The Reason Thor Polyphonic synth now on iPad
Propellerhead Software has launched Thor for iPad, a synthesizer app based on the flagship synthesizer in Reason. Here’s all the detail:
Thor for iPad puts the mighty Thor synthesizer at your fingertips. Reason’s legendary flagship synth delivers a thunderous sound, god-like sound sculpting capabilities and an innovative, lighting-fast keyboard designed for iPad. Thor is a synthesis playground, a flexible sonic workhorse, but above all, an expressive musical instrument for the iPad.
Thor highlights
- Play Reason’s Thor Polysonic Synthesizer on the iPad.
- Load any of the 1000+ expertly crafted synth patches, or create your own from scratch.
- Create your sounds using a palette of multiple oscillator and filter types.
- Play Thor using an expressive touch interface keyboard with aftertouch and strumming.
- Collapse the keyboard to a key and scale of your choice, just like in Figure.
- Move your favourite patches from the iPad to your computer and use them with Thor in Reason
Thor sounds like no synthesizer you’ve ever heard before – and every single one of them. Where other synths use one specific form of synthesis and one single filter, the Thor polysonic synthesizer features six different oscillator types and four unique filters. What does this give you? Simply the most powerful synth ever created; an unstoppable monster of a sound generator that utilizes synthesizer technology from the last 40 years.
On the iPad, Thor comes with a specially designed interface that’s optimized for touch control and the iPad screen. Cleverly designed panels expand and fold at the touch of a button to hide or reveal oscillators, filters, envelopes and more.
The app is divided into three main screens: Keyboard, Knobs and Routing.
Keyboard mode features:
- Piano keyboard with transpose and range control
- Modulation and pitch bend controls
- Assist function lets you select key and scale to highlight chord notes or to collapse the keyboard to only show the chord notes of the selected scale.
- Strum function lets you play arpeggios by holding a chord while strumming across the strum control.
- Two assignable knobs and buttons acts like performance controls
- Settings for polyphony and portamento
Knobs mode features:
- Access to all of Thor’s synthesis features
- Three oscillator slots for Thor’s six oscillator types: Analog, Wavetable, FM Pair, PhaseMod, Multi Osc and Noise
- Three filter slots for for Thor’s four filter types: Low Pass Ladder, State Variable, Comb and Formant
- Three envelopes
- Dual LFOs
- Delay and Chorus
- The Knobs screen is divided into panels that expand and collapse at the touch of a button
- Miniature keyboard to audition your sounds as you are working on them
Routing features
- Comprehensive but easy to use routing matrix lets you create complex modulation and signal flow setups
- Step sequencer with 16-steps and six channels: Note, Velocity, Gate length, Step duration, Curve 1, Curve 2
General App features:
- Patch compatible with Thor in Reason on your computer
- Move patches to and from your iPad using iTunes or Dropbox
- Sound bank with more than 1000 Thor patches from leading artists & sound designers (Kill the Noise, Richard Devine, Chris Petti and many more)
- Gorgeous retina display interface
- MIDI in – play Thor from an external MIDI source or from another app on the same iPad
- Audiobus compatible – stream audio from Thor to another audio app on the same iPad
- Audio in background option lets Thor keep playing in the background when working with other apps.
Note: We recommend using Thor for iPad with iPad 2 or later.
Thor is priced at $14.99.
The Virus TI On Stage – Depeche Mode’s Delta Machine Tour
Ben Adams and Jez Webb took the time walking us through the Instrument Setups at the Hamburg Stadium before the Depeche Mode Gig on June 17th, 2013. Ben explained the use of the Virus Polar by Andy Fletcher and the Virus TI by Peter Gordeno. Jez showed us Martin Gore’s guitar Setup.
Nordic Red version 2 – ReFill with samples from Nord Modular G2x synthesiser
Soundcells has released Nordic Red version 2, a ReFill based on samples from the Nord Modular G2x synthesiser. They believe that it is especially great for film scores, game music, ambient and experimental music.
Version 2 adds 250 Mb of new Nord Modular G2 samples, new combinator patches and changes in detail.
Nordic Red v2 Contents:
• 140+ impressive combinator patches.
• 170+ NNXT patches containing the basic patches which were used to build the combinators.
• 850+ 44 khz 24bit samples, 1.3 GB uncompressed.
• Great for film scores, game music, ambient & drones but also modern dance styles.
• 11 demo files with ‘tutorialesque’ value are included.
Pricing and Availability:
Introductory price is 18.90 EUR (normally 24.90 EUR).
‘Prepare yourself for a journey where your creativity can reach new levels‘ – this statement from the ‘Welcome‘ section of the G2 manual is a perfect description of what you can expect from the Nordic Red ReFill. The ability to create an unlimited range of individual sounds will not only provide you with “otherworldly“ atmospheric stuff, the deepest textures and great keys, but also with surprisingly “in-your-face“ bass patches and wonderful pads when diving into this ReFill. The “self-playing“ patches (called “Noodles“ in the G2), for example, are great starting points to create some ultra-deep atmospheric textures – an ideal entry for composing film scores or game music. Or simply pitch down the samples to listen to the “hidden magic“ inside these up to 90 seconds long ‘Noodle‘ recordings. Version 2 adds 20 combinator patches based on 250 mb of new Modular G2 samples …
Casio Privia Pro PX-5S Live Clinic 1
Casio’s Mike Martin answers questions and takes a tour of the Privia Pro PX-5S. Recorded on 6/19/2013 – Captured Live on Ustream at http://www.ustream.tv/casiomusicgear
Thor Polysonic Synthesizer – Micro Tutorial
More info on Reason: https://www.propellerheads.se/product…
Thor sounds like no synthesizer you’ve ever heard before – and every single one of them. Where other synths use one specific form of synthesis and one single filter, the Thor polysonic synthesizer features six different oscillator types and four unique filters. Unlimited sound design potential at your fingertips.
In this micro tutorial we’ll take a look at how to maneuver this unstoppable force of synthesis and give you an overview of its main features.
Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2, Virus TI Polar, Korg Radias ambient electro demo
Radikal Technologies Spectralis 2, Virus TI Polar, Korg Radias ambient electro demo
The Spectralis 2 hybrid synth, fueled by the latest DSP- and true analog technology, delivers maximum tonal capabilities and leads you into a radical new world of sounds full of life and animation. The Spectralis 2 oscillator section takes sound design to new extremes. The 4 oscillators offer continuously variable waveshapes plus time linearity modulation, FM, PM, oscillator synchronisation, bit reduction and independent pitch and volume envelopes. The self resonating filters, a 4 pole lowpass and a 2 pole multimode filter with LP, HP, BP and notch outputs, use two highly improved true analog circuit designs to overcome the restrictions of modelling based synths.
The way players can interact with the destinc-tive user interface makes the Spectralis 2 hybrid synthesizer a killer live instrument with unbeatable richness and stunning flexibility. The synthesis engine takes advantage of a sophisticated step sequencing system – 32 independent parameter control lines with up to 192 steps let you explore an universe of previously unheard rhythmic effects and atmospheric textures. Punchy high resolution envelopes, are the cutting edge of todays synthesizer technology. They are the perfect weapon for the creation of floor pounding kicks, state of the art sequencer staccatos and numerous percussion effects.
Time machine: Exploring the PPG wave 2.2
The German made PPG (Palm Products GmbH) Wave 2 series of synthesizers are incredibly great sounding analog/digital hybrid vintage synths. They use digital samples of wavetables and feature analog VCA envelope and VCF (filter) sections for a classic and warm sound. The Wave 2.2 has oscillators that can generate over 2,000 different single-cycle 8-bit digital waveforms! Covered by knobs, the Wave still looks analog and this comprises the “Analog Control Panel”. More complex and new-wave editing of the wavetables and samples is covered by the “Digital Control Panel” where there are several key-pad buttons and an LCD screen. Another familiar treat to analog junkies is the inclusion of an 8-track sequencer which features automation of pitch, loudness, filter cutoff, waveforms and more. A cool feature – its onboard sequencer will also record any filtering and wave changes, in real-time!!
The more commonly encountered Wave 2.3 (pictured) followed the 2.2 and had enhanced sample-playback capabilities. The sampler was pretty full-featured for its time and included upgraded 12-bit digital waveforms, Fourier analysis and linear playback of samples. The 2.3 model also featured 8-parts multitimbrality and MIDI implementation. The PPG Waves are know to create excellent pads, brass and bass sounds.
In fact it was Tangerine Dream who helped the company and the Wave develop. 1978 saw the development of the PPG Wave Computer 360. But the Wave Computer sounded harsh and tinny. In 1981, the PPG Wave 2 was released which added analog VCF and VCA filter and envelopes to warm the digital sound. The original Wave 2 had 8-voice polyphony, like the 2.2 and 2.3, but it had only one oscillator per voice. The 2.2 offered two oscillators per voice which opened up a whole new realm of sonic possibilities because two separate wavetable sounds could now be combined.
Vintage synthesizer track by RetroSound
“Miami Nights”
all synthesizer sounds: PPG wave 2.2 Wavetable Synthesizer (1982)
drums: Roland TR-707
sequencing: internal sequencer
recording: multi-tracking without midi
fx: a bit reverb and delay
more info: http://www.retrosound.de
John Bowen Solaris Demo
Here is a demo of the Solaris synth by John Bowen (www.johnbowen.com).
“I have this fantastic synt for a week now and worked with it for 6 evenings. I started building my own sounds right away and in this demo you can hear a sound that uses vector and wavetable synthesis. Everything is played live using the keyboard, the joystick, the 4 part switch buttons and the pitch and modulation wheel. This synth is the king of evolving sounds!”
For better audio quality go to SoundCloud:
http://soundcloud.com/insanic4/solari…
The general concept behind the Solaris synthesizer is to implement something like a giant wall-sized modular system entirely in software where you can select among several completely different types of oscillators and filters, exquisitely modelled after the components culled from a variety of legendary vintage synthesizers of yesteryear and even some current virtual analog innovations of today. With up to four oscillators, four filters, four amplifiers, four four-input mixers, six envelope generators, one looping envelope generator, five LFOs, two vector mixers and still more of these software modules available in each program, the Solaris synthesizer becomes absolutely unrivalled in terms of versatility and programmability.
Focusrite & Novation // In the studio with Teddy Riley
Focusrite & Novation present: In the studio with Teddy Riley
We spent a day with Teddy, where he showed us around Future Recording Studios 2 and played us a brand new version of Guy’s 1988 hit ‘Teddy’s Jam’ on the Novation MiniNova.
Teddy Riley has always had the cutting edge on production. Highlights of his career include forming R&B super groups Guy and Blackstreet, co-producing and co-engineering Michael Jackson’s Dangerous album (which has sold over 32 million copies) winning Riley a Grammy for Best Engineering non-classical. He has produced countless landmark records, such as the LP “Make it Last” Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown’s ‘My Perogative’, Johnny Kemp “Just Got Paid”, Blackstreet “No Diggity”, The Hip Hop Classic “The Show”, “Rugrats” The Movie and hit after hit for the late Heavy D and a long list of others.
Novation MiniNova Overview:
http://novationmusic.com/hardware-syn…
MiniNova is a compact, super-cool studio and live synth with the same sound engine as its big brother; UltraNova. It comes with 256 incredible onboard sounds that you can tweak with five knobs, or totally warp with eight ‘animate’ buttons. It has up to 18 voices with as many as five synth effects on each sound. MiniNova also has an onboard VocalTune™ effect as well as a classic vocoder so you can recreate iconic vocal sounds from hip hop, urban and electronic music.
Novation SL MkII Overview:
http://novationmusic.com/midi-control…
SL MkII is the advanced range of USB/MIDI controllers from Novation. They have been designed to give you complete control over your music making software. We have worked with each of the main DAWs to make sure each of the 56 knobs, faders and buttons control the things in your software that you need them to control including directly access to your plug-in instruments and FX (you also get an Italian made, semi-weighted keyboard mechanism).
Focusrite Control 2802 Overview:
http://focusrite.com/consoles/control…
Control 2802 is a super-flexible analogue console and an Ethernet-based DAW control surface in one. Precision analogue audio architecture delivers a superb, big studio sound, while Control 2802 demonstrates extraordinarily versatile routing capability, with cues and auxes available to provide up to 32 mix inputs and a DAW-integrated two-part in-line-style channel. Ethernet-connected HUI control layer allows DAW operation right from the console. There’s no other small-format console quite like Control 2802: nothing sounds like it, and nothing offers this level of design sophistication, flexibility and control.
SOLAR SYNTH
Making transmission with the mothership via the SOLAR SYNTH, the world’s first handheld, solar-powered, synthesizer & theremin. Get yours only at chamberofsounds.com
DATAMASKIN
