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25 September 2005

Steinberg Cubase SE3

Filed under: Music software at 10:03 am Comments Off on Steinberg Cubase SE3
cubase-se3

Steinberg will soon release Cubase SE3, the new version of its entry-level music production and sequencing software. This upgrade brings in some of the features from the professional Cubase SX3 package, such as delay compensation. Steinberg’s view is that “Cubase SE3 is ideal for anyone working on a tight budget but who can’t do without professional technologies in their home recording, project or pre-production environment.”

More details are on the website and in Steinberg’s press release: Cubase SE3 provides ample creative space for professional musicians and producers looking to expand their music-making environment. With its 48 audio and unlimited MIDI tracks and the included range of VST instruments, virtual effects and MIDI effects, Cubase SE3 offers a huge palette of creative potential. Its professional-standard 32-bit audio engine offers pristine 24-bit/96kHz recording and playback, including full delay compensation.

Existing Cubase SE owners will find a range of new features and capabilities. These include a new user interface and audio engine, drag and drop for MIDI files into the Project Window, superior Hitpoint detection, a redesigned Track Inspector and much more. Cubase SE3 also introduces new capabilities that support an even faster, more efficient workflow, including new key commands and editing functions.

Not only is Cubase SE3 fully upgradeable to Steinberg’s Cubase SX3 and Cubase SL3 applications, but all projects created in Cubase SE3 can be easily opened in either of those two professional music applications, regardless of computer platform. Cubase SE3 also hosts VST instruments and effects, allowing Cubase SE3 owners to add to the virtual recording studio through the addition of professional virtual instruments and effects, including Steinberg’s successful VSTi range.

Features

  • 48 Audio tracks and unlimited MIDI tracks
  • Professional 24/96 recording
  • Up to 16 VST instrument slots
  • 5 insert effects and 8 send effects per channel
  • VST System Link and ReWire 2-compatible
  • VST audio and MIDI plug-ins included
  • Video thumbnail track for building your own video soundtracks
  • Technology and user interface based on award-winning music production software Cubase SX3/SL3

New in Cubase SE3

  • New VST 2.3 audio engine
  • Fully automatic delay compensation for plug-ins
  • Enhanced user interface (same “look and feel” as Cubase SX3)
  • Platform-specific performance optimizations
  • Improved Hitpoint detection for tempo adjustments of audio loops
  • Drag & Drop of MIDI tracks directly into the Project Window
  • Extended Track Inspector with improved track parameter access
  • Many editing and workflow enhancements

24 September 2005

SampleRobot automatic sampler

Filed under: Music software at 10:53 am Comments Off on SampleRobot automatic sampler
samplerobot

SampleRobot is an “automatic sampler” from German sound design people Skylife. It’s a quick way of getting all the sounds from your big clunky old synth modules into your shiny laptop studio — it actually plays your hardware snyth and records the results for playback through its software sampler. Skylife call it “the missing link between sound source and software sampler.”

More information from the website: SampleRobot is the new audio software for musicians and sound designers. For the first time SampleRobot offers fully automatic sampling of real instruments in definable detail. With SampleRobot you can recreate your favorite instruments and sounds via software samplers. You can archive your samples and combine your sounds to completely new virtual instruments. A futuristic graphical user interface gives you fast, efficient, and logical access to all sampling parameters.

SampleRobot is the missing link between sound source and software sampler. It was never easier to record audio and create multi samples in one go. The program is designed to work practically completely on its own while the user keeps full control of all parameters manually. And, SampleRobot’s sampling engine is non destructive.

Skylife clearly believe in the power of software over hardware: “If you like you can forget about your entire hardware equipment and realize your compositions with the same sounds on a 100% software base. … You may even doubt the existence of your hardware equipment.” Shades of The Matrix!

Traktor DJ Studio 3

Filed under: Music software at 9:22 am (1 comment)
traktor-3

Traktor DJ Studio 3 will be the next version of Native Instruments’ software DJ mixing system when it arrives in November. This version features no fewer than four virtual decks — just try that with Technics 1200s. It also has several tempo-synced effects and an emulated 4-channel mixer to put it all together. If Ableton Live feels too much like a computer program to you, try Traktor for live performance to get that old-skool vibe going.

There’s also integrated access to an online dance music store. It’s like having an infinite record crate — no matter what tunes people request, in a few minutes you can buy, download, drop them into your set and watch the crowd go insane. The website describes this feature in full, along with all the other additions to Traktor DJ Studio 3. Here are the highlights.

Turntables of Tomorrow
Traktor DJ Studio 3 has four fully-featured playback decks: Drop in additional loops and samples, or mix four tracks at once. The integrated 4-channel club mixer is highly flexible, allowing effects to be inserted on each channel individually. External turntables, CD-players and hardware effects can be patched seamlessly into the setup – the possibilities are endless.

New mixer and advanced effects
The prestigious Xone:92 club mixer has been perfectly emulated with the support of Allen & Heath. Its excellent 4-band EQ gives incredible depth to your mix. The cross-fader assignable filters offer unique and innovative frequency-based mixing possibilities, bringing a completely new feel to your sets. Five professional tempo-synched effects and four high-end EQ’s all give your sound a distinctive flavor.

Integrated Beatport Access
Traktor DJ Studio 3 also boasts direct integrated access to the Beatport Online Music Store, allowing you to browse their extensive catalogue, pre-listen and buy hot new tracks and download them directly into your library – and all this is possible from within the Traktor DJ Studio 3 browser.

Perfect Setup
The user interface works on a completely flexible and dynamic principle. Toggle individual control groups on and off, arrange secondary functions and displays for an optimum use of space. The new Messages Window automatically displays short explanations for the active function. Whatever the situation, Traktor DJ Studio 3 always lets you know exactly what is happening, so you can concentrate on the mix.

23 September 2005

FuzzPlus 2 free fuzzbox plugin

Filed under: Music software at 7:25 pm Comments Off on FuzzPlus 2 free fuzzbox plugin
fuzzplus-2

FuzzPlus 2 is a fuzzbox plugin from Audio Damage, makers of the mighty dubonic DubStation plugin. FuzzPlus is a fuzzbox plugin with the same fun cartoon interface and very simple controls. The basis of this plugin is a transform model of “a famous vintage fuzz pedal,” though they don’t say which one. And importantly, it’s not just cheap — it’s free.

Their website talks about the four easy controls:

Fuzz knob: This controls, as you might imagine, exactly how much fuzz is applied to the signal.

Tone knob: This controls the brightness of the distorted signal.

Output knob: This is the output volume of the device, when it is active.

Bypass button: This works just like the switch on a stomp box. When the blue light is lit, you’re money. When it’s not, the input is passed directly to the output. This can be automated for a slightly different vibe than automating the effect bypass of your host.

Ableton Live 5 review — Harmony Central

Filed under: Music software at 5:35 pm Comments Off on Ableton Live 5 review — Harmony Central
ableton-live-5

Harmony Central has a very, very long and episodic review of Ableton Live 5. It’s quite thorough — they even look at a very useful feature that doesn’t get enough attention — the tutorials. “Turns out they’re actually pretty useful and quite well done. The “Tour” loads an example file, then takes you through all the main operations: clips, scenes, mixing, and the like. If you’re new to Live, this would be extremely helpful. The Tour tutorial has 27 pages and includes a fair amount of material, but not so much as to be overwhelming.”

The whole thing is in the form of a forum thread. The reviewer posted every so often on a specific aspect of Live — the Track Freeze function, for example, and the Locators: “Launching with Locators lets you set locate points at any time in the Arrange view, and freely go to any locate point whenever you like — with the usual quantization option where the switch to the next locator occurs on the next measure boundary, next beat, etc. But you can also trigger these from keyboard or QWERTY keys (or by double-clicking on a locator), which is a blast: instant rearrangement.”

The best thing about this review is the interactivity — there are posts replying to the reviewer and disagreeing with some of the points made. If you have the time to read it all, you’ll get a very good view of the issues surrounding Live 5 and Ableton Live in general.

At the end of a very extended interactive review, the ask whether it’s worth upgrading from Live 4. The answer is a definite yes. “All the improvements add up to a smoother workflow and enhanced user experience. That’s important to me — far more important than, say, adding video support (which I presume most Live users don’t find all that vital anyway). If you know your way around Live 4 and you’re totally happy with it, I suppose you can always wait until Live 6 comes along. But if you’re a Live aficionado, it’s hard to imagine not being able to appreciate the plethora of talents that Live 5 brings to the table.”

22 September 2005

n-Track Studio multitrack recorder

Filed under: Music software at 4:23 pm Comments Off on n-Track Studio multitrack recorder
n-track-4

n-Track Studio 4 is the latest version of the audio & MIDI digital multitrack recording software from Italy’s FASoft. Starting from the initial idea of being a souped-up multitrack recorder, it’s added many features over the years and now supports plugins, ReWire, surround sound mixing and a whole lot of other goodies, as the website says: You can record, playback, overdub just like with a tape multitrack recorder, but you can exploit the flexibility and power of today’s PCs for applying effects, realtime input processing, automated aux channels sends and returns, destructive and non-destructive wave editing. The program supports 24bit-192 khz recording, multiple channels soundcards, live input processing, CD burning, MP3 encoding and much more.

Other highlights of n-Track Studio:

  • Built-in effects include Reverb, Compression, Parametric and Graphic EQ, Echo, Auto-volume, Pitch Shift, Chorus, Multiband Compression, Spectrum analyzer; also supports third party DirectX, VST 2.0 and ReWire plug-ins
  • Supports ReWire technology by Propellerhead Software AB: signals from other programs (such as Reason, Ableton Live, Fruityloops and many others) can be mixed in realtime with n-Track’s own channels
  • Supports surround mixing for creating DVD audio projects using 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1 channels surround formats (see the screenshot)
  • Multiple input and output soundcards or more than one soundcard are supported: you can record multiple tracks at a time and output to more than one stereo output. Each output channels has its own master channel effects and volume contro

Synful Orchestra plugin

Filed under: Music software at 1:36 am (2 comments)
synful-orchestra

Synful Orchestra is an orchestra instrument plugin. It sounds like a fantastic idea: most orchestral instrument plugins will respond to key velocity and modulation — Synful Orchestra responds as a whole, in a complex way, to a full range of expressive gestures such as staccato notes and portamento. It’s almost as if you are conducting an orchestra rather than playing an instrument. Synful, the makers, put it this way: “Synful Orchestra responds to the performer. When you play a phrase with legato and detached notes, with accents, and pedal nuances, Synful Orchestra responds with realistic sounding slurs, tonguing, and bowing. No laborious editing of performances to select from a limited set of articulations in a sample library.”

Careful — the phrase “slurs, tonguing, and bowing” could easily be taken out of context. Anyway, Synful Orchestra may have rather a plain user interface, but the ideas behind it are pretty interesting. Eric Lindemann, the man behind the software, has a very impressive CV, and has patented the technology used in Synful Orchestra. The website has more information on the plugin. It says: Synful Orchestra is not a sampler or a sampler library. Synful Orchestra is not a physical modeling synthesizer. It is an entirely new concept in music synthesis. At the heart of Synful Orchestra is Synful’s Reconstructive Phrase Modeling (RPM) technology. This is the result of many years of research, several patents, and a lifetime of experimentation, design, and frustration with older synthesis technologies.

To realize the Synful Orchestra sound examples using even the most advanced sampler with the best sample libraries would require many hours manually selecting samples to achieve different note articulations. Even then the results would be disappointing, stiff, and unnatural. This is because it is impossible to achieve realistic musical phrasing for expressive instruments using samplers. A sample library is a collection of recordings of isolated notes. It is not surprising that when these recordings are strung together they sound like a sequence of unrelated isolated notes. With Synful Orchestra things are different:

  • Synful Orchestra models transitions between notes automatically.
  • Synful Orchestra models vibrato and extends the duration of notes using sophisticated statistical techniques. Sample loops with all their limitations are a thing of the past.
  • Synful Orchestra responds to volume, pitch, and velocity changes with continuous changes in timbre, just like a real instrument.

21 September 2005

Acoustica audio editor

Filed under: Music software at 3:54 pm Comments Off on Acoustica audio editor
acoustica

Acoustica is an audio editing program from Acon Digital Media. Acon version 3.3 has been released, adding quality enhancement of old LP or tape recordings, effects chaining and many other tweaks. Acon say that Acoustica’s audio editing engine allows unlimited undo and redo levels, fast non-destructive editing and 24 or 32 bit editing with up to 192 kHz sampling rate. You can import tracks from audio CDs and create audio CDs with your edited material without leaving the program. Acoustica reads and writes Ogg-Vorbis, Wave Audio, Windows Media Audio, MP3 and Sun Audio files, and imports audio tracks from MPEG Video AVI and WMV files. It seems to have decent features for such an inexpensive program.

More details from the website: The new Cleaning Wizard simplifies the transfer of LP records or audio tapes to CDs. The Cleaning Wizard automates the whole process from recording and track splitting to audio restoration and CD recording.

The new effect chain editor in version 3.3 allows the user to chain internal processing tools and plug-ins. The chains can be saved including their settings for later use. Each processing step in the chain can be bypassed and the processing order changed by drag and drop. Full feature highlights are as follows.

Effects

  • High quality reverb
  • Echo, flanger and chorus
  • Dynamic processor with graphical input
  • Pitch transpose (with or without alteration of duration) and harmonizer
  • Support for DirectX audio effect plug-ins
  • Real-time preview on most of the effects

Editing tools

  • High quality time stretching
  • Create volume curves and fades
  • Sample format conversion
  • Channel mixer for stereo image adjustments

Signal enhancement algorithms

  • Improved click filter for restoration of LP and 78 RPM recordings
  • Noise reduction based on spectral subtraction
  • Automatic noise reduction with no need for separate noise profile analysis
  • Six band full parametric equalizer with graphical display of the frequency response
  • Synthesis of high frequency components gives life to old recordings
  • Automatically remove DC offsets

Signal analysis tools

  • Fourier spectrum
  • Fourier spectrogram (2D, time-frequency-plot)
  • Wavelet plots (based on the Morlet-Wavelet)

M-Audio Key Rig review — Computer Music

Filed under: Music software at 8:44 am Comments Off on M-Audio Key Rig review — Computer Music
key-rig

Computer Music magazine reviews Key Rig, the first virtual instrument from M-Audio. They note its easy-to-use interface, clearly designed for keyboard players rather than hardcore programmers. The most important module of the four included is the Stage Piano module, which contains various pianos and synth pads. Strangely, the reviewers say that this module does not include any clavinets, but M-Audio’s website explicitly says that this module contains “grand pianos, Wurlitzer, classic electric pianos, FM, clavinet and more” (my emphasis). If your heart is set on a clavinet, you’d better check this first. Apart from this, they rate the Stage Piano module sounds as “serviceable” — if you want the best piano sounds then you should look elsewhere (and probably pay more). This is the price you pay for Key Rig’s simplicity and convenience.

The Polyphonic Synth and General MIDI modules are also decent but unexciting — you may not want to use them for the final mix of your next hit single, but they would be fine for demos or gigs. On the other hand, they like the Electromagnetic Organ: “there are some excellent presets here, whether you want to go smooth and jazzy or dirty and loud.” They say they would happily use this module in a live performance.

In the end, they rate Key Rig as 7 out of 10, saying that it is best suited to laptop musicians — that means you! — especially in a live setting. It has a lot of different sounds in a compact, easy-to-use package.

20 September 2005

MultiDynamics multiband dynamics processor

Filed under: Music software at 10:31 pm (1 comment)
multidynamics

Wave Arts have released MultiDynamics 5 as part of a major upgrade across their plug-in line. MultiDynamics is a multiband dynamics processor useful for mastering, noise reduction, volume maximization, sound design, and more. It’s one of five plug-ins in their upcoming PowerSuite 5 bundle; once all five plug-ins have been upgraded, PowerSuite 5 will leave the building.

Wave Arts describe this plug-in’s “powerful multi-band dynamics: use up to six compressors/expanders, each operating in a different frequency range. MultiDynamics 5 has a variety of uses including mastering, noise reduction, volume maximization, and sound design.” New features in MultiDynamics 5 include

  • Clean (for transparent sound) and vintage (for analog colorization and warmth) dynamics modes
  • Stunning visual interface design
  • Brand new presets and enhanced preset management
  • Up to 192K support

This is part of the soon-to-be-released PowerSuite 5, which Wave Arts say features “outstanding sound quality, more signal processing power, stunning visual interface design, and world class customer support at a tremendous value. These new v5 plug-ins cover the essential aspects of sound design, tracking, mixing and mastering. They are available in various bundle configurations and individually, so you can choose the package that best suits your audio needs. These plug-ins run on any Mac (AU/VST/MAS/RTAS) or Windows (DX/VST/RTAS) based audio/music production platform.”