FREE
LITOTE CM GRANULAR EFFECT
GOLDIE
Exclusive interview with the godfather of DnB
October 2017 / CM247
The Art of
2GB SAMPLES
WORK WITH STEMS // DIY BOOTLEGS // EXTRACT VOCALS // CREATE VIPS // PRO MASH-UPS + MUCH MORE!
REMIXING Rework any track with our cutting-edge 2017 masterclass
3
remix projects
PLUS
REMIXING TOOLKIT
8GB
DVD EXPERT TUTORIALS > STUDIO MONITORS 101 > BUILD A PLUGIN WITH HISE > NEXT-LEVEL LOUDNESS
LITOTE CM
Dial in creative delays for days with Inear Display’s mind-bending granular effect! FREE SOUNDWARE
FREE PLUGIN COLLECTION
2GB
76
Three essential packs
AND EFFECTS
SAMPLES
INSTRUMENTS
No DVD drive? No problem! Full download also included
FREE PLUGIN
Scott Garcia, Sticky & Rude Jude UKG in-studio masterclaSS
Issue 247
intro / computer music <
Download See page 5 to find out how to download this issue’s exclusive content
HOW TO USE
download
We’ve got a new system for downloading files. Whenever you see this icon, you can grab the files on your PC or Mac by going to filesilo.co.uk/computermusic.
Tutorials featuring this icon make use of our own Plugins – find out all about them from p107.
Tutorial
Files
This icon means there are extra files to help you follow a tutorial feature: project files, audio examples, etc. There’s extra video content wherever you see this icon.
www.computermusic.co.uk
WWW
computermusic@futurenet.com www.facebook.com/computer.music.mag www.twitter.com/computermusicuk www.youtube.com/computermusicmag
Subscribe to Computer Music!
See p42
Where to get Print in stores and online www.myfavouritemagazines.com
Zinio
welcome We all have creative peaks and troughs in the studio. One day, you’ll be itching to compose something new; but other times you’ll sit staring at the screen, daunted at the prospect of having to generate ideas out of thin air. That’s why, when the latter situation occurs, my all-time favourite technique for reigniting that creative spark is to – yep, you guessed it – tackle a remix! Reworking someone else’s track into something different is a surefire inspiration generator, and it’s obvious why: not only do you start with plenty of material to use as a jumping-off point, but you’ll also have the opportunity to develop and refine your musical vision as an artist, and give an existing idea your own sonic stamp. Plus, diving into a stack of stems (or dissecting chunks of a full mix) and mangling things up with creative processing is fun! Starting on p22, then, we’ll take you through The Art of Remixing – from must-know info and conceptual strategies through to hands-on techniques, cutting-edge remixing tools and beyond. And we’ve included three projects and a Remix Toolkit sample pack for you to practise with at home! Before I go, note that all of this issue’s digital goodies are NOT available from our old Vault download area – you need to head over to FileSilo, our new content hub, to get your free software, samples, videos and files. Turn to p5 for full instructions. Until next time, fellow remixers…
“Refine your musical vision as an artist…”
Enjoy the issue
for PC, Mac, Android, iPad & more www.zinio.com
iOS app store
Google Play
for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch
for Android & Chrome for PC/Mac
www.computermusic.co.uk/cmdigital
play.google.com
Joe Rossitter Editor
Issue 247 OCTOBER 2017
contents
Cover feature
THE ART OF
REMIXING
44
88
Producer Masterclass 44 Foundation x rude Jude
Deconstruct the tricks of the trade, and piece together the top genres for yourself, p22
The UK garage dons discuss their collab with the YouTube piano hero
Interview
Features 54 inear display litote cm This granular effect is yours for free with this issue
57 studio monitors
78 goldie Now that he’s back with a new album, the DnB legend speaks to about his creative process in the studio
Get setup and buying advice with our guide
Reviews
64 create a plugin with hise
86 slate digital virtual tube collection
Use the free modular environment to roll your own
/experts 72 easy guide Learn the secrets behind simple and compound time
72
74 s tudio strategies
90 audio damAge kombinat tri
10 news
95 univerSal audio ssl 4000 g bus compressor 96 psp audioware psp preqursor2
98 Unfiltered audio instant delay
76 dr beat The good doctor explores the one drop reggae beat
Essentials
97 audio damage grind
Get your tunes sounding loud right from the start
101 MINI REVIEWS
76
4 / Computer Music / October 2017
78
88 Magix sound forge pro mac 3
92 Liquidsonics seventh heaven pro
Your guides for the ever-expanding world of production are here
86
14 freeware news 16 What’s on your hard drive? 41 NEXT MONTH 42 SUBSCRIBE 63 back issues 114 BLAST FROM THE PAST: jupiter-8
114
/ download
There’s a new, better way to download your free content: filesilo.co.uk/computermusic
Unlock an issue
Import older mags
Log into FileSilo on your PC or Mac, then just click an issue and answer a question – you’ll have to reference the magazine to get the answer.
FileSilo will replace our old Vault system, and you’ll soon be able to migrate your added mags from one account to the other.
TUTORIAL VIDEO
PLUGIN
Litote CM This granular effect from Inear Display is free for readers of this issue! Find out how it works and watch the video over on p54 SAMPLE PACKS
1753 free samples
Tutorial videos High-quality videos to guide you through our tutorials. Wherever you see the icon on the left, there’s a video version to watch See this issue’s entire video content on the next pages TUTORIAL FILES
Get our Impact Factory sample pack, our Remix Toolkit bonus collection, and a serving of the best Loopmasters content from recent weeks, p104
PLUGIN COLLECTION
CM Plugins Our exclusive collection of free plugins for Mac and PC. Check ‘em out on p107
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 FileSilo download system, let us know at filesilohelp@futurenet.com
SOFTWARE, SAMPLES AND PLUGIN COLLECTION AVAILABLE ON THE
DVD
video Download this month’s videos: filesilo.co.uk/computermusic
THE art of
REMIXING
Learn the technical, tactical and creative strategies needed for putting your own spin any track
Read the full article on p22
1 Warping track parts to fit a new tempo
2 How to organise remix stems
3 Creative stockpiling to enhance your workflow
4 Building a remixing instrument
5 Creating an ambient backdrop from stems
6 Designing bespoke drums when remixing
7 Embellishing with new sounds & instrumentation
8
9 Six bootlegging tactics for chopping up a track
10 Rhythmically slicing a loop when remixing
11 Isolating an acappella using phase cancellation
12 Extracting a beat from a track using modern tools
13 Polyphonic dissection with Celemony Melodyne 4
14 Reworking beats with Accusonus Regroover Pro
Taking a remix further
6 / Computer Music / October 2017
video
Producer Masterclass
FOUNDATION X RUDE JUDE Join Sticky, Scott Garcia and the French piano wizz in the studio as they deconstruct their collab Epic in this 90-minute video Note: this video is only available using the link on page 45 Read the full article on p44 October 2017 / Computer Music / 7
video
This issue’s videos are now available from FileSilo – see p5
HISE CREATe YOUR OWN PLUGIN with
Roll your own creations in this modular environment
Read the full article on p54
1
Setting up a HISE project
LITOTE CM
Read the full article on p64
2 Importing samples to use in HISE
Splice and dice your audio with this granular gizmo
EASY GUIDE
musical meter
/experts Our resident music production gurus walk you through their specialist field every month
3 Mapping samples and adjusting loop points
4 Basic instrument design in the HISE environment
5 Creating a custom interface in HISE
6 Finalising and exporting our instrument
STUDIO STRATEGIES
DR BEAT
next-level loudness
Learn about compound Build loudness into times and how to make your mix from the start them work in your music with this video tutorial
Read the full article on p72 8 / Computer Music / October 2017
Read the full Read the full article on p74 article on pxx
the one drop Ronan deconstructs this classic reggae groove staple in the piano roll
Read the full article on p76
> news
New releases • comment • industry happenings
IK Multimedia Syntronik A dream team of 38 vintage synthesisers makes a play for your plugins folder Vintage synth emulations are nothing new – but how about 38 synths in one? That’s the deal with Syntronik, which IK Multimedia say “raises the bar in sound quality and flexibility.” The package comprises 17 instruments, each based on one or more classic synths, with its interface resembling the emulated gear. For example, Minimod apes the Minimoog Model D, Modular Moog and Moog Voyager. Other virtualised goodies include the Oberheim OB-X/OB-Xa; Roland Jupiters, JXs and Juno-60; Sequential Circuits Prophets; Yamaha CS-80, GX-1 and CS-01 II; ARP 2600; Roland TB-303; PPG Wave 2.3; Oberheim SEM; and a whole bunch of further Moog classics, including Taurus pedals, Polymoog, Opus 3, Rogue and Prodigy. String Box emulates string machines from ARP, Elka, Hohner and Roland. There are even recreations of Yamaha’s epic SY99 digital power-synth from 1991, and Alesis’ 2000 masterpiece, the all-analogue Andromeda. So is it samples or synthesis under the hood? A bit of both, actually. The oscillators are sampled – “the only way to ensure truly authentic sounds," say IK. This involves deep multisampling and capture of oscillator combinations like FM and sync sweeps. IK’s new Drift technology then varies phase, pitch and ‘colour’ with each note, “to keep them moving just like real
With Syntronik, IK offer quantity and quality – we’ll assess the latter in our upcoming review
analogue oscillators.” This amounts to 50GB of sound content. The seven filter styles include circuit-level models of the Moog transistor ladder, Roland IR3109 (Juno-60, Jupiter-8), Curtis CEM3320 (Prophet-5, Oberheim OB-Xa) and Oberheim SEM state-variable. These are all “mix and match”, allowing, for example, Minimoog oscillators to be combined with Oberheim filters.
Other features include four available synth layers per patch, ‘dynamic’ arpeggiators, 2000 presets, compatibility with IK’s SampleTank 3 package, and 38 AmpliTube/T-RackS-derived effects (with a few Syntronik exclusives like Ensemble Chorus). Syntronik is available for $50 per instrument, or $300 bags you all 17. URL www.ikmultimedia.com
Eventide UltraTap
With controls like Slurm and Chop, this ain’t your average delay plugin!
10 / Computer Music / October 2017
When it comes to high-end creative delay, few can match Eventide. And the UltraTap algorithm in their swish H9 Harmonizer guitar pedal is now coming to a DAW near you with the dedicated UltraTap plugin. The makers themselves describe it as “a unique multi-tap effect that’s capable of rhythmic delays, glitchy reverbs, huge pad-like volume swells and extraordinary modulation.” Designed with real-time play in mind, you can define two patches and smoothly morph between them using the Ribbon Controller. Out now, UltraTap costs $79. URL www.eventideaudio.com
news <
App watch We report on the latest developments in phone and tablet music making
SynthScaper Bring a touch of CLA to your mixes with Waves’ latest processor
Waves CLA MixDown Previous collaborations between Waves and legendary mixing engineer Chris Lord-Alge (aka CLA) resulted in individual plugins for mixing drums, guitars, bass, and vocals, as well as a quartet of compressors. Now there’s one for your master bus too: CLA MixDown. This features two of CLA’s favourite mix buss chains, incorporating two
varieties of compression, console saturation, and “a finishing EQ with the perfect bass and treble curves.” You get four main faders for Bass, Treble, Glue and Drive; Input/Output faders; and a switch for the two chains. Metering helps you hit that sweet spot. Out now, it’s $99. URL www.waves.com
iMusicAlbum’s SynthScaper isn’t quite the ‘regular’ iOS synth that it appears to be. It’s an experimental, sample-based tool for creating a range of ambient soundscapes, from melodic tones to not-so-musical noises. It gives you plenty of flexibility in the way that MIDI controller keyboards are assigned and used to control the sound. Audiobus and Inter-App Audio are both supported, and the price is £9.99/$9.99. motion-soundscape.blogspot.co.uk
Sonnox Dynamic EQ What happens when you smash together the two most fundamental processes of mixing, EQ and compression? Dynamic EQ is the answer, and in recent years it’s become increasingly prevalent. Now Sonnox are adding just such a plugin to their wellrounded stock of staple mix tools. With a name that leaves no room for doubt, Dynamic EQ is no-nonsense Sonnox all over. Up to five bands can be used at once, all featuring Sonnox’s Type-3 proportional Q curve. Each band can process and/or detect the mono, stereo, mid or side signal, with its own internal/external sidechain controls. The dynamic aspect means that the cut or boost of a band can react to the input signal, allowing upwards/downwards compression
Tokyo Dawn Records Limiter 6 GE
A commercial, Gentleman’s Edition followup to the freeware classic Limiter 6, this compression/limiting “toolkit” features six modules you can place in any order:
Ravenscroft 275
or expansion. This is triggerable either when the signal crosses a threshold, like traditional dynamics devices, or – more unusually – in reaction to transients, like a transient shaper. Sonnox Dynamic EQ is £200. URL www.sonnox.com
Dynamics Compressor, Clipper, High Frequency Limiter, Peak Limiter, Output Protection Limiter and True Peak/EBU Loudness Meter. Each gives control “over different types of events, from macro to micro”, making it suitable for everything from brickwall limiting to “creative mix bus crunching.” TDR claim you can “greatly increase the perceived loudness of a mix while preserving superior musical fidelity, punch, and excitement.” Which is what we all want, right? An equal loudness bypass allows for fair assessment. It’s €50. URL www.tokyodawn.net
We’re seeing plenty of high-spec emulations of acoustic instruments come to iOS, a case in point being UVI’s new Ravenscroft 275 Grand Piano. An emulation of the titanium instrument of the same name, it offers many of the features we’re used to seeing in desktop plugins (like sympathetic resonance and sustain pedal modelling). AU v3 support joins the Inter-App Audio and Audiobus compatibility. It’s £35/$36. www.uvi.net
BeatMaker 3
Having generated no end of pre-release buzz, BeatMaker 3 has been released, with labels like ‘game-changer’ being bandied about by early adopters. As with its predecessors, BM3 offers a pad-based workflow, but a far more flexible and powerful one than before. There are extensive sampling options, powerful sequencing tools, a fully-fledged mixer and Inter-App Audio and AU v3 support. The introductory price is £20/$20. www.intua.net October 2017 / Computer Music / 11
> news
Get with the programmers The man responsible for that signature Tone2 sound is also behind secret particle accelerator technology…
Tone2
Markus Krause
Tell us how Tone2 got started. Who’s in the company, and what’s your philosophy behind plugin development? MK “I started programming trackers for DOS in the early 90s. There wasn’t a lot of software available for soundcards in those days. In the early 2000s, I developed the synth engines of several well known VSTs for reFX (Vangard/ Slayer/JunoX and more). In 2005 I decided to go my own way and founded Tone2. “Our team consists of Markus (programming), Troels (support), Anna (office) and a larger group of sound designers and beta testers. We build synths that we also use in our own productions. I usually do not seek inspiration from existing synths or copy other people’s ideas – instead, I try to create something new from scratch.”
Would you ever go back to freelance coding projects, or are you exclusively working with Tone2 projects now? MK “I am still able to do projects for the industry occassionally. One project was developing algorithms for digital radio transmission, and I also wrote algorithms for a company which builds particle accelerators. But I’m not allowed to talk about details.” From a total of 12 Tone2 products, seven are synths! Why the focus on synthesisers rather than effects? MK “Synths are more complicated to build than effects. As a result, there is less competition on the market. Furthermore, I’m not only a programmer, but also a passionate sound designer. Building patches is fun.” Your synths have that big, brash, aggressive ‘Tone2 sound’! What do you think is behind it? And how did it happen? MK “Because of my academic background (I’m a phonetician and engineer), my approach to designing synths is a scientific one – there’s a lot of complicated math behind it. I always design every module from the aspect of the highest possible sound quality. The sum of all these modules results in the ‘Tone2 sound’. Many people say my stuff has a very modern sound; others say it sounds extreme, like polished plastic!”
“My approach to designing synths is a scientific one”
Which is your personal favourite Tone2 synth? MK “Electra2 and Icarus. I like Icarus because of the resynthesis function. Here you can pick a WAV file and create a new patch from it. There are lots of possibilities for waveform editing. The stereo hypersaws sound very wide, and you can build very fat sounds. “I use Electra2 for loading samples. It can automatically tune them, which is a major time saver. In v2.5, drag and drop modulation has been added, which speeds up sound design a lot. Since it can play up to four layers and four arpgeggiators at the same time, you can build big ensembles which are great for live performances.” What’s next for Tone2? MK “This year we want to focus on enhancing existing products. There will be several large and free updates. Furthermore, a couple of expansions and soundsets will be released.” URL www.tone2.com 12 / Computer Music / October 2017
Sinevibes Robotizer
According to its creators, Robotizer is “precisely controlled or completely chaotic and endlessly evolving,” which is worryingly close to how the marketing blurb for Skynet might read. Assuming this Maconly AU plugin doesn’t immediately trigger the rise of the robots, we can at least enjoy its fun granular repeats, strums, stutters and gating. Tiny grains of audio are continuously repeated, with controls for grain size, retrigger period, number of repeats, swing, and dry/wet. Further randomisation/ correlation features are described as ‘intelligent’ – so go easy on those. Grab Robotizer, before it enslaves us all, for $29. URL www.sinevib.es
Overtone DSP EQ4000
From the creators of our own superb AF210-CM and Program EQ CM equalisers comes another slice of frequency tweakery. As the name hints, EQ4000 is based on the EQ from the legendary SSL 4000 series recording console. You get four parametric bands, covering low, low-mid, high-mid and high frequency ranges, with the low and high bands switchable between bell or shelf. For authenticity, EQ4000 emulates the earlier ‘brown’ and later ‘black’ versions of the hardware, and features ‘cross-linking’ of bands that “emulates the control interaction of the original design.” It’s £24. URL www.overtonedsp.co.uk
Sensomusic Usine Hollyhock 3
Described as a “professional audio, video and DMX modular software”, it sounds like Usine Hollyhock can do it all. V3 expands the system with a modular video engine and improved DMX (stage lighting control) engine. For us musos, there are 150 new audio/synthesis modules, audio peak detection, new synthesis patches, and even a synthesis demo workspace called Poly Mini Mogg, inspired by classic Moog gear. Other enhancements include a redesigned sequencer and 500MB of new sounds. It’s €249 for a professional license, or €99 for non-pros. URL www.sensomusic.org
Ableton MidiVolve by Coldcut
Ever-active UK dance music legends and founders of Ninja Tune, Coldcut are the brains behind this Steve Reich-inspired Max For Live arpeggiator, riff generator and pattern sequencer. Initial patterns can be played or programmed via MIDI, then transformed into fresh melodies, riffs and grooves with the Evolve button. This ‘mutates’ things like note pitch, velocity and duration to create a new sequence. You also get 11 Instruments and eight Effects Racks, powered by 1GB of sampled African instruments and sounds plucked from Coldcut’s own sample backlog. It’s out now, priced €39. URL www.ableton.com