A thank you to Steve Richards

[tomato]

On 22/05/2024 at 22:14, steppenwolf said:

It is quite amazing just how many people with an interest in astronomy also have a passion for creating music in one form or another.

That is such a neat installation - sadly, because I am into old school analogue modular, my studio is a little bit more sprawling 😱

Wow, Rick Wakeman, eat your heart out!☺️

[steppenwolf]

7 hours ago, kirkster501 said:

Do I spy a Korg there, Steve????

Funnily enough, I don’t have any Korg equipment although I do like the brand and was so tempted by their ARP 2600 clone but at the time, I just couldn’t justify the premium price! Other equipment there includes, underneath the Theremin, a Nektar Panorama P6 keyboard (that I absolutely guarantee you will be able to play several times better than me!!), above the Moog Subsequent 37 on the left of the main desk is a Roland AP300 keyboard, to its right are two Mackie analogue mixers that between them allow me to mix down a total of 20 channels, below them is my Presonus 6 channel audio interface for my DAW (Presonus Studio One) and below that is a Roland TR-8S drum machine. To the TR-8S’ right is an Arturia Mini keyboard that I use to drive my modular gear via direct voltage control. Underneath the Behringer ARP 2600 clone is my Doepfer Dark Time analogue sequencer that I have modified to be more Eurorack compatible BUT nothing KORG!

[steppenwolf]

6 hours ago, tomato said:

Wow, Rick Wakeman, eat your heart out!☺️

Sadly, I lack two very important ingredients there - talent and a gold cape🤣 

[tomato]

I was going to ask if you wore some kind of wizard’s outfit when you were playing the keyboards, but I thought that might be a bit disrespectful.☺️

[steppenwolf]

1 hour ago, tomato said:

I was going to ask if you wore some kind of wizard’s outfit when you were playing the keyboards, but I thought that might be a bit disrespectful.☺️

Trust me, when I am playing my keyboards, NOTHING is disrespectful but the sounds can be excruciating 🤣🤣 

[kirkster501]

I don't have any actual analog synthesisers (or digital ones for that matter) and do all my stuff from Arturia emulations which are so incredibly good you'd never know the difference and they integrate tightly with my Arturia Keylab keyboard.  I can emulate dozens of classic synths such as Korg MS-20, Jun6/8, SQ80 etc.

Edited May 25 by kirkster501

[steppenwolf]

4 hours ago, kirkster501 said:

I don't have any actual analog synthesisers (or digital ones for that matter) and do all my stuff from Arturia emulations which are so incredibly good you'd never know the difference and they integrate tightly with my Arturia Keylab keyboard.  I can emulate dozens of classic synths such as Korg MS-20, Jun6/8, SQ80 etc.

It's always a fascinating discussion and there is no correct answer/method as it is all a matter of personal choice! Time was when all I wanted to do was connect my computer to everything, my amateur radio gear, my telephone (remember CompuServe?), my camera, my homebuilt sports car, my telescope and so on but when I got the electronic music bug, I really wanted to distance myself from the PC and get down to some serious 'old school' analogue knob twiddling like they used to do in the 60s and 70s! I do use my PC as part of my workflow but only for recording the output from my synths after I have mixed them down into four channels on my Mackie mixer(s). I use four channels (two stereo pairs) so that I can choose which instruments will be recorded raw and which ones will have a touch of reverb added to them by my software reverb plugin (Valhalla Shimmer mainly although I do have several others).

All of that said, a good friend of mine uses a system similar to yours whereby everything is done on his PC using BitWig and Arturia V and his musical creations are magical, it's just not for me, I want real 'hands-on'! 

[tomato]

Interesting, am I getting hints of hands on vs remote imaging vibes in there?😉

I can relate to your enthusiasm for PC applications back in the day. In the early 1990’s @Tomatobro put a data logger on our drag racing car to measure crankshaft, prop shaft revolutions and a 5th wheel to measure track speed at about the same time the Racepak computer became available in the US. It used to intrigue the spectators in the pits when we attached a little thermal printer to it and printed out all the numbers after each run.

[steppenwolf]

On 30/05/2024 at 20:18, tomato said:

In the early 1990’s @Tomatobro put a data logger on our drag racing car to measure crankshaft, prop shaft revolutions and a 5th wheel to measure track speed at about the same time the Racepak computer became available in the US. It used to intrigue the spectators in the pits when we attached a little thermal printer to it and printed out all the numbers after each run.

Drag-racing, haven't been to Santa Pod for years - it used to be a regular 'Father and Sons' weekend and we loved it, the camping, the camaraderie, the barbecues, the music, the ease of access to the pits and the 'willing to talk' mechanics! Oh yes, and the loos, OMG, the loos ........ 😲🤣

[tomato]

Yes, the loos. After a visit we used to get fumigated on Nitro fumes when the fuelers were warming up in the pits. At the end of my career in the chemical industry I moved into health and safety, when giving COSHH talks I’m glad nobody had any footage of me as a youth in the pits  at the Pod, eyes streaming from Nitric acid fumes.☺️

[steppenwolf]

4 hours ago, tomato said:

Yes, the loos. After a visit we used to get fumigated on Nitro fumes when the fuelers were warming up in the pits. At the end of my career in the chemical industry I moved into health and safety, when giving COSHH talks I’m glad nobody had any footage of me as a youth in the pits  at the Pod, eyes streaming from Nitric acid fumes.☺️

🤣🤣🤣