right now about half of my sound either comes from samples from tape, or recorded onto and played back from tape (standard and microcassette). tape is great for compression, artifacts, and the frequency response it produces, but shows limitation when trying to juggle them in a collaborative [1] or live setting. unplugging, swapping, and adjusting on the fly, can be cumbersome and potentially error prone since all of my machines are old/refurbished.
the landscape is expensive
there are a number of great options for live editing and mixing. the multitrack portastudio style of console is great. luckily, my friend james is willing to lone me his <3 [0]
a working portastudio that’s been recently serviced can be hard to find and can go for upwards of $400-500, so it’s a little out of my immediate price range.
and then there’s the teenage engineering tx6. they make wonderful devices, but they’re all very expensive (not attractive to me as an option).
I have a Tascam DP-004 which I’ve used several times for multitrack recording. I pulled it off the shelf and recorded a couple tracks to it to see if it would work well live, but the line out/headphone output is very weak. it’s not going to work long term for live performance, although the concept of storing several slots of tracks for live mixing is something I want.
invention
oh, right, so I make effects. I’m already familiar with sampling audio, so why not expand on that to store and manipulate several streams of audio.
doing some research, the development board I’ve been using, the daisyseed, won’t work well for a multitrack recorder/player. it can handle a single stream of audio recording without breaking a sweat, but the time to save is long and storage capacity is much less than I need for multiple tracks of multiple songs of high quality audio. I’ll continue using daisyseed for my effects pedals, but this requires something more.
for only three dollars more, I can get the teensy 4.1, which has more flash memory, a faster processor, and supports microsd storage on board. the daisyseed is designed specifically for audio applications, so there are a number of example effect libraries available (which have been a boon as I learn). the teensy, as I understand it, is a lot more general purpose [2].
so here’s another project [3]
I build what I need when nothing is exactly right [4], or is too expensive. I’m now planning and prototyping a digital four track audio recording/playback device, that’s easier to use than the Tascam DP-004, lighter and much more compact than the portastudio, with a simplified interface and low feature set, specifically geared with live performance in mind.
you can record on the fly and instantly playback, or come loaded with all of your tracks already cut and ready.
going to eat now
I’m so hungry. hyper focus sometimes isn’t all its cracked up to be.
[0] dude, what? a heart as punctuation? also, why did you start your numbering at 0? because I already had 3 and added this one when I read through it to edit. please see [3] about needing food.
[1] creating music with others who have a complimentary style and understanding is the magic key I’ve been looking for. I can’t fully express just how nice it feels to communicate creatively with someone else through music.
[2] okay, here’s the plate of crow and I’m already eating it. turns out there’s a large community of users who use the teensy for audio processing. lots of examples out there, a lot more than I originally found. this makes be wonder if I should start using the teensy for all of my projects instead of the daisy seed. this would unlock a number of options. oh glob, turns out teensy also has an audio adaptor board specifically for audio effect hardware.
[3] what’s this, a footnote inside of a heading? this is getting ridiculous. but seriously, you don’t want to see the number of ideas I’ve sketched out and started, then park on the shelf for maybe later. I’m up to 16 effect ideas since starting chaon. only 4 have matured to the point of sharing. this is probably normal, I guess. or who cares. I need to eat.
[4] turns out most things aren’t exactly right, especially when it comes to effect pedals. lots of stories out there of companies started because “I just couldn’t quite get to that sound in my head with any other effects, so I started making them myself.”