Innehållsförteckning för December 2021 från Computer Music

To the casual observer, all of Apple’s iPads might look pretty similar, but there are some crucial differences. The most obvious physical one is its size: the new iPad Mini is the smallest, with an 8.3-inch display, while the 12.9-inch iPad Pro gives you the largest display. The other models in the range all fall somewhere between these two extremes. “iPads might look pretty similar, but there are some crucial differences” Then there’s the issue of power: it probably won’t surprise you that much to learn that each iPad has a different chipset. The standard ninth-generation iPad and iPad Air (fourth generation) have the least powerful processors (the A13 and A14 respectively), the new iPad mini has the latest A15 (as found in the new iPhone 13), while both of…

Apple’s newest iPads have completely shaken things up when it comes to mobile music making. A year ago we were trumpeting the iPad Air as the one to get for musicians, but it’s all-change now in iPad land. As good as the Air is, it’s been pushed down the choice rankings in favour of newer models like both iPad Pros and the all-new iPad mini. However, when all is said and done, it’s whatever screen size that you’re happy working with – and can afford – that will dictate your decision on which iPad to buy for music making in 2021. The power is now there in spades to run music on an iPad, but how deep are your pockets for both carrying an iPad and paying for it? If…

Akai MPK Mini Mk3 PRICE £89 WHAT IT IS 25 Key velocity-sensitive mini keyboard CONNECTIVITY USB-C POWER USB A very well spec’d keyboard for the money. It’s also great for adding melodies, basslines and simple chords to projects, and eight encoder knobs can be mapped to practically any parameter, plus those eight full-sized MPC style drum pads really make a difference. It’s small enough to be thrown in a backpack, yet contains enough useful features to make it a highly useful addition to any studio. You’ll need a USB-C or Lightning adaptor though. akaipro.com IK Multimedia iRig Keys I/O 49 PRICE £270 WHAT IT IS 49 full-size key, velocity-sensitive keyboard CONNECTIVITY USB POWER USB or batteries IK have great controllers for iPad use, like iRig Keys 2 and iRig Keys…

It’s now a nearly universally recognised fact that the pro-level sample library has largely negated the necessity of investing in bank-breaking instruments, or studio recording time. From the comfort of your home, music makers across genres can easily conjure lush orchestration, realistic-sounding drum-kits and authentic analogue synth tones with the right applications of professionally curated sample collections, in conjunction with natural-sounding legatos and humanisation abilities. For some however, guitar sampling remains something to be treated with a degree of scepticism, as those stubborn real-world players remain dubious of the idea that software can reproduce guitar parts as realistic as those performed by a human being when performed via a MIDI keyboard, or programmed via software. Well, that idea should be put to bed right now, because, in reality, guitar sampling…

The simplest form of an analogue kick drum could be created with a single sine wave oscillator. All you need to do is modulate its pitch with a quick envelope. During this tutorial we’ll take it a few steps further and introduce a second oscillator. Its purpose will be to add a sharper transient which will lead to a more defined kick drum. Finally we reveal how to successfully incorporate white noise within the kick as well as using a filter to shape the timbre… All you require to follow along is any subtractive synth with two oscillators and noise generator. In this tutorial we’ll be using Sylenth1 which is simple but powerful enough to make a solid kick drum. White noise can bring the required energy to help your…

Electronic compressors as we know them only became widely used in the 60s. That doesn’t mean people weren’t using compression before then, though, they were just doing it ‘by hand’… In the broadest possible sense, compression is about managing dynamic range. Dynamic range is the difference between the loudest and softest sounds in a song or performance. Voice, bass guitar and percussion all have a naturally wide dynamic range, whereas solo flute or sustained string chords tend to be much less ‘peaky’, that is, more consistent and with less dynamic range. In any mix there will be an ideal dynamic range for each instrument – enough variety to keep interest and emotion, but controlled enough to remain audible, without getting lost or overpowering other elements. Microphone technique The very simplest…

“Parallel compression is great for making everything fuller and warmer without removing any punch” Parallel processing is an excellent way to introduce subtle changes in a mix, and nothing suits it better than parallel compression. Parallel compression operates from the ‘bottom up’, so it doesn’t crush in the way that ‘top down’ compression does. It’s great for filling out a part, enhancing quieter details and making everything sound fuller and warmer without removing any of the punch. And luckily, with modern computer-based recording, it’s a piece of cake. Parallel compression can work especially well on drums (to bring up room ambience and subtle details without crushing), or across a complete mix. You basically run a heavily compressed version side-by-side with a clean version of the same signal – they are…

01 Decide what you want to achieve. Are you looking to control a dynamic signal or add punch and impact? Or do you want to change the sound and create an unusual effect? Keep listening with your final goal always in mind. Choose a neutral starting point. We suggest a ratio of around 2:1, 75ms attack time and around 100ms release. 02 Overdo it to begin with. Wind down the compressor’s threshold until it starts working – it can be useful to start with an exaggerated version to get the settings right. You can hear how the attack and release is working at the more extreme settings. If you find yourself having to turn the threshold a long way down, try boosting the input level a little instead. 03 Listen!…

Although best known for the venerable Cubase – now well into its fourth decade – Steinberg are, these days, much more than just DAW developers. Of particular note amongst the company’s current crop of products is their collection of virtual instruments, as well as the vast library of content – expansions, sample packs, patches, and what-not – that Steinberg have curated to complement these instruments. Versions of these instruments, and elements of the libraries, come with Steinberg’s DAWs, but all are available as individual products too, and will run on any VST-, AU- or AAX-compatible host (some instruments can run standalone too). Kitting yourself out with all of the fully-featured versions of these instruments, and stocking up on content for them, would be quite painful on the wallet if it…

Reason 12 comes in two versions. There’s the full version, which you can buy outright at £399, or you can sign up for Reason’s subscription service, Reason+, for a fixed $19.99 (around £15) per month. This will give you access to Reason 12 and a whole arsenal of additional sonic tools, including all Reason Studios standalone devices (including Friction, and Complex-1), 150 patches and songs and ten new sample packs a week. As with all subscription services however, as soon as you unsubscribe, your access to all of this is gone immediately, as you’re paying for a license to use their tech, as opposed to owning it. If you’re interested in trying out Reason without committing to it, you can also try Reason+ for free for a seven-day span.…

Ah, the 80s! Big snares, big hair, and samplers that could cost the same as a house! But, as we all know, software brings prices down, and not more so than with this collection of not one, but three 80s machines… Bits in pieces Emulation II+ is actually a suite that includes the Emulator I, II and III (or 1, 2 & 3 in new money) in its compendium of samples from the original machines, along with some newly styled content. If this still isn’t enough, you’ll be delighted to know that UVI have also included samples from the original Drumulator too. This was always a great machine, which held its head very high, among other favourites of the time, from Linn and Oberheim. The Emulator I was released in…

Cyclick Guitar It’s a Guitar Special this issue so we asked our samplists to come up with two varied axe sample packs for you. Robbie from Cyclick kicks things off in acoustic and electric style… “To tie in with the issue’s guitar theme, we have both acoustic and electric guitar rhythm parts, a bread ‘n’ butter sample set if you like! These are all 2-bar loops, with the odd exception, and were recorded as such with only top ‘n’ tail fades for edits. (I kept playing a part until I knew it’d loop right – that’s dedication, and also editing is boring.) “Not every loop will start with a perfectly punctuated note as it may well form part of a strum/pick that starts at the end of the loop. Please…

It’s a 303 special! We think we’re being rather clever doing a Roland TB-303 special for issue 303 of Computer Music, and we’ve lined up all the top software 303s to go up against the best hardware 303s – old and new. Can you decide which is the best version of the best dance instrument ever? PLUS! Free plugin! A baby? And audio? it must be a free Baby Audio plugin! Reviews Top wares from Cherry Audio, Arturia, Nugen Audio and Steinberg Interviews Efterklang (no, really this time), plus 15 Questions with Lone…

cm How did you get into music software? ES “Designing music software was a natural progression. I was playing piano from five and programming computers in school which led to an engineering degree. Over the next 20 years I was writing telecomms and medical software by day and producing music by night, and finally decided to design a synth. Fathom took three years to develop. We teamed up with sound designers Solidtrax and Scrubbing Monkeys to build our factory banks and interface. We started small and gradually expanded by responding to user feature requests on KVR Audio.” cm What is Seaweed’s philosophy? ES “When we started work on Fathom I insisted on some common sense techniques such as incremental delivery, object-oriented design and constant user feedback. We were able to…

Batavia Collective might well be one of the most exciting up and coming bands of the year – cited by Mixmag Asia as one of six bands to watch in 2021 – but if it wasn’t for one live gig, they might still be playing as individuals rather than a trio. The Jakarta-based band – Doni Joesran on keys, Elfa Zulham on drums and Kenny Gabriel on synth bass – all have day jobs, but after a few sessions jamming together, realised that they could produce a great blend of jazz and hard-hitting bass. It is, they say, the perfect combination of synths and acoustic instrumentation. And they are not alone in thinking that. After a couple of small debut live performances, word spread and now they are releasing music…

The latest iPads Pros were announced back in April and with their M1 chips, they certainly are the most ‘pro’ ever. In fact you can easily equate the power and experience of using the iPad Pro 12.9-inch as that to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, all packed into a ridiculously thin tablet device with a stunning XDR touchscreen. And it’s the M1 chip that makes this and the slightly smaller 11-inch iPad Pro our top choices for music making. The M1 chip has been causing a stir within Apple’s computers, including the aforementioned MacBook Pro, iMac and Mac Mini, with even a base-model 8GB of RAM proving to be very decent for music making. With the iPad Pro you get this 8GB as standard and it doubles to 16GB if you…

Just a year ago in Computer Music we rounded up the 100 Greatest Mobile Apps and stated, “we still don’t think that mobile music making offers all the flexibility of a decent, hardware and software hybrid studio based around a powerful computer”. How a year changes everything, or certainly the “powerful computer” part anyway. Apple’s latest Pro iPads have the same M1 chips found in the company’s desktop and laptop machines, so the devices are very much on par power wise with your standard computer. Plus most of the latest iPads have USB and even Thunderbolt compatibility meaning you can plug in and play a range of interfaces, keyboards and more. And as we shall see, there are many such devices, and even more apps to run on iPads to…

SIX AMAZING SYNTHS AUDIOKIT SYNTH ONE $FREE AUV3 (COMING)/AB/AL/IAA | 300 PRESETS | HYBRID ANALOGUE/FM 6-VOICE | SEQUENCER They say “completely free, fully functional, and ad-free – the ultimate free iPad music instrument app”… And we’re not going to argue. Synth One is an open source tool to develop but is actually one of the best synths out there. A unique tone, brilliantly flexible UI and of course it’s free! No brainer… audiokitpro.com BEEP STREET SUNRIZER $9.99 AUV3, MIDI, IAA, AUDIOBUS 2.0 | 380+ PRESETS | 6-20-VOICE | PHRASE SEQUENCER This VA synth features ‘True SuperSaw sound emulation’ – the kind of fat trance lead sounds made ubiquitous by the Roland JP-8000 and used on many…

Universal Audio Apollo Solo £599 Boiling down decades of Universal Audio’s pro-end learning into a simple, one-knob Thunderbolt 3 interface. The Apollo sports a Hi-Z guitar input as well as a simple headphone jack, while, under the hood, the state-of-the-art signal converters and Unison chops allow it to replicate all manner of classic gear. Simply superb! uaaudio.com IK Multimedia AXE I/O £240 Built from the ground up by the software stalwarts to create a perfect interface for guitarists. The AXE’s guitar input can be set for passive or active pickups and has numerous preamp selections too, as well as variable input impedance. It’s also bundled with AmpliTube, and features preset shortcut access via a control knob. ikmultimedia.com Focusrite Scarlett Solo £100 A warhorse of the interface world, the Scarlett Solo…

It’s fascinating to explore how certain terms have entered the psyche, as a semi-literal description. Take podcasts; the term was drawn from the Apple iPod, which in itself was a term coined by a hired copywriter, at Apple. So when a description was being summoned to apply to a sound which seemed to escalate in volume and excitement, it’s no shock that the term “riser” entered the musical and production language. Initially founded within dance music culture, it didn’t take long for the riser to infiltrate the cinematic and media worlds. These days, risers can involve extensive dives into sound design, and while that’s great for those cinematic sequences set in outer space, in full Dolby Atmos surround, the original riser, based mostly around white noise and a filter, is…

KICK SATURATION If your kick feels too soft and lacking drive, try processing it with saturation or distortion. Added harmonics will push the sound, making it more defined in the mix. Experiment with different types of saturation; some of them work best on the mid-range kicks, others excel in the low frequency domain, great for sub kicks. KICK ENVELOPE SHAPER EQ or compression seem to be the first choice of processing when it comes to fine-tuning the kick. However, don’t underestimate envelope shapers (transient designers). They can help you shorten a boomy kick or sharpen its transient. Use these tools to tweak your sample so that it sits perfectly in a mix.…

Like manual methods, a compressor also manages dynamics by reducing level, but it does it automatically, depending on the settings you choose. To help understand how this works, let’s keep the car suspension analogy in mind. The suspension is a compressor, of sorts, controlling the ‘dynamics’ of the road’s surface – the bumps, peaks and troughs. Smooth it over The overall smoothness of the ride is determined by the stiffness of the springs in the suspension. If you lean on the car, how easily does it sink down to absorb the weight? In a compressor, this overall ‘softness’ is determined by the ratio. A lower ratio gives you a smoother ride; most family cars have their suspension set up this way, but there’s more movement in the car and less…

The hardware versions of all of these units are highly desirable, and their cost reflects that – although a dbx 160 can be had for a very reasonable price on eBay these days. Let’s take a look… Urei 1176 A superb hardware compressor with a very fast attack. Sounds great on drums, or vocals and bass with a slower attack and release. Teletronix LA-2A A classic model now re-issued by Universal Audio, featuring a choice of transformer or optical compression, plus valve amplification for warmth. Great on vocals and bass. Fairchild 670 Valve Limiter Contains more than 20 valves! Pioneered by Geoff Emerick on the Beatles’ recordings. Great on vocals, drums, or anything else, if you can afford it, that is… dbx 160 The dbx 160 is a classic vocal…

Solid State Logic’s mastery of analogue audio circuitry and uncompromising commitment to quality has seen generations of music history being made using their consoles and processing tools. It’s also seen those tools become the basis for countless, digitally-modelled channel strip plugins, not all of which acknowledge the name of the giants whose shoulders they’re standing on. Recognising the opportunities offered by this widespread interest in, and respect for, their hardware, SSL recently embarked on a new drive to reaffirm their commitment to not only delivering high-end professional audio plugins but also tools aimed at music creation, and to continue to add value to their Complete Subs Bundle. The inaugural products to come out of that are a pair of plugins modelled on two of the processing stages found in SSL’s…

Absolute 5 includes Steinberg’s fascinating drum sampler, Backbone. This hard-to-define tool allows up to eight samples to be layered together, with per-layer filters, envelopes and modulation available, much like a conventional sampler. The clever bit is that Backbone can decompose these samples, a process that separates them into noise and tonal elements, which for most drum sounds equates to the transient and sustain portions, respectively. You can then work to rebalance these components within the sound, use one component without the other, or blend together decomposed components of different samples. This all adds up to a tremendously effective way to create utterly original drum sounds; it’s very effective at creating special effects too. Although intended primarily for creating drum sounds, Backbone is excellent for creating special effects too. What Backbone…

If you’re the kind of musician who struggles with the guitar, because it makes your fingers hurt, you’ll be in great company. Thankfully, Zero-G are at hand to take the hard work out of all that picking, for something laid back, ambient and mostly improvised! It’s not that Impromptu! Despite the product name, there is nothing impromptu about the capacity contained within this Kontakt instrument. With over 8GB of sampled content, you’ll be presented with guitars in three specific forms. The ubiquitous Stratocaster leads the lineup with a second sampled instrument labelled Strat Harmonics, and a final instrument based around an electric baritone guitar. In all cases, sampling has been undertaken at 24-bit/48kHz, with capture from three different signal paths; condenser mic, ribbon mic, and a layer that fully exploits…

Sample Tools by Cr2 Eats Everything Vol.2 £24.99 After legions of hungry fans gobbled down the first plate of samples in his artist series, the big man had to hit us up with a second helping. For Vol.2, the legendary Bristol producer/DJ once again cooks up a treat of big beats, hits, song-starting bits, and plenty of FX to sprinkle on your undercooked potential bangers. His sizzling synth loops ping around your brain and come stabby and dented, ready to weave through your arrangements. And the highly compatible bottom-end loops will have club speakers groaning under their weight. Add to that plenty of clap layers, percussion grooves, and drum workouts, and you have all the ingredients for a slap-up track. Yum! sampletoolsbycr2.com n10/100 Zenhiser Thump – Trancy Techno…

We’re noticing more and more bad news these days and assuming – otherwise we’d get very depressed – that the world isn’t going to hell in a hard drive crash, but it’s simply because ‘bad news means clicks’. Take our headline, for example: it’s not like Arturia, PreSonus and UA have gone to war – several large music technology company’s literally firing VST missiles at one another across the Atlantic – but merely that they’ve released interfaces that sit in a similar price range, at the same time. But it got you reading this didn’t it? You see? War. What is it good for? Clicks, that’s what. Yes, perhaps realising that the whole world is a few quid short this Christmas, (thanks to politicians, footballers and other celebs using offshore…

Even though it was a surprise announcement alongside the iPhone 13, the new iPad mini’s appearance made sense as it uses the same 6-core A15 bionic chip as found in the new iPhone. It also makes sense that this chip is the main focus of the iPad mini as it’s Apple’s new ‘phone chip’ and of course the mini is the closest in size to an iPhone that you can get. (In a similar way the M1 chips are Apple’s ‘computer’ chips so it makes sense they go in the iPad Pros – we love order and logic.) Comparing the two performance wise is, according to some, like comparing chalk and cheese. The M1 definitely wins out in the power stakes, but the new iPad mini will still be powered…

Just like desktop and laptop DAWs, iOS DAWs can run instruments and effects within them as part of a software studio. However there are a number of formats that you need to know about when buying apps as well as others that allow your iPad to talk to other hardware and software, so here are the main ones… Audio Units v3 (Auv3) Audio Units v3 is probably now the main iOS plugin format. Think of it as being just like the desktop Audio Units or VST plugin formats, so an AUv3 DAW will run AUv3 plugins – simple! AU iOS DAWs include Steinberg’s Cubasis, Apple’s GarageBand and n-Track Studio Pro. Audio Bus (AB) Audio Bus allows you to route compatible apps together within the umbrella AB app. As it runs…

Once spurned by electronic musicians, the guitar has seen something of a rebirth over the last decade. It has shifted from being a symbol of rock’s ubiquitous dogma, to becoming a creative paintbrush with which kaleidoscopic new sounds have been weaved via the use of software effects and samples, while the once restrictive price tags of high-end amplification can now be replicated via a range of simulations. So, if you’re a traditionally equipped guitarist looking for new ways to explore your instrument with software, or even if you’ve never previously recorded, come along for a tour! A very brief history Across its many decades of life, the guitar has always been an instrument that its players have sought to wrangle new sounds from. The blues players of the Mississippi Delta…

Impact Soundworks Shreddage 3 Hydra £110 If you want some beefy metal power in your mix, but don’t own either a guitar or the necessary skill to conjure the required tone, then Shreddage 3 is tailor-made for you. Using a MIDI keyboard, Shreddage allows you to control the guitar via Poly Input, while the suite also contains huge numbers of articulations and presets. Impactsoundworks.com Amplesound Ample Guitar L III £120 Featuring 3,682 samples, the realistic fretboard and string-handling noises found within Ample Guitar L III means that you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference between it and a real guitar recording. A substantial helping of articulations, realistic legato and a choice of instrument types result in a quality simulated guitar option. amplesound.net Vir2 Instruments Electri6ity £290 It may be over…

When working with vocal stems in a mix, you’ll often have (or need) multiple tracks to make them really pop. There are a few things you can do to help yourself as a sound engineer before you even get to the mix. If you know there is going to be multiple vocal takes and adlibs, consider having the vocalist use separate microphones for the adlibs. Mics have different qualities and can offer different end results. You want the lead vocal to shine brightest, without backing vocals or adlibs muddying up the same space on the frequency spectrum. When you approach the vocals, you’re building a harmonious composite layer by layer with each track. Get the lead vocals right first and build around them. These are front and centre, but you’ll…

In any critical listening test, digitally-modelled analogue circuits will always fall short of the equivalent hardware, no matter how advanced or intricate the model. But with modern modelling techniques, the difference can be tricky to put a finger on: the original source hardware sounds unquestionably better, but not in a way that renders the model any less astonishing. It’s therefore easy, when weighing-up the pros and cons of hardware vs plugin, to allow oneself to be swayed by that additional soupçon of je ne sais quoi, and thus judge digital models to be inferior. It’s not as clear-cut as that, though, as digital plugins of course come with certain benefits that are all their own. The most obvious is the versatility of something that can be called into virtual existence…

It’s a little known fact that Propellerhead’s (now Reason Studios) decision to name its powerhouse music creation suite ‘Reason’, stemmed from a fanciful piece of software in Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. Capable of retroactively analysing the decision-making process, Adams’ fictional program justified any choice you might have made mathematically, with inarguable reasoning. It’s somewhat ironic, then, that here in our DAW-saturated landscape, we find ourselves in the position of scanning for those key ‘reasons’ why the latest iteration of the Studios’ flagship is worth your money – particularly with its noteworthy rack-based recording system (emulating the traditional hardware setups of yesteryear) still being a prominent fixture of its make-up, and something quite unlike every other DAW. Reason has its dyed-in-the-wool devotees, largely for its remarkable sound-generating potential…

For many years, iPad and tablet software has allowed the viewing of scores in PDF form, providing a useful substitute for the performing musician. Now Steinberg have ported their flagship notation package to the iPad, having cut its teeth in a desktop format for two years. DAW-rico The first inescapable point to make about Dorico for iPad is that it’s an enormous bargain.OK, it’s not available for other tablets at this time, but it is freely available via the Apple iOS app store. Once downloaded, you can take advantage of working with only two tracks or lines of music, with a doubling of track count by simply registering your email address with Steinberg. Beyond this, it’s probably fair to say that the prospect of working with a large score on…

It’s been over two years since we first gave away Seaweed Audio’s Fathom CM, and in that time it has become a firm favourite among our readers. That’s simply because, like we said at the time, this is “the most sonically versatile and powerful Computer Music synthesiser giveaway ever!” Fathom CM is a modular synth, which means that you can select individual oscillators, filters, effects and modulators, and then patch them together in whatever configuration you like. The synth features seven oscillator types, including VA, FM, additive, wave-drawing and wavetable options. There are 30 filter types, nine effects – including reverb, chorus, delay and phaser – and many modulation options including LFOs, customisable envelopes, step sequencing and shapable LFOs. Fathom CM is capable of generating any sound you can imagine…

In 2020 Shane Codd was at college in Dublin hating what he was studying but loving producing music and the idea of DJing across the world. Inspired by 90s trance he started adding cut-up catchy vocals to his more house-based sound, uploading tracks and getting positive feedback from Instagram and Facebook. A good vocal and some hooky music certainly made a difference, as he discovered when he uploaded the track Get Out My Head to Soundcloud, Spotify and Youtube. The track started to gain momentum in Ireland and the UK and major labels started calling Codd. The track went stratospheric, reaching 20 million streams on Spotify within weeks and hitting the top 10 in Ireland and the UK before charting across the world. Since then Codd has become an in…