Surviving the Modular Hype #1 ~ Pass the test

The current Eurorack Modular hype is going to do a lot of damage. Mindless synthgear-consumers don't know what they're buying, or why they are buying it. As a result, the small companies that produce wonderful modules spend too much time answering stupid questions.

lIL sLiPpy - SweaTiNg L1ke A Ho0Ker iN cHuRCh

LIL sLiPpy - SweaTiNg L1ke A Ho0Ker iN cHuRCh by Creme Organization

Bass Mekanik ~ Subsonic Bass from JA to Miami

Bass Mekanik is a legendary car audio producer. His career started in Byron Lee's studio in Kingston, Jamaica. Then he went to Miami and discovered the 808 boom. "All things have a resonant frequency. For example, the resonant frequency of planet earth is like 7.83 hertz." Check out this interview.

Visual tools for mixing sound

If you have a small studio, or if you’re still learning to trust your ears when listening to a mix, visual aides are really helpful. The frequency analyzer is a budget producer's best friend. The phase scope is also quite useful. But why stop there? Lissajous curves are big fun! Here's a roundup of basic spectrum analyzers and some specialties.

John Chowning ~ Composer and inventor of FM Synthesis

Want to hear proper FM sounds? Try the original compositions by John Chowning. He's the inventor of the technique used in the Yamaha DX7. Here's a nice article about Chowning and the history of FM.

Oskar Sala's frequency shifter

Not your average frequency shifter. This is a one off, custom built, nothing but tubes inside, and it sounds great. You may have heard about Mr. Sala's Mixtur-Trautonium, which is a really nice vintage synth, but his frequency shifter is just as interesting.

Play EDO's using 'pitch slope' or 'pitch keyfollow'

Here's a little trick for hardware synth owners who want to try out xenharmonics. Even if your synth doesn't have proper tuning capabilities, you might be able to get some EDO's (equal divisions of the octave, or equal temperaments) out of it. This trick works if your synth has an option called pitch slope or pitch keyfollow.

Siemen Terpstra's musical studies online

Philosophical history has not been kind to musical sensibilities. The orthodox history of Greek thought has been de-musicalised. Because of this, we have been tought all kinds of philosophical nonsense, especially when it comes to the Pre-Socratics. But the 'lost' musical heritage is restored by philosopher-musician Siemen Terpstra.

8-bit philosophy according to Wisecrack

The best thing ever. Old Greeks, an unhealthy dose of existentialism, but also Machiavelli, Nietzsche, Marx, Derrida... you name it. The silly voice-over will grow on you. Everybody wants to be smart, write? So now you can fill your head with education that doesn't suck.

Review ~ TherapSid by Twisted-Electrons

When the French one-man company Twisted Electrons shipped it's first batch of SID-based TherapSid synths in the fall of 2014, some users experienced 'stuck notes' and MIDI-trouble but Alex seemed to react swiftly and accurately. And so, by january 2015 the € 399,- for a TherapSid (with 6581 chip, or € 333,- without) seemed a justifiable investment. Long story short: the monster has matured quite a bit.

Don't be stupid ~ NSA, CIA, Google, Apple, Facebook etc.

The Dubbhism blog uses a Google service, called Blogger.com. We also use Facebook, Google Search, some i-devices etc. The companies behind these products are ~ in Rastafarian speak ~ 100% Babylonian. A part of the so-called military-industrial complex.

Out now: Jah Billah ft. Iyano Iyanti ~ Good Music (Tony Dubshot RMX)

Bucket brigade ~ the art of street drumming

Microtuned analog oscillators using hard sync

If you want to use analog synths/oscillators for xenharmonic music, there are MIDI-based options like the H-Pi Tuningbox, or the more advanced Silent Way soft/hardware. And there are modules like the Analogue Systems RS-130. Or you could also try a hack: maybe it's possible to hard sync your hardware with software-generated audio.