MIDI FX in Ableton – tutorial
How to use SDX and EZX expansion packs within Beatstation
Toontrack continues to deliver high quality demos on their Beatstation product, if you are a Beatstation user, please let us know what you think of it. I did a review of it some time back as well
The latest instalment of Toontrack’s Beatstation video series which explores how to use SDX and EZX expansion packs within Beatstation to enhance the already-huge bank of sound files.
Combining drums, bass and lead instruments with drag and drop, REX and MIDI support, Beatstation is your companion for quickly getting a full beat up and running or for diving into the smallest details of what you want your sound to be, to be able to realize your music, your expression. Just take WAV or MP3 files from any source to create unique and inspiring combinations.
You can combine and edit individual slices from your favourite REX files or create playable instruments from a single sound. All this can be done just with a few clicks of the mouse, making Beatstation a hugely powerful yet easy to use virtual instrument.
http://www.timespace.com/product/BEAT…
Official intro video for MIDI Fighter
This is the official intro video for MIDI Fighter, a $140 DJ MIDI Controller that’s designed to be customized and hacked, but also to be used as a plug and play device.
Details at the Techtools site.
Go here for more info: http://techtools.myshopify.com/products/midifighter-diy-kit
- Tactility – High performance Sanwa arcade buttons play like magic
- Eye Catching – The Blue LEDS and original construction style really grab peoples attention
- Light and portable – They are easy to fit into your rig
- Fully Customizable – The visual style can evolve over time with your taste
- Unique! – Not just another plastic set of buttons
- Stellar Support – Dj TechTools service is way cool
- Community Based – Local flavor served up to an international crowd
- One of a kind – Each controller is limited edition and totally original
- Free mind-blowing mappings – Like this one bellow
Updated virtual drummer
AudioSpillage has released version 1.1 of DrumSpillage, a high quality multi-faceted drum synth plug-in for Mac OS X.
Version 1.1 features improved automation support, choke groups, solo buttons, performance optimisations and many more enhancements.
Changes in DrumSpillage v1.1
- Improved support for automation recording and editing.
- Added choke groups (12 groups available).
- Added solo buttons for each pad.
- Pad selector in model editor now displays pad triggers in realtime.
- Added copy/paste pad menu items in pad editor.
- Added user preference to view MIDI note ranges as absolute MIDI values (0..127).
- Pads can now transmit ‘velocity’ via a user preference.
- Added user preference to set default pad note-on velocity.
- Global velocity sensitivity on/off switch.
- Velocity sensitivity can also be toggled on/off on a per pad basis.
- Improved meter sensitivity and accuracy.
- No longer supports Carbon GUIs (see minimum requirements for more info).
- Significant code/memory optimisations improve real time performance.
- Polyphony/voice allocator routines have been rewritten
- Bug fixes.
DrumSpillage is available to purchase for a discounted price of £65 GBP / €79 EUR / $99 USD until 31 August, 2010 (regular price £99 GBP / €119 EUR / $159 USD).
More information: AudioSpillage
Keith McMillen introduces StringPort
The StringPort very carefully processes, converts and conveys to the computer the polyphonic audio from industry-standard hexaphonic pickups (like the GK, Graph Tech, Zeta and RMC models) through high speed USB2. We have written custom drivers with extremely low latencies and all our applications take full advantage of multi-threading and multiple cores. High resolution (24bit) converters and impeccable design provide greater than 92 dB SNR from analog in to analog out.
But what really makes StringPort the last string/synth/processor device we will ever need is the powerful suite of software for use with the StringPort Hardware. The suite is comprised of 24 applications, including fast and accurate Analysis (for converting every little nuance of your performance into control data), powerful Polyphonic FX Processing (Wave Guide, PolyFuzz, Phase Vocoder, SMACK), a versatile VST FX Wall (perfect for all those plug-ins you’ve been collecting), a side of Synthesis (Classic FM and direct support for the world-famous Synful synthesizer), a friendly and useful Notation application (to capture data for output to your favorite music notation software), and MIDI Out to integrate StringPort into your existing MIDI world.
Songwriters Drumpack 2 – Out Now!
Toontrack delivers new stuff, here’s what they have to say about it:
Does it ever get easier than dragging and dropping a few files and have a full, pro-played drum track to an entire song laid down in virtually a minute? For any songwriter or musician, be it the professional or the enthusiast, the answer is of course no!
After the success of the first two packs in the Songwriters Drumpack series, Songwriters Drumpack and Songwriters Fillpack, Toontrack is back with another highly useful library of complete song-structure MIDI, organized as separate songs featuring several full intros, verses, pre-choruses, choruses, bridges and fills! With its undeniable ease of use and musical diversity, Songwriters Drumpack 2 is sure to lend a helping and creativity-boosting hand to your songwriting and production.
· Played by studio drummer and Toontrack veteran Peter Fredlander (who performed on Toontrack’s Monster MIDI Pack series)
· More than 450 individually played files
· Categorized in different songs
· Ballad / midtempo / uptempo / shuffle songs
· Full 4-8 bar intro / verse / pre-chorus / chorus / bridge / fill sections & variations in each song
· Different meters in swing and/or straight feel
Works with EZdrummer®, Superior Drummer® (optimized for 1 kick, 1 snare, 2 toms,
1 floor-tom, 2 crash-cymbals, 1 ride-cymbal)
n0t0miz0r, a free MIDI note randomizer plug-in for Windows
SyS Audio Research has released n0t0miz0r, a free MIDI note randomizer plug-in for Windows (VST).
According to the developers, “This is quite handy if you do not have a faulty sequencer or an analog modular synthesizer with a sequencer option at hand. For 80´s-style electronic dance basslines for example, unpredictable randomness is mandatory.”
Features:
- Provides a stable and reliable solution (which really works) to receive Midi data inside a VST compatible host/wrapper.
- Processes (randomizes) the pitch of the notes inside the Midi data stream according to user defined parameters, and then passes the Midi data stream, including the processed note information, on to a Midi-out channel for further usage, in- or outside the VST host.
- All other parameters are unaffected by n0t0miz0r (timing, velocity, note lenght, aftertouch etc. will be passed through untouched).
- Lowest and highest randomized note controls to control what notes are affected.
- Randomization propability (0 – 100%) and exclude duplicates parameter.
Instantly generate Techno Music Loops
Techno-X Pro, a stand-alone and VST instrument plug-in for Windows that allows you to instantly generate Techno Music Loops, Techno Groove loops, Techno Drum Loops and much more. Generate Full Parts, Drum loops, Groove loops, Bass Loops and Hats loops as wave files. It comes with an internal library of about 1500 sounds – 756 Kicks, 231 Hats and 470 Claps and Snares. The price is €69.
Features:
- Live Playable (In standalone mode or in Ableton Live).
- One mouse click to instantly generate 100 techno loops at a time (Every key of the MIDI keyboard will be filled with a loop).
- Create loops in progressive musical order.
- Kick Side-chained output for the best groove ever.
- MIDI recognition for external MIDI controllers use.
- Direct Export to wav file for all loops with unique mouse click (from 4 to 32 beats).
- BPM or Host Synchronization (guaranteed synchronization with Ableton Live, Cubase and FL Studio).
- Load user wave samples on all channels for the bottom loop part.
- Point to user folders to pick Kick drums, Claps & Snares, Hats. A lot of factory sounds included.
- Over 1,000 one shot samples can be loaded for each channel.
- Swing (do You need more groove for Your track?).
- 10 Filters (coded in Asm).
Technical Specifics:
- Stereo audio output at 16 bit 44100hz.
- Accurate/Precision Timings.
- True stereo channels. Each channel can load samples at any sample rate and any bit rate (8 bit-16 bit-24 bit-32 bit).
- Intellidrums v2.0 Technology inside.
- Sample players “class AA”.
- Swing routine “class AA”.
- Customizable Sidechainer.
- Save loops to .wav files.
- Never ending capabilities due to “Ai randomizators”.
Pure analog feeling
CVM module. Sequencer is an analogue Oberkorn. Playing two MIDI synths; Telemark (making the crazy sound) and Leipzig-r (warm synth sound). Oberkorn is also controlling velocity (in turn changing the filter cut-off). Joystick just adding a little transpose. Also here you can glimpse my white Red Square.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuE89JYJZcs&feature=player_embedded
The Synthstation iPhone MIDI keyboard
Akai has announced that it’s opening up the Synthstation iPhone MIDI keyboard to development by third-party developers, at no cost.
This is a really interesting development – it means that we could soon have an explosion of Synthstation-compatible synths. This makes the $99 Synthstation a lot more interesting; download a $10 iPhone app and you’ve got a new hardware synth!
Here’s what Akai has to say about their AkaiConnect SDK.
The AkaiConnect SDK is a tool for music app developers that allows a direct connection to Akai Pro’s SynthStation25 performance keyboard controller.
Using AkaiConnect in your iPhone or iPod Touch app not only makes your app expandable, it enables your users to fully express themselves and capture every nuance of performance. The AkaiConnect SDK is available to approved Akai developers free of charge.
The AkaiConnect SDK::
- Adds support for the SynthStation25 keyboard to your music app
- Provides app users with hardware control over pitch bend, modulation,note entry and more
- Extends the capabilities of your music apps at no cost to you
This, along with Line 6 opening up its iPhone MIDI adapter to developers, will open up a lot of possibilities for electronic musicians.
DATAMASKIN
