Table of contents for Autumn 2017 in Computer Music

“It’s how the pros find their signature sounds” Although it’s entirely possible to create entire tracks using ready-rolled loops, premade samples and presets created by others, there’s something extra-satisfying about producing with sounds you’ve designed yourself. By building a synth patch, kick drum or processing chain from the ground up, the element in question will slot straight into a mix, as you can customise every aspect to your taste. It’s how the pros find their signature sounds – and you can do the same with this jam-packed special issue! All of this month’s features lift the lid on inspiring sound design techniques tailored to help you create better music that’s unique to your style. After delving deep into Rhythmic Synthesis (p22) and Spaced-Out Sound Design (p36), we’ll hit record and…

“Brickwall limiting is not always about loudness, it’s about colouration, too” cm What’s the backstory behind Tokyo Dawn? And what’s the difference between Tokyo Dawn Labs and Tokyo Dawn Records? FS “Tokyo Dawn Records’ beginnings reaches back into the early demo and tracker scene. We always had a strong technological focus – we were one of the first web-centric record labels. We shared tracker projects (MOD files), open-source. “I began working on audio tools and processors – contributions to Renoise, little plugins for internal label use – and later I started offering some of our audio plugins free to the public (Feedback Compressor I and II), under the brand Tokyo Dawn Labs. Vladislav Goncharov, already well known for his Molot and Lim Nr6 plugins, joined me to work on an…

TOGU AUDIO LINE TAL-BASSLINE-101 cm197 » 9/10 » £47 Just like the synth it’s based on, this virtual emulation of Roland’s SH-cm10cm1 features a step sequencer that’s more about ease of use than overwhelming complexity. Not only does it ape the hardware by giving the sequencer a visual display, but it also allows you to convert your pattern to MIDI via drag-and-drop. Nice! www.tal-software.com U-HE HIVE cm221 » 10/10 » $149 The basic ‘grid-by-numbers’ sequencer and arpeggiator found in the centre of Urs Heckmann’s workhorse synth won’t win any prizes for looks, but both are more than capable of stepped creativity. We suggest firing up some of the factory presets to hear how capable it is. www.u-he.com MADRONA LABS KAIVO 204 » 9/10 » $129 Similar to the eccentric developer’s…

“I prefer to dump the root samples into Kontakt, as this allows quick manipulation” “One way to freshen up your sample library is to generate your own material – but that takes time, right? It does if you slave over each sample, trying to get the best kick drum, riser, orchestra stab, whatever; but that’s pointless, especially without context. An approach I regularly use for sample collections favours creating a large set of samples using a pseudo-randomised process, and then plucking out the best results. This may initially appear a long winded approach, but in practice it’s quite efficient across a range of sources. The key is parallel processing. “Most DAWs allow one channel to send to a number of group channels via aux sends or direct routing paths. I…

FXPANSION BLOOM 191 » 8/10 » £79 With three modelled delay styles (Tape, BBD and Digital), a step sequencer, and a flexible TransMod modulation system to get things moving, FXpansion’s fully-stocked delay toolbox is as versatile as they come. Six reroutable effects (EQ, filters, envelope shaper, frequency shifter, chorus and drive) are also onboard. www.fxpansion.com INEAR DISPLAY INCIPIT 232 » 9/10 » €39 Merging pitchshifting, delay and filtering into one eccentric effects plugin, this device has creative processing firmly on the agenda. With four LFOs, three macros (both accessed via a nifty modulation matrix) and a handy randomise feature to hand, this tool quite obviously sits at the weirder end of the sound design spectrum. www.ineardisplay.com PSP CMDELAY Free with Plugins Cut from the same cloth as its bigger brother,…

When it’s time to lay a track down against the clock, who wants to waste hours layering umpteen kick or snare samples on top of each other? There’s got to be one perfect drum hit in your samples folder that’ll get the job done, right? But if you’re a producer in search of a truly unique style, and generic drum samples just aren’t cutting it, it might be time to start designing your own beats from scratch. By piecing together each component of every single drum hit (via sample-layering or synthesis), you’ll have the ultimate control over the timbre, pitch, power and width of your electronic kit as a whole. In this video exercise, we do exactly this, putting our beat-building chops to the test by building a multitrack drum…

Waldorf Blofeld £3cm19 “It’s a strange synthesiser, but I like it because I found a VST editor for it. Now I can use all those nifty Bitwig LFOs, step sequencers and note changers with it, and that’s completely reinvigorated my interest in it!” waldorfmusic.com Yamaha DX200 £400 “This has a really fun sequencer and a scene morpher so you can morph from all the settings of one sound into the settings of another sound... of course, the great fun it what you get into the middle of that area!” yamahasynth.com Elektron Analog Rytm £cm1cm129 “This is a drum computer with analogue sound creation, and you can use FM-style synthesis on the drum sounds. Every pad also has a sampling option, and I use the Adventure Kid single-cycle waveforms – they’re…

Moog’s Minimoog set the template for standardised synthesisers, with its fixed number of modules and inflexible signal path – in fact, many synthesists of the day considered it a ‘preset’ device and not a real synth at all! Today, most synthesisers are of the fixed-path variety, though some offer some signal routing flexibility via software matrices – normally tucked away beneath layers of software menus. The newfound enthusiasm for modular synthesisers is due in part to the desire on the part of the user to craft original sounds using whatever modules and routing works best for the task at hand. Need another filter inline or parallel to the first? Simple – just patch one in. Two or three oscillators not enough? No problem – add as many as you like…

SONIGEN MODULAR This Windows-only affair looks like the Clavia’s editor for their much-missed Nord Modular system. Loads of modules can be instantiated and patched with virtual cables. Interesting non-traditional options include polyphony and wavetable oscillators for PPG-style sounds. It’s optimised for reasonable CPU usage. www.sonigen.com PULSECODE MODULAR One of the first fully modular softsynths designed for the iPad, Modular offers a basic but serviceable selection of thirteen modules for free. These include all of the necessities: VCO, VCF, envelope, LFO, ring mod and more. A paltry $3.99 gets you all the rest, or you can buy ’em piece meal for $0.99 each. www.pulsecodeinc.com MODULARGRID TRUEGRID ModularGrid started out as an online database of available modules from various systems. The likewise web-based TrueGrid takes the idea further by allowing potential patchheads…

Ronan Macdonald Having previously served as Editor of drummer’s bible Rhythm as well as Computer Music, Ronan is clearly the right man for this particular gig. He’s been playing drums for over 30 years and making music with computers since the 90s. In its 70s and 80s heyday, disco was maligned by many rock and pop musicians of the time as a brainless, technically simplistic genre designed solely to serve the self-indulgent, cocaine-fuelled club culture of big-city America. Since then, however, the work of artists such as the Bee Gees, Chic and Georgio Moroder has been reassessed and accepted as musically accomplished and pioneering, and its influence on modern dance music styles – particularly house in all its many forms – is obvious. It follows, then, that the construction of…

“Like the alphaSyntauri, Phosphor 2 is a very simple instrument that makes additive synthesis approchable” PARTIAL EDITOR Adjust the levels of 16, 32 or 64 partials with these sliders ADSR ENVELOPE Curve-able but still 100% dedicated to oscillator volume OSCILLATOR CONTROLS Including the all-important Crossmod DELAY FILTERS Variable-width band-pass filters on the L/R channels L+R LINK Slave Osc2’s controls to those of Osc1 for easy matching DELAY Featuring feedback and Left/Right cross feedback RANDOMIZE Generate unique new patches from thin air LFOS Two LFOs with four morphable waveforms PORTAMENTO Control the speed at which each note glides to the next LFO ASSIGNMENTS Each LFO modulates the oscillators and Delay Filters DELAY MIX Set your wet/dry balance here Continuing their ongoing catalogue refresh, Audio Damage’s latest plugin update takes their emulation…

“Sample is tightly focused on making the process of extracting phrases and one-shot sounds fast and easy” VOICE MODE Switch to Poly to play chords CUE PLAY MODE Choose latched or gated triggering PADS Each of the 16 pads triggers its own cue AUTOSET Sample can create cues for you in four different ways WAVEFORM OVERVIEW Quickly navigate the source track KEYBOARD MODE Pitch the selected cue up and down the keyboard PITCH… Shift pitch up or down from the detected key …’N TIME Sync to host or timestretch freely from 1 to 999bpm CUE REGION The section of audio played back by the associated pad PAD CONTROLS A handful of editable parameters, including more PnT Although generally thought of as a purveyor of top notch DJ software, New Zealand-based…

Clicking the Remote Control bar down Tape’s right hand edge slides open a panel containing an additional set of parameters. Speed Stability simulates wow and flutter, dialling in wholly convincing pitch and volume wobbling, and opening Tape up to flanging and chorus effects when used in conjunction with the Dry/Wet mix knob above. High Frequency Trim boosts or attenuates treble response, rather like a shelving filter; while Crosstalk bleeds the left and right channels into each other, profoundly boosting central punch and weight at high settings. Finally, activating Noise adds in emulated tape noise that increases in loudness and low-end emphasis as the Tape Speed is reduced, but is effectively imperceptible at high speeds; and the Run and Stop buttons trigger very cool tape start and stop effects, the lengths…

OverTone DSP produce a number of analogue style EQ, dynamic and reverb plugins inspired by classic designs from Pultec, Fairchild, API and SSL, including our own Program EQ CM and AF2-10 CM EQs. Their latest release, EQ4000 (VST, VST3, AU, AAX), once again takes its lead from a famous bit of kit, namely the EQ section of SSL’s E Series channel strip. This EQ is famous for its direct, powerful sound, and over time has proven particularly popular for pop and rock production. It’s also a great tool when you need an EQ that can transform sounds (such as drums), but in a musical manner. The original hardware comes in two key revisions (typically called ‘brown’ and ‘black’), which is nice to see in an affordable plugin. However, EQ4000 doesn’t…

Waves haven’t disclosed what actual outboard has been emulated to create CLA MixDown, but Monsieur Lord-Alge’s hardware preferences have been reasonably well documented in interviews. He’s known to be a fan of SSL’s classic 4000 series console, not only for the powerful channel EQ and dynamics but also for the sprightly behaviour of the bus compressor, and he’s also been known to favour its saturation. On his mix buss, our man Lord-Alge is a fan of Focusrite’s Red 3 Compressor/Limiter and Pultec’s EQP-1A, apparently preferring to set the latter around 60Hz or 100Hz for natural low-end roundness, and in the midrange for presence. Putting these pieces together, we can see where CLA MixDown’s processing is coming from. Nevertheless, the details of which parameters change as you move the sliders remain…

Loopmasters Judge Jules – Esse tial Big Room House £25 We’ve no idea how much of a hand the good Judge himself had in the making of his eponymous debut sample library, but assuming he wasn’t totally disengaged from the process, you can colour us duly impressed. 40 perfectly produced drum loops bounce along with righteous confidence, while 41 bass and 40 music (piano, string and synth) loops cover an impressive amount of stylistic ground. Bung in ten bass and synth mutisample sets, and a sizeable selection of one-shot drums, and dancefloor justice is served. www.loopmasters.com 9/100 Sample Magic Mosaic House £35 Representing tech house at its most stripped back, this 1GB library of loops, hits and MIDI files eschews flamboyance and hype for warmth and grit. The Drum Loops…

The Plugins collection is a suite of complete, limitation-free instrument and effects plugins. It’s an incredible resource, boasting more than 75 pro-quality plugins that you won’t find anywhere else, all for PC and Mac, in VST and AU formats. All of the included software is created exclusively for us by respected commercial developers such as D16 Group, u-he, AudioRealism, Ohm Force, KV331 Audio, Cableguys, XILS-lab, AudioThing, Vengeance-Sound, Rob Papen, zplane and more. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Enough talking! Where do I get these plugins? You can grab them all on the cover DVD with out print edition, or as a download from FileSilo (see p5 for instructions on how to access). How do I install Plugins? It depends on the plugin. Some have dedicated installers, while others What happened to…! As…

DYNAMICS Check out this huge collection of processors – from classic compressors to modern digital creations, we’ve got everything you need to shape your signals eaReckon CM-COMP 87 • Slick, punchy compressor • Mix knob for parallel compression • Limiter to keep the output in check • Clear VU- and LED-style metering • AU/VST, 32-/64-bit www.eareckon.com LVC-Audio Transector CM • Transient tweaking and saturation • Define and process envelope stages • Useful metering/display functions • Mix control for parallel processing • AU/VST, 32-/64-bit www.lvcaudio.com Audiority TS-1 CM • Flavoursome transient shaper • Set attack and sustain gain • Blend control for parallel processing • Based on the full TS-1 plugin • AU/VST, 32-/64-bit www.audiority.com Unfiltered Audio G8 CM • Get tight dynamics or creative FX • Includes advanced gating controls…

Unlock an issue Log into FileSilo on your PC or Mac, then just click an issue and answer a question – you’ll have to reference the magazine to get the answer. Import older mags FileSilo will replace our old Vault system, and you’ll soon be able to migrate your added mags from one account to the other. FREE PLUGIN FREMO HoRNet’s FreMo is a power-packed ring modulation and frequency modulation plugin, yours for free with this issue, p60 SAMPLE PACKS 1950 FREE SAMPLES This month’s dripping with free samples – Deep Chords and Stabs, Remix Toolkit Pt 2, Chilled-Out Electronica Pt 1, and loads from Loopmasters, p104 PLUGIN COLLECTION CM Plugi s Our exclusive collection of free plugins for Mac and PC. Check ‘em out on pcm107 TUTORIAL VIDEO Tutorial…

GET INTO THE GOOG Google celebrated what it called the 44th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop by giving you the chance to DJ in your browser. Yes, it was a pretty simplistic setup, but with some classic breaks and samples to work with, it was certainly a fun one. SOUNDCLOUD SAVED After weeks of negative headlines, finally some good news from Soundcloud: the company announced last month that it’s secured a significant finance injection and hired new personnel at the top of the company. Let’s hope that this is the start of a renaissance. LEARN AND PLAY If you fancy brushing up on your subtractive synth programming skills interactively from within your web browser, check out Electric Telepathy’s website. This lets you fiddle with the various components of a…

LFO Just like a synth’s oscillator, the LFO has several shapes to choose from, only there’s one big difference: it operates very slowly. Attach an LFO to a sound’s level, and you’ll hear the level ‘wobble’ up and down – just as if you were tweaking the parameter yourself, only now it’s being done automatically by this ‘low frequency oscillator’. The LFO’s Rate (or speed, or frequency) can usually be locked to your DAW’s tempo or set in Hz (cycles per second). It’s Depth controls how far it moves the parameter you’ve assigned it to. Interesting LFO shapes include stepped waves, and the ‘random’ sample-and-hold. Some LFOs can get so fast that they become audible oscillators by introducing sideband harmonics. Common things to hook an LFO to include filter frequency,…

INSTANT ONE-FINGER RIFFS AND CHORDS One of the most useful reasons to get a sequencer or arpeggiator in on your synthesis action is to help you generate complex chord and riff patterns that would take far longer to program by hand in a piano roll. Avoid machine-gun note repeats by muting sequencer notes to chop holes in your riff. IRREGULAR SEQUENCER LOOPING FOR HYPNOTIC PATTERNS If you have a simple sequence running over a 4/4 groove, lengthening or shortening the sequencer’s loop range (or number of steps) by unusual amounts can inspire irregular, drifting interplay against the regimented beats. For example, reduce an eight-step sequence to 7 or 6 steps for mesmerising techno-style patterns. SEQUENCING AN ENTIRE TRACK WITHIN JUST ONE SYNTH PATCH If you’re lost for studio inspiration, why…

Like delay, reverb works by creating echoes of a source sound, spaced apart and repeated to varying degrees. Whereas delay is most often used as a creative effect – adding audible repeats to a sound, for example – reverbs are designed to create a more naturalistic ‘wash’ of echoes, with the aim of tricking the ear into a false sense of space. Because of this, reverb plugins tend to be used as mix tools, to place multiple elements in a unified space, or to simply add a touch of virtual ambience to dry sounds. Used with less subtlety, however, and reverb becomes a fantastic creative effect. That same ability to create a sense of space can be used to confound and engage the listener, creating unnatural positionings within the imagined…

Before modular synthesisers, electronic musicians made music by recording the bleeps and bloops of laboratory test equipment. Each sound was recorded to a segment of tape which was, in turn, spliced to other bits of tape that had their own sounds and notes recorded on them. Entire compositions were created in this way, and it was tedious work to say the least. In 1963, electronics boffin Donald Buchla was commissioned by Morton Subotnick and Ramon Sender of the San Francisco Tape Music Center to build an instrument, in the hope that it could replace the old ‘musique concrète’ method with something more amenable to live performance. The resulting instrument was comprised of oscillator, filter, amplifier and sequencer modules, the latter of which was put to fine use by Subotnick on…

At its simplest level, harmony is all about matching chords to a melody, so the term ‘jazz harmony’ essentially relates to what type of chords we can use to accompany improvised solos and melodies in jazz. Typically, these will be the kind of extended and altered chords that give jazz its unique sound. Of course, just knowing these chords won’t necessarily turn you into the next Thelonious Monk or Chick Corea, but by injecting a subtle jazz flavour into your progressions, you’ll be amazed how much more sophisticated it can make them sound, whether you’re producing drum ’n’ bass, R&B, EDM or any other genre. Although it’s closely linked to traditional tonal harmony, jazz harmony looks, feels and sounds quite different. Historically, the emergence of Jazz in early 20th century…

HF LIMITER Attenuate and limit just the high-frequency content COMPRESSOR Apply three modes of compression at a Ratio of up to 10:1 DRIVE Set the input level into each module with its Drive knob DRY AMOUNT/MIX Mix or crossfade the dry signal for parallel processing PEAK LIMITER A brickwall (or not) limiter with multiband mode THRESHOLD Set the trigger levels for gain reduction STEREO + WIDE Each module can operate in stereo or mid-side mode MOVE HANDLES Drag modules left and right to reconfigure the rack OUTPUT Final limiting and gain-compensated bypass control METER Flexible peak and loudness metering DELTA Audition the gain-reduced signal in isolation A semimodular “compression and limiting toolkit”, TDR’s latest admirably affordable plugin, Limiter 6 Gentleman’s Edition (VST/AU/ AAX), is a ground-up remake of their Limiter…

When SSL updated their original E Series EQ circuit, the only visual distinction was the LF band knob colour, which changed from brown to black. Alas, this simple change led many to believe it was solely the LF band that had changed, when in fact all bands of the EQ had been modified in some way. The black knob design exhibits the following key differences. Firstly, the maximum gain is 18dB rather than 15dB. Next up, the bell options for both LF and HF bands have slightly narrower Q, while the narrowest Q settings of the LMF and HMF bands are considerably narrower than their predecessor. Finally, and often overlooked, the frequency ranges of each band are bigger. This is particularly obvious for the HF band (now topping out above…

SOUND DESIGN INSPIRATION Technical, tactical and creative strategies to help you craft mix-ready sounds from the ground up Read the full article o p22 1 LFO 101 – understanding modulation basics 2 Draw-your-own modulation basics 5 Meta-modulation – modulating the modulators 6 Acidic saw line with Bazille CM’s sequencer 7 Sequencing groovy noise with rhythmic automation 8 Stepped modulation: breathing life into a sample 9 Instant chiptune arp chords with miniBit CM 10 Sequenced randomisation in Bitwig 17 Wacky sound design with convolution processing 21 Bespoke beats with the ‘bounce as you go’ method 22 Sequencer-driven bass grooves 23 Crafting a soaring synth sweep with Dune CM 24 Timbral timestretching with Serato Sample 25 Synthesising from scratch in an arrangement cm Producer Masterclass SECRET CINEMA In this in-studio video,…

Wolfgang Palm has been making synths (both hardware and software) for a long time, so when he says that PPG Infinite is his “dream”, you’ve got to take notice. It goes beyond the wavetable synthesis that Palm pioneered by giving you complete control over a sound’s overtones, and also emulates the sounds made when instruments are played. Sounds from PPG WaveGenerator and WaveMapper can be imported. PPG Infinite is yours for £20/$20. www.wolfgangpalm.com Audio Damage have embraced iOS in a big way. Their Phosphor 2 synth, which was only released on desktop platforms a matter of weeks ago (and reviewed on p86 ) has already made the jump to mobile. There are plenty of modern twists as well, though, including a powerful modulation routing system and tempo-synced…

“He’d been struggling for almost two years” While many of us are speculating if AI machines are going to take over the world (possibly enslaving us all in the process), back in the simpler time that was October 2007, we were talking about the disruptive potential of Toyota’s trumpet-playing robot. A look back through the archives reveals that he was actually retired in 2012, proving that he was human after all (even though he wasn’t). IDM hero Venetian Snares, meanwhile, told us that “If I’m working on something that’s really drawn me in, I’ll think about it in my sleep.” We believe that there’s a technical name for doing this: ‘dreaming’. Elsewhere, our deputy editor got candid when he revealed that he’d spent a good while tweaking an EQ plugin…

Unders “A painter that creates a great artwork is not criticised because they used pre-coloured paint. The artwork is still their creation.” Tony Holmes “Break the chains of dogma and protocol; use whatever it takes to serve the song in the best way possible.” Phil Day “There is a middle ground. Even the most professional producers use reference tracks, or copy song arrangements from other tracks. “Sometimes I use sample packs to throw together a layered loop quickly, then go back and recreate each of the pack loops myself using my own tools, and sometimes the end result is better – and much more satisfying!” Lauri Pallonen “Of course it’s OK! There are artists who use ready-made samples and presets with almost no knowledge, doing it ‘their way’. When people…

We’ve given you a rundown of the most used modulation sources out there, but how do they work in software? In the style of classic hardware synths, many virtual instruments feature hardwired modulation sources – the Minimoog’s Filter Contour Amount is a classic example, which instantly applies amount of filter envelope-to-cutoff modulation. There’s no other way to route these hardwired controls, but they’ve usually been chosen to make the most useful assignments easily accessible. Going further, you must have seen a synth with a modulation matrix, right? These scary-looking grids are simply ways to choose a modulator, a parameter to target, and the amount to modulate it by. Mod matrices are pretty much identical across all virtual instruments, so once you get your head around how one works, you’ll feel…

Right from day one, flexible modulation has been a major part of Bitwig Studio’s personality. Version 2 sees the DAW double down on that commitment, with the introduction of 25 new Modulator devices that can be added to any instrument, effect and tool. These offer multiple types of envelope generator, several flexible LFOs, randomisation and generative tools, ‘multi-dimensional’ expression and performance-friendly macros. An unlimited number of Modulators can be added to any device, and they can be routed to one another, creating a modular matrix – the complexity of which is only limited by your imagination. These modulators are killer tools for synth design, not least because they can also be added to third-party plugins, and even routed to MIDI or CV-equipped hardware. The Steps sequencer and syncable LFOs are…

When we think of delay, we usually think of echoes – sonic repeats that make a sound deeper and more involved. Delay tools themselves have, over the years, become more comprehensive sonic processors, turning into near-limitless multieffects. Some of the biggest talents of modern delays come from their feedback loops – the part that routes the output of the delay back into the input, giving you ever-repeating lines. Putting another effect into this loop can make a delay orders of magnitude more versatile and powerful. With a pitchshifting effect added into a delay plugin’s feedback loop, you get an effect of repeating, shifting, cascading delays – an effect that’s very hard to make yourself in most DAWs. In our first tutorial, below, we take advantage of the shifting delay in…

“On headphones it sounds shit, but if you play that record on the speakers, it goes through everything!” Revealing the Secret From 1991’s hardcore sounds through to his current deeper, darker output, Jeroen Verheij is a key figure of of the Netherlands’ techno scene. His formidable discography includes releases on labels as diverse as Rotterdam, Cocoon and Drumcode, under pseudonyms including Meng Syndicate, Point Blank and his most well-known moniker, Secret Cinema. We hooked up with Jeroen in his recently completed Amsterdam studio to find out how he uses a sophisticated combination of music-making software and hardware to create his cutting-edge tracks. cm: How did you get into making music? JV: “My dad played in jazz bands, so I was always interested but I could never really find the right…

It’s a temporal paradox that would leave James Cameron scratching his noggin: after fifty years, modular synthesisers are again the hip ‘new’ thing, with more manufacturers than ever before trundling out modules and systems in a variety of formats, from Moog-style behemoths to diminutive Eurorack systems. In the 1960s, Moog and Buchla had the field virtually to themselves. Robert Moog’s history as the guiding force that popularised electronic music is indisputable, while Donald Buchla’s pioneering instruments provided many a soundtrack to the stoned and less-than-immaculate hippies throughout the Summer of Love and beyond. A few other manufacturers eventually joined the fray, including ARP, Emu, Serge, PPG and Polyfusion; while on the home front, Peter Zinovieff, David Cockerell, and Tristram Cary blasted off into space with the semimodular EMS VCS3 and…

The Who’s Pete Townshend is deified among guitar players, respected by music critics and idolised by rock fans. It’s not as widely known that Mr Townshend was also a pioneering synthesist. An avid experimenter, the author of Tommy was a dab hand with patch pin and cable – he even starred in a number of adverts by American synth company ARP. Indeed, he was a proud owner of an ARP 2600 semimodular instrument and the larger, fully modular 2500, the latter on full display on the band’s Bargain from the album Who’s Next. However, it was the smaller VCS 3 that appeared on the classic Won’t Get Fooled Again from the same LP. Here, Townshend came up with the idea of routing the band’s Lowrey organ through the EMS’s filter…

Mix bus compression is a polarising topic. Some people would never, ever compress the mix bus. I used to be in that camp, but my opinion changed and I’ve been doing mix bus compression for a few years now. In the tutorial below, we’ll look at a few bus compression techniques, but first I wanted to discuss why I prefer to work that way. One of the biggest benefits of mixing into a compressor for me is actually not related to compression itself at all. Rather, it’s about being forced to learn and maintain good gain staging practice. If you run things too hot, you’ll cramp the mix bus. This way of working teaches how your actions inside the mix affect not only the peak and RMS energy going into…

Our promise We bring you honest, unbiased appraisals of the latest computer music products. Our experts apply the same stringent testing methods to all gear, no matter how much hype or expectation surrounds it. What the ratings mean 1-4 A seriously flawed product that should be avoided 5 This product’s problems outweigh its merits 6 A decent product that’s only held back by a few flaws 7 Solid. Well worth considering 8 Very good. A well-conceived and executed product 9 Excellent. First-rate and among the best you can buy 10 Exceptional. It just doesn’t get any better than this! Awarded to products that challenge existing ideas and do something entirely new A product has to really impress us with its functionality and features to win this one If the product…

“Two Panners are each set up in their own colour-coded control tabs – green for Panner 1, red for Panner 2” PATH TYPE Choose one of four movement styles for each Panner MODULATION CONTROLS Apply channel delay and more TRIGGER Run your panning continuously or triggered DYNAMICS SECTION Apply compression or distortion PANNER TABS Switch the controls between Panners 1 and 2 MOTION FILTER A high shelf filter for dynamically shaping the Panners GLOBAL SECTION Route the external sidechain to the Panner and more PRESET LIBRARY Presets by Tony Maserati, Dave Pensado et al SPHERE DISPLAY Drag the handles around to set the Panner ranges MIXER Input, Output and Panner levels, and dry/wet Mix Conceived and designed by celebrated US mix engineer Michael Brauer (Coldplay, Florence and the Machine), Brauer…

For regular stereo usage, Karacter Mix keeps things simple, but when your two-channel requirements become more detailed, Karacter Master is the one to turn to. Looking like the Karacter 500 hardware, Karacter Master splits the interface into two identical channels. In the default mode, they’re a regular left/right pair, but lighting up the MS Mode option switches the left hand knobs and bottom buttons over to control of the mid signal, and the right hand knobs and top buttons to governance of the sides, facilitating separate saturation of each (complete with wet/dry mix control) for corrective or radical mid/side balancing. With Karacter Master also featuring a Stereo Link button, it could be argued that Karacter Mix doesn’t really need to be included. Indeed, while we can certainly understand the thinking…

This issue, our sample creators have dug deep into their synth collections to create you this fully-stocked toolbox of chord stabs, organ tones, pads, pianos and more, all recorded with a variety of common chord voicings. Processing has been kept to a minimum, so you can slot these royalty-free sounds straight in your tunes and instantly customise them with your own effects. Go get them from FileSilo or the DVD! 500 EXCLUSIVE SAMPLES 24 Soft pads 36 M1 piano 18 DX pianos 18 Mini pianos 18 Hard pads 72 Misc. pads 50 Loops 25 Sequences 8 Multisamples Remix Toolkit - Part 2 Chilled Electro ica - Part 1 Last issue’s Art of Remixing cover heralded more samples that we could cram on the cover disc, and this month we’ve loaded…

HYBRID SYNTHS Our synths have been created by the best software developers in the world to bring you a suite of sound-making tools for all music production scenarios u-he Zebra CM • Blendable oscillator waveforms • Super-programmable step LFOs • Slick delay, reverb and chorus • Original synth designed just for CM • AU/VST, 32-/64-bit www.u-he.com Enzyme CM • Scanned synthesis sound generator • Easy-to-use preset-based synth • Assign parameters to controls • Based on the full Enzyme synth • AU/VST, 32-/64-bit humanoidsoundsystems.com KV331AudioSynthMasterCM • Dual wavescanning oscillators • Multimode filter and built-in effects • FM/AM synthesis modes • Based on SynthMaster 2.5 • AU/VST, 32-/64-bit www.kv331audio.com Cableguys Curve 2.6 CM • Design-your-own-waveforms synth • New waveform capabilities for v2.6 • Phat 16-voice Unison mode • Based on Cableguys Curve…