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Looper's Delight
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Wow, interesting discussion, especially on a subject I know so little about. The Boss line of drum machines allow tuning of each sound, with a range plus or minus 2 octaves, in increments of 10 cents. However, I find that not all the sounds have the same base frequency. +100 for a whistle sound may be the same as -740 for a clave, for example. I also find that since they're not pure sine wave forms, I sometimes find it difficult to tell whether something's in tune or not - this is especially true when using distortion or filters. Certain sounds - especially hi-pitched ones, will have a different perceived frequency when you use distortion. Some sort of aliasing, I'd guess. When I perform with musicians using tuned instruments, I use an external pitch shifter to try to "slide" a note up to where it's in tune with what they're playing, then I usually keep it there. Pitch changers add some artifacts of their own, but for drum machine that's a good thing more often than not. I've heard a few recordings where "out of tuneness" is established as the norm, and it works for the song, with a disorienting feel. Many of the songs on the newest Portishead record are this way, as far as my cro-magnon ears can tell. Matt Davignon Tour! www.ribosomemusic.com margaret noble went: > Hello List, > > First, thanks for all your input on my noise posting. I must say the >biggest > change was separating my power cables from the audio cables! > > Onto Tuning Now > > Background: I have always relied on happy accidents or not cared about > tuning. I like wild electronic music and world music with alternative > tunings and it never seemed to matter. Also, since I mix in random sounds > like toys or records, tuning is impossible to control. Recently, I have > decided that I want more expressive control over what I am saying. I am > trying to tune together an analogue drum machine which can't hold tune >but > makes kick ass basslines, a psaltery and kalimba. I am seriously pulling >out > my hair with this challenge. I want to pull it off but it t'ain't >looking so > good! > > Questions (Clearly Subjective!) > > - Is there a tolerable amount of cents you can be off when trying to be >in > key? > > - When mixing in non-traditional sounds together, how disturbing is it to > listeners if tunings are loose? >