Korg Nanos, Two Months Later

In September I bought the three "Korg Nano" MIDI controllers -- the NanoPAD, NanoKEY, and NanoKONTROL -- and I wrote about my attempts to integrate them with my Logic Studio software. Some of the annoying problems I was having -- in particular the loss of configured settings when changing the order of my MIDI devices -- I placed squarely on the shoulders of Logic's annoying Controller Assignments dialog.

How do I feel two months later?

First, I still love the Nanos. I use the NanoKEY the most; it's an extremely convenient way to work out a melody or a chord without messing around with a bulky synthesizer. The two-octave range IS limiting, and the lack of a true pitch bend IS annoying, but as an exploratory tool the NanoKEY is phenomenal.

To be honest I haven't used the NanoPAD much. The X-Y surface is great for glitching up your stuff (and your drums, which is what you're supposed to use it for), but as a replacement pitch bend/modulator for the NanoKEY it fails simply due to a lack of an identifiable "center position." It's a small quibble, though, because that's not what it's for.

Oddly, the controller I was most excited about -- the NanoKONTROL -- is the one I use the least. This is partly because I haven't gotten around to any real mastering lately, but mainly because of its obvious limitations: no shuttle/jog, no LCD information about control assignments, and no motorized controls. Even the transport controls remain unused these days; it's easier to just use the keyboard.

I'm sure I'll find more uses for both the NanoPAD and NanoKONTROL, but for now they're gathering a bit of dust.

That's my impression of the devices themselves. How about their integration with Logic Studio? Well, the real question is: how often do they actual WORK with Logic Studio?

The Nanos are totally unpredictable whenever you wake your computer up from sleep; sometimes they get recognized, sometimes they don't. Here's what happens:

I have the following devices attached to my iMac:

• A PreSonus FIREBOX, attached via Firewire, which is always on.
  
• A Lexicon MX300 effects processor, attached via USB, which I only turn on before I launch Logic Studio.
• The three Korg Nanos, all attached to an unpowered USB hub that is dedicated only to them.
  

When I wake up my iMac, the Lexicon is never recognized (because it's off)...but neither are the Nanos, though their lights go on. When I turn on the Lexicon it is automatically recognized, but the Nanos stay unavailable.

When I then unplug the USB hub and plug it back in, two out of the three Nanos are suddenly recognized...but one random Nano never is. I need to unplug the stubborn Nano and plug it back in again, and USUALLY that works...I've never had to do it twice in one sitting.

Once all three Nanos are online they stay that way until I shut down my iMac or put it to sleep...then I have to go through the whole process again. I keep the Audio MIDI Setup application in my dock these days to make everything a little less painful.

Now, due to the way Logic Studio stores its controller assignments, ANY shuffling of MIDI devices is bound to invalidate your carefully-crafted assignments. This whole "unplug hub, unplug recalcitrant Nano" procedure turns the assignments into digital stew. So even if I were using my NanoKONTROLLER, I'd probably need to reconfigure it almost every time I wanted to use it.

Logic Studio deserves a bit of blame here, but as far as I can tell the REAL culprit is Korg's custom USB driver. The Lexicon switches on and off like a charm...why not the Nanos?

So with all that in mind, are they still worth it? Yes, absolutely, as long as you don't need rock-solid stability as soon as you turn on your computer, and as long as you don't need to retain your Logic Studio assignments. I don't need either of those things and the NanoKEY alone is a charmer.

If you have any Nano experiences, post a comment! Heck, maybe somebody knows a fix or a workaround. It would make my life a bit easier...

Roadbird (Metal Mix)

Awhile back I started working on a remix of one of the songs on Roade, but I got stuck halfway through. I lost my inspiration! I got sick of it!

Meanwhile I'd discovered that Chad Faragher, a fellow workmate, was interested in musical collaboration. I gave him an early mix-down of "Roadbird" and then we got back to work (you know the REAL jobs which allow us to afford these musical gadgets).

Eventually I finished my own version of "Roadbird" and put the audio up for download. I'd forgotten all about the collaboration when suddenly -- on September 7th -- Chad produced his version!

It was hard for him because he didn't have my original tracks to work with, just a messy mix-down that he was forced to record over. He added cello, guitar, additional keys, and even some voices...

...and the result had promise! But it desperately cried for a remix using both MY sources and HIS.

You know where this is going. I mixed and tweaked "Roadbird," and it was good, and I wanted people to hear it. But since people will rarely download audio files but they WILL view embedded videos, it seemed the only way for people to find out about the song was to make a video.

So I gathered together all the footage I haven't used anywhere else, and I tried to film some musically-representative things, and I finally came up with "Roadbird (Metal Mix)."



This is not my finest video moment. While I have no problems making ominous-sounding MUSIC, I find it's very difficult to make an ominous-looking FILM. So I tried a tongue-in-cheek approach. The "musical milk crate" is a lowpoint.

People ARE enjoying the song, but this might be a lesson in itself: a bare (but good) audio file could be better than one coupled with a busy (but not-so-good) video. The video might distract from the song and actually ruin the impression. I'm not saying that's the case, but it's been something that's been going through my mind.

In any case, my recommendation is to put an opaque sheet of black paper over your monitor, turn up the speakers, and enjoy!

"Caboodle"

Those of you with iPhoto know the way that it "scrubs" your picture thumbnails when you move your mouse over them. When I accidentally scrubbed the 106 pictures from the "Jewel Thief" photoshoot I thought...hey! That looks sort of fun! I'll make a movie!

So here you go: an entire photoshoot in twenty seconds.



The Making Of

This was surprisingly hard to create music for. Since "Koyaanisqatsi" taught us that all fast-moving imagery must be accompanied by Philip Glass-style music, I decided that a quick arpeggio was required, one note for every picture.

In addition, VanillaJ said to me a few weeks ago, "Have you ever noticed that all the arty/experimental videos are depressing?" So I wanted to make a HAPPY song.

The problem was the part near the end, when each picture lasts twice as long for a very brief period. That happened because there were two versions of each picture in that section: one with the hole in my fishnets, and the other with the hole Photoshopped by Jenn (look at my left thigh for the subtle evidence).

It was a happy accident but it made no musical sense; it threw the time signature right out the window. I had to learn how to use Logic Pro's signature editor to fudge it so that -- at the end of the double-picture portion -- we'd land at the beginning of another 4/4 bar.

I spent a week on that, simply so I could get the drum pattern to match up. Then I decided it sounded better if the drum pattern didn't return anyway.

Anyway, this was just a fun experiment and it turned out pretty nicely.

Korg Nanos and Logic Studio

UPDATE: After you read this, check out my "two months later" review.

I'm saving money, right? I've got a mortgage and new furniture and a brand-new bed, and God only knows how much money I'll be taking home from work once all those expenses kick in. So I've been counting my pennies and going out less and eating cheaper food...

...and then I bought these.


They comprise the "Korg Nano Series," three very cheap and powerful MIDI controllers that you can hook up to your music software and do amazing things with.

It should be obvious what the "NanoKEY" is for: it's a two-octave, velocity-sensitive, polyphonic keyboard that's perfect for tapping out melodies. My "workhorse" keyboard is an enormous and heavy Ensoniq ESQ-1, and it's sheer overkill when I just want to tinker. But I can plunk the NanoKEY down on my lap and use it without any setup or bother. It just works.

Likewise the "NanoPAD," which is ostensibly for drum programming but can also be used to make wonderfully freaky noises. It has a touchpad which you can squish your finger around on, bending and modulating notes with total abandon.

Most important, however, is the "NanoKONTROL," which comes with nine faders and knobs and eighteen buttons. You can decide for yourself what you want these controls to do; since the NanoKONTROL has four different "scenes" that you can switch between, I've programmed the fourth scene as an eighteen channel mixer (I'll explain how I did that in a second), the third scene to accomplish common editing tasks (changing the zoom level, switching tools), and the second scene for controlling EQ parameters. The first scene is for whatever tweaky thing I want to do at the moment...changing the cutoff and resonance of a synth, for instance.

The NanoKONTROL also has six buttons for controlling the transport...it's nice to be able to play, record, stop, and move the playhead without ever touching the mouse or keyboard.

The three devices are lightweight and tiny, and can all be run off an unpowered USB hub. And you damn well better use a hub, for reasons I'll cover in a second.

Bad Things About the Nanos

You get what you pay for. The keyboard is certainly not for performance...it's good enough for recording, but it occasionally drops notes.

As for the controller, the faders are short, none of it is motorized, and it receives no feedback from your editing software, so it is rarely in sync with what you're doing; if you tweak something in your software and then try to tweak it with the controller, the position of the controller and the value in your software will not match. This isn't crippling, but it does lead to twitchiness.

Also, since it has no assignable labels on it, it's very easy to forget how each control is assigned. And you can't get a nice shuttle/jog setup because none of the knobs are continuous; they all have a beginning and end.

But when you spend $80 for a controller you don't expect those kinds of features. These units are for hobbyists and for quick-and-dirty experiments; they aren't professional gear. Sigh.

Bad Things About Logic Pro

The real problems come when you try to integrate the NanoKONTROL with Logic Pro. In some ways it makes sense that the procedure is difficult: both Logic and the controllers are so freely configurable that it's impossible to offer a single solution. You, the user, must make decisions about how you want to use the controller...and then you must teach the hardware and the software to speak to each other.

Configuring the Nanos themselves is super-easy: you download the Korg Kontrol Editor and use it to tell the nanos how they should behave. Which MIDI channel will they use? Which notes and/or control codes should they send for each pad, fader, button, and knob? Should the buttons act as toggles -- sending a different code for each press -- or should they be "momentary," sending one code when depressed and a second when released?

Korg also tells you that, if you want to use more than one Nano at a time, you need to install their USB MIDI driver. I don't know if this is really necessary or not...I did it as a last resort when things seemed to be going haywire (see below).

Your nightmare only begins when you need to tell Logic how to use the NanoKontrol. You need to use Logic's "Controller Assignments" dialog, which you can access by pressing Command-K. Remember that shortcut...you'll use it a lot.

The Controller Assignments dialog is the dark smelly butthole of Logic Pro. It's ancient and unfriendly and buggy. It can just as easily make your dreams come true as it can totally destroy hours of hard work.

If you are faced with the task of configuring your NanoKontrol within Logic, my first advice is to READ THE LOGIC PRO CONTROL SURFACES SUPPORT MANUAL, but when it tells you in chapter one that you must "add" the device to Logic Pro, DON'T BELIEVE THEM. Logic cannot detect the NanoKontrol so it can't be "added" in the usual way. Skip chapter one entirely. Chapter two -- "Customizing Controller Assignments" -- is the one you need to read.

My next piece of advice is to NEVER USE THE EASY VIEW. It's confusing and gives you no idea of what you're actually doing. Skip right to the Expert View and do everything in there...

Key Commands

...unless you're assigning Key Commands, which is best done in the Key Commands dialog (Option-K). If you want to assign a button on your NanoKontrol to a keyboard shortcut in Logic -- and there are hundreds of them -- then use the Key Commands dialog...just select the command you want to execute, click the "Learn New Assignment" button, and press a button on your NanoKontrol. Presto!

This is great for the transport buttons (Play, Stop...) and for things like "Page Forward" and "Switch to Scissors Tool." It is NOT, however, useful for the knobs and faders, or for special controls inside plugins. For those you need the Controller Assignments dialog.

Additional Key Command tips: use the Search field to find the controls you're looking for, and NEVER try to resize the columns; you'll end up with the first column becoming half its width, therefore obscuring most of the commands, and you will not be able to fix it. You'll need to hover your mouse over the commands to receive tooltips, which don't always appear. Grrrrrr!

Controller Assignments

Now for the hard part: the infinitely configurable faders and knobs and plug-in stuff.

Logic Pro remembers the last thing you touched within the interface. If you open a plug-in -- like the EFM1 synth, for instance -- and then click on a control -- such as the FM knob -- then Logic will remember that you touched it.

If -- immediately after touching it -- you go to the Controller Assignments window and click the "Learn Mode" button, the following things will happen:

• A new control called "Learned" appears in the Control list.
• The "Learn Mode" button becomes shaded, indicating that Logic is ready to associate the last thing you touched (the FM knob) with the next MIDI message it receives.

So when you twist a knob on the NanoKontrol (or move a fader or press a button), the NanoKontrol sends the MIDI message associated with that knob/fader/button (which you can set in the Korg Kontrol Editor), and Logic assigns the control to the MIDI message. Presto! The Control list will show something like "Learned - EFM1: Carrier FM Intensity," and when that list object is selected you will see information about the "class" of the control (see the Control Services Support Manual), the device which sends the MIDI message ("nanoKONTROL SLIDER/KNOB"), and nifty options for setting the value (see the manual again).

Here's the awful shit you must now remember to do:

1. If you are finished assigning controls, CLICK THE LEARN MODE BUTTON TO EXIT LEARN MODE. If you don't do this you will screw everything up. As long as that button is shaded, Logic is hijacking everything in order to link controls with MIDI messages. Do not touch anything else in the interface or twiddle ANYTHING on the NanoKontrol before exiting Learn Mode.
2. If you want to assign another control, however, then click something else in the interface (like the EFM1's "Harmonic" knob), then twist another knob on the NanoKontrol -- resulting in a new control assignment -- and keep doing this until you've assigned everything. But remember to click the Learn Mode button when you're done! Otherwise you will reassign controls, or assign multiple knobs to the same thing, and untangling that mess can be hell on earth.
3. Kick whoever designed the Controller Assignment window squarely in the ass. "Learn Mode" button which acts as a toggle? This is NOT part of Apple's design specifications, I'm sure.

Once Learn Mode is off, twiddle your assigned knob. It'll work! You can now tap the keys on your NanoKey and use the knob to change the FM Intensity of the notes. Brilliant! That's why you bought this thing!

If you're using the NanoKontrol to change the automation on a track -- say, to change the FM Intensity for MIDI notes recorded on one of your tracks -- you need to switch the track to either "Latch" or "Touch" mode (read the regular Logic Manual), then hit "Play" (not "Record") and twist the knob as the notes play. The changes are recorded to the track as automation values, which you can go back and edit.

If you want to use the NanoKontrol as a mixing desk, you want to assign your controls to the "Fader Bank" channel strip within the "Channel Strip" class, then set which Fader Bank track you want to assign the control to. This is BEST done in the Mixer window, because when you use "Learn Mode" after touching a channel strip control in the Mixer window, the Controller Assignment window automatically uses the proper Fader Bank and track number. Otherwise, if you do this in the Arrange window, the control will be assigned to just the "selected track."

Remember when I mentioned that I'd assigned the nine sets of controls in Scene Four to be an eighteen-channel mixer? That's because I set one of the buttons to perform a "Mode Change," to toggle between two sets of controller assignments: one for tracks 1 to 9, the other for tracks 10 to 18. By changing modes you can infinitely extend your number of assignments, but this requires planning (because you have to add all your assignments to new Zones and Modes within the Controller Assignment window).

Fortunately, if you fiddle with something on your NanoKontrol, its assignment is highlighted within the Controller Assignments window, which can help you fix mistakes like multiple assignments. But that's the only user-friendly thing about the window: you cannot sort or group your assignments in the list -- they appear underneath whatever you have selected at the time -- and you can't make changes to the parameters of multiple assignments at once, and you can't drag assignments between zones and modes.

As if that didn't suck enough...

Logic Studio Can Forget Your Assignments

Until you realize this -- and why it happens -- you will be SCREAMING IN ANGUISH.

There is a terrible bug in Logic Studio. Each time you add or remove a MIDI Input device to your computer, Logic Studio's list of MIDI devices changes. And it seems that your controller assignments -- those hundreds of knob-and-fader connections you've so painstakingly created -- are not mapped to specific MIDI devices, they are rather mapped to the number of the MIDI device within Logic Studio's list. And if the ordering of the devices in the list changes -- because you've added or removed a MIDI device, simply by unplugging its USB or Firewire cable -- it is highly likely that all of your controller assignments will map to the wrong MIDI device.

So attach all your USB MIDI devices to a single hub, keep them always plugged in (at least when using Logic), and don't swap them around. If you do, you will find that your assignments no longer work. You can manually select each assignment in the window and reset its MIDI Input device (the manual claims that doing this for one device will reset all assignments which use a similar device, but I don't think I believe them), or you can try plugging everything back in and hoping that the list sorts itself back in the original order, but whatever you do DON'T BLAME YOUR NANO. It is Logic's fault.

Tip: Sometimes, when you twist a knob or push a fader that you haven't used in a long time, you will find that it doesn't immediately work; this is probably because it isn't "in sync" with the object it's controlling. Try moving the control all the way in one direction, then all the way back to the other direction, and I bet it will work again. Otherwise open the Korg Kontrol Editor and make sure the Nano is connected. If that doesn't work, open the Controller Assignments window and see what sort of evil crap that Logic Studio has done to the assignment.

I think that covers it. I'm very happy with my Nanos, and more than a little cross with Logic. Fixing the Controller Assignments window should be a top priority for them, and this is a bug they've known about for years...do something, people!

PS: All of your assignments are stored in a file called com.apple.logic.pro.cs. Every time I make a change to my assignments I make a backup of that file (it's in your user's Library/Preferences folder).

PPS: My NanoPad came with the wrong USB cable...a full-size one instead of the required mini. This is strange.

New UPhold Song: "Think"

My Canada Day song contribution is one just finished from 2005 called "Think." It really IS sort of appropriate to the day, as it was inspired by a man who screamed insults at me from a balcony during a long-ago holiday...he was one of the men who explode.

You can listen to "Think" in its short, minimalistic, ambient glory here.

It sounds the way it does because of the technology I was using back then. I wanted to write a conventional song, but since I couldn't sing I decided to use a Vocoder plugin.

Unfortunately the only plugin I had was the one from Cycling 74's "Pluggo" bundle. While I grew fond of many of the "Pluggo" plugins (and many of their "Mode" plugins as well), they were terribly flaky and would sometimes refuse to work altogether. Their Vocoder usually only half-worked for me...you had to route it through their virtual "PluggoBus," and in the case of this song the bus would just randomly fade in and out.

I got so frustrated with the vocoder that I gave up on "Think" after only one segment of one verse. But this year, when I went back to listen to it, I realized that the vocoder fade was sort of nice, and though it completely ruined an attempt at "conventional" music it was a nice "experimental" touch.

So I stripped out the rhythm and the original keyboards and rewrote the track around the vocoder glitch. It probably turned out better than if I'd written some lame song about depressed persecution.

The lesson: keep all of your mistakes, even if you think you'll never use them!

New UPhold Song: "Devil Woman!"

I'm having a surprising amount of success resurrecting unfinished songs off my old eMac. Somehow, the roadblocks regarding these projects -- many of them begun in 2003 -- are easily being swept aside through judicious application of fresh ears, soft synths, and sledgehammer editing techniques.

The latest resurrected song is "Devil Woman!" You can listen to it here if you're so inclined. It's based around a sample from "Pelican & Penguin" by The Nits, with a lot of sequencing from the obsessive "Damage" era, plus...well, just give it a try.

If I continue to be happy and easy with these musty old songs then I plan to release them as "Sruel Quay," a collection of rescued projects. Someday...

"Damage" on CD Baby

One of the things I've been doing lately -- instead of blogging -- has been to set up my 2007 CD "Damage" on CD Baby for distribution.

Woo-hoo, it's finally there, and it's very very cheap! You (and that's not "you" specifically, it's the "generic you") can go online and buy either the CD or the MP3s, and have a little bit of Muffy in your own home forever.

I warn you, though, that the CD was made during a particularly acerbic period of my life, when I'd decided it would be socially and emotionally beneficial to live excessively. "Damage" is the only wonderful thing that came out of that period, as it was recorded during moments of anguish, self-doubt, and obsessive twitchiness...and it's definitely apparent.

Still interested? It's here!

Lightbox

Another experimental music video of my own construction: "Lightbox."



The Background

This time the audio came first. I had the idea of taking a sound source, splitting it up into five different frequencies, and applying a different type of tremolo to each frequency. The source I tried was a modified Hammond organ soft-synth, playing a rising series of barely-musical chords. That's the basis for the track.

Then I realized the bass was underrepresented so I added a single-note bassline (not an electric bass sadly, but another software synth). Up next was the "ting" of a pot handle being whacked with a spoon.

Once I'd gotten that far I tried to think of what it reminded me of, and ran down my ever-growing list of "box" words. Lo and behold: "Lightbox!" It was sharp, clean, shifting, meditative...

...but where to find the visuals? Lying in my bed on a Sunday morning and filming the odd pinhole camera effect of light coming through tiny slits in the curtains, filtered through blowing tree leaves. Those images aren't manipulated except for tiny tweaks in brightness and contrast; otherwise, that's the sort of thing I wake up to in the morning.

I tried filming the reflective lights of passing cars -- the phantoms that my cat chases at night -- but they didn't show up very well, and I'd pretty much decided to stay with stationary light only. Then I shot a few images of daylight around a chair and on my ceiling, and I had all the footage I needed.

Back to the music again. I sent the same, slowed-down chords through Logic's "Sculpture" instrument, which emulates the behaviour of various objects interacting with other objects...in this case, a really crazy bow being drawn across wood. I played a few descending notes on the ESQ-1 to finish it all off, and voila.

I like it. It's pretty, in a strange sort of way. It really does capture the feeling of laying in bed and watching the lights. Not much happens or changes during the song -- I took out the few stimulating samples and beats that I'd experimented with early on -- but I don't think anything SHOULD happen. It's just a lazy contemplation. It's meant to make you snooze.

PreSonus Firebox Review

It doesn't matter how much wonderful audio-editing software you have in your computer...if you only use the computer's standard line and headphone jacks, you're severely restricted.

What that means is that you can only record a single stereo channel -- and play a single stereo channel -- at any one time. You can't record multiple instruments all at once. You can't output different tracks of your music to separate devices. And lord forbid you try to set up an effects send system (outputting one or more tracks on a separate channel, sending them through an external effects processor, then returning them on yet another channel for separate mixing).

Ever since I started working with computer editing systems I've restricted myself to this single input/single output setup. A few days ago I decided to change that.

You can buy a lot of external recording boxes to plug into your computer, but I had certain specifics in mind:

1. Preferably firewire, because my USB ports are all used up.
2. Preferably powered BY the firewire port, because my power bars are already dangerously overloaded.
3. At least four inputs capable of accepting line-in cables. Most boxes only allow some combination of two line OR two mic inputs, which defeats the purpose for me. One reason I want this box is so I can digitize old cassette four-track masters, so I need four line-ins.
4. Ability to do an effects send.
5. Works with my Intel iMac.
6. Works with Logic Studio.

I ended up calling Carbon Computing in Toronto and talking to the most knowledgeable guy in the world. He immediately told me what I needed: the PreSonus Firebox. And like a jerk I bought it from Long & McQuade down the street, because they had it in stock for $440.

The Presonus Firebox plugs into your firewire port, gives you six inputs (two of them S/PDIF only), two gain knobs (controlling the four non-S/PDIF inputs), four outputs, and separate phone/main outputs (each with its own volume knob). As an added bonus it serves as a MIDI in/out controller (so I can finally ditch my ancient and flaky M-Audio device) and comes with Cubase LE, which I'll never use (but I might be able to snag its free plug-ins).

NOTE: The Firebox's first and second inputs -- the ones on the front -- are "Neutrik Combo Connectors." This means that you can plug either XLR or 1/4" cables into them, though it isn't obvious at first. If you're wondering how you can get four 1/4" cables into a device that only appears to have two 1/4" inputs, that's how...you plug the cables into what APPEARS to be an XLR but is really so much more. Whew!

Setting It Up

The Firebox is tiny -- 1 half-width RU -- so when you get everything plugged in it looks like Medusa. The firewire port seems a little weak, which could slow your workflow down a bit (see below).

I connected it to my iMac's firewire port and -- presto! -- it displayed a happy blue LED, which meant it was interacting properly (its drivers are already included in the OS X Core Audio, so there was no need to install anything).

I opened up the Mac Audio MIDI Setup application and...there it was! PreSonus FIREBOX! I could choose it for my default input and output and it instantly appeared as a MIDI device. Sweet. Once I chose it in the MIDI Setup application I was able to hijack it with Audio Hijack Pro. Even sweeter!

Since the instruction manual in the box states that the Firebox only works with Power PC Macs, I downloaded the latest Universal applications. Besides the expected control panel and mixer, they also came with a firmware updater. "Hmmm," I thought. "Obviously I should update the firmware first."

So I did. The operation completed successfully...and the light on the Firebox turned red, and it disappeared from the Audio Hijack drop-downs. This means badness. Re-inserting the fireware cable didn't help. There is also no way to turn the Firebox off and on, which is actually sort of annoying.

Convinced that I'd managed to scramble the inside of my device in only five minutes, I did a forum search for this problem and discovered that many people were reporting it: "I just updated my firmware and now my Firebox's LED is always red!" The answer from PreSonus technical support personnel? "If your Firebox stops working, bring it in and we'll repair it." BALLS TO THAT!

Rather than weeping I did the next best thing: I restarted my iMac. As it booted up the Firebox light went blue, then red, then...blue! It stayed blue! Life was good once again.

Next I opened Logic Studio and set my audio preferences to use the Firebox. I tried recording from inputs one and two: perfect. I hooked my speakers up to the Firebox main outs: perfect. I redirected my Logic audio tracks to different outputs: perfect. I set up an effects send situation and did a round-trip through my Lexicon MX300: PERFECT!

Other than the abnormally short MIDI cables connected to the Firebox breakout cable, and the fact that the device gets a little bit warm after a few minutes, the only problem I've noticed so far is that if you unplug the firewire cable -- which could be easy to do accidentatlly, since the port is so exposed -- Logic Audio immediately bitches and refuses to recognize the Firebox until you re-start Logic. So watch out.

I have yet to try the MIDI capabilities or do any serious recording with the Firebox, but I'm pretty sure I have a winner here. It's a great mid-range product, perfect for those who don't want a toy but also don't need to record a church choir. I'm thrilled that I can finally used my external effects processors again, and get some really killer reverb without draining my CPU. Bliss!

New Song from UPhold: "Foosebox"

"Foosebox" is another long-dormant song "rescued" from the old eMac. I've spent the last four years working on it, adding things, removing tracks, trying to find the right direction...until I finally realized that the drum sequence I was so proud of actually sort of sucked.

Pulling the drums out (and pretty much everything else) turned this into a multi-part composition in line with the "box" tracks on "Damage." In other words abrupt and obnoxious.

The typewriter is from an old sound effects CD that Eli left lying around CKMS. The single-note bass is from Jeff Wayne's "War of the Worlds" (in the "Spirit of Man" just before the "No, Nathanial" section). The cut up, distorted, four-note blast is a segment from "Drive" by The Cars. I forget where I got the guillotine.

UPhold's "Roade" Available Now!

My new CD ("Roade") is available on CD Baby here, if you'd like to listen to some samples and/or buy it for yourself! I'm particularly happy with how this one turned out...it's been a long time coming.

The second half of the CD ("On Your Way Out") is dedicated to Eric Little, who long-term readers of this blog will remember. I still don't know the how's and why's of his death but I certainly miss him. Finally releasing "Roade" brings some measure of closure to me.

This is the first time I've dealt with CD Baby, and my experiences so far have been good. If you plan on using their distribution services yourself, however, keep in mind that they can't market you digitally without a UPC. If you don't want to spend a ton of money on your own code you can ask CD Baby to buy one for you...but it costs $40. Weigh the pros and cons for yourself, and consider the future of the independent CD-R.

As for the digital distribution aspect, I see that they're gradually sending "Roade" out to various companies, but it apparently can take up to three months for the product to be fully registered. So Napster, Lala, and Amazon, here I come!

PS: If you do plan on ordering it, do yourself a favour and take advantage of the $5.00 sale...it's a great way to hear new (and desperate) artists cheap!

UPhold Update: "Roadbird"

A brand new UPhold song, and it's actually FUN! It even has a cowbell.

"Roadbird" is a drastic remix of part two of "The Road To Avondale," which will be available on the new "Roade" CD in just a few days. Last year I thought it would be interesting to make danceable versions of all the "Roade" songs, but now that I've moved to the new computer that would be very inconvenient and difficult. Plus these sorts of reworkings take an awful lot of energy.

So "Roadbird," currently, is the only one, but I think it's a bit of a gem. You can hear it at the Listening Station.

UPhold Update: "Humpback 44"

One of the first things I did when I got my old eMac and my lite version of Logic Audio 6 was attempt to cover one of my favourite songs: "Forty-Four No More" by The Residents. It was going pretty well, but eventually I had to conceed that I lacked the processing power (and the voice) to really do it justice.

The song sat around for a few years while I worked on other things, and then suddenly -- on May 14, 2008, to be exact -- I decided to eviscerate it. I slowed it down, removed everything except the rhythm track, and turned it into a workout for my new ESQ-1 and old Akai sampler.

I've finally polished it up, and you can download and listen to it here: "Humpback 44 (Parts 1 and 2)."

When I got my NEW editing system I swore that I'd abandon this "recorded at the bottom of a swamp" production style, but I'm afraid I really, really like it. I love piling melodies and sources upon each other and washing them in so much reverb that they become little more than a huge undifferentiated sludge. Maybe I shouldn't write it off quite yet.

Incidentally, I have a few more of these long forgotten projects that have yet to be rescued from the old eMac, many of them dating back to spring 2004. The problem is that they all rely heavily on plug-ins from "Pluggo" and "Mode" which I'm not willing to purchase for a second time. As a result -- like "Humpback 44" -- they'll all ultimately sound very different from what I'm working on now.

PS: The new CD, "Roade," is ready to go. Tomorrow's the day for printing the covers. There's still a bit of work to be done on the label/distribution side, but that stuff's comparatively easy for me.

Life in No-Time

I am not an efficient person if I don't have some sort of schedule. The very act of going to work five days a week is enough to keep me on track...buying groceries, cleaning the litterbox, actually getting dressed. Without that schedule, though, I'm jelly.

Right now I'm in the middle of a two week enforced vacation. For the most part I've been living a dreary half-life of sleeping, eating, and shuffling around aimlessly. Part of this time has been sent making sure my Sims graduate from university, but I'm proud to say that I AM in the process of accomplishing a few tasks, and I did in fact clean the litterbox this afternoon.

First, I've been reading Boswell's "Life of Johnson," which is by turns interesting and tedious. Samuel Johnson is still remembered as a man of language and wit, but it's apparent that his celebrated dinner-table ramblings were deliberately contrary and too often half-baked. What's more, they were usually little more than nasty gossip about OTHER 18th century men of wit, which means I can rarely care much about his subject matter.

Every page of "Life of Johnson" is pretty much like this:

The following night I was priveleged to dine with Samuel Johnson and his guests [Notable Reverend], [Famous Playwrite], [Respected Politician], and [Silly Annoying Person]. [Silly Annoying Person] was unfortunate in espousing his respect for [Much-Admired Scottish Poet]. Johnson wasted no time in cutting the poor man to shreds, calling any who so much as READ [Much-Admired Scottish Poet] a "blockhead," and then, turning on [Silly Annoying Person], making the pointed remark that "those who go so far as to read and then ADMIRE [Much-Admired Scottish Poet] are twice-over blockheads, who see in poetry little more than a reflection of their own inadequacies, and who are no better than the Scottish people themselves," which I felt a pretty cruel statement from so great a man.

Anyway, when I'm not wishing I could poke Samuel Johnson in his single remaining good eye, I am learning to play the bass.

Surprise! I borrowed a bass and an amp from my father, and I'm pleased to say I'm picking it up pretty well. I haven't even reached the "beginner" stage yet, but since I started last week with no knowledge of what a fret even WAS, I'm to the point where I can at least play the C Major scale and make my way through a two-octave tetrachord, which probably sounds harder than it is.

Pictures coming eventually (because it's all about the image of course).

Logic Pro 8

There was a practical reason why I bought this new computer. It wasn't just to play "Doom 3" and "The Sims 2," or to acquire a status symbol, or to fulfill whatever bizarre ideas I had about my iPod a few months ago.

I bought this computer so I could expand my music-making capabilities, which were tightly constrained on the old eMac. Tiny screen, slow processor, 60GB hard drive, ancient operating system, USB 1.0...there just wasn't enough I could DO with it anymore, without squinting and watching the poor thing shudder and cry.

So I bought my gorgeous iMac, which suffers none of those old limitations except for one thing: my copy of Logic Audio 6 wouldn't work on it. Damn. At least there was "Doom 3."

But today, with my finances beginning to stabilize, I took my next and second-biggest step: I bought Logic Pro 8.

I sort of wonder how much I needed the Pro version, over the comparatively cheaper "Express." I have no intention of using the six DVDs of loops and "Jam Packs," which I consider to be tools for cheaters. I'll never use MainStage because I never play live, and as far as I know the effects plug-ins and soft synths are pretty much the same in both the Express and Pro versions.

Pro DOES come with a CD burning tool which looks useful, however, and if I ever want to record in surround sound or score a movie...well, I can now.

Most impressive about the Pro package is the enormous, sturdy box, which all but affirms your suspicion that You Are In Fact A Worthwhile Person. The manual for the effects alone is heavy enough to topple my cat, and the actual User Guide is over 1000 pages long. Fortunately, having launched the program and loaded in a few old projects, it looks like the interface is much the same as version 6, only beautifully integrated in a way that requires a nice big screen. No more F9 to seek and grab the six windows that are open in the background.

I'm very excited about the busses and the sampler. I can't wait to really use it...

...but the old eMac with Logic 6 has got a few more months to go, since I don't actually have a MIDI interface for this computer, and I may need to re-purchase my old plug-ins ("iDrum," "Pluggo," and "Mode") to get my old projects migrated over. More RAM would be nice, as well as a breakout box...and a hardware drum machine...and one of those fiddly USB control boxes with lots of knobs and sliders.

Anyway, hurrah!

Recent Neglect of Blog

Since you asked (Kimber!) and since I can score more points with an actual blog ENTRY as opposed to just a COMMENT, let me explain why I haven't been blogging recently.

First off, everything that I'm doing is a "coming up" thing; I have plenty of projects and plans on the go, but I've learned not to talk about those things until they actually happen. As soon as I write about them they appear mundane or flawed. It's sometimes just best to keep yourself idealistic.

The MAIN issue, however, is that my blogging routine has been disrupted.

I used to write entries early in the morning -- before going to work -- and sometimes in the evenings. But since my cat is now eating soft food, enough of my morning routine has been taken up by washing her food dish, scraping out new food, and storing the scraps she hasn't eaten. That alone has edged "blogging" (and "reading the New Yorker") temporarily off my morning schedule.

It doesn't help that, ever since she got sick last month, she spends every moment possible on my lap. It isn't easy to type with a cat on your lap. Currently my left wrist is under her chin and my right one is bent out around her back.

Then, I've been spending a few hours each night digitizing, cataloging, and burning old master tapes of music...those tapes won't last forever, and the ancient 4-track recorder will someday break down. Before that happens I want to get everything of interest off those tapes and onto CD.

So rather than sit down and write an entry at night, I'm sitting down and dumping old sound experiments from 1994 onto my computer. When I'm done that I hardly feel like sitting anymore, so I get up and do other things. No blogging!

But this kind of thing happens now and then and I always come around. I'll find ways of rearranging my schedule and I'll get back on track. So keep checking the blog...it's not dead!

"Our Past Present" Reviewed by Heathen Harvest!

Over at Heathen Harvest there is a wonderful review of "Our Past Present," the split CD of material by Jim DeJong (Infant Cycle) and myself.

Like other reviews of the CDs it points out the "distinct yet complimentary" nature of the two styles, and again the UPhold segments are referred to as "cinematic." I particularly like this description:

All the tracks on here are suffused with an eerily expectant atmosphere coupled with a velvety and suffocatory claustrophobia, as if presaging some unforeseen disaster just about to spring itself onto the unfortunate victims.

I like to think I have a velvet approach to suffocation, so this is a great compliment. I really DO care about my musical victims.

The review is very positive, and coming from such a great webzine it's a particularly nice boost for my state of mind!

A Moment's Pause

Sometimes, when this blog goes silent for a day or two, it's because I'm stupid and brain dead and I just want to take a seventy-two hour nap.

But at other times -- like this -- it's because I'm working on so many things that I simply don't have the time or brainpower left to explore heavy blog topics (such as the potential fetish appeal of 1920s cruise-line fruit).

What am I doing? I'm glad you asked! Besides the physical/mental logjam that occurs the week before any approaching drag show (it's tomorrow night!) I am also swamped at work (wading into the treacherous waters of DITA), continuously shoveling the sidewalk, finishing off a song that's been in the pipe for more than a year, experimenting with my new hair extensions, and...

...putting together a silly online project that I will link to in a day or two, but which will be of interest only to die-hard devotees of a certain obscure musical group. I mention this not to get you excited -- because I don't think anybody who reads this would be interested in the final product -- but only to explain why I'm so quiet right now.

PS: I'm also watching a DVD collection of pioneering films from the turn of the century, back before anybody realized that a camera could move (unless it was mounted on a train) or that chase scenes didn't HAVE to show every single participant arrive at one edge of the film, cross laboriously across the middle, and exit completely off the opposite edge.

Oh, those simple, child-like directors with their top hats and mustaches! Oh, those sickly-looking infants dressed in oversized doilies! Oh, those insatiable, oat-eating horses! And let's not forget the eight-year-old children working in factories to help buy heroin-laced medicines for their consumptive, coal-mining fathers.

It's no wonder they didn't have time to discover "the close-up."

Lexicon MX300

Today, on a lunch-hour whim, I committed myself to buying a multi-effects processor. The one I settled on was the Lexicon MX300. I could only get sparse information about the other options in the store, but the MX300 seemed to be the most flexible, so I chose it.

It was also the highest priced. As I endured the inevitable Long & McQuade cashier wait (during which the people ahead of me always bather to the salespeople about their exceptional musical virtuosity) I was inches away from chickening out...I don't really NEED an effects processor, and I could put that money towards something more necessary...

So imagine my surprise that, when we rang it in, the unit was actually MARKED DOWN a hundred dollars from the list price. Imagine the surprise of the cashier as well. It was obviously "a sign."

My previous multi-effects processor was an ART which -- I discovered later -- was notorious for flakiness and dull sound. As for the flakiness, yes, after half an hour it would start to show impossible numbers on its display and then would shut down with an eardrum-shattering squeal. That squeal turns up in a lot of the music I recorded with it.

I've only had the Lexicon for a few hours so I can't vouch for its reliability, but I can certainly say this: all reverbs are NOT created equal, and the MX300 sounds absolutely SUBLIME. I didn't know what I was missing until now. It has a complexity of sound to it that I never knew was possible, leagues beyond the ART's relative flatness.

Granted, the ART could chain more than two effects together (depending on the complexity of the effects themselves), but the MX300 effects are so rich that you really don't NEED to use more than two.

I wanted knobs that I could twiddle, and the MX300 has twiddlable knobs. Although they turn with a slight clickiness, changes to all the effects are acceptably smooth (not as smooth as my DOD R-910 but that's a very different beast). The tape delay is super-cool and the ability to set tempo in BPMs is an unexpected godsend. And the Leslie rotor? Holy cow.

You can control the Lexicon with your Mac...as long as you have OSX 10.4.x. Sometimes you can take that stipulation with a grain of salt, but not in this case...it uses the CoreAudioKit.framework. So us OSX 10.3.9 users are out of luck. It will not work. Sigh.

Otherwise, though, it seems to be a fantastic unit and I'm sure we have many happy hours ahead of us.

Inspiration...None

Nope, I haven't updated much lately. Sometimes I feel demon-driven to post entries, and other times -- like now -- I don't.

It doesn't help that everything I'm doing at the moment would sound dull, lifeless, and repetitive if put into a blog entry. Do you (the reader) care about my almost being finished John Barth's novel "Coming Soon!!!"? Probably not, but don't worry, you'll see a post about it soon.

Do you care that Rudolph (the squirrel) thumps himself down on my balcony every morning, but that he doesn't actually eat the peanuts I give them...he just stuffs them in his mouth and go hides them somewhere? No skin off your nose, I'm sure!

How about my latest project: to paw meticulously through the 100-odd master tapes & CDs, mix-down tapes, and 4-track sample collections with the aim of cataloging and digitizing them all? Do you care about the forgotten odds-and-ends I'm finding? Hardly!

So please don't fear that this blog is "languishing." It's just going through one of its periodic quiet periods. I DO have things I'd like to write about, but they either take more preparation than I have energy for or they're too much like other things I've just written about.

I'm sure we can all sleep easier now.