Computer Music's goal is to help its readers create great music with a PC or Mac. Each month find easy-to-follow tutorials for all sorts of music software, unbiased reviews of the latest products and answers to technical questions.
Whenever you see this icon, you can grab the files on your PC or Mac by going to filesilo.co.uk/computermusic. Tutorials featuring this icon make use of our own Plugins – find out all about them at filesilo.co.uk. This icon means there are extra files to help you follow a tutorial feature: project files, audio examples, etc. There’s extra video content wherever you see this icon. computermusic.co.uk computermusic@futurenet.com facebook.com/computer.music.mag twitter.com/computermusicuk youtube.com/computermusicmag instagram.com/computermusicmag…
“It wasn’t an easy task, nor did I do very much… ” It’s taken a while but we’re finally unveiling v2.0 of the ‘mighty’ cm Plugin Suite. In reality this is more out of necessity rather than something we’d been looking forward to doing, thanks to many of the older plugins becoming either too clunky or simply not working on the latest operating systems. (aka ‘Macs’ as most of the older ones still work on a PC, which you’ll find in a couple of ‘legacy’ folders.) I won’t pretend it was an easy task, nor that I had much to do with it. Long-time contrib Jon Musgrave had the odious task of testing each and every one of them and this issue celebrates his hard work. So we’ve assembled some…
Volt to Spark: UA’s new electric avenue? Spark service doesn’t need UA hardware and includes new UA instruments! There was a time when Universal Audio plugins had to be purchased as companions to their (albeit fantastic) hardware. Then, with the release of their Volt interface a few months back, things changed. It was Universal audio hardware, without the software. Now with Spark, the trend continues. It’s UA software without the hardware! No. UA. Hardware. Required. And with UA instruments! And while Spark is a subscription service (which we are always in two minds about), this is still headline-grabbing news to us. But that’s probably just us… What about existing UA users? What of the future? Are UA entering the instrument market big time? Is this the end of UA accelerated…
iPad Air If you liked the look of the 11-inch iPad Pro but couldn’t justify the high price tag, you’ll likely be intrigued by the new 10.9- inch iPad Air. This uses the same M1 chip (the one that was used in the first wave of silicon Macs) and promises to be up to 60 percent faster than the previous model. Other enhancements include an Ultra Wide 12MP front camera with Centre Stage (so it follows you when you move around), a faster USB port and 5G compatibility on the cellular models. On the downside, the entry-level model, which costs $599/£569, has only 64GB of storage; the cheapest 11-inch iPad Pro, which costs $799/£749, has 128GB. apple.com Popsicle Numerical Audio have released Popsicle, a multi-effects processor that comes with 24…
cm How did you get into music software? RT “It was thanks to my passion for music production. My main inspiration was Basshunter (who is still active) who used FL Studio. That became my DAW and from the moment I first used it, I was sure this was what I wanted to do. One day, I recorded a vocal sample pack with my friend just for fun. I reached out to ProducerLoops.com and they accepted it, and it was quite popular. I quit my side job to focus on sound design and as the brand grew, I started looking for plugin creators. It was a hell of a ride and I love it and am grateful every day. The community is amazing, and I’m proud to be a part of…
Propellerhead Software had its first stab at opening up the Reason Rack back in June 2012, announcing that it would now allow third-parties to develop for the DAW via its new Rack Extension format. It took another five years for the company to bow to the inevitable and implement actual VST support – Propellerhead liked to take its time over things, we recall – but it was a step in the right direction. Baby steps, and all that… “If a piece of music isn’t on the internet these days, does it really exist?” Also in 178, we reviewed u-he’s Diva, a vintage-sounding virtual analogue soft synth that remains popular today. In fact, we’d say it’s now a classic in its own right; maybe Behringer would like to make a hardware…
