February 8, 2012
Oddses And Endses...
by Chris Randall
A couple little things:
1. One week left to submit for the AI comp. February 15th is the cut-off. (I expect a bunch of "OH HAI I JUST SAW THIS CAN I STILL GET UP IN THIS BITCH???!!" letters on the 16th, since that's how you guys roll.)
2. Dr. Device is now 32/64 across the board, and in the AD Store for immediate download. Some bug fixes in this one as well.
3. I ordered a Maschine Mikro. It'll be here today. I'm not entirely sure _why_ I ordered one.
In that vein, here's what I'm curious about today: we've all owned drum machines (some of us more than others.) In my experience, every drum machine has that one quirky feature that makes it funz0rs. Well, except the Alesis SR-16. That's a quirk-free zone all up in there. What's your favorite quirky feature from a drum machine you've owned? Be specific: instrument, feature, why, and what-for?
43 comments:
I used to own a terrible Kawai R-50 in the early noughties (I was given it) - the sounds were terribly dated, but by chance I found that on really high tempo settings it would totally glitch out.
So I used to program beats on really high tempo settings but do it half time, so it'd sound like it was choking on quite slow rhythms.
Then I got bored of it (not hard) and swapped it for a nanoloop cart. No regrets.
So I used to program beats on really high tempo settings but do it half time, so it'd sound like it was choking on quite slow rhythms.
Then I got bored of it (not hard) and swapped it for a nanoloop cart. No regrets.
I don't know if quirky and annoying can be the same thing, but the XD-5 has a crap MIDI implementation so you can't control or playback parameter automation.
In realtime, you can adjust 1 parameter of your choosing via the 1 slider on the front.
It's disappointing to say the least because there are a dozen or so parameters that could really be tweaked continuously to make the most use out of this box.
Therefore, if you want to use the sounds in a dynamic fashion, you are forced to pick the one parameter that will work the most magic, assign it to the crappy slider, hit record and capture a take to audio before the inspiration leaves you. This quirkiness forces you to make a choice and stick with it.
In realtime, you can adjust 1 parameter of your choosing via the 1 slider on the front.
It's disappointing to say the least because there are a dozen or so parameters that could really be tweaked continuously to make the most use out of this box.
Therefore, if you want to use the sounds in a dynamic fashion, you are forced to pick the one parameter that will work the most magic, assign it to the crappy slider, hit record and capture a take to audio before the inspiration leaves you. This quirkiness forces you to make a choice and stick with it.
The Korg EMX1. A lot of people are surprised I use one and consider it a must have in my studio, but even though it is a fixed ROM drum machine, it actually has enough of a synth engine attached to it to do some very out of the box kinds of things. In particular, its motion control allows it to to really become a dynamic sort of instrument. It is actually the only piece of equipment in my studio that I have replaced after my first one became irreparably damaged.
Oddly, the ESX1 I havn't really fallen in love with. I had one for a while, but it just didn't have the same magic for me. I think it's because I had to spend so much time looking for sounds to load into and futzing with Smart Media cards that I just gave up. ROM, no matter how limited, frees up my brain to think about other things. If truth be told, I think the ROM on the EMX is actually pretty good, too.
Oddly, the ESX1 I havn't really fallen in love with. I had one for a while, but it just didn't have the same magic for me. I think it's because I had to spend so much time looking for sounds to load into and futzing with Smart Media cards that I just gave up. ROM, no matter how limited, frees up my brain to think about other things. If truth be told, I think the ROM on the EMX is actually pretty good, too.
Not sure if it's a quirk or a feature, but I find the SC TOM's reverse sample feature plus it tune-able pitch to be pretty unique, I like to reverse the crash cymbal or kick, pitch it down and then play it back at a slow BPM to get that 70's reverse tape kind of LSD vibe, you an also use MIDI keys to change the pitch during the track.....feed that sound into Replicant and sit back and smile.
How can you mention the emx1 and not mention the handy finger warmer on the front panel?
For me, locators in Audio tracks on the MPC1000 with JJ.
Meant to be a DAW type feature where locator/markers can be added to an audio track and jumped to with pads.
Big fun to be had when playing a sequence and jumping all over the place with the pads, lots of note repeat style stutters, but with the whole song.
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For me, locators in Audio tracks on the MPC1000 with JJ.
Meant to be a DAW type feature where locator/markers can be added to an audio track and jumped to with pads.
Big fun to be had when playing a sequence and jumping all over the place with the pads, lots of note repeat style stutters, but with the whole song.
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The one thing that strikes me with machines from the olden days is how the concept of pushing the equipment to its limits is now a lost.
The delay track feature on the MPC was clearly put in to counter act the notion that the drum machines was inherently in-human (which they were ...) and incapable of having a "feel". However it wasn't put there for Swiss Beatz to make fucked up stutter beats that hardly sit together....
That ability to use and abuse machines seem to not exist anymore and although you can discuss the musical merits of the S3000 cyclic time stretch mode, it did became a big part of early drum and bass....
The delay track feature on the MPC was clearly put in to counter act the notion that the drum machines was inherently in-human (which they were ...) and incapable of having a "feel". However it wasn't put there for Swiss Beatz to make fucked up stutter beats that hardly sit together....
That ability to use and abuse machines seem to not exist anymore and although you can discuss the musical merits of the S3000 cyclic time stretch mode, it did became a big part of early drum and bass....
@mike kiraly - sysex is your friend. (after you beat it into submission) there is a template for the behringer BCR2000 for the kawai XD5. look into it. a lot more control
@johan: Mmmmmm, dunno 'bout that. There are a lot of little things in both the MachineDrum and the Tempest that can be abused far beyond the designers' intentions.
-CR
-CR
I haven't used one in ages, but if I remember correctly the quirk of the HR-16 was that it would lose time randomly, in very tiny amounts.
I noticed when I started using Pro Tools in the studio in the 90's. When I'd try to make a tempo map of a click from a HR-16 it would be off every minute or so, for one click, about 20ms or so. It happened with every HR-16 I used. Made me rethink laughing at drummers who said "the click is off".
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I noticed when I started using Pro Tools in the studio in the 90's. When I'd try to make a tempo map of a click from a HR-16 it would be off every minute or so, for one click, about 20ms or so. It happened with every HR-16 I used. Made me rethink laughing at drummers who said "the click is off".
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