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June 2017 / CM243
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Zinio
welcome Although us music-obsessed folks here at HQ are proud to champion computer-based tune-making, we never shun the use of outboard gear. If anything, we’re excited to live in a world where anyone can make music using any conceivable combination of physical and virtual tools. We’re in an era of choice, connectivity and creativity. That’s why we’re exploring the synergy between modern digital and classic gear this month. First, our cover feature, Punch & Power (p20), shows you how to use both analogue-modelled and digital mixing tools to strike the perfect balance between classic dynamics and modern weight. After that, house pro Alex Arnout makes a track from scratch on video (p42), using his enviable array of classic Roland kit alongside in-thebox mixing – grab his project and files from the Vault. Then, after installing your free EQ plugin (p52), which features four bands of analogue-style filter types, our Taking Control feature (p63) teaches you all the fantastic ways that hardware gear can be controlled via software. And to top all this off, we bring you the verdict on Bitwig Studio 2 (p86) which, with its fresh array of hardware-controlling features and modular approach, could be the DAW for seamlessly integrating hardware synths with the digital world. So whether you’re a gear head with a studio full of synths, or a music maker using only a laptop and cans (or anything in between), we hope you…
“We’re in an era of choice, connectivity and creativity”
Enjoy the issue
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Joe Rossitter Editor
Issue 243 JUNE 2017
contents
Cover feature
42
86
Producer Masterclass 42 alex arnout
Push your mixes to the next level with our high-impact tips and techniques, p20
The house pro jams out a track from scratch using a choice combo of classic hardware and plugins
Interview
Features 52 overtone dsp AF2-10-CM The analogue-style EQ plugin is free with this issue
55 synthwave: the
guide
78 booka shade The veteran duo discuss Kraftwerkophobia, early MIDI, and having their tunes stolen
Get retro with our genre-focused tutorial guides
Reviews
63 TAKING CONTROL
86 bitwig studio 2
Connect your hardware and bring the outside world in
90 KV331 AUDIO SYNTHMASTER ONE 94 steinberg halion 6
/experts Your guides for the ever-expanding world of production are here 72 easy guide Explore how to use nonharmonic notes in melodies
74
Essentials 10 news
98 audiority grainspace
14 freeware news
99 audiothing the orb 101 audified tnt voice executor Lofelt Basslet, Voxengo CRTIV Chorus, HoRNet Dynamics Control, 13 sample pack reviews
Discover the hidden tricks of your favourite reverb plugins
78
96 eventide fission
103 MINI REVIEWS
74 s tudio strategies
94
16 w hat’s on your hard drive? 40 NEXT MONTH 50 SUBSCRIBE 62 back issues 114 BLAST FROM THE PAST: yamaha ns-10
76 dr beat Get heavy with this timpani programming masterclass
76
4 / Computer Music / June 2017
114
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ORCHESTRAL TENSION
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500 exclusive brass, string and wind ensemble samples to add emotion to your tracks, p106
LOOPMASTERS BONUS SAMPLES Grab a tailored selection of the best samples from their latest packs, p107
PLUGIN COLLECTION
CM Plugins Our exclusive collection of free plugins for Mac and PC. See what’s available on p108
Tutorial files A folder full of audio examples, synth patches and project files to help you follow our tutorials This digital content has been thoroughly scanned and tested at all stages of production, but as with all new software, we still recommend that you run a virus checker before use. We also recommend that you have an up-to-date backup of your hard drive before using the content. Future cannot accept responsibility for any disruption, damage and/or loss to your data or computer system that may occur while using this magazine’s programs and/or data. Consult your network administrator before installing any software on a networked computer. If you have problems using our Vault download system, please contact computermusic@futurenet.com.
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video All our tutorial features come with pro video guides ready to download onto your PC/Mac at vault.computermusic.co.uk
Get your sounds to pop like never before with all these videos from this month’s cover feature Read the full article on p20
1 Five easy methods to build punch into your mix
5 Adding punch to drums with amplitude shaping
6 Exploring slow-attack compression for punch
7 Perfecting a mix’s punch with transient shaping
8 Multiband transient shaping to sculpt punch
9 Dialling in frequencyspecific snare smash
10 Unsquashing overcompressed sounds
11 Three bassline power-ups
12 Analogue preamp punch
13 Parallel gated distortion for attack
14 Custom compression for consistency
15 Advanced limiter tweaks
17 Using a custom chain of multiple limiters
18 Advanced layering tactics for pro punch
19 Adding pre-punch with reversed layers
20 Precise punch with extreme transient surgery
6 / Computer Music / June 2017
video
Producer Masterclass
ALEX ARNOUT 5 Um cumquam rem The house meister builds a track from scratch, nonseque de verspist dent using his enviable collection of analogue hardware Note: this video is only available using the link on page 43
Read the full article on p42 June 2017 / Computer Music / 7
video
Grab this issue’s tutorial videos via Vault download – see p5
AF2-10-CM We take this issue’s free analogue EQ for a spin Read the full article on p52
TAKING CONTROL
SYNTHWAVE: THE CM GUIDE
See how to plug in your hardware
A stylistic guide to producing the ultimate retro genre Read the full article on p55
Read the full article on p63
4 Faking integration with SysEx and Dexed
6 Using Bitwig Studio 2 to control modular hardware
EASY GUIDE
/experts Our resident music production gurus walk you through their specialist field every month
Read the full article on pxx 8 / Computer Music / June 2017
1 Synthesising a dreamy, 80s-style polysynth
STUDIO STRATEGIES
4 Designing a synthwave bass with Dune CM
DR BEAT
non-harmonic creative tones reverb tricks
Timpani
Learn the music theory behind connecting two or more chords together
Program epic orchestral percussion in your DAW with this tutorial
Read the full article on p72
Discover the creative uses lurking within your favourite reverb plugins
Read the full Read the full article on p74 article on pxx
Read the full article on p76
> news
New releases • comment • industry happenings
UAD Software v9.1 Reworked SSL talents, pumped-up Moog filters, modern 8-bit mojo and more It could be an expensive month for lovers of Universal Audio’s DSPpowered UAD-2 plugins, with five new releases. Let’s power on the Apollo Twin and check them out… In recent years, UA have offered improved remakes of several older plugins, and now their official emulation of the iconic SSL 4000 E Channel Strip (£229) gets this treatment. It offers high and low filtering, four-band EQ, gating/expansion and punchy compression. The new version is fully remodelled with “end-to-end circuit emulation”, capturing aspects like the Jensen mic preamp transformers and dbx “gold-can” VCA output. It’s now Unisonready, so owners of a UA Apollo interface can record through the emulated mic/line preamp stages, with hardware impedance matching. The Moog Multimode Filter Collection (£189) features the all-new Multimode Filter XL and the previous UAD Moog filter plugins as Legacy editions. XL features a better nonlinear filter design, with 1-4 poles, notch mode, and 20-20,000Hz operation. The Envelope has more controls, there are now two LFOs, and there’s a new step sequencer with four assignable lanes. Softube are up next, with their official recreation of the OTO Biscuit (£189), a modern-day 8-bit effects box. Individual bits are switchable and invertible, and there’s a stereo multimode filter, diode
A treasure trove of vintage and modern classics arrive on the UAD platform this month
distortion, and four lo-fi effects to play with: Waveshaper, Delay, Pitchshifting and Step-Filter. Finally, two from veteran UAD-ers brainworx. bx_subsynth (£115) takes its cues from the dbx 120XP Subharmonic Synthesizer to “easily add massive low-end punch without affecting the midrange”. It features three enhancement bands, dual-mode saturation, and in true
brainworx style, mid/side control. The Unison-compatible Fuchs Overdrive Supreme Amplifier Plug-In (£115) offers the revered tones of the Fuchs’ 50-watt guitar amp, itself inspired by the legendary (and astonishingly expensive) Dumble Overdrive Special. All are available now via the UAD Software v9.1 update. URL www.uaudio.com
Harrison Mixbus 4
Based on the sound and workflow of Harrison’s hardware mixing consoles, v4 of the Mixbus DAW brings in a freshened GUI with improved window management, a “mini-timeline”, and customisable toolbar. Additions include a stereo width knob per bus, VCA faders, VST support on Mac, a redesigned tempo/time sig system with tempo mapping, and Lua scripting. Mixbus 4 is out now for PC/Mac/Linux, priced $79. The higher-end Mixbus 32C should receive the same features in May. Coming from a serious name in hardware mixing gear, Mixbus’ sonic claims carry weight
10 / Computer Music / June 2017
URL www.harrisonconsoles.com
news <
Komplete Kontrol’s 1.8 update brings enhanced integration with Reaktor Blocks
App watch The new iPad is here, and as usual there’s plenty of new stuff to load onto it Before we get into the app news, a quick word on Apple’s new iPad. Its name might not feature a suffix, but this is actually the replacement for the ageing iPad Air 2, and at £339 for the entry-level 32GB version, is now the cheapest Apple tablet. We like the look of it, and we suspect that many musicians will feel the same. www.apple.com
NI Komplete Kontrol 1.8
Native Instruments’ S-Series keyboards utilise a software “brain” – the Komplete Kontrol software, which also works sans keyboard in conjunction with NI instruments – to allow sophisticated features like advanced arpeggiation and chord generation. v1.8 ushers in more of this. First, the Smart Play scale engine gets new scales and modes, now totalling over
100. Individual note positions within generated chords can be fully controlled, and voicings in Auto mode are selected for “the most natural” chord transitions. Finally, the transport section can control clock-based instruments like Reaktor Blocks, and hitting Record on an S-Series keyboard now arms Maschine. It’s a free update. URL www.native-instruments.com
Roland Cloud v4.0
With more legendary synths and beatboxes to their name than practically any other company, it’s great to see Roland finally getting serious about stuffing those classics into our plugin folders. v4.0 of the Roland Cloud software subscription service introduces the Legendary Series – and they don’t get much more legendary than the Juno-106 and Jupiter-8 analogue polysynths of the 1980s. The Juno-106 is known for its simple yet great-sounding 6-voice architecture, with main, sub and noise oscillators; high-pass and 24dB low-pass filters; and a famously rich chorus. The plugin adds an 8-voice mode; additions to the LFO, VCF, VCA, and Effects sections; and Roland “may have included an Arpeggiator, too!” The Jupiter-8 is more complex, with two oscillators, 12dB/24dB low-pass, cross-
AudioThing Outer Space Another Roland classic (unofficially) recreated, this one emulates the Space Echo tape delay of the 70s, used to create far-out FX on countless dub
You might think that you know what a sequencer looks like, but Seaquence will surely convince you otherwise. This new iPhone, iPad and iPod touch app enables you to make music using not a grid or row of buttons, but a collection of sea creatures, which change their behaviour as you adjust parameters. It sounds like a gimmick, but there’s a polyphonic synthesis module working away behind the scenes, and you can add more features with a one-off in-app purchase. There’s no need to pay anything to try Seaquence, though, as the standard version is free. Dive in… seaquence.org
The ‘Legendary Series’ brings the Ju’s to the Cloud
modulation, oscillator sync and more. Finally, Roland’s modern-day System-8 hardware VA synth now has a plugin equivalent, too. Roland Cloud is $20/month. URL www.rolandcloud.com
reggae tracks. Like the real thing, Outer Space has three playback heads (ie, for three separate initial echo times) and a spring reverb section. AudioThing say they’ve modelled the frequency/ saturation characteristics of three different tapes, “along with all the analogue imperfections of tape recording/playback”. Additionally, they’ve recreated the “ballistic response” of the delay rate, which when tweaked on the fly, is responsible for those bizarre pitch-changing repeats. It’s out now, priced €49. URL www.audiothing.net
While many synth apps make a virtue of being lean and simple, Living Memory Software’s LayR is a big multitimbral instrument from the old school. You start with Layers, each of which contains a dual oscillator, two statevariable filters and a mixer, and combine these into instruments. Up to 100 instruments can be corralled into a Performance, and each of these can be assigned to its own MIDI channel, giving you the opportunity to create some massive, complex sounds for playing live or using in the studio. Effects, an arpeggiator and an event sequencer are also part of the deal, as is support for Audiobus and Inter-App Audio. www.livingmemorysoftware.com June 2017 / Computer Music / 11
> news
Get with the programmers We strain our ears to the max with the man behind the first online audio gym
SoundGym
Noam Gingold
What’s your background in music and in programming? NG “I think I have the programmer mindset. I understand programming… but I don’t write code. We have two great programmers on the SoundGym team, and I think that this ‘programmer mindset’ of mine makes the communication and the idea-to-product process very fluent and effective. Besides being CEO at SoundGym, I’m a musician (producing music under the name Gingold X), and a sound designer. I love synths and technology, and Reaktor is my dreamland, where I can make crazy sonic ideas come true.”
What inspired you to create SoundGym? NG “I wanted to create a unique environment, where music producers and engineers can get proper audio ear training and improve their skills while having fun. I think that people are more motivated and learn better when training comes in the form of an engaging game.”
How does the platform operate behind the scenes, in a technical sense? What are the underlying technologies? NG “SoundGym is an online platform, and we use Web Audio API – so basically, all the audio processing happens in the user’s browser.” You give users a new ‘workout’ every day – how do they work? NG “Each audio workout is made of five games. Each one of those games challenges different skills (such as equalisation and compression), and every day we present our members with a new workout. The games are fully personalised, as the game’s level increases according to your achievements in different fields.”
“The games are fully personalised, as the level increases according to your achievements”
You’ve recently updated SoundGym to version 2. What’s new? NG “SoundGym 2 is less about new sound games and more about the platform. We have noticed that members want to communicate on the platform, share their experience and help each other both at training and making music. So SoundGym 2 is actually a complete social network that was implemented into the old SoundGym to enhance the learning and training experience, and enable communication. One month after its release, we’re very happy with the results.”
What’s on the agenda for SoundGym in the future? Do you have plans to add any more workouts or features? NG “We add new ear training games and features all the time. SoundGym is always a work in progress. With the new social network we have better communication with our members, and we do our best to listen and implement what they need. We’ve just added a distortion detection game; and new sound games and other goodies are on the way. We surely intend to continue helping our users make better and more emotional sounding music.” URL www.soundgym.co 12 / Computer Music / June 2017
Togu Audio Line TAL-Dub-X
The original freeware TAL-Dub series (there were three versions in all) helped establish Togu Audio Line as a creator of quality instruments and effects. Now we have a commercial “remake”, TAL-Dub-X, that continues the lineage, bolting on many new features. To sum up, it’s a stereo tape-style delay, with syncable, linkable left/right delay lines; ping-pong mode; high-pass and resonant low-pass filters that can be placed inside or outside the feedback loop; delay and filter modulation; tap tempo; MIDI learn; and a “special” saturation stage. It’s $30. URL www.tal-software.com
SKnote DolA
Back in the bad old days of recording to tape, the Dolby A noise reduction system was widespread. An encoder emphasised high frequencies, to be recorded to tape (the boosted highs masking tape hiss), then the signal was run through a decoder on output to de-emphasise those frequencies (and the hiss) to normal. If you skip the decoder stage, you get a super-boosted, airy treble presence – and many producers used this to great effect, especially on vocals. Now SKnote have brought that same trick to your DAW with DolA ($40), which has three modes to emulate settings and hardware mods. URL www.sknoteaudio.com
Exponential Audio R4
With three reverbs already released by Exponential, you might think a fourth is just plain indulgent. But with ex-Lexicon DSP wizard Michael Carnes cooking up the code, it’s almost guaranteed that R4 will have a certain special something to it – it’s described as “a character reverb that outdoes all the classics”. Essentially a major rework of the earlier R2 plugin, it offers updated algorithms, plus several effects unusual for a reverb: a compressor/expander, overdrive, and modulated EQ. A tail suppression circuit gives greater dynamic response. And there’s 1200+ presets. It’s $299. URL www.exponentialaudio.com
Inear Display Litote
Before the VST revolution, we had to make granular FX by hand. Things are far simpler nowadays, thankfully, and Inear Display’s Litote aims to make granular madness even more accessible. There are four audio engines (based on a mix of granulators, resonators and diffusion delays) that are combined using an XY pad. Instead of editing engine parameters directly, a “smart randomizer” reconfigures them at the click of a button. The trajectory mode allows these “granular landscapes” to be traversed automatically, to create evolving sounds. Priced €47, Litote is out now. URL www.ineardisplay.com