Buchla FM Drone in action
This is a drone with lots of FM. The mod osc of the 261e is modulating the frequency of the principal osc and the ZOe. The mod osc of the 259e is modulating the frequency and the morph of the principal osc. The pulse wave of the ZOe is going in to the 291e which has the frequency being modulated by one stage of the 281e.
Oscillometric – new soundset for Aalto
Voltage Disciple has introduced a new soundset for Madrona Labs Aalto called Oscillometric, info below:
The patch bank contains 100 original sounds for Aalto:
Aalto, with its unique patching and provided modules lets you produce a very original sound unavailable in any other VST instrument at present.
From eerie and awesome soundscapes, self modulating patches which continually morph and change, analogue bass,drums and percussion to contemporary Tech House and Dub sounds, this patch bank contains a versatile collection of sounds.
The soundscapes in this bank have been inspired by the likes of Throbbing Gristle, early SPK and Nurse with Wound.
You can preview Oscillometric at the Voltage Disciple site. Oscillometric is priced at $10 AUS.
An Epic synth for iPad
Developer Jean-Pierre Martineau has released EpicSynth – a new $5 software synthesizer for the iPad. EpicSynth is a polyphonic synthesizer supporting CoreMIDI and Line 6′s Midi Mobilizer MIDI interface.
EpicSynth was inspired by legendary analog synthesizers of the 1980s. It’s designed from the ground up to be EASY TO USE, POWERFUL, and FUN!
EpicSynth distills the essence of subtractive synthesis into a simple yet powerful app. Epic Synth’s sound architecture is simple enough for beginners to learn about synthesis yet powerful enough to satisfy experienced sound modelers. Its straightforward interface is never an obstacle and lets you focus on the essential: the pleasure of creating new sounds!
Details below:
FEATURE LIST:
Transposable two-octave keyboard (C to C) with pitch bend control.
Multi-mode arpeggiator
– Key hold function
– Stores 48 sound patches in 6 banks of 8 programs
Single patch sharing via email
Full memory backup via email
– Compatible with Midi Mobilizer MIDI interface by Line6
– Compatible with CoreMIDI compliant USB keyboards via Apple’s Camera Connection Kit
– Four voices of polyphony
EPIC SYNTH IS EASY TO USE
EpicSynth’s layout is very intuitive and efficient: you’ll spend your time tweaking sounds instead of searching through endless pages of complicated parameters you never use. After all, synthesizers are tools for exploring sound, not exploring user interface pages!
EPIC SYNTH IS POWERFUL
EpicSynth’s features have been hand-picked to preserve the essence of classic synthesizers. Without being overwhelming, EpicSynth’s sound architecture provides tons of room to create great sounds, from classic leads to juicy acid basses, from 8-bit-like effects to complex evolving sonic textures.
EPIC SYNTH IS FUN
EpicSynth’s straightforward layout, inspired by the classic analog synths of the 1980s, yields instant tweaking gratification, while the arpeggiator assists you in creating awesome rhythmic soundscapes. Lose yourself in a sea of virtually infinite possibilities! Be warned that fooling around with EpicSynth can make you lose track of time!
SOUND ARCHITECTURE:
– Each of the four voices has:
– A simultaneous-multi-mode oscillator comprised of a pulse wave with pulse-width-modulation, a sawtooth wave, a sub-octave square wave and white noise generator.
– A standard envelope generator with attack, decay, sustain and release
– A lowpass (ladder) filter with resonance control and modulation routings
– Dual-mode Amplifier using Envelope Generator or Key Gate
– Shared components include
– LFO with adjustable delay
– High-pass Filter
– Chorus effect
Free Ableton Rack – FirecRACKer Rack
So here is this week’s free Ableton live rack featuring the sounds of the 4th of July:
This weeks free Ableton download was made entirely with a recording of fireworks from the 4th of July on Long Island, NY. I put the sample into a granulator synth in Max for Live, and then sampled that with Sampler (and Simpler!) in Ableton. There’s a nice textured pad/keys sound, as well as a dangerously ferocious bass sound. I tried to get something fierce a few weeks ago with the Fender Feedback Rack ( http://bit.ly/freesynth15 ) but the results were unexpectedly (yet pleasingly) mellow and smooth. This time it’s different, this bass sound is ruthless if you ask me.
Download it here: http://bit.ly/freesynth17
Fireworks light up the sky with beautiful colors and patterns for the eyes. But can they do the same for the ears? We are about to find out… This weeks Free Ableton Live Rack, “The AfroDJMac FirecRACKer Synth, “ was made entirely from the sounds of the fireworks screaming through the sky over Long Island, New York on July 4, 2011.
I recorded the sound of neighborhood firecrackers and brought them into The Granulator, a free granulating synthesizer that comes with Max for Live. (I haven’t spent a lot of time with this, but it seems pretty awesome). After messing about, I was able to get some nice grainy sounds and then sampled that sound and brought it into Ableton’s samplers. The result is a nice, textural pad/keyboard sound, as well as a thunderously dirty and fat bass sound. A couple weeks ago I thought I was going to develop a rather ferocious synth using guitar feedback (Free Ableton Synth #15: Fender Feedback Rack), but the results were unexpectedly mellow and smooth. This week is much different. I put this synth together to offer the naturally rich timbre that the fireworks created, but also to give you about as ferocious a sound as I could, given the source material. It seems appropriate to me that a firework, which is essentially an explosive device, should deliver a fierce earth shaking bass. Next time you play one of your tracks for your friends you can nonchalantly brag “that bass was created with explosives.”
Salad Bar Version 5 – The refill that keeps getting bigger and bigger :-)
Reason Refill maestros Soundcells are at it again 
Salad Bar from Soundcells showcases a magnificent collection of Reason patches brought together in this ever growing ReFill since many future patches in the upcoming ReFill range from Soundcells will be added to Salad Bar…
Every time when a new Soundcells ReFill will be released, Salad Bar will get its next update. And in this way Salad Bar versions 2, 3, 4 etc, will be created. Besides this, Soundcells will also be developing lots of unique ‘Salad Bar Only’ patches. With the coming of Greenhouse (http://www.soundcells.de/Soundcells_Greenhouse.html) it was clear that it wouldn´t take very long for Soundcells´ evergrowing Salad Bar ReFill to get its latest update. So they put 20 Greenhouse patches in there and they also added 15 exclusive Salad Bar patches (75 SB-exclusives in total now). With its 260+ combinators this ReFill becomes more and more a fully-fledged workstation. Apart from that it´s a real bargain and “must-have” for the user and an excellent ambassador for Soundcells.
Soundcells’ Signature Sound:
Salad Bar’s patches will cover all kinds of music styles showing you the very best Soundcells has to offer. It’s a great ReFill to get to know Soundcells’ work, introducing you to their signature dimension in designing sound.
Salad Bar v5 Contents:
• 262 combinator patches in 8 different folders: Atmospheres & Textures, Bass, Keys, Leads, Miscellaneous, Pads, Rhythmic, SaladBar_exclusive (currently 75 ‘Salad Bar Only’ ones).
• 261 well balanced patches for Thor, Malstroem, Subtractor, NNXT and ReDrum and also 45 rex loops.
• The modules folder contains the basic synth and NNXT patches which were used for the combinator sounds.
• 8 tracks in RNS format – inspiring with highl ‘tutorialesque’ value.
Rhythm Studio – Making a Beat
This video demostrates the three ways to make a beat with Rhythm Studio.
Rhythm Studio is a workspace style app with a studio of realistic electronic music instruments. It is a universal app available on all current iOS hardware.
Rhythm Studio balances advanced features by using an easy to understand interface resembling real instruments. This means that one button does one thing just like it would with real hardware. Knobs turn, switches slide, and buttons press. You won’t get lost in abstract interfaces or design. Rhythm Studio is the next best thing to having the real hardware.
Rhythm Studio includes a full 808 drum machine, 303 synthesizer, sample based synthesizer, XY style control pad, and mixer with FX.
Rhythm Studio has three ways of creating music.
- Manually program the drum machine and synthesizers like the original hardware.
- Use the Control Pad to play the drum machine or synthesizers live.
- Create randomized patterns based on the key and scale of the song.
For more information please visit www.pulsecodeinc.com/rhythm-studio
Two new videos fresh of the synthpop/EBM shelfs – Compact Space and Neotek
Compact Space – Push Push
The full length video for Push Push, directed by Danny Drysdale
Music video for the track “Alive” by Danish synth rock band Neotek.
The video was shot with a Canon EOS 5D mkII and edited in Final Cut Pro. Produced at no budget by the band with the help from good friends.
Buffalo Drum Sample Library – Bolder Sounds
Buffalo Drum Loops and Hits sample library from Bolder Sounds for Native Instruments Kontakt 3+, Spectrasonics Stylus RMX and REX format. Part 1 features a midi file created by Bo Clausen which demonstrates the powerful Loop Engine created in for NI Kontakt.
Beat 707 with Propellerhead Reason Device Kong
Beat707 is an Arduino Shield that adds several neat features to your musical arsenal. You get a 32 step machine, (plus 32 double-steps for a total of 64 steps) with 16 step buttons and leds, LCD screen and navigation keys. It’s like the classic Roland TR707 but with some twists, as it actually has 64 x 1/32 or 32 x 1/64 steps. Plus, the 2 note-step sequence feature allows you to do bass and/or synth grooves — it’s a MIDI groove-box all in one ! The unit doesn’t produce any sound, it’s all MIDI based, so you can use any MIDI compatible device.
- 14 Drum Tracks + 2 Accent Tracks (a total of 3 MIDI-note velocities can be sent from each step)
- 2 Step-Sequence Tracks (each step has its own Note selection, Velocity is set by the accent tracks)
- Multi Pattern and Song Mode
- Number of Patterns and Songs depends on the total amount of system EEPROM — the base system provision of 32kbytes of EEPROM has enough for 90 patterns and 99 songs positions. The included Flash Nand memory can hold up to 42 songs. (see more below)
- Each pattern has 32 x 1/32 or 32 x 1/64 steps and 14 tracks + 2 accent tracks (V1.2.0 has 64 steps total per pattern)
- Each track has a note-number and MIDI-channel number, so you can also use tracks to output regular notes (one note fixed per track)
- Optional MIDI echo (set during compilation and uploading of the Sketch)
- File Mode for storing up to 20 songs into the internal Flash. With options to Load, Save, Dump to SySex MIDI and Erase
- Special Mirror Pattern Editing – allows you to edit a 64 step pattern in a much easier way
New version of Crunchessor is available – makes your tracks shine
Voxengo has released version 2.7 of Crunchessor, a general-purpose track compressor for Windows and Mac.
One of Crunchessor’s main advantages is the ease of tuning, which at the same time instantly delivers an excellent sonic performance. Another remarkable feature of Crunchessor is its valve-type processing, which is applied in parallel to compression. This makes Crunchessor an ideal choice for musicians and producers who are fond of analog compression sound and its warmness.
Changes in Crunchessor v2.7
- Additional automation parameters added for channel group 2.
- Key signal gain parameter added.
- Plug-in’s popup-windows now recover last position after reopening.
- Mouse backward and forward buttons can be used for parameter value selection.
- The “Min Infrastructure” user interface display mode added.
- The “Flat Level Meters” level meter display mode added.
- Version change history information window added.
Crunchessor is available to purchase as an effect plug-in for Windows and Mac (VST/AU), priced at $44.95 USD (10% off the regular $49.95 USD).
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