Thingamagig thread

[qlc89hz]

ALWAYS IMPROVING AND ADDING SESSIONS - SKIP TO THE END!



More info and getting started: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thingamagig_base

I'll use this thread to post new demo and instructional videos.

Please feel free to POST YOUR OWN THINGAMAGIG RESULTS and ask questions about the project here.

[qlc89hz]

Goodbye Moonmen from Rick and Morty

https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... ye_moonmen

Eventually Thingamagig will have an acoustic simulator so you don't ever have to switch guitars.

[qlc89hz]

Stone Temple Pilots - Still Remains

This is a live gig at a bar in Lexington KY from last year (2018). This version of Thingamagig relied on Helix and Variax for automatic guitar modeling and tuning changes (like Drop D, etc) which were nice, but had the major drawbacks of being reliant on external equipment and having that equipment be very expensive.

The Still Remains session repo (https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... ll_remains) was redone in the new Thingamagig (no external equipment required) format, relying on Guitarix instead.

[qlc89hz]

What's the frequency, Kenneth?

https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... cy_kenneth

(That's a guitar I made out of AOL CDs in the 90s.)

[qlc89hz]

Soundgarden - Fell on Black Days

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... black_days

Getting started with Thingamagig: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thingamagig_base

Notes: As of today, Thingamagig can only fade OUT and only in WHITE. There aren't enough MIDI notes on a single channel to do all colors both fading in and out. And then when you factor in fade in/out speeds (does it fade out in .5 sec or 5 sec) you can get into infinite combinations. Maybe one day I'll add more fading options, but for now, this session makes heavy use of a short white fade to solid effect, I think.

[qlc89hz]

Theme song to the first Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movie. Love it.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... lback-hero

This session is interesting in that it sends commands to an external VoiceLive 2|3 [touch] device for harmonies (throughout) and doubling (min 2:38). While I did overdub my vocals so they don’t suck as much, all the effects are still generated in real-time. Still no post-processing. And obviously this vocal effects device is entirely optional.

The Gretsch sparkle looks amazing in the lights in real life, but the video pixelation ruins it. Boooo.

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = free and open source guitar karaoke
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thingamagig-stp-plush

Nothing new here, except maybe the fog. And headphones. Added some compression to my vocal processor (not in the session).

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke, based on Ardour and QLC+
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... cture_show

This is a pretty straightforward session. Only one guitar tone, no solo. (I mean, there is a solo, but because the backing chords only appear once, they weren't loopable for a solo breakout. I guess one could solo over the bass line, so have at it.) The guitar rhythm is herky-jerky which makes singing and playing simultaneously very, very difficult. I mean, there's a reason STP has/had a dedicated singer. So, I added a guitar looper for the verse chords in case you want to do that. Otherwise, just delete the looper plugin.

I got the fog consistency pretty close to correct, IMO; a nice haze.

Enjoy!

[qlc89hz]

Looper fun! New location! Smudge on the lens was not planned, but... kinda welcome?

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... _go_my_way

[GGGss]

Is this becoming your personal corner in this forum now?
Since no one reacts or asks questions or responds to nothing ... I guess there isn't much animo for your product over here...

[qlc89hz]

Two tones, no loopers, standard tuning. This song is harder than it seems due to the way some chords hit on the half-beat and others don't. I didn't get them all, to be sure, but my guitar prowess (or lack thereof) is not the point of these videos. Still waiting for someone to make use of my Ardour sessions (and QLC config) and post a video! Come on! You can do it! Almost 50 sessions to choose from in my github.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... uary_stars

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with optional lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Try this session! https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... head-creep
QLC+ config file here: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thingamagig_base

The main plucked guitar phrase gets recorded out of the gate and then replayed for most of the rest of the song. I probably should have played the melody on top of it instead of the weird strumming you see here, but then that would leave the chorus without a melody. Meh whatever.

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... _were_here

Lots of new stuff here.
1. Got a Rotosphere to replace the disco ball. It doesn't look as nice, but it's a single self-contained unit vs the ball, multiple lights pointing at it, tripods and DMX cable runs. Much easier.
2. No drum lights this time. I forgot to plug the bulbs into the dimmer.
3. There is a frontman light. It's the par in the rack pointed at me. Note it's mostly white and occasionally dims.
4. Cell phone audio. Sorry. It's easier and considering how bad the MIDI toms sound, it's probably for the best.
5. This session has automated harmonies through a Voicelive, but I need to find a decent singer first.
6. This configuration is essentially how Thingamagig is intended to be used at home: Press play on the session and then read the chords and lyrics as you go. Makes it easier on me, anyway, bc I suck at remembering chords, structure and especially lyrics. I might just make all my videos this way.

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... k_in_black

Notes:
1. I use a looper for the first phrase so I can solo over it later.
2. Yes, I messed up the structure on the bridge. Decent recovery though, right?
3. New drum lights. Now they are consolidated into one thing (a dimmer with bulbs) instead of 4 pinspots + mounting + pointing + DMX + lots of power cords.
4. I am really good at singing Angus-style but didn't want to be too much of a badass. /s /s /s /s /s Hence the improvisational soloing.
5. The drum track had an issue when I recorded this where the hi-hat and ride (I think) were legatized, so one of the lights essentially stays on constantly. I reduced those note lengths to make the light blinkier and committed the change to github.

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... on_a_plain

Notes:
1. All effects are applied in real-time. Doubling, harmonies, etc. There is no post-processing here, which is what makes Thingamagig awesome (IMO)
2. Dear god this took forever. Making my vocals sound non-painful is like rocket science. But this video needed vocals bc of the auto-harmonies involved and the fact that the song is kinda boring without them.
3. There is a fade-out at the end, leaving the vocals in solo. That end part should really have a harmony to it, which I may add to the session later.
4. This session should really use a stratocaster but mine is currently downtuned a half-step and I didn't feel like changing it.

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... eady_to_go

Notes:
1. All effects are applied in real-time. Doubling, harmonies, etc. There is no post-processing here, which is what makes Thingamagig awesome (IMO). (The overdub notwithstanding.)
2. Again, making my vocals sound non-painful is like rocket science and even worse with a female singer. But this video needed vocals bc of the auto-harmonies involved.
3. The intro should be acoustic, but I don't have a simulator plugin yet.
4. There is a looper for the first distorted part after the intro.

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... ece_of_pie

Notes:
1. Looper for the muted riff for soloing later
2. I definitely cannot sing and play this one at the same time.
3. Added a little logo overlay to the video

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... pkins-1979

Red/blue police lights inspired by the video.
Stratocaster for the closest tone, downtuned half a step.
No loops or vocal effects, just an A/B tone switch in proper 90s alt style.

[qlc89hz]

Thingamagig = FOSS guitar karaoke (with lights)
No pedals. No amps. No knobs. No presets. No cost. Any guitar.

Session: https://github.com/cyrusadkisson/thinga ... stic_trees

Notes:
1. I used cell phone audio bc I wanted to use this Rainsong and it doesn’t have electronics. Also I needed an excuse for why my attempt at Yorke-y vocals sucks. Yes, I said “yorke-y”.

2. This is the most basic session possible: just backing and lights. The only guitar effects (should you pipe through the session as I have NOT done here) are delay and reverb, assuming acoustic the whole way through. Feel free to fork and edit if you want dirt starting at “She looks like the real thing”.

3. Wow that frontman light was bright! Gets less intense when the wash turns on after the first verse.

4. I like this camera angle. Sorry for messy apartment. It’s a workshop, people!