A Herculean Task: Producing 3 Albums DAWlessly — Part 3

In last week’s blog post, we talked about the details of my blended studio/live setup. This week, we’ll go into the ideas that underpin my DAWless philosophy and how it influences the decisions that are made.

Overall Philosophy

It’s All About Live Performance

A lot of the decisions I make may seem strange to outsiders, but there are some reasons why I do things the way I do. First of all, my main first goal is always live performance. It’s one of the only sources of income for modern musicians and it’s still somewhat rare to see in the electronic music genre because of the technical knowledge required to pull it off. And being a live electronic music performer also means that there’s a focus on gear, and as such I’m always trying to make my live setups as lightweight as possible and to minimize complex setups in favor of simpler solutions.

Small and Lightweight Footprint

my setup as of 2024

When I first started out, I would take my full-size synthesizer keyboard, a big rack with a mixer, and on and on, and it was so heavy I needed another person to help me move it. But as I’ve played more and more gigs, I’ve realized the importance of a small setup, and now I strive for as much power and flexibility as possible but in the lightest, most compact package I can achieve. So I’ve retired a lot of gear to studio-only use and have a setup that allows me to carry everything I need in one trip, or as I originally put it, “small enough to take on the bus by myself“. You can see the current setup on the left, essentially unchanged since April 2020 when I replaced my Jomox drum module with an Elektron RYTM MKII. Since that time, I’ve composed only with this setup and without changing the I/O. That way, I can perform any song from any era without having to ever change any physical connections. When I play a techno show, I don’t take the Virus, but everything else is the same and is plugged in like normal. If I need the Virus for the other genres, it plugs right back into its slot.

Efficiency is King

I also strive for the simplest setups, so that I have to do the minimum of preparation once I reach a venue. Rather than take a power strip to plug everything in, I bought a rackmount power unit which has surge protection, uses a simpler power cabling approach, and has a light to help illuminate dark stages. It’s in a 2U rackmount with the audio interface, but along with the light and power benefits, I can leave all the audio cables for the drum machine plugged in as well as some of the power cables, eliminating another hassle that happens during a setup. I also used to do extra audio cabling for shows. For example, I could route audio from any other instrument or mixdown channel into the Virus or RYTM and then route that audio back out as treated audio. Essentially this would allow me two more FX units that could be routed to various sounds, but I don’t do it because it makes the setup more complex with only I believe a small benefit; the marginal benefit of having some more audio options is outweighed by the complexity it introduces. I could also run compressors or EQs on the master outputs, but I don’t like to rely on software tools for my sound, so I don’t use them. It’s really easy to throw on a compressor somewhere, forget about it, then realize later how much it’s affecting your sound. So even though I always strive to be as cutting edge as possible, I’m not sacrificing a simple setup/teardown and simple audio routing for that. But I will sacrifice some weight in the case of the PSU to help simplify and insure the safety of a lot of important gear. In a sense, I’m trying to do as much as possible technically but with the absolute minimum of gear and with a minimum of setup and teardown fuss. A “maximalist-minimalist” approach if you will.

Making “Songs”

Second, my style of music creation is mostly to make songs. In essence, I want my music to sound like a person wrote it, even though a machine may be playing it. In pattern-based music, the difference between good and great songs generally comes down to the details. And details take time. Time for parts to be written that fit as well as the other parts of the song. Time to get the composition and arrangement just right. But this time isn’t wasted, because these songs don’t exist only inside a laptop somewhere, a snapshot in time forever resigned to slow degradation. They exist in the real world and can be recreated nearly identically by me or even someone else in the future, no matter what version of a software you’re currently on or what type of Mac you’re using. And to me, there’s a value in that. These songs are not tied to a computer, they are tied to hardware that can exist more or less indefinitely, a great idea if you want to make a living out of playing your music live like I do. Great ideas aren’t lost forever or chained to a certain set of software, slowly losing quality as digital recreations of a moment in time. But writing songs this way doesn’t consign your creations to the past, but allows them to be living creatures that can live on and grow and change just like their creator.

No One NEEDS a VST, Although They’re Super Nice to Have

My final thought is that there are no problems that can’t be worked around using my system. I don’t think about my setup as limiting, I just think that it forces me to find solutions that are different than what would be done in a DAW. Don’t get me wrong, DAWs and VSTs are magical and wonderful, but aren’t necessary to make great, contemporary music.  Are there great sounds I don’t have access to because of my setup? To some degree yes, although I could always sample. But a great sound is just a great sound, regardless of the tools used to make it. And yes, my palette isn’t as bountiful as those who use a computer-based production setup. But not only do those limitations help sometimes, they also force better decision-making during the mixing process. Maybe instead of trying to compress two bass sounds together to get them to fit, maybe give them their own space instead. You know?

OK that’s a lot of information. Let’s close today’s post and continue on in a part 4.

 

2021 European Tour Site is Up

The European Tour website is up and running now and more or less complete. Follow the tour as it starts in Budapest and passes through 12 countries on its way back home to Krakow. In this map, you can click the countries or the cities to see photos from that region. Whenever there were performance photos, they were placed first in the slideshow. The graphic was fun, if challenging, to make. I learned a lot this time which is already helping me improve future maps.

It turned out that every country in this area has red in their flag, so I made all the countries their specific shade of red and when you roll over them, they change to another color from that country’s flag. Check out Luxembourg’s cool light blue color! Some countries like Belgium and cities like Stuttgart in Germany don’t have any photos associated with them, and so there’s no rollover for them. And of course, Czechia was completely left out of everything. Maybe next time, Czechs.

Anyway, here’s the link, or click on the 2021 Tour link at the top of my homepage at www.doperobot.com. The West Africa Tour page is starting to come together as well, and you can also find that link on the homepage. Check back often to see how it’s coming along!

A Herculean Task: Producing 3 Albums DAWlessly — Part 2

In the previous blog post, I talked about my “DAWless” production setup and in this one, I’ll go into more detail and discuss some issues and limitations that I had to overcome to record these albums.

The Issues

#1: The MPC

The MPC, as great at it is, is limited in that it only has 64 tracks, which may seem like a lot, but it’s not when you’re making different variations of a pattern or experimenting with different instrumentation. And the only way to make room for new patterns when you run out of tracks is to delete and/or move them, which is a laborious and time-consuming physical process which wears out the hardware and wears out the user. Yes, copy and paste is easy, but it becomes problematic when you have to transfer this change to fifty, sometimes sixty sequences. And as things inevitably get moved around and deleted, their position in the track order changes. This is extremely problematic because before any show, when it’s time to convert these longer songs into single MIDI sequences for live performance, all tracks must be in the same “lanes” so to speak and it is a very long process of reorganizing a track for conversion. Some of these tracks have required 5 or more “reorganizations” before they reached a final state, which can sometimes take half a day or more to complete. I made frequent new versions and many backups during this time because it can be easy to blow past the original idea onto something different, and I think that’s generally a bad idea. So if it happens, I can go back and start again with a previous version. It’s also important to have backups because during long composition sessions, things can get accidentally lost or overwritten, and backups keep that from becoming an unrecoverable problem. Essentially, the MPC is a very inefficient way to record, archive, and organize many multiples of tracks, so next time I will surely use my DAW or other tools to help with some of these things.

#2: The Size of the Projects

documents with track info

There’s an enormous amount of information that needs to be stored, backed up, and tracked for these albums: Hundreds of different sequences. Dozens of different versions of patches spanning multiple hardware machines. Dozens of different audio recordings. Hundreds of hours tweaking patches. Dozens of documents (see right) containing information like where drum kit versions are, where Virus patches are stored, which effects are in use, etc. And of course, all this information needs to be backed up to computer regularly so that data loss isn’t a death sentence. (I only use hardware machines that are fairly common so that if a device fails, it can be replaced and reloaded with all the relevant sounds with minimal delay.) And on top of that, this project spanned three genres and over two dozen songs, and was interspersed with multiple live shows, studio recordings, my daily street performances, two house moves, a tour to Africa, and so much more. It was a case of information overload and organizational struggle multiplied by project size. The sizeable time commitment was unreal too, as the very first of these beats were written in December of 2020 and January 2021, putting these projects at the 3+ year mark, many multiples of the time it took to produce my previous 3-5 song EPs. And this was all happening while I was compiling the documentation and writing the software for the Roland TB-3!

#3: Limitations in Hardware/Software

UFX & TotalMix

RME UFX with TB-3 & BlackBox connected

The RME UFX is an audio interface with a very flexible digital mixing software called TotalMix. Any input can be routed to any output via submixes, and each of the inputs and outputs has its own compressor/gate and EQ. Each output channel can also be recorded using its loopback feature. In my case I send a +4dB level to the  5/6 analog outputs and a +10dB level to the 7/8 outputs. Those outputs are also mirrored to headphone outputs 9/10 and 11/12 so that I can connect to either the front or back panel outputs for live shows. The front panel (headphone) outputs are preferred though because they are easily accessible and require a single cable connection. (You can see this routing on the image on the left.) Even though I have Compressor & EQ available on the main mix outputs, I try to keep the TotalMix modifications as small as possible, so that if I’m ever in a situation where my audio interface fails, I can still more or less play a show through a regular 16 channel house mixer and not have it sound completely different. So far so good, right?

totalmix setup for electro

Well, the main limitation with TotalMix is that it contains only one reverb/delay per snapshot which is shared for all inputs and outputs. A single effect shared amongst 14 channels could be a dealbreaker, but all the other instruments have built-on effects, so the effect is somewhat mitigated. But “adding a touch of reverb” to some elements in a mix has to be done on the instrument, since I don’t have the RYTM or Virus wired up to process external signals. In addition, TotalMix currently only allows eight snapshots (mixes) to be recalled instantly without loading a new workspace. To use more than eight snapshots, a new workspace has to be loaded. This is why my live sets are almost always eight tracks long. I do occasionally make longer sets, but I either try to combine them or if not possible, I load a new workspace sometime during the set to have more snapshots available.

Virus

The Virus is an amazing machine with over 500 user RAM locations and 26 more banks of 128 sounds that can be burned to ROM locations. It also has dozens of VA voices that can be used before the CPU starts to cut off notes. But even with this amount of space and voices, notes still cut off in complex combinations of patches and patch space still runs out fairly quickly. The Virus is usually what I use for any type of melodic sound, from bass to arp to keys, but I only use the stereo digital output, so the sound usually cannot be altered any further once it leaves the machine, since any master effect will apply to all sounds on the channel. Also, there is no compressor on the Virus, but there is EQ and saturation which can accomplish some of the same things. So now I have banks of patches that contain variations of sounds that I’ve backed up to the computer for each song, and I do a full machine backup about once a month and keep a regularly-updated written inventory that documents which patches are pointed to by the multis. This process helps prevent data loss and is absolutely essential for a live-only artist, and has saved me many times.

RYTM

For the drum machine I have the snare, hihats, rimshot/clap, mid/hi tom, and cymbal/cowbell routed to individual outputs. On the main RYTM stereo output, I put kick, bass tom, low tom, and onboard effects. So I essentially send the low end and fx to the stereo output and the rest of the instruments to individual outputs to be modified separately. The RYTM has one master compressor/overdrive section. I use the overdrive section often, but even though it is powerful and I’m sure sometime in the future I will use more of it, for now I use the compressor very sparingly, if at all. I do this for a few reasons: 1) I need to keep a constant loudness throughout the songs from all eras of production since any of them can be potentially be performed live and 2) if there are frequency overlap or transient problems, I fix them with sound design instead and 3) the compressor is applied to the entire main stereo output (including effects), which is almost never the intended outcome. Other than managing backups and kits, which is fairly easy to do on the RYTM, the other main limitation is that it only has one master reverb/delay that is shared amongst all instruments.It just reminds me that in the recording and composing process, a few sounds done well is usually better than a lot of sounds all trying to work together. And one effect done well usually works better than a lot of effects competing for space in a mix.

TB-3 & BlackBox

BlackBox and TB-3

The TB-3 and BlackBox are each routed to a dedicated analog stereo input on the front of the audio interface. For the TB-3, I invented a way to back up and recall patches from the MPC, but patch backup and retrieval isn’t nearly the issue that it is with the Virus and RYTM. At the end of the projects, I back up all the created TB-3 patches to a computer using my TB-3 Editor software so I can quickly run through patches in the future when I want a new sound. As for the BlackBox, I use it just for vocal samples which are loaded onto it by SD card, so it too is not complicated to backup and maintain, other than having to carefully design the directory tree so that projects can be recalled properly with MIDI. All in all, these two machines, though important, didn’t cause many headaches with this DAWless approach.

 

And Now, On To the Mixing, Composing, and Arrangement

Come back next week when we talk about what the mixing process is like for this live-oriented, DAWless, production setup.

 

A Herculean Task: Producing 3 Albums DAWlessly — Part 1

The Goal

I want to talk about what I’ve been doing the last couple of years from a production standpoint, because I’ve published perhaps 2 tracks since 2021. Most people know I’m a hardware-only performer, but don’t know that I’m also a hardware-only producer. What that means is that I only use hardware and no DAW (Digital Audio Workstation like Ableton or FL Studio) to make full productions. At the end of the recording and mixing process, I record the fully mixed tracks as a stereo recording into Ableton. But going from something that is “good enough for live” to something that is a full representation of my art is quite a task. All my former releases have been EPs and didn’t take that long to finish, so this time I set an ambitious new goal for myself: 3 full albums of 3 different genres released all at the same time, and all produced “DAWlessly”. But when the scale of what that meant was actually laid out and attempted, we arrive at the title of this blog post. So what happened?

The Tools

Sequencer

my 2024 hardware setup

Ever since the very beginning, I’ve always sequenced with some form of MPC, and since 2018 or so I’ve been using an MPC2500 as my main sequencer, and it handles everything I need from a MIDI output standpoint, including handling system exclusive (sysex). It has four separate outputs which I use to send separate midi streams to all of my sound devices. This is very useful as it prevents any midi streams from getting “crossed-up” due to being on the same channel. The timing on the MPC is solid and it has a good song function which allows me to create full tracks for playing live, and using those songs, create long sets of songs for live performance.

 

Sound Generation

The drum machine, sampler, and two synths pictured at left handle all the sound generation, most of which is done through subtractive or FM synthesis. I have my drum machine, the Elektron RYTM MKII, set up to send a main stereo output and 5 more individual outputs to my audio interface, where each get their own channel and track strip. This machine is used for every Dope Robot performance and recording and is the backbone of my hardware system. The other workhorse in the system is the Access Virus TI2 synthesizer, which has dozens of virtual analog voices, can play up to 16 parts simultaneously, and has individual reverb, delay, and 3-band EQ per part. That machine’s audio output is summed into a single stereo digital channel and sent to the audio interface and is used when complex sound design or multiple parts are needed for a track. Next, we have the Roland TB-3 which is a very versatile monosynth and appears throughout my productions in various forms. During recent techno performances, I’ve been using just the TB-3 and the drum machine without the Virus and it has been great. Finally, whenever I need a vocal sample, I use the 1010Music Blackbox to handle all of those on its own stereo channel. It has its own effects and dynamics processing as well. And that’s it, I don’t introduce new sound sources or change the setup in any way so that from project to project and year to year, the setup doesn’t change…only the ideas do.

Software

Mixing: The audio interface I use, an RME UFX, is both the audio interface and digital mixing console in my setup. Its mixing software is called TotalMix and comes with a channel strip containing an EQ and compressor/gate for every hardware input. In TotalMix I take all the sound sources and assign their pan and level settings and any EQ or compression per channel and then record the stereo mixdown and/or individual tracks into Ableton Live. TotalMix also comes with a basic reverb and echo per snapshot which are shared amongst all channels. TotalMix’s EQ/Dynamics and effects are the only post-processing tools I have, so I try to do everything possible on the machines themselves.

DAW & VST: I’ll admit, I’m not completely “DAWless”, nor do I have any opposition to creating within the DAW. For example, sometimes I need a robotic vocal, especially for electro, and for that I use a vocoder VST called Lector inside Ableton. Once I’ve made a vocal, I bounce it down to audio and transfer them into the Blackbox to play back, which has to be done using a microSD card. Once the samples are loaded up, I play them normally from a dedicated sequencer channel. And of course I also use Ableton to record audio, but mostly just stereo mixdown tracks played live. And this is how I record songs for release and performance:

  • Up to 30 channels of simultaneous audio.
  • 1 basic delay and/or reverb shared among all channels.
  • 1 compressor per channel.
  • No VSTs. Completely outside the box. “DAWless”.

So these were the basic details about my composing and recording process, but that is only the beginning of the journey. Come back for Part 2 where we’ll discuss the pros and cons of this production workflow.

 

 

An Adventure of a Lifetime in West Africa

Taking the Show on the Road

Kumasi, Ghana

The West Africa tour was a great success. Seven countries, 7000km, and many unforgettable experiences. On this trip, I took the new white Blofeld with me, but unfortunately, I had to go back to the tried-and-true wired connection because the midi dongle on the KMI QuNexus broke and I couldn’t order new ones in time.  This time, I also had my Tascam DR-10L to record so that even if the video audio wasn’t good, I still had a good recording of the performance that I could go back and sync later. There were many issues that had to be dealt with during the tour, but ultimately there were no showstoppers and everything went off very well. There were no major injuries, the bike worked more or less the entire time without an issue, and nobody got any sicker than what could be expected when you travel to different places and eat local food. At some point I’ll document it like I did the 2018-2019 South America tour but that is a pretty long process. I am putting up videos on my youtube channel and titkok so go to doperobot.com and click on the links there.

 

Travel Notes

the case i used

See the travel case I used on the left, pictured with the red cover on the bike on the right. I packed the synth, controller,speaker, sign, tip box, recorder, and cables into here and only kept music stuff in it. It’s quite durable and it locks with master locks so it was safe from the elements but easy to get at and open on a moment’s notice. One key to this or any type of street performance is using a system that doesn’t break down and which has parts that can be replaced. At about week 3, the cable I used to connect from the controller broke, but I did have. backup that worked but was much longer and required cable management. I found one of those in Monrovia eventually but luckily I was prepared with a spare. It turned out that it didn’t make any sense to put out a tip box in almost anywhere I went, so I quickly abandoned that idea, especially after someone tried to steal my tips in Accra.

Waldorf Blofeld

The new white Blofeld (which I bought as a backup to the black one that went to South America) performed like a champ and looked great doing it. When I got home I ordered more adapters for the controller so I can go back to wireless operation. It’s funny though, when I just lay the synth down nearby and just play the controller, my tips aren’t as good as when I wear the synth, so I’ll probably continue to do that regularly.

Moto Adventure

The moto adventure itself was crazy, from paying bribes to having guns pulled on us, from driving rain and mud to barely

Bajaj Boxer 15

passable roads and corrupt officials, this trip had everything. But having this aspect of playing live in the streets really ups the ante and sharing electronic music with people around the world is all I really want to do. Super happy to have been able to complete the very physical moto driving part without any injuries to me or my companion as well. If by some miracle I can afford it in the next few years, the next one will be touring Australia!

Stats

Countries: Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea

Distance: 7000km

Motorbike: 2023 Bajaj Boxer 150HD

Time: 6 weeks

the full journey

 

 

 

 

 

 

TB-3 Editor 2.21 with Pattern Save/Recall

Here is the latest version of the TB-3 software, and now thanks to fellow user Trevor, you can save and recall patterns. Technically this was already possible, but this method allows you to name them and instantly recall them more conveniently and quickly, and of course integrates into the other features of the editor. I’ve also added some small improvements throughout the panel for things like double-click actions.

Download the latest versions below.

DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION

MAC

PC

 

 

 

 

 

TB-3 Editor 2.21 (ZIP FILE)

TB-3 Editor 2.21 (BPANELZ FILE)

going wireless

The Dream Becomes Reality

the wireless rig with black qunexus

the wireless rig with black qunexus

The outdoor synth rig has gotten a welcome update — bluetooth wireless. Before, I was tied by USB cable to the synth and the synth was tied by audio cable to the speaker, so every movement had to be carefully considered so as not to disturb the synth or cables. And it’s been a dream since I started this in 2017 to be able to do this wirelessly, but the technology just wasn’t ready yet because normally, bluetooth has too much latency to be usable for midi. But a new product came out around 2019 that solves one of the big problems, allowing latencies as low as 3ms. But the invention of these low-latency devices didn’t fix everything for me. There were still more hurdles to overcome before I could enjoy the benefits of wireless in my outdoor rig.

Low-Latency Wireless MIDI Invented

WIDI Masters

First, the wireless product is called WIDI Master and it allows you to replace a wired midi cable with two bluetooth adapters. These automatically connect to each other without user input and don’t require a battery or external power source because they are powered by the MIDI input itself. I got the WIDI Masters early on in their development from Hong Kong and tried them at the time and found them to work well. But using them would only eliminate a short MIDI cable, and I would still be attached to both the synth and the speaker, so I could technically be “wireless” but it wouldn’t actually free me from the synth. I would occasionally use them to connect gear in the studio, but otherwise the WIDI Masters lay essentially unused for at least a couple of years.

Red QuNexus and the New Adapter

the wired rig with red qunexus

the wired rig with red qunexus

But that all changed when I bought the updated version of the QuNexus controller in fall of 2022. Even though they are tough and can even endure a bit of moisture and shock, these controllers usually only last about a year because they are not really built for the hardcore kind of outdoor and travel usage I put them through. At this time I was down to my last working unit, and I always need a backup in case my main one goes down, so I made the plunge. I had noticed most shops were selling the new “red” QuNexus that makes a few hardware and software updates and was introduced to replace the “black” model, so that’s the one I got. There are pros & cons about this new version which may get a blog post of their own, but the main pro is that this one came with an adapter cable that goes from mini-USB directly to 5-pin MIDI. You can see it in the lower right corner of the image of top image on the page. At the end of it is the blue light of the WIDI Master, and there are no longer any wires from controller to synth. But the job wasn’t quite done yet.

One More Door To Open

qunexus with battery and usb micro connection

When the USB cable was connected to the expander box, it also provided power for the controller through the mini USB port. But now the power to the controller had to be provided separately since I had eliminated its power cable and replaced it with a wireless bluetooth device. So I attached a battery pack with hook and loop and connected a micro USB cable to the other controller input for power. And with this, the rig truly became wireless, at least from a controller standpoint. The controller is powered from one side and sends MIDI data out the other side. The expander unit then receives the midi input and transfers it to the synth, without noticeable latency. This wirelessness comes with lots of benefits and almost no drawbacks. Allow me to go into a bit more detail.

What It All Means

Warschauerstrasse perform, Berlin

Now that I don’t have to be connected directly to the synthesizer, it means I can put the synth and speaker down somewhere, and then walk around and interact with the crowd anywhere in range. This upgrade even lets me lay down a few dance moves during the performance. And most importantly, it eliminates most of the performance-interrupting issues that I often encounter when wearing the synth, like: 1) turning the synth off 2) unplugging a USB cable 3) unplugging an audio cable 4) turning down/off the volume and 5) switching patches. Getting rid of all these problems leads to more interactive and expressive performances that really engage an audience, and with less interruptions. I still always keep the wired version with me though because you never know when you might need a backup. 😉

If you want to see the latest setup in action in Stockholm, go to YouTube and check it out.

TB-3 Editor (v2.19) with Patch Librarian

DOWNLOAD THE LATEST VERSION

After many late nights and early mornings I finally got the patch save and recall functions added to the TB-3 editor panel. Now you can save your sound creations to the computer and create a library of sounds that you can share with others. And whenever you’re ready, you can reload the patch into the TB-3 and it will be exactly as you left it. Since you can save them to your computer, it means you don’t have to use the 16 user presets to store your creations, you can just load them into machine whenever you’re ready. It also means that you can load patches into the TB-3 without touching the front panel or sending program change.

In this version, supported midi CC’s are also included in the MISC tab, like scatter type/depth, the mod sources, volume, and more. This version also fixes a few minor bugs and improves the layout logically and visually. I also was able to successfully pull up the panel as a VST in Ableton, so you can also integrate it into your DAW. Here are some screenshots from the pages that have been changed:

misc tab

The MISC tab contains the control change parameters, patch save & load methods, and various other settings.

also works on Mac

CTRLR is cross-platform, so it will work on your Mac too.

Also functions as a plugin in Ableton or other DAWs.

main sound editing tab

The sound tab has been reorganized into more logical sections.

This is the culmination of many years of study, work, and testing on both the software and hardware sides, and I’m really happy that it now allows users to save an unlimited archive of sounds to their computer, which can then in turn be shared with other users. I had already been using my own version of patch save and load, but this is actually even easier for me to use because I can save incremental patches as I’m programming with just the click of a button, whereas before, I had a process to save it to my sequencer which was much more time consuming. I’m also excited because this should open up this synth to the world so that everyone else can see what it is about this machine that I think is so great. Hope you enjoy it!

A few quick notes about how the machine and the software works. First, when you are scrolling through presets or user patches and push receive, the cutoff, resonance, and accent will default to the values set on the front panel. When you save or load a patch though, they will be saved and updated correctly. So always make sure you set these three values when you’re ready to save a patch. Second, as is noted on the page, always press the receive button before initiating a save or load procedure to ensure your panel reflects all the latest values. At this time, check your cutoff, resonance, and accent values as above to make sure they are like you want. That’s why I’ve outlined them in red, so you know that they act a bit differently than the rest of the parameters. I also discovered that the RING parameter in the OSC TUNE section controls the tuning of the sine wave as well as the ring modulator and that the level needs to be high to get the ring modulator really “cooking”, so if you want to use the SIN wave as a sub bass oscillator, don’t crank up the ring modulator tuning as their settings are dependent on each other, for whatever reason.

And for those who are really detail-oriented, here are the new features, improvements, and bug fixes in this version (2.19):

      • patch save / load via sysex files
      • added CC parameters 1, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 68, 69, 71, 74, 102, 103, & 104
      • the “CV offset” section was renamed “OSC TUNE”
      • moved patch volume to VCO section, moved LFO CV offset to LFO section, and moved “Tuning” CC parameter to OSC TUNE section
      • small design color tweaks for cutoff, resonance, accent, & patch volume
      • saw and sqr CV offset and patch volume were being misassigned during parameter assignment (fixed VST IDs)
      • changed colors for “polarity” button in ring mod FX1 & FX2
      • added info to Ring Mod in OSC TUNE section to indicate it also controls the tuning of the SINE oscillator
      • lots of layout improvements

DOWNLOAD BUNDLE MAC/WIN (.zip)

DOWNLOAD PANEL ONLY (.bpanelz)

 

 

 

Cirklon in the corner

After three and a half years of being on a waiting list, I got my Cirklon Feb 2 last year. This sequencer has a reputation as perhaps the best sequencer available, but is almost pure unobtanium due to recurrent production halts at Sequentix. And the last I checked, the waiting list remains more than two years long and the price still sky-high ($2265 with wooden end cheeks and no CVIO for me),  and yet, I can’t use it. For me, there are many reasons why I can’t yet integrate it into my current workflow.

Legacy MPC at the Center

I use an MPC for sequencing, first with a 2000XL and since 2016 or so a 2500 with JJOS. I have an all-hardware setup and I produce for the studio in the same way I play live, with hardware synths and samplers and an RME audio interface with Totalmix to manage mixes. The synths are more or less hard-wired, that way, any track can be performed in the same way and on the same hardware as they were written, whether today or three years ago, and I hope to make the Cirklon serve in the same role. But it’s just been too much for me, and now I just pull it out every once in a while to try something out or if I have a particular project that seems suited to it, but isn’t part of my normal workflow. Why? For me and my particular situation, here are a few reasons why.

Different Style

The Cirklon is a different approach to sequencing than the MPC.  This machine is incredibly complex in its ability to generate random and semi-random events, which I am keen to try out. But it is like what Ableton is to Logic — it’s a paradigm shift. I quickly compose on the MPC now, and I don’t want to take time to learn the details of making the Cirklon operate like my old setup does so it can adapt to my old material. This is obviously just a personal preference, nothing to do with the machine itself.

Legacy Material

Speaking of older material, it’s complicated to pull off on the MPC, but I know how to turn individual songs into long sets. I can make hours-long live sets and keep the composition and mixing of individual songs separate from each other, but the Cirklon doesn’t work like that, at least not that I’m aware of.

Different Song Modes

On the Cirklon, I can immediately see the benefit of say, reusing kick drum midi sequences that are the same for many tracks, but use different sounds. But rearranging all my current MIDI tracks to do this is a formidable task because they are almost never on the same track number. I suppose I could just play the parts into the Cirklon and record, but the “song” mode on the Cirklon would be where I would set up the arrangement of a track on the MPC, and there is no higher level than that. Not quite sure how it would work on the Cirklon. At any rate, that would mean I would still compose on the MPC, then play the parts into the Cirklon when it’s time for a live set and I don’t really want another layer of work to do before shows.

Software Development

The OS development is crazy for the Cirklon — if you find a bug and bring it to Colin’s attention, he will immediately address the bug. Great! However, many times when he fixes a bug, it seems to introduce other bugs, like with the SMF import bug he sort-of fixed for me. He actually made two fixes to this for me, but neither time fixed it completely, so I gave up and didn’t want to take up any more of his time. I fear his testing procedure is a bit haphazard, or the code is spaghetti, or some combination of both, because this happens fairly regularly, not just with me. Because the SMF import bug was never quite fixed, I still haven’t been able to easily import my old MPC sequences into the Cirklon without modification.

Crashes

Another thing about the software is that when I first got the machine, I was surprisingly able to induce crashes a few times, which I can only recall happening with the MPC maybe twice ever, and both times, the sequences continued playing even though the screen was sporting garbled characters. I will say that since then I haven’t seen the crashes, but then again, I haven’t used it as much either. The stability of a sequencer is absolutely at the top of my list as I perform live exclusively, and things just have to work every time. You can’t risk playing a show and having someone there who could potentially help your career but it is ruined when the sequencer barfs. I suppose in a live situation I would act differently and not try things I don’t know, but still, it put a scare into me.

No Sysex/NRPN, Probably Ever

Finally, I use sysex in my live and studio setups to load the patch into my TB-3, and the MPC handles it, but in almost ten years of requests and development on the OS, NRPN and system exclusive have still not appeared on the Cirklon’s feature list. And I had read at one point that the space for the OS was nearing 90% full, and a feature as complex as this is doubtful to ever make it in. So if you need either of these features, this probably isn’t the right machine for you unless you can find workarounds.

Workarounds

Most of the things I mentioned in this blog are things that are just a difference in workflow, and in reality, most things can be worked around some way or other. The TB-3 does have 16 user slots and I could load the set’s patch sounds manually, but anything that isn’t automated in a live set can be forgotten when the excitement of the actual gig is happening. Or the “long” song mode I use where long separate tracks are strung together into sets, but the composing part wouldn’t be intuitive for quite a while using Cirklon, if it’s even possible. But that’s the thing about workarounds, they take time, and sometimes lots of it, and right now, I need to compose, not experiment for days while my projects don’t get done.

Soon, I Hope

I really want to integrate this machine into my setup and retire the MPC for a number of reasons. First, it’s smaller to move around than the MPC. Second, it’s got 5 midi inputs and outputs, which is perfect for my live setup. Third, its timing is supposedly even better than the famous MPC’s. And many other reasons. But that will have to wait until another day. Today, the Cirklon sits in the corner where my cat and I occasionally sniff it.

 

 

 

Factory Reset & TB-3 Startup Modes

My machine locked up numerous times in my testing process, so that whenever I scrolled past the bad user preset, it hung and the TB-3 had to be restarted. This was fixable though by writing a known good patch over the bad one. However at some point the machine wouldn’t even power on and none of the startup modes worked. Uh-oh. What did work was holding [STEP REC + REALTIME REC] while starting and this boots you to a developer/debug mode, where choosing option 6 initiates a factory reset. But there’s a much easier way if your machine still boots and if you don’t mind returning all user patches, settings, and patterns to factory default:

          • hold [REALTIME REC] + restart
          • display reads “rSt” and PLAY/STOP button is flashing
          • press the PLAY/STOP button to confirm or restart to cancel

Pretty easy and straightforward. If your machine won’t access this mode, you can also activate this function with the developer mode catalogued below. There’s a lot more hidden in the startup modes, and here’s all the information I could find about them. (The Global mode information can also be found in the front panel guide.)

ALL KNOWN TB-3 STARTUP MODES

(all modes accessed by [holding] a button or buttons and restarting)

    1. GLOBAL SETTINGS: [SCATTER]
      • set these global parameters:
        1. MIDI channel
        2. MIDI clock source
        3. MIDI OUT is also MIDI THRU
        4. PAD Z sensitivity
        5. Master Tune
        6. LED demo
    2. BACKUP/RESTORE PATTERNS: [PLAY/STOP]
      • here you can backup and restore all the patterns from your device. copy the files only, not the folder. refer to the firmware update document
    3. FIRMWARE DISPLAY: [TEMPO]
      • the firmware version is displayed until you press START/STOP
    4. FACTORY RESET: [REALTIME REC]
      • press flashing PLAY/STOP to confirm or restart to cancel
    5. FIRMWARE UPDATE: [KEYBOARD + PTN SELECT]
    6. DEVELOPER / DEBUG: [STEP REC + REALTIME REC]
      • once the machine starts, the display reads N-1, and there are 6 options to choose from using the value knob:
        1. N-1: Display the current firmware version.
        2. N-2: USB test mode. Display reads “USB”
        3. N-3: LED test mode. All lights on at their brightest.
        4. N-4: Touchpad calibration, followed by a test with a loud sound even if you turn down the volume, followed by a factory reset. Left side green touch pads are lit, three dashes in display
        5. N-5: Display reads “OUT”
        6. N-6: Factory reset. Same as holding REALTIME REC and restarting.

If you find any more startup modes, let me know.