Innehållsförteckning för April 2023 från Electronic Musician

Roland is back with another portable digital piano, and this one - the FP-E5Q is bringing the company's ZEN-Core synth engine along for the ride. ZEN-Core is Roland's flagship synthesis system - the one used in the likes of the Jupiter-X and Fantom workstation keyboards - and its inclusion gives the FP-E50 a notable point of difference in comparison to other digital pianos. In the case of the FP-E50, ZEN-Core supplies 1018 onboard sounds (synths, brass, orchestral voices, guitars/basses, drums and more). These can be layered with the all-important piano tones that come included. Said tones are generated using Roland's renowned SuperNATURAL piano engine, and can be played on the 88-note hammer-action keyboard, which offers escapement and an ivory-like feel. More ZEN-Core sounds can be added via Roland Cloud. Sadly,…

CELEMONY Melodyne 5 from $99 Mac/PC - AU, VST3, AAX, standalone Pitch manipulation is available in so many forms, and everyone has their favorite tools for specific tasks. Nevertheless, the range of manipulation available using Melodyne is really in a league of its own, and if you opt for the more fully featured versions you'll get direct note access for polyphonic instruments. www.celemony.com CABLEGUYS Shaperbox 3 $99 Mac/PC - AU, VST, A AX This excellent bundle of nine creative plugins includes much of what you need to reshape, mangle and generally repurpose your audio. Particularly handy are CrushShaper with its bitcrush, lo-fi and multiband enhancer, and also TimeShaper, which includes glitchready stutter, half-time, reverse, scratch and tape-stop effects. www.cableguys.com ZYNAPTIQ Wormhole $199 Mac/PC - AU, VST, VST3, AAX If you're…

01 EQ and distortion Smash a signal through impactful distortion, then place an EQ pre-distortion and experiment with wild peak boosts and cuts. Forcing specific harmonics up into the drive will wildly change the timbral effect, while drastic cuts will quickly clean up or temper the effect. 02 Pitch and reverb As you sweep a melodic signal's pitch up by an octave or two, use automation to send it to a cavernous reverb effect placed on an aux return. The giant reverb will carry over the rest of the melody, creating a unique ‘shimmering’ tail that you can render and reprocess. 03 Filtering and compression Filtering a seund over time creates changes in dynamics as frequencies are removed. Counteract this by forcing the filtered signal into grabby, 1176-style compression, to…

$59 www.cherryaudio.com Strengths Extraordinarilycomprehensivemodel of the CS-80 Theparametersare clear and concise 1000onboard presets Limitations - We'd love a hardware ribbon controllerto go with it! Who wouldn't? According to the fine folk at Cherry Audio, one of the most requested instruments for re-styling in software is the ‘70s iconoclastic synth from Yamaha, that continues to be the stuff of legends. Upon opening the GX-80 for the first time, it's an impressive beast — there's an undeniably busy panel of faders and buttons, albeit in a virtual form, which adopt the identifiable persona of the Yamaha CS-80. It's all there, right down to the ribbon controller, which resides just above the keyboard. Play a note and apply a pitch bend, and you will see a virtual outline of your finger traverse along…

Atau Tanaka takes us through some of his setup MacBook Pro 13” 2020 running Cycling ‘74 Max “My MacBook Pro is an Intel Core i7, with 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage - I keep about 20 years’ worth of material on that machine. And because it's a studio and live machine, the RAM is super important to me.” Thalmic Labs Myo interfaces with Bluetooth LE dongle “Although it's not available anymore, I think it's worth buying and using one if you get the chance. People might also be interested in devices like the Leap Motion, or the Microsoft Kinect.” MOTU Ultralite Mk 5 interface “The MOTU has eight analog outputs, and it enables me to play in multichannel sound systems, with different muscles mapped to different speakers. It…

Spitfire Audio have announced the release of a new sample library. Albion Colossus is described as their “most epic library yet”, and is said to be a “gargantuan, all-in-one toolkit” for blockbuster scoring. Albion Colossus is a continuation of Spitfire's Albion series, a collection of sample libraries aimed at providing everything that's needed to score a film in one single product. Each edition of Albion is based around a different theme, and Colossus is geared towards capturing the sound of big-budget Hollywood blockbusters, epic action movies that require powerful and dramatic orchestral scores. We're told that this edition of Albion differs in that it's the first time one of the Albion libraries has been housed within Spitfire's dedicated plugin engine. The Albion Colossus plugin is equipped with a variety of…

This month, Rhodes announced that they're getting into the software game, bringing to market a version of their latest electric piano model, the MK8. Touted to contain over 30,000 samples across 100 velocity layers, the V8 and V8 Pro show that Rhodes aren't just testing the software waters - they're diving in at full force and making waves. This is all the more interesting given Rhodes’ history. Defending its trademark and branding over the years, it hasn't allowed any software developer to use the Rhodes name. Now, this ‘true Rhodes’ must compete with established competitors at its own game, and win over fans of the sound. Let's dive in ourselves and see what sonic potential the electric piano has to offer - we'll be using the V8 Pro model for…

CREATIVE INTENT Temper Mac/PC - AU, VST, VST3, AAX Free distortion plugins are pretty abundant, but this example from Creative Intent includes both a rich saturation stage and its own unique phase distortion algorithm. Throw in a variable saturation curve, resonant low pass filter, adjustable feedback level and before and after visuals, and it's a highly flexible processor. www.creativeintent.co TRITIK Krush Mac/PC - AU, VST, VST3, AAX If you want a freeware bitcrush and downsampling solution then look no further than this excellent plugin from Tritik. The main controls include Drive, Bitcrush and Downsample, followed by a high or low-pass resonant Filter. Add in syncable LFD modulation for all parameters with handy halo indicators on the target parameters, and you've got a very well-equipped freebie. www.tritik.com GLITCHMACHINES Hysteresis Mac/PC -…

Roger Linn's name is revered in electronic music circles, and for good reason - he has an uncanny ability to predict what musicians need before they themselves know, and delivers it in spades. His LM-1 Drum Computer was the first to combine user-programmable patterns with samples of real drums. Its staggering price made it the exclusive plaything of moneyed hitmakers who churned out endless chart-toppers built on its irresistible groove. The LM-1 was followed the LinnDrum, a cheaper, more powerful successor that fell short of the LM-1 only in that not all of its samples could be repitched. Released in 1982, the LinnDrum came in just before the introduction of MIDI, though a retrofit was offered by third parties. Linn's next drum machine would make up for this omission -…

$99 www.audified.com Strengths Simpleinterface Choiceofsix algorithms Powerfulandunusual Ironize control Greatforflavorsome reverb effects Limitations - Limited advanced editing parameters on offer Linda IronVerb (ALT, AAX, VST3) is an algorithmic reverb and the second plugin developed by Audified in collaboration with mixing and mastering engineer Martin Linda. The reverb features a number of familiar parameters including Size, Predelay, Modulation and Damping, and at its core are six quite distinctive algorithms (Flutter, Plate, Slapback, Dense, Steel and Steel 2) as well as two room size options (Normal and Long). The plugin takes its name from a rather intriguing adjustable modulation parameter, Ironize, that imparts a smooth metallic character to the sound. Before we look at how the Ironize option sounds in use, it's worth saying that IronVerb's focused feature set is incredibly straightforward…

$84 www.modalics.com Strengths Beat-slicingconceptworks well Endlesswaysto divide and subdivide Intuitivesampler with drag and drop Easytoget started Limitations - Deeper drum sound designers are out there For those not rhythmically inclined, beat-programming can often be an arduous process. While some opt for a robotic, metronomic approach, those who crave the type of humanity and improvisation in their patterns that a real drummer can bring to table very often find themselves spending far too long trying to coax their drum sounds to get a life. Results can often be mixed. It's for these people that new company Modalics have framed Beat Scholar, their debut plugin. Founded by well-versed industry specialist Eyal Amir and respected bass playing heavyweight Or Lubianiker, Modalics’ first release is founded on a new spin on the beat-slicing concept.…

Pittsburgh Modular have revealed a new semi-modular paraphonic analog synth that they're describing as a “complete, modern, modular instrument that allows us to explore beyond the boundaries of a traditional analog synthesizer.” Taiga is a desktop synth that can function standalone in a wooden enclosure, or as part of a broader Eurorack setup as a 60hp module. As it's semi-modular, the instrument can be played out-of-the-box, without any patching, using a conventional subtractive signal flow. Alternatively, each of the synth's elements can be used independently and patched into an existing modular rig using the 60-point patchbay. The synth's architecture begins with three analogue oscillators, identical other than for the range of their tuning knobs. These offer four core waveforms, sine, triangle, saw and square, and the user can utilize a…

Buchla has announced the release of an updated version of its LEM218 touchcapacitive control keyboard. The third iteration of the 218 Lunar Excursion Module, named after the spacecraft that first delivered astronauts to the moon, features a revamped touch bed that delivers improved sensitivity and accuracy and expanded I/O. The LEM218's touch-capacitive interface is one that's featured heavily in Buchla's designs over the years: the brand's founder Don Buchla was one of the first to utilize the touchplate in electronic musical instruments, first integrating it with the Buchla 112 module, and most famously with the the Buchla Music Easel. The LEM218's touchplate not only registers note data and velocity, but also channel pressure, which translates to MIDI or CV data that can be mapped to parameters in your DAW or…

01 Load Ableton's Grain Delay on a track containing a small vocal snippet. Turn up the device's Feedback to repeat the incoming signal atthe Beat Division set at the bottom - 2/16th, or 1/8th-notes by default. 02 Sweeping the Pitch control up and down crudely transposes the entire signal. However, raising this in conjunction with Rand Pitch randomly pitches the various output grains up or down, for strange modulation and alien-like repeats. 03 Set Pitch and Rand Pitch back to default, then turn up the Spray parameter. This adds random offset to each tiny grain in the delay path, creating noise-like jitter and harshness. Try juggling this parameter together with Pitch and Rand Pitch to create drones and otherworldly FX. 04 The Frequency parameter controls the size and duration of…

Keyboard HOW-TO MAGAZINE This month we explore the player who defined how the synthesizer became a lead instrument in jazz-rock, rock, funk and other styles of music:_Jan Hammer. He single-handedly defined the technique and vocabulary of pitch-bending, and stood toe-to-toe with many of the greatest guitar players of our age. Eastern European Roots Jan is a native of Czechoslovakia, now known as the Czech Republic. Coming from a musical family, he studied classical piano as a youth, until the jazz bug bit him in his teens. He immersed himself in that music, both on piano, organ and drums. An early recording called iMaliny Maliny finds him playing very progressive jazz on the B3. When Russia invaded his country in 1968 he fled to the United States, enrolling in the Berklee…

$288 ikmultimedia.com Strengths Aneasilyset-up bridge that connects your hardware world with IK's guitar ecosystem for two-way communication Creatingatone profile from the input signal is refreshingly straightforward, and the Al-constructed results have to be heard to be believed Hugearrayof additional tone profiles, and further editing can create heaps of new sonic combinations Limitations -Ifyouwantthe most detailed mode! of your tone, it might take a while… -Requiresyoutoown a healthy assortment of jack leads and XLRs (which most of us do, to be fair) Many guitarists spend hours experimenting with pedals, amp settings and core cabinet-miking zones to produce a tone that suits. With the advent of top-flight amp/cab simulators, and dexterous effect-chain modeling in software (notably, IK's own AmpliTube) it's now easy to do this entirely in the box. To the ears…

INTERVIEW An electronic music setup covers anything from a simple MIDI keyboard with a laptop and headphones, to a huge modular setup, and beyond, we all know the deal as musicians. But none of this applies for Atau Tanaka, a Japanese-American artist who in performance appears to be pulling sounds out of the air through arm movements, hand gestures, and muscle tension. We talked to Atau about his setup, his extensive history with expressive electronic music, and what's coming next for music technology. Classical, jazz, electronic… “My musical education was quite traditional. I started off playing the piano as a child, but I got sick of playing classical music in my late teens,” Tanaka tells us when we ask him to tell us a bit about his musical upbringing. “I…