the watmm GAS thread

faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaart

I have a MOTU Track16 paired up with a M-Audio Profire 2626 over optical ADAT. I think this set me back around 700EUR total. This gives me something like 16 inputs, which for me translate into 8 stereo pairs. I like it because it is physically quite compact (if you ignore the cable nest), but recently I have been having some weird clicks and pops from the Profire so don't rush into this purchase. The MOTU is quite solid though.

I am getting wary of incessant GAS, but it's been my birthday and I figured there's some stuff that would really complement my setup, so I placed an order for these.

The Behringer Profit Won has remained an object of interest while other stuff came and went off the radar. Snappy envelopes and built in seq/arp also seem like a good complement to my current rig. Fuck it, it just sounds great! 

In another timeline, I'm a BBD collector. I sold my Rockman Chorus/Delay, it was a tad limited and noisy for my taste. The MXR Carbon Copy deluxe was first in my sights but this seems to do so much goodness at a "great price" (this is how they get you, they front exorbitant stuff that makes the rest look like a bargain).

This is the only unit that appeared cost efficient to me, it's been used on loads of records and has a nice vintage tone without being excessive like the Boss pedals, or just thin & shitty like the cheaper ones. I was eyeing the Walrus Audio Julia for the longest time but it's pricey and too Hi-fi for my goals.

This MIDI dongle has been scarcely available for months. The matrix 1000 still doesn't play nice and I think this is just the ticket. I still can't believe this talks SYSEX better than a €400 midi keyboard.

So that's it, now I'm forcing a buy stop (read: the S/O does). I would have liked a refurbed TX7 or JV1080 in great condition, but all the sellers are wonky. Unless the perfect opportunity appears, I want to try and focus on my current workflow. 

  On 6/17/2020 at 3:26 PM, chim said:

 Behringer Profit Won 

Autocorrect of the year.

  On 6/17/2020 at 9:39 AM, Hautlle said:

What's everyone rocking for audio interfaces?  I currently have a Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK, but I'm pretty sure the USB is in the process of shitting out as it constantly drops connection in both Windows and Linux.  Maybe I should double check with another laptop though... Looking to get rid of it before it dies completely as I already had to get it repaired right before it went out of warranty (one channel blew out and quit working while another got really distorted and started bleeding into an adjacent channel).

Looking to get an analog mixer and separate interface. I would prefer to retain the ability to multi-track record 12 channels + the master stereo mix.  I'm not finding many interfaces with a lot of line inputs - it's mostly listings like "24 inputs" but then it only has like 8 physical 1/4" line ins....

I know what I'm looking for is probably gonna cost quite a bit 

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I use this one... works beautifully!

https://m.thomann.de/gb/roland_ua_1610_studio_capture.htm

  On 6/17/2020 at 9:39 AM, Hautlle said:

What's everyone rocking for audio interfaces?  I currently have a Soundcraft Signature 12 MTK, but I'm pretty sure the USB is in the process of shitting out as it constantly drops connection in both Windows and Linux.  Maybe I should double check with another laptop though... Looking to get rid of it before it dies completely as I already had to get it repaired right before it went out of warranty (one channel blew out and quit working while another got really distorted and started bleeding into an adjacent channel).

Looking to get an analog mixer and separate interface. I would prefer to retain the ability to multi-track record 12 channels + the master stereo mix.  I'm not finding many interfaces with a lot of line inputs - it's mostly listings like "24 inputs" but then it only has like 8 physical 1/4" line ins....

I know what I'm looking for is probably gonna cost quite a bit 

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Saffire pro40, FireWire interface. It has a expert sleepers es-3 and es-6 on its optical i/o, this is aggregated into one device with a tr-8 to get all the drum tracks individually and a stereo pair in. Got an A4 offering 2 more inputs via usb/OB.
Kind of didn’t expect the device aggregation to work when first trying it but it’s been solid for a couple of years now, as long as everything is powered on in the right order. Sometimes the A4/overbridge would do weird things to Live’s latency compensation and it would be impossible to get things back in sync without restarting everything. This seems to have been fixed with one of the newer ob releases. 

The sound seems ok to me, the routing/mixing software is easy to use and solid. Got about 9ms roundtrip at 48khz, which is good enough for me. They offered great support when I bought it and couldn’t get it to work with the mbp I had then.

Waiting for a nicely priced 2nd unit to show up to daisy chain for 8 more inputs. Hardly ever record more than a couple of ins at the same time but it’s nice to be able to have many things on their own channels when jamming and such. 
 

Anyway, if you want many ins I’d go for a rackmountable interface that offers adat and add one of those behringer adat interfaces to it, throw in a patchbay and you should be good for a while. 

  On 6/17/2020 at 2:09 PM, thawkins said:

I have a MOTU Track16 paired up with a M-Audio Profire 2626 over optical ADAT. I think this set me back around 700EUR total. This gives me something like 16 inputs, which for me translate into 8 stereo pairs. I like it because it is physically quite compact (if you ignore the cable nest), but recently I have been having some weird clicks and pops from the Profire so don't rush into this purchase. The MOTU is quite solid though.

Hope your 2626 isn't a problem after recommending it.  I've been using one as an expander for over a year with good results.

One of the modules I ordered was DOA but the seller was cool about it. Kind of a bummer that I have to return it (I was most excited about that one) but that could have been a real nightmare story. Honestly it might have been better that way because I realized I was kind of building my case around it.

Anyway, HOLY FUCKING DRONE, Batman. Does every modular noob go through a drone phase? Because I kind of don't care, that shit is MIGHTY. Fuck making real music!

  On 6/18/2020 at 6:42 AM, sweepstakes said:

Fuck making real music!

Yes, that’s the kind of attitude that comes with modular.

I’m going through a haphazard tempo phase with my modular compositions, it’s easy to get carried away with with these abstract mindsets. 

  On 6/18/2020 at 6:42 AM, sweepstakes said:

 Does every modular noob go through a drone phase? 

It's good for simple pleasures.  Sometimes it's just one oscillator beating against another, sometimes it's just a filter sweep.  I'm the least spiritual person I know, but I dont know how else to describe my relationship with my euro serge.  Sometimes I just let the simplest patches drone away, while the rest of my modular looks on in disgust.

  On 6/18/2020 at 8:38 AM, kakapo said:

euro serge

drool

  On 6/18/2020 at 8:38 AM, kakapo said:

It's good for simple pleasures.  Sometimes it's just one oscillator beating against another, sometimes it's just a filter sweep.  I'm the least spiritual person I know, but I dont know how else to describe my relationship with my euro serge.  Sometimes I just let the simplest patches drone away, while the rest of my modular looks on in disgust.

You know I wonder if there are any euro serge compatible teledildonics modules yet.

  On 6/18/2020 at 4:58 AM, TubularCorporation said:

Hope your 2626 isn't a problem after recommending it.  I've been using one as an expander for over a year with good results.

I hope that's not the issue either. I think something else is causing the problems.

  On 6/18/2020 at 8:02 AM, rhmilo said:

Yes, that’s the kind of attitude that comes with modular.

I've actually had this for a while. SuperCollider really enabled it. Of course it (along with Autechre) also taught me that it's quite satisfying to morph between noise/drone and more musical stuff.

  On 6/18/2020 at 1:25 PM, thawkins said:

You know I wonder if there are any euro serge compatible teledildonics modules yet.

 

I set up a voltage controlled fleshlight, but stupidly fed it bipolar cv.  If I'd offset and attenuated it to a more manageable unipolar signal, I might still have my penis attached to my body, rather than in formaldehyde on my mantelpiece as an outre conversation starter. 

I have somehow ended up with a second copy of this:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/guide-modular-worlds

Still sealed.  Happy to pass it on at no cost to a watmmer if they think they would find it useful (assuming postage isnt ridiculous, it's fairly hefty).  

  On 6/18/2020 at 3:52 PM, sweepstakes said:

I've actually had this for a while. SuperCollider really enabled it. Of course it (along with Autechre) also taught me that it's quite satisfying to morph between noise/drone and more musical stuff.

If you have any talent, yes. Me I'm just a talentless wanker.

Last night I finished soldering a Eurorack module and as I was cleaning up I left the test patch running: random noise straight into the pitch cv input of an oscillator and out into a distortion. Perfectly acceptable background music. Must 've had it on for fifteen minutes at least.

  On 6/18/2020 at 4:37 PM, kakapo said:

I have somehow ended up with a second copy of this:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/guide-modular-worlds

Still sealed.  Happy to pass it on at no cost to a watmmer if they think they would find it useful (assuming postage isnt ridiculous, it's fairly hefty).  

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I also have a book on modulars that might be of interest? 

  On 6/18/2020 at 4:37 PM, kakapo said:

I have somehow ended up with a second copy of this:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/guide-modular-worlds

Still sealed.  Happy to pass it on at no cost to a watmmer if they think they would find it useful (assuming postage isnt ridiculous, it's fairly hefty).  

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If there are no other takers I'd be very happy to pay the shipping for this.

  On 6/18/2020 at 3:52 PM, sweepstakes said:

I've actually had this for a while. SuperCollider really enabled it. Of course it (along with Autechre) also taught me that it's quite satisfying to morph between noise/drone and more musical stuff.

YES, I've always felt like "experimental" music feels a lot less experimental in isolation than it does when it's mixed with more conventional, accessible stuff, but I listened to Frank Zappa too much in high school.

Apparently Curtis Roads is getting close to finishing a second edition of The Computer Music Tutorial.

Pretty exciting, the first one came out in '94 or '95 and there's stuff in there that still seems pretty unexplored.

  On 6/18/2020 at 8:48 PM, TubularCorporation said:

Apparently Curtis Roads is getting close to finishing a second edition of The Computer Music Tutorial.

I’ve read something similar ages ago! We did you find the news?

efidf: found

https://www.curtisroads.net/books

  On 6/18/2020 at 8:42 PM, TubularCorporation said:

I've always felt like "experimental" music feels a lot less experimental in isolation than it does when it's mixed with more conventional, accessible stuff

Definitely. I hate "pure experimental" gigs for this reason. For years I've wanted to get on the bill at one of those shows and just play a straight pop set or something. 

  On 6/18/2020 at 11:36 PM, modey said:

Definitely. I hate "pure experimental" gigs for this reason. For years I've wanted to get on the bill at one of those shows and just play a straight pop set or something. 

The amount of beard stroking would create a time portal. 

Book is now taken.

I have a little library going of books on electronic music.  The best introduction to modular is probably the Patch & Tweak book that was funded through kickstarter, but its quite expensive.  Equally useful for the beginner is a book by a guy called Peter Elsea on muffwiggler, who used to teach a class on modular synthesis.  It's just one of those print on demand spiral bound jobs, but the quality is fine.

http://peterelsea.com/Notes on Modular Synthesizers.html