OSC 15: which synth?

[Xenobioz]

Stringz 2
And I still have internet.

[tattiemannie]

Xenobioz ... my biggest aim with OSC is to keep folks happy! .... .. nice post! ... makes me happy, so thats cool!

[Xenobioz]

Yes, you sure have succeeded in that. The OSCs are great for motivating myself to make new tracks and also finish them.

[tattiemannie]

Well, having made me happy, and despite the fact i'm off to bed and will sleep peacefully, i got news for you!

.... there is no such thing as a finished track!

[Mac of BIOnighT]

.... there is no such thing as a finished track!

...but there are a lot of finished musicians
Fortunately, those who take part in the OSC's don't belong in this catagory

[Xenobioz]

i got news for you!
.... there is no such thing as a finished track!

Reminds me of some art teacher who used to say the same thing about pictures.

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

So Mac, i'm reading your interview and thinking to myself, 'i know he likes GTG synths, and it looks like Synth1 isn't his thing; i wonder what other free synths he uses.'

So, if you don't mind answering; do you care to mention any of your other favorite, free VSTIs?

That's a neat interview. I didn't know you were involved in a collaborative effort.

As for my own favorite VSTIs, i like the ones which are low on CPU consumption. Of late, one of my favorite, free VSTI gems is Famisynth. It's 'the little synth that could' or somesuch.. I was 'doing a lot' of Medusa during FAWM (february album writing month, fawm.org)... i would fire up a 'bassline' sequence with Medusa, then jam along on guitar.

Oh, of the interview... i really liked the stories about the instruments you invented as a kid.

[Mac of BIOnighT]

So, if you don't mind answering; do you care to mention any of your other favorite, free VSTIs?

Well, I must say I have used each and every vst I have in my folder (and that's hundreds), or at least 98% of them, at least once.
My go-to and/or favorite vst's include Oberon (most beautiful GUI ever), Monolisa (and I just MUST donate something, damn my job that makes me starve, but this is on my priority list), he Elektrostudio pack, Galileo, Shortcircuit, all the various Mellotron emulations, MDA piano, Cosmogirl, the recently added Gargoyle 2, Drumatic 2 and 3, MR73 (another donation I have to send), Phibes, the recently added Wurler in both versions (main source of inspiration for this http://www.macvibes.com/CDGENESISALPHANEBULAE.html ), Republica (one of the most underrated synths ever), GTG NK 1001, Spook keys and Superspook keys, Tal elektrosomething I forget the name right now, and lots and lots more

That's a neat interview. I didn't know you were involved in a collaborative effort.

Thanks for reading it!!! Yeah, that's why I'm "of BIOnighT". It's been ten years already and not at all easy, but FaBIO is such a special person (so special that it drives me nuts to see him lower himself to the level of the people he chooses as a part of his life) that it was worth it.

As for my own favorite VSTIs, i like the ones which are low on CPU consumption.

Few things are more frustrating than coming up with a great sound only to discover you can't even play two notes with it 'cause the cpu dies under its weight

Of late, one of my favorite, free VSTI gems is Famisynth. It's 'the little synth that could' or somesuch..

Uhmmm... I must have missed this one. Is it a general purpose thingy or some specialized sound machine?

I was 'doing a lot' of Medusa during FAWM (february album writing month, fawm.org)...

I'll check this out (after I've come up with something for the current OSC, that is )

i would fire up a 'bassline' sequence with Medusa, then jam along on guitar.

Any examples we can hear?

Oh, of the interview... i really liked the stories about the instruments you invented as a kid.

That was a fun time... I wish I could go back to that kind of musical spirit sometimes. Well, often. Actually, more and more often as I grow older... Everything was magic back then. Not that I can't get lost in music and sounds and get all excited and all now - I can - but back then it was always like that... Am I the only one?

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

Mac, it never previously 'clicked' to me that your being 'of' BIOnightT meant that you were part of a collaboration.

Thanks for the list of synths. Among them, i like the 'Phibes' too. The TAL one you mentioned could be, 'Elek7ro.' I hear you about donations. Perhaps many of we, poor artists have a list of donations we'd like to hand out. With any luck, we'll be able to do that someday.

I like the concept behind your Wurler album; Genesis of Alpha Nebula. Maybe the production methods could be called the 'hawkwind approach.' This album is going to have to get a full listen-to here.

Famisynth is a 'chiptoon' synth, apparently based on the 'fami' chip from a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). I found the interface to be a bit confusing at first, but the little arrows make it more clear. It's not general purpose, but it's really 'cool' for what it can do.

Medusa is another 'chiptoon' type of synth. I made several 'surf' jams with it, including: Pipeline Rider and Big Surf In case you're wondering, a 'pipeline rider' is a surfer 'inside a pipeline' (big wave). So, the song Pipeline Rider is supposed to be like a surf piece, and as it turns out; has its own share of 'wipe-outs.' Big Surf is very much in the same vein.

There's an old surf tune, perhaps made famous by 'The Surfaris'... it's called 'Wipe Out.' Mainly, the laugh at the beginning, and then the drum solo later in the song, are what really made it.



As for, "Everything was magic back then. Not that I can't get lost in music and sounds and get all excited and all now - I can - but back then it was always like that... Am I the only one?"

No, i would say that there are others among us with that kind of sentiment. I get the same thing, in any event. So, it seems like at least a part of music-making, is that constant striving to re-capture some magic of days past.

[Mac of BIOnighT]

The TAL one you mentioned could be, 'Elek7ro.'

Yes, that's it I wouldn't know how to pronounce it, so I can never remember the name...

I hear you about donations. Perhaps many of we, poor artists have a list of donations we'd like to hand out. With any luck, we'll be able to do that someday.

That's one of the reasons why I want to change my current dayjob - I can barely survive, donations are out of the question, but I feel so guilty

I like the concept behind your Wurler album

Thanks! Oh, and give Wurler a try, I really love it!

Famisynth is a 'chiptoon' synth, apparently based on the 'fami' chip from a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES).

Oh, I see... That's something else I'd like to try, I like Nintendo/commodore like tunes, but unfortunately I'm the wrong age to have a useful knowledge of the genre (I was a bit too old for videogames in the 80's). But I'd love to give it a shot just the same

Pipeline Rider and Big Surf

They don't seem to work, for some reason Media player won't open them, and I get the same result with every other player Do you have them in a different format, perhaps? I'm really curious to listen to them...

Very famous, and I like it I like all the Shadows/tornadoes/etc bands, and this song fits the genre prefectly

No, i would say that there are others among us with that kind of sentiment. I get the same thing, in any event. So, it seems like at least a part of music-making, is that constant striving to re-capture some magic of days past.

How very true... I never consciously thought about it that way, but it's definitely so Man, I hate getting old...

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

That's odd about the .mp3 links. Maybe my website isn't 'fully propagated' yet, or something. Those links work from here. Here are a couple of other links:

Pipeline Rider

Big Surf

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

Say, maybe this 'magical past' that an artist might try to 'get to' is an imaginary place. It seems to me like music can be a bridge to hypothetical worlds.

As for the chiptunes, i'm really impressed by what some of these kids are doing with it. It's amazing, some of the stuff they make with just a gameboy and an 'lsdj' card.

I'm a bit of an old fogey myself, but enjoy the 'video game' sounds.

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

i chatted with the hosting service... they said the site is yet propagating... what's weird is that, someone in france has downloaded something already... anyway, the host support dude said 'at least 5 or 6 more hours'

[MajorBloodnok]

Getting back on topic (sort of) what about this one for some future OSC:


Can't remember whether it is on Tattie's list or not. To me it looks rather cool and it makes some nice sounds too...

MajorBloodnok

[Mac of BIOnighT]

The new links work, mrblitz - I don't see where chiptunes or surfing were particularly influencial in the two tracks, but they are definitely wild and fun, I started my day with them!