Red Echo

Synthesis of various percussion sounds

mars — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:27:35 +0000

Percussion synthesis on the Nord Modular
Bass drum from three components
SOS article on various bass drum synthesis algorithms
SOS article on snare drum synthesis

Notes for an Arduino-based midi device implementation

mars — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:06:50 +0000

Circuit for an IN port
Circuit for an OUT port
Circuit for the THROUGH port
Arduino interface with IN and OUT
Software to use the Arduino’s USB port as a MIDI interface

How to make your own oLED at home

mars — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 21:13:14 +0000

Instructions for making your own oLED using ordinary household tools - Q-tips, aluminum foil, duct tape, a microwave, a hair dryer, and a multimeter.

Toshiba stops manufacturing incandescent light bulbs

mars — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:17:17 +0000

After 120 years, Toshiba will stop producing incandescent light bulbs, switching instead to LEDs and compact-fluorescents.

At Wade’s with Ava

mars — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:33:14 +0000

mars — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:52:45 +0000

I seem to have snapped out of a creative funk. During the last day I have spent time thinking about, doing background research on, designing, or actively working on the following projects:
- LED poi for Ava (thinking about a simpler graphics algorithm)
- Automatic drum sequencer (tweaking algorithm, thinking about hardware)
- Bassline sequencer (rhythm is obvious, need some input for chord progressions and some kind of complex arpeggiator)
- Device for controlling large numbers of LEDs in rhythmic patterns (for a party later this summer)
- Multi-band, multi-source mixing audio compressor (looks workable but hard to do without lots of computing horsepower; arduino is probably not enough)
- Rearranging my music box so I can place the keyboard behind the rest of the controls (better ergonomics)
- Custom kick-drum synthesizer/MIDI metronome device (what goes into a solid kick drum sound?)
- Jacket design involving irregular vertical pleats (bought some fabric and buttons; simple design, interesting texture)

mars — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:44:44 +0000

Right, so, what have I been up to?

I had a cold for a week. Lots of coughing.

I’ve been getting down to the last petty annoyances on my motorcycle to-do list. I’ve replaced the control levers, replaced the clutch lever bushing - it actually pulls straight and smooth now, for the first time since I’ve owned it! - replaced the broken seat latch, replaced all the worn-out rubber bushings that hold the side panels on, replaced the headlight element (the high-beam didn’t work). The carbs need to be cleaned & synchronized, but that’s a bigger job than I want to deal with myself, so I took the bike over to Steg’s shop. Perfect timing, since we’re having a serious cold snap today! The bike will be in great shape by the time spring arrives in earnest.

I’ve been playing with an algorithm for generating percussion sequences. The idea is to create an instrument I can add to my music machine that will let me create and adjust percussion tracks on the fly, driving a MIDI drum module. The central conceit of my music project is that I want to create as live a performance as possible, and if this thing works out it’ll let me improvise drum tracks from scratch instead of just tweaking the ones I’ve prepared ahead of time.

The algorithm works surprisingly well, for the simplicity of its design. It’s based on Toussaint’s paper The Euclidean Algorithm Generates Traditional Musical Rhythms, in turn based on Bjorklund’s timing system for a neutron accelerator, The Theory of Rep-Rate Pattern Generation in the SNS Timing System. It all sounds very high-tech, but the basic idea is simply this: natural-sounding rhythms are those which distribute their energy as evenly as possible across the repetition unit.

I learn to weld

mars — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:09:41 +0000

I took Rusty’s MIG welding class at Hazard Factory today, with Heater, Brian A, Mark A., and Adam H.

mars — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 21:10:30 +0000

I have a new mouse. The scroll wheel on my old mouse stopped working, and the rubber grip peeled off, leaving the side all sticky, so I felt annoyed every time I touched it. I decided to take a peek into the modern world and try out a bluetooth mouse. I picked out a Razer Pro|Click Notebook Mouse, since it was available in red. It looked cool and had a neat glowing LED, but I wasn’t very happy with it. The bluetooth system basically works, but the pointer would skip whenever CPU load spiked, and I had to reboot my machine one day after the mouse and computer forgot how to communicate with each other.

I decided I would go back to a plain old USB mouse, which arrived today. It is a Trust Predator 2000 dpi High Performance Optical Gamer Mouse with seven buttons, adjustable resolution, and XXL Teflon Feet for Super Dynamic Movement. I don’t know what half of that stuff means but it is clearly meant to signify that this is a very cool mouse.

I bought it because it is black with red stripes and has a cool glowy LED thing under the scroll wheel. I like my new mouse.

mars — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 23:24:53 +0000

Ava and I just came back from an interview at the homeland security office down in Tukwila, near the airport. The interviewer asked us a handful of questions, asked us how we’d met, why we decided to get married. We showed her our wedding photo, pictures of us with my family, and the like. And that was it - she approved Ava’s “adjustment of status”, and her green card will arrive in a few weeks. Exciting! This process has gone far more smoothly than I expected.