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Tag Archives: songwriting

Metasonix TM-2

Brand: Metasonix
Model: TM-2
Link: http://www.metasonix.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=30

BLURB:
The guy who designed this really thinks “outside the box”. You can create standard (yet distinctive) bandpass filter sounds, or you can seriously and brutally mash the sound. The resonator does something scathing to the audio…it does not distort it, it HURTS it!
This is a double bandpass filter (2 Bandpass Filters working in Parallel approx 1 octave apart), so it sounds different to a Low Pass Filter (most filters are Low Pass). At it’s core is a valve…and you can really hear it’s influence on the sound.

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MoogerFooger (MF-101)

Brand: Moog Music
Mode: MoogerFooger (MF-101)
Link: http://www.moogmusic.com/moogerfooger/?section=product&product_id=62

BLURB:
This is apparently an exact replica of the 24dB Low Pass Transitor Ladder Filter used in the famous Moog55 modular. This filter is AWESOME! I think we’ve used it on every track…although there were a few tracks in Blood Death Ivory that used the Doepfer A-102 or Analogue Systems RS-500e diode filter…these two filters sound as distinctive and BEEFY as the Moog.

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Riffs and Chaos

I got an email from Keegan who asked about making music. Keegan was kind enough to let me post my response here…I really hope this helps!

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Analogue Systems RS-500e EMS Filter

Brand: Analogue Systems

Model: RS-500e EMS Filter
Link: http://www.analoguesystems.co.uk/pdf/RS500E.pdf

BLURB:
We’d been wanting to get one of these for years…then one just magically appeared in Schneiders’ Buero. It was love at first sight. The RS-500e has a beautiful, gentle, thumping yet “whiney” sound. It’s got the beef of a Moog but it sounds completely different.

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Modular Advice Please!

Original post: http://krankhaus.net/forum/index.php?board=2;topic=9858.0

Zubermensch from Angelspit’s Forum asked me about STUFF…here’s my response..

Before we start, have a look at the article I wrote for THE DOSE (the most AWESOME CYberpunk eZine EVER!!)
>> READ MORE

 

> How does one get started with a modular synth rack? Do you buy it all put together like that? 
> Do you buy a frame or something and just start stacking up the inputs?

The most import ant thing: make sure you NEED a modular. You might be able to make your music just fine with SoftSynths. Although I (personally) don’t like SoftSynths, many bands who I admire (The Prodigy, NIN…the list goes on) use SoftSynths to some degree.

Good music DOES NOT need to made from good gear – just good ideas!

First: play around with the SoftSynth versions…then bust out the big cash when you’re certain you NEED a modular. There’s a heap of starter systems that cost US$1000-US$2000. Synthesizers.com, Doefper, Analogue Systems, Analogue Solutions (and many more brands) have such systems. Refer to the article I wrote for THE DOSE for more info:
>> READ MORE

…also jump on our forum – there’s a lot people there who are getting into modulars.
www.krankhaus.net/forum

 

> How do you (personally) send the sound from the computer in to the synth as seen in your blipverts?

We have an old Yamaha DSP Card connected (via Optical Cable) to our old 01V Yamaha Desk. (yes, it’s old gear, but it works fine and I HATE landfill!!)
We Bus the signals from the card to the desk, then assign them to our central patch bay…it’s very complex and old school…there’s much easier was to do it these days with new-fangled Audio Boxes that all the “cool kids” are using…these fancy-pantsy boxes have multiple outs…so you’d assign the drum sample out the “B” output, plug it into your filters and go NUTS.

Remember: Content is King! A song is rooted in a good idea…it does not need the latest/expensive gear.

Beasty Boys wrote an AMAZING album on a 4 track. Frontline Assembly did incredible things with an Atari ST1040, some samplers and a desk.

I hope this answers your questions and inspires you to MAKETH ROCK!

ZooG

STUDIO SNAPSHOT : Doepfer A-137 Wave Multiplier

Brand: Doepfer

Model: A-137 Wave Multiplier
Link: http://www.doepfer.de/A137.htm

BLURB:
I think this is the most amazing distortion unit ever made. It has a huge scope of distortion from “Gently Warming” to “Cut into sharp thin slithers and ram into your eyeball”. It’s strength is not just distortion, but also in Wave Shaping. You can patch a pure Sine Wave in and get a Spiky Saw Tooth out.

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ANGELSPIT’s gift to DIY Horror Flicks and Noise artists : Metal Scrapes

SCRAPED METAL OF DOOOOM!

INFO:
This is me…smashing and scraping metal. These recordings were destroyed using the modular.

Please use this creatively!
Please credit Angelspit, and PLEASE let us know when you upload your completed work – we’d love to link to it!

FORMAT : 24bit, 44kHz, 320 MP3, 6.8Mg

DOWNLOAD IT HERE

STUDIO SNAPSHOT : Metal Atmosphere

A large salad bowl is bolted to a 2 metre long steel rod (out of shot). The rod rests in a metal umbrella stand (All items were found in back-alleys near our studio). Two mics (one above and one under) record a stereo image of the experiment. The rod is tapped, plucked, scratched and bowed which resonates the bowl. The sound is clean, clear and quiet. We had to set this up in the studios’ kitchen because the air-con in the main studio was waay too loud (it was working overtime on a hellishly hot day). We had to unplug the fridge because it’s hum was bleeding onto the mics.

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Frostwave Sonic Alienator

 

Brand: Frostwave (Australia)
Model: Sonic Alienator
Link: http://www.frostwave.com/sonicalienator/

BLURB:
This is a Bit Crusher from HELL. You can (analogue) drive the input AND it’s got a built in analogue clone of an MS-20 Filter.
PLUS, you can choose the order in which you debauch the sound. eg: Pre-amp -> Decimator, Decimator -> Pre-amp, or something else which is RANDOM AND DOOOMESQUE (??)
We love it and use it on vocals (“Grind” Blood Death Ivory), guitars (“Vena Cava” Krankhaus), bleeps and lead synths (“Devilicious” Blood Death Ivory).

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STUDIO SNAPSHOT : “The Cytar Mk2”

The art of DIY Musical Instruments must be revived!! This idea started with the salad bowl (refer to Studio Snapshot on Jan 27). We added strings, tuning pegs and an electric fan case for extra rattle.

The strings pass through the electric fan casing and resonate it, making the little white spokes rattle and shimmy. Moving the white electric fan casing bends the pitch of the strings. The strings are fastened to the salad bowl, so all the sounds resonate together resulting in a wonderfully rich twang with lots of glimmering high end. Everything under 250Hz has gets cut out in the mix.

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