Category Archives: Sound Design

Sound design examples

Convert a Bulky Hardware Synth Project to Travel Friendly iOS

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Spoiler Alert: It’s AUM from Kymatica

This summer I am performing a piece at two international conferences and streaming a pre-recorded concert at a third. The generative, audiovisual piece is titled SYNTAX and is in collaboration with Mike Hodnick (aka Kindohm). Mike and I debuted the piece in November, 2021 and when we did, we both had complex hardware setups. Mine included a Prophet REV2, an Arturia Keylab 88, Blokus Midihub, and a Yamaha Reface CP. This was a local performance for us in Minneapolis so I did not hesitate to utilize the best instruments I had access to.

But when those instruments are large and I need to travel light I seek out portable alternatives. Some of the gear I’ve travelled with includes: Novation BSII, Novation Circuit, Korg Volca Keys, PreenFM2, Moog Minifooger Delay, Organelle M, Arturia KeyStep, and Korg nanoKONTROL. These devices allow me to play parts and improvise in a natural and organic way. Visuals are often part of these sets, so usually there’s a computer and/or tablet in tow, but generally I reserve the sound making for dedicated hardware.

Custom iPad UI with MIRA and AVGM (a Max project) on the Mac. Prague CZ, 2014

Custom iPad UI with MIRA and AVGM (a Max project) on the Mac. At Echofluxx in Prague CZ, 2014

For these upcoming performances I came to the conclusion that iOS would do a better job of providing the sound design, signal processing, and multitimbral capabilities that I needed in a carry-on form factor. I surprised myself with this revelation, but it became clear that it was the right decision as I began working. And it wasn’t my first choice. I had started the process using other tools, but using iOS was faster and solved a series of issues I was running into with alternative setups. I paired the iPad with an Arturia KeyStep to play the parts. In addition I included an audio interface (iConnectAUDIO4+), a powered USB hub, and a Korg nanoKONTROL for tactile sliders and knobs.

Toxic from SYNTAX (Mac) with ID700 (iPad)

AUM from Kymatica by Jonatan Liljedahl made this setup possible and convenient. It’s basically a mixer for iOS synths, sequencers, and signal processors supporting AU, AUv3, Audiobus, or Inter-App Audio. Using AUv3 in AUM conveniently allows for multiple instances of the same synth or plugin. The MIDI support is phenomenal and allowed me to configure everything exactly how I wanted. All my effects are on bus sends and controlled with my ancient bus powered Korg nano. I play everything I need to with my Arturia KeyStep. AUM even lets me even split the keyboard (not natively supported on the KeyStep) by specifying a MIDI keyboard range per track. Setup and configuration was much easier than I expected. Every time I wondered if AUM was capable of a feature that I needed I found it with limited menu diving. The interface is clean and only shows you what you need, but access under the hood is merely one or two taps away.

The next thing I needed to do was make similar sounds to what I was getting out of my REV2 and Yamaha CP. I say “similar” knowing that that won’t do for artists who aim for their performances to replicate released recordings of their work. In our case we’ll be performing experimental music interpreting generative, animated, graphic scores. We expect every performance to be different, however every movement also has its own signature, so I need approximations of the original sounds that behave in a similar way. To stand in for the Yamaha CP RdI model I used the excellent VTines, which I wrote about recently. For the Prophet REV2 it took three apps to design the sounds I needed: ID700, Animoog Z, and an early app named Bebot – Robot Synth that’s been around since 2008.

Buchla 700 iOS synthesizer ID700 by Jonathan Schatz

I will write more about these apps in upcoming articles. For now I will say that the Buchla 700 inspired ID700 was new to me and is featured throughout this project. ID700 is unconventional, peculiar, bizarre, and I love it. One of the things that makes it standout are the fourteen complex envelopes per voice. The envelopes have an arbitrary number of “points” or stages that are either linear or logarithmic and each point can be modulated by anything from pressure (including MPE) and note on or off velocity to continuous or one-shot randomness. Furthermore each point has conditional actions that can be used to pause or stop, jump to other points (making looping envelopes possible), and several other actions. ID700 is well worth a look for anyone after experimental sounds, long morphing drones, metallic percussion, and other worldly textures. The learning curve is steeper than conventional synths, but the rewards are well worth the learning it takes to understand this fascinating approach to sound synthesis.

EDIT: In conclusion using iOS isn’t better and doesn’t replace small hardware setups, but it is a fast and convenient choice if you need to approximate a hardware setup/project that’s already been designed. If I was starting on a new project and knew I was traveling with it I might have opted for the Organelle M or Monome Norns over iOS. With so many choices of hardware, software, and combinations of the two the landscape of potential electronic music setups can be daunting. I hope that sharing my approach is useful or interesting. Thanks for listening!

If you’re interested in experiencing SYNTAX, the series of audiovisual works I’ve referenced throughout this article, our three upcoming performances include:

1. June 25, 2022 at the International Digital Media Arts Association (iDMAa) conference in Winona, Minnesota
2. June 29, 2022 pre-recorded performance at the New Interface for Musical Expression (NIME) conference in New Zealand
3. July 5, 2022 at the International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) in Limerick, Ireland Continue reading →

Searching for the Perfect Stage Piano (Part 2: VTines MK1)

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A recent setup for John C.S. Keston with a Rhodes EP at the McGuire Theater, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis

As I continue my search for the “perfect” stage piano (spoiler: there isn’t one) I have been asking myself if it is practical and/or desirable to use a VST instead of a dedicated hardware instrument. This is an approach that I have used in the past, and one that many professionals choose, so I have decided to explore a few modern examples of this possibility in detail.

Since the Rhodes (the actual 130lbs version) has been the instrument of choice for me for many years, the first thing I wanted to determine was if there was an electric piano VST that could emulate the Rhodes well enough to satisfy my ears. Over the years I have used Lounge Lizard (Electric in Ableton Live), Arturia’s Stage-73 V, and several others with limited success. This article is a reflection on a new-to-me VST that might just work in my weird and atypical performance and studio setups. No emulation has the ability to replace the Rhodes, but I’m hoping to find a satisfactory facsimile for live performances.

The latest Rhodes VST that I have found interesting is VTines MK1 from Acousticsounds. Although VTines MK1 provides only one electric piano model, is it by far the most adjustable of the examples I have used. For example VTines MK1 allows for the adjustment of around 9 parameters on a per key basis! In other words you can adjust the virtual “pickup distance”, “tine height”, and more for individual notes on the instrument. Continue reading →

Searching for the Perfect Stage Piano

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I expect this post to have several follow ups, but since writing The Democratization of Piano? I have been digging deep in my search for a an alternative to lugging my ailing Rhodes Mark I to every gig I play. Now that COVID-19 vaccines are widely available and live music is starting to happen again, I have started performing more frequently.

For the time being I have put together a setup that is quite satisfying, but I don’t consider it a long term solution. Instead of using by beloved Rhodes I am using the Arturia Keylab 88 to control a Yamaha Reface CP. The “RdI” setting on the Reface CP sounds remarkably similar to the Rhodes Suitcase 73 that doesn’t leave my studio. The Reface even has a few keys that sound a little different, brighter or quicker to bark, than the others, just like the real instruments usually do.

The effects on the Reface CP are limited in parameters, but you can have five of them on at once and still maintain 128 note polyphony. I’m not going to get into everything that the Reface CP can do, but it is a very capable little instrument with just the right sort of limitations. The Arturia Keylab 88 makes the Reface CP feel much more substantial. The Keylab 88’s fully weighted keybed is quite heavy but not sluggish allowing you to dig into it.

I have expanded the capabilities of the setup with the Blokas Midihub. The Midihub is a fantastic, standalone, programmable, MIDI processor and interface. I have set it up with a flexible arpeggiator, and several LFOs that I have mapped to things like delay time. Using the Midihub I also mapped the aftertouch on the Keylab to the rate of the tremolo on the Reface CP, so that I can speed it up by pressing down on the keybed.

So if it’s so great, why isn’t it long term? Why seek out a stage piano? The main reason is because the setup is complex. Not overly so, but enough so that a bad cable, the wrong setting, or any manner of other issues could delay soundcheck or bring things to a halt. There are other limitations. And I want limitations because I understand too well how too many possibilities can paralyse creativity. However, combining the keybed with the sound engine and having a bit more access under the hood will streamline my setup and allow me to fine tune my sound. In the next article I’ll explain a bit more about my interim setup, discuss some of the instruments I’ve tried and researched to replace it, and explain exactly what I’m after in a stage piano. All the best!

The Democratization of Piano?

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Although I use them on occasion I’ve always been indifferent to digital pianos and piano virtual instruments, and prefer to play acoustic pianos and Rhodes electric pianos. Recently I’ve been experimenting with a handful of piano VSTs and I’m quite inspired with the sounds, the response, and the ability to adjust these instruments. Now I find myself interrogating my former apathy toward these simulacra of the acoustic instrument I have spent my life playing.

Of course there are many technical justifications, but I’m more interested in the underlying statements that one’s “choice” between acoustic and digital pianos might infer. Choice in quotes because it isn’t possible to choose without means. I have had the privilege of recording and performing with a few amazing instruments over the years and hope to do so again, but I don’t have unfettered access to pianos of concert or studio grade. And neither do most people who play, including many talented professionals. Access to what might be considered the best instruments is sometimes based on merit but more frequently based on economics. And when there is a meritocracy, who is making those judgements? We all know how that can go wrong.

I’m not suggesting that everyone who wants one should get a 9′ concert grand delivered to their apartment. However, shouldn’t we weigh the value of a performance over the price tag of the instrument that was employed? By and large we value musicianship over the prestige and expense of an instrument. But, like it or not there are elitist undertones that go along with the aesthetics and name recognition of prohibitively expensive pianos and other instruments.

Over the last two decades there’s been a lot of discussion in the music tech world regarding the democratization of music production and the pros and cons of high quality recording being available to the “masses”. As a result of this and other factors (social media, music downloads/streaming vs physical distribution, etc.), there’s no question that the industry is undergoing significant transformations. But, what impact has the access to sounds that closely emulate the “keys to the kingdom” (AKA piano) with so much variety and accuracy had on music?

Whether or not digital pianos have democratized the instrument, they have made acoustic piano sounds more accessible. I would argue that accessibility, convenience, flexibility, and affordability are their most transformational characteristics. Piano VSTs are ubiquitous. They come built-in with most DAWs. They merely require the software, a computer, electricity, and a MIDI controller, things that most musicians already have on hand. One needn’t look far to find artists like DOMi, Cory Henry, Jesus Molina, and countless others bringing digital pianos to life.

I feel that I will always prefer acoustic pianos to digital versions, even/especially if they are old, worn, and slightly out of tune. There’s something magical about a complicated combination of aged wood, metal, and felt at your fingertips. I love playing acoustic pianos, preparing them, recording them, performing with them, and all the difficulties they present. Yet, the digital variety has a magic of its own. They are virtually (pun alert) immune to changes in the environment. They can be virtually weightless, or at least no heavier than a mobile device. Recording them doesn’t require microphones or a quiet room. And, they can sound like an old upright, a majestic concert grand, or anywhere else on or off that spectrum.

Ultimately as virtual pianos get closer and closer to their organic counterparts we will hear them even more frequently. That said, they will not replace acoustic pianos. As far as I know there hasn’t been a digital piano made where you can reach under the lid and mute the strings, tap on the sound board, or perform any other manner of extended techniques. Most classical and jazz pianists still prefer performing on acoustic instruments. On the other hand, perhaps having the humility to accept the compromises (and convenience) of digital pianos is a nobel aspiration. As an artist, that still feels like a difficult ask, but as a listener I feel that I can dismiss the origin of the instrument when the music is inspiring.

This is a highly subjective area of inquiry and I do not pretend to have adequate answers (or questions), but I do hope that asking might start an interesting discussion, or spawn creative work. Here’s an improvised piece I recorded recently using my Keylab 88 to control the Japanese Jazz Studio preset in Arturia’s Analog Lab 4. Although clearly a digital piano, the preset has surprising dynamic range and tone quality. Listening back I get the sense that I’m peeling away old wallpaper to get a glimpse into a forgotten room within the decaying, haunted mansion of my mind.

Parochial Dissonance by John C.S. Keston

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Parochial Dissonance (Æther Sound, Dec. 4, 2020) – The title of this release describes the tragedy, loss, and suffering experienced when we narrow the scope of our worldviews. The album is a series of solo pieces captured from three streaming performances during the COVID-19 pandemic, and two live performances just before. Each piece was improvised within sets of rules applied to process, time, texture, and tonality. The pieces were performed on various synthesizers and Rhodes electric piano with occasional use of looping, arpeggiation, and signal processing. Continue reading for a look at the liner notes. Continue reading →