NY compression hack
In all my music, I like to apply NewYork Compression to phatten things up. However, I always do this with software plugins. I always dreamed of a simple hardware NY compression-device but I've never seen one.
This would make a huge improvement on the sounds coming from YAMAHA hardware devices (which always sound very sterile and clean). An example would be all the good'old hardware grooveboxes out there, like my RM1X.
So..I decided to create it..well..with the help of Behringer CS100. I figured, all I need is a dry/wet fader to make it happen. So instead of making a compressor myself (which I could really never do), I needed a starting point. I managed to buy a Behringer CS100 guitar compressor pedal around 15 dollars.
With some hints from Zephod (creator of blok modular), I did some amazing discoveries. I realized that adding a dry/wet fader on a guitar pedal is really easy! You only have to find out where the connections for the in/outputs are!
So, armed with some wires connected to a headphone, and an old potmeter, I started the adventure. Soon I discovered where the little bastards were hiding:
(click image to enlarge)
The green wire represents the middle connection for the potmeter. The black and red represent the other connections of the potmeter (doesn't really matter which one is which, at least, during my research).
(click image to enlarge)
Ok, and the black and red wires are connected on the back of the circuitboard.
Now find yourself a potmeter and you have a dry/wet fader on your gear!
Great inexpensive way to add some NewYork flavor to your hardware gear right?
At the moment, I'm looking at the Behringer DD400. Its basically a delay pedal, but is has 2 outputs: a dry and a wet one. I'm curious how the wet signal would sound, if you set the feedback to 0. In theory there would be one echo, so you would hear your dry signal delayed in time.
Well, in the past I've dealed with latency problems concerning software samplers and my hardware MIDI gear. Luckily I own some good soundcards, but still the latency will always be influenced by the operating systems health & lifecycle.
Hardware devices however, hardly never have these problems..they just work.
So instead of 'tweaking' like a computer programmer to get better latency, it would be easier to just twist a knob, and delay the audio signal of your hardware device.
Get it?
This would also make it easier to introduce older laptops as a sampler in your hardware setup.
You could just fire up a pentium 500mhz laptop, run sfz/sfz (free) or shortcircuit (free), download a soundfont torrent, and there you have a great MIDI sampler with 'zero' latency :)
Ofcoarse, this is crazy thinking for people who don't like to think outside the ableton box.
So..guess I have to get my hands on a DD400 soon :)
Its amazing that nowadays you have digital audio effects just for some bucks, and hardware gear also (because everythings moves to software nowadays).
This would make a huge improvement on the sounds coming from YAMAHA hardware devices (which always sound very sterile and clean). An example would be all the good'old hardware grooveboxes out there, like my RM1X.
Get yourself a budget pedal compressor
So..I decided to create it..well..with the help of Behringer CS100. I figured, all I need is a dry/wet fader to make it happen. So instead of making a compressor myself (which I could really never do), I needed a starting point. I managed to buy a Behringer CS100 guitar compressor pedal around 15 dollars.
With some hints from Zephod (creator of blok modular), I did some amazing discoveries. I realized that adding a dry/wet fader on a guitar pedal is really easy! You only have to find out where the connections for the in/outputs are!
Hunting down the magic 3 wires
So, armed with some wires connected to a headphone, and an old potmeter, I started the adventure. Soon I discovered where the little bastards were hiding:
(click image to enlarge)
The green wire represents the middle connection for the potmeter. The black and red represent the other connections of the potmeter (doesn't really matter which one is which, at least, during my research).
(click image to enlarge)
Ok, and the black and red wires are connected on the back of the circuitboard.
Now you are ready to go!
Now find yourself a potmeter and you have a dry/wet fader on your gear!
Great inexpensive way to add some NewYork flavor to your hardware gear right?
Also interesting
At the moment, I'm looking at the Behringer DD400. Its basically a delay pedal, but is has 2 outputs: a dry and a wet one. I'm curious how the wet signal would sound, if you set the feedback to 0. In theory there would be one echo, so you would hear your dry signal delayed in time.
Why is this interesting?
Well, in the past I've dealed with latency problems concerning software samplers and my hardware MIDI gear. Luckily I own some good soundcards, but still the latency will always be influenced by the operating systems health & lifecycle.
Hardware devices however, hardly never have these problems..they just work.
So instead of 'tweaking' like a computer programmer to get better latency, it would be easier to just twist a knob, and delay the audio signal of your hardware device.
Get it?
Integrating older PC hardware in your liveset
This would also make it easier to introduce older laptops as a sampler in your hardware setup.
You could just fire up a pentium 500mhz laptop, run sfz/sfz (free) or shortcircuit (free), download a soundfont torrent, and there you have a great MIDI sampler with 'zero' latency :)
Ofcoarse, this is crazy thinking for people who don't like to think outside the ableton box.
So..guess I have to get my hands on a DD400 soon :)
The right moment to focus on hardware
Its amazing that nowadays you have digital audio effects just for some bucks, and hardware gear also (because everythings moves to software nowadays).
