Rick's technique

[undarrenworld]

Maybe silly question, but anyway...I was always wondering how Rick use these papers to navigate on the mixing desk. If it is not secret could please anybody explain to me how Rick operate mixing desk with these papers.

http://www.darktrain.jp/Event_Media/...s/dsc_0082.jpg

Thanks

[Flywaver]

Probaly left to right and the papers in the corner are emergency acoustic tracks for power failure.

[Buji]

As far as i am aware and from a bit of experience with this myself!

Each strip of paper/white tape has the layout of what instrument/noise is on each channel of the mixing desk per song.
So say Rik loads the settings to Jumbo into the desk he can lay the strip of paper across the desk and at the bottom of each channel it will say 'Bass' or 'Synth' etc so he and Karl or Darren know what instrument is on each channel and can tweak some levels or mute a channel in safe knowledge that it will be the instrument they have written on the paper!

Hope this makes sense!!

Cheers,
Jez.

www.myspace.com/buji

[idoru]

Originally Posted by Buji

Each strip of paper/white tape has the layout of what instrument/noise is on each channel of the mixing desk per song.
So say Rik loads the settings to Jumbo into the desk he can lay the strip of paper across the desk and at the bottom of each channel it will say 'Bass' or 'Synth' etc so he and Karl or Darren know what instrument is on each channel and can tweak some levels or mute a channel in safe knowledge that it will be the instrument they have written on the paper!

This is correct.
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[patrick]

so how does rick time when the actual instrument starts getting played or not on that channel?

[mondokat]

Originally Posted by patrick

so how does rick time when the actual instrument starts getting played or not on that channel?

I vaguely remember reading somewhere that they worked with some company in the 90's to develop a device that synchronizes the instruments so that the beats line up every time. So the short answer is: Magic.

My question is, what software do they use on the Macs. Are the Macs just driving midi instruments in their setup? I heard they use a Nord Wave, does it get driven by the Macs in real time?

I know, I know just enough to be wrong on lots of points. I'm pretty new to this kind of technology...

[Buji]

As I am not in Underworld I can't say what I am saying is a 100% correct on this but here we go:-

The track/instruments will have already been sequenced in Logic Audio or a similar programme, so when you load the track up in Logic it will synch with the desk. As for mixing into another track as far as I know Underworld have 2 Main Mac's with Logic on with one sending Midi clock to all the other comps/laptops they have keeping in synch with the tempo, so when one track finishes on logic on one computer, they can set the other one going on the other computer with the same tempo.
Also they use Ableton Live for on the fly mixing too, so this can help fill a few gaps when setting up a completely different song/tempo on Logic. I saw them in Nottingham and when some tracks had a complete tempo change, Karl would play a sample of poetry or something like that whilst Rik was cueing up the next track.
It is a clever set up and Rik should be applauded for setting it up as it can be confusing to try and work out!!

[DaddyAdv]

Originally Posted by patrick

so how does rick time when the actual instrument starts getting played or not on that channel?

all the sounds/loops are playing continuously, he just mutes them or manipulates them with the mixing desk (i.e. reverb, delay, eq etc.)
he's basically doing what a mixing engineer does, but since it's live and spontaneous, it's a whole new level
it's the same with the mixer strips, mixing engineers use gaffa tape and scribble down which channels holds which inputs (i.e. guitar 1, bass, lead vocal etc.)

the nord lead 2 produces the main loop sound from at least You Do Scribble and Rowla. it's also used on the bleeping loop in the middle of cowgirl. Rick also uses it as an input keyboard to the vocoder on BoyBoyBoy and Airtowel (and TMO, if things go wrong with Karl's guitar - that happened in Hamburg this year).

[idoru]

Originally Posted by DaddyAdv

all the sounds/loops are playing continuously, he just mutes them or manipulates them with the mixing desk (i.e. reverb, delay, eq etc.)
he's basically doing what a mixing engineer does, but since it's live and spontaneous, it's a whole new level
it's the same with the mixer strips, mixing engineers use gaffa tape and scribble down which channels holds which inputs (i.e. guitar 1, bass, lead vocal etc.)

the nord lead 2 produces the main loop sound from at least You Do Scribble and Rowla. it's also used on the bleeping loop in the middle of cowgirl. Rick also uses it as an input keyboard to the vocoder on BoyBoyBoy and Airtowel (and TMO, if things go wrong with Karl's guitar - that happened in Hamburg this year).

That's exactly what he's doing. He also uses the Nord to play the lead synth in Beautiful Burnout and occasionally uses the vocoder over top of Cowgirl. Being the audiophile/gear nerd that I am, I really wish they would show more of Rick during the live video streams. The feed from Tokyo was nice with the one or two boxes on him the whole time, but I'd love to just watch he and Darren for a whole show.
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[khouri]

It'd be brilliant if Underworld filmed an in-studio, step-by-step walkthrough of the performance of a song, something standard like Nuxx or Cowgirl.