Innehållsförteckning för 03/2023 från Beat English

18 Oscillators of Memorymoog Syntronik Memory-V Back in 1982, a real dream came true for many synth fans: a 6-voice analog synth with the legendary Moog sound. Syntronik Memory-V now brings the iconic sounds of the Memorymoog to your DAW. As expected, the plug-in inspires with the finest analog sounds for Techno, House, Trance & more, especially when all 18 oscillators of the Memorymoog sound at the same time! Download: see page 9 | Info: www.ikmultimedia.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 manage them online. The advantages are obvious: The editorial team can…

CORRECT LISTENING, PERFECT MIXES 31 CURRENT MODELS IN THE TEST The monitoring system in the studio represents the most important tool for evaluating the mix. During a mix, studio monitors should primarily reveal the weaknesses in a mix and not mask their deficiencies with possible attenuation. In addition, the monitoring should also enable an assessment of how the material sounds on other systems and therefore should not have any inherent sound. As with hardly any other component in the studio, there are considerable differences in sound with monitoring monitors. One and the same mix will have a completely different sound on different speakers. Under these circumstances, creating a production that will convince producers and musicians as well as later listeners is certainly not an easy task. The perfect speaker for…

The A-Series has been gradually launched from spring to autumn 2022 and includes five different boxes in the lower to upper mid-range price range - A4V, A44H, A7V, A77H and A8H - suitable for a variety of applications. Both as far as all genres within the music world are concerned, as well as for areas that go beyond music, such as broadcasting or audio plays/audiobooks. The use in the hifi sector is also conceivable thanks to the detailed reproduction. The A44H in particular, with its format that fits into a 19-inch rack, is designed for mobile use, e.g. in OB vans. It is also well suited as a center in surround systems, as its flat format allows it to fit well under a screen. Horizontal and vertical The designations H…

A 7-inch woofer and the AMT tweeter integrated into the plastic waveguide are responsible for the good sound. AMT stands for Air Motion Transformer, a technology with a folded diaphragm that is also found in the speakers from Adam and Eve Audio, among others, and is supposed to provide airy highs. This removes the acoustic wool blanket that seems to lie on some cheaper speakers. On the other hand, AMT tweeters have a reputation for sounding a bit too sharp and pointed, and thus unnatural. Therefore, we were curious to see if the engineers at Swissonic could find a good tuning here. Connection-friendly First, however, the rear panel, which is connection-friendly. XLR and jack (both balanced) as well as RCA are available for the audio signal. In addition, there are…

As resources become more expensive, mottos such as „The cheapest electricity is the electricity you don‘t use“ become more and more important. And, ultimately, there is some truth to this. But where can and should you save; what is a luxury and what is indispensable? Only you can answer these questions for yourself, but we‘ll give you a few tips on what to look out for, as well as a tool for calculating your studio‘s power requirements. We bet you‘ll find a few surprises. 1 How is power consumption calculated? Each electrical device has a certain rated power, which is specified in watts and can usually be found in the manual. While a 60-watt light bulb consistently burns 60 watts, not every device always needs full power, however, and consumption…

1 Bit reduction First, we reduce the bitrate of our sample. To do this, we double-click the sample to get to the Sample Editor. Next, we edit the sample in the audio editor, Edison, by right-clicking on the waveform. Then, we go to Tools, Run Script; then, under FX to Bit Reduction and set the Bit Depth to about 10000 with the slider. 2 Patcher To detune the sound a bit to give it more color, we route the sound into any mixer channel and load the FL Studio internal plug-in, Patcher. In the presets, we select the Humanizer under X Youlean and set the Pitch slider to about 25%, the Stereo slider to 0% and leave the others unchanged. 3 Distortion Distortion also helps to make it sound a…

1 Sample sources So, we want to add elements of Hip Hop to our existing Psytrance beat. Good sources for this are online sample stores like Splice [1] and Loopmasters [2], sample libraries or providers of free sounds, such as Looperman [3], where we go in search. After creating an account, the download of all samples is free. 2 Tempo and pitch! In the search function we select Hip Hop as genre and off we go. From the results, we download various drum and vocal loops. Important: Not all file names contain tempo and pitch, but on the website these are usually indicated. Be sure to write both in the file name after downloading, this will save a lot of fiddling later. 3 Adjust tempo As far as importing loops…

1 The problem areas Import the two enclosed tracks into a new project and listen to them individually. Load an instance of the Fabfilter Pro-Q 3 as an insert effect for each track so that you can also view the frequency spectrum visually. The reference track should serve as a rough orientation. The mix example currently sounds rather unbalanced and darkly mixed. 2 Clean up Particularly noticeable in the „Mix“ track is the exaggeration of the middle frequencies around 500 Hz. Use an equalizer band to cut this range by about 2 dB. Since this area sounds consistently overemphasized, we want to do a broadband cut, with a Q value of about 1. Set the phase at Zero Latency to Natural Phase for a more natural result. 3 Dynamic bands…

Aside from the four plug-ins that have been added with FL Studio 21, there are many smaller new features that make working in the DAW more relaxed. You don‘t have to worry about crashes as much, since an Autosave can be set every minute. In addition, calculation algorithms in plug-ins and the mixer have been simplified, which noticeably reduces the load on the CPU. Furthermore, all audio clips in the arrangement now automatically have a fader. If you drag two audio clips on top of each other, crossfades are automatically set between them. The volume change is visible and reflected directly in the waveform. The DAW is still offered in four versions, with the All Plugins Edition bringing with it a huge collection of high-quality sound generators and effects. Visually,…

K-Brown Synth Plugins Kevin Brown provides an impressive portfolio of synthesizer emulations for free download. The synthesizer plug-ins were originally created for his own use and entertainment. And Brown doesn‘t even claim that they actually sound like the hardware synthesizers they emulate, are based on or inspired by, since none of them use analog modeling or filters. Rather, the plug-ins are based on programming platforms such as Flowstone (therefore, unfortunately, only for Windows), which allow only limited adaptation to concrete sound specifications. Most plug-ins contain few or no presets, capturing the vibe of unsavable vintage synthesizers where the artist is virtually faced with a blank sheet every time and had to program the sound from scratch. But this is also how you often come up with the most unique ideas…

Drumlogue is a hybrid drum machine with eleven sounds. It features four analog drum tracks (kick, snare, high and low tom), six sample-based tracks (hihat, cymbal, clap, etc.) and a flexible digital engine. With dimensions of 317 × 189 × 73 mm and a weight of 1.4 kg, the slightly beveled case is pretty compact and fits in most gig bags. Drumlogue looks quite chic due to the aluminum case featuring wooden sides in dignified black and also makes a robust impression. Individual outputs and stereo input On the rear panel, in addition to the headphone and stereo outputs, there are four additional audio outputs for mixing individual instruments separately and processing them with effects. For connection with other sound generators, there is MIDI IN/OUT and analog sync IN/OUT, as…

(QA engineer at Adam Audio) Beat / What was the basic idea behind the development of the A Series? Felix / We wanted to replace the AX Series and bring something to the market that is better, but is still priced between the T and S series. For us as developers, it is always exciting to be given a price range and to make the best of it in the end. Beat / Who is the series aimed at? Felix / There are both somewhat more professional hobby producers who work at home and already buy A4V or A7V boxes, but also more professional smaller studios. The A77H and A8H monitors, on the other hand, are aimed more at larger studios, because you need a larger room to utilize them.…

1 Install Devices Download the Max for Live Pack Mod Squad v2 from Manifest Audio and unzip it. Open Ableton Live. Select the User Library under Places and drag the unzipped folder into the Browser Content window. This way, you have quick access to the devices. Alternatively, you can place the folder in a different location. 2 Program beat First, load a Drum Rack into a MIDI track and program a simple beat. To make drum sounds - or other sounds - sound more alive, the MFA MIDI S&H is suitable. The device generates random values for modulating individually assigned parameters at optionally set intervals when the threshold is exceeded. 3 Vitalize sounds Open the Drum Rack‘s chain mixer and place the aforementioned effect on a hi-hat track. Click on…

1 The Bass Import the enclosed tracks into a new Cubase project with 70 BPM tempo. First, let‘s focus on the bass. With Quadrafuzz v2, we give it more presence. To do this, set the frequency band of the low mids to the DIST algorithm and adjust Drive to 1.0. Reduce the Output volume by -10 dB for a coherent level in the overall mix. 2 The transients Drum sounds can gain presence by emphasizing their attack sounds. The second track we want to focus on is the kick drum. Load the Vintage Compressor as an Insert effect with a Ratio of 4:1. Set Attack to 20 ms and activate Punch to give the transients a lot of space. Now set Input to +12 dB so that the compression takes…

Sample Logic Genesis Since 2006, Sample Logic has been releasing inspiring sample instruments with a focus on cinematic sound design with nice regularity. Their latest creation, Genesis - Pads In Motion, specializes in atmospheric sounds. On the user interface of this clearly and attractively designed Kontakt instrument, you can load two of the 200 included multi-samples (sound sources) and crossfade between them. As you would expect from Sample Logic, Genesis also comes with flexible options for sound and effects processing of the individual layers. With appropriate processing, you can also achieve bass and pluck sounds with Genesis. To bring the sounds to life, there are several LFOs and step sequencers for controlling various sound and effects parameters. Dynamic progressions and tempo-synchronized modulations are, therefore, child‘s play. In addition, you can…

Resonance Sound Tempelhof Techno Experience the Underground Techno sound from the capital with Tempelhof Techno by Resonance Sound. The 420 MB library is filled with 221 loops and 60 oneshots. The 128 to 130 BPM fast loops are dedicated to basses (101), drums (60), pads (20), percussion (20) and synthesizer sounds (20). In addition, there are 100 MIDI sequences. The kicks bang through the speakers full and hard and the claps are also nicely present. The basslines and, often oversaturated melodic basslines, not only exude that catchy Electro charm, they also turn out to be very groovy. They are sometimes very broadly arranged in the stereo image. The percussion is also of a synthetic technoid nature, albeit with a lot of effects use. The pads are quite sharp and have…

Externally, the sturdy, white-painted metal casing resembles its predecessor, but it is a bit wider and a tad bit taller. In return, Eventide has placed considerably more controls on the surface. The H9 had only one knob, two footswitches and a handful of small buttons, so any deeper programming was quite cumbersome. With two large and three smaller encoders, each equipped with a push-button function and placed next to or below the razor-sharp OLED display, the H90 is much more convenient to operate. In addition, there are four more pushbuttons and three robust crack-free footswitches. The H90 is also better equipped with connections. Four inputs and four outputs (6.3mm mono jack) are located on the back of the pedal. There are 8 small status LEDs that provide visual feedback about…

The Chinese manufacturer Donner is probably hardly known to anyone in this country, but it already has an extensive portfolio of musical instruments ranging from guitars and drums to digital pianos. Many of them are inspired by the products of other manufacturers and thus bring back memories of another company that produces cheaply and en masse in China. It is quite possible that products from other companies producing in China are simply rebranded here, i.e. simply marked with the Donner brand. Similar to Behringer, Donner has now also expanded its range to include analog synthesizers, starting with the B1, which is heavily advertised online. TB-303 in modern design Somewhat surprisingly for the Donner company, which has hitherto been more mainstream-oriented, B1 does not come up with a wide-ranging digital sound…

Admittedly, there are things you don‘t really need. But if they‘re fun and also suitable for a show, then somehow they are. One of them is a Max for Live device that can be used to illuminate the Push Matrix. All imaginable shapes and patterns, letters and numbers that change their color and shape kaleidoscopically are possible. This will make Push an instant eye-catcher! 1 Select User Mode Download the free Max for Live device PushIllumination from SS4V and place it in an empty MIDI track. In Live‘s Preferences, activate Track and Remote under MIDI for Push User Port. In the MIDI track‘s In and Output routing, select Push 2 (User Port) under MIDI To Ableton. Activate Push‘s User Mode. 2 Activate presets In Live, select Alternate from the Device‘s Preset drop-down…

If the computer doesn‘t rock, the workflow won‘t roll either. Long boot times destroy the fun, audio dropouts are a pain and when the DAW takes minutes to start, motivation vanishes. But that can be done better! In this feature, we remove errors and blockades from Win & Mac so that you can get the maximum performance out of your DAW and setup – and finally have more fun with finishing tracks. Also included: 12 tools for organising, optimising, repairing and creating backups. Test: Oberheim OB-X8 The OB-X8 is based on the legendary synths OB-8, OB-X and OB-Xa, wraps their sounds in a modern case and expands them by more than 40 parameters – including SEM filter modes, per-voice panning and keyboard tracking of the LFO. You can load two…

Finally also as software – KORG modwave native As a combination of wavetable synthesis with samples, KAOSS Physics and Wave Sequencing 2. the synthesizer modwave from Korg has proven itself. Finally, the manufacturer also offers a suitable plug-in with Korg modwave native. The processing possibilities of the plug-in are identical and compatible with the hardware. For sound generation, sound tinkerers are provided with a treasure trove of 200 wavetables with 64 waveforms each. These feed the two 2 wavetable oscillators plus sub-oscillator/noise generator. If that‘s not enough, you can also draw in your own waveforms in the internal editor. In addition, the filter section has 12 filter types to offer. Gigabytes of sample material and over 1,000 possible modulation destinations with no fixed limit for the modulation routings are included.…

Beat / Your new album “Shifting Signals” is influenced by space. Do you think traveling through space is exciting or scary? Terence / Well, the album is influenced by many things, but also by the idea of space and infinity. In particular, the interaction between humans, nature, the elements and the unknown. To answer your question, I think travelling to space is exciting, discovering and reaching for new knowledge is part of our instinct, and the unknown is exciting. Beat / Since your music is instrumental, what exactly has the influence of outer space been on your music? Terence / It gives me images in my mind, some atmospheric direction. For example, the idea of the noise of a human engine in space is something I can imagine and find…

REGISTRATION & INSTALLATION After registering the data from the current Beat issue on serialcenter.de, you will receive an e-Mail with your serial number for Memory-V. Then, download the IK Product Manager [1]. If you don‘t already have an IK Account, quickly create one. In the Product Manager, click on Manage My Products and then on Register Product under Software. Here you can enter your serial number and then install Syntronik Memory-V in the Sounds Tab. Memory-V is now playable via the Syntronik plug-in in your DAW. Further info: Infos: www.ikmultimedia.com License & Password: www.serialcenter.de 1 Load Syntronik With its four layers, Memory-V is an excellent source of ideas, for example, for Techno productions. First, load Syntronik as an instrument in your DAW and then click on the small image to…

1 Transfer samples The first step is to equip the Digitakt with samples: Download both the Single-Cycle Waveforms and the Wavetables from the magazine downloads and send them to the Sampler via USB using the transfer app from Elektron [1]. We always choose the Incoming folder as the destination. You can also use elkherd [2] in the browser. 2 Load samples Then, go to the Settings in the Digitakt, select Samples and the desired folder. For now, we load only the AM_SINE wavetable from the WaveEdit Online folder and FM-Complex NS 12 from the ArchitectureWaveforms2010_ DemoWaveforms into the project. We assign the samples to the Tracks 7 and 8 and set the playback to FWD.L. 3 Loops But we don‘t want to just loop the AM_SINE, we want to use…

1 Load loop into Impact XT To get started with our vocal experiments, the first thing you need is a suitable vocal loop. We found one in the Siren By Veela sample pack from Black Octopus Sound [1]. Drag the Studio One instrument, Impact, from the browser into the Arrange window. Then, drag and drop your vocal loop onto Pad C1 of Impact XT. 2 Choose slices Now you can adjust the sample start and end as you like. Held vowels with constant pitch usually give good results. Copy the loop to the next pad by right-clicking on it and selecting Copy Pad. Then, switch to Pad C#1 and click Paste Pad. This way you can paste the sample to all pads in the bank. 3 Reverse effect Adjust the…

Pigments offers four sound engines: Analog, wavetable, sample / granular and harmonic (additive). Two engines can be used in parallel, and there is also a utility engine with two noise and VA oscillators. The sound shaping is done by a dual filter section. Other highlights of the synthesizer are the polyrhythmic step sequencer and the arpeggiator, as well as the powerful modulation section. Version 4 focuses primarily on optimizing design, operation and workflow, but also offers additional functions in the sound production area. Better workflow A new feature is the Play view, in which only the most important sound parameters are displayed. The complex sound generation and the correspondingly packed interface of the plug-in can be confusing, especially when starting out, which is why this play view is a real…

Sonible smart:limit Worry-free limiting, optimized loudness and dynamics, and automatic parameter adjustment thanks to artificial intelligence: that sounds like a plug-in that deserves a closer look! The operation of smart:limit is pleasantly simple. First, select one of the profiles that most closely matches the audio signal. In addition to a universal profile, there are profiles for genres such as EDM, Techno, House, Rock, Classical and Pop. Then, play the loudest part of your track and click the record function so that smart:limit can analyze the signal. If you want, you can also use mastered tracks as a reference. The automatic settings usually immediately deliver mostly good results, but, of course, the parameters can still be adjusted in detail. Another great feature is the ability to adjust the sound character with…

10 patches in the issue downloads: see page 9. www.synapse-audio.com Classic House chords Although the Minimoog is monophonic, it is used quite frequently for chords. The trick is to tune the oscillators accordingly. In our patch „Chords In The House“ we create a major chord by tuning the second oscillator up 4 semitones and the third oscillator up 7 semitones higher than the first. What? You‘d rather have a minor chord? All you have to do is set the Semi control of Oscillator 2 to +3.00. For crisp chords, we chose a low filter frequency and an Env Amt of 5, and set the decay value of the filter envelope to about 600 ms. E-Piano with retro flair The Legend can also be used to create atmospheric electric piano and…

While previous audio interfaces from Universal Audio had DSP built-in that could calculate the manufacturer‘s high-quality UAD Audio plug-ins, the Volt series is a standard audio interface without this extra power. However, this is not a problem, since the most popular plug-ins from Universal Audio now also run natively in your DAW without hardware. So far, only as a Spark subscription, but at least at the time of testing, the LA-2A compressors and the Plate Reverb were permanently included in the purchase price. That‘s why we didn‘t particularly miss the built-in compressor of the larger Volt 476 model, even though it can definitely be an advantage in more difficult recording situations. Preamps with Vintage Mode The two TRS/XLR combo jacks on the front are suitable for microphone and instrument recordings.…

The Morphos is actually simple in design. But only in design. The two oscillators are playable over ten octaves and offer familiar home cooking with sine, sawtooth, square and triangle waveforms. It gets even more special thanks to the two FM controls, via which both oscillators can modulate each other. But the real core - and namesake - is the morphing, because this module is all about movement in the sound. Always sounds different, but always in tune Four parameters per oscillator seem quite clear at first: frequency, detune, waveform and an FM control have to suffice. However, all four can be modulated by one source each, which you switch between using the three-colored buttons: either incoming CV signals (white), internal envelopes (green) or LFOs (orange). Using multiple sources at…

iPad The iPad is now in its tenth generation as a quasi-exaggeration of Apple‘s design philosophy. Available in four colors, the base model, which has been updated as of October 2022, is equipped with the A14 Bionic chip, which plays on a Liquid Retina display that now measures 10.9 inches diagonally. It is also the first „normal“ iPad with a USB-C port. The prices, however, start at a steep 580 Euro. Also still in the portfolio: The ninth-generation iPad comes in at a more acceptable 430 Euro. The iPad Pro was also updated in fall 2022. This gives Apple‘s most ambitious tablet another performance boost in the form of the M2 SoC, which is also used in the MacBook Air. Otherwise, the innovations are limited: The „professional iPad“, which is…