Myrtis | Downtempo acid || Spectralis II, Machinedrum, Prophet 10, SH-101, System 8, and Virus TI

video upload by MIDERA

"Another attempt at 'acid' with the System 8. This time using the System 8 engine itself. I had some trouble with the Prophet 10 during the recording and had to tune the synth as I went along. Anyway - enjoy.

Reverb added with Eventide Blackhole VST."

Yamaha RS7000 as a pseudo-vintage lo-fi sampler synthesizer (sampling the Prophet 10)

video upload by MIDERA

"One thing I love about the Ensoniq EPS and Mirage is how lo-fi they can sound when you sample them at low sample rates (in the case of the Mirage, when you increase the amount of sample time, which I believe lowers the sample rate). It sounds so dirty.

Well - I think the RS7000 can do that too. You can sample it with a sample rate of 5 khz. You also have lo-fi effects (Master FX and regular FX)... and this is what you get (or rather, what I got).

Honestly, I was playing it against the EPS and I enjoyed using the RS more and thought it sounded just as good. What it does lack is synthesized loops and crossfading between two samples... which is a bit of a pity.

Sample came from Sequential Prophet 10
Added Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb"

Afterglow | Downtempo electronic jam with Jupiter 6, Prophet 10, SH-101, DSI Tempest, and Pyramid

video upload by MIDERA

"I finally got my studio reorganized. I had spent about 3 weeks fixing up my Jupiter 6, but everything else became disheveled. I realized how much time I spend 'noodling' and how it's just not rewarding, not like writing music. I realize for the most part, my 'noodling' videos tend to do better - probably because people are specifically interested in what the instrument does.

But I don't really get much out of those videos... except it keeps my channel 'active.' I'd take a written song any day over the nothing videos that I post. It feels good to get back into it.

Track uses the Roland Jupiter 6, Sequential Prophet 10, Roland SH-101, and DSI Tempest. Eventide Blackhole VST for FX."

MIDERA | Vessel - Electronic IDM

video upload by MIDERA

"Find my other projects on my website:
https://www.midera-artist.com/

Support me and my music here:
https://midera.bandcamp.com/

Today (7/22/23), when I made this track - was the 13th Anniversary of my Dad's death. My mom and I talked at length today about it. It's crazy to think about all the things I remember from that day and from the funeral - from watching his last breath to sitting in silence with my mom after everyone left after the funeral. We were just sitting there and it almost felt like it never happened. It was so strange.

13 years. It just kind of doesn't feel like the movement of time makes any sense. Those things feel like a few weeks ago, I have very vivid memories about them. But I don't actually remember things that happened a few weeks ago, normally. So odd what can stick in your head and why it does.

It certainly has been a wild ride this last month, my wife losing her job, our dogs fighting so bad that it required a $1200 emergency vet visit, and more.

And in my studio I've just not had much success. Moving gear around, hating everything I write. I think 'maybe I just need it set up like this...' and a few days later I tear it down too. I used to do so much more, but I only had a few things. I expect 2012 results in 2023 - where I didn't have a family, kids, dogs, a house, a career... I am not complaining that I have them, but my expectations of what I'm capable of haven't changed, even though everything else has.

Now - I'm also stuck with so much gear I don't even like... Jupiter 6, Poly Evolver, JD800... they're cool, but do they add anything, like REALLY add anything to what I already have? No. They don't. The day I got the Prophet 10 in my studio was the day my music suffered. It was just a big, big synth that didn't take me where I wanted. I still have it, but even that is among the synths I'm not completely fond of, but feel like I should be. I think it's mostly in how much space some of these things take up relative to how much space I actually have. I sometimes think if I had more room, I'd make better use of them, but I don't actually think that's true. I just think I'd have more stuff stuffed in a bigger room.

Well, anyway, I managed to write something in the last two days. Here it is."

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."

Is this all there is | DSI Prophet 12 Ambient track

video upload by MIDERA

"It came today, even my daughter was excited, 'A synthesizer???' She and I ran downstairs and opened it up. She was interested, and then she saw it, and went to do something else.

I was impressed by a few things: 1) The keybed isn't quite as awful as people think. I would say it's in between the AN1x keybed and the TP/9S. It's not great, but it's ok. I agree that the velocity on here is not excellent. It's hard to control. 2) I find that despite all the knobs, it's actually somewhat difficult to navigate. I'll chalk this up to my inexperience with it. 3) It sounds like it distorts way quieter than other synths that I own. I wonder about the D/A converters. 4) For all the modulation capabilities, I sense that the P12 can't go the extra mile. It hits a wall and the sounds become clangorous (as opposed to an FM synths which just keeps going, beyond its obvious boundaries).

My first day with the Prophet 10 was similar. I was underwhelmed. I'll give it more time and learn more tricks before I settle down with an opinion.

Eventide Blackhole VST used for reverb."

Sequential Prophet 10 | The Disaster. An FX-soundscape

video upload by MIDERA

"This whole sequence of sounds just... was not good. I actually made part 2 first, but then started over and that's what you hear first. Part 1 I just got up and shut it down. But hey - maybe you'll find something inviting and interesting in this moor.

Eventide Blackhole VST used for reverb"

It's all about timbres and how you play them. Interesting as a follow-up to Prophet 5 - How does the Poly-Mod Work?

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

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"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"

MIDERA | Amberstone

video by MIDERA

"Oberheim Matrix 1000
Elektron Monomachine
Moog Matriarch
Korg Electribe EMX
Eventide Blackhole VST

Today I talked to a friend I hadn't talked to in almost 30 years. All that time, just seemingly gone. Weird to come across someone you knew when you were 10 years old. Completely different people now. Parts of your life shattered, others built up. Condensing my life story into a few minutes just reminds me how quickly it goes. We all know that - it goes and it goes and it's gone.

What about this track? Well, this track started when I decided I was going to sell my Matrix 1000. I made a mistake though. I plugged it in. That's the first sound you hear. Now, this is particularly a weird patch, because only this one voice chip sounds this way. All 5 of the others don't. I'm guessing it was a replaced chip at one point. I used the Matrix in mono mode - which is a setting within the MIDI menu. I thought I could replicate this patch in my Matriarch (nope) or my Prophet 10 (nope). Something super haunted about it. I think that's the best way to describe the Matrix.

It's haunted."

Gone | MIDERA - Downtempo IDM

video upload by MIDERA

"I have been debating selling my Roland JX-3P (well, trading it for my old Virus kB, because I just love that keybed, even though I've got the TI). So of course I brought my JX-3P out and tested it out. Then I tested it against my System 8. Doing that made me just appreciate the JX more. Sigh. I don’t know why it is so difficult to part with this stuff. But when I played this sound (that you hear at the beginning), it just sang to me. I loved the noise that seems to become additive with more notes. It somehow helps create the tone I’m going for, especially when sent through the Strymon Volante pedal. It’s not that the System 8 doesn’t sound similar (in fact, I think I created this sound on the S8 first and then ported it over to the JX), it does, but it doesn’t impart any noise, or what I would call “character”. It just sounds lifeless in comparison. And so I’m left with what I’m always left with. More gear, because I find all my stuff useful and fun.

Well, I’m sure I could just do the trade. I bet any number of synths I have could make this sound. It didn’t even use ‘that famous Roland Chorus’. I probably spend more time trying to tell myself I can sell my gear, and then don’t, than I do playing the gear for music.

But I guess this time I used it to my advantage. I made a song of it.

Gear:
Radikal Technologies Spectralis II (Drums, sequencing)
Virus TI (Pad parts and keys)
Roland JX-3P (intro part and similar sounds throughout)
Sequential Prophet 10 (synth part)
Strymon Volante (delay for JX-3P)
Eventide Blackhole VST (reverb)"

Passage of life | Ambient soundscape with Korg Polysix, Roland SH-101, Strymon Volante

video upload by MIDERA

"This morning my daughter pleaded with me to work from home. It was really cute, and sad. I told her that even if I stayed home, I wouldn't really get to play with her. She insisted, 'You can work. I won't bother you.' I still left for work. I need the exercise (I bike to and from work and just won't do cardio if I don't have a reason to do it).

I got home, ate dinner (but was on my phone), gave her a bath (and was somewhat on my phone), then we watched TV together... I missed it. I missed the day with her, even when I was with her. All she wanted to do was to be with me. I was 'there' but not really.

All I can do is try again, to do better.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gear used:
Korg Polysix (sent through Strymon Volante)
Roland SH-101
All tracks sent through Eventide Blackhole VST"

---

If this could bring you back | Rhodes Piano and Prophet 10 | Tribute to my father

video upload by MIDERA

"Eleven years today, July 22nd, 2010 - that sounds like a long time. It feels like no time, once you've gotten there. It's been 11 years since I watched the last breath leave my father. The sense of sadness, but relief - his pain was over.

I still have dreams about him - he always has stubble on his face (which he never had prior to cancer, he always kept his face clean) and I'm always shocked that he survived. "But... how did you survive??" Although normally I don't even ask him that anymore. I think I'm just happy to see him again, and my brain knows not to tempt it by asking those questions.

One time, after I'd gotten into a car accident and he was yelling at me over the phone, I found the words that dug into him and hurt him. I said to him, "You were never there for me." Apparently that ripped right into him and - I always regretted saying that. It reminds me of the lyrics from a Pearl Jam song, 'Some words when spoken, can't be taken back.'

I wrote him a letter, a few weeks before he died, apologizing for having said that back in 2003... He read it, I think, or I hope. My mom recently gave me the letter I wrote to him. Three pages of how proud I was of him, how I'd always regretted saying that to him, how I hoped he'd still be with us for a long time... After that - I don't think I actually saw him conscious, he was basically in a coma the next weekend and never woke up, except for some strange bouts of strength and alertness (although I wasn't there for that).

I ended my letter to him, saying that I'd love to read anything he'd write back to me. But there was nothing there. I never heard back."

Only grief weathers time | Downtempo electronic synth instrumental

video upload by MIDERA

"I think I have never sat here longer, not knowing a thing to write about, or how to title this track. I've thought about the day, the week, and all my music ever makes me think about is just how fleeting time is - I don't normally feel that way towards anything I listen to, just my music. I wonder if that's how others view their work? Or maybe it's just the focus of what I do? Which reminds me - when I ask if my music invokes 'sadness' I'm often hearing that, no, it doesn't sound sad, which is bizarre, because that is almost always the mood I'm going for.

Ok - I guess that helped me figure out my title. Now I wonder whether I need to add a string of instruments in there... It's what I always do, but I don't like it. So, I guess I won't.

But I better list out what I had because I recently went back to a track and masterfully did not include everything and now I've forgotten.

Roland Jupiter 6 - pads at the beginning and throughout
Roland SH-101 - bass
Sequential Prophet 10 - Arp
DSI Tempest - Druims
Squarp Pyramid - Sequencer
All sounds routed to AUX to Strymon Volante then to Eventide Space"

DSI Prophet 08 (the better one) night time melodies

video upload by MIDERA

"I had no interest in recording anything tonight, but I feel like any time I sit down with the DSI Prophet 08, I enjoy it, so I recorded this. Sorry about the crackling. I don't know what it is about the P08, but it seems to distort more easily than other synths. Maybe I just have the levels all wrong.

I had been comparing the P08 to the P10, side by side, and I still have to say to myself 'WTF - I like the P08 more.' In almost every sound I create, the P08 feels more melodic. I don't get it. There's something almost 'boring' in the P10. Or maybe it can just go too wild at the 'same settings'? I don't know what it is, I am sure the P08 is more tame so in a way it more easily makes things sound pleasant. I can usually get them super close (which speaks highly to the P08 I think).

Also - I call it the 'better one' because I absolutely hated the REV2, after owning it once and borrowing it from a friend to compare to the P08. I concluded that the P08 was better then. And it's still one of the best synths I have. I like it more than the P10, PE, P12 (easily), Jupiter 6... Not sure about the Chroma Polaris, which itself is wild, but in a more "Bladerunner" sort of way.

On a personal note - I'm one week into being bald. It's weird. Most people don't say a word and I wonder 'Does that mean they think it looks terrible or does nobody care?' One person did stop me to say they thought I looked good, but I felt like maybe they said that just to be kind, knowing I must feel pretty bad otherwise. Truthfully, it's hard to get used to. I think 'great, I'm just another bald dude...' and think a bit less of myself, but part of me loves the idea of not having to think about my hair after I have a hat on or bike somewhere.

And finally, today I got my final gift from my mom. It was new indoor slippers. She bought me a pair about 10 years ago and I wore them beyond the point that they had holes in the soles. I asked her for a new pair for christmas, but she didn't make it to then, and so I bought myself a pair. I'm wearing them now. It will be sad to throw the old pair out, but I should lay them to rest. They've served me well.

Prophet 08 with Eventide Blackhole VST"

Fender Rhodes Mark I Electric Piano and Sequential Prophet 10 ambient

video upload by MIDERA

"This last month has been full of so many frustrating moments. The last week felt like the magnum opus. I never feel like producing any music now. I just constantly rearrange my studio.

But here is something."

Quiet moments | Ambient Rhodes Mark I Piano and Sequential Prophet 10

video by MIDERA

"Tonight, I told my daughter (3 yo) that she shouldn't keep calling us from her room. She often calls out and when we get to her she makes up something she needs, that isn't a need at all. Like, 'I need you to pick up that stuffed animal.' Although normally it's, "I need you to cover me up." I had already gone up once to help her go to the bathroom, which, surprise, she ended up not needing to do.

When she called a second time, I knew it was to cover her up. So I didn't go. She called out and called out and I knew that going up there would just reinforce the behavior. Eventually, her calls died down and I looked at the monitor, at her just laying down without blankets. So I went to her.

I decided that I guess I just don't really care if she calls me again and again. It gives me a reason to see her just one extra time. I sat next to her, covered her up (which she said "thank you for covering me up," and then hummed her songs (she asked). There's honestly nothing better, nothing more important, in this world than your children, at least - that's how I feel. Hopefully, if you read this and feel any regret - make it up tomorrow."

Slowfall | Spectralis 2, Prophet 10, Virus TI downtempo IDM

video upload by MIDERA

"I feel like I haven't written any real music in months. I try and then I give up. I wrote something recently and hated it. Then I wrote this piece. And also hated it. But I felt like if I didn't just finish it, record it, and post it, I'd keep this cycle up and make nothing new.

I'll keep trying. That's about all I can do.

Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb"

Roland System 8 does acid: A TB-303 style adventure

video upload by MIDERA

"I don't have a Roland TB-303, but I guess I always wanted one. Somehow while messing around with the Jupiter 8 plug-out tonight, I made this sound that felt like it could have come from a TB-303... well, maybe not? I don't know. Seemed close enough to me.

Then I decided to throw a beat on top of it. Then I decided to add another bass line with the SH-101, and then I just decided to make some other things to go along with it and well - this is the boring track I came up with just to show off the Roland System 8 doing acid.

Spectralis 2 - Sequencing
Elektron Machinedrum MKII - Drums
Virus TI - Pads
Roland SH-101 - Bass
Sequential Prophet 10 - keys
Roland System 8 - TB-303 ish sound

Eventide Blackhole VST on most parts."

Tomorrow comes too soon | IDM music

video upload by MIDERA

"I've been really pining after my old Nord Drum 2. I can't believe how much the prices have gone up over the last few years. I bought mine for $650 and it had all this extra stuff. Sold it for the same in 2019... now, they go for over $1000. I really just want to get it back, sigh. I don't know whether I will or not because that's just a lot of money. Been trying to see if my Tempest or Machinedrum can pull off the same sounds, but there was something weirdly organic in that Nord Drum 2 that I can't quite seem to get out of these. The Monomachine was actually much closer, but it can't exactly pull off that sound either.

I dunno. I know I don't need this stuff, and my studio already feels overwhelmed with gear. Well... who knows. It's a simple problem, which I'm glad of, after everything last year. I'll take it as a good problem to have and be thankful about it.

Gear used:
Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2
Sequential Prophet 10
Dave Smith Instruments Tempest
Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb"

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."

Exploration | Sequential Prophet 10 REV4

video upload by MIDERA

"You wouldn’t know it but I already wrote a description. Only, YouTube does this wonderful things on phones where if you pull down to refresh, it’ll delete everything if you hadn’t saved (no warning splash screen). So that’s fun. Here we go again.

Ok, so I dismantled my studio, ripped everything down, frustrated that I have too much but can’t figure out what to part with. Part of its fear that I’ll never get it back, part of its fear that it’ll just go up in price to ridiculous levels (Juno 106 for one, I bet my Roland SH-01a (blue) I sold for $300 is fetching more than my real SH-101 these days too) so I can’t get them back. Part of it is that I genuinely enjoy using the gear and writing weird things with them (my Hapyness patch on the D50 for example).

My studio is small. 11x12’, which just isn’t very much room. But I don’t want a lot of gear hooked up to sequencers as it get difficult to manage. But I want to make good use of everything… constant disarray, rearranging, dissatisfaction, etc.

As for the P10, I don’t like where it’s seated, but I sat down anyway, plugged it in, and just recorded the process. It might start out pleasant, but it soon hits a cacophony of disharmonious sounds. Hard to say whether it’s interesting. I had fun exploring anyway.

Eventide Blackhole VST for reverb."