Electronic Dance Music Capability Development Project - EDMCap

Completion Report: Task B4: Palette of Sounds - Guitar

Task Identifier: Task B4: Guitar

Planned commencement date (in original schedule): 15/7/2019

Modified commencement date (in modified schedule)*:n/a

Actual commencement date: 20/6/2019

Planned completion date (in original schedule):5/8/2019

Modified completion date (in modified schedule)*:26/8/2019

Actual completion date:26/9/2019

Planned deliverable: five distinct guitar sounds selected for use.

Modified deliverable (in modified project plan)*:n/a

Actual deliverable: six distinct guitar sounds selected for use, plus supplementary options.

Evidence of the deliverables is provided in the ATTACHMENT: summary of selected sounds.

* If applicable

Resource Usage:

Resource:

Planned usage

Actual usage

labour

18 hours

31.5 hours

Kindred recording studio

0 hours

0 hours

Equipment (itemised)

· Drum machine TR-8S

· Synth SH-01A

· Guitar with pedal board and other pedals

· Home studio

· Drum machine TR-8S

· Synth SH-01A

· Guitar with pedal board and other pedals

· Home studio

Task manager comments:

A slight short-cut was taken by not making a specific effort to mimic the guitar sounds in selected pieces of music. A similar short-cut was taken in task B2-synth. On the other hand, the scope of the task broadened somewhat by considering the guitar not only as a lead voice but also a candidate to provide harmonic content or pads.

An unexpected discovery was the “stereo” dimension of some effects pedals that had previously been used only as mono input to a guitar amplifier for performance. The stereo-chorus and the stereo-reverb pedals provide interesting options for use in sound production.

As noted in earlier tasks, the selected sounds provide just an indicative start to the choice of guitar sounds. Regular movement of sounds (timbre, pitch, sweeps and other modulations, etc) is an important feature of electronic music which helps to make the music interesting. As well as the selected sounds, a range of supplementary sounds is also identified and the scope for further fine tuning or even coarse variations is immense. The final sounds used in any composition will need to be tailored to suit the context.

Project Manager accepted this Task Completion Report on this date: 27/9/2019

ATTACHMENT: selected guitar sounds

Selected sounds:

Stereo chorus (Ibanez UE300 multi-effects board). Demo in stereo_chorusV2_b.mp3.

Delay with stereo reverb (tc electronic: Flashback II delay pedal, mono mode, into Hall of Fame reverb pedal, stereo output). Demo 5 and 6 in guit_pedals1.mp3;

Synth lead with fat sound rich in harmonics (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 1 = OBX). Demo of option 1 in synth_pedalV2.mp3.

Synth lead with filter sweep (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 5 = EHX mini): different settings can highlight lower or higher octaves. Demo (of options 5a and preferred 5b) in synth_pedalV2.mp3.

Synth pad with filter sweep opening (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 5 = EHX mini). Demo of option 5 in synth_pedalV1.mp3.

Synth pad with warble (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 3 = Vibe synth). Demo of option 3 in synth_pedalV1.mp3. An alternative approach and more extreme Demo is in synth_pedal_VIBE.mp3.

Supplementary sounds:

Other pedals/effects (some without Demo):

· Extreme reverb (tc electronic: Hall of Fame reverb pedal, stereo output): turn up full on “DELAY” and “FX level” dials == for a big tail with growing volume, general sense of noise and long duration. Demo 3 and 4 in guit_pedals1.mp3;

· Delay with reverse echoes (tc electronic: Flashback II delay pedal): turn to RVS option, feedback at minimum == each echo starts soft and ends loud. Demo 7 in guit_pedals1.mp3;

· Tremolo (BOSS TR-2) == good for chords or low leads/riffs, not good for high leads;

· Distortion/sustain (tube screamer; attacker or fallout cloud pedals) == additional options for fatness and harmonics in addition to Synth9 pedal presets 1 and 6;

· Wah (Morley Bad Horsie 2) == good for manual control of modulation timing and depth.

Additional synth sounds (electro-harmonix Synth9):

· Synth lead with extreme portamento (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 4 = mini mood): an interesting alternative sound sliding from one note to the next. Demo in synth_pedal_PORT.mp3;

· Synth lead with fat sound rich in harmonics (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 6 = solo synth): an alternative to preset 1 listed in the selected sounds. Demo in synth_pedalV2.mp3;

· Synth lead with trailing warble (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 3 = Vibe synth). Demo in synth_pedalV2.mp3;

· Synth lead for deep sounds or bass riffs (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 7 = mood bass). Demo in synth_pedalV2.mp3;

· Synth lead with filter sweep closing (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 9 = Poly VI). Demo in synth_pedalV2.mp3;

· Synth pad with filter sweep closing (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 9 = Poly VI). Demo in synth_pedalV1.mp3;

· Synth pad strings (electro-harmonix Synth9 pedal, preset 8 = string synth). Demo in synth_pedalV1.mp3.

Note: further descriptions of the Synth9 pedal options are included in the next pages. This assessment was used to identify sounds to audition and select from.

Demonstration of sounds in audio files:

stereo_chorusV2_b.mp3== highlighting the stereo chorus effect

guit_pedals1.mp3== highlighting seven settings using reverb/delay for leads

synth_pedalV1.mp3== highlighting five settings for synth-like pads

synth_pedalV2.mp3== highlighting eight settings for synth-like leads

synth_pedal_VIBE.mp3== highlighting the warble of the Synth9 setting 3 (Vibe synth)

synth_pedal_PORT.mp3== highlighting the interesting sound of exaggerated portamento

Further notes and pedal settings:

Below is a copy of several notes made during this task.

Figure 1: Composition used as a base track for all demonstrations recorded in this task, showing settings used for the stereo_chorus Demo.

Figure 2: settings used on reverb and delay pedals for the seven demos within guit_pedals1.mp3.

Figure 3: settings use on Synth9 pedal for the five demos within synth_pedalV1.mp3.

Figure 4: settings use on Synth9 pedal for the eight demos within synth_pedalV2.mp3.

Figure 5: notes on all Synth9 pedal options with selection of sounds for Demo.

Figure 6: notes on the Synth9 pedal options from the manufacturer.

Russell Stringer s4593375