Bluesynths developer needs synth community help...

[Grimbog]

Hey guys!

Sorry for signing up like this (used to have an account on the old forum), but I'm in need of a little help to get a project off the ground, and am turning to the synth community to get things going. Mods - if this is irrelevant I totally understand, so please edit/move if needed. For those who may not know, I originally developed and designed Bluesynths with Theo back in 2005. My new project is a social network for hobbyists, producers and engineers - I wondered if it would be okay to post a link here? I need beta testers to try it out and give me any feedback on ease of use etc. I won't say the project name unless I get the all clear from you guys, and I'm more than happy to talk in detail.

Its a social project aimed at user generated group-based discussion on studio equipment and synths. Essentially its a place to chat with like-minded music producers and engineers on the everyday use of equipment, and network with other individuals working in the industry.

The reason it is relevant here is that I want synth hobbyists to create groups on the synths they love! I've started creating groups for analogue synths which users can join. That was my original intention, as I've been collecting synths for roughly 10 years now, and whereas Bluesynths was all about reviews posted by the Bluesynths team, I've always wanted a way for people to control their own groups and share their passion for instruments in an open manner. All members of the site can join the groups you create, much like Twitter followers. Anyone who joins a group for a synthesizer can post on its wall, or create discussion topics.

Anyway, I'm rambling so I'm going to stop, but welcome any thoughts on the above. Mods... please let me know if I'm okay to post up more details on the project. I totally respect the forum rules, but you can't blame me for asking a little bit of help. If you liked Bluesynths, you'll love this.

Kindest regards,
Lawrence Eldridge

UPDATE: Admins have very kindly okay'd me to place a link in my signature, so you can visit the beta site via my sig. I really welcome any honest thoughts or opinions on the project here (both good or bad), as I really want to create a place that is easy to use and welcoming to all.

[Alex E]

I love Bluesynths. I'm game.

[Grimbog]

I love Bluesynths. I'm game.

Heh... its a great resource isnt it. Just wish I had the time to update it more. I really want to overhaul Bluesynths on to Wordpress - Its about time it had a new design.

I haven't spoken with Theo for a while, but I might see if he's interested in merging this new project with his.

Alex I'll send you a PM with details now. If a mod okays me posting a name or link on this thread then I'll do so.

[scimmiamk]

I love bluesynth as well
if you need help here I am

[Grimbog]

No worries scimmiamk! Check PM for details.

I love bluesynth as well
if you need help here I am

[otto]

Yeah hope this isn't the end of blue synths. Best reviews out there. Vintagesynth could learn from your model.

[Grimbog]

No worries Otto, I've always loved the Bluesynths project, and still want to update it again at some point - the problem was with the framework I originally used with it - PHP-Nuke was pretty good in 2005, but over time it had some severe limitations. I ended up doing some quite drastic changes to the code.

I think the mentality of using sites has changed. As mentioned above, I'm going to ask Theo if I can merge this new project with the existing Bluesynths database and have everything open to the public. A good website is one with open content, alongside a social network that gives control to the user. A bit like Wiki.

This new website does exactly that, although I'm thinking more holistically with both studio equipment and instruments - it still has articles on the front page, so we can still have site reviewers for equipment, but the beauty of it is that users can also write their own content, or create groups for people to follow - it would need vetting, but I just think it would be quite exciting to have users write their own articles on the things they love most, especially with those you share a common interest with. Other users can then subscribe and comment about the items you post.

Tomorrow I'm going to release a big update that should improve things - each user can now create their own blog, which other users on the system can follow (like twitter). The potential of that is great for open discussion, as you can upload any media you wish - mp3's, jpegs etc.

Ps: Admins have very kindly okay'd me to place a link in my signature, so you can visit the beta site via my sig. I really welcome any honest thoughts or opinions on the project here (both good or bad), as I really want to create a place that is easy to use and welcoming to all. I'm in the process of adding popular synthesizers to the system but if I've missed any then feel free to add them! More importantly, don't be shy to talk about them... thats what I want to encourage.

Yeah hope this isn't the end of blue synths. Best reviews out there. Vintagesynth could learn from your model.

[Grimbog]

Sorry for the downtime if you've been visiting the site - busy adding more things - each member can now create and run fully independent Wordpress blogs. Which means you can all publish synth articles and posts.

[pflosi]

seems like a good idea to me, your site. maybe you could also add some of Theo's reviews for amazona to get more info up there quick...?

[Grimbog]

Thanks pflosi! Glad you like the idea of the project.

Going to do exactly as you suggest - The two synth examples on the front page of the site are articles originally posted on Bluesynths, which I wanted to point Theo to. However after the update I've done I'm going to migrate them in to a Bluesynths blog (hopefully www.studioworkers.com/bluesynths). So members can browse or subscribe to it - as soon as I've finished the blog themes it should make more sense.

[Yoozer]

Bluesynths had some of the best demos; loved reading the reviews.

Bluesynths' reason to lock the demos behind login was so they could save bandwidth, right? I recommend checking out http://soundcloud.com/ if you want to host demos; why reinvent the wheel when there's already a good one? The forums already have enough stories about synthesizers; what lacks are good demos. Synthmania.com does its part, but has more modern gear, while BS had more classics .

[SWAN]

I think this is a cool idea. I dont really like Yahoo user groups tbh. This looks like it could be better...

It would also be an idea to post this in Gearslutz for studio gear and the Electronic Music area of Gearslutz....

[Grimbog]

@Yoozer:
Definitely agree that Bluesynths draw was in its demos! Initially the issue was bandwidth, but now its quite common for websites to host projects on "server farms" which means a lot more bandwidth and hard drive space is available. For now I'm going to keep the server small, but as numbers (hopefully) grow then the server will also grow - need to also consider load balancing if I do this right.

I really like soundcloud - its pretty cool for hosting sound files as you say. Studioworkers uses the Wordpress framework, so it also has support for embedded sound files, although I haven't enabled it just yet as I want to keep things clean for now - but you should be able to embed soundcloud players... so its possible to have playlists.

@SWAN:
Thanks Swan. Definitely think it has potential from a professional networking level. On its first day of release (last week), I did post a discrete topic on Gearslutz under the Products section requesting beta testers. I got a lot of good feedback and members signing up, but the owner (Jules Standen) of Gearslutz removed my post the next day, and gave an infraction citing "fishing". I tried to argue that the project is valid from a community point of view, totally free and of benefit to the industry, but I have a feeling it was removed simply for political reasons, as it allows individuals to create groups on every piece of studio equipment (which is the main aim) - So now on Gearslutz if you type the keyword "studioworkers" then it simply writes "**********". I think the whole thing is immature really, which is why I'm having to rely purely on word of mouth, and time. It will take time, but I have hopes that it will get there. I'm contacting manufacturers and trying to get their support as well. Elektron have replied saying it looks like a cool project and will check it out. I just need to keep at it and encourage people to give it a try.

---

Just done some more updates now... so users can upload youtube videos and images as per usual. Also going to migrate the ENTIRE Bluesynths article-base over to a Bluesynths blog on the site... to serve as an example of what can be done.

[Grimbog]

I recommend checking out http://soundcloud.com/ if you want to host demos; why reinvent the wheel when there's already a good one?

Yoozer - just tried experimenting with Soundcloud on Studioworkers - seems to work really well! Check out the example review for PPG.

http://studioworkers.com/bluesynths/201 ... ve-2-22-3/

I'll pay for the full Soundcloud premium account as I think it would make sense to place all Bluesynths audio on there.

[SWAN]

@SWAN:
Thanks Swan. Definitely think it has potential from a professional networking level. On its first day of release (last week), I did post a discrete topic on Gearslutz under the Products section requesting beta testers. I got a lot of good feedback and members signing up, but the owner (Jules Standen) of Gearslutz removed my post the next day, and gave an infraction citing "fishing". I tried to argue that the project is valid from a community point of view, totally free and of benefit to the industry, but I have a feeling it was removed simply for political reasons, as it allows individuals to create groups on every piece of studio equipment (which is the main aim) - So now on Gearslutz if you type the keyword "studioworkers" then it simply writes "**********". I think the whole thing is immature really, which is why I'm having to rely purely on word of mouth, and time. It will take time, but I have hopes that it will get there. I'm contacting manufacturers and trying to get their support as well. Elektron have replied saying it looks like a cool project and will check it out. I just need to keep at it and encourage people to give it a try.

did you request permission to post? I would contact Jules privately first...