(Free) Things To Do...FREEsources!
(originally published April 3rd, 2020)
As I expected, I never write in this blog like I had hoped I might. It’s that sticky combination of optimism and doubt that seems to cripple even the best intentions. Anyway…here I am, mid-quarantine, and it seems like a good time to begin writing again.
Getting right to it - this post is about my incessant need to have a new toy. I LOVE getting new things and trying new things, maybe to a fault. Definitely to a fault.
This drive is problematic in mid-2020 America, when revenues from touring and playing gigs have dramatically ended. Not to fear, though, that uber-capitalist drive will find a way. Here are a few things that I’ve found to keep me exploring and tinkering. Some have been in front of my face this whole time, and being stuck at home has caused me to investigate under rough stones long glanced over for shinier pebbles. Others are those shinier pebbles…just free ones.
Eventide H9 Algorithms: This device is a deep rabbit hole. The brilliant engineers at Eventide have been releasing some wild stuff for this thing in the last few years, and I’ve completely ignored it in favor of the sounds I default to. In addition, the original sounds on this thing go much deeper than I ever checked out. Microshifter, anyone? There are some wild pattern delays and synthy-sequencer-ish algos as well. Some I may never use, but there is gold in those hills!
Reverb Drum Machines | The Complete Collection: Anyone who has downloaded Logic’s sound library has a solid bank of sampled drum machines, not to mention how many of these samples already float around on shared drives. However, Reverb made this $900 collection free, and there are some really great sounds available if you want something new.
Reverb/Acon Digital SOLO Plugin: A simple, two-parameter reverb plugin. Gets you where you’re going, quick.
Spitfire Audio LABS: A trove of wonderful sampled virtual instruments, all free. You need to make an account and download their manager app, and then each instrument’s sample library is somewhere around a gigabyte of drive space. Moon Guitar, Soft Piano, Wurli, Opia, and Modular Piano have been inspiring me this week.
Tom Bukovac Corona Lessons: Invaluable info from a master.
IMSLP Music Library: A comprehensive public domain score/sheet music library. Several lifetime’s worth of study.
Anyone have some other good freesources ? Let me know. Email me, text me, DM me, or if there are comments on here, comment. Would love to hear from you in this isolating time. Stay safe out there.