10 Soundware Releases Mixer Feedback Model Y EM-90A K Kontakt Instruments

Somerville, Massachusetts-September 10, 2012-

10 Soundware, a new extensional sound design imprint of 9 Soundware, has released its

debut product, Mixer Feedback model Y EM-90A K.

Mixer Feedback model Y EM-90A K by 10 Soundware is a sound set for

Native Instruments Kontakt 5. Designed by Taichi Furudate, these

patches are based on audio captured from a no-input mixer, an

instrument contrived by connecting the output of an audio mixer with

its input to incite feedback. The first in a series of four titles,

each centered on a different mixer, this release features an extremely

rare, antiquated (presumably dating back to the early 1970's), and

idiosyncratic model by a Japanese manufacturer.

As a member of a duo, Shimettainu, whose instrumentation consists

solely of no-input mixers (even signal processors are not used in

their performances), Taichi Furudate's prowess in the art of mixer

feedback is extreme. Repurposing audio mixers as oscillators and

tweaking onboard settings, he induces gradational shifts between

timbres such as squealing, serrated noise akin to low pitched sawtooth

waves, and many others, ranging from euphonic to discordant, sonorous

to shrill. More radical forms of interaction with his sounds involve

methods such as tampering with cables and on/off switches.

The timbres generated by the mixer used in Mixer Feedback model Y

EM-90A K can be described as "like a vintage analog synthesizer",

according to Taichi Furudate. He also characterizes the feedback as

"uncontrollable". Perhaps the most peculiar in the design behind this

particular model is the onboard drum machine (patches based on its

loops, along with their corresponding Standard MIDI Files, included).

Also present is a spring reverb, which can be excited by beating the

large, heavy mixer. Despite its limited usability as a conventional

mixing device, apparent with the absence of pan pots (separate

switches for the left and right outputs provide the only means of

panning), the by-product of its very limitations is its suitability as

a no-input mixer, allowing for performance techniques not possible

with other models.

The sound design executed in Kontakt 5 transposes mixer feedback to

the realm of synthesis. The sampler's formidable tapestry of DSP tools

were savvily exploited to contort the captured audio to synthesizer

paradigms (tuned patches based on seamlessly looped tones and drum kit

presets) and into noise instruments, yielding patches ranging from

stunningly simple to stupendously intricate. As a universal feature

within the sound set, MIDI cc#1 was programmed to trigger vivid

timbral transformations.

The 87.2 MB download includes 50 .nki files, 201 WAV files

(24-bit/44.1 kHz), and 8 .mid files.

Mixer Feedback model Y EM-90A K is available now for $49.99 at

www.10soundware.com.

Kontakt is a trademark of Native Instruments GmbH. All other

trademarks property of their respective holders.