. This isn't his normal Christmas display, but something he just did for fun. Even after a decade of releasing music, my fans still find ways to surprise me.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
I Have the Best Fans...
. This isn't his normal Christmas display, but something he just did for fun. Even after a decade of releasing music, my fans still find ways to surprise me.
Hartmann Neuron VS on Ebay
Software (with hardware controller) version of the unusual Hartmann Neuron...
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Parameter Step Offset in Logic Ultrabeat
Ultrabeat, if you're not familiar with it, is Logic's built-in drum synth/sampler/sequencer combo. It's incredibly deep and full-featured, but unfortunately the interface is terrible, as is the case with many of Logic's included instruments. It's not totally impenetrable, but it's enough of a pain, that most Logic users give up on it before they really have a chance to see what it's capable of. I'm probably guilty of this a bit myself. I genuinely like Ultrabeat but the interface just puts me off and I don't use it that much.I was reading a thread regarding this very topic over on GearSlutz, when a post by helpful user d1rtyNYC reminded me of one of my favorite features in Ultrabeat: sequencing parameter offsets. Put in more simple language... you can use the step sequencer to modulate parameters of the drum synth. Here's how to do it:
1. Launch Logic and create a new software instrument track. Assign and open an instance of UltraBeat.
2. At the very bottom of the interface, you'll see the step sequencer. This area gives you the option of programming your beats from within Ultrabeat instead of sequencing them in Logic's arrange page. For the sake of this tutorial, I'll assume you have a beat programmed in the step sequencer already (Logic defaults to one, so you can just use that..) What you might not have noticed, is there are two options available to you when it comes to the step sequencer. This defaults to the VOICE mode, which lets you program when and at what velocity a sound will be triggered. Standard stuff. But, if you look directly under the sequencer's "power" button (which you should turn on now, incidentally), you'll see the switch for setting your EDIT mode.
3. Click on the word "STEP" and you'll see the interface change. Namely, you'll notice yellow rings appearing around all the sound's editable parameters. Select the parameter you want to step sequence changes for and change its value by moving the slider/knob. For the sake of this tutorial, let's alter OSC 1's PITCH value, since it has a very noticeable effect. If you've clicked on this and altered the value, you'll see a new step inserted on the sequencer at the bottom, and a new drop down menu appears right to the left of the steps labeled "PARAMETER OFFSET". Right now, that menu only has a selction for OSC 1 PITCH, but every time you alter another parameter and add a new modulation sequence, it will be added to this menu, so you can go back and edit the sequences for each parameter after the fact if need be.
4. You can also enter steps on the step sequencer grid itself. Just make sure you have clicked on the parameter (or select it from the drop-down menu if you've already created a sequence for that parameter), and you can draw in the steps yourself.
Pretty cool, right? What's even cooler is that you can do this for all the available parameters, so you can create incredibly complex, evolving modulations and even program melodies and riffs. Now multiply that by Ultrabeat's 25 available sound slots and you can see how mind-bogglingly deep and complex this can get. Have fun and thanks to d1rtyNYC for reminding me what I was missing out on.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Open Thread: Your Least Favorite Xmas Song?
The Christmas season is such a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I absolutely love getting to see family and giving gifts to those I love. But on the other hand, it makes going to post office a nightmare, it can sometimes bring out the really ugly, greedy side of people, and worst of all, it means I have to hear Christmas music for a month. I hate Christmas music. Not all of it, mind you. But most of it.Call me a grouch, I really don't care, but I suspect I am also not alone in this feeling. So go ahead. Have at it. Tell me what Christmas song absolutely drives you up the wall. I'm going to put mine forth as a toss-up between Wings' "Wonderful Christmastime" and that stupid "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" song. You?
Korg 707 on Ebay
Korg FM synth that is probably most notable for the unusual placement of the mod and pitch wheels. I've never played one, but that actually looks like a pretty convenient place to put them. Anyone played one before?
Monday, December 21, 2009
Holiday Deals And Freebies
Christmas is just a few days away (how did it sneak up so quickly?!) and I'm sure you're all done with your shopping, so why not pick up a li'l sumpin' sumpin' for yourself? As usually happens this time of year, a lot of great companies are having some killer deals and some are even giving stuff away for free!• Wave Alchemy - Up to 50% Off
Sample library creators Wave Alchemy are offering some serious discounts until January 4th. Includes 50% off the SFX Collection 01, and 25% off Drum Machines 01 Bundle, Electro Collection Bundle, African Rhythms, Electro House Progressions, Electro House Underground, Airbase Drums, Deep Drums, and Electrik Drums.
• Admiral Quality - Makers of the critically acclaimed Poly-Ana are offering half off all of their products until the end of the year.
• Native Instruments - The German software giants have released Holiday Selection 2009, a free instrument featuring 45 sounds taken from the Kore and Kontakt sound libraries.
• Real Music Media - The creators of sound libraries such as The Real Snare Drum and Taijiguy Mellotron have decided to make all of their samples available for free. To be fair to those who had paid for them, the free versions are 16-bit instead of 24.
• Ueberschall - The longtime sample developers are offering Scoretrax, an instrument based on their Elastik Player for 60% off until the end of the year.
• Fab Filter - 25% off all bundles until December 31st.
• Waves - 51% off all purchases and upgrades until the end of December.
• Ohm Force - Symptohm: Melohman: Performer Edition, a simplified version of the commercial Symptohm: Melohman softsynth, has been made available as freeware.
• Ableton - 2 free Live Packs featuring the amazing live drum n' bass, dubstep, and breakbeat drummer KJ Sawka are yours for the taking.
• Expert Sleepers - In addition to offering their plug-ins in various money-saving bundles (discounts up to 37%), Expert Sleeper is offering additional Holiday discounts through January 6th for total savings up to 55%
• Assemblage 23 - Okay, crass plug for myself here... I'm offering free shipping until the end of December on all orders from the Assemblage 23 Online Store if you enter the coupon code 'SANTAROCKS' in the special instructions section of the order form. No matter where you live or how much you order, you pay nothing on shipping.
That's just a small selection of what's out there. Know of any other cool ones?
Friday, December 18, 2009
Free Sample Friday: 1 Note Virus Bass Samples
Back in the early days of sampling, when memory on samplers was pretty limited, multi-sampling was not as widespread as it is today. In fact, a lot of the early synth samples I made were based on a single sampled note transposed across the entire keyboard. (Sometimes because I had stolen the sound off a record and that's all I had...) This worked better with some sounds than others, obviously, and one type of sound I found it was very cool on was bass sounds. The transposition made it punchier, and even in the high ends, you could sometimes use them as percussive "sequencer" type sounds. You can hear these kinds of sampled bass sounds on a lot of 90's era dance music.So in that spirit, today I give you 5 single note samples of bass sounds produced by an Access Virus B. The root note of all of these is C. As usual, they are 24-bit/44.1k WAV samples.
GO GET THEM!
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