Friday, October 29, 2010

Free Sample Friday: Prophet 08 Halloween Sounds

First off, sorry for the lack of updates throughout this week. I've spent part of this week fighting off some sort of mystery plague, and the other part trying to meet a remix deadline.

Luckily, reader Psyche Poppet is here to save the day with nearly 10 MB of Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 08 sounds to get your Halloween weekend off to a good start. I haven't had the chance to check these out myself, but if Mr. Poppet's past submissions are any indicator, this should be good stuff.

Moog Source on Ebay

Info at the link...

Alesis Andomeda A6 on Ebay

Info at the link...

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

The Ever-Versatile Delay

It's easy to become a bit of a pack-rat for plug-ins these days. There's so much cool free stuff to try, that if you're not careful, you'll end up wasting an entire day auditioning plug-ins to find the "perfect" effect for your track. That's okay now and then, but there really is a point of diminishing returns in regards to productivity in the long run. So I try not to go overboard with buying and downloading every cool thing that comes out. Instead, I try to get more mileage out of the effects I already have. You'd be surprised how many different uses you can find for just about any effect, even the lowly delay, for example. Here are just a few ways you can make use of delay effects:

• Add Complexity to Your Synth, Guitar, or Rhythm Parts
The most obvious use for delay is to add interest and rhythmic motion to a part. If your delay allows you to enter dotted note values, try setting it to sync to dotted 1/8th notes. Play a simple, synth part of straight, percussive 8th notes and listen to how much more complex it sounds. Try using delay on some things you might not think to ordinarily, such as your drum buss.

• Exaggerate the Stereo Sound of a Part
If you have a delay that allows you to adjust the delay rate down to the sample level (like Logic's built-in Sample Delay), offset one side between and 300-1000 samples from the other. You should notice the part sounds significantly "wider". This sounds brilliant on strings and pads, and can really add some sparkle to vocals. It also can help a part that's getting lost in the mix to stand out.

• Create Resonating, Metallic Effects
On most delays effects, if you set the delay time to a very short value (50ms and below), and turn the delay feedback up (not TOO high, though or your ears are going to be REALLY sad), you can create "robotic" type effects with an old school vibe. You can use it to recreate the fake vocoder sound on lots of old school rap and electro tracks if you send speech through it, and if you mix the effect as a send effect, it can add a harsh, metallic sheen to snare drum or other percussion tracks. If you play around with this effect, you'll notice that you can "tune" the effect by tweaking the delay time. If you're so inclined, you can try automating the delay time to follow the chord progression of your song. Most delays will glitch a bit when you try to do this in real time, so the best option is to render the track to audio and edit out the glitches by repeating an earlier region.

• Wash It
One thing ambient masters like Brian Eno or Robert Fripp discovered early on was how adept delay was for creating, giant sounding washes of sound. Try setting your feedback level fairly high, set your delay time to 1/4 notes or longer and play some chords with a lush pad sound and listen to how much thicker it sounds. Better yet, try setting up 3 or more delay effects in series, each with it's own delay time and feedback levels. This sounds great with stereo "ping-pong" delays. Even try setting up other effects before or after the delays. One of my favorite effects in Native Instruments' Guitar Rig is created by splitting up the signal and feeding it through delays, some of which have been pitch-shifter upwards. Try using a tape delay that degrades the signal with each repeat to dirty up your track and make it sound more organic. Also, try setting a reverb after your delay to create even more atmosphere. This way, you're applying reverb to each repeat of the delay in addition to the main sound itself.

• Bait and Switch
One cool effect that can add interest to a track is to record a part twice, using different sounds each time. Leave the "main" track dry, and then send the second track completely through a delay effect with the wet level set to 100% and the dry level all the way down. Mixed properly, the effect is of the second track being the echo to the main track, but with the different timbre of the second track, it can sound a lot more interesting. Try it with snare and percussion parts, too.

So what are your favorite ways of using delay? Join the conversation in the comments!

Oberheim Matrix-6 on Ebay

Info at the listing...

Korg O1W FD on Ebay

Info at the listing...

Monday, October 25, 2010

LinPlug Introduces MorphoX

Developers LinPlug have released a new softsynth called MorphoX, whose speciality is morphing smoothly between sounds for new levels of expression.

Key features include:

"- the sound can be continuously morphed between two individual sounds including effects using the modulation wheel.
- powerfull yet easy to operate subtractive sound engine with many extraordinary modulation options (its a LinPlug)
- Stereo Filter with simultaneous low pass, band pass and high pass and Filter FM
- Modulation Matrix (10 routings, 20+ sources, 40+ destinations)
- user programable 16 step Arpeggiator
- Microtonal support (TUN file import)"

MorphoX retails for $129 is available for both PC and Mac.

Per Request: FM8 Patches from Last Free Sample Friday

This past Friday, I posted some samples of a resonant, metallic synth sound I made in Native Instruments FM8. A reader asked if I would post the actual FM8 patch, and I thought, "hey, why not?" As you can hear, the actual patch is a lot more lively and fun to play than the sample. 2 variations are included.

Sounds Design Tutorial: Making Monster Voices


It's Halloween this weekend, so if you're looking into ways to beef up the production values of your haunted house, check out this tutorial by Jim Stout or designingsound.org in which he shows how to use a vocoder to combine a human voice with animal sounds for authentic sounding monster voices. [via designingsound on YouTube]

Simmons SDS8 Drum Synth on Ebay

Info at the link...

Crumar Bit-One on Ebay

Info at the link...

Studio Electronics MIDI Mini on Ebay

Info at the link...

Friday, October 22, 2010

Free Sample Friday: Resonant, Metallic FM Synth


Today's free sample selection is a metallic synth sound with a percussive, rezzy attack I made in Native Instruments FM8. It sounds like something you might have heard on mid-80's era Depeche Mode to me.

4 octaves multi-sampled as 24-bit, stereo WAVs. [1.9 MB]

GO GET THEM!

OSCar Synthesizer at Ebay

Info at the listing...

Roland SH-1 on Ebay

Info at the listing...

Thursday, October 21, 2010

What's in Your Vocal Chain?

I thought today it might be fun to compare our favorite effects chains for using on vocals. Every track obviously differs according to what you need, but most of us probably have some basics we use fairly regularly. I'll start, and you can feel free to join the discussion in the comments.

I record my vocals on an AKG C-3000 which I've had forever. It's nothing fancy, but I think it sounds pretty good with vocals, as it seems to have a little bit of a mid-range bias, and this can be helpful in getting your vocals to sit right in the mix. The down side is, if you've got a singer with a lisp, or just a sort of "spitty" way of singing, the mic will exaggerate it.

The mic is plugged directly into the XLR input on my MOTU 828 mk II. I'd love to have a fancy, high-end recording strip for stuff like this some day, but for now, this does the job just fine. Very neutral sounding, so it gives you a good starting point.

Once I've recorded several takes, the first thing I do is to build a comp of the best bits from each take. This way, I'm starting with the best results possible. Now's also a good time to listen for mic bumps, mouse farts, or other unwanted sounds that need to be edited out.

The first item in my typical vocal channel is an EQ. The sole purpose of this EQ is to filter out the unneeded low frequencies. The reason it's first in my chain is that I want to get rid of them right away, so they don't effect the way the compressor works. Having an EQ cutting out the lows is really a good habit to get into for almost any channel (aside from bass and kicks, although even they can use a cut around 40Hz and below). It will clean up the low end in your mixes and free up all sorts of headroom in your mixes.

Next up, I have my compressor. Even though I have a LiquidMix, which has models of classic analog compressors, I actually prefer Logic's built-in compressor on my vocals. It's a very clean and neutral sounding compressor and really lets vocals come through clearly. If I need "character", I can always add it later. I tend to compress my vocals pretty heavily... a ratio between 6:1 to 10:1 with an aggressive amount of reduction and relatively fast attack. There really is no magical setting that will work for every voice. You just need to spend some time experimenting to find what works the best with your vocals.

I follow the compressor with another instance of EQ. Unlike the previous EQ which consisted of a heavy low-end cut, this one is aimed at boosting a couple of key areas. I'm putting it after the compressor because I want to exaggerate these frequencies in the already-compressed signal. I find this allows for more subtle results and a greater ability to fine-tune easily. My typical boosts are around 1500Hz - this is an area often associated with intelligibility of vocals, and can help fit a vocal "in" the mix instead of on top of it - and at 10k, which adds a little "air" and presence. Neither of these boosts are more than a couple db's a piece.

The second EQ is followed by Logic's Sample Delay plug in, which is designed to allow you to offset the left and right channels of a track at the sample level. When you delay one side versus the other, the result is a stereo "widening" effect. I think this makes the vocals sound a lot slicker and more professional, but it also helps the vocal fit in the mix better. It might not be right for every case, but give it a try and see if you like it.

Finally, I have to aux sends, 1 which goes to a reverb, and another that goes into a delay. I'll use different ones for different purposes, but I always keep my send levels pretty modest... about 20% or so. This helps give the vocals space, but without overwhelming them. Vocals are generally mixed pretty dry these days, so mess around and find what sounds right in the context of your song.

That's it. Pretty simple. How about you? What's your go-to effects chain for mixing vocals?

Korg KPR-77 Drum Machine on Ebay

Info at the listing...

PMS Syntar on Ebay

Doesn't get much rarer than this... Just over a dozen of these were made.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tech Interview: Rhys Fulber of Conjure One



Rhys Fulber is a name anyone familiar with the electronic underground is probably well aware of by now. Getting his start with the seminal electro-industrial band Front Line Assembly and its many side-projects, these days Fulber can be found working in the studio with bands like Fear Factory as well as on the road with his Conjure One solo project. Fulber is currently on tour in the US with Alan Wilder's Recoil (as well as Germany's Architect) in support of the new Conjure One album "Exilarch" (Exilarch) which came out digitally yesterday and will see a CD release the first week in November. In spite of being in a mad dash to prepare for the tour, Fulber graciously took out some time to answer some questions about favorite synths, his studio, and his manner of working.

WAVEFORMLESS: Thanks for taking the time to speak with me. You’ve got a new record coming out in October. Tell us a little bit about it. How do you see it in the evolution of the Conjure One sound?

FULBER: I have a new record called Exilarch that will be out by the time i submit this interview..Its in some ways the quintessential Conjure One record, as i feel I like I really have a handle on the project's identity now. It some ways, it harks back to the original Amsterdam demos of 1998, where this project was born, with squelching modular synths and worldly elements, and its the first record I really took no outside input on, direction wise. Its also inspired me more in a way, as I'm eager to follow it up, and not spend another 5 years multi tasking with outside production work.

WAVEFORMLESS: You’ve long been a vintage synth enthusiast. Can you tell us about some of your favorite synths and what you like most about them?

FULBER: I'd like to modify that statement to "boutique synthesizer" enthusiast. I love the boutique stuff because it has almost all of the vintage sound, without the vintage hassle...It's hard to pick one because they all have one thing they do best compared to the others. Of course the Euro Rack modular, which is Doepfer, Analogue Systems, Plan B and Analogue Solutions is probably my favorite just for the variables and experimental element of it. I drive it with a MAQ 16/3 sequencer. It was also part of the original Conjure One vibe, but now the system has expanded another chassis. If I had to pick one, I guess that would be it, though its very close with the Omega 8. The Omega 8 made me feel comfortable in letting go of my beloved OB Xpander, because the Xpander's reliability was just too frustrating.. The Omega can really do it all, and i added the 2600 and CS 80 filters for ever more "all". My most recent acquisitions are the Jomox Sunsyn, and a Serge Modular panel, which both sound fantastic and "alive". The square waves on the Sunsyn are special as are the wavetables and unique filter. They both may be the best sounding synthesizers I've ever heard. The Serge especially shines at "atonal yet very musical" stuff. A song on Exilarch called "Places That Don't Exist" features that particular Serge quality throughout. Another synth that features heavily on the new album is the good old Pro One, which is as solid as ever, i just rediscovered it a bit, and made different sounds, almost marimba percussive (see "Zephyr" and "The Distance") with it. Minimoog is still used alot as is the MS20. They sound just like you expect and want them to. The MS is still a monster with the filter input going. I have to mention the Waldorf Pulse too. I think its a very underrated synth. I don't know if I used it much on the new material, but over the years it has always delivered and its got to be one of the best sounding synths at that price out there.

WAVEFORMLESS: What is most important to you when you’re looking to add a new synth to your arsenal?

FULBER: Something different I guess, like the filter or structure, or something to fill in any sonic gaps. All analog can make everything a bit too soft and squishy at times, so I recently got a Nord Wave because I was missing that sharpness Nords have. Its also become the go to Mellotron source on the new record.

WAVEFORMLESS: Are their any synths you weren’t crazy about at first that grew on you with time?

FULBER: Well if i'm not impressed, I'm not going to buy it, so not really. Though I have to mention the Pulse again, because over time I realized what a great little synth it is.

WAVEFORMLESS: You mentioned that the new album is mostly dependent on hardware. Are their any softsynths out there you’re enjoying these days or do you keep it strictly old school?

FULBER: I do a lot of song sketches on Ableton Live, so that's all software. Vember Audio Surge and FAW Circle are my two favorite soft synths and i use them in Live. The Surge is actually on Exilarch a fair bit, but mostly triangle wave beeps. The Circle eats a lot of DSP, but sounds good. I also like the Digidesign Hybrid synth, though I tend to use it more on rock productions because of the way it sits in the mix. For some songs, the idea will start in Live, then I'll bounce little audio clips over and build the track up proper and bring in the analog beasts. Some stuff starts all analog.. it depends. When its analog, not a lot of midi is involved either. I like to get the modulars going with an analog sequencer then roughly match the tempo, record it and cut it to the grid. Same with the Pro One and its internal sequencer. The Minimoog and MS20 get played manually. In fact there's more manually playing on the newer material than ever. It's a quicker way to get the idea down that screwing around with midi and or CV converters.

WAVEFORMLESS: What’s your DAW of choice these days?

FULBER: I use ProTools HD, with a bit of Ableton Live. I'd like to use Live more, as it reminds me a bit of C-Lab Creator, which I loved, but because I do other genres as well, ProTools seems to work the best for me.

WAVEFORMLESS: Tell us a little about your mixing and monitoring set-up.

FULBER: Genelec 1030a. I bought them when I set up the Amsterdam rig in 97 and I cant imagine anything else. I added an ADAM sub the last few years though, so now there really is no reason to switch. Mixing is done in the box with ProTools HD, though some outboard is involved. Alan Smart, Lexicon, Purple Audio, SSL and Chandler. I do find now that how something is recorded is more essential to the sound quality than the finesse of a mix, so I record everything through Chandler mic pres. It does make a difference thats adds up incrementally.

WAVEFORMLESS: Tell us a little bit about your process in writing and recording a Conjure One track.

FULBER: It really does vary track to track. Some songs start all in my head, and its just a question of getting the parts down. Sometimes its a Doepfer patch...sometimes its inspiration from an Uzbekistani song, sometimes its just finding a nice chord progression, there is no system really. They all do start track first though, in the sense the track is built up to almost as it is on the record, before its handed to a vocalist or lyricist to put a top line together. Then after all the main song and vocal is sorted out, real instruments are then added if needed, like guitars, or real strings, then the final vocals are recorded, though sometimes original "writing" takes are used.

WAVEFORMLESS: In addition to Conjure One and the dozens of other projects you’ve been involved in over the years, you’ve done some production work for other artists such as Fear Factory. Tell us a bit how that differs from working on your own material, especially given the more guitar-heavy sound. Are their any tips you can share with our readers regarding incorporating electronics into a guitar-heavy mix successfully?

FULBER: Its a very different process, as it usually involves a whole band and pre production, so we can figure out all the parts before we start recording. I like to have the recording process be just that, recording the parts the players know, rather than writing and figuring things out, because that can really bog things down. Of course this does happen sometimes, but its nice to have a smooth workflow in the studio when you have to get a bunch of people, who sometimes live in different places, together. So working out arrangements and parts in pre production, usually in a rehearsal room, is important. Recording guitars, especially for metal, is a world unto itself, as the tone defines the entire record, so that's where a lot of time is spent, with amps or mic placement or cabinets, whatever variables there are. With Fear Factory its not too hard, as Dino has a great tone and touch already. Touch is actually about 70% of a great guitar sound I've found. I like to do all the programming, as its needed, alone, after the main tracking has been done, then let the band hear and decide what they like. I want the band to like everything on their record, because they have to tour it and talk about it etc...When programming for music of that ilk, high pass filters are your friend, so things don't interfere with the bass or kick drum, though the odd impact sample you still want full and big. I also use software a lot more for metal / rock programming as sometimes analog will have a harder time poking through the guitar wall. I just find ways to highlight what the band is doing, complimenting without competing.

WAVEFORMLESS: You’ve had an unusually long career compared to many electronic musicians. What have been some of the biggest changes between when you first started out and present day? Do you see these changes as good, bad, or a little of both?

FULBER: Well I do almost everything now, so I guess that's good. Produce, program, edit, record, even mixing more and more. I also have my own studio, which is important as the decadence of commercial studios has gone with the budgets. Adapting to the way the business has changed means doing more yourself, which like I said before, is not really a bad thing.

WAVEFORMLESS: You were quite young when you first joined Front Line Assembly. If the older, wiser Rhys Fulber could go back in time and talk to young Rhys Fulber, what advice would you give him?

FULBER: I think it would be to enjoy and appreciate the moment. There will always be a band that's bigger, hipper, etc. but it all comes and goes. If you can play music for a living or in front of an audience, that's an amazing thing. Jimmy Urine from MSI said to me "it must have been cool to be part of that first wave "industrial dance - Wax Trax scene", and only then did I realize it years later, because it was a great time.

WAVEFORMLESS: You are about to embark on tour as support for Recoil on their upcoming US tour. How did that come about, and how does it feel to share a stage with someone of Wilder's stature?

FULBER: Someone connected with the agency booking the tour, who knew some people I knew, contacted me and asked if I'd be interested, and of course I was. I had actually met Alan before at an industry party in Hamburg around 1998; we hung out for a good chunk of time there and he remembered me, so it worked out nicely. Of course I admire Alan's talent and work, so its an honour and privilege.

WAVEFORMLESS: The Room: great movie, or the greatest movie?

FULBER: Great, yes. Greatest? Not sure, but I can comfortably put Tommy Wiseau is the same category of cinematic visionaries as Tarkovsky and Kubrick. By the way, my money is on Bulgaria as his native country...

Oberheim Four Voice on Ebay

Info at the listing...

Lell UDS Soviet Drum Synth on Ebay

Info at the listing...

Marion Systems MSR-2 on Ebay

Rare Oberheim-designed rackmount synth...

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Your Tuesday Morning Nightmare Fuel


Last week I posted this video of a Japanese robotic pop singer. Here's an even creepier one that includes pretty extensive movement. It's only a matter of time before the world will see its first robotic pop star, and does anyone really doubt it will happen in Japan first? Is this the future of pop music? Sounds like a dream for the record companies... the singer never gets too drunk and screws up a performance, they never age or get fat, they never require a damn thing, really. Pure profit! [via Dlisted]

Monday, October 18, 2010

Moog Music Releases Filtatron App for iPhone/iPad

Unless you're living under a rock, chances are good you've probably caught wind of some of the hype around Moog Music's first foray into the world of iPhone apps. Filtatron is a digitally modeled Moog ladder filter, effects engine, and sample player. Here's what they have to say:

"Key Features:

Moog Ladder Filter – Four pole resonant Moog Ladder Filter, with Lowpass and Highpass modes and adjustable cutoff and resonance parameters.

Oscillator – A high-resolution, alias-free DSP oscillator with sawtooth and square waveforms, adjustable frequency from 0.3 Hz to 2kHz.

LFO – Five waveforms: sine, ramp, sawtooth, square, sample & hold, with crossfade and morph between adjacent LFO shapes.

Envelope Follower – Uses the volume envelope of sound inputs to sweep the filter, with controls for amount and speed.

Amp and Delay FX Modules – Amp provides warm, smooth overdrive with feedback control. Delay can be modulated by its own LFO (with rate and depth controls) and delay time is smoothly interpolated for analog-style delay time tweaks.

File Sharing – Easily move audio files back and forth between the Filtatron and your computer. Audio Copy and Audio Paste enables sharing audio between the Filtatron and other compatible apps. Built-in email function allows sharing presets with other Filtatron users.

Record and Playback – All audio processed in stereo, 16bit, 44.1kHz resolution. Filtatron will record samples up to 10MB. Tap and Drag sets start and end points for seamless looping. Playback control can be adjusted from double-speed playback all the way down through zero to double-speed reverse. "

Filtatron retails for $4.99

Filtatron

Sample Magic Releases iPhone App

Sample developers Sample Magic have done the unexpected and entered the iPhone app market with DemoGod, an app aimed at providing aspiring dance musicians with a database of A & R contacts and other tools to help them hook up with a label. It retails for £1.79.

DemoGod

Cool Technical Interview with Covenant

Speaking of my talented friends, the Steelberry Clones blog has an interesting technical interview with my friends Covenant (another band Daniel is part of).


Download Free Recoil Remixes by Architect


I'm going to go see Alan Wilder's Recoil perform here in Seattle tonight. I'm jazzed for a couple reasons. Firstly because Wilder has always kind of been a hero of mine. If it wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't be making music for a living today. But I'm even more excited because my friend Daniel's project (Architect) is one of the support acts for the tour. Daniel's one of the most talented people I know and I never felt like he gets the recognition he deserves, so it's nice to see him in such a prestigious position. Architect put together a few remixes for Recoil and you can download them absolutely free from Mute's website in exhange for your email address.

Roland System 100m on Ebay

Info at the listing...

Octave Cat SRM on Ebay

Info at the listing...

Friday, October 15, 2010

Apple Updates Logic to 9.1.2

In case you missed it, Apple released an update to Logic yesterday. Before updating, you might want to check this thread over at KVR, as it seems the new version has caused problems for some users. Here's what's new:

"This update improves overall stability, provides numerous fixes and improvements, and is recommended for all users of Logic Pro 9. Running Logic Pro 9.1.2 in 64-bit mode requires Mac OS X v10.6.2 Snow Leopard or later. For information about running Logic Pro in 64-bit mode, see this article.

Some issues addressed in this update include but are not limited to:

Performance and Stability

  • Logic’s performance while playing movies at larger than 300% native size in 64-bit mode has been improved.
  • Resolves an issue that could cause the warning dialog “Memory Getting Low” to appear when simultaneously recording multiple tracks in 32-bit mode.
  • Resolves an issue that could cause the warning dialog “Specified volume doesn’t exist -35” to appear when simultaneously recording multiple tracks in 32-bit mode.
  • Using the Undo command after a "Bounce in Place" command now correctly reinserts used plug-ins on the channel strip.
  • Performing Undo after using the "Bounce - Replace All Tracks" command now correctly restores all automation.
  • Resolves an issue that sometimes caused Logic to stop responding when loading a setting for a mono plug-in in a multi-mono surround configuration.

Compatibility

  • Improves compatibility with 6- and 12-core Mac Pro systems.
  • Supports iOS control surface apps that utilize the OSC protocol.
  • Supports REX files when running in 64-bit mode.
  • Improves compatibility with select Audio Unit plug-ins.
  • The expanded System Performance window now accurately reflects the number of available real cores on all supported computers.
  • Logic no longer inadvertently reloads the content for third-party sampler plug-ins such as Native Instrument’s Kontakt after tracks are deleted, or after some other edits are performed.
  • Resolves an issue introduced in Logic 9.1.1 that could cause the spacebar to incorrectly trigger playback in Logic while the Melodyne plug-in window had focus.
  • Logic Control or Mackie Control hardware control surfaces no longer switch to plug-in edit view when a plug-in on slots 8-15 is removed.

MIDI Editing

  • Resolves an issue introduced in Logic 9.1 where using the Marquee tool to trim the end of a MIDI region could extend the number of loops for regions earlier in the same track.
  • The Piano Roll now updates as expected to show the currently selected MIDI take.
  • Resolves an issue in Logic 9.1.1 which could cause the Score to not display all notes from a region that had been split with the Scissors tool.
  • The appearance of downward slurs and ties has been improved in the Score window.
  • When pasting MIDI events into the Arrange area, the playhead no longer jumps unexpectedly to a position far to the right of the end of the pasted content.

Instruments and Effects

  • Amp Designer now reliably maintains saved non-default EQ settings when a project is reloaded.
  • The Wah Wah stompbox now responds more reliably to expression pedal input.
  • EXS24 loads and plays back instruments that use short AAC or ALAC audio files when Virtual Memory is disabled.
  • Corrects an issue that could cause the “Next Plug-in Setting or EXS Instrument” key command to change settings on the wrong plug-in.
  • It is possible again to copy and paste sequences between Voices within an Ultrabeat pattern.
  • A Software Instrument with a Send set to Post Pan no longer loses audio output when the Aux it sends to is soloed, and the Software Instrument’s pan is adjusted.
  • Software Instrument tracks with the AUNetReceive plug-in no longer exhibit excessive latency.
  • The Noise Gate no longer creates audible clicks while processing audio with the plug-in GUI open.
  • Double-clicking an insert slot will close the associated plug-in if it is open and set to Link Mode.
  • In the EXS Editor, a mouse roll over of an audio file name now displays the full path for the file.
  • The EXS Editor now properly displays all Groups even those that have the same name.

File Handling and Management

  • Resolves an issue which sometimes caused the text after a period in a plug-in setting name to be lost on the first save of the setting.
  • Resolves an issue from Logic 9.1.1 which forced exported MIDI files to have a .logic extension rather than the .mid extension.
  • Import of folder tracks from other projects now works reliably.
  • Bank and Patch names in Multi-instruments now import correctly when using the Track Import feature.
  • Resolves an issue which could cause the Track Import window to become non-functional in certain rare cases.
  • Import of stereo Input Channel Strips from other projects now works reliably.
  • It is again possible to drag split stereo audio files from the Finder into the Arrange window.
  • The mute status is now maintained for tracks imported from other projects using Selective Track Import.
  • The “Export Region as Audio File” and “Export Track as Audio file” functions now add tempo information to the exported files.
  • The EXS24 now automatically locates samples stored in a folder inside the Project Folder that have any of the following names: “Samples,” “Sampler Files,” “Sampler Instruments,” or “Audio Files.”
  • When a project is opened from a project folder that has been copied, EXS24 now loads samples from the copied location instead of the original.
  • It is now possible to drag and drop an AIFF audio file copied from a CD into the Audio Bin in the Media area of the Arrange window.
  • The project name is no longer truncated if a period is added to the project name when performing a Save As for the project.

General Issues

  • Resolves an issue where applying a crossfade with the crossfade tool might affect existing crossfades on the same track.
  • A marker is no longer created unexpectedly when the Open Marker Text command is used.
  • The relative movement of the mouse when editing multiple automation nodes has been improved.
  • The mouse pointer no longer incorrectly shows the Freeze pointer when editing volume, pan, send, mute or solo automation on frozen tracks.
  • Help tags for the Marquee Strip now show the correct range.
  • Soloing an Auxiliary channel strip whose source is a Bus from another Auxiliary channel strip now works as expected.
  • Copying a MIDI region on a ReWire track no longer creates an unexpected new track.
  • Cutting a region at a point earlier than the anchor at high zoom levels no longer causes the region to move unexpectedly.
  • Plug-ins now open with Link mode enabled when they are invoked by entering Plug-in edit mode on a remote control surface.
  • When a channel strip is muted, pre-fader sends on the channel strip are now muted as expected.
  • Reordering multiple Control Surface objects in the Control Surface Setup window now behaves more reliably.
  • Performing comp edits while recording will no longer create graphic artifacts in the Take Folder.
  • The behavior of the key commands to adjust Marquee selection borders based on transients has been improved. See this article for details.
  • There is no longer audible stepping with automated volume changes at low fader levels.
  • Touch automation mode now works correctly with Sculpture's Object Position 2 parameter.
  • Quantize parameters are now correctly maintained when a region is divided.
  • The vertical position guide when moving/copying a flexed region is now correctly positioned at the left edge of the region in projects that start earlier than position 1 1 1 1.
  • The Optimize file(s) command now properly affects both channels of a split stereo file.
  • Delete now works properly on selected regions within undisclosed groups in the Audio Bin.
  • Resolves an issue introduced in Logic 9.1.1 that could cause channel strips with default names to display incorrectly on EuCon control surfaces.
  • The “Reset All I/O Labels” command once again works as expected.
  • Regions dragged from the Audio Bin to tracks within folders in the Arrange window are now correctly positioned.
  • Contextual menus now appear as expected when Control- or right-clicking entries in the Audio Bin in the Media area of the Arrange window.
  • Performing Undo after adding tempo events to a project no longer inadvertently modifies the selections for the active comp in a take folder.
  • Regions with a negative value set for Delay in the Region Inspector are now rendered properly with Bounce Region in Place.
  • Bounce Regions in Place now works properly on record-enabled audio tracks.
  • The current scroll position in the Audio Bin will not jump unexpectedly after renaming an audio file.
  • The color and icon assigned to a track are now properly maintained when tracks are imported using Selective Track Import.
  • Using the Backspace to remove all characters in the File Browser’s search field no longer causes it to lose key focus.
  • Imported linked stereo files will now load with all other audio files in a Project without sometimes displaying a dialog that states "Unequal Stereo Regions Corrected."
  • The MIDI channel number is now appended to the channel strip name when new tracks are created using the “New Track with Next MIDI Channel” menu option."

Rare Synth: The S900 Steelphon


Apparently used by Bowie during his "Low" period. Never even heard of this one, have you?