Adrian Utley (Portishead) meets the MiniBrute
Arturia had the privilege to interview Adrian Utley, guitarist and synthesist from the world renown trip-hop outfit Portishead.
In this exclusive video shot in Bristol, Adrian shares his love for the MiniBrute analog synthesizer that he just got, and takes us on a massive sonic journey by hooking it up to his trustworthy Echoplex tape delay.
Check the full version here:
Main feature: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X614aeTzq7k
Bonus Synth Tour: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT0l-OsGpgA
More synth music videos featuring Depeche Mode (Anton Corbinj), De/Vision and Schramm
Anton Corbijn Inside Out film clip Depeche Mode
Released on region 2 DVD on 17 September 2012
DE/VISION – Brotherhood Of Man – Final Version
SCHRAMM “Musclecar” (Official Video)
Album: Schramm (2012) //
Label: Future Fame (http://www.futurefame.de/) //
mixed and mastered by Vladimir Popov //
music, lyrics and video by SCHRAMM //
http://www.schramm-klang.de/ //
Vocal processing: Electric Voice
Further adventures in vocal processing using the TC Helicon Voiceworks and the iVoxel vocoder iPad app.
More on the TC Helicon VoiceWorks:
This popular harmony processor has been used by songwriters, performing musicians, and jingle and movie music creators to put their creative stamp on vocals. VoiceWorks has a full complement of vocal processing tools from microphone preamp to four voices of harmony generation, pitch correction, reverb and tap tempo delay, compression and EQ. There’s even a song mode that allows you to step through a pre-programmed series of steps with the optional Switch3 footswitch.
- A complete signal path from mic input to stereo output. All you add is a PA, (or DAW) and your voice.
- Capable of creating up to 5 part harmony or doubling with your voice
- Harmonies can be controlled by MIDI keyboard or by setting key and scale
- 100 user-programmable presets
- Reverb and delay can be used simultaneously and have extensive editing parameters
- Thicken effect adds lush detune-style chorusing to your lead vocal in addition to other effects
- Compressor, 3 band EQ and gate
- Editor program for Mac and PC available free via download
PPG WaveGenerator Show And Tell
Wolfgang shows some more tricks and tips with the new PPG Wavegenerator App.
PPG WaveGenerator Update 1.0.1 has been submitted to Apple and should be available shortly.
The update features;
- Audio recorder with up to 10 minutes record time at 44.1 stereo
- Audio copy to the Pasteboard
- File sharing via iTunes
- Keyboard octave shifting
- More routing possibilities – enabling ringmod and more
- Updated factory presets
- Bug fixes
Free preamp plug-in and a new analog flux synth
Sir Elliot has released the GPA-2VST plug-in for Windows, a preamplifier described as best suited for jazz, rhythm & blues and lounge music.
Sir Elliot tells us that the GPA-2 is designed to dampen the audio signal and that each Auxiliary input will offer its own tonal characteristic. The new features from the previous model are the following:
- High Damping Factor
- Cross talk
- Output LED Display
- Over Sample Rate Protection
Specifications
- Frequency Bandwidth: +/- 3 dB 22.7 Hz – 22,000 kHz (44.1 kHz – 96 kHz)
- Over Sample Rate Protection: 105 kHz and above
- Cross talk: – 20 dB
- Power Consumption: 7% on a single-core, 3 GHZ, Pentium 4 CPU residing on Windows XP SP3 using a 44.1 kHz white noise audio file.
Pricing and Availability:
Free download
More information:
Psychic Modulation tells us that Phonec is best described as an ‘analog flux synthesizer’.
“Inspired by the mystique of video logo synth scores from worn out VHS tapes, Phonec was primarily designed with character in mind. However Phonec is capable of producing a wide range of sounds such as vintage analogue tones, lo-fi synthscapes, ethereal pads, minimal techno sequences, and synthwave leads and basses. Phonec has an intuitive GUI that attempts to strike a balance between form and function, making it a very usable tool that can be a real inspiration to work with. Apart from it’s unique character and smooth workflow, Phonec has several interesting features that set it apart from the crowd.”
Features
- Dual oscillators that can be combined in various ways
- Analog style oscillator drifting
- A unique Melt feature that adds instant character to any patch
- Arpeggiator
- Accent Sequencer
- 3 LFOs (2 monophonic, 1 polyphonic)
- HFO (High Frequency Oscillator)
- 2 Modulation Envelopes
- Echoshifter Delay Unit
- Universal Value Display
- Double Click Parameter Reset
- 128 presets
Pricing and Availability:
Phonec is available for a special introductory price of $34.
More information:
E-mu Emulator ”Blade Runner” disk
A famous disk – reportedly E-mu sampled the radio for the reggae loop and trumpet.
New video from Swedish EBM/synth act Dupont – Entering the ice age
This is the official video for Dupont´s “Entering the ice age” taken from the album with the same name released on Progress Productions. Directed by Einar Friðjónsson.
Impaktor – The drum synthesizer for iPad APP test
Impaktor is a drum synthesizer with a vast sonic palette, that turns any surface into a playable percussion instrument.
You just slap your desk like you would a real drum. The real acoustical impulses from the built-in microphone are used as an excitation source for advanced sound modules that simulates behavior of membranes, cymbals, metallophones or strings. This makes Impaktor a highly responsive and expressive instrument. With semi-modular architecture and several types of synthesis, Impaktor can produce a wide range of tones, from acoustic, like Tabla, Djembe, Marimba, Cymbals, Metal bars to electronic or industrial sounds. Enjoy the most realistic virtual drumming experience available for mobile devices!
* Works with iPhone 4, 4S, iPod Touch 4th gen and all iPads
* The app requires headphones. Works best with headphones without built-in microphone.
SYNTHESIZER
– Synthesis: physical modeling, frequency modulation, noise shaping
– Semi-modular architecture; 2 modules with configurable routing
– 2 modulation sources: velocity and lfo-envelope. Almost every parameter can be modulated
– Multimode filter, harmonic exciter and several types of amplifiers
– Over 90 presets available, more coming soon
– No samples used
– Ultra low latency
RECORDER
– 6 tracks audio recorder
– True 3d panning
– Auto-quantization with configurable time-signature
– Reverb and Delay effects
– Audio-copy and wave export
Side-chaining Electribes thru Ableton Live
One technique for doing side-chain compression on the Electribes using Ableton Live.
“Just wanted to share with you all my technique for doing side-chain compression on Electribes by running them thru Ableton Live. I use a combination of Audio and MIDI routing for a quick and easy effect.”
Roland Integra 7 Synthesizer Demonstration
Gareth Bowen takes us through the ins and outs of the incredible Roland Integra-7, an easily-accessed and arranged collection of 5,000 different sounds in a sleek rack-mounted chassis, including the acclaimed superNATURAL engine – revered specifically for creating realistically automated acoustic instruments alongside powerful synths – full V-Drum based kit collections and the popular SRX sound boards. With the combined array you can generate modern and vintage, natural and fat synthesised tones alike, all of which can be split and layered to get the best out of the unit, regardless of the interface/controller you’re using to generate the notes.
Check it out here: http://www.dv247.com/keyboards-and-midi/roland-integra-7–101543
This of course sounds like quite a lot to deal with for a single rack mount unit, but as the video will demonstrate, an iPad can be used to control the action. While this is good news for quick patch selection (and of course effects can be added for good measure from the expected plethora of options that Roland have long excelled at providing), it comes into its own with the Integra-7’s new Motion Surround technology. You can now use the iPad to position different instruments in your arrangement, creating astonishing 3D sonic images.
DATAMASKIN
