Cracklebot unchained

I bundled special version of Cracklebot noise machine with Haunted Jukebox. I nicknamed it "Cracklebot unchained", the only difference from regular versions is, that "unchained" bots do include setup and configuration panels, so one can experiment with different generator engine settings.
I posted two "guided tour" videos, where I play with Cracklebot configuration. I used Youtube annotation system to comment on what is actually happening. See, if it looks like fun or not.

Haunted Jukebox instrument and Cracklebots unchained set, is available at Sampleism.

Cracklebot Red

I had a couple of new ideas while playing with Cracklebot noise machine that I posted yesterday. They spawned a modified version of the instrument, which I labeled Cracklebot Red. To find what a cracklebot is, please read previous post.

Changes in red edition:

• used 4 convolution units instead of 2, replaced the delays, this needs considerably powerful CPU,
• reverb mixdown knob now controls return of all 4 units, delay mix knob is replaced with dry signal level knob, so now you can listen to just wet output of all reverbs, which is what I was aiming for,
• there are now 12 layers/tracks per groove instead of 9,
• there are small adjustments in groove generation constraints, larger possible sequences, different possible sequence speeds, etc.

Download here. Free to get and making noise with.

The archive doesn't include the manual, so if you really want to read it, get the regular bot.

Further late night experiments, took me to yet another incarnation of the machine. I wanted to see, how would it sound like, when pushed to 8 convolution reverbs and 16 layers, with more relaxed groove generation setup and different, evolving modulator signal distribution. If you're into evolving weird ambiances and have lots of CPU cycles to spare, you may see, if you can get it working.

Cracklebot - vinyl noise machine

Cracklebot is automated drum machine based on vinyl noise samples. I sampled worn and dirty, empty grooves from my vinyl collection. Lead-ins, lead-outs, silent parts in between tracks, those have been chopped to 115 short slices or pops, crackles, scratches and noises. Cracklebot is sequencing them into tempo synchronized, noise grooves. The machine can create new, random patterns on a single click, so it's quite fun play with.

It looks and sounds like this:

This virtual machine requires full version of Native Instruments Kontakt 4.2 or newer. It's (Cracklebot, not Kontakt) free to download and use in your music. Right here - 4MB. Includes short confusing manual in funny English. Have fun.

Also check further mutations of the machine:
Unchained - with configurable sequence generators.
Red and Violet - for ambiance cracklescapes.

A Touch of Junk

"A Touch of Junk" is a little set of unusual, found-sound percussion samples captured with contact microphones. It has similar vibe to Junk Percussion set, but the "touch" set is captured straight from the surface. Here's the list of objects being hit, scratched, shaken or bowed: an old baking pan, large pot lid, roast rack, a short glass, a tall glass, wooden bar, a wrench, plastic ruler, plastic bottle with carbonated water. The last object was particularly fun to play with as the sound would depend on inside pressure or the angle the bottle was held.

Here's a sound example. And another one. These rhythm patterns have been created with Haunted Jukebox, Kontakt based, auto-drumming machine. The machine is auto-applying some effects, but it will give you the idea.

There are 145 samples in WAV format, 16 bit, 44,1 kHz. They are free to get and use in any kind of music you see fit. Have fun. Download here - 13MB.

If you have full version of Native Instruments Kontakt sampler, version 4.2 or newer, you may try to play with jukebox machine, here's a version configured to make use of touch of junk samples. This is free to get as well, you just need to download both files, Kontakt program and the samples. Then unpack samples to "samples" folder. Here, you can find more information about this virtual auto-drumming machine.