Error 303, anyone?
Computation is everywhere – phones, tablets, watches (apparently), and yes, browsers in all of those places. And that computational power can be harnessed to completely distract you from doing real work in the office — um, I mean, make music.
“Acid Machine Beta” is a rather fun implementation of two synths and a drum machine, all running in your browser. The “Randomize” function alone should hook you for a bit. Beyond that, you get a decent complement of synth and percussion controls that could make a reasonable little groove. (Recording isn’t directly possible, but you could route audio from your browser to another app.)
I’ve tested the app in all the browsers I have here. Google Chrome/Chromium, as advertised, works best. Firefox is working, too, though UI activities can make sound skip. Safari is not functioning. It’s a start – maybe not enough to justify buying that new Google Chromebook Pixel, but a nice proof of concept.
If you want other stupidly-fun ways of accessing acid, we’ve got you covered.
There’s the Skinnerbox Sting for Ableton Live and Max for Live. It’s free, it’s fun, it’s totally addictive.
Sting will get you started. But in Max for Live, it’s tough to beat the sophisticated EvilFish 303. First introduced a couple of years ago, it’s been completely re-built and expanded since. It’s a 303, but with additional sound shaping and overdrive added – a bit like having all the mods for the original 303 and a lot of modernization to boot. And there’s a pattern generator, too.
It’s kind of ridiculous, actually, like the kind of thing you wouldn’t want to tell anyone else about. Or even that you might not want to know about yourself. But look at it this way: this is the cure to those dark moments when you feel uninspired and can’t start something. Let this EvilFish come to your aid, friend.
The EvilFish 303 is in a bundle with lots of other goodies, too:
Just remember, kids, when you’re playing with these tools, to play it safe. Make sure that you don’t “copy the defining funk of the cowbell accents” of any music you’ve ever heard before, or you could get in trouble with the po-po.
Thank you, David Abravanel.