Synths and Programming

Anybody who knows me, knows I build guitars and design MIDI synths into guitars and do other weird sh!t like that. I'm retired, so I have a bit of time left and like to keep my mind occupied. Cerebral atrophy is far too common these days.

So, the other day I put my Akai Z8 sampler up for trade and this was a fully loaded beast of a sampler, oversized everything and perfect shape with tons of samples I loaded. No biters except one guy who wanted to trade and I figured, WTF let's do this thing. So he traded me two brand new synthesizers for the Akai Z8, a Behringer K-2 and a Neutron. Nice toys, I am having some fun with them.

I hooked them up to the computer through Sonar and Ableton Live plus using a Novation Remote 61SL and an Akai APCKeys 25. Everything interfaces great, dumped the audio through a Behringer PHM3000 with a pair of B1520 speakers. All this stuff and a dozen guitars in my 8x12 shoebox workroom with guitar amps and a Roland guitar synth.

So my question to any synth Guru's out there is.... Any programming tips for the K-2 and Neutron to make really interesting sounds or do I just have to spin knobs all day?

The two synths
My messy little arrangement

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: MeckanicX

Hi Dave,

I'm an acoustic drummer. So no help in programming from me.
I'm just curious why you would integrate MIDI into the guitars 30 years plus on from the advent of the technology.

Tech has shifted enough to keep the guitars as designed while running it through various petals or laptop technologies.

Perhaps I am not fully understanding the question. You did say you ran it through a computer.

With any effects you do need to dial in the tone you want with shifting the levels as can be controlled. There are likely forums that discuss levels people like, but that is all on personal opinion.

With 20 years under my belt of working for a music festival, I've never seen two folks agree on their effects settings.

By what you posted, I'd say You should know how to route a signal on an analog synth. It's never just spinning dials until you get something you like. You could never reproduce a sound like that. Make some patch charts to use and keep track of your settings.

a reply to: MeckanicX

I have 4 Behringer mixers- 16 ch, 12, another 12. I have Yamaha and Roland synths and digital piano, Crown 3000 w pa, JBLS 15", 12" and 10's. Alexis 4 channel mixes my vocals and boards...(Behringer 1202 ch Xenyx FX).

Got my studio start at Motown Studio B at 19 in 1972. My synth has 16 track seq, pattern programmer, layers, split etc etc...

I now am using a more diverse 4 channel Surround sound 6 spk p.a. powered by the Crown 3000. Any questions, holler..

a reply to: MeckanicX

PS Don't program anything LIVE! NEVER! HEADPHONES. ALWAYS....You know why.

No 2 spkrs, wattages, amplification, sizes, positions....NONE...will give you accurate sound.

I use Tascam headphones 3 pairs, and Behringer in-the-ear monitors ....

Learned that making a car commercial in the 90's.

Send your final mix...mixed w phones....send that in stereo, to the pa.

MS

a reply to: MeckanicX

And, hey...can you do me a favor? THE SYNTH STAYS HOME! DO NOT ...let me take it on coming performances! Digital piano w midi enuff...bur I get the "why not" attitudes at times.

Roadies hate me...and my wife stands at the studio door w a 357....

Thnx ( and I am serious..)

*1 roadie is full blood Iroquois and a Shaman...maybe I ought start a thread?

originally posted by: Randomtangentsareme
a reply to: MeckanicX

Hi Dave,

I'm an acoustic drummer. So no help in programming from me.
I'm just curious why you would integrate MIDI into the guitars 30 years plus on from the advent of the technology.

Tech has shifted enough to keep the guitars as designed while running it through various petals or laptop technologies.

Perhaps I am not fully understanding the question. You did say you ran it through a computer.

With any effects you do need to dial in the tone you want with shifting the levels as can be controlled. There are likely forums that discuss levels people like, but that is all on personal opinion.

With 20 years under my belt of working for a music festival, I've never seen two folks agree on their effects settings.

Because I can lol. Buddy gave me an Epi 100 Les paul, so I gutted it, routed it out, mounted six ARM M4 Cortex string processors, one Samsung ARM A8 Cortex with touch screen LCD for my control surface. The A8 manages the string information from the M4's and converts it to MIDI. That MIDI is two channel, one channel goes out of the body, the other goes to a NEC XR385 (a Yamaha SB60XG Synth board) to give me between the A8 and the XR385 up to 10,000 instrument banks of 128 instruments and 59 discrete effects. I got giggity with it as well and added AD828 preamps to make the pickup system selectable active or passive plus a piezo pickup and preamp for a second 1/4 output for Acoustic Simulation.

I'm old, I have to keep my head busy. It's either this or go work for some despot that needs me to arrange retirements and terminations ;-)

The original Les Paul
Start of the routing Mods
Split Coil Pickup for the M4 processors
System/Processor Integration

I also have a Roland GR50 Guitar Synth and the GK is on my Ibanez RG

And I build my own guitars

Flame Maple face, African Bubinga back and headstock, Maple neck
African Bubinga face, back and headstock, Maple neck

Since I retired from research and development for alphabet agencies and the military/CI, I have taken up a less dangerous hobby, but you never forget how to ride a "bike" right ;-)

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: Mysterioustranger2

My real interest here is getting proficient with these two actual synths. I can design and build synths myself, but why re-invest the wheel. It's like I wouldn't be doing the MIDI guitar if the Casio PG380 or the Roland GR system had all the functions mine does. I was going to buy Les Paul's white PG380 at his estate auction, but I tried one and found that even though it was really good and the latency was very low, it was limited in it's voicing unless hooked to a remote synth.

For toys....

For Keyboards, Synths and surfaces... I am running a Yamaha PSR-730, Yamaha PSS-680, Casio LK-280 I think (for the wife to try and learn her an instrument), the Behringer K-2, Behringer Neutron, a Novation Nova, a Novation Remote 61SL, Akai APCKeys 25, Novation 25 mini and an M-Audio Oxygen 49. I might buy a Moog Mini or a Behringer 2600.

Guitars, now this gets scary.... 1959 Gibson ES-335 with the original case, Ibanez RG, Epi red SG Special II, Epi arctic white Les Paul Studio, Crappy Robson Strat with uber hot Tele pickups (what can I say, I'm nuts lol), 1968 pre-lawsuit era Raven SG Pro, a solidbody Flame Maple Telecaster I made with 14k/16k oripure split coil humbuckers, a hollowbody African Bubinga Telecaster I made again with 16k/16k oripure half width split coil humbuckers with a piezo pickup/preamp and a 100 effect DSP, a Harmony late 40's classical acoustic, Takamine EG463SC Nex with quilted maple back, Vantage 330B bass in transparent emerald green and last but not least, my Johnny Cash guitar, a 1961 Black with white binding D-28 Martin. Couple of peddles as well, but they're just peddles lol.

Mixers and Amps/Speakers... I have a Behringer Xenyx 1202FX, Behringer 2442FX, Behringer PHM3000 with 1520b speakers, Soundcraft Note 124 and Roland Cube 60 COSM amp plus a Fender Stage 100. For sh!ts and giggles with the guitar amps I have a Traynor 15" two way wedge.

The recording equipment... I have a Echo Layla 3Gfor recording. Plus I have 3 recording studio computers with 15krpm SCSI drives and the 48u 19" rack. Just sold my Akai Z8 and my Yamaha EMx88s and a pair of 15" two way Yamaha PA speakers.

I have a lot of stuff lol, probably forgot a few things because I don't use everything all the time, but I have had my own studio dealing with record labels directly since 2002, basically as a hobby, I have licenses with all the big labels, lot of little ones as well. I was lucky, when I was working for the NRC, DHS, DARPA, etc., I worked from home where I had laboratories and offices, so I could switch between projects and programs.

It's easy though to collect a sh!tload of equipment over twenty years. Some of it I would hate to give up.

Cheers - Dave

originally posted by: TheMichiganSwampBuck
By what you posted, I'd say You should know how to route a signal on an analog synth. It's never just spinning dials until you get something you like. You could never reproduce a sound like that. Make some patch charts to use and keep track of your settings.

I just want to see if anyone else out there has knob positions that work well and signal routing diagrams. I can sit here and test it out through the APCKeys (and sequencer) and use Ableton initially, interface the 61SL later with its sequencer and run from there. It would just be nice to have somebody that uses these things and has experience with them impart some hard earned knowledge.

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: MeckanicX

There was an article called "I have 5 Marshalls?!" about me and my ready-road equipment, 1 set down South the other in stortage, the other of West .Both duplicate. (Last toured with Bonnie Raitt).

Quite funny all the trunks and some going back in storage to 1977. You can find the story on line...if you cant, Ill forward.

I have just down sized home if you can call it that. Still both sets up and down the states. They remain always ready. On tour I play lead guitar and keys. Yes, we should talk.*

(Ck your pm.*)

a reply to: MeckanicX

Back again...Apparently cant send PM, but maybe reply to you if you pm me. Please. Thanks

originally posted by: Mysterioustranger2
a reply to: MeckanicX

Back again...Apparently cant send PM, but maybe reply to you if you pm me. Please. Thanks

I'll try that but lately only stars work on posts, no flags, comes up FAIL and the messaging doesn't save anything. I had PM's earlier and when I tried to save them, they went poof lol

I have load of email addresses encrypted, TOR and surface, but I think my favorite is laugh.at.the.maskholes (at) gmail lol

When I try to PM someone it says this crap... "You may not send private messages to anyone but ATS Staff."

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: MeckanicX

As far as your synths? I'm sure thru Keyboard Magazine's archives, you'll find some indicators of info for each. But, you have a small problem here specifically.

To find any % of the players/producers who would be familiar w each, is slim. And that's because they are your favs, any perhaps not out of the percentages of us playin.

You're studio-savy, rt? Then you're aware of the vast differences. Cheap keys sound amazing, synths seq'd...Digital-Analog, parameters, algorithms. To find a special "pro" for any of our stuff, is difficult.

You might peruse the bios of Keith Emerson/ELP, Rick Wakeman/YES.. and his son Christopher/now keys w Yes. Reason being their equipment has moved forward from Melotron and Mini Moog days, and have things discussed a lot.

I think your best bet is to contact each company for tips, advice, known settings. They will absolutely help, as I did Roland in 1989.

1989, I was using Midi...Yamaha Stage Piano midi into Roland Jx-3P Synth, and programmer.

I had a Behringer contact once (still have a bunch of diff Behinger-everythings)...who contacted me...it was that guy whos picture is in their manual. I think he's was the developer and creater for Behringer.

I was stunned, and he provided me tons of publicly available (when requested) test settings that were used in p.developement

You may be surprised...and would be real hard to find people specifically into synths, and yours. Not impossible, but highly unlikely- small tiny % of us players and recorders may use them.

So...request from each comp, the test algorithm s used to create algorithms-patches.

Good luck! God bless...

a reply to: Mysterioustranger2

I can find info on Moog, Roland, CS-60 to 80s, Novation, Akai, etc, behringer is a little light on info out there. I may just pick up a VS Pro Mini in the interim for a bit of simple fun. I am heading towards a DeepMind 12 plus a Roland VS-790. We'll see what happens, in the interim, I spin knobs and push patchcords lol.

As far as recording, I've done over 200 singers and few full bands in the studio. Bands are annoying at times, they all want to be the loudest lol, ef'ing egos get in the way. I am better sequencing/rendering than I am playing live, so I can live nicely behind the board instead of in front of it. My skill set is highly technical, more in the design/R&D area, I can build you a DEW, rail gun or a multiple VCO synth based in anybody's tech. I do have a very good relationship with Intel, Analog Devices and Texas Instruments (Cool Audio is coming up and I have standing NDAs with Novation), they give me emulators or I acquire them through bets and challenges, it's all free anyway. I just got two $1,300 HMC662 RF power meter chips for 5G applications from Analog Devices and I get Stellaris processors from TI, all free ;-) I have to make a 5G Power Meter to try and find all the major constructive wavefunction points, but that's another project....

Cheers - Dave

a reply to: MeckanicX

Lord have Mercy...! I am currently performing live shows...digital piano, chord generated vocal harmonies, Boss and TC harmonizers. Nothing else.

Downsizing. I've just pulled a photo of stacked equip, and pa's, horns, couple Strats, L.Pauls...it was my Coral Gables, Miami apt in '74.

Seventy four. 50 yrs. It never ends!