Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Back in My Day... Remember When Samplers Actually Sampled?
A lot has changed the way we create and listen to music these days. A lot of the changes I'm generally pretty cool with, although transitioning from hardware to software took some getting used to. But one thing that has always driven me a bit crazy about software samplers - namely that very few of them actually sample anymore.I get the logic. We have tons of excellent dedicated audio editors that allow us to edit and process sounds with more precision than any sampler. So why not eliminate the sampling process, let people record sounds in their DAW and edit away in their editor of choice? Because it makes sampling a much less spontaneous process, and I think it has had a detrimental effect on how many musicians use sampling in their music. With my old EPS-16+, I hit the sample button, trigger the audio I want to sample, and choose the root key, and I'm done. With Kontakt or EXS-24, I've got to record the audio in my DAW or editor, edit and re-save my individual samples, then I have to fire up my software sampler, import the sounds, map them and make sure their root key is set correctly, and save the instrument within the sampler. Hardly very efficient.
I think this more deliberate process discourages the kind of experimentation we saw at sampling's birth. Instead of trying to make new instrument sounds from junk found in our closets, sampling seems to have become more of a glorified loop playback method. Is this a product of the evolution of sampling, or is it at least partially due to the way the tools changed? My guess is it's a little of both. The changes in tools are usually good, but not always. During the late 80's and early 90's, many synth manufacturers decided we no longer needed resonant filters. Turns out we totally did. Maybe the approach software samplers generally take is a similar mistake. I'd love to see more soft-samplers including the option to sample within the sampler itself. It would be interesting to see if this changed the way we all use sampling again. And it might keep the old-timers from grumbling quite so much.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Free Sample Friday: Noise Kit
Today's selection consists of 16 drum sounds tortured to the breaking point in Camel Audio's CamelPhat. All sounds are stereo, 24-bit WAVS. Enjoy! [5.4 MB]
GO GET THEM!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
5 Holiday Deals...
• Sample developers Prime Loops are offering 50% off all their sample collections until December 31.
• Tomorrow, Friday, December 10th, Ohmforce are offering discounts on their distortion-oriented plug-ins with the following coupon codes:
OHMICIDE-INSTINCT for -40% on the Ohmicide:Melohman
PREDATOHM-INCISIONS for -40% on the Predatohm
OHMICIDE-PREDATOHM-EVIL for -40% on both
• D16 Audio Group is having a winter sale till January 15th with discounts on all their plug-ins up to 40% off.
• If you happen to be a fan of my band, Assemblage 23, I am offering free shipping on all orders, no matter how large until December 31st when placed through the Assemblage 23 Online Store.
Feel free to share other deals you've come across in the comments section!
Crass Plug (for a Good Cause)
I'm very happy to be a part of the latest single coordinated by End: the DJ, entitled "Fires on the Shore". The single, which just came out on Nilaihah Records, was inspired by the recent Gulf Oil disaster. Each purchase benefits the Gulf Waterkeepers, an effort to restore and preserve wildlife in the Gulf. I didn't have anything to do with the music on this, but I contributed some of the lyrics and vocals. Give it a listen!
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Rob Papen Releases Blue 1.9
Rob Papen has released version 1.9 of his Blue softsynth. Here's what's new:
"Different tuning scales
Clicking on the BLUE logo brings up the back panel, where you can load in tuning files.
We added a number of world tunings: Arabic / Burmese / Chinese / Indian / Persian / Thai / Turkish / Standard European..
Users can add in there own personal tuning files, either by creating their own .tun files or using other .tun files.
BLUE 1.9 new factory presets
Two new banks are added 19_Effect_04 and 13_Diverse Dance 01
New cool effects and some new contemporary dance sounds.
BLUE 1.9 new presets by Dr. Tim Waters
Some brilliant sounds are uploaded to the "user presets" section.
By Dr. Tim Waters. "
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