Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i Electronic Musician

Serial compression is a technique that doesn’t get nearly enough coverage. While the parallel compression technique runs a compressor in parallel with an original signal, serial compression runs two or more compressors over a signal in series. You might assume that result is the same as throwing a single compressor at a signal, but in practice, serial compression can give you a hugely more transparent tone while still compressing the living daylights out of a signal if you want to. We’ll explore serial compression and its nuances in the tutorial below, and we’ll do so using the excellent Venomode Complexer 2 compressor. This software effect plays host to three compressor stages, which can be routed in three ways: as a multiband setup with each affecting a different frequency band; as…

It’s rare to hear a completely dry synth sound in a finished track. Whether it’s a touch of reverb on a lead line, compression on an analog kick or chorus on a pad, almost all classic synth sounds can benefit from a little processing of some kind. The question, then, is whether to reach external effects or find a synth with everything you need onboard. There’s no real right or wrong here. On the one hand, dedicated effect processors are often more capable than those found onboard synths. However, effects contained in synths are often designed to work well with that instrument. Particularly with modern ‘super synth’ plugins, onboard effects often let you modulate them using the synth’s existing envelopes or LFOs, or apply the effect at points in the…

Like the antagonist from a horror movie franchise, this classic transistor-based organ refuses to die. Released in 1962 and designed as a more portable solution than Hammond’s B3, Vox’s Continental was everything the Hammond was not. The Hammond was a throwback to an era when organs were meant to be a part of one’s living room furniture, and frankly looked like something your granny would play in Sunday school. By contrast, the Vox Continental was thoroughly modern with its deep red top, Z-shaped chrome-plated stand and reverse-colored keys – an instrument perfectly suited to the fashion-conscious mods of the swinging '60s, then. More significantly, where the B3 weighed in at 425lbs with bench and pedals, the dual-manual Vox Continental might as well have been shaped from gossamer at just over…

Quad includes various ways for oscillator 1 to control osc 2 and vice versa. In the dropdown box at the bottom right of oscillator 2’s XY pad, you’ll find a choice of 16 modulation types accompanied by two amount controls. Modulation types include typical options such as ring modulation, phase modulation and four types of frequency modulation. However, each type has quite specific features and to that end the function of the amount controls is specific to each modulation type. If you really want to know what’s happening, the manual includes a detailed description of each type, but, as an example, frequency modulation 2 (FM2) is a sample and hold algorithm with oscillator 1 as the sample source and oscillator 2 as the target. The adjustable parameters are frequency modulation…

$50 babyaud.io US developer Baby Audio is a relatively new company that has impressed in recent years with a run of slick, easy-to-use plugins including the I Heart NY parallel compressor and Super VHS lo-fi effect. The latest release added to their stable is Comeback Kid, Baby Audio’s new delay, which offers a decent amount of echo-power for not such a big outlay. We kid you not There's a lot to love about this stylish delay plugin. Comeback Kid has three BPM-synced modes – Straight, Dotted and Triplet – to offer different timed delays, while the main Time dial allows you to select intervals down to 1/64th note. Those pretty cool Flavor options are also included again, which add a lot of character to the sound. However, this time you…

In addition to the included presets, Mixroom can create a target curve from an audio file, allowing you to match your current audio to an existing track or mix. To access this feature you click on the target icon next to the preset browser. This opens an additional panel from which you can load and manage up to 20 source files. By setting the respective DAW track to input monitor, source files can be auditioned within the plugin and this helps you choose which sections to use to create the target EQ curve. Multiple sections of the source audio can be highlighted, and once you’ve done this you simply hit the Create Targets tab below. Closing out the panel gets you back into the main window and from here you…

Francis Preve is one of the industry’s most prolific sound designers. Find out more at francispreve.com There’s something truly special about the sound of a vintage string machine. Their sound has defined countless R&B, disco, and synthpop tracks over the years. For disco and R&B, that list is absolutely endless, with the sound of the ARP Solina String Ensemble dominating songs from the Ohio Players, Rick James, and Prince. As for UK pop in the '80s, nearly every one of Duran Duran’s early hits was based on the Crumar Performer string machine – usually through a phaser – while Joy Division’s 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' was based on the ARP Omni (or was it the Omni II?). The sound is so distinctive that modern manufacturers have released gear dedicated…

Gramotech Pompeii $37 A satisfyingly small multiband dynamics tool that keeps things simple but manages to remain unique, Pompeii offers four bands of compression and expansion – not quite to the extent of gating, which would be a great addition. There’s also a per-band Saturation control, which is great for warming up bands that need extra oomph elsewhere in the frequency spectrum. Each band is equipped with Bypass, Solo and Mute controls, and while there’s no classic metered gain reduction, the spectrogram does show the difference between the input/output signals in a slow fashion. That’s it – Pompeii is very simple but also very solid, satisfying everything you crave in a multiband compressor/expander, and working like a dream, for less than $40. gramotech.co.uk Acon Digital Multiband Dynamics $139 Available as…

Greek hardware brand Dreadox and plugin specialist Sinevibes have teamed up to launch Typhon, a new portable and compact analog synth. Typhon contains two Dreadbox analog oscillators, a 4-pole low-pass filter and three modulators with four different modes. A 32-step sequencer is also onboard; as well as being able to sequence notes in the usual way, this can also be used as a modulation source. For their part, Sinevibes have contributed 12 DSP stereo effects, including Distortion, Bit crusher, Chorus, Ensemble, Flanger, Delay and Reverb. This looks like a pretty hands-on synth with a straightforward workflow. All analogue elements have their own controls on the left, while the sliders, buttons and encoder on the right can be can be used to control the amp and filter envelopes, sequencer, modulators and…

The iRig Keys 2 Mini is the latest and smallest addition to IK Multimedia’s iRig Keys 2 range, offering 25 mini keys and direct connection to your iOS, Android, Windows or macOS device. Other useful connectivity options include a dedicated audio output – which should be particularly useful if you don’t have one on your phone or tablet – and MIDI I/O so that the iRig Keys 2 Mini can be used as a standalone controller. Power can be drawn from your device, a USB power supply or a USB battery pack. As well as the keys, you also of course get volume and octave up/down controls, plus a push encoder and various other function buttons. A further four assignable knobs are included, too, and your preferred settings can be…

Moog Model D free 1 Moog is arguably the best known synth company, often with suitably large price tags. However their Model D iPad version is currently free, giving you a chance to enjoy the classic sounds on the move. moogmusic.com Arturia Analog Lab $250 2 Arturia make great hardware synths and their VSTs are well loved too. The Analog Lab is a great choice for experimenting with different core sounds, that can intuitively be adapted. It also pays homage to some of the best synths from the last 40 years. arturia.com Roland System 8 $1500 3 This makes the list purely for its versatility. It lacks aftertouch but otherwise has all you need, including vocoder, arp, sequencer and authentic versions of classic Rolands from yesteryear like the Jupiter 8,…

Learning licks, and even whole solos from our favorite players is a surefire way to develop your soloing vocabulary. But it’s important that you understand how the notes relate to the chords so you can take these licks and phrases and use them and on others tunes, and in all keys. The following players and examples are more advanced than last month’s choices, so take your time and work on these slowly and carefully. Rick Wakeman Is there a bigger star in all of prog-rock than Rick Wakeman? Fleet fingered, flamboyant, funny, and given to excess (he virtually invented the “who has more keyboards” arm race), Mr. Wakeman has created a body of work that has influenced so many of us keyboardists. To showcase him my first example comes from…

Si Truss is the Editor of Electronic Musician and Future Music magazines $520 ericasynths.lv Latvian company Erica Synths has proven quite prolific in recent years, delivering modules, systems and standalone hardware at a pace that’s tough to keep up with at times. What’s impressive, though, is that despite the volume, the quality has remained high. What Erica does especially well is analog grit – from Polivoks-inspired filters to the tube-equipped Fusion modules and last year’s impressive Ninja Tune collab Zen Delay, Erica is responsible for some of our favourite go-to tools for raw, edgy sounds. Naturally, the idea of a standalone Erica-branded bass synth has got us rather hot under the collar. At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Bassline DB-01 was another 303 clone. It does certainly…

Si Truss is the Editor of Electronic Musician and Future Music magazines $699 moogmusic.com Between the ‘Step’ and ‘Lab’ devices, Arturia has a pretty broad range of controllers these days, ranging from the simple, budget-friendly MicroLab MIDI keyboard to the multi-format sequencing tools of the BeatStep Pro. Now the KeyStep Pro arrives to fill one of the few remaining gaps in that line-up; combining the cross-format analog and digital sequencing of the BeatStep with a 37-note keyboard making it that bit better suited to melodic work. As with the BeatStep Pro, the feature highlight here is the comprehensive range of ins-and-outs on display. On the MIDI front, the controller comes equipped with two outputs and one input, along with a USB port for two-way MIDI and DAW control. These are…

For once you can agree with the hype. Apple has claimed that the latest Logic 10.5 update is the biggest since Pro X, but you could argue it’s the most important update ever. Heck, if you’re an Apple fanperson, this update might even have got you frothing that this is the most important update for music production – period! Of course it isn’t quite that, but 10.5 is one heck of an update which, Logic user or not, you do need to know about. It might just tempt you over to the Mac, or even the iPad if those rumors are true. First the non rumors; the cold, hard facts. Logic 10.5 is massive news. The update throws in a grown up version of the Live Loops found in GarageBand…

01 Pulse Waves Start with an analog oscillator and select the pulse waveform. Since each vintage string machine had its own specific pulse width, experiment in the 5-20% range. Once you have a thin reedy pulse, drag-copy the oscillator to the position below and raise its tuning by +12 semitones to create both “cellos” and “violins”. 02 Filter and Envelope Vintage string synths had very little low and high frequency content, so you’ll want to add two filters after the oscillators. Set one to lowpass and increase cutoff to 6 kHz. For the highpass cutoff, start at around 200 Hz. From there, create a pad volume envelope with full sustain, soft attack, and long release. 03 Ensemble While pulse waves and pad envelope serve as the basis for the sound,…

Output turns up the heat with Thermal, an ‘interactive’ multi-stage distortion plugin Output is confident that it’s gone beyond the usual “incremental advances” in saturation and distortion technology with Thermal, its ‘interactive’ new plugin. This offers a multi-stage engine that promises greater capabilities than traditional multiband distortions, but with ease of use pushed very much to the fore. A circular XY control is linked to the distortion parameters, and you get 250 presets. If you want to go beyond the basic controls you can dig into the Advanced page, which enables you to interact with the distortion on the waveform display, tweak modulation envelopes and add effects. You can choose from 19 analog and digitally-modelled distortion algorithms and add mid/side and time-based width. “If you’re familiar with Output, you know…

Most of us think of an envelope generator as the way our synth presents our sound, but they can also modify tones. Let’s break down what the envelope is: essentially a way to visualise a curve, broken down into Attack, Decay, Sustain, then finally Release. Some synths have more controls, others less. Simple attack and release are found on many, while others have more than one envelope generator. These can be used to control the loudness over time of a note that’s been triggered but also can affect things like the cutoff, so you have a note that starts softly, builds to be harsher, with more high end, then those highs fade again. Synths that have multiple generators offer the benefit of having separate curves for different events, whereas many…

$112 robpapen.com Quad was originally designed as a rack extension instrument for Propellerhead Reason and has now been relaunched for VST, AU and AAX users. Like many Rob Papen synths, most of the functionality is found in one jam packed window, and it’s fair to say this contributes to a functional rather than designer layout. However, if you’ve used Rob Papen synths before you’ll appreciate that the directness and efficiency are accompanied by incredible depth of features, a plethora of presets and an awesome sound that you’ll keep coming back to. Quad Core Quad features two core oscillators each with their own sub oscillator and 4 XY pads – two per oscillator. This four-fold ‘quad’ arrangement dominates the interface, forming the backbone of the synth. It works as follows: each…

While it might clearly say Bassline along the top of the synth, there’s more to Erica’s latest instrument than just bass. Much like Moog’s Mother instruments, there are handy tools here for sequencing percussive parts as well as bass sounds. As well as the punchy envelope generators, the really handy tool here is the sequencer’s pitch envelope track. This allows users to program and fine-tune pitch sweeps on specific sequence steps, which is great for creating patterns that alternate between punchy kick drum sounds and more traditional bass notes. Throw in some white noise and modulation of the filter cutoff, and the DB-01 can do a decent line in electro-style snares and hi-hats too. The DB-01 is a lot of fun to use as a drone machine as well. Fully…

$62 masteringthemix.com Mastering The Mix first got our attention with the easy-to-use Levels metering plugin. Since then, the company has delivered some excellent plugins aimed at making your mixing and mastering tasks quicker and the outcomes so much better. Last year’s Bassroom EQ was a perfect example of this, delivering bass-focused EQ via their innovative 3D style vertical layout. Their latest plugin, Mixroom (VST, VST3, AU, AAX) employs the same layout, but this time the EQ handles frequencies from 320Hz to 20kHz. The plugin combines manual and intelligent operation, incorporating both presets and the option to analyze your own audio files. Let’s take a good look at what’s on offer. Layout Mixroom is an 8-band configurable EQ that uses a vertical layout with high frequencies at the top of the…

01 Pulse Waves Start by setting Osc A to the Basic Shapes wavetable and select the square wave index. Then, change the Warp mode to PWM and set it between 10-30%. Once you have a width you like, use the Copy Osc A->B option in the main menu, then raise its tuning to +1 octave. 02 Filter and Envelope Make sure both oscillators are routed to the filter, then select LH 12 from the Multi folder. The main cutoff knob controls the lowpass, so set it to around 6000 Hz, then set the highpass cutoff via the second Freq knob. Set up the amp envelope with a soft attack, long release, and full sustain. 03 Octave and Envelope Macros To facilitate easy edits, map Macros 1 and 2 to the…

Since his 2019 debut, Californian producer Selective Response has caught the ears of modern techno luminaries like Perc and I Hate Models with his hardware-driven takes on techno and EBM. Having launched his own Crisis Of Man label last year, we found out more about the creative process behind his latest releases. When did you start making music? I’ve been writing and making music in some form since I was about 12, having come from being in hardcore and punk bands growing up, as where I’m from has a very rich musical history in that. As an actual producer though, it will be a decade this October since I officially started my journey at a music school in LA called Icon Collective. For the longest time, all I had was…