Why We Bleep Podcast with Make Noise!

Support WWB on Patreon: / mylarmelodies // Discussing simplicity, synth-spirations, and the stepped (not smooth) story behind making Make Noise, with founder and designer Tony Rolando! ⚡
LINKS
➤ Make Noise: www.makenoisemusic.com/
➤ The ModDemod ad post on MatrixSynth: www.matrixsynth.com/2008/03/m...
LISTEN:
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➤ Listen on Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/7geAIMt...
➤ Weblink: www.whywebleep.com/whywebleep...
THANKS TO SPONSORS
➤ www.signalsounds.com
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[@tonyrolando1964]

Thanx for having me on to ramble Alex :)

[@mylarmelodies]

Loved your rambles! Long live Rise/Make Noise!!

[@ArturTadevosyan]

Such an awesome interview! Thanks a lot.

[@LarsBjerregaard]

It was an interesting ramble Tony, thanks!

[@baked88]

Really enjoyed this ramble chat - thanks to you both

[@alexbarn]

Hoping you two get together and do another two hours. So good to listen to.

[@garymon]

Early 80’s I was also discovering all my music strictly by album covers. Cocteau Twins, Cabaret Voltaire, Skinny Puppy, einstürzende neubauten, were all blind purchases that made me really happy and expanded my world exponentially.

[@signal-sounds]

By Odins beard, He’s only gone and made another episode!

[@tanksmoonchild]

My favorite podcast so far. Full of great stories, insighti moments and awesome oneliners. ".... Tomorrows landfills". Brilliant. Best use of 2 hours since... Since yesterday evening when I made some music 😁

[@paultorbert6929]

This is actually the very first podcast I have EVER listened to...... ever. The into could have been the beginning of some distant future's bedtime stories for children... big weird children with modular synths...

[@dvdsarescary]

Great interview. I really appreciate in things like Strega there’s just enough consistency inside to create certain sounds and just enough inconsistency to completely keep you on your toes. So cool

[@carloschafin9144]

A great chat gents. So many good things here to ponder and I love the acknowledgement that what's old is new again ... and we're not sure why. I'm so glad modular is enjoying a popularity today it never really had originally. Sure people with take exception, but I believe it's true. Modular was an prohibitively expensive proposition 30 -50 years ago and while it's still not cheap, it's possible because of the information, innovation, and culture of idea sharing we enjoy today. These factors coupled with a healthy appetite for unique musical expression has resulted in the astonishing variety of modules available in today's market. Thanks to Tony Rolando and all the others out their like Dieter Dopfer who led the way to make Eurorack viable for all of us patch freaks and knob twiddlers,. And of course thanks to Alex for his unique, personal introductions to these massively interesting folks. Bravo!

[@bangerbingley]

This is ace.... Two of my heroes! Mylar Melodies videos drew me back into my roots of techno, electro and made me realise that I could jam this stuff on a Eurorack, not just sequence it on a Mac. Tony's design of the Shared System and his technical and aesthetic intelligence gave me instant Gear Acquisition Syndrome.... Hearing Tony's history with Moog and the early days of Make Noise is essential listening for me. Thanks Alex for making this possible!

[@mikegeary8056]

The Harvestman module Tony was trying to think of is the Tyme Safari mk-2 .It’s amazing. Speaking of which I would love to listen to a conversation with Scott of IME /Harvestman. His stuff is the most exciting, to me, in the eurorack world.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

same here big fan of Harvestman IME modules they are the industrial modular powerhouse of Eurorack next to Noise Engineering, Schlappi Engineering and Make Noise.

[@tagore10]

Thanks Alex for creating genuinely amazing content, I have been really looking forward to this one. Cheers.

[@wonkyrobot]

Yes! Podcast time! ROSIE, MATHS and STO are excited to hear from "dad" :)

[@oliverkollar9143]

Thank you so much for this! Tony is a great guy!

[@wolfdesk]

I love make noise modules, can be hard to get to grips with some but ultimately they are just great fun to experiment with. Hearing this great chat it is clear to see why his personality shines through his work. Really loved this one.

[@macros303]

Amazing interview. I really love Strega too, such a surprise that instrument :)

[@dariusmorgan8302]

Tony really has the best handle on synthesis and why we are drawn to these modules. I've learned more from listening to him talk about synthesis than I have watching a thousand tutorials.

[@dariusmorgan8302]

And from you as well man. A lot of times I just have my phone laying somewhere and just listen to Mylarmelodies

[@jdavis.fw303]

What a guy! I like how he's got a lot to say, and has clearly thought about all this for along time. I think it helps you are a great interviewer/host.

[@bux77]

Soooo good, I love your interviews. Keep them coming!

[@knasterask1]

I’m part of something crazy. I love Tony’s reasoning towards the end of the interview. Recognizes as mentioned how someone gets lost in a matrix of options in an advanced synth with a lot of different syntheses without getting anything musical done in the end. Also liked the anecdote about Jim O'Rourke. Saw him with Mats Gustafsson and Tim Barnes at the Gothenburg Art Sounds in 2005. Thought he was using an EMS Synthi then. Maybe it was the Doepfer system. Think I'll listen to this soon again!

[@tonyrolando1964]

When I saw Jim on the Doepfer system it was at Lounge Ax, 1990's. He must have had one of the earlier Doepfer systems.

[@ezdubs8511]

Just what I thought, well worth a second listen. Thank you for posting this.

[@bodoelsel]

Two great guys make an even greater podcast. Thank you.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Mylar this is a really great interview and enjoyed hearing Tony's humble attitude and experience in his journey of forming Make Noise. I am a big fan of Make Noise modules and hope they produce more Make Noise Shared Systems for sale. My first jump into modular was with a Make Noise 0-coast and then got bitten by modular bug from friends with large systems.

[@BottleMakesMusic]

That was a fascinating insight into the mind of, well, a modern genius. Thanks for sharing that conversation

[@forallxexistsepsilon]

Such a nice story and great interview. Gotta love when somebody loves something he does.

[@yellowecho]

I'm a big fan of Tony so this is special. Thank you for making this happen.

[@DUNGEONMUSICTHEATRE]

Inspirational! It seems all innovators and trailblazers share similar traits. I love the part where "Hey Moog wants me to work on some "guitar" thing and I don't want to do that. So I'm gonna quit (this great job) and just make my own synths!" Takes grit and audacity. Love this!

[@LarsBjerregaard]

Yeah, good one Alex. Tony is very interesting to listen to and always conveys the exitement of electronic music and music making. Thanks guys!

[@hiding_my_name]

Excellent questions being asked here. Thoroughly enjoyed this interview

[@DivKid]

Always an absolutely treat to talk to and hear from Tony. Great show.

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks meight x

[@NEALBEARD2]

1.24 onwards, where Tony talks about making something incredible… music, instruments, art… any creative will get this… inspirational.

[@robertsyrett1992]

Holy Cow! What a fun interview. Keep up the great work.

[@eckharteric]

Seeing Dash perform as Gardener was the reason I got into modular!

[@elementlab41]

trying to find where he mentions Gardener. do you happen to remember? thx!

[@Manmademadman]

39:25 Tyme Sefari by Harvestman / IME!

[@synthshoot1026]

Insightful and enjoyable interview. Thanks.

[@chitlun]

What a fascinating human being! No wonder Make Noise stuff is so unique… Great episode man 👍

[@dualtrx]

thank you for this series.

[@strayburn9595]

Brilliant! Thanks you - I love you guys.

[@Stazma]

Great talk ! Happy owner of the #17 QMMG and a full Shared System, Make Noise rule ;-)

[@jammystraub488]

Great interview! Damn fine job directing the conversation.

[@theb_roll]

Great conversation! I kept coming back just to get to the end.

[@SynthDad]

I think this is one of your best podcasts yet - really enjoyed listening in. Tony is such an engaging speaker

[@simonsandleitner2341]

So great to find the Demod video :)

[@CinematicLaboratory]

Super interesting podcast with two of my favorite modular heroes.

[@geraldwebb7244]

Very nice interview, it is about touching the music!

[@alexbarn]

Loved this interview. Could have gone on for another two hours and would be compelling throughout. Thx for this!!

[@nizer7147]

That intro. I’d listen to any audiobook with this narration style.

[@RabRabNZ]

reneeging , you dirty but amazing bastard. The confidence and brilliance you exert in these videos it really inspiring.

[@PFZ]

I enjoyed every minute. Thanks!

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks Paul!

[@jpiekkala]

Thanks for a deep and entertaining discussion!

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks Jussi

[@victimoperated9795]

That ending was amazing

[@pupkid8613]

s terrific interview - could have listened to Tony for several hours more - genuine passion and enthusiasm

[@b.c.slumber3694]

agreed, we want part 2!

[@alexxaviermusic]

Did not expect to have deep philosophical epiphanies here, thanks

[@ThreeBeingOne]

Every good vibe here. 🙏

[@bobafat1830]

Tony is so cool. One of the coolest guys in the biz

[@chemicalBR0]

great interview, Tony seems like a really cool dude

[@fabiancortes6255]

This was amazing as usual...

[@josiethompson5739]

As someone in the intersection of music and software, a filter that uses machine learning to predict what resonances should be boosted is 100% feasible, and its surprising that it doesn't already exist (maybe it does but its some academic paper or someone's side project)

[@sauce_aux]

Hahaha I remember paying about $25 for an S.O.S magazine, at a Borders Books in the early, early 2000’s as a young teenager. They were well worth it, back when the internet was still an unfamiliar resource.

[@treschlet]

I've never heard the 2000 decade referred to the "naughties" and I kinda love it. In the states, people tend to just say "aught" (pronounced the same just without the 'n') and refer to that decade as the "aughts" (alternatively also spelled just "ought" but I think people prefer "aught" because the former could look like it's pronounced "oft")

[@RheyneMusic]

Thank you for this!

[@lukaskoninger3312]

Lovely talk, just good vibes

[@selfpatched1503]

I discovered Apex Twin the way Tony discovered Silver Apples 👌

[@Neuri]

yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay new one. Thank you kind Sir. Cool guy Tony.

[@malcolmmckillop600]

1:50:00 and onwards ... "How am I compelled to play it." A big thank you to Tony Rolando for creating the 0-Coast, and also to Alex to introducing it so well in his video. So much fun that I'm now thinking of going out and buying a Eurorack system. But I may just settle for a a 'broken' Strega!

[@mymodularjourney]

Yes, I’ve been waiting for another episode.

[@mymodularjourney]

This was such a great episode. Tony is an incredible story teller.

[@nigeltedbury5805]

I'm less than half way in, but loving this chat so much!

[@nigeltedbury5805]

Ok, so now it's finished. I would happily have listened for another two hours. What an interesting guy. This is up there with your Tom Whitwell chats for me. Talking of which, isn't it time for another chat with Tom? If you are able to secure a regular(ish) chat with Tony, I'm all ears. Great stuff, thank you.

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks Nigel. January is Tom chat time!! Hopefully he’s up for another

[@GazWilliams]

Excellent and informative chat,. Thanks for that!

[@mylarmelodies]

Bless ya! Thanks gaz

[@fripp4999]

Fantastic interview. Tony is such an nice and inspiring guy. Also, sounds a bit like a slower talking, American Guy Martin :)

[@Fluidstructure]

Superdope chat! Thanks for hosting this

[@chriszanf]

@1:17:00 Not music equipment but the easter eggs thing with music that I grew up with was etchings in run out grooves on vinyl! Tonys quote about not making an instrument unless it wows otherwise its just filing up landfills is a bit like a couple of quotes from Mark Hollis: “Before you play two notes, learn how to play one note, y’know. And that, it’s as simple as that really. And don’t play one note unless you’ve got a reason to play it.” “I like silence. I get on great with silence, you know. I don’t have a problem with it. It’s just silent, y’know. So it’s kind of like well if you’re going to break into it, just try and have a reason for doing it.”

[@mylarmelodies]

Brilliant quote Chris…words to live by as we make music

[@potsandjacks]

I enjoyed this a lot

[@mylarmelodies]

🙌

[@attichatchsound-bobkowal5328]

Amazing Guy and great interview! Irony is I find that many Make Noise modules are among the most "impenetrable" of non-menu modules. Obviously it's all about how your personal lens informs your sensibilities with these things and plenty of folks appreciate Tony's "lens".

[@antikytheramechanism7909]

Tony is great. I would put the Strega last by a good margin in his lineup so I don't have his taste but maybe that is his genius.

[@yuanifragata]

Tomny Rolando > anything else

[@mrotaveria]

in every episode when you ask the person about the future of music I always think they'll reply AI or Machine Learning but nobody seems to consider that possibility. I'd love modular to be integrated with powerful engines via wi fi and do things like generating a new voice based on how your patch sounds, or emulate some filter based on a trained model. Of course usability is key. Nobody wants to mess up with downloading code and building servers but I think if some genius can come up with a nice solution there are "endless possibilities"

[@mylarmelodies]

Check out the episode with BT! 🙌

[@mrotaveria]

@@mylarmelodies I will!

[@DavidRinklin]

great podcast but most important question would have been is why are not all panels black at this point ... brings tears to my eyes that my system is not all black .

[@vieloviei]

"hardware is hard" agree 100%

[@jonridley]

Amazetits. What a guy.

[@RonMillar]

I love Tony so much. He was so humble and so nice to me and everyone even in the early days. Much love to you and that guy. I was an early earrrrly owner of makenoise and buchla stuff. I got modules directly from Don Buchla at his Berkeley house.

[@bankhead9285]

what an intro!

[@lindsaywebb1904]

Tony Rolando... The secret of a beautiful life...Pizza, beer, modular synthesis!

[@internetnoisesignal6251]

for any one interested on reverb march 2022 cs80 are priced from 64k -134k!!!!

[@hiding_my_name]

Where are you finding CS-80s for under 30K? I must know!

[@vinylarchaeologist]

Alex, I‘ve been loving your podcasts lately, and I think that they‘ve become even more insightful and entertaining during (despite?) the pandemic. However, there is one thing that I miss from earlier ones: it‘s the visual aspect. I know that you do these through Zoom or something, as there is often alluded to stuff that you or your interviewee are seeing. So I am wondering why you decided not to include a video recording of those calls. Is it a technical issue?

[@mylarmelodies]

Thanks!! Yeah it would be good to incorporate back in - though it adds another factor to manage which isn’t always trivial as on both ends it needs a nice environment/setup/cameras to factor, it would require a considerably price hike on the podcast recording software I use, and it also lessens the flexibility I have to trim and edit as it’s quite jarring to have mid sentence cuts in video. It’s quite invisible the extent to which these podcasts have been edited for pacing and clarity! So it’s a question of whether they may be better as is, audio only.

[@vinylarchaeologist]

@@mylarmelodies Be honest. You just don‘t want to show your beautiful mug on camera anymore.

[@markothe]

I wish the Strega, 0coast, and 0ctrl could be converted and added to a eurorack case.

[@blaythessteuer]

You can do with a small kit from ebay but it invalidates your warranty

[@NickJennings]

Haven’t heard Walden Books mentioned in decades

[@briankokernak2804]

Great bit about the SK-1. Sounds like the first time I encountered one. WTF IS THIS???

[@johnnymidnight2982]

I did it! I finally bought a Maths! Are you happy now??? (I know I am).

[@mylarmelodies]

Ha, yep!! ⚡⚡

[@chrissherman01]

Midwest Buy and Sell! Bought a guitar there

[@mylarmelodies]

Sounds like you made the owner happy

[@TimRichardson1984]

His voice sounds like one of his synths

[@mylarmelodies]

What, beautiful?

[@pixelwash9707]

Your claim that weird human references don’t exist in mainstream electronics was well intentioned, but not true. Actually Steve Jobs encouraged that sort of thing at early Apple, the inside of the first Mac was signed by its key designers. Over the last 30 years of being a tech nerd, pulling apart all sorts of computer electronics when it died has revealed oddities on circuit boards and cases.

[@AnalogDude_]

the key behind Make Noise is that they give "functions" found on every module a catchy name and make you think it's something new, he started with cloning Grant Richters wogglebug selling it to Schneiders laden, Serge DUSG aka Maths, DPO a clone of Buchla's legendary 259 complex wave generator, Buchla's lowpass gate, etc, etc.the strike input is most probably just a capacitor / resistor trigger circuit. cool that he made without a formal degree witch is pretty much impossible in countries like Germany, his shelter was a library. but the price point should be atleast -50%. almost 700€ for a DPO is pretty much an entire synthesizer from Roland, Korg, etc brand new and that just for a module, he didn't even invent. just adapted it for 12/-12 Volt usage and gave it a jacket. is he even making money right now? because several shops, like Schneiders laden don't have the majority of Make Noise's product is stock right now. doubling the price of Doepfer's module would be acceptable, but 4 / 5x? Émilie Gillet / mutable instrument elements is by far more complex in tonal things, material usage and it's just 479,00 € and available. only Maths available at scheneiders laden. Dear Tony revise your price points.

[@mylarmelodies]

There’s quite a lot to unpack there, the majority of which of which is covered in the podcast. Listen again?

[@mvsr990]

Glancing through a couple of Eurorack shops, the DPO ($599 USD) is the cheapest complex analog oscillator - seems like someone would be making them for the $300 you desire if it was feasible. They go over the economies of scale and labor in the podcast. Rigging the rough equivalent in Doepfer you'd need two basic oscillators for $400 and one wave multiplier - $150. So $50 less for more HP and three spots taken up on your bus board. Digital is, of course, cheaper to manufacture than analog - we can take your Elements argument to its logical conclusion: why pay $500 for a digital module when you can get it for free in software? (for the record, I'm not a Make Noise fanboy or anything, I went with Random Source Serge for my "what if it was 1972 again" setup)

[@AnalogDude_]

i still think these people or some of them form a Kartel in some sort of way. they talk witch each other, Soundforce revealed on his site that he had help from Tom, the guy that made: steve's ms-20 filter. how to handle opamps. if doepfer can deliver a 5 wave shape (Doepfer A-145 LFO Modulation Generator) for $67 ( thomann music ). containing the same aluminum material as Make Noise for a panel. the same fiberglass / copper for a pcb, some plastic knobs and jacks. a dual matched transistor( BCM847 ) at mouser = 0.34 a piece and if you take 500 the price drops to 0.14€, a pot is 1,50 @ Thonk. some of them have a profit margin for up to 500%. of course i know some of them solder these thing at home in small series.

[@mylarmelodies]

@@AnalogDude_ Sorry to be contrary here, but this misunderstanding that 'the cost price of a product is the the cost of its raw parts alone' is literally why I brought up the topic with Tony in the podcast, and mention it at the start. Based on the '500%'(!) margin calculation I'm going to have to assume you're new to the world manufacturing and reselling products - If you can achieve that I'd like come work for you, please!!

[@AnalogDude_]

@@mylarmelodies i have cloned the befaco ADSR ( without the gates and the cv inputs ) with permission and for 120€ i have build 3, roughly calculated on the top of my head. although hand soldered. 2 / 2.5 hour assembly time. for about 80€ i have build 3 korg ms-20 filters. 3 of my own designed voltage controlled filters for 75€. (although just 4 HP wide), but it sounds and is awesome. for 60€ i have build 3 2 x 4 active multi's, CV processors ( attenuverter ) ... and i have some other modules no person on this planet has. ... and my PCB's are made in the USA by OSH-park. i think it was mrs Gillet herself that said something like that, 300% margin. must check my mails. ... and Doepfer still can sell you a filter for less than 100€. he might have 30% or so, but probably sells more units. though hole parts instead of SMD. .. and probably will cost a bit of time cutting all component leads at the end of the production.

[@internetnoisesignal6251]

F&*K at 7min in and still dudes just rambling on... and the podcast hasn't even started....

[@mylarmelodies]

Wait till you get past the ads and introductions - it’s literally dudes just rambling on for two hours then more rambling then it ends?! It’s literally just talking. I know, I couldn’t believe it either.

[@alexfield4703]

@@mylarmelodies you do have a tendency to talk too much.. it gets a little annoying sometimes. just being honest. I still appreciate what you're trying to do, and in this interview you've done a much better job of shutting up and letting the talent speak. so thats an improvement over earlier videos, especially I recall when you had Colin Benders on and you interrupted him several times to talk about you playing live.. which not to be rude, nobody cares about compared to someone like Colin is basically Jesus reincarnate on a modular.. just food for thought. keep up what youre doing, were all on the same side here, but there's always room for constructive criticism, isn't there?