Ambient jam: Volca Bass + Ventris + Keystep + nanoKONTROL2 (2018-10-14)

Published on Oct 15, 2018 Slenterende Beer

"I've bought the Source Audio Ventris, an effects pedal that features two reverb / delay engines that can be combined, either in parallel or serial mode. This gear experiment is a deep dive into the features of the Ventris, in combination with the Volca Bass. Headphones recommended!

The basics of this setup are pretty simple: I program some slow arpeggios on the Keystep, which is played by the Volca Bass. The Bass has a slow and intense LFO on the cut-off, which produces the volume swells. The output of the Bass is then sent to the Ventris, and that's where the interesting stuff starts.

The Ventris has two effect engines running in serial mode. The first effect is called "offspring" and that's the cascading, modulated delay at the start of the video. This sound is then fed into the "shimmer" effect, which I introduce by increasing the "control 1" and "time" knob. The "time" knob also increases the delay feedback of the 'offspring' effect.

Each reverb / delay engine on the Ventris has its own set of parameters, but only part of them can be controlled from the pedal's interface. It becomes more restricted when using both reverb engines at the same time, because two of the knobs are then dedicated to controlling the dry/wet mix of the two engines. Live control of the other parameters, and for both engines at the same time, can be done using MIDI CC messages. I've configured the nanoKONTROL so that the first 4 sliders and knobs control parameters of effect A, and the second 4 control parameters of effect B. For example, the fifth knob controls the amount of shimmer of effect B, which is a parameter I tweak quite a lot in this video.

One hardware problem I had to solve: the nanoKONTROL only has a USB MIDI connector, but the Ventris requires a 5-pin MIDI plug. I don't currently own a hardware USB MIDI host (I'm considering the Retrokits RK-005), so I used my MacBook to achieve the MIDI routing. The nanoKONTROL is connected to my laptop, and so is the iConnectivity mio, which is in turn connected to the Ventris. By default MacOS does not support MIDI routing from one device to another, so I used the open source "MIDIrouter" app to achieve this (see link below).

The reason I decided to try the Ventris is because I'd like to see if it can replace my GFI System Specular Reverb V2. I love the sound of my Specular, but it only really does one sound (beautiful lush ambient epicness) and misses features that I'd like (e.g. 100% wet, control over pre-delay and modulation, MIDI clock sync for delay timings). I'm happy to say I can create a sound with the Ventris that is just as lush as the Specular, but with a lot more control and whole lot more extra features due to the possibility to use two reverb engines. (You can even use the Ventris' stereo inputs to feed it two different instruments, give them each their own reverb engine, and then configure it so that it is 'summed' into stereo again!) I feel like there's a lot more to discover with this device, even more so since you can download patches other people have created using its Neuro app.

Korg Volca Bass
Source Audio Ventris
Korg nanoKONTROL2
Arturia Keystep
iConnectivity mio

MIDIrouter: https://github.com/icaroferre/MIDIRouter

Video recorded with iPhone 7. Audio recorded with UFX1204 in "standalone" mode, recording directly to USB HDD.

You can stream our music from Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and other streaming services, or download our music from Bandcamp: https://slenterendebeer.bandcamp.com"

YAMAHA DX7 II FD FM Synthesizer (1987) Cats and Synths

Published on Oct 15, 2018 RetroSound

"(c) 2018 vintage synthesizer demo by RetroSound

all synthesizer sounds: YAMAHA DX7 II FD FM synthesizer from the year 1987
drums: LinnDrum
recording: multi-tracking without midi
fx: reverb and delay"

Plumbrolzer session! [plumbutter jam #20]

Published on Oct 15, 2018 hajimmie

"plumbrolzer video is still relatively rare on tube so here’s a session on one night. Well, it’s not TRULY Plumbrolzer which I can’t afford yet but it is essentially the same ;)"

jupiter falls

Published on Oct 15, 2018 zack dagoba

"A little sketch on the Roland Jupiter Six. Through the immense Roland R880 Digital Mainframe Reverberation System"

Ghostradioshow [KORG monologue + BOSS DR-110]

Published on Oct 15, 2018 ghostradioshow

Enjoy:)

3 hours generative drone on elektron monomachine, using an Axidraw plotter as audio input.

Published on Oct 15, 2018 buromaschinen

"Soundscape for my illustration exhibition in Lucca Comics And Games 2018. Monomachine and Bigsky processing audio from two Axidraw plotter motors."

Senode sequencer workflow with iPad and MIDI keyboard

Published on Oct 14, 2018 Sebastian Arnold

"This is a workflow tutorial for the SENODE node step seqencer. https://www.senode.org – The demo contains: (1) How to record a sequence from MIDI, (2) How to draw nodes and edges to the canvas, 3) How to edit the chords contained in each node, (4) How to use MIDI bindings to control CLEAR and EMIT of the emitters, (5) How to step through a graph using MIDI bindings. And of course, there's some improvisation going on."

ARP Blue Marvin restoration demonstration - operational tips from CMS

Published on Oct 14, 2018 Phil Cirocco

"This is a short demo video showing some operational tips and nominal volume levels on the ARP 2600. The unit shown is one of the very first 2600s ever made. We recently repaired and restored this beauty to full functionality for a customer. The sound is coming from the 2600 speakers and being recorded by the phone mic. This unit had a partial APU installed since it already had great sounding chips."

Body Fool - Live

Published on Oct 14, 2018 Body Fool

Playlist:
1. Body Fool - Live at Warschauer Str

Body Fool
****************************************************
http://bodyfool.com
http://bodyfool.bandcamp.com

2. Body Fool - Live at Noisegeballer #4 KuZe Potsdam

Live Performance at Noisegeballer #4 on 28th September 2018

3. Body Fool - DatWalk 2017

Performance at Atelier Äuglein on 28th October 2017.

http://walk.datfest.club

Various plants played notes on a heavy processed synthesizer.

4. Body Fool - REPLICA Cricket Symphony - Noiseberg #84

Interdisciplinary artist Diana Neranti and sound wizard Body Fool—both REPLICA emissaries—let insects steal the show for a unique performance made of natural microtonalities and artificial synchronicities.
http://diananeranti.com

REPLICA is an experimental platform where expressive movement rooted in dance & theatre meets augmented embodiment and creative technologies. Together with performers, scientists and technologist we engage in a playful exploration of possibilities: in what ways can technology enhance our bodies by challenging, training and expanding our expressive, perceptive and creative capabilities? In what ways does it enhance our culture? Together, we imagine and rehearse future rituals, devise new interaction models between humans and machines, and prototype tools, performances and future folklores.

www.replica.institute

Dream Steps | Ciat-Lonbarde, D1000, OP1, eKalimba

Published on Oct 14, 2018 HAINBACH

HAINBACH LIVE (+ ORCA visuals)
19.10. Hamburg Uebel und Gefaehrlich (with Bad Stream)
20.10. Berlin Kantine Am Berghain (with Bad Stream)
20.11. Düsseldorf Die Digitale
24.11. Leipzig (TBC)
More dates TBC.

Preparing for my live shows I always try to the make the most upbeat music possible. Usually it ends up much darker once I get on stage, as I find making "happy" music hard when improvising. But still, its good to push myself to different places.