I’ve had a few questions and comments regarding playing chords with axis.  Here’s how to do it in ableton:

This’ll only work in ableton but there might be ways to do this using comprable vst plugins etc.

The new Zeal set is coming together and the first of many Melbourne gigs is lined up for April.  Oh yeah, and did i mention I have a new album ready for release?  next few posts should be bigguns…

zeal has been appearing in interesting corners of the blogosphere in the last couple of days.  there’s an interview at fiese falle about process and gear.  they’re the sort of things that interest me in interviews so maybe you’ll be into it.

also, there’s a write up about my guitar hero to midi app AXIS on one of my fav blogs – hack a day.

the post has drawn out some entertaining flames like: “Get a haircut and a real job.  Also, learn to play the real guitar. It’s a lot more fun, I promise.”

upon reading that i got a hair cut and a real job and learned to play the “real” guitar.  it’s not as fun.

speaking of fun – fun new things to buy appearing soon and even fun new ways to buy said fun new things.   but for now…

bob out.

My Xbox Guitar Hero to MIDI application AXIS is available now!  The videos below explain all:

Mac users:

• Get AXIS 1.0 HERE.

• You’ll also need the Tattiebogle Xbox drivers from here.

Windows users:

• Get AXIS 1.0 HERE.

• You’ll also need LoopBe from here.

• Quicktime’s required for the Heads Up Display.  I’d recommend Quicktime Alternative.

• If the Xbox drivers don’t install automatically try here.

AXIS was built in Max/MSP.  If you’d like to adapt it for a different guitar or anything just get in touch and I’ll send you the source.

spent the last two weeks finishing my new album.  i don’t think i’ve mentioned what’s it’s going to be called yet…  i don’t think i will now either.  but i will moon soon.  a few tracks are mastered and i’m being a one man CD duplication factory this very second, pumping out a small pile of cd singles.  feels like we should have been done with these lumbering circular plastic things 5 years ago.  catch up radio! next step, artwork.  it’s quite exciting.  you’ll like the album, i promise.  it makes mention of robots a few times and there’s this three note refrain that’s sprinkled through out the 15 or so tracks which all weave together.  it’s almost a concept album… just with a poorly defined concept…  more of a unproven hypothesis album.

also on the work bench, for all you unfortunate souls, i’m getting AXIS up and running on windows… i say that but really xp’s alright.  the windows versions going to be minus a few small features just because of the way the windows drivers interpret the guitar (or unless someone else can fix it).  this is one big step closer to release meaning it will be out before the years up.

i’ve been making stickers too.  as i promised: robots and swear words.  if you want one you have two options.  the hard way: print out the above robot on sticker paper and cut it out.  or the super easy way: enter my EP + sticker give away! there’s four days left and it’s super easy.

back to the assembly line for me.

upped another vid demoing the Guitar Hero to MIDI app AXIS that i’ll be releasing soon. tilt sensors should be on everything! they make the world so much more fun.

i know i haven’t been gigging very much this year. and i could forgive you for thinking i’ve not been doing much on the live music front but you’d be wrong. so very wrong. i don’t want to make you feel bad or anything, it’s just the truth. this is my new guitar hero to midi max app i’ve been working on. it turns the guitar into a playable instrument while keeping all the control functionality of my previous patch. here’s the hastily thrown together blurb i slapped up on my youtube.

An app i’m working on called AXIS. it enables an xbox usb guitar hero controller to output midi to control ableton or any other software or hardware that eats midi.

it has two modes – play and control.

in control mode the buttons, whammy and 3 tilt sensors send out midi messages. this is intended for interfacing with software.

in play mode any musical scale can be superimposed over a guitar hero scale built on the first four buttons. the up pick can be offset to allow rapid playing of fifths or whatnot. the orange button acts as a modifier key allowing change of key and offset on the fly. the D-pad changes scale and the back and start keys change volume (velocity). the three tilt sensors and whammy send out MIDI CCs to control what ever. the tilt sensors on this guitar are particularly awesome, they sit on three different axes and you can make the guitar really expressive.

there’s a little HUD you can sit on top of what ever you’re controlling to monitor mode, key, volume, offset and scale.

i’m sorting out some documentation and then i’ll release it as a stand alone mac app. if a max-head out there want’s to help me port it over to windows that’d be ace. mac and windows interpret the guitar controller differently. once finished, i’ll release the source so people can modify it for other system’s guitars too. I went for an xbox guitar because it’s usb and the tilt sensors and whammy work which is a problem for ps2 guitars/adapters.

at the moment i’m building up my new live show utilizing the guitar to simultaneously shred, trigger samples and effects, control the rest of the track and control the accompanying video. see, i have been busy! and not just on this.  i’ve got a whole album of new material which i’ll be relentlessly plugging through out the near future.

this post is little a bit of a tease, now i think of it. perhaps this video might make it appear more substantial.

…perhaps not.

another new clip in the works. this one will involve aerial video and possibly toy cars…
i’ll post a less foggy explanation soon, along with news on all the other stuff that’s in the pipeline: new album! midi guitar hero application! fun new merch! weeeee!

Thanks to everyone who made it out to the Aleks and the Ramps album launch. it was a great night. there’s some footage of the night that i’ll post up when i can. if you’re unfamiliar with the ramps you should go edumacate your self. they’ve got a new clip which is pretty fantastic and just happens to share a few themes with my clip for faux pas‘ track coach. while i can’t really overtly claim it’s plagerisation, i certainly can insinuate it.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE:

i know now some of you might think this whole thing’s a trick, that they are both obviously exactly the same video, but i promise you there are some subtle differences. It might help to watch on a larger screen…

and if you want to do that you can! because COACH is going to be screened through out july at fed square in melbourne thanks to a competition curated by the portable film festival. it’s fun news, coach has been pretty underground since its creation. so if you’re around melbournia between July 15th to 25th go and see it debut daily for ten days … i don’t mean you should go see it all 10 of those days. just the first day. and the last day. and the day right in the middle. and the two days between the first day and the middle day and the middle day and the last day. then arrange yourselves into human sculptures to represent the screening times you’re attending. tearing it’s debut from the 4th dimension into the 3rd with little forethought to the dire consequences for the cosmos. that would be an apt debut… Continue reading →

speaking of vj guitars and hiking shoes!

michel gondry + flight of the conchords = yes! :0

they go together like pop rocks and pepsi.  i’ve been seeing a lot awesome music video work recently.  the new qua clip is freaking amazing.

it’s best clip i’ve seen in while.  really great idea and execution. aaaand -  sbs station I.D.s! oh yeah!  showing abc how it’s done.

come to the show and see what the future of the live zeal show’s looking like.

bob (:b

for the last few weeks i’ve been working on a clip for melbourne band cuba is japan.  they make sorta soundtracky, interesting music.  it’s really great stuff to work with visually… it’s great stuff in general.  i’ll put a video sample up once my internet is dethrottled.  it’s a fun project to have been working on too.  broken into three sections, the clip starts with bugs coming out of cocoons, continues with bugs flying and ends with bugs dying.  my job was the begining and end with the flying bit in the middle being animated by another robert elsewhere in australia.  it’s all being pieced together by various animators, illustrators, director/producer/editors and new zealanders via the wonders of the internet… and snail mail.  when i post a video about this i’ll put up a run down of everyone involved and their particular claims to awesomeness.

in other news: ZEAL RETURNS TO THE STAGE!

and this is going to be something special. why?  because: ZEAL IS PLAYING WITH ALEKS AND THE RAMPS AT THE JADE MONKEY JULY 9TH!

it’s difficult to explain how exciting this is.  i’ve wanted to play with aleks and the ramps for years.  so come!  it’s my first gig in 6 months!  hear the new album!  watch my new guitar hero max patch in action!  see my audio/visual spectacular of which the visual component isn’t quite complete!

click here for the facebook event. invite your friends

ok.  that’s enough for now.

bob.