IDM Mailing Archive

ok... this is the thing: I want to make music. I got so many ideas crammed into my thirteen year old little brain of main I could drown all of the worlds population twice with them (exageration). So... I've been looking for equipment and I run across an interview with AE where they talk about there Gear. I try to figure out what type of equipment they use so that I can get some backround on the names of the machines and what I need and other stuff. I read the names and I can't make anything out of them. R7890178 + roland 247938 and sequencer 7890234 and crap like that. I don't even know what software is and what hardware is. I'm no computer genius. I can't take any equipment right now and turn its internal circuits upside down. All I am is a crazy kid who wants to make music. All I have right now is Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 and I can't use it effectively because the cheap MIDI sounds on the instrument sound so damn cheap. How do IDM muscians get the cool sounds they have? How can you make your own sounds? What should I buy? What the hell is a modulator, synthesizer, controller, and all that other shit? Could some please help me? Does anyone know of any tutorial or essay on how to work all this electronic gear? Where do people learn about this? By looking at a rock band I can tell waht instruments it has... but by looking at a picture of Orbital (or any other electronic music for that matter) performing live all I can make out is a bunch of electronics, but I haven't the slightest idea what? Any help would be appresiated. BTBTFFCR --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

now i'd never advocate software piracy. but if i only had $10 to my name and an irrepressable urge to make h07 73cHn0 7r@cKz i'd be scouring the internet in search of "free trial" copies (wink wink) of various software synths/samplers. no i do not know where you can find them, or even where to start looking so please don't ask me :) things you might want to search for (oh and you'd better have a Mac... ) Koblo, Rebirth, Reaktor, Pro Tools, Peak, SoundEdit 16, Metasynth, Xx... but if the gear is what you desire, keep a few things in mind...it's never going to happen overnight (especially with only $10). the way the process worked for me: 1) I played in rock bands for like five years 2) One day my dad decided he wanted to learn to play piano on his computer so he bought a Yamaha cheapo MIDI "home entertainment" synth featuring 128 very lame general midi sounds and a rather counter-intuitive 8-track sequencer. 3) Over the period of about two summers home from college I learned how to sequence lame-o little riffs on the Yamaha, and finally my dad, sensing that I was more interested in the synth than he was, offered to let me borrow it indefinitely. 4) Took it to my apartment and annoyed my roommates by trying to re-create every Aphex Twin song I heard on the stupid thing. 5) Realizing that this would never happen, saved up my paychecks and bought a crappy drum machine. 6) Took it to my apartment and annoyed my roommates by trying to re-create every Aphex Twin song I heard on the stupid thing. 7) Realizing that this would never happen, saved up my paychecks and bought a crappy sampler. ad infinitum... now it's five years later and I guess it's paid off in some ways (record deal, vast back catalogue of awful Aphex Twin tributes) but also it's cost me somewhere between $6,000 and $10,000 and I'm still not satisfied with 95% of the music I make. basically, be patient. and go to your neighborhood music shop and play with the gear, figure out what seems like something you could experiment with and save up the money and buy it. learn how the instrument works in depth, let it become an extension of your mind/hands. this takes at least a year in my experience. be ready for frustration because no matter how good you get, you are always going to flip on your record player one day and hear the sound you wish you had invented come out of some other jerk's rig .. -- String Theory : Digital Music for Humans http://www.enteract.com/~yoshi/index.cgi On Sun, 11 Jun 2000, Eyal Dechter wrote:

quoted 32 lines ok... this is the thing:

> ok... this is the thing: > > I want to make music. I got so many ideas crammed into my thirteen year old > little brain of main I could drown all of the worlds population twice with > them (exageration). So... I've been looking for equipment and I run across > an interview with AE where they talk about there Gear. I try to figure out > what type of equipment they use so that I can get some backround on the > names of the machines and what I need and other stuff. I read the names and > I can't make anything out of them. R7890178 + roland 247938 and sequencer > 7890234 and crap like that. I don't even know what software is and what > hardware is. I'm no computer genius. I can't take any equipment right now > and turn its internal circuits upside down. All I am is a crazy kid who > wants to make music. All I have right now is Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 and I > can't use it effectively because the cheap MIDI sounds on the instrument > sound so damn cheap. How do IDM muscians get the cool sounds they have? > How can you make your own sounds? What should I buy? What the hell is a > modulator, synthesizer, controller, and all that other shit? Could some > please help me? Does anyone know of any tutorial or essay on how to work > all this electronic gear? Where do people learn about this? By looking at > a rock band I can tell waht instruments it has... but by looking at a > picture of Orbital (or any other electronic music for that matter) > performing live all I can make out is a bunch of electronics, but I haven't > the slightest idea what? Any help would be appresiated. > > BTBTFFCR > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org > For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org > >

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and I forgot to mention, I have about $10 in my bank account -----Original Message----- From: ehill@shell3.ba.best.com [mailto:ehill@shell3.ba.best.com]On Behalf Of eric@synthesizer.org Sent: Sunday, June 11, 2000 10:26 PM To: Eyal Dechter Subject: Re: [idm] Help with music equipment please!!!! a poor craftsman blames his tools. gear info: www.harmonycentral.com -eric On Sun, 11 Jun 2000, Eyal Dechter wrote:

quoted 3 lines ok... this is the thing:

>ok... this is the thing: > >I want to make music. I got so many ideas crammed into my thirteen year

old

quoted 5 lines little brain of main I could drown all of the worlds population twice with

>little brain of main I could drown all of the worlds population twice with >them (exageration). So... I've been looking for equipment and I run across >an interview with AE where they talk about there Gear. I try to figure out >what type of equipment they use so that I can get some backround on the >names of the machines and what I need and other stuff. I read the names

and

quoted 23 lines I can't make anything out of them. R7890178 + roland 247938 and sequencer

>I can't make anything out of them. R7890178 + roland 247938 and sequencer >7890234 and crap like that. I don't even know what software is and what >hardware is. I'm no computer genius. I can't take any equipment right now >and turn its internal circuits upside down. All I am is a crazy kid who >wants to make music. All I have right now is Cakewalk Pro Audio 9 and I >can't use it effectively because the cheap MIDI sounds on the instrument >sound so damn cheap. How do IDM muscians get the cool sounds they have? >How can you make your own sounds? What should I buy? What the hell is a >modulator, synthesizer, controller, and all that other shit? Could some >please help me? Does anyone know of any tutorial or essay on how to work >all this electronic gear? Where do people learn about this? By looking at >a rock band I can tell waht instruments it has... but by looking at a >picture of Orbital (or any other electronic music for that matter) >performing live all I can make out is a bunch of electronics, but I haven't >the slightest idea what? Any help would be appresiated. > >BTBTFFCR > > >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org >For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org >

--------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

Well.. If you only have 10$ in your bank account, then there really isn't much I can tell you hardware-wise that you can buy. want to be like autechre? you don't need any hardware. hardware is a joy to play, to look at, and to program. but it is expensive. and it's easy to make the wrong purchase. software is another matter. you can find that all over the internet.. but i don't suggest adverstising that you have any of it.. because i think most people would be pretty sure that the copy of cakewalk you have isn't legit... as you are a 13 year old. and since you're broke pretty much, one could safely assume that you did not, in fact, purchase it yourself. <<I don't even know what software is and what hardware is.>> Software is the programs... i.e. that you use on your computer. like your internet email program (software) Hardware is physical, stuff you can touch. like your keyboard, or your monitor. or something with actual keys on it.. or knobs... <<How do IDM muscians get the cool sounds they have?>> Hmmm... MANY different ways. Some use their computers entirely.. And others program sounds on synthesizers, and create loops in their samplers, etc... <<How can you make your own sounds?>> Once again.. There are so many different ways... <<What the hell is a modulator>> A modulator is a very general term. It means SOMETHING that changes SOMETHING else. As far as synthesizers go (will explain later), its something in the synthesizer that affects the sound being produced in some way. <<synthesizer>> A broad term.. I'l try and direct you to websites that can define this better than I.. but for now.. A synthesizer is a piece of electronic equipment that generates a sound. there are many types of synthesizers, and many different synthesis methods... like subtractive, additive, frequency modulation, physical modelling, sample playback blah blah blah the list goes on and on <<controller>> in this context.. it's usually (note: USUALLY) a keyboard that would control a synthesizer that does not have its own keyboard. can be something other than a keyboard however. <<Does anyone know of any tutorial or essay on how to work all this electronic gear?>> try www.sonicstate.com/synth and www.harmonycentral.com/Synth you can find more links there. <<Where do people learn about this?>> I learned it all on my own, and through research on the internet.. and by purchasing a synth.. back then, we didn't really have all that many softsynths though.. so i mainly relied on MOD trackers for my computer generated music when i was your age... but there are so many more options for you now. <<but by looking at a picture of Orbital (or any other electronic music for that matter) performing live all I can make out is a bunch of electronics,>> after awhile... you'll know at a glance what all those electronics are.. and you'll drool over them. hope i helped somewhat... jared --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

quoted 2 lines .. so i mainly relied on MOD trackers for my computer

>.. so i mainly relied on MOD trackers for my computer > generated music when i was your age... but there are so many more options

for

quoted 2 lines you now.

> you now. >

I'd recommend you the tracker route, Eyal.... go to www.traxinspace.com as a starting point, you can find tons of free samples on the web and that's all you need to start having fun making tunes with a tracker. If you want to go the cakewalk - midi route you need a pretty powerful computer OR external hardware AND a decent sound card. With trackers you need none of the above, just samples, there's plenty of free aps for creating sounds, a favorite of mine is granulab, do a web search. Cheers John John --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org

Hello, Eyal!

quoted 4 lines I want to make music.

> I want to make music. > <snip> > I've been looking for equipment and I run across > an interview with AE where they talk about there Gear.

It's really easy to get wrapped up with learning who-uses-what in the music world. I always used to idolize my favorite bands and the gear they used - when I was a teenager it was Duran Duran and then Depeche Mode. ;) That said, it generally takes more than fancy gear to make cool music it takes good ideas and using the tools you have in your arsenal at any given moment. In the case of ae, they seem like the types that could exercise their creative genius with a toothbrush and a salad bowl and still make it sound amazing (after editing and processing in Logic, of course)... In this case, assuming that the computer you've got right now is powerful enough, you've already got enough to get started (and you can probably save your $10).

quoted 1 line it's easy to make the wrong purchase.

> it's easy to make the wrong purchase.

Amen. I can't tell you how many times I should have waited to purchase the tool that would *really* fill my needs.

quoted 2 lines software is another matter. you can find that all

> software is another matter. you can find that all > over the internet..

I'll beat Kurt P. to the punch here - If you don't have the $$ to run out and purchase tons of synths, try out Buzz (assuming youre using a PC)... http://www.buzz2.com It's an interesting tracker-like application that will let you create some really cool music. Most of Kurt's stuff was created with Buzz and AXS (right, Kurt? I hope you don't mind the plug... ;) and it's all really great material. You can check his tracks out up on mp3.com: http://www.mp3.com/leak

quoted 4 lines <<Does anyone know of any tutorial or essay on how to work

> <<Does anyone know of any tutorial or essay on how to work > all this electronic gear?>> > > try www.sonicstate.com/synth and www.harmonycentral.com/Synth

Jared's absolutely right on here - these are great sites for finding out about pretty much any synth you can think of, and like he said, after a while the names of manufacturers and the model numbers will come naturally. You'll also learn that there are some models or product lines that are just not worth the effort of learning about... Most of all, enjoy what you do - and remember, we already have an Autechre, so try to find your own creative style and come up with material that is uniquely your own. Somethimes the best ideas happen just by playing around! h o p e t h i s h e l p s ! :: e v a n k. s t o n e :: r e c o m b i n a n t ------------------------------ :: mailto:evan@mmlive.com :: http://www.metro.net/estone :: http://www.mp3.com/recombinant (coming soon) --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: idm-unsubscribe@hyperreal.org For additional commands, e-mail: idm-help@hyperreal.org