[microsound] "No Input Mixing Board"

Tue Dec 14 09:24:53 EST 2010

My Ensoniq DP-4 got busted some years ago, from making feedback with it. Now
it ONLY distorts, so you can damage your gear from making feedback loops
with it. I also thought that it was impossible, but i guess you can fuck up
the input step somehow... :D

> From: "Andrew C. Smith" <andrewchristophersmith at gmail.com>
> Reply-To: <microsound at microsound.org>
> Date: Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:00:01 -0500
> To: <microsound at microsound.org>, <mis at artengine.ca>
> Cc: Nic Freed <beatthefinalboss at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [microsound] "No Input Mixing Board"
> 
> Nakamura came to play in Brooklyn a few months back, and actually had a whole
> rack mount setup with digital reverb and all kinds of effects. Sort of a
> surprise, to me anyway (I'm only a little familiar with his music), but it was
> interesting how the feeding back mixer was juxtaposed with this totally stock,
> everyday digital reverb sound.
> 
> Also, you may just want to try asking around and seeing if you can borrow a
> cheap mixer and patch cables from anyone. To my knowledge, no-input feedback
> can't ruin a board, and most pros (even most amateurs) have a few extra small
> mixers sitting around. If you try a few out you may know better what to look
> for when you go to the music shop.
> 
> Since no one else said it yet: don't use headphones.
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> Andrew
> 
> On Dec 14, 2010, at 8:32 AM, Michal Seta wrote:
> 
>> You could probably get a Behringer 8 channel mixer for less than a
>> 100$ at your local music equipment store.  Those are totally useless
>> for pro-audio but they should fit your needs.  Of course you also need
>> a lot of patch cords.  You may want to check your nearest electronics
>> surplus store, they may have good deals on cables (maybe even some
>> amateur mixing boards!).  Just make sure that when you are buying a
>> mixer to use as a musical instrument, there are more outputs than just
>> Main Out (hopefully Aux and/or Fx and maybe even direct out) for
>> increased flexibility of routing signals.
>> 
>> Here's one good deal for a Behringer:
>> http://bit.ly/f4JPqy
>> 
>> You could also check some local classifieds listings but I would
>> advise that when you buy this kind of stuff (especially online or
>> through an ad) you do it with an adult, hopefully someone who
>> understands your needs and what you are buying to some extent.
>> 
>> Cheers.
>> 
>> ./MiS
>> 
>> On Tue, Dec 14, 2010 at 8:12 AM, Nic Freed <beatthefinalboss at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>> Thank you very much for replying so fast! I do like Larseneurs, but I do not
>>> speak french, so I do not know how much I can use their site :(
>>> You explained that very well, and now that I understand, I am very anxious
>>> to try ;)
>>> If you don't mind my asking, where might I get a cheap mixing board with an
>>> input and output? Maybe somewhere on ebay or something?
>>> Thanks again!
>>> --Nic
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 11:49 PM, Michal Seta <mis at artengine.ca> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> Hi Nic,
>>>> 
>>>> The base idea behind the no input mixing board is that a mixing board
>>>> is never perfectly silent.  It is then expected that when you plug its
>>>> output to its input, the inherent noise (or hum) that is within the
>>>> system will quickly start adding itself up and you will be able to
>>>> build a feedback loop.  Most mixers have pre-amps built in which can
>>>> greatly help you build the sound faster (and they will add a little
>>>> bit of noise to the signal as well).  You can then use the EQ knobs to
>>>> shape the resulting signal.
>>>> 
>>>> Some mixing boards come with built-in effects so you could very easily
>>>> start sculpting very intricate soundscapes but if you want to be true
>>>> to Nakamura you should use a plain mixing board with only controls
>>>> being volume, gain and some EQ (usually just 3 knobs on simple boards:
>>>> treble, mid and bass).  Note that having multiple mixing strips and
>>>> ways of cross-connecting them gives you an advantage (most mixers will
>>>> have auxiliary inputs and outputs which you can exploit to make cross
>>>> connections between different strips).
>>>> 
>>>> Getting a cheap mixing board will bring you quick instant
>>>> gratification because those will usually have higher signal to noise
>>>> ratio.  You will be feeding back in no time.
>>>> 
>>>> If such minimal meas of noise making interest you, you may also be
>>>> interested in Larseneurs (http://www.larseneur.net/NewsENG.php).  The
>>>> idea being that you simply use a computer and let the sound pass
>>>> directly from your microphone input straight to the output.  Your only
>>>> control is input volume.  Your sounds will greatly depend on the
>>>> ambient noise.
>>>> 
>>>> Happy feedback!
>>>> 
>>>> ./MiS
>>>> 
>>>> On Mon, Dec 13, 2010 at 11:14 PM, Nic Freed <beatthefinalboss at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>> Hello :)
>>>>> I have become very interested in the works of Toshimaru Nakamura
>>>>> recently,
>>>>> with his self-named "No-Input Mixing Board", and I would like to learn
>>>>> more
>>>>> about it. From what I understand, the output of the board is connected
>>>>> to
>>>>> the input... but if so, where does the initial sound causing the
>>>>> feedback
>>>>> come from? I would like to try this myself, once I understand it better,
>>>>> so
>>>>> I was also wondering about what I would need to purchase to create
>>>>> something
>>>>> with this method.
>>>>> I am 15 years old and without a job, so maybe a cheap mixer and
>>>>> something to
>>>>> create sound, like a function generator? I would probably try and get it
>>>>> for
>>>>> my birthday, so it can't be too expensive :x
>>>>> Thank you very much, in advance!
>>>>> --Nic
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> microsound mailing list
>>>>> microsound at microsound.org
>>>>> http://or8.net/mailman/listinfo/microsound
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
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