Innehållsförteckning för December 2015 från Future Music

WELCOME Get The Groove There are few sounds more ubiquitous in electronic music than the punchy grooves of Roland’s classic TR grooveboxes. From the booming, kick-driven sound of modern Hip-Hop and R ‘n’ B, to the crunchy retro grooves of House and Techno – there are few strains of club-friendly music that don’t have their roots planted in those classic beatmakers. They’re sounds that are readily available to modern producers too. Even if you don’t want to shell out thousands on eBay for the actual machines, you can get these classic sounds (or near flawless approximations of them) from countless hardware imitators, or bundled as sample packs with pretty much every DAW, sampler or drum machine (or as a download from FM’s vault!). That’s why we’re focusing on those sounds…

BONUS SAMPLES See this month’s selection of free demos at vault.futuremusic.co.uk http://sounds.beatport.com 01 Output Deep House & Garage Drums 02 Hotfingers Samples Alex Kenji Sample Library vol.2 03 Rawloops Techno Synths 04 Sharp Future Wobble House 05 Audentity Wobble & Future House Kicks & Drumloops 06 Cognition Strings Techno Drums 07 Cycles & Spots Massive Sequences 08 Catalyst Samples Vocal House Chops www.loopmasters.com 01 Loopmasters Presents Bass Heavy Trap 02 Samplestate Presents Twisted Bass House 03 Push Button Bang Total Blues 04 Loopmasters Artist Series Darius Syrossian: Real House Collection 05 Loopmasters Presents Undercover Funk Vol.1 06 Wave Alchemy Mainroom Future House 07 Loopmasters Artist Series Reso: Drum & Bass Intelligence 08 Soundbox Trap Weapons…

ALBUM OF THE MONTH © AABSTRKT Wbeeza Expressions Of Love Third Ear Recordings Five years on from his debut album Void, House producer Wbeeza, real name Warren Brown, returns to Third Ear with an impressive new album full of colour and personality. The south London producer has built a reputation for creative live sets and eclectic, bass-driven productions since 2007. Deliciously deep, with rich textures and lush atmospheres, Expressions Of Love is as inviting and intimate as underground House music goes. Showcasing his dexterity, the record incorporates elements of Jazz, House, Hip-Hop, Detroit Techno, Soul and Disco with natural ease across its seven tracks. Complex rhythm structures, cosy pads, warm melodies and Wbeeza’s love of the kick drum are central to Expressions Of Love, creating a soundscape that has drive…

Will Clarke on his 808 love affair Will Clarke is a Bristol-based producer with releases on influential labels such as Dirtybird and Defected. His unique brand of ‘Booty House’ is almost exclusively based around TR-808 drums, so it’s no surprise that he’s happy to wax lyrical about his preferred choice of sounds. “The 808 is my favourite drum machine. I just love literally every sound in there. The kicks, claps, cowbell, percussion, hats – they are just perfect, and all the sounds fit like a glove for the style of music I write. I like the rawness of the sounds – they’re not super polished and have a bit of grit behind them.” We asked Will how he prefers to program and process his low-end elements. “I’ve done a few…

Synthesizing An 808-Style Bass Drum Building your own bespoke 808 has many advantages – and it’s a lot simpler than you might think There are many different routes to an effective TR-808 bass. Many producers choose to keep as close to the original sound as possible by using premade samples captured from the original hardware. This captures the exact sound of the unit, but also means that you’re stuck with the sample’s particular timbre and pitch curve. A more customisable approach is to synthesize your own 808 from scratch. Start with a basic sine oscillator then apply gentle pitch modulation via the synth’s mod envelope. To add the distinctive click, you can either call up a second, tighter pitch envelope, or use the synth’s noise oscillator to layer a small…

808 And 909 Layering Stack your way to bigger, phatter drums by combining the characteristics of two or more one-shots Layering is a powerful and versatile technique for creating larger-than-life drums; you can accentuate missing frequencies in a hit, or even create a hybrid drum sound that combines the best characteristics of each composite layer. TR-808 and TR-909 sounds are fantastic ingredients for drum layering – in fact, much of this goes on when programming via the original units, as the user stacks sounds on identical steps. When sequencing, try backing up a TR-909 clap with the Poppy rimshot from the same kit for added punch, or stack a closed hi-hat over kick notes for more treble presence. Also the hits’ synthetic power and consistency make them ideal for layering…

Luca Pretolesi Too Original Mad Decent, 2015 INCLUDES VIDEO VAULT.FUTUREMUSIC.CO.UK “The entire studio is based on a hybrid set-up; it’s a mastering console with mixing and mastering gear in one place – on the sweet spot. There are series buss processors in the middle, mixing on the left, mastering on the right. All very straightforward. Logic is my DAW, and SSL Sigma is my summing device. As for mastering, I choose Prism for the sound, as I know it so well and I know how much I can push it.” Luca Pretolesi is an Italian-born, Vegas-based producer and engineer who has leant his copious mixing and mastering skills to some of the biggest names on the US electronic and Hip-Hop scenes – from Steve Aoki and his Dim…

Analogue Sound, Digital Effects It may surprise you to see that there are two all-digital effects processors onboard the Prophet-6. What is perhaps more surprising (or maybe disappointing) is that they include vintage-style emulation analogue effects. Although they are digital, the effects themselves are on a separate signal path, with an analogue mix control being used to add them to the dry signal. A bypass switch disables them completely, so you can return to the comfy confines of 100% analogue circuitry if needed. There are two effects sections (A and B) connected in series with independent control over their mix balance, Effect Type and other parameters. Effect A focuses on delay and modulation effects, while Effect B adds various flavours of reverb treatment. Each effect has two adjustable parameters, so…

Creating Classic House Chord Stabs With The P6 The Prophet’s Chord Memory makes it very easy to create thick modulated chord stabs 01 Start with Oscillator 1 set to a sawtooth wave. We combine this with a saw from Oscillator 2 pitched an octave up, and with a small amount of fine pitch detuning. Its level should be lower than that of the main oscillator. 02 Next we move on to the LFO and dial in some moderate vibrato. Engage the Freq 1 and Freq 2 buttons, and raise the Initial Amount slightly. Frequency should be about 12 o’clock here. Add some Slop to emphasise the analogue nature of the sound. 03 Now for the Filter. We want a fast attack with the low-pass filter closing quite quickly – adjust…

In The Studio With Redlight Bristol-born Hugh Pescod aka Redlight forged a reputation as a Drum ‘n’ Bass protagonist and remix specialist before retreating to focus on his debut album, X Colour. Danny Turner catches up with him at his London studio © Kevin Lake Having caught the tailwind of Bristol’s Rave era, Hugh Pescod dived into music production under the moniker DJ Clipz with releases on a variety of established Drum ‘n’ Bass labels. With his edgy repute and ability to cross-pollinate styles, Pescod – rebranded as Redlight – was enlisted to remix everyone from Pendulum, Steve Aoki and Little Boots to Rihanna and Lily Allen. When the major labels came calling, Pescod eased into the limelight with UK Funky/House floorfillers Get Out of My Head and Lost In…

INCLUDES VIDEO Breaking Out The Braids! Let’s walk through its vast sea of sounds and turn Braids into a full voice With so much on offer, Braids may seem daunting to some users, but we can assure you that it’s straightforward. We’ll go through each of the different synthesis algorithms exploring their sounds, how they can be altered and how they react under modulation. We’ll be using a VCA and envelope for basic amplitude modulation plus a filter to show Braids used in a more typical subtractive style synth patch. Adding an LFO we can get some Timbre and Color modulation (aided by the onboard attenuverter – an inverting attenuator). Impressively, using the onboard VCA and envelope generator, we can turn Braids into a full standalone voice without needing any…

Onboard FX Circuit’s FX view gives access to its built-in reverb and delay effects. There are 16 delay presets to choose from and eight reverb settings, which offer a decent spectrum of depth and time settings on both fronts. When in FX view each track gets its own send control via the Macro knobs, which is used to control both reverb and delay send levels, switchable by touching the currently active preset pad for whichever effect you wish to edit. Send level automation can be recorded into sequences, which is great for creating those little ‘ear candy’ moments. The delay creates a pleasing speed-up/slow-down effect when switching between presets mid-sequence, which creates a little FX flourish in its own right. There’s also a sidechain effect for each synth, which is…

Applications For LinnStrument LinnStrument is particularly versatile as a controller. You can use it as a standard controller with one or two hands on deck to perform duties such as playing melodies/ chords and inputting data into your DAW, but it’s a superb drum controller too. Loading up a kit in Logic and using the touch surface/pads for timbre, velocity and pitch changes added a new dimension of realism to kits I’ve used for years. The Strum and Restrike modes are great for authentic guitar-like performances (strum one side of the split while playing the other) and the bottom row of pads can also perform its own functions including sustain, MIDI CC, Strum and Restrike. Using Split works great for playing a bass on one side and a piano on…

Codes 49 And 25 While the Code 61 is the big brother of M-Audio’s new controller range, two smaller models are just as likely to appeal to your needs. The four-octave Code 49, despite its shorter keyboard, packs an otherwise identical feature-set into its frame to that of the Code 61. The two-octave Code 25 has to compromise more on features, as you’d expect, but it retains all 16 trigger pads to the left of the keyboard and the X-Y pad above it, making space-saving compromises elsewhere. These come in the form of five sliders (rather than nine) and four rotaries (rather than eight) but across MIDI CC and HUI modes, there’s still masses of control available here. The rear panel of all three keyboards provides the USB-connector, with an…

Nord Stage 2 EX 88 | £2,549 Nord’s Stage 2 EX is the latest version of their popular Stage series. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman checks it out… WHAT IS IT? Latest EX (expanded) version of the popular Nord Stage 2 CONTACT Who: Sound Technology Tel: +44 (0)1462 480000 Web: www.nordkeyboards. com HIGHLIGHTS 1 Covers a lot of sonic territory to a high standard 2 Built like a tank but portable 3 Plenty of great real-time effects onboard, plus comprehensive splitting/layering/MIDI facilities SPECS 400 Programs Organ: B3, Vox, Farfisa Piano: 1GB memory Synth: Samples: 380MB memory, VA, FM, Wavetables Effects: 2 Mod FX blocks, Delay, 3 speaker simulations, Tube amp, 3-band Equalizer, Rotary Master effects: Compressor and reverb Connections: 4 Outputs, Sustain, Rotor, Organ Swell, Control Pedal, MIDI In/Out, USB…

Equator The Equator software is fully-optimised for the Rise’s five dimensions of touch and can be used standalone or as a DAWhosted plug-in. Unlike the Grand, the Rise always needs to be connected to your computer via USB or Bluetooth and there’s also no way to run Equator within the Rise hardware itself. There’s a handy browser for navigating/ organising sounds and simply flicking through the excellent presets will keep you nicely occupied! Equator sounds superb and is massively powerful, comprising two layerable polyphonic sample-based oscillators, each with their own filter (with samples including acoustic piano, Rhodes, strings, marimba, acoustic guitars, choirs and harps). There’s also a dual-noise oscillator with dedicated filter, two separate global filters with 13 filter types each, a mixer, five envelopes, two LFOs, three VA oscillators…

EXPERT CONTRIBUTORS THIS MONTH… Joe Rossitter musician, producer Avid beatmaker Joe goes deep into the sound of Roland’s classic grooveboxes for this issue’s cover feature. Head to page 28 where he’ll guide you through how to mix, process and manipulate your way to better beats. Bruce Aisher musician, producer Bruce is all about the analogue synths in this issue of FM . Join him on page 55 as he explores the full capabilities of Sequential’s fantastic Prophet-6. Meanwhile, on page 98, he reviews Analogue Solutions’ Nyborg 12 and 24. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman musician, producer Dan is FM’s resident keyboard master – a dextrous player and lover of a good synth solo. Who better then, to test out two new, cutting-edge takes on the…

Lamb Fear of Fours (1999, Mercury) Words by Roy Spencer There are worse things to be afraid of. For some people it’s sharks. For others, clowns. For a haunted few, it’s some ungodly combination of the two. For Andy Barlow it was fours. That is, the 4/4 beat that keeps Dance music firmly in its place. It was a rational fear. For him it represented everything that was wrong with modern music. It was lazy, predictable, pedestrian and unchallenging: Doof! Doof! Doof! Meh… Since forming Lamb with singer Lou Rhodes in 1996, Barlow has used the band as an outlet to push his programming and challenge his beatmaking skills. Their self-titled debut set their stall out early, and by the time of their sophomore effort, Fear of Fours, he’d mastered…

LIKE IT? TRY THESE… Lamb Lamb Andy and Lou’s self-titled debut won them hordes of fans and critics alike. Their blend of cutting-edge beats and haunting vocals made for an intoxicating stew. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: Lusty, Cotton Wool, Górecki| Roni Size/Reprazent New Forms Andy Barlow loves touching on Drum ‘n’ Bass programming. It’s fair to say that pioneers of that breakbeat and double bass approach like Roni Size were inspirations. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: Brown Paper Bag, Heroes, New Forms| Portishead Dummy Ethereal vocals and downtempo beats? The blueprint was first commercially available here – Lamb’s constantly referenced peers. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: Sour Times, Roads, Wandering Star| Lamb Back To Mine: The Voodoo Sessions Andy gets behind the decks to showcase the sounds that inspire,…

RECOMMENDED Roots Manuva Bleeds Big Dada © Shamil Tanna Roots Manuva, often cited as the Godfather of UK Hip-Hop, has been one of the most important and distinctive voices on the urban landscape for almost 20 years now. Growing up in Stockwell, south London, as Rodney Smith, he went on to fuse socially explicit, gritty lyrics with an amalgamation of musical styles that permeated the diverse sounds of urban Britain. Four years on from his last LP, 4everevolution, the veteran UK rapper is still as quick-witted, insightful and sage with his sixth studio album, Bleeds. His most emotionally deep and powerful record since his 1998 debut, Bleeds features a clutch of more intimate, personal tracks that boast a beguiling raw beauty. The album as a whole has a serious aesthetic,…

Programming And Performance Pointers Bear in mind the originals’ idiosyncrasies when sequencing 808/909 beats The TR-808 and TR-909 were designed as performance machines, and there’s nothing quite like the hands-on experience of ‘x0x-box’ programming. Dropping elements in and out live, adding and removing notes, adjusting parameters and creating on-the-fly edits and buildups are just a few of the techniques that heavily contribute to the programmed vibe we’re used to hearing. Be aware that the original hardware’s features, nuances, interactions and limitations also greatly affect the resulting sound. For example, both the TR-808 and TR-909 feature an Accent function to replicate humanisation: accented notes are entered on the step sequencer, then all sounds that occur on those steps can be accentuated. So, for a truly authentic effect, sample pack users will…

808 BASS Processing Tips > An 808 bass drum’s weight lies in its decay tail. Devote care and attention to your sound’s volume envelope, and apply careful compression if necessary. > Be sure to tune an 808 kick sample to the key of your track. Use a tuner plug-in, play an initialised synth patch alongside as you tune, or even smash the raw sound through a saturation plug-in to decipher its key. > The 808 kick’s attack is rather thin. Try using a punchier kick focused around 80-100Hz to provide the front-end punch, and gently sidechain the 808 layer against it. > Gentle saturation is great for exaggerating an 808 kick’s low mid harmonics. To keep the raw sound intact, send it to a buss and use a linear phase…

Six Creative 808 And 909 Tuning Tips Tuning TR-808 and TR-909 percussion in interesting ways can generate plenty of creative sparks. Here are half a dozen ways to go about it > The tonal nature of 808 and 909 drums means they can be used as melodic or tuned elements. In this first example, we’ve used the TR-808’s toms as a simple bass pattern over a kick. The notes are separated onto different channels so each can be processed differently. > Pitched-down toms can generate enough sub energy to become a forceful bass element – a familiar trademark of harder styles of House and Techno. We’ve taken an 808 tom and pitched it down six semitones in a sampler before arranging notes around a mid-heavy 909 kick. > Short, clicky…

Getting To Grips With Poly Mod Sequential’s introduction of the Poly Mod section on the Prophet-5 proved quite influential at the time. The Prophet-6 builds on this legacy One of the obvious issues when it comes to creating a programmable synthesizer is the trade-off between flexibility, simplicity and cost. The Poly Mod section of the Prophet-6 allows you to use various existing audio and envelope sources to modulate a range of parameter destinations. It’s important to realise that this part of the synth is functionally separate to the LFO section which has its own set of parameters (though there is some overlap in the potential signal destinations). The modulation sources are the Filter Envelope plus the raw output of Oscillator 2. These can be routed to control the frequency, waveshape…

Erica Synths MIDI to Trigger Erica Synths have announced a new MIDI to Trigger utility. Ideal for folks looking to build Eurorack percussion systems sequenced by existing hardware, this eight-channel 6HP module converts inputted MIDI notes to 10ms analogue triggers. Emphasis is on convenience, with one-button assignment mode allowing users to remap all eight outs in a split second. With a long press of the assign button, channel 8 becomes a dedicated MIDI clock. This would let someone trigger and clock a modular percussion rig live from any MIDI source or convert the top eight drum pad channels (MIDI Out only) on an Arturia Beatstep Pro, into the ‘missing’ eight analogue pulses. Simple but useful. www.ericasynths.lv…

Interview Dusty Kid Techno producer Paolo Lodde aka Dusty Kid has ripped up the rule book on his fourth album Not So Green Fields. Danny Turner discovers how Lodde’s Mediterranean lifestyle feeds his constant desire for reinvention Having released under various pseudonyms before settling on Dusty Kid, named after the “dirty children” you see in Spaghetti Western movies, Paolo Lodde released his debut album A Raver’s Diary in 2009. A foray into Techno, there was little sign of Lodde’s academic inductions on piano and violin. Further gregarious single and EP releases followed, bookmarked by albums such as Beyond That Hill and III, by which time Lodde’s sound had transgressed to Acid Techno with caustic splashes of Dark Ambient. Not So Green Fields takes another swerve into the unknown. Covering an…

Patterns And Sessions In Circuit’s Pattern view up to eight 16-step Patterns can be created and chained together to create sequences of up to 128 steps per part. Individual parts can have different numbers of patterns in each project – ie it’s possible to create a 128-step synth sequence over a simple 16-step drum loop, and vice versa. There’s a duplicate function, which allows longer passages to be created quickly and can also be used to duplicate melodic passages between the two synth parts. Circuit projects as a whole are referred to as Sessions. There are 16 preset sessions (which can be overwritten) and 16 empty user sessions available. Saving a session will store all pattern, preset, FX, automation and Macro information as one bundle. It’s worth noting that, by…

ROLI Seaboard Rise | £599 ROLI have boldly reinvented the classic keyboard. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman checks out their Seaboard Rise WHAT IS IT? Two-octave MIDI controller keyboard featuring silicone, multi-dimensional keywave-board, paired with Equator software sound engine CONTACT Who: Sound Technology Tel: +44 (0) 1462 480000 Web: www.roli.com HIGHLIGHTS 1 It’s hard to reinvent the keyboard but ROLI have done it amazingly well! 2 The Equator sound engine is versatile and well-designed and sounds very good indeed 3 The ‘keywave’ keys are extremely responsive, very controllable and satisfying to play and the results are great SPECS 25-note (2-octave) ‘keywave’ keyboard 2 touch ribbons, 5 dimensions of touch, 3 touch faders, Octave Switch, Power/Mode Switch, Preset/Program Change Switch Connections: Continuous pedal input (1/4” jack), USB B port (MIDI out…

Prepping/Processing Vocals Although I can record vocals fine, they never have that finished quality. Any tips? Pulling in great vocalists to work on your tracks is the main part of the battle; getting that finished sparkle to your vocals can be done after the recording and there are lots of tricks you can use to massage the vocal. However, firstly you need to make sure that your vocal is properly edited and that any double, or triple tracks (or more) are aligned nicely (timing-wise) and that there are no unwanted breaths or noises. Tuning needs to be good too, so use tuning software to tweak any bad notes, though don’t overdo it! Here are some tips… > Often the first port of call will be to reach for a compressor…

Track by track with Andy Barlow Lullaby (Ambient Version) “This was a hidden track at the beginning of this CD. You’d put it on track 1 and then have to rewind it to find it. I don’t think it had been done before. There was someone in the mastering studio at the time that mentioned that they had this new type of CD technology so you can now have hidden tracks at the beginning of CD albums. We thought that was quite cool because people normally put hidden tracks at the end. I think we were just flexing our anarchist muscles.” Soft Mistake “This track is in a 5/4 time signature, and it’s called Soft Mistake because it was a mistake from the track Softly, from later on in the…

SUBSCRIBE TO FutureMusic Technique and Technology for making music SUBSCRIBE BY 30/11/2015 TO ENSURE YOU GET OUR 300TH ISSUE NEXT MONTH PRINT ONLY Get the print edition delivered to your door every month, plus access to Future Music’s online Vault to download videos samples, tutorial files, and more. Only £31.50 EVERY SIX MONTHS DIGITAL ONLY Instant access on your iPad, iPhone, and Android device, plus access to Future Music’s online Vault to download videos, samples, tutorial files, and more. Only £13.50 EVERY SIX MONTHS GET THE COMPLETE PACKAGE PRINT + DIGITAL > Access to Future Music’s online Vault to download videos, samples, tutorial files, and more > Get the print edition delivered direct to your door and instant access on your iPad, iPhone and Android device > PLUS You get…

808 &909 REWORKED Roland’s classic grooveboxes are ubiquitous throughout electronic music. Let’s look at how to make the most of these iconic sounds From the thunderous booms of Hip-Hop, through to the pounding, shuffling grooves of House and Techno, Roland’s iconic ’80s drum machines have defined the rhythmic blueprint upon which all electronic beats are now based. Yet, while unprocessed ‘x0x-box’ beats are essential tools for a Dance music producer, it’s obvious that drum treatments have become more and more intricate as genres and processing trends have evolved. Compare the raw sounds with the same variants used in your favourite records, and it’s clear that the machines’ nostalgic timbres can at least partly be attributed to the processing we’re used to hearing – whether that’s the raw, overdriven House…

TR-909 Processing Let’s process and mix a 909 kit using a combination of cheap outboard processing and modern software treatments > The punchy TR-909 kick responds well to grungy analogue drive, so we’ve recorded a 4/4 kick hot through a Mackie CR-1604 mixer channel for cheap ’90s flavour. Distortion will exacerbate low mid mud, so carve out frequencies around 120-250Hz and 4-500Hz if needed. Chunky compression adds punch. > More forceful mixer input gain pushes the 909 kick into tougher, trashier territories. Again, we tame low mid bloat with subtractive EQ, then compression reshapes the squashed hit’s dynamics. Boosting the kick’s fundamental reintroduces low weight that the intense distortion removed. > Step sequencing encourages improvisational programming, so instead of placing the clap sound on the traditional beats 2 and 4,…

On Stage With Leftfield Electronic music royalty Leftfield return to the fray with sublime new LP Alternative Light Source and a synapse-tingling live show. Hamish Mackintosh catches up with them prior to their floor-shaking London gig © Kevin Lake Leftfield have been a musical feature of this particular hack’s life for more years than he cares to (or can even) remember. From the consciousness expanding, life-affirming beats and bass of 1995’s debut, Leftism, through to 1999’s dubbed up rhythm-fest, Rhythm & Stealth, Leftfield’s Neil Barnes and Paul Daley blazed a trail that many in the Dance music fraternity were simply left to follow. In the intervening 16 years (that’s 16 long years) many of us had almost given up hope of adding to our Leftfield collection; until, that is,…

Sequential Prophet-6 INCLUDES VIDEO AND AUDIO VAULT.FUTUREMUSIC.CO.UK The name badge ‘Sequential’ – or Sequential Circuits Inc to give it its full name – hasn’t been seen on a synth since the Prophet VS in 1986. The VS used a hybrid digital-analogue design, but their earlier products include the legendary, all-analogue, Prophet-5. Dave Smith, the man behind SCI, went on to create a host of new kit under the DSI name, but has recently been handed back the keys to the Sequential brand courtesy of Yamaha. With this, he and his design team decided to build a synthesizer that harnessed the sound of analogue more fully than the current DSI line-up (that mostly use digital, or digitally-controlled, oscillators). To this end, the Prophet-6 uses discrete VCOs, and contains a…

QUICK TIPS 1 The P6 has built-in dedicated stereo distortion circuitry. Although it’s great for more gnarly sounds, it also works well at more moderate settings to spice up subtler sources. 2 The Slop control has been found on DCO-based DSI gear as a way of imparting some VCOstyle randomness to the circuitry. The P6 is VCO-driven, but its tuning is very stable – so it’s still useful to add extra variation into the sound. 3 The Prophet-6 has a low and high-pass filter. Although they have different slope specs they can work together to create a band-pass filter. Dynamic control of both is possible via the filter envelope. 4 MIDI or USB connectivity is used for transmitting and receiving parameter changes digitally but there are sockets on the rear…

Make Noise Strike Back Get yourself some budget Buchla with Make Noise’s new two-channel low-pass gate, the LxD Not that we didn’t know they love vactrols (they literally sell an ‘I Heart Vactrols’ t-shirt), but Make Noise have announced and shipped a new slimline two-channel vactrol-based VCA, called the LxD (Low Strike Duo). This is the second dedicated vactrol VCA in their line-up, being an alternative to the bigger Optomix. It may not look terribly exciting, but the LxD is a module that could bring a flavour of the much-coveted ‘woody’ sound of West-Coast Buchla synths (like the 200e or Music Easel, both pricey machines) to nearly anyone’s Eurorack and anyone’s budget, at only 4HP wide, and costing less than £90. In Make Noise’s own words: “The LxD is a…

Novation Circuit | £250 Novation get into the groovebox game. Si Truss plugs into the Circuit… WHAT IS IT? A compact groovebox containing a four-part drum machine and two digital polysynths CONTACT Who: Novation Web: www.novationmusic. com HIGHLIGHTS 1 Excellent sequencer and fluid workflow 2 Portable and self-contained 3 Excellent value SPECS Sound engine: 2 Nova synths, 4 Part drum machine, 6 Note polyphonic per synth, 64 Synth patches, 64 Drum patches, 8 Synth macro controls, 4 Drum parameter controls Effects: 16 Delays, 8 Reverbs, Sidechain effect (7 types and off). Triggered from Drum 1, Hi-pass/ low-pass master filter Sequencer: 32 Sessions, 6 Tracks per session (2 Synth and 4 Drum), 8 Patterns per track (Synth 1, Synth 2, Drum 1&2, Drum 3&4), Real time record (notes, with velocity…

Percussion Provision Percussive sounds are found in two folders: Brunel Loops and Darwin Percussion. The first of these is split into three main eDNA programs, offering Organic, Warped and Extreme Warped percussive loops collected from unusual sound sources. Loops lock to tempo, while the mod wheel crossfades between layers, producing inspiring syncopations and polyrhythms. Some loops are pitched, others not, and there’s a collection of construction kits too. The Darwin Percussion Library covers more traditional orchestral percussion, with twists. The main Percussion program maps hits of different pitches to different keyboard ranges, working up from Sub Hits to high metals through a collection of individual instruments. Taikos, toms, clangs, sticks… it’s all here. Easter Island provides enormous distant booms, perfect for trailers, while Hyper Toms provides assorted articulations across four…

MPE (Multidimensional Polyphonic Expression) This new breed of multi-dimensional MIDI controllers (eg ROLI’s Seaboard products, Roger Linn’s LinnStrument, Haken Audio’s Continuum and Madrona Labs’ Soundplane) are really pushing the boundaries of electronic music creation and expression. With this in mind, many industry professionals from companies including ROLI, Moog, Apple and Roger Linn Design are now working on tweaking/ standardising a new MIDI standard called MPE, which is an enhanced, (and backwards compatible) version of MIDI, directly supporting MPE/Multidimensional MIDI controllers. Fingers crossed, we’ll see many more MPE compatible products in the future! While the Rise talks nicely to many DAWs (Logic X, Cubase, Reaper etc) it will be great to see more DAWs natively supporting MPE, meaning less setting up for us guys that just wanna plug and play quickly!…