Archive of the former Yahoo!Groups mailing list: MOTM

Datum:

Paul Brousseau
Berkeley, CA
Currently living with a somewhat-synth-appreciating girlfriend, with plans
to marry her in a few years.
Will try to eat most anything save for very squishy or slimey bits, at least
until you tell me what it is.

Graduated (barely, it seems!) from UC Berkeley w/ a BS in EECS.

Software engineer for Lucent Technologies.

MOTM:
110-- the last one built. I need to play with the ring mod some more, and
the VCA hasn't been emplyed much due to lack of 800. OTOH, it might serve
as a good temporary pre-amp to free up the Mackie (see below).
120-- deeeeee-licious! Grisley sounds!
410-- this one has been tricky to use terribly well. I think this is
because I tend to send it fairly tight bandwidth sounds from the Nord (see
below).
900-- haven't figured out how to use this musically; it just seems to mute
everything when I flick that little switch... now, if I could control that
with a CV... ;)
Hopefully coming soon:
320-- Many uses I forsee... routed to the 120, or the 110 ring-mod, etc.
440-- I can't wait to hear the overdrive section!
800-- Plan to tie this to the 110 VCA.
Right now the modules are stuffed into an 8U painted partical-board case
with just 1U to spare. However, I have a 12U (?) Calzone case that's
currently serving time as a Microwave (oven) stand.

Other musical crud:
Nord Modular Keyboard-- this is what really got me into modulars. Despite
the fact that its very digital, the creative aspects are enormous.
Waldorf Pulse-- sadly, this unit's not even plugged in. I think I've used
it 5 or 6 times since I got the Nord. This might be partially because I'm
spoiled by having a visual representation of my other synths' architecture,
so I haven't "learned" the Pulse yet. With its very hot outputs, it might
serve as a good oscillator source for the MOTM... hmmm...
Yamaha A3000 sampler-- my first "synth", I started off by recording movie
samples. Now, when its plugged in, it's an effects box-- mainly distortion
/ overdrive / compression. The effects feel really dirty, and I like that.
Someday I'll learn to sampler properly and it'll be re-integrated into the
studio.
Mackie 1202VLZ mixer-- used as the main mixer before getting the PARIS, now
serves as a pre-amp for the MOTM modules.
EMU-Ensoniq PARIS-- main mixer / effects unit. Meant to be a full blown
DAW, but I'm currently more interested in twiddling with sounds than
recording music. I like the built-in reverb / delay / multi-tap effects,
though.
Cheap Roland controlling keyboard-- also not in use, since it was
controlling the Pulse and Yamaha.
Mackie 824 monitors-- what to say, I like 'em! Plenty loud (I've hurt my
eardrums a few times).

Musical style: My tendency is to create sounds rather than create music,
and I have a severe tendancy towards bass sounds with lots of noise. I
can't create a good percussion, pad, lead, brass, or organ sound to save my
life... but damn I love those basses. Particuarily with FM. Some drones
too.

Musical influences / likes: Lots...
80s: its said that the 80s had no good pop music. I think that's actually
the 90s.
industrial: and lots of it! I tend away from coldwave (guitar crossover,
ala KMFDM), but perfer EBM (Dive, Wumpscut), old-school (Throbbing Gristle,
E.N.), power electronics (Soldergiest, Anazemphalia), power noise
(Dissecting Table, Noisex, Imminent Starvation), quirky stuff (Snog,
Pigface), noise (Aube, some Merzbow)
goth: more old-school stuff like Alien Sex Fiend, Bauhaus, Sisters Of
Mercy.
hard techno: from harsh-dark-tek-step-stuff like Panacea and Black Lung to
digital hardcore like Atari Teenage Riot.
some trip-hop: Portishead, Massive Attack, some Tricky.

Favorite CDs right now: been on a goth kick recently, so Sisters Of Mercy's
"Some Girls Wander By Mistake" and "First And Last And Always" (big fan of
15 tons of reverb...). Not exactly EM, but they used primitive drum
machines...

Reason for building MOTM: To dig deaper into analog synthesis, and have a
greater sence of personal satisfaction in my studio. I have a lot of toys
that I don't use properly or at all, but I can at least say that I built
some of my toys!

Likes: movies and theater, both viewing and production. Some TV (Drew
Carey Show, Antique Roadshow). Music (see above). Coffee and a book or
magazine. Obnoxious music (see above). Reading warped journalistic
accounts of real life (Hunter S. Thompson). Loud music (see above).
Parenthesis.

Dislikes: Most TV. Hedonism without responsibility, thought, or reguard to
safety. (Hey, wait to end on a downer!)

--PBr