Innehållsförteckning för 05/2024 från Beat English

Versatile genius for EDM & Co. Syntorial Primer 2 At first glance, the Syntorial Primer software synthesizer appears some-what inconspicuous. But if you take a closer look, you quickly realize how flexible this virtual-analogue sound generator is. Its sound spectrum ranges from classic analog Basses, Leads, Pads and effect sounds to contemporary sounds for electronic music and club productions. Curious? Then install it and off you go. Download: see page 9 | Info: www.syntorial.com win | mac All serial numbers safely 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 send you…

With our online service, plugins-samples.com, we have set up a digital subscription service through which you can obtain BEAT in digital form. This includes all monthly software content as downloads and the digital magazine in German and English. The two annual subscriptions also include access to the complete BEAT archive with over 130 issues currently available. The software content includes several gigabytes of VST/AU plug-ins, instruments, effects, audio software, samples, loops, sound banks, and so on… Just „everything a producer needs!“. The monthly editions usually come with two plug-in highlights, which are either BEAT versions with slightly stripped-down features, but also sometimes include full versions of commercial software. The three available subscription models differ in duration and price, starting at 4.99 Euro per month. The models give you access to…

1 Mindset and vision In the first step, we don’t want to deal specifically with a song - it should rather be about our head, our mindset. In my early days, I simply tried out many tools and spent hours tinkering with compressors, equalizers and reverb devices to hear which parameter had which effect, which device or plug-in went particularly well with which instrument. Especially if you don’t have that much experience yet, this is an excellent method to learn, train your ear and develop your very own style. Therefore: Get rid of prefabricated settings and try things out, experiment, make mistakes and learn from them. Take your time and have fun with the equipment. Sound engineering is a wonderful adventure playground! In contrast, you should change your focus a little…

Beat / Let us know why you built and set up your studio the way you did? Paulee / Before I revamped my setup, I didn’t really have a studio, I had a „pile of synths“ in a non-descript room of pastel-green walls. Because of how I compose, (I have Autism, so tend to write/flesh out arrangements in my head) I never gave much consideration to the studio environment. I use an older version of Cubase for recording; vintage tech is big in my world, so „I got by“ for years, plugging one synth in at a time to my soundcard…making the most of that instrument and supplementing it with VST synths and effects. It wasn’t the worst way of working, but as my synth collection grew, so did my…

Few people have had such a decisive influence on our conception of DJing in recent years as Derek Barbolla. Yet Barbolla himself is neither a DJ nor an artist. You could even argue that he isn’t even concerned with music at all. Rather, he deals with images and fantasies. In 2016, he placed Jérémy Souillart, aka Møme, on a tiny platform of the Eiffel Tower, so high above the rooftops of Paris that just watching it on Youtube could make you feel dizzy. Møme played his way through a set of rather restrained house music on keyboard, guitar and laptop. Feedback was euphoric and since then, Barbolla’s company Cercle has been taking its viewers on a weekly journey to the most beautiful places in the world, sonifying the planet’s cultural…

Anyone who does professional Audio Editing and Mastering can hardly avoid WaveLab. However, it can be annoying in your creative workflow in the DAW if you first have to export the audio file, then import it into WaveLab, edit it there and save it again, then load it into your DAW and position it in the right place. That’s why, in the past, we‘ve often resorted to the limited capabilities of DAW-internal audio editing instead of using the convenient and powerful tools provided by WaveLab. WaveLab 12 offers ARA support for the first time, which means it can link into your DAW as an extension and edit selected audio data within your DAW, all while staying synchronized with your song. No more exporting/importing, no need to open the WaveLab software,…

Atoms does not use classic oscillators or samples. Rather, it relies on advanced Physical Modeling. This plugin goes one step further than sound generators that emulate the behaviors and vibrations of real instruments; and also offers enormous potential for creating new and otherworldly sounds. The basis for the system is the simulation of interconnected masses and springs that are excited by a virtual arc. Sound complex? Thanks to the inviting user interface, Atoms is pleasantly accessible: with six main parameters, you can customize the properties and dimensions of the physical model. The 250 supplied presets, including the „Radioactive“ expansion by well-known producer and DJ, Zardonic, demonstrate the sonic diversity of this synthesizer. Order and Chaos The Chaos control gives the sound beats, but can also create detuning and glide effects.…

1 909 for the win! DRUMZ includes two Zampler Soundbanks: Edition 909 brings the iconic drum sounds of Roland’s TR-909 to your DAW and Alpha is a multi-faceted collection of analog synth drums and traditional percussion sounds. We start our fast Electro Pop track with a groove foundation from the drums of the TR-909. 2 Build a beat Select suitable samples from the Zampler DRUMZ - Edition 909 folder or use the corresponding presets in the Soundset. In our straight beat, the bass drum plays on the quarter notes, accompanied by claps on every other eighth note. The necessary drive is provided by an eighth note rhythm of the closed hi-hat and the open hi-hat on every second eighth note. 3 Epic percussion Tip: You can set powerful accents with the percussion…

Although software synthesizers are getting better and better in terms of sound and also offer some advantages in the studio, such as total recall and multiple use, they still have a serious disadvantage compared to hardware synthesizers: they lack comparable tactile operation. Although standard controllers usually offer 8 universal knobs and, with a bit of luck, 8 faders, these are more intended for operating a DAW and are arranged like a mixing console. Specialty controllers for software synthesizers, on the other hand, are rare and, since the discontinuation of the Novation X-Station, usually only available in small editions at a high price. A resourceful developer has, therefore, set about modifying an existing hardware option. Novation Launch Control XL is actually also a DAW controller, but with 24 knobs plus multi-colored…

Looking for brilliant sounds for your next club banger? With our full version of Syntorial Primer, you get the universal genius for EDM, techno and trance served up as a synth. As a second highlight, you also have a choice of two sound packs from AAS, which complement the Syntorial Primer perfectly. We continue with our 1.7 GB DRUMZ expansion pack for the Zampler and MPCs. Here you’ll find the full load of percussions and drums with 178 chromatically playable kits. No more static drums! Other highlights not to be missed are our 6 GB sound treasure chest with hand-picked samples for house, folk, dark ambiences and even cyberpunk, thanks to the first-class contact instrument CINEMATIC CYBERWAVE FREE by Noizefield. Bass-heavy support also comes from ZTEKNO with the must-have sound…

How do you balance the kick drum with the bass track? How do the basses get forward without dominating? How do you give vocals a silky shine? And how do you keep the ups and downs of frequency and dynamics under control? You can find the practical and detailed solutions to all of these (and more) questions on the following pages. Also our big highlight: the mixing schedule from Igl Schönwitz, a more than renowned sound engineer who approaches the mixing process less technically and more based on feeling. And now, without further ado, let’s get started with the material - with nine tips for successful mixdowns. Ready? 1 Don’t hide anything If you are unsure about a sound and automatically mix it quieter, it is better to leave it…

I still use a lot of analog equipment every day and consider myself a hardware fan. And what our two examples above have in common is not primarily the lack of analogue equipment, but above all incredible talent. It’s really worth watching Finneas’ Deconstructed videos on YouTube - his secret is, above all, a sophisticated arrangement and a meticulous coordination of the individual sounds. And it can be assumed that both Finneas and Jacob Collier had mastering studios with high-quality analog outboard equipment involved. What you can certainly learn from these two artists is that money cannot buy talent and that high-quality gear alone is no guarantee of a successful production. Strengths and weaknesses of analogue technology To make the discussion a little more objective, let’s take a look at…

For our interview, Enyang has invited me to the Urbiks Studio, a wood-panelled oasis located in Berlin’s Funkhaus complex. The equipment used here was originally designed for renowned colleague Heba Kadry (Björk, Ryuichi Sakamoto) and Enyang and her partner Jan have embedded it in the stunning, elegant elements of Belgian company Northward Systems. While Enyang prepares a wonderful tea in the kitchen, I set up my equipment in the intense calm of the control room - it’s easy to imagine spending many hours here in total concentration. In doing exactly that, she has built up a remarkably diverse portfolio of releases from a wide range of musical styles. For Enyang, mastering is all about creating a certain stability, the feeling that every element of the mix is vibrating at exactly…

The Roland Alpha Juno was overshadowed by the Juno 6/60 and 106 right from the start, probably because Roland used membrane switches instead of direct operation with several faders. In terms of sound, however, the Alpha Juno also has a lot of character to offer. The so-called Hoover sound, which is based on a factory preset of the Juno programmed by Eric Persing (the mastermind behind Omnisphere), became somewhat famous. It was used in some Techno classics such as Dominator in the early 90s, and has enjoyed constant popularity as a driving, punchy lead sound ever since. But the Alpha Juno has much more to offer! Extended DCO It is, therefore, even more pleasing that TAL, a proven developer, has now taken on the emulation of the Alpha Juno and…

We live in exciting times when it comes to music and AI. How does artificial intelligence help Musicians and Producers in their day-to-day work? Which tools will fundamentally change the way we work and produce? At RoEx Audio, you upload the stems of your production and get back a ready-mixed track! Roex Audio, Unchained, what’s it all about? Unchained is a digital distributor like Distrokid. And for the auto-mixing technology, the company has teamed up with the start-up, RoEx Audio. The idea: you upload the stems of your finished track and the Unchained engine automatically mixes the whole thing. After uploading, you can set the „Importance“ in the mix, the Panning Position and the amount of Reverb for each instrument group. There are also nine different genres to choose from…

The KingKORG NEO is a virtual analog synthesizer with “eXpanded Modeling Technology” (XMT), which is already quite flexible at the oscillator level with various algorithms. The filter also offers various characteristics that are modeled on analogue classics and even allow self-oscillation. There are also performance features such as effects, step arpeggiator and vocoder including a gooseneck microphone. The original KingKORG In 2013, more than 10 years ago, Korg brought the first KingKORG onto the market. And even back then it was a brave decision, because virtual-analog synthesizers were increasingly being replaced by software alternatives or real-analog hardware. KingKORG wanted to impress with its features aimed at live use, but the synthesizer never became a real bestseller and the used prices also settled at a moderate 500 Euro. That’s why we…

Hermod+ is a versatile sequencer with a modular design. Hermod+ benefits from the manufacturer’s experience with sequencers, from its predecessor Hermod and the hardware sequencers Pyramid and Hapax. An improved screen, more pads and the eight new track buttons make working with the 26 HP wide module much easier. It is a kind of little brother to the external Hapax sequencer and is much cheaper in comparison. It even has more CV/gate outs (eight instead of four CV/gate out pairs), but also has to make do without the internal controller functions or other features such as Undo/Redo. Compared to its predecessor, Hermod+ now also offers dedicated Reset and Clock Gate outputs. The module can also be used as a MIDI to CV/CV to MIDI interface and can be connected to…

Feature: Streams & Spotify Streaming services have long since revolutionized the way we consume music – and are still in the headlines. Which platforms are the most important for music creators and podcasters? How do you place your tracks successfully, increase your brand awareness and why does your sound need to be on Spotify and Apple playlists? Look forward to our huge feature in which we provide all the answers and also show how and where you can ultimately make money with streams. Test: SOMA Pulsar-23 Pulsar-23 is a four-voice drum synth for kick, snare, hi-hat/cymbal and bass/percussion. The semi-modular device follows the concept of the organismic synthesizer – this means that all 23 modules are interconnected, allowing multiple feedback loops to be created. Pulsar-23 is not only capable of…

1 Mindset and vision Get rid of ready-made plug-in presets and experimentally determine which processors and settings have which effects on the sound of different instruments. Then you try to use various reference titles to develop a vision of what a song can sound like, what your personal sonic preferences are and where the sound journey should go. 2 Listen and analyze Sort the tracks of your song and create a meaningful structure. First try to achieve a transparent sound image in which everything can be heard using only faders and stereo panning. Then take a close look at the arrangement: Are all the elements really musically necessary? Or can you “purify” the song by not letting certain elements play all the time? Look carefully at the timing - especially…

Kick drum 1 Probably the most frequently used EQ setting for kick drums: the bass range of the kick drum is raised a little, the muddy 300 Hz mids are lowered and the attack of the kick drum is boosted a little. Kick drum 2 The classic „smiley face“ can shape a kick drum that has too many frequencies in the mids very nicely. The bass range and the treble range are enhanced. As a result, the mids automatically get into the background. Kick drum 3 If there are too many low frequencies, we reduce them with a low-shelf filter at 20 Hz. The upper bass range is boosted at 150 Hz. The presence is boosted by a highshelf filter at 16 kHz. Snare 1 Probably the most frequently used…

Beat / Congratulations on your new album „Cold Enough For Snow“. Where does the root of your creativity lie? Jordi / Creativity comes out of persistence. Never give up when there is a bad day of creating music. Actually, there is no such thing as a bad day. Being able to ‚kill your darlings‘ in order to filter out the good is crucial and painful. Sometimes it’s needed to do other things to get creative. Maybe it’s about waiting for the right moment to be creative and knowing when we are in the flow of creativity. Beat / Your productions seem extremely mature. How long do you work on a song on average, and on the production in general? Jordi / Thank you very much. After years of making music,…

1 Rave classics Classic Rave sounds are child’s play for Primer. Click on the icon at the bottom left of the user interface and then on Reset to reset the synthesizer’s parameters to their initial values. Activate Legato Mode in the Voices section and set the Porta control for the desired glide effect to 70 ms. 2 Lead: Basic sound we’ll keep the sawtooth waveform for Oscillator 1. Set the Sub control in the middle for a more powerful sound. We keep the Filter settings for an unfiltered sound. Many iconic Rave lead sounds thrive on fast modulations. Select Pitch as the destination for the LFO and set Rate to 1/16 and Amount to 0.04. 3 Lead: Modulation For a livelier lead sound, we make the following assignments in the performance section of…

Although the ARP Axxe had the same powerful fundamental sound as its famous big brother, it had to make do with just one oscillator. This meant that many of the Odyssey’s characteristic sound options such as Hardsync, ring modulation and duophony were no longer available. This is why the Axxe never achieved a comparable level of popularity. And at first glance, it is, therefore, surprising that GForce has taken on this model - after all, they already have a very successful Odyssey emulation in their catalog with Oddity. Simple, but effective synthesis After we took a closer look at the Axxess in the test, we quickly realized the advantages the Axxe presents. While the Odyssey can be rather confusing due to its extensive options, some of which are based on…

The KeyStep Pro is basically an extended BeatStep Pro with keyboard. The keyboard will be familiar from the smaller KeySteps. The 37 slim keys offer good playing feel; velocity and aftertouch are implemented cleanly. LEDs above each key provide visual feedback. There are two touch strips for modulation and pitch bending. There are 5 controls that are used to set the Pitch, Velocity, Length, Timing and Playback Probability of the individual steps. In Control Mode, the knobs send selectable MIDI CC to control the parameters of a plug-in in a DAW or a hardware synthesizer. Four tracks Each track comprises up to 64 steps and can be used as a monophonic or up to a 16-note polyphonic sequencer for melodies. You can record in real-time or in Step Mode. Track…

The SEQTRAK, marketed by Yamaha as an all-in-one system, offers eleven tracks. In addition to drums, there are two tried-and-tested Yamaha sound generators (AWM and FM) as well as a sample track, whereby samples can be recorded directly via the integrated microphone and listened to via the internal speaker. And thanks to the associated app, you can use your smartphone as an editor and visualizer. Compact and mobile SEQTRAK is available in subtle dark gray-black or striking white-orange and is very compact. With dimensions of approximately 34 x 4 x 10 centimeters and a weight of less than one kilogram, the small groovebox is primarily intended as a mobile companion and for spontaneous jamming on the couch or in the garden. The built-in lithium-ion battery is helpful here, as in…

1 Load LFO for Push Download the free Device LFO for Push by Elisabeth Homeland [1], an extended version of the Ableton LFO. You will find two versions in the download folder: The Device LFO for Push Single modulates a single, freely assignable parameter, while the other version, LFO For Push 8, can modulate up to eight parameters. 2 Install in Live Save the two LFO for Push devices in the Max Audio Effects folder of your Ableton Live User Library. Next, the two LFO for Push devices must also be saved in Push’s User Library. Connect Push to your computer and select Control Live Mode in the Push settings menu. 3 Prepare Standalone Select Push under Places in the Ableton Live browser. Move the two LFO for Push devices from…