“Space Case” is the name both of the album and a collection of Instruments & Effects in the VST format designed to behave as the core components in a Space music studio. More on that bit later, music first.
The “Case” tracks were all composed 100% with the instruments & effects units of the Space Case Collection in a very simple Space Music style which is elements of Prog, Ambient, Berlin School and plain old Dr Who soundtrack.
This helps show off the really “warm” and “organic” sound of these devices as they have more space in which to speak the subtleties that make a synth sound great.
I enjoyed making these pieces as in most cases, a lot of the material was played into the sequencer off the cuff. Nothing was particularly tied to metronomes or heavily edited. Not to be New Agey but just the ability to express myself through that sound.
Each track is given a case number in Hexidecimal (of course) which represents 80 albums with 10 tracks each as a very rough (under)count of the number of pieces I have written in my time so far. It seemed better than using random assignments (which was considered).
The exceptions are the “Nihilist Suite” which are three tracks that were not actually written together but somehow managed to have a streak of emptiness run through them. All three were written before or during my “Run From The Sun” sessions so it is interesting that they managed to predict the emptiness that project delivered despite all the passion I put into it.
- Crossing From Nothing – is a demo piece I did for SKP Sound Design’s “Europa Grid Sequence” ReFill. With the huge spacey sounds it really felt like a something coming from nothing sort of thing.
- Night Train To Nowhere – is a demo piece I made while making sounds for the unreleased “Colossus” Rack Extension*. I really like this piece and the synth is so versatile (if not unusual) which somehow lead to this sort-of hollow sound.
- Reasons For Nobody – was a piece that James Williams sent over half finished whilst we were working on his “Spectra” Rack Extension. James had a really nice start but felt he’d run out of puff. I picked up where he left off and added the second half as well as finessing the sounds and mix. I was disappointed when it didn’t get used for the video as planned but it did mean I could use it for my album and it seemed perfect to round out the suite inside the main album.
If you like the album please Purchase through Bandcamp as it is the only way I know that you want more music from me.
Space Case the Collection
Purchasing the “Space Case” album gives you the option to claim a collection of VST instruments and effects that were used to create what you hear on the “Case” tracks.
Space Case is seven Windows PC VST made in SynthEdit with a focus on use in the Propellerheads Reason 9.5+ DAW so you will note limited onboard LFOs as these are best flown in via CV from devices like Pulsar or the insanely wobbulant Kron RE.
You get:
Space Strike – a single hit percussion module with a wide range of possible sounds from classic early analog through FM and even into “real” sounds. Strike can be played over a whole keyboard like a synth or in Combinator “kit” controlled with the lovely new Drum Player we got in Reason 10.1
Space Synth 101 – is a Dual Oscillator Polyphonic synth with a few tricks up his sleeve. The second Osc is a pair that can be Detuned & Spread. The 24db Ladder style Filter is a joy every time.
Space Synth 102 – is a far more complex beast as it is based on a pair of Casio style Phase Distortion Oscillators that can then provide “coarse” FM. Each Osc is a Pair with Fine & Coarse Detune. Perfect for neat PD & FM sounds as well as Pads and Clangy sounds.
Space Ring – is a fairly simple Ring Modulator with a wide-ranging Osc for Tremolo & Freq Shifting (Ring Mod). The Osc is a Phase Distortion model with control over the shape from traditional Sine to complex shapes. It is also possible to mix in the Right Input as Mod Source.
Space Filter 101 – is a pair of Filters in series. First is a selectable shape/stage unit with input Drive and then the same dedicated 24db Ladder as used in Synth 101. The default settings are not dissimilar to the classic Korg MS-20 form.
Space Tone – is a very destructive or coloring 3-Band tone control that will dig into your tones. Great for altering instruments, creating (or losing) detail in drum kits or even on a whole mix if you dare!
Space Delay 101 – is a pair of True Stereo Delay Lines in series. Each unit can be switched between Chorus/Reverb (50ms) & Echo (500ms) range. Panning for each set gives good control over the resulting width.
Space Reverb 101 – starts with a quartet of stereo echo lines with a master Range control fed into a mono Delay (1,000ms), a pair of Roll-Off Filters and a Mix. Sounds simple but the results can be really lovely as I’m sure you have noticed from the album tracks.
Support
If you would like to see videos on the devices including tips & tricks for getting them to do cool things then please head over to the Supporting Stuff page.
You will also find a link to download another device called Space String that you can test for free to get a sense of if these devices will work for you.
How To Get the Space Case VSTs
Space Case comes as part of the album. It is important that you alert me during the purchase of the album at Bandcamp so I can email you the download link. If you don’t do this I won’t know to send the link.
While I have made-for & tested-in Propellerheads Reason 10, the VST should work fine in any Windows PC Host that has no objections to SynthEdit VSTs. Of course, I can’t take any responsibility for past/present/future performance issues in any Host or DAW. Nor will I take responsibility for any speaker-ripping you manage from not working with a Limiter across the Masters.
I also have to reserve the right not to supply the VST pack if you don’t alert me during purchase. Similarly, I will advise you to back up these files against a catastrophic drive crash as I won’t always be able to re-supply.
I hope you have a ton of fun making music with these devices.
🙂
*UPDATE 26 May 2018: today there has become some debate about ownership of samples in that developer’s product lines and sadly he has gone to ground so it is impossible right now to clarify so I’ll leave this unlinked – site is closed anyway. This is a sad day for me as I had started to develop a pretty good relationship with this fellow who was always kind and generous to me. I knew he had had a bad run with trolling recently and the initial claim seemed very trollish. His disappearance seemed like he just had enough. After that, it became trial by wild speculation. His site seems to suggest a meltdown from the stress that due to his Autism he couldn’t cope with. Being Aspie and on the receiving end of less than fair treatment, I can understand his desire to close the world off but sadly it hasn’t helped here. I do hope he bounces back either way as this is not a nice place for anyone to be – whether self-inflicted or not.