Just in time for uncertainty of Black Friday, but too early (and ambitious) for me to undertake the Digital Lofi Holiday Gift Guide for the Disenfranchised. But here are some of the deals and new software/soundware that I would say you would have a hard time going wrong with.

How about a generous discount from synth design and GUI design master Ugo. He doesn’t often do discounts so this is a good time to peak into his mind and support his efforts. Through December 1st, so act with haste.

Everybody’s favorite sampler of electronic drums Goldbaby have released SP-1200 Vol. 1. (ReFill coming soon if you’re a Reason user.) I just learned that Kontakt can load Battery kits (yes, I’m thick) so I’m happy to not have to map these. Very excited.

James & Dan, otherwise known as sampling masters SonicCouture, have converted several more of their titles to Ableton Live. Bonus: A free update for existing users. Bowed Piano is highly recommended!

Through inadvertent electronic sleuthing that was not particularly obscure, (i.e. twitter), digital lo-fi got a hint as to what the next Audio Damage product will be. That is, once they finish the ambitious BigSeq2 and re-branding Reverence. I wouldn’t have guessed it, but it’s a logical progression, and I’m guessing the KvR thread about it will be lengthy, geeky, and oft hilarious.

And finally, rekkerd.org just moved onto a new server. There was a bit of downtime, but he’s back at it, with the most comprehensive listing of releases anyone could imagine, along with his efforts to host a boat-load of free software and loops. And, yea!, a new short-links.

The long and short of it
My Lynx L22 audio driver is not agreeing with my OS, in my case Windows XP Pro SP3. The last software I installed before my recent woes uses PACE copy protection.¹

My supposition and arugement
PACE copy protection software has somehow altered the fundamental workings of my operating system in such a way that is incompatible with my Lynx audio driver’s control software. I can’t say with 100% certainty that PACE specifically hosed my system; but I will say with 90% certainty, if not more, that it was this notorious copy protection that took me down.

The history
First, let’s step into the Wayback Machine: 2002, music tech writer Rip Rowan documents PACE kernel driver taking down his system. (This page was also written about the same time.) Obviously, ancient history in computer audio terms. I mention it here because this was written shortly after I had undertaken my journey into computer-based home production. Along with other DRM concerns happening at more or less the same time, it helped shape my software investing habits.

More recently, Adam Schabtach (1/2 of Audio Damage) took to his blog and chronicled his grief-by-PACE and vowed to boycott their products. That he is a professional in the audio software field gave the post a little more traction and punch than these things get. After being picked up by CDM it really began to take on the first whiffs of smoke.

(While looking to cure my problems, I also came across this. So computer audio musos aren’t the only ones who are occasionally taken down. Gamers are also another group you’ll frequently see dealing with PACE copy protection gone awry.)

PACE and Me
Sometime last week I was across town on Big Box Store Road, checking out the new Trader Joe’s. (Yes, I like it. Though no booze. Damn New England blue laws!) And so I stopped by the local MegaLo Guitar Mart and wandered around. (Yes I am a gear slut, even if I’m just flirting.) In the “Pro Audio” section in the “bargain”/used cabinet I was lured by fancy M-Audio packaging and what looked to be a good deal.² And honestly, I did look to see if there was an a dongle requirement, or if it said anything copy protection; there wasn’t and it didn’t.

Also, a note on software packaging: boxes are fucking stupid.³

Anyway, during the install, after agreeing to the licensing and choosing my folders and it installing the dll and supporting files, up pops a PACE-branded window asking me if I want to register an iLok or via digital signing. Sure, kudos to the developer for the options, and he/they maintain the PACE digital registration is not a kernel-level driver. I am only reporting on my own experiences; draw your own conclusions.

In for a penny, in for a pound, I finished the install, and opened it up in Sonar in demo mode; I even generated my key to send for activation. But in a fit of indecision, I uninstalled the plugin while I deciding if this was a copy protection I wanted to invite myself in on, considering it’s history of randomly singling users out to f**k with. I was paying particular attention the PACE directories in the C:/Documents and Settings/. I figured an uninstall/reinstall will tell you a good amount about how any software reacts to your system in the long run. Unfortunately, I didn’t test how said uninstall would play out. In the same way I took a chance on the install, I took a chance that it would uninstall.

Friday night my friend/band Mark came over and we were plugging him in and I went to launch the Lynx L22 mixer, which is a direct access of driver, from the system tray. Sure enough XP decides to reboot. No BSoD, no error logs. Just straight to the BIOS resetting itself.

When it comes back on, Windows can’t find the device driver. Even after re-installing the latest driver package from Lynx, nothing. The L22 driver will not register, even manually, and the device sets to unknown in the system devices.

My guess, some other software I have uses some iteration of PACE driver digital signing, and the version this installer uses triggered or caused an instability or conflict, the direct result of which was causing my audio driver to become unstable. Something is happening at the core level of my OS that has caused or revealed a vulnerability with my audio driver.

I’ve tried all the usual recipes for bailing myself out of this. I’m relatively resourceful when it comes to operating Windows. I even managed, after a bit of mucking about, to use system restore to an earlier point, before I installed. Nope. For a brief second Windows remembered the Lynx, all it took was for me to launch the Lynx mixer to re-boot the system. Now it’s gone again.

I don’t need this headache.

Frankly, with the wealth of software out there, and the amount of time I’ve put into tweaking and fixing and upgrading my DAW, a piece of software better tickle my balls and freshen my coffee before I’m willing to put up with the aggravation of it fundamentally altering my system. And with all due respect to the coders, certainly not a VA VSTi. There are enough developers around that make quality software, at a reasonable price, or at least with a native copy-protection scheme, that I can make a stance that is both principled and practical.

I’m inclined to think is the last straw. Whether it was actively this PACE installer, or some other software, or even some other system driver falling over, I pretty done paying to be a beta tester. Now more than ever, I’m interested paring the system down to only what has historically worked, by and large, for me. What is the essential free/payware that I use on from session to session. Not the software I think would be cool to use; not the software everyone else thinks is essential. I will invest only in those products I know to be viable, support projects I think are worthy. I want my machine to be 128 track computer workstation. Sure it will crash, but at least I can limit the variables to a smaller pool.

Anyway, just adding my voice to the public record of what PACE iLok drivers can potentially do to your system. Like I said, draw your own conclusions.

–

^{1For the one or two people who might happen upon this that might not already know about it, PACE is a company that makes and licenses software copy protection. They make several different flavors of poison but they’re most known for their iLok USB dongle. They also have a pure software version that works by digital marking your machine and keeping track of said digital mark. Historically, the digital signing is invasive and clandestine.}

An argument sometimes made in favor of PACE/iLok by users is that it somehow protects the user, making it simpler to recover from crashes, as if this somehow makes it more viable in the long run than other C/R systems. But as a whole PACE faults can be triggered by software/hardware changes you could make on your machine tonight, let alone 2 years from now. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that one of the biggest failings of any DRM system is that they are invariably *not* future proof. For them to be effective they have to continually be updated to maintain effectiveness. Dongles do not ensure against obsolescence, they insure that you don’t “loan” your copy out to your “friends.” As in, insurance for the company.

Companies need to keep track of how many users are out there - I will support those companies that to it with the least possible hoop-jumping and margin for error for me. While I find DRM to be a digital folly, I fully see the need for online registrations and activations. And, honestly, we’re not talking about Verizon or GE here - these are small companies with a comparatively small profit margins that count on the revenue from their products. They do not have huge corporate accounts like say, Adobe or Avid/Digi, to offset the rampant piracy of their software. Having some sort of digital signing or registration in place cuts down enormously on casual piracy - friends passing around software - installing, say, iZotope software on a buddy’s laptop. Unless you go primarily open source there is little way around it, esp. if you want to use a certain level of product.

But let’s not kid ourselves, there’s a lot of variables for error on a digital system, and shit happens. With any software, at some point you may just be SOL. This is why we’re all licensing software not buying it, right? Those EULAs we all merrily click through aren’t about protecting us, no?

^{2Out of respect for the producers of this software, because he/they genuinely seem like decent individuals who are interested in supporting their product, I’m not going to call it out the name. Obviously, distributed by M-Audio, a VA that’s not produced by GForce/GMedia. It seems like a fairly clever software, but, alas I will never really know. Also, it turned out to be not much of a bargain and more the standard going rate for it. So, impulse buy.}

^{3This box contain a pamphlet “user’s guide” with a serial number sticker on it, and the CD tucked against the side. It would have fit easily in a envelope. Companies should just make one display box for a store, and then cut out all that stupid packaging.}

More new old news for the “How did I miss this?” file.

Independent developer(s) Genuine Soundware/GSi have ported the bulk of their very singular product line over to VST/AU mac format. So now Mac users have another reason to stop bitching about how there are no good bargain plugins. (Does that even make sense?)

To be honest, I never paid much attention to this company when they were known by Soundfonts.it, which always read to me as a soundfont distributor. But I’m thick like that. I’m certain that I must have clicked through to the website once or twice. But I’ve only just downloaded them now, and until I figure out why my Lynx is MIA as far as my OS is concerned, I won’t be trying them presently.

So, take from this what you will. And while some might quibble about the GUI, which I would describe as utilitarian, you got to admire the spirit of these creations.

WatKat is a digital “clone” of a Wem Watkins “Custom” Copicat. It sounds very lo-fi, noisy, irregular. When you turn it off and leave the tape loaded, the tape bends in proximity of the capstan, and this turns into a periodic pitch fall during echo playback; plus, it gets hot and the background hum gets worse in time… you should turn it off every now and then; the tape is never completely erased, and the capstan motor flutters… and it gets worse if you touch it while it’s spinning; heads tend to get dirty very soon, infact you should clean them often. This is true for the actual hardware unit, and for the digital simulation as well!

That’s from the pictured WatKat plugin. It was the one which instantly got my attention, and, bonus!, it’s also free. If I like it I’ll definitely support this endeavor. Very reasonable prices, even with the fluctuations in the market.

The always reliable Create Digital Music got the jump a product coming down the pike that is sure to spark lots of pixel inches of debate among the usual suspects and sites. So, I guess I’ll get in my off-the-cuff reaction now and get it out of the way.

So, yeah, the V-Machine Standalone VST Player. In a nutshell, a little stand-alone computer that hosts VST effects and instruments. Or, more specifically, a curiously-spec’d, some might say under-spec’d, little stand-alone computer that hosts VST effects and instruments.

My first instinct was, neat? Then, no MIDI out? Curious. Then, 512 MB RAM? Really? And, come on, those are the in/out connections?

I don’t know, I don’t want to judge something I haven’t seen but it doesn’t look like it would suit me much. Sure, who wouldn’t love to have some extra DSP power to tap? But other than that, there are so many ways to stack and layer synths/effects natively this seems unnecessary. Perhaps if I was playing out, you could use it to compensate for an under-powered laptop in conjunction with a proper audio device with some decent electronics. So, I suppose there is that market.

$600 while significantly cheaper than any other products that have tried to pull this off is still not chump change. Studio nerds such as myself are way more interested in either in analog or software - it’s not hard to kit out a computer that can pump through 128 tracks with softsynths and effects at like 12ms latency. Live? I don’t know. I guess if someone were to buy it for me I might use it to come up with some sort of laptop integration. Or if I was a DJ. I guess it would work for a DJ.

Somebody help me out here.

No real update, though I’m writing an epic post on my troubles with PACE.

But I did get my font issue with this site sorted out. While certainly not dazzling it should be a whole lot easier to read, and should scale correctly.

So I encourage my few new readers to go back through the archives and/or recent few months and fully enjoy the wit and wisdom¹ of C. Puffer without straining your eyes.

^{1Self-deprecation doesn’t really translated to type very well, does it?}

Well, I’ve been biting my tongue on this one for a couple of weeks, since I got the privilege of a sneak peak. Wake up this morning and, bang, it’s out, and the music tech blogs have weighed in, more or less (here, here and here, as well as others I’m sure).

Just to be clear, what we’re talking about is Sonic Charge Synplant. As I’ve written, Sonic Charge’s brilliant µTonic (or microTonic) is a long-time digital lofi favorite. A fun, useful and versitile drum synth.

Well, the genius behind that, Magnus Lidström (he has a team as well, but I’m not sure if they actually work on the plugins or just keep the commercial/promotional side of the company going) decided to tackle the perennial and gnarly synth forum topic: Is there a new way of interacting with synthesis that doesn’t at least reference the familiar topology¹? Not new synthesis; I’ll leave it for better minds than myself what, how and why on that Gordian Knot. But a new interface. A new way of generating the sounds that doesn’t have an equivalent (more or less) in the hardware world. Even something like Zebra, which I consider one of the most smartly designed synth GUIs I’ve seen ², still under the hood relies on a fairly established synth paradigm, albeit one that is modular and flexible.

Synplant tackles the problem, erm, organically. Each sound is a seed, and utilizing its hypnotic and clever interface, you “grow” sounds. If you want to drill down and micro manage your sound, there’s the DNA screen, that presents the list of editable strands. (A nice bit of simple animation that.)

So how different is it? Well, if you approach it as you might a more conventional synth, you might find it maddening. But if you are generally open to ideas, and/or a part of composition process is equal parts intention, discovery and happy accidents, then you will probably get something out of Synplant. Aside from which, it sounds fantastic.

Anyway, it’s a pretty established fact that synth users are just preset whores, right? Especially with softsynths. Some of us use presets to get in the general ballpark, and tweak from there; sometimes we’ll spend a few hours generating sounds/learning the interface and we’ll use those ideas in our work or as the genesis for new work. And to that end, Synplant has a perfectly workable preset system (the same as microTonic’s). Perhaps not a “bread and butter” tool, but if you just want to dial up a bass or lead you can certainly use it for that.

But I’ll cop to the fact that a lot (not all or even most) of my “electronic” music is me just mucking about and coming up with shit I think sounds cool and then just throwing a lot at the canvas and seeing what sticks. Eventually (hopefully) a picture emerges and I begin a more methodical composition process. And to those ends, Synplant is really a novel and useful way of skinning the cat. And once you get generating sounds it’s pretty hard to stop.

Even better, also like microTonic, it’s very sensibly priced. If you have microTonic you get a little bit of a break on it; if you don’t you can buy a discounted bundle.

So, if you’ve ever found yourself opening up a synth and being uninspired by its architecture, or baffled by obtrusive complexity, or you rely on at least a measure of uncertainty, chance and/or chaos in your process, then I cannot recommend Synplant enough.

^{1i.e. variations on Moogs and modulars.
2Esp. with the new 2.3/2.5 updates that are coming down the pike; on that, more later.}

If you’re a BFD2 user, you’ll probably be interested in the fabled 2.1 update. While not officially released, fxpansion has opened up a public beta, if you’re into those types of things. And it’s tempting, what with the very impressive new improvements that this beta has revealed.¹

The caveat is everything forward is only compatible with v.2.1. I understand theoretically why this is, and normally I wouldn’t let it deter me, but I rely on BFD2 pretty heavily. I don’t want to hose myself if it ends up being a long and crashy time before it’s stable, and have to figure out how to roll back projects that use it. fxpansion themselves are advising to “proceed with caution.”

So, what’s it buy you? A new reverb effect (from Breverb), an internal Vintage Warmer (Lite), improved browsing and kit management, improvements to the Groove editor including a new roll tool. There are some other things in there as well.

Since I was able to get BFD2, I pretty much mix “in the box”. The amount of control and customization you can achieve without even closing the GUI is impressive. I’m really looking forward to these improvements; I’m not sure I can contain myself.

Good grief, I’m such a geek.

^{1I guess since it’s on their public forum it’s alright to talk about here. Also, these may well be public knowledge but it’s the first time I’ve seen them.}

Music software stalwarts fxpansion have been rolling out a new downloadable line of expansion packs for their BFD2 platform.

Though the newly (re)released 8BitKit is sure to gather a lot of deserved attention, what I’d like to single out here JEX expansion pack as a particularly nice add-on.

Don’t get me wrong, I would heartily recommend the 8BitKit to anyone. You’ll remember it was one of fxpansion’s early BFD (iteration uno) boxed products. But they let it fall out of print for about a year, and for a little while people such as myself who bought the box thought for a little while they had a collectors item. Now they’ve tidied it up for BFD2 - which really is the business, if I haven’t mentioned it - and if you have the bandwidth it’s a bargain at $125. It’s also a free update for us previous owners; again proving that fxpansion are a really stellar company.

But even if you just use the stock kits in BFD2, or maybe have one or two expansion packs, the JEX drums are really, really nice sounding. The kick has some real weight to it. “The Kicks were micced with a Yamaha sub kick mic that looks like a 10″ tom - this is the secret behind the devastating bass,” quote SKoT_FX. No cymbals or hats, and only one “bonus” snare (from the Jazz & Funk pack), but the toms and kick are well worth the $30 it will set you back.

Ron Paul ‘08!

I kid, though you got to admit, it would have made the Republican Convention a hell of a lot more interesting.

To quote The Daily Show “Barack Obama kinda gives me a boner…” He’s smart, articulate, and obviously can run a good organization. I trust him to attempt salvaging what’s left of our Constitution. And while I don’t have strong feelings about Biden, I have abstract roots in Delaware and his debate performance was reassuring.

McCain, I never really liked him, esp. after reading D. Foster Wallace’s profile in “An Supposedly Fun Thing…” but I think I could have suffered through him about as well as I have Bush. At least he’s articulate even if I don’t agree with him and think he’s probably a real unpleasant sonabitch. But Palin. Words can not express my dislike, distrust and scorn of this, erm, politician. An embodiment of all that’s wrong with the US body politic. Really, if McCain was half the independent he claimed to be he would have chosen Olimpia Snow as his running mate. In that case I would have said, well, at least things will completely fall apart on their watch. I no longer have that distant comfort.

Unfortunately, I can make no threat to move elsewhere. While I’m an independent contractor that works from home, I’m still a paycheck-to-paycheck mofo. But if I *could* move anywhere, I think it would be Germany or Amsterdam. Maybe England since I come from a long line of Anglophiles.

If we as a nation are smart/lucky enough to have an Obama/Biden administration I will be glad to continue to participate in the American Experiment. Should they get away with their usual gerrymandering, fraud and suppression, I’m not how I’ll stand another 4 years of not being able to watch the President and Vice-President speak. (Literally, I’m almost physically incapable of watching Bush/Cheney.)

Fortunately, to vote I just have to walk across the street. I live in a very Blue State so I’m going to read up on my local bond initiatives tonight. But beyond that, I hope against hope that our electorate isn’t beyond repair and that Cheney and Co. don’t leave things in such disrepair as to doom us all.

And, yes, the title of this post is tongue in cheek. I will go back to ranting to myself about digital production minutia presently.

Honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it until I read this thread on KvR of a few weeks ago. It seems a little remiss not to post something here. Perhaps I’ve not wanted to use this thread as a bully pulpit; or, rather, I post so infrequently these days, I’d rather write about stuff I’m enthusiastic or positively interested in. But, really, if I can sway one person in the right direction - i.e. far, far away from the company I’m about to trash - then I’ve done something.

The company of which I speak, and to which I’m not giving a direct link, is an online outfit that is currently going by the name Sonart. It’s a good generic sounding musso name, and I’ll give them this, it’s a slick website on the surface - full of techno I believe is the expression. They sell downloadable sample packages at an inviting prices. If you have no interest in dance/electronic music then you’re not their target market; and honestly, looking at the site now, I’m not sure how I fell for it; I feel a little stupid. Granted, it looks like they’ve raised their prices; I recall paying something in the neighborhood of $25 bucks for whichever lofi “set” I ordered. (Paypal by way of 2Checkout.) Probably I’ve just blocked it out. They also entice you with some offer of a free bass sample set but fuck if I could figure out how to download it.

So, yeah, to call what I got a set would be generous. It was the same, like, 4 or 5 loops packaged and tempo-named in a bunch of folders that ended up being like 50MB maybe of distinct material. On top of which the ReCycle job on the files was wrong. And if the author of that KvR thread is to be believed, these are nothing more than some Beatport loops repackaged. He also goes on to say that there is a bunch of redundancy throughout their various titles. So you do get something for your dollar, it’s just crap.

Let me say that again, Sonart’s product is shit.

Bait and switch, empty marketing, bilking a soft touch, a scam - call it what you will. But do not be taken in by their fancy looking “boxes” - they offer nothing of value.

Anyone else taken in by these flim-flammers?