Casio MG-510 Midi Guitar
Back when I documented the repair of the Casio PG-380 MIDI Guitar, I had no idea that this post was going to dominate the traffic patterns to my little home on the web. Fully 1/3 of all visitors to this site come to that post, asking questions, posting comments, and requesting repairs. One request I’ve [...]
Coffee Sack Sound Baffles
Several years ago I began acoustically treating my studio for recording drums and mixing. I did some research and pricing; it didn’t take a spreadsheet to discover that acoustic paneling was both overpriced and hideous. I searched some more and devised a solution that was both economical and classy.Acoustic paneling is simple stuff. You get [...]
Is it Avant Jazz Industrial Noise? No, It’s STFUnity.
Its not jazz. It’s not fusion. It’s not electronic. It’s not industrial. I don’t have a word to describe what happened when musicians of very different backgrounds got together virtually to create music. I can only call it STFUnity. Finished while I was on holiday in India, STFUnity is what happens when an anarchist saxophonist [...]
The RPM Challenge and The Power of Constrained Creativity
It seems like there is a time-boxed challenge for everything out there on the internet. For writers there is NaNoWriMo, for moustache growers there is Movember. Game programmers have Dream.Build.Play. If you do it, there is a challenge for it, and if there isn’t, you can create one. I’ve always wanted to get involved with [...]
Ring Modulator: Prototype to Final Build in One Ridiculous Step
If you’ve been to this site before you know that I’ve been building a ring modulator for Bill Graham to use with his Rhodes for the better part of a year. If I had enough time to do it right it’d take me less than a week, it’d be stable, and I wouldn’t be worried [...]
STFUnity, GOLSequencer, and a Month of Home Repair
Well, it’s been a while so a big rambling update is probably in order here: First, the wife and I made the decision to go ahead with a kitchen remodel we’ve been planning for several years this last month (May). I know the last time I posted was March, but April was busy for other [...]
Ring Modulator: Prototype Take Two
About a year ago I posted an article about a Ring Modulator prototype I had created using 2 audio transformers and some matched diodes. The design was beautifully simple, and I may return to it someday, but it had a number of shortcomings. The circuit I started with would have needed a preamp for my [...]
Making Sense of The Performance Rights Act
This weekend I tuned in to a major radio station for the first time in a very long time, and was greeted with an advertisement I didn’t expect. Instead of load local car salesmen or a screechy techno beat inviting me to a night club where ladies get in free on Tuesdays, I was implored [...]
STFUnity: GOL Sequencer Bank, Sound Design, and New Music
I’ve undertaken a new musical collaboration with a very eclectic (and eccentric) group of guys called STFUnity. The project for me started when Bill mentioned putting together a completely virtual collaboration between he, Jason Blain, and myself. The idea was that rather than the traditional setting of getting a couple musicians in a room, rehearsing [...]
The Hybrid Drum Kit
Back in June, I wrote a short piece on changing my music studio environment. At the close of that piece I mentioned a buddy of mine was selling an old Alesis DM-5 kit, and that I would soon be incorporating that into my setup. Although 6 months isn’t exactly soon, I managed to tackle the [...]
