EMUSIC-L Digest Volume 33, Number 3 This issue's topics: Re: Emusic Talk Source for FTP instructions Vocal effects, processors, etc. (10 messages) Prophet sounds THE KEEP soundtrack by Tangerine Dream (2 messages) Your EMUSIC-L Digest moderator is Joe McMahon . You may subscribe to EMUSIC-L by sending mail to listserv@american.edu with the line "SUB EMUSIC-L your name" as the text. The EMUSIC-L archive is a service of SunSite (sunsite.unc.edu) at the University of North Carolina. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1991 11:03:14 EDT From: "Joseph D. McMahon" Subject: Re: Emusic Talk Eight minutes? You'd need a semester... I'd suggest that you might want to focus on one aspect and do it well: the basics of the MIDI interface (i.e., optoisolated circuit, in-out-thru, why the 31.25 or whatever it is baud rate, etc.), or something similar. Also, for a timing, one double-spaced typewritten page (12-point text if you're using a Mac) takes about 1 minute to read. Write out what you want to say and use that for a metric. --- Joe M. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1991 12:07:00 EST From: JONES@ACFCLUSTER.NYU.EDU Subject: Source for FTP instructions In a recent message help was requested in regard to instructions for using FTP to acquire copies of MIDI docs, etc. In addition to several good sources for FTP documentation available online, the traditional library collection of printed materials also is an excellent source for such information. In that regard the following citation is offered: Arms, Caroline R. "Using the national networks: BITNET and the Internet" _Online_ 14(5):24-29, 1990. The sidebar ('Anonymous FTP: Getting files on the Internet') on page 27 provides enough basic information to get one started. Bill Jones N N Y Y U U Head, Catalog Maintenance N N N Y Y U U Bobst Library N N N Y Y U U BITNET: jones@nyuacf N N N Y U U Internet: jones@acfcluster.nyu.edu N N Y UUUUUU ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1991 12:42:33 EDT From: "Daniel C. Cummings" Subject: Vocal effects, processors, etc. >From Dan Cummings on EMUSIC-D: Hi all. I'm very interested in the area of vocal processing, but as of yet, know little about it. Specifically, I am curious about people's experiences with harmonizers, doublers, etc. beyond the normal scope of reverb and chorusing. What are the brand names and models of the king crab units for this sort of thing? What about the afffordable ones? How much will it cost me to get into it? Is it really possible to take a single voice, process it to sound like a choir, and actually have pleasant sounding results? Can such units be applied to other signals (such as guitar) with success? Thank you for any and all comments. Regards - Dan -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Daniel C. Cummings Voice: (612) 624-2574 Senior User Services Specialist FAX: (612) 624-4843 University of Minnesota - ORTTA 1100 Washington Avenue, Suite 201 Minneapolis, Minnesota 55419-1226 Internet: dan@ortta.umn.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1991 17:59:00 GMT From: Eric McCormick <0004775674@MCIMAIL.COM> Subject: (Forwarded) Vocal effects, processors, etc. There is something called a VOCODER.. I know Bode makes one and I think Roland also makes one. A couple years ago they were in the $800-$900 range. They take a "trigger" input such as a voice (speech or singing) and "map" the trigger signal over another input which could be a synth, saxophone, anything really. When you speak or sing, your voice sounds like whatever the other input is. This effect is used at the beginning of the "Disneyland Electrical Parade" if you've ever heard that. I know Suzanne Ciani also uses it on one of her albums to do really airy vocal stuff over her other music. PAIA electronics advertised a vocoder somewhere (sorry I don't have any more on this one) for $99. I have no idea how good it is, but they claim it's "good for the price." Another thing I remember is that the vocoder device has special circuitry to analyze speech particles (like P versus S or a sustained sound) and does something special with the frequencies. The mapping takes places in the same general frequency range, also. So if you sing near 440hz then the portions of the "other input" you hear come through are also in the similar range. Sorry if my information is general or wrong, but that's all I've heard on the subject. Hopefully someone else with the REAL answers can help you. +--------------------------------------------------------------+ | |\/\/\/| | | | | Eric McCormick | | | | | | | (o)(o) MCI Telecommunications | | C _) | | | ,___| 0004775674@MCIMAIL.COM | | | / | | /____\ | | / \ | +--------------------------------------------------------------+ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1991 14:50:38 GMT From: Simon `Sam the Man` Subject: Vocoders Someone mentioned Vocoders a little while ago on the postings. I think there is a good example on Scritti Politti's last album whatever it was called....erm....Provision....at least I presume it is a vocoder I've never heard anything else sound like that. Toodle Pip Simon 'Sam' Michel :-: Never knowing where he's going............. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1991 20:51:29 EDT From: Zimri Smith Subject: Re: (Forwarded) Vocal effects, processors, etc. I'm pretty sure PAIA electronics is in Oklahoma City, OK, if the person looking for a vocoder is interested in pursuing it. If there's genuine interest, I could probably find PAIA's phone and address in my mountain of unfiled miscellaneous papers and catalogs. If anyone's interested, let me know. - Zimri Smith (ST701790@brownvm.brown.edu) ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 16 Oct 1991 21:41:46 PDT From: Eric Schwartz Subject: RE: Re: (Forwarded) Vocal effects, processors, etc. I am also interested in the Vocoder. If anyone has any more information to share, I will be a grateful receiver! Eric Schwartz ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1991 10:09:22 -0700 From: Tom Erbe Subject: RE: Re: (Forwarded) Vocal effects, processors, etc. I found the PAIA vocoder to be very low quality. A waste of $99, to be sure. Doesn't Roland have a box with vocoding and pitch to MIDI? Tom Erbe Center For Contemporary Music Mills College Oakland, CA ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1991 13:19:30 EDT From: Simon Weatherill Subject: RE: Re: (Forwarded) Vocal effects, processors, etc. The BOSS Se-50 has a pretty good vocoder. It's a multi effects box for about $450. simon_weatherill@coat.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1991 19:39:21 GMT From: Bill Park Subject: Re: Vocal effects, processors, etc. > I'm very interested in the area of vocal processing > says Dan Cummings on EMUSIC-D. If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Vocal Harmonizer recently released by DigiTech. It will do everything you mentioned in your recent post and more. It's a generation or so beyond vocorder technology and is a very hot item. Best price I've seen is $850 (discount). * up to 5 part harmony * MIDI controlled * shifts pitch without chupmunk voices * etc. Hope this helps, Bill as976@cleveland.freenet.edu (Bill Park) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1991 18:23:37 CDT From: mwitten@HERMES.CHPC.UTEXAS.EDU Subject: Re: Vocal effects, processors, etc. This discussion is all well and good. But .. will somebody compile and present a list of contact addresses/phone numbers for all of these wonderful instruments. It sure would help us ignorant fools out here (at least me any way). Thanks, Matthew > > > I'm very interested in the area of vocal processing > > says Dan Cummings on EMUSIC-D. > > If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Vocal Harmonizer > recently released by DigiTech. It will do everything you > mentioned in your recent post and more. It's a generation or so > beyond vocorder technology and is a very hot item. Best price > I've seen is $850 (discount). > > * up to 5 part harmony > * MIDI controlled > * shifts pitch without chupmunk voices > * etc. > > Hope this helps, > > Bill > > as976@cleveland.freenet.edu (Bill Park) > -- _____________________________________________________________________ Matthew Witten, Ph.D. Director, Applications Research & Development Associate Director, UT System Center For High Performance Computing Balcones Research Center, 1.154 CMS 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, TX 78758-4497 USA Phone: (512) 471-2472 FAX: (512) 471-2445 E-MAIL MWITTEN@CHPC.UTEXAS.EDU or MWITTEN@UTHERMES.BITNET "some intellectuals make their living by creating obscurities for the rest of us to puzzle over" _____________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 18 Oct 1991 08:47:21 EDT From: ronin Subject: vocoder tutorial someone has asked about vocoders here, and there have been various levels of reply, some of which were aimed at providing manufacturer info, and a couple of which gave a little bit of operational info. i thought i'd expand on the operational side, for those who might be confused, or just ignorant, about a vocoder's workings. if you already know, ignore this and go read the rest of your mail. a vocoder's main equipment consists of two sets of bandpass filters. these are filters that pass only a selected range of frequencies, the center of that range known as the center frequency, and the breadth of that range known as the bandwidth. a single set of these filters constitutes a filter bank whose center frequencies and bandwidths are designed to provide coverage for pretty much the whole range of hearing. one possible configuration for example would use octave bandwidth filters, with their center frequencies set an octave apart. one octave bandwidth filter might have its center frequency set to 1000Hz, for instance. it's nearest upper neighbor would be centered at 2000Hz, and its nearest lower neighbor would be centered at 500Hz. the frequency response curves (the map of their pass-bands) would overlap each other at the points a half-octave between each pair, providing filter coverage for the entire range from about 250Hz to 3000Hz. of course, the narrower the filter bandwidth (and therefore the more plentiful the filters in the bank), the more precision the bank has, since each filter will differentiate a smaller range of frequencies. now... a signal, say from a synthesizer (let's call it the source), is passed into one of these banks. the signal is applied in parallel to all of them at the same time, and the output of each passed through a gain control element (a VCA) before the signal is recombined. so far, not unlike a graphic EQ, except that the VCAs don't actually boost the signal from a filter, just provide controllable attenuation. the VCAs are normally off. the application of a control to any one of the VCAs will cause a certain amount of the frequency selected for by the bandpass filter feeding it to be passed to the output: source---->filter 1---->vca 1-----† †->filter 2---->vca 2-----†---mix---->out (whatever portion of †->filter 3---->vca 3-----† the signal is passed † by filter 3) control------------------† (applied to vca 3 only for this example) got it? good. now, we've got another signal, say from a microphone (let's call it the control), that is passed through another filter bank that is matched to the first one... its filter parameters are exactly the same as those of the first bank (the one through which the source is passed). the output of these filters, though, rather than being passed through VCAs which control their final gain, is measured to determine their gain. in an analog vocoder, this is simply done by rectifying the output from each filter. what you get is a DC voltage whose amplitude is proprtional to the amount of control signal that got through that filter, which is of course proportional to the amount that that frequency range was present in the spectrum of the control. the DC control voltage associated with ecah control filter is applied to the VCA of each matching source filter, so that the amount of energy present in the control signal spectrum that makes it through any given filter in the control filter bank determines the amount of energy from the source signal that passes through the matching filter in the source filter bank that is is allowed through to the output. in other words, the two signals' spectra are separated to some degree, and the reconstruction of the source spectrum is made contingent upon the relative weighting of the assiociated portions of the control spectrum. put yet another way, the formant envelope characteristic of the control is imposed on the spectrum of the source. here's the final diagram, for one matched filter pair: synth---->filter------------------------------------------>vca---->out /†\ † † mic---->filter---->amplitude to control level conversion----† any questions? -------------< Extremism in the Pursuit of Good Noise is no Vice >------- Eric Harnden (Ronin) or The American University Physics Dept. Washington, D.C ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1991 15:00:15 EDT From: Peter Hagemeyer Subject: Prophet sounds >From EMUSIC-D: Anyone out there that still uses Prophet Synthesizers? I have a Prophet 600 and am looking for additional patches on tape AND MIDI information on it. Anything will do! Mac MIDI interfaces especially! --- Peter Hagemeyer ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1991 20:47:52 EDT From: "Steven Feldman, member of Electronic Dreams" Subject: THE KEEP soundtrack by Tangerine Dream: anyone have it? Dear Folks, I was wondering . . . does anyone here have the soundtrack to THE KEEP by Tangerine Dream? =============================================================================== FAVES: T. Dream, Nightcrawlers, Cluster, R. Burmer \†_ _†/ Steven Feldman FOR LIST OF NIGHTCRAWLERS RELEASES, SEND SASE TO: < o o > 80 Forest St., #5 Peter D. Gulch, 1493 Greenwood Avenue, Camden, NJ \ v / Providence, RI 08103-2929. Tell him I recommended that you write. \=/ 02906-2630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to DREAMS WORD, the e-music fanzine, from: Electronic Dreams, PO Box 42385, Portland, OR 97242. Send SASE. My address: ar402004@Brownvm.Brown.Edu =============================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1991 23:23:17 EDT From: Marshall Gilula Subject: Re: THE KEEP soundtrack by Tangerine Dream: anyone have it? don't have that, but I did ftp to submissions at Purdue and orst a dynamite, but somewhat short and sndcompressed .snd file of "In a Silent Way" by Miles Davis and in his group in 1969. Since Miles passed away very recently, I figured the file would be a good way memorialize the dude. -73- ------------------------------ End of the EMUSIC-L Digest ******************************