Dance jam with Squarp Hapax and Eurorack (Domino, A-111-6, Bassline, Ensemble, Versio, Data Bender)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2024
- Please support my work on Patreon: / jayhosking
A live, semi-improvised track performed entirely on hardware.
One of the things I was excited about with the Hapax was that it's not just a good fit for hardware MIDI synths, but also a capable CV sequencer, with four pitch and gate outputs (and even some CV in). Here, I sequence four synth voices in a 7u 84hp rack, and use the Hapax's master-level transposition to guide the song through a chord progression. Truthfully, it was fiddly to set up the Hapax to do "intelligent" chord changes, but once I got it, the song really took off.
I also realized at that point that I was writing something with a lot of energy, and wanted some drums to accompany (the plan was originally an ambient track). Luckily, I have the Sample Drum in here, and that gave me a couple of drum tracks to work with, once I triggered it from Pamela's New Workout. And once I had some dance-style drums, I realized I would need more mixing power and some sidechaining, so the two Distings (EX and Mk4) came to the rescue as drum mixer and master sidechain mixer. Having extensive levels of mixing allows for effects across multiple devices (like the filter on all the melodic content here), and also is just a lot of fun despite mixing sounding like a boring necessity.
I'll also just mention that I'm really getting into all-in-one synth voices in eurorack, despite that being a little paradoxical. I love eurorack for its weird sounds, its unique effects, and all its modulation possibilities, but I'm less enamoured by the need for discrete amps and envelopes. Having synth voices like the Eowave Domino or Erica Synths Bassline gives me the voice plus envelopes, and frees up hp for more effects or mixers. Works well for me.
All in all, a very fun time with the Hapax and eurorack making music that I don't normally make. Thanks for listening.
Squarp Hapax - Sequencing
ALM Busy Circuits Pamela's New Workout - Clocking, sequencing, and LFOs
Eowave Domino through Qu-Bit Data Bender and Noise Engineering Desmodus Versio - Melody
4MS Ensemble Oscillator through WMD Overseer and Happy Nerding FX Aid XL - Drone chord thing
Erica Synths Bassline through Noise Engineering Melotus Versio - Bass
Doepfer A-111-6 through Intellijel 1U Multi-FX - Arpeggio
Erica Synths Sample Drum - Kick drum and percussion
Befaco STMix - Main mixer for melodic sounds
Expert Sleepers Disting Mk4 - Melodic mixer/compressor for sidechaining kick drum
Endorphin.es Squawk Dirty to Me and 2HP Verb - Filter and reverb on melodic mix
Expert Sleepers Disting EX - Mixer for drums
Intellijel Mixer 1U - Master mixer
Intellijel Audio I/O - Audio out of the rack
Intellijel Mult - It's a mult!
Written, performed and recorded a single stereo output, with EQ, compression, and limiting on the master.
jayhosking.ban...
I just love this ever present feeling of being doomed and optimistic at the same time across all of your tracks no matter the style or mood they're mainly associated with
That’s a good way of putting it.
CABLE SWITCH WAS AAAWWEESOMEEE!!!!!!!! ❤
I'm amassed how flexible you are.
Every single time I'm sitting and I'm stoned.
Amount of knowledge , instruments and passion is simply astonishing. Moreover your style is calling my soul too.
Trully, I'd like to see you live.
Thank you for posting quite frequently this pearls..
super gorgeous track dude. very nice :D
Ouahh envoutant , une belle évocation de la musique de Jarre, bravo !
Real nice. The Data Bender is one of my all time favourite modules.
Big Orbital vibes on the first half. Very nice.
This is friking art
Thank si jay i love this track❤❤❤❤
Oh man, when you started the euclidean filter pulsing, that was awesome!!
This piece is so nicely arranged, excellent work J !
You are a genius, Jay. Absolutely. Thanks for sharing your music with all of us.
Really enjoyed this one, Jay. The satisfaction of cable-pulling was translated very well over video. It was like I could feel it myself!
Same here : )
Nice work!
Superb!
Great work of art and very entertaining video editing!
COME ON TOO THE DANCEFLOOOR ! Great tune , Jay - you seem to navigate the Eurorack territory with same fluidity as you do the Big Machines - such a pleasure to watch you work...and what a KILLER drumtrack ! 😊👍
I enjoy the inspiration, I'm still warming up to my MPC Live after a years ownership but stuff like this helps me get it off the rack and onto the table. Maybe one day I'll connect it to the Nord Modular.
Thank u for this...great
That was definitely the right therapy my ears needed.
absolutely brilliant. have recently realized a hapax is what i need for my sequencing set up, but more important than that, the musical content of this video is incredible.
really nice
Super dope!
Great Jam as always - and couldn't agree more on the VCA/Envelope in Eurorack pain :)
Killer beat! I admire the method behind this madness, that you keep it so chill with this much happening is no small feat. Bravo sir.
Merci beaucoup, vos morceaux sont toujours très agréables à écouter et intéressants visuellementpour le côté technique !
Enthralled from beginning to end... wow!
all without using midi. great work!
sweet acid !
Not only what I wanted, but what I needed. Thanks.
epic, truly epic
Pardon my language, but f*ck this is good. Great sound crafting. Drum+bass pattern. Chord progression. The filter break at 3:40. This is the sort of stuff I life for when out on a run. I hope you will consider putting this on Spotify - Id love having this towards the end of my Cardiophoria Push playlist! 🤘🥰
Just WoW
wonderfull !
Added thumbs up for the exclamation point on the 2hp “Here!”
Wow, nice trance piece, Jay! I particularly enjoyed the breakdown section from 3:05-4:40.
3:36 is nice
wow amazing, clicked just for interest, stayed for the music! you rock
Thank you for making this. I now need this sequencer
You never disappoint. That was fantastic.
It's so amazing to see this system is playing a full song, drums and precussions, lead, pad, pluck plus the fxs. Maybe this is what makes us love modulars since they are highly flexiable and personized. Always amazing music!
Beautiful. Excellent music for studying (or dancing)!
You continue to be such a huge inspiration Jay!
So cool to see how you're creating these increasingly complex sets with different use cases within you're rack. Lots of progress! I hope to do the same one day!
The rack thing has been a weird journey, realizing what works for me or what inspires me. Can't wait to see what you do, Parker!
I seriously dig this piece and am really happy to see you working with the Hapax. It looks like a significant improvement on the Pyramid even though it cuts way back on the number of tracks and patterns you can have running at any time. The dual project loading feature totally makes up for that and I look forward to seeing you put it through it's paces.
Manual Cabling!!!
The hi-hat almost plugged itself back in at the end there ;P
Manually plugging and pulling cables is definitely a fun way to perform with Eurorack!
Beautiful Jam, it sounds awesomely. Very inspiring as usual. Thanks for sharing. 👍
Simply awesome
Could you maybe someday do a music theory breakdown for us how you approach chord progressions that'd be awesome 🙏👍
Ooohhh Jay, this is so great!!
Super inspiring as always! Super informative and super destructive to my credit card!!!
I can second that , this dude has wrecked My economy
Very nice work as always. One of my favourite pieces you have made for sure, the drums are incredible.
Very interesting, your video are very useful...thanks
Dance to the End of the World. Nice stuff, as always.
Wonderful! Thanks for the interesting explanations 👌
Always great content Jay, most often impossible not to like!
This is impressive. Nice work
super nice. Love it
Excellent, as always Jay.
Sounds nice. Most of the euro rack stuff I've heard isn't as melodic or as well developed.
Nice! Unexpected groove at 3:38!
Very nice and groovy jam👌
Awesome!!! 🔥🔥
Watching this video is very inspiring. I’m in the market for a new hardware sequencer for my modular setup and torn between the Deluge, Hapax and Poly Tracker definitely leaning towards the Hapax though. I see you have used them all at one point or another, I’m just looking for a feature rich sequencer to keep me away from my (Bitwig) DAW screen. I definitely feel more inspired when there’s not a computer involved.
If you aren't gelling with the A-111-6, I can imagine the sound of a Manis Iteritas rip-roaring like a dragon through this kind of prettiness. It's my favorite lead voice, by a long way. A future classic, maybe the 303 for the 2020s. And it's a neat 10hp straight swap. I've really become a convert to digital oscillators over the years. For compact systems they can do so much more in little space. Klavis Twin Waves or Plaits can't be knocked for versatility and power. Qu-bit Surface has some great sounds too, with good polyphony, in that kind of size, and would fit well to both ambient and dance genres. There's ModBap Osiris too, if you can free 2hp somewhere.
I love your music and how you demonstrate what your doing. You really helped me get into the idea of euro rack and now I'm building my first case. Really can't decide on a solid voice to start off with. I think I want something that's just really solid to build off of and maybe get something really complex after that. Based off your experience can you recommend any great sounding oscillators that have some unique features. Trying to avoid the super simple basic VCO that I already have in many keyboard synthesizers.
Hey, thanks so much. As discussed here, I am drawn to all-in-one synth voice modules, as it reduces the need for envelopes and amps (though you can still use them/patch them if you want them). I'm also inclined toward super simple basic VCOs, I'm discovering. But of the less-standard-sounding ones, I really like the places where the NE Manis Iteritas goes and the MI Plaits has a lot of variety in it and can be super useful, too. Best of luck!
@@JayHosking thanks Jay. I really appreciate your input. I'm going to check those out. Great music you make btw.
Terrific track and walkthrough! I'd bet with a midi-to-cv converter, you could sequence the whole thing on the hapax with pattern transitions and automation lanes. Clearly, that's not as fun as pulling cables and twiddling knobs but it would be an interesting exercise.
Great track Jay. Love how it builds and layers up beautifully. The sample coming off the Erica Synths Sample Drum is super cool. Can I ask what kind of sample is it? Some kind of hi hat or something? Thanks for the inspiration. : )
I think it was a full beat and I high-pass-filtered out the lower end content. It's stock on the card. And thanks!
@@JayHosking Awesome! Thanks mate. : )
oh damn, the choppy sample drum works perfectly. that's so nice!!
okay i was able to sort of reproduce a similar effect by chopping up pink noise and panning randomly between low-pass and high-pass filters
Wild stuff...How is the Hapax with programming drums? Especially coming from Elektron boxes?
머시따
Super nice! 👏 What's your favourite sequencer you've used so far? Hapax or Torso T-1 or Oxi One? I'm hesitating between those three 😄
Having the same conundrum here too...which of those three to go for??
Did you program this song by playing into the Hapax on a keyboard? Or did you program it all on the Hapax alone? Also, HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET THE 4ms Ensemble to work so well? I keep trying to figure out how to play with it and it's a nightmare. Haha! Great track.
This was all on the Hapax, no keyboard. And I've found the Ensemble sounds best when I don't overthink its parameters. And thanks!
If you could choose one to be the brain of your setup, would you go Hapax or Play?
Great to listen to once again. Still no plans for a physical copy? 😃
Love these Eurorack videos! Would be really interested in your take on an “entry/beginner” level set up?
Oh, I'd be delighted to talk about that. Shall we do a livestream over on Patreon about it?
@@JayHosking 10/10 I will be there!
Stunning! The drop @3:38 with the gated synths was unexpected and top notch 🤩
Would be glad to have a bit more details on the cons you identified with the Hapax like the pads (are they not very responsive or too hard?) and the workflow woes. Thanks 😉
Pads have a low profile and require a firmer touch than, say, the Deluge. They're not unlike the Polyend/Dreadbox Medusa's pads, which weren't for me. They're still way way better than the pads on an Akai Force, but they just don't quite feel right, and I can't play unless I keep my eyes glued to the pads. They're ultimately useable but I don't find myself inspired playing them, and find them tolerable (rather than enjoyable) at best. Might not matter if you're not exploring the sequencer during songwriting, but that's usually how I work.
The workflow stuff was mainly clashing of design/philosophy with my own approaches. The "smart" transposition stuff took a lot of work to get right as opposed to, say, the NDLR or the OP-Z. A couple of key settings would revert to default whenever I'd shut off the device and I'd have to set them every time I started up again. I had one notable crash, and a couple of times that it gave up on reading the SD card that had come with the device. A lot of it feels like early firmware days. But some of it just feels off to me: when you're playing in a scale mode, step mode will only show you seven notes on the pads, with the eighth row not doing anything at all (instead of playing the octave of the bottom note). The "smart" transposition required tweaking at least three settings, one of which had to be tweaked on every track. The step resolution is simply a percentage and doesn't allow resolution below 50%, so if you're sequencing chords, you might be scrolling through pages and pages.
Anyway, this all sounds quite negative and that's not quite an accurate picture. I find the Hapax to be a good sequencer, and super useful for me because of the long pattern lengths, clip launching, chord mode, MIDI effects, and extensive MIDI and CV outs. It's an extremely useful sequencer, but I guess I'd hoped it would be an inspiring sequencer as well, and it's not that (yet) to me. Hope that helps!
@@JayHosking Thanks a lot Jay for the complete answer 👍 It does help! When I read the features of the sequencer, the Hapax was nearly ticking all the boxes for me! However I wanted to get some feedback from experimented user (and things like the touch of the pads can't really be described on the specifications, so your description and feelings were precious here 😉)
great performance as always!! but how you managed it not needing a vca ans envelope for enssemble for instance??
Mainly using the filter (Overseer) to control its presence in the mix. And thanks!
Hey Jay, would you take the Hapax out for a live gig? Or is it too buggy/crashy?
I had good luck with it, and have friends who have gigged with it.
very nice jam! could you share your thoughts on the hapax now, 8 months after releasing this video? has the hapax gotten better with os updates? do you still enjoy using it?
no comment?
Nice! Curious if you considered the Poly Cinematic?
Haven't tried it out, and honestly don't know much about it. I'll look into it!
you seem to have ditched the squid as a sequencer? not a positive experience with it?
Love the Squid, actually, from both the feel of the device to the workflow to the performance stuff. Haven't ditched it, and will get back to it when it fits the song! I just tend to try a lot of stuff.
Can you use the Hapax's Midi EFX with CV?
Yes.
What’s this track name as not on band camp link?
Do you remember the reason why you disliked the Doepfer A-111-6?
I think it was primarily a matter of comparison. I have some other all-in-one modules that cover a range/sound I like a little bit better is all. It's a perfectly decent synth!
@@JayHosking got it :)
its 7u 84hp？
How are you finding the sequencer now? It’s very expensive but I am interested but also quite cautious. Updates coming through fixed bugs / workflow issues? Thanks
For me, the Oxi One does a little more what I was looking for, and feels better to the touch, but it does have its own limitations. The Hapax is a great sequencer but the performance/creativity side of it wasn't quite for me.
If you aren't gelling with the A-111-6, I can imagine the sound of a Manis Iteritas rip-roaring like a dragon through this kind of prettiness. It's my favorite lead voice, by a long way. A future classic, maybe the 303 for the 2020s. And it's a neat 10hp straight swap. I've really become a convert to digital oscillators over the years. For compact systems they can do so much more in little space. Klavis Twin Waves or Plaits can't be knocked for versatility and power. Qu-bit Surface has some great sounds too, with good polyphony, in that kind of size, and would fit well to both ambient and dance genres. There's ModBap Osiris too, if you can free 2hp somewhere.
Great call! I have (and love) the Manis, and was already planning that swap! It has a great quality to it. I'll check out Surface and Osiris too!