BlowStop module
This is the BlowStop module. It is a simple gate, and the point is that when you put this in your signal chain it will attenuate signal below the threshold. So what is new? Nothing. But by using it after a long reverb or delay you will get a wonderful effect. Big complex sound while playing, and no decay when you stop playing. The old gate, still a tool for unusual noises and choices.
I have tested Stompstock for a while now, and I am going to take it with me on stage. I really like the overall feel of it, but there are still some bits and pieces that has to go in before it reaches version 1.0.
For those of you who hasn’t seen Stompstock before it is basically stomp boxes on screen: You can move them around, put one before the other, and the sound always goes from left to right. This allows you to change your signal chain by clicking on a preset recall button of your choice.
First thing to be integrated is sync between modules. Then it will learn how to do some envelope tricks, attack decay and blow stop. Blow stop is simply a gate inserted anywhere in the signal chain that mutes output when input falls below a threshold. Like when a trumpet player stops blowing into the trumpet.
Sound examples coming soon!
![Vibrato and tremolo [sinus & saw with sag]](http://avols.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/vibravols-2.jpg "vibravols 2")
Cheers
Arve
At Norsk Teknisk Museum during the final concert of the elektrOpus sound competition I served a tiny portion of live graphics. It was kept simple, doing pixelation, blur, blending and a few other tricks and treats. I think it came out as a beauty, and Drivhuset ordered more graphic software for image manipulation for their Minnepinne-project.
So to make this story shorter than it could have been: I want to give a preview of how this came out, because it will be developed further and sneak on to stage with Goldwasser. Eventually. The images below are screenshots taken during testing of the software that I made for Drivhuset.
Source material are two videos: One of my son looking at fish at the aquarium and one video of a Norwegian coast guard ship going out from a dock in the local harbour. A Wiimote interfaces the manipulation presets too any kind of hands.
Cheers
Arve
I have set up a pair of active speakers and a subwoofer in my rehearsal studio: Two dB (dB Technologies) Opera Live 402 fullrange speakers, and one dB Sub15.
This is a setup that is sufficient for small gigs in clubs and such. The 402 speakers are rated at 500+100 watts, the Sub15 is rated 800 watts.
Point is: I sell this stuff, and want you to know about it. If you need speakers, microphones, cables or anything related to this, please contact. I have tested a lot of this for years, and I am confident that the products I sell is high quality, reliable and reasonably priced.
So why buy from Avols? Because Avols is about custom software and hardware. This means that you can buy speakers (and related stuff) and get software and/or hardware made for you and your needs.
You can save a lot of money if we set up a complete system running advanced, good sounding custom software creations for audio processing.
Please contact if you want more info. I will post more about projects that Avols has done in the past to illustrate how we do things.
cheers
Arve
I have bought me my very first mp3-player, and it is an iPod. Now I am one of them. One of those with a white headset, except I really dislike walking and listening to music at the same time. It is like driving and eating, both things are fun, but it is best to stop, eat and drive again. Enough! Now to the bulkyness and elegance.
I have seen the Lemur (Jazzmutant multitouch screen) up close and personal, and I think it is bulky. It definitely has a bulky price tag, I don’t need a big screen with multitouch, I want several small ones, and there comes the elegance of the iPod Touch. It is super thin, super light and super affordable, and the battery last more than long enough for a soundcheck and a concert.
If you have an iPod touch or an iPhone, then buy one of the OSC-apps in the appstore. I have downloaded two, and a third one is on its way. The first one I tested was the TouchOSC, and it made me happy. However I am excited about the text definable interface in MRMR, and will definitely spend some time exploring it.
This is my first post about this, but it will not be the last. Keep an eye on this, and I think we will have something beautiful for your hands and ears.
cheers
Arve
First I wrote a lengthy post about why this Max in Live thing is so amazing that I can’t wait. Then I realized that there will be approximately 16 million other blog posts about the very same thing, so I deleted, and made a summary:
I have waited and waited for a better integration of traditional recording and editing tools in Max. In particular I have longed for a waveform edit tool such as the object tool in Samplitude. Max in Live is more than I could dream about as it opens up a world of new possibilities. Read about it at www.cycling74.com.
Cheers
Arve
If you do love Applescript and adore the Automator, then skip ahead down the internet. If not, please read:
After switching to Apple a year ago, my computer life has become easier as expected. Every mac user on this planet would say off course, every Windows user might say something like ok, but (…). But it is not the ease of OS X that astonishes me the most. It is that the ease of the OS has translated into some of the programming tools. I still have Windows running under VMware for programming electronics and for using Samplitude, but OS X will be my main platform for programming productivity tools, as long as the client accept an Apple among the Windows.
Two Apple tools that can save your day:
Applescript is a time saver. End of story. Another story about applescript that has to be told and retold is the semantic syntax….. If all computer languages was semantic, then programming would be something that everyone could do without having to spend a lot of time learning how to think cryptic to do something easy.
Automator is a familiar concept for anyone used to MaxMSP Jitter, Pd, Bidule, Quartz Composer and so on. Make a program in a few minutes, distribute as standalone and your computer has become a little more easy to use (maybe…). Plug and play a program.
Cheers
Arve
So this is the Stompstock beta version.
It is intended for testing of the ….avols modules that I’ve written about before. Obviously I will write a longer text about this system when it is ready for intensive testing as a finished product, but for those who are interested I hope that these tiny posts about Stompstock is somewhat interesting and I will keep posting as new features gets implemented. On the list is preset morphing, mapping module for timed events, a granulation module and hardware. The hardware is on the drawing table, and will be there until I am sure it is flexible, scalable and has a splendid artwork.
Oh, and here is another module: The Playavols:
The Playavols is a player for uncompressed audio files, and is as simple as it gets: You drop a file in the white region, hit the buttons to get it to play in a loop or just once. You can do pause and resume and off course play and stop. Playavols does not react to input signal but passes on the output from the module that is before it in the signal chain. The bypass switch mutes the audio file, but it keeps on playing in the background always ready to resound.
Cheers
Arve
AvolsFX
The AvolsFX are ready for beta testing (other testers than myself that is…). More modules will be available as they are finished, but these five are the starters. The sonic possibilities goes from nada (bypass) via subtle tremolo, delay, kompression and drive to complete madness. The ringmodulator can be anything but subtle, however capable of some very nice sounds.
There are so many things going on right now, and I am working on a project that occupy my daytime, so now as this system is ready for beta testing, it is a matter of bugfixing and polish before I put it out for anyone to get it. Pricing is still TBA.
Cheers
Arve
So this:
is the Ringmodulator in the …..avols family. Think of it as a a meltingpot for a sinusoid: The modulation frequency is composite to get a mellower sound. It works! Audio example? No, not yet. I am still separated from my guitar’s better half, the amp. Please bear with me on this one… I guess you wouldn’t bring your dog to a catshow, and therefore I won’t record with a dog just because my cat isn’t at home. There is nothing wrong with my cat though. Short story shorter: I left my amp (the cat) at the place I am going to move to, and the moving thing was postponed.
By the end of November there will be audio!