Octatrack MK1 users might be getting conditional locks!

    Elektron recently launched updated versions of their boxes, including an Octatrack MKII.  Octatrack MKI owners might still benefit from this release as Elektron has now officially anounced via their website (see image below) that the MKII OS will be compatible with the MKI box and will "include the functionality of the MKII".  As you may have heard, the MKII will support conditional locks, which is a great way to add probabilities to your sequenced steps--opening up a whole lot of good fun.


    (source: https://www.elektron.se/support/?connection=octatrack#resources)

    Now, to further legitimize my suspicion that MKI will now be able to do conditional locks (aka trig conditions), have a look at the manual and you will notice that everything is almost identical between the MKI and MKII manuals except for the highlighted sections below: CONDITIONAL LOCKS and FILL MODE. (MK1 manual on left, MK2 on right)

     

    So, congrats to all MKI owners as it looks like you will have at least one more OS update to come (but perhaps more!) with additional features here and there.  Personally, I'm still waiting for program change parameter locks, which are present in the digitakt and monomachine.

    What features would you like to see implemented in the MKII OS?

    audio production, tech




Creative Process Experiment

Embedded thumbnail for Creative Process Experiment
12/10/2014

The purpose of this abstract experiment was to explore unconventional creative processes of audio and video recording and editing in order to create diverse interpretations of the final product. Originally the project was limited to audio and it wasn't until later that I decided to expand the creative progression onto video.

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Zoom Sampletrak ST-224

sampler

The Zoom Sampletrak ST-224... the poor man's MPC... the last of the 90's samplers... and there's a good chance you've never heard about it.

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Echoes of Escher in New iPad Monument Valley Game

12/04/2014

I recently had the chance to play a new iPad game called Monument Valley, which incorporates optical illusions and plays with perspective and relativity to guide the user through puzzle-like settings.  The game has excellent graphics and a very relaxing flow to it regardless of its highly-complex scenarios, which are the heart and soul of the game.  As soon as I saw the first screen shot of this game I was able to link a old artist to it: Escher.

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Eyelid Through Light Trails

Blends
12/03/2014

This image is made of two superimposed pictures in Photoshop with a special blend mode, but nothing else.  This is one of the few "blends", a photography concept I thought of but didn't explore as much as I would have liked.  There are two very basic rules when creating a "blend":

  1. Do not crop
  2. Only alter the image through the equivalent of a "blend mode" process in PhotoShop and basic lighting/color tweaks

By following these limitations the creative process becomes more challenging and the results more grounded.
 

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Your Own Unlimited Dropbox!

10/23/2014

Update 12/4/14: due to instability issues with the setup described below I'm going to have to label this as proof-of-concept only and not a practical solution for free cloud storage.  On a slightly different note: MEGA is actually giving 50GB of free space right now, works great and is encrypted before upload and after download so your files are allegedly private.
Update 10/24/14: see notes

Yup, you read it righ: "Your own unlimited Dropbox", or without the proprietary eponym: "Your own unlimited cloud service (with optional full-blown OwnCloud mobile and desktop clients!).  The only catch and reason why I didn't include "FREE" in the title is that you must have some sort of shared hosting account.  I use DreamHost, which is only about $10/month and has unlimited bandwidth and storage (some conditions apply).  If you already have shared hosting, then you can have your own cloud storage it for free.

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Korg MS-20

I still remember when I won my first analog synth, the Korg MS-20, on an ebay auction for about $1000 in 2004.  The synth was still in its cult-status haydays. That is until Korg decided to re-build and re-release the MS-20(min) in a smaller form factor.  Just months before this was announced I decided it was time to let go of the MS-20 and sold it for $1,600 on craigslist. Great investment if you ask me! According to reviews and reports the MS-20 and MS-20 Mini are identical. The only difference is that the mini is smaller and has an audible noise floor.

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Kilpatrick Audio PHENOL

The Kilpatrick Audio PHENOL is the 2nd semi-modular synthesizer I've owned (the first being the Korg MS-20), and it is also the closest thing to a modular.  Soon after getting my hands on it I started realizing what the modular fuzz was really all about.

The PHENOL packs a lot of modular features in a small package.  This includes a very simple but useful divider and powerful multi-mode envelopes--all things that are not very common outside the modular world.

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AKAI MPC 1000

The MPC is THE icon of sample-based music--more specifically hip-hop. While there is an entire line of MPC's out there, what makes the MPC 1000... more

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Zoom Sampletrak ST-224

The Zoom Sampletrak ST-224... the poor man's MPC... the last of the 90's samplers... and there's a good chance you've never heard about it.

... more
Korg MS-20

I still remember when I won my first analog synth, the Korg MS-20, on an ebay auction for about $1000 in 2004.  The synth was still in its cult-... more