Jeskola Buzz

This is an old program, one which was around for around for over a decade, and was made to emulate the look and feel of the Amiga tracker. Upon first using Buzz, you might find it quite confusing especially in the older version as the user interface is very unfamiliar. In the machines view, which is the default, you will see a box that says 'Master' on it. That is the master volume unit, and you plug the other machines into it.

Right-click in that empty space and you'll get a pop-up menu with some options including "new" which will open a submenu when selected. You can choose a generator and it will be automatically plugged into the master unit. If you want to give it some effects like reverb, delay, filter or distort, then create a new effect unit the same way you made the generator. Then, holding , you click on the generator and drag your mouse to the effect unit. That will apply the effect in real time, and there are hundreds of cool generators and effects to download from the Buzzmachines site.

Navigating the program can be quite trying at first, but here's a walkthrough. You start in the machines view, which you can come back to by clicking on the button that has a picture of a square with a hole in its upper left corner. That and other buttons are located above the work area. The button for the pattern editor, which is where you create and edit your musical patterns, looks like an old punch-card and is at the left of the machines button, and the pattern sequencer, which is where you build your song, is at the right of the machines button and has a picture of what looks like a section of roof shingles.

The buttons to the right of that group look familiar: right-facing black triangle for 'play', red circle for 'record' and black square for 'stop'. There's also a button that has a curved-edge rectangle with one arrow on top and two on the bottom - that one can be selected or de-selected, and it controls whether your composition loops. Next to that group is a picture of a table with a zig-zag on it. This is the 'wave table', which is where you load and tweak the sound-samples you've recorded. Next button has the 'blah blah' written on it, and is just for writing notes about your composition. The last button in that group shows a zig-zag with a red 'x' over it, and is a 'panic' button that you can press to disable the audio device, which is useful if you need to free up the sound card or just stop some horrible noise gremlin.

If you need more help, there is a help file that comes with the program. I recommend playing around with this program and experimenting with the different machines that you can find on the site.

Go to Buzzmachines for more information and for some very cool electronic music. There's also a site for a new, updated version of Buzz - Jeskola.net, a message board that is supposed to be 'serious', known as Buzz Church and a Youtube video to help get you familiar with this fine program!

So, try it out, and if you've made a song with this program, send me a link because I would love to hear it!