Koma Field Kit - Electroacoustic Workstation

[moogboy]

This is the reason why I come here, to find out about stuff like this. I wonder how this would sound integrating the contact mics into my drum setup (kick, snare, djembe) and contact on my guitar? As a way to provide interesting texture over other texture?

It would sound sweet as hell. The thing that this does is it really democratizes the modular process. If you wanted to get an envelope follower on your djembe and have that process your guitar or whatever, you would have needed everything in the field kit (at twice the cost, plus the cost of the case and any modules you would want to use for processing).

I've been working a lot recently with using extreme reverb and delay to create raw texture and then gating it to sorta generate an extra part without playing another part. This is going to take that to an entirely different level.

[D.o.S.]

If you wanted to get an envelope follower on your djembe and have that process your guitar or whatever, you would have needed everything in the field kit (at twice the cost, plus the cost of the case and any modules you would want to use for processing).

If I'm understanding what you mean, the Swestapol can do that:
http://xaocdevices.com/main/sewastopol/

But yes, there are many many interesting options here that this does, because...

Just like anything Koma, it's innovative and super well designed

One of my favorite companies around today, for sure.

[UglyCasanova]

Pretty neato! Too bad they're shutting down AM/FM radio here next year in favor of DAB.

[MrNovember]

Pretty neato! Too bad they're shutting down AM/FM radio here next year in favor of DAB.

What? That's weird, I've never even heard of DAB. You could still make use of the shortwave spectrum though. Mostly noise but it's an interesting noise source.

[lordgalvar]

You could also use the AM/FM for pirate stations and for transmitters you build yourself. Build a big enough antenna, you could probably pick up something from another country. There are FM transmitters for ipods around too.

[UglyCasanova]

I suppose. Still sounds like a bit of a hassle. On a personal level I don't really care. I never listen to the radio. Not too many interesting channels here to begin with.

[lordgalvar]

I think most of the time you use them as a color/rhythmic noise source for building drum/percussion sounds. Take the envelope follower and use it to control a VCA with the AM/FM/SW as sources and you have some kinda percussive sounds. AM/FM/SW all sound slightly different on the noise spectrum. Then voltage control the channel for more artifacts...

SW is the coolest of the three anyway...most likely wont pick anything up until after dark and a 20+ ft wire as an antenna....its all about the swooshy whine you get from cv controlling it near a channel (like space sounds).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVFyDpszyoA[/youtube]

Fast forward to like 8min on this one:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQiSvexbjDw[/youtube]

[MrNovember]

I honestly can't stand the radio. Every station just plays the same generic crowdpleasing crap. And when there is a song I actually like every station plays it over and over again until I can't stand it. The only thing it's good for is sampling and processing with effects for rhythmic percussion sounds (what lordgalvar said), which brings me back to why I'm excited for the Field Kit.

[chamberpain]

Damn. I need this. I have a project currently underway that utilizes contact mics and this would not only solve some issues but would greatly increase the sounds and textures available.

(Searches for something to sell)

[baremountain]

I just found out my roommate bought me the DIY + Expansion for Christmas!!!
I'm real excited for this thing

[Disarm D'arcy]

Give them a kiss. Deep and passionate. With French style tongue action.

How do I become a party to this roommate thing too? Send me a pdf.

[D.o.S.]

Best twist on radio in music I've found, without a doubt, has been the (aptly named) Make Noise Radio Music:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g2Q0esgBuk[/youtube]

Jump to about 14:00

This is a little less explanatory but a good example of how it can be used in a song:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLKCX38pmQs[/youtube]

[moogboy]

Best twist on radio in music I've found, without a doubt, has been the (aptly named) Make Noise Radio Music:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g2Q0esgBuk[/youtube]

Jump to about 14:00

This is a little less explanatory but a good example of how it can be used in a song:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLKCX38pmQs[/youtube]

Even though the Radio Music is just a unique sampler I adore it. I recently had a patch running where the Radio Music was playing a sample of some people talking really slowly, and I mixed that with the output of my bass synth through the ZVex Fuzz Factory module and threw all of that through this weird little generative processing patch. That was all of the rhythmic stuff or at least the primary purposefully rhythmic stuff from an entire show, and it was awesome. I also use an Arradio FM radio quite a bit, and what I've found with that (for audio purposes-for CV, it is one of the best video modulation sources imaginable) is that figuring out where on the knob there's a station is really important. If you back off to either side, you get this percussive and melodic noise based on how out of tune the radio is, which is very fun in performance.

I'm planning to use the Field Kit to expand on those ideas and turn them into a semi-discreet, almost separate instrument alongside what's in the modular. A big problem I'm running into, as I'm creating patches, I'm getting more ambitious about other aspects of my patching, and I don't have the room in the mixer for the Field Kit stuff to take up half my channels. Also cannot wait to bring this along with the modular to an experimental improv night. Contact mic in a sax, DC interface running something you hand to a percussionist, all of the audio and cv coming from these weird feedback loops between modular and Field Kit? HELL YEAH. I'm gonna get REAL weird and tripped out with my visual work with this too. Same concepts, but strictly for interesting CV

[D.o.S.]

I think you and I are on similar wave lengths, and I am really excited to see what you come up with.

[MrNovember]

Spent some time waiting around a hotel room while my girlfriend was getting ready for a friends wedding. I brought along the Field Kit and some friends:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTMK5hwAAEp/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTMN72DAcFV/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTMh1Qzg5RO/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTMiuH1gS6q/