TXT:: PC to Mac Conversion Project is almost complete! I finished up the printer formatting for that damn database. It’s nice now since there are pop up menus for repetitive tasks (unlike the DOS version) and the Powerprint USB adapter working like a charm. I picked up a little USB hub and will be adding on a second Powerprint adapter for a multiple printer set up. I found a cool little control panel called PrinterSwitch by Daniel Schwartz of Brookline Software. What’s more, there’s a scripting addition which controls non PostScript printers. Applescript currently only handles postscript printers with the Desktop Printer Utility, the “Print Using” Scripting addition adds Scripting control to various printer drivers in the chooser - Very cool if you need to automate specific printing tasks. There are a few bugs with PrinterSwitch, but a stable work around is available. Whys is all of this necessary? Because my mom knows how to play games on the Mac, and automating it is imperative so she doesn’t interrupt me while I’m making tracks

With all this database stuff, I’ve been inclined to learn SQL. I’m also working on a new website for my family (anyone with a clue can figure out the URL) Since the site is hosted on a MS-f#c%en-WindowsN freaken T server (it’s not that bad - i still think apache is faster and more reliable though), I’m trying to learn a little Cold Fusion. My Cousin Carole and her son Miles will be doing a lot of interface work on the new site from their G4:-) The interesting part is that all this web based database stuff isn’t much different from the old style DOS database stuff. PHP looks interesting - I like the fact that it’s open source and the fact that i’m a little familiar with the old dbase stuff. But since the site is served on Cold Fusion, I might as well take advantage of this opportunity. So I’ve ordered some books from Amazon.com - we’ll see how this goes. I’m hoping that all this knowledge will help me further develop my next version of Peff.com. Thanks Emmet for hosting the site!

MP3:: This seems as good of a time as any to introduce some new tracks I’ve been working on. This stuff is not ReBirth related and can be found at www.mp3.com/cardioid It’s mostly MPC-3000, TB-303, various Analogue, and Pro Tools stuff.

Xylox has included one of the Cardioid Tracks on his mp3 radio station playlist where he features various electronic artists on MP3.com. Thank you, Ray! Be sure to check out the music from Xylox, it’s really quite amazing! Click the banner and be prepared to Turn On, Tune In, and Space Out!

TXT:: Thanks to everyone for recommending Solitaire games! I ended up downloading and purchasing a license for Hardwood Solitaire. They did a really nice job with the card graphics I still think it’s a terrible shame to use the G4 as a solitaire machine. Let me recant about the sheer speed of the G4: I’ve managed to convert the entire fiscal year of Lotus 1-2-3. Spreadsheets over to *cough* MS - *cough^@#$%@#%#$* Excel in about 2 hours. It’s quite strange since 10 years of bookkeeping data, word processing, and correspondence, created on the 486 fit onto only 4 floppy disks.

I copied the floppy data onto my 8500/G3, then transferred the data to the powerbook. Took the powerbook over to the G4 and built a crossover cable to connect the machines, and transferred the data from the floppies into the G4. AirPort is looking quite attractive at this point… I transferred data and applications from her old PowerMac 6300CD (piece of crap 603e). After Installing a copy of toast on there, I burned a CD with all that data. 6300s have an internal Apple 600i 4X SCSI CD-Rom drive which works well with Akai Samplers

I got a USB version of PowerPrint to connect up the old printers to the G4. These adapters work really well!, Powerprint 5 has drivers for just about every Parallel printer in existence. I still have the old Serial Port version for use with the older computers. My fellow mac users who don’t know about this product might be interested in it since it will let you connect your Mac to just about any PC printer out there. The new version will also let you tranceive data with some of those multipurpose/scanner/printer/fax combo machines.

My mum decided to get a scanner as well, so I ordered an Epson Expression 1600 since it has both SCSI and USB connections (and optional Firewire:-) Apple should have put about a dozen USB ports on the back of the G4.

Side Note: I think we paid more for the 486 system (about $4,000 not including the printer) than I did for the G4 system with monitor.

E-mail stuff:: I received Two interesting E-mails yesterday. The first was from Sam Evans, perhaps the youngest ReBirth User in the world!:

MY NAMES SAM
I AM 7
MY DADDYS GREG HE IS 32
WE MADE A SONG FOR YOU
RBS ATTACHMENT

Everyone take a listen to Sam’s song and send him some supportive feedback! Click on his name above for his e-mail address.

The Second e-mail was from a 13 year old named Jeffrey Kelbick from Ambler Pennsylvania, a self-proclaimed “hacker” who also uses the nicname, “Peff”:

Excuse me, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE! I AM PEFF AND DON’T YOU DARE TRY AND TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME! I DEMAND THAT YOU GET RID OF YOUR SITE OF CHANGE THE NAME YOU NAME STEALER!

I didn’t know the identity of the mysterious Mr. Peffey at first, but his name is on his AOL homepage.

Hey MrPeffey: I’d love to hear some of your horn playing and guitar playing, please send me some MP3 recordings I found your e-mail a bit funny, but some others might be offended by it especially since it’s a given name to a few people, like Madame Peff Modelski, the dance instructor from New York, NY. It’s really odd that everyone who chooses this nicname is interested in the arts

More TXT:: I think I will compile a list of other people using ‘Peff’ on the web - No, my sister-in-law is not Traci Bingham from Baywatch! , but I am into Pefftronics (their site is temporarily down).

RBM:: I’ve pulled out the TR-909 and I’m going to make some wierd noise with it for the new mod. I listened to some aphex twin the other day, and I noticed that he uses the TR-909 a lot. It doesn’t sound like a 909 since it’s processed through a bunch of stuff. So in homage of R.D.J. I’m going to create a set of drum samples in that style.

=Peff probably not the first, and most certainly not the last

MP3:: The Pro Tools mix of Visions sucks. So I’m not going to post it. However since it sucks so much, I think I’ll make it open for remixing. Check back for details on how to get the samples. I will probably post up segments of all the audio parts, including drums, vocals, basslines, pads, TB-303, and loops.

TXT:: I pulled a classic mac-nubie maneuver yesterday. On my way home from meeting MB in SF, I stopped at Fry’s to pick up my mother a Birthday gift, an Apple Cinema Display (15″ LCD). Her old Apple 15″ monitor is shot, and she needs a new one. So I asked the sales people if it’s backwards compatible with the standard Apple 15 pin D- connector. They acknowledged that it would work, but they were wrong. The new Apple Studio Displays have a Digital Video Interface connector, not the standard VGA analog connector. Mom liked the monitor so much, she wanted me to get her the computer that works with it. So I just finished installing all the software on her new Apple G4/400. Talk about a birthday present - I don’t even have a G4 yet! It’s overkill for a G4 to run Quicken, Excel, and Solitaire. Say if anyone knows of a good solitaire game for MacOS, please e-mail me.

Hey JC: You need a G4 set up like my mom’s! See how little desktop space it takes up!

RBS:: After I finished that MIDI project, I figured it was time to hit ReBirth again. I’ve started up a new track for the RedStripe Mod. Jackplug seems to like this track a lot. It definitely has more of a Drum ‘n Bass feel than the demo I made for the mod. There’s no name for the track yet, it’s just a bunch of patterns. RSDNB03.zip

MP3:: The Pro Tools mix of Visions has been sent off to MP3.com, but I’m really sick of the track. After all that tweaking it lost it’s groove. This stuff happens.

RBM:: Yeah believe it or not. I think I’m working on a new one. It’s been too long. I started making some noises on the Buchla 200 modular. Some sequential noise stuff filtered, distorted, spring reverbed etc. I started dropping some of these samples into an RBM and came up with some cool patterns. Eventually I’ll finish it up

TXT:: I’m starting something new here. This page is going to be a little journal for me to keep track of the stuff I’m doing. Not everything will be ReBirth or Propellerheads related, however, since this web page was founded on ReBirth MODs, that will always be the primary focus. I’m not in the habit of keeping journals, but I try to keep the site constantly revised. This seems like a good place to keep a written record of the stuff I’m doing.

MP3:: The Mackie 3204 Mix of Visions is now available from MP3.com. The Pro Tools Mix will be posted separately if people are curious to hear the difference in what I was previously complaining about. Like I said before, No offense to Mackie since they make excellent products, but the work I produce with Pro Tools is consistently better. This might be due to the production techniques involved in the recording process. The Pro Tools mix of the track should be available sometime next week.

Rather than lose sleep over that damn mix, I’ve decided to track and export all the audio on Visions over to Pro Tools™. So I didn’t make it to bed (actually the couch) until 3:00am, but it was all worthwhile. Even the preliminary mixes are sounding 200% better than mixing through a Mackie. No offense to Mackie, it’s just that there’s so much more control in Pro Tools. Also I think I learned that mixing several sources through a single Reverb causes a lot of harmonic weirdness - especially with a dense reverb patch. By tracking each instrument individually with effects, the mix sounds so much cleaner and more spacious. This should be an easy mix down after the arrangement is set.

TXT:: Ugh..I’m taking a break to rant a bit…I’ve been trying to mix down this track and slowly facing the fact that Pro Tools rocks. It’s basically a MIDI track I did in Cubase VST with some audio bits, but the problem is that I’m mixing it on a Mackie 3204. Each time I go through the mix, it sounds a little different. I’ve finally decided that the mix I did at 2:00am this morning works better than any of the 8 mixes I’ve done since. There’s something to be said for computer based automation. The effects aren’t so hot if you don’t have the horsepower in your CPU, but the automation makes life so much easier The track is for this little Native American Indian Electronic Song challenge set up by an avid listener on mp3.com. Check out the station for other works that people have been making for this challenge: Burning Bush - Native American Indian Song Challenge

MP3:: My submission for the challenge should be available soon from my mp3.com page. Please check out Visions. There might be some problems though since MP3.com has been facing legal issues with copyrights. They might assume that the Apache Indian Chants I used in the track are sampled illegally, but I have mechanical license to use them

REASON:: I’ve posted some detailed Information about the track Archer [Mix 2]. This chart details what sounds are synthesized, the loops used, and the samples used. Also the effects and control voltage modulations of the various devices.

Tage sent me this e-mail:

“BTW - On the NAMM show, Marcus was asked to make a bitmap of a full rack to show in a powerpoint presentation. Unfortunately he picked the Archer rack and went to work. The final bitmap was something like 6700 pixels high with a few devices still folded. That would mean a rack some three meters high stuffed with gear /Tage”

3 meters high - That’s a lot of gear

Archer [Mix 2]

by Peff. Made with Propellerhead Software Reason.

MP3:: I’m such a dumbass! I keep forgetting to post my thanks to T.G.Virus and SpinThis! for the sample production on Archer.

REASON:: I used a sample from the Metallicon+ Mod from the ReBirth CD. This sample was loaded into a sampler module and routed through a Filter effect. The Matrix sequenzer modulated the Filter for a PCFish type of sound. The Scratches were originally intended for the track, Keep Going, but I used them in Archer instead. I took a few seconds of Spin’s Scratching, imported it into ReCycle, and Created an REX file. The Scratch.REX file was then loaded into Reason’s Dr.REX player. A MIDI track in Reason’s sequencer controlled the REX segment playback.

I’m happy to say that after 2 years, persistence has paid off. Someone has been squatting on a particular domain name, and their registration with network solutions inc. has expired! I got lucky and registered the domain before it was renewed, so this site will finally be located at Peff.com

Actually, I might revise this site or perhaps create a new one. This depends on whether or not I have any real REASON to do it

MP3:: Archer [Mix 2] MP3 file is now available from my MP3 page. It’s a better mix with more dynamics in the drums and some other Reason Subtractor sounds.

MP3:: I’ve been reworking my latest track, Archer, made with REASON. The new mix is a bit different from the current demo MP3 file available on the Propellerheads website. It should be available shortly from my MP3.com page. Keep an eye out for Archer [Mix 2]

Reason:: Well I’ve been down in Los Angeles this week for the NAMM convention. This is my first visit to the convention and I’m definitely not disappointed. The thing is HUGE and it’s a gear freaks paradise (or hell). It’s a bit of torture to see so much stuff you really want but can’t afford.

I met with Ernst, Marcus, Peter and Tage as well as Jesuspark and his brother. Last night we were out drinking where Marcus and Tage made the joke that they should have a Gearaholics Anonymous session set up at the convention. 12 steps to recovery from Gear Addiction.

Other highlights for me was the chance to meet Robert Moog and Mr. Ikutaro Kakehashi of Roland Corporation, Japan. I wont even begin to go into details about equipment, but I’ll just say that there was a lot of nice stuff.

My sincerest thanks to all of the Steinberg people and Ernst and the Propellerheads for the invitation to come to the show. I had a great time and It was very nice meeting all of you. Thank you also to Ken at Digidesign, Paul at Manley Labs, Gail at Big Briar, Paul at Summit Audio, the guys at Studio Electronics, and Ron at Neumann.

MP3:: A new track created exclusively with the new Propellerhead’s Application, REASON, is now available from my MP3.com page. Archer [NAMM 2000 Mix] Make sure to check the song story for information about preproduction.