Table of contents for 09-2020 in Beat English

Inspiration guaranteed: The best sounds of this cult synth! IK Multimedia Syntronics OXa Our plug-in highlight, Syntronik OXa, captures the legendary warmth and thickness of Oberheim‘s OB-X and OB-Xa polyphonic analog synths in detail. This sample instrument covers an enormous range from bass and lead sounds to lush pads. Thanks to the layering- and split-functions and the flexible arpeggiator, it delivers inspiring song ideas in no time. www.ikmultimedia.com | get your license: www.serialcenter.de win | mac Delay and Modulation Giant d16 Sigmund If you like characterful echoes and spacy delay experiments, Sigmund is a joy to work with! Our full version by d16 is much more than a delay effect: The plugin is a secret weapon for delay and modulations of any kind. But the remarkably flexible creative tool is…

If you search the Internet for special tips and tricks on various synthesizers, the majority of the articles written are on very general topics. Malicious tongues would claim that this is accompanied by the highest possible click rate. As a print magazine, we at Beat are not dependent on clicks and, in this special, we’ll give you some synth tips that have never been read in this form before - we promise! Sound Design Tricks The first six pages of our Synth Secrets Special show 25 tips and tricks for synthesizers and instruments from everyday studio life. The Beat editorial team reaches deep into its bag of tricks and shares the best synthesizer secrets with you. Software and hardware sound generators, as well as effects, tools and DAWs play a…

Beat/ Monsieur Jarre, you initially published the Eōn app for Apple devices only. Don‘t you like other smartphones? Jean-Michel Jarre/ The world seems to be divided into two tribes: the Apple world and the rest (laughs). And neither one seems to be very neutral towards each other. I‘ve always belonged in the Apple camp - like so many other musicians. The reasons are not just technical: Apple has this certain creative connection. So it was obvious from the start, with a project like Eōn, to supply the iPhone and the iPad - although, of course, an Android version will follow soon. Beat/ When did you start using the Mac for your music? Jean-Michel Jarre/ This was in the early days of the first Macintosh. Later, I was one of the first musicians…

Beat/ If I understand it correctly, you see AI as a part of a new humanist movement that is supposed to guarantee a sustainable future. To some people, that may sound like a contradiction. Alex Braga/ The human soul is the perfect nest to hatch and nurture emotions. It gives birth to feelings, ideas and concepts. But we must also consider the consequences of our actions. And here, history has rather proven that we as humans do not have the best hands. If we use machines to calculate the consequences of our emotions, then we have the best of both worlds. Then we have a real chance at overcoming our problems. Beat/ So you see no reason to stop development in this area? Alex Braga/ Should we have stopped development when we…

1 Sample Basics Load a long sample into the sampler. It should be rich in overtones and may also contain changes in harmony, but should not be static or too rhythmic. Pads and textures fit best here. You will find plenty of suitable material among the Ambience Sounds in the Machine Library. Set the polyphony to one voice (monophonic). 2 Sequence Create a sequence of 16th notes at a constant pitch. Play the individual notes with fluctuating velocity or create random velocity values afterwards. In our example, however, it is not the volume but the starting point of the sample that is to be modulated. To do this, we switch to the Velocity tab. 3 Starting Point Set the Volume to 0% and Start to 100%. Depending on the stop,…

1 Sample Editing To start load the Fruity Granulator. Next, add a vocal sample using the folder button available below. Make sure to use a longer sample in order to get a better result from the effect. When choosing the audio file, we recommend a sung passage - female voices are particularly suitable. 2 Other Settings Now it‘s time to make a few adjustments in the plug-in. In the Effects section, you‘ll find the „RAND“ button (Randomize). Pull it up completely. Now take care of the Grains area. The „GR.Spacing“-knob is located on the very left. Next, set the „Attack“ slider to the 1 o‘clock position. 3 The Magic Happens The most important setting for the effect we want to achieve is made with the PAN knob. Turn it up…

1 Song Basics Open a song with a bassline or melody that is good, but lacks that certain something. Create an audio track and load a Field Recording onto it. We used Walking Back And Forth.wav from the booklet data. We add a compressor, EQ and noise gate to the track, like Pro-G from FabFilter [1]. 2 Routing You can use any gate you like, the only important thing is that it has a sidechain input. To route the bassline sound into the gate, we‘ll create another audio track in Ableton Live, put its input on the track containing the bassline, route the output to the gate effect‘s sidechain input, and activate track monitoring. 3 Short Mixing In other DAWs, the process may be simpler. In Cubase, the bassline can…

Cinematique Instruments Rytmik With Rytmik, Cinematique Instruments offers a creative tool based on the full version of NI Kontakt. With a practical combination of sequencer and sampler plus a mixer and effects, it has far more potential than simple audio loop players. Rytmik is a groove machine consisting of a 32-step sequencer with up to 24 individual tracks and over 215 samples. The main window invites you to sessions that could last late into the night. Here you’ll find and enjoy the 350 grooves according to three criteria (Style, Energy, Color). Many of the presets aren’t impressive on their own, but fit perfectly into your arrangement. Rhythmically, the beats are varied and more often mainstream-oriented. As for the sounds, the booms, hits and other cinematic effects stand out. On the…

Like the Minimoog, Oberheim‘s OB-X, OB-Xa and OB-8 are among those analog synthesizers that have the most software replicas. It’s no wonder since these three polyphonic synthesizers from the early eighties wrote music history with their warm and voluminous sound and still enjoying great popularity today. Purist with Add-ons For Obsession, Synapse Audio used the OB-Xa as their model, using Curtis chips for the oscillators and the filter. The layout with two oscillators, noise generator, resonant filter, two LFOs and two envelopes is well known from its hardware counterpart. In both oscillators, you can select sawtooth, square, a mix of both, and triangle waveforms. In Sync mode, you can create wonderfully cutting sounds. Fortunately, there is also a cross modulation option onboard, which (in hardware form) was reserved for the…

Nils Schneider K1v The Kawai K1 digital synthesizer came on the market at the end of the 80s and combined short attack samples with waveforms created by additive synthesis. Combined with the crunchy Lo-Fi sound of its 8-bit converters, the K1 could produce especially interesting smoky, wheezy sounds as well as bell-like biting leads. And now, such vintage digital sounds are in great demand again. That makes it all the more pleasing that the developer Nils Schneider presents the Nils K1v, a free VST plug-in that faithfully reproduces the K1. Nils K1v even contains the Factory-Bank and all ROM-Cards, the 768 original presets can be selected easily from the browser with the search function. Furthermore, it’s possible to exchange SysEx presets with the original hardware and, last but not least,…

MOTU has been on the market for many years with reliable, high-quality audio interfaces. With the latest models, Americans are venturing into lower price regions for the first time, which fits into the desktop studio budget. We have tested whether or not their high standard can be maintained. High-Quality Build Both devices are discreetly designed and, at first glance, hardly differ from each other. The solid housing is made of metal, with screwed-on rubber feet for non-slip protection. The potentiometers offer a pleasant feel, as do the easy-grip aluminium buttons. Two XLR/jack combination sockets with gain controls are located on the front. You can connect microphones, instruments or line signals to these jacks. 48V phantom power, as well as direct monitoring for latency-free monitoring, can be activated for each input.…

With Digitone, Electron has already shown how to make clunky and difficult to program FM synthesis more accessible. Model:Cycles takes this idea a step further. Like with Model: Samples, they paid special attention to easy operation by giving direct access to relevant parameters and functions. Model:Cycles is also more attractive in terms of price and currently costs less than a half of the desktop version of the Digitone. Cheap FM groovebox Savings were made primarily on the housing and operating elements. While more expensive electronic devices with metal housing and hard plastic buttons are designed for daily stage use and are almost indestructible, the Model:Cycles sits in the same clunky plastic housing as the Model:Samples, but this time with a grey colour scheme. It‘s not very sexy, so the included…

Although Black Lion Audio already has an 1176 clone in its range with Seventeen, it is based on the later Blackface model. Bluey, on the other hand, is unmistakably inspired by the first, particularly rarer series of cult compressors. And from this series, a very special unit was chosen as a model, namely the Bluestripe, modified several times by the well-known audio engineer Chris Lord-Alge (who also worked on the CLA series from Waves). Excellent Build Quality and Feel No costs were cut during its development. The design, which is closely based on the original, has a silver front made of brushed aluminium including the characteristic blue stripe; and it weighs a good 8 kilograms. The large knobs with a pleasant turning resistance leave an expensive feel. The large VU…

Liked 1,742 Times Korg MS2000 Goes Hardcore Switch on oscillator 2 only and set OSC1 level to zero. Turn on SYNC and let OSC2 pitch modulate at high tempo via LFO with S/H wave. Activate Unison with Detune of +25 and you have a killer sound. „Hardcore will never die!“ Liked 1,363 Times Your Own Theremin? Quite simple and possible for any synth: Connect an LFO to pitch at a relatively fast tempo and control the intensity via mod wheel or aftertouch. Then, set it to mono and turn up the portamento…your own Theremin is ready! Liked 1,465 Times Proper Doubling with U-He Hive 2 To make a sound thicker, the doubling production trick is ideal. This tip shows a simple circuit that allows doubling stereo software synthesizers on-the-fly. In…

At the beginning of the signal chain is usually a pad sound from one of Alex Pfeffer‘s preferred synths like u-he Zebra 2 or the flexible VA and wavetable synthesizer HIVE 2. www.u-he.com A reverb like the Valhalla DSP reverb plug-ins or the Lexicon LXP Native Reverb Bundle is often used to enhance synth sounds. These let my sounds finally shimmer. www.lexiconpro.com Effectrix is the ideal tool for crazy loop, glitch and stutter effects, lively filter gradients, wacky loop and granular experiments or real-time scratching. www.sugar-bytes.de Flexible sound creation with multiple synthesis forms as well as versatile filters, modulation options and effects, make Factory a specialist for excellent animated sounds. www.sugar-bytes.de With the FG-401, the Slate Virtual Mix Rack includes a VCA compressor with an extremely musical sound that can…

Oscillators and Play Modes: OXa‘s appealing user interface, modelled on the Oberheim OB-Xa, allows you to control the most important sonic parameters of this sample instrument. The tuning of the two oscillators can be adjusted here. With the option to select the playback mode in the control section, polyphonic playing is just as possible as monophonic lines or legato playing. Filter Diversity: A highlight of OXa is the multimode filter where you can select between four choices modeled after the circuits of synth classics like the Minimoog, Roland Jupiter-8 / Juno 60, Sequential Prophet / Oberheim OB-Xa and Oberheim SEM. Additionally, Phaser, Formant and Classic modes are available. On some models, you can also switch between low, band and high pass as well as band lock – and adjust the…

1 Duplicate Track To create a Haas effect, generate a delayed duplicate of the original signal by duplicating the original track. Then pan one of the signals to the far left and the other to the far right. You now have various options for delaying the duplicated track. 2 Delay Track Activate the track delay in Live using the small button labeled „D“ located to the right of the master fader. If the difference between two identical signals is more than 40 ms, you will notice them as two separate signals. If the difference is less than 2 ms, however, your ear perceives both as one signal. 3 Effect Impact Experiment with the delay time of the duplicate track. Try different values between 2 ms and 35 ms and listen…

1 Drum Kit and Bass Two instrument tracks are used in example [1]: Track 1 = „Roland TR-808“ in the Drum Machine Designer and track 2 = „Echo Bass“ which is also in the Logic Pro X library. We start with the first track and open the step sequencer (Window - Open Step Sequencer), where we’ll create a polyrhythmic drum pattern. 2 Simple Beat The Step Sequencer offers 16 preset steps and displays one instrument of the drum kit per line. With „Step On/Off“ the steps can be set. We start simple and set the snare to „2“ and „4“ and let the hi-hat eights run through. Tip: For Hi-Hat and Perc try the random function: „ Randomize line values create step on/off“. 3 Note Repetitions A useful tool for…

Beat / Can you briefly introduce Sound Yeti to our readers? Andrew / Like most small businesses, we started out very modestly. We started a company, Epic Stock Media [1] and developed Soundboard apps for the Google Play App Store and the emerging Kindle Fire App Store. We managed to develop some ringtone apps that ranked #1 on those platforms. After that, we went into making sound effect libraries for game developers. My brother Collin, our Chief Sound Designer, was freelancing and did custom sound design, mainly for mobile/app games and video. I freelanced and produced commercials and music videos, and our father John was marketing director in a technology company. He also worked for E-mu Systems at the time of the SP-12 drum sampler so, as a team, we…

Launchkey MK3 is available with 25, 37, 49 or 61 keys, which offer a pleasant playing feel and good response. You have to do without aftertouch, though. All four models have the same controls and functions, the 49 and 61 versions also have 9 faders and buttons for mixer and parameter control. MIDI Controller The backside holds a pleasant surprise because, unlike its predecessor models and many other compact keyboards, the MK3 launchkey has a full DIN-size MIDI output in addition to an input for a sustain pedal. So you can play other hardware with it even without a computer. This is especially interesting combined with the sophisticated arpeggiator and the customizable controller mappings for almost all controls. The custom pages are programmed using the Components software, which is browser-based,…

Behringer CAT is a replica of the duophonic Octave CAT analog synthesizer. The original was released four years after the ARP Odyssey (1976) and was clearly inspired by the popular ARP synthesizer, but offered some additional features. Eurorack Format The main difference between the Behringer CAT and the Octave Cat, apart from a general reduction in the size of the user interface, is the missing keyboard. That means the CAT can be placed on the desktop or mounted in a Eurorack to save space, which makes sense with the extended CV connectors (compared to the original). Keyboard CV/Gate and the envelopes are available as CV outputs. On the input side, the pitch of both oscillators can be controlled separately; so can the VCA, filter frequency and resonance. Due to the…

Hardware controllers are actually the current solution to an old problem: How can the various components of a musical setup be controlled intuitively? The advantages of hardware controllers are obvious: Ideally, they offer more direct, faster and more convenient access to the most important functions of your recording software and plug-ins. They include MIDI keyboards with assignable knobs, specialized solutions for controlling popular DAWs, performance tools for beat production, universal MIDI controllers for intuitive control of key DAW and plug-in functions, and much more. Some devices bring in additional functions with high musical value, like arpeggiators and sequencers. DAW controllers, on the other hand, aim to make it easier to control common audio/MIDI sequencers. You can choose between universal all-in-one solutions and devices optimized for specific DAWs. A Model for…

1 Rekordbox Configuration Connect the DJ controller to your laptop and start Rekordbox. Then open the Preferences under Audio and make sure you have selected the output of the Pioneer Controller under Master Output in the top right corner and that you‘ve activated PC Master Output in the top right corner, so that the signal can be heard through the monitor speakers. 2 Camera For impressive image quality, the use of several external cameras or a smartphone clamped to a stable tripod is ideally recommended. If a microphone is still needed for the stream, a setup like the Shure MV88+ Video Kit is helpful. As an emergency solution, a laptop’s internal webcam will do. 3 Streaming Audio As a cross-platform streaming software, OBS [1] can be downloaded and installed for…

1 Percussion Synth Contrary to its name, „Drummer From Another Mother“ is not a pure drum synth, but focuses on percussion and bass sequences. With its two oscillators and the noise module combined with jagged envelopes and two eight-step sequencers, both rhythmic and melodic sequencers can easily be conjured up. 2 Oscillators & Noise That can be copied on the computer, right? Absolutely! We use Voltage Modular from Cherry Audio (see booklet software) and load the oscillator module and the noise generator twice at the beginning. For a better overview with later wiring, we also add several blank panels which we then label appropriately. 3 Two Waveforms Since the DFAM only offers Square and Triangle waveforms, we need an Eight-to- One switch for each oscillator. Reduce the STEPS to 2…

NI Kontakt 6 plays an important role in Celldweller‘s sound design arsenal: „I frequently load my own samples into Kontakt and then run them through iZotope Trash 2 to create unexpected overtones.“ www.nativeinstruments.de „With a multi-band distortion effect like Trash 2, you can subtly overdrive the bass of synthesizer sounds and heavily distort the mids and highs for a really exciting sound.“ www.izotope.com „I use the VintageVerb reverb plug-in from Valhalla DSP on almost any sound material because it sounds so fantastic and full of character.“ www.valhalladsp.com…

Ideally, we should be able to taste and feel music. We should be able to immerse ourselves in it with all our feelings. Beat/ Pole seemed to be a radical break with your past in the late 90s. What did you work on musically before you discovered the broken Waldorf filter as a source of inspiration? Pole/ I had already started writing my own music at school. I guess I was about 14-15 years old and played keyboard in a band. I was interested in the Violent Femmes, John Zorn, The Wire, a little bit of punk, but mostly a lot of avant-garde stuff. I have been producing music since the 80s. Most of it was experimental and jazz influenced projects. Beat/ Has any of this ever been published? Pole/ No, that…

1 Vibrato Start this workshop with any audio track from your project that could use some oldschool character. As a first effect, we will load the vibrato plugin on the insert channel. A slow change in pitch should make the signal wobble slightly. To do this, set the Depth to 12 %, Rate at about 0.5 Hz and Spatial to 0 %. 2 Tremolo In addition to the slight changes in pitch, we next simulate the rotating movement of a tape machine with the tremolo. The amplitude modulation is intended to provide subtle and slow volume changes. Therefore, choose a low value for Rate like 0.8 Hz. Set the Depth parameter to 12 % and Spatial to 0 %. 3 Adjust Stereo Width If you listen to older recordings, for…

1 Two Building Blocks The basis of every snare is the rimshot for the punch and the hiss of the so-called snare rattle, the actual perceived sound of the snare. With the Wavetable Synth, we cover both at the same time. A rimshot is built quite quickly because, with the 808 it consists of a sine wave only, which is played only very briefly. 2 Rimshot To start, we set Env 2 Decay to 158 ms and Sustain to zero and connect the envelope in the mod matrix to 100% with Osc 1 gain. The snare rattle is also created quickly, since it is simple noise. So, for Osc 2 we choose White Noise from the Basics waveforms. Unlike other synths, it doesn‘t have any plain noise. 3 Rattle This…

1 Own Progressions Although the MPC is equipped with a large amount of chords for the PAD-PERFORM mode, there is still plenty of room for progressions. Conveniently, such progressions can be created by yourself and then used standalone. By the way, you can find 78 such progressions in the workshop files. 2 MIDI Template Creating is super simple: Open the MPC software and either record some chords or import any MIDI file. In the workshop files you will also find a huge collection of MIDI files with scales from FeelYourSound [1]. Drag a file into the Arranger section and listen through the chords. 3 Define Notes Here you can define meaningful chord sequences right away. However, it should not be more than 16 in a row, because each chord will…

Again and again, we receive your reader e-mails with the wish for introductory reading for prospective musicians and producers with a home studio. With our free Studio Starter, this wish has finally come true and this is a permanent solution, because you will find the guide as a download with every Beat issue in the future. The e-book starts gently with an explanation of plug-ins and their components, illustrates basic information about microphones, audio interfaces and mixers and answers questions such as „What is a DAW?“ or „Where are plug-ins installed?“, before continuing at a decent pace, for example with a double page on the topic of synthesizers and their sound generation methods, explaining how a sound is created. Helpful tips for beginners and advanced users But even advanced users…

Backbone is neither a classic drum synthesizer nor does it simply fire off samples. Instead, it resynthesizes samples. The plug-in has eight layer slots where you can load your own samples or sounds from Backbone‘s library. In the Decompose section, you can split a loaded sample into its tonal and noise-like components. After a short analysis, these components can be heard solo and edited individually. If you click Apply, the two components are available as separate layers. This way you can, for example, selectively edit disturbing resonances in sounds or defuse harsh drum sounds. Even though Steinberg‘s Groove Agent 5 also offers the Decompose function, it‘s not really an alternative – especially since it doesn‘t have any re-synthesis functions. Musical Backbone Each Layer has the following modules: Sample, Resynth, Pitch,…

AudioThing Frostbite 2 Behind the name Frostbite is a plug-in that specializes in creating atmospheric textures and icy soundscapes. This is a good idea for hot summer days! In version 2, this creative effect is even more flexible with extended options. Like the previous version, it integrates three components: Ring Modulator, Feedback and Freeze, which can be connected as desired or used in parallel. The Ring Modulator delivers metallic tones and extra-worldly sounds. Feedback, on the other hand, is a delay effect that can be synchronized to the host tempo, making it possible to create concise flanger effects. Like the Ring Modulator, this device also has an excellent sounding multimode filter. The third module is a reverb effect that can be „frozen“by clicking on the Freeze symbol. The user can…

The Jupiter Xm is placed in the current Roland range between the large Jupiter X and the portable groovebox MC-707. The synthesis is mostly the same as the Jupiter X, but the Jupiter Xm is much more compact and also a lot cheaper. Compared to the big Jupiter, some controls have been saved, which is at the expense of direct operability. The synthesis is very flexible and covers almost the whole history of Roland in a compact digital synthesizer. With reproduced classics like Jupiter-8, Juno-106, JX-8P and SH-101 and drum machines like TR-808, TR-909, CR-78 the Jupiter Xm provides a fully equipped virtual-analog vintage studio. There‘s also the well-known PCM or sample-based digital sound generation of the XV-5080 and modern RD pianos. Equipped with Roland‘s Zenology engine, Jupiter Xm is…

The Solo6 BE are very popular in the professional and semi-professional sector due to their compact size and neutral sound with detailed treble, tight bass and very good depth. The limited edition has been dressed in a black leather-effect coating, which not only feels very pleasant to the touch, but also provides an elegant and timeless look. The chic new grille above the tweeter is the second visual change. Technically, the special edition is the same as the production model, which is still available. Beryllium for More Highs The Solo6 BE are near field active studio monitors; as such, the listening distance should ideally be between 1-3 meters. The bass-midrange power amplifier is based on BASH technology, which provides Class AB sound quality combined with the power of Class D…

1 Free and Core Pioneer DJ offers three subscription models: Free, Core and Creative. For hobby and club DJs with DJ controllers who want to manage their tracks on just one device, the free version is sufficient. For club DJs, battle DJs and turntable DJs who don‘t want to do without DVS, we recommend the Core subscription, which allows you to use up to two devices. 2 Creative The Creative model offers the option of accessing the rekordbox collection via cloud synchronisation for up to four devices. Owners of a previous version of rekordbox must convert the entire library. This can take some time, depending on the size of the track archive. 10,000 songs can take up to an hour. 3 Track Editing After the conversion, a dialog opens with…