music by kristal mckinstry, the springs, tits to the wind, captain nemo and the zodiac sandcrabs, and let's get squirreley (all me).

Just one electric bass (usually fretless) recorded on a single run, single track, except where otherwise noted.

Gear

Ventura violin bass, Carlo Robelli fretless bass, Lotus 1/2 scale Les Paul style 6-string, and Miracle keyboard runninng through Roland GP-8, Art X-15, and Electro Harmonix Bass-Balls. Mastered (if at all ) with Roland U8 mixer mastering effect filters.

08.11.28 Creating effects on a Tassman V.4 laptop these days.

06.03.28 Just got a Pigtronix EP-1 Phaser with marv mod and expression pedal.

Songs

Primordial [04:08 Mp3 1939Kb 2008.03.03]

Sorry,server doesn't seem to upload mp3's lately, so please follow this link instead for now: Primordial ..and probably download the 63kbps mp3. Thanks.

Two Tibetan monks on Life Support [03:12 Mp3 1502Kb 2007.10.26] - Two takes on the Hummingbird Kbpinkie T2 theremin using a Yamaha TX81Z  through a Fender Fuzz/Wah pedal.. Each track on a separate stereo channel. One of my more rocking groove tunes, but also some of my most extreme time randomness with the bells. Cubase & USB122L

CATS_microtonal [00:11 Wav 992Kb 2007.01.25] - Played within a span of two frets. Made with two GP-8s, Pigtronix tremolo/phaser, and E.H. Bassballs. Fostex MR8.

*You may copy, distibute, and broadcast this recorded piece in it's entirety with credit to K.

GrandfatherClock [1:06 Wav 5760 Kb 2007.01.25] - A clear example of my syncopated  chord-runs method of melodizing. Made with two GP-8s, Pigtronix tremolo/phaser, and E.H. Bassballs. Fostex MR8.

*You may copy, distibute, and broadcast this recorded piece in it's entirety with credit to K.

Need_Sleep - Unplugged [6:16 Wav in zipped folder 40Mb 2006.08.19 (use high fidelity audio amp)] - Further in my freeform texture landscapes. A bit of a hybrid between Monty Python and Stravinsky. Made with two GP-8s and the Pigtronix tremolo. The technical goal here was to use a range of subtle effect-synergized string technique as compositional patterns.

*You may copy, distibute, and broadcast this recorded piece in it's entirety with credit to K.

Pit-of-Monsters-Taking-Flight [3:05 Wav 16Mb 2006.04.04 (scratchy)] - Similar in composition to Tocking-GlockSprings without all the elasticity. If you didn't like that one, don't even consider this one music. That wasn't the point anyhow. The goal here was to create a live-circuit effect using two GP-8's to create synth phase effects which keep riffs resonating alive in the circuits (Monsters in the box). By controlling the chorus pre-delay with a CC pedal, I can effectively slide the relative key of the sitar-like chord drone created in response to my playing. The GP-8's were fed into an EH-Bassballs to round out notes (when distinct notes were desired), then fed through a Pigtronix EP-1 in envelope follower mode (with raw trigger) to further control expressiveness of finger technique. Alas, I suspect the U8 interface is dying, hence the scratches. The time signature is 9:9, like the 8:8 of boggie-woggie (hmm, think I'll keep that typo), but with an extra beat for that bridge/rest necessary for sitar-raga style. {and oh yes, my guitar was terribly out of tune, but it works for this one}.

*You may copy, distibute, and broadcast this recorded piece in it's entirety with credit to K.

Tocking-GlockSprings [2:07 Wav 11Mb 2006.03.28] - My friend says: "Sexy, lumbering, Dr. Suess, and practically talking - send it to university music dept. heads and radio stations". This draws from a culmination of styles in my prior works. I think it's safe to say at this point that I have my own genre of music. (Boogie-woogie / Bluegrass / Sitar raga / Expressionist jazz ?) {Gear: Fretless Bass w/ GP-8 through Pigtronix phaser (marv mode, speed pedal, raw guitar as trigger). Live, no pre/post-processing. U8 Mixer.}

*You may copy, distibute, and broadcast this recorded piece in it's entirety with credit to K. McKinstry, but not sample, layer, or re-perform*.

New Orleans Tempest Dirge [2:55 Real Audio 6Mb] - A haunted drowning march. {Gear: Fretless Bass w/ GP-8 & Boss bass synth, and harmonica through GP-8. U8 Mixer.}

Lurch [0:15] - an entrancing 15 second loop.

Heart-n-soul [0:29] - an analogue synthesizer christmas card loop.

Aquarium78 [2:34] - a variant of Nebula Aquarium Clocksprings, Frippy composition, reference to 78 rpm and tarot cards.

Pirate-Boogie [2:44] - simple jazz, relative to my usual stuff. I think it's a syncopated interplay of 7/4, 7/8, & 11/8 time.

Badawound [3:16] - Bad Blues, sort of.

She [5:45] - acompaniment to some one elses work. 2nd track is Lotus 6-string.

Jams

...with Avi

I'm calling this Bodyswapping now. It's been floating around the web as Krysal 2 and Turkeybell. [18:31 mp3 25.4 Mb] - Probably the best the I've ever recorded, along with my friend and neighbor Avi Garg [See more at AKG Development Group on MySpace]. It really starts to warm up around the 10th minute, so be patient, get into the trance, don't just skip ahead. {Gear: Two acoustic guitars (AVi and myself), perhaps some harmonica (myself) through an iBook, possibly filtered in something like Cubase, but I don't think so.}

Girl from Ipanema (Squid from Iponaema on Avi's sites).  Recorded summer 2014 in LA. [roughly 14 minutes, m4a (iPod iTunes Quicktime video but audio only) Open with QT or Winamp) 14.3 Mb] - Beautiful and dreadful. {Gear: Two acoustic guitars (AVi and myself) through an iPod.}

Stringband jams

just follow the links.

Us sailing in the sun [0:00] - Casual campground jam on harmonica, guitar, and melodeon.

Four more chat jams. [0:00] - Casual campground jams on harmonica, guitar, and melodeon.

Also check out the videos on my Kristal McKinstry of Bellingham FB page.

All songs c 2005-2014, K McKinstry (or other people I play with)