New video: Volca TNT 8

I just placed a new video on YouTube. This is the first “production” video filmed with the Logitech c920 and also with the new text templates. Still a new technology for me: this was actually the second take, as the first one was completely destroyed by a problem with the H.264 codec. In order to fix it, I had to set the camera output to MJPG and the output codec to MJPG – Compressed.

This video is about a little trick I learned in the Facebook Community “Korg Volca Range”: How to have LFO sync with the Volca Bass. I hope you like it. :)




Logitech c920 HD Pro Webcam in Linux

I started my YouTube channel about 6 months ago. Like everything in life, this was an improvisation: my first 20 videos or so were shoot using my cell phone which was always changing focus (something that hurt the quality of my initial Volca Sample Tutorial Series). Since November I’ve been experimenting with my old Olympus camera (a VG-160) and also a Toshiba Camileo SX900 I brought in second hand. All three machines are capable of shooting 720p HD video (which is also the highest resolution I can manage on my laptop). The cell phone shoots at 25 fps, with very decent low light performance, while the other cameras go up to 30 fps, but the indoors video always looks grainy. Moreover, the focus on the Camileo is apparently broken, and the lower right corner of the image is always blurry . On top of that, neither machine is capable of accepting external audio, which makes sync’ing the audio from the synthesizers a messy job, to say the least. Now, I am just a hobbyist and  I’m not interested in spending a lot of money on a DSL with external audio capture. So, I brought the Logitech c920 to try and record video directly to my laptop, while also recording the audio from my focusrite. These are my first impressions after recording and editing a test video with it (focusing on the Volca Keys).




As far as consumer webcams go, the Logitech c920 is a bit on the expensive side. I brought mine for a little over 100 €, making it the most expensive webcam on the catalogue on the shops. So what are you paying for? Well, the first thing I found is that the camera is heavier and bigger than other webcams with similar design, like HP’s HD 2300. The second thing I noticed is that the camera has a socket for screwing to a standard camera tripod, which is very useful. Continue reading “Logitech c920 HD Pro Webcam in Linux”

Voltage – Reprise

So, here’s a new video to end the “Monotribe Control Voltage” mini-series and also to welcome the weekend.

Last week, I recorded “Voltage” as a demo of the capabilities of the Monotribe-MicroBrute duo when control voltage is used. During a rehearsal to check the lighting, sound levels, framing on the cams, etc I accidentally pressed play on the Monotribe. Apparently, the ribbon controller on the Monotribe has priority over the note on the CV input, but the Notes on the sequencer don’t. On the other hand, the gate on the sequencer has priority over the gate on the CV, which means you can use the Monotribe to play a rhythmic pattern (including the drums) while droning on the MicroBrute. This is essentially what I do in this video. I hope you like it! :)




New Video, New Channel!

So in the last few months I’ve been considering opening up my hobby of making music (electronic music in particular) and start publishing some of my stuff. This lead me to make the not-so-short video on hooking up a MicroKorg and a Volca Bass.

But today I decided I should do some quality stuff if I’m serious about sharing my stuff with the rest of the world, and therefore launched my public YouTube channel, Philip+. To mark the occasion, I made this cover of Guru Josh Project’s song “Infinity”.

Analogue Meets Digital

So, I recently added a MicroKorg (MK) to my collection, and although this little digital (Virtual Analogue) synth sounds great on it’s own, I thought it would make a nice addition to my Volca setup.

As a fist patch, I tried to hook up the Volca Bass with the MK. This can e easily done using a MIDI cable (MK MIDI Out to the Volca’s MIDI In) and a 1/8″TRS to 2×1/4″TS audio cable (Volca Audio Out to the two Audio Inputs on the MK). Continue reading “Analogue Meets Digital”