Friday, September 30

Recoustics from New Atlantis Audio


New Atlantis Audio has a new refill for sale at Rackflip called Recoustics that features "uniquely-sampled acoustic instruments from around the world, selected and designed for their unusual character and feel." From vibraphones and asian gongs to upright basses and bowed glockenspiels. This refill's proceeds go to the One Laptop per Child mission! Pick up Recoustics today from rackflip.com!

Recoustics Reason ReFill by Rackflip

Multitrack Drum Mixing


"Sit down, grab a drink and make yourself comfortable. This will take a while. In this 24 minute long video I walk you through some of my own drum mixing techniques, demonstrated with our latest Multitrack Sessions release, Lucky Sevens. Again, I'm using Logic for this tutorial, but all of these basic principals of utilizing EQ, compression, gating, reverb etc can be utilized in any DAW (Pro Tools, Ableton, Reason, Garageband, yaddy yaddy yadda...). And if watching a guy mix an odd meter drum session wasn't exciting enough, there is a surprise guest appearance by the police."
-The Loop Loft

Gameboy Glitches and Synth: Free Ableton Rack #27


"The Nintendo Gameboy has been kept alive thanks to producers around the world who appreciate its 8 bit gritty goodness. This week, http://bedroomproducersblog.com allowed me to use their Gameboy samples in creating some free instruments for you guys. These samples were made with the LSDJ software and from there I added effects and fun settings for you to play around with in Ableton Live. Enjoy and if you like it be sure to check out Bedroom Producers Blog!

Every week I make a new free Ableton Live Download, so please stop by my site @ http://www.afrodjmac.com" -AfroDJMac :)

Tempest Part 2 & 3

Part 2:

"This will show some of the ways i'm using this amazing machine. Hopefully it will give you some insight as to its design, workflow, and how it really makes you think differently. Its inspiring. It sounds like its alive. It sounds like it wants you to make something elese. Something new. Something unlike you've made before." -soundsubs

Part 3:

"This time I opted to show the '16 beats' mode with live switching of beats and realtime FX. This is also showing the power of the drum sounds and the programmability inside. You can really get some nice pretty patterns or some glitched out mayhem at the sweep of a slider." -soundsubs

Thursday, September 29

James Bernard's Favorite New Patches - Reason 6


"The expanded factory sound bank in Reason 6 is a new source of inspiration. Propellerhead product specialist James Bernard put together a sampling of new music he's been making with the new patches in the Reason 6 sound bank.

This file is also downloadable in Reason's demo song format. If you're trying out Reason and want to see these patches and sequencer clips up close, just go here: http://www.propellerheads.se/stuff/sounds.zip"

-Propellerhead

DSI Tempest Demos

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Part 4:


Part 5:


Part 6:

"Running through some beats and sounds I created for the DSI Tempest, displaying Beat FX while moving through beats. All sound recorded directly out of Tempest with no external FX or processing." -carsonday303

Wednesday, September 28

Rolodecks | Connecting Your Own Effect | twisted tools


"This quick demo shows how to connect your own Reaktor effect into the External effect slot in Rolodecks. You can also connect to your own hardware and host effects by using top level connections in the structure. Rolodecks Pro has six external effect slots and six modulation lanes per effect." -twisted tools

Tuesday, September 27

Alchemy Mobile


Camel Audio have released Alchemy Mobile an iOS app that turns your iPhone or iPad into a powerful synthesizer. What sets this apart from the hundreds of other iOS apps is Alchemy Mobile Pro also can be used to remotely control Alchemy on your desktop comuter! To me that's the big selling point and why I will be picking this up. Check out the video:

Peff Sneak peak @ Las Vegas Producers Conference



Peff posted a clip to soundcloud today featuring sounds and effects programmed for the Reason 6 Factory Soundbank that will be part of his presentation on October 1st @ the Propellerhead Software Producers Conference in Las Vegas, NV, hosted at The Studio at the Palms! This event will also be a Pay Per View @ www.ustream.tv/channel/line-6-live for those of use unable to attend. Tix to the PPV are $10, in person tix are $45. The event features Mix Master Mike, Matt Piper, Peff and Kill The Noise. Sadly The Palms "Residentl DJ" Pauly D isn't going to be present to showcase how he uses Reason 6's Pulveriser to spike up his hair. Check out Peff's sneak peak:


patch demo for ProCon Las Vegas by peff

Reason Tips: Pulveriser's Envelope Follower and CV


"Propellerhead product specialist Mattias Häggström Gerdt shows us some advanced CV wiring between Pulveriser and the Matrix Pattern sequencer. By using the envelope follower in Pulveriser, we can smooth out Matrix CV curves and introduce "lag" to the signal. It's portamento for your CV signals and it's COOL!" -Propellerhead

Tempest - Beat Exercise


"Just playing a rhythmic beat exercise on the new Tempest Drum machine by Dave Smith and Roger Linn. Interesting drum synthesis and parameter control allows for some really cool beat manipulation. The sounds featured are from 4 different analogue synthesis kits I created and programmed. "
-Richard Devine

REAKTOR's Massive - Part 9 - Grand Theft Snapshot


"Our series on REAKTOR's Massive finishes up strong with a technique I like to call "Grand Theft Snapshot," a dead-easy way of cherry-picking just the sounds you want from Massive's beautiful samples to create original loops for your productions."-Bluewater VST

Monday, September 26

Live / Intro to Warping + Slicing Audio - Thavius Beck


"What exactly is Warping and Slicing? One of the things that makes Ableton Live such a unique and powerful piece of software is a fundamental feature which completely changes how you are able to interact with your audio. This feature is called Warping. Warping allows you to manipulate the tempo and pitch of your audio independently of one another. This means that you can change the pitch of a song to fit the pitch of another without changing the tempos, or you can slow down or speed up a piece of audio without altering the pitch. As someone who came from using hardware samplers like the Akai S-900, Roland W-30, and even the MPC 1000, you can imagine just how mind-blowing a discovery this was for me at the time... when you learn how to effectively warp audio and apply it to your songs, every sample becomes a new piece of elastic to be stretched to your liking." -dubspot

New Dave Smith Tempest Sounds on Soundcloud


Chris Randall, of Audio Damage, posted a couple of clips on Soundcloud of Dave Smith's Tempest Analog Drum Machine. Chris, along with Richard Devine and I'm sure others are currently working on designing sounds for the coming master drum machine. Randall also has a write up about it on Analog Industries worth checking out. Interesting information in the comments section, like Goldbaby and FXpansion providing sample content for the drum machine... as well as the waveforms Dave brought over from the infamous Prophet VS! Chris calls the envelopes "some of the best...I have come across." It sounds like in addition to being an amazing drum machine the Tempest will also be a capable synth from the comments of DSI staffer Pym:
"The synth implementation hasn't been fully fleshed out but it will be in an early OS update. It will be pretty similar to the way our current synths are handled with far more flexible polyphony and layering options. The main difference in the voice structure is 5 envelopes/2 LFOs in the Tempest compared to 3 envelopes/4 LFOs in our other synths."

Here's the clips:

DSI Tempest Quick Test 2 by Chris Randall

DSI Tempest Quick Test 1 by Chris Randall

September 2011 Reason Wizardry Issue Now Available!

The September 2011 issue of Reason Wizardry is now available to download for subscribers! In this issue, NSL CEO Jeremy Janzen, takes a sneak peak at the Pulverizer and The Echo effects in Reason 6, here's a sneak peak:

OP-1 Ableton Live Rack by AfroDJMac


"I have created and sampled ten different presets on my OP-1 synthesizer and placed them into an Ableton Live Instrument Rack. The OP-1 is an amazing synthesizer/workstation and this rack is intended to give a sampling of some of its potential." -AfroDJMac

Pick up the OP-1 Ableton Rack @ afrodjmac.blogspot.com

Ephilion Signature Bank for Virus TI Teaser


Access

Reason Tutorial: Squelchy Electro Bassline


"Another one for the Boyinaband remix competition, this one is on squelchy, vovely, electro house basslines." -ODSTHelljumper

Electric Kalimba


"Jamming with a drum machine and my homemade Electric Kalimba. I used a 2" x8" piece of wood for the body and the metal tines from a leaf rake for the keys. Inside are two IC's (a 4049 and a 4093) which provide gain/distortion and an oscillator for added fuzz. A voltage starve knob adds a fizzy, bubbling of the signal. Also has volume and tone knobs. Two generic single coils wired together as a humbucker pickup the vibrating metal tines." -jasonpferris

Sequential Circuits six-trak : "Manifiesto atemporal" (making of)


"Por Sebastian Soldier:
Todos los sonidos provienen de un Sequential Circuits six-trak. Se usa un Korg Karma como controlador midi y secuenciador.

By Sebastian Soldier:
All sounds from Sequential Circuits six-trak. Korg Karma like sequencer and midi controller." -SebastianSoldier

The first 40 mins with my Jupiter 80


"Disclaimer - I know I can't play.. :) I'm more of a DAW/Sequencer type.

Whilst impatiently waiting for a Korg Kronos I went nuts a bought a JP-80, I figured the pair would make the ultimate combo (still waiting for the Kronos) .

This is my first 40 mins just plodding through the first few registrations and randomly mashing keys (sometimes in some sort of order) . I have no idea what each one is going to sound like in case you're wondering why I pause or get it completely wrong.

Not sure how well the sound will translate on YouTube but I can say it sounds an absolute beast in the flesh. Once I get more acquainted with it I will post some proper videos and definitely once I have the Kronos hooked up to it." -wowcow

Saturday, September 24

The Sound of Skin - Loops That Will Touch You


The Sound of Skin - Loops That Will Touch You

"Skin. Not only is it our body's largest organ, it's now the latest addition to The Loop Loft's offering of fine instruments. Ever wondered what goosebumps sound like? Does the skin of a newborn resonate more than that of a 34 year old man who's never worn sunscreen? How much bass can our cheeks really produce? Does fist bumping sound as douchey as it looks? These were the types of questions that were keeping us up at night, so we set out to record the very thing that keeps us all together: our integumentary system.

Dry skin. Oily skin. Clean-shaven skin. Three-day-scruff skin. They all have unique sonic qualities... and we captured them in stunning, 24 bit, 48 khz detail. This is not just another sample library, it's a full-on loop collection served up in WAV, AIFF (Apple Loops) and REX2 formats.

Normally, such an eclectic and innovative collection of loops and samples would cost tens, if not hundreds of dollars, but for a limited time, The Sound of Skin is available for FREE. That's right. Just add it to your cart and checkout. No credit card information is necessary for download. Who's got goosebumps now?"

Number of Loops: 28
Tempo Range: 90-120 BPM

- 100% Royalty Free
- High Quality 24 Bit 48 KHZ Audio
- WAV, REX2 and AIFF (Apple Loops) Formats

Free @ The Loop Loft

Soundcells Boost 309 V.3!


Soundcells has just released version 3 of their popular Boost 309 Reason ReFill. Check it:

"Boost 309 v3 is based on the complete sample set of the vintage, lo-fi but charmingly sounding machine Rave-o-lution 309 by a company named Quasimidi. Soundcells have created 90 brand new combinator drum machines for you with these samples, ranging from the old original 309 sounds to amazing and unique patches that could have never been created within the 309 itself. Besides cool beats and complex, crazy rhythms, Boost 309 offers you even more: Version 3 is a huge update which adds 10 new combinator patches, 20+ ‘Bitrman‘ flavoured rex loops making use of the original Rave-o-lution groovebox recorded thru an Alesis Bitrman fx unit, as well as 15 awesome Kong kits making use of Kong´s synthesis methods..."

Boost 309 v3 Contents:

• 120 combinator patches containing deep basses, great playable keys, surprising leads and awesome pads.

• 90 combinator drum machines: 45 basic setups with their 45 shuffled counter parts.

• 109 NNXT patches, 15 Kong kits, 22 Redrum kits and over 300 origianl 309 samples.

• 63 rex loops making use of the "Boost 309" drum machines as also the original machine (23 new ones since version 3).

Boost 309 V.3 is on sale now thru October 15th for 24.90€

Korg SV-1 73 | Erik Deutsch


"Erik Deutsch explains why he chose the Korg SV-1 73 as the centerpiece of his set-up. He goes through a lot of sounds and functionality of the SV-1 73 Vintage Keyboard, and also explains why he runs it through a guitar tube amp instead of a normal keybaord amp." -Pro Audio Star

Friday, September 23

Kinect Controlled Granular Scratching


"This is controlled entirely live using the Kinect's hand position data from OSCeleton. All of the sounds (except the drums) are created using a single sample of a man's voice loaded into Reaktor's granular synthesis ensemble Grainstates SP. I'm controlling 8 parameters: grain size, loop start point, pitch, filter, cutoff LFO, LFO depth, reverb, panning." -Chris Vik

On this day...


On this day back in 1926, John Coltrane was born in Hamlet, North Carolina. Trane is widely considered to be the greatest tenor saxophone player of the 1950's. Trane developed his own unique voice on the saxophone which Downbeat critic Ira Gitler termed "sheets of sound", which were extremely dense improvisational yet patterned lines consisting of high speed arpeggios and scale patterns played in rapid succession, running from the lowest to highest registers. In author Ben Ratliff's Coltrane: The Story of the Sound much is said about the strict practicing regimen Trane kept, sometimes practicing up to 8 hours a day! This discipline and beautiful playing is probably why he's the only jazz musician with a church, The St. John Coltrane African Orthodox Church in the Fillmore District of San Francisco. The inspiration for the church came one night in 1965 when Archbishop Franzo King and Reverend Mother Marina King saw Coltrane play and described the event as a "sound baptism". Coltrane would die just two years later from liver cancer, possibly onset by the addiction to heroin he had kicked years earlier. John's son Ravi is an accomplished saxophone player himself and will be performing for the next 3 nights at the legendary Village Vanguard in NYC, celebrating his father's birthday!

The Saxophone Saint:


Afro Blue '63:

Videos courtesy of Turnstyle Video and elmosaico

Reason Tips: Custom Alligator Patterns


"In this video, Reason Product Specialist Mattias Häggström Gerdt shows us how to turn off Alligator's built in patterns to create custom gate rhythms using a couple of Reason devices like the Matrix Pattern Sequencer and Redrum's step sequencer." -Propellerhead

Thursday, September 22

Diego Stocco - Music From A Dry Cleaner


"Almost everyday, on my way to a local bakery, I walk in front of a dry cleaners. When they have the front door open, I hear a lot of interesting sounds coming from their work equipment. Eventually, the different mechanical and steam sounds sparked something in my mind, so one day I asked the owners if I could record a piece of music by using their machines as musical instruments.

I used a puff iron, press and dry cleaning machines, a washer, clothes hangers, and a bucket full of soap.
The bass and lead sounds were created from the buzzing tones coming from the conduits and engines.
There are no additional sounds from any traditional or electronic instruments. Enjoy!

More info and pictures are available at the Behance gallery." -DS

Equipment:


"For those of you into technical details, this was my recording equipment: API pre/eq/comp (512c, 550b, 527), Apogee Ensemble, ProTools9, MacBookPro, Røde mikes (NT2A, NT5, NTG-2)." -Diego Stocco

Tempest Sighting


Saw this lovely photo of a Tempest Analog Drum Machine on Richard Devine's Facebook page with the caption:

"Sound Design/Programming is underway. :)"

Tuesday, September 20

Going thru some beats on the new DSI Tempest


"This is a demo of some of the things i've come up with the past week that i've been one of the lucky beta testers for the DSI Tempest. I'm loving it so far.. finding it very inspiring to play and use and create new drum beats and sounds. I'm going to try to tell some of the things about the Tempest that arent talked about too much already." -soundsubs

Ned Rush + MaxVlog (basic random note M4L device)


"YAY! random music in maxforlive. Nothing special to seasoned max users, but for 1 hours work, for me i just wont ever turn it off. Velocity and Duration are randomized with out adjust, but feel free to dive in and add some bits." -Mr.Ned Rush

Go to the youtube video page to download Max device (under video in "show more" section.)

Peff - thorcilloscope


"exploring some lissjous figures on a Oscilloscope generated with the Thor Polysonic Synthesizer FM oscillators." -Peff

Sound Design w/ NI's Reaktor: Rolodecks + Maschine


"One of the interesting things that I find in my travels working for Native Instruments, is that there seem to be a whole lot of people out there who don't really understand what Reaktor is. Reaktor tends to be the one instruments from NI that actually scares people because it looks so complex and sophisticated. Reaktor is a completely modular system that allows you to build virtually any digital audio device that you can imagine. At Dubspot, we teach our Sound Design & Synthesis students how to dive deep into Reaktor's guts to create their own custom synthesizers and gain a greater appreciation for modular synthesis." - dubspot

Monday, September 19

FatBank from Tom Pritchard Sound Design!


Tom Pritchard, aka Stompp, has a brand new refill called FatBank. Tom's long been one of my favorite sound designers, so the start of his own company, Tom Pritchard Sound Design, and new announcements of commercial refills has me psyched! Check out the info:

"Tom Pritchard Sound Design presents FatBank – 50 chunky Combinator patches for Reason versions 5 and above, with 12 round basses, 30 sequence synths (including throbbing bass sequences, rich chords and pulsating riffs) and 8 soaring leads! Big things come in small packages; this handy booster ReFill packs a massive punch with seriously deep bass and soaring tones that can cut through any mix."

FatBank is available now for £5! For more information and audio demos go to tompritchardsounddesign.com

Saturday, September 17

Apparat, making of "The Devil's Walk" pt.1

Part 1 of the making of "The Devil's Walk", Apparat's forthcoming album on Mute (release date September 27th.) The recording began with a group of friends joining Sascha Ring (Apparat) in Sayulita, Mexico for a couple months to escape the cold winters of Berlin and Chicago. The friends included Joshua Eustis of Telefon Tel Aviv, Alfredo Nogueira (who joined Joshua live on the last Telefon Tel Aviv tour), Carsten Aermes (Phon.o), and remix master Jörg Wähner (Park Frequency). Sounds like the perfect setting! Check it:


Filmed and edited by Immo König.

Check out the single "Song of Los", from The Devil's Walk:

Apparat - Song Of Los by Mute UK

rude_NHS live from the bunker!


"a snip of me playing a live show on friday 16th of september 2011, from my friends studio. not the best jam i've had but it shows off some of the toys i've been making, like some maxforlive devices, like my midi looper, kaossilator, vocoder and auto tune stuff, plus some live looping in ableton live, plus some fun with artillery 2 and the finger. hope you enjoy and you can watch the whole show including a live set from the awesome band JayEtAl at www.livestream.com/rude_NHS" -Mr.Ned Rush

Friday, September 16

Reason Micro Tutorial: The Echo


"Reason 6 introduces three new creative effect devices: Pulveriser, Alligator, and The Echo. In this micro tutorial we'll take a look at The Echo.

The Echo brings together the best features of crisp digital delay, warm crunchy analog delay, space echoing tape delays, and even loop-based effects. We'll take a look at the major functions of The Echo and explore a few ways you can use its powerful delay settings in your music.

For more information about The Echo and Reason 6, head over to www.propellerheads.se

This tutorial features a remix of "Everything" by Little Jinder, remixed by Mattias Häggström Gerdt"

-Propellerhead

Multitrack Drum Tutorial - Arranging


"This video covers the basics of The Loop Loft's Multitrack Drum Sessions. The tutorial is presented in Logic, but the drum tracks can be used in any major DAW including: Pro Tools, GarageBand, Ableton, Reaper, Cubase, Digital Performer, FL Studio and many more." -The Loop Loft

Thursday, September 15

Torley Wins the OMG-1!


Torley the watermelon obsessed monk from Washington State who "amplifies your awesome" won the Spectrasonics Bob Moog Foundation OMG-1 contest! As winner Torley will receive the amazing one of a kind OMG-1, a custom hardware synthesizer built by Eric Persing, in October at this years Moogfest in Asheville, North Carolina. The OMG-1 combines the worlds of analog synthesis, computers, software synthesis and the latest multi-touch surfaces in one extraordinary instrument, with the heart of a Moog Little Phatty! Check it:



For his entry in the contest Torley recorded a whole album's worth of songs with ONLY the Bob Moog Tribute Library and Omnisphere! (along with his wife's voice and his own drum samples). You can check out the songs @ www.spectrasonics.net along with many of the other contestants' works. Congratulations Torley!


pic courtesy of Torley

Michael Schack - Roland SPD-SX Sampling Pad Demo 2


"Michael Schack demonstrates the new SPD-SX Sampling Pad with Roland V-Drums. The SPD-SX puts powerful sample creation and playback under your sticks with innovative audio-capturing features, expressive playability, three multi-effects engines, and much more. The perfect addition to any acoustic or electronic drum kit, percussion setup, DJ booth, or keyboard rig, the SPD-SX is equally at home on the live stage, in the recording studio, pre-production suite, or dance club." -Roland UK

Wednesday, September 14

Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Recording Interface


Focusrite introduced a new 2 in 2 out audio interface this week, called the 2i2 that looks like it might be the perfect small interface for those of us that don't want to splurge on Propellerhead's Balance:
The Scarlett 2i2 is a 2 in / 2 out USB recording interface featuring two award-winning Focusrite preamps. Housed in an attractive anodised aluminium unibody chassis, the interface not only sounds fantastic but looks great too. What’s more it’s solid enough to take on the road when you travel. The Scarlett 2i2 is much more than just a pretty metal box...

It's expected to cost around $149 USD! Check out the promo:


"Jono McCleery's song "Tomorrow" was recorded using the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and GarageBand. Jono's guitar was plugged directly into the 2i2, and a large diaphragm condenser microphone was used for his vocals. Scarlett Plug-in Suite was used to polish the mix." -Focusrite

Mount Kimbie - Carbonated ((OFFICIAL VIDEO))


"From the album 'Crooks & Lovers' (Hotflush Recordings)
Video directed by Tyrone Lebon"
-Mount Kimbie

Ned Rush = Auto Vocode Sports Radio


"just dicking about with my new vocoder i built feeding sports radio into it." -MrNedRush

Tuesday, September 13

Playing with two Reaktor beatboxes at once in Logic.


"I loaded these two Reaktor beatboxes and ran the clock while tweaking a few of the settings, including patch changes. The one on the left has delay on it and there is reverb on the one on the right." -mjl69

Monday, September 12

REAKTOR's Massive - Part 8 - 3 Sequencer Tools


"Revealed: 3 powerful tools for using NI REAKTOR Massive's sequencer tracks to devastating effect. Don't miss this one." -Bluewater VST

Sunday, September 11

Pocket Piano + MF-101 + MF-103 + Space = Exit Music


"Playing radiohead's exit music on the pocket piano running through some pedals.

Hardware:
Critter and Guitari Pocket Piano GR
Moogerfooger MF-101 low pass filter
Moogerfooger MF-103 12 stage phaser
Moogerfooger CP-251 control processor
Eventide Space"
-n3bsvid

Saturday, September 10

Dubstep Tutorial: Massive Sidechained Drop Synth


"This song was made as a part of the Boy In A Band Remix contest. I remixed the You And What Army track 'Skyline', turning it from an electro rock track into a massive Dubstep Anthem, full track available on my Soundcloud." -ODSTHelljumper

Thursday, September 8

Missing Pieces ReFill Review


NaviRetlav's Missing Pieces ReFill is an effects refill for Reason 5 / Record 1.5 and Reason 6 specializing in feedback delays. The combinator devices in the refill are split up into three different folders - Echo, Ncho and Vcho. The Echo folder features classic feedback delays. The Ncho folder contains echo patches that use the Neptune device, while the Vcho patches use the BV-512 Vocoder. A bit of warning - you'll want to mute the track when switching between patches ('m" is the shortcut for muting clips in Reason, which worked great for me when auditioning patches for this review.) Missing Pieces' combinators use feedback loops just like the equipment King Tubby hand built back in the day in Jamaica, so expect the sounds to be a little unstable (and I mean that in a good way ;-). Speaking of which, I asked Navi if these patches were inspired by old hardware after first checking out the refill:

"The initial idea for this refill came together with Reason 5 and the tape echo in Kong. There is only one problem that bothered me in Kong, It doesn't have tempo sync mode. I decided to recreate that effect with other reason devices, after a few tries I figured out how it works. Than I got an Idea how it could be improved by adding more effects inside a feedback loop and that became the basis for the refill. I've never had access to real hardware units that I could emulate, so this refill is fully unique."


Let's start with the first folder. The Echo folder has 85 different patches in 9 different categories: AmpLine, Digital, Distortion, Feedback, Modulate, Overdrive, Scream, and Tape. As you can probably guess from the categories these patches use both Reason's Scream Sound Destruction Unit and the Line 6 amplifiers. The combinator front is set up the same for all the devices in the Echo section with Rotary 1 controlling the Delay Time (tempo sync'd with Button 1), Rotary 2, labelled Feedback, controls the amount of send from the mixer going to the Echo (creating the feedback loop), with Button 2, Diffusion, switching between 0 and 100 setting for Diffusion. Button 3 switches the effect to Mono and Rotary 3 controls the Bass and Treble EQ amount. Rotary 4 controls the Dry/Wet balance of the effect and Button 4, labelled Sidechain Gate, dampens the echo effect when the dry signal is played (much like the "Ducking" control on Reason 6's Echo device.) And finally the Mod Wheel controls the Low Frequency Dampening of the echo devices from 1000 Hz to 20 Hz - which is great for quickly dialing in the sound you want. The 12 AmpLine devices use Record's Line 6 amps to create some gritty echo textures. Being a big fan of BIT crushing the 10 Digital Echo patches were some of my favorites with everything from sick crunchy BIT distortion to digital clipping!


The second folder, Ncho, contains patches featuring the Neptune Pitch Adjuster and Voice Synth. The front panel has a similar layout to the Echo folder patches except for Button 3 which enables the Neptune devices and Rotary 3 controls the amount of the signal processed by the internal FX. This folder has some killer patches in it, 65 in all, that would work great in dub and dubstep. I loaded up a Dr. Octo Rex with a few of the thumb piano and gamelan Rex Files from Slo' Motion Tokyo and was immediately transported into the land of Demdike Stare!

And while the combinators in Missing Pieces sound fantastic, what really impressed me was when I opened up the patches and looked inside...  It took me a while to wrap my head around some of the routing!  After which I had to ask Navi about his background in music production:

"I started playing with Reason 2.5 somewhere in 2006 year. I was impressed by the amount of sound that it could produce and the custom routing possibilities. I've always enjoyed focusing on sound creation, rather than writing songs. In fact most of the songs that I make are just side effects of experimenting with sound design."


The final folder, Vcho, features 50 Vocoder based echo patches with additional controls for the Vocoder properties mapped to Rotary 3 (Decay) and Button 3 (Shift.) These patches also use the effects devices in Kong, particularly the Rattler and Ring Mods for some very interesting results. One of my favorite patches in the third folder Vcho - 46 can turn a straight forward drum loop into something you'd think was coming out of the Radiophonic Workshop! Aside from sounds I also really dig the combinator backdrops for Missing Pieces, which I asked Navi about as well:

"I designed all the combinator backdrops for this refill, as well as the
graphics for the refill cover, pdf docummentation, icon and even the website design. Just like with sound design, I also learned graphic design on my own. But my art skills don't end at logos and web design, I'm also a fractal artist. Some of my work you can find at www.naviretlav.com"

Being a fan of all things dub I really dig this refill! And while Missing Pieces began as an attempt to expand the possibilities of Kong's Tape Echo unit, it really does much more than that - it's great for spicing up drum tracks, creating ambient textures and of course doing the rub a dub! Now I can neither confirm or deny that I've played with Reason 6's The Echo unit, but if I could I'd mention that the Missing Pieces combinators are a different beast altogether from the new delay machine coming at the end of this month in Reason 6. And really, can you ever have too many Echo devices? I should add, in addition to the combinators, Missing Pieces also comes with additional combi backdrops, 19 in total, matching Reason's clip colors so you can color code your tracks; as well as demo songs that load in Record or Reason 6, along with template songs for testing effects and recording feedback. mmmm feedback ;-). For those of you feeling confident about their remixing skills, Missing Pieces is one of the prizes in Boy in a Band's latest Skyline Remix Composition Competition, along with Reason 6! Missing Pieces is available as well for $15 USD thru www.naviretlav.com.

Wednesday, September 7

EditEd4TV 88mph Volume 1 ReFill for Reason & Record


Ed "EditEd4TV" Bauman has released a new refill, 88 mph Vol.1, featuring 51 combinators from 9 different 80's hits, including:

Prince "1999"
Depeche Mode "Just Can't Get Enough"
Simple Minds "Don't You Forget About Me"
Human League "Don't You Want Me"
Cindy Lauper "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"
Blondie "Heart of Glass"
David Bowie "Let's Dance"
Madonna "Like a Virgin"
Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams"

As many of you know Ed's Recovers on youtube have been taken down mistakenly before because the songs sounded so close to the original. So if you dig these songs this is the best way to get theses sounds in Reason!
You can pick up 88mph Vol.1 for $35 USD @ www.baumanproductions.com/88mph. Or save by bundling future volumes, which will feature more combinators inspired by 80's hits!

Tuesday, September 6

Tom Pritchard Sound Design Arps Volume One!


If you've been reading Resonant Filter for long you know Tom Pritchard aka Stompp is one of my favorite sound designers. Arps Volume One is his first solo commercial release under the Tom Pritchard Sound Design banner and judging by the demo sounds on the product page it is a must buy! Expect a full review later this month! In the mean time pick up Arps Volume One for £10 @ tompritchardsounddesign.com

Monday, September 5

Jeremy Ellis performs on Maschine Mikro


"Check out finger drumming phenomenon Jeremy Ellis as he performs an amazing live routine on MASCHINE MIKRO, the upcoming compact version of the acclaimed computer-based groove production system."
-Native Instruments

Tempest QuickStart Video

Below is a video showing Grammy winner Roger Linn demonstrating the new Tempest Analog Drum Machine designed with Dave Smith Instruments. Originally set for release in the late summer, it now is scheduled for a Fall 2011 shipping date. Can't wait!


"Video Quick Start Guide for Tempest Analog Drum Machine from Dave Smith Instruments, narrated by Roger Linn." -Dave Smith Instruments

Sunday, September 4

REAKTOR's Massive - Part 7 - Going Deep with Modulation

Brent Kallmer from Blue Water VST is back with Part 7 of the Insider's Guide to Reaktor's Massive Drum Machine. This edition is a deeper look at modulation with Massive, which is where this drum machine really shines. Check it out:


"Native Instruments REAKTOR's Massive is all about modulation; check out the video to see how to use Massive's dazzling mod system to inject stunning sounds and textures into your tracks..." -Blue Water VST

Ned Rush = MaxVlog, Fader music + Generative Midi


"using faders to make midi notes, trying to rip off the ribbon and fader interface from the korg electribe EMX." -Mr.Ned Rush

Saturday, September 3

Glas ReFill from New Atlantis Audio


"Glas is a set of gorgeous playable Combinator ensemble instruments for your music and film scoring projects. Exotic, organic and surreal - these instruments are delicate and powerful all at once, and they sound awesome. Glas is powered by a special set of field recording source material, with half of the proceeds going to a very worthy cause.

The source material for this ReFill comes courtesy of Berklee School of Music’s sampling archive, and was commissioned as part of the One Laptop per Child music library, licensed under creative commons.

Half of the proceeds from sales of this ReFill will go to the One Laptop per Child foundation. They’re doing good stuff.

Specs: Includes 25 Combinators, 29 field recordings at 24 bit"

For more information and purchasing go to www.rackflip.com
Glas is available for the low price of $9.99!

Glas Reason ReFill by Rackflip

Moog Sound Lab - Phantogram

MOOG SOUND LAB: Phantogram "16 Years" from Moog Music on Vimeo.

Timexile.tv - live interactive online venue


"NEXT SHOW TUESDAY 6TH SEPTEMBER 8PM UK TIME

Join me to watch the music unfold live, send sounds for me to use and hang out with everyone else at the show in the chat room.

It's been my dream to do something like this for a rather jolly long time. I have no idea what it's for, other than that it's quite exciting and it feels somewhat like 'the future'.

Hear you soon!"

-Tim xx

Friday, September 2

Moogerfooger Cluster Flux Demo


"Sweetwater's Daniel Fisher demos the new Moogerfooger MF-108 Cluster Flux Chorus/Flange pedal using a guitar and EtherwavePlus Theremin, and controls it all via MIDI Sliders on the Kurzweil PC361."
-Sweetwater

E.H. Goldhammer Videos!

Just ran across these videos by E.H. Goldhammer on Vimeo this morning. Cool! Cool! Cool! Nice time lapse footage mixed with gear pron.

In the Pocket (Rhodes and Moog Light Paint):

"Extreme LFO sightings in Rhodes Island.
Original music by Ethan Goldhammer and S. Burke.
Time Lapse footage shot in August 2009 on Block Island, RI.
Stop motion and light paint September 2009 in Cambridge, MA."


Deep Sweep:

"Block Island, Rhode Island. Summer 2009-2010
Grand Piano > Echoplex Tape Delay > Moog Low Pass with ▲ LFO
Piano by Bradford Alderman
Filtration, Feedback, and Camerawork by Ethan Goldhammer"

E.H. Goldhammer Sites:
soundcloud
vimeo
blog

Thursday, September 1

Reason Wizardry Demo Video - August 2011

The August edition of Reason Wizardry is now available for subscribers to download! Here's a look at this month's edition:


"Reason Wizardry is a series of advanced video tutorials for Propellerhead Reason 4/5/6, produced fresh and delivered electronically each month."
-Nucleus SoundLab

Novation Impulse - Professional USB/MIDI controller keyboard


"Promo movie for Novation's Impulse range of professional USB/MIDI controller keyboards."
-Novation