The Twilite Tone @ dubspot

Okay, this is pretty cool - legendary DJ and producer The Twilite Tone exploring the warping function in Ableton Live with dubspot instructor KIVA:




Learn more @ dubspot

 

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Orbital and Stephen Hawking @ Paralympics!

This is dope:

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Predator RE!

 

Predator, the rack extension from Rob Papen we've all been waiting for is in the Prop Shop!!! Now I was lucky enough to beta test this bad boy and I've got to say it is the greatest instrument unleashed upon the Reason Rack since the mighty Thor. What really makes Predator special in my opinion are the Oscillators. Between FM, PM, and Ring Mod functions (Oscs 2 + 3), 128 waveforms (from classic analog waves to spectral and additive), a Sub Oscillator for all three Oscillators, Symmetry control (very very cool) and Pulse Width Modulation for EVERY waveform, the breadth of sound sculpting is remarkable! And there's still the extensive filter section (with 27 filter types, including comb and formant), a modulation matrix, arpeggiator, chord memory, unison, and 25 effects for further patch creation. And say you don't like to roll our own when inspiration calls - 4000 presets are included in Predator with an easy to use patch browser that will help you find the right sound for your track in no time. Now I could go on and on about how much I love this synth, but the greatest thing about the new Propellerhead Rack Extension Store is the ability to try before you buy, so what are you waiting for? Download Predator from the Prop Shop right now!

 

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Twisted Tools S-layer sample map set up

The Gentleman Bastard displays a unique way of creating your own sample maps for Reaktor using Ableton Live in this YouTube video. As an added bonus, go to Bassadelic.com for some free samples he made using the method described in the video with Twisted Tools awesome S-Layer Reaktor Ensemble! Dig it:

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Novation miniNova

Quite a day for announcements! Here's the cute new synth from Novation - the miniNova:

"MiniNova is a compact, super-cool studio and live synth with the same sound engine as its big brother; UltraNova. It comes with 256 incredible onboard sounds that you can tweak with five knobs, or totally warp with eight 'animate' buttons. It has up to 18 voices with as many as five synth effects on each sound. MiniNova also has an onboard VocalTune™ effect as well as a classic vocoder so you can recreate iconic vocal sounds from hip hop, urban and electronic music."

Novation released a slew of new videos on YouTube today featuring the miniNova:

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Introducing a new generation

Jeremy Ellis ripping it up on the brand new Maschine with pretty lights:

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OP-1 Accessories Demo

Teenage Engineering have just released a bevy of new accessories for their amazing handheld OP-1 synthesizer / workstation. These new accessories look fantastic and really fit the unique design of the OP-1. Check them out: 

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Soundcells Boost 309 V.4!

 

Soundcells has updated their Boost 309 Reason ReFill, based on samples from Quasimidi's Rave-o-Lution 309 drum machine, to version 4! The latest incarnation includes new Kong and ReDrum Kits, as well as brand new Combinators, featuring the "cool beats and complex, crazy rhythms" Boost 309 is known for. Check out the specs:

• 230 combinator patches in 4 folders: Bass, Leads, Pads, Polyphone Synths.

• 100+ NNXT patches, 20 Kong kits, 26 ReDrum kits and over 300 samples from the original 309.

• 60+ rex loops making use of the "Boost 309" drum machines as also the original machine.

• 5 tracks in RNS format - inspiring with highly 'tutorialesque' value.

Pick up Boost 309 today for the low introductory price of 19.90€ (price increases to 29.90€ after September 9th). Be sure to check out the great demo tracks @ Soundcells.de, my two faves are tracks 3 & 9 ;-).

 

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Propellerhead Reason: Radical Piano as a Send Effect

Line 6's Propellerhead Product Specialist Matt Piper shows you how to use the Radical Piano RE for Reason as a send effect:

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Viral Outbreak Sale!

 

From now until September 1st Nucleus SoundLab is having a 50% off sale on one of my favorite soundbanks for Reason - Viral Outbreak! This refill is based on samples from the Virus TI hardware synthesizer, which has been used by the likes of NIN, School of Seven Bells, BT, Depeche Mode and The Prodigy (to name but a few examples). The Virus TI keyboard costs thousands of dollars on the bay, but you can get the sound popularized by the pros in your Reason rack for $34.50!

Also on sale, and available for the final time, is the Viral Outbreak Vst Ultimate Bundle! This bundle not only includes the popular Viral Outbreak VST instrument (PC-only), but the entire library of Nucleus SoundLab add-on soundsets - Ambient Drums, MK Digital Keys, OB Resurrection, VS Resurrection and SoundCell. An absolutely massive collection, weighing in at ~16GB uncompressed, containing over 2600 patches and normally retails for $289! Pick it up during this final sale for an absolutely shocking price of only $49. Only 50 licenses are available for this low price so jump on it!

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Buffre Control Template for iPad Lemur

A new iPad Lemur template for BUFFRE? Count me in!

 

Download link for the BUFFRE Lemur template in the info section of the YouTube video

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Twisted Tools Micro Kits 03 - EVAC

Twisted Tools have released a brand new sound bank -

Micro Kits 03 by EVAC:

"MICRO KITS 03 by EVAC, features 5 meticulously crafted drum kits, perfectly suited for use in anything from techno to hip hop. The collection of kits is made up of clean and tight drum sounds, brought to you by renowned sound designer and music producer, EVAC.

The sample pack’s kits are formatted for a wide variety of samplers, providing instant inspiration within nearly any type of production environment. Additionally, MK03 features a custom Reaktor map and presets for Twisted Tools S-LAYER. By harnessing the power of S-LAYER’S advanced randomization and sample layering engine, the possibilities for generating new content are literally endless. MK03 comes with 30 kit and generator presets to get you started for S-LAYER."

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Remixing with Acapellas - Reason Tips

In the latest Reason Tips video James Bernard creates his own remix using vocals from the latest Aesop Rock record:

"What's the difference between a professional music producer and an amateur beat maker? Answer: Vocals. Vocals is what elevates a beat - no matter how cool it is on its own - to becoming a track that people can identify with, sing along to, and want to hear again. So what do you do if you aren't a rapper or vocalist? Fortunately, there's tons of acapella tracks out there just waiting to be worked with. In fact, many artists are releasing their acapellas in the hopes that people remix them in their own tracks."

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On this day in 1959...

 

On this day in 1959 Columbia Records released Miles Davis' Kind of Blue, one of the most influential records of all time! Certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, Kind of Blue was recorded at Columbia's 30th Street Studio in New York City in two sessions on March 2nd and April 22nd in 1959 by Teo Macero and Irving Townsend. The album features the first famous Miles Davis Sextet - pianist Bill Evans (Wynton Kelly on one track), drummer Jimmy Cobb, bassist Paul Chambers, and saxophonists John Coltrane and Julian "Cannonball" Adderley. The album abandons the major and minor key relationship predominate in western classical music and instead uses a modal base theory of composition that had been introduced to Miles thru George Russell's book Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization. This style of playing based the improvisation on scales (instead of chord changes), freeing the soloist from the constraints of bebop.

"If you're trying to be hip, be hip!" - Miles Davis

 

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Flying Lotus - See Thru To U feat. Erykah Badu

From the forthcoming album 'Until the Quiet Comes' out October 2nd on Warp Records - 'See Thru To U' featuring Erykah Badu:

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Buffre - Customizing Beat Repeat Patterns

A new video from Peff on the amazing Buffre Rack Extension for Reason, this time on using Buffre's real-time sampling features to "create custom repeat pattern effects with Reason pattern sequencers, control voltage routing, and the Regroove Mixer."

 

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Rumpistol & Red Baron Live @ Mutek Fest 2012

 

 

Courtesy of Project: Mooncircle

Visuals by Futura Epsis 1

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Mike Huckaby Maschine Tutorial: How to Create Drum Variations

Legendary Detroit DJ / Producer Mike Huckaby in his first tutorial for dubspot "shows you how to effortlessly generate multiple drum variations or music production ideas from a single session using Native Instruments Maschine."

Check it:

 

More information @ dubspot

 

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dubspot - Creat Slice to MIDI

dubspot instructor Thavius Beck shows one of his favorite tricks in Ableton in this latest dubspot "Did you know?" video:

 

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Permut8 Out Now!

This is the bombdiggity:

 

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Flower Audio Loudness Meter Rack Extension

Coming soon to the Prop Shop, the Flower Audio Loudness Meter Rack Extension:

 

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Little Drummer Boy Demo!

Mickey Delp from Delptronics gives a video tour of his fantastic LDB-1 analog drum machine for Austin's Switched On Music Store. Dig it:

 

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Robot Koch ✗ Rain Dog "Never Will"

From the upcoming 'Cosmic Waves' double white vinyl 10" out August 31st on Project Mooncircle:

 

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Animoog Midi Control!

Amos breaks down the new Animoog update:

 

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Buffre Glitch Repeater Combi with Pulsar

Andrew Skelton posted an interesting video today on using Peff's BUFFRE RE device in a combinator with Pulsar and Matrixes! Dig it:

The Knobulator from Mr.Ned Rush

Coming soon from Mr. Ned Rush:

 

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坂道のアポロン

Wish cartoons in the USA were like Kids on the Slope, from Wikipedia:

"Kids on the Slope (坂道のアポロン Sakamichi no Aporon, lit. "Apollo on the Slope") is a Japanese manga series by Yuki Kodama. It has been adapted into an anime television series subtitled Kids on the Slope in 2012. It is directed by Shinichirō Watanabe at MAPPA and Tezuka Productions with music provided by acclaimed composer Yoko Kanno, reuniting the two who previously worked together on Macross Plus and Cowboy Bebop. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks."

Nektar Panorama P-4 Keyboard Controller Sweetwater

Sweetwater Sound takes a look at the Nektar Panorama P4 Keyboard Controller for Reason:

"Niels Larsen from Nektar gives a detailed demonstration of the Panorama P-4 keyboard controller, which was developed specifically to give you ultimate control over Propellerhead Reason software (but it's a great controller for virtually any music program)."

Speaking of the Nektar P4 controller, Mr. Brandon Peoples has some great videos on his youtube page on setting up the P4 for both live and studio use!

Etch Red Quick Tip 03

FXpansion has uploaded a third quick tip for their awesome Etch Rack Extension, this time the tip is on the key tracking mode:

Sonic State's 2i2 Review

For my money the budget audio interface to buy on the market right now is the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. Coming in at $149 USD, with 2 "award winning" mic pres, the 2i2 would be a bargain at twice the price. Granted if you have more coin to spend there's some other great interfaces out there - the Apogee Duet 2, RME Babyface and Propellerhead Balance come to mind. Here's what Nick Batt from Sonic State thinks:

How Big Can a Mopho Get?

New from Dave Smith Instruments - Mopho x4, the polyphonic Mopho keyboard:

"Mopho x4 is the newest addition to DSI's revered line of analog subtractive synthesizers. Building upon the same award winning voice architecture of the Mopho and Mopho Keyboard, the Mopho x4 boasts huge sound and 4 voice polyphony in an ideally sized, portable, and elegantly designed package. Use it to create huge unison basses, creamy leads, maniacal sequences, and ethereal pads.

Each of Mopho x4's four voices is composed of two analog oscillators, two sub octave generators, selectable 2- or 4-pole famed Curtis low-pass filter, three 5-stage envelope generators, four LFOs, a re-latchable arpeggiator, and a 16 x 4 step sequencer. Its voice also comes packed with 20 modulation sources and almost 50 destinations!

FM the filter to create metallic bell-like sounds and use the feedback path to add subtle or destructive harmonic content to your sound. Mopho x4's 100% analog signal path is powerful, monstrous, and sonically dynamic!"

Check it: