Norns

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#363

There is a lot you can do with norns without the grid.

You could look at is as a -
Pedal board - each script being its own pedal fx

Looper - lots of cool loopers in there

Synth - some of the synth engines hold up equally well to proper VA’s out there. Not Nord class, maybe, but definitely good enough to be a workhorse if you’re into their sound.

Out there kit - some of the scripts on norns just do things really differently, and take you to interesting places just because.

Source for samples - record something into norns, external or from its own scripts, do something with it in another script, sample it into your workstation, if that’s a daw, a hardware kit or whatever, and use it. It’s a great source for just doing funky stuff with source material, like a Chase Bliss Blooper or Mood.

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#364

That’s the part I’m interested in. I’m looking for an all in one box that does weird stuff. The Norns looks like a good partner for my Octatrack, Rytm or Ableton Granulator. Thank you, guys.

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#365

That’ll be the Norns! I’d say it’s been the single most inspiring and intriguing thing I’ve encountered in the last two years or so, and one which has quickly become key to all manner of new audio adventures.

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#366

I pulled the trigger and bought a stock norns. It arrived today and it was the first time I didn’t understand how to switch on a device. I am preparing for a long journey. :upside_down_face:

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#367

Keep us updated on your adventure : )

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#368

Become a disciple of the lines community.

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#369

It very well may switch you on!

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#370

i never actually thought about this and it could be a legit annoyance

if you haven’t already found the info: hold key 1 (circular button above the screen) for 1-2 seconds

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#371

I already am.

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#372

Gonna be building a Norns this weekend (or rather, a friend will be live streaming the build on Twitch while I do a live hardware performance in the background). It seems insanely hard to find any basic tutorials on it as everything comes off so cryptic and confusing. Haha. Guess I’ll be quite busy for a while!

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#373

This is the thing with open-ended hardware. What is it you’d like to know in particular?

Lines is a good place to start if you’ve not visited already, and the monome.org website does at least have the basics for how to get started.

I must admit it was a bit of a plunge into the mysterious and unknown when I decided to get involved with Norns, but now it’s probably the hardware I use the most, especially for controlling other devices.

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#374

I don’t know what I want to know! Haha. I def. want to integrate my Launchpad Pro MK3 into it. I plan on watching a bunch of videos and reading the Lines stuff, but both of them are so deep with so much info that it can be hard to parse through.

I mainly like the idea of generative sequencers, loopers and sampling, and some synthesizing.

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#375

I’ve built a Norns DIY shield.

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#376

You can find many videos on Vimeo, but not on Youtube. I bought a second-hand Norns last week and it was a bit difficult to get it to work. I had to update it and it wasn’t always clear why something wasn’t working the way I wanted it to. But after playing with the scripts for a few days, I’m in love with the thing. I have to thank @glia for his help during my initial phase in the Monome cosmos. :medal_sports:

Here you find all the scripts and the platform for file management: http://norns.local/maiden/
All of the basic infos are on this page: norns | monome/docs

The possibilities of audio manipulation with scripts like “glaciers” or “barcodes” are what I have been looking for a long time.

I recorded this snippet today. It’s a generative orchestral track I made with Ableton. I routed the audio to Norns, recorded and tweaked the sound with the barcode script and sent it back to Ableton. It’s so simple and I really love the result.

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#377

hey @slicetwo (and anybody thinking of trying norns) i’d be glad to help you navigate the maze while learning :slight_smile:

honestly, if you are already a bit confused i’d strongly advise against going about things kinda randomly

@ARVE shared a great link and i’ll note something you might have missed….norns manual is hosted online

that’s the main hub for any info you might need and catalogues several other helpful links with tutorials and guides

for example, if you are looking for what’s possible, the manual page explains a few (community scripts + mods | monome/docs) and then leads to the main site where you can read about em (https://norns.community/)

going straight to the community site has a few advantages:

  • all apps can searched by tag or app creator/author ( so you can browse generative apps, sequencers, loopers, samplers, and synths that are available for norns)
  • the info is always accessible (maiden, the web editor which handles file transfer for your device, has a similar list but will only be visible if your norns is on & connected to wifi)

you might already find something you wanna try but have additional questions (for example as you noted above…is your launchpad pro mk3 compatible with norns??)

searching this thread (!) can be a great source of info regarding common questions…so whether you entered “launchpad” here or searched lines forum you would find the same answer: yes, the your launchpad will already work with norns because of an app called Midigrid

going a bit deeper ~>
the first link in the manual is a printable reference pdf (https://monome.org/docs/norns/norns-first.pdf) that literally explains and names the i/o ports, how to boot norns to turn it on (as @ARVE tried to figure out last week) , the menu system, and tells ya which app loads by default

the next page in the manual is a more in depth version of that reference with many great tips (like this mini glossary of core terms which could confuse you )

subsequent pages explain the file management system, midi configuration & settings, and several tutorials (starting with 9 step-by-step studies and examples contributed by other users)

don’t skip this stuff!
if you go through most of it in order you’ll be pretty solidly grounded

20 Likes
#378

I love you. No, seriously, this is, hands down, one of the best replies to any forum post I have ever received. Thank you. I will be looking over it all and figuring everything out in time. Much much much appreciated!

I’ve seen a bunch of the main docs you pointed out, so I’ll be sure to read them more closely. I’m in no rush to learn the new gear, but, as is common, I’m also in a huge rush to become a master :slight_smile:

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#379

very cool :slight_smile:
at any point if you feel stuck or confused feel free to shoot me a msg here or via dm

have fun!

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#380

Hi @glia. Today I wanted to transfer audio files to Norns but I have no clue how to do it. Does it work with maiden?

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#381

Does anyone know when the Norns Shield will be available again to purchase?

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#382
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