Things We Like
Compare the sound of 300 microphones. Right now.
Audio Test Kitchen’s website is an interactive aural comparison of hundreds of different large diaphragm microphones. This feat is accomplished by recording exactly the same performances, with the exact same levels, using the exact same signal chains, and with the help of laser guidance, the exact same positioning of each mic’s diaphragm. If you’re considering buying a new mic, this is the place to start.
https://www.audiotestkitchen.com/
I used to own a Moog Prodigy synthesizer as a teenager. Unfortunately, it was stolen from my car when I moved to college (along with almost everything else I owned). I spent many, many hours with that thing and it did a great job of teaching me the basics of synthesis. If you don't own a synthesizer but are even mildly interested, here's a pretty great introduction to synthesis from the BBC archives:
-Michael
ModulAir is a modular polyphonic software synthesizer for both Mac and PC from Full Bucket Music. The list of features include:
Fully modular architecture
Up to 18 modules per patch
43 module types available
Polyphonic Voice and monophonic Master modules
Up to 64 voices polyphony
External signal processing possible
TUN/SCL micro-tuning file import
MIDI Learn – all parameters can be controlled by MIDI CC
Double precision audio processing
Plug-in supports Windows and macOS (32 bit and 64 bit)
VST and AU plugin formats
It sounds great, is a lot of fun to play around with, and is free/donationware. Download it here.
Maxime Chevalier-Boisvert has created a free/donationware online modular synth called Zupiter that sounds great and is a lot of fun to mess around with. It includes all the basics you’d expect and can be controlled via your computer keyboard, the app’s programmable step sequencers, or externally via MIDI. You can even map your external controller’s knobs to the app’s virtual ones. While the site’s About page say, “Its interface is designed to be minimalistic and simple, so as not to put off beginners”, there is a bit of learning curve. Luckily, users can (and do) post their patches for others to load and play. It’s a great way to get your head around the interface or to hear what it can do. Check it out!
You’re probably familiar with the Theremin, that eerie, siren sounding instrument used in countless science fiction soundtracks and famously in the Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations.” You’ve also probably never tried one. Thanks to Femur, a company composed solely of programmer Luke Phillips, you can play a simulation on the web for free. Instead of using your hands and antennae to control pitch and volume, you use your mouse or trackpad - left and right is pitch, up and down is volume. You can select from four different waveforms and there are controls for delay, feedback, and scuzz (sounds like ring modulation). For a few bucks you can also buy the app for iOS, Android, and desktop which allows you to record. Try it for yourself.
For quickly notating songs and chord fingerings, Chord! for iOS achieves the best balance of ease, versatility, and customization of any app we’ve tried. You can select standard chords or build a library of custom chords to choose from, place those chords anywhere on the page, and import or enter lyrics if needed. When you’re done, quickly export a perfectly formatted PDF file. It’s the perfect composition notebook! If you need any help along the way it also has many learning tools and chord lookup functions. You can learn more about it at http://getchord.com/.
If your job requires you to create original material, you know that sometimes the blank page can be blinding. Or maybe you’re part way through a project and can’t find the best path to move forward. In 1975 musician Brian Eno and artist Peter Schmidt jointly compiled a list of prompts, suggestions, and aphorisms to help break the mental gridlock creators often experience and published them as a collection of cards called Oblique Strategies. The idea is that the musician or artist can randomly select a card at any time in order to encourage lateral thinking. Examples include:
Use an old idea.
State the problem in words as clearly as possible.
Are there sections? Consider transitions.
Work at a different speed.
The prompts are deliberately vague but can knock you out of your rut if used sparingly and deliberately. There have been many editions and it’s not hard to find used versions, but you can pick up the latest edition at the Eno Shop.
Of all the unusual gimmicks applied to vinyl records - from colored vinyl to locked grooves to records that randomly play different versions of a song - phenakistiscopes are among our favorites. A phenakistiscope is a rotating disc with images printed around its perimeter that appear to animate when viewed under a strobe light (the above phenakistiscope is Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) 2012 Remix). All you need is 1) a turntable, 2) a strobe light with adjustable speed or a vinyl strobe app such as VinylStrobe for iOS or Strobily for Android, and 3) a phenakistiscope disc or slip mat. A Google search for “phenakistiscope vinyl” or “zoetrope vinyl” will yield a ton of results, but be sure to check out the latest Sculpture record or the slip mats sold by TheFisherKingStore. For printable PDFs try Drew Tetz’s website.
Sculpture Projected Music
Sculpture Music for Exposition Electro
Sculpture Plastic Infinite
Every Noise at Once is a tool that attempts to list every musical genre there is, visually represented on the page so you can see how they sonically relate to one another, and with audio examples for each! Not sure what the difference is between Aggrotech and Terrorcore? No problem, just listen to the examples. And clicking on any genre will take you to a page of artists that are representative of that genre. It's a fun and valuable tool for composers and curious listeners alike.
There are a lot of good iOS tuners out there. Two we particularly like for ease of use and accuracy are the BOSS Tuner (free) and VITALtuner (free or paid). But the paid version of Fender Tune, available here, is our new go to tuner. It’s accurate, easy to use, includes alternate tunings, and has settings for guitars, bass, and ukulele. But the thing that makes it stand out is that you can store custom tunings. That’s huge since few apps that include alternate tunings allow you create custom ones. Take the tuning Nick Drake uses on several albums - CGCFCE. We’ve never seen that tuning included in a tuner app. With Fender Tune it’s not an issue. Just enter it in as a custom tuning and you’re ready to go. When you go to the tuning page you can click on the note names to play samples of each note. This is helpful to quickly get your guitar close to in tune. Then use the main tuning function for accurate, precise tuning. The paid version also includes a chord finder, scales, a metronome, some basic drum beats, and some helpful beginner videos.
Song Exploder is a podcast where "musicians take apart their songs, and piece by piece, tell the story of how they were made." You get to hear isolated individual tracks while the musicians walk you through their decision making processes as they created their songs. Past episodes have included artists such as Bleachers, Nine Inch Nails, MGMT, The Killers, and Fleet Foxes. Well worth checking out.
It’s hard to play, has a limited choice of notes, and sounds like it’s been sitting in a dusty attic for half a century. But the OM-1 Cassette Synthesizer is a quirky beast with an appealing sound that’s all its own. It utilizes continuous tones on a cassette tape and 8 buttons that can change the playback speed in order to create different pitches. Each button can be individually tuned so you can create whatever scales you want, and a pressure sensitive volume control allows you to change the volume by pressing harder or softer. It even includes some basic envelope controls. The maker is currently sold out so you’re going to have to find one on eBay or Reverb. http://www.ondemagnetique.com
The EMS Synthi A was small portable synthesizer first built in the 1970’s and made famous by Brian Eno, Pink Floyd (think “Dark Side of the Moon”) and Jean-Michel Jarre. It’s most unusual feature is the matrix style patchbay which allows you to connect anything to almost anything else. Alex Nisnevich has built an incredible Synthi emulator completely in Javascript which you can play from your web browser. It’s a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out!
VinylHub is the largest database of brick-and-mortar record stores out there. You'll likely find some local shops that you didn't know existed, and it's a great resource if you'll be traveling to another city or country and want to do some record shopping while you're there. It also lists record events such record fairs, record parties, and record discounts. If you're a record collector it's a very valuable resource!
Ryan Richardson of Austin, Texas has taken it upon himself to digitize the entire catalog of Rock Scene magazine (1973-1982) and we're glad he did. Rock scene was a music rag that was a little cooler than some of its contemporaries such as Hit Parader, Creem, and Circus. It featured short articles and numerous photographs of most of the early glam, rock, and punk bands of the period; David Bowie, Roxy Music, T. Rex, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Sex Pistols, KISS, etc. Check it out!
Distortion LTD is a digital gear magazine about the glorious effect pedal. Reviews, interviews with pedal creators, and articles are all there. It'a well done, and to top it off it's free.
