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TraxWeekly Issue 084
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founded march 12, 1995 _| : _____ t r a x w e e k l y # 8 4
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/ / / _____ . _ \ __ ___ _/__/\
/ / / / /\ _ The Music Scene Newsletter __ __\__\/
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| TraxWeekly Issue #84 | Release date: 09 Jan. 1997 | Subscribers: 922 |
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/-[Introduction]------------------------------------------------------------
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Welcome to TraxWeekly #84.
After a terrible week, we're back up with some decent articles that
just might actually leave an impression on you this week. Thanks to
Sklathill, Pinion, It-Alien, and Nova for contributing articles, and a
big "hey!" to our former journalist Zinc for continuing to maintain the
Demotape Directory.
I've recieved a few submissions for TraxCulture this week; they will
appear in the following weeks to come. Those of you who still have ideas
and articles to contribute: send them in!
Until next week!
Gene Wie (Psibelius)
TraxWeekly Publishing
gwie@csusm.edu
/-[Contents]----------------------------------------------------------------
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/ ____/_/ __/ \ __/ / _____/ \ __/ __/ ___/_
< \____\ \ \\ \ \\____ __/ __/_\ \ \\____ \_____ \__
\ \ \ \\ \ \ww\ \\ \\ \ \ \ \ \_
_\________\________\\___\____\ \_____\\_______\\___\____\ \_____\_______\
Letters and Feedback
1. Letter from Dakke
General Articles
2. Perfect Samples: The Piano....................Sklathill
3. Impulse Tracker Tip of the Week...............Pinion
4. When you need more............................It-Alien
5. More on Ratings...............................Nova
The Demotape Directory
Closing
Distribution
Subscription/Contribution Information
TraxWeekly Staff Sheet
/-[Letters and Feedback]----------------------------------------------------
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--[1. Letter from Dakke]----------------------------------------------------
Hello
I really think that Trax is a very good and educational newsletter.
I have subscribed for quite a while now and I would be very happy if you
read this e-mail. Since Trax is a big newsletter, I hope that you would
like to help a newly formed newsletter.
I am only asking you to publish this mail in a Trax issue. I would
appreciate very much if you do that. I am looking for more subscribers to
a new newsletter. This newsletter contain articles about: Coders,
Trackers, Graphic Artist's, Hackers and other free speech related articles
Our first issue will contain :
Interwiev with Lizardking
Article about Mods/s3ms
Report from The Party 6
Mail corner
Gossip
Hacker Hints
And much more
Please give it a try and subscribe.
To subscribe, send mail to: pcman@beerchan.irc.pp.se
Put the following text in the subject field : Paper add
//Dark_Soul "Dakke" Organizer of Gecko
pcman@beerchan.irc.pp.se
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/-[General Articles]--------------------------------------------------------
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--[2. Perfect Samples: The Piano]------------------------------[Sklathill]--
Let's start with one of the most frequently used samples: the piano. Now,
for most people, this is the easiest thing to sample. Get one of those
keyboards and hook it up right to your soundcard for a very clean sound of
one key, probably middle C. Yipee. One word. BORING!
[Yes, there are LOTS of piano samples out there, but I'm assuming that you
are (like me) a DIY kind of guy.]
Now, if you are going to use an electronic keyboard, you might as well do
it right. First of all, does the thing actually sound like a piano? If
it doesn't, I'm sure you can borrow some other keyboard from another guy.
Once you have a nice keyboard with some good piano samples, you must start
sampling. And I mean LOTS of sampling. At every single sampling rate
known to man. Well, maybe not that much. What we want to know is how low
can you get the sampling rate while still getting good quality. This may
be hard with a few soundcards which ALWAYS pick up noise. For people who
insist that SB-clone cards are as good as the high quality Gravis and
Creative Labs and the (original) Windows Sound System, try recording at
8 bit 11025 hz and you'll hear the noise which comes from substandard
quality DACs and ADCs. Try it and compare.
Now once you finally figured what rate you want to sample at (I like 8 bit
at 16000 hz) it's time to sample even more (gee! Who would have
guessed!) And I mean LOTS of samples! As in lots of keys. You've got to
realize that one key can not just be played at 88 different rates.
Depending on your initial sampling rate, you can have one key emulate as
many as 14 other keys (all notes 7 half steps away from the initial note)
to as little as 2 other keys (just one half step down and up.) This
is very subjective. What many people will consider fine transposed 2
whole steps up others will consider much too artificial.
Okay, let's say that you have decided that you need a very wide range of
samples in order for it to sound as good as possible. These samples are
going to eat up a lot of space. And you really don't want these samples
to cut off prematurely. If you think that the space being used up is
really too much, you're going to have to loop the sample. Now this won't
be too much of a problem with the high notes. After the initial attack,
high notes, as in about one and a half octaves above middle C, start to
evolve into a sound somewhat similar to a sine wave. Low notes are
usually harder, but the cheaper the keyboard (HA!) you are using, the
easier it will be to loop the sample. Why is this? Low notes will more
resemble sine waves on cheaper keyboards. More expensive keyboards will
try to emulate a real piano more and have the low notes evolve almost
endlessly, trying closely to simulate the vibrations of the low strings,
which take much longer to die down.
Speaking of real pianos, let's say you've got the time (and the money, and
the equipment!) to sample a very nice grand. We follow basically the same
process as above...with a few additions.
Choosing the piano will be harder. It's not simply a choice of grand
versus upright. (We are going with grand.) Different types of pianos
have very different personalilties. Here are the big five which most
studios will have:
Steinway
Mason and Hamlin
Baldwin
Bosendorfer
Yamaha
These are in order of preference by the way. :) So what do you choose?
What type of sound do you want? As I said before, pianos have very
distinct personalities, and pianists can effortlessly distinguish a Yamaha
from a Steinway. Let's see what makes these pianos so different.
_Steinway_
Simply one of the best instruments you can lay your hands on, provided it
is well-maintained. It, overall, is a very moderate instrument, neither
incredibly bright nor very mellow. Its highs, however, are just beautiful
and the piano overall has an amazing range, from a new-age mellow sound,
to a strikingly strong (but not overly harsh) tone.
_Mason and Hamlin_
Most music which I've heard to lately is usually confined to a three
octave section, usually the section surrounding middle C. If that is what
is going to predominate in your song, this is what to get. The lower
notes, however, may not be to your liking, as they are a fair bit more
mellow; it is very hard to get substantial volume on some of the smaller
(around five feet) pianos in the bass section. They are also harder to
come by than the others.
_Baldwin_
For the true jazz pianist. Very bright, with a very satisfying bass.
The highs just want to shout out gin and tonic and the rest of the piano
is just right for jazz or fusion. But if you want mellow, you better
hope the room you record in is not in any way live.
_Bosendorfer_
We now go from bright to mellow. Perhaps too mellow? I guess that's
perfect for new age, eh? The Bosendorfers just scream out mellow, if
that's possible. It's good for neo-classical and new-age music.
_Yamaha_
Not a bad piano. Then why do I put it at the bottom? There really isn't
anything which this instrument does exceptionally well. Somewhat bright.
The bass is fairly strong in comparision to the rest of the piano.
So, let's see. Let's say we are inspired to do a country song (can that
happen?) We wouldn't want a mellow Bosendorfer at the helm, would we?
A Baldwin would be a good choice, and perhaps a Yamaha.
It's important that you listen to a number of pianos before you decide
which one you want to sample. Call up a few studios. There may be a few
which have well-maintained pianos ready to record. They'll charge per
hour probably, and it usually is quite reasonable for about say, three
hours. Of course, when I say reasonable, I mean if you don't need an
engineer at the ready during your session.
Other alternatives include local universites and music schools, but don't
expect to have the piano set up and ready to record with mics already in
position. They probably won't even have mics, so unless you know a place
where you can rent them or borrow them from, be ready to invest anywhere
from 800 to 1200 dollars and more for a pair of large diaphragm condenser
multipattern mics and/or 600 to 800 dollars for small diaphragm mics with
a cardioid polar pattern.
[They are great on anything (except your budget) althought the small
diaphragm mics may represent the better deal since they are much better
at handling sudden dynamic changes, i.e. drumkit, unlike their larger and
more expensive siblings.]
Okay, you've got everything set up except mic placement. What are you
going to record to? Generally, I like to have my recordings on plain
audio tape instead of direct to the sampler. This way, not only do I have
something for my archives, but I also have a little bit of warmth added.
If you don't want that warmth, you could record to DAT. Either way, it's
important to have everything during your session recorded onto a medium
which is easily accessible once you have another need for these samples.
Mic placement. This is going to be pretty hard. Forgive my poor ASCII
art...
Fig.1 (Close Miking)
___________ In this figure, we have our "normal" config.
| \ Two condenser mics, cardioid pattern, close
| \ to the strings for a bright percussive sound.
| | The top is off or at its highest position so
| | as to keep the sound as clean as possible.
| |
| \________
| | | \
| X X \
| |
| |
|_________________________|
----------
| |
----------
Fig.2
___________ Here is an alternative. Mics are placed just
| \ right by the pianists head. Immediately, you
| \ get a mellower sound than in the first
| | config. Again, cardioid pattern should be
| | used.
| |
| \________
| \
| \
| |
| |
|_________________________|
----------
| X X |
-|------|-
Fig.3 (Room Miking)
___________ Another alternative. Mics are placed where
| \ the audience would be. Depending on the room
| \ X-- the recording is going to take place in, you
| | might want your mics on omni-directional (if
| | multi-pattern) so as to get more reverb.
| | Personal preference.
| \________
| \
| \
| | X--
| |
|_________________________|
----------
| |
----------
This isn't like carved in stone or anything, so experiment by all means.
Sometimes, I like a combination of close miking and room miking.
Sometimes I don't. It depends not only on your song, but also on the type
of room your recording in (dead or live), type of piano, etc.
Once you got your samples, it's time to alter. The most accurate
rendition of any instrument is not necessarily the best rendition. A
little noise reduction couldn't hurt, or perhaps some touches on the end
of a certain note you cut off prematurely.
Oh yeah, did I mention...ALWAYS HAVE BACKUPS! Keep high quality copies of
the originals on your hard drive.
Okay, how about other instruments? Same process. Choice of instrument,
electronic or the real thing, choice of miking; the only thing you are
going to have to watch for more is if you are going to record real
instruments. And I don't mean guitar plucks. I mean instruments in which
a note can be held almost indefinitely, i.e. woodwinds, brass, strings.
If you are still an S3M/MTM/MOD guy, then, create your own ping-pong
sample. Get some shareware sample editor such as Cool Edit 1.5 and you
can. Let's take this sample.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Let's say you want to ping-pong from 8 to 12. You take copy samples 9
through 11, and open another program, or another instance of whatever
program you use (provided you are in Windows) and you reverse it.
9 10 11 -turns into- 11 10 9
Attach your new sample fragment to the end of your original sample, so you
get this...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 11 10 9
^ ^
loop begin loop end
Another way to get some nice samples from those darn woodwinds and reeds?
This comes from Necros's "The Grey Note" from _Progression_. He has about
seven or eight sax samples which are really sax passages. He jumps from
passage to passage to go from pitch to pitch and uses lots of sample
offsets. Another channel is used for echo so as to make those sample
offsets less noticeable. This process is fairly hard but can result in a
much more realistic tone which contains slight variations ressulting from
human imperfection.
Sklathill (diamante@odysseus.gonzaga.pvt.k12.dc.us)
Blind Venetians / Stormworks Studios
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--[2. Impulse Tracker Tip of the Week]----------------[pinion (Ryan Hunt)]--
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Tip #4: An actual use for the Jxx command (or "no, it's not useless!"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some may say that the Jxx command can't be used in any good way, but I
disagree. I will conceed that when used to create really neato chords it
is a bit... shitty sounding, but there are other ways to use it than in the
old school chip tune way.
By using an unmelodic sample like looped static or white noise, you can
create really interesting analog style sound effects. The most interesting
one I've come up with is as follows:
<step one> Get a good sample like Spectrum, or Pitch Wind. Something with
timbre that loops continuously.
<step two> After initilizing the instruments, give the sample/instrument a
pitch envelope like this:
|o | - high to low, or low to high.
| \ |
| \ | The pitch bend should be long enough that it
| \ | holds out of an entire patterns length.
| \ |
| o |
<step three> In the pattern editor, after playing the note fill up the
effects for that channel with the Jxx command. The value is really a matter
of opinion and doesn't *really* matter but it definately needs to have one!
Note: you may also want to make the note fade in volume as it goes on. If
you want to do a stereo pan *and* a fade out, you can alwys do the stereo
pan with the panning envelopes and use the volume column for the fade, or
vise-versa.
Footnote: I think I first saw this technique used by Skaven but not to this
extent. With the addition of the volume column effects this same effect can
be done, in theory, using the Exx command in the volume column and the Jxx
commands in the effects column, however, a bug in v2.09 won't allow this
trick to be done. However, Pulse has fixed the problem so in future
versions we *will* have the technology... _it_can_be_done_!
If you need further information on this trick or have an idea for a Tip of
the Week email pinion@netcom.com
-pinion (phluid)
email: pinion@netcom.com
web : www.acid.org/phluid/newmain.html
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--[3. When you need more...]------------------------------------[It-Alien]--
...then effect and volume columns.
(NOTE: This article uses FT2 commands, but is true for IT too)
Were you a lamer no more than a year ago?
Are your musical skills growing faster and do you feel the need to use more
than the standard FT2 "00 000" columns? Don't skip this article!
Here it is a good way to fake the use of more columns!!
As not everyone knows, if you do not specify the number of the instrument
you're playing in the current row (typing in a zero were the number is
written), FT plays the last instrument played in the chn, without changing
volume and pan... (so, if you have played instrument A at C-3 with
panning full left and volume 20 (EVEN SLIDED TO 20!!) last time in the 3rd
channel, typing "D-3 00 00 000" in the 3rd chn will cause FT to play the
instrument A at D-3 with left pan and volume 20). So your instrument will
be played at last specified volume/pan without busying columns! But now it
comes the most important thing: what if you play an instrument (let's say
the instr C) in a chn with volume set to 00 (yes!) an pan set to A
(f.e. C-3 0C PA C00) and then use the "instrument 0" to play C at a
certain note with volume 20 and offset to 12 ? Yes! The instrument C will
be played at volume 20, panning A and starting from 1200 hex !! 3 effects
(saying that a non-default volume is an effect, obviously...) without
setting any of them as default into the Instrument editor! Geeeez!! >:)
Here it is an example:
Nth Channel "Hidden Column"
00 C-3 0C PA C00
01 C-3 00 20 912 PA
02 C-3 00 P4 320 C20
Q: But I've just typed in a note in row 00, how could I use this trick in
row 01 ?!?!?
A : Don't be lame!!! Expand the pattern, double up the speed and use the
trick!
Q: But I need the note in row 00 to be played for a certain time!
A: GOSH! ((Use the note delay EDx) OR (add a channel)) AND (piss off!!) >:D
Q: But I've reached the maximum of 32 channels yet!
A: Good! It is supposed you're not a lamer then... So, why have you read
this lamer-aiding article?!
Well, if you want an example of what I've said, try it-hardd.xm, which will
be into cdrom.com's incoming directory very soon (I hope it'll be online
when this article will be on TW). In this XM, in fact, I used the "Instr 0"
to create an echo channel for instr 8 here and there (f.e: pattern 14 hex):
main and echo channel have the same effects (panning and even tone
portamen-to TOGETHER), but the echo chn has the volume set to 10 too!
NOTES: -This trick can be used even with drumkits (XIs with a different
percussion sample on each note).
-If in FT's configuration (layout section) you've set the "show
zeroes" switch off, the "instr 0" will appear as an instrument with
NO NUMBER shown!
It-Alien , napodano@inopera.it
http://www.inopera.it/~napodano/it-alien.htm
it-*.zip files on CDROM.COM
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--[4. More On Ratings]----------------------------------------------[Nova]--
After reading endless discussions about Hornet's rating system in past
issues, I feel I need to put in my two cents. In case some of you haven't
noticed, there is an incredibly large amount of new songs that are released
every day. I'd say at least 15 songs are being uploaded to ftp.cdrom.com as
you read this article. And one of the main problems is that a lot of these
songs are not really worth listening to. You'd be surprised at how many
beginning trackers will write a ton of songs, without putting much effort
into any of them, and insist: "I might not be very good, but at least I can
write fast."
This is where the Hornet reviews come in. I admit they are not 100%
accurate, but overall, they do give us something to keep in mind when
browsing the Hornet archive. I personally would be more inclined to
download songs that received a **** rating over songs that only got **.
Which brings me to my point: these ratings should only be used as a
guideline when deciding what songs to download. It is pointless to debate
whether Persian Starfall (*****) is any better than Search for the Lost
Riff (****+) because it got + less. They are both excellent compositions
and I think that's the message the Hornet reviewers are trying to get
across.
Now, what about these other rating systems? In traxweekly #82, Boris
had an article entitled "Rating solutions," in which he introduced a new
method of reviewing songs. It consists of rating only a handful of modules,
on a scale of 1 to 100, with comments, much like the MC4 system. This is a
good idea, but it is by no means a sufficient replacement for the Hornet
ratings. For one, they will only cover about 0.1% of all the new releases
in the scene, whereas Hornet will eventually rate everything. Second, I
don't agree that comments from the general public are as useful as comments
from an experienced tracker. I only know a few of the Hornet reviewers,
but they all seem to know what they're doing. Inviting everyone in the
entire scene to review songs might not be the best way to have accurate
ratings. I know when I was first starting to track, I would've given
***** or 100 to tons of songs, because I hadn't heard enough music to
realize that many modules are just copies of classic styles set by
Future Crew, Renaissance, and KLF.
Basically, I don't believe we need a "solution" for rating songs.
While we could encourage the Hornet reviewers to double-check their
reviews so the few errors they make could be reduced, their reviewing
system is still our best source for knowing, out of all the new
releases in the scene today, what songs are worth downloading.
- Nova [Analogue Productions]
contact at: fractal@istar.ca
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/-[Demotape Directory]------------------------------------------------------
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Demotape Directory for January 1997
NEWS:
No, this is not a return to the TW staff. I did, however, promise
to keep up this column no matter what happens, because I think it is
an important resource.
Remember to mail me with any new listings at rays@direct.ca and give me
all the information possible: release date, price, name of album, style(s)
used, and so on. Most important is your contact address and/or WWW site.
The following demo tape/cds are organized by artist, alphabetically.
All dates are approximate. There may be surcharges for s/h fees, etc.
I am not responsible for misinformation. Contact me to correct errors.
BTW:
Here's a tip on overcoming writers block, which I've encountered of
late. Pick out a CD from your extensive library. Choose an artist whom
you admire, and has influenced or inspired you in the past. Play it on
your cd player at a decent volume - loud, but quiet enough so as to not
be disturbing. Lie down on your bed or a comfy couch, and close your
eyes. Cleanse your mind of all thoughts and worries, concentrating only
on the vibes and rhythm, etc. from the music. You'll find that time
passes quite quickly, and hopefully at some point you'll suddenly (or
gradually) be inspired to track something amazing.
DEMOTAPE DIRECTORY for JANUARY 1997
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
B00MER - Negative Youth
CS - $5 US + SH ($1.25 extra for metal tape)
Industrial/techno
September 1996
boomer@a.crl.com OR www.atdt.com/bliss/form.html
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Electric Keet - version one point zero beta
CD - $15 ($12 if prepaid by 12/31) -or- CS $10
Everything. Classical to techno
January 1997
tracerj@asis.com OR http://asis.com/~tracerj/ek.htm
14+ tracks, 4 exclusive to album.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
IQ and Maelcum - FTZ "Nothing Is True"
CD - $8 US + S&H
N/A
1995
maelcum@kosmic.org OR www.kosmic.org/areawww/
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mental Floss - Grey Matter
CS - $10 US
mixed techno
N/A
andrewm@io.org OR www.io.org/~andrewm/greymatter
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
PeriSoft & SupaMart - Live Inside Your Computer
CS - $6 US
Ambient/Trance/Techno
July 1996
mwiernic@pinion.sl.pitt.edu OR supamart@servtechcom
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
All listings follow this format:
Author/Title
Format/Price (CS = Cassette, CD = Compact Disc, S&H = Shipping Costs)
Style(s) Used
Release Date
Contact (email/WWW)
Other
Think tracked music is commercially viable? Prove it! Support the scene!
Suggestions and comments are welcome.
- zinc / rays@direct.ca
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/-[Closing]-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Contributions should be mailed as plain ascii text or filemailed
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TraxWeekly is usually released over the listserver and ftp.cdrom.com
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TraxWeekly does not discriminate based on age, gender, race, political
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The staff can be reached at the following:
Editor: Psibelius (Gene Wie)..............gwie@csusm.edu
Staff: Atlantic (Barry Freeman)..........atlantic@arcos.org
Benjamin Krause...................orogork@cs.tu-berlin.de
Fred (Fred Fredricks).............fred@paracom.com
Kal Zakath (John Townsend)........jtownsen@sescva.esc.edu
Kleitus (Seth Katzman)............katzms@rpi.edu
Mage (Glen Dwayne Warner).........gdwarner@vinson.navy.mil
gdwarner@ricochet.net
Graphic Contributors:
Cruel Creator . Stezotehic . Squidgalator2 . White Wizard
TraxWeekly is a HORNET affiliation.
Copyright (c)1995,1996 - TraxWeekly Publishing, All Rights Reserved.
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until next week! =)
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