Jewel Dirks

The days before Nook came, I thought about how neat it would be to have a big wooly sheep out in the pasture.  I had no idea, however, how massive and incredible his personality would be–how he would change us all.  He is shown here with Kristy, Savanah's mother.

The sounds were all created in Phase Plant.  The opening percussive sounds were a tiny little clip from the very beginning of his call, “J Nook opening growl,” designed from a preset and renamed, “J Nook Julgranular Mallets” with PP’s reverb and delay.  It has a sharp attack and very quick decay and release.  I automated the mix of the amount of delay.   At the end of the piece I bring in the processor by Baby Gear, “Spaced Out,” which gives a more hollow, phaser quality to the knocks.

The slow pad that sneaks in is based on the “J Nook Pad Long,” combined with a wave table developed in Halion and transferred over to Phase Plant, “J Nook Russian.”   I just recorded a low C and Eb, and then added a G.  By chance, that produced a wonderful 5th on those notes.  I automated the mod wheel to control timbre changes.  

Interspersed were low growls, “J Nook Citric Acid,” and hisses, “J Nook Air,” which I ran through the Shimmerverb and Manipulator, giving an exaggerated low sound to his already very low call.

Finally, the low pad “resolved” strangely to the final lush pad, which is simply one note that produces a whole series of bleeps and bloops if I play it on F3.  It only works on that one note.