Indholdsfortegnelse for November 2016 i Computer Music

 You’ve refined your latest mix, and tested it on various speakers and systems. Does it sonically stand up alongside your favourite commercial releases? What about that final 5% of sparkle, weight, depth and loudness? It needs mastering, of course! “Shadow the best in the business…” Pro engineers have years of experience, a tuned acoustic environment, full-range monitors and – most importantly – that impartiality that you just don’t have after listening to the same track over and over in a lesser room. So why not shadow the best in the business? We’ll do just that on p20 as we enter the world-famous Metropolis Mastering studios for a series of exclusive attended sessions. Find out how Stuart Hawkes, Tony Cousins and Andy ‘Hippy’ Baldwin fine-tune tracks with high-end analogue equipment. After…

Tutorial videos High-quality videos to guide you through our tutorials. Wherever you see the icon on the left, there’s a video version to watch See this issue’s entire video content on the next pages Tutorial files A folder full of audio examples, synth patches and project files to help you follow our tutorials This digital content has been thoroughly scanned and tested at all stages of production, but as with all new software, we still recommend that you run a virus checker before use. We also recommend that you have an up-to-date backup of your hard drive before using the content. Future cannot accept responsibility for any disruption, damage and/or loss to your data or computer system that may occur while using this magazine’s programs and/or data. Consult your network…

To help you get the most out of our immense plugin collection, we’ve assembled the Plugins Tutorial Bank, containing over 100 guides and tutorials for our Plugins, specially selected from past issues. You’ll find Getting Started PDFs and videos for most of the individual plugins, along with tutorial PDFs and videos on using Plugins for sound design, mixing, and even creating entire tracks. You’ll find all of this as a handy download in our Vault – go grab it now and start getting more out of your plugins! vault.computermusic.co.uk…

“MIDI is almost the same old dinosaur as the audio protocol” cm There are quite a few MIDI devices around these days – most DAWs are bundled with them. What sets AutoTonic apart? CS “DAWs are bundled with all sorts of tools – stock synths, instruments and effects… but most professionals use third party plugins. They’re all different when you look closely. With AutoTonic, the main differences lie firstly in its unconventional mapping technique, which can set scales with any count of intervals per octave, and secondly in its keyswitching, which gives you full, real-time control over any harmonic context. That, plus all the other groundbreaking new features, make AutoTonic more of a ‘new instrument’ than just another pitch-correction tool.” cm AutoTonic is a standalone app that sits between your…

Now we’ve finished mastering the Freemasons’ track, let’s take a closer look at the finished product. The master has a weighty overall tone and dynamic, similar to our reference track, with a warm, saturated sound that brings out the analogue synths used in the track. When comparing the master to the original mix at a matched volume level, there’s a pleasing increase in weight with less focus on the high-mid frequencies that were too prominent previously. The stereo width EQ and gain tweaks have increased the width of the finished product, giving the master a polished sound that’s still impressive when listening on headphones. Overall, the end result from using only freeware and plugins will translate well to any playback system. However, we feel that certain compromises had to be…

The birth of electronic musical instruments created generations of pioneers: from the modular-toting prog rockers of the 70s, to the Chicago house innovators, to the glitch editors and timestretchers of modern times. But while most forms of music ‘absorbed’ new technologies into what was already there, hip-hop was always something special. The genre’s use of sonic collages, rap vocals and deck scratching – all from a shoestring budget – made it all about the attitude, and this factor has carried hip-hop forward to today, where it’s now one of the most established forms of electronic music. Whilst modern hip-hop records from the likes of Drake or Eminem use a palette of sounds similar to those favoured in trap, EDM or dubstep, in this article we’re focusing on ‘classic’ hip-hop, which…

Clipse - Grindin’ Producer The Neptunes This 2002 hit featured an incredibly sparse yet powerful beat alongside gritty rhymes. The fat kick drum combined with crisp clap, finger clicks and synthetic toms gives Grindin’ a rugged feel with the occasional synth riff and shiny percussion making it more interesting. bit.ly/ClipseGrin Missy Elliot - Get Ur Freak On Producer Timbaland Bringing together elements of bhangra and hip-hop, this one’s a prime example of Timbaland’s sparse yet weighty production style. The main tumbi melody provides a killer hook with bhangra drumming, synth and Missy’s vocals creating a club banger with a heavy Asian influence. bit.ly/MEfreakon Snoop Dogg - Drop It Like It’s Hot Producer The Neptunes Snoop’s first US Number One single combined his trademark laid back vocal delivery with the minimal…

As we’ve shown in the step-by-step tutorial above, it’s quite possible to create and customise audio effects and instruments using a graphical programming environment like Max for Live. Most such programs provide MIDI objects or modules that can be used to send MIDI CC data to external hardware and native MIDI instruments, effects and possibly even functions in your DAW. This allows you to use, say, Pure Data, Reaktor, or Max to create a huge number of potential custom interfaces for your software. Logic has long been the undisputed king of custom MIDI functionality thanks to its now-ancient Environment. This comprehensive, graphical programming construction kit allows users to create anything from MIDI filters and analysers to complex arpeggiators, complete with any number of switches, knobs, sliders, buttons and more. It…

Ilpo Kärkkäinen Ilpo – aka Resound – is a veteran drum ’n’ bass producer who’s worked with many of the scene’s biggest labels. As well as being an in-demand game soundtrack artist and mixing and mastering engineer, he runs a popular production blog focused on productivity. After 20 years in the game, Ilpo still has a passion for pushing the boundaries of production. www.resoundsound.com Spectrum analysers and other forms of visual metering fall into an often-misunderstood category of music production tools. Wouldn’t we be better off just listening instead of looking? We humans are visually oriented creatures by nature – for us, seeing really is believing, and when we look, we forget to listen. In this day and age, vivid hi-res graphics are everywhere… including inside our DAW, and when…

Our promise We bring you honest, unbiased appraisals of the latest computer music products. Our experts apply the same stringent testing methods to all gear, no matter how much hype or expectation surrounds it. What the ratings mean 1-4 A seriously flawed product that should be avoided 5 This product’s problems outweigh its merits 6 A decent product that’s only held back by a few flaws 7 Solid. Well worth considering 8 Very good. A well-conceived and executed product 9 Excellent. First-rate and among the best you can buy 10 Exceptional. It just doesn’t get any better than this! See and hear the latest software in action in our ‘2 Minutes With…’ videos! Wherever you see the icon, head straight to your DVD, the Vault download area, or our YouTube…

“Whether or not we’ve heard sounds like these before, we’ve certainly heard claims like these before” OSCILLATORS Two virtual analogue oscillators, offering the usual shapes and some noise generators FILTER Cascade’s filter boasts plenty of types and slopes, and it sounds lovely OSCILLATOR MODULATION Modulate pitch and waveshape with Cascade’s LFO and two envelopes LFO An LFO like any other, with delay and phase offset ENVELOPES Envelope 1 is an ADSR; Envelope 2 is a more flexible four-stage model THE CASCADE SECTION The delay-based process that gives the synth its name – ‘densifies’ the sound up to 5832 times using multiple delay lines FILTER MODULATION Wobble that filter with envelopes, LFO, velocity & note pitch CASCADE MODULATION Modulate the Cascade delay times and feedback using the LFO and Envelope 2…

In the centre of the Pusher interface, the Magic control boosts the Low, Body and High processing collectively, the idea being to sculpt the bass, mids and treble discretely, then crank up the overall sound by applying broadband enhancement via Magic. Then there’s the Focus slider to the left, which introduces high-mid compression and excitement, and the Dynamic Punch slider, which you’ll find on the right, governs the attack and release of the compression introduced by the Magic, for a degree of transient control. Also accompanying the Magic knob (in that it, too, is activated and deactivated by Magic’s In/Out switch) is the Stereo Image control, which does an excellent job of widening the higher frequencies in the signal without becoming excessive as it’s turned clockwise. It could possibly do…

Eiosis’ original e2deesser, released in 2008, has consistently maintained its position as one of the most powerful de-essers on the market, so while the release of an updated version (VST/AU/AAX) doesn’t come as a shock, it’s mildly surprising it’s taken the revered French developers so long to do it. The new e2deesser (the name remains the same – this is another ‘reboot’, rather than a ‘v2’, like AirEQ last year) improves on its predecessor in just about every area, but still adheres to the same basic operational principle: the incoming signal is routed to a ‘Voiced’ path until sibilance is detected, whereupon the routing instantly switches to a separate ‘Sibilants’ path for processing, then back. The total independence of these two paths becomes apparent when either is soloed in the…

The latest UAD update includes enhancements to existing plugins alongside two major new fully endorsed plugins: UA’s own Manley Voxbox, and from Brainworx (UAD direct development partner), the Ampeg B-15N Bass Amplifier. One further development incorporated into v8.7 concerns the early Roland and Boss plugins (Dimension D, RE-201 Space Echo and CE-1 Chorus Ensemble). Following the end of UA’s licensing deal with Roland (the plugins have been unavailable to purchase for almost a year), they have re-launched all three with new graphics. The Galaxy Tape Echo, Studio D Chorus and Brigade Chorus are available to buy individually and as the Classic FX Bundle, and are sonically identical to the Roland/Boss plugins. Existing owners will find the plugins added to their account for free, although the originals are still included to…

In our time, we’ve seen various approaches to amplifier cabinet emulations – adjustable mics, selectable room types, and more. B-15N continues Brainworx’ approach of using preprepared impulse-based Recording Chains captured using their Neve VXS 72 desk. You get 42 presets using four different cabinets. Half the presets use the original matching Ampeg 1x15" cabinet, with three further cabinets – 8x10", 4x10" and 1x15" – making up the rest. In each case, you’ll find one preset incorporates desk EQ and one is completely flat. Mic choices, although not specified in detail, include dynamic, condenser and ribbon, sometimes using a combination of mics. In all cases, mics have been positioned to capture the best sound possible, and although, on paper, this approach is less flexible than some options, it’s quick and reliable.…

Toontrack Dream Pop EZX £51 We’re not entirely sure what the theme behind Toontrack’s latest add-on pack for EZdrummer is, but the whole thing sounds so good that we don’t care. It seems to be a gathering of around 250 largely ‘unreal’ drums, cymbals, percussion elements, melodic sounds (some mapped chromatically), drones, velocity-sensitive filterings, crescendos, FX and more, all with a vaguely oddball ‘pop’ vibe. Like Hip-Hop EZX (10/10, 217), Dream Pop reminds us how effective and fun EZdrummer can be when loaded with unusual material – we don’t want to wake up! www.timespace.com 10/100 Niche Audio Glitch Machine £25 Any new entrant into Niche Audio’s ever-expanding and acclaimed range of Live Packs and Maschine add-ons inevitably brings with it a certain level of expectation. Interestingly, while Glitch Machine is…

Step 1 On your PC or Mac, go to vault.computermusic.co.uk, then either register for a new Vault account, or log in if you already have one. Step 2 Click ‘add a magazine’ in the top bar, select the issue you want to add to your Vault (eg, this issue is 236), and answer a few simple security questions. Step 3 Go to ‘my vault’ to see all your mags – click a cover and use the links to download! You can download as much or as little as you like.…

PLAY YOUR PIZZA BOX First we had McDonald’s MIDI controller placemat, and then along come Pizza Hut with their DJ controller in a pizza box. We’re not sure it’d be robust enough to stand up to life on the road, but if you do gig with it, be sure to play something extra cheesy… PET SOUNDS We’re used to seeing cats playing the piano, but we never thought we’d see a rabbit and a guinea pig jamming together on a Korg Volca Bass and Monotribe. Check out the video evidence, and note their Kraftwerk levels of stillness: bit.ly/PetsJam ROLAND REVIVALS It’s not every 909 day that brings a new 909, but that’s what Roland gave us this year. In fact, in amongst a load of other stuff, they also gave…

TDR VOS SlickEQ A four-band EQ that’s great for characterful EQ, with two modelled saturation stages. There’s English, American, German and Soviet EQ models to choose from, each with switchable, per-band saturation. Separate saturation can also be applied to the output to spice up plain, digital mixes. www.tokyodawn.net VOS BaxterEQ (PC only) Specifically designed for mastering use and offering mastering-friendly features such as pristine 64-bit internal processing, super-gentle Baxandall shelves and a dual-channel layout, the BaxterEQ not only sounds great but also offers big workflow advantages with mid/side processing. varietyofsound.wordpress.com Voxengo Marvel GEQ A surprisingly flexible linear-phase sixteen-band graphic EQ from the highly respected Voxengo. As well as offering excellent sound quality, the included channel routing, mid/side operation and A/B comparison options make this as easy to use as any…

A Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It Producer A Tribe Called Quest An undisputed hip-hop classic, Can I Kick It has a feel-good vibe from start to finish – the seminal Lou Reed bass sample gives the track an upbeat feel, with the sampled breakbeat joining it to create a head-nodding groove that’s up there with the best. bit.ly/TCQkickit J Dilla - Won’t Do Producer J Dilla J Dilla was well known for using samples in a creative manner, and Won’t Do is a great example of this. A well taken sample of Alfie by Dick Hyman gives this track a spaced-out feel, with the groove-laden drums Dilla was famous for driving the piece along nicely. bit.ly/DillaWontDo Danger Doom - Crosshairs Producer Danger Mouse & MF Doom Sampling…

Ronan Macdonald Having previously served as Editor of drummer’s bible Rhythm as well as Computer Music, Ronan is clearly the right man for this particular gig. He’s been playing drums for over 30 years and making music with computers since the 90s. Ever since the earliest days of rock and roll, the sound of two human palms being brought together has played a significant role in the sound of popular and dance music. The handclap really came into its own with disco, then techno, house, R&B and other electronic styles, thanks to its inclusion as a sonic option on just about every drum machine ever made, from Roland’s series of x0x-boxes to AudioThing’s awesome Hand Clapper plugin. As ubiquitous as the electronically generated clap remains, though, making your own using…

“Maschine Jam features an 8x8 grid of backlit RGB buttons that output fixed values when pressed” If Native Instruments’ awesome MPC-inspired hardware/software combo, Maschine (Mikro, MkII and Studio), has an Achilles’ heel, it’s that it’s not ideal for step sequencing. With only 16 pads onboard, the non-real-time entry of note data into its grid has always been a secondary feature. Newer devices such as Ableton Push 2 and Novation’s Launchpad make step sequencing far more viable with their 64-pad grids, so to fill this functional hole in Maschine’s remit, NI have come up with a whole new branch on the Maschine family tree: Maschine Jam. Like its siblings, Maschine Jam is intended for use with the Maschine 2.0 software, but can also be loaded with templates from NI’s Controller Editor…

“We still can’t recommend NI’s gargantuan sonic powerhouse highly enough” FORM OSCILLATOR Form’s main oscillator, hosts a sample – from its library or one of your own OSCILLATOR FX Apply frequency modulation, distortion, waveshaping and more to the Form Oscillator TABBED PAGES Switch between the Sample, Sound and Effects pages here ADDITIVE OSCILLATOR A sub-oscillator tracking the Form Oscillator from -24st to +120st MOTION The heart of Form. Design your own playback path for the loaded sample MACROS Each preset can have up to four Macro modulation knobs assigned MODULATION Form’s powerful modulation system is housed here, but assignments are made via the target parameters themselves PERFORM Assign synth-wide parameter snapshots to these 12 buttons, and trigger them via MIDI Native Instruments’ Komplete has long stood as the best deal…

Billed as a “stereo spectral shifter” and “a new kind of effect”, Fault (VST/AU/AAX) is a plugin effect with three discrete processors at its heart, all of them manipulated independently for the left and right channels, or linked. The first section is the Pitch Shifter, which simply pitches left, right or both channels up and/or down by up to an octave, in 0.1 semitone steps, or semitone steps if the Quantize button is activated. Next, the Frequency Shifter consists of a main knob for setting the Base shift amount up to +/-500Hz and a pair of associated controls for modifying it: Multiply scales the Base frequency by 0.0x to 10x in 0.1x steps, while Spread multiplies the left channel by the right channel from -1.0x to 1.0x, again in 0.1x…

E2deesser’s eight algorithms, selected in the Mode menu, configure a number of behind-the-scenes parameters to deal with a range of sibilance-reducing issues. For de-essing singers, there are the Solo Vocals and Background Vocals Modes, the first detecting sibilance on the left and right channels equally, the second separating left/ right detection. Voice Over Mode uses a faster detection speed than the two Vocals algorithms, as befits dialogue de-essing. Overheads Mode is intended for use on drum kits, doing away with harsh cymbals, and Guitar Squeaks targets detection and response to the string noises that guitarists are known to generate between notes. Finally, the three Mastering algorithms (Stereo, M/S and Mid) are designed to curtail unwanted high frequencies in full mixes without dulling them, operating specifically on their named channel configurations…

Focusrite Red Suite Get the legendary manufacturer’s own modelled EQ and compressor plugins, and see them at work on p52 Sample packs GOLDBABY CM PACK 2016 The aficionados’ choice of sample label brings you hundreds of analogue samples, p106 BONUS HOUSE SAMPLES Over 2000 genre-specific samples pulled from our huge archive, to download with this issue, p106 LOOPMASTERS SAMPLES An ace selection from the biggest name in the sampling game – grab them on your PC/Mac, p107 CM Plugins Our exclusive collection of free plugins for Mac and PC. See what’s available on pcm108…

Our fantastic software, samples, videos and tutorial files are now available to download! To get access to this content, go to vault.computermusic.co.uk on your PC or Mac’s web browser. You’ll be asked to register and answer a few simple questions to prove that you’ve got the mag. You’ll then be given access to our content! You can sign in any time to register new issues and download t more content. For more info, see our Vault FAQ: bit.ly/cmvaultfaq * Please note that the Label Worx in-studio video is not available as a download via our Vault – see page 35 for viewing instructions.…

“The Amiga was responsible for turning bedroom musicians into professional music producers” Tracker enthusiasts and regulars to this column will no doubt be aware that tracking first began on the Commodore Amiga with Karsten Obarski’s Ultimate Soundtracker. With that and more advanced trackers such as Protracker, and later on the eight-channel Octomed, the Amiga was responsible for raising many bedroom musicians into professional producers. The Amiga scene is still alive and well, including tracker musicians, coders and artists, and to truly experience everything it has to offer, many argue the best way is with the original hardware itself. But in its absence, another great way to immerse oneself in the world of Commodore is through emulation. And now thanks to 2016’s cheap-as-chips Raspberry Pi 3 and a new, dedicated Raspberry…

 A software legend was born in November 2006, when Native Instruments announced Massive (something that we reported on in 106). A decade on and it’s still many musicians’ go-to synth, so you might say that it’s been, er, a ‘massive’ success. “Ableton’s Live 6 faced-off against Sonar 6” Elsewhere, we made good on a promise of the previous issue to cover the new wave of handheld music making apps, and we discussed “cutting-edge hardware units such as the Dell Axim range”, which ran Windows Mobile. The stage was set for Microsoft to go on and dominate the pocket computing market for years to come, which is probably what happened in an alternative universe without Apple in it. In the reviews section, Ableton’s Live 6 faced-off against Cakewalk’s Sonar 6 (both…

Voxengo Span N/A » N/A » FREE “This is one of the best plugins for monitoring mid and side information, allowing you to see if things are phasing in the mix and if your sub bass is stereo. This allows you to see what your tweaking in the stereo domain when making corrections during mixing or mastering.” www.voxengo.com Sonnox Oxford EQ 50 » 9/10 » £200 “This is one of the cleanest equalisers out there, and is perfect for smooth, minor boosts when mastering. Oxford EQ adds no colour whatsoever, and beautifully works where you want it to. It’s unlike any other software EQ we’ve heard!” www.sonnox.com UAD Shadow Hills 188 » 8/10 » £229 “A thick, coloured, musical opto compressor to add pump and warmth to your master, fed…

TDR KOTELNIKOV This one’s great for mastering – not only does it have a pristine sound, but there are tons of useful features such as separate release times for peak and RMS events, a sidechain high-pass filter to prevent low frequencies making the compressor pump, and super-fast attack and release times for parallel work. www.tokyodawn.net VLADG SOUND LIMITER NO6 Although this plugin majors on limiting, there’s also a fully featured compression section. Don’t let the retro style graphics fool you – Limiter no.6 sounds great as a glue compressor, with useful features to boot, including switchable mid/side compression, 4x oversampling and a wet/dry mix for the compressor section. vladgsound.wordpress.com STAB RECORDINGS INFINITY Infinity’s a good bet for adding extra analogue vibe when compressing a master. Alongside the usual attack, release…

LOW/HIGH SHELF Boost or cut frequencies below or above a specific point HIGH PASS Progressively attenuates bass below the frequency you set AUTO RELEASE Let the release time be determined by signal dynamics, rather than the Release knob INPUT Useful when the input signal is too hot LOW MID/HIGH MID Parametric peak/bell EQ focused on lower and upper midrange, with Q for ‘focusing’ the effect ATTACK & RELEASE How fast the compressor reacts to and recovers from signal peaks RATIO & THRESHOLD Set compression amount, and the point at which it becomes fully active LOW PASS Roll the top down and quell top-end harshness GAIN Gone crazy with EQ boosts? Use this to set the output to a sensible level DRY/WET Blend dry and compressed signals for instant parallel compression…

The groove of hip-hop drums is all-important. As the basis of pretty much all musical styles, the rhythm section lays the foundation for all the other instruments to build upon. Lots of electronic music styles feature drums that are strictly quantised to the beat, but a real drummer will typically play very slightly off the grid, – depending on their skill level and the feel that they’re looking to add to their performance. This natural variance from the grid is one of the factors that gives a drum beat its groove – a great example of groove is the playing of James Brown’s drummer Clyde Stubblefield on the track Funky Drummer ( bit.ly/FunkyDrummer ). We may not be able to…

Art is all about individual expression. As creative people, we’re compelled to share our ideas and emotions in an original – and hopefully resonant – manner. We as artists like to say and do things in our own way. To some, that smacks of vanity at best and arrogance at worst. Yet the ability to reflect and describe the world around us in a unique and interesting language is precisely why artists are so very important to the cultural landscape. As artistically-minded people, we’ve an innate need to strut our proverbial stuff, whether that means dressing up for the stage or developing and adopting a musical gimmick with which we can be identified. It is partially for this reason that many musicians are drawn to customised kit. Yet such one-offs…

Dave Clews In a studio career spanning almost 25 years, Dave has engineered, programmed and played keyboards on records for a string of artists including George Michael, Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner and Estelle. These days, in between writing articles for and other magazines, he collaborates on occasional songs and videos with singer/songwriter Lucy Hirst, aka Polkadothaze. www.daveclews.com We all know how great computers are for making dance music. Due to its rigid, metronomic nature, much computer-based music is ideally suited for the dancefloor, with the four-to-the-floor kick drum pattern of house an easily identifiable example – the beat is ‘explicit’. A thumping drum track works brilliantly as a means of getting people up and onto the dancefloor, but good music is also about light and shade, so using drum-free instrumental…

Waves are known for their ‘Artist’ collaborations with rock and pop engineers (Andrew Scheps, Jack Joseph Puig, Tony Maserati, etc), so their latest partnership, with Israeli dance and electronica duo Infected Mushroom, is an interesting one before the resulting plugin, Pusher (VST/AU/AAX), is even fired up. Infected Mushroom actually have form in this area, having designed the I Wish “granular note freezer” with Polyverse in 2015. The initial concept behind Pusher was to build an enhancer and limiter/clipper that would improve the sound of, well, anything – single channels, busses and even full mixes – with minimal user input. Infected Mushroom themselves like to use it to quickly ‘master’ rough track ideas for test playing in clubs, which strikes us as a strong selling point. To achieve its goal of…

Key to getting the most out of Fault is its nifty modulation system, which Unfiltered Audio have clearly put a lot of effort into. Up to six Modulators are added in the pop-out bottom panel and each one can be set to one of six types. The first three are Saw/Triangle, Sine and Square LFOs, and the remaining types comprise an envelope follower, a Sample and Hold Noise generator, and a Macro knob. To assign a modulator to a target parameter, drag a ‘cable’ from the former’s output to the latter’s mod input and adjust the output depth knob. Each output can feed multiple inputs, modulators can modulate each other, and there’s no limit to the number of outputs you can take from any given modulator (although you can’t collapse…

Manley’s Voxbox Channel Strip hardware couples classic valve, transformer and optical analogue circuitry with supreme build quality, visual design and a price tag to match. Universal Audio have emulated every nook and cranny of it in this new emulation, for use with their UAD-2 system. Apollo users will be able to use it as a Unison plugin to imprint their recordings with the impedance and gain structure of the original unit. The four main sections are valve preamp, optical compressor, passive EQ and optical de-esser/limiter, with Input and Output controls handling overall level duties. Much like the hardware, the compressor comes after the Input trim but before the pre-amp. Further input stage options include a 6dB/ octave low-cut filter (80Hz or 120Hz), polarity invert and Mic/Line switching (Line is roughly…

The Ampeg B-15N plugin is the third Ampeg bass amp emulation developed by Brainworx for the UAD-2/Apollo platform, following last year’s SVT-VR and SVT-3 Pro. In contrast to the SVT amps, the B-15N has a more modest power output, with a 30-watt all-tube amp head driving a 15" loudspeaker cab. From the outset, this 1960s classic found its niche in studio rather than live situations, and is clearly an ideal candidate for DAW users. Also rather pleasing (and one better than last year’s SVT’s) is that the B-15N is Unison enabled, emulating the impedance and gain-staging of the hardware. The plugin features two different amps, the 1964 B-15NC and the 1966 B-15NF, with dedicated Volume, Treble and Bass controls for each. Amp selection is via the jack Inputs on the…