Re: Drum Machine solutions

[Douglas Baldwin <coyotelk@optonline.net>]

    With all this talk about getting tired of drum machines, I can't help
but wonder why no one has mentioned pitch shift as a way to create new
sounds. I have an old Alesis HR-16 (the early grey version of the MR-16) 
and
I've NEVER tired of retuning the drums, mixing sounds to achieve new
textures, etc. Three quickies for audio refreshment:
    * tune the floor tom way down and use it for a kick drum. The long, 
slow
resonance sounds like John Bonham in the hallway at Brwn-ay-yur.
    * mix a little timbale or high-tuned piccolo snare with the wood snare
for extra snap. Or mix a little down-tuned wood block with the kick drum. 
Or
a little downtuned triangle with the ride cymbal. Or any wack retuned sound
with the "normal" sound. (Downtuned tambourines sound like a bag of pots 
and
pans.)
    * because the HR-16 won't allow the same sound to overlay upon itself,
you can play a sound two times in a row, edit the firsat attack to volume =
8 (max), second attack to volume = 1 (min), and you get instant gating.
    I remember demo'ing a Boss drum box which had tuning increments in
microtones. Just the sound of retuning the cymbals and triangles was wicked
cool! Stupid flangey overtones whirling about!
    And of course this is without running your "boring" drum machine into
some manglatorio stomp box...!
Douglas Baldwin, coyote-at-large
coyotelk@optonline.net