Music Tech - February 2011
Page 10
MTMIncoming
SIR ELLIOT’S 18-BAND
GRAPHIC EQ This Windows VST features 18 frequency bands, a frequency range of 5Hz–24kHz and is optimised for high sample rates up to 384kHz. And it’s free! Grab it from www.box.
net/shared/t33p5mc0g8
JANUARY Say what you want about January… we say, no more All I
Want For Xmas Is You for another 11 glorious months!
NAMM 2010 Stacks of new kit and a week in the California sunshine…
What’s not to love?
Highs
Ups and downs in the world of music technology this month
&Lows
SNOW Probably gone by the time you read this, but wreaking havoc right now – and we don’t even get to go sledging…
BEING STUCK IN
THE OFFICE… …while everyone else is at NAMM, playing with new toys and getting some winter sun.
Boo, sob, etc.
BEING SKINT AFTER XMAS ‘This year it’s going to be different,’ we tell ourselves.
Never happens.
MATT CARDLE At Xmas No 1. Suddenly we wished that silence record had won after all…
10 | February 2011 magazine
MOOG-ISH DELIGHTS
Two new affordable emulators launched
People love Moogs, but for many, the real-deal vintage hardware is just too darned expensive to be a viable option. Hence, there’s no shortage of Moog emulators out there – and now two more arrive.
First up, there’s the easy-muug XT from easytoolz. This Windows VST is a Minimoog tribute with six waveforms, three oscillators, mixer, low-pass filter, two ADSR envelopes and all the other controls you’d expect. It will set you controls you’d expect. It will set you back a mere €7.50. Secondly, there’s Xhun Audio’s LittleOne. Based on the Little Phatty, this features two analogue modelled oscillators, two analogue modelled oscillators, two ADSR envelope generators, a modulation LFO, a built-in 16-step MIDI sequencer, full MIDI CC mapping and over 300 preset sounds – all of which will still set you back just €45. Or, roughly one-twentieth the price of the real thing...
Web www.easytoolz.de Web www.xhun-audio.com
SOUNDBYTES Making reverb a Breeze Breeze is a new ‘lite’ version of 2CAudio’s popular Aether reverb that’s been designed to keep CPU hit as low as possible. Available as an AU/VST/RTAS plug-in for Mac and PC, it costs just $150. More info at www.2caudio.com
Time for Cocoa
Cocoa Piano from Sound Magic is said by its maker to be ‘the world’s fastest virtual piano’. Cocoa costs just $49, yet features a hybrid modelling engine based on Sound Magic’s own Blue Grand 3D, ten sound-shaping parameters, multiple mic positions and four presets for different styles. It’s also been designed to offer faster loading times, take up less disk space and make lower demands on your CPU. Contact support@soundemon.com Web www.soundemon.com
MACKIE MK2
At NAMM, Mackie announced an overhaul of its flagship monitor speaker. The new MRmk2 Mackie Reference Monitors now come with all-new transducers, said to give a much better low-frequency response. Otherwise, the spec isn’t hugely different from the existing MR monitors, with XLR/TRS/RCA connections and acoustic controls for room correction. The cabinet houses a one-inch neodymium soft-dome tweeter and a 5.25- or eight-inch woofer and is rear-ported. Available from February, the MRmk2s cost $200 for the 5.25-inch or $330 for the eight-inch model.
Also new from Mackie is the Thump TH-12A, a new powered 400-watt, 12-inch speaker with an integrated three-way EQ. Suggested as an ideal stage monitor as well as being suited to disco/PA use, it’s available from February, priced $390. Contact Mackie 01494 557398 Web www.mackie.com
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Point Blank on iTunes
Point Blank has pulled off a bit of a coup this month, becoming the first music school to offer lessons on iTunesU – the educational arm of Apple’s immensely successful download store.
from top universities such as Oxford,
We say ‘coup’ because most iTunesU content comes from top universities such as Oxford, Cambridge and MIT. But now those venerable institutions are joined by Shoreditch-based Point Blank, which is offering free ‘sampler’ tutorials in areas such as songwriting and music business management as well as genre-specific lessons in how to produce hip hop, dubstep, house and more. The freebie lessons are highlights from Point Blank’s full remote learning courses, enabling you to try before you buy.
Contact Point Blank 020 7729 4884 Web www.pointblankonline.net
InMyStudio...
ROBBIE JAY
My studio is best described as a work in progress. Like a lot of people, I started out DJ’ing and took my first steps into production with a Groovebox. From there I got into buying more hardware and learning to use it, but then, a few years ago, my partner and I started a family and I had to stop being a full-time DJ and go back to working in IT! So right now it’s just a hobby, but I’m hoping that within a few years I can get back out there again.
my first steps into production with a Groovebox. From there I got into buying more hardware and learning to use it, but then,
YOUR STUDIOHERE!Wantyourstudioto featurehere?Mailapic to:mystudio@anthempublishing.com
I need to because it’s kind of hard to justify spending that much money on kit if it’s not paying for itself with record releases! But I’ve been quite careful: when I’ve wanted a particular piece of kit, I’ve held back and held back until I found one at the right kind of price.
If I had to pick a favourite piece of kit then I’d have to say my Virus C synth. I love the filters on it: you can push them and push them and the sound never distorts. But I do love my Roland MC-909, too: partly because it was the first piece of ‘proper’ hardware I bought and partly because it just makes it so easy to get those classic house sounds.
Robbie Jay is a house producer and DJ based in Bath. Find him on Twitter: @robbiejaydj
KitList ● Quad-core AMD
Phenom PC ● Ableton Live 8 ● Reason/ReWire ● MOTUmicro lite ● Mackie CR1604 ● E-mu Orbit 9090/
Planet Phatt ● Novation
A-Station ● Novation
BassStation ● Roland MC-909 ● Access Virus C ● Alesis
Quadraverb ● Samson S-Direct
Plus DI box ● Genelec 8030a monitors with Behringer sub
Xxxxxxxxxx Incoming MTM
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Q&A Pan-Pot D.Ramirez Paolo Mojo Mark Broom magazine Xxxxx 2010 | 11