Tracker recollections.

 Last week I put up a blog post about info about an old Clavia Nord software disc and coming across a site with possibly the most inaccurate info on trackers possible. I put up some links at the end, but ran out of time to explain how and what it is.

At the heart of it all, a tracker is a piano roll style Digital Audio Workstation DAW. It differs from the whole FL studio style, in that you can only play one note per column. FL style puts much focus on small blocks of notes per track. Trackers still have blocks but these contain all sounds used per column (and it can be multiple sounds per column). you build up your track from multiple of these blocks rather than having a timeline running playing the blocks as it passes.

How it started.

Traditionally it started off on the Amiga computer back in the 80's with the soundtracker / protracker running samples with hex comments at the side to perform rudimentary effects. By the Amigas demise sometime in the mid 90's we had Octamed Soundstudio as the pinnacle of Amiga DAWs. Which I  got from Amiga Format as a cover disk. 

How it ended.

Fast forward nearly 30 odd years later, and we seem to be overlooked, passing out of memory for the whole sideways DAW style. We still have Renoise and quite a lot of trackers to create sound for old consoles/ computers, and that's it. We don't have to rely on samples now, most modern trackers can run Steinberg's VST instrument standard. But apart from that I would hate for us to go the way of the Dodo.

Anyway you just want to see some tracking in action right? I'll leave you with a version of PPK Resurrection running in Octamed 4 by Guru Meditator.

Varying degrees of uselessness.

 Today has been basically this title in various forms. But, of course you're owed an explanation, first.

We picked up a double DVD of Nord Lead Piano files for a £1. The full name is the Nord Piano Library volume 5, and was hoping for a bunch of wav. files or at least a vst. of their piano selection.

What it actually is, is a bunch of custom files to load into their flagship hardware pianos and synths such as Nord Piano or Nord Electro. On no part of the package does it say what it actually does or give a clue, to what it contains. All programs are either npno. or ne4db. sound banks. 

Its not entirely useless to non Nord hardware users there are a few mp3. demos so you can hear what the hardware sounds like (pretty good.) and a PDF catalogue and user guide for all banks / products. A shame there wasn't a sound font or non custom sample set. Or a disassembly of the format to see how its done.

That's a trackball

The fact it's not the most useless thing I've seen today regarding this, goes to show you can always go deeper.

Reading up on how to use Nord lead hardware and software in a DAW (digital audio workstation) I came across a page for using trackers on the Homerecordingpro.com website. A case of knowing fuck all about a subject and just letting a bot write it, and yes that trackball image is the level of writing we have here.. Go on have a look and cringe. If you really want to know about trackers I'll make a post about it, if I remember. 

In the meantime here is a few links for the interested. 

Renoise Can't get on with it but has VST3 support. Pay software.

OpenMPT  

Psycle (I use this) plus its Sourceforge page where its sort of updated.

There's a whole github listing on trying to run some old open source chiptune trackers based on consoles and computers of yore in linux here.

Junk tour 2023

 Been a long time since I went back to Walthamstow. So decided to pick over their charity shops once again.  

They still have a good amount of stores there, but Crest has since closed. This was the place for strange Cassette releases and a lot old obscure books, they acted more like a junk shop than a charity and their shop is sorely missed. 

The other downside is that I failed to top up on credit for my phone so had to rely on in built Autist knowledge rather than Discogs for all audio I picked up. 

So what did we pick up.

We got one of those library recordings from Lo Recordings that are basically an album sampler for various Lo Recordings box sets. Not bad.

The Cinematic Orchestra Man With a Movie Camera soundtrack, as I don't have that album.

L'Alphabete  from a bunch of French dudes, which maybe good or maybe not. It's to teach French kids  their ABC's but has some instrumentation on it, so we'll see. Bought as part of a 3 for a £1 deal with two that I actually wanted.

A couple of Matmos albums. On Matador of course. Experimental stuff that maybe cool.

DMX Krew Party Beats. Pharma. From Oxfam and it cost £10 bastard quid. It better be worth it for me to drop £10 on it. It is DMX Krew and from the late 90's so this may well be worth it. 

Finally Sam's 99 had some American sodas in. Including a Big Red  a sort of weird cream soda variant from the Dr Pepper people. Which means to say that unlike Dr Pepper its merely mid rather than rank.

For the English here, imagine Tizer mixed with that Mirinda Strawberry stuff, I haven't seen or had Tizer in years and you can always get Mirinda in the bigger corner shops. A sort of nondescript fruit flavour, with barely any cream soda stuff in it. 

Year one manga.

 

Or 小学一年生 1st year student.

This is a long running manga from Shogakukan stable, seriously its a hundred years old, that is aimed at the 1st year student. More importantly its one of a few manga I picked up at the long defunct Lewisham boot sale in the late 90's, with the aim of drawing some stuff in D Paint.

 So what's the line up and what do I get in  this 1st year student manga?.

I'll give you a line up of the manga involved along with a few oddities.

Donkey Kong and Mario manga.

A Yoshi manga.

Wedding Peach manga

Kirby Manga

Puyo Puyo Paradise

Bomberman manga

3 Chome Tama Manga

Urana no omakase (Witch manga)

Some mini 4wd pocket racing car manga.

Chalk Hakase Manten Juku Some sort of cram school manga that is only one not in colour.

Finally something that is either Chin Puru or Yume no Oka no Daijiken some sort of sleeping bug manga with a bunch of weirdos.

Non manga involves some make and do stuff. Making a seat out of a cardboard box, taking your waistcoat off without removing your jacket, and most important of all some kids have found a bagworm and have given it a bunch of stuff to make its home out of.

Finally you have a story involving a nightjar called yodaka no hoshi a short story by Kenji Miyazawa. Which is not only out of copyright but has a good summary of the tale on wikipedia.

Finally there is some dice you could make out of a template involving Arle from Puyo Puyo which has faded to buggery now.

Out of copyright day 2023

 Public domain day is going to be wild this year. You get Virginia Wo(o)lf, the final Sherlock Holmes entering public domain as well as Fritz Lang's Metropolis  You get Steppenwolf, too, who I'm reliably informed is born to be wild. 

Oh and the original House on The Cliff, The Secret Of The Old Mill and the Tower Treasure from F W Dixon. 

For some perverse reason I've not scanned, nor posted the UK version of The Tower Treasure (number 31), but have silently put up the original.  If you want to do anything with these three books and the Hardy boys characters, you can now. 

Remember its the original, darker, and grittier stories from here you want and  not the watered down 60's remakes.

Remember that:

Tower Treasure covers both prankster Chet Morton, Biff Hooper, Tony Prito and Fenton Hardy.

Iola Morton is introduced in the House on the Cliff. And Old Mill gets you both Callie Shaw and Aunt Gertrude.

You'll also get lazy, useless, Chief Collig and Detective Smuff from the Bayport Police rather than the later best mate Collig. You'll also get Constable Riley who is also lazy and useless, and easily tricked. 

My own idea on this, give us an origin story on Fenton Hardy. He leaves the NYPD to set up his own detective agency, for reasons never really explained or expanded upon. It's out of copyright now, so do your worst.