I probably only used the MPC1000 half a dozen times, but I do think I got a good feel for the workflow of the device using JJOS 2. And while I did enjoy the workflow I can’t say that it was worth having considering that I already have Ableton Live. I never had any illusions that the MPC would offer more than Live, I was more drawn to the simplicity and limits of the hardware compared to my limitless computer. Self imposed limits on the music technology I use can really breathe life into my creativity in a world overflowing with options.

It was a good experiment trying the MPC but in the end I am happier using the combination of my Arduinome, TriggerFinger, Oxygen49 and Live to sample and sequence my software and hardware instruments. I spent some time recently and created a few Ableton templates that let me do almost everything I need to without ever touching a mouse.

Doepfer Dark Energy

So with my return complete I decided to double my analog power and picked up a Doepfer Dark Energy. Don’t let its diminutive size fool you, this little semi-modular analog mono synth is a sonic beast of highest degree.

Though it is only a single oscillator synth there is more going on here than that implies. You can actually combine a pulse wave (with full PWM of course) with either a saw, a triangle or just have the pulse on its own. There are two LFOs that are hardwire routed for frequency modulation, logarithmic filter frequency modulation, linear filter frequency modulation, pulse width modulation and amplitude modulation. Additionally an inverted LFO1 is available as an output on the front panel and can be routed to VCO F, VCO PW, VCF F and VCA A.

This is a semi modular analog so there are CV inputs and outputs on the back and in addition to the ins and outs mentioned above there are is also external audio in, gate in, envelope out, and of course main audio out.

I’ve got to say that after several weeks of playing with the Dark Energy I am only beginning to scratch the surface of its sonic potential. I am particularly loving running it through my Moog MF-104Z Analog Delay. They also looks damn smart sitting next to each other with their tank-like black metal and wood panel builds.

Dark Energy with Moog MF-104Z Analog Delay

In addition to the CV control the Dark Energy has MIDI and USB connectivity both of which work without a hitch when connected to Ableton Live. You can actually use it between your computer and your old pre-MIDI analog gear as a MIDI to CV converter. Of course this synth doesn’t have an patch memory but I did find a great Flash based patch saving tool here.

I’m finding the timbre of this little synth to be a perfect compliment to my Mopho Keyboard and Zebra soft synth. The 24dB low pass filter has a great sound and the resonance goes all the way into self oscillation. In fact, if you turn off the triangle, saw and pulse you can just use the self-oscillation as a sine wave oscillator.

I think the Dark Energy is a great introduction to the world of modular synthesis. I’m betting Doepfer will be finding a lot of people wanting to expand their Dark Energy with further modules, and there are a lot out there. Looks like the Dark Energy could be the start of a black hole that pulls you inexorably into the expanding void of modular synthesis. So be it.

Arduinome parts

Arduinome is a clone of the open source monome 40h which uses an arduino microcontroller.

Wikipedia says, “The monome is an eight-by-eight grid of backlit buttons which connects to a computer using a USB cable and the Open Sound Control (OSC) protocol. Originally developed as an open ended performance interface for electronic music, its developers have said “The wonderful thing about this device is that it doesn’t do anything really.” As a result, developers have begun to use the monome as an interface for other types of software, from text displays to games.”

Here is some video of vimeo user ro using a monome 256 running mlr and a monome 40h running vu_spec (part of the monome_base), which is an 8 band spectral display.

I am following the build instructions posted by Curious Inventor. I started soldering all the LEDs and diodes last night. In an hour and a half I got through all the LEDs and a quarter of the diodes. (there are 64 LEDs and 64 diodes) I think I should be able to finish the diodes tonight and get started on the unsped arduino shield.

I am waiting to hear back from machinecollective.org about when a case will be available to ship. The sooner the better. I can’t wait to use those blinky lights and soft buttons to mash things up with MaxMSP, Ableton Live and Max for Live.

Oxygen 49 transport controls

The Oxygen 49 is a natively supported control surface in Ableton Live. To setup the controller go to Preferences->MIDI/Sync and select your device from the Control Surface dropdown list at the top left. Then select your MIDI input and output ports from the next two adjacent dropdown lists. If you are using an Oxygen 49 via USB then the ports will be something like “USB Oxygen 49”. You should now be able to use all of the transport buttons on the controller except for Forward and Reverse which will cause the crazy play-head problem.

A common use of Forward and Reverse transport buttons is to move the play-head through an arrangement window, usually by some user defined length; 1-bar, 8^th notes, 16^th notes etc, and sometimes to navigate through user defined locators. As far as I know the former is not possible in Ableton Live as of version 7, at least not with an Oxygen controller. What we can do though is setup locator navigation by assigning the Forward and Reverse keys to the Previous and Next Locator buttons using MIDI Map Mode. Settings in MIDI Map Mode override control surface defaults.

To enter MIDI Map Mode click the MIDI button at the top right of the Live window. Click on the Previous Locator arrow and press the Reverse button on your controller. Click on the Next Locator arrow and press the Forward button on your controller. Press the MIDI button to exit MIDI Map Mode. Now you can create locators in the arrangement window using the Set Locator button and move through them using the Forward and Reverse transport buttons.

It would be nice to be able to assign these buttons to increment or decrement the play head location by the global quantize amount. Hopefully this will be a MIDI assignable option in future versions of Live. In the meantime this is a much better use for the Forward and Reverse transport buttons than locking up the program.

Aggregate Device Editor

To accomplish this, open Audio MIDI Setup under Applications->Utilities. In the Audio MIDI Setup menu bar, select Audio->Open Aggregate Device Editor. Click the + button to create a new aggregate device and then in the Structure window select which devices you want to include. As an example, I selected the Duet and the Built-In Output and made sure that the Duet was in charge of timing by clicking the radio button next to it. Now in a program such as Ableton Live you can use both the Duet and the Built-In Output at the same time allowing you to cue loops and tracks before you bring them into the main mix.

You could also create other aggregate devices to allow recording on both your Built-In Input and your external device inputs but be warned that the recording quality may vary between the two devices.