Buzz

Jeskola Buzz Tracker Description

The ultimate audio tracker tool :). This tracker generates sound, produced by so called "machines". This can be sampled data, or real-time generated data. If you ever used Tracker on the Amiga or it's many other clones, such as Impulse Tracker on windows you will find half of this program to be very familiar. If you are fond of fruity loops, rebirth and many other synth based audio production software you will be blown away by what's possible with Buzz... though don't expect it to win you over with ease of use or a pretty face. It's possibly the ugliest and hardest to learn audio sequencing app ever made. Though certainly nothing has ever come close to it's greatness.

Features:

• Sample based input and squencing (done on sample level)
  
• Synth generation with attribute squencing (done on synth attribute level)
  
• Effects chain patching and squencing (per effect attribute level)
  
• Master Squencer
• HD Output
• Notes field
• Visual effects patching system

The power in this software is that every aspect from every attribute of every machine is squencable. Also the synth quality and effects chain quality is fantastic.

Running Jeskola Buzz Tracker on Linux
The ultimate insult is when MS upgrades its OS and alienates old software that its users rely on. Buzz is a one in a million program that's too weird to remake and too good to let die. It was made for Windows 98, which appears to be most of its problem. It's like having the greatest race car driver and the slowest race car with a worthless pit crew.

How to make it work: (thanks to flavor8.com)

• Get Buzz and it's machines as well as install instructions here
  http://flavor8.com/index.php/2005/10/15/buzz-tracker-on-linux/

• Download buzz base installer. Note that this is one of the only binaries which actually work. Updated versions may have problems.
• Run: wine buzz_base_install.exe
• cd ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Buzz
• wine buzz.exe

EXTRA: Here you will also find a tar.bz2 containing most all the machines - samplers, synths, reverbs, choruses, Download it here. and then manually copy the gears folder to the ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/Buzz folder (again thanks to Flavor8.com)

It's advisable to to save early and safe often. Occasionally adding a machine to your song will crash Buzz. Note this has always been the case and is not due to Wine or Linux. Please leave a bug report here if you find a machine which does so.

Here & here are sample loops which Flavor8 has made to demonstrate how everything fits together. Mix out some of the channels to get a feel for how you could use this live.

Note that Buzz does support direct HD audio output as well, in MS PCM Wav of coarse.

The funny part about all this is that Buzz works better under Wine on Ubuntu than it ever did on Windows 98!

Do note that the screen shot has a windows vista desktop background :P 

Application Details:

Developer:	Jeskola
URL:	http://www.buzzmachines.com/

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