Want to sound like Herman Li?  You’ll have to get yourself this monster of an effects rack!  Herman has been using the Source Audio Hot Hand non-stop with the the wah and phaser/flanger for the last 3 years. He takes the Hot Hand signal into and then out of the Hot Hand Wah.  It then goes via daisy cable over to the Hot Hand MIDI-EXP.  From there is it is used to control a pitch shifting effect via MIDI.Herman’s quote: “I will be using it on the upcoming tour controlling my pitch shifter.. It’s gonna be crazy!”

Want to sound like Herman Li?  You’ll have to get yourself this monster of an effects rack!  Herman has been using the Source Audio Hot Hand non-stop with the the wah and phaser/flanger for the last 3 years.

He takes the Hot Hand signal into and then out of the Hot Hand Wah.  It then goes via daisy cable over to the Hot Hand MIDI-EXP.  From there is it is used to control a pitch shifting effect via MIDI.

Herman’s quote:


“I will be using it on the upcoming tour controlling my pitch shifter.. It’s gonna be crazy!”

In this video, Victor Wooten takes us through all the pedals he’s brought with him on the SMV tour.  He’s been using a prototype of our soon-to-be-released Multiwave Bass Distortion Pro.  Clearly from the video, he’s been loving it!  (those basses aren’t too shabby either…)

If you want more info on the Multiwave Bass Distortion Pro, sign up for our newsletter at our website or follow us on twitter

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Before I came to Source Audio I was sampling a lot of bass distortion pedals to expand my sound.  I burnt a lot of time in stores looking for the right pedal to add to my rig but I never found any of them to be reliable or versatile enough to warrant use on stage.  I kept encountering the same problems.  When I triggered the distortion, I lost two essential parts of my playing: the low end and the nuances of my finger technique.  Some pedals definitely had a satisfying hard and grungy sound on their own, but they seemed to bring the energy down when I needed them to bring it up.

Now, I know that it may seem like I’m stumping for Source Audio here, but in all sincerity, they have made an incredible bass distortion that is miles above everything else I’ve tried.  They are launching their new line of bass effects pedals and they are starting with the Multiwave Bass Distortion Pro.  Thus far there are only two prototypes out there and I’ve gotten to play with one of them for the past month.  As for the other pedal?  Victor Wooten has it.  I love it!

First and foremost, the effect does not kill the low end at all and it is also extremely responsive to my fingers.  So it immediately addressed my main concern.  That being said, what really makes the MB Pro stick out to me are all of its unique features.  One of these features is called “Multiband Distortion”.  I will let Source Audio’s distinguished VP of Engineering/instruction manual author extraordinaire Jesse Remignanti describe it:

“[The multiband distortion] divides up the input guitar signal into multiple frequency bands. Each band is separately distorted, and then all are recombined. Because of this, you can achieve a lot of clarity between notes on chords with complex harmonies. It’s possible to leave several notes droning, while a melody is played on top. A normal distortion tends to reduce such playing to mush by compressing and distorting low and high notes together. Because of the multiple bands, it’s also possible to get several notes feeding back at the same time.”

Thank you, Jesse.  I’ve used the multiband to enhance the sounds of my chordal playing and to produce some synth sounds that are really out there.  The MB Pro also offers a great singleband distortion, which I find myself going back to when I’m looking for a more traditional sound.

There are a lot more features on this pedal to talk about such as the foldback distortion, octave doubler, preset morphing, clean/distorted mix and the graphic EQ, but they are each interesting enough to merit their own posts.

For now, I leave you with an audio clip of a bass line I wrote called “Gumshoe” with the multiband distortion slapped right on top.  Enjoy!

If you like what you see/hear, please stop by the Source Audio booth at Winter NAMM in Anaheim!

Thanksgiving Special!!! Cooking with the Source Audio MIDI-EXP Hot-Hand.  Delight your guests with motion-controlled MIDI effects!  Try to not smile tooo wide when they “ooh” and “ahh” and ask for seconds!  You should also cook them real food too because the MIDI-EXP is not edible!!

Last night, I met with The Books for a private show they put on at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University.  I came by for their sound check to meet and talk with them a bit about Source Audio’s Hot-Hand motion-controlled effect which seems to have caught their eye a bit.  Our plan is to experiment with the Hot-Hand on the cello, which is pretty exciting!  We won’t know until we try.  After all, the proof is in the pudding.

I stuck around for the show and as I expected, it was one of the most penetrating musical experiences of my life.  Their aleatoric approach to music and video communicates deep truths through displaying the startling alignments found in randomness and nature.  This, The Books’ method, bridges the gap between the worlds of fine art, music and science so well that it feels they have extracted the most crystalline, powerful aspects of each.

The communicating force of their music and video is entirely passed on material ranging from sound clips of Albert Einstein ruminating about Ghandi to passages from existential authors to found video footage from years spent rummaging through thrift stores.  When it’s all combined it becomes clear that the number one interest of The Books is you.  More specifically, the most deep, inner, personal part of your self.

It is my belief that they call themselves “The Books” because in the words of their tour manager, Brendon Downey, “they are a sonic library of all humanity”.  They are a musical representation of the world of knowledge contained on library shelves.  In placing dusty, ancient wisdom alongside sleek modern concepts, The Books are speaking to and of the lineage of art that began with the first word ever spoken and ends at the exhalation of your next breath.

The first link here is to some live footage of them and the second is a video straight off of their DVD.   There is plenty of content available online for you to explore.  If you really want to experience The Books, I recommend buying their CD or DVD of videos and spending time with them alone.  They may prove to be the launching pad and soundtrack to your endless exploration of your self.

Mashups

windyo:

Follow this link if you want to rediscover some tracks or see what can be done with them, not if you’re an absolute fan. These mashups go quite far away from the original songs, be warned.

- The wind will blow it all away.

Tags | mashups | electronica | dj | music |

Recently, I was sent to LA for Bass Player Live 2009 to demo out our new Multiwave Bass Distortion Pro as well as a few more of our bass products. It was an incredible experience that had me meeting some world class players including Steve Bailey and Bakhiti Kumalo, who played bass on one of my all-time favorite albums Paul Simon’s Graceland.

In this video, filmed by Bass Player Magazine, I am showcasing our Hot-Hand Tri-Mod Wah and all the different ways it can be used with the bass guitar.  I love the response it got over and over again at the show.  People would laugh in disbelief when I triggered the little guy.  I can’t imagine any other pedal having such a dramatic effect on BASS PLAYERS!

This is another report by the elusive, intrepid and fearless CEO of Source Audio, Roger Smith. I visited with Source Audio artists STS9 recently at the new House of Blues in Boston. Originally known as “Sector 9” from the Mayan calendar, the name was expanded to Sound Tribe Sector 9 and it is now just STS9. We have seen them grow from humble roots at the Harpers Ferry roadhouse to what is now one of the largest stages in town. STS9 are unique to us in many ways. First, they are perhaps the most “electronic” of our of our artists. Second, the band focuses less on extended individual solos and more on group harmonics to establish and build peaks during live performances. Finally, they use the Multiwave Distortion for both guitar (Hunter Brown), bass (David Murphy), and keyboards (David Phipps). We have had other bands use the distortion for both guitar and bass (Jake and Ryan Umphrey’s McGee), but David Phipps is a pioneer in terms of using the pedal with keys. Given the Multiwave’s ability to process multiple notes with great clarity, the match with keyboards is obvious. We expect that others will follow in David’s path. It is my suggestion to start your STS9 listening experience with the 2005 album “Artifact”. There is a subtle beauty in their music, and I find that Artifact delivers this beauty in accessible abundance. It is not simple music, but it does appeal to broad array of listeners. This perhaps explains why they are so popular with young diverse crowds, including legions of those who follow jam oriented bands as well. The show at the House of Blues was a nearly three hour high energy tour of the STS9 sonic universe that did nothing but expand the breadth and depth of their fan base.

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Sound Clip of our soon to be released Multiwave Bass Distortion Pro!

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