Blog update 2020

Who would have thought having children would be such a busy experience? Between becoming a dad, moving house, a voluntary redundancy, COVID19 and all the other fun and games, there's not been much to report for some time. But things are finally settling down, so hopefully I can get back to more thoughts and ideas on music.

Hiatus ended (hopefully)

I've been pretty busy with work and other projects, while being distracted by Reddit's r/synthesisers group and Twitter updates, but I'm hoping to get back into blogging again soon. 

Priorities for me:

• More Saturday soundtracks
• Modular DIY building
• Experiences with Bitwig
• KMR Audio's Synth Expo tomorrow
• Novation's XioSynth - new second hand hardware!
• Novation BassStation II - borrowing for a while
• Volca FM impressions
• Finally finishing some stuff for Soundcloud

A case of cases

I recently bought a Korg Micro X that sadly didn't come with its signature case. As a collector as much as a fan of things that make wizzy noises, I resolved to keep an eye open in case one came on the market. Like a hunter waiting for the antelope to hit the watering hole, one recently came up on Gumtree so I managed to pick it up earlier this week. I had heard some comments and seen a few photos but nothing really prepared me for the reality of the Micro X's case. Which made me ask the question: whatever possessed Korg to make the Micro X case the way they did? 

Matrixsynth turns 10

Amazing news from Matrix over at long-time blog Matrixsynth - the blog has just reached the ripe old age of 10 years old.

It's certainly an awe-inspiring achievement and amazing to think that the blog is updated every single day with new content from across the globe. While I wish I could do the same, unfortunately I don't have the time to do so but it's good to have the bar for quality raised quite so high for synth-related content. I still remember it was the first place I found out that George Duke had died, along with the original Volca press release and numerous other newsworthy items. If you haven't already bookmarked the blog, then you really ought to.

Some amazing site stats from Matrix himself:

• Formed in 2005, a year before Facebook became open
• 127,448 posts, all hand curated
• 46,832,215 page views (as of midnight EST)
• Only missed a single day of posting back on August 6, 2005

"I had no idea there would be something to post every single day of the year moving forward. Think about that a bit. There is something to share every single day. What an wonderful world of synths we live in."

Here's to another ten years!

Original post:
http://www.matrixsynth.com/2015/07/matrixsynth-turns-10.html

Blog not offline!

Well, a lot of time has passed and there has been a big delay on this blog since the last update. It's not like I have much content to talk about, it's just that I really need the time and I have just moved into my first flat. Of course, no internet means no regular updates until the weekdays when I can sort out blog posts at lunch times.

Normal service to resume shortly, here's the latest track I have a big buzz about!

Updates

I haven't been keeping this blog as up to date as I should for a variety of annoying, real-life reasons. Sufficed to say I do have some things to talk about and will be trying to add these on the blog shortly and get updated.

Things to come include a thorough review of my Volca Keys, the return of the Saturday Soundtrack video games nostalgia-fest, new synth hardware and hopefully even some new music as well.

Some updates and new gear

It's a right Korg-fest at the moment!

I know it's been a bit sparse in terms of updates at the moment but I've been super busy ahead of the end of this year and furthermore there are a ton of video games that have been sapping my attention.

My Soundcloud account has been looking a bit bare of late, so the plan is to finish a few tracks that I have had banging around for a few months and move on to using my Minibrute and Microkorg for some new music. With any luck I should be able to pipe them through my mixer and record phrases in Audacity for use in Madtracker.

Minibrute and Synth Kitty

In the meantime, I had a hankering for an effects generator to plug my Minibrute into after seeing some lovely videos that used older analogue delay units for playing with and settled on the Korg Mini KP2. It's a smart little unit that has loads of different effects including delay, reverb, filters, panning, LFOs, beat slicers and so on and as it's small and easy to use, it's the perfect thing to add to my set up. I've also been using my Monotrons with it and having a right old jam session or two.

Daft Punk website reborn!

Picture credit: Resident Advisor

Okay, so slightly late compared to the rest of the world, but the Daft Punk website has just been updated (although just to reflect the name of the band). This has been the first change in ages to their website and with any luck, this will mean new material coming out from them in the future. After the Tron Legacy soundtrack, it will be good to see what the French super duo have in store for us.

http://www.daftpunk.com

Week Off?

Yes, I took a week off from blogging. In amongst all the other things I usually do, I have been:

• Drinking lots with friends for the opening ceremony for the olympics
• Signed up to twitter (despite my better judgement) - find me at #southern_trax
• Going crazy with getting MIDI to USB to work for my Control Freak
• Watching Hellsing again
• Moving offices
• Playing Stalker, GTA 3 and loads of other games after the Steam sale
• Meeting people from the Netherlands
• Buying silly microphone gizmos (stay tuned)

So anyway, it's all time to get back into the swing of things. Currently listening to some Amorphous Androgynous after a while and it certainly suits the hangover I have right now. Hey, it's the Future Sound of London by another name - a pastiche of psychaedelia :)

Lots going on...

Bigger is better

Just been jamming away with my Keystation keyboard, meaning that I now have a proper keyboard of four octaves, complete with pitch bend and modulation wheels. It certainly makes playing with the Moog Original V from Arturia more fun, I have to say. Bit tricking finding space for it but it is well worth the effort.

 

Freak out!

After popping back to my parents' and having a look through their loft I now have regained my Control Freak, for 16 lovely sliders and buttons. Only drawback is that it is a MIDI only device, so I will have to buy a separate MIDI - USB cable type thing. It is also a lot bigger than I remember it being so I will also have to reorganise my desk so that I can fit it in with my Kenton Killamix Mini. Studio photo incoming shortly I feel...

http://www.kentonuk.com/reviews/index.shtml#1

Oh god more games

Right in the middle of everything there's a SUMMER STEAM SALE, which is seriously sapping my will to do anything other than kill, maim, shoot and otherwise enjoy video games. Lots of cool things on offer this time and I definitely interested in getting hold of Max Payne 3 but I reminded that I still have loads of other titles from previous sales to get into. Damn you, Valve!

http://www.steampowered.com

NAMM back

Summer NAMM has just started this weekend, giving vendors another opportunity for people to browse their wares. If I can find anything awesome to blog about I will (in the meantime, Matrixsynth always keep on top of things).

FreshDnB - RIP?

Just in case anyone is confused and wants to know - FreshDnB.net has not been paid for this month and is down at the time of writing. Again. Ant is in Florida (last I heard from him) so it's unlikely that the website will be back online any time soon.
Update 05/04/2012
It's back online - get in here and get posting your stuff!

http://www.freshdnb.net