I got some time to spend with my iPod touch and new Akai Synthstation 25 and NanoStudio. This combination works very well for the performing aspects of a song. The Synthstation is nice in that it has a pitch bend wheel and Mod wheel (but no knobs or drum pads).

I found the actual editing and sequencer tasks to be a bit maddening and I decided to finish the tune on the iPad rather than on the SynthStation/iPod combo. I think overall, I prefer the iPad for sound creation - it is very hard to control the small screen of the iPod and the battery life is much lower than the iPad.

To make full use of NanoStudio, I decided to try a piece in 5/4 time. This forced me to play the tracks one by one and was really quite fun - not Brubeck worthy but I like the result!

Anyway, one more example from an iPod/iPad only effort - comments are welcome and since it is free, I will gladly refund 125% of the purchase price to anyone dissatisfied.

Givin it 125 by oldlibmike

FInally Moogin' it

I finally had time to put some Moog tracks together. I had a groove that I had sitting around on the iPad created in Xenon Groove Synthesizer.

The track from the iPad involves 4 synths and a drum track. I took this into Logic Express 9 converted to Apple loops and performed two MiniMoog solos along with it.

One uses the Formant filter giving a sort of "vocal" feel to the track and the other is just a fast paced jam - both played on the AKAI MPK mini keyboard.

Took awhile mixing and refining but I was happy with the results. The first 32 bars are Xenon only and the rest involve the other synths.

Hope you like it!

Tiny Tim finally sees God by oldlibmike

Still smaller...

I guess my iPad wasn't small enough for my music noodling, so a new addition to my collection is an iPod touch 4th gen and the Akai Synthstation 25. Some of my music software runs well on the iPod (NanoStudio, Xenon Studio, Moog Filtatron) but a few others I had to buy again (Nlog Midi is a nice mini version of NLog Pro synthesizer with a few less oscillators).

I also picked up the synthstation software from Akai which lets you play with 3 synths and a drum machine all of $2. Overall, however, NanoStudio is the best product that supports the synthstation.

NanoStudio runs flawlessly, uses some of the buttons to easily switch from window to window and sounds great. The synthstation is a bit different than the MPK mini that I also use in that it has no drumpads or knobs but does include the pitch bend wheel and mod wheel. It also can work with my iMac or iPad if I need the wheel features. I will probably almost never plug in my old Edirol PCR-30 now.

I have used the iPod touch by itself for a few NanoStudio pieces and it is actually not that terrible, but plugged into the Akia synthstation its a pleasure to use.

It doesn't have speakers so to hear your sound you have to use headphones and it is not compatible with every iPod music app but it is a very nice addition to my music gear.

It is a bit of a pain moving project files around for NanoStudio right now since you have to run NanoSync to move files from the portable devices to the computer and back again. Perhaps the new iCloud product from Apple will be of use in future versions - I would love to seamlessly work on projects from any device. 

Mixtikl 3!

It's been a busy few weeks. Besides a work trip to Denmark, two of my favorite tools upgraded. NanoStudio is now at 1.2 and Mixtikl 3 has come out.

I think NanoStudio is getting a fair amount of coverage so I thought I'd write a bit about my use of Mixtikl. Mixtikl first got my attention in it's ability to create generative music which is basically music that evolves algorithmically. In fact, the authors of Mixtikl previously had a product called Koan that was used by Brian Eno on his Generative Music 1 album.

The product had previously been released on pre-iOS devices and the interface sort of reflects that heritage. It is very quirky and seems to usually take more clicks than necessary. Nonetheless, once you get the hang of it, it is very quick to put together mixes.

I started with the iOS version and liked it so much that I bought the iMac version (it is available for Windows as well). The desktop versions will function as VST or AU plugins for other DAWs. I love using it where I want a nice evolving drone sound in a piece. No longer do I need to find a loop or play complicated synth sequences - just drop in a nice evolving sound and it is done.

On any platform, Mixtikl can also function as a DAW on it's own if you wish. The app gives you 12 tracks each with 4 cells that can contain either loops from the program or WAV files of any length. With the ability to repeat any cell as many times as you want, this allows you to put together fairly complex mixes.

You can set cells to repeat a set number of times and then a random number beyond that. If you are careful about your math, you can also create some non-evolving simple looping pieces. You do have to be careful that you count your measures properly so that the tracks cycle at the same rate if that is what you wish. For example, if you put a sample in a cell that is 2 bars long, you use the repeat count x 2 for determining length. You can set a "blank" cell to repeat if you need rests or delays.

The best features of Mixtikl are the generative capabilities though. You can put generative loops that slowly evolve as they play and you can now tweak the notes used, rules for generating and even change the sounds. The one part that is a bit difficult is that the built in synthesizer (Partikl) does not take any keyboard input - you have to feed it either a Noatikl loop or a MIDI file so you have to first bang out a melody elsewhere.

The track below is a nice chilled generative piece (though since it is recorded, it sounds the same everytime). If you were to play this in Mixtikl, it would be different every time you heard it!

Adrift in the passing lane by oldlibmike

Moogin'

I've always had a soft spot for Moog equipment and never the budget to own the hardware. For quite awhile I've been looking at the offerings from Arturia.

Arturia offers some very precise digitally modeled versions of many classic synthesizers though at a significant price - usually around $200 street price.

In the Moog category they offer the Minimoog and the more intimidating but cooler Moog modular. I was on the fence about purchasing either of these for some time and was thrilled to see that they have combined them in a special edition along with some nice extras - the Moog DVD, a small book of some of Bob Moog's notes and a cool geeky button. Better still, the price is $300 with some of the profits going to the Moog foundation (creating a museum to honor Bob Moog and his inventions).

The package is solely for desktop computers - Windows or Mac and the Minimoog and modular sound phenomenal! The Minimoog gives you immediate productivity but the modular takes things to another level if you have the patience to figure it out. You get to patch together any number of modules to make an infinite combination of sounds.

I am loving both modules and use them primarily as AU plugins in Logic 9 (they also work as VSTs). I hope to post some examples soon.

There is always debate about digital versions of analog synths but I think it is analogous to the CD vs vinyl debate. The emulations are excellent! Of course there are many software synths available at that price or lower with more capabilities, but there really is something special about using the same techniques that Moog pioneers employed.





On the iPad side, I wish Moog or Arturia would release something like the Korg iMS-20 but for now, the only iPad Moog item is the Moog Filtatron. This is a faithful recreation of the famous ladder filter and some other Moog effects. It is a bit limited. You can process WAV files through it or mix in it's single oscillator, but you can't play a keyboard directly into it. This means that you pretty much have to combine it with other iPad tools to make music. It does support copy and paste so it is pretty useable.

I haven't used it yet in any of my own compositions - maybe soon.

-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Analog equipment with 6 vibrating oscillators

Marty Chamberlain offered up a nice performance on the analog device shown left which he oscillates via a "plucking" interface fed into a recording/digitizing device.

This new version of the track shows that while it is possible to emulate analog performances, there is a lot of expression that midi just can't provide.
Here is an updated version of "A Minor Urge" with Marty's live guitar performance replacing the Garageband instruments. The rest of the tracks, Clavinet, Synth, Drums, Bass are still synthesized with a small violin audio loop included.

So in three posts, I've tried Thumbjam guitars, Garageband guitars and finally, a guitar (albeit with a real guitar player). Progress!

A Minor Urge - Live Guitar by oldlibmike

Garageband for iPad Revisited

While I wait for the latest Nanostudio and Mixtikl updates to hit the App store, I went back to Garageband for iPad for my last piece. I wrote a bit before about some of its advantages and shortcomings. After creating a more complete piece I have a few more thoughts.  I found that the iPad screen makes for an incredible "ribbon-controller" for synthesizers. In the piece below, I was able to slide from note to note in the synth lead on the flat keyboard. You can almost accomplish this on a keyboard by using a high portamento or glide setting but it is actually much easier over the smooth iPad surface. I hope to use this a lot more in the future. 

I love the idea of smart drums where you move pieces of the kit on the grid (simple to complex and soft to loud). I found on a video that you can actually record the movement of the drums to vary up the beats a bit. I did not do that in this piece but will do so in future pieces.

As I mentioned in my Thumbjams post, guitar parts are not easy for me but I do love picking a scale and using the fretboard to pick out guitar solos. That is what I did for the guitar lead on this piece. The rhythm guitar is a smart instrument where I cycled through a few chord progressions.

The other good news is that Garageband '11 has been updated and you can now easily upload your project to the iMac to complete and enhance. This is good news because other than this, there is no way to combine other loops or WAV files into your Garageband projects on the iPad.

What is still lacking is a means of mixing various sources together on the iPad itself. Garageband is fine with live recording but does not let you copy/paste on the iPad or include other loops. Also, there is still no way to edit the MIDI data on the iPad - you have to upload it to the full version for that.

There is a lot of depth to what is possible with the program but it is still a bit of a "walled garden". I would love to see an easier way to combine different synths together with Garageband on the iPad.

Here is my last piece which is a bit more on the melodic side - has a portamento synth lead followed by an acoustic guitar lead. One loop was used and the rest of the piece is performed on the iPad Garageband instruments:

A Minor Urge by oldlibmike