Wsm - August 2007 - Issue 016 by Wusik Dot Com

WUSIK MAGAZINE ISSUE 16 WUSIK.COM

Letter from the Editor Editorial

Magazine Layout: MoniKe Editors: R(t)O, WilliamK and MoniKe

Articles by: DamBros Especial thanks to Claudia Picchi David Keenum Devon.Brent @ traxmusic.org Kevin Burke www.kevinburke.ca Mike Felker - aka Karmacomposer www.mfelkerco.com Peter 'Ray' Savage - aka funkychickendance R(t)O Simon Cann www.simoncann.com www.noisesculpture.com Triple P www.triplep.wusik.com Wouter Dullaert - aka Kyran www.kyran.wayouthere.co.uk Zachariah Weckter www.strict-9.net

Proof-Reading by: Kevin Burke www.kevinburke.ca

Wusikstation V4 Advertising Background: Michael Knubben

Pictures: www.dreamstime.com

Photo Credits: Assemblage 23: Bob Libby Imperative Reaction: Brock Otterbacher VNV Nation: Dirk Eusterbrock

"Oh my Lord, the Wax is gone!" It may seem a bit silly to say this, but sometimes, we tend to overlook the fact that our ears accumulate a lot of wax over the time. I remember some time ago, when everything would sound “flat”. It was as if the stuff I was using was just lame. Nothing I tested would jump out and make me feel good. But I never bothered to check my ears; I thought it was just how things were. Maybe all the clubbing just made my mind tired. After some time, and completely out of the blue, my ears got blocked and I couldn't hear a thing. People would stare at me; their mouths would open and close but I couldn’t hear any sound. I got in a bit of a panic, and rushed over to visit a doctor to check out what was going on. Of course, I knew it was just wax - no one loses their hearing while selling printer cartridges. But still, it wasn't a very good feeling at all. It took some time to get the wax out, after using some special medication and a cleansing process. But oh boy, I was happy again. Everything sounded crispy and sharp. I could hear the birds chirping and the wind blowing. No more flat sound. Once I got back home, I started to listen to some tracks I was working on. Now it made sense – all of the mixing I did “by-ear” sounded terrible. I had to re-do the whole thing, especially focusing on the high end where I had pumped up things to compensate so I could hear through the wax blockage. One piece of advice the doctor gave me was to let the shower water go in my ears to clean the excessive wax buildup that we all tend to collect with time. I was supposed to do this once a month to keep things clean. But we need some wax there for our own protection. So don't go nuts cleaning it every day. Leave something behind. I know, this whole story may sound ridiculous to people, but we do overlook our own ears. They are a very important thing, especially when you work with them every day.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

WilliamK and MoniKe

Corrections: There were a couple of errors in our Magic on Summer Street article. First we reported that Roland had an investment in Zildijan: this is incorrect. Roland’s investment is in Remo INC. Second, we misspelled René Ceballos’ last name. We apologize for these errors and will continue to make every effort to be 100% accurate in every article we write.

New and Old Musical Instruments by DamBros

04 08

Diversions: A Discouraging Word by Kevin Burke

Going with the Flow by Simon Cann

16 Getting Started: The Sequencer Chronicles - Part 2 by R(t)O

Interview: Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev by David Keenum

56 The Compulsive Tire-Kicker: Space Synths - Part 2 by funkychickendance

Table Contents

Creating Sounds: A Distorted View of the World by Simon Cann

Flashback: The Sisters of Mercy Vision Thing by R(t)O

Gear Review: AKAI MPD-24 MIDI Percussion Controller by R(t)O

ManyTone by Wouter

38 Pianoteq 2.0 - Part 1 by Mike Felker

On Staff: On Staff by Triple P CD Review: Assemblage 23 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Meta by R(t)O

Imperative Reaction - As We Fall by R(t)O VNV Nation - Judgement by R(t)O

Total Kaoss by Zachariah Weckter

46 48

What's On Your Amp by Triple P

52 54

The Synth Romance by Mike Felker

Thinking Out Loud: Full Circle by Triple P

A Tribute to Argu(ru) by R(t)O

94 96 99

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Cashis by Triple P

Sylenth1 by Devon Brent

72 84 88 82

New and Old

musical instruments by DamBros

I was very young when I first heard a handsaw being played with the bow of a violin. Classic and pop music were being performed with great mastery by an illustrious musician then unknown to me, but who later became a great friend. Even today it astonishes me that a saw doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have what most instruments have: the positions that guide the interpreter where he needs to put his hands to get each of the notes that he will need, so the spectators can recognize the song that is being played. Besides that, the sound obtained from the saw is soft and melodious, conquering without effort our ears and feelings.

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At school, when I was about 10, every Saturday the students were invited to participate of one hour of art, basically organized with solo instruments such as piano, accordion, organ, or even pop or classic music recitals. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss one. Being crazy about sound, I would never miss the opportunity of enjoying dedicated and selected soloists performing. Moreover, I lived in a small and quiet town where novelties were few and deserved to be appreciated.

New and Old musical instruments

During one of these events, I was introduced to a very strange instrument which made me very curious. At the front of the room (which was filled with students and family members), on the top of a table, there was a kind of box with something like an antenna coming out from the top, and on one side there was metal in the shape of a circle with its tips turned into the box. It was useless asking what instrument that was and what it did, because the students were all supposed to remain seated and quiet (a way of making the kids used to a discipline that we would use all of our lives). After a long wait the school principal introduced the artist invited that week. Well dressed, he began saying that the instrument was very different from the ones we knew. It would be played without touch; sound would emanate just by approximating or distancing the hands from the antenna

and the circular piece of metal. The antenna would serve to select the musical notes, and the circle would control the volume. Facing a doubtful audience, he made a demonstration that made everyone speechless - and anxious to watch the whole musical program. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sure I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sleep that night because I witnessed a phenomenon that haunted me for many days.

Lev Sergeivitch Termen

During the performance the musician explained that the device was called Theremin and that it had been built in 1919 by a Russian named Lev Sergeivitch Termen. It is considered the first totally electronic music equipment, and it is used by bands of various parts of the world. One of the great stars of the Theremin is a Russian follower, Serj Tankian, a phenomenon that can be watched on several sites on the internet.

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Theremin

New and Old musical instruments

Well, as Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m talking about exotic or different instruments, it is worth declaring that I am a fan of Steel Drums. I first heard them in a film and soon made a clear mental note: I had to see one of these marvels. Many years later, I was able to be close to them and I freaked out with its unique sound coming out from those elaborate containers producing different notes in each of the metal sections. They are a true work of art which enchants anyone who hears them. Later on, I found out that the Steel Drum is an idiophone which first originated in Trinidad and Tobago and can be built with three-eighths; this provides a very rich range of tones. Finally, I could shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t forget to mention my first industrialized musical instrument, as the ones I had before were all built by me. My first companion during lonesome times with a broken heart was my harmonica. Primarily a simple instrument, but perfect for a beginner. My experience at the radio station helped me choose a mixed repertoire of classic and popular international music, which I am still fond of today. Later arrived the Honners: German, high-fidelity with a top professional sonority. I still have and care of them, and once in a while I play them just to revive good memories ...

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A pro audio daily news and reviews resource dedicated to computer musicians, sound engineers and hobbyists everywhere since â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;99.

www.traxmusic.org

Creating Sounds

Distorted View of theWorld

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

by Simon Cann

In this second of two articles in this edition of WSM, Simon Cann looks at some creative uses for Wusikstation’s distortion units. He also looks at how the signal flow options discussed in the earlier article can be used to help shape your sound. Everyone understands distortion, don’t they? It’s that loud a nasty thing that the rockers do, and sometimes Jan Hammer uses it when he’s doing a guitar-type sound.

At very low levels, you are unlikely to hear much effect, but the distortion can have the effect of warming up a sound and perhaps compressing it a bit.

With a touch more effect, you will often find that a sound can feel more “vintage” as the distortion effect takes out some of the top end of the signal.

The next step is to move into proper overdrive (start thinking of rock guitars and Deep Purple type organs and you will get the picture). This overdrive type effect can be quite controllable and quite musical.

Finally you will get out-and-out distortion which may be hard to control or use with any subtlety.

Creating Sounds

DistortedViewof theWorld

Yes and no. Of course, you can use distortion as an “in-yerface” effect. However, there’s much more that it can do for you. Depending on the amount of control you are given over the distortion— and Wusikstation gives you lots of control—distortion can be used in a much more subtle manner. Typically, you should be able to squeeze the following spectrum of tone color from most distortion units:

To get this broad range of tones you’re going to need to need some audio flexibility—if you haven’t already done so, check back to my earlier article about routing options in Wusikstation. I’m going to mention these routing options in a moment.

Distortion and Wusikstation

At a certain point—and you really need to exercise some care here—you can get a distortion unit to act like an exciter generating some bright harmonics that may have been lost in your sound.

You’ve probably found out by now that Wusikstation doesn’t just give you one unit, but instead offers a whole range of distortion units. At first this range is pretty confusing, but once you understand the function that each of these units is intended to fulfill, life gets simpler.

As the effect increases, the signal will start to break up— this might be a useful setting for sound effects.

Let’s have a look at the distortion units in Wusikstation and see what they can do for us.

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Figure 1 The Bit Quantizer for that classic digital distortion effect.

As Figure 2 shows, when you reduce the bit rate (the vertical axis), or the sampling rate (the horizontal axis), the quality of the signal you are reproducing is degraded. However, sometimes this reduction in quality is good giving many creative sound-shaping options. Figure 2 Reducing the bit rate and the sampling rate reduces the fidelity of the audio signal.

There are two factor that affect the quality of a digital sound:

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

路

The bit rate, which is the number of degrees of loudness that a signal can have. The standard rates are 16 bit (CD quality) and 24 bit, although older samplers worked at 8 bit or 12 bit. 16 bit means you have 65,536 (2^16) degrees of loudness, and 24 bit means you have 16,777,216 (2^24) degrees of loudness. The sampling rate, which is the number of times per second that a digital representation of a sound is created. The standard rate is 44,100Hz (in

The Bit Quantizer works by reducing the bit rate. As you can hear: 路

When the bit rate is set around 5 bits to 8 bits, the quality of the sound can take on more of a vintage digital sampler, having something of a more brittle tone.

路

When the bit rate is set below 4 bits, the quality is seriously degraded, giving a really crunchy digital distortion sound.

DistortedViewof theWorld

The Bit Quantizer (see Figure 1) creates a classic digital distortion effect.

Creating Sounds

other words 44,100 samples per second) which is CD quality.

Bit Quantizer

You will probably want to use this as an inline effect. To do so, load it into FX1 slot, and set the Dry Out to zero. Once you have done this, you will find that balancing the Model and Drive controls gives you a wide range of sonic options.

Creating Sounds

DistortedViewof theWorld

This effect works best in the FX1 slot as you can then balance the precise amount of grit that the effect brings. In particular, if you set the Dry Out control to zero, the sound is fully controlled by the Bit Quantizer.

Combo The Combo unit (see Figure 3) is designed to recreate the effect of running a signal into a guitar amplifier. With the effect you get the distortion, but this is then smoothed out due to the inefficiency of the speaker which acts as a filter taking off the top end of all that nasty distortion. The inefficiency of speakers is why rock guitar distortion can sound great when digital distortion can sound nasty (nasty in a bad way, that is).

Degrade Degrade (see Figure 4) takes a step forward from Bit Quantizer, and adds sample rate reduction too (take a look back at Figure 2). The combination of bit reduction and sample rate manipulation gives a wide range of digital distortion tones. Figure 4 Degrade allows you to reduce the bit rate and the sample rate to achieve a wide range of digital distortion.

Figure 3 The Combo distortion unit which recreates the effect of running Wusikstation through a guitar amplifier and speaker, giving a smoother form of distortion.

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The Degrade unit also offers a HDR (headroom) control to bring in some more distortion, and a Post Filt (filter) control to smooth the sound.

Digital Distortion Digital Distortion (see Figure 5), does what you would expect: it introduces some nasty, harsh digital distortion.

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Figure 5 Digital Distortion introduces a harsh, digital distortion (which is not surprising, given its name). However, its filter allows the distortion to controlled and used in a musical way.

Although this effect can give a harsh sound, there is a filter to allow for the tone to be shaped and the excesses tamed. You will also see that there are separate Drive and Saturation controls. These allow you to control the amount of overdrive, and to shape its tone.

Double Distortion Double Distortion (see Figure 6) gives you two Drive controls. This allows you to add lots of distortion. While you can use this effect in a subtle manner, that really does mean you’ll miss out on all the fun. Figure 6 Double Distortion allows the effect to be doubled, increasing the sonic mayhem.

Although the most obvious use for this effect is to create those I-miss-Jimi-type overdriven sounds, there is a subtle use for this effect too. Using the unit as a send effect (either in the FX2 slot, or in the FX1

DistortedViewof theWorld

This distortion works best in FX1 slot with the Dry Out set to zero—indeed, you may find that very often you can’t hear the dry signal as it will be drowned out by the distortion sound.

Creating Sounds

As with the Bit Quantizer, this effect offers the widest sonic options when it is in FX1 slot as you can then get pure effected tone, or mix the distortion effect with a clean signal.

Overdrive Overdrive (see Figure 7) is a fairly straightforward overdrive unit. Figure 7 The distortion unit.

Overdrive unit to give a vintage flavor to your sound (much like we did with Double Distortion). ·

However, if you turn Up the Drive, and set the Muffle to zero, you will get a very bright distortion. When this FX unit is used as a send FX unit, this very bright distortion can work like an exciter to give a much brighter sound to your patch without increasing the volume significantly.

Creating Sounds

DistortedViewof theWorld

slot with the Dry Out set to full), if you dial up a small amount of Drive and switch the filter on, by using the FX1 send control on an individual layer, you will find a range of vintage tones, if you’re looking to get a more analog-like sound.

Overdrive

Three Band The final distortion unit is Three Band (see Figure 8). This is a multi-band distortion unit. Figure 8 Three Band, a multiband distortion unit.

If you turn down the Drive control and push up the Muffle control, then you can use the

Multi-band distortion units work by breaking the audio spectrum into bands—as you would

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While it may seem simple—it is certainly straightforward to use— and it can provide a range of overdriven sounds, this is not all the Overdrive unit is good for. Here are two examples of how you could use it—in both cases, I am using the unit as a send FX unit:

You can distort each band individually to create that perfect overdriven sound.

You could distort the lower tones, but keep the higher elements of the sonic spectrum clean to create a crisper sounding form of distortion.

You could distort the top band while keeping the lower bands clean, to give an exciter-type effect.

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So There You Are…

As you can see, a wide range of flexible distortion units, each designed for a different purpose, coupled with some flexible routing options within Wusikstation, gives you endless sonic possibilities, and a range of tones you might not thought about looking for. So now you know what you’re doing, go and distort the world!!

About the Author Simon Cann is a musician and writer based in London. He is the author of: ·

How To Make A Noise

Building a Successful Century Music Career

Cakewalk Synthesizers: From Presets to Power User

Sample This!! (with Klaus P Rausch)

21st

Check out www.noisesculpture.com to find out more about Simon’s books.

DistortedViewof theWorld

There are many ways you can use a multi-band distortion unit, for instance:

Creating Sounds

expect, Three Band breaks the spectrum into three bands. The cut off point between the bands is controlled by the L<>M and the M<>H sliders. Once the audio signal has been split into three, the amount of distortion and the level of each band can be separately controlled.

Creating Sounds

Going with the Flow

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

by Simon Cann

For this edition of WSM, Simon Cann has written two related articles. The first looks at the signal flow through Wusikstationâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in particular, the signal flow through the FX units. In his second article, Simon looks at how to use the various distortion units in Wusikstation and notes how the routing options discussed in this article can be applied to shape the tone you are after.

Conventionally, FX units deployed in one of two ways: -

as an insert FX unit, or

as a send FX unit.

are

However, Wusikstation is not that straightforward. Before I talk about what Wusikstation—and why its routing options are a good thing—let me explain about insert FX and send FX.

Figure 2 The signal flow through a send FX unit.

But Wusikstation Doesn’t Insert and Send FX Units.

Have

Insert FX

Help!! I’m Confused.

With insert FX the whole of the audio signal passes through the FX unit (see Figure 1). So if you want to add a distortion effect, then you would usually (but not always) want the whole signal to be distorted by the fuzz box. EQ and compression are other typical examples of insert FX units.

You are right, Wusikstation doesn’t offer conventional insert FX and send FX. In fact, on first glance, Wusikstation’s FX routing is just plain confusing. However, if you give it a second look, you will find that the routing is far more flexible than the conventional arrangements and to a large extent gets away from the notion of either insert FX or send FX, and instead offers both.

Figure 1 The signal flow through an insert FX unit.

Creating Sounds

Going with the Flow

While it may not be obvious, there are three audio sends from each of the six layers in Wusikstation: the direct signal

FX1 send, and

Send FX

FX2 send.

With send FX, you send part of your signal to the FX unit and then add a purely effected signal back to the dry sound (see Figure 2). Examples of FX units that are grouped under the send FX heading are modulation effects (chorus etc), delays, and reverbs.

The levels of all three are controlled by the layer’s volume slider. In addition, the FX1 and FX2 sends are controlled by their own level slider. Take a look at Figure 3.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Creating Sounds

Going with the Flow Figure 3 FX sends

A layer’s volume control and

The FX1 and FX2 sliders control the level of the signals output from the FX1 and FX2 units. If there is no FX unit selected, then the FX return sliders simply control any dry signal sent from the individual layers by the FX1 and FX2 sliders.

Figure 4 demonstrates the signal flow when no FX units are selected. Figure 4 The signal flow through Wusikstation when no FX units are loaded.

So to be clear, the level of the direct signal is controlled by the volume slider. The volume slider also controls the FX1 and FX2 sends, in other words the sends are “post” fader, so if you drop the volume to zero, the sends drop to zero too. The level of the send cannot exceed the level of the direct signal. These three feeds work irrespective of whether an FX unit is present, so if you push up the FX1 and FX2 send levels, you will increase the volume of the layer.

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If you now flip to the master page, you will find three controls that look very similar to those on the layer pages. However, these controls have a different function:

The Volume knob controls the overall volume of Wusikstation.

The fun starts when you load up some FX units in Wusikstation. Let’s start with FX2 which is a straightforward send FX unit. However, it does work well with FX one as we will see in a moment. When you load up FX1, the first thing you will notice is that the direct signal is cut. With an FX unit loaded in FX1, you now have direct control over the level of the direct signal with the Dry Out slider. If you set the Dry Out slider to zero, then FX1 will act as an inline FX unit. If you set the Dry Out slider to any level

above zero, then FX1 will act as a send FX unit. And in one bound, Wusikstation is free from the inline/send FX dilemma. The next trick that you will notice is that the output from FX1 can be fed directly into FX2. This means you can apply an effect to and effect. There is no necessity for a dry signal to be fed into FX2. Take a look at Figure 5 which shows the signal flow through Wusikstation when the FX units are loaded. Figure 5 The signal flow through Wusikstation when the FX units are loaded.

So What Does it All Mean? So what does this all mean for you, the musician? Quite simply, it gives you complete control. If you want a send FX unit only, then load your FX into slot two. If you want flexibility (and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll show you some reasons why you might want that flexibility in my second article), then use the FX1 slot.

Creating Sounds

Going with the Flow

Whatever you do, take some time to get to know how the signal flows through Wusikstation.

About the Author Simon Cann is a musician and writer based in London. He is the author of: How To Make A Noise

Building a Successful 21st Century Music Career

Cakewalk Synthesizers: Presets to Power User

Sample This!! (with Klaus P Rausch)

From

Check out www.noisesculpture.com to find out more about Simonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s books.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

In the last installment

Getting Started

of this column, we went through a

The Sequencer Chronicles - Part 2 -

few

tricks

for

manipulating

the

workspace in Sonar 6 PE. I hope all of you had time to experiment with your

workspace

and

create

something that is optimal for the way you create. Now that we have our environment set up, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move into another area that can help your workflow; Plug-in Layouts. When I left off last time, I said that the next part would move into using the Synth Rack. While working on that article, I really felt that

Plug-in

Layouts

should

discussed first because of the way

Under Construction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Building Plug-in Layouts in Sonar 6 PE

they integrate with the Synth Rack and the FX-Bin. While I did consider coming back to them in the third part, I decided that doing it this way had a better flow to it. Some Workstation

Digital (DAW)

Audio packages

determine the plug-ins on your system and give you no control over how they are presented to you. If you have a lot of plug-ins on your system, this can lead to frustrating delays

forcing

you

hunt

through a list to find the plug you

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

want. Sonar 6 allows you to choose

the manner in which your plugs are presented to you by allowing you to

by R(t)O

create and save Plug-in Layouts. Since you create the layout, your plug-ins should be presented to you how you want to see them.

The Sequencer Chronicles

When Sonar starts, it scans for VST and DirectX (DX) effects and instruments. In days of yore, you had to use the Cakewalk VST Adapter in conjunction with Sonar, but Sonar 6 has directly integrated VST support into the main product. During the scan process, it builds a default plug-in layout that works perfectly. You can use this layout as soon as Sonar finishes loading and not have to manually configure a thing. However, if you have a large arsenal of instruments and effects, you may want to tailor it to your taste.

There are two primary tools in Sonar where you can select and use Plug-in Layouts: the Synth Rack and the FX Bin on the Console View. In addition, you can access the Cakewalk Plug-In Manager from the Tools menu. The manager allows you to create plug-in layouts without having a Sonar Project file open. The manager only allows you to create layouts, to actually do something with them you have to select them from the Synth Rack or the FX Bin.

Getting Started

Origins of the Layout

Managing the Manager

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Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s have a look at the Cakewalk Plugin Layout Manager. Click on the Tools menu in Sonar and select Cakewalk Plug-in Manager. It takes a little bit of time for the manager to open and display the window. When it opens, refer to the graphic to cross reference the major components with the follow list. The window can be resized using the standard windows resizing tools. Take a minute and resize the window to suit your taste.

Getting Started

The Sequencer Chronicles

1. Plug-in Categories Pane: displays the Plug-in categories detected on your machine

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2. Registered Plug-ins Pane: displays the plug-ins that are in the category selected in the Plug-in Categories Pane

3. Import Button: Allows you to import Cakewalk Plug-in Presets 4. Add Plug-in Button: Allows you to add a Plug-in from the Registered Plug-ins Pane to the layout being edited

5. New Folder Button: Creates a new folder in the layout being edited 6. Add Separator Button: Creates a separator line in the layout being edited 7. Expand All Button: Opens all of the folders in the layout being edited 8. Collapse All Button: Closes all of the folders in the layout being edited 9. Sort All Button: Sorts all entries alphabetically in the layout being edited

The Sequencer Chronicles

11. Move Up Button: Moves the currently selected folder or plug-in up one spot in the layout being edited 12. Move Down Button: Moves the currently selected folder or plug-in down one spot in the layout being edited 13. Promote Button: Moves the currently selected folder or plug-in up one level in the plug-in hierarchy. For instance, if you have a folder in the root called Synths and that folder had a sub-folder called Subtractive that contained the Massive plug-in. If you select Massive and click the Promote Button, the plug-in would move up from the Subtractive folder into the Synths folder. Clicking the Promote Button a second time would move the plug-in into the root.

All the Lovely Layouts While you can create layouts by using the Cakewalk Plug-in Layout Manager, I am going to have you launch the tool from the Synth Rack and the FX-Bin. The reason I am doing this is so you can see the default layout Sonar creates for instruments and effects. The manger, when launched from the Tools menu, doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t display the default layouts. By demonstrating these alternate methods, you can see the versatility of Sonar and the attention to detail Cakewalk used when creating this feature; everything you need is at your fingertips.

Getting Started

10. Remove Button: Removes the currently selected folder or plug-in the layout being edited

First off, we will work with the Synth Rack.

14. Add New Layout Button: Creates a new, empty layout 15. Open Layout Button: previously saved layout 16. Save Layout Button: current layout

Opens

Saves

the

17. Delete Layout Button: Deletes the current layout 18.

After you have taken a minute to familiarize yourself with the Cakewalk Plug-in Layout Manager, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move on to the next section and actually begin working with layouts.

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Layout File Pane: Shows the structure of the layout being edited

Getting Started

The Sequencer Chronicles

1. Open Sonar and create an empty project. While you could use an existing project, a new project gives you the ability to experiment without running any serious risk to your work.

8. Click the Collapse All Button. If you see any icon other than a folder, drag it into the loose change folder.

2. Click the Synth Rack toolbar button

I keep my Synth Rack tabbed in the main window, but that isn’t necessary to complete this tutorial. However, your screen may differ. 3. When the Synth Rack appears, click the Insert Soft Synth button. 4. From the context menu, select Soft Synths - Plug-in Layouts - Manage Layouts. This will launch the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager. Take a look at the Layout File Pane. You should see the default layout. Yours will most likely look different than mine, as we have different plug-ins on our respective systems. The default layout is not editable. If you make changes and do not save them under a new name, the changes will be lost. However, rest assured that Cakewalk has seen to it that you do not have to switch to a preferred layout each time you open a project. We’ll discuss that a bit later.

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5. Click the New Folder Button.

6. Name the new folder ‘loose change’ (the name is arbitrary, as long as it is unique) 7. Drag and drop any instruments in the root into the loose change folder. Instruments are denoted by this icon When you are done there should only be folders in the root.

9. Click the Expand All Button to see your inventory 10. Click the Sort All Button to alphabetize the list. The folders will be alphabetized in the root, and the plug-ins will be alphabetized on a folder by folder basis. 11. Click the Collapse All Button again. 12. Expand the loose change folder.

The Sequencer Chronicles

14. Name the new subfolder ‘big bucks’ 15. Right-click on the loose change folder and select New Subfolder from the context menu.

18. Select the ‘penny stocks’ folder and click the Promote Button. Notice that the ‘penny stocks’ folder moves from being a subfolder of ‘loose change’ to a folder in the root.

16. Name this subfolder ‘penny stocks’

19. Select one of the plug-ins in the ‘penny stocks’ folder (expand the folder in necessary) and click the Promote Button. This plug-in is now in the root.

17. Drag one or two plug-ins of your choice from the ‘loose change’ folder into each of the two subfolders

20. Click the Collapse All Button. You should see the one instrument icon and the folders.

Getting Started

13. Right-click on the loose change folder and select New Subfolder from the context menu.

21. Click the Sort All Button, notice that the folders are alphabetized and then the plug-ins in the root are alphabetized and placed beneath the folders. 22. Select any folder in the middle of the tree and click the Move Up Button. Notice that the folder moves up a position in the tree. 23. Now, click the Move Down Button. The folder moves back to its original spot.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Getting Started

The Sequencer Chronicles

24. Click the Save Layout Button. 25. In the Save Plug-In Menu Layout Dialog give this layout a display name of Sequencer Chronicles Part 2 Example 1 and a File name of ‘WSM01601’. 26. Click the Save Button. 27. Click the Close Button on the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager Window. 28. On the Synth Rack, click the Insert Soft Synth Button. 29. From the context menu, select Soft Synths - Plug-in Layouts. Notice that WSM01601 is nowhere on the list but Sequencer Chronicles Part 2 Example 1 is. The display name is what appears in the context menu and the File name is how the menu is saved on the hard drive. These two names can be identical providing no illegal characters are used, but, as we have demonstrated here, it doesn’t have to be.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

We have just stepped through using all the tools necessary to manipulate a layout to suit your needs. I know the folder and subfolder names were a little goofy, but I was reasonably certain that these names wouldn’t conflict with something on your system. I should note here that you cannot have a Plug-in Layout for ReWire Devices in the Synth Rack.

Now that we know how to manipulate the layouts, let’s create one from scratch. We will use many of the same tools we used in the previous procedure and introduce a couple of new ones. I want to stay with the Synth Rack for the time being. 1. On the Synth Rack, click the Insert Soft Synth Button.

2. From the context menu, select Soft Synths - Plug-in Layouts - Manage Layouts. 3. Once the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager window appears, click the Add New Layout Button. Notice that the Layout File Pane goes blank. Don’t worry; all of your work is saved. We simply started a new layout project. 4. In the Plug-in Categories Pane, select VST instruments. Notice that we can select effects categories. We have the ability to build any Plug-in Layout we want to no matter which tool we use to launch the manager. However, if we launch it from the Synth Rack, the only default layout we can get to is the one for instruments. 5. Click the New Folder button and name the new folder ‘My Favorites’ 6. In the Registered Plug-ins Pane, select an instrument of your choice and click the Add Plug-in Button to add it to the ‘My Favorites’ folder. You should see the plug-in appear in the Layout File Pane. 7. In the Registered Plug-ins Pane, select another instrument and then hold the <CTRL> key down while selecting a second plug-in. 8. Click the Add Plug-In Button once more and both plug-ins should appear the ‘My Favorites’ folder.

Cakewalk has made sure that <CTRL> clicking and <SHIFT> clicking works here just like they do in Windows. These tools make it easy to build your layout. It is helpful to note that you cannot drag and drop from the Registered Plug-ins Pane to the Layout File Pane.

The Sequencer Chronicles

10. Add a folder on the opposite side of the Separator from the My Favorites folder. Name the folder whatever you like. Remember, if the folder isn’t created exactly where you want it, just give it a name then use the Move Up and Move Down Buttons or drag and drop to position the folder exactly where you want it to be located. 11. Click the Save Layout Button.

We will come back to this layout in the next section when we dive into the FX Bin side of Plug-in Layouts. Let’s leave Sonar open so we can jump right into it. Hopefully, by now, you are beginning to recognize the benefit of PlugIn Layouts. Now let’s look at the FX Bin. 1. If your project does not have an audio track, insert one at this time.

Getting Started

9. Click the Add Separator Button

12. In the Save Plug-In Menu Layout Dialog give this layout a display name of Sequencer Chronicles Part 2 Example 2 and a File name of ‘WSM01602’. 13. Click the save button. 14. Click the Close button on the Cakewalk Plug-in Manager Window.

2. Make sure that the Show FX button on the console is active. If it is active it will be orange. If it is not active, activate it by selecting it.

15. On the synth rack, click the Insert Soft Synth Button. 16. From the context menu, select Soft Synths - Plug-in Layouts and make sure that Sequencer Chronicles Part 2 Example 1 is selected as the layout for the Synth Rack.

3. Locate the FX Bin on the Console channel strip for your audio track. It is the black box above the sends and below the EQ.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Getting Started

The Sequencer Chronicles

4. Right-click on the FX-Bin. Notice the context menu has both Audio FX and Soft Synths. This is another example of Sonar’s flexibility. You don’t have to use the Synth Rack for instruments; you can simply get them here. 5. Select Audio FX - Plug-in Layouts Manage Layouts. Once again, the Cakewalk Plug-in Manger will appear; only this time it will show the default layout for effects. You will notice that the instrument icons have been replaced with the effect icon.

6. Working with the default effect layout is just like working with the default instrument layout. The tools work the same. 7. Click close on Cakewalk Manager window.

Plug-in

8. Right-click on the FX-Bin and select Soft Synths - Plug-in Layouts Sequencer Chronicles Part 2 Example 2 to select this layout for the FX Bin 9. On the synth rack, click the Insert Soft Synth Button.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

10. From the context menu, select Soft Synths - Plug-in Layouts. Notice that Sequencer Chronicles Part 2 Example 1 is still selected.

Sonar allows you to have one layout for the Synth Rack and another layout for the FX-Bin. The FX-Bin is setting is global for similar track types. For example, if you have layout A selected for an Audio Track, layout A is global for all Audio and Synth Tracks. However, the Bus Tracks can have a different layout that is global to all tracks of this type. Once you select the layouts in either tool, Sonar remembers the last layout used. When you shut down and restart Sonar, the selections you made in the previous session will carry over. I should note that this is application specific and not project specific. In other words, if you set the layouts in project 1 then close project 1 and open project 2, the layouts selected in project 1 will be the layouts used in project 2 unless you manually change them. If you do change them, project 1, when reopened, will use the new layouts. Like every tool, you have to hit a happy medium with its use. If you make 150 layouts, chances are that your workflow won’t improve any because you are sifting through a confusing mess of layouts. Make enough layouts to refine your workflow. I hope you have walked away from this with at least an understanding of (if not an appreciation for) Plug-in Layouts. Next time around, we are going to use the experience we gained with the Synth Rack in this session to load up some instruments and effects.

Interview

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev by David Keenum

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

I arrived home and checked my mail, and there I found the latest copy of my favorite recording magazine. When I looked at the table of contents, I saw that there was an interview of a producer whose work I have respected for years. I thought I would learn something from this professional about how to improve my recordings, but no - I only learned that I didn’t have the right equipment!

“Well, I record all the basic tracks to 24 track and then bounce it down to Pro Tools for over dubs … My signal path is a (name your vintage mic) into a (vintage preamp) and then into a (vintage EQ) and then onto tape … We mix to ½ inch, so we can get that final sheen.” Wow! He lost me every step of the way! Now I have a pretty good mic, and an SM 57, and I have a pretty good preamp. I work at keeping my signal path as clean as I can and I’ve learned about how to keep things clear and clean inside my computer. But then, what about all of the vintage analog gear and those analog tape decks? What am I going to do?

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev Interview

Fortunately, I’ve been around this business long enough to see at least a part of how much work, and money, can go into maintaining vintage analog gear. I had a reel of 2-inch tape to prove it, but I finally threw it away. It sounded terrible - and I’m not referring to my singing and playing! To make the story short, my recording sessions were part of a deal. And it turned out to be not so much of a deal as far as usable music was concerned. The problem was the sound: it was flat, noisy, and pretty well useless. The (big) board and the tape decks weren’t well maintained, so the sound wasn’t ideal. So when I read an article or interview like the one referred to above, I know that there is a lot more that goes into it than the equipment mentioned within the article.

Now I know that there are a number of companies who supply this type of plug-in. Some are more successful that others and none of them satisfy everybody. If you question that, just ask a question about analog plug-ins on your favorite forum. Such uproar! Well, I hope we can avoid that! But I do want to introduce you to Aleksey Vaneev, the owner and programmer of Voxengo plugins.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Later, I owned my own deck, and I saw firsthand the work that goes into maintaining a quality tape deck. So when digital audio came along I was thrilled! Finally, I could afford to record all that I had wanted. All was well . . . except . . . it didn’t quite sound like the recordings of that world famous producer. And sometimes it sounded cold. It didn’t have that warmth that analog brings. Analog is warm, and sometimes gritty, and sometimes a little distorted. But it still sounds right. I wanted that sound.

Fast forward to when I first started visiting audio forums. I found people just like me! They wanted their digital recording to sound analog. Tube preamps, and even tube microphones, are a help, and you can purchase some of them affordably. So that’s a start, but only a start. Then there are my virtual tracks, my VST instrument tracks. How do you warm them up? My new friends suggested various VST plug-ins. They mentioned names like PSP’s Vintage Warmer (great name! both vintage and warmer!), or Nomad Factory’s Blue Tube plug-ins (pricey!). There were many, both free and commercial. But, gradually, two companies stood out that caught my interest: Kjaerhus Audio and Voxengo. Each was independent, small, internet-based companies that supplied PC VST plug-ins. And they catered to those of us who were craving more of that “warm” analog-like sound.

Interview

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev

WSM: Aleksey, can you tell us some of your background? Aleksey: I began programming plug-ins in 2002. Before that time I was already programming for quite some time. I was also involved in small-scale music production. I was composing music at that time (and I have some mp3 tracks to show for it), but right now I'm not composing music. On the other hand, at the current time I'm actively participating in recording and production for local music bands as a recording and mixing engineer (with a bit of post-processing). WSM: Where are you located? Aleksey: I'm located in: Syktyvkar, Russia, the capital of the Komi Republic. WSM: What is the weather like there?

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Aleksey: Our weather is nothing to talk about: not much sun with a cloudy sky almost all the time, a bit depressing if you ask me. :-)

WSM: How Moscow?

far

Syktyvkar

from

Aleksey: It is somewhere from 1100 to 1500 km to the Northeast of Moscow (data differs). But it is just a 2-hour flight (with two flights per day scheduled from the local airport) - so Moscow is easily accessible from here.

WSM: Can you describe Syktyvkar for us? Aleksey: Syktyvkar is a compact city (152sq.km), despite the fact that around 250,000 citizens are living here. We do not have many sights over here - several museums, and a park near the river. It is a busy city, with a lot of cars, many old. But I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what people are doing here beside selling something to each other, and building new houses (condominiums) for extraordinary prices. On the other hand, we have one of the largest (in Russia, and in Europe if I'm not mistaken) paper mills nearby - but with electronic paper appearing it probably won't last even a couple of decades. Putting in a bit of sarcasm, we are almost ready for a post-industrial world. :-) As I've said, it is a bit depressing - and weather adds to that. But this is not a negative depression - it is just a reality. What is good is that we have a great winter and some really great forests, and natural places where you can rest. People over here (including me) also have a lot of â&#x20AC;&#x153;internalâ&#x20AC;? struggle it seems - due to weather and overall situation. But several world champions in winter sports, a world champion in power lifting, a world champion in karate, and probably other world champions (I do not have time to check them all) have been born and are living here. We even have a world champion 'sphinx' cat in the record books.

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev Interview

I'm not unhappy, really. In fact, it is refreshing to know that, in all of Russia, you are among only a dozen people working on a world scale in this business area (even if the actual business is still small). SpinAudio from St.Petersburg has left their business it seems, so we are pretty much alone now as a commercial pro audio plug-in business in Russia. WSM: How does living in Syktyvkar affect your running an international web-based business? Aleksey: Syktyvkar is an average-sized region's capital city and is a fine place for this kind of business. We have 8 Mbit ADSL Internet connections in each home, if necessary. The only problem here is the absence of so-called “world class” programming professionals since they tend to move to Moscow and St. Petersburg. I know several people who moved.

Aleksey: Of course, it is exciting that the music community has become global. It has opened greater opportunities for small pro audio software businesses. On the other hand, it has greatly increased competition among musicians. But I believe this global community is a bit stressful for them, at least for those who have achieved some respect. For those who are still unknown, this global scene is a great opportunity to become known. There are pluses and minuses in the music scene becoming global. The pluses have become greater, and so have the minuses. WSM: How did you come up with the name, Voxengo? Aleksey: This was mostly an intuitive choice, something that vibrated well with my intentions. This name can be also transformed into something like “voice engineer” (“voice” being anything that “sounds” and can be heard).

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Right now we are a small business - 2-3 persons working at the same time, but if we had to grow in the future, we'll probably have a difficult time finding someone locally to work on projects. On the other hand, nothing prohibits us from using worldwide outsourcing, and I have had a positive experience with that already. I'm just a bit hesitant to rely on it.

WSM: Isn't it exciting that the music community has become so global?

Interview

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev

WSM: What was your first commercial plug-in? Aleksey: My first commercial plug-in was CurveEQ. But the first attempt was MarvelEQ - it was not successful, but nevertheless it opened the whole business opportunity for me. But even before that I released Impulse Modeler - a tool to create convolution reverb impulses.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

WSM: In our â&#x20AC;&#x153;Analog Dreamsâ&#x20AC;? articles, we are looking at the subject of achieving a more analog sound. Since most of us do not have access to 24track tape machines or high-end preamps, EQs, and compressors, we are interested in using plug-ins to warm our sound. From your product line it seems that your products are designed for just that. Is that correct?

Aleksey: This is correct, but only for some Voxengo plug-ins: mainly Analogflux Suite, Voxengo Warmifier, Voxengo Marquis Compressor and Voxengo Lampthruster. For most of the Voxengo plug-ins we are trying to be maximally transparent. WSM: What caused you to focus some of your plug-ins toward warming and the analog sound? Are we just talking about distortion here?

Aleksey: Analog sound was not really my main goal. You can't have real analog in digital world. As for the warming, this was intentional. Warming is mostly about sound's harmonic content of one kind or the other. Making sounds crisper and warmer - this is what always interested me. In other cases I wanted to preserve the transparency of the sound. Of course, harmonics are simply a distortion. But this distortion can be very different, even multi-dimensional. Distortion can be a single dimension function, and it does sound usually pretty dull or harsh. But if distortion has a two or three-dimensional function with feedback, it may become a bit more alive - it may even transform from distortion into enhancement, speaking of sonic qualities. WSM: Can you explain the difference between the Warmifier and the Lampthruster? Do they have a similar sound? Aleksey: Warmifier is better at adding a 'brown' color without even hearing any obvious distortion, while Lampthruster is crisp and bright and can give a slight distortion flavor.

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev Interview

WSM: So each of your plug-ins has its own individual sound? Can you tell us more about that? Aleksey: This question is exactly about the “dimensionality” of the transformation (transfer) function used in the plug-in. Both Lampthruster and Warmifier utilize unique transformation functions, not to be found elsewhere. This also makes the plug-ins different from each other in their sound. This difference may not seem huge, but sometimes it does matter - especially if it causes the right aesthetic feelings in the given situation. WSM: Do you have one plug-in that we can use as a starting place? Aleksey: I guess GlissEQ and Elephant mastering limiter are good plug-ins for a start. WSM: Do you have some specific plugins to recommend for instrumental music?

WSM: Can you tell us about your Analogflux Suite? Was it intended to emulate analog hardware?

WSM: You offer such a wide variety of plug-ins! What is your best selling plugin? Aleksey: There is a whole set of best selling plug-ins. The most demanded ones are: Voxengo Voxformer, Voxengo Elephant, Voxengo GlissEQ, and Voxengo Soniformer. WSM: For us electronic musicians, do you have any suggestions on how we can warm up our tracks? Aleksey: I think the best warmer is a good microphone setup with good pre-amps and good analog to digital converters. Plug-ins will help, too (sometimes they may help enormously), but sound quality of the source is much more important. For some serious analog spice, one should use a professional reel-to-reel tape deck.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Aleksey: I think GlissEQ, Soniformer and Elephant plug-ins may work very well for instrumental music. But compressors like Crunchessor and Marquis Compressor may work well, too.

Aleksey: It is not a dedicated analog simulator, but it does feature the sound of analog hardware – the Analogflux TapeBus models tape decks, the Analogflux Delay features the sound of an old analog delay unit, the Analogflux Impulse features impulse responses of some analog hardware, and the Analogflux Chorus sounds smooth and spacious, pretty analog-sounding overall.

Interview

Analog Dreams Aleksey Vaneev

WSM: Do you have any new plug-ins in the works? Any plug-ins you are developing that you are willing to discuss? Aleksey: We are currently working on a new development platform for the next wave of Voxengo plug-ins. We are planning to add support of Mac OS X AudioUnit and VST plug-ins. RTAS plug-ins are also planned.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

WSM: Can you tell us more about the progress of porting your plug-ins over to the Mac?

Aleksey: We already have a working Mac OS X AudioUnit and VST plug-in for our internal testing (namely, Overtone GEQ). So we believe it won’t be long before the first Voxengo release for Mac OS X. It is true that we postponed the Mac OS X release several times, and started promising the release two years ago it seems. Of course, nobody can say we were hurrying much - even if we have done a lot of 'invisible' development work here. Now it is really close - even if it will be just the Overtone GEQ release at first. Other plug-ins will follow for sure. WSM: Just as an aside, why do you use Assembler instead of C++ to code your plug-ins?

Aleksey: At the time I started creating plugins, I used Borland Delphi which featured no modern code optimizer. Thus, I was forced to use Assembler - this was a great plus (code efficiency), and a great minus (high probability of human coding errors and a large amount of time it took to code). But now we are using C++ for which there are great optimizing compilers. So, we are not using Assembler anymore. WSM: Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers? Aleksey: I want to wish them successful projects, maybe with some help from Voxengo plug-ins… if they do not mind, of course.

Voxengo’s web site is www.voxengo.com. Demos can be downloaded for all plug-ins.

Enigma Engine Mallory's Preset Generator for WusikEngine With this amazing utility program you can create thousands of semi-randomly generated presets for your WusikEngine SoundSets. Presets are based on 8 carefully designed algorithms, each targeting a particular type of sound.

Features include: • Presets can be created for WusikEngine V1 and V2/V3 according to preference. • Many parameters affecting the algorithms can be tweaked according to taste. • Presets can utilize sounds from multiple Sound Sets simultaneously. Supports many popular WusikEngine SoundSets, including: • Famous Keys Wusikstation)

(default

soundset

for

• Famous Keys Plus 1, 2 & 3 • Digi One • TSW, TSW Pro and Vox'd, by BITR • Manystation and Ultimate Bass Kit, by Manytone Music • SoundCell 1-3, Oberheim Resurrection and Viral Outbreak Vol 1 by Nucleus Soundlab

Only $19.99

• Ignition, Fuel and SonicScapes vol 1, by Danger ous Bear • Prepared Rhodes etc, by Zvon • Drone Structures

Now includes a utility that allows users to add support for any other SoundSets not yet directly supported internally (perhaps commercial sets converted from another format). Sound Designers can also use this to provide support for new SoundSets without requiring my input.

System Requirements: CPU: Pentium 4 or better O/S: Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP RAM: At least 512MB HD: At least 100MB free space Microsoft's .NET framework V1.1 The Enigma Engine software is built upon Microsoft's .NET Framework v1.1 In order to run the Enigma Engine software, you must have the .NET Framework v1.1 installed on your system. V1.1 can happily co-exist alongside the later V2.0 of the framework but you do not need to download that. Also there is no need to uninstall V2.0

For more screenshots, a freely downloadable demo or to purchase the program, visit:

www.wusik.com/w/enigma.html

Interview

ManyTone by Wouter

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

We, the writers of your all time favourite magazine, are on a mission to make your music making experience as complete as possible. To make this happen, we regularly ask someone how they feel about the music business, Wusikstation, train delays, and pasta. This month we have the incredible Paul Brown, founder of ManyTone Music (of ManyStation, ManyGuitar and ManyOne fame) in our cosy little interview room.

ManyTone

Paul: I am Paul Brown, a 42 year old musician/producer. I have enjoyed and been involved with music since a very young age. My main instrument is the guitar and I also enjoy singing, but I do play a bit of everything. I own ManyTone Music which is a company that specializes in high quality detailed samples and virtual instruments. My main job these days is recording and producing sounds and samples for our instruments although I also spend a lot of time with the marketing and customer service end. I love keeping in close contact with our customers so this is something I like to do.

WSM: How did you get into the business of selling samples?

Paul: I met William of Wusik online at KVR and approached him about wanting to put together a sample based product. At that time I was blown away by the Wusik engine and all the cool things William was coding for it. William was very helpful and willing to license us his Wusik Engine for the product we now call ManyStation.

WSM: How do you decide what to sample in an instrument? Paul: Well the first thing we always have said here is "We sample the player as well as the instrument". As we have a passion here for guitar and basses, what this means for these instruments is that we listen to the musician playing the instrument and then decide what samples to record. There are always extra little sounds and samples of the things a real guitarist might do in our guitar and bass sample sets and instruments. Things like slides and string noise and harmonics and mute notes as well as some scrapes and chugging mute strings etc. It is these small extras that allow the user to add them to their track in certain spots to make the part they are recording sound more realistic.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Paul: It started out back in 1999 2000 when I recorded and produced our first product which was The ManyTone Acoustic Drums. This product ended up getting marketed by Linplug with their RM3 Drum sampler. From that moment on I knew I wanted to do so much more in the sample and virtual instrument field. I have not looked back since, nor have I stopped. The business is something that can be tough at times, but I do think we are getting a name for ourselves these days based on the quality of our products.

WSM: How did your collaboration with Wusik on ManyStation start?

Interview

WSM: As an introduction, could you give us a brief overview of who you are, and what you do?

Interview

ManyTone

WSM: What do you pay special attention to, to achieve this kind of detail? Paul: All that detail isn't useful if the samples aren't as perfect as possible. It is amazing how many top libraries on the market today contain badly edited samples. What we pay extreme attention to here is making as perfect a sample as we can. By this I mean samples that are in perfect pitch and have exact edits with zero crossing start points and proper fades, retaining that of the natural instrument. There is no automating the sampling process, as some applications allow us to do these days. Every sample here is hand edited to make them the best they can be. It takes a lot of extra time to do these things, but because of this, I can be assured, as can our customers, that they will have a positive experience with the products right from the get go.

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WSM: What's your opinion about pasta with mushrooms and salmon?

Paul: Hmmm. Pasta â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Good. Mushrooms - yep, great with Steak or Pizza. Salmon - Yeah, once and a while I enjoy a nice barbecued piece. But I like mine a little more cooked than most like it. As for all 3 above together in one bowl - I'd have to be hungry to have fish in my pasta. Can I pick the fish bits out? ;-)

WSM: Only if you bribe me with some free samples! You recently released ManyOne. What's next on the ManyTone roadmap? Paul: We are just about to release ManyBass, in fact it should be released by the time this article goes live. ManyBass is a huge 2.4 gig sample based VSTi that features an extensive set of bass guitar samples all taken from the same bass guitar. We cover a bass guitar in a very detailed way, with a software instrument that includes bass amp and cabinet sims as well as compressors and vintage FX. We also have a few other samplesets in the recording and editing phase, mostly some more real instruments like dulcimer and harmonica, but also some detailed DX and TX samples and others from vintage keyboards. Also a future version update for ManyGuitar is planned. As everyone else though, I need more hours in a day. Unfortunately, no one has invented a plugin for that yet, but that won't stop me from staying awake until all hours of the night creating sounds and samples for the masses to enjoy. ;-) I know Greg Schlaepfer and Aldo Trianti, who work closely with me on our products, feel the same way.

ManyTone

Paul: If there was one thing I had to say I liked best about the Wusik engine, I would say the layers and the wave sequencing possibilities. I just love blending a guitar sampleset with a sweet pad and adding modulations and Mod wheel control. The Wusik engine made it so easy to do all this and the CPU usage is insanely low. It was a no brainer here... I am glad William collaborated with us on ManyStation.

WSM: We recently reviewed some of your products in WSM. Did this provide you with any functional feedback?

Interview

WSM: As you sell a Wusik-powered product, you must know it inside out. What's your favourite feature?

Paul: Yeah, I saw those articles. I thought the reviews on our products were excellent. I actually enjoyed reading them as the writing was very well done and honest. The Wusik mag has really started looking nice lately. We do hope to do some other things for the mag in the future also, perhaps a few free soundsets and maybe some special offers for readers of the mag etc. I think it at least lets folks know about us and gives them a chance to see what else is outside the Wusik website that is made for Wusik. William and Monike have done a pretty cool thing with this mag; I hope they can continue to keep it as interesting as it has been in the issues I have read. I'm sure they can... but what a mass of work it must all be! Then again... Willy never stops does he? ;-) Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

WSM: You should ask him the recipe for his 28 hour day!

On Staff

On Staff by Triple-P

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Starting this month, we have decided to do articles profiling writers and other contributors to the magazine. We will share a little about ourselves and our musical history. It was decided I would go first so this is me, Triple-P.

On Staff

People say that music is the soundtrack to life. For some this is true, but for me it is life. Everything I hear and see is translated into music by my brain. While I was growing up, my father would always have the radio blaring. He grew up in the 70's, so we listened to rock and roll from that era all the time. One of his favourite bands was the Who. He had a couple of documentaries and concert tapes of them. We never had cable so we would watch these tapes over and over. One of the things I have been meaning to do is flip their teenage wasteland into a hip-hop joint; that song is just crazy ill. As a kid I was in chorus and I also played trombone for a couple of years. When I was ten, an older kid I was hanging around with got me listening to 2Pac (Tupac Amaru Shakur, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996). I remember it was like crack - I couldn't get enough. Soon, I had all his work up to that time. That got me listening to all the Death Row (records) stuff.

Soon, I didn't want to be a fan anymore - I wanted to do it. I wanted to make people move emotionally and physically. When I was sixteen, I talked my mom into buying me a $300 set of Numark belt-drive turntables with a very basic mixer, and I started to get busy. I am basically self-taught in music. I bought a real basic Yamaha keyboard with general midi (GM) and two tracks to record on. I would make little melodies on one track and put some drums on the other. This wasn't enough though. I wanted to know what I was doing and how to really play the keyboard. I live I a small town of about 10,000 people, so it took me months to find someone to give me lessons. When I started, I picked it up quickly. My teacher used to be amazed at how good I got at it in such little time. Unfortunately though, my teacher had some troubles so the lessons only lasted 3 months. With what I had learned though, I felt like it was time to take it to the next level. Also, I am married, 21 years old, and have 2 children, so my funds are limited. I bought an Acer aspire laptop, and had been reading in about how hip-hop producer 9th Wonder does all his beats with FruityLoops (FL). So I got the demo of version 6 and I got the

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Dr.dre was amazing to me as a kid. He is probably one of the biggest influences on me wanting to be a producer. By the time I was 12, hiphop had me in a chokehold. I would take this 30 disc CD book everywhere I went. At the time, everyone was into Hatebreed and hardcore music. I would be like, “Nah, take that out and put this thug-shit in.” Pretty soon I had

made everyone a fan of 2Pac and rap whether they listened before or not.

On Staff

On Staff basics of making beats down fast; it was so easy to figure out. I felt like I could really become good, so I talked my wife into letting me get FL6xxl. It's been on ever since. I started putting together a little home studio. Unfortunately, I didn't have constant access to the Internet and wasn't real sure what to get. So I ended up getting a Yamaha MW10 ten channel USB mixer and some midi cables. My speaker setup is horrible: I just took stereo speakers from around the house and got a RadioShack monitor and hooked them up to a cheap Wal-Mart sub-woofer. Not the best, but a guy with kids is on a budget. Recently, I got an M-Audio Axiom25 and it rocks. I wish i could have got one with more keys but it is still cool. I study and try to learn as much as possible about music production, but I still wanted someone to teach me. Like I said though, it is hard to find lessons.

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One day, I opened the local paper and there was an ad for synth lessons. I jumped on it immediately. It wasn't synth like I was thinking. I was thinking of programming, but it was an older guy and he meant synth as in loaded Roland XP-50 and XP-80 keyboards - not designing sounds. I was still amped about it though. We decided that we would hook his keyboards up to my computer, but,

after the first day, I played some tracks for him and he decided he would record to my stuff and pretty much collaborate. Whatever I want to know I just ask and he explains it to me - like chords and theory. This was a big deal for me; the guy who I am working with is a local music legend. He and his brothers used to have a band called the Moore Bros. and they toured all over America. His one brother even claims country singer George Strait stole the song Home Improvement from him. His interest in working with me solidified what I already believed, that I was talented and could become someone in music. This brings me to the present. Right now I am still working with him and learning other genres so I can be a more complete producer, and Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m just trying to get my music heard. You can check a couple of my tracks out on WilliamK's virtual label. I am starting to get into other genre's and really need artists to work with rappers, singers, whoever. If you like my music, hit me up at pppeg305@yahoo.com and we can get down. The URL for my music is http://triplep.wusik.com. I hope you enjoyed my story, now go check out my music, holler back EARLY. Peace and Hair grease.

Artvera presents her first commercial sound project for Wusikstation - MISTRAL. This sound library offers Wusikstation users the chance to own a collection of ethnic sounds - string instruments, drums/percussion, woodwinds, vocals and more. With more than 300 presets and 300 megabytes of sample data it's a great inspiration for musicians in any kind of music, especially composers of Film, Ethnic, NewAge or Ambient music. The presets contain not only individual instruments but also longer melodic sequences. Many presets take advantage of all the new features of Wusikstation version 3. In addition, there are very interesting pads with extra sounds which can be used in different music styles. These pads have been created by combining multiple ethnic instruments. The package also contains percussive/drum sequences and even some nature sounds, which have been used to create some special sound effects.

MISTRAL contains also a free bonus - two variants of a new skin for Wusikstation, in both normal and large sequencer formats (see the preview of main page below). The MISTRAL presets have been created by Vera Kinter (Artvera), Daniel Kemp (dnekm) and Stephan M端sch (rsmus7). The price is very friendly - only $30. Release is scheduled for March 2007. www.artvera-music.com/ Wusik Sound Magazine April 2007 #012

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Assemblage 23 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Meta

by R(t)O

CD Review

It has been almost 2 1/2 years since the world has been graced with a new release from the EBM powerhouse Assemblage 23. Storm, their last fulllength CD, was so good that I wondered how they would be able to successfully follow it up. My curiosity has been satisfied, and I am pleased to say that Meta is everything I expected and more. Assemblage 23’s sound has been defined by a combination of hard beats, textured synth sounds, and Tom Shear’s deep, strong voice. While Meta builds on this sound, it takes it to a whole new level. The beats are still strong and capable of tearing up even the most discerning of dance floors, but they now show some additional complexities that compliment A23’s song style. This CD serves up the house’s signature dish of warm, analog synth melodies with a side of phat bass lines; however, the chef has improved the dish by carefully sprinkling a few additional sonic ingredients that enhances the audio flavor.

Every song on this CD deserves being mentioned, but I will stick with touching on the high points. Decades V2 is the opening track and sets the stage for the CD by grabbing hold of your auditory senses and waking them up. Now that A23 has your attention, they serve up some dance floor madness in Sorry and Binary (the first single from Meta). A23 veers into some very interesting territory with the electroballad Damaged. It’s nine parts dark, brooding overtone and one part commercial appeal should be a formula that will garner A23 some muchdeserved recognition. Madman’s Dream is my favorite track on the disc. Its infectious bass line, prophetic lyrics, and Flock of Seagull-ish overtones make for an awesome track that is screaming to be released as a single. Meta does not suffer from any of the afflictions that often plague releases that follow-up a great CD. It is wellwritten and creative. A23 has managed to infuse fresh elements into their sound without destroying the existing elements. If you are a fan, this is a must have. If you are looking for something new, this will not disappoint.

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The one thing that keeps getting better with each A23 release is the lyrical content of the songs. Tom Shear has a gift for penning cutting-edge lyrics that deal with the human condition at so many different levels. His craft shines brighter than ever on Meta. On tracks like Decades V2, Sorry, and Damaged the delicate nature of our existence is dissected and laid bare in captivating prose.

CD Review

Assemblage 23 – Meta

CD Review

Cashis The County Hound (EP) SHADY/INTERSCOPE Records

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

by Triple P

Cashis CD Review

When was the last time you bought an EP? Well, my answer would have been never - until today. The debut album from Eminem's new protégé is short and sweet. Only seven songs (and an intro) long, Cashis comes out swinging.

While the other songs are okay, they aren't anything special. What Cashis lacks in flow he makes up for with heart and passion. On some verses, the Shady Records rookie sounds as if his lungs are running out of air. But the album is well put together. All of the beats are good and Cashis gives the listener a good introduction to himself. This was the warm-up until his "Loose Cannon" album comes out later this year. They only made a limited number of copies (500,000), but even so, it will be interesting to see if he can grab the gold plaque.

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Cashis is an Orange County, California transplant by way of Chi-town. Yes, he is a gangster rapper from the O.C. As strange as that may seem, the album is solid. Eminem has claimed Cashis to be like "Roy Jones in his prime." Now, I wasn't knocked out by this release, but I was satisfied for the six dollars I spent on it. Eminem laid the beat on all but two tracks. The song "Pistol Poppin" stands out as my favorite track on the disc. A solid appearance from Eminem and a very good performance by Cashis make this track stand out from the rest. Another good song on the disk is “Ms. Jenkins.” This is

also produced by Eminem and features a sped-up sample of Queen’s "Bohemian Rhapsody." The sample immediately catches your attention and Cashis delivers his most indepth track on the CD. Lyrically, here, he writes a letter to say sorry to a man he murdered.

Flashback

the sisters of mercy

Vision Thing

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

by R(t)O

the sisters of mercy

A lot of CD’s have been released since Vision Thing, but it still gets frequent play on my system. Half a dozen or so songwriters have tried to imitate but failed to duplicate the style that is a part of Andrew Eldritch’s genius. The Sister’s have had their ups and downs in the time that has passed since Vision Thing, but something that powerful won’t stay down forever. Their website indicates that something awesome is brewing.

www.the-sisters-of-mercy.com

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There was a 3 year hiatus between Vision Thing and Floodland, the very successful release preceding it. During that time, Andreas Bruhn and Tony James entered the fold, and that, along with founding member Andrew Eldritch, laid the groundwork for what would become my favorite Sisters of Mercy CD.

The CD consisted of 8 songs chocked full of angst, anger, and Eldritch’s famous wit. Powered by “Doktor Avalanche’s” perfect rhythms, Vision Thing was a musical onslaught that pushed the boundaries of musical performance, both recorded and live. My favorite song on this disc is When You Don’t See Me. Its infectious guitar riffs coupled with Eldritch’s haunting vocal performance is a magical combination that has made this song a mainstay on my rotation for the last 17 years.

Flashback

Let’s rewind a bit to 1990. Grunge was still a local Seattle phenomenon that was building towards its inevitable explosion. A few alternative acts such as Jesus Jones and Midnight Oil were getting some mainstream attention, and Ministry was brutalizing the music scene with The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste. However, in the dark corners and back alleys of the major cities the Neo-gothic scene was in full force. It was a beautiful and elegant scene; a sort of Renaissance meets fetish fashion all rolled up into one. It was this scene that welcomed Vision Thing, the third full-length release from the Sisters of Mercy.

CD Review

Imperative Reaction As We Fall

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

by R(t)O

Imperative Reaction As We Fall

Imperative Reaction has a knack for getting stellar sounds out of their synths. As We Fall features some of their best sounds to date. Calling them sounds is probably a bit unfair, as they more resemble sonic sculptures. Each sound in the mix supports the other elements like each block in a foundation.

Fans of electronic music will find this CD to be an indispensable member of their collection. Its combination of grooves, hooks, and synth textures make it a delight to listen to and give it the longevity to stay in your rotation for some time to come. Links www.imperativereaction.net

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Lyrically, Imperative Reaction has focused on dealing with challenges, the responses to those challenges, and the eventual reaction to the responses. As We Fall offers some very good song writing that captures the emotions and the drama encountered when facing an adversarial situation. Throughout the course of listening to this CD, I found myself identifying with the things that were being said. I think this is one of the elements that make Imperative Reaction’s music so infectious.

Only in My Mind, Never Ending, and As We Fall are some of the most notable songs on the CD. If you clip out the silence between these three tracks, you have the makings of a non-stop, dance-floor frenzy that will send even the most stalwart clubber to the bar for refreshments. Judas is a powerful track that jumps off the disc and bloodies your nose a bit. Then once it has your attention, it unleashes a barrage of infectious hooks. The last two tracks, Divide and Dissolve, close the disc out in a fine fashion. Divide slows it down a bit and hammers out an awesome chill-type groove, Dissolve slams the tempo back into high gear and kisses you goodbye with some more dance-floor intensity.

CD Review

I have watched Imperative Reaction with considerable interest since I first heard ‘Predicate’ on the Exoskeleton compilation. That gritty little piece of electro-genius (that later appeared on their debut release, Eulogy for a Sick Child) was an introduction to a band that has crammed a lot of good songs into just four releases. As We Fall is the latest offering from Ted Phelps and company, and it doesn’t disappoint on any level.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

VNV Nation Judgement

by R(t)O

CD Review

After 2000’s Empires, VNV Nation’s sound began to expand. While not completely abandoning the thick analog sounds that graced the early releases, they began to incorporate other elements into their work. The drum work also became more diverse. Instead of relying solely on electronic percussion sounds, many of beats were built using more acoustic sounding parts. As part of the sound evolution, some of the songs took on more of a traditional rock feel. While a move like this could have been tragic for a lesser band, VNV Nation has performed it marvelously.

VNV Nation Judgement

VNV Nation has never released a meaningless song in their entire history. The band’s theme of personal and social awareness and consciousness has been a very welcome theme in a musical world that often caters to the lowest common denominator. Ronan has always had the ability to come across through the music like he is talking directly to you. It’s as if he is trying to reason with you; encouraging you to stop and take a moment to think about the consequences of an erratic action. On this release, the songs seem to speak at a more personal level than previous releases.

CD Review

VNV Nation has become arguably one of the most successful bands in the EBM / Futurepop scene. This is largely due to the bands ability to craft a sound that transcends boundaries and is capable of generating larger appeal. While their roots lie firmly in the harder side of Electronic Music, the band has certainly grown into and flourished in other areas of the art. Judgment is the latest installment from the band, and it shows a continued evolution of the bands’ sound.

Judgement is a stellar musical offering. It’s ten songs that offer a listening experience that is worth repeating time and time again. Songs like The Farthest Star, Testament, and Nemesis pay homage to the band’s roots while moving into new directions. I found Secluded Spaces and Illusion to be my two favorites on the disc. The songs are superbly arranged and lyrically inviting. The blend of strings and other pseudoacoustic elements coupled with Ronan’s ability to have a ‘fireside chat’ make these two tracks very appealing.

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While a small part of me would love to see VNV Nation crank out another sonic monster like Empires, the major part is just fascinated with the new directions they have taken their sound. If you enjoy music that is expressive and entertaining, then this release will be a gem for your CD collection.

Diversions

A Discouraging Word by Kevin Burke www.kevinburke.ca

paralysis

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Humans, being equally a creative and destructive species, often find more pleasure in dispensing discouragement through negativity than offering support through positive reinforcement. The trait is at odds with moving the species forward, and offers little in constructive opinion. The result can be psychologically devastating.

fear

In his book ‘How to Get Rich’, Donald Trump says, “Negativity is also a form of fear, and fear can be paralyzing.”

negativity

A Discouraging Word

The between malicious proportional words used message.

position of the line discouragement and intent is directly to the acidity of the to convey the negative

Those providing the direction (opinion, advice) must themselves believe in their words lest they walk

believe the line furthest from discouragement. Their belief in providing cautionary wisdom must surely be equally as strong as my ability to resist it. And yet there must be a definitive winner in this contest of words and thought; a disaster in the making may be borne from my stubbornness, or, with good graces, all the success I had foreseen (whether I admit to it or not). Yet I am unquestionably tarnished and hurt by the very real lack of shoring up. Our nature, by default, positions us to take discouragement personally. Negative comments about our character, our dress, our creativity, knowledge, maintenance, generosity, and even our taste, are perceived as a personal attack on each and every fiber of that which makes us individually ourselves and ultimately unique from one another. The remarks chip away at our self worth and cast doubt on our ability, or our entitlement. Would that there were shields to deflect such malaise back to the sender.

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Several times in my career I’ve been told that I “can’t” do somethingor-other, that I “shouldn’t” do something else, or that there would be repercussions (also known in corporate circles as a career limiting move) should I continue down the path of hell-or-high water. This path, though, each time, is one I deliberately chose to explore, and I did so with the full comfort of believing my choice was the just and right thing to do. To put it another way, if I chose to change my path, or cease progress altogether, I would be in polar opposition to my own character. Would I be able to live with myself if I didn’t put the next foot forward?

I can

Diversions

Indeed, our Old English ancestor to the modern word, fr, meant calamity or disaster. Apprehension, a symptom of fear, results in a pause to think, a full stop to progress (paralysis), a change to perceived project timelines, and a cause for alarm. It can assume sole responsibility for missed opportunity, and yet serendipitously save you from uncertain peril. But once past the fear factor – the thought process which lay directly between what you want to do and what you ultimately will do – it may also result in increased rewards, improved results or output, or otherwise a better product.

think

Diversions

A Discouraging Word I do own up to offering much in the way of caustic music reviews over the last years, and admit that writing an eloquently distasteful piece rates immeasurably higher on my fun-scale than offering up a piece of bleached sugar in the form of pandering to the artist. I deliberately choose songs to review which lack worth on many levels. But the fun rests solely in my court and as I laugh uncontrollably in coiled fetal position – another is charged with digesting an unpalatable meal of unnecessarily bitter prose. I treat the review as a learning experience for the recipients; they, surely, lift their shields. If I impart negativity, and, ergo, fear, are then not my comments causing certain musical paralysis? While feedback arrives to me with a sunny exterior, surely there hides behind the veil a certain amount of self-doubt and self-loathing - and seething. I must also, untraceably, act as contributor to any vestiges of depression detected in my unintentional ‘victims.’

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To be fair, I’ve also written many reviews that gush at apparent musical talent or hold high lyrical

prowess. Praise where praise is due, it is said. The real challenge is in the coming up with words and stringing them into phrases that sound honest, but not sugar coated; sweet enough, but not to the point where they coast down your throat like penny candy. And isn’t that the crux of the situation? Far easier, it is, to be the whole lynch mob than the fairy godmother. In any situation where one feels a need to provide comment that is anything but upbeat, perhaps one could first think about how best to turn the advice around such that it is bathed in constructive light. Focus on that which is good. Do offer insight and personal experience that will be helpful, soul enriching, and selfaffirming for the recipient. Give encouragement. Be a provider of positivity.

Pause. Think. Speak.

prowess

positivity encouragement

The Compulsive Tire-Kicker

SPACE SYNTHS Part 2

Freaky, Funky & Affordable: Choices Continue To Grow

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

by funkychickendance

It’s been a while since The Compulsive Tire-Kicker last took a look at the ‘space synth’ family, and, oh boy, it has certainly grown. Way back in WSM 6, published in the fall of 2006, I reviewed a bunch of different synths and romplers that fitted into this loose definition. Since then, several new versions have appeared, along with some new approaches.

SPACE SYNTHS

I asked this question last time around and there’s still no sensible onesentence answer. Back then, I picked on ‘something that reminds you of the earliest synths, the ones used to make beeping and buzzing sounds, strange arpeggiating spirals, humming and chirping in early sci-fi movies and TV series.’ With the wisdom of hindsight, I see that pretty much any synth can sound like this if you choose a simple enough waveform and apply a dose of FSU. Like a lot of things in life, it comes down to ‘whatever you think it is.’ At the harsh edge, the space synths can be mistaken for industrial, when they’re bland they sound to some ears like ambient music. But probably no one would argue that the synths made by Algo Music or HG Fortune could fall easily into any other category. ‘SciFi’ is there in the VSTi names, the preset names, and the look of the GUIs. They hark back to those pre-‘Star Wars’ days when SF was a minority taste, cool but kitschy.

Boris K is more of a Euro-style creator, but the ‘space synth’ connection is immediately obvious when you look at the GUIs of any of his incredible early productions, which were either freeware or donationware-priced (and hosted under the name BK SynthLab.) I wouldn’t be surprised to see renderings of these GUIs in a modern art museum before too long. Meddle (probably named for the Pink Floyd album), a freebie also available in an enhanced version for $39 as Meddle II, VS-1 Oscilloscope, and Intro are worth owning just for that reason. There’s also a wavetable synth called Spheres, for a modest $27. All of these sound great. A little heavy on CPU, and a little short of presets they may be, but a fine calling card for people who want to check out this type of synth at modest prices.

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Both of these two inventive developers have launched new lines since my last review. In the case of AlgoMusic, Tim Conrardy has upped the odds for everyone by teaming with the Russian developer Boris K, with predictably wonderful results. TC is probably the bestknown North American space synth guy, and as well as his own excellent M42 Nebula and M51 Galaxy creations have also applied his sound designing skills to many other mainstream synths. One can spot his work a mile away by the names

that remind you of Dune, Star Wars, The Ring trilogy and many lesser-known works, along with significant chunks of the astronomy textbook.

The Compulsive Tire-Kicker

What is a ‘space synth’?

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

The Compulsive Tire-Kicker

SPACE SYNTHS

Their first development together was Enceladus, named for a small moon of Saturn visited by the Cassini probe in a flyby in 200X. While it has the look and feel of Algo’s earlier space synths, it differs in significant ways. It’s a fairly simple synth: a two-OSC hybrid with 144 presets, two step sequencers and a good mod matrix. As the blurb says, it delivers “from liquid leads, glassy silky pads to up-front basses and trance evolving arps, sequences and synths.” There’s a distinctive feel to the synth, and its GUI is very attractive. I picked up mine in a summer sale, but at $50, this is not a budget-buster. When you buy it, a second version with extra presets, Enceladus 2.0, also shows up.

SPACE SYNTHS

It seems possible that the duo may revisit the Boris K synths at some point in the future, although perhaps only to add a collection of extra presets. Wisely, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not saying much.

The Compulsive Tire-Kicker

A sister product, AMBElectraBass, extends the space concept to electronic bass sounds. As youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d guess, the bass range is not as incredibly expressive as the full sound spectrum, but it includes many convincing low-end space sounds along with its regular bass duties. The GUI is particularly sweet, and the instrument is a bargain at $35. I have so many basses it is embarrassing, but Electrabass tops anything in this lower price band, not least because it has a well-designed sequencer.

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The Compulsive Tire-Kicker

SPACE SYNTHS

As well, they are very busy: Algo reissued its free PhadiZ CZ-like experimental synth in the past couple of months (‘by popular demand’), and has admitted that it has an evolved CZ-style synth called Czynthia in the works, with betas in the hands of sound designers already. There’s also, further down the road, a trance synth called X-Rave that looks quite spectacular. The GUI can be seen lurking in the background on the AlgoMusic site. It’s probably still a few months away. Algo has been very careful not to release ‘half done’ products, which is one of its great strengths. There’s been a fair amount of activity at HG Fortune, too.

The existing product line is always a movable target, with older versions (or entire products) being dropped, or updated. One big change concerns Wheel of Fortune (X-WOF 3); still one of the best-kept secrets on the planet. Try the free version and you’ll soon be putting your hand in your pocket for the EUR 59 for the full meal deal. Unlike earlier incarnations, X-WOF3 is less intimidating to program, and yet still features the extremely powerful feature set that make it the king of autoplay systems. An update to v1.5 at the end of June 2007 has given the X-WOF3 a whole new bunch of SF2 sounds and 128 new waveforms that it shares with STS-26 and Protoplasm21.

SPACE SYNTHS

There has also been cooperation on add-on soundsets, since the STS synths and Protoplasm swallow SF2 soundfonts and chew them up creatively. Jon Gibson of Dangerous Bear (dBU) has been active there, with a bundle of soundsets/presets under the names Admixture and Involution, which were later pooled as Fortuity 2.0. Are space synths the new kid in town? It’s hard to say where space synths end, and ambient ones begin: what is Absynth? Or even Wusikstation, running on some soundset collections? What can’t you do with CronoX3, or Albino?

Britain’s Homegrown Sounds makes a fairly convincing case to be a space synth developer – although you might disagree – with a trio of products (for the price of one) called Astralis. Astralis A is the main product, with Astralis B being a simplified version that’s less CPU-hungry. The more recent Astralis C is a rompler, which uses the same virtual circuitry to chew WAVs. The whole kit retails for about $50, though I got mine half-price in a launch phase sale. The product line covers a broad range from ambient through trance into space sounds, and is distinguished by oddball tuning options and a busy GUI. Definitely worth a try!

The Compulsive Tire-Kicker

Rather than pulling together totally new products – and frankly, who needs to when your stuff is as good as the STS/Protoplasm/Laserblade sub-family – HG Fortune seems to have focused lately on polishing the existing product line.

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The Compulsive Tire-Kicker

SPACE SYNTHS

A Wusik community heroine, ArtVera, has also been active in what you might call space synth design, adding new sounds to her Golden ATET recently. (Vera might differ with me, because her work is so distinctive that it defies easy categorization, and is as much Wiccan or ambient as it is spacey). Check out her recent Golden Harmony soundset. Afterword: When I last wrote about space synths, I was nudged to look at a Swedish product called Space Synthesizer, by MHC, first released in 2002. It’s still on the market, sells for $89, and is bundled with various FX. Or get it with a huge bundle of other MHC synths for $179. It looks the part, and the MP3’s on the professionallooking site are a pleasant mix of Floydisms and ambient sounds. I’ve overlooked it in the past, but that doesn’t mean that you should! It’s retro because it’s old, not fauxretro. Somehow, it has never generated much buzz. And, if I may offer an opinion, since there hasn’t been a lot of evolution, its time may have come and gone, without some revamping or price cuts.

Astrobelt Mothership is a neglected product from Liqih (Luigi Felici of DASHSignature and NUSofting) that you can find at Don’t Crack for $39, or pick up cheap in the second-hand market. Like all Liqih synths, the Mothership has a lot of character, and a very reassuring early 2000s sound. Highly recommended! And Don’t Forget: The great ‘freebie’ items in this field – in my opinion – remain the following: Cygnus, Crystal, Protoplasm, STS-24, LaserBlade Free, X-WOF III Free.

All are easy to find via KVR or Google! Regret trying them you will not. Be careful, though. It may lead to an addiction…

Gear Review Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

AKAI MPD-24 MIDI Percussion Controller by R(t)O

AKAI MPD-24 MIDI Percussion Controller

The MPD-24 is housed in a sturdy, plastic grey shell with a metal bottom and a Kensington Lock connector. Four non-skid rubber feet are located on the bottom of the controller to keep the unit in place during those long sessions. The centerpiece of the unit is sixteen of those gorgeous AKAI MPC-style pads. Each preset gives you four banks, allowing you to have 64 easily accessible actions. AKAI has also added transport buttons that transmit MMC messages, eight 360-degree rotary knobs, and six sliders to make this unit a MIDI control monster. I tested the unit on two different PC’s and with several DAW packages. In each scenario, the unit met my expectations. The software bundle is pretty choice. AKAI bundles Sound Quest’s

UniQuest editor for the MPD-24. To sweeten the pot, AKAI throws in a copy of the tasty drum module from FXPansion, BFD Lite. If you like BFD Lite, contact FXPansion’s sales team for a nice upgrade offer to the full version of BFD. During the testing process, firmware update 1.07 was made available. Performing the update was simple. When you retrieve the update kit from the AKAI website, a very good set of instructions is provided. If you follow the instructions, your update will be done in a matter of a few minutes.

Gear Review

AKAI has become worldrenowned for their MPC line of music production centers. Never a company to rest on its laurels, AKAI has expanded its business into the world of USB MIDI controllers. The MPD-24 is the latest product from this family to enter the market. Make no mistake about it; AKAI means business with this piece of kit. With a street price hovering around $199.00 (US), it is priced to be affordable.

You may install the unit using a USB or MIDI connection, and both methods of installation are a snap. For USB, the unit is class-compliant and does not require any drivers. This method of installation will create 3 MIDI IN ports and 2 MIDI Out ports. If you choose to use MIDI instead of USB, you simply connect the MIDI In of the unit to the MIDI Out on your interface and the MIDI Out of the unit to the MIDI In on your interface. I tested both methods, and I had excellent results with both performance and editing the unit with the software editor. The unit sports a backlit LCD display which provides feedback while

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

AKAI MPD-24 MIDI

Gear Review

Percussion Controller

you are working or programming the unit. Just below the display are the Navigation and Control buttons that include a rotary dial to scroll parameters or adjust values and double as an Enter button. This section of the controller works together to give you fast access to the unitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parameters. Every control on the unit is ideally placed to provide efficient operation. The MPC style pads are at the heart of the product and are worth gushing about a time or two. AKAI has years of experience in developing its pad technology, and this advantage shows in the way the pads work and feel. Some percussion controllers have pads that feel like vending machine buttons or have their pads installed in such a manner that striking one pad with a little force will trigger every other pad in the row. The MPD-24 does not suffer from either of these maladies. The pads are firm and responsive. When you strike a pad with authority, you get a clean, professional response that is directly proportional to the globally selected velocity curve.

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The pads are capable of several different modes of operation. If you place the unit in FULL LEVEL mode, the pad will always play at maximum velocity no matter how hard to soft you

tap it. The 16 LEVEL mode maps the note of the pad last played before pressing the 16 LEVELS button to all the pads with different velocity values. Pad 1 has a velocity value of 7 and the velocity value increments by 8 for each pad with 16 having a value of 127. The pads are not limited to transmitting note-on / note off messages. Each pad can transmit Note Aftertouch (Channel Pressure) information. With many of todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s instruments being able to use Aftertouch, this feature allows you to work hand in hand with your instrument to create some interesting combinations. By pressing the Program Change button, a pad can send a program change message to your instrument. This is especially useful for a live performance scenario. While the pads are the crux of the unit, they are not the entire show. The eight 360-degree continuous controller knobs and six continuous controller sliders are very useful in their own right. Each knob and slider is assignable, allowing you to customize each preset to your taste. Each knob and slider moves smoothly and gives you finite control over the assigned parameter. The controllers are coupled with a Preview feature. By pressing the Preview button, you can move the

AKAI MPD-24 MIDI Percussion Controller

answer was not in the manual. The MPD-24 manual goes one step further by providing explanation blocks that offer further explanation for various MIDI concepts.

Programming the device from the unit is not a difficult task. The parameters are clearly defined and easily accessed. However, AKAI included a bundled version of UniQuest, and I focused on this method of editing once I was sure that the front panel worked properly. I tried to tackle using the software without using the manual. That was a really dumb mistake on my part, because, once I cracked the manual, the software performed very well. To begin with, I found the layout of the software a little uncomfortable, but after working with it, I realized that there was a method to the madness. It did not take long before I was bouncing around the editor like a pro. I tested the editor using both the USB and the MIDI connections, and it worked great in both cases.

As you can see, this is a very good piece of kit, but there are a couple of things that I think could be enhanced. The knobs and sliders do not take advantage of the bank system afforded to the pads. Although the controls are accessible in all banks, they retain the same parameter assignment regardless of which bank is selected. The second thing that would enhance this controller is an X-Y touchpad. It is important to note that these are suggested enhancements, and the lack of these features does not in any way shape or form constitute a flaw.

The included documentation appeared to be a bit skimpy on first glance, but after going through the manuals for the MPD-24 and the UniQuest editor, I found them to be quite adequate. Both manuals cover their respective products in detail. I did not encounter a single question whose

Gear Review

controller until the LCD displays the value you want. When you release the preview button, the data value displayed on the LCD screen is sent to the target device.

I think the MPD-24 represents the cream of the crop for MIDI percussion controllers. It has robust and solid features function exactly as advertised right out of the box. It puts everything you need to lay down awesome beats at your fingertips. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s palatable price, powerful feature set, and ease of use makes this controller work for the beginner as well as the seasoned veteran.

Link: AKAI Professional = www.akaipro.com

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Gear Review Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Pianoteq 2.0 - Part 1 I love playing my Piano. I have been playing nearly all of my life. When I was nine years old, in 1977, my parents decided it was time for me to learn an instrument and so they bought a Kimball upright. They had me study with a nice elderly lady that taught me to read sheet music, proper fingering technique, and how to play the classics. For nine more years, I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just hate it I truly despised it. I swore to never play again once I left home for college. So, two years later, while attending the University of South Florida, and on my own, I discovered a personal love for piano and synthesizers. Soon after that my career in music began.

by Mike Felker aka Karmacomposer www.mfelkerco.com

Pianoteq 2.0

I had read about modeling of instruments and even owned a few virtual instruments that modeled brass, woodwinds and some other cool stuff. None of them sounded totally believable, but they were fun to program and play, and took no time at all to load. There were no samples to load, so tweaking parameters and loading presets was instantaneous. One day, while creating a 200 foot long flute with a saxophone growl on my favorite instrument modeling application, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be great if someone modeled a Piano?"

Gear Review

Well, someone finally did. Pianoteq is here and boy-oh-boy is it incredible! In this two-part series, Part One will briefly describe the Pianoteq virtual instrument's parameters as well as how it actually 'feels' while playing it. In part 2 (in issue #17 of Wusik Sound Magazine), I will explain the vast modeling and tweakable variables that make this instrument not only fun, but downright accurate. In a nutshell, Pianoteq loads instantly, sounds incredible, and achieves totally realistic and believable results. Like any review, I will report the good and the bad. There are a few tiny challenges that stop me from giving this a total thumbs up, however, most of these can be corrected or altered to taste, as I will explain later.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Fast forward to nearly two years ago, 2005. I was knee-deep in virtual instruments and purchased Native Instrument's Komplete 3. Kontakt 2 was considered the de facto standard for playing and creating sampled instruments and since it came with Komplete 3, I decided to look into sample libraries. I bought many, including some orchestral libraries that came with pianos, among other things. I began to notice, however, that the quality of the pianos was not that great. Also, they took forever to load. I kept spending more money on (what was considered) better and bigger piano libraries. The bigger they became, the more my computer labored to load them. The more expressive I wanted to play, the more polyphony and latency was being used up. Before I knew it, armed with a decently powerful computer with a ton of ram, hard drive space and very good ASIO sound card, I was playing less and less and having more and more problems. Audio drop outs, crackling and computer crashes were becoming more frequent. However, the one thing that really upset me was a subtle phenomenon where notes would turn off by themselves, nearly randomly. It was a disk streaming problem, I was later told. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d had enough! I finally was sick and tired of trying to simply play and record piano.

Gear Review

Pianoteq 2.0

Pianoteq Installation For the rest of this article, I will be using the term Pianoteq, but in actuality, I am talking about Pianoteq 2.0.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Pianoteq comes as a download. The files are not large and the total size is just above 20 megabytes including all extra piano presets. The actual installer is only a shade above 10 megabytes. Double-clicking on the setup file brings you to the normal Windows installer. The program will provide its default install locations which will be adequate for most people. Pianoteq found my VST directory automatically and setup was really a breeze. After finishing the install, I loaded up Sonar 5 PE and it found the new VSTi. I added Pianoteq and the first thing I was faced with when it loaded in a few seconds was the license and authorization screen. If you have an internet connection, this is all pretty automatic and painless. I do not have an internet connection on my music computer, so I had to use the manual method.

Right from www.pianoteq.com:

the

F.A.Q.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The activation program will give you a URL. Note it down and visit the URL using another computer connected to the internet. You will then obtain an activation key. Copy this and save to a file. Transfer the file in some way to your music computer. Open the file, copy the text and paste it into the activation program as instructed." I did as instructed above and was ready to begin within minutes. So far, so good. I also created an account in the support section of their website and logged in. I was able to download the newest version and a bunch of cool freebie pianos modeled from famous, not so famous, and totally outrageous sources. When installed, you get a stand-alone executable and a VSTi for use in any DAW or sequencer that loads virtual instruments.

Pianoteq 2.0 Gear Review

The Interface I find the graphic user interface (GUI) of Pianoteq to be uncluttered and easy to navigate. There is only one window, making preset creation easy and straightforward. Some of the dropdown menus are not so clear, but proper experimentation will reward you with all the features, hidden and obvious, that this virtual instrument provides. The top section shows the logo. Below that are the preset browser drop-down menu, random, undo, redo, and help sections. Undo and redo are understandable and allow you to correct a misstep if need be, or to re-correct it if you made a blunder by erasing the mistake (sounds like a

paradox). I love any instrument that gives you a random button - making new preset creation easy and dangerous. Just be careful because you can always blow a speaker when you let any instrument dictate the sound randomly. However, by using the random button and carefully changing all the parameters to taste, you can make some incredible sounding instruments. The Help dropdown menu gives you access to the manuals in several languages, as well as important website links and the all-important About section. This displays your license and computer credentials and gives the Pianoteq crew their due. A simple click and you are back at the main interface.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Gear Review

Pianoteq 2.0

Underneath the top section are the meat and potatoes of Pianoteq. The middle section is comprised of three boxes: the Tuning, Voicing, and Design parameters. Most of your editing will be in the form of sliders and drop-down menus. Like a professional piano tuner, the Tuning section lets you change the timbre of the piano. You have Diapason, Temperament, Unison Width, Octave Stretching and Direct Sound Duration. The middle box is the Voicing parameters. Here you will find the Hammer Hardness (how hard the virtual hammer strikes the virtual strings). This involves the Piano, Mezzo, and Forte. There is a Spectrum Profile, which looks like another EQ section, but is specific to

the Voicing section. Finally, you have the Hammer Noise, the Character, and Soft Pedal. The third box is the Design box, which has variables for how the virtual piano is built. Here you can define whether you have an upright, baby grand, etc. The Soundboard is comprised of the Impedence, Cutoff, and Q Factor sliders. The next parameter is the Piano Size (how would you like a 200 ft Piano? How about one that is 2 inches long?). Global Resonance, Sympathetic Resonance and Quadratic Effect all have to do with how your piano body and strings react with each other and the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;outsideâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; environment. Believe me, this is math I cannot even fathom to understand. It sounds good, though.

Pianoteq 2.0 Gear Review

The bottom section is pretty much the effects section. On the left you have the EQ and Velocity envelopes (with preset dropdown menus), and on the right is the Reverb. Below that is the sampling frequency, MIDI options, pedal options, pre-release options, polyphony indicator, and preset (FXP) save and load section. In the middle is a graphic representing all of the piano pedals, level meter, overall volume, dynamics, and panning. Finally, a small graphic underneath all of this sets what kind of speakers you are using (headphones, stereo, surround, etc.)

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Gear Review

Pianoteq 2.0

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

How does it sound?

Pianoteq sounds like a real piano. It plays like a real piano. It does help that I own a CME UF8 (use that with MIDI, not USB - USB is dodgy at best) midi-master keyboard with 88 weighted keys. Using the preset browser, I chose the Grand C2 Medium and began playing. The tone had a lot of warmth and vitality. I used the damper pedal on the CME and it worked

and acted like the real thing. In fact, if you keep playing with the damper pedal down, the tone gets very muddy as there is too much sympathetic resonance - like a real piano. Now, I said earlier that I would tell the good with the bad. One of the challenges I had with Pianoteq is that the tone sounded too muted and muddy overall.

Pianoteq 2.0 Gear Review

Fortunately, one way to fix this (like I said, season to taste) is to use the equalization feature. Using this multi-point envelope, I was able to ramp up the highs and lower the bass and mid-tones till I was happy with the tone. I also played with the velocity envelope and adjusted

the design parameters till I liked what I heard. I will go over most of these options in part 2 of this article. For now, I just want to relate my overall experience. Satisfied with my new piano, I lowered the lights and just began playing for pure enjoyment. I sat there for over three hourâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just playing - soft passages, loud passages; it handled it all beautifully. I did have to choose a proper velocity curve on my CME UF8 to really experience it all, but that is not because of Pianoteq.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Gear Review

Pianoteq 2.0 Pianoteq vs Samples You may be wondering how the Pianoteq VSTi compares to samplesets like The Emperor, White Grand, Akoustik Piano, or Yamaha C7 that run in Kontakt 2 or stand-alone. Since using the modeled pianos in Pianoteq for playing live, I do not miss the long load times, random problems, drop-outs, and incorrect tunings on individual keys. I have actually uninstalled my multi-gigabyte libraries (saved over 200GB so far), which provided me with much needed space for project files. For personal enjoyment or live stage use, Pianoteq is far superior to any sample collection and feels, walks and talks like a true piano, with all the subtleties and complexities each brand of piano can bring to the table.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s see how Pianoteq fares in a real life recording session. In my own personal sessions, I have enjoyed using Pianoteq in my projects. The use of EQ, both internally (Pianoteq) and externally (Sonitus, which came with Sonar 5 PE) was necessary to make it sit well in the mix. I did not use the built-in reverb, preferring external solutions (like Sonitus) to help it sound better and reduce overall latency. Speaking of latency, I did not encounter one dropout or glitch with Pianoteq, something I always had encountered with sample sets in Kontakt 2. My setup includes a P4 3ghz processor with 2GB DDR ram and an EMU 1820m sound solution, running Windows 2000. I had zero latency challenges, so using Pianoteq in a session as a professional tool can be both rewarding and life-saving. The velocity sensitivity allowed for any and every form of playing style I could throw at it. The true-to-life controls and parameters over every aspect of a real piano can make Pianoteq a serious piano creation workstation.

Pianoteq is now in its second version. Pianoteq 2.0 is a major step from Pianoteq 1.0, mostly in how the pianos actually sound. The second version has a brighter and crisper tone over Pianoteq 1.0. The most recent download has a really cool MIDI player, great for a Player Piano or for practicing. It even comes with a few MIDI files to start you off. I love this feature. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s obvious that the geniuses over at Mordartt are committed to updating and improving their premiere instrument. I received plenty of email update notices and their website forums are a great place to get advice or share your presets with other Pianoteq enthusiasts. At 249.00 Euros (about $341.00 USD), the software is not inexpensive. However, it goes far beyond samplesets or other piano instruments. In fact, armed with some great knowledge about famous or antique pianos, one can model just about any piano that ever existed. I look forward to modeling my Kimball upright, which sits in my living room with high ceilings and bright tiled floors, giving the room ambience a wonderful reverb and tone. Since every facet of a piano's construction was taken into account in Pianoteq, you can even create pianos that never existed. Look at it this way: think of all the time and hard drive space you will save! That alone is worth almost any price. In Part 2 of this series, I will go more in-depth into the inner workings of the various piano creation parameters. Perhaps I may even complete the modeling of the Kimball upright I began playing in my youth. Stay tuned!

To be continued . . .

Visit www.viraloutbreak.net For tons of demo mp3s and to Purchase!

Viral Outbreak Volume One Is finally here for Wusikstation. Viral Outbreak Volume * Over 2gb (Wusik Format) Sick of searching for One is the first in a series of of multisamples comprised of sounds and plugins that sample libraries based on the 130+ soundsets. are supposed to sound sounds of the Virus TI * virtually all soundsets stereolike a Virus, but don't? hardware synthesizer. Using sampled for the greatest depth. Get the real thing - and the power of extensive 96khz * Sampled at 32-bit 96khz harnass its power in multisampling, manual looping quality! For resource efficiency, then Wusikstation! and professional preset design carefully downsampled to 24-bit Nucleus SoundLab brings the TI sound to your 48khz. sampler! * Nearly 750 Wusikstation v3 presets, many taking advantage of all the new v3 Viral Outbreak Volume One is available now features! (450 presets for Wusik v1) for Wusikstation v1/v2/v3, SFZ, and Kontakt 1/2. * The best preset designers out there: Viral Outbreak Volume One contains all ToTc, Teksonik, Tim Conrardy, Jeremy Janzen, manner of TI-based sounds. Classic wavetables, rsmus7 and more! raw saw and pulse waveforms (sampled at multiple * An amazing, TI-inspired, Wusikstation v1pulsewidths), unison dance leads, breathtaking v3 skin by Vera Kinter. pads and even punchy synth drumkits. Details:

Wusik Sound Magazine April 2007 #012

What's on

your Amp by Triple P

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

How do you let go when you’re in love? I say this because as much as I dislike the direction hip-hop has taken it is still the only thing I listen to. What’s currently on my amp is last year’s best albums (in my opinion anyway) and an artist who is the reason I fell in love with rap to begin with.

What's on

your Amp I start off with Compton’s own, The Game. His Doctors Advocate album was the highlight in music for me last year when it came out. Despite what the title implies, the good Dr. (Dre that is) is nowhere to be found. Hurricane Game delivered the goods on this album. When I hear him it takes me back to when songs were about content and not so political. Even though he has had a huge feud with 50 Cent the album has no 'diss' tracks. This is a plus for me. Beef is so played out. My favourite song on the album would have to be the title track. It is a track where he pours his heart out to Dr. Dre. - talking about their fallout alongside Busta Rhymes. He tries to explain his side of the 50 cent drama that caused the split between him and Dre. He recorded the song drunk, and it shows, but it makes for an extraordinary track. The whole album is fire; I couldn't do it justice to say any song is better than another. The whole album is a classic, period.

I was also talked, by my wife, into buying Akons Konvicted. To my surprise it is an awesome CD. Akon produces all but 2 songs on the 12 track album. It is a solid album the whole way through. Listening to it, you can tell he is a very talented singer/songwriter/producer. It’s evident he'll be around a long time and on my player for a long time too.

I’ll wrap this up with last year’s highest selling rap CD. Yes, I am still listening to T.I.'s King. A lot of the reason is that my 3 year old daughter is completely infatuated with him - so much so, that he is her imaginary boyfriend that she goes on make believe dates with. That, though, shows just how good he is. I've read that if you can have a 5 year old kid sing-a-long to your song you’ll have a hit. So I guess if you make a 3 year old girl believe you’re her boyfriend, you are a bonafied superstar. About the album though: I have had it since it first came out and I am still able to listen with enjoyment. My daughter requests "What You Know About That" every time we get in the car. And it is still as catchy as when I first heard it. Producer Just Blaze does 3 songs on the CD and they are on fire. His cocky swagger can carry me through the CD even if I’ve had it for a year. He has already put a new album out (T.I. vs. Tip), and that will be the next thing on my amp. If hip-hop is dead then I am that crazy guy who sits by the tombstone day and night hoping it will be resurrected to its days of glory.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Trick Daddy's new album Back by Thug Demand is a typical album from Trick Daddy. That is what makes it great though. At a time when everyone wants to sound like someone else, he offers an album true to himself. Rich with tales of thug life and freaky sex-escapades, it is solid the whole way through. I have been listening to Trick since his first album in ‘96 and he has never dropped a disappointing disc. I would say it is the standout CD of ’07, but he never breaks through with large commercial success, so that is probably just my opinion.

Another late ‘06 release was 2Pac’s posthumous Pacs Life. This is like so many others since his demise. It is a good listen but his mother is just about out of material and it shows. Many of the songs are recycled verses from previous albums. That being said though, the swizz beats produced Untouchables featuring Bone Thugs is one of the sickest beats I have ever heard. Synthesizers and machine guns get me every time. Pacs intensity is what drew me to rap and he will forever stay on my amp.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Gear Review

Sylenth1

Sylenth1 by Devon.Brent @ TraXmusic.org

Sylenth1

What is Sylenth1?

Gear Review

Here we are again with another episode of “Review that VA!” I know, I know. You’re thinking to yourself, “Here we go with a review of another Virtual Analog plug-in. Aren’t we drowning enough in a vast sea of VA’s?” But is LennarDigital’s Sylenth1 “just another software VA?” Open your mind and read on.

Sylenth1 is an Access Virus. Ha, gotcha! While Sylenth1 doesn’t offer the full feature set the Virus does, some of its sound certainly does give the aforementioned synth a run for its money, to say the least. The fact of the matter is Sylenth1 is a fairly basic subtractive synthesizer not overly top-heavy in features. But what Sylenth1 lacks in extreme flexibility, it makes up for in pure digital sonic quality. Sylenth1 offers 4 alias free oscillators with 8 waveforms, 2 independent filters with 3 basic filter types and 12dB and 24dB slopes, and some basic modulation capabilities with two freely assignable ADSR envelopes and 2 LFO generators. Tack on a basic arpeggiator, and an effects section that include distortion, phaser, chorus, flanger, EQ, delay, reverb and a compressor that can all be used simultaneously, and you’ve got yourself a modest little power house. Sylenth1 is available for the PC platform in VSTi format only. There is hope for a Mac version in the future. Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Gear Review

Sylenth1

Copy Protection: Good copy protection schemes almost make me giddy with delight, and Sylenth1 does not disappoint. Only a license.dat file is needed to be copied into the installation directory for the full synth to be unlocked. No Challenge/Response, no dongles, no fuss. Thank you, Lennard!

In Use:

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

With as many plug-ins as I’ve reviewed in the last few years, rarely the first thing that pops into my head on first listen is “Man, this plug-in sounds like a hardware unit.” Thick, chunky, and smooth sounds are what make Sylenth1 sound stand out above the majority of the ‘digital sound revolution’ synthesizers. This is mostly due to the fact that each of the four oscillators has their own individual unison control, with up to 8 unison voices per oscillator, and up to 16 note polyphony for the full patch. Doing the math, there’s a staggering potential for 512 notes to be played simultaneously. What’s even more amazing is that even when the polyphony count is hovering at 512, the CPU is only around 70% on my AMD 3800+ X2 dual core machine. To put it in perspective, seven or eight notes of polyphony only take up around 1% CPU power.

Speaking of CPU usage, I was simply amazed at how efficient Sylenth1 is across the board. On my AMD system, thick and beefy 256 note poly patches hovered around the 40% range, and full-fisted chords and simple bass sounds in the 5%10% CPU range. It seems the CPU usage

scales with the polyphony count rather than patch complexity like some more recent CPU-draining synth releases. That’s some fancy DSP programming. My hat is off to Lennard’s expert skill. A good chunk of preset design is obviously aimed at the dance/electronic crowd. Hoovers (What the…? from the Roland Alpha Juno), Super saw emulation ala Roland JP8000’s, Roland TB-303 acid sounds and other cliché trance sounds populate the 700+ presets offered with Sylenth1. Good or bad in your book (it’s quite good in mine,) there is something within the sound that really stands out above the crowd. If the digital sound of mega Euro dance hits is what tickles your fancy, Sylenth1 delivers. If you’re after more traditional vintage analog type sounds, they are in there too. Make no mistake; Sylenth1 is a very capable sound generation module and not just a trance synth. With the aim of the presets in mind, I started to put together a dance tune by flipping through the available banks of sounds. Within ½ hour, I had created my own powerful dance track. If I had to name the Achilles’ heel of Sylenth1, it would be the bass end. What I had difficulties with was finding any bass patch that could really punch holes through the brick wall mixes that Sylenth1 is very adept in creating. Some minor tweaking of the cutoff filter let some of the higher “bite” through, but still didn’t quite cut it for me. Riffling through a few bass patches on my Access Virus C or my Roland Fantom XR really exposed the one weakness that this mostly beefy synth has. Keep in mind that not all bass patches

Sylenth1

Demos: The more I played with Sylenth1, the more I could hear how much it has its own character. The non-aliasing oscillators are certainly a stand-out in this crowd. They remain fairly bright in the high end without any real loss of clarity. The filter also has its own character. While trying hard to be warm and analog-like, it still sounds a bit sterile and clinical to me. Flipping over to GMedia’s MiniMonsta (which I still feel is one of the best software analog filter emulations) for a bit confirmed what I was hearing. When Sylenth1 is pushed to the extreme, its filter does get whistle-y like I’d expect, but just lacks that liquid goodness that the MiniMonsta filter nailed, or what a real good analog synth can deliver.

Working with the GUI is pretty straight-forward as this synth isn’t buried in page after page of options. What really annoyed me though are the little arrows to the right of parameters that do nothing when you click on them. Obviously it’s a limitation of the SynthEdit GUI used on Sylenth1, but I hope to see a future enhancement to eliminate that problem. Also, I was hoping for a drop down menu for oscillator and filter selections too like the modulation envelope destination selections, but no love. Really, minor niggles that I can overlook, but wouldn’t mind seeing an enhancement in the future.

Conclusion: If I had to sum up Sylenth1 in a single word, it would be “Wow!” While the bass end didn’t make my jaw hit the floor, Sylenth1 is still one of the best sounding native VSTi synths I’ve heard in the Virtual Analog space. Anyone who’s interested in obtaining that “Virus-like” chunkiness in their tunes without the Virus price tag should take a close look at Sylenth1. You might find you actually like it! While you’re at it, check out the demo tunes on lennardigital.com site to hear it in action.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

What I feel that so many synth makers miss (and the ‘Big Boys’ obviously got years ago) is give users good and plentiful amount of effects. While I can load in my own if I don’t like the on-board, let’s be honest here. How inspirational is it to load in effect after effect into a rack to get down to business? Personally, I’d rather

have it right there in plain sight with plenty to choose from. The included effects are actually quite good. Not exactly top-heavy in feature, you get just the right amount for each effect. To me, effects can make or break a good synth, and again, Sylenth1 does not disappoint.

Gear Review

had this problem. Once you get into the really thick patches, it really does take a powerful bass sound to rip a place for itself in the sonic spectrum. After writing several short demo songs (see players), this weakness became more apparent to me. No matter, as I don’t think I own or have worked with one synth that’s a master of all trades.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

by Zachariah Weckter

Gear Review

ToTAL oSS KKAA

Gear Review

KORG’s flagship effects box has come full circle. Those of you that have had the pleasure of tickling the touchpad of one of these marvels will know that they can revolutionize the way we apply effects to our sounds, and also transform into a nifty tool when used as a MIDI X-Y controller. The new version has come of age with all new features, and the ability to store samples, as well as many other new features, have kept KORG in the game by staying up to date with the new wave of electronic music composers, producers, and DJ gurus alike. KORG have outdone themselves with their newest version; let's take a closer look at the KP3.

AESTHETICS, ANYONE?

GET CONNECTED The KP3’s front panel offers a 1/4" jack for a microphone, but a bass or guitar seem to work well though it too. You'll also find a headphone out with its own independent volume control affixed to the front side of the machine. The back panel sports 2 stereo RCA connectors, in and out, for audio. You'll also find the standard MIDI in and out and a single USB connection for your computer. All of the interfaces are well built, but I personally would like to have seen the 1/4" ins and outs implemented on the back panel as well. The KP3 is configurable as a return/send device by flipping a switch on the back panel, allowing you to use it with traditional mixers or sequencers that support this feature, making it even more versatile.

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The box itself feels extremely sturdy, weighing in at roughly 3 pounds, which is quite a difference from the first incarnation. The casing is black steel with buttons that feel very precise and have a rubbery feel that seems to massage your fingertips as you push them. Four big buttons labeled A, B, C, and D streamline across the bottom of the touchpad, almost daring you to try to break them. The knobs are fluent and intuitive, the cold hard steel gleaming beneath their glossy black paint. The steel slider sits to the left, waiting patiently to smoothly glide up and down to control the decibels this machine is going to spew forth. But the KP3’s real beauty surfaces only when you power the machine on. Unlike previous versions, this box actually has individual quadrants that burst to life in a deep red when touched. When not in use the pad comes predesigned with a wealth of visual patterns, or you can program your own text to scroll left to right at various speeds. This functionality not only looks sophisticated and high tech, but also boasts a new sense of ability that their predecessors lacked: multiple access manipulation. Effects such as the EQs utilize this newly harnessed functionality to allow you to control the different bands with a precision the KP1 and 2 made you wish you had. A tap tempo button portrays the BPM in a steady procession of orange flashes, keeping time in a moment that seems to stand still. This thing is truly a sexy machine.

ToTAL oSS

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Gear Review

KKAA

EFFECTS AT YOUR FINGERTIPS KORG have implemented a large majority of effects to tantalize our eardrums. All of the usual suspects are here, 16 types of filters, 16 types of delays, 6 reverb presets, 2 types of compressors, and 2 multiband equalizers. Also included are the not so commonly seen decimator, grain shifters and a plethora of LFO effects to add subtle modulation in instrumentation, or completely mangle, warp, and distort noises to become powerful new sounds. Continuing through the vast collection of presets brings us to looping effects, cross fade manipulation presets, and sample edit functions that beg for onthe-fly performance. If that werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t enough, various types of effects are found throughout the vast number of presets. Flangers, distortion, pitch shifters, isolators, and phasers eagerly await their turn to blow your mind or your speakers, whichever comes first. There are also 4 preset vocoders on offer, in the typical KORG fashion, and you can control the notes or timbre of the vox by a slide of the finger. To the lower left of the top of the machine you will find the hold button, which will lock the coordinates of your finger in the pad. Newly implemented is the sequence record button; this allows you to actually record the movements you make on the X-Y pad and loops them at the press of a button.

SUPERIOR SAMPLING The KP3 is equipped with four sample banks per program, accessible with those big chunky A, B, C, and D buttons mentioned earlier. Each sample bank is capable of playing looped samples or one-shots. These can be stored in the internal memory or saved and loaded to an optional Secure Digital (SD) card, or can be sampled on the fly from any external source. The pad has an internal 16 bit 48 KHz sampling rate with 24 bit AD/DA converters. From personal experience, this unit sounds much more clean and pristine than the previous boxes, and is much more versatile with audio handling. You can take a looped phrase and cut out sections of the sample on the unit itself, and each sample can be controlled independently in regards to volume and sample length. The KP3 interface has a crossover switch and an amount knob so you can get accents of the effect or get that jaw dropping, completely raw and saturated sound at the turn of a knob. With four sample banks and the included drum machine and synth elements; this unit is actually capable of playing full songs directly from entirely within.

KKAA

TOTAL INTEGRATION

KAOSS CONTROL The KP3 Editor software also allows you to visually configure the MIDI inputs and outputs, and boasts several presets to get you going. The X-Y pad is capable of transmitting multiple CC messages judging on how you slide your fingers across the pad. Control freaks will be glad to note that all knobs, buttons, and slider are completely configurable and able to transmit and receive MIDI messages using the standard MIDI ins and outs located on the back of the machine, or by connecting a single USB cable. The KP3 can also sync directly to your host sequencer of choice, using midi time code (MTC) messages to control the BPM. There is also a tap tempo method, which allows you to slave your sequencer directly to the pad to lock tempo, or use the auto BPM detect feature for total hands free beat detection. The auto BPM detect feature actually works very well, which was something I had initially not anticipated. Issues only arise at tempo change intervals. Beats that do not have a distinct tempo have a tendency to slip through detection, but for standard rhythms and four to the floor or rock beats this function works amazingly well.

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The KP3 can connect to your MAC or PC by using a USB cable. Samples and parameters can be edited and transmitted from the included KP3 Editor software. This allows you to upload and download samples from your computer directly to the machine itself and vice versa, thus giving you almost instant access to your entire stored sounds and samples library with a few clicks of a mouse. One of the largest downfalls of this system is that the editor software can be a bit buggy at times, but this is usually caused from loading different quality samples into the different banks before converting and uploading them into the KP3 itself. The KP3 allows for data storage by means of an internal Secure Digital (SD) slot located on the front of the machine. It can store up to 2 gigabytes of data on each card allowing you to carry several cards with different samples and performance patches prepared and ready to execute. Using the Editor, you can load 100 samples and 10 performance presets directly to each card. Worth mentioning here is that although the KP3 allows for different cards to be used, the machine must be shut off during the switch, and can take a minute or two to load patches with sample heavy data. This renders hot swapping of the SD cards impossible and inhibits real-time performance to a certain degree. For standard use in a project studio, this has not been an issue for me, but live performance usage of this instrument would benefit by just using the effects and a single program with sample data loaded for on the fly freestyle performance.

Gear Review

ToTAL oSS

ToTAL oSS Gear Review

KKAA

COMPLETE SPECS

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

For all you spec junkies out there, here is the part you've been waiting for:

Effects: Filter (Low-pass / High-pass / Bandpass / 72dB/oct. and Low-pass) Isolator & Distortion Talk-Filter Flanger 8-band EQ Mid Pitch Shifter Broken Modulation Phaser Ring Modulator & High-pass Filter Decimator Low Compressor Auto-Pan Slicer Delay (Ping-Pong, Multi-tap, Reverse & High-pass Filter) Tape Echo Reverb Gate Reverb Grain Shifter Vinyl Looper Looper Forward / Reverse Four-Sample-Bank Cross Fader Roll Pad Drum1 / 2 Unison Saw Bass Noise Synthesizer & Looper Vocoder Vocoder M7

Programs: Filter (16 types) EQ (2 types) Modulation (12 types) Compressor (2 types) LFO (25 types) Delay (16 types) Reverb (6 types) Grain Shifter (5 types) Looper (13 types) Sample Effect (7 types) Sample Bank Crossfade (4 types) Drums (6 types) Synthesizer (10 types) Vocoder (4 types) Sampler: Sample Memory: Up to 16 beats X 4 pads at tempos of 73 BPM and higher Up to 8 beats X 4 pads at tempos of 72 BPM and lower 100 samples maximum when using SD card Sampling: 16 bit, 48 kHz

ToTAL oSS KKAA

Gear Review

Converters: 24-bit A/D, D/A Inputs: Mic (1/4â&#x20AC;?) with trim knob Line In L,R (RCA) Outputs: Headphone (1/4â&#x20AC;? Stereo) with volume Line Out L,R (RCA) USB: Type B MIDI: IN/OUT Data Storage: SD Card Power Supply: DC 12V; 700mA

Accessories: CD-ROM (Editor/Librarian) Power supply Touchpad protective sheet

The audio quality of the KP3 is pristine, whether using external instruments, using the box as a send/return unit, or using the internal sampler as the original sound source. The input/output quality of the KP3 outshines KORGs previous offerings, bar none. When you put all of this together, the KP3 is really an amazing machine: more than capable as an effects processor, a sampler, and an instrument all on its own. KORG really had their heads together when redesigning the KAOSS Pad this time around, and given that hardware tends to be pricey, the $399.99 street price doesn't seem to hurt so much once you get your hands on this thing. I recommend that you head to your local retailer and check it out as soon as possible. You'll thank KORG for taking your money with this one.

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Dimensions: 8.27" x 8.9" x 1.93" (W x D x H)

NUTS AND BOLTS

Thinking Out Loud Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

Full Circle by Triple P

Have you ever wondered what happened to real hip-hop? It seems as if hip-hop is fading to black. In the last couple of years, hip-hop has seen more artists return to the underground to record as an independent. With few major labels interested in the idea of backing a rapper, hip-hop seems to be back where it started.

Full Circle independent route in the last year. Even 50 Cent, who has sold more than 20 million records with just 2 albums, has seen his latest album release date pushed back three times: first he was slated to come out in February, then June, and now September. It seems no one is safe.

A lot of people are blaming the Internet for the downfall of the major record labels’ chokehold on rap. Last year saw a dramatic decrease in sales. T.I. was the only rapper to go platinum. Record sales in general slumped as Disney’s “High School Musical!” became their hottest seller with 3 million units sold.

2007 has been much like ‘06. It has been a very slow year for sales, and even worse - there have been very few quality albums. One album that everyone is excited about is Dr. Dre's ‘Detox,’ but its release date has been moved from September of this year to, now, early ‘08.

In the wake of Michael Richards and Don Imus's miscues, the blame for derogatory language has fallen on hip-hop. Russell Simmons, co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, has suggested that rappers refrain from saying certain words. With all the pressure from the media, labels are more reluctant to release music associated with any sort of controversy. With this hesitation from the majors, the lane has been left wide open for businesses such as Koch’s. Artist Jim Jones released his smash single, "Ballin," through Koch, giving him one of the biggest records of the year, and all without the power of a major. Long established artists such as Fat Joe, prodigy of Mobb Depp, and Exzibit have all went the

Thinking Out Loud

Koch records, an independent label run by Alan Grunblatt, was once deemed an "artist’s graveyard." But 50 Cent has become their salvation. With so much pressure from the media and public, the majors just aren't willing to support but a select few rappers.

At the end of last year, Nas released his highly anticipated album ‘Hip Hop is Dead,’ and some people didn't understand. I understand all too well. It has become a three ring circus with everyone fighting amongst themselves. No one cares about delivering groundbreaking records; they just care about a check. Once hip-hop was a perfect example of the American dream. It grew beyond anyone’s wildest imagination - going from not being considered music to ruling the American airwaves. The game is lost and is in shambles. I don't want to say that hip-hop is dead, but the music that is the soundtrack of my life has certainly changed.

The days of domination have come and gone. Hip-hop started underground and I’d say we are pretty close to coming full circle.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

The Synth Romance

by Mike Felker

My synth romance started in a unique way. I was classically trained on piano from age 6 to 16. I also played trumpet in school orchestra; however, Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

I was not happy about it.

I was really doing all of this for my parents it was because I "had to," not because I "wanted to."

I knew then that I had to buy a keyboard. I ran out and bought an old Casio keyboard (hey, I was a college student - I couldn't afford much at the time). I had forgotten a lot of my sheet music training, but was determined to learn to play again. The Casio was a 49 key with one speaker and piano sized keys and had something like 4 note polyphony. Suffice to say, I quickly used up all the power that keyboard could provide and needed something a little more "pro."

The Synth Romance

I rebelled and stopped playing for 3 years. It was not until I was on my own and in college that my love for music and my true synth romance began to blossom. I lived in a very nice dorm during my first two years of college and my home away from home was on the 11th floor. On this particular day, I pressed the wrong number on the elevator (I was roughing it, wasn't I?) and ended up on a floor that was not my own and that I had never been to. I decided to walk around the halls. As I meandered from room to room, I heard some really cool music. At this stage of my life, in the mid-80's, analog synthesizers were being heard more and more in pop music and what I was hearing floating around that floor sounded just like the music I enjoyed on a day-to-day basis. I passed a room and there was some dude playing a Super Jupiter and a Juno 6. Wow, was I smitten. I just stood there and listened. He was truly very talented and was able to perform all those cool solos and chord structures commonly used in popular music of the time.

Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

The Synth Romance Wusik Magazine August 2007 #016

My lucky break came when a local music store had a pre-owned Korg Poly-800 synth in stock and I fell in total love. It was portable (that was the kind of synth that you could strap on to your shoulders and carry it around on stage: think DEVO) and sounded massive. I did not know then that it was the oscillators and filters on that amazing device that made me crazy with gear lust. It also had a rudimentary arpeggiator, but I loved it. Unfortunately, that also became quickly obsolete for me as I used up its maximum polyphony. What I mean by this is that while my ancient (then new) Apple II+, running a DOS sequencer called Master Tracks, allowed me to record my first music pieces, I could not get very far with the limited polyphony allotted by the Korg Poly-800. I pawned that (I am so upset now that I did so - what I wouldn't give to have my beloved Korg Poly-800 back) to afford a more expensive, brand new and current digital synthesizer. The synth that truly ignited my entire passion for creating music was the Kawai K1. I loved creating music on that

synthesizer and practiced four hours a day every single day for four years on that instrument. To this day, some of my best musical pieces originated from the cool sounds of that keyboard. Armed with my Atari TT running SMPTE-Track, I wrote some of my most fondly remembered and supported songs, two of which made it to the local airwaves and spurred several on-air interviews. It was a truly wonderful time of my life. To this day I remember practicing in my apartment, my girlfriend (now my wife) knocking at the door screaming at me to stop fooling around and take her out to dinner or something. I continued to practice my scales and attempted to play the top-40 hits of the day on my Kawai K1 while using my Alesis SR-16 drum machine to provide the beats.

It was a wonderful time that eventually launched my career.

A Tribute to Argu(ru) by R(t)O

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the day-to-day chaos of our industry that we find ourselves overlooking the fact that there are things significantly more important to think about. On June 3rd 2007, I was sobered by the news that Image-Line developer Juan Antonio Arguelles (affectionately called Argu(ru)) was tragically taken from us in an auto accident. The news hit me like a runaway cement mixer. I had to read the e-mail 4 or 5 times to make sure that I was reading it correctly. The notice on Image-Lineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website confirmed the news; I had hoped against all odds it was some kind of tragic mistake. When the finality of it all fully registered in my mind, I felt a sickening emptiness take hold of my spirit. It was as if an ice-cold hand reached out and grabbed hold of my heart.

As a person, Argu(ru) was one of the good guys. He was quick to step in when he saw someone being unfairly drubbed and help ward off the blows. When he was asked for help, he didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t simply give an answer and move on. He stuck with it until he was confident that he completely answered the question. Despite being one of the best at his trade, he never came across as arrogant or conceited. He knew he had talent, but he did not feel the need to use it for vain purposes. It has been a little more than a month since his passing, but I still miss him. I know I am not alone in these sentiments as I hear people expressing sentiments similar to mine on an almost daily basis. Argu, my friend, I hope you knew how many people you touched with both your work and your personality. I hope you realized that a global community of musicians had their art enhanced because of your work. Rest soundly brother.

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Argu(ru) was a vibrant and outgoing young man who had a passion for creating programs which furthered music technology. From his work on the Buzz Machine modules to the DJ software phenomenon Deckadance, he made it clear that he was absolutely serious about pushing the music

technology envelope. Not one to settle for being good enough, he was constantly listening to suggestions from those who used his software, and implementing them when he could.