This one is for Ben Hall

[mjammer]

Are you the same Ben Hall who have written a few banks and patches the korg wavestation around 1996 or so?

If you are, can we use sounds and wavesequences that you have written korg wavestation in the creation of our music for commercial and non-commercial purposes? what would be the conditions?
could we have written permision?

Is there an email address?

[dave]

Oh boy, if the Ben Hall who posts here is the same Ben Hall who organised the Wavestation Patch Archive and Seriously Productions, then I may have to admit in front of this entire forum that I am a complete and utter f*ckwit. Because I have the Wavestation Ben Hall to thank for holding my hand with my Wavestation SR about 12 or so years ago and teaching me everything I know about sysex.

Surely not? I'm sure I remember that that Ben Hall got deeply involved in a happening band and setting up Seriously Productions and that their demands on his time meant he had to give up running the Patch Archive. I'm pretty sure I remember that correctly because it was around the time my youngest sister contracted a brain virus that almost killed her and I packed in the music game for a year.

I've even posted in the same threads here and it never even dawned on me that it could possibly be the PatchMeister. I still have all his sounds.

If it is (surely not), I'm gonna have to seriously consider the possiblity of early onset of OldTimers' Disease...

Kind regards.

[Ben Hall]

There can be only one..!!

Are you the same Ben Hall who have written a few banks and patches the korg wavestation around 1996 or so?

If you are, can we use sounds and wavesequences that you have written korg wavestation in the creation of our music for commercial and non-commercial purposes? what would be the conditions?
could we have written permision?

Is there an email address?

Did you email me this request reasonably recently? I had one very similar:-

I replied to this email with this:

Code: Select all

> I like your work . I am using the wavestation legacy 
> colllection  ant its awesome. I intend on producing music 
> for commercial purpose, can I use your some of your 
> wavestation banks, especially the wavesequences?

Thanks for the mail and the kind words.

Yes of course you can use my patches in any way you wish - have fun with them!

best regards,

Ben Hall

So yes, you are free to use them in any creative way you so wish. That's what they are for!

Oh boy, if the Ben Hall who posts here is the same Ben Hall who organised the Wavestation Patch Archive and Seriously Productions, then I may have to admit in front of this entire forum that I am a complete and utter f*ckwit. Because I have the Wavestation Ben Hall to thank for holding my hand with my Wavestation SR about 12 or so years ago and teaching me everything I know about sysex.

Yeah Dave - I remember we had quite a few email chats and even exchanged some music and so on. You're a cool guy (and certainly no fuckwit!

Surely not? I'm sure I remember that that Ben Hall got deeply involved in a happening band and setting up Seriously Productions and that their demands on his time meant he had to give up running the Patch Archive. I'm pretty sure I remember that correctly because it was around the time my youngest sister contracted a brain virus that almost killed her and I packed in the music game for a year.

Ouch - yeah I read on some of your other posts on other forums about some of your personal situation, sorry to hear about that... But yeah I'm still doing music, and sound design, amongst other things and have had lots of interesting projects along the way..

(Blatant plug: If you own Zebra2, my "Transmission" soundset might be worth checking out, as there is much in there of my programming style and tastes.)

I've even posted in the same threads here and it never even dawned on me that it could possibly be the PatchMeister. I still have all his sounds.

If it is (surely not), I'm gonna have to seriously consider the possiblity of early onset of OldTimers' Disease...

Hehe. Anyway, I'm a rather better sound designer today than I was back then, some of those WS patches are pretty poor (or at least they are, shall we say, *of their time* ), although there are many I still like.

When some other commitments free up my time I'd like to do some more banks for the WS and the M1, but at the moment I'm quite busy with other instruments and other projects, so it's not a big priority at the moment.

It's rather surprising to me that after all those days in generating activity on the WS list and all the user-contributed patches we did, that there hasn't been that many new sounds for the WS online. Sure, a few banks from a few people, but I'd have thought the whole Legacy thing would have rekindled interest and we'd see the WS being used in all kinds of new ways with the software version.

Of course, in this day and age, we all have a thousand instruments and a million patches and a billion samples, so the need isn't quite what it was when it was hardware instruments all the way.

But anyway, thanks for the kind words...

[dave]

There can indeed be only one.

Ben, I don't know what to say. Despite your niceness, I am indeed a complete and utter f*ckwit for not realising that.

Well, since we corresponded back in the last century, I've gotten into softsynths in a pretty obsessive way. Obviously, I use the Legacy Analog Edition 2007 and the Digital Edition, but I've also got all the LinPlug instruments, Cameleon 2000, NI Komplete, EWQLSO, the FabFilter synths, impOSCar, Minimonsta, Oddity, Symptohm, iDrum, MicroTonic, Stylus RMX, Atmosphere, Trilogy – but no u-he stuff yet. I now have an excellent reason to get Zebra though. And I also like the look of that u-he FilterScape package.

Like you, I thought that the software interface for the Wavestation would inspire an explosion of new banks since it makes it far easier to program. Plus, we now have the new resonant filter to play with. But I've not come across a single one.

I do a lot of Final Cut Pro editing these days, so my free time is not what it used to be. And (as you've seen) the old grey matter is slowing down.

My apologies once more for the brain cobwebs. It's great to talk to you again after all these years.

P.S. I've still got the MIDI files and the Wavestation patches you sent me – just in case you might want them again.

Kindest regards.

[Ben Hall]

I've gotten into softsynths in a pretty obsessive way.

It's amazing how the landscape has changed in (just over) ten years, eh?

Obviously, I use the Legacy Analog Edition 2007 and the Digital Edition, but I've also got all the LinPlug instruments, Cameleon 2000, NI Komplete, EWQLSO, the FabFilter synths, impOSCar, Minimonsta, Oddity, Symptohm, iDrum, MicroTonic, Stylus RMX, Atmosphere, Trilogy – but no u-he stuff yet. I now have an excellent reason to get Zebra though.

Yeah, I'm also a big fan of all the GForce stuff - there's a bunch of banks for impOSCar and Minimonsta from me ("BeeJay") up on their site too, and I have a nice proper bank of Minimonsta stuff in development that will one day see the light of day...

And of course Omnisphere is looking like it's going to raise the bar, somewhat (and we expect nothing less from Spectrasonics...)

Thing is, with so many instruments and sounds at our instant disposal, I feel guilty getting any more instruments, and instead I'm trying to put more efforts into exploring what I already have. I also find that synths become 100% more useful to me when, instead of being filled with random sounds done by other people, they are filled with your own sounds that suit your own tastes... not that presets aren't useful and sometimes inspirational too, of course!

I do a lot of Final Cut Pro editing these days, so my free time is not what it used to be. And (as you've seen) the old grey matter is slowing down.

Aren't we all...

P.S. I've still got the MIDI files and the Wavestation patches you sent me – just in case you might want them again.

I seem to remember I sent you some godawful piece of amateurish music...

[mjammer]

Ben Hall you are a real genuis

I know we in this forum would all benefit from a few NEW banks and wave sequences for our virtual M1s and WAVESTATIONS (software that sound like hardware).
Can these patches be created on the Korg Legacy's wavestation?
Any tips on programming on the legacy's Wavestation? will be happy to learn.

DO you still have the same wavesation you used a century to create those banks, or do you have the Legacy collection?

Any body else wishes for new banks from Ben Hall just give a shout.
You can never tell

[Ben Hall]

Ben Hall you are a real genuis

Appreciate the compliment but I think that's overstating things just a bit

I know we in this forum would all benefit from a few NEW banks and wave sequences for our virtual M1s and WAVESTATIONS (software that sound like hardware).

Like I say, I will do some more at some point...

Any tips on programming on the legacy's Wavestation? will be happy to learn.

I did a whole bunch of Wavestation programming tips and tutorials, if you search around you'll find them - they should be just as relevant as there were back then...

DO you still have the same wavesation you used a century to create those banks, or do you have the Legacy collection?

Yep, my Wavestation is right here next to me.
And yes, I have the Legacy Digital Edition as well...

[dave]

Ben:

Once again, I should have known from the ReadMes included with your impOscar banks. They're written almost exactly like the old Patch Archive bank ReadMes. And fantastic sounds, Ben, as always.

And as for the Minimonsta patches, well, I used to own either a Prodigy or a Rogue (can't remember which) and I've been thinking about trying to recreate some old pre-MIDI material I did with Cait O'Riordan (by ear since it's on cassette). So these will be extremely useful indeed.

Thank you for always being so generous with your hard work, Ben.

I'm counting down the days now to Omnisphere. That's a no-brainer upgrade. Two more synths I want are Zebra 2 and Virtual String Machine (and possibly FilterScape) and after that I'm gonna call a halt. I'm starting to find that too much choice can be creatively paralyzing.

And, finally, you sent me three pieces, all of which I found inspiring. Antiqua, Midnight, and Tension. Of course, since the only piece of kit common to both our rigs at that time was the Wavestation, voicing the other parts was always going to be approximate. But I still have those pieces on my main rig's drive, and I don't keep stuff that I don't respect, admire, and feel that I can learn from.

If you think those pieces are amateurish, then I may as well pack it in permanently.

Kind regards.

[Ben Hall]

Once again, I should have known from the ReadMes included with your impOscar banks. They're written almost exactly like the old Patch Archive bank ReadMes. And fantastic sounds, Ben, as always.

Thanks - yes I used the old readmes as a model

Two more synths I want are Zebra 2 and Virtual String Machine (and possibly FilterScape) and after that I'm gonna call a halt.

Hehe - there is a bank of my patches in the Virtual String Machine presets as well..

I'm starting to find that too much choice can be creatively paralyzing.

Yes, I think this is definitely true. In fact, one of the things I quite like to do when getting a new instrument is do a track using *only* that instrument. This forces you to get to know it, and find/make sounds for the specific musical part you need, which often takes you in interesting directions. I find it quite a useful excercise, and it also stops you going back to the stuff you know - like your might always instinctively reach for a particular instrument when you want a bass sound, or a warm pad sound - it forces you to break some of those habits, which can be a good thing.

And, finally, you sent me three pieces, all of which I found inspiring. Antiqua, Midnight, and Tension. Of course, since the only piece of kit common to both our rigs at that time was the Wavestation, voicing the other parts was always going to be approximate. But I still have those pieces on my main rig's drive, and I don't keep stuff that I don't respect, admire, and feel that I can learn from.

If you think those pieces are amateurish, then I may as well pack it in permanently.

Well thank you!

You know, music is a funny thing. This is a complex, and quite emotional topic for me (and is probably best discussed over a coffee/beer or five), but I have a strange relationship with music. It's a deep love affair that started to develop from a very early age, but at the same time, a rather dysfunctional one. I went through a process a few years ago that went a long way towards understanding what that dysfunction was and how to repair it - kinda like a musical marriage guidance counselling, I guess.

So me and music are at least on speaking terms, and occasionally even have a bit of fun together...

And I even learnt to play guitar, which I always wanted to do (I say "play" in a semi-ironic sense of course, I'm not exactly what I would consider a "guitar-player" but I can play well enough to write and record and stuff, and these things are life skills anyway. I do find it rewarding too...)

And here we are, me rambling on when I should be doing something vastly more important. Like making some tea!