How to programme a TB303 (or similar) from a patch sheet

sm2n Music ,

I made this video Jul 2022, but forgot to post it to my blog.

In this video I demonstrate, in exhaustive detail, how to programme a Roland TB303 (or Behringer TD3, or equivalent) from a patch sheet.

I was given this Behringer td3 as a present. It’s a recreation of the Roland tb303, and the programming method is the same. I watched a few tutorial videos to try and find out how to program it, but everything i made was rubbish, so I thought: I will find out how to use these patch sheets that I’d seen on the internet*. I thought if I can programme one of those into my td3, maybe it will sound half decent.
I tried to figure out how to do it, and I couldn’t find any video tutorials that showed how, so I thought: if I try to work it out, and make a video, then I’ll learn along the way. And hopefully other people might find it useful as well.

* You can find patch sheets by searching for ‘tb303 patch sheet’, but | like to go to a website called http://www.acidboxblues.com/category/acid-pattern-group

‘Ratio’, an album by CakeFolder

sm2n Music

Imagine 2 tape machines, one running slower and one running 61.8033989% faster. Their relationship is governed by the golden ratio.
A single piece of tape, takes its journey through these 2 tape machines.
A single piece of music, drawn from the golden ratio, is then transformed by the golden ratio, becoming faster, becoming slower, becoming more complex, and becoming sublimely long.

Bonus info: even the colours used in the album art are governed by the golden ratio… these are not just random shades of red, green and blue. And obviously the dimensions of the quadrilaterals.

released March 1, 2023

Only on Bandcamp: https://cakefolder.bandcamp.com/album/ratio

‘Light’, the new album by cakefolder

sm2n Music

My new album, ‘Light’, released on April 24th, 2021. Music by cakefolder. Lyrics by Martin Breedyk. Performed by cakefolder.

Light by cakefolder

Track listing

  1. You Stole the Light [6:59]
  2. 0149 [9:11]
  3. The Geometry of No [3:22]
  4. Gecho Thunder [6:56]
  5. Your Chosen Path [3:55]
  6. Back of the Neck [2:27]
  7. Can’t Get Out [5:31]
  8. A Brush with a Gecho [4:16]
  9. You Stole the Light (Radio Edit) [3:38]

Tracks 1, 3, 5, 9: Lyrics by Martin Breedyk
Track 9 was done specifically for my wife, because she dislikes the long instrumental bits.

Available on:

Amazon
Apple Music / iTunes
Spotify

Preview some of the tracks on YouTube:

‘You stole the light’
‘0149’
‘Gecho thunder’
‘A brush with a Gecho’

The best stuff I’ve done

sm2n Music

What would be the things I would want someone to see first, when they find out I’m a musician? This is a question I’ve been asking myself over the past few months. Here are some suggestions… what do you think? Have I got them right or is there something I missed?

  1. ‘Blue Order’ by Jamfolder …a song I made with my good friend james as our band Jamfolder https://soundcloud.com/jamfolder/blue-order
  2. ‘Baker Street’ …a music video I made with my friend Stephen https://youtu.be/UL_xed-lhyk
  3. ‘Angel/Shirt’ by Cakefolder …2 songs I made, remixed by friends… available in many places such as iTunes Spotify Amazon MP3 Google Play
  4. ‘Anti-social media (Stahlbürste Darling remix)’ by Restructure… my cousin Fred is in the band Restructure, and this is the remix I did of their song
  5. ‘Da ist eine Spinne im Haus’ by Stahlbürste Darling …a song and music video I made… the music is available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Amazon MP3, and many more, but the video is here: https://youtu.be/BRYxmxFTZrI
  6. I also like to do some funny videos as a part of Karaoke Secret Santa, such as https://youtu.be/o5reZhp91Y8

There’s a bunch of other stuff I’ve done, and you can find links to most of it on this blog… so please let me know which of the above do you think is the best stuff I’ve done, or is it something else?

Explore more: Discogs | Cakefolder | Stahlbürste Darling | Jamfolder

In an Echo Chamber (Danger Remix) [feat. Zx85]

sm2n Music ,

Today I released my new single:

In an Echo Chamber (Danger Remix) [feat. Zx85] – Single by Cakefolder.

A political campaign mastermind taunts the people he has manipulated.
A song from the 2018 album ‘Confidence’, radically transformed by the inimitable zx85 in this, the Danger remix.
Original production by Cakefolder.

It’s available on all the usual music stores and streaming services… e.g.

iTunes/Apple , Spotify , Google Play , Amazon

Please check it out!

2018 year in review

sm2n Uncategorized , , , ,

It seems rather self-indulgent, but there’s been a number of cool things this year, so looking back:

January

I released an EP of 2 songs and 3 remixes, called ‘Angel/Shirt’ by Cakefolder. It was released on the 25th, including remixes by Golden Cities, Stahlbürste Darling, and Last Years Man (5-track EP). I actually wrote the 2 songs in February 2017 as part of an unreleased 10-track album.
iTunes CD Baby Spotify Amazon MP3 Google Play Deezer

February

For the 4th year running, I spent my spare time in the month of February writing and producing a new album as part of the RPM challenge, which I would release in March.

March

I released the album ‘Confidence’ by CakeFolder on March 21st.
iTunes / Apple Music Google Play CD Baby Amazon MP3 Spotify

Ride the analogue wave with this whimsical, electronic, minimalist 10-song album about being full of confidence, or lacking confidence, and about taking someone into your confidence.

May

Paul O’Mahony was a member of the committee organising the Safehaven 2018 conference on May 11th to 13th, in Cork, Ireland, and he was kind enough to invite me along to attend. It was my first time in Ireland and my first time meeting Paul, so a huge thrill for me!

June

For a fews years now, it had been a personal goal of mine to speak at a conference in a professional capacity. I joined Toastmasters International in 2016 to start working on my public speaking skills, and in late 2017, having started working for a famous British department store chain, I was invited to speak at eTail Europe on June 19th, at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London. If you’re wondering why April is not listed above, it is because I was preparing and practising my conference speech for June. About 200 people were in my audience, and my friend Thor came along to support me. The speech was a success – so much so that I decided I wanted to do it again, with a few tweaks!

August

This was the month when my employer went into administration, and was ‘rescued’ by a larger British retailer, so I set about trying to find a new job in earnest.

September

Both of the kids started at new schools this month, and all the changes in routine that this implies. They both flourished in their new educational establishments.

Having completed several rounds of interviews, I accepted a fantastic new job, to start late in October. My job at the department store chain suddenly got very interesting, as I relaunched the website, shortly before it was time for me to run the Humorous Speaking and Table Topics contest at my local speakers club, and deliver my new improved version of my conference speech at eCommerceExpo at Olympia London on the 27th.

October

I worked out my last few weeks with the department store chain, even finding time to record this fun video with my dear colleagues, and another one that we would eventually release in December. At the end of the month I started my new job.

November

In my new job I got to visit Berlin and, for the first time, Paris. Another proud first for me was winning Best Speaker at my speakers club, for this speech.

December

To commemorate the sad moment when my ex-colleagues at the department store chain would vacate our old head office, we released this video, which we filmed in an around the office, for my cover version of the famous song named after the famous street where the office was located.

I also participated once again in Karaoke Secret Santa, making a cover version of Livin’ On A Prayer and as a special bonus, with Jana, a cover version of Sovereign Light Cafe.