lodger

Hi,all-

I was recently working with some fm synthesis and it spurred a few questions about how the pd synthesis in the cz synths correspond to that.

In particular, With a given patch, you have 2 oscillators but I notice that for each, you can have 2 waveforms on the same osc.

for each of the oscillators, is it summing the two waves (i.e mixing them together like if you had a square and a triangle from 2 vco's) or is it using the second to modulate the first...or are they both phase distorting a sine wave? I've had my cz for a year, but always just assumed it was sort of a summing approach.

It would be interesting to explore collaboration sometime in the future for these sessions. Either that or set a root key so that all the songs can fit together on compilation

I didn't get a chance to edit etc. de facto I guess that was my entry

cool- i really like that synth tone...if you'd strip down the reverb on the drums a bit, it would remind me of something off of Gary Numan's pleasure principal (such as the song M.E.)

the first couple of seconds reminded me of my chere amor by Stevie wonder. I like the idea you followed out there and the instrumentation.

my only suggestion might be enhancing your drum parts as they dont quite seem to fit with the landscape of the track.

I have a kp 3 that i use for processing and am a pretty big fan. let me know if you have any questions.

now that my ears are fresh, i'm starting to take another listen.

1) tweaking some of the phrases- i'd like there to be a stronger sense of melody in the opening riff...at least in the 3-4 bar of the prase. imo the accompanyment is good, but the question of what the takeaway part that would leave people humming isnt the clearest - or at least a standout chorus, etc

2) arrangement is everything-  i'd like there to be some changeups with voicing, making the track hit in 2-3 waves more definitively.

3) There's somethign that feels too disorienting about the track- i'd like to find more ways of helping to tie this together.

starting to collect some reference works

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBKmaZxq98k

lets see how this goes

Also if you're not sure go in favor of versatility

It depends on what you want to do and what sounds you want to make. The best move with me to choose the sounds that would complement everything else nicely. Once you decide this see if he can get it done with this with as few as possible

hey all

i just thought I'd try something new with a track i'm working on and talk though the process of developing a track once there is a rough sketch of things. For me, composing digitally is a lot more like sculpture that performance. I'm still using sounds and theory, but 1) its not nececarily a "real time" dynamic proces as much as blocking in rough ideas and composing subtractively. Usually i'll take a day, slop all the ideas together that i can and will refine the rest at a later date.

I am also hoping that this helps people see a bit of the process of making music- by seeing the production process warts and all, it helps frame how art is formed and shatters the illusion that artwork magically happens.

for this project, I am posting before it is done and i'm going to be talking through the logic of enhancing my arrangement in a section by section basis, ultimately (hopefully) putting together a track that has solid arrangement, focus, and quality.

Entry 1: the plop

I made this track during some experimentation yesterday. its made using casio pt-1, casio mt-100, and yamaha pss-460 (all <$5 sound sources). I'm composing in reason and have sliced up and modified a few drum loops and have also used a pitch shifter to adjust some drum sounds. 

let me know what you think so far and some initial reactions. I'll be changing and adapting these, so this will be a nice chance to build your arrangement skills.

lodger- build it up WIP.mp3

no need to be nervious, man! really nice job and the instrumentations sounds great together. everything fit the arrangement extremely well

not sure about a moog style synth, i could see them do pcm synthesis with filters though. I imagine a dream merger would be casio and E-mu...concider the possibilities

i could imagine this being from an 80's sega master system game or anime series introduction from that era #awesome

nice changeup- the mellotron sound is a much better fit good job!

fun stuff- I really like the melodies that came out of it.

i do have a few suggestions regarding instrumentation:

1) when everything is large sounding, nothing is. there are a lot of massive sounds and i think that may have overpowered the subtlety that jazzy music tends to favor.if you want to use big sounds as a lead or to add percussive value, i'd encourage you to have more modest elements in the mix. remember: without contrast, there is no distinction and its hard to focus on one particular things

2) you had a lot of different instruments fighting for attention dead center- some panning at least left center right would help keep everything easier to focus on

3) reverb is cool, but too much defeats the illusion of being in a sonic space and makes it sound like its a recording of an orchestra in a well. DIaling this back and reducing the duration of the reverb should help give your instruments much more character and nuance.

I enjoyed listening to this- its always good to hear people cut loose and improv

I'm glad you enjoyed! I'm working on applying a bunch of tutorials I just watched and feel really pleased with how its helped my mix.

personally i think with rebranding, its not about the casio name per se, but how the community of musicians sees that as fitting in with them.

were in the middle of a DIY homestudio revolution and the more that casio is able to seem like a part of that and showcase themselves as a critical part of a musician's toolkit.

casio should start highlighting people who are using casio gear in their tracks and this might help reinforce the brand recognition and perception.

Casio is a good brand, but the place where they stand to gain is helping people explore how their offerings can fit in with their needs.

i like the idea in the intro, but am not sure if a dance style track is where i'd take this. It sounds almost like a Mark Mothersbaugh style track that's on a kidshow soundtrack.

Kudos for experimenting! Viva the unexpected!

Hey all

not a pure casio track, but the cz-1 is in there.

Let me know what you think and feel free to share with anyone who might enjoy it.

_lodger_

as i've said on other posts, Casio has always been there as a bedrock to garage bands, up and coming artists, etc. they havent embraced this the way that they could. furthermore, those old school casio sounds have appeared on tons of old tracks...this noteriety hasn't been mentioned as a part of sales strategy.

CAsio will always have a fight to be acknowleged in the same light as Korg, Roland, and other mid range manufacturers. my opinion is that they should look to 1) bring back their old school sounds in a clean, multi timbral synth unit/ vst rompler. 2) look at adapting current products to have more diversity and to fit in better with the needs of entry to mid level music producers/interface better with daws 3) explore public fondness with the casio brand and use that to drive it.

celebrity spokespeople help a lot. Moby has said pretty prominantly in vidoes that the cz-101 was his first synth and something that produces sounds he cant get from other instruments in his vast studio.... there are huge opportunities here.

I think casio will retain its core audiences, but there is definately a gap that m-audio sits in that casio can be a contender.

That would be pricey. Casio isn't as much of a synth company these days as much as a rompler company. The size is right but doesn't fit the mass appeal ethos of casio... Perhaps a rompler/ controller of that size with classic casio samples and some cz synthesis... Maybe

per my previous feedback, good selection of modern electro house sounds. As a dj, the only part that i'd emphasize is the the builds dont nececarily fit with the 8-16-32 bar pattern changes....which makes alll the difference in the world when it comes to getting audiences to respond and dj's to play your track.

the only other thing to think about are minor changes in the music. like design in graphic arts, its a matter of balancing big patterns, medium patterns, and smaller patterns. look to add small variations, layers in percussion, change up some of your builds and add some effects. you're off to a mighty good start with all of these, but an eye on structure and balancing small medium and large themes will make your music pop.

very 90's style club. fun stuff. all you need is some korg m1 piano in there and you've got the sound.

josh wink would be proud
nice little riff there and nice tones tweaked out of the synth throughout. my suggestions for the track would be to explore more changeups with the drums, layers of 909 perc such as the rides, and using these elements to help emphasize some important off beats in your synth. a key to the acid house sound is having things evolve and change but maintaining a balance between slow contrast and fast structured contrast as in turn arounds.

Granted this isn't a house based example, but it is a masterwork for balancing a static acid line with contrast...good ol' norman cook aka fatboy slim

I'd like to see the final version!

hiphop, funk, abstract

nice one. very clean sounding leads. for what its worth, one thing you might want to explore are ways of making your sounds evolve more via lfo, modulating effects, etc. i really dont have any experience with the structure of that synth, but it or modulation by external effects may be an option. I look forward to hearing more!