From the studio

Getting the gear talking.

I’m Pete, the person behind Dubdelay. Alongside making music, I’ve been building MIDIrock.xyz — a free site for musicians trying to get their hardware working together.

Less menu hunting. More music.

If you’ve heard my hardware jams, you’ll know why this matters to me. You want to get a few machines playing together, not spend the evening chasing a clock setting or a missing note.

I’m still figuring things out myself. I’m not claiming to be a MIDI expert, and I haven’t mastered every bit of CC control. Sometimes getting the setup running is the win. MIDIrock is my way of sharing useful answers as I go, so other people can get on with their music too.

Playing the arrangement

I learned to DJ on vinyl in my teens. Later, Ableton Live’s Session View gave me a similar way into making tracks: prepare some clips, then feel out the arrangement as I play. My first Ableton Push was a Push 1, and it became a big part of that approach.

For live sets, I’ve been working with two ideas. One uses multitracks from my releases, so I can try different arrangements. The other starts with sequences on my Minilogue, leaving room to make the drums and dubs as I go. I want enough preparation to have something to play, and enough freedom to change direction.

Hearing The Prodigy on the radio and seeing Underworld at Féile helped get me into electronic music. That love of a good beat is still there. The point of sorting out the MIDI is to get back to that bit — playing and listening.

What you’ll find there

There are device guides, fixes for common problems, connection plans and quick tools for things like tempo and delay times. The technical advice links back to manufacturer documents. A connection that still needs a hands-on test is labelled that way.

You don’t need to understand all of MIDI before you start. Pick the machine or problem you’re dealing with and take it one step at a time.

Read the Dubdelay story on MIDIrock, or come back for a jam.

Cheers,
Pete