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  • Built my own midi controller. Solid buttons to rock out on Ableton Live

    Saturday, Nov 7, 2009 8:08PM / Members only

    Dirt Star Studio Instruments - DIY hoemade Midi Controller 


    20 buttons and a USB cable - simple as that.

    Buttons for rock stars to pound out sweet beats. Everyone always asks me how I make my music, so I'm uploading some photos of the music instrument I use. Today it's my industrial-strength homemade midi controller.

    How Colin and I made the world's most basic midi controller

    I've always liked to experiment, taking my instruments apart and making new ones. I came up with the idea for this midi controller a while back - I've always wanted to pound away on big big buttons. Big Big Buttons! Just like on a subway train - those big emergency buttons. 

    Got to talking with Colin about the idea, and we made it come to life. I gave him a few schematic concept sketches, and he put the wiring under the hood together. We made it specifically for use with Ableton. So instead of messing around with full-on midi programming, we actually did the circuitry by disassembling a normal keyboard and reassigning the keystrokes to the buttons.


    In a sense its not a full-on midi controller, but for all intensive purposes it works as one. The casing body is now is now a 2.0 version. For our beta version we uses an attache case, with an acrylic plate that the buttons were attached to. After the wiring was all tested and completed, I wanted to give it a solid casing. So I went out and got the shiny black casing made down the street in Dongmen. 

    Dirt Star Studio Instruments - Midi Controller

    How it works - triggering beats, samples and effects

    Use it basically for two things - triggering samples and beats, and controlling effects. Each button is a trigger for an event in Ableton, so playing live I can trigger effects and sounds. 

    I like to set up the samples and effects I use in a show in advance, then I can drop in stuff on the fly without ever having to look at a computer screen. With a guitar, mic, or turntable hooked up thru the soundcard to Ableton, I can switch up between effects settings, using it as my effects pedal.


  • That's my amp on the CD cover

    Saturday, Oct 31, 2009 8:58PM / Members only


    Last week I introduced my favorite instruments, and this week its some gear - first off? My amp. 

    Spend a lot of time staring at it. Luckily, its incredibly beautiful. Genesee painted it when she came to visit -- its covered in these great rock stars. 

    So when I re-designed the Score album last year, I used a photo I took of my amp as the cover. Its a basic little model I bought while on tour somewhere in China, and its got some serious balls for such a little guy. 

    Check out the photos below. 






    And there it is - my amp :)


    BTW, download the album here - it rocks. 
  • My instruments - the Guzheng painted by Floaty Keith

    Friday, Oct 23, 2009 1:50AM / Members only

    My beautiful guzheng pixie

    Everyone always asks me how I make my music, so this week each day I'm going to upload a photo of my favorite music instruments.

    Today it's my guzheng 古筝!

    I found this guzheng on the street. Its true, I actually found it on the ground, lying in the garbage in Hong Kong.

    Believe it or not, I found this beautiful guzheng lying in the gutter.

    At the time, I was living in Taiwan and on a weekend trip to Hong Kong. I couldn't believe someone would throw it out!

    Picked it up, wiped it down clean and took it to the airport to catch my flight. Wow, now that I think about it, that was the old Hong Kong airport. I didn't have a case or anything to carry it in, so the airline told me just carry it on to the airplane. Many heads were turned.

    Actually, that was even before it was painted the way it is now. I've carried my guzheng all around the world since then.

    Guzheng pegs that hold up the strings, beautiful shadows.

    Well, a few years ago I had a cool side project with a great guitarist named Floaty Keith, who is now resident DJ at the Underworld in Taipei every Friday night. We used to jam out, me playing on guzheng, scratching and dropping beats. Floaty Keith would play some great guitar progressions. 

    Well, in his spare time, Floaty Keith just happens to be one of the most incredible artists I've ever met. If you've ever been to the Underworld, you might recognize his painting style. Floaty Keith spent like three years painting the whole bar - THE ENTIRE BAR! until it was completely finished. Here's a link to Floaty Keith's Myspace.

    This crazy looking guy is chillin with long arms.

    I think back then, that time around the guzheng rubbed off on him. And the first piece he finished painting the Underworld just happened to be my guzheng!

    Floaty Keith painted a bunch of robotic-looking monster-ish characters that kind of reflect the Dirt Star world of space-like out-of-this-world ambiance. Yet at the same time, full of color and emotion. I love the devilish star pig, the chill out long-armed guy, the robotic shopping cart pusher, and the cute blue pixie. Once the strings are on the guzheng, there's a beautiful line of shadows across the body.

    As you can imagine, I couldn't play the guzheng at first. But I've spent a lot of time trying to hone my guzheng skills, and today I must say I've found a lot of inspiration from this gift of a musical instrument. 

    Its definitely got a lot of soul. I love jamming out new sounds and rifs on the guzheng - I find I come up with a lot of new musical ideas using it instead of a guitar, or a piano. I like dropping it into a Kaoss Pad or Ableton effects chain, and playing around.

    I've recorded a lot of guzheng music, but haven't released most of it. I have a few tracks on my upcoming album with guzheng. And on my last album I had one song. Click here to download an instrumental track I released on my last album called "The things you do"

    Here's a close-up of the robotic man with a shopping cart, stuck in the shopping mall he can never escape from. 

    This guzheng is definitely one of my most prized possessions. Why didn't that person that threw it away in the first place at least think to recycle it? Bet it didn't occur to them that someone would find their garbage, and record an album's worth of songs with it.

  • My instruments: the DIY midi controller + classical guitar

    Wednesday, Oct 21, 2009 8:08PM / Members only

    Dirt Star Studio Instruments - Modified Dirt Star Classical Guitar Midi Controller


    Everyone always asks me how I make my music, so this week each day I'm going to upload a photo of my favorite music instruments.

    Today it's my modified classical guitar again, some extra shots - with midi controller for rocking beats in sync with Ableton Live, and a guitar tuner, all attached. The tuner is transparent, so you can see all the wiring inside too. Everything is attached to the body with good old tape.

    Dirt Star Midi Controller on Classical Guitar
    A late night session in a Hong Kong alley

    Dirt Star Studio Instruments17

    The controller is attached on the guitar below the strings, so its kind of like having a whammy bar for electronica guitarists. Do you make your own instruments? Have you ever changed the pickups on your guitar? 


  • How Depeche Mode rocks sweet beats on stage

    Saturday, Sep 26, 2009 6:51PM / Members only



    Wow, Depeche Mode is still rocking stages after all these years. Hear the kings of new wave rocked at Lollapalooza this time around.

    Great video over at Ableton about how Depeche Mode's drum sound is created on a stage in front of 30,000 screaming fans. Here's the video link here

    I've been using Ableton Live on stages for the last few years too. Its a really fun musical instrument for me.

    Seeing this video I found it interesting to see how Depeche Mode to split up and apply effects to their drums. Is anyone else out there on Alive not dead using Ableton Live on stage or in the studio? How do you use it?


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My guestbook More comments >

  • Please login or sign up for FREE in order to add a comment.

  • posted on Tuesday, Nov 17, 2009 2:27PM  [Report]
    Yep, I'm a guitarist as well :)
    Also play keys, drum and turntables.. so a bit of a multi- instrumentalist.
  • Official artist 
    posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 11:57PM
    Hi Matthew! Dropped you a message already - you can check out my songs over at last.fm http://www.last.fm/music/Dirt+Star/Dirt+Star+-+On+the+street Cheers, and thanks for the support!
  • posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 9:52AM  [Report]
    hey, your stuff is great man, much respect.
    where can I get ur music?
  • posted on Monday, Nov 9, 2009 12:38PM  [Report]
    no problem la~ 禮尚往來!
    your musics have an attitude, that's cool~
  • posted on Thursday, Nov 5, 2009 1:07AM  [Report]
    thank you for visiting earlier...=)
  • Official artist 
    posted on Wednesday, Sep 23, 2009 2:28PM  [Report]
    hey! how have you been doing,nice work!
  • Official artist 
    posted on Wednesday, Sep 23, 2009 2:50AM  [Report]
    thx ur comment .i use keymap and midi uc33 to control modul8 / it's the best real time vj software
  • posted on Wednesday, Sep 23, 2009 12:53AM  [Report]
    Thank You!!! =)
  • posted on Tuesday, Sep 22, 2009 6:07PM  [Report]
    haha,相互交流 相互学习 共同进步嘛~
  •  
    posted on Sunday, Sep 20, 2009 1:03PM  [Report]
    another question we had was - what browser are you using? we were able to load them all from a mac using firefox.
  • posted on Saturday, Sep 19, 2009 11:39AM  [Report]
    songs are very good,i like the song"to see you smile"
    suppose u
  • Official artist 
    posted on Friday, Sep 11, 2009 4:01PM  [Report]
    congrats for your feat on junk! you made us proud.... cla
  • posted on Saturday, Aug 8, 2009 10:04PM  [Report]
    thx dirt! Got it in Toronto
  • Official artist 
    posted on Friday, Aug 7, 2009 11:23AM  [Report]
    Cheers Dirt Star. See you soon.
  • Official artist 
    posted on Tuesday, Aug 4, 2009 9:14PM  [Report]
    September I will be in Taiwan and HK! :)
  • Official artist 
    posted on Tuesday, Aug 4, 2009 7:01PM  [Report]
    word up, dirt starrrrr!
  • Official artist 
    posted on Monday, Aug 3, 2009 3:40PM  [Report]
    Thanks DS. You rock!
  • Official artist 
    posted on Saturday, Aug 1, 2009 2:50PM  [Report]
    Thanks! Be great to share our experiences. :)
  • posted on Thursday, Jul 30, 2009 10:33PM  [Report]
    Ron!
    How r u?
  •  
    posted on Sunday, Jul 19, 2009 9:44AM  [Report]
    Thank you! I had a great day today! ^^
    Hope u had a fun day too! take care! :)
  • More comments >

Dirt Star's  Music

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  • Dirt Star's sound has been described as a mix of Electro-fied Beetlemania in silver martian space suits, 
a mix of infectious pop music mixed up in with a taste of street culture. ...

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  • Occupation:  MusicianDirectorMusic Producer
  • Gender: Male
  • Total visits: 47,157

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