The machine window is the heart of
buzz, where you create, connect and manage the machines. A machine can
be two possible things, either an effect or a generator. The generator
can be either a synth or drummachine, it can also be an alternative soundsource,
like a noise generator, however the first two are more common. To make
everything easier they are divided into three colors, the master is beige
and this is the only thing that has this color, the effects are red and
the generators are blue. Note that in buzz1.2 rc2 and newer you are allowed
to use themes, they are used to change the colour setup in buzz, thus
altering the colours of the machines and the master.
(all
machines have names, but in this guide I've removed them to show that
I'm speaking of the machines globally and not each and every individual
machine)
From the master you can set the songs bpm
and tpb, but also the panning and volume of each machine directly connected
to it by leftclicking it choosing parameters. The master is the only block
you can never delete or connect to anything else. The master can however
be programmed in the pattern editor just like all other machines, this
allows you to do tempo changes, volume and panning slides.
| -Creating
and removing machines |
Creating new machines |
When
you start a new song the only thing on the screen will be the master.
To create a new machine click the right mouse button anywhere on
the blank sheet, choose new machines, and then choose between generators
and effects. In newer versions of buzz you will now see some new
folders named drummachine, sampler, synthesis etc. In the older
versions this feature does not exist and all machines are listed
in one folder. Try creating some new machines and deleting them
by rightclicking on the with your mouse choosing remove. Note that
when you remove a machine you remove all the patterns and all sequencer
entries for the machine, more on this later. |
Connecting |
Connected |
|
Now try creating one generator and one effect, then connect them.
This you do by holding shift, leftclicking on a machine, pulling
a line to another machine releasing the mouse button. You should
now see a straight line between the machines if not try again, if
you get an error message saying connect machines failed you are
trying to connect them the wrong way, example - an effect into a
generator or the master into an effect. This can not be done, you
can only connect generator - effect , effect - effect , generator
- master and effect - master. Think of it like this : The generators
only have a line out, The master only has a line in and the effects
have both a line out and line in. When you have made a sucessful
connection you will se an arrow between the two machines you have
connected, the arrow represents the direction the sound will be
travelling. Pure logic says that you cannot send sound from the
master to a generator, this would be similar to sending sound from
an amplifier to a guitar. |
| -Connecting
stereo machines |
|
|
When
trying to connect a stereo effect to another effect a small question
box will pop up, it will ask you if you want to connect the left
or right channel. Depending on which of the two you choose the arrow
between the effects will look a bit differently. There will be a
small L or R showing you which of the two channels that are connected.
The reason to why this happens is that the buzz effects can only
handle single channel inputs, this means that the same thing will
not happen when connecting to the master, then the stereo signal
will be accepted properly. You will never be able to do something
like this with a generator either since they can't output stereo
signals. |
Renaming
a machine |
Each
machine has a name, this can easily be altered by rightclicking
on them choosing rename. When you make two of the same kind they
will be named with a number, let's say you make 2 goakicks, this
will be - goakick and goakick2 - notice that the first one does
not get a number. When making a song it can be very confusing to
have a bass3, bass32 and bass 33, this is where the renaming part
comes in. Instead of using the names given to them you can name
them deepbass, bubble and lead. This will help you manage your machines. |
Parameters
|
| By
rightclicking or doubleclicking on a machine you will be able to
get to its parameters. Each machine has a certain number parameters
you can alter, the number of them vary from machine to machine,
easy to program machines are the ones with very few sliders and
these are the ones you should try to master at first. The parameters
in the machines are represented by sliders that can be moved back
and forth to alter the settings, these sliders can also be programmed
from the pattern editor and that's how you do it when you want to
be able to alter the parameters during the song. In buzz 1.2 beta
8 you can open a parameter window, play the song in rec mode and
pull the sliders as the song plays. What you did to the sliders
will then be recorded in the pattern editor and when you play the
song again all your the changes you did will be there, allowing
you to do resonance and cutoff slides easily. |
Presets
|
| In
newer versions of buzz you can make presets for all machines, these
presets will speed up your music making since you can choose an
old sound you've made and use it again in a new song. The machine
presets are available in the machine parameters window, in it you
will see a blank drop down menu, click the edit button. Write a
name in the empty field of the presets window that pops up, then
press the add button. Close the window and press the drop down menu
button, you will now see a preset with the name you just wrote,
click it. now change the parameters and then click your preset again,
now you will go back to what it was. Click the edit button again,
choose your preset in the preset window, and choose remove. Notice
how there's a button called import, by using this button you can
import presets that other people send you or that you download from
internet. By making presets of sounds you like, you will have an
easy time making new songs in the future, since you won't have to
waste several hours coming up with that super subbass setting again. |
Copy
parameters |
The
easiest way to tweak a sound is by making a small bassline or such,
looping it in the sequencer and then pulling the sliders back and
forth in the parameters window. Tracking the parameters of a sound
in the pattern editor instead is alot slower and also alot harder.
There is one catch about using the parameters window however, at
a first glance there is no way to get your parameters settings onto
the pattern. This is where the copy button comes in, it allows you
to copy the parameters and then just paste them onto the pattern. |
Randomizer |
This
is only available in the newer buzz versions, you will find this
in the parameters window by rightclicking a machine choosing parameters.
This button will randomize all parameters the machine has, and i
do mean all. Observe that this is something to use with care, use
a low out volume while experimenting with this since you can get
very high and sharp sounds that may damage your speakers and/or
your ears. To use the randomize function with more control see the
understanding the pattern editor. |
Machine
help |
Some
machines have help files written by the person who made the machines,
these help files can be viewed by doubleclicking a machine to get
to it's parameter boz, there you will find a button named help.
When pressed buzz will open a browser window with the help file
in html format, you will now be able to switch between buzz and
the browser to read more about machines while working with them.
|
[Generator]
Normal
mode |
[Generator]
Mute mode |
[Generator]
Solo mode |
[Generator]
Solo/Mute mode |
[Effect]
Normal mode |
[Effect]
Mute mode |
| Each
machine have mute buttons available by rightclicking on them choosing
the desired option, only the generators have solo buttons since
there is never any reason to solo an effect. To see the changes
in mute and unmute modes you only need one machine, the machine
will turn grey and the will be a parenthesis around the name. To
see the changes in solo and unsolo modes you need to "generators"
not effects, you will now see that all generators execept for the
solo one will have their names in brackets and will be completly
silent. In buzz 1.2 beta 8 or newer there is a small differently
colored square in the topleft side of the machines, it is called
ledbox, read more about it's function below. By clicking this once
you will mute the machine, by double clicking it twice you will
mute it and solo it, so to solo a generator you need to first doubleclick
it, then single click it and the generator will be solo. |
Ledbox
off
|
Ledbox
on
|
The
ledbox is used to monitor a machine or the masters activity. When
a machine or the master is used the box will be lit, this can be
used to monitor machines that are stealing cpu when they shouldn't
be. |
Panning |
All
machines that are directly connected to the master can be panned
in a very easy way, when you direct connect a machine to the master
you will se a small block and a bar on the lower part of the machine.
The block acts as panning position, move it back and forth to change
the panning left and right. This is however only of use to you if
you want a static panning position, for panning slides you need
to use the master and make patterns for it. Observe that panning
slides cannot be recorded by pulling the pan slider back and forth,
to be able to realtime record it you must pull the sliders in the
masters parameters box. |
|
Right click on an arrow
to get this option, here you will be able to monitor a machines
output. The signal analysis will tell you the frequency and amplification
of the out signal. This could be helpful for mixing a track since
you are able to see which frequencies you should lower and amplify,
it will also help you know if a machine is working properly or
not. A possible problem could be that you get no sound from a
link of machines, while checking them closer you can determine
which one of them isn't working properly.
|
|
This feature is on available
in buzz1.2 rc2 and newer, using this you can import an old song
into the song you are currently working with. This will allow
you to save beats, chords, melodies and such as songs to later
load into other songs. When you've loaded a song it will look
like only one machine was added, move that machine and you will
see a new one underneath it however, if your songs had more than
one machine that is. Remember this feature and remember that you
can at any time just sit down and make a beat, chord or such to
later on load in one of your newer projects.
|
|
These are new for Buzz
1.2 BETA, allows you to make templates of favourite machine setups
you can load with just a single click. Almost like the presets
but with a more global function
|
By now you should at least have
a vague understanding about how the machines are connected and created,
the next part will be about how to program them. After that we will get
down to the sequencer parts, where you will learn how to arrange the patterns
that are the building blocks of the song.
next - [understanding
the pattern editor]
- back to index -
©2000 - newt
|
