December 2011 by Wusik Dot Com

Wusik Sound Magazine December 2011

Editorial Wusik Sound Magazine www.wusiksoundmagazine.com Issue December 2011 Managing Editor: MoniKe Assistant Editors: Johnathan Pritchett (Trusty) A. Arsov Production Manager: MoniKe

Writers: A. Arsov www.arsov.net Adrian Frost - aka anzoid www.anzoid.com Ben Paturzo - aka Astrin www.benpaturzo.com Dave Baer - aka dmbaer David Keenum david@wusik.com Ginno 'g.no' Legaspi www.facebook.com/ginnolegaspi ginno@wusik.com Jeffrey Powell jsp_wsm@yahoo.com Johnathan Pritchett - aka Trusty www.myspace.com/crosssoldiers Stickybeats@yahoo.com Rishabh Rajan www.rishabhrajan.com Rob Mitchell - aka Examigan Robert Halvarsson www.suecae.com suecae.sounds@gmail.com Tomislav Zlatić http://bedroomproducersblog.com bedroomproducers@gmail.com WilliamK

On behalf of the entire Wusik Magazine staff I would like to wish you a Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! For those of us who live in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are short and some of the gloominess of winter is beginning. No wonder we sing, “Let it Snow!” For me, the lights and decorations really help to brighten the gloom, and I admit that I still get excited about the prospect of what gifts Santa might bring! So I’m really glad for the holidays! And speaking of gifts, we have plenty of suggestions for your virtual stockings. We have reviews of products by companies like MOTU, Propellerheads Software, Tree Samples, Don’t Crack, /MSP, FabFilter,Vienna Instruments, and Best Service – and even more. In addition, Ginno has an interesting article about software “mangling monsters,” an interview with Oliver Schmitt (a.k.a. Sounds of Revolution), and of course, his software roundup. So sit back, relax, and enjoy our December offering. And maybe… just maybe… you’ll find something that is perfect for your Santa list! I know I did! David Keenum

Proof-Readers: Adrian Frost Ben Paturzo Dave Baer Jeffrey Powell Peggy Tomislav Zlatić Covers and Some Pictures: www.dreamstime.com EVE’s Advertising: Henry Gibson

Some of the products reviewed in Wusik Sound Magazine are copies provided free of charge for reviewing purposes.

Trusty

A. Arsov

MoniKe

Table of Contents Table of Contents Interview with: O liver Schmitt a.k.a. SOUNDS OF RREVOLUTION by Ginno Legaspi Tutorial:

M AX/MSP for Non-Programmers - Part 2

Mini Reviews: B eyond The Obvious

T M

by Rishabh Rajan

Reviews

E motional Piano version 2.1 from

Soundiron by David Keenum

P ro C

by A. Arsov

A CE Bundle from Elxsound by Adrian Frost

A AS Ultra Analog Sound Banks Plastic Pop and Sounds from BLKRTZ by Jeffrey Powell

V oices & Choirs

by Ginno Legaspi

M esa Winds from Orange Tree Samples by Jeffrey Powell

V V

ienna Ensemble Pro 4 and

OTU Symphonic Instrument by A. Arsov

by Adrian Frost

C onvolution Space by dmbaer

by Adrian Frost

C hipsounds from Plogue by Jeffrey Powell

by dmbaer

by Ginno Legaspi

I rcam Solo Instruments UVI SoundSource by A. Arsov

from

R aiders of the Lost Oscillator M usic Laboratory Machines by dmbaer

ot Stuff:

M autodynamiceq from MeldaProduction

Ethno World 5 professional by A. Arsov

R eason 6 from Propellerhead

ienna Ensemble Pro 5 from Vienna Symphonic Library by A. Arsov

D on’t' Crack V.I.P. Plug-in Bundle

from

H armor from Image-Line

ini Reviews by Ginno Legaspi

S oundware Roundup

by Robert Halvarsson

S -Gear Guiter Amp from Scuffham

he Experimentalist’s List - Part I by Ginno Legaspi

ittleOne from Xhun Audio by Adrian Frost

R oloDecks from Twisted Tools by Rishabh Rajan

X tended Piano from Sonic Couture by A. Arsov

C ode from Livid Instruments by Rishabh Rajan

Interview

with

Oliver Schmitt a.k.a. SOUNDS OF REVOLUTION by Ginno Legaspi

Here at Wusik Sound Magazine we're WSM: What made you decide that always excited to bring to our this was the creative avenue that subscribers and online readers the you wanted to get into? latest news in the world of audio whether it's our informative articles, Oliver: It was the broad spectrum of feature interviews or the latest possible sounds in electronic music reviews of the hottest products. As that triggered my interest in sound much as it is important for us to cover design. When I started, I found myself what's buzzing around in the world of analyzing tracks, trying to reverseaudio, developing good relationships engineer the most interesting sounds with software and sample developers with my own synthesizers. Eventually, has also been our goal since day one. this became more than just a hobby. We caught up with German sound designer and SOUNDS OF WSM: Tell us about SOUNDS OF REVOLUTION head honcho Oliver REVOLUTION and the products Schmitt for this month. you offer.

Oliver: I believe my sounds offer a lot of details. It happens that I tweak a new kick-free loop for about 30 minutes just to find out if it is good enough to be published. I also invest a lot of time reflecting what producers really need to work. It is useless to create great sounds that cannot be used in productions. In addition, I try to create sounds and loops that work in several applications. This is why most of my loops do not include bass and snare drums because both sounds would limit the stylistic application significantly.

WSM: Give me the lowdown on Oliver: For the first few years, I was planning and producing a sample WSM: What got you involved in mainly creating sound sets. I started library? What are some important music, and how did you get with sets for hardware synthesizers, steps that need to be considered? started in the sampling business? followed by sounds for software instruments. The next step was the Oliver: User feedback really counts Oliver: It might sound strange but creation of sample packs for electronic for me. Only a few weeks after my being young I almost only listened to dance music. Sampling is the best first release, "KICK FREE Revolution heavy metal and hard rock. At the age way to express my creativity. Vol.1", it was clear that I met several of 20 the genre's similar sounding Especially programmed beats have producers' expectations: guitars, basses and drums began to always been a significant part of my multifunctional detail-rich loops with bore me. Also, a guitar always sounds sample packs. My father has been a no bass drum. Since then, kick free like a guitar, doesn't it? This was drummer, so I might have inherited a loops became an integral part of my when I came in touch with the techno few skills from him. :-) products. With the release of movement. I was immediately "MINIMAL TECHNO Revolution Vol.1", I fascinated and inspired by the WSM: Obviously there are lots of received mails with users wishing for versatility of electronic sounds. sample developers out there and additional click-loops. This category Because of that I started founding my that means competition. What seemed to meet their needs. personal studio and entered the world sets your products apart from Consequently, and to meet my of sound programming. those of other companies?

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December 2011

customers' needs, Clicks & Glitches was my next release. WSM: For the studio geeks out there, can you give us a rundown of the equipment you have in your studio? Oliver: Currently I hardly use hardware synthesizers anymore. Most of my sound design is centered around software. A remaining part is my Access Virus TI and very few analogue instruments like the Syncussion DRM1. For audio recordings I use a Neumann U87Ai as well as Shure SM57/58 microphones, combined with two Universal Audio LA-610 preamps. WSM: What piece of hardware or software kit do you use a lot and cannot live without? Oliver: I rely on all tools made by D16 Group (http://d16.pl). Their drum machines have already gained cult status but their effects are convincing, too. A fascinating new tool is the Turnado, a multi-effect by Sugar Bytes (www.sugar-bytes.de). This plug-in is incredibly versatile and intuitive at the same time. It is great for beat- and audio-manipulation. In addition, I still use Thesys, Artillery2 and Effectrix as well.

Another collection I tend to get back to are the Soundhack plug-ins (www.soundhack.com). Here, intuitive creation of unheard sounds is a breeze. I can do time-stretching, pitchand phase-shifting and morphing in no time, while Pvoc Kit and Spectral Shapers deliver breathtaking results. I also enjoy using Camel Audio plugins (www.camelaudio.com). Alchemy offers real novel ways to sound manipulation and Camel Phat and Space deliver as convincing effects.

WSM: Anything in the pipeline for the rest of the year and for 2012? What else can we expect from SOUNDS OF REVOLUTION / Resonance Sound in the future? Oliver: Currently, we (SOR and CFA) work with a renowned plug-inmanufacturer to create our first VSTtool. Details will be available early next year. In addition, several new sample packs are almost complete. These are KICK FREE Revolution Vol.3, Clicks & Glitches 3 as well as MINIMAL TECHNO Vol.2.

Whenever I need crazy and sick effects, Ohmicide by Ohmforce WSM: What good advice can you (www.ohmforce.com) is my jack of all give to people who want to start trades. To me, this is plainly the making commercial sample "Killer Distortion Tool". Ohmforce plug- libraries? ins are always surprising. Oliver: Area of field-recording seems WSM: Tell us about your new pretty interesting to me. It is amazing venture, Resonance Sounds. How how common noises and sounds of did that come about? everyday life can be turned into wonderful sounds. But the most Oliver: I met my business partner important part of doing this job would Martin Breuhahn of CFA Sound by be having fun doing sound chance. Since we are both fascinated experiments over and over. by sound design and had our own Something, I hope I will never lose. websites, we found it obvious to join :-) forces. So, RESONANCE SOUND (www.resonance-sound.com) was Thank you very much for the born. Besides distribution of our interview! individual product lines (SOUNDS OF REVOLUTION and CFA-SOUND) we also plan developing products together. December 2011

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I know I’ve said it before, but I have to say it again, “I love pianos!” And I have given up the quest for the “best” samples or modeled piano. If you’ve found your “best,” then good for you, but I can’t do it. I can’t find one piano that will fit all situations. Some are intimate, others bold. Some work well in a dense mix, others are better for solo work. Some work in an orchestral setting, while others work best in a band setting. Emotional Piano is categorized by Soundiron as a soundtrack piano, but not just any soundtrack piano. In Soundiron’s own words, “It is a piano for epic soundtracks, not fancy dinner parties. This piano wears a helmet flak jacket, not a tuxedo with tails. This piano is a door gunner, 06

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not a dancer. This piano doesn’t retire to the New England countryside triumphantly after an extended run at the Met. It’s buried 6 feet under in the middle of a Chicago downpour after being gunned down by the mob. If you ever find yourself storming a beach in slow motion or charging into a burning building to save a baby, then this is the piano that will play when your final credits roll. If you find yourself wearing a powdered wig and leggings, then this is not your piano… unless you’re also carrying a musket and you’ve just been ordered to fix bayonets.” When I first heard this piano, I immediately thought of the soundtrack to True Grit. Yes, I compared the two pianos, and there are plenty of differences. But they December 2011

feel the same. They have the same “soul.” They are “cut from the same cloth.” They are… sorry, I can’t think of any more clichés, but I can say that Emotional Piano can do that poignant, tragic piano sound that you hear in True Grit. However, I may be getting ahead of myself, so let’s start with the details. Details Emotional Piano began life as a Tonehammer product. When Tonehammer split into two separate companies, the library went with Soundiron. They have since improved on the library by adding a number of front panel controls, more presets (35 presets total), and fixing some bugs. The library is available as a download or shipped DVD.

Soundiron’s

Emotional Piano version 2.1

The Emotional Piano currently is available in the Kontakt Open format or the Kontakt Player format. The open format is $159 and the Player format is $175. The Player format version samples are compressed to Native Instrument’s lossless format (2.75 GB), while the open format version is standard 24 bit/ 44.1kHz stereo PCM wav files (4.84 GB). Other than that, the two versions are the same, including the presets. An incidental fact that seemed significant to me is that all 88 keys are sampled with up to 15 layers. As I mentioned, there are 35 presets included in Emotional Piano. The basic presets include Master, Jazz, Soft, Gentle Blur (pronounced lows and a longer release), and Pseudo Granny (subtle random detuning and

EQ to create an “aged” sound). Each of these also has a lite version. Then there are 25 FX presets. Obviously, the basic presets are the focus of Emotional Piano – that would be the reason for purchasing the library, but these FX presets have some practical applications. Presets like Wet Bright Room, Wet Bunker, Wet Cathedral, Wet Church, Wet Garage, and Wet Hall are good examples of practical presets. The House Music preset is another example of a preset that might come in handy. Then there are presets like the Synesthetic Drone preset, which is an ambient-style synthesized drone made with the piano samples. Presets like this extend Emotional Piano’s usefulness. The presets contain some real-time controls that can help you tailor the December 2011

by David Keenum

preset to your needs. The front panel controls can include Attack, Release, Pedal Volume, Decay, Dynamics (controls how sensitive the instrument is to velocity changes), Release Volume (the volume of the release samples), and Damping On/Off Button (overrides the piano’s natural behavior of allowing the high notes to ring out). Impressions I think one of the difficulties in creating a new sampled piano has to lie in what is already available. There are so many excellent libraries available, and, generally, each has its own sound and focus. I guess it would have to start with the piano that is chosen. Some libraries seem to look for pianos with “imperfections” www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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Soundiron’s

Emotional Piano version 2.1

Creator and Distributor: Soundiron Web-Site: http://www.soundiron.com/ Direct Link: http://www.soundiron.com/instruments/pia nos/emotional-piano/ Details (from the website):

♪ Price: Native Instrument Kontakt open ♪ ♪ ♪

♪

♪ ♪ ♪

format - $159 Native Instrument Kontakt Player format - $175 1,716 Samples (standard PCM wav) 35 .nki files (unlocked format) Deep Sampled Articulations • All 88 Keys Multi-Sampled • Extensive velocity layering per note • Release samples per note • Pedal samples with 4x round robin Includes a free bonus collection of custom sound-designed special FX presets, as well as our favorite custom convolution reverb impulses and an advanced Kontakt user interface with full automation support. open format - 4.84 GB installed Player format – 2.75 GB installed 24 bit / 44.1kHz stereo PCM wav format Format(s): Native Instrument Kontakt open format - Kontakt 4 .nki and PCM wav (The full version of Kontakt 4.2 and above is required.) Native Instrument Kontakt Player format - Native Instrument lossless compression and .nki

Test Computer: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz, 4GB RAM, Windows XP Pro SP 3, Echo MiaMIDI Audio Card

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that add character, where others strive for as perfect a piano sound as possible. Then, of course, there is the editing phase. All of us involved in modern recording realize that it is easy to edit the life out of a performance. I would imagine that the same is true with sample recording. You want that happy balance between matched samples and “character,” and, of course, you want your piano to stand out among the competition.

without obvious imperfections. Another library that does this is Art Vista’s Malmsjö Acoustic Grand, arguably the premier “soundtrack” piano. To my ears, Emotional Piano has a darker and more detailed sounding than the Malmsjö, but the two pianos feel similar, at least in the genre we call “movie music” genre. In fact, both pianos do that True Grit “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” theme with all the emotion of the movie soundtrack.

So how does Emotional Piano fit into all of this? This is the place for opinions, and I have them! First of all, I really like the balance between accuracy and character. To me, Soundiron has found a great balance, with an accurate sounding piano that still has a rich personality… and by that, I mean “character!” Sampletek’s PMI Old Lady is an example, to me, of a “character” piano. You can almost hear the “old.” It has buckets of character! But that very “character” also limits its usefulness. Somehow, Emotional Piano is able to achieve life and “character”

I do a lot of Melodic Ambient music (is that even a style?), and Emotional Piano works great in this context. It can be dark and moody or intimate. Actually it can also do Beethoven bold as well! What I’m trying to say is that the piano can bring out the emotional aspects of a performance. So, while Emotional Piano is an apt name, the True Grit Piano also works for me!

December 2011

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Pro C

Seeing compression for what it is. by Robert Halvarsson

Compression can appear daunting for beginners. Although it is a very easy concept on paper, getting it right can be a hassle. But if you happen to have at least a brief interest in any modern music style the advantage of properly understanding compression is huge. The basics go something along the lines of this: while you compress an audio signal, you are able to force loud “peaks” of your material to go lower, thereby flattening the dynamics. To achieve this goal you usually have a couple of controls on your hand. You control “the roof” via threshold, the amount of applied compression via ratio and the attack and decay via different controls (usually knobs, virtual or physical). Easy, right? In all honesty, and at least when you are starting out, not really. This is especially true for those people who like me are visually inclined.

knobs aimlessly and hope you're in luck – because what's the deal with attack anyway? I like fast, I guess I must turn it up to the maximum setting (this is totally wrong by the way). Fortunately in the age of digital, a select few companies have graced us with a live visual rendition of what actually happens when you compress an audio signal. I consider one of the best to be Fabfilter, whose offering, Pro C, just like their limiter Pro L, takes full advantage of the potential of a virtual studio's monitor's abilities to provide rich feedback of what actually is happening behind the scenes. Things are a' changin'

After opening up your favourite DAW and applying the compressor in question on your instrument, bus or Because turning a virtual knob without master track, you are confronted with any kind of visual feedback make the controls which, aside from being process seem haphazard, the worst presented in an attractive manner, at case scenario is that you twiddle all first sight are similar to many other 10

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compressors. But look down … what's there? Aha! It’s the main object of this article's attraction! The visual feedback found in the graphical user interface is, simply put, awesome. It consists of two main windows, a “knee-display”, which shows the input/output ratio curve used for compression. And what's more special is a “real time level display”. This latter display visualizes the compression with three “curves”, an input-curve, a gain-change curve and an output curve. These, in combination with three respective meters, really aid in understanding what is being done, making my earlier remark about “guesstimate” work a thing of the past. But I know some may ask the question: will your ears improve by seeing what is happening to the audio signal? Doubly ... if you are a producer, be it hobbyist or professional, in the end you will have

to mix with your ears. However, when you start messing around and decide to lower the threshold, it is made abundantly clear what is happening to the audio signal in question. The same goes for the knee setting, ratio and everything else. Insert people shouting â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eureka!â&#x20AC;? here.

My main belief is that by involving form and function. In that sense, I hope that Fabfilter's approach is more more senses in the sphere of music production there are large gains to be the beginning than the end where made. As in the evolution of tactile virtual effects are concerned. In the USB-instruments you see a visual meantime, why not try Pro C out? evolution towards more refined virtual Maybe you'll like what you see. tools in this area as well. It is not only a matter of beauty, although that can Website: be inspirational in its own right, but http://www.fabfilter.com the seamless cooperation between

December 2011

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Vandal from Magix uses the same amount of CPU as Amplitube in economical quality mode and Amplitube in full quality uses the same amount of CPU as S-Gear in economical quality mode. Furthermore, Amplitube has a lot of amplifiers and a great number of included effects, Vandal has fewer amplifiers and just a few effects but still more than S-Gear. So why is it that I'm lately recording almost all my guitar parts mostly with S-Gear? Vandal and Amplitube are

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Scuffham S-Gear

great virtual amplifiers. They still serve their purpose. Vandal is unbeatable when it comes to distortion and Amplitube is the king of a variety of dark jazzy tones or eternal clean ones. But somehow S-Gear sounds so right, so "guitarish", that it simply behaves like a real classic rock amplifier, like the one you hear from a million rock or indie records. S-Gear has that "brick on your head" sound that you can feel in your bones. Nothing rational here - it

December 2011

simply makes you feel good when you play your guitar. All in all, it has only three different amplifier models, one effect - delay, cabinet emulation, no reverb and no compressor. Looks like that sometimes less is really more. It is some kind of a guitar amp for guitar players. Everything you need is there in the main window, the presets sounds excellent and all you need to do is plug in a guitar and play it. I almost forgot how simple it could be to just play a guitar.

Guitar Amp by A. Arsov

Marshal versus Marshall

The next amplifier is The Duke, a high gain amp emulation, having a good The main secret lies in one of the and aggressive sound. Finally, the three presented amplifier models. The last one is The Jackal, a clean amp Stealer, which seems to be the most with a not so exciting sound (my realistic simulation of one of the best personal opinion). Never mind – The known and most used amps in rock Stealer and The Duke are absolute history. Of course, the name of that winners, from country to rock to the well known amplifier is a registered blues. S-Gear sounds rich and full trademark, so that's why they call it even without reverb, and the one and The Stealer and not ... There was a only delay works so well that you well known band in ex Yugoslavia, "No almost forget that there are no Smoking Orchestra" and as some of additional effects - except for the you know, the president in Yugoslavia chorus which can be found inside the used to be the late Marshal Tito. No delay under the additional modulation Smoking Orchestra played a lot of controllers. concerts around the country and it once happened that the main guitar S-Gear comes with two channels for amplifier suddenly went off in the cabinet emulations and I have to middle of the concert. The leader of admit that I never experimented the band announced that they couldn't much with this area since the guitar play anymore, because, as he tone sounded just right. Also, I'm a claimed: The Marshall kicked the bit sick and tired of having to bucket. Of course the whole band constantly tune and tweak this area went to jail for the next few days, as on all other amp simulators, so I've the whole country knew which Marshal decided to leave this alone as long as really "went dead". The police I could. In this section we can also couldn't prove anything, as the find two basic microphones that Marshall amplifier really collapsed in accompany the cabinets, a Shure the middle of the concert. But the SM57 and a Bayer Dynamic M160. moral remains – don't mess with Both microphones work as they trademarks. should, doing its job perfectly. All in all, S-Gear is simple to use, it comes with a very clean graphical interface

December 2011

and it also sounds as it should. For 75 US dollars you get one of the most playable amps in the virtual world. The only competitor which comes close to that is Vandal in combination with distortion. For this money you really can't find any excuse not to own it, no matter how many amps you already have. There is no bass amp, there are few effects, it does not have many amp models – it is just a good old Marshall sound for you and your guitar. It does offer a number of useful presets, good sound and a clear interface, all for a more than reasonable price. That sounds almost like poetry for my guitar ears. I can just say: Mike, thank you for this one... you'll have my gratitude for many years to come. Price is 75 USD. Do yourself a favor. Download the demo at http://www.scuffhamamps.com and try it. Have I mentioned that it also works very nice with synths? Nope? Oh, yeah – it does.

Played by A. Arsov.

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w e i v Re Elxsound's ACE Bundle by Adrian Frost

Originally reviewed by Arsov back in ACE Motion December 2009, U-He's "ACE" - "Any Cable Everywhere" made quite a Included in ACE Motion are basses, splash since it was a brand new synth pads, keyboards, leads, rhythmic, from the legendary designer of Zebra textures, and, perhaps most 2. ACE is a semi-modular synthesizer interestingly, templates. We'll come which offers its user many, many back to the templates in a minute. possibilities for sound design. It's a great way to dip a toe into the almost As the set's name suggests, there is infinitely deep pool of semi-modular plenty of movement in these presets. synthesis. For those, like me, who Care has been taken to make use of love the sound but never seem to be ACE's performance controls; every able to get anywhere with preset has, at least, the Mod Wheel programming, Elxsound have come to assigned, and many also respond to the rescue with a set of three velocity. One of my favourites is soundsets for ACE. "Crystal Strings" from the keyboard section. It's a beautiful chime sound The available soundsets are: that, as the description says, turns ♪ ACE Motion (142 presets for $19) into a "woodblock-pluck" when you ♪ ACE Animated (257 presets for use the Mod Wheel. $19) ♪ ACE Symmetry Pro (155 presets As previously mentioned, perhaps the for $19) most interesting aspect of ACE Motion You can buy the soundsets individually is the "templates" section. Here you'll or as the "ACE Bundle" for $44 find a bunch of reasonably simple presets that you can use as the basis Let's take a quick look at each for your own sounds. “What's the soundset. difference between these and just any 14

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old presets?” I hear you cry. Well, each of the template presets concentrates on one thing and appears to do it in the most elegant way possible. You're generally also left with plenty of space for tweaking and adding your own connections. One thing that is clear, especially with the template presets, is that the developers knew what they were doing. Highly Recommended. ACE Animated Next up, we have ACE Animated. Animated is the mother lode of ACE presets and adds a couple of new categories for presets compared to Motion: Atmospheres, Effect, Percussive, Plucked, and Sequence. Percussive gives you a number of nicely crafted electronic drum sounds that are all quite usable. The highlight of the set though must be the Atmospheres and Sequences. When

you look at the synth page with its somewhat different feel to the other Worth the effort? maze of wires for each preset, you two. I would say that it is maybe It's always going to be tough to can appreciate how much thought and slightly more aggressive. Many of the describe soundsets. You need to hear effort has gone into creating these Atmospheric presets let you know them, and in some cases, feel them particular presets. The sounds what will happen if you play softly or themselves are typically ACE - clean play hard - and playing hard seems to too. The ACE Bundle is a great and deep. What is added is a great be encouraged. In particular, the collection that does a good job of showing off ACE's potential. The range sense of movement - animation even! Drone presets are something to of sounds is diverse without being too behold - full of dark, raw energy that broad. This is a soundset where you'll You also get more or less the same set would be a suitable backdrop for find multiple usable presets whatever of templates as ships with Motion. many styles of electronic music. your musical inclinations- and not a This means that anyone who buys the Animated or Motion soundsets Maybe it's just ACE's character, but duffer amongst them. individually doesn't miss out. even the heaviest, fuzziest, dirtiest If you have to opt for only one Symmetry Pro ships with only a presets in this soundset come out soundset, I'd say go for ACE Animated. handful of templates, but more than sounding a little polite, like they're makes up for it with the overall worried about messing up the carpet It gives you the best bang for your buck. But even if you do only buy one, number of presets on offer. or upsetting the cat. However, I'll bet you'll be back for the others personally this wasn't a problem for ACE Symmetry Pro me at all, though I suppose that if you before too long. do happen to need more grit it can be Check out www.elxsound.com for Whilst Animated and Motion are the always be added with effects. joint work of Josiah Christensen and further details and to listen to some rather good samples. Reason Lahalla, Symmetry Pro contains only presets by Reason himself. This set certainly has a December 2011

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AAS Ultra Analog Sound Banks

Plastic Pop and

Sounds from BLKRTZ by Jeffrey Powell

In my mind, Applied Acoustics System's Ultra Analog is a quiet gem in the world of virtual instruments. Like the other AAS instruments, it relies on physical modeling (in this case of the analog circuitry) to produce the sounds. I think it has a great sound, and I like that it is simple enough to be easily understood while also complex enough to be able to create a wide variety of sounds. Ultra Analog is a high-quality, versatile instrument that I see as underrated in the virtual instrument world.

designer who has done work for various artists and in a number of films, commercials, and games. If you're one of those folks who need details, then you'll find that he has done work for Junkie XL, Justin Timberlake, Scissor Sisters,

Perhaps as a way to change that underrated status, AAS began releasing a number of sound banks containing presets primarily for Ultra Analog. Each sound bank is programmed by a well-known artist or preset designer, and many of them are centered on a theme. The good news is that you don't need to own Ultra Analog to enjoy the sound banks, as the sound banks also work in the AAS Player (which is their free preset playing instrument). Up to this point, none of the sound banks have appeared in Wusik Sound Magazine yet, so let's take this opportunity to look at two from their collection: "Plastic Pop" and "Sounds from BLKRTZ." Plastic Pop: Synthpop from the Eighties As the name suggests, this sound bank focuses on capturing the analog and digital sounds of synths from pop music in the eighties. Plastic Pop consists of 127 presets programmed by Andre Ettema. Andre is a composer and sound

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December 2011

and Madonna, and he's been a part "Plastic Piano" and "Electro 1"), and of the music production for the EA the interesting sequences and games SSX Blur and Need for effects (like "Unison Union" and Speed: Prostreet. Andre also "Faulty Effector") were standouts to founded AME Music, which is a me. The Analog sounds are big and company that provides services like wide in the stereo field, which is audio branding for commercials and pretty much how I remember all TV. So, needless to say, he's a man those synths in the eighties! I was who knows his way around audio particularly impressed by the and sound design! presets in the Digital folder as Andre did a great job at capturing In Plastic Pop, Andre's presets are the sound of the famous digital nearly evenly divided into two synths of the era. The sound of the folders: "1980-1985 Analog" and Wavestation, which I love, is "1985-1990 Digital." According to particularly prominent in these the description, the focus of the presets, and some of them, such as sound bank is to try to capture the the guitar sounds, sound as if they sound of "analog and digital could be coming from the favorites from the Juno, DX7, Wavestation itself. Once again, I Wavestation, and D-50 as well as found myself drawn to the guitar synths, the TX81Z's outstanding pads and keys. The LatelyBass, and of course the Digital folder also includes quite a Honky Tonk sound!" That's a bit of few percussive sounds which add a daunting task for a single synth variety to the pack. and a single sound bank to undertake, but I must admit that All in all, Plastic Pop is a great Plastic Pop delivers! sound bank for those interested in the breadth of traditional synth You'll find a wide variety of sounds sounds that Ultra Analog can in Plastic Pop, but the focus is produce. The influence of the primarily on pads, keys, and short eighties is definitely there in the leads. In the Analog folder, the presets, but the presets would also luscious pads (like "Juno Strings"), work great in any number of other the lo-fi keys and plucks (like contexts. Note that the pack is a

December 2011

little bit light on the number of bass presets, and I would have liked to have had some MIDI links included and the presets categorized by type. Realistically though, these things didn't hinder my enjoyment of the pack. In your music, you'll likely use Plastic Pop for its creamy pads, arp-ready plucks, unique sound effects, and multitude of useful keys. You'll probably also smile while you're using them. Overall, Plastic Pop is a great pack that I heartily recommend. Sounds from BLKRTZ: Dub Sound Bank While the focus of Plastic Pop is on relatively traditional synth sounds, Sounds from BLKRTZ takes the sound of Ultra Analog in a completely different direction. The presets for this bank were created by Deadbeat, a Montreal-based artist who has been releasing, by his account, "dub-laden, minimal electronic music" since 2000. Deadbeat (whose real name is Scott Monteith) also declares himself to be a "certified music technology junkie" who has done various work for Applied Acoustic Systems and written articles for Computer Music

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w e i v Re

AAS Ultra Analog Sound Banks

Plastic Pop and

Sounds from BLKRTZ

Magazine. Since his taste is for dub influenced electronic music, the presets in this sound bank have a darker and dirtier edge relative to those found in Plastic Pop. If you're like me, then you probably found the name of the bank a little difficult to decipher. As it turns out, BLKRTZ is the name of the label founded by Deadbeat, so that's one mystery solved!

sustained sounds (like "Brassy Sequence") that could function as stabs, leads, or pads. The "Drones and Carriers" folder is the smallest with 10 presets, but it brought to my attention one aspect of Ultra Analog that I had not really

Sounds from BLKRTZ consists of 100 presets which are categorized into folders by type. The four folders are "Bass and Subs", "Chords and Stabs", "Drones and Carriers", and "Seqs and Acid." In the Bass and Subs folder, you'll find 30 basses of all types. These certainly aren't your traditional synth basses either. The focus with these presets is on basses that wobble, snarl, and rattle your speakers. There are not a lot of these types of basses available for Ultra Analog, so this is a welcome group. I was a little disappointed there were no supplied MIDI links for the wobble-type basses, but usually a quick assignment to the LFO rate or something similar does the trick. There's a good mix between sustained basses, stab-type basses, and sub basses, so you'll likely find something to suit your taste. In the "Chords and Stabs" folder, you'll find 30 sounds, and these presets are actually more varied than the category suggests. You do indeed get a number of traditional chords and stabs, but you also get some nice evolving presets (like "Dark Wave") and some thick

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December 2011

considered. A quote from Deadbeat stretch the boundaries of Ultra in the product description says, Analog. If you're into dubstep or "[Ultra Analog] has been one of my even ambient, then you should go-to tools for bass lines for years, definitely give this sound bank a try. but it's also a fantastic choice as a However, if you just want to hear vocoder carrierâ&#x20AC;Ś" Now, that's an some inspiring presets that show interesting tip! With that in mind, you what Ultra Analog is capable of this small category is split into two doing, then you owe it to yourself to distinct types. There are thick, check it out as well. harmonically rich pads which would work great as vocoder carriers, and Pricing and Demo Information then some really impressive and Plastic Pop and Sounds from evolving drones. Both types of BLKRTZ are both available from the sounds are incredible (with my favorites being "Broken Leslie" and AAS website for a price of $39 each. "Ebow Swells), and they make me If you'd like to try out some of the wish there were more than 10 sounds before purchasing, you can download their free AAS Player presets in this category. The last folder, "Seqs and Acid," contains 30 which contains a sample of presets presets primarily consisting of short, from all of their Ultra Analog and String Studio sound banks. Note percussive-type plucks and effects. that the sound banks work in the There are some really unusual presets in this category that I think free AAS Player as well as in the full would add distinctive sounds to a version of Ultra Analog, so you don't track. Also, I like how this category have to already own any AAS instruments to enjoy the sound really shows off some of the wild, weird sounds you can get from Ultra banks. Analog. If that's not enough, you can also All in all, Sounds from BLKRTZ is a check out some demo songs on the great sound bank with a lot of sound bank pages to give you an variety in the presets. Deadbeat has idea of what can be done with the done a fine job of putting together sounds. As always, while you're at their site, be sure to check out all of some distinctive sounds that really

December 2011

their sound bank and instrument offerings, including their new instrument Chromaphone. Developer Site: http://www.applied-acoustics.com/ Plastic Pop: http://www.appliedacoustics.com/plasticpop/overview/ Sounds from BLKRTZ: http://www.appliedacoustics.com/blkrtz/overview/

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w e i v Re Voices & Choirs by A. Arsov

Should I or should I not?

What should we do?

I was a bit in a "should I take this or not" state when I was watching this product. The problem is that I was a bit unsure of what I could do with a bunch of prerecorded phrases. I was a sceptic because in some cases they are a bit too much defined; almost a whole song chopped into small pieces and arranged over the keyboard. I will not do a remix as these are not popular hits. Also, they are recorded in some exotic languages.

It is pretty obvious that you can't I presume you will also not make a make a whole song out of Voices & long lead vocal line composed just Choirs, but on the other hand it is not from these lines, but you will soon impossible. A friend of mine made realize that this library can be highly good song using just a few words useful for spicing up a composition. A combined with a catchy instrumental phrase here or there, maybe even melody. He is not the first one, there combined with another from some were a lot of trance or down tempo other part of the same library, and tunes in the past built around a few you'll get the magic. The fact is, there vocal samples. I've glanced through is no other instrument so pleasant to the presets, found that the most our human ears as our own voices. advertised samples are the less Voices & Choirs brings us more than interesting ones while some of them, 4000 exotic, but highly melodic vocal not represented or advertised are the samples from all over the world. As true pearls. The Turkish male vocal, many sequencers nowadays comes same with the Iranian one, is fantastic with some sort of pitch manipulation and the third day after I got this software, it is not hard to adapt these library a few of those samples lines to your needs. The main reason ended up in a documentary I why you should think about this vocal made music for ... A drum library, is the fact that even one vocal loop, an accordion line sample can drastically change your played on the instrumental track. I've tried this a keyboard and a few times and it makes a big filtered Turkish difference. I don't have any vocal sample. A reasonable explanation for that, but bit boring that's the way it is. Don't ask me why. without the No matter if you use them clean and live vocal raw as they come in this library, or if line but you put them through some sort of absolutely filter or vocoder. The human voice will magical remain the human voice. with it. What do we get?

Where to use it?

Vocal phrases from the whole world (no, I don't intend to be picky trying to find what's missing) The main advantage of this particular library is the heterogeneity of the included material. Not just in a rhythmical or melodious sense, there are a lot of included vocal lines that are totally uncommon to our musical perception. Unusual vocal techniques, exotic scales and strange rhythmical articulations. I presume that Best Service made this library with movie composers in mind, but it would be a sin not to use such original and exotic material for spicing your instrumental 20

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December 2011

from Ethno World 5 professional by Best Service

you can find on Best Service's site or even vocal creations. Put some anyway, naming exact vocal groups (I Indian tribe at the end of your verse did that anyway), telling you the exact and you will have a potential hit. I'm size of the library (I did that too), and not gonna lie to you, it is pretty all other, similar technical data, but all specific material, but it has its advantages. I learned many years ago that information would not help you. that a good sample can make a whole This library is so unique and specific that it is really easy to overlook it, as song, and there are enough of such most of the time we don't know what samples here. It is up to you if you to do with the things that don't fit our use them or not. From Chinese opera common practises. The fact is, the voices through the Iranian and Turkish vocal phrases, up to Gregorian Voices & Choirs library is mainly intended for movie and multimedia phrases and even a human whistling. composers, but that doesn't mean Boys voices, Bulgarian female voices, that you can't abuse it. The forbidden Mongolian, Arabic, Ukrainian, fruit is the sweetest one. European, Cameroonian. The whole library is like a woman's handbag. By A. Arsov from the far, far Whatever you need, you will find it away exotic land on the there. 7 Giga of ethno vocal phrases. other side of the planet. With every preset you also get a few (I thought that you, samples with background music for my American friends, trying the samples a in musical are those who are context. Mostly it is a string pad, but on the other side here and there are also some typical of our planet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; music licks for that country - a guitar it is just a sequence with appropriate chord matter of progression or such. Regarding the perspective) voices and choirs, this is not a typical trance, dance vocal collection, but as these lines, so well known to the nations which are represented here, are so uncommon to all other nations this collection is both common and uncommon at the same time. Somehow we've heard those melodies here and there, in movies or in documentaries representing those countries, but if we put them in the music which is not ethno, they immediately add some bizarre, interesting new point, still melodious and pleasant, but very unusual anyway, which attracts our attention. Hmm... sounds an ideal description of a musical hook, and yes, it really is.

Voices & Choirs comes with a Kontakt Player instrument and will lighten your wallet by 249 Euros, which is not so much if you know how much effort went into this library. You could find additional information at: http://www.bestservice.de/found.asp/ voices%20choirs/voices__choirs/en

Why I did it this way? I know it would be much easier for me, and appropriate, to write a typical review presenting all the essential information about the library, the info December 2011

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Beyond The Obvious by Ginno Legaspi

These days we musicians/producers have it made. We are spoiled when it comes to the wide selection of studio gear available, especially in computer generated music. Unlike before, software tools now can be easily acquired and some can be had for peanuts, i.e. cheap. Anybody could be running a home studio in less than a week on a decent budget. Indeed, these are the great days and age for making music. I admit, I love esoteric software plug-ins. They are my preferred tools in my personal studio. In my VST plug-in folder, there probably reside about 20 or more of these handy little 'mangling' monsters. I can create virtually just about any crazy noises and off-kilter audio material with them. You can find uses for these plug-ins in experimental,

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December 2011

IDM, electronica, ambient and avant-garde stuff. No, they are not your common processors (reverb, paraEQ, etc.) bundled in DAWs such as Reaper, Live or FL Studio. Instead, they are mostly geared toward sound design rather than your daily ham and egger. There is lots of room for creativity with these sonic warping tools. They are insanely unique for the adventurous musicians who want pure joy out of explorations. Here is my list of 10 great effects software plug-ins for mangling and spicing up your sound. If they appeal to me, they should appeal to every sonic surgeon out there whose passion is to experiment and to intentionally beat the heck out of any audio materials.

1) SPECTRAL MACHINE, The Sound Guy, Inc: Fresh from the coding factory of The Sound Guy, Inc. is Spectral Machine an audio effects plug-in that performs a variety of frequencydomain effects. It has the ability to manipulate any audio in a fresh and interesting way. It has a simple yet effective interface and is very affordable, too. Spectral Machine is comprised of several effects, including: Delay Spectral Bands: Apply separate delays to different spectral bands with individual control over the amount of feedback in each band. Spectral Freeze: Click the "Fire" button to freeze the sound, which then decays at different rates for high and low frequencies. Click the "Reset" button to unfreeze. Sample & Hold: Similar to Spectral Freeze, but it automatically retriggers at a specified interval. 3 AM: A tremolo effect with individual control over the modulation rate and depth in three frequency bands. 3-Band Filter: Precise control over the gain in three user-selected frequency bands. Spectral Peak/Notch: Lets you boost or attenuate an arbitrarily narrow frequency band around a specified frequency. Oscillating Peak/Notch: Interesting peak/notch effect with an oscillating center frequency. And Monophonic Effects for sources such as sax, voice, etc. includes: Pitch Shift: Frequency-domain transposition with timbre preservation.

Harmonize: Multiple transposition with timbre preservation. This can also be useful for thickening vocals or monophonic instrumental tracks without typical time-domain artifacts. Pitch Quantizer: Nudge each note to the nearest semitone, for pitch correction or to create an interesting vocal effect. Pitch Isolate: Isolates the tonal portion from the rest of the sound. Sine / Noise: Gives you independent control over the sinusoidal and noise/transient portions of the sound. Spectral Shapeshifter: Lets you change the shape of vocal formants

December 2011

(spectral envelope) without affecting the pitch. Vibrato: Frequency-modulates only the sinusoidal component. Robotization: Changes the pitch to a fixed frequency for a robotic effect. GREAT FOR: Spectral Machine gives you the total creative freedom to tweak sounds and experiment with sounds with its unique frequencydomain effects. This would be my first choice for processing regular guitar sounds into otherworldly, ambient guitars. It's capable of that and more. Spectral Machine is also brilliant for just about any audio sources, turning www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

Beyond The Obvious boring sounds into 'wow' sounds. For example, I ran a 120 BPM hip hop drum loop in Orion 7.6 softstudio, and plugged in Spectral Machine as a channel insert. I loaded the 'Sample and Hold' preset in the 'General Purpose' section. I set the parameter called 'Hold Time' to 166.67 (ms) and adjusted the Wet/Dry slider to 30% with the Gain level cranked up to 100%. The effected sound was superb as I was getting a cool, stuttered drum sound, ala BT. The fun factor of Spectral Machine is unbelievable. WEB: www.sfxmachine.com/ PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac, VST, Audio Unit PRICE: $49.95

2) EFFECTRIX, Sugar Bytes: This is one of those awesome effect step sequencers that you can use either in the studio or live. Effectrix is a handy little tool that enables you to apply any of the 14 built-in innovative effects to any sequenced parts. Or apply all effects at once. It has a 32step sequencer with effects such as delay, filter, scratchloop, stretch, stutter, etc., a 2 modulationsequencer for parameter remote for each effect, and 12 sub-patterns that can be triggered via MIDI notes and host automation. It lets you tweak your beats, create new rhythms, 24

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reverse parts, stretch others, apply delay lines and even create melodies with atonal material. GREAT FOR: Perfect for sequenced sound manipulations when performing live, and can also be good for DJs who want to improvise on a full-mix track.

unexpected results of research while developing Clone Ensemble, Alien Solo and Voice Trap. The tools are aimed at sound design rather than mainstream audio production. Psycho Toolkit includes: Barnum Preamp: OTT warmthadding analogizer thingy.

WEB: www.sugar-bytes.de/ Excitable Boy: aural enhancer / PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac, exciter that goes too far. Flip Speed: rectification-based and VST, AU, RTAS playback speed octave generator with an attitude problem. PRICE: â&#x201A;Ź99 /$129 Metal Demon: death metal vocal effect to defile the purest voice. 3) PSYCHO TOOLKIT, Clone Ensemble: Psycho Toolkit is a bundle Sick Puppy: seriously twisted wavepeak analysis distortion generator. of plug-ins that were largely December 2011

Beyond The Obvious means of which the processed signal transforms into an endlessly changing sound layer. In spite of the comprehensive possibilities it provides for sound processing and modulation, OBELISK requires very little computing power, thanks to its high performing vector algorithms. GREAT FOR: A potent tool for animating different sound sources. The spectral delay plus feedback can do some wonders, especially if you want repeated sounds like there's no tomorrow. If you want to put the 'wow factor' into old drum loops then this plug-in is what you've looking for. WEB: www.artificialaudio.com/ PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac, VST, Audio Unit PRICE: â&#x201A;Ź99 including VAT Trash Triode: vacuum tube and cheap amp construction kit. Water Glass: noise reduction and texture generation. GREAT FOR: Just about everything. The Metal Demon can mangle a vocal. Flip Speed is awesome at transposing tonal loops. Sick Puppy is excellent for adding grit to drum tracks and Excitable Boy is good for adding sheen to stale synth tracks. WEB: www.cloneensemble.com/ PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, DirectX, VST PRICE: $25 shareware

4) OBELISK, Artificial Audio: OBELISK is a spectral multi effect whose sound possibilities and graphic user interface raise the area of spectral sound processing to a completely new level. OBELISK combines a SPECTRAL DELAY, a SPECTRAL FILTER and a SPECTRAL GATE in a multi effect that not only sounds excellent but also enables an extremely intuitive and musical operation, in spite of hundreds of effect parameters. With OBELISK you can draw your effect and with the aid of graphic lines control a multitude of effect parameters in a very simple and descriptive manner. With its 2-dimensional LFOs, OBELISK creates completely innovative modulation possibilities by

December 2011

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Beyond The Obvious Filterscape is a filter-based sound manipulation tool with tons of controls and parameters. It can be a parametric EQ with morphable snapshots, a dual virtual analog filter and a sophisticated delay unit. FilterscapeVA is a virtual analogue synth with a familiar topology similar to analogue synthesizers. It has two oscillators, a sub generator, noise generator and a filter. It has its own instance of Filterscape's morphing snapshot EQ, capable of a wide variety of sounds. FilterscapeQ6 is a dynamic 6band equalizer beast. It features the same morphable snapshot equalizer as its synth brother with an additional low and high shelving filters. 5) FILTERBANK 3, Tone 2: With its outstanding selection of 58 filter types, Tone2 FilterBank3 is more than an analog modeled filter plug-in. It is a complete VST synthesizer with a flexible multi-effects unit. Filterbank 3 combines filtering, equalizing, phasing, flanging, compressing, envelope following, delay (20 types) and distortion (12 types). It can be a good sound design tool for creating complex sequences and textures with its self-oscillating filters and feedback. The modular design and flexible modulation routing gives you nearly unlimited possibilities. And the built-in step sequencer can create rhythmic sequences with just a few mouse clicks.

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GREAT FOR: Filterbank 3 has a Midi learn function that automatically assigns Midi #CC to your controller making it an outstanding live tool for creating rhythmic sequenced parts. It can also be great for imparting that Moog-like filter to stale synth sounds. WEB: www.tone2.com/ PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac, VST, Audio Units PRICE: $79

6) FILTERSCAPE, U-he: Filterscape bundle is a set of three plug-ins that includes Filterscape, FilterscapeVA and FilterscapeQ6. An all-round indispensable tool for sound design and surgery.

December 2011

GREAT FOR: Rich and lush filtered delay sounds can be created with

Beyond The Obvious characteristics including Fabfilter One, Smooth, Raw, Hollow, Tube, Metal, etc. Take your pick and whatever suits you! But the fun really happens in the modulation section where the possibilities are endless. You can easily set the modulation connections with drag & drop. What that means is that there is no need to search through long drop-down menus containing dozens of sources and targets or to find your way in cluttered and obscure matrix views.

Filterscape. But its main use is for bass mangling and for drastic multiband compression, according to Urs, U-he's head honcho. You can get some really nice rhythmic formant effects going, stereo pattern-driven gated effects, EQ morphing/switching during a song with these plug-ins. The FilterscapeVA plus Filterscape is a winning combination.

7) TIMELESS 2, Fabfilter: Part of Fabfilter's creative bundle, Timeless 2 is a delay unit on steroids. It is a very versatile delay modeled on a famous classic tape delay. It features two independent delay lines (5 ms to 5 sec) with host tempo sync and panning. The multimode filter section includes eleven different sound

GREAT FOR: I found a really good use of this plug-in with the Freeze function. If I want a fill on a breakdown, I can easily create a sustaining repeat by freezing the tail end of an 8-bar drum loop. While the loop repeats over and over for a couple of measure I introduce a new sound on top of the frozen drum loop in the arrangement. There ... instant cool effect. Timeless 2 can do some trippy delay washes as well as

WEB: www.u-he.com/cms/ PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac, VST, AU, RTAS PRICE: $129 +VAT in EU

December 2011

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Beyond The Obvious psychedelic stuff. If you control can change the want a delay that's adept at strength of filtering, or FSU style sounds, look at even invert the filter for an Fabfilter Timeless 2. “anti-filtered” sound. +binaural is a filter that WEB: www.fabfilter.com/ places a sound at a specific position around the PLATFORM & listener’s head. Use it with INTERFACES: PC, Mac, a reverb to create a virtual VST, VST 3, AAX, RTAS environment. When used with its LFO, +binaural can PRICE: €109/$149 place various beats or parts of a loop in specific repeatable positions. 8) SPECTRAL SHAPERS, +spectralcompand Soundhack: Soundhack's performs smooth timbral Spectral Shapers is a pure filtering. It can be used to joy to use for creative tame resonant frequencies sound manipulation. or for radical changes of According to Tom Erbe tone. In expansion mode, (programmer), "Spectral +spectralcompand becomes Shapers are being used a a highly tunable broadband lot by people processing noise remover, capable of beats and loops, but also removing hiss, hum and quite a few film sound machine noise, without effects have used spectral damaging the original shapers to develop their sound. sounds. For example, the flying "hunter-killer" robots GREAT FOR: Definitely not in the Terminator film used your grandma's daily audio spectral shapers to develop processors. You can pretty the robot sound." These are much use these plug-ins for the 4 plug-ins included in creating drones and odd the bundle. ambient textures. I happen +spectralgate is a to love using these for dynamics processor that beats and drum loops if I divides the input signal into want an off-center, esoteric 513 bands, then noise sounding drum loop. gates/ducks each independently. +morphfilter holds 2 filter WEB: www.soundhack.com/ types. These shapes are set by drawing, or by capturing PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac VST, the spectra from the AU, RTAS incoming sound. You can morph between these two filters. +morphfilter’s depth PRICE: $75 28

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December 2011

Beyond The Obvious The Comb Filter creates expanding physical-modelinglike sounds with finely adjustable resonance, which means even more realistic, acoustic and voluminous sounds can be achieved. Don't let the daunting interface fool you, Absynth 5 is one serious sound shaping tool. GREAT FOR: A true tool for experimentation. You can load a drum loop as an oscillator (granular sampling) and radically animate it. The Aetherizer and Cloud Filter are ideal for good unusual, evolving sounds. Vocal loops are also good to process through these effects if you are looking for those eeire, vocoded, pitch shifted, strange & reflected sounds.

9) ABSYNTH 5, Native Instruments: You might be wondering what Absynth is doing in this round-up since it is a synthesizer. WEB: www.native-instruments.com Well, Absynth is a two-sided beast that also acts as a creative effect PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac, plug-in capable of processing VST, Audio Units, RTAS, Standalone incoming audio for some out of this world sounds. For the serious sound PRICE: $199 designer the effects section has the Aetherizer (grain-based effect), Cloud Filter (based on granular synthesis ) 10) SHAPESHIFTER, Progress and Supercomb (flexible comb filter), with all three introduced in version 5. Audio: Like a character in a fantasy or The Aetherizer is enormously powerful science fiction book, ShapeShifter is a and versatile. A sophisticated granular effect "decomposes" the sounds into small particles or "grains", which are then manipulated and re-assembled in a variety of ways. The results are unusual chorus and vocoder sounds, grain clouds, delays, pitch shifts, reverbs and strange reflections - and everything in between. This effect (as with all ABSYNTH effects) also works with external audio signals (e.g. audio tracks in a sequencer) - a playground for creative sound manipulation! The Cloud Filter has a similar structure to the Aetherizer's granular effect, but acts in each of the three oscillator channels. It provides granular-based results such as unusual Chorus, Pitch Shift and reverb effects, and can make synth sounds that are dense and aggressive.

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morphing effect that's ideally suited to changing one sound into another. ShapeShifter is a multi-effect VST plug-in comprising different number of tools for changing sounds, ranging from subtle effects to extremely mangled audio. It includes several user-configurable (signal chain can be re-arranged) effect modules (waveshaper, resonant filter, stereo delay, gate, chorus, reverb and compressor), as well as a step sequencer. Since the waveshaper and sequencer are tied together, Shapeshifter allows you to blend between waveshaper settings in time with your track, creating interesting changes in tone. GREAT FOR: From bubbly and gated effects to a nice sustaining drone sounds, Shapeshifter is up to the task. You can change the order in which the effects are applied for getting a different range of sounds from the effects. It can add a nice texture to a simple sounding guitar, especially with the waveshaper, delay, reverb and subtle gate effect applied. WEB: www.progressaudio.co.uk PLATFORM & INTERFACES: PC, Mac, Audio Unit, VST PRICE: â&#x201A;Ź17/$25

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w e i v Re

A Masterpiece from Image-Line

Harmor by dmbaer

Top of the Charts with a Bullet Image-Line's recently introduced software-synth, Harmor, is nothing short of a triumph. Within an hour of installation it had taken its place, along with Alchemy and Zebra, in my short list of personal favorite synths. The sounds are stunning and subtly different from the sounds I've heard produced by any other synth (except maybe Harmor's predecessor Harmless).

Maybe that can be best answered by taking a look back at Harmless, the predecessor to Harmor, where much of the creative inspiration for this new instrument incubated. Harmless? Really?

In other words, a typical additive synth adds sine wave partials together and passes the result on to subsequent processing as a single wave form. While working with the original array of sine wave generators the synth would be operating in the frequency domain. Upon summing the sine waves into a single wave, the processing transitions from the frequency domain to what Image-line calls the time domain. Harmless differed from typical additive synths in that processing remained in the frequency domain for a good deal longer, applying filtering, phasing and other types of sound manipulations directly to the array of individual sine wave partials.

I've had Harmless sitting on my DAW machine for some time, always meaning to get around to learning it a little more deeply when I had the opportunity. In what little time I had experimented with it I always felt it Harmor does have one major flaw, but had great potential. I get the feeling it never caught on much in the market thankfully one that's correctible. The place; the evidence being a dearth of documentation is way too light. Harmor's approach to generating third-party preset collections. sound is different enough from anything else you're likely to be But if Harmless went under most familiar with that it begs a more musicians' radar, it was nevertheless comprehensive explanation. a rather striking piece of innovation. Fortunately, I've gathered from things The basic idea is as follows: Harmless offered a single oscillator wave form read on the KVR forum that ImageLine will be correcting this deficiency with subsequent filtering, phase when time permits. shifting, etc., much the same as a conventional subtractive synth. What Harmor is an additive synth at heart. made it very different was that the Take filtering for example. Operating An obvious question to ask up front is: audio creation stayed in what Imageon an array of sine wave amplitudes, Line calls the frequency domain for why did Image-Line produce another one can create any kind of filter additive synth when they already had long beyond the initial wave output imaginable. Want an infinite-dB per being created. one in Morphine? Morphine is a fine octave slope with no artifacts? No instrument in its own right that problem. Want multiple resonance performs additive sound creation. points or a resonance an octave above

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December 2011

the cutoff frequency? Again, no problem.

If Harmless was a high-school grad who was at the top of his class, Harmor is that individual eight years later, having gone to college and acquired a PHD while working out at the gym for a couple hours a day for the duration. In other words, it's pretty awesome.

Harmless was not the only synth that generated single cycle repetitions using an additive approach. I have it on good authority that this is what Zebra does as well. But once the wave is out of Zebra's oscillator, processing To begin with, we now have two is in the time domain. completely separate voices and each Harmless does all manner of of these has two oscillators. So we modulation and manipulation before really have four oscillators in total, quadrupling the power of Harmless. leaving the frequency domain. Only But on top of that, we have an when we get to the final effects alternate sound generation section do we transition to timemechanism in the form of a timedomain processing. Or at least that's the way I have interpreted the story based sound specification. One can import a wave file into a Harmor voice here. and the program will translate it into a Matriculation

December 2011

pair of two dimensional arrays. In the first, we have amplitude levels of each partial; in the other we have pitch information (partials do not have to be precise multiples of the base frequency). The single cycle waves appear to become disabled when an imported sample is present. This is one of many, many points upon which the documentation is mute. There's a lot to understand here but much of it remains a mystery due to insufficient documentation. This is an incredibly powerful feature that is far from intuitive to work with. As just one example, the help file (which is the only documentation ... there's no PDF manual) shows a fade region in the looping portion of an imported

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w e i v Re sound. But nowhere do we learn just what is being faded and there's only a vague reference as to how to set it up. We do know that loops in an imported file are preserved as such, but that's about it. An imported wave file can be the basis for additive playback (re-synthesis). Alternately, it can be converted and saved as a pair of image files (image synthesis). Like at least one other additive synth (Chameleon), these images can be edited in an external image editor and reimported, or a sound can even be created from an initial graphic in the first place. Whether doing re-synthesis or image synthesis, there are numerous options that can be employed. For one thing, playback speed can be altered, giving an additive spin on a common technique used in granular synthesis playback. MIDI note numbers can be mapped to start positions within the playback. Combining the two options, using a playback speed of zero and a different start position within the sample for each note gives us a timeinvariant sound specification that is unique for each note value. This is what is done in the four electronic piano presets, or at least this is what's going on in the first of the two voices. What's happening in the B voice is quite puzzling when you try to analyze how these presets were constructed. Many more sound alteration controls are available, some of which I confess I don't come close to understanding. But one of these is quite obvious and notable. One way to do stereo is to import the left side of the sample as a mono file into the A voice and the right side into the other, with each voice panned to the extremes. But there's also a mode in Harmor that 33

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Image-Line

lets you import a stereo wave file into the instrument in Mid/Side mode. The A voice gets the mid information and the B voice gets the side. This means all the unusual and powerful sound manipulations, which we haven't covered yet, can be done on the middle and side components of the sound independently before the stereo signal is reconstructed. Very, very cool! Filters and Other Manipulations in the Frequency Domain It's time we took a look at the Harmor panel (Figure 1) in more detail. As you can see, there's a The left half of the lower portion of the very crowded user interface on this interface is for global controls. To the instrument; this is either a strength or right of that is a tabbed area in which a weakness depending on how you there are panels for envelope look at it. Some users will appreciate definition, image-based playback that nearly everything is there right in control, an effects section and a tab front of them, allowing rapid preset for specification of advanced tweaking. Others will find the parameter settings. As far as I can tell, interface a bit bewildering. Having almost all the tonal tweaking available read the documentation about ten times now, I find the interface straightforward for those aspects that are sufficiently explained. About other aspects, I am frankly intimidated. The top half of the Harmor window consists of two identical tab pages, one for each voice. The lower half is devoted to a combination of global controls and work areas for defining envelopes, LFO shapes, additive image synthesis manipulation, etc.

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Harmor

of those two extremes. As you might have figured out by now, filtering is accomplished by altering the levels of specific partials. While Harmor supplies the expected complement of standard filter types, there are plenty of nonstandard options at hand, and if that's not enough, you can draw your own filter response graph. Even with filters, we soon drift into unfamiliar territory. You define the filter curve and the resonance separately, and you can supply user defined shapes for either. We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

on the interface controls things that happen in the frequency domain. The effects section comes later and operates in the time domain. Let's start with what should be some familiar ground: filters. There are two filters in each voice that can be run in parallel or series or some combination

The phaser does its job in a very different fashion than it would in a conventional synth as well, with manipulations of the sine wave partial array values. Such is the case with a number of other interesting manipulations which have no equivalent in the world of subtractive synthesis. For example there's Prism, which somehow alters the pitch of partials in such a way that subtle or not-so-subtle dissonance can be added. Blur is another such manipulation. It may be very cool, but I won't pretend that I understand what it's all about. Pluck is a really useful special filter that can be quickly dialed in. It gives you an easy way to apply a specialized filter that allows all the partials through at note start and removes them top down as time proceeds. In other words, it does just what you'd expect a control named "Pluck" would do. You could accomplish this with envelopes December 2011

and so forth with a normal low-pass filter, but because pluck-like sounds are commonly desired, this is a very nice control to have at one's disposal. We have a monophonic option and the usual options for legato and portamento. One innovation I haven't seen elsewhere is the ability to define a modulation sequence so you can have the first note of a legato sequence respond to one value, the second to another, and so on. We could go on. There is the option of unison voicing when using the single cycle wave to give you multiple detuned oscillators. A harmonizer can provide additional harmonic content. Single cycle wave forms can also be augmented with a sub-oscillator sine wave an octave down and its third and fourth overtones. Dedicated tremolo and vibrato controls let you conveniently dial in these common modulations without going to the trouble of hooking up an LFO for the modulation. One final observation about these various manipulations: you can control the order in which this processing occurs. The Advanced tab in the lower right portion of the interface enables the various processing options to be done in any order you like. I'll admit, though, it's a little bit intimidating contemplating doing so. Masterful Modulation So, we have an abundance of sound manipulation options and, of course, many of their operational parameters can be modulated in various ways. Harmor may very well hold the current record for sporting the most LFOs and envelope generators of any www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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Image-Line

Harmor

synth out there. Every control worthy of modulation can have the appropriate modulations applied via a right click that will connect it to a dedicated envelope or LFO. Modulation matrix? That's so 2000!

One typical effect is missing and that's EQ. Harmor does supply EQ but it happens back in the frequency domain. There's a knob on the top panel to control how pronounced the equalization will be on whatever drawn curve you supply. Actually, there are two types of EQ, local and In this area we are once again we're global. The documentation says presented with some very original absolutely nothing about this, but it thinking and innovation. These appears that global is just that and capabilities go pretty deep and it's the only one of the two types affected going to take some time for the by the knob. Local EQ is (I assume) potential sound designer to come up per-note EQ and there's some to speed. For example, in defining an evidence that it follows keyboard LFO, many conventional manipulations are available but on top tracking. Once again, the documentation tells us nothing. of all that you can graphically define an envelope on top of your LFO that So, Want To Get Harmor-ed? modulates the modulator. A simple example of this can be seen in Figure Is Harmor for you? Although the list 2 where I've applied a delay and a price of $129 is more than reasonable fade-in to an LFO. But you can get as it's a little steep to call this a nowild and crazy as you'd like in manipulating the LFO behavior. About brainer. But unless you already have Harmless it's safe to say you do not the only thing I don't see (and it's a have another synth that is remotely bit of a gaping omission) is a random similar, no matter how many additive step or glide LFO curve. synths you have sitting on your DAW. For the price, this is excellent value, The graphic editors in which envelope and you can be assured that it won't and LFO shapes are defined take a duplicate the capabilities of some little while to get the feel of, but a bit other gear you've already shelled out of experimentation will get you to your hard-earned money on. where you're comfortable with the usage. There are powerful capabilities As I stated at the outset, I think here. Taking the time to learn to use Harmor has a stunning and original these editors properly will definitely sound. Image-line has audio samples provide a worthwhile return on your available here: investment. Finally, let's look at the effects section (Figure 3). Recall that we're finally doing processing in the time domain by the time our signal reaches this point. The offerings are pretty conventional other than there being a compressor which you don't see as a synth effect too often. Along with the compressor you have the usual suspects: chorus, distortion, delay and reverb. You should note that you can, once again, order these effects as you'd like in the Advanced tab. 35

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http://www.imageline.com/documents/harmor.html There are also a number of You-tube videos that will give you a good idea of what to expect. One that I find extremely revealing is a pre-release video in which the final movement of the Beethoven Moonlight Sonata is played through one of the piano presets while the demonstrator mouses about the interface tweaking various settings. By the way, the four December 2011

piano presets are perhaps the finest electronic piano patches I've ever come across. As you can see in the video, all the alterations one can do to a piano patch alone could make Harmor a must-have for some musicians. That video can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W EztcRBcO5s A general introductory video is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af 0_00HKA24 A short but interesting demo of the image-synthesis features can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE k6dFd89Ck Adding It All Up Harmor is a deep, complex instrument that's a masterpiece of innovation. The sounds it can produce are breathtaking. I've only scratched the surface in discussing all of its features and capabilities in this short review, but they are abundant. This synth clearly deserves to be recognized as an elite contender in what's become a crowded marketplace. But the lack of adequate documentation is a very real problem and I can only hope that Image-Line will address it quickly. Harmor comes with some very nice presets, but I want many, many more. For that to happen, third party sound developers will need to understand how to use this instrument before they can produce their own preset collections. I want Harmor to be an unqualified success â&#x20AC;Ś even though I'll admit my motivation is completely selfish. This one's a keeper!

Wusik Station

Improving by the minute.

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Propellerhead

Reason 6 by Ginno Legaspi

FINALLY A DAW I've long been a Reason user, ever since version 2 was released back in 2002. Every time I boot up my DAW it is the first application I play with even though I have a slew of other hosts and soft studios installed on my computer. What's not to like about it, though? It has a great pattern-based sequencer, some good built-in synths, samplers, drum machines, a host of effects and an expandable mixer. Needless to say, it's a complete production tool that enables you to make professional-sounding tracks ... without needing another program. What really attracted me to Reason is that Propellerhead has maintained a quality, self-contained application that is easy to use and CPU efficient. So here we are with version 6. This has got to be the biggest update ever to Reason, and dare I say that the program has matured greatly, not to mention that Propellerhead has changed some things and thrown in a couple of new devices. The biggest news to the update is probably the addition of audio tracks and audio editing capabilities to the program. These features have been constantly requested by die-hard Reason users for years, and now they are finally integrated into Reason 6. It is safe to say that Reason has finally become a

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full-fledged DAW in its own right, which beginners and pros alike will appreciate. Here are the highlights of what's new.

sounds the use of a filter and distortion combo is unbeatable. You can also get some really nice "dubby" sounds out of this unit. Users will be glad that the delay effects in Reason WHAT'S NEW have been beefed up with The Echo especially those producing avantThere is no denying that this version is garde, dub, post-rock and electronica Reason and Record rolled into one. genre. This will help them drive tracks Propellerhead took Record 1.5's to sound huge. generators, effects, functionality and the huge mixer and ported it into Alligator is another new device in Reason. And what's tasty about this Reason 6 - a "Triple Filtered Gate" new version is that you can work with module. It is a threechannel patternaudio and virtual instruments in one based gate effect, along with three single application. No more switching parallel filters, distortion, phaser and or tabbing apps which was the case delay. It functions as a signal splitter, with R+R Duo. There are three new and then some. As a sound travels effect units added to the application through Alligator, it is split into three and they are The Echo, Pulverizer parallel signals. These three signals and Alligator. can be gated, filtered, distorted, phased, panned and mixed The Echo is an advanced stereo echo independently. Each channel is run unit that reminds me of Roland's REthrough high pass, band pass or low 201 Space Echo. Well, sort of. But this pass filters. Then there's the FX modern echo unit is packed with great section in which you can further features and parameters reminiscent process the signal by applying an of analog and tape delay classics. The ample amount of distortion, phasing Echo is made of three sections: the and delay. Lastly, you can set the pan delay, feedback and color/modulation. and volume controls of the There are tons of sound sculpting rhythmically gated channels for some possibilities plus live performance interesting spatial effects. Alligator is options. What I really like about this a fantastic device that many electronic delay unit is the Color section in which producers will simply love due to the you can add limiting, overdrive, rhythmic sounds they can create from distortion or tube saturation effects to this thing. I tested the Alligator by the delay (repeats). For tape echo-like loading up a fairly simple pad preset

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in Malstrom. I connected the Malstrom to Alligator and played through the built-in 64 rhythmic preset patterns. The result I was getting was fantastic and very inspiring. An instant fun factor. The next plug in does not need any introduction. Just by looking at its mean GUI you have that feeling that The Pulveriser can do some damage. It's very intimidating, gritty and

primed for war. This is the Pulveriser Reasons 6's new artillery for bombastic audio processing. It has four sections, offering compression (Squash knob), distortion (Dirt knob), filtering (low, band, notch, high and comb filtering), tremolo (different tremolo waveform shapes), envelope follower and parallel processor to boot. The great thing about the Pulveriser is that it can process audio in many ways. It can be a subtle insert effect December 2011

to add tonal characteristics to color your sounds, a creative processor for Leslie speaker or Rhodes-style volume effects and a dynamic processor to add warmth and analog goodness to your audio. It can be many things depending on how you use it, but I love it when it's used to process drums and add movement to stale synth sounds.

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Reason 6

The Mixer, Neptune and Line 6 Amps Reason finally sports a huge powerful pro mixer that is modeled after an SSL 9000k desk. This is a wise decision from Propellerhead to pluck 'The Mixer' out of Record and integrate it into Reason 6. I've never been behind an SSL desk before but one thing I can confirm is that this virtual console sounds superb. Yes, way better than the small 12-channel mixer in v5 because it imparts that legendary SSL analog warmth, punch and clarity. This 8-buss mixer is jampacked with features as each channel includes a compressor, gate and EQ along with that famous master bus compressor to glue mixes together (cohesion). Overall, this is an awesome musical tool in itself and it can powerfully shape and balance your mixes, bringing them to new heights. Also new in this version is the Neptune pitch correction and voice synth module. Again we saw Neptune introduced in Record 1.5 and now it has been included in Reason. Neptune is a 3-in-1 tool for vocal/voice processing. It's a pitch correction tool, a real-time audio transposer and a voice synthesizer all bundled in one nice user interface. Neptune does a good job of correcting monophonic audio. To me it's a great tool and has many great parameters with control over bend, vibrato, expression, correction speed, formant, etc. It can be used to correct flat notes quickly and electronic producers in the vein of Daft Punk, Kraftwerk and Air will love Neptune for its vocoding/auto-tune like capabilities. You can even play new harmonies on your MIDI controller for instant multi-part vocals. Neptune is great for tweakers too. If you're a guitar or bass player ... rejoice! Reason 6 now comes with Line 6 Guitar and Bass PODs. These are great amplifier and speaker 38

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cabinet simulators that go hand-insignal and you'll get a mind blowing guitar tone. hand with Scream 4 and the Pulveriser. Out of the box, the Line 6 More Sounds, Audio Recording Guitar Amp comes with three amps (1964 Blackface 'Lux, 1968 Plexi Lead and Other New Stuff 100 and 2001 Treadplate Dual) and three guitar cab models, while the The Factory Soundbank has been Bass Amp lets you choose between expanded and now ships with plenty two amp models, 1974 Rock Classic, of patches and loops for Reason's devices, including the new Pulveriser, 1968 Flip Top, and two cab models, Alligator and The Echo effect units. 1x15 Flip Top, 8x10 Classic. You can mix and match the amps and cabinet There are lots of starter loops (2760) models however you like. They can be to give you inspiration to write a track and ready-to-play synth patches used 'live' or can process any signal requiring the tonal characteristics of (40000) so you can concentrate on an amp. Just imagine the guitar tones writing. There are also more than 1000 mixing and mastering effects you can get out of these modules when chained together. Try this for an presets that are ready to rock. As always, browsing is easy and you can experiment: add Line 6 Guitar Amp and Scream 4 plus Pulveriser to your December 2011

You have to activate the program dard MIDI File player. Want to get using an internet computer and transfer/activate the serial to the key. Reason 6 is still fully usable without the Ignition Key but you can't open songs. Also, a new GM-like instrument device in the guise of ID8 has been added into Reason. ID8 is a fast to setup and easy to use device for composers looking for a Stanyour ideas down without needing complex sounds? The ID8 gives you good sets of bread & butter sounds for easy track building. It includes 36 presets with instrument sounds ranging from pianos to guitars and basses to percussion. VERDICT

audition sounds on the fly without loading a patch or loop into a device. Propellerhead has brought the power of Record into Reason and the long wait is finally over. You can now capture your ideas into audio tracks in Reason. Recording audio is as easy as 1, 2, 3 with few mouse clicks. Once you create a new audio track (by right-clicking the sequencer) the default input is activated. The recording section sports a big recording meter should you need to monitor the signal you are recording. The recording meter also serves as a tuning device for guitar or bass. You can bring it up by hitting F3. Other recording features in Reason also allow users to record automation and

Reason has always been heaven-sent for electronic musicians and producers; but I think it will garner a wider user base now that full audio recording is integrated. It is amazingly stable due to its self-contained nature. I never had a single crash while auditioning, bashing and abusing it. Its simplicity is pretty much a joy to use. The three new devices are a welcome addition that sound designers and tweakers alike will appreciate for years. I happen to enjoy The Echo the most because you can get crazy, "dubby", analog-like delays from it. Not to mention it's a good sound-sculpting tool.

MIDI, record multiple audio takes with the comp editor, edit and rearrange clips and apply the awesome time stretch & audio transpose effects. Of all the recording features in Reason, the ones I'm most impressed by are the time stretch and audio transpose. If you're a producer who's tired of If I change the tempo of a song, the your current DAW and are looking for audio (in this case I loaded a WAV loop) stretches and follows right along a good alternative, consider Reason 6. with minimal artifacts. With audio and With its simple audio recording, superb time stretch and transpose instrument devices now in one functions, high-quality synths and environment the possibility of powerful SSL-like mixer you'll be off producing tracks inside it are to make banging tracks in no time. tremendous. Highly recommended. Other notable changes or additions to WEB: http://www.propellerheads.se/ the program are that the copy protection has changed. It now uses PRICE: $449.00 the 'Ignition Key' protection scheme. PLATFORM: Mac, PC December 2011

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UVI SoundSource Ircam Solo Instrum

Even if you haven't heard of UVI SoundSource I can assure you that you have. It's the company that made the engine for MOTU's range of instruments and samplers. Match 5, BPM and a few others. They also made UVI Workstation that you can get for free from their site and last, but not least, they have made a lot of high quality sound libraries. Some libraries for MOTU and plenty for their own company. I own some of their libraries and all are well recorded and highly usable. Their "Mayhem Of Loops" is my all time favourite library. You can't find a piece of my music that doesn't contain at least one loop from this library. So, now we have an Ircam Solo Instruments library. Any difference from the other UVI libraries? In the matter of quality, definitely not! Ircam Solo Instruments In most orchestral libraries you can find a bunch of solo patches - or instruments, even the good ones. So, why should you spend extra money for this library? The answer is hidden under the term known as articulations, or if you are new to the orchestral world, different playing techniques. Ircam Solo Instruments library contains an exceeding number of different articulations, common ones along with great number of those that can be heard mainly on solo instrumental parts or on recordings of small chamber orchestras, but almost never in sample library packs. So, if you just need a string, trumpet or oboe sound to enhance your hip hop recording, than this is definitely not the library for you, but if you want to record a short solo part with plenty of character, fake the real 40

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December 2011

ments by A. Arsov

player, or program some intimate parts played by small orchestras than this library is a must. Not just for giving a soul to your instrumental parts, but for adding the meat to the musical bones, making it real with all those dirty notes and playing techniques that persuade you that, finally, someone isn't bothering you with another sample library. Virtual reality at its best. Of course, programming such parts is a time consuming business, but thankfully key switching is nicely implemented, so the job can be done quite nicely and the end result can be really impressive. I've messed a lot with all those articulations, have lost myself on more than one occasion, missed the point a few times, found my way back, etc. etc. All those articulations demand some time before you can figure out what is what. At first I was not so pleased with the solo violin but in the end I found the exact sound I was searching for under some other name. If you are not so familiar with all the Latin (or even German for some brass instruments) names that are used in orchestration then you'll need some time to find your way around. Col legno battuto for violin and flatterzunge for tuba, or Sul poticello to sul tasto. Sounds nice, what do you think? All I can say is... good luck with the names my dear user! For 399 US Dollars you will get sixteen instruments which will eat up 15 GB of your disk space. Violin, Viola, Cello, Contrabass, Flute in C, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Alto saxophone, French Horn, Trumpet, Trombone, Bass tuba, Accordion, Guitar, Harp. No loops, just articulations and even more articulations. All those instruments December 2011

were played by carefully selected prime musicians, so the main tone is perfect and all the unusual articulations are well presented. All samples are recorded dry with close miking, so you will need to add some additional space to make things shine. The players are good, it is well recorded, the only problem with this library is the end user. You will need some skills in order to get really good results, a basic knowledge of orchestration. At least you should know what you want to get before you start to mess with all those combinations. Time is the issue, but if you are curious about what kind of things you can get using this library, visit the UVI SoundSource site and listen to the demo clips presented on the Ircam Solo Instruments site. Quite impressive. I can't think of any other library that can so convincingly "fake" so well the represented instruments, especially in mid tempo or slower parts. Ircam Solo Instruments is unique library and you certainly should know why you intend to buy it, but when you do, you can do so without any regret. The UVI fellows know how to do things. This library is made in cooperation with the Ircam Institute, so when two winning teams put their heads together there is no way to get bad results. A realistic set of essential orchestral solo instruments buffed with all those sounds that make such a library realistic. A touch of a room or hall reverb and you are there, listening to the real thing. For further consideration visit the http://www.uvisoundsource.com/pr oduct_info.php?products_id=40 399 USD - iLok required. By solo Arsov (Allegro Cacklette) www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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Raiders of the Lost Oscillator

Music Laboratory Machines by dmbaer The Marvelous Music Laboratory Machines The more I get to know the offerings of Hollow Sun, the more I'm developing an affection for this company. It's not because their products are well-crafted (which they certainly are), but it's simply because they're done with such flair and are 42

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outright fun to have on hand. In this review, we look at the first seven instruments in the Music Laboratory Machines series. By the way, I have to believe the intent is to pronounce "laboratory" as Dr. Frankenstein would, as in rhymes with "abhor a Tory". The MLM series runs on Kontakt version 4.2 or later. The December 2011

documentation claims that they can also run in a limited capacity on the free Kontakt player, but using them in the free player will result in timed-out sessions after 10 or 15 minutes and those sessions will need to be restarted. That said, for some of the uses to which these might be put, that limitation might be something with which you could live. In other words,

Fig. 1 you'd set it up in your DAW, The other characteristic that will bring immediately freeze the track, and turn an immediate smile to the potential off the Kontakt player. buyer's face is the price, which is under $10 each for most of them. The MLM instruments are all over the They are all the product of highmap in terms of what kinds of sounds quality engineering, doing what they they produce, but they are all well off do brilliantly, or spectacularly badly, if the beaten track. While they're not for that happens to be the intent. everyone, anyone doing soundtracks (games, film, whatever) should All in the series come with a modestcertainly take note, as should anyone sized PDF manual that more than collaborating with a band that adequately provides what you need to incorporates the unusual in their know to get down to business. productions. Portishead immediately comes to mind, as do Radiohead and Some instruments have a number of Wilco (for that one weird track that factory supplied presets, while for shows up on most of their albums). others, a quick configuration setup is all that's needed to dial in the sound Let's first cover some shared you want. In this latter case, you can characteristics of the MLM instruments. always save the configuration as a I think I've already established that new Kontakt instrument for easy they are a little strange, but in a future retrieval. Most supply a variety wonderful way. In particular, the user of effects: reverb, chorus, phaser, interfaces are an absolute delight, as cabinet simulation, rotary speaker you'll see in the forthcoming screen simulation, etc. The numerous reverb shots. While we'll show only the main options are good-quality convolution panel for each here, many have reverbs supplied by Kontakt, as are additional panels for effects (which the cabinet simulations. MLM you can observe on the Hollow Sun instruments take full advantage of web site). All are masterpieces of a what Kontakt has to offer. Finally, stylish inventiveness. December 2011

where appropriate, an arpeggiator is provided as well. The Hollow Sun web site (www.hollowsun.com) has details on all its offerings and a reasonable selection of sound samples is provided for each of the instruments. Check it out and I can almost promise you will have a very pleasant browsing experience. In some ways visiting their web site is like spending time in a small private museum crammed full of intriguing, rare artifacts. Now, let's look at the individual offerings. These are in no particular order, except that I'll save my personal favorite for last. Techtron This is a simple architecture that offers two saw wave oscillators, along with multi-mode filters, envelope generators and LFOs. The main page of the UI can be seen in Figure 1. You might ask yourself just why you'd need something like this when you've probably already got half a dozen VA synths on your DAW that offer the same. Here's why. www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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Music Laborat

Fig. 2

A typical VA synth has a saw wave that grew up in a gated community, went to private school, and works as a highly paid CPA who pours himself a glass of expensive Chardonnay precisely at seven o'clock every evening. Techtron's saw wave grew though, most of the presets are hardly up in The Bronx, dropped out of what you'd call musical. Anyone who school at the age of 16, works as a is old enough to remember sitting in pipe fitter, and drinks Bud â&#x20AC;Ś out of movie theaters on a Saturday the can ... pretty much any time he afternoon watching cheesy black and feels like it. Techtron's saw waves white science fiction movies like have a coarse, unrefined quality you'd "Earth vs. the Flying Saucers" or "The never be able to coax out of a run-of- Mysterians" will immediately get what the-mill VA synth. That's the entire Ocsillosine is all about. reason you'd want to have this particular arrow in your quiver. The presets are a comprehensive collection of all kinds of campy SF Techtron probably has the most sounds that they managed to dream universal appeal of any of the MLM up in the fifties. Granted, you could instruments, which is to say some of probably get a decent Theremin sound the presets would be perfectly at out of it as well, but this is clearly not home in a straightforward rock piece. what Hollow Sun was after given the What might come as a surprise is that presets they've provided. One reason one of the presets is a pad that is for the wide variety of sounds unexpectedly lush and complex. produced is that the LFO waveforms Techtron has a completely unique (sine, saw ... the usual suspects) can sound. I'd like to encourage you to be combined in various ways. I cannot check it out. begin to describe in words what this thing sounds like. You'd simply have Oscillosine to hear it for yourself. This instrument might appear to be in the same vein as Techtron. Oscillosine (Figure 2) offers a single sine wave oscillator that can be frequency or ring modulated. The sine waves are created from samples taken from a vintage Hewlett Packard test sine wave generator. Unlike Techtron

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This instrument should be a musthave for anyone doing soundtracks/soundscapes, especially ones with a bit of alien humor. Once again, listen to the sample tracks on the web site, of which there are four, to get a good idea of what Oscillosine can do. There is one aspect that's a

December 2011

little confusing and that's the pricing. At the modest price of $8, this is pretty close to no brainer territory if you want some campy sonic seasoning for your productions. I should probably add that not all the sounds are campy. But for me, the great joy of this instrument is in the retro sounds that remind me of those Saturday matinees so long ago. TriOsc TriOsc (Figure 3) may appear to be a more robust version of Oscillosine, but in practice it's rather different. TriOsc offers three identical oscillators which can produce either a sine wave or a triangle wave. Like Oscillosine, the samples of these waves were taken from vintage test equipment. Unlike Oscillosine, there are no factory supplied presets, and in fact you cannot even create your own presets. Here, if you get a configuration you like, you need to save it as a discrete instrument. A key feature of TriOsc is the Serendipity button. Click it and all the parameters are randomized, resulting in sounds that are all over the map. A few of these will be "musical" in the

Fig.

tory Machines

Fig. 4

sense that they'll have a predominant pitch. Most, however, will be what you'd probably want to designate as sound effects.

A good sampling of what TriOcs can do is to be found on the Hollow Sun web site. Here's the downside of the no-presets design choice. The first example track, Dreamy TriOsc â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Something Completely Different, has a thoroughly beguiling sound I'd love to be able to produce, but since I'm

not an accomplished sound designer, I haven't a clue as to how to recreate it. Some presets would have been nice here. While you can dial in a blissful, if simple, musical sound fairly easily, going for something more complex will take either some skill or some

good fortune with the Serendipity button. TriOsc will appeal to the same individuals who would find Oscillosine engaging. I'd hasten to say though that if you like one, you'll probably want both. Given the low purchase price, this is not a painful economic choice to make. Organa Organa (Figure 4) is based on samples from a (now rare) Hohner electric reed organ. As such, it's perfectly capable of traditional, even quaint, sounds. But with the envelope generators and effects, it can also create some organic and/or otherworldly sounds as well. The latter approach can be readily heard in the second of the two sample tracks Hollow Sun provides on the web site. As is their custom, Hollow Sun has chosen to give authenticity to the instrument by throwing in an option for fan noise. Most will choose to leave this in the "off" position. Once again, we have no factory supplied presets nor an option to define your own, but this time we

December 2011

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w e i v Re

Music Laborat Fig. 5

have several discrete instruments supplied. Unlike TriOsc, here the absence of presets isn't a big deal. As can be seen on the control panel, there's not a whole lot that needs to be configured. said to have been able to create a range of string, woodwind and organ Shangri-La type sounds. While this in and of itself might have made an interesting With Shangri-La (Figure 6), we depart sample set, in the case of Broken, the from the largely Western electronic instrument from which the samples antiquity theme and embrace a sound were made was not in good health, to source from the Far East. The samples put it mildly. for Shangri-La are taken from a collection of sixty-one copper and And here is where the challenge bronze Tibetan bowls. comes: describing the sounds one gets from this derived Kontakt instrument. Hollow Sun's web site description probably says it best: "... chaotic, squealing, stuttering noises of Broken machinery in pain. It's broken and doesn't work properly ... probably Broken (Figure 5) is the one never did". Once again, the best thing instrument in this series I've not been you can do to understand what looking forward to writing about. How Broken offers is to listen to the do I even begin to describe it? I'll example tracks on Hollow Sun's web start with the source of the samples ... site. that's the easy part. Broken is another one of the series An extremely early (c. 1940) that supplies neither presets nor the monophonic synth-like device called ability to define your own. The idea is the Solovox was produced by to do some simple tweaking to come Hammond. This consisted of a up with the sound you want. At your compact keyboard controller small disposal are a filter, an envelope, a enough to sit beneath the keyboard of phase shifter, a reverb, and a couple a piano (leaving room for the of distortion-type transformations. As musician's legs) and a remote larger can be heard on the sample tracks, a unit that contained the sound surprisingly wide palette of sounds is generation circuitry. The Solovox is available. One of the great things about Organa's sound is what can be achieved by taking its quaint authentic sound and running it through the echo and rotary cabinet effects. The result can be a sound that's far from antique. There are all kinds of scenarios where I could see this being a key contributor to a thoroughly edgy production. At something in the neighborhood of six dollars, you may find Organa irresistible.

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Fig. 6

December 2011

tory Machines Fig. 7

The bowls have an exotic sound in their own right. They are not tonal (or perhaps more accurately, they are aggressively multi-tonal). As such, there has been no attempt to arrange them on the keyboard using any sort of ascending pitch scheme. The samples are not looped but instead just offer a single cycle of attack (being struck) and decay (lasting up to a minute for the larger bowls).

A number of effects open up many additional sound possibilities. We have a filter, LFO, distortion, chorus, phaser, reverb, and so on. By themselves, the sounds are exotic, but they can be transformed into something that's other-worldly with the supplied modulators and effects. Significantly, one can define modulator/effect setups for the entire set or can define them individually for each bowl. Interference And now we get to the one that made me smile the most: Interference (Figure 7). The concept is simple: provide a source of all the kinds of noise that have been the bane of recording engineers since the dawn of recorded sound. We have: multiple kinds of hum, fan noise, several vinyl groove noises, crackle, hiss, and rumble. We can combine them in various combinations. That is, we can add hum and vinyl noises, but we only get one vinyl noise at a time, for example. But the fun doesn't stop there. In addition to authentic noises of legacy equipment, we can play around and create something completely different.

December 2011

For example, one can turn the pitch of the fan to its lowest setting. The result is a very ominous aural feel of a murky, sinister subterranean environment. While interference doesn't provide effects beyond some simple filtering, all kinds of additional possibilities open up when used with external effects. So, What's Next? The first MLM offering was released in February of 2011 and this is being written November. In addition to the seven instruments reviewed here, there have been two new MLM instruments released since I began writing this review. So, we've been seeing about one new MLM offering per month. I only hope that Hollow Sun will keep up the pace. I very much look forward to more of these delights being made available. As to what those will be, Hollow Sun would only say that they have numerous ideas kicking around but can't state for certain what those will be. Hmmm, sounds like they've embraced the philosophy of Indiana Jones, who famously said "I'm just makin' this up as I go along."

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Orange Tree Samples' Mesa Winds by Jeffrey Powell

Orange Tree Samples is new the instrument is forced through to the pages of Wusik Sound this narrow gap. Interestingly, Magazine, but the company is some of the air is forced out at certainly not new to sampling. that point while some of the air Greg Schlaepfer of Orange continues into the second Tree Samples has been in the chamber. Different pitches are sampling business for years played using the sound holes and he's released a wide located above the second variety of deeply sampled chamber (known often as the instruments for Orange Tree "tone chamber"). This unusual Samples and other companies. design is what gives the Native Orange Tree Samples is American flute its distinctive perhaps best known for their sound. The types of wood used guitar and bass libraries, but to make these flutes vary, and they also have a number of different types of wood often other unique instruments that lead to different sonic they have produced for use in characteristics. In the picture of Native Instruments' Kontakt. the product "box" In this review, we're going to accompanying this review, take a look at one of their more you'll see a Native American unusual products: their flute. Note the distinctive baffle collection of Native American located approximately one-third flutes known as Mesa Winds. of the length from the top of the flute. Often these flutes The Native American Flute have carvings or paintings on Before reviewing the sample set, them that have special meaning let's take a quick look at some for the owner. details about the actual physical instrument. As noted in the In addition to being found in documentation for Mesa Winds, Native American music, the the Native American flute is an music of these flutes can unusual instrument. Although it frequently be found in New Age is a woodwind instrument, it and world music. More recently, has a two-chambered design there has been a trend of using instead of the usual singlethe Native American flute in chambered construction found classical music as well. The in instruments like recorders. sound of these flutes is Between the two chambers, distinctive, expressive, and there is a narrow gap located contains a touch of melancholy underneath the ornamental that works well for a number of baffle, and the wind blown into genres.

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December 2011

The Sample Set

is truly a native flute enthusiast. You can find a bit of his story in the PDF For Mesa Winds, Orange Tree Samples manual. I won't go into the details, has sampled six different flutes, and but Jared and his family have been the collection weighs in at over 1.2 GB. involved with Native American flute Here are the flutes you'll find: D flute, music and its associated community High D flute, G flute, Low G flute, A for a very long time. Reading his story, flute, and Low A flute. The flutes you get the feeling that Jared's sampled for this set are hand crafted involvement in this project is a labor flutes and they differ not only in their of love and, in a sense, you can hear tuning but also in their general tone. it in these instruments. It's worth noting that (as indicated in the manual) most of the flutes "are Playability and Control tuned to the typical pentatonic scale In looking at Orange Tree Samples' that is missing a true 2nd note." The offerings you'll find that they put a only exception to this is the A flute premium on playability. Mesa Winds nd which includes a 2 but is missing a certainly illustrates that concept. Most minor 3rd. In an effort to extend the importantly, lots of control is at your range of the flutes, Orange Tree fingertips. The flutes play in a Samples has used various fingerings monophonic legato mode to make it and half-covering of sound holes to easy to play trills and realistic lines. give an approximation of a chromatic Vibrato is available by utilizing the scale. The Kontakt patches for each modulation wheel, and in addition to flute allow you to switch between the multiple velocity layers, a "chiff" traditional flute mapping and the attack sound is available by playing chromatic mapping so you can get the with very high velocity. Even the pitch best of both worlds. wheel is well-utilized as it mimics the way you would transition between One thing that I like about Mesa pitches on an actual flute. Along with Winds is that the sampled flutes were these, you'll also find four keyswitches carefully played by Jared White, who which allow you to play grace notes,

December 2011

falls, fluttertonguings, and a "tuku" (which is a rhythmic burst of notes). Altogether these features mean that you can use both hands to play realistic flute lines in real-time, which is important to me. I don't like spending time making all sort of piano roll edits to get a realistic sound. I like to just sit down and play, and Mesa Winds allows me to do that. The interfaces for the instruments are both beautiful and functional. You can get a glimpse of the interface in the accompanying picture. On the interface, a drop down menu allows you to switch between four different pages. On the Settings page, you'll find the ability to transpose the flute range to any key that you want, to choose either traditional or chromatic mappings, and to choose the legato speed (which adds a humanistic element to the legato playing). On the Mapping page, you have the ability to

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w e i v Re Orange Tree Samples' Mesa Winds

assign particular keyswitch keys to the various articulations. The Equalizer page gives you a basic low/mid/high EQ, and the Ambience page gives you access to a convolution reverb with a number of custom recorded impulse responses. The included impulse responses are fantastic. Some provide a nice touch of ambience while others give you spaces that are cavernous and otherworldly. The impulse responses are certainly not necessary, but they're a nice inclusion with Mesa Winds.

You can definitely tell that the sampling here is detailed and very deep. The multiple velocity layers ensure that there's no machine gun effect with these instruments, and the scripting turns your simple key presses into a dynamic and detailed flute performance. I especially like that you get six different flutes with Mesa Winds as that gives you a number of different tones to use in your music. The differences between them are not huge, but they are distinctive enough that you'll find that some flutes work better for some purposes than others.

As an added bonus, you'll find Greg of Orange Tree Samples to be an extraordinary helpful and customeroriented sample developer. He is very quick to respond via email or at KVR. He was very helpful and prompt with questions that I had regarding Mesa Winds, and at other times, I've seen him post custom Kontakt patches for users who requested specific instrument tweaks. You don't see that kind of service every day, and it's an indication that you can feel good doing business with the company.

Incredibly Realistic Sound

All in all, Mesa Winds is easy to download, install, load, and play, and Clearly, Mesa Winds is a fully-featured the flutes sound are absolutely Kontakt instrument but, as noted sublime. You can definitely get lost in above, Orange Tree Samples prides the beautiful sounds of Mesa Winds. itself on providing playable and realistic sounds. Does Mesa Winds Purchase Information deliver in these areas? That question has an easy answer: Absolutely! To Mesa Winds is a Kontakt instrument get convincing Native American flute available for Kontakt versions 2 melodies, you don't even have to use through 5. Note that you'll need the the keyswitches, mod wheel, or pitch full version of Kontakt in order to load wheel. By simply varying your playing it without any restrictive time limit. Be velocity, you can put together sure to check out the audio demos beautiful sounding melodic lines that and the product manual at the sound like a recording of someone product site (the link is below). If playing an actual Native American you've got any interest whatsoever in flute. The flutes of Mesa Winds are the sound of the Native American flute truly a joy to play. When you combine or you're looking for an impeccably carefully played velocities with all of sampled and playable ethnic flute for the other levels of control, you can your music, then you'd be crazy not to achieve a sound that is almost check out Mesa Winds. Be sure to indistinguishable from a live check out all of the other great performance. products while you're at the site.

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December 2011

Mesa Winds can be purchased for $149 at the Orange Tree Samples website. Product Website: http://www.orangetreesamples.com/ mesawinds-native-american-flutes

Coming soon from Wusik Dot Com

Royalty-Free Tracks for Games,

Websites and Music Compilations

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Vienna Ense andVienna Ens

by Vi

What the hell is this?

a supporting host for your sequencer allowing you to use additional computers, thus At first, when I increasing the number of got this thing I available instruments. Simply use was a bit sceptical. Vienna Ensemble Pro as a host for Basically Vienna loading instruments or libraries Ensemble Pro is "a cross- and connect through your LAN to platform MIDI and audio LAN the main computer, and you can solution that works universally on use all those instruments and Macs and PCs, hosting Vienna libraries in your main sequencer, Instruments as well as third-party which will recognize Vienna EP as 64-bit and 32-bit VSTi/AU pluga VST plug-in. All your sounds will ins." That's what they say, but be streamed through the LAN. what does that mean and how can this be useful to us? I've So easy and it really works, even been working a lot with big sound without any additional hardware. libraries lately and have spent a So far, so good. We all stand up lot of time building the right and applaud; but there is always combinations of all necessary some annoying person in the sounds, the quantity of which will crowd asking stupid questions: not crash my PC, eat all its RAM "And what if I don't have and slow down my computer. I additional computers, or even if I even made some templates, but do, what if I don't want to use that proves to be a less than an them?" So, folks from the Vienna ideal solution. The project is Symphonic Library told me that predetermined and if I do not use Vienna Ensemble Pro could be all those instruments from the useful as a host for collecting 64 template I've spent too much bit and 32 bit instruments without time to prearrange, the any restriction. Ditto for making arrangement window takes too the sequencer independent much visible space away from templates which can be easily what could be used for other used in any sequencer. That instruments. Too much monkey sounds interesting for me: business. templates that can be freely used in various sequencers. I've tried Vienna Ensemble Pro comes with this and was happy with the end a few additional serial numbers as results. Some sequencers does its primary function is to use it as not allow you to use all the RAM

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December 2011

you have, but in using the Vienna host this could be avoided allowing you to load an additional instrument or two. Secondly it is pretty simple to use it in your sequencer of choice. Add a plug in, select your MIDI channel and off you go. OK, as I'm not in the smartest years of my life any more â&#x20AC;&#x201C; at least regarding technology issues â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I've spent some time figuring out how it could be connected and how to set everything up, but thankfully there are a few useful video clips which explain everything in a nice way. Anything else? Along with Vienna Ensemble Pro you get an Epic Orchestra sample library for free, 9GB of orchestral sounds. It contains a very good string orchestra along with an even better horn section, oboe d'amor, cornet, trumpets, horns, timpani, percussion. It is not ultra big, but it is more than solid, with all the basic articulations that make it quite useful. Vienna Ensemble Pro also comes with Vienna Instrument which is a very good controller for whole Vienna libraries. After a few minutes of use I became pretty domesticated with this nice thing, changing articulations on the fly. All in all Vienna Ensemble Pro, with all its

emble Pro 4 semble Pro 5

ienna Symphonic Library distributed by Bestservice.de by A. Arsov

additions, is a good starting point if you decide to go more pro with your orchestral sounds as Vienna Symphonic Library offers the whole range of symphonic instruments.

up some other things which were not related to Vienna Ensemble Pro. Nevertheless, I was surprised with a fast response from the support team.

matches. All settings are saved within the Vienna Ensemble Pro host, waiting there Conclusions? for the next battle. Four of Five? Pan, volume, effect level I got this product not so long ago (yes, VEP also support effects, Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 offers and before I had written anything, you can place them as either surround mixing and fully Vienna Symphonic Library had insert effects or send effects.) If mappable touch parameter already updated Vienna Ensemble you have an additional computer automation for controlling all Pro to version 5, updating also or if you are working on a lot of plug-ins from your main their sample player Vienna different projects with big sample computers. It also lets you start Instruments to version 2. Now, libraries, then this thing could be or stop a sequencer from other there is something that makes just right for you. computers and is therefore a bit me wonder. Am I really such a more expensive. Vienna slow writer that software I never thought to buy anything Ensemble Pro 4 offers all of the companies can upgrade all their similar prior to encountering other things that are also present products before I can even finish Vienna Ensemble Pro, but now I in version 5: latency my article? Or are they simply so have no regrets. It is a useful compensation (improved in damn fast, making significant tool if you know where and how version 5 but available also in progress in such a short time? to use it. Also your trashy old version 4), mixer automation for computers can begin a new life automating the level and pan Anyway, Vienna Symphonic thanks to the three additional from the main sequencer, RAM Library is a very enterprising serial numbers you get along with optimization, and finally an company. I can't remember when your copy of Vienna Ensemble option that allows you to unload I first heard of them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it was Pro. All you need is a LAN (nope, all unused samples from the definitely long, long ago â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and this is not a new age cover of an loaded instrument (a very, very they are still here, improving old Beatles song) and the rest handy solution which will let you their products and adapting them will come gratis. load a few more instruments). to their customers' needs. All in all, Vienna Ensemble Pro is a very Vienna Ensemble Pro 4 costs 195 Were there any technical specific tool, not just another Euros and Vienna Ensemble Pro 5 problems? virtual synth or sample library. It costs 235 Euros. is a useful host, a well done grab it on There was one, but it turned out product that can help you to put http://www.bestservice.de/found. that it was my fault as I had asp/vienna/vienna_ensemble_pro together your wining sample overlooked one thing and messed team, preparing it for further _5/en

December 2011

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s w i n Mi Revie by Ginno Legaspi

Ueberschall Roots Reggae Ueberschall has a couple of reggae libraries under their belt, but this latest is a package for producers wanting to create roots reggae. The aptly titled Roots Reggae is a 21 construction-type library that is an essential source of materials for the discerning reggae producer. It draws influence from artists such as Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Big Youth and Leroy Smart among others. There are real acoustic drums, deep walking basslines, guitars, Hammonds, pads, synthesizers, inspiring percussions FX, clavinets, atmospheres and pianos that will cut through a mix included in Format: AU, VST, RTAS and StandAlone (Mac/PC), Elastik the package. I would say that the Instrument Soundbank sounds themselves capture the sounds of reggae and the essence of Jamaica. Roots Reggae weighs in at a Web: www.bigfishaudio.com massive 3.3 GB and it's packed with 1622 samples including patterns, one- Price: $139.95 each (DVD) shots and riffs. Since this is a songoriented construction kit library, the Digital Sound Factory kits are organized as complete tracks Vocal Expressions containing intros, verse, chorus, breaks, bridge and outro. Like many Welcome to a world of Ueberschall titles, this one is also vocal soundware, powered by the zplane-developed Digital Sound Factory Elastik 2 sample player in which you style. This soundware can adjust the beat tempo and key comprises many vocal signature with ease to fit your productions. This is a library that ain't ensembles, vocal hooks, synth voices and short of hot, fresh sounds and if you happen to make other genres such as effects. Vocal dub, urban, world, grime and hip-hop Expressions is a soundpack for users of Roots Reggae can be your Propellerhead's Reason ammunition as well. program in ReFill 54

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December 2011

format. According to DSF, these vocal sounds were originally recorded by the Ensoniq sound design team for use with various Ensoniq synthesizers but were canned and never released. Years later, DFS head honcho Tim Schwartz decides to re-master the original files and unleash it upon the public. The result is a ReFill that weighs in at 350 MB and contains 89 Combinator patches and 78 NN-XT sampler instruments. Vocal Expressions includes multiple vocal ensembles of men, women, boys choir, Mellotron samples, as well as pop vocal phrases and classic beat box samples. As you can tell, this ReFill is geared to all kinds of genres because of its variety. In this collection, my favorite Combinator patches are 'All Talk' (from the Phrases folder) because of how cool the vocoded vocals sound and 'Pretty Ahhs' because it sounds heavenly gigantic. I love how the NN-XT module benefited from the use of a delay, a reverb and a stereo imager within the Combinator. This is exactly what you will be looking

for if you need huge and fullsounding choir ahhs for an orchestral arrangement. Overall, this is a good ReFill especially if you're looking to add a vocal flare to your productions. It might not be for everyone because you're only limited to vocal sounds. Format: PC/MAC, Reason ReFill (350 MB) Web: www.digitalsoundfactory.com Price: $69.95 (digital download)

Native Instruments Scarbee Funk Guitarist NI's range of Kontakt-based products is growing day by day. This time we have an electrifying product in the guise of Scarbee Funk Guitarist. This was made in conjunction with Danish sample specialist Scarbee, who is also responsible for outstanding releases such as Alicia's Keys, Scarbee Vintage

Keys and Bass series libraries. When it comes to Scarbee, we all know that their work is synonymous with high quality, and Funk Guitarist has quality written all over it. It is aimed at funk music producers wanting to add cool guitar sounds. Think of 'Brick House' by the Commodores, James Brown, Sly and Family Stone, etc. Funk Guitarist is an 8 GB instrument powered by NI's Kontakt engine. It has built-in 3411 chords that were recorded in multiple velocities with up to 11 articulations. There are 152 samples per chord with different

playing positions and pickup settings that can be user modified. There's also the Grooves section which provides the guitar rhythm. There are a lot of them, from basic riffs to all the fun patterns you can think of ... it's all there. It's very authentic I might add and can ignite your inspiration to write something. According to Thomas Skarbye this project was a mountain of a task. There were no dull moments in the making - everything was a challenge. There was lots of work involved, from recording the samples to scripting and creating new tools in Kontakt, like the built-in sequencer with artificial intelligence. The result is a product that is authentic, engaging and innovative with lots of playability. With Scarbee's strong reputation for delivering highly-realistic and playable

December 2011

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s w i n Mi Revie sampled instruments, Scarbee Funk Guitarist is 'right up there' in the ranks of other Scarbee products. If you want funk guitar sounds in which you can play intense rhythmic grooves, mutes, slides, gliding, etc. Scarbee Funk Guitar is your best bet to accomplish what you want. Did I mention SFG is very addictive and the interface is well thought out? Let the riffs begin! Format: Kontakt-powered library for Kontakt 4 and Kontakt Player Free (8GB Mac/PC) Web: www.native-instruments.com Price: $119 (Download/DVD)

Ueberschall Pop Charts If you've been a fan of Uebeschall the last few years, you'll notice that Danya Vodovoz has released a couple of libraries for them. Pop Charts is one of his babies. This is more pop in the electro sense than, say, pop rock. The loops here are focused on being catchy and mainstream-centric. Pop Charts is divided into two parts: Part A contains 10 construction type kits (1.49 GB) and Part B are additional materials played 'live'. I'm talking about acoustic drums, guitar, synths, pianos, etc. with a total of 1.84 GB of material. The construction kits could be considered as song starters. If you construct the loops included in the folders it would enable you to finish a 56

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song. Of course, this requires a lot of creativity and work, not just using the stock loops, to call it your own. Most of the drum loops and grooves are ready for prime time and they are powered by the included Elastik Player, a loop playback tool in which you can tweak the loop's tempo, pitch and also apply filtering.

good are the drums, synths and the basses. You will be well covered in those three areas. With that being said, this is another winner from Ueberschall. Format: AU, VST, RTAS and StandAlone (Mac/PC), Elastic Player Soundbank

Pop Charts has some very useful loops Web: www.bigfishaudio.com and covers a wide range of genres in my opinion. What are particularly Price: $139.95 each (DVD) December 2011

Best Service Klanghaus

compositions. I'm loving the Bio Modul and the L'arcton folders because of the twisted, odd sounds you can get out of them. It's really unique in a good way but most of all these sounds will find their way into many tracks and cut through a mix easily. The bonus loops of percussion were a nice addition.

Klanghaus is the brainchild of Ferdinand Fรถrsch - a composer, artist, producer and innovator of new musical instruments since 1982. He has made countless musical instruments that were developed from the ground up, usually from junk materials like scraps found in car lots. Despite where Ferdinand got his building materials his instruments are all about form, sound, innovation and musicality. They are indeed, one of a kind. Based on Yellow Tools' sample player 'Engine 2', Klanghaus is no ordinary instrument. Klanghaus' GUI is pretty functional and easy to navigate. No bloated menus, it just works like a charm. The sounds are divided into different categories which include odd instruments from Ferdinand's collection such as L'arcton, Metal Works, Klangrausch, Bio Modul and New Percussion. Here are some of the sounds that impressed me in this instrument: Arcton Bow Bass 2 (under Arcton folder) is a patch with a filter modulated sound. Really good for trailers of horror movies requiring sounds that crawl under your skin. Water Drums 1 (under Metal Works folder) sounds like a high-pitched gong with water hitting the side of the container. Great for filler or sound SFX. Also, on Metal Works is a patch called Object Trouves. There are loops with uber-cool metal bangs and bleeps. Another of my favorite is Klangrausch

System Requirements: (Mac OS) Mac OS 10.4, 4 (under Klangrausch folder) it sounds 10.5 or higher like water being sprinkled in a metal Min. recommended: G5 or Intel Mac bowl. Very cool effect. Klangrausch 1.8GHz, 1GB Ram 2.1 sounds like a metal sheet is being Interfaces: Standalone, AU, VST, slowly scraped using Wolverine's RTAS (32bit) claws. I love it because you can use it on ambient tracks. The Bonus Loops (Windows) Windows XP, Windows by Markus Krause and Oliver Vista, Windows 7, 32bit & 64bit Morgenroth are appropriate for use Min. recommended: Pentium/Athlon with chillout, breaks, tech and ethnoXP 3.0GHz, 1GB Ram ambient. These loops are helpful for Interfaces: Standalone, VST (32bit song starters, inspiration or and 64bit), RTAS (32bit only) something with which you can augment your own productions. DVD drive An internet connection for product Even if this instrument tends to cater activation required (on any computer) to the electronic and experimental Additional hard disc space according to crowd, Klanghaus is very organic to the library size me. The sampled instruments sound Best Service ENGINE 2 Sample Player very punchy and detailed. If you're is included in this product! producing film, TV, game, ambient or soundtrack-type stuff, you can find Web: www.bestservice.de loads of inspiring useable patches that will add unique flavor to your Price: $280.26 December 2011

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MOTU

What about the sound? budget rebooted several times, my bills reached a blue screen of death Thanks for asking. It's pretty good. In and my eldest son caused a general MOTU made this library - or general, the sound is authentic instrument - a while ago, but it is still protection fault in our budget with a on track and sells like hell. Hmm.. few fancy school excursions, I decided enough and very playable. I've run it side by side with some very expensive how can this be? Hasn't technology to stick with my old car and my "it used to be really good" computer. I'm libraries and of course I've noticed the progressed since the time they made difference. However, when I've tried it afraid that I'm not the only one tired this library? Does it mean that MOTU next day, with fresh ears and without Symphonic Instrument is very good, by that "reaching for the sky" race running it along with the larger than that has killed our everyday life. or does it mean it's so cheap that life libraries, it sounds pretty MOTU Symphonic Instrument offers people cannot resist? Yes, it is pretty good. Of course, it doesn't sound you a whole symphonic orchestra that authentic and not just "almost there" exactly the same as much, much will work with your not so fresh "used as is usually the case with libraries in more expensive libraries, and yes, it is to be good" computer. Thankfully with this 50â&#x20AC;&#x201C;250 euro range. Compared to their flexible instrument interface and its bigger brothers, it sounds a bit more than reasonably priced. The dirtier and not so consistent in general main reason why this product is still a disk streaming technology, you can good seller lies in the fact that "greed squeeze a large amount of the various tone. Of course, we can find here and there some particular instrument that is not good" anymore, and people are symphonic elements into your is not quite there, but most of the not willing to upgrade their living arrangement. Try this with some new instruments and, most importantly, environment every few months with a library, and your account will not be almost of the all essential orchestral the only thing that will be rebooted new car, a new computer, another instruments are very usable and new car, another new computer, and constantly. playable. The instruments are not just so on and so on. After our family

A bedroom orchestra

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December 2011

Symphonic Instrument by A. Arsov

additional glide parameter, part volume, and pan. Then there is the reverb. Ah..speaking of the reverb, we should take a short break here. MOTU Symphonic Instrument is blessed with a really good reverb. In general, we have two different types of reverb here, a so called "Fast reverb" for those with older computers that almost no one can even remember when they "use to be good" and a convolution reverb for all "used to be good" and newer computers. Maybe it is now the time to say that MOTU Symphonic Instrument is not aimed only at folks with old computers. For that price, and with such a wide selection of included instruments, it is an essential addition for all of you who dreamed about owning a library that will do the job without rebooting your wallet or computer.

Most of those controllers you will not need except the first one mentioned (amplitude envelope) and the last one as it seems that the UVI fellows, who made this thing for MOTU, use really heavily-weighted keyboards as this is one of the rare libraries that forced me to change the velocity curve. General impressions

Included are strings, percussion, winds, a brass section, choirs – male female and even a childrens choirs along with two good pianos, acoustic guitar, pipe organs, harps, mallets, and a few so called historical instruments (harps, lute, cornet, crumhorn and recorder). Of course there is also a bunch of solo instruments in every section with a for adding an orchestral touch to your bunch of frequently used articulations, arrangement, but they also work for and we should also mention that the mainly orchestral pieces. I found that Back to the reverb, it sounds just Tutti orchestra section contains the legato string technique or "sustain" perfect – almost damn good – and various articulations for brass, strings as they are named here have you can apply a different amount on and, in fact, the whole orchestra. It is unnaturally short release time. Thanks each separate part. It also contains all not always the case that Tutti to the excellent graphical interface, essential controllers for further fine selections are useful, even on more this could be fixed immediately as tuning. expensive libraries, but thank Zeus there are all of the controls that you this one's "all together" selections are will ever need. I made just one tweak Enough about the reverb, let's get very, very useful (especially for lazy to the release button in the amplitude back to interface. There's an LFO bastards, like myself). I was envelope section and everything section for tuning the amount of disappointed with the staccato string sounded as it should. vibrato, tremolo or timbre, along with section when I compared it to more a filter section with all the more expensive libraries and then figured The mighty interface general options, a two band EQ for out that the marcato strings sound adding or reducing the lows or highs, almost exactly the same as the The amplitude envelope parameters and a pitch section which covers very staccato strings from the big brothers. are just some of the parameters that wide to fine pitch options. (This is the Names, names, names... who can you can adjust. Others include first time that I've seen an option for follow them? All in all, everything you polyphony (for optimizing the decreasing the pitch by octaves – very will ever need is there. You've got performance and adapting the whole good, my dear MOTU.) There is also a versatility in the included content; of thing to your "used to be good" velocity curve section where you can course it is not one of the best computer), mono mode with choose between four general modes. libraries I've ever heard, but it is December 2011

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MOTU

definitively a really useful one. You'll get a really good reverb, a disk streaming option for reducing the RAM consumption, and low system requirements (512 MB of RAM, the whole library weighs in at only 8 GB). The only bad news for some of you is that you need an iLok key for running this library. I got mine over two years ago and have never regretted it. (The first time is the hardest.) American customers can purchase it from between 200 and 279 USD while European customers must use their imaginations as MOTU doesn't have any general provider for Europe. Therefore not all small resellers can

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Symphonic Instrument

offer as good prices as American ones, and you'll need to spend some time comparing the prices around the European Union.

From 200 USD â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it comes as MAS, VST, RTAS, Audio Units and Dxi for both Mac and PC. More about MOTU Symphonic Instrument on http://www.motu.com/products/softw are/msi

Symphonic Instrument is a very good bedroom orchestra indeed. It is recommended for all small Karajans and Bernsteins around (Ditto for all No animals were hurt during the Muti and Kleiber clones). Feel free to testing of MOTU Symphonic visit the MOTU site and be impressed Instrument. with the included video and audio clips that represent the product. All that you'll hear and see there is true. By conductor Arsov (your ticket, please)

December 2011

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Don’t' Crack V.I.P. Plug-in Bundle by Adrian Frost

For quite a while now, Don't Crack automatically receive new (www.dontcrack.com) have been plug-ins as the series selling other people's virtual expands in the coming instruments and effects. In that time, months. Don't Crack are they have built up a reputation for hoping to bring the total reasonable prices and good service. As bundle up to 40 plug-ins by their name suggests, they are keen to the end of 2012. promote the legal purchase of the items they sell. That’s pretty obvious An overview really, but it's nice to see a company So, where do we start? Well, get behind developers and make it first up, here is an clear that this is the right way to go alphabetical list of all of the for all musicians - rich or poor, famous bundle's included plug-ins or working away in obscurity, pro or with a brief description as hobbyist. It's a message that we at provided by Don't Crack WSM are happy to get behind. themselves. Anyway, Don't Crack have now branched out and recently released their own series of effects plug-ins. I've been given the opportunity to review the complete V.I.P. Bundle of plug-ins although each of the plug-ins can be bought separately. The nice thing about that is that once you have bought ten plug-ins, even over a period of time, you are automatically upgraded to the whole bundle. It's nice to see a company looking out for the interests of their customers in this way rather than trying to squeeze every last penny out of folk. This is the kind of thing that builds brand loyalty. It, of course, doesn't hurt at all that the plug-ins themselves are, on the whole, very good.

ANALOGER: Vintage Tape & Tubes Emulator Plug-in BRIGHTNESS: Abbey Roads like Brightness Plug-in CHORUS ENSEMBLE: Deep Chorus Ensemble Effect CLARISONIX: Sub Bass and Harmonics Enhancer CLASSIC FLANGER: Silky Smooth Flanger Effect CLASSIC PHASER: Vintage Multi-Stage Phaser Effect COOL: Uni-Vibe based Effect DEGRADIATOR: Bit Crusher Style Plug-in DIGITAL PLATE: EMT Based "Gold Plate” Analog Reverb DIGITAL REVERB: Eventide based Reverb DIMENSION 3D: Roland "Dimension D" The current bundle contains 22 effects. Type Effect If you own the bundle you will DISTORTED: Smooth Distortion Effect

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December 2011

ECHOFLEX: Echoplex Based Tape Delay Effect ELECTRO OPTICAL: Two Channel Electro-Optical Compressor/Limiter... MONSTER BOOST: Colored Signal Booster Plug-in RETRO COMPRESSOR: Retro sounding Compressor RETRO EQUALIZER: API Like Classic EQ RETRO FILTER: Great Sounding Retro Filter RETRO LIMITER: Great Sounding Limiter TRANSCONTROL: SPL based Transient Designer TREMOLO PAN: Versatile Tremolo and Panning Effect ULTRAMAXIT: Easy to Use Level Maximizer Plug-in The details Although I've been using the complete bundle since the beginning of October, I'm still getting to know these plug-ins. There is simply so much on offer. So I've decided to look in detail at the ones I've got to know the most. Before diving in, one thing worth commenting on right at the start is the interfaces. As the pictures show, all of the plug-ins share a similar look with variations based on the functional needs of each effect. I love 'em; I think they look great. Call me shallow if you will but a smart interface is inspiring, and the DC V.I.P. plug-ins have smart in abundance. There is an advantage to the shared overall design too; if you get to know one plug-in, then all the rest are easy to use. They act the same way and react the same way; this makes for a smoother workflow. Retro Compressor As I may have mentioned in other articles, I'm a bit of a compressor junky so we'll start with the DC Retro Compressor. There are four "retro" plug-ins December 2011

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Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t' Crack V.I.P. Plug-in Bundle in the bundle, and so far these are proving to be my favourites. I'm not big into seeking the analogue sound or roughing up my mixes to make them sound as if they've dropped out of a 60s time warp, but I like what these retro plug-ins do. It's a little hard to put a finger on what exactly they do to the sound and even harder to describe the resulting sound, but the effect is pleasant and highly usable.

So, yeah, the Retro Compressor. You get the standard set of compressor controls as found on a million and one compressor plug-ins. You can control the compression with helpful "Less" and "More" indicators to guide you. Attack, Release, and MakeUp gain are also easy to handle. The three buttons at the bottom of the interface (R-2, R-4, and R-8) select the release duration with R-8 being the longest. However, there is no info available as to the exact length of the release times. Retro Compressor comes with a modest number of presets, but that isn't a huge worry because you're not going to be overwhelmed by the number of controls nor will you have difficulty 64

tweaking controls and listening to the resulting sound as you go. Handily, as you adjust any particular control, its value is displayed in real time which makes life a little easier. How does it sound then? On drums, it's especially good. Overall, the compression is smooth and imparts a nice solidity to the low end. The ability to add up to 48db of make-up gain means you can keep things humming along nicely and give a good boost to your signal's levels. The usual caveats apply concerning loudness, destroyed speakers cones, etc. etc. Overall, Retro Compressor seems more at home on individual tracks than on the main mix. It's a very lightweight plug-in, so using it on a whole pile of tracks isn't going to be too taxing.

your leads. If you dial things back a bit, you can create a fairly subtle warming effect to your sounds though somehow this plug-in seems to invite you to turn everything up to 11 and make a noise. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s probably wise to stick a limiter somewhere in the effects chain, just in case... All of the controls are given fairly vague sounding names - Booster, Warmth, Harmonics, Details, Natural, Lush, and Mellow. Apart from the main Booster knob, the controls that, for me, produced the biggest range of change to the sound were Harmonics and Detail. They're the ones that give the sizzle and bring some clarity to the high end. Monster Boost is finding its way onto quite a number of my tracks simply because I like what it does to the sound.

Monster Boost Next up, we have Monster Digital Reverb Boost. Well, it pretty much For the piece I'm currently does exactly what it says working on, I've been on the tin. It makes your looking for a nice mellow sound bigger and badder! reverb for the piano line. Stick it on the bass, whack The selection of reverbs up the booster, and hold that I normally turn to onto your mouse (or other weren't quite fitting what I controller). had in mind, so I had a good reason to stick Monster Boost adds punch Digital Reverb into the mix to your bass and sizzle to and see how it fared.

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December 2011

So, how did it do? In a word, nice. Ok, I'll try to be more helpful. You can select from three room sizes: small, medium and large. There's no "enormous" but large gets you most of the way. The main control is "Decay Time" which allows you to quickly adjust how quickly the reverb tails off and hence control the feel of the room size. For my track, I wanted the piano to sound as if it was being played quite a distance from the listener in a large space. It was surprisingly easy to achieve the effect I was looking for by increasing the Decay Time, adding in a small amount of early reflections, and backing off the highs a touch. According to the help file that you can download by clicking "Info" > "User Manual", the Digital Reverb is based on the Eventide 2016. A little bit of searching revealed a wealth of information about the 2016. It's variously described as being "crude by modern standards" and "awesome". I think I'll plop the DC Digital Reverb into the "awesome" category. The reverb certainly sounds digital, but then again, it's not claiming to be an analogue emulation. I will say, however, that it's certainly not crude. Wrapping it up I've only looked at three of the 22 plug-ins in any detail, but I have the feeling that I'll have more to say about the V.I.P. Bundle in the coming months. There is plenty to explore and the quality of these plug-ins is high. Considering that these are Don't Crack's first foray into the effects market, they've produced a bunch of plug-ins that are going to rapidly find their way into many, if

not all, of my musical projects. DC doesn't say who they've partnered with to produce the bundle, but whoever it is surely knows what they are doing.

The individual plug-ins retail at $49, or you can buy the complete bundle for $489. Formats available are VST, AU, and RTAS.

You can grab the downloadable demo from Don't Crack's Tech Support Page at http://www.dontcrack.com/plu gins/bundle.php?ref=VIP1#do wnloads. The demo plug-ins are limited to 30 minutes of use at a time before needing to reload the plug-in, but none of the controls are disabled so you can give these effects a good workout before locking up your significant other and getting out the credit card. The demo download contains all of the plug-ins which is a smart move on DC's part. Even if you only want to try out one plug-in, you get the whole lot in the installer and no real reason not to install them all. December 2011

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w e i v Re Convolution Space by dmbaer

Adventures in Convolution Space This is a review of a most interesting sound library for Kontakt created by Magnus Lindberg, a sound designer based in Stockholm, Sweden. While I normally have little interest in the non-musical applications of synthesizers (see the sidebar "Curmudgeonly Rant"), I jumped at the chance to get my hands on Convolution Space. The geek in me couldn't resist exploring a fascinating alternate application of a commonly found audio technology: convolution processing. While convolution processing is typically used to model the reverberation characteristics of acoustic spaces, from spacious cathedrals to small guitar speaker cabinets, it can actually be used to impose the characteristics of any sound on any other. See the sidebar "Going into Convolutions" for a bit more background on how convolution works. What Mr. Lindberg has done with Convolution Space is assemble a collection of diverse (but generally

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unrecognizable) sounds which are then convolved with another collection of unusual impulse samples. The result is something thoroughly wondrous and probably unique.

you have that available. Disk space requirements are 8.5 GB. The majority of the sounds are stereo, but there's also a healthy amount of 5.1 surround capability available. The 5.1 surround material can also be used in stereo.

This is not a collection for musicians (at least those who are not already very far off the beaten path). Instead, There are 625 instrument presets it will appeal to sound effects delivered with the package. Those designers, or more precisely, those who own Kontakt and aren't who need to establish a sonic overwhelmed just exploring the atmosphere for dramatic delivered presets (a pretty big job in enhancement. I'm not talking about its own right) can create additional soundtrack composers; I mean pairings of samples and impulse files. individuals who craft sounds to In all cases, the basic idea is to load accompany films and TV shows. It's an instrument and use the mod wheel immediately obvious that the sounds of your controller to ladle in various coming out of Convolution Space will amounts of convolution as you play. be right at home in productions of a The mod wheel is integral to the science fiction, fantasy, or suspenseful experience. The results are impossible nature. Oh yes ... and submarine to describe in words, but at the end of movies, most definitely submarine this review, there are directions that movies. will get you to a site on which to audition the library. Let's go over some basics. The library does not require the full version of The content is organized at the top Kontakt (a copy of Kontakt Player is into two categories which are identical included on the DVDs) but of course except that one group skips the can be used with the full version if effects. At the next level we have

December 2011

Counterpoint – A Curmudgeonly Rant about Soundscapes

stereo and surround categories. Under stereo we have presets arranged in the following categories:

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

Abstract Emotional Fantasy Mental Scary SciFi Underground

Under surround, we have:

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

Abstract Deep&Rumble Emotional Structures Technology

The manual attempts to convey the meaning of each category. For example: "Emotional the beautiful, sad and ecstatic. Simply sounds that evoke emotion – mostly positive". I didn't have the suggested reaction, however. For me these are almost entirely forbidding, menacing, or forlorn sonic atmospheres where the least gloomy moods are something along the lines of a neutral "future industrial" vibe. In most cases they transported me to the mines of Moria, or to the industrial space transport in Alien, or into the head of Jack the Ripper.

find the Soundscape section. You'd be lucky not to get a response other than a disbelieving stare, rolled eyes, or maybe a smirk.

OK, maybe I'm just an old fuddy-duddy, but I just don't get the current obsession with So stop with the soundscape soundscapes. Admittedly, the presets already. I love ability to create Alchemy. It's my favorite synth. interesting/suspenseful/otherw But I'm interested in sounds orldly sounds will be of for making music. Give me consequence to anyone tasked presets with which I can do with producing the soundtrack that. Just because a sound to a film or video game. But designer can create strange how many synth users are atmospheric sound sequences actually engaged in such with all the magic technology activities? From all the at hand does not mean he soundscape presets occupying must. Or at least do it in a way precious space in the preset that segregates soundscape libraries for most of my presets into dedicated libraries. Alchemy collections, you'd Stop assuming that everyone think was just about half of who purchases sound libraries them. is interested in these things. I'm pretty sure they're not. I'll confess that there was Are you listening to me, Camel perhaps a time in my life a few Audio? decades back when I would have contentedly spent time In my opinion, a soundscape sitting around with my friends "composition" is just some listening to such fare and audio in search of visuals to making profound observations attach itself to as a soundtrack. like "Oh wow! Heavy, man!" But then, maybe I'm just And, yes, there probably would showing my age. Perhaps have been a bong involved in there are uncounted young the proceedings. But admit it. iPad cinematographers out This stuff isn't music and the there making very low budget producer of soundscape video productions that actually compositions is usually no need soundtracks. Maybe all more of a composer than those synth soundscape someone creating songs with creators actually do produce Band in a Box. "compositions" that are found useful by the video producers. Think about it. You go into a Maybe there's even a CD store (if such things still soundscape shortage. I dunno, exist) and ask where you can man, I just don't know. •

December 2011

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Convolution Space

Going Into Convolutions

With the increasing power of contemporary home You might be familiar with the computers, this can be done term convolution because you rather quickly, so we're not have a convolution reverb on talking about needing a your DAW. The reverb that supercomputer to perform comes with Kontakt is of that these calculations. type. Convolution reverbs are appreciated for their ability to Now, take a pistol into a realistically create the feel of concert hall, go up on stage large spaces. However, this and fire it (preferably using type of processing can blanks and not during a simulate smaller acoustic performance). Record the spaces like guitar cabinets as event with a microphone well and can even simulate placed in a central listening sound coloration imparted by position. You now have electronic gear like amplifiers. what's called a reverb But, have you ever wondered impulse. It's just a wave file what convolution is all about? that can be analyzed to While some heavy duty compute the level for multiple mathematics is involved, the frequency zones for all concept is pretty straight samples over the life of the forward, so we'll take a shot impulse, which ends when the here at "Convolution for levels of all the zones Dummies". effectively go to zero (i.e. when all the reverb sounds While I might have been able from the original event have to understand the died out). A convolution mathematics associated with reverb needs to use hundreds this kind of processing way of zones to create a realistic back when I was a university simulation. engineering student, I make no such claim these days. The end result is a large array That ship sailed years ago. of data with one row per Suffice it to say that there are frequency zone and one mathematical operations column per sample duration. called Fast Fourier Transforms This data can be used to drive (FFTs) that can take an audio what is effectively a timesignal (a series of sample variant, massively wide levels) and compute the parametric equalizer that levels of that signal for a changes it's settings for every series of discrete frequency sample interval. Think of it as ranges that can be combined a virtuoso filter. > to recreate the original signal.

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December 2011

I'm not suggesting this is a bad thing. As a sound effects library of suspenseful and/or alien and/or science-fiction sounds Convolution Space is stunningly competent. But you're not going to reach for it if you're working on a romantic comedy production or even a bank heist story. I do not have a surround setup, so I could not evaluate the surround offerings in other than stereo. But I have little doubt that they are other than spectacular in their use of the surround medium because the stereo already is highly effective. There are a few "gotchas", none of which I consider to be problems. For one thing, in some presets, one has to move the mod wheel very slowly to avoid low-level pops in the sound. No problem, that's just how those particular instruments work, as the manual cautions. A number of the convolutions will cause some pretty full bodied resonance, depending on what notes are played. Again, the manual warns of this; it's just the nature of the unpredictability of the application of this technology. There can be clipping in some of the instruments. Just turn down the Kontakt level control if this occurs or leave the clipping in and turn down the faders in your VST host. The clipping occasionally adds some welcome, unexpected spice to the concoction.

I'll probably never use Convolution Space, but that's just because I'll probably never be asked to help create sound for a movie or TV show. If I did and if the subject was anything otherworldly (or chillingly worldly), Convolution Space would be a go-to source of sound. It's that good, it's that unique, and its sounds are that compelling. The product costs $230 and is available at www.bestservice.de. Seem expensive? When you consider its effectiveness, if you need it, you'll probably find the price entirely reasonable. This material was clearly assembled with loving care and is the product of many long hours in the field obtaining samples and in the studio assembling the many instruments. The utility of the package may be narrowly focused, but it provides an amazing palette of astonishing sound possibilities. Within that narrow focus, it's absolutely brilliant. Intrigued? To learn more and audition the sounds, the Best Service site has a link to an audition service. I didn't try it because it required a registration and I just didn't need to go to the trouble. But if you'd like to learn more, check Convolution Space out as follows: Go to www.bestservice.de and search on convolution. When that comes up in the right hand panel, click on the "try online at Try-Sound" button, and you should be on your way.

Consider that in natural acoustic spaces, we hear more midrange in sound reflections than high frequency content which dies out more quickly. So, in a reverb simulation, the higher frequency zones will attenuate the signal more than the midrange. In the time dimension, for a given mid-range frequency slot, say, we'll have the signal level initially highly damped but that changes when the first early reflection arrives, in which case the filtering opens up to let sound through at that frequency.

processor, but there are differences.

They mainly have to do with the fact that the vocal input of the vocoder is the equivalent of the impulse, but it's a continuous signal rather than a static file. We do have the application of filtering present in both cases. However, in a vocoder, the processing is “in the moment”. We don’t care about what happened previously as we must care in the simulation of a reverb response. In vocoder processing, the impulse signal must be continuously Clearly, there's a lot of analyzed in real time and number crunching going on the filtering is done on the here. Fortunately, our current signal. In practice, increasingly powerful DAW this means that the FFT computers can sustain the analysis must be done “on load. As that power has the fly”. A convolution grown, convolution impulse, by contrast, can be modeling has increasingly analyzed “offline” and that become a practical processing can take as long technology for music as is needed. The real-time production. constraints of vocoder processing can limit the As I started researching this number of frequency zones topic, I shortly became that can be supported. A curious as to the vocoder may use dozens of relationship between frequency zones compared convolution processing and to the hundreds used in a vocoder processing. Some convolution application. Of of you are probably course, once again, the wondering “are they not the increasing computational same thing?”. It turns out power of our DAW machines that a vocoder is a close opens up all kinds of cousin to a convolution possibilities for the future. •

December 2011

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MeldaProduction's MAutoDynamicEq by Adrian Frost

For the past few months I have gradually been making my way through MeldaProduction's bundle of free effects. During that time, the MEqualizer (reviewed in June's WSM) has become my "go to" equalizer. It's simple yet powerful and, above all, clean - which is what I like, unless I'm deliberately going for a character EQ. This month I'm taking a short break from the bundle to look at MeldaProduction's latest and greatest. This new plug-in is called MAutoDynamicEq and the name pretty much says it all! It's a minimum phase, dynamic equalizer that does some stuff for you - the "auto" bit. The Look First up is a screenshot of the whole plug-in. While you can change the colour to suit your tastes, I tend to always go for the silver/gray look. In terms of the graphical window, you have access to a variety of overlays to show different "Areas". In the

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December 2011

image I have chosen the basic "Frequencies" option, but you can also have an overlay for drum kits and octaves. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s handy to see where things are at in your mix. If you have other information at hand about frequencies and instruments, you can construct your own Area settings.

You also have the option to have a sonogram scrolling in the background as you mix. It's quite nice to be able to see a different way of looking at things, and the sonogram can be quite mesmerizing. The sonogram is like looking down from above at a normal FFT based

analysis. The colours represent the the block immediately below. Using relative values, or heights, across the controls in the block underneath the frequencies, and the fact that the window gives you slightly more you have a continual stream of control as you can also adjust the information shows you how the Dynamic level, Attack, Release, and levels are changing as a function of Threshold from here for each band. time. Sonograms can be a good way These four controls make up the of picking out parts that are maybe "Dynamic" of MAutoDynamicEq. They dominating the sound that might allow you to set how each band

not be so obvious from the flickering responds, dynamically, to the line of a standard FFT curve. incoming signal. For example, you can set things so that only a certain As you can see from the first picture, frequency is attenuated, or boosted, you have up to seven bands at your when it reaches, or falls below, a disposal for shaping your sound. set level. In effect, you have a Each band can be controlled either compressor built into the equalizer. from the graphical window or from December 2011

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MeldaProduction's MAutoDynamicEq

MultiParameter enables you to chose a number of the plug-ins parameters, adjust them to your liking, stack a bunch of them together, and then control the whole lot from one control. Whilst setting up MultiParameters takes a little bit of time and getting used to, once done you've got an incredibly powerful means of controlling the plug-in. You can do this controlling it either manually or with CC messages in your host. This kind of feature is one of the things that consistently impresses me about MeldaProduction's plug-ins. With a few clicks, you can dive under the hood and adjust almost every setting. You Down the rabbit holeâ&#x20AC;Ś can personalise and customise until you can personalise and customise no If you want to dig in even further, you more. But if you don't feel like getting have access at the bottom of the your hands dirty, the plug-in's defaults are usually spot on and you interface to a set of four MultiParameters. Basically, a

When you click on one of the band shape icons immediately to the right of any band's number, you open the window shown in the image. From here you have full control over all aspects of the band from its shape through to dynamics and harmonics. It's brilliant to have so much tweakability, but I imagine that most of us are going to use, for the most part, the defaults which are more than adequate for most jobs. However, as in nearly all of MeldaProduction's plug-ins, you have the choice to dig in and tweak settings as much as you like.

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December 2011

have an instantly usable "basic" plugin in front of you. Analyse this! While on that subject, clicking on the "Settings" button in the graphical window opens up a new window containing all of the controls and options you could ever desire for analysing the incoming signal. The accompanying picture is hopefully fairly self explanatory. There is so much to see! Once you've finished with the settings and closed that window, it is worth noting that because the plug-in's interface is resizable and because you can collapse different blocks of functionality, you can create a really huge area for the graphical window. Add in the fact that you also have a decent, logically thought through

zoom function, and you can really get going to draw them in. When you open the plug-in after loading it, the to the heart of your signal and see what is going on. "Automatic Equalizer" is closed by default. One single click though and I want to sound likeâ&#x20AC;Ś you'll have the options as seen in the nearby image. I would imagine that for a lot of users Firstly, you analyse the source of MAutoDynamicEq, it's the "Auto" material, which the track that you part of the plug-in's name that is

December 2011

want yours to sound like. If you do your own analysis, then you can save the results for future use. Simply start your track playing and then click the button that says "Analyse Source". A red frequency plot will appear and over the course of a few seconds settle into a steady state. You can then save the resulting graph.

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MeldaProduction's MAutoDynamicEq

If you don't fancy doing the analysis yourself, MeldaProduction have supplied a good sized library of analyses for you to use. They're sorted by genre, and each analysis gives you a style name along with info about the analysis: the original track's name plus artist name. There is a good range of style choices, though no T-Pain... I'm guessing that an analysis of the analyses would probably show what kind of music the dev likes to listen to in his spare time. He's a man of good taste! Once you have chosen your source EQ, it's time to analyse your own track, the one that you are going to apply the source EQ to. You perform the analysis in much the same way as for the source except you don't get to save the result, simply because it is assumed that you will be doing the analysis, applying the source EQ, and rendering your results. As soon as your two analyses are complete you can apply them in two different ways. Either use "Equalize" to match your sound to the source sound or "Separate" to make sure you sound nothing like your source - this latter option is why you need the TPain analysis. You can still tweak the result as you would when doing normal EQ operations. 74

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December 2011

In practice, it seems that the longer you can leave the analysis of both source and target running, the better the result simply because you're giving MAutoDynamicEq more information to work with. One thing that is interesting to see is how the frequency spectrum of your track looks compared to those of other, professionally mastered tracks. It's a good way to learn using your eyes as well as your ears.

Conclusions MeldaProduction have produced another first class effect plug-in. It's easy to use and easy to get a good result very quickly, but if you have the time and the energy, then you can get in and adjust practically anything. Personally, I would say that I'm more at the newbie end of the line when it comes to knowledge and proficiency with EQs. I know more or less what I'm doing but never seem to be able to get the results I want. MAutoDynamicEq's graphical features are a great help, and the ability to match EQs and make my stuff sound like the big boy's stuff is very useful. Even if I never render a track using a pre-made source analysis it gives me an idea of what I can do to achieve a more polished sound in my own work. So, it's a great learner's tool as

December 2011

well as having the depth and capabilities to satisfy more demanding, and experienced, users. I'm highly conscious that in this review I've barely scratched the surface of what MAutoDynamicEq can do. There is so much hiding just out of view that you could spend hours working your way through all of the settings and tweaking and testing and listening to the results. All and any time spent with this EQ is worth the investment though. MAutoDynamicEq is available from MeldaProduction's website at http://www.meldaproduction.com/ma utodynamiceq Price is 120 Euros.

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tutorial

MAX/MSP for Non-Programmers - Part 2 by Rishabh Rajan

This is a continuation of an article I started in the September issue of Wusik Sound Magazine. If you haven't read that yet please do so as this article may not make much sense otherwise.

If you are still on Max 5, don't worry. Everything we are going to do is backwards compatible so will work exactly the same in Max5. So, in the last article we made a virtual theremin that responds to mouse movements. To be more specific, the mouse's horizontal movements affected the pitch of the sine wave generator. As the cursor moves to the right, the pitch increases and as the cursor moves to the left the pitch decreases. Now we are going to make the vertical movement of the cursor affect the volume.

Since the last article a lot has changed in Max/MSP. The program has now been updated to version 6. The new version has a lot of new features, but at the same time we can still continue with the same techniques that have been discussed in the previous article. The only difference at this stage is the curvy patch cords. I recreated the previous patch in Max 6 and it works exactly the same. You may want to make sure that your patch looks like the first image before continuing with this article.

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Volume Control We already know that MSP objects are the ones that generate sound and they can be identified by the '~' after their name. In our patch the MSP object that is generating sound is the cycle~ object. Unlock your patcher and delete the connection between the cycle~ object and the gain~ object. This can be done by clicking on the patch cord and just hitting the delete key. Again, make sure you are in the unlocked mode. The key command for locking/unlocking a patch is Command-E for Mac, or December 2011

Control-E for PC. You may want to drag the gain~ and ezdac~ objects further down as we will be creating some more objects between them and the cycle~ object.

Now that we understand that the audio output is ranging from +1 to -1, it is safe to assume that multiplying these values by 0 will give us a value of zero. In other words, no sound. Multiplying these values by 1 will give us the exact same values. In other words, full volume or no change in volume. Multiplying these values by 0.5 will give us exactly half for every value. In other words, bringing the volume down by half. So, multiplying the output by any number in the range 0 to 1 will give us control over the volume of that sound. That's basically how volume control works in Max.

Theory Alert The signal coming out of the cycle~ object has a range of -1 to +1. This may be obvious to some if you think about a sine wave which has a positive peak at +1 and a negative peak at -1. We can verify this within Max by using an object called snapshot. Create a new object in unlocked mode by pressing 'n'. Enter 'snapshot 10' and click outside the object. The reason we entered the argument 10 after the object name is because snapshot needs to know how fast it needs to take snapshots of the audio that is coming in. So in this case it will take a snapshot of the audio every 10 milliseconds. Connect the audio output of the cycle~ object to this snapshot~ object. Insert a new object using the key command 'n' and enter 'flonum'. This object is very similar to the integer box that we created in the previous article except that this object deals with numbers that have values with a decimal point. Connect the snapshot~'s output to the input of the flonum object. The flonum object should be updating itself to show the current amplitude of the sine wave. It is probably too fast to see exact values but you can somewhat tell that the range of values is somewhere between +1 and -1.

Volume Control Continued Delete the snapshot flonum objects as we will not be using them anymore. Create a new object called *~. The reason we add the ~ after the *(Multiply) object is because we are now in the audio domain (MSP). Connect the output of cycle~ to the left input of the *~ object. We need the mouse's vertical movements to control the volume so we could connect the third output of the mousestate object to the right input of the *~ object. STOP! This could work but the mouse's vertical position will range from 0-899 for a particular screen resolution. This number multiplied by the output of cycle~ will give a really large value and any value over +1 or below -1 in the audio domain will be clipped! Always make sure the output of your audio works in this range or you will be clipping the signal. December 2011

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tutorial

MAX/MSP

Luckily we have the scale object which can scale the 0-899 range to 0-1. Create a new object called scale 0 899 0. 1. Connect this object to the right input of the *~ object. So this object will scale the 0-899 range to 0-1. Make sure to include the '.'(decimal point) after the 0 and 1. This ensures that Max does not truncate the decimal values after the calculation; oterwise a number like 0.3594 could get chopped off to 0. We do not want that. You may also connect a flonum object to the output of the scale object to see what values are being output from it.

Connect the output of the *~ to the left input of the gain~ object and slowly bring up the volume. You will notice that as you move your mouse up the volume drops and as you move it down the screen, the volume increases. If this seems counterintuitive flip the values of 0 and 1 in the scale object. So it should read 'scale 0 899 1. 0.'. Now moving the mouse upwards will increase the volume and downwards will decrease it. Note ON/OFF Control Now it might be a bit annoying to have the sound ON continuously. It would be nice if we could turn on the sound with a mouse click and when we let go of the mouse button, the sound could be turned OFF. Simple. An object that can make this really easy is the gate~ object. This object takes a value of 1 or 0 at its left input and an audio signal at its right input. When it receives a 1 it passes the audio through to its output. When it receives a 0 it doesn't let the audio through to its output. So, essentially, this object acts like an ON/OFF switch. But how do we know when the mouse is clicked and when it's not? The mousestate's leftmost output gives this exact information and, luckily for us, it gives the information as a 1 or a 0, indicating mousedown or mouseup respectively. Connect up the objects as shown in the diagram and you should be getting the desired result.

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December 2011

for Non-Programmers

Commenting Before we finish this tutorial I would like to introduce a very helpful object in Max called the comment. This object is useful for creating helpful text tags for various parts of your patch. Adding text like this to your patch can really help organize your patch and also help others read your patch as not everyone may understand what you are

trying to do with a particular patch. This can also be helpful when troubleshooting. Create a new object called comment and it will automatically change to a rectangular box where you can type in any text. You can also use the shortcut 'c' to create a comment object. I have created some simple comments for the virtual theremin patch as displayed below.

I hope this tutorial was helpful and gets you excited about making your own custom instruments and noise-makers in Max/MSP. In the next instalment I will introduce you to some live audio processing. Until then, Happy Holidays.

December 2011

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w e i v Re Plogue’s Chipsounds by Jeffrey Powell

While I enjoyed my share of “traditional” music as a child, many of the sounds of my childhood were of the 8-bit variety. During those formative years in the 1980s, I would spend countless hours playing the console game systems that were popular at the time. Those primitive sounds (by today’s video game standards, at least) certainly didn’t sound like real instruments, but when you were playing a game, they were able to transport you to another world. In fact, many of those sounds and tunes still bring up strong memories of my childhood. Listening to these sounds now, I’m amazed at the great compositions that were a part of these games.

Before getting to the praise, though, let’s start with the basics. Getting Started with ARIA Chipsounds uses the ARIA Engine, which is a 64-bit sampler and synthesis engine. ARIA was developed by Plogue in collaboration with Garritan Corp, which uses the ARIA Engine for their products such as Personal Orchestra 4, Jazz and Big Band 3, etc. As I own Personal Orchestra 4, this is actually my second experience with the ARIA Engine, and I’ve found it to be easy to install, easy to use, and light on system resources. Plogue lists a number of other advantages for it on their site, and you can see their list at http://www.plogue.com/?page_id=1 15 .

Thankfully, I’m not the only person who feels this way about these 8-bit The copy protection for Chipsounds sounds. As it turns out, David Viens and other ARIA Engine instruments is of Plogue loves these sounds as well. simple. When you purchase, you get Unlike me, David actually has the means to make software instruments, a picture file (.png format) which looks like a credit card with your so thanks to his passion and skill, we information on it. Theoretically, you plugin enthusiasts can get access to can just drag and drop it on the these great sounds in Plogue’s virtual instrument interface and you’re good instrument called Chipsounds. I hate to go. This drag and drop method to give away the punch line too early here, but with Chipsounds, Plogue has never seems to work for me, but you can also authorize it by “loading” this created an absolutely incredible .png file using the plugin’s interface. instrument for producing all those wonderful video game console sounds So, getting it running and authorized is no problem. that many of us so fondly remember.

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December 2011

What’s in Chipsounds? As noted on Plogue’s website, Chipsounds is a virtual instrument that “authentically emulates 15 vintage 8bit-era sound chips (on top of their variants), down to their smallest idiosyncrasies.” The chips you’ll find here include chips from the following series: 2A0X, AY, D1771C, D1867G, D65010G, DMG, M5232, P824X, Pokey, SID, SN76489, TED, TIA, UVI, VIC-I. So, it pretty much includes every chip that most people have ever heard of…and more! For those not to up to date on their chip names, Chipsounds has the ability to give you the sounds from the major console systems, hand-held systems, and computers from the 80’s. You'll also find the chips from a few keyboards like the Casio VL-1 and the Korg Poly 800! The sheer breadth of choices in Chipsounds is amazing. To produce these sounds, Chipsounds uses a mixture of samples and synthesis. They supply an explanation of this in the user manual, but the bottom line is this: "Roughly 95% of it all—everything that is made of discrete steps—is generated using oversampled bandlimited impulse trains… Those generators are configured to emulate the pitch limitations of each chips following EXACT maths

that can be found in the chip's datasheets (if available), development manuals, and were verified and sometimes even discredited/revised with comparison to the real chips in our possession." In other words, the vast majority of the sounds are generated using detailed specifications. They even found errors in official documentation for the chips and put the correct behavior into the plugin. Now thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dedication! The other 5% of sources are either sampled or formed as a hybrid of samples and synthesis.

to a 60's combo organ except you adjust the levels of square waves instead of adjusting tone wheels. Since that's a distinctive feature of the chip, you have access to those controls on the main panel. If you switch to the DMG-CPU chip, you'll find it has a wave channel in addition to its square wave and noise settings. So, when you load the chip, you get access to drawable wave forms in the interface. Overall, you get custom controls for each chip, and that's really impressive. Of course, it's also a lot of fun tweaking the controls, too. Interface

What I find particularly interesting is that since each chip is so very different, each chip has its own collection of parameters you can adjust in Chipsounds. For example, the M5232 chip is the one used in the Korg Poly 800, and it works similarly

Control page. At the top, you'll see basic settings for loading presets or loading different chips. When a particular chip is loaded, you have access to the different waveforms it produces through keyswitches. On the keyboard in the picture, you can see the keyswitch for the current waveform in light blue and the other keyswitches in purple. You'll also find some other useful goodies on the Control page. In addition to a fully featured arpeggiator, you'll also find a Midi Delay and a Wavesequencer. The Midi Delay inserts copies of input notes at lower velocities when other voices are not playing. This effect is used to by those making chip music to make more sound with fewer voices (as it keeps the polyphony at one).

Let's briefly look at the interface for Chipsounds. The main page is referred to as the Control page, and it gives you access to the most useful The Wave Sequencer is really the features of Chipsounds. See the heart of Chipsounds. Essentially, it accompanying picture for a look at the allows you to put in MIDI events in a

December 2011

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w e i v Re

sequence which is triggered when a note is pressed. These events could be additional notes, changes in MIDI CC values, keyswitches, or changes in pitch. As it turns out, this is really where you can set up many of those great video game effects you're used to hearing. It can also be used to very quickly trigger additional notes, so you can "play chords" even with a polyphony of one. I cannot get into all of the details of how the Wave Sequencer can be used, but that section has its own presets that give 84

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you a great idea of how versatile it can be. It's a different way of thinking about synth programming, and I'm very much amazed at how simple Wave Sequences can have a great effect on the resulting sound. You'll also find a handy oscilloscope on the control page along with a Chip Settings section which contains chipspecific parameters than can be adjusted. The other pages of the interface are the Modulation, Mixer, Effects, and Settings pages. The December 2011

Modulation page (see picture) gives you access to pitch and amplitude LFOs and envelopes. You'll also find settings for portamento and boxes for drawing in your own LFOs. The Mixer page allows you to mix among eight different loaded sounds. Yes, that's right...you have eight slots available to either stack sounds or to use Chipsounds as a multitimbral instrument (accessible through different MIDI channels). This is a really handy feature, and a few of the presets really take advantage of the

ability to stack several sounds to create interesting patches. For example, the Car Race presets have noise in one slot (for the engine), an arp sound in another slot, and a lead sound in another. You've got a whole soundtrack in that one patch alone!

The Sounds of Chipsounds

While the features and GUI are important, the sound is what really matters, and Chipsounds really delivers in that department. The synth comes with several hundred presets categorized by type (Arp, Bass, Lead, etc.). Trying out these presets, I was amazed at the range of sounds that you could get from this plugin. Chipsounds is not just for "video game" The Effects page is pretty music. You can use it for all kinds of sparse. It contains a nice music, and the sound quality is reverb effect and a funny outstanding! I found myself thinking "This Space for Rent" of uses for the sounds in a number of message next to it. I styles of music. In particular, the wouldn't really expect sound effects, basses, and leads could any other types of effects, easily be used in a number of but other effects could be electronic music styles. So, even if interesting to add in the you're not into chiptunes music, you future. The Settings might want to give the demo a try page has a number of anyway. There's a treasure trove of technical settings about cutting leads and unique basses to be RAM usage, caching, etc. found and put into your tracks. Since Chipsounds uses very few samples (which At this point, it's worth giving some are small anyway), these props to the main sound designer, settings aren't really that important. Bryan Lee of Xenos Soundworks. He has a love for these types of sounds, Overall, the GUI is a treat for the eyes. and you can see that love has been It's well-laid out and easy to use. I put into this great collection of presets. enjoyed working with it.

December 2011

Conclusion Quite frankly, I'm impressed with Chipsounds. I can’t think of any plugin that gives you access to the sounds of so many different chips with such a high level of quality. Chipsounds gives you lots of control over the sound, and the ARIA Engine provides an easy to use and efficient engine for all of that sonic goodness. If you have a passing interest in these types of sounds you owe it to yourself to check out Chipsounds. If you’ve already got a few plugins that produce these types of sounds, then I still recommend you give Chipsounds a try. You’ll certainly find some chip emulations you don’t already have, and there’s a good chance that you’ll like the workflow and level of control found in Chipsounds. Chipsounds is available from Plogue’s website (www.plogue.com ) for $95. You can download a demo at the site, and you can also download the extensive and well-written manual so you can learn all about Chipsounds before you buy.

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w e i v Re

Xhun Audio's

LittleOne by Adrian Frost

Hey Phatty! Moog - still a name to conjure with in So what will $60 get you? the world of analogue synthesizers. To get your hands on a piece of vintage Well, in the case of real Moog Moog goodness in the form of a hardware it'll probably get you a Minimoog Model D you'll have to part couple of buttons and maybe a sticker with the best part of $4000 and that's or two. However, if you feel like if you can even find someone who will moving into the virtual world your sell you one. Even if you want to own money will get you a well crafted

Xhun Audio's lead developer Bruno Bordi might be relatively new to the world of VST synthesis but his first release is a good one. I asked him why he had chosen to emulate Moog's Little Phatty for his first synth. His reply: "I choose to emulate

one of Mr. R. Moog's latest creations "Physical Modeling Emulation" of you'll be laying down well over $1000 Moog's Little Phatty made by Xhun for the privilege of getting your hands Audio. The name of this synth? on a Little Phatty Stage II. LittleOne.

the Moog Little Phatty synthesizer because it is an example of 'complex but easy to use' synthesis system, and because it has many features that

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December 2011

many classic synths do not spot (eg. oscillators morphing, overload control...). Finally because LittleOne, the Moog Little Phatty was a synth without a virtual counterpart". So let's get a quick rundown of what you get for your money: LittleOne comes with two aliasing-free analogmodeled oscillators with continuous selection mode (like the original) between Triangle, Saw, Square and Pulse. A 4-Pole Low-Pass filter modeled on the classic Moog Ladder, featuring the original frequency responses and overload control. Two 4-Stage (ADSR) envelope generators. Modulation LFO with the original waveforms and frequency ranges (0.2 to 500 Hz). You also get a monophonic/polyphonic mode, pitch bend ranges, legato control and a velocity sensitivity control.

One thing is clear from the picture of that Bruno hasn't tried to squeeze LittleOne's user interface, it presents them into LittleOne's main interface. a very pleasant emulation of the Little He's created a separate page that is Phatty. All knobs, buttons and sliders easily accessible from the top right are present and correct and light up hand corner of the synth's GUI. as in the original - particularly nice LittleOne ships with three sets of are the replicas of the Little Phatty's presets. Firstly there are the factory endless encoders - shiny. Overall, presets which are a range of sounds although it's using an established produced "in house" that give a good design, LittleOne's interface feels well idea of LittleOne's capabilities. After thought out and well put together. that we have the "Little Phatty Stage The only nit that I would pick concerns Edition" preset bank and the "Little the ON/OFF buttons on the effects Phatty Tribute Edition" preset bank. units - it's kind of hard to tell if you've These two banks represent the two turned the effect on or off just from editions of the Little Phatty produced looking. Pretty small complaint by Moog - the basic Stage Edition reallyâ&#x20AC;Ś which comes with the red/orange lit buttons and the Tribute Edition which LittleOne builds on the Moog legacy by comes with fetching blue lighting and also incorporating a 16 step which was released in honour of Bob sequencer and trance gate. There are Moog as a limited edition of 1200 also two effects slots that give you units that also included a decal of access to delay, reverb, tube Bob's signature on the rear of the distortion, flanger and chorus. The case. nice thing about these additions is December 2011

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w e i v Re

The thing that everyone is going to want to know is always going to be how it sounds. So, how does it sound? Rich, deep and smooth with a certain "je ne sais quoi". Is it a spot on, perfect emulation? No, it lacks something of the hardware's bite and grunt but what you do get is a very passable imitation. And the use of the word "imitation" is by no means derogatory! In a mix I think that most people would be hard pressed to say whether you had used a real Little Phatty or LittleOne. So, kudos to Bruno and Xhun Audio for a superb, very usable synth. Very few, if any, virtual analogue emulations can be said to be totally faithful reproductions of their source synths. There is an ongoing debate as to whether 100% emulation is even possible. Well, LittleOne gets pretty darn close and

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Xhun Audio's

LittleOne

captures both the essentials and the character of the Moog's latest analogue synth.

dig out your wallet and make the noise go away. You won't regret the purchase.

At WSM we get to look at a lot of high quality synths from developers around the world. One can soon be inundated by the flood of plug-ins available. Many plug-ins come and go, they are installed, tested and reviewed over a period of weeks or months and then removed. But some stay and become part of the reviewer's own regularly used line up of virtual synths. LittleOne is a going to be staying on my hard-drive for a long time to come.

LittleOne costs 45 Euros; price will obviously vary if you are paying in your local currency.

Download the demo from http://www.xhun-audio.com The demo is unlimited apart from a very gentle noise every twenty seconds or so. Just enough to encourage you to

December 2011

Note: The photo of the Moog "Little Phatty" used in this article is copyright GeschnittenBrot (http://www.flickr.com/people/68163 114@N00) and is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic. Go check out his Flickr photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/68163 114@N00/with/4923915729/) for some lovely photos of synths and stuff!

Get Your Wusik Membership Today and Download This Magazine in High-Quality PDF Format plus, a Full Copy of Wusikstation and Tons of Sounds

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w e i v Re

Twisted Tools Buffeater Vs. Rolodecks One of the first things that comes to my mind when I look at Rolodecks is the similarity with Buffeater. So if you already have Buffeater, why would you want Rolodecks? Buffeater is a multi-effects processor where the effects are mainly stutter and glitch related processing like slice repeat, stretch, deconstruct, scratch etc. while Rolodecks features a Slicer, Flanger, Filter, Delay & Reverb. The Slicer in Rolodecks is more like a traditional slicer similar to the Dr.Rex player in Propellerhead's Reason, but with control over amp, panning, distortion, beat repeat, pitch control and reverb for each slice. I take that back. I don't know of any slicer that can give you so much control over each slice.

Introduction

unique is the various automatable controls that are available for each Rolodecks is another sound mangling effect. Add to that the 8 'scenes' that instrument created by the geniuses at are available within each preset, Twisted Tools. This Reaktor Ensemble which can be switched between on the is a MIDI controlled multi effects unit fly. An envelope follower, a gate and a with a focus on live Global FX ON/OFF sequencer make performanceoriented effects triggering Rolodecks quite a powerhouse of a multi effects unit. Oh, and not to which can be used to process live audio or sample loops. The effects forget, the ensemble comes with a include a slicer, flanger, filter, delay, substantial collection of loops made by Aziom-Crux, Glitchmachines, reverb and also a slot to insert any other effects ensemble made in Jedsounds, Kero and many others. Reaktor. What makes Rolodecks 90

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December 2011

The effects included in Rolodecks seem to be more traditional, but the modulation lanes available within each effect can make the sound depart from a more traditional one and give you the trademark Twisted Tools sound. In both Buffeater and Rolodecks you can have multiple effects running at the same time. In Rolodecks you can even change the order of the effects which can drastically affect the sound. Another thing that Buffeater does not have is the ability to include an additional module in the chain of effects. In its default state Rolodecks' sixth effects module is a stretch taken right from Buffeater, which can be replaced with any other effects module from Reaktor or your own custom effects processor.

RoloDecks by Rishabh Rajan

Envelope Follower

Rolodecks Pro

One really cool thing about Rolodecks The pro version is that the envelope follower can be of Rolodecks applied to any of the built-in effects gives you an module except the slicer. The additional envelope is generated by analyzing ensemble called the incoming audio signal or the RoloEXT. This sample loop. The envelope can be ensemble has applied as is or can be inverted and none of the applied to modulate parameters of the effects from the effects. So if a transient hit is main ensemble analyzed to create an envelope, that but 6 empty slots envelope can be applied to a filter to so you can add automate the cutoff frequency any effects you upwards or downwards, and at the want and so same time modulate the delay create your own feedback of the delay effect. This kind version of of flexibility can add very nice Rolodecks. This capability makes this movement to otherwise static effects a very modular ensemble. Each effect processing. slot has 6 modulation lanes which are also user definable. Scenes Verdict The 8 scenes can be thought of as presets within the main preset (no If you like Buffeater, then Rolodecks is Inception reference intended). They definitely a must have. If you like the can make Rolodecks a very useful idea of performing effects processing performance tool. The 8 scenes can rather than penciling in automation store settings for each effects unit parameters in a DAW, Rolodecks will including modulation lanes settings, satisfy your needs. It works great in effects routings and envelope settings. standalone mode but can also run You can switch between scenes on the within a Digital Audio Workstation as a fly with the QUERTY keyboard or even MIDI controlled effect. The Manual MIDI keys. comes with instructions on how to set Rolodecks up correctly within Logic, December 2011

Ableton and Native Instruments' Maschine, however it should be quite straightforward to set this up in any other DAW. The manual also discusses some advanced settings that can help you maximize the potential of this ensemble. Price: Rolodecks $49 Rolodecks Pro $69 www.twistedtools.com

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w e i v Re Xtended Piano by Sonic Couture by A. Arsov

Have you ever been naughty with is the 21stcentury. Everything is your piano? Doing something accessible through the net now. inappropriate during those tedious, boring piano lessons? Dragging a Pluck and strum pencil through the strings or just plucking the strings inside your Xtended piano is a reasonably-priced parents' beloved piano? I'm basically sample library containing various not a guitar player so I never had the so common practices and techniques opportunity to be naughty with a real used for piano playing. It sounds very piano. Anyway, I'm a big fan of the organic, exotic, unique, clean, piano's sound, having a big collection harmonically rich, and wide and airy. of piano works in my CD stock. To hell There are only a few presets included with the classics! In general, we are but they are top notch recordings with Rock 'n' Roll! Even if we are electro, all sorts of small additional dirty rock, or metal, we're supposed to be dissonant rumblings from the piano's naughty and pushing the boundaries, body, which add a special character to and a piano is not always just a piano. the sound. Jerry Lee Lewis was the first one who showed the world what we can do Abused piano at its best with our pianos. We can kick them, shake them, or even break them The first abused technique is compiled or…we can just buy the library in a preset called Mute piano. It brings containing all that action. After all, it us the sounds of a muted piano string

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December 2011

with a lot of additional harmonics and body echoes. It sounds very mystical and ancient; in the best way. It definitely sounds absolutely different from any other sound that a virtual instrument could produce: very organic, sexy, and unique. The second technique is called Bowed Piano, and it is not so easy to describe the sound that the Sonic Couture fellows have squeezed out from their abused piano. It's like some sort of a string quartet played by Norman Bates with his family; including the stuffed mother. It's a very specific sound, not a typical string sound, but still not artificial. The next one is the Plucked Piano, and it sounds almost like a harpsichord. However, it's somehow much more harmonically rich with plenty of

additional harmonics that are not usually present in the harpsichord instruments we've already heard in various libraries.

Xtended summary

No matter how many virtual synths you have or how many sound libraries you have, this one is absolutely Mallet Piano sounds like a beaten different. Piano is still the king of all piano. Imagine yourself with a instruments standing out in front of hammer in hand, alone in a room with the crowd with its beautiful and a piano. It's a boring afternoon and unique sound, and this collection with things just happen. The sound is still its selection of included instruments pianoish but pretty odd. I like it. brings us the best of both worlds. You get real instruments which sound SFX Piano is a typical after party "your almost like some weirdo hybrid mama don't want to know" arsenal of between a piano and some unknown sounds compiled across the keyboard. old analog synth. Rich and unique. There are 127 different scrapes and Instruments from this library don't strums as they claim â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and they are sound prosaic as sometimes real right. It's a hi-fi nightmare with all the instruments can, if you've heard them details. a million times before. They are organic but still fresh. Xtended Piano

December 2011

is an excellent addition for your live or electronically created arsenal of instruments. Lately, I'm on the hunt for instruments that can make a difference and can add something new to my music, and this one is definitely the right one for that purpose. Naughty, very naughty. Xtended Piano will cost you 99 Euros. Pay once, enjoy many times â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and as a bonus, the library works with the free version of Kontakt Player, so you will not need "the world's most expensive dongle" - the full version of Native Instruments Kontakt. http://www.soniccouture.com/ By naughty Arsov A.

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s w i n Mi Revie

Soundware Roundup by Ginno Legaspi

Big Fish Audio Quake: Cinematic Taiko Loops Taiko simply means drum in Japanese and this instrument has been widely used in both Japanese folk and classical musical traditions. There are different types and sizes of taiko but this sampled taiko from Big Fish Audio sounds larger than life. The aptly titled Quake: Cinematic Taiko Loops is a collection of high-energy taiko performances captured in loops. Weighing in at a total of 1.69 GB (657.3 MB of 24-bit Acidized WAVs), Quake contains 390 original loops with tempos ranging from 65 to 150 BPM. These samples have been meticulously recorded and looped with care giving producers an exciting tool from this ethnic percussion instrument. It has a very upfront sound, a great live feel with just the right amount of reverberation. If you're a producer or a composer looking to add that huge Hollywood-type percussion sound to your next cinematic masterpiece then Quake is well worth considering. WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com

Delectable Records Tech House Grooves Selection 01 This pack from Delectable Records (via Loopmasters) has the word "clubs" written all over it. Tech House Grooves S01 is definitely for professional and bedroom producers who are into Techno, Minimal house and Tech House. Included in this title are clubready grooves, sizzling hats, percussions, basses, vocal top loops, levare loops, FXs, and single sounds to create your own kits. The production is good and samples are super clean with a lot of punch. Delectable Records used some nice high-end gear to accomplish what they wanted by employing hardware gear such as the Manley Variable Mu Limiter, Manley Massive Passive Stereo Tube EQ, Tube-Tech SMC Multiband Compressor and the Shadow Hills Industries Mastering Compressor. If you want inspiration for your next house track, the samples here offer some good guidance in building that track. WEB: www.loopmasters.com

FORMAT: Apple Loops/REX/WAV/RMX/Acid

FORMAT: Wav, Aiff, Rex2, Stylus RMX, GarageBand

PRICE: $49.95

PRICE: ÂŁ 24.95

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December 2011

Big Fish Audio Indie: Rock Collection Vol. 1 Big Fish Audio has packaged a 301 WAV collection of nicely recorded indie samples, each of which is suitable for creating indie rock and other rock genres such as pop. For me this collection is designed to help musicians and producers who can't find other musicians to record with and to give producers a tool to enhance their songs into fuller arrangements. Fortunately, this sample pack is offered in 10 "full song" construction kit format - meaning you get all sorts of elements necessary for making a complete track. You'll find a wide variety of sounds including bass guitars, earthy drums, driven guitars

Bluezone Corporation Robotic Division

and pianos played and performed to be undeniably indie. The loops have that nice raw, organic feel to them and the drums are screaming big, with an overall high quality sound. WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com FORMAT: Acid, Wav, Apple loops, Rex2, RMX PRICE: $49.95

At first glance of the front cover I thought this was a library chock full of robotic voice samples...but I was wrong. Instead, this is a sci-fi sound effects sample pack. It is only fitting that Bluezone Corp called this Robotic Division since the sounds on offer are all mechanized. Think samples for Ambient, Glitch, Electronica, Broken Beats, Film and TV soundtrack and Game music. It's all here and you can pretty much rely on this library to offer sounds such as FX, drones, soundscapes and other odditiesâ&#x20AC;Ś none of that organic stuff. What's nice about these 240-plus samples is that they have been engineered with cutting edge tools. They were then further processed, mutated and deconstructed to give more of that twisted sound. Robotic Division is a fantastic palette of an FX pack that will give your productions a sweetener. WEB: www.bluezonecorporation FORMAT: Wav PRICE: â&#x201A;Ź16.95 (digital download) December 2011

Best Service Production FX Vol. 1 After the excellent Production Tools Series (Vol. 1-4), sample developers Soundborder did not rest on their laurels. Instead they wasted no time and got right back to it with another new library series called Production FX. This first volume should set the tone for, hopefully, many more titles to come. Here we're treated to an SFX disc that is broken down into seven folders of Downfilter, Explosions and Hits, Sfx Loops (128 BPM), Short FX, Up & Downs, Uplifter and XAtmospheres. A sound palette of more than 1 GB of samples, included in this collection are up-to-date noises that are geared for electronic and multimedia music. Whether you need unique special effects to build tension and release in your new dance arrangement or simply want exotic elements to shape your newly designed game, these samples have a "good-to-go" quality such that further processing won't be necessary. I especially love the "Short FX". It is full of useable sounds for cutting edge experimental music. Head on over to the Best Service website, listen to the www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

iM ni Reviews audio demos and discover a wealth of sound data in Production FX Vol.1. WEB: www.bestservice.de FORMAT: Acid Wav, REX, Halion, Battery 3, Kontakt, Reason PRICE: $100.23

Soundware Roundup

drum loops, music loops, FX, bass tones, drum hits, 8 multi-sampled synths and 5 drum kit patches for softsamplers such as Kontakt, Halion, EXS24 and NN-XT. Like most sample libraries Warped Beats has its shining moments. The drum and bass loops particularly are very original and were created with attention to detail. I also love the pulsating, motion synths in which, I think, are good starters if you're stuck in a rut. Hopefully this pack will make its way onto people's hard drives. WEB: www.loopmasters.com The construction kits are divided into folders of instrument loops such as guitars, keys, bass, drums, etc., and it tries to capture the modern sound of today - suitable for creating R&B music. If you want fast and easy track PRICE: ÂŁ29.95 construction, one thing I've noticed though is that the materials here particularly works well within the "mix Big Fish Audio Sweat: R&B Contruction Kits & match" arrangement - even if you use loops in other construction kits. I love the guitars in Sweat as they are Despite the cover of Big Fish Audio's very nicely recorded... really smooth. Sweat showing a lot of skin, this The synths are creamy and with just library is focused on bringing one the right amount of juiciness that can thing: fresh, hot and sexy samples to be used in the context of pop and hip all you urban heads out there. It includes 15 construction-type kits with hop also. all thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s necessary for maximum WEB: flexibility and usability. In the WAVs www.bigfishaudio.com (1.08 GB) and Apple loops format category, more than 360 files are on offer to play with. In the REX FORMAT: department, there are 266 files that Apple Loops/REX/WAV/RMX/Acid are compatible with programs such as Propellerhead's Reason and Stylus PRICE: $39.95 RMX. FORMAT: REX2, WAV, Acid, Kontakt, Halion, EXS24, Reason ReFill, Live, Apple Loops, Stylus RMX, GarageBand

Loopmasters Warped Beats This sample library covers the cutting edge side of electronica, and draws inspiration from broken beat, glitch, dubstep and electro. There's quite a selection of cutup loops, glitched and syncopated beats applied with crazy processing. The results are some of the most creative and inspiring loops I've heard in my reviewer's material folder. Warped Beats contains basses, 96

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Big Fish Audio Rhythms of Arabia

Bluezone Corporation Ionised Techno Here we have a quality little collection from Blue Zone that sounds surprisingly very good, comprised of drum loops, top loops, percussion loops, sound effects, synth hits and a bunch of drum hits. There are 389 files in total, adding up to 200 Loopmasters Swedish House MB of digitally downloadable content. The samples are cutting edge and upWhether you're a fan of the Swedish to-date enough to be used in any House Mafia or not, there's no minimal, deep/tech, progressive denying that the group has its own techno and electro. But make no mistake; although Ionised Techno is a undeniable, chart-topping sound. Loopmasters' Swedish House draws small sample pack, it brings you the inspiration from the above artist. needed samples to give your Produced by Andy Lee, this pack has production an edge over others. 1.2 GB of 24-bit samples for use in a variety of house sub-genre, including WEB: electro, tech, progressive, funky, www.bluezone-corporation trance, deep and tribal house. The FORMAT: loops and one-shot samples offered Wav, Aiff here have got SHM's style similarly nailed. And there are some good, PRICE: €18.95 (digital download) fresh selections too. With the use of high-end equipment such as SSL bus compression, Neve outboard, API and Apogee converters, etc. the sound quality of Swedish House is consistent throughout. This library is going to be a big hit, I predict.

I’ll admit that I just can't get enough when it comes to world/ethnic sample libraries. There's just something about them that impresses me. Maybe because they exhibit the kind of unique appeal not common to regular instruments (i.e. acoustic guitar) or just the way these instruments sound.

Rhythms of Arabia from Big Fish is an all percussion affair with 3.5 GB of content (1.4 GB of 24-bit WAVs). This collection features percussion loops FORMAT: from some of Arabia's exotic instruments such as Dehollah, Duff, Wav, Acid, Rex2, Reason Refill, Riq and Tabla. Rhythmic musical Ableton Live Pack, Apple Loops, styles includes Baladi, Malfuf, Maqsum, Halion, Kontakt, EXS, SFZ, Stylus RMX, Ableton Live Presets, NNXT and Saiidi, Chift (Chiftitelli) and Saudi. With good performance and so much GarageBand emphasis on authenticity, percusssionist Issam Houshan style of PRICE: £ 34.95 playing is right on the money. I WEB: www.loopmasters.com

September 2011

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iM ni Reviews noticed, after auditioning and hearing the loops, that they are expressive. I could see this library being used as an 'add-on' pack to different subgenre such as ethnotronic or tribal techno or strictly world music. Overall, the 1124 loops sparkle. WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com FORMAT: Acid, Wav, Aiff Apple Loops, REX and RMX PRICE: $99.95

5 Pin Media MIDI Focus: Soulful House Sounds

Soundware Roundup

Discovery Sound Spirits from Ainu When it comes to ethnic sample libraries, Japan's Discovery Sound has always been a staple in my reviews. They always find a way of being included. This month's material is called "Spirit of Ainu". The samples in this library consist of two Ainu instruments, namely, the tonkori and mukkuri. The tonkori is a stringed instrument similar to the shamisen and the mukkuri is an instrument played in front of the mouth that usable. However, in the WAVS is also similar to the Jew's harp. Both department only 20 loops are offered. instruments are traditional and have I wish there had been more as the sax long been part of the Ainu culture licks are very natural and musical. where they are used in their religious Overall, this 565 MB, 24-bit quality sample back is spot on for the soulful house sound.

This fourth title from 5 Pin Media's MIDI Focus is built from a selection of house sounds. Like the title says, this is geared for the production of soulful, deep, disco, funky or tech house. It has been designed to provide the user with inspiration and to get an organic WEB: vibe into any house production. www.loopmasters.com Soulful House Sounds has 25 construction MIDI kits, 1 Ableton Live FORMAT: 8 pack, 341 mutli-samples, 129 MIDI Wav, Ableton Live Pack, files, 17 patches for popular software Halion, Kontakt, EXS, samplers, 10 presets for Sylenth SFZ, Ableton Live synthesizer, 12 Live 8 instruments Presets, NNXT and and 20 WAV loops that will help you MIDI Files start your productions. The key to this pack is the 129 MIDI files divided into PRICE:ÂŁ19.95 25 construction kits. They are labeled properly, with key and tempo information. With that being said, these customized MIDI files are highly 98

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December 2011

songs. Spirit of Ainu includes 165 tonkori loops, 53 tonkori chord hits, 100 mukkuri loops and bonus of vocal samples sung by Umeko Ando doing 7 traditional songs. Overall, this is a nicely recorded library with a good quality. It's quite authentic too and the packaging is very professional.

also build drum tracks from scratch in your DAW's drumrack by using the drum hits. It is a good way of having your own custom kits. Whether you're making crunk or dirty Hip Hop, the samples on Southern Grillin' are good to go.

WEB: www.discoverysound.com www.loopmasters.com

WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com

FORMAT: WAV, Acid WAV, REX2, NI Kontakt

FORMAT: Acid, Wav, Aiff Apple loops, REX and RMX

PRICE: $55

PRICE: $99.95

Big Fish Audio Southern Grillin'

Bluezone Corporation Tech Tribal House Drum Loops

We all know that eCITY specializes in Hip Hop sample libraries and this one has 'deep south' written all over it. eCITY knows Hip Hop pure and simple with the ability to release up-to-date libraries. If you're producing music comparable to the styles of T.I., Young Jeezy, Rick Ross and Lil' Wayne then this is for you. Southern Grillin' is a sample pack with 940 loops (80-177 BPM) duplicated in different audio formats. The 40 construction kits include all the elements needed to build a track; from 808's, snares, claps and hi-hats to dirty synths, strings and lo-fi sounds. Each construction kit has all the drum tracks and drum hits included, so you can have better control over the sound of the drums. You can

Loopmasters A pack comprising drum loops, percussion loops and no-kick loops Electro Basslines (top loops), Tech Tribal House Drum Utku S might not be a household Loops is a set of sampling material name but he has steadily gained that is geared to many styles such as popularity by releasing some bangin' tribal house, minimal techno, progressive and dance. Inspired by tracks. On top of that he has also today's modern electronica sounds produced a couple of sample libraries. this library of 205 drum files includes This one though is specifically aimed at the electro end of electronica. some really interesting percussion loops. I wish there were even more of them though, as these are the The aptly titled Electro Basslines is a collection's strong appeal. As strong collection of bass samples that with other Bluezone packs, consists of raw, heavy, screaming, the samples are offered in deep and fat dance bass loops for WAV and AIFF formats that your Electro, Fidget, Indie, Dubstep you can purchase and and Mainroom House anthems. download at the site. At just Weighing in at 512 MB, the 235 24-bit â&#x201A;Ź10.95 this is an absolute loops are recorded in tempo ranges of bargain if you're looking to 128 - 132 BPM. One thing I can say inject some fresh sounds though is that this pack is full of good, intro your own drum mixes. inspiring, basslines. They are so well recorded and fat that they just jump WEB: right out of your speakers. This is an www.bluezone-corporation absolute shaker. A must have.

FORMAT: Wav, Aiff

September 2011

PRICE: â&#x201A;Ź10.95 (digital download)

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iM ni Reviews

WEB: www.loopmasters.com FORMAT: Wav, Acid, Rex2, Apple Loops PRICE: ÂŁ 19.95

Big Fish Audio Coffeehouse: Organic Construction Kits

Soundware Roundup

from the kits, there are also 378 multi-track drum WAV files that are available to help construct a good rhythm foundation. The construction kits can easily be formed into songs â&#x20AC;Ś just add your creativity and imagination. And since Big Fish Audio and Track Star have done the hard work for you, composing is as easy as one, two and three. Verdict: Hot. WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com

Sample Magic Indie-Dance

FORMAT: Acid, Wav, Apple loops, Rex2

Rolling down the aisle at Sample Magic's headquarters is the new genre specific sample library called Indie-Dance. Think of this pack as a mashup of old and new sounds. The combination of lively disco sounds and up-to-date electro grooves at the other extreme will give your tracks the smashing attitude they need. This 560 MB sample pack has the sounds to create brilliant and electrifying bouncy, old school dance tracks. Indie-Dance includes loops and samples such as, guitars, synths, bass, beats, drum hits, leads, vox cut, chord shots and FX. And the 374 liveinfused drum hits are a nice inclusion. All loops are labeled and separated into folders of 122, 125 and 127 BPM for ease of use. What's great about the library is that it has total flexibility. One day you could be adding dirty, filthy guitar loops or rockin' bass loops into your more aggressive tracks. The next day, you might be composing a techno rave track with the synth, FX and vocal loops included. Indie-Dance is a tool with unlimited use - only your imagination need be added.

PRICE: $99.95

Produced by Josquin des Pres, Coffeehouse draws inspiration from the mellow and organic sounds of 90's Jewel and 2000's Jason Mraz. The focus here is simple; to provide producers with pure acoustic and organic samples. Coffeehouse's 5.6 GB of total content is duplicated in Apple and REX loops, with 3.1 GB of WAVS alone recorded by some of San Diego's best players. The bulk of this library comprises 32 construction kits of loops in different tempos, each of which includes a mix file plus different instrument component parts. Aside 100

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December 2011

sounds of artists such as the Stones, Queen, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and the Beatles. There are 2528 files in WAV, REX and Apple Loops format including a complete multi-track drum set played live with every nuance and detail recorded for your convenience. Since this is a construction kit library, the 12 kits contains a full demo mix and all the elements are broken out into multiple song style sections and variations. The drums in particular sound great and have a serious feel, but the electric guitars, 12string electrics and acoustic guitars are serviceable too. Overall, this is a 4 out 5 library with a lot of good chops and performance.

WEB: www.samplemagic.com www.soundstosample.com FORMAT: Wav, Rex2, Sylus-RMX Rex2, Apple Loops, EXS24, Kontakt, NN-XT, Halion LIST PRICE: ÂŁ39.90 (digital)

Loopmasters Bomb Squad: Tactical Beats & Sample Artillery The brain behind this fantastic library is none other than Hank Shanklee. Hank is known for his work with Public Enemy and his production unit Bomb Squad. This pack focuses on drum loops and single drum hits but there are lethal and potent samples such as 51 FX and 27 bass loops that were created with the use of analog effect recording techniques and "from-the-ground-up" synthesis design. The result is a more organic sounding set of samples (the 51 music loops are a good example) that are primed to hit the hip-hop, grimes, urban, electronica and breaks stage. Tactical Beats & Sample Artillery has good quality and sounds that producers and musicians alike should enjoy for a very long time.

Ableton Live Presets, NNXT and GarageBand

WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com FORMAT: Acid, Wav, Apple loops, Rex2

PRICE: ÂŁ 34.95

PRICE: $99.95 Big Fish Audio British Invasion

The term British Invasion is used to describe the many rock and pop artists who crossed over the pond from the UK to the US during a certain period in the 60's. These artists became popular due to their hits and style...virtually dominating WEB: the US charts. There was also www.loopmasters.com a second British invasion that FORMAT: happened in the 80's with punk and new wave reaching Wav, Acid, Rex2, Reason Refill, Ableton Live Pack, Apple Loops, Halion, the American Top 40. This massive 6.4 GB library from Kontakt, EXS, SFZ, Stylus RMX, Big Fish tries to capture the

September 2011

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w e i v Re Code - Livid Instruments by Rishabh Rajan

Livid Instruments may be known for their push pad grid controllers like the So technically you have 32 knobs which send MIDI CC 0-127 that can Ohm64 and Block but another innovation of theirs that seems to be used for parameter control and have slipped by the radar is Code. The 32+13=45 buttons which send MIDI Notes with velocity 0 and 64 that can concept of this controller is similar to be used as ON/OFF switches. Each of the minimalist grid control series the 32 encoders have LED rings except instead of a whole bunch of surrounding them to indicate the silicon pads that light up, this controller has a whole bunch of rotary current position. Each ring consists of 13 LEDs to indicate current position. encoders that light up. To be specific Code has 32 endless rotary encoders. The LEDs are blue with the very last They also decided to include 13 silicon LED being green, to visually indicate the highest value, since the encoders push pads to give this controller a are endless. The knobs also have a very unique look. One of the buttons push button indicator LED which lights also sports the "Livid Instruments" up white when held down. So in total logo. What's even more unique about this controller is that each encoder is there are 452 LEDs on board which Livid Instruments on their forums also a push button, giving you a total round off to "Over 500 LEDs!". of 45 push buttons on top of the 32 encoders. 102

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Code also has physical MIDI IN/OUT 5 pin DIN connectors in addition to the standard USB connector. This controller comes with an editor software that can be used to remap the CC numbers to your liking and there are many advanced settings that make this controller a very modular one. Some of my favorites are the settings for controlling the speed of the encoder and setting the LEDs on the encoder in walk mode or fill mode. In walk mode the current position of the encoder is indicated by one or two LEDs while in fill mode all the LEDs up to the current value of the encoder are lit. The editor software can be a bit confusing at first glance and can also look a bit messy with all the controls overlaid on top of each other.

In this image, the encoder on the left is in fill mode and the one on the right is in walk mode.

control surface but I don't really see Code excelling in this department. Code really shines as a modular MIDI

Livid Instruments have also created a note/CC controller where you have remote script that can make Code a control over what it controls and how natively supported control surface for the feedback on those controls is Ableton Live. So you can use this displayed on the controller. Using device just like the Novation Code with Max or Max for Live in Launchpad or the Akai APC series to Ableton can really maximize its control Ableton. This is great for those potential as a unique multi-encoder who want to use Code as a standard controller. Currently the only other December 2011

controller in the market which is similar to Code would be the Behringer BCR2000. Just like any device on the market, there are some drawbacks to this controller. One of the biggest drawbacks for me is the price of this device. I feel the price is a bit too high for what it is and that could be one of the reasons for Code not being very popular. Currently the Behringer BCR2000 can be bought for $173.99 while Code can be purchased for $449. The BCR2000 has 32 encoders with 15 LEDs per encoder and 16 illuminated buttons. Code has a much smaller form factor compared to the BCR2000 and also sports silicon push pads which seems to be more popular these days. While all Behringer products are made in China, Livid Instruments is a much smaller company based in Texas and all their products are conceived and produced in Texas.

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w e i v Re

Code Livid Instruments

While the production costs can be justified based on location of manufacturing, there is no justification for inconsistency in manufacturing. You will notice in the picture that the silicon covering the LED space is not placed correctly and looks rather ugly.

not sit steady on a flat surface. For a performance controller, this can be a very annoying thing. All the previous mentioned controllers did not have any such issue. Some of the silicon pads on Code are inconsistent in height which can also be a bit annoying.

I also noticed inconsistency in the feel of the silicon pads as some of them had unusual resistance while others didn't. I haven't noticed any such inconsistency with products like the Launchpad, Maschine, APC40, Korg PadKontrol and iCon Global's iStage which are all products made in China. Another issue I had was that Code did

Another major issue I see with Code is the brightness of the LEDs under the silicon pads. When compared to the Launchpad the LEDs look really dim. In a brightly lit room the LEDs are almost unnoticeable.

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The reason I am being so critical of this device is that when I have to pay

December 2011

2 or three times more than for a similar device, I expect it to be way better than the competition in every aspect. Code is a niche and very customizable controller and the concept is quite unique but on the hardware side of things there are some inconsistencies with manufacturing. I have seen videos and pictures of Code on the internet that don't look like they have some of the same issues I have with mine so it clearly indicates a manufacturing issue. If I was paying half the quoted price on the device I would have no problem with the hardware inconsistencies.

'Tis The Season by Ben Paturzo

The Christmas season, to me, is as much a season for giving thanks as the Thanksgiving season. Here, in the Land That Knows Two Oceans, the PCA (Politically Correct American) folks refer to this time as the "Holiday Season." You know you've lived too long when these PCA's start referring to Christmas trees as "Holiday" trees. Lord. I have had the good fortune, these past several months, to be connected with a group of talented misfits, here at the old Circle K ranch, furiously churning out pieces to entertain and, hopefully, to enlighten you. Things have slowed down for me, in terms of producing for Wusik Sound Magazine. I can blame the holidays, working extra at my day job, becoming re-acquainted with some of my other interests, such as 3D animation and design, but the truth is probably closest to just plain being lazy. I can tell you there are quite a few articles from me coming down

the pike. There will be reviews of instruments and sound libraries, articles on Additive Synthesis and VST instrument design, plus a number of get-to-know pieces on the amazing people creating wonders for us to play with. Wow. Makes me want to stick around. What I wanted to say, though, is thanks for reading and spreading the news about WSM. I very much enjoy reporting and opining for you. I am thankful for having met the fascinating people whose stories have appeared in WSM. I am also thankful for being a part of that group of aforementioned misfits, some of which I have, at times, been irritated with, and, at other times, been delighted with. Go figure.

Merry Christmas to all, and a Happy New Year!

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Feliz Ano Novo Godt Nyttår

Gëzuar Vitin e Ri

La Mulţi Ani

Честита Нова Година

Buon Anno

Feliz Año Nuevo

Godt Nytår

Srečno Novo Leto

Gelukkig Nieuwjaar

Joyeux Nouvel An

Gutes Neues Jahr

Sretna Nova Godina Feliĉigan Novan Jaron Feliç Any Nou

Счастливого Нового Года

Gott Nytt År

Onnellista Uutta Vuotta Šťastný Nový Rok Yeni Yılınız Kutlu Olsun

Urte Berri

Happy New Year!