Computer Music October 2021

“I got into music because of the gear. I admit it” It’s tempting, given that this is issue 299 of Computer Music, to start getting excited about ‘the big one’ next issue, but I’ll try and leave that for another four weeks or, if you can’t wait, until the last page of this issue. I’ll just say that 300 issues for any magazine these days is well worth celebrating and we’re doing it in style. Onto this issue and one of the reasons I got into music making in the first place was, I admit, for the gear. A powerful computer throbbing amidst a studio packed full of delightful hardware was the order of the day… that is until the computer became powerful enough to swallow up said hardware. Now, though,…

“I got into music because of the gear. I admit it” It’s tempting, given that this is issue 299 of Computer Music, to start getting excited about ‘the big one’ next issue, but I’ll try and leave that for another four weeks or, if you can’t wait, until the last page of this issue. I’ll just say that 300 issues for any magazine these days is well worth celebrating and we’re doing it in style. Onto this issue and one of the reasons I got into music making in the first place was, I admit, for the gear. A powerful computer throbbing amidst a studio packed full of delightful hardware was the order of the day… that is until the computer became powerful enough to swallow up said hardware. Now,…

They say that summer is a slow time for news in the world of music production and that you can very possibly you can blame the Europeans for taking most of August off for their holidays (the lucky things). This year has been no exception as our news inbox has slowed to such a crawl that we actually welcomed the regular essay of a press release from Spitfire – more on that later. It’s not been an entirely news-less period though and, luckily, our favourite Parisian software developers UVI managed to release not one but two products before packing the budgy smugglers away for their annual holiday shindig. First up is their PX Sunbox, which is a recreation of the 1999 SunSyn, a hardware synth that was made by the…

They say that summer is a slow time for news in the world of music production and that you can very possibly you can blame the Europeans for taking most of August off for their holidays (the lucky things). This year has been no exception as our news inbox has slowed to such a crawl that we actually welcomed the regular essay of a press release from Spitfire – more on that later. It’s not been an entirely news-less period though and, luckily, our favourite Parisian software developers UVI managed to release not one but two products before packing the budgy smugglers away for their annual holiday shindig. First up is their PX Sunbox, which is a recreation of the 1999 SunSyn, a hardware synth that was made by the German company,…

Shaper 2 K-Devices has tweaked its Shaper effect, a self-proclaimed “audio destroyer” that runs as an AUv3 plugin. Version 2 gives you several modules for this purpose: a glitch gate, a waveshaper, a transform module, a resonator/short delay and a low-/high-pass filter. These can be ordered however you like, so the potential for creative destruction is pretty limitless. What you won’t hear is a lot of warmth – Shaper 2 aims to give your sounds “a digital edge” rather than an analogue cuddle. Shaper 2 costs $6/£6. apps.apple.com SoundSaw It must be a destructive kind of month, as Igor Vasiliev has also released an iOS sound mangler in the shape of SoundSaw. This easy-to-use effect is designed to give your instruments or vocals a noisy, lo-fi, chip-tuney sound, and promises…

Shaper 2 K-Devices has tweaked its Shaper effect, a self-proclaimed “audio destroyer” that runs as an AUv3 plugin. Version 2 gives you several modules for this purpose: a glitch gate, a waveshaper, a transform module, a resonator/short delay and a low-/high-pass filter. These can be ordered however you like, so the potential for creative destruction is pretty limitless. What you won’t hear is a lot of warmth – Shaper 2 aims to give your sounds “a digital edge” rather than an analogue cuddle. Shaper 2 costs $6/£6. apps.apple.com SoundSaw It must be a destructive kind of month, as Igor Vasiliev has also released an iOS sound mangler in the shape of SoundSaw. This easy-to-use effect is designed to give your instruments or vocals a noisy, lo-fi, chip-tuney sound, and promises to add high levels…