Wednesday, July 9, 2014
actually, i take that back. merely hitting the pick harder eliminates the flub. user error.
the III is still the dominant sound i want, but i'm thinking i'll probably double track it with the stubby to get a thicker sound underneath...
it's actually likely to almost create an octaver effect. i mean, it's not an octaver effect. but the thinner pick seems to pushing higher harmonics in the distortion, while the thicker one is pushing lower ones, sort of getting the same thing.
it's going to be very delicate actually properly doubling this, though. well, tripling it. i'm going to leave the sequence in.
the III is still the dominant sound i want, but i'm thinking i'll probably double track it with the stubby to get a thicker sound underneath...
it's actually likely to almost create an octaver effect. i mean, it's not an octaver effect. but the thinner pick seems to pushing higher harmonics in the distortion, while the thicker one is pushing lower ones, sort of getting the same thing.
it's going to be very delicate actually properly doubling this, though. well, tripling it. i'm going to leave the sequence in.
nah.
the big stubbies are a nice size, but they're too thick (3.0 mm). even
the 208s, which is what i wanted, are only 2.5 (i think). i normally get
2.0 mm stubbies that are intermediate in size between the jazz IIIs and
the 208s. that extra thickness is fine when i'm moving string to
string, but i hit the same notes in succession here repeatedly and it's
flubbing the string. no good...
i'm also looking for more of a plucky, twangy, tele sound with this and the thickness of the pick is kind of dulling it. the jazz III just sounds better...
i'm not one to throw away a tool, so i'll hang on to these, but they're so thick that i can't see myself using them for much besides bass.
i can handle this with the jazz IIIs, i'm just going to have to do a few extra takes to get it.
but i'll take another walk down tomorrow, because it is also means i need some normal stubbies.
i'm also looking for more of a plucky, twangy, tele sound with this and the thickness of the pick is kind of dulling it. the jazz III just sounds better...
i'm not one to throw away a tool, so i'll hang on to these, but they're so thick that i can't see myself using them for much besides bass.
i can handle this with the jazz IIIs, i'm just going to have to do a few extra takes to get it.
but i'll take another walk down tomorrow, because it is also means i need some normal stubbies.
back.
they had 3 of the 4 types i use (stubbies, small jazz IIIs and 1.0 mm tortexes - all dunlops), so i stocked up. but it was the fourth i really wanted. i think a stubby should work for the piece.
i didn't bring one with me, but i also use dunlop 208s.
i use the tortexes for general overall use. i think they're generally thought of as blues picks. they're pretty versatile...good for bending and tremoloing...
...but they're not good for certain types of riffing because they're not thick enough. i don't riff like that often, but when i do i want to use something like those 208s, which i first started using as bass picks, actually. they're very good for that, too.
i normally use the small stubbies and the IIIs solely for faster playing because they're very pointy. i had some good threes, but i needed the bigger surface area for the song because there's a (very) short pseudo-sweep picking part and i just wasn't getting good grip. on the other hand, the smaller size of the threes is sometimes better for scale work. i jump back and forth, often without any real logic, depending on availability and what i've convinced myself sounds better. the stubbies also have better grip, of course.
but what i did here was accidentally get some big stubbies that are actually closer in size to (and a bit thicker than) the 208s, which is what i wanted in the first place.
due to a shift in supply, i may end up replacing the 208s and the small stubbies with the big ones. we'll see how that works out.
for now, i think i have what i need to finish the song.
they had 3 of the 4 types i use (stubbies, small jazz IIIs and 1.0 mm tortexes - all dunlops), so i stocked up. but it was the fourth i really wanted. i think a stubby should work for the piece.
i didn't bring one with me, but i also use dunlop 208s.
i use the tortexes for general overall use. i think they're generally thought of as blues picks. they're pretty versatile...good for bending and tremoloing...
...but they're not good for certain types of riffing because they're not thick enough. i don't riff like that often, but when i do i want to use something like those 208s, which i first started using as bass picks, actually. they're very good for that, too.
i normally use the small stubbies and the IIIs solely for faster playing because they're very pointy. i had some good threes, but i needed the bigger surface area for the song because there's a (very) short pseudo-sweep picking part and i just wasn't getting good grip. on the other hand, the smaller size of the threes is sometimes better for scale work. i jump back and forth, often without any real logic, depending on availability and what i've convinced myself sounds better. the stubbies also have better grip, of course.
but what i did here was accidentally get some big stubbies that are actually closer in size to (and a bit thicker than) the 208s, which is what i wanted in the first place.
due to a shift in supply, i may end up replacing the 208s and the small stubbies with the big ones. we'll see how that works out.
for now, i think i have what i need to finish the song.
something else i'm going to want to get around doing soon is buying
something on bandcamp to start following people. i think that's a good
marketing tool that i'm missing out on.
and, hey, i have exquisite taste...that's a list people want in on...
i just can't conceive of buying audio files. whatever it is i buy, it will be physical...
and, hey, i have exquisite taste...that's a list people want in on...
i just can't conceive of buying audio files. whatever it is i buy, it will be physical...
uploading schizoid to youtube
my front page track will switch tonight around midnight. this
one will only be up a week, but it's also the first track from the
second side of the first demo, so time is moving forward.
(of course, i'm featuring tracks in real time relative to when they were first written a little less than 19 years ago. so, i'll be continuing to cycle through these very early cassette demos for about the next year or so.)
well, sort of. this is the 1998 version, which i'm subbing in for the 1996 version for a variety of reasons. i'm just not going to upload the '96 version. that also means that this will cycle back in about two years from now.
i'll also be redoing this (and a few others) in instrumental form for the vst project in the upcoming weeks.
boogeyman did well, but is a bit short of what i was hoping for. it seemed a mild stretch for it to break 1000 hits over the month from the start, but it seemed like the curve was moving up so i thought "maybe". the curve did continue moving, but it distributed itself more evenly than i was expecting. as is, it should hit 900 shortly. it will still probably be the first to 1000, but that will likely take another month or so. it'll certainly break 1000 when it gets cycled back again over the 66 days that existed between the two cassette demos.
====
this is one of the creepy tracks where i'm exploring mental illness from the perspective of an isolated 15 year-old; the person in the song is dealing with satanic voices that are keying on traumatic childhood taunting and suggesting violent outbursts as a means of self-defense. this has induced a serious level of agoraphobia.
this is the second recording of the track (you can get to the first by clicking through the link). the initial 1996 recording was a big step up for me in terms of using the recording equipment. in hindsight, this 1998 version has a big upgrade in sound and a big downgrade in vocals. well, i guess the vocals work on a different level, but, comparing them back-to-back, what i'd like to have are the demo vocals with the rerecording's music...
this is the first serious example of any kind of keyboard sequencing that's more than just background sound. there's seriously a crude string section in this track. i hadn't really done that before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuYLWbu04vk&list=PL3JSjmqp0cbslW9qCBKT_nEcwUt1DY0aN
(of course, i'm featuring tracks in real time relative to when they were first written a little less than 19 years ago. so, i'll be continuing to cycle through these very early cassette demos for about the next year or so.)
well, sort of. this is the 1998 version, which i'm subbing in for the 1996 version for a variety of reasons. i'm just not going to upload the '96 version. that also means that this will cycle back in about two years from now.
i'll also be redoing this (and a few others) in instrumental form for the vst project in the upcoming weeks.
boogeyman did well, but is a bit short of what i was hoping for. it seemed a mild stretch for it to break 1000 hits over the month from the start, but it seemed like the curve was moving up so i thought "maybe". the curve did continue moving, but it distributed itself more evenly than i was expecting. as is, it should hit 900 shortly. it will still probably be the first to 1000, but that will likely take another month or so. it'll certainly break 1000 when it gets cycled back again over the 66 days that existed between the two cassette demos.
====
this is one of the creepy tracks where i'm exploring mental illness from the perspective of an isolated 15 year-old; the person in the song is dealing with satanic voices that are keying on traumatic childhood taunting and suggesting violent outbursts as a means of self-defense. this has induced a serious level of agoraphobia.
this is the second recording of the track (you can get to the first by clicking through the link). the initial 1996 recording was a big step up for me in terms of using the recording equipment. in hindsight, this 1998 version has a big upgrade in sound and a big downgrade in vocals. well, i guess the vocals work on a different level, but, comparing them back-to-back, what i'd like to have are the demo vocals with the rerecording's music...
this is the first serious example of any kind of keyboard sequencing that's more than just background sound. there's seriously a crude string section in this track. i hadn't really done that before.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuYLWbu04vk&list=PL3JSjmqp0cbslW9qCBKT_nEcwUt1DY0aN
well, somebody's studied it.
i don't currently have the time or interest to review the literature, but this is quick survey.
http://www.demneuropsy.com.br/imageBank/PDF/v4n4a05.pdf
i don't currently have the time or interest to review the literature, but this is quick survey.
http://www.demneuropsy.com.br/imageBank/PDF/v4n4a05.pdf
it's funny how, the more a piece is practiced, time begins to slow down. i wonder if anybody's really studied this...
it's just perception, of course. but time is weird. relativity theory suggests (and suggests is the right word. the experiments that supposedly uphold this part of it are kind of weak. for example, they sent a plane around the earth a few times and noticed the clocks came back differently, in a way that sort of verified einstein's predictions. but, in fact, it was in the margin of error. i don't doubt einstein was on to something, and it's not like i found an error in the math or anything, but i'm a little iffy on some of the assumptions. relativity theory is an axiomatic system, built at the precise moment that axiomatic systems were being abandoned as unreliable. so, this is a perilous way to build a theory up. any future corrections to the axioms, and they're perpetually inevitable, may drastically alter the conclusions.) that time is not as constant as we perceive it as, but we're not accelerating to fractions of the speed of light very often, either, so it's not really wrong to think of it as a constant in day-to-day non-experimental life. i mean, playing my guitar isn't anything like synchronizing satellites.
but, there's no question that an ant or a fly must perceive of time as faster than we do. i mean, flies wouldn't be so hard to catch, otherwise. i guess it's just simple physics if you think about it: shorter paths for the electricity to follow. and it's true that insects are roughly comparable to primitive robots in terms of consciousness, it's just action/reaction, so that's not a totally useful comparison. but, if we could somehow be the proverbial fly on the wall, we would probably have difficulty understanding what was being said, because the waveforms would come in to us as slowed down, elongated messes. i don't even know if flies can "hear" or not...well, i guess they get vibrations of some sort but i don't know if that's actually sound or just noise.
something like that seems to happen when getting locked into the groove of an instrument. after a while, playing at 360 seems like playing at 250. it's not just a question of getting the mechanics right, it's the entire computation process. at first, the notes are blurry and it's difficult to think and play at the same time, but eventually the separation of the notes is as clear as it is at slower tempos and the ability to process the whole thing - finger movements, next notes, etc - slows down as well.
and i'm wondering if it might have something to do with higher aptitude to do various mental tasks amongst musicians. i mean, i'm not actually modifying time. my guitar is not a frame of reference. i'm not increasing my velocity. it must be that i'm thinking faster, getting my brain to work at a faster speed. physically, that would have to be synapses being built - that's what it *means* to think faster, right? to have more synapses, shorter paths, faster electrical responses. maybe the brain reuses those for math problems...
i'm rambling, just thinking out loud. but it really is remarkable how we're able to lock in and change that perception of time, whether it's the result of increasing transmission speed or something else.
there's this unfortunate tendency recently to think of intelligence as something genetic, but the brain is a highly plastic organ that is constantly changing with experience.
your current brain is not the brain you were born with. it's a highly individualized culture of cells that was built solely for you as a reaction to the experiences you've had in your life.
and it will continue changing for as long as you live.
it's just perception, of course. but time is weird. relativity theory suggests (and suggests is the right word. the experiments that supposedly uphold this part of it are kind of weak. for example, they sent a plane around the earth a few times and noticed the clocks came back differently, in a way that sort of verified einstein's predictions. but, in fact, it was in the margin of error. i don't doubt einstein was on to something, and it's not like i found an error in the math or anything, but i'm a little iffy on some of the assumptions. relativity theory is an axiomatic system, built at the precise moment that axiomatic systems were being abandoned as unreliable. so, this is a perilous way to build a theory up. any future corrections to the axioms, and they're perpetually inevitable, may drastically alter the conclusions.) that time is not as constant as we perceive it as, but we're not accelerating to fractions of the speed of light very often, either, so it's not really wrong to think of it as a constant in day-to-day non-experimental life. i mean, playing my guitar isn't anything like synchronizing satellites.
but, there's no question that an ant or a fly must perceive of time as faster than we do. i mean, flies wouldn't be so hard to catch, otherwise. i guess it's just simple physics if you think about it: shorter paths for the electricity to follow. and it's true that insects are roughly comparable to primitive robots in terms of consciousness, it's just action/reaction, so that's not a totally useful comparison. but, if we could somehow be the proverbial fly on the wall, we would probably have difficulty understanding what was being said, because the waveforms would come in to us as slowed down, elongated messes. i don't even know if flies can "hear" or not...well, i guess they get vibrations of some sort but i don't know if that's actually sound or just noise.
something like that seems to happen when getting locked into the groove of an instrument. after a while, playing at 360 seems like playing at 250. it's not just a question of getting the mechanics right, it's the entire computation process. at first, the notes are blurry and it's difficult to think and play at the same time, but eventually the separation of the notes is as clear as it is at slower tempos and the ability to process the whole thing - finger movements, next notes, etc - slows down as well.
and i'm wondering if it might have something to do with higher aptitude to do various mental tasks amongst musicians. i mean, i'm not actually modifying time. my guitar is not a frame of reference. i'm not increasing my velocity. it must be that i'm thinking faster, getting my brain to work at a faster speed. physically, that would have to be synapses being built - that's what it *means* to think faster, right? to have more synapses, shorter paths, faster electrical responses. maybe the brain reuses those for math problems...
i'm rambling, just thinking out loud. but it really is remarkable how we're able to lock in and change that perception of time, whether it's the result of increasing transmission speed or something else.
there's this unfortunate tendency recently to think of intelligence as something genetic, but the brain is a highly plastic organ that is constantly changing with experience.
your current brain is not the brain you were born with. it's a highly individualized culture of cells that was built solely for you as a reaction to the experiences you've had in your life.
and it will continue changing for as long as you live.
on the difference between different models of roland’s juno style synthesizer
deathtokoalas
none of you could tell the difference in a double blind test. and, let's be honest - it's not hard to figure out that what roland did was more or less repackage the juno several times. it wasn't going to remodel everything, that costs money. it just made a few minor tweaks and sold 4x as many by changing the label four times. there's all kinds of psychological reasons people pick one brand name over the other, but it's not going to hold up to rigorous testing.
they all sound the same.
i've had a jx-8p for around 15 years, without the pg, which i'm never going to use. don't do the knob twiddling thing....think it sounds cheesy in the style i write in....just program a patch and let it sit for the track. but it's central to the synth work i've done (i'm more of a guitarist).
scroll the screen down so you can't see his fingers and tell me you can hear a difference.
you can't.
there isn't one.
thomashenrydavies
You could say the same thing about most analog synths playing similar basic patches on a Youtube demo.
deathtokoalas
to an extent, i think that's true, but it doesn't really negate the observation that junos, 3ps and 8ps are really the same synth.
if the "string patch" on two different synths follows precisely the same logic, they're going to sound almost identical, regardless of what the brand name is. and, for all we know, they may have been made with exactly the same parts - kind of like how dells and macs nowadays are actually made in the same factory, and only really differ by the cosmetic difference on the outside of the box.
but that's a big if. i mean, it's one thing to say two patches on two different synths sound almost identical, it's another to say that two synths are identical.
thomashenrydavies
I don't think it's true at all to say that the Junos/JX3P/JX8P are the same synths.
Firstly, the Junos only have one OSC per voice (plus a sub). The JX synths have 2, with cross modulation capability (hard sync, soft sync, FM). This gives them a much broader sonic palette.
The JX3P and JX8P are similar, but the 3P only has one envelope, and is not velocity sensitive. Plus, the filter is different.
deathtokoalas
relative to the complexity of the device, those are remarkably minor differences, none of which justify rebranding in and of itself. basically, it means the jxs are going to be a little thicker sounding for pads, but who hasn't pointed out that the juno sounds thin? that's just fixing a minor design flaw.
it's almost like roland sat down and tried to figure out what the bare minimum mod they could make to justify a different brand name was, then did nothing else besides change the design on the front. nowadays, that's really something like a minor firmware update to fix a product that was rushed to market before final testing.
in that sense? sure, the 8p is the final product. you can expect it'll sound best. but it's virtually imperceptible.
judging from how similar they sound, i'd guess the presets on the final models are really legitimately identical to the presets on the original models...
thomashenrydavies
I really have to disagree with you on that. In the realm of analog synthesizers, a 2 OSC synth with sync and cross mod is a big, big difference from a 1 OSC synth. Opens up whole new avenues of sound design.
deathtokoalas
it could, if you use it in a specific way, but this is an obscure issue that's really only meaningful in ambient music. anything else is just going to cut your carefully synthesized patch out of the mix. i'm not being cold, but it's the truth.
if you want to make the argument that the 8p can do everything the juno can plus a bit of extra sound synthesis? sure.
but on an a/b test of the patch across the two different synths, you won't hear a difference, because they're otherwise the same synth.
thomashenrydavies
As I said, if you set any two analog synths up with identical settings, they are going to sounds pretty much the same, especially on a youtube video. I've done it with a Moog Prodigy and a JX10 - are you telling me they are the same synth? If you want to make synths sound the same, you generally can.
A 2 OSC architecture with FM and cross mod allows you to create all sorts of metallic, bell and atonal sounds tthat are simply not possible with a 1 OSC synth.
deathtokoalas
no, i'm not disagreeing with you, so much as i'm pointing out that you're suggesting a comparison the video isn't making. technically, my statement is an oversimplification - what i should have said is there's no difference between the presets because they're identical across the different synths. and, to be complete what that means is that you can create any sound on a jx that you could create on a juno, but there are sounds you can create on a jx that you can't create on a juno.
that's outside of the realm of what's being compared, though. the video is comparing identical patches and then trying to determine if they sound differently, and you've got all kinds of people saying they can hear the difference. "the juno sounds better", etc. but, there isn't a difference because the presets are using identical logic. that would never pass a double blind, because there isn't actually a difference in sound because there isn't actually a difference in logic.
and, sure you could do that with other synths, too, but it's not what the video is attempting to determine. the video is attempting to determine if identical patches sound differently across the different synths. of course they don't...
but i wouldn't dispute that you can do more with a jx than a juno. whether you can really hear the extra oscillation or cross modulation in a mix that's saturated with guitars or horns in the same range is a more subtle question, but the different sounds are no doubt available, should they be utilized purposefully.
and of course you could always multitrack the juno, right...
but, sure: the jx-8p is the superior synth. that's why i bought one instead of a juno :).
you're just not going to hear the difference across identically programmed presets that don't utilize the extra functionality and claims that you can are purely psychological.
it's pretty common for people to claim the "pure analog" synth sounds better, due to various conditioning about the superior quality of analog synths. and there's certainly some truth to it. but comparing presets on a juno to presets on a jx isn't going to demonstrate that difference, no matter how much some people want to claim the pure analog technology is superior.
if you see what i was originally getting at....
i mean, head out to the idm mailing list or something and have this discussion. you'll get an overwhelming response that the less digital a synth is, the better it sounds, without much logic put into analyzing what the synth actually does. and you'll see that kind of mindset in the comments. it's undoubtedly the actual (psychological) reason people are pulling out the juno as sounding better.
thomashenrydavies
Even with identical settings, the sound is not going to be exactly the same: the filter in a JX8P is different to that in the Juno series. Ok, it's not going to be sufficiently different as to be discernible in a youtube video, but it won't be identical. I think the Juno series, the JX3P and JX8P are different enough to warrant existence :)
deathtokoalas
i think it's a semantic question as to whether the filter is a part of the synthesizer. i'd consider it more of an effect. i mean, most people are going to equalize the synth at some point between the time the notes get pressed and the time the song gets mastered, so it's going to come out in the wash. regardless, iirc, the filters are programmable. so, if there's a difference it'd have to be on the envelope or something. and, youtube compression or not, you'd really have to have remarkable ears to the tell the difference between a 30% fade and a 35% fade, or whatever it actually is, on what is otherwise exactly the same synth patch.
thomashenrydavies
To me, the filter in a subtractive synth is possibly THE most integral and important thing. It's the primary way you shape the timbre.
deathtokoalas
just to clarify: yes, subtractive synthesis is technically synthesis. but the filters in these devices are not those kinds of filters. they're high pass and low pass filters, and are essentially eqs.
Eman Mann
You can use filters in a fixed (EQ) sense or dynamic (sweeping) synthesizer way - but there's no rule that says the static 'eq' filter is not 'synthesizer'. The old Korg synths had a filter cutoff slider, where it was up to you to manually sweep, so even a 'fixed' filter can be manipulated to act in a more 'synth-like' fashion.
deathtokoalas
synthesis is about adding and subtracting waveforms, not about running sweep filters as oscillators.
Eman Mann
Additive/Subtractive...No point in arguing semantics - don't recall mentioning self oscillation. Synth's use both types of filters, fixed (formant type) and dynamic cutoff, is all I wanted to say and of course you don't need a filter to make a synthesizer, of course the JX's use both...
deathtokoalas
but, what i'm pointing out is that this is not actually synthesis and so it's a semantic point as to whether it's a part of the synthesizer or a part of a built-in effects unit.
synthesis happens when you do one of two things, perhaps repeatedly in a complex sequence:
1) you add two waveforms together.
2) you subtract one waveform from another.
this filtering is often called "subtractive synthesis" because you're "subtracting" through the hpf or lpf, but it's really a pretty egregious use of language.
sure: it can have a dramatic effect on the sound. but, it's an eq effect; sweeping or not, it's not synthesis.
i've never played with one, but it is possible to find synths on the market that will actually subtract out a generated waveform - a sine wave, or a sawtooth wave, for example.
sorry, just to be clear on how actual subtractive synthesis would work: what you would do is invert the additional waveform and then add it to the base waveform. this would have the effect of "subtracting" the forward phase of the additional waveform from the base waveform.
an example: suppose that i have a tone that i built on a sample of a church bell and then added an inverse sine wave to it. that would remove a sine wave from the sample and would be subtractive synthesis.
running the tone through an equalizer - whether it's an hpf or an lpf or connected to an oscillator or attached to an envelope - is important when it comes to shaping sounds, and does in some way remove information, and has even been referred to as "subtractive synthesis" by most synthesizer manufacturers for a very long time, but isn't technically synthesis. and, so it's a semantic point as to whether it's a part of the synthesizer or a part of the effects unit.
Eman Mann
Though I do appreciate what you are saying, I'm stuck in the more mundane conventions that 90% of us follow. Until something comes along to make the more technically 'correct' model/approach convenient and practical to the masses, we're going to continue to be talking about VCO/VCF/VCA as being the standard building blocks of synthesis, for sometime to come. Kawai gave it a big effort with their Additive synthesis, but even after many hardware releases, it never caught enough of attention as it was too complex - FM (& Casio Phase Distortion) didn't do much to crack the related barrier of VCO/VCF/VCA, though it did convince a fair number of people to cast away their Analog machines at the time. Now we all want them back, which brings us back to the related topic - which is better, the JX3P or 8P and why? ; )
deathtokoalas
well, i'm telling you that you can't hear the difference on a double blind :)
this comment was quite a while ago, but i can tell by what i wrote that i wasn't trying to make a big deal out of this point; i said it was semantic because i didn't want to get into the debate - it was a way to brush the question aside. i then didn't respond to the last point, and i only came back to it months later when i got a notification on it, and decided it was worth clarifying for people stumbling on the discussion. i suppose, at the time, i assumed what i meant would be quickly understood and it would just be glossed over.
Eman Mann
Couldn't agree more about the 'double blind' comment, they are so much alike that people are trying to leverage their opinion based on loudness etc. Tausend Augen certainly knows how to instigate a debate. ; ) (P.S. read my Venn Diagram comment above)
none of you could tell the difference in a double blind test. and, let's be honest - it's not hard to figure out that what roland did was more or less repackage the juno several times. it wasn't going to remodel everything, that costs money. it just made a few minor tweaks and sold 4x as many by changing the label four times. there's all kinds of psychological reasons people pick one brand name over the other, but it's not going to hold up to rigorous testing.
they all sound the same.
i've had a jx-8p for around 15 years, without the pg, which i'm never going to use. don't do the knob twiddling thing....think it sounds cheesy in the style i write in....just program a patch and let it sit for the track. but it's central to the synth work i've done (i'm more of a guitarist).
scroll the screen down so you can't see his fingers and tell me you can hear a difference.
you can't.
there isn't one.
thomashenrydavies
You could say the same thing about most analog synths playing similar basic patches on a Youtube demo.
deathtokoalas
to an extent, i think that's true, but it doesn't really negate the observation that junos, 3ps and 8ps are really the same synth.
if the "string patch" on two different synths follows precisely the same logic, they're going to sound almost identical, regardless of what the brand name is. and, for all we know, they may have been made with exactly the same parts - kind of like how dells and macs nowadays are actually made in the same factory, and only really differ by the cosmetic difference on the outside of the box.
but that's a big if. i mean, it's one thing to say two patches on two different synths sound almost identical, it's another to say that two synths are identical.
thomashenrydavies
I don't think it's true at all to say that the Junos/JX3P/JX8P are the same synths.
Firstly, the Junos only have one OSC per voice (plus a sub). The JX synths have 2, with cross modulation capability (hard sync, soft sync, FM). This gives them a much broader sonic palette.
The JX3P and JX8P are similar, but the 3P only has one envelope, and is not velocity sensitive. Plus, the filter is different.
deathtokoalas
relative to the complexity of the device, those are remarkably minor differences, none of which justify rebranding in and of itself. basically, it means the jxs are going to be a little thicker sounding for pads, but who hasn't pointed out that the juno sounds thin? that's just fixing a minor design flaw.
it's almost like roland sat down and tried to figure out what the bare minimum mod they could make to justify a different brand name was, then did nothing else besides change the design on the front. nowadays, that's really something like a minor firmware update to fix a product that was rushed to market before final testing.
in that sense? sure, the 8p is the final product. you can expect it'll sound best. but it's virtually imperceptible.
judging from how similar they sound, i'd guess the presets on the final models are really legitimately identical to the presets on the original models...
thomashenrydavies
I really have to disagree with you on that. In the realm of analog synthesizers, a 2 OSC synth with sync and cross mod is a big, big difference from a 1 OSC synth. Opens up whole new avenues of sound design.
deathtokoalas
it could, if you use it in a specific way, but this is an obscure issue that's really only meaningful in ambient music. anything else is just going to cut your carefully synthesized patch out of the mix. i'm not being cold, but it's the truth.
if you want to make the argument that the 8p can do everything the juno can plus a bit of extra sound synthesis? sure.
but on an a/b test of the patch across the two different synths, you won't hear a difference, because they're otherwise the same synth.
thomashenrydavies
As I said, if you set any two analog synths up with identical settings, they are going to sounds pretty much the same, especially on a youtube video. I've done it with a Moog Prodigy and a JX10 - are you telling me they are the same synth? If you want to make synths sound the same, you generally can.
A 2 OSC architecture with FM and cross mod allows you to create all sorts of metallic, bell and atonal sounds tthat are simply not possible with a 1 OSC synth.
deathtokoalas
no, i'm not disagreeing with you, so much as i'm pointing out that you're suggesting a comparison the video isn't making. technically, my statement is an oversimplification - what i should have said is there's no difference between the presets because they're identical across the different synths. and, to be complete what that means is that you can create any sound on a jx that you could create on a juno, but there are sounds you can create on a jx that you can't create on a juno.
that's outside of the realm of what's being compared, though. the video is comparing identical patches and then trying to determine if they sound differently, and you've got all kinds of people saying they can hear the difference. "the juno sounds better", etc. but, there isn't a difference because the presets are using identical logic. that would never pass a double blind, because there isn't actually a difference in sound because there isn't actually a difference in logic.
and, sure you could do that with other synths, too, but it's not what the video is attempting to determine. the video is attempting to determine if identical patches sound differently across the different synths. of course they don't...
but i wouldn't dispute that you can do more with a jx than a juno. whether you can really hear the extra oscillation or cross modulation in a mix that's saturated with guitars or horns in the same range is a more subtle question, but the different sounds are no doubt available, should they be utilized purposefully.
and of course you could always multitrack the juno, right...
but, sure: the jx-8p is the superior synth. that's why i bought one instead of a juno :).
you're just not going to hear the difference across identically programmed presets that don't utilize the extra functionality and claims that you can are purely psychological.
it's pretty common for people to claim the "pure analog" synth sounds better, due to various conditioning about the superior quality of analog synths. and there's certainly some truth to it. but comparing presets on a juno to presets on a jx isn't going to demonstrate that difference, no matter how much some people want to claim the pure analog technology is superior.
if you see what i was originally getting at....
i mean, head out to the idm mailing list or something and have this discussion. you'll get an overwhelming response that the less digital a synth is, the better it sounds, without much logic put into analyzing what the synth actually does. and you'll see that kind of mindset in the comments. it's undoubtedly the actual (psychological) reason people are pulling out the juno as sounding better.
thomashenrydavies
Even with identical settings, the sound is not going to be exactly the same: the filter in a JX8P is different to that in the Juno series. Ok, it's not going to be sufficiently different as to be discernible in a youtube video, but it won't be identical. I think the Juno series, the JX3P and JX8P are different enough to warrant existence :)
deathtokoalas
i think it's a semantic question as to whether the filter is a part of the synthesizer. i'd consider it more of an effect. i mean, most people are going to equalize the synth at some point between the time the notes get pressed and the time the song gets mastered, so it's going to come out in the wash. regardless, iirc, the filters are programmable. so, if there's a difference it'd have to be on the envelope or something. and, youtube compression or not, you'd really have to have remarkable ears to the tell the difference between a 30% fade and a 35% fade, or whatever it actually is, on what is otherwise exactly the same synth patch.
thomashenrydavies
To me, the filter in a subtractive synth is possibly THE most integral and important thing. It's the primary way you shape the timbre.
deathtokoalas
just to clarify: yes, subtractive synthesis is technically synthesis. but the filters in these devices are not those kinds of filters. they're high pass and low pass filters, and are essentially eqs.
Eman Mann
You can use filters in a fixed (EQ) sense or dynamic (sweeping) synthesizer way - but there's no rule that says the static 'eq' filter is not 'synthesizer'. The old Korg synths had a filter cutoff slider, where it was up to you to manually sweep, so even a 'fixed' filter can be manipulated to act in a more 'synth-like' fashion.
deathtokoalas
synthesis is about adding and subtracting waveforms, not about running sweep filters as oscillators.
Eman Mann
Additive/Subtractive...No point in arguing semantics - don't recall mentioning self oscillation. Synth's use both types of filters, fixed (formant type) and dynamic cutoff, is all I wanted to say and of course you don't need a filter to make a synthesizer, of course the JX's use both...
deathtokoalas
but, what i'm pointing out is that this is not actually synthesis and so it's a semantic point as to whether it's a part of the synthesizer or a part of a built-in effects unit.
synthesis happens when you do one of two things, perhaps repeatedly in a complex sequence:
1) you add two waveforms together.
2) you subtract one waveform from another.
this filtering is often called "subtractive synthesis" because you're "subtracting" through the hpf or lpf, but it's really a pretty egregious use of language.
sure: it can have a dramatic effect on the sound. but, it's an eq effect; sweeping or not, it's not synthesis.
i've never played with one, but it is possible to find synths on the market that will actually subtract out a generated waveform - a sine wave, or a sawtooth wave, for example.
sorry, just to be clear on how actual subtractive synthesis would work: what you would do is invert the additional waveform and then add it to the base waveform. this would have the effect of "subtracting" the forward phase of the additional waveform from the base waveform.
an example: suppose that i have a tone that i built on a sample of a church bell and then added an inverse sine wave to it. that would remove a sine wave from the sample and would be subtractive synthesis.
running the tone through an equalizer - whether it's an hpf or an lpf or connected to an oscillator or attached to an envelope - is important when it comes to shaping sounds, and does in some way remove information, and has even been referred to as "subtractive synthesis" by most synthesizer manufacturers for a very long time, but isn't technically synthesis. and, so it's a semantic point as to whether it's a part of the synthesizer or a part of the effects unit.
Eman Mann
Though I do appreciate what you are saying, I'm stuck in the more mundane conventions that 90% of us follow. Until something comes along to make the more technically 'correct' model/approach convenient and practical to the masses, we're going to continue to be talking about VCO/VCF/VCA as being the standard building blocks of synthesis, for sometime to come. Kawai gave it a big effort with their Additive synthesis, but even after many hardware releases, it never caught enough of attention as it was too complex - FM (& Casio Phase Distortion) didn't do much to crack the related barrier of VCO/VCF/VCA, though it did convince a fair number of people to cast away their Analog machines at the time. Now we all want them back, which brings us back to the related topic - which is better, the JX3P or 8P and why? ; )
deathtokoalas
well, i'm telling you that you can't hear the difference on a double blind :)
this comment was quite a while ago, but i can tell by what i wrote that i wasn't trying to make a big deal out of this point; i said it was semantic because i didn't want to get into the debate - it was a way to brush the question aside. i then didn't respond to the last point, and i only came back to it months later when i got a notification on it, and decided it was worth clarifying for people stumbling on the discussion. i suppose, at the time, i assumed what i meant would be quickly understood and it would just be glossed over.
Eman Mann
Couldn't agree more about the 'double blind' comment, they are so much alike that people are trying to leverage their opinion based on loudness etc. Tausend Augen certainly knows how to instigate a debate. ; ) (P.S. read my Venn Diagram comment above)
i guess there's a mild similarity in the opening synth part, but the songs are not remotely similar in form or structure.
the actual dominant influence on the opening synth (originally, piano) line of "stuck in the middle of an alley closing in on all sides" is the ending piano section of "a perfect drug".
i should post links.
my song:
actual inspiration, being the piano part starting about 4:40:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-QnnLudkQA
incorrect claim of influence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNJJ-QkZ8cM
my version is far superior due to the syncopation, which i suspect most people would miss due to the lack of percussion (besides the piano), but the notes are coming down off the beats in shifting ways; it's like 64th and 32nd note pauses off the count. you probably wouldn't know that without me telling you, but you might get the unsettling creepiness that it invokes.
like, if i put a big techno beat down over that it would sound really messy because it would be all out of sync with itself.
the actual dominant influence on the opening synth (originally, piano) line of "stuck in the middle of an alley closing in on all sides" is the ending piano section of "a perfect drug".
i should post links.
my song:
actual inspiration, being the piano part starting about 4:40:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-QnnLudkQA
incorrect claim of influence:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNJJ-QkZ8cM
my version is far superior due to the syncopation, which i suspect most people would miss due to the lack of percussion (besides the piano), but the notes are coming down off the beats in shifting ways; it's like 64th and 32nd note pauses off the count. you probably wouldn't know that without me telling you, but you might get the unsettling creepiness that it invokes.
like, if i put a big techno beat down over that it would sound really messy because it would be all out of sync with itself.
somebody tried to suggest one of my older tunes had a similarity to a pokemon song, which i can state with a high degree of certainty that i've never heard before.
you know, i don't even know what a pokemon is. is it similar to a pog? was it like dungeons and dragons, or something? some kind of card game?
i suspect my track is older, but i don't really know because i don't know what year pokemon came out around. i wrote the track in late 2000, early 2001.
and i suspect i'm a little too old for pokemon, but i wouldn't really know, either, because i wasn't into that kind of thing when i was the right age for it.
i preferred stuff like the smurfs and care bears that had a more positive message over violent video games and boring geek shit.
but i mostly stopped watching cartoons when i was something like six years old.
and i never had advanced cable....
...so i mostly had absolutely no idea what the other kids were talking about. it's actually probably had a substantial influence on my social skills. i mean, the only thing that existed in their brains was cartoons that i had no interest in or understanding of, so there was a difficulty in communicating and interacting. the window, or the wall (or sometimes a book) generally seemed more interesting to me than repeating quotes from episodes of shows i wasn't able to watch and probably wouldn't have liked if i was able to watch them......
but i still don't know if pokemon was or wasn't one of those shows. i don't remember when or where i first heard of it. at all. and i don't care enough to look it up....
you know, i don't even know what a pokemon is. is it similar to a pog? was it like dungeons and dragons, or something? some kind of card game?
i suspect my track is older, but i don't really know because i don't know what year pokemon came out around. i wrote the track in late 2000, early 2001.
and i suspect i'm a little too old for pokemon, but i wouldn't really know, either, because i wasn't into that kind of thing when i was the right age for it.
i preferred stuff like the smurfs and care bears that had a more positive message over violent video games and boring geek shit.
but i mostly stopped watching cartoons when i was something like six years old.
and i never had advanced cable....
...so i mostly had absolutely no idea what the other kids were talking about. it's actually probably had a substantial influence on my social skills. i mean, the only thing that existed in their brains was cartoons that i had no interest in or understanding of, so there was a difficulty in communicating and interacting. the window, or the wall (or sometimes a book) generally seemed more interesting to me than repeating quotes from episodes of shows i wasn't able to watch and probably wouldn't have liked if i was able to watch them......
but i still don't know if pokemon was or wasn't one of those shows. i don't remember when or where i first heard of it. at all. and i don't care enough to look it up....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)