Mastering OP-Z Set Before Live Show

Before going on stage with a new live show, there's a half done mix that needs some attending to. I'm creating a set mostly based on the OP-Z, and taking some time on a bigger sound system to iron out potential issues in the sound. It becomes easier to spot issues on a big system, with loud volume. It was very helpful doing this. The video is not a high quality audio experience. Sorry for that. But I hope you still get the essence of what I was doing.
Peace!
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[@RedMeansRecording]

Man, you're arrangements BUMP HARD on a big system.

[@waltersmetak]

An entire gig created around an oversized Lego brick, the weirdest and most complex pedal humanity has ever graced upon and a small white box with a micro screen.....mate, you command my complete and utter respect!

[@tangerinejukebox]

Should've seen him turn up at the Teenage Engineering gig last week in Berlin; His camera gear was at least twice as big as his music bag - and I think he had a full second set of the music equipment as backup in the same tiny satchel. Another guy, Samplik Prost, did his entire set on three Pocket Operators and also sounded stunning! It's crazy what these guys can do :D

[@waltersmetak]

@@tangerinejukebox Yeah, these guys are amazing! Especially considering that the only "sounds" I can shake out of my euro rig are car sirens and bird tweets.......ah, the envy!!!!

[@alyeska4226]

I wanna get a Monome Norns for my Zedrina

[@ShiningEyeBrigade]

Thank you for sharing your process with us, very interesting and very cool music. Best of luck!

[@AaronHuslage]

I can’t wait to see you! Also excited to see your talk.

[@hectorbacchus]

Great point about vocal levels. Mastering for vocals is maddening. Our minds automatically focuses on human speech and does an auto gain. Every time we try to compare a vocal to a different track or sound it seems like it has changed!

[@jasonraasch405]

Cuckoo, what a fun set that will be! Your unique style shines through. I can definitely hear your video game influences. In fact, I felt like I was IN a video game when I was listening in my car. When your vocals entered it channeled some classic Talking Heads, which was a pleasant surprise and completely set the vibe on a different course. Safe travels, welcome back to the U.S. (in advance) and enjoy Moog Fest!

[@lekeusdi1187]

So much inspiration just to look on how you think of a set up, and seeing you mixing is a master class You and Red means rec are such inspirational Thank you

[@User173]

Thanks for sharing the walk! I've always wanted to visit Norway and It just looks so beautiful. I bet the cuisine is fantastic too.

[@johnmadere]

I’ll be using the OP-Z live for the first time in a couple weeks. Plan on doing something similar. Picked up some great tips by watching this. Thanks, as always!

[@truecuckoo]

Cool! Keep it up!

[@brianreilly6545]

Great footage, thx. Mixing is a craft in itself. Have a great show 👍🏼

[@Sarahbuildsstepsequencers]

I’d love to see sort of a self-documentary about you. Maybe a ‘Day In The Life’ kind of thing.

[@kabood777]

cuckoo brother thank you for sharing, everything sounds really lovely, best of luck bro :)

[@BrunoWiebelt]

very helpful, wish you good luck att papa moog

[@sodiumlights]

bloody ace video, ya gig`s gonna be great!

[@samplikprost]

Thank you for telling me about your setup 🔥🔥🔥Hope to see your performance live at the superbooth👌

[@JC-bf9zm]

I live in Durham and will be attending Moogfest (and your gig). I was also lucky enough to nab a seat in your workshop. Can't wait to see you!

[@truecuckoo]

Cool, see you there! I’ll actually play a shorter set at the thing called Micromachines as well, a little earlier on Friday before the “proper” gig.

[@dep1001]

Awesome vid, Cuckoo! Cool that you are bringing us with you! I hope you'll do a bit of vlogging on your trip to Moog Fest as well! I would love to see that! Thanks :)

[@teucap5965]

you inspire me so much cuckoo, thanks!

[@rezoshelia4679]

Probably the Chillest man I have ever seen

[@dcashley303]

Wow, crazy how different it sounds when you tweak it even just a little. The separation of the bass drum and bass synth really worked as did lowering the higher melody. Super good advice testing out a track on a big and loud set up like this, can really hear the improvement even through camera/KZbin.

[@truecuckoo]

Wow thanks mate! I'm glad you caught the details in the sound even through the camera. It was really important for me to go through this. I'll make a habit of taking an hour at a system like this prior to getting ready for stage.

[@roncollett4524]

Music was great. Dancing as well. Bold, brave and funky.

[@martinthemartian7986]

Great video, as always!

[@jackiewhelan6649]

Sounding great

[@Sklang32]

Such a badass as always.

[@yomalin]

Useful and inspiring. I do like your smiling music😊... Very much!

[@museovations]

One of your best videos - super helpful.

[@truecuckoo]

Thank you!!

[@JoeLaRocca]

Cuckoo, I play guitar and got a loop pedal after seeing a Kurt Vile set on KZbin. Then I saw you do your thing which led me to Korg Volcas to Pocket Operators to the OP-Z. Inspiring stuff. I'm probably one of the best musicians ever now, so thanks.

[@truecuckoo]

Haha, keep it up mate ❤️

[@claudius3124]

Wow! Nice set-up and nice songs! Very groooooooovy ! (Smile music... excellent!) Thanks for letting us digging into your creative and gigging process! I really enjoy your videos... I'd really like to go see you playing... In Montreal , Quebec some day ?

[@truecuckoo]

Thank you! I wanna make it happen too. More live shows!

[@strangersun7721]

Thanks for this video. Inspiring as always. It was a great show. Highlight of Moogfest for me. Hope you come back some time!

[@mrotaveria]

Some day you could make a totally offtopic video about your town. Ive been there once. Also loved the "Cuckoo Dynamite" ending!

[@w.d.4590]

Super interesting stuff, thanks for Sharing!

[@KevinLoustau]

The last track is insane.

[@agecicco1]

Cuckoo, you are awesome. Break a leg!!!

[@DavidWindsorDCW]

I live on the wrong continent 😋 I need to become a discount globetrotter so I can see your shows 😀 My OP-Z arrives this Tuesday! Thanks for the inspiration Cuckoo!

[@TropicIslandMusic]

Whether the OPZ can be a serious live instrument is what has held me off purchasing for sure. I also struggle with the mini jack out. Thanks for posting!

[@jumpontheroof]

See you next week!

[@MikeGomeztheDMG]

See you at Moogfest!!

[@mattkaz9604]

Interesting stuff. How many people could pull off a solo dance on an empty dance floor and still look cool? Respect.

[@musicalstatues73]

Much respect for explaining the whole thing, very helpful! One question: how to set the individual levels of the sounds within a drum kit in the op-z, can’t find answer in the manual or online. Thanks!

[@RayMcNamaraMusic]

Going through this exact process now for a set at Shakori Grassroots Festival in North Carolina. This was mega helpful. What are the three most important lessons you've learned when moving up to bigger sound systems?

[@timdeman5236]

Thx for the video! How is the Keystep integrated in the set-up? To control the beatsqueezer or is it connected to play the OP-Z? Maybe it's in the video and I missed it :). Thx again and keep up the great work! x

[@bonsaibloom]

Really wish i could catch one of the shows! maybe one day 🦄 looking forward to the recordings tho :)

[@truecuckoo]

Thanks! Where are you based? I was initially planning a US tour, but my agent had some unforeseen things on the private side that had to take priority, so we cancelled it this time. In the future!!

[@bonsaibloom]

@@truecuckoo Dallas! i would love to se you live! keep us updated :) really hope that happens!

[@SexyBicycleBand]

[@AlexFCarl]

Dude, I wish I could dance like that !

[@Somnambule]

Great video, wish you all the best on your live gigs. I have played live four times with my two OP-Z's. It‘s realy a great fun to rock the dance floor with such a tiny equipment. Maybe we'll meet us at the superbooth in Berlin and jam together ;-) Greeetings 🖖☺️

[@truecuckoo]

Thanks! Yeah hit me up at Superbooth!

[@Somnambule]

I‘ll try to hit you! Hope to see your gig there!🖖🤩

[@pikaboy199]

Best of luck to you! You're gonna do great :-)

[@truecuckoo]

Thank you!! 🙏🏼

[@oscaraullon]

Did you use visuals from the op z? Where can we see the recorded show? Thanks!

[@tombenson7113]

Hi Cuckoo, I've got a question about how you connected the op-z to the DIs, is it all the same cable or is there something in between? I'm noticing the same thing with the low mids this video has helped a lot! Cheers

[@x-iso]

is it possible to sidechain any parameters on OP-Z? you could solve kick-bass conflict by side-chaining highpass filter cutoff on bass by Kick envelope follower. So with some fine tuning it will get out of the way automatically.

[@savvidi]

Man, i waiting for an album ! Share it.

[@juliendebyser2958]

That Keystep mod is gorgeous ! How did you do it ?!

[@TsolProductionsMedia]

OP-Z Master 🙏

[@elliotbjorksdottir2878]

Pleeeease, can I listen to the whole songs anywere? They sound SO good!!

[@Nico-np9bh]

Thank you for sharing your setup! :) But what is this machine that seems to sequence stuff on the top right corner of the screen when you are showing your gear? It intrigues me!

[@truecuckoo]

Thanks! It’s a digital modular pedal called ZOIA. It can be anything you want, sort of.

[@theorist5497]

Cuckoo in Ashevegas (Asheville)?? Maaaaan, if so, you're only about 1 hour and 45 mins to the west of my home. Im just outside of Charlotte, NC. I really wish I was able to come and shake your hand and say thank you for all the inspiration and education you have given me. Unfortunately, due to chronic pain issues from a spinal disease, Im pretty much stuck at home. :/ Anyways, wishing you all the best at Moogfest! Blessings!

[@JC-bf9zm]

Ahem, Moogfest is in Durham.

[@theorist5497]

@@JC-bf9zm And...??

[@JC-bf9zm]

@@theorist5497 Not really sure how to respond to this question... Anndd, Moogfest hasn't been in Asheville since 2014? Le Samouraï is an amazing film (I like your profile pic); one of my favorites.

[@droid7500]

Hey Coo, how did you get blue Keys? I like that!

[@strangeoscillator1327]

Coool ! Project 5 reminds me a bit Kraftwerk...

[@MadcapJake]

An Empress Zoia is on its way to my doorstep. I am looking forward to this little chest of goodness thanks largely to your Mega Tutorial. Brings me great relief to know that you are using it in a live set. Great video, cheers!

[@distillednoise]

wow wow!! sub freq are massive! :) loved your final dance ahahah 😂😂👌👌

[@distorson]

great. I will see you at Superbooth than :) Do you know where exactly the teenage engineering superbooth party will be happening? I couldn't find it on the Superbooth time table.

[@truecuckoo]

facebook.com/events/886359495029591/?ti=ia Maze/ Kreutzberg

[@madcat8369]

super set up ^_^ ♪♫♪ "Break a leg" ♪♫♪♫ enjoy ! ^__^

[@janoschamann3008]

11:48 is this track available at spotify or else? You just nailed it man!

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

Really cool to get insight into your process. Do you keep the samples the same for each project to maintain consistency on those levels? Or do you at least keep, say, track 1 as kick, 2 for snare, etc., so there are less issues when switching between songs? Then, bearing in mind you’ll probably need to tweak a bit at each venue anyway since each venue is different ... during the course of a performance, do you tweak filters live for more vibe/performance effect? How do you find that helps/hurts what you’ve just done now?

[@truecuckoo]

Thanks mate! On the OP-Z track 1-2-3-4 are for sample kits. A kit is a collection of 24 samples, 12 seconds in total for a kit. Basically I'm staying true to the labelling of the OP-Z :) So Kick track for kicks and so forth. But the Kick kit has 24 kicks in it, so I'm using a variety of kicks. Perhaps for one song I'm using two kicks. For another song I'm using some other kicks, and some of the same. Keeping it consistent. I'm putting vocals on track 4, as kits. But 12 seconds of vocals isn't that much, but I'm adapting to that, and it actually improves the music (in my opinion), handling vocals as a sampled instrument rather than long stems. I can save vocals at double pitch, and pitch it down on the OP-Z to essentially get 24 seconds, but at a lower bit rate.. but I'm going for the full quality 12 seconds here. I don't think I'm gonna tweak the filters live on the OP-Z. In this kind of music I don't feel like it'll fit to do that kind of stuff. My live tweaking will be muting unmuting, tape chops, some melodies on the keyboard. What I would do for more effects is instead to have an external master effect, like a custom patch on the ZOIA, a mixer, Kaoss pad? or something else, and make a chain of creative possibilities there.

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

Thanks for the explanation. Yeah, I thought tweaking filters live might make it sound weird. I find, playing with Digitakt and Digitone, I really like that idea of playing with mutes live, too, and add some melodies over top, etc., so it’s interesting to hear that’s your approach. Sounds like I’m on the right track, :) Thanks again.

[@truecuckoo]

Keep it up! This set started on the Digitakt, and has now migrated over to the OP-Z and taken a new shape.

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

Will do, @@truecuckoo! Thanks again!

[@Braunld]

@@truecuckoo Have you found the OP-Z sequencer to be more fluid / flexible than that of the Digitakt? How do their sequencers compare with one another?

[@gerardomartinez576]

Hey Cuckoo super beginners question here: ...min 7:07 you packed the main output cable for the OP-Z. Can you just plug that to an audio console in order to listen through big speakers? I have a Mackie ProFX 12 and I tried with a cable which I think is in good condition ...but it doesn't work. what am I doing wrong. thank you in advance.

[@truecuckoo]

If you plug a cable that’s stereo mini Jack in one end into the OP-Z, and in the other end split up into two big jacks for Right and Left individual, it should be easy to just plug it in. Super noob mistakes can be to put a stereo cable into a balanced input, and then have the right and left phase out in the balanced input, resulting in a fairly silent experience. Another blunder can be to put in the cable into the Insert slot on the mixer by mistake.

[@gerardomartinez576]

@@truecuckoo thank you I'll give it a go

[@gerardomartinez576]

@@truecuckoo as you pointed out I was using the insert and didn't realise haha

[@uhldev]

Are you nervous about crashes while live on the OP-Z, mine crashed on me yesterday while playing with the tape track and p-locking crazy delay times.

[@truecuckoo]

It has crashed a few times. Perhaps once a day, or less. I’m not very nervous about it.

[@digbybrown8991]

Sorry if you've answered this before, but what case are you using for the keystep?

[@truecuckoo]

It’s from Analog Cases.

[@digbybrown8991]

@@truecuckoo Excellent! Thank you :-)

[@vikrantsingh47]

why don't you use a daw like fl studio? or is it can't match the hardware?

[@truecuckoo]

I’m using Logic Pro for music production and recording, for preproducing samples etc. But for composing and performing it’s all hardware and musical instruments.

[@brankogredelj6153]

Just curious; you could've taken your phone with the app to the podium and do all your modifications and mixing from there, right?

[@truecuckoo]

Yeah that's a good point. I'm not sure I can navigate all the patterns from the app. Can I? I have never tried it. Probably can 😅

[@MrUnit731]

You just walked past my old apartment 😀

[@sodiumlights]

never seen the Beat Squeezer before, damn natty device, and sadly not available to buy new.

[@truecuckoo]

Yeah it’s a one man project. He’s manufacturing 10-20’ish units per half a year. I wish some company just said hey, let us help you out and produce it for you at our facilities, and market it for you, and you can have all the rights and revenue.

[@sodiumlights]

@@truecuckoo that`s nuts! That unit right there is a winner, so you`re a jammy sod for having one hah! Gotta be better (and more versatile) than that dreary Memotron. Maybe you could do a video to give the guy some more exposure (in the future) x

[@localtechnique]

It looks a bit bigger but 1010's new Blackbox might be an alternative.

[@truecuckoo]

@@sodiumlights Yeah I agree. Total winner. We've talked about exposure and such, but he's not in the position to handle exposure and ramp up, so I have decided to lay low, not to create unnecessary stress for him. I love it though. You should follow the development of Pipes. www.pipes.rocks It's a really massive project for a sampler instrument. MASSIVE.

[@truecuckoo]

@@localtechnique Blackbox is super interesting! But for a polyphonic keyboard experience I'm not sure it's up for that particular task... at least not from what I have seen. But for live sampling and grooving with slices, ROCKS!

[@arnoldguijarrofreemasonmaf1325]

👍

[@paulevans5822]

"It's Smile Music!"

[@Simonsmukke]

3:17 Start :)

[@mindbogglermagic]

theres no one in the room so the sound will drastically change with bodies absorbing the sound

[@parasito4590]

You always seem to be VERY stressed, looool

[@synthnseq]

"a set mostly based on the OP-Z" - but you're dependent on a SIGNIFICANT amount of other gear in order to perform a live set from it - meaning that this vid is essentially click bait. Also I think maybe you didn't intended to tell us that you'd also be including a Strymon pedal in addition. I'm sure your set sounded great with all of that equipment but your vid title is intentionally misleading.

[@truecuckoo]

I’d say about 95% is OP-Z, 4% is the Piano sound (which is sequenced by the OP-Z), and 1% is the ZOIA modular pedal by Empress Effects. In this video I’m mastering the OP-Z sound. Not sure what you’re getting at really?

[@synthnseq]

Simply that the amount of post-OP-Z processing and interaction with the additional equipment to manipulate the OP-Z strongly suggests that your live sound/live set is dependent wholly on the additional gear (seems you forgot your Arturia - ?KeyStep? in your list above). The point I'm not making very well is that your vid title, description and vid intro suggested quite strongly you were taking a limited approach, equipment wise, as the OP-Z is the only equipment referenced - but clearly the OP-Z is a but a small part of your compact but powerful and substantially capable rig. Looking back at my comments above they are unnecessarily abrasive, and for the tone of them I apologise. The music you demo'd with your live set up was rewarding, complex and melodic and I don't want to try to reduce its creative and pleasing impact. Fairly recently I watched what turned out to be a misleading and quite demeaning YT vid, claiming to be a review of a plug in by a well respected audio software dev who has put an extraordinary amount of effort into designing and writing excellent products over the years. I think I must have triggered myself into some sort of YT Clarification Crusade where titles, description and content are concerned. Again I apologise for describing your vid as click bait. @@truecuckoo

[@truecuckoo]

Well I’m glad you watched the video, and that you could see how harsh your previous comment came out (of the blue). I connected some stuff to the OP-Z yeah, but the audio coming out of it, the OP-Z sound is going straight to the mixer. The ZOIA is just for adding compression and reverb to the piano sound. Not sure I’ll even use the looping. Also still debating whether to totally ditch the piano sound, but at this point it’s require some extra work. And the keyboard, maybe I’ll use it. I’m not sure if I will. I think this is an excellent example of how one little OP-Z can serve as the centre of a gig. A title is very short, the OP-Z mastering was the main purpose of this video, so that was the title. No big hidden agenda behind the title, lol.

[@Braunld]

@@synthnseq Everything you pointed out is somewhat detailed (or at least shown / explained) in the video. What's the purpose of calling Cuckoo out for some type of ~scandalous~ (click bait!?) cover-up / conspiracy, other than to draw attention to yourself / be massively pedantic? ... the title of this video seems pretty straightforward--unless it's since been edited?