Indholdsfortegnelse for March 2023 i Future Music

SCAN TO GET OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER Between the generous preset libraries that come with most modern plugins and the abundance of sounds instantly available through services like Splice and Loopcloud, it’s entirely possible to make electronic music without any knowledge of how to program a synth patch. There’s nothing necessarily wrong with working that way. Still, there are numerous benefits to understanding exactly how your favourite synths work and the fundamentals of how classic sounds come together. That’s what this issue is all about – whether as a first time guide or a refresher, we’re delving into the principles behind a host of well known, staple sounds. Get stuck in, and we promise it will be a fast track to speedy creativity. We hope you enjoy the issue! Si Truss,…

> Rhodes have released a plugin version of their MK8 electric piano. In fact, it’s released two versions of it: the standard V8 and V8 Pro. We had been wondering whether this rumoured software Rhodes would use synthesis or sampling to generate its sound, and it turns out it’s the latter method. In fact, it features some 30,000 samples spread across 100 velocity layers. The V8 also emulates the MK8’s preamp section; this features Drive and Low/High EQ, plus a Vari-Pan effect with Rate and Depth controls. There’s a suite of presets, too, designed to demonstrate the MK8’s tonal range and give you some experimental sounds. If you’re willing to spend a bit more, you could go for the V8 Pro, which adds the MK8’s Envelope parameter. This enables you…

> Apple have unveiled M2 Pro and M2 Max, its latest ‘systems on a chip’, and brought them to the Mac mini and both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro. An evolution of the standard M2 chip, the M2 Pro features up to 12 CPU cores and up to 19 GPU cores, and takes up to 32GB of RAM. CPU performance is said to be up to 20% faster than the 10-core CPU in the M1 Pro chip, and graphics speeds up to 30% faster. M2 Max also has a 12-core GPU, but ups the ante by offering a GPU with up to 38 cores, along with a larger L2 cache. Plus, you can equip it with up to 96GB of memory. One of the first products to host the…

>If you’ve ever so much as switched on your radio and heard dance or pop music, you’ll be familiar with a sweep effect. They’re the transition sounds used to build or release tension, usually coming just before or after the start of a new section, such as a drop, chorus or breakdown. The most common of these would be ‘risers’ – sounds that build up, creating drama before a big change – but the opposite effect, ‘downers’ are equally commonplace. The principle behind a synth riser is simple: create a sound, often simply using a white noise oscillator, then run it through a low-pass filter, and gradually (or quickly) automate the filter cutoff so that it ‘opens up’ to create an increasing rush of drama. However, as with any basic…

>The house organ sound has become a mainstay of club and pop tracks and is probably most famous for its appearance in club favourites such as Robin S’s Show Me Love and pop hits such as Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head. Of course what’s interesting about these uses and countless others is that the sound is used for a bassline or riff rather than as a chord-based part. The general consensus is that the original house organ sound was created using the Organ 2 preset from Korg’s ubiquitous M1 workstation. And if you check out Korg’s own M1 soft synth there are plenty of suitable options including the Organ 2 preset. Nevertheless, it’s actually not that hard to create a similar sound using the tools you’ll…

>Chord stabs are a staple of dance music. These short, punchy bursts of synthesised or sampled sound can provide harmonic and percussive drive in one go. They can be versatile too – asimple stab offsetting a bass riff can get a groove going, or you could try sequencing a whole pattern of them for a Detroit-style chord riff. In the early days, chord stabs involved sequencing a patch from a synth. As samplers took off in the ’90s, however, sounds became more complex, involving layering samples cut from multiple records or bounced from sampling synths such as the M1 or Wavestation. Modern wavetable plugins make it easy to replicate this mix-andmatch approach to timbres. Let’s create something suitably ravey with Ableton Live’s Wavetable. 01 > A key characteristic of these…

1Let’s start with Transient Split. We can balance the device’s transient/non-transient sections, or isolate one. Or tweak the analysis that leads to the separation of the two elements. Here the slider to the right of the waveform gives a transient-heavy outcome. 2We put a flanger on the tonal, sustained elements only, keeping the transients free of smudging. We could add, say, a distortion processor to just the transients, getting them to bite harder without affecting the rest of the signal. 3Over to the Harmonic Split, which can split signals by groups of harmonics, or by Fundamental and not. This Fundamental split lets us increase the lowest partial of our signal, or to put effects on just that part, or just the harmonics. 4Here’s an interesting application: we add a Pitch…

>Spectral compression is a term that’s used by Sonible for the launch of the second iteration of smart:comp. Building on the recent rise in popularity of spectral effects, smart:comp 2 takes this spectral processing technology and applies it to the compression realm. So what does this look like in the case of spectral compression? Well you can effectively think of smart:comp 2 as a multiband compressor with up to 2,000 bands across the frequency spectrum. This means that smart:comp 2 can compress individual areas of the frequency spectrum with great precision, giving a very tonally balanced yet transparent compression sound. This is extremely advantageous on elements such as drums, or submixes and master channels where there is frequency information across the spectrum happening at different points in a track. With…

Just like machines by Elektron and Polyend, the Drumlogue has the ability to apply probability per step, which makes even a simple, repetitive groove seem much more complex. Probability can be applied on a per step basis and thankfully, Korg have made adjusting this easy. Make sure you’re in Step Mode, and then simply hold down a step to see that step’s ‘trigger’ values. You can also adjust whether that step is triggered every cycle or some fraction of the whole, which can add further complexity to your probability-infused grooves. It’s also possible to nudge or offset your steps in this screen; negative values move your notes earlier in the grid and positive values later. You can even hold multiple steps at a time and adjust their values concurrently, which…

Formed in 2008, electro-acoustic trio Snow Ghosts comprises Ross Tones (Throwing Snow), multi-instrumentalist Oliver Knowles (EXES) and vocalist Hannah Cartwright (Augustus Ghost). Since their debut album, A Small Murmuration in 2013, the collective has passionately explored the intoxicating mythologies behind Britain’s ancient folklore, creating a complex weave of styles that pulls the listener into a dark past. While their orchestral-sounding fourth album, A Quiet Ritual (2019), sought to process the shock and grief of bereavement through a prism of electronica, post rock and metal, The Fell’s equally vast sound takes the listener into an auditory time capsule steeped in ancient ritualistic ambiguity. Digging into their creative subconscious, the trio spent a considerable time holed up in a Wiltshire castle, making use of its acoustic environment by cleverly combining a variety…

>Next in a long line of top-drawer releases from the happy campers at Audiotent is this fullsize sample library of pounding techno drums and synths. Built around machine heavy grooves, classic chords and tough rhythms, this deep and dark collection of 500+ textured loops will add a fearsome pulse and driving atmosphere to your next dancefloor-destroying production. Divided into 134 and 136bpm camps, these hard dance samples are designed to slot into your likeminded tracks at any stage, but will yield the best sonic results as starting block foundation stones – especially the pumping drum sequences, as they’re dynamite in their own right, and damn near transcendent when joining forces with the hooky topline riffs and melodies bundled in this solid-as-arock collec tion. Roy Spencer audiotent.com VERDICT 9.0…

To fully get a handle on width, and how to dial in the perfect balance of width and solidity at the mixing stage, it helps to first understand how stereo audio works in relation to human hearing. In the real world, our brain uses a source sound’s level and timing differences to accurately pick out where that sound is positioned around us, how close or far away it is, and the speed of its movement. Relating this to a stereo monitoring setup, we use a pair of speakers (or stereo headphones) to approximate how we hear with our two ears. If a signal contains the same information in the left and right channels, it will sit dead centre in the mix – it will be mono. Stereo information is created…

Editor-In-Chief Si Truss, simon.truss@futurenet.com Reviews Editor, Music Technology Simon Arblaster, simon.arblaster@futurenet.com Features Editor, Music Technology Matt Mullen, matt.mullen@futurenet.com Art Editor Phil Cheesbrough, philip.cheesbrough@futurenet.com Managing Editor Kate Puttick, kate.puttick@futurenet.com Production Editor Catherine Hood CONTRIBUTORS Bruce Aisher, Phil Barker, Oli Bell, Olly Curtis, Simon Fellows, Adam Lee, Leo Maymind, Rob Redman, James Russell, Roy Spencer, Robbie Stamp, Charlotte Sterling, Danny Turner ADVERTISING For Ad enquiries please contact: Kyle Phillips, kyle.phillips@futurenet.com Direct Marketing Executive: Will Hardy PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION Production Controller: Fran Twentyman Production Manager: Mark Constance​ Printed in the UK by: William Gibbons & Sons Ltd on behalf of Future Distributed in the UK by:​ Marketforce (UK), 2nd Floor, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU Tel: +44 (0) 203 787 9001 CIRCULATION Head of Newstrade: Tim Mathers SUBSCRIPTIONS Order line…

> When Arturia announced that their new MiniFreak hardware synth would come with an accompanying like-for-like software version, there was some disappointment that the plugin wouldn’t be available to buy on its own. We’re pleased to report, then, that Arturia have now seen sense and started selling MiniFreak V as a standalone product. Like its ‘physical’ sibling, MiniFreak V is a six-voice, twin-engine synth. Each engine can operate in multiple different modes, and you can use the engines individually, stacked, or to process each other’s output for “unique compound sonic behaviour”. While the hardware MiniFreak has analogue filters, the V version’s are modelled. Further sound design takes place in the modulation matrix, which offers polyphonic ADSR envelopes, customisable multi-segment LFO shapes, FM and ring modulation, and ‘Spice & Dice’ randomisation.…

Tucked away in his bedroom studio in Tulse Hill, right by the station, the man known as Om Unit is deep into production on his landmark album. Sewingup styles and cross-stitching dance music, he would weave up his own unique audio tapestry. And, as the LP title suggests, the sublime selection was hand-crafted from a sonic strands of all his favourite sounds. “I had all these threads of musical interest that I wanted to draw together and create a convincing blending of ideas,” he says. Inspired by the hip-hop he’d made in the ’00s as 2tall, and modern ‘bass music’, he began to approach his own strain of DnB in a non-conformist way. And by blending up huge sub bass-centric dubstep, jungle, and garage rhythms with progressive beatmaking and grandiose…

>This classic bass sound goes way back to the late ’80s. Reese was a project from producer Kevin Saunderson and the track that kicked it all off (Just Want Another Chance) featured a fat wobbling pad-like bass sound. It was then sampled in a handful of mid-’90s drum & bass productions, most notably Renegade’s track Terrorist. People then started to recreate the sound from scratch, establishing it as a popular tone across multiple genres. The original sound was likely created with Saunderson’s favoured Casio CZ-5000, but we can actually make the sound with a regular subtractive synth. One method uses a single square wave oscillator with an LFO modulating the pulse width. However, in this example we’ll use the more characterful two-oscillator approach where you get phase cancellation between the…

>Acid house delivered a more edgy sound than more mainstream house of the time, and much of this was down to the squelchy filtered sound of the TB-303. This compact monophonic bass module from Roland with its single sawtooth or square oscillator, onboard sequencer and cheap-looking silver fascia was a commercial failure. However, a few years later it was rediscovered by dance producers who exploited its distinctive sound and hidden pattern randomiser to create pokey filtered repetitive bass and riff sounds. Early examples included A Guy Called Gerald’s Voodoo Ray and Sleezy D’s I’ve Lost Control. Meanwhile Fatboy Slim’s homage Everybody Needs A 303 remains a fantastic demo of the sound. Understandably the sound is a popular synth preset available on many synths, but creating convincing parts also requires some…

> There’s something truly special about the sound of vintage string machines. Their sound has defined countless R&B, disco, and synthpop tracks. For disco and R&B, that list is endless, with the sound of the ARP Solina String Ensemble dominating songs from the Ohio Players, Rick James and Prince. It’s possible to perfectly recreate the vintage sound with just a few elements: a narrow pulse wave, a pad-like amplifier, and a thick chorus/ensemble effect that can be replicated via stacking two or more choruses in series. For extra polish, you can add a high- and low-pass filter duo to more precisely dial in the limited frequency bandwidth of the originals 1We start with an analogue oscillator and select the pulse waveform. Since each vintage string machine had its own specific…

>The basic ‘pad’ sound has been a feature of music for hundreds of years – ensembles of string players were creating evolving atmospheres since long before electricity, and many factory preset pads show classical leanings today. But pads really became interesting with the invention of synths. Jean Michel Jarre’s Oxygene (1976) may well be the perfect example of the modern electronic pad’s genesis. The philosophy was spacey, futuristic, evolving layers of swooshing synth soundscapes that fizzed and hummed across the entire range of frequencies. These techniques and sounds weren’t just intended for isolation, though, as musicians looking to fill out sparse or uninteresting mixes chose to add similar layers in order to ‘pad it out’. From then to now, that ‘pad’ became a staple of music production. The key to…

INCLUDES AUDIO Spectral effects are a relatively new area of technology, and in recent years their popularity has really taken off. Developers from all over the world have been releasing plugins using a new buzzword: spectral processing. iZotope, Sonible, Mastering The Mix and plenty more have all gotten in on the action – but what exactly can they do? First of all, note that spectral processing is a technology that’s only possible in the digital domain. Spectral effects use fast Fourier transform (FFT) calculations in order to break down audio into a representation of the frequency spectrum. Next, the spectrum is broken down into many different bands, and it’s these that are processed individually. In many ways, spectral processing can be thought of as “hyper-multiband”, using many more bands to…

After some internet controversy, Bitwig’s new Spectral Suite is now included as part of the main DAW package for ‘Bitwig Studio 4.4’. These spectral processors are very clever signal splitters which let you pull apart signals and process their different qualities in different ways. The simplest tool might be Transient Split. With this, you can separate your signal into transient and non-transient material, rebalancing the two and processing each one with a different subsequent chain of effects. The most ‘spectral’ of the effects might be Harmonics Split, which detects and isolates the fundamental frequency, odd harmonics and even harmonics, allowing you to solo, mute and rebalance any of those three, as well as processing each separately. Loud Split is one to watch, splitting signals into their extremes on a spectral…

So, let’s dive in. First, the hardware itself feels fairly fully featured, despite the somewhat diminutive size of the Drumlogue (for better or worse, depending on how much you travel!) There are 15 sound-shaping knobs on the top panel, which is tilted towards the user at a pleasing angle. Along the top of the machine are 11 small volume knobs inherited from the Volca range, each controlling one part (or “voice”). There’s a sturdy master volume knob at the top right of the machine and a familiar row of 16 step buttons towards the bottom. These are of the clicky variety and have no velocity sensitivity built in, though there are ways to get around this, as we will see later. The rear of the unit is also fairly featured…

CONTACT WHO: Cherry Audio WEB: cherryaudio.com KEY FEATURES 16 virtual instrument plugins, including 15 self-contained instruments and Voltage Modular Core + Electro Drums. Formats: PC/Mac, VST/AU/AAX US developers Cherry Audio first made waves releasing Voltage Modular back in 2018, but their rate of output in recent years has been eye-watering. In 2022 alone, they released seven plugins – not including the new batches of modules added to Voltage – bringing their catalogue up to a total of 19 products in less than five years. As a result, the company’s Synth Stack bundle has rapidly grown from a mere bulk-buy deal to a comprehensive package that looks like a legitimate rival to Arturia’s V Collection or Roland Cloud. This latest Stack launches with 16 instruments, adding six since version 2 was…

CONTACT WHO: Arturia WEB: arturia.com KEY FEATURES Synthesiser plugin with virtual analogue, sample, wavetable and harmonic engines. Formats: PC/Mac, VST, VST 3, AU, AAX Arturia call Pigments a ‘polychrome’ synth, which is clearly intended as a fun play on its colour-related name, but also indicative of the fact that it’s difficult to succinctly describe what kind of instrument Pigments is in conventional terms. Unlike say, a predominantly wavetable synth like Serum, or even Omnisphere which, comprehensive as it is, is primarily sample-based, Pigments aims to be many things at once. Even at launch, it combined full virtual analogue, sampling and wavetable engines, and across several significant updates has expanded to incorporate additive and granular capabilities, along with a host of audio-rate modulation capabilities. Probably the easiest way to describe Pigments…

FILTERED PADS To get extra life and air into a synth pad, it’s tempting to turn to an EQ and boost the top end or to add an exciter. These techniques will deliver but they won’t provide more stereo width and often this is the missing ingredient. Send your synth to a new auxiliary and set up a filter with a high-pass mode and a high cutoff to leave only the upper mid-range and treble ends audible. Pan it hard to the left. Repeat with a second auxiliary, using the same filter settings, panning this one hard right. Now you’ll have a huge, bright pad, which occupies the complete stereo image of your mix. If it’s too much, turn down the auxiliary return levels. EASY ORGANS Synthesise a Hammond-style organ…

> Released in 2018, Waldorf’s Quantum is a bona fide supersynth. Each of its three oscillators can draw on one of five synth algorithms – including the classic Waldorf-style wavetables – and you get both digital and analogue filters. A wealth of modulation possibilities are included, too. Now, five years on, we have the Quantum MK2, a reimagining of the original synth that tweaks the already powerful formula in a variety of ways. First up, there’s now polyphonic aftertouch. Quantum MK2 is the first instrument to feature a 61-key version of Fatar’s TP8/SK keybed, and enables you to assign aftertouch parameters on a per-key basis – there’s huge potential for expression. If you want to take your control a step further, you can also play the Quantum MK2 using an…

> Following the acquisition of Townsend Labs last year, Universal Audio have released two new modelling mics based on their Sphere system. The UA Sphere DLX appears to be cut from similar cloth to Townsend’s Sphere L22, and lets you emulate the sound of 38 classic studio mics from the likes of Neumann, Telefunken, AKG, Sony, and more. The mic type, polar pattern and other characteristics can be adjusted even after a recording has been made, while the Dual mode lets you create blended mic combinations. If you have a UA Apollo interface, you can also record or monitor through the modelled mics with near zero latency, and you can capture instruments in stereo with a single mic. There are also presets that let you tame room colouration – tailored…

> Added to its DJ software in October last year, Serato’s Stems is one of several current technologies that lets you break mixed audio apart into its constituent parts (vocals, bass, etc). This has now found a new home in Serato Studio 2.0, an updated version of the DJ brand’s beatmaking DAW. Stems is now included in Serato Studio’s sampler, enabling you to instantly create acapellas and instrumental tracks that you can then use as you wish. “Serato Stems is the biggest moment in sampling since the MPC,” says Grammywinning producer/DJ Cookin’ Soul, while beatmaker Boston Cherry adds that “the fact that we can get acapella is a huge, huge cheat code for DJs and producers everywhere”. DJ Khalil, meanwhile, who’s nominated for two Grammys this year for work on…

Folding Shadows “This I knew was the ‘intro’ track, and it’s kind of picking up where I left off from with my early work on Cosmic Bridge and the Civil EPs where there’s this kind of LA Beats scene influence there. But, I wanted to create a grand statement of arrival so I spent some time working on these synth counterpoints to the original simple melody I’d written. “I also wanted this drum palette that sounded like ’80s hip-hop but done in a Kraftwerk meets J Dilla sort of way. I think it was actually the last track I made for the album.” The Silence “I spent ages writing the bass. I was trying to break the habit of doing the same old harmonies, and it created some interesting counterpoints…

>It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to call Bob Moog’s Minimoog Model D the most influential electronic instrument of all time – agroundbreaking analogue synth that set the blueprint for monosynths to this day. Of its many talents, the Minimoog is probably most prized for its ability to conjure up rich, punchy bass sounds. While there’s a lot to be said for the specific nuances of Moog’s circuitry, the basic design of the Model D is fairly straightforward. As such, it’s quite easy to replicate the general principles of a Moog bass patch with a lot of modern hardware or software synths – including, obviously, the multitude of emulations and clones that have followed in its wake. The basics of a Minimoog style bass are simple – several oscillators stacked and slightly…

> Even vintage analogue synths can create decent, albeit artificial, vocal tones. A case in point is the legendary Thereminlike soprano with a touch of vibrato and glide. Some instruments – such as the Roland VP-330 and Mellotron – have even become archetypes for choirs, appearing on countless tracks in a wide variety of genres, everything from synthwave to prog rock. Formant filters are increasingly common in plugins and digital hardware, and their design can deliver compelling vowel sounds, but only if your oscillators and effects are approached with an understanding of several key sonic details for simulating the character of voices. Let’s take a look. 1Starting with Serum’s Init preset, we select the Basic Mg wavetable and adjust the wavetable position for a warm sawtooth. Since choirs are comprised…

SYNTH DRONE 1Creating a drone is, in theory, incredibly basic. It simply involves setting a synth’s amp envelope to being ‘always on’. There are several ways to go about this. Lots of synthesisers let users raise the amp level independently of any envelope, creating an instant drone. Alternatively, if your synth keyboard has a ‘hold’ function, you can use this to create a lingering note while keeping hands-free for tweaking parameters. In your DAW you could program either a single long note throughout your track length or, probably easier, a shorter looping one, then set your synth to ‘legato’ mode, so the envelopes aren’t retriggered with each new note. These approaches will create a boring static sound though, and the key to making drones work is movement. Slow modulation and…

1Like Serum, Little AlterBoy and VintageVerb before it, Oeksound’s Soothe is one of those plugins that really captured the mood of music producers. Other developers focused on resonance suppression, and one standout is Mastering The Mix’s Reso. 2Reso intelligently analyses your audio, identifies resonant frequencies, creates a bell EQ band at each, and lets you adjust the suppression of each resonant frequency to your taste. Or it can automatically suppress each resonant frequency. 3On our practice track, which is garage-style, note that the drums are quite harsh in the upper mids when the snare hits. This is exactly where Reso is handy. Load Reso on the drum bus, play the track and click the Calculate Targets button. 4A series of red + icons will appear, representing a resonant frequency. Clicking…

1Loud Split is a revelation. Thanks to spectral processing, you’re not just ‘gating’ your signal by loudness; you’re isolating the different loudnesses at every point on the frequency spectrum. Let’s play with the horizontal lines to figure out our detection… 2…and 2…and then let’s add reverb to only the loudest parts, making them hit harder, but not turning the project into a huge wash. Since this only affects frequencies that pass our threshold, while above that threshold, the effect is fun to play with. 3How 3How about some Blur effect on the in-between bits of the signal? Or taking quieter bits and adding modulation to smooth them? We could even apply saturation and amplification to get upward compression, or process recorded vinyl artefacts.…

Eventide SplitEQ $179 1Split your EQ processing into two types, one affecting just transient material within your audio signal, the other working on only the tonal audio that’s present. With SplitEQ, there are a lot of new ideas to try, both for seasoned mix engineers and for creative and sound design applications. eventide.com Newfangled Audio Saturate $49 2 In this plugin, clipping is given the spectral treatment. By clipping different bands separately, Saturate can ease up or push harder when it’s still got headroom. The result is a transparent clipper that can be pushed past the point where others would melt. newfangledaudio.com GS DSP MagicPitch £price 3 Want to shift both pitch and frequency with properties that scale along the frequency spectrum? MagicPitch is built to do it, letting you…

Vocalist and producer Eliza Bagg’s music brings polar opposites together. A classically trained singer with a specialism in Renaissance polyphony, she’s also working at the bleeding edge of contemporary experimental music, collaborating with renowned innovators – Ben Frost, Nico Muhly, Lyra Pramuk, and the pioneering ensemble Roomful of Teeth, to name a few – while using her work as a solo electronic artist to dissolve the boundaries between medieval and modern, minimalist and maximalist, man and machine. Equally comfortable soloing with the New York Philharmonic as she is live-processing her vocal improvisations through complex effects chains in Ableton Live, Bagg synthesises a spectrum of diverse influences into a singular project through her music as Lisel. On her new record, Patterns For Auto-Tuned Voices And Delay, Bagg stretches the sonic capabilities…

01 > Select an unused pattern and choose a kit. We’ll use a pattern that’s 16 steps long, though longer pattern lengths yield even more interesting results. Start by programming Closed High Hat steps on 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11, and 12. Hold down the Part button and select CH, then press the Step button and enter the steps on the 16 steps below. 02 > Now, let’s add a simple four-on-the-floor kick drum with steps on the usual downbeats, followed by snare hits on 5 and 12. Right now our pattern sounds pretty regular, as each track’s pattern length is the normal 16 steps, but that will change once we start adjusting individual track lengths. 03 >To adjust step length per track, choose a Voice (press Part)…

01 > Let’s continue with the polymetric groove that we’ve created in Walkthrough 1. So far, we’ve created an evolving rhythm that keeps the listeners’ attention far longer than a regularly repeating pattern would. But now we want to add a bassline that takes this drumbeat closer into a loop that can be turned into a full track. 02 > Select one of the Digital Sample tracks by pressing Part and any Step between 5 and 10. Each track is identical, so let’s use Track 9, labeled SP 1. Press Page Up to reveal the track’s selected Sample. These are arranged in banks, and since we’re going to program a melodic line, scroll to the Misc bank and choose 56 Stab Root. This is a single, low note that we…

>A few months ago we were impressed by Luftrum’s Vangelis-inspired soundset for Omnisphere 2. It managed to combine both patches that targeted very specific sonic references as well as those in the broader ‘inspired-by’ category to good effect. Playability was also a big factor, with some excellent use of modulation and real-tie control. It was therefore with some degree of retroedged anticipation that I took delivery of Lunaris 2. This is the second outing of Lunaris, and owners of version 1 can upgrade at a discounted price. Like its predecessor Lunaris 2 is focused on synth pads, and comes with 480 presets across 14 different categories – from the obvious (Analog, Digital, Strings, Cinematic) to the more enigmatic (Shimmer, Dusty etc). Dip into any of these and you’ll come across…

Eigen is a room-modelling reverb which lets you set your audio source and listening position within a room with proportions of your choosing. Want to listen to a clap from the other end of a narrow hallway? Or a piano suspended from the top of a sports hall? You can do that here. The plugin has a use case for both musical applications and sound for video. Going further, Eigen lets you set each of the six surfaces to be made of different materials, and an inbuilt room resonant analyser lets you spot problem frequencies in your made-up room. It can also export an impulse response of the room you’ve designed. ROOM SIZE First off, let’s start by setting the size and proportions of our room. While most other reverb…

NEW ENTRY SOFTSYNTH BUNDLES Cherry Audio Synth Stack 3 $299 Full Review: FM393 | The rapidly expanding plugin range from US developers Cherry Audio mixes conventional emulations with some inspired originals. Korg Collection 3 $399 While Arturia’s emulation bundle doesn’t have the ‘official’ clout of Roland or Korg’s, there’s arguably no better rounded softsynth package. Roland Cloud From $99 per year If you can accept the subscription model, Roland’s Cloud service offers access to official recreations of history’s most iconic instruments. Native Instruments Komplete 11 £539 Not purely synth-focused, but Massive X, FM8, Monark and Reaktor are undoubted highlights. Arturia V Collection 9 €599 It’s arguably a tougher sell than some earlier instalments, but V Collection 9 becomes more appealing the closer you look. HIGH-END ANALOGUE SYNTHS Oberheim OB-X8 £4,799…