Innehållsförteckning för July 2021 från Computer Music

cm How did you get into music software? MK “I started programming audio software in the early 90s. There was not much available on the market in those days, so we had to develop our own. We used ‘trackers’, which were able to play back samples and you’d arrange them to create songs.” cm Tell us a little about your company and which products became successful? MK “In the 90s I created various audio tools as well as several trackers for SoundBlaster cards. In the early 2000s I started with creating freeware VSTs. reFX licensed my audio engines for several products: JunoX, Vanguard, Slayer, PlastiCZ. In 2005 I decided to go my own way and founded Tone2. Gladiator and Electra2 became very popular and were used by a massive number…

Nicholas Galanin is an indigenous Alaskan, also known as Tlingit and Unangax, and a contemporary artist who channels many of his beliefs through both art and music. As well as taking part in direct actions like the excavation of the shadow of the statue of Captain James Cook in Australia – in a call for the burial of such monuments – he has also produced pieces like Land Swipe, a deer hide painted with the NYC subway map, noting the sites of police violence against black youths (and called “one of the most important art moments in 2020” by The New York Times). As Ya Tseen (meaning “be alive” and from his Tlingit name Yeil Ya Tseen) he released Indian Yard last month (on Sub Pop). It “explores love, desire,…

There’s a fair bit of crossover between the MV-1 and other Roland products, most obviously the MC-707 groovebox – another device sold as able to provide a full standalone or performance hardware experience. A step sequencer is a big part of the package, as we’d expect, and clips can be triggered in real time Ableton-style, or chained together to create full songs. The 707 includes eight tracks of sample recording, synths, and effects, and once again relies on Roland’s ZENCore Synthesis system, with the same 3,000+ sounds and 80 drum kits available on the MV-1. The MC-707 is philosophically different to devices like the Polyend Tracker, where no substantial starter content is provided – with the MC-707 and the MV-1, there’s a great emphasis on the preset instruments. Although the…

Akai’s Force is many things in one: a sequencer, a sampler and a software instrument host. What’s most relevant for us today is that it includes a fully-fledged arrangement view, where compositions can be created, edited, mixed, then exported as Ableton Live projects, or as ready-to-share stereo files. The package includes the Force itself, a mains power supply, three 3.5mm MIDI adaptors, and a USB cable. It’s somewhat chunky, weighing 3.87kg, and measuring 350 x 389 x 72.5mm, but maybe that’s an acceptable trade-off given the expansive control surface that’s available as a result – the top panel includes the 6.9” multitouch display, many buttons, a large data dial, a crossfader, eight touch sensitive assignable knobs, each with its own little display, and 64 illuminated, velocity, and pressure sensitive pads.…

1. How to record into the timeline 1 Let’s assume you have a Force project ready – even one of the demos. Open the project and familiarise yourself with the various sections and parts. Decide if you want to play any instrument sounds over the top. You could trigger clips and scenes from the display while you play on the pads (or you could connect an external MIDI keyboard). 2 As usual with grid-based music, there are judgements to be made about launching individual clips or scenes (horizontal rows of clips). It depends on what’s in your music and how you like to divide your song sections. In the real world, the answer is often to use both! Clip and scene launches will be recorded into the arrangement. 3 Maybe…

Is the Polyend Tracker a hardware monster that can kill off our software? Well, it’s sitting here next to our computer, and Ableton Live hasn’t deleted itself yet! However, we think that for a lot of people it might just be true; there are so many strengths to the Tracker – the sequencing works so well, and it’s just amazingly fluid and creative, and satisfying to use. If you’re a more experimental type, fill up the micro SD with short samples and just get jamming, maybe using the scale FX to keep everything in some sort of musical order. Mess with odd pattern lengths and chain them together, and use the randomisation effects to make pitch and timing unpredictable adventures. If you’re the kind of person who likes things more…

It’s not often we see a hardware product derived from software. The Maschine+ takes NI’s existing Maschine controllers and software, and merges them into a new device that can operate independently of the computer that used to bind them. The Polyend Tracker follows a similar path, but it’s more what you’d call ‘inspired’ by tracker software, rather than directly based on one application. Any device created this way has to resist feature bloat, as a fixed hardware interface can’t convey the same amount of information that a more flexible software display can. Of course, we usually see the exchange happen the other way round – although there are many forward-thinking plugin makers, there are many others proudly modelling the sound of classic hardware, whether vintage synths, tape delays or legendary…

One of the most well-worn criticisms and shortcomings of electronic music, and indeed digital sound in general, is that it is too clean, precise and, well, just too damn cold for human ears. Luckily, today’s technology affords us producers a plethora of cost-effective solutions to this conundrum; though as ever, properly diagnosing the issue and applying a little knowledge is the best route out of even the frostiest of musical tundras. In this tutorial, kicking off a series called Organic Machinations – where we add humanity to a computer music world – we’ll take a look at just what a term like ‘warmth’ even means in a sonic context. We will explore a number of tools and tricks you will be able to readily apply in your productions in order…

UF8 can communicate via both HUI (Human User Interface) and MCP (Mackie Control Protocol, aka MCU), and so can work with all major DAWs. On the HUI front, SSL has additional features that enhance the core abilities of the protocol, giving Pro Tools users a greater degree of control over channel sends and pans, and plugin parameters, than is available with a standard HUI controller. UF8 communicates with all other DAWs via MCP, but different DAWs implement the protocol in different ways. Typically, DAW controllers deal with this through the use of printed overlays that you place over the controller’s buttons, thereby giving the buttons accurate labels for the DAW you’re using. SSL have sidestepped this issue entirely, though, thanks largely to the UF8’s “Soft Keys” feature: running along the…

DriveShaper is the latest effect to be added to Cableguys’ modulation-focussed multi-effect plugin ShaperBox 2. It arrived as a freebie for existing Cableguys users towards the end of last year, meaning all existing ShaperBox owners had it added to their collection without paying. For those that missed out, it’s now available for €39, which is still rather reasonable for such a feature-packed distortion. DriveShaper’s core setup is broadly in line with the rest of its ShaperBox stablemates. It’s UI is focussed around the familiar LFO shaper, which allows users to define a custom curve that, in this case, controls drive level. These custom waves can either be drawn in manually, using an assortment of tools and an editor grid, or selected from an array of handy preset shapes. As is…

Audiotent Kiji Standard Edition £27. MIDI: £17. Deluxe: £37 Always a treat to have another classy bit of kit plundered for its bespoke bleeps. For this round, the Audiotent pitchers have built you a lovely little library captured from the circuitry of the Black Corporation’s Kijimi synth – a sought-after 8-voice polysynth with huge sounds just pouring out. And, as a bonus, the dry content they offer is doubled, as world-class FX chains have been shackled to the loops for wet variants, giving even more value. And, if you’re rich to the tune of an extra tenner pick up the Deluxe version. audiotent.com 9/100 Amon Tobin Two Fingers Sample Pack $40+ And, as luck would have it, those delightful digits belong to none other than electronic music legend,…

MUTATED BASS Mutated Bass After last month’s warped keys, we’ve set our pro sample providers the task of mutating their bass ends. Here’s what Robbie from Cyclick Samples has to say on his new pack… “This collection was created with two basses, a heap of pedals and absolutely no intention of making clean bass tones. “The Epiphone Ripper is a modern remake of the 70s big body classic and features a P-bass style neck pickup and a Jazz-style bridge pickup. For most of these samples the neck pickup was used. “Where the Ripper focuses on the mids, the 1977 Musicman Stingray has loud and proud bass and treble, though I have the controls rolled to midway. “The chain they were recorded through started with a Boss EQ and Korg compressor…

Morcheeba return with their tenth studio album this year, although it’s not been the easiest of journeys, by any means (and consequently, really it’s actually their 11th release). Brothers Paul and Ross Godfrey formed the band in the 90s, after meeting singer Skye Edwards, and released a succession of successful albums over the next decade, four of which went top 20 in the UK. After the band’s Charanga album, however, Edwards left to be replaced by a string of other vocalists until she returned in 2010 for the band’s seventh album, Blood Like Lemonade. Happy ever after? Not quite. Paul left the band in 2014, leaving Skye and Ross to record their next album under that name (2016’s Skye & Ross) rather than Morcheeba. However the duo reverted to Morcheeba…

There was a time, of course – and not actually that long ago – where Roland didn’t do software. However the company’s Cloud subscription service has opened up that particular soft door (or DAW if you work for this mag) and now you can download classic Rolands by the dozen from there (and individually). We thought this might lead to the former hardware giants leaning on smaller companies to stop them doing Roland emulations – as they eventually sort of did with ReBirth – but not so it seems, and this month we have not one but two more Roland softsynths… not made by Roland! First up is the Softube Model 84, not actually stated as a Juno-106 (the 84 is from the year the synth came out, rather like…

It’s funny how things change, don’t you think? There was a time when music technology folk used to muse on whether software was going to replace hardware - like how could we ever hope to replace a studio with all its keyboards and racks, with a little laptop computer and a few bits of software? But we did. Not to the extent that studios disappeared, but a lot did, and most of us are happily making music at home or on the bus. Twenty or more years on from that original bit of musing, and now we are wondering if hardware can replace software – plus ça change and all that! It shows us how mainstream software has become in music production – it’s the default position for any studio.…

ZENCore is a system that works on both hard and software, modelling analogue and digital synthesisers, and it’s obviously something that Roland thinks of as a big deal, with literally 1000s of instrument sounds and dozens of drum kits available. Sounds can be shared across the Roland platform, on hardware devices like the Jupiter-X and Fantom keyboards, or in the Zenology software plugin. Not only can you, as a user, access your sounds anywhere, so can your collaborators. This kind of overarching sound engine, living both in the cloud and locally, is very forward thinking, and it has a lot going for it. Again, it depends on how you feel about using a system that is primarily focused on browsing and using presets, but there are two types of user…

If you’re more inclined towards the classic Akai way of working, there’s always the MPC Live 2 to consider. This has the same decently sized touch display as the Force, and a very useable array of pads and other controls. It doesn’t use the same operating system as the Force, but the two devices do seem to be gradually meeting in the middle, with many shared qualities, including some of the software instruments. The Live 2 can also make songs by organising sequences into a song structure, and then exporting stereo mixes of the finished result, or as Ableton Live projects (it can also act as Live controller). The Live 2 retains the battery power option of the original model, and adds really quite impressive built-in monitors, so it’s truly…

The Polyend Tracker is a hardware manifestation of the classic tracker software concept, which dates back to Amiga computers in the 1980s. Trackers are programs that use a vertically-scrolling list-based method of entering notes and other info (such as mixer and effect parameters) to create patterns, which can then be chained to make songs. Editing a list may not be rock’n’roll, but it can be surprisingly productive. It’s not like they ever went out of style – trackers are still around, courtesy of software like Renoise and ModPlugTracker. Anyway, back to our hardware version. Can a 2021 hardware version of a 1980s bit of software compete with modern DAW software in any way? Let’s see. The Polyend Tracker is impressively compact, measuring 28.2 x 10.7 x 3.3 cm, and weighing…

1. Sample pleasures 1 Adding your own samples is what brings the Polyend Tracker to life. In fact, because there aren’t any software instruments, you really have to add them, unless you plan to use the demos forever! Use your favourite software to create and edit samples as 44.1 wav mono file, and use the supplied micro SD card and USB reader to get them into the Tracker. 2 Insert the micro SD card in the rear slot, and power up the Tracker. Press the Sample Loader button, then navigate to the folder containing the samples. Use the Arrow keys or the dial to highlight your first sample, and press the Preview button if you want to check it. Select an empty instrument slot in the right hand column, then…

As anyone making commercial music will cite, using the perfect set of basic sounds can make or break a track. This begins with the essential components of bass and drums, but getting your bass sound to punch through a mix can be a real challenge – and indeed sit well with the kick – especially when the whole mix may be reproduced on ever-smaller devices that lack the ability to play low frequencies sufficiently. In this tutorial, then, we will take a close look at how to get a synth bass sound to rumble at the bottom end, while providing plenty of top-end colour, to keep the iPhone generation happy. Vintage synthesiser hardware is still very much a weapon in the armoury of the commercial producer, with the classic MiniMoog…

FILTER ACTION Getting a drum sound absolutely nailed typically means getting each individual part sounding as good as possible, then sending everything out to a single stereo bus. The processing on said bus is crucial, as it’s responsible for gluing everything together into a single force – using a filter with a mix control can be extremely valuable here, as it allows us to mix a low-passed, warmed-up version of our drums in with the original signal. SORT YOUR BUS TRACKS Another example of parallel processing is to set up some bus tracks in advance, each containing a single device such as chorus or overdrive. With processing pushed into extreme territory, these buses allow us to make quick and comparatively subtle modifications to any element in the mix – say…

After 20 years of successfully producing software synths based on classic hardware products, Arturia released their first unique synth, Pigments, in 2018 – and now we have Pigments 3. Pigments is a synth instrument that works as a standalone application so you can play live with a keyboard controller, or as a plugin within your favourite host software. Pigments combines virtual analogue and wavetable synthesis, and includes filters, effects, modulation, sequencing and arpeggiation. Version 2, released in 2019, added sample-based and granular synthesis, as well as MPE (MIDI Polyrhythmic Expression). Now we’re looking at Pigments 3, which includes a new Harmonic Engine for additive synthesis; a Utility Engine, with a sub oscillator, supplemental analogue waveforms, and two noise sources – so now up to three Engines can be layered together.…

Leapwing spent many long painstaking months developing this plugin, forensically deconstructing Al’s studio alchemy via classic tracks, gear simulation, and of course, by asking the man himself. The reverbs – or ‘Echo’ as it’s dubbed here – in particular have been sculpted based on Al’s favoured room types. They can be wildly different per-instrument with each Echo containing three different switchable modes. The Echo terminology harks back to Al’s use of actual echo chambers back in the day, well before the widespread uptake of electronic reverb. The reflections here then, are remarkably realistic. Bearing in mind that a similar amount of instrument-specific tuning has been applied to the other parameters per profile – particularly EQ – it’s pretty apparent that warm and vibrant sonic enhancement is rapidly achievable. Additionally, careful…

Arturia V Collection 8 €599 10/10 cm292 Bundles don’t come much bigger or more focussed than V Collection. This beauty contains pretty much every classic keyboard imaginable and is a must for anyone into classic synths. We concluded: “it’s not the cheapest bundle and can certainly be a bit daunting, but the latest incarnation of this classic package offers so much it’s impossible to ignore. As a vintage instruments bundle with a modern twist, V Collection is hard to beat.” arturia.com Accusonus ERA 5 Bundle Pro $39/month or $999 9/10 cm291 This set is for restoring compromised audio but goes further, with great creative inclusions in the 13 plugin collection. “An excellent toolkit of easy processors that is great for music, dialogue and beyond.” accusonus.com Tom Wolfe Premier…

Crikey, we’re going far back in time this month to issue 124, April 2008, where we gave away a huge selection of dub bass samples. What better, we thought, than to present them to you alongside our all-new mutated bass sounds. So here’s what our samplists said, or at least one of them (back then we didn’t let Oli speak…) Robbie from Cyclick Samples said: “The tempo has been slowed down and with a shout of ‘Jah’, subby bass and the emphasised third beat has been laid down for a dub collection of samples. “Taking the golden period of the early to mid 70s (King Tubby and Lee Perry in particular) as inspiration, four construction kits and eight multisampled instruments have been created. The loop kits feature beats, drum hits,…

Then it’s time to… MAKE YOUR OWN! PLUS: The complete guide to take your sound on stage Next issue we are looking at the detail of making your own plugins (not nearly as hard as that sounds), and as we return to live music (hopefully), we have an extensive feature on how to take your sound out live. It’s an issue not to be missed! PLUS! On test Tone2’s Warlock synth, UVI’s 8-Bit and more! Masterclass How to build a recording studio from scratch! Top samples Dust down the vinyl, it’s the ultimate breaks collection!…

Who else has the groove box market covered in the way that Roland do? Nobody. They have the Aira series, the Boutique takes on their classic drum machines, newer devices based on the ZEN-Core synthesis platform, including the MC-707, and this, the VerseLab MV-1. Like the other products in our round up – the Akai Force, Native Instruments Maschine+, and Polyend Tracker – the MV-1 wraps up sequencing, sampling, and effects, into a single package that might just make you think differently about your favourite DAW. There’s an undeniable buzz that comes with hardware grooveboxes, that software developers can only dream of. “There’s an undeniable buzz that comes with hardware grooveboxes” Out of the box, the MV-1 comes across as more of a budget product, purely based on the plastic…

1. How to use vocals and effects on the MV-1 1 Press the Project button and refer to the display, then push the enter dial to browse through your projects or to create a new one. Name and save it onto the mini SD that comes installed with the MV-1. Press the Vocal track button and the display should show RecStandby. Press the Edit button followed by the Vocal Processor button which lights green. 2 The display now shows Vocal Proc Menu, and you can use the dial again, to choose from the effect categories – common, enhance, EQ, tune, and harmony 1-3. Each one of these categories has editable parameters as well. There are a surprising number of real-world useful effects rather than the flashy but useless examples you…

The Akai Force makes use of its larger surface area to provide plenty of hands-on control – there’s even a crossfader up there at the top right. Other than the function buttons, the interface can be broadly organised into three sections: the touch display, the pads, and the macros (knobs). Their functions can cross over somewhat – the macros have a menu of preset assignments, which you can cycle through even as you’re playing, but they’re also user-assignable to any chosen operation, adding far more depth to the customisation of the interface. The touch display can also be assigned to a range of purposes, acting as a mixer with effects, an instrument interface, launching clips and scenes, or even deploying the Force’s tasty XY effects grid. The pads of course…

Although the Polyend Tracker works incredibly well as a fully standalone music machine, it can of course connect to the outside world. There’s the micro SD slot, which is an essential part of importing audio samples from a computer, but also at the back there’s a microphone input (no 48v phantom power is available), line input, MIDI input, and MIDI output. There’s no provision for CV or Bluetooth, but otherwise all your connection basics are covered, and along with the built-in FM radio, there’s everything you need to capture and process sounds from the outside world. As well being a sampling source, the line input can be used as a feed for external stereo signals to pass through the Tracker and be included in the mix for your headphones or…

Of the four units we have in this hardware-focussed roundup, we spent rather less time than we would have liked with Maschine+, simply as there weren’t enough units available for NI to get us one in time. That said, we have had enough time with the unit to get a good feel, and certainly enough to discover that Maschine+ is actually a very good piece of equipment. Maschine+ is unique amongst our ‘DAW killers’ because it was originally a software product-plus-controller that worked with a Mac or PC – it’s migrated out of the computer and into the controller itself, you might say, although even this standalone example can still be used as a controller and audio interface for the computer/software version as well. As well as being a sampler,…

1. How to record into the timeline 1 Connect the Maschine+ to your mixer, monitors, or headphones. Start with your volume levels set low. Connect the Maschine+ mains power supply at the back of the unit. Note that this is a locking connector, so refer to the little graphic on the back to ensure the plug is locked correctly, otherwise it’ll keep falling out and shutting down your music in midflow! 2 As soon as the mains is connected, the power button on the front of the Maschine+ lights red; there’s no hardware button at the back. Press this to start up the Maschine+, and the twin displays show a logo on the left and a ‘Maschine+ is starting’ graphic on the right. This should then turn into a view…

FINISHING TOUCHES The patch we’ve created can give a perfect low-end for many commercial tracks. The elements, like the bright snappiness up-front, can be fine-tuned to create the perfect balance for your style of production or music. With such an exaggeration of volume, some compression will help keep the output signal under control. Some of the favoured compressors for classic synth basses are the vintage FET-based compressors, like the Urei 1176. Many DAWs offer a vintage-style compressor with reverence to the 1176, so look out for acronyms like FET, or some form of black styling, after the original. On a musical level, one final alteration that can be made to our patch for even greater classic status, will be to switch it to Monophonic mode. This is an easy setting…

When we think of walking basslines, often the association is with steppy sequenced synth sounds played in low octaves. Mostly this is played in by hand, alternating octaves. We can replicate a similar style using synthesis techniques. During this guide we’ll walk you through the creation of an original walking bassline sound with Sylenth1. The patch will be based on two sawtooth oscillators. By keeping the oscillator choice simple, you’ll be able to replicate this patch within most software or hardware synths. We’ll further develop the patch and incorporate some tricks to enhance the stereo image. The walking style of the bass originates from a square LFO assigned to Osc B pitch. To build on the rhythmic complexity, a second LFO is assigned to the filter cutoff. The LFO rates…

Lau.ra’s skills as a remixer have been acknowledged by the MPG this year, as she has been nominated for a prestigious gong. We asked her to detail her general remixing process, and how it feels to be nominated? “It was quite a nice surprise to get the MPG nomination,” Bettinson enthuses. “Ever since I’ve had that nomination I’ve been doing more and more. I’ve had eight remix projects since January this year. I always enjoy doing them, and it’s been good this year in the wake of the pandemic, being unable to tour. It’s a really nice way to connect with other artists across genres that I wouldn’t usually be in touch with. In terms of how I approach them, it’s not that different to how I approach writing a…

As far as Arturia’s software synths go (they also have a range of hardware synths), they’re primarily about emulating vintage hardware products – anything from a Synclavier V, to a Moog Modular, to a Roland Jupiter 8. The Moog Modular V software instrument was designed in collaboration with Dr Bob Moog himself, and has been supported and maintained with the necessary updates since it was first released in 2003 – we’ve had it that long and still use it. Against that background, Pigments stands out as something unique and unashamedly modern, although Arturia have certainly benefited from the experience of working with the virtual classics. Unlike the more focused synth instruments of the past, synths like Pigments aim to cover as much ground as possible, with synthesis types including wavetable,…

Solid State Logic’s large format consoles are found in most high-end mixing and post production facilities the world over, and they’re considered by many to be about the best that money can buy – although you should note that you’ll need an awful lot of the stuff if you want to buy one for your own studio! Those of us with more modest budgets tend to settle for recording and mixing in the box, and really, with modern computing power and circuit-modelled instruments and plugins, that’s not such a bad thing sonically. “Poking at knobs with your mouse is a bit like trying to paint your hallway through your letterbox” What it lacks, though, is the hands-on element, and while high resolution graphic user interfaces are all well and good,…

Digging into the presets a little further reveals a diverse range of instant effects. There are some presets that can bolster a performance, like ‘Fake Vibrato’ which sneakily adds a realistic-sounding vibrato to your vocal. It’s actually astonishing how our (admittedly sub-par) vocals can take on a studied polish by delicate application of this preset. Dad Support provides us with a very recognisable sound used by many to fatten up a vocal section with a low baritone. It reminds us of the numerous Stormzy tracks where this technique is frequently used. The more fun presets include Game Over which add a cool arcade game effect, which could be used to add some sonic colour, while the demonic Dark Magician is – genuinely – absolutely terrifying, particularly when applied to a…

Orchestral Tools Umbra €79 Web orchestraltools.com Gear Creative Soundpack Best known for exceptional orchestral libraries – the clue is in the name – OT branched out into more diverse, yet cheaper themed collections last year. Umbra is the latest of these ‘Creative Soundpacks’. It runs within OT’s free SINE Player, like Kontakt. Subtitled ‘Shamanic ritual ensemble’ it contains all of the instruments within such a ceremony, eight in total, with up to 10 articulations and two mic positions. With vocals also an important part of the Shamanic ceremony, OT have also included a bass voice with what they describe as “arcane mutterings, and humming that morphs through multiple vowels”. Eight instruments might not sound many, but there really is enough to cover the entire range here, with the bass…

We have a cracking free plugin this issue from German developers Tone2, who also produce some wonderful synths in the form of Gladiator and Warlock (which we review next issue). While this freebie is available as either a 32- or 64-bit plugin for the PC, it is currently only 32-bit for Mac users. But don’t worry 64-bit Mac fans, as later in the tutorial, we show you how you can use a piece of bridging software to run it. This does come with caveats though, as not all bridging apps run with all DAWs. We’ve used some which worked in our tests but you may have to Google one that runs 32-bit plugins in your particular 64-bit host. Onto the plugin, and FilterBank3 can’t really make up its mind whether…