RodionKarimov | Imagination Works

DAW REAPER : creating variation on Jingle Bells theme

DAW REAPER : variation on Jingle Bells theme

Let us continue studying of DAW REAPER, today we will create small variation on Jingle Bells theme. As components we will use the same drums sounds and VST-synthesizer Genobazz 2, which is created by TEK’IT Audio. You can download archive with REAPER project, all sounds files and completed FLAC file of composition via this link : variation on Jingle Bells theme in DAW REAPER. For main melody I used preset Default of synthesizer and for basses Acid Tweet Arp preset. First lets create main melody with use of MIDI notes, then copy their block needed amount of times on its track; then we will use it for basses, by copying and replicating block on their track.

Next we will add accords to main melody : they are 3 notes, which are played together; additional notes are taken through the white key from main note or already placed note, they can be located in the same octave or in different from main note. They can be chosen by the ears, so that they will sound in unison with main melody; also, there is ability to read additional information about accords and their classifications. Then we add drums sounds to composition with use of snares and hats WAV files, which we place in needed places. After arrangement of composition, it starts to sound and now there is ability to continue work on it, making it more interesting. If you have questions about creation of variation on Jingle Bells theme in DAW REAPER, then ask them in comments, I’ll answer on them as soon as I’ll have free time. This is all for today, see you in the next lessons.

Review of photo lens Sony SEL50F18 50mm f/1.8 for Sony E mounts

Lets review photo lens Sony SEL50F18 50mm f/1.8 for Sony E mounts. It is light objective lens with 50 mm fixed focus and f/1.8 – f/22 diaphragm, which is set by 7 diaphragm blades. With APS-C sensor field of view is 32 degrees, minimal focusing distance is 0.39 m, lens supports optical image stabilization Optical SteadyShot and automatic focusing with use of silent motor, which is very convenient for videos recording. It has 6 lens elements in 5 groups, they all are covered with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. There is ability to attach to it 49 mm optical filters; its sizes are : 62 x 62 mm, and mass is : 202 g. It is produced in 2 color variants : black and silver, its body is made from aluminum. Package contains : Sony SEL50F18 50mm f/1.8 photo lens itself, frontal and rear caps, lens hood and user’s guide. All in all, it is good light photo lens with small amount of glasses ( for light dispersion and internal reflections reduction ), automatic focusing, image stabilization and support of manual focus and diaphragm settings, so, it will be useful for novice and experienced photographers for photos shooting and videos recording.

Review of Novation Impulse 25, 49 and 61 MIDI keyboards

Today in audio part we will look on professional MIDI keyboards Novation Impulse 25, 49 and 61, which are modifications of the same keyboard with according velocity-sensitive keys amounts. Besides them they have : 8 knobs, which can be rotated any amount of times in any direction; 8 velocity-sensitive drumpads with backlight; 9 sliders ( on 49 and 61 models ) or 1 slider ( on 25 model ); 6 transport control buttons; pitch-bend and modulation wheels; 2 octaves control buttons; LCD display; 6 programmable buttons, 4 of which has backlight; 4 control change buttons ( 49 and 61 ) or 3 such buttons ( 25 ); 9 mute and solo buttons; and arpreggiator. They have following ports : USB connector ( through which they are powered and communicate with computer ); MIDI input and output; power adapter input, which is needed only in MIDI connection case; 1/4” ( 6.3 mm ) TRS jack inputs for sustain and expression pedals; and Kensington slot. Keyboards support High Rate Scan ( HRS ) technology, with which they scan their state 10000 times per second and acquire all nuances of musician play. They are tightly integrated with modern DAWs, their instruments and VST plugins : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. MIDI keyboards are supplied with DAW Ableton Live Lite 9.

MIDI keyboard Novation Impulse 25 ( rear view )

They are compatible with Windows 7, 8 and newer and Mac OSX 10.8 and newer operating systems. Keyboards sizes are : 25 : 525 ( width ) x 332 ( depth ) x 100 ( height ) mm; 49 : 864 ( width ) x 332 ( depth ) x 100 ( height ) mm; и 61 : 1022 ( width ) x 332 ( depth ) x 100 ( height ) mm. Their package contains : Novation Impulse 25, 49 and 61 MIDI keyboards, USB cable, optical disks with software and user’s guide. They are good and functional keyboards with full spectrum of controls and adequate price for their functionality.

Sunday’s 130 km bicycle ride from Polevskoy to Snezhinsk

Yesterday I rode from Polevskoy to Snezhinsk, through Poldnevaya, Dautovo and Itkul villages. At the morning it was dry and warm, so it was nice to ride on the bicycle. Roads in Polevskoy at this Autumn day are covered with dirt, so at the exit from city bicycle was already also covered in it. In the direction of Poldnevaya road is clear, has small amount of traffic and has lots of downhills and uphills, so, there is ability to upheat yourself and gain higher rate of pedaling. Poldnevaya is readying for winter : fields are fertilized and plowed before intensive snowfall, for better harvest on next Autumn. Road upto Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions border is clear and dry, as before Poldnevaya village; after it and to Itkul lake it was not only broken this day, but flooded and covered with dirt, which quickly moves on to the bicycle.

Itkul lake between pines in Dautovo village

On the turn to Upper Ufaley this time I rode in the left direction, instead of right one. In this are asphalt is intact and mostly not plowed by heavy cars. I did not rode in these areas, first stranger on my way is Dautovo village, in the pine forest on the shore of Itkul lake, views here are picturesque : low leaden clouds run above surface of lake, Sun sometimes looks through them and sends its rays to surface in the half-darkness, on the distant hills unmelted snow still lays after recent freezes and snowfalls. Further on the way is Itkul village, in which there is ability to stray and make some turns in deadends and find right way. After it another small village lays, with steep downhills and uphills, on which stealthy cars riding from behind cannot be heard due to wind, playing in the ears; I did not remembered its name, because I flew through it very fast. 5 – 10 km forward it becomes clear, that serious closed area city is in front : there are straight electricity pillars on the sides of road with intact wires, clearness and tidiness on the road itself and on the area around it and roadblock in front with iron fence with barbed wire above it and, maybe, electricity current connected to it. This is Snezhinsk. Entrance in the city is strictly via permittances, because there is research and development nuclear center located in it. I heard and read about this, now I know this by myself. So, road to Vishnevogorsk lays around Itkul lake through Upper Ufaley city.

Leaden clouds above Itkul lake on the the shore at Dautovo village

Near this road block I turned and rode back to my home, way went without problems, only near Polevskoy small rain started to pour and it became colder, before the darkness I was already at home. Overall I rode 130 km in around 8 hours at this day with all uphills, downhills, broken road areas and stops for bicycle tweaking and food eating. Next time I’ll rode to other area, where I was not before. 次の自転車イベントでお会いしましょう!

ESI U46 XL – professional external audio interface, that is designed for majority of studio tasks

Lets review professional external studio audio interface ESI U46 XL, which is designed for majority of sound recording tasks. It is created on base of preceding model ESI U46DJ. Card’s frontal panel has : balanced XLR microphone input ( this allows to neutralize all noises, which are added to signal during its movement in the cable ) with ability to switch +48 V phantom pwer, switch for choosing of linear or microphone work mode of the input, phantom power button and amplification level control knob; instrumental TRS 6.3 mm ( 1/4″ ) jack Hi-Z input, its Hi-Z or linear work modes switch and amplification level control knob; TRS 6.3 mm ( 1/4″ ) jack output for monitor headphones, their volume level control and power button. Back panel of sound card has : USB port and power adapter input; analogue TRS 6.3 mm ( 1/4″ ) jack mix inputs for left and right channels; 6 analogue RCA outputs ( which can work as 6 independent analogue outputs or as outputs for 5.1 channel audio system ); and 4 analogue RCA inputs. Sound card works on 48 kHz sampling rate with 24 bits precision and 100 dB range of digital-to-analogue and analogue-to-digital conversions. Body of card is produced from aluminum to increase its durability and to reduce electro-magnetic interference on its electronics.

For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 ( with MME, WDM and ASIO 2.0 interfaces and DirectWIRE support ) and Mac OS X 10.3 and newer ( with support of Core Audio ) operating systems, with which it can tightly integrate with modern DAWs : FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others. Card is bundled with DAW Steinberg Cubase LE for PC and Mac systems. Package contains : ESI U46 XL sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. All in all, this a good professional studio sound card, which supports majority of functions, except of MIDI and digital connectors; its other minuses are support of only 48 kHz sampling rate ( this is due to big channels amount and USB 2.0 bus speed capabilities limits reaching; but higher sampling rates are not always needed, for example, if sound will not be processed too much after recording ) and lack of volume level and clip indicators on its body. So, this interface should be bought only if it will be used exactly for functions, for which it is designed; if there is need to simply buy studio level or fully functional audio interface, then it is better to buy device, which has full spectrum of audio connectors and functions, for approximately the same price.

Rokinon 85M 85mm f/1.4 – light photo lens for mounts of modern cameras

Lets devote today’s optics area to very light photo lens Rokinon 85M 85mm f/1.4. It is produced in variants for following cameras’ mounts : Micro Four Thirds ( Panasonic and Olympus cameras ), Canon, Fujufilm X-Mount, Nikon F, Nikon AE, Pentax, Samsung NX, Sony A-Mount and Sony E-Mount. Its 80 mm focus is fixed, aperture can be set in f/1.4 – f/22 range; focusing ( it is internal and does not alters lens length ) and aperture settings are manual. Minimal focusing distance is 1 m; field of view is 28.3 degrees; there is ability to attach to it 72 mm optical filters; it can work with full frame 35 mm optical sensors. Photo lens has built-in 9 lens elements in 7 groups, one of them is aspherical for chromatic and geometric aberrations correction; all optical surfaces are covered with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. Objective lens sizes are : 78 ( diameter ) x 99.5 ( length ) mm; mass is : 565 g. Package contains : Rokinon 85M 85mm f/1.4 photo lens itself, frontal and rear caps and user’s guide. Its is very good light photo lens, which is produced in variants for majority of mounts of modern cameras and which has adequate price. For novice photographers and for video recording difficulties can be caused only by lack of auto focusing, electronic diaphragm settings and image stabilization ( which can be performed be camera itself, if it supports such function ). So, this photo lens is the most suited for experienced photographers.

Nektar Impact LX 49 and 61 – fully-functional MIDI keyboards with optimal prices

Lets review MIDI keyboards Nektar Impact LX 49 and 61, they are variations of one model with 49 and 61 full-sized velocity-sensitive keys. There is ability to choose one of 4 velocity curves or one of 3 fixed velocity levels. Keyboard has octave shifting buttons; pitch-bend and modulation control wheels; 8 velocity-sensitive drumpads ( there is also ability to chose for them one of 4 velocity curves or one of 3 fixed velocity levels ); 8 potentiometers; 9 30 mm faders; 9 programmable buttons; 6 transport control buttons; 5 set and recall parameters sets buttons; pedal input ( pedal itself isn’t bundled with controllers ); and USB port ( through which they are connected to computer or Apple iPad via camera connection kit and from which they are fully powered ). MIDI keyboards are compliant with Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and newer and Mac OS X 10.7 and newer operating systems, there is no need in additional drivers for their work. They are tightly integrated with modern DAWs and their instruments : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Package contains : Nektar Impact LX 49 or 61 MIDI keyboard itself, USB cable and user’s guide. These are very functional MIDI keyboards with full spectrum features : keys, drumpads, pitch-bend and modulation control wheels, control buttons, including programmable, and adequate price. One “minus” is their blocky design, but this is a matter of taste and different people have different tastes.

Zenitar 50mm f/2 – standard photo lens for M42x1 mounts, that is produced in Russia

Lets meet with Zenitar 50mm f/2 standard photo lens for M42x1 mounts, which is produced by Russian plant KMZ. With adapters and converters it can be attached to any modern camera mount and it will allow to get excellent photos, due to low lens elements amount and chromatic and geometric aberrations correction. Its 50 mm focus is fixed; its aperture can be set in f/2 – f/16 range – it is light lens, aperture is controlled via 6 diaphragm blades; field of view is 45 degrees; and minimal focusing distance is 0.35 m. 6 lens elements in 6 groups are built into it, all of them are covered with protective and anti-reflective multicoating. Lens can work with 24 × 36 mm optical sensors, optical filters can be attached to it via M46×0.75 mount. It does not support auto-focusing and image stabilization ( however, camera itself can perform it via sensor shift, if it supports it ). Lens mass is 190 g, sizes are : 45 ( length ) x 65 ( diameter ) mm. Package contains : Zenitar 50mm f/2 photo lens itself, frontal and rear caps and user’s guide. This is a great objective photo lens, with which high-quality photos can be obtained, and, accounting its price, it has no competitors. Difficulties can be caused only by lack of auto focus and image stabilization for novice photographers and for video recording. So, it will be the most useful for experienced photographers.

M-Audio Axiom AIR Mini 32 – functional MIDI keyboard with compact sizes

Lets review MIDI keyboard M-Audio Axiom AIR Mini 32, which has diverse functional and compact sizes. It has 32 velocity-sensitive mini-keys, with selectable touch curves; 8 drumpads; 8 knobs; 3 transport buttons; 10 memory cells for setting and recalling of keyboard parameters sets; pitch bend, modulation and sustain control buttons; and octaves shift buttons. Keyboard is connected to computer via USB port and receives power from it; it supports HyperControl function for integration with modern DAWs : Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools and others. MIDI keyboard is supported by Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X operating systems; it is supplied with software DAW Ableton Live Lite and Ignite Music Creation ( which is bundled with 275 software instruments, developed by AIR Music Technology ). Keyboard sizes are : 396 ( width ) x 196 ( depth ) x 38 ( height ) mm. Package contains : M-Audio Axiom AIR Mini 32 MIDI keyboard itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide.

MIDI keyboard M-Audio Axiom AIR Mini 32 ( top view )

It is interesting keyboard, which has 32 keys, 8 drumpads, compact sizes and adequate price; its minuses are : pitch-bend and modulation controls in form of buttons, instead of wheels, and lack of expression or sustain pedal input. So, it is applicable for wide range of uses, from home studio to concerts.

Rokinon 800M-B 800mm F/8.0 – long-range tele-photo objective lens for T-mounts

Tele-photo lens Rokinon 800M-B 800mm F/8.0

Lets meet with tele-photo objective lens Rokinon 800M-B 800mm F/8.0, which is designed for T-mount ( there are adapters on it for all modern cameras’ mounts types ). It has fixed 800 mm focus and f/8.0 diaphragm; lack of automatic focusing and image stabilization and lens and mirrors optical scheme of Maksutov-Kassegrene telescope with 8 elements in 8 groups. All lens elements are made from low-disperse optical glass and are covered with protective and anti-reflective multi-coating. Field of view of lens is 3 degrees, there is ability to attach to it 105 mm optical filters, it can work with full-format 35 mm optical sensors and its minimal focusing distance is 3.35 m. Objective lens weight is 936 g, sizes are : 111 ( diameter ) x 114.3 ( length ) mm. Package contains : Rokinon 800M-B 800mm F/8.0 photo lens itself, frontal and rear caps, carrying and storage pouch and user’s guide. It is very good objective lens, which also can be used as telescope and which has adequate price. Wherein : fixed focus and diaphragm, lack of automatic focusing and image stabilization ( it can be performed by camera itself via sensor shifting ) can be inconvenient for novice photographers or for video recording, but for professional photos of long-distance land objects and astronomical objects this lens is very good.

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