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Here is a quick diagram I mocked up to detail exactly how video routing works in the studio.

My music acquisition process for DJ music:

1. ARM (Automatic Ripping Machine) rips CDs I buy into FLAC form without any interactivity. You just insert a CD into the Linux server, and then it ejects it when it’s done.
2. Lidarr downloads FLACs of any tracks of artists I have in my collection, but I don’t have their full discography. It does this automatically and silently in the background.
3. Once a day, a cron job imports ARM and Lidarr downloads into my Beets.io music library, and deals with file integrity checks, tagging, metadata, library file structure and embedded images of the artist.
4. Whenever I’m ready to have a fresh library copy, I run my batch script on my W11 DJ laptop and it robocopy mirrors the entire library from my Linux samba share onto my computer.
5. I then send it through MixedInKey 10 to analyse the BPM and the music key of each track, and to check again the integrity of each file.
6. Once that is done, and any corrupt files removed, I import the file library into Serato DJ Pro, and analyse the entire collection. This again removes any dud files from the collection.
7. Now I have a complete music library, I run a batch file to reverse mirror the music from the DJ library back onto the server, so my collection doesn’t accumalate corrupt files.
8. Now I have a full DJ music library of FLACs on my DJ laptop, over 22,000 files, great for requests!

I had planned a different network toplogy for sure, but this is my current setup and it seems to work well:

• I was not able to implement connection load balancing using the Miktrotik router. It was just too complicated and didn’t work reliably enough.
• My current network is a gigabit network across all areas, so every PC has gigabit cables, switch and so on.
• I either have plugged in my Virgin Media 1000mb/50mbs internet connection or my BRSK fibre 900mb/900mb connection. I simply plug in the WAN cable from the main Linksys router into one of the hubs at one time. If one connection goes down, I manually switch over.
• I have a 10GB/sec SFP link between my server upstairs in the study and my main studio PC downstairs. This allows me to transfer files at 10Gb/sec rate between the two.
• I need two wireless repeaters, even though I have a small house, because the house walls are made of a concrete mix. This means the wireless signal needs boosting a lot.
• In the future, I may try load balancing again, or wait until one of my service providers offers >1000mb/sec speeds. When this happens it would make sense to expand the 10Gbs/sec links as there would be more point.

Now that I actually have the internet connectivity being installed to make use of it, I am getting my home network design a bit more finished.

Components:

• Virgin Hub providing a 1100/50mbps connection
• BetterInternet Fibre Hub providing a 900/900mbps connection
• Raspberry Pi 3 running Pi-Hole DNS
• MikroTik CRS309-1G-8S+IN Cloud Router Switch
• 4 x SFP+10Gb SFP+ RJ45 Copper Modules
• CAT8 30M Outdoor Cable to connect the studio to the study
• Short run CAT7 Patch Cables
• Windows 11 Studio PC with 10GB/sec SFP+ Port
• ThinkStation Server with twin 10GB/sec SFP+ Ports and separate gigabit NIC
• 3x LinkSys 3200WRT Routers in wireless repeater mode, creating a 2.4hz wireless network with speeds around 500mbps on average to each wireless device.
• TP-Link Gigabit switch

Load-balancing internet connections:

• I will be using the Linux kernel balance-rr round robin load balancing between the two internet connections on the Miktrotik router which should result on aggregate connection speeds that utilise the connections more extensively, although I doubt they will ever be fully utilised in this configuration for a while.

ThinkStation Server:

• I aim to use this as an always-on server, and also use it as a firewall/bridge/IDS to help further secure the study computers from the rest of the network.

Connection Speeds:

• The only two computers which will be initially able to reach >1gbit speeds are my studio PC and ThinkStation server as they are the only ones that will be directly connected from the Miktrotik router at faster than 1gbits speeds. All other wired devices will be 1Gb/sec capped, or in the case of wireless, a more realistic 500mbps throughout my home.

I have had this knowledge in my head for a long time now and thought it would be better to write a diagram to explain the current setup for my MIDI routing.

I use MIDI routing one way – MIDI OUT – from my UMC1820 sound interface.

I have two keyboard controllers, one next to my computer, and one next to my Eurorack, that are attached via USB to my computer which I route the notes via Ableton to the MIDI out of the UMC1820 interface.

I then selectively record the synths that I want to record. I don’t use MIDI channels, everything is making a sound at once when I press a key on the keyboard controller. I just record the hardware synths that I want to use in the track.

If I want to use multiple hardware synths in a track then I do multiple MIDI tracks and multiple records.

This is my current DJ setup that I use for Twitch streaming mainly.

• 2x Reloop RL-8000mk2 turntables.
• 2x Serato ‘Butter Rug’ Slipmats.
• 2x Concorde Mk2 Digital carts.
• Numark NDX500 CDJ which I use for playing CDs, and as a Serato Controller as it has Serato Integration.
• Roland DJ-707m controller.
• Sennheiser HD-25 headphones.
• Rode Procaster mic with mic boom, pop shield and cage.
• t.bone MB 88U mic with table stand that I use as a guest microphone.
• AKAI LPD8 Midi controller which I use to trigger Serato Sampler samples.
• Macbook Pro Early 2015 Retina running Serato DJ Pro.
• Behringer TD-3 acid groovebox for adding acid patterns over the top of the Roland drum machine.

The audio signal flow is below:

On Serato I have 4 decks mode enabled:

Deck 1 – Left Reloop 8000mk2 running in CDJ DVS mode from the preamp to line input (PC mode)
Deck 2 – Right Reloop 8000mk2 running in CDJ DVS mode from the preamp to line input (PC mode)
Deck 3 – Inbuilt Roland TR drum machine used for redrumming tracks and also providing a drum loop for use with, and outputting MIDI, to the Behringer TD-3 (TR mode)
Deck 4 – Numark NDX500 CDJ used in Serato DJ Mode (PC mode)

Other possible config options

• I can switch Deck 1 and 2 away from DVS to Line mode so that I can play all-vinyl sets. I often use this to listen to my record collection.
• I can switch Deck 4 away from DVS to line mode so that I can play CDs in my set or listen to my CD collection.
• I can switch Decks 3 and 4 to DVS PC mode and control them using the 707m jog wheels if I want to have a full 4 deck setup. Decks 1 and 2 are the Reloop turntables, and decks 3 and 4 would be the 707m jog wheels.
• I can switch all Decks 1,2,3 and 4 to DVS PC mode and control them using the 707m jog wheels if I want to have a 4 deck setup self-contained using the 707m controller.

FX Setup

• The 707m has a number of inbuilt Roland FX, and it also can use Serato FX. I have both setup as I have all the Serato DJ Pro FX packs.
• I have decks 1-3 setup using the inbuilt Roland filter FX, so I can mix using the filter as normal, and deck 4 using the bitcrusher FX so I can bitcrush the drums.
• I have reverb, echo and delay set to be my 3 Serato FX on the 707m which I can apply to deck 1-4 as needed.
• I tweak the inbuilt Roland microphone FX as needed, usually I have it set to an echo on my main mic.

Audio Out Setup

• I have the crossfader set to the default setup, so that decks 1 and 3 are on the left crossfader and decks 2 and 4 are assigned to the right crossfader. I have the crossfader curve setup on the default 12 oclock position.
• I have master out, booth out and zone out all exact copies of each other, and pulling off the currently selected crossfader mixed output.
• I have the master out using three pin XLR connectors going to my audio interface that is hooked up to my speakers and the Twitch broadcasting client.
• I have the booth out going to my Eurorack which I have setup with an envelope follower module and an oscilloscope so that I can plot the volume envelope for just a nice visual effect.
• I have the zone out going to my VU meter (not shown in picture) so that I can monitor the master out levels easily and also it looks good on stream.
• I have feedback suppression turned on just in case my microphones pick up any feedback from the speakers.

I have a MIDI cable running from the Roland 707m to the Behringer TD-3 so that I can sync the acid patterns according to the beat of the inbuilt Roland drum machine on Deck 3.

Ever since I worked at an internet marketing company on an advertising analytics platform, I have realised that I don’t want my personal internet browsing tracked, monetised, influenced, and sold to the highest bidder. These are the steps that I have taken to reduce (you can never totally eliminate) this process.

Pi-Hole DNS

This is a DNS server installed on a Raspberry Pi on my local home network. I have all the internet traffic going through my Virgin Media router filtered through this DNS server. It has many privacy-boosting features, but its main claim to fame is that it blocks the vast majority of internet advertising and analytics traffic on the DNS level. It currently blocks 20% of the requests made, which results in approximately 20% faster internet for me, and a lot more privacy/less tracking/less adverts.

https://pi-hole.net/

Firefox Browser

Using the Firefox Browser is kind of a no-brainer for internet privacy, because of out of all the main browsers available it is open-source and not controlled by a large commercial tech company. It has the best default privacy features out of all the browsers I’ve used. I use it on all my devices and the configuration is synced across all of them.

AdBlocker Ultimate Firefox Extension

This is the best web page advert remover I have used. It is constantly updated with new ways of removing adverts as the main companies like Facebook find ways around it. It currently removes all the adverts on all the web pages I browse on, including Facebook, which is quite a feat.

ClearURLs Firefox Extension

This removes all tracking elements from URLs in web pages you load, automatically. Tracking elements are information passed through in parameters appended to the end of web page links which provide information on where the traffic has come from and the tracked behaviour of the web user on the previous site. This is particularly important in advertising analytics, and breaking this chain between websites does a lot to protect your privacy.

Fakespot Fake Amazon Reviews and eBay Sellers Firefox Extension

This plugin is not strictly related to privacy but does help an awful lot on online shopping. It analyses Amazon and eBay reviewers for patterns to help understand whether they are fabricated or not. Often online merchants will use fake reviews to boost an otherwise mediocre product. This helps me save money on those.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus Protection

This is another level of general internet protection from the paid Kaspersky anti-virus product. Kaspersky costs me a small subscription every year but it is better than the free alternatives, and offers this browser plugin which has been helpful in sniffing out malware.

After the last post I have added Ableton Live and my Eurorack modular to my DJ setup, with a master clock being sent via MIDI cables from my Roland TR8 drum machine that syncs with Ableton. The drum machine also can be used creatively for drum fills etc.

I hope these two diagrams explain my setup adequately – sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words! The ‘actor’ is me – I just couldn’t find a way to change that on http://draw.io 🙂

Journalism has deteriorated to a huge degree in the online age. A lot of articles and video content are one-sided short ‘clickbait’ – short messages designed to trigger an extreme emotional reaction. ALMOST ALL journalism is like this these days, it doesn’t matter if you have a highly established news network you have been trusting for decades, they have all had to adopt this low-quality strategy due to the ultra-competitive and dire financial situation that all news reporting finds itself in. However a lot of people still take news content at complete face value, and this leads to a huge number of people being misled about the real facts.

So, whenever you are reading, listening to, or watching a piece of news content, here are some questions you can ask yourself to really get the full picture of what you are consuming.

1) How long is this news article/segment? What depth does it go into? Broadsheets like the New York Times go into much more depth than a 10 second ‘news highlights’ clip, and will usually present a much more detailed and extensive argument. If you really want to understand something, as the saying goes, read a book – or better yet, several books from several different perspectives. Do not expect to understand the full issue from TV news segments.

2) What emotional reaction is the journalist trying to get me to feel? What language does the piece use, what quotes are they using, what video are they using, what music do they use to set the scene, is the news anchor looking like they are being particularly dramatic? What is the emotional message?

3) What is the editorial slant of the news source? EVERY news source has an editorial voice – or bias – and you need to take that into account when getting your news from that source. It doesn’t matter if you generally agree with the editorial voice, you have to understand that everything is biased. News isn’t free and a lot of news sources get their funding from various ‘benefactors’ who often have a very real say on their editorial bias. Knowing how the news organisation is funded is very important in knowing what slant they will take, especially when it relates to political news.

4) Does the news piece provide a fair and plausible representation of both sides? There are ALWAYS two sides to the story, this is something that has been all but extinguished in modern news reporting. A few news sources will set up often comic ‘straw men’ opposition points, like the BBC interviewing odd people who drink their own urine for a news piece on how health information is understood by the public. While this may be amusing, it is not meant to present a fair and accurate argument from both sides, it is designed to ridicule one side. There are usually some genuine points from each side that are worth everyone considering, no matter what story it is.

5) Seek out contrary points and opposition points of view. If you want to understand a news event further, seek out a number of different articles from respectable sources with very different editorial voices/biases. Even when you take into account their individual biases, there are usually some valid points underneath it all.

I hope that everyone will consider thinking more criticially about the news they consume.

So.. finally my 27U Eurorack modular synthesiser is complete. I have filled up the third – and surely last, as there is no more room in the studio! – case. I started this Eurorack modular in 2015.. so I am glad it is all complete now. I put in a small amount nearly every month for new modules. I am not some ‘rich kid’ who could afford to buy everything at once – and indeed I think my gradual approach has benefitted the overall modular because it’s made me think about what I actually need, and given me time to learn as I go along.

These are the details for the (newest) left section case:
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/1225766

These are the details for the middle and right sections:
https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/744839

Very happy!

In our house, seperate to my main PC (see the tab above) we still have two Ivy Bridge-based PCs:

Conny’s PC

• i7-3770K
• 16GB DDR3 RAM
• Nvidea Radeon 970 Graphics Card
• 250 GB SSD
• Windows 10

My wife uses this as her main PC, and plays quite a few games with it. For a CPU and motherboard that I put together in 2011 or so, I am quite amazed it still runs adequetely! It runs the games she wants to play, the most graphically intensive being Deadpool, but it will also cope with Borderlands 2, Skyrim Special Edition, Shadow Warrior 2, and others. She is not interested in the top graphics games, but it runs just fine.

My Second PC

I have a computer that I use for my own programming and tech hobby projects. It used to be a top of the range workstation 2011 and I got it in a hardware disposal sale at Arm Ltd for only £400 in 2019. This is quite the deal, as it included a lisence for Windows 10 (normally costs £100 on its own).

• Intel Xeon E5 2650 v2 8 CPU cores @ 2.60GHz
• 32.0GB DDR3 RAM
• 2048MB ATI AMD Radeon R9 200
• 250GB SSD
• 3TB HD
• Windows 10

I don’t need a powerful graphics card as I don’t game on it, and the Radeon R9 3200 supports my 2560x1440px monitor so it is more than adequete. I have installed VMWare on it and am looking to spin up some virtual machines as servers, and have them running in the background while I am browsing. I could assign several cores and quite a lot of the RAM and not really notice a difference with the light work I do when using the computer.

I am just amazed at how much you can do with these old high-end CPUS. The performance delta between these Ivy Bridge 2011 CPUs today’s processors really isn’t that large, and they are so cheap these days. This following video shows just how cheap you can build one of these setups, and how powerful they are even today:

The only situation where these processors don’t really work hugely well is in applications which emphasise single-core performance – I tried to use my second PC as an Ableton Live machine, and a lot of audio plugins I wanted to use were not optimised for multi-core processors, just single-core, so that didn’t work well.

I have made some considerable modifications to my modular since my last post. I have a 4-voice polyphony setup now with multiple voice Osc, VCA, Envelope and MIDI-CV modules, allowing me to experiment with polyphony voicing.

Elsewhere, I have added an Access Virus C synthesizer to my studio, and now have rack-mounted Behringer Model D and Emu Orbit 9090 synthesizers. I have also upgraded to Ableton 10 and use NI’s Komplete suite including Massive X, plus TAL-NO-UX Juno 106 softsynth, Sylenth1 and others.

Finally I have finished my Eurorack synthesiser! And I know many people say that ‘Euroracks are never finished’ but this one absolutely has to be, for financial reasons. I think that I have got to a place where I have every major feature common in most synthesisers, but in a modular instrument format. It is a great place to learn about different synthesis techniques.

This is the layout on Modulargrid.net where you can examine each module.

In January 2015 I put in an order for my first Eurorack case. Little did I know that I would end up filling that case and buying a larger one. Finally, 2 years and 3 months later, I have nearly finished assembling what will be the complete Eurorack. I have been buying a module or two per month, researching what I need and playing a lot with what I have got already to find out its limitations and areas for possible expansion. It’s much like incrementally building and upgrading a gaming PC really, although with very different results.

Today I have come up with a final plan for what the cases will contain. The picture below is slightly misleading, I have two cases, so the case below is actually split down the middle into two enclosures. The left-side case is 2/3rds the size of the right hand case, that is why there is a grey unusable area at the top left.

With the purchase of 4 modules this month, I’m nearly at the end. The remaining 3 modules will be bought and installed over the next month or two, depending on budget.

In addition to the Eurorack modular, I also have a polyphonic MIDI->CV converter called the CV.OCD which plugs into the modular, a Nord Drum semi-modular analogue drum synthesizer, which also plugs in and allows me to make and play drum sounds, a Korg SQ1 sequencer which allows me to add 2×8 step sequencers to the mix, a MS20 Mini semi-modular synthesizer and a keyboard controller which allows me to play notes and chords on the whole damn thing.

Design

I have built a synth roughly around three goals. The first is keeping a traditional ‘East Coast’ 3 voice subtractive synthesiser format, e.g. 3 oscillators, 3 filters, 3 envelopes, lots of LFOs and modulation, 3 VCAs, mixers, an FX unit including delay, reverb and others, 4×8 step sequencers which can be chained together (plus the 2×8 step in the SQ1). The second is that I wanted 3 voice polyphony – not ‘true’ analogue polyphony because that is difficult to achieve – but 3 of everything, wired together with a polyphonic MIDI -> CV controller, allowing me to play chords and experiment with traditional musical structures. The third goal was to keep the cost down! I am really not one of these modular synth heads with a huge studio and a near infinite budget, I have a lot of financial outgoings which I have met while building this. Building a modular synthesizer is never really ‘cheap’ in any sense of the word I would use, but this is definitely a lot cheaper than many other modulars I’ve seen, without compromising on quality.

What I have Learnt

• Modular synthesizers can be built on a relatively low budget to achieve a good result.
• I have sold all but one of my other synthesizers that I had before starting this project, finding the modular approach much more fun and rewarding then the in-the-box techniques and non-modular hardware synths.
• Ignore what others might term as ‘conventional wisdom’ in building a modular, the freedom of Eurorack is that you can build whatever you want, and exactly what you want, so go with what works for you.
• Slowly building up a modular synthesizer is likely to be much better than buying everything at once, you will experiment with what you’ve got, and learn its limitations and that will guide your purchases. It is impossible (in my opinion) to truly know what you want before you have started.
• Use Modulargrid.net to plan out your synthesizer. It is very useful and has a huge database of modules. You can rearrange modules countless times on Modulargrid before you do it in reality, so you can plan and achieve a productive workflow.

Looking at my past posts, you may notice that I didn’t set myself any goals for 2016. Looking back, this was a mistake, so I’m going to remedy this by setting some for 2017.

Goals:

• Lose a significant amount of weight – this is very important for health reasons.
• Study maths courses – I intend to sign up for some maths courses at the OU. This will improve my mathematical knowledge, allowing for further study in subjects I’m interested in, plus allow me to work in more mathematically-heavy careers. This equates to 10 hours study per week, so it’s not a light commitment, but one I think I need to make.
• Exercise more – this is important as it improves my mindset, stamina, and makes me feel good.

Not too many goals this time, but some important ones, and I think I’m in a good position to commit to these thanks to the support of my partner, and therefore I am in a position to improve my life.

Will post updates at some point during the year to chart this progress.

This is my current studio setup.

I have the following gear:

Eurorack 9U case
Eurorack 6U case
KORG MS20 Mini Synth
Roland TB3 Synth
AY3 Chiptune Synth
Roland A500-PRO Keyboard Controller
Nord Drum Synth
Macbook Pro with Ableton Live 9 Suite
MIDI.OCD Polyphonic MIDI->CV Converter
Samson Patchbay

I am looking to sell my Acces Virus A and concentrate on filling up the remaining Eurorack case holes.

I am currently moving the blog, which was formerly hosted on Dreamhost, to WordPress.com hosting. Most of the content is moved over already, I have to go through all the posts and tidy up the references, relink the images etc. Hopefully I will get around to this shortly.

In 2017 I want to build a relatively static hardware-based workflow. This is what I’ve chosen:

The components are:

• Roland A-500PRO keyboard controller – https://www.roland.com/global/products/a-500pro/
• Arpie MIDI Arpeggiator – https://www.tindie.com/products/hotchk155/arpie-midi-arpeggiator-kit/
• CV.OCD Midi -> CV Convertor – https://www.tindie.com/products/hotchk155/cvocd-a-super-flexible-midi-to-cv-box/
• KORG MS20 Semi-Modular Mini Synth
• Eurorack – https://www.modulargrid.net/e/racks/view/350623
• Nord Drum Semi-Modular Drum Module – http://www.nordkeyboards.com/products/nord-drum
• Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai (Reverb/Echo Pedal) – http://www.ehx.com/products/stereo-memory-man-with-hazarai
• Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 Audio Interface – https://us.focusrite.com/firewire-audio-interfaces/saffire-pro-24
• Ableton Push Controller (MK1) – https://www.ableton.com/en/push/

With my current setup, I’m trying to make as much music ‘out of the box’ as possible, away from the computer as I find it more fun.

Synths:

KORG Minilogue: I use this for a keyboard controller, and I use the 16 step sequencer to run simple sequences. It connects to the PC via USB and has MIDI output. I can also use this as a synthesizer its own right, it’s good for backing chords and pads.
KORG MS20 Mini: I’m borrowing this from a friend. I will use it as a bass synth mostly. I’ve got a Harvestman English Tear module which connects it to my Eurorack.

Effects:

Electro Harmonix Stereo Memory Man with Hazarai: This is an effects pedal with reverb and delay, which I use to add a bit of effects to modular synthesizer before I record. I will also use effects within Ableton, but I like the sound of this pedal in general.

Drum Machine:

Nord Drum Mk1: This accepts triggers from the Eurorack I’ve recently discovered, so I have a drum machine that I can connect up to the Eurorack with 4 different drum voices.

Modular:

This is equivalent to a fairly standard three oscilator synth, with ring-mod, S&H and noise out. I have a few different filters, an XPander style filter, an ‘extreme’ filter which is loosely modelled on the MS20 filter, and a triple resonance filter which I use for noise soundscapes. It has two envelopes, and a Make Noise Maths and a Serge VCS equivalent for some modulation madness. It also has a 16 step sequencer.

Workflow:

I still use Ableton Live as a midi sequencer, creating midi clips for drums and the hardware synths. I will build up a patch on the synth, tweaking until it sounds servicable, then make a midi clip, record some loops from the synths, and cut up and move the audio around to compose a track. I might add some soft-synths and effects such as reverb and delay on the PC and mix the track. Then I will upload it to soundcloud and show it to musically minded friends. Depending on what they say, I may tweak the track and upload it again. This whole process usually is done within the space of a day or two, I sometimes spend longer for tracks that I want to be more finished and professional, but I am not really usually making music for more than a few people at the moment, so I don’t spend ages finetuning each track.

When I first started getting into computer roleplaying games in the 90s/00s I remember playing the Infinity Engine games by Bioware and Black Isle, such as Baldur’s Gate 2, the original Fallout games, and of course Planescape: Torment. It was the quality of writing that drew me in and took me to another world, the graphics were just a background setting to that writing.

Somewhere in the 2000s RPGs became more action orientated and prioritised mechanics and visual appeal and combat over branching stories. Nowadays a lot of popular RPGs are those such as Dark Souls, which seem more about combat and atmosphere than anything else. Blockbuster games such as Dragon Age: Inquisition and The Witcher 3 still show that great writing, characterisation and real player choices can still be popular.

I still prefer the classic RPGs of yesteryear, those with mountains of dialogue and that take direct influence from fantasy novels and pen and paper, Dungeons and Dragons type games, which I grew up with. Here are some games which capture some of that great writing for me, although some are more interactive fiction than technically RPGs:

80 Days
You are the butler of Philleas Fogg, the man Jules Verne writes about in ‘Around the World in 80 Days’. Your task is to choose how to get around the world not more than 80 days, as you plan routes between cities, buy and sell items and manage the finances of the trip. It really captures a sense of adventure in the world, and builds on Jules Verne’s steampunk theme as you encounter fantastical means of transport such as mechanical ostriches, airships and others. Every route is different and you can choose how the story unfolds by selecting different actions your character will take. The writing is the best I’ve ever seen in a mainstream game.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/381780/

Sunless Sea
In this game which also takes influence from Jules Verne, the city of London has fallen through the crust of the earth into hell, where there is a giant underwater cavern called the Underzee. You sail across this underground sea, exploring islands and immersing yourself in this Vernesque/Victorian/Lovecraftian setting. The writing again is amazing; it reads like poetry.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/304650

Torment: Tides of Numenera
Another outlandish game, this time set in the world of Monte Cook’s Numenera, the writer behind the Planescape world which Planescape: Torment was set in. It hasn’t fully been realised yet but this game in early access form is already weird and wonderful, and much more interesting to me than yet another copy of on the elves and dwarves Tolkien formulaic settings.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/272270/

So.. the problem, as so many people have said, with getting into building a Eurorack modular synthesizer is that it becomes addictive, and you inevitably spend more than you can really afford. That said.. I now have a great fully customised synthesiser for what I want to do 🙂 The layout is:

Top shelf:

3 oscilators and noise generator in the top left, 4 VCAs and S&H and Ring Mod sections in the mid center, LFOs in the top right.

Middle shelf:

Filters! I love filters. 3 large format filter modules, and a Triple Resonance Filter which consists of an additional 3 filters packed into one unit. A quantizer is also there which I currently don’t use much.

Bottom shelf:

Envelopes in the bottom left, Voltage Controlled Slew Generator and Make Noise’s Maths in the center left, center right is my trigger sequencer setup from LADIK, bottom right is attenuators and linear and exponential mixers.

I use a heavily customised setup for vIM, the text editor that annoys me the least in ~30 years of using a computer. You can see my exact setup in my dotfiles repo on github, https://github.com/wordswords/-.

Here are the plugins I use:

• ConqueTerm – Opens a shell window inside vIM, allowing you to have a REPL environment within vIM.
• NERDTree – A filetree plugin that you can see on the left of the window above. It replicates the Sublime text editor’s filetree.
• vim-airline – This is a statusline plugin for vIM that allows for a nicer status view for windows and buffers.
• vim-devicons – Allows for UTF-8 icons to make vIM editing slightly more graphical. Used by airline to display more info in less space, and by NERDTree to show filetype information.
• vim-fish – Syntax highlighting for fish shell script editing.
• vim-rails – Syntax highlighting and more for rails.
• vim-ruby – Syntax highlighting for Ruby.

I’ve finished my 6U Eurorack case. It took me 9 months to build, buying a couple of modules a month.

Goals

I wanted to make a self-contained dual voice synthesizer that would interface with my 2x Doepfer Dark Energy MK1s and my Microbrute, on a budget. I also wanted to add some random sound generation features.

I chose to make the synthesizer out of Doepfer modules because they are easy to find cheap second-hand, and also because they are well-engineered. (If they’re good enough for Kraftwerk, who am I to complain?)

Oscillators and Sound Generation

1. 2x standard Doepfer A-110-1 VCOs with pulse-width modulation. I am no expert, but find these oscillators sound good enough for the money.
2. A-118 Random Noise module, which outputs white and coloured noise. This has been useful for adding noise to a patch, as well as feeding the random noise generator through the quantizer and S&H modules for interesting random effects.

LFOs and Envelopes

1. A-143-3 Quad LFO, which has been very useful in modulating my external gear, such as my Microbrute and Doepfer Dark Energy synths. I find it’s a good utility module to just patch something up for modulation, even though I rarely find myself using all 4 LFOs at once.
2. A-145 LFO – I actually find myself wishing this was a VCLFO so that I could make midi-synced LFO sweeps, and might replace it with one eventually. I like the reset feature though.
3. 2x A-140 ADSR – Standard envelopes, I bought two so I can modulate the VCA and filter separately at the same time, as is standard in synthesizers.

Mixers and VCAs

1. A-132-3 Dual VCA – Another standard module, this is particularly useful as it has two VCAs, so I can feed each oscillator into its own separate VCA. I would like another one of these so I could amplify the output of the noise module separately from the VCOs.
2. 2x A-138 Exponential Mixers – I have two so I can mix multiple waveforms from the VCOs with the white noise output from my noise generator module. The mixer in the bottom right corner of the case has rubber no-slip knobs, and I use it for the main output from my synth.

Quantizer and S&H

1. A-156 Dual Quantizer – This is a really fun module which I use with LFOs, envelopes and my noise generator to make musical sounds from non-musical sources. I think it will come into its own when I get the Make Noise Maths module, which is on my ‘next steps’ list.
2. A-148 Dual Sample & Hold – This is a module I haven’t quite grasped the utility of yet, I currently use it wired up to filters and a LFO for S&H filter effects.

Filters

I love filters.. so I got quite a few!

1. A-120 VCF1 Low Pass Filter (Moog style) – The standard moogy filter, nothing wrong with it. I like the sound but mostly use it for filter sweeps.
2. A-127 Triple Voltage Controlled Resonance Filter with Breakout Box – This is the key element of my setup. It allows for some really nice multiple filter chaining effects. I have the top filter set to ‘Low Pass’ mode, and the second and third filters set to ‘Band pass’ mode. Since I already have a LP filter in the Moog style A-120 I may change this back so it becomes a triple BP filter, which is the default. You can make some really nice patches with the inbuilt LFOs modulating the filter sweeps, but usually I will wire it up to my Quad LFO for modulation. As a unit, it is really good at making vowel-like sounds for eerie ‘almost human voice’ effects. The breakout box, which I haven’t soldered in yet, so haven’t actually used, will expand the possibilities of the unit even more, allowing me to put separate filers on each oscillator, for example. Love this module.
3. A-106-1 Xtreme Filter – I haven’t used this much yet, but I just had to have the MS-20 style LP/HP filter in my case, and this filter ticks all the boxes.

MIDI Interface and Multiples

1. Kenton Pro Solo MIDI-to-CV interface – I use this with my computer, allowing me to send CV for the oscillators through the Intelligel Buff Mult. It has clock out and a bunch of different features, such as portamento and even a LFO.
2. Intelligel ‘Buff Mult’ – My only non-Doepfer module. This is a buffered multiplier, meant to make sure that fast pitch changes are duplicated correctly over the oscillators. I also wire up my Doepfer Dark Energy Mk1s to this, so I can have 4 oscillators playing at once.
3. A180-1 Multipler – Just a standard multiplier which I use because I don’t use stackable cables (can’t afford them).

Some things I have been meaning to investigate in my own time, but haven’t, because life just gets in the way.

1. Maths

– It might surprise a few people that, as a software developer, I never took maths to A-level. I picked up a bit of maths in my CS degree, but I never really got a firm grounding in it. This has prevented me from understanding and coding advanced stuff in game development, understanding audio to a decent level, and generally doing things in which I consider the more interesting fields of computing.

2. Music Theory

– I have been getting better at playing the piano/keyboard by ear, but I have never fully learned to read music, and I would like to.

3. Electronics

– I would love to be able to build simple DIY synthesiser module kits for my Eurorack setup. I imagine I’d have to start on something small though.

It would be great if I could take courses in these subjects, via the OU or something similar. I just have to find the time.

Now that I am midway through the year, I thought I’d revisit the goals I set myself at the start of the year, to see what has changed.

Career Goals

• Settle into my new role at the BBC as Test Manager – I suppose this has not been achieved. I will have more updates soon (hopefully) but a change of direction is likely to happen.
• Pushing for a place to be opened up in Platform Test to employ someone from the Extend Scheme – This has been achieved, and someone will be joining Platform Test from the Extend scheme in October, I’m happy to say.

Creative Goals

• Get better at music production – This has been achieved. I have been working with my friend I will call ‘G’, which has massively improved my production skills. I have posted music that I see as much better to Soundcloud.

Social Goals

• Getting married – Well.. things didn’t work out with that. But I have a new girlfriend who will hopefully be moving to live with me, so things seem to be recovering there.
• Making friends with more people that share the same interests – Partly achieved. G is a good example of someone that I have met through looking for friends with the same interest.

Financial Goals

• Saving more over the course of the year – Partly achieved. I have bought a house, so now I am in a quite a bit of debt, but the money I will be putting towards my mortgage will be money I am effectively ‘saving’ because it will be put into the value of the house.
• Joining a pension scheme – Achieved.

Health Goals

• Adopt a regular form of keeping fit – Not achieved. I have a gym even closer to where I live, 5 minutes walk, so hopefully I will use it more soon. It is difficult for me, as the medication I’m on makes me feel tired all the time, but they do say that exercise improves energy levels.

Conclusion

Although I’ve achieved the majority of my goals, I haven’t achieved two of the major goals – around my job and around exercise, which are both things I need to work on. There is still time left this year to make a difference in these areas.

Two Ruby gems that I contributed to from my days in the BBC’s TITAN (Test Tools and Infrastructure) team, have been open-sourced. So finally I can say that I have made proper open-source contributions. The gems are for making automating of Android phones via Android Calabash easier, and are used in a lot of the mobile testing we do at the BBC. Here they are:

https://github.com/bbc/device_api
https://github.com/bbc/device_api-android

Here is my Github profile, which doesn’t look very active on the surface, but I have been contributing to repositories which remain private at the moment, so my history is not visible.

I have a lot of different instruments, both hardware and software, for making music, but here is what I use the most at the moment:

Piano
I have an actual electric piano but I don’t use the onboard sound engine, preferring to use it as a midi controller for a software piano sound. Recently I bought Ableton Live Full Suite, before I was using the ‘Grand Piano’ sound from the default install. Now there is a whole ‘Piano’ Ableton Live pack, and that seems to offer much more realistic piano sounds.

Drums
Lately I’ve been using the Sonic Charge’s Microtonic for drums, because I have been making more dance-orientated music. I find the drums really good, and they’re already fully processed with effects so you can just slot them into the mix. I also have been using the built-in Ableton 909 kit sound a lot, but might move away from that as I don’t like the sound compared to Microtonic. At some point in the future I will probably get my Nord Drum hardware drum synth out, but for now I can’t find the power supply so it’s not working.

Synth
I have been using my modular and semi-modular synthesizer as a main bassline synth, with some sounds from Ableton over the top. I have used the Access Virus synth quite a bit for synth duty, and it has some great presets for evolving arps.

Specs

I have finished filling the top half of my Eurorack case, see above. Here is a list of modules:

• Dual VCA – A-132-3
• Buffered Multiples – Intellij Buff Mult
• VCO #1 – A-110-1 VCO
• VCO #2 – A-110-1 VCO
• Low Pass Filter – A-120
• Multiples #1 – A-180-1
• Multiples #2 – A-180-1
• Quantizer – A-156 Dual Quantizer
• Envelope Generator – A-140 ADSR
• Noise Generator/Random – A-118
• Quad LFO – A-143-3 Quad LFO

Next Moves:

• Get a logarithmic mixer module A-138b for mixing the output of the noise + two VCOs into the filter, and to free up some of my ZED-10 mixer channels for other things
• Got another A-140 ADSR module but no cable, going to get a cable and put it into the bottom left corner of the lower section.

Usage

My (mostly) Doepfer Eurorack is hooked up to my Microbrute, 2x Doepfer Dark Energy MK1s and my ZED-10 recording mixer.

The Microbrute acts as a pitch and gate out keyboard controller for all the synths and a semi-modular synthesiser in its own right with its patchbay.

The Doepfer Dark Energys are complete synth voices with a fair amount of input/outputs for modulation. They are hooked up to the pitch and gate out from the Microbrute via the Buff Mult and the Multiples on the Eurorack.

One configuration that I often use when composing music, is wire the Eurorack, the Dark Energys and the Microbrute into the ZED-10 mixer, tune each so they all play together, and create one massive analogue 5-osc synth mono voice which is great for devastating basslines, and I can modulate with the LFOs and envelopes in the system. I can then program a sequence into the Microbrute and transpose it when I play notes down on the Microbrute keyboard, or control it via the USB IN from Ableton.

Another configuration which I find interesting is patching the output of the Noise Generator/Random through the Quantizer. This results in random musical notes played by the oscilator, and you can create interesting pattern or arpeggios created solely by the Euroack without human input. I like the idea of generative music, and will be buying more modules to create more interesting computer generated randomness and music.

I am putting together a small modular synthesiser setup. Modular synthesizers are synthesizers composed of small individual modules, which are wired up to create a circuit for producing sound. They were very popular in the 1970s, with big bands such as Emmerson, Lake and Palmer, Kraftwerk and Jean Michael Jarre all owning big modular setups:

Modular synthesisers have had a resurgence in recent years with modern versions becoming available. One producer of modular synthesiser modules is Doepfer, a German company who’s modular synthesizer standard ‘Eurorack’ has become very popular recently. I have decided to build a small Eurorack modular, here it is so far:

The blank plates are spaces for modules that I haven’t bought yet, I am slowly accumulating them. I have currently been wiring my modular setup to my ‘semi-modular’ synths. They include the Microbrute, and 2x Dark Energy MK1s synths, shown below:

A semi-modular synth is a similar to a standard synthesizer, where all the synthesizer functions are self-contained in one case e.g. they are not just lots of modules. A semi-modular synth will work in its own right, without any additional wiring required. However, a semi-modular synth also has inputs which allow you to optionally wire up the semi-modular synth to other modules and semi-modular synths. So, it allows you to make one big sound processing circuit with all your synths wired together. Which is what I’ve been doing:

So, not quite Keith Emerson, but it’s a start! But why would you do this, I hear you ask. What possible reason would you have for wiring up synthesisers in this manner? Well:

• It expands the creative potential of your synthesizers. Instead of just having a few ways of creating sounds, you now have a lot more. Modular synthesisers have been used heavily in EA Games ‘The Sims 3’ for sound effects. Oscar-winning ‘The Social Network’ soundtrack by Trent Reznor uses modular synthesizers heavily, and more.
• It allows you to build a synthesizer exactly the way you want to, with all the features you wanted for the type of music you make.
• You end up learning a LOT about synthesis and how synthesizers are made, which can feed in to better sound design in the future, not to mention if you have an interest in electronics and music technology, this is a great way to learn.
• If you are inspired musically by the technical side of music technology, (and a lot of producers such as Deadmau5 are) then it gives you another creative workflow to experiment with.
• It’s fun. Wiring up things experimentally and creating sounds you never could have predicted would happen. The combinations are so exponential that you usually have no idea what will happen, and it’s almost like the machine created sounds just for you.

Lately I’ve been thinking about making a Flash game or application. Although I haven’t made one yet, my current understanding is that most projects of this type require a lot of artwork.

I found this article, and was impressed at the quality and the resources mentioned: http://freelanceflashgames.com/news/2009/03/25/the-big-guide-to-hiring-an-artist/

I’m going to take a break from the purely technical posts to get more people to see this video. Here the late Dan Osman speed-climbs a cliff without any safety equipment.

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/v/Fpm0m6bVfrM&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0

Risky? Just a bit. A few years later he lost his life during a similar attempt. But no-one can doubt the guts required, and the level of skill he achieved, in this type of climbing.