Innehållsförteckning för 10/2022 från Beat English

Tape sampler à la Trentemøller GForce M-Tron Select The Mellotron has contributed its sound to countless hits, from David Bowie and Genesis to Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Trentemøller, AIR, Nils Frahm, Lana Del Rey and Weezer. M-Tron Select brings the distinctive vintage sound of the „tape sampler“ to your DAW. And it can do more than just „retro“! With the right effects processing, you can coax the finest sounds out of the plug-in for Ambient, Chillout, Downtempo & the like. Download: see page 9 | Info: www.gforcesoftware.com win | mac All serial numbers securely 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…

THE FULL PACK OF SOFTWARE TO START WITH: VCV Rack 2, available as open source, undoubtedly offers the biggest collection of modules, but only runs as standalone software in the free edition. VCV CardinalSynth however is a plug-in version in VST2, VST3, AU, JACK and LV2 formats for Linux, Windows and macOS. You can find it in the magazine downloads. So it‘s best to put in your vacation for two to three years. Thanks to the enclosed video, getting started should be pretty easy. For a quick start we also give you the semi-modular evergreen Aalto Solo, 75 best-of Reaktor ensembles and our exclusive BEAT version of Cherry Audio‘s Voltage Modular, which offers all 22 modules and over 130 presets of the Nucleus variant, plus additional building blocks by Andrew…

At a width of just about 60 centimeters and one height unit, my live rack has everything it needs for a live performance: Blck_Noir provides the powerful drums, Moonwalker, Polygogo and Osiris mainly serve as the actual sound generators, and the Doepfer A-138p mixer is where they all come together. The mixer also has an effects path with the A-138o Out module. Thus I can also mix in reverb and delay from my Z5000 „effects machine“ at will. The final output goes into the Digitakt and its master section. The Moonwalker, in addition to its role as an oscillator, also serves as a generator for envelopes, but partly also as an LFO. Most of the lead sounds come from the Polygogo, which is best suited for performances thanks to its…

1 Open vocals in Slicex First, we double-click on the vocal sample from which we want to create the chops. Right-click on the waveform and left-click Open in new Slicex channel to load the sample into FL Studio‘s internal plug-in, Slicex, which is generally well suited for cutting samples of any kind. 2 Snip snap In the editing tools in Slicex, we now right-click on the cutting tool and then select Medium auto slicing. This cuts the vocal sample into individual chops at the louder points. If there are too few chops, select sharp auto slicing, and if there are too many, select dull auto slicing. 3 Customize chops The red buttons below the waveform can be used to listen to the chops. Due to the automated Cut function, it…

1 Thor as a base Let‘s start with the most important track: the hook line. This is to be played by a rich analog sounding synth, for which we will use Thor. Load the synth and right-click on the GUI and select Reset Device. To make the sound nice and wide, we use two Analog Osc modules, the second of which we detune minimally with Tune 8. 2 Various filters We route the first oscillator to Filter 1 (Low Pass Ladder Filter) with FREQ at 3 o‘clock and the second to Filter 2 (State Variable Filter) with FREQ at 1 o‘clock. Lower GAIN in the Amp module, because we now resort to a stereo trick: using the Modmatrix, we route Filter 1 to the left input of Filter 3 (Filt3…

1 Four instrumental tracks Start with a new project at a tempo of 97 BPM and import the enclosed 4 Stem Tracks. These four instrumental tracks currently have almost no spatiality. Add a send effect channel to the piano track with the Fabfilter Pro-R reverb. With this effect, we now want to give the piano some spaciousness, placing it close to the listener. 2 The close reverb The Space knob in the center lets you control the amount of space (including various algorithms) and duration of the reverb tail. The piano plays rhythmically and often switches between harmonies; therefore, choose a small space of 1.5 seconds, so that the harmonies don‘t wash out. Set Distance to 10% Close to place the piano close to the room. 3 Levels and percussion…

Arturia Prophet-VS V In its release year, 1986, the hybrid synthesizer Sequential Prophet VS was a real innovation: With four oscillators containing 127 digital waveforms, between which you could crossfade with a joystick, as well as an analog filter, the instrument opened up a wide playing field for expressive sounds. Arturia erected a virtual monument to this classic synth in 2006, which has been continuously developed ever since. While the previous version had combined the Prophet 5 and the VS, the two synthesizers are now available as separate plug-ins. The appearance of Prophet VS 5 is already tidier and more inviting - with a user interface that was strongly inspired by the hardware role model and an intuitive preset browser, as well as having undo and redo functions. On the…

Lead Sound à la Stephan Bodzin When you hear a track by Stephan Bodzin, you immediately know that it comes from the pen of the Melodic Techno DJ and Producer. This is particularly attributable to the distinctive synth sounds, which can also be convincingly created with DUNE 3. Our patch „BEAT-Bodzin Lead“ uses three oscillators with the Ramp Up waveform. Voice the second one seven semitones higher for that characteristic fifth interval. The first two oscillators are detuned slightly in opposite directions, the third one oscillates an octave lower than oscillator 1. Since the sound is to be played monophonically, we set Polyphony to Mono and increase Glide to 21%. Stephan Bodzin uses the Moog Sub 37 for many of his synth sounds. To mimic the filter sound, we‘ll choose…

Lovers of the Science Fiction genre will have listened directly to the names of the microphones, after all, The Martian and Cocoon are also the titles of two well-known movies from this field. And the design of the microphones and accessories has been lovingly adapted to this theme; we‘ve rarely grinned so much when unpacking studio gear. While Martian with its big „eyes“ reminds us of a cartoon alien, Cocoon is designed like the alien eggs or cocoons that transformed an ordinary swimming pool into a fountain of youth for seniors in the movieof the same name. The workmanship, however, is very robust and absolutely suitable for studio use and has nothing to do with gimmicks or toys. The accessories are also perfectly matched in terms of design. In addition…

»I use a hybrid studio in the form of an iMac, an analog Tascam M-2600 MKII split mixer with 24 tracks and the two interfaces M-Audio MobilePre and Cymatic Audio uTrack24, as well as a Pioneer CT-F500 cassette recorder and over 600 .aax plugins from Waves, Plugin Alliance, Solid State Logic and iZotope. I use the hybrid system so that I can connect analog and digital together, so that I can create my very own sound when mixing, which I can recommend, by the way, to anyone who is involved in mixing themselves. In addition, this type of connection also allows me to process my guitars (two special Epiphone Les Paul, 1 Jackson Strat and an acoustic guitar from Fender) and my keyboard instruments (Yamaha PSS-100, E-MU SHORTboard 49 and…

1 Sketch Think about how the GUI (user interface) for your plug-in should look and create a sketch in a graphics program such as Photoshop [2] or Affinity Photo [3] of how the controls should be arranged, where they should be located, and how many sections you should divide them into, with possible submenus, and so on. An attractive GUI is conducive to sales. 2 JKnobMan For the creation of our buttons, the free program, JKnobMan [4] is excellent. After installation, create several layers with different primitive types, including Line (as a virtual handle), Metal Circle (as a metal texture to make the button shine), as well as Sphere to give the button a 3D design. 3 Animated knob In addition, two layers with Radial Lines are created using Add.…

AJH Synths MiniMod VCF We start with the module with the probably most popular model: the MiniMod, for which the four-pole filter with of the Moog Model D was the inspiration. The equipment is clear: cutoff and emphasis aka resonance with CV inputs and controls for their intensities, as well as inputs for three audio signals. Cutoff can also be modulated via further inputs named 1V/Oct, 1/3V Oct and 2/3V Oct, true to the original. The only difference between the three inputs is the intensity of the cutoff modulation. With the resonance turned up, a sine waveform is created that can be played tonally. Basically, the filter sounds extremely soft, which is not particularly surprising for 24 dB. The resonance turns out very soft and creamy over about two-thirds of…

In the hi-fi world, it‘s the scandal of the year. The revelation that Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (abbreviated: Mofi), the world‘s most famous mastering studio and label, used digital technologies in its production chain hit the audiophile community with full force. To outsiders, the debate that has developed around it since then may seem more like a tempest in a teapot: Mofi releases are hardly affordable for mere mortals, and some consider people who spend up to 150 euros on a record to be a bit strange anyway. But beneath the surface, strong currents are at work that could pull the entire industry in new directions - and they don‘t have to be bad ones by any means. The revelations hit Mofi on the eve of a release that was…

1 Configure track Create an audio track and load the Looper audio effect into the track. Label the track Looper. Create a second audio track and name it Insert. In the track routing, select Looper as the input type under Audio From. In the drop-down menu directly below for selecting the input channel, select Insert Looper. 2 Set insert routing Under Audio To, select Looper as the output type and insert Looper as the output channel. Set monitor to In. This creates an insert track for the Looper, meaning that the looped signal is processed through it and can then be looped again. To avoid clipping, load a limiter into the Master track and set Ceiling to 1 dB. 3 Record button For a faster workflow to avoid switching between…

1 A pad as the basis Add an instrument track to your Cubase project and load Retrologue 2 with the Last Light Pad preset on it. Play any harmony sequence as a pad with the keyboard or draw it with the pen tool. In the example, I used the chords Dm7/9, Fmaj7 and G6. We now want to make this part sound more characteristic. 2 Tonal drift Load the FX Modulator as an insert effect on the pad track. First, select the Pitch Shifter module. Now we want to create a slight tonal drift at the beginning and end of each bar. Draw a curve on the Detune parameter, similar to the picture. Less is more: even-0.2 ST (semitones) will do. 3 Low pass move Set the Mix slider in…

1 Load recordings The current episode of our BEAT Podcast took place for the first time as a video call via Zoom and, therefore, involved two hurdles at once: On the one hand, both participants had to record the interview for the sake of better quality, and on the other hand, Zoom ended the conversation every 40 minutes. So the first mission is to synchronize the two recordings. 2 Start cutting For editing, we use the free podcast editor from TASCAM [1] and you can find the raw files as FLAC files in the workshop downloads. Start the editor, create a new project and drag the files onto the first two tracks. We start with Tobias‘ recording: Up until 1:18 the two of them deal with the technique. 3 Synchronize…

The GForce OB-E could secure the top position among Oberheim emulations. With eight modules modeled on the Oberheim SEM, it delivers an incomparable sonic power, which does, however, also have its price. So it‘ all the more pleasing that the manufacturer now also offers a monophonic little brother. Classic sound production Like its vintage role model, the synth has two oscillators that generate a sawtooth or pulse wave. The Frequency and Pulse Width Modulation, as well as the Hard Sync function expand the sound spectrum immensely. An enhancement compared to the hardware SEM is the third VCO, which can also be used as an LFO. If you use it for Frequency Modulation, you will get very convincing and analog-sounding FM sounds. An important part of the Oberheim SEM‘s sound is…

Mode Audio Momentum Experimental sound design with synthetic textures and drones, as well as organic field recording characterizes Mode Audio‘s 1.28 GB collection, Momentum. In this collection, you can hear 16 bass drones, 47 synth drones and 37 field recording and Noise textures. The duration of the 100 samples ranges from 30 seconds to over a minute. Evil and threatening, the (partly distorted) bass drones rumble through the atmosphere. The cinematic power of synthesizers is evident in the synth drones. Their facets range from exciting to relaxing, with no shortage of effects and filter gimmicks. The nature recordings of water, storms, rain and dust textures, among others, are first class. The samples can only be used for music to a limited extent (for example, for Ambient music). Verdict For film…

UJAM Finisher Dynamo The newest member of the Finisher product family is advertised as a „Magical Movement Machine“ and attracts with an inviting interface in a steampunk aesthetic. That‘ s reason enough to take a closer look at Finisher Dynamo! This plug-in comes with 50 effect chains, and you can adjust their sound with five macro controls. A total of 27 different algorithms are used, from equalizers and step filters to multiband distortion, delay and convolution reverb, as well as Stutter and Glitch effects. The large Finisher knob determines the intensity of the effect processing, while the Pattern knob lets you switch between the rhythmic patterns Halftime, Poly, Standard, Triplet and Doubletime. Behind the Tone knob is a very powerful combination of low pass and high pass filters. The function…

East Beast is semi-modular in design and features 9 patchable modules (Oscillator, Filter, Envelope, VCA, LFO, Multi-Mod Tool, Sequencer, MIDI/CV Converter and Mini Key Keyboard) with a generous 18 patch points to connect to itself and other devices. However, East Beast is also ready to use without a patch cable and controllable via MIDI. Compact, Eurorack capable East Beast is very compact with a width of 21cm and a depth of 13cm and is hardly any bigger than a Korg Volca. The synthesizer is also relatively light due to the plastic case, so taking it to a live jam in a gig bag is no problem. The case is designed for desktop installation and is slanted towards the user. But the front panel containing all the electronics can also be…

1 Ready, set … Preparations are barely necessary, just some time, enough to drink, good weather - to ensure that more than just rain is recorded - and a recorder for the sounds. This can be a smartphone if need be, but real stereo or even multitrack recordings are not available and usually are also not uncompressed files. We use the Portacapture X8 from TASCAM. 2 … go! It comes with two microphones and allows you to connect up to four more; therefore, we pack a third mic in the bag and off we go. We found it right in the garden with the chickens, but also at a small stream, passing cars, in the forest, on bushes that blow in the wind and on many other sources as well.…

Synthesizer with tape recorder for live performer by Giorgio Sancristoforo Giorgio Sancristoforo is the developer of the new synthesizer, Bento, which should be especially suitable for live performances. Even if the user interface takes some getting used to and a good knowledge of electrical engineering and reading Japanese characters should be very advantageous, as we all know, it‘s the sound that counts. The sound generation is handled by two oscillators, which also attempt to attract attention with authentic instability, as was once the case with hardware synthesizers. Thus, there may be intermittent noise interference or fluctuations between the selected waveforms. Bento also has a resonant, feedback filter whose intensity is controlled by the Mix knob. Another feature is the Tape Recorder, which can be used to add background noise and…

Anyone who has ever dealt with modulars on the computer will have stumbled across the free VCV Rack, among other things. The open-source software shines with a huge community, which reproduces pretty much every module available „in real life“. So everything for free? Yes, but unfortunately only as a standalone app instead of a plug-in. Until now, because a few resourceful developers have just programmed Cardinal-Synth, a version that offers almost everything VCV can do as a plug-in for Windows, macOS and Linux. AUDIO DEM0 With the patches on the following pages we give you a little help to get started with the VCV Rack and CardinalSynth. We have also created an audio demo in which you can listen to the patches. Just scan the QR code or listen to…

Beat / How was the time since the last album - also in view of the Corona crisis? Elliot / At first, we thought it would be good to use the time to be creative. But after about four weeks, the pressure we put on ourselves became quite intense. We had so much free time, but I often didn‘t feel inspired at all. There seemed to be no end to the crisis, and somehow it made everything seem pointless when you‘re not working towards a goal. That made me feel quite depressed. We stopped working on the record for the time being, which took the pressure off. Originally it wasn‘t supposed to be an Editors album at all. We worked with Ben, but at first we didn‘t know where it…

The Mellotron is more or less the predecessor to the modern Sampler. For each key, a tape was embedded with the recording of the corresponding note, which was then played back at the touch of a key. Since the tapes contained original recordings of acoustic instruments, the whole thing sounded remarkably realistic for the time. The design-related peculiarities, such as the limited frequency response and the wear of the tapes, as well as the fluctuations in pitch and volume ensure a high recognition value. Since its appearance in the early 1960s, the Mellotron has made music history and its distinctive sounds are still used often in order to give music a nostalgic vintage character. REGISTRATION & INSTALLATION The registration of GForce Software M-Tron Select is done - as usual with…

1 Duplicate kick The implementation is as simple as the recipe and, most importantly, almost any existing song can be extended with it. So load either one of your MPC projects or our demo workshop. Switch to the track with the kick, press its pad, then COPY and an unused pad. Repeat this three times so that you end up with four pads containing the kick. 2 One sequence per kick Make sure that all four pads are in the same bank (A-H), otherwise switching will be too complicated later. Now, select each kick in turn and program a separate sequence for each in the step sequencer or record them live, but all in the same pattern. Besides a 4/4 beat, this could be a Breakbeat for the drop. 3…

1 Level reduction When compressing with the multiband compressor in the previous chapters, we trimmed level peaks for each of the five bands that exceeded a threshold we had previously set. Now, we have to make up for the level loss for each band by readjusting the gain values of the individual bands. 2 Bypassing We will work out the process again using Consequenzer. We start with the Fundamental band, switch it solo and compare the volume of the compressed band with the volume without compression using the bypass button. The only decisive factor in the evaluation is your ear and not the level meter. 3 Making up With the Gain of this band, we make up for the level loss. In the Fundamental, we need to add +1.5dB. We…

Roland‘s SH-101 is probably one of the most popular mono synthesizers due to its clear and easy-to-learn sound generation, powerful and punchy sound and intuitive sequencer. Accordingly, there are already some replicas of the synthesizer classic from 1982, be it as hardware (for example, Behringer MS-1) or as software (for example TAL BassLine-101 or the SH-101 plug-in from Roland), all three of which were allowed to compete in the test. The design and sound generation are strictly based on the original, which also includes limitations. So, Model 82 is only monophonically playable and has only one envelope that is shared by its filter and VCA together. On a software basis, these limitations could easily be circumvented without compromising the charm and character of the original. For example, TAL‘s 101 can…

In coop with Best Service, we have organized an exclusive raffle for you. We are giving away one copy of each of the following high-quality sample instruments with a total value of 3,350.50 Euro: - Chris Hein Horns Pro Complete, Chris Hein Solo Strings Complete, The Orchestra Complete, Ethno World 6 Complete, ERA II Medieval Legend, Forest Kingdom 3, Galaxy II Pianos, Elysion 2, NADA and TITAN 2. CHRIS HEIN HORNS PRO COMPLETE A whopping 54 brass and woodwind instruments for jazz or pop or big band recordings. Brass for trap included! ETHNO WORLD 6 COMPLETE Essential for Ambient & World Music: 320 ethnic instruments and vocals from around the world. GALAXY II PIANOS Meeting of the heavyweights: Vienna Grand, 1929 German Baby Grand and Galaxy Steinway for your DAW.…

1 Distorted bass drum Who says ambient tracks can‘t have a beat? We start our track with a Drum Patch from Solar Eclipse. To do this, load Zampler//RX as a virtual instrument in your DAW and feed it with the new soundset by loading „Zampler Solar Eclipse.fxb“. Select the bass drum 004: DR Dist-Kicker. This plays the rhythm shown. 2 Atmospheric beat We add a few more samples from the Studiodrive [1] to the bass drum. We place a clap Sound and the DR DistSnare-000-048-c2 sample from Solar Eclipse on each quarter-note time. With some hi-hats and clicks, we create a varied groove that sounds very atmospheric due to some reverb and delay effects. 3 Bass & harmonies Preset 001: BS Deep Down is best suited for slow, deep basslines.…

You can assemble Mavis yourself, but soldering is not necessary. As a reward, you get a semi-modular synthesizer with an oscillator, classic ladder filter and 24 patch jacks for internal rewiring or linking to other hardware, which is done via small pin pots. We have tested whether this equipment justifies the price, which is not necessarily cheap. Eurorack ready If you pay the premium for Moog synthesizers mainly because of the feel, you won‘t be happy with Mavis. Neither the simple plastic case nor the pen pots on the 22x13 cm top of the synthesizer radiate special value; no comparison to Mother-32, DFAM, Minitaur or even the larger Moog keyboards. At least a solid deck saver is included, as well as five patch cables. Power is provided by a 12V…

1 Choose radio station A randomly generated audio signal from the radio is to serve as the sample source. To do this, search for any internet radio station via a corresponding website, such as internet-radio.com. Route the radio stream to an audio track in Live using a virtual audio driver, such as Sound-flower, JACK, or Loopback. 2 Create dummy clips Create another audio track and name it Sampler. Generate a 1-bar audio clip in the first slot of the track. Activate the Loop function and set the clip Volume to 0 dB. Duplicate the clip until you‘ve created seven more copies. To avoid clipping, place a limiter in the master track and set Ceiling to -1 dB. 3 Scenes Follow Action Select all 8 scenes and activate Follow Action for…

Feature: Ambient & Drones As one of the most timeless musical genres, Ambient has always maintained a place in the flood of electronic music styles. But growth hasn‘t stopped there either, and with drones in particular, it has spawned a subgenre that has become amazingly popular. Look forward to our feature where we‘ll explore Ambient, Chillout and Drones, produce crossovers of the styles with free instruments and also show you how they can also enrich your EDM & Techno tracks! Test: Roland Juno-X The Juno-X not only looks like Roland‘s vintage classics, it also wants to sound like them: The digital sound generation replicates both the Juno-60 and the Juno-106 down in deep detail. The new Juno-X variant goes even further with the famous supersaw of the JP-8000 as well…