Collection of great audio links and software,
including free and open-source.
1. Listening to Music
If you want to listen to music, I highly recommend you go to oldversion.com
and just get Winamp 2.xx. Don't mess around with the new versions. The 2.xx are
simple, small, quick to load, use very little memory, and work fine.
Free Music
- iRate
- A neat piece of software which automatically downloads free music from various
locations on the web. It then allows you to rate the music while listening,
and uses the ratings to download other music similar to what you've most highly
rated. You can find some decent music out there (and some very bad stuff as
well).
- http://mp3.about.com/od/freemusicdownloads/tp/freeandlegalmp3.htm
- List of free music sites.
- http://www.epitonic.com
- Free trial songs from (mostly) good (usually commercial) electronic artists.
Unfortunately the music is encoded at a barely acceptable (low) 128 kbps/sec.
- http://www.magnatune.com
- Mostly non-commercial (and non-electronic) artists. Most of the music is
very mediocre (the artists are generally non-commercial). As well, although
the company makes a big deal of their dedication to free trial music and that
they offer entire albums, the quality is only 128kbps/sec: a rate which is
unacceptable for any reason in this day and age.
- http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/468646/002-8404673-4644044
- Some free songs
- http://www.iuma.com
- Free music hosting site. Quality-wise, your milage may vary.
- http://www.garageband.com
- Another free music hosting site. The music appears (from what I have heard)
to be below average.
2. Creating Music
Free VST plug-ins
VST plug-ins work in any VST-enabled host programs (which is most of them these
days). For example: Steinberg Cubase, E-magic Logic Audio, Orion, Ableton Live,
Buzz (new generation tracker). This is a quick list of other lists of free VST
plug-ins:
And here are some direct links to free VST instruments (VSTi) and effects for
you:
- http://www.bostreammail.net/ers/index.html
- ERS drum synth, Poly Iblit synth, and Lazysnake electric piano instrument.
- http://www.glenstegner.com/softsynths.html
- Emulations of an Arp 2600 and Minimoog
- http://www.oxesoft.com/products.php#download
- FM synth
-
Roland MC-505 Stuff
- MC-505 Tips
- A big collection of tips from the MC-505 Owners' Mailing List (link below)
- MC-505 Owners'
Mailing List (unofficial) @ Yahoogroups (http://www.yahoogroups.com/mc505)
- [external link]
Contains links to good websites, files, 505 patches, and it's where you sign
up for the mailing list!
- MC-505 Operating System Handbook
- Everything you wanted to know about the 505 Operating System.
- MC-505 + Cubase Setup
- Stuff I've learned while hooking up my 505 with Cubase (v5.0r5).
- MC-505 + Cakewalk Setup
- Stuff I've learned while hooking up my 505 with Cakewalk (Home Studio v5.0)
- MC-505 Patch Creation Manual
- Beginning of a patch-making guide ... probably won't ever be finished.
-
MC-505 Manuals (from Roland Corp.)
- MC-505
Sales Pamphlet
- This is what you bought ...
-
MC-505 Reference Manual
- The big manual. Oh, it's big.
- MC-505
Quick Start Guide
- Sometimes quicker is better.
- MC-505 TurboStart Guide
- But too quick and ... well ... the ladies just get disinterested.
- MC-505
Patch Listing
- From the Reference Manual, reproduced separately for your convenience.
- MC-505
Pattern Listing
- From the Reference Manual, reproduced separately for your convenience.
Anyone else feel a bit of deja vu?
- MC-505
Advanced Programming
- Think you're tough enough?
- MC-505
External Sequencing with the 505
- Another advanced tutorial.
- MC-505
Tips
- It was a collection of tips from the old groovesource list (505
mailing list) members. Then it was stamped "Groove Approved"™.
Now we are famous. Or something.
MC-505 Files
- MC-505 Operating System v1.07 (for PC)
- In two flavours: for updating by MIDI
(readme
),
or from SmartMedia
.
Instructions.
Old versions: v1.05, v1.04,
v1.03
Mac users will have to get the 505 OS files from Roland's
support site [external link].
- MC-505 Patch Parameter Sheets
- for instrument
patches (v. 1.01) or for rhythm
patches (v. 1.01).
These are text files with all possible patch parameters listed. Useful to
record patches to give to someone without SYSEX capability (i.e. no MIDI).
Or if you are paranoid your SYSEX files aren't being saved properly.
- MC-505
Device Driver File v1.0 for Cubase
- .DEV file that will allow you to select patches on the 505 by name, send
and receive SYSEX, etc.
Instructions.
- MC-505
Drum Map File v1.1 for Cubase
- .DRM file by me that is useful in Drum Edit mode of Cubase to tell you
which drum type each note corresponds to.
- MC-505 Mixer Map Files for Cubase
- For Regular
Parts
or for the Rhythm
Part .
.MIX file - provides a bank of knobs to control aspects of the 505 from within
Cubase.
Instructions.
- MC-505 INS File v3.20 for Cakewalk
- With
patch numbers
(e.g. A001: Lead TB 1) or without
(e.g. Lead TB 1).
.INS files that will allow you to select patches on the 505 by name, as well
as a few other features.
Instructions.
From Nina @ http://www.synapse.tm/zone505/index.html
[external link].
General (other)
- Other Audio-related Tips
- Miscellaneous music tips - so far only one about sampling, more to come
sometime
- Cher's I Believe vocal trick
- This article talks about the production of Cher's song "I Believe"
and reveals the trick used to make that sound
- Compression 101
- Primer about the most oft-used effect: compression
- Detection and the Dynamic Duo
- More information about compressors
- Delay-BPM
Times
- [external link]
List of times in milliseconds for different rhythmic delays based on a BPM
scale.
- Frequency-Wavelength Table
- for converting purposes
- LAME MP3-Encoder Presets Decoded
- If you are like me, you can't stand to use the "extreme" preset
without knowing exactly what it's doing. Here it is.
- Pitch-Frequency-Note Table
- for converting purposes
- Pitch-Tape Speed Table
- for converting purposes
General, Manuals
- Basics of MIDI (by Roland Corp.)
- self-explanatory, nice entry level stuff
- Basics of Mixing (by Roland Corp.)
- self-explanatory, good overview
- Basics of Modern Recording (by
Roland Corp.)
- "
- How to Hook up a Roland Keyboard
to your Personal Computer (by Roland Corp.)
- "
- How to Calculate SYSEX strings
(by Roland Corp.)
-
- "
- How to Select Banks by MIDI
(by Roland Corp.)
- "
- Intro to Digital Mixing (by Roland
Corp.)
- "
- Intro to Hard Disk Recording
(by Roland Corp.)
- "
- Smartmedia Guide (by Roland Corp.)
- "
General, Files
- Dumpster
(readme )
- [file]
For sending and receiving system exclusive (SYSEX) data
- UpdateSMF / SMFPlayr
(readme )
- [file]
provided by Roland - sends and receives plain MIDI files - basically to send
OS upgrades to synths
