What toys do you wish you could use more?

[Jay Kahrs]

I have a few things that are pretty cool and I wish I could fit into every project but don't make it, usually because they aren't musically appropriate. Most of what I'm talking about are noise makers like ring modulators and stuff but it could even be mics or something like a compressor that only works on one specific thing. Here's two of mine;

DOD Gonkulator - I searched all around for this pedal. It's a ring mod and "Grunge" distortion in a single stompbox. Sounds like freakin' R2D2 or maybe Vernon Reid. In the last three years I think it's made it to tape and stuck only once.

Electrix Filter Queen - Just a regular envelope filter. I always try to use it but I can almost never make it fit into a mix unless it's really buried. Most people come in and say "What the hell is that?!? Get rid of it!!!"

I've got a few other ones too. What's in your toy chest?

[Steve Smith]

There are two things I try to get on every record, but rarely get it to "stick":... one is lead vocals run though a Leslie cabinet ( or emulator) and the other is swelling guitars though Soundblender.. I love that plug in...

[Jules]

Never seem to get percussion going enough..

I would love to own some congas - mainly as a hobby & to get some cardio vascular / trance workouts going... Back when I smoked I nearly had an asthma attack after playing congas in a jam.. I think they must be good for you!

[stuntmixer]

EH Micro Synth!! I love to patch it on a send and throw things at it to see what happens. It often scares clients so I usually keep it off the desk.

Check out tablas through it on intro of the tune "Big Buzz" at

http://www.southwindstudios.net/Clips.htm

I'm usually happy if I can find a way to get some Omnichord on an album.

My old Roland Space Echo that finally broke.

[mdbeh]

Univox Tape Echo. It's insanely noisey, feeds back like crazy, and it sounds sooo cool. I've tried to sneak it onto tracks feeding back, but the band wasn't into it. grudge

[Jules]

Sh!t Charles if the thing werent so dang heavy you could have my Roland SRE 555 - the Ebay winner £300 UK pounds) in the UK flaked out on me and it looks like I will have to put it back on for sale again..

[adamcal]

I cant beleive how much those things are going for now days, I have a 501 (same as a 555, but in a wood box instead of a metal rack).

I love getting that on a track, wobbly, outa control, warm as tits.

[dave-G]

Originally posted by adamcal
warm as tits.

[dave-G]

For toys I wish I could use more, I've got this odd box at the bottom of one of my racks. It's got 6 nixie tubes, and is only labeled with the words "in-phase" . Each nixie tube has numeric filaments from 0 to 9, and I would love to somehow make this into an hours:minutes:seconds clock.

I guess I just need to find some electrical engineering student who wants a goofy side-project.

[adamcal]

Ah yes, that an old 6 element in phase moduverberator. Best used on out of phase nixie's, if a band happens to have any.

[covert]

Originally posted by Jay Kahrs
I have a few things that are pretty cool and I wish I could fit into every project but don't make it, usually because they aren't musically appropriate. Most of what I'm talking about are noise makers like ring modulators and stuff but it could even be mics or something like a compressor that only works on one specific thing. Here's two of mine;

I've got a few other ones too. What's in your toy chest?

In no particular order:

Lexicon Vortex. Does some reall ystrange things.

Toy Piano.

Digitech space station pedal. Even stranger things

Speak and spell/speak and math

[smoothmoniker]

child's starter drum kit, taped down heads and cymbals, pillowed down dead kick, in the hands of a slammin drummer, makes for great loop material.

-sm

[stuntmixer]

Thanks for the thought Jules, I'm gonna fix this one as it sounds GREAT when the capstin motor is in a good mood.

one more that smoothmoniker reminded me of- not really a toy per say but when another drum set is brought in I move mine out to the garage and set it up with a 57 hanging over it. Add a little Distressor and boom - instant trash kit for loops, breaks.......

[XHipHop]

I wish more of my GRM Tools plugins could find their way into sessins. They all sound so cool and ****ed up but most clients cringe when they hear them. :(

[barforama]

Originally posted by Jay Kahrs
Electrix Filter Queen - Just a regular envelope filter. I always try to use it but I can almost never make it fit into a mix unless it's really buried. Most people come in and say "What the hell is that?!? Get rid of it!!!"

Ahhh...I know that feeling....
but it allways ends with me waking up in a pile of sweat thinkin' I'm happy to ba a Gearslut so I get to keep it anyways...

I have a Vocal Stressor that I wish I would/could use more...and some NTP limiters that are really cool too....they just don't seem to get a lot of use grudge

[sonic dogg]

Beyonces' vibrator.......................ahhhhhhhhhhhh.....did I make it clear she would have to be there too?????

[maz[music]]

My Adrenalinn pedal...

I love this thing but I haven't gotten into programming it enough to the point where it isn't obvious everytime I use it.

[Jay Kahrs]

What exactly does the Adrenalinn pedal do? I know it's a drum machine and some kind of "sound ****er-upper" but what kinds of sounds does it make. I can't find a store near me with one in stock to play with.

[maz[music]]

Well, it's essentially the filter section of a synth, but it can process any sound... the cool thing for guitarists is that it can sync to MIDI beat clock, so guitars can make those time-locked sounds that usually only keyboard players can do.

It's fairly analog sounding, and can do anything from a simple tremelo effect to phaser type things to really weird step-sequenced filter patterns.

You can program a 32 step pattern for the LFO section which give it the oddest sounds in the box. However, being a guitarist, so much of the programming element is foreign to me. That's why I haven't gotten all I can out of it.

There's sound clips at www.adrenalinn.com if you want to check some out. it is a cool box.

The drum machine is kind of lame, though you can route it any way you want to so it can be on its own out or run it through the effects as well. There's also amp mods which, while not extremely authentic, work well with the filters.

[aptzero]

I have this funky old organ called The Panther Duo Combo that has pretty wacky sounds in it. We have tried it on a couple of things but it just hasn't stuck to anything....yet.

It really might best be used as a band name, "The Panther Duo Combo, featuring Professor Versatone Panoflex" or something like that

jp

[Nutmeg II.]

Originally posted by dave-G
For toys I wish I could use more, I've got this odd box at the bottom of one of my racks. It's got 6 nixie tubes, and is only labeled with the words "in-phase" . Each nixie tube has numeric filaments from 0 to 9, and I would love to somehow make this into an hours:minutes:seconds clock.

I guess I just need to find some electrical engineering student who wants a goofy side-project.

Hey dave-G, I'd come a-x this and thought of you: 'Nixie' display tubes

[dave-G]

Originally posted by Nutmeg II.
Hey dave-G, I'd come a-x this and thought of you: 'Nixie' display tubes

Hey thanks, Nutmeg!!

He made a clock out of 'em too! I'm going to email him.

-dave

[Alécio Costa]

I wished I could use more of the patch I did with my old good SGX 200 Express Stereo delay/flnged/distorted. GUys think it is a PCM42
lol

[dtobocman]

Mandolin. I bought it for a project and used it quite a bit and haven't been able to find a use for it since. It's a little "immediately Appalachian" sounding for most songs.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by dtobocman
Mandolin. I bought it for a project and used it quite a bit and haven't been able to find a use for it since. It's a little "immediately Appalachian" sounding for most songs.

Try bashing out rhythm on the mando, blending it in with the acoustics on any type of project with banging acoustic guitars - alternative, americana, whatever...

[dtobocman]

Originally posted by Dave Martin
Try bashing out rhythm on the mando, blending it in with the acoustics on any type of project with banging acoustic guitars - alternative, americana, whatever...

Thanks Dave, I'll try blending it behind some acoustic strummed rhythm for color (maybe in the pre-chorus>chorus?). I've filed that in my arranger-brain. Thanks.

[Dave Martin]

Originally posted by dtobocman
Thanks Dave, I'll try blending it behind some acoustic strummed rhythm for color (maybe in the pre-chorus>chorus?). I've filed that in my arranger-brain. Thanks.

I track I did last week used it essentially doubling the acoustic rhythm the whole way, but another cool (if over-used) trick is break down the first half of the last chorus and make it the dominant instrument there.

It's personal taste of course, but I really hate it when instruments don't show up at all until a couple of minutes into the song. So you could rhythm mando all the way (down in the track) and then do a little tremelo picking where you want it to stand out.

Damn, it's a whole lot easier to simply play stuff like this than it is to try and describe it...

[patrox247]

Definately my KSP8. Actually I wish I could finish learning how to use the damn thing. It's pretty wild.

[Jay Kahrs]

Originally posted by dtobocman
Mandolin. I bought it for a project and used it quite a bit and haven't been able to find a use for it since. It's a little "immediately Appalachian" sounding for most songs.

It's kinda tough to use mandolin in a rock project without making it sound a bit like Led Zep. The first time I picked up a mando it took about 3 minutes to figure out "Battle of Evermore". That's one instrument that's still on my wish list. Maybe I'll Santa for some $ towards the purchase of one.

[Tim L]

You know, I've been itching for one of these for years and just never got around to picking one up. I've been working on a solo acoustic project and it just may be time to finaly do it.