May 2011 by Wusik Dot Com

Wusik Sound Magazine May 2011

Editorial Battle of the Wusik field Wusik Sound Magazine www.wusiksoundmagazine.com Issue May 2011 Managing Editor: MoniKe Assistant Editors: A. Arsov, WilliamK Production Manager: MoniKe Some of the products reviewed in Wusik Sound Magazine are copies provided free of charge for reviewing purposes.

Articles by: A. Arsov www.arsov.net Adrian Frost - aka anzoid www.anzoid.com Altitude Ben Paturzo - aka Astrin David Keenum david@wusik.com Ginno 'g.no' Legaspi www.facebook.com/ginnolegaspi ginno@wusik.com Jay - aka LeVzi www.soundcloud.com/levzi Jeffrey Powell jsp_wsm@yahoo.com Johnathan Pritchett - aka Trusty www.myspace.com/crosssoldiers Stickybeats@yahoo.com Rishabh Rajan www.rishabhrajan.com Rob Mitchell Robert Halvarsson www.suecae.com suecae.sounds@gmail.com Simeon Amburgey - aka soundcreations www.praisetracks.com

I woke up one morning realising that we have plenty of new writers. At first it was like a kindergarten. A lot of complaints, some pleasant and even a few unpleasant questions. Plenty of requests, suggestions and some underbidding of things. After the first battle â&#x20AC;&#x201C; old writers versus new ones, we cleared up the battle field, rinsed the blood off the floor, buried boxing gloves and finally did the biggest and the most versatile issue ever. Rise and shine dear Wusik Sound Magazine. And you? You get plenty of stories and reviews covering sequencers, synthesizers, effects and even some hardware thingies. A few interviews, one or two tutorials and bunch of interesting articles to read. Enjoy, and this is just the beginning. More issues will follow. The old one Arsov The aftermath... Hi, I'm one of the new ones. Now that we've wiped the blood off, as Arsov said, we can get a good look at the state of play. A whole bunch of us responded to WilliamK's appeal for new contributors and turned up "en masse" at the Wusik Magazine forum. I think we rather took the regulars by surprise but they quickly rallied and welcomed us into the fold. I think that the thing that most marked us out as the new kids was our desire to plunge in and start reviewing synths, effects and whatever else we could lay our hands on. Those who've been around the block a couple (or more) times know that you need to slow down, be patient and not over stretch yourself. I've been as guilty as anyone of being just a bit too enthusiastic, but as we settle down and settle in we all hope to become a valuable part of Wusik Magazine. Thanks for having us!

Proof-Reading by: Adrian Frost Ben Paturzo Dave Clark Peggy

The new one Adrian A. Arsov

Pictures: www.dreamstime.com EVEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Advertising: Henry Gibson Cover and Backcover: Pictures from www.dreamstime.com

MoniKe

Table of Contents Table of Contents Developers’ Corner:

04 07 12 15

Review: The Return of Quadra from of Synth Magic by David Keenum Interview: Steve Porter by David Keenum Review: Evolution from CubicAudio by LeVzi Interview: Kieran Swarbrick by LeVzi

ditto from De la Mancha by Robert Halvarsson

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Mini-Review:

Mini Review by Ginno Legaspi

Soundware Round-Up by Ginno Legaspi

Tutorial:

REASON for beginners by A. Arsov

Geist from FXpansion by A. Arsov

Ugoaudio by Ben Paturzo

Fl Studio 10 from Image Line by A. Arsov

MorphoX from LinPlug by Adrian Frost

OP-X PRO II from Oberheim by Rob Mitchell

Renegade from G-Sonique by LeVzi

Sixtyfive from De la Mancha by Robert Halvarsson

Orion Studio 8 from Synapse Audio by Robert Halvarsson

VST Beginnings by Adrian Frost

Elements from Twisted Tools by Rishabh Rajan

Alien303 from G-Sonique by LeVzi

µTonic 3.0 from Sonic Charge by A. Arsov

Ozone 4 from iZotope by Ginno Legaspi

Elder Thing from Xoxos by Ben Paturzo

Ultimate from SuperWave by Adrian Frost

Vocaloid: Prima from Zero-G Sweet Ann from Power FX by A. Arsov

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WaveFrame Sound Collection from UVI SoundSource by Jeffrey Powell

JP6K from Adam Szabo by Robert Halvarsson

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Sonar X1 from Cakewalk by Trusty

Dialog from Wave Arts by Simeon Amburgey

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The Return of the

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A review of Synth Magic’s Virtual ARP Quadra for Kontakt 4 by David Keenum I enjoy seeing someone follow their To play Quadra you are going to need But the lowly Quadra had some fans, dream. For me, there is nothing the full version of Kontakt 4 with the including Tony Banks of Genesis, Joe better than seeing a person put latest update. I may be mistaken, but Zawinul of Weather Report, and Jean everything they have into something I don’t think you could create Quadra Michel Jarre among others, so it had they believe and love. Steve Porter is in Kontakt 3. In any case, it is an something about it that was special. one of those people (see the impressive recreation! One of electronic music history’s side accompanying interview), and for him notes is that John Carpenter used the History the dream is creating recreations of ARP Quadra for music in his films classic synthesizers. But he has an Halloween II and Escape from New The ARP Quadra was the ill-conceived, York. As Reid said in his May 2002 unusual view of what instruments ill-timed 1978 release from an should be recreated, and he has ARP Quadra article in Sound on Sound certainly picked an original for his first innovative but badly managed magazine, “The Quadra is one of company. It was an adventurous instrument! those rare instruments that’s more design with 4 synthesizers in one than the sum of its parts.” For one keyboard. It contained a string Overview thing, you could combine the different synthesizer, a mono lead synth, a parts into a more complex instrument, First of all, this “instrument” was bass synth, and a polyphonic synth. something that was rare in pre-MIDI created within Kontakt 4. You might To that was added the famous days. That one feature set the say, “Why do you call it an programmable phaser, and it was all Quadra apart from most synths of its instrument? It’s a sample set!” I get under the control of a single day, and even today it gives it a that, but this is a recreation of the microprocessor. It was developed unique sound. The Quadra also ARP Quadra front panel with samples and released in a hasty manner, and offered a wide variety of pedal inputs, from an ARP Quadra. It looks and because of that it had a number of allowing extensive user control. And sounds like a Quadra to the point that design problems and weaknesses. of course, it has a sound! Its fans will you forget it’s really Kontakt. That’s But its greatest weakness was that it argue for its unique place in vintage why I call it an instrument. And let was released at the end of the Progsynths. me clarify one little point. I have Rock era. And it was released the never played a “real” Quadra, so I same year as the Sequential Circuits Since ARP Quadras are very difficult to can’t say for sure that every sound is Prophet 5 and the Oberheim OBX, find and maintain, they are somewhat exactly like a Quadra. On that count I both ground-breaking instruments. of a treasure. It’s something special if am taking the word of the developer… Not good for a company that was in you have one in working order. They and it sounds like recordings I have the middle of a string of poor were only made for 2 years; so if you heard of the Quadra. That’s as close releases! need to repair a Quadra, you usually as I can get. need to cannibalize parts from another instrument. So what are you to do? 04

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Virtual ARP Quadra

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Along Comes Synth Magic’s Quadra

Or maybe it will be some other aspect of the instrument, but you will need to adjust the To me Synth Magic’s Quadra settings in order to use this seems to be a labor of love. Steve instrument. And this is a Porter has strived to recreate the GOOD thing! This instrument Quadra without the weaknesses of is from 1979, and back then the original. The front panel is patches came on paper. recreated in the GUI, with all the Everybody had to turn knobs sliders responding to CC messages. and move sliders. So you’re Every note of the Quadra has been going “back in time” when you sampled. The Phaser sounds good. use Quadra. To put it simply, Mr. Porter has tried to get as close to the real Now before I scare preset Quadra as possible. True, you users too much, let me say miss the tactile response of real that I am one of you. I’m not sliders and knobs, but you gain into programming sounds from reliability. After all, how easy scratch, or adjusting every would it be to maintain a playable sound I use. However, with ARP Quadra? this instrument it is easy to adjust sounds. Plus there are Remember that the Quadra is four a number of YouTube videos separate instruments that can be under “SPFXsynthesisers.” In linked. You can use just one or fact, two sections of the instrument, or http://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=7sWjP0XvrCM is a good you can combine all four audio/video introduction to instruments. My favorite is the Quadra 2.1. It will give you a String Section; but when you good idea of how the Quadra combine it with the Poly Synth, it sounds and operates. can become an “atmosphere machine”! And I think that may It slices, it dices, it does it be the magic of the Quadra. all! Unlike the original Quadra, the Well, no, it doesn’t do it all. Virtual Quadra can fully save In fact, the Quadra is a narrow presets. (The original could only instrument. The Lead and save certain parameters.) And there are a number of presets that Bass synths are functional. They will work in a tune, but come with Quadra, including there are better synths out presets by Dr. Ingo Weidner. But there, especially if you are for all practical purposes the looking for the “best.” The instrument is for “tweeking.” You Poly synth is nice, and the will need to adjust the Attack or String Synth is pretty special. Release on every sound you use.

But the "magic" happens when you start combining instruments. You can get some inspiring sounds! They are original and analog (“analogue” if you are on the east side of the pond). If you’ve always wanted a Quadra, here is your chance. And even if you don’t know what a Quadra is, this instrument has some inspiration! True, you’ll probably need to do a little bit of slider/knob adjustments, and you may need to learn a little bit about subtractive synthesis. But it will be worth the effort.

Virtual ARP Quadra Creator and Distributor: Synth Magic Web-Site: http://www.synthmagic.co.uk/ YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/SPFXsynth esisers Price: £19.99 Details (from the webpage): - This instrument interface is based on a real Quadra's front panel. - Every single note in every octave of the Quadra has been sampled. - Sliders and envelopes have been calibrated and timed to behave like a real Quadra. - Virtual ARP Quadra is only compatible with full retail versions of Kontakt 4. Sample Resolution: 24-bit/44.1 kHz resolution Format: Native Instruments Kontakt 4.2.2 Test Computer: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0GHz, 4GB RAM, Windows XP Pro SP 3, Echo MiaMIDI Audio Card

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Synth Magic by David Keenum

Steve Porter is the man behind Synth Magic and The Virtual Quadra. We wanted to ask him some questions about the ARP Quadra and vintage keyboards, among other subjects.

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made redundant. I have always found WSM: Why don't you tell us a little the office environment hard to cope about yourself? How did you get with, so rather than spend another 20 started in music? unhappy years in an office, I decided to create a company to make SP - My name is Stephen Porter and I interesting musical software for am 42 years oldâ&#x20AC;Ś although I am musicians. I decided early on that it about 18 in my head! :-) My job was had to be at a modest price. I wanted in I.T until very recently, when I was the vast majority of musicians to be

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able to afford it. So the basic premise of synth magic is: The software has to be good and it has to be very affordable. I am quite shy and a bit of a loner (without the serial killer tendencies), and I feel more comfortable in my own company surrounded by computers and synths. I'm not very

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good at social interaction. It’s not WSM: How did you get the idea that I'm unfriendly, because I am for Virtual Quadra? friendly. I just prefer to be on my own. SP - The idea for the Virtual Quadra My musical background is self-taught. came along because I have owned a I got into synths over 20 years ago Quadra for a long time and know it after hearing a cassette that was pretty well. I started to notice a lot of given to me. On the back of the people really wishing they could own cassette it stated, “Polymoog by G. one. I honestly had no idea that they Numan.” I was immediately hooked, were so rare, because I have seen and since that day synthesizers have them a few times on eBay and stuff. always excited me more than any I soon realized just how much a other thing in the world. I love working Quadra will now cost. And everything about them. I especially having looked around on the web, I enjoy old vintage synths. Their realized that a lot of them have ended history fascinates me. You never up in the display cabinets of collectors, know where the synth has been, who and therefore a lot of people are has owned it, or what records it may missing out on the sounds of this have been on. machine. In 1988 I got heavily into the acid I have always found the ARP Quadra house scene and spent the next 4 to be an instrument that when you years going to what was termed then play it on its own you may think, as “Raves.” I went to all nighters up “What is all the fuss about?” But when and down the country. I really liked you add some effects like a nice the new music and found the way it reverb and play the Quadra in a mix induced isolation on dance floors of music, it just has a presence and rather appealing. It was no longer sound that works in the mix. It weird to be dancing on your own. In comes to life when it’s in the mix. fact, everyone danced, seemingly I could tell by the comments in locked in their own world, jolting to a various forums that people genuinely repetitive beat and hypnotic sounds. wanted to own a Quadra, or at least It was a brilliant time! have the sounds. You could see I would then return home and make attempts at trying to create the sound music with instruments like the Akai with Nord Modulars and instruments s900 sampler, the Atari ST, and the like that, so I thought, “OK, I’ll make Roland 808 and 909 drum machines. one.” I could put these sounds back All these years later, I have hung up into the hands of musicians, and do it my dancing clogs, but I still enjoy so inexpensively that everyone could making all kinds of music. I now have the sounds. mostly create ambient stuff like I realize selling my software at this Boards of Canada… although I do still price is not going to make me rich, dabble in dance music. but sometimes it’s not about money. It’s about listening to music that someone has created with sounds that May 2011

they could not possibly have had access to, and now they can. I get a lot of emails from musicians thanking me for making this software, because they have always wanted a Quadra. Those emails mean a lot to me, because it is validation for all the hard work and effort I have put into this software. To finally have it out there and appreciated by musicians is wonderful. I suppose everyone wants some validation of their work. WSM: Do you own a real-life ARP Quadra, or did you borrow one for your sampling sessions? SP - I own a real Quadra that I purchased in a very broken down state about 10 years ago. I had it restored by James Walker at Synth Repair, and despite electronic faults appearing every now and then, James has kept it alive for me. WSM: I guess you needed Kontakt 4's abilities to accomplish your goal. Did that factor into your decision to develop Quadra? SP - I considered what platform to use for the Quadra software and decided upon Kontakt 4 because I figured it was the most popular sampler, and I knew my way around the scripting language. At first I was just going to provide a load of mapped samples, but then I started adding little things like graphics, envelope generators, effects and I just thought, “Go for it! Add everything a real Quadra has!” The sequencer on the bass section came to me at about 3 in the morning. www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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While I was trying to get some sleep, I just kept seeing the sweeping LEDS of early sequencers and lay awake for about two hours thinking of how I would achieve this in code. I got up at 5 am and started it. Two weeks later, after slogging away with code for 15 hours a day, I had the sequencer working. I added it to the bass section to spice things up a bit. I added all the effects such as reverbs, delays, etc., because anyone who owns a real Quadra will tell you that you need a wide range of external effects to get the best out of the synth. I just added all the effects that I have used over the years with my real Quadra. WSM: Care to do any “name dropping”? Is there anybody famous using Quadra? SP - Jean Michel Jarre bought the Quadra software and I contacted him to ask what he thought of it. We then had email conversations about his broken Quadra because he is having problems getting spares for it. I put him in touch with James at Synth Repair, who has spares. It was quite a surreal experience chatting with JMJ! In his final email to me he said my software is a great achievement and he asked me to keep him posted about my other projects. To be 10

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honest, it blew my mind. It’s like Mozart coming to buy a piano from you. I sent an email to Gary Numan, via his website, asking if he would be interested in the Quadra software. He used a Quadra during his farewell tour in the 80's. To my amazement, Ade Fenton, Gary's producer, contacted me and said he would love to have a copy. Ade also asked if he could have a copy. Ade's Artificial Perfect album, and his work with Numan, is brilliant. I just thought it was a great thing that the person who influenced me getting into synthesizers, got the very first synth I made! It is great to have Gary and Ade as users! WSM: You mentioned in a forum that you got feedback from Jean Michel Jarre that affected the 2.1 update. Can you tell us about that?

would like a version of the Virtual Quadra that looked like the real Quadra without any of the extras. So if the user wanted a version that mimicked the front panel more authentically, it was there. But I didn’t want to lose all of the extras I had added. So I figured I would give them everything, and they can mix and match to make modular Quadra's if they wanted to! I thought it would add to the flexibility of the instrument. I remember speaking with Steve from Hollow Sun who said it would be great if the Quadra more closely mimicked the real thing. All of this had been swirling around in my head since version 1, so I decided to create it. WSM: I noticed that a kvr member that goes by the name of "Ingonator" has supplied presets for all the versions of Virtual Quadra. Is he a friend of yours? Can you tell us a little about him?

SP – Yes! He came back to me after a few days of using the Quadra and SP - I have never met Ingo personally. said he thought creating the Quadra Ingonator’s real name is Dr. Ingo software was a fantastic achievement. Weidner. He purchased the Quadra He said he really got interested in it software and made some presets from because his real Quadra had broken the original ARP patch sheets. And he and he liked the extra things I had also created some patches of his own added. It got me thinking that I design. Ingo sent them to me and

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said I could include them as presets with the Quadra, which was kind of him. Since then I have supplied Ingo with my prototype synths, and he has beta tested them and given suggestions and even supplied sounds. For my latest synth called Phobos, Ingo supplied samples from his synth collection. Ingo is very adept at making sounds and has his own series of sound sets for Waldorf Blofeld and PPG wave 3.v. WSM: What else do you have planned? Are there any other synths that “need” virtual copies? SP - I am working on a Logan 5 and Runner, which is a Mono Synth and drum sequencer combo, and Phobos (An interstellar fantasy), which is a pad and extreme ambience synth. I’m also working on a Polymoog keyboard with a guy (a synth pro) in the states who is supplying all the audio. WSM: Thanks Steve! P. S. As a side note, Phobos has now been released: http://www.synthmagic.co.uk/future. html

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Evolution from CubicAudio

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by LeVzi

In the world of sound design, there are many methods available to create the exact sound you want; subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis or frequency modulation are but a few that are widely covered in modern plug-ins. So what if you want something all ready prepared? Well, the ROMpler covers this area nicely, and there are very good ROMplers around to suit most people, but what if you want a ROMpler that not only has a lot of pre-sets already, but allows you to edit the pre-sets and take them further? Enter EVOLUTION from CubicAudio as a contender. Evolution is a hybrid synthesizer which combines the best of both worlds as a ROMpler and a subtractive synth in its own right. It combines the 12

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ability to load a ROM pre-set as well as having its own set of oscillators, filters and envelopes, etc. to generate its own sound.

with Evolution's subtractive engine and it allows for a lot of experimentation.

Lets see how Evolution works Evolution's ROMs are basically like the stage by stage. old style hardware synths that had When you first open the Evolution ROM cartridges which contained plug-in, you see the striking GUI various pre-sets. The ROMs in Evolution are also flexible, as they can which is very nicely made indeed, created by Scott Kane. If you mouse contain more than one layer of sound click on the logo, you see the back of (up to 4 layers), which can also be velocity layered. The scope for further the synth with the tubes glowing; expansion within this ROM system is again this is a really nice touch and here you also see the credits to Kieran quite immense. And it doesn't end there as the volume, pan and pitch of and Scott as well as who the plug-in is each of these layers can be registered to. independently modulated using an Click the GUI again and you are taken LFO or the envelopes that are available. This again shows how back to the "init" or initial screen. There is no pre-set loaded and the versatile Evolution is. Combine this May 2011

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only sound you will get from Evolution is a simple sine wave. So how easy is it to load a pre-set? Well it's as simple as clicking on the "Tick" which is second in the list of buttons under the main interface, sandwiched between the left and right arrows. Upon clicking this the main interface displays options as to what kind of pre-set you would like to load. Choices are Synth, Bass, String, Piano, Pad or Other. Right, let's start at the beginning, with a Synth, so I click on the synth option and I am now into the pre-set list.

Firstly, I click on the oscillator (OSC) tab which is below-left of the main interface, to open Evolution's oscillators. All four are switched on, using sawtooth waveforms, each one detuned and transposed to create the Euro Lead sound. Moving to the ROM tab, I can see that this ROM consists of 4 layers, 4 samples, and that each layer has different volume, transposition and fine tune settings. Moving to the modulation (MOD) tab brings up the envelope options, of which there are two, and the modulation matrix. Both are empty, so I have plenty of scope to introduce There are loads of pre-sets available in options here. Moving to the next tab the synth section, anything from a brings up the Low Frequency 303 emulation to a trance pluck to full Oscillator options (LFO); both are set dance lead. to off, so are not being used, again allowing me the ability to introduce The first pre-set I load is called them. The next tab is the effects (FX) Brassed Down – Trumpet Brass Synth section, where you can choose from 80's. Quickly playing a few notes on Chorus, Decimator, EQ, Distortion, my midi controller, I am struck by the Reverb or Delay, or you can set high quality of this sound. It reminds Evolution's main filter type here. me of the Van Halen "Jump" synth These consist of Low Pass, High Pass and is instantly playable. I have to and Band Pass, and then Low PassII, force myself from playing as I do tend High PassII, and Band PassII which to get carried away with ideas, and I can only mean that CubicAudio have load another pre-set. This time I try their own types of filter. The final tab Broken Sound – Metal Lead Sound is the options (OPT) tab where you and again I am struck by the quality can set the quality of the ROM used, of this sound, indeed very metallic and the number of voices Evolution and crystal clear. Very impressive uses too. I set these both to once again, and I am forced to pry maximum for testing purposes to see myself off this pre-set and try another, how CPU hungry Evolution is. this time I am going to alter it myself. Back to the oscillator section. I I decided on Euro Lead 2 by Alan changed all the waveforms, altered Hinton. A very nice, clear lead which the octaves and fine tuning and the would be acceptable in any Euro-core panning of each oscillator. I then or even Hard style track. The pre-set moved to the Modulation Matrix and is very usable in its original state, but set Modulation Envelope 1 to the can I add a little something using global pitch and created an envelope Evolutions additional options? to alter it. I also introduced an LFO to control the filter cut-off, and changed the values in the LFO section. I then May 2011

added an EQ to tame the highs. I then adjusted the main Delay and Reverb controls to suit, and started to play back what I have created. What became apparent is that I'm not going to win any sound design awards, but I did what I wanted to do, and that was to create an extreme pre-set to stress test Evolution, to see how it would cope with a lot of different things going on. The result? Amazing--it was a lot lower than the 25% threshold I normally set for a synth under such stress, it came through with flying colours at 11% ASIO/CPU use (depends on your point of view about meters in DAWs regarding this.) I am very impressed with this performance, considering I also set ROM quality to very high and used the maximum 128 voices, which was pure overkill. Evolution stands up well in performance vs quality statistics. All synths consume CPU, some more than others, but that's the price to pay for quality sounds. I am extremely pleased with the way Evolution performs and I can see the ROM system paying dividends. I loaded a fresh pre-set into Evolution, this time I chose the 303 Acid – 303 type emulation. Straight away you can tell the distinct acid sound, and with a quick adjustment of the Filter's ADSR, which is another great feature, I was able to modulate the Acid sound further, sparking many ideas on how I can use it. What has become apparent to me is that Evolution, as with many ROMpler style plug-ins, has the ability to introduce ideas through the preprogrammed sounds, without the headache of learning synthesis, and then gives you the option to expand on your ideas, by making each pre-set www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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unique with some simple modulation or introduction of oscillators. The scope is seemingly endless. But also, why do you need to change anything ? Quite simply, you don't. The presets are of a very high quality and each one is set-up to be included in your work "straight out of the box." Evolution comes with an impressive 1.7 gigabytes of pre-sets ready to go, just choose and click, it's that simple.

set. Using the arrow keys I can quickly change pre-sets and move through the list one by one, and by doing this I discover DB Donk 10 – Donk with Phase, which I would suggest is the most well known Donk bass sound, and once again represented perfectly in Evolution.

The Pads section is next, and I slow everything down in the DAW as I like to hear pads evolve over a period of time. The pads included with Evolution are no different; they are well thought out and well synthesised, and will fit into any track where appropriate. With special mention to Themora Pad 2, which reminded me of a tropical jungle soundscape.

Moving from the Bass section to the Strings section, I am instantly greeted with a very euphoric A Class Pad – Finally we arrive at the Others section, Moving on from the Synths section of Trance Pad which indeed is very and I have no idea what to expect. pre-sets, I open the bass section, and trance oriented, but very sonically The first pre-set is Biscuit Tin – 100 start to scan for something that grabs pleasing. Again with the arrow keys Percussion tin sounds. Yes, I was my imagination. I settled on Basix2 – you can move through the list quickly curious too, so I ran my finger across Clubland Bass, which is something I and without any audio glitching. I land my midi controller, and was amazed am familiar with. The sound is crisp, on Guitar Pluck – Pluck Strum effect, at the amount of different sounds that pure and exactly what I was expecting. and I have to say it is a very shot out of my speakers. I wasn't I couldn't resist setting up a quick kick convincing guitar sound indeed. expecting that, and instantly thought and snare to go with the bass, and Moving on again, I land upon of the genre that I am most fond of before I know it I have the basis of a Pizzacato Live – Live Pizzacato and these days, that being Drum and Bass, new dance track. I opened another instantly I am struck by this one. My and how useful this pre-set would be instance of Evolution and used the mind can picture the string section of in that. Quickly moving through this Euro Lead pre-set I discussed earlier an orchestra plucking these notes as I section revealed, drums, cymbals and and recorded a quick riff into my DAW. play them. even a trumpet. So there is plenty to discover in here. Once again, without thinking, I was Once again I move onto a different off making music again, instead of section of Evolution's many pre-sets, SUMMARY: being disciplined and sticking to the bear in mind I am literally skimming review. But I think that it was worth the surface here, there are many, Evolution offers a lot of bang for your mentioning: the reason I take such many more in each section, you will buck. It comes in at a respectable interest in VST plug-in's and their have endless fun discovering each one. £79.99, for which you get the full development is because I love to Evolution Synth plus 1.7 gigabytes of make music and I love trying new The Piano section is next, and I am pre-sets. CubicAudio intend to develop things. It is apparent to me that really looking forward to this, as I and release more expansion packs as Kieran & Co. at CubicAudio are already use CubicAudio's free plug-in, time goes on and I am sure will creating exactly the kind of plug-in in the S1 Piano, for a lot of my piano continue to develop Evolution as they Evolution that allows you to make needs. First one I land on is the DMS do. You will have a lot of fun with music with minimal fuss, and with Trance Piano – Epic Piano for Trance, Evolution, as I did reviewing it. It endless options. by DanceMidiSamples, and I am cements CubicAudio as a serious instantly thinking how much I could company with exciting ideas and On with the review. Sticking with the use this alone. All those old skool excellent plug-ins. It was my pleasure bass pre-sets, I search through the tracks I love so much with the piano to review this. JL list, and load up DB Donk – Cleanest sections in them, I could play with this Donk Sound. Once again Evolution pre-set. It is very reminiscent of the For more information visit : has captured the sound perfectly, Korg M1 Dance Piano, which was so http://www.cubic-audio.info/ indeed this is a clean donk bass prewidely used in dance music. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 14

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Being a producer in the dance music industry, I am always on the look out for new and exciting plug-ins to use that bring something different to the table. So you can imagine how thrilled I was personally when the chance came to check out CubicAudio and what they bring to the table. CubicAudio's Owner/Founder Kieran Swarbrick was kind enough to take some time out from his busy schedule to speak to Wusik Sound Magazine about CubicAudio and some of the plug-ins that they offer.

WSM: Hi Kieran, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions, I am sure the readers of WSM will enjoy finding out more about CubicAudio as much as I am, so, how did you get into creating VST plug-ins?

about audio dsp and came across a lot WSM: You have some impressive of useful mailing lists, one to mention plug-ins, could you tell us a little being music-dsp. Early on I used a lot about each one? of modular type programming interfaces to get the idea but began Kieran: Starting with Dancida as it working on more serious projects was one of the first, It's an analogue using the VST SDK and C++. bass synth mainly for creating those deep bass lines and sub layers. The Kieran: It started as a programming WSM: So how did CubicAudio GUI itself was crafted uniquely by decision a long time ago, I was start? Scott Kane (www.witchgraft.net) and adds a whole lot of attitude not only in making small indie games and applications, all personal projects but Kieran: It started as part of my game looks but in sound. all based around sound and graphics. making days. I originally started with The next plug-in was Cubits Evolution As a producer myself I made music a CubicDev as a development team for and it is a hybrid synthesizer. This lot and came across a lot of early a game I did but then as I got more was a long time in the making and standalone synths before VST was an into audio programming it all became took me over 2 years to complete with industry standard. Wanting to know CubicAudio. great help from sound designer/beta more about these I started reading up

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tester Alan Hinton who spent a lot of WSM: My understanding of the time working on mainly all the presets ROM system is that it acts much using the evolution dev kit and like a ROM Cartridge would on an endless beta testing. Our other old synthesizer; am I right in that products are ProTon and Apollo; these analogy? where created by Alan Hinton (ProTon) and Paul Brown (Apollo) for Kieran: Yes you are right in theory, CubicAudio. GUI design was done by it's simple but the way Evolution LoopeyTunes. Both these instruments works is that each ROM can contain are unique, Apollo being a great multiple sounds in individual layers; electro/bass VST and ProTon, which this also includes velocity-controlled has many cool features as well as a layers as well. Each sound in each built in step sequencer. layer can be looped or is a one shot so the idea was taken beyond just a WSM: As you know, I am simple ROM cartridge. reviewing Evolution for a future edition of Wusik Sound Magazine; WSM: Evolution has an incredible let's focus on that plug-in for a array of sounds, and is of a very moment. The ROM Synthesis high quality for very little CPU use, system is extremely impressive, was that something you worked and as far as I am concerned quite hard to achieve, or is that one of the innovation for a plug-in, how the major attributes of the ROM did you come up with that idea? system? Kieran: It was based purely off the Kieran: It's something I worked hard old analog synthesizers in studios that to achieve as a lot of computation in had ROMs in them. Using them a lot each layer can be heavy due to for all types including pianos and interpolation and anti-aliasing leads I thought it useful as a sound techniques, but I did a lot of SSE2 designer and programmer to make a programming with SSE3 if the user synth with this capability as a plug-in. has a capable CPU, if not some The Evolution interface hints at our optimisations I did use "work arounds" rack mounted inspired feel and most that ease the CPU hit. of the ideas came from hardware based rack mounted synths. WSM: Evolution is a hybrid synthesizer, do you see that as

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the way forward for VST's in the future, as more companies seem to be bringing out Hybrids? Kieran: I see more potential in hybrid synths as computers get faster and even with GPU's getting faster there's a lot more speed to do more than one type of synthesis and the amount of options is even greater. WSM: Evolution also has expansions available, are more expansions planned for the future? Kieran: Indeed. While I update Evolution I also look at new expansions and getting more artists involved who are at the top in their genre to work on new expansions. WSM: What does the future hold for CubicAudio? Can you give the readers any sneak previews of what is coming up from yourselves? Kieran: I'm currently working on a new plug-in which, when I get more time, I will work on but also there are expansion packs for Evolution and updates including some great new features, new pre-set packs for Dancida and much more.

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When I did this interview, I came to the conclusion that not only has Kieran created some exceptional plug-ins, but I feel a lot more is to come from CubicAudio. Read on in this edition for the review of Evolution, the hybrid ROMpler/Subtractive plug-in that packs a lot of punch. WSM: You have a couple of free VSTi's on your site in FatSyn, and S1 Piano, how did they come about? And as you know, I adore the S1 Piano; was it created with any particular piano in mind? Kieran: The S1 was not made by me but was made by Alan Hinton for CubicAudio; his initial idea was a simple, multi-sampled piano that's easy to use and sounds great. A lot of time was spent in-studio recording various pianos till he got the right sound. FatSyn was my first initial VST, again born out of creating basses; it consists of 8 oscs and had a very unique visual GUI which I admit I made, but the quality was not in the looks but in the sound.

For more information go to: http://www.cubic-audio.info/ Rest assured Kieran cares deeply about his work, and the support will be 100% professional. Keep an eye on CubicAudio, I feel there are big things to come from this camp.

May 2011

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I say brilliant: you say

ditto! by Robert Halvarsson

As the VST market has become swamped with bread and butter effects and synths, there is still room for innovation. Ever since I purchased from De la Mancha’s group-buy last year, I have found the price to performance ratio of his plugins to be quite inspiring. This time around, I am reviewing DlM's new randomized delay effect named “ditto,” which in their own words can be described as follows: “ditto is a creative delay effect, using randomised tempo-sync modulation to provide a constantly changing but musical delay effect. You randomise the delay time, feedback and filter cut-off, with independent left and right channel modulation.” First off, I have to compliment De la Mancha for yet another straightforward interface. Although ditto is able to produce some quite esoteric delay effects, the interface is quick to figure out. The 'creative' part of this delay is that pretty much all aspects can be randomised. By programming the amount of random variation you want, you are able to go from subtle to extreme in terms of the effect you are after. While this does not allow for total control over the end result, this is part and parcel of its charm.

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So, how about the sound then? While using it on a track with a pretty standard synth stab, I got into a nice little groove after doing some simple tweaking. Also, while trying a 909-clap through more extreme settings, it went from an offbeat rhythm to one that appeared to be everywhere and continuously changing, which really spiced up the rhythmic aspects of that track. Having used a lot effects from the Audio Damage fx-line, I see ditto sitting perfectly with some of Chris Randall's more unique offerings. An fx-chain with an AD effect such as BigSeq2, Discord3, or Automaton coupled with ditto would likely be a perfect match for some advanced sound mangling. In the end, what makes ditto a winner is that it is easy to learn, inexpensive, and doesn't seem to be a CPU hog. So, for $19, you can safely buy ditto fully knowing that you will not use it for each and every one of your songs. So, repeat after me: I say brilliant, you say ditto! Web-Site: http://www.delamancha.co.uk

May 2011

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Ugoaudio by Ben Paturzo

You Really Should Check This Out There are some sites that simply cannot be skipped over. Ugoaudio.com is a great example. For denizens of the KVR forums the name Ugo may be familiar, but even if it is not, you probably have been touched in some way by his work, because of his many projects in the audio field, especially in the development of VST’s. Ugo, AKA Chris Sciurba, has moderated Yahoo user groups and developed web sites for hardware instruments such as the Kawai K5000 and Ensoniq Fizmo; he has created presets for Camel Audio, Nucleus Soundlab, AlgoMusic, and many others; he has created audio demos for numerous developers, and he organizes the Indie Dev Collective, a group of over a dozen independent plug-in, host and sound ware developers, all united to better showcase their wares.

aside, his instruments are well worth the investment and provide an enormous amount of value as well as just plain fun. That’s the secret of Ugoaudio -- there is a lifetime of joy in creating and playing music in just a few web pages, and you’re lucky enough to be invited in.

Take Metallurgy (Figure 1), his multieffect VST: describing it as creating “sounds ranging from some basic, subtle, filter tweaks to twisted, complex, walls of sound that bear virtually no resemblance to the original audio,” this device has so many uses you will be exploring it for a very long time. In Figure 2 a rather sedate string quartet audio clip is completely transformed by the (BAS) funker SM preset into something melodic yet unworldly, with subtle phaser-type effects and metallic overtones, and, yes I’ll say it, the sounds (including the distortion) that real analog hardware Looking at his site you will notice that would have made back in the day. And Chris charges so little that you want to yes I was there, with Fred, sliding down adopt him and make him your own inthe dinosaur, so yes I do know [editor’s house genius VST designer. In this case note: The Flintstones, opening sequence]. adopt and kidnap are interchangeable. Use the (GSQ) Totemed TC preset and Looking over his gear page, this selfthe string quartet is now under water, or confessed addict has so many guitars at least in a submarine, under water -and synthesizers--almost as many as but it is still melodic, even with all the Immelda Marcos has shoes--you want to processing. This VST and vocals equals a enable his habit by offering him more for panoply of powerful pitch possibilities. his plugins. Seriously, modest prices What does he charge for this marvelous

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May 2011

Figure 2

Figure 1

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Figure 3

Ugoaudio

device? I can’t bring myself to tell you, it’s so little. And this instrument got a perfect score in Computer Music magazine. How many VST’s, at any price get a 10 out of 10? Pssst... Metallurgy sells for $20.

Just to cement the notion that Chris has no desire to be wealthy, he drops the modest prices altogether and just gives away several instruments, including the muchloved Rez 2.0. This little rocket will have you smiling all day long after playing it. Just to show his range of interests and Seriously, if you wake up in a bad mood, abilities we have the marvelous instrument flip this bad boy on and just jam. Bad known as M-theory (Figure 3). Yes it can mood over. There is a lot of anticipation in play very clever ARP-type sounds and KVR land for Chris’s upcoming Rez 3.0, Atmospheric Pads, but how do you describe which promises to add to the Rez joy in the [Hyb] Bottleneck Synth preset? spades. The instrument comes with lots of Combining blown-type instrument sounds presets that demonstrate its range, some with strings sounding like they’re played in of which will have you wondering “this is a reverse, you could spend much of your monosynth?” In Figure 4 I’ve added time tinkering with this preset alone. Then Metallurgy to the mix for that extra sonic comes a large number of [Nat] presets badness. Simplicity is the way to go when ranging from string, woodwind, and brass you want to get back to the music and Rez instruments to whimsical sounds like the 2.0 is the vehicle to take you there. Penny Whistle and not one but three Toy Pianos! There are also the synthesizer There are several more synths and effects presets for standard, familiar electronic instruments, some free, all reasonable that instruments, but so many of the presets you need to explore for yourself. Ugo’s The have a natural musicality to them that you Big Bundle, a great value, packages figure they are or will be “natural” everything all together so you can avoid instruments in the future. Is Chris from having to pick and choose. Chris Sciurba another time or another place? Well, obviously loves music and playing music, according to the Alien Autopsy video on but his generosity towards his fans always the Web, yes, yes he is. All kidding aside, shows through in every plugin he makes. If M-theory will have you experimenting and I haven’t yet convinced you to visit Chris’s playing into the wee hours until your boss site then you’d better check your pulse. If calls you up and asks if you’re still you’re a frequent visitor, or you hang out interested in being employed. How much at the KVR Forums, let Chris know your for this Physical Modeling Hybrid appreciation of his efforts. Polysynth? A little more than Metallurgy-$35. Cheers! Ben Paturzo

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May 2011

Figure 4

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Fl Studio 10 - pro or not pro? by A. Arsov

I thought FL Studio was mainly intended for novice musicians, being just a toy for a new boy. Then I saw an introduction video for Fl Studio 10 and, as it happens, I was surprised by the fact that it has everything that the big boys have. I ordered it, became obsessed for quite some time trying to figure out if this fellow could replace my other, far more expensive, sequencers or not. At that time a friend of mine came to visit me and we talked about the things we do lately and I mentioned that I'm testing FL Studio. He just answered briefly: "Oh, I know it, but it is for beginners. Isn't it?" Huh, looks like that we are all biased against FL Studio without really knowing it. We are both professional musicians and somehow it is our job to know everything about the new things that are coming on to the market. Obviously this is not always the case. So, what's the truth about FL Studio? Could it really replace my trusted and beloved almighty sequencer or it will just remain as one of those "once upon a time for a review" affairs?

heard something" rumors. So, let's in all it has everything that the other start with the facts. The truth is that big fellows have except that it costs FL Studio has a bit of a different less and you get free upgrades for life. approach to general work flow and therefore you will break your teeth The more time I've spent with FL before you find your way to knowing it Studio the more I've become well. It is no more complicated than impressed with all the features and I other sequencers on the market, but even discovered plenty of things that it is simply not the same. If you are are far better than they are in other new to the sequencing world then you will spend the same amount of time learning to work with Fl Studio as you would with any other sequencer. The problem is that we are all attached to our old working habits and we are not too keen on learning something really new. Stubborn me, I did that, stepping in deep snow trying to find my way out, resigned to discover every last corner of FL Studio.

I'm the king of the world

Oh, yes, I figured out most O.K. Let's go down the FL Studio river. things in FL Studio, but definitively this is not a What's it all about? story about the Titanic, my friends. It can record audio, I can't really emphasize what is really it can record automation, it new in version 10 as I'm a new boy in has a top notch piano roll the FL Studio world, and by reading editor, yes it also has a few this I presume you also don't know work flow obstacles, we'll much about FL Studio except the "I've talk about that later, but all

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sequencers I own or have tested. FL Studio comes with impressive numbers of implemented effects and instruments (or Generators as they call them) but this is something that shouldn't impress me as every developer puts plenty of such things in a bag to impress the newcomers. I wasn't expecting to find anything really useful there because as far as I know only Logic has enough quality implemented tools to replace all third party effects or instruments. Eh, another prejudice, the truth was that I was pretty impressed with usability and versatility of most of what Fl Studio implements, while some of

them really amazed me as those usually are not part of the essential tools you find bundled with a sequencer. The first one is Fruity Parametric EQ 2. I'm always complaining about equalizers that come with sequencers. Four bands without a spectral analyzer. Not this time, my dear fellows. It is a seven band equalizer with one of the best spectrum analyzers I've seen. Yes there are probably a few superior standalone equalizers on the market, costing nearly the same as the FL Studio itself, but I found that this one sounds good enough and for the first time in my musical life I haven't used

May 2011

a third party equalizer in my arrangements. The second surprise comes in the shape of a drum sampler called FPC. Almost every sequencer comes with some sort of MPC drum controller or sampler, but so far this is the most advanced that I've seen bundled with a sequencer. Good looking, good sounding, easy for manipulating with more than a solid base of implemented drum kits and numerous midi pre-programmed drum loops. And talking about drums we should also write a thing or two about another one outstanding tool - Slicex. It stretches and slices every loop you throw into it allowing you to freely manipulate every separate slice adding effects or simply selecting separate outputs for every slice you chose. It's a fantastic manipulation tool with only one drawback, the same one as the FPC. You can preview separate drum hits through the general FL browser, you can also drag them to any pad in FPC, but previewed hits do not replace temporal hits in a pattern. It's the same with the Slicex. The main FL browser can preview some loops in sync, but not all of them. It stretches

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Fl Studio 10 Studio has an additional, simpler one, them and synchronizes them with a but this Vocodex fellow is from the host once when they are already "new generation" of these tools that imported but not during the preview have comes onto the market and so process. Slicex can import loops but can't preview them. I hope this will be far are not the part of any other sequencer. I babbled a few words into implemented in some future version a microphone and a few minutes later and so far it is, for me, the main I did a whole symphony out of that. drawback of FL Studio as otherwise it Very, very, very impressive. (Not my is definitely the sequencer with the babbling of course.) I've also tried the most powerful implemented loop manipulation tools on the market. Ah, new Maximus that comes only with Fl you can't have it all. Talking about the Studio signature bundle and figured that it is far above your average loop manipulation tools, there is also mastering tool. At first I was a bit a regular Fruity slicer for slicing loops skeptic because I use my trusty old and playing them back as a midi mastering tools that cost much more pattern. Handy, fast and useful. than the Fl Studio signature bundle itself, but after few tweaks it comes I also hadn't expected to find such a good vocoder as Vocodex in Fl Studio. really close to my tool of choice. Very Every sequencer has got one, even FL impressive part two.

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The next surprise comes with the bundled synthesizers. There are plenty of different synths inside Fl Studio but two of them proved to be highly above the usual stuff which comes with sequencers. They are literally so good that you really can use them. (If you know the synths from other sequencers then you know that this is not meant as a joke). As far as I know only Logic has got one that you can really use in your productions. Stop barking, dear competitors, we are not talking about average use, we are talking about the character and sound that synths should have if you really want to stand out of the crowd. To insult a bit further - I have never ever even thought about making a whole song

just with the internal synths till now, but these two synths Harmless, which comes with producer edition and Sytrus which comes with signature bundle changed my mind regarding this issue. Fat, bundled with plenty of useful and versatile presets that cover the whole analog world of various sounds. There is also a fully featured sampler, Directwave, bundled with the signature edition. It reads almost all third party formats. (But not the old Halion ones, and I have a really nice collection of fxp presets on my disk.) Also you can collect a solid bank of sounds downloading them from the Image Line server. As it reads also sf2 files, the sky is the limit as there is the whole sea of free banks on the net.

Unusual usual things I've banged through FL Studio trying FL Studio also comes with an everything and making a song or two impressive essential pack of effects, without using any third party plug-ins. full of common ones along with plenty That was a revelation for me as I've of not so common ones. Fruity Peak relied mostly on third party plug-ins Controller could serve as a side chain until now. As you remember I wrote gate controller producing fantastic "all except one". The only effect I find hypnotic rhythms out of your pads, pretty standard is the Fruity and at the same time it can serve as a compressor. I simply can't make it pure side chain compressor (not bite no matter how hard I try. I saw in exactly but the end result is the some videos that even Image Line same). Another not so common one is folks use Fruity Limiter which can Fruity Love Philter, a very complex serve also as a compressor or in some filter effect. There is no place in this cases even the excellent Fruity review to list all the things you are Multiband Compressor instead of used to finding in various third party regular Fruity Compressor which is packs from Waves or similar there, at least I presume, just for developers, and even less space to list compatibility with old versions. But, all other more common ones. There is OK, we can easily forgive them as FL also a solid pack of more common Studio offers many more really useful tools, like a tools than is usual in a high end bunch of sequencer, and they even offer it for essential filters, less money. The only other thing that delays and even I prefer from third party plug-ins are analyzers. guitar amp simulators. Hardcore has What's more, all got a great set of guitar effects but internal effects, after all it even doesn't try to pretend except one, are that it is a guitar amp simulator. It is good enough an effect rack packed with cabinet that you can simulators. freely use them in your high end Is that all? productions. As far as I know till Sorry to inform you, but this is only the beginning. Besides the already now this was mentioned tools FL Studio offers many only the case more things hidden in the endless with Logic.

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Fl Studio 10

menus. (This could be a second drawback, too many things are lying in menus, it would be much easier if some semi essential things were more up front ) Also there are a nice amount of things inside the general FL Studio browser. All in all, FL Studio is an automation beast. There are an impressive number of automation curves which you can drag to the automation lane. All shapes from simple LFOs to more complex ones. If this is not enough you can apply a LFO by pressing the "Link to controller" on a desired parameter and then open it as a LFO under the Tools menu in the Play list window. Tweaking some additional parameters, you get some really cool effects. One turn of the button and the LFO goes from the chosen amplitude at the beginning to a few times faster at the end. You can really go mad with your synths. My favorite hidden goody is a Claw machine, an effect that you can find in the Piano roll's Tool menu. It turns your sixteen notes pattern you made through four bars into a wild toboggan getting a similar effect as you increase or decrease

the tempo in real time. From fast to slow or vice versa. Totally bonkers. I found this trick in the last video from FL Studio Beginners to pro series, which can be found on the net. Talking about videos, I've learned FL Studio through watching various video clips on YouTube. Image Line has got impressive numbers of explanation videos but I've learned most from other people's video clips. FL Studio is a complex beast and I've really missed one essential video from Image Line showing us how to make a song in one take. From making a pattern, adding a loop, exporting everything to the Play list, adding some variations (intro, chorus etc.) along with some automation lanes and a touch of live recordings, mixing all that and adding some send and insert effects. I've spent a hell of a lot of time to figure out all that from various video clips. It would make my life much easier to find all that in one fifteen minute video clip. The new version of FL Studio also comes with two pitch correction tools Newtone and Pitcher. At the moment they are in a "pay what you think they are worth" state but as most sequencers nowadays have such tools implemented in their advanced bundles I presume that those effects will become a standard part of a future signature bundle. And yes, they do their job as they should. No complaints regarding that.

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May 2011

Pro or not pro The only reason that I will still hang with my well known sequencer is that I'm so used to it and I can finish my song in just an hour or two, but no matter to that, I definitely intend to make plenty of songs also with FL Studio. Why? Simply because it offers so many things that are really unique and gives outstanding results in a minute and I would be a real fool not to use all that. The problem is that I'm not the best instrumentalist in the world and I've made mistakes here and there, the same has happened with the vocalist I've worked with, so it looks like that for more complex audio arrangements I should wait, wait until the audio comping function has been implemented. As far as I know, I'm not the only one complaining about that, so I presume and hope that this will be in a next major update. And when that day comes, I shall not turn back. FL Studio would be my sequencer of choice. It is cheaper than other sequencers, offers many more really useful effects and instruments. Everything you need is there. Of course you can use your favorite VSTs, but you can survive even without them. After all, FL Studio doesn't use dongles, so it could be used on all of your computers. I would also like to see some other improvements in future. Patterns are fantastic when you start the song making some essential riffs and rhythms, but further in the creative process they became an obstacle, adding a new looped variation adds another pattern which makes it all a bit crowded in the pattern window. Maybe some sub grouping will do the business. I also would like to have a bit more independent Play list, with the ability to add empty bars for recording some fresh variations on the fly (Yes, I've heard about the Make unique function). I also miss the ability to edit midi notes directly in the arrangement window and not only inside

the piano roll. I also don't like the way Patterns are connected with the Play A touch of circus activity for the list. Better integration or even total end independence would do a better job. Also less menu clicks for getting Seeing Vocodex I've realized: if Monty deeper into editors would also help. I Python's "Flying Circus" ever got back know there is a way to accomplish together they would definitely do a FL every task, but the main thing that Studio FL sketch. And Now for makes me a pro or, if you like, the Something Completely Different: thing that makes your songs sound pro is freedom. We've all started with Monty Python's "Flying Circus" loops and patterns but further in the presents the FL Studio sketch:. process we add more and more unique things to make our songs less A big prehistoric man standing on a loopy. cliff raising his hands in the air All those things could accelerate the yelling: "I've created the world. I've work flow and I presume that is all created the world." that the professional musician needs, A small skinny prehistoric man with fat to spend more time in creativity and eyeglasses made from an old bone less on menu-activity. comes out of the nearby cave All in all FL Studio is a damn good whispering: "Err ... sorry to interrupt sequencer, even for professional you my beloved boss but we at Image musicians. It has all you need for Line did that two years earlier." achieving top results. It is easy to use (when you finally understand it), costs The big man turns around and becomes confused: "And what about less and offers more. FL Studio offers so much that I will do more and more fire?" songs entirely in it and you will never know anything about it because, at the end of the day, it is just a tool, standing neck to neck with all the big players. According to the price and implemented tools even above the other necks, if you ask me. Maybe when you hear something that sounds really unusual or unique then you could assume that it was made with Fl Studio, professionally, with a touch of madness. Fl Studio also comes with a great number of finished tracks from various artists proving all that can be done with it.

May 2011

"I'm really, really sorry, but we did that last year," replies modestly the small man looking at the floor. Cut and we only hear the voice over: It's ... (here comes the well known music along with the speech) FL Studio from Image Line which could be yours for just 199 USD (299 USD Boxed version) or FL Studio signature bundle offering a few additional goodies (more details on the Image Line site) and could be yours for 299 USD (399 USD Boxed version) All this, and other creations are on the Image Line site.

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OP-X PRO II by Rob Mitchell

I remember the first time I heard an control. It also has two LFOs and two custom tunings, like in the older OP-X album by Rush called Moving Pictures. ADSR envelopes. A few of the Pro. It had some really fat-sounding synth features are basically the same as the sounds on many of the tracks. It just older OP-X Pro, but since there are so The effects section is brand new for sounded so incredible, and I really many enhanced functions in this new OP-X Pro II. You can manually set up loved the quality of sound coming version, it is virtually a brand-new your own combination of delay and from those synths. At that time, I synth. One big difference is that the reverb settings, or, to quickly add a didn't know what synths they used, voice structure has been re-worked. It certain overall effect, use one of the but I have since learned that one of uses the same Separate Voice Design included presets. One great feature the main ones they used back then (SVD) as OP-X and OP-X Pro, but the that has been added is parallel was the Oberheim OB-X. The OB-X new synth is enhanced with a total of processing for effects, which lets the had a very distinct sound: warm and twelve separate voices. reverb tail (and/or echoes from a fat. So, it was great for pads and nice delay) of one preset keep going, even bass sounds, but it could also create With the two older versions of OP-X, after you switch to a new preset that great leads as well. you could click on the OSC button and might have a totally different effect on it would tune the oscillators. If you it. This would be very handy for Fast forward to 2010, and the "OP-X clicked the button again (which turned playing live. Pro II" synth plug-in is released. It is the tuning off), it would then revert to the latest creation by "Sonic Projects.â&#x20AC;? each voice being just a bit detuned, The arpeggiator has been greatly Following in the footsteps of OP-X and like when the classic OB-X was just improved, and has many options OP-X Pro, this latest version takes off switched on. With OP-X Pro II, built-in: preset chords, an eight-step into new territory. however, you can drag the mouse up note recorder, chord hold, double or down to gradually change from mode, and many regular types of OP-X Pro II is a 32-bit Windows-only being tuned to a more detuned state. arpeggio features. plug-in, but there also is a special VFX This also works with many other Also included is the brand new Patch version for use on a Mac. The controls, including FILT (changes filter Browser. It has buttons to load/save installation on my PC was quick and cutoff), ENV (changes attack and banks and presets, and it allows you easy, and it includes a full manual in decay times), and Porta DET (changes to step through the presets in a bank PDF format. It also includes an amount of tuning when using one at a time. It also has easy informative and useful sound guide Portamento). renaming of patches, and when which describes the sound sets in changing patches (using the more detail, and it gives additional Another nice touch added in the new increment/decrement buttons), the instructions on using the patch version is that you can now quickly transition from one patch to another is browser. calibrate the trimpots for tuning the smooth, thanks to a special built-in individual voices all at once. Click to algorithm. With this new version, you The synth has two oscillators, with the left of the row of trimpots for the also get more room to store all of saw, sine, and triangle waveforms standard detuned sound, or click to your presets. Each bank now holds up available. It has hard sync, FM, ring the right of the pots to make them to 128 presets, as opposed to OP-X modulation, pulse wave modulation, equally tuned. Each voice trimpot can and OP-X Pro which both held 64 in and a unison mode with spread still be individually controlled for

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May 2011

each bank. It can also load all the older banks made with OP-X Pro. The multi-mode filter is a powerful dual-filter design: one is a 12/24 db low-pass filter and the other is a multi-mode filter that can go from hi-pass to bandpass to notch. The two filters can be mixed and even automated by an LFO or filter envelope. There are so many other new features...too many to list in one review, but a few nice ones are: sampled vibrato, two new switchable bright modes, LFO Delay, voice deactivation, pitch/mod lever presets with tons of different modes (including

three ultra wide modes, with a two, three, or even four octave pitch change!). Making presets with the OP-X Pro II can be pretty easy. Some of the more complicated functions might take a bit getting used to, but that's about the same as with most synth plug-ins these days. After I went over the manual a few times and was used to most of the controls, I went ahead and made some of my own presets. They turned out pretty well, especially for only having owned it for a couple months. Some people using the synth might just be into presets and might not even go about making any

May 2011

themselves. That's perfectly fine, since it ships with around 1,500 presets already. On the Sonic Projects website, there are more banks of patches made by other users of the synth. One of them is a bank of patches recreated from an actual OBXa. OP-X Pro II is an amazing sounding synth. With its large library of highquality presets, versatile controls, and awesome sound, OP-X Pro II is a nobrainer. If you're looking for a new synth plug-in for your collection that can get that classic analog sound, look no further.

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Sixtyfive reasons

The developer De la Mancha already has a number of compressors available. Currently in my possession are the GTX, GTO, and GTS compressors (a family that I use quite often on my projects). Sixtyfive is a musical compressor, which not only compresses but also provides a pleasing colouring effect on the audio material which you run through it. The modelling is said to bring 'colour and warmth'—a lofty goal. Aside from the technical aspects of a compressor (which allow the user to compress the sound by evening out the score between peaks and lows in any material), the musical aspect of Sixtyfive is one of the reasons why De la Mancha has earned a reputation as a solid independent developer. Although we are not talking about a strict emulation, Sixtyfive is inspired by hardware: namely the dbx® 165A, a classic 1970's

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May 2011

compressor. I’m not a hardware fetishist (or else I wouldn’t be writing for Wusik Sound Magazine, would I?), but there has been an interesting comparison with the hardware done by Rhythm in Mind. (Note: You can find a link to this comparison at the end of the article). Listening to RiM’s comparison files, it is clear that the attack characteristics are somewhat different between Sixtyfive and the dbx® 165A, but that doesn’t bother me as much. I would guess that this is why it is said that it is inspired by and not a direct emulation of said hardware. Using it in my mixes, while not taking it to extreme levels, it gives a very pleasant musical compression that suits some of my work much better than the GT offerings. They actually complement each other nicely.

to want a new compressor by Robert Halvarsson

Sixtyfive has the standard threshold and Overall, what I found enjoyable about compression knobs, and in combination, Sixtyfive is that it has characteristics you can set the attack and release parts, that offer more than just the technical aspects of compression. There's a which work under RMS-values. If you find it hard to find the right levels, there pleasantness I experienced with it, and it can provide the glue that ensures your is also an auto-switch to turn on, which is designed to offer a nice response. But material doesn't sound like it's made up of a bunch of separate elements. This is in all honesty, tweaking will almost especially true when it comes to always take you closer to what you are after. One thing I in particular enjoyed percussion and drums. The asking price? when working with this compressor is A measly $15. the three LED-dot meter that shows you Associated link: how the audio level is in comparison to the threshold. With this meter, you know http://www.delamancha.co.uk if the threshold is above, on target, or below the audio level. That’s an essential Hear the comparison between future that I didn’t know I needed! Sixtyfive and the dbx® 165A here: http://tinyurl.com/6923hfo

May 2011

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Mini Reviews

by Ginno Legaspi

XLN Audio Funk ADPak

Ueberschall Sounds of Berlin

From XLN Audio comes a cool expansion pack for Addictive Drums that focuses on contemporary funk beats and sounds. Whether you like your funk sizzling or your grooves smokin', the guys at XLN Audio have got something for you.

Although I've never been to Berlin, people swear by its majestic beauty and building's magnificent architectures. It is a place much talked about and one with a great history. It is a metropolis renowned for its festivals, contemporary arts, museums and nightlife. What's more, it is home to some of the best dance clubs in the world, and a thriving electronic music scene.

Like their other expansion packs, Funk ADPak was recorded in Stockholm's Studio 301 using the best drum kit available - a Pearl Reference Series Kit with Paiste and Sabian cymbals which XLN Audio claims has the richness, fullness and perfect sound necessary for funk productions. Funk ADPak was recorded using AKG, AEA, Telefunken and Neumann microphones (close mics for tight sounds and real big room ambience). They've also incorporated some of the best outboard gear such as Universal Audio pre-amps to ensure high quality recordings. The ADPak is shipped with 30+ presets made by some of the industry's best sounds designers to give you instant access to ready-forproduction kits. However, you can edit and tweak the patches as you see fit. To get your production going, you also get 400 MIDI grooves that were recorded live with a real drummer. These were performed with both straight and swing authentic funk feel and realism, different variations like 16th, 8th, 4th and ride & stick variations. Furthermore, an additional 60 funk fills in different bars and BPM.

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How does it sound? It is excellent with a consistent, tight funk sound. The patches are superb, and with the inclusion of a variety of non-funk patches Funk ADPak's usability potential is wide. Format: PC/MAC, Addictive Drums expansion packs Web: www.xlnaudio.com www.bigfishaudio.com Price: $69.95 (digital download)

May 2011

Ueberschall's Sounds of Berlin loop library tries to capture the essence of Berlin's dance scene. And to inspire countless producers with material for electro and minimal music. Sounds of Berlin is produced by top international DJs Ruede Hagelstein and Asem Shama - whose work can be heard on countless releases and compilation albums. This sample library, housed in Ueberschall's own Elastik sample player, comes with 1 GB of sample content. There are 1258 samples total that are arranged in 75 construction kits of beats, basses, synthlines, FX and percussions. The kits are divided by time increments and their tempos range from 120 to 130 BPM. The samples are undeniably 'Euro' with a hint of liberal aggressiveness that provides the audience with the high octane sounds they need on the dance floor. I especially love the pounding beats and the wild synthlines as they are punchy and clearly recorded. Overall, I think all the material here is well programmed

music producers out there. Here we have 16 construction kits providing 840 files on a 2.7 GB DVD. This is another Marc Steinmeier produced library and it offers lots of beats, guitars, Rhodes, pianos, basses, synthlines, lush pads and fx sounds. The 'one-shot' drums and percussion sounds dominate this library and can be accessed easily for making your own drum kits. Per Ueberschall's website, each kit is organised as follows:

recorded with great detail and painstakingly edited to perfection. The samples on Finest R&B are engaging, inspiring and full of useable sounds. The keyboards are particularly impressive. Format: AU, VST, RTAS and StandAlone (Mac/PC), Elastic Player Soundbank Web: www.bigfishaudio.com Price: $99.95 each (DVD)

• Main Kit - Includes the main theme, sounds and phrases

and ready to roll. If you're looking to inject some Berlin-type sounds into your club anthems, look no further than Ueberschall's Sounds of Berlin. Format: AU, VST, RTAS and StandAlone (Mac/PC), Elastik Instrument Soundbank Web: www.bigfishaudio.com

• Variation Kit A - Provides an alternative track and phrases which is used to add contrast to the main theme • Variation Kit B – Provides an additional alternative track and phrases which is used to give you more flexibility • Intro/Outro Kit - Here you can find the matching intro/outro track for the overall kit, along with its individual parts

Price: $99.95 each (DVD)

Ueberschall Finest R&B Many sample packs out there are genre specific and this release from Ueberschall is no different from the others. Finest R&B is, well, for urban

• Single Drum Sound - The single-shots are centralized in this folder, making it easy to create your own additional drum patterns. As with other Ueberschall Elastik Soundbanks, this library has good tempo and key labeling, is May 2011

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Propellerhead Software Record 1.5

an already nice piece of kit. Let's take a look.

Record has been beefed up! Here we have a free update to Propellerhead's own DAW or multitrack studio. Record came out in 2009 and has been accepted by musicians with open arms due to its simplicity, straightforward interface and no-nonsense approach to recording. Needless to say, it is a DAW geared for musicians looking for quick and immediate results. Version 1 was a good release but this 1.5 version adds new bells and whistles to

Just like Propellehead's flagship synthstudio Reason 5, Record now sports 'Blocks'. In Blocks mode, Record gives users a pattern-based approach to arranging their music just like pattern-based sequencers. Let's put it this way; musicians tend to think of music as sections (i.e. intro, verse, chorus, middle 8, outro). Blocks helps you to construct a song, on the fly, by basically stringing any segments of the song together to

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May 2011

form new arrangements. It's an intuitive and flexible way of, say, creating new variations or remixes of a song by changing its structure. In addition, included in version 1.5 is Neptune - 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.

Native Instruments Paranormal Spectrums

Many, many years ago musicians and composers of horror music faced a huge task creating the 'sinister & dark' scores required for scary films and tv shows. Most of And that's not all; other features them relied heavily on worthy of mention include the processed synthesizer capability to use multiple MIDI sounds and orchestral controllers, pads and keyboards. You SFX to obtain those can now also time stretch individual musical elements. clips/loops to match you song's tempo. Layering dense, unsettling, Normalize and reverse clips has been frightening atmospheric added as well. There is lots more but sounds that evolve can be for a further list of updates visit the a daunting task. As the Propellerhead site. demand for the genre grew, Native Instruments These extensive new features and the knew that there was a appeal of being able to combine hole to be filled. Welcome Reason 5 and Record 1.5 makes this to Paranormal Spectrums software hard to beat. The a new breed of Kore improvements are simply superb, and instrument designed if you are a Reason 5 user wanting to specifically for horror, record live instruments in conjunction terror, thriller and with Reason's generators and suspense-style music. synthesizers, I think this is a noForget about bread and brainer upgrade/crossgrade. You can butter patches...you will not find them also purchase Record on its own. All in in this SoundPack. Paranormal all, this is a musician's recording Spectrums is particularly useful for software that is accessible, a joy to game music, as well. Recently, we've use and a serious DAW capable of seen an explosion of many scary competing with other software out games (the M-rated types) and game there. music composers will find this instrument an invaluable tool in their Format: ReFill for Reason (Mac/PC) productions. Web: www.propellerhead.se PRICE: $299

This Kore SoundPack includes 100 patches with 8 morphable sound variations per patch for a total of 800. It should be plenty enough to get the ball rolling. It is compatible with Kore 2 and the free Kore 2 Player for PC May 2011

and Mac. The manual says that this instrument is powered by the Absynth, Kontakt, Guitar Rig and Massive engines alongside custom samples developed in conjunction with Cold Steel Music Audio Engineering. What's impressive about these custom samples themselves is that they are field recordings recorded at unusual places (i.e., a train station at midnight, an old creepy warehouse). They were then edited, modified and keymapped for optimal performance in the Kore software. And how do the patches sound? They are absolutely frightening, yet stunning. My favorites www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

are "The Abandoned Mansion" - a Digital Sound Factory flexibility is a major plus, and at typical horror house sound with Proteus 2000 ReFill $49.95 it doesn't hurt your wallet. strange atmospheric noises and a Bottom-line, great all-around ReFill dark underlying Absynth pad. "Boo" is Back in 1999, the Proteus 2000 sound that's going to be of service to you for a heavily distorted guitar mixed with a module was a popular choice for a long time. person screaming. "Ghost Train" is a musicians wanting an array of bread sound of a train arriving with a and butter sounds at their disposal. Format: PC/MAC, Reason 4 ReFill metallic Absynth sound. And "Rusty The Proteus is like a chocolate box (166 MB) Scythe" is a nice swooshing patch with enough sounds for everyone to coupled with some sharp Absynth enjoy, that covers virtually all musical Web: www.digitalsoundfactory.com textures. There are a lot more good genres such as Pop, R&B, Electronica, patches but these in particular caught World, Orchestral and Experimental. Price: $49.95 (digital download) my attention. From warm pads and thumping basses to real sounding instruments I have never heard a diabolic Native Instruments like orchestral or woodwind, you can instrument that would give you Abbey Road Modern Drums find all you need in one box. goosebumps like this. Paranormal This pack is the fourth installment of Spectrums reminds me of another NI Well, with the Proteus 2000 ReFill, Native Instruments' Abbey Road gem called Sonic Fiction, which is very Digital Sound Factory brings the Drums series. First, there was the original with sounds that are highly sounds from the hardware rack to retro 60's Drums. Secondly, the discoplayable. A bit of a warning though; your Reason rack. Think of it as the flavored 70's Drums was released. don't audition and listen to these reincarnation version without the Then the huge sounding 80's Drums sounds while you're alone! added weight and patching of cables. came along. And now the up-to-date This ReFill has 1024 NN-XT Format: Kore Instrument for Kore 2 sound of Modern Drums - NI's latest instruments that were designed from or Free Kore player (530MB Mac/ 480 drum pack for Kontakt 4 and Kontakt the ground up to sound like the MB PC) Player plug-ins. Modern Drums original unit. But what's cool about it features two flagship drum kits from is the staggering amount of Web: www.native-instruments.com two of the most innovative drum Combinator patches that harness the manufacturers around; a Drum power of the Combinator unit by Price: $79 (Download) Workshop 90's Collectors' Series and a allowing the user control over filter, Pearl Reference kit from 2005. Both resonance, attack, release and four were recorded with extreme detail and effect settings. To me, that added

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May 2011

accuracy to ensure the best results possible. Also, the DW was tuned slightly to give it a rockier, punchier sound that producers of modern pop and rock demand.

the snare (i.e., different hit types), with its own parameters of Attack, Hold and Decay. Modern Drums' tweakability is great if you want to customize your own drum kit.

As with the other Abbey Road Drums pack, both kits were recorded in the legendary Abbey Road Studios Two and Three using only the best The Mixer page consists equipment available. Over 40,000 of different controls samples (44.1 kHz/24-bit) and up to where you can adjust 30 velocities were recorded. A mixture the gains of of sought-after vintage mics, such as microphones, panning, Neumann U47, and modern favorites output routing and such as the Brauner VM1 were used. solo/mute buttons. These were fed through an assortment What's cool about of hardware such as the SSL 9K mic Modern Drums is that pres for that clean, punchy sound. the Percussion button Further processing includes the use of switches the regular other state-of-the-art hardware such drum sounds to as the Redd 5, EMI TG12428 and additional percussion Empirical Labs EL8 for that nice touch. instruments of Compression and analog-to-digital tambourine, spirals, converting comes courtesy of a stick hits, cowbells, Fairchild 660 (which is a beast!) and a claps and choppers. Prism ADA-8 A/D converter. Phew! Finally, the Options Talk about gear! page gives users various parameters to The Modern Drums' interface consist fine tune the overall of three sections: Drums, Mixer and sound of the kits. Options. It is likely the first two What's neat is the sections where the action mostly 'Randomize' option. It occurs for users. The Drums page will make drum provides all the parameters necessary programming fun as it gives the nice addition if you're producing the for tuning, overhead and room mic sound of the drum loops a human current sound of pop rock. mixes for each individual sound in the touch through random variations of drum kit view. The kick has an different parameters, which includes Format: Kontakt-powered library for additional control to balance between volume, velocity, time, pitch and EQ. Kontakt 4 and Kontakt Player Free microphones inside (AKG D 112) and (GB Mac/ GB PC) outside the drum (Nuemann U 47 + So how does Modern Drums sound? In Yamaha NS10). Not only that, the a word, great. The quality of this pack Web: www.native-instruments.com snare offers similar tweakabilty to exceeded my expectations. The Price: $119 (Download and DVD) balance the top and right microphones. interface is beautiful and the Additionally, you'll find a menu parameters are clearly labeled. It is showcasing different articulations for easy to work with and a joy to use. A May 2011

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Elements by Rishabh Rajan

Introduction

Sonic Content

Twisted Tools are known for their glitching, stuttering, granular destruction Reaktor instruments so it's no surprise that they collaborated with Ivo Ivanov of Glitchmachines to create this highly unique new sample library of extreme sonic mutations. If you have heard of Nine Inch Nails (Trent Reznor) or Richard Devine, you have heard of Ivo's work as he has built custom instruments for these and many other artists in similar genres.

In terms of the content, I found a lot of circuit bending and bit reduction based sonic elements. Contrary to that, the samples didn't sound like they had the typical artefacts of those sounds. Bit reduction and circuit bending has become popular among electronic musicians and even film composers these days so Elements definitely won't be the first of its kind but what makes it stand out from the crowd is the usability factor. Lot of these samples sound like they can be used "as is" and won't need further processing to get Content Format rid of extreme harshness or any other kind of corrective EQ'ing. This may be a subjective thing Elements comes as a direct download, unzipped but in my experience circuit bent samples usually to 1.12 GB of royalty free loops, one shots and sound a bit thin and lack body while bit reduced grouped kits created using analogue modular and samples sound harsh on the high end and need to digital synths. Some of the samples are actual be rolled off a bit. It is interesting to note that foley recordings but processed beyond the Neve Genesys and SSLAWS900 consoles were recognition to create that Twisted Tools sound. used in the making of this sample library. The best part about this sample pack is that it comes in almost all possible formats (Ableton, Categorization Battery, Kontakt, EXS24, Maschine, Reaktor and Reason) leaving no user behind. Rarely does a Elements' samples come divided into different sample pack come pre-formatted to support so categories like Kits, Bass, FX ashort, FX medium, many different platforms which reduces the setFX long, Loops, Percussion and Stab Hits. At first up, mapping and other initialization time, making listen it may be really hard to categorize these it easer for the user to get into using the samples samples due to the extreme processing and their straight away. The sample set does not have to unorthodox nature but the loops are a good place be duplicated if you want to use it in multiple to start from. They are really inspiring and sound platforms. I just copied the main sample set into like little compositional gems which can be used my sample collection directory and the individual as a starting point for a great glitch based instruments or meta-data files associated with electronic track. the different samplers I placed in their respective locations but all referencing the same sample library location. This way sample redundancy is reduced.

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May 2011

MP16b If you are a Reaktor 5 user you will love the MP16b which is a 16 voice pad style sampler made exclusively for the Elements sample set and included in the download for free. This sampler is another great way to try out the samples on your Native Instruments Kore, Maschine or even on the iPad using TouchOSC. Templates for all the above are included in Elements, again reducing set-up time.

Verdict This library can be a bit overwhelming but after spending some time with it, I found some really unique elements (no pun intended) of sonic monstrosity which would work great in almost any hard hitting electronic based music production track. My verdict is that at the price point of 49USD it is a must have for any electronic music producer.

www.twistedtools.com www.glitchmachines.com

May 2011

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Sonic Charge µTonic 3.0 by A. Arsov

It is a percussion and drum synthesizer, 100% pure synthetic. Not the first one or the last, but the main point where µTonic differs from similar competitors is its sound. It simply sounds unique and different in a most pleasant way. Nice punchy crisp hits which sound reminds me of the prickly feeling you have in your throat when you pour a pint of good ale on a hot summers day. Deep, almost melodious kicks with all sorts of unusual, pleasantly distorted snares,

hats and all other blips and plings. µTonic is all you need if you want to be a modern electro man of science. As it is not a sampler you should not expect real drum emulations of kicks or snares, hats and claps, but I found it is highly useful for all other non electro genres if you combine µTonic with other, real or sampled drum sources. It can work wonders on your rock track, even if you just use it as a background for the main drumming in your song.

The parts. µTonic is a simple little comprehensive thing. Basically it is an instrument with a simple straightforward interface offering everything you need at the touch of your mouse, but at the same time it is pretty comprehensive, buffed with all the things you need to make cool unique but still recognizable beats. It sounds good and it even looks good. The graphical interface is divided into three separate sections. Top At the top is a part with a few program controllers, two of them are my favorites. A knob for selecting pitched midi note mode, transposing hits all along the keyboard, so you can play melodies with selected hits. Ideal for some crazy additions like making arpeggios with your snare at the breakdown or playing melody with a kick and than going back to the main loop like nothing has happened. The next knob in line is Stop Voices with midi note off. With this one you change the length of the drum sound according to the length of a midi note.

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May 2011

A nice one for adding some speciaaaaaaaal effects. There is also a strip with channel buttons for quickly selecting or muting the separate channels, and of course a preset browser. Talking about presets. When you buy ÂľTonic you get access to additional sound banks. A comprehensive number of beats and blips, almost five hundred, and if this is not enough for you, there is also a Patternarioum on a Sonic Charge, a random pattern maker which is obviously not absolutely random as it gives more than satisfying results where kicks and snares are just there where they should be (and not all around as usually happens with those "random" modes). Middle In the middle is a drum patch section with all the controllers for programming sounds. At the top is a patch selector along with a few other buttons for browsing, saving or loading separate drum sounds. The

oscillator section is buffed with some changing, saving, copying, dragging essential things along with a few not etc. etc. patterns. At the bottom, stop so common things that will help you and play buttons along with a step make all sort of blips, pips and flips. rate slider for selecting the duration of Near the oscillator section we find my each step, a swing slider for replacing favorite part â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Noise section which the robots with hippies and fill rate for brings us some tools for adding those changing the speed and duration of crispy, gently distorted parts to the drum rolls. (Which can be added with sound. I would not call this analog a little help from a command key in a distortion, known to be too subtle and step sequencer.) too abstract to my ears, so I would rather call this sexy distortion. The That's all about everything, about the one that makes you horny. heaven and the earth. All you need to do is to visit Sonic Charge's site, listen In the right corner of this middle part to a few demo clips and ... yes, it is there are three cute knobs for up to you, but no matter how many controlling how velocity affects the beat tools you have there will be oscillator, noise or pitch modulation. always the place for such a unique That's it for the middle section. and good sounding drum synthesizer. Deep, crisp, wide and sweet. That's Bottom the ÂľTonic 3.0. Devil in a small package. Mega Tonic if you ask me. A little heaven for all pattern controllers. A small knob for a superb http://www.soniccharge.com/ new addition called the Matrix editor, It could be yours for 99 US dollars or opening the window where you can 71 euros. edit pattern steps for all eight channels at once. A set of knobs for

May 2011

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What Nightmares May Come: by Ben Paturzo

Referring to Rurik Leffanta’s intelligence and creativity as lively and playful is rather the same as calling Mount Everest a “quaint hill.” Who else can you imagine on this sweet, blue orb would even attempt to fashion a device that replicates the vocal sounds and characteristics of the Great Old Ones of the Cthulhu Mythos? Old Cthulhu himself must be smiling, if not for all the tentacles. One can well imagine Master Leffanta (xoxos) poring over his well-worn copy of the Necronomicon, distilling it’s unspeakable horror into the madness-inspiring blasphemous sounds of the Elder Thing. You have been warned.

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May 2011

The truth of the matter is xoxos used Lovecraft’s vivid description of his otherworldly creatures as a starting point for his newest VST, but going through the presets you will quickly learn that there are earthly horrors as well. For example, the preset in Figure 1, roar 3, could be a lion, a dinosaur, or perhaps the unholy offspring of Yog-Sothoth, whom we know from eldritch lore, was kind of hoarse, what with all the chanting and such. There is the great old one preset to satisfy the worshipers of Shub-Niggurath, but there is also elder Yoda which sounds as if the Jedi warrior is coughing up a hairball out of time and space. Elder Thing is truly unique as is it’s creator.

Elder Thing by Xoxos

Building on his previous VST, known as Fauna (Figure 2), which also used waveguide modeling techniques to create vocalizations, both animal as well as synthetic, xoxos created for this instrument a more complex vocal tract that includes a reflective multiport junction. From the manual: “the sum of the parts is a segmented KellyLochbaum tract model coupled with a bank of resonators capable of adding a swarm-like effect to the central voice.” Ah, yes, just what I thought! The GUI for Elder Thing contains a large number of parameters that may overwhelm at first, but with practice will become more

easily understood. Reading the manual helps greatly, reading the manual with Stephen Hawkings helps even more. As a wink to the followers of Dagon et al, “Elder Thing VST parameter scales are not indicated on the GUI, again in order to balk and confound Euclid.” If you missed that one, in the fine print: The words stygian, cyclopean and non-euclidean are not used in this document. Oh Ruric, you devil you!

May 2011

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Vocaloid Zero â&#x20AC;&#x201C; G

Prima and

Power FX

Sweet Ann by A. Arsov

What it is and what it is not. You definitely should know what you want to do with vocaloid before you buy it. It is not an all in all replacement for a live vocalist, except maybe for one who's a bit drunk, but on the other hand it is far away from

being useless and it can be really My fellow co-producer used that line handy if you want to add some for the intro to our song and it realistic backing vocals to your main happens that that song charted for vocal line or if you want to add just a two months on one of the big British few melodic words or some unusual, net radio stations. We stake our effected vocal lines to your recording. fortune on some other songs from It could also be a life saver for some that album, but it looks like vocaloid's trance, dance or ambient track where line sounded so unusual and fresh you just need a phrase or two. It can that it exceeded all our predictions. sound pretty much more realistic than (http://www.arsov.net/Mp3Neurobic/Neurobic-SeeMe.mp3 ) any sample library. If you use it wisely, without adding a bunch of complex lyrics, using just simple Prima and Sweet Ann voices, drowning it slightly in arrangement, you can get more than a satisfying result. Yes, there is a way These two ladies share the same to achieve that, by tweaking plenty of Yamaha second generation hybrid mom, but have opposite characters. controllers, but the truth is that you need a PhD to achieve something that While Prima is a fine lady, mostly sounding like an opera diva, modeled will sound close to the real thing. Real â&#x20AC;&#x201C; unreal. So, if it is not a real voice, why should you bother? To tell the truth - I don't know. A love doll is not a real person, but they have sold enormous numbers of these "ladies" in the past and they will do that also in the future. Same goes with vocaloid, the fun must go on and with a touch of imagination you can make wonders. A few years ago I tested one vocaloid and half an hour later I finished a line with lyrics to represent the line to my vocalist. I didn't use any additional controllers, just a line and the lyrics.

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May 201146

on a voice of professional soprano vocalist, Sweet Ann is a pop singer suitable for sweet pop voices, as the names suggest. Both come with a standalone editor, Double click, and we are in the middle of a big piano roll editor, the same one as you'll find in most modern sequencers. It's a place for drawing notes along with writing syllables above the notes. It's a pretty time consuming job, and this is only the beginning of the story. As we already written, if you want to achieve more realistic results, bringing life to your vocal track, aka reducing the amount of alcohol in the blood of those ladies, you need to tweak and draw plenty of details inside the controller window. Velocity levels, strength and length of vibrato, pitch, glide, resonance, harmonics and such things. Some affect the loudness and dynamics, while others change the character of the voice. There is an impressive video clip at Zero-G's site showing what can be done with Prima, but this is not just half an hour of work. I have to admit that I never came even close to those results, no matter how hard I tried, but obviously

it is possible. It looks like both ladies could be lethal weapons in the right hands. The most significant improvement (at least for me) is a new real time VST plug in addition which has been added to all Vocaloid 2 products. I'm still waiting to see the whole editing window inside the sequencer, but it looks like we can't have it all! Never mind, it used to be unusable in version 1, while now at least we have a lyric window, where we can write our smart love thoughts, and those can be triggered in real time with a midi controller or through the prerecorded midi clip. One note for one syllable. There is also an option to control most other expression controllers,though not in such an easy way as is possible in the standalone version. If you can tweak all those things in real time then you are some kind of superhero!

Sweet Ann is much cheaper than Prima and fits well for everyday pop purposes. It is up to you. No matter if you want to use or abuse them, they could be yours at Zero â&#x20AC;&#x201C; G Prima for 169 eur / 199 usd at http://www.zerog.co.uk/index.cfm?articleid=1004 and Power FX Sweet Ann for 99 eur http://www.powerfx.com/products/2

Sample me. All vocaloid products rely on integrated sample libraries with pre-recorded phonetics and transitions sung by a chosen vocalist. As the technology is still not quite there we can't say that one library gives better results than another. As we said before, the main difference is in the vocal character. If you need opera voices then Zero-G Prima is the right decision for you, but if you are looking for more gentle voices, then Power FX Sweet Ann could be your dreamy "love doll". Maybe Prima has a bit more of a defined character than Sweet Ann, after all she is an opera singer, but on the other hand May47 2011

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JP6K by Robert Halvarsson

Super-sweet detuned treat

Instrumental to the world of Trance-music is the super-saw. Originally found in the Roland JP-8000 synthesizer, the sound can be found on many euphoric trance records with its very characteristic sound. Fast forward a few years, when virtual instruments not only existed, but began to increase in quality, this sound has been emulated, with varying degrees of success. Listening to the sound demo of Adam Szabo's JP6K, it is quite obvious that we have come quite a long way.

synthesizer offerings, but it still manages to give a clear and concise presentation of what this little beast is all about. In terms of internal effects it covers the basics, besides the traditional low pass â&#x20AC;&#x201C; band pass â&#x20AC;&#x201C; high pass filters, there is just a delay, doing what a simple delay does. So unlike say Synapse Audio's Dune or Rob Papen's Blue, you will have to set up an effects chain to get the chorus and whatnots going outside of the synth itself.

Getting on to the central aspects of the synth design; it is basically While trying it out for real makes a two oscillator design. It can it infinitely clear that some of the hardly "do it all" and actually is quite limited in some respects. sounds are the stuff that Trance is made up of; we find epic pads, Some of its potential and magic blistering bass and glowing filters. however reside in its very distinct detune capabilities, which And the solid sound to cut produce the famous super-saw through the mix like a warm sound. With no reference unit to knife through butter. compare it to, I can only say that The current version doesn't have it sounds very sweet and true to that many pre-sets, but they are its sound on its own terms. enough to give a feel about what Further talking about the this synthesizer is all about. The technical aspects there are, graphics are gorgeous and interestingly enough, probably one of the prettiest one's I've had the opportunity to disagreements as to what try out, much prettier then most actually produces the super saw

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May 2011

sound. Even the infamous urban dictionary has entries about it! (On the other hand, why wouldn't it?)

the Roland JP-80x0 series of synthesizers. It is a waveform selectable on Oscillator 1 of the JP series."

With or without interest in the technical aspects people One user writes that the super-saw sound is a: "Spine who take interest in virtual instruments have every tingling oscillator generated waveform used as a cornerstone of modern uplifting trance music. Comprises reason to be exited about Adam Szabo's JP6K. If anything about Trance interests you , here you have one of two saw waves overlaid, one detuned 50 cent above of the secret keys to unlocking it's bridal chamber: and the other, and run through two ADSRs, one filter and at a reasonable price too! one envelope." And another user follows up, while disagreeing: "Contrary to what has been added prior to Related links: this entry, the Supersaw actually comprises of SEVEN http://www.adamszabo.com/ detuned sawtooth waves, not two. It first appeared on

May 2011

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Wave Arts Dialog Vocal production plug-in by Simeon Amburgey

Introduction

Many Functions...One Tool

If you have ever worked with a vocal track you know how challenging it can be sometimes to get it just right. This is especially true when dealing with the spoken word. Interviews, podcasts and similar situations can benefit from having that right amount of dynamics and sparkle to stand out. With their latest VST plug-in Dialog, Wave Arts has given us a powerful tool with a very intuitive interface. Let's get the Dialog started.

An interesting trend among plug-in designs has been to introduce products that are multi faceted in what they contain. No longer do you just have an EQ or compressor but rather several effects modules as part of one plug-in. The idea is to pack as much power in the least amount of space giving the user everything they might need to fulfill a specific task saving time and creating a more streamlined workflow in pressing situations. This is the idea behind Wave Arts latest plug-in Dialog.

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May 2011

Wave Arts has been providing high quality plug-ins for quite some time and have rolled a lot of their experience into bringing some great features to Dialog. The target audience for this product seems to be for those who are involved in doing projects featuring the spoken word. This is ideal for television or film, radio spots, podcasts, interviews, on site news stories and yes you can even use it for your latest vocal track.

of a studio where you have some control of the environment.

You may be out on a safari doing some sort of documentary or in a downtown office tower recording the latest financial management techniques or in the area doing an interview at a festival, just insert your adventure here. In most if not all of these situations you are Watch a short intro video by going dealing with noisy environments and here: http://bit.ly/mp6fXT since you are capturing events as they are The Voice happening you are subject to the The human voice is a very complex unpredictable which most of the time instrument, you have to be amazed at means noise...enter Dialog. While it's sheer beauty and complexity. It is typing this on a flight home I thought the most direct method we use in of an interesting analogy of how communicating with our fellow human Dialog approaches this as a plug-in. beings whether it be in person or If you think about it as you would through a recorded medium. To be your local drive through car wash for misunderstood or not heard at all vocal tracks then you are on your way. prevents us from making the Let's drive right in. As you can see in connection to the intended listener the signal flow diagram Dialog starts and our message then is non-existent by dealing with larger issues and for you see, our communication only works it's way through to the more becomes real when someone can hear subtle polishing as you come to the and react to it. end of the chain. They have done a great job in laying out a very logical Enter Dialog path to getting the very best out of your track. So what does all of this idealistic thinking have to do with a computer Extreme Measures program? Well in the case of Dialog, everything. What Dialog brings to the The human voice by its very nature user are all the tools needed to tame has a limited frequency range. Most even the most troubled vocal male voice's recording and produce something the speaking range listener can hear, understand and falls between 85 enjoy. Again going back to the and 180 Hz while original intention for Dialog you may female speaking be working with a vocal track that did voices can range not originate in the pristine confines from about 165 to 255 Hz. Having May 2011

the Brickwall Frequency Filters at the beginning of the processing chain can deal with the extreme low and high problem areas of the vocal track. It also is a great way to "weed" out the frequencies that are not relevant to the material you are covering as in this case the human voice.

Another application would be if there were a constant offending background sound source (air conditioning rumble or similar) that could take away from the vocal. It is like knocking off the largest rough areas first to help simplify the remaining processing. BuzzKill The next module consists of two specialized tools: De-Hum and DeBuzz. We all know the sound of the dreaded 60 cycle hum or for our friends in some other parts of the world the equally offending 50 cycle distraction. Also there might be a really annoying electrical issue with wiring (improper grounding) or similar that just puts a little electrical edge over the top. The noise generated by your Daw's CPU can sometimes get into the audio stream so you might have to deal with that but you cannot always trace the cause.

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Wave Arts Dialog

The De-Hum tool is straight forward as it specifically zeros in on the most common cause of low frequency hum. The De-Buzz tool does its task a little differently and the manual mentions only using it as a last resort as it could introduce some unwanted side effects. Wave Arts first recommends using the next module in their arsenal: De-Noise. The Art of De-Noise Next up is a tool you find in many stand alone audio repair programs but it finds a prime slot in Dialog. I am a very visual person so I love that Wave Arts gives you a beautiful spectrum display to see the noise reduction process in action.

Many studios will have some sort of physical device (screen or "pop" filter) in front of the microphone that is Since we are dealing with spoken or intended to catch those explosive even words that are sung you might plosives but even the best intentions have those times when certain can let one or two still slip through. consonants will cause some loud spikes. Put your hand in front of your The De-Plode module is very quick at sniffing out and reducing the mouth and say the word "Pop". Did offender. Again you have a lot of you feel a wave of air hit your hand? control in how to deal with this issue. That is called a "plosive". It is something that can take away from an The companion module De-Ess otherwise quality performance.

Watch your "P's" and "T's"

The De-Noise module tries to take a snapshot of the offending noise and if you have a section in your track with just a small amount of the noise you are wanting to get rid of Dialog can take a sample (as short as 50 milliseconds, though the longer the better) in order to just deal with the problem and not mess with the vocal. You also have control over how much the process will affect things and, as I mentioned before, see it in all of its spectral glory. See and Hear De-Noise in action here: http://bit.ly/iZ2hLu

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May 2011

approaches this in a similar manner only this time dealing with the other end of the spectrum where the focus is on the sizzling high frequencies of "S" sounds. Finishing Touches Next up is the Equalizer module. This is where you can go in and really fine tune and get the vocal sounding just right and get it to fit the scope of your final track.

You are provided with up to 10 bands of EQ with a choice of 11 filter shapes (Shelf, Notch, Bandpass, Low and Highpass for starters). This gives you tremendous control over the audio. Having such a choice of filter

shapes also allows you to have some surgical control over sometime problem frequencies where a precise filter type can zero right in on it and cause few side effects to the surrounding frequencies. Sometimes using some creative equalization can go a long way. One rule of thumb is to always approach EQ fairly conservatively and work in small chunks as you go along until you get just what you were after. The EQ module also gives you the ability to sweep the audio so you can call out the trouble spots or the spots in the audio you want to enhance.

to the sound. Of course your eyes are always secondary to your ears but the visuals are welcome and well executed. Levelling The Playing Field Well, as we are at the end of Dialog's processing chain we have one last set of modules that take everything we have done so far and give us one last opportunity to tweak.

Also Dialog's Equalizer is very transparent and does not add additional color to the sound per se. Its main purpose is to bring out the best of what the source material provides so the results are nice and The Compressor module gives you clean. powerful control over the dynamics of a vocal track by helping to smooth The Equalizer things out. Sometimes your speaker shares the may move in and out of the range of spectrum display with the De-Noise the microphone and cause variations in the recorded volume. You also module. You can might have times when the opposite is select the current view by selecting true when they might get a little too one of the the two tabs below the excited, causing the level to swing display. I appreciate what they have unexpectedly. The compressor's job is done with the Equalizer and Deto make sure that things do not get Noise modules visually. It helps to really get a feel for what is happening out of hand in either direction, giving

May 2011

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Wave Arts Dialog

you precise control. All the settings are presented in a nice intuitive way to see and hear the results of what you are modifying. Last Stop The Output module is the final stage your audio encounters before making its way into your final project. The module features a very nice bar graph display as well as a brickwall peak limiter. The peak limiter keeps things from going above 0.1 db. This provides a safety net as to the final output of everything you have done up to this point.

One of the nice things here is that the limiter "looks ahead" to see what is coming and is not surprised at large jumps in the audio level. Before we had this type of technology you would always try reaching for the fader when a loud passage came but it would always be too late and the damage would already be done. The look ahead feature is great as it takes some of the worry of always trying to stay on top of things. Manually Speaking Normally reading manuals is never on my high priority list but in the case of Dialog I found a great presentation of 54

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Let Your Voice Be Heard

another to give you the best end result. An interesting feature I discovered was that each module has the ability to store presets for each of its modules. That comes in handy if you have developed your favorite settings for a particular application. It also gives you the opportunity of mixing and matching presets from different modules together to come up with entirely new solutions and approaches.

I am very impressed in what Wave Arts has put together here in Dialog. The way the plug-in is laid out gives you everything you need all in one

Wave Arts has put together a very special tool in Dialog. If you work with vocals in any way, be it in a musical context or the spoken word, you owe

workspace. You are never asked to dig through hidden menus and other options that lie deep within the plugin. Seeing all the controls allows you to have a fast and efficient workflow.

it to yourself to take Dialog for a spin. Wave Arts provides a generous trial period to check out all of its powerful features. Dialog is available now for $249.00. You can learn more and download the demo from their main website www.wavearts.com.

the plug-in as well as a valuable resource for learning how to get the most out of it. The manual comes as a PDF file that you can access from the plug-in's "tools" window. Wave arts has done an excellent job in putting this together and you owe it to yourself to dive in and check it out as you might even learn something along the way as I have.

You would be hard pressed to assemble all of the individual software components and not be well over Simeon Amburgey is owner of Sound Wave Arts asking price. You may Creations, Inc.. Based in Louisville, already have the equivalent effects KY Sound Creations specializes in but the convenience in having Christian music production and everything in one working space resourcing. Helping the world hear within Dialog is such a time saver. "The Joyful Sound". You can learn Lastly you know that all the more by visiting components that make up Dialog have www.praisetracks.com been designed to work with one

May 2011

REASON for beginners

tutorial A song in a minute. As Reason has become the weapon of choice for my oldest son (12 years) I've decided to write another tutorial showing you how you can make a solid background for your song in a minute or two. I presume that all of you, being readers of this magazine, are some sort of advanced musicians, more or less, but if you are new to Reason or have an enthusiastic child like mine, then maybe this tutorial might became useful leading you through your first steps with Reason. It will be the same lesson I gave to him a few months ago and in just two hours, after he had his first lesson, he finished his first song. Yes, it is possible, because Reason is one of the most user friendly sequencers on the market, aimed at beginners as well as pro musicians. Let's go Double click on the Reason icon and we are in. If your Reason window doesn't look the same as the one you see in my picture, then you should press function key F8 on your keyboard which will open "Tool Window". You will need it. Second thing you should do is to click on "Detach Sequencer's window" which can be found under the "Window" menu in Reason's upper lane. Still not

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the same picture? O.Kk. I don't know what sort of things you have in your rack (the one on the left side). So, click on every additional instrument or the other things you have in the rack window and press the delete key on your keyboard deleting everything that is not necessary. After that go back to the "Tool window" and scroll down through the instrument part until you see the Mixer icon: (Mixer 14:2) Drag it to the top of the rack window. (picture R1 -1) Find also the "DDL 1 delay" and "RV7 reverb" and drag them under the mixer you put in a rack. So, this is our starting point. You can save this as a template should click on a few small buttons. project. First save the project under "Click", for metronome and "Pre" for some unique name (Template.ms or some such) then go to the Edit menu – selecting the pre-count. (picture R1 – 2). Than we should also select "Loop" Preferences – General and there you and "Q rec" buttons. The first one is will find, right in the middle, a for loop recording and the second one "Default song" row. Select "Custom" and find the song you have saved. for quantization during recording. (picture R1 – 3). Now you can finally press the red button for recording. Step one (Left from the Q rec button) I've started with a kick, recording it on In the "Tool Window" find the instrument called Kong. Select the kit every first beat. So, you get your first recorded lane. Double click on a you like by scrolling through the recorded event (picture R1 – 5) and presets or clicking on the middle you are in a Piano roll editor where button which is in the upper left corner of the Kong instrument (picture you can edit, draw or delete notes. Click on the arrow, which is under the R1 - 4) and fell free to scroll through piano roll editor, and you are back in the browser until you find something useful. Before we record anything we the normal view. (picture R2 )

May 2011

tutorial

May 2011

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REASON for beginners

tutorial

Step two Here comes snare time. For more comfortable arranging we will put every piece of the drum kit on a separate lane. Press the plus sign near the Lane inscription (picture R3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1) and you will get a new lane above the already recorded kick lane. Be sure that the small red indicator is selected for that new lane (picture R3 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 2 where the selected track for recording is the Organ and not the one for snare). After you've finished recording the snare (I did it on every second beat) repeat the action for hi hat and you will have an essential drum pattern arranged in three separate lanes.

Go to the Tool window and drag "Sub Tractor" or "Thor" synthesizer into the Rack window and record a simple line. I play safe, recording the most used and abused chord progression. A minor, F major, G major, E minor. I've recorded same progression for bass adding another instrument. It is a good start for building the arrangement. If you are not sure which instrument to choose, go to the "Create" menu in the main Reason upper row and chose "Create instrument" (first option in the row) Double click on a Bass and chose one preset. That's all.

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May 2011

tutorial

Step three It is time to select all the lanes you have recorded. Click on an empty space in the arrangement window and drag the mouse over all lanes. Now simply press command key and C and press command key and V (copy â&#x20AC;&#x201C; paste) As you see you get another instance of lanes. By still holding the command key press the V key a few times and you get several instances. Now you can delete the snare or hats lane for the first bar, delete bass or some other instrument on some other bar and in a minute you will have a basic arrangement. (picture R4).

That's all. This is your first song recorded with Reason. Simple as that.

By Arsov A. p.s. For all skeptics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; here is the link for one of the songs that my son made. http://www.arsov.net/julian/Mp3/Julian -Wind.mp3

May 2011

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Soundware Roundup by Ginno Legaspi

Bluezone Corporation Dark Atmospheres and SFX Vol. 1 &2 There seem to be a lot of cinematic & soundtrack sample libraries coming out, lately. Bluezone is among the developers who opened their vaults to unleash such packs. Dark Atmospheres & SFX Vol. 1 & 2 is a two volume library (sold separately) for genres such as soundtracks, film and game music as well as for use in ambient, lounge, breaks and down tempo, etc. Both collections are made up of 169 files, all in WAV format and are downloadable only. There are pads, soundscapes, noises, atmospheres, impacts, odd orchestral and FX hits to give your production a healthy boost of sinister character and wicked transitional effects. I love the 'HITS' folder because the samples are delivered with just the right amount of reverb. Also, the handful of pads under 'Phrases+Atmosphere' folder are very well programmed with just the right amount of 'width'. As an audio source for electronic and producers of cinematic and soundtrack scores, Dark Atmosphere and SFX 1 & 2 is worth considering. The price makes it even more attractive. Head over to the Bluezone site and listen to the demos.

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WEB: www.bluezone-corporation

5Pin Media Tribal Percussion

FORMAT: Vol. 1 342 MB (169 files), Vol. 2 312 MB (169 files). 44.1kHz/16-bit WAVs

5Pin Media shakes the earth with this enormous collection of percussion loops aimed for tribal house, afrobeat, cinematic and electronica. This is a digital download product and you get 1.9 GB of percussion loops, construction kit loops, midi loops, Rex files and one-shots. There are also 144 percussion shots available as a bonus. As with other 5Pin Media products it includes multi-sampled instruments for use in NN-XT, Kontakt 3, Battery 3 and Live sampler format. Included are a massive range of percussion loops - 3 sizes of Djembe with Kesseng, Cajon, Congas, Bongos, Mandal, Berimbau, Caxixi shakers, Juju shakers, Shekeres, Guiro, Claves, Triangle, Tambourine, Agogo, Rain Stick and some custom instruments thrown in for good measure. How does it sound you ask? This extensive collection boasts some really great live-sounding loops. A perfect addition to your quantized drum mixes.

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

WEB: www.loopmasters.com FORMAT: 1.9GB, 435 Percussion Loops, 176 Construction kit Loops 479 Midi Loops, 610 Rex2 files, 1050+ One shots, 144 Bonus Percussion shots, 34 Multi Sampled Instruments using velocity layering and round May 2011

robin in NNXT, Kontakt 3, Battery 3 and Live Sampler formats Also Includes Bonus TR808 Kick, Clap and Hat Loops 22 MIDI Groove Templates Ableton Live pack sold separately PRICE: ÂŁ44.95 (digital download

Big Fish Audio Metric: Odd Meter Drum loops Metric is not your typical 4/4 drum loop library. It is a collection of over 1000 acoustic drum loops and fills in

mostly jazz and fusion styles. Seventeen folders organize the loops with tempos of 120 to 220 BPM. The clearly labeled folders make it easy for you to find the drum loops in 3/4, 5/8, 6/8, 7/8 and 9/4 time signatures. Inside each folder, the loops are played at the same tempo but offer enough variation and fills that they will suit even the most demanding producer. Metric is a library produced very well by an experienced team. This is a great WEB: collection and the loops are ready to www.bigfishaudio.com slip into your latest masterpiece FORMAT: even without further processing. If ACID WAV, Apple AIFF loops, REX and you're after spicing up compositions RMX with a few time signature changes 44.1kHz/24-Bit, 3.7 GB of content then Metric is the answer to your drum needs. PRICE: $99.95

May 2011

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Soundware Roundup

Sample Magic Electro

Sounds Of Revolution Clicks and Glitches Vol. 1

It is not surprising that Sample Magic has gained popularity as one of the premier sample developers for dance music. Their releases have been top notch since day one. And this new collection, the aptlytitled Electro, is no exception.

Well, this is something different. I have never reviewed a 'micro pack' before and this is the first, though certainly not the last. This pack lives up to my expectations, with some pretty useable esoteric loops that can add a little 'extra' to your compositions. It's primarily geared for minimal techno but other electronic music producers can benefit from this as well. All loops are recorded in the standard 127 BPM and are offered in different formats such as 24-bit WAVs, REX, Apple AIFF loops, plus EXS24 and Kontakt 4 patches. Clicks and Glitches Vol.1 comprises 100 loops (107 MB) that can also serve as top loops for drum mixes lacking that certain charm. A hundred loop library and for only 10.92 Euros (plus tax/VAT).... you can't go wrong with this.

Electro is a multi-format library that supports audio formats such as WAV, REX2, Stylus RMX, Apple Loops AIFF and soft sampler patches for EXS24, Kontakt 3, HALion and NN-XT. The main WAV content includes 888 loops and one-shots (741MB) recorded at 44.1kHz/24-bit sample rate. You can either choose the limited edition release DVD pack - which includes a DVD of behind the scenes footage at Sample Magic, a bonus CD with 700+MB of exclusive sample content and a 24 page booklet with various hints, tips and the Sample Magic studio and story. Or purchase the simple download version. The samples are offered in the 'electro standard' 128 BPM range but there are some loops that were recorded in 126 and 130 BPM. This collection is great if you're going for that banging techno, Dutch, jackin' and classic French disco sound. The production is great and the person in charge of the programming did an outstanding job the loops are really smashing and 62

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punchy. I especially love the rawsounding synthesizer and bass loops they have a lot of grit and filth in them. For all you electro fans out there this is a must. WEB: www.samplemagic.com www.soundstosample.com FORMAT: DVD Multipack, 44.1kHz/24Bit WAV's (741MB, 888 files) Stylus RMX compatible REX2 files, Apple Loops, EXS24, NNXT, Kontakt and HALion patches PRICE: £54.90 DVD £49.90 (Digital)

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WEB: www.sounds-of-revolution.com FORMAT: 107 MB/100 files, 24-bit WAV's, plus REX (Stylus RMX ready) & Apple Loops, plus EXS24 & Kontakt 4 Patches. PRICE: €10.92 (digital download)

Loopmasters Minimal Underground Techno Vol. 2 When I reviewed Minimal Techno Underground a few issues back, I was wishing there was a second installment because it was a fantastic pack. Little did I know there was more and that Marc Adamo and Loopmasters were only warming up. Minimal Underground Techno Vol. 2 picks up where volume one left off and this time it's guaranteed to inspire many producers. This sample pack caters to producers who are passionate about making Techno, House or Dubstep music. All major formats are supported and with 700+ MB of 24-bit resolution it contains inspiring loops that enable you to create your own banging tunes in no time at all. There are solid drum loops, synths loops, vox cut loops, risers and falls, impacts and individual percussion loops to boot. What I really like about this pack is that it represents the genre well. The samples are very well recorded, you can expect to have some very usable content.

WEB: www.loopmasters.com FORMAT: 700+MB, 24-bit, WAV, Apple Loops, Rex2, Kontakt, HALion, EXS24, SFZ, Reason ReFill, Ableton Live

rhythms. Some sci-fi atmospherics, gorgeous pads, sweeps and SFX are also thrown in for good measure. As always, Push Button Bang pushes the envelope with their releases and this collection is exceptionally well produced and recorded. I wish there were more loops in this collection but for the price it would be silly not to get it. WEB: www.loopmasters.com FORMAT: 500 MB, WAV, REX, Apple Loops PRICE: ÂŁ19.95 (digital download)

PRICE: ÂŁ24.95

Push Button Bang Future Garage Here we have 500 MB of content providing over 200 WAV loops, 135 REX files in 44.1kHz/24-bit format. Future Garage is inspired by the sounds of producers like Burial, 2562 and Martyn with usability in a whole host of genres such as UK Garage, Dubstep, Detroit and Dub-Techno. Tempos range from 132 to 138 BPM, and you get all manner of swung beats, shuffling hats, floorsmashing 4x4 and 2-step May 2011

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Soundware Roundup

Discovery Sound India Surprise

of content. The high quality and the authenticity of the recordings also surpassed my expectations. I love the inclusion of 'Mouth Tabla' which I think is great for augmenting Hip-hop tracks. But to me, this library wins in the 'Sitar' department with some really tasty and inspiring performances. Nice packaging and cover art as well.

From the get-go you know that India Surprise has a lot to offer. First of all, this specialized Ethnic/World DVDROM is full of traditional Indian samples and rhythms ready to be explored. Secondly, it includes a whooping 1500-plus files of percussion (tabla, dholak, partha drum, etc), stringed instrument (sitar, santoor, etc), wind instruments (bamboo flutes), voices (singing, reading and mouth tabla) and a slew of sound effects. Thirdly, not only is this library presented in 44.1kHz/16bit but also in 96kHz/24-bit sample WEB: rate format - a real rarity amongst www.discoverysound.com www.loopmasters.com sample libraries. India Surprise also supports virtual instruments such as FORMAT: Native Instruments' Kontakt and Battery, with some of the instruments WAV, Acid WAV, REX2, NI Kontakt & Battery being pre-mapped. Literally, India Surprise took me by surprise in terms 44.1kHz/16-bit and 96kHz/24-bit stereo PRICE: $91

Loopmasters Alien Robot Vox

Robot Vox from Loopmasters focuses on loops that emulates the sounds and styles of Kraftwerk, Daft Punk and Air. This collection includes over 250 loops in Acidized WAV and 210 REX files that were recorded in tempos between 90 and 126 BPM. A separate Apple Loop pack is also available for purchase. The selection of vocoded voices are well presented here but this sample pack also covers some nice vocoded drums and synth lines, which to me are very useful as fills or additional parts for any section of a song. You can always make D.I.Y. vocoded loops with the right source audio and vocoder effect plug-ins but for quick and easy vocoded effects, phrases and sounds Alien Robot Vox is a good alternative.

A 354 MB collection of vocoded loops from Loopmasters, Alien Robot Vox is one fun sample pack to audition and to use in any electronic genre music. WEB: www.loopmasters.com Split into categories such as FORMAT: 354 MB 44.1kHz/16-bit Vocoded Loops, Android, Robot Talk, Cosmic Bot WAV, REX2, Apple Loops loops, One Shots, Vocoded Drum and Synths, Alien PRICE: ÂŁ19.95 download 64

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May 2011

Sony Creative Software White Rabbit Asylum

twist. Some of the best loops in this sample pack are the heavily processed beats and the atmospheric beds are tops. WRA has all the starter ingredients ready to take your compositions to the next level.

grooves, morph percussions, multidrums, musical elements, samba stomps and many more. This 800 MB collection also features one-shot hits for programming your own drum patterns. The 40 one-shot FX are great and could be combined with other natural drum sounds. Tropical Tech is a solid release and a very inspiring library of you're looking to add some nice organic touch to your compositions. The real selling point though are the 50 morphed percussions. Unique!

If you've seen movies such as The Grudge, Silent Hill, The Fog or 30 Days of Night you know that those types of spine-tingling, heart-stopping flicks demand strange and creepy soundtracks. Not to mention the work of an experienced composer in front of his orchestra or behind his mixing desk. WEB: Such soundtracks create a sense of www.sonycreativesoftware.com anticipation; give films a "tension and FORMAT: release" aura and put viewers on the WAV, 44.1kHz/24-bit stereo edge of their seats. In other words, it'll make scary films scarier. If you PRICE: are a film composer or desktop $69.95 musician desperate for the right feel, composer and sound designer Justin Lassen has cut the work out for you. Push Button Bang White Rabbit Asylum is a construction kit library that contains 470 WAV files Tropical Tech and is delivered in pristine I'm used to reviewing sample 44.1kHz/24-bit format. You'll get plenty of esoteric beats, odd FX loops, pack genres such as Minimal Tech and Tech House but haunted melodies, drone-y beds, Tropical Tech from Push Button otherworldly ambiences & Bang is a refreshing collection soundscapes to match and mix in that has an organic vibe. It's a hybrid ACID Pro sequencer or any other electronic library that is sprinkled with WEB: software that supports the WAV file Latin and Caribbean rhythms, so you www.loopmasters.com format. WRA, for short, is an get not only modern floor filler loops intriguing sample library. Many of the but also a nice mix of percussion FORMAT: 1.2 GB of samples were recorded sounds with tropical feel. With its 800 MB, WAV, REX, 24-bit/44.1 kHz between 2002-2010. The recordings friendly tempo of 128 BPM, this pack took place in some of the most will work in any EDM production as PRICE: unusual places imaginable using well as modern Latin, samba and almost-unplayable instruments. ÂŁ19.95 (download) salsa. What you get are a handful of Broken sounds? You get all kinds of carnival hand claps, clav and wood them with just the right amount of May 2011

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Soundware Roundup

Big Fish Audio Detroit Soul This is as classic as soul can get with a 'super vintage' vibe. Big Fish Audio and Funk/Soul Production team up to give you Detroit Soul; over 600 loops and samples offered in a 44.1kHz/16-bit format. This 2.8GB library is a tribute to the classic R&B and Soul sound that made Motown a household name in the 60's and 70's era, or even today. The DVD is presented in various audio formats such as Acid WAV, Apple AIFF Loops, REX, and RMX with some 28 construction kits in all. Each kit is clearly labeled by its root key and tempo (70-200 BPM). Inside the folder you get a full mix file with an assortment of instrument files for bass, percussion, organ, vibes, piano, keyboards, drums, guitars, and horns (trumpet, alto sax, tenor, sax and baritone sax). Additionally, an extra 'Drum Tracks' folder is included should you want to remix the drum parts from scratch. Although I didn't grow up in the 60's and 70's there are so many loop gems to choose from in Detroit Soul. It can be an inspiring backing track for your demos. WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com FORMAT: 2.87 GB, ACID, WAV, AIFF Apple loops, REX and RMX, 44.1kHz/24-bit PRICE: $99.95 66

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BPM - 165 BPM. Most of the samples have an edgy, crunchy and aggressive nature to them and will sit well in electro, industrial and hardcore techno arrangements. What's particularly impressive are the loops in the 'Rhythm Machine' folder. These 'esoteric' loops are what I would call 'add ons' because they can give your drum mixes some excitement and jolt. I wish there were more of them, though. If you love your electronic music gritty, glitchy and distorted then take a trip to Chaos Theory Electronica WEB: www.sonycreativesoftware.com

Sony Creative Software Chaos Theory Electronica

FORMAT: 321 WAV files, 492 MB, 44.1kHz/16-bit stereo PRICE: $39.95

Spread across 14 construction kits, this pack (download only) delivers around 490 MB of pure sound chaos. The kits comprises premixed drum file, synths, bass, guitar and beds. You'll also find drums available in stem form (kick, snare, hi-hats) and an occasional noise file for added grittiness. For beginners and producers who want instant results, the kits should enable them quick and easy track construction. Chaos Theory Electronic is delivered in 44.1kHz/16bit WAV format, with tempos ranging from 60 May 2011

of the samples. And just in case you have Rotation Hip-Hop and Platinum Essentials 3 from Big Fish Audio, GSuite would be a good compliment to those two. The three of them would work seamlessly altogether in the Acid Pro loop sequencer. WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com FORMAT: ACID WAV, Apple AIFF loops, REX and RMX 44.1kHz/24-Bit, 6 GB PRICE: $99.95 Big Fish Audio G-Suite If Detroit Soul (reviewed above) is as classic as soul can get, well, G-Suite is as modern as hip-hop and r&b can get. Produced and conceived by Terry Lindsey and Gerald Brooks, here we have a collection of the freshest, current sounds presented in construction kits providing over 2,376 loops and hits (873 original files duplicated into all formats). The whole lot is a whooping 6 GB with 2.3 GB of 24-bit WAVs alone. Like many Big Fish Audio libraries, the samples provided are arranged in folders (40 in total). Each kit is organized by key signature and tempo with main mix file and component parts such as drum loops, bass, synths, guitars, keys and strings. Given that the sounds are very up-todate, there is plenty to play around with and the samples should easily fit right into your own productions. I really like how G-Suite was recorded and processed because of the stunning cleanliness and punchiness

Loopmasters Scott Rockenfield Drums Queensryche drummer Scott Rockenfield lent his talents to Loopmasters to bring you Rock Drums, a royalty free sample collection of heavy hitting and thunderous rock loops. This original collection features a massive range of loops that range from seminal to edgy rock style. More than 650 MB of 24-bit material is included in this collection with tempos ranging from 130 to 180 BPM. The stars here are the 60 stereo loops from 5 full songs that Scott recorded. These were then split, edited and processed. They offer suitable variations of intro, verse, chorus, bridge, fills, etc, so constructing drum tracks from them will make it easy for the user. There are also 165 loops from this session called 'multi-track' loops that include loops with separate kick, snare, overhead and room mic samples - allowing

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you, the producer, to mix and match loops however you want them. In addition to the loops, there are 76 one-shot drum samples ready for making your own drum kits and programming your own beats. Rock Drums is delivered in different formats, including Apple Loops, REX2, WAV and sampler patches for Reason NNXT, HALion, Kontakt SFZ and EXS24. Scotts drumming is great as usual. He is very technical as well as creative, and his superb skills are all over this library. I love the dry loops in this collection because they let you apply effects as you see fit. But what's really attractive are the great sounding single drum hits. WEB: www.loopmasters.com FORMAT: 650+ MB, 24-bit, WAV, Apple Loops, Kontakt, HALion, EXS24, SFZ and NNXT PRICE: ÂŁ34.95 (digital download)

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Soundware Roundup

Bluezone Corporation Ibiza Lounge Think lazy Sunday afternoon by the beach, the beautiful golden sunset brushing your skin, a couple of lime-based drinks by your side and just think...laying back. As the name suggest, Ibiza Lounge by Bluezone features samples and loops suitable for your downtempo, lounge, chillout and ambient pleasure. All samples contained in Ibiza Lounge come in 44.1kHz/16-bit format with tempos ranging from a lazy 95 BPM to a housey 110 BPM. The samples themselves sound well recorded and very polished - thanks to the use of the finest professional gear and processors such as high-end delays and reverbs. There are a wide variety of samples to choose from; percussions, drum loops, one-shots, special effects, etc. will give you the needed resources to inject some 'smooth and laid-back vibe' into any production. And no matter what electronic sub-genre you're creating, this pack will give you a ton of inspiration. Suave and stylish! WEB: www.bluezone-corporation FORMAT: 616 MB sample pack, 708 files of 44.1kHz/16-bit WAV's and AIFF PRICE: â&#x201A;Ź21.95 (digital download) 68

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(Shishimai) are also included such as Suzu, Kane, Naruko, Shimedailo and Hiradaiko. Quality-wise, this library exceeded my expectations, the performance and style of the musicians are really inspiring. If you need a collection of samples that capture the essence of Japan (without leaving your studio and recording it yourself) then this is recommended. I can't wait for Discovery Sounds to release a follow-up to this one. WEB: www.discoversound.com www.loopmasters.com Discovery Sound Discovery Japan Discovery Sound offers you the taste and flavor of traditional Japanese instruments in Discovery Japan. Featuring a collection of flutes, male and female vocal phrases, percussion and strings samples (in Audio format) Discovery Japan delivers authentic sounds recorded in great detail for maximum usability. This 90-track collection has all the ingredients you need to add ethnic spice to your tracks, and includes instruments such as Tsugaru-Shamisen, Shakuhachi/Bamboo flute, Shamisen and Koto. A handful of exotic percussive instruments used in traditional Japanese lion dancing May 2011

FORMAT: CD-Rom Audio PRICE: $91

Sample Magic Toolroom Records Samples 01 Toolroom Records is one of the UK's premier labels when it comes to electronic dance. They broke into the mainstream with countless club bangers. Simply called Toolroom Records Samples 01, this is Sample Magic's first labeled-theme pack and the result of collaboration with Toolroom Records. All of the included samples were sourced from Mark Knight's special sample vault. This library is a breeze to use and neatly organized. The synth loops, for example, are arranged by their key and tempo (125, 127 BPM) information. TRS 01 contains over 500 MB of drum loops with big room attributes, kick-free top loops, conemelting bass loops, inspiring music loops, synth loops with attitude, high impact FX samples and plenty of drum hits & one shots for making your own percussion kit. All major audio formats such WAV, Apple AIFF loops, REX2 and sampler patches such as EXS24, Kontakt 2, HALion and NN-XT are supported. All in all this is one inspiring library. You can use the loops "as is" or as tidbits to add into your own productions. I particularly like the drum loops - they are very clean and punchy sounding. Good stuff. WEB: www.samplemagic.com www.soundstosample.com FORMAT: Digital download includes: 656 24-bit Wav loops and one-shots (549.5MB), 445 Rex2 Loops (288.1MB), 681 x

have been carefully crafted using the best outboard gear and high-end software tools. A healthy dose of 250+ drum hits are also included should you get the itch to make your own kits. Versatility aside, this library is one of the best I have ever come across when it comes to the included MIDI files - in fact, there are 580 of them to get your productions going. All in all, this 953 MB library rocks and I have to give credit to 5Pin Media for producing a fine sample pack. Stylus-RMX Rex2 Loops (583.7MB), 445 Apple Loops / AIFFs (472MB) plus WEB: EXS24, Kontakt 2, HALion and NN-XT www.loopmasters.com sampler patches plus 12 page digital FORMAT: booklet (including Mark Knight 953 MB, Wav, Acid, Rex2, Ableton welcome, hints and tips, kit list, The Live Pack, Halion, Kontakt, EXS, SFZ, Toolroom Story and more). Stylus RMX, Ableton Live Presets, NNXT, GarageBand and MIDI Files LIST PRICE: ÂŁ39.90 PRICE: ÂŁ39.95 (digital download) 5Pin Media Minimal Tech Vol. 1 Inspired by the sounds of minimal artists such as Minilogue, Slam, Damian Lazarus, Marco Dassi, Radio Slave and Layo & Bushwacka, Minimal Tech Vol. 1 incorporates influences from electronic sub-genres such as techno, tech house, tribal house and deep house. Containing 182 loops in WAV and REX formats, the sounds offered here really capture the essence of minimal electronica. You get all kinds of basses, synths and grooves that May 2011

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Soundware Roundup

and all kinds of twisted sounds from the mind of programmer Oliver Schmitt. I love this library's superior quality in terms of how the loops were recorded. The spiky and glitchy drum loops are top notch and the best offering. They are specifically designed for flexibility in creating experimental electronica and other electronic sub-genres.

Big Fish Audio Elemental Studio Percussion Dubbed as the ultimate studio percussion weapon by Big Fish Audio, Elemental Studio Percussion focuses on quick and easy percussion loops that can be used to give your rhythm tracks some 'life'. This collection comes in a 2-DVD set of 44.1kHz/24-bit audio with a total of 1563 loops and samples which are spread across eight folders of tempos 80-240 BPM. Three of the BPM folders (110, 120 and 140) include odd time signatures of 3/4 and 5/4. You get a complete suite of percussion instruments such as congas, guiro, bongos, triangle, maracas, shakers, woodblock, timbales and djembe, etc. Additionally, two bonus folders come with this collection, namely; 'Non-Rhythmical' and 'One-Shot' (recorded in three velocities) for making your own percussion kits. As for the overall performance and sound, this 3.25 GB sample set sounds very lively and groovy with plenty of usable loops; enough to last you for a long time. A superb studio tool.

WEB: www.bigfishaudio.com FORMAT: ACID WAV, Apple AIFF loops, REX and RMX 44.1kHz/24-Bit, 8.31 GB of total content

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WEB: www.sounds-of-revolution.com

PRICE: $99.95

Sounds Of Revolution Abstract and Weird Vol. 1 This new sample pack by Sounds-of-Revolution aims to be a good reference library for composers of experimental, IDM and noise music. Abstract and Weird Vol. 1 gives you the necessary ingredients to cook up some "off-kilter" music. There are 200 24bit WAV files (198 MB) REX and Apple Loops AIFF supported, as well as sampler patches for EXS24 and Kontakt. So what do you get? All kinds of otherworldly, peculiar and mostly FX-ridden sounds are presented in this library. There are FX, atmospherics, uplifters

May 2011

FORMAT: 198 MB, 24-bit, WAV, REX & Apple Loops, EXS24 & Kontakt 4 PRICE: â&#x201A;Ź16.80 (digital download)

Sony Creative Software Backpacker Beats: Hip-Hop Construction Kits The creative geniuses at DNA Music Labs did not sit on their laurels following the success of their release of What It Is: 70's Analog Funk Collection. Instead, they have worked on another loop library bearing the hip-hop flag that is designed as an essential tool for any cutting edge, urban producers. Backpacker Beats: Hip-Hop Construction Kit is just that construction kit-based material made to fuel inspiration for your next mega-hit. With tempos ranging from 75 to 125 BPM, this 640 MB library has that undeniable DNA sound, with lots of twists thrown in. For starters, the Beats and Basses folder (acoustic, electric and synthetic) offer tremendous usability for a quick track foundation. Other instrument loops you can incorporate in your own productions include Synth hooks, Bells, Guitars, Horns, Keys, Percussion, Strings and Synth arps.

There are even a few Vocal and FX loops thrown in for good measure. I have to say that this library reminds me of Sony's other good release called Mac Money. Overall, this is a nice collection for making royalty-free hip-hop tracks with great editing and ACIDization of loops.

May 2011

WEB: www.sonycreativesoftware.com FORMAT: 578 WAV files, 640 MB, 44.1kHz/16-bit stereo PRICE: $39.95

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FXpansion

Geist by A. Arsov

The first minute As soon as I installed it, Geist felt comfortable and familiar. It is in many ways the successor of Guru. Geist is far superior to Guru, but it still shares the same roots. I presume that one of the reasons for changing the name and rewriting the whole thing from scratch is also a question of a legality issue. FXpansion ended their cooperation with Devine Machine, their ex Guru partner, and if you ever have ended a relationship with your partner then you should know how things are go. "Honey, we could keep our house, just by renaming it to House 2 and everything will be as it was. I will pay the penalty for every new lady I bring home and you will report to me every detail of everything you do with some other fellow." Sounds reasonable? Innit? O.k. You get the point. It is not Guru, it is Geist. FXpansion Geist.. Another four minutes I opened Geist, browsed through the included content, and found an excellent TR 606 kit. Programmed a simple four on the floor pattern. You are then one click away from a second

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A drum solution.

engine, Geist has got eight independent engines where you can add additional loops, patterns or kits manipulating them all in the same manner as you do with the primary engine. Something like having eight Geists in one! So in a second engine I've added an additional loop. Guru used to have some problems with some loops, sounded too chopped and therefore they were unusable for further manipulation while Geist can recognize every loop I throw into its throat. In another second I erased kicks from that additional loop,

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browsed through my loop library finding another one, then adding it to another free engine and for that loop I have used Geist's internal effects section for some filtering, then adding some other effects. Less than five minutes for all that and that was it, because at this point I had to finish my Geist test because for the first time in my career I suddenly have all my family in my studio yelling: "Wow, that's good! What's that?" Funny, because my wife usually only makes comments about my songs when they are finished and the kids usually come

into my studio one by one. Not this time. Nevertheless, those five minutes were enough for me to realise that Geist could easily be every producer's wet dream. The whole universe of the time So, let's explore what we get that we haven't had or haven't seen before. Biggest news is a new stretching algorithm which allows you to choose the way the loop will be recognized, one slice per one note or slices arranged by frequency range. This way or another, now it really works. Changing, adding or moving the slice points is as easy as can be, same for rearranging your loops. I used to spend too much time extracting things out of loops or extracting just a hi-hat pattern, but now all I need to

do is to copy a loop into another pattern and than just to erase kicks in a piano roll like window substituting it with included hats. Before you could say: "Kick, snare and hat" I've got three versions of the chosen loop. One with kick pattern, second with snare and third with hats. Second big news is the Sampler. Now you can record external audio sounds on the fly, arranging it to the various pads. A nice playground for doing loops from all of your misbehaving moments in a Bart Simpson style. Also you can rerecord internal sounds, a cool solution for saving already processed or newly arranged loops or sounds. Third

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really welcome news, is a redesigned browser which is now much bigger and much more user friendly with plenty of new additions, for example, a row for saving the shortcuts for your favorite directories. There is also a new scene and song mode, the latter is some sort of internal sequencer window where you can record all combinations of the patterns, loops or midi in various engines which are triggered through the so called scene mode. That is aimed mainly for live situations, but it could be pretty handy if you want to make a complete background for a song inside Geist.

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Geist

Nice addition if you are away from Geist. The included library is highly home and have half an hour of spare usable and sounds outstanding, but it time arranging in a standalone version could be a bit bigger and the most of Geist preparing it for further use. significant problem – the huge cpu Also, all internal effects are now repeaks whenever you change a loop in written and are straight to the point. I the browser window. I really hope rarely use internal effects on vst that this will be fixed soon. instruments, but these made a difference. No, they are not the best The end of time general effects you can find in the vst world, but they are highly beat To put it simply. I could not live profiled and work wonders on all sorts without Geist. Not anymore. No of percussive sounds. Especially the matter how many black holes I've compressor. There are also zillions of described in the previous section. Of other improvements, some bigger, course it depends on your work flow, some smaller.A new improved window but if you are into programming beats for adding up to eight layers for one or if you are messing with loops then pad. An effect section in a Layer, Pad Geist is almost a must have. It or Engine mixer's window. All in all it increased my creativity and boosted is not hard to see that the whole thing my productivity. One of the rare tools is re-written from scratch. The basic that has radically influenced and structure is still here. 16 pads, 8 changed the sound of my music. separate engines for combining different audio or midi loops. 24 Is it a worthy upgrade from Guru? The patterns for saving all variations. A decision is yours. Personally I would piano roll style window for painting, go 100% on Geist because I have had adding or deleting, replacing a hard time limiting myself only to individual beats from the loop. those loops which were recognized by Guru. Geist works with all drum loops, A black hole and that fact almost doubled my "not so small" collection of loops. The Geist is a producer's wet dream, but bigger and better arranged browser of course it also has a few faults. with all those "favorite" links speeds Audio loops can't be directly exported up my work flow. And last but not into the host. Drag and drop only least – the not so big included, but works for midi loops. Geist can't read well chosen, internal library of loops, DR008 kits, also it can't open old Guru kits and hits compiled from some of kits. I've had to re-save all the kits in the finest producers around. Guru to make them compatible with

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May 2011

The Day after FXpansion rocks, and when they learn how to export audio loops directly to the host – they will rule the world. Till then ... Have a nice time and download demo version from the FXpansion site. You will not regret it... though your wallet might. http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php? page=120 It will cost you 189 eur or 249 dollars By Beat master A. Arsov

Wusikstation

Improving by the minute.

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Long-term review:

LinPlug's Part 1 - First Impressions

MorphoX is LinPlug's (www.linplug.com) latest soft synth. Visitors to LinPlug's website are, at the time of writing, greeted by a fatigued frog and the question, "Tired of boring sounds?" Underneath is a screen shot of MorphoX. LinPlug believe they have the answer, and they may well be right.

The first time you run the synth in do so would be to miss your host, you're presented with the the point. synth's set-up page. We'll take a look at the settings that are there in more The heart of MorphoX detail later on in the series. For the resides in the bottom most part, you can just "set and right hand corner of forget" them. On the set-up page, you the synth in a small can enter your serial number. If you box labelled, simply, don't yet have a serial number, you Morph. LinPlug can run the synth in demo mode. themselves say Having received a copy of MorphoX for Thankfully, LinPlug have taken the "Simplicity is the key. review, I've decided to do something route of giving their users a polite Don't get stuck in other than a standard "here it is, demo mode. There is only a low complexity, with here's what it sounds like" kind of hissing sound every minute or so to MorphoX you just thing. I'm going to go on a journey disturb your concentration and remind need the modulation with MorphoX as my companion. I'll you to buy a licence. To get into the wheel and the keys to be using it on tracks that I'm currently synth properly, you need simply click experience yet working on, and maybe some new in the lower right hand corner where it unheard expression ones, over the next few months. I'm says "click here to get back to front." and transformation in also going to try to get to know this So, now that we're on the main synth sound. Morphing made synth inside out and back to front in page, we can take a look at what is simple, in real-time, order to provide those who like to going on and have a listen to MorphoX. drastic changes in create their own presets with an idea A note in passing: LinPlug supply a sound, right at your of how this synth can fit into their well-written 48 page PDF manual that morph wheel." music and their workflow is worth flicking through. There are a few things mentioned in it that you OK, that's the blurb So, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s move on to first impressions. won't come across by just pointing from the website. What does it mean? MorphoX comes as a download from and clicking. Every preset in MorphoX can be made LinPlug's site with a licence code up, if you so desire, of two completely supplied by e-mail. The installer asks The first preset that MorphoX loads on different sub-presets. There can be a whether you want to install the 32bit start up is called "Arabian Nights." It's sub-preset A and a sub-preset B. Both VST or the 64bit VST version of the a resonant, pulsating, bubbly sound presets share the same controls on synth, and then you are asked where with an eastern flavour that hints at the synth, and you change between you want to put the plug-in on your the power of this synth. Although it's the presets using your keyboard's hard drive. After navigating these a great sound and there are hundreds mod wheel or, when you're doing your steps, everything is installed quickly of other excellent presets, people sound design, using the A and B and painlessly. LinPlug also offers AU might write this synth off as just buttons on the GUI next to the morph and RTAS (Mac only) versions of another simple two oscillator analogue wheel. The graphical morph wheel is MorphoX. type synth, even if it's a really nice handy when you've already got your two oscillator analogue type synth. To hand on the mouse for editing

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May 2011

MorphoX by Adrian Frost

controls. As you move the mod (or morph) wheel, you move between two presets. The sound of the synth will change smoothly from one to the other. When the mod wheel is at its lowest setting, you will hear subpreset A, and when it is at its highest, sub-preset B. Simple. The fun comes from designing your presets and then seeing, or hearing, what happens as you move between the two. Morphing isn't new to synths. Korg's Wavestation offered the possibility of

morphing between different oscillator voices back in the early 1990s. A number of synths afterwards have also included various morphing capabilities. What sets MorphoX apart is that it's not just the oscillators that can be morphed, but the LFOs, the filters, the envelopes and even the built in effects. The only parts of the synth that can't be morphed are the arpeggiator, which has a few secrets up its sleeve anyway, and the two so-called "Global" LFOs.

May 2011

MorphoX is a synth that invites you to dive in and start twiddling. The interface is clear and everything is laid out in a logical fashion. As I've said, it does look like a simple two oscillator synth, but a quick play shows that there is more to MorphoX than meets the eye. Next time, we'll take a look at how we can use the various options available to us and start to get a grip on MorphoX's morphing capabilities.

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BACK ONCE AGAIN FOR THE

RENEGADE MONSTER by LeVzi

Oh no, not another VA synth, I hear "The joining of two worlds - the digital you cry! Well yes, yet another VA and the analogue. The Renegade synth, but one that may have passed combines the warm and organic sound by your radar. Renegade - Analog of vintage analogue synth's with the Monster from G-Sonique is a VSTi that sharpness, toughness claims to bridge the gap between and precision of digital sound analogue and digital audio. Taken processing. Renegade's design is direct from their website, G-Sonique based on the algorithms of DSP chips state that : and the analogue circuits of real hardware synthesizers."

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The GUI is well laid out, each section is easy to understand and clearly labelled. I do like the GUIs used in all G-Sonique products; they are put together very well indeed, and Renegade is no different.

The top oscillator section is labelled "Super saw." This section is designed to create a multi-oscillator style sound. You can select from 15 different oscillator waveforms, ranging from sine to noise, with some more obscure types such as VNT Saw or Ab. Sine. To make this a more "Super saw" or detuned sound, you can select the Dual or Spread options from a drop down menu. Dual suggests that another voice of the same waveform is added, whereas the Spread option suggests more than 2 voices are used. You can adjust the detune amount between the voices with the Spread

May 2011

control, making a much thicker sound. One thing you notice quickly with Renegade is that the sound is very prominent; it has plenty of power behind it. Oscillators 2 and 3 both have the same 15 waveforms available, also an option for the octave of that oscillator. There is a fine tuning option on each oscillator, and a volume control, and a phase control for adjusting the phase of the oscillator to avoid phasing issues with the sound.

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RENEGADE

The Filter section is nicely laid out, with 2 options of filter. 1st is a standard filter, that can be set to any of these settings : G-Low pass Filter, G-Band pass Filter, G-High pass Filter, Low Pass Filter, Band Pass Filter, High Pass Filter, Notch Filter, Peaking Filter.

Below the envelope settings lies the Vintage Analogue Filter, which from my own experience, runs in series with the other filter, coming second in the chain. This Analogue filter consists of 3 controls Cutoff/Resonance and Tracking, and it has to be said, the filter does have a character different to the Each setting has the normal Cut-off, others. I do not know the technicalities of the filter, but Resonance options, also a tracking judging from what G-Sonique and velocity setting, which is very useful. Also the filter cut-off can be have said, it is modelled on filters from old hardware synthesizers. modulated using the ADSR + Amount envelope directly under the standard cut-off/resonance options.

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The LFO section is pretty easy to understand, and can be used to modulate 6 different options. Unfortunately, the LFO cannot be set in sync with the host tempo, it is free running, and cannot be re-triggered. With that aside, there are 5 different wave shapes this LFO can use, and each one can be set with a different Speed and Depth via the controls. You can then influence each individual parameter by whatever amount you wish in the LFO Modulations section, this includes Filter Cut-off (It modulates the standard filter only, and not the Analogue filter) Phase 1 & 2 of Osc. 1 & 2 and the pitch of all three oscillators.

SUMMARY: Renegade is a very usable synth with a lot of character. It is not overly complicated, which is a nice feature of the G-Sonique VST synths I have used. All controls are labelled well, and even for users who just like pre-sets to change themselves you have plenty on offer. One thing that I do like about all G-Sonique products are the price tags. Renegade comes in at 28 Euros, which is a lot of synth for the money.

The main settings and effects are on the right hand side of the plug-in, these consist of a non-linear saturation control that adds colour to the sound and isn't too harsh. The amplitude section is the standard ADSR amp set up that controls all the oscillators. The effects consist of Unison/Chorus, which can deepen the super saw effect. There is also a mix control which I think is a nice touch when trying to be subtle about how much unison/chorus is needed. And finally

I really hope that G-Sonique continue to develop this synth, as I feel Renegade has a lot of potential to be a really powerful Virtual Analogue VST; it is amazing how they produce such a big sound with such a small CPU hit. It is very impressive, and I am a big fan of its character.

the Ping Pong Delay section allows you to set how much feedback you need and the delay time, again with a Visit mix control. Unfortunately there is no http://www.g-sonique.com hard sync option here, or any way to alter L/R delay timings but again, a mix control, for subtle delays, which are very useful especially in the trance music genre. The Pre-set manager is located at the bottom of this section, where there are some 120+ pre-sets to cover most aspects of electronic music. When you move through the pre-sets, you come to realise how powerful Renegade can be, and how versatile.

May 2011

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Orion Studio 8 has landed by Robert Halvarsson

With every new installment of a digital audio workstation there is bound to be some excess in overstatements, such as:"this is the next step in digital production", and so on. Not so with Orion. It has gone two years since the last time it had a public update. It's been a long time a' coming, but now it's finally here.

quality is substantial, making the idea of using Orion as a selfcontained software studio much more appealing. There's also a step up in terms of sample quality, including a good, if not earth shattering, virtual acoustic piano courtesy of Yellow Tools.

What it may be considered to be lacking in features such as freeze, advanced audio handling,it gains in terms of sheer simplicity and streamlined work flow. This simplicity has A few effects have unfortunately led to a situation where either been removed some look down on Orion as it were, or are now imagining it to be no more then a toy. considered legacy A curious obscurity when on the other offerings, but have hand,"serious" producers use the likes been replaced with of Cubase, Logic and Pro Tools. This better ones. Additions elitism is quite silly in its own right. consist of a nice This is perhaps also based upon a vintage chorus misconception about what Orion module, a better compressor and an should be â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it wasn't designed to be a internal limiter effect, thus allowing do-it all multi-track recorder, but the user to pull off a master of their rather a virtual studio. A kind of mixes, boosting the volume levels up Rebirth Ultra on steroids, more then a to commercial standards, reducing the contender for Cubase. need further for third party plug ins What is more important to my mind, is Moving on to the features and the that the mixer section has seen an areas in which Orion Studio 8 is overhaul, now letting the user plug in different from Synapse Audio's three insert effects instead of two, previous offerings, there have been also there is now a dynamic amount some significant changes. Aside from of bus-sends (up to eight) â&#x20AC;&#x201C; instead of the new looks, which you can replace four fixed ones. This allows for more with another skin if it does not suit freedom and less restraint in terms of you, there's a quite big overhaul in mixing your tracks. terms of samples and instruments. The previous 909-clone has been A personal favorite of mine is the replaced with a much more versatile overhaul that the play list view has offering called Pro-9. The step up in seen. Now Orion features a FL Studio

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May 2011

like bar at the top, which makes it much easier to zoom in and out of tracks then before. Pattern sequencing is not the same as linear sequencing; but Orion 8 has positively removed some of the limitations of pattern based work-flow in the play list, especially removing the need for setting up the length of the patterns before you record, you can now adjust the lengths by dragging their ends. It is still not a linear sequencer, but by taking this further it could soon perhaps be considered a union and the best of two worlds. Talking about merging things leads me forward to another big thing, track templates and song merge. These templates are

basic settings in which you set up favorite mastering chains and instrument alignments, to shorten the time in which you repeat processes that you have to do anyway for every one of your songs. You can also merge selected parts of different songs with each other. Say you have a bass line from a previous project you wish to have as a basis for a new one? It's possible to take it with you now due to song merge. There are more features than these mentioned, but what isn't here then? For those hoping for track freeze or bounce to track, or time stretch and audio warp, as can be seen in Ableton, these are still nonexistent. What I personally hoped for in terms of an updated system of automating effects and generators has yet to change in any major way too. But in all fairness you can now use LFOs in automation, so even this area has been shown a bit of love. Personally I hope for more improvements to automation during this product cycle; the developer has been experimenting with some interesting changes, so it is not unlikely. Someone on the KVR forums explained that they could show Orion to their kid, and they'd understand it. I can attest that it is very easy to enter, more so then some of the bigger names. It appears that there is a bit of a renaissance going on at Synapse Audio, with Dune receiving great reviews, not only in this magazine, but in German Beat magazine as well as Computer Music. Take in addition an updated Orion with renewed support and commitment, the prospect for Synapse Audio's future looks promising. Here's to hoping for more goodies as Orion Studio 8 evolves.

Find Orion Studio 8 here: http://www.synapse-audio.com/

May 2011

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VST My first attempts at computer-based music began in 2005. I quickly discovered MIDI, DAWs (Steinberg Cubasis 5.0), VSTs, and ROMplers which led to my early music being heavy on sampled instrumentsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; mainly orchestral sounds along with pianos and drums. In 2006, after the death of a close friend, I gave up music for a few years. Last year, I reinstalled my favourite hosts and decided to take a look at the VST scene once again to see what had changed. I was immediately blown away by the number of soft-synths available. There seemed to be thousands of them of all different types, sizes, and methods of synthesis. I didn't fancy reinstalling my multigigabyte ROMplers which were, by now, showing their age, and I made up my mind that I would only use soft-synths for my music. It's a decision that I don't regret in any way.

Beginnings

thought it would be a good idea to learn about the real synths that a fair few soft-synths are based on. I learned of Moog, ARP, Sequential Circuits, Roland, Korg, E-Mu and a whole bunch more, and please excuse me if I left off your favourite synth manufacturer! A whole new world opened up before me. After spending time buried in a number of classic synth websites, I started to wonder about the history of VSTs. There is not a huge amount of information to be found online about it. Maybe this is because things have moved so fast, and there were so many players on the field that no-one kept any notes as to how the VST scene has shifted, changed, and, above all, grown over the last twelve years.

The inventor of Virtual Studio Technology (VST to you and me) is Steinberg. They are famous, or infamous, for their Cubase Digital Over the last 10 months or so, I have Audio Workstation software first downloaded and tried hundreds of released for Atari in 1989. Steinberg soft-synths including free synths and introduced version 1.0 of their new demos of commercial synths. The VST system in Cubase VST 3.0 for Mac majority have been deleted. However, in 1996 and then in Cubase VST 3.5 some of the free ones are still around, for Windows in July 1997. In those and some of the others I went on to early days, Cubase could only handle buy. After my frenzy of soft-synth VST effects. Instruments were to testing, I decided to settle down, come later in version 3.7 released in choose a couple of synths, and really 1999. When Cubase 3.7 shipped, it learn synthesis. I chose, in particular, included version 2.0 of the VST subtractive synthesis which is specification. With this release, supposedly the easiest kind to master. Steinberg offered the world's first ever Whilst learning about synthesis, I VST synth named Neon.

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May 2011

by Adrian Frost

Neon's glow Neon is a simple two oscillator softsynth with one LFO, one low pass filter, one filter envelope, and one amp envelope. For the two oscillators, you have the choice of three waveforms: saw tooth, triangle and square. Neon is still available from Steinberg for those who are interested. Head on over to their FTP site for the download: ftp://ftp.steinberg.net/Download/Lega cy_Plugins/PC/VSTi_Neon/ Considering its age, Neon is a very capable little soft-synth. It's not too hard to turn out some interesting leads, thudding basses, gentle pads, and a few odd noises. There is not much to complain about concerning Neon, so I only noticed three things worth mentioning.

The controls are a little glitchy at times, although this could be due to trying to use it in a modern host. 2. "Osc 2 Detune" won't detune by a whole octave which means that its uses are a little limited. It's also very hard to set the control accurately. 3. Turning up the resonance control makes the sound incredibly thin and practically unusable, which is a shame as the sound itself is still quite sweet. Neon set the computer music world alight back in 1999, but today it's going to have a hard time competing with the current generation of softsynths. However, who in 1999 would have guessed that Neon was the vanguard of a whole avalanche of soft-synths yet to come? A few months after the release of Cubase 3.5, Steinberg released the very first version of the VST Software Development Kit (SDK) which would

allow software developers to release alias-free BLIT oscillator, an earlier their own third party VSTs compatible generation of the code in CM-101." with Cubase. Steinberg released the Speaking of the CM-101, readers of SDK "royalty free" which meant that Wusik magazine who also read no-one had to pay Steinberg to use "Computer Music" magazine will their technology. This decision on already be familiar with Dave's work Steinberg's part led to a revolution in as he is the author of five of the home computer music. synths that CM gives away every month: the CM-101 virtual analogue A piece of history synth, the SR-202 drum machine, the CM-303 analogue bass line synth, and A little bit of searching quickly led me the DS-404 and CMplay samplers. to the first third party VST soft-synth ever released: Muon Software's Dave says that "[T]he aim of Atom "Atom", released in December 1999. was solely to improve on the sounds Atom was created by Dave Waugh of of the Neon released by Steinberg." Muon Software (www.muonHe very kindly, and generously, sent software.com) and was followed by me copies of Atom and Atom Pro that Atom Pro in early 2000. Atom was I could play with in preparing this given away for free but Atom Pro cost article, and both Atom and Atom Pro a small amount. Dave comments on certainly offer something more than the difference between the two: Neon. Let's take a look at these two "Atom uses a wave table oscillator with pieces of VST history. As an aside, no oversampling so there will be there was something a little humbling 'fading' harmonics in the top octave as knowing that I'm now in possession of you play up and down the keyboard. the soft-synth that launched a whole Atom Pro on the other hand uses an industry! The Mighty Atom In our day of lush, colourful, and, sometimes, photo realistic interfaces, the first thing you notice about Atom is that it doesn't have its own interface. It uses your host's default "look." Not to worry, however, because the labels that appear beside each of Atom's fourteen controls are fairly comprehensible. First off, you have a control that alters the balance between Atom's two oscillators. Dave writes that "the oscillators in both Atom and Atom Pro are Saw on osc 1 and Square on osc 2." Being able to May 2011

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VST Beginnings

two very usable electric piano sounds. Of them all, my favourites have got to be the pads that offer a small, but useful, variety of strings and gentle brass. The two sweep patches make excellent use of the envelope modulator and have a really big crunchy sound that wouldn't be out of place in many modern recordings.

released their own VST instruments, so it is not certain that Atom Pro is the first VST soft-synth with its own interface. This doesn't stop it from being a great little synth though.

Atom Pro offers the same number and types of controls as Atom in a nice neat, clear, shiny package. Although this might suggest that, underneath, the synths are the same, they're not. To my ear, Atom Pro sounds slightly meatier than Atom with better highend definition when dialling in similar sounds on both synths. For bass sounds, Pro is enough to make the windows rattle, with the killer being the "Fruitcake" pre-set which has a long release time and just seems to keep on going. In case anyone thinks that Pro is just a bass line synth, there are a number of "other" presets control the mix of the two oscillators Going Pro that showcase its ability to produce opens up an immediate advantage good quality pads and leads. The over Neon's more static choice of Dave released Atom Pro in 2000, and "Sinistarr" preset has to be my overall three oscillator waveforms (even with this time it had a real interface! In the favourite: a brash saw sound that its LFO). Osc 2 also offers Pulse Width time between the release of Atom and uses the envelope modulator to Modulation, with four presets (and Atom Pro, other developers, including quickly change the cut off to soften Off), for the square wave. Again, this LinPlug (see the review of MorphoX the sound. When the key is released, is an improvement over Neon. The elsewhere in the magazine), had control that most grabbed my attention was the one at the very end, EnvMod (Envelope Modulation), which controls the synth's filter. This is where the fun starts. The inclusion of this simple control is for me the thing, along with the sound, that sets Atom head and shoulders above Neon. Atom comes with sixteen presets: four basses, four pads, four riffs (lead sounds), two sweeps, and

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May 2011

the sound bounces back up to its original harshness. Beautiful. I think that the thing that is most impressive about Atom and Atom Pro is that, despite their age, they sound very modern and full. They pack a punch. The sounds that these synths produce are very usable and would fit into nearly all of the music that I produce. In comparison, Neon feels more like a product of its time; it has its own character, but for most of us, I would imagine that it is more likely to sit on a shelf where we can look at its pleasant wood-effect border than to be dragged out and used in a track that we're working on.

little (though I have no intention of making material changes to the sound)." Tau is going to be offered for free. The official announcement of the new edition will most likely come via Muon's new Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/MuonSoftware-Ltd/190033691032107 . The 10th Anniversary Edition is due out in May 2011, so keep your eyes peeled and form an orderly queue behind me!

Wrapping it up Neon and Atom are the two synths that launched an industry and showed computer musicians the possibilities yet to come. It is strange to think that the VST synth industry is only twelve years old as things have moved so quickly in such a relatively short amount of time. What will the next twelve years bring? Who knows? However, one thing is certain. Neon and Atom will still be remembered and, providing future software allows it, will continue to be used in many more pieces of electronic music.

Writer's note: Thanks to Dave Waugh for all his help! Information on dates and version numbers was scraped together from a number of different sites including KVR Audio, Wikipedia and Muon's own website.

Things to come In 2001, after Atom and Atom Pro, the Tau monophonic bass line synth was released by Muon. For Tau's 10th Anniversary, Dave has brought it up to date for a new generation of soft synth users. He says: "I've refreshed the user interface, made it compatible with modern host software (including an audio unit version), and I'm just tweaking the oscillators a

May 2011

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Invasion of the

Alien303 by LeVzi

As I sit here looking at this product, thinking what to write, I can hear in the jukebox of my mind the familiar echoes of a Roland TB-303 machine that set such a standard back in its day. The famous screams of the 303 bass line synth that graced a whole era became, affectionately, known as the "Acid" sound.

Now, three decades since its conception, the acid sound from the TB-303 is still widely used and loved by many artists. So what is on offer in the software line to emulate the great TB303 machine? Well there are many VST (Virtual Studio Technology) instruments offering 303-esque sounds, and they are all good, but how can you balance performance with price? Enter the Alien303 system from G-Sonique.

First impressions count for a lot, in my opinion, which is why Alien303 appealed to me when I first went searching for a TB-303 style generator.

The normal controls you'd expect are there, Attack, Decay, Sustain, each with their own control, and an envelope amount knob as well, which appears to be for the pitch.

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May 2011

The filter section is again very simply laid out, with cut-off and resonance each with their own controls, and a very nice saturation control to add a certain gritty element to the sound. The filter behaves very much like a low pass.

The initial patch loaded is simply called Acid â&#x20AC;&#x201C; GSonique 303, and a very good patch it is too. Very distinctive as a 303 sound and highly usable. All together there are 36 pre-sets included, ranging from Acid sounds to more standard Bass sounds. Quickly going through various patches you come to realise that this is more than just a 303 "acid" emulation, it's also a great bass line instrument. It maybe not be capable of the lush, thick bass lines used in some electronic styles, but has enough presence to add some power within a bass layer.

The Unison/Chorus controls add a nice detuned element to the sound, and the delay is very slick and again adds something extra to the sound, very useful for a virtuoso performance from Alien303. Other controls include fine tuning, octave control and portamento which is essential for some acid line emulations. There is also a control for the type of signal, for it to be mono (single voice) or poly (more than 1 voice).

There are many different types of oscillator waveform to choose from too, most will use the initial An. Saw (Analogue Saw) which gives plenty of harmonics and can create a great acid style sound. There are options for square, pulse, and other ramp/saw styles. For what seems to be a small VSTi, Alien303 packs a lot of power! If 303-esque sounds are your thing then check out Alien303 as it might be what you've been searching for all along.

In summary, Alien303 is an excellent instrument for creating the classic "acid" sound that is so popular. Is this instrument an exact emulation of the Roland TB-303? Well no, it's not laid out like a 303 nor does it have the exact same options, but it does sound like a 303, so the question is do you need all the additional functions? That is really down to you, the user, if you desire all the 303's functions then this probably isn't for you, but if you want a VSTi that can create acid style sounds, is very light on the CPU and doesn't cost the earth, then I can wholeheartedly recommend

Alien303 from G-Sonique. Priced at only 14 Euros, this value is hard to beat. How it actually compares to the Roland TB-303 I cannot say, as I do not have access to a 303 to compare the two, but when you hear Alien303 in action, only the very trained ear of a Roland 303 enthusiast would be able to tell the difference. To the rest of us, it sounds great. Visit for more information. http://www.g-sonique.com

May 2011

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iZotope Ozone 4 by Ginno Legaspi

Many years ago, I remember The Paragraphic EQ has been downloading the freebie Vinyl revamped for a better work DX plug-in by Boston-based flow. The interface is new with Izotope and was very a redesigned EQ display. As impressed by the quality of the well as being able to select and sound. It was very authentic drag multiple EQ nodes for as if your audio was played on various parameter tweaking, a record player. With that plug- they can now be numbered for in, they put their stamp on the easier automation and effects plug-in arena. Izotope adjustment. The CPU usage has has been releasing commercial been optimized significantly plug-in in making it less of a CPU hog. VST/DX/AU/MAS/RTAS and AudioSuite since then, and in I've always liked the Mastering this article I'm going to look at Reverb because it provides a Ozone 4. natural cohesiveness to the overall sound. I think it is great Ozone 4, of course, is Izotope's to know now that it has flagship software plug-in. It has improved metering and been highly regarded as a "fast Mid/Side support for both Plate and easy" software tool to and Room reverb modes. make your tracks sound better, and is widely used by many The IRC Loudness Maximizer musicians and producers to put has had new features added as finishing touches on their 2well. It now has a new track mixes as well as 'Intelligent II' mode. Izotope sweetening any audio by using boast that this new mode Ozone's 6 processing sections. provides superior processing on Ozone version 3 was a great transient material without the release a couple of years ago, additional distortion, unwanted but this fourth incarnation artifacts and pumping of audio. brings Ozone to new heights as You get loud, full mixes that well as new excitement to ensure a natural sounding mix. producers...old and new. One of the most obvious features in In the Input/Ouput and Ozone is its redesigned Metering department, the interface. Advanced Ozone complete K-System metering users will feel right at home has been supported, as with its beautiful GUI that is specified in publications by Bob easy to work with. To me, Katz. A complete overhaul of navigating Ozone with simple Input/Output meters offers mouse clicks is a breeze. But improved ballistics and joint there are other notable new RMS and Peak metering modes. additions to, and functions in, Meters can detect inter-sample version 4. 92

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May 2011

peaks for metering of true analog peak levels. The Harmonic Exciter now includes the new 'Warm' mode which produces a warmer character, adding a unique color to source materials. Mid/Side processing is also available for all algorithms and bands. Ozone is truly a magnificent plug-in that can help transform your mixes to a finished, punchy and professional sound. What's great about it is it has so many uses - it can be a plug-in inside an audio editor such as Sound Forge or Wavelab, or it can be an 'Insert', or 'Bus' processor within your DAW. Whatever you want it to be, Ozone is very flexible and up to the task. Since I have a very powerful quad corepowered DAW, I use Ozone's Paragraphic EQ as an insert on many channels - of course, I disabled the other processors to conserve CPU but nonetheless you can run many instances of Ozone with the EQ alone. The same thing can be said about the Mastering Reverb. It is also great as an 'AUX' processor for certain channels needing a bit of ambience. Overall, it is a great 'all-in-one' invaluable mastering tool with a great price. For the remaining list of new features visit iZotope's site for more information.

WEB: www.izotope.com FORMAT: PC/Mac, RTAS/AudioSuite, VST, MAS, AU and DX PRICE: $249 MSRP, $79 upgrade price for Ozone 3 customers

May 2011

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SuperWave

Ultimate by Adrian Frost

SuperWave is probably best known for the "P8" virtual analogue, Supersaw synthesizer that often turns up in "Best of ..." freeware lists. "P8" is a versatile little synth with a big sound. The P8 was followed-up by a number of commercial synths that each had the distinctive SuperWave sound. It's a sound that fits well into a mix but can easily be brought to the forefront for some searing leads and thumping basses. SuperWave's latest softsynth, "Ultimate," has only been available for a few months but is already looking like it's going to be a more than worthy addition to the SuperWave line.

developer, to see what he thought. He opinion, could use some work, and I'll subsequently offered me a license in talk about those later on. exchange for a full 128 preset bank. I confess that I wondered how I'd ever I've seen you beforeâ&#x20AC;Ś be able to come up with 128 interesting and different presets. If I As I mentioned, Ultimate was initially couldn't, it wouldn't be the synth's going to be known as the SW-9090. fault, though, just my lack of The name might not ring a bell, but imagination. The 128 presets ended with one look at the GUI, everything up taking me about a month using becomes clear. Ultimate's design is pretty much all of my free musicclearly based on Roland's venerable making time. I was quite pleased with JP-8080 Supersaw rack-mount synths. the result and learned a lot about However, Ultimate doesn't seem to be subtractive synthesis and Ultimate attempting to be an exact emulation itself in that time. So, I'm maybe a of the JP-8080; it is more of a loving little biased but not too much. There homage to a classic late 90s synth. are a couple of areas that, in my Chris has taken a great, solid idea and

Up front Before diving into my review of Ultimate, I should lay all my cards out on the table. Ultimate is my current "go to" synth. It was announced on the KVR forum in May 2010 as the SW-9090 Soft Synth (more on that later) and finally arrived, ready to go, right before Christmas 2010. I downloaded the demo immediately and started working through all the presets (a bank of 128 presets is delivered with the synth). I liked it although I wasn't, initially, convinced that it would offer much more than SuperWave's "Tarkus" and "P80" synths. Time would tell. After fiddling around with the synth for a few days, I decided that I should start saving up for it and that I would also have a go at creating some presets myself. I sent my first few creations to Chris, Ultimate's 94

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moved it in a new direction. Having said that, watching a few JP-8080 videos on YouTube shows that Ultimate is capable of producing some very Roland-type sounds. Ultimate is a two oscillator synth with two LFOs, one resonant filter, three envelopes, and a whole bunch of other features. However, the specs don't tell the whole story. Each oscillator offers a number of different waveforms including the standard square, saw, and triangle. You can also use a SoundFont file as the source for your oscillator. The first oscillator of the pair has two new and interesting possibilities: the "Ultimate Osc" and the "Morph Osc." How many oscillators? The Ultimate Osc gives the synth its name and is the heart of its power and versatility. A standard Supersaw is generally made up of 7 or so suboscillators that use a saw tooth waveform with each sub-osc being slightly detuned from its neighbour to create a thick, wide sound. The Ultimate Osc bumps the number of sub-oscillators up to sixteen, and not only that, each sub-osc can be set to one of twenty-one different waveforms. Look out, therefore, for Supersines, Supertriangles and Supersquares! The sub-oscillator's controls are accessed from their own panels - "Mixer" and "Mod".

pan position and level. It is also possible to set the sub-osc's harmonic content which can be used to further smooth out a sound. Jumping over to the Mod panel reveals even more options for each sub-osc. Each subosc has its own LFO with seven waveforms plus beat and rate options for syncing. These LFOs can be independently directed to pitch, pulse width, pan, and level depth for their respective sub-oscs.

It is fairly obvious that Ultimate, with its Ultimate Osc, offers a lot of possibilities for sound design. But From the Mixer panel, you can set each sub-osc's waveform, pitch, phase, what use are all the options if you May 2011

can't control the power? Although you can dive in and edit every single subosc yourself, you don't always want to have to do that. So, Ultimate provides a number of global tools for the Ultimate Osc. First, you have "Detune" and "Stretch." These two controls appear close to the waveform selection button for the oscillator. Detune and Stretch work together: if either is set to zero, then the other will have little or no effect on the sound. Used together, however, you can quickly move from a mild Supersaw to a total mush of competing sounds. The mush is not without its uses, though. Setting both www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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controls to full "on," along with judicious use of the pitch, filter, and amplitude envelopes, allows you to create some interesting FX presets After that, for further global options, you have to move over to the top right hand corner of the synth where you can alter the Ultimate Osc's overall level, phase, and stereo spread. A neat option is also the possibility to bring some analogue drift into your sound. This is a subtle effect (a very subtle effect indeed), but it adds to the synth's character. Mighty Morphin' Powerâ&#x20AC;Ś ah, never mind The second of the two interesting oscillators is the Morph Osc. Initially, I couldn't quite figure this one out or see its potential, but spending a bit of time trying it led to some fairly pleasant sounds. I doubt it'll ever become my favourite osc, if one is allowed such things, but it has its uses particularly for long, gentle, slow-evolving pads. The Morph Osc offers sixteen stages, and each stage has its own oscillator with a choice of eleven different waveforms. Beneath each stage is a button that sets the stage to "morph" or to "beat." With the Morph Osc set to morph, you control the movement between the selected stages using the "Morph" control situated close to the waveform selection list. This would be a great control for automation. With the Osc set to beat, the Morph Osc will move through the chosen stages morphing from one oscillator to another based upon the Beat control. Depending on how you set things up, you can generate some beautiful, smooth pad-type sounds or fast-changing, raw leads. 96

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Of course, each of these two oscillators (the Ultimate and the Morph) can be filtered, LFO'd, and mangled to your heart's content using the features from the rest of the synth. Sequencers, Effects and an Arp So, now for a word about those other features. Ultimate puts four sequencers at your disposal. Each sequencer comes with a range of parameters that it can operate on. Used all together, you can produce some very wild rhythmic sounds that would be beyond reach if you only had one sequencer. The fourth sequencer in the bottom right hand corner can also act as a gate. It's in the sequencer section of Ultimate that can be found pretty much my only complaint: the sequencers are fiddly to set up. The controls are very, very sensitive to mouse movement, and it can be quite painful trying to land on the exact note that you are looking for. The CTRL key can be used with all controls on the synth to give you fine grained control over values, but in the sequencers, I found that I was still overshooting values and having to try hard to get where I wanted to go. So with that, the complaint is over. Note that it is nonetheless still worth persevering with the sequencers. Up in the top left hand corner of the synth's main page are the effects: tone control (with treble and bass boost/cut), chorus, phaser and delay. However, if you want more control than is offered there, you can move over to the effects page and adjust parameters for all the effects in one place. The great thing here, particularly for the chorus which has May 2011

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twenty-four controls, is that the defaults are generally just right and very usable as they are. Having said that, you can do some great stuff with the Mod Depth and Feedback controls in the chorus even if you do have to be more than a little careful with the feedback control. An additional effect that you can only reach from the effects page is a sweep filter which, again, gives you a whole bunch of controls to play with. Overall, Ultimate has 344 controls that you can map to your hardware MIDI controller - more than enough! Maybe it seems as if it has been tagged onto the end, but Ultimate also offers a fairly conventional arpeggiator that can be time or beat synced.

Since Ultimate looks like a Roland JP8080, the inevitable question that everyone is going to ask is: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Does it sound like a JP-8080?â&#x20AC;? For me, I confess that it is a question I have a real difficulty in answering. I have no real experience with the JP-8080 outside of YouTube videos, and they're not renowned for their audio quality. From what I have heard, I would say that Ultimate has the JP-8080's character with the ability to produce some massive Supersaw based sounds along with gurgling, weird FX, deep basses, and some quite piercing leads. I think however that, ultimately, Ultimate has to be allowed to stand on its own. When we do that, we find a very versatile synth that has a strong sound and almost limitless possibilities for The look, the sound and the support sound design. Having said that, the JP-8080 style design does impose Whether you like Ultimate's look certain limitations even as the depends on whether or not you like developer has taken the 8080's design your software to look like hardware. and moved it along in new and Generally, I'm not bothered either way, interesting ways. There's never going to but I really like how Ultimate looks. All be a mod matrix, and the routing is of the controls are clear, labelled with a somewhat limited. Also, personally, I'd nice font, and have good contrast. like one or two more filters, including a There is no need for squinting to try and formant filter, which I believe would still work out what you're doing. The synth be "in character." A few times I felt like is also laid out in a logical manner. I'd gently bumped up against those limitations when trying to create certain For those with high resolution monitors, sounds but never reached the point there is an Extreme HD version of where I gave up. Ultimate which puts everything onto one, rather large, page. I've not tried Finally, what about the support? the HD version because I use a laptop Ultimate doesn't come with a manual with a 15" screen, and Ultimate although a quick search of the web Extreme HD simply would not fit turned up a JP-8080 manual that because the minimum resolution provided some useful pointers. If you required is 1920x1200 pixels. If I was do need proper technical support, you writing this for the web, you'd have a will find that Chris, Ultimate's developer, gasp emoticon here. is friendly and responsive to questions, even my dumb ones. 98

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Summing it up As mentioned right at the beginning of this review, I have a slight bias towards SuperWave Ultimate because of how I acquired it. Even if I hadn't been given it, though, I would have bought it without hesitation. It's a whole lot of synth for your ÂŁ99.99 (or ÂŁ119.99 for the Extreme HD edition). Ultimate, at this price point,

currently has quite a lot of competition in the soft synth world, but it is very much worth taking the time to check it out. It might just surprise you.

http://www.superwavesynths.co.uk/

May 2011

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UVI SoundSource WaveFrame Sound Collection by Jeffrey Powell

A Trip Back In Time

Back to 2011

Imagine the scene. It's October 1986 and you're at the Audio Engineering Society trade show. You're hoping to hear about the latest in sample technology. For years, you've heard all about the Fairlight CMI and the New England Digital Synclavier, but at this show, there is a company called WaveFrame that makes a remarkable claim. They claim that, unlike their competitors, their workstation doesn't need to convert the digital signal to analog before the final mixing step. Indeed, their claim is true, and you get to see the first truly all-digital audio workstation. Later on, after hearing the pristine 16-bit, 44.1kHz audio, you're convinced that you must have this WaveFrame AudioFrame system. As you get ready to write them a check, you learn a painful truth: $46,000 will get you the basic system and $250,000 will get you a fully loaded WaveFrame AudioFrame. The room goes black as you pass out from the sticker shock.

Fortunately for us, we live in a time with a couple of distinct advantages. First of all, we can purchase an alldigital workstation for a small fraction of the cost of one back in the late 1980's, and secondly, we can enjoy the sounds of the original WaveFrame AudioFrame for a reasonable price thanks to UVI SoundSource's WaveFrame Sound Collection. This collection is described on the official WaveFrame site (www.waveframe.com) as a "direct 'port' of the original samples and instruments." The WaveFrame Sound Collection is a sound bank for the free UVI Workstation. If you haven't checked out UVI Workstation, then you definitely should do so. In it, you can load your own samples and loops, use the large number of high-quality effects, work with their extremely powerful arpeggiator, and try out some of the UVI SoundSource sounds thanks to their demo pack. Head to www.uvisoundsource.com to find out more information or to download the free UVI Workstation. For more information about it, you can also check out the June 2009 edition of Wusik Sound Magazine, which contains a detailed overview of the UVI

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Workstation along with a review of some of the other sound collections. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at the WaveFrame Sound Collection. Library Overview The WaveFrame Sound Collection contains 150 instruments and comes in a 356.2 megabyte file. You read that correctly: 356.2 megabytes. It took less than a minute to download, and the installation is quite simple. The UVI Workstation uses Pace ilok copy protection so installation requires downloading the license onto your ilok key and dropping the library file (with extension .ufs) into your UVISoundBanks folder. I had no troubles getting everything up and running right away. The library itself is divided into 14 different categories: Keyboards, Guitars, Basses, Solo Strings, String Sections, Upper Brass, Lower Brass, Brass Sections, Woodwinds, Synths, Pacific Rim, Percussion, Drums, and Effects and Test Tones. Many of the presets in these categories come with some light effects already applied with the most common effects being the impulse response reverb and the equalizer.

hard drive and RAM usage is almost negligible so everything loads quickly and the patches won't bog down even the most modestly equipped systems. Even with today's giant hard drives and growing memory capacity, there's something to be said for getting the job done with minimal resources. A Deeper Look at the Library You can find a patch listing (with a brief description) for the WaveFrame Sound Collection at the UVI SoundSource web page (www.uvisoundsource.com). You'll also find there a .pdf copy of the original brochure for the WaveFrame, which is an interesting read. Be sure to check out the pictures of the WaveFrame in that brochure! Since all that information is available on the website, I thought I'd focus on the surprises, the strengths, and the limitations of the instruments in this collection. First Impressions When I loaded the library for the first time, I was honestly expecting to hear some "quaint" samples from the 80s which, while interesting in their own right, would pale in comparison to today's huge libraries. Well, I was wrong and pleasantly surprised. The first thing I noticed was the clear and crisp audio quality, which is a testament to the excellent recording by WaveFrame of the original library and to the pristine transfer by UVI SoundSource for this library. While

some of the instruments do have a dated, classic sampler feel (which is not really a bad thing), I found the library to contain a large number of highly usable and playable instruments for any context. This collection is mainly advertised as a way to own this classic library, but I think this library works as a good allpurpose library that is useful for laying down full arrangements of songs in any number of genres. The quality is high, and there is a great deal of variety in the instruments (including a few surprises). Plus, the

May 2011

There are a number of highlights for me in this collection. The Electric Piano and the Reed Piano (which was created from guitar samples!) in the Keyboards category sound amazing. They are unashamedly digital keyboard instruments, and they are a joy to play. The collection also has a great set of instruments labeled with the term Rock Horns. Under this heading, you get articulations like stabs (several varieties), sustains, long falls, short falls, and octave rips. These horns sound great and would

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indeed work well in a rock setting. The different articulations make the collection quite versatile. The Solo Strings also stand out to my ears. The samples are very dry (due to close mic'ing) and the instruments are very expressive. There's a delayed vibrato so you can play quick passages with no vibrato and then end up with a nice vibrato on the sustained notes. As the samples are so dry, you can add as much reverb as you like to get the sound just right. They're very playable and would work well right alongside your other sampled instruments. Here's the best part: the Solo Violin I (for example) has a size of 1.78 MB! It's amazing. The library contains a few other pleasant surprises as well. The Pacific Rim category contains several percussion and wind instruments from Japan, India, and other east Asian countries. The Tabla, the Dobachi, and the Ti-tzu sound particularly good to my ears. The Percussion category is another highlight as there is a nice variety of instruments and more examples of crystal clear sampling. The Antique Cymbals, Tubular Bells, Glockenspiels (two varieties), Latin Percussion, and the Cymbal Rolls all have a great sound and would be highly usable in a number of contexts. The biggest surprise is also found in the Percussion category. The

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instrument Skull Rattle gives you the sound of real bones rattling in a real skull. I think it's safe to say that I'm not aware of any samples of that sound anywhere else!

Concluding Thoughts

Overall, the WaveFrame Sound Collection is an interesting and unique collection of high quality samples and instruments. Clearly, if you're There are a few limitations to the interested in the sounds of early allWaveFrame Sound Collection library. digital audio workstations, then this The instruments in the Guitar and collection is for you. Additionally, if Drums categories, not surprisingly, you're looking for a small, light on the have the most dated sound. These resources library that provides a good are definitely the type of instruments variety of great sounding and where more samples really does make distinctive instruments, then you a big difference. The Guitar category should also take a look at the has a solid variety of muted, distorted, WaveFrame Sound Collection. The and clean instruments. As in the collection definitely surprised and other categories, the sound quality is impressed me, and there is definitely great, but the guitars wouldn't be as more to it than meets the eye. versatile in their use as, say, the Solo Strings noted above. That being said, The WaveFrame Sound Collection is there are some unique sounding currently for sale at instruments in the Guitars category www.uvisoundsource.com for $99 USD. Be sure to go to the site to such as the Tele (fifths sustained) check out the free UVI Workstation patch that sound fantastic. With the and to find out more information on easy layering and applying of effects the WaveFrame Sound Collection. in the UVI Workstation, you can put There are several demo tracks to give together some very striking patches. The Drums category contains kits that you an idea of the types of sounds in this collection. are mostly a trip back to the 80s so there are certainly limitations to their Company Website: use. However, I must mention the www.uvisoundsource.com fantastic Concert Kit, which has the bombastic giant tom sound that was a signature sound of the 80s. I liked the sound then, and I like the sound now.

May 2011

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Sonar X1 DAW 2.0 Indeed! by Trusty

Okay, okay, okay. So I all but drooled over Sonar 8.5 when I reviewed it back in October last year. I am a Cakewalk fanboy...was a Sonar Producers Edition user since version 3, and a die hard Project5 user, slowly removing myself from it (despite it being discontinued). I was well on my way to becoming an 8.5 fanatic. For me, Sonar 8.5 was the ultimate "almost" DAW I could ever hope for. Well, with Sonar X1, I bought into the hype, I bought into where it was trying to take me, and I have not bothered looking backwards with even fond memories of either Project5, or even Sonar 8.5 for that matter. I have "arrived", so to speak, with a forwardlooking mentality of where I want to go in terms of how I prefer to work. I have not eliminated all my old habits, but I have had the need to try to duplicate them best I can in other environments removed. This is the beauty of Sonar X1. With the X1b patch, it is a done deal. No more excuses for not taking the plunge if you haven't already. I admittedly sat on writing this until the update came out, the hype died down, and the chance to really put it through the ringer on a few projects, both old and new. An overhaul of my system later, cleaning out redundant and now useless plug-ins, I am happily making music in the way I always wanted to make it. MY WAY! This is what Sonar X1 offers. This is the beauty of the new Skylight User Interface. Emphasis on USER! This is not merely because the layout of the interface is customizable. It is 104

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not merely because it is far more intuitive now than ever because it makes the best use of Sonar's already existing flexibility in routing this to that and over there if needed, all to be hidden out of sight for further concentration...and so on. It even has little to do with the wonderful new browser that virtually makes access to May 2011

things, and to try new things, a snap. No, it is the fact that it is the same, familiar ground and guts of Sonar, though optimized and expanded in creative and dependable ways, wrapped in a new framework to keep clutter to a minimum, and music making at maximum. That is before all the new goodies Cakewalk has

from feeling too "bolted on", which has the tendency to make products of this sort more monstrous and bloated rather than integrated. This is the first time I can ever remember that the new came not only integrated by design, but the old became even more integrated, and in many cases streamlined, than previous versions. It is for their concentration in this area, above all else, that Cakewalk deserves all the accolades it receives, and then some. Not only had their own users been clamoring for tighter work flow, but all around the software world, people have been waiting for something that is either "less", or "more" that at the same time didn't feel cumbersome. Cakewalk delivered for the people with these desires with something even better. Sonar X1 is "more" with "more sense" (imagine that from a DAW these days!), in which the result is as less or more as one wants it to be, without the "more" ever getting in the way of itself. This is no easy feat!

added. It has improved upon what was already there while adding new stuff, and it has concentrated on making everything easier, faster, and better. It has made everything, simply, "more" without feeling like "more", along with receiving the usual Cakewalk "more", as is standard with every release.

That may not make sense to too many people, but Sonar users know what I am talking about. I will try to explain as best I can for the rest of you dear readers. Cakewalk, like other companies, tend to add the goodies with every release. Unlike other companies, Cakewalk has always at least tried to keep everything new May 2011

I must admit to being a bit worried with this one. My computer was a bit shy of the recommended specs (still running Vista 64 bit, Dual Core 2.17 Ghz, 4 gigs RAM). Sonar still ran like a champ and I experienced no problems. I had 34 tracks going with the full Pro Channel on five of them and plenty of other effects as well, with only six tracks "frozen", along with 7 buses with EQ going on each and the full Pro Channel on two of them...and I had zero problems. For my computer, that www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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is WOW!!! I also felt like no matter how familiar the pieces are, having just come to terms with being an 8.5 PE user full time, that the new is a bit too new and would take a while to "relearn" once again since I was composing in Sonar rather than Project5 now. Not so. Everything is new and improved here without having the feeling of being lost in it, and it all makes so much sense that it is like asking how one ever got by in a world without cellphones. First off is the removal of all that clutter at the top, in which times past tended to require a trade off of having accessible what tools and functions are needed, balanced with losing screen real estate. The New Control Bar, which can be docked top or bottom (beneath the Multi-Dock window) has made this all a non-issue. What a wonderful, clear, clean presentation of the necessities. From the Control Bar, one can still select those immediate things that one wants available in sight for easy access. It can be floatable, and customizable, but never bloated. On a personal note, I keep the Control Bar at the top per my habit of using Sonar for years. I like it there so there it stays. Anyway, the much improved Browser can be on the far left or right, tabbed to keep it out of view, or not present at all. From the Browser, instrument and FX plugins, midi files, audio files, etc. can be 106

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dragged and dropped anywhere needed, and the categorical organization of instruments, effects, audio and midi files, etc. is tops. Even the Plug-in Manager layouts are still in use! One of the most underrated and under-appreciated items that has crept along with Sonar over the years. On the far right, one can tab the Inspector pane, and the options to May 2011

view either Clip information, the outstanding Pro Channel, or the Track information with selector buttons. This is nice so that one can both easily access pertinent information on the one hand, but keep focus on one task at a time on the other. Finally, at the bottom, is the very useful multi-dock window, which can also be tabbed out of view. Personally, I keep the console view, the matrix view, and the step

be saved per project in slots that can also be recalled in other projects as well. They can also be set in default templates. That is the beauty of this new design.

sequencer view all in the multi-dock at all times just for my own creative work flow, but tend to keep it tabbed when none of them are in use. Also, the multi-dock can be docked at either the top below the Control Bar if it is up there, or the bottom. It is also worth noting that both the Inspector pane, as with the browser, can be docked on either the left or the right of the screen, and the Browser can be

docked in the multi-dock as well rather than on the sides. Per habit, I keep the track pane in the center where it is defaulted with the multidock beneath it rather than the other way around. Some people though, will find that the flexibility of Skylight can allow them to break free of all the old habits and move into a completely new arrangement that they may prefer. These arrangements can then May 2011

Embedded with each view are also tabs that make it quicker and easier than having to scroll through the cascades across the top of the typical "Windows" toolbar. For those of us who are slow to learn all the keyboard shortcuts, this is a nice touch. Each window keeps only the relevant information related to the view that is being used. This too, adds to the overall "decluttering" of Sonar into a more smoother operation. Those with multiple monitors will find an even greater flexibility than before because everything besides the Track Pane can be "undocked", and re-sized and placed anywhere one wants, along with the option to make them each full screen when needed. The creative process just works very, very well with this new design, because it can be designed to one's own preferences. For skeptics wondering if something like Skylight is worth the hype, it is and then some. One of the major feats accomplished with this package is that for old users, it is a lot easier to do the same things one has always done in Sonar, while at the same time, making it almost too easy for new users to jump right in as well and get going up to speed really quickly. It simply "makes sense", and www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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even beginners would hardly need to reference the 1850+ page reference manual except for highly technical or specific one-off tasks. Anyone remotely familiar with how standard studio stuff works will have no problem. The manual and the easy user guides are there for the rest of the needs that may arise (though Cakewalk could have added a better contents section in the .pdf, like those that have the contents on the right hand side of the file, but this is a minor gripe) The user base is quite happy, and many new users are joining all the time, sharing in the happiness. Of all the new features great and small (and quite a few unsung ones, that only garner the cheers of us die hards, which add to the smoothness of the program's operation, but are mostly irrelevant to marketing hype surrounding a product such as this), two new additions stand out the most. The first is the Smart Tool. If one is tired of selecting multiple buttons to switch editing tools in the clip or track pane views, or the piano roll, or doing automation, or anything else; the Smart Tool rolls with the mouse morphing into the proper task specific, task related tool one needs without much effort. While it doesn't cover everything, it does cover the basics very nicely. Depending on where you are, when you bring up the Smart Tool, its selection is geared for what your needs will be based on the view you are currently positioned at. In other words, it is "smart" enough to know that when your hover the mouse 108

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over a specific point, it "knows" what tool or tools you are wanting to use for the task you are wanting to complete. This minimizes both multiple mouse clicking, and the need to remember lots of keyboard shortcuts. Two things which I personally do not care to bother with doing (but probably should). The only thing you need to remember to make life easier in this regard is to either click your center mouse button, or press "T" to bring up the smart tool box. Even I can remember that much. The Pro Channel is obviously the big one in terms of new goodies, and this only pertains to the Producers Edition. Those who have been following Cakewalk's Sonar since about version 7 will know that, as I mentioned in a previous review, the fine folks in Boston have been getting exceedingly good at programming dynamics processors and tube emulation. All that fine work has led up to the Pro Channel. It sounds amazing. It comes stocked with some nice presets to get May 2011

going quickly, but that is besides the point. It has the familiar layout of the "big studio" consoles, and is quite easy to get around. At the bottom is the routing, which, like is found on the PX64 and VX64 plug-ins introduced in Sonar 8.5, the order of the three components signal chain can be altered to suit ones needs. The three components being the tube saturation, the 4 band equalizer, and the compressor. The Tube Saturation is very nice from warm and fuzzy to down and dirty. The EQ has four bands with lots of controls over contour, given the three models it contains. Those being Vintage, Pure, and Modern. Lots of control is packed into this. The Compressor is selectable between a bus operation and a channel operation, with different controls for each, depending on which is selected. The Bus mode must be selected for side-chaining, even when used on a channel. Of course, sidechaining in general is still available on all plug-ins that offer that functionality. In any case, the compressor delivers in robust fashion in that it can squash when needed, be gentle when needed, and can round out whatever passes through it when needed. It simply sounds great. Each of the components has an on/off switch, so one can use whichever combination one wants to use when not wanting to use the whole thing, and there is still the option of using the Pro Channel with other plug-ins in the same channel. Again, this is no addition to simply look pretty, Cakewalk has probably saved new users a ton of money on dynamics plug-ins, as it not only

delivers that "big studio" sound as the marketing suggests, but it delivers top quality sound,which is all that matters. The best thing is that it is all built right into the program the same way the per-channel EQ from Sonitus has been for years in previous Sonar Producers Edition versions. As for the Pro Channel, yes, to use the familiar phrase, "it is worth the price on its own", compared to similar channel strip plugs that cost much more that perhaps sound as good, if not less so. Cakewalk has also increased the Sonar 8.5 offerings with the Cakewalk Sound Center and their Studio Instruments package. I thought these would merely be "toss aways" after installing them to merely check them out since I haven't before. Not so! I will keep them around. Are they somewhat redundant to the rest of their offerings in the Producers Edition? Well, the answer is yes and no actually. Sometimes, they are just the thing for quick and easy access to top sounds without having to bother with tweaking for extensive sound design or heavy processor loads. Or, they are great for their limited, yet purposeful functionality to get the essential instruments going without clutter. Since "de-cluttering" is one of the themes of Sonar X1, these two plug-ins fit the overall theme nicely, and are not to be overlooked. Since I have been using Sonar X1, I have actually found myself going directly to these two (or rather five or six depending on how you count them) instruments to get the music going, only to replace them later when

needed (if needed). This works well when needing to simply jam and sketch out ideas for a song without getting bogged down with the details of intricate sound design. They may not be for everyone, but I am glad they are there if and when needed. Sonar X1 Producers Edition sells for $399. For starters, that is one incredible price for everything that comes included. These days, mid to top quality individual plug-ins go from $149-$249 (and we know of many that cost way more than that, especially in dynamics plug-ins). But typically, two or three instruments or effects will get you in the same price range, or more, than this whole package. This package is still the unbeatable bang for the buck in terms of content, to say nothing of its great work flow as a DAW in terms of functionality and environment for song creation, mixing, mastering, etc...the whole process. Anyone looking objectively at Sonar X1 Producers Edition and similar packages from competitors can see that nothing is even coming close to touching it in terms of what it offers from work flow to content. If one were to even add up the costs of just some of the offerings included, at a discounted price even; it is still up there north of a couple thousand USD. For those new to software production, it is the best package out there. Go to www.cakewalk.com and see for yourself what is included and compare it to other companies that offer similar packages. For those looking to make the jump from some other product, May 2011

you will not only be very happy you did, but you will find yourself putting whatever things you can sell from your current crop of plug-ins on the second hand market since you will find many of them unnecessary (and then you can use that money to buy some excellent expansions for Rapture, Dimension Pro, and Session Drummer 3 from Digital Sound Factory found in the Cakewalk store or on their website). Be sure and see my previous articles on Sonar 8.5 in WSM Oct. 2010 and Sonar 8 in WSM Feb. 09 for more info on the other included content, the Matrix View, Step Sequencer 2.0, Audiosnap, etc. as well as check out the great videos of the gear in action on Cakewalk's YouTube channel. It is certain though, Sonar X1 is DAW 2.0, and Cakewalk has hit the track to the future of music production at full steam. While it has definitely paid off sticking with Cakewalk through the years, it is also the case that there is no better time to jump on the Cakewalk bandwagon than right now with this new era of Sonar! Go ahead, you know you want to... P.S. I am still disappointed that there is no nPULSE 2 in the works (and there won't ever be I am sure...and from Cakewalk's business standpoint, there shouldn't ever be), but that is something I can live with and pine for anyway. For the record, SYNCRON 32, VELOCITY, and nPULSE are still alive and well on my computer. www.WusikSoundMagazine.com

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by Altitude

This project was brought to my attention a month ago and it immediately caught my eye as a perfect solution for a sequencer for my 9090 TR-909 clone.

get it. I opted for an Uno for $30 but IÂ´m upgrading to a Mega The Beat707 is an Arduino shield since the code limit for the (meaning hardware front end) and 2009/Uno has pretty much been software for an Arduino met. Anyone looking into getting (Uno/2009/Mega) hardware one, I recommend a Mega platform. (Chinese clones are ~$40). Quick Run Down:

The Beat707 hardware can be The hardware is simple to purchased via their website assemble, simply join the Arduino assembled for $100 (an Arduino and the Beat707 (pins and MIDI Groove Box Shield). Their headers) and upload the software. website has a number of video Arduino has its own IDE to upload demos that I recommend the apps to the hardware and it is everyone to check out. An arduino trivial to use (no programming will run you $15-$65 depending knowledge required - and it is a on what you get and where you free download).

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The Hardware: The controls are straight forward. Sixteen step buttons, 4 navigation buttons, Stop/play/record/shift. Ports are midi in/out, Power, USB. It can be powered via USB and it also has a midi over USB function. Here is mine. I opted for different style buttons from the kit to better suit my case. I also have two mods installed (more on that later).

The software: The sequencer consists of 18 tracks: 14 drum instrument tracks, 2 monosynth tracks, and two accent tracks. Each drum voice can be set to a different midi channel and note. The names can easily be edited in the software so you don't have to keep them named according to the GM names. Editing the drum tracks is pretty much identical to the Tr-707. There is an A/B variation for each track giving a total of 32 steps (and it even goes beyond this, however, I have not played around with that feature). The combination of the shift key gives access to editing and quick jump parameters (copy, paste, mute, solo, etc). Pattern edit mode is your classic x0x style editing and there is also

Hacks and Mods: a realtime record where each of the 16 buttons represents a single track instrument (again, like the 707). The two synth tracks work considerably differently than the drum tracks and each note is entered per step and remains on until a note off event is programmed (to hold notes) or another note begins. There is also a slide function to slide between notes. What I really dig about the synth tracks is that with a keyboard attached, you can simply play in the notes from a keyboard. A clever scheme is used where a light note press (low velocity) is recorded as a rest and a hard press records that note. Both events advance the sequence to the next step. Quite fun to use.

The designer built in quite a bit of expandability so it is very easy to add features. Like the one I show above, I added an analog pot (which can be assigned to a number of parameters) and an encoder which allows for quick editing of parameters. There are also a number of switch inputs that can be used for a variety of things (footswitch start/stop). Trigger outputs are also built in to trigger non-midi external drum voices. At this time, there is no case or faceplate for the Beat707 (coming soon afaik) so I designed my own enclosure based on an extruded Hammond box and a CNC made panel. I used lightpipes for the LEDs since they are mounted to the board as SMD parts. www.beat707.com

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