Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2022 i Electronic Musician

Universal Audio have made good on their promise to bring the UAD Spark native plugin subscription service to Windows, meaning that PC users can now access a selection of the company’s best-loved instruments and effects in their DAW without any additional UA hardware. Launched in March 2022, Spark was previously exclusive to macOS. The caveat is that you’ll need to pay $20 a month for the privilege (or $150 a year), though there is a 14-day trial option so you can try before you buy. Owners of UA’s Volt USB audio interfaces receive an extended 30-day trial, and if you already have a perpetual licence for any of the Spark plugins, you’ll receive the native version for free. Spark contains virtual versions of some of the greatest pieces of hardware…

Keyboard MAGAZINE CLASSIC Thanks to the rapid march - nay, the breakneck trot - of technological advancement, we computer musicians are accustomed to change. With voracious appetites for new and unusual sounds, we demand a constant stream of inspiring new gadgets to fuel our creativity. Yet some tools stand the test of time, trundled out year after year, virtually unchanged since their inception, and with any suggestion of ‘improvement’ likely met with cries of desecration. Take, for example, the AC30, Vox’s venerated combo amp, which has remained unapologetically consistent since release. Sure, the AC30 has weathered internal changes over the years, but its unmistakable jangly tone has endured, becoming synonymous with the sound of the so-called British Invasion(s). Before the AC30, there was the AC15. As the names would suggest,…

There’s no onboard sequencer here, but Malevolent does include an arpeggiator offering six pattern types and a six-octave range, selectable using the joystick and octave buttons. Speed is controlled using a front panel rate control. As soon as Malevolent is fed a clock source through its MIDI or its analog input, the arp will sync to that signal, and the rate control becomes a clock divider. The front panel also has outs for keyboard velocity, pitch and gate, meaning that the arp and keys can be easily patched to control just one oscillator individually - for paraphonic playing or sequencing - or any external CV gear.…

As mentioned, the Tape section on OP-1 Field is very easy to use. It’s also easy to split, copy and erase parts of tracks, perhaps a little too easy on occasion, and that brings in one negative: the lack of any kind of undo. As the manual admits: “once all keys are pressed there’s no way back; your tape will be wiped forever”. There are workarounds to protect your recordings but not an instant Undo button. Nor is there a quantize option as this is audio and not MIDI recording. Both of these were missing from the original OP-1 and split user opinions. Ardant OP-1 supporters say that a lack of quantize gives the DP-1 its own human ‘style’, or helps your fingerdrumming and playing. And there are those that…

$292 ikmultimedia.com Strengths + 22 exceptionally modeled virtual basses + A whole wealth of control and customization options + Fretless models provide even more tones and moods + Easy-to-navigate interface Limitations - Some slowdown/ stuttering It used to be a common slight leveled at young bass-guitar-wielders, that the only reason they took up their fourstringed instrument was because they’d thrown in the towel with learning proper guitar, and plumped for something easier. It’s a fun but obnviously juvenile dig typically made by those who’ve little understanding of the amount of skill, rhythmic and melodic dexterity required to handle a bass properly. While production and arrangement innovations come and go, the bass guitar still remains a fixture across genres. From funk to rock, R&B to rap, solid, ambidextrous basslines, driven by…

As with many inventions, the precise beginning of the electric guitar is shrouded in mist. Wikipedia boldly states it was invented in 1932, but there are tales of various musicians sticking a phonograph needle into an acoustic axe at earlier points in history. Once firmly established by people like Charlie Christian, the electric guitar went on to be popularized by Les Paul and Leo Fender, who created solid body versions that were cheaper than their arch-top counterparts and able to be played louder. At its inception, the electric guitar was largely thought of as merely a way of making the acoustic instrument loud enough to solo over drums and horns, but even early players were not satisfied to stop there. Les Paul, with his DIY wiring wizardry, might lay claim…

FROM THE ISSUE: Sudan Archives We've a double header of interviews this month. Alongside our cover star Steve Aoki, we've also sat down with Stones Throw-signed, genre-hopping experimenter Sudan Archives. Read about how she crafted her killer new LP! Review: Page 60 FROM THE ARCHIVE: UAD Spark Review Universal Audio's native Spark subscription service has finally arrived for PC users - but is it worth investing in? Find out what we made of it when it launched for Mac users earlier this year. See more:bit.ly/EMspark AROUND THE WEB: MusicRadar Tech Our sister brands MusicRadar, Future Music and Computer Music have just relaunched their YouTube channel. Go subscribe for the latest artist interviews and gear demos. See more: bit.ly/EMRadartech…

Following a limited-time production run back in 2019, Moog has now formally brought the Model 10 modular synth back into production. First introduced in 1971, this compact, fully analog instrument features 11 discrete modules, including the 907 Fixed Filter Bank and three 900 Series oscillators. It’s a simpler beast than the Model 15, its successor, and focuses on “purity of sound, speed, and simplicity”. The new Model 10s are set to be built to order using the original engineering and manufacturing techniques and traditional wiring methods. Each module will be tested, finished with an aluminium panel and then placed in the custom wood, Tolex-wrapped cabinet. There are several enhancements for the reissue, too, including an updated power supply that supports a wider range of selectable voltages (so users outside the…

We've discussed various aspects of beatmaking before, but this month let's take a deeper dive together on the subject of tuning your virtual drumskins. The kick and snare drums in a track are typically the most dynamic sounds in the mix, and not only define the rhythm of the piece but also provide its fundamental frequency and weight. Along with the bassline, they’re the most important sounds in the mix by far, and are usually the base for everything else in the song. This makes getting them right from the very start extremely important - do a sub-par job here and you’ll waste a huge amount of time making tweaks and adjustments to solve problems that could have been avoided. In this tutorial we’ll show you how to select, tune,…

The jazz community was recently saddened by the news of the passing of Joey DeFrancesco. A consummate musician, he almost single-handedly revived the popularity of jazz organ trios, and had an amazing career for a musician so young. Child Prodigy DeFrancesco was bom into a musical family: his father was a professional organist, and his older brother a blues-based guitar player. Joey started playing piano at the age of four, and first sat in with his father’s band at only six years old! He discusses his early years in a video at interview bit.ly/EMjdfal. Blessed with great ears, he quickly absorbed the style of jazz organ greats like Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff, and had plenty of local teachers. Living in Philadelphia, he would often sit in with top jazz…

IK Multimedia Amplitube CS Desktop and iOS users can download and install IK Multimedia’s Custom Shop app for free, and while it includes a number of amp and speaker combos by default, you’ll have to pony up a few bucks for in-app purchases to get into any of the emulations based on the AC30. www.ikmultimedia.com Native Instruments Guitar Rig 6 The comprehensive collection of amp and speaker models found in Native Instruments Guitar Rig don’t come right out and say “Vox”, but they might as well, dubbing their classic British emulation the “AC Box”. Paired with the Matched Cabinet, it offers more than enough sixties jangle to keep those mop tops a’bobbing. www.native-instmments.com…

$292 uvi.net Strengths + Superb set of orchestrally inspired sounds + The hybrid elements provides great contemporary layer + Highly editable, at all stages + Very diverse samples included + Inspiring to use, right from the get-go Limitations - Less convincing as a natural orchestral library The burgeoning market for orchestral samples seems to have increased exponentially over the last few years. Let’s face it, there are only so many ways you can spin an orchestral library, without feeling like you are merely repeating history, albeit with better technology through each new release. Any company dipping their toe into the orchestral department needs to be brave and have an angle, and that could possibly sum up UVI and their latest offering, Augmented Orchestra. Time for action Let’s begin with some…

In contrast to other bassmakers which only offer basic approaches to their samples, IK allow your virtual fingers to touch its four-stringed arsenal in a variety of different ways, from the straightforward Finger-led approach, to a metal and funkadelic Slap mode. Punkier, more garage-rock players might want to opt for a Picked style, while Mute allows you to dial in more damping to the tone of any aforementioned style. This is an instant silencer to those who scoff at the abilities of virtual instruments to capture the character of genuine players. While not as instantaneous or instinctual, molding a realistic, genre-fitting bass line with MODO Bass 2 is a breeze. There are also options to choose where on the bass your hypothetical fingers will interact with the string. Add this…

It’s been a minute - more than 18 months, in fact - but Korg have finally launched Drumlogue, which they call their “first hybrid drum machine”. Offering both analog and digital sounds, this also includes an expanded version of the MultiEngine found in other ‘logue products, which enables you to customize your Drumlogue with new synth sounds. Drumlogue contains new analog circuitry from Korg engineer Junichi Ikeuchi, whose previous projects include the ARP 2600 M, MS-20 Mini and ARP Odyssey. This is used to generate kick, snare and low/high tom sounds, which promise to give your tracks “harmonic richness and a thick low end”. You can augment these analog sounds with seven digital parts, six of which are sample-based and one of which uses the aforementioned Multi-Engine. The sample-based parts…

Having previously worked on a synth with Novation and a microtuning plugin with Oddsound, Aphex Twin (AKA Richard James) has now released a free “custom sample mashing app” known as Samplebrain. This open-source software works by chopping samples up into a ‘brain’ of small, interconnected sections called blocks, which are grouped into a network based on their similarity. This then processes a target sample, chopping it up into blocks in the same way, and attempts to match each block with one in its brain for realtime playing. The idea is that you’re interpreting one sound with another. There are plenty of tweakable parameters — some with intriguing names such as ‘novelty’, ‘boredom’ and ‘stickyness’ — and, pleasingly, the software is said to be “slightly out of control”. If that all…

Last month, I looked at using diminished seventh chords as pivot chords to change or modulate to a different key. To give them their proper title, the chords I was using are also known as fully-diminished sevenths, but if we delve deeper into the seventh chord’s family tree, there’s another, closely-related chord in the diminished family with a whole other range of uses, and that’s the halfdiminished seventh. Also commonly known as the ‘minor seven flat five’ (m7b5), the half-diminished chord is a type of seventh chord with a particular structure that makes it a pretty useful passing chord. Described as being ‘intensely expressive’ by theorists, it’s found a lot in jazz, but it can also be used to add some emotional color to most other genres. With a kind…

Strengths + Wonderfully characterful and raw sound + Neat, knob-perfunction interface + Pairs very well with other modular/semimodular gear Limitations - Joystick implementation is slightly questionable - No patchable utilities - No sync/trigger for the LFO Malevolent may be the debut release from new British outfit PWM, but it still arrives with substantial design pedigree. The analog electronics were developed alongside Bristol’s Future Sound Systems, and its design team includes ex-Focusrite, Avid, M-Audio and Roli names. It’s described by its creators as a ‘pure analog semi-modular’, meaning that, while there are digital control elements and MIDI implementation, the sound engine is all-analog from start to finish. I’m often wary of instruments that boast analog purity for the sake of it, but Malevolent is a proudly old-school piece of instrument design…

Strengths + Beautiful mobile sound - better than the original + Extra storage, tape and sampling + Inspiring sounds for leftfield composers Limitations - The price. Of course. Think of the number of hardware synths you could buy! - Still no undo and quantize but the sequencing has been bolstered - The price. Again Has there ever been a piece of gear as cool, compact -and divisive - as Teenage Engineering’s OP-1? It is probably the most feature-packed and mobile piece of recording gear ever produced, with several synth engines, drums, sampling, ‘tape’ recording, effects, sequencing, even FM radio. Over its 11-year reign of coolness, it's attracted everyone from Jean-Michel Jarre to Depeche Mode, Trent Reznor to, um, Elijah Wood with its charming ultra-sleek workflow and ‘take it anywhere in…

The UVI universe is one of those domains that is building at an alarming rate. One huge difference here is that all of the products within their catalog bring something desirable to the table. Augmented Orchestra operates from within their simple but highly effective and reliable Workstation plugin. This will operate with four levels of multi-timbrality, which can be helpful if assigning sections within a project or template. Their packages also operate from within their flagship Falcon synthesizer plugin, which brings further editability and control to the arena. Wonderful as this is as a concept, we have found that many of their libraries are so effective, there is absolutely no disgrace in purely operating with the more simplistic Workstation software. UVI also now offer a subscription model, which they call…

UNITED PLUGINS One to watch for analog-style software, this collective of developers cater for electronic music producers of all stripes. The focus isn’t always entirely on analog sound, but their guitaristcentric lines and models of studio technology come recommended for those looking to get the sounds of real circuits in their music. unitedplugins.com AUDIOTHING The Italian developer may have been getting a little jaded after making so many solid plugins - the new Things series has been a departure from the usual categorizeable plugin, but with entries like ‘Motor’, 'Flip EQ’ and ‘Texture’, we’re enjoying the new, inspirational turn from Audio Thing. audiothing.net CHERRY AUDIO The makers of Voltage Modular have been coming out from their modular emulation cloister for a bit of air. With instruments like Dreamsynth, Miniverse and…