Computer Music September 2021

“Presets are great, using a mouse is sh*t” Lining up classic synth hardware against desktop and iOS emulations seemed like the greatest – not to mention easiest – feature idea ever for Computer Music. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Firstly, tracking down the original hardware turned out be harder than anticipated – we had to borrow a Minimoog in the end (which our synth expert Dave Gale is still desperately trying to cling on to). And then there’s the small matter of trying to recreate an identical sound in software to that on hardware. I had the task of doing that with an ARP Odyssey (the latest Korg version) and let me tell you, it’s impossible. The slightest nudge on the original’s fader sent the sound completely out of…

“Presets are great, using a mouse is sh*t” Lining up classic synth hardware against desktop and iOS emulations seemed like the greatest – not to mention easiest – feature idea ever for Computer Music. I mean, what could possibly go wrong? Firstly, tracking down the original hardware turned out be harder than anticipated – we had to borrow a Minimoog in the end (which our synth expert Dave Gale is still desperately trying to cling on to). And then there’s the small matter of trying to recreate an identical sound in software to that on hardware. I had the task of doing that with an ARP Odyssey (the latest Korg version) and let me tell you, it’s impossible. The slightest nudge on the original’s fader sent the sound completely out…

They say that waiting for a news story about a guitar effect or amp plugin emulation is like waiting for a bus. Actually, no they don’t. We’re inundated with these kinds of stories all the time. In fact, here’s three of them… First up from United Plugins is Electrum, which the collective describe as ‘the mother of all guitar amps’. Well, why not? What we like about Electrum straight off the bat is that it is not just another attempt to simulate a Marshall amp – there are certainly enough of those out there, as this news story will very soon demonstrate. Instead, Electrum is a set of non Marshall- specific guitar effects and emulations – cabs, compressor, gate, distortion, pedals and much more – all accessible from a single…

They say that waiting for a news story about a guitar effect or amp plugin emulation is like waiting for a bus. Actually, no they don’t. We’re inundated with these kinds of stories all the time. In fact, here’s three of them… First up from United Plugins is Electrum, which the collective describe as ‘the mother of all guitar amps’. Well, why not? What we like about Electrum straight off the bat is that it is not just another attempt to simulate a Marshall amp – there are certainly enough of those out there, as this news story will very soon demonstrate. Instead, Electrum is a set of non Marshall- specific guitar effects and emulations – cabs, compressor, gate, distortion, pedals and much more – all accessible from a single screen and…

SynthMaster2 Having tested the iOS waters with ports of SynthMaster One and SynthMaster Player, KV331 have now dived right in and released SynthMaster 2, their flagship plugin synth, for the iPad. The feature set is said to be just as good as in the desktop version, so you can expect multimode oscillators, wave file import, filters, masses of modulation, an arp/sequencer and effects. SynthMaster for iOS will run standalone and as an AUv3 and has a regular price of £25/$25. However, it’s on sale for £15/$15 until the start of September. kv331audio.com/synthmasterios.aspx Hammerhead 25 years ago, Bram Bos released a desktop drum machine, Hammerhead Rhythm Station, which helped to introduce a whole generation to computer music making. Now it’s back on iOS. The new Hammerhead features the original’s mid-90s groovebox sounds, but offers more…

SynthMaster2 Having tested the iOS waters with ports of SynthMaster One and SynthMaster Player, KV331 have now dived right in and released SynthMaster 2, their flagship plugin synth, for the iPad. The feature set is said to be just as good as in the desktop version, so you can expect multimode oscillators, wave file import, filters, masses of modulation, an arp/sequencer and effects. SynthMaster for iOS will run standalone and as an AUv3 and has a regular price of £25/$25. However, it’s on sale for £15/$15 until the start of September. kv331audio.com/synthmasterios.aspx Hammerhead 25 years ago, Bram Bos released a desktop drum machine, Hammerhead Rhythm Station, which helped to introduce a whole generation to computer music making. Now it’s back on iOS. The new Hammerhead features the original’s mid-90s groovebox…