Innehållsförteckning för July 2024 från Computer Music

bonus free drums! > To complement our interview with Song Athletics this issue, we’ve been kindly provided with a free download of the company’s inaugural release – the impeccably recorded Some Drums sample pack, which is usually priced at £25. But, because you’ve picked up this issue of Computer Music, you can grab it absolutely free. We’ll turn to the company themselves to describe how the pack was put together: “We took drummer Marc Pell (Good Sad Happy Bad, Mount Kimbie, Suitman Jungle) to Empire Sound on the Isle of Wight to record posh drum samples that will add a sense of space and depth to your music. They’re versatile enough to integrate into just about anything. Taking full advantage of the spacious live room and unique gear/setup, we captured…

creative time effects Time-manipulation forms such an integral part of our production toolset that it’s easy to ignore how powerful, flexible and impressive it is. In this feature, we’re focusing on some of the more sonically interesting routes. Even so, it’s worth defining exactly what we mean by ‘time-manipulation’, the sort of processes that it includes and the sort of effects it delivers. Expect delays It may not seem impressive, but the humble delay has a lot to answer for, particularly in time-shaping terms. So whether you’re in a retro mindset, trying to recreate a tape-style slapback echo or tweaking the early reflections of your top-end chamber reverb plugin, in both cases you’re working with delays. In fact, let’s just list a few examples; solid-state BBD delay (capacitor-based adjustable delay…

> As creatively rewarding as being an artist can be, it’s not without its stresses. With global streams surpassing 500 million, you’d likely think that Kasbo (aka Carl Garsbo) would be content with his music reaching a worldwide audience. Yet for the Gothenburghailing DJ and electronic artist, the pressure of maintaining a flow of resonant yet creatively satisfying work was beginning to take a toll. “It took a while for me to decide what I wanted to be doing with my music after the pandemic hit,” Carl explains. “I think electronic music was just in a really weird state, and it was evolving really quickly. I felt a bit confused on how to marry what I personally listen to and make it work in a club environment. Making it marry…

> Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe from the Pet Shop Boys are currently celebrating four decades of having produced their unique brand of electronic pop. To mark the occasion, they’ve brought out a new album, Nonetheless, so it’s time to look at what makes their music tick. The duo started writing music together in 1981, and began a long list of chart hits with their debut album, Please, in 1986 and the huge hit singles West End Girls, Suburbia and Love Comes Quickly. They then enjoyed number one after number one during their so-called ‘imperial phase’, with tracks including It’s a Sin and What Have I Done to Deserve This? featuring Dusty Springfield. More ‘single word’ titled albums were released in the ’90s, ’00s and 2010s with hits like Being…

> MINDst Drums is, on the face of it, another drum sample ROMpler that is attempting to bring real acoustic drumming to your computer-based compositions. It has a drum kit on the main page of its UI, you load sampled kit setups in, play different MIDI file grooves for each and can edit and mix each drum sound. There are effects per channel plus five master effects, so it already sounds pretty decent. For the outlay and maybe the feel of the UI, you’d understandably think that’s the end of the story. However, the clue is in the 50,000 samples that come with MINDst Drums’ harness ‘Smart playback algorithms’, the ability to adjust mic bleed levels and drum hit positions and more. In short, there’s more than meets the eye.…

> One company from the vintage era which seems to be getting quite a bit of attention lately is Oberheim. Renowned for its groundbreaking Synthesizer Expander Module (SEM), and ’80s polysynths, its name became associated with huge-sounding synthesisers, wide pads, deep basses and sync-based leads. The OB 1-12! This is ripe territory for any soft-synth designer. One such design house, SonicProjects, hasbeen beavering away with its OP-X synth Oberheim clone for sometime, which is now in its Mk3 phase. Even the name bears reverence to Oberheim, but how far does this extend? Well, quite some considerable margin, in both sound and architecture, but let’s start with the basic concept. The PRO-3 version of the OP-X is a 12-voice synth, available in only VST3 and AU formats. It’s sharp GUI ships…

> Scaler EQ could well be one of those ‘why didn’t I use that before?’ plugins. It’s an EQ that not only handles the boosting and cutting of different frequency ranges, like a regular EQ, but also the frequencies of notes that are in key with your song. It works out the song key and you boost note frequencies (or a selection) in that range, or attenuate those that are not. But does it make a big difference to your sound? The scale of things To answer that question up front – and indeed whether it’s worth it’s worth your while reading the rest of this review – Scaler EQ can make both subtle and more creative differences. You might not have thought you needed an EQ dedicated to scale…

Download all assets for this issue at bit.ly/cm335downloads Epic Modern Sci-Fi This month, the future becomes the present, as we indulge in some forward-looking spaceflights of fancy… “For obvious reasons the synthesiser is the perfect instrument for sci-fi accompaniment. This sample pack goes interstellar with a selection of tempo-based lines and loops, one-shot tone drops/rises and chords. In programming the various instruments, focus was kept on the scenery, settings and elements of so much sci-fi: the void of space, blazing suns, titanic space craft, harsh temperatures, eerie darkness, etc. As the instruments don’t fit neatly into bass/lead/pad type categories their names have been chosen to have some symbolic reference to their tonal qualities. Many of the samples within the four tempo folders are loops, but others didn’t render as loops…

How to mix better, forever… In our next issue we’re hoping to put mixing to bed once and for all, and build some solid chains that can be deployed across vocals, synths, pianos, beats and more. We’ve also got an exclusive, world-class plugin to throw into your mixing toolkit! PLUS! Jason Graves The video game composer on his pro arsenal of synths Free samples We merge some strange synths with a platter of laid-back bass grooves On test Void & Vista Folds, Cherry Audio CR-78 and more……

news NEW RELEASES > COMMENT > INDUSTRY HAPPENINGS > Makers of the original (and some would say, the best) vocal-tuning software, Antares has re-imagined Auto-Tune for 2024. Now in its eleventh incarnation, this latest update to the Pro Suite brings a massive array of new features and improvements to the uber-popular vocal production monster. This new version of Auto-Tune Pro is equipped with Harmony Player; this handily enables users to layer up to four notes of tuned vocal at a time, quickly and effectively. Harmonies can be triggered via MIDI in realtime, opening up a vast amount of creative possibilities, particularly for live performers. Each part can be individually adjusted by controls for pan, level and formant, while the master mix can be shaped with controls for EQ, envelope, gate…

Free software > We have enjoyed a long-running relationship with the team at Cableguys and you’ll find the excellent Curve 2 CM synth within our CM plugin suite (free with every issue, see our downloads page). This month, in conjunction with Cableguys and to tie in with our time manipulation feature, we bring you your very own free copy of TimeShaper 3 (normally €29). TimeShaper 3 (VST, VST3, AU, AAX) is a multifaceted real time plugin that buffers the incoming audio, letting you reorder, reverse, start/stop, stutter and warp your audio all via a simple graphic display. By default it syncs to your DAW playback but can also be triggered via MIDI or the incoming audio threshold. It’s also multiband capable (up to three bands), which further expands its creative…

creative time effects The use of reverse audio in mainstream music really took off in the mid to late 1960s. However, to find the roots of this development we have to go back a bit further and consider a couple of significant changes. The first of these was the arrival of magnetic recording tape. This new medium and accompanying reel-to-reel machines revolutionised audio recording, and first found widespread use in broadcast and audio production in the 1940s and 1950s. Significantly, the open deck design meant that by running the tape to the end and taking the right hand spool, turning it over and reloading it onto the left-hand side of the machine, you could play your whole recording backwards. Initially, this would have been viewed as a strange and unusable…

> Nothing screams modulation like a good old LFO. This most basic of synthesiser components has been responsible for some exceptionally iconic sounds in the history of production. Due to the design of mid-’80s Roland synths, LFO could be manually triggered using the iconic white LFO button, which was located immediately next to the pitch wheel. This gave rise to the use of heavily modulated LFO, on bright-sounding saw pads, becoming something of a trademark. This infiltrated modern production too; just listen to the synth stabs on Uptown Funk, if you need evidence. But they can also be used more sparingly, to provide a degree of undulation to the pitch of a patch, as is commonplace with artists like Aphex Twin. But what of the rise of the wobble bass?…

> VCA grouping is a powerful feature that can be just what you need when you’re mixing, but what are its benefits and how do we use it? That’s what we’ll be tackling in this masterclass today. We usually associate VCAs with synths, where the voltage-controlled amplifier/attenuator (VCA) is a key component of the output stage. So how did this name end up being used for a grouping tool? For that we need to go back to analogue mixing desks and more specifically, desks that included fader level automation. By incorporating a VCA into the channel output stage it became possible to have a controlled and thus automated fader level, albeit one where the fader didn’t move. Desk designers then added VCA group faders, and by the flick of a…

> Everything is ‘smart’ these days when it comes to music production. AI is doing more of its thing and we’re doing less of ‘our’ thing, but as dystopian as that sounds, when it comes to certain time-consuming mixing tasks, AI is welcome to them. Dynamic EQ processing is a case in point and there are plenty of ‘intelligent’ tools that are ready to continuously tweak EQ parameters as they go. Wavesfactory’s Equalizer – ‘we’ll get straight to the point with the name,’ they must have thought – aims to go one better. Or should we say, one faster. This EQ analyses your audio, shows you the adjustments it’s making, and you increase or decrease the processing with one knob, That’s not quite all it does, of course, but that’s…

Desolate Guitars is weird Americana guitar – David Lynch at his best – or the deepest shoegaze, post-rock ambience you can feel, all in an easy-to-use Kontakt package. It is both very specific and very expansive, both a soundtrack to a desolate, cold, post humanity sci-fi time, and an emotive, warm atmospheric and optimistic future. And all of it’s been wrought from four guitars. We never thought we’d open a review with a conclusion, but that’s kind of what we have done. That’s because Desolate Guitars makes you rethink your music at every turn. Is that all? And the deception starts as soon as you open up Desolate Guitars, because you might not expect very much, as it all looks just a bit too simple. Sure the artwork is amazing…

Zenhiser Solitude £49 Sterling selection of mesmerising melodies, meticulously made to add depth and dimension to your tracks. From organic house and progressive producers to straight-up techno, there’s something to spark creativity in this 4.7GB collection. Deep dives through this stockpile of smooth rhythms and dreamy patterns will yield countless track-starting points, with clean beats, bottomless bass grooves, and captivating top-lines. There are larger loops, one-shots, stripped-back stems, and MIDI files, as well. Catch the vapours! zenhiser.com 8/100 Audiotent Electric Fields £45 Lush and verdant vibes in this super-charged loop library, teamed up with amped up drums, electrified bass and some live-wire FX and atmospheres to bring it all home. The deep and diverse range of elements fizz with energy. With the lead lines and chords bursting with unique character…

cm: Firstly, what prompted you to start Song Athletics. Was it driven by things you’d observed or that you wanted to do in the industry? WE: “It was a decision to create the music tech company that I’ve always wanted. That’s no slight on any of the companies I’d worked at before [Will is the former CEO of Spitfire Audio] I suppose, having had the experience of working at a range of music tech companies, then having my own specific taste and area of interest. It was just really tempting and exciting to make a company that talks to the people that I’m most excited about talking to. Song Athletics is about delivering products, experiences and content for people like me. “Those people I’d broadly categorise as fans of alternative…

> The ability to mess with time, adjusting the playback speed, position, direction and pitch of our audio is one of the most enticing and creative aspects of music production. Take a tour through the history of recorded music and you’ll find each technological development, from analogue tape/turntables, to digital processing, sampling and DAW-based production, has made its mark. In essence you now have an awesome set of creative options derived from decades of change. The time manipulation toolset in your DAW usually covers the basics, including delay-based effects, time-stretching and often warp-based editing so that you can adjust the timing of a vocal or nudge a few beats in a drum performance without affecting pitch. Even so, contemporary plugins such as this month’s rather apt free software – Cableguys…

creative time effects The option to change pitch and time independently in the form of time-stretching/time compression and pitch-shifting was a game changing development for music production. Even so, early options had major limitations, including short sampling time, slow offline processing and unpredictable sonic outcomes. Still, one person’s junk is another’s gold, and this didn’t stop cutting edge producers embracing them warts and all. Over time, processing quality improved and shifted from digital hardware to software, but this just created another wave of opportunity for the creatively inclined. Let’s take a look at a few tracks that make creative use of these effects. Metal Heads Terminator Early drum & bass was renowned for its sped up loops and vocals combined with makeshift repitched keyboard samples, and this track by Metal…

> The well-known practice of individually applying EQ to the mid and side channels is called mid-side EQing. EQs that use the mid-side (M/S) mode convert a stereo sound into mono and stereo channels. The mid (mono) signal contains the information that’s the same in the left and right channels. The side signal contains audio information; that is, the difference between the left and right channels on a stereo track. Mid-side processing gives producers the ability to sculpt mixes far beyond conventional stereo processing. Once the audio is converted into M/S, the mid information can be processed independently from the side information, then the audio is converted back into stereo left and right channels. In dance music production, mid-side EQing can be used to create remarkable stereo imaging results. This…

> Korg’s Gadget is a deliberately streamlined DAW that actually does more than you’d believe a simple sequencer can achieve. It was one of the first (really good) iOS DAWs, and then crossed over to the Mac and even the Nintendo Switch. Whatever platform you use Gadget on, it is designed for you to get musical ideas down fast without the complex features that most other DAWs hold dear getting in your way. Its biggest draws are its actual Gadgets; over 40 synths, drum machines, samplers, utilities and more that deliver 6,000 quality sounds that you can easily put together. You can buy these Gadgets separately or as a bundle to run in your own (AU, VST2, AAX ) DAW, but the beauty of Gadget is to easily get your…

> While Arturia’s V Collection bundle tries to do everything ‘vintage’ in 39 plugins, the company’s Pigments is trying cover all modern synthesis bases in just one plugin. Since 2018, it’s been doing this very well, gradually building up enough synthesis power to try and be your one and only softsynth choice for when you need contemporary sounds in your music. Perhaps more importantly, it’s also aiming to be the tool you turn to when you want to design more sounds. Sequencing and modulation options take you on dynamic journeys, and everything has always been beautifully realised to make those expeditions wonderful and easy. What can any update add, then? Surprisingly, with version 5, the answer is quite a lot. What’s in 5? We’ll cover the main Pigments synth philosophy…

CABLEGUYS TIMESHAPER 3 Watch as we explain how to navigate the twists and turns of this time-defying free gift Read the full article from p14 cm/experts Our resident music production gurus walk you through their specialist field every month CM TOOLS MASTERCLASS BAZILLECM LFO WOBBLE BASS Read the full article on p44 DANCE MUSIC MASTERCLASS MID-SIDE EQING TECHNIQUES Read the full article on p48 MIX MASTERCLASS EXPLORE VCA GROUPING Read the full article on p56…