Happy midsummer everyone!
Btw do not forget to check out some nice new Refills over at Propellerheads, some nice free stuff to spice up your next song with >>
Cheers Ola
New stuff from Rob Papen
Spotted this intersting story on the net today, and based on what Papen has delivered before I believe this is well worth waiting for:
Just recently Rob Papen released his latest VSTi SubBoomBass. However that doesn’t mean he is leaning back and enjoying some rest. At this time he is very busy working on another project (together with RPCX). Not a virtual instrument but an effect plugin.
The new project is a reverb plugin. It will not be a ‘convolution reverb’. This reverb is based on a new algorithm by RCPX (Rob Papen and Jon Ayres). What we know already is that it gives the processed audio a surprisingly warm sound and new types of colouring. An early comment from Armin van Buuren was that it sounded ‘bizarly good’.
However, as we learned from Rob, this new reverb plugin is still in development. Layout, GUI and even the name still have to be finalised. Details on beta testing, specifications or release are still unknown. As soon as Rob releases more info you’ll find it here.
| SubBoomBass ! |
SubBoomBass is filled with excessive amounts of low end ammunition to detonate your tracks! With presets designed by Rob Papen and other guest artists, this dedicated bass synth will supply you with huge cone-rattling sounds that will devastate any dancefloor.
SubBoomBass has been carefully crafted to provide you with the tools to create fresh new bass lines for any musical style.
Rob Papen again displays his cutting edge and innovative style by combining the ‘phat’ sounding synth engine with tuned drum percussion samples and rare samples.
Other features include a groove sequencer and two effects slots which can be modulated. SubBoomBass also features a great ‘Easy Mode’ page and the unique ‘Quick Browser’ system that will allow you to find the sounds you need quickly and easily. Great for Hip Hop and RnB, this software instrument can also be used for Dubstep, Drum and Bass, Garage, Grime and much more.
Make sure you check out the mp3 demos!!
Reason Refill review: Synthetic Kits by Nucleus Soundlab
Time for a new review, this time I have had the opportunity to review the recently released Synthetic Kits refill from Nucleus Soundlab.
This is what Nucleus says about the refill: Synthetic Kits uses Thor, Malstrom and Subtractor to go beyond the tired, old x0x electronic drum sounds. Instead of retreading that synthesis ground, Synthetic Kits continues on to create kits based on FM synthesis, formants, granular and more! These kits will work extremely well in a variety of genres – EBM, trance, filmscore, ambient and even pop.
And I must say that this is a refill well worth investing in, the Combinator kits included are very tight, new thinking and good sounding. If you are making electro, synthpop, ambient or electronic music you will definitely find several Combinator patches that will fit nicely into your songs and add that extra spice. The only thing that disturbs me a little is that most of the patches are auto-triggered, which means that they more or less acts like a rex-file – in essence a little hands-on is needed if you want them to follow your specific needs.
The Combinator patches are as mentioned well designed and I especially enjoy the handling of the bass in the patches. It is quite easy to add specific FX sounds and beats, but adding a well tailored bass that so easily fits with electronic compositions is what makes this refill very attractive. There are also specific sounds for Malström and Subtractor in the refill, but it is the Combinator patches you pay for.
Something that is very useful is that these kits are composed out of pure Reason synths, and you are able to tweak them into totally new sounds in any way you like based on the fact that there are fully-mapped Combinator and Thor knobs. I have done some extensive experimenting with the patches and they are working properly all the way.
Rating: ☻☻☻☻☺
If the refill had been bigger it would have received five smilies.
News from Nucleus:
Pure Synthesis Refill Bundle Released + Demo Links
Nucleus SoundLab is proud to announce the Pure Synthesis Refill Bundle. Pure Synthesis contains not a single sample, but instead pushes advanced synthesis in the Reason environment to the absolute limit! Read on for more info on each individual Refill included in the bundle.
Demo links:
Synthetic KIts Demo
Pantheon Demo
Filter Research Demo
Use of compression in your music production
Compression
Compressors and limiters are specialized amplifiers used to reduce dynamic range–the span between the softest and loudest sounds. All sound sources have different dynamic ranges or peak-to-average proportions. An alto flute produces a tone with only about a 3dB difference between the peak level and the average level. The human voice (depending on the particular person) has a 10dB dynamic range, while a plucked or percussive instrument may have a 15dB or more difference. Our own ears, by way of complex physiological processes, do a fine job of compressing by responding to roughly the average loudness of a sound. Good compressor design includes a detector circuit that emulates the human ear by responding to average signal levels. Even better compressor designs also have a second detector that responds to peak signal levels and can be adjusted to clamp peaks that occur at a specific level above the average signal level.
Download tutroial here (pdf) >>
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtX_gRDvcug]
In-depth on Propellerheads Record
Three nice tutorials on yesterdays announcement on Record – audio recording the thing the whole music production community that enjoys Reason has been dreaming of for the past 5 years.
This series of videos offers a very in-depth look at Propellerhead Record, a recording application for Windows and Mac.
Propellerhead Software’s Gerry Bassermann digs deep into Record, without layering on a lot of hype.
Part 1:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYE5gX7hN80&feature=player_embedded]
Part 2:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GI84SU0ano&feature=player_embedded]
Part 3:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6eP2b2m_aQ&feature=player_embedded]
Record – new product from Propellerhead
Propellerhead Software has announced Record, a new recording software for Windows and Mac.
Record is Propellerhead Software’s brand new recording software. Record gives you unlimited audio tracks, world class effects and mixing gear, and a whole new take on music recording.
With an intuitive, straightforward interface and a hands-on approach to capturing performances, Record was designed for musicians – not audio engineers. This is recording done right.
Record features
* Multi-core — Record makes use of extremely efficient multi-core audio rendering, making the software very lightweight, even with large projects. Record’s dynamic multi-core audio rendering improves performance without introducing any latency. It is future proof, making use of as many processors or processor cores as your operating system can handle.
* Plenty of ins and outs — More ins and outs than you can shake a wand, baton or even a cane at. Got a multi-channel audio interface? With Record you can use up to 64 input channels simultaneously – and up to 64 simultaneous output channels. Should you ever feel the need.
* Works with any audio interface — Record’s rock solid audio implementation will support any audio card with Core Audio drivers on Mac OS X or ASIO drivers on Windows.
* Big Meter — Big Meter sits at the top of Record’s leftmost rack and gives you a detailed view of your input and output levels with plenty of different options for visualizing your performance, or for guidance when mastering your finished song.
* 64-bit mix bus — Record’s mixing console uses a 64-bit mix bus, resulting in high precision channel summing for highest possible audio quality.
* Reason integration — If you have Reason registered and installed on your computer, all your favorite Reason devices will automatically be available within Record’s ever-expandable, multiple racks. No setting up. It just works. Read more about Reason integration.
* ReWire synth application — Use Record as a ReWire slave. Record interfaces with most audio applications on the market through Propellerhead Software’s ReWire technology. ReWire is a virtual multi-cable that handles up to 64 channels of streaming audio, as well as MIDI, sync and transport controls between applications.
[youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oe7Iapsu_38&feature=player_embedded]
The Largo synth soon to be revealed
In May, what many of us have been waiting for, is soon to be revealed the Largo Synthesizer. Largo is the first pure software synthesizer with Waldorf DNA
Largos sound engine was injected with all the notorious wavetables of the Microwave, the legendary Wave and also the Q series. The LFO is already rehearsing very complex steps and the filter drive screams as loud as only our little baby can. So be prepared!
Largo offers three fat oscillators, two of them with sub oscillators. These oscillators include models of classic analog waveforms as well as a selection of waves from the PPG and Waldorf Wave stored in two Wavetables. All these run through two Waldorf multimode filters with steep cutoff, resonance up to self-oscillation and a drive stage to add even more punch and grainyness to the sound. Ultra-fast envelope generators and flexible LFOs as well as an easy to understand, yet extremely versatile modulation matrix make for a sound designer’s dream.
The filters have always been a core part of any Waldorf instrument. With outstanding expertise in both analog and digital synthesis, our developers took utmost care in developing the filters. And you can hear a significant difference when working with a Waldorf filter – they just sound right! Use the comb filters for plucked, stringed or blown sounds. Band pass, high pass, low pass and notch filters are all available with 12 dB and 24 dB slope. All of them sound extremely accurate and add pure sonic quality to the sound of your music.
Largo contains a flexible arpeggiator with 16 freely programmable steps as known from the exclusive Q synthesizer line plus an array of high quality effects such as Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, Overdrive, Delay and Reverb.
Tune in your favorite robo-sounds
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qnj2oU8MYCI]
The Voice Box packs a multi-functional vocal synth processor into a tough and compact chassis. Sing, and you’ll have a troupe of backup singers following you in perfect harmony. Or use the built-in vocoder to unleash classic synth-robot sounds.
About:
The Voice Box packs a multi-functional vocal synth processor into a tough and compact chassis. Sing, and you’ll have a troupe of backup singers following you in perfect harmony. Or use the built-in vocoder to unleash classic synth-robot sounds.
Diana Ross had the Supremes, Brian Wilson had the Beach Boys, Kraftwerk had The Robots. You have the Voice Box.
The harmony processor creates 2- to 4-part harmonies directly from your vocals, in the same key as your accompanying instrument. Studio-quality reverb lets you independently add depth to your dry and harmony vocals.
The focused 256-band articulate vocoder, designed by the same EMS genius who made vocoding famous, features adjustable harmonic enhancement and controllable formant shift.
Plug in your mic and your instrument, and let your new voice — or voices — be heard!
The next generation personal studio
When the Nano suite from KORG came I thought this was it in terms of a portable studio, but I soon learned that this is just the beginning of things, check this out!!
Vivace is a solution that looks to be more integrated than anything I have seen before. Designed by Young-Shin Lee and Hae-Jin Jung, it looks something like a musical laptop: a slimline device that offers a touch-sensitive musical keyboard and fold-out touchscreen display. Vivace is a concept product at the moment and ‘specs’ are thin on the ground, but you can clearly see octave up/down buttons to the right of the keyboard, and we can only assume that audio I/O is built-in.
Designers: Young-Shin Lee & Hae-Jin Jung
Cool detune demo
A short demo depicting the interaction of detuned vcos, and if you don´t know what is going on you can at least enjoy the nice ambient sounds coming out
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVX43FXCS-8&feature=player_embedded]
DATAMASKIN
