Please help us out by adding it to your Netflix queue! Even better, purchase it at Amazon!

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Pretty_to_Think_So/70129070

http://www.amazon.com/Pretty-Think-So-Pia-Shah/dp/B002QNDSTY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1260117048&sr=1-1

Just thought I’d post this here (currently on Craigslist NYC):
http://newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/msg/1377408185.html

For sale is a great condition MOTU MIDI Express XT 8×8. It is perfect if you want a MIDI midi-patchbay/router/merger without hooking up to a computer. There are 8 MIDI ins, and 8 MIDI outs.

BUT, if you want to control up to 8 MIDI devices from a Mac or PC, please note that this piece uses a Parallel or Serial Interface (NOT USB) and will only work with a computer under the following conditions:

Operating Systems: Windows 98SE/2000/XP (32 Bit)
Parallel Port: Must be an on-board type only (No USB-Parallel or Add-On Parallel cards)
Parallel Port should be Configurable in your computer’s BIOS
Power cord included. No manual or original packaging. But honestly, the manual is not required for standalone operation.

$40 Cash/Pick up in NYC. Will ship USPS first-class for $15.00. CONUS only.

My Son’s First Trip to the Barber from Francis Hsueh on Vimeo.

For starters, realize that every parameter can be edited by a combination of the front panel knobs, the SELECT keys at bottom, and the buttons below the LCD display.  The major synthesizer sections correspond to PAGES accessible in the LCD display (e.g. – OSC1, OSC2, EG, LFO, etc.), and can be accessed directly by pressing the respective SELECT key, or PAGE [+ or - ].  Also, notice that the ORIGINAL VALUE LED lights up when you turn a knob or press a button on the front panel and land on the default value for that parameter.

Some options, like modulation and delay effects, can only be viewed and tweaked on the LCD after pressing the respective SELECT [12 or 13] keys (MOD FX or DELAY FX).  I have tried to include the fastest combinations for each step (either a SELECT key, FRONT PANEL controls, the LCD buttons, or combinations).

Assuming you are in a program that you do not mind overwriting, do the following:

1. Press EDIT and then the SELECT [16] key.  Press YES to initialize this program.
2. SELECT [1] to set the TIMBRE (Single, Dual or Split).  Default is Single after initializing.  Note: from here you must press PAGE + to arrive at “02a: NAME“, in order to edit the program name. There is no SELECT key corresponding to this page.
3. SELECT [2] to choose a Voice: Mono, Unison or Poly.
4. FRONT PANEL [OSCILLATORS 1 AND 2]: Set the waveforms and respective controls.
5. FRONT PANEL [MIXER]: Set the volume of each Oscillator.
6. FRONT PANEL [FILTER]: Set Cutoff, Resonance, EG1 INT, KBD Track, and Filter Type.
7. FRONT PANEL [EG 1]: Set the envelope (affects Filter Cutoff).
8. FRONT PANEL [AMP]: Set the output (Level, Pan, EG 2/Gate, and Distortion).
9. FRONT PANEL [EG 2]: Set the envelope (affects Level).
10. FRONT PANEL [LFO 1 and LFO 2]: Set these low frequency oscillators which can be used in the VIRTUAL PATCH section to modulate various parameters.
11. SELECT [12]: Set the modulation effect type by pressing [-/NO or +/YES] (Cho/Flg, Ensemble, and Phaser).  Make sure the [MOD/DELAY] LED is off to make this work.  For other parameters, turn the SPEED/TIME knob and the DEPTH/FEEDBACK knob.
12. SELECT [13]: Set the delay type by pressing [-/NO or +/YES] (StereoDelay, CrossDelay, and L/R Delay). For other parameters, turn the SPEED/TIME knob and the DEPTH/FEEDBACK knob (I often find it useful to set the effects before setting some of the other sections, as it can be further inspiration for programming.)
13. FRONT PANEL [VIRTUAL PATCH]: Press SELECT to pick one of four Patches, each with its own SOURCE and DESTINATION to be set.  Some fantastic character can be added to your program through this section.  Imagine it like an old synthesizer where you physically used patch cables to connect two different sections together.

Note that if you chose DUAL or SPLIT voice (see Step #2), the TIMBRE button will be lit, indicating that you edited the parameters for TIMBRE 1, and now you can press TIMBRE and repeat all the above steps for the TIMBRE 2.  This greatly enhances the sonic potential of your program.

To name the program, see Step #2.  Save your new program by pressing WRITE and follow the prompts.  You can always revert back to the factory settings (see manual, page 30).

Note that all of the exact settings made above can be viewed in the LCD display.  You may have noticed that the values appear in the display when a knob is turned.  Use the [-/NO or +/YES] buttons to change those values directly.

I have left out several other major sections, such as ARPEGGIATOR, VOCODER, and the SEQUENCER, for a later discussion.  Of course, having walked through the above settings, it is a simple matter of experimentation to figure out how to implement them into your program.  One of the exciting aspects of the SEQUENCER is that it can sequence three levels of parameters all at once, using the sixteen knobs.  Note: Those knobs only works if the SEQ EDIT SELECT button is pressed (lighting up either SEQ 1, 2, or 3).  Leave it off to use the knobs for the other functions like EG 1, Virtual Patches, LFO 1, etc.

I welcome any suggestions on how to improve this basic tutorial.  For more information check out the Korg MS2000 Wikipedia entry and the Owner’s Manual.

]]> http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=607 0 http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?p=578 http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?p=578#comments Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:30:41 +0000 fhsueh http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?p=578

Lately, I can’t stop listening to Burial, an English dubstep artist whose real identity was only uncovered recently in August 2008.   His self-titled debut and his second work, “Untrue”, are hypnotic postcards sent from the South London landscape.  While it is a place I probably will not visit any time soon, I can already envision it through Burial’s ominous and seductive drum patterns which rise and exhale in the dark under an omnipresent rainfall that covers all of his tracks.  And judging by the controversy of his methodoloy, his tracks are masterclasses in electronic beats and technological resourcefulness.  It should be no surprise that before he was revealed as William Bevan, there were rumours that he was really Richard D. James, aka Aphex Twin.  Understandably, anonymity lost its appeal after his work received critical acclaim.

The few interviews with Burial provide a glimpse into his perspectives on music, the rave scene about which he sentimentalizes but was too young to remember, and the eclectic, yet ordinary sources of his sounds.  Using gun cocking sounds from a video game, sparse vocals that appear to mutate from male to female to androgenous, and the sound of rain, Burial takes the listener to his home, his space, his city, and usually only at night.  He mentions listening to his tracks while driving around at night to determine their worthiness, and it is clear that he has captured the depth and emotion of those moments we know so well — a bus ride after a night of clubbing, sitting alone at a McDonald’s, or just staring out the window of a high-rise overlooking the city.  For me, the success of Burial’s work is that his tracks communicate.  In fact, they have become my daily soundtrack on the subway.

It surprised many folks then that Burial claims to have made all of his tracks in SoundForge, which apparently is not the first choice in music production software. (See the shocked and awed at Gearslutz).  But it is clear that his reliance on his ears and a studied talent for beat-making outside of a sequencing program successfully produced some of the more organic electronic rhythms I have ever heard.   Burial does not reveal his techniques (except that he is happy when his drum waveforms look like a “fishbone”), but he has mentioned that only a few people close to him knew that he made music, and that he had a day job which provided some of his inspiration.  Of course, his background resonates with me and I am curious to no end to understand how he produced his tracks.  His story also encourages me, because we are probably around the same age (Burial graduated from Elliott School in 1995).

Here is an interesting piece of the puzzle.  An Internet search turns up a funeral director’s website claiming “200 Years of Service” and a “Private Chapel of Rest”.  Is this Will Blevan’s day job? Or did he google himself and find this website, and name himself Burial?  I say it’s either a happy coincidence or saavy marketing.  Either way, I wonder how many messages have been left at that phone number seeking the answer.

Visit Burial’s MySpace page and read the Guardian article confirming his identity.

“Many of us do work that feels more surreal than real. Working in an office, you often find it difficult to see any tangible result from your efforts. What exactly have you accomplished at the end of any given day? Where the chain of cause and effect is opaque and responsibility diffuse, the experience of individual agency can be elusive. “Dilbert,” “The Office” and similar portrayals of cubicle life attest to the dark absurdism with which many Americans have come to view their white-collar jobs….The imperative of the last 20 years to round up every warm body and send it to college, then to the cubicle, was tied to a vision of the future in which we somehow take leave of material reality and glide about in a pure information economy. This has not come to pass. To begin with, such work often feels more enervating than gliding. More fundamentally, now as ever, somebody has to actually do things: fix our cars, unclog our toilets, build our houses.”

What do I most enjoy doing? I love creating and building things from scratch.  When I am at my day job downtown, I cannot wait to come home to do what I really love.  Even if I only get twenty minutes to work on my music, solder some connections in a new effects pedal, touch up some photos, think of a new web design, work on a script, or whatever it is, I get through the day because I have those things to look forward to.  Crawford’s article confirmed for me that it is good and right to find this kind of work more meaningful than what I do at the office.

So why did I go to college? And why are parents in this country so obsessed with getting their kids into college?  How many friends do I have that are actually working in a field even remotely related to their college major?  Of course, without college I could not have obtained a higher degree.  And without that higher degree, supporting my family now would be a lot harder.  But this is the rationalization in which so many of us engage at this point in our lives.   What if I had pursued my original creative passions instead of taking the educational route  — diversion, if you will — that I embarked upon and am now working meaninglessly to pay off?

Some days I find myself deep in regret for the course I followed.  I do not want to wallow in it or indulge the cliche of wishing I could do it all over again.  But it is a kind of negative inspiration for how I should forge my future.  Does this mean I will not encourage my sons to go to college?  Of course not.  However, if there is something that they are clearly passionate about, and appears all-consuming of their interests and free time, I want to have the foresight to pause and reflect on that.

Here is where I will take Crawford’s observations further: From what I have seen, a college degree in this country merely entitles one to work in an office building.  A graduate degree gets a cubicle, a private office if you stay in the company long enough.  If you truly want to get rich or lead the life you want to lead, you skip or drop out of college and do what you love to do.  The logic is simple: if you work a 9-to-5 job, that is eight less hours per day that you can spend practicing what you love doing.  And if you landed that job because your resume mentioned a higher degree from such-and-such school, you mostly cannot afford to work less because school loans need to be repaid.  And if that degree was from law school or medical school, you are in an even worse predicament.  Add to this children, mortgage payments, etc., and you have the typical set of excuses we all cite for why we are doing what we are doing.

Which reminds me of a particular lyric and brings me to a musical, but related sidebar:

“Despite all my rage I am still just a rat in a cage
Now I’m naked, nothing but an animal
But can you fake it, for just one more show?”

– Bullet With Butterfly Wings, The Smashing Pumpkins‘ Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

Billy Corgan appears to have observed the irony of so-called “making it”, following the Smashing Pumpkins’ success.   In fact, so many artists have written songs lashing out about the pressure that inevitably follows popular success that it is par for the course.  But still, rock bands are rock bands because they choose to buck expectations to which many of us succumb — a regular education, regular job, regular family, regular life.

I would guess that a typical rock superact, which is made of passionate individuals who have spent a majority of their youth on their respective instruments, probably did not start out with a true passion to indulge the adulation and expectations of millions of fans and essentially work for the industry who stood to profit from them.   Mark Blake’s Comfortably Numb chronicles how popular Pink Floyd had become in the 70’s, and that the band was often criticized for maintaining an invisible wall between them and their audiences which had grown too large for their taste.  One critic claimed he saw David Gilmour yawn during a show.  When Roger Waters ended up spitting in the face of a fan who was getting too close, the separation between the band and the fans they once fantasized about ultimately materialized in the immensely successful two disc release, “The Wall“.  Performances of the Wall actually involved the laying of large, white bricks on the stage which grew into a real wall between the band and the audience.

So based on the above, is there a golden threshold applicable to both rock bands and us regular folks?  I think so.   It’s that moment when you find yourself doing something, and wondering “why am I doing what I’m doing?”  If the question does not bother you, and you continue doing whatever it is you were doing, you will probably be a good office worker for some time.  But if it disturbs you, I believe it is a sign that you need something – a change, a new direction, a reacquainting with something lost inside of you.

For some of you, I am sure I sound dead wrong.  For others, this may be preaching to the choir.  But really this is meant as a self-rebuke, a reminder to myself to keep pushing ahead and do good things with my hands.

]]> http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=564 0 http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?p=558 http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?p=558#comments Fri, 29 May 2009 14:19:30 +0000 fhsueh http://www.francishsueh.com/blog/?p=558 My musical life has been relegated to the closet this past month. Actually, it has been enormously refreshing to work in a tight space without distractions like email, and work on some ideas with my hands and ears instead of a mouse.  I’ve dug deep into my MS2000R and JV1080 to better understand the patches and have come up with some pretty cool patches from scratch.  Added to the fun is the fact that I recently went further back in time and scored a Tascam 103 tape deck, and a perfect condition Alesis HR16 drum machine (which came with the MMT-8 sequencer and Craig Anderton’s “Complete Guide to the Alesis HR-16 and MMT-8″).  Now I can instantly record my ideas to tape along with a corny drum track.  In all seriousness, I am overwhelmed by how deep the HR16 is and hope to figure out some cool things to do with it.  Stay tuned for more from my journey to the sonic past.

Ian arrived on April 30, just one day before Eliot’s second birthday, and one ounce lighter! I had one week off to enjoy being at home with Ian and sadly had to return to work this week. How does it feel to be a father of two? It seems easier this time around. We’re not as anxious about every little thing. Watching our first son at the same time presents some challenges, but overall it’s fun to watch him warm up to his little brother.

I feel like I’m really grown up now.  I mean, that I have to be really grown up now. With Eliot, my wife and I were still a young couple experiencing the profound joy of a child whose every step and utterance was captivating.  Now, we have a job to do.  We no longer outnumber them. They have matched us.  And already it feels like we are a tag team, on a heightened state of alert, trying to stay one step ahead of Eliot’s curious meanderings, his leaky milk bottle (we have not found one that does not leak), and Ian’s squeaks and leaky diapers (we wish Costco would make Kirkland-brand swaddlers).

As when Eliot was born, Ian’s arrival had me thinking about our future, my career, and my creative aspirations.  This time, however, the circumstances were more daunting.  Friends warned that two children are exponentially harder than one and we would never have time for ourselves.  With Eliot, we were able to take turns watching him.  My wife could watch him while I was at work, or at rehearsal, and I could at least try to return the favor by giving her some time for herself during the week.  Two children, though, apparently calls for even more sacrifice.  So far, except in the dead of night, there really is no break for either of us, even while my mother-in-law helps us out for a few weeks.

But while our daily schedule has been altered and our stake in life has been raised radically, I feel fortunate to still feel the same creative urge that occupied me even up to the day of Ian’s birth.  Before he was born, I read Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” .  The stories of hard work and practice were inspiring (though also disheartening at once).  I also remembered from another book that Quincy Jones’ routine was to wake up at 4am, work on his music until it was time to eat breakfast with his wife and children, and then return to the studio for the rest of the day. So in anticipation of the major changes to come, I started waking up early to squeeze in at least one and a half hours of writing and/or producing music each morning before heading off to my day job.  Of course, my day job has no connection to music, but I believe that every extra bit of intentional, disciplined exposure to something  can pay off.

I also managed to squeeze in some self-education from the library and even some practice time.  I read “Comfortably Numb”, by Mark Blake, which chronicles Pink Floyd and their tumultuous relationships, and “The Complete Guide to Guitar and Amp Maintenance” by Ritchie Fliegler.  I also watched documentaries on the Theremin and the making of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”.  Somewhere in there, Ian came out!  Now, I am finishing “Mixing Audio: Concepts, Practics, and Tools” by Roey Izhaki.   If anything, having one child focused me and encouraged me to work hard at everything I do.   Now, a second child is enriching my view of how I can and should carry on with my creative work.  For example, because my workspace would serve as a guest bedroom for a while, I created a practice space in our small walk-in closet so that I could play the guitar or synth at a moment’s notice (through headphones of course).  Last night, after falling asleep with Eliot in his bed, I woke up at 2:15AM, and could not go back to sleep.  Then Ian woke up to nurse and also would not fall back asleep.  So I swaddled him and rocked him in my left arm while sitting on the floor of the closet.  I spent the next two hours tweaking a single patch on my Roland JV-1080 synth.  I learned a ton, and Ian fell asleep soundly.

It may not sound like it, but Eliot and Ian are teaching me how to be an adult. Every minute seems to involve a choice, as in a drop down menu of life priorities, upon which our relationships and our futures are decided. Read my e-mails or help Eliot with his alphabet at Starfall.com (a fantastic and free educational website)? Watch a YouTube video about synthesizers or sit down with Eliot and watch Monsters, Inc. for the twentieth time? Does my wife need something? She is nursing Ian every two hours so she has even less time than me! Of course I try to make the right choices: all of their needs should take priority over mine right now. But am I a selfish person because I wish I had more time, freedom, money, and success? Does every father struggle with this? Maybe I should just be thankful that, except for my time, neither Eliot nor Ian want any of those things right now.

I know that the hardest moments are yet to come.  I look forward to watching Ian grow and start to comprehend this family God gave him, and I can’t wait to see Eliot do things like ride a bike and play the guitar.  But I do not look forward to the painful moments, like when Eliot is teased for being Chinese, or the rebellious years when we may have to confront an uglier side of life in this city.  Somehow, I hope that my aspirations and the things that my children see me attempting to accomplish will serve as a foundation for success in their lives.  They may see me doing unconventional things, like working on my music at 3AM, or building gadgets at home.  (As a kid, I watched my father build computers).  But if my children grow up understanding that life is neither a narrow path nor a formless sea of unexamined choices, I think I will be happy. It would also be nice if life could move just a little bit slower.

My homemade pedal board has the basics: room for a power strip, a patchbay and maybe one more effect.

My second son is due any day now, so naturally my “nesting” reflexes have ramped up.  I just finished my pedal board, using 1/4″ plywood,  various hardware from Parts Express, and Velcro-type loop from Stompin-Ground.

What does a pedal board have to do with preparing for a newborn?  Nothing really, unless you count the mess of cables
and pedals that would normally clutter the floor of my workspace, and the fact that my wife has been waiting for me to do SOMETHING about it all.  Our two-year old son loves playing with my patch cables and is already adept at placing pedals in the correct order (even though he knows there is no such thing as a “correct” order).  In the end, you could say that organizing my space and my gigging paraphenalia (my band, the Brookies, has played in the Village twice in the last month), is ultimately for the benefit of our son and his soon-to-be brother (wink).

I built the pedal board out of plywood from a local hardware store (I finally found a store that cuts wood in Manhattan @ Mike’s Lumber & Hardware, 254 West 88th Street, 212-595-8884).  The main features I wanted were: 1) a self-contained board that could be covered with a lid and transported; 2) enough room for all my power supplies, the bane of all multi-effects guitarists out there; 3) a patchbay to centralize the input/output cabling ; 4) enough room for perhaps one more stompbox; and 5) a low profile so I would not be stepping on the edge of the board when stomping pedals on and off (yes, you can tell I had a Boss BCB-30 at point).

After applying wood finish, and attaching the latches, lift-off hinges, carrying handle, and the sheet of loop, I had a suitable pedal board and case.  It is certainly not airline-safe or even waterproof, but it is lightweight and sure beats lugging a carry-on suitcase in the subway.

Well, I wish there were more to say, or some sound clips to share. But it is just a pedal board after all.

Handle, latches and lift-off hinges were found at Parts Express.