benjarvis.org http://www.benjarvis.org More Output Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:40:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 2006-2007 benjarvis@austin.rr.com (benjarvis.org) benjarvis@austin.rr.com (benjarvis.org) posts More Output benjarvis.org benjarvis.org benjarvis@austin.rr.com No no http://www.benjarvis.org/wp-content/plugins/podpress/images/powered_by_podpress.jpg benjarvis.org http://www.benjarvis.org 144 144 It’s Just Like Starting Over Again. http://www.benjarvis.org/music/its-just-like-starting-over-again/ http://www.benjarvis.org/music/its-just-like-starting-over-again/#comments Sat, 23 Jan 2010 06:21:33 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4858 Current StudioI’ve been deeply involved with my new Korg ER-1 drum machine. I bought a Behringer Xenyx 1202FX mixer to plug all my toys together and I’ve been having a great time learning how to program the Korg ER-1. Without a sequencer, it’s difficult to put together an actual song, but I’ve been noodling about with the two synths and the drum machine. I really need a stand to hold all this gear, but that’s down the line from here.

While practicing 32 step programming on the ER-1, I came up with a rather complicated beat. I recorded a demo of it, muting parts and bringing them in. It’s so much fun manipulating hardware. I’ve been using software so long I forgot how great it is to just reach over an tweak a knob. So here is the demo I recorded. I designed the kick, snare, and tom drums from scratch. I also did all the programming and all the live performance.

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/music/its-just-like-starting-over-again/feed/ 3 2:21 I've been deeply involved with my new Korg ER-1 drum machine. I bought a Behringer Xenyx 1202FX mixer to plug all my toys together and ... I've been deeply involved with my new Korg ER-1 drum machine. I bought a Behringer Xenyx 1202FX mixer to plug all my toys together and I've been having a great time learning how to program the Korg ER-1. Without a sequencer, it's difficult to put together an actual song, but I've been noodling about with the two synths and the drum machine. I really need a stand to hold all this gear, but that's down the line from here. While practicing 32 step programming on the ER-1, I came up with a rather complicated beat. I recorded a demo of it, muting parts and bringing them in. It's so much fun manipulating hardware. I've been using software so long I forgot how great it is to just reach over an tweak a knob. So here is the demo I recorded. I designed the kick, snare, and tom drums from scratch. I also did all the programming and all the live performance. Music benjarvis@austin.rr.com no No One Down (and I Mean Down…), One to Go. http://www.benjarvis.org/music/one-down-and-i-mean-down-one-to-go/ http://www.benjarvis.org/music/one-down-and-i-mean-down-one-to-go/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 18:21:02 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4854 The Korg EA-1 arrived first today. Overall the cosmetic condition was good, but a few of the pots were glitchy and the selection jog wheel skipped around. That’s no good. One of the glitchy pots was the main volume knob. It would cut out one of the voices intermittently. Also the decay pot didn’t have full range of motion and intermittently stopped transmitting data. So I gotta return it.

But! There is a silver lining. I found a store called Daddy’s Junky Music. They sell used gear in stores and online. They have a unit that sounds like its in better shape and they want $30 less. I have to return the one I got, but at least I can get a pretty good replacement. I emailed them to get an idea of its condition and if everything sounds cool then when I get my refund money I’ll order it.

I hope the Korg ER-1 is in better shape.

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/music/one-down-and-i-mean-down-one-to-go/feed/ 0 Countdown to Fat Beats. http://www.benjarvis.org/music/countdown-to-fat-beats/ http://www.benjarvis.org/music/countdown-to-fat-beats/#comments Tue, 19 Jan 2010 03:11:59 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4849 Tomorrow my ER-1 and EA-1 synthesizers arrive. I would have had them today but, it’s MLK’s Birthday so no deliveries. It’s not been so bad waiting as I had my Casio CZ-101 to play with.

Yeah, I got it after all. It was totally worth the wait. I met up with the seller in the driving rain. Because of a few loose keys the seller dropped the price. He was awesome. Turns out he does scores for student films and such. Slowly, but surely I’m getting in touch with the synth guys of Austin.

The CZ-101 is truly unique. The only way I can describe it is that it sounds like an FM synth, but is programmed more like an analog synth. It has two voices and each voice has an 8(!) stage envelope for each of the DCO, DCF (called DCW), and the DCA. They can be used separately, together or one can be doubled. One voice can ring modulate the other and there is a noise generator to add grit. It has MIDI (up to 4 parts monophonic/multi-timbral), vibrato, and portamento. It’s very versatile. I can’t wait to use it in a mix. Oh, yeah! I almost forgot, it has pegs for a strap to wear it like a keytar! sweet.

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/music/countdown-to-fat-beats/feed/ 0 “Style 2 Sell”, My 1997 Hip Hop Hit. http://www.benjarvis.org/music/style-2-sell-my-1997-hip-hop-hit/ http://www.benjarvis.org/music/style-2-sell-my-1997-hip-hop-hit/#comments Fri, 15 Jan 2010 20:29:53 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4843 Today I went to the thrift shop to find a tape deck so I could start digitizing my shoe box full of demo tapes. I lucked out and found a pristine Technics deck and it sounds great. I have roughly 30-40 tapes with various musical pieces. Well they were attempts at music. At any rate, they all need to be digitized, remastered and archived. I plan on releasing the best (or worst) of it here as I go through the pile.

The first song was a no brainer. In 1997, I was spending a lot of time slacking around with my buddy Josh, making music with whatever device we could get our hands on. I had bought a Roland MC-303 and we decided to try our hand at making a hip hop song. We didn’t have proper recording equipment, so we patched the mono output of the MC-303 into the left mic input on a tape deck I had and a mic in to the right input. This totally separated the vocals from the music. When it played back it was like listening to one of the first stereo albums with wacky extreme stereo effects, before they calmed down and put the vocals in the middle. It was fun but always kind of disappointing. The other problem was that we used a shitty mic without a pop filter so the vocals were really muddy. Most of the words were unintelligible.

Now, 13 years later, I’ve digitized the two tracks, cleaned them up (the best I could), mixed it to center and equalized it. It’s no Phil Specter Wall-of-Sound classic, but it sounds a lot better than it did and I’m happy to release it. Since I have the music and vocals separated, I think there might be a 2010 remix in the future.

Please understand that we’re not rappers. This was just for fun. Two dumb slackers playing around. I produced the beat and melody, Josh wrote and rapped the first half, I wrote and rapped the second half.

Style 2 Sell.flac (Lossless)
Style 2 Sell.oga (OGG Vorbis)

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/music/style-2-sell-my-1997-hip-hop-hit/feed/ 7 4:01 Today I went to the thrift shop to find a tape deck so I could start digitizing my shoe box full of demo tapes. I ... Today I went to the thrift shop to find a tape deck so I could start digitizing my shoe box full of demo tapes. I lucked out and found a pristine Technics deck and it sounds great. I have roughly 30-40 tapes with various musical pieces. Well they were attempts at music. At any rate, they all need to be digitized, remastered and archived. I plan on releasing the best (or worst) of it here as I go through the pile. The first song was a no brainer. In 1997, I was spending a lot of time slacking around with my buddy Josh, making music with whatever device we could get our hands on. I had bought a Roland MC-303 and we decided to try our hand at making a hip hop song. We didn't have proper recording equipment, so we patched the mono output of the MC-303 into the left mic input on a tape deck I had and a mic in to the right input. This totally separated the vocals from the music. When it played back it was like listening to one of the first stereo albums with wacky extreme stereo effects, before they calmed down and put the vocals in the middle. It was fun but always kind of disappointing. The other problem was that we used a shitty mic without a pop filter so the vocals were really muddy. Most of the words were unintelligible. Now, 13 years later, I've digitized the two tracks, cleaned them up (the best I could), mixed it to center and equalized it. It's no Phil Specter Wall-of-Sound classic, but it sounds a lot better than it did and I'm happy to release it. Since I have the music and vocals separated, I think there might be a 2010 remix in the future. Please understand that we're not rappers. This was just for fun. Two dumb slackers playing around. I produced the beat and melody, Josh wrote and rapped the first half, I wrote and rapped the second half. Style 2 Sell.flac (Lossless) Style 2 Sell.oga (OGG Vorbis) Humor,,Music,,Podcasts benjarvis@austin.rr.com no No An Open Letter to the Makers of Shamwow. http://www.benjarvis.org/life/an-open-letter-to-the-makers-of-shamwow/ http://www.benjarvis.org/life/an-open-letter-to-the-makers-of-shamwow/#comments Wed, 13 Jan 2010 13:55:55 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4837 I had a $20 rebate card to Pep Boys so I went to see what I could get. Not much really. I was hoping for a Leatherman or a Mag-Light, but no such luck. I finally settled on a $19.99 box of Shamwow. Is it as good as they say? In a word: no. I tried to use it. I’ve given it over a week of usage to try and find away to make it work like they advertised. No such luck, it’s just a crappy product. By the way, I think its the same material as the Snuggie. So basically Shamwow is just an unassembled Snuggie. I never write letters to companies, but today I did. You can too! Send your complaints to: ronny@squareoneent.com

Here is the email I sent them.

“Dear Scheisters,

I bought your Shamwow product from my friendly neighborhood Pep Boys and was excited to try it out on the very next spill or mess that need cleaning. I, like millions of other Americans, was captivated by your talented pitchman and could not believe that a product like yours existed. It seemed too good to be true! Well I guess it was.

Your product is terrible. Awful. Less than useless. Not only does in fail at soaking up messes, it actually spreads the mess around! I tried dabbing it dry, dabbing it wet, pressing hard, you name it. The damn cloths refuse to pick up water! And when I did manage to get it wet (usually by running the tap over it) it refused to dry when rung out. It was always slightly damp. It also lost its shape almost immediately. It’s not a replacement for paper towels, it doesn’t even do what a paper towel can do!

So yes, I’m dissatisfied. Congratulations, you got my $20. You can keep it as I don’t want to do any more business with your bullshit company. Next time make a product that works. Shamwow? More like Scamwow.

By the way, nice spokesman you got there. When I heard that he was arrested for beating a whore I was not in the fucking least surprised. You guys are a class act all the way.

Sincerely,
Ben Jarvis”

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/life/an-open-letter-to-the-makers-of-shamwow/feed/ 3 Synth-O-Rama! http://www.benjarvis.org/music/synth-o-rama/ http://www.benjarvis.org/music/synth-o-rama/#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:35:11 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4827 Just a few steps closer to a full production studio. I purchased a Korg ER-1 and Korg EA-1. These two stand alone machines fill the same role as a Roland TR-808/909/606 and the Roland TB-303. Of course they aren’t REALLY analog and nothing can really replace the Roland units, but to get the honest to god machines would cost about $6500.

Korg ER-1
The ER-1 is a percussion synthesizer (fancy talk for drum machine). It has 4 virtual analog synths you can program to make bass drums, zaps, glitchy clicks, etc. and 4 sampled drums (open hi hat, closed hi hat, crash cymbal and hand clap). The samples are similar the 606 or 808 sounds, but the 4 perc synths are TOTALLY customizable. Lots of creative potential. It has a built in sequencer like the 606/808. Unlike those, the ER-1 has MIDI and when you tweak a knob in real-time, it can save the performance as part of the loop. Also it looks dope. For $150, you can’t go wrong.

Korg EA-1
The EA-1 is a monophonic virtual analog synthesizer that tries its best to pretend to be a TB-303. Like the TB-303, it has a built in sequencer and a monophonic voice. Unlike the TB-303, it has MIDI, built in effects, and is 2 part multitimbral (plays two separate bass/lead lines and sounds per pattern). It also has an audio input jack that passes through the filter. It can use the audio in to modulate OSC 2. Like the ER-1, it can remember the tweaks you do. For instance I can rhythmically tweak the cut off of the filter, save the rhythm, and apply that to my guitar playing.

Only downside is that I had to buy them off eBay as they are out of production. Hopefully there are no issues, but baring that, I should have them by the end of next week. Like Tom Petty said, “waiting is the hardest part”. If I can get this CZ-101 today, then I’ll have my toy to play with until they arrive.

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/music/synth-o-rama/feed/ 0 Oh Shit, a Blue Turtle Shell! http://www.benjarvis.org/life/oh-shit-a-blue-turtle-shell/ http://www.benjarvis.org/life/oh-shit-a-blue-turtle-shell/#comments Wed, 06 Jan 2010 23:17:53 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4805 Mario Kart WiiYesterday I bought Mario Kart Wii. Needless to say, we’ve been racing each other and trying to unlock characters and tracks ever since. I love the “Mushroom Kingdom” universe so much that I’ve decided to try to collect as many games featuring Mario and friends on as many systems as possible. What Nintendo and the Wii lack in graphics, they make up for in style and fun. I’ve played many of the next generation games and there are some good ones, but nothing seems to come close the the fun I have with Nintendo “first-party” games.

I have an original SNES, a DSi, and a Wii. I also have a knock off Yobo NES. I would love to get a restored original NES and an Advance SP (to play OG Game Goy games with a backlight). Tracking down the individual games will be a little hard, but thats part of the fun, I guess. There are easier and cheaper ways to play these games (emulators, anyone?), but I want the real thing.

Casio CZ-101Speaking of the real thing, I might be getting a Casio CZ-101! This is identical to the CZ-1000, but has smaller keys and regular buttons. This is Casio’s “Phase Distortion” synth. Digital and totally different in tone and character from my Nord Lead 2. For a while I was using the VST version of the CZ-101 called “PlastiCZ”, but I love hands on gear. I really look forward to setting up my studio as I piece it together.

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/life/oh-shit-a-blue-turtle-shell/feed/ 0 Where the Fuck Am I? http://www.benjarvis.org/life/where-the-fuck-am-i/ http://www.benjarvis.org/life/where-the-fuck-am-i/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 07:32:17 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4802 I’ve been busy with holiday stuff. Of course that’s no excuse. I don’t really have an excuse other than:

  1. Twitter takes all my good ideas and I’ve stopped thinking in longer than 140 characters.
  2. I don’t make the time to blog like I used to.

I still need to publish my old LiveJournal posts and clean up the over all formating. Do some quality control. This year I’ve decided to take up the coffee habit in an attempt to be more productive. It’s not natural to be this lazy.

How about I start with some baby steps. Some short posts to get back into the swing of things? Sound good? Okay, I’ll try it.

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/life/where-the-fuck-am-i/feed/ 0 Has It Really Been Two and a Half Months? http://www.benjarvis.org/life/has-it-really-been-over-two-and-a-half-months/ http://www.benjarvis.org/life/has-it-really-been-over-two-and-a-half-months/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:59:22 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=4791 I can’t believe I haven’t posted in so long! I blame twitter as it seems to grab all my seedling ideas before they can grow into fully formed blog posts. However, I’m here now so lets see what I’ve been up to, unordered list style:

  • Visited LA.
  • Got back in to Magic: The Gathering.
  • Purchased the Dungeon & Dragons 4th Edition books.
  • Got serious about playing guitar and keyboard by following a video course.
  • Watched a billion movies and hours of TV.
  • Learned about several Korean pop groups via Corin.
  • Spent too much money on repairing the Van.
  • Lost some weight.
  • Played a lot of Wii.
  • Read a lot of comics.
  • Got an HDTV.
  • Imported all my LJ posts.
  • Played hours of Warcraft.

To the untrained eye it’s not a whole lot, but believe me when I say I was busy.

Los Angeles

The trip to Los Angeles was a lot of fun. I saw friends and family that I haven’t seen in over seven years. Seems like just a few months or so, but it was seven years. It was great to have dinner with my parents and my brother. It was also sad, because I realized California is no longer my home. No one lives in my old neighborhood of Silverlake and everyone has grown up lives of their own. The city felt so big and lonely without a home base like the old lake house. My parents and brother live an hour north of LA. So I was in and out of LA over five days. I was happy to see my friends and family. I missed them dearly, but I’m convinced more than ever that I’ve moved on from LA. It’s true, you can’t go home again. I look forward to more frequent visits, preferably with less hectic itineraries.

Magic: The Gathering

It’s nice to be back into games again. I’m completing a project I started a long time ago. I have a large collection of Magic: The Gathering cards. In case you don’t know, they’re released in sets, generally 3 per year, and have a limited number of cards per set. In the game you can have up to 4 of any card in your deck, so collecting a full set (including the multiples) can be tough. I don’t think I have a single complete set, but I decided a while back to put the cards in binders according to set, leaving space for the multiples. I wanted to treat it like more of a collection than just a game. I have several thousand cards to go through, but once I’m done it will be trivial with future sets and I’ll be able to find cards in a matter of seconds. My future magic purchases are going to be much more frugal. On eBay you can buy most a set for under $50. I figure I can spare $150 a year to stay current on Magic. I can buy the rare cards as needed for the decks I build.

Comics

Tomorrow is new comic day for me. My DCBS order comes in and boy is it a whopper. I think 20-25 comics! I have like 16 on my pull list, but with Blackest Night and some of the arcs concluding in one shots, I have a pretty big stack this month. If you buy more than 10 comics a month, you really should be using DCBS. I still love to go to shop and I buy stuff, but the monthlies I get all come via DCBS. I’m power reading Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps to get to Blackest Night, but I’m enjoying the Sinestro Corps War so much that I’m now taking my time. X-Men has been great and I think Old Man Logan finally finishes.

I’m ashamed that it took so long for me to post something, but I just haven’t had it in me. I’ll see if I can do it again tomorrow and try to get the ball rolling again.

]]> http://www.benjarvis.org/life/has-it-really-been-over-two-and-a-half-months/feed/ 1 New Comics! Yay! http://www.benjarvis.org/comics/new-comics-yay/ http://www.benjarvis.org/comics/new-comics-yay/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2009 06:15:04 +0000 Ben http://www.benjarvis.org/?p=427 I got some comics today, a few new ones that I missed on DCBS and some back issues I found at Half Price Books.

Some New Issues

  • Dark Wolverine #75
  • Dark Avengers * Uncanny X-men: Utopia
  • Dead of Night: Werewolf by Night #2
  • Blackest Night #1
  • Superman: World of New Krypton #5

Some Back Issues

  • The Uncanny X-Men #323
  • The Uncanny X-Men #343
  • The Uncanny X-Men #419
  • The Uncanny X-Men #420
  • The Uncanny X-Men #423
  • The Uncanny X-Men #425
  • The Uncanny X-Men #434
  • The Uncanny X-Men #459
  • The Uncanny X-Men #461
  • The Uncanny X-Men #463
  • The Uncanny X-Men #464
  • The Uncanny X-Men #465
  • Excalibur #78 (LOL Douglok!)
  • Excalibur #79
  • Excalibur #90
  • Power Pack #1 (Better than Near Mint!)
  • Power Pack #3
  • Critters #6
  • Critters #11
  • Anne Rice’s The Queen of the Damned #1
  • Anne Rice’s The Witching Hour #1

All the Uncanny X-Men were half cover price and the rest were in the quarter bin. Erin and I crawled through the two boxes they had and kept making jokes about how many Nomad comics were in them. Were we Nomad fans, we could’ve probably had a complete run. We’ve pledged that we’ll do a quarter bin run on all the Half Priced Books stores in Austin. Sounds like fun to me.

I really wanted more X-Men Vol. 2 issues. X-Men Vol.2 is now called X-Men: Legacy. It’s the continuation of the 1991 Jim Lee series. Basically at this point in the X-Men mythos there were more leading mutants in the Uncanny X-Men comic than they could fit into the ongoing stories. Then they took advantage of Jim Lee’s popularity and let him head the team on for a new title that would follow Cyclops’ team. It started at issue 1 (the 90s were big on first issues) and has gone through several name changes. At issue 114 it became New X-Men (don’t get me started), at 157 it went back to X-Men, and at 208 it became X-Men: Legacy. I have about half of the run so far. I can’t wait to get them all.

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