Indholdsfortegnelse for 01/2024 i Beat English

The Korg MS-20 in God mode Cherry Audio PS-20 With its aggressive but charismatic sound, Korg‘s MS-20 has written music history. Dance greats such as The Chemical Brothers, Mr. Oizo, Aphex Twin, The Prodigy and Röyksopp swear by this monosynth. Our software highlight recreates this gem in detail, garnished with ingenious extra features. We bet you‘ll fall in love with the MS-20, too? Download: see page 9 | Info: cherryaudio.com win | mac All serial numbers safely accessible: The Beat Serial Center To ensure that none of your serial numbers are lost in the future (for instance, in the event of a new installation, Outlook crash or disk crash), you can now conveniently manage them online. The advantages are obvious: The editorial team can send you targeted software updates, you…

THE SYNTHFLUENCERS‘ FAVORITE INSTRUMENTS Extensive tests of the hottest new synths, thrilling performances, tutorials or even crazy sound experiments - all of this awaits you in the channels of YouTubers like Andrew Huang, Loopop, Rachel K Collier, Doctor Mix, Hainbach, Once Upon A Synth and Stefan Heinrichs/Limbic Bits. Have you ever wondered which instruments are these synthfluencers‘ favorites? Let‘s just ask them ourselves on the following pages! Every month we test the most exciting new synth releases. The variety is impressive: from monophonic analog models that impress with striking vintage sounds to polyphonic digital all-rounders that catapult us into the future of sound design. There have been a few highlights in recent months, such as the eight-voice analog flagship Oberheim OB-X8, which is celebrating an impressive comeback. The hybrid all-rounder…

PolyBrute is not based on proven vintage synthesizers, but rather impresses with its own concept, design and sound character. Flexible oscillators, dual filters, large modulation matrix and, above all, the morph function make the analog synthesizer unique. Proven playing aids such as arpeggiator and ribbon form a perfect combination with modern features such as the polyphonic matrix sequencer, recording of parameter runs, Morphee controller, storability and operation via VST plug-in. And Arturia continues to provide additional functions as part of firmware updates. New distortion effects The update to V2.0 already brought users a few new effects such as ensemble and master EQ. With V3.0, Arturia introduces a whole new effect category dedicated to distortion. You can saturate and distort the PolyBrute at various points in the signal path, e.g. by…

The British keyboard player and producer Sebastian Reynolds just released his debut album „Canary“ on which he draws inspiration from a diverse range of musical influences, blending the claustrophobic dystopia of Thom Yorke‘s „The Eraser,“ the fusion of Asian instruments and electronics akin to Four Tet and Susumu Yokota, and the haunting, alien spaciousness reminiscent of Vangelis and Jóhann Jóhannsson‘s film scores. This music is embedded in an exciting concept around spirituality and meditation. Sebastian told us the details. Beat / Did you have a specific vision for the album or did the individual pieces emerge from each moment? Sebastian/ I think quite early on it seemed like a theme was emerging as the tracks started to come together. I have so much unfinished material in my archive that it…

Oscillator section With its two main oscillators, a sub-oscillator and a noise generator, the PS-20 masters a broad spectrum of analog sounds. Oscillator synchronization, ring and frequency modulation also make cutting and metallic sounds possible. And you can also create PWM and Unison sounds, as well as polyphonic sounds that MS-20 owners have always dreamed of! Filter section The infamous filter duo is responsible for the snappy sound of the MS-20. With the PS-20, you can override both filters individually using the Drive controls. Tip: Set a low cutoff frequency and high resonance on the HP to boost the bass. Patch panel The patch field of the PS-20 is an Eldorado for sound experiments. Here, you can wire the synthesizer‘s modules together as you wish. You can also use external…

1 More width and shine Select a MIDI synth sound as the main layer that has the same direction as the final sound. Program a short chord sequence. Duplicate the track. For more width, detune the oscillator in the copied track by approx. +/-10 cents. To get more sparkle, duplicate the track again. Replace the instrument with a lead synth. 2 Fill up frequencies Delete everything in the copied MIDI clip except for the most important note of a chord, so that a monophonic line remains. For more weight, duplicate the main layer again, but choose a bass sound, preferably with mid and higher frequencies. Leave only the lowest note of the chord in the MIDI clip and transpose it 1-3 octaves lower. 3 Increase dynamics Copy the main layer again, but replace…

1 Create pitches For example, we loaded a recording session from our garden into the DAW, which offers a great soundscape with birdsong and buzzing bees that would actually make a great pad… if only it had a pitch! Fortunately, we can help with that and all we need is an EQ that has several bands. 2 Find frequencies We use the Pro-Q 3 from FabFilter; alternatively, you can use the EQ from your DAW or the Triple EQ from Blue Cat Audio. The principle is relatively simple: to impose the desired pitch on the recording, we simply boost the corresponding frequency - to an extreme degree. In our case, it should be pitch A, where A4 is 440 Hz. 3 Boost frequencies You can find a list of all notes and corres-ponding…

Behind Reverb Foundry is the British developer Matt Hill, who is also responsible for the reverb effects marketed under LiquidSonics, such as Seventh Heaven. While Seventh Heaven & the like rely on Convolution Reverb, in other words, they emulate well-known hardware effect devices with Impulse Responses (IR, special samples of the hardware), Tai Chi calculates the effect on the basis of its own algorithm. Tai Chi is not based on any hardware model, but is an in-house development-even if the effect is reminiscent of the legendary Lexicon 480L in some places. We were immediately struck by the clear design of the interface. Despite the many options, you can find your way around quite quickly if you are a little familiar with reverb effects. Most of the sections and parameters are…

1 E-Bass or eh Bass You can‘t get past „Makeba“ by Jain on Tik Tok right now. The song with its monotonous bassline drills itself into every ear canal. The bass sounds as if at least part of it was recorded with an electric bass and a wah-wah effect. But even that can be recreated to some extent in Pigments with a little modulation. 2 Analog & monophonic If you are still looking for the right notes: the bass line is mainly on G0, and the high notes in between on F#1. To get started, you need sound material rich in overtones, in Pigments in Engine 1 with a Saw Wave. To do this, set the synth at the bottom right of Poly8 to mono. This way it runs monophonically and each…

1 | Why is a linear frequency response important for studio monitors? While hi-fi loudspeakers require a beautifully colored character, the frequency curve of studio monitors should be as linear and even as possible. This allows precise and genuine reproduction of the audio material without excessive emphasis or attenuation of certain frequencies. 2 | What is the difference between near and midfield monitors? The main difference lies in their size and their radiation behavior. Nearfield monitors are smaller and have a wider beam angle, making them ideal for small studios. Since they are designed for listening distances (1-2 meters), they minimize room reflections. Midfield monitors are larger, have narrower beam angles and are suitable for larger studios and a greater listening distance (2-4 meters). Which option is best for you…

Beat/Tell us why you set up and furnished your studio the way you did? Oliver/My studio is a 40 square meter room with separate control and recording rooms. As I spend a lot of time in the studio, a certain „feel-good factor“ was extremely important to me. So, I installed motorized work tables for relaxed working, underfloor heating and air conditioning. The reverberation time was optimized to 2ms by an acoustician in order to achieve a very dry/crisp surround sound, especially for beat programming. This was achieved with heavy broadband compact absorbers (BKA) from Renz, among other things, which have an enormously good broadband effect. I also had lighter acoustic modules placed on the ceiling. I use a pair of Adam P11a + Sub for monitoring. Beat/What tips can you…

Almost 50,000 new songs are uploaded to Spotify every day. [1] The message is clear: everyone is welcome here. So when the Swedish company announced that it had excluded several thousand streams from its catalogue with immediate effect it came as a shock. All of the banned tracks were connected to AI start-up Boomy, whose algorithm is able to generate song elements from the most diverse styles for free use within a few seconds. [2] Spotify does not prohibit AI-composed works in principle. Rather, there were suspicions that ill-meaning users had created thousands of tracks with the help of Boomy and then streamed them using bots to help themselves to streaming royalties. [3] Machines listening to music written by machines? Unsurprisingly, the media were all over the story. For Spotify…

1 Buffer Size The first tip is a purely technical one. We click on Options and then go to the FL Studio audio settings. There, we go to Bufferlength and select the longest possible time. We also select Multithreaded generator processing, as well as Multithreaded mixer processing and Smart disable under the CPU section. 2 Smart disable Plug-ins such as synthesizers and samplers or effects such as reverb or saturator, in particular, can be very CPU-intensive. By clicking on Tools, we select Macros switch smart disable for all plugins. This means that the CPU only calculates the plug-ins that are currently required for the current sound, saving unnecessary computing power. 3 Clean up samples In the production workflow, you often drag one sample after another into the arrangement. You try out…

1 Load synth Algoritm is a pretty cool device with a power-fulsound and - like all FM synths - not easy to program. But we‘ll get to grips with that straight away. We want a rough sound for our Techno sequence, so we load an instance of Algoritm, right-click the synth, select Reset Device and remove FM Operator 1 with the X icon. 2 Osc instead of Operator We replace the Operator with an OSC & NOISE module and select Framtid as the waveform from the dropdown. We set the FREQuency to 0.50 so that the sound plays nice and low. By the way: If you want to avoid off-key pitches, stick to halving and doubling the frequency. Otherwise all deviations will change the basic pitch. 3 Here we go For a…

We have had a look around at other musicians and producers, and in most cases they opt for a universal desk from Ikea and the like. The reason regularly given for this is the lower price and the compromise that this furniture does not necessarily meet studio requirements. But is it really the case that special studio furniture is more expensive? Of course, there is hardly any upper limit to the price of professional designs or even furniture specially made for the room and your own needs. However, inexpensive studio furniture at the big music retailers is often overlooked. We, therefore, ordered the Studio Table XL from Thomann and tested it in practical application. In my smaller attic studio, I also used an Ikea solution, the tried-and-tested Jerker MKII desk…

With its slightly slanted housing with silver finish, you might actually think at first glance that the GAIA2 is the latest Korg synthesizer - the resemblance to the Minilogue in particular is unmistakable. Unfortunately, like its Japanese competitors, Roland unfortunately also completely foregoes aftertouch on the keyboard with 37 normal-sized keys. GAIA2 is pleasantly light and therefore suitable for regular transportation to the rehearsal room, but also appears sufficiently robust for occasional use on stage. Only the essential connections On the back you will find the following connections: stereo sum (2x jack), headphone jack (in addition to the connection on the front), connection for sustain or controller pedal, MIDI in/out, USB port for audio and MIDI data as well a USB port for storing data or the WiFi stick. Power…

When looking at the information on the 56HP wide mod FM, it becomes clear that this is a fully equipped synth and not a simple FM module. This eight-voice, multi-timbral FM synth houses an FM engine with four sine-based operators, two delays and a reverb. The 4-pole lowpass / 2-pole multimode (LP/BP/HP) filters, metal noise and the VCAs are all analog. The latter can snap into action very quickly for percussion applications. Thanks to multimode, it is possible to play the mod FM as a drum machine with eight instruments. Thanks to the digital part, all parameters can be saved. More than the usual FM Synthesis seems complex: Operators, modulators, carriers, and algorithms. Eurorack hardware dedicated to this topic, therefore, usually offers only a few fixed algorithms. Mod FM is…

picture: kues1/Freepik Test: Roland Fantom EX The EX upgrade package offers a wide range of new functions and workflow enhancements designed to give the already lavishly equipped top model even more creative power. It brings emulations of the classic Jupiter-8 and SH-101, as well as two new grand pianos, the JD-800 and n/zyme expansions and new reverbs. A must-have for all Fantom users, right? Interview: All diese Gewalt Whether as a producer for Casper, Swans, Jungstötter and Drangsal or with his own projects such as „Die Nerven“ and „All diese Gewalt“ – Max Rieger has left a clear mark on the indie music world. On the occasion of the release of the new All diese Gewalt album “Alles ist nur Übergang,” we talk to the Berliner by choice about his…

„Electronic Music Producer“ - New online course from Audio-College Have you always wanted to turn your hobby of music production into a career? With Audio-College and their new online course „Electronic Music Producer“ you now have the chance to do so. The course will run for six months. The course is aimed at up-and-coming producers who want to take their beats to a professional level and market them better. In terms of content, the course will teach the basics of sound engineering. The focus is on mixing techniques with special content for young beat producers, as well as marketing strategies. Participants are given new tasks every week in the form of practical exercises to learn producing and mixing techniques. They also receive expert mixing feedback for the exercises and their…

Beat / Generally speaking, where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play? Alva Noto / Interesting question. I think basically, the question itself already marks a kind of core starting point for me. What is the world we are surrounded by? What is it constructed from? What is reality? You mentioned dreams and to me, they are part of our reality because they have a strong impact on us. Many of the elements you mentioned can be an influence. But I think we have to see ourselves as a kind of filter. What has a relation to our life and our personal history, our socialisation? What do you want…

What is more important: the song or the arrangement? It‘s a question that has been hotly debated for generations. The 80s suggested it was all about shiny surfaces, glittering details and sprawling intros. In the 90s, on the other hand, CDs of MTV‘s Unplugged series, on which the songs were often performed on little more than an acoustic guitar, sold in the millions. Is this a paradox or is there a logic at work here? Trevor Horn is perhaps the most qualified musician to answer this complex question. His productions prove that these two areas are on the one hand independent, but at the same time almost inseparably connected. For the now legendary arrangement to Frankie Goes to Hollywood‘s „Relax“, he sweated in the studio 24/7 for weeks until everything…

1 Tidy up first The first thing you should do is edit the tracks of the individual components of the drum set so that all noise or annoying crosstalk disappears from your song. You can easily achieve this with the scissors tool or with a gate. Take your time here so that you end up with a clean drum set for further editing. 2 Send to bus To give our drums more punch and power, we set up a send to a bus on each drum track and set the level of each signal for the stereo bus to 0dB. Next, we load the channel EQ onto the bus. The aim of this EQ is to bring the frequency ranges responsible for the punch to the foreground. 3 Find the punch We switch…

1 Loop treasure hunt First, we create a new Cubase project and start looking for suitable audio material. We decide on the vocal loops „Vocals_140_Dm_Get Your Body_Spoken_10_AKB“ and „04 dont stop“. We call the tracks Vocals 1 and Vocals 2. As the second loop has a tempo of 140 BPM, we define a project tempo of 140 BPM. 2 Load Vocoder We also load the loop „Electronica - Drum Loop TaikoDownb_140_TL“. Place the loops on three different audio tracks. Solo the Vocals 1 track and load the Vocoder as an insert effect. The Vocoder integrates a synthesizer that provides the carrier signal. In Fixed Mode, you can define the basic note for the synthesizer. 3 Chords as a basis Select External Mode to play the synth via MIDI. Add a new MIDI track…

Serato from New Zealand is wellknown in the field of sound design for their time-stretching algorithm Pitch‘N Time and for their DJ software. The sample plug-in combines know-how from both areas in Version 2.0. What can Serato Sample do? Those who, in particular, produce Hip Hop or House can creatively form new music from existing audio material by splitting, reversing and filtering samples. Junglists also make beats this way. These production techniques are taken to a new level in Serato Sample. First, you can edit the slices with an unbeatable quality timestretch algorithm and easily change their tempo and pitch independently, if needed. Secondly, here you manage to extract individual tracks from samples, such as drums, melody parts or vocals. Certainly, this doesn‘t exempt you from complying with copyright regulations.…

Kenya Grace – Strangers: Reese Bass w/Vital 1 Two waves as a basis There are countless versions of the chorus from Strangers in countless videos on TikTok. In the original, a Reese bass lies beneath the voice and synth chords. You can easily recognize it by the broad, washed-out sound. We start it in the freeware Vital with a Saw Wave in Osc 1 at -12 semitones and a sine wave in Osc.2 at -24 semitones. 2 Secret ingredient Unison The unusual thing about Reese basses is that they sound wide, powerful and somehow washed out, which is unusual for bass sounds. Almost like synth pads, only at the bottom. The Unison function next to Osc. 1 in Vital is responsible for the washed-out sound. This multiplies the wave and detunes…

Austrian Audio has built up a good reputation in the audio scene surprisingly quickly with their professional yet affordable products. With MiCreator Studio, the Austrians deliver a robust and stylish USB-C microphone with an integrated audio interface that can be modularly expanded with additional microphones. Stylish design, good feel We liked the design straight away; a futuristic-looking mixture of early 19th century vocal microphones and modern elements. The color can be customized with an interchangeable front panel in black, white or red. The workmanship is very good, as is the feel. MiCreator can simply be placed on the desktop, but it can also be attached to a tripod. The capsule is mounted in a ring with an effective shockmount that can be adjusted vertically. Flexible connections On the back, you…

NINA is a hybrid synthesizer with 12 voices, two analog and one digital oscillator and an analog ladder filter. There are also digital onboard effects and a sequencer. The highlight are the motorized controls, which automatically move to the correct position when changing presets and thus prevent value jumps, but also provide useful support for the extensive modulation options and the morphing function. Impressive hardware Just as impressive as the fact that a previously unknown small developer and not one of the big global players is the first to present a synthesizer with motor controllers is the synthesizer itself. The metal desktop housing in combination with the motors weighs almost 6 kilograms, so rack installation, which is generally possible, should only be done in sufficiently stable racks. Everything looks very…