Hey guys. So you want to be Aphex Twin. (I would rather be Atom Heart :)
A tall request, but one that can be answered. and will definately generate
more questions too. First you need to decide whether you are going to want
to make music with "hardware" or "software" Hardware being a outboard
synthesizer or drum machine. or software gear like Reaktor, MAx, or some
other sound generator. Or even a hybrid of both (the best choice) like
Creamware Pulsar, KYMA.(MAX or KYMA or Pulsar not recommended since you are
just starting.
Outboard gear ususally has a sequencer built in but is very limited.
Software sequencer give you much more flexibility.
Basically you need a "sound scource" (synthesizer, wave file player, drum
machine, etc.etc...and then a "sequencer" (Cubase, Cakewalk, Logic, Master
tracks, etc..etc.. "and a "MIDI controller" (Keyboard, MIDI sliderbox, MIDI
knobs, etc..etc...
MIDI is how your music equipment talks to one another (handshake) Like SCSI
or USB. It allows you to "trigger" sound from any synth off one keyboard,
and will also let you control many parameters of a sound (if it permits)
My suggestion before you do any tinkering with IDM or any electronic music,
i would find an old analog keyboard(pro-one or Moog or Roland stuff) and
learn the basic analog controls of a synth like Oscillators, Filters,
Envelopes(ADSR), stuff like that. basically all electronic music gear is
based on those features. Then you can move into harder things like MAX or
KYMA, which redefine the way electonic music gear works.
In the long run, you should definately look into computer software/hardware
based gear. when you decide to buy equipment that you will ultimately use
to make music, do not go and spend a bunch of money on outboard "hardware"
gear. regardless of what you are told by some. Hardware gear WILL
DEFINATELY be obsolete soon. It is being replaced by DSP/computer systems.
FACT! (im sure this will piss some people off, but they just dont get it :)
DSP systems are WAY ahead of your standard new synths with bells and
whistles.
To get started, I would start with a simple seqencer like Cakwalk, a cheap
keyboard like a korg or roland piece, a MIDI port for your computer (MIDI
in, out & thru) and you should be able to get the hang of things with that.
You should be able to accomplish this for under $1000
Once you feel comfortable, check out Pulsar DSP card, this is a cute entry
level card that is very flexible, it has synthesizers, drum machines,
effects racks, 16 channed digital mixer, and everything is MIDI controlled
in realtime. www.creamware.com.
hope this helps a little bit.
~swamay~
www.swamay.com
----- Original Message -----
From: <damek@earthling.net>
To: <idm@hyperreal.org>
Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 11:31 AM
Subject: RE: [idm] help me be aphex twin
quoted 1 line I'd like to second this request - I'm interested in sculpting sound and
> I'd like to second this request - I'm interested in sculpting sound and
doodling tunes with my computer, but I don't quite "get it" yet. I've
played around with sequencing waves in Cool Edit Pro's tracking feature, and
I've played around a little with Buzz 2, but I'd really like a response to
Ben's email just for the explanation of it. Particularly I'd be interested
in how easy it is to do what he described re: setting up a keyboard to
control sounds on the computer, since I know piano but not my computer
keyboard :P
quoted 2 lines any suggestions? or should I just suck it up and learn the keys for buzz
>
> any suggestions? or should I just suck it up and learn the keys for buzz
2?
quoted 2 lines or should I stop struggling to learn buzz 2 and learn some other program
>
> or should I stop struggling to learn buzz 2 and learn some other program
since buzz 2 seems to no longer be in dev?
quoted 2 lines or should i write some other list? (what was that music-making list people
>
> or should i write some other list? (what was that music-making list people
have written about?)
quoted 67 lines -adam
>
> -adam
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Ben Knowles [mailto:knowles@Colorado.EDU]
> > Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2001 2:20 PM
> > To: intelligent dunce music
> > Subject: [idm] help me be aphex twin
> >
> >
> > sorry if this is a little OT, but i need help, and the
> > question is simple
> > enough that i don't really want to bother the kind folks on the music
> > makers list with it.
> >
> > basically, i would like to begin making electronic music on a pc. i'm
> > gonna go out on a limb and wager that i'm not alone in this
> > desire. i've
> > been looking around online for a resource that will tell me
> > exactly what
> > kinds of things i need to start out, but i'm not finding much. (i am,
> > however, finding lots of technical documents about Csound,
> > DSP and MIDI
> > this-and-that, etc.) is there a site out there along the
> > lines of "so you
> > want to be an idm musician..." which gives you a rundown of the bare
> > necessities? all i know is that i need something that will
> > make noises,
> > something to manipulate noises, and something else that will
> > sequence the
> > noises. i assume that things like Max/MSP, Reaktor and Csound
> > are in the
> > making/manipulating category, but what about sequencing? and
> > is there a
> > simple way to hook up a keyboard to my PC, but in a very
> > flexible way so
> > that it is just controlling the note but the computer is
> > making the sound?
> > is that what MIDI is? sorry if this is all very "duh," but
> > i'm looking for
> > a place to start here.
> >
> > alternatively, you can ignore the above paragraph and just
> > send me a list
> > of what you think is necessary hard/software for making
> > electronic music
> > on a computer. Example (which i'm making up, since i don't
> > know what i'm
> > talking about): Max/MSP with _______ sequencing software and a _______
> > midi cable connected to a _______ keyboard. or something.
> >
> > thanks,
> > nub
> >
> >
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