Geist is out
FXpansion has announced the release of Geist, a next-generation sampling drum machine, designed to create evolved, custom beats and grooves, freeing you from the limits of pre-packaged loops and over-complicated DAWs.
Geist fuses creative sample-sculpting tools with fast pattern step-sequencing and arrangement. Browse through sounds with lightning speed, slice and assign loops to pads with a single click; sample, resample and build beats in a slick unified environment. Geist makes fiddly tasks with multiple apps a thing of the past.
Geist runs as a plug-in and as a standalone application, perfect for laptop beatmaking. Export creations as audio clips or load sessions back into the plug-in to resample, reslice, remix, rearrange and transform your beats even further. Geist is a complete, integrated rhythm production sandbox for the studio, the tour bus or the stage!
Geist features
- Sampling & resampling.
- Dirac3™ time-stretch / pitch-shift.
- Powerful full-featured slicing & hit detection.
- 30+ effect types inc. DCAM circuit modeled filters / dynamics / drive & Overloud Breverb™.
- Pattern sequencing.
- Scene switching.
- Integrated song mode.
- Real-time record & retro capture.
- Step-automation for parameters.
- Intuitive and powerful browser.
- Full MIDI and audio export.
- Standalone / VST / AU / RTAS.
- Exclusive sounds & presets from Armin van Buuren, D. Ramirez, Dom Kane, KJ Sawka, Goldbaby, Groove Criminals, Portion Control and more.
Geist is available to purchase as a download-only product, priced at £157 GBP / €189 EUR / $249 USD plus VAT where applicable. Registered FXpansion GURU customers can crossgrade for £79 GBP / €95 EUR / $125 USD plus VAT where applicable.
More information: FXpansion / Geist
Classic 80’s type drum machine for iOS
MPD Software has released the mobileRhythm mR-606, a music app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, inspired by the look and sound of classic 1980′s drum machines.
The mR-606 drum machine is reminiscent of the classic 1980′s beatboxes that heavily influenced both the Detroit and Chicago house music scenes – the forebears of modern dance and techno music. These classic boxes were re-discovered by the rave and acid music collectives of the ’90′s in the UK and in Europe, and have been popular ever since.
Now hard to find in their original hardware form, the mobileRhythm mR-606 is destined to be popular with anyone who enjoys a bit of nostalgia in their music-making.
mobileRhythm mR-606 is now available in 3 versions: iPad, iPhone and Universal, for use on any iOS device. It is priced at $5.99 USD / £3.49 GBP.
More information: mobileRhythm
Introducing DigiDrum Pro
Via myVST
Turn your iPad into a Roland TR-606
Mobile Rhythm has announced a new iPad drum machine, inspired by old-school drum machines like the Roland TR-606, the mobileRhythm Computer Controlled mR-606 (App Store link):
Inspired by classic drum synths of yesteryear, the mobileRhythm mR-606 is a pocket sized classic in its own right.
A fully featured, yet easy to use interface allows editing of all controls and patterns, and 2 banks of 16 patterns gives you plenty of space to store your creations.
The mR-606 iPad drum machine is $6.99 in the App Store. If you’ve used the Mobile Rhythm mR-606, leave a comment with your thoughts!
Features:
- set tempo & beatmatch with your favourite music
- individual level controls for each drum sound
- easily switch between patterns to create whole rhythm tracks
- edit scale and last step for fine detail and crazy effects
All controls on the interface work just like the original drum machines of the 80’s.
Halloween organ treat
Organ Fairy has created this synth treat in true honor of Halloween, enjoy
I thought about what to do this year for a Halloween video. I found a pile of electric candles (!) that I bought a while ago but never used.
Then I remembered a melody I made in 2003. The idea was to use a rhythm on my then favourit drum machine – the Roland CR-1000 – that I had never used before: Charleston. And a weird preset on the Roland JX-8P that I had never used either. I modified it a bit to make it more “alien-like” and added the accordeon preset to the arrangement and a piano arpeggio from the Yamaha organ.
I played the melody on the Kawai MS-20 and Yamaha VSS-30. Added some organ chords from the Viscount organ. And that was it.
Sequencing with the Novation Drumstation
dyLAB0303 has treated us with a couple of nice demos using Novation Drumstation
Using the live clips follow actions each clip goes to the next clip at each 16th.
This is based on the Tom Cosm video where he demonstrated something similiar,
The midi out from each clip is routed to the novation drum station drum rack I have set up and then audio comes in from the drum rack.
I have only set up a few step length permutations , with a launch pad or similar you could set up 7 launch permutations and stop for each channel and have a wicked little beatbox app
I extended my follow action sequencer into a series of different length slots, starting off with the 4 then 2 then 1 for the 4/4 style clips, then added 3, 5 and 6 as well as 8 steps.
These sequences can be triggered to experiment with interesting poly rythms using ableton and any drum rack. In this instance I’m sending the midi to my novation drum station.
Add something like a novation launchpad to start the different length clips and you have yourself a world of fun.
Beat a can drum machine on Android
Although pretty silly it is nice to see more stuff showing up on Android and more importantly demonstrating the very powerful audio platform Pure Date on smart phones. This might be a turning point for the still widely unknown open source platform also known as the unknown brother of MAX/MSP!
“Chris McCormick’s clever and fun scene shows off Pure Data running on Android, via the free libpd created by Peter Brinkmann. Also available on: everything.”
“It’s a way of making Pure Data (Pd), the visual development tool for interactive music and media, more accessible across a range of applications and gadgets. It lets you embed Pd pretty much anywhere. It’s not a new version of Pd. Instead, it makes use of the standard, “vanilla” distribution of the free and open source software. What’s different is that it separates the sound processing part of Pd from the part that talks to audio hardware, allowing Pd to run on a greater variety of mobile devices and inside other applications.
libpd:
* turns Pd into an audio synthesis and processing library
* liberates Pd from GUI and drivers
* allows for easy communication between Pd and the code into which it is embedded (so you can send and receive messages with your Pd patch)”
Free retro drum machine
AREX 2011 is a free VSTi drum module, based on a hardware drum machine from the early 80’s.
Features:
- 16 pads
- 29 embedded drum samples of RX11
- 12 individual/group outputs
- individual volume, pan, accent
- assignable MIDI note within 36 – 99 range
- VST automation
- MIDI automation of essential controls
- 16 part multitimbral MIDI Out flow
- can be used as a MIDI controller of sorts
- bundled with RX11 MIDI swing templates and 55 demonstrational patterns
Download from the Bayan site.
Quick preview of the miniDrum Pro for iPad
A quick preview of miniDrum PRO, our latest iPad app! Using the event recorder to write a new pattern, making some changes on the sequencer and then experimenting with the FX. miniDrum PRO will be available worldwide on the iTunes store on October 6th! Visit www.yonac.com for more info. (Video shot with an iPhone 4!)
A so called drum replacer…
For whatever reason you would really consider replacing the drums, either you have drums in the song or you don’t, kind of 
Drumagog is a plug-in that automatically replaces drum tracks with a vast array of other samples. Engineers and producers worldwide use Drumagog to fix and enhance existing drum tracks. Drumagog is extremely easy to use. Just insert it onto a drum track and select your favorite sample. Drumagog does the rest. For advanced drum replacing, Drumagog is packed with powerful features for the ultimate in control. Drumagog comes complete with a drum sample collection containing hundreds of samples to get you going.
DATAMASKIN
