Soundmondo is a social sound sharing website that allows users to discover new sounds, share their own sounds and organize sounds. Originally released for the reface, Soundmondo has expanded with MONTAGE compatibility!
Sign Up and Connect
There are a few things you will need to have happening to use Soundmondo for MONTAGE:
- Up to date MONTAGE OS Version: Your MONTAGE must be updated to OS Version 2.0 or later. Go here to get the latest MONTAGE OS Version (located under “Firmware/Software” as “MONTAGE Updater”).
- Google Chrome: To use Soundmondo you must use an up-to-date version of Google Chrome. Chrome uses a special connectivity protocol called WebMIDI that allows a hardware device like MONTAGE or reface to connect directly to the site via the browser. Get Chrome here if you don’t have it.
- Sign Up, Sign In and Connect: To use Soundmondo you must create an account. The registration process is simple and once you have created your user name and password you are good to go. After you have created your account connect your MONTAGE via the USB TO HOST port to an open USB port on your computer (Make sure you MONTAGE is set to use USB as MIDI IN/OUT. Go to UTILITY/MIDI I/O and select USB). There is nothing else to do: Once logged in and connected you are good to go
Let’s check out some of the cool things you can do with Soundmondo.
Get Performances
The number of free Performances available for MONTAGE grows every day. To Browse Performances, click on “Browse” at the top of the page. Click on the MONTAGE graphic to show only MONTAGE Performances. You can also browse by tag on the right:
In the screen below, I have searched using the tags. Below are some Performances returned for the tags “EDM” and “Drums”. To clear the result, click on “clear” in the screen:
If you know the name of a Performance or the author you can use the Search box in the upper right hand. You can filter only MONTAGE Performances too by clicking MONTAGE under “Browse by Instrument” on the left Try it out: Type in the name “Richard Devine” in the Search area and you will see the 16 Performances created by electronic music artist and sound designer Richard Devine:
Once you find a Performance you’d like to try click on the SYNC button in the top right-hand side, wait a few seconds and the Performance is transferred to your MONTAGE. To save it to your MONTAGE press the [STORE] button on MONTAGE and select “Store As New Performance” in the screen. Some other Performances to check out:
- DX7 Voice ROM: All of the original Voices from the DX7 ROM Cartridges are available on Soundmondo. Load them in MONTAGE and edit them to your design!
- HaPe’s Collection: This collection of sounds from the expert sound designer Hans-Peter Henkel is great and showcases the sonic power of MONTAGE.
- Richard Devine: Sixteen handcrafted Performances by electronic artist and sound designer Richard Devine. Want to see Richard use some of these Performances on stage? Go here!
The Leaderboard
Go to the Soundmondo Home Page and scroll down to the leaderboard. This will show you the most prolific users on the left and the top downloaded Performances on the right:
Share Performances
Got some Performances you’d like to share with the MONTAGE community? With your MONTAGE connected select a Performance you’d like to share and click on CREATE. In the example below I have created a Performance called “Scream Ballad”. I tagged it with three descriptive tags (HINT: Try to limit yourself to a few tags that are most representative of your Performance):
Scrolling down the page you will find a few other important items. It is great to include a short audio example or video to accompany your Performance. In the example below, I have added a SoundCloud URL of this Performance. In addition to SoundCloud you can also provide a YouTube or Vine URL. Lastly, you can set your Performance to Public to share with the community or Private if you want to keep it to yourself:
Want to check out my Performance? Go here!
Organize Performances
Soundmondo has some basic ways to organize your Performance collection. To do this go to your profile by clicking on the gear icon located right next to the “Search” box at the top right of the browser. Below is my profile:
At the bottom of the page there are 4 menu items:
- Sounds: This shows a list of all the sounds you have uploaded to Soundmondo.
- Favorites: This shows a list of all the sounds you have selected as a favorite. This is done when you are browsing other people’s sounds
- Trash: Take any unwanted sound and drag it to the trash! It’ll still be there until you click on “Empty Trash”.
- Set Lists: Organize your sounds in to set lists. Create a Set List then drag the sounds you want into the folder.
Got an iOS device? Get the Soundmondo app! It features all the functionality you see here on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. All you need is a USB cable and the Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adaptor.
Want to share your thoughts/comments? Join the conversation on the Forum here.