fx Archives - Martin Yam Møller

1. Favourite knob/fader/switch on a piece of gear and why?

Currently, the Pulse Generator switch on the Resonance Circuits – Empathy Generator. Can just flick it on, with rate at 0, then slowly raise the rate knob to get these beautiful rhythmic drifting shifts in sound.

2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?

The Outerspace Sounds Mostro FM synth is an almost perfect piece of gear. I would add more flexibility in the onboard looper. Speed variations and reverse or randomization would be amazing. Would also make the patch save feature a bit easier to use. Finally, a dedicated on / off switch. Still, it stands heads above most other FM synth modules out there that I have tried and is a pleasure to use plus pulls amazing sounds.

3. What setup do you bring on holiday/tour/commute etc.?

For the longest time it was the Microgranny, ipad, 3 pedals and the irig… Now if I go on holiday, I’m not sure what I will take. I feel like for exploration and just deep setting up of patterns and sounds for later play the Synthstrom Deluge may be just the ticket. Especially with the latest 4.0 update.

4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?

Software that I wish was hardware would be Borderlands. It’s a pretty spectacular app and I have had tons of fun with it since I first got it. Haven’t played with it for awhile as trying to cut down on screens while creating music.

I don’t really use a lot of software and apps to be honest. I think Skot Wiedmann’s Hyve synth would make a pretty cool iPad app though.

5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?

Regret’s a bit of a strong word for this, but I bought the Red Witch – Medusa because I love tremolo and although I kept it for maybe 3 years, I never really loved it although I tried. I learned a few things about what I want as opposed to what I bought. I think overall we, for those of us who are not just collect them all type folks, we learn what sounds we want to create and work with and when something isn’t the right fit, have no issue parting with it.

6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?

So far it has to be the Mostro Synth. A great little FM synth that had a quick run with a company Outer Space Sounds (they made about 50), then the company broke up. It has a great and simple workflow with greatly adjustable parameters. It’s stereo and has midi in and out and is polyphonic. It is pretty perfect for me.

7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?

I would get the small cello set up I have right now. NS Wav4 cello [EU], Voodoo Labs – Pedal Power 8 [US, EU], Aclam pedal board, Nux Optima Air, Jackson audio – Bloom, Screwed Circuitz Irvine’s Fuzz, drolo Stamme[n], DBE – Space Bender, Fairfield Circuitry Meet Maude [US, EU], and the Old Blood Noise Endeavors – Sunlight [US, EU]

8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without?

The most annoying piece of gear is the Synthstrom Deluge. It is too damn deep to be honest. As a piano roll style sequencer, synth and sampler it is probably more versatile than tons of other gear out there. Like a swiss army knife of possibility. But the number of shortcuts, things you can change etc… is more than overwhelming for someone who doesn’t have tons of free time to learn it all, let alone the bare minimum of what is needed. Yet, when I need this tool, I grab it without hesitation along with the manual, plus the printed-out updates… so much reading… always.

Most surprising tip/trick/technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?

I have nothing to add here to be honest.

Artist or Band name?

Jim Wylde, sp3ct3rs, Soft Altars, The Dead Fairies

Genre?

Ambient, lofi-ambient, lofi-doom, ambient-noise, experimental, horror-scapes

Selfie?

Where are you from?

Montreal Quebec, by way of Vancouver British Columbia

How did you get into music?

When I was in university, I got my first personal laptop since I was a kid. I was given a cracked copy of FL10 and started playing with samples and recordings I found online. It was a free thing I could do as I was broke most of the time, although it went nowhere. Years later I worked on an ep with a friend in Italy, and that got me going into my own solo work.

What still drives you to make music?

I am driven by the need to create, to explore sound, to see what I can come up with usually using one sound source. I like to spend evening playing around until I find something I like, a small pattern, a set of loops interacting with each other or granular samples shifting over time…

As I have been doing pedal demos for about 3 years now, a lot of my inspiration for further creation comes from setups that I put together for building my YouTube and IG videos as sp3ct3rs d3mos.

How do you most often start a new track?

I usually start with the idea of what sound I want, pick instrument and pedals, tweak out pedals until I get the right sound then, just explore

How do you know when a track is finished?

I am never really sure; I just reach a point where I need to leave it alone.

Show us your current studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

“It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note – it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.”-Miles Davis

Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.

Well there’s tons of music and compilations here: Music | fallen lo- (bandcamp.com)

And all of my demos are here: https://www.youtube.com/c/sp3ct3rsd3mos

[Editor: There are affiliate links to the relevant gear throughout the articles. It helps to support this blog. In fact, should you be needing some patch cables or guitar strings. Then clicking on one of the above links and buying any product that you prefer, will help the blog… doesn’t even have to be the ones in the link. Thx]

1. Favourite knob/fader/switch on a piece of gear and why?

Cooper FX Generation Loss V1 mix knob. Something about the oversized knob, the smoothness with which it moved, and the symmetry of the 6 knob setup with the mix knob proudly in the middle…I ended up parting ways with it to fund the V2 and i have to say, i miss that knob.

2. Do you have an ‘almost’ perfect bit of kit? What would you change?

The Digitakt is so powerful and versatile, I have used it to make beats, ambient loops, and everything in between. For me, I have always wished that it had more playable keys/pads. I am actually currently looking into pairing it with some kind of external pad controller to fully maximize it’s performance playability.

3. What setup do you bring on holiday/tour/commute etc.?

The OP-1. I almost put this answer for the previous question as well, because just think if it had bluetooth! That would make the already quintessential travel companion undeniably perfect.

4. What software do you wish was hardware and vice versa?

I run my studio completely DAWless via the Squarp pyramid, so I don’t have much experience with software synths beyond some of the ones I play with on the iPad. There was this one I remember playing with, ‘Poseidon Synth’, that had a function where it would just randomize all the settings and leave you with something ridiculous. I think that would be fun on a piece of hardware, like say, my DSI Rev2 😛

5. Is there anything you regret selling… or regret buying?

I regret selling my Tascam Portastudio 424 Mk1. I ended up making a pretty penny on it thanks to the recent boom in cassette music being made, but I definitely miss it. I have other cassette recorders, but that one was something special.

6. What gear has inspired you to produce the most music?

I compose everything at the piano and then move it to the saxophone, or my electronic gear, or wherever I envisioned it. So, while it might not technically be ‘gear’, it was my first instrument, and everything I do, both electronically and acoustically, stems from the piano.

[Editor: I’d definitely say it is gear 🙂 ]

7. If you had to start over, what would you get first?

If I had to start over I would probably buy a really nice audio interface first. I currently run everything into my studio through an Allen & Heath qu-16c, which acts as both mixer and audio interface for me. I have always wondered what things would sound like and how my workflow would change if I was working with an interface from Universal Audio or something comparable.

8. What’s the most annoying piece of gear you have, that you just can’t live without

Probably the Keeley compressor on my sax board. I couldn’t live without it because some of the patches I have are really hot and require the use of both a programmable EQ pedal and this compressor/limiter pedal to tame. It’s only annoying because it is not programmable like the EQ, and every time i get my board out of the case I have to readjust the knobs to where I need them.

9. Most surprising tip/trick/technique that you’ve discovered about a bit of kit?

A lot of people complain about the OP-1 internal engines sounding extremely digital, tinny, and somewhat like a set of children’s toys. I achieve full, warm sounds on the OP-1 pretty easily with the use of the Elektron Analog Drive at the end of the effects chain. Even just the clean boost setting with a bit of tweaking on the highs and a bit of drive goes a long way and adds a great depth of sound.

Artist or Band name?

My name is Kevin McKinney. I play saxophone/effects for the stinky garage jazz band, ‘Doctor Pizza’ in Detroit, Michigan.

Genre?

I am an improviser and saxophonist, although I do a lot of ambient/soundscape work with my electronic instruments.

Selfie?

Where are you from?

I am originally from Cleveland, Ohio.

How did you get into music?

I got into music as a toddler. I had a little toy piano that I carried around with me and played all the time. My parents noticed this and started piano lessons for me when I was 4 years old. I was hooked for life.

What still drives you to make music?

I am a new father of boy/girl twin babies, so I have a lot of trouble finding time to make music lately. What drives me to make music, when I do have the time is definitely the way it makes me feel, and the way it can make others feel when they experience it. The rush of holding an altissimo note while the crowd screams..or, contrastingly, the calmness of playing piano alone in your studio with all the lights down… those moments are what make music making so special.

How do you most often start a new track?

I have lot of gear, so sometimes it can be a case of too many options. I like to pick one piece of gear that will be the focus for that session and then build everything around that. Sometimes I will just pick a single pedal, or a synth, or a set of drum samples…anything that can be a launching point.

How do you know when a track is finished?

With my band and often with my own music, songs are an ever-evolving thing…I will bring in a loose idea, or a lead sheet with some basics and then we shape the rest together during rehearsal. A lot of times solo sections, the general form of the tune, and even sometimes the melodic information are all up for discussion and debate while we are working through the new idea. I may go back to things I created years ago and change them if I am having trouble coming up with something new.

Show us your current studio

Best creative advice that you’ve ever heard?

I forget who told me this, maybe Dave Liebman?… Anyhow, I remember being in a masterclass and being told that you don’t truly know a song, a melody, a transcribed solo, or whatever it may be until you can SING it. The human voice is the most fundamental and primal of instruments and having that connection to your voice before picking up any instrument and attempting to play something is crucial. As an improviser, I try to employ this same thinking… only let out of your horn what you hear in your head as being complementary to the music that is happening around you.

Promote your latest thing… Go ahead, throw us a link.

Check out my band Doctor Pizza! We are recording our latest album in mid July and hope to have it out later this year. We are on YouTube, Spotify and all major platforms.
www.doctorpizzaband.com