Doggiebox March 2005

doggiebox@lists.zygoat.ca

15 participants
22 discussions

(no subject)
by Sion Morris 01 Nov '05

01 Nov '05

Nice song Mike. I'd echo what Carl said - I think you can dispose of your vocalist - your voice is in fact great! You remind me a bit of Michael Stipe. Its particularly good when the harmonies come in. Seriously, you should be singing as well as playing. I banged this on my mp3 player this evening, set to 'repeat' and had it on a loop for ages and can't really find any fault. Its the best example yet of a believable 'real drummer' sound - that technique of slight speedup works really well. I'll be looking again at the nskit - it has a great 'clean studio sound. Any chance you could send the drum db over for me to look at for tips? Cheers Sion Morris Liverpool www.cinnamondesign.co.uk/music/music.html ------------------------------------------- > http://webpages.charter.net/mcarlyle/sounds/comealive-01.mp3 > > My singer didn't show up so I gave it a go myself. I don't know if > I'll be doing much more of this kind of singing. I'm going through the > "I hate my voice" thing. > > The drums are all Doggiebox using nskit v.7. I really like the polish > and natural feel of this kit. I need to tone the toms down a little > bit, but one thing at a time. This is an example of "pushing the > tempo" during the chorus to make the thing feel a little more human. > > I had posted this before, but at the time it had no vocals and was > fairly bare bones. This is an all new version using my new gear (MXL > 990 mic, M-Audio monitors, Tascam US-122 interface, Fender Pro > Junior... the list goes on.

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MIDI Interaction with Roland SPD-S
by Chris Wicklas 21 Jul '05

21 Jul '05

Hi Everybody, I have read through past posts and haven¹t been able to find an answer to my question. I¹m curious to know if there is a way for me have a Roland SPD-S control the start/stop of patterns in DB. I am just a beginner when it comes to MIDI, so forgive me if this is a simple question. Let me explain. I am using DB as a click to play along with live. I created sections for each of my band¹s songs. Each section consists of a 1 bar phrase that loops with the song¹s tempo... In essence, a database of songs and tempos. When we play live, I create a playlist to mirror our set list of the songs from the sections list. I can then easily start/stop the click for each song by hitting the space bar on my Powerbook and then the down arrow to move on to the next song. This works pretty well, but it would work even better if I could figure out a way to control the start/stop, or maybe even the moving on to the next pattern from the Roland via a foot switch or extra pad. Is this possible? Or is there a way to connect a foot switch directly to the Powerbook which would do the same thing? The Roland is currently connected to a 1ghz Titanium Powerbook via a USB to MIDI controller. I can succussfully use the Roland to record drum parts in GarageBand, so I know the connection works. I haven¹t tried it in DB yet. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance, Chris -- "If you can't hear me, it's because I'm in parentheses." - Steven Wright Visit me on the web -- http://www.thedrummist.com

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Re: keyboard shortcuts
by Dan Costello 15 Jun '05

15 Jun '05

Hey Ben-- Remember we were talking about keyboard shortcuts a while back. I do actually have a reason for wanting a particular setup, and I'm curious if others would find this useful as well. Right now, with DB's current programming, the best way (imho) to set up the keyboard shortcuts is to have ALL of the same "drum type" under one key, and just cycle through them by hitting that same key multiple times until you get the one you want. This works great for many reasons, one being the limited number of keys you need to remember to be able to access every drum in the kit. The drawback(s) to that, though: you can't "play" that same drum more than once with the key-- because the next time you hit it, it cycles to the next variant. And unless you give each drum its own distinct "drum type" name, you can't play one drum type on one key and then its variant on another key in succession. (Remember the example I gave, in vol. 20, #5 of the digest.) AND if you have a lot of variants for that one drum and you go past it, you have to cycle all the way through all the other variants to get back around to it. AND you can't go straight back to a variant after choosing a different drum type-- the next time you hit that key for that drum, it goes to the default variant, or the top one in the list if no default has been chosen. I've found that actually "playing" the kit from the keyboard is not only fun, but useful. Sometimes my fingers stumble across a groove that I otherwise wouldn't have written (just like on any instrument-- writing FOR it and writing ON it are often very different processes). Then I just try to write down what I played. And, if I have someone else in the room looking for a particular beat, rather than having to write out the beat and hit play every time I adjust it, before I actually write any of it down I can "play" the beat for them live, by using the keyboard shortcuts. Maybe I'm just being silly about it, but I like the ability to play my Mac keyboard as a drum machine, and I think it broadens DB's usefulness to have that ability. It seems like it would be possible to change the KB shortcut assignments section of the code to accommodate this... any chance you could put this on the wish list? Thanks, Dan

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Velocity adjustment in main window?
by Sage 15 Jun '05

15 Jun '05

The new velocity adjustment is fantastic. Two questions: 1. Will this actually affect velocity of midi notes when exporting to midi? 2. Would it be possible to place a velocity adjustment bar on the main window (perhaps near the master volume bar) to control velocity of new notes entered into the grid?

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Yet another nskit song
by Mike Carlyle 03 Apr '05

03 Apr '05

This one approaches sonic satisfaction for me. I've been working hard to understand the subtleties of mixing and mastering. It ain't easy. This song uses the same nskit version 7 that "come alive" used. That first song, "come alive", is soon to be remixed and mastered with Kevin's vocals in place, replacing my own. On the song called "Tillatoba", I sang the backup harmonies. It's OK, I guess. I worked hard to make sure that all the guitarparts meshed together without cancelling each other out or stepping on one another. There's seven of them. My God! I can't describe the feeling of hearing drum tracks that convince even me that there's really a drummer playing. The tempo push is in play on this one too, but it's a much slower tempo. http://webpages.charter.net/mcarlyle/sounds/tillatobamix.mp3 ____________ Mike Carlyle Wilbraham, MA USA

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a new song- sort of complete
by Mike Carlyle 18 Mar '05

18 Mar '05

http://webpages.charter.net/mcarlyle/sounds/comealive-01.mp3 My singer didn't show up so I gave it a go myself. I don't know if I'll be doing much more of this kind of singing. I'm going through the "I hate my voice" thing. The drums are all Doggiebox using nskit v.7. I really like the polish and natural feel of this kit. I need to tone the toms down a little bit, but one thing at a time. This is an example of "pushing the tempo" during the chorus to make the thing feel a little more human. I had posted this before, but at the time it had no vocals and was fairly bare bones. This is an all new version using my new gear (MXL 990 mic, M-Audio monitors, Tascam US-122 interface, Fender Pro Junior... the list goes on. ____________ Mike Carlyle Wilbraham, MA USA

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Re: Doggiebox Digest, Vol 21, Issue 14
by Sion Morris 17 Mar '05

17 Mar '05

> I've been working on this, but the current version of the dbkit: > a) a doesn't have all the ns_kit7free samples linked yet, and > b) has samples mapped to their General MIDI instrument (or something > close!), but the MIDI mappings don't contain velocity info (all > velocities are 127). Thanks for the link Carl. I was hoping it would fix the links to the samples that are in Mike's - but sadly not. I might have a go re loading them from the originals or just hang on for your completed kit... yes that sounds like a good idea... > > Still, I've put a zipped version of the current version "as is" > online: <http://www.carlaz.com/music/Carls_nskit7.dbkit.zip> > > This version also has links to some non-ns_kit7 oddities in it: the > GarageBand cowbell samples ('cause I gotta have more cowbell!), the ns > woodblock samples (I use them as beat keepers on count-ins and such), > and a muted crash sample I made by editing one of the ns_kit7free > crash samples in Audacity (though one could easily relink to another > muted crash sample, like from ns_kit6 or whatever!). I did something similar, funnily enough with adding a cowbell to an earlier ns kit as I too have a feever and the only medicine is more cowbell!. There's a song on my site (below) using it if you're interested - Xris under the 2004 tab. There an imported tambourine there too... and I'm eagerly awaiting David Holloway's new Ludwig recordings featuring tambourine. Sion Morris Liverpool www.cinnamondesign.co.uk/music/music.html -------------------------------------------

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Mike's song
by Sion Morris 17 Mar '05

17 Mar '05

Carl, thanks for taking the time to repost Mikes urls for Come Alive and the kit. I've downloaded both now had a good look at the pattern. I was wondering if you had a version of ns kit 7 with the drums mapped to midi? I seem to remember you doing a bit on the midi side of db some time back. Can you email it to me or post it up somewhere if you have please? Mike, I think this pattern is a good one to learn about db from - its got a lot of interesting techniques in it. I especially like the off beat snare - a nice variation which adds to the realism and interest in the pattern. also you haven't done the lazy thing, which I do all the time, and repeat the same pattern for verse 1 and 2 etc. I'd also forgotten how useful the icons were - as I was scratching my head over icon design and the Ludwig kit. Are these your ns icons Mike? The basic colour indicator work well to reinforce the different drum types and I also like the shape variarion on the ride bell. More head scratching required I think Sion Morris Liverpool www.cinnamondesign.co.uk/music/music.html -------------------------------------------

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MC's new song
by Dan Costello 15 Mar '05

15 Mar '05

> > DB notes. The slight changes in tempo really make a huge difference to > the feel of the track I agree, although I imagine playing the bass and guitar tracks to this must have been a trick... Any suggestions for this as well? Did you just play along with the drum track a few times to get used to those pushes and pulls? A great example of push and pull-- Aimee Mann (and the excellent producers she has worked with over the last ten years) often slows down "build" sections, parts that are leading up to the beginning of a chorus or new section. And the instruments don't necessarily all do it the same. (again, great "humanization" even though loops and samples are often being used) Sometimes the drums will only slow down a click or two, if at all, but the guitars and bass (and maybe another perc. item, like tambourine) will drag more-- it feels like hitting a steep short hill on the highway in a big old pickup, then getting to the top and picking up speed again. Another thing to experiment with "humanizing" the drums: add a "slow" snare or toms to your kit. You can even use the same sample as your regular hit, but pull it into an editor and add a very slight extra bit of time to the front of it. This way you can still put the hit in the right place in the sequencer, but still have a bit of push-pull without messing with tempo changes. This works great for the garage-band "Built to Spill" type of lo-fi sound. DC

2 1

samples vs. velocity changes
by Sion Morris 14 Mar '05

14 Mar '05

That's great news - Can I put a request in for some tambourine sounds - do you remember me saying before about single left and right movements so that a shake can be sync'd with the beat? Looking forward very much to the kit. Cheers Sion Morris www.cinnamondesign.co.uk/music/music.html > i'm hoping to get to a version III Ludwig kit sometime in march. i > have some time off coming up, new heads, a really nice new bosphorus > flat jazz ride, and a new mixer with nicer pre-amps. i'll definitely > try to be a little more methodical with this one and get a variety of > sound levels for each instrument on the kit. also, i'm thinking of > doing the rudiments on the snare at a variety of levels as well.

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Doggiebox March 2005