Computer Music January 2022

“There’s only one thing to cover in issue 303…” There’s only one thing to cover in issue 303 of Computer Music and that is, of course, the Roland TB-303. We like to think we’ve done this iconic piece of tech justice in a special feature (p16) and with double the number of new sample packs dedicated to it. And for these we’ve now gone ‘download only’ as, just as we went to press last month, we heard that DVD costs effectively trebled so it’s gone, as have all plastic covermounts from magazines in our company. “And why not?” the environmentalists among you might say, and I’d like to say this was our motive – our very own contribution to COP26 – but really there was little choice. I’m politically neutral,…

“There’s only one thing to cover in issue 303…” There’s only one thing to cover in issue 303 of Computer Music and that is, of course, the Roland TB-303. We like to think we’ve done this iconic piece of tech justice in a special feature (p16) and with double the number of new sample packs dedicated to it. And for these we’ve now gone ‘download only’ as, just as we went to press last month, we heard that DVD costs effectively trebled so it’s gone, as have all plastic covermounts from magazines in our company. “And why not?” the environmentalists among you might say, and I’d like to say this was our motive – our very own contribution to COP26 – but really there was little choice. I’m politically neutral, of…

Can you handle all this free stuff? There’s a lot of free software on the way for Christmas… You’d be forgiven for thinking that everything – and we mean everything – is just about to treble in price, and if you want a turkey for Christmas then just forget it. Lorry drivers, Brexit, Mrs Brown’s Boys… whoever. Whatever. They are all to blame for increased prices across the board and the resulting lack of variation in cheeses for your Christmas lunch. But not so the music software world. We don’t need lorry drivers because we use the internet! And that means there’s a whole load of bargains still to be had. And not just any old bargains either; ultimate bargains. Free bargains!* Not strictly ‘bargains’ then, yes we know* Yes,…

Can you handle all this free stuff? There’s a lot of free software on the way for Christmas… You’d be forgiven for thinking that everything – and we mean everything – is just about to treble in price, and if you want a turkey for Christmas then just forget it. Lorry drivers, Brexit, Mrs Brown’s Boys… whoever. Whatever. They are all to blame for increased prices across the board and the resulting lack of variation in cheeses for your Christmas lunch. But not so the music software world. We don’t need lorry drivers because we use the internet! And that means there’s a whole load of bargains still to be had. And not just any old bargains either; ultimate bargains. Free bargains!* Not strictly ‘bargains’ then, yes we know* Yes, we have a…

Zentracker Spurred on by the belief that “recording music  doesn’t have to be complicated,” Roland has created Zentracker, a new free multitrack recorder for iOS and Android. You can run as many tracks as you want (or as many as your device can handle) and there are both effects and audio loops to get your productions going. Projects can be saved to Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive for easy storage and sharing. Although Zentracker is free – providing you have a Roland account, that is – if you become a Roland Cloud Core, Pro or Ultimate member you’ll get an enhanced feature set. roland.com/us/products/rc_zentracker/ Polywave Created by the team behind the award-winning Fingerlab and Dream Theater  keyboard wizard (and self-anointed actual wizard) Jordan Rudess, PolyWave is a new iOS synth…

Zentracker Spurred on by the belief that “recording music doesn’t have to be complicated,” Roland has created Zentracker, a new free multitrack recorder for iOS and Android. You can run as many tracks as you want (or as many as your device can handle) and there are both effects and audio loops to get your productions going. Projects can be saved to Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive for easy storage and sharing. Although Zentracker is free – providing you have a Roland account, that is – if you become a Roland Cloud Core, Pro or Ultimate member you’ll get an enhanced feature set. roland.com/us/products/rc_zentracker/ Polywave Created by the team behind the award-winning Fingerlab and Dream Theater keyboard wizard (and self-anointed actual wizard) Jordan Rudess, PolyWave is a new iOS synth that takes inspiration from the Korg…