A video about Blockhead (experimental digital audio workstation)
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- Опубліковано 21 вер 2023
- Blockhead is a work-in-progress experimental audio production program intended for music making and sound design. I tried my best in this video to explain how Blockhead differs from traditional DAWs. Thanks for watching.
Alpha builds of Blockhead are available for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Patreon: www.patreon.com/colugomusic - Наука та технологія
There is soooo much innovation in this thing. I love this approach. Granted it might not have the full suite of what a traditional songwriter might want - is is far superior to traditional DAWs for pure sound design and experimentation. I would imagine an electronic music maker or movie sound designer or game sound maker would love this
You're super right!! As someone who works in game audio and is also generally a huge sound design nerd, I'm unbelievably excited for this daw. oh my god
@@WangleLine love your experimental sound design!
Andy Morin would go nuts on this thing
Andy here, I am going nuts on this thing @@fifanmennensu
@@WangleLine WANGLE LINEEEEE ❤❤(you are always everywhere)
As a hobby musician and programmer, this is blowing my mind in two ways.
as he said himself in the video "please don't think too hard about how this is implemented, it will destroy your brain" 😂
I wonder if they will open source this ✨
gei
@@joshuachan6317 I love open source, but not going to be disappointed if they don't. Sometimes you gotta get paid for the work you do, and this must take a lot of effort to maintain, but the results speak for themselves.
This is absolutlely brilliant...you know that feeling when producers make a mistake that leads to them discovering a cool sound they never would've thought of...this daw is pretty much designed for producers to make those sorta mistakes, again absolutely fuckn brilliant.
Insane. I don't know if people will make songs fully in it, but for sound design this is probably the quickest easiest workflow that's even possible
full songs being made as we speak
Also no software can be everything to all people. This fills a hell of a niche that’s been missing. Keep going. This kind of thing truly excites me
you have no clue how excited i am about this, this design is incredibly forward thinking
hell yeah
I clicked on red clickbait arrow. Was not disappoint. You have created new Thing. Thank you for doing that and also for red clickbait arrow.
God bless red clickbait arrow
This is INSANE. This is so far removed from the textwalls of traditional daws. And the backround recording is such an awesome feature.I almost always choke when the record button is turned on.
Love the ability to basically put a lot of things into a macro block and basically make infinitely many sub universes of sound
Looks and sounds really cool, I'm excited to try it out at some point!
*Timestamps:*
0:00 concept of Blockhead (?)
2:31 tempo guides
5:05 cloning (Ctrl+Shift+C)
6:06 manipulators
7:16 parameters and plugins
10:53 more manipulators
12:06 input buffers
13:14 scrubbing
14:11 granular resynthesis
15:49 bouncing
16:19 macros
18:04 macros and manipulators
19:48 effects
22:19 slicing
23:44 midi (WIP)
24:40 choke
26:19 drag to macro
26:30 nested macros
27:53 macro input
28:45 manipulators inside macros
29:46 send/receive buses
31:00 alpha build access
31:33 "babbling"
If I got any of these wrong feel free to correct me lol
(Also wanted to mention that you seem absolutely genuine about all this and I love it :D )
Did you make this for Burial? 🙃 Looks sick, I wish Bitwig had this kind of arranger timeline...
Omg i thought the same thing
Haha I thought so too
Looking for this comment as soon as I started watching this video. Blockhead's like some weird hybrid offspring of Soundforge with awesome looping tools. Producers will love it. DJs will denounce this as heresy. 🤣😂
My first thought also :D
reminds me of CoolEdit Pro, and how I used it in radio spots/IDs@@killorfill6953
The ramifications are beyond my understanding...
Something tells me that this software will kick off some new really crazy genre of music. Looking forward to see that.
I may not necessarily be the intended demographic as the music I make is primarily based around live instrumentation, but my initial foundation was in electronic music, and this is so creatively inspiring. the lack of a set tempo for the early arranging process is such a freeing concept for songwriting in-daw, the idea of this fully visualizable top-down signal chain is so intuitive, and the ability to so efficiently compartmentalize the building blocks of a song through macros feels like it would be such an incredible augmentation to my workflow. I rarely ever make two comments on one video haha, but this absolutely warranted it. amazing work.
Major DAWs don't require a "set tempo". Try to use one sometime.
Any other DAW that has quantise on by default (or if you accidentally turn it on) has a button you click to turn it off.
If you can't be bothered to read the instructions simply Google your DAWs name and type the word "quantise" and it will show you the button to turn off quantise. It's something a 7 year old child can figure out so you'll be ok.
@@bardsamok9221I was kind of thinking this as well
@@bardsamok9221Yeah, I don't really get the appeal of this DAW. I often switch up the tempo halfway through production and I like to turn off snapping to grid to give a more human feel to everything
I hope you are aware how many peoples dreams you make come true... I actually shouted at a few points and flapped my hands cause I couldn’t just only watch what I see and accept it... I had to express my wonder... it’s hard to find words, holy moley you have gifted the experimental music world with something truly amazing. This sets a benchmark. And it’s a one guy operation.... Its all about dedication, that is what this shows again so wonderfully. Focus and a will to create ❤❤❤❤❤❤ I cant even comment on single features, all of it is just BONKERAGEOUSLY WONDERMENTAL !!!!!
0_0 Whooo-Aaaahhh! Geezer music dork here... You have given me hope for the future. So good. The future of DAWs. Or... You could make a VST that someone could run inside of their DAW of choice. A truly creative space, right. Create the 'block', 'sample', groove', vocal line, whatever and just drop your creation on a track in the DAW. Something like this would be wonderful for DAWs that SUCK at working with samples. This is sooo fast! Dude... Keep on kickin' ASSSS!
This is a very innovative DAW. Also, the workflow seems incredibly intuitive unlike a lot of other software. This has a lot of potential. I can see myself transitioning to Blockhead!!!
I feel like the whole video you’re like “i don’t know if this is making any sense” and I’m just like “oh my god this is amazing!” I’m super excited to try this out, such an incredible free-form architecture you’ve created! I’ve been longing for this!
i LOVE the way effects are handled. this would be insane for sketching out songs. stuff like the permanent buffer recording and the looseness with which you can apply effects and stuff is awesome, feels like a really unique blend of destructive and non-destructive workflows
okay yeah this is utter genius. I use FL and i'm amazed by how many unaddressed needs you perfectly hit on here. i think the only really difficult thing is lacking compatibility with vst stuff is gonna require that you or your community builds out tons of miscellaneous stuff and can't benefit from the current ecosystem as much. still gonna try it tho
Do you really need an VST with tools like these?
@@SimpleTrax yeah. I tried making stuff in blockhead a bit and was definitely missing some vsts. a lot of the same stuff could be done but is more arduous to do.
Wow, I'mwitnessing something absolutely new in the world of DAW at its brith! This experimental approach and the freedom.. it's like drawing with sound. immediately subscribed on Patreon. Can't wait to try it out
I have no musical background but i love to mess around with music software and hardware. What you have made is incredible looking, the ability to create on the fly and adjust each sound so quickly is exactly what someone like me needs. I want to go in, play around and hopefully find something that sounds good and build from there. Great work, hope you keep developing this further
I always wanted multiple simultaneous BPMs in a project. This is super innovative in many ways and I'm incredibly excited how it develops in the future.
this is actually insane.
"you can layer two beat grids, i don't know why you'd want to do that"
I know exactly why i'd want to do that! Polyrhythms!
I really love the consistency of the ideas, e.g. if you can make macros out of stuff, and macros are stuff then you can make macros out of macros. The same philosophy seems to apply throughout, and it's really refreshing.
This is crazy good, I don't think I've ever seen so many innovative and unusual features in a digital audio workstation
This is insane. I can't imagine how much work you put into this. It's really inspiring to see so much innovation from just one person. Can't wait to see the final product.
10000% more intuitive than being limited to a fixed tempo grid
This has got to be my favourite style of demonstrating something I've ever seen. "Please don't think too hard about how this is implemented it will destroy your brain".
I find this unquantized workflow with all of these crazy non-destructive options to be mind-blowing. Will definitely have a go at it.
I used to make personal music as a side hobby, wasn't amazing at it...I haven't touched music in a long time. But seeing a program like this with all of these capabilities and smart ideas blows my mind...I wanna try this thing someday. Coming from video editing, this setup makes so much sense to me...the splicing especially, revealing the "cut" section of a track is very similar to Sony Vegas. Often to do crazy blends and cuts in audio tracks I would just take it out of the DAW and import it into Sony Vegas where it's just much easier. I think something you should think about implementing is the quick ability to fade out the beginning and ends of tracks...I know that's what a manipulator can do but having a manipulator track on top of every single track you want to fade would get convoluted, it would be nice if it was just built into every audio track's UI like in video editing programs. In Sony Vegas they let you scale the fade and select the curve you want.
Yes there is a UI for doing this already (quickly adding a fadein/fadeout at the edges of blocks) but i didn't show it off very well in the video.
REAPER also has that fade workflow for audio tracks, you can drag at the edges and immediately create a fade, right click a fade to change the curve, and fades are automatically created when you drag one thing over another... currently I always go to REAPER for splicing for the same reasons you use Vegas! And yeah the video editor comparison makes a ton of sense
12:33 this auto Stop for the mic is INSANE! as a youtuber who edit tones of videos, this DAW is not just for Musicians. it can be used for video editors as well!
It have A LOT of potentional. Love it!
Bro, this guy talks like an actual dev does.
And this thing looks freaking coool.
This is the most excited I've been about music production software since I saw FL for the first time in 2008. Brilliant idea. I've wanted something like this for years but modular DAWs like Buzz haven't agreed with me and ended up feeling more limiting than freeing. I continue to use FL because of its wide open playlist where you can just throw down whatever midi or audio etc, though it still creates unnecessary complexity for this type of temporal thinking. This feels like how I've always wanted the FL playlist to work, the level of control and encapsulation is mad in a beautifully inspiring way. Can't wait to get my hands on this. Thank you for innovating and sharing your ideas with the world.
This project solves multiple problems I've had with traditional daws and trackers since 12 years ago. Latching control over reverbs or "effects" (default off as ofposed to default on). Temporal control and feedback of sends and receives like modular. Native pitching of tracks like a dedicated digital console. Subordinate "blocks" like objects in animation software. I never thought I would see the day where someone set out to this the right way. There's still a long ways to go to correct the naive design decisions of music arranging software. But this is perhaps the biggest leap in innovation of these past 10 years. You have my full support.
This is so creative, it might bring forth new music GENRES(!). Exciting.
This is amazing!
My favorite DAW is Caustic 3 for android. It's midi focused but there's something special about how you can easily get in a flow state while using it. This is the first thing I've seen that looks similarly "comfy" like Caustic, even though it's a totally different concept.
This is some crazy, unique masterpiece of creation software. Outstanding work! I can't wait to see what other insane brilliance you build into it. You should feel immensely proud of what you've accomplished so far.
I started off this video not knowing if how I felt about this. But I’m not halfway through and gotta say man this is truly something NEW in our community. Can definitely see the potential in this and also think the younger generation would really enjoy it
Great job! I probably wouldn't be able to change my old habits and use this as my goto DAW for making music but it looks like a great tool for creative sound design sessions when you want to make something fresh or a starting point when you're stuck without any ideas and need some extra inspiration. Honestly, I can imagine Blockhead as a plugin or some kind of sandbox mode built into another DAW you use as a sketchpad for your music. You could design your sample/loop or whatever and when it's ready you can just drag it into a playlist in your DAW as a single waveform, but still have the power to edit it in the Blockhead window at any time
I love the way effects are handled. It looks so easy to just drop them in when needed rather than having them run constantly across a track. Can't wait to play with this!
PS: Thank you for putting this out into the world.
5:05 This is me literally every time I try to show someone what I'm programming xD
The granular synthesis that you said would sound awful was actually instantly cool. I loved it.
As a noise and experimental electronic musician, I am obsessed with this.
The handling of tempo was sexy as someone who does a lot of film scoring
This is insane! Sidechaining would be so fun and easy in this. Just create a macro that contains an amplitude modulator and then multiple different "parent-macros" for the different beats and stuff...
That recursive self referencing macro behaviour is pretty neat. I also came up with something very similar to this but in a completely different field.
This is absolutely incredible. You are creating the future of sound design here. I am so excited to see where you take this ❤
Haven't even watched the video yet, but that thumbnail is just.... *chef's kiss*
I absolutely love this! I can remember thinking of exactly this some time ago and wondering why it didnt exist. Its like a tracker but for the modern era. Just brilliant
Very insightful - the difference here is that you start unquantized while with a tracker you are always bound to the subdivision of the pattern length - and you can of course mess with delays and start offsets, but it’s the default state here. I made some great stuff in the first version of Sonic Foundry Acid where I only had samples - this looks like that and I’d love to explore it.
I clicked solely because you were honest enough about the thumbnail clickbait arrow and youtube mugface and I appreciate that.
Only this demo in an experimental alpha takes you to the Olympus of innovation and sonic experimentation. You're 10 years ahead of current DAWs (Reason user here by the way).
I really wish only one of the dozens of features were implemented. I shake your hand because I find myself in front of an authentic genius. And if you ever market this thing you will have me as a customer for sure! Cheers!
this has a lot of potential for soundtracks for films, videogames etc. the idea where you have tempo guides but no global tempo makes it easy to line things up with what’s going on in the media. as long as you can automate the tempo guides and make them gradually get faster or slower.
This is insane. Something I have seeked for a long time. No grid, just blank canvas.
a daw with swag
That soundwave sculpting s gorgeous
Only clicked because of the enticing thumbnail, stayed because of the innovation.
This is the most exciting thing I've seen in audio in YEARS!!!
Genius!!
So excited about this! Patreon here I come!!!
Really sick, any plans to make this open-source? I would still pay for this
This is such a unique sound design workflow, I think you may want to target this at movie / experimental sound designers. its kindof a dream workflow
i love this limitlessness and this whole 'acts like u would expect' kinda concept.
Love the idea of this. Can't wait to give it a try. This treats the DAW like a tool for music creation, not a tool for recording. I like that.
The thumbnail magically brought this to my timeline and I hate that that is what it takes for me to find a cool project like this lol
this is amazing ! really love the progress you've made ! brilliant ! looking forward to the next steps you take. am glued !
This is bonkers and untterly brilliant! Really looking forward to see what you do with this.
man this is awesome, so much creative freedom, can't wait to see how wicked this is when it's finished considering how sick it is already
I've been following this project for years, thanks for your work.
everything is really innovative and its impressive how much work youve done. love your approach
I love it, such an innovative approach - I could really see myself doing some explorative sound design in this daw
Beautiful! Such a wonderful setup to design crazy awesome sound experiments!!❤️❤️❤️
This is sick, thank you for making something nice for recording improvised passages.
I love the concept, and look forward to seeing how the project turns out.
This is something that I've always wanted in a Daw for sound design and sir this is amazing! Can't wait to try it, keep up the great work.
This is absolutely brilliant! very exciting , can't wait to try it out. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
this is gonna be absolutely great. will be in my focus from now on. GREAT WORK!
i will absolutely be hitting up the Patreon for this. this looks super cool and honestly would be such a fun application to use for this album concept i've had in mind.
This is incredibly cool, that bit at 2ish minutes about choosing tempo first is something i've always stumbled with when starting a track!!
i love your thinking in this daw, it really forces different things to happen. It is groundbreaking. So happy I found this today!
Fascinating captain. Your descriptions were very clear BTW. I'm very excited to try this. Thank you.
I can't imagine that this is the kind of thing you could use to create Despacito or record a 4-piece rock act. But as a creative tool for sitting down with and not knowing where the hell you're going to end up, I can't think of anything like it. Seems absolutely amazing. It's like the difference between buying Serum and playing with a modular synth.
Excellent work. It shines through. It was so fun to watch. Exciting!
Remember seeing bits of this that you uploaded on twitter a while back but really cool to see how far its come along!
This is like you took the ideas of what a DAW should be from my brain and actually implemented them. I absolutely LOVE what you've done and hope that you can continue to make progress on it!
Completely creative and out-of-the-box thinking! Can't wait to see where this is going. Potentially a game changer in the way we are used to creating music. keep up this great work!
Yeah honestly this looks incredible just picked it up! I love it keep up the great work!
Truly a gifted human being sharing your gift with the world. I for one am inspired and grateful. Keep up the amazing work!
The pitch and stretch algos are fantastic , handles the scaling very well ! cheers , glad to be part of the journey of this DAW now !
singed up for Patreon !
The is absolutely BRILLIANT. Thank you for your work. I'm gonna create a Patreon account just to support this project. Please keep on going. The world need it.
Your introduction with the tempo directly sold me to this different approach, I'm not trough the video yet, but I'm sure you're on to something! Thank you for doing this.
@colugo This looks absolutely bonkers. What a masterpiece of a start!
This is so cool, really awesome approach on structure and workflow
The sheer speed of responsiveness alone is mind-blowing. Just knowing this work flow can exist is making me feel a level of stress relief from working in some of these other slower DAW workspaces
There are so many incredibly refreshing ideas here that get to the heart of why I've bounced off every other daw I've tried but love working in tape or audacity or loopers or other more free-form recording media -- very excited to play around with this!
i absolutely love this project to bits. I've had these struggles with daws my entire life, or like I'll have a melody in my head and then I have to work backwards and figure out what the tempo and time signature is, it just never aligns with my creativity. this project is so innovative, i can't wait to try it out!
@15:30 ish "non of is gonna sound good btw"
Wtf, that was some insanely cool sounds, absolutrly delish
all the sorries and self deprecation makes me want to hug u dude. this is amazing.
hug accepted
Awesome new and creative approach for an DAW! Great work. I wish you all the best finishing it to your liking and cant wait to give it a try.
Idk if I’ll use it to do whole songs but as a sound design sample generation tool this is really really exciting. The built in noise envelope is genius. Thank you so much for building this, it must be so much work.
Christmas has come early this year! I am not sure how this popped up on YT for me but I am eternally grateful. Incredibly stimulating and I haven't even downloaded yet. Just signed up with Patreon. This is the most exciting thing I have seen since I attended the first ever electronic music course at Chiswick Music Centre (annexe of poly) using a Putney, Cricklewood & Revox back in 1975. I cannot wait to try out! Thank a million :-)
I've been a supporter for a few months now and a lurker for even longer. At one point I lost track of your twitter (where I found out about Blockhead in the first place) for what must have been over a year and a half and I'm so glad I found a post of your's on there again. This is indispensable as a tool for sound design! I primarily use Renoise and I and others have been begging them for a proper manual control of the playheads in the sampler to do weirder real-time granular style stuff, and while I love Renoise to absolute death (been using it for 15 years now) the team behind it doesn't seem like they're bringing that feature in any time soon. So, with that, thank you. I'm gonna keep supporting and getting a ton of life out of this.
absolutely incredible work sir. looking forward to it's future development, and I beg of you please keep this IP and build it organically if the big names come knocking with $$$, you're truly onto something here.