Innehållsförteckning för January 2016 från Future Music

WELCOME Back To The Future… Future Music’s 300th issue anniversary is finally here, and in your hands you have a very special edition of the magazine to celebrate it. You’ll find that we’ve flipped, rearranged and reworked the usual format of the magazine, to bring you something a bit different to wrap up 2015. This issue sees our regular Reviews section turned upside down in order to reappraise a cross section of the most iconic instruments and effects in music production history. Head for page 73 now to dive into our huge synth history lesson, complete with secondhand buying advice, budget-friendly alternatives and more. We’re not just looking back at the past though – in our annual Gear Of The Year round-up, we’ve the definitive guide to all the gear…

BONUS SAMPLES See this month’s selection of free demos at vault.futuremusic.co.uk http://sounds.beatport.com 01 Dirty Music Samples Bruno Kauffmann Tech To House 02 Natura Viva Sounds Deep House Vibes 03 Triad Sounds Presents Ibiza Deep House 04 Datacode Focus Techno Synths 05 Output Tech House & Techno Drums 06 Sample Tweakers Twisted Sound Effects 07 Big Sounds Wobble Dub Bass 08 Mainroom Warehouse Underground Trap Nights 3 www.loopmasters.com 01 Loopmasters Retrospective Presents Back To The ’80s 02 Loopmasters Presents Future House 03 Loopmasters Artist Series Mutated Forms: Mutated Drum & Bass 04 Singomakers Trap Step Ultra Pack 05 Loopmasters Pres Trap Takedown 06 Loopmasters Bass Boutique DJ Fixx Presents: Bass Sessions Vol 2 07 Freaky Loops Sliced EDM Vocals 08 Capsun ProAudio Slo-Mo Trap And Ambient Lows…

LIKE IT? TRY THESE… Ralph Vaughan Williams Greensleeves/Theme From Tallis Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis is Tom Middleton’s number one Desert Island Disc and he channels its potency throughout Lifetracks . ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: Fantasia On A Theme By Thomas Tallis, English Folk Song Suite: 3, English Folk Song Suite: 2 Brian Eno Music for Airports This Ambient concept album was another influence. On first hearing it Middleton was transported to another place, and he wanted that effect for his own listeners. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST: 1/1, 2/1, 1/2 Tomita Snowflakes Are Dancing Middleton senior played this electronic masterpiece to his son, sending Tom on a musical path he continues to tread to this day. ADD THESE TO YOUR PLAYLIST:…

MICS AKG C314 This latest multi-pattern, large diaphragm condenser mic from AKG comes in at over £200 less than their top-end C414 XLS, but still features the same excellent build and sound quality. It’s versatile and affordable enough that a matched pair (picked from hundreds of mics by AKG’s computer-aided matching process) remains within reach of smaller studios and solo producers. JZ Mics GTR-1 Latvian brand JZ Mics continue to make an impression with this Neodymium magnet-equipped dynamic mic designed specifically for use on electric guitar parts. It’s vibrant, and more flexible than its name implies. At under £100 it’s a worthy addition to any studio. Rode NTR Rode’s first ribbon mic overcomes many of the issues traditionally associated with ribbon designs, using an active design with a built-in transformer…

STUDIO/DJ HEADPHONES M-Audio HDH50 With impressive bass extension, a generous frequency response range, and a rugged yet comfortable design, M-Audio’s latest are up there with the likes of AKG and Sennheiser. Fostex RP Series Sturdily built and solid sounding, Fostex’s latest additions to their T-RP branded range of studio headphones offer real quality. The T40RP and T50RP are the models to try, with the latter of the two being our favourite. AKG K181 DJ UE AKG’s lightweight and flexible DJ headphones have their sights set directly on Sennheiser’s popular HD25s. Mono mode and bass boost increase their appeal. They’re not for everyone, but certainly worth a test drive. Pioneer HRM-7 Aimed primarily at Dance music producers, but offering flexibility beyond that, Pioneer’s new studio ’phones combine durability, comfort and clarity.…

INCLUDES VIDEO Controlling The Mutants! Armed with our trigger sequencers and send FX, let’s mutate the classics To start working with drum modules we’ll need some trigger sequences to create our drum patterns. To do this, we can use a clock module, clock dividers/multipliers, logic modules or dedicated trigger sequencers. Making use of the accent inputs, you can add dynamics to your beats, creating different velocities in the sequences. Mixing into the Mutant Hot Glue we can make use of the compressor to intensify the overall drum sound. Patching the kick drum to the compressor’s sidechain input, we make the other drums in the mix pump around the kicks, creating a swelling push and pull in the groove. Couple that with reverb in the send FX path and you’ve got…

Oneohtrix Point Never Perplexing yet accessible, Oneohtrix Point Never’s abstract tapestries force the listener to think outside the box. Danny Turner discusses the process behind Daniel Lopatin’s latest leap into the unknown, Garden of Delete © Andrew Strasser Not many people are lucky enough to have a dad who owns a Roland Juno-60. For Daniel Lopatin it opened a portal into the world of electronic synthesis, his labyrinth of electronic musings emerging under the moniker Oneohtrix Point Never – a play on the frequency of his favourite Boston radio station, WMJX. In 2010, Lopatin released Chuck Person’s Eccojams Vol. 1, widely credited as a precursor to the esoteric Vaporwave genre. In the meantime, the producer’s Oneohtrix Point Never project was signed to Indie label Editions Mego, spawning acclaimed albums Returnal…

Pattern Clocking And Sequencing Direct note input is fun but producing sequencer patterns with Blocks can be musically rewarding too. Here’s how to get started… The ‘Note In’ Block in Reaktor 6 is extremely useful, as it takes MIDI Note information directly from your controller keyboard and immediately lets you route pitch from it into the oscillators and noise-generating modules of your choice. However, it encourages a ‘one note in, one note out’ approach, whereby you’ll need to trigger every note you want to hear or record. An alternative is to work with sequencers, which generate patterns of notes to create dynamic, driving lines. Whether you’re looking to generate basslines or harmonic chord parts, with a few couplings, you can get things moving nicely. A few of the new Reaktor…

Buyer beware What to know before splashing the cash for a second-hand 2600 1 According to renowned synth tech Mike Metz, the 2600s used a better grade of sliders than on other ARPs, but they are still a weak link. Expect to spend a little more having some of them replaced. 2 In most 2600s, the crucial circuits are potted in epoxy, making self-service nigh on impossible. Luckily, there are a few places that can sell and install NOS originals or repros, but they don’t come cheaply. 3 The earliest ARPs used a filter design that looked too much like Moog’s, so it was changed. The resulting filter (4072), suffered from a design flaw that needlessly limited the high frequencies. Luckily, it can be fixed. If you think your 2600…

Hardware alternatives San Pedro Labs TTSH $3,400 The TTSH (or Two Thousand Six Hundred) is a popular project among DIY builders. A carbon copy of the original, you can build it yourself from a kit or have one built to order from these guys. http://sanpedrolabs.com Korg ARP Odyssey £749 inc VAT Back in the day, if you couldn’t afford a 2600, you bought an Odyssey. Korg’s recreation likewise makes a fine alternative if you can live without semi-modularity. Plus, you get to choose which filter you use. www.arpsynth.com…

Buying a used MPC3000 The MPC3000 is still very sought after. Here’s what to look out for... 1 If it still has its original screen backlight, it’ll likely be pretty dim and need replacing. There are new drop in/solder-free replacements available on eBay for around £25. Also watch out for bad inverters that can cause noise in the audio path. 2 Pads, switches and the data dial usually go after years of prolonged pounding so you may need to get new pad sensors and ‘tact’ switch replacements. In the UK, MPC guru Jazzcat (find him on Facebook) can do any work you might need. 3 Using SCSI and floppies for storage isn’t much good for fast workflow in this modern DAWequipped world. It’s worth replacing the floppy drive with a…

What to look out for when buying a second-hand H3000 1 On the wear and tear side be sure that the Jog Wheel works smoothly and check all the buttons including the numerical keypad. 2 Be sure to load each of the basic programs and pass signal through them. These run from patch no 100 to 114. Check with a stereo input and output. 3 Look out for machines that have the extra patches installed, like the Steve Vai and Bob Clearmountain settings. These will give you lots of extra presets to help you get started.…

Buying A DX There’s plenty of choice when it comes to buying a used DX 1 Being predominantly digital circuitry, and with few knobs or sliders, DX7s are pretty reliable. The most likely problem areas will be worn or malfunctioning membrane switches or internal backup batteries requiring replacement. 2 If you want the authentic DX7 sound (ie noisier output of 12-bit converters) go for a Mk1. The Mk2 versions had a cleaner output, might be more reliable (and had better MIDI specs). 3 For a more cut-price FM experience, look at the four-operator versions (DX11, DX100 and many others). Note also that keyboards like the SY77 had what amounts to a DX7 built into their more expansive ROMpler-style architecture.…

Software emulations Arturia Mini V £86.99 The Mini V provides the classic Model D signal path with added modern amenities like a modulation matrix, vocal formant filters and polyphony. www.arturia.com GForce Software Minimonsta £116.66, exc VAT GForce modelled the quirks and characteristics of a specific Model D. The results are an astonishingly lively, authentic analogue sound. Bonuses include patch morphing and big name patch designers. www.gforcesoftware.com Native Instruments Monark 99 euros A Reaktor-based Minimoog clone, the much-ballyhooed Monark is breathtakingly realistic. You’ll need Reaktor or Reaktor Player to use it, though. www.native-instruments.com…

Art ’Zoid A product of experimental avant-garde electronic musicians, the VCS3 wasn’t meant to be played from a keyboard. That would have been far too mundane. This artful mindset may explain its bizarre looping, trapezoidal envelope generator. Utterly unlike any other, this four-stage envelope provides control over Attack, On, Decay and Off stages. Okay, so two are self-explanatory, but what about the others? The ON knob behaves as a ‘hold’ stage, keeping the volume at a steady state for a length of time determined by the knob’s value. Think of it as a sort of automatic sustain that takes the place of holding a key down. Once the Decay stage has been completed, the OFF stage determines the length of time before the Attack stage begins anew – which it…

OB In The Mix One of the most famous uses of an OB series synth is in Van Halen’s Jump , with its instantly recognisable synth riff (OB-Xa preset ‘A1’ – the first patch, in the first bank). The OB-8 is also very capable in the fat ‘wall of sawtooth waves’ department, and can easily cover most of the same sonic ground as the other OBs. One speciality of Oberheims in general is the warm and rounded sound of OB synth brass, but they also excel at hollow and subtly modulated pads, screaming leads and basses. While quite a few synthesizers of the era used similar Curtis (CEM) chips as the OB-8 (in both the VCO and filter section), they all have clear sonic differences.…

Software emulations Apple Logic Electric Piano £150 Bundled with Logic Pro X EVP88 (Logic’s Electric Piano) was one of the first electric piano software emulators and it still does a respectable job, particularly when sent through effects and an amp simulator. www.apple.com/uk/itunes Neo Soul Keys 5X $200 One of the most versatile, authentic sounding libraries. Covers several Rhodes models and high-quality amp emulations and effects too. http://gospelmusicians.com Native Instruments Scarbee Mark 1 £59 The Scarbee library is still one of the most popular and really delivers authentic Rhodes tones with plenty of sound sculpting options. www.native-instruments.com…

Persuasive Percussion You’ve heard the CR-78, whether you know it or not, courtesy of a drummer, of all people. Phil Collins certainly did not fear losing his job with Genesis when he introduced the band to his new toy. They promptly put it to use on Duchess from their Duke LP. More famously still, Collins would use the CR-78 on his megahit In the Air Tonight . Whether or not John Foxx named his single Metal Beat after the CR-78’s effect of the same name, his classic Metamatic is rife with its sound. Hall and Oates were big fans, tapping the CR-78 for Private Eyes and…

Hardware alternatives Sequential Prophet-6 £1,999 Same designer, and almost the same name, though the Prophet-6 is very much a modern analogue polysynth (and not vintage clone). More features and improved reliability, though with perhaps less of the grit that the P600 can muster. www.davesmithinstruments.com Sequential Prophet-5 from £3,000 Despite nearing its 40th birthday, the Prophet-5 is still one of the most covetable analogue synths. However, they are not cheap – and you will need to include ongoing servicing costs. www.ebay.co.uk…

Sounds Like… The Juno-6 and 60 are so prolific it’s hard to pin down specific examples; suffice to say that you can rest assured it’s a familiar sound. Listen to the audio examples! It’s probably safe to say Boards of Canada have one; it’s a regular occurrence to hear their pads and bass sounds coming from it. Oneohtrix Point Never’s older material is deeply rooted in his profound attachment to his Juno-60 (his father’s old synth, and named ‘Judy’). His Rifts album is basically a Juno-60 demo record. Nils Frahm’s immense arpeggio on Says is pure Juno-60. And it’s not all Ambient doom – it’s on many a perky ’80s Synth-Pop record too...…

Software emulations TAL-U-NO-LX $60 An independent Juno-60 clone plug-in. Directly comparing it to the hardware, it’s worrying how close some sounds are. I felt the filter doesn’t quite ‘squawk’ at high resonance exactly as mine does, but it feels close. Given the cost, that’s impressive! http://tal-software.com u-he DIVA £150 u-he’s mix-n-match analogue cloner can be set up to ape the Juno (for starters), and it does a pretty stunning job of it, with the filter even closer than TAL’s effort. And with serious ‘balls’ to the tone also. Amazing plug-in… clone or not. www.u-he.com…

EXPERT CONTRIBUTORS THIS MONTH… Jono Buchanan musician, producer Our 300th issue might be heavy on the hardware, but Jono finds some space to go in deep with the new version of NI’s hugely flexible software environment Reaktor. Head for this issue’s Producer’s Guide to unlock the potential of Blocks. Bruce Aisher musician, producer One of several of our writers waxing lyrical about their favourite vintage gear in this issue’s Retro Reviews special. Head for the latter half of this magazine to read his thoughts on classic synths from Oberheim, Yamaha and Sequential. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman musician, producer A definite electronic instrument aficionado, Dan also join the ranks of writers reappraising the vintage instruments that inspired them for our anniversary special. You’ll find…

2015 The Top Tips Our favourite artist production tips from the past year of Talking Shop © Jon Bergman Howling It’s not about the gear, but what you do with it! “Remember when Techno started? The inventors used the cheapest drum machines and synths they could afford at the time to make something new. They used the 909 and the 303 because they were cheap in those days, and they created a whole new genre of music! What I’m trying to say is: it doesn’t matter if you’ve got a Neve console, an ARP 2600 and a Fairchild compressor, it’s really just about what you do with it. If it’s plug-ins or a cheap organ you bought at the junk yard – it’s really only about your creativity!” System 7…

Tom Middleton Lifetracks Big Chill Recordings, 2007 Words by Roy Spencer Anne Frank, Bridget Jones… Tom Middleton? How on earth can you lump an Electronic pioneer and DJ in with these two celebrated diarists? Just spark up Lifetracks – it’s all there, homeboy. Middleton’s debut solo album was conceived as an audio diary of his life so far. Through 14 tracks of soulful beat making and classically inspired arrangement, he soundtracks some of his most vivid experiences to date – zooming around the astral plane, proposing to his missus, and falling from 4,000ft towards the looming Sunshine Coast of Australia. “It’s a very intimate album,” says Middleton. “I pulled together all the best experiences, people and places I came into contact with over nine or so years, and made music…

ALBUM REVIEWS ALBUM OF THE MONTH Herva Kila Planet Mu Herve Atsè Corti’s singular mindset and approach has cast him as one of electronic music’s more distinctive producers over the last few years. The highly inventive Techno producer, better known as Herva, bases himself in the Italian countryside surrounding Florence, a move that has no doubt played a part in forging his truly original sound that is uninfluenced by other zeitgeist scenes around the world. This idiosyncratic aesthetic is in full swing on his latest album, Kila, which drops on Mike Paradinas’ influential Planet Mu imprint. Already his third full length of this year, the record has an expansive outlook combined with an experimental edge. Named after the Swahili word for ‘everything’, Kila traverses myriad styles, tempos and atmospheres. Working…

KEYBOARDS Nord Electro 5 Nord’s Electro range continues to do an excellent job of balancing flexibility with affordability. The various piano, EP, clav and organ sounds onboard are hard to beat for authenticity and playability. A smart interface and impressive range of effects make this latest Electro range true players’ instruments. Yamaha Reface CP While some may still find it a little perplexing that Yamaha chose to house a range of quality electro-mechanical piano emulations in a unit equipped with just a three-octave mini keyboard, there’s few that would dispute the quality of those sounds. In fact, we like the portability of the CP – its small form factor makes it great for composing on-the-go, and MIDI and USB let it function as a hand sound module in the studio.…

AUDIO INTERFACES UA Apollo 8 Thunderbolt With the Thunderbolt 2 connection adding almost latency-free data transfer into UA’s already impressive Apollo package, these interfacescome-DSP units really are up there with the best. Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt Another excellent option for those whose computers support a Thunderbolt connection, Apogee’s offering is an interface of real quality and features a broad range of I/O options. iConnectivity iConnectAudio4+ With the ability to connect and record to two devices at once, along with advanced iOS compatibility, iConnectAudio4+ brings something genuinely unique to the cluttered interface market. Audient iD14 This ultra-compact interface offers some excellent quality DAC and a useful software ‘brain’, all at a very reasonable price. Steinberg UR12 This compact and very affordable interface lives up to the high sound and build qualities we’ve…

THE TRACK Ralph Lawson Lost In The Storm Lost In Time, 2015 © Joseph Branston INCLUDES VIDEO VAULT.FUTUREMUSIC.CO.UK Leeds-based DJ and producer Ralph Lawson is something of a UK Dance music institution, known for his multi-decade Back To Basics residency and his role behind the wheel of the influential 2020Vision imprint. The past few years have seen him develop his own Dub-influenced take on House, using classic drum machines and spatial FX to create deep, groove-driven club tracks. FM paid a visit to his ‘Dub Dungeon’ to see how it’s done. Live feel “Since leaving the last project I was in, 2020Soundsystem, which was a band project where I was the DJ among far more able musicians, I’ve been developing my little basement sounds down here in Leeds…

NI Reaktor 6 Unlocking Blocks INCLUDES VIDEO AND AUDIO VAULT.FUTUREMUSIC.CO.UK The modern studio is heavily reliant on software these days, with in-the-box productions forming a kind of choreographed dance between software synthesizers, samplers and effects modules, with audio recording and processing capabilities as their equally capable partner. As the ‘connections’ between these different individual modules are often hidden, it’s easy to forget that, when a software insert chain is constructed, the output from the first module is connected to the input of the second and so on, until the final module’s output is patched to the hardware of your audio interface. However, not all producers are excited by such ‘linear’ connections, or by the idea that chaining modules of sound-making or sound-processing building blocks should ever be hidden…

QUICK TIPS 1 When editing between Panel and Structure views, the buttons along the header area allow you to flip the ‘panel on top, structure below’ arrangement upside down, or have the two screens work side-by-side instead. 2 Control-click a Reaktor module and select Instrument Properties to put it under the microscope. Click Info and you can read about how the selected module could form a useful link in a sound-making chain. Across Function, View and Connect panes, you can control additional parameters of a module’s behaviour. 3 To find the preset Reaktor Blocks Ensembles, click on Player and then on the Reaktor Blocks folder, before choosing one of the nine presets below. To access individual Blocks to build your own Ensembles, click Edit. This provides a Library tab on…

Software emulations Arturia ARP 2600 V 99 euros A virtual treatment, with models of the 2500 filter and the 1601 sequencer thrown in, not to mention effects and polyphony. www.arturia.com Way Out Ware/ SONiVOX TimewARP 2600 $199 Again, this provides polyphony, and the usual software conveniences like total recall and MIDI, to a strikingly authentic recreation. http://sonivoxmi.com Voltkitchen Arppe2600VA Free If you’re too skint for the Arturia or SONiVOX emulations, give this Windows freebie a spin. No patch cables, but there is a mod matrix. http://glenstegner.com…

Akai MPC3000 The MPC3000 is regarded by many as the finest MPC ever made. Dan ‘JD73’ Goldman checks it out… Original RRP £2,799 | Used from £900 There are two MPC (MIDI Production Centre) models regarded as the MPCs and those are the MPC60 and MPC3000 designed by Roger Linn, in collaboration with Akai. The MPC60 and MPC60 Mk2 (launched in 1988 and 1991 respectively) were the first fruits of this Linn/Akai venture, with the MPC3000 being the second (and final) Linn-badged MPC. But what makes the Linn models (and the MPC3000 in particular) so great? The MPC3000 launched in 1994 and built on the strong foundation laid out by its forerunner, the MPC60 (Mk2). The MPC60 combined a powerful (for the time) MIDI sequencer and…

Software emulations Motu BPM £177 Still a favourite piece of drum/sample software, BPM is a versatile drum sequencer and comes with an excellent library of modern sounds/FX and classic samples. www.motu.com FXpansion Geist £149 A powerful MPC-style software rhythm environment with sampling/resampling, advanced loop slicing and transient detection, time-stretching and pitchshifting, powerful FX, expansion packs and more! www.fxpansion.com One Small Clue ‘Poise’ $49 It’s dirt-cheap and provides a no-frills, basic MPC-style beat production environment. Drag and drop to 16 pads, eight samples per-pad and built-in FX, plus amp and pitch envelopes. Windows only. www.onesmallcue.com…

Hardware alternatives Yamaha Reface DX £289 Not a mini DX7, as it is based around more limited 4-Op FM synthesis, but it’s small and fun and will cover familiar sonic territory. http://uk.yamaha.com Teenage Engineering OP-1 £699 One of the many sound engine modules in OP-1 is based around simplified FM synthesis. Check out the TE Pocket Operators for something more affordable. www.teenageengineering.com Yamaha TX7 £100 Same synth engine, less buttons and no keyboard. A great way of getting the proper DX7 vibe on a budget. www.ebay.co.uk…

A Timeless Sound Documenting famous examples of the Minimoog’s use is akin to compiling a discography of every great popular recording of the past 45 years. Prog Rockers loved the Minimoog. It’s all over Camel’s Mirage album and is put to impressive use on Rick Wakeman’s The Six Wives of Henry VIII . Rick Wright played an unforgettable brassy Minimoog lead on Pink Floyd’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond from the band’s Wish You Were Here . Bernie Worrell’s gooey Minimoog bass on Parliament’s 1977 tune Flashlight would inspire both Funk and Hip-Hop musicians. The Mini helped to define the New Wave when Gary Numan stumbled upon one at a studio session and was…

VCS3 fact book: the crucial three You want one so badly that it hurts, but it doesn’t have to! 1 The VCS3 is an imminently repairable instrument. While some components have long since been discontinued, they can still be bought from enthusiasts or replaced with new equivalents. According to Graham Hinton, expert on all things EMS: “Even if it’s in bad condition, it can probably be rebuilt.” He adds, “If it looks in good nick, it probably is.” 2 Be prepared to have all trim pots on the three removable circuit boards replaced. EMS used cheap, exposed pots that were prone to failure. A new set of pots costs very little and will do wonders for the instrument’s stability. The toggle switches on some units had cheap plastic bodies and…

Hardware alternatives Pin Electronics The Hornet 5,000 euros exc VAT and shipping The Hornet is a stylish suitcased alternative to the VCS3’s sibling, the Synthi A. A 20x20 pin matrix is included, along with a two-channel MIDI interface. Made to order. http://hornet-modular.de Analogue Solutions Vostok £2,399 exc VAT and shipping While the semi-modular, dual-filter Vostok is not intended to emulate an EMS synthesizer, it does offer a 22x22 pin matrix, joystick and even a spring reverb. http://analoguesolutions.com…

What to check for when buying new and old Roland gear… 1 If you are buying original ’80s Roland hardware, be sure to check for modifications and repairs. Although some mods are pretty sought after, it’s always good to know what you are buying. If you want something stock, make sure that’s what you’re getting. 2 Although 909s and 303s are getting rarer, it is well worth buying as locally as you can. When paying this much for hardware it’s pretty wise to get your hands on the hardware and see it working before you part with your hard-earned money. Try to meet up and check all audio connections and more importantly knobs and buttons! 3 If you opt for the new Aira hardware, look out for special bundles and…

Buying an OB-8 Buying a vintage synth can be tricky and the OB-8 is no exception 1 The OB-8 was continuously improved during its two-year lifetime. Early units did not have MIDI, but there are still MIDI kits available should you find one lacking in this department. Some earlier units also have a different type of keyboard assembly that is prone to stiffening with time (stripping-down and re-bushing is the only solution here). 2 Some later units have the Page 2 functions printed on the front panel (a real help). These will also likely have undergone all the various Oberheim circuit updates and mods, so may be less temperamental. Check the EPROM version too. 3 Calibrating an OB-8 is relatively easy with just a voltmeter, but this assumes all the…

Players, Sounds And Effects In the late ’60s/’70s, the Rhodes appealed to pianists seeking a piano-like feel in a portable instrument. Unlike an acoustic, a Rhodes through an amp could compete with electric instruments on stage. Billy Preston used one on The Beatles’ Get Back while it became a staple for Jazz/Funk/ Fusion bands, including Herbie Hancock and The Headhunters (Miles Davis introduced the Rhodes to Herbie), Joe Sample (The Crusaders), Larry Dunn (Earth Wind and Fire), Joe Zawinul (Weather Report) and George Duke (Frank Zappa). Players often used ring mod, phaser, tape delay, chorus, wah and fuzz, and in the late ’70s/’80s the Rhodes pimping company Dyno-My-Piano helped popularise the harder, more metallic, ‘tri-stereo-chorus’ sound.…

Hardware alternatives Nord Electro 5 HP £1,696 Includes killer Rhodes sounds sampled from Rhodes models including Sparkle Top, Mark 1, Mark 2 and Mark V. Authentic effects too. www.nordkeyboards.com Korg SV-1 73 £1,049 Korg’s SV-1 comes in 73 and 88-note models and its onboard Rhodes samples are great. Good FX onboard including a valve stage. www.korg.com Yamaha Motif XF £2,660 + Chick Corea’s MKV library $129 The Motif XF already has some great Rhodes samples but the Chick Corea MKV samples go one better, sampled in great detail from Chick’s famous MKV custom piano. http://uk.yamaha.com…

When to beat a retreat Second-hand prices are going up fast, so you’ll want to be prepared 1 Programmability means battery-backed memory and that, in turn, means battery leakage. Most common CR-78 failures are due to leaking batteries, so pop the hood and check the battery itself and look for damaged traces. 2 Don’t hand over your cash before spending time with a prospective purchase. Not every issue is immediately apparent. Your humble reviewer’s own CR-78 arrived from the seller seemingly unscathed, but began to elicit an incessant whine once it warmed up, necessitating a trip to the service bench. 3 Ask yourself: are you really going to program the CR-78? If not, you might be better off spending your money on a related unit. For example, the CR-68 offers…

Sequential Prophet-5 The Prophet-5 is a groundbreaking classic analogue polysynth. Through the use of the Z80 general-purpose CPU it provided comprehensive patch storage and recall. Despite using custom ICs (integrated circuits) instead of discrete components, it had a reputation for warmth and playability. However, the Prophet-5 underwent some serious changes under the hood during its lifetime. The Rev 1 Prophet-5s used SSM (Solid State Micro Technology for Music) chips, but they suffered from poor reliability. After a serious redesign, the Rev 2s improved things, and these are perhaps regarded among aficionados as the ‘best’. The Rev 3 swapped to using CEM (Curtis Electromusic Specialties) chips, though their improved stability meant sonics suffered (to a degree).…

Software emulations Arturia Prophet V £89 Although strictly speaking this is a modelled version of the Prophet-5 and Prophet VS, in the absence of a virtual Prophet-600, this is perhaps as close as one can (officially) get in the virtual realm. www.arturia.com u-he Diva £150 Diva is a generic analogue modelling plug-in, though its highly regarded synth engine is capable of conjuring-up an extremely good Prophet-600 vibe with a few tweaks. www.u-he.com Sonicprojects OP-X PRO II £120 Another analogue modelling plug-in that is not specifically aimed at emulating the P600 (there aren’t any!), but it is sufficiently versatile to get close. www.sonicprojects.ch…

Buying a Juno? A few tips before dropping your cash on a second-hand (uh, more like seventh-hand) unit… 1 Don’t buy unseen or uninformed. Read the manual thoroughly first (Google it), and get the Service Manual too so you know on contact what each setting should do, and how it should sound, and how to access its voice test mode. Ideally, find someone with a working one and get familiar with that first. 2 Be wary of chassis damage. A bashed unit can have internally cracked PCB (avoid), or cracked solder joints leading to intermittent functionality. Cracked solder joints are easily fixable if you spot them, by ‘reflowing’ with a hot soldering iron. 3 It’s very likely that the rotary volume pot (and probably filter sliders) will be crackly with…

Buying an Xpander If you are going to spend £2,500, here’s how to pick a good one… 1 The first thing is to check physical condition. Xpanders and Martix 12s are pretty solid but make sure the front panel isn’t bowed and that all of the buttons work consistently. I’ve seen quite a few where certain buttons stick down due to the front panel being a bit bent, which can get very frustrating. 2 Check all patches work and make sure you save at least one single and one multi patch and then re-select it. The last thing you want is a complex machine like this with memory problems. MIDI dump the memory as soon as you get it home. 3 Check all the outputs, MIDI and pedals etc. A…

Software emulations Arturia Matrix 12 V 169 euros A software emulation that really hits the spot. I have compared this directly to the Expander and it is really good. It’s still complex to program but you get more visual feedback so certain tasks are easier, and faster. www.arturia.com XILS Labs XILS-4 179 euros Essentially two VCS-3s in one package, this is a great synth which includes the pin matrix. This allows multiple source modulation with huge amounts of possibilities. A unique sounding synth with huge programming and control possibilities. www.xils-lab.com…

In The Studio With… Tom Middleton “I’d moved to London at this point and got my own studio space up in Muswell Hill. I was accumulating bits of kit, and started doing the first sessions for Lifetracks in the mid-’90s and early noughties in a room of this Victorian house. “We were getting into that whole analogue thing – that was really important to us. I wanted to have a real Fender Rhodes, an ARP Solina String Ensemble, a Minimoog, and the iconic and classic bits of kit from Roland and stuff like the ARP 2600 – stuff I’d seen on Herbie Hancock and Tomita album covers as a kid. “I also had Neve compressors, a modified EMS Synthi and a TL Audio valve desk. It…

HARDWARE FX Moog MF Chorus This addition to Moog’s Minifooger range is so much more than just a straightforward chorus effect. The all-analogue MF Chorus – or Bucket Brigade Time Modulator, as it’s labelled on its front plate – can create everything from subtle warmth to completely unique, extreme modulation effects. Roland Aira Effects Modules Roland’s Eurorack-friendly range of digital effects units have some rather clever tricks up their sleeves – most notably the ability to change their capabilities via a controller app. All four are smart, forward-thinking and worth experimenting with. Drawmer 1973 FET Compressor This three-band compressor is built like a tank and delivers very pleasing sonic results. Its solid design, impressive controls and meters, and extra touches like the ‘Big’ and ‘Air’ enhancer switches make this an…

GROOVEBOX & SAMPLING Novation Circuit It’s not without a few small limitations, but we really like Novation’s first groovebox. With two polysynths and four drum parts onboard, it packs a lot into its diminutive frame, and it features one of the most intuitive sequencers we’ve tried. Korg Electribe/Electribe Sampler Korg’s updated Electribe range continues to embrace the fluid, creative workflow that has made them popular since they were first introduced at the turn of the millennium. A sleek new design and Live project export add nice modern touches into the mix. Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators They’re cheap, small and largely incomprehensible, but we still love the Swedish brand’s trio of tiny grooveboxes. Their tiny frames generate some deceptively large sounds, and the range’s design nod to the pocket video games…

MONITOR SPEAKERS MunroSonic Egg 150 The first generation Eggs were already up there with the top tier of studio monitors. Now rebranded and entirely UK-built, this new Egg system has raised the quality bar again with a redesigned amplifier and enhanced sonic control. They’re not cheap, but this is one of the best sounding systems we’ve tried. Genelec 8000 Series SAM This year saw Genelec introduce two new, more affordable models to its DSP-based Smart Active Monitoring range. These systems – the 8320A and 8330A – both combine flexibility and solid value. Pioneer RM Series This year saw big changes at Pioneer, with the DJ and studio-focused arm breaking away to become its own independent entity. From that new brand came this new range of studio monitors, which offer a…

Tutorial Mutated Classics The Mutant Drum series has your classics covered but adds a monstrous drum synthesis module and comprehensive mixer The 808 and 909 are both undisputed classics and form the backbone to several genres of electronic music. But those sounds can spark a marmite-like relationship with producers and listeners, who either love them or want a less rinsed path. If you’re dying for something new, Hexinverter Électronique’s Mutant Drum series could be just the modules for you. The Mutant Drum series is made up of the Mutant Bassdrum, Hihats, Clap, the Mutant Machine and Mutant Hot Glue. Right from the start the series has a certain twist to it: the Bassdrum has built-in distortion options, the Clap has digital clock speed for varying noise tones, the Hihats has…

Building With Blocks Think of a modular hardware studio with synth modules broken down into oscillators, filters, amplifiers, LFO modules and envelopes. Then think of further modules for sample playback, real-time audio processing, plus effects provision through dedicated modules for reverb, delay or more esoteric spatial treatments. Imagine being able to chain all of these bits of hardware together in any order you like, to create anything from carefully spec’d monosynths, to enormous, chaos engines of wilful craziness. All of the above, and everything in between, is Reaktor. Born of humble roots and developed through five previous generations of the program, its capabilities have expanded to swallow up more sonic building blocks and ever more complex routings. Its ongoing development has led to Reaktor now reaching the point where its…

Blocks: a software modular sound creation approach Build your first simple synth with the following steps, then check out the video to take things further 01 Start by opening a new instance of Reaktor 6 and browsing to the Reaktor Blocks folder. Here, double-click to load one of the nine preset Ensembles. The one in the picture is called Squares. Click the header above the instrument to browse presets for your chosen Ensemble. 02 To get a sense of what’s going on under the hood of the Blocks Ensemble, click Edit and then, below this, click on Panel/Structure. The Reaktor screen will split, to show you the modules in the upper half of the pane and the connections linking them underneath. 03 This provides a chance to modify or build…

Markus Schulz A full music industry unto himself, Miami-based producer and DJ Markus Schulz rules quietly over a fanatical portion of the Trance nation. JoE Silva steps behind the curtain for a peek at how it’s done © Mike White Not much more than 24 hours after the attacks in Paris, the terrace at Miami’s Club Space is defiantly rammed with party goers who have braved flooded avenues and long, rainy queues to welcome home their hero. A few hours beforehand, a plane carrying globetrotting DJ Markus Schulz made it through the miserable weather that’s plagued the city over the past few days in order to make his homecoming gig in the legendary venue. When he takes up his position behind a quartet of CDJ-2000NXSs, banners bearing his name go…

For The Record: The 2600 In Action With its one-two punch of stability and portability, the 2600 found its way into the hands of many a professional muso. Tony Banks of Genesis was one, using his 2600 in the studio and on tour. It provides the haunting solo in the band’s Entangled from A Trick of the Tail . And Edgar Winter gives the 2600 a breathless workout on the classic cut Frankenstein . Stevie Wonder had a pair of 2600s – with braille-lettered front panels. He plays a 2600 on I Wish from Songs in the Key of Life . Vince Clarke of Depeche Mode, Yazoo, and Erasure was fond of programming…

Model Behaviour The 2600 went through many redesigns, some more obvious than others. The initial run of between 50-100 units had bright blue panels and a wooden carrying handle that spanned the entire length of the instrument. These ‘Blue Marvins’ (sometimes called ‘Blue Meanies’) were built in a garage before ARP moved production to a proper plant. They are reportedly quite difficult to repair. Additionally, there were a few of this design made in grey. The Blue Marvin’s filter is the stuff of legend for all the wrong reasons. It was, as we’ve said, a little too similar to Moog’s patented transistor ladder design. Though no legal action was taken, ARP agreed to change the design, resulting in the flawed 4072. By this time, the 2600 was outfitted in its…

The MPC3000 Back In The Day… Standalone MPCs such as the 3000 are still great studio hubs and live machines due to their super-solid build/ operating system/ connectivity, but we have to remember that in 1994 it was the pre-DAW era and home studios weren’t the norm like they are today. The MPC3000 was an expensive unit and was often used by signed acts and bigger studios that were still using tape and large format mixing desks. Its comprehensive audio/ peripheral connectivity allowed it to connect via SCSI to higher capacity ZIP/JAZ drives (also launched in 1994) and CD-ROM drives for importing samples, while comprehensive sync options were onboard including SMPTE, MTC, MIDI Clock and FSK24, plus an optional monitor output which mirrored the display on a bigger screen.…

DX… panded The original DX7 was in production for four years and a lot changed in the music technology world in this time. While Yamaha issued the SER (Special Edition ROM) update that addressed some MIDI and modulation issues, it was ultimately down to third-party providers to take the lead. Look out for multi-bank ROM or RAM cards, and if you’re lucky you may come across a Grey Matter E! or SuperMax board which both add extra memory slots (over 500 in some cases) as well as other functional enhancements. The DX7II addressed some of the omissions of these third-party mods, but if you’re after the Mk1 it’s worth exploring these upgrades.…

Software emulations Native Instruments FM8 £169 Perhaps the most well-known of the FM soft synths, which NI began with the FM7 13 years ago. Loads DX patches, but can also go a lot further than them in sonic terms. www.native-instruments.com Ableton Operator Included with Ableton Live Suite Many Live users’ first, and even unwitting, foray into FM synthesis. Not as comprehensive as a DX7 in full flight, but easy to tweak. www.ableton.com Dexed Open source A multi-platform plug-in synth modelled on the DX7. It also acts as a MIDI-based patch editor/librarian/manager for the hardware DX7. http://asb2m10.github.io/dexed…

Taking the lead Three things you should know to ensure a good Minimoog purchase 1 Many of the earliest Minis were built while the company was still learning how to handle mass production. Robert Moog himself claimed that the later units were superior. It is still hotly debated but the older units are likely to be less dependable. 2 Units before serial number 10175 have a less stable oscillator design. Many suggest that the earlier oscillator boards sound better, while Dr Moog favoured the later ones. Many early Minis were retrofitted with a later board; pop the hood for a look. 3 Even a knackered Minimoog is salvageable if you can afford to have it restored. Most of the components are readily available. You can even buy all new wooden…

Choosing the right 1176 1 If you are unsure about buying vintage hardware, simply stick with the reissue. Very old compressors tend to break, easily. The reissue is excellent value for money and comes with a warranty. UA have taken great care in recreating the very best sounding 1176 so, unless you are a vintage nut, the new version represents the best way to invest your studio tokens. 2 Check the knobs and buttons if you are buying secondhand. These can get some abuse and, although they are built very well, you may need to get a service on ageing units. This doesn’t mean your unit is out for the count but it’s something worth bearing in mind before handing over any cash. 3 Try comparing the plug-ins and hardware.…

Heard It Here First The VCS3 and Synthi A are most often heard churning out noise and effects. Check out The Bob (Medley) from Roxy Music’s first album for an example of Eno giving that joystick a workout. Nothing says ‘space’ like a VCS3, as you can plainly hear on Hawkwind’s eponymous debut LP and their follow-up In Search of Space . Pete Townshend pumped an organ through his VCS3 to achieve the cool arpeggiated riff on The Who’s classic Won’t Get Fooled Again . Pink Floyd’s On the Run from The Dark Side of the Moon is probably the most famous example of the Synthi sound. The liner notes credit every…

Software emulations XILS-lab XILS 3 2.0 149 euros In addition to copying the VCS3’s architecture, XILS 3 2.0 adds a sequencer, effects, sample & hold and more. Another 30 euros will get you the bigger XILS 4. www.xils-lab.com KX77FREE KXSynth-X16 Free Recordings of the author’s own VCS3 MkII were sent to the developer of KX-Synth-X16 where the sound and behaviour was scrutinised for this Windows-only freebie. http://kx77free.free.fr apeSoft iVCS3 £10.99 iVCS3 is a module-for-module emulation of the VCS3 with added features from the DK1 keyboard and sequencer à la the Synthi AKS. www.alessandro-petrolati.it…

Software emulations Sonicprojects OP-X PRO II £120 Originally intended to model the Oberheim OB-X it has since been expanded to cover other models. Even some OB aficionados are impressed. www.sonicprojects.ch u-he Diva £150 A well-regarded analogue modelling plug-in. Swan Audio (swanaudio.co.uk), have created an OB-8 soundset for Diva that has impressed many. www.u-he.com Aly James Lab OBXtreme from 15 euros A stripped-down, but great sounding, OB-style synth created by a Prince obsessive. www.alyjameslab.com…

Buying A Rhodes Want to buy one second hand? Here’s some handy info! 1 Fender-Rhodes up to 1975 and Rhodes up to mid 1978 often have heavier actions but can be made to play faster by installing the Miracle Mod which adds acceleration bumps to each key. From mid 1978, the bump was fitted as standard. 2 Check notes for consistent tone/sustain. Test pickups by tapping the end with a screwdriver and listening for a resounding ‘thunk’ through an amplifier. For further information and reputable techs, check www.fenderrhodes.com and www.ep-forum.com. Most parts are made new by Vintage Vibe: www.vintagevibe.com/pages/authorized-dealers. 3 If you’re going to gig with it, a fully-packed Rhodes Stage 73 weighs around 130lbs. Grab a rolling hand cart/trolley (and some mates!).…

Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 A sputtering block of wood and metal, Scot Solida tests the first drum machine to make the big time Original RRP $1,195 | Used from £1,000 Over the past four decades, the sound of the drum machine has put an indelible sonic signature on popular music. Yet this most certainly wasn’t always the case. In its earliest days, the drum machine was met with open hostility by the music industry. It was even banned for a time by the Musicians Union. Why the rancor? In the case of the Union, it was feared that the drum machine would steal potential paying gigs away from their card-toting members. While this may in fact have eventually transpired once sampling came into play, it’s laughable to think that the hissing…

Software emulations Synthetic Bits LLC FunkBox £3.99 This iOS app provides a cheap and cheerful way to get a bunch of CR-78 sounds and a lot more besides. http://syntheticbits.com Zenhiser CR-78 AU$25 Let’s face it, since you can’t edit the CR-78’s sounds, so a good sample collection is a more than reasonable substitute. www.zenhiser.com Marvin Pavilion reTromine Free A Windows-only freebie that collects the sounds of the CR-78 and adds a modicum of control over them. 32-bit only, however. http://marvinpavilion.ojaru.jp/en…

Kit your studio with a Prophet-600 There are some things to consider when looking to buy a P600 1 Always take your potential purchase for a test-drive before parting with cash. The most noticeable issue is likely to be dodgy pots, leading to jumping settings and possible audible glitching. However, pots are fairly cheap to replace. 2 Of more concern are problems with the CEM synth chips. ICs like this are increasingly rare and not especially cheap. Play one note and slowly add five more. You should hear six notes in total. If you don’t, then ask a few questions. If the keyboard fails to trigger sounds on some notes then this is likely to be a more simple cleaning issue. 3 If you can get a modded GliGli version,…

Hardware alternatives SoundForce SFC-60 MIDI Controller 249 euros This is a handmade dedicated MIDI controller, with sliders, for dedicated programming of the TAL-U-NO-X emulation software. Nice! http://sound-force.nl Roland Boutique JU-06 £255 The Juno-106 didn’t have the same parts as the Juno-60, but its 80017A voice chip contained the IR3109 circuit too. The feature set was pretty much as close as you can get, and they do sound similar. A good alternative in hardware – you don’t have many other options! www.rolandus.com…

The Back Panel… Outputs And Connections The back panel of the Xpander has separate Mono, Stereo and Individual voice outs. Those Individuals give you yet another method of sonic manipulation as, especially with Mono Multi Patches, you can individually EQ, compress and effect each voice. There is also a cassette dump function so you can save all your programs to audio. I just have a Pro Tools session with them in. But the biggest surprise is the CV and gate inputs, one for each voice. If you happen to have a CV and Gate sequencer, you can patch up the Xpander to it and use it as part of that system. There is even a mod you can have done that allows for an audio input to the filter section.…

Hardware alternatives Doepfer A-100BS2 LC9 Case £2,500 This is a real modular synth, admittedly in a reasonably basic form but certainly one that will bring you into the modular world. Doepfer make so many amazing modules you can spend years adding to it and it’s new and comes with a warranty! www.doepfer.de Oberheim Matrix 1000 from £500 Based on the Matrix 6 which had digitally controlled oscillators, this little rack unit has 1,000 sounds in a neat package. There are editing possibilities via MIDI and, although it’s not got the pure analogue sound of the Xpander or Matrix 12, it’s certainly an Oberheim and there are huge numbers of sounds to play with. www.ebay.co.uk…