#patchbay

[synthtv]

MIDI to CV and back: Can your regular synth become semi-modular?

[beigebox]

2003 Music Workstation build

This is usually my Y2K gaming PC but a few extra pieces make it a great music workstation. From left to right we have:

- Akai MPC 2000XL midi controller/sampler/drum machine from 1999 (fantastic machine that deserves its own write up)

- Roland VM-3100 mixer from 1999

- Korg Wave station EX digital synthesizer from 1991 (used here just as a keyboard midi controller but a great sounding keyboard on its own)

- Compaq Presario 1525 CRT monitor from 1998

- Acer Veriton 7600G from 2003 with Microsoft optical mouse and internet keyboard (upgraded with 2GB of memory, a Radeon 9200 GPU, and a Sound Blaster Audigy soundcard. Also deserves a proper write up and some better photos)

- Kawai MAV-8 rack mount MIDI patchbay from 1989 (balanced awkwardly on top of the PC case)

I found a demo for Fruity Loops 3 (since that's what I used in 2003) and got all the MIDI connections working, but the demo doesn't let you save. Cracked versions of Fruity Loops 1, 2, 3 and 4 are rare as hen's teeth it seems and the devs can't generate new keys. I did find a full version of Fruity Loops 5 but it came out in 2005 which broke my 2003 cutoff.

Unfortunately, despite the size of the desk, I never found a good layout hence the keyboard and MIDI patchbay stacked on top of the PC case. Juggling the keyboard and mouse around the synthesizer was too difficult so I'm packing it all up to make room for something more usable.

[sixeye-sketch]

i have encountered "normalled patchbay"

[wowitsjolyne]

Im halfway done installing the new patchbay in my Casio SK-1 and it's already paying off

[warmglowofsurvival]

Twenty One Pilots’ Josh Dun Builds His Dream Studio, Part 2

Drums rule inside the Boom Boom Room, the new home facility of Twenty One Pilots drummer Josh Dun and his wife, voice artist Debby Ryan.

By: Steve Harvey

Ever since its 2015 breakthrough album Blurryface, Twenty One Pilots has been flying high with a string of platinum-selling albums and worldwide arena tours. There’s no knowing when the creative urge will strike, however, so both drummer Josh Dun and lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Joseph have home studios. Don’t pass up Part 1, which explores how Dun worked with Charlie Griffey of Griffey Remodeling, Josh Dun, TJ Bechill of NEAT Audio, and Gavin Haverstick of Haverstick Designs to create his ideal home facility, The Boom Boom Room; now let’s dive into how he puts the studio to good use.

SETTING UP TO RECORD

“Tyler and Josh don’t work with engineers; they work by themselves,” Bechill observes, noting that during his technical design process, he likes to understand an artist’s workflow and what tools they need. “I always build around the concept of the artist being able to walk into a room and ‘put pen to paper’ as quickly as possible.”

Bechill quizzed Dun about the favorite drum tones he had recorded in his favorite rooms before deciding what gear to load into the control room’s Dangerfox desk. “A lot of them featured vintage Neve consoles,” he recalls. “Josh has API and Audient pre’s in his studio in California, and he said, ‘I want transparency, but I also love the vintage vibe of a Neve console and the glue that you get from the transformers.’”

The desk’s lefthand bay houses two Rupert Neve Designs 500 Series racks holding 14 of the manufacturer’s 511 mic pre modules, with variable Silk control. “The Coles 4038 overhead mics go into a pair of 517 preamps, into 1176s and then into the converters,” he adds.

Mike Picotte, senior sales engineer, artist relations at Sweetwater, also consulted on gear choices, then tuned the control room with Smaart and optimized the DSP on the room’s PMC 6-2 main monitors. “PMC checked all the boxes and has been an incredible system,” Bechill says. “We don’t really mix in there, but we wanted an accurate reference. You can do multiple EQ settings, so we created two zones—one for the mix position and a second for the couch, if friends come in to listen to music.”

Picotte also dialed in the drum sounds. “After 15 minutes, Mike leans back and says, ‘Well, there you go,’” Bechill recalls. “There’s no processing on the tracks; it’s just a great room, great microphones, and solid preamps and conversion, so we saved it as a template. We’ve got a Furman sequencer, so now Josh walks in, turns one key and the whole studio turns on. Within seconds, he can press Record and sit down and play.”

Sweetwater sales engineer Patrick Cobley supplied much of the equipment and, with NEAT sales engineer John Krempel, helped assemble the control room during the two-day installation. Ryan’s brother, Chase, who works on the video side, designed the audio patchbay. “I love having a normalized patchbay where I don’t have to use cables if I don’t need to,” Bechill comments.

Speaking of patching, Bechill installed a dedicated Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel for Ryan’s voice work so that she didn’t have to disturb Dun’s signal flow. “She’s an absolute professional, but I wanted a channel strip so we could give her dynamic control in case she got too animated or too close to the mic. I really like the FET-style compressor in the Shelford, and I’ve always loved 1073-esque tones.”

Haverstick included a small vocal booth in the studio layout, which doubles as an amp closet for visiting guitarists, but Ryan can also take a shotgun or a lav mic into the live room: “She can do ADR in that room if her producers don’t want a completely sterile vocal booth environment.”

TRACKING DRUMS

The tracking space, a room-within-a-room design, looks out onto the woods surrounding the house and features a floating floor. Although Dun has tracked in big rooms like EastWest in Hollywood, Haverstick says, “He wanted a controlled but not too dead-sounding live room, because Twenty One Pilots do get more of a controlled sound on their drums.”

And what about those drums? Dun wanted something special for his home studio setup, so Mike Ciprari, owner of SJC Custom Drums, his longtime supplier, ran with Dun’s treehouse concept (he proposed to Ryan in a treehouse in New Zealand). The all-wood kit, with moss and leafy accents, uniquely features a completely wooden front head on the kick drum. “No joke, it actually sounds pretty solid; I was shocked,” Bechill laughs.

Bechill’s idea was to mike the drums using just two or three stands, making the most of the design flexibility and weight capacity of Triad-Orbit’s products. An Audix D6 and a Solomon Mics LoFReQ hang off one stand, he reports, with multiple Sennheiser MD 421 tom mics hanging off another. “If you were to try to do that with any other stand, it would just tip over,” he comments. “I spent $1,500 on three mic stands, but we had committed so heavily to an aesthetic that I wanted them.” The Coles overhead mics are supported by two ceiling-mounted boom arms.

During construction, after Dun mused about what his drums might sound like in the 20-foot-high sunroom, Bechill had Griffey install a four-inch conduit so that he could run a Whirlwind 24-channel snake to a stagebox upstairs. “John [Kremple] did all the wiring with me, and it took us four hours just to get the W2 mass connect from the second floor down to the studio. I don’t know if Josh will ever actually track up there, and, if he does, if it’ll ever be used—but for some reason, in the moment, it felt like the most important thing,” he chuckles. “After that, everything else was easy.”

It seems likely that Twenty One Pilots fans will hear the results of all that hard work soon enough. Previously, while Joseph could work in his own studios, Dun had to go to a commercial room to track his drums. Now, Bechill says, “Between this studio and Tyler’s two studios, we can track and mix in these rooms—although I believe they’ll still send their sessions out to be mixed—because we have the proper environments.”

[tasiturney]

i can make the music i wanna make ITB with official vst recreations and free soundfonts of the gear i have but theres something satisfying about flipping my mixer switch, adjusting signal flows with my patch cables, and clicking the power buttons of the synths and modules i wanna use at the moment. even before, it was nice and oddly intimate to set up all the connections in the back of my patchbays with 76 audio jacks and 22 midi jacks hooked up according to map i spent a couple days plannin and plottin in a spreadsheet

i also feel a strong kinship with all this neglected and damaged gear that i cleaned inside and out or even had to repair to make them workably functional. its mostly me being stingy yea cuz u can save a lot of money on stuff people dont know how to test if u know how to solder parts or treat a fussy tape transport to some lube and rubbers, but i pass on tested gear even if its in my budget cuz i like taking in the scraggly strays. theres a kind of moe in a roland jv-880 with a half-destroyed lcd display or in like, any consumer-grade casio home keyboard or drumkit

[djcparis]

Mix D'j'C - Full-On

On YouTube :  ╰▶  https://youtu.be/s_36p_-g2oY ˙•٠•●ૐ●•٠•˙ ૐ ˙•٠•●ૐ●•٠•˙ PlayList Patchbay - Inner Revolution U-Recken - Mirror Pool (Original Mix) Serenity Flux - Interactivity Toxic - Tribal Pulse Blanx - Xtc (Original Mix) Cosmic Tone - Its Not Like That at All (Original Mix) Hayitt - Act Of Defiance (Original Mix) Makida & Relativ - Construct Of Mind Ranji & Mind Spin - Secrets of the Universe (Cosmic Tone Remix) Sideform & Genesia - Genetic Form Sixsense - Fear Spiritual Mode - Universe Inside You (Cambium Rmx) , . - ~ •*'¨¯¨'*•~ - .¸ - - .¸ - ~•*'¨¯¨'*•~ - .¸ OPEN FOR BOOKING ( Private message ) bouking.dj.djc@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/mix.djc , . - ~ •*'¨¯¨'*•~ - .¸ - - .¸ - ~•*'¨¯¨'*•~ - .¸ for participation in the expenses of "Mix D'j'C" Paypal donation : https://paypal.me/pools/c/84aJmCuYpY , . - ~ •*'¨¯¨'*•~ - .¸ - - .¸ - ~•*'¨¯¨'*•~ - .¸ D'j'C SoundCloud https://soundcloud.com/j-c-djc

DjC Mix  mixcloud http://www.mixcloud.com/DjC_Mix/

Ma chaine youtube http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCusztCOkXyb5dNZEqu1pTXg

blogspot http://mix-djc.blogspot.fr/

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♪♫♪♪♫♪d(◕‿-)b♪♫♪♪♫♪

[kesslersymbolic]

this also works if you install some funny software to do it virtually, notably PipeWire/Helvum which lets you pipe audio around easily, simply pipe the audio from Firefox to Audacity and you can record audio easily without there being any easy way to defeat it

Time shifting

––

I wanted this but the original poster is transphobic

[fuzzkaizer]

Electro Lobotomy - AttFAM

"performance tool ... 4 attenuators, each with a momentary on switch and latch switch ... 3.5mm jacks. Eurorack friendly"

cred: etsy.com/ElectroLobotomy

[synthtv]

MiniBrute 2 Cookbook 10 Sync Lead

[bivouacrecording]

The Instrument : Part 2: Components

<- Go to Part 1

Cables

The veins and arteries. As is tradition with any new idea I have, I make new cables. Mostly because the cables I made previously were all custom that the lengths or connectors just cannot be used anywhere else. Coming off of the relay box, I kept the solder gun warm and went straight into making cables. I used Canare wires and Yongsheng connectors. Easy to source for me and good quality.

I never made a MIDI cable before and believe me, they look really beautiful with these metal connectors (see above).

I made a total of 37 analog/midi cables.

I also made:

Four 10 pin remote control cables for the Revox units.

One 15 pin extension cable for the Fostex D2424

One DB25 AES I/O cable for communication between the DM1000 and SPX units.

This makes a grand total of 43 finished cables, 93 connectors, and about 90 meters of cable. All93 heat shrunk and perfectly made. 93

You can b93elieve me when I say 93 that I was counting 93down Every. Last. One. 9.3.

Phew. 93

Of course after you finish with something, you always think of how it could be better. After connecting it all up, I am really wanting to have a more polychromatic palette of cables rather than just a rat's nest of black (boring). Maybe I can sell the black cables and make a more colorful back-end (gulp).

MOTU Midi Express XT

So now I needed something to manage the MIDI messages between all of my equipment. I have used MOTU software and hardware for 20 years and their MIDI patchbays were always affordable and reliable so I found a used one for a reasonable price and wired it up. 

In my research I found this article and decided MOTU was the way to go.

RME Digiface USB

Connecting the DM1000 to the computer took a bit of consideration.  I knew that once the audio was converted in the DM1000, I wanted it to stay in the digital domain wherever it went until it was output again. So I needed a multichannel USB interface that didn't take up another rack space and had a reasonable cost. I didn't need any other preamps or other extra things, just a digital I/O. The RME was the best solution and had the best reputation. This was the only thing that I bought new.

The DIGIface has 32 digital I/O via 4 banks of ADAT I/O which allows me to input/output sound from the computer (to the recorders) and manage the audio routings throughout the instrument using the included RME TotalMIX software. Every single connection was used like it was made just for this.

Tech 21 NYC Midi Mongoose

A small MIDI foot pedal that can output 128 MIDI program change messages. So far I have programmed it to start the Freeze layer playback in each internal effect. The foot pedal is a bit fiddly when you want to go from say, 3 to 65, but it should make you arrange the programs in such a way that makes it easier for you. To make it more dynamic and user friendly, I will program more functions in the MIDI translator program.

Speaking of which...

Computer and Software

This is the climax of this post. At least for me. Best take a seat for this one. <br><br>

Welcome to the Brain. The computer exclusively manages all MIDI and audio routing.  For the MIDI translator, I use Bome MIDI Translator PRO (BMT). An amazing program that allows you to translate anything to anything (really, i mean it) and more.

I hired the Bome forum moderator, Steve Caldwell, to help me make a program using BMT that remembered the fader, button, and knob positions between each USER DEFINED layer on both REMOTE layers. The USER DEFINED layer on the DM1000 has 4 banks but they are only overlays that are meant to be used one at a time. With this custom program, I now have a total of 8 INDEPENDENT banks over two REMOTE layers (384 controls total) that can be recalled with a button press and be used to control anything via MIDI. This was not how Yamaha intended it but this is the kind of power MIDI can have.  This rack mountable DM1000 just got a whole lot BIGGER.

[Techie side note: The only drawback for this is that you cannot exclude (Recall Safe) these faders from a scene change like you can for the top level faders. Still searching for a solution or workaround...]

As an example, I mapped all of the parameters of each SPX2000 unit AND all 4 internal effects to the faders and knobs allowing live control of multiple parameters at the same time in any combination using BMT. The controls can also be automated with the internal automation on the DM1000. The sky's the limit.

I should add that even on the top layers, each control for the audio channels 1-48 (faders, knobs,  buttons) can be used exclusively as a MIDI controller (no audio thru the channel) or mixed together (MIDI fader next to an audio fader) side by side, as desired. For example, I am using faders 9-16 to exclusively send MIDI messages to control the A77s (for now). Additional buttons (72 buttons) can be programmed on the USER DEFINED KEYS section. So taking all of this into account, you can have a grand total of 600 controls* for other MIDI instruments from a single console. (Not counting all the other function buttons on the console that transmit MIDI. Even the headphone level knob sends MIDI!)

* Note: I think there is a limit with the amount of unique MIDI messages that can be programmed, but using BMT you can program a computer keystroke to control software, use SysEx, and so on.

Studio

Okokok. Deep breaths.

I had to get some furniture to put all this stuff. I had a custom table made per my specifications and  got rid of all the old furniture (green desk).  For monitors, I bought a pair of JBL Studio 2 speakers. These are powered by my old, underused Yamaha Hi-fi amplifier (RX-V357) and subwoofer that I woke up after a very long, dusty, moldy, sleep in storage.

The JBL speakers are designed to be recessed in a wall but I custom made an aluminum enclosure for them and hung them on speaker wall mounts. This was a cost saving measure but also a space saving one, as these speakers are not as expensive, deep, and boxy as a typical monitor.

I opted for a standing studio to practice a 'live' performance. After so much soldering, I really didn't mind standing and its good practice for the future. I found I move faster that way, though I do have to take breaks more often. I had to put the DM1000 on sturdy packing paper boards to prop it up.

Sonosax Mini R82

My trusty Sonosax. This and my other recorders, are the breath that give this instrument life. I don't create sound.

I made a new custom cable that connects to the digital stereo out of the DM1000 for quick sketches and stereo recordings. At the end of the day I take it on the road to listen to the daily recordings and take notes.

Fostex D2424 LV

Last but not least. This was the last thing I bought. It was pretty much a new unit and very reasonably priced for a 24-track recorder. I only needed to get a compatible HD, replace the lithium battery, and change the FAN which was SO noisy. I replaced it with a Noctua NF-A8 ULN (Ultra low noise) and now it lives silently under my desk. If you have one of these HD recorder units, I HIGHLY recommend this upgrade. I found out that the reason that the fans are so loud is because the unit does not have a thermometer that regulates fan speed. So the fans are just running at its maximum speed all the time, hence all the noise. With research, I found that the Noctua was one of the quietest fans on the market at its highest RPM.

I remember these Fostex units way back when and it was the remote that caught my eye. All of the controls and display are contained in a removable unit that can be extended and used as a remote control. I contacted Fostex and their great customer service answered any questions I had with this long discontinued unit. I have my eye on another one just for parts for the future.

The D24 + DM1000 will essentially be my DAW. To tell you the truth I have been on the fence about using this. On one hand it's a solid piece of equipment. On the other its discontinued. I reassure myself saying that many people still use vintage synths so this should be no different, no? I assume, vintage synth owners always have something in the back of their mind hoping that their synth doesn't die before they sell it. Even the A77 has a better chance of lasting longer than this unit (and it has). By using a computer it will be future proof but it also has its shortcomings. In any case, since the DIGIface is managing the audio via my computer, I can also use my DAW to playback and record files if needed. I guess it is reassuring that these equipment are built within their capabilities so there will be fewer surprises during use. I have evolved to embrace and enjoy the fleeting nature of sound, maybe I should also embrace and enjoy the finite life of recording equipment.

There is some housekeeping that needs to be done with this machine. The HD is cloned to another one after each session and also backed up on a computer. NOS compatible hard drives for the unit are still easily bought at the moment. I'd better stock up. The manual is very extensive and a little crazy at times, but easy to read. Once you start using it, it gets pretty easy and there is just something about pressing a physical click-y button that just makes things more fun. The audio can also be recorded in real time to a DAW.

One thing is that new HDs need to be formatted in the unit before use. This takes FOREVER. 160 GB took about 12 hours to format. So its best to format all your HD ahead of time to save time. I probably didn't need to get the 160GB HD. I think 40 or 80 GB would have been more than enough for me.

Special Mention:

Deity V-Lav Microphones

In my recent recording tests, I realized that although you can hear the tape machines in a 'live' setting, you miss this experience in the audio recording. This means you cannot distinguish the edits recorded to the tape and the edits made by stopping/ starting the machine. I tried several options from mounting microphones on stands, or on the desktop but they were in my way and were going to be pretty expensive if I got 4 of them. I needed a smaller, affordable solution.

I had made some videos for Deity a few years ago and they gave me a sampler of all their microphones at the time to try out. The D2 and D3 are great short shotgun microphones and great for field recording. They also gave me one V-Lav and I was amazed how easy it was to use. Its built-in 'smart' power supply means you can plug it anywhere which is great because some pro lavaliers usually require a 10V phantom supply via a special adapter.  I gave my contacts at Deity a ring and asked if I could have some more for my new sound project. They graciously sponsored 3 more microphones and D-XLR adapters for the project. Now the recordings all have the tape machine sounds which indicate stop/start of the audio and a sense of movement. I know you haven't heard any sounds yet but trust me it is just the right touch.

Which brings us back to...

Today. One year after our journey, and the beginning of a new one. As you can see the amount of thought and hours put into creating this instrument were many but worth it. I feel that it is truly an extension of me and reflects the way I think and move.

Stay tuned for sounds, articles, and videos of how this instrument evolves as well as a more in depth look at how I configure my components and creation process.

Thanks for reading!

In Winter 2021 I was able to finally present this instrument to the public during the Vital performance in Shanghai. Read about it here.

[nobrowsingonlypost]

the interesting thing about these digital patchbays is just how many i/os you can patch wrong before successfully multitrack recording using a control surface.

you have to hit every single bizarre combination with every variation of mute and tie line before uncovering there are four different modes to plug in a usb to the mixer!

its really amazing

[mafermette]

W A L L   S Y N T H

Waldorf String Machine, Waldorf Blofeld, C&G Video Scope, Hologram Microcosm, Tape Echo, Waldorf Pulse 2, Strymon BigSky, Korg SQ-64, Korg Minilogue XD, Erica Synths Matrix Mixer, Arturia MiniFreak and a custom MIDI patchbay

Source: https://www.lovehulten.com/