CIRCUIT BENT MIND

Two New CD for you to download and enjoy for free!!!

2009-12-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

Here is the links to my 2 new CD's. Each is a .ZIP file and is completly free to download. Each also includes cd notes so you can read the context behind the songs. This is examples of my singer-songwriter work and not my process/electro-acoustic work. However they were both recorded using the Wizards Guitar Rig and the Macca Strat.

Calm Before the Storm - Off by One - 2009
7 Tracks + CD notes

Click here to download

Solar Cycles - Off by One - 2009
4 Tracks + CD Notes

Click here to download

These arn't the best produced or mastered tracks in the world, but as I made the whole things within Max/MSP I am pleased with the results. I hope you enjoy them and please spread the word.

- Off By One

Difficult Journeys by Off By One - a step towards closure

2009-12-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Click here to save MP3 file (or right click - save as etc etc)

This track is vary unrelated to my other works and compositions. The reason I have published this track here is because of its use of the Wizards Effects Rig. It was also recorded on the Macca Strat but none of its modifications were used, simply the neck and middle single coil pickups used (4th position). This track was also fully recorded, produced and mastered within the Max/MSP programming environment.

The reason for this track is that I have had quite a bit of 'crazy shit' happening in my life this last month, so I needed a moment to brew up all my angst from my grunge years, pull out drop C tuning from my folk years and sing about woman(none of which die..sorry Tim). This song is essentially about 5 different women in my life and how I've had to view them all as journeys to the next,simply to keep my sanity. I wanted to record and publish this track to almost tick a box towards closure. This is a long way off but music is helping me at this point in my life so I'm not going to hold back. The lyrics to the song are posted below, please feel free to read through them, you never know, 5 lucky readers may realise that it could be about them.

Difficult Journeys by Off By One

first i wake and i look into her eyes
they say I'm here for you
but i know that she is full of lies
and i know what i must do
she never saw that she did wrong
and how she fucked with me
the bruises were there for so long
but then i walked away free
...and then my journey it begins

the next she turned me into a man
as she lay beside me
she quickly made me understand
her brown eyes i can still see
and our bodies they became one
as the summer days passed us by
but we suddenly were done
and i still ask myself why
...and then my journey it begins,and who knows who might win
and you would think i would see from all my past mysteries
because my journey carries in the heart of this song
and then I'll try to make it though without saying i love you

the next her hair was like a fire
and her body burned with mine
and we tried to take things higher
but i just didn't give her time
maybe things worked out well
as still smiles at me
and I'll always be under her spell
and i hope that she will agree
...and as my journey it begins

i never saw the next one coming
because she meant so much to me
and even though we had our thing
i don't think she would ever see
she had so beautiful eyes
but i said i must be wrong
i was to scared to even try
we didn't speak for so long
...and then my journey it begins, who knows who might win
you then would think i would see from past victories
because my journey carries in the heart of this song
and I'll try to make it though without saying i love you

now the last, i wanted to call mine
but that's not how life must seem
and i never saw those coming signs
that ended our fun dream
i hope that she stays my friend
and that our spark hasn't gone
i thought my journey was at its end
but now the gods say move on
...but then my journey now begins, and who cares who might win
and i now can see from past victories
and my journey carries in the heart of this song
and I'll try to make it though without saying i love you

Noisy, Circuit Bent, Low Bit, Aleatoric, Dystopian Memories - I Remember/Eternal Moon Mix

2009-11-24T12:46:00.000-08:00

'Noisy, Circuit Bent, Low Bit, Aleatoric, Dystopian Memories (I Remember/Eternal Moon Mix)' by Off By One

Click here to save MP3 file (or right click save as etc etc)

This audio track is a proof of concept to try and discover sounds which can be produced using the Macca Strat and Max/MSP. In this circumstance I chose the idea of Distorted Memories and used some of my old lyrics and loads and loads of noise and distortion with a 'retro' twist. The whole track was produced, recorded and mastered in the Max/MSP programming environment(except converting the final .wav to .mp3, that was done by Audacity). The guitars and vocals were going though the 'Wizards Effects Rack' which I have created and designed and the guitar also used it's inbuilt distortion and noise units. Here are images and more details about what is going on throughout the track.

NOTE - 'Ctrl+Click' on the images to open the full size image in a new tab.

Guitar Hardware -
This was simply the Macca Strat plugged into my soundcard. I used the Humbucker(bridge) pickup for the whole song and only turned the distortion switch on about a 3rd of the way in. The distortion was up high but tone down pretty low and the feedback unit was turned off for the whole song except for about 2 seconds in the last few notes. The 1st bend was constantly on during the hardware distortion and the 2nd bend was on every so often (listen for a very electronic sound/feedback). The bend dial and distortion dial were changed to get the sweeps in the feedback as well as to tweak the tone now and again. Here is a photo of the settings on the Macca Strat.Guitar Software / Drums
The drums in this track were randomly generated to a beat which was tapped in. The sequencer is set to 8 beats which change at the desired tap speed (in the case at a multiplier of 1) and when they reach the end of the 8 beats the whole matrix is randomly filled, which carries on throughout the entire track. This means that the beat heard is never repeated or the same. The samples used are your retro, generic, Roland style drums which we all dearly miss from the history of computer and hardware audio.

As you can see in the screen shot the Flanga and Cybernator were used for the guitars. More details on the working of my guitar rig will come shortly in another post. The flanga is set to a slow rate with quite a high depth so it will produce a very subtle effect nearly only heard on the drawn out notes. The Cybernator is a fun unit which essential bit crushes the living daylight of the audio. using the distortion and digitise functions of this i created the guitar which is heard at the beginning of the song before the Macca strat distortion is turned on. With this I wanted the guitar to sound like it was from the sound track of a 80 video game. Bad bitrate, bad sample rate and some lovely noise appearing from no where.

Vocals

The vocals are going through a identical system, except without a 2nd drum machine and a tap unit which is linked to the same button as the guitar one. With the vocals i wanted to get the same noisy, crappy, early digital sound so again i used the cybernator unit. In this case i didn't use any distortion on it, only the digitise dial which essentially lowers the bit rate of the signal. I also used the Knob of Mod (ring mod, octave divider and pitch doubler) set to the Doubler setting. This gave a very very subtle octave above on the vocals to give an almost tuned hiss/noise to add to the voice. I also used the Pitch shifter on its lowest setting to get a octave below which produced again a tuned rumble to complement the vocals.

Even though this track only used a few of the units I have created, it has given me confidence that I can fully produce tracks solely within Max/MSP by building my own mixer with level and pans controls. It has also given me the opportunity to explore the sounds of the Macca Strat in a compositional point of view rather than just a technical one. This is no way a great example of my compositions or creative being, however it is a great example of my effects design, love of noise and distortion and generally slack view towards structured musical composition.

Hope you enjoy

- Off By One

The Macca Strat Project - Version 1.0

2009-11-02T06:06:00.001-08:00

The Macca Strat is a simple idea. I take my favourite guitar sound (the dirtyness of a Boss DS-1) and install it into my guitar while expanding the sound and tonal controls. I have a Fender Stratocaster which a built from parts myself over the last few years and have no problem in hacking the shit out of it for the sake of experimentation.

The Specs -

- hack the DS-1 so the circuit is always 'ON'

- design a true bypass switch which will toggle between clean and the ds-1

- cut the power of the DS-1 when clean is enabled

- have volume pot of guitar and 3 pots from DS-1 on scratch plate

- Add in a feedback loop similar to the Total Sonic Annihilation pedal

- circuit bend the ds-1 to create extra tonal control and add switchs/dials to scratch plate

- fix down standard bridge so i can use back panel to house the DS-1

I have successfully implemented this (obviously with hiccups) so would like to present you with a video walk through and audio tour of my guitar.

More details on the Hack including Circuit Diagrams, Photos of the insides and credits/links to any forums which helped my with parts of this hack will be coming in a future post so watch this space.

- Wizard