Lately I have not had the Pro-One setup in my studio since I’m using it frequently for live performances. Today I had a rehearsal for the Battle for Everyouth in my studio so afterward I decided to record something from this magnificent little machine. Here’s a drone that I programmed by tuning the oscillators to a major third, then letting them hold while the LFO swept the filter and I adjusted knobs on the Pro-One and Memory Man delay.
Pro-One Major Third Drone with Memory Man Delay
This unprocessed, lawnmower-like, drone was generated on the Roland MKS-80 by modulating a sawtooth waveform with the LFO configured as a sawtooth waveform as well. I found the pitch (a low C) on the keyboard that closely matched the top speed of the LFO then manually swept the tuning of the oscillator by no more than a semitone. This is what created the phasing that can heard throughout the recording.
Sawtooth Modulated Sawtooths
I created this meditative drone on the MKS-80 by holding a chord down with the sustain pedal and adjusting the filter, pitch bend and modulation wheel during the 2:21 minute length of the piece. I also drenched it in an unhealthy dose of stereo ping pong delay giving it a dreamy atmosphere especially during the slow bends. Fun!
Meditative Drone
I just got a Bitstream 3X MIDI controller (BS3X), and have just started experimenting with it. This is a complex and fully programmable device, so I will need some time with it before I have learned the best way to incorporate it my setup. The easiest way to use it is in standard mode where no programming is required on the unit. Simply map the controls in the software you are using. However, what makes the BS3X powerful is the user mode where every assignable control can be programmed. A sophisticated editor allows the user to map these controls based on a long list of device parameters such as “Roland D50 Upper Partial 1 – TVF Cutoff Frequency”.
Just to get started with the device I used the standard mode and mapped the bulk of Roland MKS-80 parameters to it via the reKon Audio VST-AU MKS-80 editor in Ableton Live. For the VCF cutoff and resonance I used the XY axis joystick. This gave me one finger control over both of these parameters for very expressive control of the filter. I also mapped the VCF envelope LFO depth to the ribbon controller for another way to manipulate the filter. In one take using only three controls (the XY axis, ribbon, and a knob mapped to the LFO rate) I performed this drone.
MKS-80 XY Axis Drone
Here’s an eight minute drone in D. The chord is fifths with a ninth on top. I added delay and reverb to the output while manipulating various parameters in real time.
Eight Minute Drone