an unhealthy role in my decision making process. I've heard the Mini would still be made in the US. I guess I'm not entirely proud to say that maybe by buying it under InMusic, I wasn't doing Moog any favors. I honestly don't know.

If you remember when I got my Sequential Prophet 10, I remember being let down. I wasn't sure it was as good as I thought it should be for the price. While I have come around, it was a major fear I had after buying the Minimoog. I'm quite happy to report that these misgivings were not in my head at all when I first turned on the Mini. Of course, there are some things that confused me. First, I didn't hear any sounds and that made me nervous (turns out my mixer wasn't on). It does take a little reading in the manual to know what switches and knobs are doing exactly what. It's less immediate than one would think on first glance.

It's hard to know what to say. I don't really want to fetishize the instrument - but I think that it's a bit impossible. It's a cool synth. It's one of the most iconic synths - so in that aspect, I will fail this immediately. But it does LOOK and FEEL very impressive... and elegant. In a way that the Matriarch doesn't. The keybeds seem the same though. Getting to the sound - it's got such a rich sound. I would love to A/B it with my Matriarch (which has other benefits such as paraphonic mode, arp/seq, patching), but I think the pure tone from the Minimoog is better (again, I want to test this).

So what I did here was send the output to the Strymon Volante and then added Eventide Blackhole VST. I didn't prepare anything except the original sound. Honestly, I didn't even know what I was going to play throughout. This is just me fiddling around after playing it for 5 minutes to get my bearings straight.

Before I forget. The first sound you hear is actually just the filter with some noise modulation on it. I later add oscillators.

I hope you enjoy."

Studio Electronics SE-1 | Borrowing a friend's SE-1 while I contemplate getting a Model D

video upload by MIDERA

"I probably was wrong thinking the SE-1 was anything like a Minimoog (Model D). Come to think of it, I haven't really figured out why it's called the Minimoog and Model D. Or maybe it's Minimoog Model D? Well. I don't know why I want one in the first place. I guess it just looks cool. I've been wondering why I want it, given that I already have the Matriarch and have enjoyed how it sounds. Anyway, after talking with a friend, they offered to let me test out their SE-1. The first thing that stuck out to me is how wildly steppy the cutoff knob is. In some ways, it can actually be interesting what sounds you get out of it, but it's pretty prominent. Another thing that baffles me is that there doesn't appear to be a true 'menu'. You seem to access menu items by pressing a button or twisting a knob. I end up lost at times thinking "There should just be a simple global button to access all the parameters" but there isn't.

Beyond that - it does sound quite lovely. I can tell it's very punchy and 'thick'. It's interesting in that you can activate saw, triangle, and square waves at the same time. Something I don't think the Minimoog can do. It sounds like the pulse width can affect even saw waves, which was surprising. Maybe I was just hearing things, but it sounds like it does. It has something of a mod matrix, but kind of not really how I'd describe it, just that you can take LFOs and ENVs and assign them to various things. The filter itself does sound great - and you're able to use a 24db LP filter or a 12db LP or BP filter. I found myself enjoying the 24db filter more.

After I finished this demo, I sat down with my Matriarch and thought "Wow, this is such a great synth." I'm not sure I'd feel the same way about the Minimoog, as it lacks a lot of things I like including an arpeggiator/sequencer (which the Matriarch has). I found both the SE-1 and Matriarch kind of have similar flavors apart from their obvious differences.

The Minimoog would probably get me 1-5% more 'minimoog' sound that would without a doubt get lost in all the FX I have. But still, it's hard not to want one. I bet it will end the same way the Prophet 10 ended - I was deeply unsatisfied with it for years, and then started to really open it up for some interesting sounds. The Minimoog seems a bit more... simple.

The plan has been to sell a bunch of stuff towards a Minimoog though:
System 8
EMU XL7
Chroma Polaris
Something else I don't quite have on the chopping block yet.

That's the plan. Not sure how it will end.

On that note - here's me playing the SE1 using the DSI Prophet 08 as a controller. It went into the Strymon Volante to my mixer, with Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb. Not my best work, but it was fun to noodle on it.

#Studioelectronics #Minimoog #moog"

Roland Jupiter 6 | Industrial ambient exploration

video upload by MIDERA

"I've spent so much effort trying to dislike the Jupiter 6 because I like the Prophet 10 more. I tried figuring out how to do things that I like on the Jupiter 6. I realized that using cross-mod WITH sync, I can better control Oscillator 1 pitch. With just cross-mod, it's almost a worthless utility.

The Jupiter 6 doesn't at all feel equivalent to the Prophet 10, but I guess it's got its own thing going. I think the results end up slightly different than what I would get on the Prophet 10.

Strymon Volante and Eventide Blackhole VST used."

Sequential Prophet 10 - a brief ambient interlude

video upload by MIDERA

"Had some time to mess around with my gear and chose the Prophet 10. I wasn't very impressed with it, but I did take the time to make it and sometimes that's enough.

Used the Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb."

Sequential Prophet 10 ambient improvisation and exploration

video upload by MIDERA

"So, I sat down with the Jupiter 6. I wasn't having any fun. So I stepped over to the Prophet 10 and came up with the first sound you hear. So I decided maybe I'd just record it and see where it took me. That's about all that happened. Now I am tired and must go to bed.

I forgot to add when I uploaded this: I made this a 'Prophet 5' by reducing the voice count to 5 and I had 'round robin' originally set to how voices play and after one of my friends got one stating how they enjoyed the original way the prophet 5 works (not round robin, but playing the same note cycles the same voice), I decided to use that method and I agree, it IS better.

Strymon El Cap and Eventide Blackhole VST used for FX."

The caverns of hell | Prophet 08 soundscape

video upload by MIDERA

"I think the Prophet 08 is the one of the best DSI synths (my opinion is incoming). It's better than the REV2 for sure, which seems to share a hardness with the Prophet 12. A stiffness? I don't know. It has something I just don't like. The Prophet 08 and Poly Evolver seem to have been saved of this strange sensation. However, the Poly Evolver, specifically MY Poly Evolver, has been a bit problematic since I got it. First, the encoders were bad, so I needed to use deoxit on them. After 4 months, I needed to do it again. However, I decided to replace all of the encoders with 'clicky' detented encoders, the correct ones as described by Sequential via email, since they no longer had the potentiometer edition boards available. I spent about 10 hours replacing all of the encoders. What I learned was that the encoders actually take 2-4 clicks to make a change. This is frustrating because I don't think it is the correct encoders (DSI has not admitted this to me, stating that these are correct). Either they have different number of detents or something about the specifications are wrong - or it's right and they never fixed how the OS views the detents. Either way - it annoys me, making the interface frustrating.

As for the REV2 and Prophet 12, I just never got or never get tones like these. Audio Mod acts very differently in the P12 than the P08 and PE. I don't know why, but they are very different.

Anyway, I do wish I had the regular PE edition of the Poly Evolver... but I'm tempted to just sell it, because I'm too annoyed with myself and the amount of work I did to make it almost as frustrating as before and the Prophet 08 is a joy to use. I could sit in front of this thing for hours and play it. It just does a lot of things right. I wonder who on the team was working there when the P08 came out, and if they left afterwards. I thought the next thing out was the Prophet 12... I don't know.

Strymon Volante and Eventide Blackhole VST used in this track."

DSI Prophet 08 | Wonders a world away | An ambient soundscape

video upload by MIDERA

"Tomorrow, my daughter starts 1st grade. I remember last year how nerve-wracking it was sending her off to school. Would she be okay and meet good friends? Would she do well in class? It was a big change. It's nice to at least feel that there is some comfort in 'returning' to something she knows and feels comfortable doing. I'm at least excited about that.

But we're in an interesting time. Every day she gets panic attacks, crying telling us she 'thinks' she's 'going to puke.' Of course, nothing happens and we have to reassure her that she won't puke. I don't know if it's the amygdala developing and it's just part of growing up. I remember when I was little I would cry in bed, and my parents would come to me and I'd say I'm really sad knowing that some day they would die. They told me that wasn't going to happen... which was obviously a lie. Of course, one of these times our daughter tells us she's going to puke, she probably will.

As for this track - I've just been really pondering what DSI synths to keep. I actually find the P08 to be the best sounding, although the Poly Evolver is a very close equal, despite only 4 voices. I think the P12 is very similar, but it's also lacking something I can't quite put my finger on. I still think it's in the envelopes. Something about them just feel stiff. The P08 and PE seem to deal better with it. But then again, they're all 3 different instruments. I think the PE is theoretically the most interesting and best of them, at the expense of 4 or more voices.

This track used the Strymon Volante and Eventide Blackhole VST.

#Prophet08 #davesmithinstruments #Strymon"

DSI Prophet 08 | The other side of dreams | An ambient soundscape

video upload by MIDERA

"I think I'm convinced that the Prophet 08 is the best DSI synth. I didn't really care for the OB6 myself and haven't played the P6 or Trigon 6, so I can't say anything about them. The P12 just is very tame, while the Poly Evolver, as interesting as is it, just doesn't have something the P08 has, besides missing 4 voices. The PE is very hard to use because each oscillator is spread to L/R channels and when you mix them to center, the special stereo sound goes away. Since the sequencer only works as steps, not in a range of values, it ends up not being that great IMO.

The Prophet 5/10, is a much better synth though, so don't take this to think I like the P08 more, but I think it's equally special and sounds phenomenal. I gotta say though, I think the P08 is just fantastic and goes into really crazy territory very easily.

So the question I will be asking myself is... do I need the P12 and PE? Surely people would say to keep them, and the Polaris... but I have so many synths. These seem like they were supposed to do what I love about the P08, but don't.

Strymon Volante used for delay and Eventide Blackhole used for reverb."

Battle of the Sequential (and DSI) Prophets | From VCO (P10) to DCO (P08) to DSP (P12) ambient pads

video upload by MIDERA

"A friend of mine suggested 'why not compare your Prophets?' And I thought that was an interesting idea. So I sat down with my Prophet 10 and started recording. Only... I didn't actually record the audio. I recorded about 10 minutes of video and looked over and never hit record in my DAW. I should have kept it in the video, the biggest sigh as I put my hand over my face and said 'You've got to be kidding me.' It sounded so good too.

So, I went through the process again. I recorded the Prophet 10. Then I decided to record something similar with the Prophet 08. Then I decided to record something similar with the Prophet 12. All three synths I tried to record something similar, and go through similar sound processes. The end sounds weren't identical, but the process was as similar as I could make it. Everything is recorded mono out into the Strymon El Cap to be equivalent in this regard. The P08 and P12 obviously would have advantages in a stereo playing field.

What's my take on the comparison? The Prophet 10 is just a joy to use. Absolutely brilliant synth to play. At no point did I need to access menus or set, in a difficult way, modulation sources/destinations. They're already preconfigured and give you such a wide range of sounds. I surprisingly found the Prophet 12 to be the most difficult to work with, despite it's excellent UI. But you can't really use the UI to its full potential when you need to use both hands to change things (or what I mean is, if you want the great UI to work, you need both hands so that you can hold a source and twist a knob).

I won't argue that the Prophet 12 is better for some things than what the Prophet 10 or 08, because it's a hybrid synth and has a lot of other waveshapes and people don't always desire making 'analog sounds' whatever that means. From what I understand, some folks prefer to make sounds without even using the filter (or leaving it wide open), and with the P12, you can do that more easily.

Either way, the Prophet 10 to me was the winner here, it might not be the best sounding (although I do think it is), but it provided the most enjoyable experience."

Sound design comparisons - Roland Jupiter 6 vs Sequential Prophet 10 vs Roland JD-800

video upload by MIDERA

"For some reason I really wanted to do an experiment where I sit down with the Jupiter 6 and Prophet 10 and just explore how they sound as I go through the settings/parameters. At the end, I would ask myself - which one do I like best? And then I thought, why not add something completely different. So I did. I added the JD-800.

I wanted to keep the comparison consistent in one way: they would be routed (mono) through the Strymon El Cap and then given the same amount of reverb. So the only difference is what's going on in the synthesizer itself.

It feels like a bit of a failed experiment because 1) their levels were hard to control (it's not patch comparisons so I don't think "X sounds better than Y because it's louder), so hopefully that's ok, and 2) they all kind of sound good in completely different ways.

My actual EXPERIENCE was that I much preferred using the Prophet 10. I think I like the sounds from the Jupiter 6 or JD800 best, but the JD800 has advantages (plethora of different waveforms) and disadvantages (no sync or cross mod).

So what did I learn from this endeavor? Probably nothing, but I haven't actually sat to listen to my work, so I don't actually know yet."

The breathing machines | DSI Tempest and JD-800 Experimental IDM track

video upload by MIDERA

"Wanted to sit down with the Tempest and do something with it. I made the drum beat and decided that it needed some pad sound overlaid, so I added some pads from the JD-800 on top of it. Then I recorded it.

Dave Smith Instruments Tempest
Roland JD-800
Eventide Blackhole VST

#Tempest #Roland #JD-800"

Roland JD-800 | The Industrial Pulse Width Pad

video upload by MIDERA

"I think people believe the JD-800 doesn't have the ability to do Pulse Width Modulation - but I think it does a pretty good job of approximating it using multiple waveforms that overlap to create that distinct sound.

Unfortunately, after finishing the recording, I found that my camera had stopped filming half-way through, so I had to collect some extra footage I had lying around towards the end.

Eventide Blackhole VST used for extra reverb."

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Frpq...

https://midera.bandcamp.com/album/the...

Roland JD-800 meditative ambient pads

video upload by MIDERA

"Support my music:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Frpq...

https://midera.bandcamp.com/album/the...

Just trying to get a feel for the JD-800 still. Honestly, it's just too big. I am trading some gear for a JD-990 and wondering what I'll think of that. I feel like I could probably get similar tones from my other gear. So - the JD-800 is on my short list to get rid of, given its size especially. Great synth, but I like the gnarly sounds the D-50 does a little more. Although, I do quite love that the JD-800 has the "Dire Dire Docks" sound from Mario 64. That part is sweet.

Roland JD-800
Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb"