i need to keep going with the gear replacement before i move on to the next thing. we'll split these into by-basement posts.
the thing i'm still missing from basement #1 is a medium sized bass amp that i can use for bass, keyboard or amp simulation. although, i do still have a 120 watt fender combo amp/cab that can be used for that purpose, so it's not much of a missing item. the problem is it's too loud, so i'm not going to get an "amped" sound from it unless i piss off the neighbours. it has an exaggerated bottom end, as well - it's a bass amp. a smaller keyboard amp would be far more useful to me, for recording - which is why i bought all these little amps. i'm pretty sure it was a kb60, but i'd actually rather take it down to 30ish. i'm very seriously looking at that little vox amp for this, although i wish they made it in lower wattage options than 50. 50 watts is pretty loud, and the point is to crank it most of the way.
i was also looking at a sennheiser e609 as a potential mic upgrade, but stopped short because the altec is probably pretty similar.
so, this is basement #2...
- the ry30 is an irreplacable item, in any reasonable sense, except with itself. there's really no hardware drum machine that does quite what it does, at much of any price point. but, when i had sold it, the truth is that i'd grown out of it because i started writing longer, more complicated sequences in an actual score writer...or found it easier to do repetitive, simple loops in basic software.
so, this is my ry30 record, which is an example (not comprehensive) of what i was able to do with the ry30:
in order to write in that kind of detail, i had to slow the tempo down to the lowest possible speed and fill everything in in quadruple or higher time. this had the effect of limiting the complexity of the compositions that could be built on the device, as well. this is a deficit of the device's lack of memory, as an early 90s computer. you could buy expansion slots, but they weren't cheap, and it didn't really solve the problem. so, you could only do so much with the device, as a sequencer, due to the limitations of the technology.
that said, it was also one of the most advanced machines of the period, and the entire concept of a standalone drum machine disappeared with the move to computers for recording. so, while i may have outgrown it's limitations, it was also just about top of the line for a device of it's sort - there isn't really an upgrade path, besides moving to cubase.
the technical thing i used to replace the ry30 was a program called noteworthy composer which is a scorewriter, like sibelius or finale. i like the interface a lot better, as it's keyboard driven rather than mouse driven:
while the ry30 had a primitive synthesizer built in, i no longer found it useful once i had access to a jx along with cool edit, and while no tool is ever truly obsolete, it wouldn't be my go to for sound generation, if i had one, today. there's a million other ways to generate noise and hook it up to a sequencer, and there was nothing particularly unique about the device for that purpose - even if it was exceedingly useful to have the thing in house, so long as you had enough memory.
on the other hand, what you could do with noteworthy composer is anything you can do with written music. there are no limitations regarding bar lengths, time signatures, numbers of patterns, "polyphony" in drum types, song complexity or anything else - you're just writing into a score editor. in theory, you should be able to interface those midi parts with any kind of sampler, but in practice you end up limited to general midi, meaning you'll need another approach to integrate sound effects and sampling. to me, that's fine, as i found myself more drawn to wave editors (like audacity, although i still use an old version of cool edit) for that kind of sound generation.
this is an example of something i created in noteworthy composer (and using a soundcard emulator for playback) that i could have never created using the ry30 due to the intricacies in time signatures and the sheer number of "patterns":
further, this is my noteworthy composer record, as ported to more contemporary vst software:
of course, i also have an electronic kit, and that's actually going to be what i'm focusing on using for most of what's left of period 3, at least, as these tracks were actually intended to be recorded with sarah on the drums. sarah used to play drums for her dad, and found it upsetting to have me dictating instructions to her, which is the only way i knew how to work, musically. i may be a little less controlling nowadays. but, she couldn't deal with me yelling at her to stay in fucking time...and i had to play my drum parts, myself.
but, a good way to look at the ry30 is as a device of medium complexity; it's not detailed enough for very carefully written parts (because it is ultimately a drum machine, meaning you have to build up patterns in blocks, however much detail it allows for), but it's far too developed a device for simple, repetitive loops. as such, i really did grow out of it, as i couldn't do with it what i needed from a device of it's sort, and it was just a lot easier to use a 909 emulator if i just wanted some simple beats.
so, the replacement for the ry30 is as follows:
- hammerhead + leaf + whatever other simple 808-style emulator is around for loops and simple beats and weird sounds, in a strictly sequenced manner
- fully written-out sections in noteworthy composer for actual drum parts <---this is the real replacement/upgrade, namely moving to scored parts in midi rather than drum machine sequences in beats/bars/patterns
- i can use a scorewriter for midi sequencing (some of the earlier sequencer parts that sound like synths were actually created on a ry30)
- cool edit + various synthesizers for sampling and whatever other noise generation
while it's not exactly the same - and i'd jump at an emulator if i found one - i'm not really missing anything in no longer having the device, except the idiosyncrasies of the device itself, which can only be replaced by the device. i know of no other drum machine that can really replace the ry30, in the sense that i used it - which was in quite a lot more depth than your average user. but, i still outgrew it. that's ok - it was my first programming device, and we all outgrow our first devices, right?
that said, the one thing i don't have that the ry30 had is those velocity-sensitive pads, and i'm looking at a way to remedy that, even if i'm less convinced about the importance of it. i have velocity sensitive keyboards and velocity sensitive electronic drum heads, is there really any use in having velocity sensitive drum pads, especially for period 3? i can't say it's worth much to me, no. but, if i can get one of those mini akais for $20 or something, i'll do it.
as it is, the scorewriter is an upgrade to the sequencer in the ry30 by a long shot, and i've got a million software synths to generate sound with, and a million other ways to sequence it. i miss my ry30, for sure. but, i realize i have more important things to expend scare resources on.
you see those akai pads come up on kijiji relatively often and they don't sell, so i'll get one when i can get somebody to cut the price enough, just give me time.
so, here's the ry30:
and here's the upgrade to it, in any meaningful sense (although i am using a program called noteworthy composer, not finale):
you can then take the sequences once they're written, export them to midi and line them up in a daw (i use cubase) to make it easy to layer in sequenced sound effects, samples, etc.
- i also started using noteworthy composer as a sequencer around this time, and i still use it to write midi parts (and then export them to use with different playback engines)
- i don't use the windows 95 sound recorder anymore, but i still use cool edit as a wave editor
- i still have the portastudio 414 and do still use it from time to time as a buffer for things like bass parts. but, the replacement mixer is the alesis:
(post from july 19th inserted here:
so, i spent the day running around (technically, walking and biking around) and now have the following in my possession:
- the two purple and pink tanktops came in the mail
- i picked up the behringer umx61 this morning. mine is grey, with some mild yellow staining, presumably from being near to an ashtray for an extended period. i had to play through some pops (indicating it hadn't been used in a while), but the keys all work, and, if anything, they're a little hyper-sensitive. that's fine.
it cost me $95 cdn, used.
this device has two major purposes for me:
- it replaces the keys on the jx-8p, which were stuck. it's a common problem with 80s rolands, and i just never fixed it. but, my 49 key dx100 is just a little lacking. i guess i never counted it - i though the jx had 88 keys. it turns out it has 61, too. so, if anything, i'm getting two extra octaves with the behringer...
- it will finally give me access to a control surface, if a minor one. i'm probably not going to go all knob-twiddly, but it is useful for tactical use to be able to physically turn a sweep, and i've really never been able to do that. the jx has a control surface, but i didn't get it in the package, second hand. it's just something i've never had in front of me...and something i've long intended to rectify...)
- i still install goldwave regularly, although i haven't used it in years. it was more useful as a noise generator than cool edit, and it had a different selection of effects that i found were more pronounced. it's still there if i want it.
- i could never get sound raider to work in nt (xp on), but it's one of the things i'll want to try to install on the 90s pc. it's a unique program that has no direct parallel. but, i'm probably past it, as well.
- i recently replaced the wood flute my aunt gave me in 1998. i actually still have the old one, but it's splintered at the top. i may also get a plastic recorder. this is less about the sound and more about the breathing, which you can't really get out of midi, unless you have a breath controller, which is a lot more than a plastic recorder. if i ever find a million dollars on the ground, i'll definitely get a breath controller. for now, i'm happy with my line to midi interface, which is coming.
- hammerhead is a basic 909 emulator that still works in nt. it's one of the types of programs i found myself going to for simpler drum patterns when i needed something quick.
- i still have the three epiphones & the ms-2, too.
- coagula did still work the last time i tried it. i still install it, but i haven't used it for years. i always wanted to do more direct sampling with it, but it never really happened.
