Chapter 12 - Kaossilator

Kaossilator - The other off

After all the explanations about WAVDJ, I'd like to move on to this little Korg.
Kaossilator is a Dynamic Phaser Synthesizer.

Specifications

• Programs: 100 sounds
  
• Program Categories: “NOTE” Sound = LEAD: 20, ACOUSTIC: 10, BASS: 20, CHORD: 10
  “SE” Sound = SE: 20
  “DRUM” Sound = DRUM: 10, DRUM PATTERN: 10
  
  
• Musical Scale Patterns: 31
• Key Range: ±12
• Types of Gate Arpeggiator: 50
• Connectors: LINE OUT jacks (RCA phono jacks), PHONES jack (Stereo mini phone jacks)
• Sampling Frequency: 48kHz
• DA Conversion: 24-bit Linear
• Power Supply: four alkaline AA (LR6) batteries (6 V) / AC Adaptor?Sold Separately?
• Battery Life: approximately five hours (with alkaline batteries)
• Included Items: Owner`s Manual, parameter sheet, four AA “test” batteries
• Dimensions: 106 mm (W) x 129 mm (D) x 29 mm (H) / 4.17" (W) x 5.08" (D) x 1.14" (H)
• Weight: 154 g / 5.43 oz. (without batteries)
  

Options

AC adapter ( DC4.5V )

I took a look at YouTube and chose this video to show how the Kaossilator works.

 

Later, I will make a video of all that is happening and post it on YouTube.
For now, my mission is to get background sounds to add to the wavdj and make drum loops.

Kaossilator already has drum loops, but I'm creating them directly in the WaveDJ software. This way, I can drop the drums and background sounds in and out at any time, and they don't need to repeat all the time.

I obtain background sounds from websites that offer free loops and samples, and I select the most suitable ones to create this music project.
These background sounds (loops) I create with the help of Ableton software before adding them to the machine.
Like that, I can make the loops as long as I like, and I can add different patterns and other sounds.

Back to Kaossilator
As part of all the technical explanations above, I have to specify something for people who dont know about this techy stuff:

The kaossilator has 
7 sound categories
1- Leads
2- Acoustic
3- Bass
4- Chords
5- Se (FX)
6- Drum (single beats)
7- Drum (Patterns)
This is the basic 100 sounds.

Scales (key)
Kaossilator have 31 different keys, like C / C#/ D / E #/ E# / G/ G# etc...
Some examples are:
Chromatic
Ionian
Dorian
Majore Blues
Major Pentatonic
Gypsy scale
Arabian scale
spanish scale
Egyptian Scale
Octave interval
And go on, and on, and on..........

Gate Arpeggio Patterns
Some effects can be added to the sounds apart from the typical effects, which cut the sound into short beats.
The kaossilator has 49 different arpeggio patterns.

More can be said about the kaossilator, but for now, I have explained it to the best of my knowledge.


More about this in the next chapter ;)

Chapter 11 - The software

The Software

The software is separated into 4 parts.
1- Edit Window.
This comes as default with 16-channel Instruments. I never used this, but here is where all the music can be composed.
It's here where I can create the blocks and create the tracks... iffff (urggg)
* I do not use this

2- Mixer window.
Here is the mixer display, any time I move a button on the machine, it will show on the screen.
This has a CD room control and I can record outcome sounds into the (Edit Window), plus the machine just works, when I have this mixer window on. If I switch off the software, the sound in the machine stops.
* This is the only window open while I play. (Machines do not work without the software).

3- Style Window.
Here are the Drums and the Korg settings. I can choose the instrument sounds for each button in the Korg and I can set up the drum loops as long as I want or change the loop patterns, including more sounds in the drums, etc...
* I use this one to make the drum patterns that I will use in the machine and set up the sounds for the Korg.

4- Sound Effect window.
900 sounds can be replaced in this board :) 
* This is where all the background and sound effects are uploaded.

And here is the machine connected...

As you can see, the display and the program are not helpful!

Anyway, if this were a very professional sound Equipment, I would not have made this blog and I would not have been much interested in creating something different with this machine.

This is the only thing I touch while I play. The software is not needed once everything is set up.

Cool, for less than £ 20, I get an original toy and I can mess about!

Chapter 10 - Connections

WAVDJ Connections

Here is where the problems begin in the first place.
The wavdj works with an ancient software program, and the connections are designed to work with old PCs.
So, here is the first problematic connection I talk about...

This one, connect the WAVDJ to the mouse connection in the PC Some of the new PCs don't have this connection anymore.
I bought an adapter for this, but was there a problem there where it started? The machine didn't work correctly!
If you've been reading this blog from the beginning, you know I have to change the WAV DJ from my music PC to my older home PC for this to work.

Here are more connections...

This is where the wavdj connects for sound on the back. All of this must be associated with the PC or machine, and the sound will not come out as it should.

All these are the standard PC connections, and they have to be all connected to the PC sound card or will not work correctly.

And on the side...

The user connections are:

1- line in (here is where I connect the Kaossilator)
2- Audio output (where I connect the output cable to my Amplifier)
3- Mic input (I don't use it for now, but it can be helpful later to connect something else)
4- Audio output (I try to connect the headphones on this one, but the sound volume is cut off !)
5- Mic input (The mixer has space for just 1 mic , I don't know why I have 2 mic inputs... )

Now it's all connected and working fine ;) uffff....

Chapter 9 - Drums pad

Drums Pad

Apart from the drum loops in WAVDJ, the drum pads are one of the cool features of the machine.

They are 6 (pad) buttons
1- Tom 1
2- Tom 2
3- Crash
4- Hi Hats
5- Snare
6- Bass Drum

Very friendly and helpful, but it has an audio latency.

When pressed, the pads give the sound late (as happens with the Korg, too)
I click the button and 1 second later, the sound is heard.
No way to make something with this...

If this were working as it should be, it would be great fun.
Again, after I know the machine very well, it is possible to play around with these faulty buttons too, it's just a matter of time ;)

I can understand why this WAVDJ was discontinued! :(

Chapter 8 - Sound FX

Sound FX

The sound FX part of the WAVDJ is what excites me to make something with this.
Here I can have 900 sounds in WAV, and I can upload samples and loops into the machine.
This can be an FX wav file, a melody, or all tracks...  I will use this part of the machine to upload the (background) sounds for the tracks I will be constructing.
(More about this later, for now, I am just showing the parts of the machine)

The display shows 30 FX buttons, each of which can have 30 sounds, which makes a total of 900 sounds.
By default, the software includes simple sounds, such as birds. It features 30 different bird sounds and more.
Again, basic sounds, but the good news is, this can be changed with any .wav sound file I want.

If I press the BIRDS button for 5 seconds, the 30 buttons turn into 30 bird sounds. If I press SPACE, the 30 buttons will transform into 30 different space sounds, and so on.

It's a total of 900 different .wav music files that can be changed individually.

Chapter 7 - Display

LCD Display

This part of the machine is not very useful.
The only information displayed on the LCD is numbers showing the time the machine is on, and has a (kind of) spiral that shows the tempo just moving over and over, don't stop.
This is what I call a display with useless information !!

This other part of the machine is where the music blocks are supposed to be written. Copy and paste them into the software if I were interested in making music and recording the patterns into the program. I do not want to work that way!

This can be useful if I were doing tracks in the software program, but I saved myself from that nightmare.

My plan is to use the machine to play the music, not the software program to make the music ;)

Basically, I can create a pattern and record it in blocks, and then play it all together.

This is the main point of this music program, which is outdated and no longer helpful.

Chapter 6 - Mixer

Mixer ins and outs

The 6 volumes of the WAVDJ mixer are:
1- Microphone
2- fx
3- Keyboard
4 - CD room
5 - Line in
6 - seq (drums volume)
All of these are individual volume channels and they can be switched on or off.
On the side of this is the master volume, which controls all the sound levels of the machine.

Currently, I am using just the FX, Key, Line In, and Seq.

I can connect something else in the MIC line in or use the CDROOM to add other sounds, but that will be too much for just 2 hands and 1 head :)

Ideas? Suggestions?

Chapter 5 - Keyboard instruments

Keyboard Instruments

The keyboard instruments have 18 buttons, each of which represents a channel on the keyboard.

This is the MIDI part of the software program that works in conjunction with the Korg!
In the software, I have 16 channels, each representing a sound in the channel buttons of the keyboard.
For example, I can choose one instrument for the first channel, but I can select from 127 different instruments for each subsequent channel.

That means I can have the sound I want in the keyboard if I select the instrument in the channel button.
Again, these 127 instruments are fixed sounds, but this time, because they are to be played with the keyboard, I can change the octaves of the keyboard and get different sounds.

This is not my favourite part of the machine.

1-I am not brilliant with keyboards.

2 -The keyboard has an off tempo. He just does the sound after I have pressed the keyboard tab.

There are 18 buttons and 16 channels for instruments; the 2 extra buttons are:
(see image 1)
1 - Enter silence (wish stops the FX sound from the WAV Effects panel) 
2- The FX button, this one triggers the sound of the WAV effect playing and passes it to the keyboard, which I wish aloud to me to play the FX sounds in the Korg.
3- Channel 10 is always Drums. I can also trigger the drums on the keyboard, but in this case, the octaves do not change the drum sounds.

This part includes the FX channels and the wheel to create pitch bend and scratch effects.

As you can see, the extra "Silence" and "FX" buttons allow me to do what I have explained before!

 

I do not plan to make much use of the wheel scratch feature of the machine, unless I need to add some extra sounds while changing the background sound or other elements.

Chapter 4 - The Drum Loops

 The Drum Loops

  While I was waiting to get my hands on the kaossilator, I started reconstructing some drum loops using the machine's software.

WAVDJ has 12 different drum loop button styles:
Funk, techno, rap/hip hop, dance, jazz/blues, rock, country, alternative, pop, reggae, ragtime, world / new age, and March/polka.
Each of these styles has six different drum loop patterns, making a total of 36 configurable drum loop patterns.
This drum loops are made in 64 bars but can be stretch to 128 bars or how long I want hem to go, as I can change the tempo (bpm) wile I do the beats or in real time wile I play.
That means I can create a drum with percussion as long as I want and will continuously loop it at the bpm I want.
 Fine :)

The sound of the Drum loop is limited to 47 Percussion sounds, and there is no way to change these sounds. The only thing I can do with the sounds in the drums is adjust the volume up or down or change the patterns.
I can reconstruct all the drum loops in the machine, or I can delete them all and start from scratch, but that is a very time-consuming process.
The drums sounds are very basic, they have the basic kick, hit-hats,c rash, tom, etc... and the percussions are basic like: ride bell, cowbell, vibraslap, stick, bongo, triangle, etc... but they are all inside of the same drum board and I just can use this instruments... or not, depending of the patterns I create!

You can see the drum part of the software :

And here you have the drums part in the machine, this, as you may have guest, its all working with the software but the main point is to trigger the sounds in the buttons, the software just carry the sound files to the machine, the trick is to put the sounds inside of the software program to be activated any time I click one of this buttons :)
Basic, I click the button and it will play the drum loop I set up in the software ;)

In the case of the drum loops , there is no other way than to reconstruct the drums, beat by beat!
I can not add drum loops from other sources.

  This Drum loop part is versatile, but there is no way to change the sound of each instrument.
The sound of drums and percussion will always remain the same; the beats are different, but the drum sounds are always the same. (
The only way to change this is to have drum style files in  (.sty files) or .osm files, this (.sty files are used by Yamaha korgs) but I have been looking in the web for some time and I dont see a way to get this files with drum loops other than salsa, pop, rock and other styles not applying to me.

ABOUT THE.STY FILES
These files are pre-made with all the sounds and instruments.
I need these files with many more instruments and sounds.
This is the significant limitation of the program (machine)

I uploaded 1 of the .sty files (rock) for reference in case someone can help me out.
If you have any knowledge of this type of file, just let me know:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/f9aqkq

(Link outdated)

Chapter 3

THE RETURN OF THE BEAST

Meanwhile, I was waiting for my Birthday present :) I put my hands back on the machine and start to reconnect everything to the PC. This time, I didn't connect with my music PC; I connected to my personal PC, an old IBM.

This time, there were no problems at all!
I performed the exact same installation of the program and the drive for XP, and the program and machine started to work perfectly.
So, what was the reason I had so much trouble getting this machine to work on my music PC and on this one was working fine?
The problem was because the mouse socket was connected with a USB adapter and the pins of the plug from the machine didn't get precisely the same effect and provoke impaired function...

Luckily, I found 1 of these Machines for sale on eBay and I got all the images to post here.

Again, the sale of this WAVDJ (machine) was without the software !!

Here are the plugs I mentioned. Many of the PCs these days do not have this connection, now it's all in USB.

All its plug and working fine for now :)

Chapter 2

THE OTHER OFF...

One month later, I visit some friends, and one of them shows me this little Korg (Kaossilator).
I've never heard of this new toy! When my friend connects the Kaos into the Amplifier and starts making sounds and loops, I connect 2 x 2 = 4.
Better than 1 1-loop machine is 2 2-loop machine working together :) And the Kaossilator makes everything that WAVDJ doesn't do... better. The WAVDJ has things that the Kaossilator doesn't have.
I through ... they are the perfect partner!

Sure, I started to look on the web for this new gadget (kaossilator), people say it's good fun and the price is not that high, so I wait for my birthday to get it (Girlfriend did:)

Chapter 1

THE MEETING WITH THE BEAST!

I was browsing through a shop in town when I came across a box featuring a software program and a console for creating music. The box's appearance was dated, and it had been on the shelf for a long time.
Examining the box images, this is a program designed to connect to the PC, enabling you to create music using WAV files.
Very plastic-looking.
The price was fine (£15)

I have many music systems at home, including amplifiers, mix CD decks, monitors, and a sound card.
As a DJ/ Music producer, I am passionate about everything related to music, and I have a tendency towards experimentalism and unconventional objects.
I found this a strange music object, so I asked about it, and they told me this was a discontinued product.

I got back home and I did some research on the web, but I didn't find anything about this, apart from some people in forums looking for the original software program.
Without the software, the machine doesn't work !!

So, the next day I get back to the shop and pick one of these machines to see what's happening.
I get a box, come home, and start to install the machine on my music computer.

The program software and machine are from 2001, and no more updates have been made.
The guy from the shop told me that inside the box was an XP driver for the program.
I opened the box, and inside was the original program software, along with a recorded CD containing the XP driver.
This software utilises an outdated ActiveX driver, which is no longer available on the web.

I set up everything, but first, I had to pass some challenges:
The cable of the WAVDJ connecting the machine to the PC is an old Mousse socket, together with a 6-pin socket for image. My PC is not that old and just has a USB mouse connection, so I have to go out and get an adapter.

After that, it was all about making the sound connections and installing the software.
Works fine at first, but has many problems.
The sound sometimes came grumbling, sometimes didn't produce any sound, and later wouldn't start the software, resulting in some stupid errors.
Between all these happenings, I had about a week to experiment and see what I could do with this toy.

The Software program allowed me to change all the FX sound files, as they are all in WAV format.
The drums feature 72 different loop patterns, which can be altered and reconstructed beat by beat.
The software allowed me to construct tracks or change the sounds and rhythms independently on each button.
He has connections in and out, plus a microphone.
The keyboard instruments can all be changed, and there are tooo many to count.
Have a scale with 8 octaves on the keyboard
Interesting things for a toy !!

After the problems start, I decide to put the machine back in a box and set it aside...
Leave it!

Intro

 WAVDJ (The Machine)

Hello.
I started this blog to document my experience with WAVDJ -VM-108.
This machine (as I like to call it) is discontinued from the market and not much information is found on the web.

This wavdj is a (Oregon Scientific) product and was released in 2001 as a console to make music with WAV files + .sty and .osm files.


It is a minimal machine to work with, but on the other hand, can be very fun to change things around, altering sounds and creating something different.
You can read more about WAVDJ  here:
Jornal Article

http://amplifiers.annonz.co.uk/amplifiers/wav-dj--74896

 http://www.trademe.co.nz/nz/auction-177550236.htm

http://www.positive1.com/reviews/toys/osci/dj/index.html

If you like to download the manuals, you can find them here:
http://safemanuals.com/user-guide-instructions-owner-manual/OREGON%20SCIENTIFIC/WAV%20DJ



Now... Why get a thing like this to make music?
I have two PCs at home, and one is dedicated to making music, as I work with Ableton music software. I have also used other music programs.
The problem I found (if it is a problem) with this software music program is the numerous options it provides, which can be beneficial, but can also be detrimental.
Sometimes, I get no feeling to make a musical track and I start to work automatically, as I get no vibe making music just by putting all the sounds together and clicking a button to synchronise beats or spending hours searching for a sound or making a sound.
It's good, it's professional, but sometimes really takes my vibe away !!
It's ok to do music with software, it's like playing a game where you have to put the images in the right places, but I much prefer to feel the music and play with the sounds :)
Yes, I can make the same in Ableton, but again, all is synchronised.

I am undertaking this project for fun, and I am not looking to make a professional career out of it. As a result, I am free to experiment and explore without the constraints of being tied to a specific music style.
We all have a shelf, don't we??
DADA DO ;)

So, here and there, some of the reasons I set up this machine and why....

1- I can set up specific sounds and know where they are when I press a button,
2- Is lots of  fun = work?
3- I can make something really different,
4- I will not need to click a mouse,
5- I can have just the sounds I made or need in each of the buttons of the machine,
6- I don't need to look at 1000 sounds to find a sound to make a track,
7- I can improvise with all the sounds,
8- Any track is a new creation and never the same.
9- It's all in real time ... live,
10- No synchronizers, just my fingers,
11- All the sounds are made individual and put together.
12- I can fade sounds in and out as the machine has a mixer with 6 channels,
13- I can improvise sounds or melodies with the keyboard instruments, while I can make some FX with the FX wheel, doing scratch and pitch bend,
14- I can regulate the BPMs in real time,
15- I can jam on a 6-pad drum,
16- PLUS.... I can add 992 sounds to the WAV effect buttons panel, which I'm using to store samples and sounds. On this wav effects part of the machine, I can have more than 1 hour of a sound or a sample in each button and it will keep playing.

This will take me a long time to set up, but it will be a 1 time job.
The main problem (for now) is that I cannot change the drum sounds... I can change the drum loops, but not the sounds of the drums. To make this, I will need .sty files or .osm files (still available with these ones... grrrr). If you know something about them, just let me know.

But what do I really want to do?
I want to create a Psychedelic, ambient, experimental music project with this machine, and I also want to incorporate a Kaossilator to add some spice to the music.
This machine and the Kaossilator are loop machines, which can create hypnotic ambient music capable of entering the mind and providing a truly psychedelic experience, as I have noticed.
For that same reason, I started this blog.

I am late on this intro and chapters as I started some weeks ago working on this machine, but I will update regularly and hope by the end, I can leave you some tracks for your experience.)

02/12/2009