The links below include software, hardware, and technical resources relevant to sound objects and environments. There is no correct set of tools for working with sound and you will eventually develop a workflow that makes sense to you, but these links are here as a survey, a starting place, and perhaps motivation to try a few techniques that are currently outside of your comfort zone.
Videos/Tutorials
control a sequence of LEDs
Sound / Audio Tools
DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations)
free / inexpensive
- Reaper – multitrack editor (Mac or Windows)
- Ardour – multitrack editor (Mac or Windows)
- Audacity – simple audio editor (Mac or Windows)
- Renoise – a slightly different DAW paradigm (Mac or Windows)
commercial / not free
audio programming environments
free / inexpensive audio effects
- Tal Reverb (free, big, shimmery, ambient bliss, PC/MAC)
- Decent list of free reverb plugins
- List of free delay plugins
miscellaneous audio tools
- Max/MSP Runtime – lets you run but not edit Max patches (free, Mac / Windows)
- Soundhack – great set of spectral and effects tools (Mac only)
- Spear – standalone spectral processing (Mac only)
- TX16WX Sampler – excellent free sampler, highly recommend
- SWS Extension for Reaper – great set of tools to make reaper better
- Rogue Amoeba – swiss army knife audio apps
- Home Recording Studio Guide
Electronics
local stores
-
Lee’s Electronics | Fraser and King Edward – 4131 Fraser St
-
Main Electronics | Main and 29th – 4554 Main Street
-
RP Electronics | 4181 Dawson Street
-
MRO Electronics | Boundary and 1st – 1745 Boundary Road
-
Interior Electronics | Boundary and 1st – 1520 Boundary Road
-
SMI Electronics | Near Willowbrook Mall, Langley
online diy stores
- Adafruit | electronic kits, modules, and other components
- SparkFun | modules and parts for electronic prototyping
- Solarbotics | motors and a range of other components as well
- ServoCity | Robotics, motors, drivers, etc
- Robotshop | Robot Kits and Components
- Pololu | More motors and drivers
large electronics companies
- Digi-Key | electronic components
- Mouser | electronic components
- Jameco | electronic components
- Newark | electronic components
- Seeed Studio | lots of components and modules (China)
- JST | connectors (Japan)
- alibaba express | Chinese distributors
Materials & Supplies
Local Art Supplies
-
Opus Art Supplies | downtown or Granville Island
-
DeSerres | Broadway near Granville
-
Rath Art Supplies | Main near Kingsway
Local Craft Supplies
-
Urban Source | recycled craft materials – relatively inexpensive
-
Dressew | Sewing/fabric/knitting/etc. Huge selection, dirt cheap!
-
Yoko YaYa | Tinseltown Mall. dollar store
-
Daiso | giant dollar store
-
Michaels | everything craft-related, but is expensive.
-
DeSerres | general craft store
local materials
- Dick’s Lumber | Burnaby, wood
- Metal Supermarket | Burnaby, metal
- Windsor Plywood | Granville & Broadway, wood
-
North Star Metal | Metal recycling
-
Capital Salvage | Metal recycling
-
Industrial Plastics & Paints | Richmond
-
Surrey Plastic Works | Plastic sheet/bars. Ask for offcuts.
-
Associated Plastics | Glen Dr just north of Hastings.
-
Robertson Plastics | Surrey
online materials
- MatWeb | various materials
- Inventables | small scale acrylic & other milling materials
- Less EMF | unusual conductive materials
- J. Freeman | plastic and other materials
- Rockler | wood
- Woodcraft | wood
- Online Metals | metals
- McMaster-Carr | big company, all the things
- K&J | Magnets
- Grand Brass | lighting supplies
- ColorCord | lighting supplies
- Sundial | lighting supplies
local hardware stores
-
Home Depot | Terminal Ave (close to ECU)
-
Home Depot | Cambie & 8th
-
Canadian Tire | Cambie & 7th
-
Army and Navy | Hastings Street downtown
Digital Fabrication
companies / software / resources
digital fabrication materials
-
Inventables | Acrylic, woods, vaneer, etc.
-
RepRaper | cheap filament, parts, and electronics for 3D printers.
-
OpenBeam USA | mechanical bits and pieces
-
McMaster Carr | Large catalog of engineering components.
-
Misumi USA | Another giant catalog of components.
Reading / Fun / Miscellaneous
- This to That | advice on adhesives for various materials
- 507 Mechanical Movements
- How does Theo Jansen Mechanism Work?
- Fab Academy Classes
- Nguyen Duc Thang’s Animated Mechanical Models
- My 10 Favorite Mechanical Animations from Wikipedia
- Open Music Labs
-
Woodgears.ca | Online gear calculator
-
Algodoo | Free 2D physics software
- fasteners etc (pdf)
DAWs (Digital Audio Workstations)
free / inexpensive
- Reaper – multitrack editor (Mac or Windows)
- Ardour – multitrack editor (Mac or Windows)
- Audacity – simple audio editor (Mac or Windows)
- Renoise – a slightly different DAW paradigm (Mac or Windows)
commercial / not free
audio programming environments
free / inexpensive audio effects
- Tal Reverb (free, big, shimmery, ambient bliss, PC/MAC)
- Decent list of free reverb plugins
- List of free delay plugins
miscellaneous audio tools
- Max/MSP Runtime – lets you run but not edit Max patches (free, Mac / Windows)
- Soundhack – great set of spectral and effects tools (Mac only)
- Spear – standalone spectral processing (Mac only)
- TX16WX Sampler – excellent free sampler, highly recommend
- SWS Extension for Reaper – great set of tools to make reaper better
- Rogue Amoeba – swiss army knife audio apps
- Home Recording Studio Guide
local stores
-
Lee’s Electronics | Fraser and King Edward – 4131 Fraser St
-
Main Electronics | Main and 29th – 4554 Main Street
-
RP Electronics | 4181 Dawson Street
-
MRO Electronics | Boundary and 1st – 1745 Boundary Road
-
Interior Electronics | Boundary and 1st – 1520 Boundary Road
-
SMI Electronics | Near Willowbrook Mall, Langley
online diy stores
- Adafruit | electronic kits, modules, and other components
- SparkFun | modules and parts for electronic prototyping
- Solarbotics | motors and a range of other components as well
- ServoCity | Robotics, motors, drivers, etc
- Robotshop | Robot Kits and Components
- Pololu | More motors and drivers
large electronics companies
- Digi-Key | electronic components
- Mouser | electronic components
- Jameco | electronic components
- Newark | electronic components
- Seeed Studio | lots of components and modules (China)
- JST | connectors (Japan)
- alibaba express | Chinese distributors
Local Art Supplies
-
Opus Art Supplies | downtown or Granville Island
-
DeSerres | Broadway near Granville
-
Rath Art Supplies | Main near Kingsway
Local Craft Supplies
-
Urban Source | recycled craft materials – relatively inexpensive
-
Dressew | Sewing/fabric/knitting/etc. Huge selection, dirt cheap!
-
Yoko YaYa | Tinseltown Mall. dollar store
-
Daiso | giant dollar store
-
Michaels | everything craft-related, but is expensive.
-
DeSerres | general craft store
local materials
- Dick’s Lumber | Burnaby, wood
- Metal Supermarket | Burnaby, metal
- Windsor Plywood | Granville & Broadway, wood
-
North Star Metal | Metal recycling
-
Capital Salvage | Metal recycling
-
Industrial Plastics & Paints | Richmond
-
Surrey Plastic Works | Plastic sheet/bars. Ask for offcuts.
-
Associated Plastics | Glen Dr just north of Hastings.
-
Robertson Plastics | Surrey
online materials
- MatWeb | various materials
- Inventables | small scale acrylic & other milling materials
- Less EMF | unusual conductive materials
- J. Freeman | plastic and other materials
- Rockler | wood
- Woodcraft | wood
- Online Metals | metals
- McMaster-Carr | big company, all the things
- K&J | Magnets
- Grand Brass | lighting supplies
- ColorCord | lighting supplies
- Sundial | lighting supplies
local hardware stores
-
Home Depot | Terminal Ave (close to ECU)
-
Home Depot | Cambie & 8th
-
Canadian Tire | Cambie & 7th
-
Army and Navy | Hastings Street downtown
companies / software / resources
digital fabrication materials
-
Inventables | Acrylic, woods, vaneer, etc.
-
RepRaper | cheap filament, parts, and electronics for 3D printers.
-
OpenBeam USA | mechanical bits and pieces
-
McMaster Carr | Large catalog of engineering components.
-
Misumi USA | Another giant catalog of components.
- This to That | advice on adhesives for various materials
- 507 Mechanical Movements
- How does Theo Jansen Mechanism Work?
- Fab Academy Classes
- Nguyen Duc Thang’s Animated Mechanical Models
- My 10 Favorite Mechanical Animations from Wikipedia
- Open Music Labs
-
Woodgears.ca | Online gear calculator
-
Algodoo | Free 2D physics software
- fasteners etc (pdf)