Modulate This! - Electronic & Experimental Music Tech, Technique, & People

Absynth Tutorial: Modulating Filter Frequency with Keyboard Scaling

Happy New Year! My resolution last year was to go deeper with fewer synths. It’s one of the few resolutions I managed to keep – lol.

Absynth is one of the synths I focused on in 2012. While it was my first virtual instrument (started using it back in 2002 when I started migrating to computer-based music), some elements remained a mystery to me. After a year spent writing presets to use features I’d not touched, reading and re-reading the manual, watching tutorials,  and forcing myself to use it it for for single-patch projects (Tracks 3 & 4 on my last album, and for this soundscape) Absynth has now become my go to “axe” for programming from INIT. Even after all these years it’s simply an amazing synth.

With all that said, I thought I should kickoff 2013 by sharing an Absynth tutorial to help you discover some of the interesting features of Absynth.

Goal: Change the brightness of a sound so the sound gets less bright as you play higher on the keyboard.

Step 1: Add a master low pass filter to a patch.

Step 2: Select Performance>Note>Param and select “Filter Freq Master”.

Step 3: Use your mouse to draw a curve. You'll notice you can use your mouse to get feedback and key and scaling value. Now if you play a a note you'll hear the sound gets less bright towards the higher end of the keyboard.

Tip: If you want to be even more accurate, you can do per note scaling. Click the keyboard button, then play a note on your MIDI controller (or use the keyboard at the bottom of Absynth. While you can now set the precise modulation value for that note.

Note, the following parameter groups can be modulated by keyboard note values.

Happy modulating,

Mark Mosher
www.MarkMosherMusic.com

"Inside the Grid on Altair IV" - A One-Note One-Patch Soundscape in Absynth 5

"Inside the Grid on Altair IV" by Mark Mosher. A One-Note One-Patch Soundscape in Absynth 5 from Mark Mosher on Vimeo.

Update: I’ve also made this available as an MP3-320 audio download on soundcloud.

"Inside the Grid on Altair IV" is a soundscape created with one patch from scratch using the Absynth 5. It is performed be pressing and holding a single note for the entirety of the song. While I have used Absynth as the sole instrument for songs in the past (Tracks 3 & 4 on my last album markmosher.bandcamp.com/album/no-ghosts-just-fear), I've never created a patch where one held note triggers the entire composition. Recent works by Absynth creator Brian Clevinger and artist Anthony Distefano have inspired me to do start working on some pieces of this nature and this is my first of many to come.

The audio is CD quality, and the video shows a behind-the-scenes look at Absynth's wonderful 68-stage modulatable envelopes in action. So all the movement and changes in dynamics, pitch, timber are meticulously drawn and programmed as part of the patch. The envelopes also support LFOs on segments. The envelopes can be extremely long and also loop independently which making Absynth fantastic for evolving soundscapes.

Note, I am also using an envelope to change the “effect time” of the Pipe Effect which is a unique audio effect within Absynth. P. 88 of the manual describes it best “Let’s take the image of a string. A loudspeaker (a contact loudspeaker) is connected to a string, which begins to vibrate as a result. You can determine the position of this virtual loudspeaker on the string via the parameter Input Position. Above the string are two pickups, similar to an E-Guitar. The pickups’ positions can be determined through the parameter Output Positions. Changing those two parameters can be compared with changing two microphones. You can modulate the string’s length and the pickups’ position through the LFOs or a MIDI Controller. This way, various flanging, pitch-shifting and rotary speaker effects can be achieved. These effects are particularly apparent when the modulation of the pickups are modulated in op¬posite directions.”

 

 

Enjoy,

Mark Mosher
Synthesist, Composer, Performer | Boulder, CO
MarkMosherMusic.com

Absynth Creator Brian Clevinger Posts One-Note Soundscape to Accompany the Mayan Apocalypse

 

Brian Clivinger just posted this fantastic one-note soundscape patch “made with Native Instruments Absynth 5 to accompany the mayan apocalypse”. It really shows what can be done with those amazing 68-stage modulatable envelopes!

Enjoy, and talk to you tomorrow :^)

Mark Mosher
Synthesist, Composer, Performer
www.MarkMosherMusic.com

Doomsday and Brimstone Compilation Fund Raiser for Electro-Music

Jack Hertz is pulled together another charity release called Doomsday and Brimstone. Lots of great tracks here by friends I've met at Electro-Music events.

 

The Sound for Good record label has partnered with the Electro-Music to help help support the community by offering the new release, "Doomsday and Brimstone" a compilation" by Various Artists available exclusively to everyone who donates just $1 USD (or more). This is our special gift to say thanks for helping to the electronic music community. In this way, artists can reward people for supporting good causes by offering something special they cannot get anywhere else.

The end of the world on December 21st has been cancelled, but we are throwing a party anyways with a special "Doomsday and Brimstone" Compilation fund raiser for Electro-Music. Artists from around the world have composed tracks to end it their way. Be it hurricane Sandy, The Plague, Angry God, Alien Invasion, Wrathful Deities, Religion, Global Warming, Nuclear War, or Whatever form of demise...

credits

released 21 December 2012
Electro-Music.com, it is a multi-use website that combines a forum and a radio station, creating a unique social community for musicians, technicians, and educators. The site was founded by Howard Moscovitz, the owner and originator and has funded the site for the last 10 years. Howard is a reluctant genius and incredibly talented, a former Bell Labs researcher, and a soulful musician that has been doing experimental and electronic music since the 1960's.
electro-music.com
The forum is the official home to the Clavia Nord Modular community, covering the G1 and G2, but also hosts an enormous DIY section for building electronic instruments. There is also loads of discussion of software, hardware, instruments, efx.
electro-music.com/forum
The radio station playlist is mostly composed of members at the site, but also hosts a number of live shows and quarterly concerts throughout the year. The station also allows any members (membership is free) to stream on our public ports any time day or night.
electro-music.com/radio

Electro-Music.com also hosts a yearly electronic and experimental music festival and conference. This is a 3 day event that features live performances, workshops, lectures, demos, swap meet.
event.electro-music.com

Stillstream.com, is the sister site to Electro-Music. It is all ambient 24/7 covering the range of what is defined as ambient music very well. Stillstream features commercial and Creative commons artists in its 24/7 playlist maintained by Wally the ambient robot. In addition, Stillstream has a wide range of daily live shows and live performances with an irc community.
www.stillstream.com

Sound for Good is a record label that publishes and promote new music as a means to support good causes. This is an independent project that is supported directly by the artists and is not for profit or monetary gain in any way. All the artists time and proceeds from your donation are focused on support a good cause.
sound4good.bandcamp.com

Podolski - Another Great Freeware Synth from U-HE - Patches Can Be Imported Into FilterscapeVA

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I just downloaded the new free U-HE synth Podolski. It’s a great little synth for Mac or PC  and worth a look. What’s great about the freeware U-HE synths is that they are a subsets of bigger flagship synths. By limiting features it makes it easier to learn the core workflow of the full versions.  In this case, Podolsky is…

a simple, CPU-efficient virtual analogue synthesizer. Basically a cut down version of FilterscapeVA with just one oscillator, one filter, one envelope and two LFOs, it also features a Zebra-style arpeggiator/sequencer plus chorus and delay effects.

In the past when U-HE has made freeware synths available, you could import patches from the freeware version into the full version. Case in point, Zebralette and ZebraCM patches will load into Zebra 2.5. So it’s fantastic that you can get going with a free version then transfer your knowledge and patches to the full version.

The web site doesn’t mention this specifically, but I did a quick test and verified that presets made in Podolski can be imported into FitlerscapeVA.

More here: http://www.u-he.com/cms/podolski

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Mark Mosher
Boulder, CO
Synthesist, Composer, Performer
www.MarkMosherMusic.com

NI Maschine Tip: Setting Default Plug-in Parameters for VST / AU

One of the best features of Maschine is it can host third party VST/AU plug-ins. Instruments and effects are assigned to modules at the pad, group, or master level. The plug-in parameters are exposed to Maschine in the order the manufacture specifies and auto-assigned to pages in groups of 8. You then use the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the parameters in groups of  8.

You can custom configure the parameters assigned to each knob by right-clicking on the knob in the software and selecting “Learn Plug-In Parameter” followed by changing a control in the plug-in to link it to the knob. There also menus for cutting and pasting to change the auto-assigned order

If you want to save custom settings as the default for the plug-in by selecting the modulate pull-down then clicking  “Save As Default…”. Then the next time you insert the plug-in in the current project or future projects it will remember the settings.

For example, using this technique you can map the 8 performance parameters of Zebras 4 X/Y pads to the first page on Maschine. So now every time you insert an instance of Zebra, you get instant expressive control.

Mark Mosher
Boulder, CO
Synthesist, Composer, Performer
www.MarkMosherMusic.com

Learning Maschine

Saintjoe from http://www.soundsandgear.com also runs the site http://www.maschinetutorials.com. He was kind enough to set me up with an account. I've spent a few weeks out on the site watching tutorials. I found the videos to be super informative and the quickstart 101,201 videos really shortenned my learning curve. Highly recommended if you want to get up to speed quickly and understand Maschine's features and workflow. The workout videos were also inspiring.

You can check out some free tutorials here.You can become a member for $9.95/month. For this you get:

• Access to the current tutorials and resources on the site
• Access to the constantly growing database of new tutorials, tips, and informaiton.
• The ability to make custom tutorial requests so your exact questions get answered
• Instant chat support for questions that can’t wait!
• Access to structured basic, intermediate, and advanced “courses” for those that want some initial information in an organized fashion
• Access to search by keywords, category, or topics, for those that like to learn by “grab and go” 
• A built in note taking system so you can take notes on any tutorial and save them for later to your personal dashboard. You can also bookmark any tutorial for quick access at any time. Build your OWN reference resource that is customized to what you want and need.
• Exclusive workouts and challenges designed to help you solidify your knowledge of Maschine and put into practice the tools and information you learn. 
• Any and everything added to the site in the future for as long as you’re an active member.
• A new monthly stimulus drum kit for the first 12 months sponsored by KicksAndSnares Corp 
• Private members social network & community with chat, groups, forums, music uploading, video posting, and more
• Exclusive VIP interviews with various producers, performers, and product designers.
• More exclusive VIP downloads and deals sponsored by companies like diginoiz, fatloud, traumah drums, p5audio, mvploops, knockshouse.com, sample magic, loopmasters, and more.

Mark Mosher
Synthesist, Composer, Performer
http://www.MarkMosherMusic.com

On Board With Maschine

A quick post to mention I'm on on board with Maschine. The photo above is of my white Maschine MKII. The nice thing about being late to the party is that there are a lot of great tutorials and articles about maschine already. After a few weeks of use I've transcnended most of the worfklow and already using it for new materail. In future uposts I'll share some helpful resources I've come across and will also do some posts on how I'll be using Maschine in my 2013 rig.

Mark Mosher
Synthesist, Composer, Performer
www.MarkMosherMusic.com

Behind-The-Scenes Video for Electric-Trombonist Darren Kramer's Upcoming 12.12.12 Gates Planetarium CD Release Party

Colorado artist Darren Kramer (and member of The Boulder Synthesizer Meetup) is about to release his latest CD Beyond the Boneyard. Besides being a phenomenal jazz musician, Darren also makes heavy use of Ableton Live, live looping, Guitar Rig effects, and Lemur as you can see and hear in this video he did last year for a piece called “Heavy Metal Paper Clip”.

DJ DKO "Heavy Metal Paperclip" from DJ DKO : Electric Trombone DJ on Vimeo.

Next week, Darren will play a CD release party for this new album at the Gates Planetarium (which is the kick as state-of-the-art planetarium at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science).

Checkout this cool behind-the-scenes production video for the show.

DJ DKO: Exclusive "Behind The Scenes" Footage for Planetarium 'Beyond The Boneyard" CD Release Event from DJ DKO : Electric Trombone DJ on Vimeo.

Links

• Buy Tickets for the Show
• Visit Darren’s Web Site
• Visit Darren’s Gig Easy iPad Mount Page

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SYNTHESIST MARK MOSHER, Boulder, CO 
Artist Web Site: www.MarkMosherMusic.com
Show your Support with an Album buy: http://markmosher.bandcamp.com/
Synth Geek Blog: www.ModulateThis.com
Local Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/The-Boulder-Synthesizer-Meetup/

Diego Stocco Transformed Rain Video

Diego Stocco - Transformed Rain from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

Here is an nice piece by Diego Stocco (http://diegostocco.com/.).

Few days ago I was working on a new instrument and needed to pick up some tools from my work table outside.
It was a rainy day.

While I was sorting through the tools, I started hearing a faint tonal rhythm that reminded me of ethnic percussions and wondered where it was coming from. It was the rain hitting a metallic trash bin that I had left upside down in front of the working table.
I stopped for a moment and focused my attention on the sound.

Besides the percussive noise of the rain, I started hearing some overtones, so I got inspired to create a piece by expanding the tonal resonances present within that sound. No additional instruments or samples. I hope you'll enjoy it!

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SYNTHESIST MARK MOSHER, Boulder, CO 
Artist Web Site: www.MarkMosherMusic.com
Show your Support with an Album buy: http://markmosher.bandcamp.com/
Synth Geek Blog: www.ModulateThis.com
Local Meetup: http://www.meetup.com/The-Boulder-Synthesizer-Meetup/