BPM TECH - Nov/Dec'12 by BPM Magazine

BEATS

CONTENTS

•

PEOPLE

• MUSIC

NOV/DEC 2012 | EDITION 64 03 EDITORS NOTE & INFO 04 COVER FEATURE : SAMSON CARBON 49 & GRAPHITE 49

06 GEAR: AKAI SYNTHSTATION 49 08 GEAR NEWS 12 NATIVE INSTRUMENTS' MASCHINE 2 16 DJ GEAR: RELOOP TERMINALMIX 2 18 STUDIO GEAR: AVID ARTIST MIX 20 PRODUCTION TIPS: WITH JON S SHAW 22 TUTORIAL: HOW TO MAKE DUBSTEP WOBBLE BASS 26 EDUCATION: TO WHAT DEGREE?

EDITOR’S NOTE ith no intention whatsoever, other than just doing our thing as usual, I realised a short while back that we’ve put a lot of focus this year [and last] on DJ gear, more specifically DJ controllers and Media players. This is not totally surprising considering the huge popularity of dance music and as I’ve said a dozen time before, ‘every kid wants to be a DJ now.’ This is great; great for business, great for dance music and certainly great for us at BPM Magazine who started this journey almost 10 years ago with the sole intention of propping up the dance music scene in this country with good media exposure. But hey! There wouldn’t be any dance music to play if people weren’t producing it right? Right! Making your own beats is the next natural step for some DJs; I say some because I believe that the art of DJing is and always will be enough for many of us. But there are those that reach a point in their career where they wanna create stuff similar to what they are playing out. The digital age has afforded all of us this opportunity with home studios so whilst digital has been mooted as a big factor in the demise of music sales (easier to pirate and share), digital has also brought music making into all of our homes. This edition we have focused a bit on studio and music making tools as opposed to the DJ gear. Our cover features

Samson’s first foray into keyboard controllers. BPM welcomes another accomplished tech reviewer, David Scott, to our team as he gives us the lowdown on both the Carbon 49 and Graphite 49 by Samson. He also looks at the Akai Synthstation 49, an iPad dedicated controller. David has his own production project called The Kiffness [who have supported Goldfish several times] and he epitomises the young producer scene that has developed in South Africa. Elsewhere we look at Native Instruments’ new Maschine2 stalwart DJ and producer, Dave Skinz, takes it through its paces. Skinz also looks at the Avid Artist Mix, a very handy and professional 8-fader motorised controller that he swears will have you touching your keyboard and mouse less and less when managing your DAW. There’s still room for one DJ controller review though and I had a chance to play with the very impressive Reloop TerminalMix 2. You can check out my thoughts on Pg. 16. DAVE MAC Editor-in-Chief Don’t forget to visit www.bpmmag.co.za for daily gear news.

COVER FEATURE

By David Scott

SAMSON CARBON 49 A SIMPLE, SLEEK WHITE MIDI CONTROLLER WITH AN INTEGRATED IPAD SLOT *iPad not included.

What Is It? The Samson Carbon 49 is a simplistic and stylish white USB powered MIDI controller that looks like something made by Apple; simple, clean and easy on the eye. It even comes with a slot for your iPad which further endorses my sentiments on the Apple styling.

In Use It doesn't take a rocket scientist to use this controller. You plug it into your computer and it's ready to use. I was happy that I didn't have to download any drivers. The keys are semi-weighted, and although a bit plasticky and clunky, they provide pretty accurate velocity response. The pitch bend and modulation wheels are surprisingly smooth and nice to use, and I like the rubber grip it provides. The controller provides useful octave as well as transpose buttons. Most MIDI controllers only provide octave buttons so the transpose buttons on the Carbon is a surprisingly nice little feature, allowing you to shift the song into a favourable key for lazy musicians like myself. (Nobody likes playing too many black keys if they can avoid it). The only other buttons the keyboard provides are a volume slide, a data encoder and an edit button which provide a few more options, but you'll have to pull out the Owner's Manual to figure them out. The integrated iPod slot is useful but slightly misleading. I was expecting some kind of integrated iPad dock connection, but the slot is nothing more than a groove in the controller - a glorified iPad stand. It also requires an iPad Camera Connection Kit to connect the controller to the iPad. So unless you have a connection kit or you don't mind spending an extra R 700 to get one, it makes more sense to use this controller with your laptop (which of course won't fit in the slot).

Who Should Own One? IPad lovers. If you don't have an iPad or don't intend on getting one then you won't find much use in the iPad slot. Even if you own an iPad, you might get frustrated with the fact that you have to pull out the camera connection kit and recharge your iPad every few hours. Apart from that, the sheer simplicity of the controller (with the aid of its good looks) leads me to think that it is aimed towards beginners or someone who's keen to mess around on Garageband. However, it could be useful for any musician that needs a simple USBpowered controller to lay down some ideas.

The Verdict Great value for money. At R 1,395 you're not going to find a 49 key MIDI controller in the same price range. The attractive price obviously comes with reduced functionality, but it's perfect for laying down ideas. The iPad dock is neat but

Price: R 1,395.00 incl.VAT Supplier: Audiosure (Pty) Ltd Tel: (011)-790-4600 Web: www.audiosure.co.za impractical without a Camera Connection Kit for your iPad. Nevertheless, for the price it's a real winner and is very usable. The Carbon 49 also includes Native Instruments' 'Komplete Elements' software bundle which adds great added value to the overall package.

SAMSON GRAPHITE 49 A ROBUST MIDI CONTROLLER WITH GREAT MIDI FUNCTIONALITY What Is It? As the name suggests, the Samson Graphite 49 is an upgrade from its forerunner; the Samson Carbon 49. The Graphite offers the same 49 semiweighted, velocity sensitive keys with the addition of aftertouch (a nice little bonus) and has nearly identical octave and transpose buttons, but offers many more bells and whistles than the Carbon. With 4 drum pads, 8 encoders, 9 faders and 16 function buttons the Graphite gives you what you'd want from a controller for the studio and live performance alike.

In Use The first thing I notice when unboxing this beast is that its rather heavy for a controller with only 49 keys. Isn't graphite meant to be light? It's twice as heavy as the Samson Carbon - maybe 'Samson Lead 49' is a better name. However, the 5,8 kgs of mass reassures me that it's not just a piece of plastic junk. (Hopefully it's as strong as graphite.) Again, I'm impressed with Samson's design. With its rounded edges and aesthetically pleasing control surface, it looks like an elongated iPhone with a piano app open. All the knobs, buttons and faders are placed cleverly and I can't fault them on the design - everything is where it should be. The LED screen is user friendly. Whenever you press a button, move a slider or encoder its name and parameter values appear on the screen. The drum pads are a nice size, about 2,5cm². However, they're a bit too stiff for my liking. I prefer drum pads that have a bit of give. You really have to hit them quite hard if you want to get any response out of them, so unfortunately the velocity sensitivity isn't that accurate. Below the drum pads Samson have put rewind, fast forward, stop, play and record buttons - especially useful for live application. If you press rewind and fast

forward together it triggers the panic, which is useful in case the controller freaks out. I love the encoder and function buttons. They're compact, easily accessible and I really like that there are lots of them. If there's one criticism it’s that the function buttons don't light up when you press them (a feature that I was expecting), but they are displayed on the LED screen which I guess is an alright alternative. You can change each button's function individually to Toggle (on when you press it and off when you press it again), or momentary (on when pressed and off when released) with relative ease. It normally takes a while to figure out how to do that. The sliders are okay but slide a little bit unevenly at times. The pitch bend and modulation wheels are a little too bulky for my taste, but otherwise work perfectly.

Who Should Own One? Someone with a firm understanding of MIDI functionality; this isn't a child's toy. I find it a bit clumsy for studio use, but it's really fun to play and will get really good mileage in a live situation. The main issue

Price: R 2,995.00 incl.VAT Supplier: Audiosure (Pty) Ltd Tel: (011)-790-4600 Web: www.audiosure.co.za for me is the weight. My personal controller is around 2 kgs and with all my other equipment to carry around too, a controller that's nearly 6 kgs is a bit heavy. Although the Graphite 49 does not have an actual iPad stand (like the Carbon 49) it is worth noting that you can still connect one.

The Verdict The Graphite 49 is a really practical and versatile unit with more functionality than most 49 key controllers out there. The drum pads aren't great but the sliders, encoders and function buttons make up for it. For R 2,995 it's a bargain. I think with this being Samson's MIDI controller debut it was a good move to make the price appealing because they're going up against some big competitors. If you're still not convinced that it's a great deal, they've thrown in Native Instrument's 'Komplete Elements' – a really awesome production suite with 3GB of quality samples and effects.

GEAR REVIEW

By David Scott

AKAI SYNTHSTATION 49 ANALOGUE MEETS DIGITAL WITH A MIDI CONTROLLER SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR THE IPAD

Price: R 3,995.00 Supplier: Musical Distributors www.musicaldistributors.co.za perform and loop live drums and synths - a similar concept to session view in Ableton Live. At first it's quite difficult to understand how it works but when you get into it you can start looping and performing your own arrangements. My favourite feature in the performance mode is the XY effects pads on the synths which are fun to play around with on the touch screen. You can control the marker manually or you can send it bouncing around the XY square making weird and wonderful sounds. The "edit mode" is a bit finicky and difficult to navigate, but then again I think the SynthStation is designed primarily for performance rather than editing.

* iPad not included

WHO SHOULD OWN ONE?

WHAT IS IT? The Synthstation is the first MIDI controller to be fully customized to work with the iPad. Working seamlessly with the Synthstation app, the device offers a palette of customizable drum samples and synths. It has two 1/4" jack outputs, so like an analogue synth you can take the sound straight to the stage. It also has a USB output so you can plug it into your Mac or PC as a MIDI controller.

ANATOMY Not surprisingly, the Synthstation is another example of AKAI's impeccable craftsmanship. In metallic black, the controller looks like something straight out of Darth Vader's lair. Although it looks quite bulky the keyboard is surprisingly light, supposedly because the weight that would've gone into the sliders and buttons is now inside the iPad and weighs nothing more than a few Megabytes. The keys are very well weighted – they have just the right amount of spring, and don't make a racket like you'd expect from a cheaper keyboard. The modulation & pitch bend wheels are also quality and have been placed above the keyboard presumably to save space. The nine back-lit MPC style drum pads have a great feel, but I'm not sure why they didn't opt for 16 pads like they have on the MPC. There are the customary transport buttons (play, stop, octave etc) including

specially dedicated Drum, Poly Synth, Mono Synth 1 & Mono Synth 2 buttons. The docking station is easy to plug your iPad into. The iPad charges while you use it so you don't have to worry about running low on battery, a great feature.

Someone who's looking for a dynamic performance tool. It would serve well as a synth for a keyboardist onstage, for almost any genre of music. Dom Peters from SA's leading electronic duo, Goldfish, recently acquired a Synthstation and had this to say “If you already own an iPad the SynthStation is an amazing way to get a Moog, an MS20 or whatever other apps you want all in one keyboard. Plus it's a 49 key midi controller. Stoked!”

THE SYNTHSTATION APP I was a little upset that I had to buy the SynthStation app. Although it's only $2, they should make it available for free since you've just spent R4k on the controller. The app itself is pretty intuitive and works really well with the controller. It was not long before I got the hang of how it all works. The drum sounds are alright, but a bit too reminiscent of Garageband with presets called “cheesy kit” and “techno kit”. Fun, but nothing too amazing. The synths sounds are surprisingly fat. The interface is fun and and easy to work with, and there are loads of parameters to tweak to get that perfect sound you're looking for. The presets are a good starting point and you can hear that there's been some thought into making sure they don't sound too cheesy. "Performance mode” allows you to

THE VERDICT A clever concept and AKAI have done well in making the iPad a serious performance tool for musicians. The SynthStation offers a great array of sounds and has plenty potential as a live instrument. The app works really well with the controller and is easy to navigate. Because it’s a relatively new concept, I feel the app support could be a bit better but with time we should see more intuitive design features. Perhaps the price is a bit steep considering that it doesn't come with an iPad but well worth it if you want to get the most out of your tablet. As a lover of both the analogue and digital realms of music I feel the Akai Synthstation has found a good middle ground.

STUDIO GEAR

By Dave Skinz

NATIVE INSTRUMENTS MASCHINE 2 GROOVE BOX FOR A DIGITAL AGE

What Is It? Let me start by saying that there is no way I could fit all the info and nuances of a device like Maschine into this article, so please excuse me if I leave something you deem important out. Maschine is Native Instruments unique way of integrating traditional hardware groove box music production into the digital age. So while at its core Maschine is a great digital catalog of all of your samples and loops bundled in a comprehensive way to control and utilize them, Maschine can also be used on its own or as a digital plug-in via VST, RTAS or AU into your DAW. Couple that with the ability to also utilize it as a MIDI controller without interfering with any of the above processes that are already going on and you begin to see why so many producers speak so highly of Maschine. The first thing that catches the eye is Maschine's 4 x 4 matrix of backlit pressure sensitive pads, used for triggering sounds, generating loops, and even as a step sequencer to build your own loops the “old fashioned” way. Patterns can also be combined and switched on the fly to give some really interesting permutations. The rest of the facia is made of the 8 group buttons, transport section, master section and then the two side-by-side screens with its 8 buttons and 8 infinite

rotaries to control and trigger the displayed functions. The four most important functions are astutely positioned in the top left corner of Maschine and they are <Control>, which lets you muck about on the fly, <Step> which will trigger your sequencer, a <Browse> button to check out the extensive library and then the <Sampling> button.

So What’s New? The most striking change for the new Maschine is the colour-coding system to let you “see” your sounds. Colours can be allocated to groups, sounds, patterns and scenes so you always know what is assigned and where it is. The pads themselves have also seen an improvement making them more sensitive and dynamic while still being able to take a repeated pounding. The velocity sensitive pads can also be linked to trigger off each other, so you can launch complex events with a single button. The displays also see some redesign by being inverted which creates a better viewing contrast in a host of different conditions. Another area that has seen some remodeling is the USB and MIDI connection ports to avoid them being pulled out and the feet are now

Price: R 8,995.00 Supplier: Tuerk Music Technology Tel: (011) 792 8402 Web: www.tuerkmusic.co.za www.nativeinstruments.com

rubberized to cement the controller in place. Native Instruments have also seen the potential for peripheral add-ons to the Maschine system so you can now get an angled stage stand and a host of magnetic faceplates to accessorize your beast. The master section has also been spruced up with a large rotary control for volume, swing and tempo functions. Another wicked inclusion to the Maschine package is the inclusion of Massive and Komplete Elements in addition to the already impressive sound packs and effects on-board. Now any of your existing Native Instruments VSTs can be accessed through Maschine and have all been tagged and labeled so tracking down specific sounds or effects has never been easier. And you can create and group your own sounds and patches. From a software perspective Maschine 1.8 has added time shifting and pitch correction and a couple of really impressive tube effects to the impressive list of over 20 effects but one of the biggest changes has to be in the workflow of the controller. For instance, when plugging in your DAW the transport section of Maschine now controls your global transport. Another example is using Maschine as the host for any VST's or AU and having all of the parameters already mapped to Maschine for you.

Who Should Own One? The Maschine is a versatile piece of studio gear for anyone looking for a spark in their creativity but it is certainly more orientated towards the electronic music producer. It makes beat creation more engaging and easier to come up with quality results, thanks to its workflow, but also down to the over 6 GB of samples, loops, effects and synth patches to work with. Just on its own that is a huge addition to any setup. For the DJ's out there you can also integrate Maschine into Traktor for a host of new creative ways to add to your performance.

The Verdict The manual is very handy for setting up Maschine but useless when it comes to actually using it. So I highly recommend making yourself comfortable and visiting Native Instruments website or their YouTube page and taking in the tutorials to induct you into the world of Maschine. Install time was about 20 min, due to the large amount of patches and data, over 6 gigs worth! But the updates took even longer once the NI service centre upgrades you to Maschine 1.8.1 and the latest versions of Massive 1.3.1 and Control Editor 1.5.1. While it was all pretty simple on my MacBook you will need in excess of a gig of data to update all the latest versions and over 2GB if you

want to load up the latest versions of Guitar Rig 5.1.0, Kontakt 5.0.3, and Reaktor 5.7.1 I consider myself an experienced campaigner when it comes to music production systems even if I haven't perfected my craft, so when something comes along that fires up the creativity and then makes it engaging to compose, it is certainly worth taking notice. Maschine on its own is a powerful control interface but when combined it with NI's world leading sound packs, effects, and plug-ins it really does take it to the next level. Not only can you produce quality beats it becomes less of a slug to get that project done. I've dabbled with a couple of hardware devices like Grooveboxes and samplers and while the tone is always wicked, the ease of use is not so amazing. And ‘RTFM'ing’ (reading the f*cking manual) is always like getting through Tolstoy’s War and Peace which I didn't finish either. This is where the Maschine comes into its own. While you could utilize the VST, RTAS or AU plug-in very easily, I found myself using Maschine like a doodle pad to

program loops and get a basic structure and parts before taking it into a DAW. You can even take it a step further away from the studio and use the NI Maschine iPhone app to doodle and create grooves on the go to later export into the software. So what's not to want?

12 GEAR & INDUSTRY NEWS

GEAR & INDUSTRY NEWS AMERICAN DJ’S INNO COLOUR BEAM LED DOING THE BUSINESS AT PRODIGY SHOW IN ATHENS Further endorsing ADJ’s products as professional gear for all environments, a YouTube clip doing the rounds revealed 30 Inno Colour Beam LEDs in action at the Prodigy concert in Athens. Simply search “30 INNO COLOR BEAMS @ PRODIGY LIVE CONCERT IN ATHENS 2012” to watch the video. The Inno Color Beam LED is a high performance 108-Watt LED Moving Head fixture that offers a hardedge beam effect sought after by lighting designers to help take their light shows to a new level. This fixture features 36x 3-Watt high quality CREE LEDs (8x Red, 10x Green, 10x Blue & 8x White). This unit is compact and light weight and offers plenty of pro features

such as: 12 DMX Channels for programming, 33 built-in color macros and a 4-Button LED DMX Menu. The InnoColor Beam LED is also great in sound active mode with plenty of exciting built-in programs creating instant light shows. Plus, non-DMX users can use the easy-to-use UC3 Controller to operate this fixture. The New Narrow Color Beam effect creates a great visual with fog. Don't let his small fixture fool you. Its unique optical system can compete with high powered moving head spot fixtures. Uses 36 x 3w Cree LED's.

Legacy Brands | (021) 551-3296 info@legacybrands.co.za www.americandj.com

VESTAX REPLACES THE VCI-300 WITH THE VCI-380 The Vestax VCI-380 is the new two-channel Digital DJ controller update to the widely popular Serato Itch VCI-300 controller that Vestax released a couple of years ago. Vestax and Serato have taken the time to upgrade the VCI-300 in almost every area in order to come up with the new Vestax VCI-380 that DJ’s will love just as much or more than the previous version. The Vestax VCI-380 still holds onto the same compact size making it easy to fit into a backpack or small DJ bag. It is a super-durable DJ controller with its full-metal body construction and heavyweight feel to it. The Vestax VCI-380 can now function as a stand-alone mixer for those who want to plug in up to two external devices or decks for mixing playback. Around the back of the unit are two RCA inputs (one for each channel) with a button for each input to switch them to PHONO or LINE level depending on the type of decks connected. Each one has its own gain knob and they share a ground post for analog decks. There is an RCA booth output with a

volume knob around the back and a Master Out XLR pair which is controlled by the Volume knob on the face of the VCI-380. There is also a MIC 1 XLR input with volume control knob and a MIC 2 quarter-inch input also with its own volume control knob. This controller is meant for users who want to use Serato as their software of choice as this controller is not MIDI mappable. The Vestax VCI-380 is perfectly suited to current Serato Itch or SSL users who are looking for a compact controller solution for their DJ needs.

NUMARK ANNOUNCES SUPPORT FOR ALL-NEW SERATO DJ SOFTWARE

DJs with cutting-edge controllers that continually advance the art form. A deep and long-standing partnership with Serato was established more than 6 years ago, and has resulted in an entire range of professional controllers that have eliminated the line between hardware and software. The NS7, V7, and NS6 controllers define the top tier of DJ performance, reigning as the go-to controllers for DJing and setting the standard by which all other controllers are judged. “I can’t tell you how excited we are about Serato DJ,” said Chris Roman, Product Manager,

Leading manufacturer of DJ technology, Numark announced in October a collaboration with Serato, a worldwide innovator in digital DJ software, to include their new Serato DJ software with select Numark controllers. For more than 20 years, Numark has set a pace in the world of digital DJing, empowering

Rolling Thunder www.rollingthunder.co.za (021) 557-8630

Numark. “Our professional NS6, NS7 and V7 customers will be able to take advantage of a whole new set of creative tools, and the hundreds of thousands of Serato DJ Intro users who own our controllers will be able to easily upgrade to the most advanced DJ software ever created.”

SA Distributor:Viva Afrika (011) 250-3280 | www.vivaafrika.co.za R

QTX QRC AND QS LOUDSPEAKER SERIES QRC-SERIES ACTIVE PA CABINETS Active PA speaker unit in contemporary styled moulded ABS cabinet with integral handle and constant directivity horn. Built-in mixer amp section delivers high output to the driver units to develop high SPLs ! Titanium compression horn driver ! PTC driver protection ! Mic/line inputs with volume controls ! Integral handles ! Tone controls ! 35mm top-hat fitting

QS SERIES PASSIVE MOULDED SPEAKER CABINETS Passive speaker cabinets with tough yet lightweight ABS enclosures, designed to satisfy the demands of the modern DJ or musician. Each enclosure has a trapezoidal design with easy-carry handle and 35mmØ top hat for stand mounting. ! 2 x Speakon® NL4 sockets

! ! ! ! ! ! !

Lightweight ABS enclosure Crossover fitted Low impedance compression horn driver M8 rigging points 35mmØ top hat with locking screw Trapezoidal design Supplied with stands for use as wedge monitor ! Rigid steel grille

! Easy-carry handle

TV Audio | www.tvaudio.co.za (011) 805-9910

DJ KONTROL 3 BY JB SYSTEMS

DENON SAY - OWN THE PARTY! WITH THEIR NEW MC2000 DJ CONTROLLER The brand new MC2000 brings, for the first time, the very best in Denon DJ professional quality and technologies, then integrates them it into a product that’s accessible to everyone. From the ‘plug and play’ link up with Serato DJ Intro to the intuitive layout and controls on the deck, now is your time to join the new generation of DJ Superstars. The MC2000 doesn’t need to be plugged into a mains power supply for you to get thrashing out tunes – it’s USB Bus powered which means if you want to show off your latest mix then you simply need to power up your laptop and plug in the MC2000 with a USB cable (supplied). Serato DJ Intro software detects the controller automatically and is ready to work from the moment you take out of the box and plug in – giving you true ‘plug & play’ functionality*.

Audiosure www.audiosure.co.za (011) 790-4600

The DJ Kontrol 3 is a professional 2 channel MIDI controller for DJs (mobile, clubs, studio etc …). The unit is built from sturdy aluminum housing with a high glossy polycarbonate top surface and stylish white/blue lighting. Included in the box is the latest version of VirtualDJ LE, the ultimate DJ-software that can even mix video clips! Thanks to standard MIDIcommunication this controller can also be used with any MIDI DJ-software you can imagine! Most of the buttons are backlit making the controller easy to use in dark venues. The Kontrol 3 can be used on any modern laptop or PC, running Windows® XP/Vista/7 or Mac® OSX.

Sound & Light City | www.soundandlightcity.co.za (011) 312-1001

Features include; ! Built-in 24 Bit/192kHz premium quality sound card for excellent sound performance! ! High resolution, touch sensitive scratch wheels with blue backlight ! Needle drop sensors for ultrafast searching inside tracks. ! 2 Channel mixer: . 3 band equalizer with push kill function . DJ-mic input and PFL headphones output . Crossfader with curve adjustment. . Balanced XLR-masters (+ unbalanced cinch) ! Easy plug & play installation: no extra drivers or computer skills needed! ! Fully optimized for use with VirtualDJ software: . “1-click" beat matching, automatic beat loops, instant beat detection . Beat synced samplers, very accurate master tempo, 3 cue points per track . Video mixing: creative mixing of video clips, including video effects! . Plays MP3, AIFF, OGG, WAV, CDA, WMA, and many more … . Fully iTunes compatible

16 DJ GEAR

By Dave Mac

RELOOP TERMINALMIX 2 A PRO DJ CONTROLLER AT A VERY COMPETITIVE PRICE Price: TerminalMix 2: R 6,795.00 TerminaMix 4: R 7,995.00 Supplier: Tradelius Tel: (031) 502 3080 Web: www.tradelius.co.za

What is it? The Reloop TerminalMix 2 - on review here and TerminalMix 4 are the German manufacturer’s newest 2 and 4 deck all-in-one DJ controllers. Designed for use with Serato DJ Intro software which comes packaged with the units, both have the same layout and functionality except of course the TerminalMix 4 has four individual channels to control the four decks. We got to test the 2 channel derivative.

Anatomy Unpacking the TerminalMix 2 reveals a supremely well-built device. The chassis is made from some sort of pressed metal and weighing in at 3.65 Kg, you get the immediate impression that this baby will survive the rigours of those drunken DJ bouts in the booth. Ergonomically the layout is stock-standard although every unit I’ve ever tested has 1 or 2 idiosyncrasies and also 1 or 2 stand-out features.

The stand-out features of the TerminalMix 2 are several; the touch-sensitive jog-wheels are 15.5 cm in size and are very nicely balanced. In fact so nice, you’ll loathe to cop out and use the sync button to mix. The unit is really fun to mix off; it has a proper oldskool feel! All the rotaries and buttons feel good and are easy to find. A silver trax encoder sits prominently between the platters, just above the channel sliders and the transport buttons are rubberised, making the cue and cup functions pretty seamless. Although the ‘Mix 2’ is a 2-deck controller, it actually can control up to 4 with the use of handy deck-toggle buttons, it’s just that the included Serato Dj Intro software supports just the 2. You can download 4-deck mapping for Traktor Pro 2 which the website claims works seamlessly. Each channel has a respectable range of hot-cue, sampler, looping and FX functions. The software offers a small number of FX such as HPF and LPF filters (seems a bit silly since there is a filter built into each channel on the master section), flanger, echo etc. Serato’s FX have always been fairly basic but very usable and you don’t run the risk of destroying your track with the depth knob. The unit sports balanced (jack) and unbalanced (RCA) Master outs as well as RCA Booth outs. One external device can be plugged in via the single set of inputs, with options for phono or line in. The only negatives

on an otherwise almost perfectly thought out device, are that I could not find a setting to stop one from loading a track into a deck that is in use and then also the track search feature for the left channel. First off, the button to assign a track to a deck is situated precariously close to the headphone monitor button. One could easily press this instead of the headphone cue button and inadvertently load a track into a running deck. The other little irritation (and it is really quite minor) is that to scan through a track one needs to hold in a button while moving the jogwheel. Not a problem for the right channel as a right-handed person would spin with right hand and depress button with left. But for the left channel, the placement of the button literally forces one to cross one’s hands over - or learn to be ambidextrous very quickly. The deck loading is a genuine concern, the second issue is me just nit-picking.

In Use Installation took less than 5 minutes and the unit worked absolutely seamlessly thereafter. The jog-wheels are really very good. I reiterate what I said about not wanting to use the sync button. It is that much fun. Serato DJ Intro is also a very good DJ application. It may look really basic but that is really the charm of the program; very uncluttered but somehow still manages to host everything one needs and mixing, effecting, looping, sampling proved to be intuitively easy after just 10 minutes of playing around.

The Verdict The Terminal Mix 2 (and assumedly its 4-deck big brother) is a proper, professional DJ controller. The sturdy build plus the quality buttons, encoders, rotaries and magnificent jogwheels all add up to a unit that is well thought out, has plenty of features as well as a growth path. This is certainly one of the best units I’ve personally tested in a while, for under R10K.

18 STUDIO GEAR

By Dave Skinz

AVID ARTIST MIX

AUDIO AND VIDEO CONTROL AT YOUR MOTORIZED FINGERTIPS Price: R 14,399.00 incl.VAT Supplier: MIDI Music Tel: (011) 417 3400 Web: www.midimusic.co.za www.avid.com editors will also be hard pressed to find a device that fills that controller void without breaking the bank, so when you combine it with the other controllers in the range like the Artist Colour, Artist Control and Artist Transport you really begin to see the potential to build a pro editing suite with quality gear. Did I mention you can run up to four Artist Mix's with the Artist Colour, Control and Transport?

What Is It? The Artist Mix is a high quality 8 fader controller that can be used for either audio or video software packages. After all, operating your editing or production system from a mouse and keyboard is limited and not very engaging. Add a controller into the mix and now you have hands on access to your important functions with less clicks and far more ease of use. The eight touch-sensitive 100 mm long throw motorized faders are the real focus of the Artist Mix, and each of these 8 faders has its own touch and velocity-sensitive rotary encoder, 6 backlit buttons and a 128 x 64 pixel high resolution OLED screen to feed you your information. The entire system runs off Ethernet which makes it 250 times faster than conventional MIDI and offers you 8 times the resolution. This does mean though that the Artist Mix needs to run off a supplied power transformer as normally that juice would come from the USB or Firewire connection. The biggest lure to the Artist Mix is the use of EUCON (Extended User Control) which is a high speed open control protocol that a lot of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading software developers are beginning to integrate into their products. After all MIDI as a digital language is nearly 30 years old and hasn't changed a bit since it was first introduced in 1983. What EUCON does is offer you direct access to pretty much all of the software functions by simply selecting the module you wish to control and the rest of the functions will be auto-mapped to the controller for quick and precise manipulation of all the available parameters.

Most of the major music production and some of the video editing software companies are integrating EUCON into their industry standard platforms, so users of Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, Apogee Maestro, Apple Logic (Pro and Express), Apple Soundtrack, Cakewalk Sonar, MOTU Digital Performer, Steinberg's Cubase and Nuendo are just some of the audio platforms available while Apple's Final Cut Pro, Avid Media Composer and Avid Symphony round out the video editing platforms. One of the best advantages of the EUCON however is that you can use the Artist Mix to control multiple applications with seamless switching between apps. You can also lock parts of the controller to one app while switching to the rest, which is very handy for monitoring or transport control. A practical foot-switch jack is also at one's disposal so you can punch in and out of recordings hands-free.

Who Should Own One? If you use Pro Tools, Cubase, Nuendo or Logic on their own or in conjunction with Final Cut then this is the beast for you. Very few systems will allow you to integrate those apps on one controller cohesively, and you can see that that is what Avid had in mind when conceptualizing the Artist Mix. Video

The Verdict The build quality of the Artist series is first class and has a compact footprint at 42.7 x 24.1 x 3 cm which lets it fulfil its design purpose to sit neatly in the space between your keyboard and screen. I have used a system similar to EUCON before and found that they were similar in that you didn't have to guess where your parameters were moved to. The screens provide you with an instant reference as to what has been moved where and it certainly cuts down on the numbers of clicks to get you where you want to be. The system requirements are 32 or 64 bit Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate, while Mac OS X 10.5 and up are supported but only for the Intel chipsets. Also setting up the network and router was relatively easy but I have set up similar connections before. The faders and buttons all felt first class and I liked the dark grey finish rather than some of the silver one's Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve encountered. The Artist Mix is a device that most studio-heads would welcome into their hallowed space even more so if they have the skill to handle both audio and video projects. Also in the range: Control V2: R 18,699.00 Transport: R 4,299.00 Colour: R 17,499.00

20 TUTORIAL: PRODUCTION TIPS

By Jonathan G. Shaw

TRICKS FROM THE PRO'S 15: DARTH VOCODER

alutations and greetings BPMings! Now read my greeting again but picture the old sci-fi robot voices from some of your favourite movies. While vocoders are some 80 years old, you can still use them to create amazing effects on vocals. If you haven’t experimented with them before they can be a nice addition to how you produce. Vocoders can be found in many music production packages like FL Studio, Reason, Antares and Ableton Live. In brief, the theory to vocoding is something like this: take one signal and keep its characteristics, then get another signal to play those characteristics. These characteristics are a set of filter envelopes of multiband frequencies which make up the first signal (that is, it tracks the amplitude of the filtered sections of frequencies). These encoded sections, making up the formants of speech, are passed to a synthesizer, which decodes and plays back the amplitudes resulting in us recognising speech but the voice being quite, well, robotic. Suffice to say it’s a complicated electronic process. So, when vocoding the human voice, the vocoder will track the signal’s formants, called the ‘modulator’, because it is going to use these envelopes of the voice to modulate the synthesizer. The synthesizer is called the ‘carrier’ and can provide all the fundamentals and extra harmonics which are not stored in the encoding stage. Why all the theory? Because now you can look at a vocoder and understand that your voice needs to be routed to the modulator input (or ‘mod’ sometimes) and that you can set up any synth instrument to be the carrier wave input (or ‘car’). The bandwidth (or ‘band’) selector chooses the number of filter envelopes the modulator uses - lower bands result in grainier sounds. Other controls work very similar to any analogue synth. With both the voice and instrument channels muted, the result, while you talk, is the synth playing the speech. The instrument now controls the pitch and you

can play a tune with it by saying something. Try having a vocoder on specific parts of the song or mix up the voice for a wahwah guitar and see what happens. Edit the sounds with stutter and Autotune to create unique effects!

VARIOUS VOCODER PLUGINS

PLAY LONG AND PROSPER! RESISTANCE TO BETTER SOUND IS FUTILE!

Jonathan Shaw is a professional record producer who has worked with a multitude of artists and record labels in a freelance capacity. Outside this, he lectures music business at the University of the Witwatersrand and provides business consultation to the music industry. jshaw@smstudios.co.za

22 TUTORIAL

By Donovan Leon from DCL Studios

HOW TO MAKE YOUR VERY OWN RAISE FX his edition we’re looking at “How to make your very own Raise FX” or for some it might be known as “a Raising Pitch Effect”. This effect is often used these days in electronic music and has become very popular. Typically it involves a sound, usually a synth, increasing in pitch rising up either to the root note or all the way up until the sound can’t even be heard. Typical sounds used can range from either a melodic synth to a noise synth and this creates a greater transition between the two different parts in the music, normally used to build up energy in

dance music. If we had to try and imagine electronic dance music without this effect, the songs wouldn’t have such a great impact and the builds would just seem weak. There are many other quick ways to actually create this effect by using Portomento (Pitch Glide), automating the pitch bend or even using synths which have a pitch fader and automating this, works as well. Also there are numerous amounts of producer packs out there from different Sample/ Loop companies that offer these effect sounds, which is a quick way to get things done but in the end what you want is to create something

unique, something that no one else has. Let’s get started!!! We going to be using Reason’s Malstrom Graintable synthesizer (version 5) for this tutorial but it will work with any synth which has a pitch modulation envelope. Open up a new empty Reason project. Load the 14:2 mixer and directly underneath that the Malstrom Synth, which should open with a standard sine wav Oscillator. A standard sine wav Oscillator might sound a bit too boring for this actual effect, so let’s tweak it a bit to get a much more interesting and unique sound.

Pic1: Loading up the Malstrom Synth This tutorial was brought to you by Donovan Leon from DCL Studios. DONOVAN LEON is a Producer/ Engineer for DCL Studios and has had the opportunity to work and collaborate with many artists/ producers such as: Crighton Goodwill (Good Noise Studios), Robin C Khol (Jazzworx), L’loyd Cele (2010 Idol Runner up), Jamali (Popstars), CH2, Denim, Thembi Seete (Boom Shaka), Kwesta, Zubz, Sasha P (Nigeria), Jae, Ziyon (Liquid Deep), Verona, 37MPH and many, many more. DCL Studios: Tel - (011) 615-8309 | Cell - 082 426-6400 | Email - dclstudioz@gmail.com / Donovan.dclstudios@telkomsa.net BBM Pin: 28ED7476 | FACEBOOK: DCL. STUDIOS OR DONOVAN DA DON LEON | TWITTER: DCLSTUDIOS

I’m going to replace the sine wave in OSC A with a square wave by right clicking and selecting “square Wave”. Now let’s add a second Oscillator to OSC A by switching on OSC B and selecting the desired wave right next to it the same way we did before. Yet again I’ve chosen the Square wav. We will need to now separate these two sounds so they don’t sound the same. Turn up OSC A’s cent by 10 % and turn Down OSC B’s cent by 10%. I have also dropped OSC B’s octave knob by 1 octave. Now that we have a much more interesting sound we are ready to start modulating it. In MOD A select the rising wave form as per Picture 2, and turn up the pitch knob all the way up. Next turn down the rate (Speed) all the way to 0. Now play (on your midi keyboard) or paste a note in the low octave area of the piano roll and slowly start turning the rate knob up. Great, we now start to notice that the sound is pitching in an upward direction sounding as if we are about to take off somewhere. By adjusting the rate knob, we can control how fast we want the sound to rise. I’ve set mine to around 10. It all depends on how long you want your build to be so adjusting this just right is the key to a perfect rise effect. Now that we have the effect we are after, we are ready to start making it stand out more. Insert a DDL-1 digital delay between the mixer and the Synth. Select Ms (Milliseconds) and bring that down to around 20Ms. Lets pan the delay all the way to the left then on the mixer pan the synth all the way right. Now all we do is just turn up the Aux 1 knob (found on top of the mixer) to about 75 and presto we have a wider sound. Now exactly the same way we added the delay we are going to insert a CF -101 Chorus/ Flanger and mix it in with the Aux 2 knob to around 87 so that we get a chorus/ flanger effect mixed with the dry Signal. Copy the settings as per picture 3. There you have it - your very own rising FX. Feel free to mess around, automate or even stutter with the sound effects and add some side chaining maybe or even a huge reverb. Don’t be afraid to experiment as you never know what will come out of it, the possibilities are endless! Happy Producing!!

Pic2: Tweaking the Malstrom

Pic3: Adding different effects and widening the stereo image

26 EDUCATION By David Maclean

TO WHAT DEGREE?

o what degree should you study? Should you set your limit at a Short Course, a Certificate, a Diploma or a Degree? The pressure placed on you by society often distorts your reality before you’ve even begun to be honest with yourself about: a) What do you really want to study, based upon what you are really interested in? b) What is your deepest intention as to why, where and how you plan to use this course of study in your life? c) Can you visualise yourself doing this 8+ hours each day for 30+ years? If you don’t have an answer for a) or b), or answered ‘no’ for c), then it is back to the drawing board you go. If you didn’t have to think of your answer for a) because you’ve already known for a long time what you want to do; and b) why; and screamed “OF COURSE!” for c), you have already pulled the trigger on what to study; you are on your way.

But now you must pay attention, because society will also have its say. Many will try to stop you with advice, such as: “That’s not a proper job”; “You’ll never earn enough from doing that alone”; “Jonathan studied that and hasn’t found a job in two years since graduating”; “Study X so that you can take over Dad’s company when he retires”. I bet most readers have heard some of these before. Only when you know what makes you really happy will you have the strength of mind to forge ahead with your plan to equip yourself with the knowledge you require to earn your livelihood, possibly for the rest of your working life. So, you can enrol for a two-week Short Course, a one-year Certificate, a two-year Diploma, or a three-year Degree. Which is it to be? Your career goals, budget, and unique reality will largely dictate which you choose, but, the influence of others will very likely make an equally significant contribution to your decision. Let’s cut to the chase: a Degree holds

far greater prestige in society than a Diploma or Certificate, but Dips and Certs would not exist if they weren’t relevant; in fact, as qualifications they have made a significant contribution to society for decades. The distinct advantage of a Certificate course is that it only takes one year, focuses solely on the subject matter you are interested in, and will of course be far cheaper in fees than a Diploma or Degree. Regardless of what qualification you choose to study, when you get to the workplace you will start at the bottom and have to work your way to the top. Any credible course or qualification is designed to provide students with real skills for the real world. That means, upon graduation a student is ready to work. How this is achieved is what differentiates the various options you have to choose from. Certs and Dips are more practically focussed, while Degrees are more rigorous academically. Degrees require more research, writing, and intellectual enquiry from a student. The ideal for many is a Bachelor Degree that delivers both the practical and

intellectual aspects in equal amounts. In contemporary society, a truly relevant degree includes a large portion of hands-on practical training that forms the bedrock of being able to do something competently, and earn a living from it. A Degree is one of the few things in society that does not go out of fashion, anywhere in the world. The value of a degree on your résumé (from a reputable institution) does not date, tells the world you have a brain and are prepared to use it, and may well allow you greater earning potential if you are on a salary. However, don’t be naïve and believe that a qualification of any nature will guarantee you an effortless kick-start to your career and a good life. Only a sustained commitment to your craft, delivered with integrity every day, can earn you this. In the bigger picture of business, clever and stupid is not the focus. How brilliant and reliable you are at what you do, is. I have not answered the question: “To What Degree?” directly. The reason is that there is no silver bullet answer. You and

whom you interact with will dictate the choice you make. As with anything, do your homework so you can discern between empirical fact and the opinion of others, because if you ask five people their opinion about anything at all, it is likely you will get five different answers. In the field of Education it is no different. If you ask a competent professional who has no tertiary qualification: “Should I study for a certificate or a degree?” they may well say: “Don’t waste your time; get a job”. If you ask someone who has taken a course of formal study, his or her answer may well be very different. Everyone’s opinions are based upon what they know, what they don’t know, and what they have and have not experienced. If you choose professions like law, or medicine, you will need to study formally. In the music industry however, the parameters of entry are completely undefined. This is a blessing and a curse: a blessing because it allows anyone (in theory) to be involved, and to make up their techniques as they go along; and a curse because there is no formal

structure, which makes entry into the workplace a challenge. It is this challenge that is so exciting for many, and the element that separates those who are only ‘along for the ride’ versus those that are eating, breathing and sleeping their craft. If you study anything other than your ultimate love, you’re wasting your time, and often someone else’s money! Have the guts to present your case to the world by being informed. To say, “I’m passionate about music” will likely get a yawn and not a job offer. You need to be able to answer the question: “Why would someone invest their time and money in me?” If you don’t have an answer yet, dig deeper. We live in a very competitive world and need to be better than the average to attract attention. If you’re good at something, you will get paid for it. But, always be humble, deliberate, and on time. And lastly, leave the rubbish we’ve been taught that: “I want doesn’t get” at the door. If we don’t know what we want, how can we get it!

David Maclean | a Brief Biography David Maclean is a mastering engineer, educator and business executive with two decades of experience in the music industry and tertiary education sector. David is the Director of SAE Institute South Africa and is based at their campus in Cape Town. The SAE Group has 54 campuses across the globe. David understands the attitudes and opinions of the industry professionals within the creative media industries and the educators and authorities within Higher Education in South Africa and abroad based on his unusual portfolio of skills in business, education and creative media technologies.