[Gear] No Input Mixing

I hadn't used this mixer for years, mainly because it sounds absolutely horrible and clips the minute you look at it in a very nasty way. It's a Behringer... I won't say any more than that.

Finally, however, I have found a use for it - no input mixing. This seems to be something it is vaguely good at. I created feedback loops all over the place with it as you can see, so every control actually affects the sound and unlike the other TEAC mixer I use for no input mixing, this one works in stereo. Some definitely good fun to be had by plugging and unplugging the connections to create some fairly intense bursts of noise. Interesting that both mixers sound different when you create feedback loops on them and work in different ways. I think I prefer the sound from the TEAC but that is currently being used as a prop in a play. Also, the Behringer is tiny so it's easy to carry around to gigs and stuff.

One really cool thing is that by using the headphone socket for the output the level of the output signal can be attenuated which doesn't happen on the TEAC. This is good because it means you're not just sending peak output to a PA or soundcard.

I used it on Resonance FM - more pics here where I played a couple of sets with Vultures Quartet and Anton Mobin who was over from Paris recording with us and playing live in London.

Anyway, nice to find a use for crappy old equipment that never really worked in any satisfactory way.

I am now wondering what would happen if I start trying this stuff with a 32 channel, 8 buss Mackie desk ;-)

[Update] All sorts of stuff

I just created one of those Facebook page thingies for my music. It's here: http://facebook.com/Astrometria 

I am adding all kinds of videos and stuff to it and it has a gig listing page - although that doesn't mean I won't be posting stuff on this blog or updating my website.

Also, I realise I haven't really been posting much on this blog for the last month or so apart from gig dates. Well, this is because I have been really busy, recording, rehearsing and gigging.

The recording stuff is going well - in fact I will be mixing a new version of Lacrosse by John Zorn this afternoon by Vultures Quartet which will hopefully be released on Zorn's label, Tzadik, along with some of his other "Game Pieces". These pieces are a lot of fun to play will feature guest musicians as well as the normal VQ line up.

The next Vultures Quartet release is currently being mastered - this will be called What's Wrong With Me and will initially be released as a vinyl picture disc (remember those?). It will be coming out on Zos Kia Sounds later this year, followed by a CD release which may or may not have different material on it - undecided at the moment.

So, lots going on and more to be done...

[Live] Videos added to astrometria.co.uk

Just found some videos online of Vultures Quartet - most notably footage from our 50th gig at Boat Ting in December 2011 and footage from a gig we did at Tate Britain in December 2010. There are some others from The Foundry (with Ampersand) and one from The Others.

I'd forgotten footage existed for these gigs. They're on my website.

Thanks to Giles for recording most of these. You can see more of his films of bands here on YouTube.

[Live] Vultures Quartet 04/09/11

Thanks to Giles for filming this, our first Vultures Quartet gig for months - I think the first one this year in fact. Went down really well with the audience. We had a lot of friends there this time, so thanks everyone for coming and supporting us - it was a fun night.

[Various] New stuff and Edinburgh

Just recorded and uploaded a new track for the CWK 0015 Survey called Plasticked. It's also on my website. It's bits and pieces of the Und soundtrack that I put together for the Edinburgh Fringe performances, very heavily processed by using Soundflower to route the audio from QLab into my realtime Pd patches. It sounds quite strange and very granular.

Speaking of Und the performances are still attracting quite a few people every night which is great and the performance really seems to vary quite a lot from night to night in terms of delivery and pace, which I am enjoying - generally they're just getting better every time.

We've had a couple of good reviews as well... apparently. I have no idea where they are!

Had a day off performing today but it was still filled with job applications and music making.

Time for bed.

[Gear] No Input Mixing

I bought a TEAC Model 2A mixer the other day from a local secondhand shop. It's a six channel mixer with four output busses, originally for use with a four track reel to reel tape machine, hence the four output busses - there is no stereo out - but each of the six channels can be assigned to any of the four outs so it is possible to get a six channel to stereo mix. Check out the weirdness of the ins and outs:

No XLR, no phantom power, no balanced ins or outs and all the outputs are RCA, which I am never a real fan of as I seem to be able to break RCA sockets just by looking at them - at least they are easy to replace. From what I have gleaned from various online rants they're cheap, noisy and nasty mixers but I kinda like it and haven't noticed anything really terrible about it.

What it works really well for is no input mixing which you can hear on my site: astrometria. For this I am connecting the line out from busses one and two to the mic inputs on channels 4 and 5 (the mic ins are set on attenuated - MIC ATT on this thing) to create a feedback loop and using the AUX out to send the result to my soundcard. It sounds like an oscillator from hell.

It's controlled by messing around with the master volume control, bass and treble controls and the channel volume controls, but what also works is using the output assign buttons which radically change the sound - fine, but why do the assign buttons for outputs three and four alter the sound too?! I don't really care as it means that I have the ability to change the sound without the sweep of using a pot.

Lots of fun!

BTW the pics on here are not of the mixer I have, but a rather better looked after one I found on the web - so all that gear you see beneath it isn't mine either. And I have the UK version which runs off 240V / 50Hz

[Acoustic] Und

Here's the space before we did anything to it. After a week of building various instruments, mainly constructed from stuff we found in the area and lots of bits and pieces from charity shops along with a lot of very long days rehearsing, we're finally performing the play.

Opening night was last night and was well attended and went well. We're using the whole space, the audience are guided around various parts of the set and stand where the action takes place. The performances take place and night only the place where the action is taking place is lit, mostly by torchlight - quite creepy.

Pics of our home made instruments to follow, when I get some.

[Acoutstic] Und

Well, this is interesting - my first foray into the world of theatre as a sound artist. Not only that as there is no PA in the venue the sound will be created entirely acoustically. I am working with a more recent collaborator on this - Seth Guy - who was a member of London Concrete. Like me, Seth studied visual art but ended up playing music. We're collaborating on other projects at the moment with a far more visual bent but for this one, it's all sound.

The play is called Und and will be performed in Bristol at the Paintworks.

We went through the script and the musical direction and it looks like we're going to have a lot of fun. The space is something like 160 x 100 x 10m so must have amazing natural reverb. The audience will be moving around following the one actor who is performing a monologue and the whole thing will be lit with torchlight.

Expect lots of scraping metal, bowed objects, breaking glass and who knows what else - depends what we can find in the local scrapyards and charity shops.