Innehållsförteckning för March 2024 från Future Music

There has been a lot of talk in recent months about how much ‘AI’ and machine learning is likely to damage the creative industries. There is certainly reason to be worried about how tools like ChatGPT and text-to-audio creators could take work away from the very creatives whose work has been used to train them. But this focus on the (admittedly, non-trivial) negatives does risk overshadowing how much new technology is also aiding and democratising these industries. In music, mixing tools are the prime example of this. New plugins and online services are not only speeding up the process of mixing and mastering tracks, but also massively broadening what can be done without access to a high-end studio and expensive gear.  This issue, we’re taking a look at some of…

>Launched in 2014, Korg’s Gadget was initially a music-making app for iPads, but in 2017 Korg introduced an identical version for macOS, before releasing Korg Gadget VR, a virtual music production studio for VR headsets, in 2023. Now Korg has unveiled the third cross-platform iteration of its Gadget software. The platform comprises a number of individual music-making devices (the titular Gadgets) that span everything from synths and drum machines to audio and MIDI effects. Gadgets can be used in the iOS or macOS apps or launched within your DAW as plugins. Gadget 3 introduces VST3 and AUv3 support for this purpose, the latter of which makes it seriously appealing for users of iPad DAWs such as Logic Pro and Cubasis. Gadget 3 features two new Gadgets that round up the…

>Arturia has released version 5 of its flagship soft synth Pigments. Compared to previous iterations, version 5 is a fairly subtle upgrade rather than an expansive overhaul, although there are a variety of new tools and sounds for users to get stuck into. Probably the most exciting new feature here is a revamped sequencer. This adds a variety of new creative tools, including a one-click generative mode that will create a random sequence, as well as new playback options. What’s more, Pigments can now save and recall sequence presets separately, which allows users to easily mix and match preset sounds and sequences. Another interesting addition is the ability to process external sounds using Pigments’ Utility Engine. The broad and powerful range of processors included in the synth’s highly customisable effect…

>Who said a Stylophone needs a stylus? Stylophone parent company Dubreq has unveiled the CPM DS-2, a portable modular analogue drone synth that eschews toy-like simplicity and offers something far more serious instead. Highlights include two analogue oscillators, two analogue sub-oscillators and two analogue 3320 filters. Added to that there’s a meaty LFO section with 14 waveforms, two wave selectors, seven routing switches and five depth attenuverters. The CPM DS-2 sports a total of 12 modular patch points. Effects include eight vintage reverb algorithms and a vintage delay with modulation, and the effects mixer has an aux input for external sounds. All of which adds up to a synth that’s said to be suitable for rhythmic movement, endless soundscapes and cosmic exploration. In keeping with Stylophone tradition, you get a…

MUSICAL EQ 1 Software EQs such as FabFilter Pro Q or Ableton’s EQ Eight offer the capability to set the EQ bands not only based on the frequency value, but also by musical note. This has some handy musical applications, particularly when it comes to boosting the fundamental frequency of a sound. If, for example, your track is in the key of A, applying a targeted frequency boost at 55 Hz (a low A note), can help provide a harmonically pleasing foundation to your track. Similarly, targeted cuts can help prevent intersecting melodic elements from clashing. Even if your chosen EQ doesn’t display note data, plenty of musical frequency charts can be found online allowing for an easy DIY approach. SERIAL COMPRESSION 2 On heavily dynamic signals like guitars and…

A very brief history Like many pieces of today’s sought-after studio gear, the Pultec EQP-1 was first developed back in the 1950s when recording studios were in their infancy, just welcoming the sounds of rock‘n’roll. And like many early studio tools, if you were first to market, your reputation would be sealed for decades to come. The Pultec EQP-1 was the first passive EQ, so did not initially require power for its specific frequency signal boosting or attenuation. It was designed and hand-built by Gene Shenk and Ollie Summerlin in Teaneck, New Jersey, USA. They had met while studying electronics at the RCA Institute in New York, after which Gene worked for RCA and Ollie worked in the navy, before becoming an engineer at Capitol Records. Shenk and Summerlin joined…

© Shutterstock Many of the musicians and producers we feature in this column reached the peak of their influence well before the turn of the millennium; typically it takes a few decades of graft to have the kind of resounding impact that warrants the title of ‘pioneer’. Sophie Xeon is a rare exception to this rule, a visionary artist that did more to shape the sound of popular music in ten years than many legends do in 50, before tragically passing away in 2021 at the age of 34. Born in Glasgow, Sophie was introduced to electronic music by her father, who would take her to raves and supply her with dance mixes on cassette tape. At only ten years old, Sophie was asking her parents to let her quit…

>I have to admit to being a bit sniffy about Playbox when I first heard news of its release. The basic remit behind this Native Instruments creation is the trigger of samples (processed by effects) from a set of pre-programmed chords. There are 1000 samples to choose from, and things are kept simple by only using eight keys to trigger the various combinations. I guess the problem I had was that the results would likely either fall into the predictable/cliché category or tie you down to certain chord patterns with little flexibility. So was this a fair characterisation? To get the measure of Playbox I took a headlong dive into the 1,300 presents. Immediately you realise that the sound can be extremely complex, with each key not only playing different…

NEW ENTRY Waldorf Iridium Core £1,555 Full Review: FM406 | Undoubtedly one of the best sounding and most versatile synthesisers in recent years. The compact Core will be a hit with desktop producers. ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe £1,489 Review: FM383 The Deluxe is a great-sounding, flexible polysynth, ideal as a performance-led keyboard that can successfully reach a wide range of tones and textures. Arturia MiniFreak €599 Review: FM405 (v2.0) Newly updated with a wavetable engine and Super Unison effect, Arturia’s hybrid synth is more fun and versatile than ever. Roland Jupiter-X £2,432 Review: FM396 A fabulous-sounding instrument that, despite being 100% digital, manages to capture the spirit and grandeur of its famous analogue namesake. Korg Modwave £699 Review: FM373 (MkI) Modwave is the most innovative hardware wavetable synth on the market,…

Intellijel Cascadia £2,025 Full Review: FM401 A bit of a master stroke. Cascadia merges different synthesis types wonderfully and houses them in a format that works extremely well. Korg Volca Modular £190 Review: FM342 A West Coast synth in a compact package. It may be fiddly, but give in to its experimental ethos and it’s endless fun. Moog Mavis £339 Review: FM387 Mavis can’t be faulted at this price. It covers a wide range of tones, is well built and brings new options to the Moog format. Moog Subharmonicon $699 Review: FM359 Mixes familiar Moog sounds with experimental sequencing and rhythms. An inspiring, well-built and well thought-out synth. Moog Matriarch £1,979 Review: FM355 The Matriarch is very inspiring. It’s well built, has the classic Moog Modular sound and is complex…

>Seqtrak is described by Yamaha as a “standalone music production studio”, and features a step sequencer, drum machine, sampler and several digital synths. The portable device is equipped with a microphone, speaker and rechargeable battery, along with a companion app that allows the user to dive into detailed sound editing. Seqtrak’s interface is divided into three sections; on the left we have drums, in the middle is the synth and sampler, and the coloured section on the right handles sound design and effects. The drum section is made up of seven tracks (kick, snare, clap, two hi-hats and two percussion sounds) that can be loaded up with sounds from Seqtrak’s sample library, which contains 2,000 sounds in total, or with the user’s own samples through the Seqtrak app. The device…

>We suspect that, sooner rather than later, stem separation is one of those things that’ll be included in pretty much every DAW, but Akai Pro has stolen a march on some of its rivals by confirming that it’ll soon be added to both its MPC software and standalone hardware. The forthcoming MPC Stems feature enables you to crack open a mixed sample or song and separate the vocals, bass, drums and one ‘other’ track. These stems are then assigned to a pad and you can adjust their respective levels as you please. It will also be possible to assign sample slices to different pads and isolate specific parts of the original track, so you can then ‘play’ the separated stems to create something entirely new. This kind of technology is…

Arriving on the UK music scene as part of the band 2:54 alongside her sister, Colette, Hannah Thurlow’s early work explored shadowy, guitar-led vibes that recalled the downcast drama of fellow Bristolians Portishead and Massive Attack. Since then, Thurlow has taken a sidestep into electronica, releasing two EPs that showcase a variety of manipulated samples, propulsive beats and digital textures. Thurlow’s latest offering is the Grip EP, a four-track release that pairs luminous synth lines with precise drum programming and forward-thinking sound design. “Grip came at a time when I had been going to a lot of live hardware shows and club nights,” Thurlow explains to us. “The sun was shining. This translated into the music and I discovered the joy in the randomness of modular and drum machines was…

01 >Select a low-end sound so you can clearly hear the results. We’ll try the same ‘trick’ with the high-end frequencies later, but this technique is really better demonstrated with LF sounds. We’re using a Fabfilter Twin 3 for our bass sound. 02 > Now pull the controls back to zero for Boost and Attenuation and select 60 Hz as your bass frequency, as this is the most common one used with this technique. Keep the Bandwidth dial/Q to a fairly sharp 3 at the moment, although the Q is never that keen with the EQP-1 – it’s not exactly known for ultra-precise EQ-ing. 03 > Push the Boost dial up to around 7. Obviously, you’ll hear your bass get more pronounced and possibly even start distorting – don’t worry…

CONTACT WHO: Minimal Audio WEB: minimal.audio KEY FEATURES Dual-stage reverb plugin. FORMATS: Mac/PC, AU, VST, VST3, and AAX. Included in MA’s Current All Access subscription Minimal Audio has developed quite a nice niche with its effect plugins, aiming for a space where creative applications meet with ease-of-use and accessibility. The likes of the company’s flagship Rift distortion, Fuse multiband compressor and Cluster Delay all specialise in modern, powerful effect processes, but delivered in ways that make them usable even if you don’t want to interrogate the intricacies of what’s actually going on. Minimal’s latest, Swarm Reverb, also fits into this category. Described as a ‘creative dual-stage reverborator’, this is an algorithmic reverb plugin that’s particularly good at pumping, rhythmic ambiences and temposynced spatial effects, created by pushing its various features…

>High-quality, high-drama techno samples, clocking in at 134 and 138 bpm. The pulse-quickening modular madness in this complex collection pours from every last hit and lavish loop, with amps and tones pushed and pulled from the choicest gear, for that real-deal underground sound. Flavourful thumps and snapping drum beats join energetic bass notes, sub grooves, textured rhythms, and sinister synth swashes, leaving space for the rest of the rich and relentless pads and atmospherics to offer up enough mood-altering builds and drops to curve this thrill ride out nicely. The Standard Edition comes primed with 555 hypnotic loops and 185 dynamic drum kit oneshots. Plump for the Deluxe upgrade, and you’re walking off with all of that, and 148 more mesmerising MIDI melodies too. Roy Spencer audiotent.com VERDICT 9.0 Sample…

NEW ENTRY Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave from £3,279 Full Review: FM406 | Simply one of the most powerful synths you could imagine, wrapped up in one of the easiest to use and most hands-on designs. UDO Super 6 £2,195 Review: FM367 The Super 6 is an impressive machine; even more so for being a first release. Intuitive, super-versatile, totally unique sounding… a pleasure to get lost in! Arturia PolyBrute £2,299 Review: FM362 Arturia’s first polysynth is packed with unique features and has bags of character. A worthy flagship for the Brute range and a top-tier poly. Sequential Trigon-6 £3,279 Review: FM395 Combines the best of Sequential with some classic Moog flavour, but this is a synth with its own attitude and heart Sequential Take 5 £1,229 Review: FM382 More than…

Ableton Push From $999 Review: FM397 | Push finally lives up to Ableton’s vision of controller-as-instrument, and standalone mode is a great new way to use Live. Akai APC64 £339 Review: FM402 A fabulous evolution of the classic APC form, and the standalone functions will bring it into all kinds of new situations. Novation Launchpad X £180 Review: FM356 Neat, compact and more flexible than ever before, the Launchpad remains a must-try tool for Ableton Live users. Novation Launch Control XL £150 Review: FM285 Slightly long in the tooth and less slick than the current gen ‘launch’ range, but still the best mixer-focused device for Live. Novation Launchkey Mini £100 Review: FM349 The Mk3 is a small but perfectly formed MIDI controller that works great with or without Ableton Live.…

Korg SQ-64 £269 Full Review: FM367 | An intuitive, nostalgic and very musical bit of gear. Recently updated to v2.0, adding a new drum mode and more. Arturia KeyStep Pro £319 Review: FM359 For melodic sequencing duties and flexible hardware control, this is one of the best keyboard devices around. Novation SL MkIII from £540 Review: FM338 For those who work with both hard and software, this may be the best studio centrepiece on the market. Pioneer DJ Toraiz Squid £467 Review: FM351 Features like Groove Bend and speed modulation put a new spin on your sequencing moves. Arturia BeatStep Pro £196 Review: FM296 A modern classic, offering great connectivity, sequencing and controller capabilities, all without breaking the bank.…

>Sonicware, the Japanese manufacturer behind the LIVEN Texture Lab and Lofi-12 groovebox, has unveiled its latest synth, the LIVEN Mega Synthesis. Mega Synthesis recreates the sound of the world’s first 16-bit video game console, the Sega Genesis (or Mega Drive, to us Brits). Released in 1989, the Genesis made use of the YM2612 sound chip, which Sonicware has emulated through the development of three separate components. A four-operator, eight-algorithm FM synthesis module mimics the YM2612’s unique sound, a PSG (Programmable Sound Generator) module handles basic waveforms and noise to create those nostalgic chiptune-esque tones, and an 8-bit PCM module delivers crunchy sample playback in the style of the Genesis’ Z80 microprocessor, with 96 sample slots and between 2-8 seconds of sample time depending on the chosen sample rate. Mega Synthesis’…

>Korg has announced its upcoming line-up of gear releases for the first half of 2024, and the Japanese brand’s plans contain plenty to be excited about. Although every instrument in the company’s announced line-up is either an update to, or new version of, an existing product, it’s fair to say these offer some genuinely surprising twists on the existing formats. Probably the most notable announcement is that of the microKorg 2. The original microKorg landed in 2002 and has proved one of the most consistently popular and influential synths of the era. A big part of the microKorg’s appeal is its balance of accessibility and depth: its genre-themed presets offered instant access to a range of usable sounds, but there was also plenty of depth for those willing to dig…

>More and more people are recording their voices than ever before – we’ll leave you to decide which of these voices are actually worth listening to – so a plugin that offers an easy way of improving the sound of the spoken word has a large potential audience. With all of that in mind, allow us to introduce you to iZotope’s VEA: an AI-powered Vocal Enhancement Assistant. Promising to make any voice recording “more powerful, more polished, and more professional”, this is designed for podcasters and other content creators and features enhancement technology from RX, Ozone and Nectar, some of iZotope’s other products. The company says that VEA is adept at increasing clarity, setting more consistent levels and reducing background noise. It offers three simple controls to help you with…

Speedy J Ginger Warp Records, 1993 Originally released in the summer of 1993 as part of Warp Records’ seminal Artificial Intelligence series. Speedy J’s debut album would go on to be rightfully regarded as a classic of “armchair techno”, as the years ticked by. He may have got his name pushing the type of tough tunes that were tearing up his native Rotterdam. But, on the side, he’d been messing with that pioneering and pared down production coming out Chicago and Detroit, for his own ends. His take on “non-club” tracks wound up on labels like Plus 8, and would catch the eye of the Warp lot, who were beginning to bug out on his blend of blissed-out beats. “That’s why the album ended up sounding the way it did,”…

The fidelity of modern music wouldn’t have reached its current heights without the invention, evolution, implementation, and refinement of dynamic audio processing. This integral component of sound engineering has proven to be one of the key fundamentals that’s allowed us to truly sculpt audio and bend it to our will. Likely the first true dynamicsprocessing unit (or compressor) was the Telefunken U3, created in the 1930s to control the dynamics of the PA system at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Engineers soon realised the widespread potential of this new technology, but it wasn’t until the late 1940s through to the ’60s that we saw real progress in these units for more creative purposes. When audio is cut to vinyl, dynamic range is more than just a matter of sound quality. Running…

The supposedly secret dark art of mastering is actually nothing of the sort; it’s just good ol’ practice and experience. A mastering engineer will learn how to listen to the material in a particular way, to hear its spectral and dynamic makeup and have an understanding of what, therefore, should or should not be done. They will have intimate knowledge of the way in which different processors respond to and colour audio, and will have developed specific approaches for different types of music, as well as knowledge of the technical requirements of different publishing media and platforms. So there really is no mystery to it, just an awful lot of expertise that takes time to develop. For many years there have been plugins that help you to slightly sidestep the…

The legendary passive EQ, Pultec EQP-1, is one of the most sought-after pieces of vintage hardware. Original units can easily fetch well into five figures – on the rare occasions that they come up for sale – and even many newer hardware versions can cost up to £5000. Fortunately, as we shall see, there are plenty of both hardware and software alternatives. The EQP-1’s beauty lies in a combination of simple operation, its broad sweeps of frequency cutting and boosting, an ability to impart an almost indefinable presence on whatever signal you put through it, and the extraordinary character you get when you broadly disobey what you’re told by the manual! The original EQP-1 was a ‘program’ EQ, so designed more for wide bandwidth mix EQ-ing, but it works as…

CONTACT WHO: Waldorf/Hand in Hand Distribution WEB: waldorfmusic.com KEY FEATURES I/O: Stereo In and Out via 1/4” TS jacks. MIDI in and out over USB and DIN sockets, MicroSD card slot, headphone output DIMENSIONS: 346 x 200 x 64mm WEIGHT: 2.2kg Afew years ago, Waldorf created one of the biggest buzzes in the world of hardware synthesisers, with the Quantum. A resplendent, five-octave synthesiser, bedecked with more pots than you could shake a stick at, it also featured a generous touchscreen at the heart of the control panel, making programming and sound creation a total breeze. However, what set the Quantum apart, from the more traditional analogue fare, was its versatile and extraordinary synth engine, encompassing virtual analogue, sampling, granular, and the welcome return of wavetable. As Waldorf is…

Audio equipment such as gates and compressors will typically feature two signal paths: one being the signal that’s being processed, and the other the signal that actually controls the behaviour. The control signal is usually generated by monitoring the device’s input level and is known as a sidechain – however, a lot of processors also offer the option of feeding in an external signal to control the processor’s behaviour. It isn’t a new technique by any means but when someone mentions the term sidechaining, most producers will immediately think of the ‘ducking’ effect that’s been a staple of house production since before Daft Punk bought their first Alesis 3630. Pretty much every modern DAW has a form of sidechain functionality, and countless plugin effects and instruments use this to allow…

Universal Audio Apollo Twin X £880 As with Apollos before it, the Twin X is pricey for the amount of ins and outs it offers, but the quality of the build, preamps and design, plus DSP in Duo or Quad justifies the outlay. Audient iD4 MkII £138 Review: FM373 A simple 2-in/2-out design coupled with smart, user-friendly features and impressive build quality. Possibly the best budget interface out there. SSL 2+ £226 Review: FM356 The 2+ more than lives up to the promise of offering the Solid State Logic name and sound from a piece of budget-friendly audio gear. Universal Audio Volt 76 from £215 Review: FM379 UA’s first affordable interface are great, with a spritz of hard-to-resist recording history magic on top. Arturia MiniFuse 2 £115 Review: FM377 MiniFuse…